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A Day of Promise August 17, 2011
After three years of applications and disappointments, my husband has finally been called for an interview by one of the places that he would most like to work. There have been few returned calls and no interviews during this whole three year travail, until now. This interview will take place in a couple of days, and the job pays well, has lots of overtime opportunity, and is virtually next door to the place he worked before, so it is within (long) walking or biking distance in a pinch, and will not use up too much gas or be hard on a vehicle when he does drive. We are very hopefull. On my own behalf, I have good news too. At the beginning of this month, we were sent to retraining to come back to the Medicare program we had been on before, because the sanctions have finally been lifted, and we are selling again. The bonus structure has yet to be decided, and does not look to be as good as the last bonus structure we had, but there is going to be some bonus available, it will just be damned difficult to get it from production to paycheck. And today, after a couple of weeks on the phones again, I finally made my first and second sale in about 15 months. I earned a whole four dollars bonus !! WOW !! (just a tad of sarcasm there...) But our busy season of the year will be here in about 8 weeks, and maybe we can gather enough money together to pay of our credit card debts, buy Christmas presents, and stock up on food enough to survive the next sharp downturn that Obama is determined to bury us under. I HOPE I will have a bit of CHANGE in my pocket in January.
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Four Weddings and a Baby July 30, 2011
My siblings' kids are a bit younger than mine, but catching up to adulthood quickly, and so I was not very surprised when we had announcements from three of my nieces and a nephew that each was planning a wedding in the near future. First was MaryAnn, the daughter of Debra, who married in October 2010 and immediately "got with child". Next was Valorie, the daughter of Dawna, who married in February, no child expected as yet. My nephew Joseph, son of my brother Deane, married in May, and lastly another of Dawna's daughters, Treasa, married in June. On the 24th of July MaryAnn's bouncing baby boy was born. Kalija Stackpole was pronounced hale and hearty and full term, and mother is healthy as well. The game of generations goes on unabated.
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Diana Did Something Big In Her Life August 28, 2010
It began with Glenn Beck. Well, these days, doesn't it always? I discovered his TV show before I discovered his radio show, (where was I ??) but now I am fanatic about both. The TV show is more important to me right now though. When he announced his "Restoring Honor" event, immediately I was hooked, and I knew that I absolutely had to go. So I did something I have never done before: I just told my husband that I was going to spend lots of money regardless of his opinion. Of course, I invited him to come with me, but he was absolutely not going to do that, much to my disappointment. It would have been even more awesome, more meaningful to me if I was able to share it with him, but... I did the next best thing. I found the flight, the hotel, and the price I wanted, and since it was cheaper for two, I threw the question to my siblings... who will go with me? It turns out that most of them were unable due to schedule or money problems, but my youngest sister and I were eventually able to set the details, and we were OFF. We did an awful lot of sightseeing in DC, since neither of us had been there before. We walked a lot, took lots of pictures, and explored the city both on the tour buses and off on our own. We had some close calls, some funny and some moving happenings, and many beautiful experiences. We saw DC from the air, on land, and on the water. We had fun together, my sister who was still a small child when I left home, and I. She was a great help to me when I was physically in distress, and gave me different eyes to see with than my own, which is always a good thing. We had Thursday evening, Friday all day, the latter part of Saturday, Sunday all day, and Monday morning to go where we would, but the first part of Saturday was all for the Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Event, held at the Lincoln Memorial and filling the entire Mall area back to the Washington Monument and on both sides of the Reflecting Pool almost out to Constitution and Independence Avenues. What follows is the essay I wrote when I returned from this life-changing moment in our lives. My Experiences Attending the Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally Like snowflakes, each finding its own 'moment of crystalization', and, being blown hither and thither by the same wind, coming together into a huge drift that causes the normal flow of life to look, to notice, to divert even for a temporary time, the "Happy Warriors" who attended the Restoring Honor Rally hosted by Glenn Beck gathered at the National Mall and proved without doubt that they are a force to be reckoned with. The Tea Party Patriots; the Nine-Twelvers; the Libertarians; The Constitutionalists; the Independents; the Democrats Against Socialism, Terrorism and Bankruptcy; the Citizens for Smaller Government; the Disillusioned Republicans; the No More Taxes Faction; The Keep God In Public Places Activists; and all of those Americans who see that the current path of cancerous government growth and of morally bankrupt society is tearing our Republic apart and spiraling into an irredeemable poverty of pocket and of spirit - all of us assembled there to say with one voice, "STOP!!" We want our Constitution back; we want government to be small and local again; we want limits on spending and taxing; we want freedom of speech, religion, private property, and assembly back; we want the entire Bill of Rights to hold fast in every state, county, city and territory of the United States, including the 2nd amendment. We want the federal government to stay out of areas where the Constitution does not give it express jurisdiction, including health care, censorship, art, charitable organizations, and communications media. We want to live in the United States