...Ok, just one, really....

www.johnmurphey.com

Welcome to part two of my political/social rant. Enjoy the ride.

A Socialist Agenda.
If there is one constant in our government right now, it's the global dive into socialist thinking and policy. From completely useless programs like Social Security, to the current attempt to seize money from the collective pockets of the people to gain control over the financial markets; socialist ideas are rapidly permeating all levels of government.
A more accurate term to define the type of socialism at work here would be Stalinism, or perhaps Marxist-Leninism. This particular form of socialism took shape as Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1929–1953, used extensive propaganda to cast himself and his government in a positive light, while using secret police to repress any dissent regarding his dictatorship. He became so intent on pushing his societal system that he instigated a social purge that later came to be known by many as the Soviet holocaust; characterized by widespread police surveillance, widespread suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and killings. Estimates of the number of deaths associated with the Great Purge run from the official figure of 681,692 to nearly 2 million. Anyone who did not conform to the government's complete control of all economic structures lived under the constant threat of persecution and death.

Now you may be thinking right now that this sounds absolutely nothing like our government right now and, to a degree, that is true. But I contest that it is heading that way faster than anyone realizes or will acknowledge. Let's look at the facts.

We don't have a dictator looming over us. No, we just have a congress that acts completely over our heads and behind our backs, making the decisions that we pay for without a moment's thought to the consequences to the people. I reference, most immediately, the impending "bailouts" of financial institutions, as a prime example of this. I have not yet heard one single person say they thought it was a good idea. In fact, everyone I've talked to or heard (and that number is heading into the hundreds now; no exaggeration) is staunchly opposed to it. Multiple polls have clearly established that the American people not only are uneasy about this move, but are quite vocal about not wanting it to happen at all.
$700 billion, y'all.
That's a lot of money. And guess whose pockets it's coming out of? Yeah. Ours.
Congress is pushing this act as a way to save the economy and make life easier for lower income homeowners. This is a bold-faced lie. It is a deception they are either trying to push on us, or they somehow believe themselves, but the truth is, it will help no-one, except the CEOs and head honchos of the companies being bailed out.
It will not help the economy because there are still all these bad loans floating around out there that are not suddenly going to be resolved. The investors in these companies have already lost the farm, this bailout will not help them either.
It will not help the people stuck in these so-called bad loans because, number one, they are still bad loans and, number two, those being evicted will still be evicted. Nothing is going to change their situation.
So why is congress doing this? Basically, because they can. They will now have power over hundreds of thousands of people's lives. They will have power over enormous financial institutions. They will have the power to say where those institutions' money goes. It's all about power.

My second example of the rampant socialism finds a perfect example in one popular presidential candidate's words and agenda.
Mr. Barack Obama has, on more than one occasion, lifted up China as an example America should look to in reforming our government and society.
China, people. Red China. Communist China. This China.
China has repressed it's people for years, through propaganda, fear and violence. The populace is stifled, dissent is gagged, politics are rigged, the truth is repressed, the people live in squalor, and the upper echelons of government make all the decisions for millions of faceless, voiceless citizens. And this man says we should be more like them.
The scariest part of it is that so many people are taken in by this philosophy, without any regard for the future ramifications for our society and freedom. Why is no-one paying attention to this?
Obama's further plans for our society include an expanded, more expensive Social Security program, a governmentally controlled health care system (the Fed deciding essentially who lives and who dies...there's a scarily possible thing for you) and higher taxes for self-made individuals. All of these things are socialistic to the extreme, and pose a grave threat to the freedoms and rights this country was founded on. And the Left doesn't bat an eye.
Sheep to the slaughter.

