NEW YEAR'S EVE

Here's wishing everyone a very happy, warm and safe New Year's Eve!!!

~~~

According to Maxine:

"In forty years we'll have thousands of old ladies with tatoos and rap will be the Golden Oldies."

~~~

LAST I HEARD...

I've been seeing an ad featuring a well-known actor selling memberships to a wildlife organization purporting to save the polar bears from extinction.  If we don't sign up and send them money every month the polar bears will disappear from Earth. 
`
Is it true?  Or is someone just trying to cash in on the 'climate change' scare? Last I heard the the polar bear population was growing. Is there anyone out there who really knows?
`
I also wonder if the actor was simply hired or if he believes.  Surely he wouldn't sell something he doesn't believe in...Please tell me what you think.

~~~

"May the sun always shine on your

windowpane; may a rainbow

be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be

near you; may God fill your heart

with gladness to cheer you."

~~Irish Blessing

`

GLOBAL WHAT???

`
Dedicated to all Global Warming Non-Believers:

A PALE SUN

Outside, a pale sun evokes sparkling gems of hope
From the frozen snow.
Shimmering layers of diamond dust distract
Winter-weary eyes.
Icy crystals, themselves unaware of the temporal reign,
The apparent glow,
Coldly wink refractions of the pale sun, transforming
Light, before it dies.
Shadows, chilled and dark, soon overcome the glittering scene.
As the snowbird flies
Wintry winds invade, yet soften the crunched footprints left there
In the fields below.


Outside, early darkness drapes the glittering snowscape
And hides the pale sun.
Gathering clouds, heavy and threatening, swirl with the wind
While the children sleep.
Unsympathetic, the arctic night drags on, cold and dark,
The storm has won.
Slowly, daylight bleak and pale rouses in the distance,
Its’ promises to keep.
Later we find, the clouds in all their fury left only a sprinkling
Of snow on the steep
Hillsides, then vanished, beckoning a pale sun’s slow rise,
The darkest night is done.
~~~

Copyright Beverly J. Caligaris
All rights reserved
`

CHRISTMAS DAY - 2009

`
I got to see and spend a bit of time with all four of my great-grandchildren on this Day! I didn't cook one thing, (but I truly feel like I left something out.) I did have an awesome Italian dinner with the next-door neighbors, who happen to be my daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter, Kayla. Also in attendance, grand-daughters, Brandy and Tessa and their families. We did gifts for the small children and had a White Elephant exchange for everyone else. What fun that was!!
`
Earlier in the Day, my older daughter, grand-sons Brendan and Justin, and great-grandson, Demetrius came by to visit and share the season. My oldest son lives here with me; his two sons, Jason and Josh, were here on Christmas Eve day.
`
And my younger son and his wife live near Denver with my grand-children, Leah and Cody. They had been down to spend a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

~~

"It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself."~~Charles Dickens

~~

THIS WONDERFUL SEASON

Wishing you all a very warm and merry Christmas!

`

"The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly,

reminding us of what is worth having

and what we were intended to be."

~~Max Lucado

TALK ABOUT WRITER'S BLOCK........

`
So I'll get back up, so to speak, rather slowly with a few best quotes:

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

~

"True education makes for inequality; the inequality of individuality, the inequality of success; the glorious inequality of talent, of genius; for inequality, not mediocrity, individual superiority, not standardization, is the measure of the progress of the world."~~Felix E. Schelling

~

and for fun:

"A pessimist is a man who looks both ways when he's crossing a one-way street."~~Lawrence J. Peter

~~

I HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING FILLED WITH FAMILY, GOOD FRIENDS AND GOOD FOOD!! STAY WARM!!

`

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."~~Thomas Edison

~~

"A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them."~~P.J. O'Rourke

~~

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty."~~Winston Churchill

~~

"Our road will be smooth and untroubled

no matter what care life may send,

If we travel the pathway together,

and walk side by side with a friend."

~~Unknown

~~

PSALM 23

.....The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presense of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.~~from the Holy Bible

~~~

"...Father, I am well aware

I can't make it on my own.

So take my hand and hold it tight

for I can't walk alone."

~~from the poem Good Morning God

~~~

POSITIVELY SPEAKING

• Remember that song from the sixties with this line? "Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me."
• "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."~~Mother Teresa
• "Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is."
• "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."~~Martin Luther King, Jr.
• "What do we live for, if not to make the world less difficult for each other?"~~George Eliot
• "America prepare to witness mighty, powerful miracles in your lifetime."~~Glen Beck

~~~

APPETIZERS

Hot Italian Sausage Appetizers

• 1 pound hot Italian Sausage
• 3 cups dry biscuit mix
• 3/4 cup water
• 8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Saute the sausage until crumbled and lightly browned. Drain. Combine shredded cheese and biscuit mix, add water and mix lightly. Stir in sausage and mix well. Form 3/4" balls , bake on cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Can be made ahead and frozen, then re-heated for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

~~~

ONION SOUP CRACKERS

• 1 stick butter
• 8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 Pkg. onion soup mix
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt, optional

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Let butter and shredded cheese come to room temperature, stir together then add remaining ingredients and mix well. Shape into 1" rolls and slice 1/4" thick. Bake on un-greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

~~~

Happy tummies wait

Slithering over warm pie

Vanilla ice cream

~~Copyright Beverly J. Caligaris, 2009

~~~

RED CHILI

Red Chili, Large batch

• 
  
  3 lbs. lean ground beef.............. 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 
  
  3 cups chopped yellow onion...... 1 qt. tomato juice
• 
  
  1 cup chopped red bell pepper ...Hot Sauce to taste-15 drops or so
• 
  
  1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder ............. 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 
  
  2 Tbsp. ground cumin ................ 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 
  
  3 (Heaping) Tbsp. chili Powder .... 2 or 3 cans (15 oz.) chili beans
• 
  
  2 tsp. salt ................................ Water, as needed
• 
  
  2 tsp. black pepper

Cook the ground beef, onion and red pepper in a large skillet or dutch oven until meat is done and vegetables lightly browned - you can transfer here to your crock pot if you like. Add garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well, then stir in tomatoes and juice, add brown sugar, vinegar and hot sauce. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes (or more). Put the beans in last and add water if too thick. Simmer gently till supper time. Serve with chopped onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, and additional hot sauce. Good with saltine crackers or warm tortillas and a chilled glass of light beer. An excellent follow-up, Cinnamon Crisps, see recipe posted on 7-29-09 in Bev's Booth.

~~~

"The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour."

