Gospel music lost one of the greatest writers today in an automobile accident. Dottie Rambo went home to be with the Lord.

Dottie has been in severe back pain for several years and her voice wasn’t as smooth as it used to be, but listen to her sing “Sheltered in the Arms of God” with Porter Waggoner’s voice over the track. He had already died by the time she sang this song and hence the tears.

Dottie wrote so many beautiful inspirational songs that I can’t tell you all of them. Among my favorites: “If That Isn’t Love”, “We Shall Behold Him”, “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Needs” “Too Much to Gain to Lose”, “Tears Will Never” (see below) among so many others.

Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Dottie Rambo, her husband Buck, and their daughter Reba, made up The Singing Rambos, one of the most successful southern gospel trios of all time. As the group’s main songwriter, Dottie was prolific. Today, hardly any modern hymnal fails to include one or more of her 2,500 songs. Dottie’s best-known song, by far, is the inspirational “He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need.”

In 1970, Dottie began writing a song about the grace of God, but was unable to finish it. When her older brother was hospitalized with cancer and told that he had only weeks to live, Dottie sat by his bedside and ministered to him. Within a few days, she persuaded him to marry the woman who had borne him five children. Dottie read the Bible to him and prayed with him. One day, after singing at a concert, she returned to ask: “Have you given your life to Jesus since I’ve been gone?”

Eddie, 37, stared at her with sad eyes. “After the wicked life I’ve lived, the Lord won’t raise a person like me,” he muttered. He reminded her of his time in jail and his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

“The Lord left the 99 to bring a lost sheep like you back to the fold,” Dottie told him. She continued to pray for his salvation. Then she went home and finished “He Looked Beyond My Fault.” For years Jimmie Davis, the southern gospel singer and former Louisiana governor, had asked her to write a song to the tune of “Danny Boy.” With this song, she finally discovered the inspiration. Later that day, she returned to the hospital to sing the song to Eddie.

On Sunday, after she finished singing in an Ohio church, Dottie felt the Holy Spirit’s assurance that Eddie had been converted. Hurriedly returning to Tennessee, she found her brother so weak that he could barely talk. “Yesterday I gave my heart to the Lord and he forgave me,” he whispered in Dottie’s ear. “When I get to heaven, I’ll wait for you at the Pearly Gates so we can enjoy heaven together.”

Before he died, Eddie asked his sister to sing “He Looked Beyond My Fault” at his funeral.

The experience left Dottie even more determined “to share with the many hurting and wounded people in this world the wonderful message of God’s great and unconditional love.”

Showing no signs of slowing down after 50 years of songwriting, Dottie continues to speak at seminars and appear on Christian television. Since July, she has been celebrating the release of her new album, Stand By The River, which includes an updated version of “He Looked Beyond My Fault.” Dottie tells fans that she sings “He Looked Beyond My Fault” every night, even if she’s not performing. “It continues to feel like a brand-new song to me,” she says. “The joyful news of God’s grace never grows old.”

I feel as though I have lost a special friend whose music has brought me through many sad and hard times.

You are truly sheltered in the arms of God today, Dottie. I’ll meet you in Glory.

What a delightful day this looks to have been.

The photos in the video below are among the first released by the White House of the President’s daughter’s wedding:

For a closer look and further photographs go here.

To all who have given of themselves to their family and in many cases their extended families.

I did not realize that Mother’s Day is 100 years old this year:

On this 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day, the woman credited with creating one of the world’s most celebrated holidays probably wouldn’t be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.

Anna Jarvis would want us to give mothers a white carnation — she felt it signified the purity of a mother’s love.

Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the Mother’s Day idea after her mother said it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers.

Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mother’s day service at a church where her mother had spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday school.

Today, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the official shrine to mothers around the world. On Sunday, the shrine will celebrate the 100th anniversary, giving each mother attending a special service a white carnation.

The shrine also serves as a “reminder to the accomplishments of these women and to the issues mothers still deal with today, trying to do the balancing act of being everything to everyone,” said Cindi Mason, the shrine’s director.

When we consider the amount of cash that has been spent in recent elections, (local and otherwise) then the percentages below of returned illegal contributions could be considered relatively low.

While this WSJ emphasizes the Clinton campaign, it is clear from the chart that none of the current presidential candidates has escaped this problem.

And, if we look at what just the presidential candidates have laid out in their quest, the illegal contributions are just a drop in the bucket. Certainly money which should be returned but small potatoes by comparison.

There is a scary thought expressed in the piece referenced above which addresses primarily Indiana politics:

How much money?

