Monday, December 11, 2006
On Hiatus
Monday, November 06, 2006
How I Will Vote Tomorrow
Governor: Kerry Healy (R), she's not as conservative as I would like, but the options are much worse
Lt. Governor: Reed Hillman (R), see above
Attorney General: Larry Frisoli (R), see above
US Senate: Kenneth Chase (R), anybody but Kennedy
US Congress: Billy Szych (I), his opponent, John Olver, is ranked as one of the most liberal Congressman in Washington
Question 1-Allow grocery stores to sell wine: No, I oppose any action that increases access to alcohol
Question 2-List candidates multiple times, once for each party that nominates them: No, too complicated. The U.S. form of gvernment is not parliamentary. We elect people who happen to be members of parties, not parties who happen to have candidates. I tend to vote for Republican candidates because their views are similar to mine not solely because they are Republican. I would vote for this question if it had each candidate listed only once, but allowed multiple parties to be listed after their name.
Question 3-Unionize family daycare: No, I oppose anything anything that increases the power of unions. They are antiquated, undemocratic, repressive institutions that should be abolished. Plus it will raise the cost of daycare at no benefit to the children.
Please vote early, please vote often :)
Monday, October 30, 2006
False Political Advertising
The American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts has endorsed Deval "free-em-all" Patrick the Democratic candidate for governor, in part because he advocates capping the number of charter schools. Their radio ad supporting Free-em-all blames the current Republican governor, Mitt Romney, and his lt. Governor, Kerry Healey, who is running against Deval, for massively underfunding public education and advocates for change.
The factual problem with this claim is that it is the Democratically-controlled Legislature that passes the budget not the governor. They have effectively reduced funding for public schools in favor of their own pet socialist programs like universal health care. The Democrats have had a veto-proof majority for years now so any attempted changes in public school funding by the governor that the Legislature disagrees with get overridden.
On a side note, according to the Boston Globe, Deval himself was the beneficiary of a scholarship to a prestigious private school when he was a child, yet he wants to limit access to educational alternatives to the kind of poor public schools that he himself escaped.
So what we have here is a hypocritical candidate supported by a lying union.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
What's Wrong with Kerry Healey on Gun Control
In contrast consider her latest proposal to centralize firearm licensing decisions to the state level. It is drawing fire from both the moonbats and the local police chief associations. In MA the local police chief has total decision authority on granting licenses. The theory is that the local police know who the "bad actors" are and can deny them access to firearms. In practice this allows gun-banning police chiefs in some towns to restrict, or even deny, virtually all license applications as a matter of policy. There is an appeal process, but it is slow and onerous. Obviously the police chiefs don't want this power taken out of their hands, so they are endorsing Deval Patrick.
The problem with Mrs. Healey's proposal is that centralizing this decision authority at the state level eliminates all possibility of appeal and even worse will make it trivial for some future governor or the legislature to totally restrict gun ownership. If Kerry Healey were a true 2nd amendment supporter she would advocate the elimination of firearms licensing, not its centralization. At a minimum she should be proposing that police chiefs not be allowed to make blanket policies restricting firearms licenses; they should be required to make such decisions on a case-by-case basis, and the appeals process needs to be streamlined.
By way of further comparison, consider the other choices:
Her Democratic opponent, Deval "free-em-all" Patrick, is a left wing liberal who wants to illegally limit firearms purchases to one-a-month and make private sales subject to the same background checks as retail sales effectively eliminating private and gun show sales. The Green/Rainbow candidate, Grace Ross, is even worse. She wants to "Make guns harder to get and easier to turn in. Track the bullets and the guns, and begin to hold manufacturers responsible for so many tragedies in our communities." Compared to these 2 almost anyone scores high.