~~~

A REVIEW - RAINY DAY PROJECTS

In addition to 'Old Projects' posted on 9-24-09, you might review the kid-friendly articles previously published in this blog:

• 5-20-09 ~ Crystal Garden
• 5-24-09 ~ Play Dough and Play Clay
• 5-31-09 ~ Face Paint (Easy make, easy off)
• 6-07-09 ~ Moldable craft dough and Lava raisins (both really easy)

~~~

Did you know that you can take crayon marks off walls with WD-40?

~~~

WHIMSICAL to VERSE

WHIMSICAL, BY CLARENCE TRESLER

`

I know not what I really thought,

Yet I thought I actually knew,

That all my thoughts were sent

By ESP direct to you.

`

I really wasn't sure that your ESP

Was tuned to my wave length to receive,

But what I knew about my thoughts

Was set and always on, I do believe.

`

I know about earthly 'interference'

To my thoughts as they travel along the way,

And the message you receive

May not be what I really had to say.

`

Now as you sort this all apart,

And reach a reasonable solution,

Please seal it in an empty bottle

And throw it in the ocean.

`

Copyright, Clarence Tresler, All rights reserved

Used by permission

~~~

"A friend is someone who laughs at your jokes when they're not very funny and sympathizes with your problems when they're not very serious."

~~~

A GUIDE - POETRY TO READ ALOUD

`
According to Woman's World Magazine, reading poetry aloud can help you be a better speaker...something to do with rhythm. And so it helps you to be more confident when talking to others. With that in mind, here is a guide to poetry published in this blog (by date and title) all written by Bev, unless otherwise noted:

• 4-30-09 ~ Let's Not Do Lunch
• 4-30-09 ~ The Gardener
• 5-05-09 ~ A Sprinkling of Gold Dust
• 5-07-09 ~ Shades of Green
• 5-08-09 ~ Diet Rite
• 5-10-09 ~ Innocence Showing
• 5-11-09 ~ In the Hot Kansas Wind
• 5-17-09 ~ The Biggest Decision
• 5-28-09 ~ Touching the Sky
• 6-12-09 ~ Death of a Dream
• 6-23-09 ~ Fragile Bridges
• 7-06-09 ~ White Velvet
• 7-22-09 ~ That's Your Smile (Clarence Tresler)
• 7-28-09 ~ Then and Now (Clyde Stark)
• 8-01-09 ~ God's Celestial Paintings (Clarence Tresler)
• 8-25-09 ~ Fickle Wind
• 9-11-09 ~ Shadow of the Eagle (also on 4-29-09)
• 9-21-09 ~ The Winds of Time

~~~

"Appreciation is like salt - a little goes a long way to bring out the best in us."~~~

OLD PROJECTS REMEMBERED

SPICY POMANDERS

`

You will need oranges and whole cloves. Stick the cloves into the oranges,

cover completely or create a pattern. Hot glue a ribbon to hang them or simply pile in a pretty basket. Makes a great decoration with a spicy holiday aroma. Note: the oranges will dry, rather than spoil.

~~~

HOLIDAY CONTAINERS

`

Cover a one-pound coffee can with spray glue. Attach wrapped peppermint candies to cover completely. When dry, fill with candy canes or an arrangement of poinsettias. Notes: you might prefer to work in sections so that the glue doesn't begin to dry up. Be creative, tie a ribbon around it with a pretty bow, tuck in some small Christmas balls, spray on some glitter. Most of all, enjoy!!

~~~

Love doesn't make the world go round.

Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

~~Franklin P. Jones

~~~

HOUSEHOLD TIPS I HAVE HEARD

HAIRSPRAY:

• Use to preserve recipe cards


• Spray the Sunday comics to shine and seal the color, then use as wrapping paper


• Immobilize wasps and bees

SCENTED FABRIC SOFTENER SHEETS:

• Tie in belt loop to repel mosquitos


• Place in shoes over-night to de-odorize


• Use in drawers, wastebaskets and suitcases to refresh

VINEGAR:

• Drink a cup of warm water mixed with a teaspoon of vinegar to cure hiccups


• Apply full strength to soothe a sunburn


• Use 2 tablespoons vinegar to each quart of water to prevent cracked shells when boiling eggs

~~~

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal."~~Hannah More

~~~

BEAUTIFUL WORDS

`

"A few can touch the magic strings

And noisy fame is proud to win them

Alas for those who never sing

But die with all their music in them."

~~O. W. Holmes

`

"Let us then be up and doing

With a heart for any fate

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait."

~~H.W. Longfellow

`

"The most precious of all possessions

is a wise and loyal friend."

~~Darius

`

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort

of feeling safe with a person: having neither

to weigh thoughts nor measure words,

but to pour them out."

~~George Eliot

~~~

...the WAR-LIKE WINDS SUBSIDE...

THE WINDS OF TIME

The winds of time now blown, did pledge
Both storms severe and sweet caress
On some came tumults’ bitter edge
With others, healing warmth to bless

A soul so drenched in turmoil, cries
Unceasing rain ’mid frozen tears
Through slanted rays on mournful eyes
And restless longing, latent fears.

In time the war-like winds subside
Themselves beguiled by gentle birth
Of breezes warm that now abide
Where once the tempest ruled on Earth.

Copyright Beverly J. Caligaris 1997,2009

All rights reserved

~~~

ANYONE READY TO AIR YOUR THOUGHTS ...

