Thanks for the prayers! I had a really hard time writing it for some weird reason. Usually when I sit down to write the words just pour out but this time I was struggling to find the right words. Weird! I was able to write 11 pages but unfortunately the max page count was supposed to be 10 pages and I think the professor really wanted us to keep it to 6! I was able to edit it down to 9.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Evel Knievel died today!
I didn't even know he was sick.
Daredevil Evel Knievel, who dodged death in spectacular motorcycle leaps and crashes in a life full of showmanship, died on Friday at age 69, according to his lawyer and a message on his Web site.Here's his website.
"I just spoke with him last night. He seemed to be in good spirits," said Knievel's lawyer, Richard Fee, adding he died in the Tampa Bay area of Florida where he recently made his home.
[...]
Knievel -- who retired in 1981 after breaking more than 40 bones in his body, including his back seven times -- had been ill for some time, suffering from a lung disease.
He recently gave what he said "may be the last interview I ever do" to the December issue of Maxim magazine and battled rap singer Kanye West for infringing his trademark in the "Touch the Sky" video, in which West appears as "Evel Kanyevel" and wears a white jumpsuit like the one Knievel made famous.
Bush was Right on Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem cell research is at the leading edge of a series of moral hazards. The initial stem cell researcher was at first reluctant to begin his research, fearing it might be used for human cloning. Scientists have already cloned a sheep. Researchers are telling us the next step could be to clone human beings to create individual designer stem cells, essentially to grow another you, to be available in case you need another heart or lung or liver.George Bush, when you're right, you're right.
[...]
My administration must decide whether to allow federal funds, your tax dollars, to be used for scientific research on stem cells derived from human embryos.
Bet you have not heard the news this week about the greatest scientific breakthrough since the discovery of DNA? (I'll leave it up to you to figure out why this is not being reported. It's not rocket science.)
Well, Charles Krauthammer wrote a piece in the Daily News worth pointing out.
"If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough."Bush was right to tread carefully, to not just throw money at something that had potential to further diminish the value of human life.
- James Thomson
A decade ago, Thomson was the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. Last week, he (and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka) announced one of the great scientific breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA: an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells.
Even a scientist who cares not a whit about the morality of embryo destruction will adopt this technique because it is so simple and powerful. The embryonic stem cell debate is over.
Which allows a bit of reflection on the storm that has raged ever since the August 2001 announcement of President Bush's stem cell policy. The verdict is clear: Rarely has a President - so vilified for a moral stance - been so thoroughly vindicated.
Why? Precisely because he took a moral stance. Precisely because, as Thomson puts it, Bush was made "a little bit uncomfortable" by the implications of embryonic experimentation. Precisely because he therefore decided that some moral line had to be drawn.
In doing so, he invited unrelenting demagoguery by an unholy trinity of Democratic politicians, research scientists and patient advocates who insisted that anyone who would put any restriction on the destruction of human embryos could be acting only for reasons of cynical politics rooted in dogmatic religiosity - a "moral ayatollah," as Sen. Tom Harkin so scornfully put it.
Now that the embryonic stem cell debate is over, I wonder what our wonderful Governor Jon Corzine has to say about that defeated ballot question now?
After all,
Mr. Corzine — who made embryonic stem cell research a major issue in his 2005 campaign for governor — blamed himself and other supporters of the measure for not doing a good enough job educating the public about the potential economic benefits. He also said the campaign could have done a better job clarifying that the $450 million was to be borrowed over 10 years, rather than all at once.Oh, we were educated enough alright. I'll admit, for some New Jersyians it was only about the money, but for some, myself included, it was about the sanctity of human life.
Aren't you smart enough to see that Jon?
Lott's Retirement
Actually, federal legislators know how to build tidy nest eggs without spending one day in the private sector — none of them much better than Trent Lott. Except for one year as a practicing attorney fresh out of law school, Lott has spent his career on the public payroll — four years as a congressional staffer, 16 years in the House and 19 in the Senate. Nevertheless, the Center for Responsive Politics in 2005 calculated his net worth at between $1.4 million and $2 million, or 42nd among 100 senators. It put his annual income from the Senate and private sources at $289,710, in the top 1.5 percent of American income earners.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Giuliani's campaign selectively quotes former Wonkette
Click to see the rest of the quote (I can't understand why they didn't want the rest of the quote :-)
Time’s Ana Marie Cox: “Rudy sort of winning this one. This is Rudy the prosecutor, and part of me sort of loves it.” (Ana Marie Cox, Time’s Swampland Blog, “Liveblogging: The Shoutfest In St. Pete,” 11/28/07, Accessed: 11/28/07)
Speaking of Vista...
In our home, we have three computers networked together. All have Windows XP. Unfortunately, one of our computers is so archaic, it doesn't even have a pentium processor!
Last night my husband was trying to print a document and it wouldn't let him because it doesn't have enough memory!
Suffice it to say, we need a new computer. So, that leaves me with this question.
If I buy a computer that has Vista on it (seems like there is no choice in the matter), do I have to upgrade the OS on my other computers as well? I really don't want to do that.
Did you miss the GOP debate last night?
If you did, you might want to read Jim Geraghty's excellent posts on the debate as he liveblogged it (sorry, too many to link to, just scroll down). I felt like I actually saw it (I was writing my exegesis paper during the debate).
BTW, he now believes that it was a waste of time for the candidates to participate:
Before this debate, I was in Patrick Ruffini’s camp, in that I thought a YouTube debate was worth trying. But afterwards, I’m skeptical that this needs to turn into a new campaign tradition. The freakishly-bizarre-to-valuable-question ratio was all out of whack, much worse than the Democratic debate, I would contend.Big surprise! I never thought the debate was a good idea. I think it demeans the office of the president.
And I would have liked to see a Republican candidate rip into CNN for using a cartoon that mocked the sitting Vice President to ask a question. I don’t care if his approval rating is at 2 percent, you don’t mock the number two man in government as a power-hungry paranoid snoop at a GOP debate. You just don’t.
Update: I fixed the link.
InfoWorld's verdict on Vista?
Wait for Windows 7. They're miffed that the service pack didn't clean up the bugs. Shocking! This is Microsoft that we're talking about here.
(via)
BTW, on a personal note: crap! I was hoping (in a wishing on a star type way) the service pack would clean up some of the mess. Now I'm stuck with the bloatware since I bought my Christmas present already and it comes with Vista but only has 1 GB RAM(this seems to be the standard configuration). I'd show you a picture but I can't find it on the Internet. It's a black one of these (mine has a 200 GB hard drive). I decided against the red Vaio because I didn't like the touchpad's buttons, they felt like my daughter's Acer.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
"You’ve got a contest between two RINOs"
Those are the words of John McLaughlin, the pollster for the Thompson campaign, about the fight between Rudy and Romney. Read what else he said here.
Are SC Democrats unhappy with their choices....
Or do they have so many choices they can't make up their mind? 49% are undecided.
