Boy Scouts Love President Trump's Speech at National Jamboree, Shout "We Love Trump!" and "USA! USA! USA!"

During President Trump's speech to the Boy Scouts, that huge crowd applauded constantly, chanted " We love Trump! We love Trump! We love Trump!" and "USA! USA! USA!", and they "boo'ed" when he mentioned "his opponent".

Here's a sample quote:

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  "Your lives will have meaning and purpose and joy. You will become leaders, and you will inspire others to achieve the dreams they once thought were totally impossible, things that you said could never, ever happen are already happening for you. And if you do these things -- and if you refuse to give in to doubt or to fear -- then you will help to make America great again. You will be proud of yourself, be proud of the uniform you wear, and be proud of the country you love." (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!  

And just in case the Fake News starts getting it wrong, there were only two times the audience boo'ed. One when he mentioned Hillary:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: "We won Florida.  We won South Carolina.  We won North Carolina.  We won Pennsylvania.  (Applause.)
We won and won.  So when they said, there is no way to victory, there is no way to 270.  I went to Maine four times because it’s one vote, and we won.  But we won -- one vote.  I went there because I kept hearing we're at 269.  But then Wisconsin came in.  Many, many years -- Michigan came in.
And we worked hard there.  My opponent didn't work hard there because she was told -- 

AUDIENCE:  Booo!

THE PRESIDENT:  "She was told she was going to win Michigan....."

and then when President Trump was telling the story of William Levitt, and teased them with a cliff-hanger:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: " I won’t go any more than that because you’re Boy Scouts, so I’m not going to tell you what he did."

AUDIENCE: Booo -- 

THE PRESIDENT: "Should I tell you? Should I tell you?"

AUDIENCE: Yes!

Final real news: The audience loved the speech and the President ALL THE WAY THROUGH:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So I have to tell you what we did, in all fairness, is an unbelievable tribute to you and all of the other millions and millions of people that came out and voted for Make America Great Again.  (Applause.) 

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

The President ended his speech with a blessing:

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  "And I just want to end by saying very importantly:  God bless you.  God bless the Boy Scouts.  God bless the United States of America.
Go out.  Have a great time in life.  Compete and go out and show me that there is nobody -- nobody -- like a Boy Scout."

Planned Parenthood Uses Partial-Birth Abortions to Sell Baby Parts

The  Center for Medical Progress website has the full terrible story and transcript.

" .... And the man of God wept. And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.”  2 Kings 8:11-12

 "The Lord says, “The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. In their wars for more territory they even ripped open pregnant women in Gilead." Amos 1:13

   
If not now, when?  When will you stop accepting their lies and pretenses about abortion?  Demand that the vile practice of  child sacrifice be made illegal, and no longer tolerated or accepted. No more votes for anyone who claims "choice" is a good reason to dismember babies alive in the womb. No more votes or funds for anyone who claims "medical research" is a good reason to sacrifice children on the altar of evil.

Roses & Pecan Trees are Blooming!

 These are from the only rosebush that survived the drought, but oh aren't they gorgeous! Paul commented that they "are almost florescent": a beautiful orangey coral color.

Just as glorious in their own way are the fresh, day-glo green, male pecan tree flowers. You can see the long strands of pollen-rich catkins hanging in clusters. The female flowers are too small to see, but they are just above the catkins - Pecan trees only make female blossoms if all conditions are right: enough water, enough sugars and starches....and to date no one has figured out a scientific way to consistently predict the crop. It is so unique each year that pecans are called "God's crop" by the botanists and growers who study these trees.

 

I am betting on a great crop from our trees this year, in part because it has been several years since we had a bountiful one, and we've had good rain (thank you, Father God, for answering our prayers and sending rain to tide Texas over despite all predictions to the contrary. The drought is not gone, but we are grateful things are much improved in most of the state).

One of our trees is a native pecan that has the sweetest nuts. I gathered 100 pounds (before shelling) from it alone our first year here. We are just finishing them up (shelled and froze them in vacuum packs), so it would be a great blessing to have a new crop to stock up again.

If you want to produce as much of your own food as possible, do consider nut trees. You can have them in cities, and even a small lot can have a pecan tree. They produce a huge amount of high-calorie, healthy food with minimal effort once they are established. Pecan trees will not grow everywhere, but here they just come up from forgotten nuts that get buried. So look around and see what grows well where you live, and add the best possible "Edible landscaping" to your yard! :-)

Will Someone Please Start A Courageous Conservative Companies List?

 Surely there are companies out there that make their decisions based on actual hard results, instead of caving to the lone nutter planting signs outside their door?

Surely there are companies out there that use actual customer acquisition and retention data to determine where to spend their advertising budgets, instead of trusting the skewed numbers claimed by their naive and progressive young marketing managers?

Surely there are companies out there that have the integrity to refuse to change their business model to acommodate imaginary bullies (and yes, all loud leftist twitter campaigns are imaginary) ?

Surely there are companies out there that understand what REAL statistics say about the conservative majority vs the obnoxious but numerically insignificant left?

Surely there are companies out there that understand the differences between genuine public relations issues and media tantrums - and how to take mature measures to diffuse both without abandoning their principles?

There are opportunities for companies with mature leadership that make rational and effective decisions.  A very large, well-funded, independent-thinking customer base is looking for products and services provided by companies that support traditional American values, the Constitution, Patriotism, Marriage, Private Property, Self-Reliance, LIFE, Freedom of Religion, and frankly, that make rational decisions instead of running scared every time a Stepford organization starts copying and pasting its talking points.

So, like it says in the title: Would someone please start a Courageous Conservative Companies list?

Rick Perry: Texas Will Be One Tip of the Spear Against the Anti-Religious Contraceptive Mandate

Today's Bible verse, in the "Good News for Modern Man" translation:

"...love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail."
1 Corinthians 13:6-7



From Newsmax, via Gateway Pundit:

"In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Thursday, Gov. Perry was asked which presidential candidate Texans will support in the state’s Republican primary.

“I’ve endorsed Newt, so I hope that has some impact. We’re looking for the most conservative candidate. Texans by and large are a conservative lot,” he says.

“But any of our candidates are going to be better than Obama. ...

“I think Newt by any measure, from the standpoint of fiscal conservatism, being able to actually operate in that shark tank in Washington, is the most capable individual. He’s balanced a number of budgets before."

Perry went on to give his thoughts about all the other candidates, including Santorum and Ron Paul, and said the contest could easily go "all the way to the convention" before a final nominee is settled on. [side note: Sarah Palin has also made this point: the race is still very, very competitive.]

Then some good news:

"Asked if the states can do anything about the Obama administration’s mandate for religiously-affiliated institutions to pay for employees’ birth control, Perry responds: “I would suggest that the states are going to be filing suit against this administration, probably through Health and Human Services, the issue being that they’re impeding our ability to deliver healthcare because there’s going to be a lot of people losing their jobs because of this.

“I’m very comfortable that attorneys general across the country will file suit to try to stop this administration’s war on religion, and [Texas Attorney General] Greg Abbott will be one of the tips of the spear.”

Read more on Newsmax.com:  Perry: Newt Is Best Conservative to Beat Obama
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

Today, It's: Mail Art.

 Well, my candidate has taken his name off the ballot for President. I guess the good news is that at least Texans won't have to worry about who is going to govern our state. Governor Perry, Governor Palin , and Todd Palin have endorsed Newt Gingrich. I will pray they are right, and turn my attention to daily, ordinary life for a while. 

I wander the web like I used to wander bookstores. Each week, some new thing will catch my attention, and I learn about it. Last time, it was Home Bee Keeping. More on that another time, because:

Today, it's Mail Art.

In this month's AAPA bundle (what people did before blogs), the Six Mile Press offering was about Carnegie Libraries. It inspired me, so for February's bundle, I'm making postcards out of a photo I took of the Carnegie Library in my hometown. I had prints made at Walmart.com, will use acetone to erase the corporate printing on the backs, rubber stamps to print "Post Card" on the backs, and stickers to label the front. (I'll add a photo to the blog when the project is done.)

