Hiding Clutter

at Adrienne dePitera: 

Hiding Clutter


(isn't that picture amazing??)

Believe it or not - I have work to do...

I know most of you think we are independently wealthy enabling me to spend most of my waking hours pursuing the truth, but you would be wrong.  While my husbands company, LeWalt Publishing, (finest guitar, banjo, and mandolin instruction and music available) does well, lots of our income is from his incredible teaching skills, and custom music arranging.  His hard work is what really enables this marathon blogging.  The upside is I always know where he is. heh

But today I must actually do some work.  So I leave you with the best of the best from my scrounging around the internet this morning:

LarryD over at Acts of Apostasy has an essay on "My Best Days." I've already read it twice and will go back and print it out for my journal.  What I find fascinating about Larry is his highly developed sense of humor (ok - he's batsh*t crazy funny), and then he comes up with these very deep thoughts.

Creative Minority Report has the Holy Father on speed dial now. Congratulations.

RighKlik is fired up with "ObamaCare: Not in My Backyard"

More Connecting of Dots:

I have been remiss in not linking more often to Dad29. He has a must read up today on WISDOM, ACORN, and Off-Course Catholics that is chock full of informative links. Folks, knowledge is power, and we must stay informed no matter how many headaches we get - just take more Ibupropen.

Michelle Malkin connected more Olympic dots in  An illustrated guide: All the president’s Olympic cronies.

And last but never, ever least is Smitty (my Prince of commas), over at The Other McCain with Another Black Conservative on Derrion Albert

Smitty has a link to a video presentation by Bill Whittle located in roughly the middle of his post.  This is a must see video, and a perfect example of why we need each other. If not for Smitty, I would have probably missed this.   It's twelve minutes packed with a hard-hitting overview of political correctness, it's origin, and the Frankfurt School, which you really must see.  

I have spent a considerable amount of time studying these different movements and organizations, and Bill Whittle does an excellent job of giving you jumping off places for more study on your own.

I shall be back later...play nice while I'm gone

Having "One of Those Days?"

Ever have those days when you wonder what in heck you're doing? I don't mean like when you put the milk in the pantry instead of the 'fridge. I mean those days when you are exhausted from tracking the news and trying to keep your loyal readers updated to the most important stuff.

I like Glenn Beck's mantra about each of us carving out our little niche and becoming as informed as we can on whatever subject that holds the most interest for us.  I pretty much stick to health care as I have some background in that area.

But there are still days when you wonder if you are actually making a difference.  The thought of reading one more story on health care, the economy, corrupt politicians, or Iran building bombs is almost too horrible to contemplate. 

Not only do I read over a thousand posts every day but I also read hundreds of comments. It's one thing to read an article, but perusing comments is the way to get a good feel for what is going on in the minds of the people of this country.

A few days ago, after about 15 hours straight of hard work on the computer, I was pretty discouraged and very tired. While reading comments on an awesome linky love graphic of patriot bloggers on the Goomba News Network, I ran across this comment by Left Coast Rebel that spoke volumes to what we are all doing:

Left Coast Rebel said... 

 

Nickie - No matter how small we are, the sum of our parts add up to something insurmountable and historic. Thousand of citizen-activists, chained together in defense of our nation's tradition of freedom. Left Coast says it all...  

Smokescreen Alert

Breaking:  Senate Finance panel rejects govt insurance option

WASHINGTON – Liberal Democrats failed Tuesday to inject a government-run insurance option into sweeping health care legislation taking shape in the Senate Finance Committee, despite widespread accusations that private insurers routinely deny coverage in pursuit of higher profits. read the rest


However:

As an alternative, Mr. Baucus included in his bill a proposal to create private, nonprofit health insurance cooperatives to compete with private insurers. source



Health 'Co-ops' Are Government Care
The Democrats' latest proposal bears no resemblance to the voluntary organizations that are known as cooperatives.

 [...]

When Washington provides the money, names the directors and ultimately pays the bills, government controls health care. Lobbyists will lobby, Congress will respond, and bureaucrats will decide who gets care, what drugs are prescribed, what procedures are covered, and how much money providers can charge. read it all

 Also: A Health Insurance Exchange is not a good thing w/update

Sarah Palin Book & Lynn Vincent

I just got off the phone with Stacy McCain , who, I might add, has the cutest accent, evah!! We were discussing Sarah's new book, due out November 17, and he mentioned Lynn Vincent, his co-writer on "Donkey Cons". I did not realize that Lynn had collaborated with Sarah on her book, meaning that it is sure to be a block buster hit!

I might add that my hubby, a carefully steady and intelligent man, informed me last night that Donkey Cons should be required reading for anyone wanting a comprehensive background on the Democratic party. I'll have to second that opinion.

As we were speaking, Stacy was just heading into the news office of the local paper in Kentucky in his pursuit of the real story behind the murder of the part-time census worker. Stacy is doing the work the MSM refuses to do, and for that we owe him - just as he said he owes us, his readers, the hard work to get the story. 

Obama Flying to Denmark is Disgraceful

Tomorrow the president of the United States of America, will board a plane with his wife, Valerie Jarrett, Oprah Winfrey, Mayor Daley, and assorted Olympic medalists.

Why? Glad you asked. This is nothing more than the puppet having his strings pulled by the corrupt union thugs bosses and politicians of Chicago demanding payback. 

The majority of the people of Chicago don't give a rip about the Olympics and certainly don't want to foot the bill, estimated to be over 4 or 5 billion of taxpayer money, it will cost. I don't think this figure takes into account the amount of money the feds will kick into the pot.  And for what? So union bosses, the corrupt land owners like Valerie Jarrett, and others of their ilk can line their pockets with even more money? This is the same president who vowed to help New Orleans and yet has not found the time to make one visit.  

