Democrat Donkey

Have you ever wondered why there's a Donkey representing the Democrat party? Have there always been "mascots" for political parties?

Well, there are two "starts" to the donkey.

First was in 1828 when Andrew Jackson was running for President. Posters had a "jackass" on it representing Jackson. Later it was used to show Jackson's stubbornness.

Later in 1870 Thomas Nast used the Donkey in a cartoon. Nast intended the donkey to represent an anti-war faction with whom he disagreed.

The Donkey has been associated with the Party ever since. However, the party has not officially adopted the Donkey as their mascot.

Cyclone, Hurricane, Typhoon- what's the difference?

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between a cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon? Ever heard of a tropical storm or depression and wondered what they were? Since hurricane season is upon us I thought we should all be "in the know" about this subject.

What it basically comes down to is location and speed.

If a thunderstorm has definite cyclonic surface wind circulation then it's classified as follows:

Tropical depression- winds less than 17 mph

Tropical storm- winds more that 17 mph but less than 33 mph

If winds reach more than 33 mph then they are called:

"hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E)

"typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline)

"severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)

"severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean)

"tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)

This is a picture of a temple in Mynamar (see post below to know where that is) that was destroyed due to Cyclone Nargis.

Do You Know Where__________ Is?

My son recently had to know where every country in the world was. I have to say I have never had to know that. He's only in sixth grade but knows more about geography than me in some areas. I thought it would be interesting to have a few posts where we venture out of our little world and discover countries we're not so familiar with but maybe should be.

Do you know where Mynamar is? It's recently been in the news because a cyclone hit there.

Mynamar is/was the same as Burma until recently. Now do you know where it is?

Pay close attention to this country. They have a wonderful supply of what we are paying $3.70 for. However, did you know most of the country (80%) lives below poverty? Where's all of your money going? In Mynamar you would do well if you were in the military and that's pretty much it. You would think oil rich countries would be thriving but that is not the case.

So Where Did this Holiday come from?

Did you ever wonder how Mother's Day got started? I thought that some President or First Lady wanted to celebrate their mom and made it a national holiday. That sounds like something a First Lady would do, right?



Mother's Day actually started because of grief. Someone lost a mom and wanted to honor and remember her. She thought all mom's should be remembered and honored so she took her desire national. Within three years, Mother's Day became a national holiday.



Really it's a holiday to remember those that have gone before us. It's not necessarily about us. It's not about where we are going to lunch after church or am I getting flowers or breakfast in bed? It's about honoring those who bore us, adopted us, mentored us, and gave us life. So I challenge you this holiday season to think less of "Your Mother's Day" and more about those that have gone before you just like Anna Jarvis did about her mother.

Breastplate of St. Patrick

I arise todayThrough a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,Through the belief in the threeness,Through confession of the onenessOf the Creator of Creation.
I arise todayThrough the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.
I arise todayThrough the strength of the love of Cherubim,In obedience of angels,In the service of archangels,In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,In prayers of patriarchs,In predictions of prophets,In preaching of apostles,In faith of confessors,In innocence of holy virgins,In deeds of righteous men.
I arise todayThrough the strength of heaven:Light of sun,Radiance of moon,Splendor of fire,Speed of lightning,Swiftness of wind,Depth of sea,Stability of earth,Firmness of rock.
I arise todayThrough God's strength to pilot me:God's might to uphold me,God's wisdom to guide me,God's eye to look before me,God's ear to hear me,God's word to speak for me,God's hand to guard me,God's way to lie before me,God's shield to protect me,God's host to save meFrom snares of devils,From temptations of vices,From everyone who shall wish me ill,Afar and anear,Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,Against incantations of false prophets,Against black laws of pagandomAgainst false laws of heretics,Against craft of idolatry,Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me todayAgainst poison, against burning,Against drowning, against wounding,So that there may come to me abundance of reward.Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,Christ in every eye that sees me,Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise todayThrough a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,Through belief in the threeness,Through confession of the oneness,Of the Creator of Creation

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Did you know there's more to this holiday than drinking green beer, pinching, and the clover? Like many holidays we celebrate, it has a religious background that has, through time gotten a little (or a lot) forgotten.

Maewyn Succat was 16 when he was kidnapped in England by Irish marauders. He was taken back to Ireland. In Ireland he lived as a slave. At the time the Irish were barbarians. They would wear shrunken human heads around their wastes. Six years later he escaped from slavery and went back to Europe.

In Europe he studied in a monastery in France. For twelve years he trained to be a minister and eventually became a bishop. Pope Celestine gave Maewyn Succat the baptismal name of "Patricius", consecrated him as Bishop. He traveled then to Great Britain. He had a very unusual experience. He dreamed that the Irish were calling him back.