The amounts are staggering. A peek at some of the political Web sites reveals some surprising insights. Just look at the presidential race:

Depending on which source you use, the total raised to date is astonishing. CNN’s Politics.Com shows the total raised is $777 million. Another site, OpenSecrets.com lists it as $792 million. Either way, we are well on our way to a presidential race costing one billion dollars. [emphasis, mine]

The necessity of a candidate to raise these enormous amounts of cash to finance a run for office would certainly leave the door open to those who might illegally help fund their choice for any number of reasons.

Those who work at the grassroots level have no delusions of grandeur or thoughts of becoming a power player in the party or in an administration. Maybe campaigns would begin once again to focus on these individuals rather than the power players. It might be beneficial in the long run.

Not being beholden in one way or another to individuals, corporations or special interest groups could produce a more honest candidate and one who might just work in the best interest of those who they represent. It would certainly go a long way toward trouncing the opinion that many running for office are bought and paid for.

I know, dream on, right? Money has become such a part of our political landscape that the chance for one without wealth and connections to secure a nomination for many offices becomes slim.

In no way do I mean to imply that all who run for office and win are in someones pocket. That would be painting the situation with all too broad a brush.

There are many who are involved (at local and state levels especially), who secure their positions due to trust which they have earned from their constituents through the years.

But when a citizen takes the time to study the numbers in the various pieces above it certainly does not leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

There are football fans and then there is this young man:

The most sensible and concise article I have read to date on “Operation Chaos” appeared in the Washington Post:

Those looking for evidence of Limbaugh’s influence pointed to Clinton’s edge among Republicans in Indiana and North Carolina. In Indiana, 10 percent of Democratic primary voters described themselves as Republicans, a higher rate than in any state but Mississippi, and they went for Clinton by eight percentage points, according to exit polls. In North Carolina, they were 5 percent of the electorate, and went for her by 29 points.

Imagine being the parent of a child who goes from perfectly healthy to being confined to a wheelchair with an affliction which cannot be identified. That is precisely the case for the Searle family shown in the video below:

The insurance company this family is contracted with should be ashamed that they will not agree to any and all tests needed to identify what has invaded this child’s body.

Perhaps the more exposure this story receives, the more pressure they will feel to do what is right by this child and her family.

This may be only the thoughts of one writer but when I read this paragraph (particularly the final sentence), it made me silently scream NO!

It’s called scorched earth. The Clintons are not accustomed to losing and it seems they’re going to make the Democratic party pay for not choosing her. This primary may end up in court by the time the dust settles.

[Emphasis mine]

I would bet there are those on the Right who would not mind seeing this primary drag out well past June and believe a court fight would be good for the Republican party. Some think a bloody battle at the convention will serve the same purpose.

I respectfully disagree and here is why. We are already so polarized as a nation that if either party forces further divisions in the electorate to the point where many due to race, gender or religion relinquish their vote then we will not have an election based on a good cross section of this country.

Good grief, the Republicans have enough of this already. More and more we hear of the democrats dividing into specific “groups.” What ever happened to what is best for the country? What I hear and read now are no longer differences of opinion in many cases but outright lack of acceptance for those with varying thoughts.

Another protracted court fight over delegates will serve no purpose but to anger many, please a few and once again we will hear the same tired old arguments we have endured since Gore v. Bush. Whatever the outcome of the last few primary states, it is my hope that the Democrats will have their nominee and we can get on with the business of two candidates campaigning for the presidency.

As Jenna Bush prepares to wed Henry Hager on Saturday in Crawford, TX, we take a look at what the president is doing to prepare:

All in good fun and we wish the newlyweds a long, happy and fruitful marriage. Our best to the father of the bride also.

Growing up there was always a lot of country music and Sinatra in our house. Eddy Arnold was one of my folks favorite entertainers and through that “music education” he also became one of mine.

Mr. Arnold passed away today at the age of almost 90 but not before he brought much joy to those who for many years admired his music.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - entertainmentminute Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like “Make the World Go Away” made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.
Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography “Eddy Arnold: I’ll Hold You in My Heart.” His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

Arnold’s vocals on songs like the 1965 “Make the World Go Away,” one of his many No. 1 country hits and a top 10 hit on the pop charts, made him one of the most successful country singers in history.

Folksy yet sophisticated, he became a pioneer of “The Nashville Sound,” also called “countrypolitan,” a mixture of country and pop styles. His crossover success paved the way for later singers such as Kenny Rogers.

While being cautious in their headline by using the word “possible,” the NYT offers a sensible assessment of the current state of not just the race for the nomination but that of the party of a whole on the Democrat side of the aisle:

Certainly, no one is expecting a couple with such political skills, an extended network, history and broad appeal — not to mention fund-raising power — to disappear from the Democratic stage. Mrs. Clinton would presumably return to what could be a potentially very high-profile role in the Senate. Mr. Clinton is only 61, and never has been the kind of politician happy on the sidelines.

