Alternatives to Government-Controlled Education

When government controls education (as it does now for most young Americans) it shapes the future in ways not conducive to liberty.  Read and learn about your alternatives:

R.I.P Public Schools
13 Assumptions that Undermine Your Children's Future
Is Home School the Right Choice for Your Family?
GRE Scores by Field of Study Which fields attract the brainiest students? Chart from ETS.

Book Review: The Greatest Comeback by Pat Buchanan

I was a young child during the Nixon presidency, so I welcomed this book as an opportunity to truly understand better the times in which I grew up.  One thing the book confirms is Solomon’s contention that there is nothing new under the sun.  Republicans were divided between anti-communist conservatives and country club liberals well before I was born, just as they are now. 

Whatever one may think of  Richard Nixon, however, there is no denying that he was tenacious.  Defeat seemed to energize him rather than discourage him.  A young Pat Buchanan saw this quality and got a front row seat for Nixon’s comeback.  I recommend this book to students of history or politics and to Republicans who want some insight into the history of their party.

I received a free review copy of this book from Blogging for Books.

Entrepreneur? Check this out!

The Complete Guide to Starting an Online Store: A Book Review: It’s refreshing to read a book that lives up to its name.  When the authors say “complete” they are serious.  Four areas are covered in detail...

Self-Reliance is Subversive: Take Charge of Everyday Health

Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed...

Image from Silar

Over the past year I have gone from skeptic to essential oil enthusiast. One friend who now uses essential oils is a chemical engineer who studied the biochemistry of these oils before trying them. I truly believe God gave us plants full of good things and we can learn to use them to enhance our personal health.

What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are distilled from plants. Their natural function within a plant is to protect it from decay, bacteria, fungi, and insects. These oils can perform some similar functions for humans when inhaled, applied topically, or taken internally, depending on the oil.

Oils are generally used aromatically, although many are safe to use topically (some need to be diluted with a carrier oil such as coconut or olive oil) or even internally. If you take any medications, talk with your doctor and/or pharmacist before using essential oils, as some may negate, alter, or intensify the effects of medications. Keep a list of all medications, nutritional supplements, and natural remedies you take in case of a medical emergency--doctors need to know what you are taking, even if it requires no prescription.

Source: Using Essential Oils: A Beginner's Guide available at www.ShareOils.com

Using Oils

To use essential oils topically, it is convenient to dilute them with organic coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil and put the dilution in a roller-type perfume bottle. This makes it easy to apply oils without spilling them.

Diffusers are available that allow you to distribute essential oils into a sleeping area, your car, or anywhere.

While I personally don't use oils internally much, I know some folks get capsules for taking oils internally. They put a drop of oil inside the capsule, close, and swallow.

Oils That Help My Family

Here are some of the uses I have personally experienced:

Clove Oil is my choice for toothache or tooth sensitivity. It's great to have around when pain occurs over the weekend or after office hours.

Lavender is a staple around my house. I use it for almost any skin irritation. In the kitchen, I burned my finger on a hot pan. I opened my lavender oil, put a drop on my finger, and the pain subsided almost instantly. Lavender is also relaxing, so a drop on a pillow can help with sleep.

Peppermint is my first thought when stomach upsets hit. I have used it in tea for morning sickness and other nausea.

Bergamot is the oil that makes Earl Grey tea so fragrant. I add a drop to regular black tea for fragrance and flavor. Bergamot is also a natural mood lifter.

Blue Chamomile is part of the Deep Blue ointment I get from Doterra. It smells good and lasts hours longer than drugstore muscle rubs. I use it after a long day on my feet to prevent nighttime muscle cramps.

Eucalyptus is one of my favorite aromatics. Not only does it help with stuffy noses and chest congestion, but it's great for general air freshening.

Melaleuca is something I use in addition to lavender for skin irritation such as poison ivy. This even helped somewhat when I had shingles.

Lemon helps me during allergy season when I combine it with peppermint and lavender.

My Conclusions

I don't reject modern medicine; rather, I embrace health. If we take care of ourselves through diet, exercise, and sanitation, we can minimize our use of expensive health care and harsh drugs with unwanted side effects. For example, I would treat a 1st degree burn with lavender--but a severe burn would call for a trip to a doctor or hospital.

