The Joshua Moran Blog

Josh shares about ministry, business, current events, politics from a biblical point of view.

Archive for July, 2007

Gay Marriage and the Democrats

Jul 30

Posted by Joshua Moran in Politics | No Comments

I was watching the Democratic debate tonight and thought I would jot down the responses to a question regarding the candidates positions on Gay Marriage. Dennis Kucinich, “the presidential candidate for peace” seems to answer each controversial question with little thought or backbone. Earlier in the debate Kucinich stated that he supported slavery reparations and quoted scripture from the Bible. When posed with the question from this youtube video he simply answered that he fully supports gay marriage. Anything for peace I guess, but how would this candidate handle pressure of global terror. He is surely the weakest candidate I have seen including Ross Perot.

Barrack Obama was of a much more tactful approach and stated that he supports civil unions. The interesting part of his answer was that he believes each denomination (any religion) should decide amongst themselves whether marriage ceremonies could be performed. Obama mentioned that the civil unions he supports would basically have the same rights as marriage.

Jonathan Edwards believes in civil unions, but does not support gay marriage. He mentioned his wife supports gay marriage… uh ok! The weird part of his response was that he backed down to the question by saying he would not impose his beliefs on the people.

Governor Richardson supports civil unions but would not endorse gay marriage due to the fact that he believes it is not feasible. Richardson said he would push for big hate crime legislation in congress.

Senator Dodd supports civil unions but stated that marriage is between a man and a woman.

I will say that Mike Gravel needs to pull out of the race because all he seems to do is come off as a some crazy loon with a huge agenda for a socialist government.

Here is the video that posed the question.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW1GWXUSS7Q]

Iraq Video #1

Jul 22

Posted by Joshua Moran in Web Design | No Comments

I am starting to add a weekly Iraq video to my blog both in respect to those who are serving and the fact that the media tends to show the negative side of Iraq all too much. Comments are welcome.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNoyb84G5xE]

Michael Moore A Socialist!

Jul 18

Posted by Joshua Moran in In The News, Politics | No Comments

I thought this was interesting from the O’Reilly Factor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW4b-uJlxJ8]

Bringing Home The Bacon

Jul 17

Posted by Joshua Moran in General | No Comments

I was joking with my wife last night when she kindly noticed that I did a bit of work around the yard and finally getting our sprinkler issue resolved. She said I definitely earned my dinner, and I responded with, ” I already qualified since I Bring Home The Bacon. Then we both laughed and I realized I had no clue where the saying came from in the first place.

Bringing Home The Bacon Wikipedia has the saying listed as a term that came from a twelfth-century practice that survives only in the English town of Great Dunmow. The church promised a side of bacon (a flitch) to any man who could swear that he and his wife had “not wisht themselves unmarried again” for a year and a day. Men who “brought home the bacon” in this way were held in high esteem in their communities. This is one of those too neat explanations that defy belief.”

Seems to trite to be true, and after researching, it seems to be absent from any printed record until 1906. The first recorded user of the expression was Mrs Gans, mother of Joe. He was a famous boxer at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, the first native-born black American to win a world title. That was in 1900, when he was 26. Six years later he fought Oscar “Battling” Nelson in Goldfield, Nevada, now virtually a ghost town but then a booming community, the largest in the state. The match has been rated as the greatest lightweight championship bout ever contested, whose fame has endured.

This is the way the crucial linguistic moment was reported in the Reno Evening Gazette for Monday, 3 September, 1906:

The following telegrams were read by Announcer Larry Sullivan. Gans received this from his mother: “Joe, the eyes of the world are on you. Everybody says you ought to win. Peter Jackson will tell me the news and you bring back the bacon.”

After this, it soon caught on throughout the world of sports and then later in politics.

Credit for most of this post goes to World Wide Worlds.

Keeping Up With Technology – Is It Necessary

Jul 16

Posted by Joshua Moran in Business | No Comments

I have been researching how technology can affect small businesses in their respective management practices and tangible purchases. Most of my research has mostly to do with Information Technology because as a small business owner I understand the mental anguish I personally go through deciding if it is time to take the BIG STEP.

What I mean by the term, Big Step, is that I may feel pressure to upgrade my server or buy the newest POS software. Do I need this technology for my business? I must first research the product, find businesses that are already using it, put together a forecast of how this product will affect business, will there be a significant amount of profit loss in the beginning, and much more.

I believe it was the New York Times in the 1930’s that said that the common pencil would shortly disappear from offices and businesses due to the production of the typewriter. I can safely say that the New York Times were all too wrong about that prediction, yet imagine you were a small business owner who owned a pencil making shop. You have been making a little profit and just getting by, and you pick up your copy of the New York Times and there it is on the front page, Pencils May Disappear! Your heart races, and depending on your experience and education you make either an impulsive decision or an educated decision for your business.