`
I would really like to hear comments, opinions on the 9.12 Project, the March on Washington. Whatever your thoughts, pro or con, leave a comment here at the end of this post or email me at: bcaligaris@bresnan.net
`
I am NOT gathering information for any type of organization or for any other use...just to maybe help me form my own opinions and soothe my soul. Thanks.

~~~

MY SONG FOR 9.11

SHADOW OF THE EAGLE
`
Evil hands of terror have carved canyons
in our hearts
Dark rivers deep within run laden
tinged with salt
Embossed on purple silouettes are names
of those now gone
Memories float in crimson pools of pain
that won't move on
Stones that fell in churning smoke lie heavy
there inside
Our certain world, no longer whole, spins on
in somber time.
Then comes the mighty nation rising strong
to meet the foe
United in defense against the wounding of our souls.
Those cruel hands have pushed us all
across the Rubicon
And in the shadow of the eagle now
they run.
~~~
Copyright (c) Beverly J. Caligaris 2001, 2008
All rights reserved

CLIMATE CHANGE IS SOOO COMPLICATED

I, personally do not believe in man-made catastrophic global warming; here is an excerpt from Glen Beck's newletter:

"If you disagree with man-made global warming the radicals will attack you and call you a flat-Earth believing, Holocaust-denying, selfish jerk who would rather drive an SUV than save the planet from certain destruction.
But the IPCC report that they so love to quote says the best way to fight global warming isn't by getting a Prius, it's by not eating meat. How many of your Earth-loving green friends are vegans? From here on out, when they start lecturing you about the planet, ask: Do you eat meat? Do you have leather shoes? If they say anything else other than "absolutely not," tell them to sit down and shut up. And when they stop doing more supposed damage with their steak, then you can talk to me about my SUV."

Also from Beck:

9/12 In DC: Make your plans to be heard in Washington on September 12th by visiting the 9/12 Project site and the meet-up site. Stand up!

~~~

RELATIVELY SPEAKING

RELATIVELY HIGH

When my then twelve-year-old granddaughter had grown taller than I, I suggested a somewhat simple solution to a problem she had confided. Her smiling reply, "Gramma, you may be short, but you're not stupid."

~~

RELATIVELY OLD

One steamy Fourth of July weekend, my sister and I met to do some shopping. When I commented on the pretty blouse she was wearing, she mentioned having shorts to match. Since it was so hot, I asked why she wasn't wearing them. She fixed me with her best 'how dumb are you' look and retorted, "Have you seen sixty-seven year old legs lately?"

~~

"What most of us are looking after, when we have a picture taken, is a good natural-looking picture that doesn't resemble us."~~Peg Bracken

~~~

POSSIBLE THINGS

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."~~Walt Disney

~~

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning the devil says,

"Oh crap, she's up!"~~Unknown

~~

"I told the doctor I was overtired, anxiety ridden, compulsively

active, constantly depressed, with recurring fits of paranoia.

Turns out I'm normal."~~Jules Feiffer

~~

"We are confronted by insurmountable opportunities."~~Walt Kelly

~~

THE YELLOW SHIRT

Here is a touching story, I hope you will enjoy it:
~

"The yellow shirt had long sleeves, four extra-large pockets trimmed in black thread and snaps up the front. It was faded from years of wear, but still in decent shape. I found it in 1963 when I was home from college on Christmas break, rummaging through bags of clothes Mom intended to give away.
'You're not taking that old thing, are you?' Mom said when she saw me packing the yellow shirt. 'I wore that when I was pregnant with your brother in 1954!'
`
'It's just the thing to wear over my clothes during art class, Mom. Thanks!' I slipped it into my suitcase before she could object. The yellow shirt be came a part of my college wardrobe. I loved it.
After graduation, I wore the shirt the day I moved into my new apartment and on Saturday mornings when I cleaned.
`
The next year, I married. When I became pregnant, I wore the yellow shirt during big-belly days. I missed Mom and the rest of my family, since we were in Colorado and they were in Illinois . But, that shirt helped. I smiled, remembering that Mother had worn it when she was pregnant, 25 years earlier..
`
That Christmas, mindful of the warm feelings the shirt had given me, I patched one elbow, wrapped it in holiday paper and sent it to Mom. When Mom wrote to thank me for her 'real' gifts, she said the yellow shirt was lovely. She never mentioned it again...
`
The next year, my husband, daughter and I stopped at Mom and Dad's to pick up some furniture. Days later, when we uncrated the kitchen table, I noticed something yellow taped to its bottom. The shirt!
`
And so the pattern was set.
`
On our next visit home, I secretly placed the shirt under Mom and Dad's mattress. I don't know how long it took for her to find it, but almost two years passed before I discovered it under the base of our living-room floor lamp. The yellow shirt was just what I needed now while refinishing furniture. The walnut stains added character.
`
In 1975 my husband and I divorced. With my three children, I prepared to move back to Illinois . As I packed, a deep depression overtook me. I wondered if I could make it on my own. I wondered if I would find a job. I paged through the Bible, looking for comfort. In Ephesians, I read, 'So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will be standing up.'
`
I tried to picture myself wearing God's armor, but all I saw was the stained yellow shirt. Slowly, it dawned on me.. Wasn't my mother's love a piece of God's armor? My courage was renewed.
`
Unpacking in our new home, I knew I had to get the shirt back to Mother. The next time I visited her, I tucked it in her bottom dresser drawer.
`
Meanwhile, I found a good job at a radio station. A year later I discovered the yellow shirt hidden in a rag bag in my cleaning closet.
`
Something new had been added. Embroidered in bright green across the breast pocket were the words 'I BELONG TO PAT.'
`
Not to be outdone, I got out my own embroidery materials and added an apostrophe and seven more letters.
Now the shirt proudly proclaimed, 'I BELONG TO PAT'S MOTHER.' But I didn't stop there. I zig-zagged all the frayed seams, then had a friend mail the shirt in a fancy box to Mom from Arlington ,VA. We enclosed an official looking letter from 'The Institute for the Destitute,' announcing that she was the recipient of an award for good deeds.
I would have given anything to see Mom's face when she opened the box. But, of course, she never mentioned it.
`
Two years later, in 1978, I remarried. The day of our wedding, Harold and I put our car in a friend's garage to avoid practical jokers. After the wedding, while my husband drove us to our honeymoon suite, I reached for a pillow in the car to rest my head.. It felt lumpy. I unzipped the case and found, wrapped in wedding paper, the yellow shirt. Inside a pocket was a note: 'Read John 14:27-29. I love you both, Mother.'
`
That night I paged through the Bible in a hotel room and found the verses: 'I am leaving you with a gift: peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, for now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do, you will believe in me.'
`
The shirt was Mother's final gift. She had known for three months that she had terminal Lou Gehrig's disease. Mother died the following year at age 57.
`
I was tempted to send the yellow shirt with her to her grave. But I'm glad I didn't, because it is a vivid reminder of the love-filled game she and I played for 16 years. Besides, my older daughter is in college now, majoring in art. And every art student needs a baggy yellow shirt with big pockets.
`
A TRUE FRIEND IS SOMEONE WHO REACHES FOR YOUR HAND AND TOUCHES YOUR HEART."

~~~

GETTING READY FOR 9/12

A REMINDER

"In Washington, DC on September 12th America will be heard. The media will mock you, but what else is new? They can't ignore you forever -- it's time to raise our voices in unison to let our government know that we are sick and tired of the recklessness. We know you have a life, a job and usually don't have much time for activism. But this year 9/12 is on a Saturday and what better way to spend a weekend than letting your voice be heard in Washington. How can you get involved? Go to the912Project.com and you'll see people from Pennsylvania to Florida to Georgia and all over planning for the big day. If you are still thinking about coming to the march, it’s not too late. There are still buses that need to be filled and plenty of hotel rooms to be booked. Don’t miss your chance to demand politicians listen to YOU. Visit the 912project site and the meet-up site to find out how you can be a part of it all!"~~From Glen Beck's letter.

