Happy Birthday President Grant

Happy Birthday President U.S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union Army during the final year of the Civil War and was our 18th President, was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on this day. As President, Grant stated: "It seems fitting that on the occurrence of the hundredth anniversary of our existence as a nation, a grateful acknowledgement should be made to Almighty God for the protection and the bounties which He has vouchsafed to our beloved country."

You can visit his home in Galena, Illinois, and also enjoy a tour of a lovely river town. There is a contemporary play "American Wake" by Bruce J. Robinson about the death of Grant who had been writing his memoirs to be published by Mark Twain.

The story follows the impact that Grant's loss had on the lives of Mark Twain (the editor of Grant's autobiography and his biggest fan), General William Tecumseh Sherman (Grant's best friend) and Arthur Dubois (an African-American Civil War veteran).

The play takes place in New York City on August 6, 1885, the night before Grant is to be buried. It opens on a private alcove in the plush Lotos Club.

Dining are the sardonic, brilliant Twain and the imperious, volcanic and equally clever Sherman. All evening, the old and close friends battle to define and claim Grant's legacy.

Waiting on the two is Arthur, the only fully-invented character and a conduit to one of the play's main concerns - and, in the eyes of the playwright, America's central tragedy - racism.

Cafeteria Catholics are everywhere

         

“The University of Notre Dame has invited Dr. Thomas Quinn–who facilitates family planning and condom distribution projects at the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health–to deliver a commencement address next month,” Patrick Reilly, the president of the Cardinal Newman Society, a Catholic educational watchdog  group  explained. “Moreover, Quinn will be honored as Notre Dame’s Distinguished Alumnus for 2012, apparently in violation of the U.S. bishops’ ban on such honors — and just when our bishops are fighting the Obama administration to preserve Catholic universities’ right to uphold Catholic teaching on contraceptives.”

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/04/27/catholic-colleges-notre-dame-honoring-abortion-advocates/ 

http://blog.cardinalnewmansociety.org/2012/04/25/notre-dame-commencement-speaker-aids-partnership-at-odds-with-vatican-bishops/

Friday Family Photo--Haiti Mission

Boarding the plane after a long delay in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Better to have problems on the ground than in the air!

The classes he's teaching this week are perspective drawing and they get to make a model. This is the model he constructed there which is one of the classroom buildings not yet built (no money) which he designed a few years ago. Each tiny piece was cut out here at home and carefully packed into the suitcase.

The accomodations for the volunteers are nice--much better than what the people of Haiti or even the mission staff have. It's sort of like a camp--they have a dorm and working toilets and showers plus very good food. This mission group's purpose was to build up the tech support so it involved a computer team. Equipment was sent down ahead. My husband doesn't even do e-mail, but he went along and did after school classes in art. These photos came via Facebook from the team leader, Gary.

Here he is at work in Haiti during his last architecture class of the week, Friday. From their hands, I'm guessing they are working on perspective. On Friday the kids get to wear school t-shirts, but M-Th they are dressed up and the teachers too.

Update April 29: Home safe, and on time. He says it was the best mission ever! But I think he says that every year. Monday's teaching day was lost because of the delayed flight into Cap Hatian, but the rest went well. He was teaching 4 classes a day, plus one day filled in for a teacher who didn't show up (very common in the public schools but very rare in the Christian schools).

Count your blessings, name them one by one

Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Hymn by Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897

It’s Friday.  Count your blessings!

Oatman wrote over 5,000 gospel hymns, but supported himself in insurance and retail while being a Methodist pastor.

Where does the money go?

In 2010, the federal government spent 61% of its finances on housing and community services, welfare and social services, recreation and culture, health, education, retirement benefits, disability benefits and unemployment benefits. This amounts to 2,124 billion dollars or $19,316/household. "Government Current Expenditures by Function, Table 3.16." U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Sept. 14, 2011.

http://www.justfacts.com/socialspending.basics.asp

Some call it racist to call attention to this

Crucify them

It’s inappropriate language, but at least he’s telling the truth. He’ll probably be sent to reeducation camp so that he can learn to be more obfuscating in explaining EPA’s methods.

