RNC Candidate Distributes 'Barack The Magic Negro' Song

RNC Candidate Distributes 'Barack The Magic Negro' Song

No, I'm sorry, this is not a case of bleeding heart liberals being "politically correct," this is a case of top level Republicans showing their true colors- mean spirited, ugly, racist colors.

Can you believe this? Chip Saltsman included this CD in his Christmas card, along with a letter asking members of the RNC to make him their chairman? Friends, even if this were not blatant racism, it is not acceptable, mature behavior for reasonable adults seeking power and responsibility.

And this is the kind or tripe that Rush Limbaugh puts on his show all the time??!! And you "Ditto Heads" think it's funny? Please take a good long look and consider what he really stands for stands for.

Racism, bigotry, intolerance, and xenophobia are not "Family Values."

Resolve to not make any resolutions

I don't know if I'll ever be well enough write a weekly column anymore, but I can't lie, I really do miss it. I'm still in recovery. Pundit's Anonymous has been helping, but it's still just "one day at a time."

What do Americans do when they miss something? Bring it back in "re-runs."

So, in the event that there are actually two or three of you out there who read this blog or who used to read my column and would like to have something to put you in the New Year's
Click here: http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Year to read my New Year's resolutions from 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007!

We need Progress

Recently I was reading about Teddy Roosevelt again and I came upon the speech he made to the newly created Progressive Party after the Republican party powers that be disenfranchised their own primary voters by nominating William Taft in 1912. How different would the political landscape be today if they'd picked up the torch of progressive reform instead of maintaining their practice of protecting the wealthy at the expense of the middle and working classes? I've written a lot about how I think Obama needs to follow the patterns of Franklin Roosevelt since we're in such an economic mess, but maybe he'd do just as well to learn from FDR's Republican cousin (that is, until the Republican Party betrayed him). I wish I could convince all my Republican friends that Teddy's philosophies are far more beneficial for America than Reagan or Bushes. Whatchya gonna do?

"...our aim should be the same in both State and Nation; that is, to use the Government as an efficient agency for the practical betterment of social and economic conditions throughout this land. There are other important things to be done, but this is the most important thing...

I am well aware that every upholder of privilege, every hired agent or beneficiary of the special interests, including many well-meaning parlor reformers, will denounce all this as "Socialism" or "anarchy"--the same terms they used in the past in denouncing the movements to control the railways and to control public utilities. As a matter of fact, the propositions I make constitute neither anarchy nor Socialism, but, on the contrary, a corrective to Socialism and an antidote to anarchy...

the most pressing and immediate need is to deal with the cases of those who are on the level, and who are not only in need themselves, but, because of their need, tend to jeopardize the welfare of those who are better off. We hold that under no industrial order, in no commonwealth, in no trade, and in no establishment should industry be carried on under conditions inimical to the social welfare. The abnormal, ruthless, spendthrift industry of establishment tends to drag down all to the level of the least considerate...

The present conditions of business cannot be accepted as satisfactory. There are too many who do not prosper enough, and of the few who prosper greatly there are certainly some whose prosperity does not mean well for the country. Rational Progressives, no matter how radical, are well aware that nothing the Government can do will make some men prosper, and we heartily approve the prosperity, no matter how great, of any man, if it comes as an incident to rendering service to the community; but we wish to shape conditions so that a greater number of the small men who are decent, industrious and energetic shall be able to succeed, and so that the big man who is dishonest shall not be allowed to succeed at all.

Our aim is to control business, not to strangle it-- our aim is to promote prosperity, and then see to its proper division. We do not believe that any good comes to any one by a policy which means destruction of prosperity; for in such cases it is not possible to divide it because of the very obvious fact that there is nothing to divide. We wish to control big business so as to secure among other things good wages for the wage-workers and reasonable prices for the consumers. Wherever in any business the prosperity of the business man is obtained by lowering the wages of his workmen and charging an excessive price to the consumers we wish to interfere and stop such practices. We will not submit to that kind of prosperity any more than we will submit to prosperity obtained by swindling investors or getting unfair advantages over business rivals. But it is obvious that unless the business is prosperous the wage-workers employed therein will be badly paid and the consumers badly served. Therefore not merely as a matter of justice to the business man, but from the standpoint of the self-interest of the wage-worker and the consumer we desire that business shall prosper; but it should be so supervised as to make prosperity also take the shape of good wages to the wage-worker and reasonable prices to the consumer, while investors and business rivals are insured just treatment, and the farmer, the man who tills the toil, is protected as sediously as the wage worker himself...

One camp has fixed its eyes only on the need of prosperity, loudly announcing that our attention must be confined to securing it in bulk, and that the division must be left to take care of itself (Supply-side, free-market, Reaganomics). This is merely the plan, already tested and found wanting, of giving prosperity to the big men on top, and trusting to their mercy to let something leak through to the mass of their countrymen below--which, in effect, means that there shall be no attempt to regulate the ferocious scramble in which greed and cunning reap the largest rewards.

Read the entire speech at http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trarmageddon.html
From Teddy Roosevelt's speech at the Progressive Party Convention, August 6, 1912 in Chicago

Ho ho ho!

Teaching 4th & 5th graders about Georges Seurat & Pointillism gave me the opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Teaching 4th & 5th graders about Georges Seurat & Pointillism gave me the opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas

Gadget thumbnails

I 'm trying to make Google Gadgets for my blogs and I'd like them to have pictures in them, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the code.

