panem et circenses

A half a world away, thousands of individuals are waking up from a 30-year slumber. They are starting to realize their government is lying to them, and that they will do anything to keep in power, including killing its citizens who protest.

A half a world away, a tyrannical dictator is waving his saber armed with a nuclear tip at us, threatening to blow up the world in order to assuage his feelings of inadequacy.

A half a world away, soldiers are sacrificing their limbs and lives so that we can live in freedom, and free from fear of the evil bastards that would do us harm.

Yet here, what do most people want to talk about?

*A pair of spoiled brats who get married and can't seem to decide whether or not to stay on a reality show.

*A couple who sold out themselves and their kids to be viewed by the public, at the cost of their own marriage.

*Who wins a singing or dancing show.

These things take up our mindset, constantly.

The Roman poet Juvenal wrote a phrase 200 years ago that accurately describes what we are experiencing... panem et circenses.

"Bread and Circuses"

At the risk of..

At the risk of offending some radical feminists, or sounding phallo-centric, I just wanted to pass along the following sentiment:

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

With love, your son.

Iran... Iran so far away...

Unless you're one of those rubes who like to follow the clusterf*#k that is the "Jon and Kate Plus 8" saga, you've probably been paying attention to the debacle over in Iran.

Basically, Iran's presidential election, featuring two hard-liners who'd both like to see Israel wiped off the map and to finish Hitler's "final solution" has been marred by massive voting irregularities, not to mention fraud. The religious folks, who are the ones who wear the "daddy pants" in Iran basically declared the incumbent as the winner despite it taking about three days to count the ballots (apparently they never heard of "hanging chads").

Needless to say, the public is a mite torqued off. So much so that they have decided to take to the streets and let the clerics know just how they're feeling. And based on some reports, around 100 or so folks have died. To make matters even more fun, the religious authority has said if the protests don't stop, they're bascially going to be busting heads, literally.

Kinda takes the phrase "The beatings will continue until morale improves" to a scary real level.

Here in the good ol' "Birthplace of Modern Democracy", the debate has been what to do or say about this whole situation. President Obama has denounced the way that the protesters are being handled. But should we say more?

In a word, no.

Why not? Two reasons. First of all, we're not looked upon with a whole lot of favor over in the Middle East right now... especially in the country formerly known as Persia. Still a lot of bad feelings from 1979, you know (they tend to know how to hold a grudge in that part of the world). So anything we say or do is going to be ignored at best, reviled at worst.

Secondly, it seems the regime over in Iran is doing a pretty good job of slitting its throat on its own. Fareed Zakaria of CNN says that even if the ruling religious leaders manage to stifle the protests, enough information and images of what's been going on has been leaked via Twitter and Facebook that they've pretty much abandoned the ideals that brought them into power thirty years ago.

So to summarize... this is a case where the less we do, the better off things will be... at least in our public image.

My "WTF" moment of the day....

And if you don't know what "WTF" means... then what the hell are you doing on a computer?

I follow Bob Barr, the 2008 Libertarian Party Candidate for President, on Facebook... he posted this a couple of days ago that's a real head-scratcher

In a little noted proposed regulatory decision issued in May by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (”CPB”), the administration is seeking to ban the import of any pocket knife that partially opens with a flick of the wrist.

The government is able to reach into the pockets of America’s millions of pocket knife users to limit the type of knife they can own, thanks to a novel and expansive interpretation of the 1958 “Switchblade Knife Act.” This half-century old law prohibited the importation into the U.S.of, or the interstate commerce in, automatic switchblade and stiletto knives.

Forget bin Laden, and screw Kim Jong Il... lets go after pocketknives!

Is it just me, or do you think there are some politicians in D.C. that really need to get lives?

Semantics Suck!

For the love of all that is holy and sacred... how many times do I have to tell you yahoos...

It's IH-talian... not EYE-talian!

The good people from the country shaped like a boot are not, repeat NOT, from EYE-taly!

SHEESH!

An open letter to Kim-Jong Il

Dear "honorable leader" of North Korea.

