tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87506602024-03-14T01:58:46.710-04:00Speak Up For Truth"With all that is going on, it is plainly evident that both the great good and the terrible evil found in the world today are the sweet and the bitter fruits of the rearing of yesterday's children. The evils of the world will continue to escalate unless there is an underlying acknowledgement, even a strong and fervent conviction, that the family is an instrument of the Almighty." Gordon B. HinckleyPeggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-60324360588854156832011-02-25T12:24:00.003-05:002011-02-25T12:49:13.721-05:00"Understanding the Atonement by Understanding the Body"Absolutely amazing blog called "<a href="http://oneclimbs.com/">ONE Climbs</a>" by Steven Reed, that I've just discovered this month, with much of it devoted to symbolism, a passion of mine...this post is a bit different, but still fascinating!<br /><br />I love this part:<br /><br />"Sins and transgressions are not just ethereal ideas, but an actual physical record we create that resides within us. This is why thoughts can be sins.<br /><br />Whether you act it out or not, you have instructed the synapses in your brain...to produce an incorrect or impure sequence of data; you have willed something evil into existence. It may not exist in the world as an action, but it exists in your brain just as data exists in a computer in the form of ones and zeroes. A being who uses their will to instruct matter to from into imperfect structures cannot ever participate in eternal life where creation and the instruction of matter and intelligences is the entire purpose.<br /><br />In this life, your brain is your own private universe, with every facet and fragment created by you and through your actions, brought into the sphere of this world to influence the lives and futures of your fellow beings for good or for evil.<br /><br />This is why we can only receive a 'remission' of sin through baptism. Just like cancer in remission, it still resides in your body, but it doesn't effect your progression and ability to act. The cancer may be removed through surgery or a change in the physical body. Likewise, sin, or "imperfect code" must be removed from the body of man through another process we understand as "the resurrection'."<br /><br />And it only gets better from there...do pay Steven a visit; you'll be glad you did! Thanks, Steven!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-14062787572006540642011-01-24T15:18:00.003-05:002011-01-24T15:32:38.983-05:00Another Great LDS Blog: "Father Thy Will Be Done"I've been neglecting putting the great things I've found up on this blog, and was just throwing everything up on Facebook, but I'd rather start back linking the gems I find on here. One blog that has been absolutely an eye-opener for me has been one called <a href="http://www.fatherthywillbedone.com/">"Father Thy Will Be Done"</a> by the amazing Rosabella Knightly. Her work on the underlying dangers of the New Age "religion" and the self-help books that have grown out of it is thorough, massive, and highly enlightening (I started with one called "<a href="http://www.blogger.com/Law%20of%20Attraction%20and%20Luciferianism">Law of Attraction and Luciferianism</a>"). Lots to read there, do spend some time checking it out! One place to start is a post on a recent Ensign piece by R. Kim Davis called <a href="http://www.fatherthywillbedone.com/are-the-so-called-new-age-spiritual-beliefs-opposed-to-christ-r-kim-davis-ensign/">"Are the so-called New-Age spiritual beliefs opposed to Christ?" </a>under the "I have a question" section. Rosabella also served as a consultant to <a href="http://www.fatherthywillbedone.com/the-millennial-glory-series-by-wendie-edwards/">Wendie L. Edwards on her latest Millenial Glory book</a>, <a href="http://www.fatherthywillbedone.com/">"Adam-Ondi-Ahman."</a> Thanks so much, Rosabella, for all your work and for sharing it!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-66267571995586831562011-01-24T14:01:00.001-05:002011-01-24T14:05:27.568-05:00Molly's Sourdough BreadJust saw a very simple recipe for making your own sourdough bread from scratch, at my friend Molly's website. I've tried sourdough before, but it was far more complicated, and well, I didn't manage to get any bread out of it. But this one looks easy enough even for me. Molly's whole blog is great, so have a look around! Thanks, Molly!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-3162774957206085962009-05-02T10:46:00.000-04:002009-05-02T10:52:44.038-04:00New blog: "We Gotta Fix This Somehow"Well, I've been lightly blogging for years now, but I finally convinced my better half to start his own. He'd written a lengthy letter to send to our legislators, and I told him he should post it in a blog. Here's a taste:<br /><br />Hi, my name is John Cahill, I live in Charlotte, NC and I'm the sort of guy that writes his legslators about issues of the day. I've done this for a while now and have written two or three times a year to the powers that be explaining my position on things, as issues arise or the mood hits me. This sort of approach got me through the Bush years alright. However on the occasion of the 100'th day in office of the current administration, the thought came to me that the Obama Agenda is moving so fast through the halls of power, and my old approach of commenting here and there, issue by issue won't work because too much is happening too fast. You just can't keep up! I figured that it might be best to write one long letter to Senators and Congressmen covering as many of the issues as I can think of at present. The Memo to Legislators that follows is the result. These are my views. They are also the views of thousands of folks that I met at Tea Parties, talked to after church, bumped into on the bus etc… I believe this to be a pretty good sample of the opinion of Freedom Loving Americans, those who honor the founding fathers. The people who sacrificed so much to give us this country which we all hold so dear. My intent was to put this open letter in the hands of as many legslators as I can because they all need to know that there is a groundswell of feeling out there amongst the people that we have had too much change, there is too much spending, there is too much government control of businesses, there are too much radical progressivism. Our legslators have to quickly recognize that these problems exist and recognize that they need to become part of the solution now, because those that are part of the problem will most likely lose their next bid for re-election. This country is broken and We Gotta Fix This Somehow..............<br /><br />And he goes on to tell them what needs fixing! It is posted as several pieces, <a href="http://wegottafixthissomehow.blogspot.com/">so read them all</a>!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-34980194305940414092009-03-16T13:39:00.000-04:002009-03-16T13:46:15.470-04:00from "<a href="http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3825">Ray Bradbury’s <em>Fahrenheit 451</em>, Political Correctness, and Soft Totalitarianism</a>"<br />by <a href="http://www.brusselsjournal.com/thomasfbertonneau">Thomas F. Bertonneau </a>at <em><a href="http://www.brusselsjournal.com/">The Brussels Journal</a></em><br /><em></em><br />My favorite portion (but do read <a href="http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3825">the whole thing</a>!):<br /><br />Elsewhere in The Martian Chronicles, in the story whose title is a line from Lord Byron, “And the Moon be still as Bright,” a complicated character named Jeff Spender, in a tense dialogue with his senior officer Captain Wilder, sketches the socio-cultural path by which society went from freedom to slavery. The first phase consisted in the destruction of long-standing symbols in the name of reason. A cult of the hard fact arose that stood in implacable hostility to metaphor and intuition. “That’s the mistake we made when Darwin showed up,” says Spender: “We embraced him and Huxley and Freud, all smiles. And then we discovered that Darwin and our religions didn’t mix.” As a result, when “we tried to budge Darwin and Huxley and Freud,” they refused to move, “so, like idiots, we tried knocking down religion.”