To 2009 ....... *clink*

To 2009 -- may she be a damn sight better than 2008.

My friends, keep surfing. Keep smiling. Keep keeping us aware of stuff.

Most of all, know that you are loved. By me, and by many others.

In the spirit of the New Year -- and in the words of my brother-in-law's excellent verse --

"Tis all the same
Tween you and me
Tis what there was
Tis what will be

"Happy New Year!"

Untapped

I thought I knew my brother-in-law.

Holidays bring previously un-brought-together relatives together, and this Christmas was no exception. A chance remark from my otherwise staid, ordinary, nose-to-the-grindstone, stand-up brother-in-law made me realize he's a secret poet.

What a wonderful discovery :)

Here's his stuff:

Gray Rainy Day
What Am I Thinking

What do I think
I don't want to
I don't want to think
I'd rather do

What am I thinking
I really can't say
For some reason or other
It's running away

It hides inside
And won't come out
It hides inside
And rattles about
I don't know why
It won't come out

Happy Christmas?

Here's Christmas

(many thanks to Col. Robert Neville)

Christmas 'guilt'

Andrew Bolt sez:

"I do indeed think of the poor and loveless this Christmas, I swear, and World Vision knows I do my little bit for the poor of Africa.

"What’s more, I even worry that I spoil rotten my three children with each present that I can’t resist buying.

"Yet at Christmas I put all that aside for the day and refuse to feel a skerrick of guilt for giving my children the kind of presents I know many children tomorrow will never enjoy, given with the love too many will never share."

****************

Geddit?

The reason we give, is because we give because we love.

Santa Shot in Shamokin!

... Quite possibly, the best headline ever :)

(From a real news story at a small-town paper I worked at back in 2004)

I remember the outrage. Our children will be scarred for life! How dare you!

Mind you, it was a daring effort on our part. I mean, it was newsworthy, for sure. Santa getting SHOT?

But you have to ask yourself -- why is it newsworthy? What IS it about the Santa myth thing that so captures our imaginations, and, therefore, our attention? (Knowing full well that Santa is NOT real ...?)

Isn't it about time we deconstructed what is WRONG about Santa Claus -- that is, Someone Who Magically Brings Us Stuff We Don't Really Need -- versus a Santa Claus who brings us something good we have hoped and worked for?

Just askin'.

How Can You Believe Me ...

Hope it was a meow-ry Christmas :)

My friends --

Merry Christmas.

Be merry -- we've all got a lot to be merry about. Even when we don't.

:)

This is for Charles Henry ...

... and anyone else who needs reminding that, well ... life is all about good things, no matter what we stumble on along the way.

Let's dance

No to Princess Caroline

Enough dynasties, already.

Dave Cullen:

"The ideas are strong. Bloodlines, nobility . . . they go way back in the mythology and literature we were raised on, and which remain alive and well in our films. (How did we love it that Luke turned out to be Princess Leia's sister! Yes, the force runs strong in that family! They are greater because they are related.)

"No. It is total bullshit. It is the same fantasy that deludes us that because Caroline is the last of this holy line, or because she was a cute little kid during Camelot, she will grip the mighty Excalibur and reign triumphant over a grateful people.

"This is the kind of shit we internalize. It's no accident that they called the JFK tenure Camelot. We eat that shit up. Humans love mythology. We seem wired with it, and toward monarchy, oligarchy and Noble Houses."

(via Instapundit)

Global Warmenistas, rejoice!

For the president-elect has your agenda top-of-mind.

He can pretend there's "consensus" -- but there ain't. You read it here first: There will be a revolution in favor of reason on that particular insanity.

How To Poison Your Own Well 101

(image credit: blog.psaonline.org)

Amid the sound and fury surrounding The Bailout(s), Chicago wrongdoing, Iraq et al. and other woes, is Zimbabwe.

The former Breadbasket Of Africa is starving -- and beating -- and, most importantly, stupiding -- itself to death.

The situation is pretty dire. People are peeling bark off trees to make a meal. This, in a country that used to supply not only its own citizens, but most of Africa and beyond, with food in abundance. How did it happen?

A combination of things:

* Anger (justifiable, in some analyses) at white supremacy left over from colonialist arrogance.

* A (part-of-the-male-anatomy) of a leader, who, alas, possesses the same animal cunning for survival as his predecessors, like Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Hitler et al.

* Monumental stupidity all around.

_______________


Okay. When looking at this situation, two things must be kept in mind:

* In today's climate, any attempt to assign blame to a person or a population automatically carries the millstone of "race."

* Any attempt to apply reason must first sift through the filter of the above.

_______________


As a journalist by nature and training, I know that facts must be objectively recognized before they can be analyzed. Therefore, let's look at some facts about Zimbabwe, via infoplease.com (a site devoted entirely to basic information, hence the name):

"In 2000, veterans of Zimbabwe's war for independence in the 1970s began squatting on land owned by white farmers in an effort to reclaim land taken under British colonization—one-third of Zimbabwe's arable land was owned by 4,000 whites."

Squatting on land does not equal being able to manage said land. Regardless of race, etc.

"In Aug. 2002, Mugabe ordered all white commercial farmers to leave their land without compensation."

Off you go. (No compensation for the generations of time and expertise spent feeding everyone. We'll be able to do what you did, no problem!)

"In March 2002, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations. That month Mugabe was reelected president for another six years in a blatantly rigged election whose results were enforced by the president's militia. In 2003, inflation hit 300%, the country faced severe food shortages, and the farming system had been destroyed. In 2004, the IMF estimated that the country had grown one-third poorer in the last five years."

No problem! It was those evil colonialists! Who were thrown out long ago! Right?

"Since 2000, Zimbabwe has experienced precipitous hyperinflation and economic ruin. By the end of 2008, inflation skyrocketed to a mind-boggling 231,000,000%, up from 7,000% in 2007, unemployment reached 80%, and the Zimbabwean dollar was basically worthless. According to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the world's lowest life expectancy." (emphasis mine)

Oh, how the miserable pretenders to the mighty have not only fallen, but dragged down everyone else with them.

_______________________


NOW. Here's the thing:

A bunch of smart white people made The Breadbasket Of Africa possible.

Does that mean only white people can make it happen? NO. What makes it happen is being SMART ABOUT MANAGING FARMS. There have been plenty of people, of all colors, trying to keep Zimbabwe on the correct path of food management, but they've been ELIMINATED by Robert Stalin.

