Fiddlin' Around in Ashe County

This past Saturday I took a day-trip to Ashe County, NC, for two reasons: to view a small property (100-year-old farmhouse on just under five acres) and to meet Audrey Hash Ham, a well-known fiddle maker in the mountains and daughter of the (late) legendary fiddle maker, Albert Hash. More about the property in another post --

Leaving the Charlotte area at the crack of dawn, heading north:

On Highway 421, headed west toward Wilksboro, you come over a rise and catch the first sight of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains rising in the distance. A gorgeous sight:

The Ashe County imitation of a Swiss mountainside collection of cottages. Who says the sides of mountains aren't valuable? This was taken between West Jefferson and Warrensville. On a trip to the area a few years ago, I saw a beautiful painting of this very collection of buildings with the Virginia Creeper running along the tracks at the bottom of the mountain. The Virginia Creeper was a steam locomotive rail line that was built in this area in the early 20th century to haul out the massive virgin timber that was being cut off the mountains. The painting was contemporary—the artist had painted these houses and inserted the Virginia Creeper train into the picture as it would have looked a hundred years ago. The owner of the painting told me that an elderly local resident once saw the painting and said, "That's not right." She pointed to one of the buildings in this photo and said, "That house right there wasn't built when the Creeper was running through the area. It was built later." That's the kind of priceless information that passes out of existence with the patriarchs and matriarchs of the world:

Mountainsides in Ashe County are now used to grow Christmas trees by the millions:

The route to Audrey Hash Ham's place led me through Lansing and a fresh look at the old Lansing School. This noble structure was built of stone back in the New Deal days when Roosevelt put people to work all over the country building things, some of which weren't needed. Ashe County was even more sparsely populated then than now, yet this school was built and used by the children that could make their way to it. I was soon to learn that Audrey Hash Ham, living in Grayson County, VA, just over the NC-VA border, attended this school through the 8th grade. When I first saw this silent memorial standing empty 4-5 years ago on my first trip to Lansing, I immediately wondered if it could be bought and put to some good use -- a craft center or community center or some such thing. It now houses a winery, so at least it's being used for something. What a gorgeous building -- I remember looking in the broken windows at the HUGE, high-ceiling classrooms and solid wood floors and thinking, "What a shame." The handrails in the foreground of this picture are for stairs that go down to a tunnel bored under the highway so children could have safe passage to the ball fields across the road:

To find Audrey Hash Ham, I was headed for a gravel road north of Lansing called Bear Wallow Road -- seriously -- that looked to be almost on the NC-VA border. It was a good weekend to go -- the heart of the Appalachian leaf season:

The roads were paved into the seriously-high mountains until I hit Bear Wallow Road, which was gravel. It climbed up and up and up until this kind of view was possible:

I went past Audrey's place and stopped twice to ask directions from a couple of lovely mountain folks. Houses are about a half-mile apart, the road being single lane until you reach a driveway where you can turn around. I eventually found Audrey's (and husband Bob's) double-wide sitting beneath a HUGE maple. The NC-VA border runs through their front yard, their trailer and barns being in VA, the front yard and driveway being in NC. That's Audrey's workshop to the right, requisite mountain barn in the background:

Albert Hash built instruments on the side. He was a founding member of the Whitetop Mountain band, one of the earliest of the now plentiful old time/traditional bluegrass mountain bands. It's still in existence today, though with different members. His fiddles were highly sought after, and he was an instrument-making mentor to legendary guitar-maker Wayne Henderson who lives and builds guitars in Rugby, VA, in Grayson County (pop. 7). Eric Clapton wanted one of Henderson's guitars a few years ago and Wayne put him on the list along with everybody else who wanted one. And he finally got it 6-7 years later. Pre-owned Henderson guitars (if you can find one) now sell for around $15,000 or more.

