A letter home from a new American, 1737

In a genealogy workshop this summer I met another Lakesider (she heard me mention Manchester College and asked me if I was Brethren) whose maiden name was Studebaker, a name I recognized not just from the automobile, but from the wagon company which at one time had some intention to save the Mt. Morris College in Mt. Morris, Illinois.  Today we met again and she loaned me her huge Studebaker genealogy book, “The Studebaker Family in America,” published in the 1970s by the Studebaker Family National Association.  One of the association’s links back to Europe was a letter written by 2 brothers, which is translated, and is an interesting peek at life for new immigrants in Pennsylvania. . . with our conventions and campaign speak in full force, some of these phrases will be familiar, yet extremely foreign to us.  We don’t remember today how burdened Europeans were with taxes and assessments, how if you were born poor, you stayed poor. . . or that people actually sold their children into labor contracts if they were too poor to pay for passage to get here!

“As to your question regarding brother John, there is, thanks to God, no reason for complaint, for life is pleasant here. For we are better off than in Europe, because anyone who is willing to work can make a good living here, except for certain craftsmen.
The craftsmen are not organized here as with you. [The reference is probably to the toolmakers of the district from which the writers came]. Yet things could be better organized here, if only there were some masters here. For steel and iron are plentiful in this country. Good steel and iron and coal and grinding stones are imported from England, and the coal is for sale here as with you. Also there are many rivers.

Yet anybody who wants to work on a farm, can live a life without worries, for not much has to be paid to the sovereign, the maximum is six shillings per one hundred acres in the national currency. Some give corn and some give peppercorn and others give one shilling per one hundred acres and some don't pay anything, once the sovereign has received his money. Much that was bought from the late Count [William Penn], as indicated above, has to pay one shilling per one hundred acres.
Furthermore let me tell you how a poor man be able to come across, who lacks the money to pay the passage. There is the following agreement: If a man has children, he can put them into service. A boy has to remain in service until he is twenty one. The girl has to stay until eighteen years of age. For this, people pay a lot of money. In that way, a poor man is able to free himself and his wife.”

After praising the crops one could grow, the writers go on to say in an almost amazed tone about the honesty and integrity of the authorities, and they were just folks like the ordinary people,

“Furthermore a word about the authorities. The authorities here are good ones. You can go to a person in authority in the same way as to a peasant. You don't have to take your hat off for a person in authority. They administer justice. Nobody suffers violence or injustice from them. They live a pious and God-fearing life. They don't harm or vex anybody as they do with you. When you sell something here, e.g., inheritance or tools, it does not concern the authorities.

Also an interesting insight into religion, especially since there are progressives among us who are downplaying this today. . . (note: Dunkers is the old term for Church of the Brethren and related groups which practiced adult baptism):

”As far as religion in this country is concerned, it should be said that there are all kinds of faiths here. Firstly, where authority is as it were, within; congregations, in which they have no baptism, neither for infants nor for adults. Then there are also here whole congregations of Baptists and Seventh Day Baptists [i.e., Dunkers] who also practice adult baptism, and they keep their Sunday on Saturday, yet lead a good life. There are also many "monists" [Unitarians?] as well as Reformed and Lutherans, and also a few Catholics in Philadelphia, whom the late Count [William Penn] wanted to expel, but they insisted on the franchise granted to them by the late Lord. So he had to keep his peace. But afterwards both we and all new arrivals of the male sex must go to the town hall before the magistrates to give up and renege allegiance to the Pope in Rome [illegible] of Great Britain in England. For the rest the authorities permit all faiths. If a person lives a quiet and pious life, he may believe what he likes.”The writers continue on to discuss labor—the shortage—and the problems with slave labor which the rich used, and relations with the Indians.  Read the rest of the letter here.

My grandmother’s childhood scrapbook showing advertising for the Studebaker Wagon of South Bend, Indiana.

And still the majority of blacks will vote for failed policies of Democrats

Democrats don’t applaud success, they apologize

Think about it—the party you support—is it pro-life?

Condi Rice is called Uncle Tom by Democrats

Obama supporters are calling Condi Rice and other black republicans "Uncle Toms" and pejorative, racist, ugly words. Perhaps they need to review the history of Stowe's book, how it influenced generations for good, and perhaps another story about a man who gave his life for others and then people change their lives of evil based on his life of good. Then perhaps look at the Jim Crow laws and the KKK which were arms of the Democrat party to undo the freedoms accomplished by amendments to the Constitution. It seems Democrats do a lot of that and use 19th century tactics to punish those who escape their clutches. Stowe's book was based on real slave narratives, particularly a man named Henson who after securing his own safety and freedom returned to the South to free others. Many black republicans are trying to lead their friends and family away from the Democrat plantation, but it's a tough struggle. There are some successes, therefore the name calling. Twitter and FB comments on Daily Beast are just frightening in their anger, fear and hate.

2016 the film

It’s doing very well at the box office.  Here from Patriot Post is a summary of Dinesh D’Souza’s film.

D'Souza's film is based on his books, "The Roots of Obama's Rage" and "Obama's America," in which he asserts that Obama's worldview was shaped most directly by the anti-colonialist views of his father, and that Obama is now intent on unmaking American so that he can remake it according to his worldview.

In a 2010 Forbes Magazine editorial on Obama, D'Souza concluded: "[Obama] is trapped in his father's time machine. Incredibly, the U.S. is being ruled according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s. This philandering, inebriated African socialist, who raged against the world for denying him the realization of his anti-colonial ambitions, is now setting the nation's agenda through the reincarnation of his dreams in his son. The son makes it happen, but he candidly admits he is only living out his father's dream. The invisible father provides the inspiration, and the son dutifully gets the job done. America today is governed by a ghost."

Watch for it tomorrow night. . .

