J. Ojanpera

1.To give power or authority to; Authorize: Is that what everyone wants, to be empowered? Is that what the gurus and psychologists are suggesting to us? When you look at the definition from Dictionary.com, it kind of puts a different spin on the word. Instead of a boost of confidence, or some invisible motivational tool, empowerment is actually permission to be the boss. So who grants this power? Is it a supernatural force, or another empowered person?    It seems like something that everyone should have access to; especially if it means more money, more power, or rising a step closer to telling others what to do. In it's literal sense, weighed against society, it makes all of us beneath the empowered. I suggest that the empowered adhere to the second definition of the word. 2. To enable or permit: Wait, I can't use the word "enable" around here because it means that someone is helping a person indulge their destruction, and it's better to let them crash and bur

   Sir, before you join the ranks of the seditious civilian soldiers in your head, I would like to suggest a few changes that might bring you back into the realm of rational discourse. I first have to ask you to quit speaking for America. You don't know who America is. Every time I hear you abuse a microphone, I hear the words of a man who has a very narrow view of who or what America is. I hear a presumptuous man. I hear an old man with propaganda leaflets floating around in his head. I hear a man with war on the tip of his tongue, not against a foreign enemy; your enemy is the American Experiment.    Let me tell you who America is. America is the land of the free. We are free from the chains of slavery, we are free from tyranny. We are free form the chains of a truly un-civil war. We are allowed to live nose to nose with our elected, and we stand together even when they turn off course. The heart of America is huge, and the select few that we choose to distribute that love are a

   An assault rifle is an instrument of death; an effective one. It can spray lead until the clip is empty. If your cause is only satiated by the use of an assault rifle, be careful because your cause will be met with something even more heinous than your full metal jacket. You will be met by the human spirit. You will be met by a force infinitely more powerful than a garage cluttered by assault rifles.    The consequences of any plan to harm humanity as a whole will be disproportionately answered with the most potent force on earth; a people unified by your cowardly, violent plan. You see, when we are united against you there is no chance of success. If you get even one shot off at one of us it will be both a stroke of luck and a death sentence all at once.    We will be carrying the weapons given to us by our creator; our intelect, our mouths, and our feet and fists if necessary. If you attack, your bullets will run out long before we do. If you get a shot off, it will mean that o

Westboro Baptist Church 3701 Southwest 12th Street, Topeka (785) 273-0325   In case anyone wants to send a message of hate or love or a Christmas card to these inbred hacks, or if you would like to blow their phones up; there you go. I would imagine that you have to jump through a few hoops to get someone on the line, as they are fearful people. I read about a group called "Anonymous" this morning, and they are spot on in their mission. The video can be found here. They claim to have hacked a twitter account belonging to one of the women. They hacked Fred's computer, and there is a plan in the works for filing a death certificate for Sherley Phelps so her SSN will ne blocked. I like that one the best; she might as well be dead -to society of course.    These people deserve all of the wrath that their god has to offer. This church is not the only one of it's kind. There are many preachers out there who have backward, militant agendas. Most of them stay quiet with t

@11   I know a boy who is torn between more than a few things. He has what we call "issues". The psychiatric community at large has a few pin-point accurate names and definitions for this boy; some are organic disorders, but most are self-inflicted.  Sometimes we think that there is nothing there but a shell; but then he changes and something brilliant peeks through the veil of his addiction. When he is without, he burns. There is a pressure emanating from his bones. The pressure drives him to the hunt.    He really isn't a boy at all. His mind is stranded between 15 and 21, but he is 26. It makes no difference now. By the time we met him (25) the damage had been done. Some of us tried so hard to pull him out of the black room he lives in, and none of us really ever achieved anything that would indicate any reliable change. Some of us were frustrated, some of us found indifference. The consensus was split, but definitely leaned toward a waste of time, money, and energy.

   I have played Guitar Hero about six times. I found that when you only have five color-coded buttons, a "whammy bar", and a two-way strumming thing to worry about on the "guitar", that it sort of makes it a different instrument. It is actually a fancy controller for your game system and not an instrument at all. In it's day, before sales tanked, it had a huge impact on gifted musicians and musically void players alike. By the numbers, people still play it; mostly teenagers.    These types of games are sometimes used in psychiatric rehabilitation exercises -occupational therapy- because of it's hand/eye coordination capabilities. The game also exposes people to music that they might never have heard before. I think it is a great tool for hearing the same songs over and again, to the point of a player knowing a handful of songs by rote. Hearing is the first step toward understanding the pieces that make up music. In that respect, it has some value. Any time

   I am waiting for my turn in the office. This is the least busy doctor's office I have ever visited. I have never seen more than three patients in the waiting room at the same time. My doctor is a no nonsense type of guy. He is popular in Mobile, and has been practicing for over thirty years. He has been a breath of fresh air for me since leaving the cattle farmers of Alta Pointe. Don't be fooled by the fancy spelling of "Pointe"; there is nothing fancy about it. They have over 12,000 "consumers", we call them patients. I was over, under, and inadequately medicated, and the therapist learned more about my issue from me, than he taught me. I never saw the same Dr. twice, leaving no room for continuity of treatment. One Dr. didn't speak a word of English (Chinese), and after an hour of sitting in a room, he came in, looked at me for an uncomfortably long time, and then glued his eyes to the screen that contains my darkest secrets. I was labeled as "

   First off, I love women and what they do for the world. They have abilities that men will never achieve; like it or not. I have learned so much through the years that has amazed me and confused me at the same time. This is a very complex topic that I do not pretend to have all the answers to. I believe that women will be man's greatest challenge, and that we will never crack the code.    My experience of getting answers and "secrets" has been somewhat successful, but falls well short of a thorough understanding. My wife has let me in on some things along the way that have led me to a few conclusions. I have had the pleasure and ease of mind that can only come from a loyal and sacred relationship, so I am sure that there are no big surprises lurking under the surface. What I have learned is that women possess the ability to go to their grave, having never told a soul about some of the darkest periods in their lives. How do they do it?    This knowledge kind of makes a