WE THE PEOPLE.....promote the general Welfare--

This little phrase appears to be the backbone of the liberals who defend Obamacare as constitutional. Lo and behold, a quote from Thomas Jefferson, from Opinion on National Bank in 1791 wrote this:

"They are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the latter phrase not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please."

So when you hear or are confronted by someone using the "promote general welfare" argument, you can answer with what the thinking was then and is logical today.

God bless...

Immigration - Simple Solution

The Cit Pat limits issues letters to 300 words so much of what one would like to say simply "doesn't fit." The following will soon appear in the Jax Cit Pat.

"First, ignore all Southwest and border states clergy. Americans respect human dignity, feeding and sheltering the poor. It's our heritage. They who had the power and influence, however, chose to encourage rather than instigate mission programs early on before the rest of the country knew the depth of the problem. Their hands are not clean. They could have mitigated much of the damage done in the last 20 years.
Then, face facts. Logistically it is impossible to "send them all back."

Third, have them all registered within 6 months, use the Post Office which is cutting staff. How? Not registering will mean automatic deportation when they are identified. Registration leads to citizenship and probationary status. In justice to those who have entered the country legally, there must be some restitution for their crime of being illegal--not "undocumented." Illegal and undocumented are not synonyms.

Next, they pay a nominal fee, back taxes or any other monetary restitution. The probationary period is for learning the language, studying American history and passing the citizenship test to prove that they want to be Americans. No dual citizenship. If gainfully employed, the employer who benefited needs to be fined.

How to enforce? Friends and family can be monetarily rewarded for reporting others. $500 to $1000: enough to make it practical. Not a bounty. No warrants issued, no chasing down, just a businesslike decision for those who truly wish to become citizens and those wanting an end to this mess.

The probationary period should be long enough to make reporting every 6 months or yearly enough to remind them and others that they chose to enter the country by breaking a law, a serious infraction in a nation of laws. Five to ten years sounds reasonable.

Some, like little kids, will need case by case attention by Congress."

Like putting the tax code in a notebook and putting tax forms on a post care, this should be a pretty short, up front way of getting the job done. If adopted, ICE, ATF and other law enforcement agencies can concentrate on the crooks.

We really need to get this taken care of and if the hard nosed folks still want to finish the fences, this can be done simultaneously since it will be cost efficient. Do you think we could interest Tim Walberg?

God bless...

Poor President Obama--BooHoo-Jobs Plan? Really?

He keeps getting caught between that rock and that hard place. How is he going to do anything constructive about jobs and continue placating all his leftist supporters? Last I heard, there has been a net loss of 900,000 jobs since his inauguration. Maybe he'd like to work on those first.

Here's an idea: You've heard about the Trans Canada pipeline which would send oil from the Alberta tar sands and go down to the refineries in Oklahoma and Texas? Have you also heard that the only thing stopping them is the fact that the State Department has to approve the whole thing because it crosses the 49th parallel?

The building of that pipeline and peripheral jobs would net 131,000 jobs at one fell swoop along with the $20 billion investment. Oh, by the way, 13,000 of those jobs would be union jobs. Sorry, guys.

First we have to have all the environmental impact statements from 8 of our finest regulatory agencies plus State. How's that going? Well, the first request was made back in 2008 with a report finally being issued in April of last year. The big 5 were EPA, DOT, USDA, DOI, DOE plus a few smaller entities. The report actually said there appeared to be little risk to the environment.

Stop! EPA speaking and forcing another study which resulted in 8 volumes. That also resulted in "no significant impact" on the environment. So is it a done deal? No-o-o-o. Now we have to have a 90 day review to see if the project is in the national interest. Economics, energy, security, foreign policy--you name it--will all have something to say.

The State Dept. will have public comment, both in person and online and hold hearings in the six states which will be crossed plus Washington, D. C. And guess what, the Executive Order also says it should have comment from 8 of the involved agencies.