 

“Sky & Telescope magazine has traced the history of the term in at least two articles and it has even been part of the change of how the term is used.

Here is a summary of what the articles describe:

• The original usage of the term was like the modern statement “When pigs fly.”
• Another described an infrequent event related to volcanic eruptions. The dust ejected high into the atmosphere, can give the moon and sun and bluish hue when see through the dust. While infrequent, blue moons do occur.
• A usage closer to the popular modern concept can be traced to the Maine Farmers’ Almanac that related the term an extra full moon during a season. The seasons normally have three full moons. When a season has four, the third one is called “Blue Moon.” Historically, the months had names, such as Harvest Moon, Egg Moon or Lenten Moon. Because those full moons were related to specific events related to the seasons, there came a time when a season had an extra full moon without a name; the third month in that series was named “Blue Moon.”
• Sky & Telescope also stated that it contributed to the popular notion with articles in 1946 and 1950 that cited the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, but added that a second full moon in a month was a “Blue Moon.”

http://jeffreylhunt.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/august-31-blue-moon/

Does Congress know about this? 200 Marines have landed in Guatemala

"Guatemalan authorities say they signed a treaty allowing the U.S. military to conduct the operations on July 16. Less than a month later an Air Force C-5 transport plane flew into Guatemala City from North Carolina loaded with the Marines and four UH-1 "Huey" helicopters."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_GUATEMALA_US_MARINES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-29-18-33-58

Don’t blame the Democrats for these creeps

http://redalertpolitics.com/2012/08/29/leftists-say-murder-ann-romney-via-twitter-call-mia-love-house-ner/

Whose war on women?

Communist Party of the USA endorses Obama

President Obama--get over it

Man up and stop blaming others for your failures.

Love from the Republican convention in Tampa

What a great poster to replace a fading Obama poster

The Democrats big lie about Katrina

The first line of defense in a hurricane, tornado or earthquake is the city, county and state authorities. During Katrina and Rita the mayor of New Orleans, Democrat Ray Nagin (Chocolate city Nagin) and the Democrat Governor of LA Kathleen Blanco failed in their responsibilities. Nagin thought they were prepared up to category 3 (it was a 5) and Blanco dithered about 2 days despite Bush’s urging before she did anything. So who do Democrats blame for 1800 deaths? President Bush. So far with Isaac there has been one death. Let's see if they will give Obama the credit or Governor Bobby Jindal who's been on top of this from the beginning.

How many “hot button” racialist words can you find?

“The Americas Before 1900 Working Group fosters comparative and transnational approaches to the cultures and histories of the early Americas in both research and teaching. Conceptualizing connections across the hemisphere’s cultures and languages is especially crucial for understanding the kinds of colonial encounters and transitions to modernity that proliferate from the pre-Columbian era to the advent of industrialization. We bring historians and literary scholars of both Latin America and Anglo-America together to discuss hemispheric questions such as how narratives across cultures address the legacy of slavery; how colonial encounters influence modern forms of jurisprudence; and how systems of quantification develop across different imperial spaces. Convening in Spring 2013, we anticipate broadening these questions as we create a space for ongoing dialogue about the interconnectedness of the Americas to each other and the rest of the globe. “

It’s just a guess, but research on pre-european cultures with groups killing and sacrificing each other is probably not a part of this Ohio State University Working Group’s conceptualizing connections.

You’ve bought a lie

Wellness exams, electronic records and preventive care do not save money or lives. But that's how Obamacare has been sold. Well trained doctors free of government red tape and payment schedules do. I know a woman who needs surgery tomorrow and is in constant pain, but it may be 4-5 months; I called in July for an appointment with a common specialty and couldn't get in until December. We are Medicare. Welcome to our playpen, all you who thought Obamacare would be so terrific.

Ask you doctor about PPACA

Go ahead, ask your physician at your next visit what she or he thinks of current Washington-directed reform and its impact on the doctor-patient relationship. What you hear will likely surprise you, because it will likely be markedly different from what you hear from Washington. The policy theorists are simply too far removed from the reality of front-line patient care. Health reform, whether via the implementation of ObamaCare or the GOP's "repeal and replace" plan, should no longer ignore the input and counsel of experienced, front-line, practicing doctors.

http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/232510/what-my-doctor-thinks-of-obamacare

Dog whistle or whistling in the dark?

Apparently dog whistle racism is when the slurs, slams or words are so subtle, so coded, so obscure, that only Republican politicians say them and only black people and Democrats understand them, if indeed they can hear them. Therefore, calling Obama the food stamp president is racist not because with his failed policies more Americans are using SNAP than ever before, but because he is black and to criticize him is code racism. Hello. He has criticized Romney for telling students to borrow from their parents rather than the government! Most people using food stamps are white. 40% of black women are having abortions.  Do the math. Americans elected him in 2008; he couldn't have been elected without the white vote. But what was historic and post racial in 2008 is now racist as millions try to abandon him because he has failed. He has broken his promises, and minorities particularly have been hurt. That's not code--that's the truth.

Sacred places

I think it's just so "special" (and transparent) that Brian Williams of NBC is so hurt that he can't go into the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake, even though he could go into any Mormon church for public worship if he so desired. It seems it's been a while since he's gone to church--any church. There are off limits and sacred places in all denominations, faiths and churches. I'd like to see Brian walk down the aisle at our church and decide he wants to stand at the pulpit and tell jokes during one of the sermons, or serve the elements during communion or crash a children's Sunday school class, or sign up to attend a women's retreat. Even the most liberal and Open churches would probably stop him. And that little aside about polygamy? Did he preface it with Barack Obama's father was a polygamist and he has a number of half-sibs and extended family members he's not taking care of?  Did Williams ever do a piece on Obama’s pastor, Rev. Wright’s, Black Theology?