"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light." ~ Dylan Thomas
I used to think my blog had relevance. I used to think it was important.
And, I wanted to make a difference.
Before the 2008 Presidential election. I wrote several blog entries warning readers of the negative implications of voting for Barack Hussein Obama for President. I pleaded with readers not to vote for Obama because he is a Marxist, and would ultimately lead America to destruction. I made my case as strong as I could.
Obviously, I failed.
And, what lone voice crying out in the wilderness wouldn't? Stronger voices than mine have met with the same unfortunate results.
I'm not the only one who attempted, unsuccessfully, to influence America's vote.
So did Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, and Ann Coulter, and Mark Levin. So did thousands of editorial and opinion writers. So did thousands, perhaps millions, of bloggers.
Few listened. Obama won, anyway.
Out of millions of blog posts, and articles, and talk radio shows, some people have changed their minds about politics. But not many.
I don't think I have changed any minds with my blog posts.
And now, everything we bloggers and radio hosts and editorialists have predicted is coming to fruition.
Obama has proven to be every bit of the pathological narcissist we said he is. He is every bit the Marxist. The Socialist. Whatever.
His takeover of banking institutions, automobile manufacturers, Insurance companies, etc, along with his ongoing efforts to insert his government into all phases of private industry (especially health care), and indeed, even private citizenry is evidence of the man's oft predicted intentions.
If our warnings continue unheeded, by 2012, Obama may very well be the dictator of a nation no longer considered a Constitutional Republic.
We are watching the Socialization of America take place right before our eyes. And still there are so many who see these predictions coming true and deny it's happening.
It defies logic.
What can be done?
Most Rev. Gregori, in a comment on one of my previous posts, said, "Just using blogs, faxes, emails, tea parties, demonstrations, and marches are not going to do it. It will take real action."
I beg to respectfully disagree.
The fact is, tea parties, demonstrations and marches are real action. That was proven during the years we were engaged in Vietnam. Do you realize America never lost a single battle during that campaign? How did we lose that war? Or, for those who don't believe we lost, how did that war end in a tie?
It was the voices raised by the vocal minority. It was the marches. It was the demonstrations. It was the outcry of dissent.
It made a very real difference.
The Government, from the President on down, acquiesced to the growing dissent and eventually withdrew American troops from a war we were winning.
So, our protests may seem to fall upon deaf ears, but we must not surrender. We must not rest. Although the sails are torn and the ship battered, we must do what we can to keep the ship of state afloat. Eventually, if we roar loud enough, we will prevail.
Ok. So my blog is irrelevant. I am unimportant. I don't make a difference.
It matters not. I will continue to voice my opinion, even if it's unpopular. Even if I am the only one who voices a particular opinion. Even if all who reads this opposes me. Though targeted by slings and arrows, I will stand my ground. I will keep my integrity.
I will not surrender.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
What Was In My Head When I Awoke
Actually, What got in my head was Sheryl Crowe's version, but embedding is disabled on that video.
I don't have control over what I'm thinking when I wake up. Sheryl does an outstanding version of this song. I don't have to like her to like her music.
Overall, I like Rod Stewart better anyway. So here's Rod Stewart.
I don't have control over what I'm thinking when I wake up. Sheryl does an outstanding version of this song. I don't have to like her to like her music.
Overall, I like Rod Stewart better anyway. So here's Rod Stewart.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
ObamaCare: Problematic At Best
"The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty." ~ Eugene McCarthy
There is a point buried deep within all this debate about America's health care system, and whether it is adequate, horrible, or the best in the world:
There is no health care system in America.
There is, however, a free enterprise system, and that has worked very well since this country's inception.
In this free enterprise system, ideally, people in America are free to avail themselves to any kind of health care they think is best for them. Medical personnel, including not just doctors and nurses, but pharmaceutical companies and all health related occupations, can charge patients with what the market will bear for their products and services.
Somewhere along the way, a few enterprising men (and, presumably, women) saw a need for a business opportunity that would not only provide them with a living, but help Americans afford the rising costs of health care. It's called insurance.
Now, most Americans recognize the need for some kind of health insurance.
We also recognize that all of us have a right to either purchase health insurance or not. Some people buy insurance policies, and, for one reason or another, some don't.
Contrary to Liberal belief, Americans do not have a right to health care. We have the specific rights enumerated in the Constitution.
Health care is not listed among them.
But, unfortunately, most Americans need health insurance in the event of health problems. Also unfortunately, the cost of health insurance rises along with the costs of health care.
Many Americans cannot afford adequate health insurance. If we can't afford health insurance, we surely can't afford health care.
This is the point Obama is continually trying to make.
He wants us to believe that ObamaCare will solve these problems.
But it won't. And it can't.
The only way Obama's health care plan could work right is if he either requires payment for health care, or substantially reduces the costs of health care. And if he charges, who will he charge? If he reduces the costs, how will that effect quality?
I am all in favor of reducing the costs of health care to a point where every American can afford them, but how can he do that without violating the Constitutional right to free enterprise?
Will he force medical personnel and all medical related industries to stop charging fees for their services and products?
I know how to solve the health care crisis (if there is one) in this country:
All health-related personnel and industries must voluntarily offer their services and products for free. Obama can't Constitutionally compel them against their will to work for free. So, it has to be voluntary.
But wait a minute. If all medical personnel and industry start working for free, how are they to make a living? The only thing I can think of is they would all have to get regular jobs, such as Walmart, or McDonald's etc, to earn a living for themselves and their families and do their medical thing in their spare time.
Of course, this brings us back to inefficiency, exactly what ObamaCare will cause.
Impossible? Ridiculous? Unworkable?
Yes.
But no more unworkable than Obama's naive health care plan.
There is a point buried deep within all this debate about America's health care system, and whether it is adequate, horrible, or the best in the world:
There is no health care system in America.
There is, however, a free enterprise system, and that has worked very well since this country's inception.
In this free enterprise system, ideally, people in America are free to avail themselves to any kind of health care they think is best for them. Medical personnel, including not just doctors and nurses, but pharmaceutical companies and all health related occupations, can charge patients with what the market will bear for their products and services.
Somewhere along the way, a few enterprising men (and, presumably, women) saw a need for a business opportunity that would not only provide them with a living, but help Americans afford the rising costs of health care. It's called insurance.
Now, most Americans recognize the need for some kind of health insurance.
We also recognize that all of us have a right to either purchase health insurance or not. Some people buy insurance policies, and, for one reason or another, some don't.
Contrary to Liberal belief, Americans do not have a right to health care. We have the specific rights enumerated in the Constitution.
Health care is not listed among them.
But, unfortunately, most Americans need health insurance in the event of health problems. Also unfortunately, the cost of health insurance rises along with the costs of health care.
Many Americans cannot afford adequate health insurance. If we can't afford health insurance, we surely can't afford health care.
This is the point Obama is continually trying to make.
He wants us to believe that ObamaCare will solve these problems.
But it won't. And it can't.
The only way Obama's health care plan could work right is if he either requires payment for health care, or substantially reduces the costs of health care. And if he charges, who will he charge? If he reduces the costs, how will that effect quality?
I am all in favor of reducing the costs of health care to a point where every American can afford them, but how can he do that without violating the Constitutional right to free enterprise?
Will he force medical personnel and all medical related industries to stop charging fees for their services and products?
I know how to solve the health care crisis (if there is one) in this country:
All health-related personnel and industries must voluntarily offer their services and products for free. Obama can't Constitutionally compel them against their will to work for free. So, it has to be voluntary.
But wait a minute. If all medical personnel and industry start working for free, how are they to make a living? The only thing I can think of is they would all have to get regular jobs, such as Walmart, or McDonald's etc, to earn a living for themselves and their families and do their medical thing in their spare time.
Of course, this brings us back to inefficiency, exactly what ObamaCare will cause.
Impossible? Ridiculous? Unworkable?
Yes.
But no more unworkable than Obama's naive health care plan.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Big Lie
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
As much as I dislike insurance companies, I still recognize, in this country, they have the inherent right to exist. The United States of America was founded on principles of freedom and liberty.
The Government has no right--repeat---no right, to take over any private business. No way, no how. Not AIG. Not any banks. Not GM. Not Chrysler. These companies have been openly taken over by Obama and his Marxists cohorts.
And hardly a whimper has been heard from the people.
Now comes proof positive that Barack Hussein Obama and his Marxist allies are conspiring, surreptitiously, to put private insurance companies out of business.
This isn't only an unconstitutional takeover of private business. This is a purge, in the grand tradition of Josef Stalin.
In their own words, Obama and his co-conspirators have revealed their true intentions. Obama tells his sheeple he wants to give us a free choice between private medical insurance and Nationalized Health Care, but the following video reveals he is lying. Watch this:
The destruction of America as we know it is well underway. They already have many private companies. Now he is going after private insurance companies. I think we all know where this is going.
What we don't know for sure, is, who's next?
As much as I dislike insurance companies, I still recognize, in this country, they have the inherent right to exist. The United States of America was founded on principles of freedom and liberty.
The Government has no right--repeat---no right, to take over any private business. No way, no how. Not AIG. Not any banks. Not GM. Not Chrysler. These companies have been openly taken over by Obama and his Marxists cohorts.
And hardly a whimper has been heard from the people.
Now comes proof positive that Barack Hussein Obama and his Marxist allies are conspiring, surreptitiously, to put private insurance companies out of business.
This isn't only an unconstitutional takeover of private business. This is a purge, in the grand tradition of Josef Stalin.
In their own words, Obama and his co-conspirators have revealed their true intentions. Obama tells his sheeple he wants to give us a free choice between private medical insurance and Nationalized Health Care, but the following video reveals he is lying. Watch this:
The destruction of America as we know it is well underway. They already have many private companies. Now he is going after private insurance companies. I think we all know where this is going.
