There's Still Time To Act. What Are You Waiting For?

Don't believe Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi when you hear them saying they've got the votes to pass their monstrosity of a health care reform bill.

This fight is NOT over.

At this very moment, targeted Democrats in the House of Representatives are sweating bullets, trying to decide how they're going to vote this weekend.

They've been reading polls like this one -- polls that prove to them that in their very own districts, their constituents are opposed to a government takeover of health care.

They've been on the receiving end of millions of dollars of advertisements from the special interests.

As of Friday afternoon, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are still several votes short.

You still have time to make your views known, and make your voice heard.

And don't think that just because you've called YOUR Member of Congress and let him or her know what you think, your work is through.

The vote of a Congressman in Pennsylvania or a Congresswoman in Ohio WILL impact your life, and our nation's future, no matter WHERE you live.

So call them. Call ALL of them on the target list below.

Call their district offices first, then call their Capitol Hill offices.

Be polite, but be firm. Ask them to please vote to kill the bill.

Send them back to the drawing board, to put together health care reform we can ALL support.

Because there's NO interest more special than YOURS.

Call These Congressmen and Congresswomen TODAY:

Many of you will want to check this out this weekend - free access through Sunday!

 I Dear Barbara,

I wanted to let you know that this coming weekend (March 19-21), we're going to open up Care.com for a Free Weekend of access. This is only the second time we've ever done this, and we're doing it to raise awareness for National Family Caregiver Month while giving families the chance to meet great, local care providers and screen lists of backup caregivers.

During the coming Free Weekend, all visitors to Care.com will get to experience the benefits of a premium membership to our service. Families can see full profiles for nearby care providers, contact them directly to set up interviews, check references, and request background checks for free!

I thought you'd be interested in a little advance notice of the Care.com Free Weekend. I'd love to have you check out Care.com and see the great babysitters, nannies, senior caregivers, special needs care providers, tutors, pet sitters, and housekeepers we have on our service!

If you have any questions, just let me know! I'd be happy to help.

Thanks for your time,

Cheers,

The Care.com Team

Here is something Dottie sent me this morning:

How old is Grandpa?

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.

The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandfather replied, 'Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

' television

' penicillin

' polio shots

' frozen foods

' Xerox

' contact lenses

' Frisbees and

' the pill

There were no:

' credit cards

' laser beams or

' ball-point pens

Man had not invented:

' pantyhose

' air conditioners

' dishwashers

' clothes dryers

' and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and

' man hadn't yet walked on the moon

Your Grandmother and I got married first, and then lived together..

Every family had a father and a mother.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'.
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.'

We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.

We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios..

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, .. .. but who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:

' 'grass' was mowed,

' 'coke' was a cold drink,

' 'pot' was something your mother cooked in and

' 'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby.

' 'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office,

' ' chip' meant a piece of wood,

' 'hardware' was found in a hardware store and

' 'software' wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.

No wonder people call us 'old and confused' and say there is a generation gap . . and how old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old person in mind....you are in for a shock!

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
Are you ready ?

This person would be only 59 years old.

I use Constant Contact, a professional service that means your information is secure and will not be shared with anyone.Also, if you did enjoy your newsletter, please forward it to others it might be useful to!

Did you know that some of your everyday kitchen cabinet and garden staples are used around the world to maintain good health?  For centuries, people have turned to botanicals to help them stay healthy.  Consider using some of these common household herbs--either in foods or in dietary supplements--in combination with other wellness practices to maintain optimal health:

	Cayenne: This well-known spice can do more than heat up your favorite foods. Cayenne is known for its stimulating and warming effects, and it is why traditionally it has been used to promote heart and circulatory health. Various topical preparations of capsicum, a resin found in cayenne, are used globally as a topical aid that helps with inflammation and pain.
	Chamomile: You probably know chamomile tea as something tasty you sip with your Grandmother. Chamomile has been used for thousands of years for digestive upsets, heartburn and even headaches. Known for centuries to have a calming effect, try a little chamomile at the end of a stressful day.
	Cinnamon: A favorite spice used in sweets, pastries and beverages, some science has suggested that cinnamon helps maintain a healthy blood sugar level in the body. Cinnamon also warms the body, and has been used to aid colds, cramps and abdominal pains.
	Cranberry: Who knew this Thanksgiving staple had major health benefits? Many scientific studies have suggested that cranberry helps maintain a healthy urinary tract because it prevents certain bacteria from adhering to bladder walls.
	Garlic: Popular Italian recipe staple, aphrodisiac, vampire repellant...creative uses for garlic have spanned centuries. But garlic has also been tapped for many health measures--most noticeably for sustaining cardiovascular health and preserving healthy blood pressure.
	Ginger: Mom's favorite remedy when you were suffering from a stomachache as a kid. And she was on to something. Several studies have shown that ginger can potentially benefit many forms of nausea, from a simple upset stomach to morning sickness. Recent scientific studies have even shown ginger to help with nausea associated with the side effects of chemotherapy, surgery recovery, and motion sickness.
	Lavender: This lovely spring flower can provide more than just a picturesque garden. Because of its calming effects, lavender is also a well-known sleep aid, and has been used traditionally for calming anxiety, stress, tension and relaxing muscle spasms.
	Mint: Mint tea, mint chocolate chip, mint julep...this potted plant favorite has long been added to everything from treats to beverages to toothpaste. Not only is it refreshing and pleasing to the palate, mint, especially peppermint, can also aid in digestion and help prevent indigestion. An upset stomach can be due to muscle spasms in the digestive tract that cause discomfort, and chemicals found in mint can help relax these muscles.
	Rosemary: Another popular potted spice, rosemary also contains natural antioxidants that shield the body from the harmful effects of free radicals. Antioxidants found in rosemary, such as carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, are even added to oils to preserve freshness by protecting them from free-radical oxidation.
	Turmeric: Though you may know it more as curry, turmeric has many traditional uses. Tumeric has been utilized as a spice, medicine, cosmetic ingredient, and as a dye. Recent scientific evidence indicates that a chemical found in turmeric--curcumin--may have significant anti-inflammatory properties. Scientists are interested in the health benefits of tumeric and are exploring ways it may benefit individuals with chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and tendonitis.

