COLLECTION AND REDEMPTION

During the Great Depression many people turned to church going to help save themselves from total ruin. My Uncle Helmer did too! Uncle Helmer entertained his own salvation at two churches in the neighborhood.

The Lutherans and the Presbyterians would pass a collection plate every week and Helmer didn't want to show any particular partiality to either party. After all, a lot of his family were members of one or the other church and he had heard that Jesus himself had saved more with protestants than anywhere else.

Occasionally Helmer would have a particularly good week down at the pool hall and when he did he would deposit a large part of his earnings into the collection plates there.

First Church services for the Presbyterians was at 7:00 o'clock sharp! Being the pragmatic hard working group they are so there too was Helmer practicing faithfully collection and redemption.
Then at 9:00 o'clock he would casually walk over and make the transformation to the membership of the more progressive Lutherans, where he would make another donation into the collection plate. After hearing both regular sermons delivered he found himself quite informed as to each churches view of the other.

Then as the month wore on, and ration stamps had been exhausted, and no WPA government workers came into the pool hall from the make work projects to spend their money foolishly like they were supposed to on gambling and such, Helmer would go back to the churches and redeem part of the proceeds as he saw fit from his earlier deposits! Thereby fulfilling his obligation made to each faith and most importantly to his own.

This week we enjoy continued sponsorship from HOT DOG TRAVELER
Barbecued dog and bun with chili is as easy as turning open a lid!
Remember you can even stuff a load of General Chow in one of these deals!

We are asking all of you to be mindful for that which is always truly prosperous. Donate as much as you can to the "FOOD FOR THOUGHT" program being conducted in your own neighborhood.

THE SWEET JOYS OF THIS HERE LIFE

The real joy of life is in it's pursuit.

Watch the children in autumn chasing leaves across the lawn.

The wind whirls and their hearts soar.

When their hands are full it's over!

I love the pursuit of life.





This little missive brought to you by our sponsor
HOT DOG TRAVELER
who has this to say

BE FIRST HUMAN
FOR HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE SPLENDID BLOSSOMS OF GOD'S PARADISE

REJOICE IN EVERY MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE
FOR THE BLOSSOM IS SHORT LIVED IN THE WHOLE OF IT ALL.

This additional thought by our very fine sponsor
GENERAL CHOW

LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE DO
WATCH WHAT PEOPLE SAY

THE HEART SEES CLEARLY
WHAT IS INVISIBLE TO THE EYE

Pelosi Tribe joins the Yuri Nation

Back in Uncle Helmers time during the last Great Depression, Helmer and a couple of other enterprising young men went out to the Indian reservation in the Dakota's to do some dickering with the Chief of the Indian Nation.

The idea was that the Indians had a pretty fair stretch of fallow land that could stand a few head of grazing cattle.

They had in mind to sell the Indians a big prize winning bull and some fertile calf bearing cows on time payments.

They could get back more money with the interest gained, plus the original cost of the cattle, and a fair profit for their time and ingenuity.That way, earning a profit for themselves, and at the same time, do something real nice for the Indian population as well.

They explained that the bull could service the few cows pasturing there on the reservation and after a gestation period calves would be birthed and the herd would be nearly twice as big! They would have milk for the little ones and an occasional steak barbecue for tribal celebrations.

Of course they warned, it would be hard work at first, especially in winters, but as the years went by the herd would increase. With profits from the sale of some cattle, shelters would emerge, barns could be raised, and homes could be built, and life would be much easier and filled with a sense of independence and pride as it once was.

They went on to caution there would be set backs along the way, but by and by the original investment of time and money would grow to the point where
"his people really would not have to do that much".
The Indian chief shook his head and rejected out of hand my Uncle Helmers proposal immediately with the words, "WE DON'T HAVE TO DO MUCH NOW"

So here we go again!

Pelosi is going to try to piss away another great segment of the United States of America. The Urination of American federated commerce.

THE END!

PS:Meet the Press had Barney Frank on this morning and the best thing he said was; He doesn't think the American people "hold their leaders up to a high enough standard"! Once again I say the citizens of any country that allows for free elections gets the kind of government it deserves.

This little bit of thinking has been brought to you by our sponsors who we thank for contributing to the
"Food for thought" program through out the world.

GENERAL CHOW----great for everything a struggling economy could possible want. Just pack a batch for the extended "camping trips" you may find yourself on in the coming years.
HOT DOG TRAVELLER----- Be sure to pack for the game a little bit of home.

OBAMA BLACK SHEEP WHERES THE WOOL ALL COMING FROM?

Bah, Bah, Black Sheep

Bah, bah, black sheep,
Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.

