I'm back

It's been a long time since I posted here and my life has changed radically. I don't think I have, but my life has.

I am an unwilling widow.

It's not as if we didn't see it coming. Herb was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's shortly after we moved to Nebraska in 2007. His condition deteriorated until he died on May 14, 2011. Some day I'll write about those years--I kept notes--but not now. It hurts too much.

Now I'm not a stranger to grief. In fact, grief and I are old friends. Our beloved son, Teddy, died at age 16 of an aneurysm in the cerebellum. And raising a severely retarded, autistic child (Teddy's younger brother, Allen) is a daily walk with grief. Allen is now 48 years old and doing beautifully. 

So, knowing I was going to have to renew my acquaintance with Old Man Grief again, I thought I was resigned and ready for it.

I was wrong.

Losing my best and closest friend of 57 years cut deep. The sudden emptiness--I hadn't understood that he was there for me even when he wasn't physically present. Perhaps it was knowing he would call to check on me or I could call him to share something new or ask his opinion or just fuss about something, knowing he was on my side, that made him seem so close when he was away. And knowing he'd be back. That was the best thing of all.

When he decided to retire so that we could move from Oklahoma to Nebraska to rescue grandchildren from a neglectful Mom, we entered a truly delightful time for us both. We enjoyed being together. We rented a house on five acres of land, with trees, a long, winding driveway and

Country peace and quiet (except for the sometimes rambunctious but always loving kids). Often, at night we would sneak out after everyone was asleep and lie on a hillside to gaze at the stars and talk. 

When our son remarried we took an apartment in Kansas City and had four  years of exploring, making new friends, and just enjoying hanging out together. We moved back to Nebraska to help with the grandchildren again and now, with the vision of hindsight, I think I sensed something wrong and instinctively knew I would need help. He never knew. 

But the loss blindsided me. And life itself seemed to gang up on me. I'd been driving without an accident for over 50 years and suddenly a teenager "tee-boned" me, causing severe damage to my car. Appliances broke down, one by one. I had to have surgery for glaucoma--and more. Even our precious little Cavalier Spaniel, Angel, died of a sudden heart attack. And more. 

If I hadn't had the love and support of a treasured daughter and son-in-law and son and grandchildren I really can't imagine getting through all that.

But I am getting through it.  Life is a precious experience that I am grateful to have. 

I don't know what I'm going to blog about here. Or even if I'm going to. But for now I'm back.

Strangers and friends

"Strangers are friends you haven't met yet."
I said that to a new friend who is moving into town last week and hearing myself made me stop and think. That may have been true when my children were young, and each time we moved to a new town and state I quoted that to my children.

But it's not a quote I would use to my grandchildren because the world has changed for the worse. And I feel a little guilty about using it to my friend because he has small children.

I grew up in a middling-sized college town in the South. When I was young I was free to roam a good-sized suburban neighborhood at will either on foot or on my bike. There was a war on but there were no murders in our town. The most famous murder in that day happened in Ohio and made the national news, it was such a rarity. I rode a bus downtown to go to movies or shopping and by the time I was in high school and had my driver's license I could pretty well go anywhere I wanted at just about any time (although it wasn't until I was in college that I stayed out at night).

Today not a single local evening news cycle goes by without a report of murder, drive by shootings, domestic homicide and gang killings. I don't dare smile at a child in the line at a supermarket for fear of terrorizing a youngster who has been warned not to talk to strangers.

That's what happens when a society turns away from God and the Ten Commandments. And it will get worse if we don't turn back soon, although in a world of home invasions and kidnappings it's hard to imagine things getting worse.

To you who deride Christianity I ask, "What is wrong with a world in which  you treat others as you would have them treat you?" Isn't it enough that it's hard to live like that? But when you have the assurance and the faith that others are at least attempting to be fair and kind, isn't that a better place to be than in a world where everyone is out for himself and to heck with anything that gets in their way?

Today we have to teach our children to beware of strangers. A day doesn't go by without news reports of missing children and horrible kidnappings are killings. Today strangers are to beware of.
What a terrible difference in a single generation.

Caveat

I think it's time for a new resolution -- to try to keep up with this blog. With the new Presidential campaign in full swing (although I'm still hoping for an open convention), I'll have plenty of feelings to share here. As a political junkie, I've been observing and participating in the American political process actively since 1952 and intend to continue to do so until my 100th birthday.

I do want to state from the outset that I seek no one's good opinion or approval. I plan to write about what I'm thinking and why and, frankly, since I arrive at those through a good deal of research and thought, I don't care whether the reader approves. That said, I would appreciate your thoughts if you disagree, especially if you back your statements with facts that you've researched. I am interested in fact much more than opinion because it seems to me that journalists today have forgotten that reporting should be based on fact.

