Thought I would try to get a few words in while waiting for the coffee water to heat, or the downpour to start, whichever comes first LOL. I might lose the internet momentarily if the downpour starts, but it's hasn't been much of a problem.

Wow. What a work week! We had our store wide inventory this week, and it has been stressful getting ready for it. But we had our best inventory ever!!!!! Lots of hard work by everyone in the store, and the results prove it. My manager is starting her vacation today, as I am.

 Par for the course, it will be a working vacation, as I catch up on things that have been sadly neglected, and we get ready for our annual 4th of July family gathering. There are about a zillion green beans that need to be picked and canned. With the rain we are to have today the harvest may not happen. But it wouldn't be the first time I went and squished in the mud while barefoot LOL.

While my coffee is cooling a bit, I just have to let you in on the most wonderful coffee maker ever!!!! Gene had it sent to me for Mother's Day and I love it!!!!! I put my drip coffee maker under the counter. It's called a French Press, and some of you may know exactly what I am talking about. (Here comes the delicious rain!). It's  a simple glass pot with a three part filter which screws on to the metal shaft, which in turn is connected to the lid. You place the coffee into the pot, heat your water, pour it in and press down the lid/shaft/filter. It completely removes all grounds from the water, as you press it down, trapping the grounds on the bottom. They recommend you use a coarse ground of coffee, but I use regular drip coffee and I have never had a problem with grounds in the coffee when poured. The taste is awesome!!!!! Much better than drip or percolated. It's very easy to use and makes coffee much faster. It really is an ingenious design, not expensive, and something everyone who likes coffee should try. It takes up very little counter space, and cleans easily. Here is a pic:


Starbucks sells them or you can get them online. They are wonderful! They come in different sizes and there is bound to be a perfect size for your family. Mine is an 8 cup maker, but I use large coffee cups and average 3-4 cups. For us it is just right. Gene did very well indeed and couldn't have sent me a nicer gift!

Speaking of Gene, he is in Iraq and has been for several weeks now. God has protected him, and heard my prayers. Most importantly, God has told me yes in keeping Gene safe. While he is across the globe, we manage to stay in touch to some degree. Gene does an admirable job in calling. Now if I could just always get to the phone when it rings. From now on I am taking the phone to my nightstand so I won't miss any calls. The time difference means he has to call really early or really late. And I have missed some calls this week GRRR!!!! My heart  rejoices though, because I know he is okay.

My oldest son James, has been here for a visit and now that my vacation has started, maybe we can really visit now LOL. All too soon he will be going back home, and who knows when the next visit will happen? He and Sidney have really enjoyed having time to re-connect, and even Gene was able to spend time with them before leaving for Iraq. He treated them all to some fun time and took some photos. If all goes well, they will all get together again in a few months.

So far I have been able to harvest some Basil, and currently I am drying my recently harvested Lavender blooms. I never noticed before how much the bumblebees also love lavender LOL. No less than 6 were buzzing around the whole time. They went so fast, I had to be careful in reaching for a bloom to snip off, 'cause if I wasn't careful I would grab a bee instead. But they didn't mind me being there, and I left more than a few blooms for them. My newest lavender plant is doing well and it will be next year before I see any blooms from it. In time I hope to have reams of lavender!!!!!

My little raspberry plant actually bore a few little raspberries!!!! I didn't realize that it was a white variety LOL. But oh they are so good after you knock the ants off LOL. I see I will have a fight on my hands as it grows. I don't mind sharing, but they can't have it all. My little blueberry bush has a few that will ripen soon. I can hardly wait!!!!! Now I just need to find a yummy plum tree to plant this fall.

