Obama and the Stock Market

A lot of financial experts are saying that stocks took an even greater dive after the election and have stayed down since, because investors (both foreign and domestic) are waiting to see what an Obama presidency will do in terms of the economy (taxing the rich, etc). As of now, they do not have the confidence to invest, so are taking a "wait and see" approach..

Overall, Obama's judgement has been impressive as far as most of his cabinet picks and his retaining Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. It was also heartening to see that he did not back down on his choice of having Pastor Rick Warren be a part of the inauguation, despite being under heavy fire from the "gay gestapo" for doing so. Perhaps he will not pander so much to the special interest groups as was feared by many.

It is being predicted the market will recover somewhat, after he takes office, especially if these bipartisan choices become the rule. President elect Obama is an extremely smart man, and since being briefed by the White House on confidential, top security, matters, his stance on ending the Iraq war seems to have have been altered, as he has gained a more comprehensive sobering view on how the outcome of that war (misguided as it has been) relates to America's security (after all, the #1 responsibility of the government is to keep us safe!) The fact that he wants to increase our troops in Afghanistan is very promising.

Unfortunately, a lot of people who voted for him will be undoubtebly, disappointed that all of the entitlements they expected, are not going to come to fruition. There is a glimmer of hope now, for a lot of us naysayers, that Obama might turn out to be a president for all the people after all, and potentially one of our greatest presidents. He certainly has inherited a big mess!!!! May God be with him and

Homosexual "Marriage"

The union between two persons of the same sex and that between a man and a woman will never be "equal", no matter how many laws are passed or rulings by activist judges are made. They are entirely different and therefore, require different words to describe them.

I believe that a committed homosexual couple ought to be afforded the exact same legal rights as a married one through civil unions, etc., however, I along with the great majority of Americans, simply do not want the definition of marriage, that has stood for over five thousand years and is the very bedrock of civilization, changed.

The term marriage ought to be reserved for the union of one man and one woman. I do not believe this is really about the term marriage, however, it is about forcing the acceptance of a lifestyle that most of us find repugnant.

As far as legalizing gay marriage not affecting all of us, one has only to look at the ramifications of the law in Massachusetts. Parents now have no rights at all in terms of what their children can and cannot be taught about the subject. Gays are pushing their agenda heavily in the schools through books and mandatory "education" programs.

Parents are being told they and their children may not "opt out" of these indoctrination sessions since gay marriage is now the law of the land.

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/ma...

Sarah Palin, Bright Shining Star of the New Republican Party

Gov. Palin may not have fancy degrees from an ivy league school, but she is a dynamite lady with amazing administrative abilities who has an unprecendented 80%+ approval rating in the state she governs. She is being credited now, in part, for the double digit victory of Saxby Chambliss yesterday, even after the Dems sent in their big guns, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and the rapper, Ludicrous. Imagine that!

Over the next four years, the Republican Party, which sadly, lost its way over the past 8 years, will rally and rediscover its Reaganistic ideals: smaller government, fiscal responsiility, more individual rights and freedoms . All of this and lower taxes.

Sarah Palin is one of several dynamic new stars who have a bright future in turning the party around to accomplish those goals.

Musings on Muslim Extremism

The attacks by Muslim Extremists in India, in the past several days, have me doing some serious thinking in terms of why the world is in the midst of turmoil largely created and being perpetrated by this faction of Islam, ironically, called "the religion of peace".

I am growing quite weary and troubled by those who want to justify the actions of this group by denigrating all religion, especially, Christianity.

In simplistic terms, Christians follow the teachings of Christ (hence the name Christian) who came "not to condemn the world, but to save it". No where in the New Testament are Christians mandated to kill in his name. On the contrary, we are admonished to "love our neighbor as ourselves", "hate the sin, but love the sinner". The Old Testament is an accounting of Jewish law, which was mostly abolished with the coming of Jesus. The United States' judicial system was, however, patterned after the Ten Commandments, which are in the Old Testament.

Muslims follow the teachings of Mohammed, a warrior and founder of Islam. Islam was established 600 years after the birth of Jesus. The followers of that religion are bound by the teachings of Mohammed, which are clearly outlined in the Koran. The mandate to followers of Islam is to kill all unbelievers, if they cannot be converted. It is all is in there, in black and white, though most Muslims do not take that literally, (hence the Extremist view, which is to interpret it in that way).

Those who refuse to believe that, are courting danger in this very real "War on the West" we are experiencing and which is the source of most of terrorism in the world today. If suddenly and miraculously this war by Muslim Extremists were to cease, the world would be a decidedly more peaceful place.

As stated earlier, this is a simplisitic view, and is much more complicated, but basically that is the way I understand it.

To compare Christianity with Islam is folly at best, and ignores the very real dangers inherent in the teachings of Mohammed. I can only think that a large majority of the world's 2.3 billion Muslims are either illiterate and therefore, haven't read the Koran (just as a lot of people who claim to be Christians haven't actually ever read and studied the New Testament) or simply choose to ignore the part of their holy book which does indeed incite them to violence against unbelievers.

I continue to be amazed at the lack of an outcry among Muslims, as a whole, condemning these violent acts of terrorism.

God Bless America

John McCain fought the good fight for America against overwhelming odds. His concession speech last night demonstrated that he is truly a class act.

I wish President Obama all the best, and hope all Americans will get behind him. We simply cannot endure another 4 years of intense hatred toward an American president by the main stream media and a lot of our citizens. That does nothing but weaken and divide us.

Obama will need all of our support and prayers as he faces some of the most difficult challenges in our nation's history. My biggest concern is our country's security against those (Radical Islam) who want nothing more than the destruction of our nation and its people.

The good news is that McCain is still our Senator here in Arizona. He took our state by a comfortable margin, as he did in my home state of Tennessee. The other good news is that the citizens of Arizona overwhemingly passed the "Protect Marriage Amendment" to our state constitution.

The Election

The sad (and scary) prediction is that, if Obama loses, there will be mass rioting in the streets. Police Depts. all over the country, especially in the predominately Black large cities, are preparing for the worst. They also predict riots if he wins!

It is indeed very troubling to see people voting for Obama soley on his color, and not his "content of character".

He continually has denied knowing anything about the radical agendas of his numerous, far left, close friends and associates for the past 20+ years, his Kenyan aunt who is here illegaly, etc., etc., etc.!

His campaign has effectively silenced any MSM news source that has criticized him,(thrown reporters off his plane, boycotted the Florida TV station that dared to ask a straight question they didn't like, etc).

The ultra liberal "community"organization A.C.O.R.N., for whom Obama has worked in the past, has obviously committed large scale voter registration fraud in order to help swing the election. Again, he has down played his role in helping that group in the past.

The LA Times is refusing to release a video they have of him toasting A PLO terrorist leader. The list goes on and on. Still, masses of the American public prefer to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to these facts.

This man is a charlatan, pure and simple.

Definition of charlatan:

A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud.

It is frightening how this man and the far left, liberal, Democratic political machine, have carefully woven their web of deceit around the American people.

Tragically, this has largely been accomplished with the help of an unprecedented amount of donations from the likes of anti-American billionaire,(Mr. "Open Society"),George Soros , and the "Hollyweird" crowd, along with millions in very questionable, untraceable "pre-paid credit card" internet donations, which, are highly suspected to have come from countries that hate us and are fervently hoping for an Obama victory).

Undeniably, the unfortunate timing of the collapse of the financial and housing markets (in large part due to the irresponsible decisions made by the Democatically controlled congress of the past 2 years), has also played a tremendous role in the negative mood of voters towards the Republicans and the citizens' hunger for "change"(even a more devastating change), has allowed this unprecedented, far left, liberal foothold in this election.

May God help us all.

The Election

Unfortunately, most Americans are not inclined to do any research on the candidates or the issues, and have been fed a steady diet of pro-Obama-Biden rhetoric by the mainstream media,

A lot of us have already voted. The McCain campaign was hit hard by the financial crisis and, it appears, lost a lot of momentum in its tepid attempt to get the truth out about the Dems' role in this great disaster. As one pundit put it, McCain might have done well to just say to Americans that "he would cut pork, and kill terrorists"! In the end, we will get the President we deserve.

I truly hope we can heal the great divisions, come together as Americans and get behind our new President. He will, indeed, need all of our support, as well as a supernatural force to help him in the next four years.

Sarah Palin's Religious Beliefs VS. Science

I watched an inteview with Palin recently, in which she discussed this very subject. in spite of what the left wing mainstream media has said, she is no "religious nutball". She is, unashamedly, a Christian but does not wear her "religion on her sleeve" as so many do. She also does not "speak in tongues"!!!!

Not one of her official acts as mayor or governor was influenced by her personal beliefs. I know the far left wants everyone to think she is the fanatic they have portrayed in the media, by visiting the churches she has attended, but that is simply not the case. The last time I checked, the constitution grants us all fundamental rights in how we choose to worship (or not).

Finally, Palin grew up in a household where science was very important, HER FATHER WAS A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER!!! She is on record as saying she supports the teaching of the theory of evolution and has reconciled that with her Christian beliefs, as is very common among Christians, including myself.

