Once I've moved all the posts, I will take this blog down.
To receive all my new writings - please click over and join me at The New and improved Mommy Detective site.
http://www.themommydetective.com/
Friday, March 23, 2012
I am moving!
Once I've moved all the posts, I will take this blog down.
To receive all my new writings - please click over and join me at The New and improved Mommy Detective site.
http://www.themommydetective.com/
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Abbott and Costello on Unemployment
Have you ever heard something and it just didn't ring true? You may want to be encouraging and positive, but something just doesn't feel right. It's confusing when I watch the news and they talk about businesses laying people off or going out of business and yet, the unemployment rate is supposed to be going down.
I loved Abbott and Costello. I've spent many hours laughing at their approach to logical issues. I don't know if this is a routine that they did in their career - but it's a great way to look at what "may" be happening within the ranks of Obama's team.
It's a sad commentary but their style will leave you chuckling.
COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 9%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that's about 20%.
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that's about 20%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 20% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that's 9%...
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 20%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 20% are out of work.
COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work.. Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 9%. Otherwise, it would be 20%. You don't want to read about 20% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means they're two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like a democrat.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what I just said!
And now you know why Obama's unemployment figures are improving!
I think Washington structured taxes according to this Abbott and Costello clip!
God loves you,
Debbie
I loved Abbott and Costello. I've spent many hours laughing at their approach to logical issues. I don't know if this is a routine that they did in their career - but it's a great way to look at what "may" be happening within the ranks of Obama's team.
It's a sad commentary but their style will leave you chuckling.
COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 9%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that's about 20%.
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that's about 20%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 20% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that's 9%...
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 20%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 20% are out of work.
COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work.. Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 9%. Otherwise, it would be 20%. You don't want to read about 20% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means they're two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like a democrat.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what I just said!
And now you know why Obama's unemployment figures are improving!
I think Washington structured taxes according to this Abbott and Costello clip!
God loves you,
Debbie
Monday, February 6, 2012
Happy Birthday Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was a great president. I feel privileged that I lived during his presidency. Happy Birthday to a great man!
I hope you will teach your children about this great man and that you will dig around for the truth about his life and his beliefs. The left is trying to discredit the fact that through his beliefs, this country excelled. The more we abandon his beliefs, the more we slip into socialism. The following includes many quotes from President Reagan. If you look in the left sidebar, you'll find more.
The following is brought to you by American Minute
A graduate of Eureka College, IL, 1932, he announced for radio stations in Iowa. He married Jane Wyman and had children Maureen and Michael. He was a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corp during World War II, then became an actor, appearing in over 50 films. He was President of the Screen Actors Guild, switched from Democrat to Republican, and became Governor of California.
His second marriage, to Nancy Davis, 1952, had children Patti and Ron.
His name was Ronald Reagan, born FEBRUARY 6, 1911, and died June 5, 2004.
At age sixty-nine, he was the oldest person elected U.S. President, and sixty-nine days after his inauguration, he survived an assassination attempt. Ronald Reagan stated at St. John's University in New York, March 28, 1985:
"Government that is big enough to give you everything you want is more likely to simply take everything you've got."
Ronald Reagan remarked to the Heritage Council, Warren, Michigan, October 10, 1984:
"Henry David Thoreau was right: that government is best which governs least."
In his 1964 speech, A Time for Choosing, Ronald Reagan stated:
"I suggest to you there is no left or right, only an up or down. Up to the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism; and regardless of their humanitarian purpose, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have, whether they know it or not, chosen this downward path."
In 1961, Ronald Reagan stated:
"One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project...James Madison in 1788...said: '...There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.'...
What can we do about this?...We can write to our congressmen and our senators. We can say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms...We do not want socialized medicine...If you don't, this program I promise you will pass...and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known...until, one day...we will awake to find that we have socialism.
And...you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."
Ronald Reagan stated in Beijing, China, April 27, 1984:
"I have seen the rise of fascism and communism. Both philosophies glorify the arbitrary power of the state...But both theories fail. Both deny those God-given liberties that are the inalienable right of each person on this planet, indeed, they deny the existence of God."
