Kevin McGinty, Presents: "Room 235"

Been a long time...

2012-01-11T19:01:00.001-08:00

Just stopped by to say hi and to see if I even remember how this thing works.

I got a lot of remembering to do...

Left-Wing Hatred Rears It's Ugly Head... | CJOnline.com

2011-01-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

Left-Wing Hatred Rears It's Ugly Head... | CJOnline.com

True Colors...

2010-09-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

We all know that in order to fix a problem, we must be willing to admit there is one in the first place. And America, we definitely have a problem. A big one.

On the day, Obama was sworn into office, he spoke directly to the five million Americans who didn’t vote for him and promised he’d be our president too. After hearing that statement, I remember thinking, okay, maybe things won’t be that bad after all. Maybe he wouldn’t turn out to be the radical leftist I thought he‘d be. Well, it turns out I was right and that he lied.

Tell me, was he being our president as he trotted around the globe, bowing down to foreign leaders, and bashing America on the world stage we handed him? Was he being our president as he forced Obama-Care down our throats? Was he being our president as he sided with Mexican President, Felipe Calderon as he launched his all-out, verbal assault on the citizens of Arizona during a joint session of Congress? Was he being our president when he directed his Justice Department to sue Arizona for trying to enforce the immigration laws the feds have ignored for years? I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

Anyway, with the mid-term elections only four short weeks away, and with his grip on total control slipping away, Obama has decided it is time to rally his base. He’s going to throw a little rally in Washington DC this weekend, on October, 2nd and he’s pulling out all the stops in order to get as many people involved as possible. He’s joined forces with just about every far-left, anti-American, Socialist, Marxist, and Communist organization he could dig up to spread the word.

Besides the usual left-wing organizations. You know, organizations like Planned Parenthood, AFL-CIO, The NAACP, ACLU, and The National Council of La Raza, Obama has aligned himself with others that in my opinion are a little weird for any American president to be involved with www.theblaze.com Organizations like, The Communist Party of America. Democratic Socialists of America, Detroit Socialists of America, The International Socialist Organization, and The New York City Democrat Socialists of America. Isn’t it time we stopped pretending Obama’s not at the very least, a socialist? By aligning himself with these anti-American and Communist groups, Obama has shown us once and for all his true colors. These are the people he’s chosen to stand with.

Obama’s made his choice. Now it’s our turn. We can either start paying attention to what’s going on in our country and fire his corrupt enablers in Congress on November 2nd. We can decide to embrace his ideas and accept the fact that we’re headed down his Socialist path. Or we can just sit on the couch watching American Idol and pretend everything’s okay.

I know exactly where I stand. Now it’s up to you…

Kevin McGinty

It's All About Marketing...

2010-09-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

It’s all about marketing. First off, when nothing could have been further from the truth, Obama was sold to America and the world as a new kind of leader. His handlers promised us hope and change. They said he’d be a new kind of leader. One who could rise above petty political bipartisanship that had become the norm. He was sold as a man who would change the way things were done in Washington. Yep, marketing plain and simple.

Instead of terrorism, he brought us “man-made disasters.” We went from the “war on terror” to an “overseas contingency operation.” See how that works? Pretty cool, huh?

And now because of the fact that “global-cooling” from the 60’s and 70’s didn’t get the results the eco extremists were looking for they started calling it “global-warming.” That didn’t pan out so it was changed to “climate-change” and still not enough people fell for the doom and gloom they were selling, so they’ve decided to try it one more time.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I’d like to introduce you to the latest and greatest, extremist, marketing ploy. Welcome to the world of, “Global Climate Disruption,”

Yep, Obama, you know, they guy who’s lied to us ever since he came on the scene a couple years ago wants the public to start using the term every chance we get. Evidently he believes the new term, “Global Climate Disruption” will better suit his extreme views and better his chances to pass his coveted “Cap and Tax” redistribution scheme.

Man, this hope and change marketing strategy just keeps getting better…

Kevin McGinty

Priceless...

2010-08-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know. Yesterday I promised I’d write about Sharia Law today. But really, other than fanning the flames of an already over-heated issue, what purpose would it serve? Nothing. I’ve already made my case as to why I oppose the proposed Mosque in New York and I have no intentions of backing off anything I said either.

That being said, I still live in the real world. And in the real world we all know that Muslims have the right to build their Mosque anywhere they want. That was never even in question. And since this is the real world, I know the that more than likely this Mosque will eventually be built. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. And whether you left-wing loons like it or not, I have the right to say so.

It‘s not a total loss though. Two very important things have happened since this fight erupted last weekend.

First, the left-wing lunatics in this country have apparently found God. How else can you explain why all the sudden they’re so damned passionate about the whole “Freedom of Religion” thing?

And secondly, with just seventy-some days left to go until November’s Mid-Term elections, by needlessly injecting himself into this fight, Obama has once again acted stupidly. And that my friends is, simply priceless. Predictable but priceless just the same…

Kevin McGinty

No, I won't Turn The Other Cheek. Not This Time...

2010-08-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Imam who wants to build his Mosque at the site of the worst terrorist attacks the world has ever seen says it’s to build bridges and bring people together. Well, bud, you’re not exactly getting off to a very good start, now are you?

Here’s the deal. American’s, well, most of us anyway, don’t like being pushed around. And this is just one more thing being shoved down our throats since Obama has been president, and to tell you the truth, we’re sick and tired of it.

It pains me say this, but I did agree with Obama’s first statements when he spoke about Freedom of Religion and about how because of the rights guaranteed in our Constitution, Muslims have just as much right to practice their Religion as the see fit as anybody else. I get that.

But why all the sudden interest in the Constitution? I thought for, Obama, all you democrats, progressives, liberals, and left-wing loons out there, the Constitution was just an out-dated document that has no real meaning in today‘s world. It’s funny but you guys can look at this out-dated document and tell us it means we have no right to say a prayer or recite the pledge of allegiance in our public schools anymore. You can see where it forbids any public display of The Ten Commandments. You can quickly point out where it says we’re not allowed to put up a simple Nativity Scene in a City Park. You use it to remove crosses on hilltops that have been around for fifty or sixty years, bothering no one. You demand we remove any and all crosses from the tombstones of our fallen heroes in Arlington Cemetery. And that list could go on forever and you know it. But now, all the sudden, the exact same document used to stifle any mention any mention of Christianity in public is now being used as a tool to force this Mosque upon us.

Besides, I thought you guys were passionate about the whole “Separation of Church and State” thing. If that’s the case, then why the hell is, The President of The United States even commenting on a religious issue in the first place? I don’t believe speaking on religious issues is part of his job description.

How about this. How about instead of using our Constitution and laws against us to get his way. How about the Imam realize his actions are going to cause a lot of people a lot of pain just by bringing the whole 9-11 thing up again and build his Mosque either at another time or another place? Why can’t he be the understanding and tolerant one for a change?

I promised myself I’d never forget the images I saw and the emotions I felt on the day Muslim Extremists attacked my country and killed 3,000 innocent people who had nothing to do with any of it. It‘s a promise I‘ve kept. I haven’t forgotten and I’m not ready to forgive either. If that makes me a bad person, so be it…

Kevin McGinty

Potholes and Loopholes...

2010-08-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last year the City, and all those really smart people down at the Chamber of Commerce told us that a vote in favor of the tax increase they were proposing was in fact, a vote for the future of Topeka. They told us it was the only way the city could afford to fix the streets that had been allowed to deteriorate to the point of almost no return.

No, I don’t blame those of you who bought into the whole “Save the Streets” campaign they were selling. We’d all been dodging Topeka’s now famous potholes for what seemed like forever. The stories of ruined tires, broken wheels, and visits to local alignment shops were out there everywhere. Enough of you believed in them and trusted that they’d do the right thing, so you voted the way you did. But I do have to ask one question to ask. How’s that working out for you?

Evidently, City Manager, Norton Bonaparte and Mayor, Bill Bunten have decided the promise to fix the streets wasn’t actually a promise to fill the potholes that have become an embarrassment to all of us who call Topeka home. Now they’re claiming the vote was one in favor of major infrastructure projects and was never intended to include the car swallowing potholes that cover almost every major street in this city. Whatever.

Mr. Mayor, I realize my opinion probably isn‘t all that important to you, but just the same, I’m going to throw it out there anyway, because, well, that‘s what I do. Anyway, you really need to stop and listen to someone besides, Jeff Preisner, and Norton Bonaparte for a change. And I really don’t care to hear any more about the way you and your crew interpret what the voters were voting on either. You haven’t found some magic loophole that’s going to allow you to renege on the promises you made. It’s time to drop the charade.

Mr. Mayor, do you remember how badly you beat your opponent, Jeff Preisner in the last election? Have you ever wondered why so many people supported you over him? It’s pretty simple really, it was because we trusted you. We trusted that you’d do the right thing.

Mr. Mayor, the ball’s in your court. It’s time to stop playing games and prove to us once and for all that that trust wasn’t misplaced…

Kevin McGinty

Best of Topeka 2010 Style...

2010-08-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

Regardless of the category, I’d like to throw out a well deserved “hell yeah” to all this winners of this year’s, Capital-Journal’s “Best of Topeka” contest. Each and every one of you should be proud of the job you’re doing. Gaining the trust and respect of customers, friends, and associates, especially for consecutive years, doesn’t just happen, it takes hard work and dedication. Ya’ll done good.

But since I spend most of my time hanging around here in the blogs, I’d like to throw out special “hell yeah” to the winners of the “Best Cjonline Blogger” category! What can I say? You guys are all pros and bring so much to the table, it’s no wonder you were chosen the best in this particular category.

Ric Anderson; What can you say about this guy? He puts his quirky and twisted sense of humor out there for all the world to see. I don’t think he’s ever written anything I haven’t enjoyed reading.

Austin Meeks; This guy lives and breathes K-State sports. If there’s anything you want to know about K-State, Austin’s the guy.

Tim Hrenchir; A professional in all aspects of what he does. When Tim speaks, people listen.

Jim Cates; Anybody who’s known me for any length of time, knows Jim and I have been good friends for many years now. I’ve always valued his opinion as well as his knowledge and insight. And I’ve always appreciated his support and encouragement in this whole writing thing. So if you hate the things I write about, you now the truth. It’s Jim’s fault. But Jim hasn’t posted a blog since February and now the people have spoken. It’s time he got back into the game.

Brent Whitten; Ah, what a story he told. Mostly I remember his wife, Rachel’s column she used to write for The Capital-Journal. She told us stories of life. Stories we could all relate to. She told us about her soldier husband being injured in a bombing by a suicide attacker as he and his unit were out patrolling in their humvee. And I remember being truly disappointed the day I read her “Goodbye and Thanks” column. Yeah, their’s was a wonderful story back in 2006.

And Bill Blankenship; Another professional, and no doubt about it, he deserves his spot among the best of the. Funny thing is though, I couldn’t remember ever seen his blog and really wanted to hear what he had to say. I clicked my way through old blogs back to April of this year only to come up short. Then I tried what I should have done in the first place. I found his “profile page.” http://cjonline.com/user/bill_blankenship That’s when I found out Bill Blankenship’s never even set up a blog. How weird is that?

Sorry Ric, but I gotta call bullshit here. But hey, we both know it’s your world and I’m just passing through. Besides in a hundred years, it won’t matter anyway. Do me a favor though, will you? Would you get them to get my new picture (Avatar) up and running?

Oh yeah, I noticed you guys avoided a couple of categories this year. You didn’t include The Best Male and Female Radio Personalities. What’s that all about?

Kevin McGinty

May God Have Mercy On Our Souls...

2010-07-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

I love the way the Tiahrt-Moran has turned out. Both camps are in full attack mode. Both sides are doing their very best to make their opponents look like one of the worst people to ever live. Depending on who’s latest attack ad you’re watching, a vote for so and so, is either a vote for the abortion industry or a vote in support of illegals and terrorists who want to destroy this country. A vote for my opponent would be a vote against all of humanity, and may God have mercy on our souls. Whatever.

I have no idea who’ll be the last man standing in this stupid fight. But it’ll be awesome to watch the loser to turn right around and try to convince us the victor in this mess is one of the best men who’s ever lived and is the only person capable of saving the world when it comes time for the general election in November.

You gotta love those politicians…

Kevin McGinty

How's This Thing End???

2010-07-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

It just keeps coming. Eric Holder let it be known the Black Panthers could do as they pleased. And now the NAACP passed a resolution condemning the Tea Party for racism. They demanded that the leaders of the movement renounce the racist elements among their ranks. Wow!

And this is right on the heels of the whole Black Panther voter intimidation thing. It’s funny how they claim racism and violent extremists but have very little to back up the charges. But on the other hand, we have video proof of a man who calls himself, King Samir Shabazz, a Black Panther member who calls for the killing of “Crackers” and “Cracker Babies,” intimidating voters outside a polling station in Philadelphia, and it doesn’t even deserve a mention. Weird, huh?

Evidently the Tea Party ( white people) have all been officially labeled racists while the Black Panthers are given a pass. Why isn’t the NAACP renouncing the racists elements in their own ranks?

So now we have the leader of the Black Panther Party, Malik Zulu Shabazz threatening to have a presence at future Tea Party rallies, you know, just to keep an eye on things. Yeah, that’s a great idea. How long before the KKK, skinheads, and every other wacko, extremist group out there decides to get in the game?

Then what? Are we going back to the days of race riots? Back to the days when we all hated each other? Back to the days when the National Guard was called upon to stand against our own citizens? Why? What’s the point?

Remember the day Obama stood with Mexican President Calerone as he condemned Arizona for simply trying to enforce the exact same immigration laws Obama should have been enforcing all along. Remember how every Democrat present gave Calderone a standing ovation when he finished condemning the very citizens each and every one of them had sworn to defend? I do.

Here’s the deal. We’re all being used like pawns on a giant chess board. They’re stirring up hatred and racial tensions for a reason. They’re turning us against each other. But why? Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re all being sucked into the hate. Just look at the way some of us treat each other on this blog. How’s this going to play out? What’s this country going to look like in ten year? Just asking.

Oh, and for the record, this will probably be the last time I attempt to write about race and racism. I know it’s a fight I can’t win. But hey, I had to give it one last shot…

Kevin McGinty

Ignorance of History? Probably...

2010-07-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

“Like you, Kevin, I resent being called a racist because of my political party affiliation or my political opinions. If MrWednesdaynight (MWN) is correct and you’re doing the same thing to Obama, then it’s just part of getting sidetracked by a non-issue.”

Point taken, Fred and maybe MWN has a point. And so did Mick. He kind of jumped right in there, slapped me around, and in the process he made an excellent argument. I respect that.

Alright, so I chose my words poorly. Sorry. Calling Obama the most racist and divisive president ever was probably over the top. I’m not even real sure why I wrote about the subject of race in the first place. Well, I do know and I’ll get to that in a minute. But it’s a no win topic, no matter who’s talking about it.

Let’s just drop all the other stuff and talk about the Black Panther voter intimidation case. That’s what really set me off in the first place and what led me to write this in the first place.

Until people in this country can be honest about what happened at that polling station in Philly, we’re never going to get anywhere. You’ve seen the videos. You’ve seen the man who calls himself King Samir Shabazz screaming into his microphone to anyone who’ll listen how much he hates crackers (white people) and calling on blacks to kill crackers and their cracker babies. And you’ve seen this exact same man wielding a night stick and his Black Panther brother standing guard standing outside this polling station. There’s no question as to what they were doing there. But for some reason people refuse to see it. MWN refers to them simply as a couple of dudes with glow sticks. Nimper wants to ignore it all together by pointing out real voter intimidation in the Jim Crow South. Whatever.

And now, Obama and his Justice Department have sided with the guy who calls for cracker babies to be killed.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this isn’t about racism after all. Maybe it’s all about pay back. You know, pay back for things that happened before anyone living today was even born. Yeah, that makes sense…

Kevin McGinty

Who's The Racist???

2010-07-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Remember back when I ran the “Obama as the Joker” avatar? It took about thirty seconds from the time I first posted it till I was automatically and permanently branded a racist by some of my fellow bloggers. Yeah, thirty seconds. Evidently enough of you complained enough to Ric Anderson that the following week he deemed it inappropriate for Cjonline and removed it. I expected that.

I have a question today for those who were so quick to label me a racist: How much longer are you going to pretend that Obama isn’t the biggest racist and most divisive president we’ve ever had?

You refused to even consider it when it was revealed that for twenty years your guy sat in the church of one of the biggest American-hating, racist preachers out there, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. You unconditionally believed him when he claimed he’d never been present during any of the Reverends more objectionable sermons. Whatever.

You didn’t even bat an eye when he told the story of him grandmother being scared at the idea of being followed by two black men. He described her as a “typical white person.” And you believed him when he claimed “the police acted stupidly” when he automatically sided with the black professor over the white Cambridge police officer, admittedly without even knowing the facts of the case.

Are you going to simply dismiss the testimony of J. Christian Adams, an ex-Justice Department official who quit over the handling of the Black Panther voter intimidation case? He testified under oath that he quit his post because his department had been ordered by his former boss, Eric Holder, who gets his orders from his boss, Obama to drop all charges in the case even though it was an open and shut case that had already been won? I suppose he was lying when he also testified he was ordered to ignore cases that involved black defendants and white victims.

Are you willing to take an honest look at Obama’s actions and judge him accordingly or are you going to continue to live in the make believe world of denial?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFpfQpuuVzI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw_RKFB1z9E&feature=related

Kevin McGinty

TicToc...

2010-06-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Iran said Tuesday it would send a blockade-busting ship carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists to Gaza. And Lebanon has sent a letter to the U. N. holding Israel responsible for any attack on the ship.

Let me guess. Just another innocent humanitarian aid ship loaded with life saving supplies for the good people of Gaza who just happen to be governed by a peace-loving organization called Hamas, right? Give me a break.

I know a lot of you out there hate Israel, and you have your reasons. But in my opinion, this latest threat takes it to a whole new, very dangerous level.

Are you willing to stand with Iran against Israel knowing full well there’s hardly, any way, anything good can possibly come of it? Are you willing to stand with the insane Iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, who’s repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel? The same one who denies the Holocaust ever happened. Are you willing to go that far?

Are you willing to stand with him knowing full well his country’s actions could easily provoke a war that would surely engulf the entire region? How long do think it would take before we were drug into it? Probably not much more than a few days. Yeah, we’d be right in the middle of it alright. But because of politics, I’m not sure who we’d be fighting for.

I believe that in a matter of weeks, Obama will be forced to show his hand regarding Israel. Will he defend them or stay out of it and let them be destroyed by the enemies who surround them.

The countdown clock has started, tic toc…

Kevin McGinty

Operation Wetback...

2010-05-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Alright, one last time and I’ll get off the immigration stuff. I’d like to talk a little bit about another email I received yesterday. By now most of you have probably seen it. It’s the one that asks, what do President’s, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower have in common?

Turns out that between the three of them, they deported something like 16 million illegal immigrants in order to provide jobs for American citizens. I suppose the mass-deportation crowd is trying to use this message as proof that it can be done. Yeah, they did it alright. But damn!

Google, Mexican Repatriation and Operation Wetback and see what you come up with. Since nobody’s really talking about it, I’m not sure that if I were trying to convince the American people the only way to fix the problem is to deport all illegals, I’d really want to bring any of this up.

