Jonathan's Blog Mail Bag!

After a great day of showing my dad around Fort Wayne (we really did have a great time, more about it in the next post I promise!), I checked my email and discovered that I had the following comment about my post on the media and the left. So, welcome to the first edition of Jonathan's Blog Mail Bag.

Kristi writes:

I have to laugh because YOU work for the freakin' media...yes radio is considered media. You put a nice "spin" for the "right-wingers" but it still fails to sway me to the dark side... There is a reason my father calls me the "The Democratic Brat" and I am a bleeding-heart Democrat and proud of it. I'll leave it at that and have a good night.

Luv
Kristi :-)

If this is my friend Kristi from Detroit, I thought we had a deal not to discuss politics LOL. But if it's not you, it's still all good. At least you weren't nasty to me about it!

But you're right, radio is considered a branch of the media. But when I spoke of the media in the last post, I was talking about the news media, of which I have no interest in for the afore mentioned reasons. I don't think that you can deny that CNN, et al. lean very much to the left in their reporting about politics and world affairs. Ted Turner has made it no secret that he's very much for the Left and, to me, it's pretty obvious that he uses the influance that CNN and the other networks have to try and sway the public. If you call yourself a news channel, you should be impartial except during shows which are obviously commentary.

That said, I don't necessarially agree with everything Fox News does. Yes, I do agree with most of their views but, as in the case of CNN, I don't think they should lean one way or the other in reporting of news items except during shows that are obviously commentary. There is a difference between reporting and commentary. Unfortunately, both networks (and the news media in general) try to combine the two and you just can't do that and remain impartial.

What would I like to see? A news channel that does just that, reports the news. They can have shows, each leaning left or right, that give commentary about politics and world affairs. I would also like to see the broadcast news media (ABC, CBS, et al.) report the news and give commentary only where and when possible (not during the course of reporting on the story though). Will this ever happen? Probably not. But a guy can dream.

So that's my take. Feel free to agree or disagree. Good or bad, I love getting comments about what I write so keep them coming. You never know: I might just use your email in a future edition of Jonathan's Blog Mail Bag!

--Jonathan

The Media and the Left: (Not So) Strange Bedfellows

Today, I was given yet another reminder of how far left most of the media has gone.

I was at the gym , doing my cardio, and I saw that CNN Headline News was on one of the TVs. Tuesday and Thursday are my light days for cardio so I was only in front of the TV for about 20 minutes. During that 20 minutes, I think John Kerry and/or the Democratic National Convention took up about 15 of those minutes. Also, they showed the same story about the "crisis" in Sudan twice in 10 minutes! This is just more proof that CNN, indeed most media, is much in favor of the Left's agenda.

You see, my friend, the media wants us to vote President Bush out of office. They have never supported him, not even once. Everything he does is "stupid", "mean" or "it helps the rich." Yet, anything Bill Clintoon (misspelling intentional) did was praised, even though HE is the one who led us into a recession, HE is the one who disgraced the highest office in the land by using the Oval Office as a whore house and HE is the one who refused Bin Laden's head on a siver platter.

"It only helps the rich." Isn't that always the cop-out answer for the left? Let's think for a minute about how many on the Left have butt loads of money. Let's see... I got it: Hollywood! They bitch and moan about what the rich does with their money, blah blah. Tell me, is there anyone who lives in Hollywood that DOESN'T live in a huge house or have about 20 cars? Anybody? That's what I thought. I'm willing to bet most of those Hollywood neo-Communists and Socialists don't give a rip about charity, unless it's in front of a camera.

But back to the media... another thing about tonight's viewing was twice showing the story about what's going on in Sudan. First of all, don't we have more important things to worry about in our OWN country? Do we really give a rats ass what's going on in Sudan? I sure don't because I have my own problems and I also think my country is more important than some third world s**thole on the other side of the planet. Before you bring up Iraq, we had intelligence that said that Iraq posted a threat to our national security. Was the intelligence wrong? How would I know, I'm not prevy to that information. All I can do is trust what OUR President says and thinks is best to defend OUR country.

One of the other big "stories" on Headline "News" was Ben and Jerry (as in, the ice cream guys) were arrested at a protest at a Sudanese embassy. Lah-de-freakin-dah! They were told to leave and refused to do so, therefore they were trespassing. They got what they deserved! Yet, the "news" network made them out to have been done an injustice. I tell you, it'll be a cold day in Hell before I ever buy a pint of their ice cream again.

And that's another thing that I don't get about the Left: They think getting arrested for their cause of the week means something. All it means is they broke the law, therefore they're morons.

Bottom line: The media and the Democratic Party are in cahoots. If you honestly don't believe that, then you're blind. The media will stop at nothing to get the liberals' message across and hope that you fall for their lies. My advice would be for you to be careful about what you watch and read because you never know who may be trying to brainwash you.

--Jonathan

Reflections of....

So I'm sitting here in my boxers, listening to various songs (I have WinAmp set on random) and thinking about the fact that I've been here over two months. Whoa! Where did the time go? I can't believe that it's been nearly that long yet. It feels like yesterday was the day I was kissing my mom and in tears because it finally sunk in that I was leaving home and that I wouldn't be back for a long time. Honestly, I never thought I'd have the guts to actually leave home, let alone take a job 12 hours away from home. But here I am, in Fort Wayne, bloggng from my apartment.

