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Morning!
Today’s quote is from a former president: “For any American who had the great and priceless privilege of being raised in a small town there always remains with him nostalgic memories…. And the older he grows the more he senses what he owed to the simple honesty and neighborliness, the integrity that he saw all around him in those days.”
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One more diversion
Ronald Reagan?
It didn’t produce any results from a Google search.
I know he was raised in small town America and carried that with him throughout his life.
I’m worried about Drill. About 10 days ago he said he was “coming down with something” and not feeling well and we haven’t heard from him since.
Drill, you there?
The UK has decided that dads are no longer necessary for children, except as sperm donors.
http://tinyurl.com/5mayzx
http://tinyurl.com/5vmgqk
Love the cartoon in the second one.
Me too, Mommy. Does anyone have Drill’s email address to check on him?
Drill, I hope you’re ok. And I REALLY hope you didn’t eat a Thin Mint, because that might be a hopeless condition.
My stomach STILL doesn’t feel right…
I miss Drill too. Has anyone seen Pentamom? And momoffour hasn’t been around for a while.
I see on Drudge where our brilliant Congress has passed (324-84) to sue OPEC. We’re talking about Saudi Arabia, Venezuela here. That (if it passed the senate) is veto proof.
This should be interesting. Suppose they win?
By the time the trial is over, Obama will be president, oil will be $200/barrel, and I can see OPEC saying, “OK, so, what’s a fair price? Can you handle $20/barrel? We wouldn’t want you to punch holes in the tundra in Alaska. That would scare tha carabou.”
EYG,
Google found it for me. Try the phrase “simple honesty and neighborliness” - you should get two hits - this thread, and someone quoting the person who said that. (Goodsearch found it for me also, though from a different website, that listed other quotes by the same person.)
I was gone from WoW for a while, and since I’ve been back I haven’t seen anything by Lynn Vincent.
What’s the deal? Did she quit?
She’s out with mono, of all things. See thread What I’ve Learned From the “Kissing Disease.”
As the almost-ever considerate write-in candidate for the US Presidency, I assure you that I’m still here and doing mostly fine. Thank you for your yet-unexpressed-here concern.
Regarding the other missing links referenced above, I don’t know where they are.
Chas, if they win, the Ninth Circuit will overturn it on appeal. As President, I would push hard to split the Ninth Circuit. The present court can have jurisdiction over San Fransisco (I can’t win there anyway). The Improved Ninth Circuit will have the rest.
The quote sounds like it comes from a late 20th century president, so if you go through all the ones raised in small towns the choices are: Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Nixon (Yorba Linda was small when he grew up), Johnson, Eisenhower, Truman.
Hmm, maybe small towns are the secret to winning the ticket!
Thank you, Pauline.
It wasn’t Ronald Reagan, but I like this one, too.
(all:That was a clue)
TJ–
This is my virtual victory dance from guessing Alan Keyes yesterday!
I did a google search on Kentucky Republican primaries and discovered his name among the contenders.
Guess what the topic of discussion is this morning on KFI, one of LA’s most popular talk stations?
It’s the rumored video of Michelle Obama ranting against “whitey” in the pulpit of their church.
Drudge won’t be able to keep sweeping this rumor under the rug much longer.
11. I know what you mean. Mark. I was gone for almost a week and nobody missed me.
I also hinted for four days that it was my baby’s birthday on Sunday and only got one Happy Birthday for him. I need a stronger avatar or something. What do I have to do to get some attention around here, eat a thin mint!!!!!!?
I am making a guess, but at this time of the year Drill is pretty busy. His wife may even be wondering where he is. It is good to let him know we miss him. He did make a few posts and mentioned he did feel better–possilble allergies.
Unless I missed something, it sounds like some of you already know who quoted the quote but aren’t saying. Thanks for giving a chance to us “slower’ bloggers:
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
A Happy Belated Birthday to your little guy, kBells!
Sorry KBells–
Happy birthday to your son.
