Friday, May 31, 2013
Clapping
Barack Obama, at a recent rural elementary school assembly
in Texas, asked the audience for total quiet.
Then, in the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands
once every few seconds, holding the audience in total silence.
Then he said into the microphone, 'Children, every time I
clap my hands together, a child in America dies from gun violence.'
Then, little Darrell, with a proud Texas drawl, pierced the
quiet and said,
"Well, dumbass, stop clapping!”
Kindergartener Interrogated Over Cap Gun
Remember the old
days when adults were in charge of schools?
Posted on May 31, 2013 by Conservative
Byte
Liberals are just insane. Do they think 5 year olds watch the
news? This poor kid is the only one getting hurt from this. Logic is thrown out
the window with liberals. Just take the toy away, call the parents, … Continue reading →
Read
more: http://conservativebyte.com/#ixzz2UtIhwB1c
Guess Who Bravely Sought Justice For A Homeless, Black Man
What you won’t
hear from the liberal news media . . .
How George
Zimmerman bravely worked to find justice for a homeless, black man . . .
“At
a pre-trial hearing on May 28, the attorney for accused murderer George
Zimmerman, Mark O'Mara, slipped a time bomb into the public record that no
one in the major media seemed to notice. It had to do with a homeless
man, and the relationship between that man and the victim of Zimmerman's
alleged crime, Trayvon Martin.
O'Mara's
allusion had particular resonance in this case because Zimmerman first surfaced
publicly in Sanford, Florida, in a case involving a homeless man. As it
happened, in December 2010, a police lieutenant's son named Justin Collison
sucker-punched a black homeless man named Sherman Ware outside a Sanford bar,
with seeming impunity.
Although
Ware suffered a concussion, and there was video evidence of Collison's action,
no action was taken against Collison for nearly a month. Upset at the
lack of media attention, Zimmerman and his wife Shellie printed fliers
demanding that the community "hold accountable" officers responsible
for any misconduct.
They
then drove the fliers around to area churches and passed them out on a Sunday
morning. Later, at a public meeting in January 2011, Zimmerman took the
floor and said, "I would just like to state that the law is written in
black and white. It should not and cannot be enforced in the gray for
those that are in the thin blue line."
This
meeting was recorded on video. As a result of the publicity, Police Chief
Brian Tooley, whom Zimmerman blasted for his "illegal cover-up and
corruption," was forced to resign.
Ironically,
perhaps, Zimmerman headlined his fliers with a famous quote from Anglo-Irish
statesman Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of
evil is for good men to do nothing." He would have been better off
quoting another Anglo-Irishman, Oscar Wilde: "No good deed goes
unpunished."
The
local NAACP, with whom Zimmerman worked on the Sherman Ware case, instinctively
turned its back on him as soon as he was accused of racist profiling in the
shooting death of Trayvon Martin. On March 26, a month after the
shooting, George's older brother Robert sent an impassioned letter to local
NAACP head Turner Clayton asking him to "call off the dogs. Period.
Publicly and swiftly."
As
Robert reminded Clayton, Zimmerman's "was the only non-black face in the
meetings for justice" in the Ware case. "It's time for you to
end the race issue in this matter and call for cooler heads to prevail,"
Robert pleaded -- but without success, or even
the expectation of it.
Ware's
attorney, in fact, was Natalie Jackson, now a key player on Team Trayvon.
When the Zimmerman family talked publicly about George's involvement in
the Ware case, Jackson denied that Zimmerman had handed out any fliers and
dismissed the family's attempt to establish Zimmerman's commitment to racial
justice. "It's a PR strategy, a propaganda campaign," said
Jackson. "His friends and family are doing him a big disservice by
race-baiting."
Although
Judge Debra Nelson ruled against the inclusion of almost any negative
information about Martin in the upcoming trial, the defense had managed to get
much of that information into the public sphere. CNN, for instance,
headlined its article on the May 28 ruling "Marijuana, fights, guns:
Zimmerman loses key pretrial battles." Below the headline was a
photo of the young Martin, a near-saint only months back, recycling a lungful
of marijuana smoke. If nothing else, the media were catching on to
Martin's less than saintly behavior.
