May All Those That are Perfect Vote for My Opponent!!

Today is primary election day. I already voted in early voting to avoid lines. I was so happy to vote with a secret ballot and voted my heart and conscience. No one bullied me into voting for their agenda. I listened to as much political posturing as I could stand and formed opinions based on my own deep seated beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong.

I like politicians that tell me where they will spend my tax dollars. They get my vote when they agree with my opinions about how the money should be spent. I don't want their religious, medical, or moral views. Since when is a politician the moral authority on anything?

Isn't it religious freedom to choose my spiritual elders for moral instruction? Shouldn't my personal minister approve or disapprove of my marital judgements? Shouldn't my doctor be the first line of defense on medical issues? Federally funded abortions, issues critical to American Gay marriage, and stem cell research all appear to be a "red herring" that politicians use to distract from where they're spending hard earned tax dollars.

Instead of valid issues that are critical, I'm hearing character assasination and personal trash talk. Years ago the Wall Street Journal published this essay by an unknown author.

My name is Gossip.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.

The more I am quoted the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.

To track me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and ruin marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.
I spawn suspicion and generate grief.

I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses.

I AM CALLED GOSSIP.

Let's not manage our country with the "Gossip Management Style" that has been so pervasive. Let's vote out those back stabbing bums.
Just because you start a sentence with "Let me be clear" doesn't make it true or clear.

In November we can have a fiscally responsible Congress. We each have one vote and that is where our voice can be heard. All we can ask of our government is to defend and protect us, to provide for the needy among us and to stay out of our bedrooms, doctor's offices and our spiritual journies.

Give Americans some credit. We may not be perfect but we see you clearly.

A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15

Once upon a time there was a great and prosperous nation. Many from every place on earth desired to be there. The promised land was so great because men and women could be free. Every advantage known to man was there as a resource. Trees, animals,rich soil, beautiful weather and shining cities were in abundance. The people could go to school, get a job, have a family, receive medical care and grow old in peace and security. They could worship according to their own conscience, or not worship at all, and they could speak their minds freely and without fear.

Hundreds of years ago when the settlers arrived to this new nation they came with hopes and dreams for freedom, and with a compass to bring them to the promised rewards and riches. They had leaders that could read and teach and what they taught was the scriptures from the Bible.

At first these courageous settlers brought the old ways and the ways of harsh government and religion. They had lived in a world where their leaders picked the winners and the losers. They were like children searching for answers. They started out with many fears and held to enslavement and the stern whip of punishment. They also held a vision for the future. It's that very vision that has brought us to this day.

In the West the Spanish settled in their search for treasures, the fabled gold of Solomon and the Fountain of Youth. They enslaved the native people and forced them to work and convert to Catholicism. They built the missions along the west coast and they brought their own religion to the natives of the land. They brought the good and the bad with them because it's all they knew.

The government and the church were considered one entity with the rulers reporting to the Pope. The Spanish explorers brought their ways to convert the natives. As time went on their descendents grew to appreciate this gentle land and they grew tolerant and accepted differences as opportunities to improve. The enslaver and the slave learned and set one another free. And so they did just that as a culture. They grew and changed and adapted, and through it all they became strengthened.

The East was settled by Protestants seeking freedom from the Church of England which was ruled by the King of England. It was, in the least, a "conflict of interest" for the king to rule the treasury of taxes, military, and also the Church which dominated the moral and spiritual. This power of church and state gave limitless power to the king without a guiding moral hand.

Those who by conscience refused to follow the king's religion were put to death in the most ungodly ways. It's just how they did things in those days. It was wrong, it happened and the brave ones left for the New World. The rest either converted or died at the hands of the king's loyal followers.

These settlers also brought slaves to do their bidding in this new world. And in time they learned that all men should be free to seek their own destiny. There was a huge war to set the slaves free. Many of our forefathers fought and died dreaming of equality for all. Both black and white sacrificed their own blood for the dream of freedom and unity.

And this land grew and changed and continued to grow in knowledge and understanding of the world around us and how it worked. The descendents of slaves and free accepted one another as equals. They learned the great histories of one another and adopted the best of all the cultures and made it their own.

This wonderful nation was truly a light upon a hill. It shined as a beacon of hope for the world. Many, when they first arrived tried to change it into their own image of freedom. But the ones who truly prospered and changed the land were the ones who grew deep roots, who received an education, worked hard and who accepted one another. They did it for their children and their children's children. They were the backbone of this land as we know it. They formed a unified wedge that changed the world.

