Dancing on America's Grave
America "Transformed" to EUROPE
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************
"So Europe got the American president it wanted – the one who would present no threat to its own delusions. The United States is now officially one of us: an Old World country complete with class hatred, ethnic Balkanization, bourgeois guilt and a paternalist ruling elite. And it is locked into the same death spiral of high public spending and self-defeating wealth redistribution as we are. Welcome to the future, and the beginning of what may turn out to be the terminal decline of the West." ... Janet Daley, The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9668774/America-has-become-an-Old-World-country.html
(We hardily recommend that you click on the link provided and read the entire article by Ms. Daley.)
Just as the Europeans have, for the most part, anyway, seen the error of their ways and are attempting to dig themselves out, America decides Europe was right all along -- and we rushed to join them in their mass grave.
Government as omnipotent benefactor is now the model in the US. Never mind that the very idea is totally un-American, Americans have embraced it whole-heartedly and the rot that goes with it.
In the very first few minutes of his presidency Ronald Reagan said: "government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/charles-krauthammer-the-choice-european-style-socialism-or-historical-parenthesis-660407/#ixzz2Id4kxUIK
He nailed it! Right out of the starting gate, Reagan unveiled the real problem with America.
Then Bill Clinton came along and declared: "the era of big government is over."
Of course, it was NOT. Some inroads were made, early on, in efforts to reduce the size of our bloated government, but, as it turned out, they were inconsequential, of a little account and, for the most part did absolutely nothing to shield the people from the power of a strong central government.
The mists of time have all but permanently shrouded the real reason America split from the mother country. It was too darn much government -- too much government control with little (mostly NO) say in how that government affected the colonists on the ground in this new land called America. And, of course there were the taxes for which we got NOTHING, which included NO representation in Parliament.
Come to think of it -- we are enduring much the same scenario today with our own independent government. I think of the "no representation" complaint of the American colonists every time our "Dear Leader" signs another of his "decrees" we now refer to as Presidential Executive Orders.
Obama declared his intention to "fundamentally transform" America right from the beginning of his reign, uh, term(s). It is now clear he meant to transform America into something as close to a European-style socialist state as was possible.
As Charles Krauthammer tells us: "And it wasn't just rhetoric. He enacted liberalism's holy grail: the nationalization of health care. His $830 billion stimulus, by far the largest spending bill in U.S. history, massively injected government into the free market -- lavishing immense amounts of tax dollars on favored companies and industries in a naked display of industrial policy.
And what Mr. Obama failed to pass through Congress he enacted unilaterally by executive action. He could not pass cap-and-trade, but his EPA is killing coal. (No new coal-fired power plant would ever be built.) In 2006, liberals failed legislatively to gut welfare's work requirement. Mr. Obama's new HHS rule does that by fiat. Continued in a second term, it would abolish welfare reform as we know it -- just as in a second term, natural gas will follow coal, as Mr. Obama's EPA regulates fracking into noncompetitiveness.
Government grows in size and power as the individual shrinks into dependency. Until the tipping point where dependency becomes the new norm -- as it is in Europe, where even minor retrenchment of the entitlement state has led to despair and, for the more energetic, rioting." SOURCE: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/charles-krauthammer-the-choice-european-style-socialism-or-historical-parenthesis-660407/#ixzz2IdFH5wmB
America has now entered, as Mr. Krauthammer refers to it: "the supervised life of the entitlement state."
And as Janet Daly of The Telegraph is quoted above: "And it is locked into the same death spiral of high public spending and self-defeating wealth redistribution as we are." SOURCE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9668774
/America-has-become-an-Old-World-country.html
As I write these few words Obama's second inaugural is well under way. I'm not in Washington, and I am not watching the festivities on TV. It is far too depressing for this old conservative. It smacks entirely too much of a celebration of doomsday. That old admonition continues to tug at my consciousness. Its cautionary advice about something imminently dangerous approaching -- just over the horizon -- is more than a little compelling. You know -- the admonishment that warns: "Eat, drink, and make merry, for tomorrow we die!" (You may recall several different versions found in the Bible.)
It is more than a little disturbing that our European neighbors can see what is happening to America, issue warnings to us, and yet, we have chosen to ignore their sage advice (born of their awful experiences with socialism) and continue our headlong plunge into socialistic oblivion.
But -- that is what America has decided it wants. No amount of warning will make an iota of difference. America is hell-bent on self destruction and, like an addict, nothing will change its course until it hits rock bottom ... and then some.
So, no. I am not celebrating. If anything, I am depressed.
My country is dead and her citizens are dancing on her grave.
© J. D. Longstreet
Abortion: America's Holocaust
Happy 40th Anniversary to Roe v. Wade
In those 40 years, there have been 54,000,000 Americans aborted, or an average of around 1,350,000 Americans per year. (For comparison, approximately 6,000,000 Jews were killed during the Nazi Holocaust in Europe.)
Another way of looking at it is that there are about 26 babies aborted every 10 minutes in America. This is about the same amount of time it took Adam Lanza to kill 26 people at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. So every 10 minutes there is another Sandy Hook in America due to abortion...every 10 minutes for the last 40 years.
 |
| "Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?" - President Obama |
Cross-posted from Against All Enemies
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Passing more laws and restrictions to control lawful gun owners
By James Shott
There are of people who are confused about our country’s founding principles, quite a few of whom are in positions to influence and dictate to others.
Jesse Jackson proposes to hold gun manufacturers responsible for what anyone who buys, borrows or steals their products might do with them. He believes that "these assault weapons can only kill people and in fact are threats to national security.”
Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, who proposed what he called the nation's toughest gun ban, does not know what the 2nd Amendment is all about. "You don't need 10 bullets to kill a deer," he howled, at a recent appearance. Gov. Cuomo seems to think the Founding Fathers fought and died to guarantee our right to bear arms so we can hunt and shoot targets. A shocking number of Americans share this fallacy.
The NRA produced a TV spot pointing out that while President Obama's children attend a school protected by armed guards, the president does not support that same protection for other children. White House spokesman Jay Carney condemned the NRA for using the president's children in pursuit of their agenda, a willful distortion of what the NRA did, which was merely alluding to the security issue.
However, only hours later Mr. Obama festooned himself with children as he announced measures and proposed new laws to restrict the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans in reaction to the mass killing of students and staff in Sandy Hook, Conn.
Prior to Mr. Obama's enacting increased background checks, privacy intrusions, etc., Vice President Joe Biden in a meeting with gun-rights organizations said that "we simply don’t have the time or manpower to prosecute everybody who lies on a form, that checks a wrong box, that answers a question inaccurately,” but his task force then recommended that Congress pass additional laws for the government to enforce.
The president said on the campaign trail in 2008, "I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I will not take your hand gun away." This statement, along with other statements and actions, illustrates his confused notion of how the U.S. government is designed. He is only the President of the United States, not its emperor, and there are two other branches of government that are co-equal with the Executive branch. He also seems not to realize that the American people pay him to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," not alter it to his liking.
In addition to guaranteeing Americans a broad range of personal rights, such as free expression and to own weapons sufficient to ward off tyrants and thugs, the Founders established a system of checks and balances to prevent any of the three co-equal branches of government from gaining too much power. You would expect someone claiming to have been a constitutional law professor to understand this.
The tragic murders of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook school has proved to be too tempting a morsel for the president and his fellow 2nd Amendment enemies to resist. Rahm Emanuel's "Chicago crisis rule" still holds: the Sandy Hook crisis has not been wasted.
The first information reported about the incident was that an "assault weapon" was used at Sandy Hook, and that was enough to launch a new fusillade of gun control rhetoric and proposed measures to end such violence once and for all. However, more than a month after the horrific shooting conflicting information about whether an "assault weapon" was even used at Sandy Hook has finally leaked out. NBC News' Pete Williams reported that, in fact, four handguns were found in the school, and the only "assault weapon" anywhere around was found in the trunk of a car. And what about rumors of a second person arrested there?
What actually happened at Sandy Hook? We don't really know. Reporting of the incident by an incurious media has greatly helped the emotional reaction to the shooting overpower sober and rational analysis, and the mania to ban "assault weapons" has been reborn.
It's easy to blame weapons and move on, believing the problem is solved. But the easiest solution is often wrong, which is the case where mass murders are concerned. The problem with focusing on "assault weapons," even if one was used in these horrible incidents, is that it ignores the true problem: what motivated some nut-job to kill lots of people?
The one thing common to all mass killings -- shootings, bombings or whatever -- is one or more persons filled with evil intent or who is/are mentally unstable, or both. "Assault weapons," or rocket launchers, or M1 Abrams tanks in the hands of 99.9 percent of Americans would result in zero deaths. You do not increase the security of the people by restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Our forefathers paid too high a price to guarantee our personal liberty to sacrifice some of it in a vain attempt to fix a problem that is not caused by the people having too much liberty.
Once lost, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to regain.
Cross-posted from Observations jshott.com
R E D impact
A non-colored outfit in today's post. If the outfit doesn't have any colors, with the accessories is a different story; red aviators sunglasses and pumps and the look is injected with some impact color.
Once in a while I prefer this kind of look.
P.S If you like this sweater from Tart Collection, stay tuned because a giveaway is coming soon!
Coat: vintage
Jeans: vintage Levi's/ option Here
Top: thanks to Tart Collections/ Here
Bag: Diesel/ option Here
Necklace: thanks to TellStyle/ Here
Heels: Nine West/ similar Here
Sunglasses: thanks to zeroUV/ Here
America: A Nation Of Sheep, Led By A Sheep ... J. D. Longstreet
America: A Nation Of Sheep, Led By A Sheep
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
What the heck has happened to America? I mean other than sitting back on our behinds and allowing the Marxist/commies to take over our government.
As if that were not bad enough, we are now acting as if we are frightened little mice. We don't even trust ourselves with a firearm. We are currently caught up in a national debate about whether "scary-looking weapons" are to blame for killing human beings, or whether other human beings, likely insane, are guilty of homicide -- AND -- to what degree we should punish the innocent for the crimes of others. In the cock-eyed world we live in, here in America today, THAT makes perfect sense.
I ask: Where the heck are the men? No. I mean - MEN - as in REAL MEN! Please tell me we have not tracked so far toward our feminine side that I actually have to define what a man is for you! JEEZ!
I want to puke when I see our leaders weeping on TV -- right there in front of God and everybody. No. I am not referring to Obama. He has yet to weep on national TV. His play-acting before the cameras, wiping away nonexistent tears, was truly awful theater. I hope he was embarrassed when he saw the playback later ...'cause it embarrassed me.
I truly MUST be getting old. I was raised in in era when men were men -- and the women were glad of it!
As a kid I hunted. Yes, I hunted with real weapons. I knew, without doubt, that when I killed my prey, it was dead, gone, kaput. I knew that in a few minutes, at the commercial break, it WOULD NOT get up and amble off into the deep woods or fly away into the bright blue sky. No. I knew I had taken its life. It was DEAD. I was responsible. So, I took it home and the family ate it. It was that cycle of life "thingy." And it was real -- period!
Children played games, like "Army," "Cops and Robbers," "Cowboys and Indians," etc. These were games in which we used toy replica weapons of guns and bows, our fingers, or even a prop, such as a stick that would represent a long gun of some kind.