The
media missed, however, O'Mara's reference to homelessness and Martin's attitude
towards it. O'Mara informed Judge Nelson that Martin had a keen interest
in fighting and that he had video proof of the same. The charmless Nelson
made one of her rare stabs at humor by implying that if attendance at a fight
were proof of criminality, half of America would be in jail.
O'Mara
countered by saying that Martin not only attended fights, but that he also
recorded them on video, including "one where two buddies of his are
beating up a homeless guy." The video recorded a crime. The
State of Florida had had this video in possession for months and took no
follow-up action. As O'Mara made clear at the most recent hearing, the
State had concealed critical evidence all along. He even produced a
whistleblower from the state attorney's office to hammer home his point.
Judge
Nelson made no comment on the beating of the homeless man. She had a case
to misdirect, and she wasn't about to quibble over something as insignificant
as justice.”
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/trayvon_george_and_the_homeless_man.html?utm_source=05-31-13&utm_campaign=AT+Newsletter+05-31-13&utm_medium=email#ixzz2UtGHHipW
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Top 10 Catholic Cities in the USA
Top
10 Catholic Cities in the USA - by Our Sunday
Visitor
Emmitsburg,
MD
National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Mary’s College
National Shrine of our Lady of Lourdes
New Orleans,
LA
Cathedral of St. Louis in Jackson Square
National Shrine of our Lady of Prompt Succor
Catholic Culture Heritage Center
International Shrine of St. Jude
Chicago, IL
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica & St. Peregrine
Queen of All Saints Basilica
Basilica of St. Hyacinth
National Shrine of St. Jude
Sanctuary of divine Mercy
National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Mudelein Seminary
St. Louis, MO
“Rome of the West”
Basilica of St. Louis
St. Patrick Center
Holy Adoration Sisters – perpetual adoration since 1928
Bethlehem, CT
Abbey
of Regina Laudis
Former actress Dolores Hart is Mother Superior and just wrote a book about
Elvis and her life
Renown for Gregorian Chant
Denver, CO
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception – 75 stained glass windows from Munich
St. Augustine Institute – master’s degrees in theology
John Paul II Center – two seminaries and Sisters of Mercy convent
Shrine of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini in nearby Golden, CO
Home of Catholic News Agency
Home of Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) in nearby Golden, CO
San Antonio,
TX
A Catholic town since 1528.
Mission San Antonio – The Alamo
10 –mile Mission Trail
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Statue of St. Anthony of Padua
Pittsburgh,
PA
St. Paul Cathedral and Monastery
St. Anthony’s Chapel with 5,000 relics
Oratory of St. Philip Neri
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church
Los Angeles,
CA
Several mission churches in the area
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels – massive modern architecture with St. Juan
Diego’s apron
St.
Augustine, FL
Spanish settlement since 1565
Basilica of St. Augustine
Shine of Our Lady of La Leche – near the ocean where first Mass was celebrated
in the USA
The Great Cross
Name That Saint
Born in
Domremy, France in 1412.
An illiterate
peasant girl.
From the age
of 13, she heard the saints talking to her and telling her to fight against the
English who were invading French lands and then claiming the French throne.
Lead an army
against the English.
Had Charles
VIII crowned at Rheims.
Betrayed and
accused of being a heretic.
Found guilty
and burned at the stake in Rouen. (in the market place next to the
smelly public toilets just down the street from McDonald’s)
Her
conviction was annulled in 1455 by Pope Calixtus III.
Canonized in
1920.
Patron Saint
of France (but you wonder if the French still honor their patron)
May 30:
Feast of St. Joan of Arc
Post Office Buildings for Sale - A MUST READ
What
a sweet deal!
All In The Family
The US has entered into a contract with a real estate firm to sell 56 buildings that currently house U.S. Post Offices. The government has decided it no longer needs these buildings, many of which are located on prime land in towns and cities across the country.
The sale of these properties will fetch billions of dollars and a handsome 6% commission to the company handling the sales. That company belongs to a man named Richard Blum. Who is Richard Blum you ask?
Why the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, that's who. What a bunch of crooks we have running this country!
Senator Feinstein and her husband, Richard Blum, stand to make a fortune. His firm, C.R. I., is the sole real estate company offering these properties for sale. Of course, C.R.I. will be making a 6% commission on the sale of each and every one of these postal properties.
