This time I’ve been tagged by Laura Lee Donoho from The Wide Awake Cafe.

Here’s the meme:

The Meme

The rules:

1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.

4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?

Five years ago I was a surgical patient three times. Once for thyroid surgery, once for cartilage removal on my left knee (second operation on same knee), once for a total hysterectomy.

In between surgeries I was caring for two of my grandchildren; one of whom was a kindergartner and the other was an active one and one-half year old.

I watched as the “baby” learned to walk, notice birds, discovered “bufflies”, fluffy dandelions and crunchy leaves. I listened as he sang “Jesus Loves Me” and other Sunday School songs he was learning at Sunday School.

I sometimes dropped off his sister and always picked her up after school, in addition to volunteering to help in her classroom.

We went to Texas that year and visited with our son, daughter in law and other two grandchildren.

I had one of my last visits with my father.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?

Me? Plan things in advance? Surely you jest! Anyone who knows me knows I do whatever and whenever but it is almost never planned.

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Diet Ginger Ale

2. Fruit

3. Goldfish snack crackers sharp cheese flavor.

4. Chocolate candy, but I can’t have much as I’m a diabetic.

5. Sour cream chocolate pound cake, infrequently.

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. Faint

2. Give to our church and Christian missionaries at least 1/4.

3. Give 1/4 to all our family members to be sure they are set for life.

4. Go around and do random acts of kindness.

5. Laugh, because it’s never going to happen!

What are five of your bad habits?

1. Nail biting.

2. Procrastinating.

3. Staying up too late.

4. Slow to anger but hard to get over it.

5. Too much Internet and TV.

What are five places where you have lived?

1. Old Town, Maine

2. Minot A.F.B., North Dakota

3. Hopewell, Virginia

4. Fayetteville, NC

5. Rock Hill SC

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. Started to work at the telephone company right out of high school and retired from there. Although I held different positions, I had just one employer other than a high school summer job in an Indian novelty store.

Five people I tag:

1. The Anchoress

2. Kimsch at Musing Minds

3. Sister Toldjah

4. Venomous Kate from Electric Venom

5. Sue at J’s Cafe Nette Hee hee hee!

Okay ~J~..rather than another whole post I’ll just tag along with you!

What were you doing five years ago?
Enjoying every minute of the birth of our first grandchild.
Working locally on the President’s re-election bid.
Helping nurse my Dad back to health after heart surgery.
Watching a child near and dear to my heart gain their college education.
Babysitting every chance I had.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?

Gardening. Actually, done.
Wax floors.
Grocery shop (ugh)
Read my favorite blogs
Watch while my daughter power washes our patio..and a fine job she did!

What are five snacks you enjoy?

Provolone cheese on wheat crackers
Peanut butter with fruit
Rice Pudding
Pretzels
Apple Cake

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

Not run for political office
Give to as many children’s and military charities as possible
Add another bathroom to my house (yes I would stay right here)
Make certain my children and grandchildren were well accommodated for
Support religious organizations which in turn help the worlds needy

What are five of your bad habits?

Letting the water run while brushing my teeth
Allowing little time for sleep
The Internet
Too much Snapple (love the stuff)
Not answering letters or emails quickly..hey, that’s what the telephone is for.

What are five places where you have lived?

Honolulu, Hawaii
Fort Knox, Kentucky
Washington, DC
Rancocas, New Jersey
Warminster, Pennsylvania

What are five jobs you’ve had?

Customer Service Rep for Sears Roebuck (high school)
Nursing Assistant
Executive Secretary to the Head of the Dental Hygiene School at Temple University
Non-paying - Volunteer at children’s day camps working primarily in arts and crafts
Best ever-all the work I have been privileged to do with children for many years

As for tags, I’ll leave those at ~J’s~ original five.

I think first of his family and then of his colleagues who must be overwhelmed with sadness and grief at this time.

Update: Tom Brokaw announcing Mr. Russert’s passing:

Mark Halperin provides comments from associates and others here.

Via Brietbart:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” died Friday of an apparent heart attack. The network’s Washington bureau chief was 58.
In addition to his weekly program, Russert made periodic appearances on the network’s other news shows, was moderator for numerous political debates and wrote two best-selling books.

NBC interrupted its regular programming to announce Russert’s death, and in the ensuing moments, familiar faces such as Tom Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took turns mourning his loss.

