Happy Birthday 9/12 movement

I enjoyed watching the 5th anniversary of the birth of the 9/12 movement on Glenn Beck. While liberals roar about the influence of the Koch Brothers, no amount of money could have gotten these folks off their couches and out of their homes. These people are unfunded, grass roots patriots who have never been political and have formed book groups, run for school boards and party committees, joined community organizations and resolved to stop letting the liberals and progressives take over all our traditions and values, renaming them for their purposes. Each group is independent--there's no central organization, but there are 9 principles and 12 values that supports each group.

The 9 Principles

1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
   God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
   Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
   Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
   Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
   Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
   Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
   On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
   Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

The 12 Values

• Honesty
• Reverence
• Hope
• Thrift
• Humility
• Charity
• Sincerity
• Moderation
• Hard Work
• Courage
• Personal Responsibility
• Gratitude

 http://www.the912-project.com/about/the-9-principles-12-values/

Glenn Beck after presenting the founding principals and values, has no role in the organization.  He planned the original gathering in Washington, D.C. on September 12, 2009. There were other anti-taxation events going on at the same time.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB125276685577405975?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/14/hot-button-18902351/?feat=home_columns

Charcoal portrait by Chris Rees

Robin Williams portrait by my great nephew, Chris Rees.

New fall line up for Glenn Beck

More detailed news, author interviews, in depth studies of current events, and an interesting panel. Subscription costs about $1 a week. Glenn is a former Catholic, current Mormon, a libertarian, father of four, recovering alcoholic, whose mother committed suicide and really a pretty humble guy with a great staff of all faiths and ethnicities who also interject their opinions.

Apostrofail

Where are the allies Bush was able to rally?

Charles Krauthammer pointed out that George W. Bush had the support of 38 nations and 25,000 allies on the ground with us in the war on terror.

“Obama as of today has zero,” he said. “It’s a lack of confidence in the president who draws a red line then walks away and pretends he never drew the red line at all.”

Why does Congress get involved in the NFL, NBA, athlete doping, etc. ?

The NFL is a nonprofit trade association. Does Congress get involved in the personal lives of other trade association's employees or just the ones on TV with oodles of money? Is this a good use of their time and our money? We have a criminal justice system and the associations have their own watch dogs. I blogged about Ray Rice when it first came out, but the band wagon circus around it now is getting ridiculous.  One sports caster was suspended for questioning why Janay Rice and other abused women stay with the man.  Also, there are many men who are physically abused by women (or their male partners) but are afraid to speak out because of shame.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/steroids.htm

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/10/rockefeller-wants-to-investigate-nfl/

http://www.salon.com/2012/12/12/congress_to_investigate_nfl_doping/

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-increases-penalties-domestic-violence-193620529--nfl.html

Two men marry as part of a radio contest

But they aren’t gay—they just wanted the prize.  Not fair, say those stodgy old gays who want marriage to be about love, social acceptance and government benefits, not publicity prizes and sports (rugby).

Since the whole world is making a mockery of marriage as it has existed for thousands of years, I can't see why anyone would object to 2 straight guys marrying each other. They look like they could be brothers, and there will be no reason to condemn that either since two men, two women or transgendered are not capable of impregnating their spouses.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/gay-groups-angered-as-heterosexual-men-marry-to-win-rugby-trip-20140912-10fu3t.html

But it’s not war. . .

Play ball--after 9/11

Friday Family Photo—our trip to Blennerhasset Island

We had a wonderful trip to Parkersburg, WV yesterday with our Conestoga group to visit the Blennerhasset Island and Museum. Conestoga is a "friends" type group that supports Ohio History Connection (aka Ohio Historical Society). It was founded in 1986 and has raised over $530,000 to support the mission of preserving Ohio's history.

We had a tour of a museum, the Blennerhasset mansion, a carriage ride and a paddle boat ride on the river to get to the island.

Our transportation to the island was via a paddle boat, Island Belle, which made the crossing about once an hour.  By the time we returned in the afternoon, we had bright sun light.

The home burned down in 1811, and was restored by a foundation that used archeology and old family letters to restore it. Harman Blennerhassett was from a wealthy Irish family and appointed the home with silver hardware, gold leaf trim, and expensive oriental rugs. The family had left before the fire when they experienced financial and political challenges so most of the furniture had been sold locally. Some has been repurchased by the foundation.  Most of the furniture is authentic to the period, but not the family. It was considered the most beautiful home in Virginia (was part of Virginia before the Civil War.)