_______________________

And so, Zimbabwe, while I ache for you, I equally apply a boot to your (posterior region) to urge you to get RID of this menace and get yourselves back on track.

You can do it. Just get smart.

'Tahdiya or not Tahdiya?'

With a headline like that, the story just can't miss -- and it doesn't.

Neoconstant writer Courtney Messerschmidt sums up the current state of the Israel-Palestinian mess (remember that?) adroitly, and in her own inimitable style -- refreshingly in-yer-face sly wit.

(And while you're over at Neoconstant, check out the whole site -- tons of excellent insight into every issue of the day. And then bookmark it!)

(P.S. Messerschmidt titles the artwork "Green Eggs and Hamas." I'm jealous! Yet another excellent play on words.)

Muslim Babe Of The Day

(image credit: asianbadger.wordpress.com)

Presenting ... Miss Indonesia! (of 2006)

Alas:

"A militant Islamic group has filed a police report against Indonesia's Miss Universe candidate, accusing her of indecency.

"Nadine Chandrawinata's participation in the contest and display of her body in a swimsuit 'is actually insulting for Indonesian dignity and women', Islamic Defenders Front lawyer Sugito said[.]"

Really?

Let's just check our premises, here.

1) All women are beautiful -- some more than others. That's why guys want them, correct?

2) Women are beautiful for more than how they look -- they're also and especially BEAUTIFUL (write this down) for WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTE to human progression. Yes? (Children? Sympathy? Understanding? Willingness to be a partner, if you're willing too? You get the idea.)

3) Everyone, man or woman, likes to look at a beautiful person because we have a love of beauty of ALL things -- human beings included -- in our souls. Yes?

4) Given that it's natural we love beauty -- indeed, given that God has given us beauty to enjoy --

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?!?

'Obama backpedals on Iraq withdrawal'

... and we're surprised -- why?

"After lefties have had a moment to absorb the Rick Warren news they can turn to the latest plot twist in the 'Will he, won't he' drama of Obama's troop withdrawals. . . . Consider this - on issues such as FISA surveillance or the Bush tax cuts for the rich Obama has already back-pedaled. He is likely further to outrage a contingent of his supporters by declining to declare defeat in Iraq, blame Bush, and leave. There even seems to be a movement towards creating a bit of wiggle room on enhanced interrogation."

Ah, yes. Our committed citizens on the left -- who throw tantrums when Poppa doesn't give them that video game for Christmas. ("But you PROMISED.") Well, video games don't grow on trees; and sometimes, they take a while to order.

Poppa's gotta be rough, now -- so he can be sweet to you another day. It's called "common sense" -- but to you, little ones, who don't understand such a concept, it means you're going to spend a LONG time in the time-out corner.

(I hope, anyway.)

(via Instapundit)

Homophobia run amok!

... er ... yeah.

"A humorous Australian TV ad about two men engaging in an innocuous activity together in a tent and making their friends suspicious was attacked by GLBT equality advocate as being 'homophobic.'"

So much so, "activist Andrew James wrote in to the Australian government’s Human Rights Commission to complain about [the] ad for telecommunications company Telstar."

At least for now -- the Australian "Human Rights" Commission didn't play ball.

(via Blazing Cat Fur)

College football = Answers To Life

A Missourian at An Advocate of the Republic:

(P)olitics have managed to invade my retreat from the world, and thusly I am forced to address it in my own insignificant way. What, you ask, has politics gotten its swinish, gormandizing hands upon to rouse me? College Football?"

What indeed?

'Love one another'

Charles Henry at Covenant Zone:

"Pressing my nose against the window and seeing the first snowfall this weekend, this older child now with white in his hair as well as his front yard looked into his past to see his future, and hopes that by this post he will commit to keep working on that act of faith required to rejoice in time for Christmas."

My friend ... my very dear friend ...

It is when we are least able to find faith, that faith stays with us.

You ROCK, my Saudi girls!

Shedding the burqa, one amazing musical note at a time :)

Beautiful Moon

As we saw it, Karmasurfer and I, two days ago.

Global WARMING bad!

(image credit: www.whackynation.com)

Right?

You knew it had to happen

Carols are deemed "too religious" for Christmas.

Right Wing News sez:

"After Christ has been hollowed out of Christmas, moonbats will move on to other holidays. In the USA, we can expect to have the Thanks taken out of Thanksgiving, since there is no one to be thankful to, unless you're politically incorrect enough to believe in God. Presidents Day will be renamed Barack Obama Day, because it would be insensitive to honor dead white men. All that red, white, and blue jingoism will have to be purged from the Fourth of July, but we'll still have the barbeques, so long as they're vegetarian — unless of course barbeques are found to cause global warming."

Jeeze-all-freakin'-mickey. Too right.

(Via Free Canuckistan!)

'What's the matter with Illinois?'

... asks Ann Althouse.

It's simple. Illinois is the hothouse of corrupt politics, Ann.

What a clean, honest environment for our next president to have come from, eh?

(via Instapundit)

'She just wanted to be herself'

(image credit: atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)

But she was un-Islamic, so her father killed her. She is buried in a numbered gravesite.

Atlas Shrugs is gathering donations to properly honor this young woman.

(via Blazing Cat Fur)

Calling off work due to being gay

"Gays and lesbians [were] being encouraged to call in 'gay' to work today to support gay rights and spend the day performing community service.

"'Day Without a Gay' aim[ed] to protest last month's passage of constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriages in Arizona, Florida and California. Participants also are encouraged to boycott anti-gay companies, according to the organizers' Web site.

"But the action, which coincides with today's International Human Rights Day, is controversial because participants are urged not to call in sick but to call in gay, which could put their jobs in jeopardy."

****************************

Okay. Fisking, here.

"'Day Without a Gay' aim[ed] to protest last month's passage of constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriages in Arizona, Florida and California. Participants also are encouraged to boycott anti-gay companies, according to the organizers' Web site."

Gays, you're still not getting it.

There are REASONS!!!! why constitutional amendments are being passed thusly. Chief of which is people have been raised that it is wrong.

A HUGE percentage of what you deemed to be a "safe" voting bloc -- black Americans -- voted against gay marriage. Guess why? A HUGE percentage of black Americans are deeply religious.

Go ahead and march in the streets, call in "gay," whatever. You are NOT going to change centuries of religious tradition.

"But the action, which coincides with today's International Human Rights Day, is controversial because participants are urged not to call in sick but to call in gay, which could put their jobs in jeopardy."