Obama's Election Bad for America

We need to elect the candidates who have a proven track record of working across party lines. Both McCain and Palin are well known for "reaching across the aisle" and even standing up to members of their own party! Though not perfect, they are our best and only hope for cleaning up this mess, or even making a dent in it.

Obama has never done that, and has NO EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER. He is also shamelessly using this severe financial crisis for his own political gain, hoping the truth about his friends and cohorts' involvement does not become common knowlege. He, being the elitist he is, probably thinks Americans aren't smart enough to see through all of his rhetoric. Have to hand it to him. He does talk a good game!

The sad truth about Obama is, "The longer he goes, the more he's exposed!"
Why do you Obama supporters suppose terrorist groups such as Hamas and countries that want nothing more than America's demise, fervently want an Obama victory? His election would be the final nail in the coffin for the United States as we have known it.

America's Economic Crisis and the Election

Just a few thoughts from an American housewife:

The blame for the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac fiasco can be laid squarely at the foot of those greedy lenders, investors, mortgage brokers, and real estate agents and others who decided to convince the American public that everyone was entitled to own a home even if they had a very low income, not saved one penny and had bad credit. Others were encouraged to use their home like an ATM machine, i.e.when the bubble inevitably burst, they owed far more on their house than it was worth. Sadly, Americans, by the millions (thinking there was actually a "free lunch") irresponsibly, jumped on that band wagon.

For starters, take a closer look at the very liberal Barney Frank,(D-MA), head of the banking committee in the Democratically controlled congress. He has been one of the key players in helping lead the country to this mess we're in.

Also take a look at the candidates who received the most support from Fannie Mae, Fannie Mac employees. Second on that list would be Barack Obama (to the tune of a half a million) compared to 150,000 for McCain.

Of course, there is enough blame to go around, with the actual fault having little to do with the Republicans and George Bush, but, as the saying goes "the buck stops here" since all of this happened on their watch.

My vote this election will go to the ticket which seems to have the best solution for the very critical issues we face as a nation, regarding national security and the economy. So far that is McCain Palin, hands down!

McCain actually introduced legislation in 2005 that would have tempered this disaster, but it was not approved. McCain and Palin both have demonstrated a far greater willingness to "reach across the aisle" to work on these problems in a bi-partisan manner and have a history of challenging members of the Republican party with whom they disagreed, hence both of their reputations as reformers and "mavericks". I truly believe they are the ones to "shake up Washington"!

At this point we really need to corral all of the best minds (both academics and pragmatists) among our leaders in every party, to come up with solutions to these very crucial issues. The very survival of the country depends on it!

News and News Commentary TV Shows

Finally Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has been reigned in regarding his extremely biased and vitriolic cable news show. MSNBC has become such a joke! It was becoming almost comical, but sad, how Keith Olbermann could not contain his vapid jealously of Bill O'Reillly's,"The Factor's" very high ratings (the most watched news commentary show on cable) while his shows were in the tank. There is a reason MSNBC has a reputation as the "OBAMA network!.

The "O'Reilly Factor" and "Hannity and Combs" , and Glen Beck (on CNN) have never claimed to be "news" shows. They are news "commentary" programs, hence, the commentators get to air their own opinions. "The Factor" is fair and balanced and has a lot of viewers from the right and the left, which may explains its extremely high viewership.

Olbermann has made numerous jabs at O'Reilly and Fox news with Bill O'Reilly responding in a much less confrontational way. The 3 major networks (esp. NBC), have never accepted the fact that people actually have had a choice in news and news commentary programs the last few years, with the advent of Fox, instead of beng bombarded with their leftist diatribe. I tried watching Olbermann a few times, and he had such an acerbic personality, I had to stop. I do like Chris Matthews however, though I don't often agree with him.

I rarely watch network news anymore,, My favorite station is Cspan, and I try to divide my time between CNN, FOX, and sometimes MSNBC. I prefer to get my news online, however. Guess I've become quite the "News Junkie"!

Oil and the iraq War

World War 111 will be fought over oil! That is why it is so crucial to get to energy independence in this country as soon as humanly possible, by any and all methods.

At the end of the day, the real truth is, Iraq (and the free world) are far better off without the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein. (Just ask all my Kurdish friends!) We have liberated millions of Iraquis, especially the women, and with the great success of the surge, that country, with America's help, is well on its way to becoming a functional Democratic society. We have also rebuilt, or are rebuilding, that country's infrastructure and schools, etc. far better than they were before, because of Saddam's squandering of resources for his own personal wealth.(Remember the gold fixtured bathrooms in his gargantuan palaces, etc.,etc.)?

If you do not read or listen to anything but the mainstream media here (whose mantra is "Good news is no news", concerning the war), you would never hear the real (good) news about what is happening there! Read the foreign press such as the London Times which does print the positive news!

In response to some others. There is a clear distinction between the Muslim faith and Radical Islam. My concern is that as a whole, relatively few people in the traditional Muslim faith have come forward to condemn the acts of terror and other factions that have hijacked their faith. Fear perhaps?

Palin's Balancing Act

Just how many women in our nation's history have been given the opportunity to become the Vice President of the United States of America? That's right, exactly two (Geraldine Ferraro ran for the Dems once). Palin is not your ordinary "Hockey Mom" anymore, so the naysayers need to get over it. I don't think any of us moms can relate to what Palin is going through!

Only two of Palin's five children are small, and judging from the way the smallest daughter was taking care of her baby brother the other night, (remember the "spit shine" on the baby's head!) I would say Sarah is doing a pretty good job of raising the kids right. Everyone knows a 17 year old doesn't always march in lock step with what their parents want, and it seems they are all handling the "babygate" issue extremely well. I can only imagine the awesome situations her children (and grandchild) will get to experience during her term! Besides, just think of the fun the kids will have during "show and tell". Oh, and the kids do have a Dad, and I"m guessing they will have the best nanny money can buy!

Palen is the "Real Deal"

I find it deeply insulting, as a woman, that sexism is rearing its ugly head on the left with all the demeaning comments, such as "she's a hottie", and other attempted marginalizations of Governor Sarah Palin and her accomplishments. I find it sad, but almost comical, to hear this coming from the very people who claim to champion women's rights and practice tolerance and inclusiveness. To even insinuate that an attractive, feminine, pro life, woman with strong family values, who happens to be the embodiment of a woman's "having it all" that they profess to support, cannot be intelligent, strong, and a leader, is an insult to all women. The fact that the left thinks any woman running for office who is not in lock step with their pro abortion and other feminist views, does not represent the women of America, is hypocritical at best.

I have a feeling there are millions more strong American women, like myself, who identify with the values Governor Palin represents, rather than those of the women in N.O.W. and on the far left . As a woman, I'm thrilled we could possibly have a female in the position of Vice President who is the "real deal".

Sarah Palen as the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate

Can't wait for the Biden-Palen debates. I have seen Gov. Palen in action, and she will decimate Biden! As far as experience goes, she is the only one of the 4 on the tickets that has any executive experience. Obama has had exactly 143 days of actual working days in the Illinois senate, having spent the majority of his time campaigning the last couple of years. Mrs. Palen has 2 years experience as the governor of Alaska, and has between an 80 and 90% approval rating in her state! The one word I keep hearing over and over to describe Gov. Palen is that she is a "reformer", something we badly need in Washington right now! She has stood up to corruption in the government since taking office, one of her first executive decisions being to get rid of the governor's corporate jet (sold it on ebay)!!!

As for her conservative stance in support of traditional marriage, it should also be noted that she is the first Alaskan governor to give equal benefits to partners of the state's gay and lesbian employees. She has also "reached across the aisle" to employ both Democrats and Independents in her administration.

I would say anyone who has run a household with 5 children (one of whom, a Downs syndrome baby, she j gave birth to this past April) and has a blue collar, hard working husband whose job requires him to be away from home every other week, while also managing to find time to be an extremely popular governor of her state with all of it's requisite duties, including commander of the national guard, can certainly handle the job of vice president or even president should (God fobid) the need arise!

Like McCain, she doesn't just talk the talk, she walks the walk. Her oldest son will be deployed to Iraq with the army in a couple of weeks. Being governor of Alaska, she is very passionate about her state being in the forefront of America's becoming energy independent, and has a wealth of knowledge about how that can and should be done. One thing about our drilling in ANWR, that I learned from an indepth interview with her, was that the actual "footprint" of drilling operations, because of the "state of the art" drilling methods that would be used, would only involve 2,000 or less acres of land in an area of over 2 million acres.

Obama keeps talking about change. It has been said that Obama uses the word, change, as a noun ,while Palin uses it as a verb!! I can't think of a better change than having a person like this, with such down to earth, solid middle class American values as our new Vice President!!! Sarah Palen is about as far away from the Washington establishment as one can get!

The Dems certainly know how to put on a production, and Obama is a fabulous speaker, although I thought his acceptance speech was mostly platitudes and bumper stickers. He seems to be making promises to every special interest group in the party with no concrete plan as to how he will pay for the multitude of entitlement programs he plans to implement. His statement that he will "follow Bin Ladin to his cave", in response McCain's vow to follow him to the "ends of the earth" is just one example of the lack of seriousness and honesty in his speech! I just didn't see or hear much substance there.