Williams called him “aggressively unfancy.”

Our prayers and condolences go out to the Russert family. May he RIP.

Video has been provided of several who worked closely with Mr. Russert and their reactions to his sudden death:

The title is from today’s Omega Letter, written by Jack Kinsella.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched an investigation/crackdown on Christian ministers and ministries that the IRS believes is in violation of the rules governing 501 (c) (3) religious tax exemptions.

In the main, the investigations are aimed at determining if a minister or ministry has made any political statements that violated IRS rules.

The IRS crackdown came following a special IRS task force investigation that concluded that as many as three-quarters of Christian ministries violated federal tax laws governing 501 (c) (3) religious charitable exemption status during the 2004 general election.

This time around, the IRS is taking a pro-active approach, targeting any Christian ministry that dares to express a political opinion, particularly those who express an opinion regarding Barack Obama or his relationship with Trinity United Church.

I’m not going to name the ministries now under investigation (they’ve already got enough to worry about) but I will say that among those now under IRS scrutiny is one that is nearest and dearest to us here — but it isn’t the OL.

If it seems to you that I am speaking in code, it means you are very perceptive.

Who would have ever believed that the day would come in America where one would have to speak in code about Christianity?

I have preached it for twenty years, but frankly, I never thought I’d live to see it. It came slowly, almost imperceptibly, until POW! — it was here.

The IRS 501 (c)(3) religious tax exemption status is a fairly recent trend dating back to 1954 when Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson added an amendment including ‘religious organizations’ to the tax code. Johnson was taking a lot of fire from church organizations back home at the time.

Johnson presented the amendment as a ‘favor’ to church organizations, but the ‘favor’ came with strings attached. Over time, those strings began to morph into the handcuffs they are today.

For a 501 (c)(3) church to openly speak out, or organize in opposition to, anything that the government declares “legal,” even if it is immoral (e.g. abortion, homosexuality, etc.), that church will jeopardize its tax exempt status.

The 501 (c)(3) serves to not just infringe upon, but to actually abrogate the free speech rights of the church.

To summarize, ever since 1954, churches and religious organizations have been able to claim a religious tax exemption under 501(c)(3) rules.

That begs a question - what about the tax status of religious organizations prior to 1954?

The United States has existed since July 4, 1776. The Internal Revenue Service came into being during the Lincoln administration under the authority of the Revenue Act of 1862.

It was called the “Bureau of Internal Revenue” until 1918, when it began using the name “Internal Revenue Service” on its tax forms. The 501 (c)(3) religious organization tax exemption status was created in 1954.

What was the tax status of churches from 1776 to 1862? Or, for that matter, from 1862 to 1918, or from 1918 to 1954?

It was tax-exempt. Churches and ministries were tax exempt in America since the day the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock.

The 1st Amendment (the infamous ’separation clause’) clearly places the church outside the jurisdiction of civil government, saying, “Congress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

If the Supreme Court can interpret some county courthouse in Kentucky that displays the Ten Commandments as being in violation of the 1st Amendment ‘by Congress’ how is it that tax laws passed by Congress does not?

As noted, the church was tax-exempt BEFORE Johnson tacked on the 501 (c)(3) exemption for churches. Religion cannot be free if you have to pay the government, through taxation, to exercise it.

In order to be governed by IRS rules, churches must place themselves under its jurisdiction. In order to be considered for tax-exempt status by the IRS an organization must fill out and submit IRS Form 1023 and 1024.

Otherwise, churches and religious organizations are ALREADY exempt under the IRS’ own rules. According to IRS Publication 557:

Churches, interchurch organizations of local units of a church, conventions or associations of churches, or integrated auxiliaries of a church, such as a men’s or women’s organization, religious school, mission society, or youth group. These organizations are exempt automatically if they meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3).

Did you catch that? Let’s look at it again. “These organizations are exempt automatically if they meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3).”

But wait! There’s more!

According to IRS Code § 508(c)(1)(A): Special rules with respect to section 501(c)(3) organizations.

(a) New organizations must notify secretary that they are applying for recognition of section 501(c)(3) status.

(c) Exceptions.

(1) Mandatory exceptions. Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to—

(A) churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.

I’m not making this up. Churches are ALREADY exempt! They always were. This is known as the “mandatory exception” rule.

