Barb’s Blog » Archive for March 2009
Silas Love
I don’t get to see, hug, and kiss, Silas as much as I like…sooo Imagine my happiness when the mail arrived with some love from Silas to remind me I was thought of!! Isn’t he so talented? A natural! … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Middle Class Attack?
Reading an article today by Paul Craig Roberts, this line stood out, “The “free American” starts off with a 30% tax rate, the position of a medieval serf.” The premise of his article is to show that what the Obama administration is really doing is “taxing ordinary people in order to bail out the super rich.” The article starts off explaining the difference between rich…and well, RICH. For Obama, being “rich” begins with … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Tattoo Miquel
My son Miquel is a knockout. (So are all my children). He has some natural good looks… I think he can say he inherited them from his very good-looking grandfather. So it’s confusing, to me his mama, what he is doing to himself… Turning his hair blue… Poking holes in his ears… And now the latest, A tattoo. Although, after looking closer at the photo of my dad, and seeing the socks, perhaps Miquel gets some of this honest. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
The Worst Food in America
According to Men’s Health Men’s Health magazine has released its list of the worst foods in America in 2009. In the top (most unhealthy) position: a large Chocolate Oreo Shake from ice cream retailer Baskin-Robbins. According to the popular publication, this drink contains an astonishing 2,600 calories, which breaks down as 135 grams of fat, of which 59 are saturated, 263 grams of sugar and 1,700 milligrams of sodium. For some perspective, consider that most adults need … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
College Football, a New Crisis?
According to high ranking government officials, we are a nation in crisis. We have a financial crisis, a health care crisis, an educational crisis, and a climate change crisis…the list can go on. Right now as I right this, peril is at every headline: The Pentagon is deploying warships with anti missile capabilities because of North Korea’s plans to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile capable of striking Alaska. The Post Office is running out of money. The Dollar Drops EU President is sure our new Obama economic policy is the road to hell. Government is laying off workers. Iran continues to be a nuclear threat. Russian arms help Chavez launch guerrilla warfare against USA . Illegal immigrants are in the U.S. taking our JOBS. Unemployment numbers are setting records. And just what are our high ranking government officials doing about it … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Spring With Cameron
Spring is always special. Colors appear where before was dull and brown, but with a child like Cameron, spring is extra sweet. Today the woman he as come to know and love as Yaya, took him for a walk, and helped him pick a daffodil and some forsynthia. I made sure to grab some photos. Cameron in full run to show me his flower. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Soccer Season Has Begun
Yesterday was the first home game at Granite. In spite of injury, Laura was put in the game… Miquel came to watch, dressed in a Barça shirt. Jenny came too… Kevin and Nicole, too! We won’t mention the score. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
New Definition for Terrorist
According to the Liberty Voice, there is a new definition for terrorist. Ter·ror·ist (noun): Anyone Who Disagrees with the Government Well, according to a law school professor, pursuant to the Military Commissions Act, “Anyone who …speaks out against the government’s policies could be declared an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ and imprisoned indefinitely. That includes American citizens.” And according to an FBI memo, peace protesters are being labeled as “terrorists”. Indeed, police have been terrorizing children, little old ladies and other “dangerous” people who attempted to peacefully protest. And a 2003 FBI memo describes protesters’ use of videotaping as an “intimidation” technique, even though – as the ACLU points out – “Most mainstream demonstrators often use videotape during protests to document law enforcement activity and, more importantly, deter police from acting outside the law.” The FBI … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Off-Shore Condoms
Consider the mess we’ve had with Chinese tires, pet food, children’s toys, and other things, I don’t know why we want to place any faith in Chinese made condoms, but that is definitely the next step. In spite of, what, like, zillions of dollars into the stimulus packages, the U.S. will now buy condoms from China. How is that for American jobs? Not so good. the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has distributed an estimated 10 billion U.S.-made AIDS-preventing condoms in poor countries around the world. But not anymore. In a move expected to cost 300 American jobs, the government is switching to cheaper off-shore condoms, including some made in China. Government just keeps being the problem instead of the solution. Article HERE … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Vasectomies on the Rise
It seems with the economy as it is today, the amount of Vasectomy procedures is on the rise, about 48% more vasectomy consultations. Doctors around the United States are reporting a sharp increase in the number of vasectomies performed since the economy soured last year, with one noting that many of his clients are from the beleaguered financial industry. Their best guess is that the trend is due both to a decreased desire to have children because of the expense involved, and an increased desire to get such medical procedures done before their jobs — and health insurance — disappear. Dr. Stephen Jones, chairman of the department of regional urology at the Cleveland Clinic, noticed a trend toward more vasectomies in late November, with a 75 percent increase in the past few months. “We … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Twilight