In addition to all that, I plan to write MY opinion of facts I find. I don't pretend to be unbiased -- I am not a reporter. At least not here.

So if you like to read what I'm thinking, please do. And do tell me what you're thinking about, as well. But please don't expect me to write under restrictions imposed by you and your standards. I have my own standards and will abide by those.

Raising Cain

My daughter, Teena, recently asked me what interests me about Herman Cain (for President). I really enjoyed sitting down and noting the things about him that have caught my attention:

I think the two things I most like about him are, first: He's not a politician. That will be a disadvantage to some extent because he will have to learn how to handle Congress but I suspect that even the new Congress is so sick of the status quo that they may be more willing to work with him if he's elected.

He is someone who knows economics and knows how to create jobs. He has a long history of taking companies (there were two others before Godfather's Pizza but the press is ignoring that) and turning them into profitable ventures.

I don't like his tax plan as much as I do the Fair Tax but he's the only one serious about getting rid of the current tax code. We have to get rid of that mess -- no one really understands it, not even the IRS. But the IRS has the power to enforce any interpretation of it that they choose in any given situation.

I like his position on immigration: Secure the borders and effectively use and enforce the immigration policies that are already on the books. (He has been falsely accused of promoting a "Wall of China surrounded by moats filled with alligators." That's not what he said, although if it kept the drug runners out, that wouldn't be a bad idea!!!

I love the fact that he's a black man, and a brilliant, successful one to boot. He's an example of what this country is at it's best: a place where a person whose ancestors and even family rose from oppression to the ultimate in success. He is walking, living proof that the Negro race is just as good as the other races. (As is Bill Cosby, by the way.)

I think he has the ability to surround himself with people who know the things he doesn't (he's a little short in the military department, for example). He has said if he wouldn't send his own children to a particular war zone, he wouldn't send someone else's.

I like his views on education, too. He believes in incentives for teachers and in getting the Federal government out of education. He thinks individual communities should have control over their own schools without union and/or government intervention.

I don't even know his views on abortion or homosexuality because those issues just aren't as important to me as the other things! But I'm sure I'll disagree with him about some things. I'm also sure that he believes in listening to the American people and that we wouldn't ever see a bill passed on his insistence that everyone could "find out what's in it after we pass it." (That's a Nancy Pelosi quote.)

I believe he would be a strong President on the International stage. He wouldn't apologize for America's mistakes (and yes, we've made mistakes and will continue to make them -- but I suspect we'll make fewer under him.

He believes in developing American energy resources on all levels but not through Federal funding. He would encourage getting rid of irresponsible environmental regulations and encourage not only drilling but American industry in developing alternative energy -- without resorting to government subsidies like ones for corn to promote ethanol production!

He's a good guy, but the media is going to crucify him. He served in the Dept of the Navy but has been criticized for not serving in the military. (They never mentioned that about Obama.) He's also been criticized for not participating in Civil Rights marches -- but he was under 18 at the time and a high school student! The best thing we could do for this country is to pass a law saying that the media can report only facts, never opinion as fact. Can you imagine the hue and cry against that? Reporters now operate on the assumption that if you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth.

Anyway, that's why I like him.

Surprise!

So now we learn that some of the rebels in Libya are members of Al Quaeda! Surprise, surprise. (Click on the title to see the article).

Would someone like to explain to me why Obama, without consulting Congress, bombs Libya to keep a militant dictator from killing his own people in the streets when he turned away from Ahmadinejad when he did it in Iran?

The Best Thing on the Web

Thanks to my smart daughter, I just discovered groupon.com.

This is going to be fun.

If you'd like to try it out, try this http://www.groupon.com/r/uu19277042

Wake UP

I simply HAVE to wake up and blog! There's so much going on out there that it's really hard to stay silent.

After years of hearing people like Bill Maher and Jeanene Garofola call President Bush a liar and stupid and even calling for his assassination (which was seen often on the Daily Kos), not to mention the thorough assassination through outright lies and refusal to report the truth about Sarah Palin and what she did for Alaska (not to mention the disgusting attacks on her children), the "intellectual" left self-styled progressives put on their halos and most innocent looks while they characterize everyone -- not just Fox News and "tea partiers" as uninformed, stupid and useless.