In the course of my music listening, somehow the theme song from China Beach is playing in my head (even though Blink 182 is currently playing through my spearkers). You know, the song that talks about "reflections of the way life used to be." Right now I'm thinking about the Neshoba County Fair (I can't really explain it, you'll just have to click here to read about it). This is the first time in many years that I haven't spent at least a day out there. I miss the rides, the food (can't beat a stickdog and lemonade from Lindsay's!), the horse races, the people... hell, I just miss the whole thing. It's truly a unique experience and nothing up here could ever come close. But I digress.

When I think of how my life used to be, I never imagined that I'd go from market number 285 to market number 103 in one swoop. Since you probably have no clue what I'm talking about, let me explain: There's a company called Arbitron (basically, they measure how popular radio stations are in a given area, or market) that ranks areas based on popluation. My old market, Meridian, Mississippi, ranked number 285 out of 287 rated markets. Fort Wayne ranks 103rd. So this was a major step up for me in radio terms. I always said that I wanted to go on to bigger and better things outside of Meridian but I never thought I'd actually be able to do it. But here I am, kickin' ass in the Fort!

Someone asked me what I want to do after I feel that my time in Fort Wayne has passed. Honestly, I haven't given it much thought. I mean, I'm having fun right now and I don't want to think about leaving because I have no intentions to leave anytime soon, you know? But if I had to say, I'd probably say that I wouldn't mind going on to do afternoons or nights in a top 50 market. Of course I'd want another programming opportunity (I was Music Director at my old station) and I'm hoping to get the chance at Assistant Program Director and/or Music Director here as well (I'm working hard for it so I really hope it happens!). But, again, I digress. I hear that our consultant is about to get a station in Detroit, which is a top 10 market. He also consults stations in Philadelphia, PA and in Tampa; those are also big markets. So maybe one of those markets could be the next stop. As for right now, though, all I'm going to worry about is working my ass off to earn my stripes and to help my station win.

It appears that I've just rambled on and on so I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

--Jonathan

Redneck Cat Carrier!

I found this and it's freakin' hilarious!  Sad thing is, I know a guy who actually did this.

'Mo Pondering, 'Mo Problems

Well, maybe not problems.  But definitely confusion.

I have a dilemma.  I'm not going to spell it all out here (like I usually do) but I don't feel that I should just because I never know who might actually be reading this (no offence, C.).  Let's just say I need prayer.  I know this is really vague but, again, I don't feel that I can spill it all out. 

Tonight, I treated myself to dinner at Smokey Bones, a book from Barnes and noble and a movie at Rave.  "Napoleon Dynamite" is the ish!  I honestly didn't know what to expect when I went in; I was kind of thinking "I am going to be dumber for watching this movie" but it turned out to be really funny!  The main character kind of reminded me of one of my best friends from high school (Josh). 

The party at Club Inc. was hella awesome, as always.  Before you ask, I spent the night drinking Red Bull.  Ok, ok, I had one beer.  But the rest of the liquid intake consisted of Red Bull.  Me and Diesel had a great time cuttin' up in the mic and buying shots for the ladies (bar tabs rule!).  Good times.

My dad's coming for a visit next weekend!  Maybe this will help my homesickness some.  We really don't have much of a plan for Saturday (I guess I'll spend it showing him around the Fort) but Sunday we're going to Detroit to watch the Tigers take on the ChiSox.  I could always take him to Showgirl III! (har har!)

I'm going to bed. 

--Jonathan 

Confusion ensues

Why does life have to be so complicated and confusing?

I found out that my old PD is about to resign.  In about a month, he'll be winging his way to Brazil to teach E.S.L. (English as a Second Language) classes.  Basically, he's like I was about a year ago in that he needs a break from radio.  I know him:  He'll be back to it eventually but hopefully not in Meridian.  If anyone's too good for that market, it's him.  I wish David the absolute best of luck and I hope he enjoys his respite from the world of radio.

I'm gonna try and get some sleep.  Me and Diesel are doing the party at Club Inc. Tomorrow night so feel free to join us.

Goodnight.

--Jonathan   

Grrr, baby, very grrr!

I think I've finished puberty or something very late because my luck with women has taken a complete 180.  Last night (and tonight) I've hung out with a young lady named Angie (who seems really cool).  I also got a girl's phone number this afternoon and yet another one wants me to take her out this weekend.  I say again that I'm like Austin Powers in that I thought I lost my mojo and have found that I had it all along, I just wasn't using it. 

All of this has me, again, thinking about what I want in this point in life.  Do I want a relationship?  Honestly, I don't know.  But it is nice to have some people who want to hang out with me and get to know me a little bit.  Believe me, I'm not complaining.  There's just the matter of the girl back home that I still have mucho feelings for.  Honestly, if she were to call me and say she was moving up here to be with me, I'd dump any girlfriend I might have at that time and gladly be with her.  Will that happen?  Probably not.  I mean, I haven't had any indication that that's a possibility.  But a guy can dream, right?

I should be going to bed now but I think I'm gonna watch some TV for a bit.  I'm tired but I'm not sleepy (does that make sense?).  Oh, my dad's coming up next weekend. :-D  We're gonna go to Detroit on Sunday and watch the Tigers take on the White Sox at Comerica Park.  It should be a really good weekend.