But Mr. Obama’s move to the brink of the nomination was fraught with symbolism and evidence of a party in transition. A first-time presidential candidate, he has so far outmaneuvered the vaunted Clinton political machine. He positioned his candidacy as a repudiation of the kind of politics the Clintons practiced and a generational break. And he drew thousands of new voters and donors into his fold, giving the party a fresh face and new energy.

“The Clintons had an important role in the recent history of the Democratic Party and will always play some role, given their success at bringing this country peace and prosperity,” said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who backed Mr. Obama. “But elections are about the future, not the past. It’s a new era. This is a new spirit that’s out there.”

The evidence may be mounting that Senator Clinton has very few options left to secure the nomination of her party but it was a pleasure to read an article which is not presuming to ask her to leave the race.

I see no one moving that mountain except the candidate herself and only after she is firmly convinced all of her avenues are exhausted be they in the best interest of the party or not.

Interviews with current party leaders and those who have gone before make this piece a worthwhile read.

After the drubbing Hillary Clinton took last night in North Carolina and the too close for comfort win in Indiana for her, it appears even she recognizes now Obama will be the Democratic nominee for president.

She has cancelled all public appearances for Wednesday after lending her campaign another 6.4 million dollars. The question she and the former president must be asking themselves is how much of their wealth are they willing to throw to what appears to be a losing cause? Contributions will dry up as she did not have a good showing Tuesday.

I have seen on many blogs people who claim not to be racist actually being racist when they speak of people voting for Obama because he has the same skin color they have.

My question is why don’t they have that right if that’s what they want? I’m part American Indian and I know if an American Indian were to run for president and be seriously considered I would seriously consider voting for him/her (unless the person came from my tribe. I know them too well. LOL)

I might even cave a little on philosophy if an Indian were to run and not agree with me on my important issues, but I doubt it.

I can understand why, though, black Americans are taking such pride in Barack Obama. After a history of slavery and second-class citizenship, civil rights fights and promises that their turn would come they have finally come to the point where they can see the brass ring and it is almost within their grasp.

They feel they have a chance to have a president who truly knows their plight in life and will make it better and this is their best hope ever of seeing it come to fruition.

At least this is my impression upon reflection of everyone pretending not to be racist when they are. That’s why everyone was so thrilled to hear of Jeremiah Wright and what he had to say. It gave them an excuse to say why they didn’t intend to vote for Obama even though the underlying reason was racism. Not for everyone, but for too many I care to count.

I will not vote for Barack Obama but it is not because of the color of his skin. It is because I believe he is a socialist and will take us down a path I don’t wish to follow. It is because he is so inexperienced in politics at any level I don’t want to put him in charge of our foreign or domestic policy for fear of what damage he might cause due to that inexperience.

We were not given a stellar cast of characters in this year’s races for either party to come up with a candidate we could all rally behind and say, “This is the one who should be president.” Neither party has been excited about their candidates if you tell yourself the truth.

Sure, voting for someone who is of your race is a poor excuse to vote for that someone, but everyone has the right to choose their candidate regardless of the reasons for choosing him/her.

A blog I was once associated with is filled with bloggers who are so racist and so southern in their thinking that the Wright flare-up just made the perfect excuse to say why Obama shouldn’t be elected instead of actually saying their true feelings. That is until you go to the comments and read between the lines in some cases and straight out in others.

In no way am I endorsing Obama or getting into the Democratic Party’s race for the nomination, but I wasn’t born yesterday and I can see the writing on the wall for Hillary Clinton. She’s done. Stick a fork in her, and that’s just reality.

You can rest assured when the national campaign between the two presidential nominees actually takes place this blog will stand firmly behind John McCain, but it won’t be because he’s white and Barack Obama is black. It will be because I agree most with his positions on national security, abortion, and his record of fighting pork in the Senate, along with other things.

What we say about either candidate will be factual, backed up by other publications and we will not get involved in race-baiting or rumor mongering.

May God continue to bless America and may the best candidate win.

Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma, has suffered a devasting cyclone.

Monday morning at 8 am the news reported 3,000 dead. At 8:30 am the figure had jumped to 4,000. At 9 am predictions of 10,000 dead were being announced.

Now I am reading that at least 15,000 people are dead and 30,000 missing.

This is a closed society and must open its borders to allow rescue efforts to take place. As I watched some of the soldiers using a chain saw it was apparent to me they didn’t know how to properly work it as they were trying to saw a normal-sized limb from a tree by moving the chain saw back and forth instead of holding it steady and allowing it to do its work.