Chicago, home to some of the most despicable public housing and violence prone slums, has no business hosting anything until they clean up their mess.  Proponents love to tell you how much money is brought into a city by such an event. How much of that will trickle down? Not much. A few lucky folks may have a side job bussing dishes for a few weeks, but that's about it.

Afghanistan is in turmoil and Iran is blowing up bombs, while our president spends untold millions of our dollars to fly to Denmark with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, all to bask in the glory of being The One.  Or maybe, just maybe,  he's acting as "bag-man" delivering bribe money to the Olympic Committee. This is worse than an embarrassment - it is disgusting.

Read more: 

I guess all our economic problems here have been solved, so our Idiot-in-chief will waste another few million of our tax dollars to fly to Denmark so Chicago may get the 2016 Olympics

The Death of Derrion Albert

Headline from AP speaks volumes:

Family says Chicago beating victim was `good kid'

Lets look at the rest of the descriptions in the article on Derrion Albert, who was beaten to death on the streets of Chicago by a mob of black men.  Among them are "great kid", "easy-going temperament", and "good kid."  Why did AP find it necessary to put quotes around what friends and family expressed about Derrion?  Are they somehow implying that he may not be a good kid or easy-going?  And what if he wasn't?  No one deserves to be beat to death in the streets like a rabid dog. 
 
Brietbart has two disturbing videos posted. One is of black members of the Gamaliel Foundation chanting what could only be considered prayer of deliverance to Obama.   Michelle Malkin has some background information on this organization. The other is the video of the actual beating which I warn is graphic.

What you are really witnessing in the beating video is the result of 50 plus years of the systematic destruction of the black community by Democratic policies. Black children, over 70%, are born into fatherless homes.  Add to that horrible schools, drugs, and abject poverty, and you have a prescription for the vicious murder of a young black man by members of his own community. The Daley Machine in Chicago, including such high level people in Obama's administration such as Valerie Jarrett, have been raping the black community for decades, all in the name of garnering votes.

Our Lord said,  "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matt 25:40)  These are words worth heeding because when our time to be judged arrives this will be the first question asked of us.

Explosion of Hope

A powerful post and an outstanding video from Creative Minority Report...

Explosion of Hope

(link)

1956 Ford Thunderbird

Some days I miss my old car.  Mine had a darker green custom gold fleck paint job. It was my first car (and no, I didn't buy it new - I'm not that old). I paid $1,100.00 for it, drove it for 10 years, sold it for $14,000.00, and purchased my first house. Turned out to be a pretty good investment.

This one is the exact color of my step-dads 1955 Thunderbird. And yes, he did buy his new...

The Hits Keep Coming

My Google Reader has slipped over 1000 again while I was outside kibitzing with a friend.  On my return I popped onto  Gateway Pundit and these are the first three headlines I see.  Will this never end?

From Gateway Pundit:

Figures. ACORN Was Behind Franken's Stolen Senate Seat (link)

Here's a shocker.
ACORN may have helped Al Franken steal the US Senate seat from Minnesota.

Democrats to Open Obamacare to Illegal Immigrants (link)

Of course they are. Democrats are open to extending Obamacare coverage to illegal immigrants.

Audio: Obama's "Safe Schools Czar" Admits Hiding Pedophilia From Officials (link)

Barack Obama's "safe school's czar" Kevin Jennings hid pedophilia from authorities.

Linky Love

More linky love:

The BlogProf sums up Obama's ideas on education in his usual succinct way: The Grinch That Stole Summer Vacation: Obama Wants To Keep Children In Failing Public Schools Longer

DaTechGuy will fill you in on Window's 7 

Commoncents has some great links.

A must read that will lift your spirits from Nickie Goomba,  Does the ghost of Jimmy Carter lurk in Obama's future?

Now that Stacy McCain is through partying it up with radical right wing raaaaacist pig eaters, he's heading into Kentucky and has a Sparkman Case update

From Track-a-'Crat, A Teachable Moment

And my favorite thing about Left Coast Rebel (besides his cuteness) is he always manages to be so nice while still managing to post hard hitting pieces.  If he's not on your Reader, add him post haste.

Stop Allowing The Left To Set The Rules
by Lloyd Marcus, Black Un-hyphenated American!

 [...]

Folks, the stakes are far too high to allow the Left to continue setting the rules of engagement. The far Left and Obama administration have a vision for America different than our Constitution. As patriots, it is our duty to just say, NO!

My black 82 year old dad told me he has seen the reports on TV how a lot of people at the rallies want Obama dead. I said, "I bet you saw that on CNN". Dad said, "Yes". It infuriates me that CNN is selling the lie that the Tea Party Movement is all about racism and hatred for a black president. While my dad never said anything out loud, I thought, "What must he think of me? Why is his first born siding with these evil white folks against a fine fellow black man?" I replied, "Dad, try watching Fox". read it all

 

I Don't Need to be More Equal

It didn't take long this morning to find something that rattled my cage.  My Google Reader is nearing 1000 again and I'm hard at work sorting through the deluge to find the most important (IMHO) items for my readers.

American Spectator published a fine article, Women to the Rescue, concerning  Michelle Obama's attempt to make health care a "woman's issue."  I listened to the speech Michelle gave on September 18. This quote of hers sums up the objective of the speech:

"Health insurance reform and what it means for our families is very much a woman's issue," Obama said, speaking to a group of female advocacy leaders at the White House. "If we want to ensure women have opportunities that they deserve, if we want women to be able to care for their families and pursue things they could never imagine, then we have to reform the system."

 I'm not sure what women are supossed to be pursuing that they could never imagine. She seems to be making this a woman's issue because she thinks we are not "equal" enough yet.  While I agree that a woman should receive the same pay as a man when they are doing the same job and be allowed to vote,  lets take a moment and examine the real ramifications of the feminist movement for woman's equality.