MICHAEL PEARL ON CBS EARLY SHOW

This Thursday March 18, 2010, Michael Pearl will be interviewed live on CBS's The Early Show and given the chance to answer critics.

The Show airs from 7:00 - 8:00 am EST and the interview will be at approximately 7:30 am. It is requested that the interview be covered in prayer:

"Please pray for Michael as he prays and prepares for this interview that God will give him clarity of mind and spirit to answer wisely all the questions that are put to him. Also pray that the report and the interviewer will be honest and fair. Inform your family, friends, and fellow believers and encourage them to pray also. Thank you in advance for your diligence in prayer and support.

Your fellow servants in the Lord Jesus Christ,

The NGJ Staff."

HT: Becky

And for some reason, this also landed in my Inbox this morning: Teach your dog to surf: Training tips and video from Ricochet's owner.

Barbara -

Jonny went to the assessment center with me today because we are behind in the school's shredding.

There are these little qualities about Jonny that are so great...we had to empty the bag a few times (they get big and heavy!) -- he insists carrying the full ones to the door to help the custodian take it out later.

Yesterday Mr. L told me that Jonny saw him in the lunch line (with crutches because he just got back from his surgery) and Jonny jumped up from his table to help him go through the line...he was very touched. These little intangibles (which are actually big things) make him so dear.

Do you know how much it means to hear that your child has real compassion? Ironically, many people would see Jonny - and his family - as victims .

Peter Singer, animal rights activist and bioethicist at Princeton - would even have the government give parents like us 30 days after birth to terminate his life.

But hooray for Jonny - who really "gets it" about what life is all about!

See also: About that Extra chromosome. . . .Down syndrome rocks!

Barack Obama threatens to withdraw support from wavering Democrats

Barack Obama has said he will not campaign for any Democratic congressmen who fails to support health care reform.

 

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Published: 6:44PM GMT 15 Mar 2010

Barack Obama is battling to save US health care reform Photo: EPA

The president will refuse to make fund-raising visits during November elections to any district whose representative has not backed the bill.

A one-night presidential appearance can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds which would otherwise take months to accumulate through cold-calling by campaign volunteers.

Mr Obama's threat came as the year-long debate over his signature domestic policy entered its final week.

Mr Obama is personally telephoning congressmen who are still on the fence this week, in between several personal appearances devoted toward swinging public opinion.

Read more at the UK Telegraph

What this refers to is Montessori's theory (based on her research and work with children) that the child's sensitive periods for learning all occur before the age of six. Whatever the child is exposed to at that time provides a foundation for joyful learning later in childhood and all their lives.

What this means for us as parents is that we face a challenge: do we simply teach children what we know about or do we expand our own horizons so that we can give them a bigger world than we grew up with ourselves? This is very dear to my heart, as coming from a culturally-deprived background I made an early decision to continue growing - particularly in the area of the arts - so as to give my children a richer foundation.

That was 40 years ago and today I can attest to the fact that enriching your children's early experience with art, music, film and theater will give them a broader outlook and help them make better choices.

In the area of music, I believe it was my children's exposure to all kinds of music - not just the kind I listened to when I was younger - that revealed their own God-given gifts (I have a few who are singers) but also gave them an ability to make good choices as teens - not becoming bogged down in rap, soft porn and broken heart wailing, but opting for Indie, sacred music, classic rock, Broadway, classical - and even opera.

Part of this enriched musical environment may mean ratcheting up your own choices. I had never heard an opera until I was in my late 20's. Now I can appreciate many with my grown-up children and understand how a shared appreciation like this enriches not just our individual souls but our family bonds.

If this idea resonates with you, here is a collection of possibilities - all geared specifically to children - but remember, they can be surrounded with the grown-up stuff too:

March 16, 2010

Sebelius Asks Media to Censor Autism Debate

By Katie Wright

"There are groups out there that insist that vaccines are responsible for a variety of problems, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. We (the office of Secretary of Health and Human Services) have reached out to media outlets to try to get them not to give the views of these people equal weight in their reporting."

