Home Life This Week

Not much to post today. #1 Son and I got home safely yesterday from our respective jobs through the snow storm. There were a few idiot drivers, including one who pulled out in front of me in the center of town as a local policeman sat and watched.

I have noticed that the snow plows are running in much tighter formations on the highways. Get behind a squadron and there is no way you're getting past until they decide to pull over and let you pass. This can make travel on the highways very slow; slower than it needs to be.

Wife and children are still recovering from the loss of one of our does. She had a very long hard labor. The vet came and tried to get the first kid out which was stuck with a turned head. She ended up having to do an emergency C-section to save the kids. 3 of 4 kids made it, 2 bucklings and a doeling, but the doe did not. Everyone is doing better today.

So far this kidding season we've ended up with 4 bucklings and 1 doeling. Usually we raise the bucklings for meat and they get appropriate names, but this year 3 of the 4 bucklings are already designated to be sold as pets and have regular names. I do hope the rest of the kidding season goes better than the first 2 does.

Looking forward to Spring.

p.s. The blog broke 2,500 visit yesterday. Whoopee.

Obama-rama's 2nd Amendment Dissimulation

Obama said that he does believe the second amendment "speaks to an individual's right."

As long as you are a hunter and your city allows you to subject to "common sense gun control laws" and "universal background checks" and not to include the right to carry concealed, own semi-automatic guns or so-called "assault weapons", purchase more than 1 handgun a month, or use it in self defense.

Is the Wicked Witch of the East Throwing a Tantrum?

Clinton replaces campaign manager
Rats jumping off the sinking ship:

Campaign aides said Solis Doyle made the decision to leave on her own and was not urged to do so by the former first lady or any other senior member of the team.

Or scapegoats in the making:

But it comes as Clinton struggles to catch Obama in fundraising and momentum and faces the prospect of losing every voting contest yet to come in February.

Either way there's trouble in Clinton-land. Good.

Finally. The Chairs Are Safe Again

Bob Knight resigns midseason

It's about time. Read John Feinstein's "A Season on the Brink" to understand what goes on inside a Bobby Knight basketball program. The physical and psychological abuse he heaps on his players to win at all costs will make you nauseous. Yes, his graduation rates and adherence to recruiting and eligibility rules is very noteworthy, but it does not come close to justifying his abusive ways. I hope he enjoys his retirement (and stays there), and that his son has picked up the good without the bad from his father.

What's Left (Otherwise known as slim pickings)

With RINO Rudi departed, the Huckster on the ropes, and SciFi Ron still at the back of the bus the Republican race is down to 2; Cheap Talk McCain and Big Hair Mitt. My state primary is on Tuesday and I don't like either of the front-runners: Neither one is really conservative.

John is too authoritarian and big government oriented, and too willing to compromise on judicial and other matters with his "esteemed colleagues" on the other side of the aisle. He's run to right for the campaign but in reality he's a centrist.

Mitt is an inexperienced flip-flopping, wanna-be. People tout his business and management experience but evidence of any applicability of it was totally lacking in his only single-term elected job. He got to be MA governor by being as liberal as one can be as a Mormon on social issues, and now runs right on these issue for the primary. He's flipped on so many issues, abortion, gun ownership, activist judges, government spending, health care, etc. that it is hard to know what his real position is anymore. Although he's claimed to have tried to cut taxes, his real fiscal impact was only to increase revenues through fees. Furthermore, his single major accomplishment during his tenure was socialist universal health care that eventually will bankrupt the state. Fiscally conservative he is not. It was painfully obvious from the start that the governor's job was just a stepping stone for him. He did nothing for the state and local Republican party organizations during his tenure. Under his "leadership" the Republican party in MA lost so many seats they could no longer occasionally sustain a Republican veto and his "hand-picked successor" lost the governor's race by a landslide. Republican principles or loyalties mean nothing to him: He will do and say anything to get elected. In that way I consider him to be the Republican equivalent to Hitlery. Having lived under his reign there is no way I can mark for him on Tuesday.

I don't know that either one of them has a better chance of beating the Democratic nominee and neither is more conservative than the other. In the end I think John McCain is slightly more controllable than Mitt and a bit less likely to act to the determent of the party and his successors. That's no ringing endorsement and I may write in Fred as a protest on Tuesday. If not, I suppose it will be Cheap Talk McCain.

Amoral Hildebeast

This ranks right up there with John Kerry's "I was for the war before I was against it":

Clinton roils vote dispute in presidential race

Sen. Hillary Clinton, in an about-face, said on Friday she wants the Democratic Party delegates in two states that were barred by the national party to be reinstated and counted in the race to determine the party's U.S. presidential nominee.

Why would she flip? Well of course:

She was the only candidate on the Democratic ballot in Michigan and holds a strong lead in Florida, which holds its contest on Tuesday

because it's in her interest. Not withstanding:

The national party eliminated the delegates from Michigan and Florida because the states broke party rules by holding primary voting contests before February 5.

and then

Because Michigan and Florida violated the rules, all the major Democratic candidates pledged not to campaign there before their primaries.

Not campaigning was not the punishment: Some might argue it was a reward. Not having their votes count because they broke the rules, that was supposed to be the punishment.

Like her amoral husband she will change strips in a second if it helps her to power.

RIP Fred, Politically Speaking

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

So long Fred, we hardly knew you, through no fault of your own.

Back to square one. Choices, choices; none of them good: RINO Rudi, Big Hair Mitt, Cheap Talk McCain, the Huckster, or SciFi Ron: Four libs and a lib.

Getting the Lead Out, Riiiight

I apologize up front for the length of this post, but proposed legislation like this deserves to get torn to pieces line by line.

Proposed Bill Could Ban Lead Ammunition in Massachusetts! 1/14/2008

Two Massachusetts legislators have proposed feel-good legislation to eventually outlaw a variety of "toxic substances". One of those substances is lead, as in the lead used in bullets, or wheel weights, or batteries, or ...

This is a very bad bill, but some people are claiming that the NRA and others are chicken-littles based on responses from 2 of the sponsors of this bill. These responses are posted here:
http://fsguns.com/legislativealerts.html.

Both responses claim that this proposed bill is no threat to hunters and shooters because it will not affect lead ammunition or shooting ranges and that it has "no teeth". Both responses are factually incorrect on their substantive points to the point of deliberate mis-information.

So, let's look at the actual bill to debunk these replies and illuminate the dangers. I'll use the House version, but a quick look through the Senate version showed no major differences:
First, there is the false assertion that it will not affect ammunition or ranges where said ammunition is present. Here's the definition of the initial "priority toxic substances":

60 “Priority toxic substance” means any of the following sub
61 stances:
62 Lead
63 Formaldehyde
64 Trichloroethylene
65 Perchloroethylene
66 Dioxins and Furans
67 Hexavalent chromium
68 Organophosphate pesticides
69 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers
70 di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)
71 2,4, Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4, D)

This is the classic list of stuff that can be dangerous to people if they misuse it so the state must protect us from them. Note that there is no exemption for any forms of lead. Lead is Lead.

