Fall Television

It is time once again for new programs to begin airing on network television.  I am looking forward to some programs and curious about a few others.  I am certain that my DVR will be getting a workout over the next few weeks as I decide what is worth watching and what can fall by the wayside.  Typically I like to give most of the new shows a try, as long as the premise is interesting.  I am looking forward to several shows this season, but I am afraid to get too into anything, because everything that I like ends up cancelled. 

I really want to see The Event, the previews remind me of Flash Forward so that peeked my interest right away.  I hear that it should be compelling to those of us who enjoyed Flash Forward, time will tell.  I am also looking forward to No Ordinary Family.  From the previews I have seen this show has some elements from Heroes in it, so I hope it does well.  Blue Bloods from CBS also looks interesting and I will give it a try, hopefully it won't be a procedural nightmare.  I am so tired of the CSI/Law and Order procedural shows. 

There are a bunch of returning shows that I can't wait to see, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, House, Fringe, Glee, and the Good Wife just to name a few.  I just hope that I don't have too many conflicting programs in every time slot. 

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8/28 Restoring Honor Rally

I had to work today and was quite pleased to know that the Glenn Beck 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally would be covered by my local news radio station.  I would have loved to have been there in person, but just couldn't work things out to attend.  I will admit to being a fan of Glenn Beck and therefore predisposed to liking this event.  However, I don't see where anyone could truly find fault in an event that disregarded political views and focused on rebuilding America from the ground up.  Starting with faith, so many people forget that this country was built on faith.  It doesn't matter what your religion is, no one really cares about that, what matters is that you believe in a higher power, in the people around you, and in yourself.  Through faith, all things are possible, isn't that the old saying.  Doesn't it still hold true today. 

Photo of rally attendees from http://www.glennbeck.com/

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the many speakers at the Restoring Honor Event and was so pleased to see the massive crowd that was there.  I was also very pleased that the Special Operations Warriors Fund,  (SOWF), received a $5 million check from the contributors to the event.  Mr. Beck said from the very beginning that SOWF would not be out a single penny for their involvement with the event.  In point of fact Beck has said for over a month on his radio program that the event was completely paid for and all monies were going directly to SOWF.  The speakers at the event also waived their speaking fees in support of this wonderful charity.  There have been several days on Mr. Beck's radio program where he speaks of receiving donations in the mail in support of the event and SOWF.  There was one donation in particular that he spoke of where the sender wrote that they had gathered everything that they had and wanted to help even thought it wasn't much.  They sent 8 cents.  Much of the money that was donated came in $10 at a time from individuals like you and I. 

 All I can really say about this is thank God that there are people out there who still have faith and believe and are willing to be open about their faith.  America at it's founding was a based on faith and we must return to that foundation to begin to bring our country back from the brink of it's own destruction.  Agree with me or don't, I don't really care.  I know what I believe in and that is all that matters to me.

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The Ground Zero Mosque - the Sept. 11 /Cordoba Connection

I know that you are all probably pretty tired of hearing about the proposed mosque at ground zero.  Well, I have a few things I would like to say about it and about all the commentary coming from our politicians.    So, here's what I think and what I have learned.

I am against having a mosque built anywhere near ground zero.  I believe that it would only be inviting trouble from angry zealots intent on destruction.  This could become a major catastrophe.  I also believe that since the 9/11 attacks were made by radicalized Muslims that building a mosque there would be disrespectful of the victims an families.  I don't have any issues with the Muslim religion myself.  In fact from everything I have read and learned Islam is a very peaceful religion.

Now, the fact that they are calling it the Cordoba House is my real issue with this proposed mosque.  If you have read the history of the Muslim invasion and conquest of Spain that started in 711 AD, you will find a story of another mosque.  When the Muslim's conquered Spain, they chose Cordoba as the site the of a great mosque where there once had been a Christian Visigoth Church.  This is just one of several "victory mosques's" built by conquesting Muslim's.  In an article posted on CatholicExchange.com, someone from the Thomas More Law center, wrote the following quote.

The al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is built on top of one of the holiest sites in Judaism, the Temple Mount. The former St. Sophia’s Basilica, once the world’s largest cathedral and orthodox patriarchal basilica, was torn down and replaced with the principal mosque of Istanbul. The Cordoba mosque in Spain was a former Christian cathedral. Muslims have engaged in this practice for centuries, symbolizing their victories over the infidels.

With these examples how can you not question the proposed mosque near Ground Zero.  While I know that they are touting the Cordoba House as a community center, the fact is that a mosque is included in their plans.