One of the seminal moments in freeing women to be "more equal" was the advent of the birth control pill introduced in the 60's.  Now women could ingest what is essentially a poison into their bodies so that she could be used by men as a convenient receptacle rather than a equal and precious member of the human race.  The early pills were so high in estrogen that breast cancers surged. The human papilloma virus became the virus of choice for having all that "equal" sex, rendering many women sterile. HIV is rampant in women. How's that equality working for you so far?

If the pill failed and she became pregnant, an abortion center was just around the corner to solve her problem.  Her unwanted or inconvenient child could be chopped up and thrown in a landfill. If she was lucky the father would pay for the procedure. In most cases the guy was long gone and off to greener pastures. Mrs. Obama's husband would like to pass a health care bill to make abortion even more accessible. I guess we could call that a woman's issue.

All this equality meant that women could pursue "careers" and leave the raising of their children to a daycare worker who would witness her child's first smile or first steps.   Now they could spend the day commuting to the corporate world of men, and come home and still do the majority of the housework. Women who choose to stay home, and in some cases, take on the hard work of homeschooling, are ridiculed and marginalized by members of their own sex.

Being a single mom has become the norm rather than a sad state of affairs.  Due to welfare (more equality), over 75% of black children are born to single women. If we're so dang equal how come all those men out there aren't marrying us?

I'm not sure how more "equal" Mrs. Obama would like us to be.  We have heart attacks at the same or higher rates than men and are stressed and overworked.  Our children are undereducated because a daycare worker doesn't have the time to do a mother's job. We are so equal that the health care industry is foisting a dangerous vaccine on young girls to protect them against HPV.   We dress like tramps, speak like longshoremen, and have essentially lost all respect from men as the "gentler" sex.

I don't need that kind of equality...

Relentless Pursuit - Stacy McCain Caves

Some folks would have to call my methods of attaining what I want whining. I prefer to call it relentless pursuit. The only person it never worked on was my Mother and I've never forgiven her for that.

Today will hopefully be a landmark day in my life. I may actually get to speak to the Great Robert Stacy McCain and boy, do I have some important questions to ask him. But first, in all fairness, he has finally agreed to share some of his commas with me.  Several friends have sent me commas but I've used them all and now I need more (did this sentence need some commas??)

I'm busy compiling a comphrhensive com pre hen  sive (spell check has disappearreded) list of all the things the world would like to know about this man such as:

1. Why are you hoarding all the commas?  When I spoke earlier with Obama, he assured me that not only was our money to be shared equally, but also the commas. Not only were they to be shared, but the new policy was going to be retroactive which means Stacy's comma bill will be huge. Mine - not so much!  Note well:  this is not a comma tax but simply a fee.
   
2.  Sleep is another big issue. Do you sleep or exist entirely on caffeine and nicotine? 
3. Is it true that you lock up Smitty every night and feed him only day-old tacos?  It has been reported that Smitty's wife was seen wandering down a country road late one night last week plaintively crying out, "Where are you, my love? I know you're in the middle of FMJRA, but I have fresh tacos, not day old. Can't you take a break?
4. Is it true that Charles Johnson is really your half brother? 
5. If true, does that mean  his attacks on you are really just a continuation of sibling rivalry that started when he discovered your Mom loved you best?
6. Does posting pictures of nubile young women in bikinis really improve your hit counter?

All these questions and many more may be answered today - that is, if Stacy can pull himself away from a BBQ with all the elites.

And I like what his friend Moe Lane of RedState had to say:

"I don’t actually want to see newspapers go away, seeing as they’ve got structural advantages on news gathering that I envy. Like actual budgets: when someone like Robert Stacy McCain decides that he’s going to go down to Kentucky and cover the Bill Sparkman murder, he has to shake the tip jar, write a few posts highlighting the issue, and hope that somebody comes through for his expenses. The equivalent NYT editor simply calls up the relevant department and has somebody set it up. The ability to follow stories that easily is a powerful ability; would that the NYT was willing to take advantage of it.
-- Moe Lane of Red State

Go visit Stacy and read the rest. While you're there you may want to hit the tip jar. His wife (lovely lady) is very worried about the bills.

Stealing on the Lord's Day

Is stealing on the Day of Lord worse than other days of the week?  I'm thinking it may be, but I'll just have to take my chances.

This morning I moseyed on over to Mark's place and he had posted a Palestrina music video. Palestrina is my very favorite in the whole world. So how am I going repay his kindness for brightening my day? Why, I'm going to steal the dang video and share it with you.

To hear music like this is to know there is a God in heaven. It is the sound of angels singing His praises. Take a moment from your busy day and listen and give thanks for all He has done for you.

Annie Le Laid to Rest

 

Private funeral Mass for Yale student Annie Le

  Rest in Peace, Annie

Obama's Black Caucus Speech

Out of the goodness of my devout little heart I made myself sit through the first part of Obama's speech to the Congressional Black Caucus.

Here's what I heard in a nutshell:

• If it wasn't for him the country's economy would have collapsed
• He has cut taxes for 95% of the people in this country
• He saved untold numbers of jobs
  
• We have to pass health care to make things more equal for African Americans
• He said 7 of 10 white kids will do better than their parents... while 7 of 10 black kids will do worse...
• The way to solve this problem???
• Pass government run health care and take money from rich white people and give it to poor black people via health care services.
• He also made it quite clear that blacks were oppressed and civil rights laws were not being enforced.

If you really want to waste 10 minutes of your life and use up your remaining Pepto Bismal, here it is.

Oh Wow!! G-20 BIG success

I don't like the sound of this at all. All I can visualize is a bunch of frat boys sitting around patting each other on the back and smacking their hands together in satisfaction.

AP Obama: G20 brought economy back from brink

[...]

In a statement, all the G-20 leaders declared major progress from what they called their coordinated efforts and "forceful response."

"It worked," they said.

Although many of the pronouncements and actions taken by the leaders lacked specifics or details on follow-through, leaders were bold in pronouncing the gathering - the third G-20 summit in a year - as a big success.

