Shock & Blog

10 years later: Mark Bavis (repost)

2011-09-08T12:28:00.002-05:00

Mark Bavis loved hockey. He started skating at the tender age of 4 and started shooting goals shortly after. His identical twin brother Mike also enjoyed the game and the two practiced and played together in minor hockey and then for their high school team, the Catholic Memorial Knights. Mark and Mike helped the Knights win three state championships.

In college, Mark played for the Boston University Terriers and played in the NCAA Tournament four times with three trips to the semi-finals and one championship game against Northern Michigan in 1991. The championship game went into triple-overtime, but ended in an 8-7 win for Michigan.

After college, Mark played in the American Hockey League for three years as a ninth-round draft pick for the New York Rangers. Later, he played for the South Carolina Stingrays for two years, where he and Mike became teammates again the first year. This would be the last time the two played together professionally. Mike eventually went on to become an assistant hockey coach at Boston University.

After leaving the Stingrays, Mark turned to coaching and eventually landed jobs as assistant coach for Brown University and then Harvard. Of the latter, he said, "I'm very excited to have the opportunity to be at one of the best institutions for academics and hockey in this country." Mark's work at Harvard eventually earned him the notice of the Chicago Freeze, a North American Hockey League team, who made him an assistant coach in 1999.

Then in 2000, Mark was hired by the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant scout under hockey great Garnet "Ace" Bailey.

On September 11th, 2001, Mark and Garnet were traveling together aboard United Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. Eastern.

At Mark's memorial mass on September 19th, Mike spoke of Mark's deepening faith, his plans to enroll in law school, and their love for each other. "We had an unspoken love. We spent so much time together. I knew how he felt and he knew how I felt."

Mike spoke of when he became a father for the first time, saying, "Nothing was like the day I saw my brother holding my son, Jack."

And of the fateful events surrounding Mark's death, Mike stated, "It makes me feel good that my brother was with Ace. We need courage to face what happened, as a family and as a country. We need to return to life as it was on September 10th. I'm going to be out there again. And I'm going to be flying by plane... trying to figure out a way to beat BC. In no way am I going to let the people involved in this think they got me twice."

Mark's legacy did not die with him, however. During his days playing and coaching, he mentored many young hockey players. Mark worked for both the Massachusetts USA Satellite Program (where he eventually was named the program director) and the International Hockey Academy. He also opened a hockey summer camp of his own in Canton, Massachusetts, which helped children both athletically and academically.

His work now lives on with the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation, which was founded by his family and friends. The Foundation provides annual grants to help young people with tuition, summer programs and appropriate extracurricular activities so as to better themselves as well as their schools and communities.

Additionally, Kevin O’Sullivan, an old friend and Catholic Memorial teammate, recently opened a sports complex in memory of Mark: the Mark Bavis Ice Arena in Rockland, Massachusetts. The complex features two ice surfaces, a turf field, 5 locker rooms, 5 party rooms (where kids can enjoy sports-themed birthday parties), a lounge with a big-screen TV, a meeting room and a pro shop.

Mark was preceded in death by a brother and his father. He is survived by his twin brother, Mike; his mother, Mary; two other brothers, Pat and Johnny; and three sisters, Kelly, Mary Ellen and Kathy.

Additional information and photos about Mark can be found on the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation website.

We remember Mark and everyone one else who died on September 11, 2001. They may no longer be with us, but their legacies will live forever. Please click the image below to go to the "2,996" project website where you can find links to more tributes. Thank you, and may God bless you, God bless the Bavis Family and God bless America.

PZ scrubs an embarrassing post. UPDATE: Then unscrubs it! UPDATE 2: Comments scrubbed! UPDATE 2.1: Or maybe not.

2011-08-07T20:25:00.010-05:00

This is funny! Yesterday (Saturday, August 6th), PZ posted this on his blog:

American Patriarchy News wants to poll you on their god

August 6th, 2011 PZ Myers

Today is the day of Governor Rick Perry’s crazy prayer rally in Houston. It’s going to fizzle: Reliant Stadium seats 75,000, and only 8,000 tickets have been sold (if you go, please get pictures of the sea of empty seats); he invited all 50 governors of the US to attend, only one said he would (Throwback Brownback of Kansas), and even he apparently hasn’t made travel arrangements, so it’s more like he said he would but won’t. And then it’s going to be populated with odious villains like Hagee and Dobson and Perkins on the stage, and is paid for by the gay-hatin’ American Patriarchy Association.

What’s really sad about this monstrous promise to violate separation of church and state and to pander to the most hateful lunatics of the extremist religious right is that it might just work…American evangelicals will just love Governor Godhair.

Here’s a nice little evangelical poll prompted by Perry’s folly.

Do America and its leaders need God’s guidance?

Without a doubt – 58.86%
Probably – 0.25%
No – 40.89%

As reported, however, 30,000 (and probably more) showed up for the event. Here's a brief video showing the crowd:

I posted both the video and a news report highlighting these facts on PZ's blog. In response, his mindless PZombies (fans) reacted in their typical fashion: with hate, vitriol, vulgarity, and moving the goalposts (e.g. "Only 30,000? That place seats 75,000!"). Not only that, but PZ scrubbed the post from his blog! Here's the original link, which redirects to his front page:

American Patriarchy News wants to poll you on their god

It's supposed to appear between his posts "Episode CCXLI: Squidgirl" and "Brazil needs your help."

However... you can still access (and comment) on the post using a link to one of the comments (a quirk -- or glitch -- of his new digs, I guess). To wit:

Comment #1

Oops! lol!

UPDATE 1: He put it back! lol! I totally caught him and he put it back! Convenient. Now he can lie and deny that he ever hid it.

UPDATE 2: Now he's scrubbing comments! Not just mine, but everyone who responded to or after me! lol! This just gets better and better!

UPDATE 2.1 Or maybe not. For some reason, when I go to the post in Firefox, it isn't showing posts after a certain point. I see them in Chrome, though. Weird. Must be another "quirk" of the crappy new host system over there.

Purging some links

2011-07-24T00:31:00.004-05:00

I'm purging links in past posts to a certain little blog whose author has turned conservatives sickly-green since Obama took office. In other words, I'm taking my footballs and going home because I don't want to be associated with that jerk anymore.

UPDATE: Purge complete. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

To DR

2011-07-14T20:28:00.002-05:00

"Christian Out" is not my blog. If you had any brains and knew how to use them competently, you could easily find my profile and the profile for the author of "Christian Out" and discover that we are two different people. But you're not interested in facts and the truth. All you are interested in is smearing me with your lies. And to think you call yourself a Christian. You are no such thing. You are nothing more than an arrogant, loud-mouthed, lying bully who is headed towards destruction. If you truly want to be a Christian, repent now before it's too late. Repent before you meet Jesus and he tells you, "Depart from me, for I never knew you."

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 28

2011-02-17T19:06:00.002-06:00

Mission 28 continues the story arc. You must help a main character search for another. It's not easy! GC forces are everywhere and reinforcements arrive continually.

Mission 28

Recruit, train, build, protect, safely reach map coordinates and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 38 (no change due to no "Peaceful mission" goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 27

2011-02-09T10:38:00.003-06:00

Mission 27 is a continuation of a story arc involving a main character from the novels, whom you must protect from GCP attacks while you traverse the city. You are instructed to train a couple of soldiers and some musicians, but again, the musicians are far, far more effective at countering the attacks. This level also features a little something special that relies on you having paid attention to the information screens you get at the end of levels.

Mission 27

Recruit, train, build, protect, safely reach map coordinates and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 38 (no change due to no "Peaceful mission" goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 26

2011-01-14T10:36:00.002-06:00

Mission 26

Recruit, train, build, heal and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 38 (+1 for "Peaceful mission" goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 25

2011-01-14T10:28:00.003-06:00

This mission continues the story arc started in the last mission and introduces some new characters and units (though you may have already used the units in question on your own in previous missions).

Mission 25

Recruit, train, build, heal and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 37 (no change from last because "Peaceful mission" is not a stated goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces "placeholder"

2011-01-14T10:23:00.007-06:00

Doing something new. The list of past posts about the game is getting a little long, so I'm going to confine the list to a single post which I will update and link to at the bottom of each new post.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 28
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 27
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 26
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 25
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 24
LB:EF - Mission 23
LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)
LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 24

2011-01-04T15:49:00.003-06:00

Another pretty straightforward mission which requires a little work and finesse to complete the penultimate objective.

Mission 24

Recruit, train, build and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 37 (+1 for a mission goal of no killing)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 23
LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)
LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

LB:EF - Misson 23

2011-01-02T18:55:00.002-06:00

Mission 23 involves recruiting and training Praisers, then protecting them and four churches spread out across the map. Pretty straightforward mission which still proved challenging. Keep your eyes on the mini-map! It also helps to know and use the abilities of various units.

Mission 23

Build, protect vehicles, recruit, train, and survive.

VE: 0
CK: 0
PS: 36 (+1 as, again, one of the mission goals is for no killing)

Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)
LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Happy New Year and welcome to a new day for S&B!

2011-01-01T11:20:00.001-06:00

You can now reach this blog via www.shockandblog.com! Hurray! My deepest most profound thanks to my friend Daniel for helping me with the domain registry.

Also in the works

2010-12-30T15:25:00.002-06:00

I bought the shockandblog.com domain name earlier this year and am finally attempting to set it up to show this blog. I will let you know when that is finished.

