BO and FDR, two peas in a porridge

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) compared Obama favorably to Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) after the SOTU speech last night. She might want to reconsider. To get elected, FDR promised he would be a fiscal conservative in 1932 after the liberal Hoover set the stage for really big government intervention in the economy after the crash of 1929 creating many new programs.  But FDR made things worse and kept the country mired in a Great Depression that lasted over 10 years. Our grandparents kept reelecting him—just like today’s know nothings reelected Obama last November despite his failures to turn the economy around.

Eleanor, his wife, was actually unhappy when things started to turn around during WWII because all the men and many of the women were employed in the war effort. (Even her most love-struck biographers acknowledge this.)  She wasn't done planning every detail of citizens' lives yet.  And like Obama, FDR hurt the little guy first with new excise taxes on everything from gum to movie tickets.  In 2009, Obama raised cigarette taxes, even though it was long ago proven that the poor do not respond to punishments in order to improve their health, and in 2013, he’s raising gasoline taxes 18%, which won’t stop the rich from taking trips, but will certainly hurt the middle class and low income driving to work.

How the New Deal hurt millions of poor people

Obama had a message for the youth vote last night

Badly worded signage

A parking lot sign at Giant Eagle is in desperate need of another clause or some punctuation.

"Expectant mothers and fathers with new born children parking only."

Each time I see it I wonder about that expectant father, or the mother of a new born who is pregnant already, or the adoptive mom with a new born. I'm suggesting,

"Please let customers with young children park here."

A new born is certainly easier to wrangle than a couple of cranky toddlers, and doesn't grandma or nanny need to park close too?

40 years later. . .

My set of Revere Ware is probably about 40 years old, but I only learned to use the steamer basket within the last year. Smack my head! Can't believe how easy this is. I used to boil green beans to mush and they were still tasteless and hard. 7 minutes. That's it. It's never too late to learn those new tricks, ladies.

If he can’t get it in taxes, he’ll start on our savings

Today we're meeting with our financial advisor, Dave. My tax deferred account says I have to spread this out almost another 24 years (only my uncle Leslie Weybright has lived that long in my family). But that assumes Obama doesn't decide that taking our income is not enough, he wants our wealth. Is it fair that I put away 15% of my income every month I was employed, in addition to the state required pension withdrawals, and some other twit was out getting her nails done, night clubbing, or taking fabulous vacations. Shouldn't she, in the president's reasoning, get some of my common sense?

Marco Rubio, a voice of sanity in a tax and spend world

"[Obama’s] solution to virtually every problem we face is for Washington to tax more, borrow more and spend more," Rubio said of the president. "And the idea that more taxes and more government spending is the best way to help hardworking middle class taxpayers - that's an old idea that's failed every time it's been tried. More government isn't going to help you get ahead. It's going to hold you back. More government isn't going to create more opportunities. It's going to limit them."

Yes, it’s the old, failed way—FDR tried for over 10 years and kept us mired in a Depression--and they say conservatives are stuck in the past.

Rand Paul in his response said something like, “What the president fails to grasp. . .” then something about hard work.  Look guys, this president is not dumb and he knows exactly what he is doing and has the steps laid out to destroy initiative, self-reliance, the rewards of hard work, and anything else the founders had in mind.

Where are the Benghazi survivors?

There are still many unanswered questions despite what Obama’s PR machine reports. (Jay Carney says all questions have been settled.)

Are they being protected?  Hidden?  Imprisoned?

Are they dead?  Never existed?

Homicides are at an all time low

Homicides are at an all time low. Even one murder is too many, but when ever we start to make progress, be it racism, disease, accidents, poverty, suicide, homicide (all of which are at all time lows according to government stats), there are groups whose jobs depend on keeping the issue alive and in the public view. It would "disarm" the left if they were to report that we are not a horrible, awful country that needs their fix.

Gitmo closing was so yesterday; today it is drones

The Constitution guarantees due process for American citizens. The drone program used against Americans is illegal. Where are all those pro-bono, hot-shot lawyers who rushed to Gitmo to protect the rights of non-Americans who were captured in combat? (Whom the president has left in limbo, by the way.)

I ticked off 17 problems with his first year, and remember, in those days he was still against gay marriage.

The Obama Doctrine: Kill don’t capture

Today is fat Tuesday and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday

Carnival comes from Latin and means "to stop eating meat." In the 1500s, "carnival" time was the last three days before the Christian season of Lent. Lent is 40 days (Sundays aren't counted) before Easter of repentance and moderation or fasting in the Western church tradition. It was the last chance to eat meat until Easter. Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, when the cooks used up all the fat before the Lenten fast. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, when Christians go to church and have the sign of the cross made on their foreheads from last year's palms from Palm Sunday (usually purchased because it is very hard to make your own ashes, at least at our church).

These are the two guys saying NO to North Korea

Woot.  That ought to scare Kim Jong-un.  Nuclear device set off right before the State of the Union speech so he can thumb his nose at the peace prize prez and the Vietnam war protester.

Lightning strikes dome of St. Peter’s after Pope’s announcement

Obama’s failure as a military leader

In 2009 Obama dithered and dawdled over the troop surge in Afghanistan, and consequently, he lost an opportunity to succeed, and had lost more American lives in 27 months than all the years of Bush. The media have been pretty silent on not only the deaths, but the failure of the surge. There’s not much good to report about this president, and the media cover for him all the time.  It’s very frustrating. The only things he’s really good at are, 1) getting out the vote, 2) defaming and lying about his opponents, whether Romney, the Tea Party,  the GOP or other Democrats who ran against him. Oh yes, and Fox News—he’s got a real bee in his bonnet about anyone who speaks truth.

When deaths are reported, they are a decrease. But even I can count this as 1214 in 3 years.

