Saucy Squirrel Wins Peek-a-Boo Battle Against Sassy. Sassy Remains Queen of the Dog Park

Our house is ideal for birds and squirrels to have a foothold and travel however they want. We even had a chipmunk sitting on the sill, stuffing his cheeks with sunflower seeds.

No squirrel will run when challenged at the window. They know the glass makes it impossible for them to be caught. They will startle but not move. The eating is too good to abandon their stations.

Sassy longs to chase squirrels and gets to try when we are outside. Inside, her constant watch out the window is often rewarded with woodland creatures coming by : foxes, deer, possums, birds, and squirrels.

This squirrel decided to taunt Sassy by poking his head in the window and disappearing. Sassy went into a frenzy of barking. Next the squirrel appeared at the top, upside-down and peering in. More barking and running in place on the bed, scratching to get out. Then the squirrel did another quick peek from a new angle.

Sassy gave out a wounded cry, completely insulted by this behavior. Instead of watching for more, she turned her backside toward the window and looked deeply offended.

Sassy remains the queen of the dog park. She is justifiably famous for her ability to leap up for the ball on three legs and bring it back to me.

She is so aware of audiences now that she watches the pathway for an audience. Sometimes I add sound effects to get the attention of potential fans, who are too busy talking to each other or worrying about the future.. Sassy loves bringing me the ball, but she has a special smile when people are giving her applause and extra attention. I wonder if she is showing me off or I am showing her off.

Everyone loves her coloring and her soft fur. One man came up to me and shook my hand, just because we rescued her. Sassy has given us many times more than we have given her, so we think it is a privilege to have such an intelligent, gentle, loving pet. We have to laugh that she wants to be petted by two people at once, with both of us talking about her.

Now we realize how much the German Shepherd in her wants to give and receive love. But her vocals are mostly Cattle Dog. She has so many sounds, from mewing to clicking and howling, that we can have a conversation about anything. Sometimes we sing the Cattle Dog Blues, where I make up new words and she howls mournfully.

When she sleeps, her back leg (there is only one) stretches across one of us. Sometimes the paw is extended to Chris' face, just touching it.

The funniest use of her paws is her touching of my face. The claws are long and sharp, so she has learned not to poke too rapidly. Sassy sits on the bed, when my head is on the pillow, and slowly reaches down to touch my chin with the tip of her front paw. If I yell "Ow!" she does it again, in super-slow motion, with a devilish grin on her face.

She still grabs my right arm and keeps me from using the mouse when it is time to pet her. One solution is using the mouse with my left hand. Then she reaches across to stop that hand too. The funniest tactic is to see her use her head to boost my hand and house off the desk, making a face like it is hard work, but grinning at the same time. Sassy is a clown, a performer, and a master manipulator.

Sassy loves her two Sheltie sisters. Precious plays tag with her, running inside and outside the house. The universal sign of dogs wanting to play is the bow, followed by a quick dart away. Sassy tried that on Precious last night, but Precious answered by walking into the closet for bed.

Sassy is jealous of too much attention given to Treasure. If I talk too long to Treasure, Sassy begins to bark in pain. I have seen Sassy slamming her front paw on the bed to get attention away from Treasure. At other times she makes a clopping sound with her jaws.

The fourth leg is hardly missed as she leaps for her ball.
Children adore Sassy and ask to toss her ball in the air.

Some Election Summary Comments

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, followed always by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.”
~ Alexander Fraser Tytler, Scottish-born British lawyer and writer, 1747 - 1813. [GJ - Author disputed - see below.]

We are a society depending on government handouts to support a non-working population. Once someone discovers the pleasant life of working the system, breaking from that habit is difficult. That draws people across the border to revel in the security of a declining Roman Empire - bread and circuses.

The Roman government gave free grain to the poor. They decided that was a burden, so they baked bread to give away. One stop shopping for food needs. Bread.

The public spectacles in the Roman Empire were so degraded that they cannot be described here. Gibbon said that 14 of the first 15 emperors of Rome were homosexuals. A recent book said - make that 15 out of 15. Was Nero worse than Caligula? Both practiced incest. Circuses. 

The Roman people loved their bread and circuses. Augustine said that he wanted people to forget what they had lost - and they did. The Roman Empire in the West continued about 300 years more, than fell apart like a cardboard fort left out in the rain. 

We lived on the border of Michigan and Indiana. Michigan offered rich welfare benefits. Indiana was stingy. People north moved across the border and settled in trailer parks to receive Michigan benefits. The recipients paid high prices for poor housing, but renters and owners both collected from the government that way. 

Indiana has continued to have conservative leaders, more or less. Michigan has been dependably Left. Indiana is more of a low tax state. Its northern neighbor has been called The People's Republic of Michigan.

I have an unusual opportunity in teaching college and graduate students from all over the US. A professor does not have to try too hard to influence students. The message comes across in many ways.

I post a greatest share of political material on Facebook, where I still have liberal friend who debate with me. They are far more polite than the so-called conservative Lutherans who love false doctrine. 