The most troubling aspect about Obama, aside from his dirth of experience in an executive position, is his pattern of associations with far left, radical, America hating pastors/mentors and friends. I also believe we, as Americans, ought to ask ourselves why terrorist organizations such as Hamas and countries that hate us, are greatly in support of his being the new U.S. President and leader of the free world.

Choosing a President

Putting the economic worries aside for a moment (and I understand that is the #1 thing on most of our minds at the moment), I've still gotta go back to that question Hillary asked? Who would you be more comfortable with answering that 3 a.m. phone call?

I'm amazed more people aren't asking themselves why countries and terrorist groups like Hamas that hate us, are so enamored with the idea of Obama as our next president. Doesn't that concern some of you even just a little?

Say what you will about George Bush (and he certainly has made a lot of mistakes), but his policies have kept us all safe almost 8 years after the most horrific terrorist ever on U.S. soil. If Obama is elected, America will be viewed as weak and ripe for another attack.

It is being predicted that Israel will attack Iran sometime between election day and the innauguration if Obama wins the presidency, because there is no way they are going to let Iran continue their nuclear program. Israel has said that their only hope is to strike while Bush is still President,as the Iranians fear him more than Obama' and they know they will get more support from the USA with Bush in office.

I also understand that Russia has supplied Iran recently, with millions (if not billions) of dollars worth of anti-missle weaponry, but it will take several months to get into working order, so timing is crucial for Israel.

The number one priority of a president and our government, is to keep us safe. Yes, the economy is hugely important, but will mean nothing in a nuclear war with Radical Islamic fascists and Russia

Bernie Mac & Isaac Hayes

I've not connected the two men until I read they were friends and had just finished making a film together. The fact that Hayes died the day after his friend Mac has me wondering if, perhaps, the shock and grief over his friend's demise, contributed to his own death.

The mind-body connection, especially for one as sensitive, caring and intelligent as Isaac Hayes (as evidenced by his music and benevolent works),is stronger than most of us realize.

Just a thought, of course, we'll never know. I'm just glad we were blessed with the talents of these men for the relatively short time they were on the earth.

Sacrificing Palms and Cacti for the Greater Good

My husband and I are native Memphians living in Phoenix. We have overhead power lines in our backyard and an easement. A couple of months ago APS, (Arizona Public Service) removed, stumps and all, 3 huge palm trees from our yard because they could present a problem. We didn't mind that so much, as they had become very expensive to maintain, harbored at times, even hornet nests, and dropped dead palm fronds and seeds on our patio, especially after the monsoon storms we have this time of year.

We were quite distressed, however, about their having to "top" one of two giant 30 feet tall Saquaro cacti in the back corner of our yard. They removed about five feet from the top, so it no longer has that classic nice Saquaro shape, but fortunately, the arms are still intact. We also lost the home (large hole) that had been home to several generations of cactus wrens.

It was great fun to watch Elvis, our neighbor's cat, sit on the block wall a few feet from the cactus and intently observe the birds, trying to decide if he should chance a leap on to the cactus. Thankfully, he never has!

Oh well, better than the entire neighborhood losing power because of our vegetation, I guess.
We were aware when we bought our house 30 years ago (when the plants were much smaller) that this could happen eventually, so we can't complain!

Post your comment

Pastor Rick Warren, Obama, And McCain

After watching Mr.Warren conduct the interviews with Obama and McCain last evening, I can't see how anyone could not be impressed with Warren's rational, clear thinking abilities. That was one of the best forums (if not the best) for exposing those men's true selves and the way they think that we have seen thus far.

Are you aware that Rick Warren does not draw a salary for being pastor of the fouth largest church in America, Saddleback, and that he gives a very large percentage of his book profits to humanitarian work as well as his often being over in the "trenches" with aids and leprosy sufferers in Africa, etc.?

His book "The Purpose Driven Life" has been translated into numerous languages and undoubtebly, helped change the lives of untold thousands of people around the world. He also has a website that freely gives daily affirmations and encouragement to those who need them.

Would that we would all would live a "purpose driven life" like Rick Warren's in helping the sick and down trodden.

Post your comment

Chinese Olympic "Child" gymnasts

My daughter was a high level competitive gymnast from the age of 7 to 15. She quit as she had a growth spurt and became too tall to compete at the elite level. She also developed a "fear factor" (I called it common sense!) that kept her from doing the very complicated tricks she would have thought nothing of trying at a younger age.That is why, by the time most female gymnasts who reach college or sometimes even high school age, are "over the hill"!

The rules of the Olympics state all athletes must be at least 16 to compete. Though younger gymnasts might have the advantage in that they are usually more flexible and lack the "fear" factor of ollder girls, there is also the great danger of damaging their growth plates because the bones are not yet fully fused at a younger age. If that plate is damaged, it will affect their growth. The tricks these kids are forced to do at such a tender age are putting them in great danger of injuries they will sustain for life. This is child abuse in my opinion, but tame in comparison to the gross human violations that seem to be the norm in China.

Elvis , 31 years after

As my hometown of Memphis prepares to celebrate the life of Elvis Presely 31 years after his death in August 1977, here are my thoughts:

A lot of us who grew up in Memphis in the the 50's and 60's felt a kinship with Elvis. I lived just a couple of blocks from Humes High School where he attended, and several of my aunts and uncles went to school with him. I for one, always thought of him as a member of my family, never had a "school girl crush" on him, but greatly admired his talent and humanity.

As the years went by, and I moved away from Memphis, I gained a different perspective on Elvis and his life, having read numerous books about him, (some put him in a good life, some not). In the end, he was just a flawed human being like the rest of us, who was blessed with a tremendous talent which, thankfully, he was able to share with the world.

I believe those closest to him, Priscilla, and the "Memphis Mafia", especially, truly loved him, but Elvis, being the extremely strong personality he was, had to do it "his way" and ended up suffering the consequences for his choices.

That does not take away from the fact that he left us with a legacy unmatched by any entertainer before or since his relatively short period of time on this earth.

Obama's Advantage

View Profile

Add Friend

• jazzlady
• Jul-22 @ 8:47 PM
• Delete
• 0
  
• 0
  

Running on a campaign slogan of "change" at the end of probably the worst administration in the nation's history, and having his "Summer Rock Tour" covered in depth by all three networks' top anchors who are accompanying him, along with Bill Clinton's former military "advisors", (geriatric though they may be), how could Obama lose?

He has all but had the election handed to him by the mainstream media, and now the advantage of the profound economic downturn the country has experienced in the past year.

Success

Sadly, there are those who know "the price of everything and the value of nothing". Really wealthy "old money" people never discuss their financial situation wth strangers, but then one can't buy "class". My husband's mother and father fell under that category.

By the way, my very wealthy father-in-law left nothing to his children, because it was his belief that it would cripple them and make them weak! He had witnessed that in his family, and vowed to do things differently with his children. That was hard to accept, but I have to say, 11 years after his death, I realize there was some wisdom in that decision, though it certainly would have made ours and our childrens' lives a lot easier if he hadn't lived by that phiosophy!!

My guess is that a great number of the people living in affluent areas like Scottsdale, either inherited their money or stepped on a lot people climbing that ladder to what some consider "success". My experience has been that those are the ones who have the worst attitude toward persons they consider "lesser" based on their perceived (usually a rash judgement ) superficial 'social standing"..I have had quite a few of those kinds of "friends" in my life and, as I get older and hopefully, wiser, I have finally learned not to waste my time on those people.. Life is short, and there are simply too many nice people with solid values on which to focus my energies.

Lots of people I have known have worked extremely hard and yet never achieved what is considered "success" by popular culture. Some simply do not measure success by the house in which they live, the car they drive, designer clothes, vacations to exotic places, etc., etc . I guess one could say that my husband and I have achieved a modicum of that sort of success. However, we consider our greatest wealth, by far, the fact that we have a wonderful, happy long term marriage (38 years), beautiful, smart , successful children, both of whom we are blessed to have living within 10 minutes of us. Both of them have chosen great spouses and they are all wonderful parents to our granddaughters.

Our goal was to raise healthy (in body and soul) responsible, contributing human beings with good hearts, and I believe we achieved that goal in spades! One of my favorite quotes is "What is essential, is invisible to the eye". It was also Fred Rogers' favorite (Mr. Rogers).

Wildlife Rescue

My son-in-law and his mom volunteered for years as wild bird rehabilitators (mostly large birds of prey,) here in Arizona at the Adobe Wildlife Center. They used to bring home injured birds that needed special care at night. It was not uncommon to find, large hawks, owls, eagles, etc., tethered in their living rooms!

These people involved with injured birds and other wild animals work tirelessly with no pay! They deserve our gratitude for all of the good work they do!

Bi-Lingual Children

These all Spanish stations and Telemundo are one of the main reasons the booming and ever growing Latino population (especially here in Arizona where we now have, by some estimates 800,000 illegals),are not learning English as the waves of immigrants did in the past. That, and the radical "LaRaza" movement making inroads into some of our schools and Universities.