And now for some really scary bits:

[...]
They moved to require members to subject their economic policies to the scrutiny of a peer review process that would determine whether they were "collectively consistent" with sustainable global growth.

They also went along with Obama's push for a pledge to withdraw government subsidies from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas linked to global warming. read the whole thing from the AP

And from Reuters comes this:

ANALYSIS-Will "It worked" come back to haunt G20?

I Blame Robert Stacy McCain

The severely deranged (IMHO) guy over at that green blog, the name of which I will not mention, thinks Robert Stacy McCain is a raaaaacist. I don't happen to think he is. I think he guilty of far worse things.

I hold Stacy responsible for completely devastating what little attempt at a schedule I may have. After my hubby and I plowed our way through his Italian birthday lunch yesterday, which included THREE baskets of garlic bread, I swooped into Hastings to purchase Donkey Cons, authored by Stacy and Lynn Vincent.

Since the garlic bread had already put me into plowing mode, I started to plow through Donkey Cons instead of keeping after my Google Reader. As a result I awakened at 5:30am, and to my horror, saw that my Reader was way over 1000. Any normal person would have deleted the entire thing and started fresh. Not moi. I commenced to more plowing, and now the 1000 plus posts are down to about 450. I may still hit that delete button after this post.

In spite of the fact that Stacy has never asked for my phone number, as he did for his new BCFF (Best Catholic Friend Forever), I will have to tell the truth (as any devout Catholic would do), and declare Donkey Cons one fine book. I particularly like being able to jump from chapter to chapter in no particular order, as an ADD riddled person is wont to do, without losing the thread.

As a result of all the plowing I accomplished on my Reader I have come up with some fine reading for you. I've given you enough to keep you busy all the way through tomorrow so maybe I can practice being devout on Sunday.

In spite of Stacy not sharing his extra commas or his co-blogger Smitty, and in spite of him not asking for my phone number, I will highly suggest you buy his book!

Speaking of devout, LarryD has a fine post on the subject, Does Devout Mean Anything Anymore?

Health Care Stuff:

I found this piece from American Thinker, A Sham 'Compromise' Health Care Bill Waiting in the Wings, to be rather alarming, but no more so I guess than the whole sham of a "health care debate." What debate?

Heritage Foundation adds more with COOP d'etat: An acronym does not a co-op make, and Your Guide to Budget Reconciliation and Obamacare

The BlogProf fills us in on the details of what's going to happen if you reject Obamcare. It's not pretty!

On Glenn Beck and Discover the Networks

From NewsReal comes Glenn Beck, DiscoverTheNetworks, and Exposing the Left by John Perazzo, and also Horowitz vs Frum: He’s Wrong About Glenn Beck and Apparently Can’t Handle My Side of the Debate, both of which are chock full of great links (in particular Discover the Networks)

Doug Ross at Journal (directorblue) has more with Barack Obama's Shadow Government

LACK OF POLITICAL WILL ? HOW ABOUT POLITICAL GRANDIOSITY? from Dr. Sanity hits the Obama nail on the head.

Father John Malloy has one of the saddest posts ever. The reality of what is going on in India will make your heart ache. Petals in the Dust: India's Missing Girls, points out what is happening to the girl children, both in and out of the womb, in India.

The lovely Mary Rose over at True Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter, tells us about the latest toy craze in Mattel Fails With New American Girl "Homeless" Doll

Now if reading all of the above has made you want to put a gun to your temple and scream, "Why, God?, here is some uplifting and worthy stuff to give you purpose and hope.

Fr. James Farfaglia has an excellent homily on sloth (not the three toed kind), but best of all he gives us real things to do to overcome this sin. (If you're not Catholic just plug in bad habit for sin.) I love this quote from the homily:

"People controlled by sloth don’t get anything accomplished. People controlled by sloth are targets for every temptation that the devil has to offer. They just lie there on the ground like cow manure covered with flies. Flies can’t stick to something that is moving fast. And people ruled by sloth have a real hard time getting into Heaven. They are too lazy to live out the demands of the Gospel."

Mighty Mom has sent me the loveliest gifts. Things that are handmade with love are just the bestest! I promise you a picture when I get caught up. And guess what else?? Now I actually know the names of her children. And gosh what a bunch of beautiful names (for beautiful children!!)

RJW, a faithful commenter to many, having been bullied into starting a blog, has already succumbed to the "tinker disease." Tara, his friend and co-parishioner under the dictatorial leadership of Father Erik (who I heard celebrates Mass with an Uzi on the altar in case someone tries to walk off with a consecrated host), will be helping him make decisions. Brand new grandma Tara, could use some prayers for her new grandson so pop over there and cheer her up. And Father Erik (who prefers Father Richtsteig except I have so much trouble spelling it that I've settled for Father Erik and I hope he forgives me), gives us his ten dollars worth on the CCHD and ACORN.

And lastly but not leastly - my birthday is coming up New Year's Eve. It's never too early to start shopping and to make your job easier The Crescat has posted a picture of the perfect gift for me. I guess it's something Lola wants (smart gal) but since I'm older it should definitely go to moi!! 'Nuff said.

And while you're over there, hit her donate button and throw a few shekels her way. The Crescat suffered a heart attack a very short time ago and requires lots of expensive meds. Along with going to school full time and caring for her young son she could use some help.

It is 12:15 pm and I have been hard at work since 5:30 am with only a short break for breakfast and I still have my emails to check. I'll see you all later...

Welcome Bing Searchers

Welcome Bing users.  Grab the picture and bookmark my site.  I'd love to have you come back and visit.  Or...... pop onto the home page and see what I've got to report on present day politics.  

Today is my hubby's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

For his birthday we will engage in his favorite pastime...







Eating! (I know what you were all thinking. Shame on you!)

We are either going to a seafood restaurant or our favorite Italian place for lunch.

See you all later. I have a cake to bake!

