Friday, December 17, 2010

Hither and thither 12/17/10

Last H&T before Christmas week. Have fun, kiddies, and remember the H&T constants.
  • Okay, okay... got it! Wait! Waaaaaaaait.....

  • Thank God — at the moment — for Republicans and public pressure: the $1.1 trillion pork-laden spending bill was defeated. It is a 1,924-page bill which no one read, which the lame-duck Dems led by Sen. Harry Reid were trying to ram through, including (I've read) something like $500 million in spending per page. But apparently some people took at least some dim notice of the election just over a month ago.
  • But Reid is angry about it. He thinks it is his job to confiscate and spend other peoples' money as he sees fit, beyond Constitutionally-warranted bounds. (Shame on the Nevadans who left him in office.) So now he will turn his efforts to ramming through rewarding illegal immigrants by conferring citizenship on their children ahead of those waiting in line legally to become citizens, and forcing the military to embrace a particular sexual perversion. This could happen Sunday; ironic, eh? And here I must modify my earlier praise of the GOP: a disheartening number of GOP congressmen and Senators are working to betray our military and move us towards compulsory draft.
  • Is this the most dangerous lame-duck Congress, ever?
  • Wow... so snowflakes actually do look like that. (Thanks to reader Kristine Nunez for the link.)
  • FRiend Elliot shares what lawyers spend their spare time on.
  • Irritating story, happy(ish) ending: a man in Arizona was disqualified from redrawing electoral districts because he was a Christian. The happy ending is that the gent who blackballed him has resigned. The "ish" is because none of the other 12 objected to the blackballing.
  • Here are some awfully cool gingerbread houses.
  • So. See that chubby little kid over there? Looks innocent, doesn't he. Look again. He's not just a little butterball — he's a "national security threat"! Or so says Recognized Expert (?) Michelle Obama.
  • Which isn't exactly true, to say the least.
  • And besides, does anyone really believe that a fatter government will make for thinner kids?
  • So you won't ever have to watch a zombie movie:

  • ...though not, necessarily, in a good way.
  • Gil Sebenste found us a pretty amazing iPhone app called Word Lens, that apparently translates a foreign language in realtime using the camera, as you view it. The app is free, but adding the dictionaries is not — so I haven't tested it.
  • So, the Red Cross in Britain instructed their 430 fund-raising shops that they could not have any displays or other indications that they are celebrating Christmas, for fear of offending Moslems. They can have a bit of tinsel, some snow, that's it. Interestingly, Moslems are quoted as thinking this is pretty ridiculous.
  • Relatedly, nothing says "Christmas" like an eel-powered tree.
  • More seriously, reader Keith Lamborn found a touching tale of one man's anonymous generosity during similarly hard times.
  • Our worst ex-president, ever, felt it was time to tell the world that America is ready for a president who openly yields himself to the pursuit of a vile sexual perversion. (Does it still matter which one?)

 
  • Maybe for Kay's next birthday cake?

  • Truly shocking news: Gallup finds that there are still 13% of Americans who approve of Congress. Who are these people? If we count up all of those who work in or for Congress, would that be 13%?
  • It's embarrassing to admit to living in the same city as a state-employed woman who is suing McDonald's for their Happy Meals marketing. I can't see it as other than pathetic.
  • Stark Contrast Alert. I in no way follow football, but I learned about Hunter Smith, a punter who was just let go from the Washington Redskins, because he failed to catch a poorly snapped ball, costing his team a tying point. His statement is worth quoting at length: "I don't want to make this too serious -- we are talking about football here -- but it is a moral duty on some level to tell the truth and to take responsibility. And I won't go off too much on my values and things like that, but I believe that I'm a part of a generation, really, the Lawsuit Generation. Everything is somebody else's fault. People that are my age -- and a little younger, and a little older -- want to blame somebody else, and they tend to want to self-protect. And I really reject that as a pattern of behavior, and as a pattern of morality. It's not how I'm going to live my life. When I make a mistake, I'm going to own up to it. And really, that's kind of what all this comes down to."
  • Unsurprisingly, Smith is a professed Christian.
  • BTW, and at no extra charge: do you know what would cut down drastically on frivolous lawsuits? The implementation of something like Deuteronomy 19:16-21. I'm for it. Seriously.
  • Reader Robert Sakovich found an interesting story about a woman who jumped in to help a police officer who was in a scuffle. Her immediate reward was to be handcuffed when backup arrived; she was released. Obviously, I don't know all the details, but it's an interesting story, isn't it? This officer is rescued (A) from a 64-year-old man (B) by a woman. What is he going to be hearing in the locker room? Suggestions to spend more time in the gym, the dojo, and the shooting range, perhaps? Regardless, Kudos to the woman, who has some sort of faith in God.
  • Blastr put up How to insult LOTR, Star Wars & Harry Potter fanboys with a single image:


  • "Yogandledore"?
  • Think that was weird? Pah. Look at this:
  • All righty, then.
  • We've lost Brad Williams for the rest of the post, so we might as well cut to the closing images.





