Was Warren G. Harding Great?

                    Warren G. Harding is ranked among the ten most conservative Presidents of the United States.  He campaigned on the promise of "Less government in business and more business in government" and won the presidential election by a landslide.  During his administration wartime controls were eliminated, taxes were slashed, a Federal budget system was established, a high protective tariff was restored, and tight limitations on immigration were imposed.

                    In spite of these conservative measures, President Harding has been consistently ranked by polls of historians and scholars as one of the worst Presidents.  They judged him on his presidential record and his accomplishments in office; they also judged him on the corruption during his administration due to the Tea Pot Dome Scandal, "one of the most notorious government scandalsin United States history."    President Harding was not part of the corruption, but members of his administration were involved in it.          His administration was also damaged by a "short but severe depression" in 1921.  This depression was short because conservative principles were followed and prosperity returned, bringing in the Roaring Twenties. 

                    President Harding apparently was a true conservative as shown by the following quotes.  

                    President Harding could have been describing our nation right now when he said, "America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration."

                    This quote definitely shows the importance of choosing friends wisely:  "I have no trouble with my enemies.  I can take care of my enemies in a fight.  But my friends, my goddamned friends, they're the ones who keep me walking the floor at nights!"

                    Here are some more quotes from President Harding showing his true conservative nature: 

                    This quote shows that President Harding believed in God, "It is my conviction that the fundamental trouble with the people of the United States is that they have gotten too far away from Almighty God."

                    Again, President Harding was describing our day and our entitlement mentality:  "Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."

                    This quote sounds very much like the famous one of John F. Kennedy:  "In the great fulfillment we must have a citizenship less concerned about what the government can do for it and more anxious about what it can do for the nation."

                    This quote is very true!  "There is something inherently wrong, something out of accord with the ideals of representative democracy, when one portion of our citizenship turns its activities to private gain amid defensive war while another is fighting, sacrificing, or dying for national preservation."

I can see why President Harding was ranked among the ten most conservative Presidents, but I can clearly see also that his ranking did not come from his leadership.  He was apparently a poor leader who brought his "friends" into his administration but then failed to lead them properly.  People lost faith in his administration because of the behavior of his "friends", not because of his own personal behavior.  This is a good example of why leadership and conservative principles are important.  Can we consider Warren G. Harding to be "great" in spite of his inability to control his "friends"?

More information on the life of President Warren G. Harding can be found here.

No Preference to Ports

                    The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.9.6:  "No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another…."  This provision in the U.S. Constitution gives assurance to every port in the United States that regulations will be administered fairly and equitably among the ports of the nation and not use them to gain political advantage.

                    According to W. Cleon Skousen, it was Maryland that insisted that this provision be included in the Constitution.  Maryland "feared that congressional legislation might give preference to the Virginia ports of the Chesapeake Bay rather than their own.

                    "It will be recalled that the Founders were attempting to remove the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation which allowed the various states to discriminate against one another by the imposition of taxes on exports.  In the present provision the states were attempting to prevent the federal government from interfering with the normal flow of commerce by preferring one port over another" (The Making of American - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 483).

                    "Like the Uniformity Clause, with which it was initially joined at the Constitutional Convention, and the Export Taxation Clause, the Port Preference Clause was meant to interfere with the natural tendency of legislatures to become instruments through which powerful commercial interests injure their politically weaker rivals….

                    "… More recently, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a concurrence that a natural reading of the constitutional language `prohibits Congress from using its commerce power to channel commerce through certain favored ports.'  United States v. Lopez (1995) (Thomas, J., concurring).  As the case law stands, however, Congress is on its honor to comply with the spirit of the clause by refraining from politically motivated favoritism that distorts the natural economic competition among American ports."

(See Nelson Lund, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, pp. 162-163.)

Kingdoms of Glory

                    Have you ever wondered what was true about heaven and hell?  Do you have a solid foundation of knowledge about the three degrees of glory?  Have you ever pondered questions such as the following:  Where will I go after I am resurrected and judged?  Has God already determined where I will go or does what I do here on earth matter?  Can I go to the highest heaven by simply saying that I believe in Jesus Christ?  What do the scriptures mean when they say people are "damned"?  Is hell a place of never-ending suffering where sinners go?

                    One of my favorite hymns is O My Father (Hymns, no. 292) written by Karen Lynn Davidson with music by A. Laurence Lyon.  This hymn is often sung at funerals because it brings comfort to those who are left behind.  I like it simply because of its beautiful message. 

                    O my Father, thou that dwellest In the high and glorious place,

                    When shall I regain thy presence And again behold thy face?

                    In thy holy habitation, Did my spirit once reside?

                    In my first primeval childhood, Was I nurtured near thy side?

                    For a wise and glorious purpose Thou hast placed me here on earth

                    And withheld the recollection Of my former friends and birth;

                    Yet oft times a secret something Whispered, "You're a stranger here,"

                    And I felt that I had wandered From a more exalted sphere.

                    I had learned to call thee Father, Thru thy Spirit from on high,

                    But, until the key of knowledge Was restored, I knew not why.

                    In the heav'ns are parents single?  No, the thought makes reason stare!

                    Truth is reason; truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there.

                    When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by,

                    Father, Mother, may I meet you In your royal courts on high?

                    Then, at length, when I've completed All you sent me forth to do,

                    With your mutual approbation Let me come and dwell with you.

                    Just as there are different levels of righteousness in this life, it makes sense for God to have different "mansions" in heaven [John 14:2] or different places for His resurrected children to dwell.  The Apostle Paul taught that there are three kingdoms of glory in heaven:  "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial:  but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

                    "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars:  for one star differeth from another star in glory.

                    "So also is the resurrection of the dead.  It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:40-42).

                    In the Joseph Smith Translation of verse 40, Paul also mentions "bodies telestial".  Paul described the differences between the glory of the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom by comparing the celestial to the sun, the terrestrial to the moon, and the telestial to the stars.  By these comparisons we know that the celestial kingdom is the brightest followed by the terrestrial and then the telestial.

                    We are agents unto ourselves (see Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28) and are responsible for the choices we make.  We will be judged by our thoughts, words, and actions.  (See Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Mosiah 4:30.)  Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, "Each of you will be judged according to your individual works and the desires of your hearts….  Your eventual placement in the celestial, terrestrial, or telestial kingdom will not be determined by chance.  The Lord has prescribed unchanging requirements for each.  You can know what the scriptures teach and pattern your lives accordingly" (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 35).

                    Some people believe that salvation comes simply by saying that we believe in Jesus Christ.  This is false doctrine.  We must do more than just say we believe in Jesus Christ; we must follow him.  All people, regardless of their level of righteousness, will be saved from death because of the Resurrection of Christ.  However, in order to attain the highest degree of glory in the resurrection, we need to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Moroni 10:32).  We come unto Christ by having faith in him, repenting of our sins, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, receiving other saving priesthood ordinances, obeying the commandments, and keeping the covenants we make with our Heavenly Father.  How we live does make a difference.

                    Alma, an ancient American prophet, taught the following about a terrible and tragic war, "And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one" (Book of Mormon, Alma 3:26).

                    When we sin, we prevent our own progress.  When the scriptures say that the wicked are "damned" it means that they have been stopped or held back from blessings they might have received if they had obeyed God's commandments.  Heavenly Father wants to bless us, but He is a just God and as such can only reward us when we obey His commandments.  (See Doctrine and Covenants 82:10.)

                    Hell is not a place of never-ending suffering where sinners are sent.  It is a spirit prison, a place for people who have rejected the gospel and people who have died without a knowledge of the gospel.  The gospel is preached to them there, and those who accept the gospel and repent of their sins will be released and allowed to enter paradise until the Resurrection and Judgment (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:29-34).  Most of those who do not accept the gospel there will have to suffer for their own sins but will eventually be resurrected and go to a kingdom of glory (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:81-85, 98-106).

                    The Prophet Joseph Smith received a more detailed definition of the three kingdoms of glory.  Joseph was with Sidney Rigdon, who later became First Counselor in the First Presidency, when they received a vision in which they saw each of the kingdoms of glory.  They also received a revelation concerning the people who would go to each of the kingdoms.

                    According to their revelation, those who will inherit telestial glory are those who 1) reject the gospel of Jesus Christ,

2) reject the testimony of Jesus Christ, and 3) are liars, sorcerers, adulterers, and whoremongers (Doctrine and Covenants 76:81-83, 98-103).

