Will Muslim women remove their burkas for Obama?

Will Amish women take off those prayer veils? Will conservative Catholic nuns slip out of their plain habits? The clothing for men and women members of conservative religious groups is about headship; it's symbolism, not modesty. It's about relationships and spiritual authority: God, then men, then women. It's every bit as symbolic as an IHS on a podium or window that Obama wanted draped and blacked out.

Gerald F. Seib missed it again in Capital Journal in today's WSJ. "Not a single new policy was revealed" at Obama's Georgetown speech. It was a speech of metaphors, he said. Well, Mr. Seib, you didn't see the significance of the trial balloon, did you? You got all warm and fuzzy on the "house upon a rock" thinking it was Biblical. No sir, that just comes from 20 years of Rev. Wright's turning a phrase. Obama didn't know how to speak black when he first got to Chicago, having been raised in a white, agnostic home. You need to dig a little deeper. Let me help.

Obama asked that a Christian symbol be removed, and Georgetown University, one of our oldest Catholic institutions, made the mistake of complying. Seems like a small thing unless you remember some of Obama's promises (threats) during the campaign. That he intended to rein (reign) in "faith based" groups that get government money. He's planning to have all religious symbols removed from buildings that use government money for child care, food distribution, job training, mortgage workshops, voter registration, etc. Churches are going to have to do a lot of "soul searching" and just may need to tell the government that they won't be their go-to guys any more. Remember that the request removed not just a symbol, but a tradition of separation of church and state [i.e., the state doesn't tell the church how to adorn its own buildings and property], and destroyed the historic artistic atmosphere of the room. Georgetown is as old as our Constitution--maybe its crumbling is a sign?

"Julie Bataille from the university's press office e-mailed me that the White House had asked that all university signage and symbols behind the stage in Gaston Hall be covered.

"The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they've done for other policy speeches," she wrote. "Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn't high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context."

The primary command of the church, given by Jesus himself, is

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."

So if the U.S. government decides you can't obey what the Bible says about the primary mission of the church, or that you need to bless the weddings of gays, or that you can't have religious instruction in your schools, or that you can't have a Bible in the classroom, I guess you'll just have to turn down that Faustian compact we've had for so many years.

Ohio's unemployment rate

is now over 9%. When the Democrats and Governor Strickland took over the state in the 2006 elections it was half that. They ran on an "ethics" platform--our former Republican governor hadn't reported some golf outings. This is the state that decided to investigate Joe the Plumber because of Obama clearly telling him he was going to redistribute the wealth. This is the state of Marc Dann and Eric McFadden, Strickland's sexually and ethically challenged appointees.

And what is the Democrats' solution for a recession? Let's spend our way to prosperity! How many of us would teach our own children that? Has it worked at your house? It won't work in the House of Representatives, either. It hasn't worked in past recessions, and it certainly didn't work during the 15 year Great Depression (1929-1945) when both Hoover and FDR violated all sorts of citizens' rights and stole money from our parents and grandparents with government take-overs. Our Governor was told this week by the state auditor that building Ohio's economy on one time stimulus money (pork) won't help--it will actually hurt us. He'll either have to have a massive tax increase, or decrease spending. Duh. He's a Democrat, so we sure know where this is going. The same direction as Kilroy and Pelosi, snug, secure and spending inside the beltway.

"In just 50 days, Congress has voted to spend about $1.2 trillion between the Stimulus and the Omnibus,” McConnell says. “To put that in perspective, that’s about $24 billion a day, or about $1 billion an hour—most of it borrowed. There’s simply no question: government spending has spun out of control." Mitch McConnell, R-Ky

Think of it. A billion an hour. Where are all those voices who were so worried about the cost of the war? They don't bat an eyelash at the thought of a trillion--most likely because they can't even imagine how much debt that is, or how our next challenge is not going to be unemployment, but inflation as our government will have to print more money to cover its debt.

I never wanted Obama as my president; but I truly never thought it would get so bad so fast. I thought we'd be full blown impoverished by his second term, not his second month.

If this works. . .

"Trafficking illegal firearms, sending them across a border, is illegal. That is something that we can stop," Mr. Obama said.

"Trafficking illegal firearms aliens, sending them across a border, is illegal. That is something that we can stop," Mr. Obama said.

