False Political Advertising

Can one report sponsors of political advertisements to the FCC if they blatantly lie? Probably not, due to 1st Amendment issues, but I certainly have candidate if one could.

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.

What's Wrong with Kerry Healey on Gun Control

Kerry Healey is the Republican candidate for governor in Massachusetts. She gets high (95%) marks from various 2nd Amendment watchdog groups like GOAL and NRA. One must consider those marks relative though. Most anywhere else someone with that high a rank would be abolishing gun licensing or at least making it "must issue" and supporting principles like the "Castle Doctrine" and "no confiscation".

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.

I feel like writing something...

...but I don't know what to write about, so here are some short blog-bites:

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

Ignorance is _____

I almost never post about local issues because providing the context required to understand them would be too much for most to read. In this case I have a short message to deliver and don't care about giving context. I'll put some links at the bottom if you want to do your own research.
[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

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.

Wynne Shoots Good Idea in the Foot

From CNN:

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.

Sports Spots

The Red Sox pull the plug: The curse returns. Personally I think it all when south when their starting catcher, Jason Varitek, went down. The catcher plays a big part in helping the pitchers; I mean he calls the pitches, right? Mirabelli was OK as Wakefield's catcher but since Wake is down too he's clearly not up to handling anyone else. It's obvious to me that not one of the catchers they've tried since Jason was injured is much good at handling the staff that's left. Mail it in from here on out.

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.

And Even More Fakery

Here is an analysis of the Red Cross Ambulance Incident (found via Oraculations). From this article it is quite clear to me that the alleged attack was a complete fake. At this point I trust nothing reported from the MSM regarding Lebanon.

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.

Money is Money, Dumb is Dumb

The stupidity in this story is breathtakingly; "Woman admits stealing $2.3M to play lottery". If this is not definitive proof that state-sponsored looteries are a tax on those who are bad with math then nothing is. One wonders how much they cost states in other areas such as increased crime and lost economic growth. Personally I wouldn't mind at all if they were all banned again.

More Fakery

from Dread Pundit Bluto:

August 6, 2006, 10:44am	August 6, 2006, 10:57am
Tyre, LEBANON: Rockets fired from Israel are seen falling in the outskirts of the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, 06 August 2006. Israel's army will carry on fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon until two soldiers, whose capture sparked the conflict last month, are returned, its ambassador to Washington said today. AFP PHOTO/SAMUEL ARANDA (Photo credit should read SAMUEL ARANDA/AFP/Getty Images)	Tyre, LEBANON: Katyusha rockets are fired from the outskirts of the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre into Israel, 06 August 2006. Israel's army will carry on fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon until two soldiers, whose capture sparked the conflict last month, are returned, its ambassador to Washington said today. EDS NOTE: CORRECTING DIRECTION OF SHELLING. AFP PHOTO/SAMUEL ARANDA (Photo credit should read SAMUEL ARANDA/AFP/Getty Images)

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 Hezbollah propagandists independent Lebanese stringers before publishing them.

Hezbollah, Pallyworld and the MSM; Fakery All

Evidence continues to mount of the propaganda war being waged by Hezbollah and the Palestinians against Israel. The Mainstream Media (MSM) continues to play along, if not actually aid and abet this deception.

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.

Devotional: Quarrels and Conflicts

It has been a long time since I posted a devotional message. Below is the teaching from today. It is mostly just Scripture, the main text from James 4:1-10, with some key points noted and Scripture related to them. Enjoy.

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 kingdom of God.

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 21:22

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

James 4:4-6

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.

James 4:7-10

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 3:19

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

New Sisyphus Opines on the War on Terror

Go read this post by New Sisyphus: Read and heed.

World Cup Shenanigans

If anyone is following the World Cup at all it is clear that the referees have decided that it is their stage too. MLB went through that awhile back with their umpires and it didn't help baseball one little bit either.

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.

Circular Logic Alert

var A="Stay the course is not a strategy";
var B="it's a slogan";
While (A==B) {A=A+B};

People in the Wild: The Obliviot

In the tradition of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, I've started a series called "People in the Wild". Occasionally here I will profile kinds of people one can observe around you "in the wild".

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.

Bad UN, Bad

Thursday already, goodness!

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.

