Fighting the urge to "Do something!"

Once upon a time...

Washington, D.C. -- Members of Congress taking a little time off to watch football this weekend were shocked and appalled to see Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor spit on Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman.

"I was shocked and appalled!" said Representative John Murtha (D, Penn.). "Millions of Americans were watching when this dangerous assault was committed on national television. If the networks think they can get away with this, they can think again. I have asked the Chairman of the FCC to hold immediate hearings to ensure the immediate removal of all football games to Pay-per-View. The NFL is broken, and it's time to do something about it."

Representative Murtha has also instructed his staff to begin drafting a bill which he says will be ready at the end of the week. "With a little luck, we'll have a law on the President's desk by the end of the month."

At a press conference Monday afternoon, Senator John McCain was scathing in his criticism of the NFL, and promised a review of the weekend's events in light of the government-granted monopoly. "Make no mistake, this torture cannot be allowed to continue. If the Armed Forces can't do it in defense of our country, I'm certainly not going to allow it to continue in the National Football League." The Gang of Fourteen is scheduled to meet later this week to discuss the issue.

On the floor of the Senate, Senator John Kerry (D, Mass.) was urging more direct action from his colleagues Monday morning. "It is incumbent upon us to take immediate action in the Senate. We can expect little action from a White House which hasn't even seen fit to issue a statement condemning this heinous act," said the Massachusetts Senator. Aides to Kerry said calls to his office were running five to one against spitting, and characterized the general tone of the messages as "outraged".

In a rare gesture of bipartisanship, leaders of the House and Senate have agreed to put the spitting bills on a fast track to a floor vote, and most Washington insiders expect a delay in the Alito hearings until this legislation has cleared committee.

When the Constitution was written, it was thought that citizens would step up and serve in office for a time, then go home to their farm or business and resume their normal life. The laws passed by these citizen lawmakers would be tempered by their life experiences, their natural aversion to government interference in their lives, and the realization that, after their service was over, they had to live their daily lives with their former constituents. (as opposed to today's situation where too many have little life experience outside politics, little aversion to government intrusion into our lives, living mostly among their colleagues in Washington, D.C. and taking a job as a lobbyist inside the Beltway instead of moving back to Ottumwa)

But from the first time some figured out that it was easier to sit and talk in Congress than to hoe corn in the sun or argue over the price of dry goods with Mrs. McGillicuddy, we have had what amounts to a professional legislature. And what does a professional legislature do? Why, it legislates! And legislates, and legislates, and legislates...

Once upon a time, laws took their sweet time going through Congress. It sometimes took years to get an important bill signed into law, and by the time the vote was taken, most of the members of Congress that voted on it had read it and knew what was in it. Take a look at this article by Bruce Bartlett on "Changing the Culture of Congress" for more on this. Today, many Senators and Representatives are often surprised by what is contained in the bills they pass, because they do not give them even the minimum attention they should.

Someone told me once that it is unreasonable to expect lawmakers to read the bills they pass. There are too many laws and they are too complicated. If they are too complicated to read before they are voted on, doesn't it hold likely they are bad laws that will be too complicated to live under? Can you say IRS? And as to too many?

The United States is organized as a federal republic because the Framers rightly reckoned that a pure democracy would soon degenerate into mob rule. Legislators responsible to an electorate would gather together one step removed from the madding crowd, allowing cool heads to give due consideration to issues before them--issues of import to the entire country.

But professional legislators must pass bills. It justifies their existence. It gives meaning to their lives. It shows they are important, because SOMEONE HAS TO DO SOMETHING. And when important issues run out, well, just any old thing the polls throw up will do. Would it surprise you to see the article I began with above in a newspaper? Well, it wouldn't surprise me.

I wish there were some way to get across to lawmakers that they really don't have to make laws all the time. We have plenty. Every law is an imposition, if not a burden, on the citizenry. If no new laws were passed in this session of Congress or the state legislatures, would that be a bad thing? I don't think so. Gee, maybe they could even repeal a few while they were waiting.