Thursday Thirteen Miscellany--mostly about food and finances

1) Don't be fooled by this gardening craze to save money. If you want to be outdoors, or want a sun tan, or want fresh tasting food, fine. It won't save you any money--unless you sell the produce to your neighbors. Or you have family of 12 children who will eat their veggies.

2) Last summer I was able to walk to a small farmer's market at Lakeside (about 2 blocks). By small, I mean about 5 or 6 wagons / vendors. There really is nothing like it. I think I'd forgotten what fried new potatoes tasted like. And that gal who made zucchini relish. Heavenly. I'm more than happy to pay them for their labor and equipment.


3) Even without a farmer's market, fresh vegetables and fruit are still your best buy. It really takes just minutes to prepare. Forget the fancy sauces and spices. Today I bought a butternut squash ($.99/lb, higher now that during the season) and I'm guessing we'll get 3 side dishes from it--grilled lightly a few minutes in olive oil.

4) However, fresh items lose a lot of nutrients if they sit around a few days, so frozen is your next best bet--especially for small families (2) like mine. A favorite lunch meal for me is half a cup of frozen peas with half cup of frozen corn, placed in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel for about 90 seconds in the microwave. Little butter, little salt and pepper. Fabulous!

5) If you read my Holy Land Cruise blog, you may know I got really, really sick on the flight home. Today I saw a friend (not on the trip) at Panera's that I hadn't talked to in over a year. After greeting, she asked about my health. I think our entire church (9 services, 3 locations) has heard about Norma on the floor of LaGuardia and tossing her cookies on the plane. Anyway, the old GI track is not quite back to normal, so my sister gave me a huge carton of Activa Yogurt. I just had some for lunch. We'll see. . .

6) I stopped at a little store yesterday and apples were $2.69/lb. Usually, it's cheaper to buy rather than drive, but I knew that was high, so I drove to Marc's and paid $1.39/lb. I eat a lot of apples. Then today I was up north for an errand, so I stopped at Meiers' and apples were $1/lb. I stocked up.

7) I need apples to make a pie. Our Holy Land Cruise group is getting together Monday night, and my end of the alphabet is doing pie. Fortunately, I used to be the 2nd best pie baker east of the Mississippi. Now I do it so seldom, my pies are only so-so, or else it's the electric stove instead of gas which I'd used for 35 years.

8) The reason I was north of Bethel Rd. was I'd heard from my daughter that the Merle Norman store was going out of business. I thought I'd go and stock up. I began using Merle Norman when I was about 39 and a store was near by. And now--well, it's patch, patch, patch, but I still use it, although much less. Women my age make a serious mistake by using too much foundation, or the wrong color, and it collects in our wrinkles. Less is definitely more for retirees.

9) I asked the owner about her closing. She said sales fell off during January, and although she's paying her bills, she's getting nothing. When women begin to drop their cosmetic purchases, we are in trouble! My hair dresser, Melissa at Shear Impressions, says she's seen no change.

10) I recently learned you can freeze milk. Duh. Why didn't I think of that. So when I see the "past due" date coming up, I'm going to put it in a little container and freeze.

11) Be careful about reusing glass and plastic containers. Mold can grow on the lids and on the tiny residue inside the jar. It's awfully hard to get these as sterilized as the factory product.

12) Pass on those deals for cheap paper towels. Oh Yuck! on having those squares turn to mush as soon as they hit water. Buy Bounty. That's a brand that really holds up and you'll save money in the long run.

13) On our trip to Illinois for the Easter holiday our Dodge van got 26 mpg going and 28 mpg coming back. Don't let the global warming hysterics force you into an uncomfortable car at pirate ship prices. Although now that the government is starting to buy up the auto makers, you may not have a choice on model and size.

Meanwhile, by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Harvests are being plucked to fuel our cars instead of ourselves. The U.N.'s World Food Program says it needs $500 million in additional funding and supplies, calling the rising costs for food nothing less than a global emergency. Soaring corn prices have sparked tortilla riots in Mexico City, and skyrocketing flour prices have destabilized Pakistan, which wasn't exactly tranquil when flour was affordable. Time Magazine, Mar 27, 2008

She's so afraid, she doesn't even have an e-mail address!

So much for Obama being the 2.0 President. The e-mail I sent to the DHS website notifying them that the Head has no e-mail was returned to me to use the U.S. mail address. So if you want to write to her, use that.

How many millions of veterans do you think have mustered out of the armed forces over the life of this country? And Janet Napolitano manages to insult them all by comparing them to Timothy McVeigh.