                    Those who will inherit terrestrial glory are those who 1) reject the gospel in this life but receive it in the spirit world,

2) are honorable but are blinded by the craftiness of men, and 3) are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ (Doctrine and Covenants 76:71-80).

                    Those who will inherit celestial glory are those who 1) receive the testimony of Jesus Christ, 2) are baptized by one with priesthood authority, 3) keep the commandments, 4) receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, 5) overcome the world by faith, and

6) are made perfect through the Atonement of Jesus Christ (Doctrine and Covenants 76:50-70). 

There are two other groups of people who will inherit celestial glory; they are 1) those who die without a knowledge of the gospel but "would have received it with all their hearts" (Doctrine and Covenants 137:7-10) and 2) those who die before they arrive at the years of accountability" [age 8 years] (Doctrine and Covenants 137:10).

No one but Jesus Christ will ever live a perfect life.  Since the rest of us cannot be perfect on our own, we must be "made perfect."  "These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.

"These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:69-70).

So how can we be made perfect in order to be worthy to dwell with God in the celestial kingdom?  The ancient American prophet Nephi taught the following to his people, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 2 Nephi 25:23).

When the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked about the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he listed thirteen Articles of Faith.  The third one states, "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel" (Pearl of Great Price, The Articles of Faith 1:3).

We can be made perfect only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  As we do all we can to follow the Savior, working diligently to keep the commandments and to live pure lives, we come closer to Him and become more like Him.  When we sin, we can repent sincerely and be forgiven.  Because Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself, we can be made clean, pure, and worthy to dwell in the celestial kingdom.

The Apostle Paul taught, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).

We know that a great multitude of Heavenly Father's children will dwell in the celestial kingdom.  John the Revelator described his vision of the exalted sons and daughters of God in Revelation 7:9-10.

In order to receive exaltation in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, we must be sealed to our spouse in the temple.  (See Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-4.)  Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles made the following statement:  
"Those who have met the highest requirements for this kingdom, including faithfulness to covenants made in a temple of God and marriage for eternity, will be exalted to the godlike state referred to as the `fulness' of the Father or eternal life (D&C 76:56, 94; see also D&C 131; 132:19-20)….  Eternal life is family life with a loving Father in Heaven and with our progenitors [ancestors] and our posterity" (Ensign, May 1995, 86-87).

                    Marriage in the temple is not a guarantee of exaltation in the celestial kingdom.  Those married in the temple should strive to be exalted together in the celestial kingdom by continually growing in their love for each other and for the Lord.

                    Heavenly Father loves all his children and will give them the greatest reward that they have prepared to receive through their obedience and faith in Jesus Christ.  According to Doctrine and Covenants 76:89, the glory of the telestial "surpasses all understanding" and is a place of indescribable glory.

                    Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, "Each of you will be judged according to your individual works and the desires of your hearts….  Your eventual placement in the celestial, terrestrial, or telestial kingdom will not be determined by chance.  The Lord has prescribed unchanging requirements for each.  You can know what the scriptures teach and pattern your lives accordingly" (Ensign, Nov. 1993, p. 35).

I know that Heavenly Father has prepared great things for us.  I am so very grateful for His plan of salvation and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I know that as we keep the commandments of God, repent of our sins, and are true to our covenants, we can be "made perfect through Jesus" and inherit a place in the celestial kingdom.  I know that the kingdom of glory we will receive after we are resurrected depends upon our obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.  I know that the blessings of the celestial kingdom are wonderful beyond anything I can imagine.  I long ago set my goal as exaltation in the highest level of the celestial kingdom, where I can experience a fulness of happiness.  I encourage all of you to strive for exaltation in the celestial kingdom by keeping the commandments and exercising faith in Jesus Christ.

                                       

Steadfast and Immovable

                    Families grow stronger when they stand "steadfast and immovable" in living good principles and values.  When we use good principles and values to guide us, we are standing on "solid ground" and should not move just to please critics, fashion, or peers.  By being "steadfast and immovable" we can withstand the greatest storms of life.

                    Our ward conference was held a few weeks ago, and one of the topics of the conference came from this scripture:  "Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Mosiah 5:15). 

                    One definition for steadfast is "loyal; unwavering; not changing; firm of purpose; firmly fixed; not moving; firmly settled; unchangeable; established" and immovable is defined as "that which cannot be moved; firmly fixed; immobile; not moving or changing; firm; steadfast; unyielding" (World Book Dictionary, Vol. 1, p. 1056, and Vol. 2, p. 2047).

                    Families who stand "steadfast and immovable" are firmly fixed, unwavering, firmly settled, and unchangeable on the good principles and values that they consider most important.  The "building" of a family can be likened to the building of a house.  There are certain requirements to assure that the "building" will be strong enough to withstand the "storms" that come upon it.

                    Anchorage, Alaska, has endured at least four hurricane-force windstorms in the past couple of months, and many homes and businesses were damaged.  A sister in our ward lives high on the mountain where the winds were the worst.  She said that she witnessed numerous homes that lost shingles, garages that "exploded," and sheds that were "flattened" during the storms.  Some of the homes were very expensive and were built by the most prestigious builders in the area.  The sister and her husband built their own home and while building it, they exceeded the requirements for builders.  If the requirement said studs had to be no further apart than 24 inches, they put their studs only 18 inches apart.  Where the requirement said to put "hurricane anchors" on every other stud, they put them on every stud.  Where the requirements said to put one anchor, they put two anchors.  They built their home as secure and as sound as they could possibly build it.  During the years when they watched other homes damaged or destroyed by storms, their home lost only four shingles.

                    The Savior taught this principle when He told his disciples about the man who built his house on a rock and the man who built his house on the sand.  When the storm came, the only house that was able to withstand the storm was the one built on a rock.

                    Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles answered the following question:  "How do we become steadfast and immovable?"  "A building or structure that is stable and immovable must be built upon a strong foundation.  If you and I desire to become steadfast and immovable disciples of the Master, we must build appropriately and effectively upon Him as our foundation" ("Steadfast and Immovable, Always Abounding in Good Works," New Era, January 2008.  


                   An ancient American prophet by the name of Helaman taught his sons, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Helaman 5:12).

                    After quoting the above scripture, Elder Bednar said, "The Lord Jesus Christ is the sure foundation, and you and I cannot and will not fall if we build upon Him as our foundation.  This is a truly remarkable and faith-promoting promise.

                    "The steps we must follow in building our devotion to and our character upon the foundation of Christ are identified simply and clearly in Helaman 15:

                    "`And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them -

                    "`Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free' (Helaman 15:7-8; emphasis added).

                    "Please notice the specific steps outlined in these two verses.  The first step is (1) belief in the teachings and prophecies of the holy prophets as recorded in the scriptures.  Such belief (2) fosters faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Faith in the Savior leads to

(3) repentance.  Faith in Christ and repentance bring about (4) the mighty change of heart.  As many as have diligently and faithfully followed these steps are (5) firm and steadfast in the faith.  That is the Lord's blueprint for becoming steadfast and immovable.  I testify that as we ponder and follow in faith the building blocks described in these verses, we will be strengthened and blessed to become steadfast and immovable."

                    Becoming steadfast and immovable takes time and effort.  It isn't something that can be done overnight or on a weekend.  It is something that we have to work at, practice, and make a habit of doing.  There are even times when we have to stand fast where we don't want to even be.  There have been times in my life where my first and strongest impulse was to run away - literally, but the promptings from the Lord said to stand firm.  There have been other times when I didn't want to accept the assignment or "mission" from the Lord, an example of which is writing this blog.  I write it because of a prompting from God, not because I want to do so or even consider myself capable of doing it.  I continue to write the blog because I feel that this task is a "mission" with some purpose of which I am yet unaware.  My husband and other members of my family think that I should accept advertisements on my blog to earn some money and "justify" the time and effort I put into it.  When I pray about continuing the blog, I always receive a strong positive feeling.  When I pray about earning money with the blog, I always receive a strong negative feeling.  I will continue the blog as is until I receive other information from the Lord. 

 

I receive powerful motivation in believing I am doing the will of the Lord and standing "steadfast and immovable" in doing what He wants me to do.  Families who stand "steadfast and immovable" on the foundation of Jesus Christ are strengthened and prepared to face the storms of life.   

