Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
May you choose to see beyond life's storms, to uncover the blessings that the rain brings, and during all of life's twists and turns, may you always choose. -- Michelle Sedas
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Set Your Compass in the Right Direction All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach (2 Tim. 3:16). The purpose of the Bible is to proclaim God's plan to save his children.
"No, I will not abandon you as orphans - I will come to you." (John 14:18)
"The Patriot Post"
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.." -- Thomas Paine
"At some point someone is going to file a suit in Federal court asking for clarity as to just where in the U.S. Constitution it is provided that the Executive Branch can buy a bankrupt car company." -- political analyst Rich Galen
"So far, the Obama administration has yet to lay out its magical thinking on how the homegrown auto makers are to become 'viable' when required to subordinate every auto attribute that consumers find desirable in favor of achieving a passenger-car average of 39 miles per gallon by 2016. Nonetheless the answer has quietly seeped out: Taxpayers will write $5,000 or $7,000 rebate checks to other taxpayers to bribe them to buy hybrids and plug-ins at a price that lets Detroit claim it's earning a 'profit' on its Obamamobiles." -- columnist Holman Jenkins Jr.
"The Obama administration is bent on becoming a major player in -- if not taking over entirely -- America's health-care, automobile and banking industries. Before that happens, it might be a good idea to look at the government's track record in running economic enterprises. It is terrible." -- author John Steele Gordon
"Does anybody really believe that adding 50 million people to the public health-care rolls will not cost the government more money? About $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion more? At least. So let's be serious when evaluating President Obama's goal of universal health care, and the idea that it's a cost-cutter. Can't happen. Won't happen. Costs are going to explode." --economist Larry Kudlow
"Just how much government debt does a president have to endorse before he's labeled 'irresponsible'"? -- columnist Robert Samuelson
"We live in an era in which conservatives have not effectively outlined the proper and limited role of government, and as a direct consequence of our failures, more and more of our citizens are turning to an ever-encroaching government in times of crisis. Yet to allow the balance of power in this nation to continue to shift further and further toward government and thus further and further from liberty is to surrender the very thing that makes America so historically unique." -- South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford
"ACU"
May 26, 2009
At 10:15 this morning President Barack Obama stepped up to the microphone to announce a nomination to the Supreme Court.
He nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York. It should not be surprising that his pick has a background that suggests liberal tendencies. It is the President's right and obligation to nominate judges for the Supreme Court. However, it is the U.S. Senate's job to confirm those appointments. This is one of the U.S. Senate's most important duties.
Our U.S. Senators need to ask the tough questions and not rubber stamp Obama's nominee.
It is critical that as Senators privately and publicly question Judge Sotomayor that they ensure she doesn't bring too many ultra liberal, preconceived notions to the bench.
It is important that they get to the bottom of her views on race and gender, especially in light of what we have learned.
That is why ACU is launching a Petition to the Senate - especially targeting our conservative and moderate Senators. Does she support true equality - not focusing on gender and race - and the constitution? Does she support rights endowed by our creator, or not? Sign the ACU petition here.
The mass media is already noting that race and gender seemed to be part of the pick from the President. The WASHINGTON POST has written over the last couple of hours, "If confirmed, Sotomayor, 54, would be the first Supreme Court justice of Hispanic descent and only the third woman ever to sit on the panel."
The POST also reported, "Picking Sotomayor offers the president an opportunity to potentially shape the court in a way that his liberal constituency will like."
How could she shape the court for the liberals? There seems to be answers in statements she has made on her judicial philosophy.
The ASSOCIATED PRESS reported she said: "I simply do not know exactly what the difference will be in my judging," - in a speech in 2002. "But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage."
ACU is launching a Petition Efforts to the Senate - especially targeting our conservative and the moderate Senators. Does she really support true equality - not focusing on gender and race - and the constitution? Does she support rights endowed by our creator, or not? Sign the ACU petition here.
DETROIT FREE PRESS columnist Stephen Henderson said the pick was "Obama's missed opportunity."
Henderson wrote, "By all accounts, Federal Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice David Souter, will be every bit the reliable, liberal vote that Democrats want on the court." Stotomayor, he said, "...has a reputation for being pretty far left."
Henderson notes that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often said that a wise old man and a wise old woman would generally decide cases the same way.
However, Henderson points out something very disturbing about Sotomayor. He reports that she said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
Really? Does Judge Sotomayor believe that white men - or maybe even white women - do not have the experience to reach good conclusions? Does it matter what their skin color or background is in making decisions?
He went on to say, "at worst, her comments can be interpreted as indulging the same bigotry she purports to abhor."
ACU is launching a Petition Efforts to the Senate - especially targeting our conservative and the moderate Senators. Does she really support true equality - not focusing on gender and race - and the constitution? Does she support rights endowed by our creator, or not? Sign the ACU petition here.
Sotomayor's previous decisions also highlight problems in this area.
In a case which has already been appealed to the current Supreme Court, Judge Sotomayor ruled with other judges against white firefighters who went to court after not receiving a promotion based on testing. They scored better on tests than others but their city didn't want to promote only firefighters who appeared white in skin color. She ruled in favor of keeping the racial quota system and denied the firefighter's claims of racial discrimination.
Judge Jose Cabranes, a Clinton appointee, attacked Judge Sotomayor's decision. In a dissent he wrote the case should have been explored more fully and that the firefighter's claims were "worthy" of "review" by the Supreme Court. He was joined in his dissent by 5 other judges.
ACU is launching a Petition Efforts to the Senate - especially targeting our conservative and the moderate Senators. Does she really support true equality - not focusing on gender and race - and the constitution? Does she support rights endowed by our creator, or not? Sign the ACU petition here.
As we have repeatedly stated, we need judges who uphold the Constitution not try to legislate from the bench. Many of the bad decisions that have come from our courts came as a result of judges who overturn laws, passed by elected representatives, with which they appear to personally disagree.
The DALLAS MORNING NEWS and others have noted Sotomayor said in 2005 at a Duke Law School conference, "the court of appeals is where policy is made." She added, "And I know this is on tape and I should never say that ..."
ACU is launching a Petition Efforts to the Senate - especially targeting our conservative and the moderate Senators. Does she really support true equality - not focusing on gender and race - and the constitution? Does she support rights endowed by our creator, or not? Sign the ACU petition here.
What does she believe her role should be on the Supreme Court? Is it about providing justice for American citizens or about her personal agenda?
We need to ask the Senate to do their job. They must ask the tough questions. They need to get the answers.
Help us send the message here.
The American people deserve the truth.
Sincerely,
Dennis Whitfield
P.S. Senators say they hear quite a bit from those on the left who are bolstered by a liberal media. Please help us correct the imbalance. Send a message now. Sign the ACU petition here.
"Find Law"
Charges Filed in Bronx Terror Plot
U.S. V. CROMITIE, ET AL.
(U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D. N.Y., May 21, 2009) - Four suspects face federal charges of plotting to: 1) blow up a synagogue in a Bronx, New York City neighborhood; 2) shoot down U.S. military aircraft with shoulder-held Stinger surface-to-air missiles; and 3) attack a Air National Guard base with an IED using C-4 plastic explosives. Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/uscromitie51909cmp.html
Related Resources
• FBI foils plot to bomb NYC temple; 4 men charged (AP) http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap/other/1110/05-21-2009/20090521025009_03.html
Cal. High Court Upholds Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Existing Marriages Valid
STRAUSS, ET AL. V. HORTON, ET AL.
(Cal. Supreme Ct., May 26, 2009) - California's Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the state's legislative ban against same-sex marriages, but also upheld previously formalized marriages between gay and lesbian couples before the ban took effect. Read more...
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/glrts/cal-prop8-same-sex-marriage.html
"The Web"
Now That's God -- click here.
http://www.passionup.com:80/mp/blank/blank100.htm?e=imkld@yahoo.com&f=imkld@yahoo.com&cfp=1&h=7a49f7e8064d5e26&mp=1
For Coburn, no backing down on spending
Senator free to ruffle feathers as re-election's not a concern
By Kara Rowland (Contact) | Tuesday, May 26, 2009
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/26/no-backing-down-on-spending/
Despite being in the minority in a Senate that is more tilted to Democrats than at any time in the past three decades, Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, has gone head to head with Majority Leader Harry Reid - and won.
His secret: He doesn't care.