Knowing how to help your own family as much as possible can minimize your contact with hospitals, paperwork, HIPAA, ObamaSocialistCare, and other aggravations of modern life.  You will also be prepared for emergencies in which health care from a doctor may be difficult to obtain, e.g. ice storm, government red tape, insurance difficulties, civil unrest....

Disclaimer

This article is meant to inform and entertain. It is not to be considered medical advice. Always let your doctor and pharmacist know all medications you take, as well as nutritional supplements, herbs, and essential oils. Some substances interact with one another or render medications less effective or more effective.

For More Information:  doTerra

Millenials Fight Back!

Katie Kieffer throws Barack Obama’s “Let me be clear…” catch phrase right back in his face on behalf of her generation--the millenials.  She likens his presidency to a war on millenials and makes her case chapter by chapter.

Kieffer got tired of seeing her generation continually lied to and steered in wrong directions.  She got so tired of it, she wrote a book!  Each painful chapter highlights one issue where millenials (and a lot of us older folks, too) got the shaft.  Millenials in our military have died because of stupid rules of engagement and wishy-washy “commitment” from Washington, D.C.  (She lists the names of the SEALS killed August 6, 2011, because somebody ought to care.) Millenials were all told to go to college as the key for success that has yet to come long after graduation.  Millenials who grew up around wholesome, gun-owning, churchgoing folk were told they were the problem with America.

I admire Katie’s optimism despite the fact that the first president many millenials voted for has not left them much to work with.  Here’s hoping their generation can somehow bring beauty from ashes after Obama is finally done with them.

I received a free copy of Let Me Be Clear from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

Fight Back, Young Women!

Be Rebellious by Megan Clinton is a call to young women everywhere to take charge of their destinies and become the women they were created to be.  In Clinton’s words,”…rebel against a culture that tries to define success for us…”This young woman has her priorities in the right place as she confronts our degraded culture.  Young women who don't rebel are just being used by the political elite to advance their own careers at the expense of young people's lives.

This book covers material from the Song of Solomon through the rise of social media.  Her examples of rebels from the Bible are especially inspiring.  Rebels don’t have to bomb buildings or hack into computers or be outrageously dressed.  Mary the mother of Jesus dared to believe an angel who told her God would use her to do impossible things.  Esther risked her life to save her people by violating a law and going before the King uninvited.  Ruth turned her back on an idolatrous culture and followed her widowed mother-in-law to a strange land and an invisible God.

Books like this give me hope for the future.  Take heart, America! Not all young women are spending all their time having one-night stands and abortions while embracing communism and rejecting family and faith.  Some, like Clinton and her readers, are rebels in the best sense of the word.

I received a free electronic advance copy of this book for my review.

Roar Blog Tour Stops Here in North Carolina!

Hog on Ice: A Blog about Independent Learning: Roar Blog Tour Stops Here in North Carolina!: As an older woman and a Libertarian (once a Reagan Republican) I was interested to hear and understand what a younger woman really thi...

The Last Free Man: A Short Story

Someone was knocking on the door. He was not surprised. He rose slowly, walked to the door, and opened it for the men. He assumed they were federal agents. He stood in the doorway, calmly looking at the men, but saying nothing.

The silence was uncomfortable for the agents. Their leader cleared his throat and began, "Mr. Smith, we've been sent here to help you."

"I did not request any help," Mr. Smith replied. "Who sent you?" Mr. Smith already knew the answer, but he wanted to make the men answer.

"Why, the people, of course. Your fellow citizens are concerned that you are still living outside the collective."

Mr. Smith, of course, was fine. He needed no collective. He grew his own food, had a well with fresh water, and had built a fine house. He had once been the most brilliant engineer in his country. He was still brilliant, but the collective had confiscated the factories and machinery he had designed and maintained. He had retreated to his remote home to try to live in peace. Other engineers had moved to the collective but, over time, had lost their desire to innovate. Perhaps being surrounded by all those "people's representatives" and federal agents did not inspire men to put forth their best efforts.

Mr. Smith, after another long silence, responded to the agents. "The citizens' concern is unwarranted. I am fine. Now, if that is all, I'll say good night." He turned from the door, knowing the agents would not leave.

