Obama has lost Mo Dowd

Read the whole column (h/t Instapundit), and note especially the last line:

"Heck of a job, Barry."

If Hopenchange has lost Maureen Dowd, he's toast.

Day-brightener

There is hope!

The odds are still against Republicans picking up the 41 seats they need for a House majority. But it's interesting that when Massachusetts Democrat Michael Capuano, fresh from a second-place finish in the primary for Edward Kennedy's Senate seat, was asked to tell the Democratic caucus what he had learned on the campaign trail, he replied in two words: "You're screwed." How many of those listening decided that it would be a good idea to spend more time with the family after 2010? (emphasis added)

HA!

Now, if you want to help send Michael Capuano's message to Democrats, please go here and Strike a Blow for Freedom, right now, by making a donation to Sean Duffy for Congress.

At least go to his website and take a good look at the future. It means retiring Democrat David Obey - who's been in Congress since 1969! - and sending in his place a true conservative, a husband and father to five young children, a prosecutor and log-rolling champion.

I can't wait till 2010!

Obama: Destroying our economy, one step at a time

Remember this?

Obama said he wanted to bankrupt the coal companies.

Looks like he's making progress on that goal.

Pittsburgh-based coal company, CONSOL Energy, will lay off nearly 500 of its West Virginia workers next year and its CEO blames environmentalists dead-set against mountaintop mining who have waged “nuisance” lawsuits for the job loss.

But CONSOL Energy’s political problems are not unique to the mining industry, which has suffered under the Obama Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency is already holding 79 surface mining permits in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant "enhanced" review. And, agency went even further in October, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia.

Full article here.

Congress: Like Satan

This cracked me up:

One telling moment came after Hart asked each voter to write the name that comes to mind when they think of Congress. Bill, a 62-year-old retired automobile-industry executive and independent who backed Obama, wrote "Satan." When Hart asked why, Bill answered, "Because I wasn't sure of the correct spelling of 'Beelzebub.' " Now that's intensity.

I can't say I disagree with Bill.

Via The Conservatives and Insty.

Why Bernanke shouldn't be reappointed

This is all you need to see. It's so disheartening.

And note: it's a Democrat doing the questioning. Good for him!

Robert Gibbs: What a guy.

Watch and listen at about 32:47 -- he compares a women reporter to his young child. And she was NOT happy about it, either.

Via Instapundit.

Best news I've read all week

Every so often, I stroll over to Daily Kos to see what the lefties are saying. Today I found this:

Two in five Democratic voters either consider themselves unlikely to vote [in 2010] at this point in time, or have already made the firm decision to remove themselves from the 2010 electorate pool. Indeed, Democrats were three times more likely to say that they will "definitely not vote" in 2010 than are Republicans.

Ha! And then, even better:

This enormous enthusiasm gap, as well as some polling analysis done by PPP (and analyzed well here by Nate Silver), seems to make passing legitimate health care reform an absolute political necessity for Democrats. This polling data certainly should be something for Congressional leadership to consider, as they move along the legislative path. (emphasis added)

Seems like a good plan -- but only if you want the Republicans to completely take over both houses next year.

Just thought I'd share; I know my regular readers (all three of you) might be heartened by that bit of news. And I spared you the agony of having to read through Daily Kos.

You can thank me in the comments. :)

Juan Williams on Limbaugh and the NFL

Very good stuff:



Via Little Miss Attila

Hopenchange

Scary.

How's that public plan workin' for ya?

H/T Mommy Life (highly recommended; read this for a dose of real inspiration).

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger on virtues

Just heard Captain Sullenberger say this on Neil Cavuto:

"Part of what the book is about is a reaffirmation that cultivating seemingly ordinary virtues throughout one's life can prepare one to face extraordinary circumstances."

A perfect summation of what we should all try to do every day: Cultivate the ordinary virtues in our ordinary lives, and we, too, might achieve heroic status. Even without having to land a plane on water.

Another anonymous comment

The anonymous commenter stopped by again, here, a few days ago, but I've been too busy lately to post anything about it till now.

I actually don't work for Senator Kohl, although I gladly would work for either senator from my home state. I won't bother you with any more comments after this one, but I would like to say that there is no correct view - there are pros and cons to either party. There are democrats who genuinely care about the wellbeing [sic] of their constituents, and Senator Kohl is among them.

I won't post a screencap of the ISP info, because this time it wasn't from Senate.gov but from a private Internet provider in D.C.

My anonymous guest, you say there's no "correct view", there are "pros and cons to either party". Let's just keep talking about Cash for Clunkers for now, OK? We can get to the pros and cons of each party some other time, maybe.

I presented certain facts about Cash for Clunkers at the links in previous posts. Assuming those facts are true (and in this case, there's no argument from either side about the facts), we come to just one conclusion: This program was a very costly failure.

Senator Herb Kohl may very well care about the well-being of his constituents. But in this case, he was on the wrong side of the issue, and thus, inadvertently, harmed his constituents by spending their tax dollars in a counter-productive way.

A larger point: If Senator Kohl's concern for us leads him to believe that it's the government's job to guarantee our well-being, he will end up making more of those incorrect decisions. It's impossible for the government to guarantee our "well-being", however one might define that. However, in a misguided attempt to do so, they will pass more laws, increase the span of government control, and spend more of our tax dollars (sinking us ever deeper into a very dangerous level of debt), thus taking away more of our liberty and our individual and national economic stability.

That would definitely be an "incorrect" thing to do.

If you need more proof...

... that Cash for Clunkers was yet another horrible government idea, read this.

The basic fallacy of cash for clunkers is that you can somehow create wealth by destroying existing assets that are still productive, in this case cars that still work. Under the program, auto dealers were required to destroy the car engines of trade-ins with a sodium silicate solution, then smash them and send them to the junk yard. As the journalist Henry Hazlitt wrote in his classic, "Economics in One Lesson," you can't raise living standards by breaking windows so some people can get jobs repairing them.

In the category of all-time dumb ideas, cash for clunkers rivals the New Deal brainstorm to slaughter pigs to raise pork prices. The people who really belong in the junk yard are the wizards in Washington who peddled this economic malarkey.

If you're thinking, "but, still, it did something great for the environment!", think again: the upgrade to more fuel efficient models saved maybe one day's worth of gas consumption.

Go read the whole thing.

A little fisking of that comment from below

Now it's time to have some fun with the "Anonymous" commenter from this post. I almost hate to waste the pixels on this, as really, it's hardly worth the trouble. But, hey, it's my blog, and that comment is definitely a "target-rich environment", as they say. So, here we go!