A very large part of the Latino community here, mostly illegals, do not want or plan to learn English. In Phoenix, our schools have been mandated by the federal government to spend at least 4 million additional dollars to teach these "English learners" children of illegal aliens this year or face steep fines.

If parents would simply turn off these Spanish stations and encourage their children to watch and listen to English speaking media, this might help the problem. In addition, the adults might learn some English.

My 4 year old granddaughter (whose mother and other grandparents are from Poland, and recently became citizens) was fully bilingual at the age of 3, even though she learned Polish exclusively first, by my son and daughter-in-law's choice, as they knew she would easily pick up English later when she was fully immersed into the culture. We had our doubts about that, but now we see their wisdom.

The problem is that most of these kids will never be "immersed" into our culture as the parents, for the most part, want to live in the U.S., enjoy all of our benefits, but still retain wholly the culture of their home (predominately, Mexico and other Latin American countries)!

Here in Arizona, Spanish speakers are so heavily accomodated everywhere (all of our government documents are printed in Spanish), that it is conceivable that eventually millions of people will never have to learn English to live here.

Unfortunately' the parents don't realize that their children's opportunities will be severely limited by their not knowing the"language of the land.

The schools' efforts to teach English to these kids are often thwarted because a lot of the children show no interest in learning English, coming from a household where Spanish only is spoken and the radios and TV are blaring only Spanish programs. Small children are able to pick up languages so quickly if they are exposed enough to them.

If these children were required to learn basic English skills (at their parent's own expense) before they enter kindergarten, a lot of these parents might be motivated to encourage their children to listen to and watch American TV, especially PBS educational programs.

Here in Arizona, just that one cultural change would save the state millions of dollars that could be better spent on other educational needs that would benefit All of our children.

Updating our Ranch Style House

I was born and raised in Memphis but live in Phoenix now. Our ranch house was built in 1962, which is old by Phoenix standards. Having lived here for 30 years, we've thought about moving, but absolutely love the neighborhood, in a North Central Phoenix area (lots of mostly Palm, Palo Verde, and Eucalyptus and Pine trees and a mix of desert lanscaped and grassy lawns) with no two houses alike!

The neighborhood was originally designed with all one story sprawling ranch houses, but in the last few years, I've noticed more and more people adding 2nd stories, concrete tile roofs, stucco, and some houses (especially around the golf course) being torn down completely and rebuilt.

Though most of the new houses are lovely, I believe the character of the neighborhood has suffered somewhat, with the two stories in here now. It is still a beautiful area, however, and we have chosen to stay here rather than buy new.
Having raised our children in this house, it holds priceless memories.

A few years ago, my daughter and son-in-law bought a house in Anthem, a completely new Del Webb master planned community about 20 minutes up the freeway from Phoenix, which is actually a town now.

My daughter missed our neighborhood so much that they moved back last year into a 1977 Ranch style home, 3 blocks from us! She also wanted their daughter to attend the same great neighborhood schools she did.

This is what we have done in the last 10 years to update our home while still maintaining the integrity of the Ranch style:

Replaced the 40 year old cedar shake roof with concrete tile (Monier lifetile). For this we had to hire an engineer to do an analysis of how much we needed to reinforce the roof for the added weight.

Replaced all the windows with low E-4 double pane glass. In addition the large floor to ceiling picture window had to be tempered glass.

Removed one bank of kitchen cabinets to open up the floor space to the famly room.

Enlarged the center island, and added an all electronic cooktop which is completely flush with the countertop.

Overhead is a large European Island style stainless steel range hood with 4 halogen lights.

Replaced kitchen counter tops with slab granite.

Tiled the entire house with 16" (inch and 1/2 thick) handmade saltillo tiles. Added lots of easy to clean area rugs through out the house.

The OIl Crisis

There is a silver lining in the energy crisis we are now experiencing, and that is that high oil prices will spur the U.S. to vastly increase its research and development of alternative fuels.

Although that may not offer immediate relief, I have confidence that the old American "can do" ethic will kick into high gear as it always has throughout our history!

Just the appearance of STARTING TO DRILL off shore and possibly in ANWR, will cause the greedy Saudis to become increasingly nervous about "losing their goose that lays golden eggs".

It won't be long, with American resolve and ingenuity, until all the Middle East has to export will be oil and sand, neither of which the U.S. will need from them!!!!

Sad decline of Memphis

Add to your list of Democratically run governments of large cities, my city of Phoenix whose Mayor, Phil Gordon,was recently voted the best Mayor in North America! A lot of Phoenicians, however, are taking issue with that, given his lackadasical stance on illegal immigration (the worst problem we have in Arizona right now).

We also have a Democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano, who has been mentioned as a possible running mate for Obama.

As a native Memphian who still has a large extended family there and loves the city, I believe the problems the city has resulting from poor leadership do not fall along party lines. I see them as the result of a very large underclass being deceived into keeping corrupt, incompetents in power, because they think those leaders have a lot in common with them (just by being the same ethnicity) and empathy (they feel their pain), when in fact it is obvious that for the Mayor and his cronies, it is all about power and money and keeping the underclass well, "under".

How many more years under this type of management can the city of Memphis survive, especially with its tax base leaving in droves, remains to be seen. My hope is that the people responsible for electing these bozos wake up and realize that, by continually keeping them in power, they are their own worst enemy!! Meanwhile, a lot of tax payers (Black and White), will continue to "vote with their feet!!"

Retirement and Healthcare

My husband and I have developed what we believe is a pretty sound financial plan for retirement . He is 59 and I am 61. The one big issue we've, so far, not been able to figure out is the healthcare, which as some posters have mentioned, could be the most crucial one and put a big dent in the best laid plans!

Regarding this issue, I have made an observation in the past few years that I believe is affecting a lot of people my age. I have been blessed with perfect health most of my life. A few years ago, during a routine physical, I mentioned a minor ailment and was given a medication to control it. Well, it seems the side effects from that medication kicked in, and little by little more medications were added to address even more side effects( anxiety, weight gain, etc.etc.) Now I find myself on several prescription drugs which I deem pretty unnessary, and am slowly trying to ween myself off of them. I've also been to the ER a few times because of these drugs, which resulted in my having mandatory heart and lung scans, which it seems the hospitals routinely do if you go in with any chest pain (mine was gerd) and are over 55. Not only did my insurance company have to pay out thousands of dollars because I was also kept "for observation" on 3 occasions, I was also exposed to needless cat scans, xrays (lots of unnecessary radiation, as one cat scan was botched and had to be repeated!) After all of that, I was deemed perfectly fine!

I have finally learned my lesson, and there will be no more ER visits, (I hope for a long time, as I know my heart is "perfect" as the last cardiologist proclaimed), and will treat the chest pain as indigestion! I am also on a mission to lose weight and get fitter, as I believe this is the key to the majority of ailments most people experience as they get older!

It seems I have been on a roller coaster ride with no end in sight. Ironically, had I not had excellent health insurance, I most likey would have treated that initial minor ailment with an 0TC drug and avoided all of the ramifications!!

My mother is 87 and in excellent health except for dementia. Up until a couple of years ago, she had never taken anything more than an aspirin and has never had any surgeries, been hospitilized for an illness, etc. She did not even go to a doctor for 45 years!!

Memphis Music

As a former Memphian now living in Phoenix, I am always amazed at how much people, who have never lived in Memphis, especially the many professional muscians I know here, have a reverence and deep appreciation of the monumental part Memphis has played in changing the landscape of American music.

I really don't believe the average Memphian has any idea of its place in history and the impact that relatively small window in time, during which such great, timeless music was produced, had on the world. Indeed, the music that came out of Memphis influenced a long list of famous artists including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc., etc.

My 14 year old granddaughter is impressed that her grandma actually hung out at a party once with some of the cast members, (Booker T and the MG"S), of "The Blues Brothers" movie, one of her favorites. I was also a good friend of Pam Johnson, (we both graduated in 1964 from Central), whose recording "He's My Guy",is included in the Stax 9 cd set.

I grew up in the same neighborhood as Elvis, though he was 12 years older, and we never met, and, as a child, went to the same movie theatres in north Memphis, (Rialto and Suzore),and swimming pool,(Malone). Several of my relatives attended Humes High with him, including a cousin whom he used to walk home from school! Guess every native Memphian who is over the age of 60 has an "Elvis Story"!!

But I digress. One example of how Memphians,in general, don't seem to appreciate what they had "in their own backyard",is this:

Several years ago, I attended a "Memphis Bop Club" party with an old friend, and noticed that the DJ did not play any Elvis music. When I asked him about that, he,incredulously, replied that he wasn't allowed to play any!!!

The fact that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ended up in Cleveland instead of Memphis (although the Smithsonian Rock & Soul Museum in Memphis is fabulous) is a travesty, along with the loss of the "Memphis Belle", but that's another whole story!

I too, am really enjoying reading the responses on this thread from people who were involved in this phenomenon of American culture, known as "Memphis Music!"

Are Christians Protected by God?

The good news is that what Jesus offers is free. It is there for anyone who will "take up the cross and follow him". You do not have to earn God's Grace. It is simply given to all believers. Jesus has already paid the price for all of us on the cross. None of us is worthy of his grace, as we are all sinners, but it is there none the less.

