New Year Wishes

New Year's Greetings!
May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-endocrinologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your gynecologist, your plumber and the IRS.
May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.
May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere in the rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.
May. . . evening, December 31, find you seated around the dinner table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends, ushering in the new year ahead. You will find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.
May you wake up on January 1st, finding that the world has not come to an end, the lights work, the water faucets flow, and the sky has not fallen.
May you ponder how did this ultramodern civilization of ours manage to get itself traumatized by a possible slip of a blip on a chip made out of sand.
May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.
May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.
May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, and may your check book and your budget balance and may they include generous amounts for charity.
May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parents, your friends; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.
May we live as God intended, in a world at peace and the awareness of His love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart. -Author Unknown

Renee Fleming "Ave Maria"

A Holy Christmas to everyone.

A Christmas Note

A Christmas Note

This evening when I put my computer to sleep, it'll remain so until the first of the year. A philosophy book I'm reading now,"The Black Swan", at the end of the chapter I've just completed, makes what turns out to be a serendipitous observation reflecting what I'm thinking and doing regarding this. "I propose that if you want a simple step to a higher form of life, as distant from the animal as you can get...shut down the television set, minimize the time spent reading newspapers, ignore the blogs. Train your reasoning abilities to control your decisions. ... This insulation from the toxicity of the world will have an additional benefit: it will improve your well-being. You do not have to do much more in order to gain a deeper understanding of the things around you." This appeals to the erudite autodidact hermit in me.

I'll be spending time with my brother (who gave me "The Black Swan") and fiance' in LA, talking about ideas, art and music. We will share meals and have soaring conversation. This will help me remove some of the toxicity of the world from my intellect, emotions and spirit. There are things now in my life not right, and are troubling me. My Christian friends say put these things in God's hands; they are quite right. It is also right that we must make decisions, based on God's guidance.

When I get back on line, I'll be writing about the Crusades (not what you were taught about them), Islamism, atheism, and the "dark ages" (not what you were taught about them), and evil (some people think there is no such thing), and of course theology, and the spirit filled life. Of course there will be my silliness, fun and humor too.

I thank everyone that takes the time to read my blogs. There are many, and I'm humbled. To all I wish a Holy Christmas, full of fun, family, food, and fellowship. For the new year, may it be a fulfillment of what you need, want and desire for yourselves and your loved ones. May the Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you: The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.

Mary Did You Know...Kathy Mattea

My favorite arrangement and singer (oh what a voice!) of this song.

A Christmas Story

T he brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the
sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about
head high.
The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just
the right size to cover up the hole in the front
wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and
it covered up the entire problem area..

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were
crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials
of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home, that
was the least he could do.. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn
for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return.
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike.
He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years in between.


T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid,
Who says God does work in mysterious ways..
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you, His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares you know He will see us through.

So when the road you're traveling on seems
difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest.

When there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need. Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following prayer:

Father, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with you. Amen.

Remember this as Christmas Time

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers
in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter,
usually late November to mid-December.
Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer,
EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known...
ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit
all around the world in one night and not get lost.

Gesu Bambino medley - Pavarotti & Joan Osborne

THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS SPIDER

(A folk legend from Germany and the Ukraine)
O nce upon a time, long ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year.... The day on which the Christ child came to bless the house. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner in the ceiling to avoid the housewife's busy cleaning. They finally fled to the farthest corner of the attic.

T'was the Christmas eve at last! The tree was decorated and waiting for the children to see it. But the poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the Christ child's visit. But the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could peep through the crack in the door to see him. Silently they crept out of their attic, down the stairs, and across the floor to wait in the crack in the threshold. Suddenly, the door opened a wee bit and quickly the spiders scurried into the room. They must see the tree closely, since their eyes weren't accustomed to the brightness of the room... so the crept all over the tree, up and down, over every branch and twig and saw every one of the pretty things. At last they satisfied themselves completely of the Christmas tree beauty.

But alas!! Everywhere they went they had left their webs, and when the little Christ child came to bless the house he was dismayed. He loved the little spiders, for they were God's creatures too, but he knew the mother, who had trimmed the tree for the little children, wouldn't feel the same, so He touched the webs and they all turned to sparkling, shimmering, silver and gold!

Ever since that time, we have hung tinsel on our christmas trees, and according to the legend, it has been a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the tree.

Breath of Heaven Amy Grant

The Christmas Pickle

This was made for me by my talented friend and supervisor, Kathy, at the Nevada Cancer Institute. Who knew?? A Christmas Pickle. It says:










The Christmas Pickle Story
In Old World Germany,
the last decoration placed on the
Christmas tree was a pickle
~carefully hidden in the branches.

Legend says that the one
who found the pickle on
Christmas Day would be blessed
with a year of good fortune

and a special gift!

Renée Fleming-O Holy Night

Oh my Oh my Oh my...

Trees and Herbs

Although the Christmas tradition of adornment with floral decorations has been traced back to the Roman festivities of Kalends, the Christmas Tree has more modern German origins. Records indicate that Christmas trees were sold in Alsace in 1531; in 1605 a German citizen wrote; 'At Christmas, they set up fir trees in the parlours...and hang thereon roses cut out of many-colored paper.' Folklore has long associated Martin Luther as an early champion of the Christmas tree-crediting him (probably erroneously) with inventing the practice of lighting tress with candles. The British love of Christmas trees is usually linked to Prince Albert who, in the 1840's, did much to make the tree part of the British Christmas. Records indicate, however that Queen Charlotte had a Christmas tree in Windsor as early as 1800. The most famous Christmas tree in Britain is that which stands in London's Trafalgar Square. Presented by the people of Norway each year since 1947, the tree is a symbolic gift of thanks for the role Britain played during the Second World War, and the sanctuary King Haakon VII was given in 1940.

Festive Rosemary- rosemary (Rosmarinus officianalis) was a popular Christmas decoration in the 19th century. St Thomas More said of it: "Tis the herb sacred to remembrance and therefore to friendship." The choirboys of Ripon carried it on Christmas morning as a sign of redemption. A number of legends link rosemary with Christmas: it is said that the herb's purple hue derives from the robes of the Virgin Mary; that its aroma comes from the swaddling clothes of Christ; that the plant will never grow taller than Christ; and that if a rosemary bush lives longer that Christ's 33 years, it will branch outwards not upwards. Because of these associations with Mary, it is said that rosemary grows best 'where the mistress is master'.

-Schott's Almanac

Christmas - The Word

The word "Christmas" is from the Middle English "Christemasse", and in Old English "Cristes mæsse". The compound meaning of these is "Christ's Mass" and was first used circa 1030 AD. "Cristes" is from Greek christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa. In the early Greek testaments, 'X' is the first letter of Christ, which I guess some could use to validate their use of the spelling 'Xmas'. I'm sure that people using this form learned it from studying ancient Greek.