Rescue workers need to get in to clean up the water, provide doctors and medical attention, food and temporary housing for those who have survived.

A military transport plane was scheduled to land in Yangon later Tuesday with emergency aid from Thailand while a number of other countries and organizations said they were prepared to follow.

The United States, which has slapped economic sanctions on the country, said it likewise stood ready. The U.S. Embassy is providing $250,000 in immediate aid from existing emergency fund. But First Lady Laura Bush said Monday the U.S. would provide further aid only if one of its own disaster teams is allowed into the country.

The storm has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and without clean drinking water, said Richard Horsey, a spokesman in Bangkok, Thailand, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

We must get help into that country. If, like me, you have no useful skills to offer then get in touch with the Red Cross or charity of your choice to give them a donation to help these people as soon as possible before disease kills even more pe

Civic responsibility in the form of Jury Duty calls today so I will not be posting the traditional Tuesday Tid-Bits.

I did however see this interesting video at the NRCC website which defines a series which has recently been completed.

The NRCC recently sat down with several Members of Congress to ask them about the most pressing issues facing voters today, and why the Republicans can, and will, win back the Majority. The web series, entitled “Rediscover Your Party,” will run throughout the fall.

This above video reflects a compilation of the 6 individual videos linked below. Many of the longstanding differences between the two controlling parties in Congress are addressed. The entire collection takes roughly 20 minutes to view.

Episode 1: Iraq
Episode 2: Earmark Reform
Episode 3: Accountability and Transparency
Episode 4: Free Speech
Episode 5 - Republicans Running to Regain the Majority
Final Episode: Election 2008

I hope this makes you smile a bit.

PREGNANCY Q & A & more!

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q : I’m two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q : What is the most reliable method to determine a baby’s sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she’s
borderline irrational.
A: So what’s your question?

Q : My childbirth instructor says it’s not pain I’ll feel during
labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you’re pregnant.

Q : Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my
wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word ‘alimony’ means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?

A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q : Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby’s diaper very quickly.

Q : Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and
act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

‘ESTROGEN ISSUES’

10 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ‘ESTROGEN ISSUES’

1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.
2. You’re adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet.
3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.
4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.
5. You ‘re using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker
that says: ‘How’s my driving-call 1- 800-’…
6. Everyone’s head looks like an invitation to batting practice.
7… Everyone seems to have j ust landed here from ‘outer space.’
9. You’re sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.
10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday.

TOP TEN THINGS ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND
10. Cats’ facial expressions.
9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors.
8. Why bean sprouts aren’t just weeds.
7. Fat clothes.
6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time.
5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell.

4. Cutting your hair to make it grow.
3. Eyelash curlers.
2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.

AND, the Number One thing only women understand:

1. OTHER WOMEN

For Those Born 1930-1979

To all the kids who survived the 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s,
60’s and 70’s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked
and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from
a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our
tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. [I never hitchhiked ~J~]

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren’t overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes , no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, be it a teacher, principal, cranky old neighbor, or whom ever!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If you are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it?!

Beautiful computer screensavers are available free of charge at National Geographic.

The box entitled “More Screensavers” will open a world of beauty for you to discover.

Enjoy!

If there are lingering questions about that “Mission Accomplished” banner aboard the USS Lincoln the day of President Bush’s speech for which it was a backdrop, this may help clear up the confusion:

Via Seamus, comes this email from a Navy Lieutenant who was aboard the USS Lincoln during the visit from President Bush. Yesterday was the anniversary of President Bush’s speech about the end of major combat operations, and it was covered by some the media as the infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech.

Check out the complete email from the Lieutenant. It speaks volumes as to the media coverage of this important moment in history. Here’s just a bit of what he has to say:

The media stationed aboard our vessel clearly understood the truth behind the banner yet fed the public a twisted version of this truth. I honestly believe that those opposed to the war saw an opportunity to spin the truth about the banner in order to attack the President. As an officer aboard the ship at that time, I found it to be hurtful and insulting that the media would use our specific accomplishments as a platform to attack our Commander-in-Chief. The President’s visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln was a great honor to those of us serving aboard her at the time. It is shameful and reprehensible to see the tremendous spin that has been placed on this great event. I was proud to serve my country and I will always support my Commander-in-Chief. God bless America.

An entertaining overview of the democratic race is what this video provides. Full of facts and laced with humor, it is well worth the few minutes it requires for viewing.

Enjoy!

Video Courtesy of Slate Magazine

If there is one thing this presidential campaign has convinced me of it is that we are a society of “bandwagon” individuals. This is not a criticism but what is one to think when you cannot visit many prominent websites nor read a major publication or view a news program without the name Wright being front and center?

