Tuesday, December 30, 2008

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!"

Sunday, December 28, 2008

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

Friday, December 26, 2008

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 :)

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

My friends --

Merry Christmas.

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

:)

Sunday, December 21, 2008

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.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

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.

Friday, December 19, 2008

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.)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

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)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

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 :)

Friday, December 12, 2008

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!)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

'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)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

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.

Monday, December 8, 2008

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?

Friday, December 5, 2008

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'.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

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.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

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."

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

"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

Monday, December 1, 2008

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 :)