part time potter

The Potter's Hot and Sour Soup

2011-12-15T21:03:00.000-06:00

6 cups of broth ( I have been making perpetual bone broth)
4 - 1/4 inch thick slices fresh ginger (or more)
4 green onions, white and green parts, rough chopped/sliced
1-3 jalapenos, minced/rough chopped, seeded if desired
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese rice wine vinegar (or apple cider)
1/4 cup dry sherry, rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
mushrooms of any type, thin sliced and lightly sauteed
2 eggs

Heat broth and ginger in suitable pot over medium heat. When the broth comes to a boil turn the heat down to a simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove the ginger slices. Add the rest of the ingredients, except eggs, and allow the soup to return to a simmer for a bit. Beat eggs and slowly add while continuously stirring soup. Serve.

Picture was taken before I added the egg. We were all too eager to eat and I forgot to take a pict of the finished product.

It's time for the potter's household to pick up and move on past the city limit signs.

2011-11-12T12:04:00.075-06:00

Welcome to 1816 King Charles Court. A lovely split level ranch home in the Kingwood subdivision in Alabaster, AL. It is close to schools, libraries, shopping and 65.It has four bedroom, three baths, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, living room, and a den/office. The roof was shingled in 2008, the siding painted in 2011, and the airconditioning coil and fluid replaced in 2010. HVAC has a gas furnace with Comfort Plus Germicidal UV Light and Aprilaire Electronic Air Cleaner.

The common areas have recently been repainted a neutral sage green. The railing is currently covered by Kid Shield, a clear shatterproof plastic sheet to keep children and pets safe. It and the baby gate are both removable.

Gas fireplace

The double doors of the formal dining room lead out onto the deck.

The eat in area of the kitchen has a ceiling fan with dimmer and a double window.

The gas range has a self cleaning oven.

Kitchen Pantry

The refrigerator and sink have separate water filtration systems along with a Kenmore water softener.

The dishwasher was installed in 2010.

The first door on the right is the second pantry or linen closet. The second door is to the hall bath. Two bedrooms and a master bedroom are at the end of the hallway.

The hall bath has glass shelving, cast iron tub, linen closet to the left of the sink and the laundry closet. Laundry has hookup for a gas powered dryer.

First bedroom

Second Bedroom

Upstairs Master

Master bath with shower

Basement bath attached to bedroom and common area

Shower with soaking tub and closet

Branching out

2011-09-25T08:08:00.001-05:00

I have decided to branch out in the artistic area. I am still doing my pottery, although limited to a few pieces at the moment. I am now offering my service as a Charcoal Portraitist.

This is Gabriel at Two Weeks. It is a larger piece that I did after my son's birth.

I am offering paper size 9" x 12" individual portraits in the style above for $75. (Please forgive the cropping of the portrait in the photo. There is an equal amount of space around the head.) Larger portraits are available with a full, but ambiguous background for an additional cost. Email for details.

I work from photographs in color, black and white or damaged to some extent. Photo files can be emailed to me. I ask for a $15 down payment with payment in full upon completion. The client will have the chance to view the progress and make suggestions on the work. The composition will be agreed upon at the beginning and will not be changed after the down payment has been made.

Payment can be made via Paypal or by mail. Credit cards will be accepted soon.

email: parttimepotter@yahoo.com

2011-08-04T13:20:00.000-05:00

For my big news.....we have decided to begin homeschooling our three.

This decision came after almost a year of contemplation, research and prayer.

Regretably, all my researching and planning has taken the place of my throwing. Apologies to those whom I have promised a piece. Hopefully, as we get underway and my schedule takes hold, I will make the time for my pottery.

Over the next few weeks and months I will be focusing more on my adventures of teaching. But I will keep updating with picts of my work.

Here are a few of my pieces showcasing items from the local farmers market: sunflowers, sourdough bread and goat cheese.

2011-07-11T08:44:00.000-05:00

So much has happened since my last posting: tornadoes, multiple computer crashes, a festival, markets and a life changing decision. More to come when I have time and my ducks in a row.

The Beginning of a Bowl

2011-02-16T11:01:00.000-06:00

Starting with one pound of clay.

Squeezing water onto spinning clay to moisten.

Beginning to center

Coning down

Centered

Starting the hole for the opening.

Enlarging

Almost there, ready to begin pulling.

After a few pulls.

Sorry there are no pulling photos. I have to have two hands to do it.

The finished shape.

Inverted on wheel at leather hard stage waiting to be recentered.

After recentering, the bowl is attached to the wheel with wet clay.

Beginning to form the foot ring.

After trimming.

Greenware waiting to dry before going into the kiln.

2011-01-26T10:29:00.000-06:00

Finally a picture of the finished plate. It went through a harrowing ordeal to get to its final destination. On the two hour trip the road vibrations caused a near undetectable crack to become a horrendous break. It broke completely in two. I was able to put it back together with glue. Not the finest day for me. However when it is in its intended place about eight feet off the floor, the break is only noticeable to those looking for it, like my father in law.

These are some finished pieces that are in use in my home.

I came across an advertisement for a garlic roaster that could be used in the oven or microwave. The first is my take on it and the second is one using the dimensions given in the ad. It seems just too big for the average garlic bulb. Maybe if you had access to elephant garlic it would work wonderfully. Right now I think it would be nice for roasting a Cornish hen.

After much debate on this piece, I think it would be best described as an urn. Once it is glazed, the lid will sit more securely on the shoulder.

This is my first attempt at a low cake plate/stand. It is unglazed wheat stone. I really like the rustic feeling. I just can't bring myself to put a glaze on it.

I'm still alive....

2010-12-17T20:11:00.005-06:00

In my hiatus, I took stock in my work and what direction I wanted to take in the new year. Lots of things happened along the way. The two most interesting are that I was accepted into Panoply for 2011 and some guy in Minnesota has taken my moniker as his website this year. I am overjoyed with the first and highly annoyed with the second.

More to come after the new year has arrived.

Merry Christmas and God's blessings upon you all!

Wheatstone

2010-09-07T23:34:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update. The white stoneware that I have been using has been supposed to ship for over a week with no definite date in site. So after much debate, I settled for a "wheatstone". From my understanding it is a "wheat" version of the white I have been using. I was unable to pull up a sample on the manufacturer's site and decided to take the gamble on it. It looks a bit too red to be called "wheat". A little too late to be picky now.

I threw about fifty pounds today and boy are my arms feeling it. It was a joy to throw. Every piece, except for the last turned out just as I had hoped. By the time the last piece rolled around, I was feeling a bit like jelly. Looking around and surveying the aftermath of the day, I am a bit concerned that it might not all fit in the kiln. I will have to be very particular in my stacking. But that is a problem for next week. On to trimming tomorrow.

August 28

2010-08-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

Today began as a beautiful morning. The air had a bit of crispness to it and the breeze was perfect. The market was a bit slow for sales, but I enjoyed myself. The chefs today made some awesome smoked chicken wings and a pretty tasty watermelon pina colada. The soap lady and I swapped ideas during the brief lulls. I think I find excuses to talk to her just to stand in the perfumed air that surrounds her booth. I received a nice treat this morning too. One of my patrons made a quilted table runner for me. I'll have to post a picture later. It had my favorite colors in it. Thanks so much!

Ponderings

2010-08-26T22:40:00.001-05:00

The market days this summer have brought me a wonderful set of new friends and acquaintances. One woman in particular has been a boon to my confidence as a potter. But in a recent conversation she made a statement that gave me pause. She said, "Love the primitiveness of your design.. and simplicity.. Keep throwing.."

Up until this point, I had never thought of my pieces being described as "primitive." It almost seemed like a dirty word rolling off my tongue....primitive. But then I began thinking about the influences for my pieces. As a child, my grandmother had stoneware bowls with simple blue and pink stripes around them. I loved their simplicity (and the wonderful things that came out of them). I don't like for my pieces to look identical. I think each piece has a mind of it's own. I begin with an idea and the clay may have another direction for me to take. I don't like for functional pieces to just sit upon a shelf. I want them to be used and loved. I want someone else's hands to know the piece as well as the hands that created it.

I have been pouring over a book, "Pots in the Kitchen" by Josie Walter. In it she traces the development of handmade pots used for cooking from the first century AD to the 20th century. It is all about function and form, about making a pot for cooking. In looking back over the photos and at my own work, the pieces are not refined like those brides pick out for their wedding china. They are sturdy pieces that are meant for work, kitchen work.

In this day to some, working in a kitchen daily at home is something only a foodie or their grandmother participates in. Frozen, bagged or boxed, toss it in the oven or microwave, drive thru, carry out, delivery. Who has time to prepare, slow cook and enjoy the fruits of the kitchen? Someone who is a bit primitive. Someone who appreciates the smell of turned earth, the growing season, the harvest, and the slow melding of flavors as the fruits of their labor simmer together in a happy pot. Primitive....it may not be such a dirty word after all.

2010-08-23T13:33:00.000-05:00

I think one of my prayers is on its way to being answered. Many thanks to St. Jude for the intercession!

I finished it!

2010-08-18T16:39:00.000-05:00

It began with a few boards and a drill.

Which became a box.

That turned into a slab roller.

I can't wait to take it for a test drive with some clay!

New project

2010-08-17T08:32:00.000-05:00

All of the attempts at rolling out consistent slabs by hand has left me sore and fruitless. So I have begun a new project: building a slab rolling table. I found a great design on Youtube. Last weekend I raided Dad's for scrap lumber. Then on the way home I picked up some perfect pieces from my neighbor's roadside pile. Yesterday, I cut everything to length. Today I will be assembling. I am proud to say at this time, I have retained all of my digits. Picts to come.

Peach Painting

2010-07-26T09:50:00.001-05:00

Melanie Magee is a local painter who visits Helena's market days regularly. She recently purchased one of my bowls and used it in a painting. Check it out here.

The Plate

2010-07-26T09:29:00.002-05:00

I have been working on a large plate for my SIL to go on top of her entertainment center. Her living room is two stories and she wanted a very large plate to go in the space. My first attempts were disastrous. Rolling out such a large piece of clay with a rolling pin proved fatal as the plate ended up in pieces as it cracked while air drying.

I made a bat. I had to remove the splash pan and stand to throw. It was HARD to do. I had no leverage as I usually use my hip to anchor my elbow while centering. But after lots of diligence and a sprained finger, I made it.

I added some texture using bits of hardware like screw heads

and sheet rock sand paper.

Hopefully it will make it through the bisque firing. I am worried about air bubbles.

I don't believe I will throw anything this large again. However, I have all kinds of ideas for textured plates. I am now on the search for an object to make a mold from. Something with a smooth bottom and a lip of an inch at least with a diameter of around 26 inches would be the optimum thing. Any ideas?

Focusing

2010-06-19T17:24:00.002-05:00

After being around other creative people or in a creative atmosphere, I get the itch to be productive artistically. The trip to Wildflower Wax was just what I needed. The store reflects its owners. Looking around my home and my pottery, I just don't see an intimate reflection of Michael and myself. I have made a conscious decision to make our house and my work put forth a correct image of our hands.

These are some of the new pieces I have been working on this week. I have several pedestals to make. Here is one at the beginning stage.

A few small platters.......

A finished pedestal and large platters.......

Here's to a renewed focus and determination.

Girl's Night

2010-06-19T16:34:00.005-05:00

Aimee and I were able to have a girl's night thanks to my wonderful husband. He kept all four kids while we went to Wildflower Wax to make candles. The store is perfectly funky.

Jennifer finishing the over pour for our mosaic candles. I chose Tahitian Spice for my scent. At least that is what I think it was called. The basement smells awesome and I haven't even lit it.

Besides candlemaking, they have a selection of vintage boots. I was highly disappointed to find none in my size. They also have leather purses, belts, jewelry and origonal art. My pocketbook was not deep enough to purchase all the things I wanted.

Take time to stop in and say hello. You won't be disappointed!

2010-06-19T11:57:00.002-05:00

This is a look at my booth for CityFest. I would have loved to have had all the things from the explosion to add another table. But with no one buying, it wasn't a big deal.

Helena's Market Days was wonderful. I sold most of my pieces and received lots of positive feedback. Listening to the water falling from the dam made my desire to by Incahoots even more profound. It would make such a wonderful pottery and pub. I am looking forward to next weekend. Hopefully there will be a few clouds and a nice breeze to make the day bearable in this Alabama summer!

Events

2010-06-12T05:40:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I participated in Alabaster's CityFest. It was a HOT day and no one was purchasing anything. Standing on the asphalt was horrendous. I got water blisters on my shoulders and back. How I don't know. I was standing under a tent the whole time. I will post some picts later for my booth.

Today is my first time at The Helena Market Days. I will be attending this every other weekend through September. Thankfully I will be in a cooler place here.

Second and Third Firings

2010-06-12T05:30:00.003-05:00

The first glaze firing went OK. I learned that if applied too thickly it will run. I also had a few sharp points show up. I will have to strain the entire batch to try to eliminate that from happening again.

I fired a second load of bisque. I felt constrained for time so I put in a piece or two that needed another day to ensure being bone dry. I paid for it. Every larger more intricate piece I made was blown to smithereens when the water in the not so dry pieces tried to escape. This was my first experience with kiln explosions. I am determined it will be my last.

2010-04-18T12:34:00.002-05:00

I have been working on more rolled lip bowls. They really appeal to me. I also started on some bells for wind chimes. Philippa's plate is on my to do list for this week. More pictures will be posted as it comes together.

I fired the kiln for the first time last night. I was completely nerve wracked. I went and purchased a fire extinguisher before turning it on just in case. (have I mentioned I don't like working with electricity) Everything worked, but I am not sure if it reached the proper temperature. Either my kiln sitter cone did not melt enough or I did not place it properly on the stilts, because it didn't kick off. I could not tell if my freestanding cones were bending through the peep holes because everything was the same shade of orange-red. It is OK for now. I think I will have to borrow Dad's thermometer gun thing to test the temperature when I do the glaze firing. At least that way I will know for sure that the proper temp was reached. I didn't hear any popping, so hopefully nothing exploded. The kiln is still too hot to open. The cool down period is the worst for impatient people. Although, waiting on a bisque load is not nearly as unbearable as waiting on a glaze load.

2010-03-29T11:18:00.004-05:00

It is finally done. The wiring has been completed! Dad and I finished it up on a Sunday afternoon. I am very nervous about my first firing. I hope I don't short circuit the entire house. Electricity makes me nervous. I have all of my shelf supports in, waiting to be stacked. In about two weeks I should have enough greenware dry to make a full load.

I checked out the local art supply store for clay and got a nice surprise. They carried several bodies from Alligator Clay I had been on a limb about whether or not to make an order with them. Seems my choice was made for me. Although, there was only 50 lbs of white stoneware in stock. I was hoping to get at least 150 lbs. Next time, I may have to try out some speckled buff. I have an idea running around in my head, but I need to learn more about Mason stains before I dive in.

Philippa and I hashed out the ideas for her plate. I need to make a run to the hardware and fabric store before I can begin. If all turns out well, it will be a signiture piece.

Becoming a Student Again

2009-10-11T19:35:00.004-05:00

This is what happens when a potter stops throwing for two and a half years. They become first year students all over again. I had to reteach myself how to throw last night. Let's just say I was quite disgusted with the finished product. These will more than likely see the recycle tub.

Relax, don't pinch the clay. Pull to your nose not your shoulder. Have patience, follow through with your pull. Use your body not just your arms. And don't forget to breathe.

Tonight, I started over going slow with lots of patience and focus. I think I finally got back in a little bit of a groove. Grace couldn't keep her hands away from the wheel. She wanted to make a pot too. In due time little one.

The Guardian Angels

2009-10-02T08:15:00.007-05:00

When I was a child and sometimes in my adult life, I would wake up feeling like there was something in the room standing over me. I would frantically try to make my eyes focus on what ever loomed over me in the gloom. (This is a daunting task considering I can't see the big E on the chart.) A haze would swirl around and then the room would come into focus as my eyes adjusted to the dark. Some nights I would make it back to sleep, some I wouldn't. There were many nights in college I slept with the lights on. Even though there was nothing there in front of me, I could still feel it. It was quite terrifying to be honest.

Last night, in the half sleep still going through my prayers, I was awakened again. This was the first time it has happened in this house. The haze swirled around hovering over my bed. This time I could make out tendrils and tips that my mind played into wings. The old panic started to rise in my chest, but then a very calming thought crossed my mind: this was my guardian angel. I said a quick prayer for my angel and for the first time after such an episode fell peacefully back to sleep.

The Church teaches "From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. 'Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.' Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God."

No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, for to His Angels God has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Psalm 91: 10-12

As I have taken the time to learn more about angels and their role in my life, I have begun to give much more of my day over to God. If I am open to God's guidance through my angel, things will fall into place. Trying to take things in my own hands and forcing an outcome doesn't work. It causes more grief and pain than was ever necessary.

It is a huge leap of faith to allow God to work unfettered in my life. But it liberates me from unnecessary worry. This realization makes me ponder whether pessimists are control freaks and optimists are comfortable just being in His hands.

In Exodus, God spoke to Moses, telling him He sent an angel before him to guide and guard him on his journey.

Exodus 23:20-22 "See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him. If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes."

All those times the "little voice in the back of your head" nagged you do or not do something....you should have listened. I have become a more trusting listener to that little voice. And my life has become better for it.

Quick verses for your angel:

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom His love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Angel sent by God to guide me,
be my light and walk beside me;
be my guardian and protect me;
on the paths of life direct me.

In honor of your guardian angel, celebrate today with a peace of angel food cake.

Federalism

2009-09-09T11:47:00.002-05:00

Presidential Executive Order 12612

(NOTE: President Reagan's effort to re-establish the proper role of the federal government through this Executive Order on Federalism was revoked in 1998 by Bill Clinton's new EO 13083, which largely re-justified the excessive unconstitutional role the federal government has assumed since the time of Franklin Roosevelt.)

Federalism
October 26, 1987

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, and in order to restore the division of governmental responsibilities between the national government and the States that was intended by the Framers of the Constitution and to ensure that the principles of federalism established by the Framers guide the Executive departments and agencies in the formulation and implementation of policies, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Definitions. For purposes of this Order:

(a) "Policies that have federalism implications" refers to regulations, legislative comments or proposed legislation, and other policy statements or actions that have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

(b) "State" or "States" refer to the States of the United States or America, individually or collectively, and, where relevant, to State governments, including units of local government and other political subdivisions established by the States.

Sec. 2. Fundamental Federalism Principles. In formulating and implementing policies that have federalism implications, Executive departments and agencies shall be guided by the following fundamental federalism principles:

(a) Federalism is rooted in the knowledge that our political liberties are best assured by limiting the size and scope of the national government.

(b) The people of the States created the national government when they delegated to it those enumerated governmental powers relating to matters beyond the competence of the individual States.

All other sovereign powers, save those expressly prohibited the States by the Constitution, are reserved to the States or to the people.

(c) The constitutional relationship among sovereign governments, State and national, is formalized in and protected by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.

(d) The people of the States are free, subject only to restrictions in the Constitution itself or in constitutionally authorized Acts of Congress, to define the moral, political, and legal character of their lives.

(e) In most areas of governmental concern, the States uniquely possess the constitutional authority, the resources, and the competence to discern the sentiments of the people and to govern accordingly. In Thomas Jefferson's words, the States are "the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies."

(f) The nature of our constitutional system encourages a healthy diversity in the public policies adopted by the people of the several States according to their own conditions, needs, and desires. In the search for enlightened public policy, individual States and communities are free to experiment with a variety of approaches to public issues.

(g) Acts of the national government--whether legislative, executive, or judicial in nature--that exceed the enumerated powers of that government under the Constitution violate the principle of federalism established by the Framers.

(h) Policies of the national government should recognize the responsibility of--and should encourage opportunities for--individuals, families, neighborhoods, local governments, and private associations to achieve their personal, social, and economic objectives through cooperative effort.

(i) In the absence of clear constitutional or statutory authority, the presumption of sovereignty should rest with the individual States. Uncertainties regarding the legitimate authority of the national government should be resolved against regulation at the national level.

Sec. 3. Federalism Policymaking Criteria. In addition to the fundamental federalism principles set forth in section 2, Executive departments and agencies shall adhere, to the extent permitted by law, to the following criteria when formulating and implementing policies that have federalism implications:

(a) There should be strict adherence to constitutional principles. Executive departments and agencies should closely examine the constitutional and statutory authority supporting any Federal action that would limit the policymaking discretion of the States, and should carefully assess the necessity for such action. To the extent practicable, the States should be consulted before any such action is implemented. Executive Order No. 12372 ("Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs") remains in effect for the programs and activities to which it is applicable.

(b) Federal action limiting the policymaking discretion of the States should be taken only where constitutional authority for the action is clear and certain and the national activity is necessitated by the presence of a problem of national scope. For the purposes of this Order:

(1) It is important to recognize the distinction between problems of national scope (which may justify Federal action) and problems that are merely common to the States (which will not justify Federal action because individual States, acting individually or together, can effectively deal with them).

(2) Constitutional authority for Federal action is clear and certain only when authority for the action may be found in a specific provision of the Constitution, there is no provision in the Constitution prohibiting Federal action, and the action does not encroach upon authority reserved to the States.

(c) With respect to national policies administered by the States, the national government should grant the States the maximum administrative discretion possible. Intrusive, Federal oversight of State administration is neither necessary nor desirable.

(d) When undertaking to formulate and implement policies that have federalism implications, Executive departments and agencies shall:

(1) Encourage States to develop their own policies to achieve program objectives and to work with appropriate officials in other States.

(2) Refrain, to the maximum extent possible, from establishing uniform, national standards for programs and, when possible, defer to the States to establish standards.

(3) When national standards are required, consult with appropriate officials and organizations representing the States in developing those standards.

Sec. 4 Special Requirements for Preemption. (a) To the extent permitted by law, Executive departments and agencies shall construe, in regulations and otherwise, a Federal statute to preempt State law only when the statute contains an express preemption provision or there is some other firm and palpable evidence compelling the conclusion that the Congress intended preemption of State law, or when the exercise of State authority directly conflicts with the exercise of Federal authority under the Federal statute.

(b) Where a Federal statute does not preempt State law (as addressed in subsection (a) of this section), Executive departments and agencies shall construe any authorization in the statute for the issuance of regulations as authorizing preemption of State law by rule-making only when the statute expressly authorizes issuance of preemptive regulations or there is some other firm and palpable evidence compelling the conclusion that the Congress intended to delegate to the department or agency the authority to issue regulations preempting State law.