Here is my question though. Is there any one of us who has not been in the presence of another whose views make us cringe? Heck I’ve had family members with steadfast opinions who left me shaking my head in disbelief. Does this mean that because I have been in their presence on several occasions in my lifetime that I have adopted or agree with their beliefs?

Who among those that have extensively written of their interpretation of Obama’s words or actions was ever present when his “mentor” spoke of his hatred of this country? Has there been anyone who has attended this church who has stepped forward and admitted that Senator Obama personally expressed the same sentiments as his Pastor? Is there one among us who can attest to that fact?

You can judge the character of a man by the company he keeps, that is fair. But the endless pummeling he has incurred based on another’s words to me is ridiculous.

Is anyone holding Hillary fully accountable for her own words? Does anyone even care that if she were to be elected her administration could very well begin where her husband’s left off? Let me say, very few. Obama/Wright has become an obsession and an unhealthy one at that, not for those who choose to continually harp on its existence, but for the process of elections in this country.

There was a time not too long ago that many across the blogosphere had Hillary Clinton’s campaign on life support. I believe I have always said I would never write a Clinton off. They are tough, ruthless individuals who will do most anything to achieve their goals. To some I suppose that is a quality to be admired. But is it admirable when those qualities include ruining anyone and anything in their path? Is it not disingenuous for Hillary to do an end around on any question which involves her faith, but Obama be held fully accountable for his? Senator McCain has stated that he will keep his faith private. Should we not investigate to find out what he might be hiding?

None of this is meant to excuse any candidate whose character comes into question when it comes to securing the presidency. What would have happened though if when the character of President Bush was called into question late in an election cycle no one cared enough to get to the whole truth?

Due to a lack of a choice I find totally acceptable, I will no doubt vote for Senator McCain. The liberal agenda of those on the left is not something to which I could find myself enamored and while I question how different McCain will be, voting for either democrat is something I feel I cannot chance.

There are few who probably agree with what I have written but I will offer no apologies. It is my contention that a presidential race is far too important to allow someone as irrelevant (in the long range scheme of things) as Reverend Wright to become such a central figure in a campaign.

Would it not be more desirable to spend time on real issues like the economy, child welfare, terrorism, trade, energy independence and continued re-building of our military. Sure, these issues are occasionally addressed but for almost a month now it all circles back to one topic Wright/Obama.

I may not believe Obama is the man for the job. But I will not join the party to destroy a man based on a pastor who is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame and has a new book to hawk.

The Senator could conceivably become the President of the United States. Should that materialize, he will receive from me the respect due the Office.

Let’s just hope that whichever candidate is successful in November they do not arrive at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as severely damaged goods. That serves no purpose to the Presidency or the country.

From today’s Omega Letter by Jack Kinsella:

OPEC’s second largest oil producer — and therefore a major player in the international oil cartel, is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

And, as the world’s second largest producer of oil, Iran insists it needs nuclear power to meet its domestic energy needs.

For reasons that confound logic, that conundrum presents no challenge for much of Europe, the Chinese, the Russians, and even some of the Sunni Islamic states that have the most to fear from a nuclear-armed Shi’ite Islamic republic.

But what is even more baffling is the fact that Iran seems determined to use its oil wealth to force a military confrontation with the United States.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the depreciating dollar a “worthless piece of paper” at a rare summit last year in Saudi Arabia attended by state leaders from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Now he’s going to prove it. This week, Iran announced it was ending all oil transactions in US dollars.

“The dollar has totally been removed from Iran’s oil transactions,” Oil Ministry official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard told state-run television Wednesday. “We have agreed with all of our crude oil customers to do our transactions in non-dollar currencies.”

Iran’s oil ministry says that it will only accept euros or the Japanese yen for oil, a direct slap at the struggling US dollar. Iran’s central bank has also been reducing its foreign reserves denominated in U.S. dollars, further weakening the currency on the international market.

To understand what Iran’s shift away from the dollar means to you and me, we need to take a quick trip through the history books.

After the outbreak of World War Two, America became the armory to the world, selling billions and billions of dollars worth of weapons to the Allies, for which it demanded payment in gold.

By war’s end, the majority of the world’s gold reserves reverted from America’s European creditors of the 1930’s — and back to the United States.

The Bretton Woods Agreement in 1945 made the US dollar convertible to gold at the government level. This established the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

But the twin wars on poverty and in Vietnam drained the US economy, forcing the Fed to increase the money supply, most of which ended up as foreign reserve currency holdings.

The runaway inflation caused by the artificial increase in the money supply began to worry investors. By the 1970s, foreign governments began demanding payment for their dollars in gold.

