Happy Constitution Day

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Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution. You won't hear the media discuss it. You won't read about it in the paper. You won't hear our elected officials invoke it, unless they invoke Article II's power to levy tax for the general welfare. Most politicians and all socialists hate it. They view it as an impediment to their power. Thank God that it is exactly that.

Today, I recommend a few activities. First, visit the Constitution Day website. Get a free copy. View quotes, read facts, take quizzes. According to their quizzes, I equate most with George Washington and I would be most likely to vote for him.

George Washington, the first President of the United States, was a beloved and respected leader. He was the only President ever to win a unanimous vote by the Electoral College. He led the American military during the American Revolution and was highly regarded by those who knew him, especially the soldiers who served under him. He was quiet and reserved in public but in his free time enjoyed many lighthearted hobbies, including playing cards, hunting, fishing and dancing. He had a long and happy marriage to Martha Washington. He had two step-children but no children of his own. His personal integrity has passed into legend, as has his leadership of the United States during its infancy.

Write your elected officials, or call them. Tell them you expect them to abide by this document or you will give time, talents, and treasure to see them replaced in the next election by someone who will abide by the Constitution. Find your Congressman. Find your Senators. I have found that some, even though you are not their constituent, will respond. They will also receive phone calls and register your thoughts. They are required to take note of what we think, whether they hearken to it or not.

In my Monday class two weeks ago, I let the students decide on the punishment for using a cell phone during class. Only one group voiced their opinion, and so they dictate for the whole of my student population what the punishment will be. If you do not express your voice, you get what you deserve.

No representation without affirmation.

On Light

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As part of class last night, the topic of the full light spectrum came up. Although we didn't discuss it near to the degree overtly that my mind took it, I have put the subject to some thought which I share with you for your edification and en-light-enment.

The actual comment was that some things don't appear in the visible spectrum. When I taught the introductory biochemistry lab in graduate school, one of the first labs we did was with light absorption. Many of the students were surprised to discover that their sunglasses didn't block as much UV as the manufacturer claims and that my regular glasses blocked quite a bit. Sometimes, the students had so much fun that they would find more materials to test for their absorption.

The point of that exercise was to demonstrate that light extends far beyond the spectrum our eyes are attuned to interpret. You know this already. Light rays account for the sunburn on your arm and face. Light rays actually cook food for you in the microwave. Special focused rays of light help people in Las Vegas find scorpions, which glow under certain wavelengths despite being largely transparent when they are young. If not for those types of light, our lives would be quite different.

In a larger way, the world of light teaches us something about the greater world around us. Although we cannot see it, there is light all around us, EVEN IN THE DARKNESS. That light has energy. That light is real. It is not part of the visible world, but it is true anyway, and some of it exerts influence on our lives or the lives of things around us.

When you consider light and truth, the same thing holds. There are truths that we have yet to fully comprehend, even though they constantly surround and influence us. Some things beyond our physical sight are still true, even if we "can't see" how or when or why or even what. I heard once that miracles are simply an ability to access a higher law. I offer that if we could see all light, and all things in their proper light, it would cast new light on the shadows of uncertainty and obfuscation, and we would see things as they really are and really will be.

Humans depend far too much on what they actually can see. In doing so, they miss out on so much more, because there is an entire world out there of light to which our eyes and other senses are not attuned. Beyond the concepts of dimensionality, these things coexist with us, in a different wavelength, because they are light and truth, and although we cannot see them, they are there all the same.

Faith is a bluebird you see from afar. It's for sure and as real as the first evening star. You can't touch it or buy it or wrap it up tight, but it's there just the same making things turn out right. --"Rufus" in The Rescuers, Walt Disney Corp 1977

May you see what others do not and find light wherever you go. Remember that the visible world is not the end of all truth, it is only the beginning.

Evidence of Obama's Lies

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You may have heard about how unemployment figures are "less bad". You may have heard about people whose spending is up. You may have heard the President claim that he has "saved us from the brink".

You may have heard about the Tea Party on the National Mall last Saturday. You may have heard that Congressman Joe Wilson called the President a liar during the joint session of Congress. You may have heard that stores in your town continue to close and people you know lost their jobs. You may have heard someone you know receive their paycheck back for "insufficient funds".