Because there is profound evil in the world (contrary to what a lot of people today think), Christians are just as vulnerable,as non-believers,if not more so. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are given the strength to overcome adversity that might otherwise destroy us. The difference between the deaths of the unbelievers in Nanking, for instance, and the Christian missionaries and believers, would have been that in their hour of unspeakable tragedy, the Christians knew that their God was present guiding them and leading them out of the darkness. They were not alone. I'd like to think that, at that moment, they were able to find the "peace that passeth all understanding".

So I guess that my statement that unbelievers are not under his protection was too simplistic at best. Christians have been persecuted throughout history for their beliefs, so to think that nothing bad ever happens to them because they are "protected" by God is certainly not the case. On the contrary. God does not promise that nothing bad will happen to us, just that he is always with us even "in the Valley of the Shadow of Death", offering comfort and the promise of eternal life.

None of us can say who will and will not be saved. I would like to believe that every person in the world who lives a good and honest life, helping his fellow man, and doing no harm, intentionally, to anyone, will be saved, whatever his or her "religion".

I don't believe God cares about the earthly "labels" that humans put on themselves. As a Christian however, I have certain beliefs and do not judge anyone else who believes differently. Fortunately, none of us has to decide one another's salvation. That is in the hands of the Almighty.

Secular Progressive Public Schools in America

I attended the Memphis City Schools for 12 years in the 50's and 60's. We had a "devotional" every morning in homeroom at Central High School with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer, and a bible reading of the student's choice. A large number of our student body was Jewish. At Christmas we had a "Christmas" concert which included mostly traditional Christmas songs as well as some Hannakah songs. As a member of the All State Chorus, I recall singing "Anthem for Spring" in the Choir competition in Nashville. The first line was, "Praise the Lord who has brought us a new life, who has ruled that the world be reborn..."

School life was much different then. Central had the most merit scholars my senior year of any school in the city and, as I recall, we were ranked nationally in the top 20 high schools academically! Among the violations that could get you sent to the principal's office were chewing gum in class, running in the halls, or being caught without a hall pass. Girls were sent home to change if their skirts were not the requisite number of inches from the floor, and you would be measured if suspect!! Shorts and pants or jeans were forbidden. Boys on the ROTC rife team were allowed to bring their own rifles to school!

But now that the schools are so "secular progressive" things are soooo much better!!!

Christianity in China

Regarding the recent surge of government sanctioned Christianity in Communist China. My husband has been to China numerous times over the last 10-20 years. His last assignment was as a software instructor at Wuhan University in Guangzhou in 1993. At that time he had been warned not to even attempt to bring a Bible into China, and he was very careful to steer clear of talking about Christianity while he was there.

This new develpment is awe inspiring, and as a Christian, I have to believe that it is simply the answer to millions of prayers, and God's hand upon those people that has brought about this profound change.

Rev. Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle Church /Memphis

I live in Phoenix, was born and raised in Memphis, and have been an R&B fan since the 60's back in the Stax records heyday. Since I was visiting family in Memphis last year, and had never been to the Rev. Green's Tabernacle church, my sister suggested we go that Sunday.

Rev. Green was not there that day, which was disappointing, but the "Spirit" certainly was. After about 2 hours of praying, singing wonderful praise songs with the awesome band, the 90+ year old elder standing in for Al Green that Sunday informed the congregation that it was "testimony" day. My sister was invited up to give a testimony which was very well received. In fact there were several visitors from around the world that day and after her testimony, several more women, who also happened to be white, felt empowered to speak. Some of the most poignant remarks came from a woman visiting from Israel who was a Jew. We left there that day feeling energized and uplifted!

Obamamania

President Barrack Hussein Obama, 1st term junior senator from Illinois:

closely associated with far left extremists and self professed terrorists, husband and wife, William Ayers and Bernadette Dorhn,

member for 20 years of a so-called Christian church which has pledged its total allegiance to Africa and honors racist, Louis Farrakan, as well as having had all those years, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an extremely racist, anti-American "pastor", whom Obama called his "spiritual mentor" and the pattern continues....

whose Harvard educated wife has written an anti-American dissertation, as well as publically stated that she has never been proud of her country until now, etc.etc.etc.!

These are just a few of the facts I can think of off the top of my head at 10:30 p.m. this Saturday evening.

And so I ask:
Has this nation so lost it's
collective mind that it would even consider this man as its leader and the leader of the free world?

Well, I'm no political expert, but I am a thinker, and here is my take on this:

I believe people have been totally mesmerized by Obama, mostly because he is a brilliant orator (as long as he has a prepared speech in front of him). Did you notice he absolutely refused to do more than one town hall meeting with McCain, most likely because he would have to "think on his feet" at those forums and face some tough questions from ordinary citizens who "cling to their God and their guns!"

Another reason I believe for this "Obamamania", in addition to the liberal mainstream media clearly showing a bias in his favor, is that, in this time of extreme economic strife and the stress of a long, seemingly never ending war, (both for which Bush and the Republicans have in large part, been unfairly blamed), Americans are so, understandably, desperate for "change". Apparently any "change". People have not stopped to consider that it, most likely, will not be a change for the better with an Obama presidency, unless sending the country into a downward spiral towards socialism and a weakend military at a time of extreme vulnerability to radical Muslim extremists who are developing nuclear weapons, will be a positive "change"!

The "changes" he speaks of have yet to be outlined in any meaningful way, and it seems his stance on serious issues "changes" with the weather! One must also never forget however, that he has a long association with far left liberal persons and organizations and has been called the most liberal senator. A leopard soes not change his spots!

Does America really need a leader who is so polarizing and inexperienced at this very crucial moment in our nation's history?

John McCain is most certainly not perfect, but lacking, at this time, a viable third choice, and taking into consideration all of the afore mentioned facts about Obama, I truly believe John McCain, the ex-POW and "maverick" long time senator from Arizona, is our best bet to be the distinguished next President of the United States of America!!!

4th of July 2008

We had a family birthday dinner/4th of July party last night, all eight of us age 4 to 61 gathered around the big dining room table for bbq sandwiches with coleslaw on them (of course), baked beans, homemade potato salad, watermelon and key lime pie.

This was my daughter-in-law's first Independence Day celebration as an American citizen.

The most poignant part of the evening was when we all took turns (except for the 4 year old), reading the entire Declaration of Independence, pausing after each paragraph to discuss its meaning. Not having read it in a few years, I had forgotten that in the last paragraph, there are two references to God:
"appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our intentions", and
"with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence".

It's probably just a matter of time until the ACLU forbids this document from being read in a public arena!

My 14 year old granddaughter seemed especially caught up in the reading, even though she balked at the beginning. We plan to make reading that on the 4th of July a family tradition!

America ,Spinning out of Control?

Americans, in general, have enjoyed an era, the last 30-40 years, of unprecedented prosperity and conspicuous consumption.

A lot of folks have given no thought to buying the largest, most behemoth vehicles, McMansions,etc., whether or not they could afford them. There has been almost an overall prevailing air of entitlement among a large part of the populace.

Another sizeable segment of the population has had the mindset that the government ought to take care of them and solve all of their problems,with that same "entitlement" mindset. It has been the "New Orleans" attitude,if you will, rather than the "Iowa" model that we have all just witnessed!

Now with that world "spinning out of control", it seems we, as a nation, must be more focused on "down-sizing", "conservation", and "living within our means", terms long since buried in our national concienceness.

I truly believe if, once again, the American ideals of ingenuity and self reliance emerge, we can meet any and all of these problems with a confident attitude that will make us a much stronger country as we now must enter a new era.

Telecommuting and the Rising Cost of Gasoline

As the price of gasoline continues to rise (and all indications are that it will), and common usage of alternative fuels seems a long way off, we must find creative ways in which to cope.

Fortunately, my husband has a job which allows him to work from home (telecommute) 50% of the time. The other half is spent flying off to another city (or country) to teach software classes. He has been doing this for about 20 years now. In a pinch, he has even done web-based training for engineers in places like India, while sitting comfortably in his home office.

I don't understand why any person who has a job in which they sit at a computer all day in an office (not dealing face to face with the public) could not work from home.

The technology we have now is amazingly able to allow all sorts of jobs to be done from a remote location. More and more companies, especially in cities like Phoenix with poor mass transit systems, ought to be trying these new ways of doing business in order to deal with the transportation challenges their employees are now facing.

Revitalizing Downtown Memphis

As a former Memphian (born and raised and grew up there in the 1950's and 60's,in the hey day of "Memphis Music,"), I often marvel at the fact that the city doesn't capitalize more on it's uniquely rich musical heritage and gorgeous geographically located downtown.

Any other city would have already milked those things for all they were worth! For example, I could not believe the city was only charging a quarter to ride the trolley when it first started. I believe most people would have gladly paid far more, especially the tourists, for a tour of the area with the lovely Mississippi River and it's riverboats, barges, etc.

Concentrate on those two things being the cornerstone of development downtown, and the rest (restaurants, retail stores, hotels, etc.) will follow!!