Dickens on Christmas

'There seems a Magic in the very name of Christmas." - Boz

"What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer. ... If I could work my will every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding. and buried with a stake of Holly through his heart."

"Our invariable custom ... everybody sits down with us on Christmas Eve, as you see them now - servants and all; and here we wait, until the clock strikes 12, to usher Christmas in, and beguile the time with forfeits and old stories." - Mr. Wardle

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future" -Scrooge

(My most favorite Christmas card ever said, "Steven, thank you for keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year.") Let's all keep the Magic all year!

Facinating, said Mr. Spock

True Facts about the Human Body & Other things...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you age, your eye color gets lighter.

There are 206 bones in the adult human body, but 300 in children (some of the bones fuse together as a child grows).

The human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year.

It takes approximately 12 hours for food to entirely digest.

The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.

There are more living organisms on the skin of a single human being than there are human beings on the surface of the earth.

Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.

Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Animal Kingdom".

Life expectancy for Russian men has actually gone down over the past 40 years. A Russian male born today can expect to live an average 58 years.

In 1985, the most popular waist size for men's pants was 32. In 2003, it's 36.

Seven percent of Americans claim they never bathe at all.

In 2004, one in six girls in the United States enter puberty at age 8. A hundred years ago, only one in a hundred entered puberty that early.

Newest trend in the Netherlands: Tiny jewels implanted directly into the eye.

A British gymnast survived a fall from a fourth story window because he went into a somersault and came down on two feet.

Jeffrey and Sheryl McGowen in Houston turned to vitro fertilization. Two eggs were implanted in Sheryl's womb, and both of them split. Sheryl gave birth to two sets of identical twins at once.

In 1991, the average bra size in the United States was 34B. Today it's 36C.

The average North Korean 7-year-old is almost three inches shorter than the average South Korean 7-year-old.

Every year, 2700 surgical patients go home from the hospital with metal tools, sponges, and other objects left inside them. In 2000, 57 people died as a result of these mistakes.

We forget 80 percent of what we learn everyday.

Pain is measured in units of "dols". The instrument used to measure pain is a "dolorimeter".

The Amish a diet high in meat, dairy, refined sugars and calories. Yet obesity is virtually unknown among them. The difference is since they have no TVs, cars or powered machines, they spend their time in manual labor.

As of January 1, 2004, the population of the United States increases by one person every 12 seconds. There is a birth every eight seconds, an immigrant is added every 25 seconds, but a death every 13 seconds.

Astronauts cannot burp in space. There is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.

The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.

Fidgeting can burn about 350 calories a day.

Wearing headphones for an hour increases the bacteria in your ear 700 times.

A baby is born without kneecaps. They appear between age 2 and 6.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

In a recent survey, Americans revealed that banana was their favorite smell.

The arteries and veins surrounding the brain stem called the "circle of Willis" looks like a stick person with a large head.

Brushing your teeth regularly has been shown to prevent heart disease.

A kiss stimulates 29 muscles and chemicals causing relaxation. Women seem to like it light and frequent, men like it more strenuous.

Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.

Your nose and ears never stop growing.

Men get hiccups more often than women.

Human teeth are almost as hard as rocks.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year.

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day.

Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, every time you breathe.

One quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet.

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails.

The average person laughs 15 times a day.

The Gifts of the Magi

Gold- The gold presented by Melchior is thought to be 30 gold coins minted by Thara and a Golden Apple once owned by Alexander the Great. Some claim that gold is a symbolic representation of the infant Christ's royalty.

Frankincense- A fragrant resin from the African tree, genus Boswellia, frankincense has been used in many cultures as a form of incense in religious services. Gaspar presented frankincense to symbolise the divinity and worship of Christ.

Myrrh- Myrrh has long been associated with death and the anointing of the bodies of the dead. Myrrh is a gum resin of genus Commiphora. It is said that Balthsar presented myrrh to Christ as a symbolic prophecy of his death.

fm Schott's Almanac

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days (Most fun arrangement ever!)

Me and Erudite

Me and Erudite
Category: Life

erudite [air-rude-ite]

Adjective: having or showing great academic knowledge [Latin erudire to polish]

Word History: One might like to be erudite but hesitate to be rude. This preference is supported by the etymological relationship between erudite and rude. Erudite comes from the Latin adjective .. "well-instructed, learned," from the past participle of the verb .. "to educate, train." The verb is in turn formed from the prefix ex-, "out, out of," and the adjective rudis, "untaught, untrained," the source of our word rude. The English word erudite is first recorded in a work possibly written before 1425 with the senses "instructed, learned." Erudite meaning "learned" is supposed to have become rare except in sarcastic use during the latter part of the 19th century, but the word now seems to have been restored to favor.

Over the years people have complimented me on how smart/intelligent I am, and though I've accepted the compliment graciously, or humorously denied it, I've always been certain it's untrue. I got C's and D's in elementary school, did better in high school with a few A's and B's and an occasional C, then in college, after my liberal arts requirements were completed, nearly straight A's. The A's were due to my having a focus on my passion, and nearly all graded work was of research and essays. In school though, I spent more time studying stuff not covered, and reading writers not discussed. Teachers have their ruts to, so the same authors, books and ideas were re-hashed every year. Boring, boring, boring.

I'm reading a book of philosophy right now, which I'll be blogging on when I wrap my mind around the concepts (this is very cool stuff), and the author used the word 'erudite'. I remember the word from long ago, but had never used it, and didn't remember the definition. When I looked it up, I realized that people recognized that I was erudite.

I've have struggled daily, all my life, learning new stuff, and getting it to stick in my head. Even things I'm passionate about don't stay unless I work in memory prompts and tricks. I occasionally re-listen to some memory tapes to help me from losing ground. I have Outlook pop ups to keep me on schedule, to remind me of where I'm supposed to be. Before that I had a Franklin Planner I carried everywhere. Now I have a PDA, and next year a smart phone that I can program to help me keep knowledge and events and schedules. The PDA will get retired like the planner.

The thing is, we all need to, regardless of whether we're 'smart' or 'erudite', constantly work to improve our minds. Read those things that challenge us, that stretch us. (If you're not a reader, get an audio book). The body is a bit different. It just takes some work and discipline to manage the process of aging so health issues don't keep us from improving the quality of our lives. If you work at enhancing your knowledge and maintaining your body, you become a better communicator, co-worker, friend, lover. Pick up something you haven't tried in a while: biography, history, philosophy, a science book, math. "Kaizen" is a Japanese word for 'constant improvement'. Just little steps, gradual, daily movement toward the better. I think it was Brian Tracy that recommended we focus on a mind set of 2% improvement per day. I should go back and do this; I had "2%" on my mirror so I saw it every morning getting ready for my day. Hmmmm, no should, I'm doing it today.