I’m not sure I’d want to call attention to the fact that the Mexican Repatriation (yes, this is straight out of Wikipedia) refers to the forced migration that took place between 1929 and 1939, when as many as 1 million people of Mexican descent were forced or otherwise pressured to leave the U.S. It’s estimated that up to 60% of those driven out were U.S. citizens. And the event was carried out by American authorities and took place without any kind of due process.

Operation Wetback was carried out in 1954 by the Eisenhower administration in order to make jobs available to vets returning from WW11 and Korea. Just makes sense, right?

The effort began (yes, this one’s straight out of Wikipedia too) in California and Arizona. Tactics included going as far as systematic police sweeps of Mexican-American neighborhoods and random ID check points of “Mexican-looking” people. Some 750 agents targeted agricultural areas with a goal of 1,000 apprehensions per day.

Yeah, I suppose if the emailer’s intent was to prove that mass-deportation is possible, he accomplished that. But it also proves that the people like our very own, mrwednesdaynight and nimper, you know the one’s out there jumping up and down and yelling about “civil rights” are right too.

And damn, I hate it when that happens…

Kevin McGinty

"But"...

2010-05-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Depending on who’s telling the story, we have somewhere between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants living in America today with 465,000 or so in Arizona alone. How much higher must those numbers climb before we quit pretending it’s not a problem?

They say we have around 75,000 illegal immigrants currently detained in our Federal prison system. Again, how much higher must that number climb before someone finally has enough common sense and say, this is ridiculous? There’s no reason for it.

I haven’t seen a study on it, but common sense should tell us that way too many local, county, and state, jail and court systems, especially in the south-western states, are overwhelmed by cases brought on by illegal immigrants. At least that seems to be the case in Arizona.

What are they supposed to do? How many more rapists, murders, and thugs in general should Arizona be forced to let in? How many more drug related kidnappings should they have to deal with? How many more armed robberies? How many more violent gang members (M 13) do you think Arizona needs? How many more cops and land owners need to be gunned down before it’s okay to do something about it?

How many more terrorists should be allowed to come in through South America, work their way up through Mexico, and simply walk across our southern border? Yeah I know, that’s just crazy talk, right? Is It? You know that for a fact, right? Think about it. Right after the attacks of 9-11, the first thing we did was to tighten up security at our airports. It didn’t make it impossible to sneak a terrorist in that way but it did make things harder. You can say what you want about the terrorist organizations who want to do us harm, but you can’t say they’re stupid. If they can’t get in through the front door, they’ll just come in through the back door which everybody in the world know, is wide open.

No guys, this isn’t about racism. It’s not about hating someone simply because they come from somewhere else. It’s not about denying someone the chance to come here in order to provide a better way of life for their families either. Those are the people we want. Since we all came here from somewhere else, these people are no different than we are and we should do everything we can to make room for them, period.

What’s at stake here is public safety and our national security. We can either do something about it. Or we can do like we’ve been doing all along and pretend it’s not a problem…

Kevin McGinty

Coming To America...

2010-05-13T03:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to write about the new Arizona Immigration Bill that was just recently signed into law without coming across as a raging racist. Some of you’ll hear me out and some of you will call me a racist no matter what I have to say. So, good or bad, right or wrong, I might as well jump right in there.

Unless you’re a Native American, and they’re the one’s who really got screwed. But all the rest of us are here in this country as a direct result of immigration of some form or another. Immigration is how this country was built in the first place.

Me, I’m the sixth generation descendent of an Irish immigrant named, Bernard McGinty. Other than names and dates, I really don’t know his story. I don’t know why he was willing to risk literally everything to move his family to America. Hell, for all I know, he might have been running from the law. I suspect though, like thousands of other Irish immigrants of his time, he was escaping the punishing poverty and sickness that had become so widespread and common in Ireland.

I can’t help but wonder how he’d feel about the way his family turned out. Like any really big family, we’ve had our share of problems. It’s turned into a family made up of people from, literally, all over the world. We’re made up of people from every political and religious point of view imaginable. Most of us just have regular every day jobs and try to raise our families the best we can. We have at least two Airline Pilots, one doctor, and three registered nurses that I know of. A lawyer or two. And yeah, some of us just haven’t been able to get it quite right. A few among us have ended up in prison. And if you think that’s not coming out during a fight with your wife, you’re crazy.

We don’t get together as often as we’d like but when we do, it’s always a good time. It’s a good time to relax and just be you. All the sudden, he’s not the “Big Shot” who runs the power company in South Dakota, he’s just uncle Mike to us. If we’re talking about my cousin’s little boy, Daniel, well, he’s just a cool little kid. We all know the story of how they adopted Daniel from Guatemala but really, none of that matters. He’s just Daniel to us. Same thing with Lucy and Aurora, the little twin girls my wife’s brother and his wife adopted a couple years ago from China. They’re just Lucy and Rorey to us. When my loud mouthed, Aaron and his wife show up, it’s just, hey guys, Aaron and Maria are here. It’s not, Aaron and that girl from Mexico he married. You see, none of that matters and it’s really all that important. We’re just a great big, sometimes dysfunctional, family and that’s good enough for us.

No, I don’t know for sure what Bernard McGinty would think of the family he started all those years ago. But I do believe he’d be glad to know the huge gamble he took by bringing his own family to America in the first place paid off. And I think he’d agree that, all things considered, it’s a pretty damn fine family.

So yeah, I know a thing or two about immigration and understand what it means to someone wanting to come here. I get it.

But…

Kevin McGinty

Remember What's Really Important...

2010-04-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

For a change, this week anyway, I’m going to step away from all the stupid political fighting. Besides, does it really matter who’s running the government? Hell, both party’s have been screwing this country over for as long as I can remember. And to tell you the truth, right now, I have more important things to worry about.

I’ve never really talked about it here, but because of my job I travel a lot. In the last three weeks my travels have taken me to Western Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota. I don’t worry too much about things when I’m gone. My wife’s brutally independent and does a good job of taking care of things while I’m gone. My kids are all grown and doing their own thing. And I suppose like most of people, I take it for granted that everything’s always going to be okay.

Well, I got a phone call the other day that reminded of just how stupid that way of thinking is and how in a blink of an eye everything can change forever. I’m not going to get into details but the call had to do with one of my kids and it scared the hell out of me. For now anyway, everything’s okay but the whole thing reminded me of another time about three years ago when I received one of those life changing phone calls.

So if you don’t mind, I’d like to share that story with you today. It’s a story about my young grand daughter, Emily. It just happened to be the first story I wrote for “The Topeka Metro News” and it helps explain where the title of this blog, “Room 235” came from in the first place. I call the story, “The numbers.”

The Numbers:

Numbers, do you ever think about them? Personally, I've never given them much thought one way or the other. But over the course of the last 23 days I've learned numbers can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Numbers like 17, 235, 15,12, 160, 87, 65/45, and 23 all became to mean everything in my granddaughter's world. Emily was born 17 weeks premature on November 12th. and was transferred to “Room 235” of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center. This was the day my journey through her world of numbers began.

Good morning Emily, I'm your grandpa. I know, I'm probably a little scary looking but you'll get used to me. Hey, look at those numbers on the ventilator. The nurses tell me 15 is excellent for your oxygen level. And that the vent setting doesn't get much better than a 12. I know it's been a pretty rough first day for you, so I'm not going to stay too long. You be a good girl and mind the nurses, I'll see you in the morning. And remember that grandpa loves you.

And so our daily routine began. We talked about the adventures we were going to have once she got to come home. First and foremost I explained she was going to have to put on some weight. At 1lb., 4oz., it was going to be hard for her to ride a bike. I offered to start bringing her chocolate chip cookies and pop. Emily and I both thought it was a good idea, but the nurses had other plans. We talked about her first day of school, about the fishing trips we were going to take, and about going 4-wheeling in the mountains when we go to Colorado in August.

I told her how lucky she was to have two grandmothers, Linda and Debbie that loved her so much. We talked about her aunts, uncles, and a few of her cousins. I warned her about the stupid cats and dogs she'd meet. I even warned her about staying away from boys. I'm not sure, but I think I saw her blushing after this conversation. But mostly, she liked hearing about her mommy and daddy.

Over the course of the next few days I learned about the other numbers on the monitor above her bed. The top one was her heart rate. I learned that 160 was a very good number indeed. And that 87 indicated how much oxygen was in her blood. The 65/45 was the blood pressure.
All day and night long the doctors and nurses watched these numbers. They made adjustments to the machines and medications according to what the numbers told them. They were very up front with us from the beginning. Some days were pretty good. Others were pretty bad, it all depended on the numbers. The nurses referred to this as the roller coaster ride.

Monday December 4th was an exceptionally good day. Her numbers were even better than they had been the previous weekend. She was finally able to open her eyes for the first time. They were the biggest, most beautiful, brown eyes I had ever seen. We talked a little about riding the train at Gage Park. I blew her a kiss, told her grandpa loved her, and promised I'd see her in the morning.

Sometime around 9:00 o clock that night the hospital called. Emily had taken a turn for the worse and we needed to get there as soon as we could. It was the numbers, the 15 and 12 had turned into 101 and 40. The 160 was now a 50. The 87 was somewhere around 35 now, and the blood pressure that once read a steady 65/45 wasn't even registering anymore. They told us her system was shutting down, she was dying, and they didn't think she'd be able to hang on for much more than 3 or 4 more hours.

Ultimately the numbers did get the best of Emily, but she did beat the 3 and the 4. She hung on another 24 hours, and in doing so we were all able to say our goodbyes. I'm not sure what the others said to her. For me though, I just held her tiny little hand, kissed her on the forehead and told her I understood if she had to go. I told her to remember that grandpa loved her, and that no matter what, I’d never forget her.

We had Emily with us for 23 days, 4 hours, and 42 minutes. And for that I'll always be grateful.

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Welfare State...

2010-04-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Obama just can’t help but being his usual arrogant, condescending self, can he? Did you hear what he said the other day at a Democrat fund raising dinner? He mocked the American people at the Tea Party rallies all across the country and said instead of protesting his tax policies, these people should be thanking him. Thank him for what?

Maybe he expects us to thank him for turning America into the latest in a long line of welfare states? Maybe we’re supposed to thank him for borrowing hundreds of billions more dollars from China and using that money to dole out (buy votes) so many tax breaks to so many people, that for the first time in our history 47% of all Americans don’t have to pay a single dime in federal income taxes. Yeah, thanks, Obama!

They say it’s our patriotic duty to pay taxes and for the most part, I agree. And I don’t mind paying my fair share. But I resent the hell out of being forced to pay so many other people’s fair share as well. I understand that we as a society need to do what we can to help those who can’t help themselves. But there’s a big difference between those who can’t and those who won’t. Besides, they keep raising the bar for what it means to be poor in Obama‘s America.. Evidently, a family of two adults with two kids can make as much as $50,000 a year and still be considered poor. That’s a bunch of crap and you know it.

I know you Obama supporters hate it when anyone has the unheard of nerve to criticize your guy. But hang on to your backsides, boys and girls, his next step is going to be another European style tax. The VAT (Value Added Tax) is coming. It’s coming to pay for the massive entitlements he’s handing out like candy and I can’t wait. Because it’s a tax that everyone, rich and poor alike get to participate in. The funny thing about the VAT tax is that most people won’t even know they’re paying it. All you’ll see is that the price of EVERYTHING has suddenly gone up. It won’t matter though, like everything else, your president will just blame it on Bush and like always, you’ll buy into it. You just can’t bring yourself to admit that the more entitlements he hands out, the more it’s going to cost us. But like it or not, finally we’ll all be participating equally.

And now for our very own Governor, Mark Parkinson and the Kansas lawmakers. Why don’t you quit playing it politically safe for a change by singling out smokers and fast food restaurants (sin tax) to balance your stinking budget? You know as well as any of us this sin tax crap isn’t going raise enough revenue to get the job done. Why don’t you quit your talking and grandstanding, show some guts for a change, and pass another sales tax increase or whatever other ways you can think of to swindle us out of more of our paychecks and spread the pain around evenly. Oh yeah, I forgot. The polls indicate that would hurt you chances come reelection time, and at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that really matters to any of you.

Like I said. I don’t mind paying my fair share. But more and more of us are getting sick and tired of paying everyone else’s fair share too…

Kevin McGinty

Hate-Mongers and Extremists...

2010-04-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

The thin-skinned, left-wingers never cease to amaze me. Last week I posted a picture of Obama with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and just like I expected, all hell broke loose. The predictable, worn out, cries of racism were immediate and like always, pointless. First off, there’s nothing racist about smoking a cigarette, and whether you like it or not, your Obama admits he still enjoys a smoke every once in a while. Hell, we all know that, so I’m not sure why you were so offended by it in the first place. And if you want to know the truth, I really don’t care.

Their selective memory is just as amazing too. They twist and turn Sarah Palin’s comment about re-loading into a call for violence. They’d have you believe all those, flag waving old people they love to ridicule from the Tea Party rallies all across the country are all nothing but a bunch of ignorant racists and violent extremists. They act like this is the first time they’ve ever heard of anyone opposing an American President.

So today, just for shits and giggles, let’s talk about the crap this country had to endure from the left during the eight years of the Bush administration.

They constantly whine and cry about Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck for being hate-mongers and inciting violence. Where was that outrage when Air America host, Randi Rhodes recommended doing what Michael Corleone did in the movie, Godfather Part Two, to his brother. She said somebody needs to take Bush fishing and then, with a giggle in her voice, imitated the sound of a gun shot. Just fun and games, right.

How about when British columnist, Charlie Brooker wrote: “John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinkley Jr. where are you when we really need you?” Nothing extreme or violent there.

There were a few novels written like the one by Nicholson Baker’s “Checkpoint” who talked about the wisdom of shooting Bush. At an art exhibit at Chicago’s Columbia University, one exhibit was a giant sheet of postage stamps depicting pictures of Bush on them with a gun pointed at his head. There were even “Kill Bush” T-shirts available from CafePress.com, an online retailer. Ah, those loving left-wing loons.

There were countless examples of anti-Bush protests at Universities all across the country in which Bush was set on fire and hung in effigy. At these protests were signs comparing Bush to every vile dictator in the world. There were signs calling for him to be killed. There were even signs calling for the destruction of his family. Remember those? We do.

The crown jewel of the Bush hatred had to be the movie “Death of a President” by British filmmaker, Gabriel Range. Remember that lovely movie? It was about Bush being shot by a sniper as he left a Chicago hotel. Yeah, nothing like a really good “kill the president movie” to take the kids to.

Let’s see now, how many arrests have been made all across the country during the last year at the Tea Party rallies? Oh yeah, none. How many signs have you seen calling for Obama to be killed? None. How many times have you seen a likeness of Obama being hung or burned to death? None. How many fires been set or how many cars have over turned in the streets during a Tea Party rally? None. You see, this is because that’s how adults do things. And that’s the difference.

So you want to talk about hate-mongers and extremists? Good. But when we have this conversation, do me a favor and leave your selective memory and hypocrisy at home. Thanks…

Kevin McGinty

You're Looking At Your Future...

2010-04-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

My God. You Obama lover’s just put on what might end up being the biggest whine-fest this town has ever seen. Yeah, I’m talking about your (over) reaction to the story at www.cjonline.com about the Tea Party Bus coming to town today. And I’d like to be the first to thank you for the entertainment. It was priceless.

It amazes me that you left-wing lunatics have the audacity to call people on the right, racists and hate-mongers. Just go back and re-read some of the vile, racist, hateful things you fools were spewing. All because someone is coming to town you disagree with.

You just don’t get it, do you. You’ve constantly attacked Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and every conservative that comes along. And bar none, they all continue to get bigger and bigger. You’d think you’d be smart enough to try a little different strategy.

I guess I can’t blame you for being upset though. Obama promised to take care of your every need. And now someone comes along that you think threatens that utopian dream and like a bunch of spoiled little kids you over-react. I know, you just can’t help yourselves.

Here’s the deal, libs. The Tea Party is coming. It’s coming whether you continue to spit-up on yourselves or not. And you might as well attend the rally, maybe even try to pay attention to what they have to say. You might even try to embrace it. After all, you will be looking at your future…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Can't Legislate Morality My Ass...

2010-03-31T08:42:00.001-07:00

Just for the record. I’m with most of you in opposing the bill that Joe Patton is pushing concerning what is and isn’t allowed in strip clubs. Personally, I think they have a few, more pressing concerns to worry about. And I agree with most of you when you say that if you don’t like what goes on in those places, then don’t go. But when you start chanting the tried and worn out, “we can’t legislate morality” slogan, that’s when you and I part ways.

Of course we can legislate morality. Just about every law in the book is based on morality. Murder is against the law because it’s morally wrong to kill another human being. Holding up the local bank, gas station, or liquor store is against is against the law because it’s morally wrong to steal. Rape is against the law because it’s obviously morally wrong. Polygamy (the practice of having multiple spouses at the same time) is against the law purely because of morality beliefs.

Laws concerning such things as child abuse, kidnapping, assault and battery, domestic battery, arson, prostitution, child pornography, drinking and driving, illegal drug use, the sale of illegal drugs, Sunday liquor sales, and yes, even late-term abortions are all morally based.

So yeah, I think it’s a big waste of time and money for the government to tell how strippers how they can behave in a strip club. But don’t fall for the lie that we can’t legislate morals. We do it all the time…

Kevin McGinty

"Freedom of Speech." You Either Believe In It Or You Don't...

2010-03-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Alright, it looks like the controversy over what kind of picture I can and can’t post still hasn’t been decided, so me and my little Weeble looking guy are going to tell our side of the story.

Looks like you won this battle, StJacques. Evidently if you progressive liberals cry racism often enough, loud enough, and to the right people you can get your way. Whatever.

Just so you know, I did keep my word and removed the picture you were so offended by in the first place. I tried to replace it with a similar one but now all the sudden it’s been rejected (because of racial connotations) by the moderators of this site. So I’ve chosen another one. One that I hope offends you just as much as the first one did but I doubt it will. Either way, life goes on.

Here’s the deal, my friend. This is my blog and the things I write and the pictures I choose to post at any given time are a reflection of my beliefs, thoughts, and opinions. And if somewhere along the way I post something that offends you, well, that’s your problem, not mine. Nowhere is it written nor is it implied that just because you’re a left-wing, Obama supporter that you have some special right, to not be offended. Sorry man, that’s just the way it is.

On the other hand, because of the First Amendment and the whole Freedom of Speech thing, I believe I still have the right to express my opinions as I see fit. And that’s what I intend to do.

StJacques, you and your left-wing buddy’s come in here and offend me every chance you get. And whether I like it or not, you have the right to do so. But let me post a picture that somehow damages you sensibilities you scream racism and cry like a bunch of little girls.

I read somewhere that, “If you don’t believe in the Freedom of Speech of those you despise, then you don’t believe in it at all.” Nuff said…

Kevin McGinty

United Socialist States of America...

2010-03-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

You lib’s, progressives, socialists, or whatever you’re calling yourselves nowadays are so predictable. In the last post I asked the question, what has Obama actually accomplished since taking office. Right from the very start it became perfectly clear you couldn’t answer that simple question so you went straight for the name calling. Let’s see, I was a failed truck driver. I had been fired from the local free newspaper. I was and idiot, a freakin idiot, a racist, and a Klan boy. LMAO!!!

Well, you’re not going to like this question any better but I’m going to ask it anyway. Is there a single Democrat politician left out there who hasn’t sold his or her soul to Obama? Is there one left out there who still has at least a shred of honor left? I doubt it.

