Voter mentality . . . ?

On the news it was reported that a man punched his girlfriend because he thought she was being unfaithful. He saw a picture of a man on her Facebook page that he didn't recognize. The girlfriend was not being unfaithful . . . it was a picture of Mitt Romney. And this is a voter?

And you think it is bad now . . .?

The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in 2015 the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed. And that number will more than double by 2025, as the expansion of insurance coverage and the aging of baby boomers drive up demand for care. Even without the health care law, the shortfall of doctors in 2025 would still exceed 100,000. Health experts, including many who support the law, say there is little that the government or the medical profession will be able to do to close the gap by 2014, when the law begins extending coverage to about 30 million Americans. It typically takes a decade to train a doctor.

“We have a shortage of every kind of doctor, except for plastic surgeons and dermatologists,” said Dr. G. Richard Olds, the dean of the new medical school at the University of California, Riverside, founded in part to address the region’s doctor shortage. “We’ll have a 5,000-physician shortage in 10 years, no matter what anybody does.” Experts describe a doctor shortage as an “invisible problem.” Patients still get care, but the process is often slow and difficult. In Riverside, it has left residents driving long distances to doctors, languishing on waiting lists, overusing emergency rooms and even forgoing care. “It results in delayed care and higher levels of acuity,” said Dustin Corcoran, the chief executive of the California Medical Association, which represents 35,000 physicians. People “access the health care system through the emergency department, rather than establishing a relationship with a primary care physician who might keep them from getting sicker.”

Chicago's Cardinal George . . .

Chicago's Cardinal George on anti- Chick-Fil-A bigotry:

 "I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval."

What is a woman?

I'm afraid any woman who would condone the display of a newly-aborted baby as described in this article, is hardly the definition of a woman. To me, being a woman should be a nurturing, compassonate calling and to rejoice in the death of a human being, is a tragedy and a sad sign of how our world are disintegrated.

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/07/31/activists-in-spain-once-applauded-aborted-babies-as-trophies/

Said as a joke but, unfortunately, too much truth to it.

One day the U.N. Secretary General proposes that, in the interest of global peace and harmony, the world’s soccer players should come together and form one United Nations global soccer team.

“Great idea,” says his deputy. “Er, but who would we play?”

“Israel, of course.”

The third quote is becoming all too true . . .

"Who is more busy than he who hath least to do?"
-- John Clarke

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it."
-- George Bernard Shaw

"The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I hate women because they always know where things are."
-- James Thurber

Who protects your freedoms?

All the uproar about a restaurant owner stating that he is in favor of traditional marriage has certainly brought out the nasty in a lot of people especially the Hollywood crowd. One, in particular, has gone from just disrespecting others' viewpoints to dismissing our military as people being on the 'dole'. I find that horribly offensive as these people fight our wars, put their lives on the line, suffer separation from their families in the line of duty, and live on salaries that are probably lower than what they could get in the public sector.

The amusing part is that while these unfeeling idiots are slamming the military, they never stop to realize that the fact that they are weathly and able to speak their mind on this is because our military fights in some way every day to preserve this freedom.

I guess one has to realize, however, that these types often feel that whatever offensive things they say comes under their freedom of speech rights while any opposition is just, plain mean-spirited.

Edible Quote! :-)

"Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."
Michael Pollan

Very sad . . .

One of the victims of the Colorado shootings of last week miscarried her baby due to the trauma and treatment of her gunshot wounds. The shooter is being charged with murder in all the cases except for this baby. Colorado has a law on the books that doesn't view an unborn baby as a person before birth. How very sad for this family who not only lost their baby, but their six year old who died in the theater shooting. The mother is fighting for her life and now has to face the fact that her little girl is dead and her miscarried baby doesn't even get the dignity of being recognized as a person in the State of Colorado.

Be careful what you collect!

This is horribly amazing. A man gets fined and a jail sentence . . . because he collected rain water on his private property. Uh, how does that take away a water source from other people?

http://www.ijreview.com/2012/07/11732-oregon-man-collects-rainwater-on-property-gets-a-30-day-jail-sentence/

Politicians - read the first quote!

The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it."
-- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

 

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
-- Rick Cook

"It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young."
-- Konrad Lorenz

Tomato Spice Cake

It is amazing what you can use in a cake and still get rave reviews from your family. The trick is to serve it, first, and tell them afterwards! This is such a cake and my brood loved it and went back for seconds . . . even after finding out the 'secret' ingredient.

Tomato Spice Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups pureed fresh tomatoes
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup ground walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla, sugar, oil, and spices. Add the flour mixtures and the pureed tomatoes. Mix well and then fold in the walnuts. Pour batter into a 9x13 baking pan or two smaller ones. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35-45 minutes depending on your oven.

Cool and drizzle with a lemon icing.

Bread of Choice!

I like changing things up and I like having the ideas at hand in case I'm having one of those brain-freeze days! This is such a recipe!

Bread of Choice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmed
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups chosen from the ingredients listed below.
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zesk
1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degreesl

Mix together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the eggs and then add oil and sugar, mixing well. Add your choice of the ingredients listed below along with the vanilla, zest, and nuts. Pour into two vegetable-oil sprayed loaf pans.

Ingredient list:
Grated apples
Apple sauce
Pureed bananas
Finely grated raw carrots
Canned Pumpkin
Cooked and pureed yams
Finely grated zucchini
Chopped pears
Finely chopped dates

Remember, you can use two cups of one ingredient or two or more as long as it adds up to two cups, total. If you want to add dried fruit like cranberries or raisins, add 1/4 cup to the already-selected 2 cups.

What More Can you Say . . . ?

 

Fast Refrigerator Pickles

 

This is an easy way to use up extra produce and provide a treat for the family. This is not one of those recipes that are canned and last 'forever' on the shelf. These have a life span of about two weeks in the refrigerator. After sampling my efforts, yesterday, I don't think they will even last two weeks!