(c) Any regulatory preemption of State law shall be restricted to the minimum level necessary to achieve the objectives of the statute pursuant to which the regulations are promulgated.

(d) As soon as an Executive department or agency foresees the possibility of a conflict between State law and Federally protected interests within its area of regulatory responsibility, the department or agency shall consult, to the extent practicable, with appropriate officials and organizations representing the States in an effort to avoid such a conflict.

(e) When an Executive department or agency proposes to act through adjudication or rule-making to preempt State law, the department or agency shall provide all affected States notice and an opportunity for appropriate participation in the proceedings.

Sec. 5. Special Requirements for Legislative Proposals. Executive departments and agencies shall not submit to the Congress legislation that would:

(a) Directly regulate the States in ways that would interfere with functions essential to the States' separate and independent existence or operate to directly displace the States' freedom to structure integral operations in areas of traditional governmental functions;

(b) Attach to Federal grants conditions that are not directly related to the purpose of the grant; or

(c) Preempt State law, unless preemption is consistent with the fundamental federalism principles set forth in section 2, and unless a clearly legitimate national purpose, consistent with the federalism policymaking criteria set forth in section 3, cannot otherwise be met.

Sec. 6. Agency Implementation. (a) The head of each Executive department and agency shall designate an official to be responsible for ensuring the implementation of this Order.

(b) In addition to whatever other actions the designated official may take to ensure implementation of this Order, the designated official shall determine which proposed policies have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment. With respect to each such policy for which an affirmative determination is made, a Federalism Assessment, as described in subsection

(c) of this section, shall be prepared. The department or agency head shall consider any such Assessment in all decisions involved in promulgating and implementing the policy.

(c) Each Federalism Assessment shall accompany any submission concerning the policy that is made to the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to Executive Order No. 12291 or OMB Circular No. A-19, and shall:

(1) Contain the designated official's certification that the policy has been assessed in light of the principles, criteria, and requirements stated in sections 2 through 5 of this Order;

(2) Identify any provision or element of the policy that is inconsistent with the principles, criteria, and requirements stated in sections 2 through 5 of this Order;

(3) Identify the extent to which the policy imposes additional costs or burdens on the States, including the likely source of funding for the States and the ability of the States to fulfill the purposes of the policy; and

(4) Identify the extent to which the policy would affect the States' ability to discharge traditional State governmental functions, or other aspects of State sovereignty.

Sec. 7. Government-wide Federalism Coordination and Review. (a) In implementing Executive Order Nos. 12291 and 12498 and OMB Circular No. A-19, the Office of Management and Budget, to the extent permitted by law and consistent with the provisions of those authorities, shall take action to ensure that the policies of the Executive departments and agencies are consistent with the principles, criteria, and requirements stated in sections 2 through 5 of this Order.

(b) In submissions to the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to Executive Order No. 12291 and OMB Circular No. A-19, Executive departments and agencies shall identify proposed regulatory and statutory provisions that have significant federalism implications and shall address any substantial federalism concerns. Where the departments or agencies deem it appropriate, substantial federalism concerns should also be addressed in notices of proposed rule-making and messages transmitting legislative proposals to the Congress.

Sec. 8 Judicial Review. This Order is intended only to improve the internal management of the Executive branch, and is not intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.

RONALD REAGAN

THE WHITE HOUSE
October 26, 1987.

Exec. Order No. 12612, 52 FR 41685, 1987 WL 181433 (Pres.)

About my hiatus....

2009-09-07T08:41:00.003-05:00

For my faithful few, here is a status update: I haven't started throwing, yet.

June was consumed by Michael's hospital stay and recovery from meningitis. Then I had to recover from his recovery. When a loved one is sick it takes a toll on this caregiver. There was a wedding in there somewhere too.....I think.

In July we spent the holiday weekend with family. Then I set about sorting and cleaning out the guest bedroom, closet and bathroom. (I turned the bathroom into a temporary storage place after the toilet incident.) This was a very methodical procedure since it included rearranging parts of the garage. I finished the day before our friends Karen and Drew arrived with their little red head Thomas. The kids fell in together like old friends, Mike and Drew wrote and recorded music, and Karen and I...we basked in friendship and the peace that comes from having everyone else in your household happily accounted for elsewhere. We spent a morning at the lake at Oak Mountain and then had a picnic under the trees. It was a nice weekend.

August found us taking our first trip to the beach with the kids. Gabriel and Grace loved the waves. Sean did as well. But he wanted someone to be holding him above them. They tired out easily and so did I. Gabriel began kindergarten mid month. It was more of an adjustment for me to get up early enough to put him on the bus than it was to have him away from me all day. Although, I do miss him.

Here we are at September. My final countdown has begun. I have to be throwing by the second week or I won't make the deadline for the Cullman Oktoberfest. I finally finished the shelf only to realize I could probably stood to have made one more. Then, as I am plotting out the time logistics as to how I can make it to West Point and back in the constraints of the school day with Sean and Grace, Gabriel gets a fever. And not just any fever. I pulled the thermometer out of his mouth when it hit 103.5 and threw him in a cold shower. I rushed off to the emergency room to wait five hours for a verdict. It is the flu and he cannot be around other kids for at least five days. Looks like I will be homeschooling after all. I am too tired to go into the adventure of driving around looking for a 24 hour drugstore all because the second ER doc prescribed a pill instead of a suspension med. Nor will I get into how Tamiflu is not covered by most insurance companies, including my own.

I think my plan of attack for the week will be to install the new dishwasher today, (did I mention the old one's abrupt death in Aug.?), call in an order to Mar-Lynn on Tuesday, hump over on Wednesday, get the electrical set up for the kiln on Thursday and Friday, and finally have dad bring up my kiln on Saturday. I will let you know on Sunday if I made it through without electrocution.

Taters and Trampolines

2009-06-05T08:05:00.002-05:00

The potter will be back in business soon!

This morning I ordered my wheel. I had a second of self doubt before hitting the send button. I have never spent so much money on myself for one thing that was solely for me. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

I took the kids to my parents yesterday. We dug potatoes. It was so fun to see them digging in the dirt. Grace kept yelling, "I found one! I found one!" Sean and Mema counted together every potato they unearthed. Gabriel hung back with my mom who was using a hoe to find the ones the kids missed.

Mom's cousin and neighbor had brought over her daughter's trampoline for the kids to play on. They had so much fun. It had been sitting for a while so the dirt came off on the kids. They were so dirty there was a black ring around the bathtub after it drained.

Mom and Mema got on and bounced with them. And I did too of course! As the years go by my grandma has been trying lots of new things. (She slid down a very tall inflatable bouncer with us last year.) I am very proud of her desire to try new things and enjoy herself. It took her a while after my grandfather's death to find her individual identity again. It had been "we" for so long and he had been the center of her life. (which is how marriage should be: getting lost in each other) She was pretty lost for a while, but now she has really found herself again. It is wonderful.

Dad and I built a shelf in the rain. They had told me I could use a chop saw they had borrowed if I wanted to cut my lumber and Dad's nail gun previously. When I got there the saw blade would only cut about eight inches and the brads did not hold very well. So, we free handed with the circular saw and found some screws. It was very tedious and the rain was so loud in the little building that we had to yell in each other's ears. But we had a lot of fun together. It was nice to do something with my dad and laugh at the same time.

I didn't buy enough lumber for the second shelf so I will have to put it together myself here. But I can now start emptying some of the garage space for my wheel. Having a fully functioning studio is going to take a few more months, but I am so excited.

Rights to Your Water

2009-06-03T09:49:00.003-05:00

Feingold has done it again. A bill has been proposed to give all water rights, including that of the rainwater from your roof to the government.

Read and see for yourself. It is insanity come to life.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s787/text

This is an excerpt from a posting at The We Surround Them message boards posted by David Austin.

S. 787 - A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the United States over waters of the United States; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

We can see the theme of international treaties recurring here in this legislation, in keeping with this administrations pledge to realign and subvert domestic U.S. reality to an internationalist (global) agenda. The following is excerpted from the full text of the bill.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS (excerpted)

Congress finds that--

(28) protecting the quality of and regulating activities affecting the waters of the United States is a necessary and proper means of implementing treaties to which the United States is a party ...

(31) ... the protection of wetlands and other waters providing breeding, feeding, and sheltering habitat for migratory birds and endangered species is essential to enable the United States to fulfill the obligations of the United States under international treaties ...

This bill also establishes a new, explicit scope for federal control:

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES. (excerpted)

WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES- The term 'waters of the United States' means all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting these waters, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.

The bill was introduced with the customary gloom and doom so as to evoke a sense of urgency.

The following is excerpted from the Congressional Record, pages S4317 thru S4319

If we do not act, we will be allowing the Clean Water Act to be rolled back. That would mean increased uncertainty, confusion, litigation, and permitting delays resulting from the court decisions and subsequent agency guidelines. It also would pose a very real threat to Clean Water Act protections for public water supplies, industrial and agriculture uses, fish and wildlife, and recreation.

... and to prevent any interpretation by the federal court which might restrict it's applicability:

My bill also asserts appropriate constitutional authority to protect the Nation’s waters. Despite claims to the contrary, Congress has broad constitutional authority, including under the Commerce Clause, Property Clause, Treaty Clause, and Necessary and Proper Clause, to enact laws protecting our nation’s water quality. To prevent future courts from narrowly applying Congress’s constitutional authority, my bill includes the phrase "activities affecting those waters."

I don't know about you, but that last phrase sounds like just the foot in the door they found in the Tenth Amendment to undermine States Rights

additional references:

Tenth Ammendment: Reserved Powers
Annotated Constitution
Cornell University Law School

Commerce Clause Limitations on State Regulation
Exploring Constitutional Conflicts
University of Missouri, Kansas City

The Case for a Federalism Amendment
How the Tea Partiers can make Washington pay attention
April 23, 2009, Randy E. Barnett, Wall Street Journal

Evils of Islamic Political Ideology

2009-06-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from article The Evils of Islamic Political Ideology: Oppression of non-Muslims

We're faced with subversion of the U.S. Constitution through international law. Our forefathers did not fight and die for OIC-made international law. Who are the OIC? Expect no resistance from England. France? Jihad conquered them. England and France refused to withdraw from the U.N.'s Jew-hating Durban II conference. England lets Muslims have multiple wives and get social benefits for multiple families. Radicals can emigrate. Geert Wilders heads the leading Dutch political [Party for Freedom, PVV]. Holland's Supreme Court will let the government try him for "hate speech," for quoting the Qur'an. The OIC-dominated European Union subverts Dutch laws.
For the first time in Israel's history, it doesn't have a friend in the White House. Obama has met Hugo Chavez. He agreed to meet every other low-life violent pig, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, despite his anti-Semitic Durban II tirade and endless promises to annihilate Israel. [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu must join hands in tight new alliances with China and India. China's only future is current revenue. But every free nation, including Israel, must preserve its national self interest.
The free world---Japan, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, everyone formerly under the U.S. umbrella, who didn't go nuclear, knowing that America had its back---must now scramble for new cover and allies. The U.S. no longer protects its friends. They're not friends any more. New U.S. friends are [Raul] Castro, Ahmadinjehad, Chavez---all this in only four months.
Obama will be the longest 4-year president in history

Liberal Taliban

2009-05-14T08:25:00.001-05:00

Liberal Taliban Issues Fatwa Against Miss California
by Ann Coulter (more by this author)
Posted 05/13/2009 ETUpdated 05/13/2009 ET

Not even Dick Cheney can incite the blood-curdling rage of liberals at the sight of a sexy Evangelical Christian. Paula Jones, Katherine Harris, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin and, most recently, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, have all come under a frenzy of attacks from liberals.

Christians are supposed to be fat, balding sweaty little men with bad complexions. It's liberals who are supposed to be the sexy ones. (I know that from watching "The West Wing" and all movies starring Julia Roberts.)

But sadly for liberals, in real life, the fat, balding sweaty little guy with the bad complexion is Perez Hilton and the smoking-hot babe is Carrie Prejean.

This apparent contradiction incites violent anger in liberals, triggering their famous "flight or flight" response. So liberal masturbators are, once again, launching furious attacks on a beautiful Christian in a fit of pique similar to the one directed at Joan of Arc.

First, the Miss USA contest held a press conference to announce that Prejean had breast implants. Take a Christian position in public and Satan's handmaidens will turn all your secrets into front-page news.

Next, a photographer released a single cheesecake photo of Prejean. This prompted liberal reporters who have never met a Christian to proclaim that Christians were outraged by the photo. Liberals believe abortion is a sacrament, but smoking, wearing short skirts and modeling lingerie are mortal sins. (And if wearing women's underwear is a basis for being disqualified from the pageant, that's the end of Perez Hilton's judging career.)

Then on Monday some genuine "semi-nude" photos were released. These were not what we'd call appropriate for a Christian. In a curiously similar attack, the left's final attempt to destroy Paula Jones was to lure her into appearing naked in Penthouse magazine. Oh well.

Christians aren't people who believe they are without sin; they're people who know they're sinners and are awestruck by God's grace in sending his only Son to take the punishment they deserve.

This is in contradistinction to liberals, all of whom believe they're on a fast track to heaven on the basis of being "basically good" people -- and also believe that anyone who disagrees with that theological view is evil. Finally (so far, anyway), reporters gleefully released the divorce records of Prejean's parents. Because when you want the truth, what is more reliable than angry accusations traded in the middle of an acrimonious divorce?

Liberals used the divorce papers to argue that Prejean had some deep-seated psychological disturbance causing her to oppose gay marriage. Symptoms of this debilitating illness include a belief in some sort of "god" and a reverence for the Bible. I

t's not as if Prejean's special talent in the Miss USA contest was to perform an opposite-sex marriage. (Or, as the president and I call it, "marriage.") She didn't even volunteer her "controversial" views on marriage. Rather, she was asked for her opinion on gay marriage and gave it -- in an answer wrapped in so many layers of sugar it took 10 minutes to get to the point.
"Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised, and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman."

What a vicious hate-monger! Any second there I was expecting her to bust out a "by golly!" or an "oh my gosh!" Angry gay-marriage supporters should be happy they didn't get my version of that answer. It contains some terms you won't find in your Bible.

Liberals wouldn't attack James Dobson with the amount of bile they've directed at a 21-year-old beauty contestant. It's not just Christianity -- it's women liberals hate.

From Jean-Paul Sartre, Pablo Picasso and Bertrand Russell, who treated women -- mostly their mistresses -- like dogs, to Teddy Kennedy and Bill Clinton in our own day, liberals are ferocious misogynists. They share Muslims' opinion of women, differing only to the extent that liberals also support a women's right to have an abortion and to perform lap dances.

You'd be better off in a real burqa than under the authority of a liberal American male.

I'm not sure we needed a psychological profile of Prejean to figure out why she holds the same position on gay marriage as: the president, the vice president, the secretary of state, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards and his mistress, and the vast majority of the American people.

But what is crying out for an explanation is why every bubble-head TV news anchorette from a nice, churchgoing red state ends up adopting the political views of Karl Marx.

From Katie Couric on CBS to Norah O'Donnell on MSNBC, the whole stable of TV anchorettes weirdly have the exact same politics as their liberal masters. It's the ideological burqa women are required to wear to work in the mainstream media. As with a conventional burqa, it enforces conformity and severely restricts the vision.

The only way to protect yourself is to do the liberal male's bidding, as the bubble-head anchorettes do, or stand on the rock of Christianity.

Now, another beautiful Christian has thrown off the liberal burqa, thereby inciting mass hysteria throughout the liberal establishment. Prejean doesn't care. She is blazing across the sky, as impotent nose-pickers jockey for a piece of her reflected light by hurling insults at her.

Ann Coulter is Legal Affairs Correspondent for HUMAN EVENTS

The Old Jarhead

2009-03-24T07:04:00.002-05:00

Robert Hall, the author of The Old Jarhead, has become one of my favorite blogs to read. Check him out if you need a daily dose of logic, competence and morality.

Wonderful Weekend

2009-03-23T08:05:00.003-05:00

I had a wonderful weekend.

My husband and I finally found someone to purchase our van. Thank you God! Hurray!!! I should be able to put money in the bank today. But I think I will have a bit of an endeavor getting a new battery put in before they arrive to pick it up.

We took the kids to Tannehill for the first Trade Days of the year. My parents met us there. It is always fun wandering through finding treasures amongst the junk. My kids were tickled with the pony and train rides. And the toys that kept managing to find their way into little hands.

We went to my parents later in the afternoon. My father handed me a Henry .22 rifle. I had jokingly made the comment after Christmas that I was the only one who hadn't been given a gun. Apparently he took it to heart, which was not my intention. Michael and I set up a little target and spent some time shooting. It was fun.

He also had three fishing rods for the kids. We took them to the little pond behind my parents house. I have many fond memories of this little body of water. From playing in the mud making frog houses, to night fishing, to "skating" on the ice during a cold winter. Seeing my youngest child sitting next to his PawPaw on the bank made me smile and tear up a bit. I could not help but reflect upon sitting next to my Granddaddy anxiously waiting for the cork to bob. We didn't catch anything, but they had fun reeling them in over and over again.

The pollen took over on Sunday, and I am feeling it today. Everything has a yellow dusting. I am looking forward to the rain on Wednesday to wash everything down.

My lilies are shooting up. I am anxious to see the hostas and caladiums sprout. The grass, excuse me weeds, are shooting up as well. It is time to start trimming again. Grass is going to be the project for this summer.

I love spring. It makes me want to get dirty and smell like earth.

Be Prepared

2009-03-23T07:50:00.002-05:00

"We ask only for respect for Venezuela, nothing else," Chavez said. "If Obama respects us, we'll respect him. If Obama tries to keep disrespecting Venezuela, we will confront the U.S. empire."

Chavez said he showed some of the U.S. administration's critical remarks about him to U.S. Rep. William Delahunt when the Massachusetts Democrat visited Caracas last week.

"They keep pointing to me as the bad boy, as the one who attacks," Chavez said. "Who stared the attack first? Obama."

Is it just me or did Chavez threaten the US in this interview? The rest of the world realized long before our blind population of sheep that BO had no idea of what is truly going on around the world. And they have been making ready for our weakest moment.

At a time when we need a strong leader, we have a narcissistic rock star who likes having cocktail parties on the nation's dime at a time when he is telling the nation to cut back in their households.

The lack of intelligence and logic in this country astounds me. God help us.

Fiasco

2009-03-18T07:54:00.002-05:00

This whole AIG fiasco is a prime example of why government should not muddy the waters of capitalism. If AIG had been left to its own resources, which would have been bankruptcy, we would still have billions of dollars in our coffers and would have been able to take care of our troops. If AIG had gone into bankruptcy, they would have been able to restructure the corporation and a judge would have gotten rid of the contractual obligation to pay out these bonuses. My supposition is that the bonuses were put into place to retain these people from jumping ship as the business started to crumple.

We as a country need to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. In the last election, congress had well below a 50% approval rating. But did the citizens stand up for themselves? No. They re-elected the same people. All those mobs screaming for a change, let the same old same old back in. And more so this go round. They elected officials whose only agenda has been so far this term is to make up in spending for that which was not allowed in the past eight years. Did any of them contemplate how their grudge filled vendetta would affect their constituents? Do they not remember who is paying their salaries? I think is high time the people signing their checks did.

Become a watchdog to protect yourself from those you have hired. Act as the employer you are. Don't give the elected a long leash. Hold them responsible for every vote they cast and every vote they do not cast because of absence. If an employee missed work without a medical excuse, they would be reprimanded and sent packing if it continued. If an employee cost a company money by ineptitude, they would at the least be demoted or had their responsibilities lessened. If they did not do their job, they would be fired. How do you rate your employees?

This is most important, discuss the issues you have about the elected with those in your communities. They may be unaware of situations. The current administration has tauted transparency. Use that to your advantage through a grass roots approach over your neighbors fence or a cup of coffee at the local diner. The people have a voice and control. They just need to remember how to use it effectively and to think for themselves. Finding out the truth of the matter is essential to making the correct choice for the individual. Being led around as a sheep to slaughter is not the way of the true American.

Where is our money going?

2009-03-17T09:30:00.005-05:00

One week ago the Senate rejected an amendment to the Omnibus Appropriations Act that would

" ...require the Secretary of State to certify that funds made available for reconstruction efforts in Gaza will not be diverted to Hamas or entities controlled by Hamas."

Why would any rational person not think that this would be a good idea?

Let's look at the idiology of Hamas.

Hamas preaches and engages in violence and terror in order to destroy the state of Israel and replace it with an Islamic state. Its virulent hatred of Jews and Judaism is deeply rooted in the anti-Semitic writings of Muslim Brotherhood theologians.

Now let's look at the organizational structure.

The division of Hamas into military and political/social wings has led many observers to erroneously assume that the social wing of Hamas is completely separate from its military wing. However, funds raised for the social programs of Hamas free up other funds for the military wing and there is no open accounting system whereby the international community can ascertain whether or not the social wing finances the military wing. For instance, so-called humanitarian donations reward the families of Hamas suicide bombers.

Hamas' military wing also utilizes the organization's social wing for indoctrination and recruitment. The social, cultural, religious and educational institutions of Hamas are well-known venues for anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred and serve as recruitment centers for Hamas suicide bombers. For example, a Hamas-sponsored soccer team in Hebron provided a ready supply of several Hamas suicide bombers. In early 2006, Hamas began operation of a television station based in Gaza, Al Aksa TV, which broadcasts primarily religious and children's programming. Al Aksa TV – which Hamas says it hopes to soon broadcast via satellite to broaden its audience – is likely to become a key tool in propagating Hamas' extremist message. Indeed, the host of the station's children's program told the New York Times that his show "will teach children the basics of militant Palestinian politics."

http://www.adl.org/main_israel/hamas_facts.htm

This is from the Hamas Charter

According to section 13 of the Hamas Charter "Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement… There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3377113,00.html

What makes anyone think that talks will make a change to this organization? Why should we give Hillary free reign to give money to Hamas? I am sure the natives can contain their restlessness as long as they are receiving money.

BO has stated, "his administration will not engage in diplomatic talks with Hamas unless the group renounces terrorism and affirms Israel's right to exist."

So based on all of the above, why would a senator vote to defeat this amendment?