Lots of people say you can't do something. On the flip side I've heard too that I couldn't do something. Wasn't capable, smart enough. Amazing how that works. You're smart, you're a idiot, yet you're the same person. Early on I figured this out. My Jr. High PE coach said that I shouldn't bother to try out for sports in High School, I wasn't good enough at sports. I ended up a record breaking distance runner and three year letterman (missed being a four year by one point). My high school coach figured it out about me too. Before a meet, he had a hand out, with who needed to place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in what events for us to win a meet. He would put my name in second or third, or as not placing; that'd tick me off and I'd win or place higher. Great coach. I was told I couldn't sing so I joined the church choir while in high school, and now sing all the time. I was terrified of heights, so in the Navy I volunteered to be the guy to climb to the top of the mast to do maintenance on the radar antennas. If you're young don't believe the negative things said to you or about you; if you're a seasoned citizen, or becoming one, go after the new.


Be erudite, be courageous, practice kaizen.

T'was the Month Before Christmas

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

not Happy Holiday !*





Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet during the

holidays a

MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is ʽThe Reasonʼ for the Christ-mas Season!

A Different Christmas Poem

A Different Christmas Poem


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.


The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.


The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.


Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.


'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..


To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'
'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.


No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.


I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.


I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.'


' So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'
'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'


Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Phone Call

I got a call last night from Aunt Merldine. She and Harvey have been married for 53 years. I remember as a kid in the mid 50's them pulling up to Grandma and Grandpa's ranch in Oregon in their Austin Healey. They had a really cool speed boat too. She's now 80 and Harvey is 78. They still are energetic and involved. She's involved in everything in Pendleton. I think they lived there since 1946, with a few brief moves in between. Everybody knows them. A few years ago I was visiting, and there was a street fair. We went downtown, and I don't think there was a person out of the hundreds that didn't greet them by name. I went on a tour of the underground city where the Chinese laborers and their families lived back in the old days, and the young woman that was the tour guide often got interrupted by Merldine with some obscure bit of history. The guide just took it in stride. She probably knew Merldine too. Merldine was a member of the Pendleton Historical Society and every other civic group in town, and volunteers for everything.

With a little of that background, the reason she called. She has some pictures and other family items that she wanted me to take. I'm more than glad to, and let her know that a project I had set for myself next year was to go on Ancestry.com and get the family entered. Of course she hasn't heard of the website; she said all she knows about computers is that there's a power button. She got all excited when I explained it to her, and that I needed all the names and locations of what she can remember. I'm expecting a box...she remembers everything. A story she told me was she was sent back to Nebraska while still in elementary school, and had to ride a horse with the sisters to and from school. She has pictures of them then. In those days, girls couldn't wear pants, so they had to wear dresses and ride, even in the winter. Their pony was a Shetland, and she said they are just plain mean, and would just as soon kick and bite as anything. The pony's name was Cupie. The pictures were taken with a Browning, and in those days, the whole camera had to be sent in so the film could be taken out and processed.

I'm looking forward to delving into the family's past. I've looked up my Dad's side of the family, the Rafalowskis, on the Ellis Island website, and I think it must be the equivalent of Smith. A huge number of people came from Poland with that name. Dad is passed, so I'll have to find some other resources. A new historical and mental adventure coming up!!

For the First Sunday of Advent- Video O Come O Come Emmanuel by Alred Jones

Thanks for the idea Rob.

Some Interesting Questions

Why do you blog? Organize my thoughts, share ideas and experiences.

What are your favorite blogs? windrosehotel.blogspot.com/ althouse.blogspot.com/

Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? The Marxist idea that it's ok for a government to confiscate the earnings of the people.

Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world? The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek // The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater // Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Who are your political heroes? Dwight David Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Newt Gringrich

If you could choose anyone, from any walk of life, to be President, who would you choose? Newt Gringrich

What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? Islamofacism

Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? Yet to come

What would be your most important piece of advice about life? Be happy.

Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? No

What do you consider the most important personal quality? Listen and understand (I'm cheating here, but they go together.)

What is your favorite proverb? To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under the sun.

If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? I would have stayed in journalism.

Who would play you in the movie about your life? No living actor impresses me, so Jimmy Stewart.

Where would you most like to live? Southern Utah

If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? St. Paul, Erasmus, C.S. Lewis



These are from the blog of Kris-Stella Trump (born in Estonia, studying for her PH D in the US)

Please copy and respond. I’d like to know.



Here's a blank one to copy and paste.

Why do you blog?

What are your favorite blogs

Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind?

Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world?

Who are your political heroes?

If you could choose anyone, from any walk of life, to be President, who would you choose?

What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world?

Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come?

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?

Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own?

What do you consider the most important personal quality?

What is your favorite proverb?

If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently?

Who would play you in the movie about your life?

Where would you most like to live

If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be?




These are from the blog of Kris-Stella Trump (born in Estonia, studying for her PH D in the US

The Farcical Files

"School bake sales are tons of fun, and that worries California's committees for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, whose blue-nosed busybodies fret that their young wards are packing too much tonnage. California has adopted strict dietary guidelines governing what scores of comestibles may be sold in its schools-even at occasional bake sales- which has led to the banishment of that old standby, the cupcake. Reports the New York Times: 'The Piedmont High water polo team falls woefully short of these standards, selling cupcakes, caramel apples and lemon bars off campus in a flagrant act of nutritional disobedience'. Savor those words: 'nutritional disobedience'. As longtime advocates of the decriminalization of desserts and other controlled substances, the editors of this magazine pray that California will have the good sense to legalize cupcakes, and even harder substances such as lemon bars, thereby undermining the black market in confections and bringing sucrose-related commerce out of the shadows and into the open market place." --National Review

Turkeys???

Salvation...It’s a Beautiful Thing

The following is written by Dinesh D'Souza:

"The Bible says that salvation is the gift of God. Many people-even Christians-understand this to mean that God is offering us salvation as a gift. But the Bible doesn't say that salvation is the gift from God. Rather, it says that salvation is the gift of God. God Himself is the gift. Heaven is best understood not as a place but as a description of what it is like to be with God. To be with God requires that we want to be with Him, that we accept His present of Himself. In a lovely book on faith, J. Gresham Machen writes that we become Christians not by accepting that Christ died to save others or that he died to save mankind but that he died to save me.

What an encouragement this is for us, because once we have confronted our pride we realize that we don't have to do anything to earn our heavenly reward. In fact, there is nothing that we can do to earn it. What is denied to us by effort is supplied to us through grace. So when around us we see the decay of our life, when every earthly hope of redemption has failed us, when those whom we love cannot help us, when we have tried everything and there is nothing else to try, when we have tossed our last log on the fire and all the embers have flickered out, it is at this point that God's hand reaches out to us, steady and sure. All we have to do is take it. This is the uniqueness of the Christian message."