I will need to process all the summer squash that is coming in fast and heavy. I bet if I went out there I would find more ready to pick. This summer and spring has seen us with frequent rains. We are now well above our rainfall level and I hope it continues all summer. We have a few days of sunshine and a few days of rain. Perfect!!!!! Except for potted flowers, I don't have to water the garden. There's something about God's rain that makes them grow so much lusher than when you hand water. My Thyme plant is overflowing and desperately needs harvesting as does my massive Rosemary. I'll have to remember to harvest some fresh chives for our July 4th celebration. They would be yummy in a potato salad or on butter roasted potatoes. The corn will be just fine. While we lost a stalk or two in the storm a couple of weeks ago, and they were all laid down on the ground, they stood back up and now have tassels on some of them. They are over my head by several feet, and it will be so nice to get the corn! The bases of the stalks are still slightly curved, but that's okay too. Now to get up and get busy processing the squash. I usually slice and freeze it, as it can always be cooked fried or boiled later. I will need to go through the freezer and see what may have been overlooked from last year and get rid of it. 

Maybe I will have time today to organize my files LOL. But I don't count on it. Veggies don't wait. Files do.

I found this article this morning and it has me steaming. My comments are in red. Read and explore and make up your own mind. Your feedback is appreciated even if you do not agree with me. Isn't that what free speech is all about?

Savvy consumers often go online for independent consumer reviews of products and services, scouring through comments from everyday Joes and Janes to help them find a gem or shun a lemon.

What some fail to realize, though, is that such reviews can be tainted: Many bloggers have accepted perks such as free laptops, trips to Europe, $500 gift cards or even thousands of dollars for a 200-word post. Bloggers vary in how they disclose such freebies, if they do so at all. This, for the most part is patently false. But by telling you it’s a problem, you might readily accept this premise right off the bat and have you agreeing with the rest of the article. I have been to paid blogger sites and I readily understand that they are paid. Upfront, I realize to take what I read with a grain of salt and to further research such product or service for myself. Thankfully, I have always been able to use the internet to do just that. And guess what? I have the freedom to do that whether it’s a paid blogger or not. And there is fraud to some degree. Everywhere. Not just on the internet. We are to discern what is real and what isn’t just as WE ALWAYS HAVE without censure.

The practice has grown to the degree that the Federal Trade Commission is paying attention. New guidelines, expected to be approved late this summer with possible modifications, would clarify that the agency can go after bloggers — as well as the companies that compensate them — for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest. So in other words you will be considered guilty, trying to prove your innocence of any wrong doing, before the fact. The FTC will declare you are making false claims, and you will be in the untenable position of proving you have done nothing wrong.

It would be the first time the FTC tries to patrol systematically what bloggers say and do online. (More free speech attacks here we come)!The common practice of posting a graphical ad or a link to an online retailer — and getting commissions for any sales from it — would be enough to trigger oversight. This would include even people like me who have used and swear by Colloidal Silver for example, by providing a link to Herbal Healer or Utopia Silver.

"If you walk into a department store, you know the (sales) clerk is a clerk," said Rich Cleland, assistant director in the FTC's division of advertising practices. "Online, if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice and ... they have an economic motive for what they're saying, that's information a consumer should know." And this is different how from a retail sales clerk?
This is nothing more than further draconian measures to censure free speech all in the guise of “protecting consumers”. I don’t know how many of you reading this have come to realize that the internet has historically been one of the few places you can find out the real stories behind politics, products, natural healing, and other subjects that are not given complete coverage in lamestream media.

The guidelines also would bring uniformity to a community that has shunned that.
As blogging rises in importance and sophistication, it has taken on characteristics of community journalism — but without consensus on the types of ethical practices typically found in traditional media. Traditional media? Define traditional. Do they mean the five major media outlets owned and controlled by a select few? We once enjoyed many independent outlets of media information. Now, everything you read in the papers, or watch on TV is all carefully controlled and slanted to make you think what they want you to think. They have systematically shut down all the others. It is now no different than countries like China that censure everything their populace reads or watches. And you just thought you were thinking independently. Well you were if you bothered using the internet to get the “rest of the story”. Now even that right is being threatened.

