Kelly Smith Weblog Aficionado: Just a guy vs. Life

Should Karl Rove Apologize? Should Durbin? Everyone wants an apology when they get their feathers ruffled, but really, what good does it do? The Republicans want Durbin to apologize, the Democrats want Rove to apologize, but where does it end? The fact of the matter is that all of this bickering in the press accomplishes nothing. I think Democrats hurt themselves by reinforcing the notion that they are touchy-feely when they complain about such things, or when they liken conservatives to Nazis. Conservatives reinforce notions that they are arrogant, short-sighted, and indifferent when they call liberals or people who do not have their viewpoints "Anti-American." The bottom line is that we need the polar struggle in American politics to keep some semblance of stability. I don't think that Rove or Durbin should apologize, but they should make pointed comments, not blanket comments. In the case of Durbin, he needs to realize that there are Conservatives in Iraq right n...

Happy Father's Day! Happy Father's day to all those it applies to. Unfortunately I am away from my Father today. I am also away from my kids.....the military seems to have a funny sense of humor in regard to that. I have missed my last three Anniversaries, my wife's last two birthdays, the last two father's days, and my daughter's second birthday because of duty. Maybe next year I will be home more.

I think Lashawn Barber got it wrong this time.... Everyone has been talking about the latest report from Amnesty International, the prison scandal, and the Koran desecration scandal in Cuba, and everyone seems to have a different opinion. Lashawn Barber is a conservative blogger who is tired of all of the press surrounding the scandal. In that regard I agree with her, I am not only tired of, but fearful of the attention that this brings. Lashawn seems to feel that kowtowing to the outcries from the different Muslim groups, or spending time investigating our military is a waste of time and shows some inherent weakness. She also says it speaks to the fact that liberalism is a mental disorder. I'm now convinced that liberalism is a mental disorder. Another one of the quotes that she uses is, Despite what they may say, Muslims are and have always been on a mission to conquer and kill infidels. They've been doing it for centuries and will continue until we're all dead, or t...

The Contender WHOA!! Generally I am anti-reality television, but I thoroughly enjoyed "The Contender". I was happy about the final, but I would have rather seen Alphonso fighting Sergio in the final. Peter was a straight-up guy, and Sergio was a straight-up guy. Great fight, great series, no cattiness. I would love to see a Contender II, and damn...was that soundtrack the shit or what?!

Derby 131 Derby 131 was pretty good this year. Of course I finished about 100+ dollars in the hole. But, oh well I had a good time. I had a hunch about the #4 hourse called "Noble Causeway". Noble Causeway is a horse that was getting increasingly better as this year progressed. He had run the Derby length before, and had finished worse than second only once in his last 6 races. He was known to cruise the first turn, and come on stronger as the races progressed. Noble Causeway was foaled in 2002 and bred in Kentucky by the Baums. He is a Nick Zito horse which seemed to bode well for me. Nick Zito is a famous trainer who has bred not one, but two derby winners. Noble Causeway is a chestnut colored colt who had beautiful muscle tone. So, I put an undisclosed amount of money across the board on this horse, and for all I know...he is still running. My wife, really likes the colors of pink and green, and she picked Giacomo because the rider's silks were colored pink a...

Sorry for the long drought.... I am going to post again on a regular basis soon. Unfortunately I have been so busy that I have neglected my writing in my journal as well as my online blog. I haven't updated my website in over a year, so I would say I am suffering from a devestating case of lethargy in regard to writing. More to come soon....I promise.

local6.com - News - Teens Leaping For Thrills In 'Garage Jumping' Trend The city is being sued....the garage owner is being sued. Who is going to sue the parents for raising a bunch of damn jackasses?

New Position... I have been away from my blog for quite some time, but I have really been busy. I got a new position with the J-1. Pretty cool, my new boss is a Lieutenant Colonel. I don't know how long I will be a staff puke, but I really don't mind. I am getting a lot of exposure here, and it is opening doors already. I really need to get to a line unit so I can pick up some more command time. WIsh me luck.

