Bill or no Bill?
We wrote in an earlier posting that we were not economist, didn't even play ecomomist on television, so no matter how we look at this bill which will raise the debt ceiling we can not understand how adding $3 trillion to our borrowing limit while cutting the budget by only $1 trillion over the next ten years will do anything except raise our National debt to over $17 trillion. That $1 trillion cut over the next ten years will not even cover the borrowing of money needed to redeem a portion of the IOUs in the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds in order to pay current retiree's benefits. Again we ask, Are all politicians born that way or do they go to a special school to learn deception?
As to the actual cutting of the budget, nobody talks about what will actually be cut but if history repeats itself all the cuts will be to needed programs while completely ignoring waste and fraud. Will they leave duplicate and overlapping programs while closing libraries and much used National Parks? Will they cut back on Federal employees even by not replacing retiring employees? Will they cut out the Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for all Federal employees as they have for Social Security recipients or will they cap all Federal salaries at current levels? If you think the President or Congress has done anything but lead us to the brink of default then we have a bridge for sale. Maybe the promise of a vote on a bill to balance the budget will be worth something. At least, if they vote, we will know who is against a balanced budget. That could be something to use in the next election.
We'll be waiting to see how things work out before we say much more but we, at this time, have our doubts. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Default
Or Whose Fault?
Saturday morning late.
It has been a very interesting two days with most of the news having to do with the raising, or not, of the National Debt Ceiling and the consequences of not raising it. First it was the threat of withholding Social Security checks from 40 odd million retirees even though they are not, by a law passed in 1990, paid out of the general revenue but from the "Social Security Trust Fund" which in turn is funded by the FICA (payroll) taxes. No President has the authority to withhold those checks therefore it is most likely that they will go out as scheduled. Then there is the threat that our Triple A credit rating will be downgraded by at least one of the rating groups. There is talk about how our rating may be dropped from a Triple A to a Two A or Two A plus which might, but not necessaily, raise interest rates, not only at the Federal level, but for everyone who owes or borrows money.
This morning, on television, we saw and heard Senator Harry Reid bemoaning the fact, as he saw it, that the Republicans wouldn't allow his debt ceiling bill to have an up or down vote only a few hours after he had tabled the second debt ceiling bill sent over by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. It appears that it is okay, in his mind, to disallow votes in the Senate on all Republican passed House bills but it shouldn't be that way on his bill. Is that because he is so much more superior to the lowly Republicans? We, being Independents, believe we have the right to criticize either or both sides.
At this time, we here on the hill, believe the best plan which has been laid out and voted on is the "Cut, Cap, Balance" bill (which was one of the House passed bills that was tabled by Senator Reid) but with a few changes. One of those changes could be the deferring of the "Balanced Budget Amendment" and replacing it with a guarantee (written and published) to bring it up for a vote, not a vote requiring 60 votes to bring it to a vote, but a real up or down vote within 60 or 90 days. That way we could see who was against a balanced budget. Since, we believe, that is why Reid won't allow a vote on those House passed bills it is not likely he would allow a vote on this version either.
Having said all of that, there is still one way to get a debt ceiling bill passed before August 2, 2011 or a few days later. If Senator Reid and his Democrat cohorts will, as they say, tweek his bill enough to pick up 7 or 8 Republican votes (Brown, Collins, Snow, McCain etc.) then send it over to the house as a bi-partisan bill with the full backing of the Democratic Party there should be enough Republican support to pass it without the Tea Party. Or would that be too simple? Yesterday we sent the following e-mail to a few, so called, news anchors on television;
"There is still a way out for the Tea Party Republicans in the House. If Senator Reid will tweek his bill enough to get support from 7 or 8 Republican Senators and that bi-partisan bill is sent to the House it should have enough Republican support so as to let the Tea Partiers vote no. Simple or too simple?" (Of course no one mentioned such a thing)
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and mostly dry but our outside work is still being done by getting out early. The blueberries are about finished for the year, our early pears have been gathered, the peas and beans aren't making anything so that just leaves the grass and weeds but that's enough. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Saturday morning late.
It has been a very interesting two days with most of the news having to do with the raising, or not, of the National Debt Ceiling and the consequences of not raising it. First it was the threat of withholding Social Security checks from 40 odd million retirees even though they are not, by a law passed in 1990, paid out of the general revenue but from the "Social Security Trust Fund" which in turn is funded by the FICA (payroll) taxes. No President has the authority to withhold those checks therefore it is most likely that they will go out as scheduled. Then there is the threat that our Triple A credit rating will be downgraded by at least one of the rating groups. There is talk about how our rating may be dropped from a Triple A to a Two A or Two A plus which might, but not necessaily, raise interest rates, not only at the Federal level, but for everyone who owes or borrows money.