Does anyone want to bet how important 131,000 jobs and enough oil to equal the entire production equal to the 830,000 barrels a day produced by Oman in the Arabian Peninsula is to the President?

Doesn't he keep saying the Republicans should keep politics out of the job problem? Again leading from behind.

Please, God, bless us...

Where's Waldo? Who Cares-WHERE'S MARK SCHAUER??

MARK SCHAUER WAS SIGHTED IN LENAWEE COUNTY LAST WEEK TAKING COPIOUS NOTES AT A teeny
little Ogden Township meeting where a Supervisor and a Clerk had been recalled. He was accompanied by a couple of guys who might have been mistaken for body guards, but one of which turned out to be akin to a PR person or maybe an Advance Man.

Publicly he has been identified as still working for the Green Alliance--any correlation?

Also, he has apparently tapped into the kitty he left office with and is supporting the Democrats on the non-partisan ballot for the Jackson City Council election in the fall. (Headed, of course, by one of his best buds, Marty Griffin.)

Guess we'll have to wait and see unless someone wants to share the skinny.

It's been a beautiful day today. Thunderstorms earlier this week were awesome!

God bless...

A Tribute

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/2105702905/mans_best_friend_stays_loyal_to_fallen_seal

I don't know if this will work, but as the
YOuTube instructions said: If clicking on the link
doesn't work, try copying and pasting it into your
browser and his "enter.")

And if that doesn't work, just type it in yourself.

God bless...

http://www.Mackinac.org/15605

Please access the Midland based Mackinac Center website to get the latest and best information on:

Ann Arbor is considering issuing fines for cars that idle too long. I kid you not! Check it out!

Evergreen Solar has gone bankrupt because there are just too many start up businesses in competition. Undoubtedly all with stimulus money from the government.

MEA members who may want to withdraw from the union may only do so during the month of August. Depending on your newspaper or radio talk show, this is the time to get a notice out. Let teachers know they can give themselves a raise in conjunction with making their own political contributions.

Also, many more communities are deciding to hire private firms to do some of the jobs that were union jobs and saving along the lines of $400,000 a year. Not bad.

These and other stories are to be found in detail at the above address. Take advantage of it--they publish this once a month plus many other items of interest.

God bless...

Clean Up Headlines

#1 - It seems those who have watched Wisconsin recalls are comfortable with the Republicans having maintained control. Just a word to the wise: Apparently one of the Republicans, Repr. Schultz, is very soft and may be leaning toward working with Democrats. Bears watching.

#2 - Japanese survivors are in the process of memorializing a WWII Internment Camp in Wyoming. There were several others on the West coast and in Alaska. Wonder if they are also being remembered. Plus it makes me wonder if there is any recognition of the many POW camps in China and Japan used to "house" Americans.

@3 - Our State Dept. and administration appear to be ignoring the quashing of the Honduran press by the newest dictator. No press, make no mistake, indicates the relationship with Venezuela and Hugo Chavez is pretty much a done deal. Shouldn't we be just a tad bit outraged?

#4 - EPA again jumped the gun and banned the use of BPA (can't possibly spell it.) After finding out there was no danger in its use, it was also found out that at least one company has gone bankrupt due to the regulations thrust upon them. Our government at work.

#5 - The Tea Party seems to be taking it on the chin by liberals led by Maxine Waters. Last week it was mentioned that the Tea Party is reminiscent of the old Silent Majority waking up. The only difference as I see it is that the Tea Party is extremely active and I fear only one thing. I am reminded of the "rather be right than President" groups through the years and if they decide to run Ron Paul or one of their favorites as a Third Party, they will split the vote guaranteeing another four years of Obama.

Warning: Regulations put forth by unelected agencies and Executive Orders may truly be our worst nightmare.

The people who have been sending suggestions to pray at 9:00 pm (or I'm thinking any other time) have it right. Like chicken soup, couldn't hurt, might help, right?

God bless...

