Category: Uncategorized

LIVE THREAD: 20200603 10am EDT Rosenstein Before Senate Judiciary Committee

Opinions rage on a number of members if the never ending Swamp Theater, and one of the biggest lightening rods, is, well, Rod Rosenstein. As a refresher on what he was up to PRIOR to being a figure in the Russia Russia Russia fiasco, wiki provides his resume:

Rosenstein attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in economics.[21]

After graduating from Penn, Rosenstein attended Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. While at Harvard, Rosenstein landed an internship with then acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Robert Mueller. Rosenstein graduated cum laude in 1989 with a Juris Doctor degree.[21] He then served as a law clerk to Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[22] He was a Wasserstein Fellow at Harvard Law School in 1997–98.[23]

Early career

Rosenstein during his time working for the Independent Counsel. Brett Kavanaugh, Alex Azar, and Ken Starr are present.

After his clerkship, Rosenstein joined the United States Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. From 1990 to 1993, he prosecuted public corruption cases as a trial attorney with the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, the latter of which was led by then Assistant Attorney General Robert Mueller.[21][24]

During the Clinton Administration, Rosenstein served as Counsel to Deputy Attorney General Philip B. Heymann (1993–1994) and Special Assistant to Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Jo Ann Harris (1994–1995). Rosenstein then worked in the United States Office of the Independent Counsel under Ken Starr on the Whitewater investigation into President Bill Clinton.[25] As an Associate Independent Counsel from 1995 to 1997, he was co-counsel in the trial of three defendants who were convicted of fraud, and he supervised the investigation that found no basis for criminal prosecution of White House officials who had obtained FBI background reports.[21]

United States Attorney Lynne A. Battaglia hired Rosenstein as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland in 1997.[21]

From 2001 to 2005, Rosenstein served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice. He coordinated the tax enforcement activities of the Tax Division, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the IRS, and he supervised 90 attorneys and 30 support employees. He oversaw civil litigation and served as the acting head of the Tax Division when Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O’Connor was unavailable, and he personally briefed and argued civil appeals in several federal appellate courts.[26]

U.S. Attorney

President George W. Bush nominated Rosenstein to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland on May 23, 2005. He took office on July 12, 2005, after the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination.[24][26] He was the only U.S. Attorney retained by President Barack Obama.

As United States Attorney, he oversaw federal civil and criminal litigation, assisted with federal law enforcement strategies in Maryland, and presented cases in the U.S. District Court and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.[26] In 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder directed Rosenstein to investigate leaks regarding the U.S.’s Stuxnet operation, which sabotaged Iran’s nuclear program; as a result of the investigation, former U.S. Marine Corps General James Cartwright pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI and acknowledged leaking information about the operation to New York Times journalist David E. Sanger.[27] During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Rosenstein successfully prosecuted leaks of classified information, corruption, murders and burglaries, and was “particularly effective taking on corruption within police departments.” [28]

Rosenstein secured several convictions against prison guards in Baltimore for conspiring with the Black Guerrilla Family.[25] He indicted Baltimore police officers Wayne Jenkins, Momodu Gondo, Evodio Hendrix, Daniel Hersl, Jemell Rayam, Marcus Taylor, and Maurice Ward for racketeering.[29] Rosenstein, with the aid of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Drug Enforcement Administration, secured convictions in large scale narcotics cases in the District of Maryland, including the arrest and conviction of Terrell Plummer,[30] Richard Christopher Byrd,[31][32] and Yasmine Geen Young.[33]

The Attorney General appointed Rosenstein to serve on the Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, which evaluates and recommends policies for the Department of Justice. He was vice-chair of the Violent and Organized Crime Subcommittee and a member of the Subcommittees on White Collar Crime, Sentencing Issues and Cyber/Intellectual Property Crime. He also served on the Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Coordination Committee.

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Rosenstein to prosecute General James Cartwright, a former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for leaking to reporters.[25] Cartwright pled guilty, but was later pardoned.[25]

Rosenstein served as the U.S. Attorney in Maryland at a time when murders in the state dropped by about a third, which was double the decline at the national level. Robberies and aggravated assaults also fell faster than the national average. According to Thiru Vignarajah, the former deputy attorney general of Maryland, “Collaboration between prosecutors, police, and the community combined with a dogged focus on violent repeat offenders was the anchor of Rosenstein’s approach.” Rosenstein regarded the heroin and opioid epidemic as a public health crisis, hired a re-entry specialist to help ex-offenders adjust to life outside of prison, and prosecuted several individual cases of corrupt police officers.[34]

Judicial nomination

In 2007, President Bush nominated Rosenstein to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Rosenstein was a Maryland resident at the time. Maryland’s Democratic United States Senators, Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, blocked Rosenstein’s nomination, claiming he did not have strong enough ties to Maryland.[35]

Deputy Attorney General of the United States

Nomination and confirmation

Rosenstein being sworn in as Deputy Attorney GeneralAppointment of Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election and related matters

President Trump nominated Rosenstein to serve as Deputy Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice on February 1, 2017.[36][37] He was one of the 46 United States Attorneys ordered on March 10, 2017, to resign by Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Trump declined his resignation.[38] Rosenstein was confirmed by the Senate on April 25, 2017, by a vote of 94–6.[39][40]

Various oracles have opined on Mr. Rosenstein, but the one that counts, Q, first brings him in over two years ago:

