It's really funny. Even if you like Obama, read it.
Review: A no-holds-barred weepathon
At times during this half hour of mawkish misery you longed for the wit and wisdom of a debate featuring Sarah Palin.
America’s supplies of tissues must have been exhausted during Barack Obama’s 30-minute election broadcast late on Wednesday night. It had been billed as a “closing argument” by the Democrat’s seemingly unstoppable campaign. In reality, it was an all-out, no-holds-barred weepathon with a feel-bad factor pitched somewhere between the third act of Schindler’s List and the slaughter scenes in Watership Down. I emerged from my TV room sodden-eyed and legs trembling, wishing that Iran would just drop the bomb and get it all over with.
It began, as these things so often do, with a flugelhorn. Then pictures of wind-rippled cornfields. Then footage of children and old people smiling — the tape slowed down a little, to make their happiness appear somehow tragic.
When Obama, made his entrance he was wearing a sombre black suit (pictured right) and standing in what appeared to be a log cabin. You could practically smell the coffee roasting. This was Obamaland, where everything is safe and warm, where Big Brobama loves you and keeps the evil profit-doers at bay. You, too, could go to Obamaland, went the subtext, just so long as you voted for the man with the “D” next to his name. But in case Americans didn’t realise what was at stake, Obama set out to demonstrate what a God-forsaken, economically devastated shell of a nation they now live in. So we cut to a harried mother named Rebecca, from North Kansas City, Missouri, who complained that her husband Brian, who works at a tyre plant, has to stand up all day, even though he has a dicky knee. We were treated to a glimpse of Brian slumped on his sofa, looking fed up. He had planned to have surgery in June, said Rebecca, but because of the rising cost of living he couldn’t afford it. We then saw Rebecca rationing the food in her fridge, balancing her cheque book, and driving her humungous SUV in the moonlight.
From this purgatory we emerged again into the comforting fuzzy goodness of Obamaland. “We measure the strength of our country not by the number of billionaires we have,” he boomed, “but by whether a waitress who lives on tips can take the day off to look after a sick kid without being laid off.”
Then we were back in the wasteland of He Who Must Not Be Named — the dark wizard Bush (whose dead half-brother, McCain, has been exhumed to carry on his dastardly work). This time we were in Sardinia, Ohio, with an elderly African-American woman named Juanita who needs 12 different medications each day for rheumatoid arthritis. Her husband Larry lost his health insurance when he retired, so he took out a loan to pay for the pills, and now, at the age of 72, he has been forced to work as a salesman at Wal-Mart. We saw him putting on his name-pin with an expression of sadness and contempt.
Then Obama brought up his dead mother. It was enough to make you pine for the wit and intelligence of a Sarah Palin debate. I had hoped for goosebumps and that swollen feeling you get in your chest when you know that something good might happen. But instead I just felt downbeat; not only because of America’s obvious problems but also because of Obama’s willingness to exploit them so mawkishly.
Republicans have always used fear to their advantage. Now it seems that the Democrats are just as skilled with self-pity. It’s a measure of just how poorly McCain has run his campaign that Americans seem to be buying it.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Freedom...is always worth the sacrifice
Wow! PLEASE take just a moment to watch this political ad. It is 1:55 and worth it. I like this one especially because there is a video going around where you can put yourself into the video. Everybody is agog and loving the fact that you can 'see yourself' in it. In the video below, there are no gizmos, it's only a simple statement of an ad, showing a soldier speaking who put himself on the line... for me. Big difference.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Oho! There's no liberal media bias you say?
The Project for Excellence in Journalism has a report out regarding bias in the media, and the results are no surprise to conservatives: media are biased toward liberals. The only surprise will be to see which approach is taken to explain or defend the result by the liberals. Ad hominem attack? Disregard the facts? Pretend the report never happened? Or just dismiss the whole thing as 'vague' and 'irrelevant.' We will see. Here are the facts:
NEWSPAPERS: The front page coverage of the 13 newspapers studied here tended to portray a more extreme version of the overall press treatment of both McCain and Obama. Coverage was more critical of John McCain and more favorable toward Barack Obama than the media overall.
Overall, 57% of stories about McCain were negative, compared to only 29% of stories for Obama.
Delving into specifics, newspapers covered McCain negatively 69% of the time but were negative toward Obama only 28% of the time.
For television-
NBC: 54% McCain negative coverage
21% Obama negative coverage
MSNBC: an embarrassing 73% negative McCain coverage
a mortifying 14% negative toward Obama
The report found Fox news coverage even split between negative stories of Obama and McCain, 40% for each.
More from the report:
In the 2008 election season, MSNBC, the perennial third-place finisher in the cable news ratings race, unveiled a new approach—positioning itself in prime time as a leftward-leaning analog to the Fox News Channel. That personality became arguably even clearer in the general election season with the arrival of Air America radio talk show host Rachel Maddow as anchor of the 9 p.m. program following Keith Olbermann.
The editorial approach is manifest beyond just who is sitting in the anchor chair or getting the last word. When it comes to the tone of the segments and stories about candidates overall, MSNBC was more favorable and, even more clearly, less critical of Barack Obama than the press generally. It was also clearly more negative about both John McCain and Sarah Palin. In all, only 14% of stories studied about Obama on MSNBC carried a clearly negative tone, less than half the total in the media generally (29%). The percentage of positive stories on MSNBC about Obama, 43%,
Conversely, McCain’s coverage was more critical on MSNBC than in the press overall, not to mention any other cable news outlet. Fully 73% of the McCain stories were negative compared with 57% in the press generally.
NEWSPAPERS: The front page coverage of the 13 newspapers studied here tended to portray a more extreme version of the overall press treatment of both McCain and Obama. Coverage was more critical of John McCain and more favorable toward Barack Obama than the media overall.
Overall, 57% of stories about McCain were negative, compared to only 29% of stories for Obama.
Delving into specifics, newspapers covered McCain negatively 69% of the time but were negative toward Obama only 28% of the time.
For television-
NBC: 54% McCain negative coverage
21% Obama negative coverage
MSNBC: an embarrassing 73% negative McCain coverage
a mortifying 14% negative toward Obama
The report found Fox news coverage even split between negative stories of Obama and McCain, 40% for each.
More from the report:
In the 2008 election season, MSNBC, the perennial third-place finisher in the cable news ratings race, unveiled a new approach—positioning itself in prime time as a leftward-leaning analog to the Fox News Channel. That personality became arguably even clearer in the general election season with the arrival of Air America radio talk show host Rachel Maddow as anchor of the 9 p.m. program following Keith Olbermann.
The editorial approach is manifest beyond just who is sitting in the anchor chair or getting the last word. When it comes to the tone of the segments and stories about candidates overall, MSNBC was more favorable and, even more clearly, less critical of Barack Obama than the press generally. It was also clearly more negative about both John McCain and Sarah Palin. In all, only 14% of stories studied about Obama on MSNBC carried a clearly negative tone, less than half the total in the media generally (29%). The percentage of positive stories on MSNBC about Obama, 43%,
Conversely, McCain’s coverage was more critical on MSNBC than in the press overall, not to mention any other cable news outlet. Fully 73% of the McCain stories were negative compared with 57% in the press generally.