"The primary mission of this department is to prevent terrorist attacks on our nation. The document on right-wing extremism sent last week by this department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis is one in an ongoing series of assessments to provide situational awareness to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies on the phenomenon and trends of violent radicalization in the United States. I was briefed on the general topic, which is one that struck a nerve as someone personally involved in the Timothy McVeigh prosecution.

Let me be very clear: we monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in the United States. We don’t have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism whether foreign or homegrown, and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence."

Note, we don't use the word "terrorist" when referring to Muslim extremists, only to conservatives who didn't vote for Obama, those dangerous Americans who don't believe in killing babies, or who own guns, or who are concerned about the economy, or who believe in end-times prophecy. What left wing groups is she monitoring? What are her criteria? Were they the Bush haters? Were they people who read Karl Marx? Recruit out of state voters to come to Ohio? Who join ACORN? Who are they monitoring on the left? Will that be part of the series? Why is she worried about veterans and not La Raza who want her home state returned to Mexico? Is she watching Asian male minorities on this anniversary of Va Tech shootings? Inquiring minds want to know.

My Message to Janet

(This was sent to the web site e-mail comment form, because she doesn't have one.)

Dear Secretary Napolitano,

You have no e-mail link on your web site.

Your recent document on the dangers of home grown terrorism insulted about 50% of the American voters who did not support the current president. Is this finally the president’s transparency promised us?

I don’t own a gun--never have. I do not support abortion--our president is the most pro-abortion official we’ve ever had, willing even to kill a viable child as it emerges from the mother’s womb, if that is her wish. That was my primary concern about his presidency. Fortunately for him, his mother, a teen involved with a married man, did not believe as he does. That the baby would be too much of a burden and deserved death.

I think immigrants are the back bone of this country. The inventor of Google is an immigrant. My ancestors in the early 1700s were immigrants from Germany and Ireland. Illegal immigrants will break the bank--what’s left of it--and in case you didn’t notice when you lived in Arizona, LaRaza wants your state returned to Mexico. Our illegals who send money home are propping up a failed, unfair economy on our border. For your records, I didn’t support President Bush on his “guest worker” plan, either.

I am not an Iraq or Afghanistan veteran, but you have insulted all veterans, including those deceased veterans of the greatest generation, smearing them all with the crime of Timothy McVeigh. Are all Asian immigrants guilty of the New York recent massacre or the VA Tech massacre? Are all husbands and fathers guilty of the crimes of that father who killed his family a few weeks ago?

I am a Christian, but not a dispensationalist, I care nothing about "end times." But you intended to smear all conservative Christians who believe the Bible. I doubt that you care about end times either, but you do care about millions having an allegiance to something other than the government.

Yes, I am concerned about the economy. You should be too, if you are a real American. We have a president raising taxes and demonizing capitalists when he should be cutting taxes and supporting business to stimulate the economy. You madam, by accepting a position in this administration, are the extremist. Not me.

The worst anti-Semites are on your side, the left, the communists, the marxists, not on the right. All during the Bush years they were spreading lies because it fit your goals. They were all over the place during the campaign--and they certainly bring up the Jew question whenever Israel defends itself.

Madam, you owe all Americans an apology. The left has run rough shod over our rights for years, every demonstration they had since the 1960s was nasty and violent, and now the right has a peaceful, logical response to trillions and trillions of future debt, and you call us terrorists.

Now Christians will have to choose

The problem I had with "faith based" agencies (like our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran which is an ELCA church) accepting government grants for housing, employment training, child care, and after school and summer lunch programs was that they were not allowed to preach the gospel to any of the recipients because taxpayers were footing the bill. Not even distribute literature--although it could be put out for pick up. But worse, it caused these churches to become dependent on the government, while they were providing the free labor for government programs.

Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign PROMISED to have any visuals and symbols removed from religious sites in order for them to receive government money for social programs. This will be no problem for mainline "peace and justice" Christians--they wouldn't know the gospel if it dropped on their pulpit in the form of a Bible (it's pretty clear if they'd just preach from that Bible). For evangelical Christians, such as UALC, it's a bit less clear. Now we've made a pact with the devil and the invoice has come due. What will the churches do? Apparently what Georgetown did. Founded in 1789, the same year the U.S. Constitution took effect, Georgetown University is the nation's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university. IHS, the symbol in question, is a monogram of the name of Jesus Christ.

(CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the “IHS” monogram that had previously adorned the stage at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was still covered up--when the pediment where it had appeared was photographed by CNSNews.com.

American freedom of religion, rest in peace

Does CNN hire real reporters

or just Obamamas?

"CNN correspondent Susan Roesgen could barely get through her live shot at the Chicago tea party this afternoon. Over shouts of, "You're not a reporter," Roesgen quickly wrapped up an interview with an attendee, then said, "I think you get the general tenor of this. It's anti-government, anti-CNN since this is highly promoted by the right-wing conservative network Fox."

This reporter was so biased, she's become dead meat on talk radio, because this interview is being played over and over--and much more than this left of center site quoted. Observers started chanting "You're not a reporter," because she kept interrupting the father with a small child she was interviewing and inserting her own left wing agenda. It was one of the worst wing-nut interviews I've heard--there was no way she was going to let that guy tell America what the tea party was about. On CNN and other stations I've heard these tea parties attributed variously to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, the Republican party, conservative Christian end-timers, and now to Fox. Will the real organizers please stand up and wave the flag. There are thousands of you.

But, also apparently Obama knew nothing about the tea parties. His Homeland Security Department head, Janet Nutpoliano, decides we need to be watched and investigated (remember Janet Reno thought a compound filled with children was dangerous), and he knew nothing? Maybe he should pay attention if we're all a threat to his administration.

It was a great day for America

Murray writes:

"I went to a Taxpayer Tea Party today right here in The Villages. It was sponsored by the Association of Mature American Citizens. The Village Daily Sun followed the lead of the rest of the news media by NOT publicizing the rally in advance. In order to get the word out to the villagers the Association had to purchase an ad in the newspaper. In spite of the poor advance notice hundreds of residents turned out with costume, flags and signs. The event was held along side of one of the village ponds and when the protest was over the Association tossed boxes of "stimulus tea" into the pond.

These parties were held all over America in spite of the fact that the news media remained basically silent until today. The people relied on the Internet to communicate and coordinate the rallies. This was a great day for America. It showed that concerned taxpayers were fed up with the reckless spending of their hard earned tax dollars. It also showed the whites in this country are finally standing up for themselves. I say whites because as the evening news cameras panned across the crowds that had gathered at tea parties across the country there was a noticeable lack of blacks. In fact I saw NO blacks. Now maybe, just maybe, it was a coincident and they just didn't get in view of the cameras or the cameramen were prejudice and ignored them. Hmmm? Well anyway, the silent majority wasn't silent today.

Obama countered today ( although he didn't mention tea parties ) by declaring the wonderful tax breaks he is giving the WORKING people and that by the end of the year he was going to have the whole Tax Code rewritten so the average taxpayer could understand it. Gee, have we heard that before? He also said that the rich were going to have a tax increase. Gee, he must have forgot about the AMT that has never been indexed. Obama has received millions of tea bags in the mail but refused to acknowledge them nor have any of our legislators ever mentioned the ones they received. It's kinda like when they ignore your correspondence and inquires isn't it?

Obama just doesn't get it. These rallies today were not just about paying taxes. The main emphasis was on the reckless, wasteful spending the government has been doing the last 6 months and the tremendous debt they're piling up. One little boy was holding up a sign that said " I'm only 9 years old and I'm $36,000 in debt." Yes folks, it was a great day for America. I hope it doesn't go the route of our tax dollars...wasted!"

Good points, Murray. The old Mt. Morris High School put out some smart graduates 50 + years ago who learned a little history and economics along the way--you and me, Bob C., Bill L., Bill & Gayle N., Dave B. and a few others I see on the list who don't want to see our country turned over to the enemies of capitalism. Our tax day/tea day events in Columbus got coverage from the local media--at least on TV. It was headed up by a 19 year old OSU student. However, it was cold and rainy here--something you don't have so much in Florida. I forgot to check the marginal Columbus Dispatch to see if it noticed anything was going on. I didn't watch most of the AB/NB/CB/CNN clones who are Obama's mouthpieces and marketers (did you see that horrid, awful CNN interview where the Obama sycophant op-ed female tried to preach to the person she was interviewing? "Do you realize. . .yada yada. . .")

