Putin is so frightened

I was watching Obama stammer and stutter at a news conference addressing Putin's aggression repeating the same old same old "there will be consequences" drivel, and couldn't help remembering when he had half the nation, all of Europe and Peggy Noonan swooning over how articulate and eloquent he was. He was like the visiting preacher in 2006--had one sermon in his pocket and Democrats had a come to Jesus moment. He's beginning to make GW Bush look like the most fluent engaging president we ever had.

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2014/03/25/us-allies-seek-to-isolate-russia-moscow-shrugs

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/25/obama-doubts-russian-retreat-ukraine/

Some networks edit his speeches and comments so he sounds better.

What if crosses my mind.

Gloria Steinem is 80!? When a pro-abortion feminist who has built a career on eliminating other humans’ possibilities, tiny, vulnerable and helpless, has a birthday I always wonder, what if. . .

Former Toledoan and Playboy bunny, she’s the one who said if men could become pregnant abortion would be a sacrament.  She coined the term, “reproductive freedom.”   As it is, abortion is a plank in the Democratic party platform, and for them has become if not a sacrament, at least the foundation for all their victim wailing and weeping, lying and cheating.  No rights or freedom for 56 million dead Americans, but she’s a big advocate for animal rights.

Two scary things—both concerning Obamacare

1) Matt Drudge, American tax payer, seems to know more about the requirements of Obamacare than the administration--he pays taxes quarterly for his business which means 2014 taxes (including his penalty) are due this calendar year, not in 2015;

2) Obama WH staff would be so bold as to attack a private American citizen on Twitter. We all know it's a difficult law, constantly being changed by the President's executive orders, and for that reason, his staff needs to not show their ignorance. I Googled through a few pages of stories, and this does not show for the Obamedia.

Then other leftist sites piled on Drudge.  To my knowledge, even though they’ve been proven wrong, none have taken down their misinformation.

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/03/24/white-house-staffer-calls-matt-drudge-liar-after-he-tweets-about-paying-obamacare-penalty

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/03/21/White-House-Leads-Liberal-Media-In-Matt-Drudge-Attack

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/drudge-individual-mandate-liberty-tax

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/03/22/matt-drudge-pays-liberty-tax-obamacare-opt-out-penalty-wh-liberal-press-attack-him-107869

Imagining America—sounds great, but isn’t

“Imagining America was founded at a 1999 White House Conference initiated by the White House Millennium Council, the University of Michigan, and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Conference participants became the basis for what was to become the group’s “consortium” of 100-plus colleges and universities. The group was initially hosted by the University of Michigan. Syracuse University took over in 2007 as IA’s temporary home, and will remain host through 2017.

Radical Objectives

Like many radical groups, Imagining America (its full name is Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life) couches its goals in soothing, innocuous-sounding prose.”

Read more about Imaging America.

How the New Yorker cartoons are chosen

Monday Memories—When Dad got a job at 80

My memory may be a little hazy (my siblings will set me straight), but I think Dad retired the first time when he was about 55 and sold his fuel oil business to his cousin.  He puttered and figitted and looked out the front window for awhile, then started working again.  I know for awhile he drove an oil tanker—had to join the teamsters, which was a big family laugh since he was anti-union.  Then he was a security guard for awhile at one of the Rockford hospitals.  I recall him telling some stories, but not enough of the details to report them. 

Then he started another business, Agri-Bolt, selling equipment parts to farmers for their large equipment.  A box of bolts would be installed in the barn for easy access and Dad would periodically stop by and refill it, then bill the owner.  Eventually, probably in his 70s, he gave that up too. He would walk 5-10 miles a day and help Mom with her guest home on the family farm, but he’d run out of things to do.

When he was about 80 (or maybe 83) he noticed an ad for a salesman for a bolt company, so he applied.  By that time, it was illegal to ask a potential employee his age, so they hired him.  They found out his age because it was required on some other type of form to list his birthdate, perhaps insurance. 1913.  And then he got employee of the month (or year) for being highest in sales.  Years later I was visiting him when a young man stopped by to see him—the owner of that business who still kept in touch after he’d retired from that job.

