Tuesday, October 28, 2008

"This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given"

Luke 11:29-33 - When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nin'eveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nin'eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light."

Our Sign is the Cross – He will not grant you another sign, so that he may give holy things to dogs or throw pearls before swine….
He said only the sign of Jonah will be given to them. This means the Passion on the Cross and the Resurrection from the dead. (St. Cyril of Alexandria)
http://www.byzcath.org/

Monday, October 27, 2008

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

No Blogging Allowed - Again

It’s that time of year again. It has been for the past month. I have been trying to pretend that it is not, but I cannot avoid it anymore. It’s my work's convention prep time and holiday time and baby time. I have been and will be far too busy to blog.

I hope to fit in a blog here or there, but, they will be few and far between.

Monday, October 13, 2008

An Evening at The Heart of Texas Fair

I have never seen our little man so quiet and intrepid. But, he definitely enjoyed the adventure--the animals, the pony ride and the funnel cake. :-)










Friday, October 10, 2008

09 Presidential Political Impressions 1.1 – Marxism; or How This Election Will Transform Us to Socialism

I must admit that I am no scholar of Marx, but here we go in my attempt to simplify Marxist notions in reference to U.S. Presidential candidate Barack Obama. My goal here is that my mother-in-law will understand and finish reading this without her eyes glazing over (It’s okay if it happens; I already want to check out on this matter). I must admit Marxism is a bit complex to explain, or to put in a nutshell. But, here it is in a nutshell:

Marxism is not a type of political regime as one might think, but HOW a government reforms society to become a socialist governance. I emphasize here the metamorphosis of the society and the beliefs stemming the change. A Marxist Society attempts to overthrow *capitalism (*=our current state, in which we live and have a competitive free market), and in its place the government would control all major institutions and institute new, major, social programs, excepting religion.

Marxism in two nutshells—another emphasis of Marxism is the redistribution of wealth to even the division of different classes. The overall sentiment is that everyone is an equally important cog in the machine, and therefore, we as a society must take care of every cog equally.


Are you screwing up your face yet? I feel a bit dizzy already. It’s not really possible to put Marxism in a nutshell. Further, lots of people know that it has not worked out well for those nations who implemented Marxist ideals and therefore, it has a taboo nature attached to it. However, the above nutshell is the working knowledge that I am working with here in this post. If it makes you feel better, substitute the word Marxism with Socialist Democracy (which is an acceptable substitution, I looked it up).

I had heard knowledgeable and notable political analysts call Obama a Marxist for various reasons. I asked myself whether I thought the claims were unwarranted. They were not. Obama is a strict socialist. Here are a few of questions to ask when considering whether Obama is a Marxist (a.k.a. strong supporter of socialism).

1. Does he think there is a class struggle in America? Clearly, yes
2. Does he think that because there is a class struggle the government should step in with government funded social programs? Yes
3. Does he think that more of the private sector needs to be regulated by government? Yes

O’Reilly accused Obama of being Robin Hood Obama—taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Except that when Robin Hood stole from the rich he was taking from tyrannical land lords who unjustly taxed the land tenants. Obama just wants to tax the riche for simply being richer.
Further, Obama claimed that, “if I am sitting pretty, and you have got a waitress who is making minimum wage plus tips, and I can afford it and she can't, what's the big deal for me to say ‘I am going to pay a little bit more?’” That is not the free market, democratic, capitalist America we have come to know and love. It’s socialism.

Also in this interview,
O'REILLY: You are taking money away from the big earners, and you are giving it to people who don't. That's called "income redistribution." It's a socialist tenet.
BARACK OBAMA: What I believe is, is that there are certain things we have got to do. And we have got to help people who have a tough time affording college, so they can benefit like we have benefited from this great country. People who are having a tough time, they don't have health care, people who are trying to figure out how they are going to pay the bills. And there are certain things we have got to do.

Guess what? I have learned that a college education is not worth as much as one would think. It’s been greatly devalued by the fact that many American workers have college educations; and that the quality of education is different now on many levels. Now, when I look at job advertisements, they all require a master’s degree or equivalent experience. I have found that those who chose to complete associates degrees have also faired much better in income earnings. One, A.A. degrees are more practical and career oriented. Two, people I know who received an associate degree spent two more years in the job market earning wages and gaining experience. Three, they did not spend between $20,000-$40,000 a year on a 4 year post-secondary education. Further, it is because of government education loans that universities have been able to increase enrollment, increase demand, and therefore increase their overall tuition, but not necessarily increase overall quality.

Okay. I’ll concede something major here. Do I think Barack Obama is a staunch Marxist? Heck no! It is clear that man loves capitalism. Sen. Obama could not be the self-made man that he is without it. He could not be the well-funded campaigner he is without capitalism. Barack Obama wants this nation to be a successful, capitalist nation full of hope and opportunity. He wants it to be the kind of nation that gave him all the opportunity he was afforded. BUT, he wants to do it by having the U.S. government take over some of America’s tested and true capitalist institutions. That part of his plan does not make sense to me.

Does he believe in socialism? His plans for America indicate yes. Let’s put this in the Marxist terminology used previously. Obama wants to TRANSFORM THE American governance so that the GOVERNMENT HAS MORE POWER TO CREATE socioeconomic EQUALITY BETWEEN THE CLASSES. You do not need me to rehash his plans. They are on his website. Now, you know where I am coming from, if you found my previous posting cryptic or inflammatory.

