Friday, December 03, 2010

Hither and thither 12/3/10

Well gang, here's this week's cornucopia of eclectic yumminess. Remember the constants, and have at it:
  • What Planet Alert. In fact, Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth scoffs at the idea that higher taxes affect small businesses. Back on Earth, how many times have you heard business owners say, "I'd like to expand my business, but it'd put me in another tax-bracket, and that'd kill me"?
  • As predicted, the Democratic Congress voted to censure Representative Charles Rangel. That means they said "Bad! Bad!" — and let him retain power. Many (but not enough) had previously voted to reprimand him, which would have meant saying "Bad!", and allowing him to retain power. Alternately, they could have voted to admonish him. In other words, whisper "Baddish" — and let him retain power.
  • Rangel, by the way, as reader Robert points out, is the sponsor of H.R. 5741:  Universal National Service Act. That's the one that requires that "all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service." So you see that Rangel is absolutely indispensable to Congress.
  • Reader Susan has found a way to save us all time in this busy Christmas season: pre-blessed food. (Oh, my.)
  • News from Bizzaroland: the Obama White House says that not extending jobless benefits may cost 600,000 jobs. Yes. You read that right. Not paying people not to work... will cost jobs! Obamalogic.
  • I hate it when this happens:
  • Another white Baptist American pro-life Republican woman caught trying to kill a bunch of people. Well, except for all the specifics. Whew! Good thing the TSA doesn't profile! I feel so much safer.
  • Because, you know, profiling just makes 'way too much sense.
  • Meanwhile, one TSA agent says, "“I truly feel that it is morally and ethically wrong to do it.... This does not make flying safer. It’s just taking away American citizens [sic] rights.”
  • Plus, it's the American sheeple learning to submit.
  • But we can, as always, look to Hollywood for wisdom. Whoopi Goldberg says that not following our keepers' directions to the letter is an act of... freedom? Independence? Not with Obama in the White House: in this case, it is an act of terrorism. Can't make this stuff up. 
  • By that definition, my DAOD committed an act of terrorism earlier this week. And I couldn't be prouder.
  • Meanwhile, Doug Wilson takes up the subject again, he shoots, he scores.
  • Readers Staci Eastin and Laura Kelleher found a way to protest while complying. Very attitude-y.  I like it.
  • Does it comfort you to know that President Obama prays every night? Factor in Proverbs 28:9 — does it still comfort you?
  • Relatedly, from 2004 comes a lengthy interview with then-state-senator Barack Obama on the subject of his faith.
  • More substantially: check out the supposed 25 best burgers in the US. I have eaten... from one of those sources.  (My family says mine are the best.)
  • Fred Butler found some amazing new pictures of Chinese camouflage artist Liu Bolin. I had seen a number previously, but these are new to me.
  • Christopher Hitchens "winning" a "debate" with a Roman Catholic just proves that arguing that Romanism is mainly a force for good is a losing prospect. Which we pretty much knew.
  • In this computer age, turns out the James Bond who has apparently crippled Iran's nuclear program is neither a spy or a mole, but a worm. (Thanks, Paula.)
  • Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio, famous for not coddling inmates (and being hated by liberals), has actually been sued six times to prevent him from playing various kinds of music at Christmastime. And has won each suit.
  • Just in time for Christmas, reader Paula found us plush, snugglable bacon for the kiddies, that says "I'm bacon!" when you squeeze it.