Gee, ya think?

*shaking head*

Look. I'm on your side, in terms of making spiritual union happen. HOW that is going to happen may take many centuries more. Be prepared for that. But what I'm telling you now is, you're going about it the wrong way. Expecting change of attitude overnight? ANNNK. Confrontational is NOT going to work. In fact, it's going to set you back.

The concept of marriage is deeply enshrined in history. People will be willing to rethink it -- but you can't force it.

Stop making asses of yourselves trying to.

Uncle Sugar-Daddy's wallet is shrinking

Indiepundit probes the lengths to which the United States should intervene, militarily or otherwise, in trouble spots (like the Congo) around the world:

"Should Europe (and by extension America) simply wash its hands of the post-colonial fall-out it largely helped create? Does meddling only make matters worse?

"I don't know if either school of thought has the right answer--indeed, I believe that each situation as it arises needs to be taken into account. Darfur is not the same crisis as the Congo. Each must be judged on its own set of circumstances.

"Or does the credo "mind your own damn business" deserve more merit on the international stage?"

****************************************

Me, I've never been comfortable with the U.S.'s role as World Policeman, even though I've recognized the necessity for SOME entity to ensure individual rights and safety.

Our resources today, however, are stretched extremely thin. Not only that, but we, ourselves, are still struggling to establish what's right and keeping it as consensus. Like all humans, we battle corruption every day, while still, as a nation, trying to keep on track with doing the right thing.

At some point, other nations have to "get it" in terms of moving forward by these same principles -- and stop relying on Uncle Sugar to hold their hands.

No single nation can do it alone. This is a global challenge, people. So step up to the plate. Please.

Klintoons and other hilarities

(image credit: Col. Robert Neville Always Dresses For Dinner)

Oh, HOW to introduce this particular brilliance from Col. Robert Neville -- well, just read on:

"Bill Clinton has always seen things differently to normal people. Getting up always means going down and going down is always coming up.

"Dear sports, here's another unpaid piece of art from Thursday 19 of June 2008:

"The Clinton's. [(to the tune of) The Flintstones]

"Clinton's. Meet the Clinton's.
They're the modern stoned age family.
From the, town of Bedhop,
They're a page right out of perjury.

"Let's ride with the family raking dough.
Through the courtesy of Bill’s big blow.

"When you're with the Clinton's,
You'll have a grabba a Bubba dong time,
A stabba you time,
You'll have a stained old time."

**********************************************

Talk about ROFL! -- and do NOT miss Obama (to the tune of "Maria,") Al Gore (to the tune of "Alfie,") Butterball (to the tune of "Thunderball," all about Mikey Moore,) Sean Penn (to the tune of "Born Free") and the rest of the outrageous parodies only our Colonel can conceive.

Winston Smith is right on the job, as usual

Orwell's Big Brother marches on:

"Words associated with Christianity, the monarchy and British history have been dropped from a leading dictionary for children.

"Oxford University Press has removed words like 'aisle', 'bishop', 'chapel', 'empire' and 'monarch' from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like 'blog', 'broadband' and 'celebrity'. Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.

"The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society."

(via Blazing Cat Fur)

*********************************

Um ... yeah.

So, history is being wiped out.

Everyone okay with that?

The Fraud-eral Reserve

The Blog of Walker quotes Doug French, via the Mises Institute, thusly:

"In response to the meltdown of financial institutions, unprecedented power has been unleashed by the federal government. Between actions by the Federal Reserve, [emphasis mine] the TARP, guarantees made by the FDIC, and other direct bailouts, the total comes to nearly $8 trillion. That's over 30 times the inflation-adjusted cost of the S&L bailout, according to Bianco Research."

Well, guess what. The Federal Reserve is not -- and never was -- a legal government entity. It is a BANK. And what a mutha-lovin', money-scamming bank it is. (Along with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.)

Please watch this for an education on just why we're in the mess we're in.

Hezbollah-ed over

(image credit: joshualandis.com)

Okay, so let me get this straight. Our Muslim Babe Of The Day is demonstrating (back in 2006) for Hezbollah. Now, having done a little homework, I discover Hezbollah is a Shi'a-based organization.

Isn't this the branch of Islam that goes for the traditional look, female-wise? So how come my girl is in a T-shirt?

We will remember

"A date which will live in infamy."

(Via Instapundit)

Santa Claus goes undercover

A lot of people are very happy.

Scat, baby

Time for some good news, for a change

Blankets for cold Iraqis --

Animals saved from the cooking pot --

And an Italian chef bravely steps into a life-threatining situation in Mumbai to save a child.

Black is white, in Tracee-land

Andrew Bolt of Australia's Herald Sun keeps close tabs on one Tracee Hutchinson, columnist for The Age. Sadly, The Age is mainstream Australian must-read.

My girl "Tracee" is, to say the least, a bit ... uh ... well ...

Take this well informed commentary on the global economic crisis: (which I shall gratuitously Fisk)

"ISN'T it ironic that when the Government wants us to spend more money to keep the economy from stalling completely, somehow — miraculously — petrol prices come down? It will tell you it has no control over petrol prices, but to me they always seem to be a litmus of the times, working in mysterious ways like a teller of our fortunes."

Yes. Well, there is the small matter of multiple influences on how oil is priced, but hey, what do experts know? I can safely assure you it's not based on the lines on your palm.

"When it's important to keep the people convinced that fighting in Iraq is a legitimate cause lest the price of oil escalate out of control, local petrol prices hurtle ever-skyward like some kind of reminder of the conflict every time we fill up."

Uh ... just WHEN, exactly, did anyone say that continuing to support democratic government in Iraq is all about keeping oil prices down?

If you have the stomach for it, read er, Tracee's, whole irrational diatribe.

While I'm at it:

//totally freely admitted snark alert

Anyone named "Tracee" ought seriously to consider going with her middle name -- "Marie," perhaps -- instead of some pop-inspired, credibility reducing moniker guaranteed to turn off a sizeable portion of readership from the get-go.

Just sayin'.

Pleasant and Unpleasant Quebecois

This is an add-on to my previous post.

Okay.

Here's my experience with pleasant Quebecois:

As a function of my job, I encounter Quebecois who need things done and, thus far, have experienced very few problems. We interact, we appreciate each other, we solve problems.