So what do you trust? That's a really tough call. I have been in the market for a home since March of this year, and the number of homes that fit my criteria has been consistently near 60, despite turnover and despite the increase in sales. I have not been my ward's employment specialist for several months now, but so many members of my church ward are unemployed that when someone gets one it warrants a general huzzah and announcement in our meetings. I have taken a 5% pay cut, been subjected to an increase into retirement from 10.5% to 11.25%, seen Nevada raise sales tax from 7.75% to 8.1%, and had my insurance premium payment rise $35/month. Taken together, this means I take home $150 less per month, plus gas is on the rise again.

When a friend of mine showed me this story, I thought it was interesting. Shipping magnate Maersk (formerly famous for Obama and the pirates), the Singapore shipyard, and the presence of these ships themselves prove that the economy continues to suffer under the present policies. The story predicts that the size of this idle fleet will double in the next year. That's not a recovery in my book. Some of these ships are oil tankers. I don't know about you, but we could use that oil...

Interestingly enough, we see that the shipping rates have dropped as per this story. That doesn't do much good if there is no demand.

Mr. President- give us our money back so we can stimulate the economy ourselves.

Obama lied. The economy died.

Their pictures are really good. I have moved them to preserve them for when the story goes inactive. They are property of the UK Daily Mail. Interesting how we can trust the British to read us the straight story but not our own fearless leader.

The Ghost Fleet


See how empty they are?

Stupid Hat

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I got this from a friend today and I really like it.

Every man has a hat. I call it his stupid hat, because when he wears it, he can't help but do really stupid things.

It's silly, but it's a way i can vent about my husband "wearing his favorite hat" that minimizes the damage to our relationship, and it lets me see him separate from his behaviors that I don't like.

I have a couple of friends whose hubby's never take their hats off!!!

I hope you find one, that doesn't have her own hat one of these days.

Now, sometimes I admit I wear the stupid hat. Sometimes I do really dumb things without a lot of thought. However, I live the best I can all the time. My best friend says he thinks I will burn out because I am always on my best behavior. My best might not be as good as someone else's best, but I always give the best, whereas some people make a good show one day and then are debauched the next.

If you look for the bad in me expecting to find it you will, but I will always give you the very best I can at the time.

Agency v. Predestination

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Over the last few weeks, I have given a considerable amount of thought to the issue of revelation versus agency. Some of my friends have been unwitting participants to the conversation. Some of my favorite books have as well. I present to you some of my thoughts because I think I found something on the topic worth sharing.

One friend of mine said this:

God will give you direction in your life but it is never set in stone when it involves others. Their agency can change your path.

From what I know about her life, she thought that this guy she dated was the guy for her. The trouble is that God gives men agency as a catalyst to growth through choice, and so it can feel like the choices of others impact your ability to pursue your own happiness.

In the end, you control your destiny. In the end, you can do your best. I told a student this summer that my secret was to take control of the parts of my life that were in my control and trust the rest to God.

Now, I disagree with my friend because of something I just read from CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters XXVII. Screwtape tells Wormwood that God "does not foresee the humans making their free contributions in a future, but sees them doing so in His unbounded Now. And obviously to watch a man doing something is not to make him do it".

God does not MAKE us do anything. He knows what we will do because he sees us do it. His perspective covers a greater range than ours. Thus, our NOW is just a small portion of HIS. This is also why he can say he comes "soon" because from his perspective on a large continuum, it's not that far off.

To answer my quandry about Agency v. Revelation, it comes down to this. He already sees us choose what we choose in his NOW, so in our NOW, he can tell us what the future truth will be because it's his PRESENT. In that way, he gives revelation about future events that deal with people without any imposition on the agency of others. To see a man make a choice differs from any attempt to force a man to make that choice. He sees it, and so he shares his vision. That's why you can trust what he says people will do.

11 September 2009

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Whether we bring our enemies to justice or justice to our enemies, justice will be served.

--President George W Bush, eight years ago today

A quote I'd never heard but with which I wholeheartedly concur.

*hattip to the former president*

Housing Update Sep 09

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I had hoped that when I returned from Boston there would be good news. I have felt for about a week now that something good was about to happen. Naturally, since I have several housing prospects, I thought I'd have a message from my realtor. No such luck.