<br />Spender’s peroration is worth quoting in full:<br />We succeeded pretty well. We lost our faith and went around wondering what life was for. If art was no more than a frustrated outflinging of desire, if religion was no more than self-delusion, what good was life? Faith had always given us answers to all things. But it went down the drain with Freud and Darwin. We were and still are a lost people.<br /><em></em><br /><em></em>Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-80235207590286437932009-02-25T20:26:00.000-05:002009-02-25T20:37:55.954-05:00Two new LDS blog links!I've recently received emails from a couple of beautiful new LDS blogs that I wanted to highlight.<br /><br />The first is <a href="http://ldsabroad.blogspot.com/">Latter-day Saints Abroad</a>, whose intro statement is: <em>We are now living in the small community of Sasebo, Japan and we hope to keep in touch with all the members of our home ward back in the States, the Salem Ward, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or with any other LDS friends of ours, who may wish to come here and Blog with us. All are welcomed, none are turned away. The Gospel is true. The Savior lives, and loves each of us.</em><br /><em></em><br />The second blog is <a href="http://mormonsmadesimple.com/">Mormons Made Simple</a>, whose tagline reads: <em>Who are the Mormons? The term "Mormons" refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the following videos, we'll try to explain a little about who we are and what we believe.</em><br /><br />I am excited about both blogs, and can't wait to view all of the videos on the last one. It is so wonderful to see Latter-day Saints putting in such great effort to increase the light of the world! So, go over and pay them a visit, and link to them, and let us all lift one another!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-72272113468889463152008-12-24T10:08:00.000-05:002008-12-24T10:14:45.750-05:00Thank the SoldiersI wanted to share a YouTube Video from a dear friend, Brent Jackson, called <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=41162921483&h=4C2IT&u=ImY_1">Thank the Soldiers</a>. A moving tribute to those who stand between evil and all those who enjoy freedom.<br />(The writer used to be our home teacher, and is currently in our stake presidency...thanks, Bro. Jackson!)<br /><br />Merry Christmas, and may God Bless us all!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-85748459646544539792008-11-11T13:53:00.000-05:002008-11-11T13:57:56.487-05:00Worshippers in Lansing, MI assaulted by liberal activistsNovember 11, 2008<br />by Rick Moran at <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/">American Thinker</a><br /><br />Suppose you were sitting in church one Sunday peacefully minding your own business, praying that God grant our new president the wisdom to do what is right when suddenly, the sanctity of the church is violated in the most horrific way by vandals, thugs, and screaming lunatics. This is what happened at a small church in Lansing, MI called Mount Hope.<br /><br />Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony. "Jesus was gay," they shouted among other profanities and blasphemies as they rushed the stage. Some forced their way through rows of women and kids to try to hang a profane banner from the balcony while others began tossing fliers into the air. Two women made their way to the pulpit and began to kiss.<br /><br />Their other props? I'll let them tell you in their own words... from another of their liberal blogs:<br />"(A) video camera, a megaphone, noise makers, condoms, glitter by the bucket load, confetti, pink fabric...yeh."<br /><br />--------------<br /><br />I pray we never have to see this in our own LDS chapels!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-65541462187015469352008-11-01T20:47:00.000-04:002008-11-01T20:53:36.981-04:00Socialism is dehumanizingFrom Marianne at <a href="http://eternalstudent.blogspot.com/2008/10/socialism.html">The Eternal Student</a>:<br /><br />Rush asked yesterday on Greta Van Sustern's show on Fox, "how many young people even know what socialism is?"<br /><br />I am living in France with two other Americans, both of whom voted for Obama. The election has come up a few times, and also the subject of socialism. I said, "I'm not voting for Obama, because I don't want to see my country become socialist."One of my American friends, twenty-two years old, said, "What's wrong with socialism? I don't think it's a bad idea."I was speechless for a second. But then those little warning bells that tell me, "say something. Don't let that pass. Even if her vote is cast, you can still try to give her an alternate perspective for the future," made me open my mouth.<br /><br />So, I said, "What's wrong with socialism? We live in a socialist country right now, and you hate it here. You just spent all day yelling, "Damn these French!" Imagine this level of bureaucratic frustration and ineptitude taking over every aspect of American life." I didn't want to belabor the point. But I kept thinking of life here in a socialist nation:<br /><br />1. Waiting in line for EVERYTHING. No transaction takes fewer than 30 minutes. This, to me, is not a mere accident or ineptitude. This seems to be a design. If people can be kept waiting to perform headache-inducing bureaucratic tasks, then the people are kept occupied and quiet. Business is kept at a slow, manageable trickle. You want to see socialism in health care? Take the average level of service you receive at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Now, imagine that you have a hernia.<br /><br />2. Taxes on everything so high that you are kept in a certain life mold by default. Want to drive to Paris? The tolls are so exorbitant you might as well just take the train. Want to buy a better education? You can't because the state's monopoly is so huge that the only private schools are the Grandes Écoles and the Catholic universities. Yes, you could go to one of them, but they are so competitive that you must study for two years just to pass the entrance exam. So, the great majority of people take the path of least resistance, conforming to the state's wishes, because to excel or to be different, or to opt out is just too expensive.<br /><br />3. This results in a greater stratification between the rich and everyone else. When Americans (middle-class Americans!) visit France they stay in the picturesque city centers where the rich people live and work. But travel even a few kilometers out to the suburbs where the dehumanizing tenements climb into the sky, and people shop at discount stores just as cheap as WalMart and barely scrape by, and then tell me that socialism "spreads the wealth around." And then, please, take a walk around a French ghetto, where the radical Islamic population has taken over the streets, where the French police don't dare to go, where the rule of law has bowed to sharia, and tell me that this is a "secular and equal" nation. With unemployment for Muslim young men at over 20%, discontent is high, and violence is always simmering. America is not perfect. But don't buy the lie that socialist nations have their houses in order. Don't even get me started on the worrying rise of neo-fascist national parties in England, France, and Italy.