It's Election Season and I'm not Happy

I feel like I need a yard sign for this election season.  It needs to be the equivalent of a "Beware of Dog" sign.  We have two.  (Dogs that is, not signs)  But they are not the reason I want the sign.  I want a banner that says, "Beware of Informed Voter".  Then maybe I can stop seeing the looks of abject dismay on the faces of those running for School Board and "Learning Community" (because the voters decided one layer of elected inefficiencies was not enough for our growing metropolis.)  The candidates show up at my house and say things like, "Hi, I'm (fill in the blank) and I'm running for (fill in the blank).  Oh, I remember you..."

Yes.  You remember me.  I was the one who was shocked to find that college age students in my university classroom are so accustomed to police presence at schools they can't understand why anyone would be opposed to it.  (Gee, police state education?  Really, is the connection so difficult?)

Yes.  You remember me.  I was the one who said that we need to stop having the state supplant the parents by providing transportation to school, breakfast, lunch, child care before and after school, health care clinics in school,  afternoon  snacks, homework help, transportation home...  What do parents need to do except put a mattress on the floor  and wake the kids up in time to hit the government tit again?  (Yes, call me Alan Simpson, these people are milking it!)  And when bus lines are canceled in you school district the government reimburses you for the gas to drive your child to school.Can you hear the sucking noises where you are?

Yes.  You remember me.  I was the one who told you in our state there is no true expulsion for students.  They just are shunted from school to school, because expulsion is against the law.  "Education" is compulsory.  Unfortunately, learning is not.

So the students, like teachers, have tenure.  And the lowest common denominator does win.  And if you are a candidate, and you plan to stop at my door,  I know you'll say, "I remember you..." Yes, and I'll remember you in November!!!

D'offus of the Big-Doofus: Presidents at Work.

D'offus of the Big-Doofus: Presidents at Work.

I love these kinds of comparisons.  You may also want to look at this:

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2010/08/presidents-then-and-now.html

Since my husband is one of those manly men, good with his hands, clears his head by working hard, used to work on fishing boats in Alaska, I have no appreciation for seeing our president doing the girly work I do, like hanging curtains.

The man needs tools, otherwise he just is one...

A few Comments on the responses of the First Family:

President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their two daughters Sasha and Malia traveled to Nancy's Restaurant on the waterfront of the Oak Bluffs section of Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday afternoon.
Crowds gathered to watch as the president, wearing his White Sox baseball cap, noted the abundance of Red Sox caps. He and the First Lady shook hands and posed for pictures with folks in the crowd.

The president ordered from the take-out window of the snack bar section of the eatery.
 
"I love your watch," one woman told the First Lady, referencing a purple watch on her left wrist.

"Oh, thank you,” the First Lady said. “It was a gift.” 
She gestured towards her husband, who was shaking hands behind her.
"I think somebody told him,” she said.

"Where's my wife?" the president asked at one point.
Crowds shouted for her attention.

"How you guys doing?" she asked. "Drying off? Finally."

A few Comments on the responses of the First Family:

Red Sox/White Sox: I only care if children have no socks!

He and the first lady shook hands:  With each other?  It has been rumored there is trouble in paradise.  I don't believe the Oprah stories, but it is strange for his family to be away from him on his birthday.  That's a big day for anyone during the year.  Had he been that narcissistic that his own family cares as little as a conservative voter?

And know that the watch advertised here is not the watch she was wearing.  She says it was a gift and the "gestures to the president."  Does that mean it was a gift to him, her or a gift he needs to explain?  Given that it is purple plastic,  i can't think it was an intimate gift.


"Where's my wife?"  Really if you need to ask you aren't paying attention! And probably should. 

"Drying Off, Finally?"  Rainy weather? 
Given her facial expressions recently, I'd say rainy days and Mondays always get me down...

How Public Schools Control Our Children

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2010/08/13-reasons-not-to-attend-obama.html  

All children will be provided with a free breakfast in order to insure they spend as little time in the morning with their families as possible.  They will receive education in the morning followed by a free lunch, more education, a free afternoon snack, and after school care.  If necessary, children will receive free bus transportation to school, and free bus trip to a place close to their home.  If the child's parents live in an area not serviced by our bus system, the parents will be reimbursed 50 cents per mile to bring their own children to school for the free breakfast, education, lunch, education, snack, childcare, regime. 

We want to be sure every child and every family is completely dependent on the government we create.  Please don't fight against us.  We know what is best for you and your children.  We know how to numb their brains with bad or meaningless literature.  We know how to hide the true lessons of history.  We know how to be sure that your child never believes in anything other than him or herself.  (We learned that from Descartes.)  Do you really think you can stop us from instilling relativism in your children?  Didn't you go to college?    Ha ha ha ha ha:  You are fools to try!!!