1318

Q!2jsTvXXmXs8 May 2018 – 12:36:41 AM

Think LOGICALLY.
Mass exodus in DC?
Mass exodus – corporate CEOs?
Why?
Who has the POWER?
Who has the CONTROL?
If POTUS was NOT IN CONTROL would they be retreating?
Who is the AG?
Who MUST approve the firing/dismissal of DOJ officials?
Re_read DOJ org change (open source – more in pipe)
Who is the FBI director?
Who MUST approve the firing/dismissal of FBI agents?
Re_read FBI org change (open source – more in pipe)
If SESSIONS & WRAY are DC SWAMP/DEEP STATE why are they cleaning their respective houses?
Use LOGIC.
Why are they slow walking unredacted data?
Why are they slow walking doc disclosures?
Why is the WH backing up DOJ?
What if the same data is being used by other investigators?
What does it mean if a grand jury is impanelled?
Why are confusing questions asked as to outcome re: Mueller?
What would be the purpose of creating confusion?
What was Sessions’ Senate confirmation vote?
What was RR’s Senate confirmation vote?
If RR is dirty, Mueller must also be dirty.
If Mueller is dirty, RR must also be dirty.
Common denominator.
Why did Sessions pick RR?
Everyone has an opinion.
Few have the facts.
Few know the plan.
Midterms [save & push]?
Swing voters to retake House/Senate?
Impeachment proceedings (open source) initiated?
Power at all costs?
Blue wave?
Use LOGIC.
Why must the DOJ & FBI be cleaned FIRST?
What is the DOJ responsible for?
What is the FBI responsible for?
Why did HRC get a free pass?
Use LOGIC.
Define single shooter.
Who is HUBER?
Define IG.
When does SESSIONS step back in?
Already is?
Why did SESSIONS secretly engage HUBER?
Why did SESSIONS reveal HUBER?
Timing is everything.
Department of Justice does not discuss ongoing investigations or confirm specific matters,
What about the active investigation into leaks?
“Horowitz oversees a nationwide workforce of more than 450 special agents, auditors, inspectors, attorneys, and support staff whose mission is to detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct in DOJ programs and personnel, and to promote economy and efficiency in Department operations.”
Why did MP step into the C_A prior to Sec of State?
They are deeply connected.
Think Offshore.
MIL INTEL providing support during this time?
Why are select EO’s aggressively being written and put into law?
State/C_A next?
Think logically.
No outside comms.
JUSTICE.
Q

In other words, prior to the Mueller probe, which turned out to be a gigantic hamster wheel to nowhere, Mr. Rosenstein was trusted by the swamp.

What color hat he REALLY wears is yet to be revealed.

Stay tuned.

6-3-20 Midweek Musings

Pentecost Sunday
May 31, 2020
“The Gift of Jesus and His Continued Presence”

Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3-13
John 20:19-23

My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord –

Not long ago, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic – and while everyone was sheltering in place – I received an anonymous letter. It was from someone who was devastated by the American bishops’ order suspending Mass and all other religious gatherings.

The writer seemed to be very upset both spiritually and psychologically. The reception of Jesus in the Eucharist had been their almost sole source of strength and courage in the past. They needed the Eucharist as if it were the only way to be one with Jesus – and, thus, be able to survive the pain and the hardship which are part of everyone’s life.

The writer implied that the clergy had deserted Jesus much like the disciples did after the first Eucharist on the night before he died! We were certainly not doing what we were ordained to do!

Unfortunately, the writer seemed to be unaware of many things:
– that each believing person possesses Jesus within their heart and soul –
– that we must have a personal relationship with Jesus and a life with him apart from any tangible sign or sacrament –
– that the grace of God and the power of God are always there for us if we ask for them –
– that Jesus is present in the scriptures as the divine Word of God –
– that Jesus is in our midst whenever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name – probably even through SKYPE –
– that Catholics and other Christians survived and grew in their faith while prisoners of war for 3 or 4 years, or even longer, without the Eucharist –
– that we have an obligation under the 5th Commandment not to inflict harm on others or cause them to die by spreading the virus –
– that our present situation is only temporary – but like the Spanish Flu of 1918-1920, might have a 2nd or 3rd wave –
– that Jesus said there is no greater love than to lay down our life – or give up anything less – so that another can live!

What we all need to survive any crisis is the presence of God within us. The Father is always there with His creative life-force to sustain us, body and soul. Jesus is always there for us and will be with us until the end of time through his gift of the Holy Spirit which we celebrate on this great feast of Pentecost.

The Gospel for today tells us that Jesus bestowed that Spirit on the night of his Resurrection. But even before that bestowal, Jesus gifted the disciples with his peace. In fact, he said those wonderful words twice: “Shalom!” “Peace be with you!” Then he gave them the Holy Spirit and told them to carry on his work – especially the work of healing and forgiveness which we all so desperately need!

The second outpouring of the Holy Spirit was on that first Pentecost. The disciples had been paralyzed by mortal fear only moments before – Nevertheless, with that outpouring they became changed! They became absolutely fearless! Moreover, the good people who had assembled outside were also gifted. Each was able to hear what the apostles said in their own language! Moreover, hundreds became believers and new disciples on that day!

In the second reading, St. Paul teaches us that we can’t even acknowledge that “Jesus is Lord” without the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Godhead, the Trinity, has a unique plan and purpose for each of us during our time here. All of our gifts come from the Holy Spirit. The service we render comes from Jesus who commissions us. The creative work we do is empowered by our divine Father! And only fear and selfishness can impede us from doing Christ’s work and becoming who God has called us to be!

Fear always paralyzes us and keeps us from doing what we should and must. However, the gift of the Spirit casts out fear. The Holy Spirit enables us to accept mystery. It enables us to live in mystery without knowing the “what” – or understanding the “why” of the Father’s design and plan. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit always brings us peace – of mind, heart, and soul – a peace which “surpasses understanding”!

Our personal, interior peace will enable us to accept whatever might come. It enables us to rejoice both in good times and in bad, and in health or in sickness – knowing that we have no lasting city here on earth – But that we have an eternal home already prepared for us in the Kingdom of Heaven!

And so, Brothers and Sisters, let us open ourselves to what the Holy Spirit continues to be for us. May we become fearless before whatever we must face in whatever lies ahead – And may our personal, interior relationship with Jesus sustain us even when we cannot celebrate the great gift of his Eucharist!
Amen.

May 31, 2020 Msgr. Russell G. Terra
Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Redding, CA
*http://www.stjosephredding.org/parish-homilies.html

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Dear KMAG: 20200531 Open Topic

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

This Superlative Sanctuary Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It is also a place to read, post and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for your fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure you’re addressing the issue only, and not trying to confront the poster.

Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name calling, ridicule, insults, baiting and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion , outlined here. Let’s not give the Internet Censors a reason to shut down this intellectual haven that Wolf has created for us.

The Storm is upon us.
Please remember to Pray for our President.

Our movement is about
replacing a failed and CORRUPT political establishment
with a new government
controlled by you, the American People.

~ Candidate Donald J. Trump

Also remember Wheatie’s Rules:

  1. No food fights.
  2. No running with scissors.
  3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

And,

On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up

Hopefully, every Sunday, you can find something here that will build you up a little . . . give you a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” . . . “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

by Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Scriptures: Revelation 21:4; 22:3, 5
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:19–22

Our Wondrous Hope!

What gives a widow courage as she stands beside a fresh grave?

What is the ultimate hope of the disabled, the amputee, the abused, the burn victim?

How can the parents of children who have brain damage or physical handicaps keep from living their entire lives totally and completely depressed?