Back to Mail Art. I wanted ideas for "arting up" my project, so went looking. Here are some places I found clever inspiration:

Everyday should be a Red Letter Day…

2012 Graceful Envelope Contest (and archives of past winners)

The Missive Maven

Austin Kleon's Blog, and esp. "How To Steal Like An Artist"

Postcrossing: The Postcard Crossing Project

S-FIMail

Good Mail Day

How fun is this? I may be looking at a new hobby-ette! Or, at least, until something else attracts my attention...

A Speech Worthy of History

Who says there are no statesmen today? One of my favorite bloggers, "Quite Rightly" of "Bread upon the Waters"  (also linked from my sidebar) has embedded Michele Bachmann's speech in which she gracefully steps out of the primaries and back into her role as an elected member of the House of Representatives. Mrs. Bachmann's speech is the stuff of which history is made.

Opening with a reminder that we are "encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses" who've worked throughout hundreds of years to forge American Liberty, Mrs Bachmann reminds us what is at stake, and what we have to lose - and why we must all stand up - stand up - for our God-given, inalienable liberties as embodied in the United States Constitution.

Go listen to it all. It's a beautiful speech, given flawlessly and with heart. I think perhaps it is much the same speech she would have given had it been made under different circumstances, because it is simple truth.  Hearing it inspired me, and it is a speech worthy to be remembered.

Rick Perry Shows How A Leader Requires Accountability

Via "And So it Goes in Shreveport", here's Rick Perry explaining how things are done:





Governor Perry's response is an example of how to require accountability and avoid being manipulated, that any person with leadership aspirations needs to emulate. True leaders don't play games. They don't expend energy on rumors or "anonymous" gossip. Our next president is a true leader, and he will be as good for the United States of America as he has been for Texas.

Endorsements For Rick Perry

One of my favorite bloggers, Pat Austin of "And So it Goes in Shreveport" (or "SIGIS" for short), has endorsed my presidential candidate: Rick Perry. She also has a round up post, "Rick Perry For President: A SIGIS Endorsement" of other blogs that have endorsed the staunchly pro-life, pro-jobs, conservative (both social and fiscal) Texan's candidacy. Go see her whole post to access links to the others.

I've posted before about Perry (even long before he was considering entering this race). A primary reason that I feel so strongly about him at this stage in our national life is that he provides consistent governance - not the foolish hobgoblin type, but the kind of consistency that happens when ones' convictions run so deep they are simply a part of life. The kind of consistency that drives heroes to choose the right instincts to follow. The kind of consistency that understands the difference between "innocent" and "not guilty". The kind of consistency that leads him to promote each state's right to determination even in those issues where he might have personal feelings. The kind of consistency that leads him to accept the will of the people.

Within that consistency is his comprehension that liberty means we should have the right to make our own decisions about things like a jar of Plum Jelly or a loaf of bread. It also means Perry agrees that we ought to have a right to make our own jobs if we want, instead of sitting back and waiting for the unemployment dole.

Among the legislation Rick Perry signed this past session was a small bill that hasn't gotten much attention, but it is the kind of thing that is a good example of how Texas, and Rick Perry, promote individual liberty and individual initiative: The Texas Cottage Food Law.

This bill, sponsored by a Democrat and championed by both parties in both the House and the Senate, allows people to sell baked goods and jellies directly from their home. This means I can have a home bakery business with no need for a commercial kitchen, no inspections or licenses required.


The Cottage Food Law means I can start a bread business just like Mrs Baird did in the 1900s, just like so many of our historic companies got their start.  Or I could make wedding cakes, or sell my famous pear preserves or peach marmalade or fresh tortillas.


And the government won't come arrest me for selling my baked goods. (of course we choose not to live where a homeowner's association can have power over us, but those who do have voluntarily surrendered their liberty - that's a post for another day).

This is the kind of common sense lawmaking and proper bi-partisan effort that we have come to expect from Rick Perry to free us all from government overreach, and Americans can expect him to bring this same kind of wisdom to Washington.


.

