"Birth Defect"

In an interview with the Washington Times Editorial Board, Condaleeza Rice talks about race in America.

"America doesn't have an easy time dealing with race. I sit in my office and the portrait immediately over my shoulder is Thomas Jefferson, because he was my first predecessor. He was the first Secretary of State. And sometimes I think to myself, what would he think -- (laughter) -- a black woman Secretary of State as his predecessor 65 times removed -- successor, 65 times removed? What would he think that the last two successors have been black Americans? And so, obviously, when this country was founded, the words that were enshrined in all of our great documents and that have been such an inspiration to people around the world, for the likes of Vaclav Havel, associate themselves with those documents. They didn't have meaning for an overwhelming element of our founding population. And black Americans were a founding population. Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together; Europeans by choice, and Africans in chains.

And that's not a very pretty reality of our founding, and I think that particular birth defect makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today. But that relevance comes in two strains. On the one hand, there's the relevance that descendents of slaves, therefore, did not get much of a head start. And I think you continue to see some of the effects of that. On the other hand, the tremendous efforts of many, many, many people, some of whom, whose names we will never know and some individuals’ names who we do know, to be impatient with this country for not fulfilling its own principles, has led us down a path that has put African Americans in positions and places that, I think, nobody would have even thought at the time that Dr. King was assassinated. And so we deal daily with this contradiction, this paradox about America, that on the one hand, the birth defect continues to have effects on our country, and indeed, on the discourse and effects on perhaps the deepest thoughts that people hold; and on the other hand, the enormous progress that has been made by the efforts of blacks and whites together, to finally fulfill those principles."

Via Finest Kind Clinic and fish market

A Landmark Victory In A Country Without A Stable Government

War-torn Somalia is once again polio-free. "This landmark victory is a result of the efforts of more than 10 000 Somali volunteers and health workers who repeatedly vaccinated more than 1.8 million children under the age of five by visiting every household in every settlement multiple times, across a country ranked one of the most dangerous places on earth."

Do you know which four countries still are polio-endemic? Eradication of polio depends on ending it in those four countries. Click on the link to find out what four countries remain polio-endemic.

Via Finest Kind Clinic and fish market

Spaghetti Cultivation

A wonderful way to celebrate April Fools Day!

Via Finest Kind Clinic and fish market

Once A Month

"Okay, David: around here we take baths once a month, whether we need 'em or not. You are one month old today, so yur gettin a bath today. Ya might as well learn to enjoy it."

Unselfish Superstar Athletes

For a long time I have been saying that often the best writing in newspapers can be found on the sports pages. Today is no exception. Benjamin Hochman writes here in the Denver Post an article entitled "True colors show in red, white, blue." He writes about two superstar athletes, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, who took time off from their fight to make the NBA playoffs to coach two teams of young basketball players. These young people were not just any ballplayers. They are the sons of soldiers fighting for our country.

Allen Iverson said, "I know after this is all over, they still have to deal with the fact that their parents are gone, but hopefully we can have some impact on them right now. Honestly, it makes me feel blessed to be here."

A Retirement Home

Here is a picture from Fox News of the 10,000 plus square foot home Rev. Wright's Chicago church is building for him at a cost of 1.6 million dollars in the suburbs of Chicago. No doubt he will be surrounded by greedy people who are all typical white people.

A Global Warming Eye-Opener

And now it’s time for another Global Warming eye opener…

House #1
A 20 room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern ’snow belt ‘ area. It’s in the South.




House #2
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every ‘green’ feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest.

A central closet in the house holds geothermal he at-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling sy stem. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode of
the ‘environmentalist’ Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford,
Texas; it is the residence of the President of the United States
George W. Bush.

Via Infidels Are Cool, which was linked by the incomparable Geckofeeder

The America-Hating Preacher

Have you seen the new 10,000 square foot house Wright is moving into in the suburbs of Chicago in a neighborhood that is filled with greedy white Americans?


Via Absurd Thoughts About God (Thanks to Geckofeeder)

Hillary Wasn't Lying

A Scary Scenario

Al Gore is going to be featured this week on 60 Minutes. You don't suppose he will emerge fron the Democrat Convention in Denver as their candidate, with Barack Obama as his running mate?

Caption Contest

The woman with the pliers is attorney Gloria Allred. What is she thinking? Perhaps this should be the first Caption Contest on Bob's Blog.

Kevorkian Announces For Congress

Did you know that Dr. Death, Jack Kevorkian, is out of prison and plans to run for Congress this fall from the suburbs of Detroit? Daddio at My Three Sons links to a wonderful blog called The Creative Minority Report, where you can share your ideas and support for the good doctor. Here are some ideas for bumper stickers and buttons from the Creative Minority Report.