What we don't know for sure, is, who's next?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Is Insanity Covered By Obamacare?
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." ~ Albert Einstein, (attributed)
On a personal level, I am in favor of Nationalized Health Care. I mean, who wouldn't prefer free health care over having to pay, even if one only has to pay a small co-payment?
I have a job but my job has no benefits. No pension. No paid vacations or sick leave. No 401k.
And no health or life insurance.
No benefits at all besides a paycheck, which sometimes is quite good, but sometimes not.
But understand, I'm not whining. I knew when I accepted the job there were no benefits. I just thought I would make enough money to buy my own insurance. I was wrong.
I needed a job. I was offered this one. I accepted it. And now, I have to live with the consequences of my decision. I accept that.
For you Liberals out there, that's known as accepting personal responsibility, which I believe is the core of Conservative ideology. I know personal responsibility is a foreign concept to Liberals.
Ah, don't get me started.
I have recently been experiencing intense pain in my left ankle. Sometimes the pain is so extreme, it seems to spread upward into my knee. Sometimes, I can barely walk.
I don't know what's wrong. I don't know how to relieve the pain. Pain pills do nothing. My wife tells me I need to see a doctor, but I can't afford that. She says it could be PAD, or a blood clot, or neuropathy, or a complication from my Diabetes type II, or arthritis.
I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway. I can't afford treatment.
As an aside, inexplicably, the pain just went away this week, after several weeks of continual pain. It hasn't come back. Yet. Perhaps a prayer was answered. In any case, I'm fine, now.
This is why I say, on a personal level, I am in favor of free health care. Yes. Free health care.
Certainly not Obamacare.
On an intellectual level, I am totally against National Health care. All models of Socialized medicine (for that's what it really is) has failed, and will always fail. Every where it's been tried, it has failed. Why?
Well, to begin with, if health care is free, people will take advantage.
I grew up near McConnell Air Force base in Wichita, Kansas. Many of my friends and classmates were children of Air Force personnel. Health care, (in case any of my readers don't already know this) in the military, is free. Or at least, this is what I understand. Some of my readers who are veterans may need to correct me on this one.
Anyway, I was often surprised at the things my Air Force friends would run off to the emergency room at the Air Base hospital for. Small cuts and bruises. Twisted ankles. Headaches. Colds. Sniffles. It was a ridiculous waste of free services to my mind.
And these services were paid for by the Defense Department. Expenses of the Defense Department are paid for by--guess who?--The American Taxpayers.
Now, imagine this situation amplified to include all Americans (and illegal immigrants, too). Can anyone in their right mind not see the snafu that would ensue if free health care were available to all, regardless of their ability to pay for their own health care?
Can you imagine the incredible amount of tax money that would have to be collected to pay for all these needless expenses? Not to mention the necessary expenses, such as Cancer treatment and medication, etc?
How does the Government propose to cover these enormous expenses?
Well, we can't be absolutely sure, but from the evidence gleaned from actual investigations into the viability of Socialized Medicine in other countries, it would appear that, in order to meet these expenses, Government health care programs are contingent on many varying factors, such as age of the patient, the stage of advancement of the pertinent diseases, the approval of certain types of treatment (including medicine), and a quota on the number of procedures allowed.
These contingencies are to be decided upon by a commission or a board appointed by our beloved leader.
In his book, "Liberty and Tyranny" Author Mark Levin cites a the case of a woman in Oregon, a state that already has a state run health care program. She had an advanced stage of cancer. She wanted a new drug that would help ease her pain, but the state run health commission determined that her cancer was too advanced, and since it was too late to save her life, her request for this medicine was denied.
She did, however, receive an unsigned letter from the health commission, informing her that she was allowed to exercise her right to assisted suicide, which is also legal in Oregon.
This is the kinds of things we can expect under any kind of Government run Nationalized Health Care program in this country.
It's been tried in other countries and even in some states here in America, and it has been found wanting.
What was that quotation I placed at the beginning of this post?
Ah, yes. Insanity.
On a personal level, I am in favor of Nationalized Health Care. I mean, who wouldn't prefer free health care over having to pay, even if one only has to pay a small co-payment?
I have a job but my job has no benefits. No pension. No paid vacations or sick leave. No 401k.
And no health or life insurance.
No benefits at all besides a paycheck, which sometimes is quite good, but sometimes not.
But understand, I'm not whining. I knew when I accepted the job there were no benefits. I just thought I would make enough money to buy my own insurance. I was wrong.
I needed a job. I was offered this one. I accepted it. And now, I have to live with the consequences of my decision. I accept that.
For you Liberals out there, that's known as accepting personal responsibility, which I believe is the core of Conservative ideology. I know personal responsibility is a foreign concept to Liberals.
Ah, don't get me started.
I have recently been experiencing intense pain in my left ankle. Sometimes the pain is so extreme, it seems to spread upward into my knee. Sometimes, I can barely walk.
I don't know what's wrong. I don't know how to relieve the pain. Pain pills do nothing. My wife tells me I need to see a doctor, but I can't afford that. She says it could be PAD, or a blood clot, or neuropathy, or a complication from my Diabetes type II, or arthritis.
I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway. I can't afford treatment.
As an aside, inexplicably, the pain just went away this week, after several weeks of continual pain. It hasn't come back. Yet. Perhaps a prayer was answered. In any case, I'm fine, now.
This is why I say, on a personal level, I am in favor of free health care. Yes. Free health care.
Certainly not Obamacare.
On an intellectual level, I am totally against National Health care. All models of Socialized medicine (for that's what it really is) has failed, and will always fail. Every where it's been tried, it has failed. Why?
Well, to begin with, if health care is free, people will take advantage.
I grew up near McConnell Air Force base in Wichita, Kansas. Many of my friends and classmates were children of Air Force personnel. Health care, (in case any of my readers don't already know this) in the military, is free. Or at least, this is what I understand. Some of my readers who are veterans may need to correct me on this one.
Anyway, I was often surprised at the things my Air Force friends would run off to the emergency room at the Air Base hospital for. Small cuts and bruises. Twisted ankles. Headaches. Colds. Sniffles. It was a ridiculous waste of free services to my mind.
And these services were paid for by the Defense Department. Expenses of the Defense Department are paid for by--guess who?--The American Taxpayers.
Now, imagine this situation amplified to include all Americans (and illegal immigrants, too). Can anyone in their right mind not see the snafu that would ensue if free health care were available to all, regardless of their ability to pay for their own health care?
Can you imagine the incredible amount of tax money that would have to be collected to pay for all these needless expenses? Not to mention the necessary expenses, such as Cancer treatment and medication, etc?
How does the Government propose to cover these enormous expenses?
Well, we can't be absolutely sure, but from the evidence gleaned from actual investigations into the viability of Socialized Medicine in other countries, it would appear that, in order to meet these expenses, Government health care programs are contingent on many varying factors, such as age of the patient, the stage of advancement of the pertinent diseases, the approval of certain types of treatment (including medicine), and a quota on the number of procedures allowed.
These contingencies are to be decided upon by a commission or a board appointed by our beloved leader.
In his book, "Liberty and Tyranny" Author Mark Levin cites a the case of a woman in Oregon, a state that already has a state run health care program. She had an advanced stage of cancer. She wanted a new drug that would help ease her pain, but the state run health commission determined that her cancer was too advanced, and since it was too late to save her life, her request for this medicine was denied.
She did, however, receive an unsigned letter from the health commission, informing her that she was allowed to exercise her right to assisted suicide, which is also legal in Oregon.
This is the kinds of things we can expect under any kind of Government run Nationalized Health Care program in this country.
It's been tried in other countries and even in some states here in America, and it has been found wanting.
What was that quotation I placed at the beginning of this post?
Ah, yes. Insanity.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Dan Is An Idiot
"Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it." ~ Samuel Johnson
My "brother from another mother", Marshall Art, has a post up at his place which has spawned an interesting comment thread.
In it, Dan Trabue, once an annoying little gnat who pestered me here on my humble blog (Well, he's still an annoying little gnat, but doesn't annoy me here at my place anymore), made an absolutely idiotic point, and I responded by calling him an idiot (which I've done many times, because, frankly, he is an idiot).
He doesn't visit here anymore.
Well, he might visit, but he restrains himself from commenting (I mean, arguing). He finally got tired of having his stupid idiotic little argumentative comments rejected.
Now, Art tells me I have to stop stating the obvious, that Dan is an idiot.
So, I have cordially invited Dan to re-visit my blog so I can call him an idiot.
Dan, in case you accept my invitation, You're an idiot.
My "brother from another mother", Marshall Art, has a post up at his place which has spawned an interesting comment thread.
In it, Dan Trabue, once an annoying little gnat who pestered me here on my humble blog (Well, he's still an annoying little gnat, but doesn't annoy me here at my place anymore), made an absolutely idiotic point, and I responded by calling him an idiot (which I've done many times, because, frankly, he is an idiot).
He doesn't visit here anymore.
Well, he might visit, but he restrains himself from commenting (I mean, arguing). He finally got tired of having his stupid idiotic little argumentative comments rejected.
Now, Art tells me I have to stop stating the obvious, that Dan is an idiot.
So, I have cordially invited Dan to re-visit my blog so I can call him an idiot.
Dan, in case you accept my invitation, You're an idiot.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Disjointed Thoughts
"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursel's as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, And foolish notion" ~ Robert Burns
Just a few things I've been thinking about instead of blogging lately.
1. A couple of days ago, I was driving my wife and her father to Richmond. They both had doctor's appointments with the same doctor.
We were passed along the way by several men on motorcycles. Each one of them had a World War II style German helmet on his head, and all were wearing a sleeveless jacket with the name of some motorcycle club (or gang) embroidered on the back.
My father-in-law, who is 86 years old and almost completely deaf, looked at the bikers and made this comment:
"You've seen one, you've seen them all."