What happened to Ted's Column; An email exchange

On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 9:45 AM, Mapleton Press wrote:

OMG you haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Oh Teddy I do miss you so much and so do our readers. I can honestly say I have had more positive feedback on your articles than negative and I have had several asking where you are. Please come back to us.

Thanks for the pics I will email Rita for ID. Also thanks for taking pics at the COU concert.

Also I am really sorry to her about Beth's brother... I know the pain it causes love ones. It leaves a tremendous about of questions to those left behind.

Love ya
Maddog

from Ted Mallory
to Mapleton Press
date Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 3:25 PM
subject Re: COU Christmas Concert


Thanks for all your encouragement. You're a sweetheart.

I still don't know what I'm going to do yet. Brad was right when he called me busy. Christmas & Basketball aren't helping.

And in the wake of Cory's suicide, my head's really in a bad place, so that makes it even harder. It certainly is a hell of a lot harder than losing someone to illness or old age.

Since you're such a good friend, and apparently an avid reader (definitely a major supporter) I'll tell you that it's not necessarily JoAnn's, it's more complicated than that and has a lot to do with how right-wingers were making my family members feel by talking about me.

Although, I will admit that I was getting a lot of hate email and negative blog comments from people other than JoAnn and it all compounded on 8 rejection letters in a row from syndicates for either columns or cartoons- so I was both sick of putting up with people's crap feeling sorry for myself.

So I still don't know where I'm at with it yet. I was just starting to get over it (grief/withdrawls/just taking a break from it/letting go of something that I'd let become too important to me- whatever you want to call it) when my mom had a scare with a spot on her lung (which turned out to be an infection, not cancer- thank God), then one of my Aunts was killed in a car accident, and most recently this Cory thing.

No promises, not even a clue as to whether or not and if so, when...
But huge thank yous for being so tenacious in your kindness, concern, and encouragement. You're the greatest.

Maybe I'll just have to make a point of sending you dumb email forwards or something.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Love,
"Teddy"

---

Once again, to all of you who have told me how much you used to enjoy the column or that you've missed it, and all of those who've tired to encourage me over the last couple of months- and especially all of you who've offered your prayers and comfort to either me or our family since Cory's death-

A HUGE thank you. May God return all of your kindness to you when you most need it.
His peace this season (Philippians 4:4-8)

Christmas Special!

I may as well face it, I am busy to write a weekly column anymore, but I can't lie, I really do miss it. What do Americans do when they miss something? Bring it back in "re-runs."

So, in the event that there are actually two or three of you out there who read this blog or who used to read my column and would like to have something to put you in the Christmas spirit-
Click here: http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas to read my Christmas from 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007! INCLUDING my annual interviews with Santa Claus!

Merry Kitsch-mas!

Smaller is better

This cartoonist is a MAJOR right-winger and I rarely agree with him because 9 times out of 10 he's also a blithering nincompoop (er, uh, I mean self-righteous ideologue) but THIS time, I think he's spot on. I never understood why a party that claimed to stand for decentralization of government (state's rights etc.) came up with the hair brained scheme for unfunded mandates and malignant bureaucracy that is "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB).

Part of a dying breed

From Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist Index's BLOG-

"I was sorry to read that Brian Duffy was laid off today. Brian was famous for being one of only two cartoonists in the nation who's cartoon appeared on the front page of the newspaper every day (the other is Corky Trinidad). Our condolences go out to Brian, who is an excellent cartoonist and we apprciate his contributions to our site. See Brian's cartoon archive here."

What is wrong with Gannett? What is wrong with newspapers all across this country? Think I should mail samples of my work to the Register? Seriously, Duffy is one of the greats. Why would they treat him like that?

A note from Bedford Falls

One of my friends once complained that it was too hard to keep up with my blogging because I have too many of them. Guess I'm one of those kinds of people who likes to compartmentalize things. There's a blog for students with assignments and resources, there's the blog for photography and artwork, the one for cheerleaders, the one with prayers and devotions and rants on religion... Then there was this one, the flagship. Initially it was just meant to be the repository for columns that ran in the town paper, then I used it for additional political commentary. Now I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I've never intended to use it as some kind of public diary. I figure, who wants to read just another whiner on the web?

But this has been a challenging week, with the loss of my brother-in-law. I still don't think it would be entirely appropriate to just open up and spew every kind of thought and feeling here in the open. That wouldn't honor my family and their feelings and privacy, let alone his memory.

However, I would like to thank all of you who have shown your sympathy and concern for our families. And for me. At first I figured, it's my job to be strong for my wife and that I really wasn't entitled to much grief of my own. But several of you showed your individual concern for me specifically and I want you to know that it meant a great deal to me.

I also want to thank everyone who's shared with me that you miss my column or wish that it would return. I can't tell you how meaningful your support is. For a while, I was beginning to think that it wasn't just a hobby, but maybe a "true calling." Alas, that doesn't seem to be what God has in mind after all.

Perhaps more than anyone, those of you who prefaced those sentiments with things like "I didn't always agree with you on everything." I mean, dyed in the wool conservatives and people who's views are usually diametrically opposed to mine have said very kind and encouraging things about my writing. If only the handful of people who think that my column "ruined" the paper, felt the same way.

Special thanks to those of you, relatives, neighbors, and even web-readers who've shared that what things I've written have touched you or meant something to you.

