benning's Writing Pad

Adventures in Floor Care

2012-01-22T07:39:00.000-05:00

Stripping floors, in a commercial setting, can be dangerous. The very act of applying stripper to a waxed floor means you have to take great care walking around. A stripper-covered floor is incredibly slick. More than once I’ve found myself smacking the floor as my feet have done a Wile E. Coyote dance in the air. No traction at all! But that’s the price of doing the job: you take your time, move with care, and pray you won’t take a wrong step. ;)

Last night that wrong step had not a danged thing to do with a slippery floor! Oy!

So Saturday we - myself, and two co-workers - had an Animal Hospital to strip. It’s been nearly three years since it was last stripped, which is way too long between strippings. I knew we were in for a tough job, but we would be careful, and we’d strip it twice, if need be. And that’s what I ended up doing on most of the floor.

Having stripped the surgery for a second time, the floor was no longer a greased Teflon surface, but I decided to wash down the coving - baseboards - with water to rinse off the stripper and push it away from the walls. This makes vacuuming the sludge much easier, as well as the later rinse.

So there I was, with my plastic pitcher of water, crouched over, doing a rinse of the coving, and moving well. And where was I looking? At the baseboards, of course. I completely forgot the X-Ray film viewer bolted to the wall. You know, the one with the very sharp corners? Well, trust me, that’s the one!

Next thing I knew something struck my head a tremendous blow! I thought it was one of those annoying over-head light fixtures that will not stay up! I slapped my hand to my head - dang! It hurt! - and looked over to see what I had actually hit. Yep! The Viewer cabinet bolted firmly to the wall. Pulling my hand down, I figured I might have some blood - it was a whale of a shot! - and sure enough there was blood. A lot of it!

I could feel the warm trickle running down the side of my face, and slapped my hand back on it, then ambled out of the surgery to a nearby sink.

“A little cold water might stop this,” I figured.

My co-workers were out there, and probably heard my loud imprecations at the offending cabinet and my own utter stupidity, because they were both staring at me. I splashed water on my head a few times, then clamped some paper towels onto the spot.

“Dayum!” I heard one of the guys say. “You better get to the hospital, man.”

I pulled off the paper towels and saw they were soaked red.

“Oh shit, man, you better go,” said the other one. He grabbed some gauze pads and handed them to me. I realized I could still feel a warm trickle down my face, even with a new set of paper towels, so I asked him to put the gauze over the damaged place. Yep! I was holding the towels just under the actual cut! LOL

We went out, hopped in his truck, and motored down to the local Emergency Room. It took maybe 30 minutes to get checked in (I sent my co-worker back to the Animal Hospital about midway through the wait.), called to an exam room, get all the vital stats done, then find my way into one of the treatment rooms. Another 10 for the Doctor to come in and begin torturing me. ;)

Actually every step of the way the folks at the Countryside Mease Hospital were friendly and helpful. My brains weren’t leaking, so it wasn’t like a life-threatening situation. :)

The Doc talked me through every thing he did, warning me when he was about to stick a needle in, to numb the area, and so on. We joked most of the time. He seemed unimpressed at my complaints over no longer having such an awesomely pretty visage.

I barely felt the needle, only sort of felt the stitches going in - I have a nice 90-degree cut, with a little bit of *me* missing - and when he left he had explained everything. The Nurse came in about 5 minutes later, to give me a tetanus shot. I didn’t feel that at all! I don’t know what they teach Doctors and Nurses these days, but giving a hypodermic seems to be perfected at Countryside Mease! :D

Signed my release, and went outside to call my co-worker to come back and get me. So I spent the rest of the night with my head bandaged like an Apache. This morning that wrap had pretty much come off. So I had my first look at the damage.

*meh!* Not so bad. But it’s very tender, and after a shower I’ve slathered it with an anti-biotic.

And that was yesterday’s Adventure in Floor Care. :) And how was your day?

PS: I said copious thanks to the Lord for knocking some sense into me, and for the help I received, too. The Lord is always very good to me, despite the fact I'm a grubby sinner. :D

F2K & A Repost

2012-01-11T08:10:00.001-05:00

Our little Writing University has changed a bit in the last decade. We’ve had to move the site a few times - security concerns - and lost some folks in all the packing and un-packing. The original layout of the place has changed, too. Some changes for the better, some ... not so much. And along the way some of our members have passed on. Two of my good writing friends went on to the Great Publisher last year - Joan McNulty Pulver, and Margaret Carr. Their presence is missed by those who worked with them, and called them Friends.

One of the biggest changes is that WVU and F2K - the Free Basics of Fiction Writing Course - now have Social Walls, similar to Facebook. For some members that’s a nice thing. For others it’s not. And some hate it, thinking it’s just unprofessional. *shrug* The Social Walls are there. They are what we make of them.

In any event, we’ve weathered the storms, and remain. And F2K is about to start yet another session on January 25th. Registration closes on January 24th. So if you have dreams of becoming a writer, or merely want to hone your writing a bit, or need a kick-start to your writing, you might want to try F2K. The links are current, so take a look.

Below you’ll find a repost of an old post from January of 2006. It’s called “How I Became an F2K Mentor”. Have a great day!

F2K is a free writing course hosted by Writers' Village University. It's a really good writing course. So good, in fact, that I signed up for it three times! After the second session I joined WVU as a member. Been there ever since! I highly recommend it to any writers out there.

Anyway, back to F2K.

Very early during my first trip through, I found that staying in my own classroom was not quite my 'cup of tea'. I liked to peek in at the other classes, see who was in there, read what they were writing. And I'd give a little feedback, too. Hey! For me, that was fun. And I had the time, being single - hint! hint! Ladies! - and curious.

Got to know quite a few writers - fellow students - and came to be known as a 'kibbitzer' around F2K. Truth is, I know I infected a few others who then became 'kibbitzers' as well. Hehehee!

There are always a few writers who, for some unknown reason, do not get many comments or feedback on their writing. Some just show up late, and they never catch on with the others. Some don't feel qualified to give feedback, so nobody gives feedback to them. And, yes, some write horrible stuff.

It's true.

So it feels good to add some feedback to an empty board. Know what I mean? Besides, I read some very nice things in my Kibbitzing travels.

Well, fast forward to my third trip through F2K in the Autumn of 2005. I may be a better writer now, but I still enjoy the 'kick in the pants' that F2K can provide to any writer. So there I am. Taking the lessons again, and doing my thing. My thing being ... remember the word? ... Kibbitzing!

Hehehee! Yep, Ol' benning was kibbitzing the different classrooms again, even ticking off one of the Mentors. Mentors are volunteers who guide the students, answer questions, and keep an eye on things. There's a Mentor for each classroom. So, for me, nothing had changed, really. Except ...

Well, seems they needed another Mentor or two. Seems they did notice that Ol' benning got around, met the students, gave advice or steered the students to the right people to ask, and just generally helped out. Did Ol' benning know that's what he was doing? Hardly. Ol' benning was having fun. Period.

So the Head Mentor, whom I call 'MA', emailed me and asked if I'd be interested in becoming an F2K Mentor. Sheesh! Me? But that's a responsibility, right? *sigh*

Well, 'MA' and the others are friends of mine, y'know. We're all members of WVU. If they ask, they must think I can do it. Right? That's what I figured. So, I said, "Sure, I'll do it."

Some procedural things followed, and then 'MA' wanted to know if I had a Name for the room I would have. See, all the classrooms bear the name of a writer. Some I've never heard of, so I know the Mentor named it for some obscure favorite. One room is named for a former F2K Mentor - Colin R. Onstad - who passed away. Well, I'd think about it, right? I'd want a good writer to grace the nameplate of my room, right? You betcha!

Emailed 'MA' a few minutes later. "Can I have the Robert A. Heinlein room?" If you never heard of him, look him up! Sheesh!

And that's the room I'm Mentoring in right now. LOL

So far, in this, my first run at Mentoring, it's been interesting. But it's still very early. We'll see if I can actually do what the veteran Mentors can. But I haven't scared any students away. Yet.

We'll see.

Hit those links at the top of this post, or over to the left there. Great places for writers. Trust me! I'm not a politician! :D

Selah!

2012-01-10T05:09:00.003-05:00

"Selah"

Psalm 77:1-3 "[...] I cried out to God with my voice--To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.

"In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.

"I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah"

What does 'selah' mean? It shows up over 70 times in the King James version of the Bible. More in a Hebrew Bible, I'm informed. Three times it is found in the book of Habakkuk the prophet (in the third chapter [KJV]), the rest in the Psalms. What's the point of the word? Why is it there?

Psalm 3:1-4 "A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many [are] they who rise up against me.

"Many [are] they who say of me, '[There is] no help for him in God.' Selah

"But You, O LORD, [are] a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

"I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah"

According to the experts it may have a few meanings, though nobody is certain of its meaning. Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selah - says,

"Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, and is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela' (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen". "Selah" can also be used to indicate that there is to be a musical interlude at that point in the Psalm. The Amplified Bible states Selah as "pause, and think of that"."

Is either correct?

Is it a musical direction? Why would we assume that? Granted, many Psalms are addressed to the Chief Musician. But the writers of the Psalms were not musicians themselves. Nor was Habakkuk. So why would, for instance David, give musical directions in his Psalms?

Habakkuk was writing a Prayer in the third book. Okay, perhaps his prayer was meant to be sung. But nowhere does that prayer says so. So why a musical direction? No, in my mind the idea that Selah is a musical direction, or notation, is way off. Nor does it make too much sense to propose that it might mean to add a musical interlude at that point. That, too, makes little sense.

So what's left? That notion of Selah being 'an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen," may be closer, if not right on the money. As The Mountain Retreat - http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/selah.html - puts it,

"With all of these "experts" making such contradictory statements, one tends to wonder, "can we even really know what Selah means?" The answer to this question I believe is yes. And the answer really shouldn't be subjective or left to conjecture. Because there is much we can learn about this word from the original Hebrew in which it is written, from allowing the Bible to be its own dictionary, and from comparing scripture with scripture and allowing God to be His own interpreter. All of these things can give us a solid illustration of this word's true meaning.

Selah, [celah], is from the primary Hebrew root word [calah] which literally means 'to hang,' and by implication to measure (weigh). This is readily understood because in Biblical history, money, food and other valuables were 'weighed' by hanging or suspending them on a type of balance (the equivalent of our measuring scale) to determine their value. We find an example of this word [calah] as it is literally translated 'valued,' in the book of Job, indicating that which is measured."

Maybe that's a little too 'literary' or 'scholarly' for us? But the base meaning is clear. It is an instruction within the text. But the instruction depends on the actual text. So we need to use context as our guide.

As Doctor Gene Scott used to say, you can simply translate it as, "Think of that!" or, "Imagine that!" And the context tells you if the word, Selah, is used in a positive or negative way. It can be mocking, too, you know. So the context might translate Selah into something like, "Can you imagine how silly that is?" In some contexts it's easy to translate Selah into, "Imagine how awesome that is!"

But it can always mean the simplest of things, as in that root of the word. So Selah could just mean, "Weigh that idea." Or even, "Look at the value of that thought."

In some places the King James translators used a bit of whimsy, as they translated the very same word. And it became, in Lamentations 1:15, for instance, "The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress." Here, 'hath trodden under foot' is actually Selah, or the root Hebrew word 'celah'. The second instance of 'trodden' in this verse is, in fact, a different word, entirely, and means trodden.

(Yes, I know the King James translators did a wonderful job. But they did take liberties in places, and translated the exact same words and phrases, in different places, into different meanings. Thus, for example, you have the phrase in Genesis 1:2 'The earth was without form, and void;', yet the exact same Hebrew phrase can also be translated translated into, "And the earth became a waste and a desolation". Which gives an entirely different meaning to the phrase. And also goes a long way to explaining some of the phrases, and thoughts or ideas, found throughout the Old Testament. )

Again, from The Mountain Retreat,

"[...] Whenever we see this word in scripture, we should understand that the Lord is exhorting us to 'weigh' these things thoughtfully, and to reflect and consider in good sense judgment, what is 'really' being said.

And despite claims to the contrary, there is no substantive Biblical evidence that Selah is an interrupter to pause the music while voices continue, nor is there sound evidence that it is for the pausing of voices while the music continues. These ideas are based upon the conjecture and theories of it being a music stop. It is a presupposition rather than a well researched conclusion. But what we do know is that it is a word which means to weigh or measure. And in these contexts, to weigh the preceding words of God and wisely consider them. It is a signature exhortation from God for our thoughtful reflection and weighing of what we have just read."

Selah!

Timing

2012-01-08T06:23:00.001-05:00

Timing is an important concept in a lot of our endeavors. In sports timing can be the difference between victory and defeat. In Art, Music, or literature timing can be important, as something may be an utter failure as Art, or Music, or Literature, simply because it is presented to the public before the public is ready for it. It's "ahead of its time," as the saying goes.

When it comes to the plans of God, our understanding of things being timely are woefully inadequate. We expect- demand - God to do things on our timetable. Why doesn't God get that? We're suffering, or in difficulties, and God is taking His sweet time answering our prayers. Though it's danged hard for us to appreciate, God has His own view of Time, and His timing is not ours. His existence is both within Time, and without. God sees the entire span of Time in terms of millennia, at the very least, and His plans are intricately laid out, and working, even as we're demanding He just do something!

Well.

Do you remember the story of Joseph? Sold into bondage by his own brothers, winds up a slave in Egypt, and eventually becomes the most powerful man in Egypt. He is reconciled with his brothers. God could easily have put Joseph into Egypt, and in that position, with speed, and ease. No pain, no fear, no suffering. But He didn't, and the tale is a powerful one for Bible readers today. It is also a nice illustration of God's plan, working His will, on His own Timeline.

Genesis 37:1-30 gives you the buildup to the amazing life of Joseph, and shows how the oldest son of Jacob - Reuben - fitted into God's Plan, and Timeline, for Joseph. And, of course, by extension, all of the Children of Israel. For even Reuben, sinful, destined to lose his Birthright, was used by God to ensure that Joseph would be spared, and that the sons of Jacob would not become murderers.

We learn that Joseph was his father's favorite, spoiled and treated openly as better than all his brothers. Jacob (Israel) thus engendered in his own sons' hearts a hatred of their own brother.

Genesis 37:3 & 4 "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of [many] colors.
"But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."

And if you read the chapter you will not be all that surprised. For Joseph is described in ways that make you wonder why he wasn't smacked around on a regular basis by his brothers. Joseph was very much a proud, boastful youngster. He had all the tact and diplomacy of a kick to the crotch. He seems to be quite proud to relate his dreams to his brothers, and his own father, in which Joseph is exalted over them all.

So picture this family, then, shepherds of sorts, who spread out over a vast territory. So vast, in fact, that it took days for them to go from one feeding area to another. Jacob was not a poor shepherd, but a rich man, for his times, and his favorite son, Joseph, was his most spoiled off-spring. And as this particular story begins, the brothers are off tending the flocks in Shechem, among other places.

Genesis 37:13,14 'And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding [the flock] in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

Joseph may be a self-centered, self-important jerk, but he is also obedient to his father. And off he went. But by the time he reached Shechem the brothers had moved on, and Joseph had to go even farther, until he found them near Dothan. A rather long trek, and far from his father's home. And of course, he was wearing that many-colored coat, as he traveled. His brothers could see him coming from a good distance.

Genesis 37: 18-20 - 'Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! "Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"

And that would have been that, right? The brothers had blood in their eyes, so strong was their hatred of the young man. And Joseph was nowhere near home. Who would have known the difference? Certainly not Jacob.

But one brother, the oldest, the one Jewish commentators believe had the softest heart of them all, could not accept murder. Reuben - the man who would lose his birthright for an ugly sin - would stand between his brothers murderous designs, and his obnoxious younger brother, Joseph.

Genesis 37:21-24 'But Reuben heard [it], and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him." And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, [but] cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him"--that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph [of] his tunic, the tunic of [many] colors that [was] on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit [was] empty; [there was] no water in it.

And at this point Reuben leaves. There are all sorts of reasons given, such as Reuben circling around to return and pull Joseph out of the pit, to take him home; going off to watch the flocks; having business to attend to, before he can return for Joseph. Whatever reason Reuben had for leaving, just then, he had to leave. God had His own plans for Joseph, and they did not include sending him home. Joseph was to be tempered by trial. And so God found something for Reuben to do to take him away from that pit. Timing.

So Joseph was in the bottom of a pit, Reuben was off - intending to return and save his brother a little later, perhaps after sunset - and the grumbling, murderous brothers remained. And timing rears its head, as God continues to act out His own plans.

Genesis 37:25-28 'And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry [them] down to Egypt.
So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit [is there] if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
"Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he [is] our brother [and] our flesh." And his brothers listened.
Then Midianite traders passed by; so [the brothers] pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty [shekels] of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.'

And here, if you can't feel for the young man, you have a very hard heart. Oh, he was going be better off, eventually. But at that moment he knew only that his own brothers hated him so much that they would sell him into slavery to be rid of him. And what of Reuben? For Reuben had intended to return and pull Joseph from that pit, and get him home to his father.

Genesis 37:29,30 - Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad [is] no [more]; and I, where shall I go?"

And Reuben mourned for that spoiled brother of his. He had no idea that God was moving His own plans along, and that Joseph would be fine, by and by. Poor Reuben.

Timing. God's timing is all, and we can accept that, or rail against our fates. God worked the timing so that Jacob's flocks were far from home, indeed farther away than he thought. He sent the one man to them who the brothers hated to the point of murder. So far that the Midianite caravan would not be seen by Jacob, nor Joseph recognized as Jacob's son, by those Midianites. God placed Reuben close enough to overhear his brothers plotting Joseph's murder, and stop them, and then sent him on his way so that he could not keep his brothers from selling Joseph into slavery. Timing.

We have our own concept of the timely, and God has His own. And God's timing wins. No, we don't always understand, but we are the clay to God's Potter. We don't have the standing to complain. If God decides to intercede, in answer to our prayers, He does so because it fits, or does not alter, His plans, His timing.

His plans for Joseph required a lot of things to happen at the right place, and the right time, in the proper sequence. And eventually Joseph would go on to unimagined power, in Egypt. Reuben, and his brothers, and family, would eventually be reconciled with their brother. For God's plans included Egypt, not only for the wealth and bounty of that land, but also as He ingrafted Egyptian blood into the line of the Children of Israel.

And what did Joseph think of all this, so many years later, as he looked at his brothers standing before him? In Genesis 42:22,23 we read that the brothers, not recognizing Joseph, have been thrown into prison. Joseph has not revealed himself to them.

And Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not speak to you, saying, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us."
But they did not know that Joseph understood [them], for he spoke to them through an interpreter.

Reuben remembered, still, and still mourned, I believe. And Joseph heard every word. Read the rest, and see how they were finally shown who Joseph was, how they feared for their lives since Joseph could have had them all executed. And then read this, as God continues to work His own plans:

Genesis 50:18 - 21 - 'Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we [are] your servants." Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for [am] I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; [but] God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as [it is] this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.'

"You meant evil against me; [but] God meant it for good," Joseph says. God had surely tempered the young man; the older man had become wise.

God's plans; God's timing. All of it He has worked out from the very Beginning, and He will see it accomplished.

God bless you! :D

Genesis: Strange Facts?

2012-01-06T12:14:00.001-05:00

Genesis has, as you know, many strange facts. Part of the problem with understanding Genesis is the weakness of some areas of translation. For instance you have Enoch, the father of Methuselah. Enoch was taken to heaven without dying, according to the accepted understanding of the most popular translations, the common understanding of the verse (Genesis 5:24), "And Enoch walked with God; and he [was] not, for God took him." But if the translation was a bit off, to make sense to the translators, this could be in error. One translation I saw made it, not 'for God took him,' but 'for God carried him across [or 'over']'. And this adds to the strangeness. For where was this place? And what was Enoch doing for God in that place?

Josephus, [...] was a 1st Century Jewish scholar and historian who testified that, prior to the Great Flood, the Sethites built two great monuments to preserve their astronomical and spiritual knowledge for future generations. One was built of stone, and the other of brick. According to Josephus, these monuments could still be found in Mizraim (i.e. Egypt) during his lifetime in the 1st Century AD.

Some Ancients called the Great Pyramid the "Pillar of Enoch". So it is not a far stretch to think that Enoch was 'carried over' to build the prophetic monuments for God. It also allows for a job for those "Watchers".

And I believe I've read, in passing, of evidence of salt water found inside the Great Pyramid. Pre-Flood? Why not?

You have Genesis 1:1 where the Hebrew does not say 'God', but 'Gods'. Which presupposes the existence of more than one Spiritual being, including The Word. :D

When you move to Genesis 1:2 you have a translation that is correct, but can also be translated differently, as the same phrase is in Jeremiah. So ... "The earth was without form, and void; [...]" can also be translated as "The earth became a waste and a desolation; [...]" This opens up many avenues of thought, and explains a lot of small things in the Old testament that were baffling. Like Jeremiah's vision of Eden before Adam, and the earth, as well. :D

From Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 1:2 there may well lie an immense gulf of time, within which are the destruction of the earth, and the fall of Satan.

Thanks to Donna Sundblad for reminding me of the topic! :D

From JoshuaNet:

Methuselah comes from Muth, a root that means "death"; and from shalak, which means "to bring." The name Methuselah means, "his death shall bring." [1]

Methuselah's father [Enoch] was given a prophecy of the coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive, the judgement of the flood would be withheld. (Can you imagine raising a kid like that? Every time the boy caught a cold, they must have panicked!) The year that Methuselah died, the flood came. It is interesting that Methuselah's life, in effect, was a symbol of God's grace in forestalling the coming judgement of the flood. It is, therefore, fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, speaking of the extensiveness of God's grace.

by Dr. Chuck Missler

Jeremiah 32:20 ~ "You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among [other] men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day."

... Continuing a Theme ...

2012-01-05T05:03:00.002-05:00

When Dogs Fly Helicopters

Checking my email I noticed that the last two emails are from 2023! I am being messaged from the future! Cool! Sadly they are both spam messages, so ... *sigh*

Anyway ...

From yesterday's post:

If you're paying attention to the Pundits, Taking Heads, and so on ... stop! There is NO PERFECT CANDIDATE! Not one of them will align with every one of your beliefs. So stop looking for that candidate. There ain't none. Every single on of the candidates has votes, statements, actions in their past that don't look good, or go against what you, or I consider a positive thing. Remember: "The Perfect is the enemy of the Good." Look for the best out there.

Of the ones I can support, right now, it's Santorum, and Perry. If the GOP nominee ends up being Romney I will support him. I don't think I could support Ron Paul. Ever. Come November, barring a Dr. Paul miracle, it has to be ABO! Anybody But Obama.

And now is the time to rededicate yourself to electing those candidates at the local and state levels who will support, or rein in, the President. That's where Conservatives can make the biggest difference!

Seriously. What Conservative candidate will not get the Chicago treatment? The smears, lies, and distortions will come fast and furious. It's time for you to relax, and know that most of what the MSM tells you about the candidates is just so much Gollum droppings.

Do you really want to elect a champion debater? Or do you want someone whose ideas hew closest to the US Constitution? Every one of the declared candidates has a history that you can find, read about, and think over. Just because some NY Slimes reporter can take a quote, or vote, out of context to make a candidate (or all of them!) look bad, does not mean that reporter is correct. Or even honest. You know they have an agenda, and it isn't a conservative one.

If the Obama campaign thinks it was a funny, winning shot to ask Romney for his tax records, well ... we still haven't seen any of Mr. Obama's school records, have we? Heck, we have never seen Senator Kerry's military records, and that campaign was over 8 years ago! Senator Kerry told us he'd release them ... during the campaign. Still waiting! No word from the NY Slimes on that.

So pay no attention to the media agenda-driven attacks, Folks. Use your head, do your own research, and decide for yourself. This year's election is more important than any we've had in a long, long time. Don't let the Progressive Leftists do the thinking for you!

Got it? Good! :D

By the way, if you want another good reason why this administration really needs to be gone ... try this on for size! Report: Obama Agreed To Release High-Ranking Taliban Leaders From Gitmo In Exchange For Taliban Opening Office In Qatar…

A Few Of My Favorite Things ...

2012-01-04T11:25:00.000-05:00


M&Ms!

Okay, so there's a lot on the news, and in the world, this morning. But rather than curmudgeon my way through that ... I think I'll do a list. "A list," you ask? Yeah, why not?

My Favorite Poet (Dead): James Whitcomb Riley
     I'm not much of a poetry-lover, but Riley is one I remember from childhood, with "The Raggedy Man", and I liked it!

My Favorite Poet (Alive!): Joni Zipp
     'Course it helps that she's a writing friend of a number of years. But I can read her 'stuff' and 'see' it. And appreciate it, too. :) Her Sunday Poem blog posts are worth reading!

My Favorite Fiction Writer (Dead): Robert A. Heinlein
     Heinlein's writing isn't always smooth, or elegant, but he can tell a very good story - mostly Science Fiction - and some of his characters are very memorable! As for those critics who whine that Heinlein was just a fascist/militarist, etc. well, that's what you can expect from Leftist custard-brained Commies. ;) "You live and learn. Or you don't live long." - Lazarus Long

My Favorite Fiction Writer (Alive): I guess it depends on who I'm reading at the moment.
     I'm very partial to Jonathan Kellerman, and Faye Kellerman. But so many others are right there, too! And don't miss F. Paul Wilson either!

My Favorite Color: Blue!
     Yeah, I guess that's a 'guy thing', but I do like blue. And being a Philadelphia Eagles fan my favorite shade of blue, at least during the NFL season, is Midnight Green! And Wikipedia says the Midnight Green is, well, go read it, okay? ;)

My Favorite Candy: M&Ms!
Well, duh! That much all of you ought to know! M&Ms have a very long history in the U.S. Lots of colors, too! Hah! :)

All right, I think that’s enough for now, don’t you? Maybe I’ll add more tomorrow. ‘Course if you check my old posts you’ll see other things I’m very partial to.

Note: The results are in and Mitt Romney seems to have won the Iowa Caucus. Congrats, Governor Romney. My own thoughts on that ... with all the money he has, and has spent, and considering he’s been running for President since 2006, I have to think this ain’t much of a victory for him. Rick Santorum was in single digits, in the polls, just two weeks ago. An 8-point win over Santorum seems more like a Santorum ‘win’ to me. Just my opinion, Folks.