All of these properties that are being sold are all fully paid for. They were purchased with U.S. taxpayers dollars, and they are allowed free and clear by the U.S.P.S. The only cost to keep them is the cost to actually keep the doors open and the heat and lights on. TheUnited States Postal Service doesn't even have to pay property taxes on these subject properties. Would you sell your house just because you couldn't afford to pay the electric bill?
Well, the Post Office is.
How does a powerful U.S. Senator from San Francisco manage to get away with such a sweet deal?
A powerful United States Senator's husband is standing by, all ready to make millions from a U.S. taxpayer funded enterprise.
No one in the mainstream media is even raising an eyebrow over his 6% commission on the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth
of quasi-public assets.
Pass this info on before it's pulled from the internet.
True on Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/blum.asp
All In The Family
The US has entered into a contract with a real estate firm to sell 56 buildings that currently house U.S. Post Offices. The government has decided it no longer needs these buildings, many of which are located on prime land in towns and cities across the country.
The sale of these properties will fetch billions of dollars and a handsome 6% commission to the company handling the sales. That company belongs to a man named Richard Blum. Who is Richard Blum you ask?
Why the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, that's who. What a bunch of crooks we have running this country!
Senator Feinstein and her husband, Richard Blum, stand to make a fortune. His firm, C.R. I., is the sole real estate company offering these properties for sale. Of course, C.R.I. will be making a 6% commission on the sale of each and every one of these postal properties.
All of these properties that are being sold are all fully paid for. They were purchased with U.S. taxpayers dollars, and they are allowed free and clear by the U.S.P.S. The only cost to keep them is the cost to actually keep the doors open and the heat and lights on. TheUnited States Postal Service doesn't even have to pay property taxes on these subject properties. Would you sell your house just because you couldn't afford to pay the electric bill?
Well, the Post Office is.
How does a powerful U.S. Senator from San Francisco manage to get away with such a sweet deal?
A powerful United States Senator's husband is standing by, all ready to make millions from a U.S. taxpayer funded enterprise.
No one in the mainstream media is even raising an eyebrow over his 6% commission on the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth
of quasi-public assets.
Pass this info on before it's pulled from the internet.
True on Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/blum.asp
"The Last Battle" by Stephen Harding
Don’t read
Dan Brown’s Inferno, or you will go to hell
So, order
this Kindle book instead from amazon.com:
The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in
the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe [Hardcover]
May 1945. Hitler is dead, and the Third Reich little more than
smoking rubble. No GI wants to be the last man killed in action against the
Nazis. But for cigar-chewing, rough-talking, hard-drinking, hard-charging
Captain Jack Lee and his men, there is one more mission: rescue fourteen
prominent French prisoners held in an SS-guarded castle high in the Austrian
Alps. It’s a dangerous mission, but Lee has help from a decorated German
Wehrmacht officer and his men, who voluntarily join the fight.
Based on personal memoirs, author interviews, and official American, German, and French histories, The Last Battle is the nearly unbelievable story of the most improbable battle of World War II—a tale of unlikely allies, bravery, cowardice, and desperate combat between implacable enemies.
Based on personal memoirs, author interviews, and official American, German, and French histories, The Last Battle is the nearly unbelievable story of the most improbable battle of World War II—a tale of unlikely allies, bravery, cowardice, and desperate combat between implacable enemies.
If Ye Break Faith With Us Who Die - by Mark Steyn
By Mark Steyn
On this Memorial Day in America, two of London’s war memorials
have been defaced and spray-painted with the word “ISLAM”.
Police seem to be rethinking their earlier hints that it may be the work of “right-wing groups seeking to inflame anti-Muslim sentiment”
– rather than, say, Muslims.
On behalf of his 77,000 dead comrades in Bomber Command, 89-year
old Douglas Radcliffe is standing guard at the memorial until the
graffitti is removed. Mr Radcliffe was a 17-year old BBC messenger boy
when the Germans bombed Broadcasting House, killing seven young ladies in the
music library. “I was there when they brought the bodies out and that was
what made me decide to join up.”
The past is another country, wrote L P Hartley. For Mr Radcliffe,
today’s Britain is a foreign land.
A Sad Time For This Country
Lt.