This morning, on television, we saw and heard Senator Harry Reid bemoaning the fact, as he saw it, that the Republicans wouldn't allow his debt ceiling bill to have an up or down vote only a few hours after he had tabled the second debt ceiling bill sent over by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. It appears that it is okay, in his mind, to disallow votes in the Senate on all Republican passed House bills but it shouldn't be that way on his bill. Is that because he is so much more superior to the lowly Republicans? We, being Independents, believe we have the right to criticize either or both sides.
At this time, we here on the hill, believe the best plan which has been laid out and voted on is the "Cut, Cap, Balance" bill (which was one of the House passed bills that was tabled by Senator Reid) but with a few changes. One of those changes could be the deferring of the "Balanced Budget Amendment" and replacing it with a guarantee (written and published) to bring it up for a vote, not a vote requiring 60 votes to bring it to a vote, but a real up or down vote within 60 or 90 days. That way we could see who was against a balanced budget. Since, we believe, that is why Reid won't allow a vote on those House passed bills it is not likely he would allow a vote on this version either.
Having said all of that, there is still one way to get a debt ceiling bill passed before August 2, 2011 or a few days later. If Senator Reid and his Democrat cohorts will, as they say, tweek his bill enough to pick up 7 or 8 Republican votes (Brown, Collins, Snow, McCain etc.) then send it over to the house as a bi-partisan bill with the full backing of the Democratic Party there should be enough Republican support to pass it without the Tea Party. Or would that be too simple? Yesterday we sent the following e-mail to a few, so called, news anchors on television;
"There is still a way out for the Tea Party Republicans in the House. If Senator Reid will tweek his bill enough to get support from 7 or 8 Republican Senators and that bi-partisan bill is sent to the House it should have enough Republican support so as to let the Tea Partiers vote no. Simple or too simple?" (Of course no one mentioned such a thing)
Meanwhile, here on the hill, it is still hot and mostly dry but our outside work is still being done by getting out early. The blueberries are about finished for the year, our early pears have been gathered, the peas and beans aren't making anything so that just leaves the grass and weeds but that's enough. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Egotistics Again
Really Short Memories.
A few days ago we republished a posting which began life as a letter "To the Editor" of one of our local newspapers shortly after the 2006 elections. In that letter/posting we equated the Pharasees, of the Bible, to our modern day Republican Party (with many Democrats thrown in). We wondered, at that time, if they could find their way out of the very deep ditch they hads fallen into and it appeared for a while they were making some progress but in the last two days that progress has stalled and the entire party appear to be on the brink of falling back into that ditch. They have allowed their egos to become large and shiny so as to blind them to reality again. Have they not learned anything in the last four years?
In the March 3, 2011, the posting in this blog was titled "The Budget" and contained a few of our ideas on the balancing of our Federal budget. The first step called for a freeze on all new hiring by the Federal Government except in emergency situations (to be approved by congress) along with the capping of the pay for Federal employees at the current levels. Next we need to consolidate and eliminate the numerous (overlapping) federal programs, explore the possibility of replacing the IRS with some other form of taxation. Then we could move on to Obamacare and dismantle it by passing "Tort Reform, no money for abortions or the promotion of abortions, Insurance sold across state lines and the covering of pre-existing conditions and, if needed regulations on insurance companies to force them to justify any raise in rates."
We won't say much about Social Security and Medicare because we have already written about it many, many times with no results. We will say that we support reforming Social Security and Medicare so it will be there for future generations and we have offered to take a cut of up to five percent (to go back into the trust fund) if the federal employees will take the same percentage cut to be used to pay down the National debt but neither one to go back into the Treasury to be wasted again. No takers on that either.
We, here on the hill, are still keeping our heads above water by trying to get any outside work done before noon and spending the rest of the time inside with the air conditioner going. We still have blueberries to pick and the grass, along with the weeds, keeps growing. The hot, dry weather doesn't seem to bother them at all. The squash and cucumbers are about all gone, the okra is putting on a few pods but our beans and butterpeas aren't making anything. Oh well, that saves us gathering time. We got several pears off of our tree this year to can and to make pear jam.
Since all the news, especially out of Washington, seems to be bad we hate to even turn the television on but if we don't we may miss some small ray of hope. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
A few days ago we republished a posting which began life as a letter "To the Editor" of one of our local newspapers shortly after the 2006 elections. In that letter/posting we equated the Pharasees, of the Bible, to our modern day Republican Party (with many Democrats thrown in). We wondered, at that time, if they could find their way out of the very deep ditch they hads fallen into and it appeared for a while they were making some progress but in the last two days that progress has stalled and the entire party appear to be on the brink of falling back into that ditch. They have allowed their egos to become large and shiny so as to blind them to reality again. Have they not learned anything in the last four years?
In the March 3, 2011, the posting in this blog was titled "The Budget" and contained a few of our ideas on the balancing of our Federal budget. The first step called for a freeze on all new hiring by the Federal Government except in emergency situations (to be approved by congress) along with the capping of the pay for Federal employees at the current levels. Next we need to consolidate and eliminate the numerous (overlapping) federal programs, explore the possibility of replacing the IRS with some other form of taxation. Then we could move on to Obamacare and dismantle it by passing "Tort Reform, no money for abortions or the promotion of abortions, Insurance sold across state lines and the covering of pre-existing conditions and, if needed regulations on insurance companies to force them to justify any raise in rates."
We won't say much about Social Security and Medicare because we have already written about it many, many times with no results. We will say that we support reforming Social Security and Medicare so it will be there for future generations and we have offered to take a cut of up to five percent (to go back into the trust fund) if the federal employees will take the same percentage cut to be used to pay down the National debt but neither one to go back into the Treasury to be wasted again. No takers on that either.
We, here on the hill, are still keeping our heads above water by trying to get any outside work done before noon and spending the rest of the time inside with the air conditioner going. We still have blueberries to pick and the grass, along with the weeds, keeps growing. The hot, dry weather doesn't seem to bother them at all. The squash and cucumbers are about all gone, the okra is putting on a few pods but our beans and butterpeas aren't making anything. Oh well, that saves us gathering time. We got several pears off of our tree this year to can and to make pear jam.
Since all the news, especially out of Washington, seems to be bad we hate to even turn the television on but if we don't we may miss some small ray of hope. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Back to Old News
Sixty-one Years ago.
Nineteen and Fifty must have been a pretty good year. I graduated from High School and ten days later enlisted in the United States Army for three years eventually ending up as a paratrooper. A few months before I entered into my military service our United States Senate was debating a Health Care Bill. A portion of that debate was posted in this blog on February 6, 2010 under the Title "Old News". A part of that portion is re-published below.
"According to an article in our newspaper dated January 27, 1950, United States Representative Tom Murry (D. Tenn.) said in a speech that; - I presume that President Truman again will recommend to Congress the enactment of compulsory health insurance, or socialized medicine. The more I think about the question, the more I am opposed to it. It is unthinkable to me that our country should follow in the footsteps of England and adopt socialized medicine. We have the finest medical system in the world and we should encourage voluntary health insurance programs such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield instead of talking about socialized medicine. The cost of free medical treatment to our people would run into billions of dollars.
In voting, members of congress must realize our government does not create or make a single dollar - but that all of the money for expendures must come from the taxpayers."
That, as stated above, is old news but could have just as easily been written today. It's not that there isn't anything wrong with our present system but the massive bill as written by this congress won't fix the problems. One of our biggest problems is that we no longer have independent thinkers like Representative Tom Murry. He was, at that time, my Representative and I was a Democrat. My, how times have changed.
It is still our belief, here on the hill, that any changes in our health care should start with, "Tort Reform", the limiting of medical liability so as to prevent frivolous lawsuits which forces the doctors to practic defensive medicine, "Insurance" sold across state lines which should increase competition and lower rates, "Abortion" no income tax money going to any entity which performs or advocates the performing of abortions and "Regulations", if needed, to force insurance companies to account for any rate increases. We can, and must, hold doctors accountable but with limits set on judgements and penalties on meritless suits we could save billions of dollars in healthcare cost. That might not cure all the ailments but it would be a good starting point.
Many years ago we wrote a letter, which was published in a Sunday edition of the Commercial Appeal, condemning the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions. At that time we were still working (since retired) and paying income taxes. We still support that position and in a previous posting stated that we didn't believe the President's "Executative Order" concerning abortion and public funds was worth the paper it was written on which appears to have been proven true in the last few weeks.