In the works: a walkthrough guide to LB:EF and more

2010-12-30T14:45:00.003-06:00

A friend has requested (quite a while ago, actually -- sorry, Steph) that I put together a walkthrough guide for "Eternal Forces." I will probably create and publish this walkthrough mission by mission, so it's going to take some time to finish.

I also am playing around with screen capture programs in order to possibly create videos for a "let's play"-type YouTube series. My thoughts for that are along the same lines as my coverage of the game here: i.e. debunking the "convert or kill" falsehoods.

In the meantime, here's something for you to chuckle about:

Left Behind Terrorist Training Material

Be sure to read the apoplectic rant behind that petition:

Terrorist Training Videos OK for Christians?

I wonder what my old friend Shannon would have to say about all that. Maybe she signed the petition herself!

LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)

2010-12-29T16:07:00.003-06:00

With things settling down around here after the move and my job hunt (which was successful!), I've been able to find some time here and there to play. I was finally able to finish this mission after a few retries and saved game reloads. As I said in my earlier post, there's a lot going on and a lot to do on this level. It really keeps you on your toes. Here's a teensy hint for this level: AVOID THE TURBO BUTTON!!! It's tempting to use it to speed up building construction, but whenever I used it, I usually wound up having my units quickly slaughtered whenever GCP forces suddenly showed up.

Mission 22

Build, protect vehicles, recruit, train, and survive.

VE: 0
CK: 0
PS: 35 (+1 as one of the mission goals is for no killing)

Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

We're movin' on up!

2010-09-09T12:11:00.002-05:00

Up north, that is! It's been an interesting few months recently. We're getting ready to move to a new house in a new city in a little over a week. We're doing this because we can and because we want to, not for any negative reason. I can tell you that when we initially began contemplating this move, I never thought it would happen this quickly or this well, but it's been a whirlwind of activity and amazing acts of God. When it's all over and done, we're going to sit down and write down everything that has happened. It will be an amazing testimony of God's love, faithfulness and providence.

LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)

2010-06-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

I've replayed through the previous levels and this is the level I was stuck on before and I'm stuck on it now. You need to build advanced buildings and survive for 25 minutes while being attacked by GCP forces. You get a few brief moments to prepare yourself before the GCP recruiters, musicians, thugs and soldiers swarm in. There often tends to be a lot of things going on at once, so it's difficult to keep track of everything. (I keep failing the "peaceful mission" goal as a result.) I'll give the level a few more tries before moving on.

Ten Ways John Shore Failed at Criticizing Christians

2010-06-06T15:36:00.001-05:00

John Shore is a sometime author, Huff-n-Puff blogger, and former "rabid anti-Christian" who claims to have become a Christian after hearing a cartoon voice in a rarely used supply closet at work.

No, I'm not kidding, but I wish I were. Oy.

Anyway, Mr. Shore has apparently set himself up now as the great, God-ordained mouthpiece of how Christians of all types (who he bunches primarily into the stereotypical "conservative" and "liberal" labels) should act. Virtually none of his proposals are biblically backed, though, and the ones that are generally based on ripping Bible verses out of context.

Most of his criticisms are, of course, directed at conservative Christians. For example, his recent self-contradictory diatribe Ten Ways Christians Tend to Fail at Being Christian." As I read that awful, poorly thought-out list of man-based nonsense, my brain felt like it was slogging through thick, sticky mud. It wasn't difficult coming up with corrections to the points.

1. Too much money. “Wealthy Christian” should be an oxymoron. In Luke 12:33, Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” At Matthew 19:21, he says, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor.” In Matthew 6:24, he says: “You cannot serve God and Money.” Christians are generally pretty huge on cleaving to the word of God. I just don’t see how those particular words could be clearer.

Keep that last sentence in mind. It'll come up later.

As for the rest of the point, it's nothing more than your typical bashing of rich conservatives using the same old grossly out-of-context Bible verses.

Luke 12:33 is not a direct command. It is part of Jesus' teaching about not worrying. In the preceding verses, Jesus tells us not to worry (the only direct command from the passage) before going on to hyperbolically give examples of not worrying that include not giving any thought to what you eat, drink or wear. So if you take those verses out-of-context, does that mean Jesus is telling us not not eat, drink or wear clothes? Of course not!

Matthew 19:21 was a comment Jesus directed at a cocky rich young man who he already knew loved money more than God.

Matthew 6:24 is a warning about loving money more than God, not about being rich. In fact, Matthew 6:24 foreshadows Matthew 19:21.

Simply being rich is not a sin and the Bible gives no command for us to live as eternal paupers. That isn't to say, however, that being rich doesn't come with its dangers. People can and do become obsessed with money, but that is not limited to rich people. Indeed, the rich man in Matthew 19 could have just as easily been a poor man who loved money more than God and Jesus' response would've been just the same.

And incidentally, I wonder how wealthy Mr. Shore has become from authoring and co-authoring books. On his "About Me" page, he admits to making "crazy money" off a co-authored book and spending it all on a house. A pretty spendy-looking one at that! Apparently Mr. Shore doesn't practice what he preaches. Go figure.

2. Too confident God thinks we’re all that and a leather-bound gift Bible. I’d like to humbly suggest that we spend a little more time wondering how we displease God, and a little less time being confident that we do.

If you're not confident (i.e. aware) that you are displeasing God, then how can you possibly know how you are displeasing Him? How about we spend more time thinking about what it means that we are sinners saved by grace? Maybe even confess our daily sins, repent and turn from them more.

Okay, now we're going to recall the last sentence of Mr. Shore's first point. Consider that sentence in light of this next point:

3) Too quick to believe that we know what God really means by what he says in the Bible. The Bible is an extremely complex, multi-leveled work. We're sometimes too quick to assume that we grasp its every meaning. Take this passage, for instance, from Luke 8: 9-10: "His disciples asked him [Jesus] what this parable [of the sower] meant. He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."'" Huh? And that's Jesus "explaining" what is generally regarded as one of his most readily understood parables! Are we really all that confident that we always know exactly what Jesus meant by everything he said? Wouldn't we do well to sometimes admit that the words attributed to God manifested on earth are just a tad, well, Greek to us?

Okay, so we shouldn't be too quick to believe that we know what God really means by what He says in the Bible, but apparently we can go right ahead and be quick to believe that we know what God really means about money according to what's in the Bible. We can be very confident we know exactly what Jesus meant by Luke 12:33, Matthew 19:21 and Matthew 6:24. Hmm... Veddy intedestink.

The Bible is not some sort of puzzle or riddle we need to decipher and decode. Good gosh. That's the kind of thinking that brought us such nonsense as the Bible Code. No. With even a minimal understanding of the societies and cultures the books of the Bible were written in, contextual study of the Bible is very easy. Anyone who claims otherwise, like Mr. Shore does, is more often than not trying to force their personal views on to God's Word.

4) Too action-oriented. We Christians could stand to spend less time acting in the name of God, and more time reflecting on the (ever subtle) majesty of God. We need more passivity, and less activity. More meditation, less machination. More reflection, less correction. More contemplation, less administration. More prayers, less airs. More mysticism, less ... um ... cretinism.

Yeah, because that's what Jesus and his disciples did. They just sat around "reflecting on the ever subtle majesty of God" instead of going out and acting in the name of God. Yep. Just a bunch of lazy, intellectual bums they were. Honestly, if that's what Jesus did and taught, Christianity would've died out long ago.

5) Too invasive of others generally. It is my personal, humble opinion that anyone seeking to mix church and state has failed to understand the nature and role of either. Being founded upon the principle that all men are created equal and deserving of equal protection under the law is what makes the American system of democracy such a gift to mankind. Attempting to mix the inherently exclusionary imperatives of a particular religion into the resolutely inclusive system of the American constitutional form of government is to work against everything that America stands for. Religion is a personal, subjective affair for the individual; politics and public policy is an impersonal, objective affair for everyone.

Using "all men are created equal" to defend the separation of church and state is laughable. "CREATED." By whom? Why, created by God, of course. This is something that the Founding Fathers wisely recognized and it formed the basis for their creation of this country and its government. The whole "separation of church and state" business did not start out as a concept to keep faith out of the public square, but to prevent the government from formally establishing a state religion that would infringe on people's religious liberties. Indeed, in attempting to not be "too invasive of others" via use of the First Amendment, liberals have, in fact, become perversely invasive. When they say our religious beliefs must stop at the courthouse door (and they have many, many times in various ways), then religious liberty is violated.

6. Too invasive of others personally. We Christians are too often too eager to get up into the faces of others about their personal religious beliefs. If you believe in the reality of hell, then wanting to save non-Christians from going there is a worthy sentiment, of course. But the bottom line is it’s absolutely impossible to talk someone who isn’t a Christian into becoming one; in fact, more than anything else it’s likely to push the non-Christian further from God. I believe we Christians would do very well indeed to spend our time “just” living as Christians, and let God worry about the non-Christians.

Thank God that Jesus didn't "just" live and didn't "let God worry about the non-Christians!" Jesus brought the Gospel to the lost and called us to do the same. We Christians are taught that there are many people who will indeed be pushed further from God when we preach the Gospel. God never warned us not to "get up into the faces of others" out of the fear that they would be pushed away from salvation. In fact, He wants us to get up in people's faces with the Gospel out of the hope that someone -- even if it's one person out of a million -- will listen and be saved. If you don't get up in people's faces, then I guarantee that the number of people saved will be zero out of a million.