I nearly lost control of the car laughing.
Isn't it interesting how people tend to dress and act alike just to fit in?
I guess I need to explain that statement, but I don't know exactly how. Let me share an experience I had some years ago to illustrate what I mean:
I was entering a recently built high rise office building in Kansas City, and standing outside the entrance were several young upwardly mobile professionals. They were all dressed similarly, and all were smoking cigars.
Now, the act of smoking cigars was a recent trend among the "upper crust" at that time. I would be willing to wager that those young people standing outside the Sprint PCS offices that day would have never considered smoking a cigar until they found out it was the trendy thing to do. After all, young Americans at that time had just recently started joining the campaign to exercise regularly and eat healthy, etc, and that included the cessation of smoking cigarettes.
So, what's the deal with cigars?
Well, naturally, anybody that's anybody smokes cigars so they had to also. I'm not really bothered by conformity, but, what happened to individuality?
2. I heard something on Mark Levin's radio program a while back, and I wanted to reference it for this blog at the time but I didn't know where to find the information. Not until I reached the pertinent chapter in Levin's book, "Liberty and Tyranny".
Dr. John Brignell, retired Professor of industrial instrumentation at the University of Southampton in Britain, composed an actual list of alarms raised in the international press that are intended to warn us all of impending serious threats to the human race that is caused by and/or will be caused by Global Warning. Here it is:
A complete list of things caused by global warming:
Acne, agricultural land increase, Afghan poppies destroyed, Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, African summer frost, aggressive weeds, air pressure changes, airport malaria, Agulhas current, Alaska reshaped, moves, allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra to burn, Arctic warming (not), Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, barbarisation, beer shortage, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird loss accelerating, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds return early, bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down, blood contaminated, blue mussels return, bluetongue, brain eating amoebae, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, coast beauty spots lost, cockroach migration, coffee threatened, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral fish suffer, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , coral reefs twilight, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened, creatures move uphill, crime increase, crocodile sex, crops devastated, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), danger to kid's health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, deadly virus outbreaks, death rate increase (US), deaths to reach 6 million, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, dig sites threatened, disappearance of coastal cities, disasters, diseases move north, dog disease, Dolomites collapse, dozen deadly diseases - or not, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, earthquakes, earthquakes redux, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, pikas, polar bears, possums, walrus, toads, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, salamanders, tropical insects) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, fainting, famine, farmers benefit, farmers go under, farm output boost, fashion disaster, fever, figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fires fanned in Nepal, fish bigger, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish catches rise, fish deaf, fish get lost, fish head north, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flames stoked, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food security threat (SA), football team migration, footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frog with extra heads, frostbite, frost damage increased, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, geese decline in Hampshire, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier grows (California), glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, golf course to drown, golf Masters wrecked, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, gravity shift, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, haggis threatened, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harmful algae, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, health risks, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, HIV epidemic, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health risk, human race oblivion, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hurricanes fewer, hurricanes not, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice age, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, icebergs, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of cats, invasion of crabgrass, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of king crabs, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, jet stream drifts north, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lawyers want more, legionnaires' surge, lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, locust plagues suppressed, lush growth in rain forests, Malaria, mammoth dung melt, mango harvest fails, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, Melanoma decline, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, minorities hit, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up, mountains green and flowering, mountains taller, mortality lower, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, National security implications, native wildlife overwhelmed, natural disasters quadruple, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean acidification faster, ocean dead zones unleashed, ocean deserts expand, ocean waves speed up, oceans noisier, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, penguin chicks frozen, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, pines decline, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plants lose protein, plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar tours scrapped, popcorn rise, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, rabid bats, radars taken out, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rape wave, refugees, reindeer endangered, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, Russia under pressure, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, seismic activity, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, skin cancer, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, soaring food prices, societal collapse, soil change, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders getting bigger, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid population explosion, squid tamed, squirrels reproduce earlier, stick insects, stingray invasion, storms wetter, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tigers eat people, tomatoes rot, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, truffles down, turtles crash, turtle feminised, turtles lay earlier, UFO sightings, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, uprooted - 6 million, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, violin decline, volcanic eruptions, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, war, war between US and Canada, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, wasps, water bills double, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whale beachings, whales lose weight, whales move north, whales wiped out, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine - England too hot, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World at war, World War 4, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
If you doubt any of these were actually presented as threats resulting from Global Warming, you can click the link, and then click any of the threats listed, and it will take you to each article in question.
Whew!
I'm thinking maybe the EnvironMENTALists would have a bit more credibility if they didn't contradict themselves so often and if they didn't try to convince us that everything in the world is a serious crisis.
I mean, seriously. Outdoor hockey is threatened? In who's world is that a crisis?
As it is, they simply look like tin-foil hat wearing over-the-top alarmists. It's difficult, if not impossible, to take anything they say seriously.
3. My nephew (my older brother's oldest son) just received his Doctorate in Education from Eastern University in Pennsylvania. He is an extremely intelligent young man, and a devoted Christian. He is also a Liberal Democrat.
He is so smart, in fact, that he and his father (my genius brother) almost beat my youngest son and I in a game of "Trivial Pursuit" a couple of Christmases ago.
Almost.
I have never lost a game of "Trivial Pursuit" in my life, although another brother came very close once. Fortunately, my winning streak remained intact because his wife made him quit playing and go home. He was ahead, too.
I'm glad he is henpecked.
And my oldest son gave me some pretty intense competition once, but I prevailed in the end.
But I digress.
I have a hard time understanding how someone with my Dr. Nephew's obvious intelligence, education, and Christian faith could possibly be a Liberal, let alone a Democrat.
The Democrat party's platform of support for immorality, sexual perversion, abortion, racism, inequality, class warfare, atheism, taxing, and spending seems to me to be completely illogical, and, dare I say it? Stupid. These things are, to me, antithetical to intelligent Christians.
I'd ask him how he could support such obvious anti-Christian ideologies, but ... he's family, and I don't want to incite a divide between us. Family, to me, is more important than ideological differences. I won't jeopardize our family unity.
I guess I'll never know.
Just a few things I've been thinking about instead of blogging lately.
1. A couple of days ago, I was driving my wife and her father to Richmond. They both had doctor's appointments with the same doctor.
We were passed along the way by several men on motorcycles. Each one of them had a World War II style German helmet on his head, and all were wearing a sleeveless jacket with the name of some motorcycle club (or gang) embroidered on the back.
My father-in-law, who is 86 years old and almost completely deaf, looked at the bikers and made this comment:
"You've seen one, you've seen them all."
I nearly lost control of the car laughing.
Isn't it interesting how people tend to dress and act alike just to fit in?
I guess I need to explain that statement, but I don't know exactly how. Let me share an experience I had some years ago to illustrate what I mean:
I was entering a recently built high rise office building in Kansas City, and standing outside the entrance were several young upwardly mobile professionals. They were all dressed similarly, and all were smoking cigars.
Now, the act of smoking cigars was a recent trend among the "upper crust" at that time. I would be willing to wager that those young people standing outside the Sprint PCS offices that day would have never considered smoking a cigar until they found out it was the trendy thing to do. After all, young Americans at that time had just recently started joining the campaign to exercise regularly and eat healthy, etc, and that included the cessation of smoking cigarettes.
So, what's the deal with cigars?
Well, naturally, anybody that's anybody smokes cigars so they had to also. I'm not really bothered by conformity, but, what happened to individuality?
2. I heard something on Mark Levin's radio program a while back, and I wanted to reference it for this blog at the time but I didn't know where to find the information. Not until I reached the pertinent chapter in Levin's book, "Liberty and Tyranny".
Dr. John Brignell, retired Professor of industrial instrumentation at the University of Southampton in Britain, composed an actual list of alarms raised in the international press that are intended to warn us all of impending serious threats to the human race that is caused by and/or will be caused by Global Warning. Here it is:
A complete list of things caused by global warming:
Acne, agricultural land increase, Afghan poppies destroyed, Africa devastated, Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, African summer frost, aggressive weeds, air pressure changes, airport malaria, Agulhas current, Alaska reshaped, moves, allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra to burn, Arctic warming (not), Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, barbarisation, beer shortage, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird loss accelerating, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds return early, bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down, blood contaminated, blue mussels return, bluetongue, brain eating amoebae, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, coast beauty spots lost, cockroach migration, coffee threatened, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral fish suffer, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , coral reefs twilight, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, crabgrass menace, cradle of civilisation threatened, creatures move uphill, crime increase, crocodile sex, crops devastated, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), danger to kid's health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, deadly virus outbreaks, death rate increase (US), deaths to reach 6 million, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, dig sites threatened, disappearance of coastal cities, disasters, diseases move north, dog disease, Dolomites collapse, dozen deadly diseases - or not, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, earthquakes, earthquakes redux, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, pikas, polar bears, possums, walrus, toads, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, salamanders, tropical insects) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, fainting, famine, farmers benefit, farmers go under, farm output boost, fashion disaster, fever, figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fires fanned in Nepal, fish bigger, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish catches rise, fish deaf, fish get lost, fish head north, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flames stoked, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food security threat (SA), football team migration, footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frog with extra heads, frostbite, frost damage increased, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, geese decline in Hampshire, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier grows (California), glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, golf course to drown, golf Masters wrecked, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, gravity shift, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, haggis threatened, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harmful algae, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, health risks, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, HIV epidemic, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health risk, human race oblivion, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hurricanes fewer, hurricanes not, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice age, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, icebergs, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of cats, invasion of crabgrass, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of king crabs, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, jet stream drifts north, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lawyers want more, legionnaires' surge, lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, locust plagues suppressed, lush growth in rain forests, Malaria, mammoth dung melt, mango harvest fails, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, Melanoma decline, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, minorities hit, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountaineers fears, mountains break up, mountains green and flowering, mountains taller, mortality lower, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, National security implications, native wildlife overwhelmed, natural disasters quadruple, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean acidification faster, ocean dead zones unleashed, ocean deserts expand, ocean waves speed up, oceans noisier, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, penguin chicks frozen, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, pines decline, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plants lose protein, plants march north, plants move uphill, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears deaf, polar bears drowning, polar tours scrapped, popcorn rise, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, rabid bats, radars taken out, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rape wave, refugees, reindeer endangered, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, Russia under pressure, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, seismic activity, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, skin cancer, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, soaring food prices, societal collapse, soil change, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders getting bigger, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid population explosion, squid tamed, squirrels reproduce earlier, stick insects, stingray invasion, storms wetter, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tigers eat people, tomatoes rot, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, truffles down, turtles crash, turtle feminised, turtles lay earlier, UFO sightings, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, uprooted - 6 million, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, violin decline, volcanic eruptions, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, war, war between US and Canada, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, wasps, water bills double, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whale beachings, whales lose weight, whales move north, whales wiped out, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine - England too hot, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World at war, World War 4, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
If you doubt any of these were actually presented as threats resulting from Global Warming, you can click the link, and then click any of the threats listed, and it will take you to each article in question.