  • Random Thought Alert: now I know that, in Greek, the main characters of the HP movies are Χάρι Πότερ, η Ερμιόνη και ο Ρον. They go to Χόγκγουαρτς, or used to. Their enemy is the evil Βόλντεμορτ...and then there's his snake, Ναγκίνι. (No mention of fallen professor Άλμπους Ντάμπλντορ, sadly.) (If you're not sure who I'm talking about, you can read of him in Βικιπαίδεια.)
  • Is this the most electicest blog ever, or what?
  • This is just so... so... so perfect. Reader Matt Klienhans observed that, with a stroke of the pen, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has eliminated Narcissism as a personality disorder. So, there y'go!
  • The ongoing cost of our freedom. Read an except from a very moving speech delivered by Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly, days after losing his own son in combat in Afghanistan. (The full speech is linked at the bottom.)
  • Inspired by my Josiah's Lego Nativity, Julie Garrett's sons teamed up and made a terrific Lego Nativity of their own.
  • Reader Al found a cool animation showing the growth of wealth and health among the nations. Be interesting to add the spread/decline of robust Gospel faith, wouldn't it?
  • Remember The Manhattan Declaration, the really poor document that some really excellent men and women put their name to? They came up with some kind of iPhone application, I don't know for what... but particular groups of sexual perverts demanding approbation, and women demeaning life, succeeded in getting Apple to pull it. And now, at no extra charge, an Irony Alert: the Manhattan Declaration blogger who crows in victory at this act of censorship, speaking for the MD people, is... also a blogger for a Romanist site.
  • BREAKING NEWS! Liberal Christian Jim Wallis is an idiot. Even a useful idiot.
  • OTOH, with soaring unemployment and deficit, what is the Dems' greatest concern? A hasty move to grant voting rights to yet more "undocumented Democrats."
  • Well, that and forcing the military to embrace a particular sexual perversion. On which subject....
  • Here's an interest study in MSM bias. Never seen anything quite like this though. Same paper, same day, two stories, two "takeaways." They even have almost the same pictures at the head! The news source is the Washington Times. The subject is forcing our military to accept open pursuers of a particular sexual perversion. One story says the military is OK with it, the other story says the military strongly resists it. Guess which one is from AP? Correct: the first. Guess which tells another story? Correct, the one by veteran national security reporter Rowan Scarborough.
  • Depressing to read the political military heads and desk-jockies ready to throw the fighting men under the bus in the name of political correctness and social experimentation.
  • Indeed, the indispensable Elaine Donnelly, of the Center for Military Readiness, agrees that the Pentagon let the troops down. She observes that the report identifies not one benefit to the military from forcing this issue; also, some 60% believe that it would have a negative impact; would have untold negative consequences on chaplains and those currently serving due to "Zero Tolerance" for recognizing homosexuality's immoral, aberrant nature. Just a rush-job to deliver on a bad political promise.
  • Perhaps even more of a killer: "More than a third of Marines (38.1 percent) and nearly a fourth of all personnel (23.7) said they would either leave the military or think about doing so if the policy is reversed, and 40 percent of Marines and 27 percent of all the military said they would be less likely to recommend to a friend or family member that he or she join the military." That's what I've been telling you: each move towards forcing the military to embrace this perversion is a move towards a compulsory draft.
  • Meanwhile, California's disgrace, Senatrix Barbara Boxer, had someone write an editorial for her pressing for this horrible idea, ignoring all the facts, and including this chestnut: "...American taxpayers have been forced to pay up to a half a billion dollars to replace the 13,000 service men and women discharged under this policy." Although, if the estimable Senatrix's point is that these individuals should be billed for the costs incurred by their knowing duplicity, I might be on-board.
  • Meanwhile, back in the Real World, the fellow at the root of "Wikileak," the disastrous leak of classified documents, is one of Boxer's noble victims, a pursuer of her favored perversion. Well, actually, not so much a victim, inasmuch as he did get in and managed to maintain advanced security clearance. They didn't ask, but boy, did he tell. And people — real people — will likely die because of yet another exercise in "diversity."
  • IBD has ten tough questions about Wikileaks for the Obama administration.
  • Of course, like most people who hate America, the Wikileaks founder is a real moral paragon. (Thanks to Robert Sakovich for the link.)
  • Oh, and on immigration: if the Dems don't process "undocumented Democrats" aggressively enough, Robert saw that we may witness the birth of the Tequila Party. If it drains votes from Dems and does no harm, I'm for it.
  • Another thing I'm for:
  • Update on Facebook-legalist pastor Cedrick Miller. We'd mentioned that he had some pretty gruesome sins in his recent past.  Well, because of that news resurfacing, he's leaving the pastorate... sort of. For ninety days. Then back at it. His church is behind him, because they "are confident that Pastor Cedric Miller is the man that God has chosen to lead this church into our destiny." 
  • And now for the Irony Alert: Who made that last-quoted statement? Associate Reverend Linda Parreott. Absolutely kills me. They can read God's mind, but they can't read God's Book.
  • Lot of that going around. (Thanks for the link, CR.)
  • Hm. Something is just missing from this HT.  What can it be...? I know! No Star Wars reference! Here you go... sort of:
  • Which can only lead to:















14 comments:

Robert said...