7. Too quick to abandon logic. When talking to others about our faith, we Christians too often resort to a language and line of reasoning that leaves good ol’ fashion logic sitting on the ground behind us, waving a sad good-bye. “It’s true because the Bible says it’s true” is, for instance, an assertion that can’t help but leave the non-Christian unimpressed, since it’s so manifestly illogical. “It’s true because the Bible says it’s true” is no more proof of truth than is, “Apples are the best of the fruits, because I think that’s true.” Christians need to more readily admit that the religious experience — no matter how riveting and real it is to the person experiencing it — remains a subjective phenomenon, and talk about it that way.

And yet, again, this is exactly what Jesus taught. He often talked about the truth of the Scriptures by citing that it was because they were the Scriptures! This is absolutely not like saying "Apples are the best fruit because I think that's true." We don't just think the Bible is true. It IS true because it's the Word of God. People who say "It's true because the Bible says it's true" is illogical are ignorant of the natures of both truth and the Bible and are themselves guilty of being illogical.

8. Too fixated on homosexuality. Can we Christians stop already with the gay and lesbian fixation? I know many of us understand our stance on the matter to be unassailably Biblical. I know a great many of us are deeply concerned about the “homosexual agenda.” I know. We all know. Maybe Christians could just give that issue a rest for a while. It’s not like gay and lesbian people are going anywhere. They’ll all be there when we get back. Maybe — for just a week, a day, a month — we could concern ourselves with something else, and let them be.

Talk about a straw man argument! The only reason many Christians talk about homosexuality so much is because of how much the subject is being forced upon us on a daily basis. It's not because we have chosen it to "fixate" on. If lying or blasphemy or idolatry or coveting or any other sin were being pushed on us as much as homosexuality is, we'd be just as vocal about it.

As far as homosexuals "be[ing] there when we get back," that's not a guarantee. Not for individual homosexuals, as they, like everyone else, could die at any moment, and not for homosexuals as a group, since Jesus could return at any time. Putting off preaching the Gospel to sinners, be they homosexuals or liars or thieves or whatever, only prevents chances of those people being saved.

9. Too insular. When I became a Christian, one of the things that most amazed me about Christians is the degree to which they tend to hang out only with other Christians. We should stop doing that. How are we supposed to share Christ’s love with non-Christians when we barely know any non-Christians? Time to widen that social base, I say. (Plus, Christian or not, we still want to throw good, fun parties, don’t we? Well, let’s face it: The heathen class has all the good music. We might as well invite a few of them to our next party. Maybe they’ll bring their CD’s!)

Now, wait a minute. In points 5 and 6, Christians are criticized as being "too invasive." Yet in this point, we're criticized for not being invasive enough. Which is it? Most confusing.

10. Too uneducated about Christianity. Generally speaking (which of course is the most offensive way to speak about any group of people), Christians tend to embarrass themselves by knowing so little about either the Bible or the history of Christianity. Believing that the Bible is the word of God, for instance, is one thing; knowing nothing about the long process by which men decided which texts would and wouldn’t make it into the Bible is another. It’s not that all Christians should be full-on theologians or historians. But if you’re a Christian who doesn’t know the Great Schism from The Great Santini, or the Diet of Worms from … well, the diet of worms, then you’ve got some homework to do.

This is a good point. Unfortunately, Mr. Shore obviously doesn't take his own advice, as proven by his nine previous points. Indeed, this point flies completely in the face of point 3. What the purpose of educating yourself about Christianity and the Bible when you can never be confident about "what God really means by what he says in the Bible?"

It's unfortunate that Mr. Shore thinks in his arrogance that he and only he knows what's best for Christians. It's even more unfortunate that he has deleted my attempts reason with him by using some lame excuse about some important people reviewing his blog and removed by posts. I guess he was concerned about not getting more money.

Mojave Cross STOLEN

2010-05-11T11:13:00.005-05:00

I honestly cannot say that I'm surprised.

WWI memorial cross stolen from Mojave National Preserve

Vandals toppled and removed the 8-foot-high cross at Mojave National Preserve in California less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the controversial memorial could remain on federal property.

The cross, which has stood in various forms for the last 76 years as a memorial to World War I soldiers, was stolen late Sunday night or early Monday morning, according to officials from the Liberty Institute, a conservative advocacy group that deals with church-state issues. In a statement Kelly Shackelford, the group’s president, called the actions “disgusting.”

Vandals cut through a series of metal bolts to remove the cross — still covered by a wooden box — from its concrete foundation.

The cross had been covered with plywood for 10 years as the legal fight surrounding the memorial wound through the courts. Officials from the Liberty Institute argued in favor of allowing the memorial to stand, saying that censoring the cross violated veterans’ freedom of speech and religion.

Notice that supporters of the cross left the wooden box covering it alone for 10 years while the fate of the cross was decided in the courts. It only took opponents of the cross 2 weeks to decide that their will supplanted the will of the highest court in the land. It's kind of poetic. They have the same attitude about the One who made the cross such an object of their hatred. They are disobedient to God, so why would they be obedient to any other authority they disagree with?

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Picking up where I left off

2010-05-10T12:41:00.003-05:00

If you recall, I had been posting a series about my experiences playing the Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC game. You can find the posts here. I put playing the game on the back burner due to time constraint issues from the days before and after the birth of our third child. Those issues have passed now and I've felt the desire to get back to my analysis of the game and the claims of those who have smeared it. After an unfortunate incident with the loss of files on our old computer, that desire will become a reality now thanks to the help of the games' senior producer. Thanks again, Kevin!

Kevin also let me know (which I should have known had I paid closer attention to the recent press releases from the company) that Left Behind 3: Rise of the Antichrist should be out by Christmas! That is exciting news and it's really given me an increased drive to finish up with both Eternal Forces and Tribulation Forces.

Insult to injury: mosque to be built at Ground Zero

2010-05-10T09:53:00.007-05:00

This goes beyond "outrage" to words that would make this an R-rated blog.

Mosque to be Built Near Ground Zero

The Cordoba House is a $100 million project that is being proposed for the former Burlington Coat Factory building at Park Place and Broadway, a location that is two blocks away from where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Committee Chairman Ro Sheffe shares: “I think it will be a wonderful asset to the community.”

The Cordoba Initiative was founded after the 9/11 attacks, and according to Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, one of those who helped found the initiative, the Cordoba House aims to foster better relations between Muslims and the West. The project consists of a glass and steel building that will house a 500-seat performing arts venue, a swimming pool and a basketball court. Rauf gushed that there will be “nothing like it” and that it will be open to all New Yorkers.

"Cordoba" is the name of a region in Spain where Muslims persecuted both Christians and Jews. Some of it took place exactly a millennium ago. The naming of the project and mosque is either profound irony or disgusting design.

Next up, a neo-Nazi recruitment center named the "Auschwitz Project" across from the Wailing Wall.

Supreme Court restores Mojave Cross!!!

2010-04-29T12:14:00.001-05:00

Praise the Lord and uncover that cross!!!

High court says Mojave cross in Calif. can stay

The Supreme Court said Wednesday that a federal court went too far in ordering the removal of a congressionally endorsed war memorial cross from its longtime home in California.

In ruling the cross could stay, the justices said federal judges in California did not take sufficient notice of the government's decision to transfer the land in a remote area of California to private ownership. The move was designed to eliminate any constitutional concern about a religious symbol on public land.

The ruling was 5-4, with the court's conservatives in the majority.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected the cross more than 75 years ago atop an outcropping in the Mojave National Preserve.

It has been covered with plywood for the past several years following the court rulings. Court papers describe the cross as 5 feet to 8 feet tall.

"Here one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.

Lying lesbian smears hospital; gets Obama on board, too

2010-04-27T11:15:00.003-05:00

Remember this story?

Obama orders hospital visitation rights for gays, lesbians

It came on the heels of the story about a lesbian being denied visitation to her dying partner. Well, guess what? The truth has finally come to light and it paints quite a different picture:

Hospital Visit Horrors? Here’s the Rest of the Story

We would also like to take this opportunity to provide you with some clarification on the allegations being made by Janice Langbehn, whose partner was treated at Jackson’s Ryder Trauma Center in 2007. From the beginning, JHS has vehemently denied that Ms. Langbehn was denied visitation due to her sexual orientation. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed Ms. Langbehn’s lawsuit against Jackson Memorial Hospital in September 2009.

Ms. Langbehn’s allegations and those made by published articles, blogs, etc., are inaccurate and have damaged the reputations and deeply hurt the feelings of the personnel in our trauma center. They have devoted their careers to all who come through our doors, from all walks of life.

JHS grants hospital visitation to all individuals equally, regardless of their relationship to the patient, as long as doing so does not interfere with the care being given to the patient or other patients in the area. With that said, our first priority when a patient is brought to our trauma center is always to stabilize the patient and save their life. As the only adult and pediatric Level 1 trauma center in Miami-Dade County to support a population of more than 2.3 million people, our facility is one of the busiest – and most renowned – in the nation.

The Trauma Resuscitation Unit in Ryder Trauma Center, where Lisa Pond was treated when airlifted to Jackson, is more like a large operating room with multiple beds separated by glass partitions rather than a traditional hospital floor. Sometimes, visitors are not able to see a loved one in the trauma bay as quickly as they would like or they may have to wait until the patient is moved to the ICU or to another area of the hospital that is better suited for visitation. This all depends on the circumstances of the situation, how busy the unit is at the time and the medical conditions of the patients in the unit at the time. The patients in this area are facing life-threatening injuries or illnesses and are extremely vulnerable.

The situation involved the tightly-controlled emergency/trauma area of the hospital and the lesbian partner was not treated any differently from anyone else in the same situation. Had it been a situation involving visitation during a non-emergency situation, the lesbian partner would've been welcomed. Can't say I'm surprised at the dishonesty.