Whew!
I'm thinking maybe the EnvironMENTALists would have a bit more credibility if they didn't contradict themselves so often and if they didn't try to convince us that everything in the world is a serious crisis.
I mean, seriously. Outdoor hockey is threatened? In who's world is that a crisis?
As it is, they simply look like tin-foil hat wearing over-the-top alarmists. It's difficult, if not impossible, to take anything they say seriously.
3. My nephew (my older brother's oldest son) just received his Doctorate in Education from Eastern University in Pennsylvania. He is an extremely intelligent young man, and a devoted Christian. He is also a Liberal Democrat.
He is so smart, in fact, that he and his father (my genius brother) almost beat my youngest son and I in a game of "Trivial Pursuit" a couple of Christmases ago.
Almost.
I have never lost a game of "Trivial Pursuit" in my life, although another brother came very close once. Fortunately, my winning streak remained intact because his wife made him quit playing and go home. He was ahead, too.
I'm glad he is henpecked.
And my oldest son gave me some pretty intense competition once, but I prevailed in the end.
But I digress.
I have a hard time understanding how someone with my Dr. Nephew's obvious intelligence, education, and Christian faith could possibly be a Liberal, let alone a Democrat.
The Democrat party's platform of support for immorality, sexual perversion, abortion, racism, inequality, class warfare, atheism, taxing, and spending seems to me to be completely illogical, and, dare I say it? Stupid. These things are, to me, antithetical to intelligent Christians.
I'd ask him how he could support such obvious anti-Christian ideologies, but ... he's family, and I don't want to incite a divide between us. Family, to me, is more important than ideological differences. I won't jeopardize our family unity.
I guess I'll never know.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Rambling
"A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment." ~ Willis Player
My second son, and third child, has been here. He drove here from Wichita, Kansas, where he had been living with my 88 year old mother, because he was laid off, and couldn't find another job in Wichita, so, he moved here in hopes of finding a job. He says he did his research and there are more jobs to be found in this area of the country than many others. There may be better areas of the country than this one for employment but he can't afford to get his own place to live, so he must go where he has relatives who will allow him to live with them until he gets back on his feet.
That may be a long time. Well, he can't stay here.
I am not being mean. It's just that my wife and I live in what is referred to as an "active senior community", and single people under 55 aren't allowed to live here. I call it an old folks home. My wife and I are one of maybe three couples living here who are under the age of 60. We are the young ones. Two ladies who live here are over 100 years of age!
Anyway, the reason I haven't been blogging lately is I've just been too busy with my son being here, and have had less time on the computer. Plus the big television is in the same room as the computer, and if I am blogging, he watches the TV, and frankly, his taste in programming is in direct juxtaposition with mine. I can't stand the stupid programs he watches. Then, there's his video games.
I retreat into the bedroom and watch the little TV while he plays and watches his programs.
Ok, that is a long way of explaining why I haven't been doing much blogging. Now he's moved into my 86 year old father-in law's house, under the condition that he will help him around the house while he looks for gainful employment.
And I have time for blogging. Except I am trying to find a more steady job myself. With hours and compensation I can count on week after week, and benefits.
OK. I've learned something from my son since he's been here. My son has the infuriating habit of bringing up subjects that I have passionate feelings about, and then refusing to hear my opinions of them. Such as politics. The Economy. Social issues.
He says he likes Obama, and that he really believes Obama is trying to help the country.
He thinks homosexuals are normal, and their lifestyle choice natural.
He thinks abortion is an acceptable form of birth control.
He thinks Obama's economic policy will make poor people rich and make rich people poor.
He thinks talking to terrorists will convince them to stop killing people.
My wife just called him over at her dad's house and asked him if he wants to go to church with us this morning. He said, "No." He said, That's one reason he moved out here. So he doesn't have to go to church. My mother used to make him go to church with her every Sunday.
He knows nothing of politics, the economy, and social issues except what he's heard on "The Daily Show" with John Liebowitz, aka Jon Stuart, apparently the closest thing to anything remotely connected to the aforementioned subjects he pays any attention to at all. And he doesn't want to know.
When I try to explain to him why all these things are incorrect Liberal thinking, he insists he doesn't want to talk about it.
All he cares about is death metal music (by bands I never heard of) with obscene lyrics. Avant Garde Movies with obscene themes and language. Violent video games, with obscene material and language.
How do you talk sense to someone who refuses to listen?
And then, it struck me. This is the mindset of most Liberals.
My second son, and third child, has been here. He drove here from Wichita, Kansas, where he had been living with my 88 year old mother, because he was laid off, and couldn't find another job in Wichita, so, he moved here in hopes of finding a job. He says he did his research and there are more jobs to be found in this area of the country than many others. There may be better areas of the country than this one for employment but he can't afford to get his own place to live, so he must go where he has relatives who will allow him to live with them until he gets back on his feet.
That may be a long time. Well, he can't stay here.
I am not being mean. It's just that my wife and I live in what is referred to as an "active senior community", and single people under 55 aren't allowed to live here. I call it an old folks home. My wife and I are one of maybe three couples living here who are under the age of 60. We are the young ones. Two ladies who live here are over 100 years of age!
Anyway, the reason I haven't been blogging lately is I've just been too busy with my son being here, and have had less time on the computer. Plus the big television is in the same room as the computer, and if I am blogging, he watches the TV, and frankly, his taste in programming is in direct juxtaposition with mine. I can't stand the stupid programs he watches. Then, there's his video games.
I retreat into the bedroom and watch the little TV while he plays and watches his programs.
Ok, that is a long way of explaining why I haven't been doing much blogging. Now he's moved into my 86 year old father-in law's house, under the condition that he will help him around the house while he looks for gainful employment.
And I have time for blogging. Except I am trying to find a more steady job myself. With hours and compensation I can count on week after week, and benefits.
OK. I've learned something from my son since he's been here. My son has the infuriating habit of bringing up subjects that I have passionate feelings about, and then refusing to hear my opinions of them. Such as politics. The Economy. Social issues.
He says he likes Obama, and that he really believes Obama is trying to help the country.
He thinks homosexuals are normal, and their lifestyle choice natural.
He thinks abortion is an acceptable form of birth control.
He thinks Obama's economic policy will make poor people rich and make rich people poor.
He thinks talking to terrorists will convince them to stop killing people.
My wife just called him over at her dad's house and asked him if he wants to go to church with us this morning. He said, "No." He said, That's one reason he moved out here. So he doesn't have to go to church. My mother used to make him go to church with her every Sunday.
He knows nothing of politics, the economy, and social issues except what he's heard on "The Daily Show" with John Liebowitz, aka Jon Stuart, apparently the closest thing to anything remotely connected to the aforementioned subjects he pays any attention to at all. And he doesn't want to know.
When I try to explain to him why all these things are incorrect Liberal thinking, he insists he doesn't want to talk about it.
All he cares about is death metal music (by bands I never heard of) with obscene lyrics. Avant Garde Movies with obscene themes and language. Violent video games, with obscene material and language.
How do you talk sense to someone who refuses to listen?
And then, it struck me. This is the mindset of most Liberals.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Eulogy For A Monster
"The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones" ~ William Shakespeare
Mr. George Tiller, of Wichita, Kansas, is dead. He was ruthlessly gunned down in the lobby of his church by a man who may, or may not be, an opponent of abortion.
Interestingly enough(at least, to me), I was raised in Wichita, and my first apartment after leaving my parent's home was directly across the street from Mr. Tiller's Schlachthaus. I didn't know what horrors took place within it's walls at the time, and even if I had known, I wouldn't have cared. At that time, I was not opposed to abortion, but study of the Bible changed my mind. It took God to change my heart.
For those readers who have been languishing somewhere beyond the earth's gravitational pull for the last several years, George Tiller was a provider of abortions.
Even late term and partial birth abortions.
No pre-born baby was too viable to escape his scalpel.
I do not call him a doctor. Doctors are sworn to preserve life.
I do not rejoice in the death of this man.
I will miss him, as I miss Dennis Rader, aka BTK, another infamous Wichitan. Both were serial killers.
Make no mistake. The man who shot Mr. Tiller down is guilty of murder. He took another man's life. There is no justification for what that man did. He is a murderer, plain and simple.
He is just as guilty of murder as Mr. Tiller and Dennis Rader.
He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He should be executed for his crime, and probably will be.
For he did not only kill George Tiller. He grievously wounded the pro-life movement in America as well.
Unlike Mr. Tiller, the man who murdered him will have to endure the humiliation of a murder trial and consequential punishment. Barring an insanity plea, he will be convicted. There were more than two eye witnesses to the crime. That is all that the law requires for a conviction.