In 1806 Harmon Blennerhasset became involved with Aaron Burr financially; Burr was accused of treason and Blennerhassett went to prison for awhile. They didn’t live on the island even a decade and the rest of their family history is just loss and financial ruin.

The tour group was divided, and here we're waiting to see the kitchen which was separated from the main house. The family came from Ireland and brought servants with them. Even with a lot of servants, food preparation in 1800 was extremely challenging on an open hearth.  The other small building connected to the house was the owner’s study.

Haflinger horses are very hardy, a breed from Austria and northern Italy. They stay on the island all during the season, then the owners take them to West Virginia to winter at the family farm where they do various winter season events. The driver also acted as a tour guide with some history of the other buildings on the island and told about the crops that were raised there.

“After leaving the island, “Harman Blennerhassett purchased a small cotton plantation and moved his family to the Mississippi Territory. Their stay at the plantation was short-lived, however, when declining cotton prices and crop failures forced this once proud family to return to Ireland and survive only by the grace and pity of an older sister of Blennerhassett. Harman Blennerhassett died a devastated man on February 2, 1831 from a series of apoplectic strokes. Margaret Blennerhassett survived her husband by eleven painful years, only to give way to poverty and disease in the summer of 1842.

The Blennerhassetts, once the inhabitants of an impeccable island paradise and the toast of the Ohio Valley, had witnessed the destruction of their nearly Utopian existence, and had resorted to living off of the incomes of various family members, including their two eldest sons. In all, the Blennerhassetts conceived five children, although they adopted another. Two sons and a daughter were born on Blennerhassett Island, but only the sons survived infancy. Once settled onto their Mississippi plantation, Margaret Blennerhassett bore two more children, a son and a daughter. Once again, however, the daughter died in infancy. Of the Blennerhassett sons only the youngest bore children, none of which reached adulthood, and when he himself passed in 1862, the Blennerhassett name died with him.”  Source.

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2006_winter_spring/blennerhassett.html

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harman_Blennerhassett

The genocide of Mideastern Christians

Peggy Noonan on what is being ignored by the media in Obama’s falling numbers: the genocide of Christians

“Evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics who would normally back strong military action [in Syria] were relatively silent in 2013. Why? I think because they were becoming broadly aware, for the first time, of what was happening to Christians in the Middle East. They were being murdered, tortured, abused for their faith and run out of the region. And for all his crimes and failings, Syria's justly maligned Assad was not attempting to crush his country's Christians. His enemies were—the jihadists, including those who became the Islamic State.

In the year since, the brutality against Middle Eastern Christians, and Islamic State's ferocious anti-Christian agenda, has left many Christians deeply alarmed. Jihadists are de-Christianizing the Mideast, where Christianity began.

An estimated two-thirds of the Christians of Iraq have fled that country since the 2003 U.S. invasion. They are being driven from their villages in northern Iraq. They are terrorized, brutalized, executed. This week an eyewitness in Mosul, which fell to Islamic State in June, told NBC News the jihadists were committing atrocities. In Syria, too, they have executed Christians for refusing to convert.”

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-genocide-of-mideastern-christians-1410474449?

Liberal media silent on the Memphis hate crimes

A number of media sites and blogs are reporting the arrest of up to 10 black teens in the mob attacks at the Kroger in Memphis, but not the New York Times, Washington Post, or the major broadcast media that were all over the Ferguson story. The local news sources I looked at didn't mention race at all--just teens, youths, and victims.  Apparently, 125 people attacking 3 is not a hate crime, a designation I think should be dropped in all personal attacks. Also, Al Sharpton, Eric Holder and Jesse Jackson have been silent.

http://www.wfsb.com/story/26468259/group-of-teenagers-caught-on-camera-beating-man-in-kroger-parking-lot

The marriage agenda

Two men or two women together is, in truth, nothing like a man and a woman creating a life and a family together. Same-sex relationships are certainly very legitimate, rewarding pursuits, leading to happiness for many, but they are wholly different in experience and nature.

Gay and lesbian activists, and more importantly, the progressives urging them on, seek to redefine marriage in order to achieve an ideological agenda that ultimately seeks to undefine families as nothing more than one of an array of equally desirable “social units,” and thus open the door to the increase of government’s role in our lives.

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/03/9432/  I am gay and I oppose same sex marriage

The Apple Watch

I’m not a candidate, and a decade ago did these kinds of roll outs get this sort of coverage?  Every channel, every 15 minutes.

“There are actually three products: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition. The differences between them are only apparent in the different materials (including aluminum, 18K gold, and pink gold) and wrist strap choices, which vary between feminine, masculine and youthful.

