Stand in the Trenches

Perfect Pot Roast, vintage 1973... or 2010...

2012-01-15T15:31:00.002-06:00

So today I went searching through my Pot Roast recipes to find one for Sunday dinner.

First I found my Mom's recipe for "Perfect Pot Roast". It's a worn copy of a magazine page, softened on the fold lines from frequent use, dotted with splashes from previous pot roasts. In her handwriting, a note along the margin: "4/8/92 - Sorry I couldn't copy it in color. Mom."

Next, I pulled a recipe clipped from the Penzey's catalog, and guess what? They were the same. Identical.

Mom's recipe was from the June 1973 issue of McCall's magazine. I couldn't find that exact issue online, but it would have been in this bunch from the '70s. (Being the vintage-stuff-loving-person that I am, if I could find it online, I'd be sorely tempted to buy it.)

Unlike my editor/proofreader mother, I didn't note the date of the Penzey's recipe I'd torn out of the catalog. But as always, it didn't take long, with Google's help, to find out: it was from the Winter 2010 issue of Penzey's catalog: "Perfect Pot Roast".

So I have two identical pot roast recipes, just published 37 years apart.

And that's what we're having for dinner tonight.

About to-do lists

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've been trying, over the past year or two, to go electronic with my daily to-do lists. I've tried a whole bunch of things.

One that I liked, for awhile, was Teux Deux (cute, yes?)

Another that coaxed me to sign up - but that I never used - was Cozi, the family calendar.

Then there's ToodleDo.

TaDa.

Todoist.

Remember the Milk.

I've also tried Google calendar very recently.

And I've decided I don't like any of them.

There's something very satisfying about using yellow legal pads and a nice pencil for all my to-do lists. It's a sensory thing; I love the sound and feel of writing on paper. I like old fashioned wooden pencils, newly sharpened, but also like mechanicals for their ever-sharp points and never-used-up erasers.

My paper of choice is an 8-1/2" by 11" yellow legal pad. I consider it a significant luxury, coming from a home where the only scratch paper we had came junk mailings, blank on one side, torn into thirds.

The most satisfying thing of all, as any list-maker knows, is checking off the tasks as they're done. I'm one of those list-making-types who will actually write down an already-done task -- just for the fun of checking it off.

So I better go find my list and write down, "update post on blog" so I can check it off now.

De Profundis

2011-11-01T08:12:00.002-05:00

On this All Saints holy day, I'm thinking there are a few psalms that I'd like have the kids commit to memory. This is one:

Psalm 130:

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
Let Your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.
If You, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?
But with You is forgiveness, that You may be revered.
I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in His word.
My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord,
For with the Lord is kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption;
And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

And of course another is Psalm 23:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He guideth me in straight paths for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
For Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Amen.

Dear Maman

2011-10-30T09:50:00.005-05:00

Our youngest is in 7th grade in our homeschool. She wanted to learn a foreign language this year - French - and since we already had "Tell Me More: French" from our oldest's high school days, she began using it.

It's working. The other day she started talking to me in French - and I hadn't a clue as to what she was saying. It's more than a little disconcerting to have your 12 year old speak to you in a language you don't understand.

Lately, she's been leaving me her wake-up request notes in a charming mix of English and French:

Dear Maman,

Si vous plait, wake moi up un heure avant le pumpkin farm.

Merci!

Aime,
R

And yes, we went to the pumpkin farm yesterday. But this year, it was just two parents and our French-speaking youngest. Quite the startling contrast to our trip to the same farm in 2002:

We had a very nice time on the bumpy hay ride out to the pumpkin fields, which were particularly beautiful this year. It was a good year for pumpkins; they were huge, and plentiful, and, from a distance, the big orange squashes dotted the fields like bright polka dots .

So today the kids go trick-0r-treating. As is our tradition, we'll serve up beef stew to the neighbors who pop in for a bite to eat, midway through the candy collecting.

Aime,

Maman

An unforeseen danger

2011-10-27T09:10:00.003-05:00

For several years now, my favorite soap-box topics have been the twin evils of overpriced colleges and the associated crushing levels of debt taken on by students.

College administrators were encouraging this irresponsible behavior by calling these loans "an investment", when they had to know that nobody makes money on a $60,000 "investment" in a Women's Studies degree or a $100,000 "investment" for a Masters in Social Work. Too many parents failed to warn their children against taking on too much debt -- perhaps because they, themselves, were already up to their eyeballs in mortgage and credit card debt, or perhaps because they bought the "it's an investment" line.

The federal government bears much of the blame, because ever since they got involved in the student loan business, colleges started jacking up tuition at nearly criminal rates of 5 - 6% a year, when inflation was running at about 1%. It's the third-party payer syndrome, just as in health care: when somebody else is paying (or at least appears to be paying, by dishing out deferred payment loans), nobody feels responsible for caring much about what it all costs.