of America, not the Lame Mimicry of Bankrupt Socialized Europe". As people coming out of a bomb shelter into the light and air of nature's making, those at this gathering had smiles on their faces, wonder in their eyes, and optimism in their hearts. They saw that if there is a way to restore this nation, individuals, not institutions, have to accomplish it, and that those who understand this are the ones who have to start, have to be the example and the proof. Most of them had already started that process by taking Mr. Beck's challenge of 40 days of personal reform before coming to this event. They got the lies out of their lives, they acted with personal responsibility, they exampled prayer and trust in God to their children, they forgave those who had slandered them, they returned smiles to those who berated them. They loved each other, not in the sentimentality of an overflow of emotion, but in the way of the Torah and Bible, one neighbor to another. They were courteous, followed the golden rule, helped each other and expected no return, made room for each other. They ignored insults and affronts from counter-protesters and media agitators. The sight of the U.S. Flag made them smile, clap, and salute, instead of cringe in embarrassment. It was a tidal wave. A great many people were in the Mall before dark of the night before the event. Park Police who were charged with not allowing people to camp-out there were making sure that no one was actually sleeping, and so the people kept watch for each other, spelled each other in the chairs, shared food and drinks. No one who had the chance to get a good spot was jealous or mean-spirited toward anyone else who was attempting the same thing. This historic convocation was too important to be petty in any way toward anyone. You could feel good will in the balmy air and perfect peace of the night. Those who counted on arising early to get a good spot were mostly thwarted in their efforts. Despite the best planning, the crowd outnumbered the expectations of those who were in charge. Even though the event was not scheduled to begin until 10 a.m., by 6 a.m. there were precious few places where one could get an unobstructed view, even in front of the many IMAX jumbo-trons placed along the entire length of the National Mall. Legions of porta-potties lined the walkways, and there was at least a 20 minute wait in those lines for most of the morning. Still, even with people packed like sardines, helpfulness abounded. Those in wheel chairs and walkers were assisted, those who got lost were helped by the individuals in the crowd to get back to their families, and where one knew of an open space, that knowledge was passed along to the weary and struggling. People who had been there for a long time made way, took a little less room than they had staked out, created pathways for access to the potties, and assisted with cranky and tired children. By the time Glenn Beck took the stage, and joked that the media had estimated that there were "over a thousand" people attending, approximately a thousand people were arriving every few minutes. The assessment based on accepted spatial calculations, which Beck related to us, was that the area around the Reflecting Pool would hold about 200 thousand, the two areas adjacent to the north and south of the Reflecting Pool, extending up into the trees near the streets, held about 300 thousand. Arial photographs show that there were people spilling out over the World War II Memorial, across the street bordering on the east, and up the rise to the Washington Monument. An early media estimate of 87 thousand was ludicrous on its face, and later estimates of 200 - 300 thousand were woefully inadequate to the reality, which was closer to 600 thousand. I myself was up on the north hill under the trees, and I saw people arriving in droves and filling the spaces clear back toward the street behind me. It seemed that there was not a square foot of grass between Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue, between the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial, that was not filled. The hill where the Washington Monument stands was not completely covered, but was well populated on the side facing toward the Lincoln Memorial, and there were even people on the steps and between the pillars of the Lincoln Memorial itself. The presentation was made up of Beck and speakers he invited, the honorees who were to receive his special medal of merit, and several performers of music. The message and the theme were expressly non-political, but very pointed. The message was simply this: We need to return to the values that founded this country, to the honor in our lives and in our business and political dealings that gave us our position of respect around the world, to the Constitution which is our Law, our guidepost and our safety railing, and to the God that we choose to worship. We can no longer be apathetic toward our God, our Country, or our children's future. We have to work and to sacrifice in order to bring back the American Dream that our Founders, our Peacemakers, and our Heroes lived and died for, so that our children will have the chance to experience it in their lives, and can pass it on to their children and their children's children. The charity Beck promotes is SOWF, which funds college education for children of Special Forces killed in service. Much of the presentation was about military members and their families, and how their honor, sacrifice and acceptance of duty contribute to making our country great. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem. We remembered Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and the fact that more and more, America IS the place where people of all faiths and races are judged by their character and not by their color. We acknowledged that there is more to do before all people are given the equal opportunity that Washington, Lincoln, and King aspired to, but that we have made great strides. There were clergy of several faiths on stage who spoke about America, spoke about Dr. King and his Dream, and who also prayed with us. We prayed for Congress and for President Obama. When his name was mentioned, not one boo, catcall, or derogatory comment was heard, and believe me, Glenn Beck listened for it. So did the Press. The most controversial speaker was Alveda King. She came before us because she believes in the reawakening that Glenn Beck is trying to reveal to the country. The awakening of Faith, Hope, and Charity that he has been elaborating on for a whole year, as exampled by real Americans from our past and present. The exampling of peaceful demonstration, personal effort, and perseverance. The knowledge that with God all things are possible, and that God is the answer to America's questions. Alveda King was harassed by death threats, excoriated in the press, and berated by liberal and ethnic groups who wanted to intimidate her into eschewing this Honor Rally. They accused her of selling out, they accused her of 'hijacking' the legacy of her uncle and her father. It is amazing that they could even imagine accusing a King family member of hijacking something she herself is a part of. She was literally afraid for her life at some points in the weeks leading up to this event. Glenn Beck paid out of his own pocket for all the security for himself and his speakers, including King and Palin, who also spoke. The three people he selected to award them his newly created medal of merit are individuals he felt represented the character traits he is calling us all to work toward in our own lives and in the life of the country. One medal each was awarded for Faith, Hope, and Charity. Even these people, people who have in their lives sacrificed to adhere to these principles, who have triumphed through adversity, helped others, and endured great pain with equally great patience, were mocked or attacked in the press. Not loudly or for very long, but as one reporter put it, "couldn't you have picked someone else?" Apparently, those who were chosen were just not "politically correct" enough to suit, especially not the sports figure who received the medal for Faith. The most moving moment, even more moving than the stories of sacrifice we heard, was unplanned and unexpected. Glenn Beck was telling the story of the man who created the beloved hymn "Amazing Grace". He closed by saying that it was in his opinion the greatest song ever composed for the bagpipes, and he called out the musician, the bagpipe player, to begin. The single instrument cast its spell on the crowd, instantly creating the mood. As the melody floated out to the farthest reaches of the gathering, each and every throat, unbidden, began to quietly sing or hum "Amazing Grace", and the National Mall, with its natural beauty of glowing grass and lofty trees, its Reflecting Pool, Monuments and Memorials, the great domed vault of azure sky, and the great rising steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of us like an altar draped in white, became a basilica, a mighty temple, with the congregation praising God in unanimous voice. There was not a dry eye in the place; many swayed and raised their arms or joined hands with strangers standing near them. The professional singers did not engage their microphones until the people had finished the verse, had given their unadorned praise to God, each sincere heart and each tearful voice joining together like a choir of Seraphim on Easter morning. A connection, like electricity flowing, touched each one of us. The memory of that moment still brings me to tears. The speakers made us laugh, made us cry, made us think, and made us resolve anew to bring about change not through anger or violence, not through accusations or vitriol, but through personal transformation in our own lives and families, and by simple adherence to principles whether in our jobs, our children's education, our choice of entertainment, our worship practices, or our political activities. And then to hold our spiritual and secular leaders to the same standards of principle when we vote, whether we vote with our patronage, our attendance, our donations, our buying power, or at the ballot box. And while the media screamed that it was a rally of hate, there were no arrests, no reports of inappropriate comments, no fights, no confrontations with opposing activists. While the media proclaimed that this group was plotting to pollute the earth anew, there was not one bottle, scrap of paper, trash, or debris of any kind left in the National Mall when the Honor event was over, as contrasted with the avalanche of trash that was left in that same venue when the Obama Inaugural Gathering ended, or again more recently when the Ten-Two-Ten attendees were chauffered home. The media postulated that it was a gathering of rich old white people who didn't want to pay taxes, but my photographs of the event show them in plain sneakers, jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps. I never moved from the spot I was in except to go to the bathroom, and there were at least 10 black people who were seated within my immediate view. Probably not much less than the average for the ratio of black to white in the nation, I'll bet. And these were blacks that could very well have attended the Sharpton event being held at the same time less than half a mile away. There were Korean War vets, Viet Nam vets, Gulf War vets, Iraq and Afghanistan vets, none of them very rich, some were handicapped, some unemployed. There were kids of all ages, toddlers to teens, and their parents. Again, neither very old nor rich. There were senior citizens, some wearing Tea Party shirts, some wearing SOWF shirts, and some not affiliated with any group at all, but trying to make their voices heard. All of these people came to our National Mall to say something important, and they are a cross-section of America itself. They are not extreme, not hate-filled, not a cadre of specially chosen demographics for the photo-op. No organization supported by tax dollars or dues helped pay for their attendance. They self-selected and self-funded. They want their country to be as great for their children as it was for their parents and for themselves, and they are willing to sacrifice for it, to work for it, and to speak out for it. I was blessed to have had the opportunity to be among them, and grateful to Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Alveda King, to the dozens of clergy, and to each and every citizen who made the supreme personal effort to be there with me. In the words of every President this nation has ever had, we came together in hopes that "God Bless America." Amen.