Why don't you ask them.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00088

Charging Private Insurance for Service-Related Health Care

2009-03-17T08:46:00.005-05:00

I cannot truly describe my reaction to this story. The idea of the government not taking care of our troops is unthinkable. We owe these people for our freedom. How could we even think of going this route? If our servicemen have to pay for private insurance for war related injuries, their premiums would skyrocket and they would be unable to pay for it. Then there would not be any volunteers. The draft would have to be manditory to maintain troop strength. This is just another way to bring socialism to our country. Of all the things our tax money should be paying for, this is it.

There was $5.5 BILLION in earmarks in the spending bill. That would have more than covered the $540 million BO is saying the American Legion needs to come up with. What happened to going line by line in the budget and getting rid of the pork?

".....investments linked to long term prosperity." BO made included this in his statement concerning how to reduce the budget and get entitlement programs under control this morning. I think the health of our military is an investment linked to long term prosperity, don't you?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/17/vets-group-blasts-obama-plan-private-insurance-pay-service-related-health-care/

Vets' Groups Blast Obama Plan for Private Insurance to Pay for Service-Related Health Care

President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service has angered veterans groups who say the government has a moral obligation to pay for service-related medical care.
FOXNews.com

President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service has infuriated veterans groups who say the government is morally obligated to pay for service-related medical care.

Cmdr. David K. Rehbein of the American Legion, the nation's largest veterans group, called the president's plan to raise $540 million from private insurers unreasonable, unworkable and immoral.

"This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate 'to care for him who shall have borne the battle' given that the United States government sent members of the Armed Forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies," Rehbein said late Monday after a meeting with the president and administration officials at the Veterans Affairs Department.

"I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans," Rehbein said.

Craig Roberts, media relations manager for the American Legion, told FOXNews.com on Tuesday that 11 veterans service organizations who met with the president, Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Veterans Affairs Sec. Eric Shinseki and Office of Management and Budget defense spending chief Steven Kosiak were told to come up with another plan if they didn't like this one.

"What we've been tasked with now is to raise this money through alternative means and we're supposed to have a conference call in two or three days ... with Rahm Emanuel. So the implication was ... you guys come up with a better idea or this is what's going to happen," Roberts said.

A call to the White House was not immediately returned.

Roberts said "the president's avowed purpose in doing this is to quote 'make the insurance companies pay their fair share,'" but practically speaking it will raise premiums, make insurance unaffordable for veterans and impose a massive hardship on military families. It could also prevent small businesses from hiring veterans who have large health care needs.

"It's not the Blue Cross that puts soldiers in harm's way, it's the federal government," Robert said, adding that the American Legion would like the existing system to remain in place. That calls for service-related injuries to be treated and paid for by the government. The American Legion has proposed that Medicare reimburse VA for the treatment of veterans.

He said that the argument about the government's moral obligation to treat wounded soldiers, sailors and Marines fell on deaf ears during the meeting.

"The president deflected any discussion when it got into any moral issue here," he said. "Any attempt to direct the conversation (to the moral discussion) was immediately deflected."

Private insurance is separate for troops who need health care unrelated to their service. But Roberts noted that if a wounded warrior comes back and needs ongoing treatment, he or she could run up "to the max of the coverage in very short order," leaving his family with nothing
Roberts added that how the plan would raise $540 million "is a great mystery and it seems to be an arbitrary number. ... The commander said it seemed like this phantom number."

Monday's meeting was preceded by a letter of protest earlier this month signed by Rehbein and the heads of 10 service organizations. It read that "there is simply no logical explanation" for the plan to bill veterans' personal insurance "for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide."

The letter called it "unconscionable" to shift the burden of the country's "fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country." Rehbein testified to both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on those same points last week.

Calling it a "desperate search for money at any cost, Roberts said the president will "wish away so much political capital on this issue" if he continues to insist on private coverage for service-related injuries.

Bulbs and Buds

2009-03-13T11:38:00.003-05:00

I am looking forward to Sunday afternoon. Wednesday the kids and I went to visit my mother for lunch. While there we divided her lilies. I think I have possibly close to 150 bulbs. We had such a good time, my mother, grandmother, myself and the kids. The kids were pulling up clumps and shaking the dirt over everyone. It was a beautiful day with sun and a light breeze. I hope it was a special day that they will remember.

Sunday is supposed to be sunny. With the rain expected for today and Saturday, the ground should be easy to dig in. Hopefully in a few months I will have a bank of lilies to show off.

I am looking forward to my Burgess shipment to come in. I ordered some creeping red sedum to finish off the hill and elephant ears to add to my caladium bed.

I left all the leaves in my yard last fall in hopes of keeping the soil from eroding too much and adding a healthy layer to my beds. I was excited to see after digging carefully underneath tiny ferns uncurling, the small tops of astible and lobelia. I am anxious for my hostas to return as well. The dogwood is budding out too. Spring is always so exciting to me.

Civics

2009-03-13T11:06:00.003-05:00

From the East Coast to the "Left Coast," America seems to be moving farther and farther from its Founders' vision and government.

George Washington advised, "The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible." Yet the Obama administration just pledged $900 million in U.S. taxpayer-funded aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza and Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority.

Thomas Jefferson counseled us, "We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt." Yet the feds have skyrocketed our national debt by trillions of dollars, and they plan much more fiscal expansion, with few expectations of resistance. George Washington admonished, "To contract new debts is not the way to pay for old ones." But we keep borrowing and bailing out, and we watch the stock market plunge further every time we do.

Patrick Henry taught, "(Our Constitution) is an instrument for the people to restrain the government." Yet our Congress and president stampede that founding document, overlook its explicitness and manipulate its words to abandon a balance of power and accommodate their own desires, partisan politics and runaway spending.

John Adams declared, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." Yet we've bastardized the First Amendment, reinterpreted America's religious history and secularized our society, and now we ooze skepticism and circumvent religion on every level of public and private life.

How much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen, or will history need to record a second American Revolution? We the people have the authority, according to America's Declaration of Independence, which states:

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security."

This is an excerpt from Chuck Norris' latest column. After reading, I began pondering if any schools teach a civics class anymore. And, if they do, are the teachers as boring as the civics teacher I had? It wasn't until my late twenties that I really had an understanding of how government was originally meant to function. In school, I learned the information, but only in the sense of being able to regurgitate it. Not in truly grasping the meaning of the ideas put forth. I think it is time I purchased some books on the writings of our founders to refresh my memory.

I think it would be a novel idea to have every nominee for a public office partake in a third party administered test on civics and economics. Their scores would be made public immediately. After the original test, if making anything below the equivalent of a B+, they would be given a period of time to study and retake the test. Of course it would not be the same test, but one like the ACT or SAT. It should be a standardized test covering the same material but with different questions. The participant would not be administered the same test twice. In this fashion, the public would be aware of the true intelligence and knowledge of the candidate as well as their desire to serve the public in their efforts to score as high as possible. I wonder how many times Pelosi would have to take it?

Lyndon Baines Obama

2009-03-10T12:30:00.001-05:00

Lyndon Baines Obama
by Patrick J. Buchanan
03/10/2009

It was the winter of conservative discontent.

Barry Goldwater had gotten only 38 percent of the vote, and his party had suffered its worst thrashing since Alf Landon fell to FDR in 1936.

Democrats held 295 House seats, Republicans 140. They held 68 Senate seats to Republicans' 32, and 33 governors to the GOP's 17.

Democratic registration was twice that of the GOP. The liberal press was gleefully writing the obituary of "The Party That Lost Its Head."

Decades might pass, it was said, before the GOP recovered from its fatal embrace of right-wing radicalism and foolish rejection of the leadership of Govs. Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton.

Wrote Robert Donovan in the opening lines of his book, "The Future of the Republican Party":

"The devastating defeat of Barry Goldwater at the hands of voters in all sections of the country but the Deep South has damaged, weakened and tarnished the party. For years to come ... the two-party system will be crippled."

Donovan and all the rest were wrong. The GOP came roaring back in 1966 to capture 47 House seats and eight new governorships. In 1968, Nixon led the party out of the wilderness and into a White House it would hold for 20 of the next 24 years.

Full of hubris in 1965, Lyndon Johnson had seized his moment. He had launched a Great Society that would outdo his beloved patron FDR. He would dispatch 500,000 troops to Vietnam to "bring the coonskin home on the wall" and create a "Great Society on the Mekong." Those were heady days of "guns-and-butter."

By 1968, LBJ's coalition was shredded. Gov. George Wallace had torn away the populist right. Sens. Gene McCarthy, George McGovern and Robert Kennedy had rallied the antiwar left against him. LBJ and Hubert Humphrey were left to preside over a shrinking center.

Why did LBJ fail? He overloaded the circuits. He tried to do it all. He misread a national desire for continuity after Kennedy's death as a mandate for a lunge to the left and a great leap forward with the largest expansion of government since the New Deal.

By 1968, racial riots had torn apart almost every great city. The most prestigious campuses had been rocked by student violence. Thousands of antiwar demonstrators had taken to the streets. And 100 to 200 body bags were coming home from Vietnam every week.

By the winter of 1968, Lyndon Johnson was a broken president.

History never repeats itself exactly. But Barack Obama is making the same mistakes today that LBJ made in 1965.

He has ordered 17,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, as the situation deteriorates and the NATO allies pull out. He has no exit strategy. He has read a repudiation of George Bush as a mandate for a government seizure of wealth and power that exceeds anything attempted in the Great Society.

Fully half of the $3.55 trillion in spending Obama will preside over this year will not be covered by tax revenue but by red ink. The money will have to be borrowed from abroad or printed by the Fed.

Not only is Barack running a deficit four times as large as Bush's largest, he has called for $1 trillion in new taxes on America's most successful, who have already seen their savings and pensions ravaged.

He wants a cap-and-trade system to deal with a global-warming or climate-change crisis many scientists believe is a hoax. He is going to provide health care for all, including immigrants, millions of whom arrive uninsured every year.

He is going to plunge scores of billions more into education, though education has eaten up the wealth of an empire, as SAT scores sink further and further below the apogee of 1964, before LBJ and the feds barged in. He is going to ask Congress for authority to spend another $750 billion rescuing the banks.

He is going to find the cure for cancer. He is going to ensure every kid gets a college education. He is going to drop half of all wage-earners off the tax rolls, while the top 2 percent, who already pay 40 percent of all income taxes, are forced to cough up more.

Obama is misreading the election returns. When America voted to cancel the White House lease of Mr. Bush, it did not vote Barack Obama a blank check.

By misinterpreting his mandate, Obama has accomplished something John McCain could not -- unite the Republican Party and instill in it a new esprit de corps. For the Obama budget is an insult to the core belief of the party -- that free people, not coercive government, should shape the character of society.

By daring Republicans to fight on the issue of a $1.75 trillion deficit, Obama has liberated the GOP from any obligation to him. He has come out of the closet as a radical liberal spoiling for a fight over an agenda of radical change.

Sooner than any might have thought, we have clarity.

Mr. Buchanan is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of "The Death of the West", "The Great Betrayal", "A Republic, Not an Empire" and "Where the Right Went Wrong."

Forgiving

2009-03-05T09:13:00.004-06:00

Proverbs 28:1313
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

When I made my first confession as a Catholic, I was terrified. It meant I must go before a man I would be seeing at least once a week and tell him about all of the dark spots on my soul. I imagined him condemning me every time he looked upon me. It made me cringe and want to hide. But I knew I needed the Absolution received from the act of Confession and Contrition. So I went feeling like a small child, scared and ashamed. (Luke 18:17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.) I did not know how to begin or if I even could. But the words started to flow and the tears streamed. With each moment, my heart grew lighter and this burden dropped away.

On the way home, I stopped at a cemetery on a little country road. Why I didn't pray at the church I don't know, but I felt such a sense of solitude and communion with God in that place that day. My prayers were of sorrow for my sins and thanksgiving for my forgiveness. Not since the day of my Baptism had I felt such elation.

The trepidation of going to confession has dwindled away for me as time has passed. Now I look forward to unburdening my heart. I never want to attempt to live life bearing the full burden of my sins again. Handing them over makes living life so much easier. Every Sunday there comes a point in the Mass in which I have this immense sense of elation, thankfulness, God's mercy and knowing that I am loved. It is during the Consecration. I can only pray that those around me experience such wondrous knowing of the beauty and love of God.

To be able to come to such a communion with our Lord, I believe a person has to first unburden themselves. They must acknowledge the shame and guilt they hold of their sins and put it before Him asking for forgiveness.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm

1432 The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart.25 Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: "Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored!"26 God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced:27

And then they must let those sins go. Holding on, by means of not allowing the self to forgive the self, drags the soul out of communion. Holding on in itself is a sin. A horrific sin at that. By holding on, one does not acknowledge that God has forgiven them and thus is an unbeliever.

Consider John 20:19-23
"On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,"Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, " Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this He breathed on them, and said to them: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'"

He is saying these words to His disciples,"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." If we cannot forgive ourself for our sins, how can we expect God to forgive them?

Mark 3:24
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

We must be united with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit if we are to be received into the glory of heaven.

Living according to your Means

2009-03-04T09:50:00.004-06:00

Borrowers are only allowed to have their loans modified once, and the program only applies for loans made on Jan. 1 2009 or earlier. Up to 4 million borrowers are expected to qualify. Mortgages for single-family properties that are worth more than $729,750 are excluded.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090304/ap_on_bi_ge/obama_housing

$729,750!!!!! Are you kidding me? Anyone with a mortgage over $200,000 who is spending more than a quarter of their monthly income on payments is living beyond their means. They put the best interest of their families and bank accounts on a back burner to attain a lifestyle that was out of their immediate reach.

It makes me furious to know that MY MONEY is going to bail these people out. Let them go into bankruptcy and live in an apartment or small rental. Millions of other Americans do it because they have to live according to their means.

Wanting people to strive for their best then telling those who are successful they must pay to make the world equal for those who do not wish to strive is LUDICROUS!!! That is what nongovernmental controlled charities are for in this country. Our churches and communities should be coming together in a cooperative union. NOT the GOVERNMENT giving out money to people who are not in such desperate need.

People need to curb their spending on frivolous things. Enjoy physical outdoor activities with family and friends. Plant a victory garden. Victory from the need of being part of a welfare state.

Stop purchasing lattes and luxuries. Be practical in your purchases. Logical in your choices.
Look in the mirror and realize it is your responsibility to take care of yourself and your family. Not the government. Not your parents. YOU. Take charge of your life and make it go somewhere before the government dictates that everyone must be in a state of welfare and poverty with no one given the freedom to choose their place in life.

AIG sues Government

2009-03-03T20:26:00.001-06:00

AIG is suing the government over a disputed $306 million in taxes, interest and penalties

Laugh for the Day

2009-03-03T17:37:00.003-06:00

If you don't at least giggle at this, there is something wrong with you.

We have the standard 6 ft. fence in the backyard, and a few months ago, I heard about burglaries increasing dramatically in the entire city. To make sure this never happened to me, I got an electric fence and ran asingle wire along the t op of the fence. Actually, I got the biggest cattlecharger Tractor Supply had, made for 26 miles of fence. I then used an 8 ft. long ground round, drove 7.5 feet into the ground. The ground rod is the key, with the more you have in the ground, the better the fence works.

One day I'm mowing the back yard with my cheapo20Walmart 6hp bigwheelpushmower. The hot wire is broken and laying out in the yard. I knew for a fact that I unplugged the charger. I pushed the mower around the wire and reached down to grab it, to throw it out of the way. It seems as though I hadn't remembered to unplug it after all.

Now I'm standing there, I've got the running lawnmower in my right hand and the 1.7 gigavolt fencewire in the other hand. Keep in mind the charger is about the size of a marine battery and has a picture of an upside down cow on fire on the cover. Time stood still. The first thing I notice is my balls trying to climb up the front side of my body. My ears curled downwards and I could feel the lawnmower ignition firing in the backside of my brain. Every time that Briggs & Stratton rolled over, I could feel the spark in my head. I was literally at one with the engine.

It seems as though the fence charger and the POS lawnmower were fighting over who would control my electrical impulses. Science says you cannot crap, and pee at the same time. I beg to differ. Not only did I do all three at once, but my bowels emptied 3 different times in less than half of a second. It was a Matrix kind of bowel movement, where time is creeping along and you're all leaned back and BAM BAM BAM you just crap your pants 3 times. It seemed like there were minutes in between but in reality it was so close together it was like exhaust pulses from a big block Chevy turning 8 grand.

At this point I'm about 30 minutes (maybe 2 seconds) into holding onto the fence wire. My hand is wrapped around the wire palm down so I can't let go. I grew up on a farm so I know all about electric fences... but Dad alwayshad those POS chargers made by International or whoever that were like 9 volts and just kinda tickled. This I could not let go of. The 8 foot long ground rod is now accepting signals from me through the permadamp Ark-La-Tex river bottom soil. At this point I'm thinking I'm going to have to just man up and take it, until the lawnmower runs out of gas. 'Damn!,' I think, as I remember I just filled the tank!

Now the lawnmower is starting to run rough. It has settled into a loping run pattern as if it had some kind of big lawnmower race cam in it. Covered in poop, and pee with my balls on my chest I think 'Oh God, please die... pleeeeze die'. But nooooo, it settles into the rough lumpy cam nicely and remains there, like a big bore roller cam EFI motor waiting for the go command from its owner's right foot.

So here I am in the middle of July, 104 degrees, 80% humidity, standing in my own backyard, begging God to kill me. God did not take me that day...he left me there covered in my own fluids to writhe in the misery my own stupidity had created...I honestly don't know how I got loose from the wire.... I woke up laying on the ground hours later. The lawnmower was beside me, out of gas. It was later on in the day and I was sunburned. There were two large dead grassspots where I had been standing, and then another long skinny dead spot were the wire had layed while I was on the ground still holding on to it. I assume I finally had a seizure and in the resulting thrashing had somehow let go of the wire.

Upon waking from my electrically induced sleep Irealized a few things.
1- Three of my teeth seem to have melted.
2- I now have cramps in the bottoms of my feet and my right butt cheek (not the left, just the right).
3- Poop, and pee when mixed together, do not smell as bad as you might think.
4- My left eye will not open.
5- My right eye will not close.
6- The lawnmower runs like a sumnabitch now. Seriously! I think our little session cleared out some carbon fouling or something, because it was better than new after that.
7- My balls are still smaller than average yet they are almost a foot long
8- I can turn on the TV in the gameroom by farting while thinking of thenumber 4 (still don’t understand this?)

That day changed my life. I now have a newfound respect for things. I appreciate the little things more, and now I always triple check to make sure the fence is unplugged before I mow.

The good news, is that if a burglar does try to come over the fence, I can clearly visualize what my security system will do to him, and THAT gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over, which also reminds me to triple check before I mow.

Skirting the Issues

2009-03-03T13:29:00.006-06:00

I have been watching Geithner defend the budget put forth by BO.

I want to take a baseball bat to my tv.

This man is regurgitating the same material over and over again. His answers are
-I would like to talk to you further about this later
-We have to do this and do it now
-This is what "the" economists say to do

When asked about metrics to track how the budget plan is working to grow the economy and how to know when to raise certain taxes, he had no answer. He commented on the transparency procedures put into place, but he gave no explanation of how the American people will see them other than to "watch the economy."

When confronted with the result of loss of over 10,000 jobs in Louisianna surrounding the natural gas sector as a result of taxes, his reply was (paraphrasing) we have to make tough decisions. When then confronted with BO's pledge to save jobs, he reiterated the tough decisions and had no answer as to where the jobs would be saved. He droned on about how the tax cuts, which are really welfare checks to those who are not currently paying taxes, would help offset the job loss by creating jobs in other areas. What? So much for saving jobs.

When confronted with the questions on why not reduce the budget instead of enlarge it, his reply was no economist would suggest that we cut spending at this point.

Here are some other opinions. Apparently they didn't search very far to find any opinions other than their own.

Frankly, we are going to need a new theory of economics to argue that Obama’s much higher taxes, much higher spending, protectionism, and much higher energy costs are going to revive the economy and promote economic growth. We don’t have to predict a new Great Depression to recognize that Robert Mundell and Amity Shlaes have a point. Obama’s policies would accelerate the economic downturn into a full-scale panic. They would not only likely crush investment, but would promote capital flight from the U.S. and worldwide flight from the dollar. This would collapse the dollar, and promote soaring inflation.
http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NTA5OTUzZGExN2RkODZmOTdmYzNlMTExNzZmMzEzMTU=

Keynesians think that the way to increase economic growth is to increase deficits and government spending. We tried that in the 1970s, and we got inflation along with ever worsening recessions. We tried it in the 1930s, and we got the Great Depression lasting for over 10 years. It doesn't work.

THEN THERE IS THE PART of the Obama tax cut that is not a tax cut. The bottom 40% of income earners do not pay income taxes on net. The $500 per worker Obama income tax credit will consequently not reduce income taxes for these workers. It will involve instead another check going from other taxpayers to these workers, which is actually just increased government spending, indeed, increased welfare.

Another component of the Obama $310 billion "tax cut" package is a proposal for a one-year tax credit of $3,000 to businesses for each new job created, costing a pricey $40 billion to $50 billion. Congress already adopted a similar plan proposed by former Sen. Dan Quayle back in the 1980s, called the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC). Over the years this has been changed into the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which provides $2,400 for each new adult worker hired, $4,800 for hiring a disabled veteran, and $9,600 for hiring welfare recipients, high risk youths, and qualified ex-felons. It is unclear whether Obama is aware of this history, but his tax credit is not going to produce any more hiring than the already existing WOTC.

Here is what would work. The Republicans should advance a proposal that would sharply reduce the 25% income tax rate that applies to the middle class to 15%. This would leave 90% of workers with a flat rate tax of 15%, or even less. Such reduced tax rates would provide real incentives to stimulate the economy, as discussed above. A bill providing for this should be introduced as soon as possible, to get the debate going. This proposal serves as an alternative to the rest of the Obama tax plan to be introduced later, as well as the stimulus package. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell raised precisely this proposal last Sunday. Bravo.