What I want for America is better quality Americans. In my plan for America, we do not simply bestow what is desired. It has to be earned. I hate to see Americans forget that this nation was humbly built by hard work and a competitive spirit. Our quality of living is already vastly better than what could have been dreamed 30 years ago. Lets not lose our competitive edge by relinquishing all control to government. Some government e is good, too much is bad.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Sweater She'll Probably Never Wear, Etc.

Well, it only took 5 weeks of Alexander’s napping or bedtime, and two seasons of NCIS on DVD to finish, but here it is—My Homemade Baby Sweater. It’s a nice relaxing activity for a pregnant mommy.

I learned a lot about gauge while making this sweater. It turns out that it was okay I knitted it too long, because the gauge of yarn and needle size I used made the sleeves longer too. I also learned some new techniques. It’s super soft and probably more a 12 month old size sweater. I still have to get some mauve color buttons.

Next up, a cable knit scarf. I have the supplies now for cable knitting. We’ll see how I do. There are always mistakes when learning to do something new.






Sad times—I think very shortly our digital camera will die a permanent death. I cannot say that I have been very pleased with it. I can never get a picture with the right lighting. It’s either too bright, too dark, or grainy. Now it takes pictures with a dark band at the top. I paid way too much for it. Lesson learned: it’s not a good idea to buy a digital camera off of ebay; further it’s probably even better to be able to give a camera a test run, since it is so expensive.


Too bright, too dark, too grainy

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Oops...he, he, he - Editing & Corrections

Yesterday, I said that the bailout was $700 million. Then I re-read my post today and realized my mistake. I do know it is a $700 Billion bailout. I feel like Dr. Evil in the first Austin Powers movie. I am taking this whole world ransom for one meeell-yon doll-ars. Mwah ha ha ha. I really should edit before I post. Mea culpa.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Playing Pretend with the Economy


On a side note: I know. People who read my blog (that sounds weird to me) are waiting to hear the rest of my political impressions (that sounds conceded and probably is). But, I have had a busy week and I do not want to be hasty about what I say next. So, the next one is coming and it is coming soon. I plan to make it as simple as possible.

Moving on…there is something that has been bothering me for the past six months. It’s the economy. I understand very little about economics and I am wholeheartedly lost in this mess. I am lost even after watching a television program on current economics (can’t learn it in an hour folks). I learned that this kind of meltdown has happened to the U.S. six times before. Hmm, and we did not learn anything? I know things are bad. I know that it is very, very bad that many of our largest companies are bankrupt.

Here is where I am confused. How can congress just decide to bailout the American market with $700 million? It seems like fake money to me. Maybe that is why the rest of the world markets are tanking too. We just pumped a bunch of fake money into it.

Here is another thing that confuses me. Everywhere I look I see Americans continuing to live their lives of leisure, enjoying their families, putting food on their tables. That’s the most important thing. Americans are still putting food on the table. In the Great Depression people instantly lost their jobs, were homeless and starving. I do not think that is where we are going yet, because I have been watching this closely all year. For people with jobs the biggest sacrifice I have seen people make so far is trading down their transportation. Americans can do with a little humbling and remember our simpler roots.

Further the American dollar is still way higher than what I would expect it to be at this point.

Granted, I am still paying my bills, my debts (cursed college loans and college credit cards). If I did not have a job, I would not be able to do this. I would be part of the problem. But, like I have said, I am confused about this whole mess: how we got there and how it will be corrected, if we can correct it.

The economy is fake, to me anyway. What would happen if we wiped it all clean? Probably nothing would happen at this point. That is what is happening in my eyes. Headline: Today Global Markets Tank and Wipe Themselves Clean – The Market Will Start Over Fresh Next Year.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

’09 Presidential Political Impressions 1.0 - Marxism

After last Friday’s presidential debate I was not impressed by either candidate. By this point in presidential elections I am usually disenchanted and disheartened by both candidates and to be honest, nothing has changed. There comes a point when a mature individual realizes that neither candidate will be able to wave his or her magic wand and fix everything. However, please excuse the South Park reference from the 2000 election, at least it’s not between a douche and a terd sandwich.

Despite my disenchantment, my mind IS made up about this presidential election. There are a couple of things I must point out about the opponent. Firstly, Sen. Barack Obama has been accused to his face that he is a Marxist and he has not denied it, nor can he deny it. His intention is to transform this nation from a historically successful capitalist democracy to a socialist democracy a.k.a Marxist society. Everything Obama has proposed to “Change” the U.S.A. are Marxist tenets.

Marxism has proven, on a grand scale, to be an ineffective form of government and has crippled great and weak nations alike. This alone could be the greatest reason to vote for the other candidate, Sen. John McCain, who desires to move America back toward our capitalist roots. It is the very same capitalist government that our founding fathers intended us to have when they wrote the declaration of independence, declaring that we would not be crippled by British “taxation without representation.”

With the economic strife we Americans have suffered in recent times, it is clear we have already begun our transformation to a socialist democracy. In hindsight, the credit crisis was created not only by greed, but socialist tenets claiming that everyone ought to be able to get a credit line. The fact is that not everyone deserves credit. It’s earned through hard work. It used to be that you paid 20% down to buy a house on credit. That was ended with the idea that poor people deserve to own houses too. Look where that socialist idea has gotten us—global destruction of the credit market. Well done socialism. A vote for Obama is a vote for socialism, a vote for Marxism.

Upcoming Blog Posts:

- Examples from Obama’s Plan for America that are Marxist
- A Baby is a “Punishment” – Unless Your Pay Grade Allows for It
- Sen. McCain – A History of Service