Why would anyone who is blind or deaf or paralyzed be encouraged when he or she thinks of the life beyond?

How can we see past the martyrdom of some helpless hostage or devoted missionary?

Where do the thoughts of a young couple go when they finally recover from the grief of losing their baby?

When a family receives the tragic news that a little daughter was found dead or their dad was killed in a plane crash or a son overdosed on drugs, what single truth becomes their whole focus?

What is the final answer to pain, mourning, senility, insanity, terminal diseases, sudden calamities, and fatal accidents?

The answer to each of these questions is the same: the hope of bodily resurrection.

We draw strength from this single truth almost every day of our lives—more than we realize. It becomes the mental glue that holds our otherwise shattered thoughts together. Impossible though it may be for us to understand the details of how God is going to pull it off, we hang our hopes on fragile, threadlike thoughts that say, “Someday, He will make it right” and “Thank God, all this will change” and “When we’re with Him, we shall be like Him.”

More than a few times a year I look into red, swollen eyes and remind the despairing and the grieving that “there’s a land that is fairer than day” when, as John promised in the Revelation,

“He will wipe away every tear . . . there will no longer be any death . . . any mourning, or crying, or pain.” . . . There will no longer be any curse . . . any night . . . because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. (21:4; 22:3, 5)

Hooray for such wondrous hope!

Just imagine . . . those who are physically disabled today will one day dance in beautiful coordination and leap in ecstatic joy. Those who spend their lives absorbed in total darkness will see every color in the spectrum of light. In fact, the first face they will see will be of the One who gives them sight. And those precious souls whose minds and emotions are limited by mental disability, disease, or old age will enjoy to the full unhindered and uninhibited relationships. It’s enough to put a smile on any weary face. There’s nothing like the hope of resurrection to lift the agonizing spirits of the heavyhearted.

Unless, of course, it’s all a cruel hoax.

That’s Paul’s whole point in 1 Corinthians 15:19. Remember how he put it? If bodily resurrection is only an empty dream, then “we are of all men most to be pitied.” All our preaching has a hollow ring to it, our faith is worthless, the dead have perished, and we are still under the condemnation of our sins (15:14, 16, 18). What a deplorable state of affairs! It’s enough to make all of us run and hide!

But wait. That hypothetical argument hinges on a conditional presupposition . . . if. “If there is no resurrection of the dead” (15:13), then we’re out to lunch. But there is a resurrection with all its promised hopes. It is as sure as we’re alive at this moment.

How can we be so certain that we will be resurrected? What is the source of our assurance? What gives us unshakable confidence in the face of death? The fact of Christ’s resurrection.

Because He has been raised, we too shall rise. As Paul stated in that same section of Scripture, “Christ [is] the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming” (15:23). That’s us! Jesus Himself promised, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25).

No wonder we get so excited every Easter! No wonder we hold nothing back as we celebrate His miraculous resurrection from the grave! It’s a double-barreled celebration: His triumphant hurrah over agony and our ultimate and eternal hooray.

How can I keep from singing?

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?

~ Robert Wadsworth Lowry

2020·05·30 KMAG Daily Thread

Back to Space!!

Obola made a mistake when he killed NASA’s manned spaceflight capability.

But perhaps not in the way you’re thinking.

We’ve been having to hitch rides to the ISS on Russian boosters ever since the Space Transportation System (the “Space Shuttle”) was decommissioned in 2011. At the time Obola said it was to encourage private enterprise to take up the slack, and NASA should concentrate on exploration…Lunar and Mars missions, unmanned exploration; the sorts of things NASA excels at.

This is actually a stated rationale I can agree with. (Settle down…I know it wasn’t the real reason.) If we are to become a truly spacefaring people…should we be leaving regular transportation to the government? The same government that couldn’t build an Obolacare website or that takes twenty years to widen an interstate?

And let’s face it, when Trump is no longer in charge, that’s the government we’ll have–grossly incompetent or grossly slow and cautious.

No. Get out of the way, and let innovative companies take it on. And so we have SpaceX and Boeing building transportation systems, the Dragon and the CST-100 Starliner, respectively. NASA contracts with them for ISS transportation. But unlike past NASA contracts, where they buy the equipment (Atlas, Delta, or Titan boosters, etc) from somebody but then manage it themselves, NASA is letting SpaceX run the show today.

It’s the same structure as buying airline tickets.

If space travel is ever to become routine and common–if we are ever to become a spacefaring species on anything more than an ad-hoc basis–this is the way it’s gotta be. Private companies running a service, that the government can buy–or not. They expect to have other customers.

This is what Obola dangled in front of us as he canceled the Space Shuttle [Edit–no, he canceled the system that was supposed to replace the shuttle]. He was almost certainly pulling a bait-and-switch of some sort. There’s be some reason not to put people on the SpaceX Dragon2 and the Boeing Starliner, some excuse…delay, delay. Just like how we knew he wanted to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline but had to clothe it in ordinary procedural bullsh*t.

In neither case did he bargain on his successor being a loyal American.

But that happened, and now we stand on the threshold of private manned orbital spaceflight. People are even booking tourist flights with companies planning to use the Dragon2!!

Alas it’s still only for people with huge amounts of cash…but it’s happening nonetheless.

https://letreasonreign.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/bearded-dragon-appears.jpg
Dragon2? They named it after ME? Cool!!!!

The Dragon2 capsule that (we hope) will go into orbit today can hold up to seven people, but typically is set up for four, with the remaining space given over to cargo that can’t be exposed to vacuum. It can run autonomously, or it can be controlled by astronauts. (Some of the space tourism flights are slated to have no human pilot.) Shots of the interior look “clean” rather than crammed full of instruments and controls–imagine the cabin of an airliner, not the cockpit, though even the passenger space on an airliner can look a bit “busy.” It does look a lot more spacious than cattle class on an airliner.

That’s the pressurized capsule. There’s an non-pressurized “trunk” right behind it, a cylindrical section that can carry cargo that need not be pressurized, in other words, cargo that can withstand vacuum. The trunk is abandoned before returning to Earth.

The Commander of the flight will be Douglas Hurley, joined by Robert Behnken as Joint Operations Commander. Hurley was also the pilot on the very last Space Shuttle mission, on the Atlantis. I’ll bet he’s looking forward to this! The spacecraft’s name should be announced today (if the mission is not again scrubbed).