No Taxes Required: Ramp Building and Fundraising the Old Fashioned, Genuine Grassroots Way

I wrote most of this post a couple of months ago, and fiddled around and never posted it. But Dr. Mabuse has a post up on Kraalspace that needs to be seen, about helping our neighbors ourselves, instead of relying on the government. It's a chilling reminder of how learned helplessness can become the order of the day, one tiny relinquishment at a time. Of how well-meaning committees inevitably engineer inescapable tyranny in reality. Of the good intentions that pave the road to hell.

In Dr Mabuse's post "Government Goliath, Local Davids", a man who went to hospital, had a leg amputated, and couldn't come home because his house didn't have a ramp, and the government agency tasked with paying for building ramps kept turning him down. So like Charlie on the MTA, he had to live at the hospital while waiting for Uncle Sugar to build his ramp. Until some good citizens got word of his plight, and in one weekend, built a ramp for his house.

A similar, but different thing happened two years ago in my little town.
A family man (with a child still in high school) lost his leg to complications of diabetes. Here's where his story differs from the one Doc shares: as soon as the surgery was scheduled, the Baptist Church sent out a flyer that the men of our town would meet at his house the next Saturday morning to build him a ramp.

And you know who built that ramp? The OLD MEN. Our young men are busy - they serve as our Volunteer firemen, coach little league, sit on the school board, and a host of other things. But our 70 and 80 year olds don't let any grass grow under their feet either. By the end of the day, the ramp was completed, and a good time was had by all. Just because it needed to be done.

It's just sad that the man Dr Mabuse writes about didn't have neighbors or a church to jump in and help him sooner, but ultimately it was people in his local community who took care of meeting his need. And that is how it should be.

From the post I started earlier, here are some more examples of how people take care of each other, and meet local needs, without government involvement or permission.

We went to a lot of fun local events this fall. Some were fairs where we were able to support local crafters, some were organizations doing fundraising, and  a couple were pure benefits for local individuals.

The town birthday celebration in October was a hoot. It started with a pancake breakfast to pay for new pew cushions in the Methodist church (they raised enough to "cover" the cost and then some).

The tractor show hinted at a distinct preference for "poppin' johnnies" all in their original John Deere green. I guess Farmall must not have been big around here.

We bought several pounds of stone-ground corn meal from this vendor with his old timey mill. The power source was simple and ingenous: a series of car batteries along the front side of the wagon.

We bought things from vendors who had booths set up: crafts, food, pretties.
We visited with neighbors, stuck money in the Volunteer Fire Department's "boot" (again), introduced our bunch and met new people.

The next weekend, we went to our church's Fall Festival & Car Show.   We ate barbeque, bought an amazing wall cross from a local man who makes things out of discarded tools, and picked out our favorite vintage jitneys.

Here, a home-made Carnival benefits a Christian K-12 school (and a winning 6-man football team).

This "Rattlesnake Roundup" game is perfect for Texas.

First the girl would toss the rubber snakes into the bag, then use the special snake-catching tool to grab them & take them out of the sack! It would be a more difficult game (and more realistic) if you had to use the "snake tongs" to throw them in, too.

Speaking of snakes, we saw this non-poisonous one playing dead and looking all dehydrated on Main Street outside the Lions Club BBQ Dinner & Auction. He stayed very still until he thought we weren't looking any more, then he took a deep breath and slithered away.

The dinner was great - it raised money toward the scholarships this group gives to local students each year, toward eye exams & new glasses and for Christmas food boxes for people whose hard work doesn't stretch far enough.
The auction raised a similar amount to directly help a local family that's in need right now.

We wrapped up a week or two later with a fish fry to benefit a hardworking young family in our midst. The father has cancer, and he's unable to work right now. This will help tide them over. They are good people and their neighbors love them - even the ones who don't know them.

Who benefited from all these things? Everyone. Everyone's kids or grandkids are eligible for those scholarships. Our VFD is here and prepared when we need them. Everyone will gather in the church on Christmas Eve. Everyone knows we could count on this community if we needed them: nobody who's done their part when they were able would be forgotten.

All in all, lives will be better for this community's generous heart.

And it was all done in fun and love. With no mandates, and no taxes, and no demands, and no protests. And no fraud, and no graft, and no entitlements.

