Likely apochryphal, definitely funny

From my buddy Chris:

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the Easter & Passover Holy
Days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against
Christians and Jews on the observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized day.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate
presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case
dismissed."

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your Honor,
how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and other Holidays. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur & Hanukkah. Yet my client & all other atheists have no such Holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But they do, counsel, your
client is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we're unaware of any special observance or
Holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is 'April Fools' Day.' Psalm
14:1 states 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.'

Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no
God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is
adjourned."

Quote of the Day

"Let the pulpit resound with the doctrine and sentiments of religious liberty. Let us hear of the dignity of man's nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of God." --John Adams, Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765

Funny and depressing all at the same time...

Click the photo for a larger image if you can't read the fine print.

And for the record I drive a Volkswagen, not a Subaru.

An order I would never obey...

From David at The War on Guns:

Apparently the Battalion Commander (LTC) of an unnamed Bn has decreed that:

all soldiers [are] ordered to make sure that all weapons were registered with the Provost Marshall, whether they [live] on post or not.

The soldier who reported this bovine feces went on to state:

I asked for clarification on this and it seems the squadron commander (O5/LTC) wants all personally owned weapons registered regardless of where they are stored.

This is completely unacceptable and likely illegal. An employer has no right to intrude on the lives of an employee in this matter regardless of whether or not that employer is the US government. I hope the soldiers unfortunate enough to be under this scum bag's command raise his issue with the IG and that the commander gets his pee pee whacked in a very painful and public fashion.

Quote of the Day

The old parties are husks, with no real soul within either, divided on artificial lines, boss-ridden and privilege-controlled, each a jumble of incongruous elements, and neither daring to speak out wisely and fearlessly on what should be said on the vital issues of the day. – Theodore Roosevelt

The more things change...

Preach it Jonah

"For the more historically minded, it's a time for nostalgia. The past comes alive as Chicago's grand tradition of corruption is sustained for another generation. As the Chicago Tribune once wrote, 'corruption has been as much a part of the landscape as corn, soybeans and skyscrapers.' According to the Chicago Sun-Times, as of 2006, when Blago's predecessor, George Ryan, was sent to prison for racketeering, 79 elected officials had been convicted of corruption in the past 30 years. Among the perps: 27 aldermen, 19 judges, 15 state legislators, three governors, two congressmen, one mayor, two turtledoves and a partridge in a stolen pear tree. Especially in this holiday season, it's so very important to keep traditions alive for the kids. In a sense, Blago did it for the children. For partisans, there's the schadenfreude that comes with watching the Democrats -- self-proclaimed anti-corruption zealots in recent years -- explain why Blagojevich shouldn't be lumped in with Congressmen Charlie Rangel (cut himself sweetheart deals), William Jefferson ($90,000 in his freezer) and Tim Mahoney (tried to bribe an aide he was sleeping with not to sue him; and you thought romance was dead) as part of a new Democratic 'culture of corruption' storyline. There's the enormous I-should-have-had-a-V8! moment as the mainstream press collectively thwacks itself in the forehead, realizing it blew it again. The New York Times -- which, according to Wall Street analysts, is weeks from holding editorial board meetings in a refrigerator box -- created the journalistic equivalent of CSI-Wasilla to study every follicle and fiber in Sarah Palin's background, all the while treating Obama's Chicago like one of those fairy-tale lands depicted in posters that adorn little girls' bedroom walls. See there, Suzie? That's a Pegasus. That's a pink unicorn. And that's a beautiful sunflower giving birth to a fully grown Barack Obama, the greatest president ever and the only man in history to be able to pick up manure from the clean end." --National Review editor Jonah Goldberg

Quote of the Day

"The 20th century experimented with every possible variant of socialism. We had democratic socialism in Western Europe, totalitarian socialism in Eastern Europe, and fascist socialism in South America. We had atheistic socialism and we had 'liberation theology.' We had the 'scientific socialism' of the Soviet central planners and the chaotic jungle socialism of the Khmer Rouge, who executed anyone with an education. We had 'socialism with Chinese characteristics' and socialism with African characteristics and socialism with Hindu characteristics. We tried it all, and every time it led to poverty and oppression. Those results have been proven with scientific thoroughness. There is no excuse for trying it all again." --Intellectual Activist editor Robert Tracinski

Quote of the Day

"If all we want are jobs, we can create any number -- for example, have people dig holes and then fill them up again, or perform other useless tasks. Work is sometimes its own reward. Mostly, however, it is the price we pay to get the things we want. Our real objective is not just jobs but productive jobs -- jobs that will mean more goods and services to consume." Milton Friedman

Rules of a Gun Fight

1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap - life is expensive.
3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket."
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. Have a plan.
13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.
14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
16. Don't drop your guard.
17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Do not attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than "4".
25. You can't miss fast enough to win.

