It’s time for my favorite day of the week where we enjoy some non-diet related topics on my newly-instituted Fun-Filled Friday. Whether I feature a cute little girl singing a song about the blood of Jesus or my recent perfect 300 game in Wii bowling, this is a chance for me to let my hair down so to speak and just tell you about some other great stuff going on that I think you might like. Here are three things I’m sure you’ll find interesting:
So long, President George W. Bush, and THANK YOU
It’s the dawn of a new day here in America as we will inaugurate a brand new leader of our country on January 20, 2009 with the sun setting on one president and rising on another. With a farewell address from the current White House occupant on Thursday night, I thought it would be appropriate to say goodbye and farewell to him for serving America.
Regardless of what you think of the outgoing President of the United States, he was a man of integrity who loved this country and fought to protect it against evildoers who wanted to cause harm and destruction. And by the grace of God, we have not been attacked a second time on American soil thanks to the diligence of our military and the leadership making the decisions that have kept our country safe.
I remember when September 11, 2001 happened just months after George Walker Bush took the oath of office and was inaugurated as our 43rd president, Americans of all colors, creeds, political ideology, and every other faction that divides us came together in unity behind the idea of preserving the freedom our forefathers fought so hard for. I long for the day when we can stop the pettiness that has become the modern political system and just get back to those ideals that made the United States the greatest country in the history of the world again.
In my opinion, President Bush deserved more respect than he got while in office the past eight years and I hope to God incoming President Barack Hussein Obama will be given that same honor the office of the presidency affords him starting next Tuesday. Being President and the leader of the free world is probably the hardest job anyone could ever take on. Those who are given the opportunity to serve in that position deserve our praise and sincere gratitude for their service to our country.
In that light, I wish to say so long President George W. Bush, and THANK YOU for doing what you felt was right no matter what the political consequences would be. You have made so many Americans proud of you for your selflessness in always choosing to do the right thing even when it wasn’t popular. God bless you as you return to public life in Texas and I wish you well in the years you and Laura will enjoy together.
Next up, I’ve got quite an inspiring story for you about a 25-year old man named Nick Vujicic from Life Without Limbs. As you will see in the following videos, Nick was born with no arms or legs and has had to deal with the consequences of that throughout his life. But rather than mope and complain about the hand life dealt him, he has instead chosen to embrace his handicap and use it for God’s glory and honor. BE INSPIRED by this man who has every reason to complain…but doesn’t.
Finally, I’m so happy to reveal to you another BRAND NEW BLOG I have been working on creating since the beginning of the year. One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2009 was to start writing letters to those people who have helped influence, mold, and shape my life into the man I am today. The Jimmy Moore I have become is actually a composite of literally hundreds upon hundreds of people I’ve come into contact with over the course of my life and I felt it necessary to express back to each of them what they have meant to me.
To that end, I decided to create my first non-diet and health-related blog called “52 Letters” where I will feature an average of one new letter a week to someone I’ve crossed paths with–past or present, dead or alive, whether I’ve met them or not–telling them how much they have made a real difference in my life. I started out this letter-writing campaign with someone who is as much responsible for who I am now as anyone–my late brother Kevin.
I encourage you to think about writing some letters to the people in your life who have made you into the person you are today. It may sound difficult to come up with very many, but with a little introspective thought I’m sure you’ll have quite a list. And these letters will not appear in any sort of significance or order. Whoever I’m thinking about next will be the featured letter for that week, so I hope you will check out my new blog to learn a little more about me and the people behind the man I have become.
I’ll be gone next Friday on our 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise to Mexico, but we’ll get back to Fun-Filled Friday when I return the next week. If you have something fun, funny, or interesting to share with me and my readers for future “Fun-Filled Friday” segments, then just e-mail those to me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Wow! Nick is so inspiring! Thanks for sharing this, and I look forward to reading your letters. I think this is a great idea.
I was so encouraged by seeing Nick Vuijicic on you tube several months ago, that I bought both of his DVD’s. His story and his work is phenomenal. A truly gifted man, I have a lot of admiration for him.
I wish you well on your 52 Letters blog. I can just imagine how it will enrich your life. I have a lot of admiration for what you do too Jimmy, you are an example.