Here is the definition of "used". Note that the presence of said chemicals in services is included:

109 “Usage” means the presence of a priority toxic substance in
110 manufacturing, products or services delivered or conducted within
111 the Commonwealth.

Ranges provide a service. Lead is present as part of the conduct of that service. Maybe one could argue that ranges are exempt under the end user exemption noted below, but I would not want to bet on it.

Interestingly, while people can petition to have chemicals added to the priority toxic substance list (lines 655 to 664) it appears that people cannot petition to have them removed from the list. The mitigation/substitution plan can be challenged, but there is nothing that indicates the inclusion of a chemical on the list that results in said plan can be challenged:

676 (C) Petition for Appeal. No later than 60 days following the
677 publication of a final Chemical Action Plan by the EOEA, any ten
678 residents of the Commonwealth may file a petition of appeal of
679 any provisions of the plan with the Secretary of Environmental
680 Affairs. Such a petition may be filed if the petitioners assert that
681 the plan mischaracterizes uses of the priority toxic substance; fails
682 to include feasible alternatives, or mischaracterizes alternatives;
683 fails to result in substitution of the safest available alternatives as
684 expeditously as possible; fails to adequately address job loss or
685 impacts on existing jobs; or otherwise fails to meet the criteria of
686 this act.

Then there is the false assertion that the bill has no teeth. The proposed legislation starts with forced registration to identify the targets:

229 Section 27. Registry of Uses of Priority Toxic Substances.
230 (A) Notices. No later than 120 days following the effective
231 date of this section, any person or legal entity that manufactures
232 or distributes a product in the Commonwealth which the manufac
233 turer or distributor knows or has reason to suspect to contain a pri
234 ority toxic substance shall file a notice with the department identi
235 fying the product, the approximate number of units distributed in
236 the Commonwealth, an estimate of the amount or concentration of
237 the priority toxic substance contained in each unit, if known, pur
238 pose for including the priority toxic substance, the name and
239 address of the manufacturer, and the name, address, and phone
240 number of a contact person.

Followed by enforcement (note the use of the words "require", "regulations" and "enforcement"):

288 ...The goal of the Chemical Action
289 Plan shall be to coordinate state agency activities and to require
290 users of priority toxic substances to act as expeditiously as pos
291 sible to ensure substitution of the priority toxic substance with a
292 safer alternative, while acting to minimize job loss and mitigate
293 any other potential unintended negative impacts.

and

430 (A) In conformance with the Chemical Action Plan, the depart
431 ment shall promulgate regulations to establish substitution dead
432 lines and substitution planning requirements for business or
433 institutional uses for each priority toxic substance. The regula
434 tions shall specify enforcement mechanisms.

and

494 Section 32. Implementation — Distributors and Out of State
495 Manufacturers of Products Containing Priority Toxic Substances.
496 The department shall promulgate regulations for distributors
497 and out of state manufacturers to implement the Chemical Action
498 Plan for each priority toxic substance,

and the "all powers" catch-all in case something was forgotten:

562 (C) The department shall have all of the powers and authorities
563 necessary to prohibit or limit the use, sale or distribution of a
564 product containing a priority toxic substance in the Common
565 wealth.

all backed up with penalties:

666 (A) Penalties for Noncompliance. Except as otherwise provided
667 in paragraph B of this section, violations of sections 24 to 39 of
668 this chapter by any person or legal entity, shall subject the violator
669 to penalties of up to $25,000 per day of violation. In addition, the
670 department shall have the authority to exclude products from the
671 state when a distributor or manufacturer has failed to comply with
672 the provisions of this Act.

One might note that the following section (lines 673-675) exempts end users from penalties, but if there is no manufacture or distribution of said items then the effect of people not having access to said items is still the same.

All of this of course will be funded by new fees: Guess who ultimately pays those:

1 SECTION 5. Fee on toxic substances.
2 The department of environmental protection shall revise its
3 existing fee structure under the Toxics Use Reduction Act to
4 encompass, in addition to current filers, the wholesale sellers or
5 distributors of products or services to retail establishments in the
6 Commonwealth where such products or services utilize or contain
7 priority toxic substances, regardless of whether such wholesale
8 sellers or distributors are located within or outside of the Com
9 monwealth.

In the end this is more than just an anti-hunting, anti-gun bill. It is an omni-bus feel-good bill would result in significant governmental growth with new boards, fees, rules and regulations, and the intrusion into and constraint of free individual and market activities in the interest of socialist nanny-stateism.

Bad bill, very bad bill.

Update: Apparently the House version of this bill, which I used for the above analysis, has been pulled. The latest Senate version has been revised apparently to attempt to quiet some of the outcry. Specifically the initial list of priority toxic substances has been removed. Unfortunately, all the other problematic sections and their attendant issues remain, most of them word for word. This is STILL a very bad bill.

Fred Speaks Candidly

Or

"The Media Lies like a Wet Rag"

Here's an interesting article from Fred Thompson, A Message from the Campaign Trail. Here are some salient excerpts:

Every once in a while I am more thankful than ever for today’s technology which allows me to talk to you directly instead of having to go through the filter of the main stream media.

Some of them are intent on making the outcome of the campaign dependent upon their pre-conceived notions. Every once in a while their incomplete and slanted coverage makes this clear.

Today I had this story written about me regarding what I said at a Town Hall event in Burlington, Iowa by a reporter who wasn’t even at the event. Incidentally, I declined to be interviewed by this particular reporter yesterday for reasons which will soon be apparent.

and

As for me I am going to continue to say exactly what is in my heart and is on my mind and give straight and honest answers to those who ask straight and honest questions.

Incidentally, the audience in Burlington broke into applause in the middle of my answer. The reporter wouldn’t know that because she wasn’t even there.

AFAIAC, this is definite proof that the MSM is actively working to sabotage Fred's campaign by not covering it, or covering it in a biased and inaccurate manner. If the MSM is afraid of him, then I'm for him.

Go Fred!

Pakistan to Go Up In Smoke

Pakistan's Bhutto killed in gun, bomb attack

Some quick research leaves it quite unclear to me whether she was a socialist kleptocrat riding the coattails of her family name, or a persecuted populist politician seeking democratic reforms, or both. Regardless, she was popular with a significant groups of Pakistanis. In a feudal tribal society like Pakistan her death will IMNSHO be a spark for significant civil unrest, maybe even civil war. Let's hope neither side gets a-hold of any of their nukes; that could get really ugly.

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
You ask me how old I am,
It's four more than forty three.

Permamnent Telecommuting Look So Nice Some Weeks

I love living out in the country, and actually like to drive, so my normal the 53 mile commute, one way, each day is not a big deal. This week however that 70 minute commute home has turned into 90 to 115 minutes of pure frustration.