I know the city has tried some semblance of a plan, but none has worked very well, obviously. With the right progressive minds behind a venture(or ventures) like that, with not only their great ideas, but the investment dollars to back it up, I can just imagine how the downtown could prosper! Of course, the crime problem will be a major hurdle, but I know there has to be a much better way to deal with that issue also.

I have always loved downtown Memphis, and there is absolutely no reason it cannot be just as vibrant as the downtowns of Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and other great cities.

Gay Marriage Legal in California

I do believe that a gay couple who want to make a life long committment to one another ought to be afforded the same legal rights and responsibilities as a male-female couple. I think the term "marriage", however, ought to be reserved for a traditional union, as it has been since the beginning of human history.

The California decision allowing gay marriage will awaken Americans to the fact that a small, but extremely vocal minority was able to push it's agenda on the majority. I predict that it has become very apparent to most people now, why an ammendent to the constitution defining marriage as exclusively a union of one man and one woman is necessary.

I believe there are two reasons why this ammendment failed in Arizona the last time. The first being the homosexual propaganda machine did a very good job of convincing a lot of Arizonans that the ammendent was not necessary since gay marriage was already illegal in Arizona, and, secondly, the ammendment seemed to be purposely written in such a way as to be ambiguous and confusing to a lot of voters.

This time, there will be a clearer wording of the ammendment so there is no doubt of it's meaning. Also, It ought to be perfectly obvious to most voters why this ammendment is necessary, so that Arizona does not follow in the footsteps of California and allow an activist judge to circumvent the will of the great majority of the people .

The Legacy of George W. Bush

View Profile

Your Friend

Posted Jun-15
10:00 AM

I know several people from Iran (or as they call it, Persia) and they are wonderful people. I believe a lot of the younger generation there is progressive and does not support their governments' stance on anti-American, pro-nuclear policies.

However, it is the fanatical Radical Islamists, like Mahmoud Ahmaddinejad who seem to be in charge and driving the nuclear program.

President Ahmaddinejad has stated over and over that he intends to analiate Israel, thus setting the stage for a possible armageddon.

George W. Bush will leave a legacy of at least three monumental accomplishments.

1. Under his watch, no other attacks have happened in the 7 years following one (if not the most) horrific attacks ever on our soil.

2.He was instrumental in ending the murderous regime of one of the most evil dictators in modern history, and thereby accomplishing a great humanitarian mission. One needs only to talk to my Kurdish friends who fled Iraq because Saddam Hussein was committing genocide against their people, about whether or not we should have eliminated him.

3.The Iraqi war will go down in history as the pivotal point in which Democracy in that tumultuous region will have gained a strong hold. Over 20,000 al qaida and other Islamist terrorists who were fighting us in Iraq and Afghanistan have been eliminated in the last few years. It may sound trite, but we are fighting them over there instead of our major cities in the U.S.

Some of our greatest Presidents were not popular during their administrations. (Abraham Lincoln, for example)

I'll close with a quote from Ann Coulter's latest essay,

BUSH'S AMERICA: 100 PERCENT
AL-QAIDA FREE SINCE 2001

"The Iraqis have a democracy -- a miracle on the order of flush toilets in that godforsaken region of the world. Despite its newness, Iraq's democracy appears to be no more dysfunctional than one that would condemn a man who has kept the nation safe for seven years while deifying a man who has accomplished absolutely nothing in his entire life except to give speeches about "change."

But liberals have only blind hatred for Bush -- and for those brute American interrogators who do not supply extra helpings of béarnaise sauce to the little darlings at Guantanamo with sufficient alacrity.

The sheer repetition of lies about Bush is wearing people down. There is not a liberal in this country worthy of kissing Bush's rear end, but the weakest members of the herd run from Bush. Compared to the lickspittles denying and attacking him, Bush is a moral giant -- if that's not damning with faint praise. John McCain should be so lucky as to be running for Bush's third term. Then he might have a chance."

Reflections on Father's Day

I never knew my dad, he was killed at age 25 in an accident. I was 20 month old. Growing up, I always envied my friends who had a Dad. Fortunately, I married a wonderful man 38 years ago who turned out to be exactly the sort of Dad for our kids that I always wanted. I'm sure my children would attest to that. I now see those same ideals exhibited in both our son and son-in-law as they parent our two granddaughters. The best thing is that now my husband gets to be "grandpa" and once again use his kindness, gentleness, sense of wonder and adventure to enrich the lives of his grandchildren!

Downtown Living and Crime

My husband and I have seriously considered a downtown condo now that our children are grown. We really don't need a big house and yard anymore. However, the crime issue, and the fact that downtown Phoenix really hasn't much going for it unless you work there or go to the cultural and sports venues a lot has been a deciding factor for us. The crime seems to be a problem in most large cities.

Case in point: my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The downtown there is geographically awesome. It's right on the bluffs overlooking the widest part of the Mississippi with riverboats, barges, and wonderful green parks running through on Riverside Drive. Cybill Shepherd and other Memphis celebrities and leaders have "Old South" style mansions down there.

Several of the large old cotton warehouses overlooking the river were converted into condos with restaurants on the ground floor back in the eighties. Of course, Memphis being dubbed the "Birthplace of Rock&Roll and Home of the Blues", by the chamber of commerce, there is also, Beale St., the Smithsonian Rock&Soul Museum, and the Gibson Guitar Factory. The Civil Rights Museum near the Lorraine motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed is downtown also. Having the World's best BBQ restaurant, the Rendevous, and the famous Peabody Hotel (with the celebrity ducks) adds to the overall charm.

Downtown is still my favorite part of Memphis, but the rampant crime there keeps most Memphians away. The Graceland area is also in a crime ridden part of the city, but there is also a lot of security, especially during "Elvis Week" in August. For the most part, only the unsuspecting tourists go downtown. It is sad to see the lost potential.

My husband and I always liked the idea of living in a vibrant downtown someday, either in Memphis or Phoenix, but given the crime and the absence of any geographical distinction of downtown Phoenix, we are no longer considering it.

Teen Parties

The year was 1989, and our son was a high school senior. One spring weekend, he threw an "unsanctioned" party at our house. My husband and I had taken our 14 year old daughter to Las Vegas for a gymnastics competition. When we returned, the house was very neat and orderly (almost too much so) except for one beer bottle cap on the kitchen floor (and we don't drink beer) and some small things that were out of place.

We found out from our neighbor the next day, that our son had thrown a huge party, evident, they said, from all the cars on the street and beer bottles in the yard. They were very impressed that our son had cleaned them up by the following mid morning. Later our son came clean with the details that he had hired a couple of guys from school who made extra money by putting on events at various houses. They had brought in a couple of bands, bouncers, and had 2 kegs of beer, soft drinks, and snacks. All of the rooms in the house had been cordoned off, leaving a pathway only through the kitchen to the bathrooms. They had even cleared out the medicine cabinets in case some of the party goers decided to help themselves to their contents! Advertising had been done by putting flyers on cars at the school., which was obviously effective as about 200 kids showed up!! Students were charged a $5.00 admission fee, (some of which was paid to our son).

I don't recall the details of our son's punishment, but he was probably grounded for a month! We were very lucky (or I should say, our son was very lucky) that everything went very smoothly. I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about these types of parties. Of course, we never would have agreed to allow either of our children to have a party like that which was open to the public, and most assuredly, never would have approved of the underage drinking that apparently went on that night.

Had an interesting experience one weekend last fall with some "action shooters". My husband and I were driving back from San Diego and he, a competitive "Bullseye Shooter" wanted to check out the South Bay shooting range in Dulzura,CA, which happens to be right in the middle of one of the recent burned areas.

While all around the area there was devastation, the range survived. That Saturday morning, the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) was having an event. We watched for a while (they even gave us ear protectors) and we really got a kick out of the outfits (not to be confused with costumes, as we were sternly warned!) A lot of the men, along with a few women participating, looked to be retirement age . They were all really getting into the spirit amd having a lot of fun, but it was evident that they took this sport very seriously. My husband now wants to try this genre of shooting also!

Failure to Bond

We seem to be becoming as a society increasingly more narcissistic. Case in point: In another sad story in this morning's paper there is an account of a young mother leaving her baby in the "care" of a boyfriend and even after several incidents of unexplained injuries to this boy, she continued to let this man abuse him resulting in the baby's death. What I found so sad and unconsciounable was that she said that choosing between the boyfriend (who didn't want the boy around) and her child was the hardest thing she ever had to do!!!!!! It seems the lack of a normal biological "bonding" with a child is just becoming more common now.

A Prayer for All of You

A prayer taped to my computer I'd like to share with all of you:

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

(author unknown)

It's a "Man Thing"!

This may be sexist but, I suspect, true on average. The rare times that my husband accompanies me to the grocery store, he will look for something else to do while I shop: magazine rack, nearby store to walk to, bathroom, even waiting for me in front of the store with his arms crossed, etc., anything from having to walk around and actually help get the groceries. Been that way for almost 38 years, so guess it's too late to change him!

