Crazy Democrat DeVine

Blame the victim. Classic leftist strategy. Lie, put out fake news, and if that doesn't work, urge your followers to kill Republicans.  He won't back down from his Hunt Republicans command for the unstable.  So will Nancy Churchill of the Ogle County Democrats excuse this too?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju43-6UuWMY



He insists he doesn't condone violence. Doesn't own a gun, and based on current background checks he probably wouldn't be allowed to. 

The Never Trumpers and the Deep State work together to defeat Trump

If we'd elected President Cruz or President Carson or President Fiorina, Washington DC would still have voted 97% Democrat, and that's the demographic that supplies the federal government workers, who make up the base of the deep state. James Hodgkinson who shot up that ball game still would have had a list of Republicans to kill--he'd been spouting off and raging before Obama was elected and used Bernie's and Pelosi's hateful words in his latest outbursts. The media have warned us that mean words and toy guns incite violence. The media and Democrats have fantasized that the Tea Party and Republicans are just KKK without the sheet and have shouted this to the unstable.  Comey who said he couldn't find "intent" in Mrs. Clinton's misbehavior which wasn't his job, still would be deciding what was to be leaked to the press, also not his job. Reality Winner still would be working for the NSA, and California would still be funding the Georgia election to turn Congress to the Democrats. The only difference would the the Never Trumper Republicans and Libertarians who do the talk-show gravy train and write for the Washington Post. They would not be trying to kill the Republican party and return the power to Democrats.

Our trip to Scotland--Day 6, June 13

We had a guest guide for our trip through Edinburgh's  "old town"-- cobbled streets, narrow alleyways and hidden courtyards all preserved for modern tourists leading to Holyrood the official residence of the queen when she's in Scotland and Edinburgh Castle and "new town"-- a planned city of the 18th and 19th centuries of Georgian and neo-classical architecture. It was really an architectural feast. The guide talked almost without taking a breath until we parked at Holyrood to look through the fence and browse the gift shop. Then it was on to Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock built on a volcano, first a fortress, then royal residence, then a military barracks.  We had a brief wait to go up the hill for a parade of taxis with balloons for a children's parade. After touring the castle we walked down, stopping at a large woolen tartan store and weaver, then on to a little tea room near the hotel for lunch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOeHKDo3wQw

Holyrood Palace, for the Queen when she visits

Edinburgh Castle built on a volcano

You can see the popularity--huge crowds even early in the morning

It was a steep walk down, with a stop at a woolen shop to look at kilts 

Scene from our hotel at night

Sir Walter Scott memorial across from our hotel, view from our window

After resting up, our group headed for the Royal Yacht Britannia (it was really a ship), the former residence of the Queen and her family for state visits and family holidays manned by 240 crew members who lived on board. We used self-guided audio sets which explained each area.

Then it was off to Café Tartine, a nice restaurant for a lovely dinner.  We sat at a table for 6 with Robin and Karen, and Eugene and Barbara, all from California who would continue their trip into England. It was the final touch to a fantastic trip with Globus. Bob put about 100 prints in his album, so these are just a few. The memories are good.

Monday Memories--Once we were rich

When we married in 1960 we had a huge emotional and financial safety net--between us we had six parents, seven grandparents, and one great-grandmother. Not to mention our own siblings and all the siblings of our parents and grandparents. We brought to our marriage about $200, some wedding gifts I'm still using, an old Buick that stalled at every intersection, two incomplete college educations, and a lot of youthful naivete. I know we didn’t appreciate the wealth in that bank of knowledge and support--I mean, no one is smart in their early 20s, right? I remember an uncle helping me with the income tax property depreciation in 1962, and my dad explaining mutual funds to me in 1990. My mother’s wise counsel went far beyond finances to religion, marriage, parenting, gardening, cooking, sewing, reading and friendships. One of my aunts never failed to appear with a cheery hello and her bubbly personality when we visited my parents, making us feel special even in our mid-50s. Now they have all “gone to their reward,” and we are poor. (A rerun from a year ago--I still feel exactly the same.)

