Darrell Waltrip One-On-One

I just finished reading the book Darrell Waltrip One-on-One by Darrell Waltrip and Jay Carty. The book is a series of sixty short stories by Darrell that relate his faith to stories about his days as a NASCAR driver and now as a NASCAR announcer on Fox Sports.

Darrell Waltrip is one of the NASCAR greats, who has 84 NASCAR victories and in the 1980s was named the NASCAR Driver of the Decade. He also is a man of faith who leads a weekly Bible study for 75 men in his garage in Franklin, TN.

Jay Carty, a former NBA basketball player, turner minister, has a commentary for each of Darrell's stories that goes a little deeper into how Darrell's story relates to faith in God, the Bible and Jesus.

It's a great read and can be used for a 60 day devotional.

The book is personal to me because my wife is related to the Waltrips from Owensboro, KY. She is a distant cousin of Darrell. If fact, we visited Owensboro last week and were able to talk about Darrell and his brother Michael with people who know them well. We missed going to Wendell's Wonder Whip, that Darrell mentioned in the book, but we did get to enjoy Burgoo and mutton at another local restaurant. In fact, I enjoyed the mutton all night long.

My favorite stories in the book are about Darrell's relationship to Dale Earnhardt. They were friends off the track and enemies when racing against each other. Darrell called them "frienemies".

In the story titled "Duct Tape and the Word" Darrell and Stevie, Darrell's wife, tell of the day that Dale was killed in the Daytona 500. It was the first race that the two were not racing against each other. That day Darrell was new in the Fox Sports booth, announcing the race.

Near the end of the race just before Dale hit the wall, he was blocking for his teammates, Dale, Jr. and Darrell's brother Michael who eventually won the race - his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory.

When Dale and Darrell raced, Stevie would write out a Bible verse for both Dale and Darrell on duct tape. That day she wrote one for Dale.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and our safe." - Proverbs 10:10 NKJV.

Darrell and Stevie knew that what once was a lucky charm for Dale, had become a symbol of Dale's true faith and love for Jesus - and that Dale is now in Heaven.

It is ironic twist that on that day I was watching the Daytona 500. I didn't usually watch NASCAR races. I heard Darrell's announcing, I saw Michael win the race and I watched in horror as a racing legend hit the wall and eventually died. Now I know the rest of the story.

Go get the book. It's for me and it's for you too.


Dan England’s posts also can be found at Blogger News Network and Townhall. Dan’s website is GettingElected.com and he is the author of So You Want to Run for Political Office and Welcome to the Real Corporate World.

Has Barack Obama Learned to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?

In Sen. Barack Obama's speech in Springfield, IL to announce that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. He said in part:

"It was here (Springfield, IL) we learned to disagree without being disagreeable..."

Read the full text of his speech here.

Fast forward to this Saturday in California where Senators Obama and Clinton made vitriolic attacks on President Bush.

Said Barack Obama:

"The president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open."

Ouch! Read the story about this here.

Hmmm. That cheap shot sounds pretty disagreeable to me. Perhaps the good Illinois Senator needs to go back to Springfield to relearn the "new tone" he often speaks about.


Dan England’s posts also can be found at Blogger News Network and Townhall. Dan’s website is GettingElected.com and he is the author of So You Want to Run for Political Office and Welcome to the Real Corporate World.

In Defense of the Bush Administation

John of Powereline responded brilliantly to Eleanor Clift's column where she referred to "scandals consuming the White House".

Said John: "The truth is that the Bush administration has been extraordinarily scandal-free. Not a single instance of corruption has been unearthed."

Then he goes on to prove his point. Read his post in Powerline here.

Dem Candidates Take Private Jets - Global Warming Alert!

All four Dem Senators who are presidential candidates flew from Washington, DC to South Carolina yesterday for the first presidential debate - each in their own private jet. No one took a commercial flight. Read the story about it here.

Hold on - Global Warming Alert!

Environmentalists say that private jet flights have a big "carbon footprint", and that taking commercial flights is a better option. Remember the flap over Prince Charles' planned flight to the the USA by private jet? There was such an uproar that the good Prince turned green and flew commercial instead.