That's right. Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of HHS, has asked newspapers, magazines, television journalists, who knows who else- specifically NOT to listen to parents and scientists in the autism community, not to respect their concerns, not to take seriously the condition of chronically ill children with autism and to disregard a growing body of evidence questioning the safety of our infant and toddlers' immunization schedule. If I have got anything wrong I would love to hear a tape or see a transcripts of these media "outreaches."

Read more at Age of Autism

Raymond Arroyo was discussing this painting on the Laura Ingraham Show the other day. Laura is a conservative talk show host who was brought up Baptist but is now Catholic. While she's passionate about politics, she devotes a fair amount of her show to analyzing the culture from a specifically Christian/Catholic point of view and devoting much time to subjects like prayer. You can check to see if her show is broadcast in your area at LauraIngraham.com.

The Angelus is by Millet, circa 1857:

The Angelus: an artistic rendering

The Angelus is a prayer practice rich in doctrine and devotion. This practice commemorates the mystery of the Incarnation by reciting certain versicles and responses with three Hail Marys and a special concluding prayer. It used to be recited morning, noon and evening. The church bells rang--three tolls for each of the invocations and nine for the concluding prayer.

The Angelus traces its beginnings to the thirteenth century. . .

Although the origin of the Angelus is obscure, it is certain that the morning, midday and evening Angelus did not develop simultaneously. By the sixteenth century the various customs were unified. The morning prayer was recited to commemorate Christ's resurrection; at noon, Christ's passion; and in the evening to recall the Incarnation, since St. Bonaventure taught that the angel's visit to Mary came at evening. . .

There is a renowned painting by Jean-Francois Millet entitled the Angelus. It depicts a man and a woman standing in a field. They are farmers. He holds his cap reverently as he stands with bowed head, and she in a white cap and long blue apron over her dress clasps her hands as a prayerful look sets her face. They pause in prayer near the end of the work day. At the woman's feet is a basket of potatoes, and at her far side rests a wheelbarrow full of empty sacks. At the side of the man is a pitchfork spiked upright in the ground. The breaking clouds are blushed with light as birds flit in the twilight. The viewer can almost hear the bells ringing in the spire of the church in the distant right of the painting.

The artist, Jean-Francois Millet, was born in 1814 in Gruchy, a hamlet ten miles west of Cherbourg in northwest France. This inland area off the rugged coast was a countryside of undulating downs beyond the moors.

Jean-Louis, the painter's father, possessed real artistic talent, though all his life was spent tilling the fields. He loved music and directed the village choir, he studied the forms of trees and plants and he modeled in clay when time permitted.

Jean-Francois absorbed his father's appreciation of beauty and art. In his father he found an exemplar to emulate. Jean-Francois also was impressed by his parent's piety and devotion.

As a boy, Jean-Francois traced prints from the family Bible and then tried freehand. From the beginning his parents and the parish priests recognized that he was extraordinary. The priests were careful to educate him the best they could in mythology, Greek, Latin and in translation, Shakespeare, Milton and Burns. All this time Jean-Francois was at home working on the family farm. He became a man of culture with the heart of a peasant. Later he declared of himself, "A peasant I was born and a peasant I will die."

His parents and the villagers commented favorably on his work. His father realized that he must go to Cherbourg to study art. At this point began Jean-Francois' lifelong work as an artist. Later in Paris he fine-tuned his painting skills for twelve years. Because he disliked Paris and city life, he was delighted to return to the country. Barbizon became his home until the time of his death in 1875. It was in 1859 that Jean-Francois Millet painted The Angelus. Vivid were his memories of the Angelus bell ringing while peasants were still working at twilight. Often he had seen his father standing, bare-headed, cap in hand, and his mother with bowed head and folded hands at the sound of the evening Angelus bell.

Millet recorded that impression to show the quiet peace of twilight, the rosy glow of sunset engulfing the fields, the church bells filling the evening air, and the devout attitude of the peasants. Surely he succeeded. When his agent, Sensier, first saw the picture on Millet's easel, the painter turned to him and asked, "Well, what do you think of it?"

"It is the Angelus," replied Sensier. "Yes," Millet said with satisfaction. "Can you hear the bells?"

Millet believed he had painted a great picture, but his genius was not recognized and acknowledged until after his death. In 1889, fourteen years after his death, Millet's painting of The Angelus was put up for auction. The person who had bought the painting from Millet had died. Eventually, The Angelus found its way into the Louvre Museum in Paris.

This text was adapted by Fr Johann G. Roten, SM from an article written by Brother John M. Samaha, SM.

How to pray the Angelus (nonCatholics, please keep in mind that the first half of the Hail Mary is straight from Scripture. They are the words the Angel Gabriel - God's messenger - used to address the Virgin Mary. Can it really be wrong to acknowledge Mary's obedience and her role in bringing forth the Savior - which was prophesied in Genesis - by echoing that God-given greeting? Just wondering aloud.)

This painting can be a great reminder to us during our own busy days to stop for a moment of prayer. Available at art.com

Angelus Buy From Art.com