Kevin M. Cornelius 1957-2008 Semper Fi, Dad

Kevin Mark Cornelius, 50, of Spanaway, died January 27, 2008 at Harborview Medical Center. He was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma on January 28, 1957 to William Lester and Agnes Marie Cornelius (Schaeffer). Kevin attended Visitation School from 1963 to 1971 and graduated from Mount Tahoma High School in 1974. He joined the Marine Corps in 1976, and after four years switched services to the Navy. In 1983, Kevin was medically retired from the Navy due to a brain hemorrhage. He was a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans organizations. He married Marilyn Elizabeth Smith in 1978. They were married for 17 years and had three children. After he was discharged from the Navy, Kevin worked at Wells Fargo for a few years and then joined the Post Office, where he worked from 1986 to 1996. Kevin loved square dancing and met Beth Ann Sanders (Henderson) in 1996 and married her one year later. He and Beth adopted their grandchild Isabelle Marie Cornelius in 2002. Kevin is survived by his parents W. Lester and Agnes Cornelius, his brothers Michael (Debbie) Cornelius and Joseph (Gail) Cornelius, his sister Deanna (Bonnie) Cornelius, his wife Beth, his children: Amy (Robert) DeMarco (Cornelius), Allison Cornelius, and Michael Cornelius, his step children Jayme Hodel (Sanders), Todd Sanders, and April Knesal (Sanders), and many other relatives and friends. The funeral service will be held at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Sat., Feb. 2, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. The graveside service will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery, Mon., Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. Service directed by Weeks' Dryer Mortuary.

From Ugly to Beautiful

My name is Amy and I am 25. I am now married to the most wonderful man the Lord could ever bless me with. But when I was 17 I became pregnant with my daughter. I was scared, to say the least. While on my way to the airport to go visit my dad in Washington State, I felt nauseous and threw up. My mother did not mention it at the time, but she suspected it. When I got to my dad’s house, I puked again. My step-mom, who was a nurse, suggested that my dad and I go to the local Safeway and buy a pregnancy test. When I got home, I went into the bathroom and three minutes later, my worst fear came in the form of two big blue lines. I was pregnant. I was devastated. I cried…no, I sobbed. I couldn’t understand how this could happen to me. I was only 17. I had a big, bright future ahead of me. Only other people got pregnant, not me. My dad and step-mom were very supportive, but my mom and the father (not my husband)’s mom suggested I get an abortion, albeit for different reasons. His mother wanted me to abort because I was so young. My mother wanted me to abort because she hated the father. I did not want an abortion. Only other girls got abortions. I was pro-death, but only for other people. I was not going to abort my baby – especially if my mother was telling me to do so (we had a …strained…relationship). By the grace of God, my dad and step-mom took me into their home. I completed my senior year in WA, and I graduated with my class. In fact, I completed my credits a semester early. Senior year was not without its bumps, though. I felt like a whore. I felt like I had EASY stamped on my belly. I was wearing my sexuality on my belly, for all the world (and teen guys) to see. I was sexually harassed (the kid was expelled). I had a few bouts of morning sickness in the school cafeteria in front of all of my friends. When everyone was getting ready for senior prom, I was preparing to give birth and become a new mom.In the midst of all of this turmoil, God was making something beautiful out of something ugly – He was creating a new creature. On October 27, 1999, I received a letter in the mail from the youth ministry of the church I had been attending. The letter was to inform me about the topic of their next meeting – Teen Sexuality. As soon as I read the words, I could hear God telling me to go, but there was one problem, the meeting was on the same night as my grandpa’s birthday party. I never missed a family gathering. I told my parents and they told me to call my grandpa and tell him I couldn’t make his party because I had to go to church. My grandpa is a devout Catholic, and when I called him and told him, he completely understood. God was working. When I got to church, and heard the message, it was as if the pastor was describing my life. I was doing all of things he described and then some. I felt God tugging on my heart. At the end of the message and activities, we broke off into small groups; boys in the sanctuary and girls in the Sunday school buildings. It was there that I accepted Christ into my heart. That is not the end of my story.My aunt worked for a Crisis Pregnancy Center (a ministry of Focus on the Family) and hooked me up with kind and compassionate Christian counselors who helped show me what abortion was truly about. They showed me that there are other choices besides abortion. At first I wanted to keep my daughter, but I eventually decided to let my dad and step-mom adopt her, so I could serve my country in the Navy. I also did not want my daughter’s father to fight for custody of her. I lived with him for a little while and he ended up abusing me (he was arrested and served time in jail for the domestic violence). He also physically and verbally abused my baby. By the grace of God my daughter and I made it out of that situation alive. She is now almost seven years old and is happy and healthy (despite being born with a cleft palate and needing emergency bowel surgery when she was 17 days old). She still lives with my dad and step-mom. Unfortunately, I do not get to see her very often because we live so far away from one another. I don’t even call her as much as I should. Adoption is not easy, but abortion would be the hardest. Abortion (like suicide) is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. As hard as it is to deal with (I cry about it a lot), at least I know what my daughter looks like and how she is doing in school. If I had listened to those who wanted me to abort, I would have never known the answers to those important questions.