Quote of the Day

The average man doesn't want to be free. He simply wants to be safe. – H.L. Mencken

Not all news is bad on the culture front

According to the Sun:

YouTube bans 'suggestive' vids

Actually that headline is misleading, they are simply age restricting those videos to accounts held by people 18 and over, but it's a start.

It was only a matter of time

From breitbart.com:

MARION, Ala. (AP) - A small central Alabama county whose mainly black residents gave Barack Obama more than 70 percent of the vote on Election Day has created an annual holiday in honor of the president-elect.

I wonder if we'll wait until after he's out of office before this goes national. Probably not.

The sponsoring commissioner, Albert Turner Jr., said the holiday is meant to highlight the Democratic president-elect's victory as a way to give people faith that difficult goals can be achieved.

What goal is that? The goal of getting elected president as an avowed Marxist in a supposedly capitalistic country? I'll admit that is impressive.

Turner said copies of the resolution, adopted at a Nov. 25 meeting, have been mailed to Obama and his transition team.

Laying the groundwork for a Perry County bailout most likely.

Quote of the Day

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools." --British author and economist Herbert Spencer

Ahem...Big 3

Hide the interns!!!

It is common knowledge that the Obamessiah has tapped Monica's boyfriend's wife to be the next SecState. In doing so he is blissfully removing her for the Senate and creating a void which must be filled by Gov. Paterson. But who should he choose to step into the junior Senator's shoes? According to CNN, who else?

[There are suggestions that] the former president should take his wife's seat. In an op-ed column last week in The Washington Post, journalists Karl Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac urged Paterson to "send Bill Clinton to the Senate."

My favorite quote:

Bill Clinton would bring gravitas to the job, and he obviously knows his way around Washington.

Like a tomcat knows his way around an alley to be sure. Color me odd, but if we were to play a word association game, and you said "Bill Clinton", my retort would not be "gravitas."

Paterson is probably going to go in a different direction though.

"This is not an election. This is not a campaign. It's a constituency of one. David Paterson. It's all about what the governor wants to do," said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report.

"Paterson has said he would prefer someone from upstate New York, or a woman or an Hispanic candidate," Rothenberg said.

I have to say I appreciate the honesty. All pretense of trying to find the most qualified person for the job has been dropped and the desire to pander to certain demographics admitted to. Just another day in politics.

Quote of the Day

It is indeed a singular thing that people wish to pass laws to nullify the disagreeable consequences that the law of responsibility entails. Will they never realize that they do not eliminate these consequences but merely pass them along to other people? The result is one injustice the more and one moral the less. – Frederic Bastiat

Quote of the Day

"All socialism involves slavery.... That which fundamentally distinguishes the slave is that he labors under coercion to satisfy another's desires. The relation admits of many gradations. Oppressive taxation is a form of slavery of the individual to the community as a whole. The essential question is -- How much is he compelled to labor for other benefit than his own, and how much can he labor for his own benefit?" --Herbert Spencer

Quote of the Day

Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience … – John Locke (1632-1704), English Political Philosopher

Meditate on the implications of this statement for a few minutes, then reflect on our current situation. Sobering, isn't it?

We can always hope...

Iowahawk comes up with what I think would be a best case scenario.

The Secret Message of Jesus: A Critical Reading - Chapter 1

McLaren starts this chapter as you would expect a book of this title to start, by questioning our understanding of Jesus' message. He asks "what if the core message of Jesus has been unintentionally misunderstood or intentionally distorted?" I suppose this is a valid question to ask, though I'm skeptical of anybody who is so presumptuous as to believe that they could read the same scriptures as Aquinas, Spurgeon, Wycliff, et al. and find something huge and transformational that they all missed.

McLaren goes on to ask:

What if Jesus' message reveals a secret plan? What if he didn't come to start a new religion - but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?

Wow, this guy must really be on to something. I'll be interested to see what scriptures he uses to back all of this up. Especially in light of John 18:36-37:

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

What was the truth that Jesus spoke of? Jesus tells us in several places, such as Matthew 16:

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

And Paul confirms for us in Ephesians 1:

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both[a] which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[b] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Now none of this is to say that I don't agree with McLaren when he says:

What if his secret message had a practical implication for such issues as how you live your daily life, how you earn and spend money, how you treat people of other races and religions, and how the nations of the world conduct their foreign policy? What if his message directly or indirectly addressed issues like advertising, environmentalism, terrorism, economics, sexuality, marriage, parenting, the quest for happiness and peace, and racial reconciliation.

Indeed, I believe that Jesus does address all of these issues either "directly or indirectly" as McLaren puts it, I just don't think that there is anything that secret about it. Many books have been written on the subject of living the christian life, some good, some not so good (ahem, Joel Osteen), but very few, if any, have claimed to have found some heretofore unknown secret message in the gospels.

McLaren posits that:

If the [Christian religion] discovers, understands, believes, and lives Jesus' message - if it became increasingly faithful to the reality of what Jesus taught in word and example - then everyone could benefit: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, everyone."

