Pages

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Heroes


Yesterday, I had the opportunity to sing Amazing Grace at the grave site services for two VFW Memorial Day ceremonies. It was sobering and awesome. The ceremonies were very short. A few words of reverence, honor, gratitude and prayer by those who served and are still here to tell the tale. They were solemn words on behalf of those who did not make it home to loved ones. They were words EVERY AMERICAN should hear and say. Thank you for giving your life for me and my family. Thank you for doing what most of us can't do and wouldn't even think of attempting. John 15:13 reads "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." And yet theses soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have given their very lives for a nation of often hostile and ungrateful STRANGERS. 

On Sunday, the eve of Memorial Day, Chris Hayes of MSNBC expressed discomfort at the thought of calling our fallen military men and women heroes. If they are not heroes, THERE ARE NO HEROES! He has since apologized. But the fact remains, he is an absolute ingrate. You can disagree with a war. Even all war. But to speak with such a lack of reverence for those who have given you the ability to speak freely. To sleep soundly and safely in your warm comfortable bed. (While they sleep eternally.) To give a shallow, hollow, cheap, tawdry and most likely pressured and insincere apology for something that never should have been said is disgusting. I suggest, we all spend a bit more time thanking our military and our emergency and rescue and law enforcement and intelligence personnel for taking on the bullets and the bombs. For running into the burning buildings. For going behind enemy lines. Yes, even going behind our backs at times. To do what must be done so that we can live in an imperfect, but amazingly free and privileged society. Even the bottom of the American socio-economic ladder has a higher standard of living than most people around the world. I say thank you to our fallen and living heroes. I do and will continue calling them heroes. Imperfect? Yes, they are. But they daily go about their duties protecting in one way or another an equally imperfect citizenry that should at least have the  decency to call them what they truly are. Heroes.

Thank you, heroes that serve now. Thank you, heroes that have shed blood and whose blood was shed. Thank you, heroes who have come home maimed to a not so grateful nation. And most of all. Thank you, heroes that didn't make it home. May your families be comforted and secure in the knowledge that you did not make your ultimate sacrifice in vain. God bless you all.

I would love to hear from you. Especially, if you (decently and respectfully) disagree. 

.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Law of the Land

I have been swamped lately but I read this and could not let it go...

Kansas Governor Signs Bill Effectively Banning Shariah

Friday, 25 May 2012 08:19 PM
Republican Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a bill aimed at keeping state courts and agencies from using Islamic or other non-U.S. laws when making decisions, his office said on Friday. The law has been dubbed the "sharia bill" because critics say it targets the Islamic legal code. Sharia, or Islamic law, covers all aspects of Muslim life, including religious obligations and financial dealings. Opponents of state bans say they could nullify wills or legal contracts between Muslims.
Supporters said the law will reassure foreigners in Kansas that state laws and the U.S. Constitution would protect them. Opponents said it singled out Muslims for ridicule and was unnecessary because American laws prevail on U.S. soil.
Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in an e-mail that the bill "makes it clear that Kansas courts will rely exclusively on the laws of our state and our nation when deciding cases and will not consider the laws of foreign jurisdictions."
Legislators supporting the bill said there were many cases around the country where judges or state agencies cited sharia law in deciding cases, especially involving divorce-related custody and property matters where Islamic code differs from U.S. law.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington denounced the Kansas law and said it is considering legal action.
About 20 states have considered similar legislation but the Kansas law is the only one signed in recent weeks, council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said.
Federal courts struck down an Oklahoma law voters approved in 2010 that barred state judges from considering sharia law in making decisions. The court called the law discriminatory. 
© 2012 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

People with any cultural or religious law can still follow their laws provided their laws do not go against the law of the land. (City, county, state or federal or any I may have missed.) That is one of the few things that government is actually SUPPOSED to do.  ENFORCE THE LAW! Why is this even a question? If you want a certain system of law to be what you live under, by all means, go live where that is the law of the land. If the laws of the U.S. are not to your liking get draft a bill and get it voted into law. Otherwise, please assume that the law that is in place IS the law.

