VOTA

What is VOTA? VOTA is the Christian Rock Band my wife and I went to see last night. It was awesome! But before I get to VOTA, let me talk about the opening act.

The opening act was happygolovely, a local Christian band. They were really just a group of kids, but they were outstanding. They did a terrific job getting the crowd ready for VOTA. They played 6 songs...you can hear some of their music at their myspace page, which I linked to above. I hope they find success in the Christian rock scene. They brought great energy, had a nice message in their music, and really seemed to enjoy what they were doing.

Next up was VOTA. You can here some of their music at their website, http://www.votaband.com/. Even if you aren't a big Christian rock fan, you should check them out. VOTA was doing this free concert because they had to cancel their local tour date with Super Chick and Barlow Girl earlier this summer due to bus problems. However, they really wanted to play Iowa, so luckily a local church donated it's space, and VOTA was able to put on a free concert.

Had I known how cool Christian music is, I would have started listening long ago. However, growing up, all I ever heard was, relatively lame, Christian music. But, recently I've discovered a local station that plays a lot of Alternative Christian rock. That's how I would describe VOTA's music. It's Alternative Christian rock, and I can honestly say that I like every song they played last night. To top if off, they had a good Christian message. Great music with a message of God's love...how can you beat that? They were awesome and I'm so thrilled that we went, and I'm glad we bought their CD so we can listen more often, and support the band.

My favorites from the concert were "Free to Fail", "Hard to Believe" and "I'll Go." Both "Hard to Believe" and "I'll Go" have been released.

He Just Doesn't Get it

I've come to a conclusion about President Obama. He doesn't get it! He doesn't understand that he is President of all of us, even those of us who disagree with him. George W. Bush understood this, Ronald Reagan understood this, even Bill Clinton seemed to grasp this concept most of the time.

What the President has to understand is, the campaign is over and now it's time to run the country for all Americans, not just the liberals. He'll have to shore up his base in 2012, but it's 2009 right now. He's got this job until at least January of 2013, and while he's in that office, he is President of all of us. It's time he start acting like it.

For instance, it's insulting and embarrassing when he says something like this in a foreign country (he said this while in China):

"It's very important for the United States not to assume that what is good for us is automatically good for somebody else. We have to have some modesty about our attitudes towards other countries. We think it's important nevertheless to be true to our ideals and our values. And we... When we do so, though, we will always do so with the humility and understanding that we are not perfect and that we still have much progress to make. Uh, if you talk to women in America, they will tell you that there are still men who have a lot of old-fashioned ideas about the role of women in society."

I want my President to be a man who believes in America, not someone who thinks he has to apologize for it or make excuses for it. I would argue that a majority of Americans would feel that the above statement is offensive at some level (if they could ever find it in the liberal media). Sure, the 20% of Americans who will actually admit to being liberal will like this statement (and that is his political base), but they aren't the only Americans he represents.

I don't think America is perfect...nothing of this world is perfect. But, the leader of our country shouldn't be flying around the world and pointing what he or she perceives as our flaws. Yes, we have flaws, but let's not lose sight of the fact that America is the greatest country on earth. The leader of our county should be touting all that makes America great. He should be spreading a message of freedom to the world. Instead, he chooses to make America appear weak, and in the process he makes himself appear foolish.

Monday Musings

It's time for another blog of random thoughts, or "Monday Musings" since it's Monday:

Sarah Palin: I hope she sells 6 gazillion books and makes millions of dollars on her new book "Going Rogue". She deserves it after all the garbage that came with being the Republican candidate for VP. If the media had scrutinized President Obama half as much as they scrutinized Palin, Sarah Palin might be Vice President today.

Michelle Wie: The LPGA Tour got what it needed this weekend...Michelle Wie won her first professional tournament. At only 20 years old, it seems like Wie has been on the national golf scene forever. Really it's just been 7 years or so. With revenues declining and sponsorships dropping, the LPGA Tour needs Wie to be a star. Hopefully this is the start of many good things to come for Wie.

Denver Broncos: Here we go again! After winning 6 in a row to start the season, the Broncos have now lost 3 straight and are in danger of falling out of first place in their division. It seems like the same thing happened last year...because it did! And the year before that, and the year before that...this pattern has to stop! I was all set for the Broncos to be awful this year, but they got off to a hot start, and my expectations went way up. I guess it's time to re-evaluate my expectations, as I think this down turn will continue.

Kindle: I have been hearing a lot about Kindle, which is an Amazon product that allows the user to download and read books, without ever having to actually hold a real book. I'm not a huge book reader, but I really like the feel of a book and the smell of the pages. I just don't think you can replace that. Plus, reading on a screen just isn't the same as having paper in front of you. Kindle may be for some people, but I'll still take my local Barnes & Noble, and a real book any day.