<br /><br />4. I, personally, don't agree with the consumerist ethic that has gripped our nation, but I firmly support my fellow citizens' right to buy as many things as pleases them. My roommates enjoy traveling, buying gourmet food, expensive shoes, designer clothes. All of this is paid for by the American dollars of their parents. Capitalism creates wealth.<br /><br />5. I meet many, many students of English, who really love America. I say, "Oh, you should go!" and I am told, by about 85% of them, "Oh, I can't. It's too expensive."Imagine. Almost every American student of a foreign language, if he or she has the desire, finds a way to travel to the nation where that language is spoken. We love to treat the world as our Disney World. Well, prepare to cut back. Travel requires disposable income, either your own or your parents, and under socialism that disposable income is going to shrink.<br /><br />6. Young people have an intense sense of justice. They dislike the injustice they see in daily life in America, and they want to make things better. But because they have been taught by ideologically Left teachers and curricula their whole lives, they think the problems are systemic, ideological, and too big for individuals to change (this way of thinking is fundamentally Hegelian-Marxist). And so, they buy into the rhetoric of a demagogue who says he's going to bring "change to Washington." Because, according to their education, they think the only way to change things is at the government level. They have no idea the power they have to effect change in their lives, communities, states, and therefore their nation. The conservative movement should be proposing an ideology of empowerment to the individual citizen. You think inner-city education is poorer and less equitable than that in the suburbs? So, volunteer five hours a week to tutor a child in reading! Do something. Give something. You have so much more to give than just your vote (although that matters). In fact, if individuals try to solve these problems, the results are always better than if the government tries to fix it. Again, just look at education. How much money do we have to pour into government schools before asking ourselves, is money really the answer? Why is it that a family of eight, on a budget of $1,000 a year for homeschooling supplies, has children who can read Greek and speak Spanish, and the children in our public schools are functionally illiterate? Surely we are smart enough to solve this problem.<br /><br />Socialism is dehumanizing because it puts the state before the individual. Under socialism, you stand in line to be given some basic necessity. Under capitalism, you earn your livelihood, and however much more you might want and have the energy to produce. And if you see injustice around you, why then, by all means, "spread the wealth around." But don't take my money in order to do so. I have to pay taxes in France, after all...Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-38816453931876205382008-08-14T11:54:00.000-04:002008-08-14T12:04:35.059-04:00Nourishing Traditions in WaPoMy nutritional hero is featured in the Washington Post! Sally Fallon, the president of the Weston Price Foundation, wrote a cookbook called "Nourishing Traditions" that is the only one I use these days. They even give mention to Nina Planck's "Real Food" which is another favorite of mine. If you don't know about the real food/traditional food revival that is on the move, you might want to read the article! It can be very much in harmony with the Word of Wisdom, as I believe that traditional peoples tended to eat meat sparingly, though Ms. Fallon tends to stress meat a great deal. Some people who have been vegetarian and vegan that I know do need to eat a lot of meat right now (as their bodies have seen times of hunger and famine, sometimes for decades!).<br /><br />Here's the first few paragraphs...read the rest <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/05/AR2008080501000.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Eating healthy on the road can be tricky for Sally Fallon. But if the founder of the Washington nutrition nonprofit group Weston A. Price Foundation ever gets desperate, she can always hit a gas station for a bag of pork cracklings: "It's often the only real thing to eat," she says. Fallon's definition of "real" is vastly different from what many Americans who consider themselves health-conscious might describe. She advocates butter on bread "so thick you can see teeth marks in it," plenty of meat and unpasteurized, or raw, milk.<br /><br />Those are foods recommended by Price, a Cleveland dentist who traveled the world studying primitive diets. His 1939 book, "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration," concluded that a diet high in the vitamins found in animal fats and untouched by "modern" innovations such as refined flour, sugar and chemically preserved foods was the key to preventing chronic disease and tooth decay.<br /><br />Such ideas have been considered heretical by modern American public health policy that promotes a low-fat, low-sodium diet. But increasing interest in sustainable, local foods, combined with industrial health scares such as the recent salmonella outbreak, has put the spotlight on the foundation's unorthodox ideas about healthful eating. Its membership is nearly 10,500 strong, and growing at a 10 percent clip each year. There are more than 350 U.S. chapters, plus international groups from Australia to Norway.<br /><br />For years, these ideas were "as fringe as you could get, as politically incorrect as you could get," says Fallon, 60. "All of a sudden, people are listening."<br /><br />That new audience is surprisingly broad. Some adherents are interested exclusively in nutrition. But more and more, the concept of returning to traditional foodways is pulling people in. New members include the expected "back to the land" types, for whom the foundation's message provides yet another reason to support small organic farms, and those who oppose the government's attempt to limit the availability of foods such as raw milk.<br /><br />"This idea of real food crosses all demographics: red states, blue states, seculars, environmentalists, men, women and children," says Nina Planck, a Weston A. Price member and the author of "Real Food: What to Eat and Why." "What's gone wrong with farm policy is something conservatives and liberals can all agree on."Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-21361816289585786032008-07-21T17:37:00.000-04:002008-07-21T17:40:34.576-04:00Nothing WaveringAn exciting new development from J. Max Wilson--"a new LDS Blog Portal focusing on mainstream and orthodox LDS blogs and bloggers"--a refreshing alternative!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-50889390672252613542008-06-04T12:14:00.000-04:002008-06-04T12:21:11.939-04:00Choosing to be a mommyFrom <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021293/How-mothers-fanatical-views-tore-apart.html">"How my mother's fanatical views tore us apart"</a> by Rebecca Walker (<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">UKDailyMail</a>)<br /><br /><br />The other day I was vacuuming when my son came bounding into the room. 'Mummy, Mummy, let me help,' he cried. His little hands were grabbing me around the knees and his huge brown eyes were looking up at me. I was overwhelmed by a huge surge of happiness.<br /><br />I love the way his head nestles in the crook of my neck. I love the way his face falls into a mask of eager concentration when I help him learn the alphabet. But most of all, I simply love hearing his little voice calling: 'Mummy, Mummy.'