Cultural Shifts

With the advent of the internet, satellite tv, etc. we are, in my opinion, on information overload. On any given day, I can sit at this computer and read newspapers from all over the world! As far as our values as a nation changing, I offer this quote by the Irish cleric and author of Gulliver's travels, Jonathan Swift, who wrote, "Whoe'er excels in what we prize, appears a hero in our eyes."

Case in point: the cultural shift from true heroes to the present day "celebrity as hero" phenomenon. Honor, integrity, virtue, courage, etc., have been replaced by fame (being famous for being famous), fortune, and fleeting physical beauty in our celebrity obsessed pop culture, as the qualities too many of our youth "prize" now! Self reliance, hard work and individual initiative, once hallmarks of our "american values, have largely been replaced with a sense of entitlement (nanny state) by a large segment of our society.
Instead of the "Golden Rule" being taught to our children at a very young age, they are being fed books like "Heather has Two Mommies".

I'll end with another one of my favorite quotes (author unknown):
"Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out.

Iran and Nuclear Weapons

The United States is a member of group of countries who have agreed on which countries are "stable" enough to have nuclear weapons. It is generally accepted by the free world that Iran is a terrorist state, and has the added danger of having a madman as president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He has stated repeatedly that he will not hesitate to use a nuclear weapon against Israel and considers the USA the "Great Satan".

Islamo-Fascism is the greatest threat in the world today, and Iran is the "head of the snake." As a child of a World War 11 gunner who did 38 missions, his brother, (a pilot) killed in action, and 4 other uncles, (one who was in the first wave at Omaha Beach in Normandy), and who all received purple hearts, and my mother having been a riveter on "The Liberator" airplane, I really take offense at the notion that this country's use of atomic bombs in World War 11, justifies a country like Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That action, from what I know from countless historical accounts, actually saved thousands of lives and brought an end to the war!

Homelessness and the Mentally ILL

Several years ago, two women appeared at my door one evening, garbed in long dresses, no makeup, wearing head scarves, passing out religious brochures. The younger one introduced herself as a former neighbor, who had moved away a couple of years earlier after a divorce. I did not even recognize her,as before, she had been a beautiful blonde,fit, always perfectly made up and on her way to tennis practice in her short skirt, etc. Her son and mine were friends, but I rarely talked to her as she seemed to travel in a different social circle. Needless to say, I was shocked that this was the same person! She introduced the other woman as her mother. A few months later "Jan" (not her real name), showed up at my door again, this time alone, saying her mother had left town and that she, "Jan", was now "living on the streets" and sleeping in a neighborhood park. My husband and I allowed her to stay at our home for several days while I tried to find resources, a job, etc, for her, however she began showing severe schizophrenic behavior, and as I still had 2 children at home, my husband was emphatic that she not stay with us any longer. We paid for a couple of nights in a hotel for her. I contacted her ex-husband, who wanted nothing to do with her. He had remarried, had custody of their 2 sons and had "moved on". She also had a grown daughter from an earlier marriage who seemed to be completely out of the picture. Anyway, this is a long, heart-breaking story, but bottom line, "Jan" refused to go get help at a shelter and I was told by a social worker that unless it was proven that she was a danger to herself or others, she was allowed "to die with her rights on". She could not be forced to get help! I really had my eyes opened with that experience! Don't know what the answer is to all of this, but it is certainly a problem to be grappled with.

Separate Schools for Homeless Children

It was very, very, hard to not live with my Mother for most of my childhood (my father was killed in an accident when I was 2), but she knew, because of her fragile mental state, she could not give me and my siblings a stable home and loved us enough to allow us to be put in a "children's home" where we could flourish, which we did. We all attended regular schools and I don't ever remember being made to feel "different" by the other students. The trend since the 60's has been to keep the family together while providing social services, but it appears that the children do not always receive the benefits they need from that system. Of course there are many more single parents now and much more drug and alcohol dependancy. I think people are a lot more mobile also, especially in Phoenix, so it is difficult for other family members to help out. My main point is no child should ever be "homeless" and they should have the same opportunity of any other child to receive a good education. They ought not to be "stigmtized" in a special school. I believe the money spent on this extra layer of bureaurocracy could be used in better ways to benefit the children. My mother,now 86 with dememtia, is being cared for by her children, all who have reared successful, healthy children themselves and are in stable, long term marriages. She is blessed with 7 beautiful grandchidren and 5 wonderful great children. I really believe the outcome would have been much different if she had not made that choice long ago to "give her children a chance"

In Defense Of John McCain

The left's chosen form of attack against McCain, is to try and promote him as a carbon copy of George Bush. That, comparison couldn't be farther from the truth. He is in actuality, a centrist and has been known as a "maverick" for a long time in Washington.

Sadly, there are no good choices in this election. For me, it all comes down to who I think will do the least amount of damage to the country and keep it the safest in the next four years, and after weighing all the factors, McCain is my choice.

Those who keep on bringing up McCain's statement about continuing the Iraq war for 100 years, taken in context, he really said we may need to have a "presence" in that country for quite a while, just as we do in several countries that we have been in conflict with. My guess is a lot of Iraquis would welcome that presence, if it fosters a climate of peace from the warring tribal factions there. (Sunni and Shia, Radical Islamists and those who aren't)

As for Obama, "the longer he goes, the more he's exposed". We are all for "hope and change," but , contrary to popular belief, it is possible for our country to be much worse off than it is now. From what I gather, most of us will probably not like the "changes" he has in store for us, unless you think (for example) socialism and appeasement of our mortal enemies is good for the U.S.A.!

Reservations about Obama

About BarrackObama's questionable associates: It is the PATTERN of his friendships with anti-American, racist people, (Rev. Wright(racist, whose anti-American rants were caught on tape and who was Obama's close friend and "spiritual mentor" for 20 years), William Ayers and his wife Bernadette Dorhn (known, unapologetic,anti-American terrorists), and the list goes on....

His wife's anti-American statements, etc. etc..

Obama said he had visted all 57 states of the U.S.

For a long time he refused to wear an American flag lapel pin. Again, it is the pattern that is disturbing.

It seems that more of his unsavory far left associations surface every week.

As for appeasement, he has stated his intentions to meet with Iran's leaders (Mahmoud Ahmadinejahd being just one of them) and have a dialogue. He doesn't seem to have a clear plan as to what exactly he hopes to accomplish from that meeting. Most free nations of the world have already condemned Iran's nuclear program, so that ought to be non-negotiable.

The meeting Neville Chamberlain had with Hitler was very much the same, and had devastating results.

By meeting with these radical Islamist leaders, Obama runs the risk of joining the list of "useful idiots" and emboldening the enemy. It is well known by now, one cannot negotiate with a terrorist, and Iran is high on the list of nations that are or have harbored terrorists. It has also been proven that Iran is supplying the insugency In Iraq with weapons and fighters to kill our soldiers. Iran is also ground zero for Radical Islam's jihadist movement to annialiate Israel and the entire West.

These intentions have been clearly stated by them time and time again.9/11 will pale in comparison if they accomplish this goal!
For those do not believe this, I suggest they read the Quran. The mandate to kill all of us "infidels" is in there in black and white.

The reason Radical Islam is a far greater threat to us than the Soviets were in the cold war, and now, the Chinese, or even North Korea, is the fact that those countries do not want mutual destruction. It appears the leaders of the Jihadist movement actually welcome that, in that it will hasten the coming of the 13th Iman and insure a world wide Islamic kingdom.

Contrary to what the far left in America believe, there is EVIL in the world, and we are in a fight against it for our very survival. Sadly, it will probably take another huge attack on American soil (which I hope to God never happens) to convince them.

Stereotyping People

One's religious or political affiliation has absolutely nothing to do with the sort of vehicle a person drives. My husband and I are moderates, (me leaning more to the conservative side, and he to the liberal). We are Christian, but do not identify ourselves with any label or denomination.

I don't know anyone who fits the stereotypes some people seem to use frequently to marginalize people with whom they don't share beliefs and lifestyles.

My husband and I choose to own only one vehicle, a 96 Volvo sedan, which we keep in "creampuff" condition. Since he telecommutes and travels out of state,(flying) half the time, and I am a homemaker, it works for us. We have also diligently used the city of Phoenix's recycling program for over 20 years (our neighborhood was the first to participate).

I believe it is time for us to stop being so devisive and think of people as people, not identifying them according to color, party affiliation, religious beliefs, sexual preference, etc..

In the end we are all Americans, and need to come together to solve these very grave issues we all face right now.

Leisureville

The town described in the book,"Leisureville" by Andrew D. Blechman sounds eerily like the movie, Pleasantville. When my husband and I moved to Phoenix in 1972, we lived about 20 minutes away from Youngtown and Sun City. Our first visit to these senior enclaves was to pick out carpet for our new home at Toliver's in Youngtown.

After surveying the rock landscaped front yards of the immaculately groomed small houses, all alike, sitting in neat row after neat row , like so many grave stones, we vowed never to live in such a sterile enviornment, especially one with no children around. We just couldn't imagine it! Now at ages 59 and 61 we still can't.

We are blessed to have both of our grown children and their families living within 10 minutes of us. Our granddaughters (4 and 13) are such a big part of our lives, that to have them only able to visit us 30 days in a year sounds like sheer torture and would deprive us of life's most precious treasures!!