Eat some birthday cake instead!
kbells,
I’ve been gone and will be gone some more. (I’m going to China to assist with an adoption).
I always like reading your posts. Sorry you felt a bit neglected. You’re not alone. We all need attention and TLC at times.
I’m going to share with you what I do when I sense that need. I go to my maker. I know he formed me and knows me thoroughly. Only God knows how to really reach me and minister to me.
I do cry out to him when I feel that way. I can honestly say that he’s always met me there.
PS.
Happy Birthday to your son!
Thanks, Hope Springs, Kimberley and EYG, but I was mostly kidding. Though I do need to get out and talk to some grown ups more often. I actually said to a cartoon cat the other day. “See, I told you that wouldn’t work.”
As far as I can tell KBells no one has missed me either, but I do pop in when I can. My dad is doing somewhat better. We didn’t take him to the hospital. He goes back to the doctor tomorrow. Can’t borrow trouble until we see what the doctor has to say tomorrow. It has been good in a way because my stepmother and I are closer and are both putting an effort into him. They no longer live together but she is still his wife and I am happy to have her take the lead on things. I can pretend to be a child just a little while longer.
I met with the bankruptcy attorney again this morning and things are moving along. I hate to do this but it has releived me in so many other ways. The attorney’s assistant told me to quit beating myself up over this. I had tears in my eyes. Gas is almost 4 dollars a gallon. She told me all the people who look like they are doing well are in debt and struggling and the others are living off family money. Even people who have boats and things can’t enjoy them because it would take a hundred to two hundred dollars to fill up the tanks just to sit in the water.
KBells, I noticed your son’s BD,and started to say something, but noticed your baby was already 19 and figured he was out with someone important and wouldn’t see it.
Please don’t eat a thin mint. Those things don’t do nothing but cause trouble. Eat some boiled peanuts instead.
<3
EYG,
I will be in prayer for you as you travel–your mission is one dear to my heart.
Actually, it was Kayvee’s Grandson and Karen O.’s daughter who turned 19. My son is five. But since I didn’t wished them a Happy Birthday I am a terrible hypocrite.
I almost bought some boiled peanuts the other day. I love them
EYG, the China trip sounds exciting.
Why doesn’t World Magazine bring to fore the issue of farm bill that has just passed?
“The new program insures a farmer’s revenue at close to the current high prices. USDA estimates that a farmer could draw a payment even with corn prices at $4.39 a bushel.” (from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052001581_2.html)
Simply outrageous. This has an obvious world-wide implication, especially for poorer countries. Please bring more people to awareness of this problem with farm bill!!!!
Kbells, I was wondering if you got your son a carrot cake. Since he is now eating vegetables and all.
Two words: School’s out!!!
Now that my classroom responsibilities are done until August, I can relax a little. I start my summer “job” Friday. I am going to be a tour guide at Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, MO. I love it! If any of you WMBers need a cool place to visit (52° year around), come on over! (Sorry for the shameless plug.)
EYG,
Enjoy the trip to China! Our church got a baby from Ethiopia a year ago, and one of our members went with the new mom and the grandmom to get the child. The friend e-mailed reports back home.
KI, Darn! Why didn’t I think of that?
#4 The Real AJ,
What are the chances fathers won’t have to pay child support after a divorce now that the MP’s have decided fathers are not required or necessary? I’m guessing Zero but, I am surprised that the lesbians didn’t make the government, through MP vote, randomly draw a man’s name out of the hat to financially support their children as punishment for being men
Stop any and all info or talk concerning Michelle Obama. Her hubby said if her name is brought up you are a whitey, sexist, racist redneck - unless if you are black of course.
If you are black and bring up her name (and vote for him only 97% of blacks are voting for him and that 3% not doing so bothers Michelle so much she isn’t proud of her country anymore) you are entitled to hefty inflation adjusted slavery reparation payments from the whitey of your choice. These reparations will be the first thing on Obama’s plate as president.
Just think of them as a special kind of Carbon Credits for whitey to feel better about his awful past practices
Keep Michelle away from the microphone and off the stage, and we will stop talking about her.