Other proposals would promote economic recovery and growth even more. Most urgent, in terms of producing the biggest and most immediate pro-growth impact, is to reduce the outdated and uncompetitive federal corporate tax rate of 35% at least to 25%, if not the 19% recently adopted by Germany and Canada. The Bush tax cuts for capital gains and dividends should be made permanent. Also urgent would be to adopt immediate expensing, meaning deductions, for investment in capital equipment, rather than depreciation, which drags the deductions out over many years. This would have the same effect as a rate reduction for investors, by increasing the percentage of the reward that such investors could keep. A true economic boom would be created if Congress also reduced the top marginal income tax rate to 25%.

http://www.ipi.org/IPI/IPIPressReleases.nsf/23dfbb67b152cfdc86256c75007ee9e0/c42194b0df9b90c58625754a006146da?OpenDocument

Opinion: Spending for Tomorrow
A Critical Look at the Administration’s $819 Billion Stimulus Plan
By Joe Maurer
http://tech.mit.edu/V129/N1/maurer.html

A healthy recovery plan consists primarily of tax cuts, with a mix of reduced barriers to investment, appropriate regulation, and the right monetary policy. But just like the value of exercise would be negated by poor eating habits, you can't cut taxes and spend too. Fiscal stimulus might be politically advantageous, but a sweeping array of tax cuts, targeted to reach all sectors of the market, would do far more to restore the economy to long-term health

President Barack Obama's aides have said the new administration is only interested in ideas that can be historically and empirically proven to work. Well, the historical and empirical data proves that the fastest way out of economic downturns is letting individuals and businesses keep more of their money, creating more incentives to produce.

The U.S. economy stagnated during the 1970s but was revived from its intense inflation, unemployment, and recession by the pro-growth policies of the Reagan era, not stimulus spending. Tax cuts and appropriate monetary policy improved the economy after spending increases under former Presidents Ford and Carter had failed.

There are other ideas on the table too, such as permanently repealing the alternative minimum tax and encouraging infrastructure investment through the expansion of private activity bonds. Rationalizing financial sector regulations such as mark-to-market capital requirements and exclusivity rights in bankruptcy proceedings would not only increase stability, and thus confidence in the current market, but it would protect against future troubles.

Tax cuts will not bring immediate improvement. However, if appropriately used, they will help the economy much faster than stimulus by paving the way for long-term, sustained growth
http://www.reason.org/commentaries/randazzo_20090204.shtml

A wise man acknowledges the truth when it is put before him. A fool still screams it is a lie. America has become a nation governed by fools elected by fools. When will the wise men stand up?

Snow!!

2009-03-03T07:33:00.006-06:00

Since we have moved into our home in December 2007, we have seen 4 snowfalls. This is quite unusual for our deep south location. The forecasters are calling for 70 degree weather by the weekend. That's the south for you.

Gabriel had a great time throwing snowballs at his Dad. (And Dad had a great time too!)

Grace had to wear my gloves. She has two pair, but in the last week they seemed to have disappeared. She was dressing up she says. That means I will find them after she has outgrown them.

This was Sean's first time in the snow. He ran around the yard yelling "Snow! Snow!" He helped his Daddy make the big snowman.

The snow fell heavier after we came in from playing. Our little snowman became a fuzzy blob.

We had a wonderful snow day.

Global Warming by Gerald Warner

2009-02-26T08:17:00.001-06:00

Global warming: Al Gore's convenient untruth freezes over
Posted By: Gerald Warner at Jan 7, 2009 at 18:09:34

You have to wrap up well against this global warming. Over the past 48 hours the temperature has fallen as low as -12C in Dorset, with the sea at Poole Harbour frozen up to 20 yards from shore, and parts of Britain colder than Greenland. Phew, what a scorcher! Might be a good idea to start up the car (if it will start) and pump some more CO2 into the atmosphere before we freeze to death. What did the media warn us about climate change?

"There is very important climatic change going on right now, and it's not merely something of academic interest. It is something that, if it continues, will affect the whole human occupation of the earth - like a billion people starving. The effects are already showing up in a rather drastic way."

That apocalyptic warning came from Fortune magazine - in 1974, when it was alerting readers to an imminent new Ice Age. By 2006 it had conformed to the latest fashion and had revised its doomsday scenario to: "The media agrees with the majority of scientists: global warming is here. Now, what to do about it?" So much for the media as climatic arbiter.

In the current climate, Fortune's earlier scenario seems more plausible. A few months ago, Lewis Pugh set off on a much-hyped journey paddling a kayak to an "ice-free" North Pole: he was stopped by ice 600 miles from his destination and 100 miles south of where a canoeist had reached a century earlier. As this egg-on-face setback for climate alarmists illustrated, there was 9 per cent more ice at the Arctic last autumn than the year before. After a record ice melting there was a record freeze.

Although Arctic sea ice last summer reached the lowest level recorded since satellite observation began (an important qualification), Antarctic ice reached the highest, but Al Gore was not shouting about that. Global average temperatures hit a peak in 1998, but have been declining since. Now, to the further embarrassment of alarmists, Kerry Emanuel, professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, who first advanced the thesis of a connection between global warming and hurricanes, has rejected his own theory after further research.

Bad luck for Al Gore, who used the image of a hurricane emerging from a smoke stack to promote his fantasy extravaganza An Inconvenient Truth. The core ice samples featured in Gore's film actually proved that increased CO2 emissions have historically followed 800 years after warm periods - but what the hell, this ain't science, it's politics. Just how we are supposed to influence carbon emissions when mankind is only responsible for 3.5 per cent of them is unclear.

But the cash from UN grants, wind farms, carbon trading and all the billions squandered on a politically useful (to totalitarians) superstition is very clear indeed: this is big bucks. "Man-made" global warming is the new sub-prime commerce of the planet. Meantime, wrap up well.

Obama's Outrageous Oversight

2009-02-14T07:56:00.002-06:00

EDITORIAL: Obama's outrageous oversight
Thursday, February 12, 2009

President Obama clearly didn't do his homework before ordering the suspension of military tribunals to try terrorist suspects. We have learned that even his own legal counsel admitted that Mr. Obama erred in discussing details about terrorism with families of victims last week, and that the administration was ignorant of a key point that terrorists exploit to their advantage. In his rush to fulfill a campaign promise to his more fervid anti-war supporters, the president's legal oversights risk the disclosure of some highly classified information to terrorists.

Debra Burlingame, sister of Charles Burlingame III, the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that was flown into the Pentagon on 9/11, was present at last Friday's White House meeting of families of terrorism victims. Her impression was that President Obama was saying the right words in general, but when it came to specifics he was uncertain, uninformed, and sometimes just plain mistaken. Ms. Burlingame is an attorney who has followed closely the legal aspects of the terrorism cases, and her detailed, probing questions were met with stammers, stares, and statements that betrayed an understanding of the law that was, she said, "flat out wrong."

Case in point: the president's knowledge of the role of the Classified Information Procedures Act or CIPA. This law governs the way in which classified information is used in trials. The Sixth Amendment guarantees defendants the right to confront their accusers and the evidence against them, but the government has an important interest in cases such as these in keeping sources and methods secret. Under CIPA rules, in cases where classified information is used, the government has the option of sharing the information with the defendant, or not using it.

The Bush administration sought to avoid this potential national security threat by resorting to other procedures in which 6th Amendment issues did not arise. But President Obama believes that the model for terrorism cases is the prosecution of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers. Of course a number of those plotters escaped justice (some were found later hiding in Saddam's Iraq, but that's another story). More important, because of the openness of that process, al Qaeda learned a great deal about how to do a much better job next time - and even the classified information from that trial was in Osama bin Laden's hands within weeks.

The terrorists have learned a great deal about conducting legal guerrilla war, using rules like CIPA to their advantage. Notice that more and more terrorists are dismissing their appointed lawyers and representing themselves. This gives them direct access to the classified documents that will be used in evidence against them. In this way they can learn about U.S. intelligence sources and methods - how they were targeted, what information was collected, and who may have been the traitors in their midst. Even if the names of sources are omitted, for example someone who was present at a key planning meeting, the terrorist defendant will know enough about the circumstances to be able to narrow it down. After all, the terrorist is familiar with every aspect of the events; he knows much more about them than the intelligence community.
The alternative to handing over the secrets is for the government to not use the evidence in question. That creates the incongruous situation in which the defense wants to maximize the amount of evidence that implicates them, and the prosecution wants to minimize it. (Our legal system was not designed to accommodate defendants who welcome being put to death.) According to Ms. Burlingame, Obama's answer to this conundrum was "there is no reason we have to give [the terrorists] everything." Evidently the former editor of the Harvard Law Review seems to think that one of his powers as president is personally to pick and choose which constitutional rights apply to terror defendants and which do not. That's the very thing they were criticizing President Bush for.

White House Counsel Greg Craig, often seen whispering in the president's ear during question periods, admitted later to Ms. Burlingame that the chief executive was getting the facts of the law wrong during the discussion with the families. Craig asked her if CIPA covers a case in which terrorists defend themselves, noting that "this is something we hadn't contemplated." If nothing else, this admission of ignorance is more evidence that the decision to rush ahead with closing Guantanamo and shutting down the military tribunals was ill-conceived, poorly planned, and may ultimately be injurious to our national security. The president may talk a good game about "swift, certain justice," but it is becoming clear that justice will not be swift, is highly uncertain, and in the end may not even be just.

Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

Lee Iococca

2009-02-05T10:05:00.003-06:00

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'

Lee Iacocca Says: 'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first in his book.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes.. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy... Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo. We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play.

That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

Meatballs

2009-01-23T10:16:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, around lunch I received a call from my very appalled husband. When he opened his lunch instead of meatballs he found raw ground meat. Luckily, his company has a cafeteria on site. Maybe I should have had that cup of coffee before I packed his bag. Oh well. I can't be perfect everyday.

I have also been asked to clarify the colon cleansing post. My curiosity got the best of me when I saw a diet that offered to cut a pound a day. The train wreck ensued and I had to find out more. But this all led to my discovery of aloe vera juice and its benefits. I have to say that after a week of using it as a supplement, I have noticed some positive effects of adding it to my daily regimen.

Building a castle

2009-01-14T18:46:00.004-06:00

We have decided to head to the coast in June. Our children have never seen the sands of the gulf. Yes, I know. What southerner does not make a trip to the coast at least once a year. We have been heading north on our vacations to the shores of a lake of the north woods to escape the humidity and heat of these southern summers.

On that note I am aspiring to lose some junk in my sagging trunk. I finally found some moves that really work the areas I'm trying to tone. It took a bit of trial and error, but I felt muscles I haven't felt in years this morning as I walked up the stairs. The pain was good. It meant I am on the right path leading to my goal.

I also searched colon cleansing today. A forewarning: don't venture there if you have just eaten. The testimonies are humorous but the photos are nauseating.

I have also started building my castles. Instead of writing out a bucket list or New Year's resolution, I have begun to set dates for goal acheivement. Included in this are breaking down all of the details. First I start with the castle or end result and work my way back to the beginning step by step. I imagine everything down to what I will be wearing at the exact moment my castle has been completed. It is a nice way to spend my days. Focusing on the future while I sort socks and referee light saber battles.

Begin the FOCA Novena

2009-01-11T20:09:00.002-06:00

Today, all across the country, brothers and sisters in Christ will be praying to forestall the impending Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).

Catholics have proposed a Novena. In our tradition, that is nine days dedicated to fervent prayer. While our approaches and words may be different, I would like to invite ALL Christians to participate in this as with many voices we cry out to God for His intervention in this urgent matter. FOCA could be signed into law within days of Obama taking office. This is what he has promised, and with a Democrat-controlled Congress, there is really little hope without God.

The ramifications of FOCA include:

1) All hospitals and health care practitioners will be required, by law, to perform abortions even if doing so will cause them to act against their religion or conscience. ( U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops all 253 of them are unanimous in the position they state in a document they have issued warning Obama that they all vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, (more then 30% of all hospitals in the United States, serving primarily the poor) if FOCA becomes law. No one will suffer more from these closings than the poor, the Bishops say)

2) Partial birth abortions will be legal and have no limitations, removing literally 100's of existing limitations on the gruesome practice. If you don't know what a partial birth abortion is, and want a chilling experience...find out!

3) Federal funding will be removed from alternative crisis pregnancy aid centers that provide frightened perhaps abandoned women with an alternative to killing her their babies, while at the same time, all U.S. tax payers would be required to fund abortions on demand.(meaning any reason - or no reason at all is good enough)

4) Parental notification will no longer be required. This will mean that your 12 year old daughter, who can't get an aspirin in school without your consent could be brought, perhaps by school counselors, to have an abortion performed on her, murdering your grandchild and scarring your child for life, without your consent...or even knowlege I'm not kidding....this will be totally legal!

5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of 100,000 annually. We already have over 50 million to answer forPerhaps most importantly the central government will now have control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, down syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are allowed to have. Can you remember a time when Americans thought that these same laws in China were atrocious?

Theological differences are one thing, but to ignore our calling to pray together for such an urgent matter would, is wrong and foolish and self-defeating. As Christians, as thinking human beings, as anyone who is against the killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

The Plan :
Pray a novena ( 9 days of prayer ) along with fasting starting on January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be the rosary with intentions to stop the FOCA. Non Catholics are encouraged to pray your strongest prayers with the same intentions, also for nine consecutive days. The hope is that this will branch and blossom. We have very little time so we all must act quickly. Just do three things:

1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people
2) Do it today
3) Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine consecutive days [bringing us to Inauguration Day]
4) If you receive this after January 11, begin praying anyway.

(please also fast - bread and water - for at least two days during the novena)

Remember that with God all things are possible and the power of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless killing of defenseless children then the time is now to do something about it!

May God bless us all!

I got tagged.....

2009-01-03T15:35:00.003-06:00

This is for Ginger ...oops! Baker over at The Mckenzie's. I am pretty sure this picture is of Michael, I think. It was at some national paintball event while he was playing pro with Godspeed in 2006 maybe....

These were the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3) Explain the picture.

4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

I am not going to tag anyone, but invite my few readers to play the game.

Saving Handmade children's products

2009-01-03T15:22:00.004-06:00

Heather at pneumafox just posted some great information on a bill that would essentially ban the sale of handmade children's products (including dolls and diapers for those sewers out there). Check out more info here. If passed, this would wipe out all hobbyists who make products to sell from their home. It would be a terrible blow for the American people and capitalism.

Pray for opposition to FOCA

2009-01-03T15:04:00.003-06:00

If you are opposed to abortion then there is bad news on the horizon. For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is set to be signed if congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009. The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If made a law then all limitations on abortion will be lifted which will result in the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, will berequired to perform abortions upon request. If this happens Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more then 30% of all hospitals in the United States.

2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and have nolimitations.

3) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions.

4) Parental notification will no longer be required.

5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of100,000 annually. This is an estimation.

Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly true. As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

The Plan:

To say a novena (9 days of prayer) along with fasting starting on January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be the rosary with intentions to stop the FOCA. For all other Christians, I encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intentions, also for nine consecutive days. The hope is that this will branch and blossom as to become a global effort with maximum impact.

We have very little time so we all must act fast. Just do three things: 1) Invite all your friends to this group. 2) Do it in three days or less 3) Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine consecutive days. (please also fast for at least two days during the novena)

Remember that with God all things are possible and thepower of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless killing of defenseless children then the time is now to do somethingabout it!

2008-12-26T08:15:00.000-06:00

Christmas

2008-12-26T07:44:00.003-06:00

We survived the Christmas Eve Mass with our children. Although I did have one of those times in which I embarrassed myself without really realizing at the time what I was doing. In hind sight yelping as my child plops the kneeler on my middle toe and stands on top of it was a bit rude in the middle of a prayer. I have to remind myself, God sees all and that's what counts.

Yesterday was the best Christmas I have had in, well I can't remember. My children were so excited their one gift from Santa Claus. Grace wanted her kitchen to be immediately put in her room. Gabriel is getting better at his Vsmile. His hand eye coordination is still in development. But then he is only four. Sean pushed his dump trucks around piling it high with everyone else's candy.

Michael gave me some jewelry to wear to a performance of the Moscow Ballet on Sunday. That was my present, the ticket. I am very excited to be going with my nieces and sister-in-laws. It should be very fun.

But the best part of the day for me was Michael. I gave him some free weights and gloves. But me in my rush picked up a small glove instead of a medium. He was happy but not ecstatic. Which is what I had wanted and expected.

At my parents house, the kids picked up light sabers that light up with noises and other things. Then at the end, my Dad brings out 3 long, skinny rectangular boxes. The top two were Henry .22 rifles for Sean and Grace. Gabriel received one earlier. The bottom box was for Michael. There was an excited bit of disbelief when he saw the box. Then as he ripped the paper off and saw Mossberg he got a little misty. Then when he actually saw the rifle he got a bit teary. And so did my Dad. Then out came the ammunition so that he could actually shoot it that day. My parents had put some scope rings in his stocking so he was bound that today we would go purchase him a scope. After the presents were opened I ran up the road and picked up my Mema. She brought down his gift from her with him. She walked in and went right to him. He gave her a hug and she pushed a package into his hands. She told him she felt he needed to have this now because he may need it. He opened it up and the first thing he saw was a rock trivia game. This caused a confused look. Then he saw the scope. He about cried again. I have never seen my husband so excited and in disbelief. It was awesome.

After lunch he set everything up. But then it started to rain. He was so anxious to pull the trigger. Finally he was able to go out. He and my Dad spent the afternoon sighting in their new scopes. Michael came home happy and hurt. His poor shoulder was not prepared for the work out it received, but he enjoyed it just the same.

2008-12-24T09:38:00.002-06:00

Last night in the wee hours as I lay awake, Sean began to cry. Before I could attend to him, a quiet voice beside me hushed him. Michael's soothing,"ssshhh, you're OK," made his little world peaceful again. And it made me fall in love with my husband all over again. **sigh** it is the little things that make life grand.

I have had an earache for a few days now. I decided I needed to go to get it checked. My regular physician had nothing available and neither did his associates. So I dragged myself to a doc in the box. I knew I would have a long wait. But I did not expect the recommendations of the doctor. A younger man walked in. He did not even have the courtesy to introduce himself or shake my hand. He asked about my ear pain and any related symptoms. He then looked in my ears and briefly at my throat. After pressing on my sinus cavity and lymph nodes he proceeded to tell me that he needed blood work and an x-ray of my head to properly diagnose a sinus infection. First, all I came in to find out was if I had an ear infection. Second, he had already confirmed there was not one, only pressure behind my eardrum, probably from a sinus infection since I do have a post nasal drip. This is plausible because I am highly susceptible to sinus issues. I promptly told him I would not be having an x-ray nor blood work taken. He was quite taken aback that I would not go through with his orders. I asked what else could be done. He said I could have a cortisone shot and treat it like a cold. Then he promptly walked out without any further explanation. The nurse came in with the shot to the hip and a script for a decongestant that was never discussed by the doctor to me. I feel sorry for those people who do not have a family practitioner and those like me who couldn't get an appointment. These so called doctors need to learn bedside manner, courtesy and that the blanket effect is not always welcome or needed.

Christmas Eve is here. It caught up to me fast. I did not make half the posts about Advent that I had desired. My children are all excited. We will make cookies today, go to an evening Mass (I can't wait till they appreciate the midnight Mass), have a late feast and prepare for Santa. It is so wonderful to see them excited about visiting their cousins for a week and having dinner with the grandparents. They have been pretending with the manger scene. That reminds me that I have to make Jesus a birthday cake today.

So here is a bit on the Twelve Days of Christmas that few actually know. It is not as the Disney Channel proclaims, the twelve days leading up to Christmas. It begins on Christmas day and lasts into the new year.

This (Christmas) season lasts from Vespers of 24 December to 13 January (the Octave of the Epiphany) inclusive. As it's the celebration of Christ's Incarnation, the mood is of humble, grateful, joyous celebratration. The Feast of Christmas lasts 12 days ("The Twelve Days of Christmas"). The season lasts 19 days in terms of liturgical calculations. But Christmas as a spiritual season doesn't end truly until Candlemas on 2 February.

This, not Advent, is the true Christmas Season. As most people in secular or Protestantized countries are putting away "Christmas-y" things, and as shopping malls stop blaring "Here Comes Santa Claus," Catholics are just getting started. The cleaning and baking during penitential Advent pays off now, and the feasting and caroling begin!

The entire Christmas Cycle is a crescendo of Christ's manifesting Himself as God and King -- to the shepherds, to the Magi, at His Baptism, to Simeon and the prophetess, Anna (Luke 2). The days from the Feast of the Nativity to the Epiphany are known as "The Twelve Days of Christmas," with Christmas itself being the first day, and Twelfthnight -- 5 January -- being the last of the twelve days. Christmastide liturgically ends on 13 January, the Octave of the Epiphany and the Baptism of Christ (at which time the season of Time After Epiphany begins). But Christmas doesn't end spiritually -- i.e., the celebration of the events of Christ's life as a child don't end, and the great Christmas Cycle doesn't end -- until Candlemas on 2 February and the beginning of the Season of Septuagesima.

In this way, just as From Ash Wednesday on, we commemorate Christ in the desert for forty days, and just as after Easter we celebrate for forty days until the Ascension, after Christmas we celebrate the Child Jesus for forty days -- all through the season of Time After Epiphany -- until Candlemas. The schema of those Christ Child celebrations looks like this:

Christmas
Christ is born
Feast of the Holy Innocents
Herod slaughters the baby boys in order to kill the Christ Child
The Circumcision (the Octave of Christmas)
Jesus follows the Law
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
After He is circumcised, He is named and becomes a part of the Holy Family
Twelfth Night
The Twelve Days of Christmas as a Feast come to an end
Feast of the Epiphany
Jesus reveals His divinity to the three Magi, and during His Baptism, and at the wedding at Cana Baptism of Our Lord/Octave of the Epiphany
Christmas liturgically ends with the Octave of the Epiphany.
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus condescends to be subject to His parents
Feast of the Purification (Candlemas)
40 days after giving birth, Mary goes to the Temple to be purified and to "redeem" Jesus per the Old Testament Law of the firstborn. Christmas truly ends as a Season with Candlemas and the beginning of Septuagesima.

http://www.fisheaters.com/customschristmas1.html

May all my readers and their families be blessed this last night of Advent as we prepare for the celebration of our Saviour's birth.

Atheists' National Holiday

2008-12-18T06:55:00.003-06:00

I really enjoy reading Chuck's columns. The paragraph quoting Mike Huckabee was hysterical. I could just see billboards and tshirts with slogans along the lines of "wish your favorite athiest a happy fools day" or something. It would be so awesome. But then I would probably get sued by the ACLU for discrimination.