Albert's daughter, Audrey Hash, began building instruments as a young girl, making about a hundred dulcimers before turning to fiddles, of which she reckons she has made about 80-85. She only has one of her father's fiddles -- but it's beautiful:

Maple is the standard wood for fiddles, this one remaining unstained with a beautiful one-piece back:

A signature "H" is carved into the neck's heel:

And an eagle's head in place of the traditional scroll:

Audrey Hash Ham, holding her father's fiddle (on the left) and one of her own built in 2009 -- stained a reddish mahogany color (I came home with this one):

In this video, Albert Hash, Audrey's father, is playing a fiddle that looks very much like the one Audrey is holding above (the light, maple fiddle, on the left):

Audrey told me in our conversation that she wasn't the greatest player: "I can play well enough to clear a room in a minute." She took a few strokes on the red fiddle and said, "Told you I could clear a room:"

We spent a couple hours talking about music, the Bible, life in the mountains, and instruments. It was a pleasure to meet Audrey (and Bob) and be able to acquire one of her fiddles -- she doesn't build much any more, so the one I bought will likely be one of less than a hundred by the time Audrey is promoted to heaven.

Inching my way back down the mountain, stopped to marvel at this beautiful setting -- a cross-shaped farmhouse sitting down in a valley. When you are in the mountains, there's not a sound except the wind and the occasional crow. The silence is startling at first:

On the way back to Lansing, saw this barn and quilt design. It's part of the "Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina" project, an effort to reproduce traditional Appalachian quilt designs on the sides of barns and buildings throughout Western North Carolina:

Left with the dawn, returned in the dark -- following the harvest moon from the mountains back to Matthews:

Proverbs 22:7

Proverbs 22:7 says,

Just as the rich rule the poor,

so the borrower is servant to the lender.

Whole Food

As I was preparing to make some (seven grain, from wheatmontana.com) oatmeal this morning (containing raisins, hemp powder, ground up chia/flax/walnuts, maca powder, blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, and almond milk), the array of whole foods sitting on my counter struck me. The oatmeal in a jar, tomatoes (some mine, some bought), peppers (mine), three kinds of winter squash, four varieties of potatoes, garlic, mangos, bananas, and lemons.

What struck me was the "wholeness" of all these foods -- picked or purchased in their natural states, waiting to be eaten. My only regret is that I didn't grow all of them -- even lemons and mangos could be grown in an indoor greenhouse.

Yes, there are some processed foods in the house, but mostly not. There are dried fruits, nuts, pastas, and noodles stored in the microwave . . .

and more jars of bulk beans, grains, rice, lentils, oatmeal, and flours stored in the pantry . . .

and buckets of wheatberries, brown rice, black rice, chia seed, flax seed, maca powder, and dried beans stored in the guest bathroom:

Please don't misunderstand the motivation behind these pictures ("Hey -- look at all my food!"). It's just to reinforce the idea that plant foods are grown whole, are available whole, and can be (should be) eaten as whole as possible. It reinforces the oft-quoted idea that once you leave the produce and dried/bulk sections of the grocery store, you leave the "life" zone and move into the "dead" zone where things have been processed for one purpose: to sit on grocery store shelves for extended periods of time.

Don't Like Being Followed

Last week I visited three different online retailers: the Wolverine boot company, Zappos shoe store, and BackCountry outdoor products. Within a couple of days of visiting these three sites I began seeing ads for the very products I had been shopping for at each retailer popping up when I visited other online sites (CNN, USAToday, etc.). In other words, I was being followed around the web by these three retailers, presenting me with ads for the products I had looked at on their sites. I know targeted advertising is not new on the web, but I have never seen it like this -- ads for the exact products I had looked at on a retailer's site -- three different stores in the same week. It was as if somebody flipped a switch.

So I went to my Safari preferences and did three name searches in the Cookies directory ("zappos," "wolverine," and "backcountry") and deleted the 30+ cookies set for these three sites. We'll see if that throws them off the trail. Not sure I like being followed and hounded so persistently.