Wicca isn't a religion of peace

2010-04-10T20:00:00.004-05:00

Cops: Wiccan listed victim as 'sacrifice' in phone

A self-described Wiccan had a man's phone number programmed in her cell phone under the word "sacrifice" before she stabbed him to death, then claimed he had tried to rape her, authorities said Thursday.

Angela Sanford, 30, is accused of killing 52-year-old Joel Leyba last month with a dagger after inviting him to join her in a Wiccan celebration of spring near a popular hiking trail east of Albuquerque.

She told police she stabbed Leyba three times in the stomach after he tied her up and tried to assault her.

But police say Leyba was stabbed 11 to 13 times, and a detective reviewing Sanford's cell phone found the nickname "sacrifice" instead of Leyba's name.

UPDATE: Some history about modern practice of paganism from Wikipedia:

In the 1920s and 30s, the Egyptologist Dr Margaret Murray published several books detailing her theories that those persecuted as witches during the Early Modern period in Europe were not, as the persecutors had claimed, followers of Satanism, but adherents of a surviving pre-Christian pagan religion - the Witch-Cult. Despite now being discredited by further historical research, her theories were widely accepted and supported at the time.

It was during the 1930s that the first evidence appears for the practice of a pagan Witchcraft religion[79] (what would be recognisable now as Wicca) in England. It seems that several groups around the country, in such places as Norfolk,[80] Cheshire[81] and the New Forest had set themselves up as continuing in the tradition of Murray's Witch-Cult, albeit with influences coming from disparate sources such as ceremonial magic, folk magic, Freemasonry, Theosophy, Romanticism, Druidry, classical mythology and Asian religions.

The Witchcraft religion became more prominent in the 1950s with the repeal of the Witchcraft Act of 1735, after which several figures, such as Charles Cardell, Cecil Williamson and most notably Gerald Gardner, began propagating their own versions of the Craft. Gardner had been initiated into the New Forest coven in 1939, before forming his own tradition, later termed Gardnerianism, which he spread through the formation of groups like the Bricket Wood coven. His tradition, aided by the help of his High Priestess Doreen Valiente and the publication of his books Witchcraft Today (1954) and The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959), soon became the dominant form in the country, and spread to other parts of the British Isles.

Following Gardner's death in 1964, the Craft continued to grow unabated despite sensationalism and negative portrayals in British tabloids, with new traditions being propagated by figures like Robert Cochrane, Sybil Leek and most importantly Alex Sanders, whose Alexandrian Wicca, which was predominantly based upon Gardnerian Wicca, albeit with an emphasis placed on ceremonial magic, spread quickly and gained much media attention. Around this time, the term "Wicca" began to be commonly adopted over "Witchcraft" and the faith was exported to countries like Australia and the United States.

It was in the United States and in Australia that new, home-grown traditions, sometimes based upon earlier, regional folk-magical traditions and often mixed with the basic structure of Gardnerian Wicca, began to develop, including Victor Anderson's Feri, Joseph Wilson's 1734 tradition, Aidan Kelly's New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn and eventually Zsuzsanna Budapest's Dianic Wicca, each of which emphasised different aspects of the faith.[82] It was also around this time that books teaching people how to become Witches themselves without formal initiation or training began to emerge, among them Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft (1970) and Lady Sheba's Book of Shadows (1971). Similar books continued to be published throughout the 1980s and 1990s, fuelled by the writing of such authors as Doreen Valiente, Janet Farrar, Stewart Farrar and Scott Cunningham, who popularised the idea of self-initiation into the Craft.

In the 1990s, amid ever-rising numbers of self-initiates, the popular media began to explore "witchcraft" in fictional films like The Craft and television series like Charmed, introducing numbers of young people to the idea of religious witchcraft. This growing demographic was soon catered to through the Internet and by authors like Silver Ravenwolf, much to the criticism of traditional Wiccan groups and individuals. In response to the way that Wicca was increasingly portrayed as trendy, eclectic, and influenced by the New Age movement, many Witches turned to the pre-Gardnerian origins of the Craft, and to the traditions of his rivals like Cardell and Cochrane, describing themselves as following "Traditional Witchcraft". Prominent groups within this Traditional Witchcraft revival included Andrew Chumbley's Cultus Sabbati and the Cornish Ros an Bucca coven.

Jesus, John and Pat

2010-01-14T10:30:00.003-06:00

A couple thousand years ago, there was a disaster in the ancient city of Siloam in Israel. A tower fell and 18 people were killed. Did they deserve it? Would it be wrong of someone to have said they deserved it? Check out Jesus' words in Luke 13:

"Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Was this statement devoid of love or compassion for the people who died in the disaster or for those who survived it?

Fast-forward 1700 years to John Wesley:

“The Cause And Cure Of Earthquakes”: A Sermon By John Wesley First Published In 1730

Was Wesley's sermon devoid of love or compassion?

And now here we are in 2010 with Pat Robertson making a statement - which is, of course, being ripped completely out of context by liberals and by people on the right who've been duped by the liberals' portrayals of Robertson. You can watch the statement in context in the first 8 minutes or so of the 700 Club here:

The 700 Club: January 13, 2010

Yes, Robertson is saying the Haitians deserved this disaster, and rightly so! He'd be right in saying that about any other country suffering such a disaster. We're ALL guilty of grievous sins against God and we're ALL deserving of death however it comes. However, what Robertson is NOT saying is that the Haitians don't deserve compassion, love and aid. In fact, his "Operation Blessing" organization is sending aid to Haiti. That hardly sounds like someone who is gleeful about the disaster as so many are trying to portray his statements.

Comments

2009-12-21T21:00:00.006-06:00

I've removed Haloscan and restored Blogger's comment function. Link to the comment pop-up is below each individual post (i.e. to comment, open each post using the time-stamp link, then look for the comment link).

News

2009-12-18T11:43:00.004-06:00

Well, the last couple months were interesting, unfortunately. My family - everyone except my wife - caught H1N1 the first part of October. Thankfully, our children fared well, particularly the baby. At the time we didn't know it was H1N1. They tested us for influenza, but they didn't tell us that the test detects H1N1 and the seasonal flu as the same. There is a $400 test specifically for H1N1, which they didn't do because they knew H1N1 was the only flu in the area. Of course, no one told us this, so we thought we all had the seasonal flu. It was only later that we learned it was H1N1.

We were all put on Tamiflu and my kids got over the symptoms within a week. I, unfortunately, had the added hindrance of having asthma, so I was coughing for much longer and having blood coming from my lungs. They tested my sputum and found atypical cells. These can be caused by a variety of reasons: from irritation/inflammation to cancer. I had both a CT scan and a bronchoscopy done. They found a small nodule deep in my left lung which they will at least keep an eye on for the next couple years. If it shows any growth, they will remove it. Nothing else was found and I've gotten over my coughing problem, so I think it was all just from a combination of the H1N1 and my asthma.

I've been considering shifting the focus for this blog. I'm sick of politics, but I am still very interested in how society and Christianity interact, particularly when injustices are perpetrated against Christians. For example:

I'm heavily leaning towards concentrating on stories like those.

Meanwhile, Haloscan is changing to a pay service for comment hosting and, while inexpensive, I really don't have the desire to pay money for something that Blogger provides for free. My initial reason for switching to Haloscan was due to Blogger's poor design for comments. Since then, however, Blogger has made a number of improvements. Hopefully I can get the settings and template reverted correctly to make Blogger-based comments show up, however I don't think I can retroactively add them to previous posts without completely redoing every post.

That's all the recent news I have. Sorry about all the silence. I hope to get back to posting more regularly soon. Take care and God bless!

Double-standard in action

2009-10-05T20:49:00.002-05:00

So, let's see...

..."gender-neutral" Bible...silence...

..."green" Bible...silence...

..."gay and lesbian" Bible...silence...

..."conservative" Bible..."WHAT???? THAT'S AWFUL!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! WHAT KIND OF CRAZY RIGHT-WING NUTS ARE YOU???"

Okay, then.

\

Call me a racist. Go ahead. I dare you.

2009-09-22T16:15:00.004-05:00

I do not support President Obama's agendas. I think he is the worst president we've had since Carter. I think he is destroying America with his foolish and reckless policies. Am I racist? According to many on the left, I am, especially since I don't see racism in many of the criticisms against Obama. Just look at this ridiculous screed from Keith Olbermann:

Are there racists among those who oppose Obama? More than likely. Are they the majority or the loudest voices? Absolutely not!

But notice Olbermann's argument against Rush Limbaugh. He says Limbaugh saying a recent bus fight was motivated by racism is racist because the police have said they didn't think the fight was motivated by racism. Okay, so then are Olbermann, his guests, and others on the left who are pushing this meme racists now that President Obama has come out several times stating that he doesn't think the criticisms against him are motivated by racism? And why haven't they stopped spreading this nonsense? Don't they care what their Dear Leader has said on the issue? Do they think he's lying? (Now THAT would be a refreshing change!)

I'd also like to point out that Olbermann mentions the alleged shout of "Kill him!" at a Sarah Palin rally. That story was completely dismissed by none other than the Secret Service itself. Why am I not surprised that Olbermann either doesn't know that or doesn't care to admit it?

The majority of the rest of Olbermann's examples of racism are either out of context or just plain wrong. Ironic, considering his comments about context. What is also ironic is his pointing out types of signs and images that people on the left used in regards to George W. Bush (and still do to some extent). The left also portrayed Bush as a monkey, as the devil, and - many, many, many, many times - as Hitler. Do it to Obama, though, and suddenly it's racist? Go figure.