Special thanks to our Pastor, Richard Merrill for how he has let God work through him for our family through this whole ordeal. To Rev. Carla from Dunlap for her call to me and her prayer. To Lori and Karen from school (and formerly from school) for their kindness and concern. And to my Brother for his call and his counseling. To my other brother-in-law for treating me like a brother. To all my wife's friends who responded to my emails asking them to hold her up in prayer. And for the chance to visit with Cory's best friends, Alan and Kevin, Friday and Saturday.

To everyone who came through the viewing or to the funeral. I don't know how many people I said this to in the last few days, but the outpouring of love and support from the community reminds me of the last scene in the Christmas movie, It's A Wonderful Life. If only Cory could have let himself accept or be aware of how many people liked and appreciated him, perhaps he'd still be with us.

I'd like to encourage everyone to watch that classic film with new eyes this year. Knowing that there are people suffering with fear and doubt and disillusionment out there- make the extra effort to let everyone you know that they're important to you. And when you yourself are at your most stressed and despairing, realize that your life touches many, many others and even if you're never aware of it, you make a difference, we all need you, and there are always people out there who want to help you if you'll just let them in.

Cool Whip

This anecdote takes a little bit of set up: Our three year old has interesting names for her imaginary friends. She had a "boyfriend" named Jacob Brownie. When she broke up with him, she got Jacob Marshmallow. There's even a Jacob Sundae.

My wife's Grandfather's name was Whilbert Langholdt. For years and years he ran a cafe and bowling alley in Ricketts, Iowa that bore his nickname, "Whip's Lanes."

Recently, although she never knew him (he passed away decades ago), Annamarie tried to explain to us that "Grandpa Whipped Cream isn't dead, he just had to go to his other house."

Obituary

Cory Neddermeyer, 45 of Charter Oak, died Tuesday at his home in Charter Oak.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak with burial at St. John's Lutheran Cemetery in Charter Oak. The Huebner Funeral Home in Charter Oak is in charge of arrangements where friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Thursday. A prayer service will be at 7 p.m.

Survivors include his wife, Sherri, one son, Nolan, and one daughter, Hallie, all of Charter Oak; his parents, Allan and Marjorie Neddermeyer of Charter Oak; one brother, Mark Neddermeyer of Topeka, Kansas; and one sister, Bethany Mallory of Charter Oak.

Published in the Denison Bulletin/Review from 12/4/2008 - 12/11/2008

Amazing. Over 600 people at the viewing Thursday evening. They had to postpone the prayer service from 7 until 9. The church was filled, including the balcony and there was overflow in the basement. The line of cars stretched from the cemetery to the highway. Over 300 attended the luncheon.

Thank you, everyone who've been showing your love and support to the family during this difficult time. Please continue to lift up Cory's family in your prayers.

A thousand words is worth at least a picture or two

I may not be writing a weekly column for the Mapleton PRESS anymore, but I have tried to clean-up and organize six years of columns and made them easier to find on my main blog. Why not peruse through the humor, history and humus. It's full of "Sex, Politics, and Religion- not necessarily in that order." Or at least, liberal politics, the my misadventures parenting three little girls, and the joys of living in small town Iowa and good old fashioned Midwestern, down to earth common sense Lutheranism.

At least take a look at a couple of columns and give it a chance.

BEST OF TED

• Arizona Statehood Day (Feb 14)
• Book Reports
• Christmas interviews with Santa
• Economic Crisis
• Embarassed by Steve King
• Fourth of July
• History Buffs, read this
• I ♥ Iowa
• Kids say the darnedest things
• Meaningful Quotations
• Support our Vets
• Talking about Religion
• Ted's Kitchen
• Thanksgiving Treats
• The snow blower lesson
• The time I locked my keys in the car
• The war in Iraq
• Yes, I coach Cheerleading

Light one candle for Hope...

Every year, I try to write some spiffy Advent devotions for the Christmas season. I may not hit all 7 days all 4 weeks, but at least one a week- AND there are plenty here from past years going back to 2004. Read some of my Advent devotions.

Good Eats

For years as Youth Counselor at our church, I had to make two turkeys a year for the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but left the cooking to someone else as we'd travel up to our cousins' in Sioux Falls. Neither happened this year. Instead, I volunteered for pie duty! Nothing disappoints me more than a holiday with cake or bars or dishes but no pie.

I've made pumpkin pies for years, but I pretty much just use the pie in a can from Libby's and get it done easy. This year we had put up tons of apples from a visit to Small's Fruit farm in October and of course I'd found out in August that I'm diabetic, so I went through a lot more work. They turned out great- ( all the non-diabetics in the family said they were good, anyway) so I'd like to share the recipes here.

First a turkey hint that my mother-in-law tried that made this year's some of the most succulent and moist we've ever had: "Brine." You take a 5 gal. pail, fill it with 4 gal. of water, 4 cups salt and 2 cups sugar. Then you soak your frozen turkey in it all day, drain it and let it sit overnight in the fridge.- then just bake it the way you normally do any other year. Google it for better instructions if you don't believe me, it was great.

Mal's All American Apple Pie

• 6oz frozen apple juice (this is the secret)
• 2 tbs flour (I used stone ground, but I'm really into my low carb diet right now)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (heaping, frankly 2 won't hurt anything)
• 1/4 tsp salt (aka "a pinch")
• Apples ( I used a 1/2 gallon pre-cut and frozen)
• 1 tbs butter or margorine
• 1 tsp nutmeg (but a pinch is fine, just less nutmeg than cinnamon- are you getting that cooking is more art than science for me?)