My daughter has read the book about a half dozen times, seen the movie about the same amount of times. Finally the movie came out in DVD yesterday, and I got to see it. I really see the appeal for teens, and the music was lovely and the scenery of rainy, green, Washington State was beautiful. Some quotes from the movie: Isabella Swan: How old are you? Edward Cullen: Seventeen. Isabella Swan: How long have you been seventeen? Edward Cullen: A while. Edward Cullen: That’s what you dream about? Being a monster? Isabella Swan: I dream about being with you forever. Isabella Swan: Are you going to tell me how you stopped the van? Edward Cullen: Yeah. Um… I had an adrenaline rush. It’s very common. You can Google it. Edward Cullen: What did you expect? Coffins and dungeons and moats? Isabella Swan: … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Come Pick Me Up
Listening to some Ryan Adams tonight… 1. Ryan Adams – Carolina Rain (5:25) 2. Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up (5:18) 3. Ryan Adams – Desire (3:41) 4. Ryan Adams – Gonna Make you Love me (2:37) 5. Ryan Adams – Love is Hell (3:45) 6. Ryan Adams – Magnolia Mountain (5:52) 7. Ryan Adams – Memories Of You (4:52) 8. Ryan Adams – Touch, Feel, & Love (4:19) 9. Ryan Adams – So Alive (3:58) 10. Ryan Adams – Tomorrow (4:23) 11. Ryan Adams – When the Stars Go Blue (3:32) 12. Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown – Crazy About You (3:24) 13. Ryan Adams – Wish You Were Here (2:59) 14. Ryan Adams – Wonderwall – THe OC soundtrack (4:09) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
School? Sleep in Anyway
In our household, homeschooling makes us very flexible with times for classes. I wasn’t homeschooled and the morning came early on my senior year. We had to catch the bus a little after 6 am. In England they are considering giving high-school teens a late start for classes, starting around 11 AM. Dr Paul Kelley, of Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside, said continuous early starts created “teenage zombies” in the classroom. He said research showed allowing teenagers to begin lessons at 11am had a “profound impact” on learning. What I want to know is HOW did we ever do it years ago? How did we learn without that late start? BBC NEWS story HERE … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Mother and Son at the Piano
Sometimes, it’s hard to see a future. So, I go looking into the past at times. Photos from years ago can be comforting… These days, Enric can sit down at the piano and make amazing music. I looked at this photograph (likely taken by Petra’s Dad, Piet Pulles, as he was here at the house that day), and thought, “I hope I had some little spark in helping Enric enjoy the piano as he does today.” The likely photographer with Enric … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Dodd’s Doubletalk
This is what happens when bills are written behind closed doors, in secret, and in a rush. First Dodd didn’t know about the changes, then he did. (to the bill that allowed AIG to pay out bonuses) Then he tries to dance around the subject pointing to the cause of the changes (the Obama administration, the Treasury Department). Then he makes excuses for the changes. Adding to this, I just found out that Dodd in #1 in campaign receipts from AIG, Obama #2 Here’s the list of top AIG recipients for the 2008 campaign: 1. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., $103,100 2. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., $101,332 3. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., $59,499 4. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., $35,965 5. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., $24,750 6. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, (R) Pres $20,850 7. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., $19,975 8. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn, … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Pelosi Says Enforcing Immigration Laws is “un-American”
Pelosi asserts that enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are “un-American.” Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for recent remarks that insulted federal law enforcement officers. That’s quite a powerful word – ‘un-American.’ And it’s quite a spectacle to have the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives call the actions of our law enforcement men and women ‘un-American.’“We should praise them, not insult them, for enforcing our immigration laws. “Twelve million Americans are out of work. Seven million illegal workers hold jobs that should go to citizens and legal immigrant workers. Let’s let the American people decide what is ‘un-American.’ We should not criticize law enforcement personnel; instead, we should be grateful for the job they do.” Some examples of real UnAmerican: This. And this. And this. And this. … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Betrayal
9000 earmarks (Pork projects) in the latest spending bill has to be paid for somehow. The Obama administration is considering making veterans use private insurance to pay for treatment of combat and service-related injuries. The plan would be an about-face on what veterans believe is a long-standing pledge to pay for health care costs that result from their military service. “Veterans of all generations agree that this proposal is bad for the country and bad for veterans,” said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “If the president and the OMB [Office of Management and Budget] want to cut costs, they can start at AIG, not the VA.” “It’s a betrayal,” said Joe Violante, legislative director of Disabled American Veterans, which signed the letter to Obama. “My insurance company … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Patrick of Ireland (c. 389 – 463)
Around the year 389, a boy named Sucat was born to a Christian couple in northern Britannia (part of modern Scotland). Despite his parents’ zealous faith, the boy grew up to be a rebellious youth. One day, as Sucat was playing near the seashore, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold to the pagan chieftain of an Irish Clan, who sent him to the fields to keep swine. There, God convicted him of his sin … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
An Aussie’s Trip to Maryland
It’s always interesting to view your own area from the perspective of someone from somewhere else. Last October, John from Perth, Western Australia visited the USA. He was whisked out of his plane into downtown New York City by four crazy women and then we flew down Interstate 95 to Maryland, where we never really rested a day. We went to two zoos, Maryland and D.C.’s, The Baltimore Harbor and the Aquarium there, Harper’s Ferry, West … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