UPDATE: As of August 2008, I will be in the process of re-adopting my daughter because of the death of my dad and my sep-mom's health issues. Izzie will have a Mommy and a Daddy again!!! Also in July I found out that I'm pregnant, another answer to my prayers!!! God works in many wonderful ways!!
UPDATE: I found out that I lost my baby on 15 August 2008. I don't know why God decided to take my baby back to Heaven, but I do know that He works in powerful and mysterious ways.

Thin Skin

Muslims around the world have a thin skin. They cannot take a joke. Why is that??? It is because they are taught to take everything as a personal challenge. The "Prophet" Muhammad also had a thin skin and took any and all criticism and jest as a personal indictment. The slightest negative comment sent him into a violent rage. He had a poet (the ancient equivalent of a journalist) killed because she dared to publish criticism of his actions and his religion. It also did not help that she was Jewish, but that is another story. Muslims can give it, but they cannot receive it. They say (and the Koran says) all sorts of perverse, hate-filled, and untrue things about Christians and Jews, but Muslims cannot accept the same from Christians and Jews. My advice: Get over it, hypocrite. It's your turn. Now you know how the rest of the world feels.
Now for the cartoonist and the newspaper. If one has paid any attention to world events of the last five years, one would know that there are certain things you just don't do. Seemingly innocent cartoons can turn into riots and people getting killed. Apparently the cartoonist and the newspaper did not think very far ahead when they decided to publish this cartoon. I think it was a stupid decision to publish the cartoon. The newspaper should have excercised better judgement and discresion when deciding whether to publish the cartoon.
The majority of the blame should rest with the Muslims. They ultimately have the choice whether to react violently or to go on with their lives.

A Warning to US Parents

Parents, do you know what your kids are being taught in school??? Last week, the 9th Circuit of the US Court of Appeals ruled that parents have NO control over what the public schools are teaching (indoctrinating) their kids (Think: Soviet Russia). This case stems from an explicit sex survey that was given to first, third, and fifth graders in California. An example: Do you think about having sex? If the types of questions asked on this survey were asked by Joe Schmo on the street, Mr. Schmo would be arrested, tried, and convicted of being a sexual predator.
This is outrageous. Parents have had their authority stripped by a black-robed oligarchy. It started when the courts ruled that teen girls do not need the consent of their parents to obtain an abortion. The unfortunate reality with that decision is that barring a miracle from God, a girl will have to die in order for that decision to be reversed.
But that needn't happen with this case. The glimmer of hope we have is that the Ninth Circuit is the most often-reversed court in the country. It is so ineffective that the House of Representatives is considering disestablishing it. Let us pray that God's will prevails, that both these decisions will be over-turned, that parents will be given their rights back, and that children will be protected.
Parents, we need to get involved in our children's education. Ask questions at Open House and Parent-Teacher Confrences, ask your children what they are learning in school, ask kids in your neighborhood who are a grade-level ahead of your kids what they are learning in school, meet with teachers and administrators regularly to share concerns, attend school board meetings, join with other parents sharing similar concerns, etc. If you are pro-active and get others involved, the school board is less-likely to try and socially-experiment with your kids.
For more information, please visit the Focus on the Family website.