"Anonymous" said:

I know you probably won't post this, [wrong! and that won't be the last time in this comment] since my comment does not mesh with your views, [what, you thought I was afraid of a little opposition?] but I hope that you'll at least read it. You are sadly mistaken regarding just about everything you write. [The power of your argument already underwhelms. "Just about everything" I write? Really?? Can you actually point out any places where my facts are wrong? No? I didn't think so.] Perhaps you've seen Glen Beck cry [OK, this is picky, but wrong again; it's G-L-E-N-N] and have been moved by his "genuine" sadness regarding the state of the nation. [No, not really, but my teen daughter wants to know if you've been moved by Nancy Pelosi's crocodile tears.] Perhaps you've watched too many hours of the Fox News channel so your views are no longer your own. [Novel theory, that. Whose views would they be, exactly, if not mine? You think my brain becomes property of FOX after a certain number of programs viewed? But I suppose those of you who watch "the CBS news channel" or "the MSNBC" or "the CNN" maintain full and complete ownership of your views, which spring, Athena-like, from your brows, yes? Anyway, don't sell me short; I happen to get my news from a huge variety of sources, unlike most lefties I know.]

I thank God every day that the Bush Administration is out of office and has been replaced by one that is concerned about things like bringing our troops home from an unnecessary war in Iraq [really? I seem to have missed that announcement from the White House], ending torture and abuse of prisoners, [wrong again; we didn't torture prisoners. I thought waterboarding might be torture -- until I learned that Christopher Hitchens volunteered to have it done to him, and that we do this to our troops as part of their training. Ipso facto, it's not torture. End of discussion], focusing on rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals, [huh? again, I must have missed this announcement from the White House, unless by this you mean sending Gitmo prisoners to Bermuda. Rehabilitation? HA!] and ensuring that our public schools have the resources they need to succeed. [Oh yeah, that's what our public schools need. More money. And on the back of the 47% of us who are taxpayers, I suppose, funneled through our completely broke federal government. What shocking brilliance.]

You may have a problem with social programs. A lot of you do. [By "a lot of you", do you mean those of us who are intelligent, productive taxpayers? But what do you mean by "have a problem with social programs"? We're certainly not opposed to safety-net programs for legitimate citizens who are truly in desperate straits.] I certainly hope that you refuse to take part in Medicare or Social Security. You should avoid those out of principle, right? [Actually, I'd be thrilled if a Congressman or Senator would introduce a bill to start scaling back on the promised Medicare and Social Security benefits for my generation, because we simply can't afford it. Rather than see our government completely wrecked by these out-of-control Ponzi schemes, I'd much rather see the programs severely scaled back. Including for myself. And if our government would make Social Security voluntary, I would most definitely opt out, immediately. But then you don't get to collect anything out of my paycheck for it, either.]

You say that the Cash for Clunkers program did not work. [No, I didn't just "say" it, I proved it. Did you bother to follow the links in that post? Cash for Clunkers was an EPIC FAIL.] You say that people are buying vehicles that they cannot afford. [Some of them did, absolutely.] However, you also advocate less government regulation of individuals, so shouldn't these people be allowed to make such poor decisions? [OK, this is where I don't know if I should laugh or cry. This is the most ludicrous statement that it makes me laugh... but then again, can someone with such poor logic really be working in our government? That makes me want to cry. Let's try this: I DON'T WANT THE GOVERNMENT TAKING MY MONEY TO GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE BAD DECISIONS!!! If they want to make their own bad decisions, let them do it with THEIR money!!! Is that really so hard to understand??]

I certainly hope you are not a Wisconsinite, because I am, [I don't really hide the fact that I blog from Wisconsin] and would not want to identify [I don't think that word means what you think it means; you probably meant to say "associate". Don't worry, I don't particularly want to associate with you, either, though I wouldn't mind meeting with you and sitting down over a civilized glass of wine so I could explain my ideas to you. You might learn something.] with a town hall yeller [Wrong again. I've never yelled, ever, in a townhall meeting] such as yourself. Pathetic. [Nice. Thank you for the insults.]

Gee, that was fun.

According to my Sitemeter stats, you've been back to visit today, My Dear Anonymous Commenter. Please do stop by often.

Interesting visitor and "anonymous" commenter

This morning I received a very interesting comment on my post about the letter from Herb Kohl.

You should be able to click on the image below to enlarge it (or, as the cool bloggers say, "embiggen" it).

Anyway, that screenshot indicates my "anonymous" commenter most likely is an employee of the United States Senate. If I had to guess - and this is just a guess - I'd say it's probably a young staffer in Herb Kohl's office. The IP address indicates the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms, which owns the IP addresses for the U.S Senate. (The linked Wikinews article is about other federal employees meddling with Wikipedia.)

Aren't you glad to know that a federal employee (or perhaps an unpaid intern) took the time out of his busy day to spend about 12 minutes visiting my blog?

And that he made sure to insult me? I'm a mere citizen, a taxpayer, exercising my right to free speech here, but this employee of the United States Government called me a "town hall yeller" (really? I've been to many townhall meetings and never once have I yelled at anyone) and "pathetic".

Last time I checked, federal government employees were supposed to serve the people, not insult them.

I guess to leftists, it's all the same. Serve, insult, whatever.

But please advise me: Should I call Senator Kohl's office and try to find out who the anonymous person was? Wouldn't that be kind of interesting? Maybe the Senator would want to know that his staffers are taking time out of their day to insult his constituents.

On the other hand, maybe that's OK with him seeing as he sort of does that himself.

Why do I feel like singing?!?

Ah, sweet, sweet schadenfreude!

Honestly, I am totally stunned (and completely thrilled) that Obama didn't land the Olympics for Chicago. I really thought he must have known he had it locked up (or that he was going to pull such under-the-table deals that nobody could resist him).

At the same time, I'm more than irritated that he risked the awesome power and prestige of the United States presidency on such a meaningless task.

Still -- HA! He failed, his giant ego has been taken down a notch, and Rahm and Da Mayor and Senator Burris all look like the bunch of corrupt, pathetic hacks that they are. That's worth something. In addition, the taxpayers of Chicago will be spared the expense of hosting an Olympics, with all the white elephant stadiums and venues left over afterwards.

But darn, I really wish I hadn't gone to confession already today, because this post is so horribly uncharitable that I feel the need to go back.

In the meantime, here's another song to celebrate Rio getting the Olympics:

A Letter from The Honorable Herb Kohl

I'd called his office to register my disapproval of the Cash for Clunkers program. Yesterday, I received a reply from him that can only be described as inane, unless you describe it as pathetic, unless you describe it as delusional.

Yes, actually, delusional is the word I want.

For example, The Honorable Senator said that the Cash for Clunkers program was an "overwhelming success."

Sure, if by "success" you mean destruction of a country's assets and wealth (700,000 usable, working vehicles were destroyed), and if you mean the artificial pulling forward of demand (vehicle sales are plummeting), and if you mean a complete waste of $3 billion of taxpayer money (rather than saving on fuel, the program will lead to the burning of more gasoline during the first few years of new car ownership).

If that's not enough, the program enticed a whole lot of Americans to turn in a car which they most likely owned free and clear to buy a new car with expensive monthly payments they very likely can't afford. Probably not the greatest idea during a severe recession with high unemployment and lots of other jobs on the line, not to mention that Americans are saddled with nearly a trillion dollars in revolving consumer debt (not including mortgages).