Neat Tidy Package

I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted anything. Work and home life have both been very busy, and none of the issues around have been much inspiration. My opinions on most of them can be summed up rather succinctly:

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]

Double Standard for Patches

I heard this story from a coworker who has friend that was a Capitol policeman ~20 years ago:

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.

It's Not the Star Spangled Banner

It's called "Nuestro Himno" (Our Anthem). The lyrics have not officially been released, but early reports indicate that the lyric have been changed for more the linguistic and stylistic reasons. That means it is to a different song, with different words, sung to approximately the same tune, just like "To Anacreon in Heaven" is a different song than 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.

And I Was Born Here So I Actually Didn't Have To

I found this test via ChuBlogga via The Other Side of Kim. I'm only posting it because they gave me the code to do so.

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Islamic Terrorism and Cowardice

Something has riled me enough to post.

First the event:

Suicide bombing kills 9 in Tel Aviv
Hamas defends attack that killed 9 in Israel

Then the reaction:

EU condemns Israel Bombing
Israel's leaders weigh response to bombing

And the results:

'Islamic terrorism' is too emotive a phrase, says EU
Israel 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.

Hiatus

I'm sorry it's been almost a month since I posted anything. I've been busy and nothing has really piqued my interest enough to post about it. And frankly I don't see that changing forat least several weeks.

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.

Afghan On Trial for Becoming a Christian

I ran across this story from multiple sources (World Magazine, Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters). Putting a man on trial, and potentially condemning him to death, for converting from Islam concerns me far more than all the violence in Iraq. This is a form of religious terrorism that we went into Afghanistan, and Iraq, to eradicate. I believe that a basic freedom of religious belief has to exist for any form of democratic society to take hold. If this man is convicted and executed then I believe we have lost Afghanistan to the very forces we attempted to liberate them from.

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

I received this article from a friend in Idaho:


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.

Looking For Web Hosting

My DW and one of my sons have started doing some web design work. They've done 2 sites so far, jestafarm.blogspot.com and yeshuasglory.blogspot.com. These are very nice sites if I say so myself.

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.

Katrina, WMDs and Guns

Two blogs through the 15 or so I read every day and I've already come across three noteworthy items:

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...
  

And from the Captains Quarters, an insightful post pointing out even more holes in the attempted MSM attacks on President Bush over the Katrina relief efforts.

Space Cadet North of the Border

Came across this news article "Canadian college curbs Wi-Fi due to health risks" today. What a moonbat. Fred Gilbert is exactly the kind of critical thinker that should be training young people and heading up a college (NOT!). The students, parents, teachers and alumni of Lakehead University all ought to be protesting this stupid decision in their unique ways.

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.
Gilbert, moonbat, Bye, Bye, Bye.

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.

What's (Not) Happening

Sorry that it's been a while since I posted anything. It's been busy at work and home, and frankly most of what's been going on in the world recently has been a big "ho-hum" for me. However, in the interest of posting something, here's my reaction to various events around the world:

Winter Olympics: We never do as well as expected. It's all hype and no action. Most of the winter sports are niche activities so the networks have to hype the games so much to attract viewers that a general let-down is inevitable. Then someone forgets to clue the athletes in. Half the time it seems like they expect to just mail it in. Just ask the ice hockey teams, Bode Miller, women's curling team, Lindsey Jacobellis, Jeremy Bloom, Daren Rahlves and Johnny Weir. Then there's the selfishness of "competitors" like Shani Davis and Michelle Kwan. A few good stories are emerging, like Tanith and Benjamin, Ted Ligety and Lindsey Kildow, but it's not enough to make the whole thing particularly interesting.

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 Cajun. And, here's a late addition:
Muhammad Cartoons: I already said more than I planned to about this in my last post. The mainstream press reaction is also sadly predictable, as indicated by this cartoon, courtesy of Oraculations. The "resulting" riots have little to do with the cartoons, they were just an excuse to do what they do best.

Tha-tha-tha-tha-that's all folks.

Eye for an Eye

There is so much stuff being written about the cartoons of Muhammad published by a Danish newspaper that I didn't feel the need to say anything, that is until I came across this article via the World Magazine Blog. It was this statement at the end that got me going:

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.