Is there still doubt in anyone's mind about the financial straits of Social Security and Medicare and the need for those two programs to be reformed? If Medicare is in so much trouble financially then how can you justify the taking of about 500 billion dollars from that program to be used to finance a Medicaid like program under "Obamacare" or the cutting of two percentage points off the FICA (payroll) tax which goes into the Social Security Trust Fund which in turn pays for Social Security and Medicare? That lost Trust Fund money has to be made up to pay current retiree benefits and the only way that can be done is by borrowing and adding more to the National Debt. That's just one of many wrong-headed ideas coming out of Washington during this administration, Democrats and Republicans alike. We have been accused of favoring only the Republican viewpoint but if you check back through these blog postings you will find that it simply isn't true. We are equal opportunity writers and have outlined in great detail our encounters with our elected Representative and both of our Senators. Check it out. We welcome your comments either here or by e-mail.
As for us, here on the hill, most things are going better than we have any right to expect. It is, like most places, still hot and dry which keeps us inside with the air conditioner most of the time but we're sure that too will pass. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Nineteen and Fifty must have been a pretty good year. I graduated from High School and ten days later enlisted in the United States Army for three years eventually ending up as a paratrooper. A few months before I entered into my military service our United States Senate was debating a Health Care Bill. A portion of that debate was posted in this blog on February 6, 2010 under the Title "Old News". A part of that portion is re-published below.
"According to an article in our newspaper dated January 27, 1950, United States Representative Tom Murry (D. Tenn.) said in a speech that; - I presume that President Truman again will recommend to Congress the enactment of compulsory health insurance, or socialized medicine. The more I think about the question, the more I am opposed to it. It is unthinkable to me that our country should follow in the footsteps of England and adopt socialized medicine. We have the finest medical system in the world and we should encourage voluntary health insurance programs such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield instead of talking about socialized medicine. The cost of free medical treatment to our people would run into billions of dollars.
In voting, members of congress must realize our government does not create or make a single dollar - but that all of the money for expendures must come from the taxpayers."
That, as stated above, is old news but could have just as easily been written today. It's not that there isn't anything wrong with our present system but the massive bill as written by this congress won't fix the problems. One of our biggest problems is that we no longer have independent thinkers like Representative Tom Murry. He was, at that time, my Representative and I was a Democrat. My, how times have changed.
It is still our belief, here on the hill, that any changes in our health care should start with, "Tort Reform", the limiting of medical liability so as to prevent frivolous lawsuits which forces the doctors to practic defensive medicine, "Insurance" sold across state lines which should increase competition and lower rates, "Abortion" no income tax money going to any entity which performs or advocates the performing of abortions and "Regulations", if needed, to force insurance companies to account for any rate increases. We can, and must, hold doctors accountable but with limits set on judgements and penalties on meritless suits we could save billions of dollars in healthcare cost. That might not cure all the ailments but it would be a good starting point.
Many years ago we wrote a letter, which was published in a Sunday edition of the Commercial Appeal, condemning the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions. At that time we were still working (since retired) and paying income taxes. We still support that position and in a previous posting stated that we didn't believe the President's "Executative Order" concerning abortion and public funds was worth the paper it was written on which appears to have been proven true in the last few weeks.
Is there still doubt in anyone's mind about the financial straits of Social Security and Medicare and the need for those two programs to be reformed? If Medicare is in so much trouble financially then how can you justify the taking of about 500 billion dollars from that program to be used to finance a Medicaid like program under "Obamacare" or the cutting of two percentage points off the FICA (payroll) tax which goes into the Social Security Trust Fund which in turn pays for Social Security and Medicare? That lost Trust Fund money has to be made up to pay current retiree benefits and the only way that can be done is by borrowing and adding more to the National Debt. That's just one of many wrong-headed ideas coming out of Washington during this administration, Democrats and Republicans alike. We have been accused of favoring only the Republican viewpoint but if you check back through these blog postings you will find that it simply isn't true. We are equal opportunity writers and have outlined in great detail our encounters with our elected Representative and both of our Senators. Check it out. We welcome your comments either here or by e-mail.
As for us, here on the hill, most things are going better than we have any right to expect. It is, like most places, still hot and dry which keeps us inside with the air conditioner most of the time but we're sure that too will pass. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Saga Continues
As the ditch returns
Or was it ever gone? On Sunday June 13, 2010 a posting in this blog was titled "The Ditch". It was first written as a letter to one of our newspapers shortly after the election in 2006 and updated by adding these words "and the debacle of 2008" when it was posted in our blog. We thought, after the election of 2010, that there was a slim chance a change was coming to Washington. There was, but has it been the right kind of change? That letter - blog posting is re-printed below.