I’ve already paid for my awful past practices.
EYG, give us a report on the trip.
Anyone following the case of the FLDS group in West Texas should read this article:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9330822
It indicates that several of the underage girls are adults, including a 27-year-old. It also describes the trauma symptoms that some of the children are now exhibiting. And it quotes one of the judges as saying that he will apologize to one of the families, if it turns out that they did not abuse their children. That judge admits that the CPS threw a wide loop around the community because of their beliefs and their communal attitude.
This is America?
Thank you all for your interest and especially for the prayers.
I need to pack, and so does my friend, Carla.
We know we have to, but neither of us accomplished that feat yet.
Perhaps after lunch.
The air trip seems daunting. I’m what’s called a highly sensitive person: crowds, noise, frantic/hectic activity really get to me: headaches and getting unnerved. I also don’t skip meals well. Carla is pretty much that way, too. (I think 1/5th of the population is.)
I say that because it’s one of my chief concerns.
I am truly honored to serve in this way, but it’s a pretty serious limitation.
Please, those of you who’ll pray, will you please pray about that?
Thank you.
lunch time!
Kbells, you can borrow my pink strapy sandals, maybe that would cheer you up
EYG, I pray you do have a smooth trip. A woman who had briefly babysat for me years ago and is now a member of the church we attend, adopted a little boy from China last fall. He is certainly a live wire and they are very happy to have him.
Peter L, My husband and I visited that cave on the way back from visiting relatives in Indiana. We saw Hannibal on the map and on a lark visited the town. Both the town and cave were a lot of fun. I believe we also toured a mansion that had at one time been moved by horses to a lot next door to where it had been originally built.
NewsMax says that Nancy Pelosi may have broken the McCain-Finegold campaign laws by appearing with Newt Gingrich.
Super trivial.
However, I hope this becomes an issue to illustrate what an idiotic law this is. Actually, I would rather see McCain get entangled in it.
EYG– My brother gave me a sleeping pill as soon as we got on the plane, and that helped. We “only” had an 11-hour flight LA-Tokyo, a layover, and three more hours to Shanghai. I have no idea how long you’re traveling from Florida.
Make sure you have some rain gear and comfortable shoes. Don’t worry about an umbrella, 80% of the umbrellas in the world are made in China and sidewalk hucksters will sell you one for $3. I carried all my usual headache stuff, but never needed it–other than the rain, we had great weather.
I did see people on the streets wearing breathing masks from time to time. My brother would warn you to stay away from chickens and pigs if you’re out in the country (most flus start in the guts of birds and pigs in Asia and then move around the world).
The food was great and at the hotels we stayed at, we could chose between eastern and western breakfasts. Bottled water was available everywhere and we saw many Western restaurant chains–KFC is big in both China and Japan.
International adoption is well known in China; I’m sure you’ll do fine. Do try to get some sleep, however. We took a second sleeping pill the first night in country. I didn’t get back to normal until . . . about three days ago.
Indeed, I’m finally back to normal after a week home and am writing about China today. Here’s just a small sampling:
I’ve read a lot about China and many of my expectations were conditioned by books such as Paul Theroux’s classic Riding the Iron Rooster–a story of a year-long railroad trip he took through the country twenty years. Theroux observed that whenever he looked through a window in China, someone looked back.
I expected to see hordes of people, and while there were many folks on the streets, I didn’t feel the overwhelming crush I had expected. The only time humanity seemed to be in super abundance was when we rode the subways in Shanghai and Beijing. They had to shove people together in order to close the doors on Saturday night’s Beijing subway.
The press of strangers against my body felt uncomfortable, but not overwhelming. And while I did keep my hand on my purse, I wasn’t too worried about theft. If you’re caught stealing in China, they execute you on the spot–without appeal, of course.
