I am thinking of and praying for those affected by the cowardly attack during the Boston Marathon yesterday. I am also praying for the folks who are investigating the attack and all those who are working behind the scenes to prevent the next one. God bless you all.
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In case you missed it, former professional basketball player Dennis Rodman visited North Korea for a few days and met with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
Rodman was the first American to meet with Kim Jong-un, who has been the “Supreme Leader of North Korea” since December 2011.
Let me repeat that: Dennis Rodman was the first American to meet with Kim Jong-un.
It was a very successful diplomatic mission. Plus it gave Rodman five more minutes of fame.
Kim Jong-un and Rodman reportedly watched a Harlem Globetrotters game and talked basketball. Rodman is six feet seven inches tall and he was a five-time NBA Champion and seven-time NBA rebounding champion. Kim Jong-un is five feet five inches tall. He has trouble rebounding, but he is the dictator of over 24 million people.
I have not confirmed the rumor they acquired matching tattoos and piercings.
When Emily Adamson, the NBC Montana reporter at KECI TV in Missoula, tweeted “Not guilty #JohnsonTrial” at 3:53 p.m. on Friday, she was the first one on my Twitter Feed to deliver the breaking news that had many Montanan’s attention. Adamson was followed by the Missoulian Newspaper’s tweet a few seconds later.
This sure was an exciting time for a Friday afternoon in Montana.
Then the Monday morning quarterbacking started. That is what this column is about – my commentary about the trial as an interested far-away observer – or Monday morning quarterbacking.
To set the record straight, I feel for both people and their families. I do not know either person. I do have a son and daughter around their ages. I do know that rape is a terrible crime and must be punished and that “no” is “no.” The accuser felt she was raped. The court was brought in to make the legal decision. Johnson was found not guilty.
I am not a lawyer (So I won’t insert a lawyer joke here) and I don’t even play one on television, but I did follow the Johnson trial in the news and via Twitter. What that means is with my undergraduate degree and by watching just one more season of Law & Order or a half season of Law & Order SVU, I should be able to prosecute cases as well as some current prosecutors. Or, maybe I would decide not to prosecute if the evidence was just not there – no matter how intense the outside pressure is.
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech was pretty good in my opinion. What did you think? According to the Washington Post, the President’s speech was 6,419 words, and it lasted about an hour.
At the beginning, everyone in the House chambers seemed so friendly. During the speech Speaker of the House John Boehner seemed unhappy to be there. He could not even stand when the President recognized Desiline Victor who at 102 years old stood in line for hours to vote.
And he is the Speaker of the House…
Obama’s speech touched on the subjects that everyone pretty much thought he would talk about (Afghanistan, immigration, jobs, and the economy). He did push for an increase in the minimum wage to $9.00 and he also talked about making it easier to vote.
Obama did briefly mention nuclear weapons saying, “We’ll engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals.” On Monday White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had said Obama’s “commitment to arms control, and nuclear reduction is well-known, but I do not anticipate a new announcement in the State of the Union address.”
So while the President did not say, “We’ll cut 200 more nukes” he did give missile base supporters a little something to be alarmed about. Those alarms were covered by the Great Falls Tribune on Wednesday. The Montana Congressional delegation’s failure to obtain a seat on a military/defense committee means about all they can do is send letters and request meetings.
U.S. Constitution – Article 2 Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
Mister Speaker…The President of the United States…
Are you excited? Is this a great country or what?
The State of the Union (SOTU) is tonight and barring an attack from Zombies here in Montana I’ll be watching (and since there’s no football games on TV).
I imagine we’ll hear President Barack Obama talk about guns, immigration, jobs and the economy, education, campaign finance, the sequester, Afghanistan, veterans, and much more (but probably not about Zombies).
Speaking of guns, it’s being reported that rocker Ted Nugent will attend the State of the Union address as the guest of Texas Republican Rep. Steve Stockman. Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly will be attending as guests of Senator John McCain and Rep. Ron Barber.
By the way, classic rock fans will be happy to hear that REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Ted Nugent are kicking off “The Midwest Rock ‘n Roll Express” tour in April! Par-tee!
Members of Congress can invite one person to attend the SOTU. CNN has the guest list. I was not invited… Continue reading
Did you attend any of the festivities marking the 40th anniversary on Tuesday?
Some readers are probably wondering what anniversary I’m talking about. I am talking about the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
Yes, that one.
I saw a few e-mails and Tweets yesterday with numbers – both sides of the issue like to spew numbers out to help their cause – faceless numbers. According to a story from The Weekly Standard, “The National Right to Life Committee estimates that, in that time period (since 1973), there have been 54,559,615 abortions in America.”
The 54,559,615 people who had these abortions all have personal stories – many of these personal stories may break your heart, just as many of them may regret their decision. Continue reading
The Presidential Inauguration always gets me energized about our country’s future. It gives me hope. Call me a patriotic softie, but I enjoy it.
Once again we went through another Presidential Inauguration with no riots in the streets and it was peaceful. The person who won the election in November was inaugurated in January – just exactly how our constitution says it should happen, but I doubt the founding fathers thought it would become this big a deal. I wonder what they would think about the First Lady’s attire getting so much attention throughout the day (by the way Michelle and the kids looked wonderful and made us proud).
No matter what our country just keeps churning along…
The pageantry of the Inauguration is something to behold – everyone has a place – some people even have seats! We can be very proud of our country – we do put on a great show here in the United States!
While I am not always in favor of everything he does, I am proud of this President (just like I was proud of the Presidents before him) – because he is my President and this is my country! Continue reading
We have much to be thankful for this Christmas. We are truly blessed. Please take a moment to say a prayer for those away from their loved ones this Christmas protecting our freedom. Please say a prayer for their families back home, too.
Here’s a short video that tells the real meaning of Christmas:
May God bless you and your family this Christmas! -Jack
We’ve lost another American hero – another member of the Greatest Generation; U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, 88, died Monday in Washington. Inouye served his country in World War II and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Continue reading
Welcome to Monday Morning Politics!
This column is where I take a look at some of the political stories that caught my attention from the past weekend and put them in one place for my readers to see. I also provide some commentary!
Today in Monday Morning Politics I write about one subject, the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.
Charlotte. Daniel. Olivia. Josephine. Ana. Dylan. Madeleine. Catherine. Chase. Jesse. James. Grace. Emilie. Jack. Noah. Caroline. Jessica. Benjamin. Avielle. Allison.
God has called them home.
Last night President Obama spoke at the Sandy Hook Interfaith Prayer Vigil in Newtown, Connecticut. He gave a very moving speech. You can read it HERE.
Some people took to Twitter saying the President’s speech was too “political.”
Those people are wrong. Continue reading