Journalists who work for newspapers and broadcasters are held accountable by their employers, and they generally cannot receive payments from marketers and must return free products after they finish reviewing them. The blogosphere is quite different. "Rules are set by the individuals who create the blog," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. "Some people will accept payments and free gifts, and some people won't. There's no established norm yet." Oh great and wise FTC, I am too stoopid to think for myself. Please protect me from these purveyors of greed and lust. Oh puleze!

Bloggers complain that with FTC oversight, they'd be too worried about innocent posts getting them in trouble, and they say they might simply quit or post less frequently. And that is EXACTLY what their true goal is.

Between ads on her five blogs and payments from advertisers who want her to review products, Rebecca Empey makes as much as $800 a month, paying the grocery bill for a family of six. She also has received a bird feeder, toys, books and other free goods. What’s the matter with her? Can’t she go out and get a “real job” and pay daycare for all 6 children? Stand the added expense of gas to commute? Spend hours away from her children? How dare she think she can make legitimate money on the internet?

Now the 41-year-old mother of four in New Hartford, N.Y., worries that even a casual mention of an all-natural cold remedy she bought herself would trigger an FTC probe. Yes Rebecca, there really is a knight in shining armor to protect us! The all mighty FTC will come riding in to prevent people like you from enriching yourself or others. All on the pretext of “PROTECTION”.

"This helped us. This made us feel great. Will I be sued because I didn't hire a scientist to do research?" Empey said. Being sued would be the least of her problems, with going directly to jail the first step in proving innocence.

Empey, whose blogs include New York Traveler and Freaky Frugalite, said she discloses compensation arrangements on a page on her blogs or through a "support my sponsor" logo. She said most of her readers understand that she sometimes gets compensated.

By contrast, a mommy blogger on Double Bugs praised Skinny Cow low-fat ice cream sandwiches and thanked a Web site called Mom Central for the chance to try them. But there's no clue that Nestle SA's Skinny Cow division was giving bloggers coupons for free products. Mark my words. Given the power, in time, the FTC would invent some “guideline” that would prosecute even that scenario.

Some bloggers believe more uniform disclosure and practices would help instill trust and make advertisers more comfortable working with bloggers. To them, the question becomes whether the FTC should be the one crafting standards.
"It would always be better for bloggers to self-police," said Robert Cox, president of Media Bloggers Association in New Rochelle, N.Y. "We have laws on the books. They apply to everybody, not just people who write blogs." Exactly! Can I get an Amen?

Yuli Ziv, who writes a fashion blog from New York, is working on one such effort at self-regulation, helping craft an ethics policy for about 15 Web sites as part of the Style Coalition started in January to help bloggers become more professional. Self regulation. Where have we heard that before? Oh I know! It’s been done over and over by reputable industry. It has worked famously time and time again. How silly of me to think it would continue to do so.

"It's been an issue, regardless of the FTC," she said. "It's about trust." No. It’s about limiting what we can say or do. I can smell a rat all by myself.

Existing FTC rules already ban deceptive and unfair business practices. The proposed guidelines aim to clarify the law and for the first time specifically include bloggers, defined loosely as anyone writing a personal journal online. Clarify? Really? And any idiot knows we can successfully regulate and ensure uniform trust. Wow. To think that because of more laws attacking free speech we can make it possible for no one to ever be able to deceive us again. Ever. Yeah right. Just like the government can legislate our complete safety.

"It's sort of a recognition that word-of-mouth marketing in whatever form, whether electronic or not, is a significant part of the marketing strategy of modern companies," Cleland said. "Because it's new, I think it is imperative that we provide some kind of guidance." Word of mouth has been a mainstay of all legitimate companies. We have all relied heavily upon another’s testimonial of products they have actually tried. Who the hey cares if it was provided free or not? The supplying of the product for testing is usually a mark of hard work and research in attempting to provide a superior product or service. This is just one more way they can find to limit or eradicate free enterprise. Long live socialism!

