Fat Lady Not Yet Singing...

To enter the Chef's Choice Belgian Waffle Iron Giveaway go here, Monday, March 15th. Contest ends Monday, March 22nd.

According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, NCPA, even the "terrible, lousy, no-good, horrible health care system we now have in the USA" -emphasis mine and great sarcasm intended- is a lot better than the rest of the world. For anyone with cancer, you'll live longer and a lot better in the USA than Europe or even Canada...gasp!

Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, is a person some like to hate but when she wrote the article U.S. Cancer Care Is Number One for the NCPA, she cited Lancet Oncology. These aren't her opinions; these are facts:

-following a cancer diagnosis, American women have a 63 percent chance of living at least five years compared to 56 percent for European women. Only Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland have an overall higher rate of 60 percent but that's still less than the USA. For breast cancer, the five year survival rate is 14 points higher than European survival rates!

-For American men, it's 66 percent compared to European men at 47 percent; only Sweden has an overall higher rate of 60 percent.

-British men have a five year survival rate of 45 percent; British women 53 percent.

In Canada, the average survival rate for all cancers in women, is 58 percent and in the USA it's 61 percent. For Canadian men the average survival rate for all cancers is 53 percent and in the USA it's 57 percent.

If you're a woman, reading this post, and live in the USA, you're probably one of the 85 percent who have regular PAP smears. Not so in Great Britain where just 58 percent of women have regular PAP smears.

As with mammograms; 84 percent of us age 50 to 64 have regular mammograms; I've yet to hear a doctor deny that early detection using mammograms is essential in finding and treating breast cancer. This percentage is higher than Australia, Canada or New Zealand and much higher than Great Britain's 63 percent.

So, please explain, again, Mr PresidentObamaPelosiReid, perxactly why your health care upheaval is better than what we've already got? 

Hmmmm...I didn't think you could.

According to a recent NY Times article -which I've failed to capture the address-, if the ObamaPelosiReid health care upheaval is passed, the tax dollars of millions of hard working Americans will may go toward funding abortions. I say may because liars figure and figures lie and the truth will only be told after, "we have to pass the health care bill first and then you'll see what's in it" Pelosi said.

Oh, you don't want your taxes going toward government mandated insurance abortion coverage...tough!

Oh...you don't think the bill includes abortion funding? Well, unless Congress explicitly excludes abortion as "essential benefits", abortion is included. Since Congress has already shown what kind of "back bone" they have, it's a pretty safe guess those amoebas won't exclude anything...unless it's themselves from the cesspool they are damming the rest of us to wade swim.

The ole gal is slowing down but want to, in closing, address the millions of tax dollars received by Planned Parenthood each and every year. Kathryn Jean Lopez wore an article The Greening of Planned Parenthood which said, in part that in 2008, Planned Parenthood received 305.3 million dollars in government funds...hahaha, they mean Tax Payer Dollars, sacasm mine,...in 2005-06 fiscal year. That number has only grown since. Planned Parenthood's political-action committee alledgedly had some 10 million dollars...Tax Payer Dollars...to spend on an anti-John McCain campaign. Now, I don't care if you voted or didn't vote the McCain ticket, but it riles me beyond belief that Planned Parenthood used American Tax Payer Dollars to buy a President. It riles me when any organization does it but it's called lobbying and therefore not bribery. Or, so I'm told. But...
HEEEELLLLOOOO! Can you say with me...CONFLICT OF INTEREST?!!! That is NOT how we want our money used!!! "Guide, Guard, Govern = Protect" is how to spend our money. Not on things that divide us but on things that unite us.

Can you hear me now? It's NOT YOUR MONEY! It's OUR money and we're sick and tired of you spending it like there's a population growth going on. Between fewer children actually being born and Planned Parenthood killing off the ones being conceived, there soon won't be ANY money er, children in the form of tax payers. DUH! I'm not the brightest crayon in the box and I've got that one figured out.

So...to quote Maxine, "

"Let me get this straight...we're trying to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also is exempt from it and hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.
What the hell could possibly go wrong? "

I'm not against health care reform; I'm against the government thinking they can manage business when they can't even manage Medicare and Medicaid or...Cash for Clunkers or...oh never mind!

Contact your representative NOW so you can hold your head high later!

 

Blessings ~  the fat lady hasn't begun singing ~ there's still time..barely ~

 

Thanks for visiting Thistle Cove Farm,
Sandra

Politics: Bend Over, Please

~ SW Representative Rick Boucher voted YES to Cap and Trade ~

RE: Cap and Trade - Don L. Blankenship, Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy, fourth largest coal company in the USA notes, "In Spain, an economics professor calculates that green job schemes have destroyed more than 110,000 jobs in that country, of 2.2 jobs destroyed for every one created. The CEO of the world's largest renewable energy company, Eon, is warming the EU that further cuts to CO2 emissions will only raise the cost of energy, putting the region at a competitive disadvantage and driving production overseas."

God knows what the figures are in the USA but if you're a small business owner, between Cap and Trade and ObamaCare - Bend Over, Please.

So, you don't think a coal company has anything to do with you? Au contraire, Dear Voter! If you've flipped on a light switch, turned on your computer, read a newspaper, magazine or book, driven your vehicle or ridden public transportation...in other words, if you're a member of the 21st century, living in the USofA, indeed most of the civilized world, coal affects you Every Single Day and you should thank a coal miner. If you've eaten today, thank a farmer.

RE: National Health Care Socialization Plan - Dick Morris and Eileen McGann are two writers appearing on The Hill, a website aimed at keeping up with the "Inner Circle" madness that has spilled over into our everyday lives. Will Rogers said, paraphrased, of President Calvin Coolidge, "He didn't do nothing much but nothing much was what we wanted done." We, the plebes that pay taxes and vote those folks into office, used to could say the same about our "representatives". No longer.

In their recent article, ObamaCare Endorsements: What The Bribe Was Morris and McGann lay bare the ugly truth we weren't supposed to know until after the fact. Please read the entire article but, as a teaser, know this: the President, AMA and AARP are in in a cozy little threesome and you and I are the losers.

"The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians' reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill."

and

"The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARPhas morphed from an advocacy group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company)." --- "Obama solved their [AARP] problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but the AARP -- which supposedly represents them -- will make more money." 

You don't recognize Medigap? Gee, me neither. Wonder who owns them?

THANKS AARP...not. When it's time to renew my membership, guess what? It's not happening! Oh, and by the way, you may stop sending all those requests to support a "national health care plan" 'cause that's not happening either. As a matter of fact, I've already sent my Senators a letter asking them to vote NO. As soon as I finish with this blog entry, I'm going to telephone them, just in case they've forgotten my request to vote NO.

Instead, I've telephoned American Seniors, an organization that advertises itself as a "conservative alternative to AARP". Stuart Barton, President of American Seniors, has written ObamaCare No, Targeted Reforms, Yes and, in part, states,"The American Seniors Association, which represents hundreds of thousands of members nationwide, has several major concerns. First, any government-run plan is bound to limit patient-doctor choice. Second, the House bill includes an employer mandate that would kill jobs and lower wages. Indeed, the current House legislation attacks baby boomers and seniors -- in fact, every American-- by underwriting the $1.5 trillion healthcare price tag with new taxes and by cutting $500 billion out of Medicare over the next 10 years."

Mr. Barton quotes Camille Paglia, a liberal Democrat writer for Salon, in which she "eviscerates Obamacare perhaps more shrilly than any conservative pundit to date. Consider:


"You can keep your doctor; you can keep your insurance, if you're happy with it, Obama keeps assuring us in soothing, lullaby tones. Oh, really? And what if my doctor is not the one appointed by the new government medical boards for ruling on my access to tests and specialists? And what if my insurance company goes belly up because of its government-bankrolled competitor? Face it: virtually all nationalized health systems, neither nourished nor updated by profit-driven private investment, eventually leads to rationing.


"Paglia's specific criticism of Obama, which ASA shares, is withering. "Frankly," she writes, "the president gives little sense of direct knowledge of medical protocols; it's as if his views are a tissue to hearsay and scatter-shot worst-case scenarios."

YEOUCH! Can you hear us now?

And, while I'm on a rant... I don't want to forget the Golden Boy of Environmental Causes...most especially those that will make him a Billionaire...he passed the Multi-Millionaire status long, long ago: Al Gore. Smart boy that he is, he has positioned himself to receive Billion$$$$$ in government fund$$$$$ when, yet more, global warming legislation is passed.

Do I believe in global warming? I'm not sure but I do know Michael Crighton didn't believe in it; he researched for three years and then wrote State of Fear as his response to what he believed was a hoax. In an ABC interview, he said,"I'm saying that environmental organizations are formenting false fears inorder to promote agendas and raise money."

OH NO MIKEY, say it ain't so! Surely not!

Weather keeping has only been done for about the last one hundred years. Of course there are fluxuations in the weather, always have been, always will be but Global Warming...? Ummmm, who knows Beyond A Shadow of A Doubt? The answer is: no one. Not Al, not O, not Teddy, not you, not me. No One. That doesn't mean I don't turn off the lights when I leave a room but that's, primarily to save money and the side benefit is, I don't use energy...er...money more than necessary.

In closing...here's a truth No One can get around: You Cannot Take It With You. Period. Nothing goes - Nada. Zilch. Zero. All that lovely lolly you told uncountable lies for and spent years amassing and, in some cases, sold your soul to obtain - it Stays Behind as does whatever name you've made for yourself. After you're gone, it becomes Someone's Else's Money and what's left behind is the old maxim: Liars figure and figures lie. Oh, and global warming? Well, that's going to pale in comparison to the Hades hot it will be down below.

RIP.

Until next time,

Blessings ~ canoes ~ paddles ~ coal ~ energy ~ Camille Paglia ~ Don L. Blankenship ~ Michael Crighton ~ American Seniors ~

Time is Running Out!

This is the letter I sent to elected Commonwealth of Virginia representatives; please feel free to send a similar, or even this letter with your signature, to your elected representatives.

Dear Senator:

Certainly reform is necessary to rein in health care costs but that reform is best attended to, in my opinion, the industry and not the government. Government should return to its roots...governing and stop showing its amazing capacity for focusing on, yet being inable to correct “problems” that simply aren't in evidence. The Chrysler and financial industry debacles come, most immediately, to mind.

A successful indicator of future performance is one based on past track records so a government run health care system will be just another farce where, in “best case scenario” our great grandchildren will be enslaved; the worst case scenario is the current generation will be enslaved to China when our debts are called due.

It's my understanding Medicare and Medicaid now lose upwards of sixty billion dollars each and every year due, solely, to fraud! I suggest you and the rest of the Senate take a good, hard look at the Medicare and Medicaid fraud problem rather than turning your attention to a problem, that, similar to the King who was wearing no clothes, simply doesn't exist. At least, not in the fashion you're putting forth to the American people.

According to a recent Congressional teleconference regarding the “hidden costs” included in the 1,000+ page bill that passed in Committee, it is an outrage and I am angry! Why in the name of sanity, should USA taxpayers be asked to pay for Medicare subsidies for some states, and not others, or perks for medical research industries in some localities and not others? Why, in the name of sanity, would you even ask that of your constituents?

As to the “accounting method” used by CBO...any budget would look better after reflecting income for a few years before expenses are applied to the balance sheet. If we, the voters, ran our lives and businesses the way the US government is being run, we'd have declared bankruptcy a long time ago. Do you truly believe Communist China will agree to fund this “reform” bill? Do you really believe a day of reckoning isn't coming or do you just believe it won't be in our lifetime?

This “health care reform” bill is extremely intrusive in what used to be called private lives. It is truly abhorrent you could consider putting the yoke of oppression called “health care reform” upon your constituents when you, yourself, have opted to be excluded.

If you want to make your name and place in history, vote NO and then, turn your talents toward re-establishing a government that's “for the people, by the people”.

Sincerely,

Good Morning, Tuesday!

~ Sam P. Spade, getting bolder as he wanders amongst the sheep ~

Cooler morning weather has arrived, until Indian Summer that is, and puppies are responding by being more energetic than ever. They play like the world is going to end this afternoon, perhaps we should live our lives the same way, eh? Coming home from exercise classes yesterday, I picked up this intact male by the side of the road. As you can see, he's starved but we've given him three meals, water and some bones so he is now a happy camper. He's part hound and we discussed keeping him but I just can't take on the added responsibility. Larry N., our Animal Control Specialist, is supposed to retrieve him today and, usually, Larry is able to find homes especially in the northeast where, I'm told, it's against the law to have an intact male or un-spayed female unless one has a breeder's license. Hello Big Brother! I don't believe indiscriminate breeding is a good thing but I think government intrusion into our lives is a Very Bad Thing. I tend to be a Libertarian when it comes to government...the less, the better and, almost, none is best. Frankly, I think politicians should, by law, not accept "campaign contributions"...I've heard some call it "bribes" and who is really right or wrong as isn't this a matter of opinion based upon perspective? If politicians can't be moral and legal because they are gentlemen and ladies then it should be forced upon them. Just like they force upon us such stupid laws as "you can't hang an elephant", a law still on the books in Tennessee. Please don't think I'm picking on Tennessee as each state has their own share of stupid laws and ejiits in office.

~ He's a Sweet Ole Hound ~

Did you hear about the Nevada Senator who told a newspaper, "I hope you go out of business!" And why, you may very well ask, did a person elected by the people, supposedly serving the people, say such a thing? Because said newspaper dared to call into question the Senator's politics. Although the Senator is no gentlemen, he is the Senate Majority Leader; God have mercy! Elections are coming up in 2010, perhaps the good people of Nevada will prove to be smarter, Much Smarter, than their elected Senator. Let us hope so. In the meantime, Sherman Frederick has dressed down the Senator, rightfully so, but, like so many in the 'inner circle'...also known here as 'inside the beltway' he appears to believe he's a law unto himself. Sir, I say to you, "it's time to exchange your short breeches for big boy trousers and, if you can't act as a gentleman, then try to act in a manner that reflects well upon the Honorable position of Senate Majority Leader. Please stave off sullying the position. If you want to act like a boor, then please do so in private. Remember the old adage, "it's best to keep one's mouth shut and have people think you're a fool than open it and remove all doubt!"

~ Peaches looks like she's called a meeting -smile-. ~

The horses and sheep live together in peace...most of the time. The only time things get tense is when the horses get on a rampage and race across the pastures and the sheep scatter like raindrops on a windshield. In all our years of having both, I've never had one injure the other; indeed, I've never had a farm animal injure another farm animal, no matter the species. I believe this is due to two things with the first being God's grace and mercy overshadowing Thistle Cove Farm. The second is due to everyone knowing they will be fed and fed well. No one has to worry about ending up on the dinner plate, everyone has a job, no matter folks think it's silly of me to keep sheep until they die of old age. The sheep give beautiful fleeces and I truly believe, "Happy Sheep Make Beautiful Wool"; even unto old age the sheep fleeces are beautiful, strong and healthy.

~ Black face Shetland whethers find shade inside the old water reservoir. ~

Mama Cat moved her kittens which is an Amazing Feat! She had born them at the bottom of a fifty gallon barrel littered with straw. She waited until they were about four weeks old and then, picking each one up by the scruff of the neck, she jumped to the top of said barrel and then carried them to a new location, again on straw. I don't know if she moved the straw or if it was already there...another mystery. I am in awe at God's creation and the abilities He gave them. Mama Cat is a smallish cat and the kittens each weigh about half a pound so to jump that distance, carrying a goodly portion of your own weight in your mouth...defies anything I can do!

~ New kittens, moved out of the barrel and onto floor ~

I'd love to keep all four kittens as barn cats and take all but two of the barn cats I now have to the animal shelter. A year or two ago, a woman moved in down the road, stayed a few weeks and moved out. That wasn't the end of the story however. When she moved in, the story is she brought many, many, Many cats with her as well as dogs and horses. One dog was so wild, his collar was choking him because the dog couldn't be caught so the collar could be adjusted. I think animal control finally was able to pop it with a tranquilizer, adjusted the collar and then put the dog in a kennel until it could be gentled. Anyway, when the woman moved out, she left the cats; some say upwards of fifty but I don't really know. I do know some of those cats ended up in my barn, feral as feral can be, diseased with God alone knows what. I've been trying to gentle them and have two I can actually get my hands on; the rest are whisps of imagination whenever I'm around. As an aside, the Feral Tribune used to be a newspaper in Split, Croatia which is one country I'd love to visit. I'm afraid I'll have to not feed the barn cats for a few days...which I hate to do because that means the just as well as the unjust suffer...but it's, more than likely, the only way I can catch them. I'll wait until colder weather when they are hungrier and need more calories. I'd rather have them put down humanely than starved to death or die of disease. So, full circle here, that's why I picked up the stray dog. If he does die at the shelter, he'll die a much easier death than how he was headed when I found him.

I'm burning daylight, so, until next time ~

Blessings ~ an empty dog kennel ready to be used for strays ~ healthy animals ~ Mama Cat, who takes better care of her kittens than some women do of their babies ~ daylight ~ a kind, ole hound who came along peacefully ~ elections, vote intelligently! ~

The Gleaners

Jean-Francois Millet painted The Gleaners in 1857 and the above print hangs in our kitchen. It's a fairly old print, you can see the wear at the top of the print, but it's one of my favorites. Three peasant women are gleaning a field of wheat after the harvest and it reminds me of the story of Ruth in the Old Testament.

I've been gleaning information regarding the proposed health care reform and I still have more questions than answers. Perhaps you can help me...?

Peter Fleckenstein has been blogging about his findings on the 1018 PDF pages of "A BILL to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes."

Before getting into the above, Medical News Today reported in May '09 that Medicare and Medicaid loses $60 BILLION dollars in fraud Every Year! That's absolutely obscene, imo. My gray cells are having a bit of a tussel wooling over that fact. So the same government that is losing $60 BILLION dollars in fraud every year in Medicare and Medicaid is now proposing to 'revamp' health care...? I'd rather they fix the Medicare and Medicaid fraud problem before going on to yet another problem they can't solve. Prove to me you're capable and then we'll discuss more responsibility. That's the way it happened with me and my parents when I was a teenager and I turned out fairly well. No substance abuse or alcohol problems, never been arrested so, needless to say, never been in jail, am an honest, law abiding, tax paying citizen. My parents started out giving me small amounts of responsibility and then, when I proved myself, they increased the responsibility.

Why can't the government do the same? Why can't our legislators and representatives do likewise? Are they better than me and don't have to abide by the same laws, rules and regulations?

Oh. Nevermind. For a moment, I forgot that President Obama, every Senator, Congressman and Congresswoman has EXEMPTED THEMSELVES from this fabulous health care plan they are trying to ram down my throat. Well Sirs and Ladies: if it's that dang great, why aren't you including yourselves? What do you know that you're not telling me and the rest of the US public?

Please don't think I'm against change IF it's positive change. However, I am totally against change that threatens my very existence as well as the life of everyone who is in poor health, elderly or quite young. Here's where I refer back to Mr. Fleckenstein. He's a former Marine...thank you, Sir, for serving our country..., a husband and a father and has been updating information regarding this health care plan on both his blog and on Twitter. As stated, the document is 1,018 pages long and I am indebted to him for doing an excellent job...but then, I wouldn't expect anything else from a Marine!

He begins his blog entry by stating, "the President & Congress are YOUR servants, not the other way around." Amen and Amen! Except I don't think the President and Congress agree with this sentiment.

Please go to his links and read...READ! I'm going to point out only a few bullet points, enough to entice you to do your own research and then, tell your friends, write your own blog entry, and CALL AND WRITE your Senators and Congress Representatives! They are out of session for the entire month of August but when they return to Washington, they will VOTE on Obamacare. Let them know your opinion. If you're done your research and you have no problem giving up your rights as a US Citizen, by all means let your representatives know you approve.

If, however, you do NOT want to give up your rights...as an individual, as a married person, as a employee, as an employer, as a doctor, as a vet, as a small business owner, as an entrepreneur, as a ____ fill in the blank YES it is THAT encompassing! By all means, contact your legislators and tell them Vote NO! We only have the month of August, a few measly days and then the vote happens and then, dear ones, it's all over but the tears.

Now for some bullet points:

Page 829-833 "Government will impose a fee on ALL private health insurance plans including self insured to pay for Trust Fund."

Hello?! I'm paying now without all the additional grief tacked onto this plan! Tax, TAX!

Page 769 3-5 Nurse Home Visit Services - "increasing birth intervals between pregnancies."

Doesn't China do this now? Limit the number of children a couple may have? What tha...???

Page 765 Sec 1711 - "government will require Preventative Services including vaccines."

You don't believe in intrusive vaccinations; tough! Your child gets them anyway! I suppose no one read the report that suggest early vaccinations are a probable cause for autism.

Oh, wait! The President, Senators and Congress representatives have OPTED OUT of this "health care plan!" So, I suppose it's only YOUR child that's at risk.

Page 624 - "Quality" measures shall be designed to profile you including race, age, gender, place of residents, etc.

Wait a minute...I thought profiling was wrong...airlines can't profile those of Middle Eastern descent when loading airplanes. Why is it okay now?

"Page 524 18-22 Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund set up."

Uh...besides taxes and more taxes, what the hedoublehockeysticks does this MEAN???

The next few lines refer to "collection of data on citizens; data collection from any department or agency of the USA and would allow for public access of data. Registries and data networks would be built from YOUR electronic medical records and a Comparative Effectiveness Research Established."

Uh Oh. Uncle Sam just morphed into Big Brother.

Page 432 Lines 18-21 - the government will publish "quality measures" for an individual's end of life!

and

Page 430 Lines 11-15 - "the government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life."

and

Page 429 Lines 13-25 - "the government will specify which doctors can write an End of Life Order."

and

Page 429 Lines 10-12 - "advance care consultation" may include an ORDER for "end of life plans".

and

Page 429 Lines 1-9 - "advance care planning consultant" will be used frequently as patient's health deteriorates.

and

Page 427 Lines 15-24 government mandates program for orders for end of life. IOW, the government employee has a say in how/when your life ends.

and

Page 429 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 - government provides approved list of end of life resources, "guiding" you in death.

Well, at the end of MY life I want it to be family, loved ones and GOD; NOT a government employee! Dear Lord, it sounds like we're all going to be dieing in the motor vehicles building!

I'm tired and will draw to an end by saying, no matter how I feel about the individual bullet points, above and on Mr. Fleckenstein's blog, I Absolutely Am Against this plan due to its Extreme Intrusiveness into my life, your life and the life of every one in this country. Oh, almost forgot to say...this plan covers Everyone in this country...legal, illegal, tax paying, tax dodging...doesn't matter; it covers Everyone. Well, everyone Except the President, Senators and Congress Representatives. They have opted out.

Ahem. Do you think $60 BILLION will even begin to cover this plan? I think not. It's already been estimated it will cost trillions and, knowing the government, that's probably a low ball figure.

Please, don't listen to the thirty second soundbites. Arm yourself with some facts and knowledge and then CALL AND WRITE your legislators! Remember, there's only thirty days to contact them.

Time is of the essence!

Blessings ~ Mr. Fleckenstein ~ people who arm themselves with facts, not emotions ~ fine art ~

May the Good Lord take a liking to you and the government leave you alone!

A Full Day

These old Appalachian Mountains are supposed to be some of the oldest on earth; perhaps so but I do know they are among the most beautiful!

Our mornings are foggy and the mist hangs heavy in the air. I enjoy these mornings just as I enjoy all other mornings at Thistle Cove Farm. Each are special and beautiful and a reminder of God's overwhelming love, grace and mercy.

A lone pigeon watches over the feeder. I think it's going to be a hard winter; I'm filling the bird feeders once a day although they would like it to be more frequent. I enjoy feeding the birds, watching them and listening to their song. It soothes me and brings great joy to my day and life.
Looking back toward the house you can see the fog hanging heavy. It's a beautiful time, when the fog is heavy. There's a peaceful holiness and everything is so quiet you can hear the Earth sigh as she draws her blanket of wet close 'round her.
This deer was in the road, undecided which way to go. I stopped the car and waited until his mind was made up and he bounded up the hillside. Usually, deer travel in pairs or groups but I saw no other deer, just this solitary deer as he went about his business.I made the most wonderful brown molasses bread with dried cranberries. It's really tasty especially with some Philly cream cheese! If anyone is interested, I'll give the recipe later this week. It's a quick bread, takes about ten minutes to make and another thirty or so to bake. I've eaten it for breakfast, lunch and as a snack and it seems to taste even better as it ages.
Early evening saw us at the County Courthouse listening to representatives from Americans For Prosperity and The Social Security Institute discuss "Obamacare".

It was extremely interesting, doubly so because the key note speaker, Lawrence A. Hunter, Ph.D. has worked with several administrations including Regan and Clinton and has a non-partisan viewpoint that is refreshingly clear and was able to succinctly explain why, in his opinion, the proposed "Obamacare" is wrong for the USA.

He's one of the few speakers I've ever heard who was able to get his point across, stick to his topics and all in a matter of a few minutes AND without bashing. He's made his entire presentation without letting it be known if he was Democrat or Republican and, truthfully, I didn't really care. What I do care about are the issues and the clear presentation of same. Thank you, Dr. Hunter, for being a clear and succinct speaker.

The Americans For Prosperity is an organization "...committed to educating citizens about economic policy... and whose members advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint." The Americans For Prosperity Foundation "is committed to educating citizens about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitional limits."

Well! I'm all for that as a small acreage farmer; iow, an entrepreneur, I am totally against government intervention in my life and business. I believe the job of government is to govern and not to become intrusive in the lives of citizens; and, for one thing, not dictate to me how I should and when I should die.

I have several problems with the proposed Obamacare and the primary problem is why are the President, Congress and Senate exempting themselves from this proposed health care system? If it's so wonderful for the rest of us, why aren't they buying into it? I find that disturbing and raises questions that, thus far, no one will answer. That's even more frightening because when no answers are given, the thoughts one chases might be even worse than the answers.

Another problem I have is the dictate that Everyone age 65 and older MUST have "end of life counseling" with a "certified government practitioner" for "end of life options". WHAT THE...??? Again, the lack of answers to specific questions such as, "Please tell me exactly what that really means" is highly disturbing and leads me to thoughts of "assisted euthanasia" as opposed to expensive medical care for the elder. HEY! I'm fast becoming one of the "elder" and I don't like what I'm hearing...or not as the case may be!

All in all, the 1,000 page document reads like 1984 only a few years later. Uncle Sam is now Big Brother as well and in the Commonwealth of VA incest is against the law but I suppose federal supercedes state law, eh?
The crowd was, overwhelming, seniors. The only "young folks" where those who came with the speaker or the lone teenage girl who was there with her reporter mother. Here, people sign petitions and they hope to have 10,000 names to take to representatives and Senators in Virginia.
Dr. Hunter addresses the crowd and then gave time for questions and answers.

These two groups are traveling across the country in a red bus and a blue bus. Their aim is to educate people on just what the Obamacare program means in black and white and, let me tell you, from what I heard and, now from what I've researched, it's not pretty and it's also not safe for the majority of people living in the USA. The vast majority of USA citizenry are now age 60 and above and at a time when a lot of folks think they can retire and enjoy the benefits of a life well lived and worked...think again. It's just not going to happen if this "health care" plan is passed.

Please feel free to check the sites above and form your own opinion. I've also got a "cheat sheet" of facts on the 1,000 page document where one and two-sentence explanations are given about every page and/or section. If you want, I'm happy to forward it to you especially if "you're of an age...".
The view above looks toward Rt 91, aka Maiden Springs Road.

Do not be deceived as were the local "experts" who declared Maiden Spring to be plural. Where they got that idea is still a mystery to me. There's only one Maiden Spring so that makes it singular; at least it did when I went to school.