North and South struggled and formed the amazing union that we enjoy. West and East joined into one united country. Always changing, always reaching for new ideas that promote freedom for all. Pure truth is the same in every culture. It's not instantly recognized by the mind, but is understood in the heart.

This is our heritage, our history, our strength as a nation. It's our time to hold to the pure truth of life and liberty for all. It's our hour to stand for something beautiful and perfect in its ideal. It's our time to unite as one nation, under God and excercise the power of the truth that makes all men free. This is our purpose now.

There truly is a time for every purpose under heaven.

Love to you dear readers.

Stephanie

Community Organizers - Past and Present

The first time I ever heard about people going into a community and organizing the masses was from my Mom. She told me how the Germans got good people to do such horrific things as in WWII. I was a little girl, maybe 7 or 8 and I asked WHY? and HOW? Why did people go along with such evil nonsense and cruelty? How could they get away with it?

She told me the first thing the government did was go into the schools and turn the children against their parents. The parents were from the "old flawed ways" but this latest research was for the younger generations who were not set in their ways. Some of these children even turned their parents into the new government and some then were never seen again.

Children were organized into youth groups, like huge orphanages or training camps that followed the government's policies. They believed promises of a brighter future and better ways than their parents and forefathers had taught them. Those old ways were now antiquated, ignorant and seriously flawed.

It was suggested that their parents had been a part of the chaos of the past and this new doctrine was the road to Utopia. This was the way that the intelligent and properly educated had masterminded for the future. The church and religions, they said, were superstitions. They said that there was no loving God that cared for the people. The government replaced God for protection and allegiance.

Without God in the social equation the people had to look to their government and the community organizers to meet their needs.

The next time I was personally taught about community organizing was when I was a young mother in California. There were these lovely neighbors next door. They were Cubans who lived here in exile and I asked what happened in Cuba when the Communists took over.

They said neighborhood leaders were put in place on every block. This position of honor in the communist party then reported to an area leader who had several, block leaders in his circle of influence. The area leaders reported to their overseers and so on up the line.

Every person was responsible to report into their overseer everything about their family. Change or extra income, any travel, outside of the prescribed area was documented and reported to the next level on a weekly basis. The social judgments about each family were moved from the core family unit to the core neighborhood unit. Where a person worked, how much schooling would be available, what one should learn in school, how much medical treatment received, what one ate and drank was all according to the communist party's plan. Essentially, there was a redistribution of wealth and freedom. The higher up in the party, the richer and freer they became.

There was a huge "brain drain" out of Cuba at that time. Anyone who had been successful and sought the autonomy of family and individuality had to leave or be trapped in a communal situation imposed by the new government. Many people spent years in prison for small infractions of these policies.

My neighbors were a strong Catholic family and felt persecuted so they escaped, came to this country and spent the rest of their days helping other Cubans come here too.

This story was repeated again and again by many Cuban families in those days. A big part of the problem there was the persecution of Catholics since they already had parish priests whom most Cubans trusted. They had more respect for their church leaders and priests than for the communist guy on the corner who became their boss. The bosses became insulted and reported them up the ladder to retain their positions of power.

Without God in the social equation the people had to look to their government and the community organizers to meet their needs.

There have been many more examples, but these are the ones that I've heard first hand from witnesses of the events.

I imagine that our forefathers risked their lives, families and fortunes to come to America to enjoy freedom from this sort of slavery and control. These people came here with nothing, rolled up their sleeves and wrote our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and paid for our liberties with their lives. They insured our freedom of religion, not by limiting it, but by expanding our search for truth. They laid out guidelines and rules that protected individual freedoms from government intervention or prevention. I don't think America's founders meant the separation of church and State meant the separation of God and State.
They knew that:

Without God in the social equation the people had to look to their government and the community organizers to meet their needs.

When I think about our present government, I can't help but be reminded of these oral histories that have been passed on to me by caring, courageos people. The whole Acorn philosophies, and their spinoff organizations are driving to take over the census and using the IRS to enforce nationalized health care. They're driving these agendas and then plan to use them as weapons of control. These barely concealed plans keep haunting me with these stories from the past.

Our current president is proud to call himself a community organizer and ran for office with that as an asset in his resume. His godless government puts him at the top of the pecking order where the term "ONE NATION, UNDER GOD" has been challenged, not by Obama personally, but indeed by his left leaning ideology.