Thus, we see from the IRS’ own publications, and the tax code, that it is completely unnecessary for any church to apply for tax-exempt status.

In the IRS’ own words a church “is automatically tax-exempt.” Not only that, but individual contributions to religious organizations that qualify for 501(c)(3) status are ALSO “automatically tax-exempt” — whether that organization has filed for 501(c)(3) status or not.

Not only is a ministry not REQUIRED to file for a 501 (c)(3) exemption, until it does, it is not under IRS jurisdiction. It is the act of FILING for that exemption that grants the IRS jurisdiction.

If a church does not place ITSELF under IRS authority, neither can the IRS.

We’ve all heard about the tax protestors and “freemen” who refuse to apply for a Social Security number or refuse to file taxes by claiming the Sixteenth Amendment authorizing income taxes was never properly ratified.

This is different. In the case of the church, 1st Amendment trumps the 16th. Whether the 16th Amendment was legally ratified or not is irrelevant.

Congress is constitutionally forbidden from making ANY laws respecting the establishment of religion or the free exercise thereof.

Tax laws are “laws” — and they certainly aren’t ‘free’.

Assessment:

Since churches and religious organizations are already exempt from taxation, why do so many of them voluntarily place themselves under IRS rules? There are several reasons, not the least of which is ignorance.

501(c)(3) organizations can issue a tax receipt which can be deducted from a person’s individual income taxes.

This is a powerful incentive for donors to take money that would otherwise go to the government and redirect it to a ministry.

If a donor gives to a 501(c)(3) organization, he is, in fact, donating the government’s money, rather than his own — the donor doesn’t get to keep it in any case, so why not?

We see how effective the scheme is every day here at the OL. We’ve received a lot of emails over the years from members encouraging us to apply for tax-exempt status so we can issue tax receipts for donations.

We refused 501(c)(3) status from the beginning because it gives the IRS the authority to censor what we can say.

But when we tell prospective donors we cannot issue 501(c)(3) receipts, they tell us, sorrowfully, that they can’t donate unless they can submit tax-deductible receipts with the tax return.

In fact, whether or not a church or church ministry applies for and receives a “501 (c)(3) tax-exempt recognition letter” from the IRS is irrelevant under the law.

Any contributions made to a church are “automatically qualified” as a tax write-off to the contributor, pursuant to IRS Publication 526, and IRS Code § 170(c)(2)(B).

A church does not have to be a “nonprofit charitable organization” to be tax deductible, nor does it need IRS authorization to be tax deductible. According to the IRS, churches have that status “automatically.”

I’m not saying go ahead and donate to the OL because its tax-deductible. It is — but I wouldn’t ask anybody to go toe-to-toe with the IRS over it.

If I am not willing to tackle them head-on, (and I am not) I’m not about to ask you to — increasing donations isn’t the point of today’s OL.

The point is that, via the 501(c)(3) fiction, Christians have exempted themselves from the 1st Amendment guarantees, and consequently, churches are under Congressional oversight and have no free speech protection.

A pastor who speaks out about abortion can be censored. A church that speaks favorably about an anti-abortion candidate can face legal government persecution.

But their rights to the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech have NOT been ‘taken away’ from them.

They SOLD them to the federal government in exchange for tax-free money. The irony is that they sold their freedom in exchange for money that was ALREADY tax-free.

When a church accepts the 501(c)(3) status, that church also:

* Waives its freedom of speech.

* Waives its freedom of religion.

* Waives its right to influence legislators and the legislation they craft.

* Waives its constitutionally guaranteed rights.

* Is no longer free to speak to the vital issues of the day.

* Becomes controlled by a spirit of fear that if it doesn’t toe the line with the IRS it will lose its tax-exempt status.

* Becomes a State-Church.

It is fascinating to me that one of the ministries under investigation for 501(c)(3) violations is under investigation because of comments about Barack Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright’s political statements from the pulpit.

The offending comments were not about Obama, but about the racial politics espoused by Trinity United Church.

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s political sermons are now among the most widely-circulated and politically controversial sermons in the land. If ever there were a case of politics masquerading as religion, Jeremiah Wright is its poster child.

But the IRS isn’t going after Jeremiah Wright, Otis Moss, Father Pfleger or Trinity United Church for violating IRS political rules. It is going after Christian pastors who disagree with the merits of the political statements themselves.