Will Al Gore Fit in this Car? Just sayin'

Your tax dollars at work:

Gore-Backed Car Firm
Gets Large U.S. Loan

WASHINGTON -- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000. read the rest

New Blogger

Important Notice:

RJW has a blog now

Visit him at:

The Intentional - Accidental Blog

Update:

In true OCD blogger fashion RJW has already changed the name of his blog to:

The Accidental Blog

Another One Bites the Dust

Yosi Sergant Resigns

Embattled former National Endowment for the Arts communications director Yosi Sergant is out of a job. Late this afternoon, the NEA released a short statement saying, "This afternoon Yosi Sergant submitted his resignation from the National Endowment for the Arts. His resignation has been accepted and is effective immediately." The agency provided no further details. source



Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone,
and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust

Political Polliwogs & Partisan Pygmies

Conservatives have hit the "big time" in labels...

I guess being called a "political polliwog" or a "partisan pygmy" is a step up from "radical racist right-wing terrorist Nazi bitter clinger." And who pray tell has decided to hang even more labels on people who believe it is not the job of government to interfere and attempt to control every aspect of their lives? Why, that would be the editor and communication director of the Idaho Catholic Register, Mr. Michael K. Brown.

In his opinion/commentary piece in the latest issue of the official newspaper of both the Diocese of Boise and of our bishop, Michael P. Driscoll entitled, "Partisan Hardliners Send Students the Wrong Message", he starts out by saying:

"During the last few weeks, the tenor of political debate in this country has become shrill and uncharitable. Partisanship at its worst threatens to poison the political environment and calmer voices must prevail."

I'm going to have to assume from this opener that he considers himself a calmer voice. Mr. Brown then proceeds to lambaste any parent who objected to Obama's school speech. It didn't sound very calm to me when he said:

"If the political polliwogs worked so persistently to shut down a message from the president to millions of young Americans, how nefarious are the forces at work to destroy or poison the attempts to pass universal health care?

"Nefarious" and "poison" are pretty strong words, Mr. Brown. They make it quite clear that you, sir, are the one who is partisan.

Moving on to another article in the paper, picked up from the Catholic News Service and written by Effie Caldarola, this one is disingenuously titled, "Ensuring Universal Health Care is Our Religious Duty." Quoted is the same old MSM-endorsed statistic of 46.3 million people without health insurance. It's a number that has not only been proven over and over to be misleading, but just flat wrong. She also claims that the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) endorses cradle-to-grave health care, as long as it doesn't include abortion. Well guess what, Effie, it does contain abortion and you and I will be paying for it.

In her article, Mrs. Caldarola quotes Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., chairman of the bishop's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development (emphasis mine):

"Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation."

In another publication Bishop Murphy noted (emphasis mine):

“We strongly oppose inclusion of abortion as part of a national health care benefit.” But then he emphasized the priority the church placed on coverage for the poor, calling health care “not a privilege but a right." source

And yet we have other bishops saying:

“The Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care,” Bishop Nickless of Sioux City wrote, adding, “Any legislation that undermines the vitality of the private sector is suspect.”

The USCCB does not speak for me as a Catholic, since they have funded an untold number of organizations over the years that promote or provide abortion and contraception or are communistic front groups. In the past ten years the USCCB has given approximately 7 million dollars to ACORN.

Mark in Spokane reported a few days ago on this development when he wrote:

"Read all about it here, and prepare to throw up. Not only has the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the "social justice" project set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, been funding ACORN to the tune of millions of dollars, it has been funneling money to organizations that support abortion rights, same-sex "marriage," and artificial contraception."

And then today we have this from Mark:

The Catholic Church's version of ACORN? Is that what the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has become?

LarryD over at Acts of Apostasy, has this to say:

[...]
"I think it's high time the bishops' conferences, both here in the US and in Canada, disband. Voluntarily, forcibly...either way is fine with me. Despite any good they might promote - which is arguable - time and time again they make decisions that defy understanding." read the restIt is quite clear that the Idaho Catholic Register has an agenda. It shamefully supports a president who is aggressively pro-death. This is the same president who has stocked his cabinet and "czar" positions with the most disreputable of cafeteria Catholics, and refused to speak at Georgetown University until the symbol for Jesus was covered.

I'd give you links to the articles from the Idaho Catholic Register but since their website hasn't been updated since around 2007, that will be impossible. Instead the resources (can you say money?) of this diocese have been used to purchase post-it notes for folks to write out their ideas for a diocesan pastoral plan, "All at the Table," that has been TWO years in the making.

As my readers are well aware I tend to shy away from criticizing priests and bishops. After reading the newspaper yesterday, I told my husband to throw it away. He slyly put it on my desk realizing that after a day or two of stewing over this, I would finally write something.

Let me conclude to any and all Catholics or Christians reading this:

• It is not your "religious duty" to support universal health care
• Health care is not a vital national obligation
• Health care is not a right
  
• You can still go to heaven if you don't give money to the annual Campaign for Human Development
• The USCCB is a organization that has about as much credibility as the United Nations.
• ...and most importantly, the Holy Spirit will always protect the Church, even against the onslaught of bishops that are overly invested in the concept of social justice instead of doing the real work of a bishop.
  

Question:

How many other Catholics are being misled by their diocesan newspapers? Any feedback you could give would be much appreciated...

Don't Disagree with "The One"

Following up on yesterday's post: from the Washington Examiner

Sen. Mitch McConnell: Obama is stifling dissent on health care reform
By: Sen. Mitch McConnell

Editor's note: The following is the text of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's floor speech earlier this morning. The Washington Examiner has asked Sen. Max Baucus for a response, which will appear here as soon as it is received.

"Yesterday afternoon I came to the floor to speak out against one of the tactics that supporters of the President's health care proposal have resorted to in recent days.

"It appears that a particular senator has encouraged the administration to use its powers to clamp down on an opponent of the administration's health care policy.