Canon Pixma MX870 Printer

For the last 4-5 years I used a Hewlett-Packerd OfficeJet G85 AIO (all-in-one) printer that served me well (print, fax, scan, copy). But when HP stopped updating the drivers for higher versions of OSX it would no longer scan. I finally replaced it this weekend with a Canon Pixma MX870 all-in-one (below). I looked at a number of printers with three requirements in mind: multi-function (AIO), duplex printing (printing on both sides of a piece of paper), and wireless printing. I don't have a wireless set-up at present but probably will in the future so wanted that in a printer. Wireless in printers is getting more common, but duplex printing in less expensive models is still relatively rare.

I almost bought a higher-end Brother which got great reviews except for its print quality -- its extra benefit being that it will scan, copy, and print up to 11 x 17 size. SInce I rarely have need for that I decided to stick with 8.5 x 11 since they are considerably less expensive. Although I have to say that the Brother laser printer I bought last year (also duplex and wireless) has been FLAWLESS (HL-5280DW). You can see it just to the left in the picture below.

I've only delved into a fraction of what this new Canon will do, but quickly grew to appreciate the duplex copy feature: In addition to printing on both sides of a single sheet, it will COPY on both sides -- meaning put two separate photocopies on the front and back of a single piece of paper (or several other arrangements, e.g., up to four reduced-size copies on the same side of one piece of paper, etc.). Duplex copying is a huge paper saver -- cuts paper use in half.

It also prints photos very nicely on glossy paper -- quality good enough that I would frame a pic from this printer. (That's me -- I'm sure others might be more picky, but the quality seems good to me.) I printed this pic of Ellen and Arianna on a sheet of glossy photo paper and it came out great: (pic by Jennifer with a bit of color adjustment by me)

This was $139 at Costco -- also available at Amazon for $149. Of course, this is the razor/razor blade model: they practically give you the printer in order to sell you overpriced ink cartridges down the road (pack of five color cartridges for this printer is $55 at Costco). The printer gets 4.5 stars from 240 reviewers at Amazon. So far, I like it a lot.

How We Change

I grew up as an Episcopalian, then made a conscious commitment to Christ in college and became theologically conservative. I remember thinking how liberal my Episcopal upbringing was (and I still think it was), looking askance at "liberal" activities like the annual blessing of the animals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Blessing animals? Animals in church? "Typical Episcopalians," I thought.

But now I think differently. I still think the Episcopal Church -- except for conservative corners and congregations here and there -- is sadly liberal theologically, even more so than it was when I was growing up as an Episcopalian. But I no longer look judgmentally at the annual blessing of the animals. Since Colossians 1:16 says that all things were created for Jesus Christ, that has to include the animals. They certainly deserve God's blessing as sentient beings as much as humans do, we animals made in God's image. The blessing of the animals is a good example, to me, of a right exercise of the dominion God gave man over them -- caring and providing for them according to their needs.

That change in my perspective was slow in coming, but I'm glad it did. I wonder what I will look back on 20-30 years (d.v.) from now and realize my thinking has changed from what it was in 2010? (I love the honesty and humility of one of conservative evangelicalism's best-known writers and commentators who said, in his sunset years, after decades of writing, preaching, and teaching about evangelicalism's watershed doctrines, "I know far less about prophecy than I used to." If you don't understand that statement, don't worry. It's a "you had to be there" thing.)

Here is a video of this year's recent (October 3) blessing of the animals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine:

How Great Writers Work and Think

Regardless of what one thinks of the content of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, I would certainly call her a "great writer"—if only for the scope of her vision and imagination and her ability to tell stories that have captivated a significant portion of the world's population. As one who stumbles around words and ideas for a living, I was fascinated by the document below -- part of Rowling's "vision" for the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book.