Have a great time on your cruise, I hope when I get to go that it will be even better. (that’s a hint to keep planning them
Oh, we’re already planning for the next cruise in 2010. Next year will be FABULOUS and the response from people wanting to go already is INCREDIBLE. We’ll announce the details in a few months from now. I’ll take lots of pictures while we’re gone and share when I return.
–Jimmy
Jimmy,
I 100% agree with you about President Bush. I respect him and appreciate what he’s done for us.
Thank you for your kind words about President Bush. He has been a man of integrity. While I did not always agree with him, I trusted him and I admired his ability to take the cruel criticism from so many. Hoping we can be so lucky with his successor.
While I have great respect for your blog and your views on diet and health, I have very little respect for George Bush and consider him something pretty far from a man of integrity. Among many other acts of dubious integrity, he and his administration have promoted a great fear of terrorism, which is in fact a problem of very little size or consequence (especially compared to diet-related illness), in order to distract attention from the really urgent matters, while starting a war that has caused more suffering than all of the terrorist acts on the United States combined.
While you do have the right to express your admiration of such a controversial figure (and he certainly is, especially if considered in an international context) on your blog, I would suggest that you not do so for the following reason. I am just one among many people with very negative views on Bush and so if someone like me visited this blog for the first time and saw this post it would very likely detract from the credibility of the rest of the blog, which would be a shame since it greatly deserves attention. This is especially the case when your views on diet are already considered controversial and opposed by most “respectable” commentators. It’s hard enough trying to get people to listen to reason regarding dietary carbohydrates without muddying the waters with politics. Note that I would be making the same complaint if you praised a controversial figure that I also admired.
Thanks for reading this. I hope you don’t take any offence. Keep up the good work!
No offense taken, TheQuickBrownFox, but this is precisely the kind of thing I was writing about in my post. Whether you liked George Bush as president or not, the fact that he sacrificed 8 years of his life to be in the limelight as leader of the free world warrants our respect and admiration for his service. I would say the same thing about Bill Clinton and would expect it to happen for Barack Obama as well. The office of POTUS warrants that place of dignity no matter what the person holding that office has done and not done during his tenure. We’ve seemed to forgotten this in our vitriolic political environment in recent years. In fact, this post wasn’t political in nature at all. All I did was pay tribute to our outgoing president while welcoming the new one. I appreciate your comments and your willingness to share. THANKS again!
–Jimmy
the previous commenter wrote: “I am just one among many people with very negative views on Bush and so if someone like me visited this blog for the first time and saw this post it would very likely detract from the credibility of the rest of the blog, which would be a shame since it greatly deserves attention.”
Which is funny, because I’ve been reading it for six months and the words “Barack Hussein Obama” just ruined the credibility for me. I mean, in the same sentence where you say Bush deserves respect (and I may agree with you, but that’s beside the point) you throw the “secret Muslim” card out there, and then stand back and go “who me? But that’s his name!” Funny, I don’t know of anyone who referred to Richard Milhouse Nixon by his full name.
Unless Obama signs his name like that, you’re using his middle name as an epithet, an insult, whether it is or not in and of itself. Ask any woman named “Gay” how it feels to hear that tone of voice used when people say her name, by people who then just smile and then say “Who, me? But that’s your name.”
For someone so big on righting discrimination against the overweight it’s disappointing to see such venomous namecalling.
I’m sorry you feel that my use of Obama’s full name was “an insult,” Arlene, but it is very customary for Presidents to use their full names when referring to them. William Jefferson Clinton, George Herbert Walker Bush, and Lyndon Baines Johnson are just a few from modern history whose full names were used customarily when addressing them in their official role as the leader of the free world.
And when you watch Barack Hussein Obama get inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday, you’ll hear Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts say his full name as requested by Obama himself, according to this Politico column.
Here’s what Obama said about the matter when asked what name he would use:
“I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement one way or the other,” he said. “I’ll do what everybody else does.”
While I’m sure some people use the “Hussein” in a derogatory manner when speaking of the incoming president, Arlene, that was not at all my intention in this blog post. I was merely giving the man the respect he deserves as my next President. I cannot help the way you feel, but please do not insinuate any ill-will on my part about Obama.