For several years now, I've realized what a terrible danger this was for the students. They would spend decades -- maybe a lifetime -- paying off these loans. They would have to postpone marriage, buying a house, starting a family.

What I didn't realize - until now - was that this would also be a terrible danger to our republic.

Obama just announced that he will start a structured debt-forgiveness program for student loans. Other than being a naked attempt to buy the votes of young people, it's also a horrible idea.

I got into a bit of a discussion this morning with a young acquaintance of mine -- a good, responsible, bright young woman -- who basically said, hey, I have a lot of student loans and I'd sure like to have them paid off. At one point I said,

If we are to remain a free country, a republic with productive, independent, responsible people, then we have to stop rewarding bad behavior, and stop encouraging people to "vote themselves the Treasury." Life is all about making choices. What about those young people who decided, realistically and responsibly, they couldn't afford college, so they went to community college, lived at home, took online classes, or maybe got a job instead. Why should they now have to pay for OTHER people going to expensive colleges they couldn't afford? Because, in fact, taxpayers WILL pay the bill for this, since Obama nationalized the entire student loan industry a year or so ago.

Here's a good article, "A College Loan Scam", which I found today via Instapundit (still my favorite news aggregator).

A very weird coincidence

2011-10-19T22:29:00.002-05:00

So tonight at dinner, my husband said he happened to check out this blog today and was stunned to find that I'd actually posted something here.

What are the odds of me posting out of the blue, and him visiting the blog out of the blue -- on the very same day!!?!?

Freaky, huh?

Blogging is so retro

2011-10-19T08:58:00.004-05:00

Yes, blogging just feels so old, so last-decade.

Twitter is the new blogging. And I don't do much with that, either.

Facebook is the new blogging. It's much more interactive than Blogger ever was for me, but that's just because I didn't have much of a readership here. (Although once, I had an Instalanche from Althouse; that was definitely the high point of this blog's traffic stats.)

I certainly don't have the time for it -- which is the main reason I dropped this blog like a hot "potatoe" (hello, Dan Quayle).

My life is different in many ways than it was the last time I was regularly posting here. For one thing, my Dad - who I blogged about a few times in the last years of his life - died on August 4, 2010. It was my Mom and Dad's 54th wedding anniversary. The priest came to Dad's hospital room in the morning, anointed him, blessed their marriage. Mom helped Dad eat lunch. And then Dad told everyone to go home; he was tired and wanted to rest and they should all just leave.

By the time Mom got home, the phone was ringing: come back to the hospital. They did - and he was already gone.

*******

Other things are different, too.

Our two oldest daughters are now in college.

I can't kiss the top of any of my children's heads anymore.

After a seven year absence, I'm teaching at Carroll ~~College~~ University again. I quit because our youngest had started home kindergarten and I need to focus on having all four kids in homeschool; I've started up again because our homeschool enrollment is down to just two.

But for some reason I'm feeling the urge to get back to this old blog again.

We'll see.

Great quote

2010-04-04T19:27:00.003-05:00

Heard:

"For giving an impassioned speech, every man wants to be Jimmy Stewart; for a dressy affair, every man wants to be Gary Grant; for working in the office, every man wants to be Clark Gable.

But day in and day out, every man really just wants to be Spencer Tracy."

From my husband, just now, while watching Tracy and Hepburn in "Adam's Rib".

Links for our Science Co-Op

2010-03-25T16:54:00.002-05:00

Here's a website that allows you to compare the sizes of the planets by using pull-down menus to compare

Planet Size Comparison

And here's another that's pretty cool:

The Size of Our World

And finally, a Star Size Comparison -- with the same music -- but a different perspective:

The talking babies get it!

2010-03-12T08:57:00.001-06:00

h/t to the Wolf Files, a blog written by a doctor who happens to be Obama's second cousin.

George's birthday celebration yesterday

2010-02-16T21:43:00.004-06:00

When I was a kid, mom always made cherry pies for George Washington's birthday - with little hatchets cut out of the extra pieces of crust, baked on top.

So, of course I carried on that tradition -- but yesterday, our youngest took it all to a new level.

In honor of President's Day, she decreed that we each would choose a president and give a speech about him at dinner. In addition, we would have to be addressed all day by that president's name instead of our given first names.

Therefore, we went around yesterday saying "George", "Abe", "Teddy", "Ronald" (a.k.a "The Gipper" or "Dutch"), "Millard", and "Rutherford". The organizer of the day became quite annoyed when anyone slipped and referred to someone by their baptismal name, marking it down with a tick mark. (I slipped up a lot.... )

At dinner, we heard the speeches, were given prizes (those who messed up the least on the name changes were given special awards), and, for dessert, had pie.

My fellow Americans, it was a delightful evening!

"Let me Google that for you"

2010-01-25T17:59:00.002-06:00

Here's the phrase I Googled last night. Go ahead, click on that link.... let me google that for you... :)

It led me to a very cool site, Cookthink, with a great idea for a light and easy dinner for a bunch of tired but hungry people: ham, Swiss, and sliced pear pita sandwiches, grilled golden brown just till the cheese got a little melty. Mmmmm.