Sixty-four years ago, in the smal town of Alamogordo, New Mexico, scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer uttered these words after a successful experiment:

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."

Less than a month later, the United States Army Air Force brought Dr. Oppenheimer's words to fruition on two Japanese cities... Hiroshima and Nagasaki.



With this in mind, and all the saber-rattling you've been doing, do you really think it's in your and your country's interest to be torquing-off a country that has nuclear weapons and HAS used them in an actual war?

I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Think about it.

Tech... No Logic

Guess what? I'm taking a break today from railing against the gang teaming up on my Harrisburg Basketball co-announcer. And I promse not to use FCC-unfriendly language today, too!

For as much railing as I did aginst Twitter, I now twitter... I'm such a sell-out! By the way, here's the shameless plug... http://www.twitter.com/jackrabit1

So with this neat little thing, I've decided that I'll keep the personal stuff on there and keep this more that are on a larger scale... especially things that pi- I mean torque me off (WHEW!)

I've also done some housecleaning. A few weeks ago, I got rid of my MySpace page. Frankly, I never go there anymore... there's too many bad memories, and I like Facebook a heck of a lot better. And frankly, MySpace has become too much of a "little kids" shill site. Sorry.... never was a fan of the Jonas Brothers and I never will be. Though if they do a set with Bruce Springsteen, I might develop a little respect for them.

So here's another shameless plug... http://www.facebook.com/jackrabit1. Boy*, it's a good thing I own this little piece of cyberspace... with all the shameless plugs, I'd have to charge myself advertising!

So there's the post, and no swearing either. Heidelberger would be so proud! :P

*I used the word "boy" as common means of expression or emphasis... nothing ethno- or peno-centric about it!

Don't be a dumb-ass

1)Don't be a dumb-ass.

2)If you want something done, do it yourself. Don't rely on the government to do it for you. They'll eventually screw it up and tax you for it. If you believe that government is the answer to everything wrong in the world, you're a dumb-ass. Roll up your sleeves and take care of your own damn problems.

3)Never underestimate the stupidity of dumb-asses in large groups... all you need to do is look at the Republican and Democratic Parties.

4)60% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Usually by dumb-asses

5)Most atheists are either a) rebelling against religion because they don't like being told there are such things as absolutes like Right and Wrong... or b) they are arrogant enough to believe that there is no greater being than themselves. They are dumb-asses.

6)Human beings are primal creatures. We claim to be “enlightened” and above pettiness, but when our values or thoughts are challenged enough, we end up reverting to those base emotions of jealousy and pettiness and self-loathing. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a dumb-ass.

7)I don't need scientific proof to justify my belief in a supreme being... it's called FAITH... get it? If you can't understand that and continue to mock my faith... you're a dumb-ass.

8)Other “Christians” who say the Catholic Church is “evil” and “wrong” are morons. Has it ever occurred to you where your particular Christan doctrine stemmed from? There's a reason it's called the “Catholic” church... it's derived from the Greek word katholikos, which means “universal”. So all you self-righteous Bob Jones-wannabes think on that and try not to get any nightmares tonight! Dumb-asses.

9)People who are narrow-minded ideologues (right-wing AND left-wing) tend to suffer from tunnel-vision and can't see the big picture and only pick and choose what to read and make their opinions off that (i.e. The criticism by the Left Wing blogosphere as of lately). Those who are too open-minded usually end up with their brains (or common sense) leaking out. Both are dumb-asses

10)I'm an independent Libertarian... NO ONE tells me how to think. And if you think you can tell me how to think, then you're a dumb-ass. Oh, and if you think you can change my way of thinking by calling me a dumb-ass, misogynist, racist, or an asshole, then you the world's biggest dumb-ass!

On the beating of a dead horse...

Boy, just when you think this whole STUPID blog war is over with between my Harrisburg basketball co-announcer and the rest of the left-wing blogosphere, the shit hits the fan again..

Todd, having calmed down, explained his rationale behind posting his pictures of beautiful women (by the way, love the Juliana Hatfield pic, she rocked the Lemonheads!). But most importantly, I liked what he posted...