Again this is undoubtedly true. The question is, what does McLaren think the message of Jesus is? Clearly he thinks that the rest of Christianity is missing it, which means that salvation, and reconciliation with God is not it, since that is the commonly accepted message of Christ as believed by the Church. No, McLaren's version seems to be much more carnal in nature, being concerned with politics and the like as evidenced by his earlier quoted statements above. Again, while I believe that Jesus addressed all the issues that McLaren does, I don't think that it was secret, nor do I think that it was the main point in his message, after all:

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Am I really helping "Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc." if I don't tell them about redemption through Christ? Is it beneficial to bring about a cultural revolution if it doesn't result in more people being saved? Jesus tells me to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, but he also tells me to spread the gospel. I look forward to discovering where the gospel, sin and redemption, fits into McLaren's version of Jesus' message.

Quote of the Day

It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad. – James Madison

Patriot Act anybody?

Quote of the Day

If the government can't keep drugs away from inmates who are locked in steel cages, surrounded by barbed wire, watched by armed guards, drug-tested, strip-searched, X-rayed, and videotaped – how can it possibly stop the flow of drugs to an entire nation? – Ron Crickenberger

The war on drugs is a massive waste of time and money. Every year we spend billions of dollars to no appreciable end whatsoever. Drugs are readily available in every city in America, thousands of people sit in jail for the crime of polluting their own body, and a vast network of crime exists, both organized and unorganized, because of this idiotic policy.

Quote of the Day

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but the newspapers. – Thomas Jefferson

I thought this was an appropriate quote in light of this video.

Thomas Sowell sounds the alarm...

...but is anybody listening?

Quote of the Day

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, not longer susceptible of any definition."
—Thomas Jefferson (Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 15 February 1791)

Oh how far we've come.

Quote of the Day

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." --Thomas Jefferson

I truly believe that liberty is like order and government is like entropy. It is only through the expending of energy that liberty increases. Absent that effort government control marches ever onward, crushing all in its path.

Morally correct, but politically wrong...

According to the Province:

Canada's two largest airlines must give disabled and morbidly obese passengers an extra free seat on domestic flights, beginning in January, after the Supreme Court refused yesterday to consider the carriers' appeal of a federal order.

This type of issue is troubling to me. I believe that it is the morally correct thing for these companies to be compassionate and grant morbidly obese and disabled passengers the extra seat they need at no charge. That being said, these are privately owned companies and should not be forced to act against their will.

This is not a matter of discrimination or "justice" as the one lady in the article said. Whenever you display a sense of entitlement at another person's expense you undermine your own cause. It is not unreasonable for the airline to expect to be reimbursed for every seat which is occupied, whether it be by your caretaker or your hips. It's not like the airline is refusing to do business with them, they are just saying "if you use two seats you need to pay for two seats."

Again, I think that making allowances for these people is the right thing to do, I just don't like the way the government is forcing them to do it at the point of a gun. It's none of the governments business. It's between the airlines and the passengers.

Appropriate Punishment

Here is a judge I can get behind. Not only using common sense but making the punishment fit the crime. I nominate this guy for SCOTUS.

Quote of the Day

Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. – Mark Twain

It appears that I'm not the only one who sees ye old writing on zee wall

Iowahawk sees it too. It just much funnier in a sad and horrifying way when he says it.

Just like with HD?

I read a column by Pat Buchanan the other day that said we should infuse the Big 3 with cash and enact protectionist legislation for the auto industry just like we did for the motorcycle industry in the '80s. In this way we could save the auto industry just like we saved Harley Davidson. Ignoring the obvious flaws in this argument, i.e. it's unconstitutional, it rewards bad decisions, it doesn't address the failed business model they are operating under, etc., I want to address the results of what Uncle Sam did back then for good old HD.

Back in the 70's and '80s HD was a joke of a motorcycle company. They made heavy, slow, unreliable motorcycles that couldn't compete with those being imported by Japan. They were owned by a company that made bowling equipment for Pete's sake. Anyhow, poor management, poor product quality, and superior competition led to a company on the brink of bankruptcy. Enter Uncle Sam. In 1983 the federal government enacted a tariff of 49.4% on all imports over 700cc. It was an extremely protectionist moved that angered our trading partner and saved a mismanaged company which was producing a crappy product from its rightful fate. It also forced many Americans to choose between buying a crappy motorcycle that they could afford or forgoing purchasing a motorcycle altogether because the quality products had been placed out of their price range due to the tariff.

What was the result of this move? Harley was purchased by a new owner and decided that since it couldn't keep up with the Japanese it wasn't even going to bother trying. Harley started using marketing terms like "Classic" and "Heritage" while slapping new hand grips or foot pegs on each years bike and calling it a new model. All this while charging a premium price. The end result is a motorcycle industry that is dominated by one company and that company is plagued with a lack of design initiative.

