The greatest bicycle ride in the world has begun… and the contest to win a new car and bicycle has begun as well… Go to Versus.com to check out the latest news and standings on the race. Go to Versus.com/flytothefinish to enter the contest… these are the code words to enter:

BIG BEN
FLY SAAB
BELGIUM
CADENCE
GREEN JERSEY
FEED ZONE
BORN FROM JETS
BREAKAWAY
AIR CRAFTED
GRADIENT
SPRINT
MARSEILLE
POWER
ECHELON
PYRENEES
PERFORMANCE
CHAIN RING
CERVELO
YELLOW JERSEY
TIME TRIAL
PARIS

Amidst all of the controversy in the sport of cycling… it’s still pretty darn cool to see the races and the skill and strength and stamina involved. Keep watching… see who wins.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Heard of this?? You can request that flat rate boxes be delivered to you from the United States Postal Service (search Mili-kit or CAREKIT04) that they have put together into kit form that can be used to send things to the troops?? It takes a week or more to have delivered to you, so you have to plan ahead, but it sounds like a great deal. I think I’ll give them a call tomorrow and send some more care packages to our troops… Try AnySoldier.com, there are many, many places to contribute to the troops through, but I like these guys. A week ago, we sent a Hooters Girl Calendar to the troops from the Minneapolis Mall of America Hooters… Hopefully some of the troops will be reminded of why we’re fighting for our freedom.

Hopefully the Congress will pull there heads our of their asses and try to support our troops and our country too… Speaking of that, write to your Congressmen and Representatives and let them know that we, the American people, want our troops to confront the evil that exits in the world where it is right now…. not here in the streets of America… It’s been here before, and it’s coming again if we’re not going to take care of it while we have the chance.

Powered by ScribeFire.

This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard of… and if you take the time to read the story, you will agree. Please take the time to click the link and read about JusticeForCasey.com.

This kind of injustice is what breeds contempt towards authority and puts unwarranted fear into our children… isn’t there enough to be afraid of in the world? Should our children have to fear the people they are supposed to be able to trust?

Do what you can, and never, never, never give in.

powered by performancing firefox

I went to a town meeting in New Hampton last Thursday (2-22)  afternoon with Senator Chuck Grassley.

I had never met one of our elected officials in such an intimate setting before, and I thought it was a good way to get a feel for his views and personality. There were about 40 people there or so, which is a pretty sad statement considering the state of affairs that our country is in. There are plenty of people to bitch and moan, but very few to actually offer suggestions and constructive input, and even if you didn’t have anything to say, you could learn an awful lot by listening.

Senator Grassley seemed like a good guy, an older farmer from Iowa that had his head on his shoulders straight (he made sense), knows how to play the political game, and needs a new suit. There were many subjects that the crowd wanted to discuss, from why doesn’t Medicare – Medicaide pay for a specific vaccine to immigration reform, and the Senator took it all in stride. Sometimes admitting to not really wanting to discuss issues but at least listening to what the people in the crowd had to say, acknowledging their concerns, and graciously moving on.

There were a few people that voiced concerns that were just not based in reality, and some with some over simplified views. One that particularly sticks in my mind was a clergy member from the local community that was upset about the way the United States treats it’s immigrant workers (read: illegal aliens). As well intentioned as this person was, his view of the situation was based from his heart and the touchy / feely emotional side of the story without even realizing the global impact of his wishes for reform. A few of his statements were correct; nearly everyone in the United States is the descendant of an immigrant (I met my now deceased Great Grandparents that came from Germany and Prussia through Ellis Island), no one wants to pull families apart, no one wants to cause the starvation of families in Mexico or here in the United States. That being said, no one wants to be blown up by a nuclear, chemical or biological bomb that has been snuck across the southern border (or a regular bomb for that matter). No one wants to have their identity stolen and used as a way for an illegal alien to gain the benefits of citizenship and employment while desecrating our good credit and name. No one wants to (I shouldn’t say ‘no one’, obviously there are a some) live in a Marxist society where the haves support the have nots and we’re all on a level ground with the redistribution of wealth and capital from those that earn and work for it to those who just expect it and do nothing towards it… that’s not capitalism, that’s not democracy, and that’s not the United States… at least yet. To be honest with you (who ever you are), I’ve all but given up with this kind of do-gooder, heart-felt, savior of the world type of opinionated person… but I haven’t given up on the good sense of the American spirit and the honest people that make up the silent majority of our nation. The time is here, to not be silent anymore. Educate yourself with facts, not propaganda and individual heart felt stories. Write your representatives (both at the State level and the Federal) and explain to them your concerns and desires to keep this the greatest nation in the world. A question to you… do you lock your car doors when you go somewhere? Do you lock your house? Why? Because you want to regulate who gets into your car and your house… doesn’t it make sense to lock the borders of the country so that we could know who (and how many) we let in? Of course it does.

Mostly what I’m advocating you to do, is to educate yourself from all angles and form an opinion for yourself.  Pay attention to multiple news sources, not just one (…especially not one of the big 3 or 4 (ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR)).  Start paying attention to Fox news and to multiple web sites (Drudge report and some of the links that I have here, are a good start).
Much more on this subject later…

Fight the good fight.