Without God at the top, our president is at the top of the pile and that's exactly what happens. The well managed organization (our nation) goes through him at every turn. He's the final say in what's right and wrong. He not only runs the government, the Congress, the Supreme Court, but could dictate the ethical and moral judgments of every family in every neighborhood. His people are in place at every turn and report every variance to this new machine.

Without God in the social equation the people had to look to their government and the community organizers to meet their needs.

Americans are the most interesting, courageous, free minded people in the world. I'm so thankful to be an American with our proud history and generous character. I'm also grateful that when people escape persecution and slavery, they come to American shores with their new ideas and dreams. We're not perfect, and freedom is indeed messy, but it's the only way to go and remain "ONE NATION, UNDER GOD".

God Bless you, my dear, sweet readers.

Stephanie's State of the Union Address

After the election bashing, smashing, gossiping and personal trashing of 2008 we started 2009 with a new president. I was glad someone was the winner so we could begin to reunite as Americans. But, it really didn't turn out that way.

For two years Congress had been controlled by the left leaning democrats and the plans were in place for a whole new America, an America not really at war.

Bush had lost his luster in the eyes of the American people since he seemed single minded in his approach to leadership. The war and defense of our shores became the clarion call. Bush viewed the war in the Middle East the same way Churchill and Roosevelt saw WWII, a conflict that must be won at all costs.

My daughter was working in NYC on September 11, 2001. She called me and told me to turn on the television. It was right after the second plane had hit the World Trade Center. When I saw the newscast I told her to get out of the city, NOW! We were at war. This was an attack worse than Pearl Harbor and was the beginning of a new page in the history of the USA. She was able to get safely out of the city the next day.

In some ways it was the end of the age of innocence for her generation. She grew up with prosperity and a flourishing country and economy. Her generation didn't suffer the losses my generation endured in Vietnam. The long gas lines, the runaway inflation, the unemployment and under employment.

College students were handed credit cards like free candy. What a time of abundance! As a young adult she worked in the most affluent city in the world. It seemed nearly perfect until that beautiful late summer day.

Bush dealt with the reality of the times. It was unpleasant, but it was real. At least we knew that he said what he meant, and meant what he said. (Sometimes he wasn't very articulate, but at least it was the truth as he knew it.)

So along comes Obama. It's very romantic and we were proud to elect an African American as president. It was wonderful to think of free health care and equality for all Americans. He was the embodiment of "I have a dream." He was a Harvard professor and he spoke like an angel. He promised us no more business as usual in Washington. No more lobbyist's running the show and writing the bills that passed so easily through congress. These bills benefitting certain businesses and the politically connected with taxpayer's payouts. He said everything would be transparent and aired on C-Span. It was a dream come true. What happened?

The Union has gone deeper and deeper into debt and darkness. Instead of prosecuting Barny Franks and Chris Dodd, they were made some kind of heroes for forcing the banks to loan money to people who had no means to pay off their loans. Now those same banks are being held up as the villains in all of this mess. Why aren't Fanny May and Freddie the Freeloader on the chopping block?

Recently President Obama was video taped reading a speech off a teleprompter to elementary school children. I wonder if he's been caught in so many lies that his handlers don't trust him anymore.

I live in a community with many retired people. I volunteer at a hospital that depends on over 250 volunteers (mostly retired people) to keep running smoothly. These are people who have worked for 30 to 40 years pouring money into social security and medicare so that in their older years they could enjoy world class health care and a safe, secure retirement. These are the investors in our American dream.

These people are the ones who are being turned away at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and that's just the beginning. The state of the union is grim for those who have invested so many years in the system.

Our government is not a charitable organization. The federal government is in place to protect and defend us and to uphold the Constitution that guarantees our freedoms.

I personally know over 300 people who lost their jobs at the beginning of 2009. Most are still unemployed or under employed. Promises and fair speeches don't put food on the table.

The state of the Union is exactly as it would be if people followed the Wizard of Oz. It all sounds so lofty and appealing but it's really just a guy, behind a screen that speaks well and blows green smoke.

old

The other day someone called me old. It doesn't matter who it was (you know who you are if you're reading this) but what matters is what it says about a person and how they think.

My mother died when she was 38 years old. She was very ill for many years before she died and she also suffered from the pain of a broken back that happened to her when she was 15 years old.

Pauline Ayres was a very beautiful woman. Publically she stuttered and therefore wasn't considered very intelligent, so she remained what seemed passive and quiet. She stayed at home and was considered a "housewife" which was an honorable profession in those days. Privately in her own home she was clear and shining and articulate. She was a voracious reader and also secretly read romance magazines.