Fast Refrigerator Pickles
12 half pint canning jars
6-8 regular cucumbers, very thinly sliced
3 carrots, very thinly sliced
2 cups of onion, very thinly sliced
3 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place all the sliced vegetables in a large, glass bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a pot, stir to dissolve, and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes and then pour over the sliced vegetables and mix well so all the vegetables gets a soaking.

Fill each jar 3/4th full with the prepared vegetables. After that, add the brine to just cover. Seal and refrigerate. I found they tasted good later the same day but 24 hours is a good time to let the pickles really get tasty.

If you can find it, grocery stores sometimes sell packets of pickling spices and you can use that instead of buying the individual seeds mentioned in the recipe.

You don't need to but I did give all the jars the water bath to seal the jars more firmly but still consider them refrigerated items.

If you want to find a really great pickling spice (which I used), search on-line for Penzy Spices. They offer that along with a huge variety of spices and herbs at reasonable prices. Just passing on a hint!

Just so we don't forget . . .

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."

~ Joseph Story, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1833

Literary Cats and Quilting Kittens . . .

 

Since the invasion of the kitten population, I am seldom alone much as would like to be at times! Marcela is showing off her literary side by resting near the encyclopedia. Later, Marcela and Tugboat find that they would much prefer sleeping on my quilt scrap box than tackle any bit of fabric that might dangle in their view from my work table.

Peach/Mango Crisp!

 Besides being in charge of pickle making this morning, I also had very ripe peaches and mangos to put to use. Initially, I thought about pies but decided on making a crisp. This way there is more buttery crust with each serving and I didn't have to fuss with rolling out a crust. I was a little tired from pickling cucumbers!

Pickled on a Saturday Morning!

 

My first attempt at making pickles and it seems to have worked out okay! In obedience to my husband who left with this last word, "Do something about all those cucumbers from the garden!" thus pickles were born!

I had dreaded getting out the jars, etc. but was suprised at how easily it all went together. Then I realized that with making jam, you have to fuss more to insure the jam 'sets'. With pickles, you chop the vegetables, pour over the sugar/brine/spice solution, fill the jars, process in the hot water bath, and . . . done!

We are having barbecued pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and I'm thinking these spicy/sweet pickles might be just what they need.

This says it all . . .

Isn't that what the president said . . . the first time around?

I'm sleeping in today. But according to our leader, I'm doing all the work building someone else's small business. Tim Hawkins

Baking Mix . . .

Although my baking of choice is starting from the very beginning and not using mixes, I do like to keep a box of biscuit in the cupboard. The generic as well as the name brand are good and they can save the day when life is going faster than you are getting things accomplished.

The box always lists a variety of recipes but the one I go to the most is the one for . . . biscuits! Basically, you add milk to the mix, roll, cut out, bake, and you have hot biscuits within 15 minutes. If you want really light and tasty biscuits, use buttermilk instead of milk for the liquid.

Over the years, however, I've turned to my short cut mix for quick dessert cakes. I don't have a specific recipe but my throw-together concept is a cup or two of the mix, an egg or two (depending on the amount of mix used), melted butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. I mix to form a very soft, spreadable batter and put it in an appropriate baking pan.

You can bake it as is but to really take this up a notch, mix 1/2 cup of baking mix with 1/4 cup ground nuts, 1 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1 stock of butter to form a crumbly mixture. Spread this over the top of the unbaked cake, swirl in the batter a bit, and bake. This never comes out quite the same as I'm always in a hurry when I throw it together! The thing is that it is almost fool-proof even for a harried mother with seemingly twenty children pulling at your shirttail while you try and get a meal prepared.

Truth in a small package . . .

Sometimes, the broad scope of an ongoing problem can be found in a small amount of words. I think this quote describes a good bit of the trouble with our government today.

When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators."
-- P. J. O'Rourkep

Chick-Fil-A and boycott results as of today . . .

Got these quotes from comments regarding the boycott at Chick-Fil-A. I guess you'd say these were my favorite quotes of the day!

Go ahead and boycott Chick-Fil-A... it just means there's more for me

How about everyone shuts up, respects other people's beliefs, and eat a delicious Chick Fil A sandwich. Sounds good to me.

All of this negative Chick-fil-a publicity has done one thing: make me crave Chick-fil-a.

I wasn't remotely interested in Chick-fil-A, but after so many controversial mentions I can't stop thinking about their sandwiches.

I don't understand the whole Chick-Fil-A fiasco. If people are allowed to support gay marriage, shouldn't others be allowed to oppose it?

The drive thru line at Chick-Fil-A is wrapped around the building and the inside is packed. I don't think the boycott worked.

It’s hard to believe that the greatest division in American politics these days is “pro-“ or “anti-Chick-fil-A.”

This makes me so happy. I went there twice for lunch this week. Plan to go again on appreciation day. The secret ingredient in their sandwiches is liberal outrage. Tastes delicious!

I have never eaten there before but had it twice this week. Will go again on Appreciation day.
Outraged that a public official would use their office to try an publicly intimidate and ostracize a private citizen for holding a fair minded opinion. Unbelievable!

I was there yesterday 3x - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And my glucose reading this morning is still 98. Thanks, #Chik-fil-A. Unfortunately, my blood pressure is up -- after reading bad economic news (Thanks Obama).

The boycott's not working, but the boycott is! My boys and I were at the Chick-Fil-A in the Long Beach Town Center (in Long Beach , CA) yesterday. The place was PACKED at 1pm and even more crowded when we left at 2pm! We are heading back there for lunch today!

Makes me wish the intolerant looney left would boycott my new business,

IMAGINE Someone agreeing with The Legal Definition of Marriage....ohhhhh...The Horror.......must be HATE......I will now be eating there weekly "Religiously"...ooooh that word burns libs

Beautiful thought for the rest of the day . . .

One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.

- Ida Scott Taylor

A Day's Worth of Quotes . . .

"Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world."
-- Arthur Schopenhauer

"A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame."
-- Laurence J. Peter

"Talking with you is sort of the conversational equivalent of an out of body experience."
-- Bill Watterson

Homemade ice cream . . . without a machine?

http://www.food.com/recipe/magic-strawberry-ice-cream-460516

Great recipe for ice cream that doesn't require an ice cream machine. Although we do have an electric ice cream churn, we seldom get it out because it requires a lot of ice, special salt, and it's is noisy. By the time we put everything together, we could have purchased gourment ice cream from the store for less! This is a neat way to impress the family and still have that homemade ice cream taste!

Books are legacies . . .

Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.

- Joseph Addison

You have to wonder . . . what's the point?

As we have all seen/heard on the news, the popular fast-food restaurant, Chick-Fil-A is still taking a hit because the gay community objects to the founder supporting traditional marriage. In order to make their point, they plan to boycott, harass, and hinder service and customers at the restaurants because a CEO dares to enjoy his Democratic rights to have a personal opinion. Chicago is even trying to have the restauant banned from the city. According to the CEO and founder of Chick-Fil-A, he has welcomed and given  good service and food to everyone coming in for a meal. He doesn't discriminate in hiring so there are gays on staff. He respects other people's life choices and expects his own to be respected, too.  So, what's the point here?

A protestor was interviewed on the radio today and his objection was that the CEO of the restaurant used his own money to support traditional marriage. If supporting organizations in line with your beliefs is going to be deemed wrong, does that mean we have to give every church money in the Sunday collection? I mean, if I give five dollars to my parish, shouldn't I be expected to support the other denominations in my town? Makes about as much sense as trying to put a company out of business because you object to the owners use of his private funds.

Contitution hits the shredder . . . again . . .

This has to be one of the saddest commentaries on our country yet. Why? Can't politicians defend their stands on issues on their own merit? Do they need to silence and punish people who have a different view on the subject? More shredding of the Constitution and it, according to this Fox News Report, passed overwhelmingly through our elected officials. Another show of how our support for candidates doesn't trickle down into protection of their constituents' legal rights.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=7SGWH3kirzg&vq=medium

That explains it . . .

The Sign of the Times . . .

The 44th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae . . .

September 12, 1968

Your Holiness,

… I know that your heart is suffering much these days … for the lack of obedience of some, even Catholics, to the high teaching that you, assisted by the Holy Spirit and in the name of God, are giving us. I offer you my prayers and daily sufferings as a small but sincere contribution on the part of the least of your sons in order that God may give you comfort with his Grace to follow the straight and painful way in the defense of eternal truth, which never changes with the passing of the years. Also, in the name of my spiritual children and the Prayer Groups, I thank you for your clear and decisive words that you especially pronounced in the last encyclical "Humanae Vitae"; and I reaffirm my faith, my unconditional obedience to your illuminated directions.

May God grant victory to the truth, peace to his Church, tranquility to the world, health and prosperity to your Holiness so that, once these fleeting doubts are dissipated, the Kingdom of God may triumph in all hearts, guided by your apostolic work as Supreme Pastor of all Christianity.

Humbly yours,

Padre Pio, Capuchin
San Giovanni Rotondo

If only the world understood . . .

The best mind-altering drug is truth.

- Lily Tomlin

My Sewing Buddies!

 One kitten from each of the litters we were 'blessed' with have become fast friends. The gray one is an outdoor cat but comes in to play with the other one two or three times a day. They are especially helpful when I am trying to sew. Their favorite place to rest after trying to destroy the house is on top of my fabric scrap box.

Chicken Tortilla Soup!

 

When I have leftover chicken, my family is always happy to see bowls of Tortilla Soup on the dinner table. There is no set recipe for this. You just need diced, cooked chicken, chicken broth, and the seasonings of your choice. I personally recommend the addition of some pickled Jalepeno peppers to the broth! Some diced tomatoes work well. Sliced carrots and celery add some vitamins and good taste. To serve it, ladle it over hot rice, toss on a good handful of tortilla chips with a scoop of grated cheese.

This is one of those recipes that tend to evolve in a family. No one makes it the same and every version suits the family it 'grew' up in just fine. No wrong way about it!

The Battle of the Chicken Continues . . .

The United States is in an economic mess. The president is signing executive orders left and right . . . mostly in favor of the left! The unemployment numbers are much worse than reported and what is the current battle about? A chain restaurant that dares to live under the definition of tolerance. Tolerance being:  The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

Chick-Fil-A is a restaurant business founded by people who believe in the sanctity of marriage. Period. They are daring to stand up for their beliefs. In the eyes of our leftist world, this is not tolerance . . . even though the definition is being followed.

Chicago, who averages a number of murders a week, is fighting to close down the restaurant because they have a different idea of tolerance. To the liberals tolerance means what they believe should be tolerated and if anyone differs from their beliefs, well, they are just not tolerant.

Okay,  say they manage to chase an innocent establishment out of their city and state. What about the employees who work there? And I would be willing to believe the staff just might include some people who don't entirely agree with Chick-Fil-A's stand on marriage yet they like being employed so they are . . . oh, what is the word? Oh, yeah, they are exhibiting tolerance.

Interesting that the people who are most against these 'old-fashioned' values find their vocabularies short on words and have to resort to gutter language. A movie star recently accepted an award and said she loved everyone except the ****** conservatives. Nice to see a pretty face spew foul language. Another one wishes cancer on anyone eating at the restaurant in question. Can the conservatives 'match' them in verbage? Nope, why lower their standards.

When will people start respecting other people's views and live and let live as they, themselves, keep proposing.

As they say, it is the economy, stupid! If you don't have a platform on which to stand, stop picking at the people who actually provide employment. You can't fix the country if you go after viable businesses and try to close them down.

Poppy Seed Bread and Variations . . .

