Sunday, January 27, 2013

Happy 7th Birthday!!

To a Wonderful Granddaughter!! May you have a very special day!
Love, Grandma

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Touring Richmond

Great friends came into Richmond for the weekend and I had the opportunity to be tour guide for the day on Saturday.

We began our morning at the Great Shiplock Park near Tobacco Row. Having only passed by myself it was interesting to see the level difference between the canal and the river. On Saturday it was approximately 15 1/2 feet. It is impressive to reflect on how much a part of the Richmond economy the canal was in 1800's and amazing how they were to able to accomplish this type of engineering feat.

A quick Google search for the best place to go for breakfast in Richmond, had us stopping by Millie's Diner on Main Street. Best breakfast may have been an understatement. Definitely not your 'usual' place. I would have never picked it, but looks are definitely deceiving. The line to get in for Saturday brunch began lining up shortly before they opened and it was a full house the whole time we were there.

We headed over to the State Capital for a tour, while waiting for it to begin, we had the opportunity to explore the grounds. The fog being quite heavy hid many of the skyscrapers surrounding the Capital Square making for a very peaceful morning.  We began our tour of the Capital with a security check (I did find out something interesting here though - citizens are allowed to bring firearms into the Capital building as long as they are holstered and the carrier has the proper concealed carry permit).

The new underground extension was beautiful. You would NEVER know you were underground. They did a fantastic job of mimicking natural lighting. The statue of Thomas Jefferson is positioned under a rotunda just like the one of Washington on the second floor of the Capital.

The renovations that were done look fantastic! The tour guide was very informative and I even learned a few things during the tour. For instance I didn't know that during the War of Northern Aggression that the Capital building had served as the home to the legislature for both the state and the Confederate Government.

Next stop - the White House of the Confederacy - now tucked almost inside of VCU/MCV. The parking deck at the hospital was completely full, but we were blessed to find a spot on 12th Street within easy walking distance. Our guide, of the house, was very informative. I found it very interesting that one of the Davis sons had a fully functional miniature cannon with which to play. I'm certain that he must have rattled the nerves of his nanny, mother and neighbors.

The gardens behind the White House are lovely and a breath of fresh air in an area completely surrounded by the hospital and college.  I bet the gardens are delightful in the Spring and Summer. I wonder if they looked anything like they do now during the time that the Davis' resided here - perhaps not with their son waging war in the backyard with his miniature cannon!

Westward we went out Monument Avenue to have a look at the Confederate Monuments that line the avenue.

Our last stop for the morning was the Confederate Memorial Chapel. I miss timed our arrival and we missed the chapel being open to the public. We did have opportunity to visit with the Virginia Flaggers who were there working to have the flags returned to the chapel.

And the Answer IS....


As I was mulling over the lack of response from the White House regarding those secession petitions that had been signed I came across this article on the Blaze, read for your self, but the bottom line is the White House says that there is "NO RIGHT TO SECEDE."

Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Modern version of "The Little Red Hen"

So this is fair share ??

"Who will help me plant my wheat?" asked the little red hen..

"Not I," said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself." She planted her crop and the wheat grew and ripened.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did.

"Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow..

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share but the little red hen said, "No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow (Nancy Pelosi)

"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck (Barbara Boxer)

"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose (Jesse Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain (Harry Reid)

And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.
When the farmer (Obama) came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said Barack the farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle."

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand."

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

Individual initiative had died but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared so long as there was free bread that 'the rich' were paying for.

And perhaps...this is the end.

And the next week, there was no bread, or anything else to eat. So, they all starved equally.

(Got this one in my email.)

Monday, January 7, 2013

Just Wondering...Petition Update

Just out of curiosity I hopped over to the We The People website to find out the status of all those petitions to withdraw from the United States and see what responses had been posted by the administration to those petitions that had reached the required number of signatures.

Turns out that only seven states reached the necessary signatures to warrant a response.  However! there are no responses posted to these petitions. The links still go to the original petition with an indicator showing the number of signatures received. Other state petitions go to a basic, I'm sorry your petition didn't receive enough signatures page. Several of those had had two or three petitions going which greatly diluted the strength of the overall petition...the which one should I sign problem..anyway...

BIG question that is now lingering out there IS: WHERE is the RESPONSE to those states that DID reach the required number of signatures????
  1. Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government. 
  2. Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United Sates of America and create its own NEW government. 
  3. Peacefully grant the State of Alabama to withdraw from the United Sates of American and create its own NEW government 
  4. Peacefully grant the State of North Carolina to withdraw from the United States and create its own NEW government 
  5. Peacefully grant the State of Florida to withdraw from the United States of American and create its own NEW government
  6. Peacefully grant the State of Georgia to withdraw from the United States of American and create its own NEW government
  7. Peacefully grant the State of Tennessee to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.