On March 20, 1981, at the Conservative Political Action Conference Dinner, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, Ronald Reagan stated:
"Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. That's why the Marxist vision of man without God must eventually be seen as an empty and a false faith - the second oldest in the world - first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden with whispered words...'Ye shall be as gods.' The crisis of the Western world...exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God."
On May 17, 1982, in a proposed Constitutional Amendment on Prayer in Schools, President Ronald Reagan stated:
"Our liberty springs from and depends upon an abiding faith in God."
President Reagan proclaimed:
"Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the 'Year of the Bible' in the United States. I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message."
Ronald Reagan wrote in his article, "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation," The Human Life Review, 1983:
"Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should be slaves...
Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion."
At the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series, 1982, Ronald Reagan stated:
"We can't have it both ways. We can't expect God to protect us in a crisis and just leave Him over there on the shelf in our day-to-day living. I wonder if sometimes He isn't waiting for us to wake up, He isn't maybe running out of patience."
At Reunion Arena in Dallas, 1984, Ronald Reagan stated:
"Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience....without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure.... America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under."
WOW!
God loves you,
Debbie
I hope you will teach your children about this great man and that you will dig around for the truth about his life and his beliefs. The left is trying to discredit the fact that through his beliefs, this country excelled. The more we abandon his beliefs, the more we slip into socialism. The following includes many quotes from President Reagan. If you look in the left sidebar, you'll find more.
A graduate of Eureka College, IL, 1932, he announced for radio stations in Iowa. He married Jane Wyman and had children Maureen and Michael. He was a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corp during World War II, then became an actor, appearing in over 50 films. He was President of the Screen Actors Guild, switched from Democrat to Republican, and became Governor of California.
His second marriage, to Nancy Davis, 1952, had children Patti and Ron.
His name was Ronald Reagan, born FEBRUARY 6, 1911, and died June 5, 2004.
At age sixty-nine, he was the oldest person elected U.S. President, and sixty-nine days after his inauguration, he survived an assassination attempt. Ronald Reagan stated at St. John's University in New York, March 28, 1985:
"Government that is big enough to give you everything you want is more likely to simply take everything you've got."
Ronald Reagan remarked to the Heritage Council, Warren, Michigan, October 10, 1984:
"Henry David Thoreau was right: that government is best which governs least."
In his 1964 speech, A Time for Choosing, Ronald Reagan stated:
"I suggest to you there is no left or right, only an up or down. Up to the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism; and regardless of their humanitarian purpose, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have, whether they know it or not, chosen this downward path."
In 1961, Ronald Reagan stated:
"One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project...James Madison in 1788...said: '...There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.'...
What can we do about this?...We can write to our congressmen and our senators. We can say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms...We do not want socialized medicine...If you don't, this program I promise you will pass...and behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known...until, one day...we will awake to find that we have socialism.
And...you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."
Ronald Reagan stated in Beijing, China, April 27, 1984:
"I have seen the rise of fascism and communism. Both philosophies glorify the arbitrary power of the state...But both theories fail. Both deny those God-given liberties that are the inalienable right of each person on this planet, indeed, they deny the existence of God."
On March 20, 1981, at the Conservative Political Action Conference Dinner, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC, Ronald Reagan stated:
"Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. That's why the Marxist vision of man without God must eventually be seen as an empty and a false faith - the second oldest in the world - first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden with whispered words...'Ye shall be as gods.' The crisis of the Western world...exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God."
On May 17, 1982, in a proposed Constitutional Amendment on Prayer in Schools, President Ronald Reagan stated:
"Our liberty springs from and depends upon an abiding faith in God."
President Reagan proclaimed:
"Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the 'Year of the Bible' in the United States. I encourage all citizens, each in his or her own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message."
Ronald Reagan wrote in his article, "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation," The Human Life Review, 1983:
"Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should be slaves...
Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion."
