Grandma vs. Moose

I went over to my Grandma Aanerud's house last night to watch a basketball game and just hang out. Since my family has abandoned me and gone on vacation I've been feeling pretty lonely. While I was enjoying my freshly bought Subway sandwich G'ma casually said "I was almost done in by a moose the other day."

Firstly you kind of have to know my Grandma A. She is tough as nails and probably has more common sense than most of the rest of us put together. She is about 5'7" or close to it and is 81 years young. She hasn't slowed down one step and keeps several steps in front of most of us.

Sometime during the 2nd quarter of the basketball game we were watching she drops that line on me. She really isn't one for melodramatics or shock value so I asked what she meant. She said that she had been out walking her miniature schnauzer along the Bear River walkway when she came upon a cow moose and her calf. She was walking around a section of the path that loops through a field and then comes back to the main path. When she came upon the moose they were close to where the loop meets the main path almost blocking the way out and there was no other way to get back on the main path. But they had moved a ways off by this point so she thought that she might be able to squeak past unnoticed. She said that she made it about even to where the moose were (which from the sounds of things was probably about 150' away, when the cow put her ears back, lowered her head and started charging.

If any of you have ever seen a moose in person, they are magnificent creatures. They are gigantic and generally speaking their bellies are about at my eye level, which would probably put their heads at around 8 or 9 feet. I never cease to be amazed with how large these animals are. She said that that moose was covering that ground at what seemed like 50 feet a second. This next part is what amazed me, because frankly I would have been trampled and needed a change of britches.

My grandmother raised her arms high above her head (making herself appear as big as possible) and roared like a lion and when the moose had closed in on her and was about 20' feet away veered off to the side and went back to her calf.

I couldn't believe how fast thinking she was while being charged by an angry moose. I can almost say with certainty that I would never have had the presence of mind to act the way she did to literally save her (and Molly the dog's) life.

The whole thing kind of brings new light to the song Grandma got run over by a reindeer, or moose as it were.

But this is just one example of why I look up to my grandma and really enjoy her wisdom. I am extremely glad that she out-foxed the moose that day and is around to tell the story. And now if you are ever charged by a moose, you have at least one idea of how to get out of that situation.

fin

Evanston Town Meeting - Follow Up

A few people have asked me to follow this up. As you know I organized a town meeting with a friend of mine held on December 16th. It went well and we ended up having approximately 50 people in attendance. Before you make fun of that number, you should know that our senators and congresswoman don't do any better. Not to mention the unavoidable scheduling conflicts of Christmas parties, school functions and life in general. We accomplished what we set out to do, which was to learn more about a candidate for governor and some local issues. If you want to check out the video I posted it on another blog here.

We are considering trying to organize a candidate's debate but that would likely be in the beginning of June as the filing deadline for candidacy for governor is in the end of May.

I couldn't get the Mayor's bit to download properly so it isn't uploaded to the other site. (Sorry Mayor Davis!)

Eric's Town Hall Meeting

So I'm having my own town hall meeting on December 16th. Yes, you are right, that is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and my parent's anniversary (shout out). But the purpose of my town hall meeting is not to raise a ruckus and send people away without having accomplished anything as has been the case with a lot of "tea parties" and town hall meetings and rallies over the past year.

It has been my observation that the growing level of tension in our country has a lot to do with misdirected or undirected frustrations and a lack of understanding of the root causes and solutions to the problems. So my goal is to provide a means whereby people can get more information, truthful news and ways to act before this whole thing culminates in violence.

I have been fortunate to get a few speakers including our mayor, Will Davis as well as candidate for Wyoming governor, Ron Micheli.

I suppose that I believe that if you are going to reserve your right to complain about the government you had better be doing something about it. Everyone here knows that I do my fair share of complaining about the government, and in fairness I have been talking to everyone I know about issues that are timely and timeless. But I have been motivated as of late to take it to this next level and reach out to a broader base of people.

I want people to understand both here and there that I am nothing more than a concerned individual. I have no real credentials for doing this. I am not representing an organization or a program. I don't necessarily even endorse the other speakers. But information is the way to truth and if you don't have the information you cannot make a real decision.