Out!

--Jonathan

P.C.A. vs. P.C.U.S.A.

I received the following from someone who took exception to my post regarding differences between the Presbyterian Church in America and the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A.  I'll reply to each paragraph as follows.  Disclaimer:  Some of my opinions may seem sexist and bigoted if taken the wrong way.  I assure you, I am neither a sexist nor a bigot; I simply believe what the Bible says and I'm sticking to my guns on this.
 
The PCUSA's Constitution does not allow unrepententant and practicing homosexuals to legally be ordained or hold Church Office.
 
I'll admit when I'm wrong and I will admit to that now but to a point.  Yes, it's true that the P.C.U.S.A.'s Constituation does not allow unrepentant and practicing homosexuals to be legally ordained as ministers or to hold church office.  However, I have heard of P.C.U.S.A. churches that have tried to ordain homosexuals as Elders, Deacons, etc.  Just because the official stance of the denomination is against it doesn't mean that some churches within won't try it.  To me, that's disturbing.
 
With regard to ordaining women, perhaps you should take a closer look at Romans 16 where Paul commends Julias, a women, as a fellow worker and an apostle. Or maybe you should look at 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul talks about women leading worship and preaching (same thing as "prophesying".
 
I found no mention of a woman named "Julias" in Romans 16 but I did find one about someone named Junias. 
 
Quoting Romans 12:7:  Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me.  They are outstanding among the apostles and they were in Christ before I was. 
 
To me, that's pretty vague.  A basic definition of an apostle is someone who was with Jesus and was sent out by Him to spread the Gospel (the 12, BTW, were all male) or someone who was with Jesus later, saw his miracles and taught about him.  However, Junias, according to this (I found it by doing a Google search for Junias) , probably was not a woman; rather, Junias was more than likely a man.  According to ChristianAnswers.net, Junias was "the name of a Jewish Christian man in Rome who was imprisoned with Paul and Andronicus."  And, "it is not absolutely clear whether this name is masculine or feminine. If feminine, there is a possibility that this was the wife or sister of Andronicus. However, in the context of the situation described, it seems more likely that Junia was simply another man. This seems to be the assumption of most scholars." 
 
So much for that argument.
 
As far as 1 Corinthians 12, Paul makes no mention about any woman leading worship.  It does say that women can pray and prophesy, but what the passage mainly deals with is women and men praying and prophesing with their heads covered or uncovered (I believe this means hair or maybe hats), as the case may be. 
 
From Bible.com, this is the N.I.V. translation of the passage in question:
 
3Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just as though her head were shaved. 6If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7A man ought not to cover his head,[2] since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice--nor do the churches of God.
 
From what I read here, the Bible says that women can (obviously) pray and prophesy.  However, based just on that, I'm not so sure if that's saying that women can pastor a church.  Let's look a little further, shall we.  Let's go to Titus, Chapter 1, where it talks about choosing an elder (a pastor is considered an elder, as he is the leader of the church).  Again, from Bible.com, let's look at Titus 1, starting at verse 6 (again, this is the N.I.V. translation):
 
6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer[2] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
 
The requirements for a Deacon and essentially the same. 
 
Here's some food for thought (at least, as far as women being able to pastor a church):  How could a woman be "the husband of but one wife"?  Anyone?  That's what I thought.
 
In other words, a woman pastoring a church does not go along with what the Bible outlines as requirements for a leadership role in the church.  Sorry, Charley.
 
One last thing to consider. Why is it that the location of the Churches that formed the original PCA all came from areas with the highest concentration of slaves in the antebellum south? You can figure it out if you go back to the original documents surrounding the founding of the PCA. The orginal fathers of the PCA were racist bigots.
 
You stuck a chord very near and dear to my heart when you said that (not only am I a member of the P.C.A. church, I'm also from Mississippi).  I resent that statement 100% and I must say, sir or ma'am, you have alot of nerve making such a statement especially without letting yourself be known.  I'm not ashamed of my views and I proudly put my name after every post on this blog so there's no question who I am.    Maybe you should consider that the P.C.U.S.A., from what I can gather, was started in the nothern part of the country, which is more liberal.  The south is more conservative, therefore wouldn't accept some of the doctrine that the P.C.U.S.A. is pushing (I'll get to that in a minute).  Calling the founders of the PCA "racist bigots" seems very brash.  Tell me, where did you get your information?  I don't seem to be able to find any of it.  Maybe because it doesn't exist?  On a side note, people up north also owned slaves (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson each owned slaves); in fact, there were more slaves owned under the United States flag than were ever owned under the Confederate flag (that's a fact, check it out if you don't believe me).  And the north is more segregated than the south ever has been.  Let's look at all the schools up here with nothing but black students.  Let's look at Harlam.  Need I continue?
 
Now let's talk about some things that I found on the P.C.U.S.A.'s website that I take exception to.
 
The following is taken from the P.C.U.S.A's Women in the Church page:
 
"The first ordination of women as elders in this denomination actually occurred in 1962. As ministers, women were ordained beginning 1965." 
 
This is blantly against what Paul teaches us about the qualifications of a leader in the church.  A denomination that will blantly go against what the Bible teaches should not call themselves a Bible believing denomination.
 