The Apple Watch starts at $350, and it will be available “early next year,” according to the company. Pricing for Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition were not announced at today’s event. The watch will require an iPhone to operate, but it works with the iPhone 5 or later and isn’t limited to just the new iPhone 6 devices.”

Wired.

What do CFOs think will happen with a minimum wage increase?

Recent survey by Duke on minimum wage. Findings include:

• Few affected firms would lay off current employees if the minimum wage is increased to $8.75 but 46 percent would lay off employees at $15.
• Future employment growth would be curtailed at 35 percent of affected firms if the wage were set at $8.75, while two-thirds would curtail future hiring at $15....
• Nearly 20 percent of affected firms would reduce employee benefits or increase product prices if the minimum wage were increased to $8.75; approximately half would do both at $15.
• About 30 percent of affected companies think their ability to attract higher quality workers and reduce turnover would improve if the minimum wage were increased to $10, while about 40 percent feel the same at $15.
• In general, firms indicate they could reasonably accommodate a modest hike in the minimum wage to $8.75 but substantial negative consequences would kick in as the wage approaches $10.
• An ongoing shift away from labor and towards machinery will accelerate if the minimum wage is increased.

http://www.cfosurvey.org/2014q3/press-release.pdf

“It is important to put these findings in perspective,” said John Graham, a finance professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and director of the survey. “For one thing, these results primarily apply to employees who currently earn less than $10 per hour, which is about
one-fourth of the U.S. workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among firms employing these low-wage workers, the expected effects of proposed minimum wage hikes are dramatic. According to CFOs at these firms, the low-wage employees that increases are designed to help will also bear significant employment risk, potentially losing their jobs as firms implement labor-saving technologies.”

Start with Hello

Samantha died on September 9, 2010 at the age of 4. That was four years ago today. Tammy her mother wrote the following after Samantha’s death, “I think a lot of people are afraid to call or come by. They don't know what to say. Hello is always a great start. I still love to talk about Samantha. We always say something about her everyday. She was hilarious. I know the biggest thing I will miss about her is how much she loved me and others. I miss her saying, ‘You’re a good mommy,’ and how freely she gave me kisses and hugs.”

Carol Shaw Johnson is writing each day on Facebook for Childhood Cancer Month.  She knew the children about whom she writes—her granddaughter Lily had cancer. Samantha had Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET), a malignant neural crest tumor. Even the children who survive rarely live beyond 25.

https://www.facebook.com/carolsj/posts/10203496209900466

Peter Hitchens, former atheist journalist, now a Christian journalist

". . . all reliable indicators suggest that I am on the losing side in all major moral, cultural and political battles, and am likely to remain there until I die. My books and articles may sometimes call faintly for action, but in general they are just the last rites pronounced over the corpse of my country, muttered mainly as an act of commemoration."

I know how you feel, Peter. 

Oh look, something Obama isn’t good at . . . optics

James Taranto column:  "[Barack] Obama had always had a high estimation of his ability to cast and run his operation," the New York Times's Jodi Kantor wrote in her 2012 book, "The Obamas" (quoted here by National Review's Jim Geraghty). "I think I could probably do every job on the campaign better than the people I'll hire to do it," then-Sen. Obama told job interviewee David Plouffe in 2006. "I think I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters," he told another job candidate, Patrick Gaspard. "I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I'll tell you right now that I'm gonna think I'm a better political director than my political director"--namely Patrick Gaspard.

In the 68th month of his presidency, Obama says he has found something he's not good at. "Part of this job is . . . the theater of it," he told Chuck Todd, the new host of NBC's "Meet the Press." "Well, it's not something that always comes naturally to me. But it matters. And I'm mindful of that."

The comment was part of the president's answer to the following question from Todd: "I've got to ask, so during that vacation, you made the statement on [James] Foley"--the American journalist who'd just been beheaded by ISIS--"you went and golfed. Do you want that back?" (Meaning: Do you regret it?)

After complaining about being "followed everywhere" and wishing for a "vacation from the press," Obama meandered toward an affirmative answer: "Because the possibility of a jarring contrast given the world's news, there's always going to be some tough news somewhere, it's going to be there. But there's no doubt that after having talked to the families, where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain that they were going through after the statement that I made, that I should've anticipated the optics."

Wall Street Journal, Best of the Web, September 8, 2014

My opinion: he’s culturally and emotionally tone deaf. When it comes to Muslims, even those who behead Americans, he only can see “extremists.”  When it comes to anything dealing with the military, even elderly sick veterans, he is deaf and blind.

Just misspell to get comments

Leadership—Perry and Obama