The WSJ likes Thompson's new tax plan
It's about time someone simplifies the tax structure in this country:
Fred Thompson's Presidential campaign has been struggling, in part because of a sense that he lacks passion and an agenda. But late last week he unveiled a tax reform that is more ambitious than anything we've seen so far from the rest of the GOP field.(via)
Mr. Thompson wants to abolish the death tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax and cut the corporate income tax rate to 27% from 35%. But his really big idea is a voluntary flat tax that would give every American the option of ditching the current code in favor of filing a simple tax return with two tax rates of 10% and 25%.
Mr. Thompson is getting aboard what has become a global bandwagon, with more than 20 nations having adopted some form of flat tax. Most--especially in Eastern Europe--have seen their economies grow and revenues increase as they've adopted low tax rates of between 13% and 25% with few exemptions.
The main political obstacle to such a reform in the U.S. has come from liberals, who favor punitive taxes for "class" reasons, and K Street corporate lobbyists who want to retain their tax-loophole empires. The housing and insurance industries, states and localities, charities, bond traders and tax preparers are all foes of low tax rates.
That's why the idea of a voluntary flat tax--introduced on these pages a dozen years ago--makes political sense. The Thompson plan would allow taxpayers to keep their mortgage and charitable deductions if they prefer, by adhering to the current tax code and rates. But it would also allow the option to abandon those credits and deductions except for a single allowance based on family size ($39,000 for a family of four). Most taxpayers would pay a 10% rate on income above that allowance, with a 25% rate kicking in at $100,000 for a couple. There would only be five lines on the tax form and most taxpayers could fill it out in minutes.
Romney's answer to Hitchens' question
On Sunday I posted a video of an interview with Christopher Hitchens' where he states that Romney should answer the charge of racism in the Mormon church (up to the 1970's blacks couldn't be deacons or elders). Well, Romney answered this question in May on "The Tonight Show."
DNC Flipper TV
See what the Republicans are really like not what the campaigns want you to think. *snicker* Does Dean really want to go there? With the queen of the flip flops as their leading candidate. Does anyone really know where Hillary stands on any position?
U.S. online shoppers set record on "Cyber Monday"
On Black Friday I turned on the local news and watched the reports about the shoppers lining up to spend their hard earned money. Before the stores opened there were 10,000 people waiting to get into the mall at 4:00AM! There were lines around the block for stores like Best Buy and Toys R Us. One local mall was so packed that created a traffic jam on the highway for miles.
But despite the crowds and the people walking by with huge bags in their hands, the reporters wanted us to buy the fact that people are spending less money on Christmas because the economy is so bad and the gas prices are so high. People with huge shopping bags would say things like, "Yeah, since gas prices are so high, I'll be shopping less this year." But what is less? They sold out of Sony Vaios at $399, the Compaqs at $299, even a $699 Toshiba was sold out. They were selling out of big screen HDTVs costing thousands of dollars. If the economy was so bad, then people could not afford to pay even the discounted prices.
The newscasters were also pushing the idea that since the economy is bad the retailers are expecting sluggish sales this year. As we're watching people jam the malls and the stores at 4:00 in the morning and walking out with large ticket items, they're saying this anyway. Can't get away from their script obviously.
And now more proof that the economy must not be as bad as everyone thinks:
U.S. online shoppers spent a record $733 million in a single day on "Cyber Monday," according to market research firm comScore Inc.
Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Thanksgiving and is considered the start of the online holiday shopping season when consumers return to work and seek deals not found in bricks and mortar retailers.
The spend was 21 percent up on the same day last year, according to comScore.
The number of online buyers rose 38 percent from a year ago while the average dollar spend per buyer slipped 12 percent partly due to deep discounting.
Carson Daily to resume show
Looks like the strikers lost one but at least he's not in the WGA:
NBC's "Last Call with Carson Daly" is about to become the first late- night talk show to defy the writers strike and resume production.
[...]
"The Writers Guild of America, East joins our colleagues of the Writers Guild of America, West in expressing our profound disappointment with Carson Daly's decision to return to work," the guild said in a statement that also commended other late-night talk show hosts for showing solidarity with their writers. "We thank them and hope that Mr. Daly will reconsider his decision, including the soliciting of scab writers to provide material for his program."
Daly is not the first talk-show host to go back into production. Ellen DeGeneres, who is a member of the union, has continued taping her daytime syndicated talk show after shutting down the first day of the strike. But "Last Call" becomes the first to break ranks among the late-night shows, which all had chosen to air repeats rather than tape new shows without their striking writers.
Hello Kitty Bicycle Tires
If there is someone on you Christmas list who wants to brand everything they own with Hello Kitty, then you might want to buy them these bicycle tires:
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thompson's new Marie ad similar to one used in Senate race
Production is much better on the new ad, also a better narrative and focus (integrity).
Proof that Hillary will choose Bayh as her VP?
Photographic evidence -- and note the matching outfits. Wouldn't it be cute if they color coordinated their campaign?
The Pork Database
I thought the Democrats had promised to end earmarks, what happened?
The anti-pork group Citizens Against Government Waste has released a handy database of all 2,243 earmarks in the Labor Health and Human Services appropriations bill that was vetoed by President Bush earlier this month. The spreadsheet organizes the earmarks by dollar amount, the project and indicates which lawmakers requested the money.
New Romney Mailing in Iowa
Comparing himself to McCain, Thompson and Giuliani on the gay marriage amendment as the only one who is for it but he leaves out Huckabee (who is also for it):
For the first time, Mitt Romney is using direct mail to contrast his record with his GOP rivals. In a piece that has just hit Iowa mailboxes, Romney points out that he's the only of the "leading Republican candidates" to support a constitutional ban on gay marriage.(via)
The former governor pointedly ignores Mike Huckabee, who has emerged as his most serious challenger in the Hawkeye State and who supports the ban.
Romney, whose campaign has debated internally whether or not to draw such direct contrasts with paid media, is clearly trying to set himself apart as the only electable candidate who sides with the conservative GOP base on a key issue.
The piece, sent by a rival campaign, is the classic "side-by-side," used to paint a rival (or rivals) as being on the unpopular side of a policy. Unsaid, of course, is that Romney himself took a much more moderate approach to gay rights issues when he ran for the Senate in 1994 and governor in 2002.
If I were a presidential candidate in this race I would do a comparison mailing on Romney running for governor of MA and running for president today.
BTW, it still irks me that this has become such a big issue in the race when Romney can't even do anything about it if he were elected president. It's not going anywhere so give it up as an issue, people. It doesn't belong in the presidential race, make it an issue where it will count, in a congressional race.
Why don't you tell us where you stand on drilling in the Gulf or ANWR, that's more important to me. Why don't you tell us what you plan to do about the value of the dollar? Iran? Israel? The deficit, pork filled spending bills? Shrinking the size of government? These are actually issues that the president will be able to do something about. Stop wasting our time on issues that don't really matter.
If the gay marriage amendment comes up tomorrow night, I hope the candidates turn to Romney and say, "Since you're for it, tell us how you're going to make it happen." It's easy to be for something now that you know won't be going anywhere later.
I think it's commendable that the other candidates aren't pandering on this issue just to get more votes, it makes me respect them more.