"Mr. Smith," said the leader, "We came to take you with us."

"Why?" said Smith. He knew the answer, but wanted the satisfaction of hearing it spoken out loud.

"Well...we...need you, Mr. Smith," they admitted.

"I see. All those drones in the collective and not a one of them can keep your economy going? So you've come to drag me away to save you all, after you've stolen everything I ever invented?" Smith waited for their next move.

"We wouldn't exactly say that. You will come, won't you? We didn't plan to use force."

"Of course you didn't," said Smith, "but I can't help but notice you are all armed." He paused for a moment, appearing to consider their request. Could they really believe a man of his intelligence would go with them and save the collective that had destroyed his life's work? Yes, those agents could believe it, because they did not understand how free men lived. At last, he answered. "If you gentlemen will be so kind as to let me gather my books, I will meet you at your car."

The relieved agents went to their car while Smith went back into his house. Smith called his dog, grabbed a pack he kept in the closet for just such an emergency, and slipped through a trap door in the bedroom. When he was safely on his way through his carefully engineered tunnel to the forest, he pulled a detonator from the pack. All the agents saw was Smith's fine house, blown to bits. They assumed Smith had committed suicide, just as Smith had known they would.

The collective held a meeting that night to decide what to do. Winter was coming, and nobody had enough ambition to fix the heating system or preserve the food. The rusting factories were filled with drones, waiting for the collective to tell them what to do. They were waiting for the collective to save them. They did not realize that they were the collective and they would not save themselves. They had forgotten how. Smith however, continued to be the last free man.

Free-Range Humans: A Subversive Idea that Can Help the Unemployed or the Underemployed

Here's a link to something on one of my other blogs--an idea that is different, unconventional--even subversive:

Free Range Humans: Can We Do It?: Anyone hesitating to start working for themselves doing things they love need only consider Cantwell's contention that working for an employer is like being self-employed with only one client...

Christian Persecution: How it Could Happen in America

Based on the film by Daniel Lusko, Robin Parrish has crafted a novel that is best read cover-to-cover in one sitting, if possible. Persecuted: I Will Not be Silent is a page-turner partly because it seems so plausible in a day when homeschoolers from Germany are denied asylum and schoolchildren are told they can't write about Jesus or pass out Christmas cards to friends at recess.  Or a world in which America leaves citizens in Muslim prisons to languish.  

The fictional John Luther, like many preachers before him, lives in a time and place in which he must choose to obey God or government.  When John chooses God, his enemies (and former friends) go to great lengths to frame him, ruin his reputation, and hijack his television ministry.  When John refuses to give up and sets out to uncover their conspiracy, those enemies show just how far they will go to silence John and the gospel.  How many must die?

The question asked of John Luther can be asked of every Christian.  What would it take to stop you from spreading the gospel message? I hope there will be a sequel, as I think John Luther has a lot more to say!

I received a free review copy of this book from Bethany House publishers.  

Money Myths Cleared Up Thanks to Steve Forbes

Living subversively in the twenty-first century means insisting on finding truth and living truth while those around you live the lies.  America may be a country full of commerce and innovation, but it is also a country full of people who are largely ignorant when it comes to money.  Steve Forbes, a man who has some experience with money, offers a book that is simple, yet very smart.  I highly recommend getting a copy of Money when it is released on June 3. I received a free electronic advance review copy through Net Galley for my honest review of the book.

Kindergarden of Eden: A Review

A Primer on the Postmodern Progressive

Evan Sayet seeks to answer a question I often ask when confronted with modern liberals: "What on earth are they thinking?" Now I understand their problem. It is hard to make sense when you won't allow yourself to discern between good and bad, good and better, moral or immoral. It's hard to be logical while denying the existence of absolute, transcendent truth. 

Thus the modern "liberals" subsidize economically destructive behaviors while demonizing hard working traditional families as greedy, for example. Their only virtue is their refusal to judge, even when something is patently, obviously, very wrong. If only Sayet had a plan for defeating these enemies of truth and reality!

I bought the e-book on Amazon and am giving my unsolicited opinion on the quality of this book.