Some schools are dedicated to encouraging traditional Christianity and patriotic citizens for the future. One of my friends, a Moliner, is well known for sharing in what Hillsdale College does in that regard. There are other opportunities as well. 

People should not be dis-couraged by the election. Faith makes us bold, as Luther said. The courage comes from trust in God rather than in man.

Dis-illusionment is good. Why live with illusions? Acting on illusions is a bad idea. Trusting in illusions will lead to nothing worthwhile.

The truth is worth a battle. 

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narrow-minded has left a new comment on your post "Some Election Summary Comments":

Thanks for the encouragement, Pastor Jackson, as many of us are discouraged due to the fact that the U.S.A. is now officially Europe.

Psalm 146:3-4
King James Version (KJV)

3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

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GJ - I am thinking of ways to train the next generation. Not every college student wants to spend his life living in the basement of the family home, toking and playing video games while texting his buds.

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Brandon has left a new comment on your post "Some Election Summary Comments":

I would suggest re-doing the post, as your initial quote is incorrect. Tytler never made that statement, and it started becoming circulated after Bush was elected in 2000 with the minority of the majority vote.

Tytler did say, "Patriotism always exists in the greatest degree in rude nations, and in an early period of society." 

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GJ - That quotation is attributed to deTocqueville here. I was more interested in the statement itself than who said it and when. That is the problem with Abraham Lincoln quotations or Luther's.

The Martin Luther Galatians Commentary has three different forms that I have used. One is the American Edition. Another is the Graebner edition. A third one is the Kregel edition. With Luther I am careful to list my source. With Biblical quotations, the translation or paraphrase should be noted each time.  

WELS NNIV Translators

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "WELS NNIV Diaprax: Bible translation study release...":

(W)ELS, buckle-up buttercup, the synod has you on a carnival ride.

Who translated the 2011 NIV?

Methodist Moo, Non-denom Barker, Scum Of The Earth Church Blomberg, Baptist Brown, Trans-denom Fee, Anglican France, Baptist Instone-Brewer...

The translators of the 2011 NIV can be found here: http://www.niv-cbt.org/translators/

Political Disasters Are Built Upon the Failures of the Christian Church

Election
The election results shocked me, but the methods did not. The Republican Party refused to lead clearly after Reagan. 

Romney was a better choice this time, but his record was not that different from Obama's on key issues. 

No one had the guts to challenge the legality or sanity of Obama's nomination the first time, so now he has another two years until he becomes a lame duck president. Given the media slant and demographics, it is better to be the opposition than to be Me Too Socialists.

Losing the Culture War

One newscaster said cheerily on TV, "Twenty percent of Americans have no religious affiliation. That is really good for the Democrat Party."

I resigned from the WELS culture of corruption, adultery, and greed - before Bill Clinton was elected. The Clinton era reflected all the things I saw in the abusive Wisconsin Sect, especially the duplicity at every level. Power and control mattered, but not the truth.

Insipid Lutherans

One group of WELS members had a chance to battle for a simple truth, justification by faith. They called themselves Intrepid Lutherans, but they are really Insipid Lutherans as a group. The term insipid means tasteless, like apples left in the fridge too long or raspberries picked at the wrong time. Dull or flat, lacking in qualities that interest.

The Insipid Lutherans had nothing to say at the district meeting, after one of their own, a lawyer, was excommunicated for standing up to the plagiarist Tim Glende.

A doctrinal issue is more important. The Insipids made a stab at justification by faith, but they backed down as soon as Jon-Boy Buchholz had a tantrum instead of studying the issue in the open.

Did anyone in the California-Arizona district open his ovine mouth at the district meeting, after Buchholz got rid of Paul Rydecki? Not a single one. The Chief Article of the Christian Church, justification by faith, was less important to them than their individual comfort, security, and benefits.

They trust in the power of synod, but not in God. Holy Mother Synod will take care of them and reward them for cowardice. How can God compare to the synod leaders in mercy, in retribution, in blessings?

Likewise, the Steadfast Lutherans went along with destroying the evidence that a child rapist was encouraged by their own clergy leaders to become a lay pastor and strike again. 

A Corrupt Tree Brings Forth Evil Fruit

KJV Matthew 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

The Christian Church began moving away from the inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures in the 19th century. This apostasy gained momentum in the 1930s, with each article of faith re-worded to make it seem as if the ministers were still teaching the Word while they taught against the Word.

The Synodical Conference (LCMS, WELS, ELS) and its fragments (two CLCs, LCR, etc) are corrupt in doctrine, so they produce evil fruit. 

The SynCons are the Me Too party of Lutherans. They shake their heads about the evil of ELCA and promote the same things, in bed with ELCA for a host of programs lavishly funded by Thrivent Insurance for All Religions.

The SynCons were all gushy about the cascade of Marvin Schwan funds that showered upon them before and after he died. Did anyone say Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery to him? No, they told everyone what a wonderful, sincere, Biblical Lutheran he was. 

This congregation was once the mother church of
Augustana congregations in the West.
Her Church is the result of a thousand compromises,
surrenders, and facile lies.