Do you realize this health care bill still hasn’t been voted on in the Senate? They don’t have the votes to pass the Senate version in the House. So, for the first time in the history of our nation, a bill that will change every single one of our lives will go to the president and be signed into law without the support of either houses of congress.

And you’re alright with that? I know, that was a stupid question. Of course you’re alright with it. Anything for free stuff, Obama promises to give you, right?

You know as well as I do that if the Republicans were trying to do anything even remotely close to this crap, you’d be screaming in the streets. You’d be whining about those evil Republicans trampling on your rights and destroying the Constitution. But when your guy is doing exactly that, it’s somehow okay.

Yeah I know, the CBO office released it’s projections today. In their best guess, this will be one of the best things to come along in a lifetime. We’ll be able to add tens of millions of people to an already over-burdened health care system and still save money to boot.

Well, rant and rave all you want. Hold up their figures as proof that your president is right. Because figures don’t lie, do they?

No they don’t. But liars do figure…

Kevin McGinty

No Whining Please...

2010-03-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Last week I wrote about what I see as the melt-down of the Democratic Party. I asked about what Obama has actually accomplished since taking office over a year ago. And whether you like it or not, he hasn’t really done much of anything except to divide this country like no other president has ever been able to do. Sorry, but that’s just the way I see it.

Because I asked these questions though, one of the posters called this a racist blog and claimed the picture I chose to post of Obama made up to look like The Joker was racist too. Whatever.

There was a time when being labeled a racist by some left-winger was probably something to worry about. But that time has come and gone. Hell, you guys play the race card so often, you’ve actually worn it out. You’re starting to sound like whiners…

So instead of whining, let’s talk about how your president has used race, hatred, and very open, class action warfare to keep us at each other’s throats, while he goes about fulfilling his campaign promise of “fundamentally changing America.” Luckily for us, he’s too weak and inexperienced to be an effective leader and hasn’t accomplished the things necessary to further his Socialist agenda.

It’s funny too. There was a time the left-wingers denied that Obama was a socialist. Now they just ask, what’s so bad about Socialism anyway? Weird…

Kevin McGinty

Downfall of the Democrats...

2010-03-07T10:08:00.000-08:00

Wow! It’s gotta be tough being a Democrat right about now. You know, the way they’ve been holding themselves up to such high standards and all. Nancy Pelosi proudly proclaimed that it was time to drain the swamp. Yeah it’s draining alright. Right before our eyes too, and it all started with Rod Blagojevich, and William Jefferson, remember those guys?

And the draining continues. Democrat Congressman, Charlie Rangel of New York just bit the dust. Democrat Representative, Eric Massa of New York is gone as of Monday morning. And Democrat Governor, David Paterson’s hold on power is getting weaker by the day. All due to one scandal or another.

During the campaign, Obama promised to change the way things were done in Washington. To be more open and transparent. What’s changed? Looks to me like your guys are every bit as corrupt as those evil Republicans you love to hate so much.

Yeah, it’s fair to say he’s changed things but what‘s he accomplished? On his first day in office, Obama showed the world he was a man of his word by signing orders to close that dreaded place called, Guantanamo Bay. Didn’t happen, did it? Now we know he lied.

He was going to prove to the world how just and fair we are by doing away with those hated Military Tribunals and by giving terrorists civilian trials in New York, the very city they tried to destroy. Well, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen either. Looks like we’re back to military tribunals after all. And where do you suppose these tribunals will take place? Yep, right there at Gitmo. The same place that was supposed to be shut down by now. Hmm, weird. You guys hated Bush’s Patriot Act. Now Obama has extended it for a year. Bet you really hate that.

Let’s see, what else has he done since taking office? Twice he’s traveled to Copenhagen. Once to bring home the 2016 Olympics and once to save the world from global warming. He came up short on both trips.

He campaigned for Jon Corzine in New Jersey. Jon Corzine lost that race. He traveled to Virginia to campaign for Creigh Deeds. Creigh Deeds lost that race. He traveled to Massachusetts to salvage Ted Kennedy’s seat by campaigning for Martha Coakley. Well, we all know how that one ended up. She lost too.

Yeah, he has accomplished a couple of things. He did win the Nobel Peace Prize. But then, the bar to winning one of those things was set pretty low for him. But that’s another story.

He’s managed to reach the lowest approval ratings of any president after just one year in office since the birth of our nation. Wow! That’s something to crow about.

More than anything, he’s managed to divide this country more than anyone before him ever has. You just watch, it’s just gonna keep getting worse.

Yeah, it’s gotta be tough being a Democrat right about now…

Kevin McGinty

Slidell, Louisiana. What Happens Here Stays Here...

2010-02-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

Before we get started today, I probably ought to explain to those of you haven’t been following along that this is the fourth part of a road trip we’re taking. We’re headed to Taft, Louisiana to pick up a load of some kind of chemical containers. We’re taking a break at a truck stop just outside of Slidell, La. Who knows? Maybe even do a little partying. The rest of the crew is inside doing what they’re doing. Me? Well, I’m out here in the truck getting caught up on my paper work and figuring out the best route to take once we head for West Virginia tomorrow afternoon. But hey, here comes the rest of the crew. I gotta get all this stuff put away.

So, you guys ready? What’s that? Oh yeah, this place is huge. You can get about anything you can think of in there. Yeah, they have pretty much anything you’d ever need. You can get your groceries in there. They have trucker, biker, and cowboy stuff. Clothes of all kinds. You can play video games, get a hair cut, or have your shoes shined. You can take a shower and do your laundry if you need to. Upstairs in the driver’s lounge you can usually catch a movie and they’ll give you free popcorn to boot. And if you come through on a Sunday morning, feeling a little lonely, or just need someone to talk to, there’s a chapel out back.

Hey, before we walk over to the bar, I want to show guys something. See those two gals over by that flat bed a couple of rows up? It won’t be long before they’re back here? They’re hookers. Truckers call them lot lizards. And see that guy in the blue Caprice that’s been driving around? I’m pretty sure he’s their pimp. And more than likely, he’s the one with all the drugs too.

Here they come. What’s that sweetheart? You want to know if I’m looking for a date? I don’t know. What are you offering? About that time the tall, skinny one showed me her boobs, said she was something special and promised it‘d be a date I‘d never forget. Sorry sweetheart, I’m just messing with you. Nah, I’m not looking for a date. My wife really wouldn’t understand. What’s that? I don’t know. I’ll ask them. Hey guys, These two young ladies, Star and Fallen Angel want to know if any of you’d like to spend a little time with them tonight. Hey, we’re all adults here, you guys do what you want. Remember, what happens here stays here.

I’m going to head on across the street. Come on, I’ll introduce you to an old friend of mine. One I haven’t seen in a very long time. I wonder if he’s still mad.

Billy Cunningham! How in the world have you been? Man, it’s good to see you. Billy looked up from behind the bar just shook his head and said, well, well, well, look what the dogs drug in. Thought maybe you’d died or something, Bojangles. And you know, you’re lucky I don’t just come across this bar and beat the crap out of you.

Ah shut up, tough guy. We both know the only reason you don’t is because you know you can’t take me. Besides, you know as well as I do that cowboy started the fight that night. What was I supposed to do, just stand there and let beat on me? Billy started laughing and said, you might as well have. He beat the crap out of you anyway! Yeah, you’re real funny, tough guy. Hey, why don’t you bring us a couple of pitchers and a Coke, will you? I brought a some friends I’d like you to meet.

So what do you think, guys? What’s so special about it? Oh, nothing I guess. Yeah, it’s just a bar. A bar like you’d find anywhere. They have a bar, booths, and tables. There’s a juke box and a couple of pool tables and a dance floor, they have live music on the weekends. I guess it’s just the people. Most of the people here are truckers. And like tuckers everywhere, we’re never in one place for much longer than a day at a time. You know, the here today and gone tomorrow thing. I’ve met a lot of good people out here on the road. But I’ve also met some I hope I never see again. You just gotta watch yourself.

Well hey, it’s getting late. I’m going to head back to the truck and get some sleep. Nah, I’m not drinking, you guys go ahead. I guess I finally outgrew most of that stuff. Go ahead and stay as late as you want. Do me a favor though, keep an eye on Bob. I don’t think Billy likes him.

Kevin McGinty

On To Slidell...

2010-02-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

Alright guys, check it out. We’re about to cross the Mississippi River. It kind of makes the Kansas River back home look like a creek, doesn’t it? We’re just outside Memphis and should be pulling onto the truck stop in about fifteen minutes or so. What’s that? You say you guys are about to pee your pants. Yeah, me too. But I gotta be honest though. While you guys were sleeping I pulled into a rest area twice on the way here. Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up. You looked so peaceful and all. I’ll tell you what. I’ll drop you off out front so you can run in and take care of business, I’ll go ahead and fuel up then find us a parking place and meet you inside in about a half an hour or so. And hey, if some of you end up in the restaurant before I get back, save me a seat, will you?

Oh crap! Hey guys, it’s almost 5 o’clock in the morning. We gotta get going. How about we grab a quick breakfast and meet back here in an hour. That way we can get out of town before traffic gets too bad. That’s kind of the way I try to plan my runs. You try to hit the big cities either real early in the morning or real late at night.

I can already tell, it’s going to be a good day to be on the road. Interstate all the way. We’re taking I-55 straight through the heart of Mississippi, and let me tell you, life just doesn’t get much better than that. I don’t know whether any of you have through Mississippi or not. If you have, you know what I‘m talking about. It’s an absolutely beautiful state. Anyway, we’ll stay on I-55 clear into Louisiana where we’ll pick up I-12, then it’s a straight shot to Slidell. Let’s get going. Hey, you want to hand me that Arlo Guthrie CD. Yeah, that’s the one. Sing along if you want. Good morning America, how are ya.

Breaker 1-9, how bout that north-bound cattle truck working his way up to Music Town, you got your radio on? Yeah, you got the Trail Boss here, what can I do for you? Hey thanks Trail Boss, you got Bojangles here. How’s it looking back your way? Oh, Bojangles, be careful out there. The Chicken Coops (weigh stations) are open and it looks like they’re pulling everybody in. Better have all your paper work in line. They’re checking that too. Dang, Trail Boss, you’re just full of good news, aren’t you? He came back and just laughed then said, where you headed anyway, Bojangles? I told him we we’re headed to Slidell to get a little rest. Trail Boss laughed and said, you lie like a dog, Bojangles. You know as well as I do that rest is the last thing on your mind if you’re going to Slidell! Just be careful, Bojangles. This is the Trail Boss and I’m headed to the house. I said, be careful out there, Trail Boss. You got Bojangles on this end and we’re heading south just as fast as this old truck will take us.

I probably should have told you more about the truck stop we’re headed to in Slidell. Let’s see, how do I say this? Hmm, let’s just say it’s not a place you’d want to take your mom to. How’s that?

Anyway, there it is. Let’s see if we can find a parking place. Hey breaker 1-9, you got Bojangles here, where‘s all the trashy (party) people hanging out tonight? Yeah, you got the Alabama Kid here, Bojangles, we‘re all hanging out in the back row waiting for the show to begin. Bring it on back, there’s plenty of room. Hey thanks, Alabama Kid. We’ll be there in a couple of minutes. You guys ready? Here’s the deal. Slidell is a little like Vegas. What happens here, stays here.

Man, I could really use a shower. How about we get cleaned up, get something to eat, and meet back here at the truck around 6 o’clock. A good friend of mine, Billy Cunningham and his wife run the bar across the street and if you’re interested, I’ll buy the first round.

Hey, wait a minute. Did you guys hear that. It sounds like something’s banging on the back of the sleeper. There it is again. Sounds like someone’s crying too. Hear it? I’ll be right back, I’d better check it out.

What the hell!? Bob, what in the world are you doing back here? Man, you could have frozen to death. Are you crazy or something?

Hey guys, look what I found, all shivering and curled up in the fetal position on the deck plate between the cab and the trailer. It’s our buddy, Bob Smith from back home. He says he was coming back from the bathroom back in Memphis when he saw us leaving. He says he ran alongside the passenger side of the truck and even tried banging on the door. Bob, I’m sorry man. I had no idea you were back there. I really thought everybody that was coming along was onboard. If it makes you feel better, from now on, we’ll do a head count before hitting the road. Okay? Now go on, get your butt up there in that truck and get warmed up. Man, I’m getting cold just looking at you.

I’ll tell you what, Bob. Just to prove to you that I still want to be friends, I’ll even buy you a beer tonight. How’s that?

Kevin McGinty

Hop In...

2010-02-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

You ready? Go ahead and throw your bags in one of those outside compartments and climb on up. Slide on back there in the sleeper. There’s a seat on both ends and two bunks to sleep on. Over there is the fridge, microwave, built in stereo, and a TV-DVD player. Over in that corner is a stack of movies and some of my old CDs. Get settled in and make yourself at home.

Today we’re headed to Slidell, Louisiana (915 miles) with this load of water beds I picked up in Casper, Wyoming three days ago. We’re supposed to drop this load off and pick up an empty trailer at a drop yard in Slidell, then take it to some chemical plant somewhere outside of Taft, Louisiana, about a 70 mile drive. Not bad but it takes us right through the heart of New Orleans. It’s not that I don’t like New Orleans. Hell I love the place. It’s just that cities, especially old one’s aren’t exactly truck friendly. You’ll see what I mean when we get there.

Well hey, it’s already 6 o’clock in the morning, we gotta get going. I’d really like to make it through Kansas City before traffic gets crazy. If we don’t run into too many problems on the road, we ought to be eating lunch in Springfield, Missouri in about four or five hours. Then it’s another hard five or six hours till we shut down for the night in Memphis.

Breaker 1-9. How bout that west-bound, flatbed just coming into T-Town. You got your radio on, Bud? A few seconds later a loud, booming, semi-friendly voice crackles over the C.B., You got The Wagon Master here. Who we got on that end and what’s on your mind east-bound? Hey, thanks for the break, Wagon Master. You got Bojangles on this end. How’s it looking over your shoulder? Wagon Master comes back and says he hasn’t seen a cop all night. Then he talked about how hard it was snowing south of Kansas City where he had just come from. Great. That’s exactly where we’re headed. I thanked him for the depressing weather update, wished him well, and told him to keep it between the ditches. This is Bojangles, and we’re outta here.

Hey, I’m gonna need one of you guys to help navigate this thing. I usually do it myself but it’s always good to have a second pair of eyes. We’re going to drop south around KC then hit 71 South. We’ll stay on that one till we get to Harrisonville where we’ll have to take some other road. That’s where the navigator comes in. You’ll need to pick out a route that’ll take us south through Springfield and Branson, Missouri. From there we’ll probably take 65 South to Little Rock, Arkansas, where we’ll run into I-40 East and on into Memphis. Which, by the way, is where I plan on calling it a day anyway. It’s a little over halfway to Slidell and by then I’ll be out of hours anyway.

Alright, there it is, South 71. You guys doing okay back there? What’s that? You say you didn’t realize it would be such a rough ride. Sorry, I guess I just figured everybody knew that. Yeah, it gets pretty bad. You’ll get used to it though. Hey, check it out, the sun’s just starting to rise. I get to watch the sun come up almost every morning. And it’s something I never get tired of.

I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to pop in an old Arlo Guthrie CD I came across a while back at a truck stop. Ever hear him sing the song called “City of New Orleans?” You know the one. It goes something like this. Good morning America, how are ya? Say, don’t you know me, I’m your native son. I’m the train they call the City of New Orleans, I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done. Anyway, something like that. Seems kind of fitting.

Hey guys, we lost a lot of time because of the snow back around KC. What do you say we bypass lunch in Springfield and keep pushing on to Memphis? There’s plenty of stuff for sandwiches in the fridge and should be plenty to drink. You guys okay with that? You sure? Good.

Might as well get comfortable then. Hey, why don’t you put in that movie. Yeah, the one on top. That’s the one. It’s called Fried Green Tomatoes. I just love that old movie. I’ll talk to you when we get to Memphis…

Kevin McGinty

Is It a Long Story Grandpa...

2010-02-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

I’ve never mentioned it here on cjonline, but I used to drive a truck over the road. And I thought it might be fun to share a story about one of the loads I hauled. But first, I’ll tell you the story of what reminded me of it to begin with. That part’s a story about my 10-year-old grandson, Adam.

Ever since he was about five, Adam has spent Saturday nights with us. We’ve become great buddies and do a lot of stuff together. Currently we’re working on some Star Wars, Robotic Arm thing he got for Christmas. It’s one of those “Easy to Assemble” projects. Yeah right. The stupid thing probably has somewhere around a bazillion pieces. And if you don’t get every single one of them exactly right none of it works.

Well, that’s what happened. We had it all together and when it was time to test it out, two of the fingers wouldn’t move. Hey, it was good enough for me but Adam insisted we take the whole thing apart and fix it. That’s exactly what we did and it’s still sitting there on his table in the basement.

Last Saturday night we decided to give it another shot. We got all the pieces arranged the best we could and got started. It wasn’t long before, Adam decided he really didn’t want to mess with it which was just fine with me. I got on the computer while he entertained himself by going through my boxes of stuff. He dug out one of my old brief cases. It used to be my Dad’s. He used it when was a platform operator for Gulf Oil out in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s black and has his name taped on by one those old ribbon guns. It’s covered with the logos of several different oil field related companies and a bunch of safety awards. Yeah, you could say it has a lot of sentimental value.

I explained to him that it had once belonged to his great grand father and how he gave it to me the night I swung by his house in Lake Charles, Louisiana while I was driving a truck over the road.

Adam seemed genuinely impressed with that part of the story. We opened it up and there were a bunch of my old log books, note books, load information sheets, nationwide fuel stop locations, telephone numbers, pictures, post cards, and pens that don’t work anymore. You know, treasures.

I was looking through the log books when one trip in particular caught my eye. It was a load of chemicals I’d hauled from Taft, Louisiana to a town called Nitro, West Virginia. A hell trip if ever there was one. I asked Adam if wanted to hear the story. He thought about, then said something like, I’m sure it’s a good story grandpa, but is it going to be a long one? I was really hoping I could go upstairs to play my game pretty soon. I couldn’t help but laugh and told him to get his butt up there and get after it then.

So, here’s the deal. Now there’s nobody left to tell my story to except you guys. How about it, are you up to a road trip in a 75,000 lb. truck loaded down with explosive chemicals? Just so you know, this particular trip’s going to involve fun things like truck-stop hookers in Slidell, Louisiana, The Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans, a chemical plant explosion in Nitro, West Virginia, and the E.P.A. It wasn’t one of my favorite runs but it’s one of the one’s I’ll always remember.

Talk to you guys later…

Kevin McGinty

Random Thoughts...

2010-02-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

Just a few random thoughts to wind up the week:

So Tiger Woods comes out and apologizes for cheating on his wife and like so many other multi millionaires, he uses an addiction for an excuse. Whatever. It’s funny too, he really wanted to make sure people understood that his wife never did hit him. He’s a lucky guy. If his wife had been anything like mine, she’d have beat him half to death, sex addiction or not.

Just the other day, Hillary Clinton shocked the world by announcing that it appears that Iran is slowly becoming a Military dictatorship. And Thursday, the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delivered a shock of their own by telling the world it looks like maybe, just maybe Iran is actually working toward a nuclear weapons program. Duh! You just can’t get anything past these people, can you?