One for the master,

One for the dame,

And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Bah, bah, black sheep,
Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.

NO NO THIS IS NOT A RACIST REMARK
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK IT IS:
PLEASE READ AND TRY TO COMPREHEND THE GREAT SPEECH MARTIN LUTHER KING MADE REGARDING THE JUDGMENT OF ONES CHARACTER RATHER THAN THE COLOR OF ONES SKIN!
No; this is a cute little nursery school rhyme we all know. The wording is kind of timely and catchy.
It has a point in it if we drop for a moment our prejudice and try to discover a deeper meaning!


Yesterday afternoon my new friend and President Barrack Obama threw a little hissy fit when he didn't get 100 percent cooperation from the Senate on the spending bill which has now escalated to about twice the cost of both Iraq wars plus about ten months of Federal spending under the former Bush Administration. Bottom line, rounded down, around 10% of what the United States of America produces in total for a year will be the size of this "stimulus bill".

He raised his voice in frustration at those in the Senate who want to take a little time to examine some of the excesses in the bill.

Obama mocked the voices of restraint with this comment;
"So then you get the argument, 'well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill.' What do you think a stimulus is? That's the whole point," Obama said to laughter.

WHAT HEY WAIT JUST A MINUTE

Obama went on to say he was tired of hearing "the same old tired" excuses and asked a flock of followers over in Virginia if they weren't tired too.

Well, being a responsible member of a self governing republic is a bit tiring and frustrating Barrack, but it beats the alternative!

SOME OPEN QUESTIONS

When Obama promised change did he mean we don't have to think anymore?

Can we really get out of the economic holding pattern by spending even more than Bush did?

Would we not be better off if we stimulated the economy with capital investments for our future?

Are not work projects that build better transportation systems, better buildings, and better machines , factories, etc, better than just printing money to hand out to nearly everybody in the United States America to pay off our excess credit card debts?

Did you think when Obama promised a change it was supposed to be for the better.

Do you think handing back devalued money to Americans to spend without investment in real value based work is better than just senseless spending?

I NEED AN ANSWER TO THESE THINGS

This blog was brought to you by our sponsor

GENERAL CHOW who would like to remind you when you get your Government bail out money please buy a can or two of this very fine food product.

Money spent for any reason but investment in GENERAL CHOW can not possibly be as good . Do not spend your money--spend the governments----yeah--- do it now --quick without thinking. Do it now!

PORTLANDERS TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THE "MAYORS PACKAGE"

Samuel Adams #1 item

"How strangely will the tools of a tyrant pervert the plain meaning of words"

Samuel Adams TOWN MEETING NOV 2 1772 "The Legislative cannot justly assume to itself a power to rule by extempore arbitrary decrees; but it is bound to see that justice is dispensed, and that the rights of the subjects be decided by promulgated, standing, and known laws, and authorized independent judges"; that is, independent, as far as possible, of Prince and people. "There should be one rule of justice for rich and poor, for the favorite at court, and the countryman at the plough."

Samuel Adams #2 item

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner -- A hop lover's dream come true

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now what do we know about this Sam Adams, Mayor of Portland?

Let us make a deep probe into his problem area.

We know that Mr. Sam Adams was a practising homosexual and together we voted for him this last year to be the Mayor of all the people of Portland.

We know that he flirted around with an underage boy and later at the young consenting age of 18 this young man and the Mayor had engaged in consenting acts of a sexual nature. This and only this we know now from the Mayor himself.

We trust that findings from the appropriate legal authority will discover the guilt or innocence of the Mayor, and that it will not be hidden or exaggerated due to his high ranking place in local politics.

If evidence is found that crimes may have been committed he will be prosecuted.

If he is found to be innocent of crime he should stand up to his critics and set about to perform the duties of Mayor as we have assigned to him through the political process; period, end of the public condemnation or consideration.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now lets probe the recent actions of this fresh new Mayor a little harder.

Eric Adams from KGW reports on what has come to be called the

Mayors "Stimulus Package"

#1------1911 jobs created in Bureau of Environmental Services IE: sewers. Something the City of Portland "that works" was and should have been planning all along.

#2------275 jobs in Bureau of Housing with 125 jobs directly at housing 150 jobs to veteran's housing. Both charitable and laudable endeavors but hardly the rightful duty of the City of Portland . This could be easily shifted to another jurisdiction perhaps ushered over to one of Obama's very fine budding volunteer organizations.

#3-----165 jobs in the city's office of emergency management and 138 jobs in Portland Parks. In order to not further the economic hardship on us all I presume they have identified and eliminated an equal number of jobs which require leaning on "shovel ready projects" of current street and sewer work occurring daily all over the "City that works."