Next, let's look at their stance on sin and salvation:
 
"Presbyterians believe it is through the action of God working in us that we become aware of our sinfulness and our need for God's mercy and forgiveness. Just as a parent is quick to welcome a wayward child who has repented of rebellion, God is willing to forgive our sins if we but confess them and ask for forgiveness in the name of Christ."
 
Maybe I'm missing something, but it appears to me that the P.C.U.S.A. does not believe that we need to confess Jesus as our savior to be forgiven.  Paul writes in Romans 3:22-26:  "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.  He did this to demonistrate his justice, because in his forbeadance he had left the sings committed beforehand unpunished--he did it to demonistrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."  In other words, we need not only to confess our sins but also to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day as a testiment against death.  The P.C.U.S.A.'s above doctrine does not say this.  This also disturbs me.
 
Again, I may have missed something with the "lack of intellectual ability" that the commenter seems to think I have.  But that's how I see it based on what's written.
 
So that's my stance.  As you can see, I have Scripture to back up every argument I've made tonight.  Again, I hope some of this didn't seem sexist or bigoted; rather, this is what I believe based on what the Bible says.  If that's not politically correct or, "hip", then that's too bad.
 
--Jonathan 
 

Say a prayer...

I was going to make this post a reply to a comment I got regarding my post about the contrasts between the P.C.A. and P.C.U.S.A. denominations but that has to take a back seat for now.
 
Our night guy, Diesel, went to the hospital a little over an hour ago with a possible heart attack.  I don't know anything further as of right now but I'll give an update on his condition as soon as I know something.  Please, if you pray, keep him in your prayers and thoughts. 
 
Again, more as soon as I find out.
 
--Jonathan

What a night

Tonight has been interesting.  Since I know that all three of you who read this are dying to know what happened, let's kick this pig!
 
First, I learned a new way of preparing ramen noodles.  Here's what I did:  Take the bag and crush the noodles.  Open the bad and disgard the flavoring packet (leave the crushed noodles in the bag).  Then pour in some Dales Steak Sauce (Worstishire [however you spell it] sauce would also work) over the noodles (not too much; remember this is some salty stuff!).  Then pinch the open end of the bag closed and mix the sauce and noodles some.  Then put the bag 'o noodles in the microwave for 45 seconds.  Pour into a bowl and enjoy!  The noodles are still crunchy and this was a very interesting combination of flavor and texture. 
 
Don't look at me like that, I'm broke so I have to get creative! :-p
 
Secondly, I've learned (again) not to jump to conclusions.  The short version of the story is, something was said as a joke but it was tough to tell that since it was online.  Because of that over-reaction, I almost lost the chance to get to know someone who seems really cool.  *sigh* I gotta stop assuming the worst in those situations.  That's one of my many faults unfortunately.
 
This week promises to be interesting.  First, I hear that I'm hosting the party at Club Inc. next weekend and I'm doing the demo for that deal that I mentioned in a previous post.  I really hope it works out so that I can do it.  Syndication is nothing to sneeze at.  Wish me well!
 
Going to bed.  Late!
 
--Jonathan 

Check this link out

This will be a quickie post.  I just wanted to share a column that I found on the website of The Meridian Star.  A three year old gives his observations about life and, in particular, bedtime.  I'm sure his father, Greg, actually wrote the column because I don't know many three year olds who can use a computer LOL.  Click it!
 
--Jonathan

You've got to be kidding me...

I never thought this would actually happen.  Rapper Jadakis blames President Bush for the 9/11 attacks!  I wish I could say I was joking about this but I'm not.  Click the article and read it for yourself (much love to Fark for posting the link).
 
Today has been good.  Thank God it was Friday!  I have to work tomorrow 2-7 but that's a small price to pay to have Sunday off.  One thing I really need to do is find a church.  My home church is a Presbyterian (P.C.A.) church.  Unfortunately I haven't had any luck in finding a P.C.A. church here.  See, there is a difference between P.C.A. and the P.C.U.S.A., which is what most of the Presbyterian churches around here are.  The P.C.A. is more conservative and actually believes the Bible.  The P.C.U.S.A. will allow women and homosexuals to hold leadership positions in the church.  That's just not cool according to the Bible I read.  In the Bible, it lists the qualifications of an elder (a Pastor is considered an elder) and among them is to "be a man of but one wife."  How can a woman be a husband?  Hmm...  Also, the Bible says that homosexuality is not acceptable to God and that it's an abomination to Him.  So there you go.  Needless to say, I'd like to find a P.C.A. church here but if I can't I'll just try another denomination... maybe Baptist or something like that.  I'm open to suggetions so feel free to email me if you have any.
 
Also, make sure to keep me in your prayers.  I have a big opportunity to advance my career.  The best part:  It's syndication!  I also won't have to quit my job at Wild, nor would I have to leave Fort Wayne.  Plus, if I get the gig, I'll stand to make a good bit of loot from it.  I'm doing a demo next week so we'll have to wait and see.  Wish me well!
 
I'm going to bed.  Goodnight.
 
--Jonathan
 
 

An opportunity

I promise that not all posts will be like the previous two.  But, hey, sometimes you just gotta get stuff like that off your chest, even political stuff. 
 
