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

Big Government's Answer to the Obesity Problem . . .

I love to bake and my children have always enjoyed the rewards of an afternoon spent mixing sweet and tasty items to result in cookies, cakes, or breads. I do not, however, let them make a meal of the treats as they are just that . . . treats. They know the difference between what is good for them to eat and what is fun for them to eat and the balance has to be in favor of the foods for a healthy life. A friend once told me that she wished she could be a tough mother like me as she couldn't even get her husband to eat properly. I said to fix what it good for them and eventually they would get hungry enough to eat it. Given that she wasn't 'into' healthy food, either, it never happened. It was easier to sort of compliment me on my mean approach to the dinner table.

It turns out that letting families have what the want or will eat turns them eventually into picky eaters. And, yes, obesity is a problem in a country that should be thriving on the food foods it has to offer. The government's answer to the obesity problem? Bigger servings of government.

http://iwf.org/blog/2788525/Big-Government-Won't-Solve-the-Problem-of-Big-Americans

This is an interesting take on the subject. For the most part, obesity goes back to the attitude of the mother. I've always wondered where not providing proper nutrition comes in when we come to our own, personal judgment days as mothers. Taking the life of another is against the Ten Commandments. Where does jeopardizing the life of another come in? I saw someone giving their toddler a donut bigger than herself and she excused herself with, "She won't eat anything else!" Our pediatrician gave us the best advice. She said that when a child is hungry enough, he/she will eat and it was our parental responsibility to make sure the food offered was healthy. Children learn to eat what they are given.

Pancakes for a Crowd . . .

Although you can half this recipe, once the scent permeates the house, you might not have too many left. I've also found that you can freeze the leftovers and just warm them in the microwave on another day.

Pancakes for a Crowd
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
4 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons olive oil (regular vegetable oil works, too!)

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix to just combine. Don't overmix! If the batter is too thick, add drops of buttermilk. Too wet? Add tablespoons of flour.

Vegetable oil spray either a large frying pan or griddle and pour about a quarter cup of batter keeping some distance from each to allow for spreading. When the surface forms bubbles, flip over and finish cooking until golden on both sides. Serve hot with butter, syrup, fresh berries, jam/jelly, or just powdered sugar with a sprinkle of fresh lemon.

Ideas . . .
No whole wheat on hand? Use just all-purpose flour.
Blueberry pancakes sound good? Add a cup after the batter is mixed.
Cinnamon, sugar, and butter is a good option.

It's not kindness, it's murder . . .

The world is a scary place on a good day but I sure wouldn't want to be in Belgium or The Netherlands if I were really ill. I have to wonder why poeple, as a whole, don't rise up everywhere in protest of this selective death program. We shudder about the death camps of World War II and now this sort of thing happens in the very countries that suffered under this fear at one time. Even in the United States, Oregon is on the bandwagon for allowing death by choice legally. Where has the value of human life gone?

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/07/17/lancet-study-big-increase-in-euthanasia-deaths-in-netherlands/

Now, we have the onset of the 'national healthcare' plan in the United States with panels screening the viability of incoming patients. And, in order to make sure people don't figure out a way to ease their own pain or increase their time on this earth, there will be a tax on over the counter medication, supposedly hoping it would force people into the overcrowed clinics facing our future. Next, will be vitamins and herbs, I'm sure.

Yet, the preident and his minions continue to tell us how wonderful this healthcare plan will be and how many people will enjoy the benefits. You have to wonder why, then, the Congress, Senate, and president will be exempt from the national plan and continue with their own golden tickets of medical care. It is also against the Constitution for Congress, etc. to be given preferential treatment in this regard over the citizens but illegality seems to be the rule of the day.

Stack the Deck!

If you like to quilt like I do, the ongoing problem is scraps of fabric. I have been known to keep the smallest bit of fabric because it was a pattern/color that I liked to much! Given this accumulation of remnants, I make a lot of crazy quilts, mostly of my own design. I was happy, however, to find a new method of using up those leftover fabrics. The quilting book, Stack the Deck Revisited by Karla Alexander has an interesting approach to scrap quilts. The premise is you cut out squares of fabric about 12 inches to 18 inches and stack them in 'decks' of four. The book offers cutting instructions but you basically cut the squares into angular shapes, shuffle the colors around, and sew them back together. When you are done, you square the edges and you have a unique, pieced quilting square unlike anyone else's in the world. I tried this with old-fashioned florals, yesterday, and was happy with the outcome. It is a great concept and has really gotten my mind going with hopes of finally getting to the bottom of my scrap basket! I'll share pictures as I get further into my latest quilting adventure.

Cell phones for the asking?

With a mortage, student loans, and just the regular bills of being alive, we keep to a pretty strict budget. When my younger son started college, we had to make adjustments in order to get him a basic cell phone. I'm an observant person and it seemed to me that I see quite a few people with state-of-the art cell phones and often wondered how people with less income or no jobs were affording this luxury. This news report answered that for me!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjAjAvxDkfk&feature=share

Of course, as suggested by the news report, I immediately checked by own cell phone bill and, sure enough, I am also one of those 'generous' people who are subsidizing fancy phones for others while we make do with the barest necessity in communication. Something has gone wrong with this program. Yes, I think everyone should have the benefit of a land phone but when someone can accumulate six or more cell phones for the asking and hardworking people have to involuntarily pay for it, something is wrong with the system.