God in Heaven
Sometimes moments of sadness bring out the deepest and most passionate of our creative inner thoughts. Laura hasn’t had an easy winter. Illness being one factor and the early death of two young people in her circle of friends. One, was a suicide. She had an English assignment, and insisted she wouldn’t ever be able to write a poem. I had resigned myself to a fight to the finish. Then, one morning, (apparently she had been up til 4 am), I woke up to her pointing to the table, “There’s my poem.” I was rather surprised, but quickly picked it up. It was very obvious she couldn’t dismiss the early death of a friend very easily. She wrote her feelings: God Up in Heaven This is for people Who want to take Their lives in their own hands, Who … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
$1 billion an hour
How much do you make an hour? How about, how much can you SPEND an hour? Congress can spend $1 billion an hour. From Politico: Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has come up with a vivid new way to express his contention that the nation is spending way too much money it doesn’t have. McConnell includes the tweaks in his opening remarks on the Senate floor on the 51st day that President Obama has been in office. “In just 50 days, Congress has voted to spend about $1.2 trillion between the Stimulus and the Omnibus,” McConnell says. “To put that in perspective, that’s about $24 billion a day, or about $1 billion an hour—most of it borrowed. There’s simply no question: government spending has spun out of control.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Elitism
e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism (ĭ-lē’tĭz’əm, ā-lē’-) n. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class. Pelosi has always had issues with traveling from San Francisco to D.C., in spite of the greens wishing she wouldn’t hire private jets, she persisted that she should. Lately she is in the news for much the same matter, but she is using MILITARY jets to travel with now. And has a very superior attitude that she should have them always at her disposal. From FoxNews: Representatives for Judicial Watch, which obtained e-mails and other documents showing the requests, say House … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Refiner and Purifier of Silver
This came to my inbox today: Malachi 3:3 says: ‘He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.’ This verse puzzled a group in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of them offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Illegal Immigrants Getting Stimulus Jobs?
“A government policy to rob Peter to pay Paul can be assured of the support of Paul.” – George Bernard Shaw If you are not angry enough about the generational robbery in the name of stimulus, throwing billions upon billions into programs and institutions that keep their hand out, how do you feel about the so called stimulus jobs going to illegal immigrants? In USA TODAY: Tens of thousands of jobs created by the economic stimulus law could end up filled by illegal immigrants, particularly in big states such as California where undocumented workers are heavily represented in construction, experts on both sides of the issue say. Studies by two conservative think tanks estimate immigrants in the United States illegally could take 300,000 construction jobs, or 15% of the 2 million jobs that new taxpayer-financed … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Kilgore Falls in Rocks State Park
Two days before we were with freezing temperatures and under a blanket of ice and snow, and then Saturday we woke up to a balmy 60 degrees. So, rather spontaneously, Laura and I decided to go to Kilgore Falls at Rocks State Park, located in Northern Harford County, one of our favorite places for an outing. We invited Jenny and Heather. As the car moved away from the houses and shops, the girls were soon captured … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Seen on The Back of Truck on I-95
We had an outing today, and Laura grabbed this image of what we saw on the back of a dirty truck on Interstate 95, going North. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
Ice Ice Baby
I really am overjoyed I get to borrow one of my best friend’s grandson each week. We have so much fun together. Cameron is a sweet and very smart little boy. With the snow hardly melting, and what ever does melt, freezes overnight…. …we took Cameron out to play. Laura holds up an icicle plucked from a bush for the camera. Cameron decides to take his gloves off… A decision he later regretted! He’s a dear child. We had so much fun … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
Union Dues?
AFL-CIO Union Execs Hold Winter Meeting at Luxury Miami Resort. In spite of how these executives felt about the bank execs who received bailout help, and in spite of union members losing their jobs, AFL-CIO execs will “party it up” in a luxury resort that room prices begin at $400 a night for their winter conference meetings. Union execs are protected. Even though they are benefitting from stimulus money and bailout money, don’t expect an ounce of criticism. There won’t be a congressional investigation. No member of government will start an inquiry on the matter, such as they did for banks. Why is that, do you think? ”This all comes at a time when the economy is in sort of in the tank and union members are losing their jobs. Here are some numbers … Read entire article »
Filed under: News Items
Life Without Limbs
Nick Vujicic inspired me today. An Australian without arms and legs, gives a testimony that makes you feel nothing is impossible. I felt a little shame too, for sometimes feeling lazy going up and down the stairs in my house. Watching him go up the stairs was very convicting. You think you have hurdles and obstacles in your life? Please watch, and feel very different about your gift of life today. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General
March Gives Us Snow
First a question. How come almost every time they have a Global Warming protest, it gets snow? Do you think God is trying to tell them something? Anyway….We waited all winter for a good amount of snow and finally we turn the calendar and March brought us about a foot in some areas! Laura suggested we go to Lake Waterford Then we went to visit the horses around the corner. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Personal
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