“A video surfaced on Wednesday showing a regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency comparing his agency’s philosophy with respect to regulation of oil and gas companies to brutal tactics employed by the ancient Roman army to intimidate its foes into submission.

EPA’s “philosophy of enforcement,” said EPA’s Region VI Administrator Al Armendariz, is “kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean: they’d go into little Turkish towns somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they’d run into, and they’d crucify them.”

“That town was really easy to manage for the next few years,” Armendariz added.

His comments are indicative of the “EPA’s war on fossil fuels,” claimed Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) in a news release on Wednesday.”

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/04/25/video-epa-official-compares-agency-enforcement-to-roman-crucifictions/

Modest changes won’t solve Social Security

“In 2011, the Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund, which pays for retirement and survivors’ benefits, took in $698.8 billion, which includes $106.5 billion that came from a paper transaction that credited interest to the trust fund. Excluding the interest, the retirement and survivors program had income of $592.3 billion but paid out $603.8 billion in benefits, leaving a deficit for 2011 of $11.5 billion. Additional deficits were suffered by Social Security’s disability program.

Counting both programs together, in 2011, Social Security spent $45 billion more in benefits than it took in from its payroll tax. This deficit is in addition to a $49 billion gap in 2010 and an expected average annual gap of about $66 billion between 2012 and 2018. These deficits will quickly balloon to alarming proportions. After adjusting for inflation, annual deficits will reach $95 billion in 2020 and $318.7 billion in 2030 before the trust fund runs out in 2033. Now is the time to focus on solutions.”

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/04/social-security-finances-significantly-worse-says-2012-trustees-report

Gives me chills

             

It’s the Medical Center’s new Chiller Plant, an environmental air conditioner that will cool the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute and Critical Care Center and several other Medical Center buildings at the Ohio State University. This 95,737-square-foot building will provide 30,000 tons of chilled water. This water can also be used for critical operations during power outages.

http://projectoneblog.osumc.edu/2012/04/02/spotlight-on-the-south-campus-chiller-plant/

http://www.aiacolumbus.org/categoryblog/237-chiller-plant

Ethnic cleansing—our training manuals

Are words referring to Islam and Muslim being removed from training manuals and documents for Homeland Security, Pentagon and CIA under pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups?

Yes.

It was reported in October 2011 by Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole.  http://www.justice.gov/dag/training-guiding-principles.pdf

“I recently directed all components of the Department of Justice to re-evaluate their training efforts in a range of areas, from community outreach to national security,” Cole told a panel at the George Washington University law school.

The move comes after complaints from advocacy organizations including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and others identified as Muslim Brotherhood front groups in the 2004 Holy Land Foundation terror fundraising trial.

In a Wednesday Los Angeles Times op-ed, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) president Salam al-Marayati threatened the FBI with a total cutoff of cooperation between American Muslims and law enforcement if the agency failed to revise its law enforcement training materials.

Maintaining the training materials in their current state “will undermine the relationship between law enforcement and the Muslim American community,” al-Marayati wrote.

Multiple online sources detail MPAC’s close alignment with CAIR.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/21/obama-administration-pulls-references-to-islam-from-terror-training-materials-official-says/#ixzz1tA119vR7

There are Muslims with close ties to terrorist groups within the Obama administration.  They sit on advisory boards and meet with high officials, including the president.

“Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert is one of a handful of representatives on Capitol Hill who grasps the severity and nature of the Islamic jihadist threat -- including the Muslim Brotherhood's infiltration into sensitive U.S. government positions -- and is not afraid to speak out about it.”

http://blogs.cbn.com/stakelbeckonterror/archive/2012/03/12/rep.-louie-gohmert-tells-cbn-news-obama-administration-

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/2011/12/08/mohamed-elibiary-homeland-security/

I guess the only question now is "who's zoomin', who's foolin', who's zoomin', who's foolin' who?"