Because that's how life works in a stable, healthy, Christian, traditional, American community.

British PM David Cameron : "We are a Christian country. If We Don't Stand For Something, We Can't Stand Against Anything.

Courtesy of Richard Fernandez' Belmont Club article "David Casts His Stone",  here are portions of the transcript of David Cameron's speech on the King James Bible, in which he takes to task all the Sunday Christians in the United Kingdom, including the Archmage Archbishop of Canterbury, for their denial of Christ through denying His Church, which is the body of believers throughout the world and all of history.

Read, and rejoice:

"But I am proud to stand here and celebrate the achievements of the King James Bible.
Not as some great Christian on a mission to convert the world.
But because, as Prime Minister, it is right to recognise the impact of a translation that is, I believe, one of this country's greatest achievements.
The Bible is a book that has not just shaped our country, but shaped the world.
And with 3 Bibles sold or given away every second...
...a book that is not just important in understanding our past, but which will continue to have a profound impact in shaping our collective future.
...
[I ]am a committed - but I have to say vaguely practising - Church of England Christian, who will stand up for the values and principles of my faith...
...but who is full of doubts and, like many, constantly grappling with the difficult questions when it comes to some of the big theological issues.
But what I do believe is this.
The King James Bible is as relevant today as at any point in its 400 year history.
And none of us should be frightened of recognising this."

Praise God. But wait, Mr. Cameron is not finished yet:

"...just as our language and culture is steeped in the Bible, so too is our politics.
From human rights and equality to our constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy...
...from the role of the church in the first forms of welfare provision, to the many modern day faith-led social action projects...
...the Bible has been a spur to action for people of faith throughout history, and it remains so today.
Third, we are a Christian country.
And we should not be afraid to say so.
...[ I ]am also incredibly proud that Britain is home to many different faith communities, who do so much to make our country stronger.But what I am saying is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today.
Values and morals we should actively stand up and defend.
The alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option.
You can't fight something with nothing.
Because if we don't stand for something, we can't stand against anything."

This is the kind of truth we must demand from our leaders in the USA, as well.  At Christmas time, he points to Christianity as the fundamental cause of the birth of human liberty, equality and freedom in the world:

"The Bible runs through our political history in a way that is often not properly recognised....
Jesus said: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
And yet at the same time, the Judeo-Christian roots of the Bible also provide the foundations for protest and for the evolution of our freedom and democracy.
The Torah placed the first limits on Royal Power.
And the knowledge that God created man in his own image was, if you like, a game changer for the cause of human dignity and equality.
In the ancient world this equity was inconceivable.
...[A]nd when every human being is of equal and infinite importance, created in the very image of God...
...we get the irrepressible foundation for equality and human rights...
...a foundation that has seen the Bible at the forefront of the emergence of democracy, the abolition of slavery...
...and the emancipation of [women]....
[T]he Putney debates in the Church of St Mary the Virgin in 1647 saw the first call for One Man, One vote...
...and the demand that authority be invested in the House of Commons rather than the King.
[T]he Bible provides a defining influence on the formation of the first welfare state.In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says that whatever people have done "unto one of the least of these my brethren"...
... they have done unto him.
Just as in the past it was the influence of the church that enabled hospitals to be built, charities created, the hungry fed, the sick nursed and the poor given shelter...
...so today faith based groups are at the heart of modern social action."

And finally:

"The Bible has helped to shape the values which define our country.
Indeed, as Margaret Thatcher once said, "we are a nation whose ideals are founded on the Bible."
Responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, self-sacrifice, love...
...pride in working for the common good and honouring the social obligations we have to one another, to our families and our communities...
...these are the values we treasure.
Yes, they are Christian values.
And we should not be afraid to acknowledge that.


First, those who say being a Christian country is doing down other faiths...
...simply don't understand that it is easier for people to believe and practise other faiths when Britain has confidence in its Christian identity.
Many people tell me it is much easier to be Jewish or Muslim here in Britain than it is in a secular country like France.
[B]ecause the tolerance that Christianity demands of our society provides greater space for other religious faiths too.
...[S]hying away from speaking the truth about behaviour, about morality...
...has actually helped to cause some of the social problems that lie at the heart of the lawlessness we saw with the riots.
The absence of any real accountability, or moral code...
...allowed some bankers and politicians to behave with scant regard for the rest of society.
And when it comes to fighting violent extremism, the almost fearful passive tolerance of religious extremism that has allowed segregated communities to behave in ways that run completely counter to our values...
... has not contained that extremism but allowed it to grow and prosper...


