When I retired from the Air Force and moved to New Jersey to be with the woman who would later become my wife, I did so knowing that she was a fanatical dog lover. And that was just fine with me, because I also had been a dog lover my whole life. We had them growing up and I had them during my first marriage, so when Gina told me that she was a dog lover too, well, it all just seemed to fit.
One day when I came home from work and went into the tiny kitchen of the equally tiny apartment we were living in, I saw an advertisement that Gina had cut out of a magazine and put up on the front of the refrigerator. The picture showed a Boston Terrier looking up at the camera, and Gina had made a cartoon balloon with "BUSTER" written in it and pasted it above the dog. From that point on, I knew that we were destined to one day get a Boston Terrier, and his name was going to be "Buster."
That day came two years later on June 8, 2001, two months after we moved out of the small apartment in Maywood, New Jersey and into a 3 bedroom house in Wantage, way up in the hills in Sussex County. My parents were visiting us at the time, and the day before they arrived Gina told me that she had found a Boston Terrier puppy, an AKC-registered purebred, at a breeder's in the next town over, and asked me if we could "please, please, please go get him tomorrow!" I agreed, and on the first day of my parent's visit we all drove down to the breeder's place in Butler, New Jersey and got our first look at the puppy. My father, who has always had a soft spot for dogs, was sold right away, and I have to admit that as soon as I held that warm bundle of fur in my arms and he looked up at me with those big, brown eyes, he had me hook, line, and sinker. We drove home a half-hour later with Buster sleeping in Gina's lap, and we spent the next two days of my parent's visit playing with our new puppy. And honestly, I don't know who enjoyed playing with him more, Gina or my father!
We knew that Buster was a special dog right from the start. Our first clue was that it only took a week for us to housebreak him. We didn't have a fence around the yard, but that proved not to be an issue because Buster never tried to run away - not once. We'd take him outside in the front yard - the back door was a patio door that led onto an elevated deck that was 9 feet off the ground - put him down in the grass, he'd do his thing and then come right back into the house. For the entire 5 year period that we lived in the house, all we ever had to do was open the door for him - he'd go right out, do his thing, and come right back in. And when it snowed, I'd shovel out a big clear space next to the house, and he'd go out into the clear space, do his business, and come right back in.
As much as I hated to do it, when Gina and I left for work each day we were forced to crate Buster because we didn't quite trust him not to go to the bathroom inside the house. I was always the first one home in the evening, and after about two weeks of noting that the bottom of the crate was clean and dry when I came home each day, one day when I left for work I left the crate door open. When I drove up to the house about ten hours later (I had an hour commute to and from work, as did Gina) there was Buster, sitting on the back of the couch in the living room, looking out of the bay window at me as I drove up. He'd gone all day without making a mess, and as soon as I let him out he did his thing and came right back in. And that was the last day he ever spent in the crate.
About a year after we got him Gina and I were playing with him in the living room one afternoon around five o'clock, when all of a sudden Buster jumped up and ran full-speed across the house, turned around, and ran full-speed back. He ran the length of the house over and over, full-speed, with Gina and I laughing our heads off at him. Gina looked at me and said, "What the hell is that all about?" and I replied, "I dunno, I guess it's just the 'Five O'Clock Buster!'" So from that point on, whenever he'd start running around the house, Gina and I would look at each other and laughingly say, "It's the Five O'Clock Buster!"
Buster became an integral part of our lives, and we quickly grew to love him more than either of us thought possible. He'd sleep in the bed with us at night, most of the time on Gina's pillow right next to her head, and I have more than one picture of them sleeping and touching faces as they slept, Buster sleeping on the pillow next to her head. When we'd go out onto the deck to relax he'd go out with us and plop down on the deck, sitting in the sun. That dog absolutely loved to sit in the sun! We had two 12"x12" skylights in the ceiling, and Buster would follow the sun spots across the floor, laying down in one and not moving until it moved; then he'd get up and reposition himself in it, promptly going back to sleep.
We also found out that he absolutely loved to ride in the car, as most dogs do. But he'd never hang his head out; he'd be content to sit in Gina's lap and snooze while I drove, and when we made the decision to move to South Carolina in 2006 this proved to be a godsend. We took him with us on the trip down to house-hunt, and he was absolutely the best dog ever during the trip! He sat in the middle of the bench seat of Gina's Dodge truck almost the entire time, content to just lay there and sleep. When he wasn't there he was laying in Gina's lap, but the main thing is that he gave us no trouble at all during the entire trip.