Today was really good.  I had a great show and got everything in the office done at lightning speed.  I also got to go out to the Three Rivers Festival for a bit and that was a ton of fun.  Now, there's a rule that says you can't say that you've been to a festival or fair unless you've eating something on a stick.  I had a corn dog LOL.  Hey, it's on a stick!  Needless to say it caused chaos with my diet but sometimes you just gotta cheat. 
 
Also, as the title indicates, I have an opportunity to advance my career.  No, it's not by leaving Fort Wayne but it's a great opportunity nonetheless.  I can't say much about it but it would be a HUGE deal and I would stand to make a nice bit of money from it.  Please pray for me on this (if you pray, that is). 
 
Speaking of prayer, I got an email from a man named Stu who gave me some words of encouragement during my recent funk.  I really appreciate the words and especially the prayer.  Trust me, I'll take as much of that as I can.  I read in Matthew about what Jesus said about worrying.  Basically, He says that we shouldn't worry about tomorrow because today has its own set of problems.  But he also said that God will provide for us in all of our needs.  So there's no need to worry anyway! :-) 
 
I'm going to bed.  Thanks for taking the time to read my musings.  Hopefully someone's getting some enjoyment out of this because I sure like writing in this thing.  I think I'm addicted!
 
--Jonathan

John Kerry for President? Feh!

Here's the anti-John Kerry post I've been promising.

DISCLAIMER!! The follow is political editorial from someone with a Conservative point of view. If you are a tree hugger, hippie, liberal, socialist, registered member of the Democratic party or general non-supporter of President Bush and the Republicans you will probably be offended.

John Kerry and John Edwards are working hard to get us to vote for them in the upcoming Presidential election in November. I think anyone who runs for public office is good because they're doing their civic duty by taking an active role in the affairs of our country and they are to be commended for running for the highest offices in our land and for the work they've done on Capitol Hill (just because I'm a Republican doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge good work done by people in other political parties). However, I strongly disagree with Senator Kerry to the point where I will be very worried about the United States if he is elected.

First of all, Senator Kerry didn't do it using so many words, but he pretty much called President Bush a racist. As I mentioned in my last post, President Bush was unable to attend the N.A.A.C.P. convention in Philadelphia, PA due to a scheduling conflict. I believe Senator Kerry's words were "When you're President of the United States, you can pretty much say where you want to be." I find it hard to believe that this was an intentional snub on the part of President Bush. Contrary to what's being said in the press, President Bush does have a ton of stuff on his plate (the war, not to mention other things that relate to running our country). Unfortunately, I don't think Senator Kerry fully understands the responsibilities of holding the highest office in the land. Sometimes things happen and we have to change our plans. It's true in everyday life and it's true for any President as well. Don't get me wrong, I would have preferred that President Bush attended the convention; but I'm not going resort to calling him a racist. That's dirty politics at its worst.

One other thing that Senator Kerry mentioned during his speech was health care for all Americans. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for equal access to health care for all Americans but what he said led me to believe that it would eventually lead up to universal health care and I am not in the least in favor of that. I don't remember the exact quote but the gist of it was that he believed quality health care should be available to all Americans. Doesn't this sound similar to the language used by Hillary Clinton when she was touting universal health care? Again, I'm very much in favor for equal access to quality and affordable health care for all Americans but I am not in favor of the government funding it. First of all, it's not free; somebody (you and me) has to pay for it through taxes. If you want an example of how miserable a failure universal healthcare is, look no further than Canada. There are month long waiting lists for the most surgical procedures in Canada because there aren't enough doctors available to do them (a good many of their doctors left the country when universal healthcare was brought about). Do we really want that in the great country in the world? I didn't think so.

Senator Kerry has denounced the war in Iraq as a war built on lies. I, too, am very upset at the fact that we have found no weapons of mass distruction in Iraq, but come on people. Saddam was not an idiot; he had plenty of time to have any weapons distroyed before we liberated Baghdad. I fully believe that there were weapons and that they were distroyed to hide the evidence. Do we not remember those mobile chemical labs that were found? If you think those were used to make medicine, then you're very much in denial. Also, if memory serves me correctly, he voted yes on the resolution supporting our mission in Iraq. And don't get me started on Senator Kerry's actions in Vietnam.

John Kerry has, through his own admission, made it very obvious that defense is not his highest priority. If you remember, one of the first things President Clinton did was to trim the military down to a bare bones unit. I'm not blaming President Clinton for the 9/11 attacks (although there was that nasty rumor about him refusing to allow the capture of Osama Bin Ladin) but I do blame him for our not being properly prepared due to the cuts he made in defense. I believe John Kerry will also strip the defense budget to the point of being barely in existence. I also find it very disturbing that terrorism is not his highest priority. When asked about a terrorism briefing, Senator Kerry said during an interview with Larry King: "They've offered to brief me but I just haven't had the time." He hasn't had the time?? That statement is very disturbing. He has time to be on "Life with Larry King", has time to appear at public functions but he doesn't have the time to be briefed on matters of national security? I think maybe Senator Kerry's priorities are way out of whack.