For my non-ham-eaters, we also made turkey, provolone, and Granny Smith pitas. Just as delicious.

About love

2010-01-16T23:24:00.003-06:00

Tonight during dinner, looking at all the beautiful faces around the table talking and laughing, I realized I would walk across hot coals for these people. Every one of them.

I don't get many opportunities to do that, however, so in the meantime I will have to settle for doing their laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning, putting fresh sheets on their beds, taking them where they need to go, praying for them, and cheerfully (most of the time) doing everything else that comes with the wife-and-mother territory.

When you think about it, the hot coals trick might be easier.

Feingold in Pewaukee: Listening Session, 1/11/10

2010-01-13T18:03:00.002-06:00

Thanks to my brother (who attended a "listening session" in Rhinelander) for sending me this link. (Language warning!)

Will he really listen? Unlikely.

AMERICA RISING

2010-01-06T22:58:00.000-06:00

"We tried to warn you... but you wouldn't listen."

I never voted for Obama, obviously, but otherwise, this video expresses my sentiments exactly.

Good-bye and Good Riddance, Chris Dodd

2010-01-06T15:34:00.003-06:00

Check out the "Dump Dodd" website: "We did it!!!! Who's next!???"

Yes indeedy: Who's next? I think there are about 59 more who ought to be shown the exit door in a hurry.

Wait, make that 99 more in the Senate, and several hundred in the House.

Then we start over with ordinary citizens, less than half of whom are lawyers, all of whom love freedom and the Constitution.

We have a shepherd!

2010-01-04T14:56:00.002-06:00

Our new Archbishop, Jerome Listecki, is being installed today. We've been watching the ceremony on and off this afternoon. (Thanks to WTMJ-4 and WISN-12 for broadcasting it.)

And while we're talking about shepherds... as you may recall, I love the song "My Baby Needs A Shepherd". It can bring me to tears in a New York minute.

Just think about those lyrics...

My baby needs a shepherd
She's lost out on the hill
Too late I tried to call her
When the night was cold and still
And I tell myself I'll find her
But I know I never will
My baby needs a shepherd
She's lost out on the hill

My baby needs an angel
She never learned to fly
She'll not reach sanctuary
Just by looking to the sky
I guess I could have carried her
But I didn't even try
My baby needs an angel
She never learned to fly
...

My baby needs a pilot
She has no magic wand
To help her part the troubled waters
Of the Rubicon
But in my soul I know she'll
Have to go this one alone
After all that is only way she's ever known
...

My baby needs a mother
To love her till the end
Up every rugged mountain
And down every road that bends
Sometimes I hear her cryin'
But I guess it's just the wind
My baby needs a mother
To love her till the end

None of my children are lost, either physically or spiritually, thank God! And yet, I still can torture myself by thinking about the terrible sadness of these lyrics.

But yesterday, while praying for my children I realized that no matter what the future holds for my children, they have all those precious things mentioned in the song.

They have a shepherd: Christ.

They have an angel: their Guardian Angels.

They have a pilot: the Pope, pilot of the Barque of Peter, who will steer them safely through the roughest of waters (as long as they stay on board).

And they certainly have a mother to love them till the end: me, and of course, our Blessed Mother.

They are in good hands.

Obama has lost Mo Dowd

2009-12-30T12:35:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-16T15:34:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-09T21:30:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-05T19:42:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-02T22:04:00.002-06:00

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.

2009-12-02T18:37:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-28T08:51:00.002-06:00

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

2009-10-19T17:23:00.002-05:00

Very good stuff:

Via Little Miss Attila

Hopenchange

2009-10-15T21:08:00.001-05:00

Scary.

How's that public plan workin' for ya?

2009-10-15T09:12:00.001-05:00

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

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger on virtues

2009-10-14T15:43:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-07T17:21:00.003-05:00

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...

2009-10-06T08:44:00.005-05:00

... 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

2009-10-05T15:16:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-05T09:25:00.006-05:00

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?!?

2009-10-02T13:35:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-02T07:29:00.004-05:00

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

2009-09-28T21:14:00.002-05:00

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"

2009-09-22T18:27:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-12T12:30:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-11T07:45:00.005-05:00

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

2009-09-10T17:45:00.001-05:00

(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

2009-09-10T12:09:00.005-05:00

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

2009-09-05T06:57:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-08-28T18:09:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-06T11:20:00.003-05:00

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...

2009-06-18T13:01:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-17T14:25:00.003-05:00

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

Great stuff

2009-06-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

Poor Obama: He has another distraction

2009-06-13T23:45:00.003-05:00

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.

2009-06-09T15:36:00.004-05:00

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...

2009-05-06T21:23:00.003-05:00

... to this beautiful song.

h/g Classic Catholic

(Lyrics here.)

Still alive!