Reading that interview about Obama's faith was interesting. So basically he is a power-hungry universalist? Although, I'm not sure if he even cares about the true religious aspect, just the power. I swear that every time I see him (granted, not that often), that peacock strut of his gets worse. Just watch whenever he has to walk some distance and notice his his shoulders. Definitely the most proud and arrogant person I have seen in office.

DJP said...

Yeah, Robert, but remember:

Narcissism is not a mental disorder.

Anymore.

(c;

Aaron said...

It really makes me angry to think of these very wealthy legislators asking for tax increases "on the wealthy" all the while, avoiding or outright evading taxes themselves.

I also particularly love it when people say, oh 4% wont make anybody stop expanding or hiring. As if the tax rate was starting at zero. At some point, the amount of taxes, regulation, license fees, etc. become too burdensome to continue.

I'm sick of hearing the whining of these people on unemployment. I was recently reading a story of a man who said he couldn't find a job of any kind in CA. Even the local target had hundreds of applicants for one job. You know what? MOVE. Grow up, man up, leave the state and go somewhere you can get a job. I know the weather isn't as nice nor is it as scenic elsewhere. TOUGH.

I have to keep explaining this to some of my friends. Obama isn't Muslim. His religion is liberalism. Liberals cherry-pick religious quotes from all religions but in the end will ally themselves with anybody who is hostile to the true tenets of Christianity.

I wonder how long John MacArthur's Iphone App will be around?

Brad Williams said...

I want to confess that your H&T has revealed to me that I am a very shallow person.

All this political commentary you have that would help me stay informed, do I read it? Sometimes, but usually no. Why not, you may ask? Well, I cannot quit looking at the kid going for the spoon or the kid hanging upside down by his pants in the kitchen. I look at that kid hanging there and think, "Yeah, I can totally see how that could happen."

I guess I find the upside down kid more profound than politics. I'm hopeless.

Kay said...

as always with the H&T... you can't touch this ;-)

Kirby said...

Silver linings on the Oregon Christmas tree terrorism attempt. A) It was foiled. B) It had to be foiled by middle-Eastern looking FBI agents.

DJP said...

Kay, LOL

Brad, you're reading it correctly. The Hometown Buffet cooks don't actually expect each guest to eat every item.

Sonja said...

The upside of removing narcissism as a disorder is that a gazillion people won't be able to use it as a diminished capacity defense or file for disability.

Maybe that or there's just too many narcissists who think they're so darn special.

Lot's of meat this week, thanks Dan!

SolaMommy said...

Lots of goodies this week, Dan :-)

Paula Bolyard said...

As the IBD 10 Questions suggested, even if the U.S. government had the nerve to shut down the Wikileaks operation through some sort of cyber-ops (certainly we have the capability, right?) as long someone has a flash drive with the data and a news source willing to publish our secrets, there's no stopping this.

Under the guise of the 1st amendment, we're standing by dumbly while our allies publish our military and diplomatic secrets with impunity.

Meanwhile, our tough, no-nonsense Attorney General, Eric Holder is busy with his (failed) bid to secure the World Cup soccer tournament and shopping for fake Prada purses online. From a Justice Department press release last week:

"The coordinated federal law enforcement operation targeted online retailers of a diverse array of counterfeit goods, including sports equipment, shoes, handbags, athletic apparel and sunglasses as well as illegal copies of copyrighted DVD boxed sets, music and software.

Don't we all feel safer?

John said...

That's the longest post of links ever!

I love the picture of the boy hanging from the drawer, by the way. That must have been taken in our kitchen...

Sharon said...

After reading the lengthy interview of Obama's faith I found him sounding like the Sadducees who were liberal compromisers and political opportunists. The Sadducees were also rationalists as is Obama. Thanks for the enlightening link!

Toyin O. said...

Love the picture of the two boys, funny:)

Christopher Barnette said...

While I can definitely see where you're coming from, personally, I've never been bothered by the whole Xmas hubbub. Christmas is for the church and we should all know what this holiday is about. The unbelievers will make a mockery of Christ and do as they please no matter what the holiday is called.

It's a moot point nowadays at any rate. Now all the media/businesses/apostate churches just say "Holiday" -tree, -party, -gifts, etc. because even writing xmas is too exclusive.