Col Matthew Dooley, a West Point graduate and highly-decorated combat veteran,
was an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College at the National Defense
University. He had 19 years of service and experience, and was considered one
of the most highly qualified military instructors on Radical Islam &
Terrorism.
He taught military students about the situations they would encounter, how to react, about Islamic culture, traditions, and explained the mindset of Islamic extremists. Passing down first hand knowledge and experience, and teaching courses that were suggested (and approved) by the the Joint Forces Staff College. The course "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism" ,which was suggested and approved by the Joint Forces Staff College, caught the attention of several Islamic Groups, and they wanted to make an example of him.
They collectively wrote a letter expressing their outrage, and the Pro-Islamic Obama Administration was all too happy to assist. The letter was passed to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Martin Dempsey. Dempsey publicly degraded and reprimanded Dooley, and Dooley received a negative Officer Evaluation Report almost immediately (which he had aced for the past 5 years). He was relieved of teaching duties, and his career has been red-flagged.
“He had a brilliant career ahead of him. Now, he has been flagged.” - Richard Thompson, Thomas More Law Center
"All US military Combatant Commands, Services, the National Guard Bureau, and Joint Chiefs are under Dempsey's Muslim Brotherhood-dictated order to ensure that henceforth, no US military course will ever again teach truth about Islam that the jihadist enemy finds offensive ,or just too informative." - Former CIA agent Claire M. Lopez (about Lt. Col Dooley)
The Obama Administration has demonstrated lightning speed to dismiss Military brass that does not conform to it's agenda, and not surprisingly, nobody is speaking up for Lt. Col. Dooley.
He taught military students about the situations they would encounter, how to react, about Islamic culture, traditions, and explained the mindset of Islamic extremists. Passing down first hand knowledge and experience, and teaching courses that were suggested (and approved) by the the Joint Forces Staff College. The course "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism" ,which was suggested and approved by the Joint Forces Staff College, caught the attention of several Islamic Groups, and they wanted to make an example of him.
They collectively wrote a letter expressing their outrage, and the Pro-Islamic Obama Administration was all too happy to assist. The letter was passed to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Martin Dempsey. Dempsey publicly degraded and reprimanded Dooley, and Dooley received a negative Officer Evaluation Report almost immediately (which he had aced for the past 5 years). He was relieved of teaching duties, and his career has been red-flagged.
“He had a brilliant career ahead of him. Now, he has been flagged.” - Richard Thompson, Thomas More Law Center
"All US military Combatant Commands, Services, the National Guard Bureau, and Joint Chiefs are under Dempsey's Muslim Brotherhood-dictated order to ensure that henceforth, no US military course will ever again teach truth about Islam that the jihadist enemy finds offensive ,or just too informative." - Former CIA agent Claire M. Lopez (about Lt. Col Dooley)
The Obama Administration has demonstrated lightning speed to dismiss Military brass that does not conform to it's agenda, and not surprisingly, nobody is speaking up for Lt. Col. Dooley.
IT'S A SAD DAY FOR THIS COUNTRY WHEN GOOD LOYAL MEN LIKE THIS GET
THROWN UNDER THE BUS BECAUSE NOBODY HAS THE COURAGE TO STAND UP!
Why You Shouldn't Read "Inferno" by Dan Brown
Dan Brown’s
Infernal Fiction . . .
Inferno sets
out to decry overpopulation, but instead reveals an ill-cultured, under-educated
populace.
"What’s
this book about? It’s 462 pages of bad prose. Portentous sentence fragments. Italics,
for somber emphasis. J-----, there are childish profanities! Even childish
punctuation?! Anticlimaxes, a good dollop of Most Favored Bigotry, for sales;
one dimensional characters, most of them pallid even in their one dimension,
and a message with all the sophistication of Sesame Street.
What’s
that message? We’re all going to die, die, die a horrible death! Yes, the world
is becoming overpopulated! Actually, the world’s population is leveling off,
but the truth here is not convenient. That’s because the threatening message is
another needle, for injecting the promising message. What’s that one?
