THAT’S what all the furor was about? A warm fuzzy with a little humor thrown in to spice it up? Were they serious about protesting so loudly to CBS to drop the ad? I’d like for the NOW (National Organization for Women) ladies, as well as the Planned Parenthood folks to point out the evil intentions of the Focus On The Family Super Bowl ad. It just isn’t there in plain sight. None of us were able to fully understand the mean spiritedness of it…We need help from our left leaning organizations to ’see’ the harmful nature of it since we are lowly, stupid, blind, Bible thumping, gun toting followers of the under-educated right wing…

Perhaps if Joy Behar had been calling the game for us, she could have taken a second to point out the hate speech contained in the Tebow ad…..Oy VEY!

Amidst all this chaos…God loves me…

You can now listen to Just Talking It Up 47 in the player on the left sidebar of the blog, or on iTunes! For those that are subscribed, it will automatically download next time you open iTunes!

Nothing is off the table in this discussion between Janet and Crash! Everything from China’s vested interest in ‘all things American’ to Tim Tebow’s pro-life Super Bowl ad. Why does the pro-choice movement insist on keeping their patients in the dark? After all, if it’s a “choice”, wouldn’t you want your patient to make an informed “choice”? Listen in as Crash boils it down to a struggle between absolute, and relative truth.

Watch for the purely uplifting commercial yourself, and sound off here: feedback@justalkingitup.com!!

You can now listen to Just Talking It Up 46 in the player on the left sidebar of the blog, or on iTunes! For those that are subscribed, it will automatically download next time you open iTunes!

Join our hosts Janet and Crash as they deliberate the latest political upheaval in MassaTOOsis…MaCHECHEWsit…Massachusetts! What does it mean to the Presidents overall agenda?…. What about the GOP? Crash is practically giddy over the election of Scott Brown to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s vacant seat! Nancy Pelosi, according to Janet, is as manipulative as EVER in her public statements regarding the doomed Health-Care proposal, spinning herself and the bills fate as victims to the evil right wing. It is entirely possible that the current grass roots ‘Tea Party’ movement will force the creation of a powerful third party if the GOP doesn’t wake up with a jolt. What are your thoughts about the election results?

Thanks for listening, and please send your opinion to feedback@justalkingitup.com!!

No Big Orange fan, of which am one,  felt comfortable when Lane Kiffin was announced as Head Coach of the Tennessee Volunteers in December of 2008.  Many, including me, were very happy to see Phil Fulmer go.  He had let the program slide into virtual oblivion and few singers of Rocky Top were excited about what the ensuing years would be under his continued tutelage.  Fulmer exited with his head held high and exuding tremendous class.  His replacement entered completely devoid of same.

Kiffin spent much of the press conference, called to announce his hiring, talking about what a bad guy Al Davis was.  Davis is the owner of the Oakland Raiders who had fired him after a brief tenure.  The reasons seemed to be that Kiffin was an arrogant, narcissistic flake.  Davis should know, he’s not much different…..but he signs the paychecks.  Tennessee should have talked with Davis before hiring this “narrow Lane”…..they might, as a result, have continued their search beyond Kiffin. Tennessee fans cringed, saying “this guy may know a lot of X’s and O’s, but he seems to be terribly deficient in the class category.”  Our worst fears were soon realized.

Over the next weeks and months Kiffin proceeded to offend most coaches in the S.E.C., the hierarchy at the NCAA and skiddish Vol fans alike with his out of control mouth.  He also came under fire for potential recruiting violations.  This issue might still be an open one…..only time will tell.  I must admit that as the 2009 season went on I never lost my concern that orange blood, I mean the beautiful Tennessee Orange, was not coursing through his veins.  I was, however, smitten by the revitalization that he seemed to bring to the Vol football program and despite the good ole “yard dog whippin’” that Virginia Tech put on us in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, I thought that Tennessee might be up-ticking in the football market.  It was not to be…..at least for about 80 hours.

When Pete Carroll left as head coach of U.S.C. for the NFL, Kiffin bolted Knoxville for the vacated position.  Some of his assistants who also departed in lockstep with him, proceeded to back track and try to talk recruits they had rushed so strongly for the previous weeks into changing their minds and follow them to Trojan country.  It may have worked…we will see.