~~~

"Measure not your age by years, but by your love of eternal values."

~~~

FICKLE WIND

Here's a poem for the up-coming Fall season; it's called Fickle Wind:
`

Glorious Summer is paying her dues

With leaves drifting down in multiple hues.

Children vie for the biggest and best.

Alas, poor me! I must rake the rest.

`

But waiting finally dealt the right card,

The wind blew the leaves right out of my yard!

Smiling, I sat on my porch to relax,

Then watched while the wind re-filled to the max

`

My yard and the eaves, the walk and the drive

With leaves all in heaps, inviting a dive

By the kid in me. I couldn't resist,

A sight my neighbor wouldn't have missed!

~~~

Copyright Beverly J. Caligaris , All rights reserved.

~~

KATY ABRAM, AMERICAN MOM

Here is an e-mail from Katy Abram to Glen Beck:

`

"It's 4:41 a.m. I finally just got a few hours of needed sleep. And sitting here writing you maybe is a way to help myself feel a little better. I can't stop crying right now. The gravity of the past two days is finally hitting me. I am merely an American who wanted to ask her senator a question. Sorry. That's all I wanted.
`
Last evening I went on MSNBC's Hardball with Lawrence O'Donnell. The lamb walked into the lion's den knowing she could be eaten alive. The lion pounced. The lamb is still alive. But is questioning why she would have placed herself in such danger. I new Hardball would be difficult but I want those who don't watch the channels that I watch to hear from a normal American. I'm not a plant by the GOP. I am a mom. I may not be the most articulate person. I may not be well versed, but I know what I believe. I can't quote numbers or facts well. I know my limitations. But I know who I am. I know what I believe in.
`
Glenn, I have received hundreds of e mails from people like me. My friends tell me they have fan pages for me on Facebook. I have bloggers tearing me apart or holding me up. I feel like I've just stepped into your world. I don't know how you do it. I have always respected you but it has grown a hundredfold in the past 48 hours. I have lost seven pounds in two days. I have barely eaten. My head hurts and I miss my kids. They come home today from my in laws. I just want to hug them.
`
My daughter Madelyn asked me on the phone last night who the sleeping giant was. That's a great question. It's such an honest one from my 7 year old. God bless her. Who is the sleeping giant. I'll tell you who he is. The sleeping giant consists of those of us who have buried our heads in the sand for years. We know what we believe and yet it's our voice yet if we voice our opinions publicly, we are chastised and called hate mongers or racist even when those lies are unfounded. We are the people who you don't see in the news. We are the people who love this country so much but feel so powerless to do anything. We feel powerless against this huge machine of government and media. We are the people who are finally taking a stand. We no longer just yell at the politicians on TV. We now go to town hall meetings to have our questions answered, our voices heard and our faces seen.
`
This giant is now awake. He is ready to fight for this country, his freedom and his liberty. I ask that you pray for my family. I've been praying for yours for some time now. I know I want to fight this, but I don't want this ruining our family, our business or our lives. My gut says I can do this. If I must be the waking voice for those whom I have touched, then sobeit. And that's the end."

~~~

All opinions and comments are most welcome, just click on comments and air your thoughts and beliefs.

~~~

9-12 - MISSION STATEMENT AND INFORMATION

8/16 IMPORTANT SUNDAY UPDATE – On 9-12-09 – WHERE Will You Participate?
Posted by Editor on August 6, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Read the Mission Statement. One of the important parts of that statement says:
This is a non-political movement. The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created. That same feeling – that commitment to country is what we are hoping to foster with this idea. We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again.
__________________________________________________
Dear 9-12ers,
The time has come for us to focus on September 12th.
Many have asked about the event in Washington DC on 9-12, here are a couple links to help you find out more information from the people who have organized the event and are helping people find the best way to participate.
EVENT INFO
Grassfire.org may offer some addition input

IN SUPPORT OF AN UP-COMING PROJECT - 912

August 15-16, 2009
"If it be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws — the first growing out of the last.... A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government."
- ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 1794
`

The 9/12 Project

`
The 9 Principles:
1.
America Is Good.
2.
I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3.
I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4.
The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5.
If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6.
I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7.
I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8.
It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9.
The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

`
The 12 Values

`

* Honesty* Reverence* Hope

* Thrift* Humility* Charity

* Sincerity* Moderation* Hard Work

* Courage* Personal Responsibility* Gratitude

~~~

I hope that you who are not familiar with the 9 Principles and 12 Values will read and embrace these words. We need to all try VERY hard to participate in the Project on 9/12/09.

~~~

ALSO, PLEASE REVIEW JANET CANTRERAS' LETTER TO THE GOVERNMENT; IT IS POSTED ON JUNE 18, 2009, IN THIS BLOG!! PLEASE, PLEASE READ IT. WE MUST SAVE OUR BELOVED UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

~~~

CHOCOLATE CAKE (No eggs, no milk)

WANDA'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

`

• 3 C Flour
• 2 C Sugar
• 1/2 C Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsps. Baking Soda
• 1 C Vegetable Oil
• 2 C Water (room temp is good)
• 2 TBSPs. Vanilla
• 2 TBSPs. Vinegar

`Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13 pan or 2 round cake pans. Mix dry ingredients, add water, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Mix well (I prefer not to use the mixer, by hand works best for me with this recipe and it's easy.) Bake about 35 mins., 40-45 mins. in high altitude.

And here's the frosting :

• 1 C Sugar
• 4 TBSPs. Milk
• 4 TBSPs. Margerine
• 1/2 C Chocolate Chips

Boil sugar, milk and margerine for 1 minute, add chips. Beat. Spread on cooled cake and share with a friend. This is an incredibly moist cake !!!