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Job Security Risk April 21, 2010
The insurance company that my employers are contracted with has just been put under indefinite sanctions, meaning we are no longer allowed to sell products until further notice. I know that some or all of us may lose our jobs or lose hours per week as a result of this event, because nobody can afford to have all of us on the payroll when we are not producing any income for that client. I am not by any means in the top half of our group in sales results, although I am one of the best on QA scores and attendance. I worry, because when we are selling things, good quality counts for a lot, but when we re not selling things, QUANTITY may be a large factor in who gets retained for the future core group when this client is ready to start up again. I worry.
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A "Maybe Next Time" for Everything? October 24, 2009
Well, things sure change don't they? Of the three docks that were supposed to be expanded to fit the size of the biggest cruise ship on the water, only one will be finished in time for the cruise we booked. Also, my husband has lost his job, and prospects aren't as good as we assumed they were for a new job anytime soon. So.... we have decided to cancel the cruise, much to my misgivings. I know for certain that if we give it up this time, we will probably never have the money or the health to go again. I am heartbroken and angry, but between the money we should save in case we have to live on one income for a while, and the lack of adequate accomodations for the boat in most of the ports, I can't in good conscience insist that we go anyway. I wish that I could, because I will definitely regret losing this chance as I grow older and less able to travel... but what can a body do when life body-checks you?? So long, once in a lifetime... Maybe someday....
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A First Time For Everything August 5, 2009 - Florida ?
My husband wants us to take a cruise. Neither of us has ever done this, but we seem to have enough money and enough vacation time saved up so that we may be able to do it. The boat/ship he wants to begin with is called the Oasis of the Seas. It is currently under construction, and will be 40% bigger than the biggest cruise ship afloat today. Sounds like it will be amazing, and I am looking forward to it. Maybe my other "forward" goal will be finished at the same time as the boat... wouldn't THAT be amazing... Update!! We have successfully contracted for a cabin on the 14th deck of the Oasis of the Seas, due to depart for its 'maiden' voyage on December 5, 2009. We have a balcony, not on the "ocean view" side of the boat, which would have been optimum, but on the "inside view" of the ship, overlooking the boardwalk, central park, and other "main attractions". There are seven neighborhoods, all mimicking an attraction or tourist venue on land. We have also opted already for the "my time dining" which means we can choose our meal times whenever we wish instead of being scheduled into the same dining hour every day. Sounds great to me.
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The Times, They Are A-Changin' July 4, 2009
Let me count the ways. 1 ) My sister was prevented from holding her annual family reunion at the 4-H resort this year, because her mother in law deliberately sabotaged it. 2) The park in Airway Heights was nearly empty of 4th of July celebrants and fireworks this year, we think because of the skyrocketing cost of the explosives sold in Airway Heights, and because of the rest of the disastrous economy (and jobs lost) since Obama was elected. 3 ) It has been a year now, and my husband still has no job. This is unusual, since he has always had some kind of job since he was about 15 years old, and the last job he had he held for 14 years straight. 4 ) Our President and Congress have now spent four times more in one year than Bush 43 spent in his whole 8 years, and the total debt for this one year is MORE than the COMBINED total of debt of every president from Washington to Bush 43. And all they do is work to spend more, putting more bills into committee every month with no other objective than to rape the nations taxpayers, destroy the sovereignty and security of the country, strip the people of both freedom and dignity, and steal the Land of Opportunity from the next several generations with unpayable debt and crushing regulations. Yeah, that's really different.... 5 ) Another change is that I have started gaining weight again. The loss of the use of our Subaru has exacerbated other contributing factors, making it almost impossible for me to get to Stroh's at all. I had also come to a wall, eating approximately 1200 calories a day and no more for nearly a year, and not losing a pound, even having to starve myself sometimes to take of the pound or two that I was frequently gaining back. Some argued that I had reached my body's "starvation mode" and should actually slowly increase my calories and then try to lower them slowly again. When I broke, I broke badly: the strain of staying on this diet for more than 5 years, slowly eating less and less each year and getting no benefit from it, was more than I knew. It was worse because I also broke during the holiday season, and at the same time Joe became obsessed with eating out almost every other night, and at the same time I was not exercising at the same rate for previously stated reasons. I have begun gaining, and I have a fierce, unreasoning, and unstoppable (even if I recognize it and try to resist it) compulsion to have more and more goodies, sweets, more calories, late night snacks, etc. My blood sugar is also going up, and though my diarrhea had been slacking off (a little bit) in recent months, probably due to fewer calories in total, now I am experiencing more gastroenterological problems again. 