Tag: football

It’s time for the Super Bowl. Which NFL Quarterback would you vote for president of the United States?

Sunday Morning Thoughts: It’s Football Time in America!

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment, UncategorizedLeave a comment

As the days grow shorter and cooler, praise the Lord, American males from Little League to the NFL have been hitting the field to practice for the upcoming season.

Now is the time to see what they’ve learned.

Friday night, my wife and I attended a high school football game in DeSoto County, Mississippi.

Our grandson is a member of the band. He plays trumpet. Our family is very proud of him. While that is a big deal in itself, it is a bigger deal for our family and our grandson, especially because he is 80% hearing impaired.

While it may appear that I am digressing from the subject matter, why I brought this up will soon become clear.

Athletic participation while growing up by both genders remains a great way for kids to get used to winning and losing in this game called life.

It also helps them to reach their potential in their journey toward individual achievement.

I’ve always loved both Little League and high school football.

These are kids and teenagers out there working hard for no pay except the Love of the Game and the fun of participating in a sport.

While I did not participate in playing football because of my size of 5’4″ as a 17-yr old asthmatic Senior (I grew after I graduated), I was a gym rat who would climb the ladder of Halle Stadium in Memphis, TN with a camera and reel-to-reel video tape recorder in order to capture the home football games so that the coaches could review what went right and what went wrong in team meetings.

Sitting at that game Friday night and cheering for the team made me realize some things.

Even being inundated with all this technology that I believe can be a distraction for them, given the opportunity, teenagers are still social animals who enjoy the fun of  being with one another,

We were sitting on steel bleachers next to the Pep Squad, a bunch of young girls in matching outfits who would dance to the band and cheer with the cheerleaders while the Dance Team was behind the far end zone leading the raucous student section in cheers.

All these kids, including the ones running around the bleachers visiting with each other and joining in on all the festivities, and their parents, grandparents and friends, were having the time of their lives, cheering on these young boys giving their all for something that they believed in.

These individuals were not playing the game for money. They were playing it for the joy of the sport and to see if they could be the best they could be individually and as a team.

I guess that is why I enjoy these games so much. For the most part, especially in the small towns and suburbs outside of a big city like Memphis, high school football has not become corrupted like college football and the NFL have been.

There are no overpaid underperforming professional football players, nor are there male cheerleaders in tights prancing around like one of the girls in their dance routines.

These are high school students participating in an event that they will hold dear to their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Watching the fun that the girls in the Pep Squad were having as they went through their routines and cheers and listening to their giggles as they were next to my wife and me Friday night, made me realize that there are still young people being raised right in this country and that there were still kids that got out from behind their PlayStations and out of their mom’s basement to have fun with each other.

In other words, there are still kids being raised right and experiencing the joy of friendship, achievement, and growing up in this great country.

We need to celebrate and cherish these kids and the parents who have raised them more.

Their joy and their achievements give us  hope for the future.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Of Truffles, Terrorism, and TRIA

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

AFBranco12142014As I write today’s blog, an Islamic gunman is holding anywhere from 13-50 hostages captive in a Sydney, Australia Lindt Truffle Shop.

In a related story, recently, the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, appeared in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and spoke the following words…

 …the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them, there is only us.

Uh huh, Scooter.

Meanwhile, this past week, Obama and his Liberal Vanguard have hit the airwaves and the Internet, shouting until they are blue in the face that we should treat any Muslim Terrorists we may have captured “the way we would want to be treated”…no water boarding allowed, no matter the cost in American lives.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes…

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that

If you’ve already bought tickets for Super Bowl XLIX or are looking forward to watching it with your friends and family, you may be surprised to learn that there is a chance it might not be played. Congress first needs to make a decision on renewing a piece of legislation that you possibly never have heard of: TRIA—the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

TRIA was signed into law in 2002 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, establishing a risk-sharing partnership between the federal government and the insurance industry that made terrorism insurance widely available to U.S. businesses—among them, organizers of sporting events. Without federal support, most insurers had been unwilling to offer coverage. TRIA was renewed in 2005 and in 2007. It is set to expire on Dec. 31 unless Congress renews it. With two weeks until the deadline, the clock is ticking.