Here's my experience with unpleasant Quebecois: (sadly, the majority) --

1) I am treated with suspicion, scorn, and derision. (I'm American, and it has been made abundantly clear to me that THAT is my sin. I do NOT know what I am talking about, and if I do NOT solve the immediate problem, it's because I am an Uncouth American.)

2) The assumption is that it is MY responsibility that the Quebecois with whom I deal cannot achieve resolution of their problems.

(Regardless of the fact that I, personally, CANNOT solve their problem. Problem-solving tends to encompass other people.)

*****************

Okay. Is this a French thing?

(versus a logic thing .... alas, Aristotle ....)

I do NOT!!! .... WANT!!! ... to have to accommodate someone else's way of thinking. What I want to do is GET THE JOB DONE.

So, why do I have to accommodate "touchy" "French" feelings about how I can get someone's website to resolve? (my immediate job)

*****************

Just asking.

Quebec -- DEHORS

(that is, Quebec OUT. Of Canada, that is.)

(Which is what Quebecois have said they want all along. But haven't really meant it, faced with the reality of what it actually means, running your own country, with your own currency, making sure infrastructure is in place, etc. All anyone has seen is a lot of noise about "independence.")

Okay. So, you want your own country. So, you say that you cannot co-exist with existing Canadians in order to make that happen, to your exact specifications, with your own language, yadda-yadda.

Blazing Cat Fur lays the gauntlet down.

I'm a Yank, admittedly -- but I've followed this whole "independence" thing for a long time. What I'm seeing is: "We want to do things our own way, in our own language, and SOMEHOW the existing governmental mechanisms must accommodate this."

As a Yank, I can only answer thusly:

If you're a country, you follow an agreed-upon template. You might not like it -- and that's a drawback of democracy -- but if the majority agrees, YOU have to agree.

Period. End of story.

None of this, "Oh, we're SPECIAL, somehow" (because we're French?)

Yo, Quebec:

Either seriously divorce yourselves from Canada, or walk the walk.

Note: You should be aware that the majority of Americans see you as posing, arrogant, cheese-eating surrender monkeys. Sorry. You've done nothing to erase this perception.

Start playing ball properly, my friends.

Muslim Babe in yer FACE, Brer Bigot

(image credit: soccerlens.com)

So. We got yer Muslim babes, right here. Same as anywhere you look, we got yer Christian/Jewish/No determined status babes anywhere.

Babes are babes. You dig?

'There is no theory of evolution.'

(image credit: http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/)

... "Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live."

"Little Martha," I remember you ...

.. but as God is my witness, I cannot find a video reminder of you in the Allman Brothers original.

What I did find was this wonderful young man's rendition:



And, my mom's former pupil, Leo Kottke's, rendition:



(how cool is that -- my MOM'S OLD PUPIL -- famous in his own right -- should introduce a version of such a classic?)

The bottom line is, "Little Martha" is a classic. On many levels.

Which I know you may never appreciate. And which I know I will never help you know why.

Oh, well.

It's gotta be Radar Love

Give me .... death?

Mark Steyn laments the "Death of the American Idea."

I'm not so sure. Specifically, it's government spending he's concerned with.

"The greatest dangers to liberty," wrote Justice Brandeis, "lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding."

Now who does that remind you of?"

The Democrats, of course. But, well, I've seen a bit too much of a free hand by the Bush Administration, spending-wise, to be able to freely assign blame.

Re-think time, people. It's not so much a conservative-liberal thing, right now, purse-wise.

(In fact, life is much less left-right, black-white, you-me, us-them at all.)

(Just a thought.)

Been under the weather these past few days ...

... But am now at least level with it, if not quite above it yet :)

Give thanks ...

... for everything we have.

A blessed holiday to one and all.

Big Pharma Wants You!

... to buy into its plan to soak you for every penny you've got, in the mistaken idea that THEY have the answer to your health.



Okay, dig this. Every drug nowadays has ~side effects.~ (For which Big Pharma, helpfully, has a remedy. At a cost.)

One of the side effects of a drug meant to reduce incontinence -- you know, accidentally peeing when you don't want to -- namely, Zosyn -- is --

Are you ready for this? Diarrhea or constipation.

That's right. EITHER you pee when you don't want to, OR you run to the bathroom.

No one remembers the day when you didn't need ~a drug~ to make you ~feel better~ for certain natural stuff. Once upon a time, you dealt with it. Most often, naturally, if the need was severe.

Not no mo'. Now we have The Magic Of Drugs. With the gratifying financial dividend of LOADZAMONEY for Big Pharma.

"One pill makes you larger,
And one pill makes you small;
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all;
Go ask Alice ...
When she’s ten feet tall."
(Jefferson Airplane)

(Via Karmasurfer)

Same Big Brother, different clothes

The honeymoon's over, folks. The euphoria over Richard Moon, of the University of Windsor -- the "independent" analyst of Section 13(1) of the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission charter that deals with hate speech -- sure didn't last long. Sure, he recommended the section be repealed.

But in its place, he advocates both the mainstream press and Internet service providers become de facto Ministry of Truth divisions.

Nice.

(via The Blog Of Walker)

Anyone can build Stonehenge

Censorship on the ropes -- hurray! (BUT ...)

... we can't relax just yet.

Blazing Cat Fur reports on the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission report by Professor Richard Moon, of the University of Windsor, recommending that Section 13(1) of the CHRC charter be REPEALED.

Yes. OH, yes. Most DECIDEDLY ...... YES.

This is the section of the "law" that has allowed the CHRC to bankrupt and publicly humiliate ordinary, innocent citizens, and which has allowed it to attempt to mandate what anyone can say about anyone else -- completely OUTSIDE any kind of enforceable libel laws. In other words, censorship.

The recommendation by Dr. Moon is decidedly a HUGE boost in the right direction. But the possibility exists that the CHRC will simply weasel away from it, using language that will ensure they will "pay attention" to the recommendation without actually acting on it.

BCF posted a link to submit your comments directly to the CHRC relating to this issue.

Please!!!!! add your voice. Keep the pressure ON. Tell this outfit you will NOT put up with ANY infringement on free speech not accounted for by LAW. It doesn't matter what country you come from. Let's give our Canadian brothers and sisters every ounce of support we can.

Gay marriage partisanship

Indiepundit gives the best take I've seen anywhere on the gay marriage debate:

"Nobody said this marriage debate would be easy. I guess it goes to the heart of the question of modernity. Dreher sees it intrinsically bound to the failures of our modern culture. Sullivan says Dreher's vision of a return to an older, simpler past is impossible. ...