A fast and easy loaf to get into the oven and have ready for a change-of-pace breakfast. It also freezes well so think about slicing up a cooled loaf and freezing slices in individual sandwich bags. Great for pulling out of the freezer and dropping into a school lunch bag.  It will be defrosted by lunch time!

Poppy Seed Bread
3 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup poppy seeds
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Vegetable oil spray and dust with flour, 2 bread loaf pans.

Beat togetehr the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat to combine. The batter should be smooth. Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes. To test: insert a toothpick towards the middle top of the bread. Toothpick should come clean with no damp batter.

Ideas . . .

You can go with sesame seeds instead!
Shelled sunflower seeds are interesting and toasted slices are good.
Use 1/2 cup of your favorite ground nuts instead of the poppy seeds.
While still warm in the pan, drizzle loaves with either a lemon or orange icing.

A Liberal Interpretation of Democracy

A national restaurant chain has come under fire because they have exercised their democratic right to think and believe in line with their faith and values. The people who are calling them names and planning indignities on their establishments feel they are exercising their freedoms in trying to destroy someone else's business. To me, living in a democracy means that I can believe in what my core values lead me to believe. I give the same freedom to people who disagree with me. Liberals don't work that way, it seems.

Because the founders and owners of Chick-Fil-A believe in traditional marriage, liberals figure they are fair game and would love to see the business taken down and destroyed and count it as a victory for humanity. So, why does freedom end with their thoughts on the subject? Someone put it well when they said that if liberals decide they want to be vegetarians, then they expect everyone to be vegetarian because they have deemed it the best way to live . . . according to their thinking. Well, now the liberal factions have decided that unless all companies are in line with their thinking on marriage, then they have no right to exist.

And, it is not only their meanness in trying to ruin the jobs and business of another because they dare to disagree . . . in a democracy that guarantees them this option, they call names and get nasty about it. I don't know about you but when you have to resort to foul language, you've lost points. Today, Roseanne Barr actually said that people who eat at Chick-Fil-A deserve to get cancer. Tolerance is supposed to be a constant in disagreements. She sure exhibited a great deal of tolerance in her statement . . . or, scary to think, perhaps this is the limit of her definition of tolerant.

Oh, and one guess where we had lunch today? :-)

Only one in three has a real sense of humor!

 

Guess you have to know your audience as only one of the kittens appreciated my sense of humor. One didn't bother to look up. The second one looked disapproving. The third one obviously had great taste in humor!

Tomato harvesting . . . and it's just the beginning!

 

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes . . . or just the labor of the last few months making itself know? My husband's tomato plants have gone wild as well as his eggplant cucumber. I gave up trying to eat more than my share of tomatoes and spent the afternoon skinning and freezing packages of tomatoes for use later in the year. This year, I remembered to freeze the Roma Tomatoes separately as they make a wonderful sauce and have few seeds.

Although I kind of dreaded the work, it really isn't that bad. My trick, learned from my mother, is to dump the washed tomatoes into a pot of boiling water and almost immediately plunge them into a bowl of icy water. The sudden change bursts a crack in the skins and it is but a pull on the skin and it comes off in seconds.

I managed to put away two bags of regular tomatoes and one of the Romas in the freezer. Another trick that has worked out well for me . . . Put the tomatoes into a zip lock type bag and lay it flat to freeze. Makes it so much easier to stack them up rather than having bumpy, frozen bag crowding the freezer.

Tomorrow, I tackle the eggplant. Anyone have a good recipe? :-)

Tomato Soup from the Garden . . .

My husband deliberately planted his eight tomato plants about four feet apart to provide room for getting between them to pick the produce. Well, I look out the kitchen window and it looks like the beginning of a tomato invasion. With that in mind, the only way to fight the battle is to freeze, dry, and cook tomatoes. Salads with generous helpings of Feta cheese is also on my battle plan.

Tomato Soup from the Garden
15-20 medium to large tomatoes
2 brown onions
8 stalks of celery, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 cups beef or chicken stock
6 slices of bacon
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Pinch of chili flakes
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in the tomatoes and within a couple of minutes, drain the pot, and douse the tomatoes with ice cold water. This will help you slip off the peels.

Slice up the onions and place them with the peeled tomatoes, garlic, celery, and carrots into a large soup pot. Cover and let simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Add stock, granulated onion, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, oregano, sugar, and bacon. Cook on a slow heat for about two hours. When the vegetables have softened (halfway through cooking), mash them together. A potato masher works great for this. After two hours, remove from stove, and let cool down a bit. Puree in batches until very smooth and return to cooking pot. Taste for seasoning.

In another pot, melt the butter and then, add the flour. Cook a bit to combine but do not brown. Stir into the soup and continue cooking until the soup thickens.

Makes enough to make 8 first courses or 4-6 bowls for a main course.

Ideas . . .
Make or buy croutons to scatter on each bowl before serving.
Make a pot of rice and ladel soup over individual portions.
Sprinkle with Feta cheese before serving.
Serve over freshly boiled pasta.
Goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Change of Pace Cauliflower . . .

Cauliflower is either a love it or hate it type of vegetable. Personally, I like it raw and crispy, steamed, or braised in a little olive oil and butter. This is a favorite way my family likes to see this vegetable show up at the dinner table.

Front and Center Cauliflower
1 head of fresh cauliflower
1/4 cup butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. They don't have to be too small, just manageable on the dinner plate! Steam the cauliflower over water with 1/4 cup of cider vinegar added. This infuses a bit
of a tang to the cauliflower. Steam until just done. Remove from heat and cool a bit.

Place the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan.

Combine the flour and dry ingredients in a large, plastic bag and shake to mix well. Add the cooked cauliflower and shake to dust all the pieces with the seasoned flour. Now turn the heat on under the oil and butter. When it is bubbling, add the cauliflower and gently stir around until it is warmed through and getting tinges of brown. Make sure all the flour is 'baked' in and no white patches are evident. You might need to add a bit more butter/oil.