The independent candidate, Christy Mihos, is a bit better. He received basically the same ratings as Kerry Healey. He claims to be "a firm believer in Second Amendment rights" and to support "Castle Doctrine". Sounds good except his definition of the Castle Doctrine appears to apply only to one's home, which wouldn't be much of a practical change from current MA law. He also favors "clarifying the state's existing gun control laws", whatever "clarifying" means. I suspect it does not mean abolishing. He has not been very forthcoming on clarifying his position. He might, or might not, be better than Kerry Healey in this regard, but at the rate the election is going the only thing he is going to do is steal enough votes to make Deval Patrick our next governor.
The bottom line is that Kerry Healey is no real 2nd Amendment rights supporter, she just looks like one in comparison to everyone else.
Friday, October 06, 2006
I feel like writing something...
Violence against children absolutely sickens me, actual physical stomach-turning sickness. People who kill children ought to be subject to the harshest penalties society can devise. Doesn't matter if they are other children, adults, or worst of all, parents, slow, painful torture followed by a lingering death is too kind for such filth.
Frankly I find Foley-gate to be utter confusion, so far. Was it serious, or was it a prank/set-up by the pages? How long was it going on? Who knew and when? What was or was not done and when? That something happened is clear, otherwise he would not have resigned, but there also seems to be alot of election season hay-making both in the media and political arena with the attendant potential for, shall we say, hyperbole and dissimulation. Maybe the Congressional inquiry will straighten it out, but not likely.
More locally, "Free 'em all" Deval scares me: Just the thought that this man so devoid of truth and substance could be governor of MA, together with our left-of-left socialist legislature is nightmare material. Chirsty ought to get over his little rich boy victim pout with the Republican leadership and drop out.
That's enough for tonight.
Vote Ken Chase for U.S. Senate and Billy Szych for Congress
Friday, September 29, 2006
Ignorance is _____
[soapbox on]
Dear Mr. K.B., your twisted logic implying that I somehow support or am similar to Mr. Bill J. Clinton is totally bassackwards. If you could actually read and comprehend what I've written here and on the BYF then you would know what I think of that particular ex-(thank goodness)-President. Furthermore, your reasoning and ethics are as twisted as his which is why I won't post on your little board. Go away and leave everyone alone.[soapbox off] Ahh, that feels better.
For everyone else, here is the information needed to get started. Good luck, don't get lost:
Town of Winchendon
Winchendon Backyard Fence Forum
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Neuroses
The time has come for most of the roosters in our new flock to go to the great barnyard in the sky with their carcasses destined for our freezer. Nine of them will be going to slaughter in three and half weeks. Most of them are Barred Rocks. One of them is our Turken (see example to the right).
We are keeping a few of the Barred Rocks just for looks and I wish we could keep the Turken as well because it is a very interesting looking chicken. However, it is the closest thing to a neurotic chicken I have ever seen. It stays inside the coop all the time. I only saw it outside once this whole summer and it ran back inside at the slightest noise.
Ah well, at least it will be good for something in the pot. Hmmm, maybe there's a lesson here for liberal moonbats who are as neurotic about Iraq.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wynne Shoots Good Idea in the Foot
Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before being used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne really needs to think about what he is saying before sticking his foot in his mouth. Testing weapons, even non-lethal ones, on non-volunteer Americans sounds like a really bad idea. Stated that way it is.
However, there is a very good idea behind what Mr. Wynne was trying to say. Anyone who has been following what our military has actually been doing the last 10 years will note that they do a whole lot more nation-building, peace-keeping, and policing than actual combat. At the same time their arsenal for such non-lethal situations is woefully inadequate. They need better non-lethal weapons as an addition to their weapons mix to match the missions they now have.
How do you select which kinds of non-lethal weapons to add? It stands to reason that those which are proven effective in action should be used. What I hope Mr. Wynne was saying is that the military should be using non-lethal weapons that have been shown to be effective in police actions because those are the situations that the Air Force finds itself in.