Oh, and once again our federal government showed its complete obliviousness to the "Forgotten Man": They took money from Group A (we the taxpayers, an ever-shrinking group) to give to Group B (the auto dealers who got the $4500 per car and had increased sales for a few weeks), in order to benefit Group C (the people who got the new fuel-efficient car to theoretically save a little bit on their gas expenses). We, the taxpayers, are the Forgotten Man in this scam.

As this article puts it:

[Cash for Clunkers] took $2.8 billion from the general roster of 300 million citizens and handed it tax-free to a small group of 700,000 citizens.

Topping it off, this tax-free benefit was only available to those who had not already bought a fuel-efficient car, thus rewarding people who didn't do "the right thing" in the past.

Nice job, Senator Kohl and President Obama. Once again you prove that you have no idea what you're doing and will most definitely bring this country to ruin.

Unmask the man

The following was written by my nephew, a sophomore in college, after he heard the aunts and uncles talking politics this weekend:

So I Googled Gadaffi because you guys were talking about how he's a big supporter of Obama and this is what I found:

Gaddafi based his new regime on a blend of Arab nationalism, aspects of the welfare state, and what Gaddafi termed "direct, popular democracy". He called this system "Islamic socialism", and, while he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones. Welfare, "liberation", and education were emphasized. He also imposed a system of Islamic morals, outlawing alcohol and gambling. Like previous revolutionary figures of the 20th century such as Mao and his Little Red Book, Gaddafi outlined his political philosophy in his "Green Book" to reinforce the ideals of this socialist-Islamic state and published in three volumes between 1975 and 1979.

So don't be surprised if Obama comes out with a "Little Blue Book" soon. Just thought it was interesting... ADIOS!

As was said in the post below, Obama needs to be unmasked as soon as possible, before he does so much damage that we'll never be able to recover.

"Unmask the man"

I absolutely agree with this Hillsdale College professor (h/t Instapundit).

If we are to comprehend what is going on, we must pay close attention not only to what Obama says but to what he conveys in other ways. His tone is nearly always moderate but what he hints at and what he intimates by way of body language often convey the opposite. Witness his warm embrace of Hugo Chavez. Behind the thin veneer of politeness, there is, I suspect, something ugly lurking. In the first of the autobiographies that he claims to have written, Barack Obama frequently speaks of himself as being in the grips of rage. We would do well to take him at his word. If we are to stop him from doing great damage to this country and to our friends and allies, we must take every opportunity that comes our way to unmask the man.

Go, read it all.

A July dinner

Today, browsing through drafts of posts that I just never got around to publishing, I found this one about the dinner we had on July 24th. Yes, it was so good that it deserved a post of its own. To wit:

• Grilled salmon fillets basted with honey-mustard-dill, garnished with fresh dill from the herb garden;
• Fresh cubed cantaloupe;
• Steamed asparagus with butter and lemon-pepper;
• My famous coleslaw made with cabbage from the garden (yes, those cute little cabbages in the photo above).

I need to remind myself of those awesome dinners once in awhile, because most days, I fall into a culinary rut.

That's it. Just thought y'all might want to know. :)

Today's March in DC

Estimates are that literally hundreds of thousands gathered today for the Tea Party in DC; the Daily Mail says up to two million. As saith the Instapundit, even at half that, it's huge, and impressive.

And of course, mainstream media -- the drive-bys, Obamedia, whatever you want to call 'em -- they'll ignore it. Completely.

Bless their hearts.

And I mean that in the most Southern way.

And now - I have to share a few things, for those few dear friends and relatives who stop by here (I know who you are, and I love it that you take the time to drop by to see if I've posted anything.)

• We've been making fresh salsa for the last month, ever since we bought one of these awesome gadgets at the State Fair. We've been using our own garden tomatoes, red onion, a little jalapeno or serrano, a glove of garlic, some cilantro and lime juice. Oh my gosh, it's good stuff. How will we ever go back to store-bought salsa?
• We've had a kid eruption in the neighborhood. Suddenly, this summer, about a dozen or more kids came out of the woodwork. Finally, after all these years, my kids were spending all day outside, coming in for dinner, and begging to go back out again until dark -- just like the old days of my husband's childhood. They rode bikes, played on the swing set, played tag. At night they played ghosts-in-the-graveyard and some new game called Bloody Murder. (Lovely, I know. But harmless.) Where'd they all come from? Well, some news kids moved in, and some of the already-here kids grew up just enough to join the gang. It's been fantastic.
• This was my summer of organizing. Every single room, including the garage and every closet, was taken apart, cleaned, decluttered, and re-organized. It is truly a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, it probably won't be a joy forever, as things always tend toward disorder. Especially with six people in the house.
  

Now, back to relaxing on the patio. We polished off the salsa; the youngest two are on the swing set; the husband and I are enjoying a cocktail while listening to the White Sox game. Life is good.

UPDATE: Just found this photo set at National Review... fanfastic! Oh, and one last comment: I saw a report on CNN today, after the rally, and noticed how completely clean the site was. No trash, no litter ... unlike after every single lefty protest, anywhere, anytime. Hmmm.

Eight years later

Hard to believe it's really been eight years. This morning I went down to the basement and dug out the old Chicago Tribunes we saved from September 2001; we had a little review of modern history around breakfast table. The kids were all so young then that they really don't remember too much about it. Interestingly, the Anchoress says that most young people don't really want to dwell on it; that's understandable.

I still remember the shock, fear, and deep sorrow I felt that morning. I also remember how I tried to protect the kids from the worst of it by having the TV off during our school morning, but running upstairs to check a different TV every so often. A second plane hit; then a tower fell; then a third plane hit the Pentagon; then rumors of more planes flying toward targets. Then, Flight 93 crashing into Pennsylvania ground. Even now, I'm not sure I have the chronology right; it's a blur of terror and shock. I know the north tower was hit first, but the south tower fell first; there were a few things I committed to memory because I wanted to always remember some specific, hard, facts about the day.

The uncertainty was terrible: how bad would this be? What more was planned? How many would die, and when would this attack end? I thought about a good friend who was a flight attendant for United; she was flying that day, as it turned out, and ended up being grounded on the east coast for several days, until they finally started flying planes again.

I still remember the heroes of Flight 93: I vowed never to forget their names. Todd Beamer. Jeremy Glick. Thomas Burnett. Mark Bingham. Here's a site with a timeline of the revolt by the passengers as they bravely stopped the hijackers from crashing the jet into the White House or Congress.

And tonight, I found this site with a story I've only just begun to read; it's hard to remember everything that happened that day, but at the same time, it's so very important to remember.

About Ted Kennedy

(Note: I drafted this post on August 30th, but didn't get around to publishing it till now. Maybe it's just as well, since President Obama once again reverenced the late Senator Kennedy in his speech last night. We cannot forget what this says about us.)

Mark Steyn said it all so well.

Like Steyn, I also have been thinking: what kind of nation reveres a man who did what Ted Kennedy did in 1969? What kind of state would elect and re-elect, over and over again, a man who was capable of doing what Ted Kennedy did to Mary Jo Kopechne?

