Once More

Once last stab at some political/governmental wisdom, this time a bit more contemporary in origin.

• Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. -Ronald Reagan (1986)


• Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)


• Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University


• Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian


• What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

Trees in Bloom

Here it is just the end of February, and trees are busting out in bloom all over. Not all trees of course, but the ones that are blooming sure are pretty right now. The tree above is one of two at the entrance to our church building. I'm pretty "tree ignorant," so I don't know what kind of trees these are, but they are pretty and sort of smell funny when they bloom each year. As an aside, they are also good climbing trees... just ask all the 8-10 year old kids at church.

The shots below are of almond trees that are in the large creek (drainage ditch) next to our property. I know that they are almond trees because someone told me they are.



Tonight is the "final" Democratic debate. I think this calls for a few more historical perspectives on politics and government.

• I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill
• I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -Will Rogers
• The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill
• A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. - George Bernard Shaw
• Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. -Unknown

Stewardship Sunday

Today was the day our finance team talked about how God worked through us in our giving and expenditures in 2007 and the challenges for 2008. Brice asked us to think about what kind of givers we are as we respond in gratitude to all God has done for us. It was actually a really good morning, and people were really getting into the worship time as we read and prayed and sang about our wonderful God. I for one am looking forward to how God works through us this year. Let's enjoy the ride!!

Up, Up, and Away

Well, today's rain and wind held off for our trip to the airport this morning. It was overcast and drizzled a bit, but the bulk of the storm isn't supposed to get here until this evening.

It was a good time of the day to fly as well, with very few others arriving for flights at the time we were. That made it much easier to negotiate with Ruby and her walker... easier to get a wheel chair... easier to get through security. All went smoothly, and Ruby made it to her plane for an on time departure to Nashville. It was a good two-week visit, and we even heard a few new stories!!

I'll close by dipping a bit further back in history than Mark Twain for a few more insights into government and politics. Enjoy!

• Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -Pericles (430 B.C.)
• In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -Voltaire (1764)
• A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -Thomas Jefferson
• Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
• The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

Who will be the nominees from the Republicans? The Democrats? What direction will the campaign take once the nominees are official? How negative and nasty will the ads get? How many promises will be made... and later broken? Can anyone really "reach across the aisle" to get anything accomplished on behalf of the people? I guess time will answer these questions... sooner or later. In the mean time, I thought it might be fun to look at what others down through the years have had to say about politics. Today we'll listen to some things Mark Twain had to say:

• Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat myself.
• If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.
• No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
• The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
• There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.

Who would have known that things would have changed so much since Twain's time?!?!

Word Play

A friend recently sent me this interesting exercise in word play. As one who has always loved puns, the "lowest form of humor," I've seen many of these before, just not in one list. I got a kick out of then none-the-less and thought you might enjoy them as well.

A backward poet writes inverse.
- A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
- Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.
- Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
- Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
- A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.
- A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
- Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.
- When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
- A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
- What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway.)
- Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
- In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.
- A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
- If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.
- With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
- When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
- The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
- You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
- Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.
- He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
- Every calendar's days are numbered.
- A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.
- A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
- He had a photographic memory that was never developed.
- A plateau is a high form of flattery.
- A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.
- Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
- Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.
- Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.
- Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
- Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
- Acupuncture is a jab well done.
- Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

Eclipse

OK, I realize I'm probably only one in a ga-zillion to watch the lunar eclipse tonight and snap a few pics, but I gotta post these grainy babies!! Sure the air was chilly; sure I'm still recovering from the flu or something; sure our backyard was probably not the best viewing location... no matter. Here they are, straight from my camera for your viewing pleasure.

Going...

Going...

Cloudy...

Going...

Gone...

Interesting tidbit... it seems that the moon turns sort of orange during a lunar eclipse because the light from the sun that is hitting it passes through the earth's atmosphere which filters out the blue spectrum. Interesting, eh!?!

Rain... sort of

It's been dry and beautiful for the last couple of weeks, but we're supposed to get some more wet weather this week, and it was supposed to start today, with a pretty wet afternoon. I guess it did... sort of... rained or drizzled some, but never really rained, if you know what I mean.

I saw this quote by a guy named Patrick Young, "The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it."

Think that may be the most accurate thing I've ever read about forecasting the weather.

Starting Thursday the forecast is for 60-70% chance of rain each day through Sunday. Wonder if I should ignore it or rely on it... guess we'll see.