All of this was a severe body blow to Tennessee, the football program, fans and players.  But after 3 days of whirlwind activity by the U.T Athletic Department, tons of cyber ink and wasted work time by Tennessee faithful, and speculation by the college football world, Tennessee announced on Friday that Derek Dooley had been named as Tennessee’s 22nd football Coach.  WHO????  Derek Dooley….son of the extremely successful Georgia Bulldog Coach and A.D..   The initial fears of the Tennessee faithful were and for many may still be that U.T. made a panic move and picked quickly so as to not lose the recruiting battle that will rage over the next 2-3 weeks.   I must admit to have been one of the skeptics.

Well my brother called me this morning and said, “do you remember how we said we felt when Ronald Reagan spoke the day after he was elected…..proud to be an American and excited about the future.”   He urged me to listen the Dooley’s news conference and see if I had a similar feeling with this hiring.  I did and am sold……and I’m not an easy sell.  Only time will tell whether Dooley will return Tennessee to top 5 -10 status in NCAA division one football.  I think he has all the ingredients to be successful….7 years as an assistant with Nick Saban, a fabulous football heritage, great recruiting skills, a brilliant mind, the consummate work ethic and is a fiercely independent thinker.  But the real thing that makes me a convert and makes me feel that I will not be embarrassed by an off the rails coach is that this is a man of conviction and class.

I also watched Kiffin’s introductory news conference at U.S.C……..what a difference between Dooley’s obvious character and Kiffin’s lack of same.  Kiffin still doesn’t get it in terms of his self centered worldview.  As I watched I wondered what he is teaching his children and what kind of reflection it is on his father and his upbringing.  Stupid me….his father went with him to U.S.C..  Commitment and honor be damned….take the best deal you can get, shake the dust from your feet and leave the broken promises and carnage behind.

Tennessee may have taken a severe body blow, but we have dodged a major bullet.  If you have to deal with a cancer, do so early before it grows.  Thanks Lane and good riddance!  Let’s go Dooley!!!!

Well the “House of Ill Repute” we know as Congress is up to their old tricks again….pun fully intended.   Typical of the transaction discussion between the prostitute and the potential john, where the outcome has been determined and they are simply haggling over price,  Harry Reid and his thieving henchmen have negotiated price with some of their fellow tricksters to insure the passage of the economy wrecking health care plan.

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) held back on her vote until Reid used $300 million of  OUR MONEY to pay for her vote.  Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) stuck us where the sun doesn’t shine with his similar transaction.  Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Max Baucus (D-MT)  negotiated sweet deals for their states in trade for their votes.  Vermont, Massachusetts and other states likewise obtained largess from our pockets for their services….sic.

But the real culprit that confirms the use of the name prostitute for these Senators is Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) who held his vote ostensibly because of a strongly held position against abortion language in the proposed bill.   Reid simply negotiated the going rate for “Corn-Shucker” Nelson’s vote and the trick was done….so to speak.  Trading of the vote for concessions his State has since said they do not want is bad enough.  Using the killing of defenseless humans as his currency of trade is the ultimate in filthy actions.

If you think the words used here are too strong, consider this.

Prostitution is defined as; “the act of offering or devoting one’s talent to an unworthy use or cause.”   Pimping is defined as; “the act of soliciting or  procuring the services of prostitutes.” A Principle is defined as; “a personal rule for right conduct.”

Given these definitions,  it is clear that Ben Nelson, violated principles of conduct for which he swore on the Bible to uphold when he negotiated with Reid who solicited Nelson’s use of his position in an unworthy manner. Many of his fellow Senators followed suit.

Seems pretty clear to me!  If it quacks like a duck, and if it walks like a ……..well, you know the rest!

An article in yesterday’s Washington Post clearly shows the gap between the RESPONSIBILITY our government has and the ACCOUNTABILITY or lack of accountability to which they are held.  The article  confirms  that the I.R.S. expects  to answer only 71.2% of the calls made to the agency in 2010.  They are elated that the number is up from 70% in 2009.  Further, of the calls that are answered it will take 11 minutes and 38 seconds to actually get someone on the phone.  This is an increase of almost three minutes over the ridiculous time required in  2009.  Also, the I.R.S. is not responsible for the answers given by their agents over the phone.  It is estimated that as many as 40% of the answers to questions asked of the employees on these calls is incorrect and could cause serious problems to the individual if they use this inaccurate information in filing their return.

Now let me understand……upon calling the I.R.S. I have only a 2 in 3 chance the call will answered…..after a wait of almost a quarter of an hour and the answer to my query will likely be wrong!  Imagine how long your company would stay in business with this standard of performance.

The standard in my company is that every call will be answered on the first or second ring, by a live person, with a pleasant voice that indicates to the caller that we are pleased that they called us.  Further, their problem will be solved in some way as quickly as possible.  And we are held accountable for the answers we give.   If we did not  conduct business in this manner we would not be in business long.   The key is that individually and collectively we take RESPONSIBILITY and we are ACCOUNTABLE.   Our very existence depends on it.