Is this what we want to happen to the auto industry? To have it relegated to a cottage industry while Japan and Germany rule the world market? I can't say for sure that I know that will happen, but I can definitely say that I don't want it to.

And what of the tariff? Could that happen again? With the donks (who are beholden to the unions) in control of congress and the white house it absolutely could. Though it wouldn't have a significant effect since so many Hondas, Toyotas, etc. are made here in the US and therefore would be exempt.



owever need to streamline, rework their business model, and get out from under the crushing union contracts they are tied to. How can the hope to compete with Japan when the average Toyota employee makes $45 per hour while the average GM employee makes $75? How can they hope to compete while paying 12,000 people to watch TV? Let them declare bankruptcy and attempt to fix themselves, renegotiate their union deals, and come back leaner and meaner. Don't perpetuate the problem by using tax-payer money to prolong the inevitable.

Quote of the Day

The people of the various provinces are strictly forbidden to have in their possession any swords, bows, spears, firearms or other types of arms. The possession of these elements makes difficult the collection of taxes and dues, and tends to permit uprising. – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese Shogun, August 29, 1558

Quote of the Day

I believe the State exists for the development of individual lives, not individuals for the development of the state. – Julian Huxley (1878-1975)

Government Efficiency at its Best

From The Sun Chronicle:

Eileen Wilbur, who has lived at 16 Glenn St. in South Attleboro since 1959, received a bill from the city Monday stating that if she does not pay an outstanding utility balance of one penny by Dec. 10 she will face penalties of up to $48, along with a lien on her property.

These are the people we want to regulate the market? The people who will spend 47 cents on a stamp plus however much they spent on stationary to collect a 1 cent bill. And the woman who claimed:

"It would be fiscally irresponsible for me to have staff weed through the bills and pull out any below a certain amount," Marcoccio said. " And what would that amount be?"

A) That amount would be the amount of money that it costs you to send the bill.

B) Nobody has to sort through anything. We have these magical devices called "computers", and by casting arcane spells with them we can tell them to only print out bills above a certain amount, like oh, the cost of a stamp and envelope for instance.

I know all of this is hocus pocus to you, because you're a government leech on the butt cheek of society, somebody who doesn't have the skills, or the intelligence judging by your statements, to succeed in the real world.

Rewarding Bad Decision Making

Here is one example of the sort of bright thinking that Monica's boyfriend's wife is capable of. Senate Bill 2310, The Homeowners Act of 2007, or as I like to call it, the "I'm a moron because I live in a coastal city which is below sea level, in a major hurricane zone, and managed by a bunch of morons which I voted into power, now buy me a new house" bill. I know, it's a mouthful. Anyhow, it's this sort of enlightened thinking that we can look forward to from our new SecState.

Hillary to Accept SecState Nomination

According to the Guardian, Monica Lewinski's boyfriend's wife is poised to become the next SecState. This is the best news I've heard since the election. For one thing, it will provide me with no end of amusement as she shoves her foot in her mouth and her head in her...well, you know, on a regular basis on a very grand stage. After all, if we're going down we might as well do so spectacularly. For another thing, it virtually guarantees that she will have no shot whatsoever at ever becoming President, since she would have to run with the baggage of her tenure at SecState and the spectacular failures that are sure to ensue once she takes the position. Finally, she won't be in the Senate pushing through socialist and treasonous legislation any more. Granted, it's a small consolation given the dark days that are sure to lie ahead of us, but I take my silver linings where I can get them.

Hukd un fonix...

People often ask me why I think democracy is a bad idea (I favor a republic over a democracy, if you don't know the difference you'll be addressed in the next sentence) . When I tell them it's because the vast majority of Americans are to ignorant to be voting they look at me as if I have just uttered a racial epitaph or worse. Behold, my point is eloquently made in this news article.

A taste:

Some people collect sports memorabilia, or rare coins, or sea shells from the beach at Ocean City. Wilson Watson collects sentences. He taught local community college students for 35 years and has now slipped gently into retirement. But his students’ sentences trail behind him like ship’s anchors, evidence of the sinking of American writing skills.

Or, as one of Watson’s scholars wrote so succinctly: “Some people use bad language and is not even aware of the fact.”

Or, another: “It’s good I’m doing something with my self; Therefore, I can do better in the foochure.”

Or, “People who murder a lot of people are called masked
murderers.”

There's more if you follow the link, just bear in mind that these are high school grads. Puts the whole "get out the youth vote" thing in perspective, doesn't it?

To Pledge or Not to Pledge...

A school in Vermont is currently having it out with itself over the issue of the Pledge of Allegiance. I won't comment on the particulars of the issue they are having because A) They're silly, and B) I don't care. It did however cause me to think about the issue of the pledge in schools and what I think is the proper tact to take in holding true to my libertarian principals and our constitutional rights.

First to enumerate those things which I know to be true:

1. Nobody should be forced to say anything that they don't want to outside of a court, and even there they have the option to not speak, they just have to be ready for the consequences.