New Position... Sorry for the inactivity in my blog. I started a new job in the J-1. My direct supervisor is a Lieutenant Colonel, and life is pretty good. I'm not sure how long I will be a staff puke, but it is opening up a lot of doors for me. Of course, I need to get to a line unit for some command time. More to come later.

CSPI Slams NASCAR Hard-Liquor Deal ~ Newsroom ~ News from CSPI Wow....I'm discouraged to hear that NASCAR is allowing hard liquor sponsorships for its cars and races. I'm surprised to hear that, when I think of NASCAR fans I think of a whole group of genteel non-drinkers who just love powerful cars. I'm kidding of course. I really don't see what the big issue is. Though beer is less potent by volume than hard liquor, I would say that an exorbitant amount of beer and hard liquor is consumed prior to, during, and after most NASCAR events. I seriously doubt a non drinking NASCAR fan would be so struck by a Jack Daniel's advertisement that he would go out and down a fifth to pay homage to his favorite driver. "If’n yur gonna drank, yur gonna do it regardless of whut Mark Martin has on the hood of his daggone car." .....avid NASCAR fan.

Do I wanna join a suicide party?..Hell no! Sheriff: Online suicide pact had sexual overtones Alleged plot also involved people in Canada, Britain Sheriff: Online suicide pact had sexual overtones Alleged plot also involved people in Canada, Britain Saturday, February 12, 2005 Posted: 10:54 PM EST (0354 GMT) FULL STORY HERE Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking about. For some reason this guy decides to have an internet "suicide party" in which people were going to hang themselves on webcam. One woman planned to kill herself as well as her two young children. Luckily one of these rocket scientists got cold feet and alerted authorities. Apparently this was supposed to happen on Valentine's Day and its sphere of influence was supposed to have included some people in Britain. He was contacting people through a chat messenger and his screen name was SUICIDEPARTY2005. I believe I would immediately block someone out if they contacted me with that name. Thank God they...

Condoleeza Rice sworn in as first black female Secretary of State: Sworn in with the most "no" votes since 1825.... Condoleeza Rice was sworn in today, and as most people realize, there was no chance that she WOULDN'T get the nomination. But, the Democrats, and rightfully so, took a moment to let their thoughts be known, and reiterated their differences with the present administration. Senator Barbara Boxer asked pointed questions, and other Democrats grilled her. I am not a Republican, but I do admire Condoleeza Rice fore all of her qualifications and experiences. Unlike a lot of my fellow Democrats I realize that her former position over the NSA required her to do the "bidding" of the President in order to stay in agreement with his policies. I just hope that she is able to let her opinions be known as Secretary of State. The State Department is vastly different than the NSA, and as the "Chief Diplomat", she not only speaks for the Preside...

HOT 97, Miss Jones, Miss Info, and the Tsunami Song.... I appreciate humor, even in its most irreverent form, but anything that parodies the deaths of thousands and thousands of innocent people is not humor in my book. Unfortunately HOT 97 in New York felt that it was okay to make a "Tsunami Song" about the disaster in South Asia. The song is sung to the tune of "We are the world". Here are some of the choice lyrics. ..All at once you could hear the screaming ch*nks and no one was safe from the wave there were africans drowning, little chinamen swept away you could hear god laughing, "swim you b*tches swim" So now you're screwed, it's the Tsunami you better run or kiss your ass away, go find your mommy I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head and now the children will be sold to child slavery... Wow....that was real funny.... I just don't understand how the Radio Station execs would have let this song air. Wh...

Howard Dean is back....."YEAHGH"!! This weekend I was watching ABC's this week with George Stephanopoulos interviewing Howard Dean. I have to say that I was impressed. Howard Dean fell off of the radar during the Democratic Primary race. Even before he gave his famous, "I have a scream speech", he found himself being derided not only by the GOP, but by some of his own party members. He made, what appeared to be at that time, many gaffes that made him out to be the type of person who speaks without thinking. Many people, myself included, began to get frustrated with Dean, and consequently he lost the lead to John Kerry. I personally thought that Dean was trying too hard to come off as a populist, this thought was confirmed when he made the statement, "This party should not be the party of urban liberals, but of they guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks." I couldn't see it then, but I do now.....Dean made a great point. To me, part ...