2000 mark in October

Where the racism is

Black children and teens accounted for 45 percent of all child and teen gun deaths in 2008 and 2009 according to Children's Defense Fund, but were only 15 percent of the total child population. These children are either killed in their homes or neighborhoods by other black people—usually a male.  Some of the cities they lived in have very strict gun laws--like Chicago. So why did the President wait for the Newtown tragedy to address gun control?

About 40% of the legal abortions are for black children, and most Planned Parenthood clinics are in minority neighborhoods. The President considers PP his political ally and is the only politician in the U.S. who would not vote to give medical attention to a born alive aborted baby--a baby that has a good chance of being black.  So where is the racism in the U.S. if not the federal government? If not in the heart and soul of this president?

Guns and cars

In 2011, 323 murders were committed with a rifle and 356 with a shotgun, while a staggering 496 were committed with hammers and clubs.

In 2010, there were an estimated 5,419,000 vehicle crashes, killing 32,885 and injuring 2,239,000.

Ignore the drones and the war expansion

GOP vote chasing makes me sick

I'm so sick of the GOP/conservatives making excuses and not reading their own research. Romney lost because evangelicals and conservative Catholics stayed home. There. Just look at the states and how evangelicals voted in 2004 for Bush. They didn't vote for Obama in 2012; they just didn't vote. Whether it was because Romney was a Mormon, or they just like to pout when they can't get their own way from a field of candidates in the primaries, or they cling to conspiracy theories swirling the internet, I don't know. Running off in 10 directions chasing amnesty, votes from Hispanics, downplaying abortion issues, ignoring the debt, or coming out for gay marriage is just plain silly. If you're not any better organized around what you believe in, you deserve to lose.

Full Text of the Pope’s Declaration

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

I hope this is an ugly rumor

I'm not happy with what this man, Chris Dorner, has allegedly done, but he deserves a trial, not a drone death authorized by the state of California or the federal government to be jury, judge and executioner. We let convicted criminals put forward years of expensive appeals, and this guy won't even get arrested? Drones had been used domestically for surveillance in 2011, but this is the first they’ve been used armed. Also, remember the Aurora shooter had booby trapped a building.  How do we know this man doesn’t have information about traps or bombs he has set around California, which if he’s killed before capture will never be known?

It’s so crazy we’re having a “national conversation” about gun control when the government has gone berserk on drones against Americans.  The first amendment is not about worship, it’s for religious freedom, and that includes not forcing contraception and sterilization on Christian churches, schools and hospitals.  The second amendment is not for hunting rabbits, it is to protect the people from this very thing, but even a closet of assault rifles won’t protect a citizen against a drone.  The fifth amendment protects people like Dorner, who are SUSPECTS.   Obama is shredding the Bill of Rights—first, second and fifth, so far.  What’s next?  Will he reinstate slavery?

Story

Another story

Obama and the 5th amendment

And please pray for the safety of our niece  and her husband who are with the LAPD and engaged in this manhunt.

An inspiring speech by Dr. Carson

Dr. Benjamin Carson spoke at the 61st National Prayer Breakfast  in Washington DC at the Hilton Washington International Ballroom. Many Conservatives cheered and thought he really told the administration about health care (advocates for Health Savings Accounts), but really, it’s just a rousing patriotic speech with his own rags to riches story and is mostly about the important of education, reading, and a mother who refused to be a victim.  He and his wife established a foundation to help children and have awarded over 5,000 scholarships.  Watch the whole thing—you won’t be sorry. Every school age child should see this speech and stop looking to NFL players with 8 baby mamas for inspiration.

“Jesus is my role model. . . “  Benjamin Carson.

C-SPAN video of speech

The puzzle for which there is no answer

For this thousands are taking on massive debt!

Why are recent college grads underemployed?

Three of the top four areas of growth 2010-2020 require less than a high school degree, Retail Salespersons 706,800; Home Health Aides 706,300; Personal Care Aides 607,000.

In the three occupations “retail sales person,” “cashier,” and “waiters and waitresses” there are more than 1.7 million college graduates employed, and the other fourteen occupations listed in the table employ almost one million more college graduates. There are, of course, many other occupations requiring little education with significant numbers of college graduates, such as taxi drivers (36,945 have college degrees—15.4 percent of the total), and parking lot attendants (16,138 have at least a bachelor’s degree—12.9 percent of the total).

Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville reminded the nation that in 1830, 36 members of Congress were born in that tiny state of Connecticut, supplying 1/8th of the representation, although it was only 1/43rd of the population. How? By people leaving that state and moving westward to become rich landowners and then becoming legislators. I guess wealth and Congress have a long relationship.

Alexis de Tocqueville also noted that as Americans moved westward to achieve freedom, land ownership, and wealth, "the progress of man is so rapid that the desert reappears behind him. The woods stoop to give him a passage, and spring up again when he is past. It is not uncommon, in crossing the new States of the West, to meet with deserted dwellings in the midst of the wilds; the traveller frequently discovers the vestiges of a log-house in the most solitary retreat, which bear witness to the power, and no less to the inconstancy, of man."

Sometimes I think this about modern technology. Like my “not-so-smart” phone. Good enough for me even if it is a log-house in the deserted woods that he spoke of.

The glass ceiling and the welfare ceiling

Mother of two is trapped in the welfare system. With an income of $19,000 she qualifies for nearly $81,000 in benefits according to the Blaze panel tonight, many of which would be lost if she made more money--child care, SNAP, Medicaid, SCHIP, Section 8, earned income tax credit, heat, phone, etc. Another example from Pennsylvania in mid-2012 was of a statistical mother of 2 earning $29,000 gross income is better off than earning $69,000 gross because of entitlements she receives at the lower income. And if people say this is a trap, they are cruel, haters, racists, etc.