"The Ditch
There are some who think it all began in 1994, the mid point of President Clinton's first term in office, when the Republican Party won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This majority continued through the remainder of the Clinton Presidency and the first six years of President Bush's tenure, being a total of twelve years.
Let's, at this time, go back in history (as if there was any other way) to the Maccabean period (135 to 105 BC), to the beginning of the Pharisee party as opposed to the Sadduces. The Pharasees, meaning "The seperated ones" could properly be spoken of as seperating themselves from the King, the Sadduces, all sorts of impurities and the people of the land. They believed in the Messiah, the Resurection, Angels, Demons and so forth. This, because of its affiliation with the much malined Religious Right, sounds somewhat like our modern day Republican Party.
Even after the loss, by the Republicans, in 2006 of both Houses of Congress and the debacle in 2008, there are many who seem to have no idea what the problem was or how to right it which brings to mind a verse in the Bible where the Disciples came to Jesus and said, "Know Thou that the Pharisees were offended by this saying" and Jesus answered and said, "Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch".
Can anyone disagree with the premise that, at least, the National Republican Party has fallen into a very deep ditch. Too long in power, so it seems, had transformed very large egos into bright and shiny objects which appears to have blinded some to reality. Can it be overcome? For some, maybe, but for others who have been there for decades it is doubtful.
Lest anyone should foolishly believe that the Democrat Party has been immune to the allure of this malady, there is more than enough evidence to convict many of them of that same egotistical mind-set. The concept that we, as voters, can vote for and elect politicians solely on the promise of being rewarded from the public treasury is slowly but surely rearing its ugly head.
This monster, being a blight on civilization, must be exterminated down to and including its roots. How can we, as a civilized and orderly people, attack this growing malignancy which threatens the very heart and soul of our United States of America?
How can we get off this slippery slope which is surely taking us closer and closer to our own destruction? One way would be an attempt to impose term limits of no more than two terms for any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, be it in Washington or our own State Catitols. But if we plan to wait for our elected officials to enact such laws then we had better not hold our breath.
Another way might be for the Electorate to refuse to vote for anyone running for a third term. Again, don't hold your breath. I'm sure you've heard it said, "you can vote out your rascal but I want to keep mine". That's exactly the kind of thinking that our elected officials are counting on.
Do you remember the story in the book of Daniel, where he read the handwriting on the wall? It was: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin and this is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it, Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain".
Do you see the handwriting on the wall? More importantly, is there a Daniel in the house? Please think about it. Thanks, William"
That letter was written more than four years ago about what we, here on the hill, thought was a bad situation at that time. We don't believe things have changed for the better. Do you? Thanks for your time and input, stay tuned. - William
Or was it ever gone? On Sunday June 13, 2010 a posting in this blog was titled "The Ditch". It was first written as a letter to one of our newspapers shortly after the election in 2006 and updated by adding these words "and the debacle of 2008" when it was posted in our blog. We thought, after the election of 2010, that there was a slim chance a change was coming to Washington. There was, but has it been the right kind of change? That letter - blog posting is re-printed below.
"The Ditch
There are some who think it all began in 1994, the mid point of President Clinton's first term in office, when the Republican Party won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This majority continued through the remainder of the Clinton Presidency and the first six years of President Bush's tenure, being a total of twelve years.
Let's, at this time, go back in history (as if there was any other way) to the Maccabean period (135 to 105 BC), to the beginning of the Pharisee party as opposed to the Sadduces. The Pharasees, meaning "The seperated ones" could properly be spoken of as seperating themselves from the King, the Sadduces, all sorts of impurities and the people of the land. They believed in the Messiah, the Resurection, Angels, Demons and so forth. This, because of its affiliation with the much malined Religious Right, sounds somewhat like our modern day Republican Party.
Even after the loss, by the Republicans, in 2006 of both Houses of Congress and the debacle in 2008, there are many who seem to have no idea what the problem was or how to right it which brings to mind a verse in the Bible where the Disciples came to Jesus and said, "Know Thou that the Pharisees were offended by this saying" and Jesus answered and said, "Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch".
Can anyone disagree with the premise that, at least, the National Republican Party has fallen into a very deep ditch. Too long in power, so it seems, had transformed very large egos into bright and shiny objects which appears to have blinded some to reality. Can it be overcome? For some, maybe, but for others who have been there for decades it is doubtful.