But for those who are concerned that I have no idea about which I speak....well, I do have some idea. While I do not consider myself much of a reader I have been able to get through a few titles this past year. Those are:

The Law - Bastiat

Many are called but few are chosen - Anderson

A foreign policy of freedom - Paul

The Revolution: a manifesto - Paul

End the Fed - Paul

What has government done to our money - Rothbard

The case against the fed - Rothbard

For a new liberty - Rothbard

The creature from Jekyll Island - Griffin

The theory of education in the United States - Nock

Educaction: free and compulsory - Rothbard

5000 year leap - Skousen

All the shah's men - Kinzer

Century of war - Denson

Dumbing us down - Gatto

1776 - McCullough

Economics in one lesson - Hazlitt

Austrian economics: a personal view - Paul

Speaking of liberty - Rockwell

I am currently reading Blowback - Johnson

I'll keep you posted and we'll see where this thing goes.

I wish I knew more people named Floyd.

"You can take that to the bank"

On this Veterans Day

Wow - Veterans Day posts are difficult to write. I hadn't anticipated that. I have easily gone through 3 or more that were no good.

Yesterday I got our local newspaper and in it was an insert listing all of the veterans and active duty servicemen from Evanston. It surprised me how many men and women have come from our small town to serve in conflicts across the world. To them we all owe a deep debt of gratitude. I am grateful that neither my parents or my generation have been compelled to go to war and have been able to live our lives thus far without the ravages of war being in our homes.

There is one thing that puzzles me. You don't have to be all that perceptive to pick up on the number of radio and television ads practically begging us to go in to the armed services which glorify war and tell us about all of the cool gadgets we get to play with and the places we get to go see. Today, much like yesterday, I am certain that there will be more than one music montage on a news broadcast honoring veterans that is without the veterans themselves. It is not a pretty sight to show men with missing limbs or cemeteries that are full of lives cut short. There is not likely to be any live news feed from the over-crowded Veterans hospital where our men and women who have risked everything for our country receive less than adequate help and are often turned away receiving treatment in rations. I doubt they will interview the young widow with several kids trying to make ends meet and somehow explain where daddy went to the kids.

We love to glorify war in our country but the results of war are always hidden from us. We seldom ever see or personally experience the destruction that war brings to the soldiers and their families. On this Veterans Day I would ask that you honor the vets and not wars. Hopefully, at some point in the not too distant future we will realize that these wars are unnecessary and only serve to put us in more danger.

To the veterans - Thank you and God bless.

Who will stand with us?

Don't be pulled in to the idea that partisan problems can be solved by partisan solutions. Put away the R's and D's and start now and learn, study the issues, become educated on what the true answers are and how liberty provides the greatest opportunity for the greatest number of people. Join the r3volution.

Frontier Traffic Control

Happy Halloween...

from Dora and Boots!

Phineas and Ferb

I think that Jack's a little young for Phineas and Ferb, but he loves it...and so do I! These are Jack's current favorite songs. He asks to dance to these a thousand times a day, and its mandatory that I dance to. I guess if I can't get on the treadmill, at least I'll get exercise this way!

Gitchee Gitchee Goo


Squirrels in my pants

Family Picture Time

My favorite part of Christmas cards is looking at the pictures people send, so I like to return the favor by sending one of us. Usually we wait until sometime in December before we take pictures, so I'm feeling really ahead of the game! The last 2 years we used a tripod. It was a lot harder, took a lot longer, and we had fewer pictures that actually turned out. Eric refused to do it that way this year. Carrie had offered to take pictures for us, but we never know very far in advance when we'll be down her way. I called Thursday to see if she could meet us in Salt Lake on Friday. It was really short notice, but luckily for us, she was willing! The kids tried really hard to be cooperative, but little Addie bean gave up about 10 minutes into it. Later we found out she was sick! We felt like pretty terrible parents.

Thanks Carrie! We love them all!

The littlest bean turned 1!!

Our little Addie Bean turned one year old on Sunday! We had a little family party with cake, presents, and good ole family fun!

I don't have anything to post about, so here are some pictures...

This is what it looked like outside our door last wednesday!

Tired baby falling asleep at lunch, and my little man, looking all grown up.

Welcome, Fall!

This is what the first day of Fall brought us...a dead garden! The frost killed our plants before we really got to enjoy the 'fruits' of our labors. What a bummer! I guess you live and learn, right? We've definitely picked up some useful tips for next year.

BEES!!

So, a couple of weeks ago, we were hanging out in the backyard when we saw this...
How in the WORLD had we not noticed it before? Its huge, and its sitting in the big lilac bush that Jack plays under...ALL OF THE TIME! Needless to say, Eric decided it was time to get that thing under control.