Stir together on low heat for 3-5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Pour into ready made pie shell, cover with another pie shell, pincing together around the edge. My wife taught me to cover the outside edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning. Her grandmother says to drizzel a little melted butter on top and sprinkle with sugar to make a prettier, tastier crust, but she didn't tell me that until they were done already so I'll take her word for it.

Bake for 15 minutes at 450°, lower heat to350° and bake another 30-40 minutes, check to see if crust is just right.

Great served either hot or cold. This was a BIG hit. Michigan Mallorys would top with sharp cheddar cheese, but Iowa Neddermeyers made homeade whipped cream (which I skipped for sake of the old blood glucose levels, already peaking from all the trukey & stuffing.)

It's Ted's Great Pumpkin Pie, Charlie Brown

• 2 cups (one 20 oz can) of pumpkin ("all natural," not "pie mix." You could also puree your own if you want to go to the work. One year I tried a different recipe that you bake in the actual pumpkin shell itsef, it tasted grate, but wound up being really runny- but trust me, THIS recipe sets up perfect)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (heaping)
  
• 1/2 tsp "pumpkin pie spice"
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ginger (generous)
  
• 2 tsp Splenda sugar substitute (other recipies only call for one, but that's gonna be too bland- frankly, I think you can boost the cinnamon and/or ginger a little too if you want)
• 1 cup milk ( I suppose you can use condensed or evaporated, but watch the sugar levels if you're diabetic)

Simply pour into a ready made pie crust, level and let sit for a while, cover the edge of the crust, and bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes, checking it with a toothpick. Let cool over night.

We had it with home made whipped cream- not diabetic, but Jeez, did it make it awesome!

NOVEMBER 28- BUY NOTHING DAY!

Suddenly, we ran out of money and, to avoid collapse, we quickly pumped liquidity back into the system. But behind our financial crisis a much more ominous crisis looms: we are running out of nature… fish, forests, fresh water, minerals, soil. What are we going to do when supplies of these vital resources run low?

There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.

It will take a massive mindshift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 28th. Then celebrate Christmas differently this year, and make a New Year’s resolution to change your lifestyle in 2009.

It’s now or never!

As the planet starts heating up, maybe it’s time to finally go cold turkey. Take the personal challenge by locking up your debit card, your credit cards, your money clip, and see what it feels like to opt out of consumer culture completely, even if only for 24 hours. Like the millions of people

Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. Typically celebrated the Friday after American Thanksgiving in North America and the following day internationally, in 2008 the dates will be November 28 and 29 respectively.^[1] It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine.

The first Buy Nothing Day was organized in Vancouver in September of 1992 "as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption."^[2] In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is one of the top 10 busiest shopping days in the United States. Outside of North America, Buy Nothing Day is celebrated on the following Saturday. Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise Buy Nothing Day on CNN, but many other major television networks declined to air their ads.^[3] Soon, campaigns started appearing in United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. Participation now includes more than 65 nations.^[2]

While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes participants to buy the next day,^[4] Adbusters states that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."^[2] An example of an event celebrating Buy Nothing Day is a Buy Nothing Day hike.^[5]

10 Myths conservatives believe about progressives

"For the record: Liberals love America. In fact, what makes us liberals is that we actually read and believed all those pretty words in the Declaration of Independence about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and in the Bill of Rights about freedom of speech, religion, assembly, privacy, and all the rest of it.

We're idealists that way. We want to live in the country the Founders described. We believe that the nation's founding documents expressed a uniquely powerful moral contract between the people and their government, and an audaciously positive vision of people's ability and competence to shape their own future. When we get annoying and whiny, it's usually because we believe so much in America's astonishing promise—and our own responsibility for realizing it—that we're sorely disappointed when the country falls short of that standard. We really want to believe we can do better.

Conservatism, by contrast, tends to take a dim view of human nature, prefers hierarchy to liberty, and isn't completely convinced people can or should be trying to contravene the will of God or their betters by trying to arrange their own futures. This tends to lead to a selective reading of the Constitution (as well as the Bible), and—as we've seen in the Bush years—a far more flexible attitude toward its interpretation..."

"It's going to be a stranger season than most, in no small part because the changing political winds are going to put some fresh twists and turns into the same old holiday discussions. But holiday arguments over religion and politics are a tradition that's as old as the republic. For most of us, wouldn't be an American family holiday without a little hot conversation served up over a freshly roasted bird."

Oddly enough, while some of my Republican relatives are still leery of Obama, they seem pretty unanimous in the view that Bush has been a colossal nimrod. But these 10 myths are certainly alive and well in Western Iowa where I live. Myth #11 is that we hate Western Iowa because it's so staunchly Republican- and I love it here so much, I can't imagine living anywhere else. It's one of the things I'm most thankful for today. What's hard about it is that most of the right wingers who live here honestly swallow these 10 myths hook, line and sinker!

Maybe I'd still have a weekly column in the local paper if fewer people weren't so painfully prejudiced against us "Lefties."

If you're a lifelong, dyed in the wool Republican, please give this article a read and maybe you won't be so offended by me all the time.

