A message from our niece, Joanie

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/1413th-Engineer-Company-Deploys-To-Afghanistan-256922571.html

Déjà vu, but now it’s Syria

"But without U.S. involvement, the worst-case predictions are coming true: More than 160,000 people have been killed, more than 9 million have been displaced from their homes, and terrorists allied with al-Qaeda are establishing safe zones from which they can attack Europe and the United States."

Sorry, Washington Post, isn't this what we were told in 2003 about Hussein? Washington Post editorializes on how Obama has failed miserably in Syria. If Bush was so wrong about Iraq (had bi-partisan support and Clinton era intelligence) according to WaPo and other MSM, what makes them so sure about Syria?

Editorial

How do Democrats get away with these lies

Watchdog.org is reporting that 308,000 Virginia voters are also registered elsewhere, according to an analysis of 22 states’ election records. How many of the 308,000 voters cast multiple ballots in a single election is not known, but the group Election Integrity Maryland found 164 individuals who voted in both states in 2012.

I volunteer at a free clinic in Columbus. I've yet to meet a client who didn't have ID--most are not driver's licenses but are provided by the state. They need it for government benefits. Why do Democrats lie about the importance of having an ID?

I know a dog that talks like this

The church is a hospital for sinners, and also cares for the sick

We know why the church takes care of the sick--Jesus commanded it and also miraculously healed them himself setting the example and commanded his immediate disciples (of whom we are heirs) to do the same. Over the centuries the Christian church, particularly the Roman Catholic church, has been the largest social service agency. But why does the government do it when it picks and chooses (over the centuries) the sinners and the winners? Governments have killed far more people than religious leaders could even consider, plus they use religious sects (of any faith) to do the dirty work. In the U.S. we have the push for government health insurance when 85% of the citizens already were satisfied with what they had and a large portion of those who didn't have insurance were eligible for a minimal care level already provided. That's an inordinate amount of power to hand to any entity. At the same time, 55 million have been put to death with the government's blessing and regulated abortion industry.

Summer reading for teens

Last night my neighbor asked me about summer selections for reading for her 15 year old grandson. He has a school suggested list with 2 books required. I have no experience in what teens read, but I was surprised by the list. Seemed awfully mature (and depressing). One was Killer Angels, an historical novel about the Civil War and is used in military schools; another was The Help, about black women who worked as household help in the South of the early 60s, but the narrator is white. The last runaway--an English woman and the underground railroad—which my book club read this year. I read a lot as a teen--mostly historical fiction, but probably not what adults suggested.

So I checked the Internet for summer reading lists. Although there were a few classics, many I found disturbing. Like the one about a boy who lives in a homeless shelter with his spaced out mother because dad is in prison; a 5 year old growing up in 1 room because his mother has been held prisoner for 7 years (like the Cleveland story); Devil in the White City (scariest book I've ever read). But then, Les Miserables and Uncle Tom's Cabin (also on the list) aren't a walk in the park

What are your children/grandchildren reading this summer?

Last federal land acquisition—Organ Mountains in New Mexico

Illegals use the Organ Mountains In New Mexico to smuggle drugs. It's a pathway for illegals to enter the country. Now the President has made this area a national monument. Good-bye local law enforcement. The push to nationalize this area began before the present administration.

 http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2014-05-20/public-lands-wilderness/obama-to-designate-organ-mountains-a-national-monument/a39495-1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/05/21/obama-declares-the-organ-mountains-desert-peaks-region-of-n-m-a-national-monument/

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_25381121/town-hall-pans-proposed-u-s-senate-legislation

The Veterans Affairs medical scandal—or cover up--whichever

Just for the record--2 Columbus veterans (WWII and Korean War era) we know say our local VA facility is fabulous and they've never waited for care and have been treated very well. The current VA scandal--wait times particularly--has been known for years, or why else would Senator Obama have campaigned on it in 2008 as a way to blame Bush? But the truth is, and what will be pushed under the rug, a national health care system (we have 4--Medicare, Medicaid, VA and S-CHIP) run from Washington is just too big and bureaucratic--and he knew that going into his own push to nationalize health insurance for the rest of us. 

http://www.columbus.va.gov/

http://www.yellowpages.com/columbus-oh/va-hospital

I need one of these

Our vigilant free press is on duty. . . NOT

Can he save even one American?

Mr. President, you and your campaign staff blew the 9/11/12 attacks in Libya. Don't blow this one. If you can take in millions of illegals, you can free one American. Or can you?

This active Marine reservist is imprisoned in Mexico for taking a wrong turn.

The duping of Americans

If you look at the rationale for Electronic Medical Records, it was always about the data (which can be massaged, sold to the highest bidder and used for policy), because its value for health had never been decided. This should come as no surprise. It's the invention of Zeke Emanuel who said, "Vague promises of savings from cutting waste, enhancing prevention and wellness, installing electronic medical records and improving quality of care are merely 'lipstick' cost control, more for show and public relations than for true change." JAMA, Feb. 27, 2008.

And now this. . . and it won’t be the only invasion of your private records.

The federal government is piecing together a sweeping national “biosurveillance” system that will give bureaucrats near real-time access to Americans’ private medical information in the name of national security, according to Twila Brase, a public health nurse and co-founder of the Citizens Council for Health Freedom.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is currently seeking public comment on a 52-page draft of the proposed “National Health Security Strategy 2015-2018” (NHSS).

Read more here.