You may think: No way that the Super Bowl can be canceled! Think again. A few years ago FIFA, organizer of the World Cup, could not find insurers to cover the final game of the 2006 tournament at a cost it judged reasonable. FIFA was eventually able to structure a special financial instrument so the game could go on, but this took several months.

There is considerable money at stake for the organizers of Super Bowl and for NBC, which will televise the game. No insurance, no game.  It is thus not surprising that the NFL has joined with other professional sports leagues and 80 business groups nationwide to form the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) to urge Congress to fund reauthorization of the TRIA legislation.

A bit of background on why insurers changed their view of terrorism coverage after 9/11 provides the relevant context. Before 9/11, insurers included terrorism coverage in all commercial policies without charging for it because the risk was below their threshold level of concern. But after paying $44 billion in claims for 9/11—at that time the most costly disaster in the history of insurance—most insurers excluded terrorism from commercial policies.

The absence of terrorism coverage halted large construction projects around the country because financial institutions were concerned about the viability of their loans. Their fears resembled the concern that organizations such as FIFA and the NFL have with respect to their own liability.

TRIA addresses the insurance supply problem. Under the program, the federal government provides a financial back-up for insurers by covering a portion of insured losses above $27.5 billion, up to $100 billion, giving the insurance industry some certainty as to its maximum exposure. In return, insurers are required to offer terrorism coverage to all business clients, which can decide to purchase coverage or not. About 60 percent of large businesses carry terrorism insurance, indicating strong demand for it.

Unless TRIA is reauthorized during the next two weeks, insurers will have the right to cancel terrorism insurance policies after Jan. 1. They are likely to do so for fear of insolvency should a massive terrorist attack take place with no government backup. By law, only insurance companies offering workers’ compensation insurance must include terrorism peril in their policies, whether or not TRIA is renewed. 

Obama, like every other Modern Liberal, truly believes that there is no difference between Islam and any other religion, even the religion which the overwhelming majority of the citizens of America, the country which he is supposed to be the advocate for, practices.

The son of America’s Pastor, Reverend Billy Graham, spoke frankly and honestly about “The Religion of Peace “.

Last week, Reverend Franklin Graham told Christian Today that his own views on Islam remained the same as in 2001.

“I have not changed my opinion at all.” He said he looked at Islamic State, at the Taliban and Boko Haram and thought: “This is Islam. It has not been hijacked by radicals. This is the faith, this is the religion. It is what it is. It speaks for itself.”

He added: “I think it is very important that we do all that we can to try to share God’s love with Muslims because they have no hope outside of dying in Jihad. I want them to know, you do not have to die for God. God died for us. He sent His Son to die for us. We do not have to kill ourselves to please God. I want them to know that they can have eternal life.”

Islam itself had not changed at all in 1500 years, he added. “It is the same. It is a religion of war.”

He said he was “sad” that Muslims in the Washington cathedral had “turned their back on the Cross” to worship “another God”. Graham said: “The God of Islam is not the same God of the Judeo-Christian faith. “The God that we worship in Christianity is a God that has a Son. To Islam, that is blasphemy, to say that God has a son. Therefore, they do not worship the God that we worship.”

Rev. Graham, of course, is spot on.

Islam and Christianity present two very different Deities, who may share some similarities, but who have different identities and ultimately different standards. For the President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama and the rest of today’s Liberals to pretend they are the same is not only to be clueless of the faith of 76% of the citizens of this nation, but, to be ignorant of an integral part of our American Heritage, the legacy of Christian Faith, which our Founding Fathers bequeathed us.

Now, I am not saying that every Muslim is on a jihad against “the infidels”.

However…

When Christians become “radicalized”, we want to share the testimony of what God has done for us through His love, with everyone we meet. We get involved in our local church and we become better fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and American citizens.

When Muslims become “radicalized”, they want to “kill the Infidels” in the name of “Allah the Merciful”.

If unchecked, their naivete in the name of Political Correctness will be the death of us all.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

 

Memphis Mob Violence: Mayor And DOJ “Jail Not the Answer”

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

Memphis KrogerFlashMobEach new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late. – Dr. Thomas Sowell

Friday Night Football. High School students, parents, and teachers rooting from thier team as they line up er stadium lights across the country.

Great memories, made to last a lifetime.