So go ahead and call me racist. It will only prove that you have no actual, legitimate, rational, intelligent arguments to make.

Minnesota DFL's underhanded fund-raising at State Fair

2009-09-03T09:13:00.007-05:00

I just found out about this. The DFL is selling mini-donuts at the Minnesota State Fair to raise funds, but they are deliberately hiding the fact that they are running the booth. Here's a copy of the letter they sent out to workers:

(Click to enlarge.)

What a bunch of weasels! I doubt contacting the DFL will do any good, so instead, contact the people at the State Fair in charge of concessions/exhibits at (651) 288-4456. One thing I'm wondering, too, is if it is legal to raise political funds without letting people know to whom they are going.

Big Brother is coming. From the left.

2009-08-31T10:19:00.001-05:00

I cried during Sen. Kennedy's burial service tonight

2009-08-29T23:05:00.003-05:00

I did. I cried when his grandchildren were sharing their memories. But I didn't cry for Sen. Kennedy, nor did I cry for his grandkids. I cried for the tens of millions of unborn children who never got to know their grandfathers because people like Sen. Kennedy supported their bloody slaughter.

No. No bias or dishonesty in the left-stream media. Nope. Not at all.

2009-08-21T13:39:00.002-05:00

Except... here's a couple of full views of the guy they filmed from the chest down from the side without his head or hands in view:

Pic #1

Pic #2

Oops.

I have to admit that when I first learned about this, I said some words I shouldn't have. I am so sick of the Obama-worshiping media lying all the time.

Obama: One Speech, Two Faces (Episode 2)

2009-08-18T09:32:00.007-05:00

Watch how Obama works here. First he builds up his audience, makes them feel safe and comfortable, and portrays himself as trustworthy. Then he turns around and injects unfounded doubts and worries. Finally, he portrays himself as the solution to those doubts and worries. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was the sort of thing that dictators like Hitler did.

Pelosi likes disrupters... when she agrees with them

2009-08-14T12:20:00.001-05:00

"FLAG YOURSELF!" Campaign

2009-08-14T11:50:00.001-05:00

Leave Us Alone!

2009-08-14T11:26:00.001-05:00

Amen!!!

The wheels on the bus are coming off! Coming off! Coming off!

2009-08-12T22:27:00.008-05:00

Obama's town hall was a big, fat, phony show and Michele has the proof.

More here.

Big surprise. NOT!!!

UPDATE: Okay, it's now officially stepped into the realm of the bizarre.

UPDATE 2: A source I talked to stated that the blonde woman was Obama's 2008 campaign operations manager, but did not provide a name. I did a little digging and found two blondes who worked for Obama's campaign: Anita Dunn and Betsy Myers. Myers is described on Wikipedia as Obama's "chief operating officer." I found photos of the two women using Google, but I'm not very good at comparing faces so I can't tell one way or the other if it's either or neither of the two.

UPDATE 3: Another town hall, another liar for Obama.

Who's busing in people to the town hall meetings?

2009-08-12T22:13:00.002-05:00

It ain't the anti-Obamacare side:

"...busloads of Obama health care supporters..." (key segment at 0:43)

Oops.

My challenge to any and every Democrat

2009-08-12T20:57:00.002-05:00

If you believe the people making themselves heard at these town hall meetings are bused in by some organization, prove two things:

1) what is the organization, and
2) where are the buses?

Please provide some documentation (records, emails, photos, videos) for both. Thank you.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1921-2009

2009-08-12T11:18:00.002-05:00

Thank you, Mrs. Shriver, for all your work supporting the lives of the unborn and with the Special Olympics.

Speaker Pelosi says you are "un-American" if you practice Free Speech

2009-08-10T23:17:00.001-05:00

Breitbart.tv ÃÂ» Father of Handicapped Son Received Threats After Confrontation With Rep. Dingell

The irony is that the Democrats are the ones afraid of differing views and the facts and they themselves are trying to drown out opposing views by leveling all kinds of slander at people with genuine concerns. Citizens making their voices heard as guaranteed under the First Amendment are being "un-American," Mrs. Speaker? Just who in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks do you think you are?

Why is this jerk allowed anywhere near any health care issues?

2009-08-10T20:54:00.005-05:00

Full transcript here. Notice how the woman talks about a life-sustaining surgery for her mother and Obama turns it into "end-of-life care."

Obama: 1 Speech, 2 Faces

2009-08-10T10:18:00.002-05:00

I LOVE WALMART!!!!

2009-08-09T19:36:00.002-05:00

We needed an emergency replacement of two older tires while we were out of town on Sunday and the ONLY place open where we were was the Walmart Supercenter (with tire shop).

THANK THE LORD FOR WALMART!!!

Okay, this is pretty funny

2009-08-07T09:33:00.004-05:00

Patrick at Stop the Presses (2, apparently) posted this brilliant send-up of Obama's snitch program (see previous post):

White House starts new Hot Line to report fellow citizens DAIL 1-800-USA-4KGB

-To report someone with a Anti-Obama bumper sticker press 1
-To report someone who does not have a Obama bumper sticker press 2
-To report someone who has spoken of Obama negatively press 3
- To report someone who displays an American flag press 4
- To report a returning military veteran press 5
-To report a cop that has disrespected you press 6
-To report someone who does not want national health care press 7
-To report someone who makes more money then you press 8
-To report someone who drives a big SUV press 9
-To report someone who is a Republican, Conservative or Independent press any key

Good stuff!

Hey, liberals...

2009-08-06T11:14:00.001-05:00

Be sure to report me to flag@whitehouse.gov. You know you want to because your Dear Leader told you to.

B.O.'s "health care" bill in a nutshell

2009-07-31T10:18:00.004-05:00

If there's one line from the bill that simply and succinctly sums up its absurdity, it's this:

Sec. 441, Pg. 203, Lines 14-15 - “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.”

But what do you expect? It's written and endorsed by Democrats.

More here (PDF file).

A must-read study on temperature stations

2009-07-30T07:22:00.002-05:00

Someone actually went out and did a scientific study of the reliability of the National Weather Services' weather stations all across the country. The results are shocking and maddening. The report is well worth reading in full.

Is the U.S. Temperature Record Reliable? (PDF file)

How do you know when Obama is lying?

2009-07-17T15:18:00.001-05:00

His lips are moving. That's no laughing matter, either. People are losing their jobs and homes because of this lying jerk.

So... What do they use to pay for stuff?

2009-07-15T13:19:00.003-05:00

Lawsuit seeks to block 'In God We Trust' engraving

The nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block an architect from engraving "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in western Wisconsin, claims the taxpayer-funded engravings would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

The House and Senate passed identical resolutions this month directing the Architect of the Capitol to engrave "In God We Trust" and the pledge in prominent places at the entrance for 3 million tourists who visit the Capitol each year.

The OFFICIAL national motto, "In God We Trust," is printed on all our currency. Why aren't these clowns going after that, too? More people see it on our money every day than will ever see it at the Capitol Visitor Center. I just cannot figure these people out.

Algore tries to cover up an inconvenient truth

2009-07-14T09:20:00.007-05:00

Via Not Evil Just Wrong.

Speaking in Australia, Algore was asked about a British court ruling that found errors in his "An Inconvenient Truth." His response? Not the least bit surprising:

HEATHER EWART: There was also, though, a British judge who ruled that there were in fact, I think, nine errors when it was challenged in court?

AL GORE: Well, the ruling was in my favour.

That wasn't the question that was asked, Al. As can be seen here, the judge did rule that there were nine (at least!) significant errors in the film. Look for the section "The 'Errors'" starting at the bottom of page 10. The judge also ruled that the film "promotes partisan political views." I guess Algore doesn't want to admit those inconvenient truths.

UPDATE: In reading more about the case, I found that the judge stated after the case, ""I conclude that the claimant substantially won this case by virtue of my finding that, but for the new guidance note, the film would have been distributed in breach of sections 406 and 407 of the 1996 Education Act." So Algore was blatantly lying when he claimed that the ruling was in his favor. Imagine that.

UPDATE 2: Welcome, fellow fans of Michelle! And thanks for the link, Michelle!

How Al Franken stole the election

2009-07-04T23:40:00.003-05:00

The 'Absentee' Senator

Mr. Franken trailed Mr. Coleman by 725 votes after the initial count on election night, and 215 after the first canvass. The Democrat's strategy from the start was to manipulate the recount in a way that would discover votes that could add to his total. The Franken legal team swarmed the recount, aggressively demanding that votes that had been disqualified be added to his count, while others be denied for Mr. Coleman.

But the team's real goldmine were absentee ballots, thousands of which the Franken team claimed had been mistakenly rejected. While Mr. Coleman's lawyers demanded a uniform standard for how counties should re-evaluate these rejected ballots, the Franken team ginned up an additional 1,350 absentees from Franken-leaning counties. By the time this treasure hunt ended, Mr. Franken was 312 votes up, and Mr. Coleman was left to file legal briefs.

What Mr. Franken understood was that courts would later be loathe to overrule decisions made by the canvassing board, however arbitrary those decisions were. He was right. The three-judge panel overseeing the Coleman legal challenge, and the Supreme Court that reviewed the panel's findings, in essence found that Mr. Coleman hadn't demonstrated a willful or malicious attempt on behalf of officials to deny him the election. And so they refused to reopen what had become a forbidding tangle of irregularities. Mr. Coleman didn't lose the election. He lost the fight to stop the state canvassing board from changing the vote-counting rules after the fact.