One of the things Buster never learned to do was walk down stairs, because he never needed to. He always went out front to use the bathroom, and since our back door led to an elevated deck we were always careful not to let him fall down the stairs. So he never learned to walk down stairs, even though he could walk up them with no problem. This bit us in the butt when we moved to South Carolina in 2006, because we bought a two-story house. This meant that every time Buster needed to go downstairs for whatever reason, one of us had to carry him. But considering all that Buster gave us, it was the least we could do in return. But I made sure that when we got our second dog a few months after we moved in, a Puggle we named "Harley," we taught her to go up AND down the stairs! She and Buster hit it off right away, much to our relief.
About a year before we moved to South Carolina we noticed that, true to his breed, Buster was developing cataracts. By the time the summer of 2007 rolled around his cataracts were so bad that he couldn't see anything directly in front of him, and could only see things using his peripheral vision. So Gina and I talked about it and decided that we loved our dog enough to want to give him his sight back, so we had his cataracts removed. I wanted to make sure that I was the first thing Buster saw when they brought him out of the recovery room, and when he came out with all of the fur shaved away from the area around his eyes and wearing that big plastic cone to keep him from pawing at his eyes, and with his eyes open wide and looking around actually seeing the things around him again, I was the first thing he saw. It brought tears to my eyes, and I cried as I carried him out to the car. Both Gina and I were so happy that he had his sight back, and as soon as the vet gave us the green light we turned him loose in the back yard to chase Harley around as they used to do, only this time Harley got a big surprise when she discovered that she couldn't lose him by making a sharp turn and passing in front of him. He was on her like white on rice, and we were laughing our heads off the whole time!
The blessing of cataract surgery is that your dog gets his sight back; the curse is that you run the risk of glaucoma developing and stealing away the gift of sight permanently. We had to put drops in Buster's eyes four times a day to maintain the pressure of the fluid in his eyes, but by that time I had a job where I was only 7 minutes away from the house so doing the drops was no problem. And Buster took it all in stride, sitting so nice and still while we did the drops four times a day. Like I said, he was a special dog right from the start, and he was like a puppy again now that he had his vision back.
But 18 months after the surgery and despite the drops we were putting in his eyes, Buster developed uncontrollable glaucoma in his left eye and lost the sight in it. Six months later the right eye followed, and our beloved "baby boy" as we called him went blind. When the vet broke the news to me I cried like a baby, but once again Buster proved to us just what a special dog he was. He amazed both of us with his uncanny ability to navigate around the house. The vet told us that dogs were capable of that but it would take some time, but with Buster it took all of about half an hour! He knew where everything in the house was, and he made his way all over the house with no trouble! He could jump off of the couch in the living room downstairs, go up the stairs, around the corner, and into the bedroom where Gina was and jump up on the bed without any assistance from us at all! He simply amazed us with his ability to get around! And trust me, he had no trouble finding the kitchen when one of us went in there to get something to eat!
For the next two years Buster continued to amaze us, finding his way around with hardly any trouble. Both of us were always afraid that he'd bump into something and hurt himself, and every now and then he'd bump into something a little too hard and let out a small yelp, but he was always okay. Still, I was concerned, and about two months ago I noticed that his "internal compass" as we called it seemed to be a little off as he was bumping into things more often. Gina noticed it too, but we both expected it since he was now 11 years old, so we did the only thing we could - we kept our eyes and ears open, and hoped that he'd be okay.
This past Friday, May 25th, I was still in bed while Gina was getting ready for work. It was around 5:15AM when Gina put Buster up on the bed and he came snorting up to me, licking my face before going under the covers to snooze a bit. About 25 minutes later I felt Buster come out from under the covers and walk around me to jump down from the bed, and that's when it happened. We're not sure what it was, but when he jumped down from the bed he ran face-first into something and hurt himself - bad. He hurt something in his neck that left him paralyzed from the neck down, and we took him to the vet as soon as the vet's office opened at 8AM. I held him in my lap the entire time we were waiting for the vet's office to open and during the drive to the office, and for that entire time he never tried to move at all. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that the day I had been dreading was finally here, and after examining Buster the vet confirmed it.