#4----1209 jobs in the Bureau of Transportation. Wow, how come so many?

#5---- 1507 jobs in the city's Water Bureau. Really, we've got that much more water?

Right about here it gets real vague as to how the wages for all this is to be paid without drastic cuts in current unproductive services which of course is beyond shocking if so much has been at waste before.

If this kind of money has been systematically wasted through inefficiencies how will this different spending help stimulate the economy now?

Why not just cut taxes on property owners the $503 million that the plan will spend and put the money in private hands which will be spent presumably on cost effective business enterprise groceries automobiles you know, goods and services required for a robust economy. If 5000 plus people are going to be awarded these jobs where is the stimulus if it just goes right back into the Mayors great black hole of economic recession.

I would further ask that the Mayor be sure that the historical cronyism and contract favoritism so prevalent in the "City that works" be sought out and eliminated as a part of the stimulus plan. Or has the city and it's citizens been so corrupted as to wish that federal dollars be sent here for us to line our pockets and grind down further our free economic system of private enterprise?

A FINAL WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now a strong rebuke from our sponsor GENERAL CHOW.

We at General Chow continue to sponsor the SWINE Blog because they have been such great contributors to the "Food for Thought program" However we must advise our customers many of the opinions expressed are NOT shared by our company President and Owner General Chow!

STATEMENT: Historians, Beer Drinkers, Gay people and workers both in city and private enterprise that are mentioned in the above editorial and in other places in these Blogs are advised they are welcome and encouraged to buy our very fine canned food product GENERAL CHOW!

Please locate a stocking dealer in your area and buy just as much of it as you can. A large inventory of GENERAL CHOW may come in very handy in the following months till this economy comes around like in my fine country of China.

GEORGE HAS BARACK FOR SUPPER

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Barack Obama attended a dinner party with several prominent conservative columnists, including William Kristol and David Brooks of The New York Times, according to a pool report. January 14, 2009"
KRISTOL, WILLIAM, OBAMA, BARACK, WILL, GEORGE F, BROOKS, DAVID

JUST A WEEK BEFORE BARACK OBAMA IS INAUGURATED HE BREAKS BREAD WITH THE MOST CONSERVATIVE OF THE BRAIN TRUST! ---------GEORGE WILL------ ANYBODY LISTENING?

I TOLD YA SO! ------------WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME CLOSER?

Okay here is another chance

Barack Obama has the most liberal voting record in the Senate! You know why? He represented one of the biggest constituencies of government entitlement liberal groups in America. Duh!
To use his own words;
Hey "I'm not stupid" I am going to be the President of the United States remember.

Like I have been saying all along, He is going to move to center or center right when he begins his Presidency. You know why? Because America is 80 percent small private enterprise. That is his constituency. That is where the power still resides. In US, the people that work create the big part of the economy and the power.

HE IS GOING TO FORSAKE THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ELECT HIM AND WILL BEGIN TO DO THE "RIGHT THING" Duh!

OKAY SO: The economy is bad because the Government and Big Corporate power took too much of our money away from us right. So NOW they have to give it back.-----------------Duh.

I just hope Barack Obama can stand up to the establishment long enough to get us back on the "RIGHT TRACK" Which I believe is the freedom to choose, as self reliant individuals, socially, religiously, culturally, intellectually, and ECONOMICALLY.

We have a long way to go. We need to start with the economy and end with better education for all our young people becoming productive citizens. We need to have them learn citizenship through the open uncensored study of history. They need to learn what makes a country tick along with the practical disciplines like Math and Science.

In Illinois last month it became popular to depart with a poem here is one by Yeats that is favored by our Sponsor GENERAL CHOW---- The Vandecampking

I SING what was lost and dread what was won,

I walk in a battle fought over again,

My king a lost king, and lost soldiers my men;

Feet to the Rising and Setting may run,

They always beat on the same small stone.

OBAMANATION AND THE YOGURT CULTURE

"RENEW AMERICA TOGETHER"
He called it a "national call to service". Go on line, find a local meeting!
So I thought, okay I'll bite; what is this all about?

I found out some of Barrack Obama's sidekicks are sending out online invitations to create and attend neighborhood meetings to help operate the tugs of government democratically from the comfort of our own living rooms! WOW WHAT A CONCEPT!

The first meeting I went to was sort of a warm up to your neighbors event. You know; everyone making sure no one was a KKK John Birch Society Reptilian Alien, rabid George Bush supporter. Only about 10 people showed up even though there were more than 22 RSVP's on the sign up sheet.