They are tireless. And I wonder sometimes if they're correct when I see Obama's ratings climbing when he does a quick soft-shoe (suddenly agreeing to extend the Bush tax reforms after years of campaigning against them, for example, and pretending to "compromise" with the newly-elected conservative members of Congress) to look like he's listening to the people. There's not a sincere bone in that man's body. He's just charming. So what? So is George Clooney but he's not smart enough to run the country. Heck, he's not even a serious actor!

Obama is having a great time in the White House. While nearly half of America is jobless and fighting for their lives, he's hopping all over the country in Air Force One and throwing big parties for foreign leaders who are at least smart enough to travel on commercial transportation (even if the goods they ship to the US are shoddy -- heck, we buy them and don't complain. We get what we deserve!)

Obama is slowly but surely propagandizing the American people into thinking they can't take care of themselves. He's controlling our speech because some idiot nutcase shot up a shopper's parking lot -- but when another idiot killed our troops on a military base, he barely said a word and the media certainly didn't hesitate to "target" conservatives.

Maybe the entire nation is sick -- Obamamania is certainly an invasive and dangerous virus.

My Review of Triple Basket Deep Fryer

Originally submitted at Brylane Home

Fry different foods at once! Cool-touch stainless design comes with 3 baskets: a jumbo for big batches, plus 2 side-by-side baskets for smaller batches. Immersion element preheats and recovers oil temperature quickly. Adjustable thermostat, ready light, odor filter, detachable, easy-clean 4½-lt....

Triple Basket Deep Fryer

You people must be kidding

By Sunnye from Bellevue, NE on 1/22/2011

 

1out of 5

Cons: Flimsy construction, Poor quality

Describe Yourself: Avid Cook

Made in China! This is just another example of the junky products we keep getting from China and certainly is testament to buying American only. In the first place, it's flimsy -- the top doesn't fit, the controls don't work and the cord doesn't attach to the body of the machine.

This is a piece of junk and I'm not going to even spend the money to send it back -- it goes in the trash and I will certainly think twice before I ever buy another appliance online. You can only tell how good the construction is by seeing it first-hand.

(legalese)

THIS Is Some of What is Behind the Tea Party's Ire

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post writes: “The first African American president takes office, and almost immediately we see the birth of a big, passionate national movement - overwhelmingly white and lavishly funded - that tries its best to delegitimize that president, seeks to thwart his every initiative, and manages to bring the discredited and moribund opposition party roaring back to life.”

Think back to 2007. There was dramatic vilification of the President, calls for his assassination, calling him a liar and stupid and worse. Obama said Bush was spending too much money while voting in the Senate to spend more.

The American voter objected strenuously to the increase in the national debt and they believed Obama’s promise of hope for the future meant fiscal responsibility.

But “almost immediately” -- in two years -- Obama has spent recklessly and carelessly, according to the US Treasury Department, in 19 months, Obama increased the national debt by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the accumulative national debt from Washington through Reagan. In four months (May through August 2010) Obama ran cumulative deficits of $464 billion, which is more that the Bush administration ran through the entire fiscal year of 2008. As far as the GCP is concerned each of Obama’s two years rack up the biggest federal deficit percentages since World War II.

So. Wrecking the national economy is one reason for Tea Party ire.

“One thing that struck me from the beginning about the Tea Party rhetoric is the idea of reclaiming something that has been taken away.” Okay. Let’s look at what has been taken away: The freedom of the individual to choose the kind of health care s/he wants. The freedom NOT to have health care insurance if you don’t want it. (There are people who can afford to pay for their health care without depending on insurance.)

The freedom to choose doctors, keep a health plan you like and the freedom to choose high-deductible coverage.

The freedom to hire or not to hire minorities and/or illegal immigrants.

The freedom of business owners to make business decisions without government intervention.

Most of all, though, with the dramatic increase in the size of government (14.5% in two years), he is denying us freedom from “Big Brother” and massive government oversight of our lives. And that’s just a beginning.

“Again, who's in possession of the government, if not the American people? The non-American people? The un-American people?” It looks like the latter. People who promise transparency then refuse to listen to ideas from the opposition (specifically Obama’s refusal to listen to alternative ideas for the health care legislation and his cramming it down legislator’s throats without anyone even reading the bill).

“So who stole the government? What makes some people feel more disenfranchised now than they were, say, during the presidency of George W. Bush?” And just exactly what do you refer to here? What disenfranchisement? This is a vague accusation without substance.

“After all, it was Bush who inherited a budget surplus and left behind a suffocating deficit - I'm not being tendentious, just stating the facts.” True, and that’s part of why Obama was elected. But certainly no one expected Obama to more than triple that debt in two years. He was supposed to remedy it, not add to it.

