CURRENT CRISIS #1

Linden bases his political opinions on what he hears, what he reads and a long lifetime of observing unseemly Congressional activities. Once he has formed his opinion, he attempts to share it with his listeners and readers. Some of these are slow learners.

On Monday, while listening to a bit of the Rush Limbaugh radio show (perhaps the best American news source,) he heard some of the proceedings of a testimony from a lending regulator and some members of Congress. Members were identified as Barney Frank, Maxine Waters and some members of the Black Caucus – names not recorded by Linden.

The regulator attempted to convince the committee that Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac needed much more oversight. They were not convinced and were not overly polite.

In recent days, the attempted financial bailout of these and other lending institutions that are involved in this particular democrat failure has been miserably handled by Nancy Pelosi and many of the other democrats. Surely this mediocre representation is not what people had in mind when they voted for “change” two years ago.

In closing, please consider turning out from any further “service” Hillary Clinton, Kent Conrad, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, John Kerry and Barack Obama. There are undoubtedly others but this list will do for starters.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL CRISES

In Linden’s view, the Friday night presidential debate settled little to nothing. Obama looked less bad than Linden expected him to look and McCain appeared mostly presidential but was unwilling to use many of the attack opportunities that were presented to him. The moderator appeared less biased than many previous ones have appeared. Backers of each man proclaimed that their guy was the debate winner. McCain had suspended his campaign in order to return to Washington: Obama had said “I’m available if you need me” but decided that he better follow McCain’s lead and returned also.

As of Sunday evening, Linden was unaware of any congressional agreement in relation to the financial crisis. It should be noted that the democrats do not really need an agreement with the Republicans to pass a bill but they have no wish to appear solely responsible for the initial monstrosity.

The democrats announced that they had an agreement, then McCain made his appearance, followed by Obama. At the meeting, President Bush deferred to the democrats who then turned to Obama. He, perhaps because of lack of executive experience, failed his test. Conservative Republicans said they could not support it as written: Too much wasteful spending. Then, the meeting ended in a less than completely cordial setting. If you are a taxpayer, you should thank God for Conservative Republicans.
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LINDEN'S LIFE:
Thursday: Did some work in the goldfish pond area. Talked to Brian and Julie. Not as active as I should have been.
Friday: Men’s Prayer Breakfast at my church. Joyce called (she had just returned from Florida) to see when my appointment with the eye specialist is: It is Wednesday. Went to a calling at a funeral home. Watched the presidential debate.
Saturday. Received some fig and peach preserves plus some honey from Katia. She called and we had a very enjoyable conversation. She told me that “Obama” in Turkish means an annoying, yapping little dog. I watched some football on TV later.
Sunday: Morning church and Sunday school followed by brunch with friends, paper reading and a nap at home and evening services at my church.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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NOT ALL ABOUT HOUSING CRISIS

Linden started roughing out this posting on Thursday evening and, at that time, no definitive approach to the housing crisis had surfaced. It was comforting to know that Senator McCain had put his election campaign on hold so he could lend his weight to addressing the problem. It was (is) not comforting at all to have democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd having prominent roles in addressing the problem they were so heavily involved in creating.

In another, no less important, area, it has been written that Obama is the favored candidate by those we are fighting in the war on terror. Let’s see, do they really have the best interest of our country at heart?

It has also been reported (these reports are not always reliable) that Obama is favored by Germany, France, Britain, Russia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. If true, we should consider whether or not those mentioned really want the U.S. to remain the most powerful nation in the world. Practice thinking!
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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REFLECTION & REVELATION

Some years ago Linden wrote to the editor of the paper to which he subscribed asking for some relief from the liberal pap the readers were being fed and suggested an occasional column by Deroy Murdock and Michelle Malkin.

Articles by Murdock did start to appear on an infrequent basis but it seemed that Malkin had committed some unpardonable sin and was never to be seen again in that publication. Linden believes it was because of her defense of racial profiling in the book “In Defense of Internment”. So much for reflection!

