Book Review: Divider in Chief (Politics Again?)

Divider In Chief: The Fraud of Hope and Change, Kate Openshain, Regnery Publishing, Washington, DC, 2012.

 

This is a book written before the election, and if its goal was to expose President Obama and thus effect the election, the only conclusion one can make is that it failed.  I don’t think people wanted to know who Obama was, and who could vote for a Mormon anyway.  Obama was able to marginalize and demonize Mitt Romney enough that he was able to win easily. 

 

The question I have however is if the country is better as a result.  This book points out how Obama is a fraud in many ways.  He makes decisions for votes, but then doesn’t deliver.  He is seen as the choice of the African American Community, yet he does nothing about jobs and keeps many dependent on the government, especially African American youth. 

 

He also talks about the war on women, which I have not noticed, but his economy and increased taxes are the real war on women. 

 

The author talks about Obama as a Divider, when he ran as a uniter.  He has polarized Israel, and insists on concessions which would make Israel go back to the 1969 borders, making Israel insecure and unsustainable.  He has allowed persecution of Christians to go on throughout the world, and did not stand with Iranians who were seeking change.  He has fomented race hatred, as well as class warfare.  He has marginalized the supreme court, and gone around congress with executive orders, often ignoring existing laws to do so.  He has tried to demonize those who do not agree with his policies, including the media, which has never happened to this extent before. 

 

My bottom line with Obama is he has made the country worse over the past five plus years, and hopefully we can survive the next three.  Never has our country been in such a great need for change. 

 

And no, I am not racist.  I can tell a poor president when I see one.

Nancy Pelosi Rankled me this Week

On Holy Thursday, the same day the Pope washed the feet of several people with disabilities, Nancy Pelosi made an attempt to gain political points by washing the feet of two children to highlight the point of the need for a pathway to citizenship for those who have come to our country illegally.
In my mind, I find Pelosi's actions very objectionable.  It is degrading to the Catholic Church for the Pope to be mimicked in this way.  As a Christian I find it disgusting that she would make a mockery of our Lord to try to score some political points.  I don't think this has helped her cause.  Just my thoughts on this poor attempt to hijack Easter.

Early Hyrum Pictures

Some of these pictures may be out of order, but I thought I would share them just the same.  These mostly are early Hyrum pictures, before we moved to Illinois.

Ileen Wardle, December 25, 1964, Hyrum, Utah

[Hyrum House, undated, Mom Dad and ??]

January 1965 Hyrum Utah, Connie, Sara, Billy, Charlie, Weldon

[Hyrum dining room not dated, perhaps post Carbondale, see walker]

[Hyrum House front]

Connie Wardle. Sara Wardle, Ileen Wardle, [Grandma] Geneve Wright 18 July 1965

[Grandma] Geneve Wright, Ileen Wardle Feb. 1965, Lincoln, Idaho

Ileen, [Grandma] Meslissa [Grandpa] Wildord Blacksmith Fork Canyon, Hyrum, UT June 19, 1966

Christmas morning 1964, Hyrum, Utah

Ann Chase July 24, 1966, Rigby, Idaho

[Tony Grove, Weldon, Billy, Charlie?]

Wuuford

Christmas 1965, Hyrum, Utah

[Ann Chase, Tony Grove?]

Ann Chase, Feb 22, 1965, Hyrum, Ut [living room]

[Mom, undated, family room, Hyrum home]

[Tony Grove?]

[Mom Tony Grove?]

July 4, 1966 Mutual float Sara and Connie helped with

[Olsens]

Verna, Danny and Bill Green, Hyrum, Utah 1965

July 30, 1967, Lincoln, Idaho, Wilford Wardle, Geneve Wright, Melissa Wardle

[Chases] Nov. 25, 1966

Aunt Carol, Kittens, Snakes, Charity and Poop

At Aunt Carol's memorial they mentioned her love for animals; especially snakes and cats.  We found this to be true in a sort of funny way.  After we moved to San Jose, it seems we had a dinner with the Haws family about yearly.  This usually took place around Easter.  We would run into them at stake conference and say like, "It's been too long since we spent time together" and then make plans for a visit.
The first time we went to Aunt Carol's and Uncle Von's they had baby kitties.  The kids adored them.  Aunt Carol warned them they weren't potty trained, but all the same the kids held them and cuddled them and help them until the inevitable  happened. We had children with cat poop and dirty clothes.  

Forrest, Aunt Carol, Mark, Uncle Von

Aaron and Forrest

Aaron, Gretchen's son, Aunt Carol, Jeremy, Uncle Von; No snake was going around my neck

Gretchen's baby, Natalia, Charity Caleb in background, Me, Gretchen's daughter

A couple years we went to Uncle Von's and Aunt Carol's, Aaron got out his snakes.  Maybe my memory is playing tricks with me, but I remember the big snake being very long.  Maybe it was after this year, because Caleb is pretty small here.  I remember I touched the snake but not much more.  The kids were sitting together with the big snake draped between several of them on their laps.   Snakes don't eat much, and consequently they don't poop much either.  However, this was one of the times it did.  Charity remembers that as the snake started to go, Caleb slid the part with stink coming out of it to her lap, and she didn't know what to do, so she got snake pooped on.  Snake poop is slimy and white.  There was not much we could do but put Charity's clothes in a trash bag.  The bag went into the trash can when we got home.  Sheri did not want to try to salvage them.

My Baptism Interview

Bishop Blaine Nielsen interviewed me when I was baptized. 

The interview took place at his home.  It really wasn't too bad.  Bishop Nielsen had a way of making you feel comfortable.  There were some questions about the articles of faith, but to be honest I don't remember much of what he asked. I do remember the experience in general and it always stuck with me.  He lived a block from our house, so I assume I walked over.  It felt like he had to pass me or fail me, but I am not sure if I could actually have failed. 

Bruce McLean: Friend Second to Fourth Grades

Bruce McLean was a friend who lived up the street and around the corner.  He and I both liked baseball.  I used to call him Denny McLain after the baseball picture--so much so I always thought his name was Denny, but a different spelling to his last name.  Denny McLain was the last person to win 30 games in a season.  He was big stuff at the time we lived in Hyrum, and even bigger the next year when the Tigers won the pennant.
We moved away from Hyrum before my Fifth grade year, and then back in a couple of years.  However Bruce had moved away and I have no idea where.  I never saw him again. 

Bruce is the second from the left in front

Coaching Caleb in Flag Football

As the kids grew up, coaching them was one of my special privileges.  I mostly coached soccer and baseball, and for a couple season basketball.  Then there was on year I coached Caleb in flag football with California Youth Sports.  This was really a pleasure.  I must admit I can't remember the names of the kids, or the other coaches, but we had fun, and our team was really good.  There was one other team that was also very good, and man did we have a good game.  It went back and forth, and to be honest I don't remember who won.  I remember one play that we did a quick pass to Caleb, and someone almost got his flag behind the line of scrimmage, but he made it around the corner, and then the entire field was open to him.  It was exciting.  I don't know if we have any pictures, but I have my t-shirt, which is getting old and ready of the DI, so I had Miranda take a picture of it. We played at Blackford High School, and practiced at Maywood Park.  The players came from a much broader area than usual sports.  It was like thee first year of the league.

Caleb front row, second from right.