Last but not least, a couple of weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Corporations should be allowed to contribute to political campaigns of their choice. The outrage was swift and severe. But when Obama unveiled his 1.5 billion dollar, tax payer supported, plan today to bailout victims of the housing crisis in the state of Nevada while he just happened to be there campaigning for Harry Reid, we don’t even hear a whisper. Hmm, weird…

Have a good weekend guys, talk to you later…

Kevin McGinty

Lies, Lies, and more Lies...

2010-02-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

I gotta hand it to you global warming believers out there. No matter how much evidence is presented to prove you wrong, you continue to believe.

When the hacked email scandal broke, (climate gate) instead of questioning the lies the emails revealed, you wanted to attack the hackers. Because, you know, they’re the real criminals here, right? Typical.

When the ICPP, (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) who’s statement of principles goes something like this; Our mission is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, transparent basis, scientific, technical socio-economic information. IPCC reports should be neutral with respect to policy. When the IPCC released their, Nobel Prize winning report warning that the Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 and in the process billions of people who depend on the glaciers for drinking water will perish. You cheered them on.

But when the scientist behind the Himalayan glacier report scandal, Dr. Murari Lal, admitted the report was included purely to put political pressure on world leaders. He said in an interview, “We thought if we could highlight it, it would impact policy-makers and politicians and encourage them to take some concrete action.” Suddenly, you don’t want to talk about it. Hmm.

When discredited, scientist, Jeff Jones, said the other day that there has been no warming of any kind in the last fifteen years and admitted the earth was probably much warmer in mid-evil times, you remain silent. Weird.

But still, you believe. You say, all this proves nothing.

Ah, but it does. It proves that when you build your house on a foundation of nothing but lies, exaggerations, and half-truths, the entire house will eventually crumble.

Yet you continue to believe. Weird…

Kevin McGinty

Small Miracles

2010-02-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Thank God for small miracles.

Because of the massive blizzards that have pounded the entire eastern seaboard over the last few days, Washington D.C. and Congress has been shut down for the last three days in a row now. How many trillions of dollars do you suppose that has saved us?

Also because of major winter storms throughout the entire United States the last two years now, Al Gore has gone into hiding. Don’t worry though, his allies of the faith, are still out there. I heard a guy the other day claiming the downturn of the earth’s temperature the last few years and this years major winter blizzards are further proof of global-warming. Sorry, but a lot of us just aren’t buying it anymore.

On the upside, I heard a report that the ten American’s being held in Haiti could be released as early as tomorrow. Hopefully, by the time you read this they’ll all be on their way home and we can have a little good news for a change…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

How About Standing Up For America For A Change...

2010-02-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. President,

It’s no secret I don’t like you or what you’re trying to do to our country and according to your plunging approval ratings, a lot of others feel the same way.

You’ve spent the last year traveling around the world apologizing for everything America has ever done, real or imagined, to anyone who would listen. We’ve watched you bow to way too many world leaders. You say it’s a sign of respect. I disagree.

But Mr. President, you have a unique chance to stand up for America for a change. I’m talking about the ten Americans being held against their will in horrid conditions in a jail somewhere in the middle of Haiti.

You might remind, Haitian President, Mr. Preval, that if it weren’t for America and her generous people most of their population would have starved to death by now. You might remind him that it was the American’s who first responded when his country was destroyed. You might want to mention that we responded because that’s what we do. And we do it because we care.

You need to assure him you realize there were probably international laws broken by the actions of the ten American citizens being held in his country for trying to rescue kids from his ravaged, dysfunctional country. Assure him they will be held accountable for their actions. Remind him that although these American citizens might not have had the paper work required of them, they were just trying to help some of the kids he‘s not able to anyway.

Explain to him that it’s imperative the Americans they’re holding be transferred to U.S. custody within 48 hours or you will send in a few marines and we’ll take them back, by force, if that’s the way it has to be. And if has to come to that, America will pack up everything we’re doing there, go home and take care of ourselves for a change. Maybe France will step up to the plate.

What’s it going to be, Mr. President? Are you going to stand up for America for a change or are you going to let this idiot make a fool out of us?

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

What A Crock...

2010-02-03T13:11:00.001-08:00

“The lopsided approach of only cutting expenditures isn’t working. The state clearly needs additional revenue, and it’s time the Legislature quit listening to lobbyists’ gloom and doom predictions and come up with a plan to deal with the issue.”

Those are the words of a lady from Lecompton in a letter to the editor the other day. And in my own humble opinion, it’s a completely, bass-akward way of thinking.

How about this, how about instead of constantly raising our taxes, how about we hold our elected officials personally responsible for the decisions they make as far as how they spend the tax dollars they’ve all promised to be good stewards of.

They tell us we’re $400 million short of being able to balance the budget. It’s a crisis they say. Yeah it probably is too. You don’t think it has anything to do with the wasteful spending they’ve done in past years, do you? Of course not. We’ve already cut government expenses to the bone.

How vital was it to dump $300 million into the bottomless pit otherwise known as our State Capital Building right here in Topeka when most of us in the private sector are doing our best just to put food on the table and keep the lights on.

Locally, our know it all, Topeka City Council, in all their collective, infinite wisdom told us the City’s broke and the only way we can have decent streets to drive on is to approve a tax increase. Okay, enough of us fell for it and voted to give them just what they asked for.

Yeah, the City’s broke alright. So broke that they approved some of the most ridiculously, expensive projects I’ve ever heard of in the middle of a recession. Yeah, we really “needed” to spend $1.2 million dollars to replace the cart paths at the Topeka Public Golf Course. There must be an overwhelming “need” to have a new building at Gage Park’s Helen Hocker Theater. I mean, the need must be huge if we’re willing to put up $853,000 dollars to build it, right? Oh yeah, let’s not forget the Landon Trail. They approved an additional $145,000 dollars to extend it. What a crock.

Oh yeah, how about those poor ol’ school districts out there. They’re just barely getting by, right? That’s another crock and those of us who pay attention, know it too.

Tell me, what’d they do with the $700 million the Supreme Court handed them a few years ago. How many new gyms did they build? How many new band and football uniforms did that money buy? How many new football and soccer fields have we paid for? What about baseball diamonds? And once you build all these impressive facilities, you simply have to have new stadiums to go along with them, right? Whatever!

I was working in Hays a couple of weeks ago. And it just so happened they were hosting a big wrestling tournament. Schools were in town from all over western Kansas. Nothing wrong with that. But you should have seen what they were driving. Parking lots all over town were loaded with top of the line, School District, Chevy Suburbans and Ford Expeditions.

Yeah, they’re broke alright. They’re talking about closing and consolidating schools. Talking about cutting programs and laying off teachers. But there’s no way in hell the administrators should have to travel in anything but the best.
What a crock…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Beecher Island: The Conclusion...

2010-01-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

You know, the more I learn about the Battle of Beecher Island, the more I want to talk about it. But I did promise to wrap it up within five installments and like they say, a deal’s a deal.

The rest of the story is a little sketchy. What I mean is that I’ve read several different versions of it by several different authors. So I’m just going to go with the version they inscribed on the monument in 1905. I figure if that’s the story they’re sticking to, it’s good enough for me.

Lieutenant, Forsyth knew if they were going to survive he’d have to send for help. On the first night, J.S. Stillwell and P. Trudeau escaped by crawling past the Indian’s lines on their hands and knees. Their assignment was to reach Fort Wallace, some 60 miles to the southeast any way they could and send help.

Because of all the Indians in the area, Stillwell and Trudeau were forced to travel by night and spend their days in hiding. On the 5th day, they flagged down a stagecoach and rode it the rest of the way to Fort Wallace.

On the third night, Forsyth sent two more men named, J. Donovan, and A.G. Pilley in the direction of Fort Donovan. They followed the south fork of the Republican River and eventually reached Fort Donovan, but because the soldiers were out in the field, the place was mostly deserted. They were able to round up four men and immediately headed back toward Beecher Island. Finally, once they had gotten within about twenty miles from the island, they ran across Captain Louis H. Carpenter and his Company of about 60 “Buffalo Soldiers,” who were out on patrol. Captain Louis was a good friend of Forsyth’s from the Civil War, and as soon as the two scouts told him of their situation, Donovan and Pilley led them on a twenty mile, mad dash.

Meanwhile, back on the island, Forsyth and his men’s situation was getting desperate. The only food they had was the putrid, rotting meat of their dead horses. The injuries of the wounded had become infected and many of them were literally on the verge of dying. They had no way knowing whether the two teams they’d sent for help even got past the Indians, let alone whether or not they were coming back.

Finally, at 10:00 AM on the ninth day (September 26th, 1868) since their ordeal began, the men trapped on the island saw movement on the prairie. Within an hour they could see it was a Cavalry unit coming their way. The Indians were also watching this movement. They knew they had failed to starve the white men to death like they wanted and reluctantly decided to move on.

Captain Louis and his Buffalo Soldiers fed the men who were able to eat and began trying to stabilize the wounded as best they could. One scout’s injuries were so severe, Captain Louis’ surgeon decided the only way to save the man’s life was to amputate his left leg.

You need understand just how brutal this had to have been. It’s not like they had a clean, sterilized operating room to work in. It took place on a filthy sand bar in the middle of a river, surrounded by the stench of fifty dead and rotting horses that were laying everywhere. Somehow, civilian scout, Lewis Farley lived through the surgery but didn’t make it through the night. A few hours before sunrise on the morning of the 27th, he became the fifth and final casualty in the battle of Beecher Island.

About noon the next day, a full twenty-six hours after Captain Louis and his Buffalo Soldiers from Fort Donovan arrived, civilian scouts, Stillwell and Trudeau arrived with help from Fort Wallace in Kansas. To say they were relieved to find that help had already arrived would be an understatement. The rescue they had planned had turned into an evacuation and they loaded the weak and wounded into Government wagons for the two day trip back to Fort Wallace.

Today, one hundred-forty-one-years later, you can safely stand on the exact spot the island was. You can see the ravine, Roman Nose led his attacks from. And you can walk a mile long trail around the battle field. The first stop on the trail is a memorial dedicated to one of the bravest Cheyenne warriors who ever lived, Roman Nose on top of the hill he led his last charge from. It’s a very moving experience. Anyway, it was for me.

It was pointed out to me that this whole thing didn’t happen along the Republican River after all. So for a point of clarification, it took place on a the Arickaree Fork of the Republican River. Hope that helps clear things up.

It was suggested in an e-mail that I provide references to back up my story. Fair enough. Just do like I did before I even took the trip. Google it. It’s as simple as that.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the story about The Battle of Beecher Island as much as I’ve enjoyed telling it and I also hope one day you get the chance to take a road trip to Wray Colorado to see it for yourself.

Talk to you guys later…

Kevin McGinty

Beecher Island: Part Four...

2010-01-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

Let’s see now, where were we? Oh yeah, the last time we talked, Lieutenant Forsyth and his fifty-one scouts had barricaded themselves on a small sand bar (Beecher Island) in the middle of the Republican River. They had survived the initial attack with only two casualties. Second in command, Lt. Beecher and civilian scout, George W. Culver had both been killed. Lt. Forsyth had been shot in the leg, and acting surgeon, Dr. JH Moores had been shot in the head, but for some reason or another, was still alive. They were now bracing themselves for an all out assault on their position from a band of approximately 300 Indian warriors led by the well known, Cheyenne Warrior, Roman Nose.

Because of the way the ravine Roman Nose had decided to attack from was situated, the men could hear the Indians coming before they ever saw them. Forsyth shouted out a few last minute orders. He told them this was it, there was no more time to prepare. He directed them to look out for one another, to hold their fire until the Indians reached the edge of the river, and to make every shot count. It probably wasn’t politically correct, but he also told them he’d personally kill any man who tried to desert his post.

The attack was classic, Roman Nose. There he was, fearless, and like always, front and center. But because of the narrow ravine he had chosen to attack from he and his men had become easy targets for Forsyth and his men.

As they emerged, the Indians were only two or three abreast and with the new Spencer Seven-Shooter, one after another fell. The attacks came wave after wave and the results were all pretty much the same. Every Indian who came within range was met with another, deadly accurate bullet.

Roman Nose called off the attack long enough to regroup. It was decided they’d break up into several smaller groups and try to surround the men on the sand bar. Who knows, maybe if they’d tried this tactic from the beginning, things would have turned out different.

Roman Nose led his group from the top of a hill just west of Forsyth’s position. By now he was full of rage. He was driven by his hatred of the white man and had become frustrated by his inability to slaughter this small group of men. Maybe he had become careless by making himself such an easy target. But this would be Roman Nose’s last fight.

As he reached the river’s edge, Roman Nose was met with a fatal shot. He struggled to stay on his horse for a while. But finally, death overtook him and he fell where he was. His death had an immediate, demoralizing effect on the warriors and the attack was called off.

Because of a good, last minute plan, and superior fire power, Forsyth and his men had won the battle against what seemed like impossible odds.

But it wasn’t over. The battle had now become a siege. The Indians decided if they couldn’t beat the white men in this battle, they’d keep them pinned down on their sand bar and simply starve them to death. And so it began.

Once it became clear the battle was over Forsyth and his men slowly crawled out of their holes in the sand to take stock of themselves and of each other. They had lost two more men in the battle. Civilian Scouts, William Nelson and Lewis Farley had both been killed. When they went to check on the surgeon, DH Moorse, they discovered he had also died of the gun shot wound to the head he had suffered earlier in the day. On top of all that, there were 18 more men wounded, some of them critically.

All the food and medical supplies the men had were loaded on the four pack-mules they brought with them. All four mules had been killed and were laying some hundred yards to the north of their position. They might as well have been on the moon. There was no way the Indians were going to allow the men to retrieve any of their supplies. They tended to the wounded as best as they could and tried not to think about having no food.

As night fell, they buried their dead on the battlefield and Forsyth explained their situation to his men. He told them it looked like the Indians intended to starve them out and asked for volunteers to break through the Indian‘s lines and head some sixty miles away to Fort Wallace for help. Four men stepped forward.

Kevin McGinty

Beecher Island: Part Three...

2010-01-27T07:07:00.000-08:00

Satisfied that he’d made all the preparations he could, Forsyth retreated to the tent he shared with his second in command, Lt. Beecher. They talked about the fight they were about to take on and they talked about their families and made other small talk. The fact they were going up against the fearsome warrior, Roman Nose seemed to bother both men but neither of them really wanted to talk about it.

They knew they were outnumbered and the only real chance they had was to try to catch the enemy off guard by attacking them while they were still asleep. The plan was to hit them at 4:00 the next morning.

What they didn’t know, was that they had been lured into a trap. The 150 Cheyenne warriors they had followed to this place in the middle of nowhere had been joined overnight by warriors of the Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and the Ogala Souix tribes, making them a combined force of somewhere between 750 and 1000 strong.

It was still a couple hours before sunrise on the morning of Sept. 17, 1868, the men were breaking camp, saddling up their horses, and making final preparations for the battle that lie ahead when out of nowhere, came the first rifle shot from one of the sentries posted on the hills surrounding the camp.

Eight or nine warriors had snuck past the sentry’s position and into camp in an effort to stampede the men’s horses and leave Forsyth and his men stranded on foot and making them easy targets. Once it became clear that wasn’t going to work, the warriors disappeared back into the night just as fast as they had appeared.

Forsyth knew he had lost the chance of a surprise attack and need time to consider his next move.

It was quiet for the next hour or so. Then just as the sun started to rise, shots rang out from the rest of the sentries. The men came riding into camp as fast as their horses could take them to report they were being surrounded on all sides by more hostile Indians than they’d ever seen at one time.

In no time at all, it became apparent just how much trouble they were in. The Indians had started to crest the hills overlooking the camp. They were lined up on both sides of the river as far as the eye could see.

Forsyth knew if he and his men were going to have any chance of surviving they had to find some kind of cover, and quick. He ordered them to retreat to a small sandbar (island) in the middle of the river about a hundred yards just south of their position. It was a pretty good size sandbar with one lone Cottonwood tree and a large growth of Willows growing around it. It wasn’t much, but he knew it was the only chance they had.

They made a mad dash toward the island. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds either. The river back then was a lot wider and deeper than it is today. There were parts where the water came up to the men’s chests but they all made it.

Just as they made it to the island, the Indians started their attack. It was vicious. The air was filled with hot lead and arrows and it didn’t let up. Right off the bat, Forsyth was shot in the leg, and his second in command, Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher was killed. Most of the horses were killed and fell where they stood. Struggling to stay alert, Forsyth ordered his men to use the dead horses for cover and to start digging holes in the soft sand (foxholes) with their tin plates, rifle butts, or their bare hands.

The plan worked, and after an hour the Indians became frustrated and called off the initial attack and retreated back over the hills they had come from to regroup. The men on the sandbar realized they were getting good cover and used this time to re-enforce their holes in the sand and to tend to the wounded the best they could. Lt. Forsyth used the time to dig out the lead ball that been buried deep in his thigh.

It was somewhere around noon that day when Forsyth and his men watched as the Indians gathered again. They knew they were making plans for another attack. They also noticed that in the middle of the gathering was a big, tall Indian who seemed to be doing most of the talking. They knew at once it was none other than Roman Nose himself.

They didn’t have to wait long for the plan to unfold. Roman Nose led a party of about three hundred warriors in a direct assault on their position from a small ravine to the west, as the rest of their war party tried to sneak in from both sides of the river using the tall grass for cover.

What Roman Nose and his warriors didn’t know, was that Forsyth and his men were all armed with a new type of rifle, the .56 Cal. Spencer Seven-Shooter. The Indians were well aware of the damage a single shot rifle was capable of but this was the first time they’d ever came up against a repeating rifle. To say the least, the results were devastating.

Kevin McGinty

Beecher Island: Part Two...

2010-01-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Let’s see now, where were we? Oh yeah, we were talking about a battle site in northeastern Colorado called Beecher Island I visited a while back.

We talked about Lieutenant Forsyth leading a group of fifty-one men in search of a band renegade Indians. Forsyth and his men had caught up the Indians they had been pursuing on the afternoon of September 17th, 1868 just west of Fort Wallace, which was located in the westernmost part of the Kansas territory. In order to rest his men, Forsyth ordered them to make camp in a small valley along the Republican River early that evening, and Forsyth and his second in command, Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher had retreated to their tent to plan their next move and to await their date with destiny.

Alright then, today we’re going to talk about one of the main players they were going up against, Cheyenne Chief, Roman Nose.

First off, the white’s had his name wrong. He was given the Indian name by his people, Woqini, (Arched Nose or Hooked Nose.) It was the white’s who interpreted it as Roman Nose. Anyway, the name stuck. He was a giant of a man, he stood well over six feet tall, and was an imposing figure on the battlefield who literally struck fear into the hearts of his enemies with his straight, in your face style of battle. He conducted himself in battle to such a high degree that the Generals in the U.S. military considered him the Chief of the entire Cheyenne nation.

Contrary to popular belief, Roman Nose never was a Chief, a dog soldier, or the leader of any of the Cheyenne military societies. He was however, known to all as one of the greatest Cheyenne warriors to ever live and the greatest leader during any and all combat situations.

