Studying The Civil War!

I am studying the Civil War with my youngest son and I am loving it. National Geographic's Atlas of the Civil War is an excellent, comprehensive book that covers every detail of the Civil War. It has excellent time lines for each year of the war.


The Civil War documentary by Ken Burns is wonderful. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. I had numerous people recommend it to me and it is regarded as one of the best documentaries of all time.


Fields of Fury does a great job of highlighting the important battles and people of the Civil War.


The Civil War for Kids was one of several craft books that I got to do activities with my son. One of the things we are doing is making a Civil War alphabet book.


The Long Road to Gettysburg is an audio book telling about the events leading up to Gettysburg through the eyes of a Confederate and a Union soldier.

September 11th --May We Never Forget!!

~~Giuliani's 9/11

~~History Channel's specials on 9/11

Who Doesn't Miss George W. Bush??

I'm listening to Mary Beth Brown's book, Hand of Providence on CD right now. It is about Ronald Reagan's faith.


Brown does a wonderful job, and at the beginning of the book she plays several of the eulogies that were given at Reagan's funeral. I was struck by how moving George W. Bush's words were in his speech. Below are some excerpts from that eulogy:

The qualities all of us have seen in Ronald Reagan were first spotted 70 and 80 years ago. As the lifeguard in Lowell Park, he was the protector, keeping an eye out for trouble.

As a sports announcer on the radio, he was the friendly voice that made you see the game as he did.

As an actor he was the handsome all-American good guy, which in his case required knowing his lines and being himself.

Along the way certain convictions were formed and fixed in we should strive to know and do the will of God. He believed that the gentleman always does the kindest thing. He believed that people were basically good and had the right to be free. He believed that bigotry and prejudice were the worst things a person could be guilty of. He believed in the golden rule and in the power of prayer. He believed that America was not just a place in the world, but the hope of the world.

And he believed in taking a break now and then, because, as we said, there's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.

Ronald Reagan spent decades in the film industry and in politics, fields known on occasion to change a man. But not this man. From Dixon to Des Moines to Hollywood to Sacramento to Washington, D.C., all who met him remembered the same sincere, honest, upright fellow.

Ronald Reagan's deepest beliefs never had much to do with fashion or convenience. His convictions were always politely stated, affably argued, and as firm and straight as the columns of this cathedral.
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The clarity and intensity of Ronald Reagan's convictions led to speaking engagements around the country, and a new following he did not seek or expect.

He often began his speeches by saying, "I'm going to talk about controversial things." And then he spoke of communist rulers as slave masters, of a government in Washington that had far overstepped its proper limits, of a time for choosing that was drawing near.

In the space of a few years, he took ideas and principles that were mainly found in journals and books and turned them into a broad, hopeful movement ready to govern.

As soon as Ronald Reagan became California's governor, observers saw a star in the west, tanned, well-tailored, in command and on his way. In the 1960s his friend Bill Buckley wrote, "Reagan is indisputably a part of America and he may become a part of American history."

Ronald Reagan's moment arrived in 1980. He came out ahead of some very good men, including one from Plains and one from Houston. What followed was one of the decisive decades of the century as the convictions that shaped the president began to shape the times.

He came to office with great hopes for America. And more than hopes. Like the president he had revered and once saw in person, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan matched an optimistic temperament with bold, persistent action.

President Reagan was optimistic about the great promise of economic reform, and he acted to restore the rewards and spirit of enterprise. He was optimistic that a strong America could advance the peace, and he acted to build the strength that mission required.

He was optimistic that liberty would thrive wherever it was planted, and he acted to defend liberty wherever it was threatened.

And Ronald Reagan believed in the power of truth in the conduct of world affairs. When he saw evil camped across the horizon he called that evil by its name.

There were no doubters in the prisons and gulags, where dissidents spread the news, tapping to each other in code what the American president had dared to say. There were no doubters in the shipyards and churches and secret labor meetings where brave men and women began to hear the creaking and rumbling of a collapsing empire. And there were no doubters among those who swung hammers at the hated wall that the first and hardest blow had been struck by President Ronald Reagan.

The ideology he opposed throughout his political life insisted that history was moved by impersonal tides and unalterable fates. Ronald Reagan believed instead in the courage and triumph of free men and we believe it all the more because we saw that courage in him.

As he showed what a president should be, he also showed us what a man should be.

Ronald Reagan carried himself, even in the most powerful office, with the decency and attention to small kindnesses that also define a good life.