Fact Vs. Theory

Why is it that we call Einstien's Theory of Relativity a "theory", but most people insist Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a "fact"??? People question new scientific discoveries, but they won't even touch Darwin with a ten-foot pole. The moment you question the sanctity of Darwin, you are accused of being "backwards" and "ignorant". Not to mention also "anti-science". If being "pro-science" means that I have to throw away my belief in an all-powerful Creator, then I guess I'm anti-science. Science has turned people against faith in the pursuit of "reason".
It takes more faith to beleieve Evolution is a fact than it does to believe that God created mankind. Think about this: If Evolution is a fact, then why didn't ALL monkeys "evolve" into humans???
Evolution is the root cause of most forms of discrimination. Darwin's "Survival of the Fittest" Theory has been the core argument of the pseudo-science of Eugenics. Eugenics in turn has spawned the rationale behind such social ills as Segregation, Abortion, and Euthanasia, just to name a few. Also, Adolf Hitler's programs of engineering a "master race" stemmed partially from Darwin's theories. Darwin's theories do not respect life. They boil life down to a series of random biological processes. His theories do not answer the question of "Why are we here". They leave us with more questions than answers. The Bible on the other hand, answers that question. Throughout the pages of the Bible, God tells us our purpose for life and why He created us.

Yet Another Disturbing Trend

Have we gotten to the point in our society where if we call someone out for bad bahavior, WE are the ones who are accused of bad behavior??? Example: Someone is saying hateful things about someone else. You call them out on it. THEY accuse YOU of being judgemental (or racist, sexist, intolerant...take your pick). Are we so used to getting a free pass (especuially Liberals) that we cannot recognise bad behavior when we see it??? Are people so blinded (and thin-skinned) by Political Correctness that they will sweep ANYTHING under the rug (and make excuses for it)??? How can the people of a society act civil when they cannot see the difference between civil behavior and uncivil behavior??? Those who cry the loudest (the ones who cry "judgemental" when confronted) are often the guilty ones.

A Woman After My Own Heart

This post is by a friend of mine, Edge_Wall. She feels a lot like I do about the current state of the country and about young Green Day fans. She was my inspiration for writing America the Blind.