She can earn $57,000 and still get SCHIP; she can earn $45,000 and get child care and SCHIP; but why do that when at $29,000 she can also get food stamps, housing and heat as well as medical and child care? Look what she would lose if she got a promotion--or got married?

 http://www.aei.org/files/2012/07/11/-alexander-presentation_10063532278.pdf

Worst Multiple-Year Economic Recoveries Since WWII

1) June 2009 - Present: 7.5 percent growth

2) April 1958 - April 1960: 11.7 percent growth

3) May 1954 - September 1957: 13.4 percent growth

4) November 1970 - November 1973: 16.4 percent growth

5) November 2001 – January 2007: 17.2 percent growth

6) March 1975 – January 1980: 23.2 percent growth

7) October 1949 – July 1953: 28.7 percent growth

8) November 1982 – July 1990: 37.3 percent growth

9) March 1991 – March 2001: 42.1 percent growth

10) February 1961 – December 1969: 51.2 percent growth

Listen, Sparky. . .

Poverty and marriage

Only 7% of children in families living below the poverty line have married parents. Although the government has spent a lot of money on studies that prove this, it continues with so called anti-poverty programs that encourage men not to marry the mother of their children. She can get more government money without him, than with him.

And then there are the mega-rich NFL and NBA players with their 6-10 or so baby mamas each to set the example . . . but that's another crime to be solved  At least the reality series was cancelled.

Snow heading for the Northeast

The northeast is bracing for a snow storm. A recent study shows that 94.8% of us (14 states) have a working flashlight; 89.7% a 3-day supply of medicine; 82.9% a 3-day supply of food; 77.7% battery radio; 53.6% 3-day supply of water; and 21.1% an evacuation plan.

I think we need to research the importance of water or about 50% of us might not make it.

I hope those Sandy victims finally have electricity and water that the president promised and the press promptly forgot about or the snow won't be welcomed.  Two weeks ago, many were still without power and heat.

What’s in your purse?

I carry a small bag so I can't load it with junk. I don't even carry a bill fold/change purse. Kleenex, pen, checkbook, keys, ipod, pocket calendar/scheduler, sun glasses, small tape measure, some cards for coffee, hand sanitizer, comb, lipstick. I used to carry a small tool set but the government thinks that is a weapon.

Don’t set your purse on the kitchen counter.  Remember where it’s been.

Your healthcare will be more expensive and less efficient, if our other 4 are any indication

Before Obamacare, (PPACA) we had four major government health systems, all with significant problems. Medicare, Medicaid and S-CHIP are riddled with fraud and waste, and the recommendations put in place by the GAO have not been implemented by the Obama Administration. So Obama burdens us with another plan, this one with 14,000 regulations, thousands of new government employees and whole new bureaucracies.

The Veterans Affairs is the 4th, and although a fantastic organization, its claims are 255 days behind on the average, and 426 days behind in California. Do you suppose this might have made a difference for the veteran who just killed two other veterans and made threats against his family? How could anyone have gotten help for him with kind of wait? But guns, not health care for veterans, will be blamed.

Both items in JAMA, Jan. 9, 2013.

You can keep your health care he promised

But even the cheapest will cost you $20,000 a year for a family of five, so good luck with that.

Victoria’s father gives Congress a lesson on the Constitution

This father intends to do what lock down, 911, and police arriving after the murders could not--protect his daughter, Victoria. Pass this one along if you believe there are procedures for amending the U.S. Constitution and our state constitutions.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhXPlCjr0Vw&feature=player_embedded#!

Drone strikes—secret—against Americans

The media are right on this, of course.

Drone strikes secret

DOJ White Paper

Little ones in the news

What would you have named the baby Clydesdale from the Super Bowl ad? Budweiser got over 50,000 suggestions. Winning name is HOPE. Her mother is Darla who was taking over the photoshoot (baby was sleeping).  Somewhere I saw that this ad was designed to grab women; I think it worked, that and the farmer/ Paul Harvey ad are the only ones I hear my friends talking about.  I’ve still never had a beer.  Smells awful.

Noticed a story on Fox News about a 6 year old girl who took her mom's car so she could visit her dad, who she missed. Hit a few cars and bushes (lots of snow on the narrow streets). No comment from the talking heads on the parents who apparently weren't together nor paying attention to visitation requirements. Actually, that and not car theft by kids, is the big break down in our society.  It was a Mercedes, so maybe mom was a baby momma of one of the NFL players.

World health rankings are distorted (and often used for political purposes, IMO). Infant mortality, for instance. "Doctors in the U.S. are much more aggressive than foreign counterparts about trying to save premature babies. Thousands of babies that would have been declared stillborn in other countries and never given a chance at life are saved in the U.S. As a result, the percentage of preterm births in America is exceptionally high—65% higher than in Britain, and about double the rates in Finland and Greece."

Wall St. Journal article

Don’t look down on Detroit

"If you want to know what the future of America is going to be like, just look at the city of Detroit. Once upon a time it was a symbol of everything that America was doing right, but today it has been transformed into a rotting, decaying, post-apocalyptic hellhole.

Detroit was once the fourth-largest city in the United States, and in 1960 Detroit had the highest per-capita income in the entire nation. It was the greatest manufacturing city the world had ever seen, and the rest of the globe looked at Detroit with a sense of awe and wonder. But now the city of Detroit has become a bad joke to the rest of the world. Unemployment is rampant, 60 percent of the children are living in poverty and the city government is on the verge of bankruptcy. They say that Detroit is just a matter of "weeks or months" away from running out of cash, and when Detroit does declare bankruptcy it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the United States.

But don't look down on Detroit, because the truth is that Detroit is really a metaphor for what is happening to America as a whole. In the United States today, our manufacturing infrastructure has been gutted, poverty is absolutely exploding and we are rapidly approaching national bankruptcy. Detroit may have gotten there first, but the rest of the country will follow soon enough..."
Read more: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/bankrupt-decaying-and-nearly-dead-24-facts-about-the-city-of-detroit-that-will-shock-you

New, fresh snow

In book club today we discussed "The sweetness at the bottom of the pie," by C. Alan Bradley. It won an award in 2009, his first, and now there are 5 in the series about an 11 year old girl, Flavia, who solves crimes. I recommend it, and I almost never choose to read a mystery unless it's on a list from book club.