We live on Cove Road, a hard surface road of a bit over two miles then the dirt road begins.
Our road had macadam applied in the late 1960's, or so I've been told. It's a beautiful view and, in the past, when I had dogs and not puppies -smile- we would walk the road but only a mile or so. Our neighbor puts out coyote snares and I'd rather not have to rescue the dogs from one of those nasty things. They are a necessary evil and if you don't think so, then you've never seen a lamb in death throes from having its kidney ripped out by a coyote. Coyotes are not native to this region, having been brought here in the late 1950's as a deterrent to "pest animal control". I've never really been sure what that means but, perhaps, one day someone who knows will tell me.

This view is toward the head of the Cove where it dead ends in about 5,000 acres that was deeded to the Nature Conservancy.
The day ended with this beautiful rainbow, then double rainbow, where both began and ended in our pastures!

I've never seen a double rainbow begin and end in our pastures, always in our valley. It was beautiful and I'm reminded of the promise God made to Noah in Genesis 9:11 "And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." God set the rainbow in the clouds as a promise to Noah and to following generations. And think, today I've seen a double rainbow! What a wonderful gift, thank you, God.
As always, may the Good Lord take a liking to you...but not too soon!

Blessings ~ rain ~ rainbows ~ home made bread ~ a free country ~ a great view, no matter the direction ~ the scent of air after the rain ~

Toil's Sweet Content

The Man of Questions paused and stood
Before the Man of Toil,
And asked, "Are you content, my man,
To dig here in the soil?
Do you not yearn for wealth and fame,
And this wide world to see?"
The Man of Toil still stirred the soil
And answered, "No, sir-ee!"

"Do you not yearn," the Questioner asked,

"To pluck life's higher fruits?"

"Oh, yes," said he, "I'd like, maybe,

Another pair of boots."

"And wouldn't you like a coat to match,

And pantaloons and a hat;

And wouldn't you like to dress as well

As your neighbor Jacob Pratt?"

"Why, I'd have duds as good as Jake,"

The Man of Toil replied;

"Why, I'd have clo'es as good as those

'Fore I'd be satisfied."

"But if Jake ran for selectman

And nothing could defeat him,

How would it do, then, just for you

To step right in and beat him?"

"First-class idee," the Man of Toil

Responded with delight;

"I think I'd make mince-meat of Jake

'Fore we got through the fight."

"And then you'd settle down content?"

"Content? Of Course! I swan!

A man's a hog who asks for more

When he's a sillickman."

"But, sir, our Congress is corrupt

And needs a renovation;

Wouldn't you consent in such event

To take the nomination?"

"Oh yes I'd take the job," said he.

The Questioner arched his eyes,

"Then don't you think the presidency

Would be about your size?

Now after Congress had been cleansed

Beyond a shade of doubt

I think you'd go--you would, I know--

And clean the White House out."

"I'd take the job and do it brown,"

The Man of Toil replied;

"But you hoe corn from morn till night

And still are satisfied."

"Me satisfied! I guess that you

Don't know me," he began--

"Oh, yes, I do, I well know you

You are the Average Man."

Sam Walter Foss wrote this and it's as appropriate now as then. Daddy has always said about some folks, "They are going to set the world on fire just as soon as they find their box of matches!" You know people like that, surely. I do and, in my younger days, was probably one. I've calmed down now and have realized I'm simply one of a great many who are average. I'm content to shine in a narrow universe, to "be a friend to man in a house by the side of the road", to encourage as opportunity presents itself, to "come when called", to serve God in small, but faithful, ways.

Blessings ~ average men and women who are faithful ~ poetry ~ Daddy ~

I Am Angry...

and don't really know how to, effectively, say my piece so I'll let two other women tell you what's so disturbing.

Pam Warden brought it to my attention when she published Heidi's, at Mom's Ministry and More Valentine's day post about child pornography and President Obama's nomination for Deputy Attorney General Mr. David Ogden. A Voice for Mom's post, yesterday, puts forth more information about why Mr. Ogden is not the best nominee and what he's supported in the past that leads any sane person to question why President Obama thinks Mr. Ogden should even be considered much less nominated for Deputy Attorney General.

So much for platitudes like "the children are our future".

If you find this as disturbing, please contact your Senator and let him/her know you do not support Mr. Ogden for Deputy Attorney General and why you don't support him. Senators, legislative records, committees and more information may be found here.

Blessings ~ vigilant women and men ~