They’ll dock with the International Space Station on Sunday. Before then they will test the spacecraft in orbit. The mission is otherwise expected to be automated, with the crew only taking over if something goes wrong.

The stage lifting the capsule will return to earth and land on a barge out in the Atlantic ocean, ready for re-use. This is something SpaceX has been doing for a few years now.

Once at the ISS, the crew will spend 30 to 90 days up there, and return in the same capsule for a splashdown in the Atlantic. The capsule, too, is intended to be reused.

If this launch doesn’t happen, (and the weather does look about as iffy as it did on Wednesday) then the next window is on Sunday, shortly after 3 PM ET. As in seven seconds after 3 PM.

These launch windows are exact, because the ISS is moving at 4.75 miles per second, 17,100 miles per hour, and it does little good to get to orbit when the ISS isn’t in the right location. Missing by a minute means missing by 285 miles, about the “height” of Colorado on a map. Fuel would have to be expended to change the Dragon2’s orbit, then change it back once it has synced up with the ISS. And that fuel would cut into payload. And it’s called a payload because it, and only it, is what the customer is actually paying for.

The estimates are that there is one chance in 276 that the crew won’t survive the mission, and one chance in 60 that the mission will fail with the crew being safe. (This is actually a better safety record than the Space Shuttle had–let’s hope that in the years to come we exceed it by a huge margin.)

It has been nine LONG years, but we’re going back to space, in a way that long-term will be vastly better than clunky government projects that take decades. It was painful, but I believe 20 years from now we will look back and say “it was worth it.”

So what was Obola’s mistake? As I alluded to before, he was probably trying to kill US manned spaceflight permanently. Turning NASA into nothing but an SJW advocacy organization.

Instead, he has done us some good.

Which can’t possibly be what he intended.

Oops! Sorry, Shithead! And no do-overs, not while in prison.

The Future

Space travel is expensive, and will continue to be expensive. We’re no longer throwing away the entire spacecraft after every flight, but they must still go through expensive refurbishment after every flight–and then the launch vehicle has to be re-assembled. SpaceX is doing this more cleanly than NASA, but even so, it’d be soooo much nicer if we could get to orbit with one stage. “Single State To Orbit” (SSTO) is the holy grail of space travel. It’s just out of our grasp, but close isn’t good enough.

Imagine if that spacecraft could be turned around and reused in a week…or a day.

That was the aim of this program…a valiant effort that fell short.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X

Add to that the fact that if you can get into and out of orbit…you can go anywhere on Earth in less than an hour, because a round trip in orbit is about ninety minutes. Imagine the Space Force delivering commandos to…well, fill in the blank! On an hour’s notice. Of course, that’s a lot harder, because you’re unlikely to be able to gas the sucker back up in hostile territory. Doing TWO orbits and reentries on one tank of gas is well beyond us. So far. But assuming a friendly destination, imagine what we can do if we can deliver something to (say) Diego Garcia in an hour.

And actually going to orbit will be significantly cheaper. As routine as the Pan Am flights in 2001? Maybe!

Of course the real answer is the space elevator, but that’s totally beyond our capabilities right now. We basically need SSTO before we can even think about building something that ambitious in orbit. The fundamental problem is we’re stuck “down here,” and have to get not just ourselves but everything we need to function, “up there.” But with a space elevator…it takes nothing but electricity to get “up there.” And once in orbit, the rest is easy.

Related Post

I wrote this on Apollo 11, for the 50th anniversary of the first landing of men on the Moon.

https://wqth.wordpress.com/2019/07/20/apollo-11-a-triumph-of-man-living-in-freedom

The Riots

Honestly, I wanted to focus on something positive today…so I’ll say nothing beyond that I’m sure this will not have the intended effect of bringing Trump down…or long distracting him and us from the quest for Justice.

But I will post my by-now standard quote, just to keep us “centered.”

Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People...Our campaign represents a true existential threat, like they’ve never seen before.

Then-Candidate Donald J. Trump
The Point of The Movement

By one interpretation (the likeliest one, I think), the current unpleasantness is just yet another tactic by that corrupt political establishment, to prevent the President from doing to them, what they badly need to have done to them. (Though I doubt POTUS really intends to use 12 gauge wire bore brushes on them.)

Memorial Day (Traditional)

Memorial Day wasn’t always the last Monday in May (sliding bears and all), it was once the 30th of May and did not move. So Saturday/Today is the “real” Memorial Day, if you want to look at it that way.

Lawyer Appeasement Section

OK now for the fine print.

This is the WQTH Daily Thread. You know the drill. There’s no Poltical correctness, but civility is a requirement. There are Important Guidelines,  here, with an addendum on 20191110.

We have a new board – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation.

And remember Wheatie’s Rules:

1. No food fights
2. No running with scissors.
3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
4. The gun is always loaded.
4a. If you actually want the gun to be loaded, like because you’re checking out a bump in the night, then it’s empty.
5. Never point the gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy.
6. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.
7. Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

(Hmm a few extras seem to have crept in.)

Today’s Coin

Now it wouldn’t be one of my posts without a coin, would it?

And yes, there’s one appropriate to our theme…a coin that depicted, allegorically, one of our proudest achievements. We put men on the Moon. So far, no one else has. And maybe we will again, soon. Unfortunately Eugene Cernan, the last man on the Moon, who surely must have hated holding that record, passed away in 2017 and did not live to see us go back. But soon, I think. During Trump’s third term.

https://www.usacoinbook.com/us-coins/1971-s-eisenhower-dollar.jpg
The Eisenhower Dollar, 1971-1978 (In 1975 and 1976, it was issued with a different reverse, to celebrate the bicentennial of the American Revolution.) This particular coin was produced in San Francisco in 1971.
The reverse is our focus here, as it is an adaptation of the Apollo 11 patch. In 1971 we were still taking trips to the Moon, and of course we were justifiably proud of the achievement.

“The Eagle Has Landed,” indeed.

The Eisenhower Dollar was the last full-sized “silver” dollar to be issued; in 1979 we went to the “Carter Quarter,” the Susan B. Anthony dollar, a coin just a bit larger than a quarter, and at a casual glance indistinguishable. Those were produced until 1981, then again in 1999, after which we went to the Sacajawea “golden dollar” which was the same size but colored quite differently.

Ike dollars are readily available at coin shops, they will charge a little bit over a dollar for them (they do have to make a living) but probably well under two dollars unless you want an uncirculated one…or a SILVER one.