More Fun Than A Picnic

I may be sorry about 1% of what I just accomplished, but I found the secret to making my computer much faster and it had nothing to do with viruses or any other sophisticated remedies that cost money to fix.

Everyone else in the whole world must know this already, but it took a friend to tell me that I had way too much information that was using space and slowing things down. I always thought that once you deleted something it was gone, forever. Not so.

I hadn't thought about the Recycle Bin for a long time, it usually had little in it. However, I accidentally clicked on it and lo and behold! There was so much junk on there I checked it all out and deleted it. Then I went to the place, also accidentally, where it had stuff like cookies, all the websites I'd ever visited, etc., etc. So I got rid of that also. Yes, I will have to replace the ones I really use, but that's not a big problem. Probably not more than 12 to 20 that I use more than once a week or so.

Just in case I have someone who is as slow on the uptake as I have been, this is a good tip and the rest of you can laugh and laugh at the old dog learning new tricks. How very cool.

Anyway, that's what took up my time last night so I'll post sometime today.

God bless...

Headlines for your Attention

#1 - Union target: FoMoCo - The union is leaving those of us who were stung by the GM failure to honor commitments due to government interference and enriched unions at GM while Chrysler was being sold down the river to Fiat.

I took delivery of a Ford May 31, but I can tell you this: if Ford caves to the union, it will be my last "American" car. Any foreign car made in the USA by non-union labor will be my next ride.

#2 - Millionaires are Disappearing - There are 13% fewer workers who earned more than $200,000 now than in 2007; 39% fewer than there were in 2007 earning $1 million and above; 55% fewer earning $10 million and above in the same time frame. The recession was the cause of the decline.

Wouldn't it seem that rather than have the remaining wealthy folks pay more taxes that the business climate be improved so more people would become millionaires and pay more taxes?

#3 - Exxon Works for Years on New Oil Field - After putting in huge amounts of money for over 10 years they are bumping up to the end of the contracted time. Now the government wants to deny them an extension so they can sell the same field again. So they have to go to court.

Government-what a way to run a business!

#4 - Farmer Attempts Conversation with President on His "Listening Tour"

Poor guy in Illinois asked the President to please not enforce the regulations being talked about which would have the government coming out into the countryside to measure how much dust is in the air, particularly that which might fall on some endangered flowers in Colorado. Farmers who live on dirt roads would be fined for raising dust on more than 21 days a year. The same for working in the fields with plows, discs. combines, etc., etc.

Obama's answer: "if something hasn't happened, don't always believe what you hear." Wouldn't that have been a great time to learn something?

Time to lean back and look forward to a lazy Sunday-
God bless...

Illegal is Illegal is Illegal- (as in Immigration)

We also must consider compassion for those who are not at fault--children below the age of reason. Just as with any other crime, however, there must be restitution or some kind of punishment. Parents of children are guilty not only of breaking the law, but of causing an innocent to break the law. This is a double whammy. It is simply un-American to cause someone else to go astray.

And practicality is practicality is practicality. It should be simple enough to set some ground rules. As long as the authorities have thousands upon thousands of records already in hand, they should have no problem adding to it. First, WE SHOULD JUST ASK THOSE WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY TO REPORT TO THE NEAREST IMMIGRATION OFFICE. This should not be a problem since they know they won't be deported.

Second, and I know opponents will call this a bounty, we can think of other words to describe the reward to be given to those who may be willing to report someone who is breaking the law.

Third, Everyone, including employers, should make the government whole by paying any back taxes or FICA for any of these individuals who have been gainfully employed. There might be no jail time or punitive fines, but if the agreement has been worked out "under the table" again, all taxes and FICA shall be paid.

Fourth, The registration might be likened to probation; they have, after all, broken a very basic law. A time period such as 10 years during which classes must be taken to earn Naturalized Citizenship. Even though a Citizenship test has been taken and an illegal immigrant has successfully passed all requirements for citizenship and is now considered a bona fide citizen, he or she must "report in" once a year for the remainder of the 10 year period.