Lest anyone should foolishly believe that the Democrat Party has been immune to the allure of this malady, there is more than enough evidence to convict many of them of that same egotistical mind-set. The concept that we, as voters, can vote for and elect politicians solely on the promise of being rewarded from the public treasury is slowly but surely rearing its ugly head.
This monster, being a blight on civilization, must be exterminated down to and including its roots. How can we, as a civilized and orderly people, attack this growing malignancy which threatens the very heart and soul of our United States of America?
How can we get off this slippery slope which is surely taking us closer and closer to our own destruction? One way would be an attempt to impose term limits of no more than two terms for any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, be it in Washington or our own State Catitols. But if we plan to wait for our elected officials to enact such laws then we had better not hold our breath.
Another way might be for the Electorate to refuse to vote for anyone running for a third term. Again, don't hold your breath. I'm sure you've heard it said, "you can vote out your rascal but I want to keep mine". That's exactly the kind of thinking that our elected officials are counting on.
Do you remember the story in the book of Daniel, where he read the handwriting on the wall? It was: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin and this is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it, Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain".
Do you see the handwriting on the wall? More importantly, is there a Daniel in the house? Please think about it. Thanks, William"
That letter was written more than four years ago about what we, here on the hill, thought was a bad situation at that time. We don't believe things have changed for the better. Do you? Thanks for your time and input, stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sanderstead Re-visited
For what it's worth
The posting in this blog dated FEbruary 23, 2011 and titled "Knights Templar" contained this paragraph: "In the book "Generations, A Thousand Year Family History" written by Ralph Sanders with his sisters , Carol Sanders and Peggy sanders Van Der Heide, there is a chapter championing the life and times of Sir Leonard de Sanderstead. These lines are taken from that book: "Who then was Sir Leonard de Sandewrstead? Although our knowledge of him stems from a single record, the record itself is particularly fertile. We find references to Sir Leonard in a seventeenth-century document called "Advente de Carmathenshire" [They came to Carmathenshire], indicating that Sir Leonard once held land in that County of South Wales. The record further indicates that he had at some point acquired knighthood and bore a Coat of Arms ---." These records also stated that Sir Leonard had, at least one son, Richard who sold land at Sanderstead in 1234. Thus the time line Ralph Sanders used to set Sir Leonard's birth date at about 1175 but I believe it probably was closer to 1150 and he was a contemporary of King Richard the Lionheart who led the Third Crusade. He probably was either a knight in King Richard's army or a member of the Knights' Templar. Was he one of my ancestors? I don't know for sure but according to Ralph Sanders' book he probably was. About 25 or 26 generations ago."
A few days ago we received an e-mail from Ralph Sanders, the author of the "Generations" book enquiring as to what information we were basing that time line on. Our answer had to be, like many genealogies, speculation. According to history, Richard the First, called Couer de Lion, or the Lion-Hearted, 1157 - 1199, was born in Oxford, England , the son of Henry the Second and Eleanoir of Aquitaine. Richard succeded his father as King in 1189 and immediately began raising money for a Crusade. Later that same year he led an army of 8,000 men and a fleet of 300 ships, embarking on the Third Crusade. He captured Cyprus and Acre in 1191, other wins followed but the winning of the battle of Arsuf (and probably Acre) was more from the efforts of the Knights' Templar than that of the Crusaders. King Richard died from a wound he received in battle in 1199 because of lack of medical attention. According to history, he wouldn't listen to his aide who urged him to have it seen to. During his 10 years as King he was in England only a few months, his brother, Prince John, (remember Robin Hood) ruled in his stead.
Because of the nearness of the time lines of King Richard and Sir Leonard de Sanderstead, I would, by speculation only, make them contemporaries. To the point, that was all I had except the book written by the Ralph Sanders family on which to base my opinions about the time line of Sir Leonard. If anyone reading this posting, or any other part of this blog, should wish to make comment they can make it here or contact me at williamlee100@netzero.com. Thanks for your time and input. - William
The posting in this blog dated FEbruary 23, 2011 and titled "Knights Templar" contained this paragraph: "In the book "Generations, A Thousand Year Family History" written by Ralph Sanders with his sisters , Carol Sanders and Peggy sanders Van Der Heide, there is a chapter championing the life and times of Sir Leonard de Sanderstead. These lines are taken from that book: "Who then was Sir Leonard de Sandewrstead? Although our knowledge of him stems from a single record, the record itself is particularly fertile. We find references to Sir Leonard in a seventeenth-century document called "Advente de Carmathenshire" [They came to Carmathenshire], indicating that Sir Leonard once held land in that County of South Wales. The record further indicates that he had at some point acquired knighthood and bore a Coat of Arms ---." These records also stated that Sir Leonard had, at least one son, Richard who sold land at Sanderstead in 1234. Thus the time line Ralph Sanders used to set Sir Leonard's birth date at about 1175 but I believe it probably was closer to 1150 and he was a contemporary of King Richard the Lionheart who led the Third Crusade. He probably was either a knight in King Richard's army or a member of the Knights' Templar. Was he one of my ancestors? I don't know for sure but according to Ralph Sanders' book he probably was. About 25 or 26 generations ago."