He used up one full can of spray, and knocked it out of the bush, and the next morning there were still bugs living in it. He got it with another full can of spray, and we are now rid of the evil little bugs! Hooray for men who think that kind of thing is fun!

Seeing Double!

This is for Aunt Amber! Amber bought matching dresses for Addie and Sara (Eric's cousin's daughter) and we finally got them together for a little photo shoot. It was pretty much impossible to get any good shots, but this is my favorite!

Thanks for the dresses Amber! I think the girlies look adorable!

5 reasons Eric thinks you should be suspicious of the Fed

Look, I'm not that smart of a person. I don't take well to organized education as evidenced by the premature ending to my collegiate experience. However I am a strong believer in education. I have been trying to give myself an education on the Federal Reserve lately and I have to say that out of all the thing that the US government is up to and out of all the crimes that have been committed against the people of this country the Fed has to be in the top 3. I thought I would share, as succinctly and cogently as possible 5 reasons why you too should raise an eyebrow at the Fed.

1) The Fed was founded in 1913, the same year as the income tax, it was a bad year for Americans. The actual legislation was written at a private club on Jekyll Island, GA by certain members of the political elite as well as members of the private banking community. Chief among the banking interests was JP Morgan, and it was he who arranged the meeting on Jekyll Island, after all it was his club. John Rockefeller was also in on the origins of the Fed but to a lesser extent. Anytime a private group of people urges the government to grow it has to be for a reason. If the past 12 months have not been an explanation enough let me put it this way. The private banksters wanted to create a lender of last resort so they could take on riskier assets in greater number, pyramiding their assets on fractions of reserves. In other words they had say $10 in the vault and were lending out $10,000. If they failed they now had a safety net, that is the American taxpayers pocket book. This has been evidenced by the majority of banks taking TARP money over the past year. The government took these "toxic assets" off the books of the banks and put them on their own, or OURS. This is, I believe is a crime.

2) The very existence of the Federal Reserve makes it possible to mislead entire markets, sometimes even global markets. When the board of Governors at the Fed sees a market adjustment coming they are able to manipulate interest rates or extend credit or contract monetary supply to try and preempt a market correction. For example in the late 90's there was a market correction coming and Alan Greenspan saw it coming. In stead of allowing the correction to take place (which is to say some businesses may fail, or reorganize but ultimately capital will be relocated to places where it will be more productive, this is what makes free markets so dynamic) Greenspan created massive amounts of money, dropped interest rates to entice borrowers to come and get the money and make purchasing or borrowing decisions under false pretenses. So what we ended up with is 7 years of boom, one of the largest growths in the housing market ever. The market has been trying to correct itself, but the bailing out of multiple zombie companies, the allocation of taxpayer money or newly created money to these failed companies keeps new and more efficient companies from entering the market. If the market was allowed to adjust by itself in the late 90's people would have been smarter with their money, but we were all misled into believing it was safe to spend, borrow, buy, whatever you want to call it. We should have been saving or borrowing based on capital, not credit.

3) The Fed has a monopoly on the creation of money in the United States. If they need more money they just have to turn on the printing press or go in to the computer and add a few zero's. This is bad for 2 major reasons. #1 the more of something there is, the less that item is worth. This is why coal is extremely cheap relative to diamonds. When there are more dollars floating around the economy it makes the dollars you have in the bank worth less. In other words it is a devaluation of the dollar every time the Fed creates more money. From 1776 to 1913 the value of the dollar actually increased in value 11%. You could purchase 11% more goods with your money in 1913 than in 1776. From 1913 to 2008 the dollar has lost 97% of its value. Your 1913 dollar can now buy only 3% of the goods it could purchase in 1913. This punishes those who save the most. After all they are the ones who are left holding dollars. Spenders and borrowers are living the life while responsible savers are punished for being just that, responsible.
#2 The government doesn't have to tax you any more to run off and do something stupid on a very large scale. The government is always short of cash. There is no social security cash, they just create it as they need it. Because of this they don't have to stand accountable to the people of the country. The people wouldn't or couldn't take it if we were taxed for everything they do. They just do it and tell us about it later or never. We will be in a perpetual warfare/welfare state until either the Fed collapses or the dollar collapses.

4) The Fed is not actually a government agency. Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution tells us that congress shall have the power to determine the weights and measures of money but they acquiesced on this responsibility when the Federal Reserve Act was passed. The Fed doesn't have to answer to anyone, not even congress. Ron Paul is currently trying to pass legislation that would allow the comptroller general to conduct an audit of the Fed. Can you believe this? We have to write laws to make them accountable. There isn't another, less transparent and more powerful entity in the world, I am convinced. They are the proverbial "man behind the curtain". If I mess up my taxes just one time I am subject to fines or jail time. My money is literally nothing to these guys. The Fed who can sway worldwide markets with their power answers to no one. This is shady of course. What could they be hiding?