27 comments:

Steve Berven said...

About the Red Cross link, one wonders what the percentage of charitable giving is of Muslims vs. Christians? I, for one, would be a tad unlikely to donate any money to an organization so vested in scrubbing any mention of Christmas. And just how many muslims are going to be donating to the Red Cross instead of the Red Crescent or some such? Really?

Seems pretty financially stupid.

Word Verif: nonsess. Really.

David Regier said...

So Christmas is offensive to Muslims.

How about Red Cross?

Robert said...

How nice and refreshing was that quote from Hunter Smith? I wish we could see/hear more of that here in the US (let alone the whole world). I need to go over that with my boys and use it as a lesson on responsibility and character.

Mike said...

Interesting that Harry Reid seems to be fighting against his own president on this. I've been pretty frustrated with republicans' inability to stick to their conservative principles (ex. putting a bunch of earmarks in themselves knowing they are actively fighting against the practice). To me the most frustrating thing is watching republican senators use our Christian holiday for their political maneuvering. It comes off as blatantly disingenuous (ie. moreso than is typical for politicians). If you're going to make Christians look bad, just don't associate with us at all. It's like having a Jesus fish on your car and flipping off a car near you in a fit of road rage.

Politics has always been more about spin and making the other side look bad than about honest dialog and jointly reaching the right conclusion. Both sides sweep their own failures under the rug as they present their arguments. What's fascinating is the Maddow/Hannity dynamic. Maddow tells us republicans are responsible for the earmarks they're fighting against, and Hannity fails to mention that the republicans contributed significant numbers of earmarks as well. "Don't be honest as that would be a sign of weakness." In that case, I just wish they would stop expressing association to Christianity at all. We have enough trouble with the way the public sees the church without adding their junk in with it.

Son Followers Blog

DJP said...

Associating with Christianity doesn't bother me in the least, as long as it is warranted such as protecting the sanctity of life and justice (by which I mean vindicating the innocent and punishing the guilty). In most cases, as a very general rule, only the GOP can make such associations, and only occasionally.

Brad Williams said...

You almost lost me at the frog and the fly. I'm so glad I persevered to the end to see I got (dis?)honorable mention!

Fred Butler said...

Americans can only wish our TV commercials were as compellingly bizarre as Japan's. I mean, I so want a banana now.

Mike said...

You mean only the GOP can make such accusations convincingly? :) We've seen lots of cases where political figures associate themselves with the church for political maneuvering. My favorite example is Bill Clinton. Mr. Obama certainly had some church-related excitement. John Kerry reportedly quoted scripture in a speech several years ago.
John Kerry's sermon
There are certainly Christian democrats out there. My grandparents are Christian democrats, mostly I think because they've always been that way (and because they've been sucked in by MSNBC).

I know it won't change. It's just a small thing that frustrates me sometimes. If people are going to associate themselves with Christianity, it would be great if they could just do their best to represent the values and message that Christianity is. Christians are not trusted in the world as it is.

Son Followers Blog

DJP said...

I think you didn't read me carefully. I said, "Associating with Christianity doesn't bother me in the least, as long as it is warranted...."

A parrot can say he's a Christian. Saying you're a Christian Democrat is a bit like saying you're a Christian Klansman. I guess it can be done — but whyever would you?

Robert said...

That article about "B. Virdot" giving to the needy and his grandson finding the relatives of the recipients brought a tear to my eyes. I would imagine that the author got a wonderful sense of his grandfather as he read the letters and met these people. It is wonderful to see the grace of God at work in people.

Kirby said...

@Fred Butler

Japanese TV makes most Americans go "Wha? Wha? Okay, that was bizarre."

The caption as he's floating away: "I am DOLE-man"

Which I'm sure we've all been waiting for him since the Chiquita banana girl.

Almost makes me want to see the fruit cocktail commercial.

Ron (aka RealityCheck) said...

"Saying you're a Christian Democrat is a bit like saying you're a Christian Klansman"

Ahh Dan... it's comments like that that put a smile on my face and keep me coming back. ;-)

Yesterday I saw a car with three bumper stickers on it:

"Obama", "No on Prop 8" and "Proud member of the religious left". If only it had been on a "Smart Car". ;-)

DJP said...

Kirby, that little bit of information opens up whole vistas for me. Stay tuned next week.