Why the swamp can't be drained in DC

Mike Huckabee writes:

"This is why anyone with common sense opposes the appointment of special prosecutors in all but the most extreme cases. Robert Mueller has hired 13 high-powered attorneys at taxpayer expense, with more on the way. One early estimate of the cost runs to around $100 million. This is to look into alleged Trump-Russia collusion for which months of investigations have turned up no evidence at all (indeed, it’s smelling more and more like a hoax concocted to hamstring and delegitimize Trump while covering up Hillary’s embarrassing loss) and to investigate whether Trump obstructed justice in trying to stop an investigation that he has the absolute legal power to stop but he didn't stop it.

With that many lawyers eating up that much time and tax money, special counsels are under intense pressure to find something – anything – to charge someone with. That’s when the investigations start expanding like the Blob. People start getting prison sentences for misremembering a detail while giving testimony, like Scooter Libby, or Martha Stewart, who was never charged with insider trading but was imprisoned for misleading investigators by denying a crime that she was never even charged with. We’re likely to enter a new phase, where the daily political news will start reading like a Kafka novel. Or, ironically, like something out of Russia, except from the era when Stalin’s henchman Lavrentiy Beria railroaded his political rivals into prison with the motto, “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”

This is the swamp voters sent Trump to drain, but if he’s not very careful and doesn’t move quickly, his Administration will get sucked down into the muck before they can drain it."

In my opinion, this is like the show trials of the 1930s in the USSR.

Vile remarks from liberal media

"CBS News’ Scott Pelley offered a commentary last week, calling the attacking congressional Republicans self-inflicted “to some degree,” so Rep. Scalise being shot was partially his fault . ."

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2017/06/19/cbs-news-was-the-steve-scalise-shooting-to-some-degree-self-inflicted-n2342881

I expect outrageous, stupid, inane and violent remarks on social media. I've seen some of the compilations.  But from Scott Pelley?  Really vile. Because Scalise is a conservative Catholic from the South, member of conservative caucus, the leftists in the media and culture feel free to ascribe all manner of thoughts and behaviors to him. They've lost all their humanity and deserve our contempt.

Another Father's Day essay I like

I've read some really great Father's Day posts this week-end. This one is fabulous--by Ayesha Kreutz, of the Frederick Douglass Foundation.

"I did not really have a father, at least not a good example of one. My biological father was rather terrible, a black panther, liberation theology, guy who turned alcoholic/drug addict and died in his early 60's due to his life style. I had one man in my life who I loved as father but he died when I was about 7/8 or so. I grew up with tremendous issues having every man in my life being abusive in one way or another.

So this God The Father thing was not a safe place for me, not something that resonated as a want or need.

And a good, good Father, well that was not only foreign, but bordered on offensive and laughable.

Well, let me tell you as I gave over myself and submitted to this Father in Heaven, He showed me what it was to be loved and protected and have a Good Father.

So yes Happy Fathers day, I celebrate my Abba, Elohim and I celebrate that I can celebrate, BUT the best part is I was able to allow God to love me, know I was worthy of love and thus allow myself to be loved by my amazing husband and love in return THUS giving my girls what I never had or thought I needed, a father an earthly father who loves and adores them..... yep A home.

So Happy Fathers day to one of the greatest men on earth. My husband and father to my kids.
Thank You Lord, King Jesus.

Happy Fathers Day and thank you to all the men who man up and are fathers (good manly fathers) to their kids, You are irreplaceable.

Praise the Name of Jesus and may the praises of my good good father ever be on my lips."

Minimum wage

On my way to the grocery, I noticed a large banner in front of White Castle. Begin at $9.50, then $10.50 after training. The federal minimum is $7.25 and Ohio's is $8.15. All fast food places are advertising--and it looks like prices will go up with the wages and there will be fewer jobs for those teens, moms and immigrants who want to work part time or get some work experience to move up. Many non-fast food restaurants now have the ordering screen at the table cutting down on staff costs. About 3% of all workers make minimum, and that will probably decrease as the jobs disappear. Most people who earn minimum live in  households with other earners.  Two adults earning the current federal minimum working full time would not be eligible for government food, housing or medical assistance.