<br /><br />It reminds me of just how blessed I am. The truth is that I very nearly missed out on becoming a mother - thanks to being brought up by a rabid feminist who thought motherhood was about the worst thing that could happen to a woman.<br /><br />You see, my mum taught me that children enslave women. I grew up believing that children are millstones around your neck, and the idea that motherhood can make you blissfully happy is a complete fairytale.<br /><br />In fact, having a child has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Far from 'enslaving' me, three-and-a-half-year-old Tenzin has opened my world. My only regret is that I discovered the joys of motherhood so late - I have been trying for a second child for two years, but so far with no luck.<br /><br />I was raised to believe that women need men like a fish needs a bicycle. But I strongly feel children need two parents and the thought of raising Tenzin without my partner, Glen, 52, would be terrifying.<br /><br />As the child of divorced parents, I know only too well the painful consequences of being brought up in those circumstances. Feminism has much to answer for denigrating men and encouraging women to seek independence whatever the cost to their families.<br />------<br />Rebecca is the daughter of feminist and author Alice Walker. Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021293/How-mothers-fanatical-views-tore-apart.html">here</a>.Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-83891984658703152492008-05-29T13:05:00.000-04:002008-05-29T13:18:35.608-04:00Collapse of Christianity in UKfrom "<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1022491/Bishop-says-collapse-Christianity-wrecking-British-society--Islam-filling-void.html">Bishop says collapse of Christianity is wrecking British society - and Islam is filling the void</a>"<br />By Sean Poulter and Niall Firth (from <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">UK Dailymail</a>)<br /><br />The collapse of Christianity has wrecked British society, a leading Church of England bishop declared yesterday.<br /><br />It has destroyed family life and left the country defenceless against the rise of radical Islam in a moral and spiritual vacuum.<br /><br />In a lacerating attack on liberal values, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, said the country was mired in a doctrine of 'endless self-indulgence' that had brought an explosion in public violence and binge-drinking.<br /><br />In a blow to Gordon Brown, he mocked the 'scramblings and scratchings' of politicians who try to cast new British values such as respect and tolerance.<br /><br />The Pakistani-born bishop dated the downfall of Christianity from the 'social and sexual revolution' of the 1960s.<br /><br />He said Church leaders had capitulated to Marxist revolutionary thinking and quoted an academic who blames the loss of 'faith and piety among women' for the steep decline in Christian worship.<br /><br />Dr Nazir-Ali said the ' newfangled and insecurely founded' doctrine of multiculturalism has left immigrant communities 'segregated, living parallel lives'.<br /><br />Christian values of human dignity, equality and freedom could be lost as the way is left open for the advance of brands of Islam that do not respect Western values.<br /><br />The bishop said 'something momentous' had happened in the 1960s. He quoted historians who point to a cultural revolution in which women ceased to uphold or pass on the Christian faith and to the role of Marxist revolutionaries.<br /><br />Dr Nazir-Ali pointed with approval to a finding that 'instead of resisting this phenomenon, liberal theologians and church leaders all but capitulated.<br /><br />He said: 'It has created the moral and spiritual vacuum in which we now find ourselves.' In the place of Christianity there was nothing 'except perhaps endless self-indulgence'.<br /><br />The bishop said the consequences were 'the destruction of the family because of the alleged parity of different forms of life together, the loss of a father figure, especially for boys, because the role of fathers is deemed otiose, the abuse of substances (including alcohol), the loss of respect for the person leading to horrendous and mindless attacks, the increasing communications gap between generations and social classes - the list is very long.'<br /><br />Another result, he said, was that immigrants had been welcomed, not on the basis of Britain's Christian heritage, to which they would be welcome to contribute, but by the 'newfangled and insecurely-founded doctrine of multiculturalism'.<br /><br />The bishop warned that views not founded on Christianity would not produce the same values. 'Instead of Christian virtues of humility, service and sacrifice, there may be honour, piety, the saving of face, etc'.<br /><br />He questioned what resources were available for an ideological battle against radical Islamism, saying 'the scramblings and scratchings around of politicians for values which would provide ammunition' were hardly adequate.<br /><br />------------------------<br />Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1022491/Bishop-says-collapse-Christianity-wrecking-British-society--Islam-filling-void.html">here</a>.Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-77327184626839520292008-05-29T12:14:00.000-04:002008-05-29T12:24:30.003-04:00VDH for Presidentfrom "<a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/all_about_me.html">All About Me</a>" By <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/author/victor_davis_hanson/">Victor Davis Hanson</a><br /><br />Here is how our baby-boom generation solves problems:<br /><br />-- Recently, George Bush went to Saudi Arabia to ask the ruling House of Saud to pump more oil. That request had about as much chance of success as the Democratic-led congressional effort to "sue" the Saudis in American courts for their selfish "price-gouging."<br /><br />The current debate about energy in the United States has devolved into doing the same old thing -- consume, don't produce and complain -- while somehow expecting different results. Congress talks endlessly about the bright future of wind, solar and new fuels, while it stops us from getting through the messy present by utilizing abundant coal, shale and tar sands; nuclear power; and oil still untapped in Alaska and off our coasts.<br /><br />-- For the past five years, we fretted over a "housing boom" that had priced an entire generation out of the market. In response, government and lending agencies got "creative" by relaxing standards to allow shaky "first-time" buyers into the red-hot market of high-priced homes. Home-improvement TV shows proliferated on how to "flip" houses and buy "no-down-payment" properties.<br /><br />When the bubble inevitably burst, cries of outrage followed about how "they" (never "we") caused a "depression" in housing. Our leaders shrieked about greedy lenders and incompetent regulators who foreclosed on us -- never that the American people themselves caused much of the speculation problem, or that housing prices are finally becoming affordable again for new couples.<br /><br />-- Over 70 percent of the American people, and a majority of Democratic senators, wanted to remove Saddam Hussein -- overwhelming support for the administration's war that rose even higher as a brilliant campaign finished off the Baathists in three weeks.<br /><br />But when a messy insurgency erupted, suddenly we heard that our victory was ruined by "their stupid occupation."<br /><br />-- The current Social Security system is unsustainable. But the baby boomers who gave us Botox aren't about to up the retirement age and freeze their own cost-of-living hikes to allow the cash-strapped next generation a little help in paying for our out-of-control benefits.