I noticed that WSJ this morning folded the story into the Obama tax code promises. But Danny Pang and PEMGroup with its alleged theft of $4 billion, a pittance compared to Obama's, made the front page. Sorry, Mr. President. The cap and trade hoaxes, the destruction of the oil and gas industries, the coming inflation as you have to print more money, the millions of environmental and green regulations to support the phony, pantheist gods that all the beltway queens have bowed before--those are all tax increases to make the recent tax on the poor (increase in cigarette taxes) look like harmless sandbox play.

You might be a right wing extremist if

You oppose abortion

Own a gun

Are a veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan

Are concerned about illegal immigration

Are concerned about the way Obama is handling the economy

Believe marriage is for a man and woman

[And maybe we should throw in for good measure]

You've read the Constitution of the United States

You are a Christian

You know right from wrong.

According to this document of the Obama Administration.

“Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures.” Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division.

That’s really strange. I thought it was our left wing media doing that.

Now if you oppose Obama's policies--any of them, economic, social, military--you are an extremist to be watched by Homeland Security. Well, at least he's finally being transparent.

UPDATE: "Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized to veterans after a report issued by her department said troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were at risk for being recruited by right-wing extremists." Isn't that just so sweet. How about apologizing to those of us who don't want the brains sucked out of pre-born, viable babies; those of us who want a free market economy; those of us who don't want the coal industry to be destroyed with its millions of jobs; those of us who are getting 26-28 mpg in our vans and don't want to be stuffed into tiny hybrids slurping corn based fuel; those of us who don't believe that man controls the earth? She, with the approval of her boss, Barack Obama, has insulted over 50 million of us who didn't vote for him for a wide variety of reasons, and he's called us all extremists while groveling to European socialists. We want our apology too!

If you fight this, Janet and BO think YOU are dangerous!

So who told us those myths?

We stopped in Brownsburg, Indiana for gas yesterday and I glanced at a USAToday story about the murders 10 years ago at Columbine high school. Apparently, we all believed some "myths." No bullying--they were the bullies. Not goths. Not suicidal. They were just garden variety liars and psychopaths--just like the guys who killed the police, the immigrants, their estranged families during the past month. Harris and Klebold killed 13 and wounded 24, but they had hoped to kill thousands. Feel better?

"A decade after Harris and Klebold made Columbine a synonym for rage, new information — including several books that analyze the tragedy through diaries, e-mails, appointment books, videotape, police affidavits and interviews with witnesses, friends and survivors — indicate that much of what the public has been told about the shootings is wrong."

So who told us all those myths we believed? The media. It certainly wasn't bloggers--we didn't exist then. It wasn't George Bush or Bill Clinton. The media probably launched a thousand bullying workshops.

OSU student organizes Columbus' tax protest

And they are not "right wing extremists" the way the Homeland Security claims.

"COLUMBUS- Americans for Prosperity, ShotsontheHouse.com, various college groups, and various community groups are once again joining forces to combat reckless local, state, and government spending.

A rally is planned as part of the national tax day tea party movement at 6 PM, April 15th, in front of the Ohio Statehouse.

Justin Higgins, a Columbus area blogger and Ohio State student said that, “these protests really tap into the communities and they’re upset. They’re tired of stupid bailouts, lying politicians, and trillions being dumped down the drain in the name of stimulus.” Justin runs www.ShotsontheHouse.com and served as the Master of Ceremonies for an AFP protest event held on March 14h. He’s assisting in the organization of the April 15th event.

It's OK to fund ACORN protesters, code pinkoes at veterans' hospitals during war time, call pork a "stimulus" plan, and drive vote fraud participants by left wing extremists by bus and van to Ohio in November, but let a few loyal Americans gather on Tax Day to peacefully protest the outrageous behavior of our elected representatives--both parties--and all of a sudden we're a threat to Homeland Security? Elected representatives trotting off to Cuba and lunch with Castro. No threat. Obama taking over the auto industry. No threat. More troops for Afghanistan. No threat. A tax cheat in charge of the Department of Treasury. No threat. Liberal columnists, working for newspapers going under, are grasping for breath and straws, hoping to sell more yellow journalism (when it's the advertisers, i.e. capitalists, not subscribers they need to please) are going crazy. They say it hasn't galvanized the Republican party. Well duh! This isn't about the Republican party, for Pete's Sake. George Bush threw so much tax money at social problems that only Obama has been able to top him. Republicans are the Me-Too Party, not the Tea Party.