Those Horrible Murderous Warmongering Christians

How many times have we heard it? In an earlier blog, I noted a non-Christian liberal friend repeat the lie that Christian fundamentalists are just as bad as Muslim fundamentalists, and I refuted it effectively. At least no one could point out acts of atrocities equal to Muslim fundamentalists. The second lie repeated by my friend, that I've even heard history professor's state and restate ad nasuem, is that more people have been murdered by, and more wars caused by, religion than any other factor.

A book I read a few years ago, A Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas F. Madden, gives a history of the source of the Crusades and a breakdown of what happened during each of the Crusades. I won't break each Crusade down unless one of you responds that you would like that, but here's the short of it. The beginning was the threat of Islam that had conquered North Africa, the entire Middle East (which had been Christian), extended into Asia, parts of Italy, most of Spain and had ships sailing up the Danube, with most of Eastern Europe conquered.. Western Europe was under attack so the First Crusade was launched as a counter attack. It was successful. Islamic armies were pushed back because they had to protect their homeland. The rest of the Crusades were failures. What you were taught in school and even in church is woefully wrong. Come to think of it, I'll break it down in a later blog. I have an ongoing burning desire to buttress my arguments, and an overview won't do. I'll just repeat here that most of the Crusades were failures, and several didn't even make it out of Europe.

The second attack on murderous, warmongering religion and Christianity specifically, is that hundreds of thousands of people were murdered. It didn't happen that way. Another book I read, The Spanish Inquisition by Henry Kamen, actually analyzed the history of the Inquisition. (Don't I live an exciting life? I've also read a history of taxes from Ur and Sumeria to the present. Doesn't the idea of that just set your pulse pounding with excitement?) Did it target Jews as we were taught in history class? No. If asked, I'll blog more history about this, because there are some gray areas and distinctions. I'm just trying to not be over long here. To that end, several things were going on. The short of it was that, as regrettable as this is, over 350 years there were an estimated 2000 deaths, not tens of thousands. The trials were interesting too, and not as cruel and harsh as we were taught.


Salem witch trials. How many deaths do you think, or have you been taught? Again, hundreds to thousands. Some historians say even as many as a million. The most aggressive estimate is under 100,000. Again to keep it short as possible, the 'Thirty Years War' was about emerging nation states vying for power, and what we were taught were these religious wars; but they were ethnic wars.

So yes, there have been religious conflicts, and dastardly things done in the name of religion; and some things religion has been blamed for, but didn't happen. Now the comparison. Remember the statement of fact by anti-religionists, that religion has caused more, etc… What have atheistic governments brought us?

Communist Russia, Communist China, and Nazi Germany to start. Stalin was responsible for about twenty million murders, and millions more imprisoned. Mao is estimated at sixty million murders, and millions more imprisoned. Hitler a mere estimated ten millions, and millions more imprisoned. Then there's the small time players, Pol Pot from 1975-1979 murdered about 20% of the Cambodian population, 1.5 to 2 million souls. That's a larger proportion of his population than either Stalin or Mao. By the way, these murders were done in peace time. Other murderous atheists and their regimes that were small time players, which have murdered millions, include Castro, Ceausescu, and Kim Jong-Il. More people, over one hundred million, in just the Twentieth Century, have been murdered, and more imprisoned, than in three thousand years of religious history. The total religious count for the Crusades, Inquisitions, witch burnings account for an estimated 200,000 people. That's hundred million to 200,000, atheist governments compared to religions. Unless you've gotten out of public school recently, the first number is bigger. My conclusion is that atheist governments are the most responsible for more murders, not religions.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving e card:
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1295879718880&source=jl999

Turkey Lore Test
http://home.aristotle.net/Thanksgiving/trivia.asp

"My fellow Americans: Over 350 years ago, a small band of Pilgrims, after gathering in their first harvest at Plymouth Colony, invited their friends and neighbors, who were Indians, to join them in a feast of thanksgiving. Together they sat around their bountiful table and bowed their heads in gratitude to the Lord for all that He had bestowed upon them. This week, so many years later, we, too, will gather with family and friends and, after saying grace, carve up a turkey, pass around the cranberries and dressing, and later share slices of pumpkin pie. We Americans have so much for which to be thankful. ... We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It's there; it's sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams. ... Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord's blessings, as we of whatever faith we are give praises to His name, let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom. Happy Thanksgiving!" --Ronald Reagan

"It's not just Americans and Iraqis and Afghans who owe a debt of thanks to the U.S. soldier but all the Europeans grown plump and prosperous in a globalized economy guaranteed by the most benign hegemon in history. That said, Thanksgiving isn't about the big geopolitical picture, but about the blessings closer to home. Last week, the state of Oklahoma celebrated its centennial, accompanied by rousing performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein's eponymous anthem: 'We know we belong to the land/And the land we belong to is grand!' Which isn't a bad theme song for the first Thanksgiving, either. Three hundred and eighty-six years ago, the Pilgrims thanked God because there was a place for them in this land, and it was indeed grand. The land is grander today, and that, too, is remarkable: France has lurched from Second Empires to Fifth Republics struggling to devise a lasting constitutional settlement for the same smallish chunk of real estate, but the principles that united a baker's dozen of East Coast colonies were resilient enough to expand across a continent and halfway around the globe to Hawaii. Americans should, as always, be thankful this Thanksgiving, but they should also understand just how rare in human history their blessings are." --columnist Mark Steyn

God's Smile

How smart is Your Right Foot ?

Just try this. It is from an orthopedic surgeon............

This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can
outsmart your foot, but you can't. It's preprogrammed in your brain!

1. While sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right Hand.

Your foot will change direction.

Told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going
to try it again, if you've not already done so.

Christian Terrorists!!!

After I saw the satirical movie "An American Carol", I was commenting to a liberal, non-Christian friend about a funny scene of people going through all the security hassles at the airport, shoes off, metal detectors, extra waiting in line, profiling, the whole security drill, and blaming it on the terrorism of Christian fundamentalists. My throw away comment was the nonsensical and patently untrue observation that Christian fundamentalists are just as threatening as Islamic fundamentalists. She commented back, with seriousness, that Christian fundamentalists were as dangerous and threatening. I'm sick of hearing it. I hear and read it in many media outlets. Christians may have a few nutty cults that usually isolate themselves from society, and a few loopy preachers that make wacky comments. Remember these?


1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male extremist.

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by Muslim male extremists.

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim male extremists.

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim male extremists.

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim male extremists.

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim male extremists.

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim male extremists.

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim male extremists.

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim male extremists.

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim male extremists.

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim male extremists.

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim male extremists.

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by-- you guessed it-- Muslim male extremists.

What do we do? Ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics' intent on killing us, airport security screeners aren't allowed to profile certain people... Absolutely No Profiling!

They conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-y ear old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males alone lest they be guilty of profiling.