Kerry also says that he's in touch with the problems of middle class Americans. I'm sorry but that just does not hold water. This comes from a man who has never attended a public school, has an Ivy League education and a successful law practice. I'm not knocking him for his success, in fact I think it's great that he's found success. But I am knocking him for saying that he's in touch with the problems of middle class Americans when he's never been broke, shot at or anything else like that. One thing that he, and other liberals, need to realize is that most people aren't like those on the east and west coasts. Most liberals are out of touch with those in the heart of our country and I feel that Senator Kerry is no exception.

Other miscellaneous observations: Senator Kerry has chosen a running mate who's been in the Senate for less than one term. To me, he has no credibility and he still a "baby" in political terms. That would have been like me leaving my old station in tiny Meridian, Mississippi and going to run a big station like Z100 in New York. It just wouldn't work and I feel that Edwards is no where near ready to be Vice President. Also, Senator Kerry mentioned that Edwards is People Magazine's "Sexiest Politician." Is this supposed to give him credibility? I almost fell out of my seat when he mentioned this. To me this shows his lack of seriousness in this matter.

Bottom line: Senator Kerry has done some good things while in the Senate but will do great harm as President. Have I, and do I, agree with everything that President Bush has done? Of course not. But, I feel that John Kerry would place this country in danger by his admittedly "not having time" to attend a terrorism briefing, not to mention the Democrats' record of reducing our defense spending. Also, government funded health care is not the way to cure the things that are ailing our health care system. John Kerry as President of the United States? Give me a break.

--Jonathan

Speech play-by-play

I'll give a more detailed writing about why I'm against John Kerry in a little bit but now I wanna talk about a speech that Kerry's giving to the N.A.A.C.P. convention in Philadelphia, PA.

Thus far, he's spent the entire time attacking President Bush and Vice President Cheney. In a round-about way, Kerry called Bush a racist. I quote: "When you're President of the United States, you can pretty much say where you want to be." In other words, he accused President Bush of intentionally skirtting the convention simply because he didn't want to be there. That's interesting... does he know this for a fact or is he just grasping for straws? I think the latter. Maybe Senator Kerry needs to realize that President Bush has a war going on, not to mention doing a crazy thing like running our country. I'd say his plate's pretty full.

He also made mention of Vice President Cheney's f-bomb. Why is this a big deal? Just because he's Vice President doesn't mean that he isn't human.

Senator Kerry has promised to go out on a "front porch" tour of America. I'm willing to bet that most of this tour will take place on the east and west coasts and not in the heart land. What a crock. You see, dear friend, Democrats are so far out of touch with reality, it's not even funny. They believe that what's important in San Francisco and SoHo is also important to the REAL people in the heart of our country. The truth is, not all of us are yuppies who go to Starbucks everyday and work for an Internet company.

I love how Senator Kerry is telling the NAACP that he understands their problems. I think it's funny to hear that from a man with an Ivy League education and who is a lawyer.

More later. I have to get ready for work.

--Jonathan

The case of the missing cell phone

It was Wednesday, 8:43 PM and I came home only to realize that I couldn't find my cell phone. I looked for what seemed like days and still no sign of the missing cell phone. I even went back to the radio station to look and no cell phone was found. I called in my best informants and they couldn't tell me anything. I offered them money and even a reduced sentence for their next drug arrest. Still nothing. So I came back home and look somemore. Finally, I flipped over the covers on my bed and what should fall our but my cell phone. Then I realized: I am a dumbass.

Case closed.

LOL If you can tell me what show that sounds like, you'll have my utmost respect for the rest of my life. :-D

So today was really a normal day. I was really proud of myself as far as my working out today though. I really pushed myself and I felt wonderful afterward.

I know I said I was going to write about John Kerry tonight but I'm tired and I can't think. Plus I need to research somemore stuff. So it'll have to wait until (hopefully) tomorrow night. As for right now, I'm going to bed.

--EDIT!-- Well, I thought I was going to bed. I had to go to the station around 11:15 to reset the computer. Nothing like a late night trip to work to wake you up just when you were ready to go to bed LOL. It's all good though.

Ok, now I'm going to bed LOL.

--Jonathan

What a difference a weekend makes

Again, I really think my weekend funk awakened something that's been in hibernation within me for a while. I did it again today! I talked to a young lady at the gym (one of the girls who works there); she was really nice and actually kindda seemed interested in me. Am I like Austin Powers in that I thought I had lost my mojo and have now found that I had it all along? Am I now using this re-found mojo to work my mad pimp game? Ok, maybe that's a stretch but atleast I'm actually talking to women now! Anywho, she's really pretty... kindda quiet but I think that was mainly because she found out who I was (she seemed like a fan LOL). So we'll see. Next time I see her I may ask her out to dinner or something. She only has one fault: She also listens to The Bear! *gasp* If she's going to listen to anything besides my station, I'd rather her at least listen to a good station like X102 (shameless plug). Hey, it's all good; we're owned by the same company.

As I've said before, I'm a people watcher. Not only does this apply to when I'm at the mall, or some other public place, but also online. I was lurking in a few chat rooms on AOHell and I was watching the guys (and even a few girls) who would come into the room and say something similar to the following: "24/m/[insert 'po dunk state here] looking for a girl to cyber (or phone, or whatever) with. IM to chat." How pathetic is that?? I can't lie and say that I've never typed such idiocy but I was young and unlearned in the ways of women. OK, OK, I'm still unlearned for the most part!