“Bush was vilified by critics while he was in office but not with the suggestion that somehow the government had been seized or usurped - that it had fallen into hands that were not those of "the American people." Did you not hear the outcry over the Patriot Act? That’s exactly what was being said. Both Bush and Cheney were accused of treason, no less.

“But why would this concern about oppressive, intrusive government become so acute now? Why didn't, say, government surveillance of domestic phone calls and e-mails get the constitutional fundamentalists all worked up?” Because the surveillance of phone calls and e-mails were only of people who were contacting terrorists and terror cells. And because a growing Federal government has no need for existing except to intrude on the lives of the citizens. That’s what government agencies do.

“I wonder how he can be seen as "elitist," when he grew up in modest circumstances - his mother was on food stamps for a time - and paid for his fancy-pants education with student loans. I wonder how people who genuinely cherish the American dream can look at a man who lived that dream and feel no connection, no empathy.” I can explain this – Obama was raised by his grandparents (his grandmother was a banker) and attended two very expensive and exclusive Muslim schools in Hawaii. He attended Harvard after working for some high-powered political operatives in Chicago (it was Michelle who had student loans to pay off). And he attended Columbia and Harvard, hardly public education. He’s elitist all the way.

“I ask myself what's so different about Obama, and the answer is pretty obvious: He's black.” That is hardly it – more than 10% of the population of the US is black, and there is quite a large number who are extremely successful in all walks of life.

What is so different about Obama is that he is young and inexperienced. He did nothing to earn or even to qualify for his position. He’s just a pretty face and a good actor – a modern Harry Belafonte with powerful friends.

So you begin your article by saying it’s not racist to differ with Obama or to criticize him or to be a Conservative or a member of the Tea Party. And you end your piece by saying the only explanation for opposition to Obama is racism.

You can’t have it both ways.

Letter to Steven and Cokie Roberts

This morning I watched Cokie Roberts and her husband Steven on Book TV talking about his new book about immigration in America.

A very great deal of that discussion involved a diatribe by Steven about how the current discussion about immigration is typical of America. He spent a long time discussing how different ethnic people came here and suffered discrimination.

Steven and Cokie don't seem to understand the relevant discussion -- or they are intentionally obfuscating it. So to them I ask:

Just what about the word "illegal" do you not understand.

NO ONE -- nada -- no one is against LEGAL immigration. That's not even under discussion. It's the people who sneak into this country in intentional and direct defiance of our laws that we object to and that is what is under discussion here. It has absolutely nothing to do with people who follow the rules and come here honestly to enjoy our country and its benefits.

It's because of ILLEGAL immigrants who refuse to obey our laws and learn our language that we are encountering so many problems.

The fact that politicians feel they have to cater to this voting bloc (who should not be voting at all and who do so ILLEGALLY) show what a huge problem this has become.

Shame on you, Steven and Cokie Roberts, for not facing the real problem and for making the existing problem worse by shrouding a serious problem in a fog of lies.

Letter to John Kerry

“We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening,” Sen. John Kerry told reporters after touring the Boston Medical Center yesterday.

Sen. Kerry, I'm a member of that electorate. I pay attention to what's happening because I've been interested in politics and American history since childhood. I watch CBS, NBC and ABC in the mornings, CNN in the afternoon and Fox News at night. I read my local newspaper (slightly left-leaning), the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and bloggers at The Kos and The Huffington Post. I read both conservative writers and writers like Fareed Zakaria and Thomas Friedman.

I check "facts" for myself and prefer to be told what actually happened and shown what actually was said instead of being told what someone else thinks. That's the value of Fox news, by the way -- people like Bill O'Reilly try to give two sides of facts for any issue. I don't care for hysterics, which leads me to ignore people like Coulter, Beck and Limbaugh.

I find that this kind of research still leaves me time to hold down a job that I love and care for a rather large family which includes teenagers.

I'm the descendant of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a student of history, the Constitution and contemporary politics.

And I find your comment insulting and evidence that you speak without doing research and you don't hesitate to speak authoritatively on something you know nothing about. This doesn't surprise me because I followed your campaign for the presidency with much interest. I probably know more about you, your morals and your mind than your wife does!

You are an embarrassment to the Senate, Sir. You should have been tried and convicted of treason after you met with the Viet Cong in Paris all those years ago. YOU don't know what is happening and YOU are the one who doesn't bother to check your facts.

Your statement is a perfect illustration of the old cliche about the pot calling the kettle black.

And I'm not even a Tea Partier.....yet.

Well, I Tried........

It's not that I haven't been keeping up.
I have.

It's that I haven't put my blogging as a top priority. I think I'll do that now -- at least a blog a week --and I think I'll cover subjects other than politics even though politics is still my favorite subject!