Roman Nose was driven by his hatred of the white man, and the U.S. Government in particular for breaking the treaties they had signed with his people in the mid-1860’s. Following the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29th, 1864 where some four hundred Indians, mostly older men, women, and children were brutally slaughtered by a group of renegade, U.S. soldiers led by Colonel John Chivington, Roman Nose began his retaliatory attacks against any white settlements he came across along the Platte valley of southwestern Nebraska, western Kansas, and eastern Colorado. Native American author and physician, Charles Eastman, once wrote of Roman Nose, “Perhaps no other warrior attacked more emigrants along the Oregon Trail between 1864 and 1868.”

Some spoke of him as being arrogant and flamboyant. Other’s described him as simply brutal in nature. In April, 1867 General Winfield Hancock sent word to the Cheyenne that he wanted to talk. They sent Roman Nose to Fort Larned to conduct the talks with the white General. Roman Nose arrived at this meeting wearing the uniform of a General in the U.S. military. He had a Spencer carbine rifle hanging from his saddle, four Navy revolvers stuck in his belt, a knife strapped to both of his legs, and a bow, already strung with arrows in his left hand. He started the talks with a simple demand, “talk.” The General knew right then, Roman Nose wouldn’t be intimidated and it didn’t matter to him one way or the other whether they talked or they fought.

Meanwhile, back at their campsite along the Republican River, Lieutenant Forsyth was well aware of the stories surrounding, Roman Nose. He was also aware of the fact that, Roman Nose was among the War Party they were planning to engage in the morning.

About an hour after they had eaten, Forsyth gathered his men to inform them of their situation. The forward scouts had just returned and reported seeing as many as 150 Indian warriors camped in a ravine about a half a mile west of their position. He explained to them they were probably going to be outnumbered by at least three to one. With that in mind his plan was to catch them off guard while they were still sleeping. He told his men to have their horses saddled and to be ready to head out by 4:00 the next morning. He told them to make sure their guns were in good working order and to get as much rest as they could.

He rode out to visit with the sentries he had posted along the hills surrounding their camp to make sure they understood what their job was. He instructed each man to fire a single shot if he saw or heard any kind of movement. He stressed that he only wanted the shot to come from the direction of that movement. In case of a surprise attack, he wanted to be able to tell exactly where it was coming from. He reminded them that the lives of every single member of their party depended on them, and one by one, he asked each of them if they were still up to it. He reminded them they had all volunteered for this job but told them if they wanted to back out he would understand and wouldn’t think any less of them because of it. Every one of them had their own reasons but they all agreed to stay and fight.

As Forsyth rode back to camp he thought of the battle that lay ahead. He thought of other battles he‘d been involved in over the years. He had been outnumbered before and had always been able to prevail. He was sure he had chosen good men who be counted on and they were very well armed. Still, he had a bad feeling about this one.

Kevin McGinty

Beecher Island: Part One...

2010-01-24T15:39:00.000-08:00

I know, let’s talk some more politics today. Ah, just kidding. Actually, I’ve got a really cool story to tell about a road-trip I took a while back.

I know, this is an old story and some of you have already read it. Hopefully, some of you out there haven’t seen it yet and find it interesting enough to follow along. Here’s the deal, I’ve always been interested in history, especially the mid-1800’s. It was a time of great change in our country. But it was also a time of incredible danger.

This is a story about a place in the far, north-eastern corner of Colorado called “Beecher Island,” and in order to do the story any kind of justice at all, I’m probably going to have to spread it out over the next three or four installments. Maybe five. Besides, I’m sure by now, some of you have grown tired of me going on and on about Obama and his liberal friends anyway. How about it, you ready to take a step back in time?

Beecher Island is the site of one of the fiercest battles between the Plains Indians and elements of the 7th Cavalry during the time America was expanding westward. And just for the record, I’m not telling this story to take sides between the whites and the Indians either. I’m just telling the story the way it happened. Nothing more. Nothing less.

It was the summer of 1868. General, Phillip Sheridan was becoming frustrated by his 7th Cavalry’s inability to stop the ongoing, brutal attacks against white settlers by the Indian tribes of the western plains. He decided the best way to combat this problem was to form smaller, well-equipped (I’ll get to the well-equipped part in another column) detachments of civilian volunteers to pursue and punish these tribes whenever and wherever they found them. He reasoned it would be easier for a smaller detachment on horses to move around than it would be for an entire Cavalry unit. In August of 1868, he appointed Lieutenant, George Forsyth to head up just such a detachment.

Lieutenant, Forsyth was stationed at Fort Hays at the time. He put the word out and before long he had signed up fifty-one men willing to join him in this fight. Many of the men who volunteered had been victims of earlier Indian attacks themselves. Some had lost loved one’s or good friends and were looking for revenge. In just a short time they were ready and headed west along the trade routes looking for signs of any marauding Indians they could find.

Forsyth and his men reached Fort Wallace late in the afternoon of September, 14th. The Governor of Colorado had sent word to the commander of the fort that there had been another brutal attack in eastern Colorado. Seventy-nine men, women, and children had been slaughtered over the course of the last few days and they were looking for any kind of help they could get.

The group of volunteers from Fort Hays were on their way early the next morning. It wasn’t long before Forsyth’s scouts picked up what seemed to be fresh tracks of a huge band of Indians. They followed the tracks late into the evening.

They got an early start the next morning, Sept.16th, and by that afternoon they had caught a glimpse or two of the Indians they had been pursuing. Because of the distance and the rugged landscape of the prairie, Forsyth and his men couldn’t tell exactly how many Indians they preparing up against. But he did know, he and his men were woefully outnumbered. He also knew the Indians were well aware of the fact they were being followed, so the element of surprise he had hoped for was gone.

He needed time to plan his next move. And he knew his men needed to rest, so he ordered them to make camp where they were. He gave them extra provisions that evening. He figured they were camped in a good spot. They were in a small valley just a few hundred yards north of the Republican River. There were hills to the north and south of their position. He posted extra men on top of these hills to guard against a surprise attack.

Under a bright, moon lit sky, that night, the men ate till they were full for a change. Afterwards, they broke up into small groups. Some of them talked nervously about the battle that was sure to come in the morning. Some of them used the time to clean their guns and check their ammunition supplies. Who knows, some of them probably even said a prayer or two.

Lieutenant, Forsyth and his second in command, Lieutenant, Frederick H. Beecher retreated to their tent to make their plans. And I’d be willing to bet that they too might have said a silent prayer themselves. For tomorrow they’d more than likely meet their destiny.

Just Getting Started...

2010-01-22T16:39:00.000-08:00

"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of "liberalism" they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will become a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." (Norman Thomas, former U.S. Socialist Presidential Candidate, 1948.)

Yeah, the American people, Massachusetts Tea-Baggers, if you will, have spoken loud and clear. And we're coming after the rest of you in November.

Got it? Good...

How Do You Like Us Now...

2010-01-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

You said it didn’t matter in West Virginia. You said it wasn’t that big a deal in New Jersey. You wouldn’t listen during last summer’s town hall meetings. You said they were just a loud, insignificant, bunch of racist tea-baggers who nobody’s paying attention to anyway.

You did your best to downplay the tea-party rallies that began springing up all across the nation. When a million-plus converged in Washington, you said it was just a, Fox News generated fad. One that will soon pass.

Last night, The American people said in one, crystal-clear, united, voice. We’ve had enough.

We’ve had enough of the lies. We’ve had enough of the corruption, bribes, and special backroom deals that have become the norm for the, Obama administration. And we’ve had enough of your socialism. This is America. Not Europe.

So… How do you like us now?

How do you like the fact that those ignorant, tea-baggers have fired the first shot of the second American Revolution from the same place the first one started? Kind of fitting, if you ask me.

One last thought: I’ve listened to you guys say this for the last year and thought it was only fitting to include it in my own thoughts today.

We won. Get over it…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

The People's Seat...

2010-01-18T17:13:00.000-08:00

“With all due respect, it’s not The Kennedy Seat. It’s the people’s Seat.” That response by, Scott Brown ranks right up there with the best of the best.

Yeah, that’s the guy I want. The guy who can shut down the debate simply by stating facts. And he did it all without hurling a single insult. What a concept.

They say if Brown can pull this election in Massachusetts, it’ll be one of the biggest political upsets of all time. Even Fox News acts surprised at the possibility. Why would that surprise anyone?

Here’s the deal and it’s really not all that complicated. You know those ignorant, tea-baggers. The one’s the left tried so hard to marginalize. Guess what. The tea-baggers aren‘t going anywhere and they’re just getting started. Let me explain who these tea-baggers really are.

We might be the guy who fixes your furnace or the cop down the street. We might have been your waitress during lunch today. Might have been the guy who cooked it too. We’re teachers, doctors, and lawyers. We’re truck drivers and airline pilots. Maybe we’re the guys who pick up your trash or the one who decides whether you get that loan or not. We’re politicians and preachers. Brick layers, and carpenters. We’re farmers and ranchers and oil-field workers too. We’re the people who actually do stuff instead of just reading about it.

We’re black and white, young and old. We’re moms and dads, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. We’re Republican, Democrat, and Independents all rolled up into one. The one thing we all have in common is this. We’re the American people. And the American people don’t like being pushed around. We don’t take kindly to being threatened or called names by anybody.

We bought into the Hope and Change promises, Obama made. We trusted him, so we elected him. Now we regret it, and we’re here to do something about it.

What the lunatics underestimated was the fact that the American people kind of like that little thing called freedom. You see, we’re willing to fight for it. And it starts Tuesday, January 19, 2010 in the Democrat stronghold of Massachusetts.

But then again, I could be wrong. Talk to you guys later…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Oh hi...

2010-01-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, Pat Robertson, the holy rollin’ founder of The 700 Club, made a fool of himself few days ago by claiming Haitian leaders had made a deal with the Devil and as a result is now a cursed nation. And that was what brought the earthquake to their country.

Then just a day or so days later, ultra-liberal, America- hating, Hollywood actor, Danny Glover blamed the whole thing on global-warming. He told us that the earthquake was a result of the world not to reach an agreement in Copenhagen.

So, who’s the crazy one here? The right-wing extremist or the left-wing extremist?

Sorry, I got sidetracked. What I really wanted to talk about today was the special election taking place Tuesday in the liberal stronghold state of, Massachusetts.

Stop by tomorrow. I want to talk what this election means to the Democrats and all they hold dear.

We’ll probably start out by talking a little bit about those redneck, tea-baggers. You know the one’s. They’re the one’s the liberals have mocked and ridiculed. They’re the same one’s who are going to take this country back. And believe me when I say a, Scott Brown win Tuesday will be huge.

With all due respect. It’s not, The Kennedy Seat. It’s the People’s Seat. What a great line.

Freedom of Speech. Don’t take it for granted…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

I've Figured It Out...

2010-01-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

First you hear them honking. They’re usually pretty far away and it’s hard to tell exactly which direction they’re coming in from. Then you spot the first of them and here they come.

We’ve all see those flocks of geese flying overhead. I love it when I get a chance to see multiple flocks at one time. It’s amazing that birds that large can be so graceful.

I understand about the V formation they always use. They rotate from front to back to front. The geese in the back can rest up by riding the air currents of their partners. Pretty cool.

But have you ever noticed that one side of their V formation is always longer than the other?

It’s not like I sit around worrying about it but I’ve always kind of wondered why, I guess. Anyway, I was on my way home from western Kansas yesterday when it hit me. Yep, I figured it out.

Talk to you guys later…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Fair Trial

2010-01-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

In your opinion, why shouldn't the man who killed, George Tiller, Scott Roeder be allowed to use the immenent threat defense?

Very Important, Not That Important, or Not Sure...

2010-01-13T07:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah I know, Glenn Beck’s a liar, a cheat, a fraud, or whatever name you can think of to call him. And like always, his critics are so busy launching personal attacks they never really get around to the issues he brings up. It’s almost like there’s a pattern here. Weird.

Yesterday he brought up a recent survey that asked how important some of our basic rights were. There were three possible answers to choose from. Very Important, Not That Important, and Not Sure.

Very Important The Rest

The right to speak freely: 70% 30%
The right to assemble: 65% 35%
The right to worship or not to: 60% 40%
The right to privacy: 60% 40%
The right to bear arms: 45% 55%
The right to a fair trial: 70% 30%
Protection from unreasonable search and seizure: 60% 40%

How can any of these questions not be 100% Very Important? What’s happened to us?

And how in the world can anyone Not Be Sure? How can you not understand how important these rights are. These rights are the essence of what makes America, America. You know, the whole Land Of The Free thing.

And if you do understand what our rights are but for some reason, believe they’re Not That Important, well, you’re an idiot, and I don’t know how else to call it. Sorry.

Yeah, that Glenn Beck’s crazy alright…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

A Test From The Underground Bunker

2010-01-12T18:04:00.001-08:00

Question: What’s a liberal hate more than Fox News?

Answer: Sarah Palin.

Question: What’s a liberal hate more than Sarah Palin teaming up with Fox News?

Answer: Nothing. Hehehe…

Bunker #2...

2010-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Testing, testing, one, two, three, testing. Is anybody out there? Testing.

Oh there you are. I was just doing a systems check. Today and probably from now on I’ll be reporting from my new, secret, underground bunker. And I owe it all to a guy who calls into Raubin and Megan’s On the Other Hand show. He calls in to give his reports from his own bunker. I can’t remember his name, and if anybody out there knows it, please let me know. I’d like to give him proper credit for showing me the way.

Anyway, this guy’s my inspiration. He’s made me realize, I’m not the only one. There are others. Other’s who believe as I do. Other’s who see as I see, and feel as I feel. Yeah, I stole that right out of the movie, “V For Vendetta” sue me.

Sorry, the place is a mess. I’m still working on it. We just finished with the blast-proof door and window yesterday. The ventilation and climate control systems are a go. Communication systems are all working properly and I’m well stocked with food. And I’ve carefully lined the walls, the floor, and ceiling with extra heavy duty tin foil, to. You can’t be too careful. The only project left, and I’ll need more tin foil to finish it. I still need a tin foil hat. Because, well, that’s what extremists do. LMAO.

So without further ado from bunker #2, let’s talk about what’s so bad about communism. I’ll go first.

Last week one of my new cj friend’s challenged me to explain what was so bad about communism. Wow, it astounds me to think it even has to be explained in the first place. But he did ask.

Let’s just touch the left’s all time favorite communist dictator, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung. Here’s a quote from the dictator himself.

“In out great motherland, a new era is emerging in which the workers, peasants, and soldiers are grasping Marxism-Leninism, Mao Tse-Tung’s thought. Once these thoughts are grasped by the masses, it becomes an inexhaustible source of strength and a spiritual atom bomb of infinite power. It is our hope that all comrades will learn earnestly and diligently, bring about a new nation-wide high tide in the creative study and application of Chairman Mao works and, under the great red banner of Mao Tse-Tung’s thought, strive to build our country into a great socialist state with modern agriculture, modern industry, modern science, and a modern national defense. Sounds like the perfect, Communist/Marxist/Socialist, utopia. He must have really cared.”

Results: 70 million Chinese men, women, and children brutally murdered or starved to death during his rein. And in a nutshell, my friends, that’s what’s so bad about Communism.

Hope all is well with you and yours and I’ll talk to you later…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Dear Bobby...

2010-01-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Dang, Bobby. What’s you problem anyway, man? Why are you so full of rage? And what good do you think calling me a bunch of stupid names and making up wild, deranged stories is going to do you anyway?

First off, and yes, we’ve talked about it before. Listen up, I’m being serious. The whole calling me a “wing nut” thing. Sorry, man, that just doesn‘t bother. About the same as calling someone a bolt. It just doesn’t make sense. Again, I’m sorry, man, it just doesn’t offend me.

In one of you last posts, you called me a pathetic, wing nut, then said I was the “ijit” (what exactly is an ijit) who insists on all babies being born only so I can raise them until they’re old enough to be lethally injected so I can write the companion piece about how much it costs to keep them in prison. Where in the world did you get all that? It sure wasn’t from anything I’ve ever written.

Bobby, you have no idea who I am. Other than what I’ve written, you know nothing about me. Yet you hate me. You seem to hate everyone who disagrees with you with a passion. How’s that work? Or is it that you’re trying to impress your buddies. Maybe you’re just trying to show everybody how tough you are. I know, you and your like minded buddies like to yuk it up any time you get the chance to gang up on somebody because they disagree with you.

Here’s the deal, Bobby. I know what you’re trying to do. It’s the same tactic you guys all use. You rant and rave, call us a bunch of stupid names. You’ll use any means you think is necessary, including lying and slandering to discredit anyone who disagrees with you. You yell and scream some of the most vile, disgusting things ever said. And somehow you believe if you keep it up long enough, we’ll shut up.

Sorry, man. But it’s not going to happen here. And I’m not just talking about this blog either. I’m talking about the sleeping giant (call us tea-baggers if you will) your side has awoken with all your crap. Maybe there was a time your tactics worked but, my friend, that ship has already sailed.

Yeah, call us tea-baggers. Call us hicks, rednecks, hillbillies, uneducated freaks, religious zealots, racists, flat-earthers, or deniers all you want. It just makes you look little and I won’t be dragged down to your level.

Other than that, have a good, man…

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Bo

2010-01-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

Please don’t be sad mommy, it’ll be okay. Whatever it is, we can get through it together. Hey, we’re going to see the doctor tomorrow. That‘s always fun. I love the sonograms because it shows us how big I’m getting. Last time we were there I heard the doctor say I was a perfectly formed little boy. He said I had all my fingers and toes. That’s good news, isn’t it? I heard him saying something about time was running out to decide though. I’ll bet he was talking about it being time to name me. You haven’t mentioned it so I’m thinking maybe you haven’t made up your mind yet. I’ve got a couple suggestions. How about John Wayne? That would be cool mommy. It would come in handy when you buy me my first pair of cowboy boots. Maybe Einstein. I might not be as smart as him but I bet I‘m pretty close mommy. Maybe Superman or Zoro, yeah, that‘d be cool. Hey, I know, how about naming me Bo. I like that name.

Mommy, I heard a man talking about this being a bad time. What did he mean, mommy? This is going to be a great time. You’ll see. I can hardly wait till you can hold me for the first time. And the first time our eyes meet is going to be something special, I promise. You’re going to love the way I run to you for comfort. There’s no safer place than in your mother’s arms. I’m going to need a lot of help learning to walk. They tell me it’s pretty hard. With your help, we‘ll figure it out, you’ll see.

It’s going to break my heart when I have to go to kindergarten. But that’s the only way I can learn to read. I can’t wait to read you a bedtime story for a change mommy. Will you teach me how to play baseball? I heard it was fun. Will we go to Gage Park? Teach me about the monkeys mommy. I think they’re funny. How about my first bike, will you help me learn how to ride it mommy? I think I’d like to play the guitar. Can you teach me how. I hope you name me Bo. I really think it’s a cool name. Mommy and Bo. We’ll make a great team, you’ll see.

Mommy, I heard that man talking about time being up. Didn’t you tell him we’d decided to name me Bo? Tell him mommy. I don’t like that man, mommy, he makes you cry. When I get big I‘ll never make you sad mommy, I promise. You’ll see.

Mommy, I heard you and that man talking about a new doctor. Is that why you’re sad? Are you afraid? Don’t be. We’ll get through this together. You’ll see. I promise to behave myself if that’s what you’re worried about. I want to make a good impression on our new doctor too. Mommy, I’m getting sleepy. Don’t worry, I won’t forget to say my prayers.

Now I lay me, down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless Mommy and Bo. Wake me up when we get to the new doctor.