2009-05-02T22:36:00.008-05:00

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

2009-04-08T08:40:00.001-05:00

From The Real Revo:

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

2009-04-06T13:50:00.002-05:00

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"

2009-04-06T13:05:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-04T07:43:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-03-25T12:42:00.001-05:00

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

Great video!

2009-03-25T08:23:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-17T08:31:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-05T07:43:00.005-06:00

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

2009-02-27T08:51:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-25T07:13:00.004-06:00

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

2009-02-24T00:08:00.000-06:00

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"

2009-02-22T15:10:00.003-06:00

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.

2009-02-19T11:44:00.005-06:00

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

2009-02-16T19:49:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-02-11T15:42:00.002-06:00

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

2009-02-10T19:18:00.002-06:00

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

2009-02-10T19:06:00.002-06:00

Sen. Schumer, I beg to differ:

h/t The Other McCain

Obama's Audacity (and not of Hope)

2009-02-10T09:16:00.002-06:00

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.

2009-02-07T07:15:00.003-06:00

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

2009-02-05T15:15:00.002-06:00

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

No wonder babies need naps!

2009-01-29T12:18:00.001-06:00

h/t Althouse.

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

2009-01-28T16:50:00.003-06:00

... 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"?

2009-01-28T16:21:00.003-06:00

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

2009-01-26T21:57:00.002-06:00

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

2009-01-23T07:57:00.006-06:00

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:

2009-01-14T12:45:00.002-06:00

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"

2009-01-12T08:48:00.002-06:00

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"

2009-01-11T09:42:00.005-06:00

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

2009-01-05T19:39:00.004-06:00

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....

2009-01-03T12:07:00.002-06:00

... 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.

As the year ends

2008-12-30T09:10:00.003-06:00

It's the traditional time to take a look back, but not just at 2008. This excellent article by Rich Lowry at National Review takes a long look back at our history. Read it and take comfort. Times might be tough right now, but we've seen terrible times before and managed to come through them alright. Here's a sample:

1837: In a real-estate bubble, people borrowed paper money to speculate in Western land. According to John Steele Gordon’s book An Empire of Wealth, land sales by the federal government were $2.5 million in 1832 and $25 million by 1836. President Andrew Jackson determined to prick the bubble by accepting only gold or silver as payment and succeeded all too well. Banks failed, Wall Street crashed, the price of cotton fell by half and 90 percent of the country’s factories closed. “The country suffered,” Gordon writes, “the longest economic depression in the nation’s history. It didn’t reach bottom until February 1843, fully seventy-two months after it began.”

I'm pretty sure we're going to go through some terrible times of our own, far worse than what we're experiencing right now. I pray we'll come out on the far side as we have in the past: free, united, strong, prosperous.

God bless this country.

Random thoughts

2008-12-09T16:50:00.004-06:00

1) No bailouts. GM will never be able to get itself out of financial trouble as long as they have 6 retirees to every 1 worker, for which they must pay pension and medical insurance. It's a broken system. Bailouts won't help.

2) As GM goes, so goes the nation. We will be facing the same bankruptcy in a few years when baby boomers start to retire en masse. We will not be able to pay the Social Security and Medicare bills that are about to come due. Who's going to bail out the U.S.?

3) I predicted that this summer would be colder than usual and that I wouldn't get many tomatoes (a hot-weather crop). Well, I didn't get many that ripened on the vine, as predicted, but we did have enough green tomatoes to put a single layer in the bottom of three paper grocery bags. They slowly ripened, a few each day, and just two days ago we enjoyed the last delicious homegrown tomato.

4) Snow is beautiful. Snow is a huge pain to drive in. Is it spring yet?

5) One of my favorite things in the world is when all six of us are at home -- and in the same room! It just floats my boat. Could be one of the kids' bedrooms for a late-night chat, could be the family room for pizza and movie night. Could be our room for a "music party", where Tom is playing new music downloaded from iTunes so the whole family can gives thumbs up or down (or dance to it). Doesn't matter where it is, I just love it. The kids all know it, so sometimes one of them will say, "Hey Moooooom, look! It's your favorite thing!" I just smile.

6) Another favorite thing: when dinner is planned and cooked early in the day so that the last few hours before dinner are calm and relaxed. Take right now, for instance: I have time to sit and write this post while chili simmers on the stove. (Don't tell my husband; he's out snowblowing right now....)

7) This is terrible, but I admit to some schadenfreude about Gov. Blagojevich's arrest today. It's kind of fun to see a Democrat take a big, huge tumble. (OK, sorry, I know it's not very nice of me.) We've been following the story for a long time in the Chicago Tribune, wondering when the smoldering Rezko fuse would lead to a big explosion in the Illinois Governor's office. I like Jonathan Goldberg's take on it: Good old-fashioned corrupt politics-as-usual. Nothing kinky, nothing perverted. Just regular old criminal behavior in Cook County. And it's nice to know there are still good guys out to get the bad guys.