For now, though, I've been thinking:

There is no doubt to anyone who has seriously studied the history of our nation that although some of the founders were not Christians (the political founders, that is) the original founders -- the Puritans, etc. -- were most definitely Christians and came here to start a Christian nation.

Seems to me that Christians have inadvertently caused the problems we have now.

Look at it this way: Christians try to be accepting, forgiving and loving. They try to be an inclusive society. (Now don't get off the subject by pointing out that Christians throughout history and even today sometimes are far less than accepting, forgiving and loving. That's so but serious Christians try hard to be those things in their every day lives.) They welcome "sinners" because we are all sinners and need to help each other.

So what has happened to this nation (and to many of our Protestant denominations) is that the people have accepted those who do not espouse Christian morality and ethics into our midst, hoping that by example Christians will win them over. Now please don't consider this a slam against other religions. It's intended as a slam against all those who would sneer at Christian concepts and deny the basis of our heritage.

Christians are even willing to live and let live but that's been one-sided. The society has turned against the founding principles and Christians are learning that being accepting and tolerant is not a two-way street. Showing non-Christians "The Way" hasn't produced results and the "progressive liberal" element takes full advantage of their status as citizens to turn the nation away from Christianity with hatred and viciousness. Moveon.org and the dailyKos as well as the Huffington Post are examples of hateful people spouting their evil and lies.

I recently read "American Wife" by -- I don't remember. Look it up. And I was shocked at the extremes to which liberals will go to call President Bush stupid. That's really what that book was all about. The bottom line, as it were. I was disgusted that someone would write their hatred with such transparency and, too, that a publisher would publish it. It's not surprising that The New York Times (who are totally irresponsible in their hatred of all Conservatives) would tout it as a "best seller." It's a shabby book and anyone with any sense of decency would be ashamed to author it. But liberals obviously think Conservatives are stupid and they can get away with stuff like that.

Oops I tried to get away from politics and it didn't work. You know, I really love this country and its history. I am proud to be a descendant of the only minister who signed the Declaration of Independence and to be the grandchild (no greats there) of a rebel soldier in the Civil War...and of a lot of other ancestors who did some pretty great things for this nation.

And I hate to see it turned into a European-like socialistic state. I don't understand why progressive liberals think that descendants of people who left European countries looking for freedom and the ability to earn their way to prosperity would ever accept a government-controlled "nanny" state.

Goodbye, America

by WAYNE ALLYN ROOT


Barack Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos -- thereby destroying capitalism and our country from within.
Barack Obama is my college classmate (Columbia University, class of '83). As Glenn Beck correctly predicted from day one, Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University. They outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with government spending and entitlement demands.

Add up the clues below. Taken individually they're alarming. Taken as a whole, it is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority that desperately needs government for survival ... and can be counted on to always vote for bigger government. Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it.

--Universal health care. The health care bill had very little to do with health care. It had everything to do with unionizing millions of hospital and health care workers, as well as adding 15,000 to 20,000 new IRS agents (who will join government employee unions). Obama doesn't care that giving free health care to 30 million Americans will add trillions to the national debt. What he does care about is that it cements the dependence of those 30 million voters to Democrats and big government. Who but a socialist revolutionary would pass this reckless spending bill in the middle of a depression?

--Cap and trade. Like health care legislation having nothing to do with health care, cap and trade has nothing to do with global warming. It has everything to do with redistribution of income, government control of the economy and a criminal payoff to Obama's biggest contributors. Those powerful and wealthy unions and contributors (like GE, which owns NBC, MSNBC and CNBC) can then be counted on to support everything Obama wants. They will kick-back hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party to keep them in power. The bonus is that all the new taxes on Americans with bigger cars, bigger homes and businesses helps Obama "spread the wealth around."

-- Make Puerto Rico a state. Why? Who's asking for a 51st state? Who's asking for millions of new welfare recipients and government entitlement addicts in the middle of a depression? Certainly not American taxpayers. But this has been Obama's plan all along. His goal is to add two new Democrat senators, five Democrat congressman and a million loyal Democratic voters who are dependent on big government.

-- Legalize 12 million illegal immigrants. Just giving these 12 million potential new citizens free health care alone could overwhelm the system and bankrupt America. But it adds 12 million reliable new Democrat voters who can be counted on to support big government. Add another few trillion dollars in welfare, aid to dependent children, food stamps, free medical, education, tax credits for the poor, and eventually Social Security.