Yes, some were made in silver for collectors, both in regular and proof finish, but alas not 90% silver like the older real silver dollars, but rather a 90% layer on each side surrounding a much-less-pure silver/copper alloy in the center, for a net 40% silver content. (Kennedy half dollars from 1965-1970 are like this too.) As long as the coin doesn’t start to tarnish, however, it will look like silver even on the edge, whereas our dime, quarter and half dollar today have that red-turning-to-brown edge on them. That solid silvery edge looks nifty.

Obligatory China Truth Bomb

Just one more thing, my standard Public Service Announcement. We don’t want to forget this!!! The President sure hasn’t. With the Chinese full takeover of Hong Kong…I sure hope this guy is doing OK.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=L3tnH4FGbd0%3F
I hope this guy isn’t rotting in the laogai somewhere!

中国是个混蛋 !!!
Zhōngguò shì gè hùndàn !!!
China is asshoe !!!

Is History Destiny? Maybe So, for Dianne Feinstein

We all know Di-Fi-Chi-Spy, the villainous Senator from California, had a Chinese spy as her office manager/driver for twenty years. But did you know her ties to China may have started before she was even born?

The genesis of this research was a posting scott467 made on 08 May 2020, here:

https://wqth.wordpress.com/2020/05/08/dear-kmag-20200508-open-topic/comment-page-1/#comment-490952

scott467

May 8, 2020 at 03:15

Just saw this at NeonRevolt… if true, hard to believe it was a secret until NOW!

https://gab.com/NeonRevolt/posts/104129159584004057

Ho-lee crap on this one, Anons!!

Dianne Feinstein’s mother was born in Harbin, China

The thing Anon doesn’t realize, however, is that Harbin is basically a border city with Russia. I know because I visited there once, and the people there are something of an admixture, by and large, with Russians coming down pretty regularly.

Given the timeframe and the name – I wouldn’t be shocked at all to learn that Betty Rosenberg Goldman were a Russian spy.

https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/141328214/betty-goldman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianne_Feinstein

­———————————————

The Findagrave memorial page for Dianne Feinstein’s mother Betty Rosenberg Goldman, does indeed list her birthplace as Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.

The problem with Findagrave is that ANYONE can add information to it, pretty much. It’s kind of like the Wikipedia of the dead! I never trust information I can only find there. In this case, on top of all the other strangeness I discovered, the listing for Betty Goldman is managed by someone/thing that goes by the acronym FOIA (Freedom of Information Act?). The way Findagrave works is people go out and photograph in cemeteries and make listings for the graves they find. Anyone can sign up and do it. You can USUALLY contact the person who “manages” the listing for any grave if you need further information. BUT, FOIA at Findagrave is shown as “Not Accepting Messages.” Why would that be? Who is FOIA? FOIA maintains almost 24,000 listings. Who knows what I would find if I could research them all?

Since Findagrave can have information from anyone, unaccompanied by references or documentation, it has to be confirmed with other more reliable documents, so I went looking. And whoo-boy, I found another origin story full of strange! None of the dates add up, places of birth are different on just about every document, and names were Americanized, which is not uncommon, but it does make tracing a family harder. Something about this story made the hair stand up on the back of my neck, I have to say.

I got this message from Wolfmoon after I posted in a comment a few things I found in a quick look into this origin story:

“Take your time – no immediate rush – and better if it becomes authoritative b/c zero errors. There is obviously a bunch of BS, lies and cover – very expected – but WOW. Top commie has top lies.

I’m also interested if there are ties to the Autonomous Jewish Region [Oblast] near the border with China. This is where the Rosenberg’s (Julius and Ethel’s) silent partner George Koval came from, when he returned as an “American” to infiltrate the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge and Dayton (polonium triggers).

Is there a “Rosenberg” connection? Unlikely, but who knows. Still, there may be a BIG PICTURE that comes out of this stuff.

Pinning down her past may explain a lot. Even if she wasn’t strong diaper, choosing an anti-diaper cover story says a lot.”

WOLFMOON

—————————————–

There was an obit for Betty Goldman in the NY Times in 1983:

“Betty Goldman, the mother of Mayor Dianne Feinstein, died Tuesday at a nursing home after a long illness.

She was 76 years old. Deputy Mayor Hadley Roff said Mrs. Goldman had been “gravely ill” from a chronic brain syndrome for seven years. The daughter of a Czarist army officer, Mrs. Goldman was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. The family fled during the 1917 revolution by driving a haycart across Siberia to Shanghai, then emigrating to Eureka, Calif.”

There is definitely some weirdness here, and storytelling going on, as there is documentary evidence which disproves almost everything in this short obituary. I am not going to speculate on the meaning of any of this information; I am just going to give it to you straight as I found it. I report, you decide.

The Rosenberg family immigrated to the U.S. in 1910. This contradicts information found in Betty Rosenberg Goldman’s obituary, which claims the family fled the 1917 revolution. But immigration papers don’t lie, and before the “story” in the obit, comes the actual record:

Rosenburg passenger list 1910-b

The family is stated in the record to have emigrated from VLADIVOSTOK. The family was originally listed as Russian, but there is a strikeout of that, with “German” written over it. The “Last Permanent Residence” was originally “Harbin, Manchuria” but it, too, was struck and replaced by “Vladivostok, Siberia.” The “Nearest Relative in Country of Origin” is a brother-in-law in Ussury, Siberia, which is right on top of Vladivostok on the map. It is unclear whether there was some misunderstanding of where the family had come from, or if they were only transiting through Vladivostok on their way to America, but I would speculate that they were not in Vladivostok very long.

As Wolfmoon asked, I looked but didn’t find direct connections to the Oblast George Koval came from. It was formally established in 1928, and is about 300 miles from Harbin. However if, as I suspect, Betty Rosenberg’s father traveled along with the Trans-Siberian Railway as it was being built, it runs through the Oblast to Vladivostok. A spur line runs to Harbin, when Betty was born. Koval’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 1910, the same year the Rosenbergs came to America from Vladivostok. David Rosenberg, Betty’s father, is stated to have been born in Riga, Russia, which is confirmed by his headstone. This is on the far western (European) side of Russia, about 200 miles from Belarus. Riga is 5700 miles from Vladivostok.

Every male on the immigration page with David Rosenberg was stamped with the occupation “farmer,” but many were struck out and something else written in. David’s was not, but I don’t assume that means he actually was a farmer. Was he a Czarist Army officer, as Betty Goldman’s obituary claims? The obit is full of falsehood, so there is some reason to doubt he was.