She was born in the Philippians; her father was an officer in the army and her mother was a missionary stationed in Manila. They traveled here before World War II on a ship and then were stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco. I went to visit my grandparents graves there this year for the first time.

I remember when I was a little girl; she would sit with me and tell me stories about the war in the Philippines with the Japanese and the war in Europe with the Germans. Since she had lived through these times and they had impacted her life so much she wanted to leave a strong impression on her daughter. She even told me that her family died young, and that she would die young, and probably so would I.

Because I was so young and impressionable I held a secret fear that I would die young. Then when my mother died at 38, that fear was compounded to almost a certainty in my mind.

I was in foster homes from the time I was 10 years old. I was an incorrigible child and my mother wasn't able to keep me in control. She could barely move around without pain and I was all over the place. And then, when I was fifteen years old, she died. I had gone to visit her in the hospital before her surgery, she had collected some used clothes from a friend that sent me "hand-me-downs" and she gave me the bag she'd put together for me. She kissed me and said she loved me.

I took the clothes with me back to my foster home and the next day got the message that she had died from complications in the surgery. I never looked at the clothes. I suffered terrible guilt that I had deserted her.

Again I remembered what she said. She would die young.

I spent the rest of my teenage years running away from my memories. I was California's first emancipated minor and was on my own at 17. I was given a full scholarship to the College of Marin, a junior college that was a feeder college to the University of California.

Many things happened during that time and I kept running and running. I was in a hurry, I didn't have much time.

This was an age of exploration. This was a time of seeking the truth. This was the time of going to San Francisco with flowers in your hair.

In 1970 I found God. Or some people say he found me. When I started reading the bible I kept getting answers to so many unanswered questions. I couldn't figure out why so many of my friends didn't see it.

Many of us were into seeking spiritual answers. I looked into Edgar Casey and Eastern religions and even the occult. Then I met a man who was interested in spirituality too. He said, "It's good that you're searching for spiritual answers, now why don't you try the Holy Spirit." Sounded logical enough to me. Well here I am, almost 40 years later, still searching for answers from the bible and the Holy Spirit. Why? Because I keep getting those answers.

One of the answers was that I could live a long, happy, prosperous, healthy life. So that means I can grow old. Since I'm married to my soul mate and lifetime partner growing old together is a precious reward. I wake up every morning so thankful for the upcoming day. Every day my darling says to me "Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." and I say to him, "Today is the first day of the rest of our lives, praise the Lord!"

I don't know why the Good Lord has allowed me to grow old. I know I asked him to help me grow old many years ago. Every day I wake up to another glorious gift of 24 hours.

For those of you younger than me, please live every minute and know that growing old is a great reward. It's a victory to be treasured because it's not a guarantee.

So when I'm called "old" it's a great compliment. I pray, beloved readers that each of you can experience old and full of years. Every single day lived well is one more day of this great experience called life. I hope I can grow old and you younger folks will remember and grow old too. Don't be afraid of growing old.

When Will the Campaign Be Over?????

The last two years of the Bush Whitehouse became so nasty that many good people just put their heads down and waited for it to be over. I'm not saying it was GWB's fault, only that the rhetoric became so ugly that I tuned it out. The democrats took control of Congress and with that the national checkbook.

Even though the war in Iraq was still raging, Bush was able to convince this left leaning Congress to fund the surge which has virtually tamed the savage beast in Iraq. Bush had one thing on his mind, win the war in Iraq. Congress began spending wildly to pay back their personal "back scratchers." Everything Bush asked for came at a high price. I let you do this, only if you'll let me do that.

This was the beginning of the finger pointing and back stabbing of the Campaign. Everyone wanted to take credit for something, and take it away from Bush. The fight was over money which represents power in politics. The new Congress had made promises to their cronies and it was time to pay up. If they didn't get a democrat in the White House, their long laid plans would fail.

For a while the democrats went after each other. Especially Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama. They promised clean energy, drilling for our own oil, the end to all war, free education, and free health care for all. They pointed out one another's failings for all to see. It became a circus of nasty, sometimes vulgar accusations.

They convinced us that politics is "hard ball" and if you can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen. They personally held some special kind of magic, and that only their particular class of people are capable of leadership in this arena. Barrak Obama, a Harvard professor and Hillary Clinton, a Senator and former First Lady. They had mastered a new level of slander and it was improving as they went. This was the campaign, and this is how it's done.