~~~

Please let me know how this recipe works for you, I sometimes have trouble getting the frosting to suit me, so I use a prepared icing ( strawberry, white and creme cheese are all good ).

ROBIN WILLIAMS PLAN FOR PEACE

The following, according to an e-mail, is from a speech given by Robin Williams in New York City.
`
"You gotta love Robin Williams.......Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message. Robin Williams' plan...(Hard to argue with this logic!) 'I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.'
`
1) 'The US will apologize to the world for our 'interference' in their affairs, past &present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those 'good 'ole' boys', we will never 'interfere' again.
`
2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany , South Korea , the Middle East , and the Philippines .. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.
`
3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are.. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them.
`
4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.
`
5) No foreign 'students' over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a 'D' and it's back home baby.
`
6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.
`
7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)
`
8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not 'interfere.' They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.
`
9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.
`
10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us 'Ugly Americans' any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH..learn it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan? 'The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?' God bless!!! "

~~~

"A friend is a person with whom you dare to be yourself."

~~Pam Brown

~~~

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice Doggie' until you can find a rock."

~~Will Rogers

~~~

"Tact is the unsaid part of what you think."

~~~

"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,'My God, you're right! I never would have thought of that!' "

~~Dave Barry

~~~

"One reason why a dog is such a lovable creature is that his tail wags instead of his tongue."

~~~

SOME THOUGHTS

From Bill O'Reilly's "No Spin Zone" column: "...remember, Benjamin Franklin would not have supported national health care."

~~~

A friend is one who joyfully sings with you

when you are on the mountain top,

and silently walks beside you through the valley.

~~William A. Ward

~~~

Here's a notation I made 35 years ago:

"We'll remember 1974 forever , I would guess

as the year we fought it out with the banks and IRS."

~~Bev Caligaris

~~~

Til Tomorrow

GOD'S CELESTIAL PAINTINGS

Here is another lovely poem by Clarence Tresler

`

GOD'S CELESTIAL PAINTINGS

`

Who paints the heavens at morning time

with all the colors that inter-twine?

Who mixes the colors for the Master's brush,

the colors, the shades and the soft smooth blush?

Who draws the plan and sets the theme

for the printing of this beautiful scene?

Who changes the scene through-out the day

Blending from one to another in a beautiful and pleasant way?

Who in all this splendor fills our hearts with love?

Who sends all the blessings from the Heavens above?

It is our great and wonderful Lord,

the most cherished one of all.

Who walks with us with His guiding love,

and answers our every prayer and call.

~~~

Copyright (c) Clarence Tresler,All rights reserved

~~~

"My friend is one who takes me for who I am."~~Henry David Thoreau

~~~

AN ODE TO AMERICA (from Romania)

Earlier this month, columnist Jim Davidson shared with us an editorial from a Romanian newspaper, reflecting on the 9/11 tragedy. It is titled, "An Ode to America". Here it is:
`
"Why are Americans so united? They don't resemble one another even if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another and in matters of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many they are.
`
"Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, the secret services that they were only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed on the streets to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the flag on the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag.
`
"They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a minister or the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing their traditional song: 'God Bless America.'
`
"Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday twice, three times, on different TV channels. There was Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Robert DiNiro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Sylvester Stallone, James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring together.
`
"The Americans' solidarity spirit turned them into a choir. I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America didn't sound croaky, nationalist , or ostentatious! It made you green with envy because you weren't able to sing for your country without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of who-knows-what mean interests...Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes.
`
"What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases which risk of sounding like commonplaces. I thought things over, but I only reached one conclusion. Only freedom can work such miracles."
`
And here is Jim Davidson's conclusion: "While tragic things are happening in the world today, we all need to be reminded that freedom is never free."

~~~

CINNAMON CRISPS...as promised

For each 2 (10") flour tortillas you will need:

• 2 Tbsps. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Mix sugar and cinnamon together. Using a cookie cutter or other means, cut tortillas to desired shapes. Melt butter in a jelly roll pan ( 1-2 minutes in the oven). Place tortilla pieces in butter and turn to coat both sides. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mix. Bake until browned (3-5 minutes). Remove to paper towel lined serving plate. Good with vanilla ice cream.

~~~

Heaven bless you...just for being you.

~~~

THEN AND NOW

THEN AND NOW

`

by Clyde Stark, 100 years old

`

The horses stood harnessed in the barn,

After feasting on oats and hay,

Just waiting to work on the farm,

Which seemed to be the same every day.

`

Here comes their master to take them out,

And water them before they work,

Then they will be hitched to the plough,

The willing horses never shirk.

`

At noon it's more oats and hay,

So they start toward the barn,

Where they're watered right away.

An hours rest done them no harm.

`

Their master also needs some food,

That his good wife has fried for them,

Chicken, and pie for the right mood,

Before they have to go again.

`

Now this was horse and buggy days,

We were simply reminiscing.

Just showing you our former ways,

And appreciate our modern blessings.

~~~

Copyright (c) Clyde Stark

All rights reserved

CLIMATE CHANGE??

Here is an excerpt from Glen Beck's newsletter of July 15, 2009:
`
"‑‑ apparently word is out that there was a runaway spurt of global warming 55 million years ago that turned Earth into a hothouse. Hang on. A runaway spurt of global warming 55 million years that turned Earth into a hothouse. The planet surface temperature blasted upwards between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius ‑‑ that's 9 and 16.2 degrees Fahrenheit ‑‑ in just a few thousand years. On a side note the article explains manmade global warming, A/K/A what we're supposedly experiencing now is driven mainly by the burning of oil, gas and coal and has amounted to around .8 degrees Celsius, 1.2 Fahrenheit over the past century. You may recognize that as less than the 16.2 degrees that the Earth did all by its lonesome. And no one knows how or why."
`
Interesting, isn't it?

EXPLAIN!! EXPLAIN!!

I just want to let you know that the following post about the treatment of Governor Sarah Palin is quite long and if you decide against reading the whole thing, PLEASE scroll down to the 'Climate Change' video also posted today. THANKS!!