Monday was an accident, unseen. It wasn't the one where someone was killed, that happened later that night, but people need to learn to pay attention and drive.

Tuesday was a truck pulled over (broken-down or impounded?) in the break-down lane: Truck, police car, tow truck; people, you've seen them all before, now move along.

Tonight was bumper-to-bumper 35 MPH average, stop and go at times, from I495 to I190. Reason unknown. There were a few sand trucks around but the roads were only wet, not icy or snowy; certainly no reason to dawdle.

It's weeks like this that make me wish my job was such that I could telecommute all the time.

In Memorium: Wanda Fae Miller

As I mentioned in my last post my mother passed away on December 5th. Here the obituary write-up we provided for publication:

Wanda Fae (Fankhouser) Miller, 73, passed away following a long illness Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at her home in Roque Bluffs, Maine. She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Robert E. (Bob) Miller; two sons, Kevin J. Miller and his wife, Tricia, of Winchendon, Massachusetts, and Robin J. Miller and his wife Kym, of Savannah, Georgia; and nine grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters, Gwen (Fankhouser) Tustin, New Martinsville, West Virginia, and Ruth Fankhouser, of Mingo Junction, Ohio; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two brothers, Marion and George Fankhouser.

Wanda was born in New Martinsville, West Virginia February 7, 1934, daughter of Marion Rollier and Ida Irene (Prunty) Fankhouser, the youngest of 5 children. Wanda graduated from Magnolia High School in 1952, and then from Shepherd College in 1955 with a B.S. in Business Administration. She married Bob Miller of Xenia, Ohio in 1957. Following the completion of Bob’s military service in 1960 they lived in New Mexico, where their eldest son was born. They moved to Ellicott City, Maryland in 1962, and raised their two children while Wanda was employed as a bookkeeper for various medical offices. They enjoyed traveling and participating in church Missions projects. They also spent many vacations in Maine together. Following Bob’s retirement in 1996, they moved to Roque Bluffs, Maine, where they built a house together. She loved quilting and reading, and was active in the Ellsworth Church of the Nazarene.

I learned much from my mother. She taught me to read and instilled a love of reading that continues to this day. I'm a voracious reader and that has helped me in many ways.

I learned to appreciate music from her. My brother and I took music lessons, he in french horn and I in trombone, at her insistence. She loved to sing, even though she could not carry a tune in a bucket. Hence I learned that true appreciation of music comes not from the skill of it's performance but from the heart of the performer and it's connection to others.

My mother taught me to stand up for what was right. She didn't always get along with some because she spoke her mind plainly and would not compromise on her principles. Being right was, and is, more important than being liked. I also learned that a little tact helps in expressing one's opinions.

Most importantly I learned about priorities. My priorities of faith, family, health, work and church reflect what I have seen and learned from her and my father. Always first is our relationship with God; everything else flows from that. Family and health come next. Work and church come after all that, and for me there is a gap between the first 3 and the next 2.

I learned that faith and church are not the same. Churches are human organizations intended to help one develop and practice their faith. We must be careful not to let the conflicts and disagreements that arise between fallible human people regarding the church negatively affect our relationship with God.

In the end I learned love. Though she seldom expressed it in words, I know she loved me by her actions and deeds; and I loved her as a son, who was raised the best way she knew how and who learned as much as I could from her.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:13

Posting To Be Light Due To Family Issues

Not that my posting here has ever been consistent or prolific. My mother passed away today and I'm dealing with family issues. Yes it is a sad time, but she had been in failing health for several years due to PSP, so in some ways it was a relief for her and us: Besides, I know she is in a better place now. Will post more on this at some point.

Winter Driving Tips for Massachusetts

I have a few tips for those of you not used to driving in the winter in Massachusetts:

1. Just because you've lived here all your life doesn't mean you actually know how to drive;
2. Learn the difference between "salt" and "snow".

   If the road looks white but is dry that is "salt". This means that the road crews have been doing their job and the road is safe to drive on relatively normally. Keep an eye out though for icy patches.

   If the road has a layer of white stuff on it, and you cannot see the lane markings, that is "snow". It is slippery. You should not try to drive at high speed, tailgate, cut in and out, or otherwise drive normally for Massachusetts. Recognizing ice is an advanced topic, to be saved for a future post.
   

3. Back off! 4 Wheel Drive only helps your truck move; it will not help it stop in the snow. When I have to slow down to turn into my driveway I don't want you ramming into the back of my car. I don't care whether you slide off the road, but I suspect you wouldn't like that either.

Thank you for your attention to these tips.

Serial Rat

This is a continuation of the "I'll Say It" post:

It turns out that the rat who busted Bass Pro to the Massachusetts Attorney General office, Ted at Northeast Trading Company, has a history of doing this. He's a serial rattist who will sell the gun owners of this state down the river for the almighty buck:

"Well, I do know the dealer in question. This is the third time I know of where he called the AG's office to 'complain'. First time was several years ago about duly licensed MA residents buying ammo out of state and having it shipped to them. The AG's stings followed and you know the rest of the story. Second time was a few months after the first call - complaining about duly licensed MA residents purchasing ammunition components out of state, etc. We all know what happened next. I know about these 2 calls because this dealer told me that he made them (actually the first 'call' was a meeting with the AG himself...). His reason? He was angry that he was losing sales to out of state vendors. Thats right folks. It was all about the U.S. Dollar. Had nothing to do with right or wrong. Nothing to do with integrity, etc. It was, is and always will be about the mighty $$ with him." (posted by qmmo at NES forum)

Because of his actions the legal gun owners of Massachusetts find it very difficult to purchase reasonably priced ammunition. Because of him components are even harder to find. Because of him a chance to fight the extortionate practices of the MA AG was likely squashed.

I was not calling for a boycott before, just making the info known so people could make their own decisions: Now I am. Boycott this scum-of-a-dealer. Anyone who does business with this outfit is no friend of mine. Just so you know who he is here is the address and contact information:

Northeast Trading Company
Rt. 152/580 Kelley Blvd.
North Attleboro, MA 02760
508-695-4852 or 800-473-3006
sales@northeasttrading.com
http://www.northeasttrading.com/

With friends like Ted at Northeast Trading Company MA gun owners need no enemies.

UPDATE: Check out this site for more commentary on this affair:
http://northeastratting.bravehost.com/
Thanks Producer for posting it in the comments.

I'll say it

Here's the background:

Bass Pro-On the wrong side of the AG already?
Thank You LenS

And the answer I have been told is:

Ted at North East Trading

This info was initially received third hand, was confirmed by a second independent party who claimed to have written proof from the individual in question, and is consistent with hints dropped by other people who claim to have been told by this person as well. That is good enough for me.

Said shop is a ways away from me. I have never been there, but if I did happen to be in the area you can bet I will not darken their door while it is under current management.