2. Most children do not take the recitation of the pledge seriously. I know that I didn't take it seriously as a child and I'm about as patriotic a guy as you're going to find.

3. We should not underestimate the power of peer pressure to influence children who do not wish to recite the pledge to do so.

4. The recitation of the pledge itself is not a bad thing.

So, what do I think should be done about this? I believe that schools should designate a time and a place before the first class of the day where children who wish to say the pledge together can do so. Do I think that many of them will show up 5 minutes early just to say the pledge? Not unless their parents make them. Do I care? Not really. If you want patriotic children who love their country, what you teach them during history class for their 12 years of primary school education is far more important than 30 seconds a day spent reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Teach them about the rights and liberties that the flag represents and they will love the flag.

Real Men

From BlackFive

Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraces Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke Jr. during a Veterans Day commemoration in Dallas. Graunke lost a hand, a leg and and eye when he was injured by a bomb in Iraq last year. (AP Photo)

I look at this photo and tears well up in my eyes. These men are warriors, men who have faced the devil himself for the love of their country. Men who deserve our honor and respect. From me, they shall receive it. I look at these men and my blood runs cold when I think of those who would denigrate their service. It runs especially cold when I think of those who would do it in my presence, I don't recommend it.

Simplistic Indeed

According to this video Congresscritter Jim Moran thinks that you are simplistic if you believe in the notion of "I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn." I would tell you what I think of Congresscritter Moran but I happen to know that my mother reads this blog.

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren: A Critical Reading

This is the first in a series of posts where I will provide critical analysis of The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. I am critical of the Emergent Church Movement which McLaren is a leader of and have decided to read this book to find out what the man himself thinks. It is my intention to hold this book up to the light of God's word and we will see what is revealed. If what McLaren says falls in line with scripture, I will acknowledge it, if it does not, I will expose it. Simple as that. Without further ado, on to the introduction.

Introduction:

McLaren starts by stating that he is on a spiritual quest to understand Jesus and his message. Commendable.

No I don't think I can contain [Jesus' message] in my little brain. It's not so much that I'm trying to get his great big message into my little head; it's more that I'm trying to get my little head fully into Jesus' message.

Humility is a good thing and McLaren shows some here. He goes on to state that many people think that they have Jesus all figured out and that he believes they are likely wrong. I agree with him here that the modern depiction of Jesus by the church largely misses the mark. I doubt however that him and I will arrive at the same conclusion as to how Jesus should really be portrayed.

He states that he is one of many people who have a:

...shared frustration with the status quo, male-dominated, power-oriented, cover-up-prone, organized Christian religion.

Talk about over-generalizing! While I do not consider myself an apologist for organized Christianity, I do know that that in my 20+ years of attending churches across the country the only status quo upheld by any of them that I attended was that of spreading the gospel of Christ, most of them were actually female dominated if anything, and none of them were in pursuit of power or cover-ups. I know that churches like this exist, but they are not the only option out there like McLaren implies in his book.

Here is where I start to get really skeptical about what we are going to encounter in this book. McLaren says:

[I have] an unshakable intuition that both He and his message are better than anything [I've] heard, or understood, or figured out so far.

Since the message of Jesus as I understand it is: Man is separated from God and sinful. Man cannot redeem himself or reconcile himself to God. God loved us so much that he did that which we couldn't do, provide a way for us to be reconciled to him through Christ. Because of this act of love those who accept it will be spared from the just result of their sinful lives, eternal torment in hell, and instead Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven with him. In the mean time Christ gave us the tools that we need to live a righteous life here on earth, and commissioned us to spread the gospel to the nations. Jesus tells us to serve one another, love our neighbors as ourselves, love our enemies, and to care for orphans, widows, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry.

That's a pretty good message! Jesus tells us a lot more than what I have listed above, and I don't claim to have a 100% firm grasp on all his teachings, but I do understand these things. My point being that I will be shockingly amazed if McLaren is able to top that, and stay accurate to scripture, but we shall see.

Obamessiah's Lack of Support a Non-issue

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/25/2008 6:25:00 PM

There may be some Democrats talking about reimposing the Fairness Doctrine, but one very important one does not: presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama.

The Illinois senator’s top aide said the issue continues to be used as a distraction from more pressing media business.

"Sen. Obama does not support reimposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters," press secretary Michael Ortiz said in an e-mail to B&C late Wednesday.

"He considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible," Ortiz added.

"That is why Sen. Obama supports media-ownership caps, network neutrality, public broadcasting, as well as increasing minority ownership of broadcasting and print outlets."

While this may or may not be true (I have my doubts), it is really not the point, which is that if the donk controlled legislature passes a bill with the revived fairness doctrine in it, the Anointed One(tm) will surely sign it into law. Just because it's not one of his pet issues like robbing from the rich to give to the poor, doesn't mean he's going to break out the veto pen when it hits his desk.