Motive is not necessary to obtain a conviction in a case such as this.
Besides, the Liberally pro-abortion biased media has no doubt already convicted him. And, in this case, that is justified.
Murder, even the murder of a modern day Josef Mengele, is still murder.
Nevertheless, let me make one thing perfectly clear:
Those misguided souls who think that the slaughter of innocents will be abated somewhat now that the chief Mengele is gone are wrong. There are others waiting to fill his shoes.
And, since he will now be considered a martyr for the proponents of our nations own holocaust, I predict the number of late term and partial birth abortions will increase.
May God have mercy on us all.
Mr. George Tiller, of Wichita, Kansas, is dead. He was ruthlessly gunned down in the lobby of his church by a man who may, or may not be, an opponent of abortion.
Interestingly enough(at least, to me), I was raised in Wichita, and my first apartment after leaving my parent's home was directly across the street from Mr. Tiller's Schlachthaus. I didn't know what horrors took place within it's walls at the time, and even if I had known, I wouldn't have cared. At that time, I was not opposed to abortion, but study of the Bible changed my mind. It took God to change my heart.
For those readers who have been languishing somewhere beyond the earth's gravitational pull for the last several years, George Tiller was a provider of abortions.
Even late term and partial birth abortions.
No pre-born baby was too viable to escape his scalpel.
I do not call him a doctor. Doctors are sworn to preserve life.
I do not rejoice in the death of this man.
I will miss him, as I miss Dennis Rader, aka BTK, another infamous Wichitan. Both were serial killers.
Make no mistake. The man who shot Mr. Tiller down is guilty of murder. He took another man's life. There is no justification for what that man did. He is a murderer, plain and simple.
He is just as guilty of murder as Mr. Tiller and Dennis Rader.
He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He should be executed for his crime, and probably will be.
For he did not only kill George Tiller. He grievously wounded the pro-life movement in America as well.
Unlike Mr. Tiller, the man who murdered him will have to endure the humiliation of a murder trial and consequential punishment. Barring an insanity plea, he will be convicted. There were more than two eye witnesses to the crime. That is all that the law requires for a conviction.
Motive is not necessary to obtain a conviction in a case such as this.
Besides, the Liberally pro-abortion biased media has no doubt already convicted him. And, in this case, that is justified.
Murder, even the murder of a modern day Josef Mengele, is still murder.
Nevertheless, let me make one thing perfectly clear:
Those misguided souls who think that the slaughter of innocents will be abated somewhat now that the chief Mengele is gone are wrong. There are others waiting to fill his shoes.
And, since he will now be considered a martyr for the proponents of our nations own holocaust, I predict the number of late term and partial birth abortions will increase.
May God have mercy on us all.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
What Was In My Head When I Awoke
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy." ~ William Shakespeare
There is much use of Scottish slang in this. Some of the words I don't understand. I assume it would be funnier if I could.
Land o' the purple heather.
Land o' the dirty weather.
Land where the midges gaither, Scotland the Brave.
Land o' the Pakistanis,
Andy Capp and Saturday sannies.
Land where they sell their grannies, Scotland the Brave.
Used to say in faither's day,
You could hear the bagpipes play,
But now you hear the regal tones o' Elton John and The Rolling Stones.
Land that is full o' stinkers,
Wee fat Jews and VP drinkers.
Whisky put a lot o' stinkers, into Scottish graves.
Land that is full o' skivers,
Comic singers, deep sea divers,
Turbans on our bus condrivers, Scotland the Brave.
Land o' the brutal Bobbies,
Councillers wi' part-time jobbies,
Architects wi' paying hobbies, Scotland the Brave.
The tourists come here every year
To see all our historic gear,
But all they see is loads o' navvies, high rise flats wi' concrete lavvies.
Land o' the artic' lorries,
Andy Stewart and ra Corries,
Land where everybody borries, Scotland the Brave.
Land o' the Kilt and Sporran -
Underneath, there's nothin' worn!
How I wish the wind was warm! Scotland the Brave.
I must admit it's pretty gruesome,
Walking about wi' your frozen twosome!
It's all we've got - we musn't lose 'em - Scotland the Brave.
Conservatives try to assure us,
Labour's hard-put to endure us,
The Kirk puts curbs on our enjoyment, Government makes unemployment.
Never mind - the day is near,
When independence will be here!
We'll drink a toast in Younger's beer to Scotland the Brave!
I awoke with the humorous version running through my head. This is the correct version, as far as I know:
Scotland The Brave
Hark when the night is falling
Hear the pipes are calling.
Loudly and proudly calling
Down thro’ the glen
There where the hills are sleeping
Now feel the blood a-leaping
High as the spirits of the old highland men
Towering in gallant frame
Scotland my mountain hame
High may your proud standards glouriously wave
Land of my high endeavour
Land ofthe shining river
Land of my heart forever
Scotland the brave
High on the misty Highlands
Out by the purple islands
Brave are the hearts that beat
Beneath Scottish skies
Wild are the winds that meet you
Staunch are the friends that greet you
Kind as the love that shines from fair maidens eyes
Towering in gallant frame etc.
Far off in sunlit places
Sad are the Scottish faces
Yearning to feel the kiss
Of sweet Scottish rain
Where tropic skies are beaming
Love sets the heart a-dreaming
Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.
There is much use of Scottish slang in this. Some of the words I don't understand. I assume it would be funnier if I could.
Land o' the purple heather.
Land o' the dirty weather.
Land where the midges gaither, Scotland the Brave.
Land o' the Pakistanis,
Andy Capp and Saturday sannies.
Land where they sell their grannies, Scotland the Brave.
Used to say in faither's day,
You could hear the bagpipes play,
But now you hear the regal tones o' Elton John and The Rolling Stones.
Land that is full o' stinkers,
Wee fat Jews and VP drinkers.
Whisky put a lot o' stinkers, into Scottish graves.
Land that is full o' skivers,
Comic singers, deep sea divers,
Turbans on our bus condrivers, Scotland the Brave.
Land o' the brutal Bobbies,
Councillers wi' part-time jobbies,
Architects wi' paying hobbies, Scotland the Brave.
The tourists come here every year
To see all our historic gear,
But all they see is loads o' navvies, high rise flats wi' concrete lavvies.
Land o' the artic' lorries,
Andy Stewart and ra Corries,
Land where everybody borries, Scotland the Brave.
Land o' the Kilt and Sporran -
Underneath, there's nothin' worn!
How I wish the wind was warm! Scotland the Brave.
I must admit it's pretty gruesome,
Walking about wi' your frozen twosome!
It's all we've got - we musn't lose 'em - Scotland the Brave.
Conservatives try to assure us,
Labour's hard-put to endure us,
The Kirk puts curbs on our enjoyment, Government makes unemployment.
Never mind - the day is near,
When independence will be here!
We'll drink a toast in Younger's beer to Scotland the Brave!
I awoke with the humorous version running through my head. This is the correct version, as far as I know:
Scotland The Brave
Hark when the night is falling
Hear the pipes are calling.
Loudly and proudly calling
Down thro’ the glen
There where the hills are sleeping
Now feel the blood a-leaping
High as the spirits of the old highland men
Towering in gallant frame
Scotland my mountain hame
High may your proud standards glouriously wave
Land of my high endeavour
Land ofthe shining river
Land of my heart forever
Scotland the brave
High on the misty Highlands
Out by the purple islands
Brave are the hearts that beat
Beneath Scottish skies
Wild are the winds that meet you
Staunch are the friends that greet you
Kind as the love that shines from fair maidens eyes
Towering in gallant frame etc.
Far off in sunlit places
Sad are the Scottish faces
Yearning to feel the kiss
Of sweet Scottish rain
Where tropic skies are beaming
Love sets the heart a-dreaming
Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day 2009
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." ~ Winston Churchill
Celebrate Memorial Day 2009 with reverence.
Celebrate Memorial Day 2009 with reverence.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Summertime
Written by George Gershwin. Which version do you like better?
This version performed by Billy Stewart:
Or this version, by Janis Joplin:
Or, for AOW, this version, performed as it was written, by Cecily Nall:
This version performed by Billy Stewart:
Or this version, by Janis Joplin:
Or, for AOW, this version, performed as it was written, by Cecily Nall:
Saturday, May 23, 2009
What's In My Head
I've failed to mention this before, but I stole the idea of posting "What's in my head" and "What was in my head when I awoke", which is a variance of the same theme, from Lone Ranger. To his credit, and my gratitude, he has never objected. At least, not to me.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Question
“The decisions that were made over the last eight years established an ad hoc legal approach for fighting terrorism that was neither effective nor sustainable.” ~ Barack Hussein Obama
I have a question:
Is Obama a moron, or does he think Americans are morons?
I have a question:
Is Obama a moron, or does he think Americans are morons?
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Obama's March To Socialism
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ John F. Kennedy
Now, Barack Hussein Obama has announced his plans to take over the auto industry. His plan is overt Socialism. In fact, it is the definition of Socialism.
According to a Reuters story, "General Motors Corp's (GM.N) plan for a bankruptcy filing involves a quick sale of the company's healthy assets to a new company initially owned by the U.S. government."
Do you get that? Owned by the U.S. Government!
The definition of Socialism, according to the dictionary, is "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole."
It goes on to say, "(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles".
If any of my readers don't know why Socialism is undesirable, go back and read my History of Communism.
Normally, news articles quoting anonymous sources are suspect in my opinion, so I will qualify my remarks with this statement:
If this story is accurate, Obama is implementing his nefarious plan to socialize the United States before our eyes. He needs to be stopped.
Yes, it's true that the rest of the article points out that the ownership of GM by the U.S. Government is only temporary, but really, who is Obama kidding?