The fundamental problem at the core of this socialistic streak is the way the core principle of our country has been twisted to serve the purposes of a few power-hungry people. Much the way the minds of certain circles in pre-Revolution France were twisted. The basic principle of our country is that all people are born equal.
This concept has been warped into the idea that all people SHOULD ALWAYS be equal and even, in EVERYTHING. In other words, if you haven't worked as hard as your neighbor, you now have the right to go to the government and get them to take money out of your neighbor's pocket and put it in yours. This is the way it will work soon, based on where the government is currently headed.
If I work diligently my whole life and become a millionaire, I don't want the government reaching into my bank account and scooping out half of my earnings to give to those who choose daily to remain in poverty. And what happens if I refuse to bow to the government's wishes? They will prosecute and persecute me until I do. Um, China, anyone?
Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, has aggressively pushed his agenda, and is quoted as saying some pretty radically communist things. "There needs to be a redistribution of wealth." "Some people will have to give up their piece of the pie so that others can have more." What is that? That's certainly not American! It's not only directly against the constitution, it will lead to class warfare, and potentially another actual civil war, and that's not an alarmist viewpoint at all. We have historical evidence from multiple time periods and societies. An attempt to strike perfect economic balance always ends in bloodshed and ruin.


What can save us?
Simply put, we can.
Congress is positively useless to the American people. Regardless of party lines, its members have become complacent, oblivious, corrupt, out of touch with the common man, elitist, power-hungry, borderline traitorous and downright stupid. They do not have our best interests at heart, and haven't for decades. Last time I looked, which was last month, Congress' approval rating was around 8%. That's ghastly. If only 8% of Americans approve of the job you're doing, you shouldn't have the chance to get re-elected; you should be simply fired, hands down. That's the way it works in every other part of life, so why should the government be special?
Let's fire them. Let's kick them all out on their ears and start over. And if the new crop of congressmen doesn't do the job we need, we kick them out and do it all over again. It's not hard. It's called an election. Last time I checked, there's usually an incumbent and a challenger. Let's remove all incumbents.
I propose that we, regardless of political leanings and personal agendas, vote for "the other guy" this election. If there is an incumbent, kick them out. If the incumbent is Republican, vote Democrat. If the incumbent is Democrat, vote Republican. If your conscience just won't let you do that, then vote for an independent, vote for a third party, who cares, just get these actionless slugs out of Washington. It's completely within our control still, thank God.
If enough of us get on board with this movement, it will succeed.
We MUST take back control of our government and our society. If we don't, I fear our United States won't have many more united years left.

Give me one of these!





The HTC Touch HD, in all its glory.

With almost identical dimensions to the iPhone 3G, a huge, high-res display, TWO cameras (back 5MP and front CMOS camera for video calls) and full touch screen interface--running Windows Mobile--HTC has set the iPhone squarely in its sights.

Gauntlet: thrown.
Apple, eat your heart out.

This phone contains some of the most powerful hardware ever crammed into a handset of its size, and boasts a feature set that is expected to make that of the iPhone look like a child's toy.
Give it three days in the general public, and some hacker will figure out how to load Google's Android OS on it, and it's all over.

Given HTC's competitive upcoming handset lineup;



The Touch Viva;



The Touch Diamond;


\
And the Touch 3G

Apple has a serious fight on its hands.
And frankly, I couldn't be happier. This is why I didn't jump at the iPhone. I knew that someone else would do it better...or at least more the way I like it. And the more GOOD phones out there to compete, the lower the price for the consumer.

Now all we're waiting for is Android...

(The title of this entry has nothing to do with anything.)

Some changes to the layout here, as you may notice.
I was tooling around with it last night, seeking to bring it in line with my mood and the nature of my life these days. I've made it a bit simpler. More streamlined.
It seems I am feeling more down-to-business with regards to my own life. I am doing my best to take charge, take control; but at the same time let God have ultimate control.
So many things to do, so little time.
So much to accomplish, yet, oddly, they all seem so simple, when viewed through an objective frame. Too bad life rarely works that simplistically.

I'm sure you've all gotten used to me talking about change on this thing in the past three+ years. And, frankly, I've gotten a bit used to it too. It's all too easy to throw the word "change" around, with nothing of substance to back it up (as our good friend Mr. Obama has proven quite effectively--but I digress). But change is inevitable and, in this case, mandatory, so I would much rather change in a direction that I know will be good for me and my family than as the random winds of circumstantial change would blow me.