I plan to read the book, but I'm pretty sure it will be depressing and only fortify my resolve to always live in a homogeneous community, near family.

I can't imagine trading our lifestyle for one where the only people we'd interact with would be other seniors! There are several community centers around us with a full calender of events. The country club is right across the street from us, should we want to join, church activites abound, and together we can enjoy the vibrant jazz community in Phoenix as we are both musicians and have several musician friends who regularly perform around town. We are fortunate to live in a central Phoenix location, with a myriad of things to do and places to go just a few minutes away. I realize not everyone would enjoy our lifestyle, and that is what is beautiful about getting older. We finally know ourselves and what makes us happy (or not) in life.

Illegal Immigration

The more illegals that leave Phoenix (and we still have at least 500,000 in AZ according to the latest estimates) the better off the citizens here are.
We have endured for far too long, over crowded ER rooms, millions of tax payer dollars being used for anchor babies and the resulting welfare payments to the mothers, our schools being mandated to spend millions of dollars on "English learners" (children of illegal aliens).

Some of the most ardent supporters of these policies are Hispanics, especially those whose families have been here for generations.
Over 30% of those incarcerated are illegals due to rapes, thefts, shootings, drugs, etc. etc. Phoenix is #1 in identity theft attributed to illegals stealing social security cards, and other legal documents and credit cards from our citizens.

Most every week, a new "drop house" is discovered. A lot of the violent crime here is directly related to the $200 billion human and drug traffiking industry from Mexico and other South American countries. A lot of illegals are involved in traffic accidents, and most have no insurance. There are whole neighborhoods (enclaves) in Phoenix that look like a third world country. The list goes on and on!

I see no evidence of our economy suffering due to "brown flight."
I do believe, however, that we need an orderly guest worker program, as our hotel, construction, and agricultural industries always need workers. Unfortunately, these businesses have been responsible for most of the illegals coming here the last 10-20 years,and exploiting them with their slave wages, while the citizens have born the brunt of the costs.

The big difference between this huge tide of illegal immigrants, and waves of immigrants in our nation's history, is that a large segment of this group feel an entitlement to be here. They believe the American Southwest belongs to them and we are the "illegal invaders", hence the refusal to learn English and assimilate. They want to have whole states declared part of Mexico,(La Raza). I suggest you read Patrick Buchanan's "Death of the West". There is a whole chapter that lays out their plan.

The Hispanic culture has been an integral part of the Southwest from the beginning, and is a beautiful one. The contributions to the rich quality of life in the Southwest have been immeasureable.

However, the illegals who are coming here, seem to be, in pretty significant numbers, representative of the dregs of Mexican and other Latin American countries'society. A large number of them are extremely poor, uneducated and a disproportionate amount of them are felons. The Mexican government has encouraged their people to come here for just those reasons!

Mexico needs to be forced to stop stealing our sovereignity! Much as we would like to, America simply cannot absorb all of the world's poor. My daughter-in-law and her parents are legal immigrants, having done it the right way, and recently became citizens.

Churches and Gays

I have been a Christian since the age of 13. During the past 40+ years, I have attended numerous religious services, Catholic, Christian fundamentalist, Jewish, Unitarian, Hindu, etc. I have been a member of various Christian sects ranging from very fundamental, evangelical, to extremely liberal.

I very rarely heard any mention of homosexuality in any of the fundamentalist churches I attended over the years, except in Bible study in which certain verses were read and discussed among the adults present. Never did I feel it was my place to judge people.In fact as a Christian I have always been taught we are to love the sinner (and we are all sinners) and hate the sin. God will ultimately do the sorting out. I was however, constantly met with a barrage of propaganda promoting tolerance, demanding acceptance, political posturing for the rights of gays, and condemnation of "traditionional" Christian views in the liberal church, and had their "open and affirming of gays" agenda constantly shoved down my throat.

It was especially disheartening to see the proseletizing on this subject to the very impressionable youth of the congregation. After a while, my husband and I had enough, no longer felt this was a place of worship at all, and left this so-called "church". I am amazed that organizations like this can keep their tax exempt status as they are nothing more than a social club and political organization masquerading as a church.

I am not presently attending any church, however, from past experience, my guess is that in most taditional, especially Evangelical, Christian churches last Sunday, there was very little if any, talk of the California ruling. Praise and worship of Jesus Christ is the predominant focus of the vast majority of these churches, Also, most have a large number of children and young people in the services, and that is not a subject that is deemed appropriate in a general arena with people of all ages present.

Teenage Sexuality

Actually, the latest statistics show only about 50% of high school students are having sex, still far more than when I was in high school in the early sixties. The trend seems to be reversing, as more kids are choosing to avoid all the problems associated with casual sex.You don't hear about it much, but thousands of teenagers have taken a vow of chasity until marriage. Abortion rates are at a 36 year low, for example, which may or may not be associated with less sex among teens, but still that is promising news. Kids need to kow that "everybody is not doing it" as the media and popular culture leads one to believe. Teenagers today, need to know it's OK not to have sex. and not feel the pressure to do it. If a young girl is taught responsibility, self respect, values, and morals from an early age, there is no need to worry about this movie influencing her in a negative way.

Today's Kids are OK

My almost 14 year old granddaughter is a competitive soccer player (State Champions this year!). I am constantly amazed at the fortitude of these young girls. They practice year round, through cold and hot days, sunny or rainy. The only time a game or practice is called is when it is lightening, or the field simply too soggy to be safe. The games can be pretty intense at this level also. I wasn't nearly as tough as she is at her age!

Fortunately, this discipline seems to carry over to the rest of her life, tackling school work with ease, handling relationships, etc. I'm not worried at all about this new generation that has a lot of kids like her.

Close-mindedness

There is a big difference in being "close-minded" and simply having an "educated opinion" on an issue. To be close-minded means that one refuses to listen to a differing view on a subject, is not interested at all in seeing the other side, and no matter what the evidence to the contrary presented is, stalwartly hangs onto their belief.

On the other hand, I pride myself in being a person who takes advantage of an almost limitless amount of information available today via the internet (google and other search engines) and other media, on all sides of an issue. Having the luxury of time, I spend hours and sometimes days, researching a lot of differing viewpoints filtering out the credible from the unreliable sources. That method, coupled with my extensive 61 years of life experiences, having been exposed to all sorts of people and lifestyles, not having been raised in an insular enviornment, traveling extensively throughout the world for weeks at a time in, sometimes, totally alien enviornments, having been in both a fundamentalist church in my childhood, and totally immersed in a free thinking "anything goes" college enviornment in the radical sixties, I believe I have emerged as a "free agent" with the requisite amount of wisdom garnerd from the afore mentioned experiences.

I've witnessed the "fruits" of the people I know my age and older and have seen what works and hasn't worked in their lives. All of this information has been processed in a way that is hardly "close-minded", but has merely enabled me to become a "casual observer" of life who has, hopefully, benefitted from what I have learned along the way.

Gay Marriage

No amount of legislation will ever make a same sex union equal to one between a male and female. It's about biology and perpetuation of the species as nature intended.

I think homosexuals ought to be able to form legal bonds with all of the same priviledges and rights as married couples (which they already have the right to do in a lot of states). There need to be a different word for that union, however.

The definition of marriage that that has stood for thousands of years, and is the cornerstone of civilization, should not be changed simply to accomodate a small, but extremely vocal and activist, segment of our society.

Thoughts on Marriage

As someone who has been happily (for the most part) married to my one and only spouse for 38 years), here are some things I've learned.

A good rule is, only one person gets to be crazy at a time!

A traditional marriage works best if you can pull it off. My husband and I have always had clearly defined roles. He would be the bread winner and build his career, in order to provide monetary sustenance for the family and our lives together.

In turn, I would be the child bearer, nurturer, house keeper, cook, nutritionist, household shopper, budgeter, social planner, etc.etc.etc.

Growing up relatively poor, and supporting myself totally since the age of 17, I was already somewhat of an expert in budgeting. He, the son of a prominent Memphis surgeon, had never had to think about money growing up! In the early years, there were some conflicts because of our much different backgrounds in this regard!

There would be necessary "spaces in our togetherness" (Kahil Gibran). Having him in a job that has always required a fair amount of travel took care of that.

I believe allowing each other some "breathing room" and the freedom to pursue our own hobbies and passions has been a large part of our success together.

We would both be responsible for keeping the marrige alive in the romance dept. and always put our relationship first.
The fact that we married fairly young (23 and 21), meant we entered the relaionship with relatively little emotional "baggage". We also did not live together before marriage, as was just beginning to be accepted in the late sixties, and is a lot more common in today's culture.

There have certainly been a lot of rough patches over the years, but we have weathered them together, because we were committed to each other and the marriage. It's not all about personal "happiness", especially when children are involved.

We are really beginning to reap the rewards of maintaining a stable marriage all of these years, in terms of a fairly comfortable lifestyle, wonderful, responsible, successful children who have begun great families of their own, providing us with life's greatest "fruits", our grandchldren. We are very blessed to have all of them living close by.