So, some minister (who will remain nameless of out fear of further government persecution) that questions whether or not America deserved the attacks of September 11 and dares to mention that it emanated from Obama’s church finds himself a target of the IRS Gestapo.

While the IRS ignores the sermon (and sermonizer) that predicated the disagreement in the first place.

One pulpit is protected, the other is not, based on the arbitrary whims of some government apparatchik. The church’s freedom of speech wasn’t taken from it — the Church sold its freedom — for money.

In His seven letters to the Seven Churches, Jesus outlined characteristics of each that, in hindsight, we can clearly see corresponding to seven distinct epochs within the Church Age, from the Apostolic Church of the first century to the lukewarm Laodicean Church of the last days.

Of all the seven churches, the Church of Laodicea was the ONLY one the Lord singled out for criticism without offering a single word of commendation.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” (Revelation 3:14-17)

Among 501(c)(3) ministries, fire-breathing sermons about social moral issues, like abortion, homosexuality, the family, divorce, child-rearing, and even doctrinal issues, like salvation through Christ alone, are largely a thing of the past.

Every word has to be weighed against the possibility it may violate one’s tax-exempt status, which would then shut off the donor spigot.

It boils down to a choice between shutting up and shutting down.

“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” (Revelation 3:18-19)

The Lord offers this advice to the remaining ‘free churches’ while there is still time:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelation 3:22)

My husband and I tithe and give an offering, as do our children and grandchildren. I know my husband well enough to know even if there were no tax exemption we would continue to give the same amount, but if one is a true believer and has not yet committed to tithing he or she may think about tithing since we are talking about 10% of what God gives us. He lets us keep 90% and asks only for 10%.

If you are a believer and haven’t yet had the faith to tithe I encourage you to do so. You will be richly blessed, but don’t do it for what you can get out of it; do it out of love and obedience to our Loving God.

The headline on this Fox News website front page is “Time to Start Praying”.

The story is about the floods in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the damage being done to property and lives.

“We’re just kind of at God’s mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start,” Linn County Sheriff Don Zeller said. “We’re going to need a lot of prayers and people are going to need a lot of patience and understanding.”

Officials estimated that 3,200 homes were evacuated and some 8,000 residents displaced.

Days of heavy rain across the state have sent nine rivers across Iowa at or above historic flood levels. Residents were already steeling themselves for floods before storms late Wednesday and early Thursday brought up to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa.

“We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring,” said Brian Pierce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport. “We’re in uncharted territory — this is an event beyond what anybody could even imagine.”

Gov. Chet Culver has declared 55 of the state’s 99 counties as state disaster areas.

“We’re just kind of at God’s mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start….”

I understand what the sheriff is saying, but why is it we pray only when there is a disaster that hits our families or our country, such as 9/11 and we forget all about God every other time in our lives?

We seem to look at God as though He were Santa Claus. We call on Him with our wish lists without giving Him the praise He is worthy of or taking the time to know Him in a personal way as the only God. He, Who loved us enough He sent His Only Begotten Son to earth to suffer as we did, know all the feelings we have and then die on a cross like a common criminal even though He had never sinned or committed a crime. But then His Son was risen from the dead to show us what will happen to us when He returns or when we die.

I’ve read we are the most Christian nation in the world today, but how many of us claim our God to be the Only God, none before Him and none after Him? How many of us acknowledge God came to earth in the flesh in the Person of His only begotten Son Jesus?

Do we pray just when times are hard or do we pray all the time? This isn’t rocket science but it does take faith. God is everywhere we are and we can pray to Him wherever we go while we are going there or after we get there. We don’t need an appointment to talk to Him and our only intermediary is Jesus, His Son.

Jesus told us there would be famines, earthquakes, pestilences and things that would make people’s hearts fail in the last days. He also said this had to happen, and when we see these things begin to come to pass to look up for our redemption draweth nigh.

Do you thank God for the meals you eat? For the clothes you wear? For all the necessities and niceties in this life, or do you call on Him only when you want something?

Just as Jesus had no idea when He would return while He was on earth (and maybe even now) I have no idea when He will return, but I can read the books of Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation and pick up a newspaper and compare them. We are seeing the beginning of the end times, but I don’t know how long before Jesus returns.