Since the listed relative in Russia was a brother-in-law in Ussury, Siberia, it is reasonable to speculate (but uncertain) that his wife, Efenia on this document (later Americanized to Helen), was born in Siberia. How David got from Riga to Ussery is unknown, but many Jews migrated along the path of the Trans-Siberian Railway, begun in Vladivostok in 1891. It was completed by working from both ends, the other end being Moscow. There are still today Jewish settlements all along its path.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Jews+and+the+Trans+Siberian+Railway

The family left Russia to immigrate to America, arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii aboard the Tenyo Maru on 30 April 1910. They continued on to California, arriving in San Francisco in May 1910:

Name:                       David Rosenberg

Gender:                     Male

Birth Date:                abt 1870

Age:                          40

Arrival Date:             2 0 May 1910

Port of Arrival:          San Francisco, California

Ship Name:               Tenyo Maru

Port of Departure:     Hong Kong, China

The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Customs Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Francisco; NAI Number: 4478116; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85

David Rosenberg died in 1914 in Eureka, California, only four years after arriving in the U.S.:

David Rosenberg headstone

Efenia changed her name to Helen sometime after arriving in the U.S. The family appears in the census in 1920

1920 United States Federal Census

Name:                                Helen Rosenberg

Age:                                   42

Birth Year:                         abt 1878

Birthplace:                         Russia

Home in 1920:                   San Francisco Assembly District 21, San Francisco, California

Street:                                 Missouri

House Number:                  293

Residence Date:                 1920

Race:                                  White

Gender:                              Female

Immigration Year:              1909

Relation to Head of House:     Head

Marital status:                     Widowed

Father’s Birthplace:            Russia

Mother’s Birthplace:           Russia

Native Tongue:                  Russian

Able to Speak English:       Yes

Home Owned or Rented:   Rented

Naturalization Status:         Alien

Able to Read:                     Yes

Able to Write:                    Yes

Neighbors:

Household Members:

Name                                       Age

Helen Rosenberg                     42

John Rosenberg                       22

Phillip Rosenberg                     19

Bessie Rosenberg                     15 (This is Betty)

Anna Rosenberg                      14

Nellie Rosenberg                     19 [daughter-in-law] (John’s wife)

Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 21, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_132; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 9

In the 1930 census, Betty Rosenberg lived with her mother Helen, in San Francisco. She again stated she was born in Russia. Don’t get hung up on the estimated birth year, all the names from the Findagrave for Betty Rosenberg Goldman, including the siblings appear here. Son Phillip has disappeared in this census. He doesn’t appear on the census in California that year. He may have moved out of state, or left the country, but I can’t positively locate him:

Name: Betty Rosenberg
Birth Year: abt 1904
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Russia
Marital status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Home in 1930: San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Map of Home: View Map
Street address: 28th Ave.
Block: 240
House Number: 655
Dwelling Number: 217
Family Number: 356
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father’s Birthplace: Russia
Mother’s Birthplace: Russia
Language Spoken: Russian
Immigration Year: 1910
Naturalization: Alien
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Model
Industry: Cloak and Suit
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker
Household Members:
Name Age
Helen Rosenberg 55
John Rosenberg 32
Betty Rosenberg 26
Annie Rosenberg 24

THEN, in 1940, Betty claims she was born in CALIFORNIA, and Dianne Goldman, who will become Dianne Feinstein, appears:

Name: Betty Goldman
[Betty Rosenberg]
Age: 34
Estimated birth year: abt 1906
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: California
Marital status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Street: Fillmore
House Number: 3672
Inferred Residence in 1935: San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Resident on farm in 1935: No
Sheet Number: 62B
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: College, 2nd year
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors:
Household Members:
Name Age
Leon Goldman 36
Betty Goldman 34
Diannne Goldman 6
Yvonne Goldman 3

The Social Security Death Index lists Betty Rosenberg Goldman’s date of birth as 25 Jun 1907, as do other documents where she would have been the declarant. This doesn’t match her headstone. It states she was born 25 Jun 1906. We’ll assume SHE knew her date of birth, and the headstone is incorrect.

Curiously, the Findagrave listing for her husband, Leon Goldman, states that the couple divorced in 1963. However, they are buried together:

Betty Goldman headstone

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141327983/leon-goldman

Leon Goldman died in 1975, eight years before his ex-wife.

———————————————-

So, that still leaves the question I began my quest with. Was Betty Goldberg born in China, Russia, or California? All of these places have appeared somewhere in her history. BUT, her naturalization document tells the tale:

Betty Goldman Naturalization

This document CONFIRMS Betty Goldman’s birthplace as HARBIN, CHINA. Betty was THIRTY-THREE when this document was filed, so she absolutely knew what year she immigrated as a child. If she told her own children otherwise, it was deliberate, not accidental.

So now we know for certain. Dianne Feinstein’s connection to China began before she was even a thought in her mother’s head. Who knows how this family connection influenced her over the years. Did it make her merely soft-hearted toward the Chinese, and easily fooled, or complicit in their treachery?

I know what I believe.

5-27-20 Midweek Musings

Genuinely Humble

March 27, 2020 by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Scriptures: Esther 6:1-12

The King Honors Mordecai

1  That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

4 So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

5 The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”

And the king said, “Let him come in.”

6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ”

10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”

11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”

12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. 

Genuinely Humble

“What goes around comes around.” That popular saying has never been truer than it is here. Things have gone around for Haman—yet they finally come around for Mordecai. Sitting on that horse in regal attire, he was the most surprised man in the kingdom. That’s the beauty of the story. He was not a proud man. He was not a vengeful man. He was not whispering, “Say it a little louder. Eat your heart out, Haman.” According to what is written here, Mordecai didn’t utter a word.

I think that’s what I appreciate most in this whole episode: the silence of Mordecai. How rare are the people who can be promoted to a place of highly visible significance and not live for their own clippings or crave the spotlight or demand center stage. Soft-spoken, genuinely humble celebrities are extremely rare. Not convinced? Check the rank and file of today’s pro athletes. How refreshing (and unusual!) to find a modern-day Mordecai!

In fact, the next thing we read is that “Mordecai returned to the king’s gate.” A brief phrase, it’s easy to overlook. But isn’t it wonderful? “Mordecai returned to the king’s gate,” it says, rather than, “Mordecai accepted a major promotion.” And do you know why it’s significant? Because that’s where he’s been all the time. His honor has not gone to his head. He just went back to work.

