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

I heard through the grapevine....

... that a friend, D., who reads this blog was worried about me because I haven't posted for so long. That is so sweet! Thank you! And to the rest of you who tell me you're wondering why I haven't posted (that includes another dear friend, K., as well as my daughter, H.!), and to you dear people who subscribe to this blog, and to anyone else who happens by here every so often, here's why:

1) Two days before Christmas, I was attacked by a malevolent seat belt. It had been a long morning of driving all over creation doing Christmas errands, and I was almost done. As I started buckling up after my last errand, somehow the seat belt slipped out of my hand and whacked me hard in the eye. Oh my goodness did that hurt. I most emphatically do not recommend ever doing that. Anyway, since then I've been to the opthalmologist four times. Turned out to be a scratched cornea which became infected. I still have excruciating pain which comes and goes, but the antibiotic eye drops have fortunately cleared up the infection. (And may I say again, Thank God for the big pharmaceuticals!)

2) Mom and Dad are moving this week. And all I can say about that is, Oh. My. Do you think there's a market on eBay for calendars from 1970? Maybe the dates match up again. Or how about for plastic bags, cardboard boxes, paper bags, manila envelopes, and file folders? Mom, being a child of the Depression, has always been an excellent re-user, re-cycler, and saver. She was justifiably proud of her ability to always find exactly the right size bag, box, or envelope for just about any item. Don't even get me started on the notepads and scrap paper. We could start a wholesale business in any of those commodities. You can just imagine the amount of cleaning out, sorting, and boxing up we're doing. Fortunately, we all have a good sense of humor, so we're also doing a lot of laughing. (And if you read this, and you know my Mom, do not tell her, I'm begging you, that I posted about this. She will kill me. I'll have to deny the whole thing. Or blame it on the heavy-duty pain meds making me so woozy that I didn't even realized what I was doing. So remember, now, it's hush-hush!)

So, as I squint through my one good eye at this post, let me just wish all of you a very Happy New Year. I pray that God will protect and bless you in 2009 and always.