Barbara Curtis's Blog, page 196

The Catholicism Project - documentary

The Catholicism Project

oin Fr. Robert Barron on a journey across the planet and deep into the faith. CATHOLICISM is a breakthrough documentary series presenting the true story of Christianity and the Catholic faith.

For More Information Please Visit: www.thecatholicismproject.org

MSM defends Durbin from Washington Times reporter

Orwellian. The Propaganda Press gangs up on Washington Times reporter William J. Kelly to protect Democrat Senator Dick Durbin.

DURBIN DISSES REPORTER'S DOWNGRADE QUESTION

Reporter Wiliam J. Kelly asks Sen. Dick Durbin if he takes any responsibility for the downgrade. Another Chicago "reporter" - Jim Anderson from the Illinois Radio Network - interrupts him and Kelly gets escorted out by a Secret Service Agent - even though he is press in violation of his first amendment rights. Later, Durbin says to the Chicago media press corp - ABC, NBC, CBS, Tribune, Sun-Times, etc. "you guys aren't going to cover this are you?" They comply. More news tampering in Chicago.

Kelly is a social journalist for the Washington Times Communities and contributes to the American Spectator, Breitbart.com, and the Truth in Broadcasting Network.

Durbin's obedient servants did not report on this incident. But William J. Kelly did:

Did media cover up Sen. Durbin's confrontation with reporter? (VIDEO)

Thursday, August 11, 2011 - Bill Kelly's Truth Squad by William Kelly

Chicago, August 11, 2011 - This week U.S. Senator Dick Durbin held a press conference with members of the mainstream media to talk about the downgrade crisis. But the Senator's scripted storyline veered off-course when a conservative reporter - me - showed up to ask an embarrassing question. Namely, "Senator, you've blamed the tea party...but do you bear any responsibility for this downgrade crisis?"

What, you didn't hear about this incident in the media? For those of you that need more proof that journalism is dead, read on.

Read more at Washington Times.

Moving blues - almost normal!

Okay, I'd say pour a cup of coffee and we'll chat, but it's almost bedtime (I'll have to stop to put the kids to bed, but will be right back). so instead I'll say pour yourself a cup of tea - or glass of wine, whatever your inclination.

First, my Internet woes: I have given up on Hughes - after they postponed two appointments due to "lack of equipment." Went to the Verizon store today and took my chances on a Verizon Aircard for $80/month. Cheaper than Hughes, but has a 10G/month limit. I have no idea how that will play out with my blogging, but I have 14 days to change my mind. So as far as blogging/writing goes, I have no reason not to be full steam ahead - except for a hundred boxes still waiting to be unpacked.

I was so confused and discombobulated before the move that while I got rid of a lot of stuff before, I still had to pack stuff to make a decision on after I got here. Craigslist and I have become Proverbs 31 bosom buddies as I've sold and given away stuff that didn't fit our new house, while buying things that did. I am constantly amazed at God's hand in this online wheeling and dealing. I got an incredible bedroom set for Jonny and Jesse for $200 that just needed a little refinishing on the top surfaces - something Tripp was able to accomplish easily before we moved. Also a great new desk set for Tripp - which he needs for his new job - for a fraction of its worth. And bookshelves to replace the built-ins where we lived in Bluemont. All are really good quality and bargains. Did I say I love Craigslist?

We had a lot of help throughout the move from our grownup kids and their friends. We also hired Josh's company Kinsman Contractors to help us on the main day of the move - August 1. Most problems melted like lemon drops away above the chimney tops. However on the night of the 1st, after moving almost all our belongings to the Lovettsville house, Tripp went back to Bluemont to tie up some loose ends. We had been experiencing scattered thunder showers in Loudoun throughout the day, and we had a couple bolts of lightning at 6:30 or so when the power went out completely at our new address. I was here with the Downzers surrounded by a mass confusion of boxes and no idea where our flashlights were. I unpacked some candles, but couldn't find any matches. No phone either, since the inside cordless system is electric. And of course, my wireless was out of batteries.

It was getting darker and darker and I was wondering what in the world I was going to do with the kids in a dark house - and frankly just a little scared myself - when there was a knock on the door and our friend Jack Burden, who'd brought us pizzas for dinner, showed up with camping lanterns. God provides - but He needs us to help Him! Got the kids to bed and Tripp came back to the dark house and we all tumbled into bed dirty and sweaty from a record-breaking hot day of heavy moving (in the country, when your power goes out, it means no water since the pump needs electricity to draw water - and of course, we had no air conditioning).

Woke up at 2:30 AM and the power was on! Hallelujah!

But we have been working hard ever since to bring over the tail end of our stuff and to organize everything here.

This has been hard. I don't want to whine, but I am not a normal 63 year old. I'm still dealing with 6 kids at home - though two are off to college this month - and way too much stuff for someone my age to be carrying around. I touched on this earlier and have written about it in my upcoming Catholic Herald column. At this age, it seems that normal things like moving or dealing with a child's operation take a 300% toll. I am aging by the minute and anxious for everything to settle so I can rest a little.

I love our new house. I can see the wisdom in God's plan as our last house was charming and quirky but not very conducive to organizing the Downzers' lives in such a way that they could operate independently. It's hard to explain, but if I took you on a tour of our new house, I could show you how the common-sense layout will encourage their independence so they will be able to think things through and take charge of their daily routine.

So two wonderful outcomes from our move: letting go of material attachment (which I wrote about before) and helping the Curtis Brothers - Jonny, Jesse, Daniel, and Justin - reach their potential. Definitely worth the moving expenses and accelerated aging process.

So you would think.

But then, Tripp went into Leesburg to take our keys back to Brown Carrera on August 3. Remember, the owners of the home we'd rented for three years had given us notice because they wanted to come back to Virginia to live there again. Just as he was putting the keys into our property manger's hand, the wife/partner came down the office stairs and said:

"You'll never believe what happened. I just got an email saying Mr. _________ had found a job and they will not be coming back."

I suppose there would have been a time when I was bitter and angry. I suppose I would have felt ripped off and cheated and very much the victim. After losing our home to foreclosure in 2008, for three years we'd been blessed to rent a country property very similar to those we'd owned. It even had a pool - a blessing for our four sons with Down syndrome who kept in shape and gained self-confidence by daily swimming. We lived in a teensy off-the-beaten-path town with the best neighbors anyone could hope for.

But we had to leave because the owners were coming home. Then they turned out to be not coming home at all.

But I know God had a plan. We don't have a pool, but we have a friend who invites us to use hers. Our town is bigger, but I hope to make many more friends. And I am secure that God has us right where He wants us. I am committed to letting go of things I do not need and that is a very freeing feeling.

To me, the greatest challenge is continuing to live life while still not settled in.

This weekend, Ben and Anna are driving down from Rochester to visit. So wonderful to look forward to all being together for a day.

We had permission to leave Sophia's stuff in the garage until she returns to school and we were hoping not to move it twice. On August 16, some part of the Curtis Family will help her move back to Lynchburg. Tripp and I are supposed to take Maddy to see Bob Dylan that night.

Jonny has surgery on August 18.

Maddy moves to Catholic University August 25. The Downzers go back to school August 29.

Would it sound off somehow to say I am waiting for September for my personal ship to stop being tossed by the waves of my kids' lives and to settle into a routine of writing and maybe even a little reading?

Life is so demanding, complicated, confusing, crazy, messy, This longing I have for it to be just the way I want it - the belief that if I just get everything unpacked and correctly situated I will be happy forever - please tell me I'm not the only optimist out here. Do you struggle too?

But mostly, please let us pray for each other that we will see - even when it is hard to see - that no matter the disappointments, God has a plan. It's our job to keep discerning it.

I have so missed being connected to my readers. Hoping to be back soon!

Philly mayor berates black teens for flash mobs

Bill Cosby started taking the black community to task in 2004 - telling them to stop blaming white people, but his remarks were not taken well by the Black Establishment.

 With last week's racial violence in Wisconsin and similar incidents - large and small - throughout the country, I hope Mayor Nutter's remarks are taken in the spirit in which he intended them.