Halloween in a first grade classroom
I subbed today! In a first grade! And there's no school tomorrow! And the kids had Halloween dress up day, and candy, and party!
Oy, I'm tired!
The kids were good but it was hard keeping a lid on them till party in the afternoon, and they were in their costumes all day getting hot and couldn't move or write or see (Star Wars storm trooper helmet).
We had a boy who was inside a box that represented Noah's Ark with animals glued to the inside popping out...and two Cinderellas, a Princess, two Spidermen, and a Jengo Fett and Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars...I was happy to see one boy was Johnny Appleseed, complete with pot on head and red apple in his hand. One little tyke was a fireman and another was a monkey. One boy was the Grim Reaper. The school had banned the Freddie and the Friday the Thirteenth bloody kind of costumes. It was technically a "Dress Up as Your Favorite Book Character" day
I'm glad there is no school tomorrow.
ALL the teachers dressed up, and I mean way dressed up, with costumes and makeup and the whole nine yards. Of course, I did NOT dress up.
Zachary said, "Mrs. Prata, what are YOU for Halloween?
"I am a Mean Old Substitute!"
"No you're not... We're meaner than you are."
He was sort of right...
I'm pooped. At end of day bus duty, the next door teacher said: "How was your day?"
I said, "I usually go home and have a cup of herb tea. Today I will make it a double."
Happy Halloween! BOO!
Oy, I'm tired!
The kids were good but it was hard keeping a lid on them till party in the afternoon, and they were in their costumes all day getting hot and couldn't move or write or see (Star Wars storm trooper helmet).
We had a boy who was inside a box that represented Noah's Ark with animals glued to the inside popping out...and two Cinderellas, a Princess, two Spidermen, and a Jengo Fett and Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars...I was happy to see one boy was Johnny Appleseed, complete with pot on head and red apple in his hand. One little tyke was a fireman and another was a monkey. One boy was the Grim Reaper. The school had banned the Freddie and the Friday the Thirteenth bloody kind of costumes. It was technically a "Dress Up as Your Favorite Book Character" day
I'm glad there is no school tomorrow.
ALL the teachers dressed up, and I mean way dressed up, with costumes and makeup and the whole nine yards. Of course, I did NOT dress up.
Zachary said, "Mrs. Prata, what are YOU for Halloween?
"I am a Mean Old Substitute!"
"No you're not... We're meaner than you are."
He was sort of right...
I'm pooped. At end of day bus duty, the next door teacher said: "How was your day?"
I said, "I usually go home and have a cup of herb tea. Today I will make it a double."
Happy Halloween! BOO!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Don't believe the polls
Accuracy Of Polls a Question In Itself"..there appears to be an undercurrent of worry among some polling professionals and academics. One reason is the wide variation in Obama leads: Just yesterday, an array of polls showed the Democrat leading by as little as two points and as much as 15 points. The latest Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll showed the race holding steady, with Obama enjoying a lead of 52 percent to 45 percent among likely voters" while Rasmussen says
"Obama Lead Down to 3 Points" Gallup shows "Obama up by 2" and Pew up by 15. Who ya gonna believe? I'd say Ghostbusters, over these pollsters.
Everyone around here is tired of the campaigns. The yard signs have been up for months, ever since primary season, and the national signs are just everywhere. My friend in Maine posted the above photo in her online newspaper, which pretty well captures the feeling.
We shall see what we shall see come Tuesday night...or Wednesday...or Thursday... whenever it's settled. What I'll not forget about this campaign is its incivility.
I've been involved with politics, elections, and campaigns since I was around 6 or 8. My father was involved in supporting various state and national legislators, and he ran for local office himself. I remember drafty Grange halls with echoing wood plank floors, the colorful signs everywhere, the bustling activity. Most of all I remember the feeling that you were doing something valuable, important.
In college I went to listen to John Anderson, whose initial 25% surge in the pols incited the imaginations of us college kids. Anderson's finish was still the best showing for a third party candidate since George Wallace 13% in 1968, and the sixth best for any such candidate in the 20th century (trailing Theodore Roosevelt's 27% in 1912, Robert LaFollette's 17% in 1924, Wallace, and Ross Perot's 19% and 9% in 1992 and 1996, respectively). There was a feeling of excitement that something different was happening, and we thought that in merican politics was if not pure, at least every person did make a solid difference.
Since then there have been some exciting moments, the surprise of Reagan, the Clinton MTV generation questioning the all-important boxers or briefs question (oy), the silliness of the Dukakis in the tank...but nowadays "in the tank" means something more ominous and in my opinion portends the death of the media and as a result, the rise of unrestrained government
The excitement of legitimate debate of previous elections cycles, reflected accurately in all media, is gone. In its place is an entire news media in the tank for Obama, without scrutiny, vetting, or probing questions of the man vying to run this country. When Barbara West did ask some pointed questions of VP candidate Sen. Biden, his responses weren't the news, her questions were.
Now we no longer have debate, instead we have fistfights at nursing homes, VA McCain workers attacked with mace, and most horribly, an effigy of Governor Palin hanging by the neck until dead.
The response to each of these and all the other cases of bullying in place of debate I have not mentioned, is either excuses by the press or simple ignoring. So what we have is a useless media who no longer not even investigates properly but fails to demonstrate a model for civil discourse and thoughtful debate even among themselves; pollsters who are not reflecting the voter view but trying to shape it; and an angry, uncivil electorate incapable of exchanging thoughtful opinions but instead descending to the argument of first resort: violence.
Not much about this campaign can be trusted, the polls, the donations, the words, nor even the results, given the massive amount of voter registration fraud occurring nationwide. I'm sad to have watched the innocent optimism of spirited elections from my earlier days descend into media/pollster carefully managed fake events. Such is the world we live in today...
Note: Above Photo by Ted MacDonald, from MaineHomeTownNews
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Of billy goat horns and George Clooney
I subbed in a second grade classroom and there were a couple of talkers in there. One was a good natured boy who was big, round faced, kind of galumphing along. his talk was just chatter and not harmful.
The gal will be a litigator. Probably personal injury. She would talk, argue, "help me", explain, advocate in all the missing crayon arguments and stop the class to find the missing lunch money.
When the next door teacher asked me how it was going, and I mentioned the talkers, the teacher said, "Yes, they can talk the horns off a billy goat."
I had never heard that southern colloquialism but I like it.
And now: let's pause for a moment to review my list of favorite George Clooney movies. I watched Ocean's Eleven again last night and boy, that's a good movie. I love caper movies, especially non-violent ones. So Ocean's Eleven is definitely in the Clooney hit list. And just how did Clooney get so handsome? It should be criminal to look that good.
Ocean's Eleven
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Good Night, and Good Luck
Intolerable Cruelty
Michael Clayton
The Perfect Storm
Very good movies. Quite a resume. Though I give the edge to Ocean's Eleven over O Brother and the rest simply because of his suaveness in the double breasted suits and tuxedos, against the backdrop of The Bellagio, which are way more eye-appealing than the prison garb and stained white tee shirts and yellow rain slickers.
The gal will be a litigator. Probably personal injury. She would talk, argue, "help me", explain, advocate in all the missing crayon arguments and stop the class to find the missing lunch money.