Moderates, Independents and Democrats- (Blue Dog and Yellow) read this, print off a copy, study it and do your best to educate and enlighten our friends and family in the "Red" parallel universe, perhaps someday we can heal the tensions that have been straining America so severely for the last decade and a half or so.

Read the whole article at http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2008114825/talking-turkey-ten-myths-conservative-believe-about-progressives

Something to think about on Thanksgiving

If the world were 100 people
There would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from North and South America

8 Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be nonwhite, 30 white

59% of the entire world's wealth would belong to only 6 people
and all 6 would be citizens of the United States

80 would live in substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from malnutrition

1 would be near death

1 would be near birth

Only 1 would have a college education

99 of them will not see this message,
because only 1 would have a computer.

Thanksgiving Specials

Truly, I probably am way too busy to write a weekly column anymore, but I can't lie, I really do miss it. What do Americans do when they miss something? Bring it back in "re-runs."

So, in the event that there are actually two or three of you out there who read this blog or who used to read my column and would like to have something to put you in the Thanksgiving spirit-
Click here: http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com/search/label/Thanksgiving to read my Thanksgiving columns from 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007!

15 minutes of fame

At least Scott Adams thinks I'm worth something!

Show a Vet you care

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address.
If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please
include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

Yearbook cover

This was a fun project. Students wanted a TV theme and grabbed onto USA Network's "characters welcome." The TV will be cut out to reveal the endsheets, which will feature a montage of photos of Boyer Valley students.

Praying for Sylmar

Yikes! How bad is it? Are the Townends in trouble? Is LHS in trouble? All we hear on the national news is about the Montecito fired. Jenn Perlich's post on Facebook is the first I'd heard that Sylmar was dealing with this.

What do you guys know? Do they have it contained? Have many homes been lost? Has the school been closed this week?

Friends and former students- please check in and let us know you're okay

LHS Alumni, and EVERYONE, please pray for the thousands of people who've been evacuated and those losing their homes. And please pray for the safety of LA Lutheran MS/HS!!

Fast-moving Sayre fire forces Sylmar residents from homes
- Los Angeles Times 8:54am
Source: www.latimes.com

An explosive brush fire driven by 60-mile-per-hour gusts ripped through the northern San Fernando Valley today, burning homes before leaping both the 210 and 5 Freeways...

More than 2,500 acres had burned by 5 a.m. Saturday morning, with more than 1,000 structures threatened by uncontrolled flames and more than 10,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation.

Prophet, Priest and PIRATE!

I don't mean to undermine anyone's faith or to promote heresy, but when I read Jesus' Words, especially in Matthew 5 and Luke 6, I see something radically different than what televangelists, radio prophets and Republican politicians espousing. Scurvy, bilge-sucking, sons of biscuit-eaters!

Jesus is our prophet, our priest and our king- and calls us to be the same , representing God to the world, interceding for others to Him, and leading by example. But when you're a bit of a rouge, you've got little choice but to weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen without the benefit of letters of Marque as a corsair, don't ya?!

If you've never visited my other blog that focuses on issues of faith and prayer- take a look at "Prophet, Priest, and PIRATE" over at http://malloryprayer.blogspot.com

Oh, but beware, if you lean far to starboard, you may not like it there. Just like this blog, I lean more to port on the Pirate blog too. And if you'd rather not mix your politics and religion, better to stick to the ale and avoid the grog, land lubbers!

Here are some of the least political topics-

Bible Studies and Hot Topics

• Advent Devotions
• Fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5)
• Lenten Reflections
• Potent Quotes
• Sheep in Wolves' Clothing (cartoons)
  
• Spiritual Armor (Ephesians 6)
• Spiritual H.A.B.I.T.S.
• Studies of The Lord's Prayer
• Study of Matthew 5
• Study of Philippians
• The Prayer of Jabez

Happy Word Diabetes Day (NOV 14)

World Diabetes Day (WDD) is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world.
It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.

http://www.worlddiabetesday.org
http://diabetes.org
http://jdrf.org

How ya like me now?

I know this is three or more months old, but when I read it I thought it was really cool. He's always been one of my favorite country singers (and song writers) but I have to admit, after 9/11 I leaned more toward Alan Jackson's "were you there" than to Toby's "but an American boot up your ass."

Toby Keith Praises Obama, Says He's A Democrat

RYAN PEARSON | August 19, 2008

Barack Obama is getting praise from Nashville, courtesy of one big, patriotic country star.

Toby Keith, perhaps best known to non-country audiences for his post-Sept. 11 song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," says he's a Democrat, and was impressed by the senator from Illinois.

Keith has said in the past that the 2002 song _ which included lines aimed at the Taliban like "we lit up your world like the Fourth of July" _ was more patriotic than pro-war.

Asked while promoting his new movie "Beer For My Horses" about the role of patriotism in the current presidential election, Keith replied: "There's a big part of America that really believes that there is a war on terrorism, and that we need to finish up.

"So I thought it was beautiful the other day when Obama went to Afghanistan and got educated about Afghanistan and Iraq. He came back and said some really nice things.

"So as far as leadership and patriotism goes, I think it's really important that those things have to take place. And I think he's the best Democratic candidate we've had since Bill Clinton. And that's coming from a Democrat."

Morning/Mourning in America

Clifford K. Berryman Cartoon from the 1930 election.