YMMV

Update: The cat is out of the bag (or shall I say the rat is out of the hole), finally:

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=343144&postcount=289
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=343169&postcount=295

For those of you who don't want to go read the details referenced above here's the summary of what happened:

"A dealer allegedly called CHSB to let them know what BP was doing. CHSB allegedly had the AG's office call said dealer to get further details. From what I could understand of the BP side of things (I went back there ~1PM yesterday), the AG contacted BP early yesterday morning and told them to "cease and desist", retrieve ALL guns sold that were non-compliant or face a $5K/gun fine for those sold. BP contacted all the Glock buyers yesterday morning and I was told that all were "recovered" by afternoon." posted by LenS

and

"I am NOT going to out the dealer who did this, as I don't care to face any potential legal repercussions in doing so.

The dealer told me to my face that he did it and is proud of what he did. So yes, I think that if anyone broaches the subject with dealers and strikes up the conversation with the right one, he is likely to admit it.

Said dealer also told me that he was reading the NES posts on the Glocks as fast as some of the NES folks were posting them. He also told me that the AG's office was upset with ME and NES for "covering up for BP" by deleting the posts and telling folks not to post that stuff here. So perhaps (my speculation) the AG's office was reading the stuff Wed. night too (we'll never know)?

Yes, we all knew that this wouldn't last very long before being shut down, but some of us had hopes that BP was intentionally doing this to face down the AG, refuse to pay the fines which would necessitate the AG trying to file a lawsuit in a civil court, and having the court perhaps tell the AG to pound sand." also posted by LenS

then almost a week later:

"Here is Ted's post [email actually]:

'Thanks Bill, I appreciate your comments.

Just so you know I wasn’t the first to call, nor was I the last to call. They (management at BP) were notified by more then one person and it was their decision to continue to sell. No, they were not going to and never were going to fight the good fight with the AG. As surprising as it may seem the first notification to the AG was via NES, as NES members came home after their purchase at BP they posted on NES. Lens tried as hard as he could to remove the post but the cat was out of the bag very quickly.

I’m not a member or registered user of NES, if you want to post this on my behalf I have no problem at all.

Again, thanks for your memo.

Ted' "

posted by depicts

Trifecta of Political Correctness

"Is it a game or a gamble?" via No Looking Backwards:

Two weeks ago, a state inspector shut down cribbage games and tournaments at American Legion Post 4 in Gardiner.

No cribbage for you!

The Gardiner Legion wasn't the only veterans' organization visited by a state inspector.

Al Michaud, quarter master at the Waterville Veterans of Foreign War, said cribbage is no longer played at that post since a state inspector stopped in.

Or you, or you, or you!

Hanley said he will be working with his legislative aide to craft emergency legislation that will exempt veterans' organizations from licensing fees so their members and spouses can play cribbage at their posts.

This looks like the law of unintended consequences at work, but it really is the law of the big brother nanny-state moving faster than the sheeple are currently willing to accept. It will come back, trust me.

Via Northeast Shooters Forum:

"Ski school’s good deed gets punished"

Last winter, the parents of an 11-year-old boy signed him up for group ski lessons. At the first session, the boy was late and the class had already left for the slopes, so he was linked with a certified instructor who worked with him one-on-one.

then

After that session, Mr. Gaetz met the boy’s mother. She told him that her son had special needs and expressed her gratitude that he was receiving individual attention, said Mr. Gaetz, who also had determined that the boy couldn’t function safely in a group lesson. So the staff decided that one-on-one attention was the way to go.

So far so good. A business really trying to help their customers, right?

By the second or third lesson, the boy’s father called Richard Patrick, assistant director of the ski learning center, and said he wanted his son mainstreamed into a group lesson. Mr. Patrick told the father that he’d observe the boy’s behavior on the slopes, but by the time he got to the class, the boy had already gone out again with Mr. Gaetz. After that, he said, the boy never showed up for another ski lesson.

Not so right, but it gets better:

But things were about to go downhill. In March of this year, the boy’s father filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, saying Wachusett Mountain subjected his child to “unlawful discrimination” by refusing to provide him with reasonable accommodations for his handicaps, which include Attention Deficit Disorder, learning disabilities and neurobehavioral disorder.

Huh?? Discrimination because they provided individualized instruction appropriate for the boy even though they had not been told the whole story about his challenges? I feel sorry for this boy and his mother; the father truly is wacko.

But the staff would get another shock — last week, Wachusett Mountain was notified that the MCAD found probable cause to believe that it had discriminated against the boy. Both parties and their lawyers are required to attend a “conciliation conference” Jan. 23 in Springfield to explore “voluntary resolution.”

And the state is too! One wonders what kind of lies were spread by the father, and why.

And, "Dog Bite and Being Put Down":

In Princeton, a family dog, Congo, has been declared "vicious" by municipal Judge Russell Annich Jr.. Because of this, he may be ordered put to sleep, this coming Tuesday. His crime? A landscaper came onto the property of the dog's owner, Guy and Elizabeth James, after being told to wait. Congo and the family's other dogs started to bark. One of the landscapers' started hitting the dogs with a metal rake. Elizabeth James started to yell at him to stop. So, the landscaper grabbed Elizabeth, from behind, and pulled her to the ground. Congo, thinking that his owner was being attacked, did what ANY good dog should do. He tried to protect his owner. The landscaper was bitten, and injured, as he should have been. Now, for being a good dog, Congo might be put to sleep.

Judge Annich is totally wrong and out of control, right up there with Judge Pearson: Maybe he too will get his comeupance.

More Hillary'ness

Consider this article, "Bunker Hillary", from the New Republic via the World Magazine Blog.
First this quote:

Reporters who have covered the hyper-vigilant campaign say that no detail or editorial spin is too minor to draw a rebuke.

Yet then followed by this:

Despite all the grumbling, however, the press has showered Hillary with strikingly positive coverage.

All I can think of is : "Thank you sir, may I have another"

[sigh]The ends justify the means.

BONUS UPDATE:

The Hillary Free Pass

The double standard of the MSM continues to dismay me. For example, when an organization of the current administration, FEMA, faked a press conference the media circled on that for days. Yet, when "Hitlery" Clinton is reported to have planted questions in at least 2 campaign events the MSM buries those stories as quickly as possible.

Need evidence? Go to each of the MSM news web sites today; ABC News, CBS News, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. None but Fox News has a story on this on their front page.

Now search for "Hillary Clinton" on each of those sites. Count how many titles mention this scandal. Here are the links for my searches and the scores:
MSNBC: 0
CBS News: 0
CNN: 0
ABC News: 1
Fox News: 1 (but only in video section)
Remember this is 24 to 48 hours after the first report broke, and there have been reports of a second incident since then. The stories are there, they are just buried.

Here we have an issue that points right to the honesty and integrity of a person who is asking to be President, the presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination, and the media apparently doesn't want us to know about it. More evidence to me that MSM establishments have moved from reporting events to trying to shape them. Sad.