When the next door teacher asked me how it was going, and I mentioned the talkers, the teacher said, "Yes, they can talk the horns off a billy goat."
I had never heard that southern colloquialism but I like it.
And now: let's pause for a moment to review my list of favorite George Clooney movies. I watched Ocean's Eleven again last night and boy, that's a good movie. I love caper movies, especially non-violent ones. So Ocean's Eleven is definitely in the Clooney hit list. And just how did Clooney get so handsome? It should be criminal to look that good.
Ocean's Eleven
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Good Night, and Good Luck
Intolerable Cruelty
Michael Clayton
The Perfect Storm
Very good movies. Quite a resume. Though I give the edge to Ocean's Eleven over O Brother and the rest simply because of his suaveness in the double breasted suits and tuxedos, against the backdrop of The Bellagio, which are way more eye-appealing than the prison garb and stained white tee shirts and yellow rain slickers.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
All about Obama, right here
It is incontrovertibly true that the main stream media has given a pass to Obama, neglecting even their most rudimentary duties in following up and shedding light on legitimate questions many have about him. These questions have persisted, lingered, and claimed Americans' attention throughout our long campaign season. HotAir.com has spend several weeks researching the issues behind some of the most troubling issues that cling to Obama as he claims most of Middle America cling to their guns and religion. They put it together in a comprehensive report, complete with links and video of Obama himself saying the words that either contradict his earlier statements, or are transparently false.
Did you know....if Obama wins on November 4th—and serves one full term in the Oval Office—the Presidency of the United States would be the longest consecutively held full-time job he has ever held without seeking another. Questions abound: Is this man prepared to be president? Does he hold mainstream values and policy preferences? Who has influenced his thinking, and where does he want to take the country? Has he been honest with the people from whom he seeks votes?
The researchers hope that before pulling the lever for someone who hopes voters will ignore his paper-thin resume, unsavory associations, and hard-left voting record, each citizen has a duty to do his due diligence.
Here is the Comprehensive Case about Obama, succinct, and in one place, with verified links, documents, and video. Do your diligence, check it out...it may be the most important thing you do in this election.
Did you know....if Obama wins on November 4th—and serves one full term in the Oval Office—the Presidency of the United States would be the longest consecutively held full-time job he has ever held without seeking another. Questions abound: Is this man prepared to be president? Does he hold mainstream values and policy preferences? Who has influenced his thinking, and where does he want to take the country? Has he been honest with the people from whom he seeks votes?
The researchers hope that before pulling the lever for someone who hopes voters will ignore his paper-thin resume, unsavory associations, and hard-left voting record, each citizen has a duty to do his due diligence.
Here is the Comprehensive Case about Obama, succinct, and in one place, with verified links, documents, and video. Do your diligence, check it out...it may be the most important thing you do in this election.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Ayers Touts His Marxist/Anarchist Leanings Week Before Obama Event
This video, which includes a radio interview with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers is very interesting in light of the fact that Barack Obama has tried to hide his relationship with Ayers ("he was just a guy in my neighborhood"), and when caught, attempted to claim he didn’t know about Ayers’ terrorist past and Ayers ultra-radical Marxist views.
ON MARXISM:
"I'm as much an anarchist as I am a Marxist." - Bill Ayers, 2002
"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you that they've got a chance at success, too. I think when we spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." - Barack Obama to Joe the Plumber
"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." - Karl Marx
Seven days later, April 19, 2002, Obama was with Ayers at a discussion designed to advance an extreme liberal agenda.
"I'm very open about what I think and nobody here is surprised about what I think." - Bill Ayers
"There is a struggle over various religious fundamentalism, Jihad being the most visible, but the religious fundamentalism of the Christians and the Jews is equally troubling." - Bill Ayers
Obama and Ayers were both on the board of the Woods Fund for three years. The year this was recorded, they attended four board meetings together.
"Is one of those regrets that I took extreme measures against the United States at a time of tremendous crisis, no it is not. I don't regret that." - Bill Ayers
"The people of the world are being exploited and oppressed and militarized by the the great imperialistic powers led by the United States. That is the situation today in my view. It's a situation we should all be horrified at and we should all oppose." - Bill Ayers
"The White Panther Party was a group of cultural revolutionaries mainly. They were artists and anarchists and drug, dope smokers and a really good group of people." - Bill Ayers
Why the Obama-Ayers connection is relevant...and the connection should should worry voters because Marxism and democracy are incompatible.
ON MARXISM:
"I'm as much an anarchist as I am a Marxist." - Bill Ayers, 2002
"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you that they've got a chance at success, too. I think when we spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." - Barack Obama to Joe the Plumber
"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." - Karl Marx
Seven days later, April 19, 2002, Obama was with Ayers at a discussion designed to advance an extreme liberal agenda.
"I'm very open about what I think and nobody here is surprised about what I think." - Bill Ayers
"There is a struggle over various religious fundamentalism, Jihad being the most visible, but the religious fundamentalism of the Christians and the Jews is equally troubling." - Bill Ayers
Obama and Ayers were both on the board of the Woods Fund for three years. The year this was recorded, they attended four board meetings together.
"Is one of those regrets that I took extreme measures against the United States at a time of tremendous crisis, no it is not. I don't regret that." - Bill Ayers
"The people of the world are being exploited and oppressed and militarized by the the great imperialistic powers led by the United States. That is the situation today in my view. It's a situation we should all be horrified at and we should all oppose." - Bill Ayers
"The White Panther Party was a group of cultural revolutionaries mainly. They were artists and anarchists and drug, dope smokers and a really good group of people." - Bill Ayers
Why the Obama-Ayers connection is relevant...and the connection should should worry voters because Marxism and democracy are incompatible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sweet Soap for Ladies
I bought a handmade soap at the festival Saturday. I liked the name of the soap so much that I created a collage out of the label "Sweet Soap for Ladies".
The roses background is a napkin. The ladies are from Victorian cards I received in a collage swap. The frames and the leaves are from wallpaper. Ribbon borders it all. BTW the soap I bought was a combination of jasmine and rose. It is a good size and it lathers up nicely.
The roses background is a napkin. The ladies are from Victorian cards I received in a collage swap. The frames and the leaves are from wallpaper. Ribbon borders it all. BTW the soap I bought was a combination of jasmine and rose. It is a good size and it lathers up nicely.
Call me Baal
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. Deuteronomy 4:23
Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Isaiah 45:20
They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles. Isaiah 46:7
Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Isaiah 45:20
They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles. Isaiah 46:7
Monday, October 20, 2008
Judging Who is Smart
Judging Who is Smart
By Randall Hoven
Apparently, the skill most highly prized in a President is articulateness in extemporaneous public speaking. In fact, it is so highly prized, it is considered a necessary condition to assume the Presidency, and probably even a sufficient one. At least if you believe Big Media and an ever-increasing herd of conservative pundits.
I use Sarah Palin as an example. Throughout her life, she was chosen by her peers for leadership roles.
* In high school she was chosen to be captain of the basketball team. Her team won the State Championship when she was captain. In fact, she sank the winning shot in the championship game - with a broken ankle.
