Will Obama make the country into Detroit?

Birmingham, Mi. is an attractive city, with beautiful lawns, lovely homes, flowers and clean streets. I understand that is relatively true for all the cities around Detroit, which has declared bankruptcy.   As we traveled to downtown Detroit we passed from well-kept buildings into areas that were in poor condition, some little more than wrecks. 

There is activity in the city.  We saw crowds of people on all streets leading to the stadium; the Detroit
Tigers were playing.

Detroit's population of around 700,000 is the lowest it has been since 1914, when the population was at that number but was growing.  The city reached its peak in 1950, a population of 1.8 million.

We should not confuse the City of Detroit with the government of Detroit, although they are entwined. For decades the city has been afflicted with  corrupt and ineffective governing officials; they have damaged or destroyed much of what the city has to offer. including education.

Basically, there are only three ways jobs are created -- agriculture, mining and manufacturing.  At its highest employment the city offered more than 250,000 manufacturing jobs, compared with some 27,000 at present.
Detroit is responsible for much of that, being throttled by unions and taxes.  Much more can be blamed on the policies of the federal government -- unions again, unfair taxation and a crazy import-export policy. 

If Obama has his way much longer, the entire country will be Detroit, with millions out of work and much of the country a disaster.

 

Pickens, APA 190, nears San Francisco

July 31, 1945.  The USS Pickens had been traveling for weeks from Saipan, destination San Francisco.  We had learned that we were to pick up troops to take part in an invasion of Japan, hopefully to end the war with victory.  In our briefings we were told that the US Navy expected 50 per cent casualties, but after 11 months in the South Pacific, our thoughts were on liberty and hopefully a few days of leave.

(For several decades after my discharge from the navy, I gave little if any thought to my service.  After beginning this blog several years ago, I have managed to locate a few others who served on the Pickens, plus family members of others.  I would like to hear from any former shipmate or their family members.)

A report on our visit to Michigan

Well, Jen I have returned home from Michigan, arriving around 11 Monday night.  The purpose of our trip was to hear Jessica preach and to support her.  Jessica did an outstanding job at the 8:30 service and was   even better at the 10 o'clock service before some 800 church attendees.

Members of the church were not shy about praising Jessica and kept telling us how proud of her we must be. Jessica spoke on one of the Beatitudes -- "Blessed be those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled."  She said blessing carries with it responsibility -- that with the blessing comes a task. Among examples she gave was Abraham, whom God blessed to father a nation but with that to spread God's message to the world.

After the service we were guests of the pastor for lunch.   Saturday night we  accepted an invitation from a member to join them and others at a dinner of grilled steaks and ribs.

We found, as Jessica had told us, that the church people are friendly, very impressed with Jessica, and proud  that the church has so many service projects, including several overseas missionaries.

We fly to Michigan

Jen and I are leaving this afternoon for that great city of Detroit.  That is not our real destination. Jessica will meet us and we will go to Birmingham, some five miles from Detroit.  While there, we will attend the Methodist church services and support Jessica as she delivers the sermon.  She preached in Detroit Wednesday to about 40 homeless people.

I visited the foot doctor yesterday and, as I had believed, the broken foot has healed enough and is no problem.  However, ligaments were strained when I turned the ankle so some soreness continues.  It should be cleared up when I see  the doctor in six weeks.

Reflections on a band calendar

"You've got the same birthday as Princess Margaret," Ulric said as I stopped by the store. "And I was born in the same year as Princess Elizabeth," I countered."

Ulric had a Homer High School Band calendar before him and was looking up birthdays. The calendar was being distributed  by band club members.  It was the main fund raiser for the band at that time. I wonder if the band continues to publish a calendar. Does Homer High even have a band?  That is not a stupid question; schools have been forced to drop classes to compensate for falling revenues.

At that time, decades ago, by paying  a penny a name, you could list the birth days of all family members (including pets), enemies and anybody else.  Calendars had a picture of the entire band in uniform and sold for 50 cents each.  If the band doesn't raise funds this way it might consider it, of course, with prices  much higher.

Just a few facts Obama needs to hear

Yes, let's have a talk about race, Patrick Buchanan agrees with President Obama, but let the Whites be heard from not just lectured to. I am not going to repeat Buchanan's remarks but I wish Obama and those civil rights agitators would take note of a few facts about interracial violent crime:

White criminals make  Blacks their victims 3 per cent of the time while Blacks commit 45 per cent of their crimes on Whites.

Black on White rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse.

Black robberies of Whites is about 130 times as often as  White robberies of  Blacks.

     Instead of blaming Whites for all of the problems, Black leaders should devote their efforts to curing  such Black problems as 73 per cent of mothers raising their children without the father, which in turn  leads to a 50 per cent drop out rate in schools.

Heavenly Sunlight floods our soul

The choir sang the old hymn "Heavenly Sunlight" at church services this morning; I enjoyed it but I would have been much happier had the congregation been allowed to  join in.

When I was in the navy in San Diego a fellow seaman asked me to attend a service with him that was broadcast each week. His family enjoyed the program and prevailed upon him to take the opportunity of attending.  I'll never forget the enthusiasm, the joy of those attending as they sang the refrain over and over again, shook hands, and hugged.  A wonderful experience I've longed to share again.