He was a courtly, gentle and considerate man, never known to slight or embarrass others.

Many people across the country cherish letters he wrote in his own hand to family members on important occasions, to old friends dealing with sickness and loss, to strangers with questions about his days in Hollywood.
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See, our 40th president wore his title lightly, and it fit like a white Stetson.

In the end, through his belief in our country and his love for our country, he became an enduring symbol of our country.

We think of the steady stride, that tilt of the head and snap of the salute, the big screen smile, and the glint in his Irish eyes when a story came to mind.

We think of a man advancing in years with the sweetness and sincerity of a scout saying the pledge. We think of that grave expression that sometimes came over his face, the seriousness of a man angered by injustice and frightened by nothing.

We know, as he always said, that America's best days are ahead of us. But with Ronald Reagan's passing, some very fine days are behind us. And that is worth our tears.

Americans saw death approach Ronald Reagan twice in a moment of violence and then in the years of departing light. He met both with courage and grace. In these trials, he showed how a man so enchanted by life can be at peace with life's end.

And where does that strength come from? Where is that courage learned? It is the faith of a boy who read the Bible with his mom. It is the faith of a man lying in an operating room who prayed for the one who shot him before he prayed for himself. It is the faith of a man with a fearful illness who waited on the Lord to call him home.

Now death has done all that death can do, and as Ronald Wilson Reagan goes his way, we are left with the joyful hope he shared.

In his last years he saw through a glass darkly. Now he sees his savior face to face.

And we look for that fine day when we will see him again, all weariness gone, clear of mind, strong and sure and smiling again, and the sorrow of this parting gone forever.

May God bless Ronald Reagan and the country he loved.

Yet, its not just me that misses Bush. The military misses him too! As is seen in the pictures above (a friend of a friend was actually there and took them), when he made a surprise visit to the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport last month.

And, in bizarro news, there are apparently LIBERALS WHO MISS BUSH!! Plus, Joe Biden is giving Bush some credit for the war on terror. There must be something in the water.

My 2010 Book List So Far...Part 2

I visited Reagan's Boyhood home and Eisenhower's home and Museum this summer. So, it worked out well that I was in the middle of reading the above book on Eisenhower. I also bought a book on First Ladies at one of the gift shops, and found out some fun things about Mamie Eisenhower. When she was First Lady she conducted morning business meetings from her bed, and she halted whatever she was doing each day to watch her favorite soap opera (of course, there was no DVR back then ;-))!

Below I have updated my list. The titles in blue are the ones that I've read since the last post.

Here are the books that I have read so far:

1) Going Rogue: An American Life~~Sarah Palin
2) 365 Ways to Live Cheap!~~Trent Hamm
3) Sarah~~Kaylene Johnson
4) Margaret Thatcher, Britain's "Iron Lady"~~Doris Faber
5) Madam Prime Minister~~Libby Huges
6) Margaret Thatcher~~Bernard Garfinkel
7) Praying God's Word~~Beth Moore
8) Finding Peace in Life's Storms~~Charles Spurgeon
9) I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced~~Nujood Ali w/Delphine Minoui
10) The Girl Friend's Bible~~Cathy Hamilton
11) Wit and Wisdom of the American Presidents~~Joslyn Pine
12) Our Presidents...At a Glance~~Rolf Benj. Vinmont
13) Clarence Thomas~~Vicki Cox
14) Uncle Bert~~Hulda Hoover McLean
15) The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life~~Charles Spurgeon
16) The First World War~~Paul Dowswell
17) Tad Lincoln~~John D. Weaver
18) Uncharted Territori~~Tori Spelling
19) The Official Record of the Oklahoma City Bombing~~Oklahoma Today
20) Finger Lickin Fifteen~~Janet Evanovich
21) A Pictorial Biography Ike~~William F. Longgood
22) Women in the First World War~~Neil Storey and Molly Housego
23) First Ladies of the White House~~Nancy Skarmeas
24) Plum Spooky~~Janet Evanovich

Here are the books on CD that I've listened too:

1) Feminist Fantasies~~Phyllis Schafly
2) Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family~~Lynne Cheney

Previously:
Book List 1

Two Weeks in Review!!

I have been to Dixon and Aurora, Illinois, Out-in-the-Boonies, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri in the past 2 weeks! As a result, I've ignored my blog and have a lot to catch up on.