Fifth, One of the education requirements shall be English classes until such time as they can pass the equivalent of 10th grade levels.

Sixth, There must be reporting requirements such as twice a year during the period of probation. We need to keep track of these people.

Seventh, For those who have served or are serving in the military, upon Honorable Discharge and the passing of a basic test, Citizenship will be bestowed immediately.

Eighth, certainly there will arise unique situations which deserve separate action. These very few may be acted upon by a voluntary recommendation of the individual's local Congressman or Senator to the full body of Congress for exception and action.

This should satisfy pretty much every level of liberal or conservative citizens. If some still call it amnesty, they must come up with a plan that is cost effective and detailed enough that others may make intelligent judgment. Two specific questions? How much will it cost - and this includes record keeping, feeding, housing, and guarding after arrest? And how long will it take?

Don't fofget the injustices suffered by those who have entered this country through legitimate means. And please don't consider those up to 35 years old as was the case in the Dream Act.

Good luck and God bless...

Syria's leader and military are guilty of killing Civilians---

That's right. President Obama had Secretary of State Clinton relay the message to Assad that he should step down. In effect, saying "it's not right to kill innocent civilians."

I must say, it's no contest. Between Clinton and Obama and their championing of abortion rights they are guilty of the deaths of thousands and thousands of innocents being murdered.

All the rest of the day's news is just more of same old, same old. The President has been telling the world that he wakes up every morning with what on his mind? Oh, yeah, jobs. Well, that's as far as it goes. He is thinking about it, has talked about it endlessly starting in 2009, and he is still thinking and talking about it.

Now he is accusing Republicans of putting politics ahead of the country. Just another example of thinking that everyone thinks as he does. He has taken quite a few plays from Bill Clinton's playbook but the most impressive is: Never leave campaign mode.

I'm quite sure that the main reason he is in Martha's Vineyard is to just let things cool down and to come back with a pile of speeches ready to blame the Tea Party for events that occurred before we even heard about them. Good grief!

It's getting difficult just trying to keep abreast of what's happening. And even a bit depressing.

God bless...

There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch!!!

I don't read the Detroit News, but have a friend who does. She sent me the following: I hope I don't get sued for copyright infringement. Some of you may have seen this, but it bears repeating.

DPS students to get free breakfast, lunch during school day - Santiago Esparza/Detroit News

Detroit -- All Detroit Public Schools students will receive free breakfast, lunch and a snack during the school day in the coming year as part of a federal pilot program aimed at making sure youngsters are receiving healthy meals.

Students are eligible for the program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Eligibility Option Program regardless of income. Michigan is one of the three states selected for the program.

Schools and districts in the state can participate in the program if at least 40 per cent of their students qualify for public assistance.

Another goal of the program is to eliminate the stigma some may feel about not paying for their lunches, said DPS Chief Operating Officer Mark Schrupp.

"Some students would skip important meals to avoid being identified as low-income," Schrupp said in a press release. "Now, all students will walk through a lunch line and not have to pay. Low-income students will not be easily identifiable and will be less likely to skip meals."

The Agriculture Department's option program is part of President Barack Obama's Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. Illinois and Kentucky were the other states selected to be part of the program.

ALL STATES WILL BE PART OF THE PROGRAM BY THE 2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR. (my caps)

God bless us all...

OBAMA IS MAKING A CAMPAIGN TOUR! USE CAMPAIGN FUNDS!!

Even the AP is describing a campaign tour with headlines such as "Obama criticizes the GOP." We all need to not only call our own Congressmen and Senators, we should be sending the message to our friends and relatives across the country suggesting they do the same.

$2 million worth of buses, ie., a million apiece should not be billed to the taxpayers.

So now after talking about JOBS being his highest priority through the first 2 1/2 years of his presidency, he may be forced into doing something. But guess what? First he has to spend the money to generate a new bureaucracy to deal with it. More and more money being spent. Is spending other people's money a disease? If there isn't a name or label for it yet, there should be.

And now there are shortages of drugs that we talked about. So many generics the pharmaceutical companies don't have enough profits to do their usual amount of R & D, of all things, there are drugs that the FDA has approved for both human and animal use so the demand is up, because of limited supplies the purchasing departments are not giving themselves enough lead time and hospitals are running short of drug supplies, etc. Good grief!

Wonder what is coming next.

God bless...

Generic Drugs

If you will think back to the first time Debbie Stabenow ran for the Senate you will remember that she, along with any other Democrat candidate in a border state, really picked up votes by chartering buses to take senior citizens to Canada to buy cheap prescription drugs.

As the campaign went along the Democrats were touting the purchase of drugs from abroad plus being able to get generic drugs in quantity through government purchases. AT the time there was little proof/investigation but now we have evidence in abundance that drugs formulated in India and China in particular are far from safe.

I'll do my best to collect information for us to use in the campaign, but ask that if you run across anything that you submit it as well. Some of these copycats are extremely dangerous either through contamination or lack of potency.

The primary will take care of itself, it is time to start working on campaign issues.

God bless...

New Dream Team

I'm going to add Herman Cain to my Dream Team. Perry/Cain or Bachman.

And I'm being lazy by just giving you a website that has done our homework for us. Surely the Dems will come up with everything they can to toss at Rick Perry, but www.PeskyTruth.wordpress.com has done the grunt work.

I really want to just get it on the blog so I know where to find it when I want it. I read it all and think it will be helpful.

Consider this Sunday night and I'll post tonight.

God Bless...

A Conservative Teacher: Rick Perry, The Next President: Analysis and Proje...

I trust you'll find this interesting--just click on the first line

A Conservative Teacher: Rick Perry, The Next President: Analysis and Proje...: "Rick Perry may just be the next President of the United States. Last month I ran into Matt Keelen, who is the founder and President of the..."

U. S. Department of Injustice?

Eric Holder has a lot to be accountable for starting with the folks who were intimidated by Black Panthers on the steps of the building where they were supposed to vote in Philadelphia. And it went down hill from there.

We had the attempt to move the "residents" of the Country Club in Cuba aka Guantanamo to New York, Illinois or someplace in the contiguous United States where great numbers of American citizens would be manipulated, disrespected and made to dance around while their rights were being trampled on.

Every now and then we are treated to another of these attempts to change our system of justice by Mr. Holder and his minions.

This time, however, it is totally obvious that the so-called attorneys in the Justice Dept. have gone bonkers. We all know how serious the so-called gun running sting on the southern border resulted in guns landing in the hands of the drug cartels with many lives lost. Lives lost as a direct result of our government employees putting guns in the hands of violent thugs.

One of those casualties was a young man living in Arizona. His parents would like to be in the court room and make a statement to the judge as is usually a right that is recognized by the judicial branch and also usually, supported by the U. S. Prosecutors. Not so this time. Even though this particular Prosecutor had spoken earlier about the need to bring justice, it was learned today that he has quashed a motion to allow the parents to make a statement. Apparently he now believes the crime is "against society" and an individual cannot be identified. What???

There ca be no doubt that this is one of the most obvious examples of CYA ever. The Prosecutor in the case was a participant in the sting and now he is a participant in the cover up. Shame on him and the rest of those guys right up to the very top.

Governor Perry really has it right. Prayer is totally necessary at this time. We are on a sinking ship and the Almighty may be the only way to save our country.

God bless...

Something to Think About--

Heard a fellow from Britain today giving an opinion on why the riots in London which he followed by giving his opinion that the reason for much of the unrest in the world is due to the fact that world wide there are no great leaders.

We started to think about it and decided that he is right. After listing the leaders of various countries from Sarkozy to whom? We couldn't even come up with that many names and finally decided only Angela Merkel of Germany comes any place close to fitting that description.

Do we have anyone who fits that description who is even mildly interested in running for President? Don't leave out the Democrats, this is just an exercise in an attempt to find out where all the qualified leaders have gone. Can't think of any there either.

As for the military, Petraeus is thought to be a good General and we have heard of others also, but it just doesn't seem that one stands out above the others. Then look at the business world. Do we even know who heads some of the largest companies in our own country let alone someone internationally?

We do know a few who are good investors and have become wealthy in the process. Soros, Trump, Immelt, Ackerson, Buffet, Gates, Jobs and maybe a few more, but not one of them exhibits what might be called governmental leadership ability.

Houston, we have a problem. It's a worrisome thing when it's important to take a coin to flip when it's time to cast a vote. Maybe Perry has it right: turn over our problems to God.

God bless...

More on Soros-

Now that we know how Soros is circumventing the new rules on hedge funds by making it a family affair, my eyes perked up when I saw the following in "The Progressive Farmer." If I haven't mentioned it before, friend husband grew up on a farm and as they say, you can take the boy off the farm but you can't take the farm from the boy. He still eats it up and shared the following:

"Big Money has long played a hand in commodity markets, but a new breed of global investors have their eyes on ag. They hope to strike gold by not simply buying future contracts, but by investing directly in the world's frontier farmland....." (There has been a huge investment of billions of dollars in the last five years to develop South American farms. Increased production will only come from tilling more land. New technology alone cannot increase yields fast enough.) "...Wall Street analysts believe the real estate drives will relaunch once Brazilians clarify the law, perhaps within the next few months."

"In January, Adecoagro, a South American farming venture backed by billionaire George Soros, raised $42.3 million in its initial public offering. The Argentine based firm already owns 320,000 acres in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and is carving out a niche as a sugar cane processor and real estate developer."

So add that to the $2 billion loan received from President Obama for his oil interests in Brazil plus making it easy for the Brazilians to market their oil and use the rigs that Americans can't because of the difficulty in getting permits for gulf drilling and we have another recipe for lower gdp and employment rates in our country.

God bless our out of work people...

Investigation???????

A tragedy such as the loss of 30 servicemen should be mourned, not investigated.

What is it about the air in Washington that makes the first reaction to just about any problem turn into a blame game?

Did you hear that there are some who are critical of the fact that there were so many troops on the helicopter which went down with 30 aboard and no survivors? It brings back the fact that we should not be waging the war from the White House or Halls of Congress; we should let the military make the decisions they are trained to do. They should be allowed to do their jobs without interference from amateurs whose only goal is to get their names and faces in the news.

It just seems that every time we turn around there is something else amiss in our nation's capitol. I'm as partisan as most and more than many, but "we have a problem, Houston." There is a mindset which will soon start pitting neighbor against neighbor. It appears to have already started with the class warfare thing, and if we're not careful it's going to be 1984.

Be wary.

God bless...

Deja Vu and It's No Joke-

Back when Bill Clinton was elected I was a lot less cynical and truly felt that he couldn't do too much damage in one term and that we could be rid of him after four years, but he was just smart enough to take advantage of the situation.

When we swept into control on the Contract for America and put into place the policies which were good for the country he stood back and let it happen and then took credit for the whole thing. And the rest is history. (His personal problems didn't do anything except cost those who supported him their own self respect and tons of money if they had to hire lawyers when subpoenaed by the grand jury. Water under the bridge.)

This time, however, it's a different story. Obamacare is in place (Hillary just couldn't make it with her socialized medicine plan even with the AARP backing her) until 2013 but that's not a done deal either. And the damage done to our economy including the job picture and the stock market is really heart breaking.

The kicker is that when I said a couple of days ago that this would cost us money, I really didn't anticipate S&P's action which makes for a real problem. From my 80 year old vantage point may I say that if you have any variable interest rate loans tomorrow is the time to try to get them fixed.

Gov. Rick Perry has it right. At this point in time, and he was thinking about this many months ago as was I, that prayer may be one of the best weapons we have. There is a message going around the internet asking that those who believe should take out a minute or so at 9:00 Eastern every night to offer prayer as Churchill convinced many to do during WWII. Please consider joining in.

Good luck on your financial situations and God bless...

Consumers Power Brags About Being Progressive

We finally have most people aware that the true definition of Liberal includes "Progressive/Liberal" and headlines in the local paper yesterday gave evidence that the monopoly aka Consumers Power, but which lost a little of their complete control due to letting a few people choose to purchase power from another source is now admittedly progressive in philosophy.

They were not even trying to camouflage their intent. Remember last year, can't pinpoint the exact date, but this blog demonstrated that Consumers was adding a surcharge for some green projects including giving people $25 to cart away old, outdated refrigerators, etc.

The headline yesterday indicated that they had run out of their allowance this early in the year due to so many businesses taking advantage of one of their programs being financed with the "surcharge" being paid by all Consumers' customers.

So instead of Robin Hood robbing the rich to give to the poor, Consumers has been robbing ALL their customers to give to businesses. As I recall this was a five year plan. Don't you feel good about being taxed by Consumers?

Progressives: redistribute the wealth--they know what's good for the rest of us. We aren't smart enough to know how to spend our own money. And don't forget, they are using other tax money collected by the government to put electric chargers in the city garage.

God bless us all because we certainly aren't getting any good vibes from the other entities which control our lives...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT! You got just what you wanted: a $500 Drop in the Stock Market -- another way of saying there is nothing special about

our country. That we deserve what we get and you and your rich friends are laughing all the way to the bank buying gold and making investments that the little people in the country not only can't dream about, they don't even know they exist.

Who are your friends? Was it really the best you could do on your birthday to spend it asking people to pay money to spend "quality" time with you? We just never hear that that you and the girls and the First Lady are entertaining their best friends from school and meeting their parents. We've never heard of old friends from college days being invited to the White House or Camp David for a good old fashioned reunion. You'd be surprised how much fun that is and how human it might make you look to the voters.

They say it's lonely at the top, but this is really pushing the envelope. Even those of us who disagree with your politics and what you are doing and your plans for our futures do not wish you ill will. You, as a professed Christian even though you say our country is not religious, know that God loves everyone and that final judgment is His.

Picture this: If the Progressives end up with all the wealth and "rule the world" with all the rest of the people working in service jobs to do the work to keep you happy, comfortable and supplied with the "necessities" of life and all of the job suppliers have been taxed into non-existence, and you end up with everyone on welfare, unemployment etc., etc. who is going to prepare and cook the food in the restaurant, park your car, set the tables, wash the dishes, take your orders and serve your pleasure? Who will build your houses, cars, design your jewelry and sell anything at retail?

Someplace along the line it all breaks down and some of you might have to get your hands dirty. Just think twice, please, about taxing our children and grandchildren out of existence.

God bless...

Is the Whole World Anti Social?

It seems that Indiana has passed a law which gives schools a pass if they no longer want to teach cursive handwriting. Maybe kids would some day have to learn how to sign their names so they can be identified legally, but that would be about it. Am I the only person in the world that thinks that things are going just a bit too far in having the government interfere with schools being controlled by local school boards?

Society as a whole is already going toward a time when everyone will soon be able, if they so desire, to take a computer and hole up in a cave and have their meals delivered. I always thought it took a very special type of personality to be a computer programmer given that interruptions really could mess up their efforts and now it looks like anyone can do it.

I can remember wanting my kids to look at me when I was talking to them and I certainly gave them my rapt attention when they were talking to me. I cared and still do care about what they are saying and the facial expressions in many cases are as important as the words. It's called c-0-m-m-u-i-c-a-t-i-o-n, folks.

