Obama and his praise of Islam

President Obama and I have been reading from different history books.  While celebrating the Muslim holy day of Eid-al-Fitr,  Obama appeared to be giving Muslims credit for founding this nation. I have no problem with him observing his religion as long as I have the freedom to practice mine but as  president if he celebrates one religion's holy days, he should give at least lip service to Easter.

I do not want to find fault with any religion, but  I cannot help but point out that Christianity preaches love thy neighbor while Islam preaches kill thy neighbor.

Invaded by polistes carolina

Polistes carolina are a big problem this summer. They have built nests over the front door, the back door, and eaves of the house. Several people have told me they are having infestations also, and at least one family has called on professional help.

You say you aren't familiar with  polistes carolina? Well, that's what we scientific minded people call them. You may know them as big red wasps.

All joking aside there seems to be a huge crop of them  They are supposed to favor building in wooded areas, but my experience is they prefer houses.

I have had a lot of experiences with red wasps, none of them pleasent. I was stung so many times I developed an allergy such as if I'm stung I quickly swell, including  my eyes shut and I'm blinded.

Years ago while doing census work I went to the door of a house and rang the doorbell.  The resident came out another door and told me they did not use the door I had gone to, pointing  to a huge nest of red wasps, all of whom were staring at me.

That loud, loud silence

How loud is the silence of  Barach Obama and so-called moderate Muslims about the mistreatment of Christians in the Mideast.  They cry out loudly at a whisper of discrimination of Mulims but as Christians in Iraq are given the choice of leaving, converting to Islam or death almost nothing is heard in protest by the president and American Muslims.

If they believe at all in freedom of religion they should cry out, scream and rant like hell to protest persecution of Christians.

Tracking the Pickens APA 190

The Pickens was traveling to San Francisco late in July 1945, arriving in our home  port of San Francisco in the early  days of August.   What I will never forget is entering Frisco harbor around dawn with fog at its heaviest.  I was operating the radar, taking ranges and bearings to aid the navigator.  

Fishermen were leaving for the ocean and they appeared on the radar like the buoys that were supposed to mark the channel.  I was a bundle of nerves trying to determine if  a blip  was moving, thus a fishing boar, or stationary, a buoy.  It seemed like every minute the navigator was calling for the range and bearing of a hill.  We made it to our anchoring spot without running over a boat.

Weeks later as we were on the "magic carpet" bringing troops home, I went through this again.

Brother Jon and fresh vegetables

My brother Jon visited me this afternoon bringing with him much  appreciated fresh vegetables, especially tomatoes.  He offered me some figs but I refused because I don't think I'm able to make preserves.

We visited for quite awhile and discussed many things, including the War Between the States and the part our grandfather and Great Grandfather served. We agreed we would liked to have had more information from our father and other relatives.

We discussed crops, including but not limited to, cotton, corn, soybeans and Coastal Bermudagrass; insects, including but not limited to, boll weevils, fire ants, ticks and stinkbugs.  We remembered that we always had a goal of ripe watermelon by July 4, and we would never forget when we had a fine watermelon  patch only to discover the melons were citrons and  not edible.

Obama threatens electic blackouts are coming

Thousands in Caddo and Bossier parishes were still without power Friday morning after a wind storm Wednesday evening blew limbs and trees across power lines.  One death was reported.

We were fortunate.  Our power went off  around 7:30 Wednesday evening   and  was restored at one Thursday.  What made it upsetting was not knowing how  long  the power would be off.

This blackout was owed to nature, but we are facing much more serious times without electricity at the desire of Obama and the EPA.  Forty per cent of our power is generated by coal, and Obama has promised all of those plants will be closed.  He said he wants utility rates to double.  Many  will not be able to afford such a increase in the cost of living. Yo can count on having blackouts and brownouts at the pleasure of Obama.

Statistics tell a story of lies

Statistics can be used to tell a false story.  We have heard that many times and experience it personally.  Two lies  the government uses are for unemployment and for infllation,  The government puts out an unemployment  rate around seven cent while the number of jobless may be as high as 24 per cent, a higher rate than during the Great Depression.

Another number that I think is deliberately false is for inflation.  The administration claims a rate of around two per cent.  But have you bought gasoline or groceries?  That cereal you just bought; the box is smaller and has more space than cereal.

Worst of all, we have only 86 million people working to support a population of  over 300  million.  How long can that last before the economy crashes?

My weird blood pressure

I took my blood pressure at 6 this morning; it was 166 over 71.  I arose from the lunch table at 12'30 and was dizzy.  I managed to make it to the sofa and took my blood pressure.  It was 105 over 47.  It has been higher and lower at times.  I wish we could control it to where it would be high or low, not vary the way it does.

What now, Obamacare

Courts in  the District of Columbia and Virginia issued conflicting rulings on subsidies for Obmacare policy holders.  This could spell the end for this screwed up medical plan. Did you realize the legislation establishing Obmacare has been amended or changed 19 times, no 27 times, actually 42 times as of today.  Of those changes 18 were made without any legislative input whatsoever.

What could follow the crash of Obamacare is a single payment plan, similar to those in Canada and Great Britain.  That will be a disaster for the health system but it has been the goal of Obama and many Democrats.

Pickens nears San Francisco

July 21, 1945 -- The USS Pickens had been traveling toward San Francisco for days, leaving the South Pacific war zone after almost a year.  We had been in two vital battles -- Iwo Jima and Okinawa and now we learned we would pick up troops, return to action with an invasion of Japan.

To a certain extent we were briefed.  It was no secret that we would be a part of the world''s largest collection of war ships.  The invasion would be costly, the navy predicting 50 per cent casualties.  I don't recall  much concern; we were looking forward to liberty and possibly leave.