Columbus weather--very messy and slow going.  Lots of cancellations tonight.  It took 35 min. to do a 12 min. trip coming home from book club this afternoon. Fortunately, the other drivers were patient and courteous, so we all kept moving at a safe crawl.

How great to drive home through the snow and know I had yesterday's oven fried chicken and pasta ready to warm up.

Do you make lists?

I make a list for 2 reasons; 1) company’s coming; 2) we’re planning a party. I have friends who derive great satisfaction from marking things off the to do list.  It just makes me feel like someone is nagging me.

The skeet shoot photo op of the President

"The photo, purportedly shot last Aug. 4 (which happens to be the president's birthday), shows Obama holding a shotgun. The barrel is smoking, indicating that the gun has just been fired. What's odd about it is that the president is aiming straight ahead, as if he were firing a rifle at a stationary target.

But in skeet shooting, the target, a disk known as a clay pigeon, is moving. It is launched from one of two "houses" and travels in a parabolic trajectory across the field. In order to hit it, one has to move the gun so as to follow the path of the clay. It's not impossible that one would fire at shoulder level, as Obama is doing in the photo, but it's unlikely. We therefore surmise that the picture is the product of a photo shoot, not a skeet shoot."
Wall St. Journal Feb. 4

Thought as much.  And I’ve never shot a gun.

What do wealthy Democrats in Congress do to ensure the rest of the country won't get what they have?

                         

1) Pass environmental regulations that stifle smaller businesses so their own corporations and businesses will pull ahead;

2) keep the poor out of their neighborhoods with set backs, parks, and required green spaces which adds thousands to the cost of building or maintaining a home;

3) Vote for burdensome tax regulations with loop holes only they can qualify for, engorging the tax code;

4) stifle all economic growth stemming from fossil fuels, so they can invest in alternative fuels with contracts from the government (like the railroad barons did to kill the shipping industry of canal owners in the 19th century);

5) foist government, single payer health care on the masses, but not for federal workers, and they'll pay cash for what they need even if they have to fly to a foreign country to get it;

6) look for ways to undermine marriage and religion, the two wealth builders that helped their families get ahead, so they won't have any competition;

7) provide as much “free stuff” as possible to lure voters to ensure they will stay in office;

8) hire private security guards with guns for the protection of their homes and families;

9) send their children to private schools while denying the same right to lower income parents who want charter schools;

10)  lie and blame, and when it doesn’t work, lie some more.

Airplane rides aren’t just for kids

These are the adult grandchildren of my husband’s sister, Jacob 20, and Erin 31, having a good time the the old airplane trick.  Ten years ago, they wouldn’t have been able to do this.

Pensions for Revolutionary War Soldiers—Monday Memories

While filling in gaps in the genealogy database I came across a transcribed document on the Internet from 2011, not available the last time I looked.  It was the Pension application for Jacob Williford, my 4th great grandfather, born in 1755 in North Carolina and died in Grainger County, Tennessee in 1839.  The application was for the 1832 Act of Congress on Pensions for war veterans.  Obviously, he was up a bit in years by then—being 77 years old.  His application was successful and he received $60/year from 1833 to his death six years later.  Because there were a number of pension acts by the federal government, I haven’t located information if he’d qualified under a previous one, nor did I find any mention of a wife (blank spot in the database).

Swore under oath (pension application  S1737   fn15NC   1832) 

“That he enlisted in the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated to wit Col. Benjamin Axum [Benjamin Exum] commanded the Regiment and Capt. Axum Phillips commanded the Company to which he belonged. He states that he entered the service in Edgecombe County in the State of North Carolina and rendezvoused at Tarborough in said State. He states that he entered the service in the month of June in the year 1780 and that he left the service in the month of September of the same year.”

He states that he served in this tour 3 months. He states that he was discharged in Hillsboro in the State of North Carolina at the expiration of his said term of service but that he has lost it long since. He states he marched from Tarborough and joined General Gates in the State of South Carolina and was attached to his Army when he was defeated but was not in the engagement in consequence of sickness but was left with the baggage wagons.

He states that after the defeat of General Gates he was taken prisoner by the Tories and was rescued by a company of Light horse -- that the Tories dispersed when the light horse came up. He states that Col. or General Lee and Col. William Washington commanded the Dragoons. He states that he volunteered he thinks in the month of June in the year 1781 and joined a Company at Halifax under Capt. Orphy Thomas and served a while under him and was then transferred to the Company commanded by Capt. Benjamin Coleman a Continental Capt., and marched under him to the County of Onslow near Wilmington and from thence we marched to Duplin County in North Carolina from thence we marched to Kingston [sic, Kinston] I think in Dobbs County where I was discharged by Capt. Coleman. He states that in this tour he served 3 months. He states further that he has lost his discharge given him by Capt. Coleman.

He states that he left the service in the month of September in the year 1781 and that after he returned home he heard of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. “

The pension requirements, begun in 1776 for those disabled by the war, changed often, and by 1820 they had to show proof of need but not disability. The requirements were loosened as the veterans aged, particularly for the widows.  At first, pensions were only given to the widows if they had been married before the man left the service, but eventually, when there were very few left (1878), a widow could receive benefits no matter when they married and if the man served as few as 14 days! 

Pensions enacted by Congress for Revolutionary War Veterans

Tennesseeans in the Revolutionary War

Battle of King’s Mountain Roster:  There is a Jacob Williford in the roster, but no way to know if this is him and the dates don’t line up, however, he seemed a little unsure of the dates himself.

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl

Some people watch it only for the ads, which are very, very expensive. At Super Bowl XLVII between the Ravens and 49ers, the average cost of a 30-second advertisement was around $4 million.