Mommy, that new doctor scares me. He’s not nice like our other one, he scares me mommy. Please, let’s go home. Mommy, he’s hurting me! Mommy, he’s pulling on my arm with something. Mommy, mommy, please help me! Mommy, he’s poking me in the head with something. Mommy I’m scared, please make him stop! Please make him stop, mo…

All Bo wanted was the right to live. What's so bad about that? Please choose life.

Kevin McGinty

www.rm235.blogspot.com

Let Me Introduce Myself...

2010-01-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

I’d like to throw a great big, well deserved, “shout out” out there to Dennis Moore and Laura Kelly for being among the first Democratic losers in the 2010 Congressional races.

Yeah I know, that was a cheap shot, some might even call it unfair. But come on, you know as well as I do that they (and many, many, more Democrats) have seen the writing on the wall. It’s a lot easier to make up some noble excuse why they're not running than it would be to face the humiliating defeats they know are coming their way in just eleven short months. I’m just saying, that's all.

I’m getting ahead of myself here. I probably ought to spend this week introducing myself and talking about some of the things we‘ll be discussing in this space. Some of you might be familiar with my column, “Room 235." I spent the last three years writing for the Topeka Metro News. Denise Hall recently sold the paper and the new owners figured they could get along just fine without me and kicked me to the curb. Anyway, now you’re stuck with me.

As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’ll be writing from a right-wing (common sense) point of view. I’ll do my best to be respectful and to avoid the name calling that’s so common nowadays. Well, I might slip every once in a while and call someone a left-wing loon. What can I say?

I oppose Obama and all he stands for, which apparently makes me an unpatriotic, ignorant redneck. Oh yeah, and a racist to boot. I mean, what other reason could there possibly be for someone not wanting his Socialist, Marxist, Communist, (or whatever it is) agenda to succeed?

The people who’ve whole-heartedly bought into the whole global-warming hysteria crack me up. I know, some of you guys are too young to remember it, but a lot of the same scientists that are telling us we’re all doomed today because of global-warming are the same one’s who told us global-cooling was going to kill us all back in the 60’s and 70’s. It was nothing but a scam way back then and it’s nothing but a scam today.

Having said that, I believe we all need to do our part to take care of our planet. It’s just common sense, it’s the only one we have. If there ever comes a time when those windmills or solar panels can generate enough electricity to replace our current coal-fired power plants, go for it. But until then, I really like being able to turn the lights on and being warm when I get home at night. Yeah, go ahead and call me a flat earther, and a denier all you want. For the record, I’m not the one looking stupid here.

I’m solid in my pro-life beliefs and make no apologies to anyone for them. Spin it any way you want, but in my mind, an abortion is the killing of a defenseless little baby who should have had just as much right to live as any of us. At the same time, I believe there should be an exception for victims of rape, incest, or if carrying the baby to term would do actual, physical harm to the mother. I get that.

I hated George Tiller because of what he did for a living. That doesn’t mean I wanted him dead. And I believe the man who killed him, Dennis Roeder should be allowed to use whatever defense he wants in order to justify his actions, but at the end of the day, he committed premeditated, first degree murder, plain and simple. And if that means he faces the death penalty, so be it.

I also believe if Kathleen Sebelius and others hadn’t spent so much of their time protecting him, Tiller's business would have been shut down for breaking Kansas laws against late-term abortions. Yeah, he’d be out of business, but he’d still be alive.

I’m a huge Sarah Palin supporter. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’d want her to be my president though. I watch Fox News and listen to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Bill O’Reilly. But I’m not all that big on Shawn Hannity. In his mind, a Republican can do no wrong. Online, my favorite sources of information are the Drudge Report, Politico, The Hill, and The Weekly Standard. Yep, all right-wing sources and if that bothers you, well, that's your problem not mine.

And yes, I fully expect to be attacked by the liberals out there for stating my beliefs in this space. Because, well, that's what (this one's for you, Fred) those loving, tolerant, left-wing loons do best.

But here’s the deal, my beliefs put me in the same category as tens of millions other American’s on a daily basis and in my opinion, that’s pretty good company to be in. I’ll talk to you guys next week.

Kevin McGinty
www.rm235.blogspot.com
www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

New Blog Coming...

2009-12-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update. I've agreed to start a blog on our local paper www.cjonline.com and will link it to this one as well.

And just so you all know, we'll probably be getting a little more traffic over the course of the next few days. Oh, and it probably won't all be good either. CJ has a lot of left-wing loons who love nothing more than to hurl personal attacks as a way of shutting someone up.

Anyway, I plan to have it up and running by this weekend. This ought to be fun...

FROM ME AND MINE TO YOU AND YOURS

2009-12-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

No Game This Sunday...

2009-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

I'm getting off topic here. But I just found out that due to lack of ticket sales, the Chiefs have blacked out this Sunday's game against Cleveland.

I'm sure the Chiefs management or players don't give a shit one way or the other but in my house, Sunday's revolve around the Chiefs game. Win or lose, we've always been there. We all get together, cook up a ton of food. We laugh, cuss, and dicuss everything under the sun. As the game wears on, there are high-five's, and a lot of groans. I always hang out my huge Chiefs banner on the front of the house. Yeah, even when they lose, it's still a good time.

But now things have changed. They tell us that because not enough people are actually going to the game, my family and I can't even watch them on TV.

I'll tell you what, Chiefs. How about you kissing my ass. How about not sucking so bad for a change and maybe people will start going again.

We'll still get together and we'll still have a good time. But there'll be no banner hanging on the front of my house tomorrow. Probably not for the rest of the year either.

Better be careful, Chiefs. You might just run off the few fans you have left and I'm one of them.

Yeah, why don't you just kiss my ass. I can live without you. But how long can you survive without people like me...

A Letter To The Editor...

2009-12-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

I read a letter to the editor in another paper the other day where the writer complained that the only purpose being served by the “Climategate” e-mails was to muddy the waters in the ongoing Global-Warming debate.

Wow, I thought the debate was over. I mean that’s what the believers and their idiot hero, Al Gore keep telling us.

Actually, because of these hacked e-mails, we’re finally having that debate whether the doom and gloom crowd like it or not. Funny how that works.

Speaking of all that, I’d like to give a quick, well deserved, “shout out” to Congressman Dennis Moore for being the first (of many) Democrat loser in the 2010 elections. You don’t suppose he’s seen the writing on the wall for his predictable, rubber stamp vote on the “Cap and Tax” Bill, Obama’s trying to shove down our throats, do you?

Oh yeah, one more thing. I really enjoy reading the stories and the comments on CJ Online, but some of you guys take yourselves way to serious. The other day during one of the usual insult, counter insult exchanges, one poster actually put another poster “on notice” for something they’d written. I’m not sure exactly what being “put on notice” was supposed to mean, but it was good for a laugh.

I’d suggest some of you need to step away from your keyboards for a while and enjoy life in the real world. Spend a little time with your family and friends, enjoy the holidays and quit being so jacked out of shape all the time. I’m just saying. Merry Christmas, all.

The Debate Is Over - We're All Screwed...

2009-11-24T14:56:00.001-08:00

We might as well pack it in, boys and girls. Back on October, 19 Gordon Brown told the UN, there were only 50 days left to save the world from the ravages of global warming. If he’s right, we won’t even make it till Christmas and I doubt they'll be able to do much between now and then. So it looks to me, we're all screwed. Might as well live it up then.

You know, you global warming people might be taken more seriously if you didn't get so far out there. That and the fact that you’ve been wrong about every prediction you’ve ever made, starting way back in the 60’s with your global cooling hysteria. You said we’d all be dead by now. And the outrageous claims you made way back then were just as wrong as the one’s you’re making today.

I came across a list of a few of the things you claim global warming is responsible for and some of the one’s you claim are coming. Go grab something to drink, this might take a while.

They tell us we can say goodbye to French wines because the grapes will burn up on the vines. Thanks to killer beetles and global warming, we can say goodbye to baseball because of the ash trees, the one’s baseball bats are made of will all die off. Entire forests in British Columbia are dying, so looks like we can say goodbye to the Christmas Tree.

Evidently Rainbow Trout are all going to die, so we can forget about fly fishing too. How about those ski competitions we all like to watch. Well, they’ll be a thing of the past too once the snow stops falling in the mountains.

Maybe you’re into snorkeling. Forget it. Carbon dioxide is killing the oceans too. How about a nice tropical island vacation this year. Not going to happen, most of the islands we all know and love will be under water before we know it. Salmon and lobsters will die as will the sharks and whales, so you can forget about going out to Red Lobster to eat.

Maybe wildflowers are your thing. Better hurry up, according to your fellow crazies at least a fifth of all wildflower species will be wiped out and replaced by dominant grasses anytime now. Dandelions will take over our lawns, mosquitoes will thrive as will poison ivy along with a long list of noxious weeds.

Birds will die. Once the polar bears run out of food, they’ll resort to cannibalism. We’ll experience a huge increase of brown bear attacks on people because the bears will have to travel farther and farther to find new food sources. Emperor penguins and frogs will be gone. But then so will the Artic fox and the walrus. There’ll be no more Koala bears either. Jelly fish will move closer to shore and start attacking more people than ever before. Now we even have to worrying about giant squid attacking us.

There’ll be no more sheep, goats, deer, rabbits, or lizards. But because global warming will extend the cat-breeding season, there’ll be more stray cats to contend with. But we can say goodbye to the beloved snail.

All the glaciers will be gone and the coveted Northwest Passage will become a reality. The oceans will turn to acid. The great barrier reef will be a thing of the past and some of the world’s largest rivers will dry up. If you’ve never had the chance to see the Mississippi river, you’d better get going soon. Lakes are drying up as we speak. We’ll see a huge surge in volcanic activity. There’ll more and bigger hurricanes. We’ll have more wildfires and floods. New York City will be under 20 feet of water and we’ll return to the dust bowl days of the 20’s.

Global warming will kill millions of us. Malaria, cholera, small pox, and lyme disease will be out of control. And if the diseases don’t get us, war will. Countries will start attacking each other over the few resources left in the world. Mass starvation and famine will become the new normal in the world.

They tell us mankind's very existence is at stake. I'd say our wallets and more importantly our way of life is at stake here. They were wrong forty years ago and they're wrong today.

Goodbye Mearl

2009-11-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

Damn, it’s good to be home. Let’s see, in the last month I’ve worked in Ogallala and Superior, Nebraska. Spent two days in Torrington, Wyoming. From there they sent me to Hays, Salina, three days in Beloit, and I just finished up a week in Concordia. And actually, I was scheduled to be in Great Bend this week, but things change.

I got home Saturday night, my wife and I went out to eat and headed to the casino. We walked into the Sac N Fox with a hundred dollars apiece and ready to kick some serious casino ass. Well, that plan didn’t work out. We walked out a couple of hours later, and the only thing left in our pockets was a little bit of lint. Oh well, we still had a lot of fun and got to spend time together.

Sunday was a wonderful day. The kids and grand kids all came over to watch the Chiefs beat the hell out of Oakland. We ate, talked, gossiped, played some mean games of ping-pong, and just generally enjoyed being together. Yeah, it was a good day.

Earlier tonight, I was able to go to my niece’s fifth grade, music program. I just love those things. I really enjoy watching the kids singing their little hearts out.

Yeah, it’s good to be home. So good in fact, that every once in a while, even if it’s only for a few minutes, I’ve been able to forget why I was able to get my schedule changed in the first place. You see, a good friend of mine died the other day and tomorrow, well, they’re going to bury him.

Mearl was a good guy. To a lot of people he was probably just another old guy. But to those of us who worked with him and got to know him, he’ll always be well thought of and will always be remembered. Mearl had been fighting pancreatic cancer for the last year or so. He was slowly losing the battle but in the end that’s not what killed him. He had a heart attack last Thursday night. It was a bad one. One that he’d never recover from.

I hadn’t talked to him for a while. I knew his cancer was terminal. But it had been in remission and he’d been feeling better the last couple of months. Like always, I put off calling him. I was either too busy, or just figured I’d call him later. Well ,later came and went. Now it’s too late, he’s gone and I regret not making that phone call.

I’m not telling you this story to bum you out. I guess I’m telling it so that maybe you don’t make the same mistake. If you have someone you care about, maybe it’s a your mom or dad, could be your brother or sister, maybe it’s just a good old friend who’s not feeling well. Call them. Tomorrow just might be too late…

THANK YOU VETERANS...

2009-11-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

As you go about doing what it is that you do today, stop and at least give a thought to why you're even able to do it in the first place.

It's because of the sacrifices people have made before a lot of us were even born. In every instance (bar none) when our liberty and freedom has been threatened we've turned to the military to bail us out.

Regardless of the situation, regardless of the personal sacrifices it required, regardless of where or when, regardless of the conditions they were asked to fight is, the American Veteran has never let us down.

I have plenty to say about the killing spree at Fort Hood the other day, but I'll just hold my tongue till tomorrow.

Today, it's about thanking all Veterans for the sacrifices they've made in the past and the one's they continue making to this day. We owe them a debt we can never properly re-pay.

Hey Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid...

2009-11-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

You Gotta Be Kidding Me...

2009-11-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

Man, I'm having a really hard time trying to figure what to write about this week. It's not that there's nothing going on. It's more like how do you just focus on one thing at a time. So I've decided to touch on several things, if for no other reason than to get it all off my chest. Bear with me.

I was reading an article in USA Today a little while ago about the new "electric" cars Obama and his enviromental extremists are pushing for. The article talked about the benifits to the enviroment by getting thousands of planet killing, co2 spewing, gas powered vehicles off the road.

That's all good and fine with me, I guess. If you don't mind paying up to $90,000 for one, you don't mind traveling along at a 45 m.p.h., don't have to carry much more than a grocery bag with you, and you don't need to travel more than 40 miles before you have to re-charge it. Other than all that, it's a pretty good deal.

Well there is one little thing they seem to have forgotten about. They've forgotten about how much more electricity will be required to run these little pieces of crap they're trying to shove down our throats and we all know how much they hate elecrticity.

The UN in all their infinite wisdom told us a couple of weeks ago that we only had 50days left to save the world from global warming. Here's the way I see it, guys. That was about 20 days ago. So now we only have 30 days left, hell we won't even make to Christmas. Why bother. Live it up, man and party like hell...

You guys ready for some good, old-fashioned, Government run, health-care? Just look at the stories around the country about the shortages of the H1N1 vacinations we're facing. They can't even get this one thing right and they want us to believe they can take over the entire thing. You gotta be kidding me!

Oh yeah, the elections last night. Don't you believe for one minute that conservatisim in America is dead. Conservatives spoke in one, loud, crystal clear voice and kicked the Democrats out on their asses.

Obama tried his best to put a positive spin on things though. He even issued a statement that he wasn't even paying attention as the results were coming in. I gotta be honest, I had one of those "Joe Wilson" moments and called him a "LIAR."

Here's the deal, Obama. You've shoved way too much down our throats in 2009. Come 2010, we're going to shove it right back up your ass, and mark my word, last night was just the beginning.

Thank you, Barrack Obama, we love you...

2009-10-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

How about this idea...

2009-10-28T19:25:00.001-07:00

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Last weekend my mother showed her true colors. This is going to be hard for me to talk about. I mean with the shame and all. But hey, I’ll do the best I can.

I’m not sure exactly what led up to my mom’s comments but she let it be known, that she believes we owe it the kids to take care of them, no matter what. She believes we have a moral obligation to do so. That and it’s just the right thing to do.

The whole “it’s for the kids” argument has always been popular. It’s also hard for a politician to campaign against. As soon as they try, they’re faced with attack ads, painting them as kid haters. Well, I’m not running for anything, so I’ll give it a shot.

Really, I only have one question. Why? Other than “it’s just the right thing to do,” why do we owe anybody, anything? Hard-hearted? I’m sure some of you will take it that way.

But really, isn’t that what we’ve been doing all along? If welfare, food stamps, medical cards, free education, free school lunches, free public transportation, automatic increases in benefits for every new born kid, unemployment insurance, free re-training programs for those looking for a job, free county run health clinics, free rehabilitation programs, free marriage counseling programs, Section 8 housing programs. The list could easily go on and on, but I think you get the point.

Free this, free that. When’s it going to be enough? If these programs aren’t for the kid’s, what is? We’ve been dolling out one entitlement program after another. What good has it done? The poor are still poor. The only difference is, we’ve been doing it for several generations now.

It’s all worked according to the plan, too. Make people dependent on the Government, keep them that way, and sooner or later, it becomes a way of life. And that , my friends, is exactly what this is all about.

Here’s what I believe. We should take care of those who can’t take care of themselves. No question about that. Other than that, I believe there are three more groups we should take care of. Veterans and the elderly. The veterans for obvious reasons, and our parents, well, because we owe it to them. Last but not least, I believe we owe all unborn kids, the most fundamental right there is. Simply the right to live.

Mom, I love you and all, but how about this idea. How about people taking care of their own kids for a change. You know, the way most of us do. But I suppose that’s just crazy talk in today’s world, isn’t it.

Oh yeah, the whole Obama thing I threatened to write about. I was just seeing if you guys were paying attention.

Later…

2009-10-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Should be up and running by Wednesday night...

2009-10-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry, guys, my schedule's been crazy the last couple weeks. But I am working on something.

But first, I probably ought to warn you Obama supporters out there. You're probably gonna be offended, so you might want to skip this one. I'm just saying...

Wussification of America

2009-10-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

The stupidity just keeps coming, doesn’t it. The other day a six-year-old boy was suspended from school and condemned to reform school for 45 days, all because he brought a stupid boy scout knife to school with him.

Somewhere a parent was arrested for the horrible crime of washing out their kid’s mouth with soap. Imagine that.

Just the other day, an apartment complex manager in Albany, Oregon threatened to evict a tenant because of the American flag he was flying on the back of his motorcycle. They were worried it might offend someone.

The kid with the knife thing. Yeah, I can see where a school wouldn’t want a kid’s bringing knives to school. We all get that. How about this approach though. How about taking it away from the kid and calling his parents to talk about the incident. Nah, that would make way too much sense.

The soap thing. You gotta be kidding me. If that had been a law when I was a kid, my mom would still be in jail. We’re living a new kind of world today. It’s a world where the government has more and more say about how you raise your own kids. It’s just going to get worse if we let it, too. During the campaign anyone calling Obama a socialist was labeled crazy by his followers. Now that all doubt has been removed about his agenda they ask, what’s so bad about Socialism?

Oh yeah, the apartment complex fiasco. Why would anyone be surprised by that one. Hell they’ve been doing the exact same thing with God for years now. The American flag is the next logical target for the left-wing loons. In their world, America is the root of all evil. Well, that and God. So the only logical thing left to do is to remove all symbols that remind us of who we are.

The crowning moment for the extremists had to be the day Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For what? For embarrassing us by kissing the world’s ass? And what do we get in return? Nothing!

A man of peace my ass. He’s divided this country deeper and faster than anyone has ever been able to do before him. His attacks on those who disagree with him are an attack on millions of Americans, we‘re offended, and we‘re mad as hell. Don’t think for a minute we haven’t noticed or that we’re going to forget.

The 2010 elections will be here before you know it. You had your chance, but it’s time for the adults to take over again…

At Least I Still Have a Job...

2009-10-07T15:40:00.001-07:00

At least I still have a job.