A few days ago we received an e-mail from Ralph Sanders, the author of the "Generations" book enquiring as to what information we were basing that time line on. Our answer had to be, like many genealogies, speculation. According to history, Richard the First, called Couer de Lion, or the Lion-Hearted, 1157 - 1199, was born in Oxford, England , the son of Henry the Second and Eleanoir of Aquitaine. Richard succeded his father as King in 1189 and immediately began raising money for a Crusade. Later that same year he led an army of 8,000 men and a fleet of 300 ships, embarking on the Third Crusade. He captured Cyprus and Acre in 1191, other wins followed but the winning of the battle of Arsuf (and probably Acre) was more from the efforts of the Knights' Templar than that of the Crusaders. King Richard died from a wound he received in battle in 1199 because of lack of medical attention. According to history, he wouldn't listen to his aide who urged him to have it seen to. During his 10 years as King he was in England only a few months, his brother, Prince John, (remember Robin Hood) ruled in his stead.
Because of the nearness of the time lines of King Richard and Sir Leonard de Sanderstead, I would, by speculation only, make them contemporaries. To the point, that was all I had except the book written by the Ralph Sanders family on which to base my opinions about the time line of Sir Leonard. If anyone reading this posting, or any other part of this blog, should wish to make comment they can make it here or contact me at williamlee100@netzero.com. Thanks for your time and input. - William
Friday, July 8, 2011
Independence Day
Freedom or not.
Monday night - late.
Today, the Fourth of July, is commemorated or celebrated as the anniversary of our Independence from England. Too many people observe it as just another holiday with an excuse to overeat, drink beer and shoot off fireworks. What does that have to do with anything?
I guess you could say that, here on the hill, we had a very good day. First we got up. We started it off a few minutes after 5:30 a.m. by picking part of our blueberries then walked more than a half mile to pick one and one half gallons of blackberries. When we got back to the house we ate a few bites of breakfast, then went back to picking blueberries. After we got those blueberries ready to freeze and the blackberries canned we ate lunch and rested a while. This afternoon it became cloudy (no rain) so we went back and picked more blueberries. Those will wait until tomorrow to be put in the freezer. I guess we had an extra-ordinary day. Should we celebrate?
Tuesday evening late.
Our day started off shortly before 6:00 a.m. picking blueberries then kept a 9:00 a.m. doctor's appointment, ate a late breakfast at Selmer, canned a canner of berries and fixed others to be frozen then ended the day back picking blueberries. The weather has been dry but so hot that we can't get out too much from 12:00 noon until 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. We'll probably be back at it again tomorrow.
Thursday night, again late.
Wednesday was just about the same as Tuesday except no doctor's appointment. We got up early this morning and walked the half mile to pick blackberries for about two hours then back home, showered and went out to eat breakfast. When we got home we picked a few blueberries, then canned a cooker of blackberries. The blueberreies were fixed for the freezer and even though it rained a shower we picked another gallon of blueberries late this afternoon.
Friday morning early.
I got up at 5:00 a.m. (over slept) prepared to go back to picking blueberries but it is raining. We need the rain more than we need the berries and also the berries will still be there this afternoon or tomorrow. We will probably go on over to Huddle House for breakfast and then get our shopping done this morning instead of waiting till afternoon.
All in all, it has been a very, very good year here on the hill. Of course we are both older and slower but we are thankful for what we have and the fact that we can still, with God's help, take care of ourselves. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Monday night - late.
Today, the Fourth of July, is commemorated or celebrated as the anniversary of our Independence from England. Too many people observe it as just another holiday with an excuse to overeat, drink beer and shoot off fireworks. What does that have to do with anything?