Atheists' National Holiday?
by Chuck Norris
12/16/2008

Atheists from England to the West Coast of America are stepping up their efforts this year to make a bigger antagonistic splash on the Christmas scene. From London and Washington, D.C., buses to Colorado billboards, skeptics are skewering religions with little respect to the adherents of the religions.At the forefront is a group's government-sanctioned posting of a sign by a Nativity scene in the Capitol of Washington state (and now also in Wisconsin and Illinois): "At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

I am a patriot, and I believe that atheists are free to believe, speak and post whatever they want. This is America, and that's their First Amendment right. But to do so with harassment and hatred under the guise of free speech is despicable. An anti-religious poster filled with spite is in no way equal to a religious symbol, such as a Nativity scene. Where are the political correctness police when religious followers are the victims?

If such words were written against any social minority group, protests would be ubiquitous. But anti-religious bigotry is in vogue these days. Still, there is absolutely no justification for these atheists' written revile. And if they want to keep using hate-filled language against theists -- particularly Christians -- then they shouldn't be surprised when they meet up with a yuletide (written) roundhouse kick.

Anyone can spew disdain for religion, but is that what America's Founders created our rights for? Just because they post such verbal vomit, does that demonstrate intellectual superiority or the type of moral decency our Founders hoped we would perpetuate?

What profit would there be if I posted a taunt that atheists had no vital part in the founding of our country? As Benjamin Franklin noted in his 1787 pamphlet for those in Europe thinking of relocating to America: "To this may be truly added, that serious religion, under its various denominations, is not only tolerated but respected and practiced. Atheism is unknown there."

What profit would there be if I posted a claim that atheists are un-American because they try to suppress theists' freedom of religion by the false notion of separation of church and state?What profit would there be if I posted the accusation that atheists are imprudent because they exhaust too much time trying to convince everyone else of the absence of a being who doesn't exist?What profit would there be if I posted a retort that atheists are igmos because they try to replace Christmas with winter solstice celebrations, which are ancient pagan festivals entrenched in polytheistic religions?

What profit would there be if I posted that atheism hides behind a false pretense that it is scientific when eminent scientist Paul Davies -- the renowned British-born physicist, agnostic and professor of cosmology, quantum field theory and astrobiology -- once spoke against the certainty of atheism to Time magazine (in the column "Science, God, and Man"): "Agnosticism -- reserving judgment about divine purpose -- remains as defensible as ever, but atheism -- the confident denial of divine purpose -- becomes trickier. If you admit that we can't peer behind a curtain, how can you be sure there's nothing there?"

What profit would there be if I posted that atheists are totally blind to the pristine beauty and ordered complexity of creation, so they cannot see the hand of a Creator? As the Bible pointed out 2,000 years ago, "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

What profit would there be if I posted the fact that atheists denigrate every religion and prayer that ever has been offered? To say God doesn't exist is to say every religious leader in every age was delusional at best. And it also is to say that not one prayer on any continent in any era of human history has been answered. That premise alone rules atheism preposterous and foolish.

Finally, what profit would there be if I posted that I agree with my friend Mike Huckabee, who said on his book tour via Fox News that atheists shouldn't be fighting for a holiday in December when they already have a holiday: April Fools' Day (a holiday also grounded in sacred Scripture, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no god'")?

We all know I would be labeled as an extremist, irrational and a bigot if I posted any of the preceding ideas. Yet atheists do and get away with First Amendment murder.I'd like to remind our nation that it was only a short time ago when Ronald Reagan freely spoke for the majority by explicitly and passionately conveying belief in Jesus Christ during his presidential Christmas addresses. Compare the message in his Dec. 23, 1981, speech with that of the present day, when the very term "Christmas" is being erased from every corner of culture.

As long as different displays line the corridors of Washington state's Capitol like Christmas potpourri, let me posit this last idea as a final pre-Christmas posting. At the base of the bust of George Washington (which stands between the atheists' winter solstice sign and the Nativity scene in the Washington state Capitol), I suggest the posting of one more sign, which would contain the wisdom from George Washington's farewell address: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."

2008-12-11T06:53:00.003-06:00

Previously I had made comment on Obama potentially being the anti Christ. The blogger from http://www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com/ has a rundown on the topic. He is also posting about things that are not popular in the national media such as the New World Order, a GLOBAL tax, microchip implantation and the rise of Big Brother. It seems that many have forgotten the books 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451. Or maybe too many have embraced them.

So how does this information align with the end of times in the Bible?

Revelation 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

He has spoken great things about 'Change' and new prosperity for the world, written a book called 'The Audacity of Hope'. Many would say his argument that he is the best pro-life candidate is a blasphemy. 42 months is about the length of a presidential term, but it could refer to the length of a new position developed as part of the 'New World Order'.

Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

In order to have power over all of the people of the Earth this would likely require a One-World-Government, something we have never seen before. The New World Order is what Gordon Brown proposes, which is a strong movement toward a One-World-Government. Obama talks about a New World Order in his Berlin speech that basically says Global Citizenship is required and not an option. Many people already see Obama as the 'President of the World'. The night it was announced he was president elect there were celebrations around the world in nearly every nation, unlike ever seen before for a U.S. president. Barack Obama was preferred over John Mccain by a majority of 70-90% of the population of virtually every country.

Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

Obama has primarily ran on messages of "Hope" and "Change" and Peace (opposing the Iraq War; Nuclear Disarmament - which is always in the name of peace but can actually cause great harm if the Super Powers like the USA do disarm, and a rogue country gets a hold of nuclear weapons)

Not to mention how the world has hailed him as a Messiah.. (A mountain named after him, a National Holiday in the works, Oprah calling him 'The One', Children Singing His Praises, Youth 'Stepping' in Military Fatigues for him, gathering crowds over 100,000 strong, and everything else you can view on this site.) He has been seen by the non-religious as a 'Secular Messiah', and he has been compared to Jesus more and more frequently.

Revelation 13:16-17 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

This part of the bible has been discussed in great depth. In order to have the ability to control who buys and sells all over the world this also suggests a One-World-Government like what may result from the New Economic World Order that is being proposed. If we have a 'New World Order' and 'Global Tax Cuts' then a Global Tax is not far away, and has been on the U.N. drawing board for years. The financial crisis has sped things up in the One-World-Government process. Will we see a truly Global Bank with it's own Global Currency? The movement towards the consolidation of European currencies into the Euro was a huge step. The technology to track financial transactions is becoming better and better everyday. We are not far away from being able to have this 'mark' on our hand or head that will control our ability to purchase, we may already have the technology, it will just need the implementation.

Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

This is the part of the Bible where everyone refers the the rise from obscurity to great power. The interpretation comes from the little horn rising up, I already adressed him speaking great things. Did you know who Barack Obama was before 4 years ago? He was an obscure sentator, who began running for president 2 years into his FIRST term. He is one of the most powerful speakers on the planet, and he was able to rise from obscurity with ONE SPEECH, the keynote address at the DNC in 2004 to becoming president in 2009. Will he now rise to an even more powerful position in the New World Order?

1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour. Just as you heard that an antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour.

From this passage we find there is not "one" Anti-Christ but many. From the coming of an Anti-Christ that is how we will know we are near the end.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are savage wolves.

Many have seen Obama as a messiah, a 'secular savior', his speeches have been seen as a religous revival, and have been filled with messianic terminology. He is seen much like a prophet, speaking the good truth. This provides him the potential to fulfill the scripture.

1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

For people that have argued Obama is a Christian, which he has indeed said. I urge you to look at what his version of Christianity is (ignore abortions for right now which we can talk about later). Here is an exerpt from Cathleen Falsani's interview with State Sen. Barack Obama; (3:30 p.m., Saturday March 27, Café Baci, 330 S. Michigan Avenue ) Read the full interview

"So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived."

That is a direct denial of Christ as the only way to salvation, Jesus says he is the only way:

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Opposition to Conscience Protections

2008-12-09T13:26:00.003-06:00

Obama, Media, Abortion Advocates Wrong to Oppose Conscience Protections
by Matt Bowman
November 28, 2008

LifeNews.com Note: Matt is an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a leading pro-life legal alliance. ADF has been involved in numerous legal cases on pro-life issues ranging from defending pro-life legislation to uphold free speech rights to protecting vulnerable patients from euthanasia.

Is President Bush vastly expanding conscience protections for pro-life doctors, or is he merely enforcing the law as passed by Congress multiple times since Roe v. Wade, but which has not been enforced? And, if President-elect Obama revokes those protections, will he be restoring a reasonable status quo, or clearing the way to force pro-life people out of the health care industry?

The mainstream media’s uniform slant on protecting pro-life doctors is that the regulations are novel and unprecedented. The New York Times’ article last week typifies this propaganda, saying that the proposed HHS regulations are “sweeping new protections.”

Breathless pro-abortion attorneys likewise declare that the regulations would eviscerate 40 years of precedent and “throw this entire body of law into question.”

On the Slate web site, self-described pro-life Obama supporter Melinda Henneberger echoes this assumption.

She actually writes a reasonable analysis showing that the proposed Freedom of Choice Act will not merely codify the Supreme Court’s abortion guidelines, but will eliminate all restrictions on abortion and force states and doctors to participate in it.

Yet, Slate is hesitant to publicize any unequivocal pro-life voice, so Ms. Henneberger concedes that the conscience-protecting HHS regulation overreaches in the same way that FOCA does. “The president’s supporters say it merely implements existing legal protections for conscientious objectors (much like abortion-rights supporters say FOCA only codifies Roe).”

But are these commenters right? Do the proposed HHS regulations radically change the law like FOCA would, or are they truly a mere enforcement of existing law?

Shortly after Roe, and after a lower court ruled that a Christian hospital had to participate in sterilization, a bipartisan Congress passed the first “Church Amendment,” (named after Senator Frank Church), 42 U.S.C.A. § 300a-7(c)(1). The law says:
No entity which receives a grant, contract, loan, or loan guarantee under [various federal funding acts] may–
(A) discriminate in the employment, promotion, or termination of employment of any physician or other health care personnel, or
(B) discriminate in the extension of staff or other privileges to any physician or other health care personnel . . . because he refused to perform or assist in the performance of [sterilization] or abortion on the grounds that his performance or assistance in the performance of the procedure or abortion would be contrary to his religious beliefs or moral convictions.

Congress recognized in 1973 what the abortion movement is implementing in state laws today: once abortion is a “right,” access to it becomes a right, and participating in it becomes an enforceable duty. Congress later passed many similarly worded laws, and these statutes remain on the books today. A non-pro-life summary of these laws is available here.

But these laws don’t say how they will be enforced, and apparently there is no record of them ever being enforced. The new HHS regulations do one simple thing: they take these existing laws–the exact wording from those laws–and they require that federal funding recipients promise not to violate consciences as specified in those laws. Read it for yourself here.

The regulations say, as simply as possible in regulatory language, that “law x requires conscience protection—so, fund recipients must promise they won’t violate that precise conscience protection.” The regulations in no way expand the content of those laws. They simply enforce them as written.

Commenters are therefore unjustified in suggesting that the HHS regulations would expand conscience protection law. Ms. Henneberger is especially incorrect in suggesting that the HHS regulations are analogous to FOCA. FOCA revolutionizes the law and strikes down thousands of restrictions on abortion, while the HHS regulations do not change the law in any way, though they do enforce against violations of the law that are ongoing.

The difference is that the conscience violations HHS will prevent are illegal, whereas the abortion restrictions FOCA will strike down have already been upheld by the courts. You will not find this simple fact in media reports about the conscience regulations.

Why would the media, and even self-identified pro-lifers, characterize the conscience regulations as a sweeping expansion? Perhaps they seek to have a storyline when the regulations are revoked. President-elect Obama seems poised to eliminate these conscience-protecting regulations once in office, or perhaps not to enforce them. He has placed pro-abortion former Senator Tom Daschle as the head of HHS.

This past election season, a lot of George-Soros-funded Christians not only campaigned for Obama but inexcusably told other Christians that he was the true pro-life candidate. It remains to be seen whether these people will vigorously oppose Obama on the many actions he will take to massively expand abortion, or whether they will come to his defense.

The President-elect’s opposition to conscience protection will help strip pro-life doctors and pharmacists of their careers and livelihoods and ban pro-life people from all health fields. If and when he takes such actions, some of the aforementioned Obama supporters might find it convenient to argue that the conscience-protecting HHS regulations were an unreasonable overreach in the first place.

By such warped reasoning, however, not only could this country have abortion on demand without the slightest restriction, but pro-lifers will be called unreasonable simply for asking not to be forced to help kill babies. Perhaps even worse, the situation might be defined as the positively good, Christian, pro-life position to take. Though shocking, this should not be completely surprising.

Describing a much more extreme circumstance, our Lord predicted that “a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.”

http://www.lifenews.com/nat4615.html

On top of the the YWCA is backing the FOCA bill. This stance completely negates any association with Christianity.

Dr. Lorraine Cole, the CEO of the YWCA, told CNS News during a press conference last week that her group would be fine with the radical pro-abortion bill becoming law with Obama's signature.

“Well, the YWCA has always been pro-choice, so this is a topic that we would be very supportive of," she said.

The following is part of their mission statement:

The YWCA USA is a women's membership movement nourished by its roots in the Christian faith and sustained by the richness of many beliefs and values. Strengthened by diversity, the YWCA draws together members who strive to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership, and power in order to attain a common vision: peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people.

The CEO and members of YWCA need to realize the hipocrosy in backing the FOCA bill while wanting to attain justice and dignity for all people. Where is the championing for the justice and dignity of the unborn?

Contact the YWCA with your complaints about its pro-abortion position at YWCA, 1015 18th Street, NW, Suite 1100 - Washington, DC 20036, call 202-467-0801, fax 202-467-0802, or email info@ywca.org

Taxing Flatulence

2008-12-05T19:50:00.004-06:00

This is going way too far. The idiot who came up with this proposal needs to have their head examined. It is just another way to cut into our privacy rights. Essentially the EPA would be using a federal regulation to lessen the amount of beef and pork consumed forcing those who want to continue to farm to turn to "healthier" crops and/or go bancrupt in the process. Thus causing a meat shortage or rather a huge hike in prices, and in turn forcing those on a fixed income to become vegans. Socialism here we come.

Proposed Fee on Smelly Cows and Hogs Angers Farmers
Friday, December 05, 2008

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.

Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.

"This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do," said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.

It would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog.

The executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Ken Hamilton, estimated the fee would cost owners of a modest-sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He said he has talked to a number of livestock owners about the proposals, and "all have said if the fees were carried out, it would bankrupt them."

Sparks said Wednesday he's worried the fee could be extended to chickens and other farm animals and cause more meat to be imported.

"We'll let other countries put food on our tables like they are putting gas in our cars. Other countries don't have the health standards we have," Sparks said.

EPA spokesman Nick Butterfield said the fee was proposed for farms with livestock operations that emit more than 100 tons of carbon emissions in a year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions.

Butterfield said the EPA has not taken a position on any of the proposals. But farmers from across the country have expressed outrage over the idea, both on Internet sites and in opinions sent to EPA during a public comment period that ended last week.

"It's something that really has a very big potential adverse impact for the livestock industry," said Rick Krause, the senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The fee would cover the cost of a permit for the livestock operations. While farmers say it would drive them out of business, an organization supporting the proposal hopes it forces the farms and ranches to switch to healthier crops.

"It makes perfect sense if you are looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses," said Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"We certainly support making factory farms pay their fair share," he said.
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville in northwest Alabama, said he has spoken with EPA officials and doesn't believe the cow tax is a serious proposal that will ever be adopted by the agency.

"Who comes up with this kind of stuff?" said Perry Mobley, director of the Alabama Farmers Federation's beef division. "It seems there is an ulterior motive, to destroy livestock farms. This would certainly put them out of business."

Butterfield said the EPA is reviewing the public comments and didn't have a timetable for the next steps.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,462445,00.html

2008-12-05T09:50:00.003-06:00

I feel like I accomplished something last night. I finally printed out pictures from Grace's first year. Now I am only two years behind. That is the downfall of digital. I never take the time to have them printed. I like the permanence of film. Being able to hold a negative or print it is something much more tangible than a piece of memory on a disk. I am always afraid my disks will be erased. But I think that fear stems from the realization that the graphic side of art or anything that deals with a computer is not compatible with me. If it has electricity running to it, I will inevitably break it somehow.

I am so glad I took the time to do most all of my shopping last month. I can enjoy Advent without having to rush around thinking about gifts and such. I really hate the senseless stupidity of the commercialized version of Christmas. We have also opted to only give one gift from Santa and one from Mom and Dad to our kids. Of course there will be little things in their stockings and I will probably buy a game for them to share. But I think in doing so we will instill in them a sense of gratitude and an understanding of the season.

I think alot of people forgot the reasons behind traditions. The why of doing something. Greed took over corporations and people were pulled along following the crowd. Commercialism became the Pied Piper to society. Those of faith need to take a stand. Rediscover the reasons behind the traditions and put Christ first in the celebration. I mean it is CHRIST's mass that we are celebrating.

Week 1: Friday
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed (Him), crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to Him. Then He touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. (Matthew 9:27-30)
Reflection
Many people scoff at the idea of miracles. Unwilling to believe that Jesus could restore the sight of the blind when He walked on earth, they are unwilling to see the miracles that Jesus continues to work today. If we are open to the guiding touch of God’s hand and willing to discover His plan for our lives, miracles will happen. What prevents us from seeing and being a part of God’s miracles? Would we rather be blind?
Prayer
Lord, clarify my vision that I may see You in others and sense You within my own soul.

Irish Taxes

2008-12-04T07:53:00.004-06:00

Previously I have ranted about how higher tax rates for the wealthy and corporations would send them to other parts of the world. Today I followed up on a newstory that was buried behind all of the election hype concerning this topic.

Currently in Ireland, the corporate tax rate is 12.5%, China 25%, and the USA 39.5%. If I was one to have money for investments or corporations, Ireland would be a prime place for me to be. On top of the tax rate Ireland also offers:

Tax credits for incremental expenditure on Research and Development.

A favourable holding company regime.

Double taxation agreements with 44 countries

In 2007 US companies paid approximately 40% of the total corporate tax intake in Ireland. On 2007 the pound to dollar exchange rate was roughly $2 per pound. At 2.5 billion pounds that would be $5 billion in taxes paid to Ireland from US corporations invested there.

Now, on to the story. In May of this year the NI (Northern Ireland) Investment Conference was held. Over 150 business leaders attended. They were all urged to follow in the footsteps of the NYSE and invest in the Emeral Isle. $150 million will be invested by the Uniformed Firefighters Association which is the main union of the FDNY. Other investors include IBM, Intel, Pfizer, Teleflex Medical, and GlaxoSmithKline.

Seems to me the President Elect and Congress need to take cues from those profiting in the world. High taxes do not attract growth, jobs or profit.

In 2007, US firms paid over €2.5b to the Irish Exchequer in Corporate Tax (or approx 40% of total corporate tax take in 2007[11]) and contributed a further €12.5b in expenditure to the Irish economy in terms of payrolls, goods and services employed in their operations[12].
http://www.amcham.ie/article.cfm?idarticle=461

In 2007, U.S. exports to Ireland were valued at $9 billion, while Irish exports to the U.S. totaled $30.4 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The range of U.S. exports includes electrical components and equipment, computers and peripherals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and livestock feed. Irish exports to the United States represent approximately 20% of all Irish exports, and have roughly the same value as Irish exports to the U.K. (inclusive of Northern Ireland). Exports to the United States include alcoholic beverages, chemicals and related products, electronic data processing equipment, electrical machinery, textiles and clothing, and glassware. According to Ireland's Central Statistical Office, Irish exports to the United States from January to September 2006 rose by 7% compared to the same period in 2005, while Irish imports from the United States from January to September 2006 fell by 14% compared to the same period in 2005.

As of year-end 2007, the stock of U.S. foreign direct investment in Ireland stood at $85 billion, more than the U.S. total for China, India, Russia, and Brazil--the so-called BRIC countries--combined. Currently, there are approximately 620 U.S. subsidiaries in Ireland, employing roughly 100,000 people and spanning activities from manufacturing of high-tech electronics, computer products, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals to retailing, banking, finance, and other services. In more recent years, Ireland has also become an important research and development (R&D) center for U.S. firms in Europe.

Many U.S. businesses find Ireland an attractive location to manufacture for the EU market, since it is inside the EU customs area and uses the euro. In 2005, U.S. firms accounted for 61% of Ireland's total exports. Other reasons for Ireland's attractiveness include: a 12.5% corporate tax rate for domestic and foreign firms; the quality and flexibility of the English-speaking work force; cooperative labor relations; political stability; pro-business government policies; a transparent judicial system; strong intellectual property protection; and the pulling power of existing companies operating successfully (a "clustering" effect).
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3180.htm

It is estimated that there are over 600 U.S. firms/establishments in Ireland, directly employing in excess of 90,000 workers and supporting work for approximately 250,000, an eighth of the total labor force. U.S. firms operate primarily in the following sectors: chemicals; bio-pharmaceuticals and healthcare; computer hardware and software; electronics; and financial services. ..........Ireland also emerged as a magnet for U.S. internet/digital media investment, with industry leaders Yahoo, Google, E-Bay and Amazon making Dublin a European hub of their respective operations.
http://www.amcham.ie/article.cfm?idarticle=144

North's ministers court corporate America
03/12/2008 - 16:02:27
http://iol.breakingnews.ie/news/ireland/mhidsnaumhoj/

Corporate America was urged today to follow the lead of the New York Stock Exchange and invest in the North. Stormont First and Deputy Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness made the call as they visited the trading floor of the Exchange on the latest leg on their four-day visit to the US. The owners of the stock exchange recently invested a further £3m (€3.5m) in their Wombat Financial software company in Belfast, creating up to 100 jobs.

Their trip is a high profile follow-up to the Northern Ireland-US Investment conference which drew scores of US business leaders to Belfast in May.This week the ministers are again courting corporate America to try to sell Northern Ireland as a good investment prospect, despite the global downturn.

31 October 2008 - Foster follows up on US-NI Investment Conference in USA

The Minister said: “Over 150 business leaders and potential investors attended the US-NI Investment conference earlier this year. I am determined to do everything I can to ensure those contacts are followed up.

“After the conference Invest Northern Ireland contacted all attendees and to date, there have been over 40 expressions of interest in discussing what Northern Ireland can offer investors.
“I am confident, in the medium to longer term, Northern Ireland will benefit from the opportunity that the US-NI Investment Conference afforded to present the Northern Ireland business proposition.”