McCain takes a shot at Huckabee's Pakistan comment
I think he's trying to get into the fray anyway he can:
Sen. John McCain condemned Mike Huckabee Monday for saying that, as president, he would strike at terrorists inside Pakistan's borders with or without permission from the country's leadership.Wouldn't it be better to work with Pakistan instead of threatening to invade? I thought everyone was into negotiation before invasion, is that only with Iran?
McCain called Huckabee's comments naïve and said the former Arkansas governor lacks military experience needed to lead.
"I certainly wouldn't telegraph my punches," McCain told CNN after a campaign stop here.
"I will always do what's necessary to preserve America's national security, but to say something like that is totally unnecessary and probably has a not beneficial effect on our Pakistani allies who are fighting against al Qaeda and with us in Pakistan."
On Saturday in South Carolina, Huckabee said if there was an "imminent threat" inside Pakistan, he would take military action there, even if it meant violating Pakistan's sovereignty under international law.
"We need to make sure we are clear that if we have an actionable target in Pakistan, that we will take action on that target because if that helps save and preserve American people," Huckabee said. "That's the foremost thing we need to be worried about."
Chris Dodd summits a question to the CNN/YouTube GOP Debate
Oh. My. Heck! I guess he's not getting enough attention from the press or during his own debate, so he has to interject himself into the Republican debate. Maybe McCain should submit a question:
(via)The creator of the Internet's website has been hacked
Wouldn't you think Al Gore would have better online security?
A blog set up to promote former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, has been hacked and is hosting links to Web sites hawking online pharmaceuticals.(via)
The links appear to have been created as part of a scheme to boost the Web traffic for sites that promote the drugs, security experts said Monday. They contain titles such as "Xanax On Line," "Viagra," and "Buy Valium Online."
Cyber scammers have been using this technique for months now, packing hacked Web sites with links to their products in hopes of bumping up their rankings on search engines like Google and Ask.com. Another similar tactic, known as "comment spam," involves flooding the comment sections of Web sites with these types of links.
[...]
Once they gained access to the site, criminals could have easily added malicious exploit code to the blog, and that code could have been used to infect visitors' PCs with computer viruses, said Roger Thompson, CTO of Exploit Prevention Labs. "It just shows how tricky it is to secure a Web site," he said. "I think we're a bit lucky it's not shooting exploits."
Atheist Sunday School
So, after going on and on about how Christians are indoctrinating their kids and not allowing them to think for themselves and forcing them to learn about God against their will (which they consider child abuse), the atheists have discovered the benefit of indoctrinating their children. Little Damian thinks that there might be something to the Christian God, better indoctrinate him in "free thinking" to inoculate him against any Bible-toting Christians.
But some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children. "When you have kids," says Julie Willey, a design engineer, "you start to notice that your co-workers or friends have church groups to help teach their kids values and to be able to lean on." So every week, Willey, who was raised Buddhist and says she has never believed in God, and her husband pack their four kids into their blue minivan and head to the Humanist Community Center in Palo Alto, Calif., for atheist Sunday school.(via)
[...]
The pioneering Palo Alto program began three years ago, and like-minded communities in Phoenix, Albuquerque, N.M., and Portland, Ore., plan to start similar classes next spring. The growing movement of institutions for kids in atheist families also includes Camp Quest, a group of sleep-away summer camps in five states plus Ontario, and the Carl Sagan Academy in Tampa, Fla., the country's first Humanism-influenced public charter school, which opened with 55 kids in the fall of 2005. Bri Kneisley, who sent her son Damian, 10, to Camp Quest Ohio this past summer, welcomes the sense of community these new choices offer him: "He's a child of atheist parents, and he's not the only one in the world."
Kneisley, 26, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, says she realized Damian needed to learn about secularism after a neighbor showed him the Bible. "Damian was quite certain this guy was right and was telling him this amazing truth that I had never shared," says Kneisley. In most ways a traditional sleep-away camp--her son loved canoeing--Camp Quest also taught Damian critical thinking, world religions and tales of famous freethinkers (an umbrella term for atheists, agnostics and other rationalists) like the black abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
So, maybe you might think that a logically consistent atheist who said this:
The first question we must ask is whether there is such a thing as a Christian child, Muslim child, etc. I think that Dawkins is correct in answering that there is not. No child is born into the world with an established set of religious beliefs. These beliefs are acquired through a lengthy process of indoctrination. Thus, it is accurate to say that all children are born atheists because one cannot believe in something of which one has never heard. Of course, most children do not remain atheists for long, especially in America.Would come out strongly against this school. Isn't it child abuse to indoctrinate them in their parents' beliefs? I guess if they're atheists, not so much:
As the process of indoctrination unfolds, the child acquires religious beliefs. These beliefs are rarely questioned prior to adolescence - just as most parental messages are not seriously questioned during childhood. Throughout this pre-adolescent stage, we do not have Christian/Muslim/Jewish children but children of Christian, Muslim, or Jewish parents. This is a very important distinction.
The children learn about secular values and how to deal with the god-delusional majority, receive support for their disbelief, have their secular values reinforced, and gain a sense of community from spending time with like-minded people. Intellectual curiosity and critical thinking are fostered.I guess atheism is natural and religion is learned? Children are naturally atheistic and these parents are only reinforcing their atheism? Or are these children just following in their parents footsteps the way Christian children follow in their parents' (according to the atheist).
Is it child abuse to put a blindfold on a child so that he doesn't see God revealed in his creation and put earplugs in his ears so that he doesn't hear the sound of the voice of God speaking through his word? Is it child abuse to foster "free thinking" only until the child expresses thoughts of God? Freedom ends when the child mentions God and then it's off to Sunday school to learn "critical thinking skills."
I guess we're a lot more alike in our beliefs (and yeah, since you can't disprove God with science you take a leap of faith in stating that there is no God) than the atheists want to admit. A Christian could describe Sunday school in a very similar way:
The children learn about Christian values and how to love those who hate them for their belief in God, receive support for their belief, have their Christian values reinforced, and gain an understanding of the body of Christ by spending time with other Christians. Intellectual curiosity and critical thinking are fostered as we study the word of God and understand the maker of heaven and earth.You can't force a child to believe in God and you can't force them not to. You can share your love of God with them but one day they'll leave and live out their own beliefs.
Thankfully we live in a country where I can teach my kids about God and not have them taken away from me. I hope that it remains that way for their kids.
Huckabee and Clinton marketing their Christianity
Clinton sent out an AP story about her church attendance in Iowa:
The Clinton Campaign has just emailed its religious supporters a copy of this Associated Press story on the Senator's appearance yesterday in an Iowa Methodist church.Huckabee is running an ad in Iowa advertising that he is a "Christian Leader:"
Do we really need the name of Christ selling yet another product? I wonder if marketing their faith will work for Huckabee and Clinton or will their actions bring to the Iowan voters' mind this:The Huckabee ad, entitled "Believe," begins with Huckabee's emphasis on the importance of his faith. "Faith doesn't just influence me," he says. "It really defines me." A few seconds later, the words "Christian Leader" are emblazoned on the screen. Even TV evangelist Pat Robertson, a leader in the emergence of Christian conservatives as a major bloc in Republican politics, didn't appeal to voters with such a strong emphasis on his personal religious faith when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988 - and finished second in Iowa.