Then there's the lefty wackos at Huff and Puff, trying to blame Glenn Beck and talk radio, and reporting that some web site has made a fortune ($48,000) selling tea party memorabilia. Gee, the Democrats spent more than that renting housing in Columbus for the "residents" from other states to come here and register "disenfranchised" voters. They are probably unemployed journalists using a silk screen in the basement to create t-shirts.

LA Times writer thinks Conservatives are glue sniffers

Today is the pro-America, anti-tax, tea parties. It's not about Obama, but about a government out of control. It's about trillions added to our debt in a matter of weeks. It's about the government (beltway pirates) take over through bail-outs with our taxes huge sectors of the economy. It does include, however, a president using an economic crisis to have the federal government take over the means of production and to destroy what's left of our free market economy.

To show you how out of control our government and its lacky, snarky, failing, almost bankrupt media nut jobs are, the government has announced we--the conservatives and moderates who are protesting--are extremists, and the LA Times' Marc Cooper (op-ed) thinks we are crazy glue sniffers. We are lumped with a psychotic paranoid who murdered 3 policemen (although not with immigrants who shoot up community centers and college campuses). Hmmm. Imagine. When ACORN serfs orgnize under their marxist leaders to threaten CEOs and their wives and children, it's just fine. No extremists there. But Californian leftists and communists (a state with a so-called Republican governor that was financially collapsing from taxes and illegals long before Obama) think people who believe in the Constitution, who complain that taxes are too high and complicated (70,000 pages of instruction compared to about 400 when I was born), and who feel marginalized by the environmentalist wackos and tax-porkies who have taken over our academy and regulatory agencies--those about to fall into the ocean of la-la land--they think we are dangerous? They are the ones who got us here!

Home from our Easter Trip

Isn't this a fabulous painting of Abraham Lincoln? It's the cover of this year's Illinois Travel Guide published by the Bureau of Tourism. Art work is credited to Gregory Manchess.

After Maundy Thursday noon services, we took off for Indiana and spent time with Brother Bob and Sister Jean, enjoying their good company and great accomodations with a yummy dinner at Bob Evans. Also got to see and chat briefly with niece Joan and her son Caleb who were getting reading for their parts in an Easter Passion Play at Cornerstone Baptist. Friday bright and early we hopped on the Indianapolis outerbelt and headed for Oregon, Illinois passing by our old "home towns" of Urbana and Champaign, Illinois where we lived in the early 1960s after college. We never pull off any more--the people we knew there either in the U of I library system or the local architectural scene are gone. Even the buildings and streets, as on most college campuses, are different than 50 years ago.

In addition to my sister and husband, we visited my Aunt Muriel and cousin Dianne in Mt. Morris, my brother and wife in Franklin Grove, several friends from my high school class, and attended Good Friday services at the Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren, and Easter Sunday breakfast and service at Trinity Lutheran in Mt. Morris where we saw many we knew, some younger, some older, and caught up on the news. I think I talked to 6 members of my high school class.

For the Good Friday community service (3 of the 4 churches) we sat with my aunt--how wonderful to hear her voice singing the hymns, still strong at 92 and hold her hand during prayers. The Lutheran teens were raising money with their Easter breakfast for a service project, so it was a win-win opportunity since it was very tasty. At the Church of the Brethren we toured the Loaves and Fish food pantry which just opened in the fall. The community has really gotten behind this new service opportunity and it is well stocked and funded.

Aunt Muriel is quite a collector--and usually I go home with a few books, but this time I resisted. I need to be clearing my own shelves! But if it weren't for her "archives" I would have had a problem with some of my publishing projects when I was a librarian. She was able to lay her hands on a basket of letters and projects I've done over the years. Looking through it, I saw many items I'd forgotten.

My brother and wife live on the "family farm" originally owned by my great-grandfather. I recognize those dishes on the plate rail as being there when I was a child. My grandmother renovated and modernized this 19th century house around 1912-1915 to use as her family home after returning to Illinois from Kansas to help her father. The room we're standing in was part of that addition. About 40 years ago my mother renovated and modernized the house again and used it as a retreat center, and now my brother is restoring it again.

Where to eat, drink and be merry--new restaurants in northern Illinois

Rockford, Illinois has a new restaurant at The Anderson Japanese Gardens, 318 Spring Creek Road. While enjoying delicious, healthful food (year round), you can overlook the fabulous garden (open May 1 - October 31; November through April weather permitting) which instills "a sense of clam and provides a place for quiet meditation." If you have guests coming, this is definitely the place to take them.