Serves four to six people as a side dish. Remember, if you have favorite herbs or spices, you can create your own version of the flour mixture. If you have some croutons in the cupboard, crush a few and scatter the crumbs over the hot cauliflower just before serving.

Lou Pritchet's unanswered letter to the president . . .

By Lou Pritchett, Procter & Gamble

A LETTER FROM A PROCTER AND GAMBLE EXECUTIVE TO THE PRESIDENT* THE LAST SENTENCE IS THE MOST CHILLING
Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an
Acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest
Rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize Him as the foremost leader in change management.. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to
Be known as "partnering."
Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years; made corporate history. 

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
Any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive
Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
Visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth
Growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus
Don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned
Yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to
Publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail..

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America '
Crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style
Country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system
With a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
Capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose
That lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of
Living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics
Against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from
Challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider
Opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both
Omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything
You do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the
Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing,
Conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will
Probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett
*
*
This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it.
Big surprise. Since it hit the Internet, however, it has had over
500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for
good men do nothing.. It's happening right now.

U.S. Government - take note!

"We the people are the rightful masters of both
Congress & the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution,
but overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."

Abraham Lincoln

Respect is only for some?

The world, today, bends over backwards to be totally 'tolerant'. In their efforts, however, it is usually pitting one side against the other. When differences of opinion crash into the fast food industry, you have to pity people who want someone to change their opinion in favor of yours otherwise you want to make them hurt. Just such an event is unfolding over the popular Chick-Fil-A restaurants. The company was founded by Christians, they enbrace Christian beliefs, and they are being villified because they believe in traditional marriage. Last I looked, we are supposed to live in a democracy and have freedom of speech and belief yet in order to make one faction happy, the other side has to bend to their agenda . . . or else.

"Guilty as charged" was the response from Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy when asked about his company's support of the traditional family unit as opposed to same-sex marriage.

Now, Chick-fil-A isn't staging any overt warfare against anyone's choice of lifestyle. Their restaurant is open to everyone who wants to enjoy a quiet meal there. If people object to the fact that the owners believe in traditional families, then they have the Democratic choice to not eat there. From what the news has reported, the opposition to traditional family units plans a 'kiss the same sex' day to take place in Chick-fil-A establishments. Seems they are opting to exhibit unseemly behavior in front of children in the restaurant by doing this. For me, I object to overt cuddling, kissing, and pawing in a public place by any couple.

For me, I'm defending a company's right to have their own choice in how they live their life. They should be respected for that just as same-gender couples are now protected under the law. The argument over all this doesn't belong in this scenario. You want to enjoy a good meal, do so. You want to protest, go the legal route.

I heard that Wednesday, July 25th is support Chick-Fil-A day. We plan to splurge and have lunch there . . . not because we want to disrespect people's choices in life but to show respect for a business that strives to give back to the community as well as provide a great product.

Living Proof Gun Restrictions Aren't the Answer . . .

You almost have to laugh when other countries decide to critique the United States on agendas that aren't even working in their own countries. You have to wonder if they are actually keeping tabs on the fallout in their own nations when they make remarks about us. The President of Mexico has recently given us 'counseling' over the recent shooting in Colorado. I enjoyed the article I found posted under the link included below. Here is a brief quote from the article:

"While ignoring the inconvenient fact that part of the reason why 63,000 people have been slaughtered in Mexico since 2006 is because Mexican citizens aren't allowed to legally own guns and defend themselves against ruthless drug cartels purchasing guns in bulk from China and Latin America, Mexican President Felipe Calderon is lecturing the United States again about how we need to reform our "mistaken" gun laws. "

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/07/23/mexican_president_us_gun_laws_are_mistaken

Recipe for Friendship . . .

Recipe for Friendship
Two cups of understanding
A tablespoon of wit,
A dash of real compassion,
A pinch or two of grit,
A jigger ful of loyalty
On which you can depend.
Mix them all together
And you will have a friend.

A Cat is not a Lizard . . .

 

Our resident kitten, Marcela, is desperate to make friends with our dog, Chick. Chick is also anxious to give the cat a good snuffle to smell what this little critter is all about. Chick, however, is viewing the cat as another form of lizard. Chick's favorite hobby is catching lizards. Now, the dog is not trying to kill the lizards. She just wants someone to play with and lizards are funny, moving items that seem like they would be great fun to share some time with on a lazy, hot day. Chick is a dog and doesn't take into consideration her strength and weight vs. the tiny lizard and they either run away or die in the effort to escape Chick's overpowering low.

We have held on to Chick in order to let her get a sniff of Marcela. The cat isn't the least bit afraid but we know Chick and unless Marcela grows into the size of a mountain lion, she could well suffer the fate of a lizard. Meanwhile, they have a love fest of mutual admiration through the sliding glass door.

What's "good" for the Republican, isn't required of the Democrat . . .

The Democrats are after the Repulican presidential candidate to present his tax returns for more than the one year he has already provided. Interesting request because if there was something amiss in the returns, it would have come to light when he was vetted for possibly being the running mate for McCain in the 2008 election.

Yet, in spite of all the requests being made of the Republicans, there are still a number of items the country as a whole would like to know from the Democrats and they are not being very forthcoming and, as usual, the media is of no help.

Fast and Furious documents. Obama used executive privilege to save AG Eric Holder's behind.

Health reform negotiations. Obama made back-room deals worth millions with lobbyists and legislators.

FOIA requests. Obama is "the worst" at complying with Freedom of Information Act requests.

Real White House guest list. Many visits are secret. Met with lobbyists off-site.

Rashid Khalidi tape. Obama attended a 2003 party for Rashid Khalidi in which a lot of anti-Israel rhetoric was featured. Nobody is releasing the tape. LA Times story.

Small dollar donors. Obama refused to release names of contributors who donated less than $200 even though he's accused of receiving illegal foreign contributions. McCain did this in 2008, why couldn't Obama?