You know what, I wanted to be a "good winner," I believe in bipartisanship and healing as opposed to division, but I've had about enough of bitter, angry, judgmental right wingers. You know what? If you don't have the huevos to post comments on my blog with your name- if you're such a weasel that you have to make anonymously, then I'm not going to post them. If you don't like reading what I write, then quit reading. Guess what, the people have spoken, and the people chosen hope over fear. Americans want their government to work for them, not just for the richest 2% anymore. If you're scared that that means "socialism" or something that you think isn't "Christian" enough or "American" enough than move to Dubai and don't let the door hit you on your way out. But GET OVER IT.

Remember

"...all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.
So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things." ~Kurt Vonnegut

Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord

I have been trying to say this to my fellow Christians for the last 25 years, but they wouldn't hear me because I'm a lefty. Cal Thomas is notorious arch-conservative columnist. Surely they might just listen to him-

RELIGIOUS RIGHT R.I.P.

By Cal Thomas

Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed. The question now becomes: should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else?

...Scripture teaches that God’s power (if that is what conservative Evangelicals want and not their puny attempts at grabbing earthly power) is made perfect in weakness. He speaks of the tiny mustard seed, the seemingly worthless widow’s mite, of taking the last place at the table and the humbling of one’s self, the washing of feet and similar acts and attitudes; the still, small voice. How did conservative Evangelicals miss this and instead settle for a lesser power, which in reality is no power at all? When did they settle for an inferior “kingdom”?

Evangelicals are at a junction. They can take the path that will lead them to more futility and ineffective attempts to reform culture through government, or they can embrace the far more powerful methods outlined by the One they claim to follow. By following His example, they will decrease, but He will increase. They will get no credit, but they will see results. If conservative Evangelicals choose obscurity and seek to glorify God, they will get much of what they hope for, but can never achieve, in and through politics.

Read the entire article on Thomas's official website

Book Report; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Someone told me that this Gothic horror novel was actually an allegory for a girl going through adolescence.

I don't know about that, but both the characters of Victor Frankenstein and the creature he assembled (basically in his college dorm) are deep, troubled, and tortured much like ANYteenager, male or female.

The back story is that she was snowbound with her husband Percy Shelley and his friend Lord Byron and they entertained each other by making up ghost stories. The men bet that a girl couldn't write a decent horror novel and she penned this to prove them wrong. Incidentally, she only about 19 or 20 when she did it!

I can see how parents, artists, and scientist can all identify with either character. Shelley wrote in 1817 that some of it was inspired by Darwin's writing. There are plenty of ways in which this book is still poignant in our times between the rapid advances in technology and bio-sciences and the regression we seem to make in our ethical and societal interactions. Abortion, homosexuality, Islam, racism, intolerance, immigration, economic class, prejudice, and society's concept of beauty... this is a book that struggles with 20th and 21st century struggles, And yes, I can easily see how many of the burdens of both Victor and the creature could be similar to the struggles that teenage girls go through.

Identity, depression, belonging, anger, learning, obsession, relationships, self-image... God... you name it.

It's not all that scary. Brahm Stoker's Dracula is just meant to scare you. Frankenstein is something you can relate to. Hopefully cathartic, definitely deeper, intensely personal. Just as I began to stop empathizing with Victor and started to lose patience with him like some attention seeking, self loathing Emo kid, you finally meet the creature and wow. Nothing like the 1930's green horror movie icon or Mel Brook's 1980 spoof. This creature is smart, articulate, reflective, and someone you can identify with and care about.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to the young women I know. It may not be as sexy and romantic as the 'Twilight' vampire series many of you are reading, but I can see why this novel is considered a classic.

Has anybody else read it and feel the same way? Has anyone read it and now think that the 30's movie was a travesty? Has anyone seen the movie with Sting and Robert Denero? Is it closer to Mary Shelley's version?

Anybody got a different book you'd recommend that deals with identity like this?

Theodore Von Holst's original frontpiece for Mary Shelley's, 'Frankenstein' published by Colburn and Bentley, London 1831, Steel engraving in book 93 x 71 mm

This one has been festering in me for months

So what if no one ever reads it. At least I got it out so it won't fester like a bad blister or a hangnail anymore.

Now, I really should go cold turkey on both the cartooning and the blogging. I seem to have ticked a lot of people off today, even though I though I was trying to be as humble and open and honest as I could. I guess at least it shows me that people read this thing.

Here's a tip; never talk about sex, politics, or religion if you don't want to offend people.

Here's an example of talking about all 3 simultaneously-

While I think abortion is bad, I don't think that it's the only moral issue voters should consider when they choose a candidate.

Now, I was just being candid and was not deliberately trying to be inflammatory, but you'd be AMAZED at how provocative that one sentence can be, especially here on Iowa's "left coast."

Want to place any bets on how long I can stay away from blogging? God help me.

Bummer

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Associated Press called the Senate race in Minnesota prematurely. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken in the final vote count, but Coleman's 571-vote margin falls within the state's mandatory recount law. That law requires a recount any time the margin between the top two candidates is less than one-half of 1 percent.

But I figure, if he loses, maybe he'll return to Air America Radio, Saturday Night Live, or who knows, maybe MSNBC will give him a slot between Oberman and Maddow.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room

I posted 'Dear Republican friends, neighbors,' a paraphrase of Lincoln's inaugural address, which Barack Obama quoted last night in his speech, on Facebook. Now, honest to God, I meant it in a genuinely conciliatory spirit. I truly believe that to heal our nation, Republicans and Democrats need to work together and try to find common ground on whatever issues we can. Well, someone must have felt like I was being condescending or gloating or something because the next thing I know people are posting comments on my note back and forth getting in a big heated argument over abortion (which I never mentioned, I deliberately go out of my way never to mention it if I can ever help it). Holy guacamole!