Not to mention what he did to his first wife, Joan. Her life was ruined by Ted Kennedy just as surely as was Mary Jo Kopechne's, though obviously in a very different way. According to reports, Joan began drinking heavily after Teddy started womanizing, which he did, brazenly, publicly, and incessantly, for all their married life. She quickly descended into full-blown alcoholism, and is now brain-addled, permanently disabled, from the years of drinking. It's a heart-breaking story.

I spent a lot of time on my knees yesterday; my original intent was just to wash the kitchen floor, but I did end up using that time to pray a lot as well. I prayed for Joan Kennedy. I prayed for all the victims of abortion who lost their lives in part because Kennedy, vocally and fervently, pushed for the "right" for women to kill their unborn children. I prayed for Mary Jo. Those last minutes - hours? -- are too horrible to think about.

But more horrible, perhaps, is that this country allowed Ted Kennedy to get away with it, that he was considered a "great" man, that he was given a huge, public, Catholic funeral.

This says terrible things about us. Yes, I hope God was merciful to Kennedy; we all are obligated to pray that everyone is forgiven. And yes, I will pray for him. But I also will pray for his many victims -- and for all of us.

The Honorable Herb Kohl and me

Last Wednesday, a friend and I exercised our First Amendment rights: we peacefully assembled outside the Marquette University law school where Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) was scheduled to speak on health care.

We stood on the public sidewalk with a few homemade pro-life signs as people walked by; many said, "Good for you!", or "I'm with you" as they passed. Most just averted their eyes or ignored us.

Including the illustrious senator himself. The Honorable Herb Kohl walked right past us on the sidewalk -- not three feet in front of me -- and when I recognized him, I called out in a friendly (and somewhat surprised) voice, "Senator Kohl!"

I thought maybe he'd turn, perhaps wave, acknowledge our presence, maybe see our signs, and perhaps even spare 10 seconds for me to say, "Please don't support any health care bill that covers abortion with public money."

But no.

He and his entourage kept on walking.

So, I called out again, "Senator Kohl!" He was only about 10 feet away but, amazingly, he and all his party just couldn't seem to hear me.

Finally, as he was about 15 feet away, ready to walk into the building, I called out one last time, "Senator Kohl!" He continued to ignore me. So as he stepped inside, I called out, "We the people!"

Now, I have to laugh at myself ("We the people"?!?) but I was just trying to express my utter frustration at his elitist behavior and his boorish refusal to acknowledge the existence of a few of his constituents, who'd taken time from their busy days to show up where he was speaking.

Imagine the irony: during the talk inside the law school, the Honorable Senator lectured the audience on the need for civility in our debates.

Imagine that. The oh-so-Honorable Herb Kohl, telling people to be civil, when he couldn't even be bothered to respond to a citizen who recognized him and greeted him on a public sidewalk.

It is most definitely time to throw the bums out.

Sorry if that's not civil enough for you, Senator Kohl.

Another great townhall meeting

Had I more time this morning, I'd update this blog with my latest political activities... but alas, we are having company over this evening, I had the carpets steam cleaned yesterday so I have to move everything back into place, then do some cleaning, hit the farmers market, go to the post office, do the grocery shopping, do the laundry, and start cooking. A little busy.

One of these days, I will update this blog, if for no other reason than that a promise is hanging over my head. After the election, one of my best friends and I talked about "what do we do now?" I said I'd think it over and post something.

Well, I thought it over, and I've been doing a whole bunch of things... and I know she is, too... but I haven't had any time to blog about it.

One of these days...

I love my fellow Americans!

I am thrilled everytime I watch these videos. And when I say "these", I don't mean just the ones at the link; I mean all of the townhall videos, from all across the country.

I'm so, so happy to know that my fellow Americans are not being fooled by our radical President and his plans to overthrow our system of government; they are not going to be bamboozled by a complicit press into accepting the nightmarish bills being shoved through our Congress.

We're witnessing the growing strength of a proud resistance movement. I've been in it for awhile now.

Are you?

Another one of those "still alive" posts

If you stop by here once in awhile, you already know I'm still alive because you've seen the tweets that show up on the right sidebar.

No tweeting today, however, as it's been shut down by some kind of hack attack.

The AP article at the above link sneers that Twitter is used for "tweeting about lunch plans, the weather or the fact that Twitter is down."

Perhaps. But if they were paying attention, they might have noticed that Twitter becamse a vital link for information coming out of Iran during the early days of the protests there, and is currently a potent source of truth about the Obamacare bills in Congress as well the other horrors coming out of this administration.

So I'm a little lost without Twitter right now. I was going to tweet about how I called Senator Kohl's office this morning to ask him, again, when he's going to be meeting with the citizens of Wisconsin during the recess ("those plans haven't been finalized yet", according to his Milwaukee office), and to urge him to please vote "no" on the extended Cash for Clunkers fiasco.

That bit of news will have to go untweeted.

But now YOU know, anyway.

And by the way, have you called your Senators today? Or your Congressman? We have to keep the pressure on, so that they know we are not going to tolerate our nation becoming a socialist state.

When you call, be sure to let them know that you are not being paid to call, or to show up at townhall meetings, and that you don't work for the health insurance industry or some evil right-wing organization. (Assuming, that is, that you don't!) Let them know that Nancy Pelosi in 100% wrong in thinking that our protest is astroturf.

By the way -- a little bit of irony -- I'm typing this post using the guest wireless available at my Dad's dentist's office, courtesy of Pro Health Care.

But that still doesn't make me a member of the medical health insurance lobby: just someone who's grateful for the free wireless made available to me today.

The news is too grim, so, on the lighter side...

This is amazing! Can't imagine how long it took to do this.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

It was tweeted today by someone but unfortunately I can't find the particular tweet again. Thanks, whoever you were! UPDATE: Just searched old tweets: It was the Anchoress.

Obama's Debt

When someone tries to tell you that Obama "inherited" the deficit and debt, refer him to this.

Great stuff

Poor Obama: He has another distraction

Yes, yes, poor Mr. Obama. Seems like other countries are intent on causing him distractions and headaches. How can he possibly concentrate on destroying our republic if countries like North Korea keep acting up? Why won't the world just cooperate and see that he is King and we must all bow down, as Brian Williams did?

Instead, North Korea insists on behaving as a Card-Carrying Member of the Axis of Evil. (Iran is still a Member in Good Standing - or should that be Evil Standing - but Iraq, thanks to our former President George W. Bush and General Petraeus, is no longer in that horrible club.)

North Korea's communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making program in defiance of new U.N. sanctions.

The North's defiance presents a growing diplomatic headache for President Barack Obama as he prepares for talks Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart on the North's missile and nuclear programs.

That's right. North Korea threatens nuclear war, and the AP writer calls it a "headache" for the president. Not an international crisis, not a potentially catastrophic threat to South Korea. No, just a headache for the Obamessiah.

Poor, poor, Obama.

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

- William Congreve, The mourning bride, 1697

Cry me a river...

... to this beautiful song.

h/g Classic Catholic

(Lyrics here.)

Still alive!

To my dear friends who've wondered why this blog has been so quiet: Yes, I'm still here!

And as The Anchoress puts it, this post will be "All about Me, Me, ME!" If you're looking for trenchant political commentary or pithy cultural observations, please move along, there's nothing to see here. Of course, that's pretty much always the case... never mind.