Post Note Note:If you're paying attention to the Pundits, Taking Heads, and so on ... stop! There is NO PERFECT CANDIDATE! Not one of them will align with every one of your beliefs. So stop looking for that candidate. There ain't none. Every single on of the candidates has votes, statements, actions in their past that don't look good, or go against what you, or I consider a positive thing. Remember: "The Perfect is the enemy of the Good." Look for the best out there.

Of the ones I can support, right now, it's Santorum, and Perry. If the GOP nominee ends up being Romney I will support him. I don't think I could support Ron Paul. Ever.Come November, barring a Dr. Paul miracle, it has to be ABO! Anybody But Obama.

And now is the time to rededicate yourself to electing those candidates at the local and state levels who will support, or rein in, the President. That's where Conservatives can make the biggest difference!

2012-01-03T04:51:00.000-05:00

Why?

Why am I called a racist if I disagree with the President? President Obama is a Democrat, I am a Republican. The policies he endorses for this nation are those of the more radical wing of the Democratic Party. How does my disagreeing with those policies make me a racist?

If dissent is Patriotic - it must be, since Hillary Clinton declared it so while George W. Bush was President - why does my dissent become labeled Racist? Is it because dissent is only Patriotic if the President is a Republican?

Why does the Democratic Party label me a ‘terrorist’ because I want the Constitution followed? Since the Constitution is the legal foundation for the United States of America, why does demanding adherence to it, by our Constitutionally elected officials, make me a ‘terrorist’, or a Racist?

Why would someone who knows me call me Hateful, or Racist, if I point out the hypocrisy of some people who call for support of Labor Unions, while hiring only non-Union workers (Michael Moore,you listenin’?)?

Why do they say I’m a Racist when I point to physical assaults by Union thugs against peaceful protestors? If I complain about a Justice Department ignoring such activities, why does that make me a Racist?

If I do not refer to the President in racial terms, nor in a hateful manner, but in sharp disagreement with his stated policy directions and aims, why is that Racism on my part?

Why?

Just some things I’m still wondering. Nothing to be alarmed about. Go on with your regularly scheduled programming. :)

Very New Year: A Fresh Start ...

2012-01-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it's the first "real" day of this brand new year - a Monday! - and perhaps time to do some rededicating to the blog, and to a lot of other things, too. I've finally cleaned up the blogrolls, down at the bottom of the page. When blogrolling closed down, I just left things as they were, After all, the links were still there, weren't they? Well ... now they're gone. So I've started rebuilding those links. If you ain't there, but you wanna be, let me know.

And while playing with that, and all the vicious html that goes along with it, I rediscovered Timothy Fish's blog. Yeah, his blog is now under the Writing Pad Blogroll, so there's that. ;) His blog post for today includes this:

"The sad thing is that people are more willing to put their faith in Mayans who are dead than they are in people who are living. They are more willing to put their faith in a piece of ceramic with no evidence to support it than they are in the Bible, which has a preponderance of evidence to show that it is true. Why would you believe a calendar that has no proven claims over a book that has hundreds of proven claims and no disproven claims? That doesn’t make sense to me."

Well, I agree. It doesn't make sense to me, either. But I've listened to UFO Believers who insist that they have seen, or read, all the necessary evidence they need to prove the existence of Aliens.

Of course at the same time they look down their noses at those of us have Faith in the Word. Funny thing, that. The Biblical record can be buttressed with archaeological evidence (and is), among other things, but is dismissed by UFO-logists, and others as "unproven". And naturally the extinct Mayan culture must be correct! Why? Well ... because! Shut up!

This year I will continue to read the Scriptures, and I'll also continue to delve into Apologetics - the Defense of the Faith - which has helped my understanding greatly. Do I have all the answers? No. Of course not! But I do know which questions are serious, and which are the same old 'gotcha-style' nonsense questions. And I know that the ones asking the nonsense questions aren't seriously seeking enlightenment, or answers. So often the only answer available is, "I really don't know." Which go well with the one I have in my head: "And which scientist has all the answers, if you please?"

If you're reading this, and can spare a few dollars, I'll repeat the call for help that I posted below ... twice! My friend is in need of dental care. Right now she's fighting infections that, of course, are causing problems in her body, not just with her mouth. And she has no money. So please begin the year with some charity. Okay? Just head to her blog post, read it, and if you can, donate! Like I said before ... why waste your money on cash-happy political parties? Send a donation to someone who badly needs the help! Thanks! :D

Well, that's it for now. Maybe I'll be able to blog more, through 2012, and maybe I'll lose interest again. Only time will tell!

Happy 2012!

Update! Joni has today blog post up, so go check it out! Goals for the New Year

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T05:07:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

It's now 2012. A brand new year on the calendar, and a new start, if you want it.

The best of everything to you, and yours! May God richly bless you all the year!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

PS: We've not gone totally Luddite, yet: NASA spacecraft enters moon’s orbit

Read & Vote! Please!

2011-11-02T15:05:00.001-04:00

Reader's Digest is having a contest - "Your Life" - entries closed on November 1 - and the first prize is $25,000! Two of my very good writing friends have entries. These are very short stories, easy to read, and inspirational. Please hit the links, below, read the stories, and click the "Vote" button beneath. You can vote for both of them. And you can vote each day, too!

So please go! Read 'em, and Vote for 'em! :D

This contest ends on November 15, so hurry! :D And no, you don't have to be a Facebook member, either. ;)

Donna Sundblad's: "True Thankfulness"

Joni Zipp's: "To See Again"

Palm Sunday Repost

2011-04-17T08:34:00.001-04:00

This being Palm Sunday I looked for an appropriate image to grace my Facebook page. And found this one by Harry Anderson:

"Triumphal Entry" which depicts Jesus entering Jerusalem - the basis of our own Palm Sunday remembrance. This begins what many Christians call "Holy Week." In the spirit of the art, let me, then repost something from 2006. About Harry Anderson, and his art. Enjoy!

And have a blessed Palm Sunday! :D

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry Anderson - A Different Sort Of Magic

Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. said, at BPIB,

"Harry Anderson's story is as unique as his ability. Born in 1906 in Chicago, he was going to be a mathematician. He started college at the University of Illinois in 1925. He took an art course as an easy counterpoint to the math classes and discovered both a talent and a love for drawing. From such simple choices our lives are made."

As Kent Steine says at The American Art Archive,

"Conception, composition, value, draughtsmanship, and painting dexterity," Harry Anderson once said, "must all work together. And they are important in just that order. But the parts all become automatic in time." No picture, according to him, would be deemed acceptable with any of these elements neglected. As one of the top illustrators from the 1930s to the 1980s, Harry spoke with quiet authority on the subject of making pictures.

His work graced the pages of all of the nation's high-profile magazines, as well as the most visible advertising campaigns. Quite often, authors would write to Anderson, informing him that he did a better job telling their story with his picture than they had done.

Just a note: Most of the images here can be enlarged by clicking on them! Worth the time, trust me!

Again, from Jim at BPIB,

He married Ruth around 1940. She worked in the same building as Harry and posed for him on one occasion. The following year he left the agency and joined the studio of Haddon Sundblom - famous for his Coca-Cola Santa Claus paintings. He was too old for military service but he did contribute one poster to the war effort. The purchase of a home during this period led to a second fork in his career path.

He and Ruth joined the Seventh Day Adventist church and in 1944 Harry was asked if he would contribute to their publishing efforts. Harry generously said yes and the next year his most famous image was crafted. "What Happened to Your Hand?" [at left] was done for a children's book in 1945 and immediately touched the hearts of that audience. The adults in charge of the publishing program were less enthusiastic; some even considering it near-blasphemous to show Christ in the present day. Cooler heads prevailed and Anderson spent the rest of his active career splitting his efforts between commercial assignments at his premium wages and religious ones done for love and for scale.

His art director at Review and Herald Publishing was T.K. Martin and it was his vision of Christ as a tangible presence in modern times that was shared and executed over and over again by Anderson. The inner peace that allowed Anderson to make his choice to contribute his time and effort at virtually minimum wage was evident in his paintings and in his depiction of Jesus.

Actually, that's unfair to Harry. That dedication and calm is present in all of his work. As an important and popular illustrator, he's almost unique in the gentleness of his images. Quite capable of depicting nearly anything, his choice of assignments and his approach to them was always in line with the dictates of his heart. Not many people can live their lives the way they want to. It seems that Anderson did. He enjoyed the same quiet, focused strength in his private life that's evident in his art.

From advertisement art

to illustrations for stories of every kind,

Harry Anderson's skill, and story-telling ability, was evident. And still is. For instance, take a look at "A Way With Boys" from 1948. Click on the image for a bigger version. Do you see the little mouse in the little box? Can you imagine the story here? Don't you want to know it? Look at her hand holding the box. Take a good long look. Is that an amazing work of art?

As Harry moved deeper into his religious life and his involvement with the Seventh Day Adventists, his work became more Christ-centered. But it also remained very White. Now, don't get me wrong. Harry was a product of his time, and he painted what he saw, whether in his own life or in his mind's eye. A white Christ is not wrong. But in this day and age it is a tad jarring. And a reminder of a time when the PC Jihadists were not yet in power. Harry could paint what moved his heart and not worry about the Leftist Inquisition.

Harry was free to paint a white Messiah, in a white Israel, without the slightest qualm. Yep! McCarthyism was just rearing its ugly head, but here was an artist painting what he wished. Funny how free we actually were back then, eh?

Indeed, imagine a painting such as "The Consultation", which shows Christ at the bedside of a patient, being hung in a public building today. Yet it hangs in the lobby of a hospital today. Why? Because it came before the Fools of PC arrived to try to shut GOD up. And before even religious institutions were fearful of the reactions of non-believers.

There are so many paintings and illustrations available, and so many I would love to post right here. But, as with my other Artist Posts, they are just too numerous. Let me suggest to you, if you have any interest in the works of Harry Anderson, that you visit the web-site of Jim Pinkoski, whose Harry Anderson page remembers the fine artist and recounts Jim's visit with Harry near the end of Harry's life. It is fascinating and quite revealing. And it's chock full of photos of the visit. Jim was very nice to email me some fine quality images that I could use here.

I also recommend Ken Steacy Publishing, where you can find a few nice pictures, as well as BPIB, my old standby, for biographical info, and the American Art Archives, another of my standbys, for the Kent Steine article on "Loose Realism" - Harry's painting style - and more biographical information.

I love the Internet! So much to discover, so much to learn! So go learn some things about Harry Anderson: he had a different kind of Magic!

Okay, one more. This one emailed to me by Jim Pinkoski, titled "Discovery".

As Jim said,

"This was a neat one that was a poster in the 1970s -- see the face of Jesus in the bushes? It's illustrating that we can look at the beauty of nature and see God's handiwork all around us!"

Date is Unimportant ...

2010-12-19T10:31:00.003-05:00

Most of the dating of events, in the New Testament, save for those we now know from archaeology and concurrent events, are open to interpretation. Such, for instance, is the dating of the Birth of Jesus. Though we Christians tend to place the birth at the year Zero - which does not exist, really - the Christ could have been born as early as 4 B.C, according to our calendar. Placing the celebration of His birth in December, though, is incorrect. Christians who complain about non-believers equating the Mass of Christ (Christmas) with the pagan festival of the Saturnalia, are being disingenuous, or ignorant.

The fact is that nearly all Christian celebrations and festivals are ‘pasted’ on to pagan festival dates. The early Christian Church, being empowered in Rome, simply used the Roman tradition of subsuming older religious celebrations for their own. This does not change the nature or focus of the Christian observance. But it does tend to make it difficult for folks to nail down correct dates. Thus, if we depend on the old Roman Catholic Feast days for our dating of events, in the New testament, we can’t reliably date those events we celebrate at all.

For instance we know that, according to New Testament Scripture, John the Baptist - a cousin of Jesus - was born six months before the birth of Christ. The Roman Catholic Church sets aside June 24th as John’s feast day, the celebration of John’s birth. This was done to square his birth, according to Scripture, with that of his cousin’s six months later. Since the Catholic Church set the date of Christ’s birth on December 25th, John’s must have come around June 24th. Simple, right? Also wrong.

Why was December 25th chosen? Well, not because that was the correct date. Instead it was convenient as a way to pull in pagans, who celebrated the Saturnalia for the week before that date. The Romans found, during the days of Empire-building, that it was easier to subdue the conquered populace, not by importing Roman religious traditions into the conquered territory, but to simply adjust their own festivals - in essence to graft the celebrations of the conquered into their own. Saturnalia, too, was drawn from earlier pagan rituals predating the Roman Empire.
The Saturnalia was a week-long celebration of merriment, including gift-giving. Wikipedia describes the Saturnalia thus:

“1. Saturnalia was introduced around 217 BCE to raise citizen morale after a crushing military defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians. Originally celebrated for a day, on December 17, its popularity saw it grow until it became a week-long extravaganza, ending on the 23rd. Efforts to shorten the celebration were unsuccessful. Augustus tried to reduce it to three days, and Caligula to five. These attempts caused uproar and massive revolts among the Roman citizens.

2. Saturnalia involved the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately. The celebrations included a school holiday, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia) and a special market (sigillaria). Gambling was allowed for all, even slaves.

3. Saturnalia was a time to eat, drink, and be merry. The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colorful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with (a pretense of) disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. Yet the reversal of the social order was mostly superficial; the banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slaves, and they would prepare their masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it.”

Familiar, eh? This pagan feast was simply used by the early Roman Church. Much as the Romans had used other feasts and festivals. But it has nothing to do with the birth of Christ, so far as the actual date is concerned. It was as much a political decision as a religious one.

So when was Christ born (and I don’t mean the year)? Well, if we go back to the New Testament there is evidence that clearly points to a time of year that would fit the dating far better. And it points to the Feast of the Tabernacles.

In John’s Gospel, Chapter 1, verse 14, we read this:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

That word ‘dwelt’ is an English word that feels good to read, but is not what the original said. In the original it would have said ‘tabernacled’, which is to say, He set his tent among his kin-folk. Which has a far deeper meaning to us.

For one thing Christ was coming to live with his relatives. Not simply Mankind, but his own, actual blood-kin. Why is this important? Because according to the Law of Moses only a kinsman could redeem us. From Abide In Christ, we read:

“The "nearest kinsman" or "kinsman redeemer" is a Goel. The word means to redeem, receive or buy back.

Provision was made in the Law of Moses for the poor person who was forced to sell part of his property or himself into slavery. His nearest of kin could step in and "buy back" what his relative was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:48f). The kinsman redeemer was a rich benefactor, or person who frees the debtor by paying the ransom price. "If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold" (Leviticus 25:25; cf. Ruth 4:4, 6).

The nearest of kin had the responsibility of redeeming his kinsman's lost opportunities. If a person was forced into slavery, his redeemer purchased his freedom. When debt threatened to overwhelm him, the kinsman stepped in to redeem his homestead and let the family live. If a family member died without an heir the kinsman gave his name by marrying the widow and rearing a son to hand down his name (Deuteronomy 25:5; Genesis 38:8; Ruth 3-4). When death came at the hands of another man the redeemer acted as the avenger of blood and pursued the killer (Numbers 35:12-34; Deuteronomy 19:1-3)”

So Jehovah, abiding by His own Word, could only redeem humanity through a kinsman. Thus we find Mary chosen as the vessel to bring forth that kinsman.

So, our Kinsman Redeemer set His tent (in human flesh, which was required) among us. Christ Tabernacled with us. You can read about the Feast here, where it says, among other things:

“’Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God’ (Lev. 23:29-43)

The Feast of Tabernacles, also called Booths, comes on the fifteenth of Tishri (September-October), the seventh month according to the Jewish (biblical) calendar. This was the third feast that required a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple and offer sacrifices and offering to the Lord.

‘Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee’ (Deut. 16:16-17).

This is Israel’s Thanksgiving feast in which they acknowledge the Fall harvest and God’s provision for them. It is happy celebration and a time of joy and rejoicing.
[...]”

A better dating for the birth of Christ, I think. This date also fits far better with the Scriptures describing the shepherds, too. No shepherds left their flocks outside in the Judean winter nights. Some Christmas Carols are beautiful in their imagery, but they are standing on Church Tradition rather than Scriptural tradition.

And what does that do to the dating of John the Baptist’s birth? His birth, if we follow the idea of God doing His thing according to His Word, may well have been on, or near, the Feast of First Fruits. This feast marked the end of Passover, but the beginning of the Harvest. And John the Baptist was certainly what you could call the first of the Harvesters for Christ.

The problem of nailing down the correct dates of these occurrences, after centuries of tradition, is not so very important. After all we are not celebrating the god Saturn, any more than we celebrate the goddess Ishtar at Easter. No, at traditional Christmas-time we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, Messiah, Savior. Where we choose to place that celebration, on our calendar, means little, as long as our focus is on that most wondrous gift ever given: the Son of God, to us, to redeem us from sin.

So don’t be chastened when unbelievers get mouthy about Christmas being celebrated on the Saturnalia. It’s true! Our Christmas celebration is based on the date of that pagan Roman celebration. And it doesn’t matter. Focus on God, Christ, and the reason for that celebration, and you’re on the right road.

Enjoy the Christmas season. There’s no reason not to. But remember why we celebrate in the first place! :D

Busy times ...

2010-11-01T06:30:00.005-04:00

Writing, reading, working - though the actual work hours scarcely break 25 hours per week (yeesh!) - trying to keep up-to-date with the latest machinations of the Leftists in Media and the Dem Party.

Professional Leftist agitator is knocked down, the truncated video becomes a Leftist talking-point. Attendee at same rally is attacked by Leftist, no sound from the Leftist Peanut Gallery. Surprised? No, nor me, either.

Insiders say the NRCC has given up on Joe Miller in Alaska. Conservatives wonder just when were they actually working for, or with, Joe Miller in Alaska? Suggestion to conservatives around the fruited plains: Send not one penny to the GOP. Nothing to the big campaign committees, those who keep pushing middle-of-the-road, or Dem-Lite, candidates for Republican Nominees. Send your contributions directly to the candidates you support. The GOP is abandoning the principles they ostensibly represent. I'm speaking of the Elitists in the Beltway. Karl Rove? Asshat!

You know those charming folks, right? The ones who thought Charlie Crist was a fine choice? The ones who assured you that Christine O'Donnell could not beat Mike Castle (the fellow who voted with the Dems nearly all the time?), the same Republican elites who continue to disparage the primary winners? They've abandoned Republicanism for some odd idea of holding onto power, while watching the Leftist government continue to drag us down the crap-hole of Socialism and Dhimmitude. Give them nothing.

Meanwhile I'm still Mentoring the F2K writing course, and now Nanowrimo has begun, too! The writing stuff makes for a very busy day/week/month! And that's just fine by me!

Can't promise I'll be updating much, but I figured it was time to do something, right? I hope the world is treating you well. :D

Whoo-Hoo!

Nor should we ...

2010-09-11T06:47:00.003-04:00

Bosch Fawstin

Calling Islam “Islam.”

"NEW YORK – Nine years on from the largest mass murder on American soil, New York’s cityscape remains painfully incomplete. For all the grand plans and lavishly designed (and redesigned) memorials, for all the talk about the urgency of paying tribute to the nearly 3,000 victims of Islamic terrorism, Ground Zero is a graveyard of promises unmet and due honor delayed."

~ Tragedy at Ground Zero

"Shhhhhhh, we’re told. Don’t protest the Ground Zero mosque. Don’t burn a Koran. It’ll imperil the troops. It’ll inflame tensions. The “Muslim world” will “explode” if it does not get its way, warns sharia-peddling imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Pardon my national security-threatening impudence, but when is the “Muslim world” not ready to “explode”?

At the risk of provoking the ever-volatile Religion of Perpetual Outrage, let us count the little-noticed and forgotten ways"

~ The Eternal Flame of Muslim Outrage

Remembering 9/11: Remember: 9/11 Coverage As it Happened

Leftist Luddites On The March

2010-05-13T09:28:00.005-04:00

And so the expected squealing, screaming demands for a ban on oil drilling arises. It didn't take too long, though longer than I had anticipated. For this is the way of the world in Left Land. Anything that would buttress the American economy, and thus the American people, must be destroyed. No matter to Leftists what will become of 'the people' as long as the agenda and aims of the Left is kept goose-stepping forward to the rear. No crisis can be wasted!

An oil spill is an ugly thing, killing wildlife, destroying areas of coastland where the oil washes up, poisoning the water in which it floats. No question this is an occurrence that should be avoided. Which is why the Oil Industry does, in fact, do its best to so avoid such spills and accidents. The cost in money alone is sufficient reason for the Oil Industry to work hard to prevent spills.

But nothing is guaranteed, you know. Nothing we do is free of risk. Accidents do happen, all the time, and though we can prevent most with planning and technology, there is no way all accidents - in any endeavor - can be prevented. Only children and Leftists believe such a prevention fantasy. If the Left has its way all of humanity, not just those primitive cultures you love to read about in the National Geographic, will be living in caves, subsisting on nuts, berries, and roots. And a Terminator shall lead them.

As Jeffrey Lord notes, in his American Spectator article, California's Governator wants to stop the risks!

"But then again, you know, you see that, you turn on television and see this enormous disaster and you say to yourself, why would we want to take that risk?"

-- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, on his decision to refuse oil drilling off the coast of California

Arnold as Ned Lud.

Who would have imagined this casting? The Austrian-immigrant turned body builder, entrepreneur, movie star and governor of the nation's largest state. The man who once seemed to have such a perfect grasp of the can-do spirit behind the idea that is America -- starring in a 21st century portrayal as Ned Lud.

As Lord also notes, regarding the Luddites:

And right about 1812 there began to sprout up in Britain what American novelist Thomas Pynchon described as "bands of men, organized, masked, anonymous, whose object was to destroy machinery used mostly in the textile industry. They swore allegiance not to any British king but to their own King Ludd" adding for some incomprehensible reason a second "d" to Ned's last name. Pynchon adds: "It isn't clear whether they called themselves Luddites, although they were so termed by both friends and enemies." As observers have pointed out ever since, the Luddites had what the late British scientist and novelist C.P. Snow termed an irrational fear and hatred of science and technology. They were the "counter-revolutionaries" of the Industrial Revolution, who angrily detested modern inventions they had "never tried, wanted or been able to understand."

Lord goes on to say:

But the real question here is whether or not Americans will succumb to the Luddite world view. Or clean up the mess, understand that risk is a part of everyday life, and that in fact nothing in this world is either risk free or fail safe.

And what happens to us when the Leftists manage to ban oil drilling, much less oil distillation, production, and use? Are you all ready to do without, not simply gasoline for your cars, heating oil for your homes, but lubricating oil for machinery? What about all the modern products that come from oil? Will you happily do without them?

Oh, don't you worry. The Ruling Leftist Elite will not be doing without. They will still have the use of fuels for their lifestyles - after all, they are our betters, and deserve so much more than we, don't they? - but they'll also be the only ones who have the products made from petroleum products. And why not? They'll be the only ones remaining with enough money to afford these soon-to-be luxuries (after they destroy the economy utterly, leaving the rest of us on the dole).

Don't use oil-based products? No? Don't think so, do you? Well, here's a partial list of what those Evil, Mean-Spirited, Gaia-hating, Oil Industry Fascists create from that horrid, un-natural petroleum:

ammonia, anesthetics, antifreeze, antihistamines, antiseptics, artificial limbs, artificial turf, aspirin, awnings, balloons, ballpoint pens, bandages, basketballs, bearing grease, bicycle tires, boats, cameras, candles, car battery cases, car enamel, cassettes, caulking, cd player, cd's, clothes, clothesline, cold cream, combs, cortisone, crayons, curtains, dashboards, denture adhesive, dentures, deodorant, detergents, dice, diesel, dishes, dishwasher, dresses, drinking cups, dyes, electric blankets, electrician's , ape, enamel, epoxy, eyeglasses, fan belts, faucet washers, fertilizers, fishing boots, fishing lures, fishing rods, floor wax, folding doors, food preservatives, football cleats, football helmets, footballs, footballs, gasoline, glycerin, golf bags, golf balls, guitar , strings, hair coloring, hair curlers, hand lotion, heart valves, house paint, ice chests, ice cube trays, ink, insect repellant, insecticides, life jackets, linings, linoleum, lipstick, luggage, model cars, mops, motor oil, motorcycle helmet, movie film, nail polish, nylon , ope, oil filters, paint, paint brushes, paint rollers, panty hose, parachutes, percolators, perfumes, petroleum jelly, pillows, plastic wood, purses, putty, refrigerant, refrigerators, roller skates, roofing, rubber cement, rubbing alcohol, safety glasses, shag rugs, shampoo, shaving cream, shoe polish, shoes, shower curtains, skis, slacks, soap, soft , contact lenses, solvents, speakers, sports car bodies, sun glasses, surf boards, sweaters, synthetic rubber, telephones, tennis rackets, tents, tires, toilet seats, tool boxes, tool racks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, transparent tape, trash bags, tv cabinets, umbrellas, upholstery, vaporizers, vitamin capsules, water pipes, wheels, yarn

But don't let that stop you, if you want to avoid the risk of another oil spill, anywhere in the world, anytime. By all means, let's not use oil, that natural substance, so useful and important to our culture and our economy. No, we can't take the risk! Risk-taking is foolish! Nobody in their right mind takes risks!

The Left continues its ceaseless assault on humanity in general, and Americans in particular. They want oil drilling, exploration, and refining banned. All in the name of risk-avoidance, economic justice, and the Religion of Gaia.

As Van Helsing puts it, after the latest insane mumblings of Left Coast politicians:

Here's an idea: next time there's a tragic car accident, let's ban automobiles. Then we won't need so much oil anyway.

Heaven knows my economic well-being is just fantastic, these days. I can handle ruin as well as anybody. *sheesh!*

Note: Maybe you wondered what happened to all the oil spilled during the Second World War? I know I have. From all the evidence available Nature handled it. And it wasn't just a few drops, either. From The Environment website comes this question and partial answer:

Where did the first major oil spill occur?

The first major oil spill occurred during World War II (1939-45), between January and June of 1942. German U-boat attacks on tankers off the East Coast of the United States spilled 590,000 tons of oil.

The first major commercial oil spill occurred on March 18, 1967, when the tanker Torrey Canyon ran aground on the Seven Stones Shoal off the coast of Cornwall, England. The tanker spilled 830,000 barrels (119,000 tons) of Kuwaiti oil into the sea.