I hope you read this blog. But if it makes you go crazy or pisses you off, then don't read it. I don't hang out with people I don't like, go to places I don't like, read things I don't like, watch TV shows I don't like, read blogs I don't like, or otherwise torture myself with things I don't like unless I'm getting paid to do so. Life is too short to be that miserable by your own hands.

So, read on if you like the MBS, stop now if you don't. And expect that when you stop here, you'll sometimes be pleased and sometimes confounded. Sort of like life.

However, some on the left can't seem to accept this and continue to blast Todd and his ideas, or at the very least, the sincerity of them... apparently he's now some great "traitor" to their cause.

What a bunch of bullshit.

One of the supposed mantras of Liberalism is "Diversity". We gotta have diversity. Diversity in the schools, diversity in the workplace, diversity uber alles! Apparently that idea of "diversity" ends in diversity of thought and opinion. And THEY call the right-wing "Nazis"?!?

But what bothers the hell out of me is their apparent hypocrisy. Case in point, the whole David Letterman-Sarah Pailin controversy. Where was the Madville Times, Dakota Women, and all the other left-wing blogs to rip Letterman a new asshole? To me, joking about someone knocking up someone's daughter, political figure or not reeks of poor taste and is a HELL of a lot more offensive than posting some pictures of beautiful women and calling them "babe". But maybe the fact that Palin is a Republican means they think that ripping on her family is okay.

If this makes me an asshole in their eyes, I really don't care. They're practicing a double-standard and their lack of response over the Letterman situation reeks of it.

Sacrifcing honest debate at the altar of Political Correctness

My Lake Herman friend put up an interesting post on his blog. It talks about how the publisher of the Madison Daily Leader was critical of an airport project on one of the Indian reservations in South Dakota, where there were far more pressing problems.

A pair of writers responded to Jon's editorial, basically accusing him of being racist. About the only thing they didn't do is ask for a copy of his membership card in the KKK.

Here was my response, in its entirety.

These two writers are basically taking issue with Jon's opinion, which is fine. I can see where airport improvements could be vital, especially for health care.

What I take issue with is the way they sling around the term "Racism". What? Because he points out some strong issues that are still on the reservations? Because they have nothing better to criticize him with, so they hang the "Racist" pejorative on him?

"Racism" or calling someone "Racist" with no good evidence to support it is cheap criticism. It's the label for people who feel they can't win an argument any other way. It cheapens the term, when so much legitimate examples of racism still exist in the world... the attack in Washington D.C. this week is prime example of that.

Bringing up legitimate concerns is not racism... these writers are being intellectually lazy at best... knee-jerk reactionaries at worst.

So in other words... bring up your concerns about racially sensitive issues, get ready to be called a racist. All part of sacrificing honest, intellectual debate at the altar of political correctness.

Asshole of the Day

Today's Asshole of the Day must have a case of foot-in-mouth disease. But that should be nothing new coming from David Letterman.

In case you've been incommunicado, here's what happened. A few nights ago, ol' Dave was poking fun at one of his favorite political punching bags, Sarah Palin. Nothing new there. Palin was in New York City and took one of her daughters to a Yankees game. Where, according to our pal Dave, Alex Rodriguez had sex with the daugther.

One little problem... instead of Pailin's 18-year old daughter, Bristol, at the game, it was Governor Palin's 14-year old daughther, Willow. Oops.

And to make matters worse, Letterman decides to give an "apology" that doesn't even include the phrase "I'm Sorry" anywhere in it. Just "It was not my intent." What arrogance.

Asshole.

Amazing... one of my friends gets ripped on for putting pictures of pretty women on-line and these "enlightened" folks don't say shit about this... which is a hell of a lot more offensive and disgusting than some pictures of "babes". Why is this? Is it because Palin is a politician? A Republican and the so-called "enemy?"

Whatever happened to leaving a politician's family alone? Hell, even Rush Limbaugh ripped on people that were throwing pot-shots on then-First Daugther Chelsea Clinton's appearance. Or does that not count towards those on the political end of the spectrum Perhaps it's the liberals getting in their pot-shots at the Republicans... ya know, there is such a thing as being a "poor winner".

