Sigrid Weidenweber's Blog, page 8

In Praise of Portland, Oregon's Concordia University

Let me use a short preface, one used often by our president: “Let me be perfectly clear!” I am not going to write kindly about this university because I received an honorary doctorate from the institution. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have supported Concordia for many years before this highly appreciated event came to pass.

So, what is it that makes Concordia University special? For one, it is their mission statement, which announces without grandiloquence that: Concordia is a Christian University preparing leaders for the transformation of society.

Simply said, but, oh, what a mighty promise. Wow!!! These academics have in mind to transform society for the better. To this extent they have opened their campus to students of all faiths whom they prepare for a good life to lead and a living to earn. Students are prepared by the university's commitment to spiritual inquiry, to justice, compassion and moral integrity.

I have met Concordia’s students and they are wonderful young people, delighting in the many studies offered, as well as partaking in great extra-curricular activities. Concordia’s choir, for example, is outstanding and I invite every music lover to peruse Concordia’s schedule for performances.

Lastly, let me remark that Lutheran Concordia Universities are to be found in all parts of the US and even Canada. You can find these stalwarts of compassion and moral integrity in  Irvine, CA;  Texas; Wisconsin; Chicago; St Paul, MN; Nebraska; Michigan  and Portland.  

Article from the Concordia Connection, Portland Oregon, Summer of 2011

Weidenweber Earns Doctor of Letters

 

Concordia University presented an honorary Doctor of Letters degree to Sigrid Weidenweber in December 2010, in recognition of her significant contributions to literature and history. In particular, she is an advocate force for Volga Germanpeople and their unique history, and provides ongoing support and promotion of Concordia's mission and vision. Ms. Weidenweber of Santa Rosa Valley, California, is an extraordinary example of a humanitarian, Christian, and published author who has always been an advocate and spokesperson for people without a voice.

Born in Germany in 1941, Ms. Weidenweber remembers firsthand the horrific aftermath of Fascism. At the end of the war, she found herself living under Communism. Both of these totalitarian regimes had a dramatic impact on her life and work. After the Berlin Wall was built, she finally escaped this repressive environment with the help of friends and a French passport. Sigrid holds degrees in medical technology and psychology. Her first book, Escaping the Twilight, deals with aspects of medical anthropology in an Islamic culture. Her wide range of interests led to the writing of the trilogy, The Volga Flows Forever, published by Concordia Press. Concordia University's Center for Volga German Studies (CVGS), housed in the George R. White Library & Learning Center, owes a great deal of its success to Ms. Weidenweber's efforts as a speaker, spokesperson, and author. Her work has done much to further friend-raising and fundraising for Concordia and the CVGS. In addition to Concordia and the CVGS, Ms. Weidenweber has shared her gifts and talents with a wide variety of non-profit community benefit organizations.

Batanga---My free Latino Music Station

I am not paid to advertise good things. If I see something worthwhile to promote, I do so because I wish to do it. This radio station Batanga with its Latino Pop has given me many hours of pleasure and I firmly believe that Latin Pop will play in the future a great role in popular American Music. Why? It is fresh, saucy, easy to remember and to sing along. Quite a few of the most popular Latino songs have found their way into our most listened to rankings. I love the music, because it is inspired by the joy of living, of fun, of ease and, often true emotions. 

Holy Cow! I do agree with Olympia Snow.

I have to admit that I do not often agree with Olympia J. Snowe, senator of the great state of Main. However, this morning I caught in the Wall Street Journal a letter of hers in praise of the lowly potato, and lo and behold I am on the same page.

 Being of German descent, I hate it when the tuber of the New World is maligned. In most cases the food reviewers knocking this ground-growing night-shade tuber do not have their facts straight. Well, Olympia in this morning’s WSJ edition had all of the facts right. She blamed, just as I do, the trimmings for the extra calories and the fat content of a meal. So, enjoy a naked baked potato with chives and fresh salsa and lose a few pounds.

