Sorry for the Wait!

I have been very annoyed at how slowly my beautiful new template loaded so I switched the order of what gets loaded. The sidebar takes a long time to load so I switched it to load last. You can read the posts while you what for the blogrolls. That is how the old template did it and liked that better. I also moved some of the icons out of the pull down menus to speed up the load time as well.

Hey Lauren! Here ya go, Babe

Because it's true, she really is!



(Make your own comic HERE)!

Why I haven't blogged in a while

Yes, Michele I know that I haven't held my part of the bargain with the blog, and I know you understand but I wanted to let our readers know why.

I have been recuperating from post-semester brain squeeze syndrome.

I feel as if my brain has had all of it's knowledge squeezed out of it like a sponge because of the extensive essay writing and from my finals; and now
I need time to absorb what I did learn. (Which was a lot!).

So please excuse me; because right now I don't feel as if I have anything left to talk about, but I know the Lord will refresh me in due time.

Until then, I will be doing laundry, grocery shopping, gardening, paying attention to my children's end of school calendar (I blew it big time with my daughter's 6th grade band concert, didn't realize it until it was too late)...

...and taking care of all the million other things I've let get away from me.

Couples Aborting to have Perfect Babies

There are articles that you read that make you want to go to the nearest wall and bang your head against. Some things are so mind numbingly obvious that you just know the outcome. Of course people are going to try to create the perfect baby, why have a baby that has a defect when you can get rid of it (without any regard to human life because it really isn't human anyway) and start again? And the media is just waking up to that reality. What? Women or aborting babies because they have a club foot? How can people kill infants over minor, treatable imperfections? Why are they surprised? This is what they have wrought:

The ethical storm over abortions has been renewed as it emerged that terminations are being carried out for minor, treatable birth defects.

Late terminations have been performed in recent years because the babies had club feet, official figures show.

Babies are being aborted with only minor defects.
Other babies were destroyed because they had webbed fingers or extra digits.

Such defects can often be corrected with a simple operation or physiotherapy.

The revelation sparked fears that abortion is increasingly being used to satisfy couples' desire for the 'perfect' baby.

A leading doctor said people were right to be 'totally shocked' that abortions were being carried out for such conditions.

They want to blame lack of information for this problem but wouldn't the obstetrician know that there were treatments for these conditions and wouldn't they want to inform their patients of the options available for treatment? The parents have the information, they have chosen to abort because they don't want a baby with a club foot or webbing on their fingers. They don't want the hassle or they don't want their child to live life with a stigma or whatever other rational they have come up with to justify killing their baby.

And what is amazing is that nothing will be done about it. There are parents in England (and I have no doubt America as well) who would kill their baby because it had a defect and there is nothing that is being done about it. Here is the reason that this practice will continue:

In 2004 it emerged a baby was aborted at 28 weeks after scans showed it had a cleft palate. Curate Joanna Jepson tried to ensure criminal charges were brought against the two doctors involved but the authorities last year decided against prosecution.

If no one is punished for doing this, then the practice will continue. Easy access to the procedure, no social stigma, the desire for the best that life has to offer and the decision when a baby is allowed to be born left solely to the mother enables this practice to continue.

And here in America we have the same problem:

If an assailant had shot Tammy Skinner in the stomach on the day she was to give birth, killing her baby, he could have been prosecuted.

Because she shot herself earlier this year, however, General District Court Judge James A. Moore decided Monday that she can’t be tried for producing a miscarriage or abortion, and he dismissed the felony charge.

Skinner’s attorney argued at a preliminary hearing that the charge is meant to be used against a third party and that the same offense with similar wording has been tested in courts in both Florida and Georgia and failed. It simply does not govern an expectant mother doing something to herself, Kevin E. Martingayle said.

“We can feel all of the moral outrage in the world for what this woman did,” he said in court, “ but the facts in this particular situation are that this statute does not apply.”

A woman can kill her baby on it's due date and there is no law on the books to punish her for it. We allow a murderer to go free with only a slap on the wrist on weapons charges. No wonder we view life so cheaply.

The very fact that abortion is legal promotes the idea that society accepts the killing of life for whatever reason:

'The law was not designed for this,' she said. 'Actions like these are fostering a disposable attitude to human life and I'm extremely concerned it is going on.

Of course it does! But it's not just actions like these, it's all the abortions that foster an attitude that life is disposable. It's years and years of indoctrinating the public that it's the woman's right to choose since it is her body. She is the ultimate decision maker. She is the one who gets to decide when someone lives or dies and for whatever reason she wants.

And the response to the charge of aborting for the perfect baby is telling:

But Jane Fisher of the charity Antenatal Results and Choices defended the right of parents to terminate pregnancies when defects are found. 'This is not part of a move towards designer babies,' she said.

'These are difficult and painful issues.'

It isn't the doctors that are at fault, it's the parents and these deaths will continue because there is no reason for them to stop. Attitudes have formed that life is disposible if it's inconvenient and it's only the mom who has the ultimate decision over life and death. There will be enormous consequences of this attitude in the future because life has been cheapened.

Society's view of life has been adversely impacted by abortion and we will have to live with the consequences of that change. We can't be surprised by these stories because it is obvious that life has become very cheap. Lifestyle, job, college, convenance, holding on to her boyfriend, the perfect baby, a boy instead of a girl, are what life is worth today.

(Links via The Drudge Report and Purple Flowers)

As you can see I'm back

I discover I had the Internet back when I returned from my morning commute to my daughter's school. Yeah! Internet (I love you, Internet). And of course I had all kinds of emails of women wanting to join the Blogging Chicks. I'm going to have to spend my day adding them to the blogroll.

BTW, I spent my down time reading The Da Vinci Code. What a silly book! That anyone can take this book seriously shows an utter lack of understanding of the history of the Christian church and of Christianity in general.

What? Where is Everyone?

You would think that since I haven't had Internet access that one of the other Reformed Chicks would post at least one other article. Sheesh people! Blog every once in a while!

No Internet!

I'm unable to access the Internet from my home (I'm posting this from the library) for a few days (or whenever it's fixed). I will try to get to the library at least once a day to post and check my email and comments.

Please pray that I will be wired soon! I have a lot of work to do.

About Us

The "About Us" link is not working right now because we haven't written that part yet and I might have a hard time getting my fellow Reformed Chicks to do it. But you will only have to wait a week because that's their deadline and if they don't write it I will (hehe) and they may wish they had written it (hehehehe).

Ta-Da

We have a new look! I found this template through one of the new Blogging Chicks. I was checking out her site to make sure she really was a chick and the profanity was at a reasonable level (don't ask what is a reasonable level) and I noticed how nice her blog looked. I noticed that she had a link to the designer and I was happy to discover that she had free templates and she had just the one I was looking for.

It took me all of yesterday and a huge chunk of today to prepare the template for us to move in. The most time consuming aspect was the blogrolls, they took forever. I got them from here and I figured out the colors using this.

The template was written in a simple and uncomplicated way, very easy to find things and then change them. I didn't make extensive changes, just colors and images but that can take sooooo long.

She had many other template styles, so go check her out. I want to see all of the Blogger Templates banished from the face of the Internet.

A Response to My Tribute

This is what someone thinks is an appropriate response to a Memorial Day tribute:

I bet the poor guy would rather be here with his kid than receive a posthumous medal from the a-hole [edited by me] who sent him over there to die.

Support the troops by respecting them as human beings that want to live their lives with their families and bringing them home to do it -- not by assuaging our collective guilt by giving their family medals and writing up trite memorials. A lot of good that medal will do his kid as he grows up without a father.