Another Disturbing Trend

Why is it that parenting has deteriorated so badly recently??? Case in point: According to a post on GSB.net (click here), some teenage girl has a dangerous obsession with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. This girl is so deluded that she has literally hundreds of pictures of Billie's wife Adrienne all over her walls (think stalker-type on Law&Order). Now in and of themselves, a bunch of pictures on someone's wall may not seem so bad. Innocent teenage infatuation, right??? Wrong. What makes these pictures so sinister is the fact that Adrienne's face has been mutilated and threatening messages (like Die 80, Die) have been written on them.
Now the obvious question is: Where are the parents (even other teens were asking this very same question)??? To answer the question: You'd be surprised how jaded and blind parents can be. Some parents are disturbingly in denial about the activities of their kids. They can't face the reality that their kids are sick and need help. It's a dangerous place to be. Some parents are also afraid that if they commit their child, somehow the media will find out and everyone will think they are a bad parent. I've got news for them: If their child hurts someone, the media WILL find out and brand them a bad parent. So it's a lose-lose situation. It's a pride issue with the parents. They do not want to admit that something is wrong within their family. They want everyone around them to believe everything is perfect, when the reality is everything is falling apart. It is what happens when people live their lives based on acceptance and approval of others. It's a vicious cycle.
This chick needs a psych eval and maybe jail or mental hospital time too. If her bizarre behavior is left unchecked, it could have tragic consequences. Now, I hope and pray that that does not happen, but I am not going to bury my head in the sand, either. There have been too many celebrity-stalking cases and cases of sick teens running amok and the parents claiming "I didn't know my teen was mentally unstable". I have a simple solution: talk to your teen. Ask them what is going on in their lives. Do not belittle and make light of their problems. What may seem like nothing to you, may seem like the end of the world to them. Remember, you were that age once too. If your teen seems troubled, and you feel like you can't solve it, seek professional help. Talk to their doctor, to your pastor, to their guidance counselor or the school nurse. Look on the internet. Focus On The Family is a great resource for parents who want to build a relationship with their kids. Don't be their friend, be their PARENT. That is what they really want. If your teen rolls their eyes at you, they are listening. There is hope and there is help.
On the privacy issue: kids should not have as much privacy as adults do. Kids need protection and guidance. It's the paradox of being a kid. On the one hand, we want our parents to leave us alone, but on the other hand, we want them over our shoulder.
Granted, overbearing parents are just as bad as overly permissive parents (studies prove this). Parents need a happy medium. Unfortunately, today's world is a lot scarier and parents have to protect their kids from so much more than my parents had to when I was growing up (I'm almost 24). The happy medium of today is yesterday's overprotection. The lines are shifting and it leaves both the kids and the parents confused.
Now for the girl's roll in this: Kids are not robots. They have their own free will and make their own choices. Parents play a roll, but the kid makes the ultimate choice whether they want to be "good" or "bad" (mental illness notwithstanding). She has made a choice (consiously or unconsiously) to act psychotic. If she chooses to act on her delusions (which again, I hope and pray she doesn't), she will have to own up to her misdeed(s) and pay the consequences. Depending on where she lives and her age, her parents may have some consequences as well. The bottom line is that this girl needs some serious help. She needs to be put under the care of a competent psychiatrist ASAP, BEFORE she hurts someone.

America the Blind

There is a sad trend in America right now. People, some as young as 10 years old, are blindly swallowing what the media (television, print, entertainers) is telling them about their world. They idolize these figures and blindly follow whatever they say. The "do as I say, not as I do" mentality at its worst. Wake up!!! Just because someone puts out a great album or acts in an Oscar-winning movie, does not make that person any more knowledgable about current affairs as Joe Schmo walking down the street.
Case in point: Young Green Day fans. All these young people know about the world comes from American Idiot and MTV. If Green Day hates Bush, they're going to hate Bush -- and not even bother to find out why. If you ask them why they hate Bush, they'll tell you "because Billie Joe said so." That's not a valid reason. I don't even think Green Day would want someone to form an opinion based on a song from their record. They don't claim to be experts, so why do people take their word as an expert opinion???
I do not follow GD blindly. I disagree with their reasons to dislike Bush. I think Bush let down the Conservatives who elected him (by passing reckless pork-barreled spending bills), and his business partners have a monopoly on cushy government contracts. The one thing we have to remember about the Iraq war is that we NEVER hear about the good things we're doing. It's just not sexy. If we heard even 10% of the good things that are happening it would make the Left-wingnut peaceniks look like the buffoons they are. I personally think we should have waited longer between invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, but Afghani AND Iraqi elections are worth way more than my discontent.
What the majority of America is failing to see (Green Day included) is that not everyone who enters the service is going to die while in the service. The media portrays military service as a death sentence and it's not. What they won't tell you is that the majority of military members who die never die in a combat zone. They die while on leave or liberty (liberty=after working hours or on a weekend). And it is usually their own fault (i.e. drunk driving, acting stupid, throwing the safety precautions they are trained to follow out the window). Most mishaps NEVER occur in a combat zone. Take that CNN!!!

A Rememberance of Fallen Friends

Robert Elortegui 1973-2005
Thomas Brantley 1978-2005
Nestor Otero 1978-2005

Though the words to the following song do not necessarily reflect the circumstances of my friends' deaths, I think of it when I think of them.