There is a new coffee shop/restaurant in Oregon, Illinois called Rachel's and this is definitely a place you need to look into. We visited on the 11th and a lovely young lady, Pam, assisted us. The menu looks terrific and the coffee was good. And desserts? How does Grandma Warner's Southern Pecan Pie sound to you?

Mt. Morris has a new spot for hanging out and munching, called The Mounder Cafe. I met two friends from high school there. I didn't pick up their menu, but everything looked great. Also there was a very nice art show in the hall.

Holy Week Intermission

For Christians the week before Easter is called "Holy Week," or as Buff Delcamp wrote in this week's Cornerstone (newsletter of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church), Major Week, Greater Week, Authentic Week, Passion Week, Week of Salvation, and Sorrowful Week. It tells the story of the last week of the life of Jesus on earth, the week the sins of humanity are forgiven, and the world is redeemed. Jesus' life and teaching were not about man's solution to poverty, or slavery, or politics, or clean water, or green space, or domestic violence or anything else you might hear preached on Sunday morning from many pulpits. It was about God's solution for mankind's disobedience, told from "In the beginning. . ." in a garden to the end where we see a great city, a holy city, a New Jerusalem, dressed as a bride for her husband. Since I've so recently returned from "The Steps of Paul" in Greece, Turkey, and Israel I do want to continue updating my trip photos and log, but will avoid the day-to-day chaos in Washington, the steps of our President, and the world economy while I focus of the events of Holy Week. See you after Easter (unless you'd like to check the Holy Land Cruise 2009 link).

About that populist anger

Wall St. Journal's Obama booster, Gerald Seib, writes yesterday (Capital Journal) about the "populist anger." That makes me so angry--it was SO ginned up, it was ridiculous. So who's responsible for getting everyone hyped about CEOs' bonuses--bonuses (millions) that were a fraction of what Obama and his buddies are stealing from us (trillions) and the future unborn Americans (assuming they can make it past the now free-wheeling, free-for-all abortionists thanks to our President). Wasn't it old Barney's threats in Congress as he grilled Liddy? Wasn't it Obama's ACORN being bussed to the suburbs to harrass law abiding people who actually work for a living?

Can the passions be cooled, Seib asks. Don't know. Can newspaper reporters' jobs be saved when they've gored the ox (advertising for business) that pay their salaries? It depends, Mr. Seib. How angry will Americans get when they wake up and see Obama's poked a hole driven a bulldozer through our dike of protections at the top--our three branches of government with distinctly different responsibilities (and he's not the first to do this, just the worst). How mad will they be if they realize over half of Congress are flunkies slurping up the pig droppings from the pork trough in Washington trying to cover their appetites by shouting "it's the bankers," "it's the Jews," "it's someone else's greed."

Seib can't figure out what happened to the steadily rising median income of the middle class after the 1980s (except for a blip under Clinton, which he happily claims). Well, let's see if I remember my history. When the Great Depression finally ended in the 1940s after the war and inspite of FDRs programming, we did have a bit of prosperity, which made liberals and conservatives feel guilty, so the wealth transfer started big time. We had LBJ's programs and Carter's programs, and the Republicans tried to play catch up every time they got in office (but Congress approves the budget and Democrats controlled that until 1995). All the major cities with the poorest people are controlled by Democrats, from bottom to top. No one was a bigger spender on social programs (until January 2009) than Bush II.

But all you have to do is look at the wealthiest, most successful, most entrepreneurial and smallest demographic group--the Asian Americans--to see what happened in the last 20 years, and why the middle class is struggling to keep what it earns.

The government provides resources to households through cash and noncash transfer programs. These programs may be open to all or limited to those with incomes below set amounts. Holding other income
components constant, transfers from the Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration, and state governments increase household income. Payroll, state, and federal tax liabilities reduce household income. Certain tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, are refundable and may
increase household income. U.S. Census

And we have an awful lot of Americans who never pay any federal income tax (although they do pay exorbitant special interest taxes, like the recently raised poor tax called cigarette taxes). Here again, Asian non tax payers do not reflect their proportion of the population because, well, who knows? Pride? Ambition? Family values? Marriage? Flight from Communism?

