We welcomed Ryan home from Hillsdale College last night. He sat down for a quick dinner (Bolyard Burgers, on the grill!), unloaded a carload of laundry, and headed off to Bible study with his dad. He also left me with a reading assignment from his American Heritage Reader, compiled by the Hillsdale College History Faculty. It's a collection (882 pages) of important documents and writings from Colonial times thru Reagan. Ryan was so excited about what he's been learning that he wanted to share it with me, which is music to a homeschooling mom's heart. My assignment: "The Great Nation of Futurity" by John Louis O'Sullivan (1813-1895). It contains this quote about our country:"We have had patriots to defend our homes, our liberties, but no aspirants to crowns or thrones; nor have the American people ever suffered themselves to be led on by wicked ambition to de-populate the land, to spread desolation far and wide, that a human being might be placed on a seat of supremacy."
Our nation has truly been blessed! In light of what we've seen in the Middle East in recent months and looking across the whole of history, we are indeed unique and exceptional.
Baptist Press - Disaster pushes Japanese beyond secular thinking: ...Proud of their secular society, most Japanese are not religious. But in a time of crisis, International Mission Board missionary Gary Fujino says they tend to fall back on an old Japanese expression, 'The god that you depend on in times of crisis.'
'What that means is when things are bad, you will go to the temple and shrine because nothing you've tried thus far worked,' Fujino explains. He notes that, once the crisis is over, no one goes back to the temple or shrine.
Thousands of prayer tablets hung in one-day testify that the crisis in Japan continues to grow and people are trying to find ways to cope...
They really believe that in themselves they have what they need, which makes it very difficult to share the Gospel' Fujino says. 'What we need is for people to be shaken and realize that you need something outside of yourself -- God'...
'I learned in the Kobe earthquake that I needed God. I learned that I don't need material things. My heart opened up,' she says. 'I think God saved me back then because He wants to use me now.'...
...She explains that the Japanese government will take care of things and rebuild houses in a few months, but she can do something even bigger -- introduce people to the God who can rebuild their lives. 'I have a really strong God,' she says. 'I want those people in the disaster to know my God's strength and power.'
Dorsey cannot make it to the disaster zone yet because of radiation fears, not to mention the lack of government permits, but she's doing what she can in Tokyo. From her church just a few miles from the Shinto shrine, she prays for her country. Dorsey's prayers are different than those hanging in the shrine. Hers are not 'wishes' or 'hopes.' She knows her God personally and knows He will provide."
Somehow, I knew this was coming. The Radiation Network has real-time updates from Gieger counters across the country. The map is refreshed every minute of the day for those who are having trouble sleeping without knowing what the radiation level is. According to the website, "alert level" is 100 counts per minute (CPM), so it looks like we're in good shape, for now.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 400 Republican "usual primary voters" last week and asked the following:If the Republican candidates for President in 2012 were Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney who would you vote for?
Haley Barbour 2% .................................................Mitch Daniels 4% ..................................................Newt Gingrich 16% .................................................Mike Huckabee 19% ...............................................Sarah Palin 15% .....................................................Ron Paul 7% .........................................................Tim Pawlenty 5% ..................................................Mitt Romney 18% ....................................................Someone else/Undecided 13%
Given the choices of Ken Blackwell, Drew Carey, Jon Husted, Shannon Jones, Jim Jordan, Steve LaTourette, Josh Mandel, and Mary Taylor who would you most like to see as the Republican candidate for Senate next year?
Ken Blackwell 17% .................................................Drew Carey 12% .....................................................Jon Husted 14% ......................................................Shannon Jones 1% ...............................................Jim Jordan 8% ......................................................Steve LaTourette 8% .............................................Josh Mandel 6% ...................................................Mary Taylor 9% .....................................................Someone else/Undecided 25%
Drew Carey? Really? Did people think they were voting for John Kerry? They asked the same question again without Carey in the mix and got the following results:
Ken Blackwell 21%
.................................................Jon Husted 14% ......................................................Shannon Jones 4% ...............................................Jim Jordan 10% ......................................................Steve LaTourette 10% .............................................Josh Mandel 7%
...................................................Mary Taylor 8%
.....................................................Someone else/Undecided 26%
It's interesting that Ken Blackwell, Ohio's former Secretary of State received so many votes. He's a solid conservative who challenged Michael Steele for the GOP Chairmanship a couple years ago. Considering his name hasn't been in the news much, it's a strong showing. Jim Jordan has said he plans to stay in the House, where he leads the conservative Republican Study Committee. It's notable that there are a lot of undecided votes up for grabs.