"Put simply, for too long we have been unwilling to distinguish right from wrong.
"Live and let live" has too often become "do what you please".
Bad choices have too often been defended as just different lifestyles.
To be confident in saying something is wrong...
...is not a sign of weakness, it's a strength.
But we can't fight something with nothing.
As I've said if we don't stand for something, we can't stand against anything."

Be sure and read the entire speech at PoliticsHome.com. It is wonderful.

Mr Cameron and Rick Perry will certainly find plenty to talk about during their respective State visits, after Governor Perry moves into the White House.

And I bet the two of them will find it easy to restore the special friendship between our two countries who share our history, our culture, and our religion.

When They Call Fox America's News HQ....

They aren't kidding:

The big flat-screen television in this busy Mexican restaurant in Central Texas is prominently visible from every table, has closed captioning turned on in English, and is always turned on to Fox News (well, except when there's a Cowboys game on!). It's the same in hundreds of other places all across this great state. Come have a bowl of menudo  - or a burger with "Freedom Fries" - some Saturday, or any other day, and you'll find the place full of pro-life, Christian, conservatives of all kinds of backgrounds, many of whom think our governor is going to be the kind of president we need to haul our country back from the abyss that ancient Rome fell into.

And that Mexican flag on the wall, on the other side of the American flag? Doesn't mean what liberals have co-opted it to mean. It means people are proud of who they are and love their country: the United States of America. Where-ever our parents or grandparents came from, all Americans are alike in this respect: the US flag comes FIRST. Is it only Texans who understand this? It has never been a question here.

Medal of Honor Heroes Speak Up About Their Candidate: Rick Perry

There's a full 7 minute version, including these heroes' stories, at Rick Perry for President.

Dear Mr. Cain

Dear Mr. Cain,

In the Methodist Church basement last night, a bipartisan group of older Texas ladies decided that we do not care who any candidate for President sleeps with. Or actual President for that matter. We are not interested. What we are interested in is the actual issues that affect the whole country. We expect the President to do his job without regard to his outside activities. And one of those jobs is cutting Federal spending.

Now, we probably aren't all fans of yours. We were too polite (and separated by political chasms) to discuss, there in the basement, which candidates we might support.  BUT whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, we do agree on those two points.

We would suggest that you, and other candidates, refrain from allowing the ridiculous "news media" to determine who We the People get to vote for. The only polls that will tell you whether the voters want you or anyone else to represent us, are the voting booths on election day.

I do not normally blog about things we discuss in church gatherings, so we won't mention any names or places, but I would be surprised if this opinion isn't also shared by many other "bipartisan groups" around the country.

Sincerely,

"Concerned Voter"

De-Occupy Wall Street

Speaking of toil, there's a new Facebook group, and even though I have withdrawn from most FB activity, I like it!   

"De-Occupy Wall Street"

My favorite comment so far, from the administrator: 

"Create a job if none are available... that's what we do in the land of the free. There is no crying in freedom...only an open market."


Thanks to my FB pal for sharing it. :-)

Speaking of Standard Bearers: Rick Perry Stands Up

This is what a successful leader looks like. Let's get America working again!

via And So it Goes in Shreveport: Rick Perry's New Ad

The President's Failure, and His Refusal To Be The Standard Bearer

So. The new book about President Obama and The Tech Coast Whiz Kids Administration is out. I rarely read political books, but plan to read “Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President,” by Ron Suskind. From all accounts to date, it simply confirms that what many recognized early on: that the Obama presidency was premature, before he had acquired skill or experience, and as a result, this administration is immature to the point of incompetency.