On January 25, 1991, during the Gulf War, almost 1.5 million tons of oil was deliberately dumped from Sea Island into the Persian Gulf. Another major spill occurred in Russia in October 1994, in the Komi region of the Arctic. The size of that spill was reported to be as much as 2 million barrels (286,000 tons).

Spills such as the aforementioned were far larger than the much-publicized Exxon [...]

In case you had forgotten, Saddam Hussein, the asshat who purposely spilled all that oil, during the Gulf War, was a member of the Socialist (that's Leftists, folks) Baath Party. I'm just sayin'.

Phillies' Robin Roberts Completes the Game

2010-05-11T11:51:00.007-04:00

Robin Roberts, the Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher of 'Whiz Kids' fame, has passed away (May 6, 2010). This gentleman, who spent so much of his 'retirement' years teaching baseball to the young, will be missed, as another link to a more innocent sporting past goes to his reward.

I was too young to ever have watched Roberts pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies. The earliest Phillies' baseball era I can remember was in the 60s, when names like Johnny Callison, Jim Bunning, and Chris Short were the Phillies my mind conjures up. Not until the 1970s, with Greg "The Bull" Luzinski, Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, and Willie Montenez, did I pay much attention to baseball. But the name of Robin Roberts was, even then, famous and revered in Phillies lore.

He was the consummate team-player. A gifted pitcher whose career was anchored with a team which never made the post-season after Roberts' second season in the Major Leagues. Phillies fans remained fond of Roberts despite his team's season-after-season losing records. In a small way I can relate to this feeling.

In the 70s the Phillies had Steve Carlton pitching, a reclusive man whose talents were phenomenal on the mound. I can recall one season when Carlton's victories comprised something like 49% of the Phillies wins, that year. The players seemed to believe that if Carlton was on the mound they would win. I think Roberts provided a similar feeling to the Phillies teams he was a part of.

The difference between the men was obvious, though. Roberts was unassuming, friendly, generous. Carlton led a monastic-like life, shunning the spotlight, and often, the fans, in his bid for pitching perfection.

One could scarcely imagine Carlton joshing with a team-mate in an easy manner. But Roberts did. And here's how Larry Thornberry, in his article on the passing of Robin Roberts, A Very Complete Game, describes how Roberts' pastor, Wally Meyer, pastor at Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, remembered his story-telling:

Meyer also liked Roberts' baseball stories, including the one about the rookie Lou Piniella who was sent up to pinch-hit for Roberts (who wasn't a bad hitter for a pitcher). Piniella grounded out to shortstop. Later in the clubhouse the by then venerable Roberts joshed the rookie, saying, "I could have done that."

Athletes' careers end, their lives go on, and so many of them become caricatures, while most simply move on to other things, and are nearly forgotten. But some, like Robin Roberts, move on to better things, improving their own lives as well as the lives of others. As Thornberry notes:

Those who knew him will tell you that, taken all around, Robin Roberts was a Hall of Famer as a man as well as a pitcher. His long and productive life was more than a quality start. It was a very complete game. He will be missed.

Yep!

Robin Roberts: a genuine article and humble legend

Robin Roberts at Wikipedia

Note: Robin Roberts' number - 36 - was the first Phillies' number to ever be retired by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Mother's Day repost

2010-05-09T08:52:00.001-04:00

Mothers' Day Proclamation

"Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: 'We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.'

"From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says 'Disarm! Disarm!' The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.

"As men have forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his time the sacred impress not of Caesar, but of God.

"In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace."

Julia Ward Howe
- Boston 1870 -

To my Mother - Sandra - I wish the happiest of Mother's Days, and send all my love!

Thanks, Mom!

To all of you fine Mothers out there: May this be the very best Mother's Day you've ever had, and the worst you will ever have! Love to you all!

Books - Reading Reviews

2010-03-15T07:33:00.006-04:00

I love to read! More than watching television or movies, I like to sprawl out and read a book. Hardback, paperback, it doesn’t matter. I even have the programs on my computer so I can read ebooks - though this is not as enjoyable (reading a book at the computer can be tiring, I gotta say) - and if you have an old ebook reader you don’t use, why, just send it to me!

I don’t often read reviews of books. Most seem to be written by professional critics and tend to be overly critical and demanding. But every-so-often I’ll find a review that does a good job, giving enough information to make me want to buy and read the book reviewed.

Steven Brandt has a blogging site called “Reviews From the Deep”. On it he reviews the books he has listened to and lets you know what he thinks. I say ‘listens to’ because Steven has been going blind for some time now. So he buys audiobooks - mostly on CDs, and gives a review of the tale, as well as the production - namely the narrator.

The reviews are from the viewpoint of a reader, not a critic. So even if you disagree with his opinions you'll enjoy reading them, anyway. :)

When I could afford it, and had a long commute, I was a member of audible.com. Rather than novels I would purchase biographies and histories to listen to - on an mp3 player - on my way to work. At that time I was spending a good 45 minutes to an hour to get to work. Instead of fiddling with the radio, to try and find music that wouldn’t annoy me, I could listen to a history. And I enjoyed it.

Now audible had abridged and unabridged recordings of the books. Abridged books, of course, are edited down a bit, sort of like a Reader’s Digest version. I never bought these, preferring the full version. So now, when I read one of Steven’s reviews I don’t know if he’s using an abridged or unabridged version of the book he’s reviewing. I suppose I should ask.

Anyway, if you like to read, and want to see a review of some of the books he’s read, I recommend heading over to Reviews From the Deep and checking out what he’s got there.

And leave a comment, too, why don’tcha? He’d appreciate that.

:)

Socialists/Leftists Are insane! That's a fact!

2010-03-07T08:51:00.003-05:00

I've been missing - on the blogging scene - for a while. No excuses, just haven't felt like opining. Each day I roam the 'Net checking out my favorite blogs and sites, keeping up on the nefarious activities of the Left, and the heartening activities of the Good Guys. There's plenty of reason to worry about where our nation is heading, indeed our world. But there's also plenty of reason to be hopeful for our future as many are wakening to the dangers of creeping Statism and Surrender.

It's not as if there hasn't been evidence galore revealing the dead-end of the Socialist way. The charitable impulses of many, who support socialism as a way of making sure that all are equal, result in those under Socialism being relegated to a kind of poverty: poverty of living conditions, poverty of future, poverty of spirit. None of this is new.

The history of the 20th Century is filled to overflowing with the evidence of Socialism's inhuman aims. But still Socialism - in may guises - is touted as the way to a kind of Utopia, by Ivory Tower academics, entrenched potitical Elites, and mush-headed youths who have yet to step out into the real world. If you needed any more evidence that Socialism is a dead-end, or that its promises are lies, you don't need to look at the insanity of Venezuela and its chubby thug Dictator Hugo Chavez, nor at the Castro brothers' hell-on-earth in Cuba. You don't need to try to explain Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe. No, simply look at what has befallen Greece.

Bojidar Marinov, writing for The American Vision, begins his article by stating,

"If socialism worked, Greece would have been the richest country in Europe. No other member state of the European Union has such an extensive system of government welfare, pension plans, government aid for needy families, healthcare, government-guaranteed student loans, government labor exchanges, trade unions legislation, etc."

He goes on to comment,

"It all ends when you run out of someone else's money. And when your soul is dead, you become a slave. And now the Greek government is a slave to its creditors, and the Greek people are becoming slaves of their government. Protests or not, from now on the Greeks will have to live in shackles. High taxes. Pay freezes. No more cash transactions over 1,500 Euro—the government needs to control every transaction. Zero protection for privacy or bank accounts. No more protectionism, no more generosity. Step by step a nation with a bad soul is turning into a slave nation. As was to be expected, if the Greeks had read their Bibles."

Read Bojidar Marinov's "Killing the Soul of a Nation", and contemplate what is coming to America if we continue to sway to the Siren song of Socialism.

One of the sites I go through each day is American Thinker. Good articles, enjoyable, thought-provoking blog posts. And one of those writers is known as Robin of Berkeley. I was so interested in what she was saying that I clicked on her name and found her archive. I started at the first post and kept going. Now I check each day for a new post. Robin is a psychologist, working on the Left coast, who, until recently, was a Lefty. But she's now recovering from that little bit of insanity.

As she remarks at the start of that first post,

"Dear friends, family, loved ones, conservatives, Republicans, libertarians, my brother in law, Sam, and my cousin Joe: I am sorry and you were right.

These are not easy words for anyone to utter, much less a leftist from Berkeley, or a recovering leftist, that is. Even though I've been in recovery for 14 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days, leftists are always right in your face, in an I-hate-you-if-you-disagree sort of way. Hence, this letter of amends to all the people I've lectured, scolded, ranted and raved at, and otherwise annoyed during my 30 plus years of "progressive" politics."

Eye-opening, isn't it? That's the voice of a rational woman who has seen the light and renounced her Leftism. And recently she posted "The Weird Failure of the Left" in which she says,

"I'm starting to dread seeing the postal worker. That's when my leftist mate's magazines start showing up. Some days, it feels like Saul Alinsky himself has risen from the dead and invaded my mailbox.

Last month, Jon's Harper's Magazine wailed about the White Supremacy movement. But his March/April Mother Jones takes the paranoid cake.

The cover features the most despised life form on the planet: the white male. He's wearing a hoody and looking menacingly into the camera. The headline thunders: "Age of Treason. This Soldier Is Ready To Take Up Arms Against the Obama Administration. He's Not Alone."

The hit piece is all about the enemy within. But the author's not talking about those domestic terrorists who planned to bomb Jewish centers in New York. Not the infiltration of our military (our military!) by jihadist Muslims. Certainly not the far-left Obama-holic who killed her brother and blew the brains out of her University of Alabama colleagues.

It's something much more hair-raising: the God-fearing, conservative-voting, white male."

Every one of her articles has been a good read, and this one maintains the quality. May I suggest you read both of these articles and then check out the archives of Robin of Berkeley? Worth your time, and good to know that there are a lot of smart, level-headed people still out there.

Remember, if you continue to do something that doesn't work, and believe that eventually it will work, that's sort of an indication of insanity. Socialism does not work, has not worked, and will never work. Changing the faces running a Socialist system will make no difference. Socialism ignores human nature, thus it cannot work because it is based on the idea that humans will always work for the 'greater good'. They will not. Ordering them to do so will not work. History proves that Socialism is not a successful working system of government, no matter how 'smart' the leaders,

Believing that this time Socialism can work is simply insane.

Did We Learn Anything?

2010-01-21T11:56:00.005-05:00

Did we learn anything from the Scott Brown election?

Now that nearly everyone with any interest has spoken about the victory of Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate special election, I thought I might put in my own two cents.

Like many conservatives I'm invigorated by the upset win by a Republican in Democrat bastion like Mass. One of only two Republicans in the Mass State Senate, Brown came from nowhere, with little real name-recognition in his state, to defeat the supposed shoe-in candidate of the Democrats, Martha Coakley. Coakley's name recognition was very high, owing to her government positions and her utterly cynical stance on the imprisonment of an innocent man (Gerald Amirault).

Despite her party credentials, and a huge lead in the polls after winning the Dem primary, Coakley was over-taken by the little-known Brown. She waged an unprincipled campaign, full of lies, innuendos, and foolish gaffes. Expected to simply be coronated by the Democrat machine in Mass, as the latest "Heir to the Kennedy Seat", Coakley found herself in a fight for which she was utterly unprepared. Even the last minute appearance of "The One" couldn't help.

Also not helpful were the suggestions of state officials that the seating of Brown, should he win, would simply take a lot of time, during which the Democrat Party expected to pass the Senate's version Obamacare. The people didn't care for that piece of underhandedness. In fact they found all too much of the Democrat Machine not to their liking. The agenda, the machinations, the slime for which they have become masters, the stupid comments of the candidate, all of it served to move many voters out of the "I voted for Obama; for Hope and Change!" column, to the "I want real, darned change!" column of Scott Brown.

The pundits will point to all sorts of reasons for the upset victory of the Republican in a dark blue state. All will have a bit of truth behind them, from anger over the arrogance of the Democrats, the disgust with the so-called reform of Health Care (nothing of the kind, actually, but simply a takeover by the inept Left of a vital part of our society), the dislike so many had for Coakley. None of the reasons completely fit the bill. And why worry about it?

What matters is that despite the effort of the Left to Palinize Brown, nothing stuck. Oh, given enough time the MSM could have, and would have, found enough information to distort Brown's record, as well as his message. They took shots at his truck, for crying out loud! Foolish, venal, childish, unworthy of a great nation's journalists and political parties.

The Republican Party stayed away from Brown. At first simply because they did not realize what a good candidate he was/is, or that the Democrats were actually vulnerable. They still believe they can win on Democrat Lite rather than core Republicanism. Then, when it became glaringly obvious that Brown had a good shot at winning, they wisely funneled some money into his campaign - a fifth the amount Coakley received from the Democratic Party. The only kudos to the GOP are for that last maneuver. Will they learn to support core Republicans, no matter what? I doubt it. They haven't in a very long time, if ever.

How bad was this for the Left? CNN refused to air the entire Brown victory speech. MSNBC, as you prolly know by now, also cut the speech while the clueless, and foul Keith Olbermann ranted and insulted Brown. A classy fun, smart speech was not interesting to the MSM, not because it was a bad speech, but because it was a Republican giving it. They even loathed his remarks regarding his daughters. How silly can you get?

Some of his remarks, from the prepared text:

[...]Let me tell you when I first got the feeling something big was happening in this campaign. It was when I was driving along and spotted a handmade, Scott Brown yard sign that I hadn't actually put there myself.

This little campaign of ours was destined for greater things than any of us knew, and the message went far beyond the name on the sign.

It all started with me, my truck, and a few dedicated volunteers. It ended with Air Force One making an emergency run to Logan. I didn't mind when President Obama came here and criticized me - that happens in campaigns. But when he criticized my truck, that's where I draw the line.

We had the machine scared and scrambling, and for them it is just the beginning of an election year filled with surprises. They will be challenged again and again across this country. When there's trouble in Massachusetts, there's trouble everywhere - and now they know it.

In every corner of our state, I met with people, looked them in the eye, shook their hand, and asked them for their vote. I didn't worry about their party affiliation, and they didn't worry about mine. It was simply shared conviction that brought us all together.
[...]

Some of his non-family thanks:

I'm grateful to all those from across Massachusetts who came through for me even when I was a long shot. I especially thank a friend who was there with encouragement from the very beginning, and helped show us the way to victory - former Governor Mitt Romney.

I'll never forget the help of another man who took the time to meet with me months ago - who told me I could win, and gave me confidence for the fight. It was all so characteristic of a truly great and heroic American, and tonight I thank my new colleague, Senator John McCain.

On a night like this, when so many people mark your name on a statewide ballot, you think back to the first people who gave you a chance and believed. For the trust they placed in me, and for all they have taught me, I thank my neighbors and friends in my Senate district and especially my hometown of Wrentham. The cause and victory that all America has seen tonight started right there with all of you.

The full text of that speech are here, at The Huffington Post. Read, enjoy, savor the fun of a humble win. You can find the video of Olbermann's melt-down all over the Net. Yeesh!

Was the speech too long? Perhaps. But Brown had a lot of people to thank, and he had a few points to make, too. And as others have noted, his supporters and campaign workers wanted this time. Wanted the candidate's time, and to revel in a hard-fought campaign that brought them all victory.

So what happens now? Massachusetts voters need to keep an eye on their new Senator, make sure he stands firm in his stated convictions. And Senator-elect Brown needs to be what he promised, and not become another go-along-to-get-along politico. But there's more.

The GOP, if it has any principles left, must see this election for what it was - the repudiation of politics over the common good. The win of more than a man, but of ideals which are central to the American experience. The GOP must go back to the First Principles of the Party and to the Constitution, stop playing Uriah Heep to the Democrats, and stand for something. Not for gaining and holding power. Not for Leftism Lite, but for American Exceptionalism as exemplified by the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution.

Better to lose elections while standing up for America than to lose them, or even win them, while bowing to the retrograde philosophies of the Left. Americans want better Health care, not Obamacare and the control of it by the Leftist bureaucrats. They want better cars, not the control of American automakers by the Left. They want clean air and water, not economically destructive 'Green' policies that will destroy jobs but enrich wealthy Leftists like Al Gore. Americans want a strong, tough military, and the end to legal coddling of blood-thirsty, fanatical terrorists.

They want honest representatives. They want representatives who understand that they are employees of the electorate, not the employer. Arrogance and insolence in an employee should merit dismissal, not a life tenure.

The GOP can learn this, if it wants to. Americans can lead the way for their wayward representatives.

Did we learn anything from the Scott Brown election?

I go to Washington as the representative of no faction or interest, answering only to my conscience and to the people. I've got a lot to learn in the Senate, but I know who I am and I know who I serve.

I'm Scott Brown, I'm from Wrentham, I drive a truck, and I am nobody's senator but yours.

Thank you very much.

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2010!

2009-12-31T22:48:00.002-05:00

Here's wishing you, and yours, good Health, great Success, and Happiness throughout the New Year. May God bless you in your endeavors, and show His love for you every day.

Happy New Year!

Seeds Of Revolution?

2009-12-30T09:52:00.002-05:00

" ... a people Jealous of their Liberties and who will vindicate them, if ever they should be violated."
~ Isaac Barré, MP, 6 February, 1765

In 1675/76 two major incidents occurred in North America, both stemming from what the citizenry considered their government's arrogance and lack of concern for what was happening to them. In both incidents the government, safe in their fine homes, far from the trouble, ignored complaints, calls for assistance, and the growing anger of the people. The result, in both cases, was immense embarrassment and disgrace for the government, military intervention when it was too late for negotiation, and the seeds of rebellion sown. Seeds that would take a century to germinate into full-scale war.

In New England, Plymouth Colony, the government exerted pressure to thoroughly control the Indians. This included commanding the appearance of the Wampanoag chief, Wamsutta, to appear in Plymouth. He was met by Major Winslow and an armed force, taken at gun point, and questioned. He died shortly after. Wamsutta's brother, Metacom - known to the colonists as Phillip - became chief.

Despite long-standing uneasy relations between the Indians and the colonists, such heavy-handed actions on the part of the colonial government showed an appalling lack of understanding. And the colonists would pay a bloody price. The result was 'King Phillip's War' which ended in 1676.

Family History.com summarizes thus:

In 1675, hostilities broke out in the town of Swansea, and the war spread as far north as New Hampshire, and as far southwest as Connecticut. Not all Native People, however, sided with Philip. Most Natives who had converted to Christianity fought with the English or remained neutral. The English, however, did not always trust these converts and interned many of them in camps on outlying islands. Also, some Native communities on Cape Cod and the Islands did not participate in the war. Native soldiers fighting on the side of the colonists helped turn the tide of the war, which ended in 1676 when Philip was killed by a Wampanoag fighting with Captain Benjamin Church.

Fighting continued until 1678, when a treaty of Peace was signed at Casco Bay. For the colonists, the farmers and townspeople who suffered at the hands of the Indians due to the government's ignorance and arrogance, more was to come via the British government. Seeds were being sown.

In the Virginia colony, in the year 1676, trouble was also brewing. With high taxes, tobacco prices dropping, and special privileges given to the friends of the Royal governor, the people of the outlying areas were ready to revolt. Adding to their misery were the incessant attacks by the Indians. The Governor, and his Elite friends of the Virginia Tidewater, refused to respond to those attacks in any meaningful way. The citizenry took things into their own hands, sending two punitive expeditions against the Indians. These successful expeditions were headed by Nathaniel Bacon, a planter of the region. Soon elected to the House of Burgesses, Bacon was attempting to take his seat when the Governor arrested him.

Bacon was soon released, but the final bit of damage had been done. As Info Please summarizes:

Bacon gathered his supporters, marched on Jamestown, and coerced Berkeley into granting him a commission to continue his campaigns against Native Americans. A circumspect assembly then passed several reform measures. The governor, having failed to raise a force against Bacon, fled to the Eastern Shore. He gathered enough strength to return to Jamestown, where he proclaimed Bacon and his men rebels and traitors. After a sharp skirmish Bacon recaptured the capital (Berkeley again took flight) but, fearing that he could not hold it against attack, set fire to the town. Bacon now controlled the colony, but he died suddenly (Oct., 1676), and without his leadership the rebellion collapsed. After a few months Berkeley returned to wreak a bloody vengeance before he was forced to return to England. Berkeley's removal and the end of attacks by Native Americans were the only benefits the yeomen had won in the rebellion, and the tidewater aristocracy long maintained its power.

The Royal government took over control of the colony, but never addressed the problems of the colonists. They knew better than any common people what was best. More seeds had been sown.

Move ahead to the 1760s. The French and Indian War has been fought, the French defeated, Canada taken as the latest British Crown Colony. In London, the new, expanded Empire has depleted so much of the Treasury that Prime Minister Grenville must do something to refill the coffers. Where to find some of that money? The American colonies, for one.

The experts on the American colonies consisted of men who gained their knowledge before the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War it's called in Britain), and knew nothig of the sacrifices, in blood and treasure, expended by the Americans in defense of their homes and the Empire. In short, the Elite experts knew little about Americans, and could not care less. They knew what was best. And so began the institution of several Acts of Parliament which would tinder a fire of resentment in the hearts of Americans, and smoulder for a decade.

At the end of the War America fell into an economic depression deepened by a drought that made farmers weep. Most of the colonies had gone into debt to supply the men and supplies demanded by the King's armies to fight the French. Now, as they tried to find ways to struggle out of that debt, the Royal government moved in, in its typical heavy-handed, muzzie-headed way, and changed the way finances were to be handled. This threw American merchants into a kind of panic. Many went bankrupt, many went deeply into debt which would take years, or decades, to clear.

But things seemed quiet in America, to the Grenville government, and the King. After all, there were no protests to Parliament, aside from a few respectful, mealy-mouthed requests from colonial legislatures, for a second look at things by Parliament. In America the legislatures, involved in internecine war with opposition parties, were really too busy holding, or gaining, or consolidating their own power, to worry about the lesser mortals of the citizenry. And so George Grenville passed the infamous Stamp Act as a way to increase revenues from the colonies in a way that spread the cost to all. Grenville thought it was eminently fair. He knew nothing of Americans save what the Army Commanders-in-Chief had described during the early phases of the War. Americans were insolent, rebellious, and interested in only making money. The British saw nothing of the growth in patriotism of Americans as they joined in the fight agaisnt the French. They had no conception of the way Americans had moved slowly away from the kind of stratified society of nobility known in European lands. In short, the British government had learned little from the French and Indian War, when it came to their American colonies.

The Stamp Act passed in 1765. The seeds had sprouted.

While colonial legislatures remained mired in their own power politics, one of the opposition parties in New England used the Stamp Act as a way to gain power. Unleashing two mobs in Boston they forced the Stamp Collector to resign. This success led to similar, and far more violent and bloody, mob action in the other colonies. Many of these groups took the name, "Sons of Liberty" after the term used by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Barré. Barré rose in Parliament to speak against the Act. Speaking without notes, in response to Charles Townshend's observation when introducing the Stamp Act resolutions that the colonies should "contribute to the mother country which had planted, nurtured and indulged them," Barré replied,

"They planted by your care! No, your oppressions planted them in America. They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated, inhospitable country, where they exposed themselves to almost all the hardships to which human nature is liable, and among others to the cruelties of a savage foe and actuated by principles of true English liberties, they met all hardships with pleasure compared with those they suffered in their own country from the hands of those who should be their friends.

"They nourished up by your indulgence? they grew by your neglect of them: ---as soon as you began to care about them, that Care was Exercised in sending persons to rule over them, in one Department and another, who were perhaps the Deputies of Deputies to some Member of this house---sent to Spy out their Liberty, to misrepresent their Actions & to prey upon them; men whose behaviour on many Occasions has caused the Blood of those Sons of Liberty to recoil within them; men promoted to the highest Seats of Justice, some, who to my knowledge were glad by going to a foreign Country to Escape being brought to the Bar of a Court of Justice in their own.

"They protected by your Arms? They have nobly taken up Arms in your defence, have Exerted a Valour amidst their constant & Laborious industry for the defence of a Country, whose frontier, while drench'd in blood, its interior Parts have yielded all its little Savings to your Emolument. And believe me, remember I this Day told you so, that same Spirit of freedom which actuated that people at first, will accompany them still.---But prudence forbids me to explain myself further. God knows I do not at this Time speak from motives of party Heat, what I deliver are the genuine Sentiments of my heart; however superiour to me in general knowledge and Experience the reputable body of this house may be, yet I claim to know more of America than most of you, having seen and been conversant in that Country. The People I believe are as truly Loyal as any Subjects the King has, but a people Jealous of their Liberties and who will vindicate them, if ever they should be violated---but the Subject is too delicate & I will say no more."

Barré knew and respected Americans. He had lost an eye in the War, fighting alongside American militia. His speech made no difference to Parliament or the British government. But his words struck a spark in the colonies.

Britain didn't try to enforce the Stamp Act. Had they, no doubt the Revolution would have begun ten years earlier than it did. By the time the colonial legislatures had a grasp of the will of the people, those they considered unimportant, it was to late to head them off.

The politicians on both sides of the Atlantic had paid no attention to those they ostensibly represented. By 1775 it was no longer possible for the politicians to fix the problems they themselves had fostered. And the people would take the lead and rise in a full-fledged Revolution.

Governments who pay heed to only their supporters and friends inevitably become tyrannical, not to mention myopic. Political parties who interest themselves in gaining power, and expect support for not being the other Party, are out of touch with those they represent, those who pay their salaries, those who expect honest governance.

Just as in 1675/76, and in the 1760s, the citizenry are not being represented but misrepresented by those whose salaries they pay. Democrats represent the Special Interests who contribute to their campaign coffers; Republicans strive to be 'Not Democrats'. Neither Party pays heed to the citizenry of the United States. Instead they are content that each knows best what the people 'need', and continue their power politics games, while the citizens of this nation grow angry, fearful, and discontented.

Have seeds been sown?

A Free Writing Course: f2k!

2009-12-28T07:55:00.002-05:00

F2K is a free online creative writing course sponsored by
Writers' Village University and staffed by volunteer Mentors.