Detroit coach shoots two thugs last night

"Police sources in Detroit say that a women's basketball coach, 72 years old and a reserve police officer, from Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School shot two men who attacked him as he was walking two basketball players to their cars in the school parking lot Friday night." [7NewsDetroit]

The man was accosted by the teens, former students at MLK school, who attempted to rob him with a gun, but the coach had a permit to carry. One teen is dead, the other hospitalized. He probably saved his own life, and maybe that of the girls, but strangely, I can't find this story in any of the major news outlets, or liberal news web sites like HuffPo or Daily Beast that have been saying there’s no reason to arm school personnel. If I weren't subscribing to a black conservative news source, I wouldn't have seen it.

http://newsninja2012.com/detroit-mi-mlk-jr-high-school-70-year-old-coach-shoots-attackers-who-tried-to-rob-him-one-teen-died-on-scene-other-survives/#axzz2JlX0GryJ

Catty remarks

Of the top 20 wealthiest people in the federal government (Congress, Judiciary, Executive and appointments to cabinet, etc.), only 6 are Republicans. Two of the Democrats are not elected, but appointed by the President. Next time you hear the President talk about "fat cats," think of those who surround and protect him.

Open Secrets

None, however, are as rich as Julia Dreyfuss or Oprah, who both supported Obama and are worth $2.9 billion and $2.8 billion.

A Circleville, Ohio resident remembers life in Austria and Germany, before and after WWII

Perhaps you should consider the advice from someone who has lived in a country where all guns were confiscated, and the government was all powerful.

“We lived in Nazi-controlled Austria in a refugee camp in late 1944. Guns had been confiscated long ago by Adolf Hitler. In the refugee camp, my mother saved my life with an illegal gun. And in late May 1945, we were in the eastern part of Germany when there was a weeks-long total breakdown of law and order after World War II ended.

Gangs of criminals were going through the city one street at a time, raping, getting drunk and looting. My mother made elaborate plans to keep them out of our apartment and for us to hide in the basement without being seen. Fortunately she was successful in keeping the vermin out.

Most of the other women and even young girls were not so lucky. They were defenseless with no guns and all men of fighting age, 15 to 60, either prisoners of war or dead. At that time my father was a Russian POW. My mom still had the illegal semiautomatic pistol with her, just in case her plan did not work. I was a sickly child who cried a lot of the time.

One day while we were all hiding in the basement, a gang of criminals pounded on the blocked doors and blocked windows while they screamed, “Frau Schnapps.” I was totally quiet. I knew we were in mortal danger.

Unless one has experienced such events, one probably cannot imagine it can happen. Most Americans think, “It will never happen here.” Hope not. But don't count on it.

In any case, don’t ever let our government take our guns away or keep a list of all gun owners. After my father was released from Russian captivity, he lived in Romania until he fled to West Germany. The communists would knock on people’s doors at 3 a.m. and arrest them without a judge involved. Many of these people never were seen again. The authorities had guns, of course. They always do.

Based on the experiences of my youth, I do not share many people’s blind trust in governments, especially big powerful governments. My father read the Constitution before he decided to request to immigrate to the U.S. with his family. He had had his fill of communism, National Socialism (Nazism) and governments that feel the need and have the power to arbitrarily confiscate weapons.

Of course, Europeans generally accept that they can’t own guns. But their history is such that they started out as serfs and always had a lord, king or emperor. There was always a powerful leader who had control over the lives of his subjects. We Americans threw off the yoke of aristocracy and had a new birth of freedom.”

GERHARD MAROSCHER Circleville

The Recession was over in June 2009—before the stimulus kicked in—in 2013 he says recovery has begun

If Obama hadn't tried to take over 1/6 of the economy throwing all plans for development, invention and expansion into a free fall, the recession he continues to blame on Bush could have been solved quickly. (Technically, it was over in June 2009, so everything he did after that caused the economy to remain sluggish.)

Unintended consequences—population control

The “West” invented and promoted eugenics and birth control (aka reproductive health) to limit the populations of the developing countries (it still does through the U.N.), but the irony is western developed countries are now at below replacement birth rates, and don’t have enough workers to support those born after WWII.  Without immigration, much of it illegal, the United States would be at negative population growth.  But Mexico has a birth dearth we’re contributing to.

70 countries are below replacement fertility.  Now, environmentalists will say this is a good thing.  What do you say? Slavery used to be a solution for a shortage of manpower.  Would you like to go back to that?  Or maybe just a slow double decade of sluggish economy like Japan?

Look how the baby boomer demographic in the U.S. drove our economy from 1945 to 1980.  Do you really think the collapse in 2007 was just about banking and bad government policies, or can you watch that generation and see there is no one to buy the McMansions or shop at the malls?  Old people save, not spend.

There’s a reason for the term “human capital,” and our current government policy is to destroy it.  The age group that has babies is the one who create the inventions that make our life better.

The Obama economy

Where the rich get richer and the poor get more unemployment benefits.

Ballards before the move to Illinois—Friday family photo

William Ballard (Grand dad) seated in front with Leta Ballard on his lap; behind him the young boy in a suit is Arthur Ballard; behind William is his wife Leanor Williford Ballard. Standing to his left is Blanche Molly Ballard and her brother Earle Ballard.  On the far right in the white blouse and black skirt is Cora Ballard, oldest daughter of William and Leanor.  The man directly behind the baby is Frank Williford, Leanor’s brother and to his right is probably his wife Minnie Cline Williford.  Between Frank and Cora are Joe and Maude Rodeffer who in the 1930s lived in Mt. Morris, but I don’t believe are relatives. 

Leta was born in 1906 in Tennessee, and appears to be about 2 years old. If Roy and Bessie are in the photo, I can’t pick them out.

Update:  A 1917 farm directory for Ogle County that I just found today says Wm Ballard was a resident of Ogle Co. in 1905. . . maybe they returned to Tennessee for a while?