I pose the hypothesis that Europe, without the potato, would have never been able to support its populations and in Russia, Catherine the Great who always discerned a great thing when she saw it, marveled at the potato’s possibilities. So go forth—and enjoy.

 

The Perversion of the Normal Teenager--or Literature Designed to Kill the Psyche

For years I have complained bitterly about the junk served up as juvenile literature to impressionable young minds. Unfortunately, I am not that well known to make a difference in public opinion. Neither can I, and many others, stem the flood of sick offal that floats the river of libraries. Once a book gets into a public library it is enshrined as much as the Qur’an in the Mosque.

Well WSJ has done it again. The torch was taken up against the un-wholesome witch’s brew of modern teen lit by Meghan Cox Gurdon with an article entitled My ‘Reprehensible’ Take on Teen Literature. Needless to say, I am delighted because Mrs. Gurdon is the Journal’s children’s books reviewer. In that capacity she can accomplish what many of our unknown voices do not—being heard by people who produce the trash.

Yes trash it is! I do not want my healthy grandchildren to read about abnormal behaviors afflicting a small minority of young adults just so will develope the "proper" empathy. Do I want them to read about self-mutilation? Are they to read about incest? Are they to be encouraged to be licentious and engage in homosexual trial sessions? Of course, they are encourage to have the trial just to see if they like it and or, too, are gay. Welcome to the new teen-literature. Instead of being taught enduring values to live a decent life by, our children are drenched in dys-functionality.

Mrs. Gurdon stated it well in another article, which brought the combined visceral outrage by ALA members, librarians and book–industry people down upon her head. In that first essay, entitled “Darkness Too Visible” she states and I quote, “…it discussed the way in which young-adult literature invited teenagers to wallow in ugliness, barbarity, dysfunction and cruelty.”

For this effort Mrs. Gurdon was chastised with intelligent comments like: idiotic, brittle, narrow-minded, irresponsible and reprehensible. How well I know this tactic of the liberal-progressive bunch. Once they place their labels they do not have to debate the valid points made by the author. Once you call someone an idiot, it follows that you do not have to argue their point.

Mrs. Gurdon’s article makes many excellent points and I wish that everyone would find the Opinion page of the Wall Street Journal of Tuesday, June 28, 2011.

There is only another comment I want to add. It concerns the children’s books of the even younger set. I find the offerings mind-numbing, devoid of reality and healthy teachings, furthering a young mind. Sorcerers, witches, flying horrors, ghosts, ghouls and other monsters dominate the pages. The fantasy excitement storm in books that came forth in the wake Harry Potter, inculcates in children an unhealthy expectation that life should offer constant excitement. I am not adverse to fantasy stories and well-written adventure, but one should avoid writing phantasmagorically for children. As we should not forget, “Drama is real life with the boring bits cut out!”

Yes, every day can be a drudge at times. For those times it behooves a person to have cultivated patients, civil behavior and a good attitude. All these we can attain from the examples set by the characters in our favorite books.

 

Historical Novels! What is good about them?

So, today I am writing two posts because firstly, I have the time, secondly, I really want to share a book with my readers. I do not do that often, because being a writer----of historical novels—I do not often find a book that truly engages my interest and intellect. Well, to be kind I have to admit that during a long lifetime I have read so many books that I only remember the most poignant, interesting books. Also, knowing about writing techniques, I can often foretell what I am being served and I grow bored quickly.

Therefore, I want to make readers aware of a delightful murder mystery entitled The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby. It is well-researched, funny in places and educational without being stodgy. Set in Greece at the time of Pericles one can inhale a bit of classical scent and reacquaint with ones long-gone lessons. And that is what is good about a well written historical novel.

By the way, my historical novels revolve around Russian history, beginning with the life of Catherine the Great, following the history of the Volga German people until the 1980s. Why write about Catherine again? You might ask. Well I had to discuss a few ukases of hers. But more importantly I wanted to give a much maligned woman a personal background and a soul. You can look up my books on my web-site:   sigridw.com     and read a chapter of all my published books.