Law enforcement agencies already have these kinds of weapons and continue to acquire new ones. They use them when necessary: No need to arrange any specific tests. Some of them do work better than others. That is where the Air Force should go to find out what works and then acquire their non-lethal weapons accordingly.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Sports Spots
It's an improvement, but I'm still disappointed in the U.S. Basketball team. Clearly they're more of a team than any in recent memory, but next time they've got to round out the talent with some shooters and big men. Teamwork, speed and hussle are all good and necessary, but the object is to get the ball in the hole and stop the other team from doing the same. We'll see how the respond in their final game.
Go Andre.
Way to go Georgia.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
And Even More Fakery
The only thing I find curious is why the Israelis are not running a more active counter-propaganda campaign. I realize that they probably have trouble getting the MSM to cover anything from their side and are a little busy at the moment, but it doesn't take much cooperation or effort to release information debunking most of the propaganda from Hezbollah. Maybe they are trying to take the high road, but at some point you need to slap the fleas down before they drive you crazy.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Money is Money, Dumb is Dumb
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
More Fakery
At least it only took them less than 15 minutes to catch this "mistake". One would think that after recent events news outlets would check all pictures and stories submitted by
Monday, August 07, 2006
Hezbollah, Pallyworld and the MSM; Fakery All
As background evidence, check out this "Pallyworld" video: Quite a documentary.
The second exhibit is the Qana "bombing". The EU referendum is a good place to begin the basic analysis; start at the bottom and work up. Here is addition information on "Mr. Green Helmut" via the Dread Pundent Bluto.
The latest evidence is the doctored photo of Beruit from Reuters, and their admission of complacency, if not guilt. Check out Little Green Footballs for the detailed analysis. Furthermore, take a look at "original" photo according to Reuters.
It clearly is still "photoshopped". Observe the patterns in the smoke (circled) of smudged buildings that appear to be larger than and overlay the real buildings in the scene. In the 8:11pm update Saturday LGM notes a possible source for the real original. Add to that smoke copied from some other source with the buildings from that source still there and you get this.
For more evidence, here are other doctored photographs at The Jawa Report and the unluckest woman in Lebanon at Drinking from Home.
The bottom line is you cannot trust what you see from the media. If it sounds too good, or too bad, it probably is.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Devotional: Quarrels and Conflicts
James 4:1-3
1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Sin is the source of fighting, quarreling, and conflicts. Sin defiles man.
Mark 7:20-23
20 And He was saying, " That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
Gal 5:19-21
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the
Seek properly from the Lord
Matt 7:7-11
7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10 "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
Matt
22 "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
James 1:5-8
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: " He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?
6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
Pride puts on in conflict with God
Ps 59:11-12
11 Do not slay them, or my people will forget; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they utter.
John 12:31-32
31 " Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
Seek the Spirit and the fruits of Spirit
Gal 5:16-17, 22-25
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Weep in humility and repentance from ones sin
Matt 5:4
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Rom 12:15-16
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Be humble before the Lord
Ps 25:8-10
8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth.To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
2 Chron 7:14
14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Seek the Lord
Isa 22:12-14
12 Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.
13 Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: " Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die."
14 But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me, "Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you Until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
Eccl 5:1-2
1 Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.
Seek the Lord’s wisdom
1 Cor
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS";
James 3:13-18
13Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Prayer of repentence
Ps 51:1-17
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Suggested Hymns:
“O God Our Help in Ages Past”
“Who is on the Lord’s Side”
“Lamb of Glory”
All scripture from NASB via PC Study Bible
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
World Cup Shenanigans
FIFA needs to make it clear to the refs that they exist to help the game not vica-versa. Maybe FIFA should have an official at the games who can give a red card to the referee and bring on a substitute right in the middle: It only has to happen once.
Let the players play.
Friday, June 16, 2006
People in the Wild: The Obliviot
Today's profile is the "Obliviot". Obliviots are those idiots who go through life totally oblivious to everyone around them. They are characterized by a fixed forward gaze, highly directional and variable auditory reception, and unmodulated speech volume. Scientists believe that Obliviots are closely related genetically to the One-Thought-Screamer.
