This is Sluggo the Easter Egg (a.k.a. "The Enemy")

Have a Happy Easter Time

Raising a child in a Christian family sometimes creates quite a contrast, to me; I verge on pure hypocrisy, especially at Easter. I mean, it is springtime, complete with birds chirping and budding flowers on the ornamental pear trees. We drive down the highway with our windows down and with the laid-back cant that comes only with the change of seasons. There is a bit of Spring fever beneath the surface of everything--I say this as someone who lives in Texas, where winter lasts nearly two weeks; I cannot comprehend the effects Spring's arrival must have on my friends in, say, Minnesota. I suspect they are truly hardier people than are we, that is until summer hits Texas.

The problem is this: I don't want to explain the Christian reason for Easter, especially in the face of chocolate bunnies and bright-colored eggs and joy and birds and happiness to Mia. So, I compromise, and tell her about Jesus (a G-rated version a pretty far cry from Mel Gibson's Passion).

See, I like to see Mia hunting eggs, despite the fact that doing so is arbitrary to me. I mean, aside from the fact that I used to hunt eggs at my Nanny's house on Easter, there is no personal reason for me to enjoy seeing Mia do so. There should be, however, a personal reason for me to tell her all about Jesus and the cross and His victory over it. If Easter is nothing but chocolates and eggs, and Christmas is just another holiday boost to sales, all fruitcakes and Santa television specials, then I wonder about just how much I must believe in Jesus. After all, if I believed Jesus was who I say He was, and if I am who I pretend to be on Sundays, then shouldn't that Easter story trump the one about Peter Cottontail when I am talking to my daughter, the person dearest to me on this planet?

Leah, Morgan, Mia and Stacy prepare to color eggs

I will keep on thinking this through. Meanwhile, pass the egg dye....

Mia making eggs look great!

Is the USA in Desperate Financial Crisis Today?

Well, people who are much more intelligent than me, especially about things economic, are looking to the Fed's 30 billion dollar backing of JP Morgan's buyout ($23 million?) of Bear, Stern as a signal that things are about to get very much worse here. Evidently, people are not paying their credit card debt or their mortgages, and with major financial institutions going belly up--and with the Fed insuring JP Morgan's 23 million investment with 30 BILLION, folks say that there will be other following Bear Stearn's lead--there is a possibility that we are in for something worse, even, than recession....

One blogger I read sees a conspiracy that even brings in the recent Governor Spitzer scandal:

"But it's interesting timing - a month ago Spitzer wrote an article about how Bush and his buddies are partially responsible for the mortgage fiasco and how our government is bailing out crooks while hardworking Americans lose their jobs and their homes. Then just as a "coincidence" they just happened to "discover" information that made Spitzer resign. The same week that the Fed bailed out a bank who lost money because of the mortgage investments. But people who work at banks know that none of the cash withdrawals from Spitzer were large enough for anyone to fill out the SAR report."

(Here's a link to that Spitzer article: washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html)

"So here is my theory " our government is keeping "tabs" on people the same way that Hoover had his incriminating files on people that he could us when he needed to destroy someone. They knew Spitzer had to go and already had the information they needed although going through someone"s financial records for political purposes is probably illegal."

"Now they"re bailing out BS [Bear Stearns] although the top people there probably already sold their stocks because they knew this was going to happen. But our major newspapers are still focusing on important things such as the life of a high priced escort--yesterday the NYT had an entire page in the main section all about women working as escorts instead of how the Fed is creating even more "moral hazard" by bailing out banks again."

And another blogger goes so far as to question the future of Capitalism (at least the variety fueled by credit):

"In 1989 Russia and its Communism went Belly Up. It looks as if 2008 is the year in which good old Capitalism is on its way to go Belly Up. It's all in what we have been taught since childhood in schools, Colleges and Universities. Privatization is our way of life, Greed has to rule our lives, Screw thy neighbors and friends. This is the Me, Me, Me, generation and to hell with everybody else."

"Let us realize that we are on this earth for a visit and let us take care of each other. We are dependent on each other. Let us get rid of Lobbyists and Lobbying. And let us get rid of corrupt politicians, and a system which favors only the haves."

Well, alrighty then! As I mentioned above, I cannot comment much. I tend to think that it is best to not panic in financial situations, but, at the same time, perhaps it would be smart to have a backup plan in place for retirement.... :o)

A desperate attempt to post something: