*****Sometimes the amount of information flowing into a person's life becomes just too much to handle. Lent, with my three posts per week rule, has been the perfect penance. The first few weeks I was so nervous as to be rendered almost comatose. But guess what? God knows what we need and guides us in our decisions. Of course this means paying attention when He bangs you upside the head.
*****I've discovered as Lent has progressed toward Easter, that I have become calmer and more focused (except for snapping at hubby a moment ago), and I am certainly getting more work done. I have lost my desire to obsessively read every little nugget of information that hits the airwaves or the internet. I've discovered that I can read a select number of sources which leaves time for reflection. It has fostered a climate where I can sort out what I have learned, and make decisions based on reason rather than hysteria. It means I can act rather than react.
*****With that being said, I will try and not overwhelm you with too much information in today's post. Besides, I have work to do and the longer I sit here doing this, the less work I'm getting done.
Glenn Beck and his "project"...
*****I like Glenn Beck. Quite a few people are of the opinion that his rhetoric is a bit "over the top." And many Catholics are horrified that he is a Mormon who came from a somewhat Catholic background. No doubt I would be happy if he became a Catholic, but we accept truth where ever it is found, and Glenn does a good job of telling the truth. Not to mention that most Mormon families do a darn sight better job of raising their children than the average Catholic parents do (but that's another post.)
*****Yesterday he launched his new blog The 9 - 12 Project and the response was so overwhelming the servers were crashing.
Glenn's Mission Statement
This website is a place for you and other like-minded Americans looking for direction in taking back the control of our country. It is also a place to find information that will assist you in navigating the rough waters we face in the days, weeks and months ahead.
We suggest that you start in your own homes. Talk to your family about the Values and Principles. Discuss the importance of what the Founders designed for America.
Hold or attend a weekly meeting in your neighborhood or town. Communication with your neighbors is vital to the process of protecting our country. Gather in living rooms, coffee houses or restaurants. Share your thoughts and ideas.
Visit this website often. Make use of the resources that are linked here. Share the ideas and resources that have worked in your home or town.
This is a non-political movement. The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created.
That same feeling – that commitment to country is what we are hoping to foster with this idea. We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?
- Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?
- Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?
If you’ve answered YES, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull back the curtain, you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.
We surround them.
At the origin of America, our Founding Fathers built this country on 28 powerful principles. These principles were culled from all over the world and from centuries of great thinkers. We have distilled the original 28 down to the 9 basic principles.
So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Read the nine simple principles. If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common.
One of my other favorites is Dave Ramsey. This is why he thinks this bailout is a disaster and what you can do to protect yourself.
...But a more important point is that Obama is ratcheting up his class warfare to levels that would make Marxists blush. This self-professed uniter is sowing distrust and divisiveness among Americans by demonizing groups of people and appealing to our baser instincts of envy and jealousy, in defiance of God's commandments against coveting. read more
*****And for further edification and education, with great thanks to Gillibrand over at Catholic Church Conservation, I offer you ...
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946
And to go along with Mr. Orwell's fine article:The Myth of Relativism and the Cult of Tolerance
by Larrey Anderson
It has been twenty years since the late Allan Bloom shook the intellectual elite in this country with the opening line of The Closing of the American Mind: “There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student in America believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.” read more
One of the best books written on the subject of relativism is by Francis Beckwith, a recent Catholic convert, who now blogs over at What's Wrong With the World, along with some other heavy hitters.
Our favorite Catholic Mom of Ten, Jackie, is back blogging at Catholic Mom of Ten Journey. Be sure and stop over and say "welcome back".
*****My closest blogger neighbor, that smarty pants lawyer feller in Spokane, went to North Carolina. He visited relatives, basked in the sun, ate great BBQ, did bunches of sight-seeing, and then he shopped. Did he return with a small gift for the blogger buddy who was left behind in the cold and the snow? Nooooooo........he didn't. Just sayin'!
Justice being served...
****I'm glad Howard Stern and the doctors who "cared" for Anna Nicole Smith have been arrested. Her death, just as the death of Marilyn Monroe, were very public displays of evil people using weaker individuals for their own gain. Both deaths saddened me greatly.
(admit it - you have a really funny picture in your mind when you read this heading!!)
*****It appears I'm the last person to find out about this clever use for your toilet paper rolls. Over at The Common Milkweed you'll find a fine set of photos showing you how to make little seed-starter pots using those innards that get pitched in the trash.
*****I'm used to keeping and using starter pots from the nurseries, but some plants don't transfer to the garden as well when their roots are disturbed. I'm way too cheap to buy biodegradable starter pots so these will be perfect. I've already made a bag full of these cute little toilet paper roll pots.
*****One caution: It is recommended that you just pop the whole pot in the ground which is fine, but I would suggest that the bottom be pulled opened before planting. I think the cardboard is too heavy to be quickly composted in the soil and may hamper the growth of the roots.
*****In the past I've made newspaper pots with a little Pot Maker thingy I received free with an online order years ago, and it worked really well. However, I've learned that almost any round item will work just as well and the Pot Maker is very expensive. Here's a great three minute video showing you how to make newspaper pots using a glass. Any round firm item could be used so you could have pots of different sizes.
*****When I first reported on my begonias, they were blooming happily in my back window. A few days ago I started taking my first cuttings. The first picture below shows them with the lower leaves trimmed off and left laying about for about an hour to let the ends heal over.
*****Next they are stuffed in a jar of water. In just a few days little roots will emerge. Any rational person would dip them in a bit of rooting hormone powder and stick them in some soil, but I'm not anywhere near rational. I like to watch the little roots pop out, and since it is cheap entertainment, I indulge myself.
*****I've started with 15 cuttings and the original plants still look like they haven't even been touched. Tomorrow I'll probably start another 30 or 40. I plan to start over 100 plants this year. I've made my first huge mistake by mixing up the variegated strain with the solid dark pink and will be more careful when I do tomorrow's cuttings, keeping them separate (but equal), with window blind markers in the jars.
Close up after the tips healed over
In their water waiting for roots
The variegated begonia 