http://www.heritage.org/jobs-and-labor/report/who-earns-the-minimum-wage-suburban-teenagers-not-single-parents

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-27/minimum-wage-massacre-wendys-unleashes-1000-robots-counter-higher-labor-costs

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/23/andy-puzder-on-automation-if-robots-take-your-job-the-minimum-wage-is-zero.html

http://www.heritage.org/jobs-and-labor/report/15-minimum-wages-will-substantially-raise-prices

Asthma in the elderly

I was diagnosed with asthma in my 70s and was stunned. A childhood disease (usually) or early adult onset I knew about, but no one in my immediate family had it--in fact, I can only remember my cousin Kirby being an asthmatic. When I was a child, asthma in children was like peanut allergies--almost no one I knew had asthma. One theory is our environment today is too clean--children can't build their immunity.

  I didn't want to accept the diagnosis after all the testing (x-ray, EKG, spirometry, trigger with methacholine, exercise to induce problems), then had a horrid reaction at my first attempts at using an inhaler, so I do nothing.  I slow down if I can't breathe. I'm still here; no ER visits. (Also, my MD never even asks.) But it's thin ice for the elderly. I personally think not enough research is out there to determine if what works for the kiddoes (like age 35) works for a 75 year old who is already on other meds. I clicked through one of those medical articles FB sent me, "Visual Guide to Asthma" (23 clicks--I hate that even though I really have nothing else pressing for time) to see the symptoms; no dirty working environment although libraries are dusty and sometimes old; no allergies to pets; live in a clean suburb; no food allergies; not overweight--although I was pushing that BMI hard when I was diagnosed; regular medical care; moderate exercise; never a smoker and so forth. Only one click picked up the early signs--difficulty sleeping, and a lot of colds which last weeks. So being a researcher at heart and by profession, I found something more detailed and age appropriate to read. I printed it to read more carefully. 

If you're breathless, perhaps it's just not your age. And if you're sleepless in Seattle, maybe it's something other than love.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3345322/

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/ss/slideshow-asthma-overview

Comey's testimony makes fake news unravel

Over 20 million people watched the Comey testimony last week (not me, I was in Scotland where no one cared). Now 20,000,000 know Trump was NOT being investigated, that he NEVER asked to stop the investigation, that Comey illegally leaked to the New York Times, that Trump did NOTHING illegal by firing Comey and his testimony CONTRADICTED what he'd said a month ago. Oh, and no one has seen the so-called memos.  20 million people are engaged enough to know the media’s stories building this up as their brass ring were completely misleading and biased, proving only that they hate Trump and are still Obama’s lapdogs. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4590198/About-19-5-mln-U-S-viewers-watched-Comey-testify-Trump.html

Corruption investigation of Obama's Justice Department being stonewalled

There is a FOIA lawsuit by Judicial Watch to investigate the Obama administration's shakedown of corporations to fund their buddies on the left. Justice Dept. under Holder and Lynch would sue corporations , they would settle, and the conditions to make it all go away were to write checks to leftist interest groups like La Raza, Urban League, and National Community Reinvestment Corporation. Over a billion was funneled through the Obama Justice Department to these left wing organizations. If you're a Democrat SJW and you think this is OK, ask yourself how you'd like it if the "voluntary donations" went to a Tea Party group to work against YOUR party. This process has been shut down during Trump era, but the past corruption needs to be exposed. The FOIA requests are handled by the Deep State, and so far, Trump hasn't done anything about that. 

 http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-sues-justice-department-records-forcing-corporations-fund-leftist-groups/

A Father's Day Tribute to a step-father

By our great niece Erin who posted it on Facebook.

Happy Fathers Day to the love of my life, to the man who CHOSE to love and raise these crazy boys as his own without hesitation, without question, and without ever faltering. I'll never be able to fully express how much you mean to us, but I hope you'll see it, every day, as they grow to be men, with their little I love you's, and hand made cards and pictures, and asking you to play with them, the snuggles and hugs, the constant fart jokes they tell to try to impress you, the way they look up to you and admire you. I hope you can see how much they love you, how much you've changed their world by being their father, even when words can't begin to express it.

Happy Fathers Day!