My point is, why in Hell would anyone go lookin' for nookie on the freakin' Internet?! It boggles me. First of all, the most they're probably going to get is cybersex. How do they know that you're not typing with one hand to some 40 year old DUDE who lives in his mother's basement? Second, all it does is make them look like a loser. If they really are the great lover that they claim to be in an IM, why the Hell aren't they out at a bar, club or other gathering place, hookin' up with REAL women? Even if they get the cyber nookie they're still only talking (typing) to a computer screen with one hand while they go fap-fap-fap with the other hand. Then all they're left with is a stick mess on their hands that they have to clean off. In my humble opinion, they'd be better off just getting Playboy mag and going to town on their member. It's cheaper and atleast they know the person they're looking at is a real woman and now some guy living in his mom's basement.

So next time you're tempted to have cybersex, consider that that lovely vixen (or stud, as the case may be) that you're about to cyber screw could be some fat, balding guy with back hair sticking out from all over his tank top. Oh yeah, I bet you'd love to have that, huh?

On a side note, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm very opinionated. So along with musings and happenings about my life, you're also going to find commentary. This will be like a soundboard for me to express my opinions.

A warning: If you're a liberal, you may be offended at times because I'm a conservative, southern raised gentleman. Tomorrow's post is more than likely going to deal with my displeasure at John Kerry. So be warned!

Oh that note... off to bed I go!

--Jonathan

Things are lookin' up

I think my funk over the weekend aroused something that's been dorment for quite sometime now: My confidence. Part of my work out routine is to ride a stationairy bike for 10 minutes and I noticed a young lady on the bike next to mine. So I said hello to her and we started talking. By the time we were both finished, I had a phone number. WOW. I wasn't expecting to find that at the gym. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'll call her in a couple of days and see what's up.

Now, a progress report on my works outs: I'm losing fat at a pretty good rate and gaining muscle. I'm already getting stronger and increasing the amount of weight I can work out with when I do my weight training. In two weeks, I've gone from being able to only do 10 minutes of cardio (treadmill, bike, etc.) to being able to do 25 minutes of cardio. I'm well on my way to my goal of being able to do 40 minutes of cardio. One set back: I ate some wings with Diesel tonight! Hey, I can cheat every now and then.

Tomorrow's add day, therefore a very busy day. So I better go to bed soon. Here's hoping I continue to look up.

--Jonathan

When a balding man shaves his head...

There are now three bald brothers on the crew of Wild 96-3! This morning I got a wild hair up my ass and shaved my head. Why, I really don't know, I just get this urge about once a year. However, something unexpected happened: I got compliments on it! Everyone at work said that I look good and that this look works for me. Whereas, at home, most everyone hated it. But I think the difference this time is my goatee. I think it helps alot too and I really like this look. I may even keep it for a while (sorry mom!).

The Three Rivers Festival kicks off tomorrow with the Threee Rivers Parade that goes all over the place. I have to be at the station at 6:30 AM! Yikes. I haven't seen 6:30 AM in a very long time. Unfortunately, my day probably won't end until 2:00 AM because I have ALOT of stuff to do tomorrow. The parade, then I have to do music for Sunday and Monday, work on the air 2-7 then go to Club Inc. tomorrow night. I would just sit it out but I've already promised some people that I would be there.

On that note, I'm going to bed.

--Jonathan

Pondering

Every now and then I being to ponder various aspects of my life. I think that's one of my faults (that I think too much about stuff). But I can't help it. I know I'm not some great intellectual like Socrates or someone like that, but I do consider myself somewhat of a thinker. I tend to do this when I'm feeling kind of town. Honestly, I've been down most of the week because things just haven't been going my way. Of course I can't expect things to always go by way because, let's face it, that doesn't happen.

As far as stuff that's been happening, I just haven't head in things this week and I've been suffering for it. It's not like my job's threatened or anything like that but it just hasn't been very easy to do things. This weekend's going to be pretty busy for me as well so it's not like I'm really going to have a couple of days to unwind. Oh well. Such is life.

Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely hate being single? Oh, I have. Well, I'm going to do it again: I hate being single! Seriously, it sucks and I absolutely loath it. I really haven't had much luck in that department since I've been here and it's really got me discouraged when it comes to women. I know that things will happen at the appointed time (God's time) but, what can I say, I hate waiting.

Time for bed. Goodnight.

--Jonathan

A bedtime story

I wanted to post this in the form of a bedtime story but my brain's not working. So I'll just lay it straight LOL.

Today was decent for the most part. Today was Tuesday, therefore a nice and busy day. But it wasn't too bad as far as being really hard and complicated. I did take another step in my career today: I got to talk to one of our record guys and that was really cool. This may not seem like a big deal but you have to consider that I came from the third smallest radio market in the country so I didn't have much contact with these guys. So it was really cool to talk music with one of these guys. Granted, I'm not the Music Director here (yet hehe) but I think today might have been a step in that direction. I don't know if I've ever posted this but I have a goal of becoming a Program Director by the time I'm 25. See, a Program Director basically makes all the decisions as far as what happens on a station, the DJs, all that stuff. It's not that I have an authoritarian complex; I just want to work my way up the ladder. My goal after that will be to be an Operations Manager by the time I'm 35. I want to have plenty of solid programming experience under my belt by the time I become one of the big bosses. Maybe in another post, I'll explain the "chain of command" of the radio world LOL.