If you want to throw pot-shots at Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, the GOP, the Democrats, fine. Go right ahead. But to attack and use those smarmy remarks towards members of their families... who are still private citizens and are entitled to some privace... is disgusting and makes the people who do it real assholes.

Letterman is a poor winner. He has shown poor taste and he is not contrite in the least for needlessly dragging this family's name trough the mud. Thus, he's the Jackrabbit Den's "Asshole of the Day".

From now on, I'm watching Jimmy Kimmel.

Quote of the day.

From David Evjen's "Bitman" radio prep service...

"On this date in 1972 the movie Deep Throat opened in New York City. Critics said the plot was good, but the acting sucked."

The switch is on.

It's official... as of 11 PM tonight, the digital TV transition is going to take effect. For good. Permanently.

For those of you who don't have cable and dickered around on getting a converter box coupon, you're shit out of luck. You had five years, plus an extra four months to get ready.

Unless you've been in a cave or have been a complete moron, you've seen the news reports on TV. Read the stories in the newspaper and heard the announcements on radio explaining the change. And still you blew it off.

Don't expect President Obama to come to your aid with another stimulus package to help you out. He's putting his foot down on this too.

So I'll leave you with one parting word on this subject... quityerbitchin.

Asshole of the Day

Take a good look at this guy.

His name is James von Brunn... a real piece of work.

He is a racist, bigoted asshole who has a hard-on for Hitler.

Did I forget to mention he shot up the Holocaust Museum yesterday and killed a security guard... a "gentle giant" of a man who had a son?

Fortunately someone had the good sense to shoot this waste of egg and sperm in the head. Let's hope he dies and saves us taxpayers the cost of incarcerating and defending his worthless ass.

Where the Hell did I go?

So it's been a while since I've posted on this blog. And I took more than my fair share of ribbing for it... Where'd you go? Why aren't you keeping up with the blogging?

My explanation... I got burned out.

To be honest, I just didn't feel like posting. I was exhausted from the basketball season and I needed a break. Plus, I was spending quite a bit of time on Facebook-or as I call it, the "Crack Cocaine" of the Internet!

And there was a lot of stuff I could have written about... the bailouts, the shutting down of KAUR next month, the Swee' Pea. But I chose to take it easy and stop to smell the flowers.

Until someone (or some people) took a turd in the flower bed.

So I'm back. For how long, I don't know. But I'm going to use this thing to smack some sense into people that are acting like the proverbial chickens with their heads cut off... whether they like it or not.

Because I'm sick of the bullshit drama. If I want drama, I'll watch Netflix.

Moderating comments

So after a bit, I've decided to do away with the comment moderation bit... since the character assassins are too chickenshit and slinked away. So comment away... just mind your tongue, lest I wash it out with soap.

Oh, and to take a page from my friend from Lake Herman, use your name. You want to be "cute", have the cajones to put your name behind it. If you don't, you'll get deleted. This isn't a democracy... this is my blog... I am el Jefe, comprende?

I'm being harsh? Tough... I was enjoying my sabbatical before some folks had to get into a pissing match. You woke this bear up and he's grumpy.

Has everyone gone mental??

I swear, it must be the weather...

My friends, A* and E* are pissed off at each other... My Harrisburg Basketball Cohort and his compadres are at each other's (figurative) throats over some silly issue of posting pictures of women on the aforementioned's blog... an argument that Camille Paglia would laugh her ass off at.

Why the hell is everyone so pissy all of a sudden? Is it the weather? Frustration with the economy? The alignment of Saturn and Jupiter? My choice of deodorant?

I think we all need to blow off some steam in a grand, ridiculous and completely childish fashion.


I'm thinking Toga Party...



...Who's with me!!!

I'm Back, Baby!

Boy, you take a little sabbatical and the whole farkin' blogosphere is going to pot!