* In high school she was chosen as leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
* When she showed up at PTA meetings in support of her own children's education, her peers said she should run for councilman. She did and she won.
* As a councilwoman, her peers said she should run for mayor. She did and she won.
* As mayor, her fellow mayors thought she should be President of the Alaska Council of Mayors. She won that election too.
* The Alaska governor appointed her as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
* Her peers thought she should run for governor. She did and she won.
* John McCain selected her to be his Vice Presidential running mate.
Just for grins, count the word "won" in the above list.
At every step, she did not push her way up; she was pulled up. And not by the rich or powerful. She had no champion or mentor, no big-money backers. She was simply recognized for her competence, integrity and leadership by people who weren't finding it elsewhere.
Her years as councilwoman, mayor and governor add up to 12 years of elective office, one year more than Barack Obama has had. Her years as mayor and governor add up to eight years of executive experience in public office, compared to zero for both Obama and Biden.
All that, plus beauty queen, hunter, fisher, bush-pilot, etc., yet she's written not a single autobiography.
Is Sarah stupid? In high school she was in the National Honor Society. She was inducted into the Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society as a student at Alaska Pacific University. She graduated from the University of Idaho. The only factoid that I can find that would indicate any stupidity on her part is that her college major was journalism. But that does not necessarily make you stupid.
Since she has eight years experience in elected, executive office, we should know how stupid she is by how much she screwed up in those positions, right? Trouble is, she didn't screw up. In fact, her popularity has been in the 80-90% range, the highest of any public office holder in the country.
Is being Governor of Alaska or being chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission just a sort of easy gig, something a stupid person could sleep-walk through, like, say, voting "present" 130 times in the state legislature? As governor she negotiated a gas pipeline deal that had been held up for years. She had to negotiate with Big Oil and with Canada to do that, by the way. And Big Oil was not happy with the deal. I guess just any stupid person could do that.
In recent years Alaska produced 20% of all the oil and gas produced in the US. You think there might have been some pressure in such positions, given Big Oil, big money, crony politics, environmental and business regulations, and international trade were involved? Sarah resigned from the Oil & Gas Commission at one point to protest the ethics of a fellow Republican. That Republican later resigned his position and paid a fine.
Was she stupid for that? Could you imagine, say, Joe Biden resigning from an influential commission because a fellow Democrat on it had questionable ethics? (Hint: he's still in the Senate, where he chaired the Judicial Committee for 16 years.)
Maybe some people think Sarah's stupid or incompetent from what they saw on the internet or forwarded email. If so, take two aspirin and try Snopes.com.
* A black man fathered Bristol Palin's baby? FALSE.
* That list of books she banned from the Wasilla library? FALSE.
* Piper Palin flipped off a little boy? FALSE.
* That picture of Sarah in a bikini holding a rifle? FALSE.
* Quotes from Sarah concerning Creationism? FALSE.
* That quote from the transcript of her interview with Katie Couric? FALSE (It was really from Saturday Night Live.)
* And that report card showing Sarah getting low grades and an SAT score in the Paul Wellstone range? FALSE .
Her biggest gaffe? Changing her mind on the bridge to nowhere. Her biggest scandal? Getting a state employee fired for the possible reason of not firing a state trooper who drank on the job, tasered Sarah's 10-year-old nephew, and threatened to kill her father. Even if she did it for exactly those reasons, she committed no crime. This, in a state swimming in Big Oil money and federal grants. The guy who hacked into her private email account could not even find anything "juicy," despite his best efforts to do exactly that. On the clean scale, Sarah is pegged at "squeaky." They have to make stuff up to get even close.
By everything we know about Sarah Palin that is factual and verifiable, she is intelligent, honest and competent. So why then do so many people think she isn't? The answer boils down to one and only one thing: her extemporaneous public speaking. The Couric interview. The Gibson interview. The VP debates.
We can illustrate with examples. Below is an excerpt (a real one) from the VP debates that I received in a forwarded email from someone who used it to prove how stupid Sarah is. My version is taken from CNN.
Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education and I'm glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? ... My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here's a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate.
(It was CNN that did not capitalize the "G" in "God", not me.)
Here is what the ellipsis ("...") in the email left out.
I say, too, with education, America needs to be putting a lot more focus on that and our schools have got to be really ramped up in terms of the funding that they are deserving. Teachers needed to be paid more. I come from a house full of school teachers. My grandma was, my dad who is in the audience today, he's a schoolteacher, had been for many years.
So let's parse Sarah. She used "again" twice in the same sentence. She said "preferenced" when she meant "prefaced" (one supposes). She said "doggone it," "God bless her" and mentioned "heaven." She gave a "shout out." She said "needed" when we're sure she meant "need." She said, "I know education you are passionate about," which is a little too close to the sentence construction of Yoda in Star Wars. And that last sentence, the tenses are all over the place and the subject is a little hard to find.
So you see, Sarah is just not articulate. It took her 11 sentences to say teachers should be paid more. Barack Obama could have done that in as few as eight sentences, with perhaps as few as five of them being about himself, and with much better tense agreement and with zero doggone-its. (But he might have mentioned his grandmother.)
Now let's look at Joe Biden in that same debate.
Here's what the president said when we said no. He insisted on elections on the West Bank, when I said, and others said, and Barack Obama said, "Big mistake. Hamas will win. You'll legitimize them." What happened? Hamas won. When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, "Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will control it." Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel.
You'll notice that each of Joe's sentences has a subject and matching verb. Tenses match. He used short, clear constructions such as "What happened?" and "Hamas won."
The only problems with Joe's excerpt here is that Hezbollah was never kicked out of Lebanon, by anybody, much less the US and France, and that no one, including Barack or Joe, recommended NATO control Lebanon. That would have been far-fetched, actually. (But what do I know? Joe chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.)
Unlike Sarah, who took 11 sentences to say teachers should be paid more, Joe took only nine sentences (by my count) to make multiple untrue statements and to express his view against elections in the West Bank. That efficiency of language is a hallmark of smart people.
You see? Sarah is not articulate enough to be President. Her experience in elected office, her experience in executive elected office, her being in honor societies in both high school and college, her being repeatedly encouraged to take on leadership roles by her peers, her successes as objectively measured -- none of that matters. She just sounds a little too, um, low class and a little too, uh, religious. She isn't a lawyer. And she hasn't even written an autobiography yet! (Then again, maybe neither has Obama.)
To be serious for a moment, when we treasure smooth talking over everything else, including truthfulness, what we will get is demagoguery and then tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson said, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." Now that's articulate. And scary.
By Randall Hoven
Apparently, the skill most highly prized in a President is articulateness in extemporaneous public speaking. In fact, it is so highly prized, it is considered a necessary condition to assume the Presidency, and probably even a sufficient one. At least if you believe Big Media and an ever-increasing herd of conservative pundits.
I use Sarah Palin as an example. Throughout her life, she was chosen by her peers for leadership roles.
* In high school she was chosen to be captain of the basketball team. Her team won the State Championship when she was captain. In fact, she sank the winning shot in the championship game - with a broken ankle.
* In high school she was chosen as leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
* When she showed up at PTA meetings in support of her own children's education, her peers said she should run for councilman. She did and she won.