"White Americans are 83 percent of total taxpayers, and the percentage of zero-tax filers who are white is 79 percent. African Americans are roughly 13 percent of total taxpayers and 17 percent of zero-tax filers. Asian Americans comprise 3.6 percent of total taxpayers and 3.4 percent of zero-tax filers." Tax Foundation figures for 2004

Of all the groups, Asian Americans lost the most by readjusting their income downward through wealth transfer to the poorer whites, blacks and Hispanics. And so it is with all who will try to succeed under socialism, Mr. Seib. The Asians are just the canary.

Populism? Mr. Seib should probably be putting out feelers for a job if he reads the tea leaves.

Who is more dangerous to society, Michael Vick or Barack Obama?

This morning I heard a news story on the radio that Michael Vick's bankruptcy "plan" was turned down by the court. Too bad someone doesn't apply the same standards to our President who has unleashed the pit bull of socialism on our people! Our little cock fighter pranced around the ring and sang "peck me" like a Dixie Chick. We're sending tea bags, but I don't think that is going to scare him when he's seen the crowds in Europe chanting and clapping. Even the phony Soros backed demonstrations made him happy. Or Barney Frank, how about a plan for him? He has actually physically threatened Americans. Michael Vick didn't threaten children. Congressman Frank prancing in front of TV cameras was actually going after citizens' children when he demanded names in Congressional hearings on job contracts he approved for the bailout.

I was flitting around the house doing laundry and ironing about 5:30 a.m. (I'm an early riser, obviously.) I decided to turn on the radio in the laundry room, and the reception isn't terrific, so I settled on NPR. Proximity to the WOSU tower seems to allow that when nothing else is up. After five minutes of a guy with a British accent preach about how we needed to teach banks "morality" and reporting with lots of saliva (is it their bad teeth?) the fabulous relationship between Obama and Brown, which just a few weeks ago was in the toilet, I switched to the early a.m. show on the paranormal--it made more sense than that guy. But after 5 minutes of a guy remembering an apparition in blue that came into his bedroom when he was 5 and it looked exactly like his mother who was quite ill and putting up with a gambling husband who was being hunted by the mafia, it really was a draw.

Socialism is a proven failure

So why does Obama want it so badly? Maybe he doesn‘t remember the 20th century?

"Socialism is the Big Lie of the twentieth century. While it promised prosperity, equality, and security, it delivered poverty, misery, and tyranny. Equality was achieved only in the sense that everyone was equal in his or her misery.

In the same way that a Ponzi scheme or chain letter initially succeeds but eventually collapses, socialism may show early signs of success. But any accomplishments quickly fade as the fundamental deficiencies of central planning emerge. It is the initial illusion of success that gives government intervention its pernicious, seductive appeal. In the long run, socialism has always proven to be a formula for tyranny and misery." The Freeman

Mirror, mirror on the wall

who's the most arrogant of them all? Obama!

Arrogant, dismissive, derisive? He's the worst president ever. EVER! George Bush never insulted the Europeans, and he certainly never insulted the people who elected him. Maybe Obama hasn't read our history, especially our recent history. He's only been reading WaPo and NYT. When have European countries gone to war on behalf of Muslims the way we did? (They like to keep their own Muslims immigrants unemployed and poor!) He commented on nothing Bush did that was positive. George Bush never insulted his predecessors, not even the really poor ones like Carter and FDR. Where did Obama learn his manners? In the slums of the third world? He is a disgrace to the office. Although it should be no surprise--this European "tour" is a summary of his campaign speeches. Does he not realize he's the President now? Of all of us? Why is he still running? Literally.

Obama Endorses Soros Plan to Loot America

"At the G 20 summit in London, President Barack Obama won rave reviews from reporters, many of whom clamored like school kids for the chance to ask him a question at his news conference, but the official conference document proves that plans are being made for what can only be described as the further looting of American taxpayers in order to feed unaccountable and corrupt global entities.

This is not “global cooperation,” as so many in the media described it, but a massive new expansion of the power and authority of international agencies and institutions such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank." Read entire story here.

It won’t be in Katie Couric’s report--the real meaning of his words, that is. Paraphrase of the news conference I heard. "Yes, we (I) can insult America. Yes, we (I) can be dismissive of the USA." I'm furious that he runs after these sycophants whining and apologizing for breathing. He took advantage of the September "meltdown" (and who knows who engineered that), and has driven the economy even deeper down first by his gloom and doom speeches, then by raising taxes and taking over companies and violating the constitution. But who needs a Constitution when we'll have to report to the UN?