--The pictures above show me at Ronald Reagan's Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois! The one is of me with a cardboard cutout of Reagan (obviously). Several people thought my picture of Sarah Palin and I was a cardboard cutout, so I took this one to show people what it does look like ;-)!!

What I missed reporting on:

~~Ecstatic about Proposition C passing by 71%

~~Bummed about the outcome of the Clay County Auditor Race

~~An interesting perspective on the 34th District Senate Race

~~More on the Iranian Woman Stoning Case
Shocker!! She was tortured before her "tv confession". What has been done to this woman and what continues to be done to women all over Iran is reprehensible. We as women from free countries need to start speaking up for our sisters who have no freedoms.

~~Obama shocks no one by supporting a controversial Islam Center near 9/11 site
Sickening!! After seeing the OKC bombing memorial I can't imagine having something to celebrate the likes of Timothy McVeigh close by. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Yet, in his classic decisive nature, he then backtracks his support. What a leader we have, what a man of solid convictions...... I guess he gets a little weak spined when he sees that 2/3rds of the American people don't support something.

Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Museum!

Freedom from fear and injustice and oppression will be ours only in the measure that men who value such freedom are ready to sustain its possession-to defend against every thrust from within and without.--President Dwight D. Eisenhower

I thoroughly enjoyed the Eisenhower Museum. It was well done and I added to my history knowledge.

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Museum!

Americans will come here and be better people for having walked through the Memorial Museum.--President George W. Bush on February 19, 2001, dedication of Memorial Museum

We will never forget. One hundred sixty-eight lives were lost that bright, sunny morning more than nine years ago. Children lost moms and dads; brothers lost sisters; mothers and fathers lost innocent, irreplaceable children, including unborn children.

We will not forget because, in this nation, we are dedicated to the fundamental belief that every life is precious. We remember the achievements, the dreams, and the potential of those who were lost. And it is because we hold every life precious that this nation will never bow to terror.--Attorney General John Ashcroft, on May 3, 2004, dedication of Federal Building

I took a short trip to Oklahoma this past week and was able to go to the OKC Bombing Memorial. I, like anyone else that was alive at the time, remember exactly where I was at the time it happened. I was a new Mom at home and my husband called me and told me to turn on the TV.

Yet, this was before I became a political/current events junkie, so I didn't pay much attention to the details. As a result, I learned a lot going through the museum, as did my 14 year old son who was with me.

I was amazed at several things:

--168 people died
--That more than 300 buildings were damaged or destroyed
--850 people were injured
--How quickly they were on the trail of Timothy McVeigh

The Survivor Tree
This 90 year old American Elm survived the bombing, and is therefore now called the Survivor Tree.


This message was spray painted on the wall of the Journal Record Building by a team of rescue workers.


I bought the above book, The Official Record of the Oklahoma City Bombing and I'm already half way through it. It is a great, detailed account of what happened with plenty of pictures and short biographies of each of the 168 people who lost their lives.

Iranian Woman's Possible Stoning Finally Sparks Worldwide Outrage!

So many women don't have basic human rights in the Middle East. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's story is just one of many women who face executions for crimes they don't even commit. After international pressure, the Iranian embassy is now saying that Ashtiani won't be stoned. Yet, reports had been out that she had been convicted of adultery and had been sentenced to death by stoning.

Sean Hannity and scores of others were speaking out, while noticing Obama's silence. Nevertheless, this time it appears enough may have spoken up.

Yet, it doesn't touch the problem that millions of women face all over the Middle East. Since, I am doing research on women this year, I have been reading about just such women. Over the next week I will be touching on some of the very stories that have popped up recently dealing with the plights of some of these women:

~~I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
~~U.S. Journalist Roxana Saberi Finally Freed from Iranian Prison!
~~The Stoning of Soraya M.

Governor Sarah Palin and I!!

I got my picture taken with Governor Palin at the Winning America Back Conference back on May 1st and we finally got the pictures. I liked the picture, except next to Sarah I kind of looked like a pale Cullen vampire ;-)!

Related:
~~Tammy Bruce's Sarah Palin Interview
~~Draft Sarah For RNC Chair

Happy Independence Day!!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (and women ;-)) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happines!!~~Thomas Jefferson

God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood, always brings tears to my eyes. A great song about our great country.


John Stossel had a great show on Fox last night entitled, What's Great About America. It reminds us of why we can be so proud of our country.

Previously:
~~2006 Independence Day
~~2007 Independence Day
~~2009 Independence Day