6 ) I am lazier, more sluggish, and perhaps even more selfish. Due to lack of sleep due to increased pain, and severe bouts of diarrhea, I am missing work more often, and this is bad since they changed the PTO system at work last February, so that it is no longer up to me whether I take PTO or UTO, and now every absence or tardy is a lessening of my PTO, even if I violently am opposed to using it for small, absorb-able paycheck losses of an hour or a day pay period. It is automatic. 7 ) Even though we are still able to afford the original Sea Cruise we had put money down on, we now have decided to cancel it. The building of the ship itself has been delayed because of financial difficulties. Of the three ports which were being expanded to be able to handle the biggest-ever cruise ship, only one is going to be finished on time. Perhaps one of the remaining two will be able to serve the ship even though not yet complete by December, but the third one will definitely not be able to accommodate our cruise ship. This reality, coupled with our own dwindling funds which are being chewed up during Joe's unemployment, make it illogical to persist in holding to this dream we had. We will try to book passage again in November of 2010, which would be half the price ( if Obama and the UN still allow cruises to be taken by ordinary people). It would also be near to his 40th birthday, and perhaps he will have a job by then, although that is looking more and more unlikely. And, we hope, those three ports will have had ample time to be finished before we get there. World economic crisis allowing, of course. As the pundits are now saying, "how is that hope and change working out for you?"
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The Taxpayers Are Revolting April 15, 2009
TAX DAY TEA PARTY Today in over 500 separate events, hundreds of thousands of everyday, normal, non-protesting people came together, without benefit of party bosses, community organizers, or millionaire fund-givers, and PROTESTED THE LOSS OF OUR FREEDOM, OUR MONEY, AND OUR CONSTITUTION. Spokane had two Tea Parties, and I attended. So did my brothers, and my brother in law. We were about 1200-1500 strong, and NOT in the mood for taking any more bullshit from any government, local, state or federal, and ESPECIALLY not from the European Union or the UN. Historical documents and newspapers will show you the times, the new invasive and illegal and unconstitutional rapes of our tax dollars, our businesses, our parenting rights, our schools, even our private back-yard gardens. It will document the capitutlation of our congress and our president to the judicial system, and the capituilation of our judges to international laws in order to over-ride and invalidate our constitutio, and the capitulation of our president to every tom-thumb, dickhead, and harry reid, in every international meeting, every national security decision, and every domestic illegality. America is being hacked apart by bloodthirsty ghouls and served on a gold-plated platter to every communist creditor, every terrorist and nuclear armed thug, every liberal bastard bastion, and every America-hating supplicant in the entire world. If Obama continues, we will be a third world country before he is out of office, and that is even faster than Rome fell to the Barbarians. It will be the same process though, internal weakness, pacification and indoctrination of the masses, and a Barbarian on the throne. This one was NOT born in America, nor on American soil, nor even on an American lease, such as a military base or an embassy. This one was born in Africa, and his Original Birth Certificate is being hidden and lied about by entire battalions of lawyers. Only after he is out of office will that fact be "discovered", and it will be "oh well, you can't do it over now... " and all his laws will stand, and the door will be opened "ipso facto" to other non-american-born "presidents". Without even allowing any American or their representatives to vote on the most massive and basic change to our constitution since women were given the vote, or even further back, since Income Tax was suddenly and unconstitutionally "found" to be constitutional. America, I have lived in your last best days, and I fear that I am bequeathing to my children and grandchildren the end of the American Experiment, including starvation, civil war, disease, oppression, and the death of freedom in the world for EONS to come. Perhaps these Tea Parties can shake up enough elected representatives, can help get elected enough senators and representatives to slow, or even reverse, the most heinous of these atrocities perpetrated on the deliberately dumbed-down and betrayed populace. I am going to be agitating for more, bigger, better, and angrier Tea Parties across the country on the 4th of July, to let them know that we are not going to back down and be good, we are not going to just light fireworks in the parks, but under the congress, the judges, and the white house if we do not have our American rights, schools, businesses, and hard-earned money returned. In this time, and for this purpose, I took part in a tiny bit of History, and added my voice to those of the True Americans in this country. For that reason, Secretary Napolitano has created and released to all Law Enforcement Agencies a document classifying these American Citizens as "domestic errorists or potential terrorists" : Ron Paul or other Third Party Supporters Pro Life Voters People Against Open Boders Returning Military Vetrans Home Schoolers Gun Owners and NRA Members Conservative Talk Show Listeners Remember that less than a month ago, the same Administration has banned the word "terrorist" when used to describe Radical Muslim Terrorists, and has also forbidden administration members and press outlets to use the term "war on terror". I guess it's only ok to "profile" average Americans, not Muslim terrorists and inter-city gang members. I guess it's only ok to use the word Terrorist against your own law-abiding citizens, including the ones that have just risked their lives and in some cases lost their limbs in defending this country from the REAL TERRORISTS. This "president" and his administration are all ILLEGALLY AND FRAUDULENTLY IN OFFICE, AND DELIBERATE AND DAILY TRAITORS.