The course includes seven one-week fiction writing lessons and is designed for beginning writers; however, intermediate and advanced writers are encouraged to take the course as a refresher or to socialize with and encourage beginning writers. Thousands of writers have discovered that F2K is a great way to break writers block.

F2K is offered 4 times a year.
Subscribe to The Writers' Ezine (Free)
for updates and WVU class schedules.

Yep! The first f2k session of 2010 is almost here! We're busy getting our Mentors back into the fold, and searching among our computer files for the correct ones to use during the course. Then, on January 6th we'll watch the hundreds of registrants flood into the f2k site, trying to find their study groups, checking out the community gathering place - the Cafe f2k - meeting and greeting their fellow writing students. Day One is usually a confusing time for newbies, but a fun time, nonetheless!

Best of all it's free!

Need a refresher to stimulate your writing? Are you missing something in your writing and wonder what it might be? Well, in f2k you might discover what it is. The course is easy, fun, and one way to begin networking with other writers.

Did I mention it's free? :)

I stumbled on f2k while looking for a short story recommended by my then-Sweet Patootie. On the page was one of those banner ads. I got curious and clicked on it when I finished reading the story, and registered for f2k. I enjoyed it so much that after the course I joined WVU. That was 2001. WVU has been my writing home ever since.

Mentors are volunteers from WVU, as well as alumni of f2k. They're not teachers but helpers, and they're invaluable. Each Mentor has one study group to shepherd through the course. They give feedback to each student for the first lesson, and then it's up to the students to give feedback. After that first lesson the Mentors are there to keep an eye on things, give guidance where it's needed, and answer questions.

We have two chats each week, where we discuss the lessons, and then just about everything else under the sun. Many f2k students enjoy the experience so much that, like myself, they join WVU afterward. :)

For a small fee the students can get their Mentor's feedback throughout the rest of the lessons. I think the fee is $25 for the session. That small fee, from a handful of students, tends to provide most of the funds needed to keep f2k going. WVU, the parent organization, provides the rest of the funding. Bob Hembree (our Founder and Fearless Leader) set it up this way, years ago, and it's worked well.

So why not check it out? It doesn't cost a thing, and you may find it to be one of the more enjoyable experiences of your 2010 writing. I did, many years ago, and have never regretted it! Register right now!

Whoo-Hoo!

A Merry Christmas To All!

2009-12-22T08:32:00.008-05:00

From December of 2007, a repost, because it's important (with an update):

Alright, so it's getting overwhelming, all the Christmas music, the Carols, the red and green colors on everything. Even the Salvation Army jingling their bells is getting a bit on your nerves. So what? It's once a year, and you don't have to pay that much attention to it.

Too commercialized? Well of course! This is America, Land of the Shopper! What do you expect? We celebrate the Founding Fathers with sales. We mark Independence Day with more sales. We commercialize everything we can, whenever we can. It's our way. So relax. It's not important.

What is important is to remember that this season is about Hope - true Hope. Not how many nifty gifts you get, not the cards you send and receive. Hope. That's what the Christmas celebration is all about. We mark December 25th as the day that Jesus was born, He whom we call the Christ, the Son of GOD. A true gift from our Creator. His coming gives Hope to all who have sinned - that's you! And me! - that they will be forgiven those sins, thus redeemed from Death. That's what Christmas is about. The greatest Gift ever!

Now I know, as do most of you, that some folks like to grumble that Jesus was not born in December - Winter - at all, and that the Christmas celebration is simply melded onto the ancient Pagan Saturnalia. Well, so what? It's true. And how does that change the meaning in the slightest? If you take a Butcher's Shop and clean it out, change the decor, and open a Tea Shoppe, is it still a Butcher's Shop? Of course not. That's gone and something new is in its place.

So what do we know about the birth of Jesus? Well, not so terribly much actually. We have to rely on the Gospels for much of the information, and some of it is inaccurate (Scholars believe Mark's was the first Gospel account written, and that many years after Christ's Resurrection). Now that's merely the writers' errors as they attempted to match misunderstood prophecies.

For instance, there's no archaeological evidence that Bethlehem in Judea even existed in the 1st Century. It's a small city now, but at the time of Jesus' birth it didn't exist. However, there was, and is, another Bethlehem, and it was close to Nazareth, rather than far away, as is the accepted Bethlehem in Judea (75 miles from Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea). So why did the writers describe the town as Bethlehem in Judea? Because they misread, or misunderstood, the prophecy. Here, read it with me. First the New Testament account:

"In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…" (Matthew 2:1)

And what is the prophecy about His birthplace?

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2)

Pretty straightforward, isn't it? But is it? You see the word 'clans' in the prophecy? Not towns or places, or villages. Clans. All that prophecy means is that the smallest of the clans among the descendants of Judah would produce the Messiah. As James Tabor said: "Everyone thinks 'Bethlehem' is a place, and indeed there were towns named 'House of Bread' in Judea and in Galilee, but...the term Bethlehem-Ephrath/Ephratah is the name of a clan of Judah--children of Caleb through Hur, who was the firstborn of an extraordinary woman named Ephrathah..." (This is found in 1 Chronicles in the Old Testament)

Would Joseph have taken his heavily-pregnant betrothed 75 miles, through a barren wasteland - home to thieves and other criminals - to a town that did not exist, for a Roman Census? No. And only males would have been required anyway. No, if Joseph really did take Mary to any Bethlehem it would have been in Galilee, where a town did exist, and which still exists today. Don't feel badly about the writers - we all misread/misunderstand things, and so did they.

Okay, so what about that whole December 25th deal? Isn't that bogus? Yep! It really is. The accounts of His birth, you might recall, included shepherds tending their flocks in the fields at night.

"In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over the flock by night." (Luke 2:8)

Not in the Winter. Those sheep and their shepherds would not have been in the fields in a Judean Winter night. But they would have if it was in the Spring, as some believe, or in the Autumn, as I and some others believe. Jesus was not born in the early Winter. The date the early Church chose was in fact the date of the Roman Saturnalia. They did it for precisely the reasons you would expect: to draw pagans into the fold with a festival at the same time of year as one of their old festivals. The actual date is unknown, just as it is completely unimportant. It is the birth of the Messiah that is important. Keep that in mind.

From Jesus Police:

There are various theories about Jesus' birth. Many believed that Jesus was born on January 6 (the birthday of the God Osiris). The rationale for this date was the belief that Jesus was exactly 30 years old when he died and that he died on April 6. Counting backwards from April 6 exactly 29 years and 3 months gave a birth date of January 6 (Craveri, 1967). This date was adopted by the Eastern Church and called "Epiphany" or "The Appearance."

The African Tertullian (c 160 -220 A.D.) and the Roman Hippolytus (c 170-235 A.D.) believed the date to be March 25th, the spring equinox under the ancient Roman calendar. Clement of Alexandria (c 150-215 A.D.) believed that Jesus was born on May 20, the 25 day of the Egyptian month of Pachon. None of these theories had any real facts associated with them, but they were popular nonetheless.

A 3rd Century Christian named Sextus Julius Africanus believed that March 25 was Jesus' conception and the day of Earth's creation as well. Using March 25 as the day of conception, he skipped ahead 9 months to December 25 as the birth date.

What date was it? We don't know. Nobody knows, and, again, it doesn't matter. What matters at this time of year is that most Christians are celebrating His birth, which brought into the world Hope of Salvation.

That Hope of Salvation is what all the hoopla is all about, Folks. The Carols and the decorations. Even the Santa Claus images hearkens back to a Christian Saint in most of our traditions. So rather than get huffy about all of the lights and packages, even the non-stop music (so much of it absolutely lousy!), why not remember that it means Hope. Hope for all of us.

And that was GOD’s gift to all of us!

Merry Christmas To All!

Update: More information for those who want to know more:

As always, with ancient texts, the translations from Aramaic/Greek/ Latin/Old English into our modern tongue can allow all sorts of errors to creep in, while most of the basic meanings remain. In this case take a look at the place where Jesus was born - the place where the manger was.

Luke 2:7, says:

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

But the earliest text doesn't actually say 'inn' at all. From Christian Answers:

The text of Luke 2 notes there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the "inn." Unfortunately, the Greek term translated inn (kataluma) had multiple meanings, among them inn or caravansary. Used only one other time in the New Testament (Luke 22:11 and the parallel passage, Mark 14:14), it was the place where Jesus observed the Last Supper with His disciples. Here, Dr. Luke gave additional information about the kataluma. He said it was a furnished large upper story room within a private Jerusalem house. The kataluma of the last night of Jesus' earthly ministry was the "upper room."

We suggest the kataluma of Jesus' first night was a similar room in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph came into town with Mary ready to deliver. Arriving at Joseph's ancestral home, they found it already full of other family members who had arrived earlier. While the exact reason space was not made for a pregnant woman is unknown, it probably indicates the house was full of elder members of Joseph's family, who had priority.

So Joseph took Mary out to the barn, right? Nooo ... not in a poor village.

Chrstian Answers continues:

So that is when Mary and Joseph went to the barn, right? Not exactly. The Biblical account mentions neither barn nor cave—it is assumed because of the manger [and because of modern perceptions - European perceptions, mostly, that would never understand keeping livestock inside a home.]. Mangers are animal feeding troughs, and barns are where one would expect to find them. But in the ancient world, as well as in primitive modern cultures, mangers are also found within the house itself. Animals are regularly kept in homes at night.

A small number of flock animals were housed, not in attached exterior sheds, but inside the house in one of the ground floor rooms. Here, animals, tools and agricultural produce were stored. Here, too, food was prepared and possibly consumed. Family sleeping quarters were on the second floor (an upper room). By being inside, the animals were protected from the elements and theft. In addition, their presence provided body heat for cool nights, access to for the daily meal and dung as a critical fuel source.

Excavations in Israel have uncovered numerous installations within domestic structures which probably represent ancient mangers. Some are carved, but most are stone built. Wooden mangers, of course, have not survived in the archaeological record.

Consequently, Mary and Joseph did not find space in the living quarters of the ancestral family home. Instead, they stayed downstairs in the domestic stable, still within the ancestral home, where a manger or two was located. Here they were visited by the shepherds, and maybe the wise men some time later.

After all, Joseph was going home, to family. He was not a stranger, nor a poor beggar. But with room at a premium he and Mary would have to be put up where there was room - in the very room where the livestock was kept. Where the manger(s) were.

So Luke knew what he was writing, described it with enough detail for those who lived at that time. And they knew what he meant. By 1611, the year the King James Bible was first published, the translations had been corrupted as to ancient meanings. From Greek to Latin to Old English to the English of King James. A room in the house (where there was no more room) where the livestock spent the night had become a stable/barn/cave. But that isn’t what Luke described.

The birth of Christ followed the prophecies, which did not include heartless family members. But He was born in very humble circumstances, not in a palace. He was to be one with His people. His birth and life made Him that.

More thoughts about His humble birth: Jesus in a Manger

Hannukah - A Brief History

2009-12-11T09:19:00.005-05:00

At the death of Alexander the Great, his Empire was divided
between three of his Generals. Israel, during this Second
Temple Period, found itself under the rule of the Seleucid
Dynasty of Greek rulers, based in Syria. At the beginning
of the Seleucid reign, the Jewish people were rarely treated
harshly, although they were, in fact, a subject people.

But they were allowed to worship God in their own way.

Over the years quite a few Jews embraced the Hellenist
lifestyle, and saw little loss in the extinction of
the Judaic way of life.

Antiochus IV came to the throne and embarked on a campaign
of assimilation. Jews would live as the Greeks did,
worship as the Greeks did, or they would die. The Temple
was looted of it's treasures, and desecrated
( even a statue of Zeus was apparently placed on the holy altar).
Jewish religious observances were forbidden.
Antiochus proclaimed himself a god: Antiochus Epiphanies.
He ordered altars and statues honoring the Gods and
Goddesses placed in all the cities and towns,
and had the Jewish people rounded up.
They were ordered to worship the Pagan Gods,
and perform acts considered immoral by Jews.

Indignities were heaped upon the Jewish people.

A Hellenist Jew "High Priest", Jason, gaining his
post through bribery, was outfoxed
by another Hellenist Jew "High Priest" of the
Temple, Menelaus, who outbribed him for the exalted post.
Angered, Jason raised a large army
and began a Civil War against Menelaus and his supporters,
attacking the Temple killing many innocent people.
This was the perfect excuse for Antiochus to move.
He poured his troops into the Country, looting the Temple
once again, and slaughtering thousands of Jews.
Little did Antiochus realize . . .

A fuse had been lit under the Jewish people. It would take
the right person to begin the fight against Antiochus.
A priest in a small town would be the one!

A little east of the City of Jerusalem was a small town
called Modin. Mattityahu, the patriarch of the Hasmonean Clan - a
Priestly Clan - decided to make a stand. He and his 5 sons attacked
the Greek soldiers there, and slew them.

Then the family destroyed the idols they'd been ordered to worship.

With a circle of brave followers, Mattityahu took to the hills - a
time honored tradition of embattled Jews in the Holy Land - and
began gathering forces around him.
The time had come to destroy the Pagan over-rulers.

Now Mattityahu turned over the small army to his son Yehuda Maccabee,
and the army grew. Legend says they took the motto:
"Who is like You among the mighty ones, O God!"
and wrote it on their shields. Using the darkness of night,
the Maccabean forces would storm out of the Judean hills onto
unsuspecting Syrian troops, and having slain and
scattered the enemy, retire to their strongholds again.
A force of 47,000 syrians were defeated by a Jewish force of
6,000 in one encounter alone!

Antiochus, enraged at this, sent a larger force still to destroy the rebel Jews.
The two forces met at Bet Tzur.
In a miraculous battle, the badly outnumbered Jewish rebels
defeated the huge Syrian Army. Victorious, Yehuda Maccabee led his forces
to Jerusalem, and liberated the City.
The first order of business was to clear the Temple, and especially the
Sanctuary, of the idols of the Greeks, and rebuild the Altar.
Then they would be able to re-dedicate the Temple for Divine Services.

Among the legends concerning Hannukah, is one regarding
the Holy Fire. It seems that from the time of Moses,
Holy Fire burned on the Altar. Even during the Exile in
Babylon, the Holy Fire is said to have been kept
miraculously burning, hidden in a secret place.
But when Judah Maccabee and his men had placed wood on the
rebuilt altar, and readied an animal for
the sacrifice, the Holy Fire was gone.
It was unlawful to kindle the flames
with what was called "strange fire".
So Judah and his men prayed to God.
Miraculously, Holy Fire came forth from the altar!
The altar was dedicated on the 25th of the Jewish month
of Kislev. And so Jews today celebrate the 25th of Kislev
as the first night of Hannukah.

Perhaps the best-known of the miracles related to Hannukah -
better known than the miracle of the Holy Fire,
and better-known even than the miraculous Victories of the
badly outnumbered Jewish Rebels - is the Miracle of the Oil.

Within the Temple stood a seven-branched candelabrum,
known to Jews as the Menorah. It burned day and night fueled
by olive oil of the highest purity.
The purity was guarded throughout the entire process of
production, and was kept in special containers that bore the
seal of the High Priest.
But when the Maccabees entered the Temple, everything had
been desecrated and defiled it seemed. Except for one, small flagon of pure oil.
In it there was enough oil to keep the Menorah
lit for a single day. Perhaps some pure oil could be found
in the City, but a search turned up not a drop.
It would take a week to make more of the pure oil.
What to do?
Depend on God, of course.
The Menorah was lit, and the priests began to work on
making more of the pure oil.
At the end of that first day, the Menorah in the Temple
didn't flicker and go out.
It burned as if it had all the pure olive oil in the world.
By the time the new oil was ready, eight days had passed!
And still the Temple Menorah continued to burn!
A Miracle!

The following year a feast of Praise
and Thanksgiving was proclaimed.
It would last for the eight days of the Miracle.
And more than 2000 years later, Jews around the
world light menorahs,
praise God, and remember.

From one Gentile, to my Jewish friends everywhere,

"Happy Hannukah!"

~"Hannukah means rededication."~

Any historical errors are mine alone.

Changing Meanings

2009-12-06T12:53:00.002-05:00

I watched “The Bishop’s Wife” a few nights ago. No, I’ve never seen it before. I’ve seen clips, but not the whole thing. Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young. A nice film, good for the Christmas season. And as I watched there came a scene where Loretta Young is brushing her hair and humming a light tune. Her husband, the Bishop, turns to her, saying something like, “That’s a gay tune, dear.”

And it struck me, again, how words have morphed from one thing - one meaning - to another entirely. The Bishop wasn’t, of course, dissing his wife, or the tune. He wasn’t using a slur. He was describing the tune as light, happy, pleasant. Nowadays that word ‘gay’ no longer has that meaning. To use it as it once was used is to confuse people who will assume that you don’t like something, or are insulting someone, or are maybe taking a political stance. Sad, ain’t it?

In the same vein, I stumbled on a Christian radio station online, and while decorating my apartment for Christmas, listened to a sermon. Why not? It’s Sunday.

And listening, and relating it to that phrase from “The Bishop’s Wife”, I thought of how language has changed over the centuries. Take the simple phrase from Scripture, “Suffer the little children to come unto me.”

Mark 10:14 : But when Jesus saw [it], he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Kinda scary, huh? And confusing, what with Him being displeased. Suffer isn’t a nice word. But that’s not the meaning that the readers of the Scripture took from it originally. Suffer meant ‘let’ or ‘allow’, not “to undergo or feel pain or distress“ as the dictionary defines it. In the King James English the word suffer, in this instance, is archaic, misunderstood, a head-scratcher. But the Word means quite simply ‘allow.’

Anyway, back at the sermon, at one point the preacher was talking about Christ dwelling among us, and my mind left the sermon - it does go off on tangents - and went to the original language from which the Scripture referenced came. The Scripture, of course, is from the book of John:

John 1:14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Now we know John did not speak King James’ English. I daresay he spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, and early Latin - as spoken by the Romans of the time. He also spoke Greek. But not English, which didn’t exist as yet. So we’re talking about a translation from the original language to the English of 1611. In fact the oldest version of this book of John is written in Greek. And in that passage the word is not ‘dwelt’, but ‘tabernacled’. ‘The Word was made flesh and tabernacled among us [...]’.

A tabernacle is a tent, as the Hebrews knew, made of green boughs, animal skins, or other materials. A tent. We’ve come to think of a tabernacle as a kind of temple, holy place, something having to do with a congregation and worship. But at its root the word simply means a home - a humble place to dwell with your family.

Not as a king, or tyrant, or dictator. As a member of the family.

Now, in John we are told that the Word - Christ, the Son of God - became flesh - became a human being - and took His place among us as a member of the family of Man. He didn’t simply live among us. No, He became fully one of us, with all the frailties of human flesh, for a purpose. To fulfill God’s promise to redeem His people from Sin.

That simple word tabernacle, which is not quite understood today, has a very simple, yet utterly powerful importance. God, so John tells us, first created His Word - Logos, Christ, The Redeemer - and created nothing else. Whether or not you accept that, it’s what the Scripture says. Christ isn't simply God's only begotten Son, but Creation itself.

Now, go back to Genesis. Adam and Eve. See the corruption of understanding that has lasted for millennia. Now we’ve come to think of Eve as such a weak thing, easily tempted, who led poor Adam astray. The Scripture tells the story, but we’ve managed to sort of misunderstand the full impact of the tale. Remember that Eve was tempted by the Serpent. Satan himself. Satan is the Deceiver. A most powerful Spirit of Evil. Adam was merely tempted by Eve. Who was the weaker? Who was the more easily led astray? Not Eve, but Adam.

And God knew this was going to happen. Knew it before he - or The Word - created Adam in His image. He knew that Man would fall before the blandishments of the Devil, would Sin, and would have to be punished. Why punished? Why not simply forgiven for this transgression?

Look at the Scripture. From Numbers 23:19 :

God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

And what had he said, what words that required such a dire punishment to all Humanity? Genesis, again. Genesis 2:17 :

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When God makes a promise He keeps it. He does not equivocate, He does not hem and haw. Having said it He keeps His word. Thus, having eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve had to die, and their offspring were condemned to death, as well. God had no choice because He explained what was permitted, what was not, and the penalty for disobedience. And God knew this was going to happen. But He also planned for this. He created a way out for Humanity. That ‘escape clause’ is the Christ - the Word made flesh.

And once made flesh - becoming human - the Word did not live in a temple or a palace. He ‘pitched His tent’ with the rest of His family, took upon Himself all the sorrows of the flesh. He - the Son of God - made Himself one of us. You see, the English word dwelt has nowhere near the depth of meaning as the word John chose. Jesus didn’t simply dwell with us, but became one of us, fully, and thus provided for all time, the means to redemption from Sin. Redemption provided by God long before Adam and Eve existed.

When I think of that simple passage, it makes me feel very good. In Eastern religions we see the idea of Men becoming Gods, or like Gods. It feels alien to us in the West, as we cannot envision anyone being ‘good’ enough to become a God. But in Christianity our God deigns to become Human, to save us. And I like that idea much better.

And how is your Christmas season going? :)

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T11:37:00.003-05:00

Resting Harvesters - Daniel Ridgeway Knight - 1875

A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Be thankful for all the blessings of God, bestowed upon you and your country. Remember the less fortunate and keep them in your prayers.

Be safe, if you're travelling, and don't drink and drive. Don't want to lose you!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

For more about Daniel Ridgeway Knight, check the Art Renewal Center.

Are They Desperate Enough?

2009-11-22T08:41:00.002-05:00

So, as the evidence continues to pour in, regarding Anthropogenic Climate Change (that's Global Warming, for those of you mired in the past), showing it to be nothing but the normal fluctuations in Global climatic temperatures, normal climatic cycles, normal, normal, normal, what do the Statist-loving warming-mongers do?

Simple: the lies continue. And the propaganda. And the hysteria. "We must act now!" "We have to help Mother Earth!" "We're all going to drown!"

And now the latest in Statist Scientific oddities: Polar Bears falling from the skies!

Look to the sky, Humans! Your environmental foolishness has caused Gaia to suck Polar Bears into the air and drop them on your un-feeling heads!

Plane Stupid - ain't that a giveaway? - made this silly, hysterical ad. The Guardian remarks:

Airline pollution activists Plane Stupid are on a collision course with the advertising regulator after launching a graphic cinema campaign that sees CGI polar bears falling to bloody deaths to highlight the impact of carbon emissions.

Plane Stupid's ad, which breaks in cinemas and online today, features dozens of animated polar bears falling from the sky onto a city centre, bouncing off skyscrapers and landing in the street and on the roof of a car, accompanied by blood-spurting special effects.

[...]

The group is aiming to point out that even short flights to the continent have a major impact on carbon emissions. Plane Stupid said that the ad was inspired by the fact that an average European flight produces 400kg of carbon, which it claims is the same weight as an average female polar bear.

"We wanted to confront people with the impact that short-haul flights have on the climate," said Robert Saville, a director at Mother. "We used polar bears because they are a well understood symbol of the effect that climate change is having on the natural world."

As noted in many places, Polar Bear populations have been booming. Remember that the folks who count these human-hunting beasties have no idea how many bears there were in the world just forty years ago. No clue. It's all guess-work. And, like much that they claim, it's utterly false.

Ed Gillespie, in the Guardian, notes:

[...]
And this inevitably begs the question do these shock tactics actually work to shift the public's attitudes and behaviours? Conventional psychological theory suggests that shock ads used to work because their message wormed its way so deeply into our consciousness that we're eventually compelled to act on it. However we swiftly become desensitized and I'm pretty sure everyone is aware of the over-hyped plight of the plucky polar bear in the context of climate change and the role of flying in fuelling the phenomenon.

But maybe the ad works by ramming home this link between high-carbon short haul flights and the fate of the Arctic? Certainly it's controversial imagery will garner press interest, after all I'm writing this analytical blog for starters, and for campaigning organisations with limited budgets and only one bite at the media cherry this is crucial. However I'm still not sure it will change behaviour, the danger is that by pumping up the high octane drama of an ad, you increase the risk of viewers feeling manipulated and dismissing it as pure propaganda. Or lapsing into highly questionable failures of tact and taste in pursuit of 'edginess'.
[...]

So, if you can't sell your fearful doom-and-gloom prophecy to the masses - because they're just to dim, not because it's all a fraud - just whip up some graphic 'evidence' of what is happening, or the equivalent. As Algore does with the photoshopped images in his latest book of lies.

The Hockey Stick model has been proven to be a phony, the temperatures have proven to be falling, the CO2 has been proven to follow temperature rises - throughout all history - not lead them. No Climate Change problem, just the same old cycles of Nature. So they will lie. How desperate are they?

Look to the sky, Humans! Your environmental foolishness has caused Gaia to suck Polar Bears into the air and drop them on your un-feeling heads!

Heheheee! :D

Here's one commenter, at Tim Blair's blog on the Daily Telegraph. I think it fits exactly:

Take one medium sized polar bear and tenderize with a large meat mallet or by dropping from a substantial height. Cut into small bite sized pieces and place in a large cooking pot over low heat and add about eighty kilos of potatoes and sixty kilos each of carrots, white onions and navy beans. Pour in fifty gallons of brown gravy and season with handfuls of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for thirty hours.

Enough for five hundred. If more are expected toss in a couple of baby seals.

geoff
Sat 21 Nov 09 (10:46pm)

How could I add to that?

Honoring America's Veterans

2009-11-11T09:44:00.007-05:00

"On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month ..."

"Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day) is on November 11 and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" 1918."

After World War II the name of the day was changed to Veterans Day, and we celebrate those who served this nation on this day. May God bless them forever.

Borrowed from DeconLabel (images and quotes):

But the freedom that they fought for,
and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye.
~Thomas Dunn English

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. ~Author unknown, sometimes attributed to M. Grundler

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. ~José Narosky

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~Elmer Davis

But fame is theirs - and future days
On pillar'd brass shall tell their praise;
Shall tell - when cold neglect is dead -
"These for their country fought and bled."
~Philip Freneau

Freedom is never free. ~Author Unknown

I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot. ~Gary Hart

When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? ~George Canning
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. ~Michel de Montaigne

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" ~Eve Merriam
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

Lord, bid war's trumpet cease;
Fold the whole earth in peace.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them. ~Chinese Proverb

The most persistent sound which reverberates through men's history is the beating of war drums. ~Arthur Koestler, Janus: A Summing Up

The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. ~Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. ~G.K. Chesterton

How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
~William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, much later adapted to "So shines a good deed in a weary world" by David Seltzer for the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. ~Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935
taken from : quotegarden.com

Just for those who don't know why it's important to remember Veterans, and their sacrifices, perhaps this quote from George Orwell needs to be remembered as well:
"Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Always On Watch posts about Veterans Day: keep Mr. AOW (he suffered a stroke in Spetember) and his wonderful wife (AOW) in your prayers and thoughts!