By this, I'm talking about the "blog war" between my Harrisburg basketball cohort and several other bloggers, including my friend on Lake Herman.

The issue at hand is the posting of several photogs of fairly attractive women on my Harrisburg basketball cohort's website. An homage, if you will, to Esquire, which I think is twice as classy as Playboy and a hundred times moreso than FHM or Stuff. Nothing wrong with posting pictures of beautiful women... after all if you take away all images of beautiful women, you lose about half of the world's artistic masterpieces.

But what has surprised me is the outrage that some of the "fellow traveler" blogs have heaped upon this guy because he posted some pics.... of beautiful women... fully clothed or at least not in an indecent posture. Basically, this guy has become the human punching bag of the South Dakota Blogosphere.

And frankly, I don't like it.

Now I like to think I get along with everyone... with the exception of a few ex-girlfriends! So when I say this, I say this with all due love and respect...

TAKE A CHILL PILL!

When I first heard of this little "Blog War", I thought it was just a bunch of play-acting and that people were just blowing off steam. But this is getting a bit vicious. You have several folks accusing one guy of basically being worse than Hitler, or at the very least, Joey Buttafucco.

Frankly, I think everyone is getting just a bit too worked up about this. Honestly, you're going to rake this guy over the coals over a few pictures? I can understand if you disagree with them, that's fine. Don't pay attention to them...

Friendly disagreement I can handle... Ganging up on someone for no good reason and I get my Irish up... even if I don't agree with everything he or she believes in.

When I was a teacher, a piece of advice that I learned too late was "You have to learn to pick your battles." Before everyone involved gets to saying things that can't be taken back, let me ask you these things...

1) Is it worth it?

2) Aren't there worse things in the world to get worked up about?

and finally...

3) IS... IT... REALLY... WORTH... IT???

So now, I'm probably a pig. And if I have to earn someone's scorn because I'm standing up for someone getting picked on, so be it. I stopped giving a shit what others think of me when I turned 30... Get off your crucifixes.

Good Night... and Good Bye.

Paul Harvey died this weekend.

Some of you may be wondering "Who the hell is Paul Harvey, and why should I care?" If that's the case, I feel bad for you because you missed out on a true legend of broadcasting.

If you're any kind of student of broadcasting, you would know that in the world of radio commentary, Paul Harvey was "The Man". His "News and Comments" and "The Rest of the Story" programs aired daily across the U.S., at one time on over 1200 radio stations. He won just about every major broadcasting award imaginable, including FOUR Marconi awards. If you're wondering what a Marconi Award is, consider it the "Oscar" for radio broadcasting.

But it wasn't the awards that made him so special. It was how he distinguished himself. He wasn't afraid to express his opinions (he was conservative) and he took positions that some people would object to. But he never showed rancor or contempt for the other side. He never displayed any self-serving snarkiness, or even raised his voice. Can such "professionals" as Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Schultz, and Franken claim to do the same?

The man was a professional. He didn't entertain by lowering himself to toilet humor or self-depreciating comments on the size of his anatomy. He didn't get cheap laughs by having listenters hold their "Wee for a Wii". He entertained by being honest... by making people think, laugh, cry, and even sometimes get mad.

He was a professional... in other words, a dinosaur. With the exception of Charles Osgood... there really aren't any commentators that are along the lines of Paul Harvey, at least none that are self-serving pompous windbags.

I'd like to teach a radio course, and do nothing but play "News and Comments" and "The Rest of the Story." Then I'd say... "This is what a professional sounds like. You have your work cut out for you."

Paul Harvey... Good Night... and Good Bye.

Time

Time is wasted, walking
You ain't no friend of mine
I don't know where I'm going
I think I'm out of my mind
Thinking about time
-Hootie and the Blowfish "Time"

It doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

As you may have heard through the gossip lines, a young man in Dell Rapids died over the weekend. What happened and how he died is inconsequential right now, but it has left a lot of folks in shock and in a lot of pain.

I never had the opportunity to talk to the young man. But as a radio announcer, I had the chance to call his name several times in area and Madison High School football games. Our connection was my mentioning him during the game broadcasts, but I am feeling a sense of loss.