"Essentially I think that the wrong questions are being asked. Modernity is full of moral qualms, but there are good things that have emerged as well. We need to find a way to determine what is truly good, universally good, that has been, perhaps, uncovered only now--like equal rights for women or gays--and what is bad, morally decrepit, or dangerous to a society."

Please read the whole post.

As I said before, humanity is evolving. We must carefully consider what is truly spiritual and what may be old rules that bear no relevance to the understanding of ourselves as humans that we recognize today.

TV networks next on the bailout list?

"It's D-Day for the broadcast networks.

"They've been living on borrowed time for the better part of two decades, thanks to advertisers willing to toss in more cash each year even as ratings slowly trended ever lower.

"But with the economy in a tailspin -- and the Big Three auto manufacturers, some of TV's best advertisers, near ruin -- the biz may finally have to pull the emergency cord.

"'This day was going to come,' says one conglom bigwig. 'I don't think the business can be sustained without real change at this juncture. ... We have a gun to all of our heads.'"

Do tell. My, my.

Now, it's because of you network idiots I don't have TV at all -- haven't had for five years now, and I don't miss it. But if you were to start broadcasting REAL NEWS for a change, and INTELLIGENT SHOWS, I might return.

But from the sounds of that Variety article, you're offering me infomercials. Feh.

I won't cry if you go go down.

(via Instapundit, who sez "Let 'em fail")

Please pay close attention.

We are being asked to pay attention to curls.

Close attention.

That is, curls that will be lost very soon.

Please surf.

Oh, holy mother, please step in

(and make the message nice :)

Unforgettable

Us daughters who love our dads ... just wish I could express this to MY dad.

Anger management made simple

The one and only Colonel Robert Neville:

"I've found when the mind and soul is overloaded, if I express loudly what I know, casually, forcefully, effectively and with a laugh, to anyone, everywhere and anytime, I feel much better...

"Martial arts say, or flattening car wrecks with a bulldozer or biting into a baseball bat.

"There's also embroidery and reading about flowers."

That's where I'll be

'Intellectual' leaders ...

... or is Obama the next Woodrow Wilson?

Charles Henry at Covenant Zone slices away at just how "intellectualism" is defined and perceived, vis-a-vis the recent election of Barack Obama as the new U.S. president. The general (breathless) perception among the MSM seems to be our next president is coming into office with heavy-weight "intellectual" credentials. (This seems to somehow comfort people.) But is he?

Charles Henry:

"Everything old is new again, to the new mind. I would expect that for as long as there have been leaders, there has been an accompanying argument about how to measure the intelligence of these leaders, and how to even agree on what is being measured when we talk about a leader’s 'intelligence'.

"The recent US presidential campaign brought forth many attempts to explore and possibly define terms we tend to view too narrowly, words with worlds of meaning behind them; for example, 'expertise', 'intelligence', and 'wisdom'."

Wilson, for example, was an Intellectual par extraordinaire, as a former academic. (Mr. Ivory Tower was basically responsible for the loss of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers' lives, as he dithered and dallied about taking a moral stand until he finally did.) Other presidents, however, will surprise you with the depth of their intellectual pursuits: Truman, widely seen as a "bumpkin," intellectually speaking, read Thucydides and Cicero for inspiration. (Charles Henry cites Thomas Sowell's excellent essay "Intellectuals.")

Here's the thing: We're all impressed by people who appear to be smarter than we are. We WANT our leaders to be smarter than we are. Usually, we accept the fact they're not nerds, and applaud whichever managerial skills they bring into office that will ensure enough smart people are in key positions to more or less move us all forward. But when we get a leader who's perceived as a "smart" person, we're instantly comforted, especially in these uncertain times. We approve of them in advance of their actions. (Never a good idea.)

George Bush is seen as Not Smart. AAANK! Outta here. Obama is seen as Smart. AHHHH! Instant gratification.

Well, as anyone who has microwaved a so-called gourmet dinner can tell you, it never tastes like what we expect it to. It's nuked, for one thing. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

If you ask me, true intellectualism is not probing history and knowledge down to the quark level. It's knowing how to surf life, with all its demands and complexities, such that you are reasonably happy, spiritually fulfilled and other people are better off because you've helped them live their own lives -- and having a constant, and unsated, curiosity about life itself.

This is how I will measure president-elect Obama -- not on his intellectual "credentials."

And it seems to me he's got a lot to learn from Bumpkin Truman right there.

If it quacks like a duck ...

(image credit: startribune.com)

A Missourian at An Advocate For The Republic wants to know:

"Take a good, long, look at this ballot and tell me how it is possibly not a vote for Norm Coleman in the Minnesota State Senate race.

"What possible scenarios could explain this ballot's existence in a supposedly good, decent, and well ordered universe if it is not a vote for Norm Coleman? Did the voter have a seizure as he entered the voting booth, pen in hand, yet somehow managed to accidentally submit his ballot to the machine as the poll monitors frantically tried to stop him from swallowing his tongue?"

Yet, this is one of the ballots being disputed in Minnesota's Senate recount by funny-once-for-about-15-minutes Al Franken.

Ugh.

Congrats, all you Infidels!

Blazing Cat Fur's 1st Annual Infidel Blogging Awards contest was, well, a blazing success :)

The winners were all well and truly deserving. Please check their blogs out.

As far as I can tell, Yours Truly garnered a respectable 2 percent of the vote for Best Gal Infidel Blogger. Debbie Schlussel won, and deservedly so, as she's a crackerjack opinionator, but the field included some stellar bloggers. Me? I'm still on Cloud 9 simply for being nominated. I love being an infidel. I'm going to have a badge made, one of these days. So, in that spirit, I'll have to strive for a higher ranking on the infidel-o-meter for next year's awards competition!

What a super contest, BCF -- yer aces :)

Spotlight on .... Scotland!

(image credit: clipperaroundtheworld.com)

~Waving~ to my friend in Glasgow!

WHERE to begin on this magical country. Nowhere else do you get so much in so little a place. History? Architecture? Natural beauty? Contributions to culture? Way off the scale. That's only scratching the surface. And always, Scotland keeps surprising, just when you think you've got the country neatly pigeonholed in cliches.

For instance, Loch Lomond. You know, "You take the high road, and I'll take the low road" etc. Did anyone ever stop and realize how staggeringly beautiful Loch Lomond really IS?

(image credit: freefoto.com)

And how about that whole caber-tossing thing?