Buster had ruptured at least one disk in his neck, and there was only a 20% chance that surgery would be able to correct it - IF Buster survived the surgery. His age and his heart murmur made his chances of surviving the surgery slim at best. I was sitting in a chair with my baby boy on my lap, holding him as I had been doing since the accident, and the tears were running down my face as Gina told me that Buster had been through enough, that we couldn't put him through anything else, and that we had to stop being selfish and do what was best for him. "We have to let him go, Ray," she said, and I knew she was right. So I bent down and kissed my baby boy on the head, telling him that I loved him and that we were going to send him to a place where he'd be able to see again, where he'd be able run and play and be happy - we were sending him to "Rainbow Bridge." (If you've never heard of that before, this would be a good time to Google it.)
I've always believed that no pet should ever leave this world in the arms of a stranger, and I'd long ago decided that if the day ever came where we'd have to put any of our pets to sleep that they'd pass with my arms around them. I also knew how much it was going to hurt, and I dreaded the day that I'd have to do that for Buster. But now the day had come, and for the love of Buster I had to keep my promise.
And I did. He passed quickly and painlessly in my arms, and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life.
I knew I'd done the only thing I could and that it was the best thing to do for Buster, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I didn't sleep much that night - neither of us did - but when I woke up the next morning Gina told me something that proved to me once again just what an amazing dog Buster was.
Buster had come to her in the night and given her a message for both of us. He came to her in a dream, and in the dream he was young again, looking as he did when we lived in New Jersey. He was running around the house we live in now, doing his "Five O'Clock Buster" just like he used to do when he was young, running up and down the stairs hell-bent for election. Gina tried to catch him but she couldn't, and when he finally stopped at the top of the stairs and she reached down for him, he changed into Harley, our Puggle. And that's when Gina woke up.
I immediately broke into tears, because I knew that the dream she'd had was a message, and I knew what the message was. Buster was telling us that he was fine, that he could see again and was happy, running around Rainbow Bridge like he was a puppy again, and that we had done the right thing. By changing into Harley he was telling us that we should stop worrying about him and take care of Harley, and love her as we had loved him.
I felt as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from my heart, and at that moment I stopped feeling sad that he was gone and started feeling happy that he was truly in a better place and was healthy again.
I won't say that the past three days haven't been hard on all of us - Harley feels the loss too - but I will say that the message from Buster has made it one hell of a lot easier than it was going to be. I miss him more than words can describe and it's going to take some getting used to him not being around, but I can do it knowing that he's happy, healthy and in a better place, waiting patiently for the day when Gina and I meet him at Rainbow Bridge. Buster was and still is an amazing dog, and with his help I know I can do this.
For the love of Buster, I can do anything.
IHC
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
A Post Worth Repeating
In light of our Fearful Leader and his astonishingly huge ego, which has led him to have a reference to himself inserted into the official history of every past President of the past 100 years (with the exception of Gerald Ford), I think the following is worth a re-posting. (As for the Gerald Ford thing, I guess NObama didn't want to be compared to someone who can't get out of his own way without tripping over his own feet - kinda like NObama can't.)
Dr. Krauthammer is on Fox News. He is an M.D. and a lawyer and is paralyzed from the neck down. He recently gave a closed speech to an audience of 25 people at the Center for the American Experiment. What follows is a first-hand account of what the doctor had to say. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and their children.
Last Monday was a profound evening, Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to the Center for the American Experiment. He is a brilliant intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post.
The entire room was held spellbound during his talk.
I have summarized his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said!
If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free.
Summary of his comments:
1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. The taking down of the Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid!
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States, but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist. (Emphasis added in this reposting.)
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan, but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage.. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and state's rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We are spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
Do yourself a long term favor, send this to all who will listen to an intelligent assessment of the big picture. All our futures and children's futures depend on our good understanding of what is really going on in DC, and our action pursuant to that understanding!! It really IS up to each of us to take individual action!! Start with educating your friends and neighbors!
I first published that in my blog on March 3, 2010, and two years later I'm simply amazed at just how much of what this learned man said has been proven true by NObama's actions.
But the worst is yet to come...if this charlatan, this fraud, this egotistical, self-centered, power-mad narcissist is re-elected, it could very well be the beginning of the end for America as we know it as NObama will not be eligible for a third term and therefore will have nothing to lose.