How many different retirement plans does Dr. Sega have?

I have no idea, but he must be part of state teacher’s plans in several states, federal employees’ plan, and military.

“Dr. Ron Sega is Vice President and Enterprise Executive for Energy and Environment at The Ohio State University and Vice President for Energy and the Environment and Woodward Professor of Systems Engineering at Colorado State University. Sega is a retired astronaut and Major General of the US Air Force. Sega was the Under Secretary of Defense for energy projects and was recognized for his committee's achievements and previously led DARPA. ‘  Energy Challenges, the next 50 years

Vice President at Ohio State University
Vice President at Colorado State, also tenured professor
Adjunct professor University of Houston
Former faculty US Air Force Academy
Retired U.S. Air Force
NASA astronaut, 1994, 1996
Air Force Reserves
Former Director of Research and Engineer under GW Bush, 2001-2005
Former Under Secretary of Defense under GW Bush, 2005-2007

Dershowitz discusses Trayvon Martin case

Link
On the Prosecutor: It's not incompetence, what she is doing it's criminal. If she didn't provide evidence of assault in the affidavit on Zimmerman it is perjury. It's not her job to get justice for Trayvon Martin, but for justice. Period. She has prejudiced the case already. No evidence of 2nd degree murder according to Dershowitz.

And I still want to ask blacks, why is it more important when a black person is killed by a white than a black (80%+ of the incidences). Many victims of black violence against blacks are relatives.

Jon Swift

We lived in Forreston, Illinois, when I was in 1-6 grades, and I remember the Swift family well, but didn’t know what had become of them.  Jon’s sister Sue was a childhood friend and in my class, and I remember their parents.  I still remember calling their mom (she was a nurse) about a babysitting problem.  Many tributes to Jon’s accomplishments for athletics and his college. When we were children, Carthage College was in Carthage, Illinois, but it relocated to Wisconsin.

“Torchie” is the official mascot of Carthage College, but Jon D. Swift could just as well have been. To hear his former colleagues and players tell it, there is perhaps no one who has ever loved the NCAA Division III institution more.

Swift, who died April 15 at age 74 after a seven-year battle with scleroderma and lung cancer, just about did it all at Carthage. He received a bachelor’s degree from the liberal arts school in 1960 and that same year began a 36-year career at Carthage.

A native of Forreston, Ill., Swift coached men’s basketball (1973-83), men’s golf (1983-96), men’s tennis (1965-78), men’s cross country (1964-71, 83) and women’s cross country (1983), along with serving as a professor and founding the school’s athletic training program.

http://www.kenoshanews.com/sports/swift_filled_many_voids_at_carthage_365842675.html

http://www.oglecountynews.com/2012/04/19/jon-d-swift/aqtaetn/

http://www.carthage.edu/athletic-training/facilities/

http://www.tausigmachi.org/files/Download/Swift,%20Jon%20D.pdf

R136a1

Google this set of letters and numbers--R136a1. It's a star 265 times larger than our sun, and 10 million times brighter.  And it used to be even bigger and brighter—but is now middle aged.  I'm a Christian—I believe God spoke the world into existence (His word) in 6 days, sent his Son (the Word) and gave us Scripture to tell and remind us of the creation/salvation story (the word).  Jesus created and is in charge of the physical universe and reveals himself that way from turning water into wine as a miracle at a marriage of a man and woman, feeding 5,000+ people with a tiny amount of bread,  to offering his body and blood in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. It’s simply the physical elements he created, whether bread or star, and he’s in charge.  If you think this is crazy talk, how come the brilliant minds of today didn't know about this enormous star until it was discovered in 2010? What other simply obvious and enormous things, right out there in plain sight, don’t you know about?