<br /><br />There is a pattern in all these dilemmas. And it is not conservative-versus-liberal politics, but generational chaos. Those who came of age in the 1960s now hold the reins of power and influence -- and we are starting to see why their values have worried almost everyone for nearly a half-century.<br /><br />History has seen something like them before in the "blame them" years of Demosthenes' Athens, the self-indulgence of Julio-Claudian Rome, the "after me, the deluge" generation of late 18th-century France, the Gilded Age, and the Roaring Twenties.<br /><br />What are the baby boomers' collective traits? Like all perpetual adolescents who suffer arrested development, we always want things both ways: Don't drill or explore for more energy, but nevertheless demand ever more fuel from other suppliers.<br /><br />Sociologists have correctly diagnosed the perfect storm that created the "me" generation -- sudden postwar affluence, sacrificing parents who did not wish us to suffer as they had in the Great Depression and World War II, and the rise of therapeutic education that encouraged self-indulgence.<br /><br />Perhaps the greatest trademark of the 1960s cohort was self-congratulation. Baby boomers alone claimed to have brought about changes in civil rights, women's liberation and environmental awareness -- as if these were not prior concerns of earlier generations.<br /><br />We apparently created all of our wealth rather than having inherited our roads, schools and bountiful infrastructure from someone else. And in our self-absorption, no one accepted that our notorious appetites created more problems than our supposed "caring" solved.<br /><br />Our present problems were not really caused by an unpopular president, a spendthrift Congress, the neocon bogeymen, the greedy Saudis, shifty bankers or corporate oilmen in black hats and handlebar moustaches -- much less the anonymous "they."<br /><br />The fault of this age, dear baby boomers, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.<br /><br />---------------------<br />I wish this guy was running the country!<a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/author/victor_davis_hanson/"></a>Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-21376461638331277802008-05-28T12:47:00.000-04:002008-05-28T13:04:02.529-04:00What is Endangered: Climate or Freedom?From "<a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/blue_planet_in_green_shackles.html">Blue Planet in Green Shackles</a>" by <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/author/vaclav_klaus/">Vaclav Klaus </a> (from <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/">RealClearPolitics</a>)<br /><br />My today's thinking is substantially influenced by the fact that I spent most of my life under the communist regime which ignored and brutally violated human freedom and wanted to command not only the people but also the nature. To command "wind and rain" is one of the famous slogans I remember since my childhood. This experience taught me that freedom and rational dealing with the environment are indivisible. It formed my relatively very sharp views on the fragility and vulnerability of free society and gave me a special sensitivity to all kinds of factors which may endanger it.<br /><br />I do not, however, live in the past and do not see the future threats to free society coming from the old and old-fashioned communist ideology. The name of the new danger will undoubtedly be different, but its substance will be very similar. There will be the same attractive, to a great extent pathetic and at first sight quasi-noble idea that transcends the individual in the name of something above him, (of something greater than his poor self), supplemented by enormous self-confidence on the side of those who stand behind it. Like their predecessors, they will be certain that they have the right to sacrifice man and his freedom to make their idea reality. In the past it was in the name of the masses (or of the Proletariat), this time in the name of the Planet. Structurally, it is very similar.<br /><br />I see the current danger in environmentalism and especially in its strongest version, climate alarmism. Feeling very strongly about it and trying to oppose it was the main reason for putting my book together, originally in Czech language, in the spring of 2007. It has also been the driving force behind my active involvement in the current Climate Change Debate and behind my being the only head of state who in September 2007 at the UN Climate Change Conference in New York City openly and explicitly challenged the undergoing global warming hysteria.<br /><br />My central concern is - in a condensed form - captured in the subtitle of this book. I ask: "What is Endangered: Climate or Freedom?" My answer is: "it is our freedom." I may also add "and our prosperity"<br /><br />...I want to say that the Climate Change Debate in a wider and the only relevant sense should be neither about several tenths of a degree of Fahrenheit or Celsius, about the up or down movements of sea level, about the depths of ice at North and Southern Pole, nor about the variations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.<br />The real debate should be about costs and benefits of alternative human actions, about how to rationally deal with the unknown future, about what kind and size of solidarity with much wealthier future generations is justified, about the size of externalities and their eventual appropriate "internalization", about how much to trust the impersonal functioning of the markets in solving any human problem, including global warming and how much to distrust the very visible hand of very human politicians and their bureaucrats.<br /><br />My deep frustration has been exponentially growing in recent years by witnessing the fact that almost everything has already been said, that all rational arguments have been used and that global warming alarmism is still marching on. It could be even true that "We are now at the stage where mere facts, reason, and truth are powerless in the face of the global warming propaganda" (R. McKittrick, private correspondence).<br /><br />The whole process is already in the hands of those who are not interested in rational ideas and arguments. It is in the hands of climatologists and other related scientists who are highly motivated to look in one direction only because a large number of academic careers has evolved around the idea of man-made global warming. It is, further, in the hands of politicians who maximize the number of votes they seek to get from the electorate. It is also - as a consequence of political decisions - in the hands of bureaucrats of national and more often of international institutions who try to maximize their budgets and years of careers as well regardless the costs, truth and rationality.<br /><br />~Václav Klaus is President of the Czech Republic. <br />-----------------<br />Hasn't it always been the same trick, since the premortal world? To take away freedom. Just another mask at the same old masquerade ball....Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-4951068140608954432008-05-22T12:28:00.000-04:002008-05-22T12:32:43.561-04:00BlogtherapyFrom <a href="http://www.sciam.com/">Scientific American</a> <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type&sc=rss">"Blogging--It's Good for You"</a> By Jessica Wapner (h/t <a href="http://hotair.com/">HotAir</a>)<br /><br />"Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.<br />Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs. According to Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have a range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a “placebo for getting satisfied,” Flaherty says. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.<br />Flaherty, who studies conditions such as hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer’s block, also looks to disease models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. “We believe something in the brain’s limbic system is boosting their desire to communicate,” Flaherty explains. Located mainly in the midbrain, the limbic system controls our drives, whether they are related to food, sex, appetite, or problem solving. “You know that drives are involved [in blogging] because a lot of people do it compulsively,” Flaherty notes. Also, blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art.<br />The frontal and temporal lobes, which govern speech—no dedicated writing center is hardwired in the brain—may also figure in. For example, lesions in Wernicke’s area, located in the left temporal lobe, result in excessive speech and loss of language comprehension. People with Wernicke’s aphasia speak in gibberish and often write constantly. In light of these traits, Flaherty speculates that some activity in this area could foster the urge to blog."<br /><br />Read <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type&sc=rss">the whole thing</a>; it's pretty fascinating.Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-25422563081250223632008-05-19T11:35:00.000-04:002008-05-19T11:53:54.470-04:00The ties of the soul: Children of Israel<strong>President Bush Addresses Members of the Knesset Jerusalem, May 15th, 2008</strong><br /><br />We gather to mark a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel’s independence, founded on the “natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate.” What followed was more than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David -- a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael.<br /><br />Eleven minutes later, on the orders of President Harry Truman, the United States was proud to be the first nation to recognize Israel’s independence. And on this landmark anniversary, America is proud to be Israel’s closest ally and best friend in the world.<br /><br />The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. It is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: “Come let us declare in Zion the word of God.” The founders of my country saw a new promised land and bestowed upon their towns names like Bethlehem and New Canaan. And in time, many Americans became passionate advocates for a Jewish state.<br /><br />Centuries of suffering and sacrifice would pass before the dream was fulfilled. The Jewish people endured the agony of the pogroms, the tragedy of the Great War, and the horror of the Holocaust -- what Elie Wiesel called “the kingdom of the night.” Soulless men took away lives and broke apart families. Yet they could not take away the spirit of the Jewish people, and they could not break the promise of God. (Applause.) When news of Israel’s freedom finally arrived, Golda Meir, a fearless woman raised in Wisconsin, could summon only tears. She later said: “For two thousand years we have waited for our deliverance. Now that it is here it is so great and wonderful that it surpasses human words.”<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/22/6#6">1 Ne. 22: 6</a><br /> 6 Nevertheless, after they shall be nursed by the Gentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their children have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.<br /><br />----------<br />I hadn't seen this anywhere else, and thought I'd pass it on. Read the full account <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/images/20080515-1_p051508sc-0935-515h.html">here</a>.<br /><a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2008/05/bush-to-israel-america-stands-with-you.html#readfurther">h/t to Dymphna</a> at <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/">Gates of Vienna</a>Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-12298355454187065292008-05-15T11:41:00.000-04:002008-05-15T11:49:02.759-04:00Wii Fit!So, we ordered Wii Fit a few months ago...we should have it by the end of the month. I love the Wii, especially Wii Sports, which feels as if you are really playing. If you haven't tried it, you are in for a surprise. My husband does not like video games, except flight sims. He loves the Wii. I saw <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1779642,00.html?xid=rss-topstories">a great review of the new Wii Fit </a>today, and thought I'd share a bit of it....<br /><br />"Nintendo's Wii Fit comes with a wireless "balance board" that you set on the floor in front of a TV hooked up to the Wii console. About two feet wide and half as deep, the board is essentially a fancy scale, which not only measures your weight, but also detects your equilibrium with startling precision. To play Wii Fit, you stand on the board and go through a series of exercises/games that fall into one of four categories: balance, strength, aerobics, and yoga. You can box, snowboard or hula hoop. You can practice your tree pose and lotus position. Or you can play a tilting game that uses careful body movements to maneuver balls across a shaky platter onscreen, as you try to sink them into various holes.<br />You score points and unlock new challenges by completing each task without falling off the board or tilting too far in any direction. The board is constantly monitoring your center of balance and docking points for every wobble. The hardest part, I quickly discovered, was simply standing or crouching still for increasingly long periods of time. That's a far cry from your average shoot-'em-up game, in which fast moves and fancy button-punching are key to your success. Wii Fit, on the other hand, is all about subtlety and restraint."<br /><br />Sounds like fun, eh? But quite a different kind of game for sure. I can hardly wait!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-2240970431911206092008-05-14T12:49:00.000-04:002008-05-14T12:58:30.609-04:00"Aliens would still be God's creatures"Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90KSE100&show_article=1">Breitbart</a>, the Vatican's chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God, and that the vastness of the universe means it is possible "there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones" and that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. "Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like 'putting limits' on God's creative freedom."<br /><br />Sounds like they may be onto something:<br /><br /><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/1/35#35">Moses 1: 35</a><br />"But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them."Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-22240128120571606982008-05-14T11:51:00.000-04:002008-05-14T11:54:56.559-04:00Blogroll updated!OK, I updated my blogroll, finally. All links should now work, and I added a few that I read everyday and yet, somehow managed to not link them...sorry to Gates of Vienna, my favorite blog...finally on my list! Thanks to everyone on it, it is such a marvelous thing to be able to associate with such amazing people!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-65803143521288638932008-05-14T11:17:00.000-04:002008-05-14T11:25:17.474-04:00Small times in the Big CityA blog I meant to highlight long ago, but here it is NOW!<br /><br /><a href="http://melpandfamily.blogspot.com/">Small times in the Big City</a> is a blog by a lady in my ward named Melissa. She has two adorable children, and I got to know her and her babes in the time that she was my visiting teacher. She is an amazing woman, very strong, and very courageous. It is so refreshing to see others in my own ward in the LDS blogosphere, and I am grateful for Elder Ballard's encouragement of us to lift up our voices to the world through this medium. I do believe that a few people can make a powerful difference in the world, starting with the influence we have on each other. We need each other's strengths...and as RedGreen would say...We are all in this together!