Of those attending two people had worked in government campaigns prior to the Obama phenomenon.
They both admitted to being originally members of the Democratic Party. One had subsequently drifted to a more conservative position, and the other had moved far further to the left. He was involved with Moveon.org had been a life long government worker, double dipper with a PERSE pension and god only knows what else.
Another guy was a Navy Captain.
The rest that had some experience about government mostly were associated with the Republican Party .
There were others that were registered Democrats since they turned 21 or so and most had been oblivious apathetics.

Most people at the meeting claimed they had lost, or never had, faith that one vote, or one politician could count for anything, but had been greatly inspired by Barrack Obama and were in attendance to remain engaged.
As we went around the room introducing ourselves to each other I announced that I had come to believe over the years that citizens of any government especially ones with relatively free elections "got the government they deserved". More about that later!

We elected an emissary to research a charitable organization called Neighborhood House to see if that would be a suitable vehicle to do some good outside of the efforts of the Federal Government. This seemed to be the message we gathered on line that "Government can only do so much" so a call to National Service through volunteerism would vitalize our citizenry and recreate the lost American dream.

Meeting number two was arranged in the morning following a horrific snow storm that had trapped many people in their homes for several days due to high drifting and black ice. Attendance was poor, as the invitation was issued for that very same night!

The topic to be discussed was the national health care crisis. The move.on.gov guy prepared a very good three part agenda; discussing some possibilities and successful types of systems in other countries, contrasting the cobbled system we endure here in America.
The host of the meeting announced that she thought the Health care industry was so big and corrupt nothing could be done to fix it "so lets talk about what we can do" amid strenuous objections from myself and the move.on guy for a more considered discussion.
We wanted to discover some common ground and agreement so we could define our coalition opinion and send it along to the Obama people. We were gaveled down despite numerous protestations and the yogurt culture of blandness and lack luster of the oblivious apathetics prevailed.
Next, we all got to listen to why we should march in the Martin Luther King Day parade on the coming holiday "because Barrack wants us to".

The last thing on the agenda was to name our little group so we could have an official communication e-mail conduit to "Central Planning"

The name selected was OBAMANATION!!!!
Yep "to loathe intensely" "to dislike strongly" "repugnant and hateful" "very bad or unpleasant" (Webster definitions of abomination)

I laughed out loud and agreed the name characterized what this group might be all about not specifically defining or revealing my thoughts. I expressed my approval of the name, got my coat, said my goodbyes and walked out into the snowy night.

Goodbye to the abominable yogurt culture.

Third attempt at a meeting ----------------went like this.

I sent an invitation from the Obama "RENEW AMERICA" website to about 100 people in my e-mail address book. I thought with some encoragement from listed invitee's I might start my own Obama neighborhood "sunday go to meeting" thing.
The invitation, as we had learned earlier, was to stimulate volunteerism through the neighborhood meetings and more timely to get prepared to take a walk down the road to the tune of Martin Luther Kings Day celebration march. Actually, that seems kind of fitting given Obama is counted as the first black president. I would certainly walk in it if I was a black guy and be damned proud too.

I wanted to establish 100,000 signatures to the affirm that self reliant government was on the mend and that Obama would pledge to be vigilant to that end.
Here is exactly (cut and pasted) what it said, tagged to
"RENEW AMERICA"invitation.

Free at Last Free at Last Thank God Almighty I am fee at last. I would like a large group to send back a joint statement which I will deliver to our elected local congressman that we want a return to the principles of freedom and liberty that our country was founded on.

We do NOT want to be plunged deeper into debt or Socialist agenda.

We simply must insist our new President take an active role in leading us back to self reliance and self government through market driven forces and free small private enterprise.

We are “mad as hell” and we are ‘NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE”.
Help me send these encouraging words to Obama this next Great Holiday.

I will tabulate the count hopefully at least 100,000 names and will personally deliver it to the news studios and the offices of our congress and representatives.

Go ahead step forward NOW send me your interest in freedom.



Results of the invitation to send a message of encouragement for self reliant government were as follows:

TWENTY THREE people wrote and asked to not be included in any more invitations.
ONE PERSON wrote "If you want to effectively influence government you should consider offering solutions rather than just discontent.
ONE PERSON wrote to defend my simple statement.
ONE PERSON wrote that he liked my writing and I should continue.
ONE PERSON wrote that I could include his name in the 100,000 names geometrically building on the Internet Ponzi system.

Conclusion : The people get the Government they deserve!


The above report has been brought to you by -------GENERAL CHOW------
The ultimate hedge fund product for this challenging economy.
Open up a can of this stuff and watch how it just keeps on giving!