"Let's face it. Congress could pass a resolution expressing regret for slavery every week until the end of time, and still, the racial hucksters would not be satisfied. They have made a career out of stoking the flames of racial animosity. And by encouraging African-Americans to dwell on the wounds of the past, or maybe agitate for government payouts, they distract them from the opportunities--the wonderful opportunities of the present. And when are they going to apologize for that?"

Laura Ingraham on Bill O'Reilly June 19th

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

and of course...

the way to this ole' fat man's heart... is his tummy...haha...
so lookie what Andrew, Madison Paul and Heather got me for fathers day... wow... hog heaven I guess.
we had a nice meal Saturday night for Jakes Birthday, and a pre party for Great Grandma Moffat. and turned out to be for Fathers Day too. Tammy took some pics of kiddos playing in pool... but, the best gift you can give is the one I received... the presence of family. Thank you all very very much for taking time out of your very busy lives to share time with me and Grandma M.

isabella wanted grandpa to laugh so she

got him a card about his hair... sort of... hahahaha
thanks Isabella, Trisha and Jake.

my Fathers day gift from Austyn, Tammy

and Phillip.
now I can have dry charcoal stored outside.. Grandma will be proud. Thanks you guys for your thoughtfulness.

Father's Day in Moffat Park 2009 the pool photos by Tammy Moffat

Other Lives: HearYa Live Session

Other Lives recently recorded some great live versions of their songs for HearYa. Download, listen and watch below.

They are the second Oklahoma band to session with HearYa - Samantha Crain recorded songs there in 2008.

DOWNLOAD:
Other Lives - “AM Theme” (HearYa Live)
Other Lives – “Paper Cities” (HearYa Live)
Other Lives – “The Partisan” (HearYa Live)
Other Lives – “Precious Air” (HearYa Live)
Other Lives -”It Was The Night” (HearYa Live)

From HearYa:

I have had the privilege of seeing many phenomenal acts roll through the HearYa studio for some intimate personal concerts. I don’t think there has been a session yet that has moved me like this one, featuring Stillwater, Oklahoma band Other Lives. Their arrangements are simply amazing and they have a unique ability to sound like they’ve spent years deliberating over every note while still coming off as natural and spontaneous.

As they were getting ready to start up the Leonard Cohen cover of “The Partisan,” I asked Shirk if he thought the band would mind if I lied down in the middle of the studio while they played. Different music elicits different reactions, but with the Other Lives, I just want the music to wash over me. I am still getting goosebumps listening to this batch of songs and I’m 10 listens deep.

From a more personal standpoint, I don’t have enough good things to say about Jesse, Jenny, Colby, Jonathon and Josh. Shirk and I ended up hanging out with them after their set at Schubas to take in the Elvis Perkins in Dearland set. They were an absolute pleasure to hear in the studio and all around good people to spend time with. We wish them the best on the rest of their tour and look forward to seeing them back in Chicago at Lollapalooza.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 9:09 am and is filed under free

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In honor of my sons, and son in law... on this Fathers Day Weekend.

One of my favorite writers, Erma Bombeck, once wrote to explain how it was that fathers came to be so wisely created.

Erma said, "When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame.

And a female angel nearby said, "What kind of father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping."

And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would children have to look up to?"

And when God made a father's hands, they were large and sinewy.

And the angel shook her head sadly and said, "Do You know what You're doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats."

God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day yet small enough to cup a child's face."

Then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders.

The angel nearly had a heart attack. "Boy, this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked. "Do You realize You just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?"

God smiled and said, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "That's not fair. Do You honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" And God smiled and said, "They'll work. You'll see. They'll support a small child who wants to "ride a horse to Banbury Cross" or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill."

God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, "Now are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?"

And the angel shutteth up! Thank God for fathers of all kinds.

~~~~~~ I am very proud of my sons and son in law... they are the best "sons" and fathers one might ever ask for. They make me proud in some way almost every day. I am so richly blessed in the electronic age to be able to keep up with them and their busy lives. Sometimes, late at night, needing a cheerful thought to find the sandman... I think of them, what they have accomplished, what is to come... and how great they are as Dads!! My family, my sons as Fathers... Make me so very proud... and the sandman cometh!

To you each, Phillip, Paul, Jonathan and Jake... On this very special and precious weekend, and perhaps second only to Mother's Day, Mom and I wish you a very Happy Fathers Day, and in case I forget as we get together this weekend as one big family to honor each with their presence, I wish to tell you now... HAPPY FATHERS DAY. May God Bless and watch over you and your family - forever and a day!!

From Heather's Blog... Andrew... WAY TO GO BUDDY!!!

Andrew is currently taking the pioneers baseball camp this week and next. Today they had a competition for the most accurate throw and he threw the baseball from 2nd base into trash can at home plate, he was the only one out of the 7 year olds that hit it dead on so he won this shirt, way to go Andrew proud of u!

Isabella at daycare ~ from Trisha

Madison swimming couple nights ago

Isabella other night being a rock star

Bulldog puppys at our neighbors, the Anderson's... new born.. fat and sassy!!

Glenn Beck; the letter...

GLENN:
I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership:

the letter:
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.