Anyone who thinks the Government, under Obama will eventually relinquish control of GM back to private ownership is delusional.
This is only the beginning of Obama's plan to change The United Sates of America into the United Socialist States of America.
There will be more. Much more.
And remember. I warned you.
Now, Barack Hussein Obama has announced his plans to take over the auto industry. His plan is overt Socialism. In fact, it is the definition of Socialism.
According to a Reuters story, "General Motors Corp's (GM.N) plan for a bankruptcy filing involves a quick sale of the company's healthy assets to a new company initially owned by the U.S. government."
Do you get that? Owned by the U.S. Government!
The definition of Socialism, according to the dictionary, is "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole."
It goes on to say, "(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles".
If any of my readers don't know why Socialism is undesirable, go back and read my History of Communism.
Normally, news articles quoting anonymous sources are suspect in my opinion, so I will qualify my remarks with this statement:
If this story is accurate, Obama is implementing his nefarious plan to socialize the United States before our eyes. He needs to be stopped.
Yes, it's true that the rest of the article points out that the ownership of GM by the U.S. Government is only temporary, but really, who is Obama kidding?
Anyone who thinks the Government, under Obama will eventually relinquish control of GM back to private ownership is delusional.
This is only the beginning of Obama's plan to change The United Sates of America into the United Socialist States of America.
There will be more. Much more.
And remember. I warned you.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Immorality Is Not A Conservative Value
"All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God." ~ Voltaire
Before I offer my rant, I want to pat myself on the back (If I don't, no one else will) for a comment I left over at TOTUS's blog, in the comment thread of this post.
The post dealt with a "poetry jam", as they say, so I submitted the following original poem:
A teleprompter called TOTUS
Was relied upon often by POTUS
When it got in the way
Obama did say,
"Can we move this when we take the PHOTUS?"
OK. Fun's fun, but let's get serious.
Regarding the current big Beauty Pageant scandal, I am not surprised at the level of rancor displayed by the Liberals toward Ms. Carrie Prejean, AKA Miss California USA.
I am, however, surprised that Conservatives, who normally champion Judeo-Christian morality are rushing to her defense.
Ms. Prejean drew no small amount of fire from homosexual activists and their Liberal enablers for her incredibly sweet response to a question posed to her in the Miss USA pageant by a snarky little homosexual worm who calls himself Perez Hilton.
I won't elaborate further. All of us, unless we've been sleeping through the last week or so, undoubtedly know the details. She gave her honest opinion on the subject of gay marriage, which apparently was not the response Ms. Hilton (Yes, I said it!) wanted to hear.
Predictably, homosexuals and Liberals across the country raced to discredit and embarrass her a la "Joe the Plumber". After all, It is an absolute Liberal sacrilege to suggest one believes Homosexual marriage is wrong, and Liberals are honor bound to do their very best to totally destroy her.
Apparently, Carrie isn't too bright. And I don't say that because of her less than erudite "opposite marriage" reference.
Once the Liberal attack machine is set into motion, it will not stop until some years after the attackee is completely and utterly discredited.
Did Ms. Prejean not know this?
Perhaps if she had stopped talking immediately after her honest, albeit unfortunate answer, she might have avoided the inevitable finger pointing and accusations of hypocrisy.
Oh, but not our lovely Miss California.
She just had to complain that her answer was the reason she lost the contest. Then, if offering that excuse wasn't bad enough, she went on to announce to the world that she is a Christian, and was raised with the accompanying "Christian moral values".
Now, when I hear someone say they have Christian moral values, I would like to believe they eschew immorality of all kinds.
Then comes the revelation that Ms. Prejean had posed for some photographs some time before she entered the Miss California pageant.
Not just any photos, mind you. These particular photos were semi-nude. However one chooses to describe these photos upon seeing them, certain words that don't leap immediately to mind are "moral", "Christian", "innocent", etc.
Now, maybe I am showing my curmudgeonly side, but in my humble opinion, Ms. Prejean has done an enormous disservice to Christianity and her Christian witness by her poor judgment in agreeing to pose without her top.
All her protestations about morality and Christianity are meaningless if she doesn't at least attempt to live her faith.
I don't buy the excuse that she was only doing her job as a model, either. Many young ladies who model professionally have not agreed to be photographed naked, and they still manage to be successful.
She could have, and should have refused, if she is truly trying to follow Christ.
As it is, she has become a caricature of hypocritical Christians in the mode of Jimmy Swaggart and Elmer Gantry.
As I said, it surprises me that Christian Conservatives such as Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter have defended Ms Prejean. I part ways once again, with my Conservative colleagues on this point.
Oh, I understand that when anyone is attacked by Liberals, it is incumbent on Conservatives to defend them.
But, if we call ourselves Christian, we must be consistent in our views of Christian morality.
Either posing for pornographic photos (regardless of how soft core) is immoral, or it isn't.
Sexual immorality is condemned by God in the Bible. I sincerely doubt there is anyone who denies that fact.
When a self professed Christian willfully engages in sexual immortality, it is shameful, not just for her, but for the whole of Christianity.
Moreover, if one calls himself a Conservative, he must espouse Conservative values, which means, to me, accepting personal responsibility.
Ms Prejean should, now that the cat is out of the bag, admit she made a very bad choice in allowing herself to be photographed naked, and fade quietly with all due humility, back into relative obscurity before she damages Christianity's reputation permanently.
I pray it's not too late.
Before I offer my rant, I want to pat myself on the back (If I don't, no one else will) for a comment I left over at TOTUS's blog, in the comment thread of this post.
The post dealt with a "poetry jam", as they say, so I submitted the following original poem:
A teleprompter called TOTUS
Was relied upon often by POTUS
When it got in the way
Obama did say,
"Can we move this when we take the PHOTUS?"
OK. Fun's fun, but let's get serious.
Regarding the current big Beauty Pageant scandal, I am not surprised at the level of rancor displayed by the Liberals toward Ms. Carrie Prejean, AKA Miss California USA.
I am, however, surprised that Conservatives, who normally champion Judeo-Christian morality are rushing to her defense.
Ms. Prejean drew no small amount of fire from homosexual activists and their Liberal enablers for her incredibly sweet response to a question posed to her in the Miss USA pageant by a snarky little homosexual worm who calls himself Perez Hilton.
I won't elaborate further. All of us, unless we've been sleeping through the last week or so, undoubtedly know the details. She gave her honest opinion on the subject of gay marriage, which apparently was not the response Ms. Hilton (Yes, I said it!) wanted to hear.
Predictably, homosexuals and Liberals across the country raced to discredit and embarrass her a la "Joe the Plumber". After all, It is an absolute Liberal sacrilege to suggest one believes Homosexual marriage is wrong, and Liberals are honor bound to do their very best to totally destroy her.
Apparently, Carrie isn't too bright. And I don't say that because of her less than erudite "opposite marriage" reference.
Once the Liberal attack machine is set into motion, it will not stop until some years after the attackee is completely and utterly discredited.
Did Ms. Prejean not know this?
Perhaps if she had stopped talking immediately after her honest, albeit unfortunate answer, she might have avoided the inevitable finger pointing and accusations of hypocrisy.
Oh, but not our lovely Miss California.
She just had to complain that her answer was the reason she lost the contest. Then, if offering that excuse wasn't bad enough, she went on to announce to the world that she is a Christian, and was raised with the accompanying "Christian moral values".
Now, when I hear someone say they have Christian moral values, I would like to believe they eschew immorality of all kinds.
Then comes the revelation that Ms. Prejean had posed for some photographs some time before she entered the Miss California pageant.
Not just any photos, mind you. These particular photos were semi-nude. However one chooses to describe these photos upon seeing them, certain words that don't leap immediately to mind are "moral", "Christian", "innocent", etc.
Now, maybe I am showing my curmudgeonly side, but in my humble opinion, Ms. Prejean has done an enormous disservice to Christianity and her Christian witness by her poor judgment in agreeing to pose without her top.
All her protestations about morality and Christianity are meaningless if she doesn't at least attempt to live her faith.
I don't buy the excuse that she was only doing her job as a model, either. Many young ladies who model professionally have not agreed to be photographed naked, and they still manage to be successful.
She could have, and should have refused, if she is truly trying to follow Christ.
As it is, she has become a caricature of hypocritical Christians in the mode of Jimmy Swaggart and Elmer Gantry.
As I said, it surprises me that Christian Conservatives such as Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter have defended Ms Prejean. I part ways once again, with my Conservative colleagues on this point.
Oh, I understand that when anyone is attacked by Liberals, it is incumbent on Conservatives to defend them.
But, if we call ourselves Christian, we must be consistent in our views of Christian morality.
Either posing for pornographic photos (regardless of how soft core) is immoral, or it isn't.
Sexual immorality is condemned by God in the Bible. I sincerely doubt there is anyone who denies that fact.
When a self professed Christian willfully engages in sexual immortality, it is shameful, not just for her, but for the whole of Christianity.
Moreover, if one calls himself a Conservative, he must espouse Conservative values, which means, to me, accepting personal responsibility.
Ms Prejean should, now that the cat is out of the bag, admit she made a very bad choice in allowing herself to be photographed naked, and fade quietly with all due humility, back into relative obscurity before she damages Christianity's reputation permanently.
I pray it's not too late.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Obama's Flip-Flop
"We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them." ~ Abigail Adams
Recently, Barack Hussein Obama reversed his earlier decision to release some photos to the press. The photos reportedly have images that show some rather harsh interrogation techniques being performed on terrorist detainees.
And now the pundits on all sides are speculating on why.
Well, not all the pundits. The ones who follow Obama religiously and think he can do no wrong aren't questioning his motives.
Some Conservative commentators have decided, grudgingly, that he made the right decision this time. Even Hannity thinks Obama did the right thing.
Why? Obviously, many feel the release of the photos could somehow endanger the lives of our troops in the field, or possibly even innocent civilians.