Miraculous Constitution

                    The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday is the genius of the United States Constitution and its application of People's Law.  The American Colonists considered themselves to be loyal subjects of the King of England and they did not want to break away from their mother country.  The Revolutionary War did not start with the idea of achieving independence from the King; it started because the colonists wanted to protect the rights of the people.  After fighting with the British for two years, the Americans realized in early 1776 that independence from the Crown was the only way to protect their rights.

                    The colonists operated in America for 180 years (1607-1787) before they wrote the Constitution that has governed our nation for more than 200 years.  It was not an easy task and took time and effort to come up with formula for success.  The colonies operated under the Articles of Confederation during the Revolutionary War and almost lost the war because of it.  The Articles of Confederation had "no executive, no judiciary, no taxing power, and no enforcement power."  The national government made recommendations to the states but had no power to enforce them.

                    An example of the problems of operating under the Articles of Confederation is clearly shown by the suffering and death of soldiers at Valley Forge and Morristown.  The central government did not have power to force the states to send manpower, funds, or supplies to the army; therefore, it was unable to provide food, clothing, equipment, and manpower to fight the war.  There were approximately 8,000 soldiers at Valley Forge at the beginning; about 3,000 simply went home and about 2,000 died of starvation or disease.  General Washington thought the weakness of the central government was the principle problem for non-support. 

                    None of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention could have written the Constitution alone, and each delegate understood this fact.  They knew that they needed to work together because their states were very divided.  Their new nation was struggling for several reasons:  1) The Continental dollar was nearly worthless due to inflation.  2) The economy was not good.  3) The people were fighting against each other in riots.  4) The New England states were threatening to withdraw from the union.  5) England and Spain were ready for an opportunity to step in and grab any straggling states.

                    It was not easy to be a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.  The delegates did not expect to be away from home for four months, and some of them had to return home to handle problems while others were borrowing money to meet expenses.  The first rule of the Convention was to keep all the discussion secret from anyone outside the Convention.  The delegates did most of their debating and the majority of discussing in what was called "the Committee of the Whole" because the decisions of "committees" were less final than a Convention vote would be.  After the delegates had argued and finalized their decisions, they would reassemble themselves into the "Convention" to make their official votes. 

Founders wanted agreement on what the Constitution was to do, and they discussed the various topics until they could reach a consensus.  After four months of discussions, there were three topics upon which they could not reach agreement:  slavery, how to proportion representation, and how to regulate commerce.  These were the only issues that had to be settled by compromise.

The Framers completed their work, signed the document on September 17, 1787, and sent it to Congress.  Congress did not make any changes but ratified it and sent it out to the states.  Some of the states did not like everything in the Constitution and threatened to reject the whole Constitution.  There were five significant objections raised:  1) the loss of sovereignty for states; 2) the absence of a Bill of Rights to protect the citizens from federal power; 3) fear that the President would become like the King they had just defeated; 4) fear of the independent federal judges; 5) fear about the federal power to tax.

The states were encouraged to ratify the main body of the Constitution and then submit suggestions about how to amend the document, ultimately submitting 189 suggested amendments.  In the first Congress held under the new Constitution, James Madison went through all the suggested amendments and narrowed them down to twelve, ten of which were approved and ratified by the states.  These ten became the Bill of Rights.

The Framers of the Constitution were geniuses as a group, and they brought forth a miraculous document.  They came together at just the right time, they were able to discuss and compromise where necessary, and they wrote 4400 miraculous words.  After the first ten amendments were approved as the Bill of Rights, only seventeen other amendments have been made in the course of more than two hundred years.  Two of those amendments are considered to be "throw away amendments" as they established and then abolished Prohibition. 

The true genius of the Constitution is that it created a system of government that could continue to govern the nation as the nation grew in both geographical area and population.  It is miraculous in its ability to defy both anarchy and tyranny.  The words "We the People" found in both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution proclaim the principle that God gives men unalienable rights and the purpose of government is to protect those rights.

Ideas and information are from W. Cleon Skousen in The Five Thousand Year Leap - 28 Great Ideas That Changed the World, pp. 18-22.  This is a wonderful book with many different ideas about freedom.  It is well worth the money to purchase it and the time and effort to study it!