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy (Not)

From IMAO via the evangelical outpost:

THE SOCIAL CONSERVATIVE CASE FOR RUDY GIULIANI

* Giuliani has never gay married.

* Despite people claiming he's hostile to social conservatives, Giuliani has never (directly) killed one.

* He's promised to appoint Supreme Court Justices like Roberts and Alito and to stop greedily rubbing his hands together and asking, "You wanna abort that baby?" every time he sees a pregnant woman.

* In a display of family values, he won't have a public mistress for at least the first term.

* While not as religious as some other candidates, God has never felt the need to smite him.

* Giuliani will only gun grab to admire the gun and promises to hand it back afterwards.

* He will continue to beat to death drug dealers with a tire iron as always.

Go Fred!

Idiot Drivers Rant

What is about women drivers in dark blue sedans early in the morning in heavy rain that causes them to refuse to turn their lights on? Do they think that if nobody can see them that they are invisible?

ANATRO Rant

I've been hearing the radio ads for this "A Night At The Rock Opera" for weeks now. Looking through their site has re-enforced my initial opinion: This "performance" is better titled "Great British Rock Music Covered By Dweebs Who Can't Sing" (GBRMCBDWCS).

p.s. Beware opening their site in Firefox. It crashed my copy of Firefox.

What he said! Ya'know?

via the evangelical outpost

Schulz Smear

I came across this so-called news report via Yahoo: Peanuts creator Schulz led secret life of misery. It reports on a so-called biography (aka. a smear job) by David Michaelis. Disgusting. A quick Google of Mr. Michaelis along with a perusal of the reviews of his books on Amazon makes it clear to me that he is a charlatan who makes his living projecting his own insecurities into his psuedo-psychological scribblings and obsessions then claiming that that he has written so kind of deep analysis of his biographical subjects. His biography of N.C Wyeth is apparently similar. Avoid these books and anything else Mr. Michealis has written; they are all junk.

Experts Agree :)

From Northeastshooters.com by DoctorDrew:

No Bell PC Prize

Al Gore shares Nobel Peace Prize
What a crock. With this award the Nobel Foundation has jumped shark down the slippery slope into the cesspool of political correctness. The link between the false science, fear-mongering and hypocrisy of the Global Warming moonbats, Al Gore in particular, and the advancement of the cause of peace among mankind totally escapes me.

Football and Phones

Sorry that it's been over a week since my last post. Much has been going at home and work, and there's been little to catch my eye to blog about. Here are a few tidbits for today

Pro Football is tough sport: I use Yahoo as my preferred online news compilation source, including sports. Going to their sports news page, then to the NFL page I noticed the listed headlines were all about players expected to miss one or more games, mostly for injury reasons:

• Steelers WR Ward to miss another game
• Future of Broncos RB Henry uncertain
• Panthers QB Delhomme doubtful vs. Saints
• Redskins WR Moss misses practice again
• No practice again for Giants' Umenyiora
• Jets S Coleman doubtful for Giants game
• Bills WR Price likely to miss season
• 49ers' Jennings out for 'private matter'

Tough game.

Yet Another Reason Not to Vote for Rudy Giuliani: Found this Wall Street Journal report via the World Magazine blog;

The fact is that people inside the Giuliani campaign are appalled at the number of times their candidate has felt compelled to interrupt public appearances to take calls from his wife. The estimate from those in a position to know is that he has taken such calls more than 40 times in the middle of speeches, conferences and presentations to large donors.

So his stunt at the NRA convention was not a one-time deal. The article makes it sound like it's ignorance of good manners, but frankly it appears to happen too often for me to believe that. Personally, I think either he doesn't care that he's being rude, or it's an ongoing stunt to show how he's such a "family man." I don't care whether it's arrogance, ignorance, or performance it's yet another reason not to vote for him.

Humor for Today

From Oraculations:

Sermon on “ Horseback Riding"

It was Saturday night and the preacher still hadn't been able to think
of a sermon for the next morning.

About 9:00 p.m. he finally said to his wife, "Dear, I think I've come
upwith the perfect sermon! I'm going to give a sermon about horseback riding!

"She said, "Don't be silly! You can't give a sermon about horseback riding!"

He replied, "Well, it's going to have to do because I've preached on
just about every other subject I can think of.

"The next morning as they were driving to church, shesaid, "I can't
believe that you're insisting on doing this!

You know, if you're going to give that silly sermon on horseback riding,

I'm just going to stay in the car during the service."

He said, "OK, then, suit yourself!", so she stayed in the car!

Entering church before the service, the preacher had a sudden
inspiration and gave a hellfire and brimstone sermon on SEX that just had the congregation in awe.

As the congregation filed out of the church, some of the members saw
his wife sitting in the car and approached her window. One of them said,

"Wow! You just missed the best sermon your husband has ever given.

She said, "Yeah, right! What does he know about it! He talks big, but
he's only tried it twice in his life! "Once before we were married and
once after, and he fell off both times.

Fringe Candidates: Rudy Giuliani

During big speech, Giuliani answers the call of the wife

The call was not planned, said campaign spokesman Jeff Barker.

You mean this wasn't a set-up to show Rudy's "family side"? Riiiggghhhtt

Then there are his "stands" on the Second Amendment:

Red Sox Arrrrgh, Bad as Ron Paul

Daisuzaka disease is contagious; now Okajima-where-the-ball-go-whizzing-past-the-plate (sung to the tune of Oklahoma) and Pap have it too.

p.s. Ron Paul is still a fringe candidate

Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul

I posted about Mr. Paul yesterday and got about 3 times the normal traffic, including a comment (WOW). Therefore, in a shameless bid to increase traffic I'll post something meaningless about Mr. Paul (as if his whole campaign wasn't meaningless enough to begin with) on days that I remember to and cannot think of anything else to post.

p.s. Go Fred!

Fringe Candidates: Ron Paul

I warned folks this topic could become a series.

In the spirit of bi-partisanship, and in order to get it out of the way so I could get back to the plethora of Democrat fringe candidates, I was planning to write a considered review of a Republican fringe candidate, Ron Paul. Joe over at the evangelical outpost beat me to it:

Paul's Adolescent Ideology:
The Problems with Ron Paul (and Libertarianism)

"...the main problem with Ron Paul and his supporters is that they are no longer children yet cling to childish ideas ... We live in serious times and needs serious citizens. If Paul and his libertarian supporters expect the rest of us to treat their views seriously they should some grown-up views on politics and governance."

What he said!

Never Forget

Update: Make that a 1 Pitch Wonder

I've revised my prior assessment:

Baltimore 11, Boston 5 (from Yahoo)
Staked with a three-run cushion, Daisuke Matsuzaka was poised to earn his 15th victory and deliver another win for the Boston Red Sox against the Baltimore Orioles.

The rookie never made it out of the third inning, and after yielding eight runs in an 11-5 loss Saturday night, the only thing Matsuzaka delivered was an apology.