Change must be made. I am not satisfied to live as I am. I will have it no longer. Time to man up to my situation and own my life.
The changes I feel the need to make will certainly be somewhat painful, but painful in a very temporary, ultimately insignificant way.
These changes will most likely effect the amount of time I spend on here, but I will try to regularly update--especially regarding the progress of the bun in Anna's oven.

I do not say all this to sound like my life is in dire jeopardy, or to make any of you pity or worry about me in any way. Take my words as more of a self-reassurance, and external commitment to an inward decision to change.
I now have all of you to answer to.

In other news, Anna's doing well. The morning sickness, such as it was, is all but gone. We thank God for that (and Reliv too, but that's another story ). She still feels sporadically fatigued, but that seems to be the only symptom, at this time. She felt a flutter today, for the first time, and it was something of an intimate, precious moment for both of us. I think I'll probably remember it for years to come. The whole pregnancy suddenly seemed ten times more real in that moment.
I'm to the point where I'm really anxious to visit the doctor in two weeks and see our child for the first time...

...

Ok, not really many or varied, but certainly no less potent.

Good heavens, it's been a while since I posted. Gee, where have you heard that before, right?
In any case, things have been transpiring lately that made xanga seem rather trivial.

The big news is Anna and I are expecting. We found out on August 3, 2008 at about 1:00pm central time. I remember this because I was working that Sunday--a first, since starting with AVT (a fact which I am quite glad about)--and I was 15 feet off the ground, in a scissor-lift, rigging a projector from the ballroom ceiling.
Anna had been texting me about the whole "are we pregnant or are we not" epic all morning, and she decided, almost on a whim, to go get a pregnancy test. Half an hour later she called me and told me it was positive. Slightly startled, I told her to wait a while a take a second one, for verification.

Two lines. Pregnant.



I spent the next three hours or so feeling quite ill. Not being able to leave, yet not able to keep my mind on my work; the afternoon felt interminably long. I was desperately shocked, afraid and praying like mad.

See, it's not like we don't want kids--much the opposite. We just didn't want them yet. We wanted to wait another year, minimum. God, however, has a sense of humor and a different plan, it would appear. Frankly we were both quite devastated by the news the first few days; as the news of our little bundle of...something...filled us with all our worst fears and concerns about the future. We felt sorry for ourselves, but felt sorry for feeling sorry for ourselves. It definitely was not the way I envisioned it. There was no joy or delighted surprise at the news. I felt guilty for not being overjoyed, but how could I, when my world had just come crashing down around me?
Needless to say, we told both our parents immediately, but left it at that. My parents reacted the way I'd hoped to; with great joy. Anna's parents simply sat in stunned silence for a few moments, with her father's first words being, "are you serious?"

A week later, we received confirmation from a doctor and began telling friends. We had finally begun to get used to the idea, and telling friends only helped that process along. We began to see, through the eyes and the reactions of our friends, the great joy in it. Abby certainly wins the grand prize for most priceless reaction. If you know who that is, ask her about it. I'm sure she'll be glad to share.

We have since come to terms with it, and are actually beginning to feel excited. We certainly have a lot to do, and many changes to initiate and prepare for. Pray for us as we enter this time of trial and transition. We appreciate all your love, and will most likely lean heavily on some of you in the coming months.

--------------------

In other news, we attended the 20th Anniversary Reliv International Conference in St. Louis over the weekend. It was awesome. We met more great people, heard great stories, learned more about this great company, and came home with a drive to share the hope we and others have found with those around us.
If there are those among you readers who don't know what I'm talking about, refer to this entry from October. We'd love to share with each and every one of you.

A few pictures from our trip. (Click them to see them full-size.)


My mother, who also attended the conference, looking quite nice.


My Anna, also looking quite nice (I love our new camera), but like a goob, as she makes faces at...


This boy. His name was Thomas, and the bearded man is his father, Peter.


Anna, again being gooberish to the camera. How I love her.


Enough with the modeling; time for some serious portraiture.


A familiar sight. Our hotel is the building you see at the far right edge of the picture.
How awesome are we?



And one last picture that I took minutes ago, of Jonas getting a much-hated bath.





That is all for tonight. We'll keep you all posted if something else happens......like twins....

....oh geez.......