Bookworm posts about Veterans Day

Gateway Pundit posts about Veterans Day

Neo-neocon posts about Veterans Day

Victims of Jihad; Not Victims of Taunting

2009-11-08T10:39:00.004-05:00

Neo-neocon has a link to some biographical information. These are the murdered victims of the Jihadist a$$hat at Fort Hood.

Victims of Jihad at Fort Hood

Chief Warrant Officer Michael Grant Cahill (Ret.), 62 - Cameron, Texas

Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52 - Woodbridge, Virginia

Army Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow, 32 - Plymouth, Indiana

Capt. John Gaffaney, 56 - San Diego, California

Spc. Frederick Greene, 29 - Mountain City, Tennessee

Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22 - Tipton, Oklahoma

Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29 - Kiel, Wisconsin

Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19 - West Jordan, Utah

Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22 - Bolingbrook, Illinois

Capt. Russell Seager, 51 - Racine, Wisconsin

Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21 - Chicago, Illinois

Lt. Col. Juanita L. Warman, 55 - Havre De Grace, Maryland

Spc. Kham Xiong, 23 - St. Paul, Minnesota

Heroes, all. Don't forget the wounded, either. Each one a victim of Islamic Jihad, no matter the fluffy-minded simperings of the MSM or our "Johnny-on-the-spot" President. Major Nidal Hasan is a cold-blooded murderer. This was planned ahead of time and carried out in cold blood. He can claim he was taunted for his Muslim beliefs, but that doesn't hold water. Sensible people know that.

So let's remember his victims, not his false excuses. The Leftist Political Correctness has taken hold of our own Military. We are all threatened by this. There's no more time to play PC with the brave members of our Military. Enough PC stupidity!

Read more from neo-neocon.

Also, she posted this, from NBC Chicago:

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.” Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned.

As neo said, "I didn’t see or hear the banter, but I did hear his official remarks. I say “hear” because I was in my car at the time and missed the video. Nevertheless, even without the oddness of the introduction, I found his tone strange. It’s hard to describe, but the best I can do is to call it inappropriately flat.

I’m not expecting a president to emote; they all don’t sound like Reagan, who was, after all, an actor. But I cannot escape the impression that there is something missing in the emotional department with Obama. I don’t think this extends to all parts of his personal life (for example, he seems to be a good and loving father). But I feel a coldness in him that is fairly global, a chill that goes pretty deep."

neo-neocon should be a part of your daily blog reading.

Colored Memories

2009-10-26T10:34:00.004-04:00

I can barely remember the opening credits of the Daniel Boone TV show. Boone, played by Fess Parker, is standing in the trees, sees a bear, and readies his long gun. It's a dim memory because what I remember of the series is almost entirely from the color versions. And that first opening was in black-and-white. Why don't I remember the show from its earliest years? Dunno.

If you remember the show you probably also remember the color version, with Ol' Dan stepping through a stream, throwing a tomahawk, and so on. Do you remember the main sidekick from the first season? Ed Ames? No, he wasn't the sidekick in the first season, though he was one of the regular cast members. No the original sidekick in the series was played by Albert Salmi. His character was Yadkin, a trapper.

If you watched the show I bet you remember Israel Boone, the white-haired son, played by Darby Hinton. But Jemimah Boone, played by Angela Cartwright, only lasted through two seasons. I didn't remember that at all. Remembered her, didn't remember her just disappearing from the show.

What's the point?

Memory is a funny thing. Some things make an impact, others don't. I was raised in the Era of Television. Television shows were the entertainment medium that influenced me, even though Movies did, too. But my memories of TV shows are terribly imperfect. Spotty, incomplete, distorted.

For instance I remember "Sea Hunt," starring Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson. Playing a scuba diver, I remember his exciting adventures, the underwater filming. Great stuff. But did I see the original series or only the syndicated episodes later on?

Here's how Wikipedia describes the show:"The program followed the adventures of scuba diver Mike Nelson, an ex-Navy frogman turned freelance diver, played by Lloyd Bridges. He out maneuvered villains, salvaged everything from a bicycle to a nuclear missile, and rescued a downed Air Force pilot (in his sunken jet, in the pilot episode), children trapped in a flooded cave, and even a dog. One unusual aspect of the series was that at the end of each episode, Bridges made a plea to protect the oceans."

It's been years since I watched an episode, so my memory of Sea Hunt was lot more exciting than the reality. But I finally saw one, broadcast on RTV, and was surprised at how gentle the adventure was. I still love the ominous theme music, and enjoyed the swimming sequences. But somehow the 'adventure' was kind of bland. I'd have been about six-years-old when the series ended in 1961. So maybe I never saw the first run. But then, as a small child, what is bland now might've been exciting then.

Fact is the show was fun to watch - this time, too - and gave me a nice feeling of nostalgia. But it didn’t match my memory.

Unless something really impacts you as a child I don’t think your childhood memories are terribly reliable, if then. Yes, I know some folks who claim to remember things from their baby-hood. Maybe so, but I don’t. Most of the memories I do have from childhood are fragmented. Probably because I simply wasn’t paying attention.

I day-dreamed. And once my folks tricked me into enjoying reading books, well, I was off on dozens of other Universes. So my memories, of things going on during my early life, are faulty at best.

For instance, I do remember the assassination of President Kennedy. I remember being sent home from school early. But little else remains in my head. Getting out of school early was far more important to me. What I remember clearly from that short period was the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. I saw that. On television. As it happened. I do remember that very clearly. But my memories of that moment are probably also colored by the years, just as other memories.

Do you remember how important things were to you, in grade school? The friends you made, the things you did and looked forward to doing? Not even a glimmer of importance to you now, are they? Why was it so hard to go to bed, when you were a small child - ignoring the times when you were utterly exhausted and simply fell asleep. Was it because there was so much going on, so much to experience, that you were afraid you’d miss it? When your folks had a party, wasn’t it sheer hell to be sent to bed before the party was over?

Why? You’d miss something. You didn’t know what it was, but you would miss something.

And your memories are colored, too, by that ‘missing something’ feeling, putting far more importance on events and experiences than they would hold later in your life. That’s also why the self-important pontifications of school students are not to be taken very seriously. There’s a distance between what they perceive and what is real. Their own life experiences are still so limited in scope that what they ‘feel’ is so important, so utterly imbued with urgency, makes it difficult to reason with them. Not all of them, but quite a few.

When we grow up, become real adults, our view of the world is tempered by experience, by learning. And we are embarrassed by the things we believed when we were just children. Most of us grow out of that stage of constant umbrage and self-righteousness. Some of us never do. Those colored memories become the ultimate truth rather than a faded, hazy view.

So, I will enjoy the old television programs, realizing that many of them were exciting for a child, but are only, now, amusing to the adult.

Just some thoughts I had. :)

How Obama Does It ...

2009-10-23T08:07:00.003-04:00

From Grouchy Old Cripple by way of Van Helsing at Moonbattery, comes this perfect example of how the Obama Administration does things.

Grouchy also reminds us of the foolishness of the Obama ideas with Unintended Consequences. Give it a read, why don'cha?

Do You Nano?

2009-10-22T11:45:00.007-04:00

As in National Novel Writing Month? Nanowrimo? Well, I do. I have since 2005, when I failed to make the goal of 50,000 words in a month. But each year since then I've managed to scribble enough words to win.

What do I win?

Well, satisfaction, I suppose. Knowing that I can sit my lazy tush down and write because I must. Normally I don't think writing 50,000 words or more is that important. After all, you write when you have something to say. But with Nano, you have a deadline - one month - and a set goal - 50,000 words or more. So it's all up to you.

I know Shoprat has done this in the past. I hope he can do it again this year, but he has his own trubbles to deal with, and may not feel he has the time. So we'll see, right?

Remember that Nano costs nothing to join and participate. Not one thin dime. You can donate to the cause, if you like. I have in the past, but I don't know about this year. I have a $600 dental bill to pay tomorrow - getting three teeth pulled! Oy! - and will find it hard to make the rent this coming month. But I will donate if I can. One of the neat things in the Nano universe is the Young Writers Program. And that's one way a donation helps. And Nano is about helping writers, especially young writers.

Here's how they describe the program at the YWP page:

"What: To meet your word-count goal and write a novel from scratch in one month's time. You will be able to enter your chosen word-count goal in your profile starting October 1, 2009.

Who: You!

You should sign up on the Young Writers Program site if you are:

17 years old or younger participating on your own.
In a K-12 teacher-lead class that is participating in NaNoWriMo.
An educator facilitating NaNoWriMo in your classroom.

If you are 13 or older you can sign up on the main site at www.nanowrimo.org. Just know that you will have to write 50,000 words since the adult site doesn't allow you to set your own word-count goal.

Why: The reasons are endless! To write freely without having to stress over spelling and grammar. To be able to talk about how cool your novel is any chance you get. To be able to make fun of real novelists who take far longer than 30 days to write their books . . .

When: You can sign up whenever you'd like to add your name to the roster of budding young authors and participate in the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach your word-count goal by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the celebration begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works for Young Writers page! If you are an educator, visit the How NaNoWriMo Works for Educators page."

They also say:

"In 2008, 119,000 adults participated through our main site, and 22,000 young writers participated through our Young Writers Program."

That's a whole lotta writers! :)

So think about donating, if you can, even if you aren't a writer and don't intend to join us in our 50K quest. It's better than hoping your tax dollars are being used wisely in the Department of Education. Whoo-Hoo!

I know, some of you are prolly thinking, "What's the big deal? Anybody can write some words." True, anybody can. But they don't. And for writers, and aspiring writers (I say, if you write, you are a writer! No aspiring involved!), this is like a kick in the pants. Here you have a self-imposed deadline, a set goal, and only yourself as a judge. If you fail, so what? So do may others. No disgrace. But writers know how hard it can be when faced with the 'blank page'. It can make you freeze. That's the first hurdle for the writer.

Others come along and threaten our well-being, too.

So Nano can provide the practice a lot of writers need. Practice in how to write something, anything, even when nothing is coming to mind.

Are you a writer? Then why not head on over to Nanowrimo and register? Join in the fun - yes, it can be fun, once you stop all the whimpering, and the weeping while lying on the floor in the fetal position.

November 1st is the opening date! Thew writing race begins! Come on, all you writers: Come Nano!

Whoo-Hoo!

But ... What's He Actually Done?

2009-10-09T21:09:00.004-04:00

Seriously, now, Barack Obama? The Nobel Peace Prize? Peace Prize? What, exactly, has the President done to facilitate peace? In fact where is this Peace he’s being awarded for? Anywhere? Maybe in Afghanistan?

After two years of political campaigning, where candidate Obama proclaimed Afghanistan to be the ‘good war’ which Bush had taken his eyes off, how has President Obama brought Peace to Afghanistan? He managed to speak to his General in the field once, while availing himself of the Letterman show - and other venues - many times since assuming the ‘throne’. But only after the General in Afghanistan blurted out that he’d only spoken to his Commander-in-Chief once, did Obama deign to summon the General to his presence. In Copenhagen - ‘member that?

And what did they decide to do in Afghanistan? Well, that ain’t been decided yet. So, no Peace there.

Maybe in the volatile Middle East? Did he bring Peace there? Naw, all Obama did there is cozy up to the Islamists in the area and dis the Israelis. As yet ... no Peace.

Iran? No, he’s offered to chit-chat with the murderous Mullahs, but no Peace.

North Korea? Nah, the Hermit is still pretending to be in charge of a real nation rather than a starving basket-case that happens to have nuclear weapons and missiles. No Peace there.

Well, maybe the Prize is for the Peace he’s brought to his homeland. Chicago must be jolly and peaceful, now that it’s adoptive Son is the Prez. Right? No? More deaths by murder in Chicago than American deaths by War in Afghanistan? Hmmmm.

So where’s the Peace?

Turns out it’s not a Prize for achieving Peace - not anymore - but for promising Hope and Change! Wow!

Well, we all knew the Prize had become meaningless over the past few years. So this is not a huge surprise. But really, what has he done to merit the Nobel Peace Prize?

I haven’t done anything either. Maybe I should begin to campaign for the next Prize, eh? After all, I’ve done as much to achieve World Peace as Barack Obama.

Seriously, now. What has he done?

From Van Helsing's Moonbattery.com

A Pair O' Lists

2009-10-05T07:50:00.005-04:00

From American Thinker:

Top 10 Reasons Chicago lost Olympic bid

October 03, 2009
Ethel C. Fenig

Too, too funny! Too, too true--and so many people believe the number one reason killed it.

Add your own. And thanks to Rich Lowry of NRO for sharing.

10. Dead people can't vote at IOC meetings.

9. Obama distracted by 25 min meeting with Gen. McChrystal.

8. Who cares if Obama couldn't talk the IOC into Chicago? He'll be able to talk Iran out of nukes.

7. The impediment is Israel still building settlements.

6. Obviously no president would have been able to accomplish it.

5. We've been quite clear and said all along that we didn't want the Olympics.

4. This isn't about the number of Olympics "lost", it's about the number of Olympics "saved" or "created".

3. Clearly not enough wise Latina judges on the committee.

2. Because the IOC is racist.

1. It's George Bush's fault.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here's a list that's been making its way across the blogosphere recently. It's been added to, derided, quoted, and so on. Perhaps it is a bit mislabeled. For Liberal substitute 'Leftist', and you will rest easier. I think. This is from SodaHead.com. I first read this at Bookworm Room. I recommend making her blog a daily stop.

What's the Difference Between a Conservative and a Liberal?

By Warner Todd Huston

People often wonder what is the difference between a conservative and a liberal. The simple fact of the matter is that the major difference is that conservatives wonder first what it is they are re... People often wonder what is the difference between a conservative and a liberal. The simple fact of the matter is that the major difference is that conservatives wonder first what it is they are responsible for while liberals wonder first what everyone else should be doing for them.

Here are some brief rules of thumb:

•If a conservative sees a U.S. flag, his heart swells with pride.
•If a liberal sees a U.S. flag, he feels shame.

•If a conservative doesn't like guns, they don't buy them.
•If a liberal doesn't like guns, then no one else should have one either.

•If a conservative is a vegetarian, he won't eat meat.
•If a liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

•If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat it.
•If a liberal see an enemy he wonders what he can do to appease him.

•If a conservative is homosexual, he'll quietly enjoy his life.
•If a liberal is homosexual, he'll demand everyone get involved in his bedroom activities.

•If a successful conservative is black or Hispanic, he'll see himself as having succeeded on his own merits.
•Successful liberal minorities still claim "racism" and want government to give them even more.

•If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to work to better his situation.
•A liberal wants someone else to take care of him.

•If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
•If a liberal doesn't like a radio show, he demands that the station be shut down or censored.

•If a conservative is a non-believer, he just doesn't go to church.
•Non-believing liberals demand that everyone cease believing and demands churches be censored.

•If a conservative needs health care, he shops for it, or chooses a job that provides it.
•Liberals demand that everyone else provide him with healthcare for free.

•If a conservative sees a law, he thinks long and hard before suggesting a change.
•If a liberal sees a law he assumes it is just a suggestion and does what he wants anyway.

•Conservatives feel there is a right and wrong.
•Liberals feel that nothing is really wrong... unless it is believed by a conservative.

•Conservatives believe in freedom, responsibility, tradition, and self-reliance.
•Liberals believe in license, government restrictions, upending tradition, and collectives.

Black Hearts & Missing Souls

2009-10-01T21:13:00.006-04:00

From Big Hollywood - 9/29/09 - comes this list of the morally-deprived of the Entertainment world who have signed the petition to set poor child-rapist, Roman Polanski, free. After all, who says that fleeing from justice deserves a penalty? And rape? meh! She's in her forties now, and she doesn't want to be put through the sensationalism of another trial.

So why don't we all just drop this, okay?

Right? Polanski is a celebrated artist of the cinema. So we cannot judge him by our puny, unenlightened standards, anyway, now can we?

Got yer hackles up yet?

Susan Estrich, with whom I disagree on every political issue, nailed this to the wall. By now I'm sure you've read her commentary, "Roman the Rapist", but if not, go take a gander. Worth it, trust me. The Washington Post is on the right side, too. As noted in The Corner, they say,

"What matters is not that Mr. Polanski is 76 or that he has a talent for filmmaking or that his own life has been filled with unspeakable horrors or that the case is decades old. It doesn't even matter that his underage victim, now grown up, forgives him. What matters is that this man admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old whose undisputed testimony details how he gave her champagne and Quaaludes, got her naked in a hot tub and wouldn't listen as she — terrified — said no. He was originally charged with sodomy and rape but agreed to plead to a lesser offense. He jumped bail and fled the country out of fear the judge would give him more prison time than the paltry 42 days supposedly promised by prosecutors. He has been living with impunity and in luxury ever since."

Even the readership of the Loony-Tunes Huffington Post have been aghast and appalled at the support for Polanski, and the diminution of the rape to a 'well, he's an Artiste, so it doesn't count,' by the usual suspects.

Fact is, if you think Polanski is getting a raw deal, or should be let go, you're not worthy of notice. I tried to think of words to describe how low these defenders of Roman the Rapist are, but there isn't a word to describe how low these creatures are. They're the stuff you scrape off your shoes onto the curb. These 'people' are missing some important ingredients which make up a true Human being. Their minds are not functioning correctly - obvious, right? - their hearts are tiny and black, their very souls are missing.

How to respond? Ignore them. Oh, I'm not saying forget what they say, and have said. No, I'm saying ignore their very existence.

Most of these 'people' I've never heard of, and I see no reason to look into their personal information. So ... ignore them. Don't buy their books; don't go to their movies; don't buy anything they're involved with - as sponsors, spokespersons, and so on.

Show them the contempt they've so richly earned by leaving them strictly alone. If they can prosper with only the financial support of their fellow believers in 'The Elite are above human decency and norms', more power to them.

I'm not calling for a boycott - it always seems to be something too political - but use your power of 'choice' to choose other products, other books, other movies, other television shows. It ain't that hard, really.

Imagine if Polanski had done this to your sister. Imagine if Polanski had done this to your girlfriend. Imagine it. Then give these fools the treatment a moral society reserves for the evil: Shun them utterly.

I won't try to update the list of those evil-supporters who signed the ugly petition to demand Polanski's release. But these are the ones I found at Big Hollywood. Do what you will. As for me, I will leave them strictly, and totally, alone.

I have no time for those with Black Hearts and Missing Souls.

Full list: (it might have been quicker to name who didn’t sign the petition)

A

Fatih Akin,
Stephane Allagnon,
Woody Allen,
Pedro Almodovar,
Wes Anderson,
Jean-Jacques Annaud,
Alexandre Arcady,
Fanny Ardant,
Asia Argento,
Darren Aronofsky,
Olivier Assayas,
Alexander Astruc,
Gabriel Auer,
Isabelle Adjani
Antoine Aronin
Paul Auster

B

Luc Barnier, Christophe Barratier,
Xavier Beauvois,
Liria Begeja,
Gilles Behat, Jean-Jacques Beineix,
Marco Bellochio,
Monica Bellucci,
Djamel Bennecib, Giuseppe Bertolucci,
Patrick Bouchitey,
Paul Boujenah,
Jacques Bral,
Patrick Braoudé,
André Buytaers,
Morgane Beauverger,
Candice Belaisch-Goldchmit,
Yamina Benguigui,
Pascal Bruckner

C

Christian Carion,
Henning Carlsen,
Jean-michel Carre,
Mathieu Celary,
Patrice Chéreau,
Elie Chouraqui,
Souleymane Cissé,
Alain Corneau,
Jérôme Cornuau,
Miguel Courtois,
Dominique Crevecoeur,
Alfonso Cuaron,
Jessika Cohen,
Philippe Corbé

D

Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne,
Jonathan Demme,
Alexandre Desplat,
Rosalinde et Michel Deville,
Georges Dybman,
Jean-Paul Dayan,
Katarina De Meulder,
Arielle Dombasle

F

Jacques Fansten,
Joël Farges,
Gianluca Farinelli (Cinémathèque de de Bologne),
Etienne Faure,
Michel Ferry,
Scott Foundas,
Stephen Frears,
Thierry Frémaux,
Nathalie Faucheux,
Corinne Figuet,
Pierre Forciniti

G

Sam Gabarski,
René Gainville,
Tony Gatlif,
Costa Gavras,
Jean-Marc Ghanassia,
Terry Gilliam,
Christian Gion,
Marc Guidoni,
Louis Garrel,
Albert Gauvin,
Johanna Gozlan

H

Buck Henry,
David Heyman,
Laurent Heynemann,
Robert Hossein,
Jean-Loup Hubert,
Davide Homitsu Riboli,
Taylor Hackford,
Isabelle Huppert

I

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

J

Gilles Jacob,
Just Jaeckin,
Alain Jessua,
Pierre Jolivet,
Kent Jones (World Cinema Foundation),
Neil Jordan

K

Roger Kahane,
Nelly Kaplan,
Wong Kar Waï,
Ladislas Kijno,
Harmony Korinne,
Jan Kounen,
Diane Kurys,
Emir Kusturica
Thierry Kamami
Milan Kundera

L

John Landis,
Claude Lanzmann, André Larquié,
Vinciane Lecocq,
Patrice Leconte,
Claude Lelouch,
Gérard Lenne, David Lynch,
Gaelle Lancien,
Claude Lanzmann,
Bernard-Henri Lévy

M

Michael Mann,
François Margolin,
Jean-PierreMarois,
Tonie Marshall, Mario Martone,
Nicolas Mauvernay,
Radu Mihaileanu,
Claude Miller,
Mario Monicelli,
Jeanne Moreau,
Sam Mendes
Camille Meyer
Patrick Mimouni
Yann Moix

N

Sandra Nicolier
Mike Nichols
Sandra Nicolier
Marie Nieves Perez Neël

O

Michel Ocelot

P

Alexander Payne, Richard Pena (Directeur Festival de NY),
Michele Placido

R

Philippe Radault, Jean-Paul Rappeneau,
Raphael Rebibo,
Yasmina Reza,
Jacques Richard,
Laurence Roulet,
Salman Rushdie

S

Walter Salles,
Jean-Paul Salomé,
Marc Sandberg,
Jerry Schatzberg,
Julian Schnabel,
Barbet Schroeder,
Ettore Scola,
Martin Scorsese,
Charlotte Silvera, Abderrahmane Sissako,
Paolo Sorrentino,
Guillaume Stirn,
Tilda Swinton
Carine Sarna
Ysabelle Saura Del Pan
William Shawcross
Olivier Soares Barbosa
Steven Soderbergh
Nil Symchowicz

T

Jean-Charles Tacchella,
Radovan Tadic,
Danis Tanovic,
Bertrand Tavernier,
Cécile Telerman,
Alain Terzian,
Pascal Thomas,
Giuseppe Tornatore,
Serge Toubiana, Nadine Trintignant,
Tom Tykwer,
Alexandre Tylski,
Danièle Thompson

V

Betrand Van Effenterre,
Eugenia Varela Navarro
Diane von Furstenberg
Scott Foundas

W

Margaret Walker,
Wim Wenders

Z

Elsa Zylberstein

Bear in mind, these are only the ones dim enough to sign the petition. Many others are yapping about setting Polanksi free. You know you've heard about them. Remember them!

Whoopi Goldberg thinks his confessed rape isn't rape. Ain't she a good person?

Polanski Crime worse than people know? - Caution - graphic! It reads, in part,

"The quintessential Valley girl, Geimer artlessly tells of how Polanski approached her and her divorced mom about taking photos of Samantha for a fashion magazine. Impressed and reassured by his celebrity, the mom agreed. After a couple of outdoor shoots, Polanski and the girl ended up alone at Jack Nicholson's house. Says Polanski, 'I could sense a certain erotic tension between the two of us.' At the time, Polanski was a worldly 43. Geimer was a 13 year-old seventh grader."

neo-neocon nails this weirdness, too. Also here.

Project 2,996: Remembering

2009-09-10T22:39:00.002-04:00

benning’s Tributes to the Victims of 9/11

Paul J. Battaglia

Mark A. Brisman

Gary H. Lee

“Lest we Forget”

American Thinker article about the Teardrop Memorial

More about the Teardrop Memorial

Update: I fixed the links. Blogger does something funny with "curly quotes". I don't get it, but anyway, they're fixed. Sorry.

Project 2,996 Tributes: Early posting

2009-09-08T08:33:00.003-04:00

I decided to open my newest Tribute blog - to Paul James Battaglia - so you can see that it doesn't take so very long, nor is it so very hard, to create a tribute to one of the innocents lost on 9/11.

Also, my original Tribute blog - to Gary H. Lee - is still open. Please visit both, maybe add a comment, and remember these folks. And please take the time, now, to sign up and create your own Tribute. Your help is needed. This coming Friday is the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Please hurry!

Thanks!

Update (Wednesday): It worries me that so many Tributes will not be written this year. So I went to Dale Roe and asked him for another name. And he gave me one: Mark A. Brisman. I feel honored to do this. I noticed on the list of participants that some folks have signed up for many names, a dozen or more! Wow. Humbles me. But I do what I can.

And I urge you to remember these victims of 9/11/01. Sign up! It is not too late, and never will be! Never forget!

Urgent! Repost: Time Is Running Out! Help!

2009-09-08T08:12:00.003-04:00

We need more people to write tributes! Assigning names to folks takes a little time, but right now, at the Project 2,996 site I see only 925 people signed up.

Don't let the innocent victims of 9/11 be forgotten. Don't allow that day to slip down the memory hole. Sign up. You don't need a blog or website to join in. Friends of Project 2,996 have a blog setup so you can post there. All you need do is let Dale know, when you sign up, that you don't have a blog or website. He'll get you set up.

So hurry! Sign up! Help us pay tribute to the innocents lost on 9/11!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Project 2,996 needs your involvement! Please hurry over, sign up, and post a tribute to one of the victims of 9/11 whom you'll be assigned. (is it who? *shrug*) Since D.C.Roe moved to his wordpress site I think many former tribute posters either lost touch or simply forgot about this annual event.