You should be aware of Linden’s general attitude in regard to the financial upheaval related to the mortgage loan scandal which is largely the fault of the democrat congress and that he believes that Chris Dodd and Barney Frank should be severed from their positions.

Linden, since he (sadly) will not be involved in the decision making process, has not carefully studied the bailout recommendations. But, what he has read does not make him even remotely comfortable. He is, however, intrigued with the suggestion advanced by Deroy Murdock in the National Review piece of September 23 entitled “Breaking Up Is Easy To Do”. In it, he suggests that the mortgages be broken up and auctioned off. My description does not do the article justice: Read it!
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LINDEN'S LIFE:
Monday: Miscellaneous activities including loading some brush on a trailer and working around the goldfish pond.
Tuesday: Played nine holes of golf rather poorly; went by to see Diana at Secondhand Stories for a bit; shopped for groceries etc. Talked to Brian for a while: For one of the few times that he has had a divorce related court hearing, I did not think he was treated unfairly.
Wednesday: Had a pleasant lunch with a friend then went to the credit union and the post office. Our Sunday school classes prepared food from the 12 different countries within which we have a mission outreach. I sampled food from 11 of these countries and excluded (due to being full) only Ghana and the U.S. We then had a wonderful mission related worship service.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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HOUSING CRISIS

Linden has posted several recent items concerned with the current housing/finance crisis within which he attributed the problems to various members of the democrat party. He was pleased to read today that Mike Pence R-IN is more than a little nervous about allowing those responsible for this fiasco to have management of “the solution”.

With thanks to World Net Daily and author Drew Zahn for the following. It started as follows:
“Guess again who’s to blame for U.S. mortgage meltdown
Analysts point not to greed, but to social activist politics"

The end of the article is as follows:
"The study, however, came under brutal attack in the U.S. Congress and was ridiculed with charges of racism.
A few years later, when Greg Mankiw, chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, voiced a warning about weakened underwriting standards, Congress rebuffed him as well.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., in 2003 as criticizing Greg Mankiw "because he is worried about the tiny little matter of safety and soundness rather than 'concern about housing.'"Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, rejected a Bush administration and Congressional Republican plan for regulating the mortgage industry in 2003, saying, "These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis." According to a New York Times article, Frank added, "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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PROBLEMS AND PALIN

Linden got most of his news on Monday from the Rush Limbaugh show: (1.) He said Chris Dodd and Barney Frank should be thrown out of Congress, (2.) Had Frank not opposed a Bush banking bill a couple of years ago, this financial crisis would not have happened and (3.) The Obama campaign threatened the Jewish organization sponsoring the anti-Iran affair in New York with investigation of their tax-exempt status if they didn’t dis-invite Governor Sarah Palin. Linden read none of this in the morning paper.

Monday in Human Events Connie Hair presented an article entitled “Palin a Hot Ticket in the Sunshine State”. There was a link to the New York Sun article “remarks Palin would have made at the rally”. Both the Hair article and the contents of the link are well worth your time to read.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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THE STUFF I READ

Linden receives a great deal of reading material on his computer and also subscribes to a daily paper. Two of the emails he has received recently virtually promised that Joe Biden will be replaced by Hillary Clinton as the democrat VP nominee. It seems that Joe is gonna develop a “health problem”. This is probably more desirable than Obama admitting that he made a mistake in one of his major decision making efforts.