Simple math tells you that the recount totals have been manipulated. In such a close election, the recount totals for both candidates should have been proportionately just as close if the process was fair. However, Franken received over 400 more votes than Coleman, blowing proportion out of the water. Had Franken won by a few dozen votes, that would fall well within the realm of possibility in a fair recount. But over 400? Give me a break!

Actual science again yanks the football away from the environuts

2009-07-04T23:34:00.003-05:00

Legless frogs mystery solved

Around the world, frogs are found with missing or misshaped limbs, a striking deformity that many researchers believe is caused by chemical pollution.

However, tests on frogs and toads have revealed a more natural, benign cause.

The deformed frogs are actually victims of the predatory habits of dragonfly nymphs, which eat the legs of tadpoles.

As with the thoroughly disproven premise of "Silent Spring," don't expect this news to make the environmentalists change their tune any time soon.

The "most transparent administration ever" won't let the public see the White House visitors list

2009-06-19T12:21:00.002-05:00

Very interesting. Makes you wonder exactly what he's hiding.

Of course, we all knew (though many of us still won't admit) that the whole "transparent administration" line was a load of garbage.

On Tiller

2009-06-16T10:32:00.004-05:00

Tiller's cold-blooded murder was a needless tragedy perpetrated by a lone kook who is not representative of the vast majority of the pro-life movement. Murdering abortion doctors does not stop abortions. Other people will simply step in and take their places. What stops abortions is changing the hearts and minds of people seeking and performing abortions. That is the ONLY way that works and the ONLY way abortions will ever be stopped. The Bible does not say, "Do not murder, except..." It said "Do not murder" PERIOD. (That goes for both sides of the abortion issue.)

That being said, as disgusting and wrong Tiller's murder was, it is almost as disgusting and wrong for many in the pro-choice camp to use it to condemn all pro-lifers. Sadly, hardly anyone on the pro-choice side denounced such condemnations. Some even supported them.

Unemployment: Obama's lies vs. the truth

2009-06-06T11:00:00.006-05:00

Got this from a friend on Facebook. (Thanks, Kyle!) The two solid lines represent what Obama predicted about unemployment with and without his bailout plan. The three dots represent actual unemployment even with the bailout.

(Click to enlarge.)

Look at the trend for the actual unemployment. It's nowhere near the leveling off point. Obama sold his bailout plan on a big, fat lie and we, our children, and our children's children will be paying for it for decades.

AFA's One Million Dads/Moms campaign still going strong

2009-05-29T21:44:00.003-05:00

After being contacted by thousands of AFA supporters, five companies - including IHOP, Georgia Pacific, Scotts, and Denny's - have dropped their ads from TV Land's vulgar "reality" dating show "The Cougar" all within one week! Fantastic!

Stupidest administration EVER

2009-04-27T17:03:00.004-05:00

This level of sheer stupidity is unbelievable:

White House apologizes for NYC flyover

President Obama's White House was forced to issue an apology Monday after a photo opportunity gone badly wrong — an Air Force 747 plane did a low flyover over Lower Manhattan, prompting terrified citizens to flee from their offices and high-profile accusations of government insensitivity in the post 9/11 era.

White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera issued a brief statement saying he was too blame.

"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," he said. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, its clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

The panic started Monday morning when a backup 747 known as Air Force One when the president is aboard flew by Lower Manhattan with a U.S. fighter jet closely following, rattling windows and causing some limited evacuations.

Over the course of a half-hour starting at 10 a.m, the plane flew low over the city and near the Statue of Liberty.

The late afternoon statement came as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — an Obama ally so far — said he was outraged.

The buck cannot possibly stop with Caldera. It was Obama's plane and I've little doubt that he himself had to have final approval for this stupid, stupid, stupid stunt. You just don't do stuff like this with the president's plane without the president's approval.

Here's video of the panicked reaction of New Yorkers:

Thanks so much, B.O.

Perez Hilton just proved my law

2009-04-22T16:07:00.002-05:00

In punishing and severely, vulgarly chastising Miss California Carrie Prejean, Perez Hilton became yet another example of the truth behind my law. He has promoted himself as a paragon of tolerance and open-mindedness, but his reaction to Prejean's well-stated answer proves just how intolerant and close-minded he is. He cannot tolerate or be open-minded about anyone with an opinion about gay marriage that is different from his own. Meanwhile, Ms. Prejean demonstrated true tolerance and open-mindedness.

"Open and honest" Obama Administration deletes pro-interrogation material from Blair memo

2009-04-22T13:24:00.005-05:00

These clowns get scuzzier every day. And this information is from the left-leaning New York Times no less!

Banned Techniques Yielded ‘High Value Information,’ Memo Says

Admiral Blair’s assessment that the interrogation methods did produce important information was deleted from a condensed version of his memo released to the media last Thursday. Also deleted was a line in which he empathized with his predecessors who originally approved some of the harsh tactics after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Apparently according to Obama's Newspeak, "open" means "dissembling" and "honest" means "dishonest." Do liberals honestly never see this garbage or do they just willfully turn a blind eye to it?

Another left-wing lie blown out of the water... well, ice...

2009-04-18T10:26:00.005-05:00

Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away

ICE is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.

The results of ice-core drilling and sea ice monitoring indicate there is no large-scale melting of ice over most of Antarctica, although experts are concerned at ice losses on the continent's western coast.

Antarctica has 90 per cent of the Earth's ice and 80 per cent of its fresh water, The Australian reports. Extensive melting of Antarctic ice sheets would be required to raise sea levels substantially, and ice is melting in parts of west Antarctica. The destabilisation of the Wilkins ice shelf generated international headlines this month.

However, the picture is very different in east Antarctica, which includes the territory claimed by Australia.

East Antarctica is four times the size of west Antarctica and parts of it are cooling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report prepared for last week's meeting of Antarctic Treaty nations in Washington noted the South Pole had shown "significant cooling in recent decades".

Oops.

Now, who will be the first liberal reading this to admit that they were wrong? I don't expect anyone will. And it's a given that Al Gore won't, either. These people work off dogma, not science.

When crybaby MSM reporters attack

2009-04-16T10:22:00.001-05:00

Gee, where was she when left-wing protesters were calling President Bush a fascist? Where were any MSM reporters? Nowhere, of course, because they agreed with it.

Good on the protesters for holding their own, shutting her down and reducing her to babbling incoherence about Fox News.

Obamateers, sound off!

2009-04-14T23:23:00.004-05:00

Who's the guy who beat McCain
That's screwing you and me
B-A-R-A-C-K O-B-A-M-A!

Hey there! Hi there! Ho there!
We're as fubared as can be!
B-A-R-A-C-K O-B-A-M-A!

Obama! (Joe Biden!)

Obama! (Joe Biden!)

Forever, ever raise our taxes
High! High! High! High!

Come along and lose your home
And join the spending spree!
B-A-R-A-C-K O-B-A-M-A!

B-A-R!

Are you ready for change you can believe in?

A-C-K!

'Kay, then. You asked for it!

O-B-A-M-A!

Follow me!

2009-04-13T15:47:00.001-05:00

Check out the new box in the right column.

Jinx's law

2009-04-12T22:53:00.003-05:00

A while back, I created a law. It states:

"The more people proclaim themselves to be something, they less likely they actually will be it."

This can be modified to fit specific situations. To wit:

"The more tolerant people proclaim themselves to be, the less tolerant they actually are of people different from themselves."

"The more rational people proclaim themselves to be, the more irrational they actually are."

"The more open-minded people proclaim themselves to be, the more closed-minded they actually are."

"The more dedicated to freedom of speech people proclaim themselves to be, the more they are prone to try to censor free speech."

And yes, it can apply to people who proclaim themselves to be such great Christians. How many self-proclaimed great Christians have we seen in the last few years who have fallen from their self-built perches? A few specific examples come to mind.

The lesson here is this: If you want to be something, just be it. Quietly. Humbly. Other people will recognize it without you having to point it out. The moment you start bellowing "Look at me! Look how ________ I am!" is the moment you open yourself up to being exactly the opposite of what you claim to be.

Here's a recent and prime example of my law in action:

YouTube community tells kid to kill himself

A self-described Christian 12-year-old boy who dared post his views on same-sex marriage on the popular Internet video site, YouTube, has since been ridiculed and insulted by tens of thousands of comments that attack the boy, his sexuality and his faith.

"Kill Christianity, and then kill yourself," responded a YouTube community member identified as greenacidfusion.

A commenter calling himself WizzyBoy 520 added, "How do you know the Bible isn't full of lies? You, just like everyone who is against gay marriage, is a mentally retarded bigot. No exceptions. Now go to h---."

Thousands of others have simply slammed the boy by calling him a "homo" or making comments like the one from chao129: "You are against gay marriage because you are a fag in denial."

Yep. That's undoubtedly "tolerant" people viciously attacking a 12-year-old boy. Just think of the outrage we all know would come from the very same people if this boy was being attacked like this for supporting gay marriage.

Liberal insanity again rears its ugly head

2009-04-09T15:01:00.004-05:00

Now President B.O. wants to "fix" the economy by promoting the very thing that got us into this mess in the first place!

Obama urges Americans to refinance homes

President Obama used his bully pulpit Thursday to encourage Americans to refinance their homes, which could stimulate consumer spending and pump up the economy.

Obama trumpeted programs that have helped drive mortgage rates to their lowest levels in decades, and encouraged home owners to refinance to put more money in their pockets. He also hawked an administration website meant to encourage Americans to refinance their homes.