Frances Folsom Cleveland

                    Frances Clara Folsom was born on July 21, 1864, in Buffalo, New York, and was the daughter of Oscar Folsom and Emma Harmon.  Frances was her parents' only child to survive infancy as her sister, Nellie Augusta, died just previous to her first birthday.  Frances was given the name of Frank in honor of an uncle, but she later adopted the feminine version of the name, Frances. 

Oscar was a lawyer as well as a descendant of the earliest settlers of Exeter, New Hampshire.  Frances' ancestors from both sides of her family came from England and settled in the area that would later be known as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire; from there they eventually migrated to western New York.

Frances' father was a longtime and close friend of Grover Cleveland; therefore, it was only natural for Grover (age 27) to take an interest in the new baby.  He bought a baby carriage for her and otherwise pampered her as she was growing up.  When Oscar died in a carriage accident on July 23, 1875, without a written will, the court appointed Cleveland to be the administrator of his quarter-million dollar estate.  Frances was 11 years old at the time of her father's death and continued to live with her mother who was still living. 

Frances attended Central High School in Buffalo, New York, and Medina High School in Medina, New York, before attending Wells College in Aurora, New York.  It was sometime during her college days that Cleveland developed romantic feelings for her.  Soon after her graduation from college, he sent a letter to her in August 1885 with his proposal, and she accepted.  The engagement was not announced until five days before the wedding.  Frances' mother was not pleased initially with the engagement because she believed that the President should have asked her - the mother - to be his bride rather than the daughter.

                    President Cleveland was 49 and Frances was 21 when they were married on June 2, 1886, at the White House.  Cleveland was the only President to be married in the White House and spent his wedding day working as he usually did.  The wedding took place at 7:00 p.m. in the Blue Room of the White House and was performed by the Reverend Byron Sutherland, assisted by the Reverend William Cleveland, the groom's brother.  The wedding was a small affair and was attended by relatives, close friends, the Cabinet and their wives.  The bride's mother and both grandmothers could have been in attendance.  The words "honor, love, and keep" were substituted for "honor, love and obey".  The music was provided by John Philip Sousa and the Marine Band.  The newlyweds honeymooned for five days at Deer Park in the Cumberland Mountains of Western Maryland.

                    Frances became the youngest First Lady and remains so today.  She endured "intense media interest" when she took over the duties of White House hostess, but "her charm won her popularity."  When President Cleveland was defeated in the 1888 election, the Clevelands moved to New York.  Before leaving the White House, Frances told the staff, "I want you to take good care of all the furniture and ornaments in the house, for I want to find everything just as it is now when we come back again … four years from today" (World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 671).  As Cleveland was the only President to serve two nonconsecutive terms so Frances was the only First Lady to be in two nonconsecutive administrations.  

                    Grover and Frances were parents of five children, two son and three daughters:  Ruth (1891-1904), Esther (1893-1980), Marion (1895-1977), Richard Folsom (1897-1974), and Francis Grover (1903-1995).

                    Cleveland Hall was constructed on the Wells College Campus in 1911 in honor of Frances Cleveland.  It originally served as a library but now holds foreign language classes.  Frances lived in Princeton, New Jersey, after Cleveland passed away in 1908.  She married again at age 49 on February 10, 1913, to Thomas J. Preston, Jr., a professor at Princeton University.  In doing so, she became the first presidential widow to marry again.  Frances passed away on October 29, 1947, in Baltimore and was buried in Princeton next to President Cleveland.

                    Information for this article except as noted came from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Folsom_Cleveland_Preston

Fast and Furious

                    The investigation into Project Fast and Furious, the failed gun-running program, is still big news, but it is not widely reported except by Internet news sites.  This is a bigger scandal for Obama than Watergate was for Nixon, but the lame stream media is either not reporting it at all or not widely. 

NRANews.com has "covered it and the resulting cover-up by the Obama Justice Department more thoroughly and completely than any other media outlet in the country."  Mark Chesnut, NRA editor, reported that "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" has done the "poorest job covering this misguided program, which potentially put thousands of guns into the hands of Mexican drug cartels."  According to Chesnut, "`NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams' has not done a single story on `Fast and Furious' in 2011!