I could not even begin to imagine what his family and friends are going through.

Time... it's funny... you think you have an infinite amount and then all of a sudden it's gone without warning. And unlike a video game, you can't hit the reset button, punch in a secret code, or put more coins in the machine. Once this game's over, it's over.

I wish I could wax poetic and say something profound and meaningful. But it would just be empty words. One of the young man's friends puts it more eloquently than I ever could.

Casey, if you're reading this... I hope you don't mind me posting this.

The Gift of Time

Written By: Casey Michel

Some people like to talk about the “best gift they’ve ever been given.” People talk about something like a car or jewelry, and they usually cover everything in between. However, the best gift ever given to mankind is not given to us on this earth. When God creates a human He gives them the best gift anyone could ask for: the gift of time. Along with the gift of time, God gives us a side gift: the gift of free will – the ability to decide what we wish to do with our time, either good or bad. It took me nearly 20 years and one tragic event to realize what a precious gift the gift of time really is.

You see, I always used to be like everybody in this world; I would always wonder how I was going to get everything done that needed to be done, wondering why there were never enough hours in the day. You look around and see the world moving at such a fast pace that you wonder how anybody could get by, and I felt like I was in the same boat with everyone else.

“Hey Casey, can you help me with my math homework?”

--- “Sorry, not right now man, I’m busy.”

“Hey Casey, got a minute to talk?”

--- “Hey I’d love to, but I gotta get somewhere quick.”

I didn’t always have enough time to help out a friend. After all I had my own stuff to take care of, just like everyone else. And if I couldn’t make time for a friend or a loved one, how could I make time for anybody else? When I saw a stranger on crutches struggling with their books, I just kept walking. I couldn’t help them; I was in too big of a rush. A rush to where? I don’t know, but I had places to be and things to do, and I didn’t have nearly enough hours in the day to do it.

And so I went about my life day by day by day. I was always in a hurry, always in a rush; I didn’t have time to do anything.

That was up until that February Sunday changed everything.

Suddenly, I wasn’t in such a rush; suddenly, I had time. I had time to help a friend with homework, or to talk to them about something. I had time to help carry books for the stranger on crutches. Not only did I now have time, but I somehow made time, too. I made time to ask a friend “Hey, how you holding up?” “Hey, how’s everything going for you?” I made time to tell my family and friends that I love them. I made time to let everyone know that I’m here for them whenever they need me; that I will always answer if they call. And I know I would answer if they called. You can bet on it. After all – now I had the time to.

It’s almost as if God granted me more hours in the day. It’s almost as if He not only gave me more time to do what had to get done, but also more time to do what needed to be done. But this isn’t at all the case. The amount of time God gave me on this earth did not change one second from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. I will not live one second longer or shorter because of what happened on a football field in Dell Rapids in the morning hours of February 22, 2009. Neither will anybody who reads this or who was affected by that tragic event. No, rather, God granted me the ability to realize what a precious gift time really is; and to use that time to seize every second, every moment that I am on this earth.

It was through this tragic event that I learned probably the most important lesson of my life:

You don’t realize how much time you have, until you realize that time is all you’ve got

I mean think about it: what do we have in life besides time? If a fire burns down our house, we will still have time. If a loved one passes away, we still have time. Things happen on a personal level: cars break down, jewelry loses its shine, we grow out of clothes, relationships break up…. Things happen on a wide-scale level, too: wars are being fought, poverty strikes nations, natural disasters devastate areas…. Yet through it all what we still have is the gift of time.

There’s also the other side of the coin that we must see. While I now realize how much time I have during the day, I have no way of knowing how much time I have left on this earth. I could live to be 100, or I could die tomorrow. And once my time is up, I am completely out of it. I only get one chance to use this gift that God has given me.

And that’s the key to it all; the use of the gift. God did not give us the gift of time so that everyone could follow the same path – the easy path, the straight and narrow one – to arrive safely at death. No, He gave it to us so that we could use it as we choose; that free will aspect. While we can never know how much time God has given us on this earth, we will always have the ability to do with it as we please.