On a certain level, I understand the concern. There has indeed been evidence that releasing photos of inhumane treatment (Abu Ghraib) in the past emboldened the enemy and helped provoke an escalation of attacks. If that is really Obama's concern, I could get behind him on that, as well.
But I think the pundits are leaving out one very important detail.
Obama never does anything that is good for anyone other than himself.
In order to reach this hypothesis, we need to try to think the way Obama thinks.
Remember, Obama is a pathological narcissist. As we have seen repeatedly, Obama does nothing that isn't politically expedient to advance his own personal interests.
So. I am thinking there must be something in those photographs that will either advance or derail Obama's train. And, I also think it must be something that is, in effect, borderline, or else his decision to release or not to release would be much easier.
So lets all speculate about what the photos depict, shall we?
Thinking like Obama, I'm thinking the first impression, to Obama, must have been that the pictures show acts of torture. I can just see him rubbing his hands together in delight, thinking he has finally found proof of what his administration and his adoring fans in the media have been saying all along. What better way to advance his agenda of appeasing the terrorist and undermining America's security than finding and producing evidence of morally repugnant interrogation techniques, that he can spin as torture?
Obama, having been born into privilege, and never having to endure any discomfort his entire life, would no doubt look at images of a detainee being restrained, pushed against a soft wall, confronted by a caterpillar, or similarly innocuously discomforted, and assume (at first, not realizing those interrogation techniques are actually quite mild) they constitute torture.
But then, after the media frenzy regarding what the photos might contain, and speculation from all sides on what actually constitutes torture, Obama had another look.
Now, looking at them in a much more reasonable light, Obama sees there is nothing in the photos that would merit concern. The photos indicate nothing that could be construed as torture, except by the most rabid peace-at-all-cost zealots.
This could be a devastating setback to Obama's lofty aspirations. How could he continue to demonize the Conservatives when the photos prove we have been correct (and the Liberals wrong) all the time?
So, he changes his mind and decides not to release the photos.
Now the inexplicable has happened, and probably quite by accident. Even his opponents are praising him for finally making a prudent decision.
When you hear pundits praising this decision, don't be fooled. Sometimes we the people are smarter than the experts.
Recently, Barack Hussein Obama reversed his earlier decision to release some photos to the press. The photos reportedly have images that show some rather harsh interrogation techniques being performed on terrorist detainees.
And now the pundits on all sides are speculating on why.
Well, not all the pundits. The ones who follow Obama religiously and think he can do no wrong aren't questioning his motives.
Some Conservative commentators have decided, grudgingly, that he made the right decision this time. Even Hannity thinks Obama did the right thing.
Why? Obviously, many feel the release of the photos could somehow endanger the lives of our troops in the field, or possibly even innocent civilians.
On a certain level, I understand the concern. There has indeed been evidence that releasing photos of inhumane treatment (Abu Ghraib) in the past emboldened the enemy and helped provoke an escalation of attacks. If that is really Obama's concern, I could get behind him on that, as well.
But I think the pundits are leaving out one very important detail.
Obama never does anything that is good for anyone other than himself.
In order to reach this hypothesis, we need to try to think the way Obama thinks.
Remember, Obama is a pathological narcissist. As we have seen repeatedly, Obama does nothing that isn't politically expedient to advance his own personal interests.
So. I am thinking there must be something in those photographs that will either advance or derail Obama's train. And, I also think it must be something that is, in effect, borderline, or else his decision to release or not to release would be much easier.
So lets all speculate about what the photos depict, shall we?
Thinking like Obama, I'm thinking the first impression, to Obama, must have been that the pictures show acts of torture. I can just see him rubbing his hands together in delight, thinking he has finally found proof of what his administration and his adoring fans in the media have been saying all along. What better way to advance his agenda of appeasing the terrorist and undermining America's security than finding and producing evidence of morally repugnant interrogation techniques, that he can spin as torture?
Obama, having been born into privilege, and never having to endure any discomfort his entire life, would no doubt look at images of a detainee being restrained, pushed against a soft wall, confronted by a caterpillar, or similarly innocuously discomforted, and assume (at first, not realizing those interrogation techniques are actually quite mild) they constitute torture.
But then, after the media frenzy regarding what the photos might contain, and speculation from all sides on what actually constitutes torture, Obama had another look.
Now, looking at them in a much more reasonable light, Obama sees there is nothing in the photos that would merit concern. The photos indicate nothing that could be construed as torture, except by the most rabid peace-at-all-cost zealots.
This could be a devastating setback to Obama's lofty aspirations. How could he continue to demonize the Conservatives when the photos prove we have been correct (and the Liberals wrong) all the time?
So, he changes his mind and decides not to release the photos.
Now the inexplicable has happened, and probably quite by accident. Even his opponents are praising him for finally making a prudent decision.
When you hear pundits praising this decision, don't be fooled. Sometimes we the people are smarter than the experts.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Hate Crime Legislation Makes Thought Illegal
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." ~ U. S. Constitution, fourteenth amendment
Over at our team blog, American Descent, Marshall Art has posted an entry referencing a couple of articles he read about a hate crime bill. Both of the articles' authors indicate a belief that the latest hate crime legislation enacted in the U.S. House of Representatives includes a prohibition against hate speech, ostensibly making it unlawful to voice an opinion that could be considered hateful to certain groups.
Particularly, groups of a certain race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
I've read all four versions of this bill, and I see nothing that could be construed to mean hate speech will be made illegal.
Perhaps some reader who is more of a legal expert than I can copy and paste the part of the bill that specifies that speech will be determined a hate crime. As I see it, it only adds a couple of other minority groups to the original wording of the two decade old original bill.
If I am proven mistaken, I will be appreciative.
However, what I do see in the bill, is a superfluous and unnecessary added penalty for violent crimes if the accused is ascertained to have been motivated by hate for the above mentioned "minority" groups.
This determination of motive is problematic at best.
Aside from the obvious fact that adding the appellation, "hate crime" to a crime of violence is superfluous because violent crimes are already illegal, and thus, haven't any need for an addendum based on motivation, just how will a prosecuting attorney determine what could possibly be in the mind of the accused during the commission of a violent crime?
Has some kind of mind reading contraption been invented recently that "Popular Science" doesn't even know about?
If it hasn't, aside from a perpetrator willfully admitting "I did it 'cause he was a homo", or some similar self incriminating statement, there can be no way of knowing, beyond a reasonable doubt, what is in the mind of a criminal during the commission of his crime.
Since I am not an attorney, I will again ask any attorneys reading this if I am accurate when I maintain that motivation is not necessary to obtain a conviction in a court of law. No doubt, knowing the motivation helps determine guilt in some cases, but it isn't necessarily needed to obtain a conviction.
And, unless I'm mistaken, according to the rules of jurisprudence (ideally), the guilt of the accused needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in any court of law in this country before a guilty verdict can be reached.
The way I understand it, under hate crime legislation, motivation is itself a crime.
Additionally, as Art and the two authors indicate, hate crime legislation expressly violates the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, specifically, word for word, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
If race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability is a criteria for determining a harsher sentence, whether it be in favor or against any individual or individuals representing any of these particular minority groups, it is, according to the fourteenth amendment, unconstitutional.
If any legislation would create "Thought Police", it is this legislation.
Over at our team blog, American Descent, Marshall Art has posted an entry referencing a couple of articles he read about a hate crime bill. Both of the articles' authors indicate a belief that the latest hate crime legislation enacted in the U.S. House of Representatives includes a prohibition against hate speech, ostensibly making it unlawful to voice an opinion that could be considered hateful to certain groups.
Particularly, groups of a certain race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
I've read all four versions of this bill, and I see nothing that could be construed to mean hate speech will be made illegal.
Perhaps some reader who is more of a legal expert than I can copy and paste the part of the bill that specifies that speech will be determined a hate crime. As I see it, it only adds a couple of other minority groups to the original wording of the two decade old original bill.
If I am proven mistaken, I will be appreciative.
However, what I do see in the bill, is a superfluous and unnecessary added penalty for violent crimes if the accused is ascertained to have been motivated by hate for the above mentioned "minority" groups.
This determination of motive is problematic at best.
Aside from the obvious fact that adding the appellation, "hate crime" to a crime of violence is superfluous because violent crimes are already illegal, and thus, haven't any need for an addendum based on motivation, just how will a prosecuting attorney determine what could possibly be in the mind of the accused during the commission of a violent crime?
Has some kind of mind reading contraption been invented recently that "Popular Science" doesn't even know about?
If it hasn't, aside from a perpetrator willfully admitting "I did it 'cause he was a homo", or some similar self incriminating statement, there can be no way of knowing, beyond a reasonable doubt, what is in the mind of a criminal during the commission of his crime.
Since I am not an attorney, I will again ask any attorneys reading this if I am accurate when I maintain that motivation is not necessary to obtain a conviction in a court of law. No doubt, knowing the motivation helps determine guilt in some cases, but it isn't necessarily needed to obtain a conviction.
And, unless I'm mistaken, according to the rules of jurisprudence (ideally), the guilt of the accused needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in any court of law in this country before a guilty verdict can be reached.
The way I understand it, under hate crime legislation, motivation is itself a crime.
Additionally, as Art and the two authors indicate, hate crime legislation expressly violates the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, specifically, word for word, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
If race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability is a criteria for determining a harsher sentence, whether it be in favor or against any individual or individuals representing any of these particular minority groups, it is, according to the fourteenth amendment, unconstitutional.
If any legislation would create "Thought Police", it is this legislation.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
I Was Born In The Wrong Decade
"I'm not posing, nor am I in pain. I'm thinking. It doesn't cause me pain to think." ~ J. C. Pidgeon
Before I post today's entry, I want to post the following tribute to, and for Lone Ranger:
Thursday, in the mail, I received a DVD I had ordered a few days before from a place called Movies Unlimited. The Movie I ordered is called, "The Cheaters". It is a Christmas Movie filmed in 1945, and up until recently, was unavailable on DVD.