Can I hear from any of my non-Christian, secular friends, or liberals, about the same acts of violence by Christian fundamentalists? I doubt it. I'll take a loopy preacher any day.

A Morality Tale

Ain't This The Truth!

Two Different Versions!

OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------

MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building
his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed
while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the
shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home
with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor
grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and
everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house
where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome."
Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King
that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both
call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act
retroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of
green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.
Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a
defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of

Federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single- parent
welfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits
of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just
happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the
house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize
the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote.

I Want to Re-language Secularism

Nothing anti-Christians and atheists want more than to destroy Christianity. The problem is, everything they want, is rooted in Christianity and Judaism. Even the word "secular" is a Christian one. A Catholic priest that goes and lives in a monastery joins a "religious" community; one that goes and lives among the people is "secular". All the values that secularists espouse have already been addressed. They want separation of church and state. Done. Render under Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's. Family? Before Judeo Christianity, the family wasn't so important. Plato wanted to abolish it. The State should raise children. It takes a village anyone? Romantic love? Judeo Christian. Marriages were arranged. Now we marry for love. I guess we could go back to secular behavior…sex, Eros rules. Free love. Wam bam thank you mam. I think you may be getting the idea. Is secularism winning? The family is under attack, Eros is the goddess for much of our society (see just about any ad). Do you despair that Christianity is being driven out of society? Europe is Godless. Regular church goers are less the twenty five percent of the population there. In our country, we are given to believe that God is on the way out. Think on this…sixty percent of Americans say they believe in God. Most Americans believe in life after death. We are the most religious of all Western countries. Around the world, Christianity is growing. I haven't done much verifying of the stats, but it appears that Christianity, contrary to popular belief, is the fastest growing religion. Islam is said to be, but the difference is that Islam is producing more babies. Christianity is gaining more converts. China and India are the fastest growing. At the beginning of the 20th Century about ten percent of Africa was Christian, from about 10 million to 350 million today. Some African churches are so crowded, there are limitations to attendance! Want to worship? Get there early! South America is exploding too. Just in Brazil we are looking at about 50 million people. China has over 100 million Christians belonging to underground churches. How powerful is this message that people risk their lives to worship. The Philippines…exploding! These third world countries are sending missionaries to the West to save us! So don't believe the Secular Press. Christianity is on the move, and the proclaimed secular take over is a myth. Coming back to the beginning. The re-language I want is this. There is no scriptural basis for 'secular' and 'religious'. There is scriptural support for light and darkness. Light is the force of God. Darkness is secularism. I'll take the Light.

Worthy of Remembrance

None have less praise than those who hunt most after it.

One fault can never justify the commission of another.

Prudence guides the wise, but passion governs the foolish.

Quarrels are easily begun, but with difficulty ended.

Resist false doctrine, but call no man heretic.

Rejoice not when your enemy stumbles.

Rich men depend on the poor, as well as the poor on them.

Resist a temptation till you conquer it.

Riches cannot purchase worthy endowments.

Restore faithfully what is committed to your trust.

So live with men as if God saw you.

Rino Season Is Now Open by Ted Nugent

Like any entity that abandons basic quality control, political parties rot from within. It happened to the Democrats long ago, and now has become the case with the Republican Party, which has strayed from its conservative underpinnings.

There are really only four things I have a strong aversion to: unloaded guns, dull knives, banjos, and Republicans in Name Only (RINOs).

The Nugent family simply doesn't allow any of those things in our lives.

RINOs are Fedzilla punks who feign support for conservative principles only when it serves their political interest. RINOs are also known for their moderate positions such as supporting tax increases, federal "bailouts", "comprehensive immigration reform", advocating more counterproductive gun control that guarantee more innocent victims, opposing the death penalty, and growing and sustaining Fedzilla and all its toxic mongrels by going along with the liberals. RINOs have forgotten President Ronald Maximus Regan's admonition that government is the problem, not the solution.

RINOs reach across Fedzilla's aisle to cut deals and build consensus with the liberals. Consensus building means compromising values and cutting deals with the socialist prankster punksters whose goal it is to turn America into EuroAmerica.

Consensus building is for wimps and soulless people who stand for nothing. Compromise is not about being tolerant: these days, it's about giving up conservative principles.

As the Republican Party begins to retool, rebuild and return to the "less government is best government" conservatism that makes America work, the first thing the GOP needs to do is to lock the RINOs out of the discussion. Heavily armed with an abundance of conservative attitude, my hunting buddies and I will provide security to ensure RINOs are kept downwind from the discussion. If allowed to participate, RINOs will continue to rot the Republican Party from within and diminish it in the eyes of the public. Enough is enough.

John McCain has been a RINO on campaign finance, immigration, global warming and other issues and look what happened to him. He had reached across the aisle so many times to cut deals with the liberals that he had to pick Governor Palin, a true conservative, to try and lure disenfranchised and disgusted conservatives back into the fold. Didn't work. Senator McCain was the wrong candidate at the right time. RINOs lose elections;
conservatives win them.

Should President-elect Obama implement his wrong-headed economic policies, our economy will continue to slide into the abyss and America's debt will continue to soar to unsustainable levels. Conservatives must hold the line at all costs and call out all RINOs who support President-elect Obama's economic kamikaze plan.

Make no mistake, conservative values and ideologies are embraced by Americans. The polls all indicate Americans are fed up with the Pelosi-led, do nothing congress, and do not support more government programs and control. Sounds to me like we have a conservative revolution brewing.

Conservative leaders and thinkers such as Newt Gingrich, Jed Babbin, Governor Jindal of Louisiana, Thomas Sowell, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, Governor Sarah Palin and others need to turn up the heat and bring this less government, more individual freedom and strong national defense revolution to a boil. It is time.

My specialty is making Fedzilla punks squirm and turn into a puddle of sweat and drool. Therefore, in the spirit of famous butt kickers Generals Chesty Puller and George Patton, I say we launch an attack on all fronts. Uncle Ted hereby declares it is open season on RINOs. No bag limits or permits required. Conservative ideas, arguments and votes are the weapons we will use. Hunt them down and shine a blazing light on these RINO turncoat cockroaches. Zero in the "we the people" crosshairs of your voting assault weapon and aim for the RINO pumpstation. Double tap center mass. Whack em and stack em, track em and hack em, pack em and give em no slack. Let's do to the RINO beasts what we did to the passenger pigeon. Force out of the Republican Party out the subspecies known as RINOs.

We must not make the mistake of keeping the GOP tent so big that there's room for RINOs. They are in the business of producing conservative defeats. Instead, join me in the new Conservative Revolution. Let's go out and win another one for the Gipper.