* As a councilwoman, her peers said she should run for mayor. She did and she won.
* As mayor, her fellow mayors thought she should be President of the Alaska Council of Mayors. She won that election too.
* The Alaska governor appointed her as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
* Her peers thought she should run for governor. She did and she won.
* John McCain selected her to be his Vice Presidential running mate.
Just for grins, count the word "won" in the above list.
At every step, she did not push her way up; she was pulled up. And not by the rich or powerful. She had no champion or mentor, no big-money backers. She was simply recognized for her competence, integrity and leadership by people who weren't finding it elsewhere.
Her years as councilwoman, mayor and governor add up to 12 years of elective office, one year more than Barack Obama has had. Her years as mayor and governor add up to eight years of executive experience in public office, compared to zero for both Obama and Biden.
All that, plus beauty queen, hunter, fisher, bush-pilot, etc., yet she's written not a single autobiography.
Is Sarah stupid? In high school she was in the National Honor Society. She was inducted into the Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society as a student at Alaska Pacific University. She graduated from the University of Idaho. The only factoid that I can find that would indicate any stupidity on her part is that her college major was journalism. But that does not necessarily make you stupid.
Since she has eight years experience in elected, executive office, we should know how stupid she is by how much she screwed up in those positions, right? Trouble is, she didn't screw up. In fact, her popularity has been in the 80-90% range, the highest of any public office holder in the country.
Is being Governor of Alaska or being chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission just a sort of easy gig, something a stupid person could sleep-walk through, like, say, voting "present" 130 times in the state legislature? As governor she negotiated a gas pipeline deal that had been held up for years. She had to negotiate with Big Oil and with Canada to do that, by the way. And Big Oil was not happy with the deal. I guess just any stupid person could do that.
In recent years Alaska produced 20% of all the oil and gas produced in the US. You think there might have been some pressure in such positions, given Big Oil, big money, crony politics, environmental and business regulations, and international trade were involved? Sarah resigned from the Oil & Gas Commission at one point to protest the ethics of a fellow Republican. That Republican later resigned his position and paid a fine.
Was she stupid for that? Could you imagine, say, Joe Biden resigning from an influential commission because a fellow Democrat on it had questionable ethics? (Hint: he's still in the Senate, where he chaired the Judicial Committee for 16 years.)
Maybe some people think Sarah's stupid or incompetent from what they saw on the internet or forwarded email. If so, take two aspirin and try Snopes.com.
* A black man fathered Bristol Palin's baby? FALSE.
* That list of books she banned from the Wasilla library? FALSE.
* Piper Palin flipped off a little boy? FALSE.
* That picture of Sarah in a bikini holding a rifle? FALSE.
* Quotes from Sarah concerning Creationism? FALSE.
* That quote from the transcript of her interview with Katie Couric? FALSE (It was really from Saturday Night Live.)
* And that report card showing Sarah getting low grades and an SAT score in the Paul Wellstone range? FALSE .
Her biggest gaffe? Changing her mind on the bridge to nowhere. Her biggest scandal? Getting a state employee fired for the possible reason of not firing a state trooper who drank on the job, tasered Sarah's 10-year-old nephew, and threatened to kill her father. Even if she did it for exactly those reasons, she committed no crime. This, in a state swimming in Big Oil money and federal grants. The guy who hacked into her private email account could not even find anything "juicy," despite his best efforts to do exactly that. On the clean scale, Sarah is pegged at "squeaky." They have to make stuff up to get even close.
By everything we know about Sarah Palin that is factual and verifiable, she is intelligent, honest and competent. So why then do so many people think she isn't? The answer boils down to one and only one thing: her extemporaneous public speaking. The Couric interview. The Gibson interview. The VP debates.
We can illustrate with examples. Below is an excerpt (a real one) from the VP debates that I received in a forwarded email from someone who used it to prove how stupid Sarah is. My version is taken from CNN.
Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education and I'm glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? ... My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here's a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate.
(It was CNN that did not capitalize the "G" in "God", not me.)
Here is what the ellipsis ("...") in the email left out.
I say, too, with education, America needs to be putting a lot more focus on that and our schools have got to be really ramped up in terms of the funding that they are deserving. Teachers needed to be paid more. I come from a house full of school teachers. My grandma was, my dad who is in the audience today, he's a schoolteacher, had been for many years.
So let's parse Sarah. She used "again" twice in the same sentence. She said "preferenced" when she meant "prefaced" (one supposes). She said "doggone it," "God bless her" and mentioned "heaven." She gave a "shout out." She said "needed" when we're sure she meant "need." She said, "I know education you are passionate about," which is a little too close to the sentence construction of Yoda in Star Wars. And that last sentence, the tenses are all over the place and the subject is a little hard to find.
So you see, Sarah is just not articulate. It took her 11 sentences to say teachers should be paid more. Barack Obama could have done that in as few as eight sentences, with perhaps as few as five of them being about himself, and with much better tense agreement and with zero doggone-its. (But he might have mentioned his grandmother.)
Now let's look at Joe Biden in that same debate.
Here's what the president said when we said no. He insisted on elections on the West Bank, when I said, and others said, and Barack Obama said, "Big mistake. Hamas will win. You'll legitimize them." What happened? Hamas won. When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, "Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will control it." Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel.
You'll notice that each of Joe's sentences has a subject and matching verb. Tenses match. He used short, clear constructions such as "What happened?" and "Hamas won."
The only problems with Joe's excerpt here is that Hezbollah was never kicked out of Lebanon, by anybody, much less the US and France, and that no one, including Barack or Joe, recommended NATO control Lebanon. That would have been far-fetched, actually. (But what do I know? Joe chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.)
Unlike Sarah, who took 11 sentences to say teachers should be paid more, Joe took only nine sentences (by my count) to make multiple untrue statements and to express his view against elections in the West Bank. That efficiency of language is a hallmark of smart people.
You see? Sarah is not articulate enough to be President. Her experience in elected office, her experience in executive elected office, her being in honor societies in both high school and college, her being repeatedly encouraged to take on leadership roles by her peers, her successes as objectively measured -- none of that matters. She just sounds a little too, um, low class and a little too, uh, religious. She isn't a lawyer. And she hasn't even written an autobiography yet! (Then again, maybe neither has Obama.)
To be serious for a moment, when we treasure smooth talking over everything else, including truthfulness, what we will get is demagoguery and then tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson said, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." Now that's articulate. And scary.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Some DemObamacrats really fry me
This particular brand of liberals, this despicable brand of blog lurker, thus shameful kind of demobamacrat, really fry me. I had posted about how Obama's unguarded teleprompter-free moment had produced a series of statements that reveal his innermost thinking. How, in response to Joe the Plumber asking the candidate a question, Obama said that he isn't trying to punish the small business owner, but [he's going to anyway] by seeing to it that those behind Joe The Plumber share some success by "spreading the wealth." In my post I had asked, "How do you feel about Obama saying we must spread the wealth?"
Redistribution of wealth is a socialistic school of thought. The NY Post called it a "Robin Hood Warning Shot." It was THE significant moment of the Obama campaign and it galvanized the country into intense discussions in under half a day.