The Minister recognised the challenges of promoting Northern Ireland in the economic slowdown and said: “The current economic downturn means some businesses are deferring investment decisions but the project cycle of inward investment can take 18-24 months to complete and Invest NI will continue to maintain a strong sales presence in its target markets and promote Northern Ireland as a cost competitive location.”

The Minister also met delegates of the Connected Health Symposium in Boston to promote Northern Ireland as a prime location for life science businesses. Arlene Foster then travelled to San Francisco to carry out follow up meetings with prospective investors and to join up with the 15 companies on the Invest NI Trade Mission.

http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-deti-311008-foster-follows-up

This will be Comptroller Thompson’s second trip to Northern Ireland. In November 2006, Comptroller Thompson and Steve Cassidy, President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, led a delegation to explore the potential for increased New York City investment in the region. The delegation met with representatives of all the major parties in Northern Ireland and urged them to work toward a resolution in achieving a power-sharing government in an effort to establish the long-term stability conducive to foreign investment. In May 2007, such an agreement was reached.

Two weeks ago, Thompson’s announcement marked the largest ever public investment from the United States in Northern Ireland. The $150 million investment will be managed by the Emerald Development Managers LLC, and will primarily target projects in the alternative energy, waste management, property development and conventional energy sectors. Emerald has made a commitment to focus on new assets in order to create value and jobs in Northern Ireland.

Examples of these assets will include the following facilities: renewable and clean energy; waste management, re-use and handling; conventional energy and distribution; and healthcare. Other projects will involve public infrastructure, such as light rail, water, and seaports, and real estate ventures, including commercial, hospitality, and retail developments.

Aquinas Visits Abortionist in Dream

2008-12-02T12:30:00.002-06:00

11/19/2008
Catholic News Agency
www.catholicnewsagency.com

MADRID (CNA) — The Spanish daily “La Razon” has published an article on the pro-life conversion of a former “champion of abortion.” Stojan Adasevic, who performed 48,000 abortions, sometimes up to 35 per day, is now the most important pro-life leader in Serbia, after 26 years as the most renowned abortion doctor in the country.

“The medical textbooks of the Communist regime said abortion was simply the removal of a blob of tissue,” the newspaper reported. “Ultrasounds allowing the fetus to be seen did not arrive until the 80s, but they did not change his opinion. Nevertheless, he began to have nightmares.”

In describing his conversion, Adasevic “dreamed about a beautiful field full of children and young people who were playing and laughing, from 4 to 24 years of age, but who ran away from him in fear. A man dressed in a black and white habit stared at him in silence. The dream was repeated each night and he would wake up in a cold sweat. One night he asked the man in black and white who he was. ‘My name is Thomas Aquinas,’ the man in his dream responded. Adasevic, educated in communist schools, had never heard of the Dominican genius saint. He didn’t recognize the name”

“Why don’t you ask me who these children are?” St. Thomas asked Adasevic in his dream.“They are the ones you killed with your abortions,’ St. Thomas told him. “Adasevic awoke in amazement and decided not to perform any more abortions,” the article stated.

“That same day a cousin came to the hospital with his four months-pregnant girlfriend, who wanted to get her ninth abortion—something quite frequent in the countries of the Soviet bloc. The doctor agreed. Instead of removing the fetus piece by piece, he decided to chop it up and remove it as a mass. However, the baby’s heart came out still beating. Adasevic realized then that he had killed a human being.”

After this experience, Adasevic “told the hospital he would no longer perform abortions. Never before had a doctor in Communist Yugoslavia refused to do so. They cut his salary in half, fired his daughter from her job, and did not allow his son to enter the university.” After years of pressure and on the verge of giving up, he had another dream about St. Thomas.

“You are my good friend, keep going,’ the man in black and white told him. Adasevic became involved in the pro-life movement and was able to get Yugoslav television to air the film ‘The Silent Scream,’ by Doctor Bernard Nathanson, two times.”

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=30600

2008-12-02T11:27:00.003-06:00

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. (Isaiah 11:6)

Reflection
The old joke about this passage is that the leopard might light down with the kid, but the kid won’t get much sleep. We chuckle at this because Isaiah gives us an image that goes against all our experience and expectations. Take note: the kingdom of God will not be how we expect it! Assumptions about natural friends and enemies are not true in the kingdom of God. What is the modern, urban equivalent of Isaiah’s pastoral image of lamb and wolf? Black and white folks breaking bread and worshipping together? A teenage delinquent and an older person sharing a cup of coffee? "The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb…"

Advent Action
Send a card to a friend or loved one who lost a family member during this year. Let them know you are praying from them and thinking of them this Christmas.

Prayer
Lord, help me welcome You once again and make room for You in my daily life, that You may make Your home in my heart.

http://ewtn.com/devotionals/Advent/1st.html

I haven't put up our large tree as of yet. We wanted to go to a tree farm to cut down one with the kids. The rainy weather detered us from getting one this past weekend with my parents. It has been a tradition with them since I was very small to cut down a tree. Sometimes it would be one from a farm, others a cedar from our land. Last year we bought a small artificial prelit tree because we were in a temporary apartment during December. The kids and I had lots of fun making a paper chain and dough ornaments for it. Now it sits on our hearth. The kids really enjoy looking at the lights. Pondering upon the tree I had to dig into the tradition behind it.

An interesting tradition, part history, part legend and very popular in Germany, claims that the Christmas tree dates back to the eighth century. This legend is based on a historical figure, St Boniface, and even a historical event, the destruction of Odin's oak. St Boniface (675-754) was the English Bishop Winfrid who went to Germany in the eighth century, to Hesse to be precise, to preach the Christian faith as a missionary from the Church of Rome. After a period of apparently successful Gospel preaching, Boniface went to Rome to confer with Pope Gregory II (715-731). After a long absence, he returned to Geismar, Germany, for Christmas 723, and felt personally offended on discovering that the Germans had reverted to their former idolatry of pagan divinities and were preparing to celebrate the winter solstice by sacrificing a young man under Odin's sacred oak tree. Fired by holy anger, as was Moses by the golden calf, Bishop Boniface took up an axe and dared to cut down the oak. This courageous, historically documented act meant the triumph of Christianity in Germany over the pagan divinities.

All this is historically documented. The rest belongs to the legend which tells how, at the first blow of the axe, a strong gust of wind instantly brought down 1he tree. The astounded Germans fearfully recognized the hand of God in this event and humbly asked Boniface how they should celebrate Christmas. The Bishop, the legend continues, pointed to a small fir tree that had miraculously remained upright and intact beside the debris and broken branches of the fallen oak. Boniface was familiar with the popular custom of taking an evergreen plant into the house in winter and asked everyone to take home a fir tree. This tree signifies peace, and as an evergreen it also symbolizes immortality; with its top pointing upwards, it additionally indicates heaven, the dwelling place of God.

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=6304&CFID=20134301&CFTOKEN=45950397

A tradition among some families is to bless the tree before it is lit, preferably on Christmas eve as it is the beginning of the Christmas celebration.

Blessing of a Christmas Tree
Dear God, two thousand years ago, you brought your son, Jesus into this world to teach us the power of love and sacrifice. As we raise this tree, we remember his birth and the meaning of his life for us. Bless this tree as a symbol of our celebration of Jesus' birth and our gratitude for his sacrifice. May the joy this tree brings and the gifts we place under it remind us of the many gifts you have given us. We ask your blessings upon our loved ones, this day and always. Amen.

2008-12-01T08:09:00.004-06:00

Today is the feast day of the Blessed John of Vercelli (c. 1205-1283).

John was born near Vercelli in northwest Italy in the early 13th century. Little is known of his early life. He entered the Dominican Order in the 1240s and served in various leadership capacities over the years. Elected sixth master general of the Dominicans in 1264, he served for almost two decades.

Known for his tireless energy and his commitment to simplicity, John made personal visits—typically on foot—to almost all the Dominican houses, urging his fellow friars to strictly observe the rules and constitutions of the Order.

He was tapped by two popes for special tasks. Pope Gregory X enlisted the help of John and his fellow Dominicans in helping to pacify the States of Italy that were quarreling with one another. John was also called upon to draw up a framework for the Second Council of Lyons in 1274. It was at that council that he met Jerome of Ascoli (the man who would later become Pope Nicholas IV), then serving as minister general of the Franciscans. Some time later the two men were sent by Rome to mediate a dispute involving King Philip III of France. Once again, John was able to draw on his negotiating and peacemaking skills.

Following the Second Council of Lyons, Pope Gregory selected John to spread devotion to the name of Jesus. John took the task to heart, requiring that every Dominican church contain an altar of the Holy Name; groups were also formed to combat blasphemy and profanity.

Toward the end of his life John was offered the role of patriarch of Jerusalem, but declined. He remained Dominican master general until his death.

The need for peacemakers is certainly as keen today as in the 10th century! As followers of Jesus, John’s role falls to us. Each of us can do something to ease the tensions in our families, in the workplace, among people of different races and creeds.

Week 1: Monday
Many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)

Reflection
Christ is the ultimate center of meaning in the universe. It is through Christ that all people will be led to the Father. How can we hope to achieve a world in which all will seek the path of God? Only when men and women are working to achieve the unity that Christ’s redemption promises us.

Advent Action
Perform an act of kindness for someone you do not know.

Prayer
Lord, help me be at home with You, that I may listen to Your word and walk in Your way.

Manger/ Nativity Scene

The tradition of having a nativity scene or "crèche" was made popular by St. Francis of Assisi. It is a reproduction of the cave in Bethlehem with Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus in a manger, shepherds, angels, and animals. Each night during Advent, children are encouraged to place in the manger one piece of straw for each good deed done that day by a family member. This Advent tradition combines the spirit of conversion and the coming of Jesus. There is a blessing ceremony provided by the Church in the Book of Blessings for the crèche.

2008-11-30T08:10:00.003-06:00

Today is a special day. It is the feast day of St. Andrew, the first day of Advent and my birthday. We will begin our Jesse tree and open the first door on our calendar as well as light the first candle on our wreath.

I celebrated my birthday with friends on the 22. Once I get the picture scanned in I'll post more about the event.

Andrew was St. Peter’s brother, and was called with him. "As [Jesus] was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is now called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him" (Matthew 4:18-20).

John the Evangelist presents Andrew as a disciple of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by one day, John said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus. "Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day" (John 1:38-39a).

Little else is said about Andrew in the Gospels. Before the multiplication of the loaves, it was Andrew who spoke up about the boy who had the barley loaves and fishes (see John 6:8-9). When the Gentiles went to see Jesus, they came to Philip, but Philip then had recourse to Andrew (see John 12:20-22).

Legend has it that Andrew preached the Good News in what is now modern Greece and Turkey and was crucified at Patras.

As in the case of all the apostles except Peter and John, the Gospels give us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an apostle. That is enough. He was called personally by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus' power and to share his life and death. Holiness today is no different. It is a gift that includes a call to be concerned about the Kingdom, an outgoing attitude that wants nothing more than to share the riches of Christ with all people.

The word Advent is from the Latin adventus for "coming" and is associated with the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent always contains four Sundays, beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, (November 30) and continuing until December 24. It blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the Bethlehem event.

Since the 900s Advent has been considered the beginning of the Church year. This does not mean that Advent is the most important time of the year. Easter has always had this honor.
The traditional color of Advent is purple or violet which symbolizes the penitential spirit. Religious traditions associated with Advent express all these themes.

Prayer for the Advent Wreath

Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people.He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us.He is the Savior of us all.O Lord,let your blessing come upon us as we light the first (purple) candle of this wreath.May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise of salvation.May He come quickly and not delay.We ask this in His holy name. Amen.

Waiting

We light a candle today, a small dim light against a world that often seems forbidding and dark. But we light it because we are a people of hope, a people whose faith is marked by an expectation that we should always be ready for the coming of the Master. The joy and anticipation of this season is captured beautifully in the antiphons of hope from the monastic liturgies:
See! The ruler of the earth shall come, the Lord who will take from us the heavy burden of our exileThe Lord will come soon, will not delay. The Lord will make the darkest places bright.We must capture that urgency today in the small flame of our candle. We light the candle because we know that the coming of Christ is tied to our building of the kingdom. Lighting the flame, feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, reconciling the divided, praying for the repentant, greeting the lonely and forgotten – doing all these works hastens His coming.

Preparing for Advent

2008-11-24T11:03:00.003-06:00

This week I am preparing for Advent. The first of the four Sundays of Advent begins on November 30. Many have forgotten that the time leading up to Christmas is a time of preparation for the coming of the Savior. It is a time of anticipated joy, like a mother preparing for the birth of a child. She is joyous, yet restrained, hesitant and humbled until the moment of birth arrives. There should be somber anticipation and restrained joy in each of us that grows each day until Christmas Day, Christ's birthday.

The entire Christmas Cycle is a crescendo of Christ's manifesting Himself as God and King -- to the shepherds, to the Magi, at His Baptism, to Simeon and the prophetess, Anna (Luke 2). The days from the Feast of the Nativity to the Epiphany are known as "The Twelve Days of Christmas," with Christmas itself being the first day, and Twelfthnight -- 5 January -- being the last of the twelve days. Christmastide liturgically ends on 13 January, the Octave of the Epiphany and the Baptism of Christ (at which time the season of Time After Epiphany begins). But Christmas doesn't end spiritually -- i.e., the celebration of the events of Christ's life as a child don't end, and the great Christmas Cycle doesn't end -- until Candlemas on 2 February and the beginning of the Season of Septuagesima.

This week I am looking for activities, novenas and recipes for the next four weeks and the weeks following Christmas day. We will count down to Christmas day with an Advent calendar, say evening prayers while lighting candles on an Advent wreath and cleaning the house again. I will be making the ornaments for our Jesse Tree as well.

The focus of Advent is preparation for the coming of the Lord -- both in commemoration of His Nativity and His coming again at the end of time. Though most Protestants -- and far too many Catholics -- see this time of year as a part of the "Christmas Season," it isn't; the Christmas season does not begin until the first Mass at Christmas Eve, and doesn't end liturgically until the Octave of the Epiphany on January 14. It goes on in the spiritual sense until Candlemas on February 2, when all celebrations of Christ's Childhood give way to Septuagesima and Lent. The mood of this season is one of somber spiritual preparation that increases in joy with each day, and the gaudy "Christmas" commercialism that surrounds it in the Western world should be overcome as much as possible. The singing of Christmas carols (which comes earlier and earlier each year), the talk of "Christmas" as a present reality, the decorated trees and the parties -- these things are "out of season" for Catholics; we should strive to keep the Seasons of Advent holy and penitential, always remembering, as they say, that "He is the reason for the Season." To sum up the similarities and differences between Advent and Lent as penitential seasons, there's this, by Fr. Lawrence Smith:
Advent is the time to make ready for Christ to live with us. Lent is the time to make us ready to die with Christ. Advent makes Lent possible. Lent makes salvation possible. Advent is the time when eternity approaches earth. Lent is the time when time reaches consummation in Christ's eternal Sacrifice to the Father. Advent leads to Christ's life in time on earth. Lent leads to Christ's eternal Life in Heaven. The Cross -- through the Mass, penance, and mortification -- is the bridge connecting Advent and Lent, Christ and His Church, man and God.Each of the Church's penitential seasons is a dying to the world with the goal of attaining new life in Christ.
Catholic apologist Jacob Michael wrote something very interesting about how secular America sees "Christmas" as beginning after Thanksgiving and ending on 25 December, and then makes "New Years Resolutions" at the beginning of the secular year:
...what Christians do (or should be doing!) during Advent and leading up to Christmas is a foreshadowing of what they will do during the days of their lives that lead up to the Second Coming; what non-Christians refuse to do during Advent, and put off until after Christmas, is precisely a foreshadowing of what they will experience at the Second Coming. We Christians are to prepare for the Coming of Christ before He actually comes -- and that Coming is symbolized and recalled at Christmas. Non-Christians miss this season of preparation, and then scramble for six days after the 25th to make their resolutions. By then, however, it's too late -- Christmas has come and gone, Our Lord has already made His visitation to the earth, and He has found them unprepared. This is precisely what will take place at the Second Coming, when those who have put off for their entire lives the necessary preparations will suddenly be scrambling to put their affairs in order. Unfortunately, by then it will have been too late, and there will be no time for repentance. The Second Coming will be less forgiving than the Incarnation. There will be no four-week warning period before the Second Coming, like we get during Advent. There will be no six-day period of grace after the Second Coming during which to make resolutions and self-examination, like the secular world does from Dec. 26 until Jan. 1.

So please, restore Advent and don't think "Christmas is here" until it truly comes. One way to help focus on the theme of preparation is to read the parables of The Fig Tree, The Man Going on a Long Journey, The Faithful and Wicked Stewards, and The Ten Virgins in the 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel. Another way to help you do this is to think of the Saint who embodies the spirit of this Season more than any other: the great St. John the Baptist. If you have an icon of him, venerate it especially now. Make special prayers to him and consider the message of this "voice of one crying in the desert": "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." You will note that the readings of the second, third, and fourth Sundays of Advent focus on St. John, the earthly herald of Christ's coming whom St. Ephraem likened to the Star of Bethlehem, the Heavenly herald of His coming.

http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent1.html

God's Blessings.

I couldn't help myself

2008-11-13T20:58:00.002-06:00

I just had to post one more. You have to love Chuck.

Obama, Now That You Work for Me (A Letter to the President-Elect)
by Chuck Norris
11/11/2008

Dear President-elect Obama:

First, congratulations on your victory. The historical magnitude of your presidential win is nothing short of stupendous and a colossal fulfillment of the American dream (an achievement embedded long ago in the equality clauses of the Declaration of Independence).

It's likely no big surprise that I don't see eye to eye with you politically. Actually, I stand in stark opposition to most of your politics. Still, I realize that we must learn to work together if we are to see our country get back on track. After Election Day, I asked myself, "How can I work for our new president to help better America?" Then a thought occurred to me. The first question that should be answered is: How will you work for me? After all, "We the People" of the United States employ you, correct?

So here are a few ways you might begin to gain the respect of those who oppose you and to show that your campaign pledges to bridge the divides were not empty promises to get you into office. And these requests I make are based upon the inaugural oath you will make Jan. 20, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." No doubt these won't be my only requests through the years, but they serve as a good beginning:

-- Use and cite the Constitution. If that constitutional oath ("preserve, protect and defend") is the central duty of your job description, then I assume we will be hearing often from you about exactly how you are doing just that. There is no replacement for strict adherence, application and defense of the Constitution. And it's high time that presidents quit reciting the presidential oath tritely and then abandoning its tenets when they enter the Oval Office. You should be quoting from the Constitution publicly as often as a preacher quotes the Bible to his congregation
-- at least weekly. If you take this oath and challenge seriously, you will limit the powers of federal government, reduce taxes (for everyone), encourage the freedom of religion and expression (even in the public square), and stand up for such things as our right to bear arms. The American public and the government have lost their grip on the content and role of the Constitution, but if you daily choose, you can help to re-educate and model its usage for them.

-- Protect American life. Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1809, "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government." Those are powerful and enlightening words. Of course, such a role was created and secured in the very fabric of our nation -- in the Declaration of Independence. The commitment to protect life should serve as the basis for all you do, even as a foundation for your national defense strategy. I'm sure the first of your secret briefings this past week on our global security threats have opened your eyes to the extensive onslaught of our enemies. Don't allow your pride, partisanship, personal bias or political abilities to jeopardize the safety of Americans lives. As commander in chief, you are called to preserve American life. Quite frankly, that is why I'm surprised that a man such as you, who professes to fight for minorities, would not recognize the clear value of a human life in a womb. Federal law should not decree the sacrifice of one human life for the preference of another. Both lives should be protected. Otherwise, what do Jefferson's 1809 words mean? As president, you are called to protect (not destroy) human life; it is the "first and only legitimate object of good government."

-- Lead more from the center. It's been pointed out by countless pundits, and your track record is clear: You have one of the most liberal records in the Senate. You've had the liberty of voting and fighting for an agenda "from the left" as you've tried to persuade state and federal lawmakers to do the same. But if you continue to lead our country down a more liberal road, you will follow the peril of Bill Clinton, who stepped into office and initially tried to lift the ban on gays in the military and extend abortion rights, only to prompt the creation of a more balanced and strong Republican Congress in the 1990s. Don't underestimate the resurrecting power of the conservative voice. You observed in last week's election how three states across this union voted to protect marriage in their constitutions (the 28th, 29th and 30th states to do so -- California, Arizona and Florida).

We will be watching who you choose to be in your Cabinet. We will discern how you lead Pelosi and Reid. We will be observing those you select as candidates for Supreme Court justices. The election is over. No more promises. No more words. You might work well in a team, but this time, you don't have congressional members to hide behind. You're on your own -- leading the pack -- and the whole country is watching. I, especially, am watching. So make sure you lead more from the center.One of your

300 million bosses,

Chuck Norris

2008-11-12T07:44:00.002-06:00

Have you ever had a dream that you had to use the restroom but you could not find one in a public place and you REALLY had to go? Or one where you actually find a restroom finally and are so relieved when you are relieved? Then your conscious kicks in and you realize wait! Well.....I didn't make it that far. I really hate waking up in the early am to use the restroom and not being able to fall back asleep until a few minutes before the alarm goes off.

I was horrified at the headline I read this morning. The "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodnes sake." campaign was launched in D.C. on the sides of buses. Fred Edwords, spokesman for the American Humanist Association, said "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion." Did they stop to think about all of the Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Pagans and numerous other religious who do not celebrate Christmas? They are not really alone. Why is it when a non-Christian's beliefs are bashed the basher is slammed, but yet Christian bashing is acceptable, especially in a country that was founded in those morals and teachings? So many things are pointing to the "coincidental" theory that I have that Obama could be the anti-Christ. But that fact finding mission is for another day.

Stop on over to the American Family Association and order a button or car sticker that proclaims "it's ok to say Merry Christmas" before the shopping season hits full swing. I noticed that Wal-Mart had 3 foot statues of the Holy Family for a reasonable price. Adding one to your doorstep for Advent and through the actual 12 Days of Christmas (Christmas starts on Christmas day not the day after Thanksgiving. Hats off to commercialism for that.) would be another great way to stand up for your faith.

I will soon be diving into the history behind all of the traditions that surround Christmas. So stay tuned for more usefull knowledge.

History.....

