Portland, Tennessee Blog

Post your thoughts about News worthy articles, events, happenings, questions, garage sales, and general information regarding our town.

Want to talk about something specific, post it here.
One of the blog authors will start the topic for you!

While we welcome and encourage your thoughts and ideas we ask that you; Not post content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, that violates a third party's right to privacy, that otherwise violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or that is otherwise inappropriate. Furthermore, you may not post content that degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification. Language intended to intimidate or to incite violence and anger will not be tolerated.

This is one of my favorite journalist. I hope this makes as much sense to you as it does to me!
This is kind of a 'refresher course of high school senior
civics' ~ i.e., how our country is run and who is responsible
for what. . . . .

I do not know anyone who is truly
happy with the situation in which we
find ourselves today. Everyone
points the finger at others--democrats
at republicans and vice versa. But this
guy puts his finger directly on who is responsible.

545 vs. 300,000,000
EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT SITUATION. . . .
Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years...

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.
The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague our country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They
have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do
one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars
in cash.. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con game regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall to stand up and criticize the President for creating deficits.. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to The House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the Speaker of the House? The leader of the majority party. He/she and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it
over his veto if they agree to.

Cost of a bowl of soup at homeless shelter: $0.00 dollars
Having Michelle Obama Serve you your soup: $0.00 dollars
Snapping a picture of a homeless person who is receiving government
funded meal while taking a picture of the first lady using his $500 Black
Berry cell phone: PRICELESS

Post your thoughts about News worthy articles, events, happenings,
questions, garage sales, and general information regarding our town.

Want to talk about something specific, post it here.
One of the blog authors will start the topic for you!

While we welcome and encourage your thoughts and ideas we ask that you; Not post content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, that violates a third party's right to privacy, that otherwise violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or that is otherwise inappropriate. Furthermore, you may not post content that degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification. Language intended to intimidate or to incite violence and anger will not be tolerated.

Taking time to stop and focus on the blessings of this life can be hard. It seems we are all very busy rushing from one thing to the next, and it becomes easy to over look some of the truly wonderful things around us. The Apostle Paul encourages us in (Colossians 3:1-4), to stay focused on that which is of the most important - the things which are above.
Our days seem to pass so quickly and it becomes difficult to accomplish all that we set out to do each day; and at the end of the week we are exhausted with no real sense of fulfillment for our time spent.
Loosing sight of the greater purpose and placing more emphasis on the smaller details can overwhelm us. So today, if we can learn to set our affection on things above and not on things of the earth, maybe, just maybe, we will be able to breath a little easier.
Remember, God loves you greatly!

For those of you who are fans of the A&E-TV show Paranormal State, you might be interested to know that the Paranormal Research Society is having PRS Field Trip #5 at the Thomas House Hotel in nearly Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee! The dates are August 7-9, 2009. The Thomas House was recently featured in the Paranormal State episode entitled Room 37. Details and ticket information may be found here: www.RedBoilingSprings.com The entire cast of the TV show will be present during the field trip.

This is the place to discuss sports. Be it High School Sports or Professional Sports. Be it Nascar or Golf. Be it Rant or Rave!!!

The Apostle Paul encourages each of us to seek the well being of others. In fact, he says we should esteem others better then ourselves. Paul goes on to give us the example of Jesus, and he urges every believer to have the same mind set concerning humility as our Lord has (Philippians 2:1-11).
We each fall short when compared to Jesus, but each of us should strive to mimic His love, compassion, and patience in our lives. Let us each day remember those around us through word and deed, you never know when someone could use a little kindness to get them through a difficult situation.
Remember, God is present with us and that He loves you greatly!

Sumner County Pupil Transportation has announced that school information and bus information for the 2009-2010 school year is now available. Please note that there have been many changes in Portland with two new schools, changes in many school boundaries, and changes in many bus routes. Please click on this link to find out specific information for your children.

In my opinion, one of Portland's real assets is the walking track in Richland Park. This is a nice place to get some exercise in a safe environment.

I would like to ask the Parks Department some questions:

1. Why does the park open at 7 a.m. throughout the year? This morning, for example, sunrise was at 5:31 a.m. In the summer, wouldn't it be better to open the park at sunrise to give people a chance to walk before it gets too hot?

2. Could a cruising police officer unlock the gate at sunrise? That way Parks Department personnel don't have to arrive early, hence no extra cost.

3. If the answer to the above questions is no, is it permissible to park in the lot by the Community Center and walk around the track even though the park is technically closed?

4. If the answer to all of the questions above is no, what will it take to insure the gates are actually opened at 7 a.m. sharp? This morning, the chain was removed at 7:07 a.m. I've seen it removed as late as 7:20. The photo above, by the way, was taken at 7:06 this morning.

Thank you.

Where and how will everyone be spending their summer vacation, I'm sure some will be vacationing closer to home this year with the economy and all. And just in time for summer trips the price of gas starts rising once again, how convenient!

If you have a favorite spot for some good ole summer fun please share!

Job said (14:1) that man is of few days and full of trouble. When we are hurting, often times we can only see the negative side of life; But and if we can turn our eyes upon Jesus we will soon learn that during times of weakness and despair, that God's grace is even closer then we have ever noticed. - Remember, when you are down, just look up - God is watching and He loves you!

Judy and I have been discussing the blog archives, which grow bigger every day. We currently have a rule that says that once something is on the blog, it stays on the blog forever.

We think this may be an overkill, and we would like to change how we archive things.

1. Dated-information-type entries are deleted seven days after the date has come and gone. This gives the author time to make an update on how the event went, etc. This kind of entry would include announcements about yard sales, camps, church events, etc.

2. The first of Janaury, we'll export the entire blog to a text file. Then we'll delete everything on the blog that's over a year old. (The exported text files could theoretically be used by someone who wanted to research old entries and comments on the blog.)

By making these changes, we think the blog would be fresher and more current. Also, this would definitely cut down on spam. Automated spambots sometimes post the same spam message onto each of the 400+ entries on the blog.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
Charlie

Tennessee isn't the worst, but we're close! http://tinyurl.com/ovqtax

Special Friends Camp will be held Monday, June 1 through Friday, June 12, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Richland Gym, 301 Portland Blvd. Registration will be held on June 1 beginning at 8:30 a.m. The camp is free and open to all ages with special needs. Daily activities include swimming, crafts, games and entertainment provided by members of the community. For more information, call Nancy Raymond at (931) 676-5543 or Diana Parks at (615) 325-7695. [Posted at the request of Judy Plummer. Charlie]

How was this years Strawberry Festival? Give us your thoughts, if you have a dislike please offer a recommendation. We want to hear all the good stuff too!! Of course nobody is responsible for the weather! Lets use this for honest opinions and perhaps something might be picked up and forwarded into next years event.

Post your thoughts about News worthy articles, events, happenings,
questions, garage sales, and general information regarding our town.

Want to talk about something specific, post it here.
One of the blog authors will start the topic for you!

**While we welcome and encourage your thoughts and ideas we ask that you
Not post content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, that violates a third party's right to privacy, that otherwise violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or that is otherwise inappropriate. Furthermore, you may not post content that degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification.
Language intended to intimidate or to incite violence and anger will not be tolerated.**