What's striking is that it's not until the end of the Huckabee ad that the words "Authentic Conservative" pop up on the screen. As a result, I don't think it's a stretch to say that, at least in this ad, Huckabee has made his political views secondary to his religious beliefs. Perhaps this is what Christian conservatives in Iowa want to hear. But Huckabee may be risking a backlash.
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Michelle Malkin's “Posterizing” the Democrat Party contest
I've been too busy with my exegesis paper to keep up with my favorite blogs but I just noticed that Michelle Malkin has been running a Posterizing the Democrat Party contest as a goof on the HuffPost Posterizing the Modern GOP contest. Here is one of the finalists and my personal favorite:
I like this one as well:
But she has a ton of other really funny posters, so go check them out if you haven't seen them yet.
What's so funny about the Huffington campaign is how backward it is:
The result is three powerful posters that simply but graphically capture the lunacy of the modern GOP. "Here is my thinking," Silverstein told me, "What if we could TiVo the last six-plus years and play them back - without comment -- for the American people, and let them connect the dots? It's not a pretty picture." Silverstein's take away message is uncluttered and direct: "Haven't we had enough? Democrats '08."Go check out the posters, they are all related to Bush. Don't they realize that's so Maginot Line! They're fighting against an enemy they will not be facing in 2008. Thompson didn't have anything to do with the things listed on the posters, neither did Romney, Huckabee, or Giuliani. Their "modern GOP" is actually the old GOP. They better learn to fight the enemy they have, not the one they're fixated on.
Tags:
Huckabee turns water into wine
Here is a positively glowing article about Huckabee but it starts with this rather odd story:
Mike Huckabee was never about fire and brimstone. As a preacher, he was buoyant. The first time he took to the pulpit, as a 16-year-old preaching on a Sunday night, he turned water into wine. Sort of.(via)
"He had a clear bottle of water, a gallon jug of water, and he turned it red," said Don Still, who grew up with Huckabee in the small city of Hope, Ark. "He talked about how God cleanses our soul. He was probably in the 11th or 12th grade, and he was probably taking chemistry and learned it in chemistry."
Science or miracle, Still was impressed. Looking back now, Still said he knew then that Huckabee - or Mike, as he seems to be known to everyone in Arkansas - was destined for politics, "a born leader."
Huckabee himself said he'd thought about becoming a politician since he was a boy. But he gave up that notion when he became a Baptist preacher.
"I couldn't see, in my mind, any pathway from the pastorate to political office," said Huckabee, who began preaching full time when he was 25.
Turning water into wine? Who says there's no such thing as a political savior?
BTW,
I just noticed that he is now a 10 on the God-o-meter for this (his new ad called Believe). He certainly deserves the 10 for the amount of brandishing he does of his Christian credentials. And he also pushes the fact that he's for the Human Rights Amendment, if he's for it why did he say this?
Paul Endorsed by Nevada Brothel Owner
Yes, politics does make for strange bedfellows, doesn't it?
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, an underdog Texas congressman with a libertarian streak, has picked up an endorsement from a Nevada brothel owner.It just seems weird to me that a Christian wouldn't have a problem profiting from the proceeds of such an activity.
Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlite BunnyRanch near Carson City, said he was so impressed after hearing Paul at a campaign stop in Reno last week that he decided to raise money for him.
"I'll get all the (working girls) together, and we can raise him some money," Hof told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1, $5 contributions."
And then there's this little tidbit in the story:
Hof was accompanied to the Paul news conference by television news personality Tucker Carlson, who is traveling with Paul for a magazine article he is writing.Isn't that getting involved in the story? Should a reporter do that?
"Dennis Hof is a good friend of mine, so when we got to Nevada, I decided to call him up and see if he wanted to come check this guy out," said Carlson, who hosts the show "Tucker" on MSNBC.
(via)
Cute Thanksgiving Day video
I know, I'm a little late but it's cute and I didn't want to save it for next year :-)
So, what do you want us to do?
When I see something like this I wonder what people expect us to do? Stop believing what the Bible says so we don't hurt their feelings? The Bible's pretty clear:
2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. 17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."I'm more hopeful, I hope those I love will become believers before they die so I don't think any of my friends and family are going to hell :-)
Cyber Monday Sales
Cyber Monday is the first day that many people return to their computers after the Thanksgiving Day weekend and buy stuff online.
Here's a sampling:With a holiday season that is expected to be the weakest since 2002, and numbers of new online customers leveling off, more Web retailers have been pushing special offers and promotions to draw consumers.
As the online holiday shopping season officially kicks off Monday, a number of retailers are hosting one-day sales or special offers for the occasion. The Monday after Thanksgiving, tagged "Cyber Monday" by the National Retail Federation, marks the first big online shopping surge for many merchants, as consumers go back to their work computers.
Toys "R'' Us Inc. will hold a one-day online sale and rival eToys.com will launch a two-day sale. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will begin five days of online-only sales.
Online jeweler Blue Nile Inc. will give customers 20 percent off purchases paid through PayPal, eBay Inc.'s electronic payment division. Target Corp., Circuit City Stores Inc., Sears Holdings Corp., Crate & Barrel, the Discovery Store and Overstock.com Inc. are among dozens of retailers offering free shipping that day.
At Staples:
Canon® PC170 Copier $74.98 which is half off the price.
DYMO® LM150 Labeler $19.99 also half off.
Nikon® Coolpix L14 Digital Cameras under $100
Edge™ Portable Drives 50% off
I/O Magic 40GB Portable Drive $24.98 another half off
InVion 4.3" GPS $179.99 that's a hundred off
Walmart:
Xbox for $399
Virgin Super Slide with Bonus Bluetooth $48.00
1 Carat Diamond Round Stud Earrings in 14kt White Gold $448.00
HP Deskjet F2110 All-in-One Printer & HP 21 Ink $40.00
Ghirardelli Gifts Box $12.00
Playhut Thomas the Tank Play Vehicle $10.00
Best Buy is only offering free shipping on select items.
Here's a website that links to all kinds of sales.
Inspiron™ 1721 Notebook $949 after $235 instant savings
Circuit City:
Guaranteed in-store pickup in 24 minutes!
Acer Aspire 4315-2490 14.1" Widescreen Laptop $399 (though, it's a Celeron)
HP Pavilion dv6449us 15.4" Widescreen Laptop Computer $739.99
Playhut Thomas the Tank Play Vehicle $10.00
Best Buy is only offering free shipping on select items.
Here's a website that links to all kinds of sales.
Inspiron™ 1721 Notebook $949 after $235 instant savings
Circuit City:
Guaranteed in-store pickup in 24 minutes!