He was finally able to go back to Ireland. The people that had enslaved him were now his mission field. For twenty years he traveled all over Ireland. He established schools and monasteries. Legend has it that he used the three leaf clover to explain the Trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit).

Patrick died in Ireland March 17, A.D. 461.

Top Celebrity Billionaires Revealed

Ok, remember this is for Celebrity Billionaires. My earlier post told you who "REALLY" has the money. Ok, just for fun we will start at the bottom with number 3.

MADONNA #3

TIGER WOODS- #2

OPRAH- #1

Top Billionaires Celebrity Style

Last time I told you about the World's top billionaires. Do you know who leads the list when it comes to those that are famous?

Click on comments and give your best guesses without looking it up. (seriously, no looking)

I'll post the top 3 this weekend to see how close you are.

Top Billionaires

For thirteen years the same man has been at the top of the list for the richest man in the world. Can you name him?

A man that is usually well respected and started out as a paper boy in Nebraska has risen to number one. Warren Buffett is now worth $62 billion and is ahead of the rest. His story is quite fascinating and I would encourage you to Google his name to read more about him.

You might be interested to find out that number two is not from the US. His name is Helu Slim who is worth $60 bil. He's from Mexico City.

So, do you remember the number one spot for the last 13 years?

William Gates III- Don't feel bad for him for dropping down to third- he's still worth $58 bil.

Warren Buffett

Helu Slim

William Gates III

A Tale of Two Brothers

Once there were two brothers that longed to have a career in painting. Both could not afford to attend art school as times were bad and their father needed help working just to keep this family with 18 children alive. One brother could go to school while the other stayed at home. But which one would go and which one would stay. To decide the boys flipped a coin. One brother would stay and work in the mines supporting the one that went to art school. Then when that brother was finished with school he would come back and work in the mines so his brother could attend school.


It took four years for the one brother to finish school. His art work was so good. He became famous and his village was very proud of him. When he returned home the family gave him a feast. After the feast he announced to everyone that he would not continue his career as an artist because he wanted to work in the mines while his brother attended art school. The brother that stayed was so thankful but told everyone that it was too late for him.



After four years in the mines, every bone in his hands had been crushed at least once and arthritis bothered his right hand so much that he couldn't even hold a glass to toast his brother much less paint.


To pay homage to his brother Albert, Albrecht Durer painted what he called "Hands". The painting is of his brothers hands. You may know it as "Praying Hands".

Democracy or Republic?

What would you say the United States is, a Democracy or a Republic?

To help figure that out let's look at the definitions of both.

Democracy-A democracy is majority rule and is destructive of liberty because there is no law to prevent the majority from trampling on individual rights. Whatever the majority says goes! A lynch mob is an example of pure democracy in action. There is only one dissenting vote, and that is cast by the person at the end of the rope.

Republic- A republic is a government of law under a Constitution. The Constitution holds the government in check and prevents the majority (acting through their government) from violating the rights of the individual. Under this system of government a lynch mob is illegal. The suspected criminal cannot be denied his right to a fair trial even if a majority of the citizenry demands otherwise.

With this in mind, we're probably a _________________?

Now you are in the know.

Election- How does it work?

Does my vote really count?

The answer is YES! Here's a break down of how it all works.

Each state as a number of "Electors"- Number of Senators (2) plus number of Congressmen (varies by state)

These are decided on election day.

Who choses these people? Political parties nominate Electors! They are pre-selected (sometimes at party conventions) and then confirmed on election day.

On election day each party will have a number of Electors ready to be confirmed.

For example in Texas 34 Republican Electors and 34 Democrat Electors are ready on election day. If the Democrates win Texas then only the 34 Democrat Electors get to vote. All but two states are "winner take all". So, the vote may be narrow like 50.1 percent Dem. and 49.9 percent Rep.

Dem. would get all the Electoral votes.

The "Electors" get to vote for President and Vice President. You get to vote which party gets to cast their Electoral Vote.

Only three times in history has a president been elected without popular vote. 1876, 1888, 2000.

Bottom Line- Vote and hope your Elector gets to vote for President.

World Leaders

Here are some leaders in our world today.

HU Jintao- President of China

Horst KOEHLER- President of Germany

Pratibha PATIL- President of India
Manmohan SINGH- Prime Minister of India

Jalal TALABANI- President of Iraq
Nuri al-MALIKI- Prime Minister of Iraq

So, what's the difference between a President and a Prime Minister?

For the most part the Prime Minister is the one that is the leader of the political party with the majority of the seats.
President is one elected over a country.

Pictured are just two of them. China's president and India's president. India's president is the one on the right.