Oh sorry. You caught me talking to myself. It's just that I have to keep reminding myself of the fact that millions of people have lost their jobs in the last couple of years and that I'm lucky to have mine.

That's true enough, I suppose. Sometimes though, I'd just as soon let one of them have mine so I could sit on my ass for a while.

Let's see, in the last five weeks I've worked in Hutchinson, Great Bend, Manhattan, Beloit, Garnett and Topeka.

I got home yesterday (Tuesday) with the agreement that I'd finally get to spend the rest of the week at home. Well that lasted about 24 hours. It's almost 6:00 P.M. and I'm waiting for the word of whether I'm going to either Manhattan or Hays. Either way, I have to make the trip tonight. In the line of work I do, we're usually at work by 2:00 in the morning. So I'd rather make the trip tonight and get a few hours sleep in a motel before I have to get up again.

So here I am, waiting. Waiting for that phone call. Waiting to see where I'm going next. Waiting to see what the people who sign my paycheck have in mind.

Yeah, I know. At least I still have a job...

Barack Husein Obama, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm...

2009-10-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, I have no intrest in the Olympics what-so-ever, let alone where they hold them. So when we learned today that Chicago had been eliminated in the first round of voting, it was more of a yawn moment for me.

Well, it would have been if it weren't for the fact that our arrogant, egotistical, rock star president, Barrack Obama went to bat for us and failed.

This is par for the course though. Here we are, two wars going on. More and more Americans are dying in Afghastan. And for what? Millions of Americans are losing their jobs, unemployment is at it's highest level since the early 80's.

We're told if we don't pass his Health care plan, we'll all die. We're told if we don't sign on to his Cap and Trade fiasco, we'll all die. He ridicules CEO's for wasting money by flying on private jets and such, yet he has the gall to jump in Air Force One to give his pitch to host the Olympic Games. Whatever!

I know, like always, the press will do their best to put a positive spin on the whole thing. But think about it, guys.

What's the man actually done for us? Any of us? Okay yeah, he's done a lot of television. He's trotted around the globe, running America down. He's bowed down to Saudi Kings, he's apologized to the world for everything (good or bad) America has ever done.

What good has it done? Have any of our NATO allies stepped up to the plate and offered to help us out in Afghastan? How about North Korea and Iran's nukes? How's that working out? It's not.

How about withdrawing the missile defense from Poland? Do you really believe Russia is all the sudden going to help us out and support sanctions against Iran? I guess we'll see. I wouldn't count on it though.

The way I see it, is he's emboldened our enemies by showing weakness. He believes if he apologizes enough and makes nice with them , they'll be more willing to do what he wants. It's not going to happen.

And you can bet, they're all having a good laugh right about now.

He's the ultimate left-wing lunatic. And we elected him to lead us.

God help us!

The Numbers...

2009-09-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while someone will ask me why I've named my blog "ROOM 235." Hopefully, this will help explain it...

Numbers. I've never been a numbers guy, never really gave them much thought one way or the other. But over the course of the last 23 days I've learned numbers can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Numbers like 17, 235, 15,12, 160, 87, 65/45, and 23 all became to mean everything in my Granddaughter's world. Emily was born 17 weeks premature on November 12th.and was transferred to “room 235” of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Stormont-Vail Hospital. This was also the day my journey through her world of numbers began.

Good morning Emily, I'm your Grandpa. I know, I'm kind of big and probably a little scary looking but you'll get used to me. Hey, look at those numbers on the ventilator. The nurses tell me 15 is excellent for your oxygen level. And that the vent setting doesn't get much better than a 12. I know it's been a pretty rough first day for you, so I'm not going to stay too long. You be a good girl and mind the nurses, I'll see you in the morning. And remember that Grandpa loves you.

And so our daily routine began. We talked about the adventures we were going to have once she got to come home. First and foremost I explained she was going to have to put on some weight. At 1lb., 4oz., it was going to be hard for her to ride a bike. I offered to start bringing her chocolate chip cookies and pop. While Emily thought it was a good idea, the nurses didn't think so. We talked about her first day of school, about the fishing trips we were going to take. She was really excited about going 4-wheeling in the mountains of Colorado.

I told her how lucky she was to have two Grandmothers Linda and Debbie that loved her so much. We talked about her aunts, uncles, and cousins. I warned her about the stupid cats and dogs she'd meet. I even warned her about staying away from boys. I'm not sure, but I think I saw her blushing after this conversation. But mostly, she liked hearing about her Mommy and Daddy.
Over the next few days I learned about the other numbers on the monitor above her bed. The top one was her heart rate. I learned that 160 was a very good number indeed. And that 87 indicated how much oxygen was in her blood. The 65/45 was the blood pressure.

All day and night long the doctors and nurses watched these numbers. They made adjustments to the machines or medications according to what the numbers told them. They were very up front with us from the beginning. Some days were pretty good. Others were pretty bad, it all depended on the numbers. The nurses referred to this as the roller coaster ride.

Monday December 4th was an exceptionally good day. Emily's numbers were even better that they had been the previous weekend. She was finally able to open her eyes for the first time. They were the biggest, most beautiful, brown eyes I had ever seen. We talked about riding the train at Gage park. I blew her a kiss, told her Grandpa loved her, and assured her I'd see her in the morning.

Sometime around 9:00 Monday night the hospital called. Emily had taken a turn for the worse, and we needed to get there as soon as we could. It was the numbers, the 15and 12 had turned into 101 and 40. The 160 was now a 50. The 87 was somewhere around 35 now, and the blood pressure that once read a steady 65/45 wasn't even registering anymore. They told us her system was shutting down, she was dying, and didn't think she'd be able to hang on for much more than 3 or 4 more hours.

Ultimately the numbers did get the best of her, but Emily did beat the 3 and the 4. She was able to hang on another 24 hours. And in doing so we were all able to say our goodbyes. I'm not sure what the others said to her. For me, I just held her tiny hand, kissed her on the forehead and told her I understood that she had to go, I promised I'd never forget her, and told her to remember that Grandpa loved her.

We had Emily with us for 23 days, 4 hours, and 42 minutes. And for that I'll always be grateful.

You can get a hold of me at my blog www.rm235.blogspot.com or you can e-mail me at: www.kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net

The Phone Call...

2009-09-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

The first thing I did once I got settled into my daughter's car was to look in the rear-view mirror. There she was, my little, Sofie, sound asleep in her car seat. Sophie's my grand daughter. She's almost two-years-old now, and she's my best buddy. It had been a little over two weeks since I'd seen her and I had really missed her.

I just kind of stared at her for a while. There was this perfectly innocent little girl sound asleep and totally unaware of why we were meeting in St. Mary's for lunch and completely unaware of how close she had come to losing her dad today.

You never really know when you're going to get one of those phone calls, do you? It was about 10:30 or so this morning, I was about to leave Manhattan and finally make it home. Really, I'd been ready for a while, I was just kind of hanging out with the guys. We had been talking about our kids and how they had all grown up, married, and moved away. You know, that kind of stuff, when my cell phone started ringing. It was my daughter, Misty. One of the guys named, Hudson laughed when I told him who it was. He said she probably knew we were talking about her.

What's up kiddo? Dad, Travis has been in a bad wreck. He rolled his work truck a little west of St. Mary's on hi-way 24 and I'm on my way. I talked to him and he says he thinks he's okay.

Okay, kiddo, I'm on my way. I grabbed my lap-top and coffee cup, told the guys what happened and hit the road. I didn't know what I expected to find and wasn't sure what I'd do once I got there. All I knew was that my kids were in trouble and needed my help.

Travis, my son-in-law, had been heading west on hi-way 24 and was just coming into the little town of Bellvue when he slipped off the right shoulder, he probably over-corrected and sent his truck into an out of control slide across the oncoming lanes and rolled the truck into the ditch. Luckily, the truck came to rest on it's wheels and was sitting half way in the ditch and half way in a corn field.

Travis was outside the truck when I arrived. The cops and EMT's had already left by the time I got there, so I pulled over the the edge of the road and talked to him. He assured me he was okay. I knew he was shook up and just wanted to go home. But I also knew he didn't want me to know that. So I didn't argue with him when he told me he was going to stay and help his boss clean up the mess and told me not to worry about him.

With that said, I hopped in my truck and headed up to where my daughter had pulled over when she arrived. She was about to lose it and asked if I'd stay in her car to keep an eye on Sofie. I assured her It'd be my pleasure.

I sat there watching her sleep in the rear-view mirror and thought to myself, Sofie girl, we dodged a really big bullet today. Funny thing is, you'll never even know it.

Racism My Ass...

2009-09-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I promised to drop the political stuff for a while. I really just wanted to talk about the State Fair and all.

I will say it's now Day Six and we're reached the half way point. It's been a lot of fun, I've met a lot of good people from all across the country. But it's been a hell of a lot of work and I'll be glad when it's over so we can all take a break.

But here's the deal. I'm really pissed by the way the "irrelevant", so called main-stream media, Obama, members of Congress, and Democrats in general are constantly playing the "race card" as a means to discredit their critics.

I don't have a lot of time this morning, so I'm not going to be able to get into it till later.

In the mean time, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject.

For now though, I have about two hours to get ready for the masses. Today is "Kids Day." Great!!!

NEVER FORGET

2009-09-11T05:13:00.001-07:00

2009-09-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Kansas State Fair: Day One...

2009-09-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

I left the house about 5:00 this (Wednesday) morning to head out for my latest assignment. I‘ll be spending the next two and a half weeks working the State Fair in Hutchinson. As soon as I got to town, I hooked up with my partner in crime, a guy named, Huey Nelson. Actually, Huey is the brains of the operation. I’m not sure, but I think we might be in trouble. Today was really just a day of getting in touch with food vendors to make sure who made it again this year and who didn‘t. For the most part, the same people who were last year are all here again.

There was the guy from Florida, he’s a good guy. The old guy and his wife who live and breathe KU football was back. The guy from Jersey and his son were back and ready to get this thing started. The grouchy old lady from somewhere in Oklahoma hadn’t arrived yet. Good. We went from one stand to another and just about the time we were finished the old guy from Tulsa who sells turkey legs showed up. He’s probably the coolest old guy I know. It was especially good to see because last year he told us he was hanging it up. He was going to sell his stand and finally retire and enjoy life for a change. I think he decided this is what he really enjoys and when it came right down to it, he wasn’t ready to hang it up after all.

The carneys are hard at work getting their rides set up. It’s really hard to imagine that in just one more day this place will transform from the mess and chaos it is now to the showplace that it will become in order to be ready to welcome and entertain hundreds of thousands of people from all over the place.. Ah, The State Fair, there’s nothing like.

The place is a mess. Food service trucks are everywhere. Electricians and plumbers are busy making sure everybody’s stands are working like they’re supposed to. People are unloading their cars, vans, pickups, and trailers all over the place. Everyone of them hoping to sell enough of whatever it is they’re selling to make it all worthwhile. It’s easy to spot the Fair Officials, too. They’re the one’s running around with really stressed out looks on their faces and talking on their radios.

Crap, my partner just showed up. I’ll check in with you guys later. It’s time for me to get to work. 24 hours till the gates open. It’s crunch time!!!

Okay, that’s done. Looks like we’re dealing with about 30 food stands. We’ve got them all filled up and all are ready to go. The rest of the day is mine to do as I see fit.

I’m always impressed at how the midway (rides) go together. This morning it looked like complete chaos. This afternoon, it still looks like chaos, but they’ve got a lot done. I gotta tell you though, some of the people they have working on the stuff are a little scary looking. Oh well, that’s another story for another time.

Kansas State Fair: Part One

2009-09-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Let's do something different for a while. How about we just get away from politics all together. Well, with 9-11 and the Tea Parties all over the country, that might be hard to commit to.

I've just spent the evening packing for a three week road trip to Hutchinson, Ks. to work the State Fair. This is the second time I've worked it. It's a hell of a lot of work but there's always a little free time to check out the sights too. Especially this year, the boss had this brain fart a while back and mentioned it might be cool to have a travel trailer for us to hang in whenever we had a little down-time. I told him, oh yeah, that'd be a hell of an idea.

Anyway, one thing led to another and now they've decided since they went to all the expense and trouble of getting that trailer I should just sleep there too.

So her we are. I'll be heading out by 6:00 in the morning. And you're more than welcome to come along...

Let's Throw These Bums Out...

2009-09-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine asked me to post this for him.

2009-09-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Letter to the Editor 9-3-09

Are You Smater than a Congressman?

Take this simple test. Maybe you could be smarter than a Congressman, especially in the North East or West Coast States, if you were to move there.

1. Would you read a bill, before voting for it?

2. Would you avail yourself or your staff to actually understand what you were voting on?

3. Would you care if it added trillions of dollars to our national debt, indebting future children and grandchildren of the citizens you represent?

4. Would you think about future negative consequences of the bill you were about to vote on?

5. Would you show leadership by putting yourself and your family under the same program you were voting for, I.E. Health Care Plan?

If you answered in the affirmative on any of these first four questions you could be smater than 50% of our current Congressmen. If you answered yes to question 5 you have more guts and integrity than most Congressmen. This country needs a serious recruting effort for next year's elections for Congress. American deserves a better effort from those we elect.

Joseph Ledbetter, Veteran, J.D.
Topeka, Kansas

Sorry Guys, But I gotta Go...

2009-09-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Farewell Metro News...

2009-09-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, but this is going to seem a little weird. Last week I talked about the Topeka Metro News being sold and how the new owners decided they, either didn’t have room for or simply weren’t interested in hearing from any local writers. Anyway, they dumped us all. If you think about it, it is a little weird for a local paper not to want anything to do with local people, hmm.

Hey, that’s just life. I knew going in, that nothing’s forever. It’s funny, too. Because, the older you get, the more you understand just how true that is. I really wanted to the chance to say goodbye. And I still believe they owed me that much. But hey, it’s their world and I was just passing through anyway.

So today, even though I’m not really going anywhere, I’ll still be ranting and raving on the blog, I just won’t be in the Metro News, I’m going to go ahead and write the farewell column I should have been allowed to do in the first place.

******************************************************************************************************

Well guys, looks like this is it. This is the last column I’ll be writing for the Topeka Metro News. I always knew that sooner or later this day would come. Still, I wish it could have lasted a while longer. Like twenty or thirty more years.

And you know what? For the first time in a long time, I’m not sure what to say. I guess I should start out by thanking you, the readers. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to spend a little time with you guys each and every week. I thank every one of you who either, wrote a letter to the editor or sent an e-mail my way because of something I’d written. That’s not to say everyone agreed with me either. But, what it meant to me, was the fact that you were reading my stuff and that it made you stop and think for a while. Thank you. That’s really all I was trying to do in the first place.

Sure, from time to time, I got a little controversial. I might have even gone over the top every once in a while too. I’ve received e-mails from people demanding that I apologize for this or that. Here's the deal, I didn’t apologize then and I’m sure as hell not going to start now. Someone a lot smarter than I said it best, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant."

You see, in America, at least for now anyway, we still have this little thing called the 1st amendment, you know, the whole freedom of speech thing. I’m real big on that one. In fact, I’m going to give it one last shot today.

America! What the hell were we thinking of when we elected Barrack Obama as our president. A lot of us did our best to warn you. We warned you about the left-wing radicals he liked to hang out with. Reverand Wright, with his special brand of racisism and hatred come to mind. The guy responsible for planning the bombings of police stations and the Pentagon, Bill Ayres was another. We warned you about the Socialist agenda he would bring with him. You accused us of using scare tactics and called us racists and fear mongerers. Whatever.

I believe with all my heart that we're in the middle of the fight of our lives. If this country is going to survive (the one I grew up in anyway) we’ve got to get our butts off the couch and do something about it. Don’t sit back and wait for your neighbor to do it for you. Is it going to be easy? Hell no it won’t. Make that phone call to your Senator! Write that letter to the editor! Turn off MTV and American Idol long enough to find out what’s going on in the real world. Pay attention to the "TEA PARTY RALLIES" being held all across the country over the next few months. Hell we're even going to have our very own rally here in Topeka on 9-12, make plans to be there if you can. It's important, even if it's only symbolic. We gotta get the message out that we're mad as hell and we're here to stop these idiots in Washington dead in their tracks. Tell em loud and clear, "this is our country and we're here to take it back!"

Just remember, if you decide to take that stand, you'll be in for one hell of a fight. The left-wing loons will come after you like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ll mock you. They’ll call you every name in the book. Trust me, the first thing they'll acuse you of is being a racist. That's seems to be pretty popular these days. They’ll use anything they can think of against you in order to silence you. Just remember, because of the antics of the extreme, left-wing lunatics, only 20% of the American population is still willing to call themselves liberal, they’re loud and the press gives them a lot of attention, but because of their numbers, they’re becoming extremely irrelevant. Think about that.

Anyway, do you guys remember watching the Carroll Burnett Show? If so, I'm sure you remember the way she always ended it by singing a little song that went something like this, “I’m so glad we had this time together. Just to have a laugh and sing a song. Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say so long.” Remember that?

For me, this is kind of like that. Thanks for everything guys, it was one hell of a ride.

Yeah, it's kind of like this...

2009-09-03T18:55:00.002-07:00

2009-09-03T18:55:00.001-07:00

2009-08-26T08:35:00.001-07:00

Putting Things Into Perspective...

2009-08-26T08:33:00.002-07:00

It’s funny how quickly things can change. One day you’re stressing out trying to meet the demands of your everyday obligations. You know, things like your job, trying to stay on top of the yard work, the plumbing issues, and trying to keep your wife from killing you because you’ve been working on the road for five out of the last six months. And on top of all that, you absolutely have to have your column turned in by 3:00 P.M. every Wednesday afternoon.

And so it went. For the last two years and eight months without fail, I’ve managed to get it all done. Then last week, out of the blue, I got a call from Denise Hall, the owner of the Topeka Metro News. She informed me that she had sold the paper and that I’d better contact the new owners to find out whether or not they’re interested in continuing my column. So I did.
The answer came in the form of an e-mail the next day. It simply said, Mr. McGinty, sorry but we won’t be able to run your column anymore.
Well, that’s that then. I can no longer call myself a columnist, but then neither can any of the other local columnists that have always been a big part of the paper. The new owners have decided to drop all local commentary from the paper and keep a couple of national syndicated one’s.
I’m not sure why they‘d want to go that route, but it looks a lot like the strategy, Spike Santee used when he took over one of the most popular radio stations in Topeka, AM 1440. The first thing he did was to fire Jim Cates. Then came the local DJ’s, followed by Steve Forman and Deb Goodrich. By the time he was done, he had managed to get rid of almost all the local people and replaced them with national syndicated shows.

Hey, it’s their world, they can do with it what they want. But they do need to understand how that strategy worked out for my old buddy, Spike. He took over a radio station that had always enjoyed ratings at the top of the charts because of local participation. And a year after he took over, their ratings have dropped to the very bottom of the charts.

Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I pissed? Oh hell yeah. It was a little like getting kicked in the gut. I thought for sure they'd at least write one last column, you know, just to say goodbye and all that. But the new owners of the paper thought otherwise.

But you know what? None of that really matters. I received a text massage from my daughter that same afternoon that brought everything in perspective for me. (Dad, everything’s normal, there’s no cancer and I’m okay.) God, you have no idea how much of a relief that text was. After that news, any small disappointment I may have felt, whether it was real or imagined, just sort of faded away.