In the end, that’s how we will be judged. When we get to the Gates of Heaven, there will be God waiting to punch our time card that He gave us when he created us. And then God will look at us and judge us. The thing is, He won’t judge us on the number of hours we put in. He won’t look and say “You lived to be 100, come on in” or “You only lived to be 22? Sorry, you didn’t put in enough time….” No, God won’t do that because the number of hours we put in are not up to us, but to Him. Rather, God will look at what we did while on earth. He will judge us by the way we used the gift; He will judge us by what we did with the time He allotted us.

That is why I am writing this. It is my way of using the time that has been given to me. I am not writing this to try to tug on people’s emotions, or to make people regret anything that has happened in their past. I am writing this to make a difference; to change the way people view those hours of the day from here out. I used to sit around and watch the seconds of my life tick away, but not anymore. Now those seconds don’t drag on or fly by like they used to. Now those seconds don’t seem so insignificant.

You see, this is the way I am choosing to use my gift of time. I have 3 goals in life, and I know that if I can fulfill them, I will have successfully used the time given to me on earth. These are 3 goals that I think everyone in the world could live by. They are 3 goals that everyone could strive to achieve with their gift of time.

1. Make a difference in the lives of others. Whether I make a difference in the lives of just my family, or just my friends; whether I make a difference in the life of one, or the lives of 10,000 people – I want to make a difference for the better.

2. Be the change you wish to see in the world. I see and hear so many people these days wishing for things to be better, but yet doing nothing to make them better. I want the world to be a better place, and I want the world to change – and I will do everything I can while on this earth to be that change I wish to see in the world.

3. Leave the world a better place than you found it. This is the tie in to everything. This is the way to bring it all together. No matter how much time I have on this earth, I can always make a difference. One way or another, I can leave this place a little better than when I found it. And really – that’s all that can be asked of anyone.

So here we are today, slowly coming around to coping with a tragedy that shook a town and a community to its very core. We wish we could go back in time and change something to make it different. We wish time would just stand still until we are able to deal with this and move on. But the fact of the matter is that time goes on. Our time on this earth is still ticking.

Nothing we do can change the past, but everything we do can change the future

We can’t change what happened on that Sunday morning. But we can change what might happen this Sunday morning, or next Sunday morning, or the Sunday after that. We can do this by using the gift of time that God has given us, and using it to the fullest. I encourage everyone to realize what a precious gift time really is, and I encourage everyone to use their gift to the fullest. Reach out to loved ones and strangers alike. Let people know that you’re always there for them. Do everything you can to make a difference in this world. But above all and most importantly: PRAY. Pray that God bless everyone you love and everyone in this world. Pray that God helps everyone involved through this tragic and tough time. The easiest way to make a difference in someone’s life is to send a prayer their way.

It is not going to be easy to continue on with our time. For many people this is going to be the toughest thing they ever have or ever will have had to deal with. It’s going to take an unbelievable amount of strength to press onward. That strength will not only come from ourselves, but from the people around us. Everybody is going to question if they are strong enough to get past this. But that’s the amazing thing with the way God created us: He doesn’t just put everything on the surface; He doesn’t let everyone know who they are and what gifts they have when He creates them. No, because that would be the easy path – the straight and narrow one. Instead, God makes us fight for what we truly believe in, for what we truly want. The strength that comes from within each of us won’t be evident; it won’t just be on the surface. It’s something that we have to delve deep within ourselves to find; it’s something that we have to fight for with all our hearts. After all,

You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have

Personally, I don’t want God to question me when he punches my time card at the Gates of Heaven. I don’t want there to be any doubt in his mind about whether I should come in – any doubt whether I used my gift of time the way He intended it to be used. I want to use every second I have on this earth, and I want to live every moment to the fullest.

You must dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die tomorrow; and live every moment like it’s your last

Do everything you can to use every second that God has given you on this earth.

After all, this time on earth is the only time we’ve got.

Amen, Casey.

In closing I leave you this...



Dona nobis pacem.