In a completely different but no less interesting area, Linden read in the Indianapolis Star an AP column authored by Ron Fournier and Trevor Tompson that was mostly concerned with white racial bias. In it, mention was made that as many as one-third of white democrats harbor negative views toward blacks. Near the end of the article, it mentioned that black support for Obama was nearly unanimous. How can one-third be racially biased but nearly unanimous is not? Will a competent and unbiased writer ever address this question?
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LINDEN'S LIFE:
Thursday: Met Jack and Paul at the restaurant for our usual Thursday breakfast: Bill and Chuck had taken their wives on a fun trip. I was involved in a few phone calls, otherwise an unproductive day.
Friday: Men’s Prayer Breakfast at my church had pork chops eggs and biscuits. As always, it was enjoyable. Jack Burlison, Jim Peva and I went to a State Police retirees luncheon at the Post on the East side of Indianapolis: Saw a lot of people I rarely see and even more that I do not know. Had a good lunch there. After returning home, had some maintenance work on the car performed.
Saturday: Men’s Prayer Breakfast at Kingsway church: Another good breakfast and enjoyable time. Attended a writers group meeting. In the afternoon, I went to the Plainfield library for a performance by the Central Indiana Folk Music and Mountain Dulcimer Society. There were 19 musicians playing a variety of instruments. Loved it! When Brian was in high school I took him to several of the Society meetings in the hope I could change his interest in rock music to the more traditional music that I love. I failed in that effort. In the early evening, I attended a fund raising affair for our Lt. Governor, Becky Skillman. She gave a great speech and the food was absolutely super. Wish I could cook like that. Four events in one day were about two too many: I went home tired.
Sunday: Morning church services and Sunday school. At home, read the paper, listened to music, watched some TV and took a short nap. Later, went to evening church services.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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FEELING INADEQUATE

Since Linden does not expect a lot of himself, he does not spend a great deal of time thinking about his adequacy. Others, YES! Two messages he received on Thursday are responsible for the title of this posting.

The first, from his friend Katia in Wisconsin: “As of today The United States has three more citizens”. Linden can think of no personal accomplishment that holds a candle to that.

The second caused Linden to think that nothing he has ever written or will ever write can favorably compare to three recent writings by Kyle-Anne Shiver. Links appear following Linden’s mutterings. Please read and advise your friends of these fine works.

On second thought, Linden will not write more: It could not compare.

"Barack's Helpful Hints for Sarah" Pajamas Media

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/barack%E2%80%99s-helpful-hints-for-sarah/"

A Portrait of American Wisdom: John McCain" American Thinker

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/a_portrait_of_american_wisdom.html"

Palin and Pelosi: Worlds Apart in House-Cleaning Methodology"

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/palin-and-pelosi-worlds-apart-in-house-cleaning-methodology/

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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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TALK RADIO

If you are a frequent reader of Linden’s postings, you know that he has little, if any, use for the “news” as it is presented on the network channels, that he does not have access to cable channels and that he is often disappointed in what appears in the daily newspaper he receives. That leaves talk radio – surely somewhat biased but not patently dishonest and it often touches upon matters that otherwise get little attention.

The posting yesterday touched upon 9 democrat Senators who were beneficiaries of the largesse of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac: Something that we less fortunate taxpayers will pay for again and again. This posting came about as a result of a Rush Limbaugh news item.

Again, on Wednesday, he mentioned an article of some interest by Frederick W. Kagan in the September 16 Weekly Standard. In it, Kagan outlined how 3 democrat Senators, Schumer, McCaskill and Kerry managed to botch up oil deals in Iraq to the point where China was the beneficiary. So, in these two days, Linden has mentioned 12 democrat Senators who it would appear are not of the America first type. Talk about your “Culture of Corruption”!
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LINDEN'S LIFE:
Monday: Performed household tasks and worked outside enough to get really tired. Went to a meeting at my church in the evening. Had a good dinner of slaw, green beans, macaroni & cheese, barbeque and cherry cobbler. This was followed by a good program. There were 92 men from 12 different churches present.

Tuesday: Met friends for early morning coffee, performed normal tasks and there was some progress made in improving my internet access.

Wednesday: Did a bunch of errands in the morning, got really tired working outside in the afternoon and had dinner and a program at my church in the evening.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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A TASK FOR SARAH

Linden has intended to prepare a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac posting for quite some time. Rush Limbaugh devoted some of his Tuesday program to this subject and that provided the impetus for Linden to present a few thoughts.