Wow, I rambled on and on about that.

On a personal note, I met a girl up here who seems really cool, fun to be around, all that fun stuff. I finally made a friend outside of work. Whew hoo!

I went to the gym today and I found out that I gained three pounds! Panic mode, right? Well, I talked to a trainer and they told me that it was normal for that to happen. They said I'm losing fat and gaining muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat, a little weight gain is normal when you start working out. I know, it's weird but it makes sense. I do feel better than I have in a very long time and I can already tell a difference. For example: I did a remote Sunday night and my Wild jersey fit better. Yay!

Ok, I'm going to bed. Have to go re take my test at the DMV tomorrow. Oh, how I'm looking forward to that (sarcastic).

The End! Whew hoo! I did manage a bedtime story element!

--Jonathan

You're a Wizard, Jonathan

Today I went to my first Fort Wayne Wizards baseball game at Memorial Stadium. Matt, our promotions guy, joined me and we had a great time! The fans here in Fort Wayne are fantastic and, believe me, they love their Wizards! They beat the Burlington Bees 2-1. Yay!

Matt was telling me that the attendence at Komets hockey games is even higher than the Wizards (and there was a great crowd today). I'll have to check that out for sure.

Speaking of sports in Fort Wayne, I didn't know that we have a soccer team here! Wow. Again, that's something that I'll have to check out. Can you tell that I'm a sports nut? ;-)

Overall today was really good. Had some issues at work but that's just part of it. I got really frustrated though. Just a really bad day on that front. But, again, overall today was good. I met a couple of people today and they seemed really cool so hopefully I've found some people to chill with.

Since I can't really think, I'm taking my tired self to bed.

"The record shows, I took the blows, and did it my way." - Frank Sinatra

--Jonathan

Fireworks

Happy 4th of July! The day we remember the founding of our country by our forefathers. Here's hoping you enjoyed the fireworks, the flag and the BBQ!

Today was good. Didn't really do a whole lot. In other words, it was pretty boring. I went up to the station to do some work and came home. Went to Saylor's for the fireworks and came home. Yep, that's about it LOL.

This is the first Fouth of that I've spent alone in a long time. And honestly it sucked hardcore. I kept thinking about what my family was doing today. Cooking out, swimming, having a good time. I'm up here, alone, with nothing to do. I still haven't made many friends up here so I really didn't have anything to do. I wish I wasn't so shy. See, it may seem weird since I'm in radio but I'm really shy and somewhat of a homebody. I like to go out, I just usually don't. I also have a tough time making friends, talking to people, all that. Blame that on my childhood when I was home schooled. Unfortunately my social skills didn't get any better in high school and college. Maybe someday...

Is it just me or do most of my post make me seem like I wallow in self pity? I guess I'm just a pitiful person or something LOL. On that note...

--Jonathan

The DMV Sucks!!!!!!

Ok, normally I'm not about bashing the government but tonight I'll make an exception LOL. I went to the DMV this morning to get my drivers license and my plate for my truck. I didn't know until I got there that I had to take a written test to get my license. Ok, no big deal. So I sit down and read that I can only miss three questions. No big deal. So I do it and turn the test in and the lady said that I missed four! Holy ish (loads of music... sorry, couldn't help it LOL)! So I looked over the ones I missed and there was one that I was sure was right. Of course, this is the DMV so there's no use arguing with them. So they gave me a manual and I have to go back on Tuesday to re take it. Oh well... at least now I have some bathroom reading.

I found out today that I have to do an appearance at Saylor's Pizza on Sunday for the fireworks show. That's cool, it'll be fun! Make sure to come out if you can. There's just one catch: It's $2 to park... BUT! If you have a Wild 96-3 sticker on your car, or if you let us put one on, you'll get in for free! Ok, shameless plug mode is off.

Other than that, nothing happened today. I know, I lead such an interesting life. I did, however, have a good work out at the gym. I'm going to post a picture on here eventually so you can see what I look like.. sort of a "before" short. I'm hoping to go home around Christmas time and to be in much better shape. Hopefully my friends and family will have trouble recognizing me if I work my ass off.

Sleepy time for me.

--Jonathan

"Old Blue Eyes"

Tonight has been awesome! You can't go wrong with steak for dinner (that Mrs. Dash grilling seasoning is the bomb!) and a healthy dose of Frank Sinatra. Yes, I'm listening to Old Blue Eyes right now. I even managed to find a version of "Under My Skin" that has Bono singing with Frank. It's great! I don't think there's a man on this earth who doesn't like Frank Sinatra, or really, old pop music period. There's just something about it, some kind of rhythm that grabs us and keeps us. For the record, I want "My Way" played at my funeral (which I hope isn't anytime soon! LOL).

I found out today that I don't have to work Sunday and Monday! Two whole days off from work! I'm not going to know what to do with my time. The only for sure thing that I'm doing is going to the Wizards game on Monday afternoon. And the best part: I'm going for free. :-D

I also had a weird dream last night: I was doing my show and my microphone started attacking me! I woke up laughing.

Honestly, I don't really have anything else interesting to say so I'll end this now. Maybe I'll be more interesting when I'm not so sleepy LOL.

--Jonathan