We really need to stop glamorizing the ghetto lifestyle, stop making excuses, and find ways to help people besides just throwing money at them.  It was really LBJ's War on Poverty that initiated the systematic destruction of the black family, rewarding women financially for being single mothers - plus more children=more government money.

Fatherlessness is the major cause of many social ills and individual dysfunction.  We should be doing all we can to encourage strong and stable families.

Philadelphia mayor talks tough to black teenagers after 'flash mobs'

In this March 20, 2010, photo, young people run down South
Street during a flash mob incident that involved thousands and closed
the street to traffic from Front Street to Broad in Philadelphia. Thanks
to websites like Twitter and Facebook,
more and more so-called flash mobs are materializing across the globe,
leaving police scrambling to keep tabs on the spontaneous assemblies. (AP Photo/The Philadelphia Inquirer, Laurence Kesterson)
By Dave Boyer, Monday, August 8, 2011

Mayor Michael A. Nutter,
telling marauding black youths "you have damaged your own race,"
imposed a tougher curfew Monday in response to the latest "flash mob" --
spontaneous groups of teens who attack people at random on the streets
of the city's tourist and fashionable shopping districts.

"Take those God-darn hoodies down, especially in the summer," Mr. Nutter,
the city's second black mayor, said in an angry lecture aimed at black
teens. "Pull your pants up and buy a belt 'cause no one wants to see
your underwear or the crack of your butt."

"If you walk into
somebody's office with your hair uncombed and a pick in the back, and
your shoes untied, and your pants half down, tattoos up and down your
arms and on your neck, and you wonder why somebody won't hire you? They
don't hire you 'cause you look like you're crazy," the mayor said. "You
have damaged your own race."

Mr. Nutter
announced that he was beefing up police patrols in certain
neighborhoods, enlisting volunteers to monitor the streets and moving up
the weekend curfew for minors to 9 p.m.

Parents will face increased fines for each time their child is caught violating the curfew.

The head of Philadelphia's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, J. Whyatt Mondesire, said it "took courage" for Mr. Nutter to deliver the message.

"These are majority African-American youths and they need to be called on it," Mr. Mondesire said.

Read more at the Washington Times

Moving: unpacking, waiting for the Angel of the Internet

We are in our new house. No permanent Internet connection yet. The first installer - Wild Blue - couldn't get a signal.  They suggested I call Hughes.  Hughes was supposed to come today, but postponed until NEXT THURSDAY because they said their equipment is on backorder, When I asked why the rep made the appointment in the first place, the woman said, "Oh, those people are paid to sell stuff, they don't know what's going on."

I'm not getting a good feeling about this. . .

I've been using Tripp's aircard and laptop from work to conduct business, so did not have the URL for my moveable type. Matt just switched the aircard so I am able to eke out something to let you know I am here and will be back to blogging normally (whatever that is) very soon.

I did manage to write my article for next week's Catholic Herald.  It is an amazing story - not saying that because of my writing but because of the story God had in mind with this move.  You won't believe the surprise ending.

I'm really sorry about not getting to the giveaways on time. I overestimated what I could accomplish.  I'm sure that happens to all of you too :)

The move has gone smoothly. We've had a lot of help from our older kids. Problems that presented themselves were solved in most cases. But Tripp and I are aching all over and there is still a lot to do.

Will write more soon. 

Perfection in the small things

I've been checking email today because at the last minute I listed a bunch of stuff at Craigslist - some for sale and some for free. Have met some interesting people and enjoyed thinking of some of our pieces of furniture going to new homes where they will be loved.

At one time we had 12 kids and 10 were still at home. Now we have 12 and 4 are at home, with two back and forth between home and college. It just makes sense to have less stuff to worry about.

It feels good. And it felt good to give away our well-loved leather couches on which we snuggled together for hundreds of movies - to two grad students who could hardly believe their good fortune. We are dropping the separate TV/family room and will watch movies in the living room from now on.

I love Craigslist! And consider it part of my Proverbs 31 resources.