The president at his best

Israel invades Gaza and hundreds are killed; a plane is shot down by a missile over the Ukraine; Obama fund raises for the Democrats and tells jokes.  For how a former president responded when the Soviet Union shot down a Korean plane see a speech by Ronald Reagan.

Flashback: Reagan Addresses Soviet Attack on Korean Airliner | MRCTV

Flashback: Reagan Addresses Soviet Attack on Korean Airliner | MRCTV

My dad would be 133 today

My father was born this day 133 years ago in 1881. He was born and lived his early years in a log cabin and attended school  and  church in a small one-room building in Claiborne parish.  The family moved to Webster parish, later spent almost two decades in Arkansas and moved for the final time to near Minden in 1917.

His father was a Confederate veteran, fighting battles all over the South, including Chickamauga (where he was wounded), Atlanta, Nashville, and finally Bentonville.  While in North Carolina several months ago, I visited the Bentonville museum which has my grandfather listed on the rolls of those who fought.

July brings heat but also fresh vegetables

July is like it is supposed to be -- hot, with temperatures in the 90's.  However, there is compensation, especially for those who have vegetable gardens.  Now is when earlier work pays off generously with a variety of fresh vegetables.  For those of us unable to garden, there are friendly neighbors and the farmer's market.

Sadly, my gardening days are over.  I had earlier limited myself to tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.  My brother Jon maintains a large garden and has supplied us with new potatoes, squash, egg plants, cucumbers, peppers,  and most important, tomatoes.   I'm hoping his watermelons make a good crop.

A little history lesson

Is American history taught at any grade or school any more?  Yes, I find it amusing at the answers and non-answers given  by many individuals when questioned on  television shows; but in a way it is sad that so many know so little about history and government.  Yet, they vote.

Many years have passed since I was in school but I seem to remember that we studied American history in most grades of grammar school.  In high school we had two years of history.

I don't remember the grade but I recall taking a test that was about the events leading up to the Revolutionary  War.  There were  ten  questions and I got them all right and made an A.  I showed the test to my parents only to hear my  dad say I had two wrong, attributing Patrick Henry's famous words, "Give me Liberty or give me death" to James Otis, who said "Taxation without representation is tyranny."

Imagine my embarrassment when I had to get the teacher to revise my grade to a C.

Without borders there is no nation

I strongly agree with this statement by  Sarah Palin, among others.  I don't agree with trying to impeach Obama; what we have then, Joe Biden  to  make idiotic remarks  and rule by Nancy Pelosi.

I am convinced that the turmoil on the border was   brought about  by Obama as part of his dream of changing this nation or destroying it.  How can a  nation protect itself if borders are open to the givers, the takers, and to the evil alike? 

Obama could have protected the border at any time if he wanted.  Sending the National Guard to the border would be helpful; putting pressure on Mexico to police the border should have been done.  Instead, Obama invited Central America to dump it needy on us.

USS Pickens on the way to San Francisco

What were the thoughts of men of the USS Pickens, APA 190, as we traveled from Saipan to San Francisco that July of 1945? We had been in the South Pacific for almost a year and had taken part in the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Personally, I cannot recall.  Of course we were happy to be headed home for liberty and possibly  get leave.

We were not kept in the dark about our future; we were to pick up the Blackhawk Division, give them training, and invade Japan.  The one thing I remember about the briefing was that the navy expected 50 per cent casualties. We could understand that; we had seen the effectiveness of suicide plane attacks at Okinawa.

If you are a veteran of that time, or family of a vet who has told his experiences, please let me hear from you. We have at best a few more years with an average age of 93.

How strong her faith must be!

This lady has lost three daughters to cancer, the third one last week.  Yet as church service began she greeted me with a smile and cheering words.  As she left after the service she patted my shoulder  and said, "Have a good week."

I was speechless; I could offer no response.

American anthem - Star Spangled Banner

Kate Smith Sings God Bless America

Happy Independence Day to all

Time to give our Ameriica praise despite problems

Independence  Day should be marked with thanks and gladness but with America in peril from President Obama and federal departments such as EPA, I find it difficult to focus my thoughts on light-hearted matters.

I'm trying though, and what could be  less a  concern now than high school days of long ago.  Teachers were a big part of those days, and like everything, some were better (easier) than others.  Miss Smith wasn't easy; in fact she might have been the most demanding of any.  She could maintain discipline just by ceasing to speak and staring at the miscreant.

Students who competed for academic honors learned to avoid her shorthand and typing classes.  She was not impressed with the progress I made in typing, comparing my effort to "pushing a plow. "                           I had a defender; Rupert Krouse responded to her this way, "That shows what you know; you don't push a plow; a mule pulls it."

EPA regulations will kill

The  EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency) has plans to kill the elderly and the very young.

Yes, I recognize this is a provocative statement, but I can prove it.  Obama and the EPA plan to require more restrictive regulations of carbon emissions, announcing this will shut 411 coal-fired electric power plants, eliminating 40 per cent of our electric production and doubling household utility bills.  Obama has promised to accomplish this. since he first took office.

Each summer we see headlines of numbers of people who die from the heat.  Many of these cannot afford air conditioning or even a fan. Many more deaths can   be certain as utility rates go up and brown-outs become more common.  Poor people will be forced to choose between  having food or paying high utility rates.

It is little short of criminal for an federal department, not elected by the people or by Congress, can levy regulations that create such a disaster. According their own projections, the new regulations, when fully implemented,  will achieve a decrease in carbon of two per cent while the world will see emissions go up by 35 per cent. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Our economy gets worse daily because every action by Obama is totally wrong and, according to the EPA, they will cause the loss of two and one-half million jobs in the next ten years.