Likewise, we already have plenty laws in the U.S. We don't need the UN to decide law for the US. Particularly, not when China and Cuba are part of the human rights counsel. There are other countries that I could name but time is short. All that to say, the US Constitution is not perfect but it works pretty well most of the time. And in the US if you want to live under other laws, you are absolutely free to go to where those laws are practiced. Good luck with that.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

THAT'S ARTRAGEOUS!!!!


Auburn Raley's Center will be hosting an Artrageous Art event Saturday May 19th from 10 to 4.  Dozens of artists will be selling their art work as well as demos taking place.  There will be raffles and live music by our own local Aaron Gayden.  Don't miss out on this fun event.

Artrageous hosted by dawnsauburn.com

Aaron Gayden Band (Duo) will be playing between 11am-3pm!
http://www.reverbnation.com/aarongayden












https://www.facebook.com/TeamGilson
(PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TIM AND THE REST OF TEAM GILSON'S POST DOUBLE-LUNG TRANSPLANT BATTLE!)
The words will flow again when the music slows down a tiny bit. A sudden flurry of (much needed) musical activity has left me without typing time...

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Aaron Gayden Band at THE STATION in ROSEVILLE THIS SATURDAY CINCO de MAYO 9-MIDNIGHT!

Aaron Gayden Band: Featuring Briana Lee, Steven Randal, Grant Reeves, Jonathan Frazier, Freddy Seigert and Aaron Gayden
Sat May 5 2012
9:00p The Station - Bistro and Lo...
Roseville, CA Age Limit: All Ages   Tickets: $5
Details: Come rock the train with us! All aboard at THE STATION! 9:00 PM to Midnight on Cinco de Mayo!!!!!...
Come rock the train with us! All aboard at THE STATION! 9:00 PM to Midnight on Cinco de Mayo!!!!! $5 cover. Come ready to enjoy yourself in the cool atmosphere with hot music! Location, location, location: The Station 1100 Orlando Avenue-immediately adjacent Interstate 80 at the Riverside-Auburn Exit in Roseville


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Two steps forward...three steps back.



You can help Tim and the rest of Team Giilson by purchasing from the Aaron Gayden Band. All proceeds from downloads and merchandise will be going to Team Gilson until further notice.Thanks for helping make a difference in their lives!




Team Gilson
Tim update: "Recently there have been small complications that have prevented Tim from leaving the hospital. I'm not going to go into detail so if you have questions please message me and I'll fill you in. But we appreciate all the support and wanted to give everyone an update. The short version is this: A fews weeks back Tim's kidney function declined and he had to go on dialysis. After three days of dialysis his kidney function improved. Woohoo! He was off dialysis for two weeks.

The other set back: The last two weeks Tim's legs have been retaining a lot of fluid and after given several diuretics, his legs are still retaining a lot of fluid. This weekend the doctors decided to try dialysis to get some fluid off and they took 6 liters in two days. Now they are waiting to see if they should do more but want to make sure they aren't over draining his body of the fluid. They are also worried that his body is leaking protein and that is a cause of the fluid retention.



Another complication: The day before transplant Tim was put on an ecmo machine to help save his life, during the process of getting on the ecmo Tim's legs were injured and have very deep wounds. The right side has been healing but the left has not. Since the vein is exposed the doctors want to go in and clean the wound and graph muscle and skin from another part of his body and create a "flap" of sorts to close the left side. The upside if it works is he'll be closer to full body healing. Downside is it may not work because of the fluid still in his legs. His surgery is scheduled for today and we are hoping for the best outcome! I will keep everyone updated as we know more."

Update: "Surgery called off today due to the anesthesiologist not willing to put Tim under because his has some fluid around his right lung. They want to do dialysis again to get fluid off and reschedule the surgery in a couple of days."

Please do what you can. All purchases at Aaron Gayden Band will support Tim and his family and you can also go to TEAM GILSON on Facebook and find out how to contribute directly! Thank you for helping support this wonderful family as they battle this!

Video of Team Gilson at work healing...