Obamessiah to "Rule" come January

In this video from the Valerie Jarret, co-chair of the Chosen One's transition team, we hear from somebody within the Fresh Prez of Bill Ayers inner circle that which many of us have known all along, that he thinks he has been elected King and Grand Pubah and that he is going to rule from a throne in the Oval Office. Somebody should tell these people that the president governs, not rules, and that Americans are sovereign over themselves and not beholden to the whims of the Anointed One(tm).

Expectations not met

Personally I plan to set up my lawn chair down by the community mailbox at the end of the month to witness this type of hilarity first hand.

Obamessiah to enact several Executive Orders shortly after taking office

According to Stephen Ohlemacher(AP)


WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas.
John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said Sunday Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders on those issues and others as he works to undo policies enacted during eight years of Republican rule. He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own.
"There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we'll see the president do that," Podesta said.

I'm gonna have to do my due diligence on Executive Orders but I have the distinct gut feeling that they are unconstitutional regardless of which party is in office. Executive orders carry the weight of law and all powers of legislation are reserved for the Congress. More to follow.

"I think that he feels like he has a real mandate for change. We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set."

Three things here:
1) I don't give a rat's ass what the Chosen One "feels", or what his flunky "thinks" for that matter.
2) 52% to 48% is not a "real mandate for change" any way you spin it.
3) Even if we do need to abandon the course which President Bush has us on, and in many cases we do, the course which the Obamessiah will set will not be an improvement as we'll see shortly.

Podesta also said Obama is working to build a diverse Cabinet. That includes reaching out to Republicans and independents.

Bwahahahaha!!! Right, I can see the Donks reaching across the aisle to work with the Stupid Party as they seek to (de facto) repeal the second amendment, raise taxes, steal from the industrious to give to the lazy, etc.

Obama was elected on a promise of change, but the nature of the job makes it difficult for presidents to do much that has an immediate impact on the lives of average people.

As it darn well ought to be. If I had my way it would be so hard for the Fresh Prez of Bill Ayers to affect my life that I could forget he's even there and get back to living in peace and freedom.

Congress plans to take up a second economic aid plan before year's end - an effort Obama supports. But it could be months or longer before taxpayers see the effect.

Here's an idea for a plan, quit pretending you know how to fix the market by throwing (our) money at it and just get out of the way and let it right itself. Sure it will be painful and real people will suffer, but all we're doing right now is delaying the inevitable and likely making it worse when it does arrive.

Obama could use his executive powers to at least signal that Washington is changing.

Translation: It's important to look like you're doing something, even if you're not.

Bush used his executive power to limit federal spending on embryonic stem cell research, a position championed by opponents of abortion rights who argue that destroying embryos is akin to killing a fetus. Obama has supported the research in an effort to find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's. Many moderate Republicans also support the research, giving it the stamp of bipartisanship.

Not in my name!!! Isn't that what the donks scream when they don't like something the feds do?

On drilling, the federal Bureau of Land Management is opening about 360,000 acres of public land in Utah to oil and gas drilling. Bush administration officials argue that the drilling will not harm sensitive areas; environmentalists oppose it.

To easy, just hold the drilling companies responsible for any damage caused.

"They want to have oil and gas drilling in some of the most sensitive, fragile lands in Utah," Podesta said. "I think that's a mistake."

Again, who cares what the hell this guy thinks?

Two top House Republicans said there is a willingness to try to work with Obama to get things done.

What things? Is the Chosen One suddenly planning to push an agenda that conservatives should support? A secret agenda that none of us have ever heard of?

But they said to expect Republicans to serve as a check against the power held by Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress.

I certainly hope so.

"It's going to be a cheerful opposition," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. "We're going to carry those timeless principles of limited government, a strong defense, traditional values, to the American people."

WHERE IN THE NAME OF ALL THINGS HOLY WERE THOSE PRINCIPLES TWO WEEKS AGO!!!!!!!!!!! Or for the last eight years for that matter. I didn't hear anything about limited government coming out of the McCain camp, that's for sure.

So Much for That

I was going to continue my series on the Obamessiah's agenda today. That
plan has been thwarted by the taking down of said agenda from the Chosen One's website. This vaugly worded summary is all that remains.

President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden have developed innovative approaches to challenge the status quo in Washington and to bring about the kind of change America needs. The Obama Administration has a comprehensive and
detailed agenda to carry out its policies. The principal priorities of the Obama Administration include: a plan to revive the economy, to fix our health care, education, and social security systems, to define a clear path to energy independence, to end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and to work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, among many other domestic and foreign policy objectives.

It reminds me a bit of that scene in Napolean Dynamite, when Summer is giving her speech to the student body and she promises to bring in new soda machines and implement a 4 day school week. It would have been really bad for her if somebody had asked her how she planned to do those things. Fortunately for her nobody did. The Annointed seems to be enjoying that same stroke of luck.

This is cute

Sort of a "Sorry we've been calling you bigots, fools, nazis, rednecks, inbreds, fascists, etc for the past 8 years, but now that we're in charge let's kiss and make up" thing.