End of the Spear and Chad Allen

Earlier this moth I posted a short mention of the fact that Chad Allen, who plays Nate and Steve Saint in the End of the Spear, is a practicing, activist homosexual and expressed my disappointment. Today I came across two articles on the Eternal Perspective Ministries web site by Randy Alcorn that provide accurate information and insightful analysis of this issue. The first is Randy's article, and the second is a conversation with the producers of the movie, one of whom is Steve Saint.

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.

Micro$oft Outlook, the Case for Unintelligent Design

Several months ago my employer switched to Micro$soft Exchange for corporate email and calendaring. That forced me to start using Outlook to for calendaring. There are quite a few "features" of the Outlook Calendar that are just plain bad architecture and design, starting with its use of email as a calendaring protocol.

The latest broken "feature" I've discovered is Outlooks annoyer reminder functionality. Every other calendaring application I've ever used had a person's meeting reminders controlled by them. In other words I could determine if I wanted reminders for meetings, or not, by default and by individual event. Not so Outlook: The proposer of meetings initially determines whether there is a reminder associated with the meeting and that determination overrides local settings. Talk about annoying, backwards, useless functionality!

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.

Observations of Today

Another terrorist state is born. I thought there was hope for some peace for the Palestinians when Arafat passed away, but they have now cast their lot with the thugs and given up all hope of any peaceful existence. From a Biblical perspective that is inevitable, but I didn't expect to be so deliberate. I agree with The Captain's analysis that the U.S. should stop all aid, and support Israel in doing what they will need to do to remove the canker from their midst.

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.

Supporting Our Troops, And Proud of It!

Found this article via The Captain. Hugh Hewitt rips Joel Stein, the L.A. Times columnist who wrote an absolutely puerile column on not supporting our military troop, up one side and down the other. Joel's "reasoning" is based on a shallow, socialist, knee-jerk pacifistic ignorance of the U.S. military, it's role in our country and how it operates. Here's one quote that shows his utter ignorance:

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.

Anglos Rule!

I found this article via the World Magazine Blog. It's a little dense, with a slight dig or two at President Bush, but still a very good analysis of an interesting observation.

Lack of Humor

It still amazes me sometimes how so many people lack a funny bone. Check out this article over at the evangelical outpost, then read the comments: They're almost as funny as the article, particularly when they are not trying to be.

More Naginisms

From AOL News via World Magazine Blog:

"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 idiotscommenters over on the World Magazine Blog where I found this are trying to claim that Nagin meant "chocolate" to be a term for "harmoniously racially mixed". As the Colonel would say "Horse Feathers!". A quick Google search will show that "chocolate" means "black" when used in a racial manner. And if there is any doubt one only needs to read what Mayor Nagin said next:

"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

Found this via Curmudgeonly & Skeptical. Since they couldn't derail Samuel Alito's nomination they've fallen back to drag and delay tactics. The sad thing is the apparent acquiescence of Sen. Specter. I guess after his exchange with Sen. Kennedy he had to balance the books. Arlen needs to decide if he is a Democrat or a Republican. Fence-sitters eventually fall off and usually end up hurt in the process.

More Tidbits

Here are some more articles that caught my eye:

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.

Tidbits From the Blogsphere

Here are two articles I came across during my regular rounds:

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.

Slippery Slopes Do Exist

Our neighbors to the north started down the track when they legalized same sex marriage, now the next slide is visible.

Liberal Shibboleth Skewered

Found this report via the World Magazine Blog. I had seen previous reports of similar evidence but nothing ever in the MSM. What is it going to take to get them to pick this up? A sea-change in worldview on their part and another complete flip-flop by the Democrats. I'm not holding my breath.

Chilling of Free Speech? Maybe.

I found this courtesy of The Rott. It seems as though the intent of this new law was good, extending existing telephone anti-stalking and anti-harassment laws to VOIP, but the question is whether the law as written might be abused or cause unintended consequences. Reading through some of the commentary here and there it seems that this may, or may not, be blown out of proportion. Some information out there appears to be incorrect. For example, the word "annoy" quoted in the first article apparently is not in the signed bill. On the other hand the bill could have been written better to be more specific that it applies to Internet telephony and point-to-point messaging only. Stay tuned to see if this becomes a problem.

New Cattle Tracking System Being Proposed

Since the discovery of a mad cow in Washington (state, not D.C.) in 2003 the U.S. Agriculture Department has been moving forward on a national cattle tracking system known as NAIS. While at first blush this sounds like a good idea from the perspective of ensuring a safe food supply, further consideration of the proposal I think will show that it has become a government grab for control and power.