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-36605553971307262882008-05-14T10:57:00.000-04:002008-05-14T11:10:49.440-04:00Jenn-Lee's BlogThis post is to highlight a lovely blog that I was heretofore unaware of...a lovely, lovely lady from my ward, <a href="http://jenn-lee.blogspot.com/">Jenn-Lee</a>. She is vivacious and passionate, loving and kind, and devoted to her family and to the Gospel. I was so delighted to find her blog, and she is helping to further Elder Ballard's desire to see more members of the Church adding to the voices in the world of blogs by offering to teach the other sisters how to have a blog of their own! Great, great energy! Now, if I can just do better on my own blog! LOL (I don't know if I said, by way of apology for my slackness in blogging, that I DID finally finish my master's degree, and am already waist-high in work on my Ph.D...? OK, no excuse, I know it...I'll have to do better!) Go check out Jenn-Lee's blog and you'll be glad you did! She, and her blog, are fabulous!Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-28353583877410802212008-03-05T13:44:00.000-05:002008-03-05T14:53:12.887-05:00Tidbits<a href="http://www.steynonline.com/">Mark Steyn</a>: <a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MWQwN2E5NGQxZjQxZmRmYTYwNDQ5YzZlM2Q4MDc4NDk=">The State of the Nanny State </a>(<span style="color:#000000;">from</span> <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=525785&in_page_id=1770">Daily Mail</a>)<br /><blockquote><p><span style="color:#000000;">Britain's first 'Safe Text' street has been created complete with padded lampposts to protect millions of mobile phone users from getting hurt in street accidents while walking and texting.<br /><br />Around one in ten careless Brits has suffered a "walk 'n text" street injury in the past year through collisions with lampposts, bins and other pedestrians. </span></p><p></p></blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/KathleenParker">Kathleen Parker</a>: <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/age_not_race_or_gender_is_hold.html">Steinem's Last Stand</a><br />(<span style="color:#000000;">from</span> <a href="http://www.townhall.com/columnists/default.aspx">Townhall</a> <span style="color:#000000;">via </span><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/">RealClearPolitics</a>)<br /><br /><blockquote><p><span style="color:#000000;">And what about gender? Do people care more about a racist than a sexist past? And is it possible, as Steinem recently claimed in a New York Times article, that "gender is probably the most restricting force in American life"?<br /><br />Um, probably not.<br /><br />Few statements could more vividly illustrate the growing gap between yesterday's sisterhood and today's young women. Contrary to the myths they've been fed since birth about their second-class status, young American women today are thriving.<br /><br />They may be a little lonely in college where they outnumber men. They may be frustrated by a lack of adult male company as their opposites amuse themselves with pixelated playmates and video games. But patriarchal oppression is a hard sell.<br /><br />The Manhattan Institute's Kay Hymowitz recently reported that half of American men ages 18 to 34 play video games almost three hours a day. Which sex needs saving here?<br /><br />Trying to convince women under 50 that gender is a barrier to success feels not just stale, but dishonest. And nothing says "yesterday" like a 73-year-old feminist foot soldier who didn't get the memo that she won the war.</span></p></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">James Q. Wilson:</span> <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_evangelicals.html">Christians unrequited affection for Jews</a> (<span style="color:#000000;">from</span> <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/">City Journal</a>)<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#000000;">The reason that conservative Christians—opposed to abortion and gay marriage and critical of political liberalism—can feel kindly toward Jewish liberals and support Israel so fervently is rooted in theology. One finds among fundamentalist Protestants a doctrine called dispensationalism. The dispensationalist outlook, which began in early-nineteenth-century England, sees human history as a series of seven periods, or dispensations, in each of which God deals with man in a distinctive way. The first, before Adam’s fall, was the era of innocence; the second, from Adam to Noah, the era of conscience; the third, from Noah to Abraham, of government; the fourth, from Abraham to Moses, of patriarchy; the fifth, from Moses to Jesus, of Mosaic law; and the sixth, from Jesus until today, of grace. The seventh and final dispensation, yet to come, will be the Millennium, an earthly paradise.<br /><br />For dispensationalists, the Jews are God’s chosen people. For the Millennium to come, they must be living in Israel, whose capital is Jerusalem; there, the Temple will rise again at the time of Armageddon. On the eve of that final battle, the Antichrist will appear—probably in the form of a seeming peacemaker. Fundamentalists differ over who the Antichrist will be (at one time he was thought to be Nero, at another time the papacy, and today a few have suggested the secretary-general of the United Nations), but dispensationalists agree that he will deceive the people, occupy the Temple, rule in the name of God, and ultimately be defeated by the Messiah. Many dispensationalists believe that how a person treats Israel will profoundly influence his eternal destiny.</span></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://www.spectator.org/search.asp#mid"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Ben Stein</span></a>: </span><a href="http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12767"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Questions for Darwinians</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (from <a href="http://www.spectator.org/"><span style="color:#3333ff;">American Spectator</span></a>)<br /><br /></span><blockquote><span style="color:#000000;">Just a few tiny, insignificant little questions.<br /><br />* How did the universe start?<br /><br />* Where did matter come from?<br /><br />* Where did energy come from?<br /><br />* Where did the laws of motion, thermodynamics, physics, chemistry, come from?<br /><br />* Where did gravity come from?<br /><br />* How did inorganic matter, that is, lifeless matter such as dirt and rocks, become living beings?<br /><br />* Has anyone ever observed beyond doubt the evolution of a new mammalian or aviary species, as opposed to changes within a species?<br /><br />These teeny weeny little questions are just some of the issues as to which Darwin and Darwinism have absolutely no verifiable answers. Hypotheses.</span></blockquote>Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-27468738083931845622007-11-23T15:23:00.000-05:002007-11-23T15:32:07.991-05:00"Your result--Mitt Romney"Ok, I just read a post at <a href="http://drhelen.blogspot.com/">Dr. Helen</a> about a quiz called the "<a href="http://www.gotoquiz.com/results/ultimate_2008_presidential_candidate_matcher">Ultimate 2008 Presidential Candidate Matcher</a>", and thought, yeah, right, how you gonna figure out who I am supporting when I can't yet decide...? So, I took the test. The questions were not terribly nuanced, brutally forcing a choice at times, but lo, and behold, the results did reflect my own leanings, even picking up my secret Ron Paul admiration. (But McCain? NO WAY!)