Anyway, the last few months (but really more like the last year) have been nothing if not exciting. A re-cap: We moved my folks into their retirement community, cleaned out their house full of 80 years of accumulated treasured possessions, had a huge rummage sale, sold the house and had the closing, celebrated four birthdays (one in March and three in April), hosted Easter dinner (which was also one of the birthdays), took a family trip to visit Hillsdale College in Michigan, and then last weekend, had our Catholic Homeschool Conference with 39 vendors, 17 workshops, and about 600 attendees.

The conference (for which I was the chairperson) ended last Saturday. It was a wonderful two days filled with many dear friends, wonderful speakers, great vendors, and an almost tangible sense of joy and celebration. We had a beautiful Mass on Saturday morning, Adoration all day long in a classroom that was transformed into a chapel, a play based on a book by Regina Doman, put on by and for our teens, children's programs... really, it was an amazing weekend, thanks to the incredibly talented people in our homeschool group who poured their heart and soul into volunteering for the event. Just beautiful!

And now, I'm happily diving into all kinds of things that, by necessity, had to be slightly neglected -- or completely ignored -- over the past few weeks. Best of all was diving back into homeschooling; the younger two and I had some fantastic days last week, catching up on the time we missed because of the conference, and my high schooler and I also had a pretty productive afternoon on Thursday, I think it was, discussing her work and getting back on track.

Today - the first weekend in almost a year that I didn't have to worry about Mom and Dad's house or the conference -- I took pictures of the spring perennial garden (including that one of the daffodils, above).

Here is the "Little Reader" garden statue which I'd given to Mom some years ago for her garden. She generously said I could have him, now that she's in the apartment. Isn't he adorable?

Hmmm, should have gotten a close up of him. Google to the rescue: someone else has him and took that close up I missed.

Here's another view of the same perennial bed, with the herb garden directly behind, and the vegetable garden (raised beds) off in the upper right hand corner.

You can see the Iris stalks on the upper right and lower left edges of the perennial bed; the Lamb's Ear is just starting to come up in the front, the Autumn Joy sedum is gathering strength in various spots around the bed, and the Black-Eyed Susans are only just starting to peek up above ground.

Later this afternoon, we all gathered in the family room to watch the Kentucky Derby. Bets were placed, horses were cheered on, hors d'oeuvres were served (OK, so it was just Papa Murphy's Cheesy Bread), and of course...

Now I know what you're thinking: Those aren't real mint juleps! They're not in silver cups, they don't have short straws, and there's no visible mint!!

To which I reply, so what? They were made of simple syrup with mint extract because the store didn't have fresh mint and neither did I (the fury of the hoe was unleashed on the spearmint last year after it tried to take over the herb garden one too many times), they were in glass tumblers because, hey, we're not in Kentucky, so we don't have silver julep cups, and we ran out of time to cut short straws because it was post time. You can't dawdle when the Derby starts. It's like a small town on a road trip: blink and you miss it.

Finally, tonight, we had "Weekend Theater", arranged by our youngest. We'd all voted on the movie ("Princess Bride" won), watched it in the lodge downstairs, and enjoyed quoting all the best lines at dinner afterwards ("I don't think that word means what you think it means").

Thank God for days like today!

With apologies to The Beatles

From The Real Revo:

And now for a laugh... with a chaser of TRUTH!

This one's also making its way around Twitter; I found it on Patrick Madrid's site.

Soul WOW!

Sure, go ahead, play it again. Then, if you live in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, you still have a couple hours to find your local Catholic Church. If you don't, then find the schedule for your own local church and get that clean-soul feeling this week, while supplies last!

Just for the record, we'll all be going on Thursday, 11:30 a.m., Gesu Parish, downtown Milwaukee. They hear confessions twice a day there, so you have no excuses not to go!

"Till the Last Shot's Fired"

Found this today via a friend's Twitter link:

Now, wipe the tears from your eyes and go make a donation, like I just did.

3-D Diaries

As you may know from previous posts (or because you're someone who actually knows me, as in "knows who I am in real life"), we've been on an archaeological dig over the past few months, sorting out 80+ years of accumulated artifacts as we prepared my parents' house for sale. (It sold, by the way, thank God, and we closed on it last Friday.)

The discoveries continue. Just now, I picked up an aged brown envelope, dated 1963, that I'd brought from the house. It contains information about growing peonies and tulips. My mother apparently requested it from the Boerner Botanical Gardens; they sent it to her "Milwaukee, 16" zip code.

And it, like most everything else we've found, is part of a 3-D diary of my mother's life.

As you may also know, my mom is a world-class note-writer. Virtually every surface of their home (other than the public areas such as living and dining rooms), contained hand-written notes. The insides of cupboards and drawers, objects in cupboards and closets, the tops of tables and desks, and even the clothes hangers, all had notes attached.

And one day, as we were cleaning out closets, it hit me: these aren't just utilitarian notes (although my mother did find them very useful as an aid to housekeeping and maintenance tasks); they are a three-dimensional journal of my mom's life.

The good linen tablecloth? Last used in 2005 when Paul, Ana, and Sarah came for dinner at Christmastime. Her best dress? Worn in 2007 to an anniversary party. The winter bedspread? Washed and aired on a sunny day, spring 2008. The peonies from her grandfather? Dug up and transplanted in October, 1993, from the Hadley house to the Elizabeth House.

After I realized this, it became heart-rending to have to throw out so many of these notes. Now, honestly, I wish I'd kept them all; I could have put them into a scrapbook and made a true diary of my mother's life.

But really, do I have time for that? I doubt it. I don't have time for keeping a journal of my own life, nor even for putting together scrapbooks of my children's lives.

Still, it pains me.

And guess what? I've learned that it can be helpful to put notes on things! Maybe it's the next best thing to scrapbooks and journals for someone who doesn't seem to have time for them. Do you think I should tell Mom, after years of teasing her about it??

One last thing: This post is an attempt to avoid writing about the things happening in the world, because they are too infuriating to write about. Our president, bowing deeply to a Muslim tyrant? Firing a CEO? Ceding sovereignty to Euro bureaucrats? Destroying our country with an impossibly debt-ridden budget? How can I write about these things? There is a new outrage every day. But Anchoress is keeping up (just read her every day), and so is Neo-Neocon, as are many other bloggers, of course.

And another great video!

A friend emailed this one, with the heading "Greatest Movie Line Ever!"

Great video!

This is fantastic. If only someone in Congress would stand up and speak that way to Obama.



H/T Anchoress; also found on The Real Revo.

Dear President Obama

Received via email from my cousin in Virginia this morning:

Dear President Obama,

Thank you for helping my neighbors with their mortgage payments. You know, the ones down the street who in the good times purchased their house for no money down, refinanced it several times, then bought SUVs, ATVs, RVs, a pool, a big screen plasma TV, two Wave Runners, a boat, and a Harley.

I was wondering, since I am paying my mortgage and theirs, could you arrange for me to borrow the Harley now and then?