Media Landscape

Prostitution and the Super Bowl

As missionaries with Great Commission Ministries since 2000, Dan and Julie Clark have had the opportunity to serve a variety of populations including American college students at New Life/Mosiac, members of an inner-city church plant in Hampton, VA and church planters and orphaned children in Kiev, Ukraine. They were on staff with Children’s HopeChest from 2004/2005-2009 working with orphan graduates and women in crisis. They saw the need for a nonprofit with the focus of early intervention and prevention in the lives of orphaned children and vulnerable women and families, and launched doma in August 2008.

doma empowers women and embraces children at ConnectionPoints in Ethiopia, Uganda, Ukraine, and Russia. doma seeks to meet opportunities as presented by their communities and responds to each with individualized programming: a children’s center in Uganda, early intervention with baby houses in Ukraine, parenting and mentorship for vulnerable women in Russia and human trafficking survivors in the US.

http://www.domaconnection.org/learn/history-and-vision/

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/17/john-school-lesson-prostitution-has-victims.html

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-31-child-prostitution-super-bowl_N.htm

http://www.ennisdailynews.com/sports/59-arrests-in-super-bowl-prostitution-ring/

Violence

On Advice

From the very talented

http://blo64rt.blogspot.com/

How low can they go?

"Does the person you share a bedroom with snore?"  Isn't that about the dumbest advertisement--20 years ago it would have been "Does your husband snore?"  and maybe 10 years ago, "Does your partner snore," but now I guess it is whoever needs a bed for the night and stops by. Or it is directed to the prison population.

A new abortion clinic for Columbus area

Last week, Mervyn Samuel, a well-known Columbus abortionist, expanded his business to Pickerington, Ohio. He now has three offices in the Columbus area. Yesterday, Pregnancy Decision Health Center decided that it needs to be there to minister to the women attracted to abortion and to give the women of Pickerington a REAL choice. It will take a lot of work to get up and running. And, it will take about $250,000. So maybe you don't want to march, maybe you're just tired of the back and forth about life and choice and the value of life of the unborn. But I challenge all my central Ohio friends to donate, especially if you are a member of an adoption triad:

Pregnancy Decision Health Centers, 665 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., Suite 120, Columbus, OH 43229.

Gun control and Immigration

Do you think employment and the economy are completely off the national radar? Seems to be for Obama and his back up singers in the media. In the bad old days of GW Bush I remember even fast food restaurants were advertising $2 above minimum with benefits. Mr. President, the recession was officially over in June 2009.

Bureau of Labor Statistics for January 2013 (this is for those of you who think reporting negative news about Obama is racist and hateful)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (7.3 percent) and blacks (14.0 percent) edged up in December, while the rates for adult men (7.2 percent), teenagers (23.5 percent), whites (6.9 percent), and Hispanics (9.6 percent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Abby Johnson used to work for Planned Parenthood

“I remember when I worked at Planned Parenthood in 2005, we were fighting SO hard to stop the parental consent legislation. We knew it would be devastating for us. Parental notification was SO easy to get around. They could give us the number to Walmart or Target or their cousin and as long as we said we made the contact, then they could get their abortion. We knew parental consent would make our jobs much more difficult. And I remember sitting across the hall from all of the pro-life groups...the groups that we were fighting. Well, all but ONE. There was ONE group that stood alongside Planned Parenthood. There was ONE group that opposed parental consent. I remember thinking to myself THEN, "what type of 'pro-life' group would ever not want parental consent?" Well, that same group is continuing to fight against parental consent in our state. Any group that will stand alongside Planned Parenthood is certainly no pro-life group. We must divide from these groups as they are incredibly detrimental to our efforts. The group I am referring to in this case is Texas Right to Life fueled by the damaging legislation of National Right to Life.”

From her Facebook page

How long will you blame Bush

Democrats managed to blame Hoover and extend the Great Depression for 10 years.  Maybe, if Obama overrules the Constitution (again) he can get a 3rd or 4th term and keeps us down.

Many abort at 20 weeks

And Democrats advocate and applaud this cruel and inhuman act as a woman’s right.

Dilation and Extraction (D&X) (partial-birth abortion): from 20 weeks after LMP to full-term

”This procedure takes three days. During the first two days, the cervix is stretched open using thin rods made of seaweed, and medication is given for pain. On the third day, the abortion doctor uses ultrasound to locate the legs of the fetus. Grasping a leg with forceps, the doctor delivers the fetus up to the head. Next, scissors are inserted into the base of the skull to create an opening. A suction catheter is placed into the opening to remove the brain. The skull collapses and the fetus is removed.” First Choice Clinic 

http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-20-weeks

          

Lindsey at 20 weeks (today), 3rd pregnancy

I would never want to be 20 again, but

These photos do bring back some memories.  University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, on the Quad in the Fog. The first photo is the Illini Union, and lived just a few steps away in McKinley Hall (YWCA) on Wright Street.

Prager on Obama’s Inaugural Address

The Obama Inaugural Address, by Dennis Prager

“To understand leftism, the most dynamic religion of the last hundred years, you have to understand how the left thinks. The 2013 inaugural address of President Barack Obama provides one such opportunity.

"What makes us exceptional -- what makes us American -- is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'"

What American does not resonate to a president reaffirming this magnificent statement from our Declaration of Independence?

But here's the intellectual sleight of hand: "What makes us exceptional -- what makes us American" is indeed the belief that rights come from God.

But this seminal idea is not mentioned again in the entire inaugural address. This was most unfortunate. An inaugural address that would concentrate on the decreasing significance of God in American life -- one of the left's  proudest  accomplishments  -- would address what may well be the single most important development in the last half-century of American life.

Continue Reading   http://www.dennisprager.com/columns.aspx?g=a656bc34-0083-4bee-82ae-48aad1cdf80f&url=dennis-prager-n1499966

Famous quotes

Our skeet shooting president

"If he is a skeet shooter, why have we not heard of this? Why have we not seen photos? Why hasn't he referenced this at any point in time?" Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said Monday on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."