This was received from one of Rowling's editors and posted on Alan Jacobs' "Text Patterns" blog at the website of The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology & Society (Image posted by me without permission.) Thanks to Jacobs -- and to Daniel for the recent link to the journal's web site and associated blogs. The chart is hard to read, of course, but you get the idea of the process Rowling went through in casting a vision for H.P. and friends:

A Picture Says It All

Signs that the Apocalypse Is Upon Us

While looking for my local Costco's phone number on their web site, I noticed the retailer is taking survivalism mainstream. Now you, and anybody else with $800, can be the first in your neighborhood to be able to crawl out of your bunker after the big one hits -- as much as one year later. A full year's worth of food comes in 84 one-gallon cans -- full details on contents are available here. Must be good eats -- the 12 reviewers so far give it 4.5 stars. I guess that means they have less than a year's-worth left. What's the half-life of radiation, anyway?

Simple, Healthy Food Bar

See the recipe for a seriously simple, Omega-3 healthy food/energy bar from the Happy Healthy Long Life librarian on her blog. Link.

Four of a Kind

What do these four well-known personalities have in common?

•Former President Bill Clinton

•Las Vegas hotel magnate Steve Wynn

•Mega-grocery-store-chain founder John Mackey

•Former heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson

They have all recognized the health advantages of a vegan, plant-based diet. For a brief sketch of the four and the changes they have embraced, go here.

(Hopefully) Coming to Your Neighborhood

A creative lady in Burlington, Vermont—home to the Intervale and all things organic—has come up with a twist on the summer ice cream truck: a rolling organic vegetable stand. With a guitar amp strapped to the front bumper playing disco music, she tools around in neighborhoods and sells organic produce to the crowd that quickly gathers. Read the whole article in The Atlantic here. (Thanks to TheAtlantic.com for use of the photo.)

Soup for Supper

This miso soup I made for supper tonight looked so nice I decided to post the picture. Made from two flavors of miso, buckwheat soba noodles, tempeh, green onions, mushrooms, kale, spinach, and seasoning (garlic powder, garam masala, etc.). Delicious.

Don't Like Your Job? Try This One

My stomach still hasn't settled down after watching this guy do his job:

A Nation of Peasants

Victor Davis Hanson explains why the current administration's policies of wealth redistribution are resulting in a nation of peasants: "A newly peasant-minded America is willing to become collectively poorer so that some will not become wealthier." It's our choice as to whether this continues or not. Read it here.

Woke up on the Wrong Side of the Nest

Seen outside my window this morning: This little guy (girl?) was definitely animated (agitated?) about something. Because I don't see the squirrels in this kind of mood often, it makes me realize that today was a unique day in h/er life. A normal day in my life, but something abnormal in h/ers. Reminds me that animals' lives are not robotic; that they're thinking different things at different times just like we are. Would love to speak squirrel so I could have inquired with more than my fake bark and English-only attempts. Not surprisingly, s/he wasn't impressed by my efforts:

President Clinton Goes (Mostly) Vegetarian

President Clinton has yielded to the evidence of science that a plant-based diet can heal coronary heart disease. He has switched to a (mostly) plant-based diet in hopes of extending his life. Short video interview here, and more information here. In this CNN interview, Wolf Blitzer looks like Clinton is speaking a foreign language: no meat? no dairy?

If You Use a Digital Camera . . .

Found a good guy, Bert Sirkin, who runs photobert.com, a resource site for digital photographers. I learned about him through one of his most popular products: a series of digital camera/photography "cheat sheets." Your 100-plus-page camera/flash user's manual (with emphasis on Nikon and Canon) is reduced to a laminated one-sheet written in plain English with only the most pertinent info. There is a separate web site for the "PhotoBert Cheat Sheets" -- check out both sites for the sheets and loads of info and accessories (only stuff Bert has used and found helpful) for digital cameras. If you email for info, you'll get a reply from Bert himself. Good guy and good products. (And from Bert's Twitter feed today: Now thru 10/20/2010 25% discount on PhotoBert CheatSheets; 15% on accessories & software!)

Think on These Things

From Ben Stein's Facebook page:

"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens."

From Newt Gingrich (no attribution available):

"As an American I am not so shocked that Obama was given the Nobel Peace prize without any accomplishments to his name, but that America gave him the White House based on the same credentials."