He logged in as Anonymous. My husband, Doug responded:

Did Anonymous even read the citation? I am sure Sgt Smith would rather have lived but he clearly acted in a way that says he put his fellow soldiers and his country above it. All we can do is honor that and remember it, not demean and devalue it by infering it was for nothing. I don't know how Sgt Smith felt about the war but I am sure he loved this country and its freedom and knew what he was doing. He is credited with having saved 100 of his fellow soldiers some of them wounded. Is that nothing? If you go to [here].

You can read what his wife said at the ceremony (here is a portion):

"My family and I continue to be overwhelmed by the American people's appreciation of his service, and I'm sure Paul would be proud to know that I have begun the process of becoming an American citizen.

Sixty years ago, American soldiers liberated the German people from tyranny in World War II. Today another generation of American soldiers has given the Iraqis, the Afghani people a birth of freedom. This is an ideal that Paul truly believed in.

I know that Paul is looking down on the ceremony, along with Staff Sergeant Hollingshead and Private First Class Myer and all the other fallen soldiers from Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. May God bless them and their family.

Every soldier has a story. Because of this award, Paul's story of uncommon valor will forever be remembered. As soldiers, I encourage you to tell your stories, because the American people and the world will better understand the sacrifice of Paul and others like him. One soldier's story at a time."

You see Anonymous, its not about the medal. Its about ideas that are bigger that each of us and the people who lay down their lives in service to that.

I am amazed at how the some people have no sense of history. Why don't they just take Sadam and his Islamo-fascist kind at their word. Hitler told the world exactly what he was going to do and no one believed him (except Churchhill) until it cost millions of lives to stop him. These guys fighting us in Iraq have made it abundantly clear that their goal is world domination. By taking the war to them, many millions of lives are being saved. And for that, I will honor Sgt Smith and his Band of Brothers.

Memorial Day

Today we remember those who gave their lives to serve this country and to protect it from it's enemies. I wanted to pick someone who would represent all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and my husband suggested I choose Paul R. Smith who was the first solider of the Iraq war to receive the medal of honor. The citation:

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

His 11 year-old son accepted the award from President Bush. Bush's words during the citation ceremony:

Good afternoon and welcome to the White House. Today is a special occasion: We are here to pay tribute to a soldier whose service illustrates the highest ideals of leadership and love of our country.

Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, of Florida, gave his life for these ideals in a deadly battle outside Baghdad. It is my great privilege to recognize his extraordinary sacrifice by awarding Sergeant Smith the Medal of Honor.
[...]
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for bravery a President can bestow. It is given for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in the face of enemy attack. Since World War II, more than half of those have been awarded this medal gave their lives in the action that earned it. Sergeant Paul Smith belongs to this select group.
[...]
Scripture tells us, as the General said, that a man has no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. And that is exactly the responsibility Paul Smith believed the Sergeant stripes on his sleeve had given him. In a letter he wrote to his parents but never mailed, he said that he was prepared to "give all that I am to ensure that all my boys make it home."

On this day two years ago, Sergeant Smith gave his all for his men. Five days later, Baghdad fell, and the Iraqi people were liberated. And today, we bestow upon Sergeant Smith the first Medal of Honor in the war on terror. He's also the first to be awarded this new Medal of Honor flag, authorized by the United States Congress. We count ourselves blessed to have soldiers like Sergeant Smith, who put their lives on the line to advance the cause of freedom and protect the American people.

Like every one of the men and women in uniform who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sergeant Paul Smith was a volunteer. We thank his family for the father, husband and son and brother who can never be replaced. We recall with appreciation the fellow soldiers whose lives he saved, and the many more he inspired. And we express our gratitude for a new generation of Americans, every bit as selfless and dedicated to liberty as any that has gone on before -- a dedication exemplified by the sacrifice and valor of Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith.

I agree with President Bush that we are blessed to have soldiers like Sergeant Smith who are willing to sacrifice their life so that others may live. Today we remember him and the many others like him that were willing to die so that others may live and to protect our freedom. Our freedom came at a cost and we should stop every once in while to count that cost, today is the day we do it.

Tags: memorial day

Hey! I'm finally blogging about immigration, shocking!

It is about time that these politicians got it:

Republican House members facing the toughest races this fall are overwhelmingly opposed to any deal that provides illegal immigrants a path to citizenship -- an election-year dynamic that significantly dims the prospects that President Bush will win the immigration compromise he is seeking, according to Republican lawmakers and leadership aides.

The opposition spreads across the geographical and ideological boundaries that often divide House Republicans, according to interviews with about half of the 40 or so lawmakers whom political handicappers consider most vulnerable to defeat this November. At-risk Republicans -- from moderates such as Christopher Shays in suburban Connecticut and Steve Chabot in Cincinnati to conservative J.D. Hayworth in Arizona -- said they are adamant that Congress not take any action that might be perceived as rewarding illegal behavior.

Shays, one of the few vulnerable House Republicans open to a broad compromise with the Senate, said strong protests from his constituents this month prompted him to speak out for the first time against citizenship for undocumented workers. "It would be a huge mistake to give people a path to citizenship that came here illegally," he said.

Yah, think? You guys finally getting it? It takes them facing the prospect of losing their seat to do anything. This is why their poll numbers are so low, they refuse to do what the people want until they are forced to.

And let us not forget you guys who are sending bricks, you're having an impact:

Several Republicans said they are getting more bricks in the mail -- as part of a new grass-roots campaign promoting a fence between the United States and Mexico -- than letters or calls supporting Bush and the Senate bill. Most said 80 to 90 percent of feedback coming from constituents last week was in opposition to Bush and the Senate on the citizenship question.

And thankfully Hastert wants to remain speaker:

Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will not allow a vote on a House-Senate compromise that does not have the support of most GOP lawmakers or one that would undermine the reelection chances of his at-risk members, aides said. According to GOP lawmakers and strategists, about 75 percent of the 231 House Republicans are steadfastly opposed to the Senate bill or even a watered-down version of it.

But what about the polls that favor immigration reform:

Despite some national polls showing strong support for a comprehensive solution of the sort favored by Bush, nearly every GOP lawmaker interviewed for this article said the House plan to secure the borders and enforce existing immigration laws is unquestionably the safer political stand in his or her district. Many Democrats from vulnerable districts say the same thing, although the Democratic Caucus as a whole is more sympathetic to a Senate-style compromise.

Rep. Chris Chocola (R-Ind.) said he told White House officials, who keep citing polls showing wide support for the Bush approach, that "they must not be polling anyone in the 2nd District."

The House GOP lawmakers reject the argument made by the White House and Senate Republicans such as John McCain (Ariz.) that the best long-term political strategy is to craft a compromise that is appealing to many Latinos, the fastest-growing minority group in America. McCain, in an interview, cautioned his House colleagues to more closely examine "voting patterns" and understand the "detrimental" consequences of alienating Hispanics, who make up about 12.5 percent of the U.S. population.

They're noticing that people are angry and are not interested in the Senate plan. Poll or no poll their people are being vocal to the point that even a politician can get it.

This final part is encouraging:

Rep. John N. Hostettler (R-Ind.), a top Democratic target who represents a district so competitive it is known as the "bloody 8th," warned that if House Republicans do not oppose guest workers, temporary workers and anything "that looks like amnesty," they could very well lose the House.

"There are lot of people on Capitol Hill that have no clue what November is going to bring them on immigration," he said. "It could be something like a tidal wave that could benefit the Democrats simply because Republicans don't do the right thing. To survive through November, the folks up here [on Capitol Hill] are really going to have to understand the passion behind this.

Maybe they'll wake up and realize the country is opposed to allowing people to benefit from illegal activity when others who obey the law are penalized. I think that the Americans believe in fairness and with rewarding lawful behavior and punishing illegal behavior. The Republicans deserve to lose the House in the fall if they don't wake up and do what their constituents want them to do, pass a real reform bill that would dry up the money source (proof of citizenship for employment) and make it easier to get into the country legally. I believe that this is the only way to curtail illegal activity.

Read the rest of the article here.

BTW, this article was written in such an annoying fashion. I give opinions, so I do think and will say that the politicians are getting it because their butts are on the line but there are some who really want reform. The author of this article seems to think that all of the politicians are politically motivated. The ones who want reform because they are in tight races and the ones who don't want reform because they are in safe, white districts. Maybe that's true but how does the author know for sure. Why not just report the facts without assigning motives? Very slimy!

This made my blood boil this morning!

This is just nuts!

ZULFINAN Baycinar died from a bullet in her back. Her husband's family went into mourning for the 27-year-old's "tragic suicide". She was very happy, they said; they can't imagine what got into her.

But now Baycinar's husband is on trial for murder. Prosecutors say she was killed because she dared to fight against her husband's wish to take a second wife, refusing to bow to tradition.

Such mysterious "suicides" have always been treated with suspicion in southeast Turkey, but they have increased so dramatically in recent months that the UN has launched an inquiry.
...
The increase in suicides follows a change in Turkish law a year ago to increase to life imprisonment the punishment for family members who carry out so-called honour killings.
...
Until the laws changed, men who killed their female kin for reasons of honour or tradition were treated leniently. Often, a young brother, a minor, would own up to the murder and be let off with little more than a slap on the wrist.

It's sad that as these women are realizing that they don't have to put up with being used by their husbands, their husbands are killing them to get what they want anyway. I'm glad that Turkey decided to join the 20th Century (yeah, I meant 20th) and has increased the punishment on these men. Maybe they should start trying to change the culture so that this is not so socially acceptable.

Updated: After I posted this, I found this story:

A leading Iranian pro-democracy and women's activist, who was jailed on trumped-up charges last year, has revealed how the clerical regime cynically deploys systemic sexual violence against female dissidents in the name of Islam.

Roya Tolouee, 40, was beaten up by Iranian intelligence agents and subjected to a horrific sexual assault when she refused to sign forced confessions. It was only when they threatened to burn her two children to death in front of her that she agreed to put her name to the documents.

Perhaps just as shocking as the physical abuse were the chilling words of the man who led the attack. "When I asked how he could do this to me, he said that he believed in only two things - Islam and the rule of the clerics," Miss Tolouee told The Sunday Telegraph last week in an interview in Washington after she fled Iran.

"But I know of no religious morality that can justify what they did to me, or other women. For these people, religion is only a tool for dictatorship and abuse. It is a regime of prejudice against women, against other regimes, against other ethnic groups, against anybody who thinks differently from them."

What type of religion allows the raping and killing of it's women. This is not a religion that I would want to have anything to do with. This is appalling and it is one of the chief reasons I support the war on terror. How can we reason with a government that would allow it's citizens to be treated like this? We refuse to allow our enemies to be treated like this. How do we establish diplomatic ties with a country that would torture its women in this manner?

This is one of the reasons I support the war on terror. Islamic rule is dictatorship, pure and simple and I fear that if we don't fight it then we will be defeated. I fear it will gain supremacy and many more atrocities will be committed.

I'm thankful that I leave in a country where we are free and where we desire to protect those freedoms and there are men and women who have died protecting them. Their sacrifice is very much appreciated and honored and remembered this Memorial Day weekend.

(Links via Girl on the Right and The Blogging Tories)

Photo Hunt

I'm sorry, I should have put this up earlier. If you stopped by for photo hunt, I didn't do it this week because (and I'm a little embarrased about this) I don't have a picture with red, white and blue and I kept forgetting to take one this week. But I will be back next week, I've already planned what picture I'm going to take and I'm looking forward to it.

Sheesh!

Call a gun blog cute and it get's all over the net! What will they say when they see my new blogroll?

BTW, I found another one. I love the graphic! Very nice. And the blog is visually appeal, it has a clean design.

I think I'm having blog envy again. But I think I like this design better. I wonder if you can do something like that in blogger.

Best Commenter Award

Lauren is the smartest blogger ever! We didn't I think of this! If I gave you guys an award, would you leave more comments?

Iranian Arrested for Bible Study

This is what it means to live in a totalitarian regime:

According to a May 22 report from Compass Direct, Ali Kaboli (51) converted to Christianity as a teenager andhas been serving in lay ministry for decades. Over the years, he has been repeatedly arrested, threatened and interrogated and has faced travel
restrictions and an arson attack on his home but has remained undeterred.

On May 2, secret police arrested him in his carpentry workship in Gorgan. With the exception of one brief telephone call, he has been refused contact with any visitors since his arrest. Since his arrest, several of the Christians who attended Bible studies in his home have been questioned by police. Though he has not yet been charged, Kaboli faces the possibility of prosecution for holding "illegal" religious meetings in his home. He could also be charged under Iran's apostasy laws for converting from Islam, even though it took place thirty-three years ago. Kaboli is married with five grown children.

This Memorial Day weekend we should thank God that we have men and women who will fight for our freedom to worship God and we should pray for those in countries who cannot worship God freely. Please pray that this man is released from prison.

Graduation Present

My daughter Sarah graduates from Middle School this year and we wanted to give her something special. I told her that if she wanted a really great gift for graduation then she would not get anything for her birthday from us. I told her that she would have to trust me that I was going to get her something that she would love.

She was hesitant at first. Trusting your mom is a hard thing for a teenager to do :-). I told her that I knew what she would want and she had to trust that. I could see that she was debating whether the gamble was worth it. She eventually decided to trust me and she never wavered. I was thankful because I want her to know that I have her best interest at heart and that I do know her and would buy something she really wanted.

Sarah was smart to put her trust in me because she did get a great present that she really wanted. A laptop! She was sooooooo happy when she saw it. She cried. She kissed it. She couldn't believe that we got her a laptop. I think that the greatest gift that we got her though was that she could trust us and that we wouldn't let her down. That was my favorite part of the whole gift, that and now we don't have fights over Daddy's computer (they know enough not to ask Mommy for her computer :-).

I'm Sick!

I have been fighting a sinus infection since finals and I think it's winning :-). I was going to post something tonight but I don't think I have the energy.

Congress doing something right...Finally!

Just in time for Memorial Day.

Now the families of those brave men and women who gave their lives to protect our nation and our freedoms can bury their dead with dignity and privacy.

I think it is a travesty what these protestors are doing in the name of God.

Let me make myself clear; as a Christian:
THEY DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME.

What they are doing misrepresents Christians.

On this Memorial Day, I just wanted to tell our military
THANK YOU!

Light Posting

I suspect that traffic will be light over the weekend so posting will be light as well. I will probably on be posting once or twice a day over the weekend.

Blogrolls and Our Linking Policy

We will link to anyone that links to us and we are on a number of blogrolls. There will be sites in all of our blogrolls (except for maybe the Christian ones) where profane language will be used. There will be blogs that post images that we would never post here. Click and you may find a gem, click and you may get the finger. But we recommend clicking, go out there and see what people are talking about and share your point of view with them.

If you link to us, let us know and we will link to you.

We are now using Blogrolling, so just click on the "Blogroll Us" to add us to your blogroll. It's right above are blogrolls.

Bureaucrats Refuse to Allow Wiccan Symbol on Tombstone

This is ridiculous. Why would the government care what someone puts on their tombstone? Why does there have to be an approved list of symbols? If someone gives there life to protect our freedoms, why wouldn't we want them to be remembered in a way that they would have wanted? What is wrong with putting a symbol on their grave?

Nevada officials are pressing the Department of Veteran Affairs to allow the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan to place a Wiccan symbol on his headstone.

Federal officials so far have refused to grant the requests of the family of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, who was killed in Afghanistan last September when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down.
[...]
The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There's also an emblem for atheists — but none for Wiccans.
[...]
"Sgt. Stewart was shot down by terrorists. He deserves to be recognized. I'm holding out hope that my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War did not do so in vain and that the freedom of religion on which our country was founded will prevail," she said.

Update on Hastert, ABC News and the Justice Department

Wow! This story is certainly getting interesting! Would the Justice department deliberately lie to ABC News to put pressure on Hastert over his support of a fellow congressman? That seems really far-fetched:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert accused the Justice Department Thursday of trying to intimidate him in retaliation for criticizing the FBI's weekend raid on a congressman's office, escalating a searing battle between the executive and legislative branches of government.

"This is one of the leaks that come out to try to, you know, intimidate people," Hastert said on WGN radio Thursday morning. "We're just not going to be intimidated on it."

Read the rest here.

Notice how ABC has given themselves an out:

Within minutes of that report late Wednesday, the department issued the first of two denials that it was investigating Hastert. The speaker demanded a retraction from ABC News, which stood by its story. Hastert on Thursday threatened to sue the network and reporters and executives for libel and defamation.

"We will take any and all actions necessary to rectify the harm ABC has caused and to hold those at ABC responsible for their conduct," wrote Hastert's counsels, J. Randolph Evans and Stefan C. Passantino. The letter was addressed to network President David Westin and reporter Brian Ross.

"Our response to the letter is our reporting on the story," said ABC News Vice President Jeffrey Schneider.

Correspondent Brian Ross stood by his report, saying he has checked with his sources who say the story accurately represents the facts "as they know them."

(Link via Drudge Report)

Stole this from Michele

Here's my list, took me some time, but here it is:

20 years ago I . . .was working on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange and had my OWN apartment. ( was the first time I had my own bedroom).

10 years ago I . . .was changing the diapers of one daughter while trying to potty train the other one.

5 years ago I . . .watched the World Trade Center crumble on t.v and thanked the Lord that my husband made it home alive.

3 years ago I . . .couldn't believe that it had been 20 years since my mother had died.

1 year ago I . . .started teaching bible studies at my church.

So far this year I . . .completed two semesters of college and have accumulated 12 credits!

Yesterday I . . .began to catch up on all the things that were put on the back burner since starting college in September.

Today I . . .will be attending my 6th grade daughter's choir concert.

Tomorrow I will . . .be preparing to go away for the weekend (to the Catskills)

In the next year I will . . .be looking for a new church to call home and continuing my college education

Steal this Meme Thursday

So, each week I wonder if I will continue this silly meme and each week I think, "Why not?" And since I can't think of a reason not to, here it is. This week I googled "I stole this from" and I started doing 2 other memes but got bored so here is the third and final attempt (BTW, I shortened it to a one sentence answer, in the original it was 3 answers -- some people have more free time than I do :-) :

20 years ago I . . .
was in college and working part-time to pay for it.

10 years ago I . . .
was still recovering from having my second baby and adjusting to life with two kids instead of one.

5 years ago I . . .
preparing to leave my Lutheran church that had been my Christian home for 5 years to become a Presbyterian.

3 years ago I . . .
was getting ready to start seminary

1 year ago I . . .
was thankful the semister was over and faced the fact that I had a lot of work to do that summer writing a Bible study on the book of Judges.

So far this year I . . .
finished a semester at seminary and started blogging and started a blogroll :-).

Yesterday I . . .
spent almost the whole day trying to figure out how to post html on the blog and added new women to the blogroll.

Today I . . .
am cleaning my house.

Tomorrow I will . . .
probably try to finish The Da Vinci Code.

In the next year I will . . .
be trying to figure out how to continue blogging while I'm teaching Revelation at my church and attending seminary.

In the next minute I will . . .
publish this and add another woman to the blogroll.

You know the drill, if you decide to play, I'll link to you.

Updated to add:

Here are the two quickest players so far:

Kelli-- she did the long version.
Kim -- she did the short version.
Everyday Mommy "stole" it from Kim
Tess Talks "stole" it form Everday Mommy

The Problem with the Media

ABC reports that Hastert is under investigation:

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is probing corruption in Congress, ABC News reported on Wednesday.

ABC, citing high level Justice Department sources, said information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.

But the Justice depart says no:

The Justice Department denied a news report Wednesday that it was investigating House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The statement by department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos came in response to a report by ABC News that Hastert was under investigation by the FBI to determine his role in a public corruption probe centered around convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
...
Hastert's office later issued a statement calling the ABC report "absolutely untrue" and demanding a full retraction. ABC had no immediate comment.

The Justice department or ABC News, which do we believe? Hmmmm...

(Link via Drudge Report)

Freeze a Yankee

If you missed Glenn's ode to the Yankee oil consumer ("Freeze a Yankee") in our comments section then you should go to his blog and check it out.

Works For Me Wednesday!

We eat a ton of popcorn at my house. I buy it in five pound bags! We totally love it!

When I was a little girl my family was majorly addicted to popcorn. We tried all kinds of ways to get the perfect batch: first we made it on the stove top in a pot, then we switched to the kind that used to come in a disposable pan that you could use in the fireplace or on the stove, next we bought the one that had the yellow domed lid and a little spot on top where you would stick the butter so that it could drip down! After that there was the hot air popper, which was a failure because the point was to make fat free popcorn, but you always ended up putting butter on it anyhow because that was the only way to get salt to stick! Ugh! Finally we discovered microwave popcorn. Well, I'm kind of forgetting the early days of that when people tried to pop it in a paper lunch bag, but I digress. We soon learned the wonders of commercial microwave popcorn.
My. Oh. My.
It became the standard.

Now in recent years I've become more health conscious, but I still love my popcorn. I didn't want the high sodium content and partially hydrogenated fats found in those nifty little bags, so I decided to start popping my own corn on the stove again.

But guess what? Instead of returning to the shaking of the pot I have discovered the Whirly Pop. It is just wonderful!! The Whirly Pop is shaped like a pot, but it has a handle which spins two little arms inside that keep the kernels jumping around and helps to keep the popcorn from sticking.

My popcorn is fluffy and yummy in no time flat! So now I swear by this device. I don't usually like to waste my cramped storage space with single-use items, but this thing has earned its spot in my wee little kitchen.

Finally!

I finally wrote another installment of my Bible Discussion on Samson on Life Under the Sun.

Cute Gun Blog :-)

Here is an interesting gun blog. Oh no, it looks like Mr. Completely has some competition here.

Hi Samantha!

Samantha told me she is on my blog and that I keep saying Da Vinci Code and nothing else. I told her I also said Madonna. I'm posting this so she can see her name instead.

Should I or Shouldn't I?

When I saw the story about Madonna, I debated whether to comment on it or not and I decided why bother. But then, when I saw it again just now, I thought that maybe I might. But then, I thought about the fact that she's acting like a two-year-old who wants your attention while you are on the phone. She'll just keep doing more outrageous things until you get off the phone. Madonna wants our attention and she's doing more and more outrageous things over the years to get it. I say we ignore her and maybe she'll stop and go play with her toys.

BTW, here's something funny from the article:

But Didactic Madonna wasn't finished-Up she went, suspended on a large crucifix, as images of child poverty flickered on the screens. The tour, incidentally, is estimated to gross $200million.

(Link via Drudge Report)

Muslims Don't Believe in Absolute Truth?

Wouldn't you think that a Secretary of State would have some insight and wisdom from spending time in the Middle East working with people for peace? Don't you think she would understand their culture and mindset? Didn't Madeleine Albright learn anything from her term as a Secretary of State? It would appear not:

U.S. President George W. Bush has alienated Muslims around the world by using absolutist Christian rhetoric to discuss foreign policy issues, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says.

"I worked for two presidents who were men of faith, and they did not make their religious views part of American policy," she said, referring to Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Democrats and Christians.

"President Bush's certitude about what he believes in, and the division between good and evil, is, I think, different," said Albright, who has just published a book on religion and world affairs. "The absolute truth is what makes Bush so worrying to some of us."
...

But Albright says Bush's religious absolutism has made U.S. foreign policy "more rigid and more difficult for other countries to accept."

If she were talking about Europe or Asia, I think she would have a stronger case for what she is saying. But people, she's talking about the Middle East. You know, the Middle East where they believe that there is no God but Allah. You know, the Middle East where they believe that we are the Great Satan. You know, the Middle East where they are trying to push Israel into the sea. You know, the Middle East where they believe that everyone should submit to Allah. Those sound like absolutes to me.

The problem with a diplomatic solution in the region is because of their absolutes, not ours. They want to annihilate Israel and we won't let them. They want the world to be under Islam and ruled by Sharia law and we would refuse to do that. How can they negotiate with us when we are the Great Satan? It is a shame that Madeleine Albright didn't gain much wisdom during her time as Secretary of State and it is a shame that she is looked at as an expert by the media because it is clear she doesn't have a clue what she is talking about.

(Link via Wizbang)

Technorita Tags: Bush, Madeleine Albright,
Middle East

The Season Finale of the Greatest Show on Earth!!

I loved it. It was very suspenseful and vintage "24". But the ending is bugging me. Not so much because the Chinese caught Jack, because I never thought they were finished with him. It bugs me more that Jack fell for that "come in and answer the phone" bit. I mean, everyone but everyone has Jack's cell phone number. Why in the world wouldn't Kim call his cell? Furthermore, how in the world could she have gotten the phone number inside that building. It's a pay phone, for Pete's sake!

You know who's to blame, don't you?
A-U-D-R-E-Y!!!
If Jack weren't so enthralled by her showing up in her borrowed puffy blouse and peek-a-boo camisole, he'd have been on his game and never would've fallen for such a trick.

Gimme a break! Can't the guy even get a glass of water before the horrors start all over again?

Lorie Byrd's New Blogging Home

Lorie Byrd, formerly of Polipundit, has a new blogging home, Wizbang. I'm happy she was snapped up so quickly. Does anyone know what happened to Jayson?

Never Start a Blogroll

Oh, my gosh! Never start a blogroll and if you start a blogroll only provide them with the blogroll code. Do not offer than an icon and whatever you do, don't offer them a scroll bar. Just a piece of advice from someone who just spent three hours putting out fires!

I wonder if the Hillbilly System is this much trouble for Lemuel Calhoon.

My "Da Vinci" two cents

Actually they aren't my two cents but I think James White raises a good point for apologetics because:

The Da Vinci Code will once again highlight the reality that the evangelistic task today must be apologetic from the start. We are seeking not only to proclaim the facts of the gospel anymore. No, now we must deal with the very existence of truth itself! Those who refuse to see that this is part and parcel of what it means to proclaim the good news in Western culture today are simply ignoring the reality all around them.

Truth is being sacrificed on the altar of relativism. That's why apologetics is so important.

The Da Vinci Code and Christian Responsibility

Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer, raised a good point in my comments section. Christianity has survived 2,000 years of these types of episodes:

History is FULL of one episode after another in which Christ is scorned, reviled, slandered and rejected. But who is still standing 2,000 years later? He has endured much worse criticism than this, and his Holy Spirit is strong enough to break through the deception in a heart He chooses to call.

I actually agree with Shannon, the church will withstand this. Dan Brown won't bring it down. Christ himself said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18) and that He can break through the lies with the truth. Christianity has survived and flourished by the power of God and His truth is greater than the lies of this movie and the book.

But I think that we should examine how the church prevails. How has Christianity endured? Of course the answer would be Christ, but how has Christ made His church endure? He does it the same way He grows His church, through His people. Throughout church history God's people have stood up to error. Athanasius is a great example of this, he stood against the Aryan heretics:

In about 319, when Athanasius was a deacon, a presbyter named Arius began teaching that there was a time before God the Father begot Jesus when the latter did not exist. Athanasius accompanied Alexander to the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which council produced the Nicene Creed and anathematized Arius and his followers.

Augustine is another example, he stood up against the Pelagians:

It is largely due to Augustine's arguments against the Pelagians, who did not believe in original sin, that Western Christianity has maintained the doctrine of original sin.

Martin Luther stood against the Roman Catholic church in defense of justification by faith alone. God used these men to direct the course of the church away from error into truth. And here we are again faced with yet another error. As Shannon said, God's Spirit will break through the deception of their heart and the way He does it is this:

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

And how do they hear:

Romans 10:14-15 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

They hear by what God's people share with them. And what we share with them is the truth of the gospel. We are to be prepared:

1 Peter 3:15-16 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

And that is why I have been recommending the Westminster Da Vinci Code apologetic website. So that God's people can become prepared to share the good news that Jesus died on
the cross for our sins, he didn't get married and have kids. If he did, then our hope would be in vain:

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

But it's not in vain. We have reason to hope and we need to share the reason with others. It is how God grows His church.

Technorita Tags: Da Vinci Code, dan brown, The Da Vinci Code, Movie, Religion, Christianity

A Belated Mother's Day and the Da Vinci Code

I went to my sister's house yesterday to celebrate a belated Mother's Day. My mom's knee was hurting her so she was cranky and yelled at me and I was cranky because I was still not feeling well. But my sister had a great meal and we had fun anyway.

My sister loaned me the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. Usually I would have read Angels & Demons first but I want to see the movie, so I'm reading them out of order (though this really bugs me). I'll let you know what I think.

Speaking of the Da Vinci code, I thought I would link to a positive review of the movie. You hear so many critics complain about the movie but here is a review by a fan of the book who liked the movie. And in her review she states that she can see why Christians have a problem with it:

I know now why the devout are so 'up in arms' over this work? Why? Because it's so convincingly done. Yes, it IS possible that this story could work itself out to be somewhat factual. Maybe, maybe not. I know since we've read the book, we have had questions--a lot of questions about the gospels that AREN'T in the bible of today

And I think that this is the real issue Christians are facing, this is why Westminster created their Da Vinci Code apologetic website. But the problem is that many people won't find out the truth and will take at face value what is said in the movie and the book. Dan Brown isn't very convincing when you know the truth but many moviegoers don't know the truth. And they probably won't take the time to learn this:

Other than the four recognized gospels, there are only eleven ancient documents still in existence today that are called "gospel"... Most of the Gnostic works are rejected because they are too late to be written by the purported authors

And it looks like the Da Vinci Code might do well despite the critics (word of mouth and controversy trump bad reviews):

"This is the first big film of the summer to exceed box office expectations," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., Inc., which tracks box office receipts.

Dergarabedian said the movie could gross $60 million to $80 million in its opening weekend. That would easily eclipse Tom Cruise's latest offering, Paramount's "Mission: Impossible III," which fell well below expectation with $48 million on its opening weekend earlier this month.

For "Da Vinci Code," controversy around a script that suggests Jesus married and fathered a child "only served to pump up the marketplace and get moviegoers get really interested in seeing what the fuss was about," Dergarabedian said.

Technorita Tags: Da Vinci Code, dan brown, The Da Vinci Code, Movie, Religion, Christianity

Photo Hunt

This is my first time participating so I hope I do this right! I've joined a new blogroll and meme all at the same time :-). Each week I'll be posting a new picture related to whatever the theme is that week. I think you can guess the theme this week, right? I took these yesterday after a rainstorm. The flowers kept swaying as I took the shot. I think you can sense their motion from the picture. This picture actually didn't capture the sun the way I wanted but I think it's an interesting shot none the less. It was taken right outside my front door. I love the color combination.

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.

Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Armed Forces Day

Today is Armed forces day. We don't show our appreciation enough to those who serve our country and put their life on the line to protect our freedom. I want to say thank you to each and every man and woman who has served and is serving this country in the military.

My father was in the Navy for twenty years. His ship wrecked while he was on leave and he was gone from the family months at a time. He wasn't even there for my birth. We lived in a trailer park because that was all we could afford. My dad was a Navy recuriter during the Viet Nam war and he had a heck of a time during those years. Miltary service was a way of life for him but it was also a sacrifice.

Thank you for your service and I hope that you realize your worth to the nation. I'm amazed that anyone would sacrifice their lives for the freedom of others. We are blessed by the Lord to have you protecting our freedom.

Thanks to the Pollywog Creek Porch for posting early as a reminder that it was this Saturday.

Final...D.C sandwich...Final

In case you were wondering what I've been up to (just humor me) I have had a week!

I had an English I final on Monday. It was a two-hour final exam essay. (I tell you, my brain is in better shape than my body is) and good news-I just found out I'm getting an A in that class.

Tuesday I went to Washington DC for the RNC Presidential Gala. Now before you say, wow!, let me just say...it wasn't all that. We did have some reknown speakers come to address us during the two days we were there. Senator John McCain, Mary Matalin, Ken Mehlman (the chairman of the RNC) and Karl Rove. We also did have the secretary of Energy, (I forgot his name because he was forgettable...I almost fell asleep). I came away with all the usual talking points but now that I have had time to process them, I find myself a little disenchanted with the Republican party. Politics is a very interesting process, it can be so easy to jump on the bandwagon without really thinking. Which I think is what politicians are banking on, that we don't think.

Why just reading the news today, I'm mad that the Senate has decided to give illegal immigrants social security benefits. What is that??!!

Wednesday night I went to the gala. Saw George Bush, check out my picture above. It was cool,I have to admit.

Unfortunately, we had this drunk guy cause a ruckus right where I was standing so the secret service ushered Bush away from where I was standing so I didn't get to shake his hand. Bummer.

And today I had my last final!! It was a two-hour exam with not one but three essay questions! You might not think this is much but hey, I have a 43-year old brain here! I fear that I did not do well, but the thing I have to keep reminding myself is that I tried my best. I'm praying that the Lord helps me realize that more fully, you know not just in my head but in my heart too.

Now that I have all this behind me, I can take a deep breath--inhale/exhale.

Now I will really make the best of the time I have over the summer to read books I want to read (Michele, I'm reading Calivinism in the Las Vegas Airport too, good thing you bought a copy and weren't waiting for me to lone it too you because my husband flooded our laundry room last week and pretty much water-logged my book)so I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

I also can't wait to get into my garden, I miss being a *normal* person.

Speaking of Gas...

I heard this on the news a couple days ago and I forgot to blog on it. This is amazing to me. We must be one of the laziest states in the union:

So when gas prices recently started climbing, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) suggested the state test self-service pumps to lower the cost of traveling.

The result was a near revolt.

In the days following Corzine's suggestion, his office was flooded with 1,400 e-mails and phone calls -- the biggest and fastest response to an issue the governor has received since taking office in January. Nearly all were in opposition.

Sensing a political disaster, Corzine backed off less than a week after he floated the idea of testing self-service along the New Jersey Turnpike. New Jersey, together with Oregon, will remain the last two full-service states in the country.

This is a typical reaction:

Many shuddered at the thought of having to get out of their vehicles in the rain, the snow, or the scorching heat, just to refuel.

"Gas would have to be at least 20 cents cheaper before I would want to get out of my car," said Chris Rose, 30, of Pennsauken, as he leaned back and watched the attendant unscrew his gas-tank cap at Mac's Amoco station on Route 73 in Maple Shade.

And so is this:

One morning this week, the price for regular at the Sunoco Station at the Thomas A. Edison Service Area, was $2.87 a gallon. Even so, Amanda Darian, 18, didn't think it would be worth pumping her own gas, even if it saved her 5 cents a gallon.

"A nickel? Nah," says Darian, a student at Monmouth University in West Long Branch.

Even though she's going to have to work more this summer to pay her gas tab, she says, "I just don't want to get out" of the car. She has been to other states, and when it came time to fill up, "I didn't even know how."

I don't know how to pump my own gas. I drive to the Philadelphia area three times a week to go to seminary and every time I go I have to make sure I have enough gas to make it there and back because I'm afraid of getting stuck not knowing what to do and not being able to find someone to help (which happened to me on a trip to NY). But what gets me the most is this:

Corzine retreated after about 1,400 e-mails and calls poured in from a mostly outraged public. Concern about other state issues paled in comparison. A proposal to raise the sales tax by one cent, for example, received about 200 responses from the public, says Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for the governor.

So, go ahead and laugh America! We New Jerseyans care more about being able to sit in our car in the rain than we do about how much we pay for gas and taxes!

They don't really represent us, do they?

As a driver who has put over 95,000 miles on her 3 year-old car, it makes me nuts that I'm paying close to $3.00 a gallon for gas and the politicians in D. C. stop any attempts at a domestic solution to this problem:

Despite talk of an energy crisis and the need for independence from foreign oil, Congress seems to be in no mood to open more of the country's coastal waters to energy development.

The House late Thursday rejected an attempt to end the quarter-century ban on oil and natural gas drilling that has been in effect for 85 percent of the country's coastal waters from Alaska to New England despite arguments that new supplies are needed to lower energy costs.

Lawmakers from Florida and California, who led the fight to continue the drilling moratorium, said they feared energy projects as close as three miles from shore could jeopardize multibillion-dollar tourism industries in their states.

"People don't go to visit the coasts of Florida or the coast of California to watch oil wells," Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., said.

Read the rest here.

They just don't get it. What do I care about the coast line of California or Florida and for that matter New Jersey, when I'm paying almost $3.00 a gallon? What about the rest of the country that is suffering because they don't want to drill in Alaska and they don't want to drill off the coast in Florida or California?

Our representatives aren't representing us. And this from a Republican controlled House. You expect this from the Senate but the House. There are too many Rinos in the House.

(Link via Gateway Pundit)

Left Behind Shorts

This was the blessed purchase on the Fick & Oz show last week. The words, "Left Behind" are on the left side of the shorts. They also have a Martin Luther bobblehead doll that I'm tempted to get. And Lutheran Chick t-shirts, hats and mugs!

This is Lieberman's Opponent?

If the people of Connecticut elect this guy as their Senator, I will be very surprised. I believe that this guy lacks discernment and wisdom. Anyone who says that our money is better spent on healthcare during a time of war should not be in a position of power. We have enough people in the Senate who don't get it, we don't need another one. I hope that the voters of Connecticut get it.

(Link via Right Wing News)

Updated to add: Welcome to all the RealClearPolitics readers. If you leave after reading this article then you've missed the whole Reformed Chicks Blabbing experience. Please stay a couple mintues and check out some of our other finds, such as the Luther bobblehead doll and the Left Behind shorts, a map that displays the states that you've visited and our analysis of the blatherings of Sir Ian McKellen and of Pat Robertson. Plus we even have tips on grilling :-).

OK, changing the subject quickly to the Da Vinci Code

This strikes me as being deliberately provocative:

Earlier in the day, Sir Ian accused the "powerful" people condemning The Da Vinci Code movie of snobbery towards cinema-goers, and said he thought the Catholic Church would like the film's central idea, that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, because it offered proof that Jesus was not gay.

The actor admitted that after he read Dan Brown's best-selling book he thought it was "codswallop".

Sir Ian said: "When I read the book I believed it entirely. I thought Leigh Teabing had answered his case very convincingly indeed.

"When I put the book down I thought 'What a load of potential codswallop'.
"That's still going on in my mind. But I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married.

"I know that the Catholic Church has problems with gay people and I thought that this was absolute truth that Jesus was not gay."

Where in the world does one begin with this type quote? This actor demonstrates a total lack of understanding of what the Catholic church believes. If you lacked even a superficial understanding of a topic, don't you think you would keep your mouth shut? Here is what comes to mind when you hear something like this:

Proverbs 13:16 In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly

Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 20:3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.

I think that we all need to keep that last one in mind before we post.

I truly believe this guy sees that this movie is going to bomb and he is deliberately trying to stir things up so that there will be some kind of an interest in it when it opens.

I loved this part at the end:

A nun seen at the festival earlier in the day sparked speculation that she was going to protest against the film.

See, the press can't wait to jump on even the slightest bit of controversy. So, silly.

If you know of anyone like this who is convinced by the book or movie, you might want to hit the Westminster Da Vinci apologetic website to prepare to show them that the arguments presented in the book do not hold up when you examine them.

(Link to article via Drudge Report)

Updated to add the link to the article.

The Homeschool-Gay Marriage Connection: real or imagined?

I just read something that really bugs me. I homeschool my children. We belong to the Home School Legal Defense Association because they offer legal representation to protect the rights of home educators around the country. Should we ever need an attorney to handle some aspect of legal problems related to our home school, we can count on the HSLDA. We also appreciate that while we may never have need of their attorneys, many others will. We see the membership fee as kind of an insurance policy. Having said that, I am really annoyed that the HSLDA has become so heavily involved in the anti-gay marriage lobby.

I have my own personal opinions about gay marriage, but I don't feel the need to share them here. My problem with HSLDA actually has nothing to do with gay marriage. My issue is that I believe that they have fabricated a connection between gay marriage and homeschooling to justify their use of HSLDA monies and influence to achieve their own goals.

They're presently backing a Bill in North Carolina that would "define marriage as being between one man and one woman." How in the world are home schoolers threatened by that one way or the other?

It's ridiculous.

NJ Bloggers

We are finally on the NJ Bloggers Ring. So, I thought I would try it out and the first blog I come to is "Welcome to the B*fest" and a picture of a baby giving me the finger. Nice. But typical of someone from NJ. If you give me the finger when I come to your site, I'm not going back. Why should I?

But other than that I'm happy to be linked to my fellow New Jerseyians. (Even the cranky ones, though is there any other kind?)

Blogging Chicks Blogroll

We are very close to 100 blogs on the Blogging Chicks blogroll. I'm going to give the 100th blog an award to put on their blog and they will forever have a place of honor on the Blogging Chicks Blogroll Metablog.

Steal this Post Thursday Meme

So, once again it's "Steal this Post Thursday" and I forgot all about it until Ang mentioned "Thrifty Thursday." Then I remember that we do something on Thursday. Ang, why are you competing with your own blog (remember this is your blog, too)? Why not "Thrifty Tuesday"(though, I do admit it's not as catchy), we don't do anything on Tuesday.

Anyway, I stole this from Ethel who stole it from someone else.

Go to Wikipedia and do a search for your birthday (day and month only, exclude the year).

Post three facts, two births and one death on your blog including the years.

So, here are the results:

September 20

Events (it was hard to choose only three):

451- According to some sources, this was the date of the Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' victory over Attila the Hun.
1187 - Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.
1891 - The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.

Births:

1878 - Upton Sinclair, American writer and politician (d. 1968)
1934 - Sophia Loren, Italian actress

A death:

2005 - Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian-Polish Nazi hunter (b. 1908)

If you play, I'll link to you.

BTW, you know, I think I'm going to come up with a cute graphic like Shannon has for Works for Me Wednesday.

Updated to add:

Pamela played and she is the first to have ever done "Steal this Post Thursday" the right way.
I noticed that Mel stole it from Pamela.
And Conservative Musings stole it from her.
Ang made it in under the wire.

I think we're playing six degrees of separation here.

What have the aliens done with the real Ang?

OK, I'm starting to buy Ang's abduction story since I think she is a pod person. I think the aliens took our Ang and replaced her with a real blogger. How else would you explain three posts in one day and one of them with a picture?

Hey, Ang! Are your kids on summer break already?

Mother's Day Brunch

This is my husband's hand as he ate a plate of calamari salad and shrimp cocktail at brunch on Sunday. I had planned to publish this prior to my abduction, but was obviously unable to do so.
Anyway, the fyi the Hyatt in Princeton is a great place to go for a special brunch!!!

Alien Abductions?

For a moment there I was wondering why Susan would post on alien abductions. Sometimes I forget that we occasionally have a third contributor.

It's Thrifty Thursday!

In an attempt to liven things up on my blog, I thought I'd try out something new. So every Thursday I'll ask people to post their favorite way to save money. It could be pretty much anything. But let's just keep it family friendly, 'k kids?

Alien Abduction: The Untold Story

Okay, so the other night I posted very briefly and then went upstairs to kiss my children goodnight. You won't believe what happened next. I mean, I can hardly believe it myself. Even though they swore me to secrecy, I feel that the story MUST be told!

Sunday night, after kissing my children goodnight, I approached the top of the stairway. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glistening in the playroom. I went over to take a look and the next thing I knew I'd been sucked into a long tube and when I opened my eyes I was in a spaceship. Shocking, but true!

I sat there, wondering what to do. I could see the form of another person huddled in the corner, but I couldn't see the person's face. Then I heard a voice whisper:
"Grab my PDA. You'll see the schematic for the space ship. Do it now!!!"
I knew then that my fellow passenger on this ship was none other than Jack Bauer!!!!!

Well, there's more to the story, but I just want you to know that Jack really does deserve to be President, because he saved my life. I am back here at home in the bosom of my family thanks to Jack's heroism on that spaceship.
Maybe I'll share the rest of it with you some other time. It's kind of hard to talk about right now.

Hard Hitting Punditry at Reformed Chicks Blabbing

So, Christopher Taylor has a blog where he notes what the commenters to other blogs are saying about a particular topic, usually it's the important issues of the day. Well, a couple days ago he linked to us and posted what my commenters had to say about our particular issue of the day.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "What important issue did Michele cover in the last couple days? Did I miss something?" Well, the important issue we discussed was cookie crumbs in the books at the Barnes and Noble Library. Yes, when you want hard-hitting punditry on cookie crumbs, Reformed Chicks Blabbing is the blog to come to first.

Hey! The Da Vinci Code Stinks (according to critics)

I guess the Christians got all up in arms over nothing. According to the critics the movie stinks and now people will only be going to this movie because of the controversy. It would have probably been sunk by the reviews but I'm guessing it will still do OK at the box office (and the Lord did not tell me that, it's just a guess :-).

(Link via Drudge Report)

Is Pat Robertson a False Prophet?

Let's compare this:

The Rev. Pat Robertson says God has told him that storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America's coastline this year.

The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network has told viewers of "The 700 Club" that the revelations came to him during his annual personal prayer retreat in January.

"If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms," Robertson said May 8.

He added specifics in Wednesday's show.

"There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest," he said.

To this:

Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'

Hmmmm

(Link via Drudge Report)

States I've Visited

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

The reason that the map looks like this is because my husband, Doug and I drove from the East Coast to the West Coast on a motorcycle many years ago before we were married (I didn't become a Christian until after the birth of our first child). And then Doug has family up and down the East coast.

I found this at Beth's renter.

According to MSN we blab too much

We are #3 for "blabbing too much" according to MSN search. Hey! What are they trying to say?
Then I wondered if google and yahoo would agree. For google we were only #19 and for yahoo we were #4.

I may blab too much but I don't think Ang blabs enough!

Works for Me

We missed Shannon's Works for Me Wednesday last week because I had to study for finals and I stayed up late last night to make sure we didn't miss another week. I've got something that I think is very useful if you grill. I grill all the time. Every weekend throughout the year, even when it's snowing! I love the taste of hickory cooked meat.

But one thing I hate is the fire associated with the grill (and don't even mention a gas grill to me because it's not the same). When we were first married my husband was the one who did all the grilling. He would use a coffee can to start the charcoal instead of charcoal lighter fluid. We had great tasting food but it took a while to get the fire going and it was hard to get the charcoal out of the can. I found a chimney at Brookstone that worked the same way as the coffee can and had a handle which made dumping out the charcoal much easier (the one pictured here is a Weber).

Over time it deteriorated and recently I found a much cheaper one at Home Depot. I got it for about $10.00. They are much safer to use than the lighter fluid. One problem with them is that they are very hot after you've removed the charcoal and remain hot for awhile. When my daughters were younger I would worn them against touching it or the grill. But one day, I was preoccupied and Samantha decided to touch it to see if it was hot. She was not young (she was 5 at the time) and had been around it for years without even going near it. I was shocked that she did it since it had never been a problem before. I asked her why in the world she would touch it and she said she wanted to see if it was still hot. I had to take her to the emergency room and they had to wrap up her hands. I thought for sure she would have scars for the rest of her life.

This leads to the second product that I want to share with you, Neosporin. She had blistering burns on both her hands. Everyday I would change the bandages and put on fresh Neosporin. When it was time to take the bandages off, no scars. It's great stuff for cuts and burns and if the cut is getting infected, it will clear it up.

So, if you use the chimney starter and your kid burns her hand remember to use the Neosporin so it won't scar.

Polipundit Kicks off Contributors

Oh, no! I can't believe that Polipundit is kicking off his other contributors:

I received a lengthy email from Polipundit tonight alerting us to an editorial policy change that included the following: "From now on, every blogger at PoliPundit.com will either agree with me completely on the immigration issue, or not blog at PoliPundit.com." I would provide additional context, but Polipundit has asked that the contents of our emails not be disclosed publicly and I think that is a fair request. There has been plenty written in the posts over the past week alone to let readers figure out what happened. Polipundit ended a later email with this: "It's over. The group-blogging experiment was nice while it lasted, but we have different priorities now. It's time to go our own separate ways."

They were great, I'm going to miss Lori Bryd and Jason the most (does anyone know where Jason blogs).

What Happened?

So, I was looking at that post of Ang's and wondering what happened that she never returned. She went upstairs to kiss her kids good night and then she never returned. Did she fall down the stairs and break her wrist? Did the kids make her read stories until she fell asleep? Did her husband talk her into watching TV with him? Did she get abducted by illegal aliens? Why didn't she return? Hmmm...

Dinner at Red Lobster

So, after I spent my new freedom adding women to my Blogging Chicks blogroll, I picked up Samantha from school and we went to Kohls. Both of the girls had gift cards and were dying to spend them. Sarah wasn't at school today because she had a fever yesterday but since she was feeling better we went shopping and out to dinner.

I was looking for a new pocketbook and Samantha decided she wanted one as well. I told my husband not to bother getting me anything for Mother's Day, I would buy myself a pocketbook instead (I certainly didn't want him buying me one :-).

I found one for Samantha but I couldn't find anything. I looked all over the entire department but couldn't find anything. Part of the problem is that I like to wear my pocketbook at hip level but all the pocketbooks are made to be under the arm. Ok, here's the deal, I'm aging and I don't have lovely, thin, teenage arms. I have flabby, middle-aged arms. I don't think this look is me :-).
After shopping we went to Red Lobster and I decided to have the Lobster Feast which includes a lobster tail, shrimp scampi, crab legs and fried shrimp plus a roll, salad and baked potato. I don't know how people can eat all that food. But it was very good, I recommend it. Plus we had ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. I had chocolate, caramel and almonds.

Tomorrow I start my diet :-).

Now, my throat hurts and I think I'm getting what Sarah got. That would really stink but a least I didn't get sick during my finals.

Sheech!

It took me two hours to add all those women to the blogroll. I now have ninety women on the blogroll. This thing is really taking off. At this rate, I should make 100 by Friday, maybe even before.

I am not surprised!

Your Brain is 27% Female, 73% Male

You have a total boy brain Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts And while your emotions do sway you sometimes... You never like to get feelings too involved

What Gender Is Your Brain?

I'm going to be posting again later but right now I've got scores of women who want to join the Blogging Chicks blogroll! So, I'll be back in a little while and tell you about my yummy dinner and other things. For now, go take this quiz and tell me what you get.

(Link via Time Flutters By)

I'm back but not for long

Hey, I just got done with my final! Yeah, I'm done! I thought I would check in and ask you to pray that the graders will have mercy on us :-).

I will be back tonight but I probably won't be saying too much about the finals (I just want to put it out to of mind). I'm leaving soon to pick up my daughter and go out to dinner and celebrate being done. I think I'm having lobster and ice cream! I'll let you know what I had when I get back.

Thank you for all those who prayed, the Lord answered your prayers.

Back Tomorrow

No posting until tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone enjoys their Mother's Day. Ill be spending my day studying theology (and not the fun theology -- the really hard theology that makes your head hurt). Please do me a favor and wish some of the Mom's on the "Blogging Chicks" blogroll a Happy Mother's day (make sure they're a mom before you do it because not everyone is a mom on the blogroll).

(Graphics via Joe-ks)

Will she return? I bet not!

Hey Ang! Are you really back, or are you just toying with us again?

And now, it's the mother of all mothers: she's baaaaaaack!!!!!

Hi Ya'll!!!!
Okay, so I went on a little hiatus. I am now back to chat with you and write songs about tv characters and so forth.
But first I must go upstairs and kiss my kiddoes good night.
Hmmm....Michele has disconnected her Internet connection. We could have a lot of fun here tonight, boys and girls!!! :)

Crunch Time

Please pray for me, my first test is on Monday and I'm not going to be ready. Panic is set in and I can't study like this! Pray that I can concentrate. My husband is going to turn off the Internet for me so that I won't be distracted by the email requests to join the Blogging Chicks blogroll (I've been getting them all day).

Barnes and Noble Library

I was at the Barnes and Noble again yesterday and all week I've been surprised by the amount of people that hang out at there during the day. Just sitting around, reading the books and not just for a short period of time, I'm talking hours. Why would you spend your day at a Barnes and Noble? Doesn't anyone use the library? How can they sell their books as new when people are reading them there? Wouldn't that be considered a used books? These are the things that I was pondering while I should have been concentrating on justification.