"I tell you what I do think," she later added. "I think he should invite me to Camp David, and I'll go skeet shooting with him and I bet I'll beat him."

Terrorist groups are alive and well--al-Shabaab

National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START ) reports:  “Before its account was suspended by Twitter Jan. 25, 2013, the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab had been using Twitter actively -- sending about 1,250 tweets to its more than 20,000 followers since December 2011. The primary goal of the group’s (@HSMPress) tweets had been to engage with English-speaking supporters and promote its own overarching narrative of current events.  In its tweets, the group frames invading East African forces and the Transitional Federal Government as Western proxies at war with Muslims in Somalia.”

“Violent Jihadism in Real Time: Al-Shabaab’s Use of Twitter” is the name of the report.

“Using an analytical tool from Topsy, which provides deep, comprehensive analyses of hundreds of billions of Tweets and web pages gathered from millions of unique websites, blogs and social media services, the researchers also evaluated the reach of al-Shabaab’s Twitter account. Al-Shabaab’s most prolific tweets included those about how Hurricane Sandy was a small fraction of the destruction the U.S. deserves, and how the horrors of 7/7 and 7/21 will be eclipsed by what is looming on Britain’s shores. Such analysis shows that the group’s cumulative exposure had grown over the past year.”

Paula Priesse says on Facebook

President Obama views America as a nation of imbeciles. Well to be fair, Obama did get re-elected. But even with a second term now guaranteed, Obama still displays a pathological need for shameless pandering. Franklin Foer of “New Republic” to President Obama: “Have you ever fired a gun?” Obama: “Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.” Sure O, we believe you. Obama goes on to say the strong support for the 2nd Amendment is due to hunters being “pretty protective” of family tradition. And being the magnanimous leader he is, Obama would never interfere with that.

On numerous past occasions President Obama labeled himself as a constitutional law professor. If true, never in the history of academia has a professor known so little about his or her subject. Thanks Mr. President, if we’re ever invaded by a nation of ducks, or a deer starts shooting up a school classroom, or if your skeets come to confiscate our guns, we’ll be prepared. The buffoonery continues. P

Monday Memories--The Tennessee Reunions of Northern Illinois

I’ve written at this blog about the Tennessee connections based on the memories of my father.  After my great-grandfather moved to Illinois, he helped a number of families come north and get settled.  They would meet for picnics when a visiting relative was in the area, and it came to be known as the Tennessee Reunion.  The first my dad remembered was around 1924.  All the people who attended (with the exception of the children born in Illinois) had known each other back in Tennessee--Martins, Millers, Ballards, Corbetts, Biggs, Vessers, and Willifords and some others.  Most were related by blood or marriage.
Today I received a photo, too long for my scanner of the reunion held at Lawrence Park, Sterling, Illinois on July 14, 1929.  As near as I can tell, the Ballards and Corbetts are at the left.  Since I didn’t know any of these people when they were this young, I haven’t identified all of them. 

I think the two girls with dark hair sitting with the children, about 6 people from the left, might be Dorothy and Gladys Corbett, with possibly their cousin Phil Ballard between them.  Their mother Bessie is directly behind them, and maybe her mother Leanor Ballard is next to her.  It’s possible that Roy and Helen Ballard are next to Art and Myrtle Ballard. I can’t pick out my great-grandfather, but he was usually the tallest one.
Imagine being so dressed up for a picnic? People had some pride in appearances in those days.

What does it take for a congregation to grow?

Mainline churches are losing ground and evangelicals are stalled, according to this interfaith report which I saw in the NALC newsletter. Aside from all the attention to worship style (contemporary, innovative, traditional) it seems that there does need to be a reason for existing. Many churches have forgotten that. It helps to stand for something. If you're a service club or just supporting your denomination's history and traditions, you probably won't grow. http://faithcommunitiestoday.org/decade-change

And I think this is reported in most church growth surveys—“The primary way people first connect with a congregation is through someone who is already involved.”  Indirectly, that’s how we got to UALC.  In 1974 I heard about a program on the radio which was at a church I’d never seen (after 7 years in Upper Arlington, I’d never been on that street).  I attended, was invited to a Bible study, and then to attend a service.  We were confirmed on Palm Sunday 1976.

Children of Sandy Hook getting help from Comfort Dogs

Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dogs have Been at Newtown, CT since mid-December and have been requested to stay through January at Sandy Hook Elementary and Newtown High School.

Our Lutheran Synod, North American Lutheran Church (NALC, which is U.S., Canada and Mexico) works cooperatively with other Lutheran groups and agencies for disasters.  The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has an innovative “first responder” team of dogs (from the photos I’m guessing they are all Goldens).

The charity was created in 2008, and has been used after the tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and after Hurricane Sandy.

“On New Year's Day - at 3 am - 20 handlers and 10 LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs left the LCC offices in Addison, Illinois to travel to Newtown, Connecticut to be with the people of the town. Their first stop will be the high school. Visit plans for the week will include all those public servants who gave so much these past weeks (fire, police, public officials) and the often forgotten residents of senior centers and nursing homes. We will also be available for any staff, faculty, families and students of the elementary schools in the area. “

Story here.

Walk for Life in San Francisco

Watching Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr. address the pro-lifers of the west coast on Jan 26, 4:30 (EST).  He is outraged at the decimation of the black population of America by abortion.

       

Notice the proposed cuts—of both parties

Happy birthday Robert Burns

We’re going to a Bobby Burns dinner party tonight (his birthday was January 25).  Not sure we will have haggis, neeps and tatties, but our hostess is quite well known for her skills in the kitchen.  The guests are supposed to read, recite or sing something Scottish, so I may read the Bruce tartan story from this book.

The Bruces originated in France and after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 ended up with a lot of land. Sir Robert de Brus, a Norman knight came to England with William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy.  The Duke a distant cousin of the English king  had claimed the English throne when the King had died. After the conquest, the Norman French eventually took over the Anglo-Saxon culture, land and language.