"What's more, the administration snapped to attention at the senator's request. It followed the senator's advice, and almost immediately the government clamped down on a private health care company in my home state that had been sharing its concerns about the administration's health care proposal with seniors on Medicare. read the rest

Feds Out of Control...

from RightKlik:

First Amendment Trampled by Federal Government

The Democrat-run Federal Government has ordered a private insurance company to stop educating seniors on the potential disadvantages of ObamaCare proposals. read the rest

Health Care Bill Predictions

I love it when Obama plasters his face on the TV screens of the American public. The more he talks the worse it gets. Yesterday he hit 5 morning shows and tonight he'll be on Letterman. Since he's already told us a gazillion times, "if you like your plan you can keep your plan and ditto for your doctor", he has now switched to the mandatory requirement in "his" plan.

If any single thing will destroy this whole thing it will be the forcing of people to buy health insurance. The American public is fed up with being regulated and coerced. The elites, including Obama, keep bringing up mandatory car insurance as an example of how well it all works. Could I have a show of hands of the number of people that have been in an auto accident with someone with no insurance? I could raise my hand at least FOUR times. So how's that mandatory thing working for us all?

Oh, but wait. This time it's diiiiiifferent. They're going to fine you a nice chunk of change for not having health insurance. They're also going to tax sugary soft drinks, cut Medicare, expand Medicaid - all in the interests of "saving" money and funding health insurance.

Yesterday I read all the amendments relating to the latest incarnation of the health bill. Only in the hallowed halls of Congress could someone say increasing Medicaid eligibility to 150% of poverty level and providing universal coverage for children"saves money." And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Take a few minutes and at least read the summary of the amendments.

Thanks to Pamela Geller over at Atlas Shrugged, I spent some time on Physicians for Reform. They outline exactly how to fix health delivery. And what do they say? Why exactly what I've been saying all along.

[...]

Three fundamental reforms are needed to stabilize American healthcare. If any one of them is neglected, patient-centered healthcare will not survive. We must correct the inefficiencies or our present system, not simply spend more money on a system destined to fail.

1. Insurance Reform
2. Tax Reform
3. Tort Reform

But, what the hay - seeing as how Barry is going to render us unable to protect ourselves while he strives to be the savior of the world, we probably won't need health care. We'll all just end up nuked and we won't even get 72 virgins.

Let's Pull the Plug on Granny

Anyone who doesn't find this disturbing is either a teenager who doesn't believe they will ever get old, or someone who is certifiably insane. Disturbing is an understatement. The word should be evil, because that's exactly what this is - evil!

Evil is word not often heard anymore. The people that consider themselves the "intellectual elite" would not use the word. They consider themselves to be above all that superstitious mumbo jumbo.

American Thinker has the lowdown on this reprehensible article.

[...]

I was wrong last week when I declared that Newsweek's cover showing a baby next to a headline declaring that we're all born racist was evidence that the mainstream media had hit bottom and destroyed itself. It was intellectual arrogance on my part that led me to underestimate the determination of Newsweek's editors to find new deeper bottoms to hit.

This week's Newsweek cover exceeds the sheer breathtaking ugliness of last week's cover: "The Case for Killing Granny." Alongside a photo of an electrical plug. The cover story is penned by Evan Thomas, (Andover, Harvard, Virginia Law), currently teaching at Princeton, alongside Peter Singer, who believes newborn infants can be killed because they lack "rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness" and thus don't qualify for personhood.

read the rest

Little Green Footballs is deflated...

I try to not waste my time commenting on other bloggers. However, Charles Johnson over at Little Green Footballs (no link on purpose), has stepped so far over the line in his accusations against other bloggers, Christians, and anyone who happens to disagree with him, that a word or two is in order.

From what I understand he originally decided to attack Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugged. He then turned his attention to Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain, and Dan (i before e) Riehl at Riehl World View, with accusations of raaaaacism. The good Lord knows how many others have been in his cross hairs. And today Mr. Johnson has seen fit to insult home schooling parents and Christians.

I have never seen the appeal of his blog and cannot for the life of me understand why tens of thousands of people visit him every day. His content is poor, writing is lousy, and the guy has absolutely no sense of humor. I'd sure appreciate any insight anyone could lend to that question.

Today's link fest at The Other McCain in which Smitty (I heart Smitty!) does such a magnificent job, is loaded with comments from supporters of Stacy McCain. I would like to add mine.

I have never witnessed Stacy, Dan, Smitty, or Pamela exhibiting even the slightest tendency toward racism. Mr. Johnson, on the other hand, has not missed an opportunity lately to insult just about everything and anybody that could be considered mainstream. It appears that Mr. Johnson is having some sort of a melt down, and for that I offer my condolences. I just wish he would do it in private.

I have been a grateful recipient of the kindness of Stacy, Dan, and Smitty taking the time to answer questions or just support my blog in any way they could. It takes class people to build up rather than tear down others.

I am not fond of this particular aspect of blogging. The carping, attacking, insults, and arguing. Get a life folks. If you don't like what someone has said on their blog just move on. The exception to this is when the attacks become personal, unwarranted, and unfounded like Mr. Johnson has done.

This is not the first melt down I have seen and probably won't be the last. But when our country and our way of life is being threatened by a government that has spiraled out of control, we don't have time for this nonsense.

Typical Liberal Thinking

Criminally Insane Killer Taken to Fair - on the tax payers dime


Since it was posted on Hot Air while I was off line (due to Verizon targeting my radical right-wing terrorist bitter clinging blog), I was just now able to cruise through comments on their post, and some things need to be cleared up.

First of all Spokane (which is not pronounced Spoke-cane, but Spoke - can), is on the east side of Washington. Located between Seattle and Spokane is the Cascade Mountain range, placed there by God to keep the west siders away from the east siders. The east side of Washington and North Idaho (just a few miles away and where I live) is very conservative.

When the story first broke, the comments made by people at Eastern State Hospital were amazing. When questioned why the patients were not dressed in colored jumpsuits or in some other way to distinguish them easily, the spokesperson said, "well after all, they're patients, not prisoners."