And now, more than ever before, we can use the reminder that innocent people were slaughtered on the altar of Islmaism on that horrible day eight-years-ago. Why now more than ever?

The Obama administration, through its acolytes and myrmidons, is attempting to co-opt the memory of 9/11 to push its Leftist, and as usual, squirrely, agenda and continue the spiral down the Memory Hole of our history. Not to mention the history of Islamist butchery.

It isn't enough that nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens were killed in a co-ordinated terrorist assault for the sake of a Death Cult. No, eight years afterward the Leftists want to turn the memory of that event into a National Day of Service. What's wrong with that? I'd suggest that with 365 days in a year there are more choices for this kind of silliness to promote Service. Choosing 9/11 is a cynical, calculated attempt to erase the reality of the attack. Indeed, why not pick 9/12? Wouldn't that be more useful? More respectful?

A lot of nice, well-meaning folks will join in this Day of Service. That's all well-and-good. But the choice of 9/11 is not all well-and-good. It's a slap in the face to those who know precisely what kind of enemy of humanity the Islamists are. Changing the focus of 9/11 is wrong. Period.

From Syracuse.com:

The idea of establishing 9/11 as a National Day of Service was first conceived in 2001 by the founders of MyGoodDeed, a nonprofit started by friends and relatives of 9/11 victims. They are working with ServiceNation, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Corporation for National and Community Service and New York Cares.

In April, Obama authorized the establishment of 9/11 as a National Day of Service when he signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Thursday's news conference was held just hours before the late senator's body left his Hyannisport, Mass., home for a series of memorial rites followed by his funeral Saturday. Kennedy, who died Tuesday of a brain tumor, had co-sponsored the bill.

Yeah, let's memorialize Teddy by diminishing the impact and meaning of the 9/11 memory.

Perhaps you don't think there's anything political in this maneuver? It's simply a positive way to move America onward? From Redstate.com:

What day? Our US Senators return to DC the Tues after Labor Day. That next FRIDAY, Sep 11, is Patriot Day, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the 9/11 attacks.

All 50 States are coordinating in this – as we fight back against our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are subverting the American Democratic Process, whipped to a frenzy by their Fox Propaganda Network ceaselessly re-seizing power for their treacherous leaders.

Nothing political in that, is there?

You can read the articles, do some searching yourself, for more about this. But if you can spare the time - please make the time! - signup with Project 2,996. It's worthy. And there is nothing political in this project. Pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 only.

Will you help us out?

Articles and blogs discussing this Project, or the 'Day of Service':

Always on Watch

Mike's America

The American Spectator

The Foundry

And So It Goes In Shreveport

Michelle Malkin

Moe Lane

New Voices: A Competition for Young Writers

2009-09-08T07:27:00.006-04:00

I expect you've seen the commercials for Jay Leno's upcoming new television show. In one part he asks a 'contestant', "Who wrote Handel's 'Messiah'?" The answer, though funny, is also rather sad, not just because the young man doesn't have a clue who Handel was - a Classical Music Composer - but for what it says about education and reading in this country.

The young man's answer to Leno's question, "Who wrote Handel's 'Messiah'?" was "I don't read books."

Yeah. Dumb, funny, but come on!

Well, we've given our education system to the Leftists, so we shouldn't expect better. But we can push our own to do better. And one of those ways is to encourage writing. How? Well, how about a writing contest for Young People?

EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection, sponsors a number of writing competitions each year. Among them is one specifically for the younger writers. It's called New Voices. The New Voices site has this to say,

One of the leading competitions in the electronic world for young authors, New Voices encourages reading and writing among middle and high school students while introducing them to the exciting world of ebooks and e-publishing, the wave of the literary future.

This introduction into the exciting world of e-books and e-publishing is often a launching pad into the world of publishing for many young writers, allowing them their first taste of professional feedback and pushing them to achieve their dream of seeing their words in print.

Established by EPIC in 2006, the contest accepts entries from students attending public, private, or home schools, and each entrant is permitted to submit one entry in each category.

The contest began accepting entries for this year's competition on August 1, and will close to entries on October 20. So times running out! Know a youngster who writes, likes to read, needs some encouragement? Get them over to the New Voices site. Who can enter?

This contest is open to students worldwide, attending public, private, or home schools. Students must be in junior high/middle school or high school in the U.S., or the equivalent grade level in their specific international school system.

Tired of hearing people say they don't read books? Want to keep your kids or grandkids from falling into the same ignorant path? This is one way!

Kids who like to write, like to read. And they let their imaginations roam, not funneled into the same dim corridors as others. I can't think of a better way of ensuring that kids enjoy reading than this. If they write they read.

So head over to New Voices, see what's there, and tell your kids that this might be a whole lot of fun, too!

Disclaimer: I am a member of EPIC, my novel, "Benning's War", being available in eBook form.

There's an FAQ about New Voices here at the LL Publications Blog. The FAQ is presented by Danielle Thorne - 2010 New Voices Co-Chair. Questions about New Voices can be sent to her at Newvoices.chair@gmail.com

Nicked From Moonbattery

2009-09-07T12:44:00.002-04:00

Van Helsing posted this on his site. Makes sense. So I nicked it!

Sargeant Joe Friday, and Officer Bill Gannon, speak truth to power - namely to one Barack Hussein Obama.

Enjoy!

Colors!

2009-09-07T08:15:00.004-04:00

Long time ago (internet-wise), when I was still playing with web pages, I looked for sites that could tell me how to make colors. Colors for backgrounds, colors for fonts. Colors.

On one site there was an image of a chart. So I saved it, and for years I kept it right on my dektop for quick reference.

If you're familiar with HTML, and you oughta be by now, this chart shows the colors and what the HTML code for them is.

This is handy and saves time surfing through the HTML color sites. It's compact, too!

So why not save this to your own desktop? It may come in handy. It doesn't conatain all of the possible colors, but it sure has a good chumk of 'em.

Simply click on this image to enlargen it. ;)

The origianl came from here. Look at the last time it was updated. Been a long time, huh? ;)

Just trying to be helpful. Happy no-Labor Day!

Bye-Bye, Van!

2009-09-06T09:28:00.009-04:00

“Oooh. Van Jones, alright! So, Van Jones. We were so delighted to be able to recruit him into the White House. We were watching him, uh, really, he’s not that old, for as long as he’s been active out in Oakland. And all the creative ideas he has. And so now, we have captured that. And we have all that energy in the White House.”
~ Valerie B. Jarrett ~ Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President
for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement

Special Advisor for Green Jobs, and noted Leftist oddball, Van Jones is out. The Watermelon - Green on the outside, Red on the inside - dogged by the recent revelations of his rude, racist, impolitic remarks, has been eased out of the Obama Administration. The wheels on the Obama bus are getting redder and wetter.

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide"

Jones was certainly a plus for Conservatives and Republicans. His past political activities - a radical Leftist - and recent pronoucements on Americans in general and Republicans in particular - were excellent fodder for those who have tried to display Obama's Leftist proclivities, in his actions and his appointments.

From Fox News:

WASHINGTON, DC - Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the Council on Environmental Quality resigned today. Below is the text of his resignation letter, sent to Chair Nancy Sutley:
"I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today.

On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.

I have been inundated with calls - from across the political spectrum - urging me to "stay and fight."

But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.

It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead."

Self-serve much, Van?

NBC noted, in its article regarding Jones' resignation:

Jones, Obama's green jobs "czar," was caught on tape in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking Republicans in the Senate who he said abused their majority position in the past to push legislation through. He told Politico after the statements were released that the comments were "inappropriate" and "offensive."

Ahh, but he made them. And they weren't from 20 years past, either.

As the Chicago Daily Observer says:

World Net Daily's reporter Aaron Klein broke the story and relentlessly pursued it, revealing Jones who was identified as a self-described radical communist and "rowdy black nationalist" who said his environmental activism was actually a means to fight for racial and class "justice":

Jones previously served on the board of an environmental activist group at which a founder of the Weather Underground terrorist organization is a top director.

Jones was co-founder of a black activist organization that has led a campaign prompting major advertisers to withdraw from Glenn Beck's top-rated Fox News Channel program. The revelation followed Beck's reports on WND's story about Jones' communist background.

That Jones and other White House appointees may have been screened by an ACORN associate.

One day after the 9/11 attacks, Jones led a vigil that expressed solidarity with Arab and Muslim Americans as well as what he called the victims of "U.S. imperialism" around the world.

Just days before his White House appointment, Jones used a forum at a major youth convention to push for a radical agenda that included spreading the wealth and "changing the whole system."

Jones' Maoist manifesto while leading the group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, was scrubbed from the Internet after being revealed by WND.

Jones was the main speaker at an anti-war rally that urged "resistance" against the U.S. government – a demonstration sponsored by an organization associated with the Revolutionary Communist Party.

In a 2005 conference, Jones characterized the U.S. as an "apartheid regime" that civil rights workers helped turn into a "struggling, fledgling democracy."

Jones signed a petition calling for nationwide "resistance" against police, accusing them of using the 9/11 attacks to carry out policies of torture.

Yeah, it's the evil Right-Wingers who have done this to Van Jones. Not the self-serving Commie who enjoys hurling racist epithets. Pffft!

In the end, no matter the political fallout from this, the country is better off without Van Jones in a government position of any kind.
The Weekly Standard gives you an excellent view of this man. In its article, "Van Jones Joins the Global Struggle Against America", The Standard notes:

"Who's the real terrorists? Uncle Sam." That according to a record put out by Freedom Fighter Music, a label created by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which Van Jones founded. There are a number of different voices on the record, including that of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal and Van Jones himself. One of the voices accuses the United States government of "Fighting terror with terror, bombing babies in the night." And then Van Jones appears for his cameo (at the 3:50 mark). Jones rants against the "Israeli occupation," calls for the right of return of the Palestinian people and then puts himself squarely on the side of America's enemies: "This is now a global struggle against a U.S.-led security apparatus and military agenda that impacts people here, it impacts people around the world, and I think that we need to see our problems as linked."

Read the article and watch the video.

In the meantime be happy that at least one Ecoweenie Leftist is gone from the White House. As Martha Stewart likes to say, "It's a good thing."

Despair not, Leftists. The "O" still has his acolytes. And his friends.

From Fox4KC.com

Meredith Jessup on the resignation.

Jonah Goldberg: "The Washington Post is on the case."

Mark Hemingway

Mark Steyn writes about ol' Van: "Both of the Above"

Victor Davis Hanson on Van Jones: "'Oooh. Van Jones, alright!'"

Michelle Malkin has stuff, too!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

2009-09-05T11:24:00.005-04:00

From Fox, this slice of life:

Pennsylvania Man Accidentally Fires Cannonball Into Neighbor's House

Friday, September 04, 2009

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania history buff who recreates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home.

Fifty-four-year-old William Maser fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away.

The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Authorities say nobody was hurt.

State police charged Maser with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

No one answered the phone Friday at Maser's home. He tells WPXI-TV recreating 19th century cannons is a longtime hobby. He says he is sorry and he will stop shooting them on his property, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

From a link at Gina Cobb!

I guess that's how the ball bounces, eh?

By the way: It's International Bacon Day! Whoo-Hoo!

Finally! A Pie Chart That Makes Sense!

2009-09-05T09:26:00.004-04:00

So many politicians love Pie Charts. They're graphic illustrations of information. Sometimes the Pie Charts are easy to understand, sometimes ... not so much. But I finally found one that really speaks to me.

This came from a link on The Corner. I forgot to save the URL for that particular post, but you can always scroll down and look for the post with a list of links. That'd be the one!

But that's up to you.

Anyway, here's the Pie Chart that speaks to me:

The great thing is this works, not just on Pumpkin, but all sorts of other edibles. Is that great, or what?

Whoo-Hoo!

Hey! Whaddya know? I found that post! :) It's called "Friday Stuff" by Jonah Goldberg. Enjoy it!

Time Is Running Out! Help!

2009-09-04T10:08:00.008-04:00

The idea of establishing 9/11 as a National Day of Service was first conceived in 2001 by the founders of MyGoodDeed, a nonprofit started by friends and relatives of 9/11 victims. They are working with ServiceNation, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Corporation for National and Community Service and New York Cares.

In April, Obama authorized the establishment of 9/11 as a National Day of Service when he signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.

Thursday's news conference was held just hours before the late senator's body left his Hyannisport, Mass., home for a series of memorial rites followed by his funeral Saturday. Kennedy, who died Tuesday of a brain tumor, had co-sponsored the bill.

What day? Our US Senators return to DC the Tues after Labor Day. That next FRIDAY, Sep 11, is Patriot Day, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the 9/11 attacks.

All 50 States are coordinating in this – as we fight back against our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are subverting the American Democratic Process, whipped to a frenzy by their Fox Propaganda Network ceaselessly re-seizing power for their treacherous leaders.

Leftist Lion Roars No More

2009-08-26T08:37:00.010-04:00

From Newsday:

"Edward M. Kennedy, the iconic “liberal lion” of the U.S. Senate and reigning patriarch of a legendary family political dynasty, whose advocacy of social issues left an indelible stamp on a half-century of American politics, died of brain cancer Tuesday night at his Cape Cod, Mass., home. He was 77.

Photos: Senator Ted Kennedy through the years

The youngest son in a family of wealth and privilege, Kennedy was a staunch liberal voice in his four decades in the Senate who often rallied his fellow Democrats, but he also built unlikely alliances with Republicans to pass milestone legislation on education, health care, voting rights and the minimum wage."

[...]

“Ted” Kennedy, as he was universally called, had his own unsuccessful run for the presidency, a position he seemed destined to hold. He was dogged by scandal after the 1969 drowning death of a young woman, Mary Jo Kopechne, a former aide to his brother Robert, in Kennedy’s car in an accident on Chappaquidick Island, Mass.

[...]

I'm sure many will rain praise upon the dead Senator. I will not, merely noting his passing.

Make of that what you wish.

Note: I expect Obama, and the rest of the Dems, to use this man's death to promote their Socialist Agenda. It won't surprise me at all to see them use his funeral (as they have used Democrat funerals in the past) as a form of political rally, rather than a dignified ceremony marking this person's death. The socialist programs proposed by the Obama administration, and the Dems, will be touted as a "Tribute" to the 'Great Man' the Leftists touted as the "conscience of the Senate".

Some conscience.

Expect the Leftist myrmidons of the MSM to fall into line. The encomiums of Ted Kennedy will be almost non-stop. This is the enshrinement of a Liberal Saint.

We'll be spoon-fed the 'historic accomplishments' of this man; the failures and abyssal weaknesses will be ignored or glossed over. Obama will see his poll ratings rise.

This is a boon to Obama and the rest of the Socialists in his administration. Not so much for America.

Thomas Lifson notes (emphasis mine):

Ted Kennedy was the poster boy for redemption by liberal politics -- the sense that many on the left have that no matter how badly they behave personally, they have a claim on virtue because they support liberal policies. By mobilizing the power of the state to take money away from some to cater to the needs of others, they suddenly become great humanitarians.

Even the liberals on MSNBC this morning are framing their eulogies in temrs of Teddy's battle with his dark side (and concluding that in the end light won because he got the government to spend a lot more money).

But Ted Kennedy faces a Judge far more powerful than any pundit, or indeed the electorate now. What any other mortal thinks of him now is irrelevant to his fate.

"Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment." - James Taranto

Update: From Michael Graham comes this commentary (read it all):

"[...] Ted Kennedy's family loved him. Many people will sincerely mourn Sen. Kennedy's passing.

All these things are true about Sen. Kennedy.

And so are these:

Sen. Kennedy was wrong about virtually every major public policy issue of his career.

[...]"

Confederate Yankee has a little to say:

"Ted Kennedy is dead. I will not miss him."

Bookworm Room has some links worth perusing. :)

Who Was That?

2009-08-24T13:14:00.003-04:00

In the late 70s and early 80s I lived in Santa Ana, California - 45 minutes from L.A. - seeking Fame and Fortune as an actor. Mostly I was a janitor, taking acting classes, and so on. Money not being in abundance my Folks would send me a ticket home for Christmas, and friends would drive me to LAX to catch my flight.

I'm not sure what year it was but I remember being in the terminal, waiting for my flight, when a man came down the concourse, heading out of LAX. I recognized his face immediately. Why not? I'd seen him in many TV shows, and in Films, too. But, for the life of me, I could not remember his name!

That alone isn't unusual. I have trouble with names. Faces I remember, but when it comes to hearing a name I always seem to be paying little attention.

But I was wishing, at the time, that I did remember his name because I would have liked to step up to this Character Actor and thank him for entertaining me for so many years. It would take seeing a rerun of a Twilight episode to finally 'catch' his name. At that time I owned no computer, so I wasn't hooked up to the infant Internet.

I'll tell you who he was in a moment.

On the return trip my Mom took me to the Philly airport to catch the return flight. As I waited I saw two different men come down the concourse. One was a muscular, average-height man, surrounded by an entourage. He looked solemn, unapproachable. He I recognized immediately, too. Sylvester Stallone. I thought it funny that he needed to be protected by bigger men than he, and the one would be kind of foolish to even try to approach him. So I just watched him walk by.

A little while later another man ambled by, a big grin on his face, looking like he was enjoying the daylights out of being home. He wore a floor-length leather coat, and not a soul was with him. No entourage at all. I sure as heck recognized him. It was Joe Frazier, former Heavyweight Boxing Champ. And I thought about how he didn't need any bodyguards, and looked utterly at ease in a public setting.

Why didn't I wave to him or speak to him? I don't know. But I thought about that later and was a tad ashamed that I didn't. I had been a fan of Smokin' Joe for a long time. I should have said something, right?

Anyway, that was then. As I said in a recent post, there's a digital TV network that shows old TV shows. In nearly every episode I see faces of actors and actresses I recognize. Many I haven't seen in years. And most are unknown to me, as far as their names. Luckily RTV lets the closing credits scroll so you can read the characters' names (unlike the broadcasters today. Must they squish the credits to the side or to the bottom of the screen to tout another show or commercial? Gimme a break!)

So with access to the Internet I can chase down the names to go with the faces.

And who was that well-regarded character actor from LAX? The one I recognized but could not name?

Do you recognize him?

It's Edward Andrews.

What about these two well-regarded character actors? Both could play the Heavy very well. Both came off as tough.

From his turn in the movie Bullitt, you should easily recognize Simon Oakland. Always enjoyable to watch.

This fellow's face may be recognizable to you, but do you have an inkling of his name? I sure didn't. I had to chase it down through a TV series cast list at the IMDB.

It's Ramon Bieri. See? I bet even if the face is familiar you had no clue.

These three fine actors are gone, now, Andrews passing away in 1985 - not long after I saw him, I think. Bieri died in May of 2001. Simon Oakland passed from the stage in 1983.

Are there any great character actors today? A Walter Brennan? A Beulah Bondi? Are there? Would we know the names? Or just the faces?

Faces like Eddie Mayehoff?

"As an actor, the husky-voiced entertainer with the elastic face is probably best remembered for his film That's My Boy (1951), in which he played an ex-football star who aggressively prods his awkward, goofball son Junior (played by--who else?--Jerry Lewis) to follow in his athletic shoes. Dean Martin played Jerry's coach in the popular film."

Faces like Paul Ford?

"Paul Ford (1901 - 1976) was another one of those great character faces (and voices) in movies and on TV.

He specialized in bluster, bravado, befuddlement, bull-headedness, and undoubtedly something else beginning with the letter 'B'."

Do we still look at the image on the screen and ask ourselves, "Who was that?"

Obamacare: Illegal As Hell

2009-08-23T10:29:00.002-04:00

One of the true barriers to so-called Obamacare is the most important and basic to American Government: The U.S. Constitution. While many Americans are busy protesting various aspects of the boondoggle known as Obamacare, a lot of us have wondered, now and then, just how this is supposed to work within the Constitutional boundaries our Public Servants are pledged to follow.

An op-ed in the Washington Post, by David Rivkin Jr. and Lee Casey, nails the basic illegality of Obamacare. Read it, if you haven't already.

Bookworm, a lawyer by trade, posts on this, noting Ed Morrissey's dead-on comments regarding Obamacare:

"Most states now require drivers to have auto insurance before issuing drivers licenses, car registrations, or both. However, that doesn't apply here for three reasons. First, that power rests with the individual states, as they are the licensing authorities and not the federal government. Second, driving is not a right but a privilege, which gives access to state-owned roads in exchange for a demonstration of competence and appropriate safety and insurance preparation, so the state can and does set conditions on that privilege (too many, but that's an argument for another day). Third, because the insurance is conditioned on that privilege, it only affects a portion of the populace. The states could not demand universal auto insurance on every man, woman, and child in their state."

Morrissey goes on to dismantle the Constitutionality of the Obamacare proposals and possible end-arounds that Statists may also attempt.

Americans have become placid in their acceptance of un-Constitutional Federal hand-outs, from Social Security to the Department of Education. Despite the fact that the Constitution had two purposes - create a Federal Government and describe how it works, and sharply fence in that Federal Government's powers - almost from the beginning of this Republic our elected Representatives have striven to expand Federal power (and their own, of course) and buy votes through welfare-type legislation. Any transfer of wealth (except those which are allowed under the Constitution of The U.S. or its States), of any kind, from the person or persons who own that wealth, to another person or persons who have not earned it, is a form of welfare. It is also not legal under the Constitution for the Federal Government to enact such transfers. Not without the express consent of those whose wealth is being taken.

You can argue all you wish that things like Social Security provide a safety net for those Americans who need help. That is well and good. But the Feds have no moral or legal authority to force the American public to pay for such things. If government lawyers and accountants wish to provide free help in setting up private foundations, etc. which act in the manner of Social Security, Welfare, et al, then let them do so. That's their right as Free Americans. To allow the Federal Government to step in and mandate such things is illegal.

But, as I said, we've become accepting of such things. And that attitude leads inexorably to such un-Constitutional proposals as so-called Obamacare.

Remember the brouhaha over FEMA and the reaction to Hurricane Katrina's aftermath? FEMA, had it existed as solely a private concern, may have acted with the speed and efficiency of Wal-Mart. Remember how that private - and politically vilified, by the Left - company had water, ice, and foodstuffs, flowing into the area within hours? Our ponderous and inefficient government could not act as swiftly. Nor was it legally permitted to do so, within Constitutional boundaries, save for activating the National Guard to provide protection while rescue and rebuilding began.

Yes, the Federal Government has money to spare, and the manpower to act. But the money is taken from us, by force. If a billion dollars are wasted or corruptly misappropriated, the Feds may or may not respond. But we are the ones whose money is lost. The manpower is also not entirely Constitutional, save for the Armed Forces. All those bureaucrats, apparatchiks, and minor functionaries, are simply the bastard children of a bloated, un-Constitutional Federal Government.

Obama is supposed to be a Constitutional Scholar, former Lecturer, and all-around smart cookie. But his very public gaffes and faux understanding of things Biblical, Historical, and Social reveal none of these supposed smarts. And his proposals regarding a universal Health Care system are far outside the limits imposed by the Constitution. As he well knows. As do the Leftists who infest the Government at all levels.

“Constitution? We don’t need no stinkin’ Constitution!”

Argue the merits, or lack thereof, of individual aspects of the Obamacare proposal boondoggle all you want (Dr. Rosenbloom has a very good article at American Thinker). But at the end of the day recognize that this is not simply unsustainable economically, but utterly illegal. Illegal as Hell!

Obamacare must not be allowed to pass in any way, shape, or form. And any elected Representative who votes for it, or its constituent parts, should be voted out of office at the earliest possible moment.

Project 2996: Join Us!

2009-08-17T10:02:00.003-04:00

We're approaching the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our Nation. Dale C. Roe, who inaugurated the tribute project to the victims of those attacks - Project 2996 - has moved to a new site at Wordpress, and has put out a call for folks to sign up again. Time is short, but this should be a labor of love to the innocent victims of Islamism on our home soil.

My original tribute blog remains up, alive, and waiting for visitors and comments. It's called simply, "2,996: Gary H. Lee". You'll find some images of Gary, and family, with some biographical information, tributes from friends and co-workers, and memories from family and friends.

If you have the time, please head over to Dale's new site, sign up, and get to creating a tribute to one of those lost to the hatred of the Islamists. We must not forget the victims of 9/11, we dare not. The media and our political class seem as eager as ever to forget them. So do your own part in ensuring we never forget the victims of 9/11.

Join me at Project 2996, won't you?

Update 8/20/09:

I've been assigned Paul James Battaglia. The blog is completed and will be opened on September 11, 2009. Paul was 22 when he was lost in World Trade Center Tower One.

Please sign up and join the project.

Those Evil, Bloodthirsty Jooos Do It Again!

2009-07-19T07:28:00.004-04:00

Hah! Got you with the title, didn't I?

I found an amazing post at Gina Cobb, this morning. And here's the money quote:

"[...]The tests showed that injecting the medication between 24 hours before the exposure to 72 hours following the exposure achieves similar results.

Another test on humans, who were given the drug without being exposed to radiation, showed that the medication does not have side-effects and is safe. [...]"

Did you see that? And who discovered, then produced, that amazing medication - still in experiment - designed to protect people against Radiation Sickness? A bloodthirsty Joooo. Hah!

If this pans out, and it does look good right now, can we expect to see yet another Jew awarded the Nobel Prize?

Not a long list of adherents to Islam in the pantheon of Nobel Prize winners, is there? But, dang! there're a lot of Jews on that list, from many countries. Seems like Jews do good things for humanity. The Muslims? Not so much.

The article is here. Go read it and smile.

A Jewish American working with Israelis to develop this medical breakthrough. Exclusive: Dramatic discovery by Jewish-American scientists could change world; anti-radiation medication proves effective, safe in tests. Further experiments to be fast tracked, FDA approval possible within 1-2 years

Ronen Bergman Published: 07.17.09, 00:18 / Israel News

Medication that can protect humans against nuclear radiation has been developed by Jewish-American scientists in cooperation with a researcher and investors from Israel. The full story behind the dramatic discovery will be published in Yedioth Ahronoth's weekend edition.

The ground-breaking medication, developed by Professor Andrei Gudkov – Chief Scientific Officer at Cleveland BioLabs - may have far-reaching implications on the balance of power in the world, as states capable of providing their citizens with protection against radiation will enjoy a significant strategic advantage vis-à-vis their rivals.