Acer Aspire 4315-2490 14.1" Widescreen Laptop $399 (though, it's a Celeron)
HP Pavilion dv6449us 15.4" Widescreen Laptop Computer $739.99
Mike Huckabee on Energy Independence from Saudi Oil
So, Huckabee came out against Saudi oil:
Consumers are financing both sides in the war on terror because of the actions of U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said Sunday.When I read this I wondered if Huckabee was for more domestic drilling, if we want to end our dependence on foreign oil, we need to drill in America (this seems to be abundantly clear to me and yet, no one is talking about it) so I checked his issues page on energy and couldn't find the word "drill" or "drilling" or domestic on the entire page. What I did find was this video:
The former Arkansas governor made the comments following what he suggested was a muted response by the Bush administration to a Saudi court's sentence of six months in jail and 200 lashes for a woman who was gang raped.
"The United States has been far too involved in sort of looking the other way, not only at the atrocities of human rights and violation of women," Huckabee said on CNN's "Late Edition."
"Every time we put our credit card in the gas pump, we're paying so that the Saudis get rich - filthy, obscenely rich, and that money then ends up going to funding madrassas," schools "that train the terrorists," said Huckabee. "America has allowed itself to become enslaved to Saudi oil. It's absurd. It's embarrassing."
Huckabee said "I would make the United States energy independent within 10 years and tell the Saudis they can keep their oil just like they can keep their sand, that we won't need either one of them."
And a whole lot of reasons for energy independence but not a clear cut plan to increase the amount of refiners or opening up drilling in the Gulf or ANWR. He wants us to start moving toward alternative forms or energy:
We have to explore, we have to conserve, and we have to pursue all avenues of alternative energy: nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, clean coal, biodiesel, and biomass.It's all well and good and forward thinking to say this but what car has been mass produced to use anything but gas? You can talk about research and alternative energy and blah, blah, blah but if you have a ten year plan (that's how long Huckabee thinks it will take to accomplish his goal) to end our dependence on foreign oil, then you better have a plan that talks about opening up major sources of oil in the US because the technology is not ready to be mass produced and usable and saying that we need to switch over in the next 10 years is not going to make it happen.
BTW, when he says conserve, do you think he means voluntarily? Or mandated?
And here's something that should warm the heart of any conservative, in the video you will notice that he talks about "a stable marketplace for the alternative sources of energy some of that can be accomplished by making sure that the federal government provides for its own energy needs by purchasing some of these new and alternative forms to ensure there's a marketplace for them." Yes, the federal government will fund research and will purchase the product. Who needs the consumer?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Christopher Hitchens: Romney's Mormonism is fair game
He brings up the racism issue (up until 1979 you couldn't be a deacon or an elder in the Mormon church)and the fact that the elders are divinely inspired among other things that Romney should be asked about.
(via)
Canadian Human Rights Commission is "about censorship"
According to an employee of the commission. A website has been taken to the Canadian Human Rights Commission for publishing a 5 year-old article from WorldNetDaily:
Canada's Christian Heritage Party and its leader, Ron Gray, are being taken to the Canadian Human Rights Commission over commentary and opinion related to how the government and society should treat homosexuality. And Gray says he's been told directly by an employee of the Human Rights Commission that the Canadian Human Rights Act is "about censorship".Evidently, this is a great way for Canadians to make extra money.
An Edmonton man, Rob Wells, has filed three complaints against Gray and his party. Two of them relate to the reposting of an item first published on WorldNetDaily.com back in April of 2002; an article written by Jon Dougherty entitled "Report: Pedophilia more common among 'gays' - Research purports to reveal 'dark side' of homosexual culture". The third complaint is against Ron Gray personally for several commentaries he wrote and distributed to party members. One of those commentaries, entitled "Sitcom prophet", likened the current climate of debate about homosexuality in Canada to the "Cone of Silence" in the 1960's-era television situation comedy "Get Smart", where the two leading characters would isolate themselves in a room where no-one could hear them, but they couldn't hear one another either. Gray wrote in the commentary that: "The problem with Canada's 'Cone of Silence' over the issue of homosexuality is that, like the security device in 'Get Smart', the inevitable result is that no one can communicate anything - and even the truth gets silenced."
In an exclusive interview with noapologies.ca, Ron Gray says the complaints filed against him and his party allege they are "motivated by hate, and defaming homosexual persons."
And, he says, when he had a conversation with a Commission employee, mediator Bob Fagan, about the specifics of the allegation, he was astonished at what he heard.
"I told him that it seemed to be an abuse of the Human Rights Act for someone to try and use it as an instrument of censorship. And when I said that, on the phone, there was a pause and then he said, in a somewhat astonished tone: 'But the Human Rights Act is about censorship'. Then it was my turn to be silent on my end, because I found that breath-taking. For the Human Rights Commission's own mediator to acknowledge that censorship was the purpose of their Act."
Hey, Livingsword! You better watch what you post!
(via)
Space Invaders Alarm Clock
For the aging gamer on your Christmas list:
Isn't it cute? You can get it in black and blue as well.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Democrats: It would be folly not to acknowledge the gains in Iraq
So say the advisers to Obama and Clinton. I wonder if Reid would agree? And if it would be folly not to acknowledge the gains, why not give the troops the money they need to continue the good job that they are doing?
As violence declines in Baghdad, the leading Democratic presidential candidates are undertaking a new and challenging balancing act on Iraq: acknowledging that success, trying to shift the focus to the lack of political progress there, and highlighting more domestic concerns like health care and the economy.(via)
Advisers to Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama say that the candidates have watched security conditions improve after the troop escalation in Iraq and concluded that it would be folly not to acknowledge those gains. At the same time, they are arguing that American casualties are still too high, that a quick withdrawal is the only way to end the war and that the so-called surge in additional troops has not paid off in political progress in Iraq.
But the changing situation suggests for the first time that the politics of the war could shift in the general election next year, particularly if the gains continue. While the Democratic candidates are continuing to assail the war — a popular position with many of the party’s primary voters — they run the risk that Republicans will use those critiques to attack the party’s nominee in the election as defeatist and lacking faith in the American military.
[...]
“If Iraq looks at least partly salvageable, it will be important to explain as a candidate how you would salvage it — how you would get our troops out and not lose the war. The Democrats need to be very careful with what they say and not hem themselves in.”
Risk? Not hem themselves in? Are they nuts, it's too late for that. They own defeat, it belongs to them. Of course the Republicans have soundbite after soundbite of the Democrats attacking Petraeus, suggesting that we had already lost the war and that the surge would not work. If the Republicans don't use all that ammunition, they deserve to lose the presidency. They should hammer it into the public psyche that the Democrats don't trust our military to do it's job and that they would rather have political victory and power than have military victory.
As we all know this war could take a down turn as it did today in the pet market in Baghdad but that shouldn't stop us from moving forward, knowing that our military understands the fight better than our politicians.
Thompson at a SC gun show: "It's a beautiful day in paradise"
I know a lot of gun owners feel the same way. I feel like that when I go to a computer show :-)
White House hopeful Fred Thompson called his trip down aisle of rifles, shotguns and pistols at a gun show "a day in paradise," and said he wished he could come back to spend more time and money.I bet the press is freaking out that a presidential candidate would be comfortable enough with guns to say that.