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.

Best Blond Joke Ever

Nothing more need be said.

Sorry If I Offend You

There is no right in the United States Constitution to be free from being offended by what someone says. Quite the opposite really. Our 1st Amendment grants freedom of speech which means that I or anyone am allowed to express ourselves in public in accordance with our personal beliefs. For example, I can claim publicly that my religion is the only true religion and that all others are false and urge people in the strongest terms to believe as I do. That may not be the best way to spread my religion, but that is another discussion. What is provided is the freedom from coercion, force or threat to constrain religious belief. Government rules and regulations cannot be made that would force membership or adherence to specific churches or religions.

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.

What History Says to Us

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything. I've been busy. I'll try to make shorter, more frequent posts this year. We shall see.

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.

Random Bits and Bytes

Here are some tidbits from crawling the blogsphere:

Surprise, surprise, surprise. A study from UCLA and the University of Missouri finds bias in the media.

Darminisim is a dying cult, a book report by Patrick Buchanon on the “Politically Correct Guide to Science” from Tom Bethell as reported by Uncommon Descent.

Modern art, I love it.

And finally, some winter-time fun for the slightly twisted.

Multi-Stage Airbags Work Well

Last Sunday evening I personally experienced a multi-stage airbag deployment. It did it's job without the attendant minor injuries often associated with airbag deployments. I thank the Lord that he was watching over us that evening.

A business colleague and I were driving to Morgantown, WV. It was snowing and the interstate was untreated and snow covered. I was doing ~30 mph on a downhill grade in the left hand lane when a small pickup headed the other direction lost control, slid across the median, clipped the vehicle in front of us and spun directly into our path. We hit it head-on.

Everyone was OK. My passenger and I ended up with bumps and bruises, nothing serious. The car, a rented Pontiac G6, was totaled. The front end was crushed to the front wheels. The hood and fenders were also folded back. The passenger compartment was intact except the passenger window shattered and the front doors were hard to open.

The Monongahela Sheriff's deputy that responded to our accident was very good: He went above and beyond the call of duty. He took control of the situation. He checked all the vehicles and occupants, got flares out to redirect traffic and had tow trucks on the way in short order. He let us sit in his vehicle out of the weather because ours was not safe to be in. Once he had taken statements from everyone and the accident was cleaned up he gave us a lift to our hotel, which he didn't have to do.

On the other hand I saw some real idiots that evening. The driver who caused it for one. I guess he had to be going at least 45-50 MPH to come uphill all the way across median ditch like he did. If he hadn't hit the vehicle in front of us he probably would have slid all the way across our lanes into the guardrail, and likely would have missed us. His pickup ended up across both lanes of the interstate with traffic creeping by in the breakdown lane. He was clearly driving too fast for conditions, and was driving with a suspended license. We thought they would lock him up for the evening, but the second officer at the accident just ticketed him and let him go because they were too busy.

The second idiot of the night came whipping through the accident site at 45 MPH or so 15 or 20 minutes after the accident. He clipped the front of the pickup, maybe hit the guardrail, did a couple of 180's and 360's, and ended up sideways half in the median about 150-200 yards down the road from us. He drove off before the deputy could get down to where he was. This was after flares had been put out at the site, but the road was still snow covered. There was also another accident about a mile behind us that should have slowed him up.

Everything appears to be working out OK. Avis had another car to us by the next afternoon and my company insurance will cover everything. Airbags and seatbelts will be important considerations in the next vehicle I buy.

Weapon Retention Failure

What a bungled attempted robbery! Knowing my luck that's what would happen to me if I ever tried to rob someplace.

Update: I've added the clip itself. The original appears to have aged off the Uncommon Descent site.

Public School Arithmetic

Ran across this little tidbit about elementary school students that had their Christmas tree removed from Oklahoma state Capitol because it was "decorated with discarded lottery tickets". Sounds like another case of PC gone overboard, right? Not so quick:

The teachers went to various convenience stores and got used lottery tickets, which were cut into various geometric shapes and placed on the tree. 'They had been studying about the lottery and understood that the lottery money benefits public schools," Fair said. "They came up with a theme about the gift of education." [emphasis mine]

These so-called teachers were "teaching" these elementary school students that the lottery, which is a most regressive tax on those that are poor with math and can least afford it, is a good thing because some of the money pays their salaries. What a self-serving piece of crock. Not only should that tree never have been done, but the teachers that organized their sly little "exercise" ought to be fired for non-performance, conflict of interest and child abuse by emotional manipulation.