(image credit: britishcouncil.org)
Here's a stalwart lad who is, basically, throwing a TREE. Other cultures celebrate strength by, I dunno, brandishing yer six-iron, or putting on scary costumes, or batting a goat around. Scots prove STRENGTH. Period. End of story.

Let's move on to the under-the-kilt thing (please! *wink*):

(image credit: ripnet.com)

(Okay, so that part is true. Ah. Yes. Mmm-hmm.)

Now, being an absolute worshipper at the shrine of history -- and romance -- long ago, I succumbed to the mystique that surrounds Mary Queen of Scots, and Holyrood House -- which, in its own right, could consume eons of meditation:

(image credit: wikimedia.org)

But Scotland isn't just its history. Scots, like all of us, live, grow, learn.

I've often wondered what it must be like, being from a country with such long, rich, historical tradition, and being labeled -- and perceived -- by same. The truth is, Scots are people, too. Scots worry about paying their mortgages, and making sure dinner is on the table.

With a cool accent :)

(image credit: about.com)

In truth, since most of the world only sees Scotland through historical cliches, the perception is different from actual reality. You only have to see "Trainspotters" to know Scots suffer from the same ills as anyone else. And yet ... and yet ....

I can confidently destroy the popular myth that Scots are dour, cheap, unimaginative, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseam. Scots know how to surf.

Take a look at this classroom. THIS is the rebuttal against popular perception. Today's Scots are not only open to change -- despite, perhaps, their own reluctance -- but embracing it, because Scots KNOW HOW TO SURF. They always have, and always will.

(Even though the waves around the Shetlands et al. might actually kill them, LOL :)

I mean, just LOOK at these kids. They are the new Scotland. They're neither "dour," nor "cheap," nor any other cliche. They are Scots.

(image credit: scottishyouthparliament.org.uk)

My dear mom is a native of Nova Scotia -- "New Scotland" -- in Canada. She inherited the tradition of thrift -- which, when all is said and done, is Scotland's greatest contribution to humanity.

"Thrift" means using every resource as wisely as you can. It must never be confused with "meanness." Please meditate on that, when glibly laughing at anyone for being "Scotch." Scots have the patent on everyday human wisdom. My mom cheerfully washed and ironed her three dresses each week, working her way through college during the depression, because you really don't NEED more than three dresses.

And, finally, I love Scots because:

My Maggie was an exchange student who was able to visit Scotland a couple of years ago, and she shared this with me:

She was on the tube in London, and she happened to engage a young Scot lad in conversation. She said: "I LOVE your accent." And he said: "Yeers is bay-ter."

The world is going to hell, haha!

So, sue me, but I'm finding the current financial crisis interesting, more than scary.

Sure, the house of cards is collapsing, even as I type this. But, well, I knew it was going to happen -- as did Karmasurfer --

But, like everyone else trying to make sense of "credit default swap" and all the other heretofore incomprehensible, and shadowy, mechanisms of finance, I'd like to know JUST WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING.

We've been saving food, water and other necessaries for at least a year. We're good, should the balloon truly go up. But we don't want to give up on the status quo just yet -- we want to surf, and, God willing, not wipe out.

In that spirit, check out this super explanation of just what the threat might entail from The New Republic, under the COMPLETELY AWESOME HEADLINE* of "Debt Man Walking."

*other awesome headlines of yore: The Russian president objecting to invading Iraq: "Putin on the Fritz" -- and, on an art theft from the Louvre, "Take the Monet and Run."

Your only survival needs

"Liquid Smoking" ....



... and meat water.



(via Instapundit)

Who'z yer favorite infidel?

Voting ends Thursday for the coveted Infidel Blogger Awards!

Though the other candidates are all stalwart warriors against insanity, my vote had to go to Blazing Cat Fur for Category 1, Blogger most likely to face a Section 13(1) complaint. Believe you me, that name is well-deserved :)

For example, here's a link BCF shared on honor killings:

"The most shocking aspect of Aqsa Parvez's murder is not that it was allegedly committed by her closest male relatives in an 'honour killing.' No, the most shocking thing is that women like Farrah Khan -- a member of a group for young Muslim women called Our Collective Dreams -- are in a complete state of denial about what motivates these crimes.

"Instead of showing support for the victims and disgust toward their murderers, Ms. Khan and others end up misdirecting their wrath at those who dare to see the obvious -- the religious and cultural underpinnings of these despicable and dishonourable acts."

(In other words, you're racist and Islamophobic for blaming someone for murder. Okay, guilty as charged.)

There's so much bloggy goodness at BCF (and, in fairness, to the other nominees).

However, Yours Truly is also nominated in Category 4, Favourite Gal Infidel Blogger. (I blush!)

Vote early and vote often!

UPDATE: Ugh, link to Infidel Blogging Awards up before was wrong -- fixed now.

Obama's puppet masters ...?

The jury's still out with me, on whether this theory has merit. But it's intriguing. See what you think. (There are two parts.)

I always figured Zbigniew Brzienski was part of former president Jimmy Carter's abysmal record. It appears there may be more to this man than meets the eye.

Our brave, new Commander In Chief

Never registered for the Selective Service, it seems.

(For those unaware: A requirement for all male Americans age 18 and above. Not the draft -- meant to make available an instant defense force.)

P.S. -- It's the law to register. You know ... to be sure a militia is in place to defend and protect your homes and families. Basic Constitutional stuff.

Jackie O(bama)?

(image credit: Col. Robert Neville)

Col. Robert Neville finds depressing parallels between Jackie O chic and the upcoming First Lady, noting, in his own inimitable fashion, the usual rock-and-hard-place conclusion:

"Thinks: 'It's hard enough keeping up this ridiculous bob! So there's no way I'm marrying a fat Greek shipping magnate!' Spot the difference. That’s right. Jackie O said almost nothing of interest that anyone remembers. Michelle Obama says plenty of crap that's hard to forget. You be the judge of which is the more enjoyable experience."

The Colonel pursues further tangents. But I was struck by the comparison.

(image credit: jezebel.com)

Now, in fairness, Mrs. Obama has generally dressed quite tastefully, in my opinion, a few outfits notwithstanding. (My mom, whose taste has always been impeccable -- my own lamentable fashion sense notwithstanding -- sniffed at this ensemble, calling it "Harlem 'chic'-anery off the rack:")

(image credit: swamppolitics.com)

Okay, so Michelle Obama's no Jackie. Very few will ever have the former First Lady's classic fashion intuition. But Jackie was a lady in more ways than simply dressing well. She knew that diplomacy was as much a mark of a lady -- or, for that matter, a gentleman -- than anything.