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The Taxpayers Are Revolting April 15, 2009
TAX DAY TEA PARTY Today in over 500 separate events, hundreds of thousands of everyday, normal, non-protesting people came together, without benefit of party bosses, community organizers, or millionaire fund-givers, and PROTESTED THE LOSS OF OUR FREEDOM, OUR MONEY, AND OUR CONSTITUTION. Spokane had two Tea Parties, and I attended. So did my brothers, and my brother in law. We were about 1200-1500 strong, and NOT in the mood for taking any more bullshit from any government, local, state or federal, and ESPECIALLY not from the European Union or the UN. Historical documents and newspapers will show you the times, the new invasive and illegal and unconstitutional rapes of our tax dollars, our businesses, our parenting rights, our schools, even our private back-yard gardens. It will document the capitutlation of our congress and our president to the judicial system, and the capituilation of our judges to international laws in order to over-ride and invalidate our constitutio, and the capitulation of our president to every tom-thumb, dickhead, and harry reid, in every international meeting, every national security decision, and every domestic illegality. America is being hacked apart by bloodthirsty ghouls and served on a gold-plated platter to every communist creditor, every terrorist and nuclear armed thug, every liberal bastard bastion, and every America-hating supplicant in the entire world. If Obama continues, we will be a third world country before he is out of office, and that is even faster than Rome fell to the Barbarians. It will be the same process though, internal weakness, pacification and indoctrination of the masses, and a Barbarian on the throne. This one was NOT born in America, nor on American soil, nor even on an American lease, such as a military base or an embassy. This one was born in Africa, and his Original Birth Certificate is being hidden and lied about by entire battalions of lawyers. Only after he is out of office will that fact be "discovered", and it will be "oh well, you can't do it over now... " and all his laws will stand, and the door will be opened "ipso facto" to other non-american-born "presidents". Without even allowing any American or their representatives to vote on the most massive and basic change to our constitution since women were given the vote, or even further back, since Income Tax was suddenly and unconstitutionally "found" to be constitutional. America, I have lived in your last best days, and I fear that I am bequeathing to my children and grandchildren the end of the American Experiment, including starvation, civil war, disease, oppression, and the death of freedom in the world for EONS to come. Perhaps these Tea Parties can shake up enough elected representatives, can help get elected enough senators and representatives to slow, or even reverse, the most heinous of these atrocities perpetrated on the deliberately dumbed-down and betrayed populace. I am going to be agitating for more, bigger, better, and angrier Tea Parties across the country on the 4th of July, to let them know that we are not going to back down and be good, we are not going to just light fireworks in the parks, but under the congress, the judges, and the white house if we do not have our American rights, schools, businesses, and hard-earned money returned. In this time, and for this purpose, I took part in a tiny bit of History, and added my voice to those of the True Americans in this country. For that reason, Secretary Napolitano has created and released to all Law Enforcement Agencies a document classifying these American Citizens as "domestic errorists or potential terrorists" : Ron Paul or other Third Party Supporters Pro Life Voters People Against Open Boders Returning Military Vetrans Home Schoolers Gun Owners and NRA Members Conservative Talk Show Listeners Remember that less than a month ago, the same Administration has banned the word "terrorist" when used to describe Radical Muslim Terrorists, and has also forbidden administration members and press outlets to use the term "war on terror". I guess it's only ok to "profile" average Americans, not Muslim terrorists and inter-city gang members. I guess it's only ok to use the word Terrorist against your own law-abiding citizens, including the ones that have just risked their lives and in some cases lost their limbs in defending this country from the REAL TERRORISTS. This "president" and his administration are all ILLEGALLY AND FRAUDULENTLY IN OFFICE, AND DELIBERATE AND DAILY TRAITORS.
