Michael Moore

I sure did miss a lot while I was gone. Originally I was going to try to catch up my blog on what I missed, but I think it would be easier to just begin in the present. One thing I do want to do is give a commentary on the Michael Moore situation. After all, what kind of Michigan Republican would I be if I didn't? I am working on a post about Mikey "no-Moore" and Mike Huckabee's reaction to "Sicko", the movie not Michael Moore.

Tomorrow I am planning on renting the "Roger and Me" movies to give a commentary on that, Flint, Detroit, General Motors and UAW. I will have my movie snacks of beer and Jiffy-Pop. But one problem, I think I will need to buy some Pepto-Bismol in order to watch Michael Moore on film. I can't risk buying the cheapo Family Dollar stuff. If anyone has any other ideas how to help with nausea, please let me know.

Talk about product placement .

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

I'm Baaack!

Hello, dear readers. I am back to the UP. I missed alot during my hiatus. I hope y'all kept up with Mike Huckabee news. I will try to update this blog this weekend or early next week. I want to thank my readers who sent kind comments.

I got a new toy! My great aunt who gave me my computer also gave me a digital camera. Not only does it take pics, it takes vids! I will post an "I like Mike" video and send it to the campaign. I will let you know as soon as it gets posted on Mike Huckabee's website and also post it here.
I tried to take a vid of Flint while traveling on the bus. Unfortunately, the bus traveled on the e-way instead of going through town. Gee, I wonder why. I will talk about that later, since it is relevant to local government and economy. I will post what I took from the e-way, except ya can't see how dilapidated the town has gotten in the past 20 years, thank you UAW AND General Motors.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

I Will be Away from my Blog for a While

My grandparents on their wedding day in Germany in 1948

I just talked to my dad a little while ago. My grandma passed away yesterday. I need some time to mourn. I will be going to Flint, MI next week to see family and attend the funeral. I will be reading Mike Huckabee news, I don't think I will be able to blog for a while. So wait about a week and I will be back.

I want to take time to talk to y'all for a little while about family and other issues. When there is something you want to do don't say "someday" say "today" and keep up with it. There are a few things I have said that about, and I didn't get them done, or even started.

I started getting into genealogy. I started with my maternal side, using Ancestry.com, following the female line until I got to my great-great-great grandmother from Bohemia, now known as Czech Republic. When I hit a brick wall there I started working on my maternal grandmother's father's side. My mom has been working on her father's side. When I hit brick walls on my grandma's father's side I started working on my dad's side. His father is the one from Arkansas. His mother was born in Germany.

I tried searching on her family. I even found a possible cousin in Germany. They wrote me an e-mail, in German. I started learning Czech last year, didn't keep up with that. Must get back to that. But knowing Czech ain't gonna help me with German emails. On a Czech message board I asked some of them Czech members to help me write an email in German to contact this person. I got help on that, but I haven't written them yet. I wished I hadn't procrastinated on that. I would loved to have gotten a response before my grandma passed, so I could have told her about the info the person gave me. I am still going to contact this person.

About Stella, my six-string, my grandfather gave that to me many years ago. I still haven't been able to stick to my lessons, payed for and self teaching. I can play, but not very good. Now my grandfather has Alzheimer's. Even if I could I don't know if he would be able to pick up on what I was doing and/or remember that he gave it to me.

Please, I urge all you out there to take time to talk the older generation in your family. Learn your family history. They may have more interesting stories to tell than you may think. If you are fortunate enough to receive an instrument from an elder, do all you can to focus on learning how to play it. They would love to hear you play it, even if you aren't that good. Just do these things before it is too late.

I just wish I had gone to Flint last Christmas. If you live far from family try to get to see them as much as possible. Don't let weather be a deterrent. Even if you have a crummy car, take a bus.

Thank you so much to any one who took the time to read this. I will be listening to my Elvis Gospel CD, Amazing Grace, and reading my Bible, and not much else for right now. I have picked up Stella, just to strum chords, no songs. I have to clean house, for my family. I know my dad and brother will be coming up to go fishing, my step mom will probably be coming too. I don't know if I will have any other family who will be up here or not. Thank you for your understanding.

************************************************"Stella", a vintage Kay brand guitar

Gov. Huckabee Calling for Faith-based Action

In this article in the San Angelo Times Mike Huckabee talks about how his faith moved him to action during the aftermath of the Katrina.

• Like any other Bible Belt state, Arkansas contains more than its share of church camps.
  Gov. Mike Huckabee thought about that after Hurricane Katrina. The ordained Southern Baptist minister also knew the summer camping season was over and thousands of people fleeing New Orleans had to go somewhere.
  “I saw on TV people on the bridges of Interstate 10 stranded for days without water, and I thought, this isn’t Rwanda. This isn’t Indonesia.
  “This was the United States of America,” said the former governor, who is part of the throng of Republican presidential candidates. “These were the neighbors just to the south of us in Louisiana. It was beyond my comprehension that we could get TV cameras to those people but we couldn’t get a boat or a bottle of water to them.”
  Thus, he asked religious leaders to open camps all over Arkansas to the evacuees, while urging the public to rally around this blunt public policy: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
  This was one case in which critics didn’t challenge his link between private faith and public action, said Huckabee, meeting with journalists at a recent talk-back session at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

What doe he say in regards to other candidates who avoid talking about faith when asked?

