Dan Edelen reminds me of my youth pastor

…which is a compliment, even if Dan didn’t take it as such when I told him. ;)

I’ve been reading (and commenting at) Dan Edelen’s blog, Cerulean Sanctum for years. And it’s no wonder: he writes about Jesus, the Church and agrarianism—all topics I enjoy reading about. :D

Anyway, he and his family in Columbus a few days back, and he suggested we meet over a meal. I picked Bob Evans (yeah, baby!) and we had a great time talking about life, family, and European board games.

I teased him about how there’s so few photos of him on the web, people can get the impression that he’s really a 60-year-old woman in New Jersey. So he let me provide this corroborating evidence that he is who he claims to be on his blog:

Travis Seitler meets Dan Edelen & family

Could you keep Dan in your prayers? He’s having surgery today, and it sounds like his recovery is probably going to take a while. He works as a freelance writer/editor, and I can certainly appreciate how stressful it can be to have to take a month off (without pay, of course) when you work from home.

Where are the Trillions Going? Support the “Audit the Fed” bill (HR 1207) to find out.

Neither Congress nor the Inspector General knows anything about what the Fed has done with $9 trillion in off-balance sheet transactions, or anything about the profit or loss from $2 trillion in on-balance sheet transactions. Check this out:

In the clip above, Rep. Alan Grayson (FL-8) asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that her office does not know and is not tracking where this money is.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (HR 1207) would require an audit of the Federal Reserve. The map below shows which Representatives (by District) have cosponsored the bill as of June 16, 2009:


(Map created using a public domain image available at Wikimedia Commons and the Library of Congress’ list of cosponsors.)

So now I learn that the Federal Reserve is actually seeking to hire a lobbyist to fight against this (and similar) legislation. And I’m left wondering, “if you don’t have anything to hide, then what’s the problem with an impartial audit?” Our children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren are going to be saddled with enormous debts as a result of this massive inflation (that is, an increase in the money supply). If such spending is truly justified, then it’s a painful hardship we’ll have to deal with. But if it’s not justified, then it needs to stop!

If your Congressional District isn’t lit up yet, send a message to your Representative and Senators telling them you want them to support the Audit the Fed bill (HR 1207 in the House, S 604 in the Senate). Then show your neighbors the YouTube clip above and get them to write your Representative and Senators, too.

Out and About in Columbus, OH

We moved to Columbus back in November, which really isn’t the best time to move to a city in the Northern US. Cold, cloudy and usually raining or snowing, we basically wanted to stay indoors. It wasn’t bad (Nicole and I are both computer geeks), but we didn’t really acclimate to the city.

But as the weather started getting nicer, we came out of our hibernation! Memorial Day weekend in particular was beautiful, and we were all over the place. On May 21, we made our first visit to Graeter’s Ice Cream in Bexley.

Joshua Loves Ice Cream!

Then on the 23rd, we drove out to see what they had at the Worthington Farmers Market. We didn’t really buy anything, but we browsed a lot.

Worthington Farmers Market - Baked Goods

The next day, we went to the 2009 Asian Festival at Franklin Park. The kids loved it:

2009 Columbus, OH Asian Festival

After such a crazy weekend, Nicole needed a little “pregnant momma” time to recuperate. But after hanging out with the Grace Central crowd this past Sunday, I was able to convince her that it’d be a great idea to swing out to The North Market for lunch!

North Market - Columbus, OH

Nicole got a Greek Salad from Firdous Express, I got Lamb Curry from Flavors of India, and the kids picked off of both. ;) Afterward, I picked up a downright amazing Buckeye Latté from A Touch of Earth! Seriously, I’m not kidding: peanut butter, chocolate and coffee all together in a single cup? YES PLEASE!