Medical records. John McCain released thousands of pages of medical records. All Obama released was a one-page doctor's note even though he has a history of drug abuse and smoking.

Book proposal. Obama's literary agent said he was "born in Kenya". Why hasn't anybody released the original book proposal.

Academic transcripts. Can Obama prove his merit?

State senate papers. Obama never produced any papers from his eight years as a state senator. He says "they could have been thrown out."

Read more at http://www.reagancoalition.com/articles/2012/20120719001-obamacare-top-ten.html#WEZI8sd09TUscYJz.99

Coffee Slush

Summer and in most parts of the world the sunshine is beating down and heating us up more than might be comfortable. A cool breeze and a cold drink goes a long way in making life bearable.

Coffee Slush
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup brewed coffee, cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Combine the sugar and milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is liquified into the milk. Let stand until it has cooled down. Add the coffee, vanilla, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to the cooled mix mixtures and combine. Pour into a pan and freeze just until it is slushy - about 1 1/2 hours depending on your freezer.

Beat the remaining one cup of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Don't overbeat until you want butter!

To serve: Fill short glasses about 3/4th full with the slush and top with whipped cream. Some ground chocolate and a cherry won't go amiss in presentation.

Knowledge . . . slowly but surely . . .

Gradualness, gradualness, and gradualness. From the very beginning of your work, school yourself to severe gradualness in the accumulation of knowledge.

- Ivan Pavlov

Banning guns won't resolve the problem . . .

The liberal faction loses no opportunity to opt for gun control and the recent shooting in Colorado is no exception. Their feeling is that it wouldn't have happened if we had gun laws that kept weapons out of the hands of ordinary citizens. That does go against our rights but this hasn't stopped the current administration on other scores so I imagine we may face arbitrary bans on our rights to bear arms in the future. The problem with restricting weapons is that it is the intelligent, law-abiding citizen who loses protection. Anyone who wants a gun with eyes on destruction and killing, will find a way to get a gun. Meanwhile, the citizens are at the mercy of the murderers and the government.

Recently, a 71-year old man in Florida saved the people in a  restaurant because he had a gun and took on the gun waving intruders. This got press on only one major station. The guy was a hero yet the fact that he had to use a gun was the source of the contention. If you research the countries that have strong gun control laws, you may find that it hasn't reduced crime.

The argument, however, is that suppressing gun ownership will prevent massive attacks as happened in Colorado. Anyone remember the Oklahoma bombings? No guns involved there! The killers used ordinary items that anyone can obtain.  The death toll in Okalahoma was 168 with 680 wounded. The Unibomber was into homemade bombs, no guns in the mix.

I remember a mom telling us that even though she never allowed play guns into her home, her boys always managed to play cops and robbers with the traditional 'hand gun' - index finger extended to represent the barrel of the 'weapon' and lots of shooting noises. Banning play guns didn't work.

It is interesting to wonder how this will all eventually play out. Okay, guns are banned so people use homemade bombs. Simple household cleaners, etc., are banned to prevent bombmaking so bad guys used hunting knives. Great, now no more hunting knives without a strict license. No problem, kitchen knives will do the job just fine. Well, we will have to have ground meat and everything presliced to eliminate this problem. Evil hearts go for the screwdriver and hammer as the weapon of choice. Now, we have to make it mandatory that any household repairs will have to employ professionals who have been trained in the handling of screwdrivers, etc.

My husband once read about some Pacific island that was going through some turmoil so the little government banned guns. Even out in the middle of the vast expanse of ocean, guns got on the island. Perhaps, it is time to look to the individuals and not make mass decisions based on the acts of a few.

Naturally, our hearts go out to the recent victims. No one person in civilized times needed the weaspons this guy employed. Restricting war-like weapons is a good idea. Taking away a person's right to carry a regular type one is not. A lot of people were probably saved by the 71 year old guy who had a gun in that restaurant.

Success often comes after failure . . . and not giving up!

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill

Tragedy and Stupidity . . .

The shooting in Colorado, yesterday, was a tragedy. The media, anxious for a story before the facts were in, followed closely on the heels of this horrible event with unbalanced new reporting. Without verifying their facts, they blamed Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives for ingniting the event because a quick Google search discovered the shooter has a Tea Party site. Turns out the reporters didn't stop to think that there might just be more than one person with the same name in the world. Not only did they send out misleading information about innocent people, they caused trouble for an ordinary citizen with a similar name.

Naturally, reporters look to be the first on any news event but you'd think they'd have enough staff to quickly discern the validity of what the want to instantly put on the news waves. Unfortunately, once it hits the headlines and top of the hour news, the impression is set and getting people to stop believing the error is harder than putting it out there in the first place.

Yesterday, the United States was given a horrendous event done by an intelligent person who obviously has problems and delusions. Instead of reporting that the event had happened and please stand by for further news, the media used it to bring up gun control, the problems with The Tea Party, and more. It is sad that we have a world so fascinated by the unthinkable that they  think in favor of having  news breaking reports . . . whether they have been founded or not.

In any event, please remember the deceased and injured of yesterday and pray the truth comes out and the media dedicates their reports to what actually happened and not use this time to tout their various agendas.

Invasion vs. Ideas . . . A great quote!

An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.

- Victor Hugo

A Corrupted Media?

This is an interesting link regarding the real economic state of the country. And, as the article says, why are the related links verifiable ones to the general media and why aren't they reporting this instead of the reality of own downward economy picture of today? It used to be the media would protect the people against the government. These days, they seem to be in the employ of the government if the news we hear is so much different from the news that is happening.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/07/19/Top-Ten-Bad-Economic-Data

Easy Creativity!

Everyone knows about the rice crispy treats but few people seem to think outside of that particular cereal box and try something different! Once I thought about it, lots of interesting ideas started coming to mind.