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The Winter of Aught-Eight December 18, 2008 - Spokane WA
The Three Christmas Gatherings were planned with care, in hopes that all the family members would be able to get there. However, beginning with bone-numbing cold, and continuing for a month with the heaviest snows in recorded measurements, we got four feet of snow in the next three weeks. Locations around the country got lows and snows that seldom show up in those balmy latitudes, but the Northwest got buried. Snow plows worked round the clock, 7 days 24 hours for nearly two weeks to try to keep traffic and businesses going during the "just before Christmas" shopping climax. Many businesses were unable to meet their goals not because of lack of money, but because the shoppers couldn't get out of their driveways, and if they did they couldn't make it down the half-block of side street to the plowed main thorofares. IF they did make it that far, more often than not the plows had closed the intersections by shoving up great berms across the side streets when they plowed the main drags and the bus routes. For almost a week, only 4 of the city's bus routes were running, and nobody could get to those because the pick-ups in their neighborhoods were not available. People missed work, deliveries to stores were sporadic at best, half the local grocery stores ran out of the most popular varieties of bread and milk, egg nog was very hard to get even though it was egg nog season. Some people lost power, although our neighborhood was spared that calamity. However, two out of the three family gatherings planned were necessarily postponed. The parent-sibling event was postponed, back on again, then postponed for another week. The in-law gathering was much smaller (the host brother and his family, another brother, and my husband and me) and it was here in town on roads that were plowed, so we managed to have that celebration as planned. The children-grandchildren gathering was postponed, postponed again, rescheduled for later that evening, then re-postponed and scheduled for a week later. It was finally held in a pocket of calm between flurries, and all were able to attend that one, albeit not for as long a visit as was intended. The brothers who were unable to make it to the first family gathering even after all the postponing finally got here, waiting for the passes to clear and the forecast to give them some hope of being able to return in the same week, but not until the weekend of January 17th. They would have been able to make it the week before, except that once it stopped snowing, the rising temperatures caused massive avalanches and mudslides, closing the passes more effectively than the snowfall did. Well, we have the pictures. Berms twice as high as the car parked beside them. Garbage cans with as much snow on top as the height of the can. Roofs caving in all over town, from huge department stores to little espresso shacks. Schools, garages, restaurants of all descriptions had collapses or major leakages in infrastructure, and were closed for the duration. One potentially disappointing result of the weather was that the electrical grid where the Cathedral is located was disabled on Christmas Eve. We were concerned that there would be no light, and more importantly, no heat, to enable them to hold the scheduled Midnight Mass. However, about 11pm we made our precarious way through slippery, blocked, and treacherous roads to the Cathedral, and tried to park along the sides of the streets where at least half of the lanes were blocked by the massive accumulations of plowed snow. We managed to get into a spot, but when I shifted my weight to open the passenger door, we slid sideways into the berm. Meaning that I had to find a way to crawl to the driver's side to get out, and for a fat lady, that is no easy task. However, we climbed the steps and entered the Cathedral, greeted by cooling air and impressive darkness. After finding the second set of doors, beyond the foyer, a gorgeous sight to behold was the entire interior lit by nothing but candles. Nothing could have been more beautiful, more mysterious, more worship-inspiring. Due to the weather the crowd was much diminished, the singers and players of instruments also fewer, and the atmosphere was that of a cozy local congregation but set in the lavish and lovely environs of one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in the state. I cherish this memory of Christmas 2008 over all the others, for the encouragement and hope that it gave in the midst of many horrible and frightening events of the last year, including the election. May the prayers we sent heavenward during that service be heard and answered quickly, for the salvation of souls, and the salvation of our country and our faith.