CNN.com did run an article on February 2, 2012, concerning Attorney General Eric Holder and his appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about Operation Fast and Furious.  When Holder was asked about the steps he had taken since the controversy arose 13 months ago, he replied that "he is awaiting the conclusions of an internal investigation. Regarding people found culpable in that inquiry, he said, `I can assure you those people will be removed from federal service.'"  He also said at the hearing that "any possible charges will not be filed until the department has the evidence to get a conviction."

Representative Darrell Issa, R-California, has grown tired of waiting for Holder to be forthcoming about releasing documents.  In fact, he has recently threatened to begin a contempt proceeding against Holder to force him to release the necessary documents.  At least 60 congressmen and two senators have called for Holder to resign his position; 75 representatives have sponsored a House resolution, stating in part that "it is the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress has lost confidence in the Attorney General of the United States."

 Project Fast and Furious is a huge scandal.  It was designed to monitor the flow of weapons - firearms that were purchased illegally - to be taken from United States gun stores to drug cartels in Mexico, but it failed miserably.  The problem is that hundreds of weapons were lost or unaccounted for, and two of those missing weapons were found near the site where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed on December 15, 2010, in Peck Canyon near Rio Rico, Arizona.  He and his unit were patrolling in search of bandits who prey on smugglers when a firefight broke out and Agent Terry was shot in the pelvic area.

Agent Terry's family quickly realized there were problems when they heard that two "Fast and Furious" guns that were allowed to "walk" across the Mexican border were found at the scene of his slaying.  They knew that there was a congressional investigation into "Fast and Furious and that the investigation was met with stonewalling, diversions and lies by the Obama-Holder Department of Justice (DOJ).  This behavior is coupled with refusal by Holder to apologize to the family, an order to seal all records in relation to his slaying, and other odd treatment of the family by the DOJ."

The Terry family finally decided to take some action on its own and filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against the federal government on Wednesday, February 1, 2011.  This claim charges that U.S. investigators allowed murder weapons into the hands of criminals.  "The murder of Agent Terry and other acts of violent crimes were the natural consequence of (the) decision to let dangerous weapons designed to kill human beings `walk' into the hands of violent drug-trafficking gangs."

Democrats and Republicans are at odds about "who knew what about the operation and when" they knew it.  Democrats have even stooped so low as to blame the problem on President George W. Bush.

General Michael V. Hayden, former CIA director under Bush from 2006 until February 2009, wrote an interesting article about Fast and Furious here.  He is currently a principal with the Chertoff Group, which is a security consulting firm, and also serves on the boards of several defense firms.   He is also an adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Hayden discussed a few of the safeguards that have to be in place before the CIA authorizes any program.  He then wrote, "Now Holder, without such safeguards in place, must defend himself against some very tough accusations, including one by some skeptics that the operation was intended principally to discredit, and thereby justify further regulation of, firearms dealers."

Russ Vaughn in an article on American Thinker quoted the above article and then continued:  "Reading that, from one of the top intelligence minds in the world, has to make one wonder.  Why, while diverting the claim away from himself by attributing the belief to some skeptics, did the former director of the CIA drop that bit of speculation into the mix?  Do you seriously believe that a man of his stature and inside connections would raise the question purely gratuitously?

"Details of Operation Fast & Furious, with the revelations of all the deaths caused by this incredibly stupid federal program, are infuriating enough; but they are nothing compared to the fury that will engulf tens of millions of citizens when they finally learn the truth:  that the Obama Administration secretively and criminally used the Justice Department to further a liberal Democrat agenda to curtail the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.  Trust me, they know and fear that reaction should the truth ever see light.  Not only could that revelation prevent any chance of re-election, it could also result in multiple impeachments and criminal indictments, because hundreds of Mexicans and some American agents died as the result of a foolishly conceived and stupidly implemented liberal political scheme to undermine the constitution."

Vaughn remembered, as did I, that President Obama made a statement approximately ten months ago about working on gun control "under the radar."  I wondered what he meant by his statement, but I believed him.  Like Vaughn, I think it is highly likely that he was talking about Fast and Furious.  If he knew about and/or approved Fast and Furious, he should be impeached!