It should come as no surprise to hear that Linden hopes that the John McCain/Sarah Palin ticket will be successful in November. If that should come to pass, due to her success in rooting our corruption in Alaska, Linden hereby suggests that now Governor Palin will assume the leadership in an effort to identify and prosecute those who enjoyed excess profits or income as a result of their association with Fanny and Freddie. The taxpayers deserve no less.

Linden suggests the following democrats for attention by Sarah in this regard: Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelik Chris Dodd, Kent Conrad, Barney Frank, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Jim Johnson. If any Republicans are involved, hang them too.

Perhaps the prosecution could be enlarged to include those on the board of directors of the two organizations as well as those other legislator types who were involved in practically forcing lending institutions to make inadvisable loans. Perhaps this one effort would rid congress of a large percentage of the undesirable members.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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HOPE, CHANGE & GOVERNOR PALIN

Early in this election cycle we often heard the words “hope” and “change”. Both are good words but have little meaning if what is hoped for and what is to be changed are not defined. The candidate who started using these words did a poor job of defining what he had in mind, if anything.

Linden hopes that Governor Palin will be elected to serve as Vice President of our great country. Linden hopes that her superior executive experience will not be wasted and that she will have a positive effect on reducing the cost of our federal government. Her record is so vastly superior than that of her opponents that there is reason to believe that she will have such an effect.

If Governor Palin is elected, John McCain will, of course, be elected also. The change we should expect is an end to congressional earmarks, a move toward balanced budgets, a better energy policy, less waste of taxpayer money and a continuation of a safe America. Hope and change so defined can not be a bad thing.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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PALIN INTERVIEW & THE "NEWS" BIAS

In order to see the Gibson interview of Governor Palin, Linden had to overcome his aversion to network news programs. He probably didn’t see all of the interview, but enough.

One only needs to check “Charlie Gibson’s interview questions for Obama vs Palin” as presented by American Thinker’s Thomas Lifson on September 14 to see the media bias. There are others who have presented the same unfavorable report on the media. A Newsbusters posting by P.J. Gladnick on September 13 entitled “ABC News Edited Out Parts of Sarah Palin interview presents the same type of information.

While searching for specific to the interview type reports, Linden saw at least one site that listed newspaper headlines on that subject which casts Governor Palin in an unfavorable and he thinks untrue light. Why can the liberals not accept the fact that Governor Palin is most obviously better qualified for an executive position than the ones they support.

On an almost completely different subject, should advertisers who support these “news” reports and others areas of obvious bias be made aware that people may start holding them responsible for the content of that which they support?
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LINDEN'S LIFE:
Thursday: Normal breakfast meeting. Had a very good “Golden Glows” pitch-in luncheon: Youth Pastor Josh Cadwell gave the devotions and he asked me to say a few words about memories of grade school years. I mentioned a time about 66 years ago. Two or three others also had comments. Norm Stout came by in the evening and pulled out some dead evergreen shrubs. I guess “evergreen” is a misnomer.
Friday: 6:00 Men’s Prayer Breakfast – steak and eggs with potatoes. Good! Did incidental stuff later.
Saturday: Worked outside a little. Went to a “Backyard Bash” hosted by Dan & Barb McGrew and Lee & Kathy Seitz at the McGrew home in Danville. Very nice time. Lee used to have a TV show that I would appear on occasionally.
Sunday: Morning and evening services at my church. In the morning, I didn’t stay for Sunday school: I developed a severe earache – it hurt both externally and internally: It was much better after a long nap.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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EARMARKS & MORE

H/T Ed Morrissey at hotair.com for this Sept. 10 comment from Governor Sarah Palin:

Just the other day, our opponent brought up earmarks, and frankly I was surprised that he did, considering his record on earmarks. I didn’t think he’d want to go there. In just three years, our opponent has requested nearly a billion dollars in earmarks, and that’s about a million dollars every working day.