-- Stimulus and bailouts. Where did all that money go? It went to Democrat contributors, organizations (ACORN), and unions -- including billions of dollars to save or create jobs of government employees across the country. It went to save GM and Chrysler so that their employees could keep paying union dues. It went to AIG so that Goldman Sachs could be bailed out (after giving Obama almost $1 million in contributions). A staggering $125 billion went to teachers (thereby protecting their union dues). All those public employees will vote loyally Democrat to protect their bloated salaries and pensions that are bankrupting America. The country goes broke, future generations face a bleak future, but Obama, the Democrat Party, government, and the unions grow more powerful. The ends justify the means.

-- Raise taxes on small business owners, high-income earners, and job creators. Put the entire burden on only the top 20 percent of taxpayers, redistribute the income, punish success, and reward those who did nothing to deserve it (except vote for Obama). Reagan wanted to dramatically cut taxes in order to starve the government.

Obama wants to dramatically raise taxes to starve his political opposition. With the acts outlined above, Obama and his regime have created a vast and rapidly expanding constituency of voters dependent on big government; a vast privileged class of public employees who work for big government; and a government dedicated to destroying capitalism and installing themselves as socialist rulers by overwhelming the system.

Add it up and you've got the perfect Marxist scheme -- all devised by my Columbia University college classmate Barack Obama using the Cloward and Piven Plan.

From a Gentle Heart

Just finished reading Laura Bush's Spoken From the Heart. Lovely book, lovely life. And surprising to me. I'm a fairly political creature -- keep up with the news via CNN, ABC, NBC and Fox so I know pretty much what's going on. I was amazed at what Laura Bush accomplished during her White House years.

Of course I knew she founded the annual book fair in D.C. because I've been an avid watcher of those on C-Span since the very first one. And I knew some of her work in literacy in the US but had no idea she was so involved in Afghanistan, Africa and Burma. She certainly did not waste her time or her influence as First Lady.

The book is calm and lovely, just like she is personally. I would have ranted at the unjust treatment she suffered not only for herself but for her husband -- quietly putting up with the lies and slander and all the viciousness rained upon them by the left. It hurt and her pain is evident in the book but she keeps it subdued and calm. That, it seems to me, makes the sensitive reader completely empathetic to her and her situation. I know I experienced a sense of real anger when she casually mentioned an archivist at a museum who pointed out a dress of Jackie Kennedy's and compared it to one Mrs. Bush had worn, saying the color Kennedy chose was more tasteful that Mrs. Bush's choice.

She does take Nancy Pelosi to task for calling her husband stupid and she does it in a lady-like way, describing her hurt and pointing out that Pelosi (and Reid, who was equally ugly in his own way) continued to be invited (and to accept those invitations) to the White House. That takes an immense amount of Christian courage and class -- and it shows those two up as the tacky and stupid idiots that they truly are.

It's a lovely book, quiet and dignified -- a gentle voice of crystal clarity in the midst of the cackling cacaphony of our present political cesspool.

Catch Up

I haven't been good about blogging lately. Maybe it's the absolutely stunning stupidity in the national political scene that has me frustrated. I don't know. I can't believe the nastiness -- Dems whining about threats of violence (most of which seem to be a product of the MainMedium's imagination) after six or seven years of threatening to assassinate President Bush and calling him traitor and worse. Moveon.org and that ilk sure love to dish it out and if they don't get it back, they manufacture it.

What a bunch of creeps.

I haven't joined the tea party folks but after seeing the national networks' and the President's staff's reactions, I think I will. If I can't attend I'll send money. If that makes me a racist and all that other stuff -- too bad.

Obama and his crew are working hard to make the term "racist" a badge of honor.

Sad

Okay. I've given Obama plenty of time to show what he really is. And it looks like he's someone who is going to have his way whether the American people want him to or not. It looks like he doesn't know a thing about American history, American values or the American constitution. Since he taught constitutional law at one point I'd rather think he's stupid rather than think he truly wants to turn us away from our heritage and our laws.

However, the way he's behaving, it looks to me like he wants to be ruler of the world and the best way he's come up with to do that is to destroy America economically, and he's well on his way down that path.

I wish the "birthers" would settle down. A child born to a person who is an American citizen is also an American citizen, no matter where he is born. We learned that in 7th grade civics. Obviously taking civics out of the classroom has left a certain number of our population ignorant of some basics.

What we should be asking is, for example, where's the proof that Obama is intelligent? Other than the media says so, that is. Why can't we see his grades? Where are the papers he wrote in the colleges he attended? Where is the evidence for the claim that he's above average in intelligence and in accomplishments?

