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I grew up in one of those Judeo-Christian homes that apparently strike terror in the hearts of the likes of Betty Friedan, Alan Grayson and Kathryn Joyce. My parents never had sex until they got married to each other. Theirs is an enduring...

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Sunday, January 27, 2008

On Debt, and Glass Shacks, and Ratatouille (and Ron Paul, of course)

Ooooo! This is delicious!

Well, I was going to post about the national debt. Did you know that if Christopher Columbus began borrowing money when he discovered this part of the world back in 1492, at a rate of $20,000 a minute, and he continued this outrageous practice uninterrupted until the year 2000, he would not have managed to borrow the national debt (which was 5.7 trillion dollars that year)?

Don't believe it? Neither did I. Do the math. It was easier math than I thought it would be.

$20,000 a minute, from 1492 until 2000, fits very handily inside of 5.7 trillion dollars. Our representatives have no concept of how much a trillion really is (apparently), and they are handling our money as recklessly as if it was a mere figment of their imagination!

But, I didn't. (Write that, I mean.) It's merely rehash. Besides, I rehashed that author already. ;) And I didn't finish checking my math for the 9.2 trillion dollar debt of this year.

Well, it was something besides posting about... nevermind.

And I thought briefly about exposing the Re-Think Conference hosted by Robert Schuller last weekend. Wouldn't it be cool if I'd been there? I could have all kinds of fodder!

But last weekend I was knocking on doors asking people in a hugely apathetic part of California, to vote for Ron Paul. At least they were polite.

And besides, if you could get $200 off of the ticket price of the conference for doing volunteer work, I don't even wanna know what the ticket price was.

So! After a brisk walk (mostly a run, to catch up with the walkers who got a ten minute jump on me), a quick breakfast, dishes of course, don't forget dishes, and an excursion to Costco and a grocery store to stock the pantry and the freezer for a full house...

...and after running through the local produce market to share our cultural melting pot with a friend from Kentucky (our guest this month), (who supports Huckabee, by the way), and then dropping her off at the music studio at my grandparents' house, to make some recordings with my sister, (of course I visited with Grandpa and Grandma half an hour)...

... and after working fast to get all the groceries placed, and help put dinner on the table (we had to make ratatouille, after watching the movie, because none of us knew what it was), there were dishes again, and after correcting math for half an hour ("You mean you don't KNOW the answers?!" "I could figure them out, Dear, but it's faster if I correct with the answer key."), and after helping restore order to the church so the congregation will be able to use it tomorrow morning...

I was exhausted. And the Re-Think thing was not happening. I tried, even. Then the computer quit opening web pages for some reason, and I knew I'd stayed up too late. Then I saw this. It was sweet!

So sorry to continue as a single-subject writer. I have my reasons, not the least of which is simply being one of fourteen. Maybe next time?

I’m a baseball fan, always have been. My favorite team is the hated New York Yankees. We have a pretty strong squad (A-Rod, Jeter, Posada, Damon, Abreu) even though we haven’t accomplished much in October in 8 years. Still, on opening day I don’t have to hear that my third basemen is Mike Lamb; and my shortstop is Cesar Izturis. On opening day the hope is there that my guys can win it all!

Around the same time the Yanks won their last World Series (2000) I joined another team: the GOP. I did what I was supposed to: I voted for Bush twice, I voted Republican in the senate races and I called for the killing of all Muslims after 9/11 (we’re not there yet but the voters are pulling for the right guys this time). When it was discovered that Iraq had WMDs I was a vocal supporter of the invasion.

Recently I made a decision to start thinking for myself and not let radio-host drug-addicts form my thoughts for me. I bought a pocket-sized Constitution and actually read it... [continue]

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Driving Lessons

My sister is learning how to drive. At the dinner table, we were talking about the Ron Paul signs and bumper stickers we've seen. My brother talked about honking his support for the displayer of the sign. A look of revelation lit up my sister's face. "Ooh! The car behind me was honking the other day. I couldn't figure out what they were honking at. I was sure I didn't do anything wrong!"

Only, she doesn't drive the car with the bumper stickers, much.

And Dad put an end to honking when we see bumper stickers.