It’s simple. We all need to let scientists and readers of the New Yorker and
other brainiacs to direct human evolution, so that we can break out into a
“transhuman” and “posthuman” age. Who are the enemies? The Catholic Church
(naturally), and all of us perfectly normal people who like to marry and have
children. Shame, shame. And then, too, we must level some very mild criticism
at the Robert Langdons of the world—Brown’s twit of a hero—who don’t like to
marry and have children (that’s good), but who might feel just a tiny bit
squeamish about mass sterilizations and eugenics (that’s bad). After all, as
Brown reminds us several times, didn’t Dante say that “the darkest places in
hell are reserved for those who, in a time of moral crisis, preserved their
neutrality”? Actually, no, Dante never said anything so stupid. John F.
Kennedy, that poseur, said that Dante said it. But Dante reserves the worst
place in hell for those who return evil for good; and the epitome of them all
is Satan, traitor against God, with his wings flapping forever in impotence.
Let
me spoil everything in the book. For hundreds of pages you are led to believe
that there are bad guys running around trying to kill Langdon and the de
rigueur Xena Warrior Princess, the pate-burnt Sienna Brooks. There are no
bad guys. For hundreds of pages you are led to believe that a horrible plague,
to wipe out a third of mankind, like the Black Death, is about to be unleashed.
It isn’t. There is no such plague. It’s a virus that will make a third of
mankind infertile. For hundreds of pages you are led to believe that the
biohazard is in Florence. It isn’t. Then Venice. It isn’t. It’s in Istanbul."
Lockheed Martin Helps Fund Leftist Group
Kissing liberal butt . . .
Walmart,
Boeing, Lockheed Fund Center for American Progress
by John Sexton
Andrew Stuttaford at National Review highlights an interesting
report on The Center for American Progress (CAP), the progressive think tank
most closely associated with President Obama's administration. Among other
things, they publish the progressive blog Think Progress.
CAP is partly funded by a "business alliance" which offers perks
to large corporate donors for a given level of annual donation. Unlike most
think tanks, CAP does not issue annual reports disclosing any of these big
business donors, but an investigation published by the Nation found that
CAP's business alliance contains many familiar names:
CAP’s donors included Comcast, Walmart, General Motors, Pacific Gas and
Electric, General Electric, Boeing and Lockheed. Though it doesn’t appear on
the lists, the University of Phoenix was also a donor.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Central City, Colorado
I drove to Central City and Black Hawk for my monthly pilgrimage to the casinos and history of the Colorado mining communities near Golden and Idaho Springs.
This time, I stayed at the Reserve Casino and Hotel in Central City. I took an evening stroll around the almost deserted Central City. They were not many people on this Tuesday night in May.
There is a lot of history in Central Citty. You can find some of that history here:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMACP3_Richest_Square_Mile_on_Earth_Central_City_CO
This time, I stayed at the Reserve Casino and Hotel in Central City. I took an evening stroll around the almost deserted Central City. They were not many people on this Tuesday night in May.
There is a lot of history in Central Citty. You can find some of that history here:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMACP3_Richest_Square_Mile_on_Earth_Central_City_CO
Train at Reserve Casino in Central City
Reserve Casino and Hotel in Central City
I would enjoy one of those cigars.
What a bargain!
Dorstal Alley was a renowned house of "sporting ladies."
\
Main Street
Annie Oakley's is now a store.
Madam Lou Bunch Day coming in June.
Doc Holliday's Casino
St. Mary's Catholic Church
St. Mary's
St. Mary's Historical Marker
Knights of Pythias Lodge
Monday, May 27, 2013
Colorado Freedom Memorial - Aurora, Colorado
The Colorado Freedom Memorial was dedicated yesterday in Aurora.
Thirteen years in the making, the 95-foot wide, 12-foot tall structure consists of 21 glass panels at varying angles to signify fallen soldiers. The panes of glass are inscribed with the names of over 6,000 Coloradans killed in action and grouped by wars beginning with the Spanish-American War of 1898 and through Afghanistan.
Among the challenges over the years of creating the memorial was gathering the names because of poor record keeping in the early years of Colorado and a fire at the National Records Center in St. Louis in 1973.
The memorial is across the road from an entrance to Buckley Air Force Base and near the Springhill Golf Course in Aurora.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Catholic Priest Excommunicated For Membership in Freemasons
Behead this infidel!