The basic recipe is:

Rice Crispy Treats
Approximately 6 cups of rice crispy cereal
1 package marshmallows
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gently melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and melt them into the butter, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once the marshmallows are melted, add the vanilla and then the cereal. Stir to combine and then press into a baking pan. I spray my hands with vegetable oil spray to make things less sticky. When cool, cut into squares.

Although this is my favorite recipe, a walk down the cereal aisle at the grocery store should provide you with some interesting ideas. There are chocolate rice cereals. The puffed wheat cereals would make an interesting version. I'd stay away from the flake cereals but the corn puff types would be good. Basically, go for the low sugar types and be creative! You can also drizzle some melted chocolate chips over the cooling treats. There are some peanut butter flavored cereals that would be fun to try. The cereals with the colorful, tiny marshmallows would make a pretty treat.

As someone said, "If it is here, it was there!"

Message to the president!

Sounds like the country's current problem . . .

Dissent and dissenters have no monopoly on freedom. They must tolerate opposition. They must accept dissent from their dissent.

- Abe Fortas

Fixing Single Motherhood - excerpt from Michael Brenden Dougherty

From my perspective the sexual revolution liberated men to abandon the mothers of their children, defining fatherhood down to an alimony payment and maybe state-defined visitation. Women like my mother were expected to raise families entirely on their own emotional and financial resources, however meager. The answers given to the problems that this social revolution caused tend to be curt and unhelpful: contracept better. Or as my mother was ominously told by
some upon my conception, “Just take care of it.” Those seem like the “retrograde and ugly” moral sentiments to me.

Just because I turned out fine doesn’t mean that everything is fine.

Administration isn't protecting America . . . Tell Congress we aren't happy!

ADMINISTRATION TELLS AMERICANS: WE WON'T PROTECT YOU
BORDER AGENTS AND CITIZENS TOLD TO RUN & HIDE

(Sign up for updated e-mails from patriot@ameripacupdate.org)

Our own government has posted signs INSIDE our own borders, warning American citizens that the area is unsafe. Our government knows and admits that ILLEGAL immigrants are conducting human trafficking, drug wars and a myriad of other ILLEGAL activities right inside our own border! Yet, instead of solving the problem and protecting us, the Administration is telling Border Agents and American citizens to RUN AND HIDE!

A sign that reads:

DANGER - PUBLIC WARNING TRAVEL NOT RECOMMENDED
Active Drug and Human Smuggling Area
Visitors May Encounter Armed Criminals and Smuggling Vehicles Traveling at High Rates of Speed
Stay Away From Trash, Clothing, Backpacks and Abandoned Vehicles

Our own government is asking Americans to restrict our freedom, because the Administration feels free to not enforce their own laws.

The Majority Staff Report of the House Committee on Homeland Security has this to say:

"Not all illegal aliens are crossing into the United States to find work. Law enforcement officials indicate that there are individuals coming across the border who are forced to leave their home countries because of criminal activities. These dangerous criminals are fleeing the law in other countries and seeking refuge in the United States."

Since 2006, Mexican crime has left over 55,000 dead on the other side of the border. One of the border towns, Juarez, Mexico, is known as the "Murder Capital of the Western hemisphere." Yet in spite of these staggering numbers, our Administration wants to leave our borders open and our citizens unprotected. This crisis affects not only Border States like AZ, NM and TX; but also every state in the country. The FBI says that Mexican and South American gangs, along with their violence and drug trade, have spread to every single major US city. Our own Justice Department admits that Colombian and Mexican cartels bring in $18-39 billion in sales from the United States.

But gangs are not the only issue. The other, often overlooked problem is TERRORISM. In 2007 FBI Director Robert Mueller alerted Congress that "there are individuals from countries with known al Qa'ida connections who are changing their Islamic surnames to Hispanic-sounding names, obtaining false Hispanic identities, learning to speak Spanish and pretending to be Hispanic immigrants. Our administration has this information, knows the danger, yet does NOTHING to stop the problem or protect Americans.

Apparently, appealing to a specific minority voting block to get re-elected and defeat the American People is more important to this Administration, than actually doing their job and protecting our citizens and our borders.

Just last week, we reported that the Department of Homeland Security is telling Border Agents to run and hide. And road signs posted within our own borders tell American citizens to basically do the same.

When our own government warns us away from dangerous areas within our own country - dangerous areas that same government could, but won't clean up; we have a bigger problem than just the issue of Illegal immigration. We have either lost our freedom due to government incompetence or our current administration is simply in the business of actively giving our freedom away.

"Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." – Orwell

Run and Hide in the face of Danger" – DHS to Customs & Border Patrol Agents

Military and Law Enforcement Officials understand that desertion of your post is a serious and severely punishable offense. Yet new FEMA and DHS are officially sanctioning desertion and dereliction of duty by instructing agents to run and hide from danger.

The DHS’ new mandatory class, "Active Shooter" for Customs and Border patrol agents, instructs it’s on and off duty personnel to literally "run away" and "hide" and only engage dangerous suspects if all attempts to "Run and Hide" have been exhausted.

From the mandatory FEMA-administered computer course, entitled "IS-907- Active Shooter: What You Can Do,"

Evacuate: If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to evacuate the premises.

Hide out: If evacuation is not possible, find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you.

Take action: As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter

Customs agents themselves are disgusted with new Federal instruction. Brandon Judd, leader of Arizona’s Customs & Border Patrol Union # 2544 wrote "We are now taught in an ‘Active Shooter’ course that if we encounter a shooter in a public place we are to ‘run away’ and ‘hide’ If we are cornered by such a shooter we are to (only as a last resort) become ‘aggressive’ and ‘throw things’ at him or her. We are then advised to ‘call law enforcement’ and wait for their arrival (presumably, while more innocent victims are slaughtered)."