I remember watching that film every Christmas season for many years on TV, but they only showed it during Christmas season, so when television stations stopped showing it, I didn't even notice it's absence. I have mentioned the fact that I missed it since then on some of my previous blogposts.
As soon as I opened the DVD jewel case, I sat down and watched the movie in it's entirety. It was better than I remembered. I remembered it wrong, by the way, but nonetheless, it was better than I remembered. If anyone is interested, you can find a detailed synopsis of the film, here.
Friday, I received another DVD set in the mail. It is the entire 5th season of "Make Room For Daddy", starring Danny Thomas. I really am not a big fan of Danny Thomas, but this DVD set included the original pilot show of "The Andy Griffith Show". The Andy Griffith show was a spinoff of the Danny Thomas show.
I had never seen the pilot episode of the Andy Griffith show, and I couldn't find any DVD's that included it, except for this one. I did, however, find a deleted scene from the pilot on youtube which I include here:
I think the deleted scene is better than what they left in, but that's just me, I guess.
In this scene, Henrietta Perkins, who they are discussing, was played in the pilot by Frances Bavier, who later played Aunt Bea. There is a town drunk, but his name is Will, not Otis, and he is not played by the same actor. Andy has an Aunt but her name is Lucy, not Aunt Bea, and she is not seen. Aficionados of the Andy Griffith show will no doubt notice the store owner in the deleted scene is the same actor that later plays Old Ben Weaver in the series. Opie is seen and played by Ronnie Williams.
I have been watching my new DVD's all weekend, and I am having a ball!
Before I post today's entry, I want to post the following tribute to, and for Lone Ranger:
Thursday, in the mail, I received a DVD I had ordered a few days before from a place called Movies Unlimited. The Movie I ordered is called, "The Cheaters". It is a Christmas Movie filmed in 1945, and up until recently, was unavailable on DVD.
I remember watching that film every Christmas season for many years on TV, but they only showed it during Christmas season, so when television stations stopped showing it, I didn't even notice it's absence. I have mentioned the fact that I missed it since then on some of my previous blogposts.
As soon as I opened the DVD jewel case, I sat down and watched the movie in it's entirety. It was better than I remembered. I remembered it wrong, by the way, but nonetheless, it was better than I remembered. If anyone is interested, you can find a detailed synopsis of the film, here.
Friday, I received another DVD set in the mail. It is the entire 5th season of "Make Room For Daddy", starring Danny Thomas. I really am not a big fan of Danny Thomas, but this DVD set included the original pilot show of "The Andy Griffith Show". The Andy Griffith show was a spinoff of the Danny Thomas show.
I had never seen the pilot episode of the Andy Griffith show, and I couldn't find any DVD's that included it, except for this one. I did, however, find a deleted scene from the pilot on youtube which I include here:
I think the deleted scene is better than what they left in, but that's just me, I guess.
In this scene, Henrietta Perkins, who they are discussing, was played in the pilot by Frances Bavier, who later played Aunt Bea. There is a town drunk, but his name is Will, not Otis, and he is not played by the same actor. Andy has an Aunt but her name is Lucy, not Aunt Bea, and she is not seen. Aficionados of the Andy Griffith show will no doubt notice the store owner in the deleted scene is the same actor that later plays Old Ben Weaver in the series. Opie is seen and played by Ronnie Williams.
I have been watching my new DVD's all weekend, and I am having a ball!
Friday, May 08, 2009
National Day Of Prayer...To Obama
"I’m rooted in the Christian tradition...I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people." ~ Barack Hussein Obama
Barack Hussein Obama said in Turkey : "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
This is the same Barack Hussein Obama who went to such great lengths to prove his Christianity to the nation during his Presidential campaign. Efforts that were politically expedient. He could not have Americans believe he is a Muslim, could he? If Americans had believed him to be a Muslim, he might not have been elected.
Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer, but one wouldn't have known it from information gathered from media resources. And one also wouldn't know it based on Obama's participation.
Because Obama didn't participate.
For any Obama worshipers who may have accidentally stumbled across this site searching for gems of wisdom from your messiah, the National day of Prayer is a day set aside to remind all people of faith, not only Christians, but Jews, and even Muslims, across the country to stop for at least a moment to ask God to bless our nation and her leaders.
Traditionally, the sitting American President at least attends a prayer breakfast to commemorate the National day of Prayer.
His excuse for his refusal to acknowledge the role of God in government was weak. Something very much like the weak excuse he had to queries about his refusal to wear a flag pin, and refusal to salute the flag.
One might ask why Obama, who emphatically declares himself to be Christian, wouldn't participate in such a noble commemoration.
Because, the way Obama sees it, he is God.
Why pray to himself?
Barack Hussein Obama said in Turkey : "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
This is the same Barack Hussein Obama who went to such great lengths to prove his Christianity to the nation during his Presidential campaign. Efforts that were politically expedient. He could not have Americans believe he is a Muslim, could he? If Americans had believed him to be a Muslim, he might not have been elected.
Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer, but one wouldn't have known it from information gathered from media resources. And one also wouldn't know it based on Obama's participation.
Because Obama didn't participate.
For any Obama worshipers who may have accidentally stumbled across this site searching for gems of wisdom from your messiah, the National day of Prayer is a day set aside to remind all people of faith, not only Christians, but Jews, and even Muslims, across the country to stop for at least a moment to ask God to bless our nation and her leaders.
Traditionally, the sitting American President at least attends a prayer breakfast to commemorate the National day of Prayer.
His excuse for his refusal to acknowledge the role of God in government was weak. Something very much like the weak excuse he had to queries about his refusal to wear a flag pin, and refusal to salute the flag.
One might ask why Obama, who emphatically declares himself to be Christian, wouldn't participate in such a noble commemoration.
Because, the way Obama sees it, he is God.
Why pray to himself?
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings
"To be true to its constitutional role, the Supreme Court should refuse to be drawn into making public policy, and it should strike down legislation only when a clear constitutional violation exists. When judicial activists resort to various inventions and theories to impose their personal views on privacy and liberty, they jeopardize the legitimacy of the judiciary as an institution and undermine the role of the other branches of government." ~ Mark Levin
Well, the moment has arrived (and in only 102 days) that Conservatives have dreaded since Barack Hussein Obama was elected. Associate Supreme Court Justice David Hackett Souter has announced his retirement, and now Obama has the opportunity to appoint his successor.
Already, speculation has arisen about whom Obama might appoint. The consensus view in the media, is that Obama has already expressed his intention to appoint an Hispanic woman to the post.
If this is truly what Obama intends to do, it will be a blatant, intentional abuse of his office. His job is not to fill Supreme Court vacancies based on gender or ethnicity.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s role is to interpret the Constitution. Period.
Obama's job is to appoint Justices based on their ability to fairly dispense justice, regardless of their gender or ethnicity.
If Obama appoints an Hispanic woman simply because she is female and Hispanic, he is being a racist.
Obama has also stated, "You know, Justice Roberts said he saw himself just as an umpire. But the issues that come before the court are not sport. They're life and death. And we need somebody who's got the heart to recogni-- the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young, teenaged mom; the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges".
This is in direct juxtaposition to the U.S. Constitution.
Empathy has no place in a Supreme Court decision.
The mandate of a Supreme Court Justice is to decide only on the Constitutionality of a law. That's all. A Supreme Court justice is mandated to base his decisions on the U.S. Constitution regardless of feelings.
Regardless of gender.
Regardless of race.
Regardless of age.
Regardless of choice of sexual preferences.
Obama has vowed to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
Appointing a Supreme Court Justice on the basis of gender, ethnicity, or feelings does not protect the Constitution.
It does not preserve the Constitution.
It does not defend the Constitution.
If Obama bases his appointment on gender, ethnicity, or feelings, not only will he prove he is a racist, he will be violating his oath of office.
And, if he does that, he must be brought up on articles of impeachment.
Well, the moment has arrived (and in only 102 days) that Conservatives have dreaded since Barack Hussein Obama was elected. Associate Supreme Court Justice David Hackett Souter has announced his retirement, and now Obama has the opportunity to appoint his successor.
Already, speculation has arisen about whom Obama might appoint. The consensus view in the media, is that Obama has already expressed his intention to appoint an Hispanic woman to the post.
If this is truly what Obama intends to do, it will be a blatant, intentional abuse of his office. His job is not to fill Supreme Court vacancies based on gender or ethnicity.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s role is to interpret the Constitution. Period.
Obama's job is to appoint Justices based on their ability to fairly dispense justice, regardless of their gender or ethnicity.
If Obama appoints an Hispanic woman simply because she is female and Hispanic, he is being a racist.
Obama has also stated, "You know, Justice Roberts said he saw himself just as an umpire. But the issues that come before the court are not sport. They're life and death. And we need somebody who's got the heart to recogni-- the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young, teenaged mom; the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges".
This is in direct juxtaposition to the U.S. Constitution.
Empathy has no place in a Supreme Court decision.
The mandate of a Supreme Court Justice is to decide only on the Constitutionality of a law. That's all. A Supreme Court justice is mandated to base his decisions on the U.S. Constitution regardless of feelings.
Regardless of gender.
Regardless of race.
Regardless of age.
Regardless of choice of sexual preferences.
Obama has vowed to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
Appointing a Supreme Court Justice on the basis of gender, ethnicity, or feelings does not protect the Constitution.
It does not preserve the Constitution.
It does not defend the Constitution.
If Obama bases his appointment on gender, ethnicity, or feelings, not only will he prove he is a racist, he will be violating his oath of office.
And, if he does that, he must be brought up on articles of impeachment.
Friday, May 01, 2009
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