Observations After Several Days Away

After the election I took a hiatus from the news and politics for about two weeks. I spent three days in Van Nuys at the 'Church on the Way' and heard several pastors/theologians speak on the "Kingdom of God", which I much prefer living in. Our world is upside down, and the changes promised by the pretender to the throne are no changes at all, but a rejection of traditional western values, Christianity and its freedom from the State, and divers other beliefs. I'm back to the news now, and ready again to be a warrior for free minds and free markets. Here is some of what I'm seeing after nearly two weeks of disassociating from politics and news:

Sarah Palin is still getting attacked, all of it based on lies. She didn't buy a bunch of clothes and force people to put the charges their personal credit cards. She knows Africa is a continent. She knows the difference between a city and a state. The list is long. One of the things we must do is kick out the 'rinos' (Republicans In Name Only), and that includes McCain and his staff. Good grief, Palin was on the loosing team, she's gone back to her state, and 'rino's' are still lying and attacking; being cowardly about it too…they won't even step up and be identified.

Prop 8 in California. Overwhelmingly passed by the people, a second time, for a constitutional amendment to state that marriage is between a man and a woman. Gays have civil unions, which give them all the legal rights of married people. They started out saying that's all they wanted. Their purpose though is to destroy the foundation of civilization, which is the family; a male and female joining together, becoming one flesh, producing and rearing children. For us religious people, this is a sacred commission, formed and supported by God. The gay response is not, like civilized, tolerant citizens, to work through the democratic process, accept their loss and make the best of it, but to be intolerant, destructive, vile, hateful, and barbaric. Some examples of their behavior: Protesters shoved aside a sixty-nine year old woman bearing a cross, reportedly spit on her and stomped on her cross. They then aligned themselves in a human barricade, blocking the media from getting to or interviewing the elderly woman (I've seen the video). Calvary Chapel Chino Hills was spray painted by vandals, after they learned that the church served as an official collection point for Prop 8 petitions. Letters containing white powder (obviously mimicking anthrax) were sent to the Los Angeles headquarters of the Mormon Church and to a temple in the Salt Lake City.
(Thankfully, the FBI said the substance tested nontoxic.) A 25-year veteran artistic director for the California Musical Theatre, who also happens to be a Mormon, was muscled to resign because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California. A pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back marched into the middle of a church service, flinging flyers and condoms to the congregants and hanging a banner from the balcony that featured two lesbians in provocative positions at the pulpit. Nice. But then again, all those Republicans, conservatives, and evangelicals taking to the streets after the election, destroying property and hurting people were over the top too.

To my Leftist friends: you won. You have your choice for President; both houses of Congress, and the judiciary, are controlled by the Left. You control education from K-University. You control the main stream media. You control entertainment. You have the support and adoration of every totalitarian government, terrorist organization, and non-democratic socialist state. Yet you still destroy, bully, intimidate and protest. This is why I'm a warrior for traditional values, for Christianity, for the Constitution. I believe these things all support and improve the human condition. The Left is set to destroy it. I support those things that made the most amount of people materially comfortable and spiritually fulfilled. I will do my best to stop the destruction. I will start with 'rino's'. They've been happily complicit.

MIchael Crichton Tribute

Michael Crichton was one of the most influential literary figures in my life. I first read the "Andromeda Strain" in 1969 or '70 and was blown away. I read "The Terminal Man", "The Great Train Robbery", "Eaters of the Dead" (not a horror story), "Congo", "Sphere", "Timeline" and "State of Fear" and his non-fiction book "Travels". I watched his movies "The Rising Sun", "Jurassic Park", "Disclosure", "Congo", "Timeline". "Twister", "Westworld", and for a few years was a fan of "ER". He was an author, film producer, medical doctor (graduated Harvard Medical School) [had graduated summa cum laude from Harvard for his undergraduate years], he did post doctoral work at the Joans Salk Institute of Biological Studies. Here's tribute to an accomplished man. RIP

Two Views: Sacred and Secular

Two Creation stories. Does it matter which one is true? You can decide...

The Secular Account: "You are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm washed up on an empty beach three and a half billion years ago. You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces. You are a mere grab-bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an empty corner of a meaningless universe. You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus, or amoeba. You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely. In short, you came from nothing and are going nowhere."

The Christian View: "You are the special creation of a good and all-powerful God. You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms. You differ from the animals not simply in degree but in kind. Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind. Your Creator loves you so much and so intensely desires your companionship and affection that He has a perfect Plan for your life. In addition, God gave the life of His only Son that you might spend eternity with Him. If your are willing to accept the gift of salvation, you can become a child of God." --Reverend Randy Alcorn

Reagan Speaking After Similar Loss in ’74

Some excerpts here from a speech to CPAC in March 1975. He could have said it last night:

Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other.

Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have preached “the gospel,” in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism which was, in truth, a call to collectivism.

Now, it is possible we have been persuasive to a greater degree than we had ever realized. Few, if any, Democratic party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own.
Bureaucracy was assailed and fiscal responsibility hailed.

But let’s not be so naive as to think we are witnessing a mass conversion to the principles of conservatism. Once sworn into office, the victors reverted to type. In their view, apparently, the ends justified the means.

The “Young Turks” had campaigned against “evil politicians.” They turned against committee chairmen of their own party, displaying a taste and talent as cutthroat power politicians quite in contrast to their campaign rhetoric and idealism. Still, we must not forget that they molded their campaigning to fit what even they recognized was the mood of the majority.

And we must see to it that the people are reminded of this as they now pursue their ideological goals—and pursue them they will.

I don ‘t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party”—when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

It was a feeling that there was not a sufficient difference now between the parties that kept a majority of the voters away from the polls. When have we ever advocated a closed-door policy? Who has ever been barred from participating?

Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?

A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.

I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.


The whole speech http://www.conservative.org/pressroom/reagan/reagan1975.asp

Baby, I'm Amazed

If the polls are right...
A tape resurfaced over the weekend of Obama saying "You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." In January, "So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it's just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted." He is willing to destroy the coal industry but coal miners will vote for him, and people barely able to pay their energy costs will vote for him. Baby, I'm amazed.
He said. "You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, it's not surprising they get bitter, and they cling to their guns and religion... or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment". Yet Pennsylvanians, Mid-westerners, Christians and gun owners will vote for him. Baby, I'm amazed.
'Wealthy' people have been told that most of their wealth will be confiscated by his economic policy, and they will vote for him. Baby, I'm amazed.
Obama said he supports an 'undivided Jerusalem', and said "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people". His has several anti-Israel foreign policy advisers including General Tony McPeak, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Rashid Khalidi. Yet Jewish voters will vote for him. Baby, I'm amazed.