If the guidelines are approved, bloggers would have to back up claims and disclose if they're being compensated — the FTC doesn't currently plan to specify how. The FTC could order violators to stop and pay restitution to customers, and it could ask the Justice Department to sue for civil penalties. Like we don’t have enough people now crying wolf in order to profit from someone else’s hard work? Wake up!!!!!!

Any type of blog could be scrutinized, not just ones that specialize in reviews. Ah. Now we are getting somewhere. Go after anyone at any time.

So parents keeping blogs to update family members on their child's first steps technically would fall under the FTC guidelines, though they likely would have little to worry about unless they accept payments or free products and write about them. This stinks to high heaven. Are you getting the picture yet?

But they would need to think twice if, for instance, they praise parenting books they've just read and include links to buy them at a retailer like Amazon.com Inc. So according to the FTC, if I tell you that you should get the book, “Freedom and Tyranny” by Mark Levin, and that I bought my copy at Wal-Mart, instead of buying it from the internet, I would be in violation? By the way, it is a most excellent book, highly informative on what is really going on in this country in several crucial areas of illegal immigration, monetary policy, free enterprise, and some other areas that affect us all. Better hurry now and read reviews on this book before that is illegal. God knows they don’t want you to be able to know the truth. Truth has a funny way of spreading, and it absolutely must be stopped dead in it’s tracks. That way they can keep taking your freedoms.

That's because the guidelines also would cover the broader and common practice of affiliate marketing, in which bloggers and other sites get a commission when someone clicks on a link that leads to a purchase at a retailer. In such cases, merchants also would be responsible for actions by their sales agents — including a network of bloggers.

Amazon declined to comment.

Cleland said the FTC would likely focus on repeated offenses that continue after a warning to stop. So do we cave in or fight back? That my friends is the real question. Only you can decide what is right for you. As for me, I choose to fight!!!!!!

Still, the agency has a big job ahead as new communications channels continually emerge. Advertisers now are paying some Twitter users to post short items through the increasingly popular messaging service. The FTC says the guidelines would cover such arrangements, regardless of the medium.

Even before the FTC commissioners vote on the final guidelines this summer, some in the blogging world have taken pre-emptive measures.

In May, IZEA, an Orlando, Fla.-based firm that matches advertisers with 265,000 bloggers, began sending reports to advertisers on whether hired bloggers are disclosing compensation arrangements, as IZEA requires. Such bloggers are paid as much as $3,000 for a 200-word post.

Over the holidays, IZEA ran a campaign in which bloggers who don't normally shop at Sears Holdings Corp.'s Kmart stores were given $500 gift cards and encouraged to write about their experiences in the stores. To reduce the chance of a bad review, the retailer said it avoided bloggers who previously made negative remarks about the company.

Meanwhile, a blogger on TravelingMom was whisked away on a free Disney cruise in January. She stayed in an ocean-view stateroom, where she was greeted by Champagne on ice and a plate of cheese and fruit. Later in the trip, she and other bloggers basked in the sun on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island.
"I've been on cruises before, but never like this one. The Disney Wonder (cruise ship) is ... well ... wondrous," she gushed on her blog. She did disclose the free trip.

Mandatory disclosures could change how reviews are perceived online because many Internet users might never imagine that bloggers get compensation.
"I don't think, for the average reader of a blog, it immediately comes to mind that they actually have a relationship with the company," said Sam Bayard, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. "You think about (blogs) as personal, informal, off the cuff and coming from the heart — unfiltered, uncensored and unplanned." Sam you said it. You don’t think. However, most of us do. We don’t need the FTC or anyone else taking our freedom to think or of free speech! I’m mad and I fear for the future of this country. What will it take for you to get on board NOW and start fighting for your lost freedoms and fighting to keep what little you have left. If you don’t stand now, who is going to stand for YOU when they come knocking on your door?
___

Things have been in a whirlwind here. Staying so busy, that I have hardly had time to think for myself LOL. It's also stressful at work getting ready for inventory. Groan. We will all be glad when it is over.