Mr. Coburn's nonchalance about his own political future has given him the freedom to be Capitol Hill's most outspoken fiscal hawk and guardian of the Constitution. Most recently, his persistence paid off as he was able to attach an amendment allowing licensed firearms in some federal parks to a consumer credit card bill last week.
"I don't go away. He's learned that," Mr. Coburn says of his frequent floor battles with Mr. Reid. "Since I don't care whether I get beat up or not, I'm really dangerous for him."
In a chamber dominated by career politicians, Mr. Coburn has not shied away from ruffling feathers in his obsessive pursuit of shrinking the government. He rails against government waste with equal vigor be the culprits Democrats, Republicans or both.
That's because, he warns, the next generation's standard of living hangs in the balance. "We are stealing your very future. It is going away as we speak."
Four years into his first Senate term, the 61-year-old obstetrician is a self-described citizen legislator who has pledged to serve no more than two terms. He similarly limited himself to three terms in the House, where he served from 1995 to 2001.
Mr. Coburn's stated reasons for public service are a far cry from the grandiose, boilerplate response one might expect from a member of Congress.
"I was disgusted and worried," he says flatly. "I think what we have is at risk, and it's actually much more at risk today than it ever has been."
As a member of the Republican Revolution's freshman class, he was frustrated by the House Republican leadership's failure to follow through on its Contract With America, later penning a book about the experience called "Breach of Trust."
Iranian Air Traffic Control
In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Control facility, all aircraft in the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) a ten minute 'heads up' if they will be transiting Iranian airspace.
This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your call sign, transponder code, type aircraft, and points of origin and destination.
I just flew with a guy who overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai . It's too good not to pass along.
The conversation went like this...
Iranian Air Defense Radar: 'Unknown aircraft you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'
Aircraft: 'This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.'
Air Defense Radar: 'You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!'
Aircraft: 'This is a United States Marine Corps FA-18 fighter. Send 'em up, I'll wait!'
Air Defense Radar: (no response .... total silence)
Speaker Pelosi’s Controversial Marxist Connections
AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid | May 24, 2009
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/speaker-pelosis-controversial-marxist-connections/
Pelosi tried desperately to avoid being open and honest about her charges against the CIA.
Like the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not have to go through a background investigation in order to get a security clearance. This loophole in the law enables the president and members of Congress to automatically qualify for security clearances, even if they have controversial backgrounds and associations, by virtue of the fact that they get elected to high office in Washington, D.C.
In the case of Speaker Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice president, there is increasing concern about whether she can be trusted with national security secrets. But the concern not only involves her unsubstantiated charges against the CIA over what officials told her about the treatment of terrorists, but her close personal relationship with pro-Castro Rep. Barbara Lee and the "progressive" Hallinan family of San Francisco, once under scrutiny by the California Senate Fact-finding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities for their pro-Soviet propaganda efforts.
Pelosi used a Friday news conference to offer up other members of the House Democratic leadership as "human shields" to deflect questions from the press about the CIA controversy. They droned on about the liberal legislative agenda.
At the very end of the news conference, as Pelosi was trying to leave the podium and had already issued an edict that she didn't have anything more to say about the CIA matter, a reporter tried to ask a question about Rep. Steve King's intention to introduce a resolution asking the House to suspend Pelosi's security clearance until the controversy is resolved. The reporter asked, "And were you aware that Steve King is asking for your security clearance to be revoked?" But Pelosi walked away without commenting.
With the help of the mainstream media, Pelosi is obviously hoping that she can stonewall further inquiry. On Sunday's "Meet the Press," Washington Post liberal columnist Eugene Robinson, a follower of the Democratic Party line, declared that he wasn't sure that she was "in such terrible political danger" and that "People underestimate Nancy Pelosi sometimes as a politician."
Pelosi the politician is clearly depending on the press to stop asking questions.
However, since Pelosi and other elected officials don't have to go through background investigations, it is the job of the media to perform this function. In the case of Pelosi, it is long overdue.
San Francisco Democrat
Pelosi has represented the city of San Francisco, perhaps the most liberal in the nation, since 1987, and is a very close friend of Rep. Barbara Lee, who represents neighboring Oakland and Berkeley, California, and is the most vocal apologist for Communist Cuba in Congress today. Lee, head of the Congressional Black Caucus, recently led a delegation to Cuba to meet with the Castro brothers to discuss normalization of relations. But she paid no attention to political dissidents or political prisoners being held on the communist island.
Lee, who calls Pelosi "a magnificent woman" and "one of California's greatest representatives," began her career in the California state legislature as a secret member of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, a spin-off from the Communist Party. As a member of the staff of Rep. Ron Dellums, Lee was shown to have been collaborating with communist officials on the island of Grenada, according to documents captured after the liberation of that island nation. These revelations have not hurt Lee's standing with Pelosi and other "progressives." Indeed, Lee also served as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
But even more interesting than the Barbara Lee connection is Pelosi's long-time friendship and association with Vincent and Vivian Hallinan, one of the most radical left-wing families in San Francisco over the course of five decades.
Pelosi hailed them as "one of San Francisco's great Irish families" in a March 17, 1999, statement, after the passing of Vivian Hallinan. "Vivian was a pioneer, a mentor and a leader," Pelosi said. "Our community was blessed by her presence and will long remember her many significant contributions to improving society. I will miss my friend, Vivian."
Notice use of the term "mentor."
Pelosi called Vivian Hallinan, who openly held "socialist" views, a "pioneer" in "a wide range of progressive causes."
But these causes included support for communists in Central America during the 1980s, when Soviet- and Cuban-backed forces were subverting Central America through violence and terrorism and fighting for control of the region.
Indeed, Pelosi paid tribute to Vivian Hallinan by inserting into the Congressional Record an article saying that she had "opposed U.S. policy in Central America" under President Reagan, had "befriended Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's [Communist] Sandinista leader," and had met with Cuban dictator Castro.
"She was a role model for many of us," Pelosi said. "If Vincent was the lion, Vivian was the lioness."
"My mother and Nancy were pretty close," acknowledges Conn Hallinan, one of their sons.
Official Scrutiny
The names of the Hallinans, including some of their sons, are included in the annual volumes of the California State Senate Fact-Finding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities. The subcommittee was a well-regarded investigative body which examined not only communist activities in California but right-wing groups such as the John Birch Society and the Minutemen.
In the case of the Hallinans, there was a lot to examine. Vincent Hallinan, a lawyer who died in 1992, was a founding member of the San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, officially designated a front of the Communist Party, and defended secret Communist Party member and labor leader Harry Bridges.
In addition, he was a self-described "roaring atheist" who specialized in attacks on the Catholic Church. In one case, according to the New York Times, he "sued the Roman Catholic Church for fraud, demanding that it prove the existence of heaven and hell."
Vincent Hallinan also ran for president on the ticket of the Progressive Party, "a creature of the Communist apparatus, and completely dominated by the Communist Party from start to finish," the subcommittee said.
A 1961 subcommittee report says that Vincent Hallinan traveled to the Soviet Union with his wife to vouch for the legitimacy of the communist show trial of Francis Gary Powers, the American U-2 pilot shot down over the Soviet Union. Powers' mission had been to document the Soviet missile build-up. It adds, "[Vincent] Hallinan's glowing accounts of the Soviet Union and favorable comments concerning the fairness accorded Powers at his trial were sold in great quantity by the Communist Book Stores both in San Francisco and in Los Angeles."
A 1953 edition of the report states that Vincent Hallinan was a participant in a meeting of the Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, a "Communist front organization." The Rosenbergs were communists executed for committing atomic espionage against the United States on behalf of the Soviet Union.
A wealthy woman, Vivian Hallinan had contributed financially to one of Pelosi's campaigns. Her only other political contributions on the federal level, as recorded by the Federal Election Commission, went to Senator Barbara Boxer and Reps. Barbara Lee and Ronald V. Dellums.
The "Progressive Champion"
Despite her pro-communist record, Lee will be honored as a "progressive champion" at the June 2 "awards gala" sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future, perhaps the largest "progressive" group in the U.S. The gala, held in conjunction with a conference, is being chaired by the AFL-CIO, whose president, John Sweeney, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is also being honored; the Service Employees International Union; the National Education Association; and Hollywood producer Norman Lear, among others.
Fenton Communications, the public relations firm which represented George Soros during his attempt to buy the White House in 2004, is one of several groups and individuals on the Gala Awards host committee.