To the Fridge

Eight Words with two Meanings

1. THINGY (thing-ee) n.
Female...... Any part under a car's hood.
Male..... The strap fastener on a woman's bra.
2. VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel) adj.
Female.... Fully opening up one's self emotionally to another.
Male.... Playing football without a cup.
3. COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon) n.
Female... The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one's partner.
Male... Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the boys.
4. COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment) n.
Female.... A desire to get married and raise a family.
Male...... Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one.
5. ENTERTAINMENT (en-ter-tayn-ment) n.
Female.... A good movie, concert, play or book.
Male.... .. Anything that can be done while drinking beer.
6. FLATULENCE (flach-u-lens) n.
Female.... An embarrassing by product of indigestion.
Male...... A source of entertainment, self-expression, male bonding.
7. MAKING LOVE (may-king luv) n.
Female...... The greatest expression of intimacy a couple can achieve.
Male.. Call it whatever you want, just as long as we do it.
8. REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl) n.
Female.... A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
Male... A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes.
AND
He said . . . I don't know why you wear a bra; you've got nothing to put in it.
She said . . . You wear pants don't you?
He said . . .... Shall we try swapping positions tonight?
She said . Good idea-you stand by the ironing board while I sit on the sofa and fart!
He said . . What have you been doing with all the grocery money I gave you?
She said . .Turn sideways and look in the mirror!
He said . How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?
She said . We don't know; it has never happened.
He said... What do you call a women who knows where her husband is every night?
She said . . . A widow.
He said . . . Why are married women heavier than single women?
She said .Single women come home, see what's in the fridge and go to bed. Married women come home, see what's in bed and go to the fridge.

Exhortations

Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. --1 Thessalonians

More Freedom of the Press by Obama

On August 27, 2008, respected radio talk show host Milt Rosenberg invited National Review journalist and Ethics and Public Policy Center Senior Fellow, Stanley Kurtz, to his nightly program in Chicago. Kurtz had been conducting thorough and in depth research into Barack Obama's extensive ties to the radical left, including the fraudulent get-out-the-vote group, ACORN. Kurtz was at that point already investigating Obama's connection with Bill Ayers and their collaboration on a left-wing education "reform" organization. After Rosenberg's producer called Obama's Chicago headquarters to offer airtime to challenge Kurtz's claims, the Obama campaign declined and instead sent out an Obama Action Wire email to its supporters encouraging them to inundate Rosenberg's station with complaints and demands that the Kurtz interview be axed. A slew of enraged Obama supporters in fact bombarded the radio station's switchboard demanding that the interview not go forward. The Obama followers were instructed to report their guerrilla tactics back to the campaign through a special dedicated page on the campaign's official website.
A few weeks later, the Obama campaign again summoned its army of supporters through another Obama Action Wire, inciting them to once again inundate the same Chicago radio show with calls to deny airtime for an interview with author David Freddoso, author of the book The Case Against Barack Obama. The Obama campaign's justification for this attack on free speech was that providing Freddoso with airtime would lower the standards of political discourse.
A nonprofit called "Accountable America" that is headed by a former operative of MoveOn.com (which endorsed Obama) has been going through campaign-finance databases and targeting conservative donors with "warning" letters intended to depress Republican fundraising.
The Obama campaign demanded that the U.S. Justice Department stop TV stations from airing an independent ad focusing on Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers. Again, Obama's followers were summoned to inundate stations with tens of thousands of emails to kill the commercial. What's more, the Obama campaign has demanded that the Justice Department investigate and prosecute the group that produced the Bill Ayers ad (the American Issues Project) and the man who funded the group (Harold Simmons from Dallas, Texas). Most recently, the attorney for Obama for America has asked the U.S. Attorney General to investigate John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Republican Senators Voinovich and Cornyn and Representatives Bachmann, Blunt and Ryan because of the Republicans' attempts to draw attention to ACORN's fraudulent voter registration activities.
All of this provides a frightening preview of what an Obama government (combined with a Democrat-controlled House and Senate) would look like. And this doesn't even start to take into account Obama's and the Democrats' intent to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, a spread-the-wealth approach to silencing conservative talk radio wherein the government uses regulation to force successful radio talk shows (i.e. conservative shows) to give part of their airtime to unsuccessful radio talk shows (i.e. liberal shows), or Obama's support for implementing legislation that would make it more difficult for workers to hold a private ballot vote in unionization drives (leading to harassment and intimidation) and thereby denying the democratic right of workers to decide by secret ballot whether they will come under union representation or not. Both issues are further examples of silencing opposition.

What makes Obama's affinity for suppressing dissent even worse is that mainstream newspapers and television networks, the very institutions expected to act as watchdogs and to be a forum for the expression of free speech of all persuasions, have failed the American people during this election not only through biased reporting but also by their shocking failure (refusal?) to dig beyond the surface into Obama's questionable background. As a result, in this election, the American people have been stripped of the protections normally provided by a vibrant and critical press, one of the most important weapons a free nation has against its leaders (or leaders-to-be) and against the tyranny of power.

Should Obama be elected to the presidency, Americans should expect such ugly aggressive tactics to continue, and Americans who disagree with President Obama should expect to be silenced. Whether it is through Obama's use of the mainstream press as a government mouthpiece, the imposition of the Fairness Doctrine to suppress (and in many cases eliminate) radio and television programs or print media outlets critical of an Obama administration, or, the sicking of the press and surrogates on citizens who dare question those in power, Americans are about to experience on a national scale what dissenting students and faculty on American campuses have experienced for years.

At least we can't say we weren't warned.

Anat Hakim is an attorney and writer living in Florida. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and the recipient of the 1999 Wisconsin ACLU Civil Libertarian of the Year Award.

Three Reporters Booted from Obama Plane

The Obama campaign has decided to heave out three newspapers from its plane for the final days of its blitz across battleground states -- and all three endorsed Sen. John McCain for president!

The NY POST, WASHINGTON TIMES and DALLAS MORNING NEWS have all been told to move out by Sunday to make room for network bigwigs -- and possibly for the inclusion of reporters from two black magazines, ESSENCE and JET, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Despite pleas from top editors of the three newspapers that have covered the campaign for months at extraordinary cost, the Obama campaign says their reporters -- and possibly others -- will have to vacate their coveted seats so more power players can document the final days of Sen. Barack Obama's historic campaign to become the first black American president. ~~Drudge Report

Freedom of the Press??

Obama Forgot to Spread His Own Wealth

Even when making more than $250,000, he gave away less than 1 percent to charity until he became a millionaire.

Thinking about Barack Obama's impromptu lecture to Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher about his plans to "spread the wealth", I wondered whether Obama was a practitioner of his own "spread the wealth" principles when he had the opportunity to do so, or whether he was the cheap political opportunist and redistributor of the wealth of others that he appeared to be.

Looking at Obama's charitable giving in since 2000 based on his tax returns, we find that Obama consistently refused to follow his own advice to "spread the wealth" when he had the opportunity to do so. This is especially true in years when he made nearly $250,000 or more. Their contributions didn't increase until Barack Obama's extraordinary book deal helped make him a millionaire and Michelle Obama received a nearly $200,000 raise in May 2005 when she assumed a new position with her employer as vice president of "community and external affairs".

