Bibles and Scythes

I've been reading To Hell or Barbados: The ethnic cleansing of Ireland by Sean O'Callaghan since I got it for Christmas. The book details Oliver Cromwell's campaign against the Irish during the English Civil War. It also explores the fate of the Irish who were shipped to the Americas, often to live out their lives as little more than slaves. Having learned a bit about Oliver Cromwell it was easy to see why upon the restoration of the monarchy Cromwell's body was dug up, having died and been succeeded as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth (a position which sounds suspiciously like a king from the descriptions I've read) by his son before then, to be hanged in chains and then beheaded with his head displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall.

But back to O'Callaghan's book. One of the first passages that really stuck out for me in the book was the following:

"In all the parliamentary army numbered 20,000 men. They were all trained soldiers, well equipped with an abundant supply of military stores, and more important still, with four big siege guns which could batter the walls of the most heavily fortified towns. He also brought with him an immense store of Bibles and, lastly, a quantity of scythes to cut down the crops which would provide sustenance to the Irish."

Emphasis added.
That last made me wonder if Cromwell had intended for his army to beat to death with those Bibles any who survived the sieges, the battles, and the famine.

See it didn't hurt at all.

Apparently at some point while I was out frolicking in the sunshine President Obama decided it was finally time to let the world see his birth certificate. Well good for you sir. I haven't seen it myself and I'm not going to go looking for it never having been interested in the birther business. Nonetheless, why do I feel like I do when I have to talk my toddler into wearing her coat in the winter?

Autism Awareness Month

Before the whole thing is over and everyone goes back to being unaware I thought I'd share my take away message for autism awareness month and life in general.

Don't ever let anyone ever tell you that there is little or no hope.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. Sunshine. It's amazing how much that great big ball of exploding gas way out there in space can affect one's mood.
2. Green. Especially the green of grass just coming to life after a long winter.
3. Grubbing in the dirt. I'd probably starve if I had to actually make a living as a farmer but it's nice to poke around in the garden.

What are you thankful for?

The more things change...

I've been reading Life in a Medieval Village by Frances Gies and Joseph Gies. Apparently back then villagers had to pay their lord a fee for living in the village and farm on the lord's land. A reasonable enough arrangement. But if you moved away from the village you had to pay the lord a yearly fee for doing so. That just rubs my modern sensibilities the wrong way. Not long after reading that historical tidbit I read the following and thought, the more things change the more they stay the same:

What Happens When Cars Use Less Gas?
Drivers of electric cars may have left the gas pump behind, but there's one expense they may not be able to shake: paying to maintain the roads.

After years of urging residents to buy fuel-efficient cars and giving them tax breaks to do it, Washington state lawmakers are considering a measure to charge them a $100 annual fee — what would be the nation's first electric car fee.

State lawmakers grappling with a $5 billion deficit are facing declining gas tax revenue, which means less money to maintain or improve roads.

The lord of the manor gets his pound of flesh one way or another. This is why municipalities all over the country have hiked the charges for water use, loss of revenue from all of those highly efficient water using appliances that we've been urged to buy all these years.

Hat tip to the Blogfather.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

1. Light, in every sense and meaning of the word.
2. Grace.
3. Mercy.
4. Forgiveness.
5. Redemption.
6. The unending, uncompromising, unconditional, all encompassing love that made it all possible.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

• The Solid Rock
  My hope is built on nothing less
  Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
  I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
  But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
  
  Refrain:
  On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
  All other ground is sinking sand,
  All other ground is sinking sand.
  
  When darkness veils His lovely face,
  I rest on His unchanging grace;
  In every high and stormy gale,
  My anchor holds within the veil.
  
  His oath, His covenant, His blood
  Support me in the whelming flood;
  When all around my soul gives way,
  He then is all my hope and stay.
  
  When He shall come with trumpet sound,
  Oh, may I then in Him be found;
  Dressed in His righteousness alone,
  Faultless to stand before the throne.
  
  My hope is built on nothing less
  Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
  ’Midst all the hell I feel within,
  On His completed work I lean.
  
  I trust His righteous character
  His council, promise, and His power;
  His honor and His name’s at stake,
  To save me from the burning lake.

What are you thankful for?

"Nothing about us without us."

I suppose this is just another form of "if it bleeds it leads" but doing an investigative series on autism and not talking to any autistic individuals or autistic self advocacy groups? Meh.

PBS NewsHour Special "Autism Today" Leaves Out Key Stakeholders, Relies on Old Stereotypes
Early promotional material from PBS show that while MacNeil interviewed many parents, physicians and educators for the series, no organizations run by Autistic adults themselves were consulted or approached. In fact, no information exists as to whether or not Mr. MacNeil interviewed any Autistic people during his reporting about the autism spectrum.

There is no way around the fact that you can not have serious or informative discourse about autism if you don't have autistic individuals seated at the table as equal partners.
Hat tip to Sullivan at LBRB.

Spring Cleaning

Finally getting to some spring cleaning and updating on the blog now that Blogger has made it easy for me to do what I want to do with having to fiddle with too much html code. I'm liking the upgrades.

Tidbits

• Beijing police halt unapproved church service. I take a certain amount of pleasure in the knowledge that despite all of the machinations of the Chinese government there is still a thriving christian community in China.
  
  The NPR story on this, China Cracks Down On Christians At Outdoor Service, reports the following:
  

  As the worshippers prayed, a policeman appeared in the distance, speaking into his walkie-talkie. I asked the young man whether it would be worth it getting arrested for this, "As long as they don't hang any other labels on me," he replied. "If they say I was detained for my faith, it would be worth it. But if they say there are other political factors, that would be far from the truth."
  
  ***
  
  The young man spoke up in prayer. "Our brothers and sisters have been detained," he said, but he went on to thank God for this place to worship. All the while, the net of security was slowly closing in. As the service ended, the inevitable happened.

• Second verse same as the first.
  

  Egyptian blogger's sentence slammed
  Cairo (CNN) -- An Egyptian military court has sentenced an activist blogger critical of the army to three years in prison, and it did so without his lawyers present, a development that drew stiff condemnation by human rights groups.

• Twin Lessons: Have More Kids. Pay Less Attention to Them. Interesting premise. Parents have a lot of influence on their kids. I think the wisdom in parenting comes in knowing when and on what to try to exert that influence.
• This story has been causing quite a stir this week, Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home. To quote my oldest son, uh no. We've had to deal with nonsensical rules about what kids can or can not eat at school. No you can not give milk to my lactose intolerant child I don't care what the lunchroom policy is and why are you wasting a school lunch on another kid who only wants milk? And then there was the propaganda campaign against chocolate milk. Stop freaking the kids their food! You think they're unhealthy now what do you think all of this angst ridden hand wring over what they eat is going to do to them?
• Now this is disturbing.
  
  
  Hat tip Booker Rising.

Good Times in Beirut

Yalla!