JAR (Jason Andrew Relva)
by Mike Pritchard

My friend drove off the other day
Now he's gone and all they say
Is you gotta live it up while life goes on
But now I see I'm mortal too
I can't live my life like you
Gotta live it up while life goes on

And I think it's alright
That I do what I like
Cause that's the way I wanna live
And so I give
And I'm still giving

Now I wonder about my friend
If he gave all he could give
Cause he lived his life
Like I live mine
If you could see inside my head
Then you'd start to understand
The things I value in my heart

You know that
I know that
You're watching me

Gotta make a plan
Gotta do what's right
Can't run around in circles
If you wanna build a life
But I don't wanna make a plan
For a day faraway
While I'm young
And while I'm able
All I wanna do is...

On September 28, 2005 I lost three friends and colleagues in a helicopter crash. I had known the two pilots for 2 years and the AW for about 9 months. My last work day I saw Mr. Elortegui and he was so full of life. He just announced to the shop (I was a PR) that he was engaged. We were surprised, but happy for him. I'll never forget his smile as he wished me luck in my post-Navy life. His smile was one of those that lit up a room. He was the kind of person who could cheer you up even if the world seemed like it was ending. Mr. Brantley was really nice as well. He and one of the other pilots looked a lot alike and checked in at the same time and I called them twins. When I'd see him, I'd tell Mr. Brantley, "Sir, I saw your twin today." He'd laugh and deny that they looked anything alike. I did not know Otero (as he liked to be called) very well. I trained him , and he was a nice guy. But what I do remember is that when he was with a certain other AW, all hell broke loose. These two would horse around and act like little kids and drive me crazy. The day I left I found out Otero was married.
At their memorial there were three helmets with their photos next to them. I could not look at them w/o crying. When the bagpipe player played Amazing Grace, I lost it. I still cannot talk about it w/o getting emotional. This was my squadron's second Class A mishap in 19 years. I am haunted by images of these three. When I see someone who resembles them, I look twice and then realise that I won't see them again on this side of Heaven. When I close my eyes, I can't get Mr. Elortegui's smile out of my head. I will miss them very much.

2005 has been a hard year filled with losses. In March, I lost my good friend and paintball buddy Alan. He was murdered. Then last month, I lost three friends in a helo crash. Two weeks prior, one of my husband's sister squadrons lost two pilots in a crash. 2005 is my 1983. In 1983, my mother (and I) almost lost my dad to a brain hemmorage and stroke. It was a very hard year for my mother. She had to care for me (I was 2) and my dad who needed a lot of care. Wake me up when September ends.

Rants, Quotes, and Other Little Tid-Bits

- It wasn't long ago that I was just like you ("Emenius Sleepus" by Michael Ryan Pritchard)

- The world may not mean a whole lot to you, but you may mean the world to someone else. (Michael Ryan Pritchard)

- If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.

- If it ain't a baby, you ain't pregnant.

- Freedom without responsibility is license. Freedom without boundaries is anarchy.

- Freedom isn't free.

- There is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

- There is no one more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. (Malcolm X)

- What the majority of America is failing to see is that not everyone who enters the service is going to die while in the service. The media portrays military service as a death sentence and it's not. What they won't tell you is that the majority of military members who die never die in a combat zone. They die while on leave or liberty (liberty=after working hours or on a weekend). And it is usually their own fault (ie drunk driving, acting stupid, throwing safety precautions they are trained to follow out the window). Most mishaps NEVER occur in a combat zone. Take that CNN!!!