On August 15, 1971, the US announced it was ’severing the link between the dollar and gold’ and defaulted on its payments.

In order to keep the dollar (and the global economy) from collapsing, the US had to find some economic replacement for the gold standard. In 1973, Washington cut an iron-clad deal with the Saudis.

The US would prop up the Saudi regime in exchange for a Saudi pledge to accept only US dollars in payment for oil sales. Eventually, the rest of OPEC followed suit.

The world had to buy oil. And since they could only buy them with US dollars, they needed to continue to hold US dollars in reserve.

In order to buy oil, the world’s net oil importers HAD to maintain a reserve supply of US currency, keeping it out of circulation, which kept the world from being flooded with dollars, which would, of course, devalue it.

Should OPEC drop the US dollar as its official currency, all those dollar reserve holdings would suddenly be released on the global market, and the US dollar would soon be worthless.

Tehran’s decision amounts to an act of economic warfare against the United States that, should it take hold among the rest of the OPEC states (including Venezuela) could bring the American economy to its knees.

So it should be of no surprise to anyone to learn that the United States has just dispatched a second American aircraft carrier group into the Persian Gulf.

This may well be — ahem — the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Assessment:

Washington can’t afford to admit that it is going to war over oil — even though there is probably no reason more historically justifiable.

Those historians who blame the United States for forcing Imperial Japan into World War II point to the US embargo of Japanese oil as the principle cause.

Since Japan had no natural resources of its own, war was Japan’s only option. And seen from Japan’s perspective in the 1930’s, one can hardly argue — but the Allies utterly rejected that argument in 1945.

There is something about going to war over oil that sticks in our craw; it seems so, ummm, mercenary and self-serving — Americans are better than that.

And we are better than that — right now. It is much easier to behave honorably when somebody takes your lawnmower than it is when you are about to lose your house.

Here we see the inherent truth in yet another old saying — “desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Iran has been steadily making Washington’s case FOR war for the White House. Noted Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week; “What the Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen and women inside Iraq.”

The Pentagon is not eager for war with Iran — US forces are stretched thin now, but are nowhere nearly exhausted.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen made that clear at a Pentagon press briefing last week, warning Tehran:

“I have reserve capability, in particular our Navy and our Air Force so it would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability.”

The US already has a broad and convincing case for war against the Iranian regime; its support for Hezbollah, al-Qaeda in Iraq and Hamas; its belligerency towards Israel, its harrassment of US-flagged ships in the Gulf — but it is the threat to the US oil economy that is the red flag.

One of the enduring images from the pre-Iraq invasion demonstrations were of sign-carrying American Useful Idiots chanting “No Blood for Oil.”

In January 2003, Americans were paying $1.78 a gallon. Now that it is approaching five dollars, “No Blood for Oil” means something altogether different — now that its our blood on the line.

That second carrier group isn’t steaming in the Persian Gulf for nothing.

Nothing short of our annihilation would thrill our radical Muslim enemies more than to see our economy collapse. That was the purpose of 9/11 according to some.

We should be using the oil available to us in our own country instead of depending on the Middle East and now Venezuela for it. We have the reserves and we can get it and still be safe environmentally. We are at least ten years behind on this and we need to make up for it.

Sue called me Wednesday morning to tell me her computer had died. I spoke to her later and she said her neighbor, who is a computer guru, had checked it out and it was half-way working, but resting at the time while she and her husband took advantage of the good weather and did some garden maintenance.

In the meantime, I’ve had a headache all week, and a sore gland in my neck which makes my ear hurt.

I saw the doctor for my regular check-up last Thursday and had blood taken as usual. I was in high hopes my triglycerides were coming down with the protocol I was on.

The doctor had increased my Niaspan ER from 500 mg at night to 1000 mg at night.

The problem with Niaspan is it causes flushing. This can make you itch, feel hot, get a rash or all three. If you take an aspirin before taking the Niaspan it’s supposed to help with these annoyances.

I did very well on the 500 mg tabs along with the over the counter fish oil capsules I have to take on doctor’s orders and the Tricor tablets that are supposed to control triglycerides.

The treatment started with fish oil capsules then went up to Tricor and then to Niaspan 500 mg. When that didn’t help get the levels down to a manageable number he increased the Niaspan to 1000 mg.

I would take the pill with the aspirin and soon added an atarax pill I use for allergic itching to help with that problem. A couple of hours after taking the larger dose I would look like a cooked lobster from my forehead to my feet and everything in between.

The itching was horrible and I was awake at night more than usual.

I called the doctor and told him of the problem and was told to discontinue the Niaspan and to take a prescription fish oil capsule along with the tricor and over the counter fish oil capsules.