SARAH 'BARRACUDA' PALIN AND THE PIRANHAS OF THE PRESS

This is from an article in "Politics Daily" by Carl M. Cannon. It's rather lengthy, but I hope you will take the time to read it, a journalist exposing the biased reporting of Govenor Palin, and he states further, "In the 2008 election, we took sides...we simply didn't hold Joe Biden to the same standard as Sarah Palin:

...last Aug. 29 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, in an uphill fight against an attractive and front-running Democratic candidate, tapped the little-known governor of Alaska to be his running mate.
* * * * *
From the beginning, and for the ensuing 10 months, the coverage of this governor consisted of a steamy stew of cultural elitism and partisanship. The overt sexism of some male commentators wasn't countered, as one might have expected, by their female counterparts. Women columnists turned on Sarah Palin rather quickly. A plain-speaking, moose-hunting, Bible-thumping, pro-life, self-described "hockey mom" with five children and movie star looks with only a passing interest in foreign policy -- that wasn't the woman journalism's reigning feminists had envisioned for the glass ceiling-breaking role of First Female President (or Vice President). Hillary Rodham Clinton was more like what they had in mind – and Sarah, well, she was the un-Hillary.
"The fact of the matter is, the comparison between her and Hillary Clinton is the comparison between an igloo and the Empire State Building," Chris Matthews said on MSNBC's "Hardball" last October. (Note to Chris: That's not a "fact;" it's closer to a simile, and an ad hominem one at that.) But Matthews was hardly alone.
"This is not a serious choice," said Eleanor Clift, a regular on "The McLaughlin Group." "It looks like a made-for-TV movie. If the media reaction is anything, it's been literally laughter in very, very many newsrooms."
Howard Fineman, Clift's Newsweek colleague, in an appearance on MSNBC, said that McCain's choice of Palin undermined the planned story line of the GOP convention, which was going to be that Obama lacked the readiness to lead the country. "Well, Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like John Adams."
The first thing reporters and commentators seemed to have noticed about Gov. Palin was her physical beauty. The second was that she had a bunch of kids, the last one born with Down's syndrome in spring 2008. For some reason, these two facts infuriated many Democratic activists and bloggers – and some liberal journalists.
The most egregious example was posted on Daily Kos on Sept. 12, 2008 by Paul Lewis Hackett III, a trial lawyer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran of Iraq, who ran in 2005 for a vacant seat in the House from Ohio's second congressional district, losing narrowly in a district President Bush had carried easily just a year earlier.
Fretting that the Obama campaign was going to lose Ohio to McCain, Hackett proposed his own solution: A series of savage attacks on the GOP ticket focusing on Sarah Palin and her family. Here is what he wrote:
The message (would be) simple and the professionals can refine it but essentially it should contain these elements: Sarah Palin? Can't keep her solemn oath of devotion to her husband and had sex with his employee. Sarah Palin? Accidentally got pregnant at age 43 and the tax payers of Alaska have to pay for the care of her disabled child. Sarah Palin? Unable to teach her 16 year old daughter right from wrong and now another teenager is pregnant. Sarah Palin? Can you trust Sarah Palin and her values with America's future?
Apparently, Hackett took the rumors of an affair from the National Enquirer, which offered no proof, or even evidence. He then segued into an even uglier line of attack, arguing that it's irresponsible to bring a handicapped baby into the world. This is not "pro-choice," it's pro-eugenics. It's also creepy and illiberal, and reinforces conservatives' worst fears about Democrats and the issue of abortion. And, oh yes, Bristol Palin's age was wrong. She was nearly 18 when Hackett wrote this screed, not 16. This proved a harbinger, too, as misinformation slipped easily from the left blogosphere into mainstream coverage.
This New Journalism, if you can call it that, exhibited in 2008 was epitomized by an eradication of the lines between fact and opinion – and, even more troubling, between reporting and propaganda. Some journalists were content to repeat Democratic Party talking points or bloggers' rumors as though they were established fact, interspersing them with ideological commentary in a kind of toxic stew.
"She is a far-right conservative who supported Pat Buchanan over Bush in 2000. She thinks global warming is a hoax and backs the teaching of creationism in public schools," wrote Jonathan Alter in Newsweek on Aug. 29, 2008. Actually, she did not support Buchanan, she questioned whether climate change is man-made (not whether it's occurring) and gave creationists the most minor of rhetorical nods – and never questioned the teaching of evolution in schools.
But so it went.
She was a book burner, you know. How do I know this? Like many Americans, I received numerous emails telling me so, and found a hundred liberal Web sites that mentioned it. They even listed the books Palin wanted to ban from the public library in Wasilla, Alaska, classics and best sellers, ranging from "Huck Finn" to "Catch-22." The list was a hoax, of course, a deliberate smear, and none too clever, either: It included books published a decade after Palin served as mayor. When questioned by their own audiences, these bloggers would point to stories in the mainstream media, including one in Time magazine quoting a man named John Stein, the bitter ex-mayor whom Palin defeated when she ran for office. This is from Time:
"Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. 'She asked the library how she could go about banning books,' he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them.'"
This turned out to be about half-true, as what Palin really did was ask the librarian "if she would object to censorship even if people were circling the library to protest about a book," according to a contemporary account in the local newspaper. Yet this symbiosis between the mainstream media and the blogosphere raged throughout 2008, almost always to Palin's detriment.
Remember her callous decision as governor to cut Alaska's special education budget by 62 percent? After receiving emails to that effect, CNN's Soledad O'Brien cited the figure on-air. Oops. Palin actually tripled the state's spending on special needs kids.
Did you hear the one about her membership in the Alaska Independence Party, which favors secession from the union? That made The New York Times, and it was wrong, too.
But it was in the area of her family life where the press really lost its bearings.
"A day of stunning Palin disclosures," was how the Associated Press greeted the news that Bristol Palin was pregnant. "A political stunner!" echoed CNN's Campbell Brown. In one 30-minute stretch, CNN reporters and anchors referred to the teen's pregnancy as "a bombshell" four separate times.
Personally, I had always stood with the late, great Molly Ivins when it came to kids of politicians. The legendary Texas newspaper columnist was as liberal as they come, but her view about such matters was straightforward and unambiguous. "I don't do children," Molly said. (Barack Obama, by the way, agreed. Campaigning in Michigan when the Bristol Palin "bombshell" broke, he said, "People's families are off-limits and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Governor Palin's performance as a governor or potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories.")