At the group's 2006 conference, Pelosi was a featured attraction, telling the assembled "progressives" that if Democrats took control of Congress and made her speaker that Democrats would "make the most corrupt, closed Congress in history the most open and honest Congress in history."
On Friday, however, Pelosi tried desperately to avoid being open and honest about her charges against the CIA.
Time to Drop the Matter
One reporter did note that after Pelosi charged that she had been misled by the CIA, Republican House Leader John Boehner had said that she needed to produce the evidence or apologize, and that CIA director Leon Panetta has said the CIA was not in the practice of misleading Congress.
Pelosi replied, "I have made the statement that I'm going to make on this. I don't have anything more to say about it. I stand by my comments. And what we are doing is staying on our course and not be distracted from it in this distractive mode. We're going forward in a bipartisan way for jobs, health care, and energy for our country. And on the subject that you asked, I've made the statement that I'm going to make. I won't have anything more to that about it."
Pressed for further explanation, she reiterated, "I won't have anything more to say about it."
The New York Times thought the performance was impressive, declaring that Pelosi had stuck to the "script" and had not succumbed to "the impatient media horde."
This is a signal to the rest of the press that they should drop the matter.
Notre Dame Holds First Alan Keyes Fundraiser
by Ann Coulter
How about for next year's graduation ceremony Notre Dame have an abortionist perform an abortion live on stage? They could have a partial-birth abortion for the advanced degrees.
According to liberals, the right to kill babies was enshrined by the Founding Fathers in our Constitution -- and other constitutional rights are celebrated in public.
The right to bear arms is honored in 21-gun salutes, turkey shoots, Civil War re-enactments, firearms demonstrations and, occasionally, at Phil Spector's house.
The right to petition the government for redress of grievances is celebrated at political rallies, tea parties, marches, protests and whenever Keith Olbermann has a fight with his cat.
The free exercise clause is observed in church services, missionary work, peyote-smoking Indian rituals, and for a few days after every time Bill Clinton gets caught having an extramarital affair.
So instead of inviting a constitutional lawyer to yammer on about this purported constitutional right, why not show it being practiced?
How about a 21-vacuum hose (D&C) salute? Maybe have the Notre Dame marching band form a giant skull-piercing fork? How about having the president throw out the ceremonial first fetus, like on opening day in baseball? I'm just brainstorming here, folks -- none of this is written in stone.
Being such a prestigious institution, Notre Dame could probably get famed partial-birth abortion practitioner George Tiller to do the demonstration at next year's graduation. Obama could help -- inasmuch as Tiller the abortionist is a close friend of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
This is a "constitutional right" like no other.
Even its supporters are embarrassed by the exercise of this right. They won't practice the right in public -- they won't even call abortion by its name, preferring to use a string of constantly changing euphemisms, such as "reproductive health" and "choice."
It would be as if gun owners refused to use the word "gun" and the NRA's motto were, "Let's all work together to keep hunting safe, legal and rare."
Liberals were awestruck by Obama's statesmanlike speech at Notre Dame, but whatever he says about abortion is frothy nonsense because we're not allowed to vote on abortion policy in America. If it's a "constitutional right," we can no more vote on abortion than we could vote on free speech.
With Roe v. Wade, abortion supporters ripped the issue out of the democratic process -- limb from limb, you might say -- and declared their desired outcome a "constitutional right." They have hysterically defended that lawless decision for the last quarter-century.
All of Obama's soothing words about joining hands and not demonizing one another are just blather as long as that legal monstrosity remains the law of the land.
Showing his open-mindedness, Obama asked, "How does each of us remain firm in our principles ... without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?" (What do I have to do to get you murderers and you non-murderers to shake hands and be friends?)
A good start would be letting us vote.
Liberals can be all sweet reason as long as their preference for abortion on demand is lyingly called a "constitutional right," immutable to the tiniest alteration by the voters.
In the minuscule areas where abortion policy can be affected, Obama has shown his passion for compromise by always taking the most extreme pro-abortion position.
On his third day in office, Obama overturned the "Mexico City Policy," which prohibited U.S. taxpayer money from being spent on overseas organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.
Obama has filled his administration with Planned Parenthood veterans and friends of partial-birth abortionists.
As an Illinois state senator in 2002-2003, Obama repeatedly blocked and voted against the "Born Alive Act," which would have allowed doctors to give medical care to babies who somehow survived abortions and remained alive, wholly apart from their mothers.
Even the extremist National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League declined to take a position on the bill. The same bill in the U.S. Senate passed unanimously -- and that means that abortion-happy nutcake Barbara Boxer voted for it.
But Obama apparently thought it was important to affirm a woman's critical right to fourth-trimester abortions.
Here's my idea for how we can "live together as one human family," as Obama proposed at Notre Dame: Go ahead, demonize pro-lifers, Obama -- call us "right-wing ideologues." But just once, support one little policy that will save a single unborn child.
"The e-mail Bag"
Blonde Jokes
Two blonde girls were working for the city public works department. One would dig a hole and the other would follow behind her and fill the hole in. They worked up one side of the street, then down the other, then moved on to the next street, working furiously all day without rest, one girl digging a hole, the other girl filling it in again.
An onlooker was amazed at their hard work, but couldn't understand what they were doing. So he asked the hole digger, 'I'm impressed by the effort you two are putting in to your work, but I don't get it -- why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?'
The hole digger wiped her brow and sighed, 'Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we're normally a three-person team But today the girl who plants the trees called in sick.'
The Old Motor
The marriage of an 80 year old man and a 20 year old woman was the talk of the town.. After being married a year, the couple went to the hospital for the birth of their first child.
The attending nurse came out of the delivery room to congratulate the old gentleman and said, 'This is amazing. How do you do it at your age?'
The old man grinned and said, 'You got to keep the old motor running.'
The following year, the couple returned to the hospital for the birth of their second child. The same nurse was at ending the delivery and again went out to congratulate the old gentleman. She said, 'Sir, you are something else. How do you manage it?'
The old man grinned and said, 'You gotta keep the old motor running.'
A year later, the couple returned to the hospital for the birth of their third child. The same nurse was there for this birth also and, after the delivery, she once again approached the old gentleman, smiled, and said, 'Well, you surely are something else!
How do you do it?'
The old man replied, 'It's like I've told you before, you gotta keep the old motor running.'
The nurse, still smiling, patted him on the back and said: Well, I guess it's time to change the oil. This one's black.'
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090526
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Real optimism is aware of problems but recognizes solutions; knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome; sees the negatives, but accentuates the positives; is exposed to the worst but expects the best; has reason to complain, but chooses to smile. -- William Arthur Ward
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
The Urgency of the Hour The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Matt. 9:37). What is it going to take?
"May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is." (Ephesians 3:17-18)
"The Patriot Post"
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." -- Thomas Jefferson
Pelosi Caught in Another Lie
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is in hot water over her claim that she was not briefed in 2002 on waterboarding being practiced. She amended her story slightly in a press conference Thursday, saying, "The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed," adding, "those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information." She admitted to knowing about waterboarding in practice in 2003.
Whether or not Pelosi knew of the practice in 2002, the evidence is clear that she was present for the briefing on the technique, and she said nothing until it was more politically convenient. Claiming that she was lied to four years after the interrogation tactics became public doesn't pass the sniff test. The uproar even led House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), no close friend of Pelosi's, to declare earlier this week, "What was said and when it was said, who said it, I think that is probably what ought to be on the record as well." After what we can only assume was a waterboarding session with the speaker that night, Hoyer "clarified" that he didn't mean Pelosi, but Republicans. As blogger Ed Morrissey notes, "[Pelosi] had better hope that more detailed briefing notes never get made public. Pelosi just dared the CIA to leak again, and I don't think they're likely to get intimidated by her at this point."
From the 'Non Compos Mentis' File
"So my statement is clear, and let me read it again. Let me read it again. I'm sorry. I have to find the page. I was informed that the Department of Justice opinions had concluded that the use of enhanced interrogations was legal. The only mention of waterboarding was that the briefing -- in the briefing was that it was not being employed. When -- when -- when my staff person -- I'm sorry, the page is out of order -- five months later, my staff person told me that there had been a briefing -- informing that there had been a briefing and that a letter had been sent. I was not briefed on what was in that briefing; I was just informed that the briefing had taken place. So -- so let's get this straight." -- Nancy Pelosi
This Week's 'Alpha Jackass' Award
"You don't need banks and bondholders to make cars." -- an unnamed administration official
"ADF"
ADF Alliance Alert
Last Updated: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:31 AM PDT
ADF: Militant homosexual group faces federal suit, Bash Back! invaded MI church in Nov.