Signed,
"Concerned in CA"

P. S. They also need help with their credit cards, when do you want me to start making those payments?

P. P. S. I almost forgot - they didn't file their income tax return this year. Should I go ahead and file for them or will you be appointing them to cabinet posts?

My godfather

Robert Mueller, my Dad's older brother and my godfather, entered Eternal Life on Monday night. He'd had a bout of pneumonia, and though for awhile it looked like he might recover, his 87 year old heart eventually just tired out. It was his time to be called home.

This is hard, as my Dad's younger brother, Dick, passed away last October. My Dad is now the last surviving member of his original family. Years ago, my Great Aunt Catherine Ennis said that one of the hardest things about getting old is having to say good-bye to everyone you love.

Uncle Bob was one of the good guys. He and his wife Mary Ann are salt of the earth: faithful Catholics, hard-working, persevering, loving, kind-hearted, responsible. They raised ten children, all of whom became productive adults with their own families.

He was a very talented musician. At family gatherings, there was always music. The far wall of their living room was bracketed by a grand piano and an organ. All the kids inherited that talent (somehow, the music gene totally skipped over my branch of the family tree); they could stage their own quartets, quintets... a small orchestra... with piano, drums, French horn, flute, violin, trombone, trumpet, guitar... what did I miss? Amazing.

He was a smart man, too; worked as an engineer at GE and was responsible for many of their innovative medical devices.

His creativity extended beyond work and music into all kinds of projects, including wood working. Some years ago, he gave me a handy "push me-pull you" gadget for the oven: a smallish, sturdy piece of wood with notches carved at the end to push and pull hot oven racks. It combines beauty and function; its curved shape fits the hand, it was sanded smooth and stained a pretty walnut brown. It's even personalized, with my name neatly wood-burned into it. A friend from Chicago was visiting once and admired the clever tool. After she left, I called Uncle Bob and asked if he could make another for her. Of course! Within a few days I had it in hand, ready to mail to her. She was tickled, I think Uncle Bob was delighted (at least I hope so!), and I had another fond memory of my godfather.

My aunt always made sure to send birthday and graduation cards and gifts. I said to her once, recently, "You had ten kids, and you still never forgot my birthday!" "Well, of course!" she said, "you were the goddaughter." What a lovely statement of the importance of family, faith, and the bonds created by the Sacraments. That meant a lot to me, as a kid, and even more now as an adult.

Family was so important to Uncle Bob. A couple years ago, he said, "You and I ought to put together a little family reunion, with anyone who lives nearby." One of my great regrets is that I had to put that off. Though I was honored that he asked me to plan it with him, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt I simply couldn't take on another project in my over-scheduled life. Still, I'll always feel a bit sad that I wasn't able to say yes to him on that.

But, in faith, we know that we'll see each other again. So, Uncle Bob, as your goddaughter, I promise to pray for you, and your family, and your brothers and their families, so that we'll have that great, joyful reunion someday.

Places I'd love to be this weekend

Not the Bahamas or Florida. Nope.

I'd love to be at ....

• the Tea Party in Chicago today (or anywhere else). Instead, am taking all four kids to the dentist for checkups. But hey, they'll have beautiful, healthy teeth, and that's a good thing!
• the CPAC convention in D.C. Instead, I'm at home teaching my children religion, math, history, Latin. Overall, probably a better use of my time, and, honestly? I'd rather be home. I love our homeschool days.
• the Women of Christ conference this weekend. So many people I know will be there and I think it will be a fantastic event! I had to tell myself very firmly that I could not go. I need to focus all my spare time this weekend working on our own homeschool conference.

Anyway, I'm happy to be where I am. "Bloom where you are planted," as my aunt always used to say.

Decoding Obama's SOTU

Obama spoke in code last night, but if you listened carefully, knowing his political leanings, you could translate it pretty easily.

For example:

• Getting rid of Cold War weaponry that we don't need anymore = Unilateral disarmament.
• Saving money on Medicare by getting rid of procedures that don't make our seniors any healthier = Federal government control over doctors and health care rationing.
• Education from early childhood through college = Another federal power grab and intrusion into education.

Then there were the outright lies, leading me to believe that Obama is the most skillful user of the "Big Lie" technique of anyone we've seen in our lifetime.

• Bush spent billions on defense and the Global War on Terror, and government spending on entitlements is out of control, leading to a huge deficit. But what does Obama say? "A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future." A big lie and class warfare as a little bonus.
  
• The current stock market and banking crisis was caused mostly by the government. Obama blames it on energy, health care, and education, so that he can cram his radical environment and social policies down our throats. (As my husband says, he's using the Rahm Emmanuel play card: "Never let a crisis go to waste.")
• He triples the deficit by rushing through a 1000 page stimulus bill that nobody even read, and then lies through his teeth by saying there were "no earmarks" in it, and by blaming Bush, at least twice, for the deficit he "inherited".
  
• He blames us for "piling up debt", then says he has to spend billions to get credit flowing again.
  

The speech was a point-by-point destruction of the principle of subsidiarity. No longer will local governments and the citizens themselves have control and oversight. The federal government will be in charge of everything.

That's all I can stomach right now.

Where were you when the Revolution was completed?

And where will you be when the Resistance really begins?

Another "WOW" video

I am becoming more hopeful by the moment! The unintended consequence of Obama's election -- that nobody could have anticipated but already is starting to look like an inevitability -- is the emergence of an incredibly powerful counter-force.

Witness the Tea Parties springing up, the resurgence of a powerful conservative movement, the action being taken by Catholics in their parishes; in general, the waking of the sleeping pro-life giant.

So, be not afraid! I was driving around town yesterday on errands, worrying a bit ... well, a lot ... about the state of the economy and the country, and then saw a bumper sticker on the van in front of me: "Fear Not!" If that's not a message from above, I don't know what is!

Now, for that video:



This is the kind of pro-life message we need: engaging, dynamic, appealing to the young. We're going to start seeing lots more of this as the Millennials (the generation born between 1976 and 2001) grow into adulthood and begin to realize that they are survivors of the holocaust.

These young people are just now waking up to the fact that their generation has been decimated. They've lost siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, potential friends and spouses, because 45 million Americans have been denied their very existence. They know that their own lives could have been legally snuffed out before birth, had their mothers, for whatever reason, chosen to abort them.

h/t Why Mommy is a Republican, again, via Linda De Merle on Twitter.

"The man is an abomination"

Wow. Listen to this.

"Obama is a radical communist. He's going to destroy this country and we're either going to stop him, or the United States of America is going to cease to exist."

Exactly what I've been saying.

h/t Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, via a tweet from Patrick Madrid.

It's a start, anyway.

This is small, but it's a start.

It's exactly what we need: Open revolt against the idiocy coming out of Washington these days.

Just because a slim majority of Americans were hoodwinked into electing a radical, America-hating, Socialist president doesn't mean we actually have to go down that horrible path.

Note: I'm not calling for anything approaching revolution. Just rebellion and dissent, which we were told for eight years was "patriotic".

I say, let's be really patriotic and engage in some very emphatic dissent.

Why I deleted my Facebook account

I love this!