Have you recently been promoted? Has God’s providence smiled on you so that your name is now honored in circles where you were once not even known? Have you come to a place of popularity and prosperity? Are you now esteemed in the eyes of others? If so, the real question is: Are you still comfortable at the king’s gate, or must you now live in the palace? Must you now be treated with special care and be given kid-glove treatment and not be bothered with everyday problems? Mordecai shrugged, “Just drop me off where all this started—at the king’s gate.”

No matter what happens to you, remember “the pit from which you’ve been dug.” You’ll find the best place on earth is still pretty close to your roots. Like the country song reminds us, “Look how far I had to come, to get back where I started from.”

Verses to ponder –

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience . . .

Respect for the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

Let Freedom Ring!

 

xTJ-Healthcare-ad.png.pagespeed.ic.uc9LKizfNj

Find that quote here: Revolutionary War and Beyond, where you can read a nice article on the history of the Declaration of Independence. Click to read Jefferson’s personal account of the writing of the Declaration from the same site. And here is a transcription of the Declaration of Independence from our government archives.

And now to rev you up for declaring and celebrating our freedom from tyranny:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPpAZ9_qAw&w=560&h=315]

 

Right away, Independence Day was celebrated joyously. From PBS’ A Capital Fourth:

On July 8, 1776, the first public readings of the Declaration were held in Philadelphia’s Independence Square to the ringing of bells and band music. One year later, on July 4, 1777, Philadelphia marked Independence Day by adjourning Congress and celebrating with bonfires, bells and fireworks.

The custom eventually spread to other towns, both large and small, where the day was marked with processions, oratory, picnics, contests, games, military displays and fireworks. Observations throughout the nation became even more common at the end of the War of 1812 with Great Britain.

Ringing Bells.

Bands.

Bonfires.

Fireworks.

Music.

Picnics.

Oratory.

Military Displays.

Games.

Contests.

I think we all know how to celebrate this Civic Holiday. We all have memories of picnics and fireworks and parades. The importance of Independence Day celebrations in 2020 cannot be overstated. We are in a fight for the life of our beloved Republic. In that same PBS article, is a quote from Jefferson (his last letter) in which he wrote about the Declaration of Independence:

“May it be to the world, what I believe it will be … the signal of arousing men to burst the chains … and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That form, which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. …For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

– Thomas Jefferson
June 24, 1826 Monticello

Back when my kids were small, we celebrated the Fourth of July with special outfits (my mom would sew matching patriotic outfits for my kids to wear) and we would pack a picnic and head off to watch fireworks. One year we were in Boston and headed out early to secure a place near the orchestra.

It was so exciting to be in Boston for an Independence Day celebration and listen to the Boston Pops on the Esplanade. The place was so crowded that our little blanket spot was trampled by fellow citizens trying to secure spots, or move from one spot to another!

People would actually step over our children on their way to some other place! I’ll never forget it. Human nature. 🙂 But once the music started and everyone settled down, it was wonderful. The fireworks were brilliant, even if the kids were sleepy and we were all exhausted.

What mattered is that thousands of Americans gathered together to celebrate our freedom. The energy and patriotism could be FELT. Celebrating our Civic Holidays is vital to maintaining a patriotic spirit.

Nowadays, our children take their kids to the fireworks displays in their locales. If they happen to be around, we head out to the back 40 and have a big bonfire and our own fireworks. The kids have sparklers and we share a summer picnic meal. We might even shoot off a few guns.

This year, I think I’m going to share a few good books with the grandkids and maybe watch some patriotic films. I want them to know that they have “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

If we don’t teach them, who will? Not the schools. Not even most churches. Certainly not a bloated bureaucratic state that seeks to tell us what meds we can and MUST take, and whether we have the right to leave our house without a face mask!

It’s time to declare our Independence Day! Just over four weeks away, the Fourth of July 2020 is on a Saturday. Let’s celebrate it like our freedom depends on it!

Resources

Wee Sing America (Toddlers to age 7, CD and book of patriotic songs)

The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgleish, (Ages 4-8, endearing story for young children)

The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Betsy Maestro (Ages 6-10)

A New Nation: The United States, by Betsy Maestro (Grades 3-5)

The Star-Spangled Banner by Peter Spier (Ages 3-7)

America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates (Ages 3-7)

Presenting the Declaration of Independence puzzle

We The People Board Game

You’re a Grand Old Flag, by George M. Cohan, illustrated by Norman Rockwell (All ages)

This Land is Your Land, by Woodie Guthrie, illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen (All ages)

Yankee Doodle, A Song From the American Revolution, by Todd Ouren, a history of the song, lyrics and activities for children

Here is an exhibition from the Library of Congress called Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents. It ha s a wonderful online exhibition with a timeline.

James Cagney film Yankee Doodle Dandy

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StDpLge_ITM&w=560&h=315]

The Patriot with Mel Gibson

Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze

Hacksaw Ridge

Independence Day with Will Smith

Patton with George C. Scott

The Green Berets with John Wayne

Sergeant York with the great Gary Cooper

To Hell and Back with Audie Murphy playing…Audie Murphy

Captain America, the First Avenger

Men of Honor with Cuba Gooding, Jr.

I could go on and on. I hope you all will share your own great films, books, recipes, traditions and memories. Let us celebrate our great Republic, its founders, and the freedoms we need so desperately to retain and pass on.

Previous Posts

Make Civics Great Again

Take Back Our History

Needed: An Army of Mr. Smiths

Grandparents of the World, unite!

 

 

 

Dear KMAG: 04052020 Open Topic

Praise the Lord Anyway!

Your enemies have mocked me, O LORD; they mock your anointed king wherever he goes. Praise the LORD forever!  Amen and amen! (Psalm 89:51-52)

It’s easy to praise God when life is good. It’s a gorgeous spring day . . . praise the Lord! I just got a raise . . . praise the Lord! My doctor gave me a clean bill of health . . . praise the Lord! I got an “A”‘ on my final exam . . . praise the Lord!

But what about when life isn’t good? The wind chill factor today is minus 25 degrees . . . praise the Lord? I just lost my job . . . praise the Lord? My doctor says it’s cancer . . . praise the Lord? I’m going to fail that class . . . praise the Lord?