Look, I'm not in favor or abortion on demand, but I'm also not prepared to deny abortions to victims rape or incest. Clinton and Obama have had the same position, "safe, legal, and RARE." To assume that Obama is going to force everyone to support abortion is just as irrational as to assume he's going to take away all our guns and raise all our taxes and make us all godless socialists or punish us all for segregation and slavery.

Please, if you're staunchly Pro-Life, don't let yourself be gripped by fear and hatred of everyone on the left. As a matter of fact, you may discover that we value life too. My personal problem is that it has sometimes seemed like, at least the Bush administration claimed to want to protect the rights of the unborn, but totally disregarded the rights of anyone who's already been born.

Some statistics have suggested that the number of abortions in the United States dropped during the Clinton administration. I know it's hard to accept, but what many Democrats and Christians on the left want to do is discover the conditions that lead women to consider abortion as an option and reduce the number of abortions by addressing those possible "causes."

I don't know how to be careful about this next thing I have to say, but I want you to know that I really mean it, I'm not trying to just be flippant or glib- Maybe abortion activists need to rethink their alliance with the Republican Party. There was a time when George W. Bush and the Neo-conservative movement controlled all three branches of government and yet they didn't overturn Roe v. Wade, pass sweeping legislation or executive orders prohibiting abortion or amend the constitution. Instead, the tapped phones, conducted torture, politicized the Justice Department, and unilaterally and preemptively started a war in a small country that had nothing to do with 9/11. Is it possible, perhaps, that the Republican Party, or at least the Bush Administration only used your passionate belief about abortion to take advantage of your political leverage?

I don't know a lot. I know my children are miracles and blessings from God that I would never trade. I believe that like a Grandpa, God loves babies. I know that using abortion callously as a convenient alternative to birth control is vile. But I don't know when life begins, is it before conception? At conception? When there are brain waves? When the baby is viable outside the womb? I'm not prepared to declare definitively for everyone because I am not God. I don't even know if Roe v. Wade should be overturned. It seems to me that Republicans used to be the party of States' Rights and the original argument against Roe was that whether abortion should be legal should be left up to the individual state. But I also know that far fewer women have died in back alleys from having wire coat hangers shoved up them since abortion has been a professionally supervised medical procedure nation wide and I know that I for one don't want to go back to those days.

Am I wrong? Plenty of you may think so.

Does that mean that we can't work together to dig our way out of the mess our country is in after the last eight years of mismanagement? Does it mean that you can't be friendly or neighborly to me? Does it mean that you can't bring yourself to pray for our new duly elected President because you can't see him as anything but some kind of vicious baby killer?

Wow, what a shame if it does.

I'm not trying to be pious or holier-than-though when I beg you to remember the words of our Lord: "Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you."

If you think that I'm under the Devil's control, or you seriously fear for our nation because Obama just got elected. Please, lean on love not hate, on mercy not anger, on Gospel rather than Law- If you think I'm wrong, don't judge me, pray for me. Don't curse the new administration, pray for them. Leave it in God's hands.

"Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you."

A reader comment I'd like to share

Anonymous said...

What are you going to blog about now Ted? Will your column come back now that you have won? Or are you still saddened over Sueferts letter?

10:15 AM

Mallory said...

I'm saddened whenever anyone tries to marginalize or impugn me because I share opinions which I have thought out carefully and hold because I care deeply about our country.

I didn't stop writing a column for the press because of JoAnn Suefert's tirade of a letter to the editor. I stopped because the whole climate and culture of the community where I live has been too polarized and too emotionally charged, and for the sake of my family and loved ones I felt that it would be better 1) not to contribute to that polarization and 2) not subject those close to me to the same resentment, indignation and ridicule which I became a target of because of my opinions.

What will I blog about now? What does any blogger blog about?

I wish I could stop writing the way that an alcoholic wishes they could stop drinking.

My column was never exclusively about John McCain, or even exclusively about politics. I'm sure life will present things that I'll find funny, things that I'll compulsively feel the need to analyze or draw attention to- and plenty of public figures and politicians that I'll want to scrutinize (including Steve King and Jason Schultz, but probably plenty of Democrats too- maybe even Barack Obama eventually).

I still don't know if I'll write a column in the PRESS again or if this blog will be the only yard I get to play in, but I've tried to stop writing altogether and it's bigger than I am.

Whoever you are, thank you for your comment, and thank you for reading- whether we ever agree on anything or not. I hope you get something out of it.

12:11 PM

To other liberals and progressives...

Especially to those of you living here in the insanely "red" 5th Congressional District of Western Iowa or anywhere else that you feel like an unwelcome or uncomfortable minority-

Might doesn't make right, right makes might.

Eleanor Roosevelt once counseled us, "A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this"

She also said, "Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

"Have convictions. Be friendly. Stick to your beliefs as they stick to theirs. Work as hard as they do."

And of course, "Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

Ben Franklin had to take a lot of time convincing John Adams that they needed the Southern delegates in Congress to get a Declaration of Independence. Just because people disagree with us on certain issues, even diametrically, doesn't mean that they aren't intelligent, well meaning, good intentioned people. Even if others look down on us or are confounded by our positions, we should never look down on them and we should always seek to understand and even appreciate and respect what motivates them to hold their positions, though we may never agree with them.