Last Thursday night we had a terrific storm here. Course I was stuck at work, and couldn't enjoy the storm as I would have liked. But when I got home, not only had the power been out for several hours, but all four rows of corn were laid over on the ground!!!!! This year is the best the corn had ever looked. You may remember that I ordered nothing but heirloom seeds for all of our vegetables. I picked two native varieties. King Hickory Dent White, and King Hickory Dent Yellow. Both have been grown in Tennessee for generations. God has blessed us with frequent rains this year, so everything has grown faster and lusher than usual. There's just something about God's rain, that is far superior to hand watering. You can hand water and keep it going, but something about actual rain really makes the plants flourish. I couldn't bring myself to photo the corn. It was too sad seeing it laying over all the way on the ground. But then Dillard said it would probably rise back up. Oh what a ray of hope I had then! I had already told God that if we were meant to lose the corn, then so be it cause I knew He knew what was best. But it did!  It slowly rose back up and is pretty much normal looking again!!!! James had asked me that first night, when I got home, if I had ever eaten any sideways corn. I had to laugh at that. As long as the stalks hadn't broken, I guess it could have still produced some. Tonight we had more storms, again while I was work, and when I got home tonight the power was out. Dillard and James already had the Coleman Lantern going on the kitchen table, and James was reading a book. They already had two of the oil lamps lit, and we lit a third one. I ate a cold supper which was delicious after not eating all day. (Sometimes I just don't have an appetite at work).

It was frustrating though, because yesterday, Dillard transplanted these yummy Zinnias he bought me for my birthday. (It was on Monday). They are large hot pink blooms, and so festive looking!!!!! I love Zinnias of all colors and sizes. They may be annuals but they bloom all summer, and I can collect seeds for next year's show. But that wasn't all. He had also gotten me a digital photo frame!!!!! I have wanted one of those for a long time!!!!! It's still in the box as I haven't had time to get it out and set it up yet. But this weekend I hope to correct that and start enjoying it. Mom brought me a large garden flag and a small flag, that I also haven't had time to get put up yet. And my co-workers got me a card and put in several packets of organic vegetable seeds. I thought that was simply awesome! And all day at work people kept wishing me a Happy Birthday!!! Wow. I was amazed. It wouldn't have bothered me if no one had said anything. But I was truly overwhelmed at the love that I was showered with at work and at home.

Hopefully, tomorrow I can get outside after work, and "tour" the gardens and flowers. I'm also eager to see how the melon plants are doing. Dillard's sunflowers should be about ready to start blooming. I'm excited to see them. I picked two summer squash on Tuesday, and there is probably more out there needing to be harvested. I'm so eager to start eating the fruits from our labors. I might even have a few blueberries, strawberries and a raspberry or two. I did manage to get my lavender flowers harvested while they were in full bloom. I also dried a batch of Basil, and it's time to get some Thyme dried LOL

But I thought I would drop in and let everyone know that we are all very much alive and well and kicking here in East Tennessee. It is beautiful from all the rain and the lakes are all full for the first time in several years. It should really help the tourist industry. We have a few days of sunshine then a couple of days of rain. It's been the perfect cycle all Spring and early Summer. (Yeah I know it isn't officially Summer yet according to the calendar. But somehow I have never needed a calendar to tell me when it's Summer. Bet you don't either). And as far as I am concerned, it's early Summer.