<br /><br /><table style="BORDER-RIGHT: gray 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: gray 1px solid; FONT: 12px arial, verdana, sans-serif; BORDER-LEFT: gray 1px solid; WIDTH: 320px; BORDER-BOTTOM: gray 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white"><tbody><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 5px" colspan="2"><b style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 8px; FONT: bold 20px 'Times New Roman', serif">Ultimate 2008 Presidential Candidate Matcher</b> <div style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 4px">Your Result: <b>Mitt Romney</b></div><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 200px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 95%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div><p style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 10px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; COLOR: black; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Mitt Romney was the governor of Massachusetts, where he was known as a centrist. He reformed the state healthcare system, and would pursue reforms at the national level as well. Romney supports oil drilling in Alaska, but also alternative energy sources. He claims to be conservative on issues like abortion and gay civil unions, and he supports the Iraq war. Romney supports fair trade, as well as a greater focus on math and science in our schools.</p></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Ron Paul</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 69%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">John McCain</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 63%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Rudy Guiliani</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 35%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">John Edwards</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 0%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Barack Obama</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 0%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Hillary Clinton</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 0%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Dennis Kucinich</td><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px"><div style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; MARGIN-TOP: 4px; BACKGROUND: white; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; WIDTH: 100px; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 8px; BACKGROUND: red; WIDTH: 0%; LINE-HEIGHT: 8px"></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="PADDING-RIGHT: 8px; PADDING-LEFT: 8px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 8px; PADDING-TOP: 8px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" colspan="2"><a href="http://www.gotoquiz.com/ultimate_2008_presidential_candidate_matcher"><b>Ultimate 2008 Presidential Candidate Matcher</b></a><br /><a href="http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Take More Quizzes</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750660.post-1170103382414199712007-01-29T15:24:00.000-05:002007-01-29T15:43:02.436-05:00Language as a source of powerFrom <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2007/01/rise-of-glossocracy.html">"The Rise of Glossocracy" </a>by Baron Bodissey at <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com">Gates of Vienna</a> and from <em>The Fjordman Report: an occasional series from Scandinavia</em><br /><br /><br />There was an interesting book called <em>The New Totalitarians </em>written by British historian Roland Huntford about Sweden in the early 1970s. <strong>It is especially noteworthy how the Socialist government deliberately broke down the nuclear family. This was presented as liberation from the oppression of women, but was in reality about tearing down the religious fabric of society and eliminating the Church and Judeo-Christian thinking as ideological competitors.<br /><br />It was also about increasing state control over all citizens by breaking down a rival institution that obstructed the uninhibited state indoctrination of children. Besides, the state could foment animosity between men and women and step in as an arbitrator, thus further enhancing its powers. </strong>During the past few elections in Sweden, there has been virtually no debate about mass immigration, but a passionate debate about “gender equality” in which almost all contestants call themselves feminists, and only debate which ways to implement absolute equality between the sexes.<br />- - - - - - - - - -<br />Mr. Huntford demonstrated how, when it was decided that a woman’s place was not at home but out at work, there was a rapid change in the language. Page 301:<br /><br />“The customary Swedish for housewife is husmor, which is honourable; it was replaced by the neologism hemmafru, literally ‘the-wife-who-stays-at-home’, which is derogatory. Within a few months, the mass media were able to kill the old and substitute the new term. By the end of 1969, it was almost impossible in everyday conversation to mention the state of housewife without appearing to condemn or to sneer. Swedish had been changed under the eyes and ears of the Swedes. Husmor had been discredited; the only way out was to use hemmafru ironically. Connected with this semantic shift, there was a change in feeling.<strong> Women who, a year or so before, had been satisfied, and possibly proud, to stay at home, began to feel the pressure to go out to work. The substitution of one word for the other had been accompanied by insistent propaganda in the mass media, so that it was as if a resolute conditioning campaign had been carried out. Very few were able to recognize the indoctrination in the linguistic manipulation;</strong> in the real sense of the word, the population had been brain-washed.”<br /><br />-------<br /><br /><strong>Language is underestimated as a source of power</strong>. Those who control the language and the school curriculum control society.<br /><br />George Orwell said: <strong>“If freedom of speech means anything at all, it is the freedom to say things that people do not want to hear.” </strong>In his book <em>1984</em>, a totalitarian Party rules much of Europe. Their three slogans, on display everywhere, are: War is peace, Freedom is slavery and Ignorance is strength. It’s the ultimate glossocracy, even creating an entirely new language called Newspeak:<br /><br />“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten.”<br /><br />I love Orwell’s book, but frankly, it fits an openly totalitarian society more than it does Western nations. Aldous Huxley’s <em>Brave New World</em>, with its hedonistic society where people derive pleasure from promiscuous sex and drugs, is closer to the mark. Scholar Neil Postman contrasted the worlds of <em>1984</em> and <em>Brave New World </em>in his book <em>Amusing Ourselves to Death</em>:<br /><br />“Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. <strong>Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.</strong> Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny ‘failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.’ In <em>1984</em>, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In <em>Brave New World</em>, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.”<br /><br />Much more <a href="http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2007/01/rise-of-glossocracy.html">here</a>.Peggy Snow Cahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367608237331524897noreply@blogger.com