Yet another reason to homeschool.

Verizon Bluetooth is Cripple-Ware

I used to have a Kyocera Smartphone, which is combined Palm Pilot and cell phone, provided by my employer. What a great integrated device that was. But it was getting old and mechanically breaking down.

Off I went to find a replacement. I tried to order a Treo 650, but could not because it is not a corporate-approved wireless email device. I tried to explain that I did not want or need wireless email, I wanted a single device that was both a cell phone and Palm PDA, but alas the rules were unbendable, at least for someone of my lowly stature.

So I ordered a Palm T5 and a Motorola E815, both purportedly Bluetooth enabled. I figured I could share information between the two, including dialing phone numbers from the Palm via the cell phone.

The T5 showed up several weeks ago. It works quite well. The cell phone showed up this week. As a cell phone it seems to work quite well. As an information appliance, it sucks. It seems the only thing Verizon wants you to be able to do with Bluetooth is use a wireless headset.

They specifically disable the file transfer capabilities of Bluetooth on their phone. This means getting files into and out of the phone is not possible using Bluetooth. As a work-around you can use the micro memory card to get pictures in and out, but ringtones and applications apparently cannot be brought in via the card. Verizon wants you to use their service through the phone to get ringtones and apps, for a nominal fee of course.

Verizon also does not make it easy to dial through their phone using Bluetooth. I finally got it working with the T5, but it took multiple magic incantations. Palm doesn't help in that they don't provide a Bluetooth device configuration for the Motorola E815. I had to use the TP280 configuration to bind the phone and T5. It seemed they would only bind using a passcode of "0000". I then had to change the connection type to the Standard GSM Phone setting to get it to dial through the phone. I also had to replace the Init String with "+MODE=2" under the details for the connection configuration.

If you want a real Bluetooth phone, don't get one from Verizon. But if you must, I hope these tips help.

Sadly, Nothing We Didn't Already Know

Yet another reason why we homeschool. According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals this is "entirely within the mainstream of educational practice". Sadly, you just know this study would have been squashed if it were Biblical names, roles and prayers that the students were adopting. Not that I am surprised, but this is certainly one of the most blatant pieces of evidence that our society is developing more and more of a double standard.

Brainstorming on Failures

The Global Language Monitor catalogs political incorrect speech. It would be a hoot of a read if it wasn't actually serious. The two that caught my eye were "Thought Shower or Word Shower substituting for brainstorm so as not to offend those with brain disorders such as epilepsy" and "Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail."

I work in the computer software industry and brainstorming is a valuable and frequently used method for coming up with a variety of potential solutions to problems. I just cannot use "Thought Shower" or "Word Shower" with a straight face. I suppose these terms attempt to capture the verbal effect of a brainstorming session, but they in no way accurately reflect the true underlying activity. A key aspect is using your brain, not just saying a bunch of words. To top it all off the so called offendees don't find the term offensive at all.

"Deferred success" is even funnier. I can just see trying to use that term at the next system test: "That system didn't fail the test, it was just a deferred success". The howls of laughter would be deafening. People need to relearn personal responsibility.

Lech L'Cha - Go Forth, Yourself!

It's been a while since I did a Bible study here. I was working on one for Sukkot but did not get it finished in time.

Here are some notes on todays Parashiot, Gen. 12:1-17:27, from the service this morning.

"Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram,

" Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Note how many times the word "bless" is used. As children of Abraham we are blessed. We are also called to be a blessing.

Gen 15:6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him,

"I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it."

8 He said,

"O LordGOD, how may I know that I will possess it?"

9 So He said to him,

" Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram,

"Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."

17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,

" To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite."

Here God makes a covenant with Abram. The form used is that of a blood covenant. The parties of the covenant would walk between the pieces of the sacrifice, through the blood of the sacrifice, to seal the covenant. The interesting thing is that Abram was asleep and did not walk through: God made the covenant with himself. He promised Himself that Abram and his descendents would inherit the land. And Abram saw and believed.