With all this fish oil I was certain good things were happening. You can imagine my disappointment when I got the lab results back and the doctor informed me the triglycerides were even higher than before. The doctor put in a note to start taking 500 mg of niaspan again, but I didn’t have any on hand. All I had were 1000 mg, so I bit the bullet after I talked to Medco and explained why I needed to reactivate the 500 mg niaspan. I can’t cut the pill in half because it takes away the extended release action.

Medco agreed to send the 500 mg and I should receive it in 4-7 days. That is until I got the call yesterday telling me they can’t fill it because they have a later prescription for a higher dose. The problem with those calls is they never tell you what drug they are talking about and since I had sent six prescriptions to them last week I had to call to confirm what the message meant. It’s OK anyway, because I seem to be tolerating the higher dose now.

My blood sugar levels are excellent, my overall cholesterol is pretty good, my good cholesterol is about half what it should be and my bad cholesterol cannot be measured because my triglycerides are so high.

OK, I can’t do the treadmill anymore since I tore my knee up the last time. The Ritis brother Arthur is bothering my back and I’m on pain meds for Mr. Ritis.

The only thing I can do is control my diet, which I admit I hadn’t been doing.

Now, since we have two grandchildren at our house on a daily basis for an hour or so and at night every other week-end, we keep goodies on hand for them to snack on.

Most of the time I don’t snack and am not crazy about cookies, cakes, chips etc. But yesterday my husband and grandson went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of goodies and they keep staring me in the face.

I heard how wonderful the Pringles pickle flavored chips were and resisted them until a few minutes ago when I was starving and wanted something to eat. I didn’t particularly care for them so I tried the cheddar of some special name. What I didn’t know was the cheddar flavor has hot pepper flavor in it and burned my mouth, so that was put up quite quickly.

I went to the refrigerator to get a glass of 1% milk and decided against it because it isn’t organic. Now I’m not particular about what I eat but I like organic milk because it has a better flavor and seems more full-bodied. Instead I found regular 1% milk, which I will probably not use.

So here I sit, full of fat in my circulatory system, my stomach empty and nothing to eat even though the house is loaded with food.

I’m supposed to be a blogger and give you my take on the news, but the fact is I don’t care what’s in the news right now and will not cover the presidential campaign until September.

I don’t care who said what to whom. All I care about are the positions the various candidates are taking on issues I care about.

I won’t vote for Obama but it’s not because he’s black. It’s because he wants us to be in a more socialist society than we are in now and wouldn’t blink to raise our taxes to pay for it.

I won’t vote for Hillary and that’s all I need to say about that. Anything else I would have to say would violate my own rules of not speaking sarcastically about a national figure.

So I’m stuck with McCain whether I like it or not and it’s because he is more likely to hold the same beliefs on most of the issues I care about. I probably disagree with him more than I agree with him, but I disagree with less of him than I do the others.

When is the last time we have been in such a position in our country? Where is our modern day George Washington or Abraham Lincoln? I’m sure we have one but he just doesn’t want to drag himself and his family through all the mud necessary to serve his country. I use the generic male gender.

Anyway, if anyone has a cure for lowering triglycerides I’ll be glad to hear them.

Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns Processed by April 15

Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the main filer’s Social Security number. For joint filers, the payments will go out based on the person listed first on the return. Payments will be made by either direct deposit or paper check, consistent with how people filed their 2007 tax return.

People who use direct deposit also will be among the first to receive the payments starting April 28. Direct deposits will be made daily and completed by the date listed below:
DIRECT DEPOSIT

Last two SSN digits: Payments will be transmitted no later than:
00 through 20 May 2
21 through 75 May 9
76 through 99 May 16

Paper checks will also go out based on Social Security number. For Social Security numbers ending in 00 through 09, the paper checks will be mailed starting May 9 and will continue through May 16. A similar process will be repeated in the following weeks.
PAPER CHECK

Last two SSN digits: Payments will be mailed no later than:
00 through 09 May 16
10 through 18 May 23

19 through 25
May 30
26 through 38 June 6
39 through 51 June 13
52 through 63 June 20
64 through 75 June 27
76 through 87 July 4
88 through 99 July 11

People who file a return after April 15 will receive their economic stimulus payment, but probably about two weeks later than the schedule shows. A return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment this year. See the online calculator for an estimate of the amount you will receive.

A small percentage of tax returns will require additional time to process and to compute a stimulus payment amount. For these returns, stimulus payments may not be issued in accordance with the schedule above, even if the tax return was processed by April 15.

I also heard on the news today that the first quarter growth was. .6%. Pretty anemic, but it does not meet the definition of a recession, which is a drop for two consecutive quarters.