We reformed the abuses of earmarks in our state, and it was while our opponent was requesting a billion dollars in earmarks as a Senatorial privilege. What I was doing was vetoing half a billion dollars as an executive responsibility.

Linden does not know where the following email originated but he received it from Bob and Barbara:

Who am I?

I am under 45 years old,
I love the outdoors,
I hunt,
I am a Republican reformer,
I have taken on the Republican establishment,
I have many children,
I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president
With less than two years in the governors office.

Did you guess?

I am Teddy Roosevelt in 1900. Hmmmm, so Sarah Palin
Is not qualified but Obama is?
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HORRIBLE THOUGHTS

Linden has done nothing to dispel the notion that he believes the election of Senator Barack Obama would be an absolute disaster for our country. He has not yet addressed the expansion of this disaster by Senator Biden also being on the ticket. The possible election of Obama – Biden surely qualifies as a horrible thought.

Even more horrible, if that is possible, is the thought of what could happen if through a tragic chain of events the line of succession should be called into play and Speaker Pelosi and/or Senator Byrd should be elevated to one or both of the highest offices in our land. Linden needs to purge his mind of this nightmare.
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LINDEN'S LIFE:
Monday was mostly an inactive day. Tyler, our Church intern, and I did go to a nice restaurant for dinner and we had a good visit.
Tuesday brought the monthly Republican breakfast and a great speech by Nancy who had attended the convention in St. Paul. From there, went on to Voter Registration in Danville to file some paperwork. Later, had an optometrist appointment: The condition of the left eye is deteriorating. Will see a specialist soon. Not good but not surprising news.
Wednesday brought biscuits & gravy with coffee at Chick-fil-A, some time in the laundry room and evening at Church. Had spaghetti, mixed vegetables, banana pudding and coffee for dinner: This was followed by an interesting program.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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OPRAH ?

Although Linden has intended, in his less lucid moments, to watch at least a bit of the Oprah Winfrey TV production, he has to admit that it has not yet happened. It probably never will. At the risk of irritating some of those who are dedicated watchers, he does not understand the need to watch what he believes to be meaningless twaddle.

It was probably when Linden was listening to Jason Lewis on the Rush Limbaugh radio show two days ago that he heard that Oprah had said that Governor Sarah Palin would not be invited to appear on her show until after the election. Strange approach for a promoter of womankind!

Well, bias comes in many shapes and forms and Linden’s personal bias in regard to Ms. Winfrey is that she is a racist.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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ACORN

While running errands on Monday, Linden listened to bits of the Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh radio shows. Jason Lewis was serving as guest host on the Limbaugh show.

It was probably Jason Lewis who directed attention to Obama’s association with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) as a community organizer.

Apparently ACORN has been involved in numerous legal actions regarding their practice of encouraging voter fraud. It was stated that they receive FEDERAL FUNDS, including some from FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC! WHY??

Surely if McCain – Palin are successful, this waste of taxpayer money will be stopped. Maybe some restitution will be made.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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PALIN FOR PRESIDENT 2012

Linden is well aware that a large segment of the U.S. population had scarcely heard of Sarah Palin as recently as two weeks ago. Common knowledge and uncommon ability are two entirely different things.

Conversely, the heroism of John McCain is assuredly the best known attribute of any of the four persons seeking the top elective positions in our land.

If the two democrat candidates have any management or executive experience, it is a secret to this point. Their experience has largely been in the legislative area. In other words, they are talkers: Experience in this area, although not worthless, is common at all levels of society.

In addition to the experience in multiple areas that comes to the mother of a large family, Palin has functioned well in legislative, management and executive areas both as a business owner and in the City Council, Mayoral and Governor offices. In addition to her obvious skills in these areas, her approach to rooting out corruption is notable.