2008-11-10T23:25:00.002-06:00

November 8, 2008

Note to GOP and Catholic Church

Cowardice, betrayal, and appeasement of core ideals = oblivion

By Gabriel Garnica

As an educator for over two decades, I can attest to the wisdom that the teacher who tries to appease her students will end up under the desk fending off spitballs. Scores of strong, successful leaders remind us that boldly standing up for one's core principles, refusing to appease detractors and confidently believing in the truth and validity of one's beliefs is worth much more than kissing everyone's fanny like some desperate wimp looking for a friend, date or simply the time of day.

Coming Split in GOP?

History tells us that conservatives only lose when they forget how to be conservatives, or become too afraid to continue being conservatives. Witness the majesty of the Reagan years and the enthusiasm for the Contract with America. That is the bitter irony of the conservative-liberal battles for votes. America is, at its core, a conservative country with liberal fringes just waiting for a decent excuse to vote conservative. The liberal establishment, media and entertainment industry will have us believe just the opposite. Namely, that America is, at its core, a liberal society with radical conservative fringes just waiting to hijack the nation. Lest we actually begin believing these hucksters, let us recall that liberals in Hollywood and national newsrooms have a particular penchant for fantasy.

So pervasive is America's conservative nature that liberals pathetically parlayed the present perfect storm into a single-digit White House win and less than the anticipated legislative seats. Think about it; the Democrats used the ingredients of a very unpopular Republican president, an economic disaster, a controversial war and a messiah/cult candidate to make a watered-down broth of a victory. This is like a seven-footer defeating a dwarf in one-on-one basketball by one point and proceeding to trash talk while an adoring media fawns in adulation. If that does not make your lunch take an encore nothing will.

If it is actually more difficult for conservatives to lose than for them to win, how did they manage to sink this far over the past two years? Simply put, they are experiencing an internal civil war of sorts. During the Contract with America and especially the Reagan eras, the Republican bus was firmly in the hands of shrewd, passionate and dedicated core conservatives. At the present, however, that vehicle is in the trembling, cowardly, appeasing and pathetic hands of moderate Republicans who sound more like conservative liberals than anything else. Just look at losers like Chris Shays try to explain how the GOP needs to appease even more to win, or John McCain's bizarre interpretation of a political fight as a frown beginning with "my friends..." Somewhere along the line, some fool bought the notion that conservative victory in the polls can only be found by apologizing for core beliefs, letting the Left frame appropriate and inappropriate and generally acting like a bull missing some pretty important body parts.

The most ironic part of this situation is that the conservative who has shown the most cajones in recent memory is a woman-Sarah Palin. That woman can fight for her beliefs, and her stump demeanor would make Teddy Roosevelt proud. The recent meeting of conservative leaders to map out a response to Obama and a future for their beliefs, regardless of whether or not the Republican Party follows http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=38961 , is a telling sign indeed.

Unless forces within the Republican Party re-direct their party back toward the kind of true conservatism that brought them past glory, it may be a long drought for the GOP in major elections. I suspect that a band of appeasing Republicans combined with liberal moles posing as Republicans will threaten the very viability of the GOP itself. After all, liberals play the best liberals and conservatives play the best conservatives. Moderate, appeasing and pathetically apologetic Republicans make pathetic conservatives, pathetic liberals and pathetic pretty-much-everything-else. True conservatives, by nature, will cut the dead wood from their ranks, break away from the diluted frauds pretending to fill those ranks, and swim toward survival of their beliefs, values and issues.

The only hope for America's conservative movement is to either drag the losing Republican carcass back to its fold or push it away, forming its own independent party. Unless moderate and appeasing Republicans realize that their approach is a prescription for snatching defeat from the hands of victory, they are more a part of the problem than of the answer.

Republican leadership has allowed internal sects to dictate a disastrous, pathetic and wimpy path seen more as a betrayal by true conservatives than any practical survival tactic. This path is characterized by the cowardly and appeasing surrender of core conservative principles out of some pitiful and feeble desperation for acceptance and praise from a despicable media. Rather than lead to victory and unity, however, this sad surrender has been a prescription for utter and humiliating defeat and exodus from the ranks.

A side with such a glorious past, such powerful and profound values, such practical and logical arguments and such a grounding in truth is losing to scavengers and vultures because it has betrayed and forgotten to remain loyal and steadfast to its true self. I am referring to the Republican Party, but I might as well be speaking of the present Catholic Church as well.

Cowards with Crosses

Just as the American Republican Party is taking in water because of a misguided belief that surrender is the right path to ultimate victory, so too the American Catholic Church is taking in water for the same reason.

Everywhere one turns, liberal Catholics are pulling and pushing the Catholic Church away from its core beliefs and doctrines and toward a socialist, Marxist, New Age, feminist, secular liberalism with a cheap coat of paint called "progressivism" covering the shallow, hallow, arrogant and blatant betrayal of everything this Church stands for.

Just as pathetic conservatives dance to liberal tunes and follow liberal dictates, so too pathetic Catholics dance to those very same tunes and follow those very same dictates. The arrogant rationalism of so-called "enlightened" conservatives mirrors the same ignorant arrogance of "enlightened" Catholics who wink at violations of the very same institution they defame by their mere presence.

From their responses to political debates and issues, one could safely posit that most Catholic Bishops are more Democrat than Republican, more likely to pay lip service to core conservative issues than open their lips to serve the people entrusted to their care... False conservatives and false Catholics both pretend to more accurately represent their side, but pretense is thin air in the face of truth.

Just as the conservative delusion that appeasing foes is the path to victory has borne little fruit, so too Catholic leadership cowardice and appeasement of key issues has only led to more division and exodus from the Church. If Catholic leaders had an ounce of guts and a grain of loyalty to their faith, they would speak out as one against pro-abortion politicians, excommunicate pro-abortion leaders who pretend to be Catholic and demand stricter adherence to their doctrine in other areas as well. Instead, we have so-called Catholic institutions of higher learning displaying very liberal beliefs inherently contrary to Catholic teaching.

Ironically, false conservatives and false Catholics have a significant influence on each other, for both tend to follow liberal positions in the name of social justice.

A mere look at the vast numbers of Catholics who recently voted for Osama is enough to prove that false conservatives need false Catholics to destroy conservatism and Catholicism.

Conclusion

The terms Cafeteria or Buffet Catholic are popular descriptions of Catholics who delude themselves into thinking that one can pick and choose what moral precepts to follow and still remain faithful to the very faith they betray on a daily basis.

Likewise, Cafeteria or Buffet conservatives would be those who delude themselves into thinking that liberals actually welcome them into their ranks more than merely use them like the latest useful idiots.

In both cases, it would be better to remove the dead lumber and move on than waste more time trying to make liars and fools into sincere and wise proponents when such a stance is more in their lips than in their hearts and minds.

If true conservatism and true Catholicism are to survive, they must each reject their diluted and deluded brethren and embrace core beliefs before it is too late for each.

© Gabriel Garnica

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/garnica/081108

2008-11-10T07:33:00.003-06:00

I am sickened by the headlines this morning. Obama is planning on using his executive powers to overturn many of Bush's as soon as he possibly can.

Why do people feel the need to destroy embryos? They are souls at the beginning of life's journey. And they haven't been that successful in trials.

http://www.stemcellresearchfacts.com/index.html

Embryonic stem cell research gets most of the media's attention, but adult stem cell research has actually been far more successful in providing cures for serious illnesses -- and it does so without harming human life in the process.

Adult stem cells have already been successfully used in human therapies for many years. As of this moment, NO (as of 2006) therapies in humans have ever been successfully carried out using embryonic stem cells.

Adult stem cells are a “natural” solution. They naturally exist in our bodies, and they provide a natural repair mechanism for many tissues of our bodies. They belong in the microenvironment of an adult body, while embryonic stem cells belong in the microenvironment of the early embryo, not in an adult body, where they tend to cause tumors and immune system reactions.

Adult type stem cells come from:

• Umbilical Cords, Placentas and Amniotic Fluid—Adult type stem cells can be derived from various pregnancy-related tissues.

• Adult Tissues—In adults, stem cells are present within various tissues and organ systems. These include the bone marrow, liver, epidermis, retina, skeletal muscle, intestine, brain, dental pulp, and elsewhere. Even fat obtained from liposuction has been shown to contain significant numbers of adult type stem cells.

• Cadavers—Neural stem cells have been removed from specific areas in post-mortem human brains as late as 20 hours following death.

It is not a matter of religious belief, but a matter of biology as to when a human being begins. A human embryo is a human being, a being that is clearly and unmistakably human. It is not a zebra-type of being, a plant-type of being or some other kind of being. Each of us was once an embryo, and this affirmation does not depend on religion, belief systems, or imposing anything on anyone. It depends only on a grasp of basic biology. It is a matter of empirical observation. Once you are constituted a human being (which always occurs at fertilization or at an event that mimics fertilization like cloning), you are a new member of the human race who must be protected unconditionally. The human embryo is a being that is human, and such beings are invilable entities, because that’s what we all directly spring from at the root level.

It is a scientific fact that embryos are no different in their essential humanity from a fetus in the womb, a 10 year-old boy, or a 100 year-old woman. At every stage of development, human beings (whether zygote, blastocyst, embryo, fetus, infant, adolescent, or adult) retain their identity as an enduring being that grows towards its subsequent stage(s); embryos are integral beings structured for maturation along their proper time line.

http://www.pregnancy-info.net/StemCell/embryonic_adult.html

Scientists haven't yet perfected the growing and differentiating process for embryonic stem cells. As a result, embryonic stem cells can sometimes differentiate spontaneously, which, currently, could cause serious repercussions if the stem cells were used to treat people.

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS06H01&f=WX05F02

TheraVitae, a Thai/Israeli company founded by an American entrepreneur and an Israeli researcher, has had remarkable success treating patients who suffer from coronary artery disease, cardiomyopthy, or congestive heart failure. Using techniques created in part by Dr. Amit Patel of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, adult stem cells found in the patient's blood called Angiogenic Cell Precursors (ACPs) are injected into the heart and used to generate new blood vessels and heart muscle. The result is a decrease in physical pain (angina pectoris) and a greater capacity for physical activity. "The patient is effectively treating himself with his own blood, so there is very little danger of rejection," said Dr. Valentin Fulga, one of the founders of TheraVitae. "It's the safest kind of stem cell you can get." Over sixty patients have been treated, including renowned Hawaiian singer Don Ho.

Adult stem cells have been used successfully in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. Dr. Carlos Lima, a neuropathologist with Lisbon's Egaz Moniz Hospital, helps paralyzed patients regain sensation and feeling by transferring the patient's nasal tissue containing adult stem cells to the site of the spinal cord injury. The nasal tissue contains three types of adult stem cells: renewable neurons, progenitor stem cells, and remyelinating olfactory ensheathing cells. Once these cells are introduced to the injured area, it is believed that they promote the growth of nerve cells and spinal cord pathways. Dr. Lima has performed over 80 successful surgeries and recently published his findings in the peer-reviewed Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a rare disease often caused by reactions to medications. In very extreme cases it can lead to blindness. A 2006 study published in American Journal of Ophthalmology showed that in 12 Stevens-Johnson Syndrome patients treated with their own stem cells, the procedure was effective and provided increased visual acuity for a majority of the patients.

Another effective treatment using stem cells is limbal (eye) stem cell transplants. Limbal stem cell deficiency results when limbal stem cells are lost from the cornea due to disease or chemical accidents. A 2005 study performed in Great Britain showed that of ten eyes treated with limbal stem cells, seven showed extremely successful results. The study also showed that after a period of nine months there was no longer any DNA present from the donor stem cells. This has exciting implications because it means that immunosuppressant drugs would be required for only a short time. According to Dr. Sheraz Daya, one of the main researchers, "The technique not only works, but there was no donor tissue there. That is what really blew our minds. The cells appeared to have been shed from the eye and replaced by the patient's own, much more hardy, cells." Edward Bailey, 65, who participated in the study, said, "I couldn't believe it. For ten years all I had seen was shades of black and grey. Then after I had the operation, the nurse came by and I saw a flash of blue from her uniform. I went home, and when I took the patch off my eye, I had my vision back. It is only when you lose something like sight that you realize how precious it is."

These are just a few of the success stories using adult stem cells and from their own bodies no less! The list of treatable diseases goes on: diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons, cerebral palsey, acute myeliod leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and more.

"We don't have to go down long paths that will probably not lead to any cures simply for the sake of leaving no stone unturned," says James Kelly, who was paralyzed below the shoulder due to a car accident in 1997 and who is an activist for patients with spinal cord injuries. "What we have to do is use our limited resources efficiently. Money spent on embryonic-stem-cell research and human cloning is money that cannot be spent on [investigating] adult stem cells. And that means that the cures that I believe are available will be slower in reaching the patients that need them."

And then the idea of giving the GITMO detainees criminal trials in the US. The millions of dollars that will be spent on this venture will go against the "change" needed to balance the budget and put the US back in the black. Military issues like homeland security should best be left in the hands of military tribunals. Why do you ask? Think about all the security breaches that will happen as civilian lawyers attempt to find out the facts. Every country in the world will know how our operatives work. The hows, whys and whens. There will be no security for the US. Militants will be released back into the world and resume their terrorism. More so now because they will want to lash out at their previous captors. Do you think they will be afraid? No. A short stint in a US prison is nothing for them. I mean HVAC with 3 meals and TV. Big deal. Then there will be all the additional tax dollars spent on new prisons. But then we have needed new prisons for a long time. If chain gangs were reinstituted these prisoners could truly work to repay their debt to society. But that is another rant for another day.

A violent assault

2008-11-06T15:21:00.002-06:00

http://www.abort73.com/index.html

For thirty years abortion advocates have sought to bestow upon choice a nobility all its own, a nobility it has no claim to. They refuse to be called "pro-abortion", but they gladly accept the label "pro-choice" (despite the fact that there are countless other issues for which they are decidedly not pro-choice). The fact is, laws against rape, murder, assault, theft, speeding, drunk-driving and even smoking are all "anti-choice". They take away legal protection from one particular choice in order to protect a more foundational freedom. All such laws are "legislating morality". That's the only way society can survive. Personal choices that infringe on the life or livelihood of another human being must be legislated against. Therefore, anyone who defends legal abortion by simply arguing that people must be free to make their own choices is either ignorant or dishonest.

Furthermore, in almost 99% of all U.S. abortions1, the woman having the abortion chose to have sexual intercourse in the first place. Therefore, it could just as easily be argued that these women already made their choice when they chose to engage in behavior that often leads to pregnancy. Ultimately, restricting a woman's right to abortion does not restrict a woman's right to not be pregnant. Abortion, after all, does not keep a woman from being pregnant. Abstinence does that. Abortion simply ends the pregnancy of an already pregnant woman by killing the embryo or fetus living within her.

In the end, we are only free to choose so long as that choice doesn't kill or harm someone else, and our government exists to take away those choices that do. Nobody argues that a man should be free to choose when the context is sexual assault. What a fool he would be to try and justify rape by saying, "My body, my choice." Why? Because rape is a violent assault which involves more than just one body. And so is abortion. The heart of the issue is not "choice". The real question is humanity, and nothing short of anarchy can guarantee the perfect freedom of choice.

2008-11-06T12:47:00.002-06:00

The evening of All Souls we lit candles for our grandparents and said a prayer for the departed. Grace was so sweet. She went back and spent a time looking at each picture. Then she very lovingly said "may you rest in peace." I wish I had been able to sneak a picture. It is a memory that I will cherish.

I love fall. The cool crispness to the air (which is so welcome in the deep south) and all the colors! I think it would be wonderful to have the leaves keep their autumn glory from spring through fall.

These are pictures of a wonderful hickory tree in our front yard. The oaks are catching up in color and the leaves will be knee deep pretty soon. My children are going to have lots of jumping to do.

When I was a little girl, I would spend hours going through my grandmother's set of Childcraft books and her encyclopedias. A few years ago I stumbled across some in a thrift store and had to bring them home. There was a poem in one that I felt was quite fitting for today.

A Vagabond Song

There is something in the Autumn

that is native to my blood---

Touch of manner, hint of mood;

And my heart is like a rhyme,

With the yellow and the purple

and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples

can shake me like a cry

Of bugles goin by.

And my lonely spirit thrills

To see the frosty asters

like smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October

sets the gypsy blood astir,

We must rise and follow her,

When from every hill of flame

She calls and calls

each vagabond by name.

Bliss Carman

God Save Us

2008-11-05T07:46:00.003-06:00

I am afraid for my family.

The morals of the people of the United States have been replaced by greed. Big government will return and taxes are going to go up. I see more people in the US murdered through terrorist attacks here.

I do not understand how a nation that claims to be 85% Christian could vote for a man who supports abortions using taxpayers money. Our hard earned money will become blood money.

We are going to return to a welfare state that smells of socialism and Marx.

The great tradition of this country in which people take pride in caring for their own through hard work has been replaced by a clamoring for handouts. Handouts that are paid for by not the uber wealthy but our neighbors. People who work hard to keep their families afloat.

Here is a fact check that people should have pondered over before voting for Obama:

Fact Checking Sen. Obama

Throughout the debate, Sen. Obama repeatedly showed an unfortunate ignorance of one of the fundamental principles of taxation: all taxes are paid by people. On multiple occasions, Obama claimed that businesses or corporations "can afford" to pay higher taxes. This statement is just ridiculous. Companies have no "ability to pay" taxes. Does the corporation's building pay the tax? How about its fax machine or water cooler? No. People pay the taxes.

Here is one such example of why Sen. Obama would get an F in public finance:

Then Exxon Mobil, which made $12 billion, record profits, over the last several quarters, they can afford to pay a little more so that ordinary families who are hurting out there—they're trying to figure out how they're going to afford food, how they're going to save for their kids' college education, they need a break.

What Sen. Obama doesn't understand or doesn't want to tell the American public is that when Exxon Mobil writes that check to Uncle Sam, some person is paying the price for that. In the short run, that person could be a shareholder, a worker, or a consumer. But the fact that Exxon Mobil has a lower after-tax profit means that some person is worse off. For example, Exxon Mobil would likely reduce its dividend payment, or its share price could fall, and that hurts every person who was invested in Exxon Mobil at the time the tax was enacted.

And this reasoning isn't controversial. If you called up Obama's top economic advisers Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee on November 5 (after the election) and asked them who pays taxes, both of them would tell you that people pay all taxes, and that a company merely acts as a means of collecting for the government the taxes imposed on owners of capital and in some cases, the company's workers. (In fact, if we truly taxed Haig-Simons income as a pure income tax would call for, it could be possible for no tax to be levied on a corporation, assuming retained earnings were taxed.)

Sen. Obama made a similar gaffe here:

Because after eight years of failed policies, he and I both agree that what we're going to have to do is to re-prioritize, make sure that we're investing in the American people, give tax cuts not to the wealthiest corporations, but give them to small businesses and give them to individuals who are struggling right now, make sure that we finally get serious about energy independence, something that has been languishing in Washington for 30 years, and make sure that our kids get a great education and can afford to go to college.

The fact of the matter is that there is no wealthy corporation. The stockholders of a corporation that holds in its business operation a lot of money (retained earnings) and assets may be wealthy, but the corporation itself is not wealthy. It just makes no sense. It's just populist rhetoric that merely sounds good.

On the issue of whose tax plan would provide more relief to middle-income taxpayers, Barack Obama once again brought out this line:

And 95 percent of working families, 95 percent of you out there, will get a tax cut. In fact, independent studies have looked at our respective plans and have concluded that I provide three times the amount of tax relief to middle-class families than Sen. McCain does.

The "95 percent" figure is correct. Even though many conservatives have argued that you can't cut taxes for people who pay no income taxes, most of those who are receiving refundable tax credits on the income tax side are still net taxpayers given that they do pay payroll taxes, corporate income tax, excise taxes, etc. (And even that assumes the fact that a person is a net taxpayer even matters, versus the net fiscal incidence of the person, and once we go down that road, at least we are actually getting somewhere on the core questions of public finance and the role of government in distributional outcomes.)

The independent study that Sen. Obama is referring to comes from the Tax Policy Center, which does indeed verify this fact for middle-income tax units when you exclude the effects of the two candidates' health care plans. What Sen. Obama doesn't tell us is that Sen. McCain's health care tax plan (which he criticizes on many occasions, and in his ubiquitous TV ads) would actually provide more savings to middle-income tax units (as a group) than Sen. Obama's health care plan. And when you include the effects of these health care plans, the "three-times as much tax relief" claim no longer holds. When TPC ran the tax plans, they analyzed the health care plans separately from the other parts of the candidates' tax plans.

Speaking of Sen. McCain's health care plan, Sen. Obama once again made this invalid comparison:

By the way, the average policy costs about $12,000. So if you've got $5,000 and it's going to cost you $12,000, that's a loss for you.

Sen. Obama's saying outright that Sen. McCain's plan is a loss for you is nonsense.
The $12,000 cost and $5,000 credit are not comparable unless one assumes two facts for McCain's health care tax plan: (1) the worker will be dropped by his employer, and (2) the worker's wages will not increase to offset the lost health care. For most workers, this isn't going to happen. If somebody is receiving $12,000 in health insurance that is now taxed as ordinary income (and there is no dropping of coverage), a $5,000 credit is going to more than offset the additional tax a person must pay on his/her employer-provided health insurance. Eventually, since the credit is indexed for inflation and not health-care costs, the credit's value would diminish. But over the next ten years, the Tax Policy Center has estimated that McCain's health care tax plan is a $1.3 trillion tax cut for American taxpayers, and they have shown that the average middle-income tax unit would be better off under McCain's health care tax plan than Obama's in that time period. Now it is true that the average doesn't hold for everyone in the middle, and some will gain a lot in the middle and some could lose a lot in the middle (such as those whose coverage is dropped), but the reality is that the health care tax plan is the most progressive part of Sen. McCain's plan. It would make the federal income tax more progressive.

Finally, on the issue of small businesses, Sen. Obama said this in defense of his tax plan's impact on small businesses:

The last point I'll make about small businesses. Not only do 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000, but I also want to give them additional tax breaks, because they are the drivers of the economy. They produce the most jobs.

That "98 percent" figure is technically correct under certain assumptions, but it's basically irrelevant given the latter point he wanted to make. Under Sen. Obama's metric where the mere number of tax returns affected by his tax plan is what matters (2 percent), a small business that earned $100 in business income and had only one employee would have the same "drive" of the economy as a small business that earned $500,000 in net income and had 50 employees. Obviously, that's ridiculous, but it fits with the theme of this campaign: if it sounds good, say it, even if it's misleading (or not true).

http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/23776.html.

