[1] If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. [2] And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. [3] And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. [4] Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; [5] Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; (more…)

(Boston) The head of the state’s beleaguered health insurance marketplace, which was once a national model, broke down in tears Thursday, as she described how demoralizing it has been for her staff to struggle with a broken website that has left an unknown number of people without coverage.

Jean Yang, the executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, wept at a board meeting, where it was disclosed that 50,000 applications for health insurance are sitting in a pile, and have yet to be entered into a computer system.

Each one of those applications requires two hours to process, adding to a mountain of work facing Connector staff as they scramble to prevent people from losing insurance, officials said.

“These people came here to lead and innovate, and instead they’re doing manual workarounds, and they are embarrassed to tell friends and family that they work for the Health Connector,” Yang said at the board meeting. […] (more…)

The link I clicked on to get to this survey asked How Liberal Are You? For once, I decided to take this quiz, after passing over such titillating offerings as finding out which rock band I am, or what fruit I resemble, or even which breed of dog I am. Tempting, but what if I come out a Golden Doodle? Better not to know. I assume since I agree with Republicans 97%, Libertarians 66%, not so much, but pride goeth before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Alas, I actually agree with Democrats 9%, the Green Party 5% and Socialists 1%.

The neat thing is you can click on each result to find out why, thus I found out that I adamantly dispute that socialist result. It was an error. The Democrat result was strangely confusing and not explained well, but apparently they favor term limits? And they are not in favor of the government “regulating” the internet. I got the Green Party (meh, who cares?) results for the same reasons as the Democrats, plus evolution.

Anyhow, here’s the link, if you are of a mind to test your political outlook. Personally, I think a Liberal/Conservative quiz would be more accurate and interesting, and I may go looking for one.

Take the quiz and see which political party you side with

Excellent, excellent, excellent!  From Doug Ross at

https://directorblue.blogspot.com/2014/02/stuff-bush-didnt-do-illustrated.html

He said we should distribute it to our progressive “friends”.  Just helping to get the word out.

In 2012 this happened:

Update ST CLOUD – MINNESOTA – A Stearns County judge sentenced 18-year-old Jesse Smithers to 10 years on Thursday. Smithers admitted to delivering the deadly punch in a St. Cloud alley almost a year and a half ago.

On Sept. 21, 2012, Colton Gleason was walking with friends when a car pulled up, and Smithers got out and punched him. Colton died after falling and hitting his head.

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9813074

His father, John Gleason, says the pain, bitterness and hurt his family feels did not go away with the sentencing of the man responsible for his son’s death. (more…)

Sorting through some old papers I had stashed away, today I came upon this story I had printed out from an email I received on October 11, 2004.

The original source for the story is the book Keep A Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot, published in 1995. It became attributed to Josh and Karen Zarandona when they passed it on in an email. Supposedly, the original story came to Ms. Elliot from a Brenda Foltz, of Minnesota. I found the story just as thought provoking as I did in October of 2004.

I really wish that I were writing this story as an illustration of a moment and a revelation that changed my life. Unfortunately, having a penchant for truth, I’ll confess that did not happen. I wish it had.

Sometimes I need to be reminded – over and over – of the lessons I need to learn in life. I share this with you in that spirit. I suppose most of you may have seen this in the past, but perhaps a few of you, like me, could enjoy it again. (more…)

“No my friend, you don’t sell this stuff to me.  You sell this to the people who don’t have self-respect and self-determination,  and they are weak,  and they love to be subjugated and to be dependent on the government.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbEV5xcoZiA

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

I Miss Grown-Ups !…

The United States State Dept. apparatus, meaning the entire construct of the foreign policy unit of the U.S. administration, has been spiraling downward for several years.   However, the slope of the declining maturity and actual effectiveness is now exponential.

From 2009 when Hillary Clinton managed to drive the unprofessional standards, culminating in a global apology tour from WikiLeaks publication of high-school type communication about international leaders; to the insufferable immaturity of the hipster Occupy-Type ideologues who staff the podium at the press briefings, this entire State Dept is fraught with inept immaturity top to bottom.   Now this….    

EGYPT – An Egyptian employee of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has been detained by local authorities for nearly three weeks without charges, an embassy official said Wednesday.

Ahmed Aleiba, an Egyptian citizen who works at the embassy, was arrested on January 25, the third anniversary of the uprising that deposed former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Moufid Deak, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, said. (more…)