Today: Battle of Titans -- Alabama vs. Penn State

The Kind of Guy I'd Like to Have on My Side

Newest Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta -- one of the few who lives to receive the Medal in person. Read what he did to earn the Medal here. That we might all be this selfless -- rescuing the wounded and captive in the heat of battle, whether physical or spiritual.

I Like NJ Gov. Chris Christie (So Far)

Earlier this week, NJ Gov. Chris Christie responded point-blank to a complaining teacher in a town-hall type meeting. (Watch the woman's roll-the-eyes head diss when Gov. Christie begins answering her question, and the response it brings from him. Finally, a leader who will stand up to the NEA!)

Atkins Diet INCREASES All-cause Mortality

Dr. Dean Ornish, long-time advocate of nutritional protocols for preventing heart disease, reports in the Huffington Post on a long-term study released in Harvard's Annals of Internal Medicine on the mortality rates of those following Atkins-type diets and those following plant-based diets.

85,000 women were followed for 26 years and 45,000 men for 20 years. In both groups, all-cause mortality was higher among those following an Atkins-type diet (high in animal protein, low in carbohydrates). All-cause mortality rates were lower in those eating a plant-based diet.

Ornish's concluding sentence: "To the degree that you move in a whole foods, plant-based direction, the better you're likely to feel and the healthier you're likely to become."

Read the short article here.

Q & A with Wholefoods' John Mackey

Q: You've been a meat-eater, then a vegetarian, now a vegan. What can you cut out next?

A: I've cut out all oils. I dont eat olive oil or canola oil. I've reduced the salt I consume. We don't cook with salt at home. I've cut way back on concentrated sweeteners and sugar. And I feel great. I've lost 20 pounds. My vitality is higher, my cholesterol plummeted, and my blood pressure has dropped. I'm healthier today than I was 20 years ago.

Read the entire USA Today interview with Wholefoods founder John Mackey (more about the stores than about him) here.

What the Egg Industry Means

Yesterday, the egg industry ran a full page in several major national newspapers. It was simple: an egg and text on a white background, intended to mollify the American public over the recall of half a billion eggs due to Salmonella contamination.

Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, author if many books on food politics, and widely-respected spokeswoman for organic, sustainable, and safe food and food systems, has interpreted what the egg industry's words really mean. This is terrific. If you don't think the egg industry thinks you're an idiot, you will when you read what they really said in their expensive newspaper ads. Read Nestle's brief article in The Atlantic as she translates the egg industry's words into plain English, here.

KISS in Iraq

I confess to never having been a KISS fan -- or a Gene Simmons fan. But I like this video -- a KISS USO concert for U.S. troops in Iraq. What I love the most about it is the friendly competition and camaraderie between the four service branches as they belt out their particular songs and try to outsing their comrades. I don't know who wrote the four service hymns, but every one of them gives me goose bumps. I am a HUGE sucker for ceremony and protocol and love that part of military life. And the service hymns are a huge part of the esprit de corps. Regardless of how you feel about the military and its current involvements overseas, my hat's off to those who serve -- and to KISS for honoring them:

Chow Down Movie

The latest documentary extolling the virtues of a plant-based diet is Chow Down—the story of a man who followed Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's plant-based approach to reversing his heart disease (and shorter stories of two others). You can rent/stream ($2.99) the movie, or download a digital version ($9.99) or buy a hard copy -- all from Amazon. You can read an in-depth review of the movie and the medical story behind it here.

Here's the trailer -- it would have been nice if the two speakers were identified. The first is Dr. Esselstyn, the second is Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study.

Philly's Only Vegan Coffee House

David and friend Mike Barone opened the Grindcore House -- Philadelphia's only vegan coffee house -- last Saturday night from 7:00 -10:00 with a featured art exhibit. This was a "soft" grand opening with the formal grand opening coming soon. Dave said they had a huge turnout as the night wore on. (Sister Liz was there from Connecticut.) The Grindcore House FB page generated nearly 600 "likes" in a matter of days prior to the opening. (Dave was always good at drawing a crowd.)