For Israel, the discovery marks a particularly dramatic development that could deeply affect the main issue on the defense establishment's agenda: Protection against a nuclear attack by Iran or against "dirty bomb" attacks by terror groups.

I'm smiling. How 'bout you?

By the way: When you go to the article, read the comments, too. A few have the PETA mind-set. 'But you killed animals to do this? Ohhh, why? Boo-hoo!" Suicidal idjits. And so typical. REad 'em! And laugh!

A Smooth Delivery?

2009-07-15T08:04:00.000-04:00

Leftists love to extol the virtues of their abilities to speak well. The non-stop sniggering about G.W. Bush's inability to speak with a smooth, easy cadence was trumpeted as evidence that Republicans in general, and Conservatives in particular, are unable to speak. This is because all such people are deemed by the Leftists, and the MSM, to be idiots.

I will grant you that Bush has never been an entrancing public speaker. His breathy quality of speech seemed to exhibit a style of speaking akin to a smart ass, snickering, yahoo. The fact that many public speakers are ill-equipped to speak off-the-cuff made no difference. And Bush's inability to recite every speech without mistakes was always pointed to with derision. Never mind the fact that he could most certainly speak comfortably with people, and answer questions on-the-fly. He was a dullard.

Gotcha questions are never easy for a politician. There is always at least a moment of pause while the respondent tries to understand the question and formulate a response. In a Republican this is evidence of stupidity, sneakiness, or cunning. In a Democrat this is merely evidence of great thought and care.

So what are we to make of the ponderous, inarticulate speaking-style of Judge Sonia Sotomayor? This woman has had weeks to memorize her answers to a questions everybody knew was to be raised. Weeks to memorize her opening remarks. Weeks! And this is the way she responds?

Does she sound smart? Wise? Granted, a fine speaking style is not a necessary component for a trial judge, though you would expect practice to perfect said style. And this judge has had much practice. This is best she can do?

Does everybody recall the weird vocal stylings of Al Gore? The wooden delivery? The pedandtic, ponderous, intonation of Leftist Holy Writ? How many times can you listen to Al Gore speak as if he's lecturing a very dull child before you have to shake your head and wonder why the MSM thinks he's a fine speaker? And a true genius. Sheesh!

Remember his 1992 campaign phrase: "Everything that should be up ... is down! And everything that should be down ... is up!" Wonderful stuff, as it whipped the campaign crowds into a chanting frenzy. But delivered, as always, in that wooden puppet mode for which Gore is famous.

WND remarked, in part:

On the '92 campaign trail, Gore demonstrated that "message discipline" by trashing the "Republican economy." Over and over, he revised history by calling it the "worst economy since the great Depression."
Towards the end of the race, he even got somewhat animated, raising and lowering his arms like a hydraulic lift, as he shouted: "Everything that should be up ... is down! And everything that should be down ... is up!"
Even though it wasn't true, voters got the message and fired Bush.

No, George Bush was never a smooth speaker, but we don't need smooth speakers, do we? We need leaders, honest interpreters of the Constitution, representatives who fully understand that they work for us, not we them.

So, Sonia Sotomayor is a clunky speaker. Ill at ease, despite weeks to memorize and polish her remarks. Does this mean she is unfit to sit on the Supreme Court? No. Her published decisions, speeches, and membership in a racist organization - La Raza - should be enough to disqualify her. But it probably won't. The fact that she's a woman of Hispanic extraction, a judicial activist, and a Leftist will be enough for the Democrats to vote for her.

But don't let the Leftists, or the MSM, tell you she speaks well. She doesn't!

Some Thoughts On Writing Dialogue

2009-07-10T11:37:00.000-04:00

One thing some of my writing friends, and my readers, tell me is that they enjoy my dialogue. That’s nice to hear. I work hard at creating dialogue that reveals my characters and moves the story along. I know I’m not always successful, but I do try.

One of the things I work hard to improve is the use of dialogue tags. Not sure what they are? Tags are things like ‘he said,’ “she inferred,” and so on. The standard rule, when writing dialogue, is to make the tags you use as simple as possible. So it’s frowned on to dip into such tags as, “he mumbled, morosely,” “she snapped,” “Antoine growled fiercely.”

Writers should make the dialogue do the work of the tags. Tags are easy to slap onto a bit of dialogue. Making the dialogue do that hard work is more satisfying - to writer and reader alike. Your characters’ dialogue should be distinctive enough so that the use of tags is minimized. If you think that’s not important, remember how annoying it is to read a piece of dialogue and not quite know which character is speaking. If you need tags to ‘tell’ who is speaking, maybe you need to work on that dialogue a bit more.

Another thing dialogue needs to do is provide insight into your characters. This is where ‘show versus tell’ comes into play in a very interesting way. Rather than use the infamous ‘information dump’, dialogue can provide the reader with a lot of clues to a character’s thoughts and feelings. Also his/her background, education, personality.

Why ‘tell’ the reader that the character is from French Canada when you can add a little dialect to his speech? Tidewater Virginian? Add a taste of the dialect to the dialogue. Yes, you can overdo the dialect and lose your readers. I slip into dialect writing so deeply that my editors will tell me to pull it back! But if you read my novel, “Benning’s War”, you know that I did put a lot of time into the characters’ patterns of speech and how their voices sounded.

I edited as much out as I felt comfortable with, but refused to go beyond a certain point. My characters had to maintain their dialects up to that point. Dialects are fine, but you have to be careful with them. Don’t overwhelm your readers. Use dialect to reveal not hide.

So how do I write that dialogue? I say it. Out loud. If the dialogue I’m speaking - out loud - sounds crude to my ears, or unbelievable, then I change it. It has to be real if the reader is going to follow and believe it. It’s where I nail down where to use contractions and where to use the full words, too.

No, this isn’t the easiest way to write dialogue, I’m sure, but it can be fun. I recited my in-progress dialogue at work, making co-workers and customers nervous, I’m sure. Once they realized what I was doing, and why, they might shake their heads, but they stopped thinking I was demented (little do they know, eh?).

Anyway, for me, dialogue can move a story along quickly, provide information necessary to the plot, and make your characters memorable to your readers. So try working on your story’s dialogue by speaking it, out loud. Listen to how it sounds, pay attention to making it not be an information dump, and let your characters speak through you.

Phishing Bait: Refund Email from the IRS?

2009-06-23T07:03:00.004-04:00

Has this, or something like it, popped up in your email inbox?

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that
you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $749.80

Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-6 days in order to
process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.
For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here

Note: For security reasons, we will record your ip-address, the date and time.
Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursued and indicted.

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service

© Copyright 2009 , Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Looks good, doesn't it? Heck, I could use $750 right about now. Being unemployed, that would pay the bills - rent, electricity, etc, for a month! So you can believe me when I say that this email looked very tempting to me.

Very!

But Mom didn't raise many fools. I went right to Snopes and checked this out. I figured somebody - or a lot of somebodys - would have looked into this for legitimacy before me. And guess what? They did!

In part, here's what Snopes says about this lovely email:

Phishing bait: Notice from the IRS indicating the recipient is eligible for a tax refund or stimulus payment.

[...]

Origins: Notices purporting to come from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) make good phishing bait for a number of reasons:[...]

The IRSs says about such e-mails that:

The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail. In addition, the IRS does not request detailed personal information through e-mail or ask taxpayers for the PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

Do not open any attachments to questionable e-mails, which may contain malicious code that will infect your computer. Please be advised that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers via e-mails.

Hey, don't listen to me, just head to the Snopes article, read it, then wait for that phishing email to arrive!

After that do what I did. Forward the email to the IRS. What it's about and how to handle it is explained at the IRS page here.

The IRS explains:

How to report phishing, e-mail scams and bogus IRS Web sites
If you receive an e-mail or find a Web site you think is pretending to be the IRS,

Forward the e-mail or Web site URL to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

You can forward the message as received or provide the Internet header of the e-mail. The Internet header has additional information to help us locate the sender.

After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message.

TImes are hard, and this is just another scam that will suck in the gullible or the desperate. Don't fall for it, okay? Check it out at Snopes, then send it on to the IRS.

Phishing is a crime. Let's nail the phishers!

On The High Seas

2009-04-10T07:55:00.007-04:00

I get email, Folks! And most of it ain't SPAM but missives of odd things from a co-worker at Wal-Mart. Some of it is just too cute *bleahh!* and some of it is good for a laugh or a chuckle. And now and then she finds or receives something worth a good look. And here is one. This isn't actually new news, but it's a reminder of good things, sad things, and American resolve.

Here SHE is! As you scroll down, notice the two twin towers on top.

Here SHE is, the USS New York, made from the World Trade Center!

USS New York (LPD 21)

She was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center ....

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, 'those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,' recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. 'It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.'

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the 'hair on my neck stood up.' 'It had a big meaning to it for all of us,' he said. 'They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back.'

The ship's motto?
"Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget."

As yet the U.S.S. New York has not been Comissioned. She's been Christened, which means she has her identity: the U.S.S. New York. The commissioning of the USS New York, is planned to take place in the fall of 2009.

The prospective commanding officer is Commander F. Curtis Jones, a native of Binghamton, New York.

Wikipedia explains about Comissioning:

Commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries old naval tradition.

Ship naming and launching endow a ship hull with her identity, but many milestones remain before she is completed and considered ready to be designated a commissioned ship. The engineering plant, weapon and electronic systems, galley, and multitudinous other equipment required to transform the new hull into an operating and habitable warship are installed and tested. The prospective commanding officer, ship's officers, the petty officers, and seamen who will form the crew report for training and intensive familiarization with their new ship.

Prior to commissioning, the new ship undergoes sea trials to identify any deficiencies needing correction. The preparation and readiness time between christening-launching and commissioning may be as much as three years for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to as brief as twenty days for a World War II landing ship. The USS Monitor, of American Civil War fame, was commissioned less than three weeks after launch.

The New York is not a Battleship, a Cruiser, a Destroyer. She's what is called a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.

Get them in, complete the mission, get them out. I like it! How 'bout you? Think we could use about 50 of these new ships?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Annnnnd ... keeping the thread of the Seas alive, here, does anybody else wonder a) why ships sailing near Somalia, indeed the East African Coast, are not being armed, and b) how long before Barry "O" demands negotiations rather than simply blow the scurvy pirates straight to Hell?

The Maersk Alabama, carrying "emergency food" to Kenya, was boarded by Pirates, as I'm sure you already know. Although the crew of the Alabama retook the ship, the captain was taken hostage by the pirates. You may not realize that this was the first American-flagged vessel to be taken. The Seas are too massive to provide Naval escorts for every ship plying the routes along the coast. Ship Owners take the risk of losing their ships, but the sailors are the ones who risk their very lives. So why aren't these ships armed to the teeth? And if not armed, why aren't the owners required to be aboard during the runs down the East African Coast?

From the NY Daily News:

Retired U.S. Ambassador Robert Oakley, who was special envoy to Somalia in the 1990s, said U.S. special operations forces have drawn up detailed plans to attack piracy groups where they live on land, but are awaiting orders from the Obama national security team.

"Our special operations people have been itching to clean them up. So far, no one has let them," Oakley told the Daily News.

The WSJ reports:

The ship had been bound for Mombasa, Kenya, carrying a cargo of emergency food when it came within 300 miles of Somalia's coastline. It is one of at least 50 ships to have been attacked by Somali-based pirates in the past three months. But it is the first U.S.-flagged vessel to have been hijacked in years, and perhaps decades.

Why has Somalia become the 21st-century version of the 17th-century West Indies? The usual answer is that it's a failed state, unhappily situated near a major shipping lane where all kinds of criminality can thrive.

In fact, piracy is making a comeback because the world has largely allowed it. The owners of captured vessels have been willing to pay multimillion dollar ransoms to recover the ships, 16 of which and 200 crew members are currently in pirate hands. Restrictive or ambiguous rules of engagement -- a bequest of the Law of the Sea Treaty -- create further difficulties for navies trying to prevent piracy. Western states have also been wary of trying captured pirates in their own courts, choosing instead to remand them to Kenya's jurisdiction.

Yeah, that seems to have worked well. And how has the "O" responded? After all he has been asked about this, and there are American lives at stake. Not Community Organizers, mind you, but still. And how does the best danged President in the History of the World respond?

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama declined to answer reporters' questions on Thursday on a hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia, where a U.S. ship captain is being held captive by pirates.

Obama was asked to comment on the situation several times by reporters at a White House event on refinancing for homeowners. Obama, however, stuck closely to the script and replied that he wanted to remain focused on housing.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Editing by Sandra Maler)

Yeah, we don't want to get off-message, do we? After all the "O" is fixing a mess created over thousands of years of Republican mis-rule. (Ever notice how Leftists like the word 'rule' rather than 'lead' or anything else?) And he's doing so well, isn't he, dredging up all the failed policies of past generations, trying to put into place insane acts that will further cripple or destroy the US economy, and just generally so busy fouling things up he can hardly be expected to do two things at once, now can he?

Again, from the WSJ article:

We don't advocate reverting to Roman methods (e.g., crucifixion) for dealing with pirates, though the Administration could apply the Stephen Decatur standard by bombing the Somali pirate city of Eyl. U.S. law is clear that pirates who attack U.S. flag ships deserve life in prison. But treating captured pirates as enemy combatants unworthy of Geneva Convention protections would help in cases where pirates attack foreign-flagged ships and international law is now more ambiguous.

A similar attitude might guide the Obama Administration in its dealings with other states that have, or seek, to take Americans captives. North Korea seized two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, last month on the Chinese border and says it intends to put them on trial for "espionage." Iran also uses hostage-taking as an instrument of state policy, including the British sailors seized in Iraqi waters in 2007, American academic Haleh Esfandiari the same year and, most recently, American journalist Roxana Saberi, whom the Iranians also accuse of espionage and who is now being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

Then again, why look so far afield? As we wrote yesterday, a Spanish judge may soon order arrest warrants for six Bush Administration officials on dubious charges under the preposterous theory of "universal jurisdiction." So far, however, the Obama Administration hasn't spoken a word in their defense. If the U.S. government won't protect American citizens from the legal anarchy of postmodern Europe, how can we expect it to protect American sailors from the premodern anarchy of Somalia, much less the tyrannies of Tehran and Pyongyang?

Kim Priestap has a word to say on Obama's silence. Please read it. Read all the linked posts and articles. 2010 is close. We may survive until then. There's no time to lose if we don't want to become a Third World Country.

Note: As I mentioned after last Thanksgiving, here,

"Why the heck aren't all ships, plying the seas off Somalia, armed? Why aren't we blowing those murderous Pirates to Kingdom Come? The companies insuring those vessels should demand they be armed and sailors be trained in use of those arms or refuse to insure the vessels. The naval forces 'protecting' that shipping lane, and any others in the world pestered by Pirates, should stop trying to capture them and simply annihilate them. Any pirates captured should be hanged. Immediately. Or keel-hauled. Or simply shot and tossed over-board. It's not a criminal justice issue, folks, it's a war on the High Seas. Time to bring down the hammer."

Nahhh, let's just negotiate with the High Seas Terrorists. Sheesh!

Let There Be Light!

2009-03-28T07:26:00.006-04:00

As I work in the local Wal-Mart, sweeping the floors, I scan the shelves. I do this to remind myself where the merchandise is. This is to be useful to our customers when they ask where something is. Besides, it's more interesting than simply staring at white tile for hours at a time. During my meandering, recently, I happened to hit the cereal aisle. And there on the shelf were the latest offerings from Kellogg's. Cereal boxes with ugly, bland panels down the front of the boxes announcing Earth Month.

I got news for Kellogg's: I won't be purchasing any items publicizing yet another Eco-Scam. Maybe this is good PR for your company, but I haven't fallen for the scam. But they did remind me that Earth Hour was here, and the Leftist, Capitalist-hating MSM were once again shilling for their masters. Each time one of these celebrations arises we are inundated with puff-pieces proclaiming the importance of the event, how truly compassionate the organizers are, how saintly all who observe the special moment will be.

Screw them! All of it is based on the same scam - Human-induced Global Warming/Climate Change. All of it is phony, but it sells. And it convinces the poor-thinking that they can help save Mother Earth if they just turn off their lights for an hour! Once a year! Whoo-Boy!

And you know that the elite Leftists who shill for these morons will still have their TVs going, their video-games running, their other appliances humming along. But, by cracky! if the "masses" turn off their lights off an hour, all will be well. Another canapé, my Dear?

Let's take a look at how Earth Hour has worked in the recent past, shall we? It ain't just the Eco-Moonbats in the USA that fall for this garbage. From Sri Lanka comes this Astronomy site of the Sri Lankan Astronomical Association, which reminds us of last year's Earth Hour:

Earth Hour

Millions of people in cities across the U.S. and around the globe turned their lights off for one hour on Saturday, March 29, 2008 to make an unprecedented and highly visible global statement in support for action on climate change, energy conservation and light pollution. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world's largest conservation organization, which organized and coordinated the inaugural global event reports that an estimated 36 million Americans took part in Earth Hour. According to a survey by Zogby International, approximately 16 percent of the U.S. adult population reported taking part in Earth Hour and 78 percent were aware of the event, which took place globally in more than 400 cities in 35 countries across all 7 continents. During the week leading up to the event, there were more than 6.2 million unique visitors to the www.EarthHourUS.org website.

Beyond the four official US flagship cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco, WWF estimates that more than 100 cities and towns across the nation took part in the event, including Miami, Denver, Honolulu, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis and many others. Iconic landmarks in the US going dark included the Golden Gate Bridge, Sears Tower, Empire State Building, Coca-Cola billboard in Times Square, Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta), US Airways Arena (Phoenix), Alcatraz and others turned off their lights to symbolize the need to take action on climate change.

World Wildlife Fund is already gearing up to bring even more people, cities, and organizations for next year's Earth Hour on March 28, 2009 from 8:30-9:30 pm during IYA. Meg Pearce, director of Earth Hour USA, convinced the worldwide Earth Hour staff that postponing Earth Hour by a half an hour during IYA would include more of the population invested in preserving dark skies. (The skies are still bright at 8pm for the population located on the western edges of timezones.) The collaboration between Earth Hour and the IYA Dark Skies Cornerstone Project is a natural connection and requires no funding. Not only does the Earth Hour program allow the public to see the dark skies from the cities, it also helps conserve energy. It will give families a chance to walk out their door to see the stars, realize how much light pollution there is, find out from the Earth Hour website how much energy and money is wasted and at the same time, spark a child's imagination. [yeah, indoctrinate them when they're still young and impressionable!]

[...]

(emphasis mine)

Ahhh, yet another Eco-scam, and another one that didn't prove effective in anything but brain-washing the usual percentage of mental midgets. From Australia - 2007 - is this simple proof.

As they note:

The above pictured chart demonstrates that during the "Earth Hour" itself, Sydney used around the same amount of electricity as it had the two nights of similar levels of electricity use at the same time.

However, "Earth Hour" spectacularly caused a massive spike in electricity use in the two hours preceding the "Earth Hour" revealing the whole concept to be little more than a public relations scam and a contributor to global warming. Presumably this occurred as people brought forward the electricity using activities they had wanted to avoid during "Earth Hour."

The electric consumption barely changed during Earth Hour last year, while it rose greatly for the two hours preceding Earth Hour. This is similar to a Commie waving an American Flag. Good show for the Leftist Media, and "proof" to the perpetually silly that the Commie is a loyal American and not a bloodthirsty Communist. In reality, it's all for show.

Do we really want our Nation, our world, to be as technologically-challenged, or impoverished as North Korea? In North Korea, that Worker's Paradise, Earth Hour is continual, running for decades. The ruling elite is, certainly, exempted from such mundane things. It's the people of North Korea who shiver in the cold, squint in the darkness, and starve to death under the Tyranny of Communism. The North Korean people have no choice in the matter, indeed, they have no voice.

Which is what the Leftists in power in the USA would love to see happen here. So why not take a small, snarky stand against the bringers of Darkness? Before the Block Snitches report you to the OFA. Take the Red State Pledge and turn on all your lights from 8:30PM to 9:30PM tonight. "Let there be Light!" as Maggie reminds us, at The Climate Scam.

"I do solemnly swear that I will honor Earth Hour by turning on every light in my residence at 8:30 p.m. on March 28, 2009, for one hour. God said, "Let there be light." Who are we to argue?"

Who, indeed? Light up!
Note: Here's an astute quote from windfarms:

"Earth Hour is not about the environment. Global warming is not about the environment. Climate change is not about the environment.

I want each and everyone of you that think global warming is real to go stand in front of a mirror. Now, take a good hard look. When was the last time the person you see in the mirror actually questioned, I mean really questioned what you were told to believe.

Turn off the TV, don't listen to the radio, don't read a newspaper for two weeks. Now, take those two weeks and ask yourself why you haven't asked any hard questions about the people who keep screaming global warming at you.

What do they want from you? Even if the world was in peril, it's not, what could you do?, nothing, that's what. So why do they keep telling you that saving the world is your responsibility. What the hell do they want from you?
.
Your Freedom "

More on the OFA here, here, and here. Imagine the outrage had a Republican President been involved in just such a Fascist/Communist activity? Hmmph! You have a voice! Make sure it is heard!

George Carlin Nails the Enviro-Whackos

2009-03-20T09:10:00.003-04:00

From American Thinker, Gregory Young posts, "The Cure for Global Warming Alarmists" with this reminder of how dead-on George Carlin could be. In one of the late Comedian's final appearances, Carlin lampoons the alarmists.

Young also exposes those same alarmists for their bizarre proposals. In his post, "Global Warming Alarmists Propose Limiting Population ... to the Point of Extinction", Young notes, in closing,

"Indeed, the authors purposely fail to mention that their proposal puts humanity on a fast-track extinction curve, as reproduction rates fall below population replacement rates. Surely, as statisticians they know this well. Within a few generations, there wouldn’t be any one around to measure, least wise care, about carbon emissions. We would all be dead.

But golly, we would save the planet! Just goes to show you, Liberals are all about death and destruction. They absolutely live for it!

I’ve got a thought, why not have liberals first show us how it’s done…. Go ahead liberals -- take the lead in this thing. Limit your own population first, and the rest of us might, “maybe,” consider what you have to say."

Yeah, maybe!

Animal Husbandry & Your Elected Officials

2009-03-20T07:16:00.003-04:00

It always amazes me to discover just what level of incompetence we Americans manage to reach in our public officials. Perhaps it shouldn't amaze, but it does. As technologically advanced a nation as we are, our electorate can still put into public office people whose mental capacities are on a level with a door knob. And we then expect these same nitwits to make laws regarding matters of scientific importance, not to mention simple matters of social behavior.

From the St. Petersburg Times, comes this gem, reported by Adam C. Smith:

Loser of the week
Larcenia Bullard. The Democratic state senator from Miami has a penchant for eye-rolling statements, but she outdid herself when discussion about the bestiality bill included mention of animal husbandry. "People are taking these animals as their husbands? … So that maybe was the reason the lady was so upset about that monkey?" Bullard asked, referring to a Connecticut woman mauled by a pet chimpanzee. Doh!

Miami has had its share of oddballs elected to office. The knack of Miami politicians, and police, to receive Federal Indictments is sometimes staggering, though it has never reached the stratospheric heights of Chicago. We all remember the murder, and drug charges filed against Miami police, don't we? Still, Miami has never quite managed to pull off the kind of shining moment of idiocy that State Senator Bullard managed.

Fact is, she even found herself on Keith Olbermann's plate for dissection. Just how silly does a Democrat have to be to get pilloried by the High Priest Of Democrat Worship?

In case you think that maybe Ms. Bullard is simply poorly educated, I might add that she is a college graduate. Her Florida Senate Bio includes: Nova University, M.S., 1991, Antioch University, B.A., 1973, not to mention an A.A. at Temple University in '71. That could mean anything, I admit, but then you have to wonder how she could graduate without any inkling of what 'animal husbandry' is. Did I mention that she's been a teacher, too?

Yep, a teacher and a school administrator, not to mention an educational consultant, and a "community activist"! Wow! All that education and she still has no clue what is meant by animal husbandry? That doesn't speak well of our teachers, now does it? And this is a State that is heavily agricultural, and was once one of the largest cattle producers in the nation. Indeed, Bullard is Vice Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Oy!

Now, to give credit, Bullard is not always lost, though she does have an odd idea of just what is important to the electorate in times of economic turmoil - brought to you by her own Democratic Party. From Michael Peltier: And now for the important stuff on March 1st of this year, we discover:

As lawmakers prepare to return for what is expected to be a budget crunching (or is that crushing) session, let's not forget that lawmakers also have other important work to do.
[...]
Why not, for example, spread a little credit where it's due. Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, has offered a pair of resolutions to honor our progenitors. SB 296 and SB 298 call on the Florida Senate to formally honor mothers and fathers around the state.

"The highest ideals and noblest principles of humanity find their most exemplary expression in the sacrifice and devotion of mothers, and no sincere human being can deny the importance of a mother in the life of a child," Bullard says of Florida moms.

Bullard also sends kudos to Florida dads. "American tradition of a productive society and a secure home has depended in great part on the hard work and sacrifice of fathers who tirelessly seek for their children a better life and greater opportunity than they themselves have known." Bullard's bill proclaims.

Wow! Who knew?

And Ms. Bullard gets re-elected, time and again. First the State House, then the State Senate.

By all accounts, Larcenia Bullard is a nice woman, full of pleasant ideas - who else would have pushed so hard to get Key Lime Pie designated Florida's State Pie? - and good intentions. But is that enough for elective office? Aren't we seeing just how dangerous it is for good-intentioned, uninformed or clueless people to be elected to office? And aren't we seeing the very apex of that dangerous action with the elevation of the inexperienced, good-intentioned, Community Activist, Barry "O"?

And just in case you think I'm being rather mean, let's not forget that the Bullard's have made Florida elective office their family business. Senator Bullard's son Dwight M. Bullard was elected to the State House in 2008. Her husband - not to be confused with animal husbandry - Edward B. "Ed" Bullard, served in the State House from 2000 to 2008. Young Dwight has taken the seat his father left due to term limits. Nice, huh?

How much longer can we afford all these terribly nice, utterly incompetent people?

RTN: Digital TV Nostalgia

2009-03-13T10:00:00.019-04:00

RTN, the Retro Television Network, is one of the fun things that I discovered once I got my converter box to be able to continue receiving broadcast television. The Wal-Mart store where I work announced to all the Associates that the switch to digital from analog was going to happen, and there would be government-issued coupons to mediate the cost of the boxes.

