Some Haiku from my book in progress

The Mountains Whisper

Having Tea With God

Sweet air rising to the rhythm of my rhapsody
Takes me by surprise as the early morning melody
Captures me aloft

Songbirds serenade the trees and they oblige with grace
Dancing in the breeze to some imaginary place
Like clouds so soft…

The earth beckons, how rich her taste today
So much life within -- a colorful array
Can you feel His creation?

A neighbor waves a kind hello, steps out to get his paper
“Having tea alone today?” he asks haphazardly.

A smile my only reply, then a pause as
Our eyes meet and he recognizes the
Long forgotten elation of
Having tea with God.

photo "Cascade" by Luke

"With this ring, I thee wed?"

Be forewarned. This is a rant post. Okay, here’s the thing. I’m into observing the obvious. And it’s obvious that about half of the married men that I know don’t wear their wedding rings. And ALL of the married women that I know do wear their wedding rings. Hmm.

So I did a little survey and whenever I would see a male friend or associate who I knew was married and ringless, I’d ask why. Here are some of the responses:

It’s annoying.
It’s too tight.
I work outside and when I sweat it slips off.
Why should I?
I lost it.
I grew out of it.
It’s not important.
I’m allergic to metal.
I hate jewelry.
It gets in the way. (Really?)
I forget to put it on.

Alright, you get the idea. But the thing is, GUYS, I’m a single woman. And when I happen to see a man who catches my eye, the first thing I look for is a ring. What if there isn’t one? I figure I have a 50/50 chance. So what if? What if it’s a full moon (my excuse for all inappropriate social behavior) and I throw caution to the wind and approach him? And he’s married? Oops. Too late. “It’s already out there,” as Harry would say a la When Harry Met Sally.

It’s a symbol. It's a custom. Try to live with it. Either that or you can always wear a sign; “Sorry, I know I’m not wearing a ring and I look really hot tonight but I am married, so please look away.”

Italian Soul Food

This post was inspired by my cousin, Bill, who told me in an email today that he went out for his birthday dinner to an Italian bistro on Long Island... for calamari. Oh, I can taste it and smell it now...

There is something about the food we grew up with that is definitely soul-satisfying. I remember when I was young, coming home from church on Sundays, usually around noon. The spaghetti sauce (home-made of course) had been simmering since about 8:00. The whole house was imbued with the smells of garlic, fresh tomato and the fresh baked bread that we just brought home from the Italian bakery.

This was long before we were all spoiled whiny babies, eating out at restaurants all the time. There were no Macaroni Grills or Olive Gardens. There was just Mom's Sunday Dinner. A fresh salad, garlic bread, home made sauce with pasta and meatballs... Simple. Rustic. Satisfying. You can't buy food like that. Well, maybe you could. But you can't buy the feeling of coming home to a meal that you knew was prepared just for you. Sitting around the table after the meal, enjoying quiet conversation... it's family. It's home. It's love. It's Italian soul food.

$746 Million for Afterschool Snacks

I am a Republican. And I voted for Barack Obama. There. I said it. But what I thought might happen is happening. I wouldn't want his job. In fact, you couldn't pay me all the money in his stimulus plan to take it. I voted for this man because, in his words and his promises, I saw some speck of hope. But what is now happening is what I thought might. Our current government has mutated into such a huge monster, devouring our civil liberties within an economy spiraling out of control, that even the most well-intentioned of politicians couldn't rescue it. No, it would take the Super Human effort of a David without fear of Goliath to pull us out of this mess. There is only one such person that I am aware of who has the experience, the knowledge and the COURAGE to be able to accomplish such a feat. But this person was never given the media exposure necessary in the primary elections to make his presence and his plans known... instead the Bilderbergs and their crew maintain the reins. Well, at least we won't be at war "for the next hundred years" (or longer).

Stimulus for Who?

This week the House is expected to pass an $825 billion economic stimulus package. In reality, this bill is just an escalation of a government-created economic mess. As before, a sense of urgency and impending doom is being used to extract mountains of money from Congress with minimal debate. So much for change. This is déjà vu. We are again being promised that its passage will help employment, help homeowners, help the environment, etc. These promises are worthless. This time around especially, Congress should know better than to pass anything of this magnitude without first reading the fine print. There are many red flags that I have found in this bill.

At least $4 billion is allocated to expanding the police state and the war on drugs through Byrne grants, which even the Bush administration opposed, and the COPS program, both of which are corrupt and largely ineffective programs.

To help Big Brother keep a better eye on us and our children, $20 billion would go towards health information technology, which would create a national system of electronic medical records without adequate privacy protection. These records would instead be subject to the misnamed federal “medical privacy” rule, which allows government and state-favored special interests to see medical records at will. An additional $250 million is allocated for states to nationalize individual student data, expanding Federal control of education and eroding privacy.

$79 billion bails out states that haphazardly expanded their budgets during the bubble years, but refuse to retrench and cut back, as their taxpayers have had to, during recession years.

$200 million expands Americorps. $100 million goes to “faith-and-community” based organizations for social services, which will further insinuate the government into charity and community service. Private charities are much more efficient and effective because they are directly accountable to donors, while public programs tend to get rewarded for failure. With its money, the Federal Government brings its incompetence and its whims, while creating foolish dependence. This is sad to see.

Of course the bill is rife with central planning projects. $4 billion for job training, much of which will be used to direct workers into “green jobs”. $200 million to “encourage” electric cars, $2 billion to support US manufacturers of advanced batteries and battery systems, which is yet another function of government I can’t find in the Constitution. Not to mention $500 million for energy efficient manufacturing demonstration projects, $70 million for a Technology Innovation Program for “research in potentially revolutionary technologies” in which government, not supply and demand, will pick winners and losers. $746 million for afterschool snacks, $6.75 billion for the Department of Commerce, including $1 billion for a census.

This bill delivers an additional debt burden of $6,700 to every American man, woman and child.

There is a lot of stimulus and growth in this bill – that is, of government. Nothing in this bill stimulates the freedom and prosperity of the American people. Politician-directed spending is never as successful as market-driven investment. Instead of passing this bill, Congress should get out of the way by cutting taxes, cutting spending, and reining in the reckless monetary policy of the Federal Reserve.

By Congressman Ron Paul