Fetal Pigs on Sale for $7.95

http://www.nebraskascientific.com/

 My Brother's family has moved out of my house and into their own.  And we have begun another  year of Home school at the Carl Ranch.  That means we have opened up the  Thames & Kosmos CHEM C3000!!! 

1.  I would like to say that while cooking and chemistry share certain properties, they are not to be mixed.  I don't care that the Mom in A Wrinkle in Time cooked dinner over her bunsen burner.  It's fiction.  Do not allow yourself to be talked out of that by the angelic 10 year old wearing protective goggles.  Cuteness can be a weapon.

2.  Fetal pigs may be on sale only once a year, but if your mother could by any chance smell formaldehyde coming from your freezer, it is better to wait and pay more for the pig.

3.  Microscopes that hook up to your computer via USB cords are very cool.

4.  Crayola 64 packs allow you to turn pictures into coloring pages.  I think this is very cool.  I will be asking my pastor if I can use this technology to make coloring pages out of the artwork at our beloved St. Cecilia Cathedral.  How cool would that be for Coloring and Contemplation?

5.  I wish everyone a safe and happy return to school.  Whether you teach at home or in a school, whether you learn at home or in a school, may God bless all of you, and us with a desire for truth as we accumulate knowledge.

"May He support us all the day long,
till the shades lengthen, and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over and our work is done!
Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest, and peace at the last."
John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Happy 2010/11 School Year To All

On Marriage from My Mom

My parents celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary a week ago today.  Mom sent out this email to her 12 children yesterday:

Hi, Everyone!

Thank you  for all your remembrances of  Dad and my 57th wedding anniversary

last Sunday!  Special thanks to Monica and Joe for the lovely dinner with their

family. I wouldn't want you to think we ignored your thoughtful caring gestures, as

they all mean a great deal to us.

It seems that marriage is getting to be nothing but a bad joke in our present

society; how attitudes have changed in just 57 years!  It is ironic that the (then)

Holy Father accurately predicted our present state with the onset of 'the Pill' and

wide use of contraception, which had been against the moral concept for all

Christians. It is really appalling how acceptable living together before marriage

has become, in spite of the factual statistic that 75 percent of couples who

co-habit before marriage will be divorced within ten years, regardless of race, 

religion, or financial status. People have become very open about the fact of 

their children/grandchildren living with a member of the opposite sex without 

entering into a blessed union, which we frequently hear among our friends and

associates. Until this time in history, such a situation would have been cause 

for deep shame and regret. It is as though the sixth commandment has been

obliterated and is no longer taught anywhere.

I am reading a book that was written especially as a manual for Priests, titled

'Exorcism And The Church Militant" by Father Thomas J. Euteneuer , but which

is also recommended as reading for the laity, and it really explains in detail the

demise of the fabric of our society as a Christian, God-fearing nation in

particular, and that our only hope for survival is in the family unit and closeness

of family ties. 

The Family is the answer, and I thank God each and very day for the

fact that we have strong marriages in our precious family. It is the only way to keep

our young on the straight and narrow and help then save their immortal souls.

With marriage no longer being conceived as a sacred Sacrament in society in

general, it follows that hooking up with a same-sex partner (or your dog) would also

become acceptable. All this makes you think the Devil is winning!!! 

But we all know that God wins in the end - has in fact, already won - and our best

defense against Satan's quest for souls is Prayer, the prayer of the Mass being the

most powerful of all prayers - - and with that fact stated, I pray for holy, prayer-filled

family life for all of our families, that all of you will grow in wisdom and grace to a happy old age

TOGETHER! 

      

Thanks again for your caring.....love, Mom

When I asked Mom's permission to  include her letter here she replied, "Just so everyone knows our marriage isn't perfect."  That's Mom.  It may not be perfect, but it's pretty darn good!  

I really blew it!

The eldest daughter of one of our home school families is a fan of books that I have always loved, all things British, Greek and Roman mythology, fantasy literature...


Having taught high school literature, I shared with her some of my favorite books.  These were books I remembered reading at her age, but only had a vague notion of what the books were about.  The Glory and the Lightning by Taylor Caldwell was in the bunch.  I'm reading it again now, and I can't believe how sexual it is.  I had completely forgotten that part.

When I see her at church tomorrow I have to apologize.   I will have to suggest one of these other selections.  I know Taylor Caldwell is a bit out of fashion, but her novels are quite good.