The reply I received to my post from an anonymous liberal who is all too transparent, was that Joe the Plumber is a liar. Yes, the commenter said that Joe must be a fibber. "I think Joe probably fibbed about his income. He probably didn't think he would end up in the middle of the debate and get called on it. Uh-oh, Joe. All your friends and relatives are calling to hit you up for some of that dough!"
I find this kind of civic debate offensive in the extreme. The commenter chose not to respond to the issues, nor to my post, but to crap all over the person who is a model of civic duty, out there at the campaign stump personally taking the time to ask the candidate questions. No, acording to the liberal commenter, this man must be a liar. Worse, he went on with a snarky comment that had nothing to do with anything. As Michelle Malkin said,
"Brace yourself, Joe. The Obama Thugocracy is gunning for you. But what they don’t seem to understand is that even if Joe was John McCain’s long lost son and a huge donor to the GOP, or not even a plumber, it would not matter at all because what was shocking about the video was not what Joe the Plumber said. Joe the Plumber is not going to be making tax policy. What was shocking and more relevant than anything else that has been said in the entire campaign is what Barack Obama said. He told Joe that it is okay to soak those making more than $250,000, even small businesses making that, because then you can “spread the wealth” around and everyone benefits. That is redistribution of wealth — taking from the rich (and from the kinda rich) and giving to the not so rich and the poor. And Obama admitted to it. Out loud. And on video."
Is she ever right.
It is this low level of behavior, this mindless defaming and smearing of a private citizen who asked a question that really gets my goat. Shame on you for your hateful rage and endless attacks on anyone and everyone who has an opposing point of view! Go away, demobamacrat, for you weary me with your heartlessness.
Redistribution of wealth is a socialistic school of thought. The NY Post called it a "Robin Hood Warning Shot." It was THE significant moment of the Obama campaign and it galvanized the country into intense discussions in under half a day.
The reply I received to my post from an anonymous liberal who is all too transparent, was that Joe the Plumber is a liar. Yes, the commenter said that Joe must be a fibber. "I think Joe probably fibbed about his income. He probably didn't think he would end up in the middle of the debate and get called on it. Uh-oh, Joe. All your friends and relatives are calling to hit you up for some of that dough!"
I find this kind of civic debate offensive in the extreme. The commenter chose not to respond to the issues, nor to my post, but to crap all over the person who is a model of civic duty, out there at the campaign stump personally taking the time to ask the candidate questions. No, acording to the liberal commenter, this man must be a liar. Worse, he went on with a snarky comment that had nothing to do with anything. As Michelle Malkin said,
"Brace yourself, Joe. The Obama Thugocracy is gunning for you. But what they don’t seem to understand is that even if Joe was John McCain’s long lost son and a huge donor to the GOP, or not even a plumber, it would not matter at all because what was shocking about the video was not what Joe the Plumber said. Joe the Plumber is not going to be making tax policy. What was shocking and more relevant than anything else that has been said in the entire campaign is what Barack Obama said. He told Joe that it is okay to soak those making more than $250,000, even small businesses making that, because then you can “spread the wealth” around and everyone benefits. That is redistribution of wealth — taking from the rich (and from the kinda rich) and giving to the not so rich and the poor. And Obama admitted to it. Out loud. And on video."
Is she ever right.
It is this low level of behavior, this mindless defaming and smearing of a private citizen who asked a question that really gets my goat. Shame on you for your hateful rage and endless attacks on anyone and everyone who has an opposing point of view! Go away, demobamacrat, for you weary me with your heartlessness.
Kids ask the darndest things!
We had a review last night at church of our unit about the birth and early life of Jesus. I teach the 1-2 graders on Wednesday nights, and they are the most wonderful kids. One item of huge interest at that age level is teeth. Loose teeth, the tooth fairy, and new teeth coming in. Also how far you can put your tongue between your missing teeth, and how much you can make a loose tooth wiggle. So I finished the unit review, and said, "Are there any questions?"
I love asking kids what they are thinking. They always have reasons for what they do even if what they do seems weird to us. They have methods, usually, and usually are able to explain them if you ask. So I always take the time to ask and I buckle my seat belt for the ride.
I have one boy who is quite a thinker. He is rowdy, inquisitive, sensitive, and loving. He is built like a battery and last night wore a sleeveless tee shirt so he could sport his stick-on tattoos all the way up both arms. He cracks me up every week and his thinking for a 7 year old is pretty advanced. At least on spiritual matters. A few weeks ago when we did the lesson on Jesus' birth, he wanted to know HOW the baby came out. He asked this several times, refusing my usual deflections. I eventually said firmly, "You need to ask your mother." Later I told his mom about the question her son was curious about. We did the lesson on the birth of Jesus 5 weeks ago.
"Are there any questions?"
"So how DOES that baby come out?" I laughed and explained. In the middle of it,
"Is Halloween on Wednesday?" "No." Followed up immediately by:
"What if we sin in heaven?" Then:
"Does Jesus have a last name?" And the little girl next to him said, "Yeah! Like Jesus Crandall?"
"Can we see God when we get to heaven?" The bible says God is spirit. So I don't know.
Other little girl, "O dear! We better watch where we're walking or we may run right into Him!"
"Where does the tooth fairy live? Heaven?" I was firm on this one, "Ask your mother."
How do we GET to Heaven?" I explained about dying and also the rapture. "I want the rapture. I want to avoid death if I can." [LOL, who doesn't?]
"I can't wait for heaven." Why?
"Because then I will have all my teeth!"
I love asking kids what they are thinking. They always have reasons for what they do even if what they do seems weird to us. They have methods, usually, and usually are able to explain them if you ask. So I always take the time to ask and I buckle my seat belt for the ride.
I have one boy who is quite a thinker. He is rowdy, inquisitive, sensitive, and loving. He is built like a battery and last night wore a sleeveless tee shirt so he could sport his stick-on tattoos all the way up both arms. He cracks me up every week and his thinking for a 7 year old is pretty advanced. At least on spiritual matters. A few weeks ago when we did the lesson on Jesus' birth, he wanted to know HOW the baby came out. He asked this several times, refusing my usual deflections. I eventually said firmly, "You need to ask your mother." Later I told his mom about the question her son was curious about. We did the lesson on the birth of Jesus 5 weeks ago.
"Are there any questions?"
"So how DOES that baby come out?" I laughed and explained. In the middle of it,
"Is Halloween on Wednesday?" "No." Followed up immediately by:
"What if we sin in heaven?" Then:
"Does Jesus have a last name?" And the little girl next to him said, "Yeah! Like Jesus Crandall?"
"Can we see God when we get to heaven?" The bible says God is spirit. So I don't know.
Other little girl, "O dear! We better watch where we're walking or we may run right into Him!"
"Where does the tooth fairy live? Heaven?" I was firm on this one, "Ask your mother."
How do we GET to Heaven?" I explained about dying and also the rapture. "I want the rapture. I want to avoid death if I can." [LOL, who doesn't?]
"I can't wait for heaven." Why?
"Because then I will have all my teeth!"
Monday, October 13, 2008
Socialist Obama wants to spread the wealth
Let's say you have wealth. It may not be a lot, but it's a lot to you. How do you feel about Obama saying we must spread the wealth. "It's good for everybody." Is it good for you?