Jesus told us He would return as a thief in the night and we should always be prepared for Him. Instead we have people mock us for our belief and yet there will be no satisfaction on my part when He does return and those who have mocked Him are left behind to face the Tribulation and then eternal death. Neither will there be satisfaction on Jesus’ part. Only sadness because the Gift He offers is free to any who will accept Him as their Savior.

The first prayer God hears is the prayer for redemption from man. Until we acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness and repent He will not hear our prayers, no matter how urgent they are.

So, yes, if you haven’t prayed before now would be a good time to start. Start by accepting Jesus into your lives. If you don’t know how call a fundamentalist church and ask someone to meet with you or pray with you on the phone. Read John 3:16 and the book of Romans. However you do it, do it now for yourself and your family!

Now, let’s all pray for our nation and the people of the world who are suffering from cyclones, earthquakes, hunger, lack of housing etc. God can do anything but fail.

Laura Bush has handled her role as First Lady with a quiet strength.

It has been consistently obvious the love she has for her family and for those who have served both her and the President.

She has never put herself in a position of embarrassing or appearing to usurp her husband and has always had a clear understanding that the voters did not elect Laura but rather George Bush.

This has been evidenced once again in Mrs. Bush’s recent trip to Afghanistan, and this subsequent piece the First Lady wrote for the Wall Street Journal:

This week has been a study in contrasts. On Sunday, I was in one of the most remote areas of Afghanistan – where unpaved roads are lined by tin-roofed shanties, and most people live without running water or electricity.

Today, I am in the City of Light. Yet while the circumstances of these visits could not be more different, their purpose is the same: to reaffirm the world’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan.

This morning, a delegation representing 80 countries and multilateral organizations will gather here for the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan. This event is a chance for developed nations to learn more about the challenges facing Afghanistan – and to offer the political and economic assistance it needs to recover from decades of war and oppression.

There was no fanfare, no constant photo-ops. Just a woman who is very comfortable in her own skin working for a cause in which she truly believes.

Some Jewish donors to the Democratic Party are wary of Barack Obama’s stand on Israel and are putting their money in the McCain campaign coffers now:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is attracting elite Jewish Democratic donors who backed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and are concerned about Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) stance toward Israel, say McCain backers who are organizing the effort to court Democrats.

McCain has already had several fundraising events with Jewish Democrats in Washington and Florida, say his supporters.

He also has the backing of Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.), who made history as the first Jewish vice presidential candidate and has recently raised questions about Obama’s foreign policy vision for the Middle East.

Stephen Muss, the Florida developer, is the biggest Democratic donor and fundraiser to pledge his support for McCain and the Republican National Committee, said a GOP official. Muss has given tens of thousands of dollars to help Democratic candidates in recent years, including $80,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics and CQ MoneyLine.

In addition, other groups are popping up urging a no vote for Senator Obama:

Just Say No Deal.com

18 mil strong.com

Turn down Obama.com

And the final one is Clintons 4 McCain.com

The following is a video with the founder of Clintons 4 McCain:

Is this a tidal wave of lost support for Obama? Hardly, though I believe there are more sites like this on the internet.

The bottom line is Obama is going to have to get the blue-collar, female vote in order to win the election.

We shall see what we shall see.

Can’t say that I have ever watched MSNBC.

Probably best I don’t.

The NRCC recently released the following video:

While the format may be effective, it could use a bit more substance in the explanation department.

Most people will not take the time to research all the House bills which apply to taxation and by offering no specifics this ad will no doubt appeal to those who are partisan in nature.

The news has virtually dried up in regards to Iraq (at least in the major media circles.)

This post at Milblogs offers a few of the reasons why:

Where are the reporters now? Is it blood and guts they want to see? Iraq is a brutal country. But perhaps we need to inform reporters and “News” stations that “its’ not about gore, its about progress and success. How come we don’t have embedded reporters here now in Iraq? Has anyone else noticed their absence? Where are the “Special Reports” on Iraq during prime time TV? Are our service members lives any less important now compared to when the embeds were here? Does the news agency think this is a less important time in Iraq or for that matter in Afghanistan? The actions of the news station says yes. Sex and gore sell, US service members winning, kids getting fed and democracy doesn’t.

What a clever idea for those who spend time at the beach over the summer:

Have you ever been to the beach and made patterns from all the different coloured stones and pebbles?

If so, we have a challenge for you! The V&A Museum in London has launched a project called ‘World Beach’, and they want everyone to get involved.