We were sold the iPresident, a candidate was picked out and packaged like a  boy band. The promoters knew they were sending a teen idol to the White House but they didn't realize before September 2008 that it was going to take, not a spokes-model, but a man, to do a far more difficult job than they could imagine. After the "global" engineered - and false - economy began to crumble on its foundation of sand, the era of the Staged Reality Show was at an end, and cold reality reasserted sobering truths.

The country needed a statesman and we got a lip syncing TV personality.

I've said elsewhere that no one who loves America ever wants a president to fail, because the president's primary role is as standard bearer. Whether we voted for him or not, whether we like him or not, the president represents America as the Best of the Best, standing in our place for better or worse. Both Reagan and Clinton had their detractors, but even those who didn't vote for them were able to benefit from effective, lawful (yes, despite Iran/Contra, both generally maintained the rule of law, as opposed to Gunwalker), and predictable governance.

Of course traditional conservatives and those of us who respect liberty wanted Mr Obama's plans to fail. We said "No" to monopoly money & crony credit and "No" to brother-in-law bureaucracy and "No" to unelected, immature czar-babies.

But we can want his plans to fail and tranformations to fail and ambitions to fail without giving up hope on the man. This is why pollsters find that people still say they "like him as a person" while being completely appalled at his dismal performance. Or as Shelby Steele wrote earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal: "Indeed, on the matter of Mr. Obama's character, today's left now sounds like the right of three years ago. They have begun to see through the man and are surprised at how little is there."

What we who did not vote for him and were very concerned about what we knew (and especially, what we didn't know) about him had hoped about Mr Obama was what Richard Fernandez, of Belmont Club, said: "Nearly all the great captains of secular history have learned from their mistakes." Our hopes proved wrong, since President Obama will not learn, "He is doomed by his own hubris to tragedy…"


America must not elect this man again, and we must try to undo the harm, but we can stand with Rick Perry and pray that God look after President Obama in the interim and give him wisdom he sorely lacks - not for his own sake, but for the sake of the United States of America, for our friends like Israel, and for our own sakes.

A man may discover he is, ultimately, a success as a man, despite having to give up dream after dream in the effort of life for the needs of his family or his country or just being steadfast and accountable every day. That's what being the standard bearer is.

That is what the job of the President is. Not to push legislation or wrangle policies, but to learn from mistakes, to be steadfast and accountable where the best interest of the nation comes first, last, and always (to paraphrase Barbara Jordan). To fly our flag.

But President Obama is not willing to be the standard bearer. Even now, he will not fly our flag or plant crosses or lift the torch. Not in Afghanistan, not in America. All of our prayers cannot overrule the man’s own stubborn free will, cannot save him from himself.


President Obama is failing continually at the real job. And that is bad for America.

Pray for his conversion, for a change of heart. Pray that the Father will send a laborer to share the true Good News with him. There’s still time for good to come out of the rest of his term, if Christ is in his heart.

And So it Goes in Shreveport: "Priorities"

Pat Austin proves once again just what an awesome blogger she is with her post about Governor Perry's response to the Texas wild fires that are raging across the beautiful, native, Texas Hill Country; raging through the gracious Pineywoods into Louisiana and into Arkansas, raging through the Post Oak belt that runs all the way up into Oklahoma (which is suffering too), raging through the prairies where the Red Wing Blackbirds fly.

Go over to And So It Goes in Shreveport, and see the terrifying pictures Pat has put up to give you just an inkling of what is happening to our state.  God bless our governor for having his priorities in order: lives come before politics, before money, before anything else.

God bless Texas.

Trying To Fight It: 62 New Fires, 2 Dead, 500+ Homes Burned Since Yesterday

 (Photo a reader-submited picture by@calebthefox via Twitter to the Austin Statesman Reader Wildfire Photos Gallery: http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/reader-wildfire-photos/#217883) Sunday, September 4, 2011 (updated on 9/05/2011 at 6:15 p.m.) 

Merv at Prairie Pundit, reports that Governor Perry returned to Texas because of the terrible fires that have burned more than 500 homes and killed two since yesterday, forcing him to cancel his plans to take part in the DeMint Palmetto Freedom Forum.

[9/6/11 Update: Losses have climbed to at least 1,000 homes burned to the ground as of this morning.  And the fire still burns.]