Obliviots are often found at the front of line whether it be the left hand lane of the highway or the local supermarket. Cell phones are an almost universal appendage and their constant use in places like movie theaters appears to some form of mating ritual or territorial marking.
Sadly there is no known predator for the Obliviot. They are impervious to harassment and embarrassment. Direct confrontation rarely has any permanent effect. Avoidance is the best way to deal with the Obliviot. If you see one observe it from a distance, make no direct contact if at all possible, and never ever come under its direct gaze. They are not directly harmful but exposure to its fixed attention will result in temporary transformation of the observer into an Obliviot.
That's all for today from People in the Wild.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Bad UN, Bad
To put it simply the United Nations is bad news. The "treaties" it promulgates are even worse. Without regular cleaning and updating it has gone the way of all bad bureaucracies. It needs to be flushed into the East River and reconstituted without the one world government view. There is a role for a neutral place for nations to interact, discuss and even coordinate and decide on mutual actions, but that place should not be "a government." Extirpate and replace the UN, starting with the name: Something like The International Pow-Wow might be better. Feel free to suggest your own in the comments.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Neat Tidy Package
Dig a moat on the Mexican border. Use all the illegal immigrants as the labor. Make sure they end up on the Mexican side when done. Populate it with alligators from Florida. Feed them occasionally with dead (or not dead yet) terrorists to keep 'em hungry for flesh. Use the dirt to fill in New Orleans. Make sure Ray Nagin and Rep. Jefferson are under the first truck load. [originally found on the Internet, embellished by yours truly]
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Double Standard for Patches
During the Capitol Police training the instructor posed the following hypothetical question: "It is 2am and you observe a car driving erratically. Running the plates you discover that it is Senator so-n-so. What do you do?"
Everyone raised their hands. The instructor picked a student who replied: "I would pull them over, administer a field sobriety test, and if they did not pass take them into custody and call for a wrecker to impound the car".
Everyone but the friend of my coworker put their hands down figuring the guy had it nailed. The instructor then called on him. His response was: "Pull them over and call for backup. Make sure they don't need medical attention. If they don't, I would ask the Senator to slid over, get in, drive him home, and get him safely into his house. Then I would catch a ride back to my vehicle with the backup officer and resume patrol".
The instructor responded "Exactly!".
Although this was reportedly 20 years ago, I leave it to you the reader to determine whether Congressman Kennedy received preferential treatment.
Friday, April 28, 2006
It's Not the Star Spangled Banner
What makes a song? It is the lyrics. There are numerous examples of songs with the same name and lyrics but using different tunes. Conversely there are many different songs, with different lyrics, that share the same tune. Just look through any hymnal.
I've got no problem with someone singing the Star Spangled Banner in Spanish, or any other language, as long as the lyrics are translated faithfully. Similarly, anyone is welcome to write a new song with different lyrics using the same tune as the Star Spangled Banner. That is all First Amendment-protected speech.
But, to change the meaning of the lyrics and try to claim it is still the Star Spangled Banner is fraudulent deception. People want a boycott, how about we start a boycott of any store that sells this deceptive song, and any radio station that plays it other than in jest. Now that would be a protest with some meaning.
Update: Finally got around to finding the lyrics here, at least to the first two verses. I noted that NPR has a translation about which there is some controversy. The article also seems to indicate that there are additional verses which will vary even further from the original. I stand by my comments: It ain't the U.S. National Anthem.