Sugar Land Meets the Bay

Saturday was a travel day for the girls... VJ, Lisa and Ruby. Still under the weather a bit, I stayed home to just rest and recup. They had a great time and even brought home photos. Here are a few.

They said all the trees and flowers in Golden Gate Park were just ready to "bust out" into spring bloom.

The fog cleared away from the coast to provide some breathtaking views.

They drove over into Marin County to look around, eat lunch and get this shot of SF.

Green Hills of Winter

Yesterday Virginia and Lisa hiked up to the hills behind our neighborhood and just enjoyed the clear air, the blue skies, and the view. Here are a couple of shots.

Looking northwest back across the neighborhood.

Looking down on Contra Loma Resevoir.

Couple of More Photos

Many of you know that Virginia's mom, Ruby Bean, has joined us for a two week visit. It's pretty neat that we've gotten both our moms to come visit this winter. Jeremy and Amber were able to come up for a quick visit over the weekend, and here they are with Ruby just before we took them back to the airport.



Ken McKenzie has been a favorite of Ruby's since he used to come visit his grandmother in Oxnard from Arizona back in the 70's. The Bean family more or less adopted him, as they did many others over the years, and he's made a point of staying in touch. As a pilot for American Airlines, he occasionally makes it to Nashville, but he lives in Santa Rosa with his family, so he drove over Wednesday afternoon and they had a nice long visit.

Our good friend from Houston, Lisa McVey, is flying in tonight for a long weekend visit, so Ruby may have to "party" a little more than she's used to. We'll see! :-)

Time for Some Pics

A while back I wrote about an outing with the daughter of some old friends. She was on a mission trip to inner city SF at Glide Memorial, and we met her during a free afternoon and took her to Napa. She sent us some pics from the day (we forgot to take a camera), so I'll post them now.

Interesting shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

One of those Napa vineyards.

Lydia enjoying a beautiful day.

We enjoyed it as well.

If you're in Napa, I guess you need a shot of a wine bottle as well, eh!?! :-)

Chesterton

Here are some quotes by G. K. Chesterton for your consideration. I like him not only because he was brilliant but also because he simply did not fit into anybody's box.

"Fairy tales don't teach children there are dragons; children already know there are dragons. Fairy tales teach children that dragons can be slain."

"The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man."

"The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people."

"If there were no God, there would be no atheists."

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."

Not Meant to Be

OK... time for what I'm sure will be numerous commentaries on Super Bowl 42. I remember when the Dolphins went 17-0 to win in 1972, and after tonight they remain the only to complete an undefeated season. It was actually a pretty exciting game... both defenses, especially the Giants, played well, and Eli Manning looked like... well, like a champion. Congrats to the Giants... and to the Pats as well.

Perhaps of interest, on this date in 1912, new U.S. football rules changed a touchdown to count six points instead of five; four downs were allowed instead of three; and the kickoff was moved from midfield to the 40 yd. line, helping shape the game we watch today.



But, for those who understand that there is more to life than football, on this date in 1959, a plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, claiming the lives of rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson... the day the music died.

Wait, maybe there is a connection here... my guess is the Pats feel a whole lot like Don McLean describes in his 71 hit, "American Pie."

A long, long time ago...I can still remember

How that music used to make me smile.

And I knew if I had my chance

That I could make those people dance

And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver

With every paper I’d deliver.

Bad news on the doorstep;

I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride,

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.

Drove my chevy to the levee,

But the levee was dry.

And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.

"this’ll be the day that I die."

And, Eli Manning... no Chevy for him... a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. I guess the music is still playing afterall.

New Grandkid Pics

Jennifer recently posted new photos of the kids on her Flicker site. Here are a few samples I downloaded for my viewing pleasure... oh, and yours too. :-)

Claire loves her little play gym thingy, and, now that she's sitting up, she has a whole new way to play with the toys.

Speaking of sitting up, how about this pic!!

Kaleb is such a good big brother, and he really loves his little sis!

We gave Claire this saucer play thingy for Christmas. She was a touch too little for it then, but she seems to be making up for lost time. Have fun, Sweetie!!

Now, I believe in teaching kids to help with the chores, but doing laundry before 6 months may be stretching it a bit. I think Jen had to help her stand up by the basket, but she seems to be standing there comfortably, eh?

Well, that's it for this time. Aren't you glad you stopped by!?!