The only reason this guy is a patient is because he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. His crime? Strangling an old lady, slitting her throat, dousing her in gasoline, and setting her on fire before burying her, with a deer carcass I believe, to ward off evil spirits, or some such thing.

He escaped once before and injured a deputy sheriff's shoulder so badly he required surgery and still suffers the after effects of that attack. The escapee, Phillip Paul, is heavily medicated for schizophrenia by injection, which usually means he is non-compliant with taking his meds, which is not unusual for schizophrenics. As each day passes and the drugs wear off, he will become more and more dangerous.

According to the Spokesman Review, our local bird cage liner:

Hospital officials told police that Paul, who authorities consider criminally insane, hadn’t exhibited violent behavior in years, and they have argued in the past that he should be released – though his petition for release was rejected in 2003.

Released because he hadn't exhibited violent behavior in years? Could that be because he is drugged to the gills? Drugs that he would no doubt not take if he was released.

Which brings us to liberal thinking, which always sides with the people considered, in the liberals mind, to be the underdog. Never mind that their "solutions" do more harm than good. They reward women for having illegitimate children and the reward goes up for each new addition. People who don't work are supported indefinitely, and the opportunity to get compensation for drug- and alcohol-related disabilities keeps people dependent. As a result of welfare, the black family has been destroyed within a few generations. And people deemed criminally insane by the court system are considered good candidates for not only a trip to the fair, but release back into society. After all, "he's a patient, not a prisoner."

Our local TV stations, to their credit, have stepped up to the bat, and are properly and vocally outraged, as should be every tax paying citizen. What happened at Eastern State Hospital is an outrage, and the number of heads rolling should make the lanes of the local bowling alley look empty on league night.

Verizon Outages

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Did you miss me??

During this past week we have experienced three major Verizon internet outages. By major I mean ones lasting longer than six hours, and in one case lasting nearly 12 hours.

First, to all those folks who have emailed, requested something, or otherwise tried to communicate, let it be known that I am here and heard your pleas. I am still playing catch up and should be up and running at full speed soon.

Second, this gave me a real taste of how some people are living in this age of misinformation. If it wasn't for some of the conservative radio shows I would have absolutely no idea of what was transpiring in our world.

Third, the first outage was reported to be in our area code (which, I might add, is the entire state of Idaho.) The next outages were narrowed down to my prefix. Do you thing they finally figured out who the radical raaaaacist right-wing terrorist wacko bitter clinger is, and this is part of a larger conspiracy to shut me up? Just sayin'... /sarcasm!

Fourth, I used my off-line time wisely. I painted my toenails purple. Cool!

Choose Freedom or Be Part of the Nanny State

Across the middle of the pages of my homemade organizer, I have the words, "I Decide, I Choose, I Will." It is a prompt to change my thinking and help curb my propensity toward procrastination. It reminds me that I am free to choose what I do, or don't do. It makes much more sense than the tape loop most of us have running in our heads saying, "I must or I should."

Due to government intervention in my life, however, much of the time I can't decide or choose what I want to do. The government, both state and federal, has over the years encroached to an alarming degree in our decision making. This has happened incrementally so the average person, busy earning a living or just living life, has gone along with the mandates handed down from our government bureaucrats.

In a civilized society we are in need of rules and I'm certainly not suggesting we throw out all laws and constraints. But having the government controlling every aspect of my life is not how I "choose" to live.

Obama's push for the ultimate control through his "healthcare reform" has triggered a backlash I doubt the folks on the left were expecting. The people of this country are resisting, not just because they know government-run healthcare won't work, but mainly because they see their liberties being eroded. Marxists and self-proclaimed communists of the most corrupt White House ever, have woefully underestimated the level of tyranny and oppression the American people would tolerate.

Dr. Sanity has a wonderful article "Choices" posted today. In it she says:

The Founders understood very well that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" require that government be kept small and limited in its scope, otherwise it will inevitably encroach on these natural rights that define the American character. If individuals do not take personal responsibility for their own life; if government is allowed to make most of the important choices for you, then you have either voluntarily and willingly relinquished your natural rights; or they have been taken from you against your will.

In either case, you will eventually realize that you are living under a tyranny--perhaps a soft, comfortable and infantalizing tyranny--but a tyranny nonetheless.

This choice--voluntarily relinquishing the natural right to your own life; your liberty; and the pursuit of your own happiness; versus standing against tyranny (even soft tyranny done "for your own good") defines the American character.

I suggest you read the entire article. It's excellent!

As for me - I prefer to follow my little prompt of: I Choose, I Decide, I Will...

More to read:

Obama's Corruption
Government Drives Up the Cost of Healthcare
Where Do We Get Our Rights

Obama's Control of the Inspectors General

On Robert Stacy McCain's blog, The Other McCain, is the latest installment of his continuing investigation of Obama's takeover of the Inspectors General. This evidence of the level of corruption in the Obama administration is well worth a read.

After reading the The War on Watchdogs, you may want to head over to his blog and check out the links to his previous articles on this issue which he has nicely listed in chronological order for us.

IG-Gate EXCLUSIVE in September 2009 print edition of The American Spectator

"The War On Watchdogs" is the most in-depth, comprehensive print article on the inspectors general scandal published to date...

Government Drives Up Cost of Health Care!!

I've said it before but it bears repeating - again and again. It is the government interference that has driven up the cost of health insurance and health care.

Once again an article in American Thinker explains in detail what I have been harping on for months. Here are the remedies the authors have laid out, which are exactly what I have been saying all along.

The solutions to most of our problems, no matter what they are, is usually pretty simple.

• Begin with individual ownership of insurance policies.
• Leverage Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
• Allow interstate purchasing of insurance.
• Eliminate mandated benefits that insurers are required to cover.
• Reallocate the majority of Medicaid spending into simple vouchers for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance.
• Eliminate unnecessary scope-of-practice laws and allow non-physician health care professionals to practice to the extent of their education and training.
• Reform tort liability laws.