We shot each other multiple times, lay upon the ground as newly dead corpses for a couple of minutes, then rose to rejoin game. There was never even a hint, not even a suggestion of a hint, that we did not know the difference between "PLAYING dead" and BEING dead.
See, we lived in a culture that was NOT politically correct. We didn't camouflage unpleasant things. We LIVED right through those unpleasant events and they became learning experiences.
The old joke about the father teaching his son to swim by tossing him off the pier -- is true! My dad did it to me. No money was dished out for a government approved swimming instructor to teach me to swim. Nope. I learned in one very swift and surprising lesson. And, as you can see, I have never forgotten it.
Americans were a different people then. We were tough as nails, resilient, resourceful, proud, and self reliant. We didn't need anyone to take care of us. WE took care of ourselves and the community and the churches took care of those who were temporarily down on their luck due to illness or temporary unemployment. (Back then "temporarily out of work" meant just that -- temporarily. A man took care of his family -- if he had to dig ditches or swamp stables. Honest work was honest work. It made no difference if he worked for the local bank or the local fertilizer dealer.)
My mother was sort of a community "do-gooder." She'd place boxes in local grocery stores (with the owner's permission) into which shoppers would place donations of food for the folks down on their luck in our community. After about a week, she'd collect those boxes of food, sort the food into smaller boxes, and load the back of dad's 1939 Chevrolet business coupe and drive from one unfortunate family's home to the other, and deliver that food to them as "love offerings" from their neighbors.
It was what we did. We instinctively knew there was no place for the government in this act of neighborly concern and love.
Hey. I'm so old I remember when the "strong, silent," type man was admired. Today, we want to toss him into a mental institution! He is now referred to as "anti-social." Somehow,we have managed to twist a man's natural character into something bad, something sinister. The mob is not crazy. The man who refuses to join the mob is now the crazy one. How crazy IS THAT?
Parents were responsible for raising their children. You taught your child right from wrong. You DID NOT teach them moral relativism. You made darned sure that child KNEW, without doubt, what was right and what was wrong. You also taught them the consequences of bad decisions. It was YOUR responsibility as a parent to do so.
It did not take a village to raise the children of my era. Families raised their children, taught them the values of THEIR family and brought them up in the FAITH of THEIR family. Children were TAKEN to church, NOT SENT. There were few, if any, day care centers. If parents needed someone to "watch" the kids for a while, that responsibility fell to grandma and grandpa -- the family.
Boys were taught how to be men by their fathers and grandfathers and uncles. Little girls were taught how to be women by their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts.
It was all -- THE FAMILY. It was as it should have been and should be today. The family was -- and is -- the foundation of a society.
Today, Americans can no longer even define a family. Is it any wonder that our nation is in such a mess?
What does it say about the character a nation when its own warriors are killing themselves in greater numbers than the enemy can do it?
Look. A people cannot live as we Americans have done, for a generation or two, and not expect to grow soft -- both physically and mentally. And America has arrived at the end stage.
Let's face it. We are a mess. And we are on our way out as a great nation. Having already ceded our global leadership role, we are on the relatively short march to the dustbin of history there to rest among the other great empires of the past, all of which died of national suicide.
There was a time, and not very long ago, when I thought Americans had it in them to reverse the slide into oblivion. But no longer. I have been slapped in the face by reality.
Our most recent Presidential Election was evidence enough that Americans have given up on freedom and liberty. It, apparently, is just too much work to maintain a state of freedom. It is sooo much easier to be a slave and allow someone else to be responsible for us. Americans have now chosen mediocrity as their standard. We call it "the NEW NORM."
I've grown weary. Tired of trying to rally what is not there TO rally. I have now realized -- there is no THERE there! America is an empty husk of its former self. (Don't worry. I'm not telling our enemies anything they don't already know. If you do not believe me, ask Mr. Putin of Russia. He is already maneuvering Russia to fill the leadership void left by America's Obama).
"An army composed of sheep but led by a lion is more powerful than an army of lions led by a sheep." Many historical figures are given credit for the preceding proverb. I don't know whom to credit.
As I survey modern day America, I see a nation of sheep led by -- a sheep. If you know anything about sheep, you know that a trained goat is used to lead the other sheep to slaughter house. Thus the name "Judas goat." Why use a goat rather than another sheep? Simple. A goat is smarter than a sheep. The sheep are slaughtered while the life of the Judas goat is spared.
Having a nation of sheep led by another sheep tells one everything one needs to know about that nation -- dumb, easily led, and headed for the slaughter.
Sadly, America is being fleeced along the way to the slaughter house. It's sort of akin to paying an admittance price to one's own slaughter. How sick IS that?
But that's where we are as a nation today.
It is depressing being a member of the "can do" generation observing the "can't do" generation destroy nearly two and a half centuries of hard work creating a nation unlike anything the world had ever seen.
If my generation made a grand mistake, it was our having faith that following generations of Americans would have, at least, the same love of freedom and liberty, the same degree of self reliance, self respect, and pride in the American experiment that we did. In that -- we were totally mistaken.
The great melting pot has finally boiled its contents down and those contents have coelesed into something quite alien to the aspirations of the original founders of the country. Unlike the old Americans the new Americans yearn for the return of the shackles, yokes, and chains of lords and masters. And rest assured -- they SHALL have them.
© J. D. Longstreet
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
What the heck has happened to America? I mean other than sitting back on our behinds and allowing the Marxist/commies to take over our government.
As if that were not bad enough, we are now acting as if we are frightened little mice. We don't even trust ourselves with a firearm. We are currently caught up in a national debate about whether "scary-looking weapons" are to blame for killing human beings, or whether other human beings, likely insane, are guilty of homicide -- AND -- to what degree we should punish the innocent for the crimes of others. In the cock-eyed world we live in, here in America today, THAT makes perfect sense.