Catholic
Priest Excommunicated For Membership in Freemasons
“(Paris)
Freemasons in the Catholic Church have something in common with El Diabolos:
They both want to make you believe that he does not exist. The Vatican has
now asked the Bishop of Annecy, Monsignor Yves Boivineau, to suspend the pastor
of Sainte Anne d'Arly-Montjoie of Megeve from his office. This is
due to his membership in the Grand Orient of France. Abbè
Pascal Vesin, 43 years old, was ordained a priest in 1996. He was
initiated into a Masonic lodge and joined the Grand Orient, the largest Masonic
order in France, such as Riposte Catholique reported in
2001. Ever since Abbé Vesin had tied on the apron of the lodge, the
lodge was his real home. Since then he has infiltrated the Catholic Church
with Masonic ideas.
Rome's
mills grind slowly, but they grind. In 2010, the Bishop of Annecy, this is
the See of St. Francis de Sales, was informed of the lodge membership of this
priest. The bishop asked and the priest denied. After 2011, it was
evident he belonged to the lodge, the bishop then asked him to leave the
Freemasonry, to exclusively to fulfill his priestly
order. "Brother" Vesin relied on an "absolute freedom of conscience"
and insisted that he can belong to both the Catholic Church and Freemasonry.
[Familiar, isn't it?] . . . “
A Simple Way To Improve Your Life
Even
at this late date, I’m still looking for it: that one, simple step I can take
that will make my life easier, make my love stronger, make my brain faster, and
make my pants looser. Deep down, I know there is no such thing; but hope
springs eternal in the heart of a lazy person. I don’t want to have to take all
the little steps I’ll have to take to slowly and gradually make minor
improvements in thirty-six different areas of my life. I don’t wanna! I want to
push a red button and wake up to find that everything’s better.
Waterton Canyon - Littleton, Colorado
It was a sunny and warm day and a good day to hike Waterton Canyon.
No dogs allowed on this part of the trail.
We did encounter some mountain goats.
No dogs allowed on this part of the trail.
We did encounter some mountain goats.
Part of the Colorado Trail
Scenic
Spillway
Calm Waters
Canyon View
Strangers on the Trail
They stopped and stared and then moved on.
Friday, May 24, 2013
The Orangutan and the Hound Dog
|
Ya gotta love this mutt !
You may have seen this but it is really cute!
|
Exercises For People Over 60
1. Begin by
standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.
2. With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
3. Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.
4. Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level)
5. After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.
2. With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
3. Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.
4. Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level)
5. After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.
The Sparrow at Starbucks
This is a very good example of a "God-incidence."
(similar to what many people call a "co-incidence"). I'm sending this
to those who truly appreciate the difference between the two terms. If you take the time to read it, you will be glad you did.
The SPARROW at STARBUCKS - The song that silenced the cappuccino machine.
It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician,
it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right.
Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in.
During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.
After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked.
"No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?" To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?"
"Well. ... do you know any hymns?" Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one."
"Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one."
"Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"
My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing, "Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?"
The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.
"I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free. For His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me."
When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivalled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!"
But the ovation continued.. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"
"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.
The SPARROW at STARBUCKS - The song that silenced the cappuccino machine.
It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician,
it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right.
Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in.
During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along.
After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked.
"No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?" To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?"
"Well. ... do you know any hymns?" Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one."
"Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one."
"Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"
My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing, "Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?"
The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.
"I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free. For His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me."
When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivalled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!"
But the ovation continued.. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"
"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.
"Why is that?"
"Well," she hesitated again, "that was my
daughter's favorite song." “Really!" exclaimed.
"Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual... "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week."
I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?"
She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.
"Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual... "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week."
I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?"
She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.
Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it.
God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.
The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, remember, Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Samson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Peter denied Christ, The Disciples fell asleep while praying, And Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.
Pass this on to someone else, if you'd like. There is NO LUCK attached. If you delete this, it's okay: God's Love Is Not Dependent On E-Mail. May God Bless you today and everyday as you face any storms that come your way!
Who was Thomas Jefferson?
This is
amazing. There are two parts. Be sure to read the 2nd part (in RED).
Thomas Jefferson was a
very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.
At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the
widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America ? And
retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46,served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello .
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams.
Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future:
John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46,served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello .
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams.
Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future:
John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
"When we get
piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as
corrupt as Europe ."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
I wish we could get this out to everyone!
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
I wish we could get this out to everyone!
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