And did you catch number... uh... well, whatever, but the one where he talks about "old people" on Facebook... yeah. I'm nobody's Grandma and really I'm NOT even old enough to be. No, seriously! Not in my own mind, anyway. Unless I'd been a child bride. Which I wasn't.

But still, I'm old enough to be their aunt. And in fact, quite a few of my in-law nieces and nephews are on Facebook, and it just got to be weird to see these half-conversations and snippets of their lives when it really just felt like eavesdropping. I mean, I love them, they're great people! But how do I fit into their Facebook lives, exactly? Seriously. It was just weird.

I kept asking the question "Why am I on Facebook?" and couldn't give myself a decent answer.

My original answer was simple: To find out what it was all about. My kids were thinking about getting accounts and I just wanted to see what it was like out there.

OK, so I did, and it was fine, and sort of fun for awhile, but you know what? Not for me. Fine for you, just not for me. I think it's great for anyone who likes it, really! But, not me.

I asked my SIL the other day, hey, do you still see my profile? I deleted it a few weeks ago, and they said if I didn't log in within two weeks, it would disappear.

Yep, you're gone, she said. Like you never existed. Every comment you wrote on my wall, every link to your account: gone. Down the memory hole.

So that's good... although I do admit to a slight twinge of regret when I hear about cool Facebook groups I might like to join.... but still.

Now, Twitter, on the other hand, is kind of cool.

h/t for the video to Michael Hyatt, who I don't know, but Danielle Bean tweeted about it (and I actually did meet Danielle once at a conference!)

It's Sarah Palin's Birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Governor (future President) Palin!

It's someone else's birthday, today, too. But I'm not saying whose it is, or how old that person is. I don't have to put everything on this blog, do I?

h/t The Other McCain

A sad thing to watch: An imploding presidency

Honestly, this is unbelievable. Via Michele Malkin:

Administration officials were greeted with sarcasm and laughter Monday night when they briefed lawmakers and congressional staff on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's new financial-sector bailout project, according to people who were in the room.

The laughter was at its height when Obama officials explained that the White House planned to guarantee a wide swath of toxic assets -- which they referred to as "legacy assets" -- but wouldn't be asking Congress for money. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a bailout opponent in the fall, asked the officials to give Congress the total dollar figure for which they were on the hook. The officials said that they couldn't provide a number, a response met by chuckling that was bipartisan, but tilted toward the GOP side. By guaranteeing the assets, Geithner hopes he can persuade the private sector to purchase a portion of them.

Wow. I venture to say that once Congress starts laughing at you, your presidency is in big trouble.

Schumer's Folly

Sen. Schumer, I beg to differ:

h/t The Other McCain

Obama's Audacity (and not of Hope)

From the Heritage Foundation this morning:

Morning Bell: Yesterday’s Top 5 Most Audacious Obama Statements

No Earmarks: “What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable.” - This is a clever semantic ploy by Obama. While it is true that no individual Congressman stuffed a Bridge to Nowhere in the bill’s conference report, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. David Obey (D-WI) wrote the bill, they included billions of line-item spending elements to payoff leftist interest groups, including: $450 million for NASA “climate-research missions”, $600 million for NOAA “climate modeling”, $2 billion for a single power plant in Obama’s home state of Illinois, and on and on.

4 Million Jobs: “My bottom line is to make sure that we are saving or creating 4 million jobs.” -Obama is not creating 4 million jobs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, under the most optimistic models Obama’s Trillion Dollar Debt Plan would create only 3.6 million jobs and could produce only 1.2 million jobs. And one in five of these jobs will be a government job.

Spending: “Look, I would love not to have to spend money right now. This notion that somehow I came in here just ginned up to spend $800 billion, that wasn’t — that wasn’t how I envisioned my presidency beginning.” - Obama’s chief of staff exposed this lie when he said;” Never allow a crisis to go to waste…They are opportunities to do big things.” But the bill itself is all the proof you need the Obama and his leftist allies thoroughly love their chance to blow a trillion dollars. The Obama Trillion Dollar Debt Plan doubles the size of the Department of Education and creates 32 brand new government programs. Worse it sneaks in a major down payment on Obama’s health care plan creating the bureaucracy and tracking systems necessary to force socialized medicine on the American people.

Free Lunches: “Once the economy stabilizes and people are less fearful, then I do think that we’re going to have to start thinking about how do we operate more prudently, because there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” - Obama’s Trillion Dollar Debt Plan is founded on the belief that government’s can provide endless free lunches to the American people. Does Obama believe the trillions he wants to spend grows on trees? Nobel laureate Gary Becker writes: “There are no free lunches in spending, public or private. The increased federal debt caused by this stimulus package has to be paid for eventually by higher taxes on households and businesses. … The burden from higher taxes down the road has to be deducted both from any short-term stimulus provided by the spending program, and from its long-run effects on the economy.”

Japan: “We saw this happen in Japan in the 1990s, where they did not act boldly and swiftly enough, and as a consequence they suffered what was called the “lost decade” where essentially for the entire ’90s they did not see any significant economic growth.” - This statement is audacity defined. Since 1992 Japan has spent $6.3 trillion in stimulus spending, racking up the largest public debt in the developed world — totaling 180 percent of its $5.5 trillion economy. And this massive borrow-and-spend splurge did nothing to help the economy. And Obama thinks this is evidence in support of his Trillion Dollar Debt Plan?

No wonder support for Obama's economic stimulus plan is sinking like a rock. (Emphases above are mine.)

This spending plan will mean the destruction of our economy first, and our freedom second.

Keep calling your Senators and Congressmen; keep writing those emails. It's not much but at least you'll know you tried.

I also recommend signing up for the Heritage Foundation's Morning Bell, a daily email service. Heritage is doing good work. Support them!

Gag.

From the Heritage Foundation:

h/t Scott's Slant on Politics (a post titled "We Are Hosed"), which I found via a "links to this post" on The Other McCain (on a post also appropriately titled "Mystery Stimulus")

Out-of-control government

Read this and please try to tell me why it's not pitchfork time, as one commenter says.

No wonder babies need naps!

h/t Althouse.

As if that stimulus bill isn't enough to worry about...

... there's also the looming threat of an absolutely horrible law: the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

I first heard of this law a few weeks ago via a post on a Yahoo group. I was skeptical; could there really be a law as bad as this one sounded?

People were saying that anyone who produces or sells (or even just re-sells) children's products -- including books, sports equipment, clothing, toys, games, everything -- would have to do costly product testing to make sure there is no lead in any part of the product. If they don't do the testing, they're subject to huge fines.

Many were saying they'd have to go out of business because they couldn't possibly meet the standards of the law.

So I did some research, and was horrified to find out that yes, it's as bad as all that. And it's scheduled to take effect on February 10.

Here's what Dad29 has to say about it today, and here's the article from Forbes.com that he links to.

And once again: here are those links for contacting your Congressman and Senators.

What if tens of millions of Americans said "NO"?

Email your Congressman and Senators today and tell them, politely but firmly, to vote "NO" on the "stimulus" package. This horrible bill is a Trojan horse. It will destroy our economy and our freedom in short order.