UPDATE: I'd forgotten that Blagojevich has young children. I'm very sad for them; as always, they are the innocents caught in the crossfire. Looks like that's already happened to them:

In 2006, the governors daughter ended up in the middle of an intense back-and-forth with reporters during the opening day of the Illinois State Fair.

As reporters grilled him about accusations that his administration gave preferential treatment to clout-backed job applicants, he picked up his then 3-year-old daughter Annie, who burst into tears.

Blagojevich and his wife later said the press acted out-of-line while the toddler was present. But Judy Baar Topinka, his Republican challenger at the time, said the governor should not have allowed his daughter to get caught in the scrum.

What a great (true) story! Score: Good guy, 1, Bad guy, 0

2008-12-04T21:44:00.003-06:00

Oldest daughter came home today from her job as a Tae Kwon Do instructor with this amazing story, told by one of the students when he arrived at class this evening:

At about 4:30 this afternoon, the student was leaving the bank where he works (Bluemound and Calhoun area). As he walked toward his car he noticed a man get out of another car nearby and start to walk toward him.

Before he could reach his car, however, the man approached him, demanded, "Give me your money!", and pulled a knife out of his pocket.

"I don't want any trouble", said the TKD student, "so I'm going to reach in my pocket and get my money, OK?"

"Just give me your money!" said the robber.

The student pulled out his money clip and threw it on the ground. The robber reached down to get it, keeping his eyes on the student, and when his head was down about knee height, the student gave him a good heavy boot in the chin with a well-placed front kick.

The attacker groaned and grabbed his chin, at which point the student executed a perfect axe kick on the back of his neck.

That sent the robber sprawling to the ground; the student grabbed him by the arm, twisting it up behind his back, and then put his foot on the attacker's upper back.

By this time, people in the bank had seen what was going on and called the police.

The police showed up and, honest to goodness, said, "Thanks, we'll take it from here."

And get this: That Tae Kwon Do student, who defeated the bad guy and single-handedly brought him to justice, is 66 years old.

To the visitor from Orland Park (or thereabouts), Illinois:

2008-12-03T16:36:00.004-06:00

I'm wondering if we know each other. I've noticed some repeat visits, and see that you're searching for me by name, so it can't be a random visit here.

We have some relatives in the Tinley Park area, and the IP address could be showing up as Orland Park which is right next door.

So, whether we know each other or not, I'd love it if you would leave a comment to introduce yourself. Or drop me an email: meswart at sbcglobal dot net. You don't have to, of course! Just sayin'.

It's always kind of interesting to browse through the Sitemeter stats. I also wonder who's been emailing a link to my "Public Schools: Part Four" post. I'm sure I'll never know.

But it's still interesting.

Timely Reagan quote

2008-12-03T15:37:00.004-06:00

In an email from my dear aunt:

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it" - Ronald Reagan

Catholic Bishops will fight FOCA

2008-12-03T12:16:00.002-06:00

The bishops have said they'd rather close the Catholic hospitals than be forced into doing abortions, should Obama sign the Freedom of Choice Act as he said he would.

One has said he'd tell his hospitals to simply ignore FOCA, and be willing to be thrown into jail for it.

Bishop Paul Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington says he wouldn't go as far as other bishops who suggested closing Catholic hospitals but he would refuse to allow them to comply with the FOCA's abortion requirement.
Loverde doesn't have any Catholic hospitals under his purview, but he commented on what he would do if he did.
I would say, ‘Yeah, I'm not going to close the hospital, you're going to arrest me, go right ahead. You'll have to drag me out, go right ahead. I'm not closing this hospital, we will not perform abortions,and you can go take a flying leap,'" he said, according to a CNS News report.

I would hope all bishops would take this same approach. Make it a showdown; let Obama know the terrible consequences should he actually keep his diabolical promise to sign FOCA as his first presidential act.

Both Pope Benedict and the late Pope John Paul II have not only decried abortion as state-sanctioned infanticide, but explicitly - and repeatedly - said it must be outlawed: There can be no compromise with such monstrous barbarism. Abortion is akin to the Jewish question in Europe during the 1930s: Should an entire class of people be denied their essential humanity?

Catholic supporters of Mr. Obama insist it is sufficient to reduce the number of abortions. They say it's time to put the polarizing debate over Roe v. Wade in the past, accept legalized abortion as a reality, and work toward compromise solutions such as promoting adoption.

This is like saying Western democracies should have come to terms with the Aryan racial laws of Nazi Germany, and sought to minimize the number of Jews sent to the gas ovens. The argument is morally repugnant and politically naïve. Ultimately, accommodation with evil never works. We learned that with Nazi Germany and with slavery in this country.

Read the whole article here.

Planned Parenthood: Doing evil with our tax dollars

2008-12-03T10:04:00.003-06:00

Planned Parenthood - the organization to which Obama made a solemn promise he'd sign the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as he was in office - is willing to help a "13-year old girl"cross state lines to get an abortion so she can go right back to her "31 year old" ~~boyfriend~~ statutory rapist. All in violation of the law, using our tax dollars to do it.