Sometimes I think he worked just to prove a point that anyone can get a job. . . even an old man.

                      

Dad would be 101 today.

Strawberry Butter Cream Cake

We’re having our couples group on Saturday evening; might try this.

• 1 (18.25-ounce) Package white cake mix
• 1 (3-ounce) Package strawberry gelatin
• 4 Large eggs
• ½ Cup sugar
• ½ Cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
• ½ Cup milk
• ½ Cup Vegetable oil
• 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour
• Strawberry Butter cream Frosting (see below)
• Garnish with whole and halved strawberries
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat cake mix, strawberry gelatin, eggs, sugar, chopped fresh strawberries, milk, vegetable oil and all-purpose flour at low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down sides, and beat at medium speed for 2 more minutes, stopping to scrape down sides, as needed. (The Strawberries should be well blended.)
2. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes, or until cakes spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely (about 1 hour.)
4. Spread the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with whole and halved strawberries. Serve immediately, or chill for up to 1 week.
To make ahead: Prepare recipe as directed. Chill, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until frosting is set. Cover well with wax paper, and store in refrigerator up to a week.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
• 1 Cup butter, softened
• (32-ounce) Package powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 Cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
Preparation
1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy (about 20 seconds). Add sugar and strawberries, beating at low speed until creamy. (Add more sugar if frosting is too thin, or add strawberries if too thick.)

Racist?

20+ changes to the ACA

Governments hate competition that improves people’s lives

Michigan teachers’ union wants to hire non-Christians

The Michigan Education Association teachers’ union contract, which took effect in 2011 and was recently extended to 2017, mandates that the school district favor non-Christian teachers when making hiring decisions:

Regarding promotion to a vacant position, it states on page 22:

“Should there be two (2) or more of these applicants with equal qualifications for the position and one (1) or more of these applicants with equal qualifications is a current employee, the current employee with the greatest seniority shall be assigned. Special consideration shall be given to women and/or minority defined as: Native American, Asian American, Latino, African American and those of the non-Christian faith. However, in all appointments to vacant positions, the Board’s decision shall be final.”

Can you imagine a woman being a “minority” in the teaching profession?

Rev. Carl E. Myers

I learned today from my niece of the death of Rev. Carl E. Myers, the minister who married us in the Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren in 1960. His brother, Richard Myers, who was my high school English teacher, also played the organ at our wedding. One of the loveliest memories I have of Carl is his singing around the campfire at Camp Emmaus. He had given the meditation and then stood up and sang "Sweet Little Jesus boy." He had a wonderful voice. I last saw him in 2002 at my father's funeral, but we had a photo taken with him in 1999. His wife Doreen died about 2 years ago. The were residents in their last years at Timbercrest Senior Living in North Manchester, Indiana.

Even President Obama used to call it Obamacare. What happened?

“We passed Obamacare — yes, I like the term — we passed it because I do care, and I want to put these choices in your hands where they belong,” Obama said at a typical stop in Iowa last October.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/barack-obama-obamacare-affordable-care-act-health-care-law-100034.html#ixzz2wiqOnaIU

 

 

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/08/obama-embraces-the-term-obamacare/1#.Uy3mnLNOXjQ

Obamacare law is four years old today

On Sunday, March 21, 2010, exactly four years ago today, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the complicated legislation that established what came to be known as Obamacare. The vote was 219 to 212 to approve the measure, with every Republican voting no. Before the vote, Democrats hailed the "historic" moment, while Republicans warned their colleagues of disastrous consequences. On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA's individual mandate as an exercise of Congress's taxing power

- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/flashback-obamacare-largest-legislative-transfer-power-executive-branch#sthash.lneSDHuu.dpuf

Worse than it looks

Less than 400,000 of the African slave trade came to the future United States.  Most went to South America and the Caribbean Islands. But the 13 million?  Those all belong to us.

This and That Thursday

So, it's the first day of Spring. Over the noise of the furnace fan this morning I could hear birds outside calling me and when I took the trash out I found one tiny yellow flower

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My husband is enjoying the good life in California with his sister , so I made a wonderful salad of several dark greens, onions, olives, tomatoes and the left over corned beef. He's probably at some ridiculously expensive restaurant. Or on Deb's patio.