No matter what happens (and it seems like passage is inevitable) at least you'll be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you did the right thing. It may be small comfort as we try to pick up the pieces of our nation, but then again, having a clear conscience does make for a better night's sleep.

So, please, even if you're not politically inclined, send those emails! Make phone calls! Tell them you don't want this kind of enslavement. For that's exactly what it will be: Enslavement to an out-of-control, socialistic, power-mad federal government, for the foreseeable future.

h/t to Shoved to Them for the contact links.

Most depressing thing I read all day

One line from Obama's "stimulus package" (read: socialist, money-wasting, economy-destroying pork bill):

$600 million to train primary care physicians, nurses, and dentists to "prepare them for universal health care system".

Well, that just depresses me more than words can say.

I'd like to say something about Pelosi, Reid, Obama, and the rest of these... well... these ...grrrrr.... politicians.... who are going to destroy the best health care system in the world and ruin our mostly-free-market, democratic-republic while they're at it, but as Auntie Em said, being a Christian woman, I can't say it.

h/t "Shoved to Them".

Our New President: former State Senator from the Corrupt State of Illinois

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, get used to this kind of treatment.

Pressed further by the Politico reporter about his Pentagon nominee, William J. Lynn III, Obama turned more serious, putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder and staring him in the eye.

"Alright, come on" he said, with obvious irritation in his voice. "We will be having a press conference at which time you can feel free to [ask] questions. Right now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys - that's all I was trying to do."

That part about putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder and staring him down sounds a little like.... well, like Chicago politics. Read John Kass and learn all about how things are done in Illinois.

And how about this: A little warning for the future, couched in a "thank you":

Obama said he had watched press secretary Robert Gibbs debut briefing "in anticipation of some flop sweat. ... I just want to thank you for not completely ripping up Gibbs," Obama said.

The smart reporters got the message loud and clear, I'm sure.

Don't. Ask. Hard. Questions.

Not today, not ever.

There are various ways a country can lose a free press. It can come from the reporters themselves, through the kind of juvenile adoration and sycophancy the press has shown toward Obama so far, or it can be through pressure applied from above.

I think we're getting it from both directions now.

(Note: First saw this on/ Instapundit via Althouse this morning, but didn't have time to post as we were headed out to the science museum (Discovery World); now I see Drudge has it headlined. Hmm. Maybe the press will find its voice again when they discover they'd been had by a slick pol from the hardball wards of Chicago. We can only hope.)

For my daughter, who is studying Civics and memorizing lots of things:

h/t The Anchoress (which means, you've probably already seen it!) :)

"In the future, not talking about how you're going to fix Social Security will be the third rail in American politics"

That was President Bush, just now, in his last press conference, talking about his presidency. He said he regretted bringing up Social Security reform right after the 2004 elections; he wishes he'd started on immigration reform instead.

However, he said, he proved that you could talk about Social Security reform and still get elected; it's not the third rail of American politics anymore.

I agree completely. I want every politician to talk about how they're going to reform Social Security and Medicare, before those programs absolutely destroy our country and bring down our government. It's a looming nuclear bomb that will ruin us if we don't fix it now.

This archeological dig known as "helping Mom & Dad downsize"

I mentioned earlier that we've been helping Mom and Dad clean out their house in preparation for their move to an apartment.

On Thursday, the movers came to pack and load the truck. The next day they moved everything to the apartment.

Halfway through the morning on Friday, one of the movers said, "I've got good news and bad news. The good news: the truck is half empty. The bad news: The remaining half is 15 feet high."

Oh yeah. There was a lot of stuff.

But now Mom's moved in, the furniture arranged, the pictures hung (all 52 of them), the boxes unpacked (all but just a few). It's really a lovely place, and the apartment looks great, very cozy and inviting and homelike.

My three brothers came armed with a laser leveler, hammer, nails, and ruler. They got the pictures hung up pretty quickly, considering they had to first get Mom to decide where she wanted everything.

While they did that, I worked with Mom to sort through huge boxes of linens. We separated into piles of "keep" and "give away", and now I have a new category: "fret over".

Why? Because we discovered linens made by my maternal great-grandmother in the cotton mills where she worked in the late 1800's, in Alsace-Lorraine (which was sometimes Germany, sometimes France, depending on who won the last war).

One of the pieces was a white cotton sheet with a large embroidered "O" (for her last name, Offner) in a lovely calligraphic style. The sheet is in mint condition (except for a tiny tear in the fine stitching between top hem and the body of the sheet, which I sadly fear I may have caused when taking it out of the bag; more reason to fret. Mom insists I didn't do it, but I'm not so sure.)

We also found a beautiful piece of cloth hemmed all around with several inches of hand-knit lace, according to a note written by my paternal Great-Aunt Catherine. The note also said, in her ultra-tiny yet perfectly legible handwriting, "Put this cloth on the table when receiving Communion at home."

These are treasures, no doubt.

But now what? Obviously we keep them, but should we do something to preserve them? Should we display them somehow? Or find archival tissue and boxes and pack them away with additional notes for future generations to find?

Or should we use the sheet (as Mom had been doing over the years when guests stayed over) and let it serve its purpose, till it's all used up? We could certainly use the Communion cloth, should anyone receive Communion at home.

Still, I fret.

I also do Google searches on "antique linens" and "cotton mills Alsace-Lorraine".

And I ask you, my friends and relatives, who stop by here occasionally: What would you do?

Hateful vandalism against Catholics

From an email today, a press release from the Catholic League:

Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, in the heart of San Francisco’s gay Castro community, was vandalized over the weekend by opponents of Proposition 8, the California resolution passed by voters in November that rejected gay marriage. Swastikas were painted on the church and the names Ratzinger (referring to Pope Benedict XVI) and Niederauer (the San Francisco Archbishop) were scrawled besides the Nazi symbol.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue is asking Catholics nationwide to respond to this incident:

“In the wake of Proposition 8, innocent persons have been assaulted, churches have been vandalized, a white substance resembling anthrax was sent to the Knights of Columbus and to Mormon temples, supporters of traditional marriage have been branded Nazis, African Americans have been called the ‘N-word,’ houses and cars have been trashed, etc. Unfortunately, most of those in the gay community have been silent about these acts.

“Part of the blame for the latest attack goes to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Both Newsom and the Board have shown nothing but contempt for the First Amendment rights of Catholics. When crucifixes are sold as sex toys and Catholic sensibilities are assaulted by naked men in the street at the annual Folsom Street Fair, they say nothing. When gay men dressed as nuns show up at Mass—at the same church—they say nothing. But the Board was quite vocal about condemning the Catholic Church in 2006, something which led to a lawsuit triggered by the Catholic League and the Thomas More Law Center.

“For those who love to write about ‘root causes,’ let them ponder the guilt of these public officials. Moreover, leaders in the gay community show no leadership when it comes to denouncing incivility committed in the name of gay rights. This has got to end.”

Contact Mayor Gavin Newsom and ask him to finally condemn gay assaults on Catholics and other people of faith: gavin.newsom@sfgov.org