March 14, 2011 10:37 p.m.

There is not a single reader of this post, I am sure, who has not gone about their busy days with one ear to the news regarding the people of Japan.  Well, the power of prayer is truly great, and if Japan ever needed prayer, they need it now.  As I was finishing up the last post, I received a news alert here regarding the Fukush*ma Da*ichi Nucl*ar Power Station.  If I read the article properly, it appears that all emergency staff are being withdrawn from the plant.  This is a truly dire situation, and we need the grace of God to mollify the circumstances there.  Lord have mercy on Japan and Asia. 

UPDATE (March 15, 2011 7:06 a.m.): A friend notified me about an information source here (International Atomic Energy Agency) that may be giving a more reliable account of the status of the nuclear power stations there.  It turns out that the Daiiichi plant has not been abandoned, as previously reported, and a fire in unit 4, a major cause of the radiation leak, has been extinguished. 

But mybe ya'll already know that.

That'll teach me to comment on current events before the ink has dried.

Nevertheless, a call to pray.

November 25, 2010 6:53 a.m.
Thanksgiving Day

Taken from today's New York Times.  This proclamation was given by the governor of Connecticut in 1936.  A lot of good things all contained in one sentence.  Happy Thanksgiving, friends.


State of Connecticut
By His Excellency WILBUR L. CROSS, Governor
Proclamation
Time out of mind at this turn of the seasons when the hardy oak leaves rustle in the wind and the frost gives a tang to the air and the dusk falls early and the friendly evenings lengthen under the heel of Orion, it has seemed good to our people to join together in praising the Creator and Preserver, who has brought us by a way that we did not know to the end of another year. In observance of this custom, I appoint Thursday, the twenty-sixth of November, as a day of
for the blessings that have been our common lot and have placed our beloved State with the favored regions of earth -- for all the creature comforts: the yield of the soil that has fed us and the richer yield from labor of every kind that has sustained our lives -- and for all those things, as dear as breath to the body, that quicken man's faith in his manhood, that nourish and strengthen his spirit to do the great work still before him: for the brotherly word and act; for honor held above price; for steadfast courage and zeal in the long, long search after truth; for liberty and for justice freely granted by each to his fellow and so as freely enjoyed; and for the crowning glory and mercy of peace upon our land; -- that we may humbly take heart of these blessings as we gather once again with solemn and festive rites to keep our Harvest Home.

Given under my hand and seal of the State at the Capitol, in Hartford, this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty six and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and sixty-first.
Wilbur L. Cross
By His Excellency's Command:
C. John Satti Secretary

October 21, 2010 1:54 p.m.


Chips and I had a discussion about political cartoons.  It was part of a recent Calvert Fifth Grade American History lesson to help students to understand, and appreciate, political cartoons.  As a regular reader of God's World News, Chips has been exposed to several political cartoons, so he has the idea down in his mind.

Therefore, he decided to try his hand at creating his own political cartoons, just for fun.

Chips pokes fun at some of the issues of the times.  Here are the results:

Here is the first cartoon, using an airplane as a symbol.  Chips loves airplanes.

And here is his commentary on the economy.  A very simple message.

Just goes to show the impact, upon children, of the Information Age.  There is no way that I would have understood the concept of political cartoons at Chips' age!

Sunday, July 25, 2010 8:51 p.m.

Our church and teaching elder were featured in the newspaper today.  I thought it was a pretty well-researched and balanced article, although it is possible that some of the quotes could be taken the wrong way.  Nevertheless, it was exciting to see this article today.  The video link does show a bit of the interior of the church sanctuary, a beautiful structure that was just completed a year ago this month.

 June 5, 1020 6:27 a.m.

So sad today about Pensacola Beach.

Pensacola Beach, of all places.  It is hard to believe.  Gooey sticky tar balls that you can barely wash off your hands.  White powder being transformed into a yellow globby cake, coming in with the suddenness of a single morning when beach lovers discovered it on their early morning walk.

Will this beach ever be the same in our lifetimes?

We knew it was happening; after all, the media have plastered this story all over the place.  I think part of me was hoping that this was subject to some of the same hype that the MSM has applied to other stories, especially since this pertained to "Big Oil".  We were hoping it wasn't really as bad as they made it sound.  It was out there.  Somebody else's problem.

But as quickly as a wave crashes onto land, this story became reality when it started affecting one of our famously pristine beaches, and the first beach in our state.  All in the suddenness of a single morning.

We just spent Memorial Day weekend in Pensacola, but we didn't go to the beach.  We were visiting my MIL in her nursing home.  During some free time, we met with Self-Reliant Man's uncle, a beach lover, who had been there.  We asked him if he had seen any oil, and he shook his head vehemently while uttering a staccato "No!"

Five days later, it has all changed.

Memorial Day weekend may have been the last weekend that Pensacola Beach was clean.

And you all missed it.

This fills me with anger and I don't know where to direct it.  In fact, I am surprised at my reaction to this.  I guess I am more of an environmentalist than I realized.  Now, as reality hits, I do find myself wondering if it really could be carried around our coast by the Gulf stream.  I find myself wondering what would happen if a typical summer tropical storm or hurricane -- you know, the kind that hits that part of the gulf nearly every year -- were to bring about a big storm surge right now.  I am wondering when, and where, it is going to end.

It is unspeakably sad.

Saturday Morning Update:  As daylight hits the Gulf Coast, they are now reporting sheets of oil coming ashore at Gulf Shores, Alabama, just to the west of Pensacola and Navarre.  Residents of the area are in tears.  I'm afraid it's over, folks.

March 25, 2010 8:27 a.m.

The MSM (mainstream media) have done such a poor job of reporting. Of course we know it has been deliberate. It would have been impossible for anybody relying on the MSM to have any idea of what is really in the Health Care legislation, except for hints here and there about the candy to be dispensed to some. They have done all they can to make the bill appear palatable, but like the tasty pill pockets we use for our dog, the inside contains a bitter, expensive pill.

The PIC (Party in Charge) claims that they are looking out for the workers. The reality is that the working people will be footing the bill. It amazes me how few people would seriously ask questions like "but how is this going to be paid for?" Why was the answer so obvious to some of us, but not to the rest? Too late now.

We working stiffs (and retirees, too) will be finding out all too soon. Pardon me but I think I am going to be sick.




p.s. if for some odd reason the hyperlink doesn't work for you, the article is here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703312504575141642402986422.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

March 2, 2010 7:09 a.m.

We are grieving the sudden passing of Jonathan May this week. Although our family had yet to be blessed by this man's talents and love for young people and music, we have several friends and acquaintances who already were. Our local music community has lost a very special contributor to its youth, and we feel sadness not just for the present loss, but for what might have been.

November 17, 2009 9:34 p.m.

Saw this article in the New York Times. Did you catch it?


The older I get, the less likely I am to believe anything I hear.

Apparently we are no longer to seek out mammograms before the age of 50, and then we are only to get them every two years. In addition, we are not to bother doing those monthly self-exams that we have heard about for our whole adult lives. Apparently it all will do us more harm than good.

I can't help but wonder at the timing of this move. Coming as it does in advance of a whole brave new world of health care in our country. Not to mention the complete "about face" that this recommendation brings. "Doctors should stop teaching women to examine [themselves] regularly"? Hmmm. Sounds very odd.

Do you know how many billions of dollars of healthcare spending this will save? Is this the way they plan to cut back on healthcare costs? Soon, they'll tell us there is no need to get regular checkups after the age of 40. After all, they might actually find something wrong then.