July 4 blessings—if we can keep them

 

I'm thankful this July 4 for the First Amendment. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Can we keep these freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly or will we allow the President and the courts to dream up work arounds? Our president forces the HHS Mandate which violates the religion of millions; he calls peaceful assembly by hundreds of those who disagree with his policies "domestic terrorism;" our free press is eroded by his personal lapdog journalists and crony capitalist cyber giants; citizens speaking out brings out the thuggery at the IRS. Don't lose this treasure!

Obama supports the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

"An honest, capable and representative government is what ordinary Egyptians seek and what they deserve." President Obama, commenting on the removal of Morsi as leader of Egypt.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/03/statement-president-barack-obama-egypt

Yes, that's what Americans deserve too, but he calls peaceful opposition to his policies terrorism, and the Tea Party has just had a few posters and town meetings, not 33 million people in the streets.

Wendy Davis

"Depending on your point of view, Davis is either a brave hero fighting for women everywhere or the second coming of Kermit Gosnell, the notorious Philadelphia doctor recently found guilty of murdering babies." Nick Gillespie, Reason.com

Me?  I think she’s much closer to Gosnell than a hero.

Gettysburg and Uncle Jacob

My great great grandparents lived in Adams County, Pennsylvania, home of Gettysburg.  In early letters to their son David living near Ashton, Illinois, they weren’t too concerned about the war.  Later as things deteriorated, they sent their youngest son, Jacob, to Illinois to live with his older brother David, my grandmother’s father, who really didn’t know him because of the age difference.  But young Jacob got caught up in the war fever anyway, and at age 16 went to Dixon, Illinois, and enlisted.  He died in Tennessee of dysentery a few weeks before the war ended in 1865.  He is buried there in a national cemetery.  It was over 100 years before we even knew of his existence, let alone where he was buried.  One of his sisters in Iowa received a letter from him and his last pay record, which was also his death certificate. When genealogies were being assembled in the 1980s we found out about poor Jacob. His name was listed in the Lee County History compiled 50 years later, but no one in the family thought to read that.

There are no goats in heaven

This morning's speaker on Malabar Farm was excellent. I definitely want to visit. He showed the cutest baby goat photos. He said they are risk takers and get loose even if the grass is just as green on the right side of the fence; lambs are fine, though. Did you know there are no goats in heaven? Jesus said so. Only sheep. That must be why. Cute, adorable, but won't mind. Matt. 25:32-33.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bromfield book, although a novel, is said to be autobiographical.

Obamacare postponement

Louis Bromfield and Malabar Farm

 

This morning's lecture is on Louis Bromfield and Malabar Farm. At one time he was one of America's most successful authors. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were married at Malabar Farm, which is now a state park.

The speaker is Thomas Bachelder, a former high school art teacher who is now a naturalist at Malabar Farm. He is writing a book These Thousand Acres: The Story of the Land That Became Malabar Farm.

Magic Bathroom cleaner

I haven’t tried this, but wanted to save the recipe, and putting it in the blog is easier than printing it.

What you need:
-1 Professional Spray Bottle (it is worth the extra $1, trust me!)
-8 oz. Distilled White Vinegar
-4 oz. Lemon Juice
-2 oz. Liquid Soap (I use Dawn)
-2 tsp. Baking Soda
-10 oz water
To Mix:
Funnel in all the ingredients, squeeze out the suds, screw on your cap and go make your bathroom sparkle!
To Use:
Clear the surfaces, use toilet tissue to wipe off any dirt, hair, spilled liquids, etc.  Using the lightest spray setting, spray down everything- sink, counter, mirror, faucets, tub and the whole toilet, inside and out. I let it sit while I sweep the floor. I then use a microfiber cloth to wipe down the surfaces from the cleanest to the dirtiest. In our house that means mirror, faucets, sink, tub/shower and then the toilet. Be sure to rinse out the tub/shower really well so it isn't slippery.
Stubborn stains in your tub?
Whether its a dirt ring at the top or dirt stuck in the textured bottom, this will solve your problem! Spray down the problem area heavily, and then using a sponge with a non-scratch scrubber, scrub in a circular motion. Again, rinse very well and then put on your shades because its going to be shiny.

You’ll be known by your friends

In the Texas state Capitol, while pro-lifers sang Amazing Grace, the pro-abortion crowd chanted “Hail Satan.”  They seem to think these posters are amusing. Some day these young ladies will be so embarrassed that this photo of them went viral.  But not today.  Today, they are tools of the pro-Satan crowd.