Indiana Planned Parenthood Covers Up Sexual Abuse of 13-year Old - The most amazing videos are a click away

Yes, it was an undercover operation, so there wasn't a real 13 year old and a real 31 year old.

This time.

Public Schools: Part Four

2008-12-02T09:44:00.001-06:00

Victor Davis Hanson on the public schools:

The K-12 public education system is essentially wrecked. No longer can any professor expect an incoming college freshman to know what Okinawa, John Quincy Adams, Shiloh, the Parthenon, the Reformation, John Locke, the Second Amendment, or the Pythagorean Theorem is. An entire American culture, the West itself, its ideas and experiences, have simply vanished on the altar of therapy. This upcoming generation knows instead not to judge anyone by absolute standards (but not why so); to remember to say that its own Western culture is no different from, or indeed far worse than, the alternatives; that race, class, and gender are, well, important in some vague sense; that global warming is manmade and very soon will kill us all; that we must have hope and change of some undefined sort; that AIDs is no more a homosexual- than a heterosexual-prone disease; and that the following things and people for some reason must be bad, or at least must in public company be said to be bad (in no particular order): Wal-Mart, cowboys, the Vietnam War, oil companies, coal plants, nuclear power, George Bush, chemicals, leather, guns, states like Utah and Kansas, Sarah Palin, vans and SUVs.

He's absolutely right. During a discussion immediately after 9/11, my college students weren't able to articulate how we were any different from the Islamic terrorists. Another student couldn't distinguish between the rights of humans and the "rights" of animals. A little girl recently told my teen daughter that "Christopher Columbus was a very bad man", and another little boy was overheard saying, "The earth is ugly and getting uglier!!!" Just a few off-the-cuff examples; I'm sure you can provide many more of your own.

Another paragraph from the same article on what would help save the public schools:

Four years of high-school Latin would dramatically arrest the decline in American education. In particular, such instruction would do more for minority youths than all the ‘role model’ diversity sermons on Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Montezuma, and Caesar Chavez put together. Nothing so enriches the vocabulary, so instructs about English grammar and syntax, so creates a discipline of the mind, an elegance of expression, and serves as a gateway to the thinking and values of Western civilization as mastery of a page of Virgil or Livy (except perhaps Sophocles’s Antigone in Greek or Thucydides’ dialogue at Melos). After some 20 years of teaching mostly minority youth Greek, Latin, and ancient history and literature in translation (1984-2004), I came to the unfortunate conclusion that ethnic studies, women studies—indeed, anything “studies”— were perhaps the fruits of some evil plot dreamed up by illiberal white separatists to ensure that poor minority students in the public schools and universities were offered only a third-rate education. [Emphasis added.]

I agree. Virtually all of the homeschoolers I know teach their children Latin. It's a touchstone to the past, to the foundations of our civilization. Besides that, it's the language of our Church.

So, again: It's not the teachers who are the problem in public schools (with the exception of the lousy ones, but you find that in all professions). It's the curriculum.

Previous posts on this topic:

11/05: "Today" (initial comments)

11/19: "Public Schools: 'Take your kids out immediately'"

11/19: "Public Schools: Part II"

11/23: "Public Schools: Part III"

First Sunday in Advent!

2008-11-30T15:04:00.002-06:00

The beginning of the new liturgical year: a time of joyful hope, anticipation, preparation and prayer; a time of getting ready for the coming of Our Lord in our hearts as we celebrate his coming to earth as a tiny infant.

Some thoughts from Fr. Z at "What Does the Prayer Really Say?":

It is now the season of “the Coming”, Advent. It is a time of muted joy in anticipation of remembering liturgically the First Coming of the Lord as an infant at Bethlehem. Advent is also, more significantly, a reminder that the Lord will have a Second Coming. Like lightning across the heavens Christ will come from the East as just Judge and King of fearful majesty. During Advent Holy Church dons purple vestments, in parallel with Lent before Easter. From ancient times all feasts had penitential vigils. Advent purple is an outward sign of our joy-infused penitential preparation for both Comings, though especially for our sacramental veneration of the Word Incarnate, the Christ Child.

This morning we made some beautiful beeswax Advent Candles (pictures forthcoming here if I get time for it!) and asked our new pastor to bless them after Mass. We set up the Jesse Tree (this one, from the same company that makes the beeswax candle kits, which we made last year). Now that my genius husband has fixed our color printer, I'm going to print out this Liturgical Year Wheel.

So, we're off to a good start. Of course, it's only the first day of Advent.... and it always goes so fast.... but I'm hoping that this year we'll really live the Advent season and appreciate all the Church teaches us about it.

Quick links

2008-11-25T16:37:00.002-06:00

Extra busy these days, with homeschooling and preparing for Thanksgiving here. So just a few quick links.