Monday, April 24, 2006
And I Was Born Here So I Actually Didn't Have To
You Passed the US Citizenship Test |
Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct! |
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Islamic Terrorism and Cowardice
First the event:
Suicide bombing kills 9 in Tel AvivHamas defends attack that killed 9 in Israel
Then the reaction:
EU condemns Israel BombingIsrael's leaders weigh response to bombing
And the results:
'Islamic terrorism' is too emotive a phrase, says EUIsrael Hits Back After Suicide Blast
Finally the analysis:
The EU condemns with words, but works to pacify terrorists and play nice with them on the side: "Do not speak ill of them or they may become offended." A pox on their cowardly house. History has shown that appeasement of aggressors never works. When that rooster comes home to roost I pray that we are not going to have to go over and drive it out, but I suspect we will.On the other hand Israel's response is considered, but firm and to the point. "You bomb, you die." I am quite sure further bombing will result in escalating direct responses to the source of the problem. Bravo for them.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Hiatus
So I'm putting my blog on hiatus until mid-May. Readers (such as they are) should not expect any posts during this time, although I may make one or two if I get riled enough. I will also be looking at options for redoing, and maybe even rehosting, my blog. Stay tuned, and Thank you.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Afghan On Trial for Becoming a Christian
What is even sadder is the lack of outcry from the MSM and so-called "human rights" NGOs. Where is Amnesty International? Where are the new reports about this atrocity? Where is the UN? The anti-Christian attitudes pervading these groups continues to be evident. The best thing you can do is to pray for strength for Abdul Rahman and that justice will prevail. Then start writing to your Senators, Congressmen, the President and the other groups that should be up in arms over this travesty.
Good News, Bad News
The good news is that there are places in this country where one can relatively easily exercise their 2nd Amendment rights. The bad news is that there are 1600 fewer gun shops in Idaho than there used to be. The GFWs continue to attack gun ownership at every level. Rebuffed in their attempts to drive manufacturers out of business, they continue to focus on making retail sales and private ownership difficult.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Looking For Web Hosting
I steered them towards Blogspot because it was a cheap way to get started. However, they've gotten to the point that the features that make Blogspot easy to use are really getting in the way of what they want to do: They need a real web site hosting arrangement. It's not a big rush, but the cost should be cheap and performance needs to be good. They don't need much in the way of tools, but the site should fully support HTML, XHTML, XML, image hosting, email, server-side scripting and CGI, and user defined site structure and sub-directories: Not fancy, but fully functional.
So, I'm taking suggestions for a good web site hosting site. Please leave a comment if you know of any you would recommend, or strongly recommend against.
Thank you.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Katrina, WMDs and Guns
Via The Other Side of Kim:
- "Saddam had WMD": More evidence. I've posted before about other reports of Saddam's WMD plans and threats and nary a peep from the MSM. As Kim points out it is sad that their bias against President Bush is so strong that they cannot report this.
- "New Shooter Alert": Another one bites the dust, hey, hey, another one bites the dust...
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Space Cadet North of the Border
Teachers should be calling for Mr. Gilbert's resignation: It worked for the moonbats at Harvard. Alumni ought to join the chorus and withhold donations. Parents, too, as well threatening to pull their children out. And, the students ought to do what college students do best; protests, signs and sit-ins. Let me suggest a chant:
Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi, Ra, Ra, Ra.I was going to call this post "Space Cadet Canuck" but looking at Mr. Gilbert's bio info in the article I realize he is from the good ole' USA, Colorado to be exact. Therefore, I must apologize to our northern neighbors for sharing this disease with them: Sorry, eh.
Gilbert, moonbat, Bye, Bye, Bye.
Monday, February 20, 2006
What's (Not) Happening
Winter Olympics:
Dick Cheney's Marksmanship: The press needs to get over it. Go out and do your job, and quit whining about not getting spoon-feed information. Was it a newsworthy even? Yes, but not worth an all-points bulletin. The transparency of the attacks and self-serving whining about conspiracies is laughable. Speaking of laughable, here's a good cartoon, courtesy of The Smallest Minority and Mostly Caju
Tha-tha-tha-tha-that's all folks.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Eye for an Eye
Islamic ethics is based on "limits and proportions," which means that the answer to an offensive cartoon is a cartoon, not the burning of embassies or the kidnapping of people designated as the enemy.