Anyway, checking my email and Rachel sent me this - I relaxed just looking at it:

Beauty in every grain:
For the first time remarkable photographs reveal hidden charms of ordinary SAND

7th July 2011

Viewed at a magnification of over 250 times real life, tiny grains of sand are shown to be delicate, colourful structures as unique as snowflakes.

When seen well beyond the limits of human eyesight, the miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock.

Professor Gary Greenberg who has a PhD in biomedical research from University College London said: 'It is incredible to think when you are walking on the beach you are standing on these tiny treasures.

'Every time I look through my microscope I am fascinated by the complexity and individuality created by a combination of nature and the repeated tumbling of the surf on a beach.'

Prof Greenberg, who searches through thousands of tiny rocks with acupuncture needles to find and arrange the most perfect specimens, then uses a painstaking technique to create his images.

He has spent five years searching the globe for remarkable sand grains like these to photograph.

He said: 'Extreme close up photography normally gives a very shallow depth of field so I had to develop a new process to make the pictures that I wanted.

Read more - and see more pictures - at the Daily Mail

Things went well today. The truck is packed with the first load thanks to our sons, son-in-law and gradsons. Boxes courtesy Maddy and Sophia.

I will send off Jesse and Daniel to summer camp tomorrow morning, drop Justin at Tae Kwon Do camp, go to Leesburg to pick up the key at 8:30, then meet Tripp, the truck, my son Josh and his five employees (whom we hired for the day) to start the first unpacking.

Tonight will be the last night here. There's still a lot of work to be done - but I am feeling like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sen. Rubio's Commencement Address

So beautiful, pointing always to God:

C-SPAN Airs Senator Rubio's Commencement Address to Ave Maria Law School Graduates

HT: Anne

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: I'll Fly Away

For your listening pleasure :)

Gillian Welch: I'll Fly Away

Incredible guitar by David Rawlings - and don't you love the way Gillian begins as though she's persuading her guitar like a reluctant child?

Obama twitters debt, loses 40,000 followers

President Barack Obama takes debt battle to Twitter, loses more than 40,000 followers in one day
Read more at New York Daily News

NFP evangelical authors now divorced

This is disappointing news:

An Evolving View of Natural Family Planning

Josh Anderson for The New York Times

Bethany Patchin, 30, at home with her four children. When younger, Ms. Patchin saw contraception as contrary to God's will.

By MARK OPPENHEIMER

Published: July 8, 2011 In August 1999, Bethany Patchin, an 18-year-old college sophomore from Wisconsin, wrote in an article for Boundless,
an evangelical Web magazine, that Christians should not kiss before
marriage. Sam Torode, a 23-year-old Chicagoan, replied in a letter to
the editor that Ms. Patchin's piece could not help but "drive young
Christian men mad with desire."






The two began corresponding by e-mail, met in January 2000 and were
married that November. Nine months later, Ms. Torode (she took her
husband's name) gave birth to a son, Gideon. Over the next six years,
the Torodes had four more progeny: another son, two daughters and a
book, "Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception."

In "Open Embrace," the Torodes endorsed natural family planning
-- tracking a woman's ovulation and limiting intercourse to days when
she is not fertile -- but rejected all forms of artificial contraception,
including the pill and condoms. The book sold 7,000 copies after its
publication in 2002 and was celebrated in the anticontraception
movement, which remains largely Roman Catholic but has a growing
conservative Protestant wing. As young Protestants who conceived their
first child on their honeymoon, the Torodes made perfect evangelists.

That was then, this is now.

In 2006, the Torodes wrote on the Web that they no longer believed
natural family planning was the best method of birth control. They
divorced in 2009. Both now attend liberal churches. Ms. Patchin -- that
is her name once again -- now says she uses birth control, and she even
voted for Barack Obama for president.

"I was 19 when we got married," Ms. Patchin said by telephone from
Nashville, where she and her former husband live and share custody of
their four children. "And I was 20 when we had Gideon. My parents
weren't anti-birth-control; they were pretty middle-ground evangelicals.
So I kind of rebelled by being more conservative. That was my
identity."

Read more at The New York Times

Praying that the mom and dad will find it in their hearts to remarry for the sake of their children. And yes, that is a good reason to keep a marriage together, because it's really not all about us.