See it for yourself here. If I was a Republican I'd be skeptical.

Sounds About Right to Me

News you won't hear about from the MSM

From Brenden at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler. At least we know that several of the executives from Lehman Brothers and Fannie Mae are landing on their feet.

Great Post Election Analysis

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Congress Ponders Confiscating Our Retirement Funds

Wow. Just wow.

This is unbelievable. I don't have the words to even discuss this yet. I'm gonna have to sleep on it just to assemble my thoughts.

Update: Nicki at The Liberty Zone has said all that needs to be said on the issue. Foul language is used, consider yourself warned.

Here's an interesting article I found...

...on the problem the GOP is facing from a marketing POV. Read it here.

Tangible Affects

So I was talking with one of my co-workers who happened to have voted for the Obamessiah, and also happened to be around 18 years old. I was lamenting the coming demise of our republic the hands of Hussein when this young lad said something to the effect of "You're just gonna have to suffer just like I have suffered for the past 8 years under Bush." Of course I start laughing at once at this absurd statement and I ask my naive friend to enumerate just how he has suffered at the hands of Bush. While he was thinking about it I decided to sweeten the pot and told him that I would give him $1 if he could prove to me that his life had been tangibly affected for the worse in any way by the Bush presidency. He couldn't do it.

My point is, unless you or a family member has been a casualty of the war, or locked up in Gitmo, I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of people out there could not point to how their life is worse of due to Bush. And don't give me any nonsense about the economy since Congress, which is controlled by the democrats, is far more influential than the executive branch when it comes to the economy, and the current economic meltdown can be laid squarely at their feet. Election year nonsense aside, anybody with any knowledge of how the government and economy function knows that.

The flip side of this is that I can enumerate several ways in which my life will be made palpably worse by the Chosen One. The below are just a random few of the top of my head.

1. First amendment rights will be shat upon as Hussein and the democratic controlled congress enact the abomination that is "The Fairness Doctrine" in an effort to silence conservative criticism of their policies. This will make it harder for me to get the information that I need as a responsible citizen in order to keep a wary eye on the shenanigans being perpetrated in Washington.

2. Second amendment rights will also be moved to the bottom of the toilet as outlined in yesterday's post. As a gun owner this truly hits close to home.

3. Taxes will be raised affecting me directly by taking money from my pocket and indirectly by hurting the economy, though in fairness this is more a function of congress than the Obamessiah.

In the mean time, my $1 is safe.

Note: I am not in any way minimizing the considerable suffering of those who have been directly affected by the war, but am mearly making the point that the vast majority of Bush bashers do not fall into this category, while all freedom loving Americans will be affected in the ways that I have mentioned.

"Yes We Can . . . Ban Guns"--Obama Announces Gun Ban Agenda Before The Final Vote Count Is In

From the NRA-ILA website:

Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan, "the audacity of hope," should have instead been "the audacity of deceit." After months of telling the American people that he supports the Second Amendment, and only hours after being declared the president-elect, the Obama transition team website announced an agenda taken straight from the anti-gun lobby--four initiatives designed to ban guns and drive law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers out of business.

"Making the expired federal assault weapons ban permanent." Perhaps no other firearm issue has been more dishonestly portrayed by gun prohibitionists. Notwithstanding their predictions that the ban's expiration in 2004 would bring about the end of civilization, for the last four years the nation's murder rate has been lower than anytime since the mid-1960s. Studies for Congress, the Congressional Research Service, the National Institute of Justice, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found no evidence that gun prohibition or gun control reduces crime. Guns that were affected by the ban are used in only a tiny fraction of violent crime-about 35 times as many people are murdered without any sort of firearm (knives, bare hands, etc.), as with "assault weapons." Obama says that "assault weapons" are machine guns that "belong on foreign battlefields," but that is a lie; the guns are only semi-automatic, and they are not used by a military force anywhere on the planet.

"Repeal the Tiahrt Amendment." The amendment--endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police--prohibits the release of federal firearm tracing information to anyone other than a law enforcement agency conducting a bona fide criminal investigation. Anti-gun activists oppose the restriction, because it prevents them from obtaining tracing information and using it in frivolous lawsuits against law-abiding firearm manufacturers. Their lawsuits seek to obtain huge financial judgments against firearm manufacturers when a criminal uses a gun to inflict harm, even though the manufacturers have complied with all applicable laws.

"Closing the gun show loophole." There is no "loophole." Under federal law, a firearm dealer must conduct a background check on anyone to whom he sells a gun, regardless of where the sale takes place. A person who is not a dealer may sell a gun from his personal collection without conducting a check. Gun prohibitionists claim that many criminals obtain guns from gun shows, though the most recent federal survey of convicted felons put the figure at only 0.7 percent. They also claim that non-dealers should be required to conduct checks when selling guns at shows, but the legislation they support goes far beyond imposing that lone requirement. In fact, anti-gun members of Congress voted against that limited measure, holding out for a broader bill intended to drive shows out of business.