At the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series, 1982, Ronald Reagan stated:
"We can't have it both ways. We can't expect God to protect us in a crisis and just leave Him over there on the shelf in our day-to-day living. I wonder if sometimes He isn't waiting for us to wake up, He isn't maybe running out of patience."
At Reunion Arena in Dallas, 1984, Ronald Reagan stated:
"Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience....without God there is a coarsening of the society; without God democracy will not and cannot long endure.... America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under."
WOW!
God loves you,
Debbie
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Mr. Obama's State of the Union
Before I comment on the State of the Union Address, let me pass along a story someone sent. I've thought about this story for a long time. While I teach and live by the old version, I agree with the point the new version is trying to make.
The ANT and The GRASSHOPPER two versions:
Two Different Versions ... Two Different Morals
OLD VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
( Both Ron and I remember our school teachers telling this story and insisting everyone be like the ants. My teacher used this story to point out to several students that if they didn't get their act together they would be like the grasshopper and never be successful.)
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'
Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, We shall overcome. Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper's sake, while he damns the ants. President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackled, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2012.
When we watched the State of the Union, Ron and I were definitely not impressed. Ron thought it was more of the same and frankly boring. I had only one thought. "Mr. Obama is very quick to spend my money and with his nose in the air he loves to tell me what he thinks is right for my life. Unlike the American way his entire speech was not about inspiration, being a better American or working harder together. His speech smacked of "I don't care if you like my policy or not. I want it so I'm going to ram it down your throat." Oh yes, I will be very careful how I vote.
God loves you,
Debbie
The ANT and The GRASSHOPPER two versions:
Two Different Versions ... Two Different Morals
OLD VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
( Both Ron and I remember our school teachers telling this story and insisting everyone be like the ants. My teacher used this story to point out to several students that if they didn't get their act together they would be like the grasshopper and never be successful.)
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'
Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, We shall overcome. Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper's sake, while he damns the ants. President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackled, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2012.
When we watched the State of the Union, Ron and I were definitely not impressed. Ron thought it was more of the same and frankly boring. I had only one thought. "Mr. Obama is very quick to spend my money and with his nose in the air he loves to tell me what he thinks is right for my life. Unlike the American way his entire speech was not about inspiration, being a better American or working harder together. His speech smacked of "I don't care if you like my policy or not. I want it so I'm going to ram it down your throat." Oh yes, I will be very careful how I vote.
God loves you,
Debbie
Monday, January 16, 2012
Debating attacks - Watching the Fox news Debate
I am filled with panic about my life and my country. Ron and I are working on a marketing plan for several ideas. We are pushing the limit with our finances. We are fasting and praying for our children and their needs. We are also fretting about the needs of our parents and what the days ahead will be for them. We are concerned about our friends and disappointed with greedy churches. We feel pressured on every side and thoroughly disappointed with the state of our country.
If you want my vote, give me a candidate that promises a country with honor and citizens committed to making their lives better. You want my vote? Support less government and more God in our lives. You want my vote, don't promise more money - promise more values and families defined by honor and decent living.
In three months I will be a grandmother. I want that child to have hope. I want that child to believe in America. I want that child to have the advantages I had when I was growing up. I want that child to be safe from predators and safe from evil. I want that child to feel like the future is bright with promise and dreams are attainable.
Can anyone make that happen? Of course they can. America was all of that until we became the country of greed, me first, give me what I want and I don't care what happens to you. Don't get me wrong - I'm not talking about abdicating responsibility to evil unions and dictating governments. I'm talking about men and women who are willing to personally sacrifice to make this country better.
The problem is I know that government and elected officials can't do any of that. Making America great depends on good people stepping up to the plate and doing all they can to "build" a better America. You and I (coupled with Biblical principles) are the only ones that can change America. Yes, we need a president that supports those ideas....but he can't get the job done until each individual citizen decides they will do any and everything possible to create a better society. (That includes your pocketbook)
Sigh*** It's a big task. Are you up to the challenge?
God loves you,
Debbie