I hope to finish reading a new book I bought, this week. I had thought of ordering it online, but happened to find the last copy at my store! It's called, "Liberty and Tyranny" by Mark Levin, and should be a must read for every adult and school aged child. It is an awesome book which explains why things are the way they are in our current government, and shows how many freedoms have been stripped away, with more threatened everyday. If it doesn't piss you off and give you the resolve to stand up to those who would further enslave you, then nothing will light the fire of freedom in you. Just today at work I learned of a co-worker who stands to lose her home of many years because of the railroad coming through. She just lost her husband a few months ago, and her home is all she has left. As the book points out, when ownership of property is not considered sacred, neither are the people themselves considered as valuable. Think on that one for a while. Mr. Levin will tell you why the global warming hoax is just that,...a hoax. And he also points out the massive profiteering made from the hoax at your expense. He goes into several major issues which concern all of us. Not just now but for generations to come. I don't know about you, but I would rather leave a legacy of freedoms to be handed down to my descendants, than all the money in the world. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could step back in time, when our freedoms were still intact? I envision what they must have been like. I could get used to it really fast! I still haven't started to memorize the Constitution or the Bill Of Rights, but I will work on it.

Now to get ready for bed. It's an early morning for me, and I hope I set up my new alarm clock correctly. It was the first thing I did after power was restored tonight. I have a soft acappella CD of Christian music in it to wake up to. I am looking forward to something nice besides that irritating blare of beeps my old one gave me. It was so irritating I usually turned it off before really being awake LOL. Which meant I went back into my little coma and overslept. I woke up this morning about 15 minutes before I was supposed to be hitting the road for work LOL. I managed to make it on time, but boy that chaps me when that happens.

Even without reading the book, I hope to see you on Resistnet dot com soon. Or Restore The Republic. We have to get as many on board as possible and we have to do it now. Time really is running out to turn this around. Everyone knows that freedoms once lost are almost impossible to get back.

See? He stands for freedom of the individual, even though he does not condone smoking. That's what freedom is about. YOU have choices. In speech, in thought,the written word, or deed. If you and I disagree, that's okay. We have that right. For now.

Posted: May 27, 2009
11:00 pm Eastern

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

The federal government is forcing 3 million Americans to disclose sensitive, personal information about finances, health and lifestyle in a 14-page survey – including questions about availability of household flush toilets and difficulty with undressing and bathing.

The 2009 American Community Survey, an annual supplement to the decennial Census, asks about residents' personal relationships and whether a home has hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, bathing facilities, appliances and phone services. It also asks how many rooms are in a home and what vehicles are used at each household.

The new questionnaire asks respondents what they pay for electricity, gas, water and sewer every month and whether residents receive food stamps.

Question 16 asks, "About how much do you think this house and lot, apartment, or mobile home would sell for if it were for sale?"

Respondents are required to disclose costs associated with rent or mortgage, annual real estate taxes on and fire, hazard and flood insurance expenses.

For each person in the household, the questionnaire asks for citizenship status, education level, whether that person attends private or public schools. It also features questions about health coverage, hearing and vision impairment and physical, mental or emotional conditions.

It asks if residents "have difficulty dressing or bathing" or "doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping" or whether they have difficulty making decisions. Respondents must indicate if they have served in the military, their current marital status and whether they have been married or given birth to children in the last 12 months. The Census Bureau claims its question is used as a "measure of fertility" and is used to "carry out various programs required by statute, including … conducting research for voluntary family planning programs."

The letter asks where residents worked last week and whether they drove a car, rode a bus, subway railroad, ferryboat, taxicab or bicycle to get there. It then asks what time they left for work and how long their commute lasted.

Respondents are also required to disclose their place of employment, duties and income.

While many recipients may consider the questionnaire to be tedious and meddling, the Census Bureau warns that citizens are required by law to complete it and may be fined as much as $5,000 for willfully refusing. While an individual may feel uneasy about answering each question truthfully, the fine for filing false information can be as much as $500.

The Census Bureau estimates that the form takes an average of 38 minutes for each household to complete.

While the U.S. Constitution allows Americans to be counted for purposes of taxation and political representation, Jim Harper, a privacy expert at the Cato Institute, told the New York Post the survey is "a classic example of mission creep over the decades – this constitutional need to literally count how many noses are in the United States has turned into a vast data-collection operation."

Rep. Ron Paul blasted the government for spending "hundreds of millions of dollars" on the survey and called the questionnaire "insulting" in his Texas Straight Talk column.

