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Showing posts from August 22, 2010

The Rose

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©2010 by LeeZard The rose that lives its little hour Is prized beyond the sculptured flower. - William Cullen Bryant This was a very good summer for LeeZard’s rose garden. Well, it’s not a garden per se; I have the bushes spread throughout our ¾-acre property. But we’ve enjoyed a bevy of big beautiful blooms (All the photos in this piece were taken by LeeZard). No mean feat; as many of you know, the fabled rose requires considerable care and feeding, especially in the damp Pacific Northwest. LeeZard is fascinated by the rose. I love the flower’s look and intoxicating scent. I am not alone. More than any other bloom, the rose has a unique place in our hearts and in history. Their lips were four red roses on a stalk. - William Shakespeare According to the University of Illinois Extension, roses have a long and colorful history. “They have been symbols of love, beauty, war, and politics. The rose is, according to fossil evidence, 35 million years old. In n

Mosque Madness

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Fox News - 8/2/2010 ©2010 by LeeZard LeeZard is troubled by the broohaha over the planned Islamic Community Center and Mosque near “Ground Zero” in New York City’s lower Manhattan. I am more than troubled; anything that breeds prejudice and hate (= ignorance) makes me sick. Rick Lazio, the Republican front-runner in the New York State gubernatorial race, calls the imam behind the center’s development a “terrorist sympathizer.” Sarah Palin Tweeted after President Obama expressed support for the development, “ Mr. President, why are they so set on marking an area w/ mosque steps from what you described, in agreement with many, as "hallowed ground”? (Grammatical error – question mark outside of quotes – is hers). Palin further mangles the language with this Tweet, “ "Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate." Arrrrghhhh!! Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) j