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
May 13, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
** IMAGES LINKED WITHIN TEXT BELOW **
ADF files suit against radical group that invaded Mich. church
Group that openly advocates ‘riots,’ ‘crime,’ ‘insurrection’ targeted church for its views
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit in federal court Wednesday against a radical anarchist group that openly advocates the use of riots and crime to further its views in favor of homosexual behavior. ADF attorneys filed the suit on behalf of Delta Township’s Mount Hope Church against the group “Bash Back!,” which invaded the church’s building during a worship service on Nov. 9 of last year.
“The use of violent threats and criminal behavior to make a political point should never be acceptable in America,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “Bash Back! revealed how dangerous the homosexual agenda is to our First Liberty, religious freedom. ADF filed this suit to stop Bash Back! and other activist groups from invading churches, disrupting worship, silencing pastors, and terrifying adults and children who attend religious services.”
The Bash Back! Web site, which features a banner photo of members http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackPhoto.jpg dressed in terrorist-like garb and wielding various objects as weapons, states on one page of the site http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackWebPage1.pdfthat the group’s activities include “Riots, Sex Work, Crime, Insurrection, you know the fun stuff we do.” The Lansing chapter of the group targeted Mount Hope Church because of the church’s well-known Christian views on marriage and homosexual behavior. Through another page of its Web site, http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackWebPage2.pdf the group covertly recruited participants for its plans on Nov. 9, seeking some who would be willing to maintain “a more ‘militant’-looking presence out side [sic] of the building.”
“I can tell you that we are targeting a well-known anti-queer, anti-choice radical right wing establishment,” the page said. “However, we cant [sic] give you really any detailed information due to the cop who’s [sic] ridiculous job it is to do surveillance over this blog…. ‘ONLY ONE DIRECTION! TRANS AND QUEER INSURRECTION!’ - Bash Back! Lansing”
On Nov. 9, members of the group dressed in militant garb staged a protest http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackMtHope.jpg outside the church during a worship service to distract security personnel, blocking access to the building and parking lot at various times. Other members of the group dressed in plain clothes then deceptively entered the building. At a coordinated time, they sprang up to disrupt the service, terrifying many attendees. The group shouted religious slurs, unfurled a sign, and threw fliers around the sanctuary while two women began kissing near the podium. The group pulled fire alarms as they ran out of the building. After the incident, the group bragged about its activities on its Web site http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackWebPage3.pdf and, on a separate page, explained its choice of Mount Hope: “This church is nothing short of a disease in the community, and in the minds of those who attend.”
Federal law imposes penalties upon anyone who “by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
Sample of images from Bash Back! (WARNING: Content may be considered highly offensive) http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackImages.pdf
Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in Mount Hope Church v. Bash Back! http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/MtHopeComplaint.pdf
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/default.aspx to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
http://www.telladf.org/
"The Web"
Chinese imports could bring GM political troubles
By TOM KRISHER
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090514/D985PEDO0.html
(AP) Clarifies that some models of the five brands are imported. Graphic shows GM imports
Full image http://apnews.myway.com/image/20090513/GM_IMPORTS_2.sff_GFX680_20090513173805.html?date=20090514&docid=D985PEDO0
DETROIT (AP) - As thousands of General Motors workers await word on more U.S. plant closures, reports that the company plans to import Chinese-made vehicles to the U.S. have created a political problem for the automaker and the White House.
The reports, which GM will neither confirm nor deny, could mean trouble because GM is supported by $15.4 billion in U.S. government loans, largely due to the Obama administration's desire to preserve the company's 90,000 U.S. jobs.
The United Auto Workers charged last week that the Detroit automaker intends to almost double over the next five years the number of vehicles it imports to the U.S. from Mexico, South Korea, China and Japan.
"GM should not be taking taxpayers' money simply to finance the outsourcing of jobs to other countries," Alan Reuther, the union's Washington lobbyist, wrote in a letter to U.S. lawmakers.
The carmaker, which was in danger of running out of cash early this year, faces a June 1 government deadline to cut costs and complete other restructuring measures or go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It also has requested another $11.6 billion in government loans to make it through this year, and faces the prospect that the government will soon be its largest shareholder.
On Wednesday, Shanghai Securities News and other Chinese media reported that GM plans to begin exporting vehicles from China to the U.S. within two years, ramping up sales to more than 50,000 by 2014.
GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson in Detroit would not comment on the reports. The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"GM is reviewing various options," GM's China office said in a written statement received Thursday. "We are not discussing details of our future portfolio, beyond what we have disclosed in auto shows and our viability plans."
But the report reiterated the company's emphasis on first meeting demand in the Chinese domestic market.
"GM's philosophy has always been to build where we sell, and we continue to believe that is the best strategy for long-term success, both from a product development and business planning standpoint," it said.
Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkley who specializes in labor issues, said increased overseas production and imports could prove politically tricky for GM.
"The reason is simple - production location is a corporate decision, but when it's on the taxpayer dime, there are different sensitivities, so the notion of billions for a rescue package and offshore production, I think, could be politically combustible," he said.
Shaiken said GM needs to lower costs, which is accomplished with cheaper overseas labor. But it must also address concerns of the U.S. government, which wants to preserve American jobs.
"GM is getting funding from U.S. taxpayers to help save the company," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said. "Taxpayers deserve more than Chinese imports in return. Taxpayer funds should be used to build the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S., not abroad. This is about creating jobs and rebuilding our economy."
GM, though, says the percentage of cars made and sold in the U.S. will remain stable.
Company documents show that American-made cars will comprise 67 percent of all vehicles sold in the country this year. The number drops slightly to 66 percent in GM's 2014 projections. Imports will amount to 33 percent this year, rising to 34 percent by 2014.
The company says the import mix could change by 2014, with fewer vehicles produced in Canada and more produced in Mexico and other countries.
"The percentage sold in the U.S. will stay constant within a percent or two," Wilkinson said. "The number of vehicles built in the U.S. will increase as the market recovers."
He reiterated that the company's goal is to build vehicles in the regions where they are sold, in part to avoid getting stung by currency fluctuations. GM, he said, builds 90 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. in North America, and that is not expected to change.
Of the 3 million vehicles GM sold in the U.S. last year, it imported the Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac G3 subcompacts from South Korea, the Pontiac G8 muscle car from Australia and the Saturn Astra compact from Belgium. The Saturn Vue, Chevrolet HHR small sport utility vehicles and several pickup truck models were imported from Mexico. Full-size pickup trucks, several sedans and small SUVs and the Chevrolet Camaro were brought in from Canada.
Still, the UAW generally opposes importing vehicles into the U.S. According to its figures, the percentage of GM's U.S. sales from Mexico, South Korea, Japan and China will increase from 15.5 percent now to 23.5 percent in 2014.
Reuther wrote that GM's increased imports would be equal to the output of four U.S. assembly plants, "the same number that GM plans to close."
The union currently is negotiating with GM for government-demanded labor cost cuts, including 16 plant closures. At a leadership meeting in Cleveland Wednesday, leaders were told to expect a vote on concessions before the June 1 deadline.
GM millwright Ron Bear of Belleville, Mich., who attended the meeting, said the rank-and-file would be unhappy with any more imports.
"As far as importing cars, what is that going to do for our jobs? I guess that's the question," he said.
GM would be the first company to import cars from China although automakers have brought in components in the past to save on labor costs. Most Chinese automakers have been daunted by meeting U.S. safety standards. They also face the uphill battle of winning consumer confidence for unfamiliar brands.
According to Chinese media reports, the primary exports to the U.S. would be small cars similar to the Chevrolet Spark subcompact.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, says it makes good business sense for GM to import subcompacts from China because the U.S. market for them is uncertain, but there is strong demand in China.
With gas prices around $2 per gallon most Americans will keep driving bigger cars. U.S. sales would be too small to justify the expense of building and equipping an assembly plant, he said. At the same time, exports to the U.S. would allow GM to keep its Chinese plants running at maximum capacity, which is the formula to make money, he said.