We absolutely MUST vote him out of office before it's too late!
IHC
Dr. Krauthammer is on Fox News. He is an M.D. and a lawyer and is paralyzed from the neck down. He recently gave a closed speech to an audience of 25 people at the Center for the American Experiment. What follows is a first-hand account of what the doctor had to say. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and their children.
Last Monday was a profound evening, Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to the Center for the American Experiment. He is a brilliant intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post.
The entire room was held spellbound during his talk.
I have summarized his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said!
If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free.
Summary of his comments:
1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. The taking down of the Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid!
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States, but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist. (Emphasis added in this reposting.)
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan, but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage.. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and state's rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We are spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
Do yourself a long term favor, send this to all who will listen to an intelligent assessment of the big picture. All our futures and children's futures depend on our good understanding of what is really going on in DC, and our action pursuant to that understanding!! It really IS up to each of us to take individual action!! Start with educating your friends and neighbors!
I first published that in my blog on March 3, 2010, and two years later I'm simply amazed at just how much of what this learned man said has been proven true by NObama's actions.
But the worst is yet to come...if this charlatan, this fraud, this egotistical, self-centered, power-mad narcissist is re-elected, it could very well be the beginning of the end for America as we know it as NObama will not be eligible for a third term and therefore will have nothing to lose.
We absolutely MUST vote him out of office before it's too late!
IHC
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Some People Just Can't Handle the Truth
Through the marvel that is Facebook, I recently reconnected with someone that I served in the Air Force with and that I hadn't had any contact with since 1996 when he retired. That's the good thing about Facebook - it lets you reconnect with old friends when you least expect it, and when I made contact with this old friend of mine I was pretty happy about it. He and I had spent about four months patrolling the streets of Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia in 1992, busting a whole bunch of drunks and generally raising hell among the evil-doers in the area. When I moved up and became Flight Chief he moved up to Senior Patrolman, and while we didn't bust as many drunks together since I was now the guy in charge of the flight, we still did our share. So all in all I was pretty happy with it when he found me on Facebook.
But time is a funny thing, and it has a funny way of changing people - and I'm no exception to that rule. One of the things I learned quite quickly about my old friend was that he absolutely despises NObama, and I mean he hates the man on a personal, individual level that makes my distaste for NObama seem like puppy love in comparison. I despise NObama as President, but as a man I don't have an opinion of him. My friend hates everything about him down to a very personal level, and this all became apparent very quickly.
It also became apparent just as quickly that my friend was a supporter of the "militia" crowd and their way of thinking, which means that he now sees a grand conspiracy by NObama to ruin America under every rock and bush. What's more, he is prone to posting the "news" items he finds on such credible sources as a personal blog by some bigoted idiot in North Carolina (whose blog I will not name because I won't give him the free publicity) and things like that.
Now, don't get me wrong, I fully believe and support the notion that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and they absolutely have the right to voice their opinion in any form they want as long as it's legal. But I also believe, as my sister said to me once, that if you choose to voice your opinion in a public forum then you have to be prepared for the dissenting opinion that may be posted by others who read what you wrote. And you have to realize that they have the same right to their opinion and the voicing of it that you do.
So when my friend posted a few "news" items from various "reliable sources" over the past few days, I voiced my opinion on them in which I challenged the reliability and authenticity of these "news" items. One of the stories cited came from that bigoted idiot in North Carolina who claims that the NObama administration is planning a "manufactured insurgency" against America. He is also claiming that the administration is "using untracked campaign funds" to pay people to infiltrate various movements to cause physical destruction of property and disrupt commerce. Lastly, and most unbelievably, his "source" - who he identifies only as "my source" - claims that Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, is on the CIA payroll and is tasked with coordinating the blacks and Muslims to prepare them for riots this summer, using "any means necessary." Of course, the writer gives no other type of identification or verification of the credibility of his source's information, leaving us to take his word for it that the information is good.
Right. I mean, really - the leader of the Nation of Islam on the CIA payroll? You're kidding me, right?
So when I read this "news" article I posted my dissenting opinion about the credibility of the source, and also pointed out that being on the CIA payroll and cooperating with the "infidels" flies right in the face of everything Islam teaches. I also stated that the author was asking us to take his word for the accuracy of the story, and that I hoped he - my friend - wasn't really taking all of this seriously.