Eric Holder, racist in chief

Americans love special anniversaries. 60 years--1954 Brown v. Board of Education and 50 years--1964 Civil Rights Act and LBJ's Great Society. And of course, 2014 when Eric Holder and the Obama Administration prattle that America's made no progress and we're still just a bunch of racists (forgetting that the KKK, Jim Crow, and segregated education system belonged to Democrat policies).

So an 80 year old billionaire in a private conversation with his black mistress can undo trillions of dollars of government programs and transfers? Really an insult to our history and progress. But for the left, it's never enough, there's never progress for the progressives. Keep it churning or lose your jobs.

According to Eric Holder (who was allowed to speak at graduation) zero tolerance for violence in schools is racist and signifies resegregation. So, let's look at this. Little white boys in 3rd grade who are suspended for pointing a finger like a gun violate this policy and will be punished by a suspension, but a black child will get a pass for beating up a classmate on the bus? What is it called when Condi Rice is disinvited to speak at graduation? She probably would have given some inspiring advice to graduates; all Holder did was give a whiny political screed.

Active duty reservist jailed in Mexico

Andrew Tahmooressi, an active reservist Marine, 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan, is in jail in Mexico for accidentally entering the country with weapons in his car. Where is his commander in chief?

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/05/16/11-tapes-released-us-marine-jailed-in-mexico-bolster-case-accidentally-crossed/

The Left’s War on Women

Michele Bachmann fostered 23 children before she got into politics. The Left never denied it, but criticized her for talking about it! After all, it was in her past and shouldn't be brought up. It’s not like she did something useful like being a community organizer. She didn't actually "raise them" was the criticism--some were short term. They also criticized her for not winning by larger margins, for raising support for her campaigns, for being a Democrat before she was a Republican, for how many chiefs of staff she had, etc., etc. She got more scrutiny than the President, whose time in office has been riddled with scandals. Just a part of the Democrat war on women who don't slide in to power on their husband's coattails (Clinton) or lie about their heritage by calling themselves Native Americans (Warren).

Graduation speakers play the race card

Michelle Obama and Eric Holder performed as the President's surrogates as graduation speakers complaining about race in America. What a terrible message for graduates. But what they didn't say was that under Obama, almost all measures for poverty, unemployment, income gap and social gains have worsened for blacks who supported him (13% of the electorate, 96% voted for him) . This administration defaults to race baiting when it flounders. I'm guessing that even college seniors have this figured out.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-blacks-poverty-education/2014/01/08/id/545866/

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/19/michelle-obama-would-like-students-to-monitor-family-members-for-racial-insensitivity/

What the Rutgers graduates missed when they protested Condolezza Rice,

“a person who grew up poor in Jim Crow Alabama. Who lost a friend and playmate in 1963 when white supremacists bombed Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Who became an accomplished concert pianist before she tuned her ear to the more dissonant chords of international relations.

Secretary Rice was Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Denver and received a B.A. cum laude in political science—back before the worst grade a student had ever heard of was a B-.

The professor who influenced her most was Josef Korbel, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s father.

Secretary Albright and Secretary Rice don’t agree on much about international relations. But they don’t sit-in or teach-in at each other’s public appearances.

Secretary Rice got a master’s in political science from Notre Dame, a Ph.D. in political science from Denver and, in the meantime, was an intern at the Carter administration State Department and the Rand Corporation and studied Russian at Moscow State University.

She rose from assistant professor to provost at Stanford. (Ranked fifth-best university in America by U.S. News & World Report. You’re ranked 69^th.) While she was doing that, she also served, from 1989 to 1991, as the Soviet expert on the White House National Security Council under President George H. W. Bush. . .

Condoleezza Rice was named National Security Adviser in December 2000, less than a year before some horrific events that you may know of. She became Secretary of State in 2005 during an intensely difficult period in American history . . . And she saw the job through to the end of the fraught and divisive George W. Bush presidency, making moral and ethical decisions of such a complex and contradictory nature that they would have baffled Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle . . .

Here you are graduating from Rutgers, which is, as I mentioned, the 69^th-best university in America. Maybe Rutgers should add more vegan selections to its cafeteria fare. U.S. News & World Report scorekeepers go for that kind of thing. Actually, you’re tied for 69^th with Texas A&M, an NFL first-round draft with a small college attached.”

PJ O’Rourke, My Commencement Speech to Rutgers’ Geniuses

Sensory overload

Last night I came across a website called Verge Network, created a few years back to feature the "missional movement" among churches (most seem to be mega churches--haven't yet found the source.) I looked through some very good preaching and high tech videos, but after an hour of browsing I felt I'd had enough of seeing preachers in jeans and t-shirts, dark, massive assembly halls, waving arms, spot lights, cluttered stages with guitars and Peaveys and floors littered with cords. But that's how "successful" churches do it these days. Join the culture in order to reach the culture.

A few centuries ago, soaring arches, stained glass windows, marble statues, and amazing organs and choirs were all meant to appeal to the senses, particularly for those who couldn't read. Nothing has changed, I guess—except then the churches seemed to be leading the culture.

Who needs voter ID—The United States

Research commissioned by the Pew Center on the States

•Approximately 24 million—one of every eight—voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate.
•More than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as voters.
•Approximately 2.75 million people have registrations in more than one state.
Voter ID can't cure all these problems, but sure couldn't hurt.

http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=85899370677

A message for the White Privilege Conference 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LT11g8W524#t=111

Insults whites, demeans minorities.

“I refuse to be cheapened by your poorly formed malicious ideology. The Age of Enlightenment was about just that; the idea that as an individual, I can reach for the stars and control my own destiny. Racism has no impact on that, because excellence goes before an individual paving the way to their goals.”  Stacey Washington, Conservative radio host and blogger.