Colloquist said...

The snowflakes do indeed look that way. They have no choice; they must look like that. One might say they are predestined from eternity past to look as they do.

As for your embarrassment at being from the same city as the McD's litigant, I submit that the shame of being from the state that just re-elected Harry Reid is exponentially worse. I want to change my address to a whole 'nother STATE.

DJP said...

Guessing it won't be California, where we just rewarded Barbara Boxer's decades of wrongheaded idiocy with... another term!

Aaron said...

Does anybody else find some sort of weird irony in the government saying kids are starving and yet are obese at the same time?

The cancer drug story is disturbing but expected. I live in Houston which is a cancer treatment mecca because of MD Anderson. I have personal encounters with people all the time whose lives are affected by the newest and latest drugs. Many of these drugs are extremely recent and nothing short of miraculous.

So your kid wont eat what you want them to, huh? Why don't you stop taking them to McDonalds. Or how this, spank your little darlings and sit them in a "timeout" chair in the corner until they develop a taste for the food you give them (assuming the food your providing is reasonable). Or how about this. Lighten up and let your kids have a happy meal every now and then. Good grief. A hamburger and fries once in a while wont kill anybody.

Aaron said...

@DJP: don't forget CA also (re)elected Jerry Brown.

Stan always wants to secede. I keep telling him that we just need CA to secede, then the country would return to normal. CA is most certainly an illustration of Romans 1. After all my travels, I can't think of a place that better displays God's Glory through creation then CA from top to bottom. And yet, Romans 1:18-20

CR said...

Michael,

What the MSM won't tell you is that the Republican earmarks in the Omnibus were made in the past year prior to the self-imposed pork ban. Kim Strassel outlined this in her editorial piece today in the WSJ.

Aaron said...

It seems other are figuring out that Texas is the place to go.

I wonder how long before you CA dwellers move in next door.

Mike said...

CR,

I hadn't heard that. What I did manage to see is an interview that basically amounted to a mugging where two republican senators were asked about why they were fighting Omnibus based on earmarks when they were major contributors of 50 or so earmarks each (at least those are the details I remember). These two guys completely embarrassed themselves. Their response basically amounted to "Yes, we put in a ton of earmarks and we are fighting those too!" Clearly they had a rough day. It's unfortunate they weren't prepared with the argument you bring up. It was pretty ugly.

Son Followers Blog

Sonja said...

Sorry Dan, but I just couldn't bring myself to watch the Carter clips. However, I wasn't aware of the book and I thought such a book was long overdue, then realizing I'm just late to the party. The product description is wonderful:

"This book reveals a man who has been given a dangerously free pass by historians, but who in reality is not only a failed ex-president, but as vindictive as he is egotitical, and a self-righteous busybody who leaves diaster in his wake. [sic]"

On that alone I'd give it 5-stars!

Self-Righteous Busybodies would be a good for a band or an honest title for the progressive manifesto.

CR said...

No offense, Sir Aaron, but, God willing, it will be a cold day in Hell before I ever move to Texas. God bless you Texans for voting Republican, but you can keep your hot humid summers, hurricane warnings, and overall, boring state.

Aaron said...

No offense taken, Carlo. When your job moves to Texas, you can tell me all about how great CA is.

And dude: Only part of the state gets hurricane warnings and only part of the state is humid. And let me tell you, having been through both...better a hurricane than a major earthquake.

Aaron said...

Oh, BTW, I didn't move from So Cal to Texas without much trepidation. You don't leave your homeland on a whim. And the downsides you mentioned...well, it's worth it when you figure the home I lived in CA could fit in just my downstairs here in Texas (and costs half as much).

CR said...

Aaron,

I'm happy with my 2,000 sq. ft. home, wouldn't know what to do with anything bigger! LOL.

Aaron said...

Carlo: It's funny how one thinks until you get into a bigger home. Then you're straddling the fence between complaining about cleaning it and wanting more space! Plus think about how you could sell your home and buy one the same size with upgraded features with cash! And your pay would be higher than in CA and no income tax.

Suddenly, the weather doesn't seem so bad.

Obviously single life is different than family life. One's priorities change pretty drastically. It wasn't until I contemplated a family that I felt an urge to move.

Solameanie said...

Given Dumbledore's homosexuality (according to the author of Harry Potter), I have to wonder whether Hogwarts has a "don't ask, don't tell" policy?

Fast forward ten years to a Harry Potter sequel, and we'll have the headmasters openly hitting on the students and the actors getting an Oscar. The North American Man-Boy Love Association will be one of the principal sponsors of the Oscar telecast.

Hmmm. I suddenly realized that I am a pessimist when it comes to American society.