Pull the plug, either to the DL or AAA, give his spot on the playoff roster to someone who can help the team, and get a refund.

The Real Candidate

Go Fred Go

The Fringe Candidates: Bill Richardson

I suspect this will turn into a series:

One of the things that makes presidential elections so interesting sometimes is the fringe candidates. I found this from the World Magazine blog: "Richardson: God wants Iowa first"

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary,"

His statement makes perfect sense if one defines "lord" properly. Clearly he is not speaking of God, at least as defined by any reasonable Christian. He apparently never defined his terms and so appears to be pandering to Christians. It's so transparent that it is back-firing from both sides. Most amusing.

This Really Inspires Confidence In Their Judgement

Today's a two-fer:

From Yahoo and AP: France's Sarkozy draws praise from U.S. presidential candidates

Let's look at Mr. Sarkozy's admirers; Romney, McCain, Giuliani, and Gingrich. Even Obama and Clinton are "intrigued". Sarkozy may be conservative by French standards, but by US standards he'd be, at best, a moderate Democrat with fascist leanings. You can tell a lot about a person by their friends and heros.

Even more-so, why the heck should I care what these RINOs and socialists think of the President of France? We live in the U.S.A, not the France Republic. These milquetoasts are running for the President of the United States of America not the Vichy Vice Presidency.

I'm With Fred!

Daisuzaka Should be Diced for $Ks

The Red Sox got gypped with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Granted, sometimes he's not gotten a lot of run support from his teammates, but even when he does the opposing batters clearly get his number by the third time around. He was supposed to be the heir-apparent for Schilling, but right now he's a 2-pitch-wonder without the ability to fool any batter more than twice or pitch himself out of jam.

Refund Theo, Refund!

White House Press Secretary Job Application

Go over to Kim's place and read his application for White House Press Secretary. It's a hoot!
...

• Post-briefing fistfights in the corridor would be a common occurrence.
• CBS: Commie Broadcasting System; NBC: Nothing But Commies; ABC: All Bloody Commies—‘nuff said.

...

Hokie Spin

Recently the Virginia Tech Review Panel released their report on the Cho mass murder tragedy at VT. The AP also has a news article summary of that same report.

Looking through the actual report and then the AP news summary it is quite clear that the news summary is, shall we say, rife with factual errors. Many (most?) of the so called findings and recommendations in the news article are, at best, loose paraphrases of what the report actually says. In some cases, like their "ban guns on all campus grounds" recommendation, are flat made up. Yet another example of MSM B.S., bias and incompetence.

Thoughts on the Good Samaritan

There was a recent thread on a discussion board that I frequent. It started with someone recounting a past event where they stopped to help a motorist in need. One person posted that they would never stop to help a stranger because it was too dangerous. Needless to say the discussion took off from there. This person was roundly, but not universally, criticized. His response was that it is a cold, hard world and he does what he needs to do to survive. He clearly was in the minority, although not a minority of one.

My initial response was one of pity. How could some be so hard and heartless to not help ones fellow man if it was reasonably possible. Such a mode of survival, selfishness to the extreme, sounds very dreary and depressing. Not much of a survival if you ask me.

Furthermore, would one not want someone to stop and help them, or a loved one, if they were in need? If one expects help then it seems only reasonable to be willing to do the same. Yes, there may be some danger in doing so but that is where being prepared comes into play.

As a Christian the story of the Good Samaritan is not just a story; it is an example to be followed to the best of our abilities. I'll be the first to admit that I don't always execute this as well as I could. However, that is very different from rejecting the whole concept as this person has apparently done.

In the end I concluded that there is no way for me to understand this person's perspective. His view of the world is so different from mine that it it makes interaction difficult on anything beyond a superficial level. In the end I decided not to engage directly with the heartless one and posted this to the original poster:

Bravo ...! As the good book says "as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".

It also says "as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me". People make their own choices. If they can live, or not, with the consequences then so be it.

Weekend Tidbits

What's going on in Utah is a real tragedy. I have this depressing sense that the missing miners' families are going to be getting a deal on burial costs because they'll never be able to go in safely and get them.

On a related subject, unions are despicable, particularly the United Mine Workers for trying to blame the tragedy on the fact that the mine is not unionized:
"Were union miners kicked out of the rescue effort? Mine owner rejects allegations; union team is called 'best'". They are worse than ambulance-chasing lawyers.

Terry Francona has never been quick on the uptake; if a reliever already has a history of blowing games for your team PULL HIM OUT as soon as there's any sign of trouble. Eric Gagne needs to go down to Pawtucket NOW. Maybe if he fixes whatever is wrong, tears up the AAA for a month or so, and is willing and able to do spot duty behind the proven relievers they might call him up for the stretch and playoffs.

Venomous Kate over at Electric Venom is running another link-fest. IMNSHO her Caption Contests are some of the best on the net.

Another Clergy Member in the Wrong Religion

Catholic Bishop Wants Everyone to Call God 'Allah'
Allah is not God; on this I think both Muslims and Christians agree. Tiny Muskins needs to join Ann Redding over with the Unitarian Universalists. His pantheistic beliefs would fit right in.

Darned If You Do, Darned If You Don't

I'm no fan of the flip-flopping RINO Mitt Romney, but I heard a report on the radio this morning about the stocks in his blind trust. Here's one report: Romney stock includes oil company in Sudan

The radio report was attempting to cast aspersions on Mitt for having investments in areas contrary to his stated positions. The radio report mentioned biomedical and stem cell research. Another example from the above article is:

Mitt Romney divested from companies doing business in Iran but still holds stock in an oil company that does business in Sudan, where the government is accused of sponsoring genocide...

The problem is this attempted smear does not bear up under scrutiny. His portfolio was placed in a blind trust to avoid conflict of interest as an elected official. The whole point of it is that Mitt has no say in the management of his stock portfolio. He is not supposed to be able to tell the manager of the trust what to, and not to, invest in. To attempt to smear him because he's not directed his investments to match his policy stands is a biased and false accusation rooted in political and class hatred.

One also wonders whether the Democratic candidates' portfolios have, or will be, subjected to the same form of scrutiny and attack: I'm not holding my breath.

Ends and Means Mismatch

or

The Goldman's Money-Grubbing Ways

I heard the report on the radio this morning that the Goldman family had reached a deal to get OJ's book published: Beaufort Books to publish OJ Simpson book.

This is utterly disgusting, and I am not talking about O.J., that's a given. This time it is the Goldman family. They have called the book "disgusting" and "morally reprehensible" yet when the opportunity arises to make some money off of it they jump on the chance to make profit from the death of their son.

Publishing the book does nothing to punish O.J. He is already a pariah. The money to be made by publishing this book is not coming out of his pocket. It won't reduce his current income at all, nor will it affect his life in any noticeable way.

Give it up. Take the high road. The money to be made will not bring Ron back. It will not punish his murderer. All it does is tarnish the memory of your son. Take the manuscript and burn it as an offering at the grave of your son. That's all it's good for.