EYG–
My own international experiences:
International flights are almost NEVER cancelled and rarely late. They’re the most comfortable flights I’ve ever been on. Try to get up and walk around once every few hours. Look out the window. Attendants usually don’t have a problem if you want to stand by the window for some time. DRINK lots of water: it’s easy to get dehydrated. Orange juice is also good. PLAN on the sleeping pills. Really. Jet lag is much worse for me going from East to West, but it is different for everybody. Also STAY ACTIVE during regular daylight hours: it will make you tired and help you adjust earlier. DON’T drink anything that’s not in a bottle, and I have even once found bottled water to be bad. EAT the local food a little(with the exception of brain, lung, and other oddities). Most of it is quite good: I recommend djou-za (spelling wrong. They’re little dumpling things). Also the ramen is quite good. You’re going halfway around the world … you have to try the local cuisine!
Michelle–
You might also try (if you haven’t already) Wild Swans by a Chinese woman tracing three generations of her ancestry through WWI to (roughly) the present day.
I had to read it before I went to China and found it quite compelling.
PeterL,
I’m in St Louis until Friday and close to your cave. I painted Tom’s fence the last time I was in Hannibal.
I’ve read Wild Swans and a bunch of other memoirs of the Chinese cultural revolution, along with earlier memoirs by Ruth Bell Graham and Edith Schaeffer. The Soong Dynasty also was good for an overview of the characters involved with Nationalist China. And of course, Nien Chen’s Life and Death in Shanghai.
Llama wanted to know about factory life, I believe, from several weeks ago. Another excerpt from my write-up:
The factory’s first floor looked like any other business in the US–faded cubicles and metal desks. Up one flight of cement stairs, we came into a large area with four or five rows of bright blue-painted tables, maybe 100 feet long. Four feet above, bright lights with blue shades pointed down to where some 200 young women worked. A grease marker sign at the end of the row read our company’s name. I motioned for G to stand beside the sign and took his picture. They were making our product in the factory that day.
All the young women wore hot pink collared shirts, turquoise smocks and pink triangular kerchiefs over their shining black hair. From a distance they looked alike, but as I drew near to take pictures, I saw individuality–this girl wore tiny green earrings, this inspector had a mole on her cheek, a third worker had a cartoon sticker on her smock.
They glanced at me then focused on their tasks: winding copper for the magnets, soldering pieces into place, clamping plastic boxes closed. I had never observed an electronic manufacturing line before, and I followed the assembly line with interest.
Their deft hands moved quickly and I saw no flaws. I took pictures, the managers hung nearby and we oohed and ahhed our way down the line. At the end, the completed power adaptor–similar to what you use to charge your phone or camera–was fit into a trim white box and placed in a packing box marked with our company’s name. Who knows how many times I have seen or received something from my brother in one of those boxes? And here is where it all began.
Everything was clean and orderly. It reminded me of a bee hive and while my brother saw the hive–interchangeable look-alike workers making a product–I saw the bee-workers first and recognized their production second. The manager explained the girls lived in a dormitory on campus, which we could not visit, and made $120 a month working six full days a week.
“Is that enough?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Almost.”
Thank you very much for the tips!!
I’ll do the sleeping pill thing. I don’t think I would have taken any thinking I’d need to keep alert and have my wits about me. But what a LONG trip. I will take the pills. God will look over me.
I have some Rozerem. (non addictive as it works with the melatonin system).
Also THANK YOU for praying!! I actually packed today! Mainly cropped khakis, a pair of jeans and two piece tops.
Does that sound right, Michelle?
I’m going to Beijing. How was the weather?
How did people dress? I packed a packable/breathable rain jacket.
I’m rereading The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. I love it. She was an MK and it sounds like she was one of the first to bridge the cultural chasm between China and the West.
I don’t know a word of Chinese, but I do look forward to yummy food. I won’t try anything weird. My husband ate something that looked like boiled locusts once in Hong Kong 20 years ago. He liked them. I could barely look at them!
Oops… I packed sporty kind of clothes, not just the aforementioned items!!
Well, I’m off to the art studio.
Will check in tonight.
Take care you all.