The Sanctity of Life Vs. The Sanctity of Roe V. Wade

Abortion (and sanctity of life issues in general) in America boils down to two religious positions: the sanctity of life and the sanctity of Roe V. Wade. These sides each have their own Scripture and their own respective deities. The sanctity of life side (known henceforth as the Life side) has the Holy Bible (God's Word) as its Scripture and Yahweh as its deity. The sanctity of Roe V. Wade side (known henceforth as either the Roe side or the Death side) has the text of the 1972 US Supreme Court Decision Roe V. Wade (among other works such as Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species) as its Scripture and man as its deity. If any life is to be considered to have worth, then the "logic" of Roe and abortion evaporate. If life begins at conception (which it does), then abortion is state sanctioned murder (which it is). If embryos are babies (which they are), then embryonic stem cell research is state sanctioned murder (which it is). If Terri Schiavo was a person (which she is), then her death by starvation was state-sanctioned murder (which it is). What do all three of these statements have in common? They all hinge on a so called Constitutional right to Abortion, the Roe V. Wade decision (which is a Supreme Court ruling, NOT a constitutional amendment). If any of these hideous practices (abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia) become outlawed, then Roe is threatened.
The American Left treats Roe as if it is Gospel. This decision has been responsible for millions of innocent deaths in America. These babies did not ask to die, they were forced against their will. It is our own Holocaust and it continues to this very day. Ward Churchill had it wrong when he said that the victims of 9/11 were "little Eichmanns". The die-hard Roe supporters on the Death side are more like Adolf Eichmann (For those whose history is a little rusty, Adolf Eichmann was one of the Nazi masterminds of the Final Solution aka the Holocaust. He was a despicable man). They have a utilitarian view of life and the worth of a person, as Adolf Eichmann and the other die-hard Nazis did. The Nazis started their program of death on mentally retarded children, then they progressed to adults, then political prisoners, Jews and other people they felt were "undesirable" and a threat to "racial purity". It is a slippery slope. We said "Never Again" when we found out the truth of the Nazi regime, but it was a lie. America is progressing forward (or backward) to the same place. Brave New World seems more like Scary New Auschwitz.
The Roe side says that abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia are for the "greater good". How the purposeful killing of another human being can be a good thing is beyond me. The Nazis believed that the systemic killing (and experimentation) of those they felt were "undesirable" was for the "greater good" of the "Aryan race" (Aryans were a tribe of Germanic barbarians, but that is another story).
Abortion is seen as "good" for the mother. If a baby will be an inconvenience the mother from fulfilling her own ambitions (NEWSFLASH -- children are not always convenient), or a baby will hurt her mental well-being (NEWSFLASH -- children will tax the mental health of their parents) or the mother is not financially stable or ready to have a baby (NEWSFLASH -- who but the very rich are financially perfect to have a child when they get pregnant?) or any other selfish rationalization they can come up with to rid themselves of such a "terrible burden". If the mother is too poor to raise a child, the most humane thing she can do is kill her baby? That's not the best she can do. Choice in America means one choice: Abortion. The best choice the mother can make is LIFE. If she cannot raise her child on her own, she can put him or her up for adoption. There are thousands of loving couples who cannot have children who would love to adopt a child. Another reason abortion is so pervasive is because the Roe side wants sexual freedom without limits and without responsibility. They want to "empower our children with sexual knowledge", not save them from AIDS (like they say). They also want to provide Planned Parenthood (and other groups like them) with more future "customers". A child cannot get an Aspirin from the school nurse without parental permission, but she can be taken across state lines for surgery (abortion)? What are these people thinking?
As far as embryonic stem cells are concerned, they have not yielded any cures nor any viable treatments, only tumours. ADULT stem cells, on the other hand, have yielded many successful treatments -- without killing a soul. Why has the Roe side remained silent? It is because they are still holding onto the false hope that killing one baby will help another person live. They feel that one life saved is worth the life of thousands (or more) of embryos (lives that will never be lived).
Euthanasia. It's an ugly word for an ugly concept. Euthanasia is based on the belief that not everyone's life is worth living; that some people either want to die or are so __________ that they are better off dead. Doctor-assisted suicide is an example. Hitler's child and adult euthanasia programs are others.

This is me with my husband in 2004. 

Warning

This blog is not for the faint of heart nor the thin skinned. Some of the opinions found in this blog may be considered offensive to some people. Get over it.