Does this mean that the Danes, and those that stand with them, are now allowed to burn embassies of Islamic countries and kidnap their citizens??? That would be "fair", but I gather that most Muslim countries are not particular interested in fairness. I think we (Western Civilization in general) are better then that.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
End of the Spear and Chad Allen
Please read both of these articles, particularly if you've read anything else about this controversy, then decide whether you need to change your opinions and actions. I did, and I have. The producers state quite clearly that they did not know about Chad's lifestyle before offering him the part and that claims to the contrary are false. I believe them. They also discuss their motives and actions after learning about Chad's homosexuality. There was no easy answer and I accept their statement that they were following God's direction to the best of their abilities.
The bottom line is that I have been wrong to speak out against this film. I apologize. I probably will not rush out to see it, mostly because I'm not a movie-go'er, but I will watch it if given the opportunity. I have heard that it is a very good movie, rather intense in places and thus not necessarily appropriate for smaller children, but all-in-all very good. Make up your own mind, but please do not base your decision on this movie on Chad Allen's presence in it.
God's Will will be done.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Micro$oft Outlook, the Case for Unintelligent Design
The latest broken "feature" I've discovered is Outlooks
One can go in and turn off or modify reminders by individual meeting once they've been scheduled, but there appears to be no way to have any kind of overriding personal default that says I don't want reminders or want them at some time different from what was proposed. The other option is to turn off reminders all together, but that doesn't help if one actually wants to use reminders selectively. That also does not remove reminders from the appointments which means they show up when those meetings get synced to my Palm Pilot.
So far I've not yet found a workable fix, hack or workaround. Please post if you know of one.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Observations of Today
Protecting the family. Found this via The Rott. Huah!
Two more via the World Magazine Blog: Don't tell me the public schools are the best way to educate children. It's become "big government", more concerned with perpetuating the educrate establishment and enforcing their petty rules than actually educating children. This is the kind of attitude that lead us to home-school our children. And, yet more evidence that more government is not a good thing. People who cry for a bigger, better FEMA after Katrina have no understanding of what the problems and solutions are. They are just at best lazy.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Supporting Our Troops, And Proud of It!
But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you're not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism...Anyway, read his article and the interview, clean your mouth out, and make up your own mind.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Anglos Rule!
Lack of Humor
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
More Naginisms
"Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."and
"It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans - the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans".What an idiot, equating Katrina to Iraq and then calling for a segregated city. Unfortunately black-on-white racism is not considered the same as white-on-black, otherwise the MSM would have been all over this. Sadly, as long as Nagin is in charge of New Orleans I suspect they will not be able to rebuild much of anything.
Addendum: Some
"This city will be a majority African American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."
You be the judge.
Reclama: Mayor Nagin apologizes for comments. My short summary of his "apology" is "I didn't think anyone was listening". Then he blames an un-named minister,
"...Nagin said his comments about God were inappropriate and stemmed from a private conversation he had with a minister...",and his audience,
"... Nagin said, explaining he was caught up in the moment as he spoke to mostly black spectators..."for causing his inappropriate comments. He may not be much of a politician, but he certainly has the pass-the-buck act down well.
Democrats Renege
Monday, January 16, 2006
More Tidbits
The Mythical Monkey Mind, from the evangelical outpost, explores a fundamental contradiction in Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
Dutiful v.s. Beautiful, found via the World Magazine Blog, looks at Samuel Alito's background and how it shaped his perspectives.
Praise Gaia, and Pass the Scotch, on Curmudgeonly & Sceptical, is a short analysis of the Alito hearings, with a humerous political cartoon.
Have fun.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Tidbits From the Blogsphere
Freedom of Religion under Attack: (via the Rott) "Sanko, as the head of a government, would do well to steer clear of promoting a religious agenda — even if he uses his own time and money to do so." This is persecution of religious expression if I ever heard it.