It’s easy to take part. Just go to the beach and make a piece of art using just the stones you find there (no shells or driftwood allowed!).

Then take some photos of it and send them to the V&A Museum’s website, with a few words about how and where you made it.

The V&A will then add your artwork to their online gallery and put a ‘pin’ on their world map showing where you made it.

Also, neat ideas for children’s crafts can be found at the home page of the link above.

This story warms the cockles of my heart, as it has happened in our adopted hometown.

When school officials in Rock Hill, South Carolina, tell graduation ceremony crowds to hold their applause until the end, they mean it — Police arrested seven people after they were accused of loud cheering during the ceremonies.

Six people at Fort Mill High School’s graduation were charged Saturday and a seventh at the graduation for York Comprehensive High School was charged Friday with disorderly conduct, authorities said. Police said the seven yelled after students’ names were called.

“I just thought they were going to escort me out,” Jonathan Orr told The Herald of Rock Hill. “I had no idea they were going to put handcuffs on me and take me to jail.”

Orr, 21, spent two hours in jail after he was arrested when he yelled for his cousin at York’s commencement at the Winthrop University Coliseum.

Rock Hill police began patrolling commencements several years ago at the request of school districts who complained of increasing disruption. Those attending graduations are told they can be prosecuted for bad behavior and letters are sent home with students, said Rock Hill police spokesman Lt. Jerry Waldrop.

All the cases, except for one that includes a resisting arrest charge, will be handled in city court and are punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

When my children graduated from Rock Hill High School in the late 80’s and early 90’s the entire auditorium was disrupted by hoots, hollers, noise makers and people getting up to leave as soon as their student’s name had been announced and he or she walked across the stage.

It was so bad you could barely hear your own child’s name unless the two or three ahead of him or her didn’t have a loud, unruly contingent of friends and family there. Make no mistake: it was adults as well as people around the age of the graduates.

I was appalled by the noise as where I grew up graduation was something that was quiet and respectful of every graduate. It was just a given.

To compound the hurt of not hearing our childrens’ names as they crossed the stage and got their diplomas, we found that college graduation was just as bad, only bigger.

Thank you to the school districts for making this ruling and for the RHPD for enforcing it. I can assure you I won’t be selected to be on the city jury for any of these people as I have a prejudice against what they did.

Who would you choose as your top ten American heroes?

The Stanford News Service posts results from a nationwide survey of two thousand high school students on that very question.

Who are America’s greatest heroes? When 2,000 high school students across the United States were asked this question—excluding presidents and presidents’ wives—Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman headed the list. The only living American to make the top 10 was Oprah Winfrey, who ranked seventh.

In short, the nation’s leading heroes, in the eyes of its youth, are African Americans.

After King, Parks and Tubman, the list included Susan B. Anthony, Benjamin Franklin, Amelia Earhart, Oprah Winfrey, Marilyn Monroe, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein. A subsequent survey among 2,000 adults yielded similar results. The top 10 list of both cohorts shared eight names.

Now for the adults surveyed:

To compare the students’ responses to adult responses, the researchers additionally surveyed 2,000 American-born adults ages 45 and older, surveying them in shopping centers, downtown pedestrian malls, hospitals, libraries, adult education classes, business meetings, street fairs and retirement communities.

Another surprise: The researchers found remarkable overlap in the adult and student groups. Students and adults listed eight of the same names in the top 10 (King, Parks, Tubman, Anthony, Franklin, Winfrey, Earhart and Edison). For adults, however, Betsy Ross and Henry Ford topped Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe.

A short video discussing the results of this survey is available here.

Mark Halperin’s thoughts on the qualifications the media considers important and not so important when candidates select their VP nominee.

“No Kings Here”..so said George Washington and DJ Drummond concurs:

One of my favorite stories about our first President, George Washington, concerns the period immediately after the victory at Yorktown in 1783. At long last the hated Redcoats were packing up and leaving, and the Yanks could see about putting their plan for an independent America into peacetime practice. The story goes that a grateful Continental Congress wanted to crown George Washington as the first King of the United States, and made the offer not once but three times, before General Washington made it clear that he would wear no crown. “No kings here”, he said plainly.