No matter what you may think about this proposed mosque there is no doubt that our political leaders don't know what to think either.
President Obama basically said that he had no problem with the proposal, but then later turned around and said that he would not comment on the wisdom of building a mosque at that location.  This is actually a pretty unusual thing for President Obama, as he seems to have a comment on just about everything, including where LeBron James should play basketball, but what do I know.
Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader came out against the mosque.  I only question this because I know that he is in a tough re-election battle at home and I believe that he was trying to use this to his political advantage. 
And today, Nancy Pelosi came out and said that she wants the people who are funding those against the mosque to be investigated.  Wouldn't it make more sense to investigate the people behind the mosque and see what is really going on with it's funding. 
I know that some of what I have said here will be unpopular, but it is what it is.  Please feel free leave comments, but please be polite.

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Tougher Guidelines for Adgitize

Today Ken Brown posted an article on the Adgitize blog outline some new tougher guidelines for bloggers on the Adgitize network.  With these new guidelines blogs that are only sales pages, product endorsements, banner ads with a few sentences, affiliate pages with no actual blogging, photo blogs that with one sentence descriptions, and news sites with no blogging commentary, will not be allowed.
What Ken and Adgitize are looking for are blogs with original content.  Get back to the basics of writing, who, what, when , where, why, and how.  Sounds simple enough, but I know how hard it can be sometimes to come up with completely original content.
 So, when you use photos from the net they want you to credit the photo to the site you found it on.  This makes sense and is the ethical thing to do anyway.  Not to mention that if you use the blogger platform you can use Zemanta to pull photos from the web and place them on your blog.  Zemanta automatically credits the photo.  I have found Zemanta to be a wonderful addition to my blogging process. 
In addition to crediting the photo, you must also write some type of description as to what the photo is about that is more than one sentence.  They are really looking for two to three paragraphs.  If you are using your own photos they still want a two to three paragraph description as to what is in the photo, why you are sharing the photo, or how you took the photo.
If you use YouTube videos on your blog you also have to include a two to three paragraph description as to why you like the video, or what is going on in the video, or what point you are trying to illustrate by including the video. 
If you share lyrics on your blog, you also need to include why the lyrics are important to you, what does the song mean to you.  Was it funny, romantic, weird, or something else like that. 
So what it boils down to is no more lazy blogging on the Adgitize network.  Ken says that it will take them a while to get through the 13,000 registered blogs, but that they are determined to do so.  If your blog gets pulled, you are welcome to work on it and ask for it to be reinstated.

Overall I think these are some great guidelines.  I just hope that when they are looking at a blog like mine that they find it worthy to stay on the publishers list.  I have done my fair share of lazy blogging, but I do try to post original content.

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Border Issues - UPDATED

Image via Wikipedia

Drug and gang killings in Mexico continue to be a problem.  Today investigators said that they have found 51 bodies near a trash dumping area close to Monterrey, Mexico.  Is there really any wonder why those of us that live in border states are fighting so hard to have our borders secured and to put a stop to illegal immigration. 

I also read a blog talking about how two Texas ranches have been taken over by Los Zetas, near Laredo, TX.  I live in central Texas and this is way to close to home for me.  Why hasn't the federal government met its obligation to protect the borders of this country?   Gov. Perry has repeatedly asked for National Guard help in patrolling our borders and has received very minimal help from the federal government.  I don't think that the current administration of our federal government has any intention of stopping the flow of violence across our borders, much less the flow of illegals.

Perhaps it is more important for the Obama administration to get amnesty to these illegals so that they can vote to keep him in office.  I hope that this is not the case, but in this day and age I think they need all the help they can get because the citizenry of this country is fed up with the way they are running this country into the ground. 

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UPDATE
Reports are now coming in that no ranches in the Laredo area have been seized.  Apparently when asking questions of the local police departments along the border you have to be clear about what you want to know.  Just asking if there is a problem along the border will always garner you a "hell yes", but that doesn't necessarily mean that everything you read on the internet or hear from a friend is true.  Sorry for any confusion caused by my posting information from what I find as a pretty reliable source, but things happen and life goes on.  It's not like it is a complete impossiblity anyway.  These drug cartels and gangs are incredibly dangerous and are always coming up with new ways to get what they want.

Monster Star

This image provided by the European Southern Observatory shows a new near-infrared image of the R136 cluster. At birth, the three brightest stars each weighed more than 150 times the mass of the sun. The most massive star, known as R136a1, is located at the center of the image.

ESO/AP

R136a1: Monster star too big to be true? - CSMonitor.com

What Color Would Help You Right Now?

Here's another quick little quiz to entertain you. 

You Could Use Some Purple

It's hard to put your finger on it, but something about your life probably feels incomplete right now. You are restless and a bit aimless. You could do with some direction. Tap into some purple energy to find wisdom and true understanding. You need to gaze inward in order to truly solve your problems. Don't be afraid to introspect.

What Color Would Help You Right Now?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist