Full article is found at this link below.
http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2009/11/18/worse_than_taxes
Here is part of John Stossel's column. (I have been a big fan of his 20/20 contributions....remember the "Give Me a Break" segments?)
(Bill) O'Reilly told me that America is ready for a tax revolt. I hope he's right. But I don't think it will happen until more people see the ruling elite for what it is: a gang of arrogant bullies that has the audacity to believe that they know how to direct our lives better than we do.That's why, bad as the taxes are, I'm more upset about ObamaCare, Medicare, the "stimulus," the auto bailout, the bank bailouts, the Fannie/Freddie bailouts, the trillions in guarantees, and on and on.The politicians' spending schemes represent presumptuous interference in our lives. They are an assault on our autonomy.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Playing Catch Up
Frazier's Wii Family....bet you can pick him out. We are hoping Josh and Randi will try it out while they are here and Frazier will being able to play in a few years. Frazier was on my baseball team the other day and he was the only team mate to make a home run! He is going to take after cousin Paulie for sure! I wish you could see these better. Virtual Josh and Randi really do look like Josh and Randi...Frazier, not so much. Wii Deb is more accurate than Wii Jim, but it is amazing how you can edit these. Yes, I am still among the living and I still like to arrange my thoughts on "paper" periodically... so here goes.
Today is the first day of our Thanksgiving holiday so waking at 5:30 sorta bugged me, but old habits die hard. By the time I get the hang of sleeping in, school will be back in full swing and I will dragging around the library trying to wake up....soooo think I will try to get up early each day.
News from the home front: Jim and I have a new Wii. There was an offer on home shopping we just happened upon and it was a flex pay deal we couldn't pass up. We now spend each evening bowling a few games and also playing some tennis. Tennis is not Jim's cup of tea so I have a lot of pleading to do if I want a tennis partner. I just love the sound of the balls hitting the rackets...sooooo life like! Anyway, bowling is a lot of fun and as of now I am the champ! That would never happen on a non-virtual bowling alley as Jim has always been a good bowler. The secret to my 213 game is lofting the ball. The more I loft the better my score. Go fig!?
We also have a Wii Fit Plus. I have done a bit of yoga and played some of the balance games. When I did a balance test the machine told me my Wii age was 40! That made me happy, but mixing in my mental age was something like 63....and I don't think it meant I was old fashioned. Standing on one foot while counting on your fingers is just not as easy as you'd think! Had it not for my good balance I probably would have been 80! The test was not that hard, but you have to be fast. "Math" and "fast" can't be used in the same sentence with my name. I will have to try it again. I talked to a kid at school and he said his Wii age was 85 so I think I feel little better.
Gutters! Our house now has seamless aluminum gutters. The truck came and made them in our driveway. Jim worked for three days putting in pipes underground and even under sidewalks to direct the water from the downspouts. He is not done with all of them, but he is well on the way to getting our drainage problems licked. French drains......huge french drains are the next project on the agenda. Hiring help for this is the plan and I hope he can find some good workers who like to dig.
Lets see.....what else? We had a wonderful revival at our church. Jon Randles, via Dallas, came and preached. I didn't get to the afternoon lunch sessions, but Jim did and he loved it. You can google Jon. His next stop was going to be Longview and I was hoping he was going to be speaking at Josh and Randi's church, but alas not this trip. He said he has been to several churches in Longview so maybe sometime in the future they will be blessed by him. I had seen him in 2005 at Temple church. I think he has been there two times, so he was not new to me, but Jim had never seen him and I surprised how much he enjoyed him. Like I said, check Jon out! (Lori, you and your church chicks would have loved him!) He is a history prof. and is also involved with FCA so lots of sports analogies, but he has a heart after the Lord's own heart. His knowledge of history is impressive and he loves sharing what he knows about those who lived in the ancient world...their customs and their cultures. It opens a whole new dimension of the scriptures. He has been all over the world studying and owns an extensive collection of rare books. I wish I could sit in on his history classes.
On the agenda today: New Moon at noon. (poet and didn't know it?) Yes, I read all the Twilight series and yes, I am sorta embarrassed to admit it let alone going to see the movies, but they are a good Romeo and Juliet type story even though half the characters are the undead. (Creepy! I know. Jim will not be going.) I didn't think the writing was amazing, but Stephanie Myer does weave a great story and even though the first book was painfully boring I was sucked in as the plot was enriched with a variety of distinct characters in each consecutive book.
So what does this week hold in store? Obviously there is Thanksgiving with the turkey and all the sides we traditionally make. "The kids" will be coming and we are always thrilled to see them and their new addition, sweet little Frazier James with the smile that melts my heart. (Much the same way Josh's still does.) That will be the high point of the week for sure!