Bush helped the economy after a recession; Obama hurt it

We all know what PPACA (Obamacare) gave us--a lot of surprises that Congress who didn't read it didn't know about, plus enough economic slip ups to completely undo any benefit from the so-called stimulus.  Bush and his Republican Congress, on the other hand, boosted medical research as their signature medical effort. Medical research has great payback in the form of healthier workers and new investments. Making people spend more in insurance--seems to benefit 2 industries: insurance companies and the government bureaucracy. http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/pdfs/FY03/Completed/overview.pdf

Art at the Rhein Center at Lakeside, 2013

Lakeside has a wonderful art center where classes of all types are taught. Here's what my neighbor's grand daughter Elle was able to do today. Aren't the colors great? My husband will be teaching (perspective) next week. Established in a dilapidated, boarded up building in memory of C. Kirk Rhein, Jr., a son and grandson of Lakesiders lost in TWA Flight 800, it is now a pleasant, busy, humming hive of laughter and effort. This spring it got a nice make-over with tents outside and a fresh coat of paint and new floors.  http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20130624/NEWS01/306240022/Lakeside-gets-fresh-face

Joan Shaw Turrentine guest blogger on Obamacare impact

The Salvation Army truck just left, taking away the leftovers from our yard sale a couple of weeks ago. I finally have our garage space back! While we were loading the “stuff” on the truck, I asked the worker if it is true that most of the Salvation Army staff has had their hours cut to half-time. He affirmed the truth of what I had heard. So sad! Employers (particularly charities) cannot afford to hire full-time workers - thanks to all the oppressive regulations involved with our new “healthcare” laws which require extensive paperwork and fees for every full-time employee. In the light of the IRS scandal, one has to wonder whether faith-based charities (like Salvation Army) might be especially targeted for extra paper-work limiting their hiring. Throughout my 72 years as a citizen of this once-great country I have been a trusting, patriotic citizen. It breaks my heart that I can no longer trust our country’s leaders.

Amen, Joan. (NB)

Morality slipping in the United States

This is the agency in charge of your health

He knew it was a tax when he first lied.

Look where “wantedness” got us. 55 million dead.

Amy Grant at Lakeside, June 29

A great concert by Amy Grant last night at Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside. Except for a few of her Christian favorites popular early in her career, it was a secular concert for some very loyal fans. Can't believe she's 52. She must work out. She has great rapport with her audience and seemed to genuinely enjoy Lakeside. We were packed in cheek to jowl, and the doors opened at 7:30 (for 8:15 concert).

Lakeside Foundation had a dinner last night where we were updated on last year's projects (splash park and memorial garden) and the upcoming plans for the lakefront. $688,000 was raised in 2012, and the goal now is $700,000. We sat with 3 other couples, married in 1950, 1957, and 1960. Among us we had 222 years of marriage. I thought that might be a record, but looked over at the next table and I'm sure they were over 240.

Greenland is huge!

Have you ever looked at a globe or map – Greenland is enormous, and it only has about 56,000 people.  Right after WWII the U.S. offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100 million, but no deal.  We could have had 51 states!

 

Between 1989 and 1993, U.S. and European climate researchers drilled into the summit of Greenland's ice sheet, obtaining a pair of 3 km (1.9 mi) long ice cores. Analysis of the layering and chemical composition of the cores has provided a revolutionary new record of climate change in the Northern Hemisphere going back about 100,000 years, and illustrated that the world's weather and temperature have often shifted rapidly from one seemingly stable state to another, with worldwide consequences.^[46] The glaciers of Greenland are also contributing to a rise in the global sea level at a faster rate than was previously believed.^[47] Between 1991 and 2004, monitoring of the weather at one location (Swiss Camp) showed that the average winter temperature had risen almost 6 °C (11 °F).^[48] Other research has shown that higher snowfalls from the North Atlantic oscillation caused the interior of the ice cap to thicken by an average of 6 cm or 2.36 in/yr between 1994 and 2005.^[49]

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland

 

 

Insurance for what? Votes.

And Paula Deen gets fired for what she said decades ago?

First, Minnesota State Rep. Ryan Winkler calls Justice Clarence Thomas an "Uncle Tom." Now MSNBC contributor has jumped in comparing the Justice to a Nazi. One thing about the far Left: Their blood-dripping hatred of minority conservatives knows no bounds.(Flyover Country)

Because he agreed that a 1965 voting law has outlived its legitimate lifespan, Justice Clarence Thomas is akin to a Jewish Nazi collaborator.  Michael Dyson -- a Georgetown professor -- explicitly invokes the holocaust in drawing his comparison. Appalling. Host Martin Bashir responds to this venom with a calm "thank you."

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/msnbcs-michael-eric-dyson-on-clarence-thomas-symbolic-jew-who-sided-with-hitler-to-commit-genocide/

I hope you can see the double standard.  If not, you are a Democrat.

Two large silver maples lost in one week

It’s been a bad week for silver maples at Lakeside.  The one on the lakefront was rotten inside, and the one at Second and Peach had a wide but not deep root system.

This home was a classic Dutch Colonial style, with mansard roof.  Air conditioner in the bedroom window  was still running when I walked past on Sunday morning. The tree appeared to be held up by the bark.

The angle at which it fell missed the house and little porch in the front.  Hollyhocks still blooming.  It fell Thursday evening during a storm. Also missed the house across the street.

The root system was very broad, but not deep.  Seemed to be on solid rock.