Many find the forthcoming First Lady's candor refreshing. Many others find it crass, insensitive and self-serving.

Clothing, diplomacy and everything else aside -- am I the only one who's noticed a distinct resemblance between Michelle Obama and stellar actress Sigourney Weaver?

(image credit: inyourface.freedomblogging.com)

(image credit: www.umes.edu)

Not sure Ms. Weaver -- an all-time favorite of mine -- would appreciate the comparison. But, well ...

Hatefulness hated

FLASH:

Canadian conservatives have dealt a blow at their convention in Ottawa against Section 13 of the Human "Rights" Whatever Agency.

Viz:

They voted nearly unanimously to REPEAL SECTION 13.

***********************

Okay. YES. Now.

Encase your .... um, selves ... with brass.

FOLLOW THROUGH.

GET RID OF THIS BIG-BROTHER THREAT NOW.

//capital-letter rant off

***********************

(very heartfelt, very focused prayers sending out. Let's STOP this threat NOW.)

Gay marriage, and California's Proposition 8

Someone I deeply respect is Gay Patriot -- both for his invaluable insight into what it means to be a gay American, and for his steadfast conservatism. Therefore, it was to him I turned when pondering the issue of gay marriage.

Here's my own viewpoint on gays: Gay people are normal. They're simply sexually oriented toward the same sex.

Here's my viewpoint on marriage: It is a spiritual compact -- quite apart from, and more than, the civil and legal aspects that accompany it. Furthermore, its spiritual nature is borne of historical legal tradition stretching back to when Homo Sapiens first organized communities.

To me, this is the invisible barrier gays are butting up against when trying to convince the prevailing culture that they ought to be able to be ~married~ in the same sense as men and women.

Quite simply, the traditional spiritual tradition -- across all cultures -- clearly states that a spiritual union can ONLY take place between a man and a woman. So ... in order to enjoy proper recognition of properly spiritual marriage, the task of gays is to up-end human history. And human belief. And change it.

Not an easy task, to say the least.

Me? I believe there is a way forward, spiritually. I believe it was PEOPLE, and not Jesus Christ Himself, who forbade such unions. I believe that all who truly love should be able to consecrate their union.

But it's going to take time, and a lot of soul-searching on the part of everyone (read: pretty much everyone), to find the courage to question and examine Biblical texts -- first and foremost -- and then to wait for insight to come, from which change will come.

Everyone lauds the American Constitution as a baseline standard, but flexible, template for guiding our national way forward. Daily challenges to its limits are expected. Why are we afraid to apply the same scrutiny to the Bible?

The Bible was given to us as a moral compass. Its basic truths will last forever. But what if the people who wrote its texts had as their lens base, human standards, rather than love-inspired, divinely guided acceptance of EVERYONE (he-LOOO our Lord Jesus)? Are we to go out and smite Philistines with the jawbone of an ass if they offend us? Does this include gays?

Here is where I depart from a lot of my fellow Christians. Me, I take our Lord Jesus' ACTUAL WORDS as my base standard, rather than all the "smiting hip and thigh" stuff from the Old Testament. Jesus came to fulfill the INTENT of the law. Not the letter.

The letter of the Biblical law sez: Gays are bad. The intent sez: We are ALL good.

So, I guess my point is, gays ought to be able to be married, and spiritually bond like we all want to -- but 1) They've got a load of history and tradition to navigate first, and 2) They should realize this is why people don't want them to get married, and it is going to take TIME to change.

McCain Girl Told to Just 'Go Die'

(image and story credit: American Power)

"As the media keeps gushing on about how America has finally adopted tolerance as the great virtue, and that we're all united now, let's consider the Brave Catherine Vogt Experiment. ...

"(J)ust before the election, Catherine consulted with her history teacher, then bravely wore a unique T-shirt to school and recorded the comments of teachers and students in her journal. The T-shirt bore the simple yet quite subversive words drawn with a red marker: 'McCain Girl.' ...

"'One person told me to go die. It was a lot of dying. A lot of comments about how I should be killed,' Catherine said, of the tolerance in Oak Park."

***********************************

Ah. Yes. We're all united, now.

With unity like this, who needs enemies?

What a brave girl. And a journalist to put the rest of them to shame.

(via Indiepundit)

Ah, leftists.

You haven't been paying attention to history. Remember "Blowin' In The Wind"? Specifically, the line, "When will they ever learn?"

The answer, my friend, newly plucked out of the wind, is "Never."

Col. Robert Neville (who always dresses for dinner) sez:

"It's always twilight of the mind in the dimming intellectual and moral light of the Left Liberal. 'Look out, Barry! The white girl in the Santa suit has a gun!' ...

"Don’t get me wrong. I’ve spent plenty of time making a damn fine mess of things myself. But what amazes me, though, is people who have the time, money, opportunity and the responsibility to know better, but don’t. Not a bit. Boobs so incurious, so untouchable and so unchallenged, that they’re naturally very highly paid and lauded."

(Hahahahaha! Sorry, couldn't help it *grin*)

The Colonel takes us down the rabbit hole with Alice -- in this case, Alice Walker, sycophant-extraordinaire of leftism -- and slices, dices and juliennes her deftly in his own inimitable fashion. Viz:

"Alice has just written a preposterous "Open Letter" to her Lord and Saviour, Barack Hussein Obama. ...

"Alice doesn’t live in reality anymore. Nope. She’s inhabiting that absurd netherworld PC construct where, as Mark Steyn has described, the world is seen as merely a series of grievances that must all be taken equally seriously, unless of course they’re white, Western, Christian, working class and American."

The Colonel's patience is wearing thin. He sez:

"Now, I've Fisked as much as I cold stand. I deserve a fucking medal. Be warned, though. Alice’s sycophantic, uber-butt kissing and absurd and laughable prose is more turgid, unreadable and seemingly stoned, than if a Frat party of Junior Communists wrote Hallmark Cards, after scoring ten kilos of Colombian Gold, and choofing it down faster than Barry Obama the undergrad."

***********************

(Brief station break while I recover from appreciative laughter)

***********************

So, there you have it, friends. A Trifecta: 1) An absolute laser eye on everything wrong with leftist stupidity; 2) Convincing cultural and historical insight into same; and 3) A thumping good laugh.