"Making guns in this country childproof." "Childproof" is a codeword for a variety of schemes designed to prevent the sale of firearms by imposing impossible or highly expensive design requirements, such as biometric shooter-identification systems. While no one opposes keeping children safe, the fact is that accidental firearm-related deaths among children have decreased 86 percent since 1975, even as the numbers of children and guns have risen dramatically. Today, the chances of a child being killed in a firearm accident are less than one in a million.

Obamessiah's Plan Part 1

This is the first installment in a series where I will review the plan that the Chosen One will soon be implementing. Sarcastic comments are provided free of charge, don't thank me, I'm a giver. My comments in [italics.]

Directly from B. Hussein Obama's website.

Strengthen Federal Commitment to our Cities [Huh? I didn't realize there was a federal commitment to our cities. Hang on a second while I check my handy dandy pocket constitution.......nope, couldn't find it, hmmmmm. Actually, everything in this agenda is unconstitutional, so I won't beat that horse more than once per post.....probably.]

Create a White House Office on Urban Policy:
Obama and Biden will create a White House Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for metropolitan America and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs. [To what aim? Determined by who? Funded by who?] The Director of Urban Policy will report directly to the president and coordinate all federal urban programs.

Fully Fund the Community Development Block Grant: [With what money? Or to be more specific, whose money?] In the long run, regions are only as strong as their people and neighborhoods. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is an important program that provides housing and creating jobs [How does it create jobs? Government doesn't create jobs, people create jobs, entrepenuers create jobs. Government destroys jobs through high taxes and over-regulation.] primarily for low- and moderate-income people and places. Barack Obama has fought against Bush Administration cuts to the CDBG program and, as president, he will restore funding for the CDBG program.

Do No Harm [bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha]:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden do not support imposing unfunded mandates on states and localities. [Why do they support the issuing of mandates to state and local governments at all. Regulate interstate commerce sure, but issuing mandates? Since when is it the federal governments job to tell local governments what to do? Consider this, if the people who lived in a certain city, state, etc. wanted a particular law, they would pass that law themselves. If they haven't, it means they don't want it. Who is the federal government to tell them they must? When the federal government mandates something it is people who live in area A telling the people who live in area B what to do and how to live. So much for a federalist system.] They strongly support providing necessary funding for programs such as No Child Left Behind.

If there is one constant that we will see throughtout this series it is that Obama plans to spend a lot of money. I can see why he wants to end our military operations so badly, he needs that money for all of his new unconstitutional programs. You will definitely see a trend as we examine his plan in this regard.

I'm moving to.......nowhere.

You hear it every election. Some jack ass a la Sean Penn starts ranting about how he'll move to France or Canada if the conservative candidate wins. They rarely do, but that's not the point. Do you know why you never hear a conservative say that? BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO GO!!!!! This is it, freedoms last chance, right here.

Gun rights, free market economy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, a right to self defense, there are countries that have some of these things, but we were the last country to have all of them. I use the past tense because we actually lost some measure of many of these rights many years ago, but we have yet to go as far down the socialist road as the rest of the world. I have a feeling that's about to change, and it saddens me.

I've said it for years, if you need cradle to grave nanny state socialism, if you're too incompetent to care for yourself and to make your own decisions, leave. There are plenty of countries that have exactly what you're looking for. This is the last country in the world where we play by big boy rules. Quit trying to screw it up for me because I have nowhere to go.

I've always been a bit of a pessimist when it comes to politics, but I truly feel genuine despair right now. I have the distinct feeling that the constitution is about to be gutted like a fish. We are one SCOTUS judge away from having the entire federal government in the hands of those who consider the constitution to be a living document (read: toilet paper.)

I'm reminded of Mencken when he said "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."

Tech Issues

I seem to be having some small issues as you can see in the formatting of the below post. I'm working on it, thanks for your patience.

The Hypocricy of the Chosen One

From Mark Alexander of the Patriot Post:

Consider how many times Obama has said that he thinks "people who have done well like me" should pay higher taxes. If that is the case, then why didn't he? I checked, and The One has never paid a dime more in taxes than the minimum required by law.

In regard to Obama's plan to confiscate the wealth of others, in his infomercial a week prior to the election, he said, "Just because I want to spread the wealth around, they call me a socialist. The next thing you know, they will call me a communist because I shared my peanut butter sandwich in kindergarten!"

Of course, Obama isn't proposing to "share" his sandwich. Instead, he's proposing to confiscate your sandwich, by force if necessary, and give it to someone he deems more worthy, under the assumption that you aren't charitable enough to share it yourself.

However, exhibiting that most universal of traits common to liberals, hypocrisy, it turns out that the Obamas reported an average annual income of more than $500,000 between 2000 and 2006, but they gave a measly two percent of their income for charitable purposes.

So much for "spreading the wealth around."