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Its The End Of The World As We Know It November 4, 2008 - THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF AMERIKA
I wrote my son a lengthy letter describing in excruciating detail why his sentiment that "Obama can't be that bad, can he?" was a disasterously dangerous sentiment. To paraphrase for brevity, I said "he was born to socialists and radicals, he studied socialism and Rules for Radicals, he sought out socialists and radicals in college, he hated his white roots and seeks in all his books to denigrate his own blood if they are white people, and alibi the behavior of his black relatives no matter what they did or are still doing. He accepted bribes and graft, and he misused grants that were in his authority to use for education, and instead used them for subversion and propaganda and socialist causes in the schools. He befriended criminals, bought his house from a criminal, funded his college and his campaigns through illegal means, and was a leading trainer of those mobs who intimidated and libeled banks and prominent citizens into unconstitutional and unethical financial and political actions. No matter where his sphere of contact is, he surrounds himself with crimninals, comunists, and crazies, and he is all of those himself, even if he has gotten away with all of it unchallenged up to this point. He has no practical knowlege of how things work, but only how to force the system, or to force others, to work for your interests and against their own, under threat. He has kept his legislative record almost sanitized, voting "present' more than twice as often as he votes yea or nay, and still managing to be the most liberal Senator in the entire chamber for the one year he has been in National office. He is also the one who received the most lobbying money, second only to Harry Reid, getting more in his one year than any other of the other Senators in their entire careers in the Senate, other than Dirty Harry. I told my son that way back years ago, when Obama was delivering his keynote speech at the Democratic Convention, I had warned my husband that "this is the most dangerous man in the entire country, and nobody knows it but me". He scoffed, as did everyone I mentioned it to, but Obama is now proving that I was right all along, both in my fear, and in my characterization of what he would do when (not if, when) elected. He did surround himself again with criminals (tax cheats and even one who was imprisoned for a felony a few years ago), with radicals and communists (lovers of Marx, Mao, Che, and Chavez, haters of capitalism, free enterprise, free speech and free assembly) and crazies (Rev. Wright thinks that the US created AIDS to kill black people, and that Bush deliberately blew up the levies to kill black people in New Orleans, among other things; Ayers thinks that he and his friends did not blow up enough cops, office buildings, and judges when he was leader of the Weather Underground). Suffice it to say that I believe it will only get worse, because with no legislative ability to stop any bill in either the House or the Senate, this man will go berserk with his agenda to destroy the economy, the constitution, and the national security of this country as fast as possible, before we can stop him by voting in new congresspeople in another 2 years. Listen to his words, review his past actions, scrutinize his friends, read his books. Assess honestly and without rose colored glasses what kind of man would marry whom he married, befriend whom he befriends, and train whom he trained for more than 20 years, and you will know exactly what kind of White House, what kind of policies, what kind of tyranny this man will pursue to ram through his agenda of 'change'. I fear to my very marrow: for myself, my children, my parents, my Constitution, and the very existence of the Land of the Free. It is free no more, till this man and his fellow demons are gone from our government. Mary Mother of God, Pray for us.
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Cosmic Connections September 10, 2008 - Port Angeles, WA
Crisis in Cosmology Conference Two, or CCC2 A gathering of many scientists and researchers, observers and theorists from around the world, who have been documenting and studying phenomena which cast doubt on the prevailing theory of the origins of the universe, the Big Bang. Each of them has taken a bit of evidence, or several bits, and has come up with a theory or speculation based on those facts, which they now feel fit the evidence more closely than does the Big Bang. They also have made predictions as to what will be discovered in the future that will prove their theories, or have made structured cosmological and mathematical proofs, or other logical progressions backed up with current observations and established maths. This conference was a bit competitive, a bit comradeship, a bit egotistical, a bit resentful of establishment publications and schools which refuse to entertain the theories they propose in favor of the "consensus" of the Big Bang. It was truly enlightening and quite entertaining, if a bit pompous at times, and frequently just a bit over our heads. There was a banquet arranged for the observers to take a friendly meal with the presenters, to get to experience personal talks and gather autographs. Some entertainment was also arranged. The Mark Twain impersonator was wonderful, and the Local Historian had an amazing narrative about the extremely unusual, and very 'American Spirit' community efforts of Port Angeles, Washington and the hardships they endured to fight the elements and turn a profit at the same time. If you get a chance to delve into that turn-of-the-century history, you will be amazed. My brother and I had not spent any time together since he was 4 years old and I was 20, when I went off and got married and he grew up without me present. But we still have an amazing amount of common interests and common attitudes, we never ran out of things to talk about, we enjoyed the conference and the sight-seeing in the Olympic National Forest that we did, and we found each other to be friends as well as siblings as adults together. We sat on the beach, we climbed mountains, we clambered about the base of a waterfall, we took pictures and collected odd specimens. It was marvelous to have that chance, since we do not live very close to each other, and to date had only said "Hi" and "I love you" to each other at Christmas and Easter gatherings. I missed a lot of my younger brothers and sisters while I was away, but getting to know them now is a gift I intend to partake of as often as possible.
Helenna's LifePath entries
Helenna
Female,
located in
Spokane, WA
Eons member since Jan 10, 2007