"In the short term, you're going to locate your plants where the core of the market is for that product," he said.
Cole suggested that for Obama, returning the company to viability would outweigh the drawbacks of importing some cars.
"What's more important, some jobs in a particular factory somewhere or the overall success of the company?" Cole asked. "That is really far more important."
Could I Be Mistaken for Jesus?
A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.
In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table that held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did.
The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the applies, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did.
Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears.
He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister..." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus? Isn't that what a Christian's goal should be? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world (shopping, working, reacting to others that are serving us) that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit. Let us live like we are worth the price He paid.
Fifty Years of Math 1957 - 2007 (in the USA )
Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:
1. Teaching Math In 1950s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok. )
6. Teaching Math In 2009
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80... Cuanto dinero ha hecho?
HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR: 2029
Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.
White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.
Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.
Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped.
Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.
Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.
France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation!
Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.
George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.
Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.
85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.
Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.
Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in Mexifornia and Floruba.
Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.
Abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States..
Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for 4532 Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.
Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.
Average height of NBA players is now nine feet, seven inches.
New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2030.
IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.
Floruba voters still having trouble with voting machines.
Now, send this to whomever you want and as many as you want, then, guess what… NOTHING will happen. No miracles, no money, absolutely nothing, except you might make someone smile or very very scared.
I Love This Country!
It's The Government That Scares Me!
"The e-mail Bag"
HOW TO INSTALL A HOME SECURITY SYSTEM WHEN ON A BUDGET:
1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots.
2. Place them on your front porch, along with several empty beer cans, a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine and several NRA magazines.
3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.
4. Leave a note on your door that reads: 'Hey Bubba, Big Jim, Duke and Slim, I went to the gun shop for more ammunition. Back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls -- they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it but it was hard to tell from all the blood.'
P S - 'I locked all four of 'em in the house... Better wait outside.'
INSTALLATION COMPLETE!!!!
"Daily Motivations"
Real optimism is aware of problems but recognizes solutions; knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome; sees the negatives, but accentuates the positives; is exposed to the worst but expects the best; has reason to complain, but chooses to smile. -- William Arthur Ward
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
The Urgency of the Hour The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Matt. 9:37). What is it going to take?
"May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is." (Ephesians 3:17-18)
"The Patriot Post"
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." -- Thomas Jefferson
Pelosi Caught in Another Lie
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is in hot water over her claim that she was not briefed in 2002 on waterboarding being practiced. She amended her story slightly in a press conference Thursday, saying, "The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed," adding, "those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information." She admitted to knowing about waterboarding in practice in 2003.
Whether or not Pelosi knew of the practice in 2002, the evidence is clear that she was present for the briefing on the technique, and she said nothing until it was more politically convenient. Claiming that she was lied to four years after the interrogation tactics became public doesn't pass the sniff test. The uproar even led House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), no close friend of Pelosi's, to declare earlier this week, "What was said and when it was said, who said it, I think that is probably what ought to be on the record as well." After what we can only assume was a waterboarding session with the speaker that night, Hoyer "clarified" that he didn't mean Pelosi, but Republicans. As blogger Ed Morrissey notes, "[Pelosi] had better hope that more detailed briefing notes never get made public. Pelosi just dared the CIA to leak again, and I don't think they're likely to get intimidated by her at this point."
From the 'Non Compos Mentis' File
"So my statement is clear, and let me read it again. Let me read it again. I'm sorry. I have to find the page. I was informed that the Department of Justice opinions had concluded that the use of enhanced interrogations was legal. The only mention of waterboarding was that the briefing -- in the briefing was that it was not being employed. When -- when -- when my staff person -- I'm sorry, the page is out of order -- five months later, my staff person told me that there had been a briefing -- informing that there had been a briefing and that a letter had been sent. I was not briefed on what was in that briefing; I was just informed that the briefing had taken place. So -- so let's get this straight." -- Nancy Pelosi
This Week's 'Alpha Jackass' Award
"You don't need banks and bondholders to make cars." -- an unnamed administration official
"ADF"
ADF Alliance Alert
Last Updated: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:31 AM PDT
ADF: Militant homosexual group faces federal suit, Bash Back! invaded MI church in Nov.
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
May 13, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
** IMAGES LINKED WITHIN TEXT BELOW **
ADF files suit against radical group that invaded Mich. church
Group that openly advocates ‘riots,’ ‘crime,’ ‘insurrection’ targeted church for its views
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit in federal court Wednesday against a radical anarchist group that openly advocates the use of riots and crime to further its views in favor of homosexual behavior. ADF attorneys filed the suit on behalf of Delta Township’s Mount Hope Church against the group “Bash Back!,” which invaded the church’s building during a worship service on Nov. 9 of last year.
“The use of violent threats and criminal behavior to make a political point should never be acceptable in America,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “Bash Back! revealed how dangerous the homosexual agenda is to our First Liberty, religious freedom. ADF filed this suit to stop Bash Back! and other activist groups from invading churches, disrupting worship, silencing pastors, and terrifying adults and children who attend religious services.”
The Bash Back! Web site, which features a banner photo of members http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackPhoto.jpg dressed in terrorist-like garb and wielding various objects as weapons, states on one page of the site http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackWebPage1.pdfthat the group’s activities include “Riots, Sex Work, Crime, Insurrection, you know the fun stuff we do.” The Lansing chapter of the group targeted Mount Hope Church because of the church’s well-known Christian views on marriage and homosexual behavior. Through another page of its Web site, http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackWebPage2.pdf the group covertly recruited participants for its plans on Nov. 9, seeking some who would be willing to maintain “a more ‘militant’-looking presence out side [sic] of the building.”
“I can tell you that we are targeting a well-known anti-queer, anti-choice radical right wing establishment,” the page said. “However, we cant [sic] give you really any detailed information due to the cop who’s [sic] ridiculous job it is to do surveillance over this blog…. ‘ONLY ONE DIRECTION! TRANS AND QUEER INSURRECTION!’ - Bash Back! Lansing”
On Nov. 9, members of the group dressed in militant garb staged a protest http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackMtHope.jpg outside the church during a worship service to distract security personnel, blocking access to the building and parking lot at various times. Other members of the group dressed in plain clothes then deceptively entered the building. At a coordinated time, they sprang up to disrupt the service, terrifying many attendees. The group shouted religious slurs, unfurled a sign, and threw fliers around the sanctuary while two women began kissing near the podium. The group pulled fire alarms as they ran out of the building. After the incident, the group bragged about its activities on its Web site http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackWebPage3.pdf and, on a separate page, explained its choice of Mount Hope: “This church is nothing short of a disease in the community, and in the minds of those who attend.”
Federal law imposes penalties upon anyone who “by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
Sample of images from Bash Back! (WARNING: Content may be considered highly offensive) http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/BashBackImages.pdf
Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in Mount Hope Church v. Bash Back! http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/UserDocs/MtHopeComplaint.pdf
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/default.aspx to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
http://www.telladf.org/
"The Web"
Chinese imports could bring GM political troubles
By TOM KRISHER
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090514/D985PEDO0.html
(AP) Clarifies that some models of the five brands are imported. Graphic shows GM imports
Full image http://apnews.myway.com/image/20090513/GM_IMPORTS_2.sff_GFX680_20090513173805.html?date=20090514&docid=D985PEDO0
DETROIT (AP) - As thousands of General Motors workers await word on more U.S. plant closures, reports that the company plans to import Chinese-made vehicles to the U.S. have created a political problem for the automaker and the White House.
The reports, which GM will neither confirm nor deny, could mean trouble because GM is supported by $15.4 billion in U.S. government loans, largely due to the Obama administration's desire to preserve the company's 90,000 U.S. jobs.
The United Auto Workers charged last week that the Detroit automaker intends to almost double over the next five years the number of vehicles it imports to the U.S. from Mexico, South Korea, China and Japan.
"GM should not be taking taxpayers' money simply to finance the outsourcing of jobs to other countries," Alan Reuther, the union's Washington lobbyist, wrote in a letter to U.S. lawmakers.
The carmaker, which was in danger of running out of cash early this year, faces a June 1 government deadline to cut costs and complete other restructuring measures or go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It also has requested another $11.6 billion in government loans to make it through this year, and faces the prospect that the government will soon be its largest shareholder.
On Wednesday, Shanghai Securities News and other Chinese media reported that GM plans to begin exporting vehicles from China to the U.S. within two years, ramping up sales to more than 50,000 by 2014.
GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson in Detroit would not comment on the reports. The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"GM is reviewing various options," GM's China office said in a written statement received Thursday. "We are not discussing details of our future portfolio, beyond what we have disclosed in auto shows and our viability plans."
But the report reiterated the company's emphasis on first meeting demand in the Chinese domestic market.
"GM's philosophy has always been to build where we sell, and we continue to believe that is the best strategy for long-term success, both from a product development and business planning standpoint," it said.
Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkley who specializes in labor issues, said increased overseas production and imports could prove politically tricky for GM.
"The reason is simple - production location is a corporate decision, but when it's on the taxpayer dime, there are different sensitivities, so the notion of billions for a rescue package and offshore production, I think, could be politically combustible," he said.
Shaiken said GM needs to lower costs, which is accomplished with cheaper overseas labor. But it must also address concerns of the U.S. government, which wants to preserve American jobs.
"GM is getting funding from U.S. taxpayers to help save the company," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said. "Taxpayers deserve more than Chinese imports in return. Taxpayer funds should be used to build the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S., not abroad. This is about creating jobs and rebuilding our economy."
GM, though, says the percentage of cars made and sold in the U.S. will remain stable.
Company documents show that American-made cars will comprise 67 percent of all vehicles sold in the country this year. The number drops slightly to 66 percent in GM's 2014 projections. Imports will amount to 33 percent this year, rising to 34 percent by 2014.
The company says the import mix could change by 2014, with fewer vehicles produced in Canada and more produced in Mexico and other countries.
"The percentage sold in the U.S. will stay constant within a percent or two," Wilkinson said. "The number of vehicles built in the U.S. will increase as the market recovers."
He reiterated that the company's goal is to build vehicles in the regions where they are sold, in part to avoid getting stung by currency fluctuations. GM, he said, builds 90 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. in North America, and that is not expected to change.
Of the 3 million vehicles GM sold in the U.S. last year, it imported the Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac G3 subcompacts from South Korea, the Pontiac G8 muscle car from Australia and the Saturn Astra compact from Belgium. The Saturn Vue, Chevrolet HHR small sport utility vehicles and several pickup truck models were imported from Mexico. Full-size pickup trucks, several sedans and small SUVs and the Chevrolet Camaro were brought in from Canada.
Still, the UAW generally opposes importing vehicles into the U.S. According to its figures, the percentage of GM's U.S. sales from Mexico, South Korea, Japan and China will increase from 15.5 percent now to 23.5 percent in 2014.
Reuther wrote that GM's increased imports would be equal to the output of four U.S. assembly plants, "the same number that GM plans to close."
The union currently is negotiating with GM for government-demanded labor cost cuts, including 16 plant closures. At a leadership meeting in Cleveland Wednesday, leaders were told to expect a vote on concessions before the June 1 deadline.
GM millwright Ron Bear of Belleville, Mich., who attended the meeting, said the rank-and-file would be unhappy with any more imports.
"As far as importing cars, what is that going to do for our jobs? I guess that's the question," he said.
GM would be the first company to import cars from China although automakers have brought in components in the past to save on labor costs. Most Chinese automakers have been daunted by meeting U.S. safety standards. They also face the uphill battle of winning consumer confidence for unfamiliar brands.
According to Chinese media reports, the primary exports to the U.S. would be small cars similar to the Chevrolet Spark subcompact.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, says it makes good business sense for GM to import subcompacts from China because the U.S. market for them is uncertain, but there is strong demand in China.
With gas prices around $2 per gallon most Americans will keep driving bigger cars. U.S. sales would be too small to justify the expense of building and equipping an assembly plant, he said. At the same time, exports to the U.S. would allow GM to keep its Chinese plants running at maximum capacity, which is the formula to make money, he said.
"In the short term, you're going to locate your plants where the core of the market is for that product," he said.
Cole suggested that for Obama, returning the company to viability would outweigh the drawbacks of importing some cars.
"What's more important, some jobs in a particular factory somewhere or the overall success of the company?" Cole asked. "That is really far more important."
Could I Be Mistaken for Jesus?
A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.
In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table that held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did.
The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the applies, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did.
Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears.
He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister..." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus? Isn't that what a Christian's goal should be? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world (shopping, working, reacting to others that are serving us) that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit. Let us live like we are worth the price He paid.
Fifty Years of Math 1957 - 2007 (in the USA )
Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:
1. Teaching Math In 1950s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok. )
6. Teaching Math In 2009
Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80... Cuanto dinero ha hecho?
HEADLINES FROM THE YEAR: 2029
Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.
White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.
Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.
Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped.
Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.
Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.
France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation!
Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.
George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.
Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.
85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.
Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.
Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in Mexifornia and Floruba.
Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.
Abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States..
Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for 4532 Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.
Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.
Average height of NBA players is now nine feet, seven inches.
New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2030.
IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.
Floruba voters still having trouble with voting machines.
Now, send this to whomever you want and as many as you want, then, guess what… NOTHING will happen. No miracles, no money, absolutely nothing, except you might make someone smile or very very scared.
I Love This Country!
It's The Government That Scares Me!
"The e-mail Bag"
HOW TO INSTALL A HOME SECURITY SYSTEM WHEN ON A BUDGET:
1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots.
2. Place them on your front porch, along with several empty beer cans, a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine and several NRA magazines.
3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.
4. Leave a note on your door that reads: 'Hey Bubba, Big Jim, Duke and Slim, I went to the gun shop for more ammunition. Back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls -- they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it but it was hard to tell from all the blood.'
P S - 'I locked all four of 'em in the house... Better wait outside.'
INSTALLATION COMPLETE!!!!
Monday, May 25, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report 20090525
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
"My Comments"
For this Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each of the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America!
A Tribute To Our Fallen Heroes, Veterans And Soldiers !!!
It is the VETERAN , not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN , not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN , not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN , not the politician, Who has given us! the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag.
It is the VETERAN, who serves under the Flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
I don't know if you saw this in the news but it really impressed me. Funny, our US Senate/House took 2 days off as they couldn't work because of the expected storm.
On the ABC evening news, it was reported that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabelle approaching Washington DC, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment.
They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!"
Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment; it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson.
The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
(Unknown Publisher)
We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.
God Bless Them All!!!
"Daily Motivations"
Our task in life is to find our deep soul work and throw ourselves headlong into it. -- Phil Cousineau
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Little Faith Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things (Matt. 6:34). Little faith is a worried faith.
"Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are His child, everything He has belongs to you." (Galatians 4:7)
"The Patriot Post"
"[T]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution." -- Alexander Hamilton
"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world." -- U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
"Now, where do some of these attacks originate? They're coming from the very people whose past policies, all done in the name of compassion, brought us the current recession. Their policies drove up inflation and interest rates, and their policies stifled incentive, creativity and halted the movement of the poor up the economic ladder. Some of their criticism is perfectly sincere. But let's also understand that some of their criticism comes from those who have a vested interest in a permanent welfare constituency and in government programs that reinforce the dependency of our people. Well, I would suggest that no one should have a vested interest in poverty or dependency, that these tragedies must never be looked at as a source of votes for politicians or paychecks for bureaucrats. They are blights on our society that we must work to eliminate, not institutionalize." -- Ronald Reagan
"I want the government to get the hell out of our way and let us act like the free people our founding fathers wanted us to be, and not like subjects of an all-knowing, all-powerful federal government. The listening tour is nothing but Republican gimmickry. The reality is that had they been listening over the past four years of the Bush presidency they would have seen the disaster of 2006 coming and they would have seen the catastrophe of 2008 coming. Instead, they turned a deaf ear to the Republican conservatives not only on Capitol Hill, but to those out across America. They lost in 2006 and 2008 because they stopped listening to the 'nostalgia' for the conservative principles which guided my dad's administrations ...[and] made us the wealthiest and most-powerful nation in world history. The lesson they taught was that you don't win elections by saying 'me too,' and trying to substitute a Republican version of big-government, wild-spending quasi-socialist agenda for a Democrat big-government, wild-spending quasi-socialist agenda. ... If they start listening, what they'll hear is a demand that the Republican Party get back to the principles and beliefs embodied by Ronald Reagan." -- radio talk-show host Michael Reagan
"Barack Obama's vision of America is one in which a President of the United States can fire the head of General Motors, tell banks how to bank, control the medical system and take charge of all sorts of other activities for which neither he nor other politicians have any expertise or experience. The Constitution of the United States gives no president, nor the entire federal government, the authority to do such things. But spending trillions of dollars to bail out all sorts of companies buys the power to tell them how to operate. Appointing judges to the federal courts -- including the Supreme Court -- who believe in expanding the powers of the federal government to make arbitrary decisions, choosing who will be winners and losers in the economy and in the society, is perfectly consistent with a vision of the world where self-confident and self-righteous elites rule according to their own notions, instead of merely governing under the restraints of the Constitution." -- Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell
"The Web"
Born Again American
http://www.bornagainamerican.org/index.php
Cann Memorial Day 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=911vzdjPHkM
Don't Support H.R. 45, the Firearm Licensing bill (2009)
http://mixedink.com/GovTrackUs/111Hr45Against
FINAL VERSION
This Letter to Members of Congress was created by 456 members of Gov Track Us using the democratic, collaborative writing tools at MixedInk.com. For more about how it was created, see here. It can be republished only if accompanied by this note.