It was the former Tennessee senator and "Law and Order" actor's second trip to a gun show since launching his late bid for the GOP nomination in September.
He reached out and picked up an old M-1 Garand rifle and raised an over-and-under Winchester shotgun suitable for the skeet shooting he's been known to do as he made his way through the 200 vendors at The Land of the Sky Gun Show at a fairgrounds just outside of North Charleston, S.C.
"It's a beautiful day in paradise," Thompson said when greeted by one of the people packing the show's aisles.
Prayer Request: Concentration
I'm pretty depressed right now and it's affecting my seminary work. I need to concentrate so I can write an exegesis paper for my General Epistles and Revelation class. It's due this week and I haven't been able to write it (I've started but it's pretty disjointed). I'm working on it now, please pray that I can keep my focus until I finish it.
Sunni insurgent turns to Americans in the middle of a gun battle
Here's a back story of what happened when one of the Sunni insurgent leaders turned on al-Qaeda in May:
He hailed the car carrying the feared leader of Al Qaeda in the neighborhood, a man known as the White Lion, on one of Amariyah's main streets. "We want you to stop destroying our neighborhood," he told the man.(via)
"Do you know who you are talking to?" said the White Lion, getting out of his car. "I am Al Qaeda. I will destroy even your own houses!"
He pulled out his pistol and shot at Abul Abed. The gun jammed. He reloaded and fired again. Again, the gun jammed.
By this time, Abul Abed said, he had pulled his own gun. He fired once, killing the White Lion.
"I walked over to him, stepped on his hand and took his gun," Abul Abed, which is a nom de guerre, said at his new, pink-painted headquarters in a renovated school in Amariyah, as an American Army captain seated in the corner nodded his head in affirmation of the account. "And then the fight started."
It was the beginning of the end for Al Qaeda in Amariyah. The next day, a firefight erupted. Al Qaeda fighters closed in on Abul Abed. Most of the 150 men who had joined him fled. Holed up in a mosque with fewer than a dozen supporters, Abul Abed thought the end was near.
"The blue carpet was soaked red with blood," he recalled. Then the imam of the mosque called in American help.
A friendship was born.
[...]
'Americans are our protectors'
Abul Abed said the Sunni revolution has gone too far for that.
"Americans are our protectors and saviors," he said.
The real enemy of Iraq, he says, now is Iran. He pulled out his mobile phone to show pictures he has saved of the bodies of his four brothers, who were kidnapped and murdered in 2005 by what he suspects was a Shiite death squad with ties to Iran. One of them had a nail driven into his head. Another was missing a hand.
"Even animals wouldn't do that," he said, his face darkening. "Iran is so deeply infiltrated in Iraq, the problem here still cannot be solved. Iran wants to demolish us. If the Americans leave, then you can count Iraq as a second Tehran."
Ron Paul's campaign contribution may exceed $12 million
If this is true and he leads in contributions, it will be a sad day for the Republican party and won't bode well for next year.
In an interview to be aired later today on Bloomberg's Political Capital with Al Hunt, Rep. Ron Paul said he has raised more than $9 million in the past two months and he predicted his presidential campaign will exceed its $12 million fourth-quarter goal.I guess we need to continue practicing, so say it with me, "President Hillary Clinton." You know, it doesn't get any easier.
(via)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Student suspended for 10 days for saying "noose"
He said that he knew how to tie a noose but he wouldn't because he didn't want to get into trouble. Little did he know that just talking about a noose would get him suspended. Amazing! Kids actually hit other kids and nothing happens to them but say the word "noose" and you get kicked out of school for 10 days.
Travis Grigsby loves playing drums, but he and his friend Alex Coday weren't able to play for two weeks after they were suspended. It started after the band's performance at a football game. Some kids on the drum line said they were talking about the best knots to use to tie up the drum equipment.(via)
"Someone asked if anybody knew how to tie a noose and Travis did admit he knew how to tie a noose," Kim Grigsby said.
Travis' mom said her son is almost an Eagle Scout, he knew how to tie it, but told his friends he wouldn't because you could get in trouble for that. Later, a black student on the drum line told the teacher he was offended.
"Travis was accused of using a racial slur for saying the word 'noose.' Then he was suspended for 10 days," Kim said.
French prosecutors throw out Rumsfeld torture case
Maybe if they keep trying, they'll find a country that will prosecute him:
The Paris prosecutors' office has dismissed a suit against Donald Rumsfeld accusing the former U.S. defense secretary of torture, human rights groups who brought the case said on Friday.(via)
The plaintiffs, who included the French-based International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) and the U.S. Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), said Rumsfeld had authorized interrogation techniques that led to rights abuses.
A Speechless Sean Penn!
Here is a WGA produced Internet video to advertise their side in the writers' strike but it really is good propaganda for the other side. Who doesn't want to see a silent Sean Penn? :-) Maybe we can stand to have this strike go on for a little bit longer if it means that Sean Penn shuts up.
Only 35 homicides in NYC were committed by strangers!
In a city of over 8 million people, that is absolutely amazing!
New York City is on track to have fewer than 500 homicides this year, by far the lowest number in a 12-month period since reliable Police Department statistics became available in 1963.(via)
But within the city’s official crime statistics is a figure that may be even more striking: so far, with roughly half the killings analyzed, only 35 were found to be committed by strangers, a microscopic statistic in a city of more than 8.2 million.
If that trend holds up, fewer than 100 homicide victims in New York City this year will have been strangers to their assailants. The vast majority died in disputes with friends or acquaintances, with rival drug gang members or — to a far lesser degree — with romantic partners, spouses, parents and others.
The low number of killings by strangers belies the common imagery that New Yorkers are vulnerable to arbitrary attacks on the streets, or die in robberies that turn fatal.
In the eyes of some criminologists, the police will be hard pressed to drive the killing rate much lower, since most killings occur now within the four walls of an apartment or the confines of close relationships.
Sony VAIO for only $399!
It's normally $799! It has Vista Premium and the following:
* Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core mobile processor T2310 with 533MHz frontside bus, 1MB L2 cache and 1.46GHz processor speedI was looking at this computer at the Sony store and thinking about getting it, it's a really nice laptop. The only problem with it is that it should have 2 GB of memory to run Vista properly. The salesperson agreed with me on that. But to upgrade you have to take out the current memory and add two more chips. They didn't leave a slot for upgrading. They know that it would be preferable yet they didn't make it easy to upgrade. And you can't upgrade it online, only at the store. Very dumb!
* 1GB PC2-4200 DDR2 memory for multitasking power, expandable to 2GB
* Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media; also supports DVD-RAM
* 15.4" WXGA LCD widescreen display with XBRITE-ECO technology and 1280 x 800 resolution
* 120GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day celebration with your friends and family and that you don't overindulge :-) Thankfully I don't have to cook today, my sister does Thanksgiving and I do Christmas -- it makes it a lot easier on both of us.
I thought I would share with you some of the many blessings for which I'm thankful to God:
I'm thankful that there is a God in heaven who cares about each of us and sent his Son to pay the penalty for our rebellion against him. I'm thankful he is a personal God who cares and watches over me, protects me from harm and has drawn me to him.