If you're in south Philly, stop by for a cuppa and a cookie: 1515 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

A few pics from the opening (thanks to Matt Grosse):

And thanks to Justin Miller for this one:

Vee-gan, Las Vegas!

Steve Wynn, Las Vegas resort mogul, has introduced vegan entrees to the menus at the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas resorts. With a half-billion eggs being recalled in the United States in the last two weeks, those entrees are probably looking pretty good right now. Read the whole story here.

Breakthrough! The Christian Gene

Omega-6 vs. Omega-3 Fats

Another killer post by the Happy, Healthy, Long-life Librarian -- this time summarizing everything she's learned in recent months about the Omega-6/Omega-3 contest.

Most diet-conscious folks know that we need more Omega-3 and less Omega-6 fats, which roughly translates to "eat a plant-based diet." The 6:3 ratio needs to be as close to 1:1 as possible, but most Americans eat a diet that is about 17:1, accounting for all manner of inflammation leading to disease.

But even within the plant-based diet there are caveats. All nuts are VERY high in Omega-6 (walnuts are the lowest), and garbanzo beans are WAY high in 6 along with tahini (3,100:55 !), which makes hummus not so great. But black beans have an almost-ideal ration of 6-to-3. Therefore, black bean hummus without the tahini brings hummus back into the healthy range. And all oils (with the exception of flaxseed oil), like nuts, are higher in Omega 6 than Omega 3.

She cites the Nutrition Data website as a good place to check on the nutritional content of most foods, including Omega 6 and 3 content. (Enter a food in the search box at the upper right, then scroll down through the various nutritional charts. Omega fats are near the bottom left.)

I strongly encourage folks to subscribe to the Happy Healthy Long Life feed to get her occasional updates.

Why There Are No Jobs in America

A short, hypothetical scenario created to illustrate why starting and running a business in America is so hard thanks to being forced to have the government as a partner. This "partner" contributes little and takes a lot, making the chance of success limited. It can be done, however—the author of the piece is a young entrepreneur who started and runs a very successful financial research firm. (Today [the date of publication], this piece is posted on the home page of its host site, but will migrate to the archives quickly. I'll try to keep the link updated. If not, search for "This Is Why There Are No Jobs in America" and the author's last name, Stansberry.)

U.S. debt, for the second time in history, is about to . . .

10 Signs the U.S. Is Becoming a Third-world Country

Read 'em and weep.

"No Reasonable Person Should Believe Our Advertising"

In a Huffington Post article, "The Dark Side of Vitaminwater," best-selling author John Robbins points out the twisted logic of Coca-Cola in their defense against a lawsuit brought by a public-interest group saying that Vitaminwater has no health benefits. Here's the opening to the article:

Now here's something you wouldn't expect. Coca-Cola is being sued by a non-profit public interest group, on the grounds that the company's vitaminwater products make unwarranted health claims. No surprise there. But how do you think the company is defending itself?

In a staggering feat of twisted logic, lawyers for Coca-Cola are defending the lawsuit by asserting that "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage."

Does this mean that you'd have to be an unreasonable person to think that a product named "vitaminwater," a product that has been heavily and aggressively marketed as a healthy beverage, actually had health benefits?

Or does it mean that it's okay for a corporation to lie about its products, as long as they can then turn around and claim that no one actually believes their lies?

Why I Want to Work for the Government When I Grow Up

“. . .government employees seem to work shorter hours, have more vacation time, access unbelievable healthcare, never worry about job security and even make more money than people slugging it out in the private sector.”

Those are the words of a federal careers expert, quoted in a depressing Forbes.com article about the cushiest jobs in America: working for the government. Read it here.

Ten Reasons Obama's Presidency Is in Serious Trouble

Excellent summary of Obama's presidency to date and why it's in meltdown -- article by Nile Gardiner of the U.K. Telegraph. Read it here. (And may the reasons double by November.)