For me, the arguments began to lose all credibility. There were so many conflicting stories, and so many planted lies, that I stopped listening to any of them and hoped it would end so we could live in peace.

Soon anyone who disagreed with the left became uneducated, dim witted, "bible pounding", racist, gay bashing, selfish, greedy and ignorant.
Sarah Palin walked into this mess and was blindsided by the incredible depths to which these wolves would go. I watched and I learned. I thought, "When will this campaign be over so we can live in peace with each other?"

And, I hoped it would end. Everyone took on a look of ravenous wolves. There were no other choices though. These were the very special types that are qualified to lead our nation?

Now here we are, almost a year later. Things aren't better, they're worse and the campaign continues. The country is more divided now that ever. It seems the people who represent us have all bought into this big fat lie. When will the campaign be over?

It's time to stop making idle promises and end the campaign. It's time for our elected officials to hear the will of the people. The Campaign is over and I want to live at peace with my fellow Americans now.

Oh, and by the way.....The Emperor has no clothes......

Friends

FRIENDS

Friends live up and down our street.
They're all around. They're fun to meet.
There's boys and girls and fat little squirrels.
A dog and a cat and a man named Pete.

FOGGY BOG OPERA
Limericks for Children...
by Charles Fletcher Ayres
February 11, 1957

I miss my Dad. I miss his heart felt dreaming. I miss his joyful nature. I miss his "Who cares what the neighbors say?" and his "Don't ever let anyone force you into a classic mold!"

When I say how much I miss him, it leads you to believe that I was right by his side until the end. That is not the case. I was in foster homes from the time I was 10 years old, and estranged from my Dad for at least 25 years.

My dear husband practically forced me to reunite with him in 1995. We went to California and Buck searched many of the California phone books for Charles Fletcher Ayres. He finally found the name in a Santa Rosa phone directory. Buck called the number and there he was! My Dad answered and said, "yes, I am Charles Fletcher Ayres." We went to see him the next day. I was really nervous and ashamed that I'd tried to forget about him.

He was as light hearted as ever. He was different because he'd had a stroke and he was so unsteady on his feet. His voice and bright, intelligent eyes, and perfect diction were the same. He spoke slowly to form his words perfectly. His mind was clear and open. He acted as though there had never been a separation between us. It was as though he hadn't seen me for a few months, instead of 25+ years.

One thing I learned in all those foster homes is that there's nobody who could replace the individuality of my Dad. He shaped my thinking and my outlook on the world. He taught me about world issues, art, opera, math, science, freedom and creativity before I was 10 years old. He was my greatest teacher and far surpassed any of my teachers in school.

He didn't teach me social graces; he thought they were foolish rules set up to enslave people. He did, however teach me that being kind and listening were the most valuable of social graces. He disliked ignorance, prejudice and busybodies, in that order. He didn't much like the Christian Church at the time because he felt it was full of ignorance, prejudice and busybodies.

He did not teach me about religion. He believed that the search for God was an inner longing that was only attained individually. He did not associate relgion with God and neither do I, to this day.

Once we were reunited he began to teach me again. He sent me a beautiful book with the great art of Georgia O'Keefe, his favorite artist. He sent a brand new Webster's dictionary because he thought it was the most important book in the English language. He sent us a subscription to the American History magazine that he loved. He sent us photographs of flowers and parades in Santa Rosa. He really loved parades! He knew Buck was interested in photography so Dad sent him his 35 mm camera and camera strap with the last pictures he'd ever taken.

Even though his handwriting was barely legible, he sent cards on every holiday with beautiful things he'd found. One time it was beautiful lace doilies. One time he sent antique wrapping paper. He didn't wrap a book he sent with the paper because it was too beautiful to cut. He wanted me to be able to use in as a special gift to someone else. I think he found the paper and was unable to wrap the gift, so he sent it along as part of the gift, he was resourceful.

He never stopped teaching the beautiful things that moved his heart. He loved America and he loved the American people. Especially the hard working people who struggled to make a good life for their families. He was a contributing editor to a San Francisco magazine called "The Pacific Shipper" until the day he died.


Now that I'm older and my children are grown I look back and remember what a great Dad I had. I can still hear his voice reading "Moby Dick" or "Tom Sawyer". He loved the classics and acted out the different characters with his voice as he read.

Today, as I've gone through some of his writings, I feel so sad. I wish I'd spent more time learning from him. I wish I'd been a better daughter and helped him through the tough times. I hope I can pay some tribute to this beautiful, sensitive American.

And so dear friends, these are my opinions today.