We should be demanding that he back off on his use of Air Force One. Traveling to Williamsburg and to Baltimore in that airplane is stupid. Taking one trip after another to communities in the USA when he could conference with them on the computer is wasteful. His lifestyle in the White House (and the fact that he and Michelle need to "get away") shows a pitiful lack of sophistication.

We should insist that he learn to be a President instead of acting like a spoiled, narcissistic brat who has fancy toys to play with for the first time in his life.

As for Obama, he should quit whining about the challenge he was given (he asked for it) and quit making things worse.

Know what's even worse? The fact that we elected him to THE major office in the country without requiring him to earn it reflects on our intelligence as a people. That we allow him to lie to us again and again without fear of some sort of retaliation reflects more on us than it does on him.

So we have made our bed and now we have to lie here for another year before we can begin to get him (and his ilk) out of there.

Sad.

Pat Boone's "President Without A Country"

The president without a country
By Pat Boone

"We're no longer a Christian nation." - President Barack Obama, June 2007

" America has been arrogant." - President Barack Obama

"After 9/11, America didn't always live up to her ideals."- President Barack Obama

"You might say that America is a Muslim nation."- President Barack Obama, Egypt 2009

Thinking about these and other statements made by the man who wears the title of president. I keep wondering what country he believes he's president of.

In one of my very favorite stories, Edward Everett Hale's "The Man without a Country," a young Army lieutenant named Philip Nolan stands condemned for treason during the Revolutionary War, having come under the influence of Aaron Burr. When the judge asks him if he wishes to say anything before sentence is passed, young Nolan defiantly exclaims, "Damn the United States ! I wish I might never hear of the United States again!"

The stunned silence in the courtroom is palpable, pulsing. After a long pause, the judge soberly says to the angry lieutenant: "You have just pronounced your own sentence. You will never hear of the United States again.. I sentence you to spend the rest of your life at sea, on one or another of this country's naval vessels - under strict orders that no one will ever speak to you again about the country you have just cursed."

And so it was. Philip Nolan was taken away and spent the next 40 years at sea, never hearing anything but an occasional slip of the tongue about America. The last few pages of the story, recounting Nolan's dying hours in his small stateroom - now turned into a shrine to the country he fore swore - never fail to bring me to tears. And I find my own love for this dream, this miracle called America , refreshed and renewed. I know how blessed and unique we are.

But reading and hearing the audacious, shocking statements of the man who was recently elected our president - a young black man living the impossible dream of millions of young Americans, past and present, black and white - I want to ask him, "Just what country do you think you're president of?"

You surely can't be referring to the United States of America , can you? America is emphatically a Christian nation, and has been from its inception! Seventy percent of her citizens identify themselves as Christian. The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were framed, written and ratified by Christians. It's because this was, and is, a nation built on and guided by Judeo-Christian biblical principles that you, sir, have had the inestimable privilege of being elected her president.

You studied law at Harvard, didn't you, sir? You taught constitutional law in Chicago ? Did you not ever read the statement of John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and an author of the landmark "Federalist Papers": "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers - and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation - to select and prefer Christians for their rulers"?

In your studies, you surely must have read the decision of the Supreme Court in 1892: "Our lives and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian."

Did your professors have you skip over all the high-court decisions right up till the mid 1900's that echoed and reinforced these views and intentions? Did you pick up the history of American jurisprudence only in 1947, when for the first time a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson about a "wall of separation between church and state" was used to deny some specific religious expression - contrary to Jefferson ' s intent with that statement?

Or, wait a minute . were your ideas about America 's Christianity formed during the 20 years you were a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ under your pastor, Jeremiah Wright? Is that where you got the idea that " America is no longer a Christian nation"? Is this where you, even as you came to call yourself a Christian, formed the belief that " America has been arrogant"?

Even if that's the understandable explanation of your damning of your country and accusing the whole nation (not just a few military officials trying their best to keep more Americans from being murdered by Jihadist) of "not always living up to her ideals," how did you come up with the ridiculous, alarming notion that we might be "considered a Muslim nation"?

Is it because there are some 2 million or more Muslims living here, trying to be good Americans? Out of a current population of over 300 million, 70 percent of whom are Christians? Does that make us, by any rational definition, a "Muslim nation"?

Why are we not, then, a "Chinese nation"? A "Korean nation"? Even a "Vietnamese nation"? There are even more of these distinct groups in America than Muslims. And if the distinction you're trying to make is a religious one, why is America not "a Jewish nation"? There's actually a case to be made for the latter, because our Constitution - and the success of our Revolution and founding - owe a deep debt to our Jewish brothers.