http://mixedink.com/GovTrackUs/111Hr45Against
Dear Representatives,
WE THE PEOPLE DO NOT SUPPORT H.R.45, the Firearm Licensing bill (2009).
WE are tired of our rights being denigrated and destroyed.
Our vote for any such bill is NO! Further, any politician who votes for this bill or any bill of this type will be noted, and voted against when they come up for re-election.
There are currently over 20,000 existing gun laws on the books and most of them do nothing to stop or curtail criminals. Reducing restictions to lawful gun ownership, however, have proven to do just that. Statistics are clear. Where ever lawful gun ownership flourishes, crime rates, by whatever measure, are reduced. In states with lawful handgun carry laws, crime rates are lower. The rate of crimes committed by lawful owners of firearms is a very small percentage of the overall rate of crimes committed with firearms and those numbers are undeniable. The federally required NICS is an excellent tool in determining the eligibility of an individual to legally purchase a handgun or rifle. In the city of Kennesaw, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, it is required by law that every home have a gun. After that law was passed in 1982, the crime rate immediately dropped by 89% and has remained among the lowest in the state ever since. Instance after instance shows that high legal gun ownership relates to lower crime, and places that make it hard to own guns or ban them altogether relates to a higher crime rate. Look at many of the larger, supposedly progressive cities and states in the northeastern U.S. Many have some of the highest rates of gun crime there are simply because the criminals know there is little chance of being confronted by a law abiding gun owner.
Stop criminalizing the lawful and law abiding gun owners. The studies by Department of Justice themselves show that these such weapons are used in a statistically insignificant portion of crime. And when they are used, their use would not have been prevented by the legislation.
History and statistics both prove that such bills are destructive to the citizenry. If this bills' purpose is to truly "protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death" then the Congress should realize that the only threats to the public are from a criminal element that this bill (unlike others that already exist and are not enforced) will not address, and from the government itself. We would like to think it would not happen here, but as the government is getting larger, and the people weaker, we should always consider history.
* In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated. This doesn't include the 30 million "Uncle Joe" starved to death in the Ukraine.
* In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
* Germany established gun control in 1928. In 1938, the Nazis extended that control to ban the possession of military style weapons and to outlaw the sale of any weapons without government approval. (This sounds a lot like some of the current gun control efforts being pushed for in our country today.) From 1939 to 1945, the Gestapo & SS killed millions of people unable to defend themselves.
* China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.
* Guatamala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.
* Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated. The total dead are said to be 2-3 million.
* Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, 1-2 million "educated" people unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
* Defenseless people rounded up & exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million at a bare minimum.
* During W.W. II the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED.
Note: Admiral Yamamoto, who crafted the attack on Pearl Harbor, had attended Harvard University from 1919 to 1921 and was a Naval Attache to the U.S. from 1925-28. Most of our Navy was destroyed at Pearl Harbor, and our Army had been deprived of funding and was ill prepared to defend the country. It was reported that when asked why Japan did not follow up the Pearl Harbor attack with an invasion of the U.S. Mainland, his reply was that he had lived in the U.S. and knew that almost all households had guns.
* Gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results: Australia-wide, homicides went up 3.2 percent; Australia-wide, assaults went up 8.6 percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies went up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent). While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady DECREASE in armed robbery with firearms, that changed drastically upward in the first year after gun confiscation... since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed; There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults on the Elderly. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort & expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
With guns.... We are "citizens".
Without Them.... We are "subjects".
WE THE PEOPLE do not give our government the right to track our every movement and location, registration of our personal property, track commerce of our personal propery, keep our personal identification information (or property {whether firearms or ammunition} or possessions) in a federal or state database, the federal government to run laws in our state or local municipalities, or confiscate our firearms for any reason. We are not criminals, and WE THE PEOPLE do not give the government the right to treat us as such.
The undersigned.
A Most Humbling Test - Folks, This is a "Goodun". Pass this year 1895, 8th. grade test and you will qualify today, ready for our finest US universities. They didn't teach me some of this "stuff" when I was in school. How about you? - oyh
Take this test and pass it on to your more literate friends..
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...
Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam:
Salina , KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.
Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
Also shows you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers!
"The e-mail Bag"
Welcome To Wal-Mart
So after landing my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter, a good find for many retirees, I lasted less than a day...
About two hours into my first day on the job a very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into the store with her two kids, Yelling obscenities at them all the way through the entrance.
As I had been instructed, I said pleasantly, 'Good morning and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?'
The ugly woman stopped yelling long enough to say, 'Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just stupid?'
So I replied, "I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am, I just couldn't believe someone slept with you twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart."
My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work.
The Collard Greens
An old black man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his yearly collard green garden, but it was always very hard work for him because the ground was hard. His only son, Junebug Jankins III, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.
Dear Junebugg Jankins III:
I am feeling pretty bad because it look like I won't be able to plant my collard green garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son:
Dear Daddy Jankins,
Whatever you do, don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES.
Love, Junebugg Jankins III
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
Dear Daddy Jankins,
You can go ahead and plant the collard greens now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love, Junebugg III.
"My Comments"
For this Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each of the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America!
A Tribute To Our Fallen Heroes, Veterans And Soldiers !!!
It is the VETERAN , not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN , not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN , not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN , not the politician, Who has given us! the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag.
It is the VETERAN, who serves under the Flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
I don't know if you saw this in the news but it really impressed me. Funny, our US Senate/House took 2 days off as they couldn't work because of the expected storm.
On the ABC evening news, it was reported that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabelle approaching Washington DC, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment.
They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!"
Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment; it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson.
The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
(Unknown Publisher)
We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.
God Bless Them All!!!
"Daily Motivations"
Our task in life is to find our deep soul work and throw ourselves headlong into it. -- Phil Cousineau
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Little Faith Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things (Matt. 6:34). Little faith is a worried faith.
"Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are His child, everything He has belongs to you." (Galatians 4:7)
"The Patriot Post"
"[T]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution." -- Alexander Hamilton
"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world." -- U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
"Now, where do some of these attacks originate? They're coming from the very people whose past policies, all done in the name of compassion, brought us the current recession. Their policies drove up inflation and interest rates, and their policies stifled incentive, creativity and halted the movement of the poor up the economic ladder. Some of their criticism is perfectly sincere. But let's also understand that some of their criticism comes from those who have a vested interest in a permanent welfare constituency and in government programs that reinforce the dependency of our people. Well, I would suggest that no one should have a vested interest in poverty or dependency, that these tragedies must never be looked at as a source of votes for politicians or paychecks for bureaucrats. They are blights on our society that we must work to eliminate, not institutionalize." -- Ronald Reagan
"I want the government to get the hell out of our way and let us act like the free people our founding fathers wanted us to be, and not like subjects of an all-knowing, all-powerful federal government. The listening tour is nothing but Republican gimmickry. The reality is that had they been listening over the past four years of the Bush presidency they would have seen the disaster of 2006 coming and they would have seen the catastrophe of 2008 coming. Instead, they turned a deaf ear to the Republican conservatives not only on Capitol Hill, but to those out across America. They lost in 2006 and 2008 because they stopped listening to the 'nostalgia' for the conservative principles which guided my dad's administrations ...[and] made us the wealthiest and most-powerful nation in world history. The lesson they taught was that you don't win elections by saying 'me too,' and trying to substitute a Republican version of big-government, wild-spending quasi-socialist agenda for a Democrat big-government, wild-spending quasi-socialist agenda. ... If they start listening, what they'll hear is a demand that the Republican Party get back to the principles and beliefs embodied by Ronald Reagan." -- radio talk-show host Michael Reagan
"Barack Obama's vision of America is one in which a President of the United States can fire the head of General Motors, tell banks how to bank, control the medical system and take charge of all sorts of other activities for which neither he nor other politicians have any expertise or experience. The Constitution of the United States gives no president, nor the entire federal government, the authority to do such things. But spending trillions of dollars to bail out all sorts of companies buys the power to tell them how to operate. Appointing judges to the federal courts -- including the Supreme Court -- who believe in expanding the powers of the federal government to make arbitrary decisions, choosing who will be winners and losers in the economy and in the society, is perfectly consistent with a vision of the world where self-confident and self-righteous elites rule according to their own notions, instead of merely governing under the restraints of the Constitution." -- Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell
"The Web"
Born Again American
http://www.bornagainamerican.org/index.php
Cann Memorial Day 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=911vzdjPHkM
Don't Support H.R. 45, the Firearm Licensing bill (2009)
http://mixedink.com/GovTrackUs/111Hr45Against
FINAL VERSION
This Letter to Members of Congress was created by 456 members of Gov Track Us using the democratic, collaborative writing tools at MixedInk.com. For more about how it was created, see here. It can be republished only if accompanied by this note.
http://mixedink.com/GovTrackUs/111Hr45Against
Dear Representatives,
WE THE PEOPLE DO NOT SUPPORT H.R.45, the Firearm Licensing bill (2009).
WE are tired of our rights being denigrated and destroyed.
Our vote for any such bill is NO! Further, any politician who votes for this bill or any bill of this type will be noted, and voted against when they come up for re-election.
There are currently over 20,000 existing gun laws on the books and most of them do nothing to stop or curtail criminals. Reducing restictions to lawful gun ownership, however, have proven to do just that. Statistics are clear. Where ever lawful gun ownership flourishes, crime rates, by whatever measure, are reduced. In states with lawful handgun carry laws, crime rates are lower. The rate of crimes committed by lawful owners of firearms is a very small percentage of the overall rate of crimes committed with firearms and those numbers are undeniable. The federally required NICS is an excellent tool in determining the eligibility of an individual to legally purchase a handgun or rifle. In the city of Kennesaw, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, it is required by law that every home have a gun. After that law was passed in 1982, the crime rate immediately dropped by 89% and has remained among the lowest in the state ever since. Instance after instance shows that high legal gun ownership relates to lower crime, and places that make it hard to own guns or ban them altogether relates to a higher crime rate. Look at many of the larger, supposedly progressive cities and states in the northeastern U.S. Many have some of the highest rates of gun crime there are simply because the criminals know there is little chance of being confronted by a law abiding gun owner.
Stop criminalizing the lawful and law abiding gun owners. The studies by Department of Justice themselves show that these such weapons are used in a statistically insignificant portion of crime. And when they are used, their use would not have been prevented by the legislation.
History and statistics both prove that such bills are destructive to the citizenry. If this bills' purpose is to truly "protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death" then the Congress should realize that the only threats to the public are from a criminal element that this bill (unlike others that already exist and are not enforced) will not address, and from the government itself. We would like to think it would not happen here, but as the government is getting larger, and the people weaker, we should always consider history.
* In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated. This doesn't include the 30 million "Uncle Joe" starved to death in the Ukraine.
* In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
* Germany established gun control in 1928. In 1938, the Nazis extended that control to ban the possession of military style weapons and to outlaw the sale of any weapons without government approval. (This sounds a lot like some of the current gun control efforts being pushed for in our country today.) From 1939 to 1945, the Gestapo & SS killed millions of people unable to defend themselves.
* China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.
* Guatamala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.
* Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated. The total dead are said to be 2-3 million.
* Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, 1-2 million "educated" people unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
* Defenseless people rounded up & exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million at a bare minimum.
* During W.W. II the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED.
Note: Admiral Yamamoto, who crafted the attack on Pearl Harbor, had attended Harvard University from 1919 to 1921 and was a Naval Attache to the U.S. from 1925-28. Most of our Navy was destroyed at Pearl Harbor, and our Army had been deprived of funding and was ill prepared to defend the country. It was reported that when asked why Japan did not follow up the Pearl Harbor attack with an invasion of the U.S. Mainland, his reply was that he had lived in the U.S. and knew that almost all households had guns.
* Gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results: Australia-wide, homicides went up 3.2 percent; Australia-wide, assaults went up 8.6 percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies went up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent). While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady DECREASE in armed robbery with firearms, that changed drastically upward in the first year after gun confiscation... since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed; There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults on the Elderly. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort & expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
With guns.... We are "citizens".
Without Them.... We are "subjects".
WE THE PEOPLE do not give our government the right to track our every movement and location, registration of our personal property, track commerce of our personal propery, keep our personal identification information (or property {whether firearms or ammunition} or possessions) in a federal or state database, the federal government to run laws in our state or local municipalities, or confiscate our firearms for any reason. We are not criminals, and WE THE PEOPLE do not give the government the right to treat us as such.
The undersigned.
A Most Humbling Test - Folks, This is a "Goodun". Pass this year 1895, 8th. grade test and you will qualify today, ready for our finest US universities. They didn't teach me some of this "stuff" when I was in school. How about you? - oyh
Take this test and pass it on to your more literate friends..
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...
Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam:
Salina , KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.
Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
Also shows you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers!
"The e-mail Bag"
Welcome To Wal-Mart
So after landing my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter, a good find for many retirees, I lasted less than a day...
About two hours into my first day on the job a very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into the store with her two kids, Yelling obscenities at them all the way through the entrance.
As I had been instructed, I said pleasantly, 'Good morning and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?'
The ugly woman stopped yelling long enough to say, 'Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just stupid?'
So I replied, "I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am, I just couldn't believe someone slept with you twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart."
My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work.
The Collard Greens
An old black man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his yearly collard green garden, but it was always very hard work for him because the ground was hard. His only son, Junebug Jankins III, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.
Dear Junebugg Jankins III:
I am feeling pretty bad because it look like I won't be able to plant my collard green garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son:
Dear Daddy Jankins,
Whatever you do, don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES.
Love, Junebugg Jankins III
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
Dear Daddy Jankins,
You can go ahead and plant the collard greens now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love, Junebugg III.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Memorial Day Salute
This Memorial Day, Let's not forget.
http://dadyer.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/22/2851994-memorial-day-salute
Our President needs to review his history books. Maybe he thinks we are arrogant because we have taken up too much prime property in Europe to bury our dead!
We have come to Europe's aid twice and turned the outcome of the wars in their favor, only asking for enough ground in their countries to bury our dead. He needs to wake up and understand who we are as a nation and as a people! I think we deserve to have a little "swagger"!
Our President could not find the time to visit our fallen heroes on his last trip, but he found time to make a special trip to California to visit the MTV crowd. Could it be that dead soldiers can't vote??
Kind of puts things in perspective ................So, why do we apologize?
How many European cemeteries are there in this country? Yep, "0"
Lest we ever forget the sacrifices made!!
Fly the Flag!
Apologize to no one.
Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.
As Americans, let's all look forward - like to the next elections.
IF I ADDED CORRECTLY THE COUNT IS 104,366
http://dadyer.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/22/2851994-memorial-day-salute
Our President needs to review his history books. Maybe he thinks we are arrogant because we have taken up too much prime property in Europe to bury our dead!
We have come to Europe's aid twice and turned the outcome of the wars in their favor, only asking for enough ground in their countries to bury our dead. He needs to wake up and understand who we are as a nation and as a people! I think we deserve to have a little "swagger"!
Our President could not find the time to visit our fallen heroes on his last trip, but he found time to make a special trip to California to visit the MTV crowd. Could it be that dead soldiers can't vote??
Kind of puts things in perspective ................So, why do we apologize?
How many European cemeteries are there in this country? Yep, "0"
Lest we ever forget the sacrifices made!!
Fly the Flag!
Apologize to no one.
Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.
As Americans, let's all look forward - like to the next elections.
IF I ADDED CORRECTLY THE COUNT IS 104,366
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