CBP Agents know they are obligated to protect the whether they are on duty or not. Given the new instructions, some are worried they will be punished should they do their job and take down a gunman as in the cases of Ft. Hood or Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Another post by a CBP agent on the local Union #2544 website goes on to say "It is always comforting to know that for those of us who carry a weapon when we are off-duty, if we should encounter such a situation, stop a shooter and save countless lives, we can look forward to being disciplined or fired by the Border Patrol because we should have run away to hide and then maybe thrown objects at the deranged killer instead of taking action and stopping him with a firearm,".

THIS IS THE AMERICAN BORDER and the force that keeps the bad guys out. Yet now our own Department of Homeland Security, ostensibly charged with keeping America safe, is telling enforcement officers to "run away".

This isn't the first time DHS has issued boneheaded and downright dangerous policies. In fact, the night Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed, his team of BORTAC agents was following DHS policy when they fired bean bag warning shots at AK-47 armed Mexican bandits. Not surprisingly, the bandits fired back with live ammunition and Agent Brian Terry was killed.

Right here, right now, we have armed Gangs, Drug runners, illegal Aliens and even Muslim terrorists coming across our borders. Apparently DHS would just as soon let the bad guys in than do anything to stop them.

This sort of insanity MUST STOP. Our borders need to be protected, running and hiding or throwing bean bags won’t cut it. We need an active, engaged policy to protect America and her people!

Somebody who?

"If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." - Barack Obama

I find it horrifying that the president of this country would express an opinion like this. How else was this country built if not on the inspiration and hard work of people who wanted to make a difference and build a business? We are not all the same. Not everyone wants to work as hard as another. His speech basically told the less-inspired that they are the good guys and the successful people used them to get ahead. How dare he demean the blood, sweat, and tears  people go through to build a business from the ground up. And, how many of the people in his audience actually work for a business that was once just a dream? Did they stop to think that they are able to put food on the table because this business person's dream grew enough to hire people like him to work and earn an income? Why is working hard to get ahead such a crime in the eyes of the president? Does he really want a population of entitled people who are content with being cared for by the government rather than going out and becoming free, individual people? Excessive government intervention doesn't help a country, it merely diminishes the spirit of the people.

On another thought relating to this topic, the president, himself, didn't get here on his own, either, but he doesn't seem to want to answer to God on any level.

All valid!

"Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night."
-- Philip K. Dick

"I have only one superstition. I touch all the bases when I hit a home run."
-- Babe Ruth

"Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to anything."
-- Frank Dane

"I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness."
-- James Thurber

Apocalyptic Literature . . .

How's this for apocalyptic literature. This was written by a pastor's wife in biblical prose as a commentary of current events. It is brilliant.   And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the land Called America , having lost their morals, their initiative, and their Will to defend their liberties,

chose as their Supreme Leader that Person known as "The One."

He emerged from the vapors with a message that had no meaning;

but He Hypnotized the people telling them, "I am sent to save you."

My lack of experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego,

and my Association with evil doers are of no consequence.

I shall save you with Hope and Change.

Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the Land that he who preceded me

is evil, that he has defiled the nation, and that all he has built must be destroyed.

And the people rejoiced,

For even though they knew not what "The One" would do, he had promised

that it was good; and they believed.

And "The One" said " We live in The greatest country in the world.

Help me change everything about it!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah! Change is good!"

Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats."

And the People said "Sock it to them!"

"And redistribute their wealth."

And the people said, "Show us the money!"

And the he said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody.."

And Joe the plumber asked, "Are you kidding me?

You're going to Steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??"

And "The One" ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe's personal

records were hacked and publicized.

One lone reporter asked, "Isn't that Marxist policy?"

And she was banished from the kingdom.

Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and having

zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with Radical terrorists?"

And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with them and talk with them and show them

how nice we really are; and they will forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can beat our weapons

Into free cars for the people!"

Then "The One" said "I shall give 95% of you lower taxes."

And one, Lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes.

"So "The One" Said, "Then I shall give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah! Show us the money!"

Then "The One" said, "I shall tax your Capital Gains when you sell your homes!"

And the people yawned and the slumping housing market collapsed.

And He said. "I shall mandate employer-funded health care for every worker

and raise the minimum wage. And I shall give every Person unlimited healthcare

and medicine and transportation to the Clinics."

(And no Muslim shall pay for their share of healthcare.)

And the people said, "Give me some of that!"

Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."

And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"

Then "The One" said, "I shall bankrupt the coal industry and

Electricity rates will skyrocket!"

And the people said, "Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal!

But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates.

So "The One" said, Not to worry. If Your rebate isn't enough to cover

your expenses, we shall bail you out.

Just sign up with the ACORN and you troubles are over!"

Then He said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted.

Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches,

Free medical care, bilingual signs and guaranteed housing...

" And the people said, "Hallelujah!" and they made him king!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes,

raised their prices and laid off workers. Others simply gave up and went out of business

and the economy sank like unto a rock dropped from a cliff.

The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing slowed to a crawl.

and more of the people were without a means of support.

Then "The One" said, "I am the "the One"- The Messiah and I'm here To save you!

We shall just print more money so everyone will have enough!"

But our foreign trading partners said unto Him. "Wait a Minute. Your dollar is not worth

a pile of camel dung! You will have to pay more...

And "The One" said, "Wait a minute. That is unfair!!"

And the world said, "Neither are these other idiotic programs you have embraced.

Lo, you have become a Socialist state and a second-rate power.

Now you shall play by our rules!"

And the people cried out, "Alas, alas!! What have we done?"

But yea, verily, it was too late.

The people set upon The One and spat upon him and stoned him,

and his name was dung. And the once mighty nation was no more;

and the once proud people were without sustenance or shelter or hope.

And the Change "The One" had given them was as like unto a poison

that had destroyed them and like a whirlwind that consumed all that they had built.

And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in anguish,

"Give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!"

But it was too late, and their homeland was no more.

You may think this a fairy tale, but it's not. It's happening RIGHT NOW