"Chisago County Board Votes Against Proposed Muslim Cemetery "--

Oh God, here we go again!
 
The Chisago County Board has voted against a proposed Muslim cemetery.
The board voted 3-2 Wednesday night against the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Minnesota’s proposal to create a private Muslim natural cemetery on a 16-acre site in rural Chisago Lake Township.

Commissioners George McMahon, Lora Walker and Rick Greene voted to deny the Conditional Use Permit, and Commissioners Mike Robinson and Ben Montzka voted to allow it.
 

A natural cemetery means a loved one is buried using only a cloth -- no casket, vault or embalming fluid. Some neighbors had expressed health concerns over the natural cemetery.
"We have 1,500 members of our mosque, and they all expressed desire to be buried the traditional way, which, when you look at, is very much like the United States used to bury their loved ones," proponent Enes Gluhich said in a previous KSTP interview.
The board said the cemetery is proposed for a 16-acre plot, which they say is a small parcel for the planned use and will result in a “close proximity” to neighbors. The board said it’s “too tight” of a lot for the number of burials expected.
 
The board also said the land has potential for future residential development, which would be less likely to happen if there was a cemetery there, and the presence of a cemetery would lead to property devaluation of up to 12.3 percent of a home’s value.
The board also cited the “general unsightliness” of a cemetery in the area, saying area neighbors would be negatively impacted by it.

OK--now wait a minute. Our burial laws are made to protect groundwater contamination, in addition to other things.  We, as Americans, must abide by these laws.  So why the hell does anyone think they can come here, and change our laws and rules, because it is not in keeping with their beliefs?  Heads UP, people!  If you don't want to live by our laws, no one is holding you here.  Feel free to send your loved ones body back where this sort of burial IS allowed.  But if you are in AMERICA--either accept things the way they are, or go back to your own country. 
Yes, we USED to bury our dead this way--before we came to understand it was NOT the right way to do things, and could cause irreparable harm.  
Sadly--there are people who care going to scream "racist" or "discrimination" against Muslims.
This has NOTHING to do with either. If you are going to live in America, you must live within our laws.  If you can't--it's simple.  Leave.  The door goes both ways. You cannot have it all.


 

HUNTERS--you can all go to HELL!

I married into a family of hunters.  One of my earliest memories of my new father in law went like this;
He brought me into the living room to see his ducks, taixidermied, hanging on the wall. ( I was pregnant with his first grandson at the time, and determined that my child would NOT grow up and chose to kill Innocent animals.)
I looked sadly at the ducks, and turned and asked him--
"Why?"
His answer--"Because I love them."

I stood there a moment, and turned to him and said these exact words;
"Well, I love your son--but that does not mean I want to see him dead and hanging on my wall."

My father in law never again spoke of hunting to me. My son grew up respecting life.

Lately I have been seeing stories of "men" (I use the word loosely) who have killed gorgeous animals, deers with huge antlers.  I have to ask them this;

WHY kill them?  Does this make you more of a man?  I think any REAL man would respect the deer for the many years they had survived.   I think a REAL man would shoot them with a camera, not a gun or arrow.

The simple truth is, we no longer need to hunt to feed our families. Hunting is a SPORT.  Killing beautiful animals is a SPORT.  This makes me sick, and frankly, hunters make me sick. Even though my husband was raised with this mentality, he has not hunted since we married.  He sees the value, the beauty in life. He respects the animals and the years they have survived. He would rather see a 36 point buck walking majestically through our yard, than kill it. My husband is a real man, a man of values and integrity, a man who respects life and nature.

I hope the rest of you know and understand the Karma you have chosen for yourselves.

Have a Happy Day!

Questions for Half of the Country

OK, America--or at least, the half of America that drank the poisoned kool-ade fed to them by Trump.  I have questions for you.

If you are a woman--are you ready to be told that the government has a right to say what you can and can't do with your own body? Are you prepared for womens rights to be set back to the grand old days, when women died of coat hanger abortions? Because this will be YOUR fault.

What do you think will happen when this ignorant, arrogant person decides he is tired of playing president, and he wants to go golf or hop on his plane and take a nice, 3 month long vacation? Do you believe for one minute that he understands this is a 24/7/365 JOB that he MUST show up for?  This spoiled brat who has always done what he wanted, when he wanted?  

How is it that an election is "rigged" if he loses, but not if he wins? (Russian hacks, anyone?)

How does this POS have time to constantly be on Twitter?  He is like a teen, his phone is attached to his hand (and, apparently, his mouth.....)  Put the phone down and LEAD, jerk.  You are not 14 years old, so stop acting like it.

In the words of film icon Betty Davis-
Fasten your seatbelts, we are in for a bumpy (night) ride.

Saying Goodbye to a Beloved Friend

Today was a very difficult day.  Today I lost a dear, long time friend. 

My friend was a giant pine tree.  He has stood sentinel at the front corner of our house since well before we moved here 24 years ago.  I always viewed this tree as a protector, guarding us quietly as it stood in majestic beauty. But the years took their toll, and he began to die a couple of years ago. Even so, it was so very hard to say goodbye! I love my trees, they have taught me so much. They have shown me you have to stand strong and tall, and hold your ground, but also be flexible enough to bend with the storms.  

Next spring, we will plant another pine in his honor.  I have saved a bit of the wood, not sure if I will be able to carve it, but maybe I can make a couple things.  I would like to make a turned bowl, I saved a nice sized slice.  I cannot think of any other way to honor this tree who has watched over us all these years.

Goodbye, old friend. I will always miss you.

 

Yep--we're TOAST.

46th Anniversary

Our 46th wedding anniversary is Oct 2.  As I get older, thoughts of my mortality are more frequent.  Thoughts of death are never happy, but these days, for some reason, the words of W H Auden linger in my mind--(paraphrased)

He (is) my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song



These words, written so long ago, so perfectly sum up my feelings towards my husband of 46 years.  Wade is, and has always been, EVERYTHING to me.  He lifts me, he defines me, he is part of my very soul.  Without him, I am not complete.  We have shared 46 years together--actually more, if you consider the time were were together before we got married.  We met in high school, when we were both 16.  He breathes in, I breathe out--this is how it is. When he is with me, I can face anything. I love this man so purely, so completely, and I cannot conceive of a life without him in it. I actually pray that I die first, because I KNOW I cannot live without him.
"If you should go before me, dear, walk slowly down the ways of death, well worn and wide--
 for I would want to travel quickly, and seek the journeys ending by your side.
I would be so forlorn not to find you on that shining highroad as I came--
Walk slowly dear, and often look behind you, and pause to hear if someone calls your name".

With ALL my love, Jenny