His admirers in the press didn't heed their hero's warning. The Times, for example, which found the alleged transgressions of an actual presidential candidate (John Edwards) unworthy of investigation, managed to find room for three Page One stories touching on the sex life of a vice presidential candidate's daughter.
Also, it's important to remember why the Palin family even acknowledged Bristol's pregnancy: Because a thousand "liberal" Web sites, led by Daily Kos, the favored site of leftist Democrats, filled cyberspace with off-the-wall theories that Trig Palin was really Bristol's child and that Sarah had faked her own pregnancy. This was truly ugly territory, and nutty besides. It's not terribly different from the Obama-is-a-secret-Muslim-not-born-in-this-country stuff, with one crucial distinction: The Obama Muslim stuff was either debunked or ignored by the media --not the conspiracy theories about Trig Palin's birth. In some quarters of the evolving new media – The Huffington Post and Bill Maher's HBO program, to name two – the Palin pregnancy hoax was repeated. Some traditional outlets, including Vanity Fair and, most inexplicably, The Atlantic blog written by Andrew Sullivan, kept hammering away at it after it was proven false by photographic evidence and by Bristol's own pregnancy.
* * * * *
How much did this matter, in the end, to the outcome in 2008?
I really don't know. I do know this, however: The story line recited by my media brethren, naturally, absolves us of any wrongdoing. The narrative goes like this: Bristol's pregnancy notwithstanding, Sarah Palin and her family galvanized the Republican faithful in St. Paul, where the candidate showed great poise in her first national address, while attracting 32.7 million TV viewers – only 1.1 million fewer than had watched Obama a week earlier in Denver. By the end of the GOP convention, Palin had pulled ahead of Joe Biden by nine points in a poll asking who Americans would support if they could vote for the vice presidential nominees separately. She was doing fine, until....
...The Interviews.
The first of her in-depth network sit downs came with ABC's Charles Gibson. In those sessions, Palin came across as iffy, just barely treading water. But the press dunked her, particularly after witnessing this exchange:
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?
PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
GIBSON: What do you interpret it to be?
PALIN: His worldview?
GIBSON: No, the Bush Doctrine, enunciated in September 2002, before the Iraq War.
(Palin, clearly not knowing what he's driving at, responds with generalities before Gibson interjects as though he's a civics teacher and she's a lazy student.)
GIBSON: "The Bush Doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense. That we have the right of a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?"
This was widely cited in the media as proof that Palin was unready and over her head, and that McCain had done something "cynical" in choosing her. Except that Bush never said that, exactly, and certainly never suggested Iraq was one of many nations to be invaded. Gibson was simply wrong in suggesting the so-called "Bush Doctrine" was as immutable as the Monroe Doctrine. The "Bush Doctrine" was always a fuzzy concept, usually described that way by the president's critics as a way of expressing disagreement with his approach to foreign policy.
I remember seeing the phrase for the first time in a think piece by Steven Weisman in The New York Times in April 2002 – the very time frame suggested by Charlie Gibson. Weisman, writing about Ariel Sharon and the Middle East, defines the "doctrine" much differently than Gibson. ("Washington is filled right now with speculation about the state of Mr. Bush's thinking and which of his advisers have gained the upper hand," he wrote. "Vice President Dick Cheney and the hawks in the Pentagon are said to have encouraged Mr. Bush to support Mr. Sharon's military drive, arguing that it was simply an extension of the so-called Bush Doctrine, which holds those who harbor terrorists accountable for terrorism.")
Okay. Despite how it was portrayed in the press, perhaps Charlie Gibson didn't really expose Palin as an ignoramus. Maybe he tipped off his own private political views instead. No matter, the story line was set. Then came the much-parodied Katie Couric interview, where Palin couldn't name a single publication she reads as a source of news, struggled to provide an example of McCain standing up to Wall Street, and rambled semi-coherently when Couric asked Palin why on the campaign trail she cites Alaska's proximity to Russia as a foreign policy credential. It was this exchange that led to the most memorable line of the entire campaign: "I can see Russia from my house!" It came, of course, not from the candidate herself, but from her body-double, Tina Fey.
It must be said that no matter what one thinks of Couric's style of interrogation, Palin bombed in that interview. Clearly, the lack of lead time afforded her by the McCain camp, as well as her own lack of preparation, was showing. More disconcerting, she was still winging it when she should have been cramming furiously. So, the coverage of that interview may have been fair, up to a point. My beef with my colleagues in the press is that we copied Palin's very mistake: We thought after that session that we knew all we needed to know about Sarah Palin. Helen Thomas, old enough to just let it fly, spoke for many journalists when she said. "The ballgame was over after that. (Couric) saved the country."
That's one view. Another is that we chose sides in that election, and when our side pulled ahead, we stopped keeping score. The next time the Republicans showed strength (or, more precisely, when Palin's Democratic counterpart goofed up) we'd already become cheerleaders instead of judges.
Before I explain what I mean by that, it's important to remember that those weirdly personal attacks on Palin began before the Gibson and Couric interviews. "I'm not convinced that's her baby," Bill Maher had said on HBO. That was Sept. 5. The following day Mort Kondracke called Palin "this wacko right-winger." Then movie star Matt Damon gave a television interview, saying he thinks the possibility of Palin becoming president is "a really scary thing." He went on in this vein, using words like "terrifying" and "totally absurd" and saying the possibility of a "hockey mom ... facing down President Putin is like a really bad Disney movie." Then, and only then, did the interviews take place. In other words, Palin's detractors had already made up their minds before she'd flopped in two interviews. Were her tormentors prescient? Or were they close-minded?
We were about to find out. As the truncated 2008 general election campaign raced by, Palin's critics in the Fourth Estate maintained that they were simply doing their job in ferreting out the qualifications, experience, temperament, and knowledge base that Sarah Palin would bring to national office. I'm not a Republican or a conservative; I'm a lifelong journalist who was born and raised in this profession and normally I'd defend the media in this argument. In this instance I cannot.
The reason is what happened when the battle over Sarah Palin came to a head on Oct. 2, 2008, in St. Louis, Mo. That night, the press showed its colors – and they were Democratic blue. That was the night that Palin cleaned Joe Biden's clock in their only debate, and nobody in the media could even see it, let alone report it. That was the night that the dual blinders of ideology and elitism prevented us being honest brokers.
* * * * *
Gov. Palin certainly had her sketchy moments that night. On one occasion, she called her opponent "Senator O'Biden." She referred twice to the top U.S. military officer in Afghanistan as "General McClellan." (His name is David McKiernan). She claimed as mayor to have reduced taxes "every year I was in office," an assertion that is accurate only if one ignores sales tax increases. Likewise, she maintained that McCain's $5,000 tax credit for health coverage was "budget-neutral," which is only possible by repealing the laws of mathematics. She gave McCain more credit than he was due in blowing the whistle on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while repeating a misleading claim against Obama used by Hillary Clinton and McCain on an energy bill. She also exaggerated her own accomplishment regarding a $40 billion proposed pipeline in Alaska.
Sen. Biden, however, was in a place by himself when it came to bogus claims, absurd contentions, and flights of rhetorical fancy. He threw out several assertions that were so preposterous that – had Palin made them – they would have prompted immediate calls for McCain to dump her from the ticket.
The good senator from Delaware warmed up slowly, erroneously claiming that McCain voted with Obama on a budget resolution, and asserting wrongly that Obama wanted to return to the Reagan-era marginal income tax rates. He also embarked on an appallingly wrongheaded monologue about the constitutional history of the vice presidency. But when the talk turned to national security, presumably Biden's purported area of expertise, he went completely off the grid.
• "John McCain voted against a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that every Republican has supported," Biden stated. (Actually, in a 1999 vote in Congress, McCain sided with 50 other Republicans to kill the treaty. Only four joined the Democrats.)
• "Pakistan already has deployed nuclear weapons," Biden said. "Pakistan's weapons can already hit Israel and the Mediterranean." (Pakistan has no known intercontinental missiles. The range of its weapons is thought to be 1,000 miles – halfway to Israel.)
• "When we kicked--along with France--we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, 'Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't...Hezbollah will control it.'" Biden recalled. "Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel." (Except that the U.S. never kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon or anywhere else. They've been entrenched in Lebanon since 1982. Actually, Hezbollah, insofar as it was responsible for the 1983 suicide bombing at the Marine barracks that killed 241 U.S. servicemen, kicked America out of Lebanon, not the other way around.)
• "The president...insisted on elections on the West Bank, when I said, and others said, and Barack Obama said, 'Big mistake. Hamas will win. You'll legitimize them.' What happened? Hamas won," Biden said. (Only the last two words of Biden's strange soliloquy are true. The rest are false. For one thing, Fatah controls the West Bank. Biden was thinking of Gaza. Secondly, neither Biden nor Obama predicted the 2006 victory for Hamas in Gaza's legislative elections. Third, McCain and Obama – but not Biden -- signed a letter urging the president to pressure Palestinians to require that candidates adhere to democratic principles before being allowed to run for office. Fourth, Biden served as an election observer and later wrote an article expressing high praise for Bush's actions. To sum up: One factual error and three fibs in only 31 words. Pretty impressive, in its way.)
• "With Afghanistan, facts matter...we spend more money in three weeks on combat in Iraq than we spend on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan. Let me say that again..." (He did say it again, but that didn't make it true. It's wildly and weirdly off the mark. Yes, facts matter. The facts here were that at the time Biden was speaking, the U.S. had spent $172 billion in Afghanistan. The Iraq War consumes between $7 billion and $8 billion every three weeks. Biden's math was off by 2,000 percent.)
• "Can I clarify this? This is simply not true about Barack Obama. He did not say (he'd) sit down with Ahmadinejad." (He most certainly did. And among those who criticized him at the time for it was Joe Biden, who told Byron York of National Review that the idea of a president meeting with the likes of the Iranian president or Hugo Chavez was "naïve.")
Those were alarming mistakes. To me Biden's most discordant claims concerned his Animal House-like history lecture about the office of the vice president. It came while Biden was dressing down Dick Cheney, who was not present, for supposedly being unfamiliar with the Constitution. "The idea (that) he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States – that's the executive branch – he works in the executive branch," Biden said. "He should understand that. Everyone should understand that. And the primary role of the vice president of the United States is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and, as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit....He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the legislative branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive, and look where it has gotten us."
Lord, would Tina Fey have had fun with this jumble of misinformation – if only Palin had said it! Article I defines the legislative, not executive, branch. The vice president is, indeed, mentioned there. What Biden finds "explicit," hasn't been so to previous vice presidents or to most constitutional scholars. Prior to the 20th century, vice presidents didn't even have offices at the White House compound – they were housed in the Capitol. The notion that a veep's constitutional authority is to provide advice to a president springs from Biden's brow; it certainly isn't mentioned, or even contemplated, in the Constitution, which doesn't even say whether the vice president should receive a salary.
Should Joe Biden have known this stuff? Since he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, you'd hope so. But even if he didn't, you'd think it would be news when he unleashed a veritable fount of misinformation to impugn Palin's knowledge of the federal system while attacking a sitting vice president. It barely rated a mention in the collective mainstream media.
Facts matter, the man said. But they didn't in 2008, not when it came to Joe Biden (our guy) against Sarah Palin (odd outsider). The ladies and gentlemen of the press were more interested in her hair, her glasses, her wardrobe, he accent, her sex life, her kids' sex lives, and her hunting habits than in whether her opponent knew anything about foreign policy, the Constitution of the United States, or the job he was running for. They still are. The relentlessly negative coverage of Palin goes on unabated -- she's the subject of a much-ballyhooed hatchet job in Vanity Fair this month -- even as Biden makes minor news from time to time by continuing his penchant for gaffes, this time while serving as the second most powerful person in the federal government.
I must say, however, that when Palin announced her resignation last Friday, one of the few people who commented on it without saying something snarky was the only man who ever defeated her in an election. Asked for a comment by ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Vice President Biden replied that although he didn't necessarily see Palin as a victim of political bloodletting, he accepted her judgment on this matter and assumed she was doing it out of concern for her family.
"I don't know what prompted her decision...so I'm not going to second-guess her," Biden said. "And I take her at her word that (there was) a personal ingredient in it. And you have to respect that."

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My comments: There is no way to estimate how many people were swayed by the twisting of the truth or down right un-truths about Governor Palin or how much heart-ache, time and money it has and still is costing her and her family. I wish her the best.

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