Interesting piece over at the American Thinker. The tile is “Grantsmanship” Distorts Global Warming Science.
http://tinyurl.com/3uw7b5
Just a snipet; Perhaps it has less to do with actual species’ population trends and other such noisome facts and more to do with a novel nexus between the news-media and “grantsmanship” among academic researchers who have hit upon a winning formula: if one ties one’s research project somehow — even via the most tenuous and flimsy grounds — to global warming, one’s grant proposal will have much greater chance to be selected for funding, one’s chances of appearing on 60 Minutes or NPR are greatly increased, and as a consequence of this positive PR for one’s project, university and funding agency, one’s grant is more likely to be renewed.
Ya’ll should check it out.
I thought you all might enjoy the following poem:
Termination for Cause
Sir,
I had thought the terms of our agreement
Were quite clear.
You were to provide me length of days,
Model children by a docile wife, support for same;
Keep far away all disaster man-made
Or act of your own.
And a death if not quite painless
At least sudden, without humiliation.
I in turn would confess You Creator
Of all things seen and unseen, offering customary
Praise and adoration.
Regarding line four above
Your performance has been marginal at best,
And I have now confirmation
From two physicians
Of what I must deem willful disregard
As to length of days and dying.
I therefore recognize no further obligation whatsoever
To provide the aforesaid praise, etc.
Or, indeed, to acknowledge Your existence.
Any further communication should be directed
To my counsel,
Who assures me that he knows You
from of old.
James F. O’Callaghan
Yes, Kyle, this is America, and the judge is doing his/her job. Did you also see that the CPS has gone back to the compound for more children?
And KBells, I’ve been waiting for a report regarding the vegetable eating. It amused me that your son put a condition of being 5 in order to partake of them. Did he comply?
John Hagee, the controversial evangelical leader and endorser of Sen. John McCain, argued in a late 1990s sermon that the Nazis had operated on God’s behalf to chase the Jews from Europe and shepherd them to Palestine. According to the Reverend, Adolph Hitler was a “hunter,” sent by God, who was tasked with expediting God’s will of having the Jews re-establish a state of Israel.
“This is America?”
No, it’s Texas.
Michelle #41 Good travel advice. But one thing is confusing. First you warn against chicken, then recommend KFC. Don’t they use Asian chicken at KFC in China?
KI #39- Yes, Hannibal can be fun. I have not toured the mansion (there are a couple of different ones there). Tomorrow night, Mrs L and I are going on the Mark Twain River Boat dinner cruise. It is a 2 hour tour (cue the Gilligan’s Island theme)of the river with a meal. May 22 is our 26th anniversary!
Llama- Come on up!
I’m still trying to understand how Mark Roth thinks splitting the Ninth Circuit will improve it. I think you’ll have two whackadoodle circuits.
Godlumps, that his the strangest argument in “favor” of Adolf Hitler that I have ever heard. My mouth dropped.
NJLawyer, He ate one bite of a raw baby carrot. He now says that he might like it batter cooked. I’m nor sure if he really thought something magical would happen on his birthday or if he was just playing me for a few days peace on the “eat your vegetables” lectures.
Joel Mark: You earned the virtual coffee of the day!
Peter L - Coincidences - My SIL, Becky, used to be a tour guide at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn.
She & my brother will celebrate their 25th anniversary on May 28.
Happy Anniversary to you & Mrs. L.
I don’t follow John Hagee so I have no idea what he teaches. However the comment, as I read it here, does not necessarily say he favored Hitler. It would seem in the OT God used Israel’s enemies to carry out God’s agenda at times. It did not make what the enemies did right. Nor does it indicate that is what God wished for his people. He was always after them to worship and obey him. Perhaps Hagee is just pointing out a truth. Doesn’t mean he supported anything Hitler did and I would highly doubt that he did.
A riverboat cruise sounds like fun, but not with my motion sickness. I took a train ride with a great show and food and was amazed at how sick I got. If that is a possiblity for either of you, Peter L, make sure you bring some meds. Hard to enjoy those things when you are only concentrating on not losing your supper!