Why Not, Barack?

First Safety, Then Laughter, Then Learning

Reading a passion quilt meme over at Nancy's Garden Spot today, made me think about how providing safety opens up a child to laughter and learning. Colleen and I were talking today about how we love the challenge of taking in children from a variety of backgrounds and melding them into kids who can function in a healthy way.

Today I was playing a game of baseball with my six and seven-year-old sons. Through lots of laughter, I taught the boys how to stand up to bat and a few other basics of baseball. We had lots of fun, then were joined by their two-year-old foster sister, who had been watching from her napping room. She enthusiastically joined in the game. She added golf and lumberjacking to the game, as she used the bat like an axe. Then we were joined by Linebacker Dude, who really prefers the straightforwardness of football to the complex strategies of baseball, but he had fun, too.

I am so proud of my sons for the wonderful way they interact with the foster children and their adopted sister. They are kind and fun-loving, and always are willing to include others in their play or work.

More From Barack's Pastor

Barack Obama's pastor now is insulting Italians. Newsmax Magazine quotes him as saying that "the Italians looked down their garlic noses at the Gallileans and did an Italian style lynching of Jesus." Jeremiah Wright is to Barack what Bill is to Hillary.

Hillary Caught In Another Blatant Lie

Is The Time Ripe?

A Denver talk show host, Gunny Bob Newman, is proposing that a new political party be established. He would like to call it the Liberty Party. I hope he continues to push the idea and gets a lot of support from his listeners. Count me as one who is not excited about our choices in 2008. You can read more of Mr. Newman's beliefs here, and also listen to his show live on line from 7 to 10 PM Mountain Time Zone Monday through Friday. He has just started to discuss party platform ideas, and is inviting input from listeners.

Please, Let's End The National Epidemic Of "Poor Me"

Cpl. Ian M. Dollard, rifleman, wears the Silver Star Medal he received on Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center March 21. Dollard braved enemy bullets to rescue his platoon commander from an enemy ambush during his deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08.
Photo submitted 03/25/2008 Taken by Cpl. Ray Lewis


I was tagged to do this meme by one of the most passionate teachers I know, Mrs. Who.

A PASSION QUILT


THE RULES:
Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures what YOU are most passionate for students to learn about.

Give your picture a short title.

Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt.”

Link back to this blog entry.

Include links to 5 (or more) educators.

The Poor Me Epidemic
I think one of the most important things we can teach our children is how not to see themselves as victims. Self pity surely is one of the scourges of our modern life. It is so prevalent that one major political party has built itself in recent years around pandering to and segmenting people into one or more victim groups.

The opposite of self pity is personal responsibility. If we can raise a generation of people who take personal responsibility for their actions, the world will surely be a better place in which to live.

So, how do we accomplish this important task? I think we start by being parents who model personal responsibility in the way we conduct our own lives. That means we do not complain. We are grateful to God for each new day, and for each challenge He helps us to meet.

It means that we do not let things slide, when we observe self pity raising its head in our children or in ourselves. It means that we never accept excuses for ourselves or any of our loved ones manipulatively playing the victim card. It means that we do not shy away from giving appropriate consequences when our children take the self pity shortcut. It means that we earn respect from our children, and expect them to respect others. It means we pay close attention, both to what we are modeling, and to correcting those who falsely claim to be victims. We teach our children to be all that they can be. We teach them that not trying is far worse than choosing not to give their best. It means that we communicate with our children, letting them know what we think is important, and showing patience, encouragement, and perseverance.

Let's end the scourge of "poor me, I'm a victim, therefore I am entitled to..."

Okay, now, whom shall I tag?
Terri Wagner is a blogger who shares her insights in a most thoughtful way every day on this blog.

Gecko always has something to inspire us on the Geckofeeder blog.

If I go to the Cook Shack blog, I know that Cookie will have something that makes me smile, and something that makes me think.

Dee is a homeschooling mom who also stays alert to what is happening politically.

At The Lemon Stand, sour lemons are turned into sweet lemonade daily.

Understanding

Two-year-old Mau Mau is quite talkative, but we often do not have a clue as to what she is saying. On the way home from church she shouted out really loudly, "Ma ob da gab ju pi ko ew ob da woo pi mo ha lan." Sara said, "Mom, She's lying!" Sara obvously has special abilities to understand her roommate.

Good For Your Soul

This is what we hope to be seeing David doing some day.