So now, I’m just going to keep writing and posting on my blog. I’ve decided to keep Wednesday afternoon as a deadline and I'm going to try writing a book of some kind. And my offically cancer free, daughter has promised to work on it with me. Today, I’m stuck working in Pratt, Kansas and I’m okay with that.

Take a minute or two today to give your kids a hug and tell them how much you love them. Call your mom and dad if you can. Maybe you grandparents, too. How about your brothers and sisters, maybe your mad at them over some family squabble or something. Call them to burry the hatchet. Maybe you have an aunt or an uncle who’s not doing so well. Give them a call just to let them know you’re thinking about them. Life’s too short not to.

Life is full of disappointments, large and small. Just try to keep them in perspective.

I hope all is well with you and yours today, and I’ll talk to you guys next week…

2009-08-26T08:33:00.001-07:00

2009-08-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

We've had it...

2009-08-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, have you seen the latest Gallup poll? Evidently, President Obama’s approval rating has now dropped to an all time low, and his disapproval numbers have risen to an all time high.

How about the poll that says that conservatives now outnumber liberals in 47 of the 50 states? Seen that one?

Last week I talked about Obama being one who wanted to divide us. Maybe I jumped the gun on that statement. What the president and the Democrats in congress have actually done with their non-stop name calling and personal attacks on conservatives is to unite us like no one else has been able to do since the days of Jimmy Carter.

And they wonder why so many people are fed up with them. It’s because we can’t get a straight answer on anything. Go ahead. Ask any of them a simple question about the massive health care plan they’re trying to sell us. Good luck trying to get an answer though. Sure they’ll talk a lot. In fact they’ll probably talk 10 or 15 minutes non-stop and by the time they’re through, you have no idea what they just said. But neither do they.

Then last weekend they trotted out my favorite ex-governor, Kathleen Sebelius to tell us Obama might be willing to drop the public option in order to pass his proposal. She told us, the public option wasn’t really essential to getting this done.

That same weekend, Obama told a crowd in Grand Junction, Colorado pretty much the same thing. He described the public option as not being that important. Actually, he said it was only a small sliver of the plan in the first place.

Then on Monday, they sent press secretary, Robert Gibbs out to tell us what we all heard wasn’t what they were saying at all. He explained that Obama and Sebelius have always favored the public option and there was no reason to think they had changed their minds.

Note to Robert Gibbs: That, Jedi mind trick you keep trying to use was pretty cool in the Star War movies, but it doesn’t really work.

Look, conservatives aren’t unreasonable people. But we don’t like being lied to and we like to know what we’re getting before we just blindly buy what you’re selling.

I know it’s a stretch, but how about just being honest with us. How about answering simple questions with simple answers for a change. How about just explaining it to us, the whole thing. Not just the parts you want to talk about. We want to know what’s in the bill and we also want to know, if you know what’s in it. Is that too much to ask?

When we ask you how much it’s going to cost us. Give us an honest answer. When we ask how you’re planning to pay for it. Don’t tell us by taxing rich people. With all the spending you’ve done since taking office, you’re going to bankrupt all the rich people we have. Then what?

When we ask if this plan will mean tax-payer funded abortions will become the norm. Answer the question. Don’t tell us it depends on how you look at it.

You act like you’re shocked because so many of our 40 million seniors citizens have turned on you. Did you really think they’d be okay when you announced your intentions to cut medicare funding by $500 billion.

Then you tell us, all that means, is you’re going to go after the fraud in the system. Hmm, why aren’t you doing that anyway? That’s your job.

And now, a note to the Republicans: You can stop slapping yourselves on the backs. We’re sick of most of you too. You had your chance to get things right, you blew it.

Mid term elections aren’t that far away. I believe the American people will finally come out in droves and vote for the people who they believe will have their best interests at heart. You carreer Congressmen and women had better start looking for another job. We’ve had it with you.

Agree, disagree? Stop by the blog this week at: www.rm235.blogspot.com I’d love to hear from you.

2009-08-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

2009-08-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Divide and Conquer...

2009-08-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hey, before we get started today, I’m going to throw Obama’s Snitch Line (www.flag@whitehouse.gov ) out there just in case someone wants to report me to the, “One.”

Responding to the outrage during her Town Hall meeting in Missouri the other day, Claire McCaskill, said, “I don’t understand the rudeness, I honestly don’t get it.”

That’s the problem, Senator. You really don’t get it, do you? Somehow, the Obama administration and his puppets in Congress can’t grasp the idea that anyone has the nerve or even the right to question their decisions.

Well, let me try to explain it. We’re sick of the whole damned thing. We’re sick of your arrogance. We’re sick of you mocking us. We’re sick of you calling us names. We’re sick of you trying to shove your socialist programs down our collective throats. And we’re sick of your lap-dogs in the media going along with you every step of the way.

Remember the Democrats outrage when we found out that the Bush Administration had been tapping into e-mails and phone calls from overseas in their attempt to intercept terrorist messages? Remember how they called that one of the worst cases of destroying our Constitutional rights they‘d ever seen. And now, these same people have the nerve to provide direct access to the White House through an e-mail address where we’re supposed to report fellow American citizens for criticizing their “health-Care“ bill. You know, for exercising their first amendment right, the whole “Freedom of Speech“ thing. Now that takes a hell of a lot of nerve.

Every time Obama gets on TV and tells us to get out of the way and shut up just makes it worse, too. When you send out your fellow Senators to compare us to “the type of people who pushed Timothy McVeigh over the edge,” it widens the gap. You call us racists, extremists, and angry mobs. You’ve even trotted, Nancy Pelosi out to call us Un-American.

You accuse Republicans of using scare tactics. Give me a break. How many times has Obama used the word “crisis” since he took office. First, he followed Bush’s lead when he said if his stimulus package wasn’t passed in a couple of days, America was doomed. Bam! He got it.

How many times has he used the phrase “Climate Crisis” as he spreads his message of how the world will suffer if we don’t sign onto his “Cap and Trade” fiasco? Depending on how they're spinning the latest crisis, it's either the "Health Care Crisis," or the "Insurance Crisis." According to a report from the U.N. the other day, we've only got four months to secure the future of the planet.

Wow, nothing scary there.

A lot of people believe Obama simply misspoke when he inflamed racial tensions with his “the Cambridge Police acted stupidly” comment. I don’t believe that for a minute. Ever hear the phrase “Divide and Conquer? He wants us divided. He knows if he keeps us at each other’s throats, we’ll be less likely to pay attention to what he’s trying doing to us. It’s the same thing when he goes out of his way to mock and ridicule “people holding those little tea bags.”

On September, 11th, these same people are bringing those same tea bags to Washington D.C. for a little "Tea Party" and they’re bringing about a million friends with them. It's funny as hell when you look down your noses and say it's all organized and manufactured. You bet your ass it is. You see, we've figured out how to use the internet just like Obama did to get his message across too. We're organized, mad as hell, and there are millions of us. Believe me when I say, you haven't seen anything yet.

But still, you guys really have no idea who we are. We’re the “Joe the Plumbers” of the world. We’re the baker, your waitress, or maybe we’re the cop on patrol. We might be the mechanic, who fixes your car because you can’t. Maybe we’re the electrician who fixed your wiring. We might be the carpenter who built your house. Maybe some of us drive a truck for a living. Some of us might even be found hanging onto the back of a trash truck. I have a hell of a lot of respect for those guys. We’re the farmers and ranchers who feed your family, we’re oilfield workers, and we even have a few doctors and lawyers to boot. We're the American people. We’re also the one’s who'll be expected to pay up when the bill comes due. And it will.

We’re the tens of millions of regular, working class, Americans you've been trying to push around. We outnumber you and we're here to push back. Don't make the same mistake others have in the past by underestimating us. We will not sit down or get out of the way, and we're sure as hell not going to shut up.

Senator McCaskill, maybe you’ll understand the American people's anger in next years mid-term elections when we kick you and the rest of Congress to the curb.

Stop on by the blog this week. I’ve posted a bunch of videos I’d like to hear your response too at: www.rm235.blogspot.com

This video by Justin Holcomb explains it better than I ever could...

2009-08-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

2009-08-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

2009-08-05T14:02:00.001-07:00

Lone Duck: The Best Lil' Campground in Colorado...

2009-08-05T14:00:00.002-07:00

It’s funny. I’ve always made it a point not to get sucked into an argument with a loudmouthed, drunk. But one night last week, I let my guard down. It wasn’t really an argument, I guess. More of a difference of opinion. Still, the debate is settled. I was right, he was wrong.

If you’re a long time reader of this column, you might remember me telling you about the, Lone Duck Campground in Colorado. My family and I have camped there for twelve years in a row now. Well, there was the year my daughter and daughter-in-law were both pregnant. They both used it as an excuse not to travel. Whatever.

Anyway, that’s where we were last week, and late one night, around 11:00 P.M. I was in the video game room, minding my own business when this guy holding five bottles of beer plus the one he was drinking from burst in. I continued to mind my own business and kept on playing my pin ball game. For a while the guy just kind of staggered around looking at the different games in the room. Finally he asked in a loud, obnoxious voice. So, where you from, bud?

I told him I was from Topeka, Kansas. He said, cool, you’re a long way from home, why in the world would you come to this place? I told him this was our twelfth year in a row to camp there and that there was no place I’d rather spend my vacation. He looked at me like I was crazy or something. He said man, there are so many better places than this. I asked him, where? He told me, he couldn’t remember the names of the places, but assured me there were a lot of them out there. I bid my new drunk friend, goodnight, and headed back to the campfire my clan had gathered around for the night.

Early the next morning, I thought about what the guy was saying. I guess, “better“ depends on who‘s telling the story. Sure there are a lot of bigger campgrounds. There are newer one’s too, who knows, maybe that’s what my, drunk friend meant by better.

But if you’re looking for a place in the heart of the Rocky Mountains that have so many of their own things to offer plus being so close to so many attractions in the area, you won’t find a better place to take your family.

Steve and Lisa work tirelessly to accommodate every single one of their guests. If you’re up early, Steve will even cook you breakfast, but don’t be late, his cooking is pretty popular. They have tent and RV sites. They also have at least one travel trailer they rent out. If that doesn’t work for you, you can always stay in one of their, one-room cabins. There’s a playground and a heated swimming pool for the kids. They even have a fishing pond for those who’d like to try their luck at landing a trout. They have a really cool gift shop and plenty of room to gather in the lodge. The game room is filled with a lot of old games from when I was a young man. Games like TRON, PAC MAN, GALIGA, and several racing games. They have three old pin ball machines, FISH TALES and WHITE WATER are the one's we play the most. If you hurry out there you just might find my initals on GALAGA as the top score. Cool! And because they never stop cleaning, the restrooms are spotless. Your clothes getting wet and dirty? no problem, they have a laundry mat to take care of that one too.

Let’s see, they’re five minutes from the Pikes Peak Highway and Santa’s Workshop, a really cool place for the kids. They’re located five minutes west of, beautiful downtown, Manitou Springs. You can easily get to The Garden of the Gods in 15 minutes. Seven Falls and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are 20 minutes away. Woodland Park and a seemingly endless supply of jeep trails we explore along Rampart Range every year are just 15 minutes to the west. And if you’re a history buff or a gambler looking for some action, Cripple Creek is just a 33 mile drive. Maybe you plan to go river rafting, Canon City is just 57 miles to the southwest. Maybe you’d like to spend a day to see the Continental Divide. It’s just a 100 miles to the west. Trust me, it’s a beautiful drive.

Oh yeah, and it’s only 8 miles or so from our official, newest favorite, locally owned, restaurant in the world. It’s called “Jo Mamas“, in Woodland Park. It’s a small, Italian place. Nothing fancy, just a really cool place. The atmosphere is fun and friendly, the food was wonderful, and even though they were busy as hell, the service exceeded all expectations. Friday and Saturday nights they have live music. You should have seen my 18-month,old grand daughter out there dancing when the guy started playing his guitar. It's quite possible that she was a bigger hit than he was. To the guitar player, I'm sorry I didn't get your name. But just so you know, your performance that night just made an already exellent day even better.

For me, it’s all about building memories. And to Steve and Lisa, and now a little Italian restaurant named Jo Mamas in Woodland Park, I thank you for being a part of it.

A better place? No way, that’s just crazy talk.

Stop on by the blog this week and tell us your vacation story at: www.rm235.blogspot.com

2009-08-05T14:00:00.001-07:00

2009-07-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Obama's Not Looking Out For People Like Me...

2009-07-29T13:07:00.002-07:00

I remember it like it was just yesterday. Well, six months ago anyway. Obama had just been elected president. During his inaugural address, he spoke to people like myself. You know, the fifty-six-million of us who didn’t vote for him. He said he’d work to gain our support and assured us he’d be our president too.

It‘s funny, but I did take a little comfort in that statement. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t be the far left zealot I was afraid he’d be. I hoped he govern more as a centrist and that we’d be okay.

Well, it’s not exactly working out that way, is it? Was he working to gain our support as he trotted around the globe blaming America for pretty much everything that’s wrong in the world today? How much support did he gain from us as he bowed down to the Saudi Arabian King and then lied about doing so?

How about the whole global-warming con he’s promoting? How much support from us has he gained with his “Cap and Trade” fraud that’ll do nothing what-so-ever to slow down the Co2 emissions the global-warming crowd is so scared of? How’s much support is he going to get from us once thousands more people begin to lose their jobs because of this fiasco?

How about the health care thing he’s trying to force down our throats? If he thinks he’s looking out for people like me, he’s out of his mind. If you use the numbers he keeps throwing out there, there are approximately 47 million Americans without health care insurance. Okay, but that also means there’s somewhere around 250 million of us who are insured, and most of those are pretty happy with the health care they receive. Why in the hell should the health care of so many be drastically altered to accommodate so few? I guess it’s kind of like he told “Joe the Plumber,” he likes to spread the wealth around.

How about this idea? How about just doing something for the one’s who aren’t insured and leave the rest of us the hell alone. How about doing something like a temporary medicare for those who’ve fallen on hard times because of a loss of their job or whatever.

I say temporary because it should be handled just like unemployment benefits, it should be there only as a safety net until you can find another job. I’m sure it’d mean a tax increase for the rest of us, but I think most Americans are willing to help their fellow man as long as he’s willing to help himself.

How about when he chose sides in a racial dispute the other day? I’m talking about when he took sides in the racially charged, dispute between his buddy, Cambridge professor, Henry Gates before he even knew all the facts in the case. He just automatically assumed because it was a white police officer arresting a black man, it just had to be a case of racial profiling. How much support did he gain from us over that one?

You left-wing loons can rant and rave all you want. And just for the record, I love the “Flat-Earth Society” label you’ve tried to pin on us because we refuse to fall for this, end of the world global-warming crap you get so worked up about. And it amuses us when you have the nerve to call us selfish for expecting people who are able bodied to stand on their own two feet and support their own families. It amuses us because since that’s what we’ve done all our lives, we know it can be done.

Obama’s approval ratings are falling like a rock and it’s because people are finally waking up and seeing his true colors. He’s as far left as you can get, and we’re not going to let him shove his socialist agenda down our throats.

Oh, one more thing. You libs had better enjoy your brief time in power. Because sooner or later the adults will take charge again. And we will take our country back.

I know some of you have something to say. What are you waiting for? Jump right in there and let us know what's on your mind.

2009-07-29T13:07:00.001-07:00

2009-07-22T09:37:00.001-07:00

Beecher Island Part Five: The Conclusion...

2009-07-22T09:34:00.002-07:00

You know, the more I learn about the Battle of Beecher Island, the more I want to talk about it. But I did promise to wrap it up this week and like they say, a deal’s a deal.

The rest of the story is a little sketchy. What I mean is that I’ve read several different versions of it by several different authors. So I’m just going to go with the version they inscribed on the monument in 1905. I figure if that’s the story they’re sticking to, it’s good enough for me.

Lieutenant, Forsyth knew if they were going to survive he’d have to send for help. On the first night, J.S. Stillwell and P. Trudeau escaped by crawling past the Indian’s lines on their hands and knees. Their assignment was to reach Fort Wallace, some 60 miles to the southeast any way they could and send help.

Because of all the Indians in the area, Stillwell and Trudeau were forced to travel by night and spend their days in hiding. On the 5th day, they flagged down a stagecoach and rode it the rest of the way to Fort Wallace.

On the third night, Forsyth sent two more men named, J. Donovan, and A.G. Pilley in the direction of Fort Donovan. They followed the south fork of the Republican River and eventually reached Fort Donovan, but because the soldiers were out in the field, the place was mostly deserted. They were able to round up four men and immediately headed back toward Beecher Island. Finally, once they had gotten within about twenty miles from the island, they ran across Captain Louis H. Carpenter and his Company of about 60 “Buffalo Soldiers,” who were out on patrol. Captain Louis was a good friend of Forsyth’s from the Civil War, and as soon as the two scouts told him of their situation, Donovan and Pilley led them on a twenty mile, mad dash.

Meanwhile, back on the island, Forsyth and his men’s situation was getting desperate. The only food they had was the putrid, rotting meat of their dead horses. The injuries of the wounded had become infected and many of them were literally on the verge of dying. They had no way knowing whether the two teams they’d sent for help even got past the Indians, let alone whether or not they were coming back.

Finally, at 10:00 AM on the ninth day (September 26th, 1868) since their ordeal began, the men trapped on the island saw movement on the prairie. Within an hour they could see it was a Cavalry unit coming their way. The Indians were also watching this movement. They knew they had failed to starve the white men to death like they wanted and reluctantly decided to moved on.

Captain Louis and his Buffalo Soldiers fed the men who were able to eat and began trying to stabilize the wounded as best they could. One scout’s injuries were so severe, Captain Louis’ surgeon decided the only way to save the man’s life was to amputate his left leg.
You need understand just how brutal this must have been. It’s not like they had a clean, sterilized operating room to work in. It took place on a filthy sand bar in the middle of a river, surrounded by the stench of fifty dead and rotting horses that were laying everywhere. Somehow, civilian scout, Lewis Farley lived through the surgery but didn’t make it through the night. A few hours before sunrise on the morning of the 27th, he became the fifth and final casualty in the battle of Beecher Island.

About noon the next day, a full twenty-six hours after Captain Louis and his Buffalo Soldiers from Fort Donovan arrived, civilian scouts, Stillwell and Trudeau arrived with help from Fort Wallace in Kansas. To say they were relieved to find that help had already arrived would be an understatement. The rescue they had planned had turned into an evacuation and they loaded the weak and wounded into Government wagons for the two day trip back to Fort Wallace.

Today, one hundred-forty-one-years later, you can safely stand on the exact spot the island was. You can see the ravine, Roman Nose led his attacks from. And you can walk a mile long trail around the battle field. The first stop on this trail is the top of the hill, Roman Nose led his last charge from. It’s a very moving experience. Anyway, it was for me.

It was pointed out to me that this whole thing didn’t happen along the Republican River after all. So for a point of clarification, it took place on the Arickaree Fork of the Republican River. Hope that helps clear things up.

It’s also been suggested I provide references to back up my story. Fair enough. Just do like I did before I even took the trip. Google it.

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading the story of Beecher Island and I hope one day you can make the trip to Wray Colorado to see it for yourself. I’m still looking for a historian out there who would like to take part in the online discussion at: www.rm235.blogspot.com

2009-07-22T09:34:00.001-07:00

2009-07-15T12:53:00.000-07:00