“So the main message that we want to send today is, there are 7 to 9 million people across the country who right now could be taking advantage of lower mortgage rates,” Obama said in remarks released by the White House. “That is money in their pocket. And we estimate that the average family can get anywhere from $1,600 to $2,000 a year in savings by taking advantage of these various mortgage programs that have been put in place.”

"Insanity" is the only [polite] word I can think of to describe this. These people simply cannot be that stupid or ignorant. They HAVE to know that the tanking economy was caused when the housing bubble burst. Yet here they are promoting a brand new housing bubble mere months later. God help us.

Obama Bows to Saudi King

2009-04-09T10:16:00.003-05:00

An anonymous spin doctoring apologist aide has claimed, "It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah."

However, Obama's left hand can clearly be seen hanging at his side until AFTER the bow. Additionally, Obama also recently met with Queen Elizabeth, who is much, MUCH shorter than King Abdullah. Guess what. No deep bow.

No, my friends. This was not about height, nor was it a mistake in protocol. Obama knew exactly what he was doing. He was showing deference - possibly even fealty - to a Muslim leader.

UPDATE: In the comments, Jordan made a fantastic statement. Here it is with emphasis added to the best part:

I consider myself fortunate to have been born in a republic. I appreciate that as a citizen of a republic, I need not bow to any man or woman. We are all created equal, and blood lines do not make one person superior. This gesture by Obama should rankle every citizen for when Obama bowed as President of the United States, we all bowed.

Did you just hear that?

2009-04-08T22:38:00.004-05:00

That was the sound of my hand slapping against my forehead upon reading this:

Obama looks at climate engineering

WASHINGTON (AP) - The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.

John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.

America's Chicken Littles...

...have come home...

...to roost-ah!

And notice that they are not even using the nonsense term "climate change" anymore. They've gone back to what they've always meant: "global warming."

A must see video

2009-03-31T10:40:00.001-05:00

Al Gore: still a flaming hypocrite

2009-03-30T10:19:00.002-05:00

We already knew he was one, but this just cements that inconvenient truth:

Al Gore ignores 'Earth Hour'

Drew Johnson, the president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, decided to drive by Gore's mansion in Nashville at 8:48 p.m. and records that floodlights were on illuminating the driveway leading up to the main quarter.

"I pulled up to Al's house, located in the posh Belle Meade section of Nashville, at 8:48 p.m. – right in the middle of Earth Hour," he wrote on his blog. "I found that the main spotlights that usually illuminate his 9,000 square foot mansion were dark, but several of the lights inside the house were on."

He added: "The kicker, though, were the dozen or so floodlights grandly highlighting several trees and illuminating the driveway entrance of Gore’s mansion. I [kid] you not, my friends, the savior of the environment couldn’t be bothered to turn off the gaudy lights that show off his goofy trees."

Turns out Dodd was married to the cookie jar

2009-03-24T23:05:00.002-05:00

First we had this. Now someone's done some digging and guess what - the scumminess of these guys deepens.

Dodd's Wife a Former Director of Bermuda-Based IPC Holdings, an AIG Controlled Company

Well, now I can't imagine why Dodd would want to scratch AIG's back.

The wheels of the bus go thump, thump, thump

2009-03-24T07:39:00.002-05:00

Poll of change: Obama’s job approval slipping to ‘50-50’

The honeymoon is over, a national poll will signal today as President Obama’s job approval stumbles to about 50 percent over the lack of improvement with the crippled economy.

The sobering numbers come as the president backpedals from two prime-time gaffes - one comparing his bowling score to a Special Olympian and another awkwardly laughing about the economy, which prompted Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes” to ask “are you punch-drunk?”

Pollster John Zogby said his poll out today will show Americans split on the president’s performance. He said the score factors out to “about 50-50.”

Boy. President Bush's approval rating didn't drop to 50% until over two years into his first term. Unca Zero did it in two months.

Rush Limbaugh: Barack Obama and Special Olympics

2009-03-20T15:34:00.002-05:00

All I have to say is this...

Sarah Palin: "capital C" Class

President B.O.: "capital A"... well, you get the picture.

Dope

2009-03-20T13:15:00.001-05:00

Leno: Now, are they going to put a basketball -- I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down.

Obama: No, no. I have been practicing all.

Leno: Really? Really?

Obama: I bowled a 129.

Leno: No, that's very good. Yes. That's very good, Mr. President.

Obama: It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something

Obama and Dodd caught with hands in the cookie jar

2009-03-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

Gee. What a surprise.
Obama Received a $101,332 Bonus from AIG

Senator Barack Obama received a $101,332 bonus from American International Group in the form of political contributions according to Opensecrets.org. The two biggest Congressional recipients of bonuses from the A.I.G. are - Senators Chris Dodd and Senator Barack Obama.

You can view the contributions here:

American International Group: Recipients (scroll down to see a list of the top recipients)

It would also be very interesting to see the campaign contribution records for all the AIG people who received the bonuses.

Historic change indeed!

2009-03-18T15:11:00.002-05:00

I find your lack of hope and change disturbing. mechanical breathing

2009-03-18T14:53:00.006-05:00

Separation of church and state stupidity, part 10,754,920,362

2009-03-18T07:41:00.004-05:00

Children's home counselor alleges religious discrimination

A counselor is suing the Orangewood Children's Home for religious discrimination after she was suspended for six weeks without pay because a group of teens she was supervising overheard Christian music at the Huntington Beach Pier, the lawsuit says.

...

In June 2006, Loya took four teens to the Anaheim 5K, but after the girls started complaining that the music was too loud, she opted to take them to the Huntington Beach Pier for pizza, she said in the suit.

The annual Surfrider Foundation Celebrity Surf Jam was taking place at the pier with live entertainment, including Incubus and Switchfoot, an alternative band with roots in contemporary Christian music.

The girls spent some time near the pier, played in the ocean and visited various arts and crafts booths at Pier Plaza, some of which were selling Christian items, the suit says.

The teens did not complain or ask to leave at any time, Loya said in the suit.

Loya, who has worked for Orangewood for nearly 20 years, was questioned in July 2006 about the field trip.

"She was asked whether she was aware in advance that the girls would hear Christian music at the beach," the lawsuit says.

Loya, a self-proclaimed Christian, received a letter in December 2006 stating Orangewood's intention to suspend her for a month for exposing the teens to "unapproved religious activities."

She was suspended for six weeks without pay in February 2007.

Unbelievable! To overhear some Christian music that happens to be playing at a public gathering place! The horror! Next thing you know, they'll be punishing teachers for "exposing" kids to Christian music coming from cars driving by. This is the sort of liberal, Christian-hating garbage that is spawned and propagated by groups like the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

President B.O. humor

2009-03-10T23:06:00.003-05:00

I love this pic!

If you don't get it, look up "Urkel" on Wikipedia or something. I don't want to embarrass myself by exposing how much knowledge I unfortunately have about it.

Welcome to the Obamessiah's America, Part III

2009-03-10T22:30:00.003-05:00

St. Petersburg woman who painted Obama slogans on her car lost job, faces repossession

Wait. How could she have lost her job during President B.O.'s watch? Wasn't he going to change everything to sunshine and lollipops and rainbows everywhere?

Jennifer Stone-Anderson says her 2004 Saturn Ion became a work of art this fall when she covered it with elaborate paintings supporting Barack Obama.

But Chrysler, which financed the purchase, maintains that it's just a car. And that Stone-Anderson has been missing payments. And that her work of "art" is about to be repossessed.

Good! She should get no special treatment simply because she's a loony Obama worshiper.

She missed her car payments in December, January and February and has started receiving calls from Chrysler. She has ignored them.

Oh. Smart move. *rolls eyes*

...she's not worried about the company taking it.

"Barack says he's an eternal optimist," she said. "We're like minds."

Oh, for the love of... President B.O.'s "an eternal optimist?" Yeah, that's the image he and his speech writers are trying to push, but trust me - deep down inside the man is as pessimistic as anyone else.

What does she think President Obama himself would have to say about her art?

"He'd say, 'I'm too busy. Let me solve the world's problems,' " she said.

No, he'd say that he's too busy mucking up the world with problems of his own incompetent design.

President B.O. parties while America's economy burns

2009-03-09T14:13:00.003-05:00

White House nightlife under investigation

An organization that serves as a watchdog on the U.S. government for American taxpayers has launched a campaign to uncover exactly how much tax money is being spent on parties at the Obama White House.

The president has shown a penchant for lavish galas, such as the huge assembly orchestrated in Denver when he accepted his party's nomination for president – an outdoor gathering for some 75,000 featuring a stage with Greek columns. He also held a multimillion-dollar victory celebration in Chicago, and his fancy inauguration cost an estimated $170 million, according to ABC News.

Now, Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch, told WND today he's seeking information about the partying in the White House since the Obamas moved in.

...

Klayman said the reports of the partying at the White House, "with the likes of Steve Wonder and other high priced entertainment stars," will be the focus of document requests being submitted to the General Services Administration. The requests will seek to determine how much taxpayer money is being used.

"Barack and Michelle Obama have been throwing taxpayer funded parties nearly every night with their 'friends' and supporters, with Michelle Obama even exhorting them not to 'break' White House property," Klayman's announcement said.

...

According to a report by the news and commentary website Politico, many of the parties have been just that – parties, not political and government meetings.

...

The report quoted White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers saying the Obamas want to "replicate the same kind of environment they had in Chicago."

"If there was a party or an event [in Chicago], they were there," the report quoted "a friend" saying.