That was this morning. When I went home for lunch and checked my FB page I noticed that my friend had deleted my post. So I made another one on the same story which simply said, "I see you deleted my dissenting post from this morning. Why?" And that was all - nothing else.
His reply was to delete me from his friend's list. When I checked my FB page just now, I noticed that all of his posts were gone from my timeline, and when I checked my friend's list his name isn't there.
So I guess his way of handling the truth is to run away from it, ignore it, and pretend it doesn't exist. The truth has a nasty habit of shattering conspiracy theories and preconceived notions, especially when held by those self-styled "patriots" who see a grand conspiracy by NObama to attack America under every rock and bush. These people are so paranoid that they'll believe anything posted by anybody as long as it supports their twisted ideals and beliefs, and they have little if any tolerance for those who don't share their warped ideas of patriotism. And, sadly in some cases, they run from the truth and sever friendships when confronted with reality.
In short, they just can't handle the truth.
And that ain't MY problem.
IHC
But time is a funny thing, and it has a funny way of changing people - and I'm no exception to that rule. One of the things I learned quite quickly about my old friend was that he absolutely despises NObama, and I mean he hates the man on a personal, individual level that makes my distaste for NObama seem like puppy love in comparison. I despise NObama as President, but as a man I don't have an opinion of him. My friend hates everything about him down to a very personal level, and this all became apparent very quickly.
It also became apparent just as quickly that my friend was a supporter of the "militia" crowd and their way of thinking, which means that he now sees a grand conspiracy by NObama to ruin America under every rock and bush. What's more, he is prone to posting the "news" items he finds on such credible sources as a personal blog by some bigoted idiot in North Carolina (whose blog I will not name because I won't give him the free publicity) and things like that.
Now, don't get me wrong, I fully believe and support the notion that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and they absolutely have the right to voice their opinion in any form they want as long as it's legal. But I also believe, as my sister said to me once, that if you choose to voice your opinion in a public forum then you have to be prepared for the dissenting opinion that may be posted by others who read what you wrote. And you have to realize that they have the same right to their opinion and the voicing of it that you do.
So when my friend posted a few "news" items from various "reliable sources" over the past few days, I voiced my opinion on them in which I challenged the reliability and authenticity of these "news" items. One of the stories cited came from that bigoted idiot in North Carolina who claims that the NObama administration is planning a "manufactured insurgency" against America. He is also claiming that the administration is "using untracked campaign funds" to pay people to infiltrate various movements to cause physical destruction of property and disrupt commerce. Lastly, and most unbelievably, his "source" - who he identifies only as "my source" - claims that Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, is on the CIA payroll and is tasked with coordinating the blacks and Muslims to prepare them for riots this summer, using "any means necessary." Of course, the writer gives no other type of identification or verification of the credibility of his source's information, leaving us to take his word for it that the information is good.
Right. I mean, really - the leader of the Nation of Islam on the CIA payroll? You're kidding me, right?
So when I read this "news" article I posted my dissenting opinion about the credibility of the source, and also pointed out that being on the CIA payroll and cooperating with the "infidels" flies right in the face of everything Islam teaches. I also stated that the author was asking us to take his word for the accuracy of the story, and that I hoped he - my friend - wasn't really taking all of this seriously.
That was this morning. When I went home for lunch and checked my FB page I noticed that my friend had deleted my post. So I made another one on the same story which simply said, "I see you deleted my dissenting post from this morning. Why?" And that was all - nothing else.
His reply was to delete me from his friend's list. When I checked my FB page just now, I noticed that all of his posts were gone from my timeline, and when I checked my friend's list his name isn't there.
So I guess his way of handling the truth is to run away from it, ignore it, and pretend it doesn't exist. The truth has a nasty habit of shattering conspiracy theories and preconceived notions, especially when held by those self-styled "patriots" who see a grand conspiracy by NObama to attack America under every rock and bush. These people are so paranoid that they'll believe anything posted by anybody as long as it supports their twisted ideals and beliefs, and they have little if any tolerance for those who don't share their warped ideas of patriotism. And, sadly in some cases, they run from the truth and sever friendships when confronted with reality.
In short, they just can't handle the truth.
And that ain't MY problem.
IHC
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