"The questions are both ludicrous and insulting," he wrote. "The survey asks, for instance, how many bathrooms you have in your house, how many miles you drive to work, how many days you were sick last year, and whether you have trouble getting up stairs. It goes on and on, mixing inane questions with highly detailed inquiries about your financial affairs. One can only imagine the countless malevolent ways our federal bureaucrats could use this information. At the very least the survey will be used to dole out pork, which is reason enough to oppose it."

Paul continued, "The founders never authorized the federal government to continuously survey the American people. More importantly, they never envisioned a nation where the people would roll over and submit to every government demand. The American Community Survey is patently offensive to all Americans who still embody that fundamental American virtue, namely a healthy mistrust of government. "

You may remember my post a while back, of an article by Ben Taylor of Utopia Silver, where he explained what the allowable questions were during a census and what was not allowed. Furthermore, he offered a form we could use to ask questions of our own, while also suggesting "No Trespassing" signs on the property. I highly suggest a re-reading of his article. Each of us need to think on this and decide what our courses of action will be when the time comes. Only you can decide what is right for you.


And finally, I give you this update:

 House lawmakers on Tuesday said they have subpoenaed the Federal Reserve to hand over e-mails, notes and other documents related to its role in Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

    The lawmakers' subpoena comes after claims that top government officials pressured Bank of America Corp. CEO Ken Lewis to complete the bank's purchase of Merrill Lynch, threatening his job security. Lewis has testified that he had been advised by the officials, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, not to disclose details of Merrill Lynch's difficult financial position, according to New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Apparently, even Congress is concerned about what the Fed is up to. This means our work on HR 1207 is already paying off, since it would be hard to imagine this kind of activity if it were not for fear of public opinion. A few years ago, few of us would have thought the Fed would become such a widely discussed public issue, with politicians actually willing to discuss it, let alone act on it. Now HR 1207 has 207 cosponsors and is discussed throughout the blogosphere and even in the mainstream media.

Now is not the time to back down. The Fed still needs to be meaningfully audited, not just subpoenaed on a narrow range of activities. This news also indicates that the Fed has been up to no good, even by Washington standards. Thanks to everyone out there for supporting the efforts to shine a light on the Federal Reserve, and keep it up!

http://www.campaignforliberty.com

I have long had a link to Robert Spencer's website, "Jihad Watch". When I saw the link to Obama's speech on the 4th, given in Cairo, I couldn't resist following the link and reading what this socialist president was spewing now.

Most of you probably watch the news, read the newspapers,....this is old to some of you. How many paid close attention to his message? "America and Islam are not exclusive," he said, "and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

It was further reported that a spokesman for Hamas, Fawzi Barhoum, commented, "There is a change between the language of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush,"

I invite you to view a documentary by Geert Wilders, called "Fitna". In this documentary Mr. Wilders is trying to convey the very real and present dangers the Muslim world will bring to all cultures, including his country and all societies world over. Look at the countries already taken over. Learn their history. View the photos and read the timelines of events. Bloodbaths every time. And when it happens here? Just how will you choose to respond? Will you bow to fear and renounce God? Or will you stand and fight? Better yet, take a stand NOW, and with united voices we can overcome and turn this country around without bloodshed. Prayer is our most powerful weapon. But God expects us to act accordingly. When Christianity is threatened, we are to be true warriors, and defend the faith in any way we can.

Regardless of whether you agree or not, consider this: His own country is PROSECUTING him for hate speech. And if you think it cannot happen here, you are sadly out of touch. Recently, yet another hate crimes bill was introduced. It has nothing to do with traditional hate crimes, and everything to do with silencing free speech.

This constant eroding of our freedoms, the constant tyranny that grows stronger every day, has me, quite frankly worried and not a little angry. If you haven't taken the time to join other patriots in battling the threats of Muslims, the threats of our free speech, the onerous burdens of our present day taxes, the increasing sosialistic structure of government,....the list goes on and on of the constant attacks on our freedoms. then what are you waiting for? To wake up one morning and find that life as we knew it is gone forever?