And now, the Administration of my hometown wants to end that tradition, in order to “protect the citizens” from teenage thugs who are beating the snot out of the very citizens he is supposed to be protecting.

Friday Night Football games could end for high schools in Memphis, because of an increase in youth mob violence.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton has asked Superintendent Dorsey Hopson to look into the possibility of ending night games on Friday breaking one of the biggest fall traditions in the Mid-South.

“What I told him today that we would look at it, we certainly want to be good neighbors,” Hopson told WMC.

Hopson added that the problem isn’t what’s happening inside school stadiums where the games are played.

“We are not having incidents at the games. What’s happening is things are happening outside the games after the game issues,” Hopson shared with WMC.

There have been waves of violent attacks by youth in recent weeks, including an attack at a local Kroger store and a high school mob who attacked a mother’s car.

Hopson explained that he thinks poverty and other factors are contributing to the increase in students acting out. He also said that something needs to be done right away about the social conditions people are living under before a change in the behavior of the youth happens.

Congressman Steve Cohen announced Wednesday that more than $800,000 in federal dollars will be spent in the 9th district to fight youth behavior and prevent violence. A portion of the money will be used to target at-risk teenagers and help their families create violence prevention strategies. Anti-violence programs will also be established in schools within the area with the money.

What the heck ever happened to actually punishing these tugs for their crimes?

The Obama/Holder Department of Justice Guidelines happened, that’s what.

WREG.com reports the following…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — US Attorney Edward Stanton III was in Memphis to talk about something that’s on everyone’s mind: youth violence.

He says court summons instead of jail time aren’t the cause of an uptick in violence, but admits the justice system needs to make serious changes.

“I want to be clear that Smart on Crime is not a hug-a-thug policy or program,” he said.

Stanton says it’s time for a change in the justice system because Memphis, and the rest of Shelby County can’t arrest their way out of violence. He argued mass incarceration has never made our streets safer.

“We need to understand that one size does not fit all. What we may have tried 15, 20 years ago or when I was a youth, those things may not be working,” he said.

Stanton says this is especially true with kids today. He says the Memphis streets he grew up on are much more dangerous, and kids are getting sucked into crime at a much younger age.

“We didn’t have to worry about drugs or gangs or bullets flying over our heads. I think what we are doing today is a great start,” he said.

He said Thursday’s Justice Reform Conference shows the community wants to help bring change to the streets. And he says this is exactly where change starts.

Stanton brushed off suggestions the Department of Justice mandate that gives most kids court summons instead of jail time is leading to more violent crime. He says this mandate protects kids from a potentially racially biased system.

“We want to be vigilant in holding individuals accountable but the constitution prevails and safeguards must be in place before doing those things,” he said.

These messages of community and coming together to tackle the problem are exactly what everyone else in leadership roles are saying, but Memphians have said time and again, enough with the talk, let’s see, some action.

My beloved hometown of Memphis, Tennessee has been gutted by decades of poor financial stewardship and corrupt Black Democratic Leadership, who never saw a dollar they couldn’t spend, or a relative or friend that they couldn’t give a job with the city to.

And now, Memphis’ chickens have come home… to roost…brought about by a failed school system which turned in its charter in a successful scheme to take over the more affluent county school system, only to see the county municipalities start their own individual systems, Memphis’ black citizens murdering each other every night, and gangs of black teenagers beatomg the snot out of innocent people, simply because they’re bored, they have no parental guidance, and they know, as “juvenile offenders”, that nothing will happen to them.

President Obama will not address Memphis’ problem.

And, Outgoing (Praise the Lord) Attorney General Eric Holder is noticeably silent as well as are the Justice Brothers, Revs. Jackson and Sharpton.

For, boys and girls, the harsh reality of an out-of-control populace of a Democratically-ran city, well on its way to becoming another Detroit, must be ignored at all costs…due to political correctness, political expediencies, and the Liberal naivete that these “misguided lren do not need to be punished for ‘acting out”. They need to be “affirmed”.

Because, for these self-serving Democrat Liberal Politicians, as President Barack Hussein Obama himself has conceded, it is not about those “Black Youth” who break the law, it’s about making up for “past transgressions” that America was supposed to have moved past, with the election of Barack Hussein Obama.

Under the presidency of “The Great Uniter”, America has become more divided.

Until He Comes,

KJ