Gen 17:5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

In changing Abram's name God put His name, "ha", into Abrahams name.

Also, "many nations" is "goyim" in Hebrew. That is the Hebrew word for Gentiles. God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations includes all the nations, including Gentiles.

Furthermore, Abraham's name is a merger of Hebrew and Arabic: "aham" is Arabic in origin. God was saying that Abraham would be the father of both the Hebrew and Arab nations. It is too bad that so many of God's Arabic children are chasing after a false god.

God, the God of Abraham, has provided salvation for all who will follow him. Praise the Lord.

All quotes NASU from PC Study Bible

Violence, Guns, Religion and Justice

It's been a while, so even though I don't have anything big and profound to say I thought I'd put up a few tidbits of what has been catching my attention:

Riots in France: This post over at the Nation of Riflemen pretty much sums up my opinion: It serves them right. New Sisyphus provides an erudite analysis of the racial aspect of what is going on. In my opinion the violence in Europe in an object lesson on the consequences of the inevitable failure of racist class-structured societies based on socialist welfare economies with liberal helps of appeasement policies thrown in. Furthermore, it is pretty obvious to me that the main stream media is this country is dropping this topic faster than a hot potato because it doesn't fit their worldview. Once the novelty wore off, out it went.

2nd Amendment: It looks like the flower children in San Francisco actually voted for a firearms ban. Such bans have been declared unconstitutional before and hopefully will again. The Gun Guy at NOR offers up an interesting treatise on 2nd Amendment defense arguing that the first line of defense is in the realm of law. He also argues that when unconstitutional laws are passed they can and should be ignored. I agree, but sometimes, in practice, such laws cannot be ignored. Then they must be resisted.

Alito for SCOTUS: Good second choice. I just wish President Bush had received a fair shake on his first choice.

Anglican Church: The American Anglican Council blogsite has an article about the meeting between the homosexual bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. During the meeting "Dr Rowan Williams and Bishop Robinson discussed the crisis and also prayed together "[emphasis mine]. That brings up the simple question; Did they both pray to the same god, and if so what god?

If anyone had any questions about what the head of the Anglican church thinks about having homosexual clergy in the Anglican church this meeting should have resolved those questions. I'm sure Dr. Williams is upset about the divisions created in his church by Gene Robinson's election to bishop, but I don't think he actually has any fundamental problem with homosexual clergy, as long as they stay quiet and don't cause waves. Appeasement doesn't work for countries, nor does it work for churches.

What's Next?

Well I hope everyone is happy (NOT) to have scuttled a very good nomination. I believe Harriet Miers would have made a very good, conservative Supreme Court Justice. I think it was the Democrats who were getting suckered into supporting someone they thought was a closet liberal, but who really had become a converted conservative.

What next? I suspect the rabid, radical conservatives who wanted a fight might actually get one now. I wish we could have slid one over on the Democrats and liberals without having to risk a filibuster, but who knows now.

I guess we'll just have to wait and watch.

I Think It Will Be OK

I've been perusing the blogsphere reading all the woe and dismay among many so called conservatives regarding Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court. I have one word for them "THINK!". Think before you speak, before you write, before you go off the deep end and scuttle another smart move by our President.

I believe she is a socially conservative Christian with a strict conservative legal view. Check out Marv Olasky's blog over at World Magazine and this article for some clues. She may be a Bush confidant but she is no syncophant. Nobody reaches her level of professional achievement without a backbone: For goodness sake she took on the American BAR Association from within. The more I think about it the personal connection to President Bush is a positive thing: I believe he knows the depth of her personal convictions that will drive her decisions and that she's no fading lily pseudo-conservative.

Regarding her law degree; cut the snobbery. Do you really want a lawyer trained in one of the Ivy League bastions of liberalism? Some like John Roberts rise above it, but better to be free from the taint to begin with. I suspect SMU is a good enough program. Besides as anyone who has worked for a living will tell you it's what you do with your degree after you get it that counts.

I suspect the conservative reaction is as much one of surprise versus any real opposition. At least I hope so. Once people get over it I think they'll start seeing the strengths in what they are reacting to as weaknesses. And they'll thank our President for another very smart choice. He may not be the most articulate President we've ever had, and I do wish he could rein in government spending somehow, but he is looking like one of the smarter Presidents we've had.