Interesting coincidences, Karen O. Even your SIL’s name goes along with Mark Twain. We tell the cave part of the Tom Sawyer story, when Tom and Becky Thatcher get lost. Oh, and thank you for the well wishes.
KI- No worries. She has a pretty strong stomach, as proved by putting up with my driving all these years!
Kbells,
Batter fried carrots. One of my favorites. Those Japanese have for centuries eaten correctly and created the best fried food on the planet, nearly all veggies too!!! It’s called Tempura and one of my favorites in the old Bento Box. Move the child to the head of the class - talk about greaqte tase in more ways than one.
Don’t forget to get the kid some fried Tempura seafood too!!! Absolutely fantastic and you won’t even hrdly notice the high levels of mind destroying mercury in the seafood when made this way
#61: Nor does it indicate that is what God wished for his people. He was always after them to worship and obey him. Perhaps Hagee is just pointing out a truth.
So Ki, Hitler might not have killed 6 million Jews if they had been more loyal to God?
Wow. Just, wow.
What an unbelievable day on the stock market today!!! Martha you better hold on to your hat. The fast money that was long crude and short the dollar pulled their short dollar bet in after the Fed announced they were through cutting rates last week. The speculators took all that once dollar shorting money and added it to their long crude oil positions. Billions of dollars more instantly flowed into long crude positions.
The really smart speculators figured correctly the fed won’t raise interest rates until their next meeting to support the dollar thus giving the speculators an open field to …..errr…. speculate,,,,exactly what they do best when the leash comes off.
They have now put the world stock markets into the tank en mass, bought millions of barrels of oil, taken it off the market and put it in storage where the needy and cash strapped end users can’t get at it at any price. They have driven the the price of oil through the roof in just a couple of days while bankrupting every airline in the world and making lefties start to foam at the mouth - both normally good things.
You have to give these speculators credit. In their quest to make billions and billions of dollars in speculation in a couple of days by manipulating a helpless market they may have also done their best to destroy the civilized world as you knew it. Plus they got the stupid lefties suing OPEC (making the oil potentates laugh so hard they peed their white robes) while also blaming the innocent oil companies for high prices - when the the oil companies can’t even even buy oil to put into their refineries to make into gasoline because the speculators have bought up all the crude and held it off the market. You have to admire their pluck and panache.
Who would have guessed the supposed big bad oil companies can’t even buy crude at any price - until 100 oil speculators have sold it to each other 100 times first driving the price through the roof. These guys make Teddy Kennedy’s daddy look like a school boy for doing the same thing before the stock market crash in 1929 with his buddies.
With a little luck no one will be able to fly away on their Memorial Day holiday because the airlines will be bankrupt, no one will be able to drive to their memorial day holiday because there will be no gasoline available, refinery workers will be out of work because their companies can’t find any crude to buy at any price, oil will be $200 a barrel and gasoline, if you can find it, will be $6 a gallon all before memorial day.
The only thing that will burst this oil bubble is if Bush announces he is going to sell 100 million barrels of oil out of the national reserve. This would just break the back of every speculator instantly. Sadly, Bush will do no such thing since he has a few more oil tricks, economic and political lessons to teach the left before the next election.
I’m going to Cabo for the holidays and am going to try not to think about it but I am still betting with them speculators rather than against them. Which brings me to my investing point of the day - which you would do wise to never forget - even itf you are not eh herding type like us llamas.
Never ever bet against huge pent up speculative bubble momentum of the herd when it is based on pure greed. Just be thankful to know it when you see it - so you don’t get trampled to death by accident.
Here is audio of Hagee explaining that Hitler was doing God’s will. Sick evil man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErC1IJeHnyc
My comment disappeared. Is this blog censored? Hagee preaches that Hitler was doing God’s work.
#55: You still don’t realize that Texas is in America?
#68: I refuse to explain jokes to you.
It’s a very bad ‘joke’.