While Texas has fought fires constantly all summer, major fires that erupted yesterday in Travis & Bastrop Counties are threatening Austin's environs - Bastrop is commuting distance from Austin, as are Cedar Park, Spicewood Springs, and other areas being discussed in news reports. This is the heart of "the Hill Country" of fame and legend. In East Texas,  fires caused the deaths of two people yesterday.
 
Here is a link to Austin Statesman Reader Photos of the fires.  There are some really terrifying shots among these - and some that make very clear how dire the situation is. 

The Texas Forest Service updates can be found here. This page is usually updated each night, to reflect the previous day's information.

Links to information & a video about the massive blazes known as "fire storms" can be found at Texasfirestorm.org. 

Here is a link to a Wild Fire Map (via About.com) from the USDA Active Fire Mapping Program that is updated regularly to show wildfires for the whole United States. As you can see at the time of posting, Texas is on fire.

The InciWeb Fact Sheet on Texas Wild Fires can be found here. The stats updated as of half an hour ago include these sobering numbers:

Total fires in Texas since Nov. 15, 2010: 20,906

Total acres burned in Texas since Nov. 15, 2010: 3,601,775

(exceeds previous record of 2,105,361 acres set in 2005-2006)

Fires in Texas in 2011: 18,887

Fires nationally in 2011: 55,477

Proportion of total national fires in 2011 that have occurred in Texas: 34 percent

Acres burned in Texas in 2011: 3,538,852

Acres burned nationally in 2011: 7,213,113

Proportion of total national acres that have burned in Texas: 49 percent

Ten-year U.S. national average acres burned: 5,863,193 acres/year

Six of the 10 largest wildfires in Texas history occurred in 2011.

Total Aviation Hours: 13,577.05 (As of 9/5/11)

Total aviation drops: 40,950

Gallons of fire retardant dropped: 4,856,080

Gallons of water dropped: 20,851,869

Most flight hours recorded in a single day: 238.39 (20 June 2011)

Most gallons of water and retardant dropped in a single day: 1,188,883 (1 Sept 2011)

(Note: All air operation figures are from 21 Dec. 2010, when record-keeping began.)

Texas counties where Texas Forest Service has fought wildfires: 199 of 254

Homes and structures saved since November 15, 2010: 45,359

Homes saved: 29,055

Homes and structures lost since November 15, 2010: 3,523

Homes lost: 1,091

Record number of homes lost in Texas history on a single fire: 476 homes lost on the Bastrop County Complex Fire on Sept. 4 and 5, 2011.

Texas Accent? What Texas Accent?

A few years ago, I was in California for a large meeting in the company I worked for. I'm an Okie who lived in the Permian Basin most of my adult life. So my soft Oklahoma drawl is overlaid with a layer of West Texas twang. Whenever I visited the corporate offices in Silicon Valley, it wasn't unusual for people to follow me around listening - not so much melodious as a novelty, I expect.

Among the international staff attending this day-long meeting was a woman from our South Korean office. She commented to me during one session that she was having trouble following the speakers (all from the West Coast), due to their accents. She said she had to translate from English to Korean in her head and their pronunciation made this a real challenge.

We were staying at the same hotel, and had dinner together that night. Mindful of what she had told me earlier, I tried to speak slowly and distinctly. At one point I asked her directly if she was able to understand
me ok?

She laughed and said "I went to school at UT. I learned to speak English in Texas. You sound normal to me!"

The University of Texas at Austin ranks consistently in the top 10 US schools educating international students every year. Foreign students at UT focus especially in science and engineering fields. Texas A&M has the second highest international enrollment in Texas. Texas universities have the 3rd highest population of foreign student enrollments in the country, following only California and New York. They come from all over the world, and top home countries for these students are South Korea, India, China, Mexico, and Taiwan.

I keep seeing articles where people opine that Texas accents are some kind of drawback to a successful political campaign.

They should be remindful that such an attitude toward regional dialects is not only inaccurate and based on faulty comparisons, but also is likely to seem awfully provincial on the world stage, where, to a high percentage of international graduates, this is the normal American accent.



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