I'm thankful I live in a country where I can proclaim that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and that my fidelity is to him.
I'm thankful that I live in a country that acknowledges our right to believe in any god or no god.
I'm thankful for a supportive and loving family, for the love of my husband and my children and the ability to share my love with them.
I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ who travel this road with me and who share in the comfort we provide each other. I'm thankful for their support.
I'm thankful that the Lord has blessed me with a warm home and the availability of plenty of food.
I'm thankful to live in a country where we can be a blessing to others by providing for their needs when they do not have a warm home or food.
I'm thankful for this blog and the ability to share my opinions with you and to rant about the news of the day or poke fun at the politicians.
I'm thankful for our readers because I can't see investing the time if no one reads it :-) Thank you for reading our blog!
I'm thankful for each of our regular commenters, yes even the liberal commenters. I appreciate each of you taking the time to share your opinion even when you don't agree with me.
I'm thankful to the blogging community who link to our blog and to particular posts. I'm thankful for their support.
I'm thankful I didn't break my nose yesterday!
I'm thankful we can all share in one day a year where we give thanks to the Lord for our many blessings.
Psalm 50:23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 Timothy 2:1
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people
Does this teacher know the purpose of Thanksgiving Day?
Sorry, this sounds more like a meal than a thanksgiving feast:
Robyn Gioia doesn't look like a troublemaker. Far from it.(via)
Gioia is a wife, mother and teacher, and her green eyes twinkle when she talks about her fifth-grade students at the Bolles School just north of here in Ponte Vedra.
But Gioia, 53, has written a children's book, and just the title is enough to peeve any Pilgrim: America's REAL First Thanksgiving.
"It was the publisher who put real in capital letters," she says, "but I think it's great."
What does REAL mean? Well, she's not talking turkey and cranberry sauce. She's talking a Spanish explorer who landed here on Sept. 8, 1565, and celebrated a feast of thanksgiving with Timucua Indians. They dined on bean soup.
If you do the math, it is 56 years before the Pilgrims sat down and shared a meal with natives at Plymouth Rock.
Who knew? Not even Gioia, until she attended a teachers' workshop two years ago and heard Michael Gannon, a retired history scholar from the University of Florida, tell the story of Pedro Menendez de Aviles.
Gannon, 80, first laid out the premise of an earlier Thanksgiving in his scholarly book The Cross in the Sand in 1965, but few picked up on it. He says his mention of Menendez's meal was a "throwaway line that lay fallow for 20 years."
That was, until a reporter for the Associated Press in 1985 exposed Gannon's academic findings to the world, which caused what Gannon remembers as "a storm of interest. I was on the phone for three days straight."
Traditionalists, especially in New England, dubbed him "The Grinch who stole Thanksgiving."
This teacher appears to miss the point of Thanksgiving Day, it's not about who ate here first, it's about giving thanks to God and acknowledging him for the many benefits we have in this great nation. Here is George Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation:
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
China to allow U.S. carrier into Hong Kong after all
Looks like things are starting to get a little testy between us and China, I hope the military is preparing for a confrontation with China because it looks like they are getting ready for one.
China refused permission for a U.S. aircraft carrier and accompanying vessels to visit Hong Kong for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit -- and then changed its mind.(via)
The USS Kitty Hawk group and its crew of 8,000 airmen and sailors had been expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but the U.S. State Department said the visit had been blocked by China.
Hundred of relatives of crew members of the Kitty Hawk had flown to Hong Kong to celebrate Thanksgiving. Hong Kong, especially its Wanchai bar district, has been a regular port of call for U.S. sailors on "R & R" (rest and recuperation) since the Vietnam War.
[...]
He did not say why the ships had been blocked in the first place, but there are issues that may have prompted Beijing's action including U.S. plans to sell Taiwan a $940 million upgrade to its missile system and last month's meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader who Beijing considers a traitor.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Scarred for life!
Literally!
*sniff* *sniff*
OK, I'm 47 and I expect to have wrinkles and sagging skin and all that but I didn't expect to have this! *sniff*
So, what happened? Would you believe me if I told you that I got into an argument at Westminster over the authorship of Hebrews and it turned into a brawl? Well, it wasn't that exciting, it was pretty much your normal everyday klutzy accident. It did happen in my General Epistles and Revelation class but it involved a power cord for a laptop and my natural inclination not to look where I'm going.
I had just finished talking to the professor and turned to rush to the bathroom before class started again, tripped over the power cord, landed on my knees and hit my face on a desk. I thought I broke my nose and I started crying, "My nose, my nose, I think I broke my nose." I'm sitting there with blood spewing out of the gush in my forehead, holding my nose in case it's broken. I'm sure it was not my best moment.
One of the seminarians (who was a blessing from the Lord) who had worked with the sports program of a high school immediately came to my aid and stopped the bleeding and took me to the hospital where I was eventually given seven stitches. When I finally got to see myself in the mirror I cried (one thing in my favor, I didn't even think of scarring until everyone started bringing it up). I looked like Frankenstein's monster.
I keep telling myself that I should be thankful that I didn't break my nose (and believe me I am -- I thanked the Lord that he did let me break it :-) but it only helps a little. Mostly I'm bummed that I have to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas looking like I was in the middle of a knife fight.
McClellan's Publisher: Bush did not lie to McClellan
After making a splash by implying that Bush was part of a conspiracy:
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, released Monday on the publisher's web site, McClellan recounts the 2003 news conference in which he told reporters that aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby were "not involved" in the leak involving operative Valerie Plame.McClellan's publisher sets the record straight:
"There was one problem. It was not true," McClellan writes, according to a brief excerpt released Monday. "I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."
Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan does not believe President Bush lied to him about the role of White House aides I. Lewis Scooter Libby or Karl Rove in the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, according to McClellan's publisher.Of course the left aren't going to buy it. I can just see the comments that I'm going to get for this post.
Peter Osnos, the founder and editor-in-chief of Public Affairs Books, which is publishing McClellan's book in April, tells NBC from his Connecticut home that McCLellan, "Did not intend to suggest Bush lied to him."
Osnos says when McClellan went before the White House press corps in 2003 to publicly exonerate Libby and Rove, the problem was that his statement was not true. Osnos said the president told McClellan what "he thought to be the case." But, he says, McClellan believes, "the president didn't know it was not true."
Judge has filed preliminary embezzlement charges against Chirac
Yeah! Remember when everyone that his opinion of us mattered?
Alleged wrongdoing in Jacques Chirac's past came back Wednesday to trouble his retirement, when a judge took the unprecedented step of filing preliminary embezzlement charges against the former two-term president of France.(via)
Chirac insisted he had committed no wrongdoing. Political opinion was divided on whether the judge had scored a victory for French justice or merely underscored its impotence — because only since he left office in May have judges been able to pursue Chirac.
Since he lost his presidential immunity, Chirac has now been questioned by two different judges looking into suspected misuse of public money and other alleged wrongdoing in his 18-year tenure as mayor of Paris, which served as one of his springboards for the presidency in 1995.