Understanding the Cause of Health Care Inflation
by Andrew Foy and Brenton Stransky

Health care inflation is a topic that lends itself to considerable demagoguery and "straw men arguments" from the left, where it is often attributed to capitalism and the free market. Their solution: more regulation and the creation of a massive new government entitlement program to provide every American with "comprehensive" health insurance. Unfortunately, this solution will only exacerbate health care inflation as it completely ignores the major causes of the problem -- rising government health care expenditures and increased regulation. read the rest


More good reads: Obama's Corruption

Patrick Swayze

RIP Patrick...

The world of dance will miss you...

Obama's Corruption

I'm about half way through Michelle Malkin's book, "Culture of Corruption." I had to wrestle it away from my hubby who somehow managed to snatch it when it arrived last week. Some of what is outlined in this book I knew about, but the detail Michelle provided managed to connect quite a few dots.

Glenn Beck has been talking about the depth of corruption in this administration and how it must be rooted out and thrown in the nearest trash pile. The way to do this is through educating ourselves with the facts.

Valerie Jarrett, Obama's right hand "person", is completely steeped in the Chicago way of doing politics. Is Jarrett the top of the food chain? I doubt it. But she is definitely a big part of the puzzle and her machinations must be brought to light.

Some "must reads"...

Today in Front Page Magazine is an excellent article by Ben Johnson, "Valerie Jarrett, the Next Van Jones." I consider it a must read. It's a long and detailed article, but the time for us to sit back and say, "I'll just wait and see what happens" is long gone. We all must take the time to educate ourselves to the depth of depravity we are witnessing.

And in view of the latest ACORN bust in New York, I highly recommend two articles on the Big Government site, ACORN's Lifeblood and ACORN's Lawless Ways.

There are many days when I am so exhausted and discouraged as I delve deeper and deeper into this swamp of what can only be called evil, that I have the urge to shut down this blog and hide in my gardens. But I remind myself I have readers with way less time on their hands to research and unearth pertinent information than I have. And so I pick myself up and get back to work.

Glenn Beck has asked us day after day to pray for him, his family, and his staff. But most importantly, he has told us to pray for ourselves and our country. In 1Thessalonians, Chapter 5, we are told to "pray without ceasing." I think that's very good advice.

Also to read:

Commentary: Vicious, Venal and Violent…
By Fr. Tom Euteneuer, President, Human Life International

September 14, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - These are really the only titles that adequately describe the murderous movement known as "pro-choice" or "pro-abortion." It is now frightening, though not at all surprising, how absolutely hardened and inhumane our culture has become because of this satanic force that has grown strong through 36 years of wholesale murder of God's precious innocents. read the rest

Mexico's War on the United States
by Wes Vernon

It's bad enough that terrorist-collaborating communists are taking over much of Latin America. Bad enough that their Venezuelan ringleader, Hugo Chavez, confers with Iran's nuclear bomb-making dictator. And bad enough that this alliance has led to the prospect that Iranian missiles may end up south of our border (pointed guess where?), while our own Marxist president apologizes metaphorically for hitting their fists with our chin.

All of that is horrific enough. But largely ignored is the fact that our next-door neighbor, Mexico, is carrying on an undeclared war on these United States. read the rest

Future Headline

Lifeless Body of Internet Addict Found

A woman's body was found with her rear patoot melted into the nylon upholstery of her office chair. When she was located by the authorities, her hand was still curved around the cordless mouse on her desk. According to the medical examiner, it appears she expired while trying to keep up with her Google Reader.

Neighbors said she was quiet and seldom seen. If they had any idea they would have gotten help for her.

For her death to happen on the very day that the first internet addiction center opened in Fall City, WA, not far from her home in Idaho is ironic, to say the least (and very, very sad!)

The name of the deceased is being withheld until next of kin are notified.

I'll see you all tomorrow!

An Award Missed is Not an Award Gone, or something

Well, now I'm embarrassed. Lovely Bella from La Bella Vita, a fellow Italian, awarded me this from one of her other blogs, Our Beautiful Catholic faith.

My only excuse (I'm digging deep here for justification) is I am always so busy copying her wonderful recipes on La Bella, I sometimes miss her other posts.

Roz, also known as Bella, has posted her picture on La Bella Vita and we could be sisters. I, of course, hold the title of older and wiser, while Roz would be the younger and prettier. We'll have to draw straws for best cook.

Take a moment to stop over and say congrats on her blogoversary today...



Rules:

1. Copy the picture above and post it on your blog.
2. Pass it on to who you think who is/are deserving.
3. Leave a message to them.
4. Pass as many as you want.
5. Message back or leave a comment to the owner.

No doubt the first person I will award this to is:

1. Mighty Mom, known to her hubby Subvet as the War Department (for good reason)
2. One of my newer friends, MaryEllen over at Bad Habit, who is delightfully unhinged (but very,very smart.)
3. Belinda of Belinda's Brain, who, as I've said before, not only thinks outside the box, but doesn't even have a box.
4. Laura at One Woman's Thoughts, who is seriously contemplating acquiring a sewing machine. I suggested a glass of wine and a nap until the urge passed.
5. Angela Messenger, who will fling herself to the floor and rend her clothes if she doesn't get any and all awards.
6. Adoro, who shares her life...
   

Now you may have noticed there is not one man on that list. Sometimes guys don't like getting these cutesy little awards. But if they did, I would give this to:

1. Matthew and Patrick Archbold at Creative Minority Report
   
2. LarryD at Acts of Apostasy
   
3. Terry at Abbey Roads
4. Mark in Spokane
5. RightKlik
6. Stacy McCain and the man behind his greatness, Smitty
   
7. Father Anthony Ho
8. Father Dwight Longenecker

Right now I must take a wee break before coming back to notify the awardees...