With the government there is no accountability at any level.  When was the last time you heard of a government worker….I mean employee….and there is both a difference and a distinction between the two…..getting fired.   Today we see even  President BO’s actions illustrate that he can say what he needs to in order to get what he wants and then do as he wishes…in total disregard to his promises.  It is beyond frustrating that government is allowed to continue to be sub-mediocre in performance without punishment.

The situation is getting worse.  Government is the only sector that has grown during this recession…in both numbers and salary levels.   Add to this the fact that only half of eligible taxpayers actually pay taxes  (this represents 1/3 of all US citizens) leaving the burden to the other half…..of which you and I are a part. You can easily see the problem we face.   Bigger government plus fewer taxpayers equals a snowball of disaster rolling downhill and gaining speed.  The time to solve the problem is getting shorter and the hurdles increasing.  We better wake up as a Nation or we are doomed……if it is not too late already.

Breaking news……newspaper headlines read as follows:  “Boston Fans Pull For Yankees“……”IBM Buys Apple Computers For All Employees“………”Southerners Forget War Of Northern Aggression“………”Dr. Oz Eats A Cheeseburger“……..”Democrats Scream For Tax Reductions“…….”Bill O’Reilly Asks Question And Allows Respondent To Answer“……..”Hell Freezes Over“.  Are you kidding me….these things would NEVER come true.   Well, they are equally as likely to occur as is the title of this post.

I was raised in the hills of East Tennessee.  The University of Tennessee was known as “the Hallowed Hill” and its football team was, and still is despite its mediocrity in recent years, a revered institution.  When I was a kid we didn’t have the quantity of orange paraphernalia that is available today……shortage of orange dye I suppose.  I didn’t have enough money to buy any even if it was available.  My how I love that Tennessee orange!  My wife may be the only “Big Orange” (aka Tennessee) football fan who hates it.  Along with the fight song,  ‘”Rocky Top”, non Tennessee fans unilaterally hate Tennessee Orange but Tennessee fans, by and large, love it.

In addition to loving the color Tennessee orange, I was taught to pull for Tennessee and against Georgia Tech.   Said differently, Tennessee supporters were “for Tennessee and whoever played Georgia Tech”.  Those were the days when Tech was in the S.E.C. and a formidable opponent of my Vols.  Bobby Dodd, an ex Tennessee All American and native of Kingsport , Tennessee, was the Tech head coach….a traitor….what’s not to be against!  Tech, in an idiotic executive decision, moved from the S.E.C. to the Atlantic Coast Conference and Tennessee fans turned their ire toward another arch rival, Alabama.  “We don’t give a d____ ’bout the whole State of Al-a-bam”…..well you know how that goes.  Georgia then raised its level of play and became Tennessee’s arch rival on the field and in the recruiting wars.  And then came the Florida Gators!   UUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!  For almost two decades the Gators have been the nemesis of the Volunteers….tough to beat and even tougher to take…..you know what I mean.

With that as a 6 decade backdrop one can see how hard it is for me to say that I am going to pull for Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the S.E.C. Championship in Atlanta on Saturday.  There, I have said it.  It hurt a little but having said it I feel better.  How could anyone pull against Tim Tebow.  OK, I have done it for the 4 times he played against my beloved Vols.  But I couldn’t pull against family could I?

Amid the current plethora of swaggering, street dancin’,  struttin’ players that fill the rosters of college and pro teams alike, and the ones who find it necessary to stick up a Seven Eleven, Tim Tebow wafts as a true breath of fresh air.  No one can challenge his tremendous ability as a football player. ….but there are many with tremendous athletic ability.  What truly makes him stand out is his outspoken stand for Christ and his Christian worldview.  Last year’s three finalists for the Heisman trophy, Colt McCoy of Texas, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tebow said that the thing they had in common for which they were most grateful was their faith.  Very little was made of that.  The A.P.  didn’t carry it.  ESPN didn’t play it up.  But I guess we would be asking too much to expect the Christian worldview to be heralded by the  “mainstream” press….what ever that means.

Well, Saturday night I’m going against my Tennessee tradition and pull for Tim Tebow……and the Gators too.  I neither like nor dislike the Tide in this situation….they are a good team with a smart coach.  I’m just pulling for the good guy!  Don’t “go Tiger” on us…Tiger Wood that is…..and let us down Tim.  Chomp-Chomp…..Go Timmy!