I wonder how many people realize that income taxes have only been permanent since the beginning of the twentieth century. This is a little more FYI for those Trivial Pursuit moments.

For most of our nation's history, individual taxpayers rarely had any significant contact with Federal tax authorities as most of the Federal government's tax revenues were derived from excise taxes, tariffs, and customs duties.

The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781, reflected the American fear of a strong central government and so retained much of the political power in the States. The national government had few responsibilities and no nationwide tax system, relying on donations from the States for its revenue. Under the Articles, each State was a sovereign entity and could levy tax as it pleased.

When the Constitution was adopted in 1789, the Founding Fathers recognized that no government could function if it relied entirely on other governments for its resources, thus the Federal Government was granted the authority to raise taxes. The Constitution endowed the Congress with the power to "…lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States." Ever on guard against the power of the central government to eclipse that of the states, the collection of the taxes was left as the responsibility of the State governments.

Though social policies sometimes governed the course of tax policy even in the early days of the Republic, the nature of these policies did not extend either to the collection of taxes so as to equalize incomes and wealth, or for the purpose of redistributing income or wealth. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote regarding the "general Welfare" clause:

To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

To raise money for the War of 1812, Congress imposed additional excise taxes, raised certain customs duties, and raised money by issuing Treasury notes. In 1817 Congress repealed these taxes, and for the next 44 years the Federal Government collected no internal revenue. Instead, the Government received most of its revenue from high customs duties and through the sale of public land.

When the Civil War erupted, the Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861, which restored earlier excises taxes and imposed a tax on personal incomes. The income tax was levied at 3 percent on all incomes higher than $800 a year. This tax on personal income was a new direction for a Federal tax system based mainly on excise taxes and customs duties. Certain inadequacies of the income tax were quickly acknowledged by Congress and thus none was collected until the following year.

By the spring of 1862 it was clear the war would not end quickly and with the Union's debt growing at the rate of $2 million daily it was equally clear the Federal government would need additional revenues. On July 1, 1862 the Congress passed new excise taxes on such items as playing cards, gunpowder, feathers, telegrams, iron, leather, pianos, yachts, billiard tables, drugs, patent medicines, and whiskey. Many legal documents were also taxed and license fees were collected for almost all professions and trades.

The 1862 law also made important reforms to the Federal income tax that presaged important features of the current tax. For example, a two-tiered rate structure was enacted, with taxable incomes up to $10,000 taxed at a 3 percent rate and higher incomes taxed at 5 percent. A standard deduction of $600 was enacted and a variety of deductions were permitted for such things as rental housing, repairs, losses, and other taxes paid. In addition, to assure timely collection, taxes were "withheld at the source" by employers.

The need for Federal revenue declined sharply after the war and most taxes were repealed. By 1868, the main source of Government revenue derived from liquor and tobacco taxes. The income tax was abolished in 1872. From 1868 to 1913, almost 90 percent of all revenue was collected from the remaining excises.

Under the Constitution, Congress could impose direct taxes only if they were levied in proportion to each State's population. Thus, when a flat rate Federal income tax was enacted in 1894, it was quickly challenged and in 1895 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional because it was a direct tax not apportioned according to the population of each state.

Lacking the revenue from an income tax and with all other forms of internal taxes facing stiff resistance, from 1896 until 1910 the Federal government relied heavily on high tariffs for its revenues. The War Revenue Act of 1899 sought to raise funds for the Spanish-American War through the sale of bonds, taxes on recreational facilities used by workers, and doubled taxes on beer and tobacco. A tax was even imposed on chewing gum. The Act expired in 1902, so that Federal receipts fell from 1.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product to 1.3 percent.

While the War Revenue Act returned to traditional revenue sources following the Supreme Court's 1895 ruling on the income tax, debate on alternative revenue sources remained lively. The nation was becoming increasingly aware that high tariffs and excise taxes were not sound economic policy and often fell disproportionately on the less affluent. Proposals to reinstate the income tax were introduced by Congressmen from agricultural areas whose constituents feared a Federal tax on property, especially on land, as a replacement for the excises

Eventually, the income tax debate pitted southern and western Members of Congress representing more agricultural and rural areas against the industrial northeast. The debate resulted in an agreement calling for a tax, called an excise tax, to be imposed on business income, and a Constitutional amendment to allow the Federal government to impose tax on individuals' lawful incomes without regard to the population of each State.

By 1913, 36 States had ratified the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. In October, Congress passed a new income tax law with rates beginning at 1 percent and rising to 7 percent for taxpayers with income in excess of $500,000. Less than 1 percent of the population paid income tax at the time. Form 1040 was introduced as the standard tax reporting form and, though changed in many ways over the years, remains in use today.

One of the problems with the new income tax law was how to define "lawful" income. Congress addressed this problem by amending the law in 1916 by deleting the word "lawful" from the definition of income. As a result, all income became subject to tax, even if it was earned by illegal means. Several years later, the Supreme Court declared the Fifth Amendment could not be used by bootleggers and others who earned income through illegal activities to avoid paying taxes. Consequently, many who broke various laws associated with illegal activities and were able to escape justice for these crimes were incarcerated on tax evasion charges.

Prior to the enactment of the income tax, most citizens were able to pursue their private economic affairs without the direct knowledge of the government. Individuals earned their wages, businesses earned their profits, and wealth was accumulated and dispensed with little or no interaction with government entities. The income tax fundamentally changed this relationship, giving the government the right and the need to know about all manner of an individual or business' economic life. Congress recognized the inherent invasiveness of the income tax into the taxpayer's personal affairs and so in 1916 it provided citizens with some degree of protection by requiring that information from tax returns be kept confidential.

The economy boomed during the 1920s and increasing revenues from the income tax followed. This allowed Congress to cut taxes five times, ultimately returning the bottom tax rate to 1 percent and the top rate down to 25 percent and reducing the Federal tax burden as a share of GDP to 13 percent. As tax rates and tax collections declined, the economy was strengthened further.

In October of 1929 the stock market crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression. As the economy shrank, government receipts also fell. In 1932, the Federal government collected only $1.9 billion, compared to $6.6 billion in 1920. In the face of rising budget deficits which reached $2.7 billion in 1931, Congress followed the prevailing economic wisdom at the time and passed the Tax Act of 1932 which dramatically increased tax rates once again. This was followed by another tax increase in 1936 that further improved the government's finances while further weakening the economy. By 1936 the lowest tax rate had reached 4 percent and the top rate was up to 79 percent. In 1939, Congress systematically codified the tax laws so that all subsequent tax legislation until 1954 amended this basic code. The combination of a shrunken economy and the repeated tax increases raised the Federal government's tax burden to 6.8 percent of GDP by 1940.

The state of the economy during the Great Depression led to passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. This law provided payments known as "unemployment compensation" to workers who lost their jobs. Other sections of the Act gave public aid to the aged, the needy, the handicapped, and to certain minors. These programs were financed by a 2 percent tax, one half of which was subtracted directly from an employee's paycheck and one half collected from employers on the employee's behalf. The tax was levied on the first $3,000 of the employee's salary or wage.

Even before the United States entered the Second World War, increasing defense spending and the need for monies to support the opponents of Axis aggression led to the passage in 1940 of two tax laws that increased individual and corporate taxes, which were followed by another tax hike in 1941. By the end of the war the nature of the income tax had been fundamentally altered. Reductions in exemption levels meant that taxpayers with taxable incomes of only $500 faced a bottom tax rate of 23 percent, while taxpayers with incomes over $1 million faced a top rate of 94 percent. These tax changes increased federal receipts from $8.7 billion in 1941 to $45.2 billion in 1945. Even with an economy stimulated by war-time production, federal taxes as a share of GDP grew from 7.6 percent in 1941 to 20.4 percent in 1945. Beyond the rates and revenues, however, another aspect about the income tax that changed was the increase in the number of income taxpayers from 4 million in 1939 to 43 million in 1945.

Another important feature of the income tax that changed was the return to income tax withholding as had been done during the Civil War. This greatly eased the collection of the tax for both the taxpayer and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. However, it also greatly reduced the taxpayer's awareness of the amount of tax being collected, i.e. it reduced the transparency of the tax, which made it easier to raise taxes in the future.

Throughout the 1950s tax policy was increasingly seen as a tool for raising revenue and for changing the incentives in the economy, but also as a tool for stabilizing macroeconomic activity. The economy remained subject to frequent boom and bust cycles and many policymakers readily accepted the new economic policy of raising or lowering taxes and spending to adjust aggregate demand and thereby smooth the business cycle. Even so, however, the maximum tax rate in 1954 remained at 87 percent of taxable income. While the income tax underwent some manner of revision or amendment almost every year since the major reorganization of 1954, certain years marked especially significant changes. For example, the Tax Reform Act of 1969 reduced income tax rates for individuals and private foundations.

Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1970s the United States experienced persistent and rising inflation rates, ultimately reaching 13.3 percent in 1979. Inflation has a deleterious effect on many aspects of an economy, but it also can play havoc with an income tax system unless appropriate precautions are taken. Specifically, unless the tax system's parameters, i.e. its brackets and its fixed exemptions, deductions, and credits, are indexed for inflation, a rising price level will steadily shift taxpayers into ever higher tax brackets by reducing the value of those exemptions and deductions.

During this time, the income tax was not indexed for inflation and so, driven by a rising inflation, and despite repeated legislated tax cuts, the tax burden rose from 19.4 percent of GDP to 20.8 percent of GDP. Combined with high marginal tax rates, rising inflation, and a heavy regulatory burden, this high tax burden caused the economy to under-perform badly, all of which laid the groundwork for the Reagan tax cut, also known as the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981.

The 1981 tax cut actually represented two departures from previous tax policy philosophies, one explicit and intended and the second by implication. The first change was the new focus on marginal tax rates and incentives as the key factors in how the tax system affects economic activity. The second policy departure was the de facto shift away from income taxation and toward taxing consumption. Accelerated cost recovery was one manifestation of this shift on the business side, but the individual side also saw a significant shift in the enactment of various provisions to reduce the multiple taxation of individual saving. The Individual Retirement Account, for example, was enacted in 1981.

Simultaneously with the enactment of the tax cuts in 1981 the Federal Reserve Board, with the full support of the Reagan Administration, altered monetary policy so as to bring inflation under control. The Federal Reserve's actions brought inflation down faster and further than was anticipated at the time, and one consequence was that the economy fell into a deep recession in 1982. Another consequence of the collapse in inflation was that federal spending levels, which had been predicated on a higher level of expected inflation, were suddenly much higher in inflation-adjusted terms. The combination of the tax cuts, the recession, and the one-time increase in inflation-adjusted federal spending produced historically high budget deficits which, in turn, led to a tax increase in 1984 that pared back some of the tax cuts enacted in 1981, especially on the business side.

As inflation came down and as more and more of the tax cuts from the 1981 Act went into effect, the economic began a strong and sustained pattern of growth. Though the painful medicine of disinflation slowed and initially hid the process, the beneficial effects of marginal rate cuts and reductions in the disincentives to invest took hold as promised.

Of course, the expansions of Social Security and the creation of Medicare and Medicaid required additional tax revenues, and thus the basic payroll tax was repeatedly increased over the years. Between 1949 and 1962 the payroll tax rate climbed steadily from its initial rate of 2 percent to 6 percent. The expansions in 1965 led to further rate increases, with the combined payroll tax rate climbing to 12.3 percent in 1980. Thus, in 31 years the maximum Social Security tax burden rose from a mere $60 in 1949 to $3,175 in 1980.

Despite the increased payroll tax burden, the benefit expansions Congress enacted in previous years led the Social Security program to an acute funding crises in the early 1980s. Eventually, Congress legislated some minor programmatic changes in Social Security benefits, along with an increase in the payroll tax rate to 15.3 percent by 1990. Between 1980 and 1990, the maximum Social Security payroll tax burden more than doubled to $7,849.

Following the enactment of the 1981, 1982, and 1984 tax changes there was a growing sense that the income tax was in need of a more fundamental overhaul. The economic boom following the 1982 recession convinced many political leaders of both parties that lower marginal tax rates were essential to a strong economy, while the constant changing of the law instilled in policy makers an appreciation for the complexity of the tax system. Further, the debates during this period led to a general understanding of the distortions imposed on the economy, and the lost jobs and wages, arising from the many peculiarities in the definition of the tax base. A new and broadly held philosophy of tax policy developed that the income tax would be greatly improved by repealing these various special provisions and lowering tax rates further. Thus, in his 1984 State of the Union speech President Reagan called for a sweeping reform of the income tax so it would have a broader base and lower rates and would be fairer, simpler, and more consistent with economic efficiency.

The culmination of this effort was the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which brought the top statutory tax rate down from 50 percent to 28 percent while the corporate tax rate was reduced from 50 percent to 35 percent. The number of tax brackets was reduced and the personal exemption and standard deduction amounts were increased and indexed for inflation, thereby relieving millions of taxpayers of any Federal income tax burden.

President Clinton insisted on and the Congress enacted a second major tax increase in 1993 in which the top tax rate was raised to 36 percent and a 10 percent surcharge was added, leaving the effective top tax rate at 39.6 percent. Clearly, the trend toward lower marginal tax rates had been reversed, but, as it turns out, only temporarily.

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 made additional changes to the tax code providing a modest tax cut. The centerpiece of the 1997 Act was a significant new tax benefit to certain families with children through the Per Child Tax credit. The truly significant feature of this tax relief, however, was that the credit was refundable for many lower-income families. That is, in many cases the family paid a "negative" income tax, or received a credit in excess of their pre-credit tax liability. Though the tax system had provided for individual tax credits before, such as the Earned Income Tax credit, the Per Child Tax credit began a new trend in federal tax policy. Previously tax relief was generally given in the form of lower tax rates or increased deductions or exemptions. The 1997 Act really launched the modern proliferation of individual tax credits and especially refundable credits that are in essence spending programs operating through the tax system.

By 2001, the total tax take had produced a projected unified budget surplus of $281 billion, with a cumulative 10 year projected surplus of $5.6 trillion. Much of this surplus reflected a rising tax burden as a share of GDP due to the interaction of rising real incomes and a progressive tax rate structure. Consequently, under President George W. Bush's leadership the Congress halted the projected future increases in the tax burden by passing the Economic Growth and Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2001. The centerpiece of the 2001 tax cut was to regain some of the ground lost in the 1990s in terms of lower marginal tax rates. Though the rate reductions are to be phased in over many years, ultimately the top tax rate will fall from 39.6 percent to 33 percent.
The 2001 tax cut represented a resumption of a number of other trends in tax policy. For example, it expanded the Per Child Tax credit from $500 to $1000 per child. It also increased the Dependent Child Tax credit.

The 2001 tax cut also continued the move toward a consumption tax by expanding a variety of savings incentives. Another feature of the 2001 tax cut that is particularly noteworthy is that it put the estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes on course for eventual repeal, which is also another step toward a consumption tax. One novel feature of the 2001 tax cut compared to most large tax bills is that it was almost devoid of business tax provisions.

The 2001 tax cut will provide additional strength to the economy in the coming years as more and more of its provisions are phased in, and indeed one argument for its enactment had always been as a form of insurance against an economic downturn. However, unbeknownst to the Bush Administration and the Congress, the economy was already in a downturn as the Act was being debated. Thankfully, the downturn was brief and shallow, but it is already clear that the tax cuts that were enacted and went into effect in 2001 played a significant role in supporting the economy, shortening the duration of the downturn, and preparing the economy for a robust recovery.

One lesson from the economic slowdown was the danger of ever taking a strong economy for granted. The strong growth of the 1990s led to talk of a "new" economy that many assumed was virtually recession proof. The popularity of this assumption was easy to understand when one considers that there had only been one very mild recession in the previous 18 years.

For full article see here.

One more reason....

2008-11-02T14:38:00.002-06:00

NOT to vote for Obama.

Barack Obama's Health Care Plan Covers Abortion, Would Require Tax-Funding

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 30, 2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading pro-life group has uncovered a questionnaire the campaign of Barack Obama filed with a pro-abortion web site. The survey makes it clear that Obama's national health care plan would include abortions and that they would likely be funded at taxpayer expense.

The Obama campaign responded to a question about health care from the pro-abortion RH Reality Check web site.

"Senator Obama believes that reproductive health care is basic health care," the campaign said, using the phrase that abortion advocates employ to refer to abortion.

"His health care plan will create a new public plan, which will provide coverage of all essential medical services. Reproductive health care is an essential service," the Obama campaign added.

The Obama camp also made it clear that any private insurance companies wanting to participate would also be required to provide abortion coverage.

"And private insurers that want to participate will have to treat reproductive care in the same way," the Obama campaign responded.

Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, says the answers make it clear to him that Obama would fund abortions with federal taxpayer dollars and make people in private insurance plans pay for abortions because insurance companies would pass on the additional costs to customers.

"While the health care debate has largely focused on whom the candidates' plans will fund, more Americans need to understand exactly what they would fund," Perkins explains.

"According to these [questionnaire] excerpts, Obama's plan would treat abortion as a basic health care mandate for both taxpayers and private health insurers to subsidize," Perlkins said.
Previously, the Obama campaign confirmed that his health care plan would cover abortions.

John McCormack, a writer for the magazine Weekly Standard, hoped to resolve the question of whether the Obama plan required abortion coverage in a recent conversation with the Obama campaign."During a campaign conference call about health care yesterday, I asked Obama-Biden surrogate Gov. Kathleen Sebelius if Obama's health care plan would mandate coverage for all legal abortions," he wrote this month.

"I really don’t know the specifics of that," Sebelius replied.

"An Obama-Biden spokesman told me via email that he'd find an answer to my question. But subsequent emails and phone calls in the past 24 hours from me to Obama-Biden spokesmen have gone unanswered," McCormack adds.

"Apparently the Obama-Biden campaign doesn't think it needs to provide basic factual information about their candidate's health care plan. Will anyone in the mainstream media hold Obama accountable?" McCormack asks.

Without a specific answer, voters are forced to guess what Obama's plan would do.
McCormack points to the speech Obama gave to Planned Parenthood activists in July 2007, where he pledged to cover abortions in any national health care plan.

"In my mind reproductive care is essential care. It is basic care, and so it is at the center, the heart of the plan that I propose," Obama said. "We're going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don’t have health insurance. It'll be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services"

Mike Dorning of the Chicago Tribune followed up on the Obama speech and reported that an Obama representative said "reproductive services" included abortions.

http://www.lifenews.com/nat4514.html

All Souls Day

2008-11-02T07:47:00.002-06:00

O God, the Creater and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of thy servants and handmaids departed, the remission of all their sins; that through pious supplications they may obtain the pardon they have always desired. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

Today is the feast day of All Souls. It is a day to remember those loved ones who have passed on before us. A day to share their stories with our children. A day to pray for them.

Before my conversion to Catholocism, praying for the dead was something that my Protestant family did not do. But people I knew would say "God rest his soul", "May he rest in peace" and things along those lines. To me, even as a young child, I thought these things sounded like a prayer. I never quite understood the double standard that was applied here. The "we say these things but never pray for anyone after their death."

I find comfort in knowing that my prayers may aid others on their way to heaven. And also in asking those who have stepped into the next world to pray for me.

The following is an excerpt from Fisheaters.com:

Today is a good day to not only remember the dead spiritually, but to tell your children about their ancestors. Bring out those old photo albums and family trees! Write down your family's stories for your children and grandchildren! Impress upon them the importance of their ancestors! Bring to their minds these words from Ecclesiasticus:

Ecclesiasticus 44:1-15 Let us now praise men of renown, and our fathers in their generation. The Lord hath wrought great glory through his magnificence from the beginning. Such as have borne rule in their dominions, men of great power, and endued with their wisdom, shewing forth in the prophets the dignity of prophets, And ruling over the present people, and by the strength of wisdom instructing the people in most holy words. Such as by their skill sought out musical tunes, and published canticles of the scriptures. Rich men in virtue, studying beautifulness: living at peace in their houses. All these have gained glory in their generations, and were praised in their days. They that were born of them have left a name behind them, that their praises might be related:

And there are some, of whom there is no memorial: who are perished, as if they had never been: and are become as if they had never been born, and their children with them. But these were men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed: Good things continue with their seed, Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and their seed hath stood in the covenants. And their children for their sakes remain for ever: their seed and their glory shall not be forsaken. Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Let the people shew forth their wisdom, and the Church declare their praise.

Celebrate your family, your history, your faith.

All Saints Day

2008-11-01T13:52:00.003-05:00

Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women
of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From Christian Prayer: Liturgy of the Hours

Today we made pretzels in celebration of All Saints Day.

Grace is trying to get the hang of rolling out logs.

Sean just wants to eat the dough.

Gabriel thought eating an iced cookie was a much better idea.

We shaped them as an 8 or infinity symbol in remembrance of the saints.

The Number eight is clearly the new beginning, or a new cycle. The number 8 is made up of 7+1. Seven symbolizes that something is complete. The number one means a beginning.

The number 8 symbolizes the new life the Saints enjoy in the presence of God. The infinity sign is representative to me of eternal life.

I used a recipe from Sandy over at Whistlestop Cafe Cooking. It was very easy to follow.

Halloween

2008-11-01T13:20:00.009-05:00

Finally, I am posting picts of our scarecrow. Grace and Sean had a ball "helping" me stuff him.

We picked some great pumpkins on our rainy trip to the Grand Ol Pumpkin Patch. I think the kids had more fun running through the rain than picking out pumpkins.

Here is Jack, our happy pumpkin.

The kids, even the big ones, dressed up for Trick or Treating. The boys were cowboys and Grace was a princess of course. Michael got in on the act as Zorro.

Gabriel was very excited that his mommy was going to be a cowboy girl too.

I have to say I was disappointed in our street. No lights were on. We had to walk two streets over before we found anyone offering treats. The back street in our neighborhood was well decorated and had families sitting on their steps enjoying the night. Our kids had a great time. After Sean got his first piece of chocolate he was more content to stay in the wagon and eat his candy. Grace and Gabriel raced each other to ring the doorbells. It was really nice to see all the families out walking together.

After making it back to our home, we had several children knocking on our door. I made mummy dogs and hot chocolate for all. Along with ghost cookies and pumpkin cake. Our friends stopped by with some wine. We enjoyed our spirits and had a wonderful evening.

Bar Stool Economics

2008-10-29T11:43:00.000-05:00

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.’ Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too.

It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got’ ‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.