The demise of journalism, a once proud profession

Michael Goodwin:  "I’ve been a journalist for a long time. Long enough to know that it wasn’t always like this. There was a time not so long ago when journalists were trusted and admired. We were generally seen as trying to report the news in a fair and straightforward manner. Today, all that has changed. For that, we can blame the 2016 election or, more accurately, how some news organizations chose to cover it. Among the many firsts, last year’s election gave us the gobsmacking revelation that most of the mainstream media puts both thumbs on the scale—that most of what you read, watch, and listen to is distorted by intentional bias and hostility. I have never seen anything like it. Not even close.

It’s not exactly breaking news that most journalists lean left. I used to do that myself. . . liberalism is baked into the journalism cake."

"For the most part, I blame The New York Times and The Washington Post for causing this breakdown. The two leading liberal newspapers were trying to top each other in their demonization of Trump and his supporters. They set the tone, and most of the rest of the media followed like lemmings."

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/2016-election-demise-journalistic-standards/

Our Trip to Scotland--Day 5, June 12

Early in the morning we left Dundee and headed for St. Andrews. I had never picked up a golf club to play, but what a way to begin--at St. Andrews, the most famous club, and home of The Open.

Our first event was stopping at the Practice Centre where each group of two got 24 balls to hit after a brief demonstration and explanation. You can see we had some sun shining through the clouds. Then we boarded the bus and went into the city.

"St Andrews has a population of around 20,000 people. The university, where Prince William attended, attracts students from all over the world, keeping the bars and restaurants busy during the winter, and during the summer golfers from all over the world descend on the town to play the hallowed Old Course. The town has got a mystical charm about it, and is packed with golfers, golfing memorabilia and a load of golf-friendly bars where you won’t be asked to remove your spikes at the door." 

I love to visit "retired" or gently used clothing stores, and saw a number of shops passing through town with elegant used golf attire which would have been fun to visit if we'd been there all day. But instead many in our group walked to visit the ruins of the bishop's castle and the cathedral. Bob and I also stopped inside a small chapel.   The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea.

We walked through the area of St. Andrews university, then Bob went back to the golf area and bus and I continued with Pat to the Cathedral, but he had the camera.  If I can snag a photo from the group's site I'll add it here.  It was quite dramatic. It was built in 1158 and became the center of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland.

"The story of St Andrew's revolves around the story of the apostle Andrew. According to one version of the story, a monk named Regulus was inspired by an angel to steal the relics of St Andrew and set sail to the island of Thule. He landed instead on this promontory on the coast of Fife and there founded a settlement. The saint's relics became a focal point, not only of religious pilgrimage, but also a symbol of Scottish independence from England. Andrew's symbol, the saltire cross, became forever associated with an independent Scotland, and eventually was chosen for the Scottish flag.

The medieval cathedral whose ruins we see today was begun around 1160, and was complete by the late 14th century. The church was huge, measuring 355 feet from end to end, with a central tower and spire." http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=1076 

From St. Andrews it was back on the bus to Perth and a visit to beautiful Scone Palace [pronounced skoon], the home of the Earl and Countess of Mansfield. While we were waiting to go in, we saw beautiful peacocks. We heard about the palace and the crowning of Scottish kings, including Robert the Bruce over coffee and shortbread. The peacock photo is from a tour group member. A guide told us about the Stone of Scone, upon which the Scottish kings were crowned.

"According to legend, the sandstone slab was used by the biblical figure Jacob as a pillow when he dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven and then brought to Scotland by way of Egypt, Spain and Ireland. The rock, also known as the Stone of Destiny, was used for centuries in the coronation ceremonies of Scottish monarchs. Following his victory at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, England’s King Edward I seized the stone from Scotland’s Scone Abbey and had it fitted into the base of a specially crafted wooden Coronation Chair on which English—and later British—monarchs have been crowned inside London’s Westminster Abbey ever since. "

Although we couldn't take photos inside the palace, this little video shows you much of what we saw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCjGZ7FLevM

Chapel on the Moot Hill

Scottish long hair cattle

Back to the bus, across the Forth Road Bridge to Edinburgh to our final hotel, the Mercure Edinburgh on Princes Street with a fabulous view from our window. That night we attended a Scottish evening with Highland dancers (5 women) a bagpiper, fiddler, accordionist, a female soloist, and singing MC and the ceremony of the Haggis (mutton or lamb offal, minced and mixed with, oatmeal, suet, herbs, spices). Dining scene from our tour group FB page.