I ask: Where the heck are the men? No. I mean - MEN - as in REAL MEN! Please tell me we have not tracked so far toward our feminine side that I actually have to define what a man is for you! JEEZ!
I want to puke when I see our leaders weeping on TV -- right there in front of God and everybody. No. I am not referring to Obama. He has yet to weep on national TV. His play-acting before the cameras, wiping away nonexistent tears, was truly awful theater. I hope he was embarrassed when he saw the playback later ...'cause it embarrassed me.
I truly MUST be getting old. I was raised in in era when men were men -- and the women were glad of it!
As a kid I hunted. Yes, I hunted with real weapons. I knew, without doubt, that when I killed my prey, it was dead, gone, kaput. I knew that in a few minutes, at the commercial break, it WOULD NOT get up and amble off into the deep woods or fly away into the bright blue sky. No. I knew I had taken its life. It was DEAD. I was responsible. So, I took it home and the family ate it. It was that cycle of life "thingy." And it was real -- period!
Children played games, like "Army," "Cops and Robbers," "Cowboys and Indians," etc. These were games in which we used toy replica weapons of guns and bows, our fingers, or even a prop, such as a stick that would represent a long gun of some kind.
We shot each other multiple times, lay upon the ground as newly dead corpses for a couple of minutes, then rose to rejoin game. There was never even a hint, not even a suggestion of a hint, that we did not know the difference between "PLAYING dead" and BEING dead.
See, we lived in a culture that was NOT politically correct. We didn't camouflage unpleasant things. We LIVED right through those unpleasant events and they became learning experiences.
The old joke about the father teaching his son to swim by tossing him off the pier -- is true! My dad did it to me. No money was dished out for a government approved swimming instructor to teach me to swim. Nope. I learned in one very swift and surprising lesson. And, as you can see, I have never forgotten it.
Americans were a different people then. We were tough as nails, resilient, resourceful, proud, and self reliant. We didn't need anyone to take care of us. WE took care of ourselves and the community and the churches took care of those who were temporarily down on their luck due to illness or temporary unemployment. (Back then "temporarily out of work" meant just that -- temporarily. A man took care of his family -- if he had to dig ditches or swamp stables. Honest work was honest work. It made no difference if he worked for the local bank or the local fertilizer dealer.)
My mother was sort of a community "do-gooder." She'd place boxes in local grocery stores (with the owner's permission) into which shoppers would place donations of food for the folks down on their luck in our community. After about a week, she'd collect those boxes of food, sort the food into smaller boxes, and load the back of dad's 1939 Chevrolet business coupe and drive from one unfortunate family's home to the other, and deliver that food to them as "love offerings" from their neighbors.
It was what we did. We instinctively knew there was no place for the government in this act of neighborly concern and love.
Hey. I'm so old I remember when the "strong, silent," type man was admired. Today, we want to toss him into a mental institution! He is now referred to as "anti-social." Somehow,we have managed to twist a man's natural character into something bad, something sinister. The mob is not crazy. The man who refuses to join the mob is now the crazy one. How crazy IS THAT?
Parents were responsible for raising their children. You taught your child right from wrong. You DID NOT teach them moral relativism. You made darned sure that child KNEW, without doubt, what was right and what was wrong. You also taught them the consequences of bad decisions. It was YOUR responsibility as a parent to do so.
It did not take a village to raise the children of my era. Families raised their children, taught them the values of THEIR family and brought them up in the FAITH of THEIR family. Children were TAKEN to church, NOT SENT. There were few, if any, day care centers. If parents needed someone to "watch" the kids for a while, that responsibility fell to grandma and grandpa -- the family.
Boys were taught how to be men by their fathers and grandfathers and uncles. Little girls were taught how to be women by their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts.
It was all -- THE FAMILY. It was as it should have been and should be today. The family was -- and is -- the foundation of a society.
Today, Americans can no longer even define a family. Is it any wonder that our nation is in such a mess?
What does it say about the character a nation when its own warriors are killing themselves in greater numbers than the enemy can do it?
Look. A people cannot live as we Americans have done, for a generation or two, and not expect to grow soft -- both physically and mentally. And America has arrived at the end stage.
Let's face it. We are a mess. And we are on our way out as a great nation. Having already ceded our global leadership role, we are on the relatively short march to the dustbin of history there to rest among the other great empires of the past, all of which died of national suicide.
There was a time, and not very long ago, when I thought Americans had it in them to reverse the slide into oblivion. But no longer. I have been slapped in the face by reality.
Our most recent Presidential Election was evidence enough that Americans have given up on freedom and liberty. It, apparently, is just too much work to maintain a state of freedom. It is sooo much easier to be a slave and allow someone else to be responsible for us. Americans have now chosen mediocrity as their standard. We call it "the NEW NORM."
I've grown weary. Tired of trying to rally what is not there TO rally. I have now realized -- there is no THERE there! America is an empty husk of its former self. (Don't worry. I'm not telling our enemies anything they don't already know. If you do not believe me, ask Mr. Putin of Russia. He is already maneuvering Russia to fill the leadership void left by America's Obama).
"An army composed of sheep but led by a lion is more powerful than an army of lions led by a sheep." Many historical figures are given credit for the preceding proverb. I don't know whom to credit.
As I survey modern day America, I see a nation of sheep led by -- a sheep. If you know anything about sheep, you know that a trained goat is used to lead the other sheep to slaughter house. Thus the name "Judas goat." Why use a goat rather than another sheep? Simple. A goat is smarter than a sheep. The sheep are slaughtered while the life of the Judas goat is spared.
Having a nation of sheep led by another sheep tells one everything one needs to know about that nation -- dumb, easily led, and headed for the slaughter.
Sadly, America is being fleeced along the way to the slaughter house. It's sort of akin to paying an admittance price to one's own slaughter. How sick IS that?
But that's where we are as a nation today.
It is depressing being a member of the "can do" generation observing the "can't do" generation destroy nearly two and a half centuries of hard work creating a nation unlike anything the world had ever seen.
If my generation made a grand mistake, it was our having faith that following generations of Americans would have, at least, the same love of freedom and liberty, the same degree of self reliance, self respect, and pride in the American experiment that we did. In that -- we were totally mistaken.
The great melting pot has finally boiled its contents down and those contents have coelesed into something quite alien to the aspirations of the original founders of the country. Unlike the old Americans the new Americans yearn for the return of the shackles, yokes, and chains of lords and masters. And rest assured -- they SHALL have them.
© J. D. Longstreet
DIY monogram stool - color outside the lines
Happy King Martin day! (as Amelia calls it)
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We’ve been fighting ear infections and some sort of stomach bug so besides a nice long walk; we didn’t get to do much. And tied to the house to monitor temperatures and naps, my hands were fidgeting for something to do.
Enter the victim.
A wonderful little stool my mom and I picked up at a salvage store a while back. It’s the perfect height for the girls and they love using it as a chair/ladder/stuffed animal fort/who knows what else.
This little dude is old though and has the marks to prove it. And to remove all of the layers of paint, scratches and dents would have taken more patience than I possess. So I embraced his battle scars and after a good sanding, declared him ready for paint.
I used spray paint I had left over from this project, and after a few coats step one was complete. Next was adding a bit of fun. My dear friend, and graphic design guru, helped me come up with a monogram for the girls (Amelia and Eve – not Arts and Entertainment). Modern and fun, I love it.
She also gave me the best advice ever. When I told her how much I was dreading cutting out the monogram stencil (remember, me and negative space don’t mix) she uttered two genius words – graphite paper.
$2.99 at Michael’s (minus 40% with their ubiquitous coupon) and I had myself an outlined monogram. Couldn’t have been easier. How did I not know about this genius paper?!
 |
| bad basement lighting |
After tracing the monogram on the stool I grabbed some leftover navy paint, borrowed a paintbrush from the girls and got to work.
Keeping with the ‘not perfect’ theme of this stool, I tried not to curse (too much) over my coloring outside the lines. Flaws are good right?! Flaws = character. (just keep repeating that to yourself like I do)
If you follow me on Facebook, like all cool people do, then you know I made a game time decision to add the border...using a dinner plate and painters tape of course.
Lovely.
A great stool for two fabulous girls in one of my all time favorite color combos. Outside the lines and perfect.
Try any DIY projects this weekend? Ever used graphite paper? I tell you, I'm looking for something else to create just so I can use it again!
linked up to the Dog Days of Winter Thrift it Link Party
Once Again He Spoke Upon The Multitudes
By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle
Book of Obama Chapter 17
And it came to pass that on the 21th day of the month of January. (The 20th being the day of the Sabbath [Christian] and a celebration of this magnitude is not permitted.) At a time when all is dead and dying. The Anointed One retook the High Office. This being over 2 months since the Anointed One defeated the Good Romney. Amid the hosts of Heaven, singing the mantra FOWARD, The Anointed One started his trip down the Avenue of Pennsylvania towards the Dome of the Capital.
Unlike the last time The Anointed One took this trip, the multitude did not chant: "Hope, Change." In fact, the multitude assembled was quiet lessened from 4 years ago.
Upon the steps of the Dome of the Capital, amid the assorted assemblage of the chapter of the Congress, Biden the Bungler was sworn as the lessor. Then the Holy Chief of Justice, John of Roberts, given his office by Bush the Lessor, came forward to invest upon the Anointed One the mantle of office.
And after this holy act, the musicians played, and the assembled multitude cheered in triumph. And there was great rejoicing.
The Anointed One, renewed as the Wearer of the Mantle of Power, stood before the assembled and spoke.
Then the bands played and the multitude cheered as the parade marched. The Anointed One watched and blessed them all.
The great and the mighty danced the night away. Secure in the dogma of liberal and socialism.
To the rest of the nation while some actual hope. The rest of pray:
Monkey in the Middle
Book of Obama Chapter 17
And it came to pass that on the 21th day of the month of January. (The 20th being the day of the Sabbath [Christian] and a celebration of this magnitude is not permitted.) At a time when all is dead and dying. The Anointed One retook the High Office. This being over 2 months since the Anointed One defeated the Good Romney. Amid the hosts of Heaven, singing the mantra FOWARD, The Anointed One started his trip down the Avenue of Pennsylvania towards the Dome of the Capital.
Unlike the last time The Anointed One took this trip, the multitude did not chant: "Hope, Change." In fact, the multitude assembled was quiet lessened from 4 years ago.
Upon the steps of the Dome of the Capital, amid the assorted assemblage of the chapter of the Congress, Biden the Bungler was sworn as the lessor. Then the Holy Chief of Justice, John of Roberts, given his office by Bush the Lessor, came forward to invest upon the Anointed One the mantle of office.
And after this holy act, the musicians played, and the assembled multitude cheered in triumph. And there was great rejoicing.
The Anointed One, renewed as the Wearer of the Mantle of Power, stood before the assembled and spoke.
So many have gathered here to witness My Awesomeness.And after the speech He went into the Dome, to feast on seafood, beef and apples.
I have quoteth Jefferson, but we all know that I am the creator of all.
Patriots of old threw off the tyranny of King George III, for a republic now headed by Me.
As a nation we threw off slavery, built a modern nation, saved a world from tyranny twice.
But today we as a nation cannot do any of this. We must remind ourselves that we are but one nation of many, nothing extraordinary, nothing special. To thrive in this world we must join into a collective.
I have ended the wars of the last decade. Not in victory but our troops will be coming home to their families. Victory is not important. Muslims will always be the victors with Me.
I will destroy the Republicans, the rich and the middle class. They must be demonized and driven into poverty. This does not apply to My friends in Hollywood. Whose propaganda not only helped My reelection but continues to promote My message to the people.
I will keep promoting the myth that a poor child can grow up to have a better life. But the truth is that the poor child needs to remain poor, ill educated, and voting Democrat. For the the poor ever come to realize that if they supported the Republicans and their economic and moral ideas, they would leave our side faster than a speeding bullet.
It is through My will that welfare and other entitlements will increase to the poor. For every poor person will have:Free Food, Free Healthcare, Free MoneyThis I give the masses.
It is through My will that the military will be destroyed. I have decreed that we do not need so many fighting men and women.
The guns that I hate (Actually fear) will be taken (by force) from the people. It is through My will, My power that you will be safe.
This nation under My benevolent guidance, will support the democracies around the world. The democracies in Asia, Africa and the Mid East will get My support and care. But not the true democracy run by the Jews. For they are an evil people who stole the land they live on from the Muslims. It is through My will that gay men and women will be given more rights than others.
Through My will, free elections in this nation will be a thing of the past. I will transform this nation into a larger version of Detroit. Thus the nation will be transformed through My will.
This I swear in the name of Allah.
Then the bands played and the multitude cheered as the parade marched. The Anointed One watched and blessed them all.
The great and the mighty danced the night away. Secure in the dogma of liberal and socialism.
To the rest of the nation while some actual hope. The rest of pray:
God Save Us All.
Obama Renews Oath for 2nd Term Ceremonial
WASHINGTON — Barack Hussein Obama renewed his oath of office at midday Monday, ceremonially marking the beginning of another four years in the White House and calling for “fidelity to our founding principles” while also embracing “new responses to new challenges.”
Crowds that were expected to reach about 600,000 people assembled on the National Mall in front of the Capitol, eager to witness the start of the president’s second term. Mr. Obama, 51, was formally sworn in during a small private ceremony at the White House residence on Sunday, the date constitutionally mandated for inauguration.
Mr. Obama declared that the country was “made for this moment,” but said that the nation must confront the needs of a rising middle class. And he acknowledged that the often divisive and combative politics of today have sometimes fallen short of the size of the country’s problems.
“For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate,” Mr. Obama said. “We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.”
America Under Curse ... J. D. Longstreet
America Under Curse
When A Nation No Longer Believes In God
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
******************
There is a thought amongst many evangelical Christians in America today that God has removed his divine protection from America as a result of America's turning away from the source of all its strength. I know this because they have expressed it to me on many occasions.
Now, I am NOT an evangelical, though I was reared in an evangelical denomination. Most of my family remains, today, evangelicals, some even serving as ministers of The Gospel in those churches. Me? Well, I'm the "black sheep" of the family always, it seems, going off in a different direction. I lean more toward the liturgical form of worship.
Having said the above, I have to tell you, I believe my brethren and sisteren of the evangelicals have a valid point, though.
SOMETHING has HAPPENED TO AMERICA. That CANNOT be denied.
As we look around us at the American landscape today, we can see a nation in undeniable decline. We see a people brought almost to their knees, yet unwilling to admit their own complicity in the decline of their country.
Modern American culture would make hardened citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah turn away in stunned embarrassment. Phallic graffiti carved on the walls of ancient Rome looks innocent when compared to the human rutting we invite into our homes on television.
Common decency not only is NOT common any more, it is on the verge of becoming RARE!
Pope Benedict XVI recently said: " ... when God is denied, human dignity also disappears."
There seems to be an entire movement within American society dedicated to quenching what remains of the Christian faith and its practice in the country. They have been successful beyond their wildest expectations since at least the 1960's.
They did it, I believe, by separating our young from their religious roots, indoctrinating them in moral relativism (political correctness), which waters down (dilutes) their belief in right and wrong and their ability to discern which is which. Seven hours a day of that kind of indoctrination, five days a week as opposed to one to two hours a week of religious instruction in church ONE day a week, and you can quickly see -- there is no contest.
While many still argue that America was not founded on Christian principles, they are flat-out wrong. The founding of this nation -- as a Christian nation -- was decided and inscribed in writing while the passengers of the Mayflower were preparing to off-load onto the shore at Cape Cod to begin this "Great Experiment" we came to call America.
The document they drew up and signed is called the Mayflower Compact and if you have never read it, then you NEED to do so.
Here is a modern version of the text of the Mayflower Compact as recorded by William Bradford:
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.:
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.
Signers
John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Allerton John Billington, Richard Bitteridge,William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Brown, John Carver, James Chilton, Richard Clark, Francis Cooke, John Craxton, Edward Doten,Francis Eaton, Thomas English\' Moses Fletcher, Edward Fuller, Samuel Fuller, Richard Gardiner, John Goodman, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Leister, Edmund Margeson, Christopher Martin, William Mullins, Digery Priest, John Rigdale, Thomas Rogers, George Soule, Miles Standish, Edward Tilly, John Tilly, Thomas Tinker, John Turner, Richard Warren, William White, Thomas Williams, Edward Winslow, Gilbert Winslow
Modern America has forsaken its roots and we find ourselves rudderless, adrift in a sea of uncertainty, fear, and (I believe) loneliness as a result of our separation from Providence, the God of Our Fathers.
Too, I think (realistically), we are in a state of rebellion. Think about it. It's a good thing there are only TEN commandments for us to break! We've gone through those as a scythe through a wheat field.
Then, as if that were not enough, we turned our back on God's chosen people. Not only that, but we are supporting Israel's sworn enemies with money and arms with which they intend to do Israel harm. That action alone has placed America under a curse from God.
Taking refuge in atheism does NOT, somehow, cloak a non-believer in immunity from the the curse of God. That is another of those lies with which we choose to deceive ourselves.
This bit of religious introspection was, indeed, instigated by the slaughter of our children a few days ago, by that which is said so often not to exist. I refer, of course, to pure EVIL.
I am old enough to have seen evil in its raw, ugly, shocking, conscience-searing nakedness before. The previous century provided ample demonstrations of evil at work among men. And I am convinced we shall see it again in the days ahead in a manner that will shock us beyond that which we believe ourselves capable. It will mightily strain our capacity to bear pain -- and loss -- at a magnitude that will stagger the imagination. Perseverance will be questioned. Ultimately, we will question whether we even WANT to persevere.
There is no defense equal to the assault of evil, save for reliance upon Almighty God. NONE.
America, in her arrogance, has made the same mistake superpower nations throughout history have made in deciding to go it alone. All have fallen. All have been relegated to the so-called dustbin of history there to serve as lessons for subsequent superpowers to come in how NOT to run a country.
I have concluded that America's current leadership is playing an integral part in this unfolding scenario by paving the way for evil's rampage across America.
Look. When millions of Christians bombard the gates of heaven with prayerful petitions pleading with God to intervene in a national election to ensure that our current leader's opposition win, and the answer is a resounding "NO," -- then I have no choice but to believe that America's current leadership holds office at the behest of Divine Providence.
All of this analysis is, of course, based on the fact that I am a man of faith. You may believe, or not. That is entirely up you.
America's innocence is long gone. Like a child enjoying parental protection suddenly finds himself alone and on his own when that parent departs suddenly, America is at just such a juncture.
This may come as a bit of a shock, but in my opinion, America was never intended to stand alone. From her very beginning, on board that ship lying just off shore at Cape Cod, a covenant was struck. (A covenant -- NOT a contract!) From November 11th, 1620, through today and beyond, America was to be a partnership. But we, the lesser of the signatories of the covenant, began to dissolve the partnership and in doing so we have assumed more and more of the burdens associated with existence outside the beneficence of Providence.
For the most part, we have yet to comprehend the depth of our plight. Those who do, well, they weep for the future.
To cover our fall, Americans are learning to accept and, in fact, celebrate mediocrity. It is a pitiful attempt to salvage that human dignity Pope Benedict XVI noted just days ago. It is, however, a thin veil and easily seen through -- for those willing to see.
Any hope of national survival, in my opinion, must be preceded by an understanding of what America is, or at least what America was supposed to be.
The "preceptor" instructed his students in the story from the book of Proverbs: "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:7 (The Old Testament)
The proverbial preceptor, the teacher, knew that a man with all wisdom, yet without understanding , is, among all men, the most burdened -- AND the most ignorant.
Early America understood her place in the covenant -- and the scheme of things -- and she prospered. Two and a half centuries has dimmed that understanding and America is floundering, tearing herself apart in utter frustration.
America needs to harken back to the men and women on board that leaky old wooden ship wallowing in the waves and troughs just off Cape Cod in 1620. It was there on that wind swept, ocean sprayed, floating fleck of wood that the REAL America was born and given her charge by Providence. It is one thing to have the WISDOM to KNOW that. It is quite another to UNDERSTAND what it meant, not just to us as Americans, but to the entire world.
The answer is as simple as the preceptor in the 5th Chapter of Proverbs says:
5) Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6) Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
For America to survive she must, MUST, regain that which she has so obviously lost -- UNDERSTANDING. Wisdom will then be opened and she can take up her Providentially bestowed mantle of authority, of leadership, and return to the course assigned her on November 11th, 1620.
© J. D. Longstreet
When A Nation No Longer Believes In God
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
******************
There is a thought amongst many evangelical Christians in America today that God has removed his divine protection from America as a result of America's turning away from the source of all its strength. I know this because they have expressed it to me on many occasions.
Now, I am NOT an evangelical, though I was reared in an evangelical denomination. Most of my family remains, today, evangelicals, some even serving as ministers of The Gospel in those churches. Me? Well, I'm the "black sheep" of the family always, it seems, going off in a different direction. I lean more toward the liturgical form of worship.
Having said the above, I have to tell you, I believe my brethren and sisteren of the evangelicals have a valid point, though.
SOMETHING has HAPPENED TO AMERICA. That CANNOT be denied.
As we look around us at the American landscape today, we can see a nation in undeniable decline. We see a people brought almost to their knees, yet unwilling to admit their own complicity in the decline of their country.
Modern American culture would make hardened citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah turn away in stunned embarrassment. Phallic graffiti carved on the walls of ancient Rome looks innocent when compared to the human rutting we invite into our homes on television.
Common decency not only is NOT common any more, it is on the verge of becoming RARE!
Pope Benedict XVI recently said: " ... when God is denied, human dignity also disappears."
There seems to be an entire movement within American society dedicated to quenching what remains of the Christian faith and its practice in the country. They have been successful beyond their wildest expectations since at least the 1960's.
They did it, I believe, by separating our young from their religious roots, indoctrinating them in moral relativism (political correctness), which waters down (dilutes) their belief in right and wrong and their ability to discern which is which. Seven hours a day of that kind of indoctrination, five days a week as opposed to one to two hours a week of religious instruction in church ONE day a week, and you can quickly see -- there is no contest.
While many still argue that America was not founded on Christian principles, they are flat-out wrong. The founding of this nation -- as a Christian nation -- was decided and inscribed in writing while the passengers of the Mayflower were preparing to off-load onto the shore at Cape Cod to begin this "Great Experiment" we came to call America.
The document they drew up and signed is called the Mayflower Compact and if you have never read it, then you NEED to do so.
Here is a modern version of the text of the Mayflower Compact as recorded by William Bradford:
In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.:
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.
Signers
John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Allerton John Billington, Richard Bitteridge,William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Brown, John Carver, James Chilton, Richard Clark, Francis Cooke, John Craxton, Edward Doten,Francis Eaton, Thomas English\' Moses Fletcher, Edward Fuller, Samuel Fuller, Richard Gardiner, John Goodman, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Edward Leister, Edmund Margeson, Christopher Martin, William Mullins, Digery Priest, John Rigdale, Thomas Rogers, George Soule, Miles Standish, Edward Tilly, John Tilly, Thomas Tinker, John Turner, Richard Warren, William White, Thomas Williams, Edward Winslow, Gilbert Winslow
Modern America has forsaken its roots and we find ourselves rudderless, adrift in a sea of uncertainty, fear, and (I believe) loneliness as a result of our separation from Providence, the God of Our Fathers.
Too, I think (realistically), we are in a state of rebellion. Think about it. It's a good thing there are only TEN commandments for us to break! We've gone through those as a scythe through a wheat field.
Then, as if that were not enough, we turned our back on God's chosen people. Not only that, but we are supporting Israel's sworn enemies with money and arms with which they intend to do Israel harm. That action alone has placed America under a curse from God.
Taking refuge in atheism does NOT, somehow, cloak a non-believer in immunity from the the curse of God. That is another of those lies with which we choose to deceive ourselves.
This bit of religious introspection was, indeed, instigated by the slaughter of our children a few days ago, by that which is said so often not to exist. I refer, of course, to pure EVIL.
I am old enough to have seen evil in its raw, ugly, shocking, conscience-searing nakedness before. The previous century provided ample demonstrations of evil at work among men. And I am convinced we shall see it again in the days ahead in a manner that will shock us beyond that which we believe ourselves capable. It will mightily strain our capacity to bear pain -- and loss -- at a magnitude that will stagger the imagination. Perseverance will be questioned. Ultimately, we will question whether we even WANT to persevere.
There is no defense equal to the assault of evil, save for reliance upon Almighty God. NONE.
America, in her arrogance, has made the same mistake superpower nations throughout history have made in deciding to go it alone. All have fallen. All have been relegated to the so-called dustbin of history there to serve as lessons for subsequent superpowers to come in how NOT to run a country.
I have concluded that America's current leadership is playing an integral part in this unfolding scenario by paving the way for evil's rampage across America.
Look. When millions of Christians bombard the gates of heaven with prayerful petitions pleading with God to intervene in a national election to ensure that our current leader's opposition win, and the answer is a resounding "NO," -- then I have no choice but to believe that America's current leadership holds office at the behest of Divine Providence.
All of this analysis is, of course, based on the fact that I am a man of faith. You may believe, or not. That is entirely up you.
America's innocence is long gone. Like a child enjoying parental protection suddenly finds himself alone and on his own when that parent departs suddenly, America is at just such a juncture.
This may come as a bit of a shock, but in my opinion, America was never intended to stand alone. From her very beginning, on board that ship lying just off shore at Cape Cod, a covenant was struck. (A covenant -- NOT a contract!) From November 11th, 1620, through today and beyond, America was to be a partnership. But we, the lesser of the signatories of the covenant, began to dissolve the partnership and in doing so we have assumed more and more of the burdens associated with existence outside the beneficence of Providence.
For the most part, we have yet to comprehend the depth of our plight. Those who do, well, they weep for the future.
To cover our fall, Americans are learning to accept and, in fact, celebrate mediocrity. It is a pitiful attempt to salvage that human dignity Pope Benedict XVI noted just days ago. It is, however, a thin veil and easily seen through -- for those willing to see.
Any hope of national survival, in my opinion, must be preceded by an understanding of what America is, or at least what America was supposed to be.
The "preceptor" instructed his students in the story from the book of Proverbs: "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:7 (The Old Testament)
The proverbial preceptor, the teacher, knew that a man with all wisdom, yet without understanding , is, among all men, the most burdened -- AND the most ignorant.
Early America understood her place in the covenant -- and the scheme of things -- and she prospered. Two and a half centuries has dimmed that understanding and America is floundering, tearing herself apart in utter frustration.
America needs to harken back to the men and women on board that leaky old wooden ship wallowing in the waves and troughs just off Cape Cod in 1620. It was there on that wind swept, ocean sprayed, floating fleck of wood that the REAL America was born and given her charge by Providence. It is one thing to have the WISDOM to KNOW that. It is quite another to UNDERSTAND what it meant, not just to us as Americans, but to the entire world.
The answer is as simple as the preceptor in the 5th Chapter of Proverbs says:
5) Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6) Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
For America to survive she must, MUST, regain that which she has so obviously lost -- UNDERSTANDING. Wisdom will then be opened and she can take up her Providentially bestowed mantle of authority, of leadership, and return to the course assigned her on November 11th, 1620.
© J. D. Longstreet
Obama begins 2nd term...
| Washington Post | - |
Barack Hussein Obama officially began his second term as the nation's 44th president Sunday, taking the oath of office in a lowkey ceremony at the White House
The Batmobile from the 1960s television show is set for the auction block this weekend
The one-of-a-kind 1955 Lincoln Futura (above)concept car was originally
created by a design team at Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln styling department.
Car customizer George Barris, 87, stands next to the original Batmobile at Barris Kustom Industries in North Hollywood. Barris designed the car for the 1966 television show
"Batman," which starred Adam West and Burt Ward.
The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s television show is set for the auction block this weekend. The midnight-black and fluorescent-red-pinstriped car that Adam West's Batman used to battle villains in Gotham will be up for grabs Saturday at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. There is a reserve price for the car, but neither the auction house nor the car owner, famed car customizer George Barris, would confirm the lowest dollar amount they would accept. But auction organizers have indicated it's in the multimillion-dollar range.
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