Although a case can be, and has, been made that she is the best qualified of those in this elective contest, it is probably still necessary that the McCain – Palin ticket win this November in order for her to remain a frontrunner in 2012.
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LINDEN'S LIFE:

After our Thursday breakfast meeting, with only Bill, Chuck and myself present, Chuck came to my place to provide the necessary help and guidance to cause my computer operation to complete a desired book preparation job. Afterward, spent most of the rest of the rest of the day attending to various aspects of this effort.

Friday brought the usual Men’s Prayer Breakfast, contacts with my kids and a long telephone conversation with a friend for whom I am attempting to do some preliminary book editing.

Saturday brought the early morning Men’s Prayer Meeting at another church: We were unable to get in the kitchen so, we had a “tailgate party” outside. The meeting went well and we had great food. I met Carl and Joyce for lunch at 11:00: I wasn’t hungry so just had a roll and coffee. Joyce, our former Indiana Poet Laureate, brought me a wonderful piece of work.

Sunday: Had the usual church related attendance, brunch, paper reading, watched some TV and, in the evening, went back to Church for our evening service. We were treated to a report of the recent mission trip to Poland that one of our groups had taken. Back home, watched the Colts lose their season opener.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Linden started roughing out this posting before starting to watch the Thursday night presentation. So, some mention of those activities will come at the end.

To this point, the convention has been a joy for this old conservative Republican to watch. The presentations by Laura Bush, Thompson, Lieberman, Romney, Lingle, Giuliani, and Huckaby each were enjoyable watching. If others were left off of this list, the omission was not intentional.

Linden chose the PBS station to watch, with one short excursion to one of the networks. In it, they were showing the short address by President bush: Linden had previously watched it on PBS. They had presented it, showing frequent and hearty applause. The network filled the applause part with dead air – thereby causing the President to look like he was stumbling. This was probably not unintentional.

Although probably well known, Linden was unfamiliar with the PBS announcers. The main man and a chubby older guy gave the impression of being democrats while the other guy, his name may be “Brooks”, may have slight leanings the other way. The female, her name was “Gwen” appeared visibly upset after the end of the Sarah Palin speech. It was not a good night for Obama supporters.

Among the Thursday night speakers were Pawlenty, Frist, Mutter, Brownback, Fallin, Graham, Ridge, Cindy McCain, and, of course, a great speech by John McCain.

This convention was a time of rejuvenation for the Republicans: Sarah Palin breathed fresh life into the campaign and much more that adequately filled her hoped for role.
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NOTE: Please brighten your day by reading “Palin Rules Libs Drool” presented by Kyle-Anne Shiver September 4 on American Thinker.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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ROUND THREE PALIN VS. OBAMA

In round three, we will consider the politically related involvement of Palin and Obama in their most recent elective office.

Palin: Governor of Alaska – a state that is situated between Russia and Canada. As Chief Executive, the Governor is responsible for directing thousands of employees and hundreds of initiatives. As commander of the state National Guard, the Governor commands the first level of our national defense. In short, the responsibilities and demands are breathtaking in size and scope. The actions of Palin in this office have been quite satisfactory.

Obama: U.S. Senator. Focus of those in this office seems primarily to be on getting reelected. Primary personnel responsibility is with personal staff. As the Senator largely regarded as the most liberal within a body dominated by liberals, Obama has seemed to focus his time in office primarily on political campaigning. From the standpoint of this writer, Obama has not earned the confidence, trust or respect of those he should be serving.

Outcome: Palin wins by a knockout.

Tomorrow: The Republican Convention
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LINDEN'S LIFE

Monday: Even though it was Labor Day, Linden accomplished his blog posting and worked several hours on preparing for the publication of his next book.

Tuesday: Continue to sleep poorly. Played 9 holes of golf. Didn’t keep score but seemed to hit the ball well enough. Not much else.

Wednesday: Had an enjoyable lunch with a friend. This was the first night for our Wednesday Church activities: Had a great meal – slaw, baked beans, corn on the cob, fried chicken and strawberry shortcake.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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ROUND TWO PALIN VS. OBAMA

In round two, we will consider the candidates from the standpoint of their early involvement in serving in elective office.