She wrote me back today to tell me that Apple Cart chose a higher offer and Morning Break did too. So, there are still a few in play, but nothing good to report yet. To review those homes, go here.

Nation of Racists? Hardly

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Ever since Obama took office, he and his administration have played the race card without abeyance. To white crowds, he extolled his white grandmother. To black crowds, he threw her to the wolves. Then we had Sotomayor. Now we have articles on how your baby must be born racist, and accusations by Jimmy Carter that Joe Wilson's outburst was born of racism.

America has never been concerned with race. Here, we care what you do, and not who your father was. The people who cry race are those that seek to drive a wedge between us. I remember working with Cameron at UPS during college who, when asked to fill out a company survey, complained "Why do I have to mark African American? Why can't I just be an American?"

On my trip to Boston, I came across some famous Americans of other complexion to whom I wish to draw your attention.
Crispus Attucks, killed in Boston 5 March, 1770
Prince Estabruck, wounded on Lexington Green 19 April, 1775
"unknown Negro", wounded at Charlestown, 19 April, 1775
Peter Salem, killed Major Pitcairn, famous for Lexington, at the battle of Breed's Hill, 17 June 1775

These men were all heroes in their own right who fought for freedom long before the prospect was ever put forth to end slavery in the south. First, it was absolutely critical to end slavery to the British Crown.

Everything that irritates us about others leads us to an understanding of ourselves. I have noted that the thing that bothers people most about others is the thing about themselves they most wish were not. When they say "stop bickering", they are bickerers. When they say, "stop the games", they play them. When they say, "Put an end to racism", they are ashamed that they themselves are racists.

The more you draw attention to something you wish to go away, the longer you prolong it before the eyes of the people. If you want it to go away, let it go. When denigrators can no longer get a rise out of you, they will drop the assault. What Obama and his ilk want is for us to cease being Americans, to lose our faith in God and the Founding Fathers and trust in him for deliverance.

Complexion does not make men great leaders. Shaving, suits, and speeches do not make a man trustworthy. About 2000 years ago, a bearded man in sandles who drew in the dirt, befriended fishermen, and spent his time with sinners walked the earth. He was a Jew by birth, a carpenter by trade, a king by ancestry, a teacher by right, and one of the most pivotal men who ever walked the earth. in the end, he was taken before an unjust trial, condemned to death, beaten, scourged, and crucified. Obama is no Christ, and his skin color has nothing to do with it.

The greatest "man" to walk the earth ever was actually a Jew. Chew on that Jimmy Carter.

Boston Tea Party 2009

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After I found a place to park in Boston, I made a beeline to Congress Street, which crosses the harbor where the Boston Tea Party took place. Although there is a replica ship that sits there for tours, due to fire, it is out this year for repairs (seems all the wooden ships except Mayflower II are under refit). So, I hurried over to the site to dispose of the tea I brewed for the very purpose to throw it, just the tea, into the harbor.

The site is FAR removed from everything else to see in Boston. The tea spilled three times. I had just enough left over you could tell I threw some. Very few tourists were there. Then, I spied a couple. Wouldn't you know it? The tourists who helped me were French. They were there for us again when we need them, just like LaFayette.

They shot a video for me and then continued on their way and I made my way to the Freedom Trail, having accomplished one of my major goals for the trip. Video forthcoming.

How to Survive Colonization of the Americas 101

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My friend asked me about the most interesting things I learned in MA so far. One thing that came to mind was a display from the Pilgrim museum in Plymouth.

They have a poster that shows silhouettes of the Pilgrims and others who came ashore that frigid December grouped by families. On that same poster, they show greyed out who died that first winter. There were some interesting details that, given the small sample size are probably not statistically relevant, show a short synopsis of how to survive New England in the 17th century.

You died:
if you were single, male and over 30
if you had given birth within the last two years
if you were under 2 years old
if you were female and under 30


Otherwise most everybody lived. Bradford's wife died, and a few other random individuals, but without knowing about how they died, it seems fairly simple that to survive in the colony, in the winter, in New England, you were best served if you had a family around you to love you.

The colony as a result became a growing and young community. Several children were born the next year. Survivors remarried. The sturdy and strapping survived and passed on a legacy.

Family is the key. Good thing I brought mine.