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Quantitative easing has apparently ended (it's what made the rich even richer during the Obama reign), so the stock market took a swim in the quick sand today. Good luck fellow retirees, our pensions are in for a bumpy ride.

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I heard an ad for the new Noah movie today that was really a disclaimer--"based on the book of Genesis with artistic license." I guess so since about 98% of Christians familiar with it have panned it. It's not a story about overpopulation and the environment, but the movie is. Hollywood has discovered religious people like to buy tickets for movies with sound values and non-embarrassing themes, but this sounds like a bust.

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Abortion enthusiasts are selling silver necklaces with little coat hangers.  How cute. Coat hanger abortions are a myth, and always have been. And if it were true, those who do it, are pro-choice, not pro-life.

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Our noon Lenten service at UALC Lytham Rd.  was poorly attended. Too many regulars skipped worship to watch the Buckeyes get defeated in basketball. Some even skipped the Bible study!

Conservatives can be naive

Wow! I do get frustrated with Conservative bloggers, Facebook Friends, radio talkers and media personalities for depicting Obama as dumb and ineffective (obviously some of it is racism). He has carefully presented a weak sister effeminate image to the world, and it's working. He has destroyed our health insurance system and helped weaken values and morals thousands of years old. That is not a weak man in mom jeans (another act); you'll just need to find a new name for it, folks. Stop underestimating a man who is calculating enough to go on TV choosing basketball winners and play foil on a comedy show to redirect our attention from the resurgence of the Soviet Union and the theft of our freedoms. He is a president in stage make-up playing the buffoon all the while laughing at his audience.

International pornography ring based in Louisiana

Mothers of boys, watch out who you "friend" on social media.  A large, international child pornography operation, with most of the victims boys, has been uncovered and the 27 year old ring leader arrested. "Jonathan Johnson, 27, of Abita Springs, La., has been charged with operating a child exploitation enterprise. He admitted to creating multiple fake female personas on popular social networks to target and sexually exploit children and to coaching other child predators in his inner circle to do the same. Jonathan Johnson has been in federal custody since his arrest June 13, 2013, and faces 20 years to life in prison." Of the 13 other men arrested so far, most were 30 and under. Male subscribers to the boy porn site were making them rich and selling their souls for this abomination.

http://www.myarklamiss.com/story/d/story/14-louisiana-men-arrested-in-massive-child-porn-op/12548/bYre4BUc-ES5lbbBL_d16A

Raising the minimum wage

I got an e-mail from a liberal think tank this morning: "Progressives are making raising the minimum THE top women's issue of 2014."

Oh goody. I wonder how many unemployed or underemployed women will benefit from that? Recently I read that in Illinois there were 5,000 jobs and 10,000 needing those jobs, but none of them had the skills to do those jobs. Even with a GED, most could only read at 3rd or 4th grade level, and those without a GED didn't want to spend the time and effort to get one when welfare benefits paid better than the jobs! And those jobs were above minimum wage!

Women need to finish high school and they need to be married before having children. That's what improves life for women, not an increase in the minimum, which will take a chunk of their government benefits giving them no advantage at all.

If a woman is earning $15,000/year at a minimum wage job and qualifies for SNAP, EITC, housing, Medicaid, etc., and then is raised to $20,000, and loses half of the government aid, where is her gain? $20,000 hardly improves her life and chances of moving up.

Natural gas is our weapon

On Meet the Press (Aug. 2008), Pelosi said while defending her investment in natural gas: “I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels,” she said at one point. Natural gas “is cheap, abundant and clean compared to fossil fuels,” she said at another. Later she clarified that and said she meant compared to oil and coal. Yes, I'm sure, after someone explained it to her.

“If the early 21st century is the “golden age of gas,” as the International Energy Agency has declared, who will be its king? Until 2009, the answer seemed obvious: Russia. But a funny thing happened on the way to the “third Rome” that Russian nationalists view as their destiny. In that year, propelled by the technological innovations of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) and horizontal drilling, U.S. gas production surpassed that of Russia.”  Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/201003-can-fracking-save-the-world