Maybe I should charge a fee for this valuable insight. Alas, I've already thrown myself at the Colonel's feet, begging for marriage, to no avail. Ah, well, if at first you don't succeed, and all that :)

Keep your eye on Canada

FLASH: (via The Covenant Zone)

The Canadian Conservative Party is meeting in Winnipeg this week.

ON THE AGENDA: A resolution calling for the repeal of Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which basically allows a bunch of kangaroo courts to tell you what to think and what to say.

Blazing Cat Fur posted this link that will help if you want to let conservative MPs know how you feel about this crucial issue.

I'm not Canadian, but I've fired off letters. Believe me, every letter counts, no matter what country you live in. We stand together in fighting this Orwell, Big Brother, control stuff.

PLEASE speak out and add your voice.

Spotlight on ... Réunion!

(image credit: picasaweb.google.com)

Bonjour à mon ami dans St.-Denis, la Réunion!

I LOVE discoveries. When I saw I'd gotten a hit from someone in Réunion, I just had to investigate. And WHAT a find :)

This beautiful island is located near Mauritius. Wikipedia describes it thusly:

"Saint-Denis (or unofficially Saint-Denis de la Réunion for disambiguation) is the préfecture (administrative capital) of the French overseas région and overseas département of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean.

"Saint-Denis is the most populous commune in the French overseas departments. At the 1999 census, there were 158,139 inhabitants in the urban area of Saint-Denis, 131,557 of whom lived in the city (commune) of Saint-Denis proper and the remainder in the neighbouring commune of Sainte-Marie."

How cool is that -- it's a commune! (Okay, okay, but still ...)

(image credit: phonebookoftheworld.com)

And talk about colorful and interesting architecture -- check out City Hall:

(image credit: pbase.com)

And it's nice to know the people can be party animals, too :) --

(image credit: farm2.static.flickr.com)

Just, cool.

Finally: check out THIS photo gallery.

In my Spotlight series, I'm finding that I want to move right NOW, TODAY, to each place I look into. Can I split myself, Voldemort-wise, into enough pieces to enjoy them all? I'm looking into it.

La Réunion, un de ces jours je visiterai et je ne partirai jamais.

His Majesty, the King ... or the Deity ... or ....

Leave it to Oz writers like Tim Blair to correctly interpret what's behind the wildly swinging pendulum that is reaction to the election of Barack Obama (and it doesn't say much for our OWN so-called journalists):

"Time (M)agazine’s Nancy Gibbs hails the Almighty O:

'Some princes are born in palaces. Some are born in mangers. But a few are born in the imagination, out of scraps of history and hope. Barack Obama never talks about how people see him …'

"Time Inc.’s income in the most recent quarter dropped 35.5 per cent relative to 2007. Pray to Prince Obama. Some are born in Hawaii.

"UPDATE. The SMH’s Aaron Timms seems a little weary of political prince-making.

(Hahahahahaha! I am SO GROOVING on Time Magazine tanking. Filthy hypocrites. Welcome to the bread line, dawgs.)

"UPDATE II. Christopher Hitchens isn’t impressed by The O’s disciples:

'Can you picture anything less audacious than the gray, safety-first figures who have so far been chosen by Obama to be on his team?'"

***********************************************************

Re-read that last line. *grin*

*Sigh.* Pretty bad when Oz eclipses our own press. I'm not surprised. And I'm more than pleased. I celebrate real journalists wherever they come from, and, like anyone else, want the true story. (Plus, Oz rocks, rolls and rules. But nevermindthatnow.)

Sauce for the gander

Icarus asks:

"Hate directed at Catholics, Evangelicals & Mormons. Why not Muslims?"

Well, anonymous? Hmm? I'm waiting.

*crickets chirping*

(via Instapundit)

Bridge of death now bridge of hope

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sunnis and Shi'ites made an emotional reach across the sectarian divide on Tuesday, reopening a Baghdad bridge between the two communities closed since a 2005 stampede, the deadliest incident of the war."

"It had been closed since 2005 when rumors of a suicide bombing panicked thousands of Shi'ites crossing the bridge for a pilgrimage to the Kadhimiya shrine. About one thousand people died in that stampede, clogging the river below with corpses.

"But on Tuesday Sunni children from Adhamiya raced to see their Shi'ite friends in Kadhimiya. Women from the two communities met up on the bridge, kissing and hugging each other with joy."

Why we fight.

Please read the whole thing.

(via Instapundit)

The Flintstones get a pool

God bless all veterans

(image credit: urbaninfidel.blogspot.com)

I'm not fit to wipe your shoes. But I was proud to serve, however briefly. Thank you all, with everything I've got, for everything you've done.

Hitler Youth redux

Okay, so the blogosphere has noticed that the President-Elect has quickly airbrushed language from his "Change" website, specifically about community service and the fact that young Americans may be REQUIRED to put out X number of hours.

(Got that? Not "requested" -- not "encouraged" -- but REQUIRED. As in law.)

Well, as usual, A Missourian at An Advocate For The Republic puts his own, superbly dry spin on things. Commenting on the airbrushing, he said:

"Perhaps someone in the Obama camp glanced at the 13th amendment:

'Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. . .'"

The title of his post? "You'd Think That Amendment Would Be His Favorite ..."

Hahahahahaha! Oh, WELL done, my friend :)

Please read further into the blog. If you click on him right now, you'll get rich, bloggy goodness like why it's about to be a no-no to simply mention "illegal immigrants" in Arizona, angry Obama volunteers and why they're angry, and cannabalism among Republicans in disarray.

Just keep scrolling.

What. Unspeakable. Gall.

Via Blazing Cat Fur:

"Tomorrow, the CHRC [Canadian Human Rights Commission] plans to lay a wreath during the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa.

"According to their press release, the wreath is intended to:

'commemorate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations'Universal Declaration of Human Rights.'

"Funny, most ordinary Canadians see Remembrance Day as a chance to honor those who fought to preserve our freedoms -- not to commemorate a meaningless scrap of paper issued by a private club for dictators.

"The CHRC's publicity stunt is especially galling considering how many Canadian citizens are now under life-time speech bans imposed by these 'human rights' tribunals, merely for exercising their God-given (not UN given) rights of free speech, assembly and worship."

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Weasels. Slime. Parasites.

BCF includes links for all Canadians (hell, anyone who still cares about veterans, their sacrifices, and free speech) to let Members of Parliament know how they feel about this travesty. Please add your voice.