In fact, Obama gave substantially less than the average family making more than $150,000, which averages giving of 2.2 percent of total income according to University of George Professor Russell James.

By comparison, John McCain gave more than one-quarter of his income in 2006 and 2007 (28.6 and 27.3 percent respectively). And according to the New York Observer, since 1998, he has donated royalties on his books totaling more than $1.8 million.

When Barack and Michelle Obama could voluntarily give more of their own income and had the means well beyond most Americans to do so, they refused. In the event that Barack Obama is elected President, however, he and his Democrat allies in Congress intend to force others to do what he couldn't do on his own.
Vote accordingly.

Patrick Poole

Ch Ch Ch Changes Mr Bowie

Here's some changes I'd like to see, since it seems to be the buzzword this campaign, and nothing is going to change regardless who gets elected.
Lobbyists: If you have served as an elected official at any level of government, you cannot be a lobbyist. According to a report by Public Citizen, 43% of 198 members of Congress that retired between 1998 and 2005 are lobbyists. Foreign countries cannot have lobbyists. We have a State Department. These countries have been on State Department Travel Warning list or labeled human rights violators. Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Dubai, Venezuela, Sudan, China, United Arab Emirates, Palestine. Some of these have declared war on the US, are terrorists states, yet have US citizens lobbying for them.
Federally elected politicians making their home in Washington DC.: We live in the 21st century. We have computers and video conferencing. All representatives of districts and states must live in that district and state. There's no reason for not living where the people you represent are. These representatives should only go to DC if required by a national emergency; and thirty days to pass a balanced budget. If the budget isn't passed, and balanced, they don't get paid until it does. Their check goes to Treasury, and they can't write it off as a deduction.
Fair Tax: There will be no corporate, personal or payroll taxes, no estate taxes, or capital gains taxes. There will be a national retail sales tax. The government can't take your money before you get it. People with less money spend less, so pay less taxes, like now. People with more buy more, so pay more taxes. Like now. Don't you think you could spend your money better than a self interested politician or government bureaucrat? Care about the poor? You can give more to them directly with no middleman. Love your church? You will have more to offer beyond your tithe for more good works.
Government Unions: Government unions will be disbanded. If you work for the government you are a servant of the people. You cannot use the coercion of the union to extort money from the people. If the money isn't good enough, go to the private sector.
Campaigns: Politicians running for state offices cannot accept money from out of state. If you want to run for office, raise the money in your own state. Unions cannot endorse candidates. Their only purpose is to represent employees to employers. No monetary restrictions on campaigns, but every penny from every person must be reported and posted.
Law: If you sue and loose you pay all court costs. If the Congress passes a law, it stands on its own. No amendments until after it is passed.
Time: No more daylight savings time. No more time zones. Everything will be GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Trade, commerce and communication are 24/7 and planet wide. Manage time by standardizing it.

That's the basics. Ch ch ch changes .....

What’s the Job of the US President?

US Constitution, Article II, Section 1

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I don't see anywhere in here about the President of the United States redistributing wealth, providing hope (I'll place my hope in God, not man, and especially not a man), bringing change (especially change to fit a particular ideology). I don't want either candidate to bring change. Neither of them will anyway. I look at that oath, and I want only to see a president that will be commander in chief that will build and maintain a kick ass military, secure the borders, ensure law enforcement protects its citizens. That's all folks. No more than that. Keep the *%*^*^ ing government out of my life!!! Both candidates.

He’s Already Building His Stage

Obama is already building the stage for his acceptance speech. The press and his other supporters (one in same) are saying the election is over. His victory parties are planned.

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Fascinating Biology Facts

The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.
It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
One human hair can support 3 kg (6 lb).
The average man's erection is three times the length of his thumb.
Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.
A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.
There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
Women blink twice as often as men.
The average person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.
Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.
If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.
Men who read this are probably still busy checking their thumbs.

A Little Hard Work Never Killed Anyone, Son -Every Good Dad

Statistics report that in 2000, 5,915 people died at work, including those that had a heart attack at their desk. Lumberjacks have the most dangerous, and the second most is airplane pilots (small planes, not passenger jets..whew!). Following that are structural metalworkers, miners, drillers. Third most common cause of death on the job is murder; in 2000, 677 workers...of those fifty were policemen, and 205 were salesmen. Falls at work account for 12% of work related deaths; these are usually roofer and structural metalworkers. The most common cause of work related death is auto accidents, 23% of the total. The single most dangerous job is Alaskan crab fishermen working the Bering Sea ('The Deadliest Catch'). --From "The Book of General Ignorance" -John Lloyd and John Mitchinson

God's View of Government

“God’s view of government dictates that it carries out a specified and limited role in human affairs. The church and civil government are made necessary by the same thing (sin), but do not have identical responsibilities (Matthew 22:15-21). The humanist view of the role of government is to perfect mankind. The Scriptural view of the role of government is to protect mankind. Throughout Scripture, God is clear that civil government is charged with a limited responsibility and that good leaders decide to take a Scriptural view of government’s role. We also see in Scripture that God has a welfare plan—people are to look to the family, then the church, then the community (1 Timothy 5:3-16, Leviticus 19:9, 10, 23:22). The humanistic plan is publicly funded, coercive, and creates cycles of dependency. God’s plan is community-oriented, voluntary, and empowers people.” —Nathan Tabor

Flu Shot

I've been down and out for two days because I had a flu shot this past Friday, provided by the Nevada Cancer Institute where I volunteer. I went into work Sat morning and made it until 7AM. I'd been up all night with all the symptoms, and knew that a co worker had the day off, so it was imperative I show up. After three hours, I couldn't sit up, couldn't comprehend what anyone was saying to me (all was like a foreign language), couldn't even do computer admin stuff, so I came home and passed out for six hours. I can't imagine what the real flu would be like if this was just from a little shot. Yikes! So the sheets are being washed, the dish washer is running (the kitchen was a mess!! I can't stand that!!!). Was I sleep walking? My apt was a mess but I don't remember anything I did to make it so. The only other time a flu shot made me sick was the Swine Flu shot in the Seventies. I was in the Navy at the time and all were required to get it. I had quarterdeck watch that night, and collapsed on the stairwell leading onto the deck, just as some jerk officer (not all officers are, just this one) chewed me out for sitting down on watch. I had collapsed at just the moment the officer walked around the corner, so the officer of the deck didn't have a chance to intervene until after the jerk said something. He relived me of the watch. When I got down to my bunk, I went into convulsions and was in that flu state for two days, like I was with this shot. Though it's only happened twice, I've got to wonder if the shot is worth it. The years I didn't get a shot, I did fine. This year I was motivated because of my work at the Nevada Cancer Institute, and I don't even want to be the cause of any illness there. There it could be deadly, so in this case I guess, it was worth it.