Psalm 89 exemplifies praising God when life is hard, praising God anyway. This psalm begins by singing of God’s unfailing love (89:1-2). Moreover, all of heaven will praise God’s great wonders (89:5). God’s faithfulness to his people is a cause for rejoicing (89:9). This faithfulness is centered in God’s covenant with David and his promise that David’s dynasty will go on forever (89:19-37). But then Psalm 89 takes a dark turn, even accusing God of renouncing his covenant with David (89:39). The psalmist cries out, “O LORD, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever?” (89:46). The penultimate verse of Psalm 89 laments, “Your enemies have mocked me, O LORD; they mock your anointed king wherever he goes” (89:51).

But then comes the startling conclusion: “Praise the LORD forever! Amen and amen!” What? Praise the Lord who has allowed his people to suffer, who has strengthened the enemies of Israel, whose unfailing love seems to have disappeared? Praise this Lord? Now?

Yes, that’s where Psalm 89 leaves us, without explanation, without apology. Yes, there is an unresolved tension here, something that can’t be rationalized away. The psalmist shows unsettling freedom in his protest against God, even accusing God of breaking his promises. Yet, he ends on a note of praise, and not just praise, but eternal praise. In the midst of pain and suffering, praise the Lord! When you can’t figure out what God is doing, praise the Lord! When God feels very distant, praise the Lord!

I’m not suggesting that this is easy to do. In fact, I find this to be exceptionally difficult. Thus, I am challenged by today’s psalm to do what does not come naturally, to praise the Lord at all times, to praise the Lord anyway.

*https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/daily-reflection/praise-lord-anyway

Praising God anyway, when we’re in the midst of difficult times needs a little context to be seen from the correct perspective.

While we were yet sinners, God showed His love for us by giving His Son, Jesus, to bear our sins as He died on the cross. Jesus’ death reconciled man’s sin and sinful nature with the holiness of God. To partake of that reconciliation, we must put our trust in Jesus as our Savior . . . not by our works, but even to those who believe on His name.

We were less than nothing and have been given everything.

So, back to praising God even in difficult times. That’s a bit like walking along and stubbing your toe, quite painfully I might add, and just when you’re ready to complain to God about it, you see that you’ve stubbed your toe on the marble steps leading up and into the grandest mansion the world has ever seen . . . a mansion that God has just given to you.

And that comparison utterly fails when we really think about what wretched worms we were in God’s eyes, and then the enormous sacrifice God made to be able to adopt us into His family as His sons and daughters.

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me . . .

So, when events take a nasty turn for us during our short time down here, perhaps we can do a bit better about praising God anyway, in view of our riches for eternity up there with God.

20200404: CoronaCRISIS/ China Virus Daily Thread

For the time being, given our national emergency, we are switching to DAILY COVID-19/China Virus threads instead of weekly threads. Your comments and updates are most welcome. PLEASE continue to post your valuable information, hard source links, and local observations within these Daily Threads. Additionally, we will try to include links to government and official pressers, so those who no longer have cable can remain informed.

We’ll get through this crisis, together. As a group, there is probably no one better prepared than we are.

For our newcomers: The Q Tree community has been diligent in covering the threat of Coronavirus, COVID19, Wuhan FLU. We started accumulating information about this virus in mid-late January, in what became almost weekly threads. We’ve been weeks, if not months, ahead of MSM outlets to vet rumors and other medical papers, etc.

Primary Update Links:

In our past weekly threads, we assembled information on the following:

  • Primary update links. The dashboard from Johns Hopkins which counts “official” cases all over the world, the CDC, and WHO, and includes the links for our past threads.
  • Hard Data Medical Information- Explanation about testing, reliance on China for drugs, analysis of NE Journal of Medicine results and other published papers.
  • Vaccine and theraputics (new/old drugs to alleviate symptoms) news and updates 
  • Trump Administration response (the timeline and links to various agencies)
  • China Responses, timelines, research, attempt to cover actions, or secrecy in results discovered.
  • An aggregate of info/responses from other countries, listed by country.
  • Economic impact from around the world. A change in economic activity will indicate a “return to normal”.
  • Speculation/debunking on how the virus started
  • Media Bias, political response, and debunking section, like the article from AP News, overt bias from Politico, inflammatory headlines, etc.  
  • Other medical info to boost immune system, herbal remedies, ways to keep your house clean and NOT spread the virus to others. Excellent information to incorporate into daily lifestyle.
  • Hard links for OTHER valuable sources/blogs and a brief sentence or two about what they provide
  • Other news items

Our weekly updates. timelines, collection of valuable information, can be found here:

Please try to keep your sense of humor during this National Emergency, and remember, patience is a virtue.

Love to all!

The meme above is a good one to keep when the media starts howling.

20200403: CoronaCRISIS/ China Virus Daily Thread

For the time being, given our national emergency, we are switching to DAILY COVID-19/China Virus threads instead of weekly threads. Your comments and updates are most welcome. PLEASE continue to post your valuable information, hard source links, and local observations within these Daily Threads. Additionally, we will try to include links to government and official pressers, so those who no longer have cable can remain informed.

We’ll get through this crisis, together. As a group, there is probably no one better prepared than we are.

For our newcomers: The Q Tree community has been diligent in covering the threat of Coronavirus, COVID19, Wuhan FLU. We started accumulating information about this virus in mid-late January, in what became almost weekly threads. We’ve been weeks, if not months, ahead of MSM outlets to vet rumors and other medical papers, etc.

Primary Update Links:

In our past weekly threads, we assembled information on the following:

  • Primary update links. The dashboard from Johns Hopkins which counts “official” cases all over the world, the CDC, and WHO, and includes the links for our past threads.
  • Hard Data Medical Information- Explanation about testing, reliance on China for drugs, analysis of NE Journal of Medicine results and other published papers.
  • Vaccine and theraputics (new/old drugs to alleviate symptoms) news and updates 
  • Trump Administration response (the timeline and links to various agencies)
  • China Responses, timelines, research, attempt to cover actions, or secrecy in results discovered.
  • An aggregate of info/responses from other countries, listed by country.
  • Economic impact from around the world. A change in economic activity will indicate a “return to normal”.
  • Speculation/debunking on how the virus started
  • Media Bias, political response, and debunking section, like the article from AP News, overt bias from Politico, inflammatory headlines, etc.  
  • Other medical info to boost immune system, herbal remedies, ways to keep your house clean and NOT spread the virus to others. Excellent information to incorporate into daily lifestyle.
  • Hard links for OTHER valuable sources/blogs and a brief sentence or two about what they provide
  • Other news items

Our weekly updates. timelines, collection of valuable information, can be found here:

Please try to keep your sense of humor during this National Emergency, and remember, patience is a virtue.

Love to all!