And finally, a quote from another important female political figure, (and I realize that this is a case of "do as I say, not as I do" because I discontinued my column in the Mapleton PRESS pretty much to relieve my family and loved ones of the pressures of negative reactions to my writing)-

"The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life flow no longer in our souls."

- Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
speech to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1890.

New graphics

New banner and new button for my flagship website.
Yo me gusto mas.
Visit for talk about sex, politics, and religion
(okay, no sex, but plenty of politics and lots of humor) at http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com

Schultz takes Hoffman's old seat

I have a friend who finds it funny that Schultz got only 3,426 votes in Crawford County when we had over 6,000 people vote. Schultz ran UNOPPOSED.

How sad for Iowa District 5

King	158,402	60%
Hubler	98,475	37%

Dear Republican friends, neighbors, and loved ones,

To paraphrase Lincoln, "Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the a conservative bent that by the accession of a Democratic Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection."

I hope that ALL Christians will pray for our new President elect, no matter how vehemently you opposed him.

Lincoln said a great deal in his first inaugural address that is valuable for us today-

""Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty...

In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of so called 'culture wars.' The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it."
I am loath to close. (as Sen. Obama pointed out last night)We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Please ask God to help ALL of us seek what is best and how we can find common ground.

Supply Side Economics

Okay, quick economics lesson:
Demand-Side Economics, you raise wages, that increases the spending and saving ability of the middle class- heck it even grow the middle class. That demand, drives a need for greater supply. It works like a perpetual motion machine, the demand drives the supply, the supply feeds demand. That sustains the economy (although, admittedly, it may not grow the economy beyond what is reasonable).

Worked pretty dang good from 1932-1980, it even provided tax revenue to provide for things like the providing for the common defense, securing domestic security, promoting the general welfare, and especially securing the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity (the "American Dream," where each generation had it a teensy bit better than the last one.

Supply-Side Economics (aka Reaganomics, aka Bushonomics) on the other hand is SUPPOSED to work so that if you drastically cut the taxes of the wealthy and corporations, they'll (theoretically) reinvest in research, production, and infrastructure (see the cartoon above on the current bail-out) which (in theory) would provide more jobs to the middle and lower classes and make up the revenue short-fall with payroll taxes. The idea was that "a rising tide lifts all boats."

IN PRACTICE, human nature being what it is, greed plays a roll. CEOs pay themselves 400x as much in salary as their employees make, executives put their own interests ahead of both their share holders and the common good- and certainly their share holders still come before the common good of the community, state, or nation. Investors use their tax cuts (and looser regulations) to gamble on bigger and bigger and quicker and quicker returns.

Was it Aesop or the Grimm brothers who told us about the goose that laid the golden eggs? Feeding, caring for, and nurturing the goose gets you years of golden eggs. Butchering the goose to get what eggs are in it's belly only gets you that one or two eggs. Greed vs. sustainability. Bubbles of rapid growth, or perpetual but gradual climb? Which is better for America in the long run?

As someone with a college degree in History, I'm here to tell you friends that 1980-2008 looks a lot like 1909-1929. A "gilded age" of conspicuous consumption , unregulated corruption, and unbridled ambition. PLEASE think about this when you vote on Tuesday. PLEASE.

This is not the difference between "Socialism" and "Pro-American," this is the difference between moral (good steward, civic-responsible) capitalism and amoral (malignant, cancerous) capitalism. PLEASE put America back on the right track.

"Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men." ~ From FDR's first inaugural address, 1932

Edifying experience

Tonight I had the humbling privilege to narrate a piece of music at our high school's fall concert.
The piece was 'A Jefferson Portrait'* - by Elliot Del Borgo. We practiced for at least a month or more. It was challenging to try to count and listen to the band and watch for the director's cues. It was a fun challenge to read dramatically for fluency and expression, and yet be careful not to be over dramatic so as to respect the dignity of the words.

It was a moving experience for me because I love Jefferson's words so much and they are so important and valuable to us, even more so facing such an important election. Several teachers and parents who were there complimented me and of course that felt good. One parent even said that I should consider working in radio- so I had to try not to let myself get a big head.

But the most meaningful part was when a disabled Vietnam veteran thanked me because he felt like we had a government that had become "destructive of these ends," and needed to be altered or abolished. I knew that he blamed our government for the Agent Orange which had destroyed his life and pursuit of happiness. You can blame both Democrats and Republicans for that war (Johnson first, then Nixon). He went on to say that he feared another revolution was on it's way if things didn't change dramatically in the next few months. I didn't ask if he supported McCain or Obama ("leave a tender moment alone" Billy Joel always used to say). I thanked him for his service to our country and agreed with him that Jefferson's writing meant as much or more to us today as 230 years ago.

Just as pastors have to give credit to God for words form the Bible, I know that it was these words and these ideas that have the power, not my reading or our bands performance (although they did a supurbe job). I know it's October, not July but I hope that people will remember and meditate on the meaning of Jefferson's words before they vote on Tuesday- whether they are liberal, conservative, moderate, or undecided.

*In case you follow the link and listen to 'A Jefferson Portrait,' you should know that this is not a recoding of our performance tonight- just a sample from some music company that I found on the web to halp me practice.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies;...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."