Sometimes while in a rush for the Holidays, we sometimes forget those who are less fortunate and/or are not having a good holiday. Having said that, I think we should all pray for this family here.
STAMFORD, Conn. – A fire tore through the home of an advertising executive in a tony neighborhood along the Connecticut shoreline Sunday, killing her three children and both of her parents on Christmas morning.
Madonna Badger, who bought the large Victorian home last year, was able to get out of the house, along with an acquaintance.
Stamford Police Sgt. Paul Guzda said Badger’s three daughters — a 10-year-old and 7-year-old twins — were killed. He said her parents, who were visiting for the holiday, also died. Police officers drove Badger’s husband, Matthew Badger, from New York City to Stamford on Sunday morning.
God be with this Family. I could not imagine losing my family; much less on a Holiday. So sad. My prayers go to them.
I am coming out of my self-imposed hiatus to bid farewell to someone whom I disagreed with greatly. I am referring to the passing of the avowed atheist Christopher Hitchens. Admittedly, I disagreed very highly with his denial of living God; However, I admired his stance on Muslims and their desire to overthrow of American and western values. Not only this; the man was absolutely an intellectual giant. Something that is much lacking in the Conservative and even Christian circles of this day and age of dumb-downed society.
I believe the man should be respected in this sphere of existence for his refusing to back down from his political and personal philosophies. His rejection of the existence of a higher power is one that will be remembered and admired by some. It seems so unfair, that someone of that intellectual caliber would be taken down in such a horrible way. I will not, unlike someone on the Christian right, use this as a terrible opportunity to slander the man to advance a Religious agenda. There are some, that would partake in such high school style of idiocy and I will simply use the words of the risen Saviour of the World, Jesus Christ; “They have their reward.”
I wish nothing but the very best to the Hitchens family, especially to his Brother; who must be going through hell right now.
Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion whose furious and intensely personal fights with a taunting Muhammad Ali endure as an epic rivalry in boxing history, died Monday night. He was 67.
His business representative, Leslie Wolff, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Frazier had liver cancer and that he had entered hospice care.
Known as Smokin’ Joe, Frazier stalked his opponents around the ring with a crouching, relentless attack — his head low and bobbing, his broad, powerful shoulders hunched — as he bore down on them with an onslaught of withering jabs and crushing body blows, setting them up for his devastating left hook.
It was an overpowering modus operandi that led to versions of the heavyweight crown from 1968 to 1973. Frazier won 32 fights in all, 27 by knockouts, losing four times — twice to Ali in furious bouts and twice to George Foreman. He also recorded one draw.
A slugger who weathered repeated blows to the head while he delivered punishment, Frazier proved a formidable figure. But his career was defined by his rivalry with Ali, who ridiculed him as a black man in the guise of a Great White Hope. Frazier detested him.
A video that will be remembered forever:
They just do not build ’em like that anymore.
Update: For the many people who are searching about it. Yes, he was a Christian. See here. Enjoy glory Joe; we’ll see you soon.
RICHMOND, Va. – Jimmy Dean, a country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, “Big Bad John,” and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, died on Sunday. He was 81.
His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband died at their Henrico County, Va., home.
She told The Associated Press that he had some health problems but was still functioning well, so his death came as a shock. She said he was eating in front of the television. She left the room for a time and came back and he was unresponsive. She said he was pronounced dead at 7:54 p.m.
“He was amazing,” she said. “He had a lot of talents.”
Born in 1928, Dean was raised in poverty in Plainview, Texas, and dropped out of high school after the ninth grade. He went on to a successful entertainment career in the 1950s and ’60s that included the nationally televised “The Jimmy Dean Show.”
In 1969, Dean went into the sausage business, starting the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown. He sold the company to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984.
He was also a bit of a Conservative:
In the late ’60s, Dean entered the hog business — something he knew well. His family had butchered hogs, with the young Dean whacking them over the head with the blunt end of an ax. The Dean brothers — Jimmy and Don — ground the meat and their mother seasoned it.
The Jimmy Dean Meat Co. opened with a plant in Plainview. After six months, the company was profitable.
His fortune was estimated at $75 million in the early ’90s.
Having watched other stars fritter away their fortunes, Dean said he learned to be careful with his money.
“I’ve seen so many people in this business that made a fortune,” he told the AP. “They get old and broke and can’t make any money. … I tell you something, … no one’s going to play a benefit for Jimmy Dean.”
Rest in Peace, Mr. Dean. You have more than earned it.
Politics is one thing, real life is another… Some very sad news to report at WizBang Blog:
Hugh Slatery
Wizbang author Hugh Slatery, who published here as HughS, died suddenly Sunday evening. Hugh was 53 years-old, and is survived by his mother, his three children and their mother, two brothers, and a niece and five nephews.
I think it would be a good idea for everyone to say a silent prayer this night and into the week for the Slatery family and for everyone over at Wizbang Blog. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with those children, especially the oldest one.
STAMFORD, Conn. – A fire tore through the home of an advertising executive in a tony neighborhood along the Connecticut shoreline Sunday, killing her three children and both of her parents on Christmas morning.
I could not imagine losing my family; much less on a Holiday. So sad. My prayers go to them. 