Oh, Canada? Laurie and daughters Kathy and Susann

Dancers

Barbara on left, Pat on right at the dinner

Our trip to Scotland--Day 4, June 11

After leaving the Isle of Skye after a big breakfast (almost every stop had a similar breakfast menu--eggs (2 styles), back (lean) bacon, sausage links, some form of potato cakes, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms,  navy beans, toast, a variety of pastries, fresh fruit, yogurt, cold cereal, orange juice, coffee--but no decaf--and tea) we travelled along Loch Ness. It is the second largest lake in Scotland, 23 miles long and the biggest in volume in the British Isles southwest of Inverness in the Highlands.  We enjoyed hearing stories from our guide John about the monster. At a rest stop we had the opportunity to view all the Nessie gift and memorabilia related items. She/he is obviously an important part of the local economy, whether or not real.  Here I am looking for the Loch Ness monster.

Norma at Loch Ness

And then it was on to the Culloden Visitor Center at Inverness which memorializes April 16, 1746, the final battle of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, Bonnie Prince Charlie's failed attempt to bring back freedom and Stuart control to Scotland. Each year there is an April memorial, and this is the one from 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqm_tSvPlm8 If you read the comments under the video you see that there is still disagreement on what happened to whom by whom.

"The Jacobites were mainly Highlanders, led by Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", the grandson of the exiled King James VII of Scotland and II of England. The objective being to restore the King to the British throne. Prince Charles Edward Stuart never mounted any further attempts to challenge Hanoverian power in Britain after the Battle of Culloden. The Jacobite army consisted largely of Highlanders, plus a number of Lowland Scots, a small detachment of Englishmen from the Manchester Regiment, French and Irish units loyal to France. . . The government force [commanded by Charles Edward Stuart's cousin, William Augustus Duke of Cumberland, a younger son of George II, loyal to the British throne and House of Hanover] was mostly English, plus a significant number of Scottish Lowlanders and Highlanders, a battalion of Ulster men from Ireland, and a small number of Hessians from Germany and Austrians." http://www.explore-inverness.com/what-to-do/attractions/culloden-battlefield

Headstone marking mass graves of Jacobites

Memorial cairn (Gaelic for pile of rocks) erected in 1881

Then it was on to what some thought was the highlight--we got to hold puppies and watch a champion shepherd, Neil Ross, at Leault Farm work with his 8-10 border collies. It was just amazing to see how the dogs responded to voice and whistle.

Rounding up the sheep

Shearing demonstation

Puppy love

Then we drove through Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands to the Victorian mountain resort of Pitlochry for a wee bit of shopping, photography and fellowship. It is a beautiful town, in the county of Perthshire, on the River Tummel. It is administered as part of Perth and Kinross with a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census. It seemed much larger, I suppose because of all the tourists.  Even though it was Sunday, most shops were open. Tourism seems to be the main industry, brought here by Queen Victoria in the 19th c. who loved the area, and it has an active arts community.  I bought a lovely deep teal cardigan as a souvenir, and also because it was chilly.

Lovely shops

Church of Scotland built 1884

We enjoyed some refreshment with Rose and Ann at a local eatery.

Then it was back on the bus for a lovely drive to our next hotel in Dundee, the Doubletree Hilton. The Globus tours has a seating rotation system, so if you begin the trip at the front, you'll end it in the back. We met our tour group before dinner for a complementary drink and moved on to the glass room dining area overlooking a lovely garden. Because of the season and our far north location, it stayed a light a long time--in fact, didn't seem to ever really get dark, sort of like summer in Finland or Russia where we visited in 2006. The hotel is attached to a large old mansion from the days when Dundee had many millionaire connected to the jute industry.  There was a small display in the lobby about that industry.

 

We are at the 3rd table back with Robin and Karen, and Eugene and Barbara, and Pat