Mia Farrow and the Ethnic Cleansing in the Sudan

I am afraid that many of you, dear readers, do not know anything about Mia Farrow. But, this once well-known, much in demand actress with a most unstable personal history, is one of the few defenders of the Sudan’s non-Muslim, non-Arab populations.

The Sudanese government in Khartoum has waged war against the animist and Christian peoples of the South Soudan for 22 years. In my book “Escaping the Twilight”, which I wrote fifteen years ago, I alluded to the torments inflicted upon the Nuba, Dinka and Nuer people of the Sudanese south. Genocide of enormous proportions has been inflicted upon these tribes by the Muslims of the North bend to dominate the entire Sudan under Islamic rule.

It is enshrined in the Qur’an that the people of the whitest skin will be, upon their demise, the ones closest to Allah. To the lighter skinned Arab tribes the dusky and blue-black tribes of the South are worthless humans, especially as they refuse to adhere to Islam. I have followed this war for years and vociferously offered my opinion on the refusal of the world to help the hapless tribes of the south. Why go and mess with Kadhafi when the world could prevent greater cruelty and suffering in Sudan?

Since this is a question no one will answer, I fast forward to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Mia farrow and Juliet Flint. A blessing upon both of them, for they are voices in the political wilderness. According to their article a patrol of United Nations peacekeepers was detained by Sudanese government soldiers, and then, “subjected to a mock firing squad in the soldiers’ divisional headquarters.” “We will kill you if you come back here!” they were warned.

These soldiers are the only protection for the Nuba of Kordofan and, as it turns out they are nothing but a Paper Tiger without teeth and claws. Why did they allow themselves be apprehended by government troops? Why not defend themselves? Where was the outcry from the United Nations concerning the incident? As usual the members of this illustrious council chose to ignore the incident because no one wants to offend an Arab and Muslim ruler.

So it was up to two women who have spoken for the people of the region repeatedly, to once again post the outrageous event.

WSJ footnote*  Mia Farrow, an actor and advocate has travelled to South Sudan 16 times. Ms. Flint has reported from the Nuba Mountains for 20 years.   

 

Will the Government in the near Future own all of Us?

The other day I read in my beloved WSJ an interesting statistic. It was qoted that by now more than 53% or more citizens are supported in one form or another by the government. It boggles the mind that over half of all people in the USA owe some part of their existence to the government. Of course that means that these people feel a heavy obligation to keep this form of government in place because they are indebted to it in one form or another. Many of you are much too young to realize that is exactly what the Nazi's did in Germany. They were the providers of jobs, of social welfare--child centers, milk--handouts, free or subsidized medical services and of course even greater benefits for everyone who joined the Nazi party. No wonder they did better and better at the polls. I was too little to understand any of this, but I was told how they did it.

Just a few years later the same scenario played out in East Germany where I grew up. The only difference was that the communists were forced on us by the Russian Army, which controlled that part of Germany until the fall of the Wall and Gorbachev's perestroyka. Soon after the take-over of the government, all private businesses were taken from their owners. The same thing happened to the farms--they became collectives. If you wanted a job you worked for the party. Bit by bit the SED, the communist party organ, out-voted all other parties. Soon, we all owed our existence to the party. A small percentage of people tried to maintain independence. I knew of a man doing small transportation jobs with two horses and a cart. It did not last long. He was not allowed to buy horse-food in the collective farm store anymore. That finished him, finished his business. He escaped to West Germany. That was before the wall was built. We lost about 500,000 people every year. They left for the West. The stupid rest of us, too afraid to start over again--like my mother, stayed put and voted 100% for the SED. That was because the voting booths were watched and the ballots exmined as soon as you left the open cubicle.

So, when I see that over fifty percent of our peopulation depend on some sort of subsidy, a creepy feeling rises within me. I have seen this play before and do not like it. Now consider, 53% or so is just half the population but they are people who tend to vote for those promising more of the same. Just look and see what is happening in Greece. With a national debt of 14.3 trillion, a number I cannot even wrap my mind around, we have over twenty nine million on wellfare, 40 million on food stamps, on medicaid, housing allowances, single mothers help, temporary money help, unemployment and on and on......add to that all the billions spen on foreign aid and wars; and I can only say "God help us!"