The son of Robert the Brus, Robert went to Scotland and was made Lord of Annandale by David I, whose great-granddaughter Isabella married Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale.  Through this marriage their son Robert, 6th Lord of Annandale, Regent of Scotland, inherited a right to the Crown to which he was nominated by Alexander III.  Robert, 7th Lord, married the Celtic Countess of Carrick and their son became that Earl of Carrick who was to wear the Scottish Crown, complete the liberation of Scotland, and be familiarly known as Robert the Bruce (1272-1329). 

               

Negro “weeds” and Obama

Obama was still a candidate when this video was made.  Not enough people thought killing black babies was a tragedy.

Are you really a liberal?

Speaking for the most vilified in our society

Watched a public service announcement this morning by a young man adopted in 1971--bi-racial, a result of a rape in 1970. He became an outstanding student and athlete, successful adult, B.A., M.A. now married with a beautiful family. He thanked his bio-mom for giving him life and not letting the circumstances of his conception destroy the person he became.

The March for Life, January 25, 2013, in Washington, DC.  About 500,000, the largest human rights march in history, attended. Many inspiring speakers—I watched on EWTN.

Richard Cohen — Washington Post, October 19, 2005
“[T]he very basis of the Roe v. Wade decision — the one that grounds abortion rights in the Constitution — strikes many people now as faintly ridiculous. Whatever abortion may be, it cannot simply be a matter of privacy.”

Yesterday at the coffee shop I asked a Catholic acquaintance if his parish was sending a bus to DC for the March for Life. He looked at me as if I'd just asked if Armstrong had landed on the moon. "Of course, we send one every year." If our local Protestant churches can't organize a van or bus, maybe they could contribute to the transportation costs of the Catholics? Or, how about a sermon?

Some cuts need to be for show--like removing Planned Parenthood from the national teat. The cut won't do much in terms of the national debt--but Planned Parenthood performed 333,964 abortions on unborn children during the 2011-2012 fiscal year; those abortions were estimated to have generated $150 million dollars for the “nonprofit” organization. It generated $1.2 BILLION in income. Our share for ...2011-2012 was $542.4 million, which represents 45.2 percent of the group’s total annual budget. Increasingly, abortions are for the poor and minorities, whose children are aborted at a much higher rate than white middle class. PP appears to have a very strong business model with well paid executives and a very loyal following who will donate, so let it be on their conscience.

Some links for todays March for Life in Washington, DC

1) Listen to the voice of an American President, and You WILL Know His Heart! In 2001, then IL State Sen. Barack Obama, for the 2nd Year in a Row, was the SOLE Senator OPPOSING Born ALIVE Infant Bills on the State Senate Floor.
Listen and SHARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUkbuhXzbvI&feature=player_embedded

2) "'October Baby'" is the story of Hannah, a 19-year-old girl, beautiful girl, who learns that she is adopted and never told because she is the survivor of an abortion," Jon Erwin, the film's co-director, told CBN News.
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2012/March/October-Baby-Tale-of-an-Abortion-Survivor/

3) Nurse Talks About Live Birth Abortion: Watch and SHARE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDX52pEC7_w&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL4585408DA22C01BB

4) Babies Left to Die: Read and SHARE: http://www.mcclpac.org/about_obama_baipa.htm

5) Norma McCorvey of Roe v. Wade: Watch and SHARE: http://www.lifenews.com/2012/10/24/norma-mccorvey-of-roe-v-wade-dont-vote-for-obama-he-kills-babies/

6) TRUE Story behind Roe v. Wade: https://www.facebook.com/notes/rebecca-kiessling/women-who-cried-wolf-the-illegitimate-rape-claim-behind-roe-v-wade/10151362984373154

7) Every 30 seconds a legal American child - our future - is slaughtered because he/she is an inconvenience to his/her mother...and father. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151265701499482&set=a.392255169481.169550.73881494481&type=1&theater 

8) On the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, pro-lifers have something to celebrate: the closure of 1,500 abortion clinics over the past 22 years. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/01/21/report-1500-abortion-clinics-have-closed-since-1991/

9) Shocking Graph: Euthanasia isn't for the elderly only. These are America's children who never were born. Abortions at Planned Parenthood: LifeNews.com  www.lifenews.com Here are Planned Parenthood’s own numbers. They reflect their activity in the abortion arena. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/11/abortions-at-planned-parenthood-done-in-record-numbers/

10) Abortion ISN'T Health Care! The Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in St. Louis has botched yet another abortion — its fourth recently. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/01/21/planned-parenthood-botches-abortion-tries-to-hide-victim/

11) President Obama sang the praises of Roe v. Wade. On one level, that's not surprising -- he's the most pro-choice President ever. But Obama is also a Harvard Law School alumnus, and he used to teach Constitutional law, and so you would think he would see Roe for the embarrassing bit of ideologically motivated junk it is. Lest you think I'm just showing my bias, read the collection of pro-choice scholars and journalists slamming the decision." http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/139828#.UP7SUifO0iH

12) Heal NOT Kill! WHO wants to be an abortionist? http://www.lifesitenews.com/blog/accomplishment-8-most-doctors-now-refuse-to-do-abortions

Children in poverty

In 1965, 24 percent of black infants and 3.1 percent of white infants were born to single mothers. Then came the War on Poverty, legalized abortion and lots of free sex (contraception).  The values of marriage were tossed out the window by our culture.  By 1990 the rates had risen to 64 percent for black infants, 18 percent for whites. By 2009 it was more than 70% for blacks, more than 50% for Hispanics, and 30% for whites. (For some reason the CDC can’t seem to get birth or abortion rates out in a timely fashion.)  Marriage of her parents is the best anti-poverty program a girl can have.  Uncle Sam is just a disastrous step-dad, regardless of the Julia lies Obama floated during the campaign.

John Francis Regis (d. 1640) is the patron saint of children whose parents aren’t married, and he’s also the patron saint of social workers.

Cute puppy photo