Here’s an old video clip of Bob Hope, Dean Martin and old Lonesome George Goble bringing up the rear of a hilariously funny Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Listen and enjoy and notice not one dirty word was said.

If wishes could make it so, then I would wish that President Bush had taken this tone and command in relation to the press throughout his two terms.

His remarks on the terrorists and terrorism lay out the best argument he has articulated in quite some time as to why we cannot abandon our fight in the War on Terrorism.

As an aside, some might call the behavior of this reporter tenacious, what’s needed to get the real story. I call it rude and obnoxious.

This man, no matter what your personal feelings is the President of the United States and when he says no, it should mean no. The lack of respect that some journalists show toward not only the man but the office itself is disturbing at the very least.

Video courtesy of Eyeblast

Michael Yon appeared recently on Fox and Friends and in his usual style plays no politics with his assessment of the situation in Iraq or that of Afghanistan.

He has been my most trusted source for information primarily in Iraq for several years and will remain so when he soon returns to his embed position with the boots on the ground.

What would cause any parent to jeopardize the lives of their children?

Thankfully, someone intervened before it was to late for these helpless babies:

If this mother is ever to regain custody of these precious gifts, I would hope she receives some much needed therapy.

Here’s a bit of food for thought on this Tuesday.

An attorney who watched a police officer park illegally in front of a restaurant, then wait around while his meal was prepared, issued the officer a series of citizen-initiated violations.
Eric Bryant said he was sitting at the restaurant March 7 when Officer Chad Stensgaard parked his patrol car next to a no-parking sign and walked inside to wait for his food, the Portland Mercury reported Thursday.
Bryant told the weekly paper that when he asked Stensgaard about his car, the officer asked Bryant, “If someone broke into your house, would you rather have the police be able to park in front of your house or have to park three blocks away and walk there?
Bryant filed a complaint as a private citizen alleging several violations, including illegal parking and illegal operation of an emergency vehicle.
Stensgaard was issued a summons to appear in traffic court in May. The fines could total $540. . . .
Cathe Kent, a spokeswoman for the Portland Police Bureau, said Stensgaard would fight the complaint in court, “as he rightfully should.”

What’s your opinion? Do you believe the attorney was correct in his actions or does the police officer have a case?

I haven’t come to any conclusion as I am still attempting to understand the correlation between responding to a robbery and illegally parking a vehicle while waiting for your lunch.

The Supreme Court today voted 6-3 to uphold the common sense practice of Voter ID in the state of Indiana:

The law “is amply justified by the valid interest in protecting ‘the integrity and reliability of the electoral process,’” Justice John Paul Stevens said in an opinion that was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy.

Now if only all other states would follow suit it might help restore real confidence in our electoral process.

HT: The Page

While checking the news, trying to find something that isn’t political, I read more details of the 73 year old Austrian man who had locked his daughter up in a basement apartment and repeatedly raped her.

This happened over a period of 24 years, starting when she was just 18 years old. He had been molesting her since she was 11.

She had given birth to seven of his children, but one twin died and he disposed of it in the family furnace.

One child got sick and she was able to go to the hospital with her, and so her story got out and she got out of captivity.

The monster who is the father and grandfather to her children, and his wife took care of three of the children. Supposedly the wife knew nothing except her daughter had disappeared.

How her husband explained the appearance of children on their doorstep is beyond me.

That’s not the point though. The point is this is not the first case we have heard about coming from Austria, but I’m sure it’s happening all over the world, including our own country.

We have allowed God to be pushed out of our lives to the extent that something like this shocks us but then we hear of another case like it.

Europeans as a majority do not believe in a living God. In America we are hearing the same thing from people. We are abandoning God and we wonder why we are having the problems in the world we have.

If someone speaks up and says he or she is a practicing Christian that person is ridiculed as though he or she has been brainwashed, all the while being told to be “tolerant” of others’ beliefs.

Well, I am tolerant, but I hate to see them go to hell. I also know that all I can do is pray the Holy Spirit will convict their hearts of the sin we were all born with and they will confess Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Jesus told us He was the only way to God the Father. We can’t get to God or Heaven through good works, Buddha, Allah, Shintoism, Hinduism or any other faith that rejects Jesus as the crucified Messiah Who died in place of us. He died so we might live eternally with Him and the Father, which is what God planned all along.

Until and unless we acknowledge God and His Sovereignty we will continue to hear things as horrible as this and worse.

If just one person thinks about this and decides to dedicate his or her life to Jesus, it will be worth every minute spent on this blog by all the various people who make it run.

If you want to make a decision for Christ look on our sidebar and you will see a link to a site called Do You Know?

It will tell you how to