I want to clean, cook, and Wii it up some, watch some football, and READ. I have several books. One is Angela's Ashes and several other YA books from school. I also want to get a hold of Sarah Palin's recently published memoir, Going Rogue. It is sold out every place and Jim believes the whole first printing is sold out, so that might not happen for sometime. She is a person we both greatly admire and am hoping she will have great influence in or out of office because her common sense is so needed in this country now. Why is she so polarizing? Well, I believe it is due to her firm faith, but Jesus predicted this 2,000 + years ago. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." John 15:18
Today is the first day of our Thanksgiving holiday so waking at 5:30 sorta bugged me, but old habits die hard. By the time I get the hang of sleeping in, school will be back in full swing and I will dragging around the library trying to wake up....soooo think I will try to get up early each day.
News from the home front: Jim and I have a new Wii. There was an offer on home shopping we just happened upon and it was a flex pay deal we couldn't pass up. We now spend each evening bowling a few games and also playing some tennis. Tennis is not Jim's cup of tea so I have a lot of pleading to do if I want a tennis partner. I just love the sound of the balls hitting the rackets...sooooo life like! Anyway, bowling is a lot of fun and as of now I am the champ! That would never happen on a non-virtual bowling alley as Jim has always been a good bowler. The secret to my 213 game is lofting the ball. The more I loft the better my score. Go fig!?
We also have a Wii Fit Plus. I have done a bit of yoga and played some of the balance games. When I did a balance test the machine told me my Wii age was 40! That made me happy, but mixing in my mental age was something like 63....and I don't think it meant I was old fashioned. Standing on one foot while counting on your fingers is just not as easy as you'd think! Had it not for my good balance I probably would have been 80! The test was not that hard, but you have to be fast. "Math" and "fast" can't be used in the same sentence with my name. I will have to try it again. I talked to a kid at school and he said his Wii age was 85 so I think I feel little better.
Gutters! Our house now has seamless aluminum gutters. The truck came and made them in our driveway. Jim worked for three days putting in pipes underground and even under sidewalks to direct the water from the downspouts. He is not done with all of them, but he is well on the way to getting our drainage problems licked. French drains......huge french drains are the next project on the agenda. Hiring help for this is the plan and I hope he can find some good workers who like to dig.
Lets see.....what else? We had a wonderful revival at our church. Jon Randles, via Dallas, came and preached. I didn't get to the afternoon lunch sessions, but Jim did and he loved it. You can google Jon. His next stop was going to be Longview and I was hoping he was going to be speaking at Josh and Randi's church, but alas not this trip. He said he has been to several churches in Longview so maybe sometime in the future they will be blessed by him. I had seen him in 2005 at Temple church. I think he has been there two times, so he was not new to me, but Jim had never seen him and I surprised how much he enjoyed him. Like I said, check Jon out! (Lori, you and your church chicks would have loved him!) He is a history prof. and is also involved with FCA so lots of sports analogies, but he has a heart after the Lord's own heart. His knowledge of history is impressive and he loves sharing what he knows about those who lived in the ancient world...their customs and their cultures. It opens a whole new dimension of the scriptures. He has been all over the world studying and owns an extensive collection of rare books. I wish I could sit in on his history classes.
On the agenda today: New Moon at noon. (poet and didn't know it?) Yes, I read all the Twilight series and yes, I am sorta embarrassed to admit it let alone going to see the movies, but they are a good Romeo and Juliet type story even though half the characters are the undead. (Creepy! I know. Jim will not be going.) I didn't think the writing was amazing, but Stephanie Myer does weave a great story and even though the first book was painfully boring I was sucked in as the plot was enriched with a variety of distinct characters in each consecutive book.
So what does this week hold in store? Obviously there is Thanksgiving with the turkey and all the sides we traditionally make. "The kids" will be coming and we are always thrilled to see them and their new addition, sweet little Frazier James with the smile that melts my heart. (Much the same way Josh's still does.) That will be the high point of the week for sure!
I want to clean, cook, and Wii it up some, watch some football, and READ. I have several books. One is Angela's Ashes and several other YA books from school. I also want to get a hold of Sarah Palin's recently published memoir, Going Rogue. It is sold out every place and Jim believes the whole first printing is sold out, so that might not happen for sometime. She is a person we both greatly admire and am hoping she will have great influence in or out of office because her common sense is so needed in this country now. Why is she so polarizing? Well, I believe it is due to her firm faith, but Jesus predicted this 2,000 + years ago. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." John 15:18
This is all the news from Lake (well, the gutters are going to cure that, right!?) Wobegon. :)
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