Look around the next time you go to a restaurant. A friend pointed out to me that she and her family went out to dinner and nearby there was a family of 5. Two of them were staring at different television sets (two different programs) while the other three were texting. There was no conversation. Now, please tell me why they even bothered to leave home together.

Kids of today aren't too great about writing thank you notes for birthday gifts and I'm afraid my generation is partially responsible. In fact, whenever the grandparents sent checks or special gifts to my kids, it seemed appropriate that we spend the money and time to give them a call and thank them in person or as close as we could get to it being a few hundred miles away. Calls were a great treat for all.

But the next generation will undoubtedly either email or text and if Grandma isn't proficient in either one, oh, well...

On those rare occasions when families get together, given that many of us don't live in the same states, I really value conversations with not only my grandchildren, but my children and their spouses as well. As far as I know evolution isn't moving fast enough yet to change the art of conversation in one generation.

I realize that I've lived through give or take four generations, but right now we are where we are and we've grown together so it shouldn't be too tough to be able to talk to each other without the aid of an i-pad. So call me crotchety, but please don't be in such a hurry to advance that you forget where you came from and don't leave those you love out of your lives if they require a little patience.

God bless...

Questions aboaut Michelle Bachman

I could probably spend a few hours researching these questions, but perhaps someone who supports her would like to answer them.

Does Ms. Bachman run as a Republican from her district? And in what part of Minnesota is her home?

Was she a part of the Tea Party Express or one of the factions that presumably make up what for lack of a better term would be the "National Tea Party?"

Was she ever opposed in a primary? If so, in what party primary?

Does she use her adult children as surrogate speakers?

Does she still have an interest in her business?

Is she the kind of person who can take constructive criticism and use suggestions? I ask this because up until yesterday I had only seen her on television with the usual sound bites and prepared remarks on the campaign trail. Yesterday I heard her reading a speech over the radio and she either needs to stop using that method of communication or get some speech advice.

As I have said earlier she is a part of my dream ticket, but I admit to not having done any homework and may have to re-visit that decision.

Thanks to anyone with information and

God bless.....

Time to go Back to Daily Postings

First, I'm sorry I forgot to warn you that I would be gone last week. Hopefully it won't happen again. I am compelled to say, however, that 6 days with less than a half hour of news alerts or newscasters droning on and on was a true blessing. Try it sometime.

When we started this blog it was about the same time frame before the last Presidential election and it seems that there truly are more topics to address so maybe shorter but more frequent posts will fit your schedule as well. August just seems like a good time to get going. I only wish the primaries were closer so we can draw the lines between candidates rather than looking at the "field."

First item: Everyone knows all they want or need to know about the debt ceiling, but no matter the outcome, you can be sure it will cost you money, big bucks, dollars and dollars--however you want to categorize it. Just days before the true negotiations started, the Prez announced his newest spending spree: the Consumers Financial Protection at a cost of a half a billion dollars just to set it up. The man just can't quit. Is spending other people's money considered a clinical addiction yet? If not, it should be and he should be treated for the malady.

EPA's fight against the ozone is said to be going to cost a dollar a gallon of gas when finished and all for a few tenths of a percent more. The highest cost, of course, will the in the number of jobs lost.

No more corporate jet allowable expense? Remember the last time we threw an excise tax on so-called luxury items? That cost in jobs of people who worked at plants which provided such items was astronomical!

Is it just me or are we all just plain scared of a double dip recession before the last one is over? And don't tell me the economists say the markers indicated it was over a few months ago. As far as I'm concerned, it isn't over until it's over and that will happen when everyone who wants a job has one.

Tomorrow let's talk about what's going on in Brazil with the help of money we had to borrow to help them and the oil platforms which were taken from our Gulf after the spill and that are chugging along off that country making them unavailable to us.

Our Christmas in July last week was fantastic! It sure beat traveling in the winter and everyone was there.

God bless.........