Since Dems are so worried about Bush's Global Warming, it's surprising that they made such a big faux pas. Maybe they need to take the "pledge" and watch Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth again.


Dan England’s posts also can be found at Blogger News Network and Townhall. Dan’s website is GettingElected.com and he is the author of So You Want to Run for Political Office and Welcome to the Real Corporate World.

Rudy - Dems Weak on Fighting Terrorism

Rudy Giuliani on the Dems:

"They do not seem to get the fact that there are people, terrorists in this world, really dangerous people that want to come here and kill us"

"They want to take us back to not being as alert which to me will just extend this war much, much longer."

Read the story about it here.

Of course, Dem candidates are crying "foul". The truth hurts. I'm sure we will here much more from the Republicans on this theme during the campaign.

Dem Negativism and the 2008 Election

I turned on the TV this morning and heard an interview with Illinois Senator Chuck Schumer. This time, the good Senator was bemoaning the FDA's handling of the pet food recalls.

On a daily basis, the Dems tell us how bad things are in the USA. Bad, bad, bad and how once they control both Congress and the Presidency "Happy Days" will return again.

Republicans generally maintain a dignified demeanor and tend to see the glass "half full". They see the USA as a great place to live - the best in the world.

I believe that, in time, Americans will become fed up with the negative Dem drumbeat and look again to Republican leadership. More on this line of thinking later.

Trees May Cause Global Warming

Global Warming alarmists will not like a report that was just released this week. It found that Northern Hemisphere forests could actually cause Global Warming. Read about it here.

Planting trees may have the opposite effect of what is desired.

Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Don Imus Is Off The Air - Amazing

The Don Imus controversy amazes me. Read about it here.

First, I am no Don Imus fan. I confess that very early in the morning, before Fox and Friends, I have watched and listened to the "I-Man". His politics are too liberal for my taste, but he is funny and says outrageous things mixed with some serious political discussion. He has interesting guests, including many of the political power players. He has many loyal fans.

Imus insults most everybody. Compared to most "shock jocks", in my opinion, he is fairly mild. He was thrown off the air because of a few few offensive remarks. I don't doubt that they were offensive, nor do I defend Imus for them.

Back to my amazement. I am a Christian. I believe that God is the loving creator of the universe and that Jesus is His Son. Millions of Americans worship and love Jesus. To us, Jesus is very real. Yet, on a daily basis on radio and TV, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and Christians, are mocked. Christians are offended and hurt. I am offended and hurt.

If Christians complain, the answer is that "free speech" trumps our pain - and the hurt goes on.

But Don Imus is off the air for a few offensive remarks. Amazing.


Dan England’s posts also can be found at Blogger News Network and Townhall. Dan’s website is GettingElected.com and he is the author of So You Want to Run for Political Office and Welcome to the Real Corporate World.

Another Slap at Christianity - Easter Bunny Out

A school in Rhode Island has banned the Easter Bunny from a school event in an effort to be aware of "other people's backgrounds and traditions". The Easter Bunny will be replaced by Peter Rabbit.

Naturally, the head of the Rhode Island ACLU approves. In response, a Rhode Island legislator plans to offer a bill to save the Easter Bunny.

Secularists will not be happy till all vestiges of Christianity are swept out of the USA. This is reminiscent of the Communist attack on Christianity and the Bible.

The good news is that Jesus lives. A study of "His"story and the Bible shows that God has the last word.

When Jesus was baptised God declared: "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased". 2 Peter 1:17 NASB.

Read the story about this here. Read the Bible here.


Dan England’s posts also can be found at Blogger News Network and Townhall. Dan’s website is GettingElected.com and he is the author of So You Want to Run for Political Office and Welcome to the Real Corporate World.

Belgium Tax on Barbecuing Made to Reduce Global Warming

Following is a story I first heard about on Rush's radio show.

Local news reports that Wallonia, Belgium will charge a 20 euro (around 26 U.S. dollars) tax on barbecuing starting June 2007 for each grilling session.

The report says local powers will snoop on burning grills from above in helicopters equipped with thermal sensors.

The reason? What else - global warming. Read the story about it here.

If Al Gore hears about this, we may soon have black helicopters hovering over our neighborhoods too. I used to think that this sort of thing only happened in movies.

Another case of the world going mad.