First, the uplifting:

"What Every Child Should Know About Thanksgiving" by Newt Gingrich. I'm going to print it and read it aloud to my own kids.

The full text of President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation.

Now, the downers:

A gripping read that explains the economic collapse. It's a house of cards, folks, and it's only begun to tumble.

More doom and gloom, if you can stand it. But that last part, about Russia taking back Alaska? I don't think so, comrade. Not while Sarah Palin is Governor.

Something to think about

2008-11-24T10:12:00.003-06:00

Found on a Yahoo list (The History Place):

In the aftermath of this election, let's be reminded of these wise words.

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

--Rev. William J.H. Beotchker, 1916

Herb Kohl on FOCA

2008-11-21T17:14:00.003-06:00

I wrote to Sen. Kohl expressing my opposition to FOCA. I explained that it would undo years of work by citizens who favored reasonable laws regarding abortion, such as parental notification, a waiting period, restrictions on late-term abortions, etc. These restrictions were approved by state legislatures, reflecting the will of the people.

The reply (which I pretty much expected, but which raises my blood pressure nonetheless. Why do I have to have this guy for my senator, especially when our other senator is just as bad?)

Dear Mrs. Swart:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you.

As you know, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) reintroduced the "Freedom of Choice Act," S. 1173, on April 19, 2007. This bill would protect a woman's freedom to choose to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, consistent with the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, along with other verdicts that respect a citizen's privacy. It would also prohibit the interference of the government in these decisions.

I recognize that abortion involves difficult and ultimately personal decisions, and with this in mind, I believe that the government should not regulate in this area. While I do not like abortion, I do not believe that it would be wise to return to the days when women who sought abortions were treated as criminals. Instead, I will continue to work to encourage alternatives to abortion. Although we may come to agree on some of the surrounding issues, I'm afraid that we will not agree on the ultimate question of whether women should retain the legal right to make their own decisions about having an abortion.

I appreciate your strong convictions on this issue, and I hope we can communicate about other matters on which we are more likely to find agreement.

Sincerely,

Herb Kohl
U.S. Senator

Public School Series: Part Three

2008-11-21T07:27:00.005-06:00

More about Bill Ayers and the radicalization of the public schools, from the City Journal article I'd linked previously.

America’s historical ideal of public schooling as a means of assimilating all children (and particularly the children of new immigrants) into a common civic and democratic culture is already under assault from the multiculturalists and their race- and gender-centered pedagogy. Now Ayers and his social justice movement, by dismissing the civic culture ideal as nothing more than “capitalist hegemony,” subvert the public schools even further—while subsidized by the taxpayers, including the capitalists who supposedly control the schools.

On politicizing science, rather than actually teaching science:

Teaching science for social justice? Let Teachers College professor Angela Calabrese Barton, the volume’s [Teaching Science for Social Justice] principal author, try to explain: “The marriages between capitalism and education and capitalism and science have created a foundation for science education that emphasizes corporate values at the expense of social justice and human dignity.” The alternative? “Science pedagogy framed around social justice concerns can become a medium to transform individuals, schools, communities, the environment, and science itself, in ways that promote equity and social justice. Creating a science education that is transformative implies not only how science is a political activity but also the ways in which students might see and use science and science education in ways transformative of the institutional and interpersonal power structures that play a role in their lives.” If you still can’t appreciate why it’s necessary for your child’s chemistry teacher to teach for social justice, you are probably hopelessly wedded to reason, empiricism, individual merit, and other capitalist and post-colonialist deformities.

What about math?

Accordingly, Gutstein has relentlessly politicized his math classes for years, claiming that this approach has improved his students’ math skills while making them more aware of the injustices built in to capitalist society. One lesson, for example, presents charts showing the U.S. income distribution, aiming to get the students to understand the concept of percentages and fractions, while simultaneously showing them how much wealth is concentrated at the top in an economic system that mainly benefits the superrich. After the class does the mathematical calculations, Gutstein asks: “How does all this make you feel?” He triumphantly reports that 19 of 21 students described wealth distribution in America as “bad,” “unfair,” or “shocking,” and he proudly quotes the comments of a child named Rosa: “Well I see that all the wealth in the United States is mostly the wealth of a couple people not the whole nation.”

No wonder that so many people have fallen for the hoax of man-made global warming, or can't do enough basic math to realize that they can't afford the mortgage they just signed.

Bracing words for Catholics

2008-11-20T15:43:00.003-06:00

Fr. Dwight Longenecker doesn't mince words, or make nice, or beat around the bush. At all. So his essay today on InsideCatholic.com is a little hard to read; it speaks the truth more forcefully than we're used to hearing.

Here's one paragraph that I believe to be prophetic:

In the next 20 years, this sort of Catholic [read the whole article for an explanation] will become extinct. As America descends further into decadence and decline, the lines will be drawn between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. People will have to choose whether to serve God and His Church or the dark side. Catholics will have to choose to be fully committed or not. If they choose to be Catholic, let them be informed and involved and integrated. If they choose to leave the Church, then they should be honest and stop referring to themselves as Catholic.