• “I sometimes marvel when people running for office are asked about faith and their answer is, ‘Oh, I don’t get into that. I keep that completely separate. My faith is completely immaterial to how I think and how I govern,’ “ he said.
  “To me, that is really tantamount to saying that one’s faith is so marginal, so insignificant and so inconsequential that it really doesn’t impact the way one lives. I would consider it an extraordinarily shallow faith that does not really impact the way we think about other human beings and the way we respond to them.”
  No one debated that concept after Katrina. Huckabee listed several other unifying moral issues he thinks deserve attention on the political right. Read more about what he has to say on the issues of environmental stewardship, energy and business corruption.

This article is another example of him walking the talk.

Putting my Money Where my Mouth is/American Accumulation

As many of my readers know, I am passionate about how to help poor people save money and fix nutritious meals. Well, I decided to get in and help. I will be volunteering at the local thrift shop/food bank. It is within walking distance, so I can get exercise when going up there.

I go up there to shop once in a while and they are always getting new items donated. I can't believe how much stuff gets donated. It is amazing to see how much stuff people collect. Americans are probably the most accumulative people in society. It makes one stop and think...

I am poor, but there are many more people who are much poorer than me. Some of this stuff that some people think is junk, may be great treasures to others, just because they can not afford them when they are new. Sometimes I gotta realize that the only thing I need are Jesus, family, friends, food and shelter.

The best thing about this organization is that it is a co-op between all the local churches. I think it is great that the Methodists, Catholics, Baptists and everyone else can come together for a great purpose. As long as we all believe in Jesus' teachings we should all be able to come together for a common goal. Helping the hungry and poor are more important than church rules.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Why I am Proud to be a Republican from Michigan

Today on July 6, 1854, the first State Republican Party was held in Jackson, Michigan.

From Grand Old Partisan.
celebrating the Republican Party's first state convention / Jackson, Michigan

• In 1854, the Democrats in control of Congress were moving toward passage of their Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowing slavery to expand into the western territories. The Democratic President at the time, Franklin Pierce, said he would sign the bill into law. The Democratic Party had chosen to promote slavery.
  Amid the intense reaction, a grassroots movement sprang up to oppose the extension of slavery. These town meetings and demonstrations coalesced into the Republican Party.
  On July 6, 1854, the Republican Party held its first state convention. It took place in Jackson, Michigan. So many people attended – over 10,000 – that the meeting had to be held outdoors, Under the Oaks. Read more.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Mike Huckabee Spoke to the NEA Today

Mike Huckabee was the only Republican to speak at the NEA National Meeting today. He was surprised that he was the Republican to speak. He told the audience that he was the first male in his family to graduate high school and also the first Arkansas governor in 50 years to send his kids to public schools. He talked about the importance of Arts and Music Education. About the guitar his parents bought him, “but I would never have made it to be governor had it not been for the skills that I learned from music.”

Read the full article.

There is also a video you can click on from the article. I don't have sound on my computer, but if it's a video of Mike Huckabee it's gotta be good.

UPDATE: I was able to listen to the video. I was right, as always, Mike Huckabee did a terrific job speaking at the NEA. Here's the video:

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!

Mike Huckabee finished Three Mile Race in 27 minutes and 36 Seconds

Mike Huckabee walks, ahem runs, the talk. Mike Huckabee is a strong supporter of healthy lifestyles. Not only does he talk about it, he participates in a healthy lifestyle. Just yesterday in Little Rock, Ark. he ran the Firecracker 5K Race. I have to give him much praise for being so physically disciplined. I am willing to eat healthy, but it takes way more discipline to run and exercise.

Here is some of the article from TodaysTHV.com

• Huckabee Home To Race In 5K
  
  He doesn't make it home very often now that he's running for President of the United States---but Mike Huckabee was in town on the 4Th of July. He was back to run the Firecracker 5k race---the race that three years ago was his first after losing more than 100 pounds.
• Running for President is no easy feat---but running a 5k at times, can be even tougher.
• Huckabee says, "As crazy as it sounds I’d rather do a distance running than short runs like a5K."
• You wouldn't think for someone that has mastered a handful of marathons---a little 3-mile run would be a challenge, but just for good measure he wore the number 8 as his race number---for ‘2008’.Read more

Mike Huckabee is not only a political and American Dream inspiration for me, he is also an exercise inspiration for me. A few years ago I picked up a free ski style exercise machine. It is sitting in my bedroom collecting dust. I am truly inspired to dust it off and use it, thanks to Mike Huckabee. Does dusting count as exercise?

On This Day in 1954

Today in 1954 Elvis Aron Presley recorded "That's Alright Momma", his first commercial recording. He recorded this song and many of his earlier songs at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

Photos on Flickr

View photos of Mike Huckabee at the Firecracker 5K yesterday, here.