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19201-biggest-star-ever-found-may-be-ticking-antimatter-bomb.html

Quiet Jihad--ethnic cleansing bigger than Hitler's

"If quiet jihad’s only victims were the Bangladeshi Hindus, it still would be human rights atrocity with victims numbering more than the Nazi Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur combined. Unfortunately, the problem is worse than that. Non-Muslim communities are disappearing wherever Islam has gained hegemony. Christian communities dating back to Jesus’ time are being systematically eliminated in a new Middle East that not only refuses to let them live, but is trying to erase their history so as not to allow even the thought that Islam’s roots go back to a time of conquest and are not ordained by God. The same is true for Middle Eastern Jewish communities with even earlier origins dating to the sixth century B.C.E. Ten of the 14 countries identified as the worst abusers of religious minorities by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom are Muslim-ruled. They all impose a form of Sharia on their people; and three are officially “Islamic States,” as well. Coincidence?

Try again. It seems almost unbelievable that on the eve of World War I, the Turkish capital of Istanbul (then called Constantinople) had a population that was about 50 percent non-Muslim. Today, with a population well over 90 percent Muslim, it has the aspect of any Muslim capital that is increasingly hostile to an intimidated non-Muslim population; and that is after seven decades of being hailed as a model of secularism."

Read the whole article. New English Review

Pelosi wants to repeal the first amendment

“Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats, frustrated by the fact that the Bill of Rights interferes with their desire to muzzle their political opponents, have proposed to repeal the First Amendment.”

She wants to make it this big.

                   

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/20120424pelosis_war_on_constitution/srvc=home&position=recent

Fancy eating at the trough

Our nation's capital boldly depicted on porcelain! These plates measure 12" across, with DC's downtown core printed on a black background. Key buildings and monuments are represented with red icons, while rivers and public spaces are shown in blue and green. Each plate is boxed and includes a key to the buildings and spaces included on the plate.

                  

This is an item for sale at the AIA Convention website. National convention in DC in May. Architects struggle without government money.

Apostle Claver T. Kamau-Imani

accuses the Black Caucus, African American pastors and President Obama of killing of black children and urges blacks to join with Republicans in saving black babies.



Abortions in Ohio: 37.1% African American. Population of Ohio: 12.2% African American. Americans are as blind to this race problem as the Germans in the 1930s were to their problem with the Jews. The press inflates the Florida Martin/Zimmerman case and ignores what's right in their own back yard. President Obama is the only president ever endorsed by Planned Parenthood. In 2007 speaking to Planned Parenthood, Obama said he would “not yield” on abortion and attacked the Supreme Court decision saying the national ban on partial-birth abortions is constitutional.
Report

Think on this

"68%. The percentage of Americans who know someone who was laid off or lost their [sic] job within the past six months, the highest percentage in history, according to a new Gallup poll. Still, many don't think their own jobs are in jeopardy." Politico

Within the past six months. The past six months. The past six months. The past six months. And still people are willing to vote for him in November after all he's not done. How many small businesses decided not to expand or hire just because of the uncertainty of Obamacare?  How many regulations have been added that have stifled job growth?  How in the world will we ever pay for the increased debt he's added? Why is he demonizing success and calling it unfair? When will he ever accept responsibility for his own presidency and stop blaming others?  Why is he the only President ever endorsed by Planned Parenthood?

Need any talking points about women?

According to The Kitchen Cabinet, a conservative women's group focusing on economic and leadership issues, Obama is desperate to bring women back to the Democrat womb for rebirthing, and provides some talking points about what's up with all this contraception business.

Historically, the Democratic Party always attracts more women voters than Republicans. This year however, women voters are disenchanted with Barack Obama’s leadership, and that is why we see the unexpected windfall of FREE contraceptives for women! It’s quite a generous offer, especially considering that there hasn’t been a peep out of women from either party, complaining about a shortage!

More than six percent of democratic-voting women already confirm that they will not repeat their votes for the President. It is no surprise then that Obama strategists are desperate to find a way to distract women who feel the pinch of a bad economy.

Continue reading here for the talking points.