Have you stopped to think what an actual Muslim America would be like? Have you ever really spent much time in Iran ? Even in Egypt ? You, having been instructed in Islam as a kid at a Muslim school in Indonesia and saying you still love the call to evening prayers, can surely picture our nation founded on the Quran, not the Judeo-Christian Bible, and living under Shariah law. Can't you? You do recall Muhammad's directives [Surah 9:5,73] to "break the cross" and "kill the infidel"?

It seems increasingly and painfully obvious that you are more influenced by your upbringing and questionable education than most suspected. If you consider yourself the president of a people who are "no longer Christian," who have "failed to live up to our ideals," who "have been arrogant," and might even be "considered Muslim" - you are president of a country most Americans don't recognize.

Could it be you are a president without a country?

Obama Wants Names

I remember during WWII being shocked at hearing how German children were encouraged to report friends and family to the government who opposed Hitler. Since I was being taught that I was free to speak out in opposition to my government if I had good reason to oppose something about it, reporting others for their political opinions seemed particularly frightening to me.

So now we learn that the Obama administration has done exactly that same thing. They want their supporters to report anyone who sends out e-mails opposing Obama's health plan. Shades of Nazi Germany.

I suggest all of us who oppose this latest offense to a free society of Obama's send in our own e-mail addresses (and I will send in the URL to this blog). There is safety in numbers even if Obama does call us "racists" and whatever else he comes up with.

Germany went down in flames because people were afraid to oppose Hitler. All signs are pointing in a similar direction for the United States and I, for one, will stand up and fight back. Bring on the gas chamber.

Cash for Our Clunker

So we (Hubby and I) decided to turn in our trusty 1995 Pontiac TransPort (his fav car of all time) to the cash for clunkers program.

Why not? It has 230,000 miles on it, occasionally runs its own battery down for no apparent reason and the windshield wipers work only in sunshine. Since we transport our Downs grandchild to a special school 25 miles away four days a week, we do need something newer and safer. We didn't plan to replace it. Ever. At least not until it decided to quit.

We are not enamored of new cars. We buy something we like and as long as it runs, it's good. We don't have egos tied up in our autos! (I loved my 1964 Corvair and drove it over 300,000 miles until it gave its last gasp and died.)

But our local auto dealer had some great deals on new cars and Cash for Clunkers simply made it possible for us to comfortably afford to replace the old one. Not even with a 2009, however. We bought a 2008.

We don't have our new car yet; we're waiting to be sure the dealer gets his money. But we're quite relieved to anticipate taking our grandson to school in a much, much safer vehicle.

HOWEVER, this program isn't going to affect global warming one tiny little smidgen. To do that Congress needs a SunSpot Regulation program as well as a Cap and Seal Volcano program. Controlling the wobble of the earth in its orbit might help, too, but stopping ALL emissions from fuel-guzzling vehicles world-wide wouldn't do it. Too many scientists who have controlled their research and experiments (and that includes NOT putting temperature gauges near the exhaust from jet aircraft) have data that is far more reliable than the politically-oriented "scientists" data.

What many people don't seem to realize is that as the economy slowed, too many people had to wait to replace cars, so the auto industry suffered. With this program everyone benefits -- the auto industry (and not just government-owned GM) and people get safer cars. Seems to me that once this is an accomplished fact, it's just dumb to not take advantage of it.

A TACKY WHITE HOUSE and Other Thoughts

Since the present President of the United States refers to the former President as "Bush" I see no reason why anyone should refer to him as anything other than "Obama." He doesn't havc enough respect for the office to wear a coat and tie in the Oval Office, anyway. He'd rather be cool. So it's just as cool to call him "Obama."

But it's not cool to be invited to dinner at the White House anymore. You might have to pay because it could look like he's currying your favor. (Has he ever done anything else with anyone?) How totally tacky.

I do hope he charges guests for staying in the Lincoln Bedroom. That should put the White House in the class with fancy B&Bs.

It's obvious that Obama and his staff have no concept of the things that built this country, like ethics and honor. He certainly doesn't know how to be economical -- we need to charge him personally for use of Air Force One, for example. That might make him stay home and use computer technology for meetings for a change.

Our brilliant media decided he was intelligent because he carried books around during the campaign (with the titles facing outward, of course). They didn't bother to ask him to find out if he was reading them -- to discover that, they'd have had to read the books so they could ask questions. Reporters don't read books; they just judge others. Sarah Palin was so insulted by Katy Curic's question about her reading that she flubbed her answer and the idiots in the press, never known for sensitivity anyway) thought that meant she didn't read.

Bill Maher is right. Some Americans are stupid but most of the really dumb ones are either liberal/progressive politicians, mainstream media or entertainers.