PALIN: While functioning as a business owner, Palin served four years on the Wasilla, AK City Council and six years as Mayor of Wasilla. She earned a reputation as an efficiency proponent and corruption fighter.

OBAMA: Was in the Illinois State Senate 96-04. Although he had one or more very questionable votes, he is probably best know for voting as follows:
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present, present, present, present, present, present, present,
Present, present.

He was considered to have some association with those who would normally be considered corrupt or otherwise undesirable.

TOMORROW: Round Three.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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ROUND ONE PALIN VS. OBAMA

In round one we will take a short look at activities involving these two shortly before holding public office.

Palin: Worked as a sports reporter and in the family salmon fishing business. In short, involved in private enterprise matters.

Obama Was occupied with being a “neighborhood activist.” Linden’s perhaps rather biased view is that this involves attempting to latch upon taxpayer funds. In short, “the government is the answer!”

Tomorrow: Round Two.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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MY APOLOGIES

As Linden started to rough out this Labor Day posting, it was something over 50 hours since John McCain announced his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Linden has not yet stopped smiling! Not since Ronald Reagan has he been so enthused about a candidate.

Linden attempts to live his life so that he rarely, if ever, has to say, “I’m sorry.” Now, he has to admit that he was wrong: He misjudged John McCain! He was convinced that McCain would select a loser to be his running mate. Possibly do something really stupid like select someone from one of the world’s least effective bodies –The U.S. Senate.

McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin illustrates that he has a well formed knowledge base about what our country needs at this point in our history. Tears welled up in Linden’s eyes as he listened to the McCain/Palin announcement made in Dayton, Ohio. To merely say that Linden is pleased is similar to saying the great flood was caused by a light shower! Perhaps now our country will avert the disaster that has been looming on the horizon: Thank You God for making this a distinct possibility.
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LINDEN'S LIFE
Had our usual Thursday breakfast meeting: Just Bill, Chuck and I present. Attended to normal everyday tasks and, while ironing, listened to some old 33 RPM records, of which I have many. I particularly enjoyed listening to Pedro Vargas sing “Adios, Mariquita Linda.” I couldn’t find the Mejia recording of “Escaleras en la Carcel.” When Rubye and I were in San Antonio maybe eight years ago, I had a mariachi band in the Mercado play and sing those two numbers.
Julie called: She had been in Bloomington, Illinois and was on her way home after picking Jade up. Julie is really pleased with the two ladies she has to look after Jade during Julie’s work hours.

Friday, after another really lousy night for sleeping, brought the usual early morning Men’s Prayer Breakfast. I was useless all day. Probably the high point of the day was getting a call from Jack and Paul. They were in Branson, Missouri and wanted to know what I thought of McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin.

Saturday, I went to a visitation for the wife of a former credit union associate (and State Police employee): She was only 55. I saw several people there who worked at the credit union and several people from the State Police. In fact, the first person I met remembered me from over 30 years ago at The Department. After returning home, I listened to Indiana University win a football game. Good start to the season.

Sunday brought church, Sunday School and, since I had another bad night for sleeping, I did not go to brunch with the group. The rest of the day I was in a fog. I hate it and I don’t understand why I am so often now having trouble sleeping.
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LINDEN'S COMPOSITIONS:
Linden’s first CD “Songs A Poor Old Police Department Retiree Might Write While Waiting For His Meager Pension Check” is now ready for purchase as are the six books he has written and/or published. Plainfield area sales at Secondhand Stories in the strip mall at Raceway & Rockville roads. Online, go to addresses below and inquire on “Linden Swift”.

http://stores.ebay.com/secondhand-stories
www.alibris.com/bookstore/secondha

DONATIONS to support postings, are appreciated but not necessary, may be made to Linden Swift, Box 203, Plainfield, IN 46168

COMMENTS: Only those sent to LWDcomment@aol.com are received.
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