Month: April 2015

by

News/Politics 4-13-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread.

Here’s a couple to start things off.

1. Hillary has officially announced her candidacy for President. So in honor of the occasion, here’s a list of her current scandals.

From TheNYPost  “Expected to announce her presidential run Sunday, Hillary Clinton has been attempting to rebrand herself: She’s Hillary 2.0, campaigning out of Brooklyn, a more accessible, relatable candidate who learned the lessons of her bruising, failed 2008 bid: From now on, no equivocating, no entitlement, no dubious financial dealings. How much has changed?

The Shady Foundation”

“And as Politico reported last week, a major phosphate company owned by the Moroccan government has just pledged at least $1 million to the foundation. In 2011, Clinton’s State Department assailed Morocco as a corrupt state guilty of “arbitrary arrests and corruption in all branches of government.” Women in Morocco are still subjugated by Islamic rule, yet last September, Hillary Clinton’s public stance on the government had changed.

“A vital hub for economic and cultural exchange,” she called it, one that was “in the midst of dramatic changes.”

_____________________________________

2. Memories Pizza has reopened for business. 🙂

From TheWashingtonTimes  “A northern Indiana pizzeria that closed after its owner said his religious beliefs wouldn’t allow him to cater a gay wedding opened Thursday to a full house of friends, regulars and people wanting to show their support.

“It’s a relief to get going again and try to get back to normal,” said Kevin O’Connor, owner of Memories Pizza.

Mr. O’Connor closed the shop for eight days after comments by him and his daughter, Crystal, to a local television station supporting a new religious objections law. The law, which has since been revised, sparked a boycott of Indiana.”

“Mr. O’Connor said the criticism hasn’t changed his beliefs. He said gays are welcome in his restaurant in the small, one-traffic-light town of Walkerton, 20 miles southwest of South Bend, but that he would decline to cater a same-sex wedding because it would conflict with his Christian beliefs.”

_____________________________________

 

by

Our Daily Thread 4+11=15

Good Morning!

The weekend has arrived. 🙂

Today’s header photo is from Janice.

______________________________________________

On this day in 1783, after receiving a copy of the provisional treaty on March 13, the U.S. Congress proclaimed a formal end to hostilities with Great Britain.  

In 1898 President William McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war with Spain.

In 1899 the treaty ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect. 

In 1945 American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany.

And in 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major-league history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

______________________________________________

Quote of the Day

“I have three beautiful children and a World Series ring. That’s all I need.” 🙂

Mark Teixeira

______________________________________________

Today is Richard Berry’s birthday.

______________________________________________

Anyone have a QoD?

by

Prayer Requests 4-11-15

Anyone have something to share?

Psalm 110

¹The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

by

Our Daily Thread 4-10-15

Good Morning!

It’s Friday!!!

Today’s header photo is from Cheryl.

______________________________________________

On this day in 1790 the U.S. patent system was established. 

In 1825 the first hotel opened in Hawaii. 

In 1862 Union forces began the bombardment of Fort Pulaski in Georgia along the Tybee River.

In 1865, during the American Civil War, General Robert E. Lee issued his last order. 

And in 1963 129 people died when the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher failed to surface off Cape Cod, MA.

______________________________________________

Quote of the Day

“A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will in time produce a people as base as itself.”

Joseph Pulitzer

______________________________________________

 Today is Brian Setzer’s birthday.

And one more. 🙂

______________________________________________

Anyone have a QoD?

by

Prayer Requests 4-10-15

It’s Friday, so please remember to pray for Mumsee, Mike, and the Nestlings.

Anyone else?

Psalm 108

¹O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

3 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

4 For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;

6 That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.

7 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;

9 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.

10 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

11 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?

12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.

13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

by

News/Politics 4-10-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

Here’s a few to start things off.

1. Despite the press’ best efforts to portray him as a big old meanie because he won’t play along with their gotcha questions, Rand’s stock is up. And Hillary’s is down. 🙂

From YahooNews  “Democrat Hillary Clinton has slipped against leading 2016 Republican candidates in Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, according to a poll released on Thursday that cited damage from the furor over the former secretary of state’s emails.

The Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll also showed Clinton in a close race with U.S. Senator Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who declared his candidacy on Tuesday.

Clinton, who is expected to announce her White House bid this month, is tied with all the Republican candidates in Colorado and almost all of them in the early voting state of Iowa, the poll said.

“It isn’t just one or two Republicans who are stepping up; it’s virtually the entire GOP field that is running better against her” since the last swing state survey on Feb. 18, pollster Peter Brown said in a statement.

He attributed the drop to the controversy that erupted in March over Clinton’s use of personal email for work when she was America’s top diplomat. Republicans have raised the prospect of congressional hearings on the issue.”

_____________________________________

2. If that hurt her, then this should too.

From TheHill  “The Clinton Foundation reportedly accepted millions of dollars from a Colombian oil company head before then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to support a trade deal with Colombia despite worries of human rights violations.

The report in the International Business Times comes as Clinton readies an expected run for president. She’s been dogged by questions about whether foreign donations to her foundations could have influenced her official decisions.

The report centers on donations from Frank Giustra and the oil company that he founded, Pacific Rubiales. In a Wall Street Journal story from 2008, Giustra is described as a “friend and traveling companion” of former President Clinton who donated more than $130 million to Clinton’s philanthropies. He’s also a Clinton Foundation board member and has participated in projects and benefits for the foundation.

When workers at Pacific Rubiales decided to strike in 2011, the Columbian military reportedly used force to stop the strikes and compel them to return to work, IBT reports, citing the Washington office of Latin America, a human rights group. Those accusations of human rights violations were part of the criticism of the United States-Colombia Free Trade Promotion Agreement, which was passed by Congress later that year. Pacific Rubiales has repeatedly denied charges that it infringed on workers’ rights.

On the campaign trail in 2008, Hillary Clinton, along with then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, opposed the deal as a raw deal for workers, according to IBT. The pair changed their tune after the election and publicly supported the trade agreement. As secretary of State, Clinton’s State Department certified annually that Colombia was “meeting statutory criteria related to human rights.””

_____________________________________

3. The incestuous relationship between the Obama White House and Google is an interesting read. And now Hillary and other Dems will use this to their benefit as well. I wonder where the American press has been on this story? OK, not really….

From TheDailyMail  “Google executives and employees donated more than $1.6 million to Obama’s two White House campaigns, and the online search giant parachuted top talent into both.

One result has been a coziness with the U.S. government’s executive branch that few other companies can match – marked by access for lobbyists, mentions in nearly half of Obama’s State of the Union addresses, and a personnel feeder trough serving the White House with new senior hires.

There have even been allegations that Google’s up-close-and-personal relationship with the West Wing earned it a reprieve from what would have been an earth-shaking Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit.

Google has insisted it never received special treatment in that case, punctuating its denials with an animated GIF of a laughing baby as a jab at the news outlet that leveled the charge.

White House visitor logs suggest a different kind of story for the company whose motto is ‘Don’t be evil.’

Employees of the Silicon Valley behemoth have been in the White House more than 230 times since Obama took office – approximately once per week. At least 190 of those meetings were with senior officials.”

Much more info at the link.

_____________________________________

by

Our Daily Thread 4-9-15

Good Morning!

Today’s header photo is from Donna.

______________________________________________

On this day in 1682 Robert La Salle claimed the lower Mississippi River and all lands that touch it for France. 

In 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McClean’s home. 

In 1872 S.R. Percy received a patent for dried milk. 

And in 1947 169 people were killed and 1,300 were injured by a series of tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. 

______________________________________________

Quote of the Day

“Law is the essential foundation of stability and order, both within societies, and in international relations.”

J. William Fulbright

______________________________________________

 Today is Carl Perkin’s birthday. So here’s Carl with half the Beatles, Rosanna Cash, Eric Clapton, and others. From Larry Privat 

______________________________________________

Anyone have a QoD?

by

Prayer Requests 4-9-15

It’s Thursday, so please remember to pray for the folks in PNG.

Anyone else?

Psalm 107:1-8

¹O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.

5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!