The land of fruit and nuts . . .

How did everyone's state do yesterday? I was pleased the Republicans got the House. Very sorry that Harry Reid won re-election. Where are people's brains? California did not fare particularly well. Aside from voting down the stupid Marijuana proposition, the voters were pretty uninformed about their votes on the other propositions. I'm especially dismayed about the Global Warming Solutions Prop which passed with a wide margin. The trouble with that one was that if you voted NO, it meant you were voted in favor of it. If you voted YES, it meant you were against it. Obviously, the majority of voters didn't READ it before voting. This Prop along with Jerry Brown's 'ideas' for the State, will make the next six years very anxious. The Global Warming Prop eventually wants a moratorium on single-family home building to get people to move into apartments near work, $9 a gallon gas and a 25 cents per mile charge to use the freeway. Naturally, that will chase more companies from the State which will certainly do a lot to increase our unemployment problems. What DO liberals use to think with, anyway?

We certainly live in 'interesting' times! Good thing we all have prayer lives as we are going to need a lot of prayers! : - )

Election Day!

I hope that everyone reading this post did their patriotic duty and voted today. EACH vote does count! California has a lot riding on the various propositions. Some of these, if they win, will cause a lot of future problems for the State. Don't know who will win the governor's race but it is a lose/lose for the State either way but possibly more so with Jerry Brown. His past record as governor was nothing to brag about and I'm afraid his current, leftist ideas will make things even worse.

Meanwhile, the news tells us that obama is taking 3,000 people to India with his family for ten days at a cost of over two million dollars a day. They are using 40 aircraft including both Air Force One planes. I guess a sense of entitlement doesn't invade just the welfare class! I hope the next time this president tells us to tighten our belts, he chokes on his words! I can't see that he has kept a single campaign promise or improved the American life one, tiny bit. Always interesting, however, at how many people admiring and defending him.

Anyway, I voted and was happy to see that people had to wait in line to get a voting booth. Haven't seen that for awhile. I hope these were all voters who researched the issues before voting for the issues. Time will tell. In the meantime, we have what obama doesn't seem to take into consideration . . . prayer!

Holidays approach . . .

Once Halloween comes around, it seems like the rest of the year just flies by as we prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It also reminds me of my age because of the speed in which it comes and goes.

Remember when we were children and it seems liked YEARS before Christmas Eve arrived and then another century had to pass before Christmas Day was actually HERE? I miss the wonder of childhood!

Interesting Experience . . .

A jury summons landed me at the courthouse most of the day on Tuesday. I've been called before but never for what looks to be a big case. Doesn't look like we have a judge who takes any excuse for not serving so jury selection should be interesting. Since there are indications that the prosecutor is after the death sentence, I sincerely pray I'm not on this jury because I know that I could not be part of a group that comes to a verdict of guilty and die. It would be something that would haunt me the rest of my life. I don't know how other people do it.

I always find it interesting how we are instructed that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty and the burden of guilt is on the prosecutor. Naturally, if on a jury, I would abide by that but you have to wonder how many people look at the man or woman in the defendant's position think, "Well, he/she obviously did SOMETHING to land there!" It's human nature which is what probably makes discernment even more difficult. Attorneys sure have their work cut out for themselves to get their evidence around prejudices that will want to surface in juror's minds.

The death penalty scares me! Even though a person may be on trial because they TOOK a life, I'm not sure, at all, that I could do this in turn by a guilty verdict for death. The judge instructed us to be fair but it doesn't seem fair to put the burden of coming to a penalty of death on the souls of twelve other people. Should be interesting. And I wondered where I came by my current migraine!

Out of control . . .

I think the Catholic Church is losing control . . . to the laity! While I realize our priests need help in and outside of the Mass, the laity at our parish seem to be taking over and putting the priest in second, third, or ignore him place. They forget that the priest is the one who can consecrate the bread and wine. There would be no Mass without this. Yet, more and more, the laity is being disrespectful of the the priest and what they represent.

Our parish has a daily Novena for vocations. This is nice but there are factions in the congregation who act like our Blessed Mother will strike us down and the world will end if the priest forgets to have this said at the end of Mass. It would certainly be more appropriate for someone to mention the omission to the priest AFTER Mass than to start yelling out the Novena so the priest knows he has goofed up AGAIN! Last I heard, the priest was still in charge of the Mass.

My 'favorite' erring extraordinary minister is one without training or proper manners around the altar. Her claim to fame is that she is an ex-nun. Actually, she isn't even that as she left before completing her studies. This, however, is why she feels she can just do what SHE perceives as 'necessary' at Mass. She should now better at her advanced age. The priest should be man enough to take her aside and tell her what's what. In the meantime, the congregation gets to watch her orchestrate Mass according to her personal drummer and we are the captive and often shocked audience.

The Church might become better organized and attract more vocations and converts if the laity butted out of what they don't know and left the process of the Mass to the priest's decision. This certainly hit home today. The priest was halfway out of the sanctuary at the conclusion of the Mass when someone decided they wanted to do a hymn. Since it was not anticipated, people each grabbed their own personal musical note and went with it. A particularly self-important woman decided to raise her voice in song the PROPER way and blared it out the 'right' way rather than trying to blend in with the rest. They had hit their third verse, the priest was long back in the sacristy, and I left.

Amazing . . .

Those in California have probably heard the latest banter between the candidates for governor. One of them got ahead of the other in the polls, had a good debate, and, suddenly, a rabid lawyer just happens to pick up something about the candidate that is making ground. Oh, and the lawyer is also good friends with the opposition!

The premise is that one of the candidates fired her illegal alien housekeeper and the housekeeper is coming forward to discuss her mistreatment and dismissal. She claims she was only fired because her boss was running for office. The poor woman! She only made around $50,000 a year working there. She also worked there more than five years which makes one wonder exactly HOW mistreated she was.

As I watch the almost daily news casts and meet the press situations, I have to wonder at the way this is all going. The illegal alien admits to falsifying her identification and using someone else's Social Security number to get the job. Why isn't the victim of identify theft being helped? Why are they giving press to the person who stole the Social Security number being looked at in the light of being a thief?

The lawyer representing the illegal alien isn't being very lawyer-like with her response to questions. You have to wonder about a world that exalts the criminal aspects of a person's behavior.

Nothing but the truth . . .

Liberals are very broadminded: they are always willing to give careful consideration to both sides of the same side.
- Anonymous