Nate Saint Played by Gay Activist in "End of the Spear": (via World Magazine Blog) Sad, particularly given the agenda of the actor in question. I don't think we'll be viewing this movie, but you make up your own mind.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Slippery Slopes Do Exist
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Liberal Shibboleth Skewered
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Chilling of Free Speech? Maybe.
Monday, January 09, 2006
New Cattle Tracking System Being Proposed
Microchips will be implanted into the animals to be tracked. Information will be provided to the USDA every time a tracked animal changes locations. The plan is to apply this system to all alpacas and llamas, bison, cattle (beef and dairy), deer and elk, horses, goats, poultry, sheep, and swine. All locations that hold, manage, or board animals will be required to have a unique Premises Identification Number by January 2008. This all sounds good and safe, but lets look at some of the issues.
Look at the list of animals to be tracked. Remember this started with a mad cow. What does that have to do with all the other animals. The avian flu scare is pushing poultry into the scheme, but still the justification for this full list is weak, very weak.
Now look at who it applies to. This scheme will apply to everyone, from the large producers down to 4-H participants to the family that keeps a few chickens and goats in their backyard for their own consumption. Overkill! Tracking animals in the production pipeline is one thing, but there is no justification for levying this monstrosity onto everyone.
Now for the technology. What happens to the microchips when such animals are slaughtered? How will it be guaranteed that the microchips themselves don't enter the food chain? What about the data itself: What guarantee is there that it will not be misused? A complete database of animals and who owns them would be a serious tax temptation for the government.
Finally let's look at cost. Who will pay? They will be additional cost at every level. For example, poultry hatcheries will have to implant the chips into chicks that they hatch, diving up the cost of chicks. Everyone will need to have a reader connected to the system and know how to use it. Then there is the cost of keeping and tracking the data. All that will end up costing us more, lots more, for our food.
What should be done? I don't disagree with having a national animal tracking system, but confine it to the commercial production side. Any animals entering the commercial food production chain could be tracked, but exempt the home and hobby farmers who's food does not enter the commercial market. Current registration systems are more than good enough for that area. And develop a system that is less manually intensive and has a lower risk of foreign objects entering the food supply.
We should be able to eat safe, but not to the tune of more government control and excess ost.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Sorry If I Offend You
Why bring this up? There is a community Internet forum that I participate in, the Winchendon Backyard Fence, where some people don't like to hear others talk about their belief. An acquaintance of mine on the forum is very outspoken in her Christian belief. Some people don't like to hear her say that Christ is the only way to salvation and those who do not believe in Jesus are wrong. They appear to adhere to the current form of humanistic pantheism where it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you do so sincerely and don't claim exclusiveness for your views. What they don't realize is that this view is a form of religion in and of itself. They have a right to preach it, just like Christians do, but they do not have the right to restrict the speech of those who disagree. They preach tolerance, but in reality it is only tolerance for those who believe as they do. I fear that the rising tide of this (in)tolerance is a greater long-term danger to the fabric of our country than many other concerns.
What can you as an individual do? Start by exercising your right to speak your piece boldly and refuse to be quiet when shushed. Then support others in their exercise of this right even if you find their message offensive. Walk it, talk it.
Friday, January 06, 2006
What History Says to Us
I've been reading "A History of the Church of England" by John Moorman. I knew the basics about how the church of England came to be, but was not really aware of all that transpired up to and particularly afterwards. I did not realize the vast swings that the English Church went through as the leadership of England changed. It would go from Catholic to Anglican to Presbyterian to Puritan and back each time there was a new monarch or parliament, often accompanied by purges of the previous adherents. This was a disaster for the church.
What I'm getting from this book is a better understanding of the history behind our Constitution. It is clear to me that the founding fathers were very concerned about the impact on the church (e.g., religion) when the government directed a state church. I believe they were trying to ensure the independence of the church from government interference, not remove the public expression of religion even by members of government. SCOTUS and much of the rest of our judiciary needs to relearn this lesson.