I guess you could say that, here on the hill, we had a very good day. First we got up. We started it off a few minutes after 5:30 a.m. by picking part of our blueberries then walked more than a half mile to pick one and one half gallons of blackberries. When we got back to the house we ate a few bites of breakfast, then went back to picking blueberries. After we got those blueberries ready to freeze and the blackberries canned we ate lunch and rested a while. This afternoon it became cloudy (no rain) so we went back and picked more blueberries. Those will wait until tomorrow to be put in the freezer. I guess we had an extra-ordinary day. Should we celebrate?
Tuesday evening late.
Our day started off shortly before 6:00 a.m. picking blueberries then kept a 9:00 a.m. doctor's appointment, ate a late breakfast at Selmer, canned a canner of berries and fixed others to be frozen then ended the day back picking blueberries. The weather has been dry but so hot that we can't get out too much from 12:00 noon until 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. We'll probably be back at it again tomorrow.
Thursday night, again late.
Wednesday was just about the same as Tuesday except no doctor's appointment. We got up early this morning and walked the half mile to pick blackberries for about two hours then back home, showered and went out to eat breakfast. When we got home we picked a few blueberries, then canned a cooker of blackberries. The blueberreies were fixed for the freezer and even though it rained a shower we picked another gallon of blueberries late this afternoon.
Friday morning early.
I got up at 5:00 a.m. (over slept) prepared to go back to picking blueberries but it is raining. We need the rain more than we need the berries and also the berries will still be there this afternoon or tomorrow. We will probably go on over to Huddle House for breakfast and then get our shopping done this morning instead of waiting till afternoon.
All in all, it has been a very, very good year here on the hill. Of course we are both older and slower but we are thankful for what we have and the fact that we can still, with God's help, take care of ourselves. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Gathering Time Again
Too much work.
Just a typical summer here on the hill, hot and dry with high humidity thrown in every now and then. The heavy dews make it uncomfortable, to say the least, when getting out early to gather fruits and vegetables but it gets too hot later in the day. We try to get started by the time it is light enough to see what we are doing so we can be back inside with the air-conditioner going before noon.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, made enough vine, bloomed quite a bit but didn't put on any beans. May have been because of a lack of insects needed for pollination. We hardly ever see any honey bees any more. The squash and cucumbers are still doing fairly well but need watering every few days. We need to pick a few blueberries almost every day so as not to get behind in the harvest. Yesterday we picked enough blackberries to can seven quarts and put one quart in the freezer. We would love to get a few more.
Our butter peas seem to be loading up with pods but may not make any seeds in them and the tomato plants have good sized tomatoes on them but only a few salad tomatoes have ripened yet (too many tomatoes in that). A few of our late potatoes are up and growing but we don't really think that we will have many come up. Oh well, we tried.
We had spent much of June working in the flowers, taking up, dividing, cropping and re-setting iris but that job has been put on hold for a few days while we get all the picking, canning and freezing done. We started a few weeks early in the iris because we knew we couldn't keep up all the work when it really got hot as it always does in the summer time, especially here on the hill.
Speaking of the hill, all of us here are doing as well as could be expected , probably better, but we don't get out much in the afternoons. It feels so much better inside with the air-conditioner going. But that's still better than freezing. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Just a typical summer here on the hill, hot and dry with high humidity thrown in every now and then. The heavy dews make it uncomfortable, to say the least, when getting out early to gather fruits and vegetables but it gets too hot later in the day. We try to get started by the time it is light enough to see what we are doing so we can be back inside with the air-conditioner going before noon.
Our pole beans, planted on Good Friday, made enough vine, bloomed quite a bit but didn't put on any beans. May have been because of a lack of insects needed for pollination. We hardly ever see any honey bees any more. The squash and cucumbers are still doing fairly well but need watering every few days. We need to pick a few blueberries almost every day so as not to get behind in the harvest. Yesterday we picked enough blackberries to can seven quarts and put one quart in the freezer. We would love to get a few more.
Our butter peas seem to be loading up with pods but may not make any seeds in them and the tomato plants have good sized tomatoes on them but only a few salad tomatoes have ripened yet (too many tomatoes in that). A few of our late potatoes are up and growing but we don't really think that we will have many come up. Oh well, we tried.
We had spent much of June working in the flowers, taking up, dividing, cropping and re-setting iris but that job has been put on hold for a few days while we get all the picking, canning and freezing done. We started a few weeks early in the iris because we knew we couldn't keep up all the work when it really got hot as it always does in the summer time, especially here on the hill.
Speaking of the hill, all of us here are doing as well as could be expected , probably better, but we don't get out much in the afternoons. It feels so much better inside with the air-conditioner going. But that's still better than freezing. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)