"I Can't Believe Grownups Would Say Words Like That . . . ."

A great (short) interview with legendary investor Jim Rogers on the failed financial policies of the current administration. A sample:

I would abolish the Federal Reserve. I would cut taxes. I would cut spending in a draconian manner. A very draconian manner. The idea that you can solve a problem of too much debt and too much consumption, with more debt and more consumption, defies comprehension. I can't believe that grown-ups would say words like that out-loud. But that's what they seem to think - I don't know if they really believe it's going to work, but they just don't know what else to do, and you know they're all doing... for the next elections, so they're making things worse. There are plenty of ways to solve the problem. You let the people who go bankrupt go bankrupt. You let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac go bankrupt, go out of business. You let AIG go out of business. You stop bailing everybody out. The Japanese tried it our way in the early 90s; they refused to let anybody go bankrupt, and they still talk about the 1990s as "the lost decade." Now they're talking about this decade as the second lost decade. Japanese stock market today is 75% below where it was in 1990. That is not a typo. It is down 75% in 20 years. Can you imagine if the New York Stock Exchange, or if the DOW Jones to use a better example, were at 4000? I don't think people would be very happy. Well, that's the equivalent of the situation in Japan right now. It didn't work in Japan; it's not going to work in the US.

Read the whole interview here.

Redefining Marriage

This week, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the voter-mandated 2008 Proposition 8 in California that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Somehow he took it upon himself to define society's most critical institution in direct contravention of the expressed will of the people. The decision will, of course, be appealed to the 9th Circuit (or 9th "Circus" as some refer to America's most liberal Circuit Court) and then to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Go here to read the brief analysis of this decision by Dr. Robert George (too many credentials to list; go here for my previous post about him), a staunch defender of Proposition 8. And here for a statement on the decision authored by George, Charles Colson, and Dr. Timothy George (no relation to Robert George), the authors of the Manhattan Declaration.

Men and Women

Someone sent this to me and I thought it was cute, but not altogether true. I don't think shopping is a male vs. female thing, but I do think shopping malls are. I (most men?) avoid malls like the plague. If we have to go, it's "get in, get done, get out." But I will spend hours shopping for something online. Thoughts?

"Wake Up, America!"

Dr. Michael Youssef is the founding pastor of the 3,000+ member, non-denominational Anglican Church of the Apostles in Atlanta. He is Egyptian by birth and world-traveled. He received his theological education in Sydney, Australia, and at Fuller Seminary in America, then a Ph.D in social anthropology from Emory University in Atlanta. He became an American citizen in 1984. But because of his Egyptian heritage, he knows the Arab world and the Muslim religion. And he believes America is blind to the Muslim agenda.

Much has been in the news of late about the proposed building of a $100 million mosque just a couple blocks from Ground Zero in New York City—a project that will most likely be funded by Saudi Arabia where Christians are not even allowed to worship in their homes. Youssef believes America is acting naively when it comes to its attitude toward Muslims—as Europe has done which is gradually becoming "Muslimized."

Please read Youssef's brief take on the New York City mosque debate, found here. In a short space, he gives an overview of the Muslim agenda that few in America are even aware of. (Thanks to my friend, Robert Orr, for the link to this article.)

Way to Go, Missouri!

Yesterday, Missouri voters became the first to formally tell the federal government to back away when it comes to mandating the purchase of health coverage. From the St Louis Post-Dispatch:

Missouri voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a federal mandate to purchase health insurance, rebuking President Barack Obama's administration and giving Republicans their first political victory in a national campaign to overturn the controversial health care law passed by Congress in March.

"The citizens of the Show-Me State don't want Washington involved in their health care decisions," said Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, one of the sponsors of the legislation that put Proposition C on the August ballot. She credited a grass-roots campaign involving Tea Party and patriot groups with building support for the anti-Washington proposition.

Now—where are the rest of the states?

Read the whole article here.