It's Linux's Fault

From an info-rag I get:

"Linux adoption among corporations is increasing, in turn, so are the security implications. Unprotected Linux-based systems may host hidden Windows viruses that can spread across the organization when the two systems interact."

Besides the sexual innuendos in this message, I also find it interesting that Linux is being blamed for Windows proclivity to viral infection.

Another Church Bites The Dust

Another denominations follows The Episcopal Church down the wide way of societally-determined theology: Lutherans to allow pastors in gay relationships. Martin Luther must be spinning in his grave.

I Never Did Like Hockey

The fabled world-wide temperature rise graph known as "the hockey stick" has been invalidated, again: Blogger Finds Y2K Bug in NASA Climate Data

"NASA has now silently released corrected figures, and the changes are truly astounding. The warmest year on record is now 1934. 1998 (long trumpeted by the media as record-breaking) moves to second place. 1921 takes third. In fact, 5 of the 10 warmest years on record now all occur before World War II. Anthony Watts has put the new data in chart form, along with a more detailed summary of the events.

The effect of the correction on global temperatures is minor (some 1-2% less warming than originally thought), but the effect on the U.S. global warming propaganda machine could be huge."

Check out the links for the actual data and Anthony Watts' summary. Michael Asher has a number of blog entries that make interesting and informative reading for those interested in the truth about "global warming" and "global climate change".

Predictable Democrats

From AP article "Democrats take sharp questions on gay rights" via Yahoo:

"All of the Democratic candidates support a federal ban on anti-gay job discrimination, want to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays from serving openly in the military and support civil unions that would extend marriage-like rights to same-sex couples."

If this is what you want then you have plenty to choose from on the Democrat side. If not, your choices are there on the Republican side, although they are less clear due to the many RINOs and flip-floppers.

Interestingly I did note that the topic of the event was gay issues, yet the title of the article turned the issues into rights. Bias creeps into reporting in the insidious ways.

It's the Sun's Fault

This is one of the best treatises I've read debunking the "global warming" and "climate change" hystericists by one of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card: All in a Good Cause

Read and heed.

Lazy, Hazy Friday

I'm on the downside of really hectic week culminating a crazy 6 weeks. Our demo went very well Wednesday; so well that the talking head management brought in with 2 weeks to go even got a hug from the deputy director.

Maybe next week I'll have a bit more time, and material, to blog.

Weekly Round-up

Wow, a whole week gone and nothing posted. I've been real busy at work (see my Friday the 13th post) and not had the time. Some quick thoughts on events of the week:

• Michael Vick: Tarred and feathered already. Did he ever play lacrosse at Duke?
• Harry Potter: Who? If it ain't Tolkien, I ain't interested.
• Tour de France: Without Lance it's just a long bike race.

That's all for this week. Move along, nothing to see here.

Sometimes Work is Not Very Fun

Arrrrrghhh.

I wish I could figure out how our upper management thinks. Not that I would want to think like most of them, but just so I could have some clue what to expect.

I've been spending the last 3 weeks pulling together a killer demonstration for a "really important event", coordinating the efforts of 2 different contractors, and polishing the briefing with much "help" from management while listening to them whine incessantly about the risk because it wasn't done weeks before I was told about the demonstration. That's the kind of stuff I get paid to do from time to time for the last dozen years, so I'm pretty darn good at it.

Well, with 1 week to go one of "them" decides that somebody else, who has significantly less experience and has not been part of the preparations, should do the presentation just because they are in a different group. How this reduces risk and improves the demonstration I will never know. I'm still responsible, so it will get done, but someone else will get the satisfaction of actually doing the presentation before the audience.

Update: Just had to add this cartoon from Tank McNamara. It seemed quite apropos:

Ann Redding is in The Wrong Relgion, Both Ways

"I am both Muslim and Christian"

By her own words in response to questions from readers of the original article she rejects one of the most basic tenets of Christianity:

Q: Do you believe in the divinity of Christ? And if you don't believe in original sin, is there any significance at all to Christ's crucification? Your educational background and career notwithstanding, what beliefs do you hold that qualify you as a Christian?

Sun, Jun 17, 2007 4:04 pm

Matt

Woodinville

A:I believe that Jesus is divine in the same way in which all humans are related to God as children of God. Jesus is different in degree, not kind

Read the rest of her responses. Not only does she reject the divinity of Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, but she believes Allah and God are one and same (" First of all, there is only One God; calling God Allah does not change that reality for me"). This makes her neither Muslim nor Christian. She is an pantheist who would fit in well with the Unitarian Universalists.

Running Scared of Fred

Someone must be getting very worried about Fred Thompson for the MSM lapdogs to be digging up 30 year old hearsay and innuendo "Fred Thompson Aided Nixon on Watergate", and non-stories, "Thompson Lobbied for Abortion Rights". If that's the best they can do, bring it on.

Today's A Trifecta

I used to read a lot of science fiction; mostly traditional and hard sci-fi, but some fantasy, if it compared favorably to Tolkien. Found this survey via Electric Venom. I watch so little TV that the references mean little to me, but it is interesting:

You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5), The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn't matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you'll do the right thing. In the end that will be all that matters. Now if only the Psi Cops would leave you alone.

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)		100%
Moya (Farscape)		88%
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)		75%
SG-1 (Stargate)		75%
Serenity (Firefly)		75%
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)		75%
Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)		75%
Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)		63%
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)		50%
Enterprise D (Star Trek)		50%
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)		38%
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)		38%
FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)		25%

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

Randomness

More random odd tidbits courtesy of Yahoo News:

• With China's recent ascendancy to air pollution supremacy one wonders what kind of sewage system their new 1,000 stall restroom connects to
• Parenting in action: Girl, 4, Called 911 Nearly 300 Times
• Demon rum will make people do the strangest things: Firefighter in bikini accepts plea deal
• And last but not least, sometimes pennies (or euros) do fall from heaven: Money falls from sky

Have a good weekend all.

Observations of the Week

Wow, it's been a whole week and nothing much to post about. That's the way I find blogging to be: There'll be a day or two where a bunch of things catch my fancy then several days where nothing floats my boat. So what's happened this week worth commenting on:

• The Scooter Libby commutation: In the spirit of Leviticus 16 it was the right thing to do, to spare the scapegoat:

  10 "But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
  ...
  21 "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.
  22 "The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. (from BibleGateway.com)

• I burned out the +40 year old motor on my table saw ripping fresh 2" pine into battens for my son's turkey coop. I ordered a replacement from Grizzley tools. It should show up soon.
• The best caption contest this week at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical
  
• Had an interesting exchange on Christian music with Cheryl D. over at the World Magazine blog. Too many people confuse their preferences (e.g., opinions) with objective reality.

That's all folks.