They also asked:
Would you describe yourself as very liberal, somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal 1% ......................................................Somewhat liberal 3% ............................................Moderate 16% .........................................................Somewhat conservative 46% ..................................Very conservative 34%
80% of Republican "usual primary voters" consider themselves conservatives. Lawmakers and candidates, listen up! RINOs need not apply. Wisconsin lawmaker hit by property damage - JSOnline: "The office of Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) said the senator has been subjected to damage of personal property and has received threatening statements in the wake of mass protests in recent weeks over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill.
Kapanke have been unavailable, but an aide to Kapanke says that windows on Kapanke's car were broken in Madison and the senator's wife found nails strewn on the driveway of their home."
This is what democracy looks like?
Germany's Eco-Trap: Is Environmentalism Really Working? - SPIEGEL ONLINEThis article in Spiegel Online demonstrates what happens in the headlong rush into ill-conceived environmental policies:
E10 (ethanol) Fuel:"Many haven't yet fully realized that E10 is an ecological swindle. People who want to help the environment shouldn't use it. Nine large European environmental associations recently conducted a joint study which concluded that the bottom line impact of the fuel on the environment is negative. Rainforests are being clear-cut in Brazil and Borneo to make room for sugarcane and oil palm cultivation. At the same time there's a shortage of arable land for food production, which is leading to the threat of famine in parts of the world. Last year, the price of grain rose sharply in the global market."
Recycling:"Under German law, only 36 percent of plastic rubbish has to be recycled. The remainder can be sold for a profit, for example to plants that burn rubbish to produce heating or power. Such facilities are everywhere in Germany. Municipalities across the country built then in response to a ban on storing garbage in landfills. Indeed, now there are far too many of them in Germany -- and there is a shortage of burnable waste.
The result is that firms are buying up as much plastic waste -- which burns well due to the high quantity of oil in plastics -- as they can get their hands on. Indeed, some companies have even resorted to importing plastic waste to burn -- hardly a contribution to an environmental utopia."
Water Conservation:"The Germans are obsessed with saving water. You won't find many countries north of the Sahara that are as water-conscious as Germany. They save water while washing dishes (a modern dishwashing machine uses only six liters per cycle), while going to the toilet (many toilets have a setting that allows only a brief flush), and even when washing their cars....
..."And water conservation in Germany can be harmful -- particularly when it comes to the sewage systems beneath German cities. The lack of waste water flowing through the canalization means that fat, faeces and discarded food aren't getting flushed out enough, and are corroding the walls. To compensate, utilities are forced to pump hundreds of thousands of liters of fresh water through the system to keep it operable..."
Insulation:"By rights, the venerable town of Weimar with its beautiful old architecture should be forbidden. None of the buildings meet modern standards of heating insulation. The walls are too thin, the windows aren't properly sealed, the place is a disaster in terms of energy efficiency. Politicians in Berlin have ensure that the situation will soon improve. By 2050, all buildings in Germany must be carbon neutral, according to the government's energy plan presented last year. 'If we take that legislation seriously, we would have to tear down half the town,' says Weimar Mayor Stefan Wolf....
...Across the country, insulating panels are going up on the outside of myriad buildings. With older buildings making up a quarter of the country's housing stock, there seems to be little other choice...
Another problems is that well-insulated buildings don't breathe -- no outside air gets in and CO2 can build up quickly inside as a result. So can mould. Installing air vents can be exorbitant."
World's Guiltiest Dog. Poor Denver....shoulda left those kitty cat treats alone!