Go read the whole thing. And pray that you will always choose the right side in the battles to come.

Prophetic words from Spes Salvi

2008-11-20T07:43:00.005-06:00

I picked up my copy of Spes Salvi this morning and it fell open to this section:

Action and suffering as settings for learning hope

35. All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action. This is so first of all in the sense that we thereby strive to realize our lesser and greater hopes, to complete this or that task which is important for our onward journey, or we work towards a brighter and more humane world so as to open doors into the future. Yet our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world's future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance. If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without hope. It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for. Only the great certitude of hope that my own life and history in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of Love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance, only this kind of hope can then give the courage to act and to persevere.

Prophetic words: "a breakdown in matters of historic importance." I believe we are on the verge of such a breakdown. But since my hope is not in this earth - not in governments, or politicians (thank goodness), or in the stock market (ditto) - I have reason for real hope, which gives reason for true joy.

Public Schools: Part Two

2008-11-19T08:34:00.000-06:00

In a previous post, I said that the public schools are controlled by the ultra-leftists in the NEA and the universities.

Here, in an article by Sol Stern, is just one bit of evidence for that claim:

As I have shown elsewhere in City Journal, [William] Ayers’s politics have hardly changed since his Weatherman days. He still boasts about working full-time to bring down American capitalism and imperialism. This time, however, he does it from his tenured perch as Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Instead of planting bombs in public buildings, Ayers now works to indoctrinate America’s future teachers in the revolutionary cause, urging them to pass on the lessons to their public school students.

[snip]

Ayers’s influence on what is taught in the nation’s public schools is likely to grow in the future. Last month, he was elected vice president for curriculum of the 25,000-member American Educational Research Association (AERA), the nation’s largest organization of education-school professors and researchers. Ayers won the election handily, and there is no doubt that his fellow education professors knew whom they were voting for. In the short biographical statement distributed to prospective voters beforehand, Ayers listed among his scholarly books Fugitive Days, an unapologetic memoir about his ten years in the Weather Underground. The book includes dramatic accounts of how he bombed the Pentagon and other public buildings. (emphasis added)

More to come.

Public Schools: "Take your kids out immediately"

2008-11-19T08:30:00.001-06:00

In a prior post, I made some off-the-cuff suggestions about what we (meaning, we conservatives) should do next.

One of my suggestions was this:

If you still have your kids in public school, take them out immediately. We simply cannot have any more children brainwashed by the leftists in charge of government schools and textbooks. Send them to private schools, or better yet, homeschool them. You can do it, trust me. You certainly won't do any worse than most of the public schools, and you'll probably do much better at teaching your children the truths of faith and freedom. More about this later.

Of course, this was a rhetorical statement. I certainly don't expect everyone to pull their kids out of public schools. But I do believe that conservative parents, especially Catholics, should do everything possible to keep their children out of government schools.

That post attracted some attention from a nephew on my husband's side who left a comment.

Here, slightly edited, is my emailed reply to him:

I'm really sorry you were hurt and saddened by my post, as it wasn't directed at you or any teacher personally. And I'm very aware of all the teachers in the family, including my own mother, aunt, and several friends, besides all the teachers on your side of the family! :)

If you read my post again, you'll see I said nothing about teachers, at all. That's because my complaint is not with the teachers, but with the curriculum, which has been driven by the leftist agenda. I didn't have time to fully develop this idea on the blog, however, which is why I said "more to come later" in that post.

In a nutshell, my concerns about curriculum include anti-American propaganda, historical revisionism, and the neglect of civics and economics. Maybe not in every school, but in far too many.

As I'm sure you can tell if you've read any other posts, we were really discouraged by the outcome of this election. I believe that 40 years of left-leaning curriculum in the public schools is a big part of the problem.

I'm well aware of the good that many teachers do, and of the great sacrifices that many of them make and how much they care for their students. I know many teachers who put in long hours, spend their own money for supplies, and make a wonderful difference in the lives of children.

I just wish those same wonderful teachers had a much different curriculum to use. But since the schools and textbook publishers aren't about to change any time soon, then the next best thing is for conservative parents to pull their kids out and exercise their right to choose a different form of education. That's what I was getting at.

One other point: The NEA is a liberal organization, always supporting candidates I'm opposed to, and annually issuing a resolution condemning homeschooling. I believe that the liberal agenda of the NEA and their opposition to school choice is also a part of the problem with public schools.

More to come.

"Obama is apocalyptic"

2008-11-17T18:09:00.002-06:00

Here's an article about the Cardinal's talk.

"Catholics weep over these words; we weep over the violence concealed behind the rhetoric... For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden."

h/t Standing On My Head.

An inspiring story of conversion: from abortionist to pro-life activist

2008-11-16T08:28:00.004-06:00

A friend emailed me this link. It's an amazing story; click below to watch the video and follow the link above for more.