Link Me, Link Me, Link Me

The Venomous Linkfest

Tag, you're it :)

Arrogance in Action

As most folks know by now the MA state legislature, acting in constitution convention, voted to kill a proposed homosexual marriage ban last week. This proposed constitutional amendment was brought forward by petition IAW state laws and certified as a valid petition by the state AG. The next step would have been for a state-wide public referendum on the proposed amendment.

What the legislature did was legal, according to the laws of the state, however that does not make it acceptable or conscionable. The arrogance in attitude that came through, "We know best what's good for you", was disgusting.

Many of the politicians that voted against this said they voted their conscience: Good for them that they got a chance to do so, too bad their conscience did not include the concept of have the people vote democratically on this issue. It was imposed upon us by an appointed court and we should have our say.

Personally I think it would have failed at the ballot box, but the point is that we the people did not get to vote. For something this important we should have that right.

p.s. Voting is a real right; unlike marriage, be it homsexual or hetrosexual.

Kellogg Co. Goes Fruity

More political correctness craziness from the Food Nazis:
"Kellogg to raise nutrition of kids' food".
Here some random quotes to illustrate the nanny-state, sue-happy, blackmail-oriented mindset of the Food Nazis and the French-like corporate reaction:

The Threat (note the assist from the democracy-loving MA politicos):

"Jacobson's nutrition advocacy group, along with two Massachusetts parents and the Boston-based Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood, had served notice in January 2006 of intent to sue Kellogg and the Nickelodeon cable TV network under a Massachusetts law to stop them from marketing junk food to kids."

The Offer:

"Center spokesman Jeff Cronin said Kellogg contacted the plaintiffs shortly thereafter and began negotiating the new standards, so the lawsuit was not filed and will not be filed."

and The Payoff

"The Battle Creek, Mich., company avoided a lawsuit threatened by parents and nutrition advocacy groups worried about increasing child obesity."

Now That's Interesting

Via Captain's Quarters: CAIR membership plummets (Wash. Post). They are down to less than 1,700 from a high of 29,000 in 2000. Most of there money comes from about 24 "individual donors". Hmmm, AQIA,?

There is a God - Part 2

Paris Hilton Ordered Back to Jail
Judge Sauer strikes a blow against "celebrity (in)justice". Way to go your honor!

"Coupe" Deval on Education

Optimistic Patriot over at New England Republican has put together a nice succinct review of King Cadillac Coupe Deval Free 'Em All Patrick's education "reform" proposal; "Governor Patrick, vision without funding is hallucination". Read and heed.

My only addition would be to point out that the 2 hour increase in school day part is clearly a salary for teachers increase not a kids education reform proposal; in other words a real stinker.

It's About Time!

"Feds say La. congressman to be indicted"
I wonder what they were waiting for, the start of hurricane season?

Morning Commute Rants

It was raining this morning driving to work. It seemed to bring out the crazies.

• To 25% of the drivers: It's raining, turn on your lights. The idiot that gets seen before they get hit may be you.
  
• To the woman in the Mazda: I don't mind you using your cell phone, just keep driving, or move over into the right hand lane.
• To the lady in the white Infinity: Smooth move, ex-lax, cutting across traffic to get into the left hand turn lane.
• To the guy in white work van: Thank you for cutting me off when the right hand lane was wide open; it let me swerve around you on the right. Hint: There was nobody behind me; If you had stayed over in the right lane for, say 5 seconds, you could have easily moved over and saved us both some blood pressure points.
• To the truck drivers at the entrance to the base: Don't try to come through the barriers until the inspection area is open. You just end up blocking the whole entrance for everyone.
• To the rent-a-cops in the inspection area: Your job is to inspect the trucks, then get them moving, not chat up the driver then walk around it kicking the tires like you're on a used car lot.
  

[rant off]

Thoughts on the Emerging/Emergent Church

This post over at the World Magazine Blog got me thinking (and researching and writing). The premise of the post was that the Christianity Today magazine has moved from an evangelical perspective to a Emerging Church perspective. Personally I've always considered Christianity Today to be pretty liberal to the point that I would not really have called it an evangelical magazine. To see it more further in that direction would not be a surprise. But this is not the real subject of my post here.

I would like to give my take on what I've found out about the Emerging Church movement. (And yes I will call it a "movement" because that is what it is, contrary to their claims.) For this I'll use the outline of the basic characteristics from the Emerging Church entry in Wikipedia. I researched a variety of sources, but this one is as good a list as I found elsewhere. I'll not define their terms in depth, go read the article for that, but I will give my take on each aspect.

• Postmodern worldview: The existence of the Postmodern worldview is a reality, however it is not a valid basis for defining Christian belief. Neither is Modernism or any other previous worldviews. Christianity is it's own worldview. I can see Evangelicalism as an expression of how to relate the Christian worldview to a modern world, but contrary to claims from the Emerging Church, Evangelicalism is not "based on" a Modern worldview.
  
• Narrative theology: Storytelling can be a good technique for conveying the gospel message, but it is not how the gospel is defined. The gospel is defined in God's Word.
  
• Generous orthodoxy: This smack of relativism and the rejection of the truth of God's Word as the definition of the gospel message. There are absolutes in the Christian faith which means it is possible to be outside them and therefore not Christian. I fear that the Emerging Church is throwing out the baby in the bath water in their rush to be relevant.
  
• Postmodern Hermeneutics: Look up the term. In short it is the rejection of knowable, absolute truth. Dangerous, see above.
  
• Authenticity: There is some good in this area, in learning how to apply Christ in all areas of one's life, but again it smacks of emotionalism and legalism. "I feel saved, I act saved, therefore I am saved".
  
• Conversation/dialog: Again, a good technique for relating to people and sharing the gospel: It does not replace the gospel.
  
• Missional living: The way one lives should reflect one's beliefs, not be the determinant of them.
  
• "Fluid" ecclesiology or "deep" ecclesiology: See above, Postmoderm Hermeneutics.
  
• Creative spirituality: See above, Generous Orthodoxy.
  
• "Non-Legalistic" conduct: Sounds good, but is actually contradictory in practice with the definition of Authenticity above.
  
• Use of new technologies: Using new technologies to share the gospel and relate with people is fine, as long as the technology does not become the object of worship.
  
• Postmodern terminology: Using the terminology is fine, as long as Christian terms and more importantly Christian beliefs are not redefined as well.
  
• Justice: Social justice is a good thing, but again it is not the primary purpose of the gospel. The "social gospel" path practiced by many mainline denominations has been shown to ultimately be contradictory to Christ.

The overwhelming sense I got from researching the Emerging Church movement was one of fuzziness and anti-definition. It is not clear exactly what many in the movement do believe, although there is much that they apparently do not.

The bottom line is that I think there are things to be learned from the Emerging Church movement about how to relate and share the gospel message to people with a postmodern worldview. It could become the next Evangelicalism, but the gospel message cannot be redefined in order to relate it to people and still be called "Christian." Evangelicalism did not redefine the gospel message and neither should the Emerging Church.