Dkelsmith, 1.....Corrupt Cops, ZERO!... Man I love Law and Order. Oh, okay. I'll admit that is an exaggeration, the Cop wasn't corrupt, (Really to call him a Cop was doing a lot. He is a Kentucky State University police officer. I still don't know why they issue tickets on roads that are close to campus, but not on campus....sheesh!) and this wasn't a landmark case but I had a bench trial yesterday for a speeding ticket that I received and I WON!!!!!! The Prosecutor offered me traffic school and a reduction in the ticket so that I would be going five miles over the speed limit. But I refused and said I wanted the judge to hear it. I guess watching Law and Order for so many years emboldened me. But, when I got up to present my case to the judge I was a nervous wreck. I mean, it wasn't like I was Scott Peterson, but standing in front of a gruff looking judge to argue a speeding ticket is not easy. Especially when he had just sent the last fellow to jail ...

Brad Pitt takes his lumps... I know...I know...."Why in the world is Kelly commenting on something as trivial as celebrity breakups?" I do know that they are quite common in Hollywood, and other places, but this one was sort of interesting. Not in the fact that it happened, but in the way people purport to know the reason behind it. Apparently Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have asked people to respect their feelings and their rights in regard to this. Nice try, but you know the media is going to have a field day with this. If they covered Bennnifer in its entirety, you know they will exhaust all efforts on Brad and Jen. Unlike J-Lo and Ben Affleck, these two are actually likeable and have some acting talent. I admit that rumors in Hollywood are about as predictable as weather in Kentucky, but some of the more juicy rumors that flew around were those that hinted at marital infidelity on the part of Brad with Angelina Jolie. The most popular rumor, and the on...

In retrospect..... I last committed time to my weblog over a month ago, therefore this is my first weblog post of the New Year. The only thing I resolve to do this year is to not compound my life with the hypocrisy and failure to committ to a set of resolutions. I am just going to live like the best that I can. I'm not sure where the tradition of making resolutions came from, but I am sure that the first guy that came up with this probably failed in keeping with what he resolved to do. I am, however, taking a moment to look back at my life, look at myself now, and think about where I should be in the future. I never was ambitious enough to have a real long term plan in place....though I should have. But, I am looking at my life now in a different perspective than I ever have before. I am now 33 years old, which is still a considerably young age in many regards, but it is still sobering. I don't have the same qualms and anxiety that many people have about growing o...

World AIDS Day.... December 1st, 2004

33... Today is my birthday, and I think that this ought to be my year. I am not into numerology or any of that crap, but I think 33 is a lucky number. My biggest hero did a heck of a lot during his 33rd year on earth. Now I KNOW I can't make as much of an impact as he did, but I am going to try and make the biggest impact that I can. I promise to make a reflection post on November 29th, 2005 to reflect on everything I accomplished during that year. I feel it in my bones....this is going to be my year. Happy Birthday to ME!

The end of a great weekend.... Well, like all good things, this weekend had to come to an end. Despite the hectic schedules and the cooking and cleaning, this weekend was thorougly enjoyable. Sam and Erica took off this morning and headed home. Erica and Renee have known each other for the last5 15 or 16 years. For them, each reunion is a point where they can pick up where they left off. Happily enough, I get along with Sam very well so we can entertain ourselves while they catch up on old times. Wednesday night when they came into town, we stayed up until aobut 3:30 a.m. talking. That made for a very difficult Thanksgiving Day. After all of the cooking, cleaning, serving, eating, and laughing I was completely wiped out. On Friday, Renee had planned a big shopping trip for all of us. Naturally, Sam and I balked at shopping and ended up in the house with the kids......all....day....long. That evening when they got back from shopping we finally got to leave the ...