The judge that summoned him to her office Wednesday, Xaviere Simeoni, is investigating whether people in Chirac's circle were given sham jobs as advisers, paid by Paris City Hall even though they weren't working for it.
Saudi Rape Victim's Husband Speaks Out
The husband of the wife speaks out in her defense because he is her voice in this society:
"From the outset, my wife was dealt with as a guilty person who committed a crime," he said. "She was not given any chance to prove her innocence or describe how she was a victim of multiple brutal rapes."(via)
He said his wife is "a quiet, simple person who does not bother anyone," and too fragile to speak about the case. As her guardian, under Saudi law, he is standing up for her publicly.
[...]
"Since the attack, she's been suffering from severe depression."
The events ended her pursuit of an education beyond high school, he said. "Her situation keeps changing from bad to worse. You could say she's a crushed human being.
[...]
"We were shocked when the judgment changed and her sentence was doubled," the husband said, blaming the decision on a judge pursuing "a personal vendetta."
"We were looking for pardon; instead she got double the whipping and more jail time.
"If this sentence is based on the law then I would've welcomed it," he said. "But it is harsh and the Saudi society I know and belong to is more sympathetic than that. I do not expect such harshness from Saudis, but rather compassion and support of the victim and her rights.
[...]
Despite the treatment given his wife by the Saudi judicial system, he believes his society respects human rights and he is optimistic about the future.
"Through this case, as a citizen and stemming from my sense of security and patriotism, I believe in the future... And I have faith and trust in the system," he said.
I don't know why he would think the society respected human rights since it has given out lashes for dancing and drinking, to an Indonesian maid who was tortured by her sponsors, and a restaurant owner who hired women.
"Impeach them all!"
When I read these words of Rosie:
his administration is criminal(via)
IMPEACH THEM ALLhappy thanksgiving peeps
The words of the Queen of Hearts leapt to mind: "Off with their heads!"
New touch screen Blackberry in early 2008
You have to give props to Steve Jobs, he changed the face (or should I say interface :-) of computers, he set the standard for music devices and now he's changed the face of the cell phone.
Research in Motion (RIMM) is developing a touch-screen version of the BlackBerry designed to compete with Apple's fast-selling iPhone (AAPL), says analyst Carmi Levy at AR Communications. Levi says the new Berry, to be launched in the first half of 2008, will be a complete departure from the BlackBerries of today.(via)
[...]
The 9000 series will break from the traditional half-screen, half-keyboard look of the BlackBerry. The handsets will also incorporate an upgraded multimedia system, along with the standard push email capabilities... Levy speculates that RIM will introduce the 9000-series in the first quarter of next year...
Jeri Thompson explains why the polls don't matter
Jeri Thompson uses Fred's line about President Dean.
INGRAHAM: Nationally, Fred is trailing by about nine points in one of the major polls. In New Hampshire...It's a good point and one we should all keep in mind going into January. I remember there was a lot of disappointed Deanics when their guy tanked. I would hate to see any disappointed Paulians, Huckaberries and Clintionans (or more likely Obama..ur..voters -- what cute name do they have?).
THOMPSON: Which makes him — which makes him second.
INGRAHAM: Which makes him second. In Iowa, he's in fourth place. And he's in sixth place in New Hampshire. 29 points in New Hampshire behind Romney. My question is, are you surprised about those numbers? And do you worry that he got in too late at this point and that's why this — not the traction maybe that you would have hoped for at this point?
THOMPSON: No. I think, you know, first off, most folks right now are worried about probably packing their bag right now and filling their car up with gas. They're just going to start taking a — taking a look at the candidates and taking a look at the issues here. And you know, some candidates have spent, you know, upwards of $60 million.
They've been on — I know one of the candidates has been on for over two months, you know, spending about $1 million a week. That buys — it buys a lot of attention, but it doesn't necessarily buy you the vote at the end. You can — you know, at this point, at the — in the election, last cycle around, Howard Dean was expected to win. John Kerry was sort of written out. And you can ask President Dean at this point, you know, if things are fluid and things change.
This is a snapshot. And Fred...
INGRAHAM: We're getting close, though. We got six weeks to go. We're getting up there.
THOMPSON: We got six weeks, but look what Fred — look what Fred Thompson has come out with in the last couple of weeks, the most detailed immigration plan. The strongest immigration plan of any of these guys out there. He has not been running since he's been in high school. But what he does have and what "The National Review" called, you know, setting a standard on Social Security reform, saving Social Security, Fred Thompson's plan. I haven't seen anybody else's.
INGRAHAM: Well, it's very specific. And "National Review", I think, did give him major props for that.
What Do Kids Think of Hillary?
This is actually a parody. The kids' comments were totally scripted, but the whole thing is really funny, even so. Save your snarky comebacks, some of you totally need to loosen up!
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!! :)
Thompson Pledge Day
If you want a candidate who is as pro-life as the other presidential candidates (Romney and Huckabee have both come out in favor of states rights at least once this year), who is pro-2nd Amendment and who is for smaller government and less taxes and who wants to clean up the mess that SS has become, then hit the pledge button on the sidebar and help out his campaign.
Supplemental Bill Needed to Fund Anti-IED Effort, Director Says
The military can thank Reid for it's shortage. I'm the sure the enemy appreciates his efforts.
If Congress does not come through with a supplemental bill President Bush will sign, money for defeating the largest killers of American personnel in the war on terror will run out Dec. 1, a senior official said here today.(via)
Retired Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, told Pentagon reporters that the organization will have to stop funding new initiatives and just maintain operations.
“We’re out of (funding) new stuff now; we’re going to have trouble sustaining current contracts after the first of December,” Meigs said.
The anti-IED organization needs the funding to sustain operations and to pay for equipment fielded but not yet turned over to the services for funding, Meigs said. For example, he said, his organization funds the Guardian man-portable jammer, the contractors to service it, and the training in the system.
The organization tests new projects, ideas, ways of doing business and equipment against IEDs. If they prove effective, the organization is nimble enough to quickly can get the equipment to the hands of servicemembers. Meigs said the organization has enough money “to keep the lights on” through April. The organization is funded via supplemental spending bills.
“What I can’t fund today will not go into the field next summer or next fall,” Meigs said. “It’ll be delayed by the amount of time we wait for funding.”
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Lack of Logic is the Root of All Kinds of Foolishness
This op-ed piece by Gary Wills is so far off base it isn’t even funny. It is breathtakingly disingenuous and downright illogical. See for yourself. If I were Roman Catholic, I'd be embarrassed that this man counts himself among their number.
Here's a quote from the esteemed columnist:
If one claimed, in the manner of Albert Schweitzer, that all life deserved moral respect, then plants have rights, and it might turn out that we would have little if anything to eat. And if one were consistently pro-life, one would have to show moral respect for paramecia, insects, tissue excised during a medical operation, cancer cells, asparagus and so on. Harvesting carrots, on a consistent pro-life hypothesis, would constitute something of a massacre.
Two words: Oh. My.
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