If you are willing to take a little time away from your movies and entertainments, you can learn just what is really going on. For starters, watch Fitna and read the background story behind it:

Are Jihadists Training in Rural America?

It pains me to have to temporarily delete the link to Utopia Silver. I wasn't going to, even after receiving an email informing that the website had been a victim of malicious prank playing. While nothing was a serious threat, to be safe, all orders should be called in over the phone.

However, it came to my attention that Avast! anti-virus was flagging my blog as a source of a trojan, while viewing my blog in Internet Explorer 6.0. I use Firefox and Avast! and I do not get that warning. The warning flagged Utopia Silver as the culprit. So for now, I have removed the link until all is back to normal. I have no fear of Utopia Silver's website. WOT flagged it as a warning when I visited yesterday, but I visited several pages on the website, and then afterwards had Avast! scan my PC. No threats were found .I have no idea why some people get their jollies doing this stuff, but Utopia Silver will prevail. And then I will re-post their link.  I have my own suspicions about who would do such a thing, but time will tell.

In the meantime, feel free to call in an order over the phone.

Be blessed!

Come home safe Gene.  May God watch over you and lead your paths into only safe ones.

I Love You.

I have told you before about my attempt this year, to once again try to grow melons. I planted three varieties. Israeli, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Nothing. So I tried again. I replanted seeds in the three hills. I finally had one come up! Then I did what I should have done to begin with. I prayed about it. And within two days I had another one pop up. That really excited me, and so I got out 6 more peat pots and planted three Israeli and three cantaloupe. Now I look out onto my back porch everyday, even if I can't actually go outside. And that's where I have my peat pots. Yesterday nothing was showing at all. But this morning I have a seedling that is healthy and strong!!!! It never ceases to amaze me how good God is to us. And in one of my hills in the "melon patch", yet a different seedling has popped up LOL. I have two different varieties in one hill LOL. Since I didn't think to mark what I planted where, guess I will have to wait and see what forms. And that's just alright with me!  My one surviving heirloom tomato that I started from seed is small but healthy. I think I am getting my lesson in patience LOL. But that simply means it will still be producing even after the larger ones have stopped. It's a German Queen that produces green tomatoes even when ripe. They are supposed to be especially sweet and I can hardly wait we can try them. Correction: Til I can try them LOL. I am the only one here that will eat them. But I can share and share I will. With co-workers, my chiropractor,....neighbors and friends and congregation. My two summer squash is doing well. The plant Dillard bought me is larger than the one I started from seed, but not by much. The broccoli is doing well and the corn and beans are really zooming! I am not seeing anything out of the asparagus. It's my first attempt, and so who knows if I have done it correctly. In my front yard I planted three (on clearance) lilies. Nothing yet, but if only one makes it then it was worth while! I love Lillies! They spread a little more every year. And this year I plan on trying to make pickles. And every time I think about making pickles, I think of the Mayberry episode where Aunt Bee kept churning out jars of her "kerosene" pickles LOL. That mental image doesn't serve me well at all LOL.

Even though I had to work on Memorial Day, I was able to reflect a bit on just what Memorial Day really means. I hope you did too. And I hope you offered a prayer for all of our service men and women and their families. Gene departs for Iraq on Monday. Please join me in prayers for his safety. I try to remember to include our military in every prayer, but sometimes I forget. Have you ever added a P.S. to a prayer? I do sometimes LOL. But I think God understands. It really delights Him when we talk with Him. And it somehow gives us a boost as well. I haven't figured out how that works yet, but if I ever do I will let you know.

While I am a little late in sharing this for Memorial Day, I'm still posting a video about an American Bald Eagle, rescued and that now goes all over the country and performs. I got such a kick out of it and I hope you will too!   Be blessed!