Ruminations about Life

I have discovered that life is:  IT SHOULD BE what you plan for yourself and your enjoyment and not------what others decide it to be. If you, like most of us, are a fairly nice person who likes to please and do your best for friends and family, you find out soon enough that your own plans and wishes often come to naught, because others have decided that you should do things, benefitting them. This happens in all of our walks of life. So a decision must be made by us, the servants of other's wishes. How strong are we to swim against a tide of strong minds and wills who want us to do their bidding and take our money? Think about that. Then begin in your own house to stem the flood. After we can stand up to our own families we can begin to stand up to bureaucrats who make our life hell with unnecessary rules. Stand up to TSA officials groping us--we are the only country in the world with the most intrusive system for travellers, and begin to vote out representatives and senators who decide how our precious money should be spent. I know that most of us would much prefer to spend our money on things we find important. I believe after defense, police and the necessary governmental duties things should be left to citizen involvement. So why do we let politicians take our cash and spend it on things they find important for their own advancement. Were any of you intersted in spending millions on oil exploration for, get this, Brazil? How about the billions thrown away in foreign aid to nations who would like nothing better but destroy us? How many extra hours is everyone working so that a senator or congressman can have a lifetime pension for a few short years of service? Not to speak of all the perks these people have voted themselves.    

Think, and then decide what onerous duties you would like eliminated from your life.

A most interesting Theory about anthony Weiner and his Wife Huma Abedin

I listen daily to the radio, mostly to  station KFI 640 AM Los Angeles. Their claim is to have the most stimulating talk shows. In my opinion, they do. They report everything a thinking person might might wish to know and have intersting callers. Like all talk shows, you get superfluous mush, at times, but you can switch. Two days ago, a caller brought up a conspiracy theory that now has me thinking about the subject whenever I have moment to think.

Said caller, on the Anthony Weiner affair, proposed that Anthony Weiner, a Jew, was set up in his marriage to Huma Abedin, a practizing Muslim, for the Saudi establishment to gain insight and even control of the House of Representatives. What an intriguing scenario. However was controlling that day the microphone dismissed the caller in short order, barely missing calling him a cook. At first, I went along with the quick dismissal of the caller. But then the ide began to fester in my mind. Huma is the "body woman" of Hilary Clinton. She shadows our Secretary of State everywhere. She is the confidant during sessions in the Middle East, she hears everything, sees everything concerning our foreign politics and perhaps everything of internal concern also. So, here is my dilemma!! Whom has she sworn fealty to? To whom is she owing loyalty? As a practicing Muslim she owes loyalty only to her faith. If she is truly practicing the teachings it would be her duty to feign compliance and obedience to the USA while gaining information for Islam and, in this case, Saudi Arabia, to sabotage and eventually destroy the very country that nurtures her on its bosom.

Huma's father was a Pakistani Islamic scholar. Her mother is an associate professor of sociology at Dar AlHekma college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For a miniscule time, when the girl was two years old they resided in America, and then quickly moved to Saudi Arabia where Huma was raised in the faith.. She came to the USA to study at George Washington University and after graduation quickly moved up in political circles. Knowing this, the caller mentioned the possibility that she was a plant by the Saudi government. Furthermore, the caller remarked on some other anomalies. One being her marriage to Anthony Weiner. What is that about? Weiner has been known to make strong anti-Islamic comments. He might be a reformed Jew, of course very liberal, but even such a one would not convert to Islam to marry the delightful Huma.

On the other hand Huma could be killed if she were to marry an infidel, on top of all, a Jew. Did she toss Islam and convert to Judaism? So you see, here are many intriguing questions I have no answeres for. Having been raised under communism, I never fully trust and believe anything untill I have clear, unadulterated facts, and there is very little floating around on the net to erase my questions. If you, dear reader, have any good facts on the subject, please let the rest of us know. I promise to approve the comments.

I will continue later!