A Capitol afternoon

Q&A: Preserving Liberty

From Sarah H:

Being a youth under the voting age, I was wondering if you have any suggestions of ways we can help preserve our liberty? Prayer is definitely the most powerful, but do you have other ideas for just normal youth citizens?

I appreciated the advice from one of my readers: Study the constitution. Familiarize yourself with how the government works. Write letters.

So...where to start? I find that it is easy to have ideas and ambition, but too often it remains a lofty ideal -- and nothing ever happens. How does one break the big picture into little steps that actually make a difference?

An organization I am very excited about (and wish I'd gotten involved with in my teenage years!) is a division of HSLDA called "Generation Joshua." It was founded in 2003 by Mike Farris, Mike Smith, and the HSLDA Board of Trustees. It is designed for Christian youth between the ages of 11 and 19 with a goal to ignite a vision in young people to help America return to her foundations. They provide students with hands-on opportunities to implement that vision with online courses, GenJ clubs, and several other events.

Last weekend I worked a conference with Dan for HSLDA, and was so excited to have the opportunity to observe the Teen Tract that GenJ offered. I was very impressed with their leadership and how they got the youth excited to get involved.

To quote their website:

Generation Joshua exists to train this generation and equip them to posses the land and establish the principles began by the previous Moses Generation. Generation Joshua seeks to train the next generation of leaders by helping to elect godly leaders today...

As the Generation Joshua Program continues to grow, more conservative godly youth get involved in the political system making a real difference in our nation. The future of Generation Joshua will continue to be an exciting journey as the next generation shapes this nation and becomes tomorrow’s leaders.

Are any of you actively involved in preserving liberty in your local area? Have you written letters; made phone calls? Do you have stories, ideas, or advice that you could share with us?

Simple pleasures

On the lighter side

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form called a 'gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks causes throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

As to whether these are all really true or not, DigTriad contacted UPS to ask. "We were surprised by the answer. Even UPS doesn't know if it's Fact or Fiction. The spokesperson did tell us, even UPS employees find it entertaining, but the one thing they do not joke about is safety. The company has not been able to verify the authenticity of the notes."

Freedom

...is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought.

-Abraham Lincoln

It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to emplore His protection and favor.

George Washington

Let the American youth never forget that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence.

Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833

Pink

My camera has been slightly neglected lately, so to remedy that I ran around the house this afternoon, trying to find as many pink things as I could...

my iPod

a scarf that Susanna made for me!

perfume

(that I wore for my first date --

and my wedding day!)

my baby book

a daisy

odds n' ends

letter from little sisters

a candle

Q&A: Coupons

I always enjoy your comments and hearing from you, my readers, and apologize that I've been so lax at answering your questions! So -- in hopes to do better -- I'm going to try blogging a series of "Q&A's". I'll be covering very random topics, but I do hope ya'll will throw your two cents in as well! I welcome your thoughts and questions as I know I can learn a lot from you, too. [smile]

from Addie:

We are wondering where you get your coupons. Do you get them out of a paper or off the internet?

I get most of my coupons off the internet. The main sources are:

Coupons.com :: SmartSource :: RedPlum

I also get a few from the newspaper, though that is hit and miss as I do not have a weekly subscription. For more ideas on acquiring coupons, check out Crystal's post here. Also, many food brands will release coupons on their own website for certain items. I follow several couponing blogs and between them all, most online coupons get covered! There are a lot of coupons out there for food/products I will never use. But there's also that happy moment when I discover one that enables me to get olives for 49 cents a can...or one of my favorite shampoo/conditioners for 66 cents.

For those of you who have so much more experience than I,

what is your favorite source for coupons?