At a campaign stump today:
Plumber to Obama: “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more. Isn’t it?”
Obama: “It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too. I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”
On YouTube
At a campaign stump today:
Plumber to Obama: “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more. Isn’t it?”
Obama: “It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too. I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”
On YouTube
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Bert my lovely kitten
Is he king of the manse? Certainly! After all, "Dogs have owners, cats have staff"
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Obama is a socialist
Several months ago, long before Obama won the candidacy for the Democratic party, I said he is a Marxist-Socialist. I was pooh-poohed. Now there are more than a few people coming around, saying the same thing.
New documents have been revealed. According to Blogger Newtork: "Democratic candidate Barack Obama was a member of the socialist New Party during the 1990s, according to new evidence unearthed by web bloggers, receiving the New Party’s endorsement for his state Senate run in 1996. Reports earlier this summer that Obama was associated with the New Party were vigorously denied by the Obama campaign and the the New Party, but researchers examining Internet archives have found New Party documents clearly indicating Obama was a member of the party, received its endorsement, encouraged Party members to work with him in the Illinois statehouse, and signed a contract agreeing to maintain a relationship with the Marxist-led party during his senate term." More proof here. And here.
Unfortunately the entire country has gone socialist, so Obama's socialism is no longer distinctive. Still, it's nice to be proven right.
New documents have been revealed. According to Blogger Newtork: "Democratic candidate Barack Obama was a member of the socialist New Party during the 1990s, according to new evidence unearthed by web bloggers, receiving the New Party’s endorsement for his state Senate run in 1996. Reports earlier this summer that Obama was associated with the New Party were vigorously denied by the Obama campaign and the the New Party, but researchers examining Internet archives have found New Party documents clearly indicating Obama was a member of the party, received its endorsement, encouraged Party members to work with him in the Illinois statehouse, and signed a contract agreeing to maintain a relationship with the Marxist-led party during his senate term." More proof here. And here.
Unfortunately the entire country has gone socialist, so Obama's socialism is no longer distinctive. Still, it's nice to be proven right.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Well that just about sums it up
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
Iceland, we hardly knew ye
Iceland's currency is evaporating and the country is melting down (economically)
"Yesterday, trading in the shares of six major financial institutions was suspended as the government sought to avert meltdown....Meanwhile, Icelandic interest rates have been catapulted to 15.5 per cent, peaks not seen in Britain since Black Wednesday, in an attempt to rein in inflation. The krona's freefall on the international currency markets is surpassed only by the catastrophic failure of Zimbabwean currency."
Only Zimbabwe's has surpassed it? That's pretty bad, man.
TEOTWAWKI "And I feel fine..."
"Yesterday, trading in the shares of six major financial institutions was suspended as the government sought to avert meltdown....Meanwhile, Icelandic interest rates have been catapulted to 15.5 per cent, peaks not seen in Britain since Black Wednesday, in an attempt to rein in inflation. The krona's freefall on the international currency markets is surpassed only by the catastrophic failure of Zimbabwean currency."
Only Zimbabwe's has surpassed it? That's pretty bad, man.
TEOTWAWKI "And I feel fine..."
This is just so wrong
Increasingly, we read disturbing articles about Barack Obama's messiah-like qualities. How he can "mesmerize" a crowd, and about the euphoric effects of being in his presence. There is even a spoof blog, in which a recent blog entry was entitled Precious Children Sing to Our Glorious Leader! in which children at the Colburn school (a 501-c-3, which does not allow political activity or they lose their tax exempt status, by the way) were recruited by a music teacher and Hollywood types to produce a propaganda video at the teacher's home using children to sing Obama's praises for political gain. This did not go unnoticed, being so creepy. Other shades of Hitler Youth surfaced immediately on the internet, old 1930's clips came up on YouTube showing glowing children's faces singing praises and hymns to their glorious leader, Hitler. It's not such a stretch if you watch the clips from today and the old ones side by side.
And this weekend we have clips of inner city youth marching in formation, in school, wearing military cammo, chanting and praising their glorious leader, Obama. Worse, they pray to his name, and call him "Alpha and Omega." For the folks out there reading this who don't know the bible, only GOD is the Alpha and the Omega. He says so in Revelation 2:13: ""I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Apparently the Assistant Dean was contacted, who said that this "regiment" was stopped because the school was uncomfortable with a teacher pushing his political agenda. Oy. Like that is even a question.
Using children for political gain is terrible. Using them to sing praises to and worship a political candidate is blasphemy. Have we learned nothing from history?
And this weekend we have clips of inner city youth marching in formation, in school, wearing military cammo, chanting and praising their glorious leader, Obama. Worse, they pray to his name, and call him "Alpha and Omega." For the folks out there reading this who don't know the bible, only GOD is the Alpha and the Omega. He says so in Revelation 2:13: ""I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Apparently the Assistant Dean was contacted, who said that this "regiment" was stopped because the school was uncomfortable with a teacher pushing his political agenda. Oy. Like that is even a question.
Using children for political gain is terrible. Using them to sing praises to and worship a political candidate is blasphemy. Have we learned nothing from history?
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
Example of media bias
New York Times today:
"And Ms. Palin, a former small-town mayor,"
"Mr. Biden, a six-term senator who has twice sought the presidency,"
This successful women is a Governor. With an 85% satisfaction rating. And the "Ms." instead of "Gov." Change reality when you do not like reality and just skip that part. Subtle. But even we redneck, bible thumping lunkheads can see media that's in the bag for the libruls.
"And Ms. Palin, a former small-town mayor,"
"Mr. Biden, a six-term senator who has twice sought the presidency,"
This successful women is a Governor. With an 85% satisfaction rating. And the "Ms." instead of "Gov." Change reality when you do not like reality and just skip that part. Subtle. But even we redneck, bible thumping lunkheads can see media that's in the bag for the libruls.
Palin won the debate
Drudge poll:
BIDEN 30% 76,758
PALIN 68% 173,230
NEITHER 2% 4,245
Total Votes: 254,233
I can't say it any better than Michelle Malkin said it:
"Sarah Palin is the real deal. Five weeks on the campaign trail, thrust onto the national stage, she rocked tonight’s debate."
"Pause to reflect on this: She matched — and trumped several times — a man who has spent his entire adult life on the political stage, run for president twice, and as he mentioned several times, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee."
"Sarah Palin looked presidential.
Joe Biden looked tired.
Sarah made history.
Biden is history."
"Prediction: Watch for a whole new, severe strain of Palin Derangement Syndrome to begin tonight. They hated her before tonight. They are going to pour on more unfathomable hate at a level we have never seen before."
"Sarah, we’re praying for you."
BIDEN 30% 76,758
PALIN 68% 173,230
NEITHER 2% 4,245
Total Votes: 254,233
I can't say it any better than Michelle Malkin said it:
"Sarah Palin is the real deal. Five weeks on the campaign trail, thrust onto the national stage, she rocked tonight’s debate."
"Pause to reflect on this: She matched — and trumped several times — a man who has spent his entire adult life on the political stage, run for president twice, and as he mentioned several times, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee."
"Sarah Palin looked presidential.
Joe Biden looked tired.
Sarah made history.
Biden is history."
"Prediction: Watch for a whole new, severe strain of Palin Derangement Syndrome to begin tonight. They hated her before tonight. They are going to pour on more unfathomable hate at a level we have never seen before."
"Sarah, we’re praying for you."
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
"It could be structured by cows"
The Wall Street Bankers knew as long as two years ago that they were building a house of cards. They gloated that they knew the fix was in for everyone else but they were profiting. 60 Minutes actually did its job here, and Sunday presented Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson with copies of the e-mails they had obtained that revealed the Bankers' and the Raters' venality in the extreme. Among other things:
"It could be structured by cows and we would still rate it"
And
"Let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters."
The reporter asked Paulson, Why are we bailing these people out?"
Skip to 10:49 for the reporter question and Paulson's answer
Watch CBS Videos Online
"It could be structured by cows and we would still rate it"
And
"Let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters."
The reporter asked Paulson, Why are we bailing these people out?"
Skip to 10:49 for the reporter question and Paulson's answer
Watch CBS Videos Online
Gwen Ifill should not moderate the debate
Gwem Ifill wrote a book called "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," and now we are stretched to believe that Ifill will be an unbiased moderator at the VP debate.
Liberals are crying 'Of course, you right wing wingnut, she's unbiased! Get over it!'
OK, so if there is a second debate, let's have Kaylene Johnson moderate, author of "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down". I am sure Johnson would be equally as un-biased as Ifill.
Right?
Liberals are crying 'Of course, you right wing wingnut, she's unbiased! Get over it!'
OK, so if there is a second debate, let's have Kaylene Johnson moderate, author of "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down". I am sure Johnson would be equally as un-biased as Ifill.
Right?
Mark of the Beast
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) our gasoline inventories are the lowest since 1967. The southeast is running out of gas; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in North Carolina has shut down; and AAA reports that Nashville TN has the worst gas shortage, 85% of the gas stations are closed, and where you can find fuel, the wait can be 4 hours long.
That's not all. Remember the flooding this spring that damaged wheat, corn and soybean crops? Our supermarket shelves already are thinning. Bush can declare himself a dictator at any time, according to PDD 51, and implement martial law for any reason, and he probably will. In early September an article from the Army Times appeared with little fanfare...or notice. They reported that troops will soon be patrolling our streets starting today:
"The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys. Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home."
"Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or man-made emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks." The article goes on to inform us the Brigade will be involved in "subduing unruly citizens', using non-lethal methods, though, of course.
Of all the gloomy news out there, and it is getting harder to 'choose' which articles to put in digest form because there is so much of it, so very much these days! but that even with all of that, today there is one snippet that just absolutely struck both fear in my heart and joy for the coming HOPE:
Foreign economists urge 'global financial plan'
"Leaders and economists from Western Europe to East Asia Tuesday urged the United States to go beyond reviving a failed domestic bailout and start working on a new global financial system."
"Associated Press Traders at MICEX, the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, watch and wait during a tense session in Moscow on Tuesday when stock indexes sank despite a two-hour trading halt. "The Americans don't have a choice — they must absolutely have a global plan," Christian Noyer, head of the French central bank, said in Paris."
and now here is a daily praise:
Fireproof the movie has earned the 4th best overall box office for the weekend. Counting per-screen, it came in second, because it was released on only 869 screens yet grossed as much as those movies released on over 2000. This fact has stunned movie theater owners, Hollywood, and the movie industry in general. As Alex Kendrick the director said in the article below:
"America has two cultures. There's New York City and California — and there's the way the rest of the country lives."
I encourage all to see the movie and also right now to skip on over to the link and read the full article. Both are well worth it!
The answer, according to director Kendrick, is prayer. "Before we shot a tough scene, we prayed. This movie was bathed in prayer."
edited, read the full article at the link. The power of prayer, ahhh, praise the Lord He listens and cares!
That's not all. Remember the flooding this spring that damaged wheat, corn and soybean crops? Our supermarket shelves already are thinning. Bush can declare himself a dictator at any time, according to PDD 51, and implement martial law for any reason, and he probably will. In early September an article from the Army Times appeared with little fanfare...or notice. They reported that troops will soon be patrolling our streets starting today:
"The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys. Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home."
"Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or man-made emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks." The article goes on to inform us the Brigade will be involved in "subduing unruly citizens', using non-lethal methods, though, of course.
Of all the gloomy news out there, and it is getting harder to 'choose' which articles to put in digest form because there is so much of it, so very much these days! but that even with all of that, today there is one snippet that just absolutely struck both fear in my heart and joy for the coming HOPE:
Foreign economists urge 'global financial plan'
"Leaders and economists from Western Europe to East Asia Tuesday urged the United States to go beyond reviving a failed domestic bailout and start working on a new global financial system."
"Associated Press Traders at MICEX, the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, watch and wait during a tense session in Moscow on Tuesday when stock indexes sank despite a two-hour trading halt. "The Americans don't have a choice — they must absolutely have a global plan," Christian Noyer, head of the French central bank, said in Paris."
"David Smick, a global strategist and author of "The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers of the Global Economy," said the next U.S. president should immediately call for a second "Bretton Woods" conference to devise a new doctrine of international finance."
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'no choice'...'global financial plan' ... for students of the bible, we know this as end times promise of the institution of a global economy in which all will be forced to take the Mark of the Beast, a tangible marker indicting allegiance with satan, or else one cannot buy or sell.
If this doesn't spell Revelation 13:16, I don't know what does! A one world economy, cashless society, buying and selling forever changed. Watch for it, it is happening now and quickly.
Are we praying for Jesus to prepare hearts of believers to strengthen their faith, and for unbelievers to receive the seeds of faith in a softened heart? The power of prayer is everything! Do we believe that He is coming soon, and that His word is 100% true, the gentle parts as well as the judgment parts? Then let us be strong not only in the times of ease but in the times of tribulation, so as to offer a living, breathing, honorable example of His glory to others who have no hope!
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
Fireproof the movie has earned the 4th best overall box office for the weekend. Counting per-screen, it came in second, because it was released on only 869 screens yet grossed as much as those movies released on over 2000. This fact has stunned movie theater owners, Hollywood, and the movie industry in general. As Alex Kendrick the director said in the article below:
"America has two cultures. There's New York City and California — and there's the way the rest of the country lives."
I encourage all to see the movie and also right now to skip on over to the link and read the full article. Both are well worth it!
SHOWBIZ STOCK WATCH: How 'Fireproof' Used Power of Prayer to Stun the Movie Industry
by Steve Mason
"I'm not impressed with Hollywood in general. They don't make a lot of movies that lift our standards and morality." That's what director Alex Kendrick told me in a telephone interview on Monday after his new movie Fireproof (IDP Films/Samuel Goldwyn) generated a downright shocking $6.5 million opening weekend. Los Angeles and New York are filled with talented film professionals, who spend countless hours and millions upon millions of dollars making movies. The cost of development, production, a director, actors and marketing make the craft of filmmaking prohibitive. So how did a little church in Georgia score the fourth-best gross of the just-completed weekend?
edited, read the full article at the link. The power of prayer, ahhh, praise the Lord He listens and cares!
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