George Washington was a brilliant and charismatic leader, but he also understood that the nation needed a broader leadership than a monarchy could provide. Too few people realize that the Constitution of the United States was not drawn up until long after the War for Independence, and Washington’s decision was one of many critical choices that proved the United States different from so many other rag-tag revolutions. The leaders of the French Revolution did not choose nearly so well in their structure and form of government, for example.

At some point in our lives most of us have heard an elder say “when I was your age….”

Dennis Prager on that very topic: [limited content at the site some might find objectionable for children]

When I was a boy, we had in our lives adults who took pride in being adults. To distinguish them from our peers, we called these adults “Mr.,” “Mrs.” and “Miss,” or by their titles, “Doctor,” “Pastor,” “Rabbi,” “Father.” It was good for us, and we liked it. Having adults proud of their adulthood, and not acting like they were still kids, gave us security (as well as something to look forward to in growing up). Today, kids are surrounded by peers twice, three, four times their age.

When I was a boy, the purpose of American history textbooks was to teach American history. Today, the purpose of most American history texts is to make minorities and females feel good about themselves. As a result, American kids today are deprived of the opportunity to feel good about being American (not to mention deprived of historical truth). They are encouraged to feel pride about all identities — African-American, Hispanic, Asian, female, gay — other than American.

Have a terrific Tuesday.

It should be an interesting news day today if the United States Supreme Court renders all decisions expected:

WASHINGTON — The nine Supreme Court justices will enter through crimson velvet drapes this morning and take their seats at a mahogany bench to announce decisions in some of the most closely watched cases of their annual term.

Twenty-six cases await resolution, including disputes over Guantanamo detainees, Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and damages arising from the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989.

The ritual today and on select days throughout this month — the last of the session — is long-standing. In June, anticipation in the courtroom is palpable. Rulings will be blared across the Internet, read on the radio and headlined in newspapers.

But the first word of how the court decides a case happens here.

“One sometimes gets a glimmer of emotion from the justices” when they read opinions, says Patricia Millett, a former assistant U.S. solicitor general now in private practice. “The justices’ words, their inflection, their body language and expressions … can have an impact that is lost on the cold page.”

The author of the opinion traditionally details the facts of the case and how the majority ruled. At these moments, the courtroom, already a place of strict decorum and hushed voices, is especially still.

Sometimes a dissenting justice reads portions of an opinion from the bench, rather than let the written dissent speak for itself. That happens when a justice is particularly riled by the majority’s decision. That is more apt to occur in June.

One of the most reliable sites I have visited in the past for an overview of the courts decisions is The Volokh Consipiracy. Links are available at the site to the first of today’s decisions.

Via The Anchoress is an excellent post based on a Washington Post article:

What a long, strange trip it’s been, and here, some years later, we finally get someone in the press to tell it straight: Bush did not lie.

After all, it was not Bush, but Rockefeller, who said in October 2002: “There has been some debate over how ‘imminent’ a threat Iraq poses. I do believe Iraq poses an imminent threat. I also believe after September 11, that question is increasingly outdated. . . . To insist on further evidence could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we afford to take that chance? I do not think we can.”

One reads this and thinks…it’s really too bad that when this story of Dems on the Intel Committee plotting against Bush broke in 2003, the mainstream press ignored it, taking umbrage that anyone would leak a memo (!) while ignoring its content. Why, suddenly, is the WaPo deciding, after 5 years of supporting and promoting the “Bush lied” meme, to clarify?

Excellent post, Anchoress! And you’re right; it’s probably too late to rehabilitate this president at least in the present and soon future, but in the end I believe history will exonerate him.

Since I’m showing Hillary’s “concession” speech and her praises of Barack Obama, her mortal enemy until Saturday, here is John McCain’s first general election ad:

By now everyone knows Hillary Clinton has suspended her campaign and no link is necessary, although I’ve provided clips of her speech.

By suspending her campaign she can continue to raise money to replenish the Clintons’ private coffers. After all, he didn’t make all those speeches just to throw away the money.

As I see it Hillary has cried “Un” but will not cry “cle” until January 21, 2009, a full day after the next president is sworn in. Then she will begin to plot her next run.

Never, ever underestimate the Clintons. She is still officially in this race hoping there will be buyer’s remorse on Obama and she can jump right in and fill the top of the ticket. The wheels are always spinning in the heads of the Clintons.

Oh, she said all the right words with her arms spread as though she were going to take flight at any moment, but if Barack or anyone else believes her they are naive. She has