The impulsive decision would be to begin closing your pencil-making shop and start assembling typewriters or at least reselling them. With the Great Depression at hand, you end up loosing it all because the typewriter really made it’s mark in the mid 1940’s and you were bankrupt before you could reap any profits ten years later.

The educated decision would be to continue pencil-making while starting to research the typewriter. Trust your actual sales and productivity for the now, but do not be ignorant of a growing future elsewhere. This person would perhaps decide to advertise their pencils on the same page as a typewriter ad in the New York Times. The majority of people would see the price tag for typewriter and a pencil and most likely buy the pencil first.

I am not one to agree with always holding back from a potential profit that could change your life, but wisdom would say to carefully research your options. Right now in our time and age there is an overwhelming amount of advertising that compels businesses to make a change, upgrade, re-train, sell something else, or overhaul your business practice. Before you buy into the message you must have a vision for the future of your business.

The bottomline is that not all technology in your market is necessary to implement, but understanding the technology in your market is an absolute necessity.

Finding A Great Kid Shows On TV

Jul 15

Posted by Joshua Moran in Christianity, General | No Comments

Personally I have found it difficult as a father of three to find good, wholesome, and edifying kid shows for my girls to watch and not have to do some major re-teaching afterwards. I have compiled a small list of shows my kids can watch with no problems.

Little Einsteins – Challenges children to use their minds to solve problems, and supports good moral behavior. All this is done through improvised classical music being used in the background and musical terms being used and taught.

Wonder Pets – These pre-school pets are not just your average classroom animals. When the pre-school empties out the Wonder Pets come to the rescue as they work together to rescue other animals in trouble. The best part of the show is that each episode teaches on teamwork and good attitudes to get the job done.

Diego – This show is about rescuing animals and caring for others before yourself. Diego and his friends and family teach small amounts of spanish at the same time. My kids pick up the spanish fast. I like this show better than it’s counterpart Dora, as Dora seems to be more into mystical themes than Diego.

Blues Clues -  This show probably goes without saying, but it teaches great moral principles with constructive themes to build the child’s character.

There are some obvious Christian Shows and DVD’s that always fit the bill like Max Lucado’s Hermie series and Veggietales.

I will be posting a warning to parents about some of the shows that will tear down children to accept evil for good and good for evil.

Got Milk? Get A Second Job!

Jul 14

Posted by Joshua Moran in General | No Comments

Milk Prices Soar HighIt seems as if gas prices rising were not enough to wreak havoc on the lower income to lower middle class so the price of food in general has raised 3.9% nationally in April 2007 according to federal statistics. I just went to Brookshires in my hometown (Red Oak, TX) and had to buy milk only to realize that the price was $3.99 per gallon. To have my family of five keep up with these necessary dairy items I need to budget the following amounts monthly.

Milk- $40
Butter – $13
Creamers – $20
Cheeses – $25
Total – $98

A little frightening is the fact that Dairy now has a budget class all it’s own in my household. Have you heard congress approaching Milk Reform as of yet? Are we approaching the day where a loaf of bread costs the same as a man’s daily wage? Scary!

Best HDTV Purchase… Ever

Jul 13

Posted by Joshua Moran in General | No Comments

I was saving and looking for a High-Definition TV for about 6 months and was saving for a very expensive 42 inch Sony model. I was thinking I needed at least $2,500 to even get a decent TV for gaming, movies, and sound. One day I decided to check out Sam’s Club and their products were surprisingly cheaper, but most of the televisions were still expensive. Then all of a sudden there it was… a 42 inch Vizio LCD HDTV priced at $999. I read the label thinking something was missing on the is model or it lacked certain connections.

I bought the TV in February 2007 and today my family and I are enjoying the TV immensely. The clear picture and the ability to do anything any other HDTV does makes it the best bang for your buck. I highly recommend the Vizio L42HDTV to anyone looking for an affordable TV without breaking into your 401K.

Article Submission Is Here To Stay

Jul 12

Posted by Joshua Moran in General, Web Design | No Comments

I have released two article submission sites for authors to submit their expert articles for publishing on the websites. This will allow authors a place to gain popularity via links, keywords, and their articles possibly being re-published on other websites. The greatest part is that it is free to join and your articles will be online within 72 hours if approved. Come check out the site and submit your articles today. If you are a conservative and wish to get your voice heard check out www.conservativevoices.org, and if you are a web designer, host, or IT professional submit your article at www.we-bdesign.com today.