I begin this post with the full knowledge that it will raise the ire of many, some of whom will castigate me for a comparison that they deem vile.  So be it!

In an act of extreme stupidity, our United States Attorney General, Eric Holder, with the full support if not direction of President Barrack Obama, has chosen to try 911 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York under the same law that a shoplifter of a candy bar would face.   To classify this choice of venue and law simply as daft or asinine presumes that the decision was made with a large amount of thought.  Responses made by Holder during his grilling by Congress disabuse the open minded listener of that view.  One is left wondering what BO and EH had in mind when they chose this route.

If this were not enough, it seems that 3 Navy Seals are facing Court Martial for allegedly bloodying the lip of one of the most notorious and sought after terrorists in our WAR ON TERROR.  Yes, “War On Terror”  Mr. Obama!!!  This scumbag is the “alleged” mastermind of the mutilation and murder of four Blackwater security guards in Fallujah in 2004.   In the process of taking him into custody…..instead of blowing him away…….they hit his little lip and put a bump on it.  He has a little bo-bo…….give him his blankey and some warm milk.  The Seals have refused a simple slap on the wrist and have demanded the full Court Martial.  This is indicative of their confidence in their methods and feel that to take a slap would be to admit wrong doing when none existed.  This will be interesting and possibly bring to the forefront this irrational handcuffing of our daily military protectors

All U. S.  Service personnel must be shaking their head at this imbecilic approach to warfare.    They must also be fearful of being brought up on charges if they so much as look cross-eyed at those who put them in daily harms way and all of us in ultimate concern for our way of life.

Our own government leaders at the top seem to be trying to assuage the perpetual view every nation who approaches the U.S. with tin cup in hand has about us.  They do not like us or want us in their presence.  Our way of life is an anathema to their worldview.  They play kissy-face with us for our foreign aid and with smirks of derision hate us at the core.  In street language that makes these nations prostitutes and our Nation the john in this transaction.  It has never worked and never will!!  All the money in the world handed out with Presidential bows to all the two bit world leaders that will give BO an audience will not change their view of us.  Maybe the equation is not that simple, there are other considerations concerning foreign aid.  If it is humanitarian it must be controlled so that the pimps, aka leaders, in these countries don’t fill their pockets with the largess paid by you and me.

Let’s take another look at that over used word, “alleged”.  It is inserted into every arrest and news story about the arrestee to make sure that it is known that the accused is innocent until proven guilty in our system of justice.  Well if that view holds in this situation of KSM why do Obama and Holder assert that we will find KSM guilty and execute him.  Is this not a preemptive violation of the innocent until proven guilty mantra?  I think this is what is called a conundrum….or is it a deception of some kind?  Given the way things are going in our country I wouldn’t be surprised.

It’s the time of year again when we reflect on the things we are truly thankful for~family, friends,  living in this great country of ours.  The 9/12_Project  website pretty much sums up how we at JTIU feel about life here in these United States.  Visit the website, join the ‘movement’, we’ll get this country back on track.

In the meantime, as you meditate on the things big and small that you are thankful for, think on these things as well:
 

The 9 Principles

1. America Is Good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

The 12 Values

* Honesty

* Reverence

* Hope

* Thrift

* Humility

* Charity

* Sincerity

* Moderation

* Hard Work

* Courage

* Personal Responsibility

* Gratitude

From all of us here at JTIU, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Amidst all this chaos . . . God loves me . . .

You can now listen to Just Talking It Up 45 in the player on the left sidebar of the blog, or on iTunes! For those that are subscribed, it will automatically download next time you open iTunes!

Once again, a SMORGASBORD of opinion from these two! Everything from Ft. Hood to Sarah Palin come to the discussion table. Janet asks “Is there one single staunch conservative in office serving anywhere, right now? If so, why don’t they speak up?” Crash says to watch Senator John Thune of South Dakota. In his opinion, Thune may be the Jimmy Stewart we’ve been waiting for . . .

Crash as usual is the ‘voice of reason’, but Janet thinks he’s giving a free pass out of ‘political correctness’ on some issues. Regarding the penal system, she thinks a prison sentence should last without early release, he thinks that the possibility of early release is an incentive that helps control inmate behavior.   So which is it? What do you think?

What will happen if our banker-China, calls in our debt?  The old saying “borrow a thousand from the bank, and you’re a debtor…borrow a million, and you’re the bank’s partner”, suggests we are not only “partner’s” with China, but completely at their mercy. China . . . merciful? Hmmm.

Thanks for listening, and please send your opinion to feedback@justalkingitup.com!!