Sheez, is it time for my vacation yet?
–Jimmy
I am also a person with negative views of George Walker Bush (Arlene, he wrote out that name in full, too, not just BHO’s). However, your post didn’t bother me, Jimmy. One thing I appreciate about you is your even-handedness and respect towards people of all viewpoints, even those far different from yours. You’ve consistently spoken respectfully about Obama — sometimes even admiringly — for instance, even when noting him as not your candidate of choice. Although you and I are on opposite poles on more than one issue, I’m inspired by your rigorous approach in this regard. You’re better at it than I, judgmental hothead that I can be. If more people took this tack — whatever their beliefs — there’d be a lot less grief in this world.
Hope you’re having a great cruise!
THANKS Vesna! I am so looking forward to being on that ship Monday afternoon.
–Jimmy
Political polarization and polemics didn’t start with the presidency of George W. Bush, but of Bill Clinton. Remember those tacky jokes about Hillary being a lesbian and allegations that the Clintons had their dear friend Vince Foster murdered? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. President-elect Obama ran a clean campaign. Let’s hope he can inspire a higher level of public discourse during his time in the Oval Office.
“And by the grace of God, we have not been attacked a second time on American soil thanks to the diligence of our military and the leadership making the decisions that have kept our country safe.”
9/11 wasn’t the first attack. That happened in 1993. Does the Clinton administration likewise get credit since a second attack didn’t happen on its watch? It takes years to pull off an attack as large as 9/11. The FBI continues do an outstanding job stopping plots like the planned attack on Fort Dix, but there are plenty of people aiming at us, and they only have to get lucky once.
Your political views do not impact the credibility of your low-carb message, but more frequent postings on politics could dillute the message by spawning long, argumentative comment threads.
THANKS for sharing, Sonagi. This blog is about my thoughts and opinions primarily on the subject of low-carb living. But you can’t compartmentalize the Jimmy Moore who supports that and the one who also has other viewpoints that are non-diet related. We are one and the same.
I take great pains as Vesna pointed out to reserve sharing my opinions on matters of politics and religion, for example, here at my blog because it is not the appropriate place for that. That’s not to say I won’t share any thoughts on these areas EVER, but I do not make it the primary focus of the blog content. That is reserved for low-carb.
THANK YOU for reading and sharing your opinions! Blogging sounds like a simple concept to do while remaining 100% objective at all times. I say it is impossible and I challenge anyone to show me one that is. I haven’t seen it.
–Jimmy
Thanks so much for your kind words about President Bush. I’ve felt alone for so long – I’m a college student, and everyone I knew at college would just bash him and talk about how much they want him to die.
What’s amazing to me is that President Bush only ever did what he said he would do. After 9/11, when he said he would pursue terrorism as long as it was there, everyone supported him. It his to his credit that he kept his word and made our country secure enough that people felt safe to take pot shots at him.
I applaud your willingness to speak up for him.
I too believe that President Bush is getting a bad rap! He has kept us safe since the 9/11 attack, and has made tough decisions in order to do just that. Although he is unpopular at the moment, I think history will look at him differently.
I, too, am thankful for some words of respect for President Bush. I won’t go any further with it than just gratitude for seeing someone tip their hat to our outgoing president.
Thank you.
Have to seriously disagree. Bush was the worst president ever! Kept us safe?? Are you serious?? WW3 is around the corner because Bush attacked Iraq, Afghanistan, alienated the US, diminished our reputation globally, and weakened the economy. A kindergartner could have done the same thing Bush did.
Phil, THANKS for sharing your comments. I think most people wouldn’t agree with your assertion that George W. Bush was “the worst president ever” (have you ever heard of Andrew Johnson who was impeached, Richard Nixon who resigned in disgrace, Bill Clinton who had sex with an intern in the Oval Office? There are plenty of examples of sincerely “bad” apples in the White House.).
This is the kind of negative rhetoric I was talking about in this blog post. Many people who opposed Bush did so from the very beginning and hated him from day one. I think that is unfair for any president, including our new one. President Obama deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt unless he does something that warrants otherwise. I would hope everyone who acknowledge the good that Bush did for our nation during his two terms in office.
–Jimmy