I don't watch enough television to justify paying for cable - not even for basic cable! - but I do still watch some. So I followed the instructions the Store Manager gave us, went to the government website, and ordered the coupons - two of them, since I have two TVs - and they came in the mail fairly soon. No, I didn't wait until the last minute and whine that there wasn't enough time. Losers!

Meanwhile the local stations have already added some digital stations, so, for example, our PBS station, which is on channel 3, now has four stations: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4! Some of the programming is interesting, some is a bore - do we really need all day programming of the Florida Legislature?

Anyway, a few weeks back I found one local station was no longer airing yet another digital weather channel - good Lord! How many weather channels do ya need? - but had added the RTN channel. The Retro Television Network! Cool Beans!

Now, the website is one of the crappier efforts I've seen, but the broadcast offerings are nostalgia to the Nth degree!

Among the things I found was Adam-12, Dragnet, Kojak (Who loves ya, Baby?), and a lot more. But two shows brought back some fun memories: The Rockford Files, and Magnum, PI. Those two had recurring guest stars who I fell in love with. Okay, so they're TV crushes, but so what?

The Rockford Files, which starred James Garner, was a funny, action-filled series following the exploits of an ex-con Private Investigator named James Rockford. It turns out that this very successful TV series cheated Garner out of his share of the profits by the use of funny accounting. A shame, and the idiots who played games with the numbers should have been jailed. But I digress, as is my wont.

One of the recurring characters on The Rockford Files was the attorney Beth Davenport, played by the lovely Gretchen Corbett. Corbett appeared in 32 episodes of the Rockford Files, even though some were merely for a scene or two. Corbett was lovely, smart, talented, and I got a crush on her!

As Wiki reports:

"... Corbett joined the series as a recurring regular to portray his beleaguered lawyer and sometime lover. Corbett left the series at the end of the fourth season over a salary dispute, though Corbett herself was not looking for more money: the dispute was between the show's producers and Universal (who owned Corbett's contract as a contract player). Corbett went on to do quite a bit of other television, eventually returning to play Davenport again in the Rockford Files TV movies of the 1990s."

Funny how the money boys at the production company were messing with the books very early on, huh?

Gretchen Corbett has done films, TV, and theater, and this image from around 2007 shows she's still smokin'! Can you blame me for having a crush on her?

Anyway, I watch some Rockford Files, now, and get some nostalgic jollies. It's better fare than a lot of televised programs these days!

Some lawyer Cheesecake!

Along with The Rockford Files there's Magnum, PI, which starred Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, former Naval Intelligence officer turned Private Investigator. Takes place in Hawaii, so there's a lot of pretty scenery, with loads of action, and some very smart, funny dialogue. And there's also the recurring character of Assistant District Attorney Carol Baldwin. Baldwin is played by Kathleen Lloyd (the original Baldwin was played by Maureen McCormick) in 21 episodes. Actually 20, as Lloyd's first appearance on the show was as Bridget Archer. Anyway, Kathleen Lloyd is one of those actresses who remind you of the Girl Next Door one moment, and raise your blood pressure the next.

Both of these shows had something interesting: smart, successful, pretty women as recurring characters. Nothing sleazy about them. And they were possible love interests to the main characters. Lloyd had a recurring role in quite a few shows through the years. But it was on the Magnum, PI show that I fell in love with her. And can you blame me? Look at her! What does that smile say to you?

Oh, my! I always wished she'd been used more often in the show. Her character has this tough lawyer front, but then Lloyd imbues Baldwin with such a sweetness 'out of the office' that you are simply in love with her. Well, I was, anyway!

Both shows - The Rockford Files, and Magnum, PI had a long list of familiar faces appearing in guest roles, and some new faces that went on to some success after the shows. And, of course, many actresses of great beauty adorned these productions week after week.

But for me, these two lovely actresses were my only TV crushes. *sigh*

Ain't they beautiful?

Blue Spring Run

2009-03-05T08:28:00.005-05:00

Blue Spring Run is a pretty place. I found it while doing a morning search for "Spring" following a quick search for "Moose". How did I go from one to the other? That, Folks, is where our minds differ! Hah!

Anyway, Blue Spring Run is within the confines of Blue Spring State Park, which is in Volusia County on the east, Atlantic coast of Florida, north of Orlando. It is part of the Florida State Parks department, and one of the decent investments of taxpayer money. Nobody wants to see pavement from horizon to horizon. Not in Florida!

The spring was visited by botanist John Bartram in 1766. Later on, the park was acquired by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (1972) to kick-start its Manatee Protection Program.

Click on the images to embiggen them!

Blue Spring State Park is located in Volusia County, Fla., two miles west of Orange City and adjacent to the St. Johns River. The park encompasses 2,483 acres of land with a variety of ecological habitats, including Blue Spring and Blue Spring Run. The spring and run have an estimated area of four acres and a length of 2,336 feet from the upper edge of the spring boil pool to the point of confluence with the St. Johns River.

Blue Spring is a first magnitude spring, meaning that it has a long-term average flow of at least 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 65 million gallons per day (mgd). Blue Spring and Blue Spring Run are classified as Class III waters by the state of Florida, meaning their designated use is for public recreation and the propagation and maintenance of healthy populations of fish and wildlife. The spring and run are also designated as “Outstanding Florida Waters” because they are located within a state park.

Water quality in the spring and run is characteristic of its source, the Floridan aquifer, exhibiting high water clarity, high dissolved solids, little or no oxygen, and stable temperature. The spring water remains at a nearly constant temperature of 73° Fahrenheit (°F) or 23° Celsius (°C).

Blue Spring is internationally famous as a winter, warmwater refuge for the endangered West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). The manatee is a tropical to subtropical species adapted to warm water that, in Florida, is at the northern edge of its geographical range. Due to their low metabolism, manatees have difficulty withstanding cold conditions and, therefore, they need to find a warmwater refuge during cold weather. Blue Spring is the only large naturally occurring manatee warmwater refuge on Florida’s east coast for the St. Johns River manatee population. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has designated the spring and run as critical manatee habitat.

Manatees seek refuge in the warmer waters of Blue Spring Run when the temperature of the river drops below 68°F (20°C). Manatees typically begin congregating in the spring run in November and leave in March. The period between November 1 and March 31 is referred to as the “manatee season.” Manatee use of Blue Spring Run as a winter, warmwater refuge has increased dramatically since 1978, when routine manatee counts began. Based on counts performed for daily surveys, the maximum number of manatees observed on a single day has increased nearly seven-fold, from 28 in 1978 to 182 during the 2005 manatee season.

During the manatee season, manatees congregate in the spring run immediately upstream of the point where the cold, dark St. Johns River water meets the warmer, clear spring water. Where the spring water mixes with the St. Johns River, water clarity drops due to the relatively high dissolved color (tannic acid) in the river. This interface is referred to as the dark water intrusion, and is easily seen by the casual observer.

It's kind of funny, if you think about it. Manatees are doing fairly well in Florida. Partly because of official protection, but also because of places like power plants. The cleaned outflow of waste water from the plants is warm. And it attracts the manatees when the weather gets cold. They will travel quite a distance to find the power plant outflow so they can enjoy the warmth of the waters.

Eventually the Blue Spring Run empties into the St. John's River. So it goes from crystal clear to the brown of the river. The St, John's has a high content of tannic acid - natural, by the way! - which makes everything that sets in the water for any length of time start to turn brown.

In fact fossils discovered in the river bed tend to be a golden brown color, rather than white or gray. Yes, there is a lot of fossil digging going on in the state of Florida. Archaeology is alive and well in Florida.

I thought you might like to see some of the pretty areas of Florida. And this is certainly one of them! Have a great day!

The Spring Approacheth!

2009-03-05T08:01:00.003-05:00

Yeah, it's been awhile since I last posted here. I have been quite the busy feller. With two writing courses I am Mentoring it takes an act of will to pull back from reading the writing assignments of my fellow writers and go off on my own tangent.

What's to write about? After all, my blogging friends have been covering the destruction of the American economic system in great detail, tracking the humorlessness of Barry "O", watching Michael Steele reveal his lack of understanding of the Leftist MSM, and so on. I could add to the thunder, but I just don't have it in me.

Not yet!

Anyway, what sparked me this morning, aside from the bright sky, cool breezes, and whispering fragrances of the morning, was what a friend emailed to me. This is a reminder of many things, Folks. But most of all it's to let you all know that Spring is approaching. And with it warmer temperatures - happens every year, even though it surprises James Hansen and Al Gore each time - green growth, and animals on the move.

Kissed by a Wild Moose

Bill is standing on his back deck which is about two feet off of the ground. Bill is about six-foot one, and 250 lbs, so this Miss Moose is a fair sized critter.

Click on the image to get a better view!

Are you ready for the snow to melt and wash away? Ready to put away the Parkas and mukluks? It's coming! And the sky won't fall, the Polar Bears won't pass into extinction, and we won't see New York City flooded to the tenth-story of every building by the rise of the Oceans. It will simply get warmer as it's done for millennia past.

The Spring Approacheth!

What Stupid Looks Like

2009-01-08T08:45:00.002-05:00

Islam In Action had this adorable American Peacenik, from Cleveland, babbling about the Gaza situation. He is speaking for something called the Middle East Peace Forum of Cleveland, which seems to stand for over-running Israel with the barbarous Pseudostinians (The Right To Return! The Right To Return!), but not for Jewish "ethnic cleansing" of Pseudostine. You have to watch the whole thing. It will make you cringe, but at the end you have to wonder ... How does an American adult get to be quite that stupid?

I suppose it's a matter of being over-educated in the Liberal morass of brain-washing that is happening in the Universities, and has been for decades. It's the attitude of Don't try to confuse me with facts! Everybody knows what's the real truth!

We should, perhaps, be working to end the immigration of all Muslims into our nation before we lose every shred of Freedom we possess, and begin to look upon the Death Cult of Islam as we do on the Ku Klux Klan: a Hate group with Terrorist tendencies.

If we fail to meet the menace posed by this Death Cult we will surely begin to slide into that swamp of violence that is surging across oh-so-superior Europe. Israel will fight for the lives of the Jews there. But how soon will we Americans have to fight for the lives and safety of Jews right here? Once they have their way the Muslims will go for the Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and so on. They will not stop until they cleanse the world of all belief systems other than Islam. That is Truth and Fact.

Very soon, indeed, if ninnies like Don Bryan have their way. The Stupid leading the Moronic. Time to Cowboy up, Folks!

Watch:

Hat tip to Always On Watch!

Good News & Bad News to Start Your 2009

2009-01-01T08:46:00.003-05:00

Here's the good news to start the New Year: "Jobless claims drop by much more than expected." The bad news? The MSM doesn't understand what it means and so implies it must be due solely to seasonal reasons. Can't be true good news if Bush is still the President.

As Randall Hoven writes:

"The "recession" we are currently in (which started last December, according to the NBER) was based largely on employment figures, not GDP. The number of people employed peaked last December 2007 and decreased every month since. The cumulative loss so far? There were 1.38% fewer jobs in November 2008 than in December 2007.
Hoven, again, on December 3rd: (The National Bureau of Economic Research, the official caller of recessions, recently said we are now in a recession that started one year ago, in December 2007.
[...]
This struck me as odd. Not that I don't believe we are in a recession now, but the starting date of December 2007 just seemed too early to me. To see if this made sense, I looked at some underlying economic data and the NBER's explanation, such as it is. Why this might be important, I'll explain later.
The rule of thumb for defining a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative real growth in GDP. This is now the second recession called by the NBER in the two terms of President George W. Bush, yet in neither case were there two such consecutive quarters. In fact, at no time in Bush's Presidency were there two such quarters.)

Real GDP growth in the US actually went up the first two quarters of the year, despite going down in Europe at that same time. US GDP finally relented in the third quarter, shrinking at an annual rate of 0.5%.
So that is what we know about our "recession" to date: real GDP growth of positive 0.8% for the first 9 months of 2008, and a decline of employment by 1.38% in the first 11 months. Those are not "Depression" numbers by a long shot. They are not even normal recession numbers: the employment decline was more than 1.38% in 9 of the 10 previous recessions since World War II. (Yes, I know, we're not out of this yet. But the current numbers are not alarming in any historical sense.)
And now we are hearing good news on jobless claims."

Well, we're not really hearing the good news, just yet. That won't begin until The One is crowned on January 20th. Until then the MSM-driven theme of approaching Depression will continue. That means the Feds will continue to pretend they can fix what they broke. And they will take your money, flush it down the government toilet, and demand you give more. That's how it works in a Socialist economy. And that's what the MSM, the Democratic Party, and the Left want: a Socialist economy in which they are the Commissars, and you, you ignorant hicks, are their Serfs.

Those multi-Trillion dollar Federal bailouts won't fix anything, but they will prop up moribund companies past their proper shelf-date, lend legitimacy to Organized Labor's 'theft of services' modus operandi, and give the government drones much more power over you and your everyday lives. The very idiots whose lack of knowledge regarding economies, and how they work, have hamstrung American industries, destroyed banks and lending companies, will remain in place. They will continue to accept the bribes that come with oversight of their own financial supporters in business and Labor. They will continue to amass fortunes stolen from hard-working Americans and given to non-working Americans in hopes of securing their votes. It does seem to work for them, doesn't it?

So, you know the good news, which is that the economy and the unemployment rates are doing fairly well. And you know that the usual suspects will say to you, "Who you gonna believe? Me or your lyin' eyes?" Who do you believe, eh?

Happy New Year!

Somewhat related: 50 years later Fidel Castro remains a lying, murderous bastard and the MSM still loves him.

Anthropogenic Global Warming still ain't happenin'! But the Left still pushes the fairy tale. Seems volcanoes are warming the Arctic. Have you been told this?

Pseudostinian Terrorists remain cowardly weenies; Israel shows it still has a pair.

Al Franken, nitwit, continues to try to steal the Minnesota election.

And to all the Pacifists out there who decry all Violence as useless, I leave you with this quote from the late, great Robert A. Heinlein:

"Anyone who clings to the historically untrue -- and -- thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence never solves anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler would referee. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor; and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms."

Happy 2009!

2008-12-31T16:30:00.003-05:00

Be safe. Be smart. Remember: there is no such thing as "tipsy" driving! So drink responsibly and stick around for another year, all right?

Have a Happy New Year! May success, happiness, and good health be yours in 2009!

Whoo-Hoo!

An Update on benning's World: Why Not, Right?

2008-12-22T17:58:00.003-05:00

F2K is over, Lesson-wise, and all that’s left is our session's-end Short Story Contest. We began the session with nearly 500 writers, of many levels of expertise. Some are already published and are merely looking for a kick-start, or a refresher in the very basics of Fiction Writing. Some are newbies, wishing to learn enough to be able to express themselves in a writing venue, and perhaps to see if they have the talent to go on and get published. And the rest are somewhere in between.

When I was a student in F2K I found it a fun, friendly place, with so many things to discover and learn, so many new people to meet, so many opportunities to stretch whatever writing muscles I had. Through F2K I got the gumption to submit my very first short story to an online magazine. And they were impressed enough with it to publish it - and they paid me for my story, too! Not to mention my second, third, and fourth, as well!

Three runs through the F2K sessions and I was invited to become one of the Mentors, which eventually turned into my being asked to become the Mentor-in-Chief. What that means is I get the emails complaining about passwords that don’t work, assignments that have mysteriously disappeared, and hurt feelings from un-diplomatic feedback. But, y’know, it’s gotta be done, and I remain humble that our Founder and Leader, Bob Hembree, who created the free course, not to mention our entire Writers’ Village University, thought I could do the job.

Now, as I said, we’ve gotten down to our session-ending contest, which is more important than ever. The prize is to be published in a real-life paper magazine, get a small payment - I think it’s $25 - and to have a published work on one’s resume. Yes, it may sound small, but it’s not! Some online ezines accept and publish stories, but pay nothing - “It’s an honor to simply be published!” - which means your work is worth nothing at all.

With our numbers dwindling as the weeks went on - we never finish with the same number as we started - I was worried that our students wouldn’t submit enough contest entries to make it a real contest.

Silly me!

We got 27 entries. 27! That’s a lot of short stories by aspiring writers. And our task, as Mentors, was to read each one, and then put them onto a list of our favorites. I listed every one, from my top to the least. Not one of them was a dog, not one of them was a waste of reading time. I was thoroughly proud of my F2K writers! 27 short stories entered into our contest! Now, with our Mentors having submitted their own lists, I had to meld them into a Top Five or so, and post that for the Mentors to vote on. Yes or No?

When they all have decided whether or not the list will do, we will notify our Fearless Leader and hand that list to him. If he accepts it we tell the writers who are Finalists that they are now part of what Bob calls the F2K Masters Workshop.

What does that mean for them? They’ll have a specified time to edit their works, in the Workshop, for the publisher. Then the publisher will choose the winner. So it ain’t over yet! But, dang! It’s close!

I don’t know if you understand what this means to new writers. For weeks now these men and women, from all across the country, indeed the world, have worked together, given feedback to each other, watched as they all learned, grew as writers, and discovered that it ain’t easy to be a fiction writer. And now 27 of them had the guts to write a brand-new short story - the contest has a rule about the content of the story so you can’t just resurrect an old favorite! - submit it to their Mentors, and wait for someone to judge their work.

Trust me, when my first short story was published, even though it was an online-only ezine, I was so happy and proud I could scarce get my head through the door! And so it will be for these folks who become Finalists. Their writing was judged to be good enough to be a Finalist. Good enough to be considered for publication. Good enough!

It’s a great feeling. And I’m so happy for these men and women I am ready to bust a gut! All of them are Writers! Whoo-Hoo!

And that’s what’s been going on in benning’s world. Writing, Mentoring, and reading the works of new authors!

Oh, and nibbling M&Ms, too!

Whoo-Hoo!

If you're interested in learning some of the basics of Fiction Writing, we begin our next session in early February of 2009. The course is free, lasts for about eight weeks, and consists of six lessons - not to mention an Orientation Week - and usually a session-ending writing contest. F2K is geared toward fiction writing, and aims to get you proficient enough to write a short story by the end. We also offer more one-on-one Mentoring for a small fee of $25.

You don't have to be a member of our parent organization - Writers' Village University - to register and attend. All you need is a desire to learn or re-learn some of the basics of fiction writing, and the ability to take criticism without bursting into tears. We hold weekly chat sessions, too. So think about signing up, all you writers out there. I'll be Mentoring again, as I expect most of our present Mentors will.

I hope to see some of you there, come February!

... And How Have You Been?

2008-12-04T06:52:00.000-05:00

Well, F2K is almost over. Nothing remains but the late assignment posts and contest submissions from our students. Then we Mentors will choose which submissions are the finalists and toss them into what we call the Masters Workshop so they can edit and polish their tales. The winner will be published in the T-Zero magazine and receive $25, along with a copy of the Spring Issue. Not bad for a writing course, right?

January will find me Mentoring another writing Class based on the book, "Between The Lines" by J. P. Morrell. I did this once before and it was a learning experience, let me tell you. I don't really care for books about 'how to write' since they tend to get a writer over-thinking. But this one was very helpful. And Mentoring another class will be fun, as well as tiring. I can't recall how long the class runs, but it might even overlap our next F2K session which begins in ... wait for it! ... February!

I'm a very busy volunteer at Writers' Village University, these days. That's why I simply stopped blogging after Election Day. Not to mention the fact that I was also entered in the 2008 edition of NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - which I finished. Finished! Over 50,000 words written in a month! Maybe not what a professional novel writer would do, but pretty good totals for me. And I was Mentoring that F2K class the whole time, too!

Yeah, I'm bragging a little. I think I can see the end of my Young Adult SF novel. And that's a plus. I've been noodling this for close to a year, but finally got down to it, and pounded it out. It helps when the story just sort of unfolds before you, and it has, for the most part. Once that's finished - the first draft, at least - then I will go back to my unfinished SF novel, "Space Pirates" and get it done. That one has been tickling my mind for awhile. Time to get it done, right?

Let's see ... Thanksgiving found me at my Folks' for supper, which was excellent! My step-sister was visiting from 'up north' and we had a good time chatting, nibbling, and drinking. When I left Mom not only gave me a heap of left-overs - yum! - but my step-Dad wrapped the turkey carcass for me to take, too. Simmered for a few hours, that carcass fed me for three days, and I have turkey broth left. Not bad, right?

I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one.

I'm not terribly happy with the election results, especially as the MSM remains in the pocket of the Socialist Democrats and is hurrahing the coming Coronation of their choice for our national Messiah. The Georgia U.S. Senate run-off shows that the Dems are not as popular and all-powerful as they claim. Al Franken, unfunny as ever, is trying anything he can to pull out a victory from his defeat in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race. I figure any state that elects an idiot to office gets precisely what they deserve. Maybe Minnesotans aren't completely foolish, eh?

Why the heck aren't all ships, plying the seas off Somalia, armed? Why aren't we blowing those murderous Pirates to Kingdom Come? The companies insuring those vessels should demand they be armed and sailors be trained in use of those arms or refuse to insure the vessels. The naval forces 'protecting' that shipping lane, and any others in the world pestered by Pirates, should stop trying to capture them and simply annihilate them. Any pirates captured should be hanged. Immediately. Or keel-hauled. Or simply shot and tossed over-board. It's not a criminal justice issue, folks, it's a war on the High Seas. Time to bring down the hammer.

I have more, but to heck with it! Time to make breakfast. I'm kinda back. And still busy.

Take care!

I Done My Duty!

2008-11-04T13:19:00.003-05:00

I finished work, hopped in my decrepit car, and motored over to my local Polling place. In this case it's amid the Florida Extension Service's Botanical Gardens. Quite a nice place to wander through on the way to vote. The day has been overcast - and lightly misting - but the air was fresh and cool. Nice!

I'd put a photo up, but I'll be danged if I can find one!

Inside, expecting long lines, since the MSM has been touting the huge lines and long waits for early voting (trying to discourage voting?), I was very happy and surprised to find no lines! Cool beans! It was a steady trickle of voters, but no waiting at all.

I went in, looked around, asked the older gentleman at the door where the long lines were - "Long lines? Hahahahah!" he chuckled and gave me a huge smile - and went to the row of tables marked "Step One". And I was on my way. The ladies manning the desks were very friendly, knew what they were doing, and pointed me to each step along the way. Finally, ballot in hand I went to one of the privacy tables, marked my ballot, and headed for the funny machines that suck your ballot in.

Stick your ballot in the slot, in it goes, the screen says it's scanning your ballot. Then it reads something like, "You have voted! Thank You!"

Well, that made me smile. I always feel good after voting. I turned and handed the man at the rear door my pen and ballot cover, he gave me a sticker, and out I went. As I passed the front door where I had entered, I leaned in and called out, "Thank you very much!"

Tha ladies looked over, smiled, and answered, "Thanks for voting!" Dang! That made me feel good, too!

I had one huge smile on my face!

Down the hall and out the door, past the big, softly swaying trees, and back to my car.

The Constitution of the United States guarantees my right to vote. Having that right it is up to me whether or not I vote. To me it is a duty as a free American to vote. I saw my duty. I voted!

How about you?

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T14:22:00.004-04:00

Watch your kids, Parents. Don't let them wander around without you being there, or a responsible adult nearby and alert. It gets dark pretty early on October 31. No matter how powerful the headlights on a car or truck, kids in costumes can be hard, if not impossible, to see. Can you think of anything more sad than having a child injured or even killed while 'Trick or Treating'?

Watch your kids! If you're out there and see kids without supervision, you watch them, too! Yes, it is, too, your responsibility as a member of the community, as an adult, as a fellow American. Do it! This is supposed to be a fun evening for the kids. Make sure it stays that way!

Just to drive home the point, my friends, here's a repost of a short story I posted in October of 2006. It makes the point even if a fictional event. Happy Halloween!

"The Dark Road"
by benning (10/03)

Leaves skitter along the road in the chill autumn breeze. The road is a dark and quiet place.

The boy is eight years old. Dressed in a brand-new Batman costume, the cape a swirling dull sheen in the twilight, he skips along the dark road. He carries an empty sack in his hand. Halloween is just beginning. The mask he wears limits his vision, and he watches the roadway a few feet ahead to avoid holes and roadkill. He doesn't want to ruin his new costume.

He can hear his breath echoing in his ears and thinks of Darth Vader.

"Luke, I am your father," he intones in his best grown-up voice. He giggles and tries it again.

Light streams around him from behind, his shadow suddenly appearing ahead of his skipping form.

"I'm the Batman," he whispers.

Too late, he realizes something is different. The road ahead is filled with light and the elongated shadow of Batman.

He stops. A horn blares close behind. He turns, his eyes widening in shock, then fear.

He has no time to even scream before the huge truck strikes him.

The red taillights fade into the distance; leaves skitter along the road in the chill autumn breeze. The road is a dark and quiet place.

* * * * *

Howard and June pulled off the road and stared into the dark night. They sat in the car, silent, as they had done each Halloween for the past ten years.

Howard glanced at his wife, saw the tears glistening on her cheeks in the dashboard light. He took her hand and gently squeezed it. She squeezed his in return, her eyes never straying from the dark road ahead.

"We should've been with him," she murmured.

Howard said nothing. They'd been over this before. Many times. Everything that could've been said had been.

"He shouldn't've been out here alone," she whispered.

Howard turned away, stared out the windshield. "He couldn't wait, June. We told him to wait for us. You know that." His voice was quiet, gentling.

"We should've been with him," she whispered again.

Howard watched the dark, windy road and sighed.

At last, June sniffled, patted his hand, and scrabbled through her purse for her hanky. It was her signal that it was time to go. Over until the next Halloween.

Howard started the car, glanced in the mirrors, and pulled out. The headlights illuminated the road, and the swirling leaves ahead. He drove slowly and carefully.

* * * * *

The red taillights fade into the distance; leaves skitter along the road in the chill autumn breeze. The road is a dark and quiet place.

The boy is eight years old. Dressed in a brand-new Batman costume, the cape a swirling dull sheen in the twilight, he skips along the dark road. He carries an empty sack in his hand. Halloween is just beginning. The mask he wears limits his vision, and he watches the roadway a few feet ahead to avoid holes and roadkill. He doesn't want to ruin his new costume.