5) Finally the Fed does deals with other central banks of other countries. Just today the UN has said we should look into a new world currency. The Fed plays a role in these meetings. They hold secret conferences with the G7 or the G20 and meet about who knows what, but they don't have to tell us. The bypass the entire political structure and create alliances that we have no idea about. This too is a crime.

But of course this all gets little if any coverage in the mainstream media. It's not supposed to be of interest to us, the low life peons of the country. But of course the fact that we are all getting ripped of is very interesting. We need to audit the Fed, and then we need to abolish it. The 18 recessions and 2 depressions, and 97% devaluation of the dollar should be enough to convince us of this.

Please urge your congressmen to co-sponsor HR1207 and your senators to co-sponsor S604 to audit the Fed. And the next time you hear something about the Fed, I hope your ears perk up, at least a little.

For additional information you can read:
The Case Against the Fed
The Creature from Jekyll Island
End the Fed

or visit Mises.org for infomation
dailypaul.com for activism

Just wanted to make sure you know your place

She's Walking! But not really.

This picture is completely unrelated, but I was shocked by the length of Jack's hair in the last pics I posted. His hair hasn't been that long for a while now, but we didn't have any current pictures to post.

Remember back when we first started blogging and I posted about how much I loved it and how fun it was? I've changed my mind. Lately, I want to do ANYTHING but blog. I love looking at every one else's blogs, but I haven't been in the mood to update my own (or comment on other's)for a long time. So I need to apologize to the out of towners who we started this blog for so they could witness our little cuties growing up. For you (mostly Grandmas and Aunts) I'll try to post pictures a little more often.



Jack:
-Happy most of the time, unless he misses his nap, or you touch his trains.
-Sleeps in a toddler bed.
-Stays in bed (both in the morning and after naps) until mom comes to get him.
-Knows all his letters and their sounds.
-NEVER stops talking.
-Loves to ride his bike, slide, and play chase.
-Loves his Addie Bean, and sometimes calls her Busy Beaner (its so cute when he says it...trust me)
-Is still obsessed with trains.
-Still sucks his thumb and takes Blankie everywhere.
-Has to cuddle '2 minutes' before going to bed.
-Loves to watch Dora and actually responds when she asks him to.
-Adores his cousins.


Addie:
-Still Bald!
-Spends half her day laughing, and the other half screaming.
-Sleeps through the night
-Always steals big brother's juice cup...even when she has her own.
-Crawls super fast.
-Stands on her own, and can take 1-2 steps before falling.
-Has three teeth and is working on 3-4 right now.
-Dances to the Dora theme song and yells 'Map' when she hears Jack doing it.
-Loves her Paci.
-Refuses to wear headbands.
-Claps, waves, and kisses.

Excellent Town Hall Meeting Response

Shiny Red Bicycle

I love how Jack says bicycle, and never bike. A couple days ago, we got him his very own trike. He loves it because its just like Boofy's (his cousin Griffin). He had so much fun scooting (because he hasn't figured out the pedals just yet) all around the state park. He only stopped to step on some ants, and then to go down the slide.

R+J Wedding

Ryan and Jackie have officially started their happily ever after! Thanks to my willing sisters and their husbands, Eric and I were able to attend the wedding. We started the day at the sealing ceremony at the Mount Timpanogos Temple. We never got the camera out of the car, so we don't have any pictures of the temple or the happy couple coming out afterwards. Just trust me that they looked happy (and beautiful)!

Then it was a change of babysitter and off to Sundance for the reception. Again, we left the camera in the car for most of it, but I did manage to get a few pics before the night was over.

The weather was gorgeous, as was the venue! We caught up with some old friends, had yummy food, enjoyed a rare occasion without kids, and got to take in all the joy and happiness that goes along with weddings.

I loved the decor for their wedding. On the sign in table, they had a wedding portrait of each of their parents on their wedding days. To sign in and leave a message for the couple we had to use a typewriter. I loved the center pieces too! They used mason jars with flowers, origami swans, and fortune cookies. Love it!

We're so excited for Ryan and Jackie! In a week or so, they're off to Penn State for Law school. We sure are gonna miss them!