If President Bush had been throwing parties while our economy was sliding, do you think the left-stream media would've turned a blind eye to it? Of course not! It's not the least bit surprising that they're now giving President B.O. a free pass for this stuff. Sickening!

Obama reaches out a hand to people who want to bite it off

2009-03-09T12:45:00.002-05:00

Three news stories to make you shudder:

Obama extends olive branch to Iran

Obama Says US May Reach Out to Taliban

Obama will use spring summit to bring Cuba in from the cold

A soft approach to hardliners will only result in them running roughshod over the U.S. and her allies. Thanks ever so much, President B.O.

This doesn't have a chance in youknowwhere, but still, you should know

2009-02-23T14:08:00.003-06:00

House Joint Resolution 5

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. J. RES. 5

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 6, 2009

Mr. SERRANO introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

`Article--

`The twenty-second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.'.

Is it any surprise that this sort of thing would come up with Obama in the White House?

Incidentally, Serrano is a Democrat from New York.

No money for New Orleans in "stimulus" package

2009-02-20T11:47:00.004-06:00

Gosh, here's a big surprise (not!):

The economic stimulus signed by President Barack Obama will spread billions of dollars across the country to spruce up aging roads and bridges. But there's not a dime specifically dedicated to fixing leftover damage from Hurricane Katrina.

And there's no outrage about it.

Democrats who routinely criticized President George W. Bush for not sending more money to the Gulf Coast appear to be giving Obama the benefit of the doubt in his first major spending initiative.

Obviously, Democrats don't care about black people. (Anyone seen Kayne West around lately?)

Welcome to the Obamessiah's America, Part II

2009-02-19T13:11:00.002-06:00

Oklahoma City police officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle

The police officers who stopped Oklahoma City motorist Chip Harrison and confiscated a sign from his car told him he has a right to his beliefs, but the U.S. Secret Service "could construe this as a threat against President Obama," according to the incident report released this morning.

The sign, which read "Abort Obama Not the Unborn," was returned to Harrison later that day, the report said.

Police spokesman Steve McCool said this morning that the sign was taken in error, and Oklahoma City residents should not be worried that their First Amendment rights will be violated. He said a supervisor "intervened and quickly returned the sign" after Harrison called the police department.

The intimidation and harassment continues...

Welcome to the Obamessiah's America

2009-02-11T11:06:00.002-06:00

Courtesy KETV 7 in Iowa, via Michelle:

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Iowa State trooper who was investigated after it was shown that he forwarded an e-mail showing mug shots of people wearing Obama t-shirts has been suspended for 30 days.

Sgt. Rodney Hicok was at home and off-duty when he forwarded the e-mails, said an official with the Iowa Department of Public Safety Bureau and Professional Standards.

The e-mail made disparaging remarks about 15 people in the photos and referred to Obama as having "quite a fan base."

Hicok was not making a racial statement, the official said, but, rather, a political statement.

In a statement, Hicok said, "I am deeply sorry for my actions … I apologize to anyone this e-mail may have offended, as well as my family, citizens in my community and Iowa taxpayers."

Hicok ended his statement by saying he guaranteed "nothing like this will ever happen again."

"I regret what happened and wish I could take it back," Hicok said in the statement.

He violated the department's policy and his permanent file will reflect the suspension, the official said.

The 27-year veteran, who has no prior offense on his record, will also attend DPS training on policies and procedures.

There's some key words and phrases in that report: "at home", "off-duty," "Hicok was [making] a political statement."

Just who in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks do these people think they are? To discipline an OFF-DUTY officer who was AT HOME on his OWN COMPUTER? Because he disparaged the Obamessiah's supporters? Where's the ACLU? You'd know they'd have proactively jumped on the case if it had involved disparaging remarks about President Bush.

I am really, really concerned - maybe even a little fearful - about what the next 4 years are going to bring. This trooper's case was not an isolated incident. Add to all these the whole revival of the anti-First Amendment "fairness doctrine" and you've got the makings of a totalitarian society.

And to think people thought (and some still think) Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty Four" would come to life via the right-wing.

GM to create new jobs with stimulus money!

2009-02-09T13:48:00.004-06:00

Good news! Oh, wait...

General Motors to Invest $1 Billion in Brazil Operations -- Money to Come from U.S. Rescue Program

General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker.

According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to "complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012."

Yeah, that will really help the American economy. Thanks, Democrats!

Majority of Americans DO NOT want the "stimulus" package

2009-02-09T12:13:00.005-06:00

Rasmussen Reports: Support for Stimulus Package Falls to 37%

But do the Obamessiah and the Democrats care? I really, really doubt it.

This seemed appropriate

2009-02-04T12:19:00.002-06:00

Greetings from Minne-so-cold!

Liberal hypocrisy 101

2009-01-30T19:21:00.003-06:00

Liberals are okay with allowing and encouraging things like this and this, and they turn a blind eye to this:

...but then they turn around and do things like this.

Imagine if conservatives fought for a got "bubble zones" restricting access and free speech outside of Marine recruiting offices. The left would have conniptions until the "bubble zones" were removed.

Like I said: liberal hypocrisy 101.

Ice cream

2009-01-28T11:03:00.003-06:00

Found this online. True or not, it "speaks truth to power."

From teacher in Brownsville :

We are worried about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream."

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president.

We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother.

The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.

Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream." She sat down. The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream."

She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn't know. The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.

Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream and sixty percent of the people react like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other forty percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.

I'm not hoping Mr. Obama will fail

2009-01-23T10:01:00.002-06:00

I'm fully expecting him to fail, especially judging from how his first days are going. His "economic stimulus" plan is a joke and is, in fact, just an undisguised spending bill of massive proportions and even more massive waste. (Exactly how will spending tons of money on "arts and culture" stimulate the economy?) His jobs creation plan is an even bigger joke. Oh, but he's closing Gitmo! Never mind that neither he nor anyone else in his administration has any idea what they are going to do with all those prisoners. They'll either ultimately not close Gitmo or will send all the prisoners back to the Middle East where they can join up with Al Qaeda and the Taliban and retake everything President Bush freed. Fan-flipping-tastic.

Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009)

2009-01-14T16:33:00.003-06:00

We have lost a great actor today, but Heaven has gained a giant of a Christian saint. That needs to be pointed out, as the liberal media will undoubtedly ignore his devout faith.

RIP, Mr. Montalban, and thank you.

Presidential inauguals: 2005 vs. 2009

2009-01-14T16:17:00.004-06:00

That was then:

President Bush’s second inauguration will cost tens of millions of dollars — $40 million alone in private donations for the balls, parade and other invitation-only parties. With that kind of money, what could you buy?

■ 200 armored Humvees with the best armor for troops in Iraq.

■ Vaccinations and preventive health care for 22 million children in regions devastated by the tsunami.

■ A down payment on the nation’s deficit, which hit a record-breaking $412 billion last year....

The questions have come from Bush supporters and opponents: Do we need to spend this money on what seems so extravagant?

This is now:

Barack Obama's inauguration is set to cost more than £100m making it the most expensive swearing-in ceremony in US history.

The President-elect will take less than a minute to recite the oath of office in front of an estimated two million people in the US capital next week.

But by the time the final dance has been held at one of the many inaugural balls the costs for the day will be a staggering £110m.

The cost was revealed as Mr Obama scrambled to answer questions about the nomination of Treasury Secretary pick Timothy Geithner.

That's over $160 million in U.S. dollars - OVER FOUR TIMES the cost of President Bush's 2005 inaugural.

So where are the liberals who complained in 2005 now? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Global warming doomsayers doomsaying doomed

2009-01-05T15:41:00.002-06:00

Perhaps you remember the global warming nuts last year claiming that the North Pole ice cap could melt entirely in 2008. Well, I'm not sorry to say that they were 100% wrong, as usual:

Sea Ice Ends Year at Same Level as 1979

Rapid growth spurt leaves amount of ice at levels seen 29 years ago.

Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.

Ice levels had been tracking lower throughout much of 2008, but rapidly recovered in the last quarter. In fact, the rate of increase from September onward is the fastest rate of change on record, either upwards or downwards.

The data is being reported by the University of Illinois's Arctic Climate Research Center, and is derived from satellite observations of the Northern and Southern hemisphere polar regions.

Each year, millions of square kilometers of sea ice melt and refreeze. However, the mean ice anomaly -- defined as the seasonally-adjusted difference between the current value and the average from 1979-2000, varies much more slowly. That anomaly now stands at just under zero, a value identical to one recorded at the end of 1979, the year satellite record-keeping began.

Just add that to the lengthy list of failed predictions of doom from the global warming nuts.

Tex the troll

2008-12-28T21:18:00.000-06:00

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The reason for the season

2008-12-25T11:15:00.000-06:00

"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." Luke 2:7

Changing my contact email

2008-12-13T10:46:00.002-06:00

I'm changing my contact email in the right-hand column to Gmail for a couple of reasons. First, my computer has been buggy for a while (not sure why) and Juno works really slow on it right now. Second, I'm getting a lot of "cash advance" and "pre-approved loan" spam in Juno, which they don't seem to be in any hurry to auto-block as it comes in. Juno has been great about spam up until recently. I don't know why things have changed.

Yes indeed! Change you can believe in!

2008-12-12T13:51:00.002-06:00

Changing history, that is. News stories linking Prez-elect Obama with recently arrested Illinois Gov. Blagojevich are disappearing fast. A number of blogs are covering this:

Doug Ross

JammieWearingFool

Gateway Pundit