In Rome, victorious generals were often awarded a triumph; a parade thru Rome displaying the plunder of the war on floats depicting battles and carrying captured kings or chiefs, the general's favorite legion marching behind. The general, usually dressed in armor made of gold, rode in a chariot pulled by the finest horses, and basked in the adulation of the citizens of the Rome. And lest he let all this go to his head, riding in the chariot behind him was a slave who held a golden crown above the triumphator's head and whispered in the general's ear, "Momento mori," (remember, you are mortal) a warning that the glory would soon end and normal life would resume.

Perhaps we could adapt this from the Romans. (Not the triumph part.) Yes, perhaps someone could stand behind each Member of Congress while they were in Washington and whisper from time to time, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
GBW

If Jesus were alive today...

On my way to and from Lexington yesterday, I caught a bit of Jerry Springer on a Cincy radio station. The bump said, as best I can recall, "If Jesus were alive today, he'd be a Liberal, drive a hybrid car, drink Merlot, and listen to Jerry Springer on the radio."

Just a few observations.

1. Jesus is alive, today. Just because He isn't on Earth doesn't mean He isn't alive.
2. He isn't a Liberal. Nor is He a Conservative. He is God. Amazingly, there is a difference.
3. Anyone with a working knowlege of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, understands that Jesus doesn't need a vehicle, not even a hybrid.
4. Jesus drank wine when He was here on Earth. Scripture does not speak to any preference.
5. Jesus does listen to Jerry Springer on the radio (Omniscient, omnipresent, etc.) But that's between Him and Mr. Springer at a future date.

Also caught a few minutes of Al Franken. That was too many.
GBW

Major Civil Rights Victory in Louisiana

Major Victory For Firearms Owners And Freedom In Louisiana
Friday, September 23, 2005

(Fairfax, VA) -- The United States District Court for the Eastern District in Louisiana today sided with the National Rifle Association (NRA) and issued a restraining order to bar further gun confiscations from peaceable and law-abiding victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

“This is a significant victory for freedom and for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The court’s ruling is instant relief for the victims who now have an effective means of defending themselves from the robbers and rapists that seek to further exploit the remnants of their shattered lives,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

Joining LaPierre in hailing the U.S. District Court decision was NRA chief lobbyist Chris W. Cox. “This is an important victory. But the battle is not over. The NRA will remedy state emergency statutes in all 50 states, if needed, to ensure that this injustice does not happen again."

The controversy erupted when The New York Times reported, the New Orleans superintendent of police directed that no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to have guns and that “only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons.” ABC News quoted New Orleans’ deputy police chief, saying, “No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons.”

The NRA also pledged that it will continue its work to ensure that every single firearm arbitrarily and unlawfully seized under this directive is returned to the rightful law-abiding owner.

(Yes, this IS a civil rights issue, check your copy of the Constitution. It's called the Bill of Rights. GBW)

Violence in New Orleans

Spent several days in SE KY at my parents, and my grandmother, a wonderful woman in her mid-80s, kept asking, "What's wrong with those people down in New Orleans?"

This essay from Eject! Eject! Eject!, Bill Whittle's blog, pretty much sums it up. I wish I'd written most of it.

Mr. Whittle rates this one "R", so consider yourself warned. Thx to Kim DuToit for the link.
GBW

Equal and opposite reaction?

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll just let Timothy Kelly's pen tell the tale.
GBW

Give them something to think about.

An AP article tells us of a new law, passed by the North Carolina legislature and currently on the Governor's desk awaiting his signature, which would require courts to give battered spouses information on how to get a concealed carry license.

As I write this, there is an armed standoff in PRP between police and a man alleged to have just killed his estranged wife. We all know protective orders are all but useless, but I wonder, if it were common practice for these poor ladies to be packing heat, would their ex-whatevers be so keen on coming after them?

One of my wife's most told stories involves a nurse who worked for her several years ago. The soon-to-be ex-husband chased the nurse around a community college parking lot with a shotgun. She called some of his family shortly after that and asked them to tell him she had a pistol and had been practicing with it, and guess what? She never heard from nor saw him again.

I hope the Governor of North Carolina signs the law and many battered spouses avail themselves of their 2nd amendment rights. Hmmm. Time to write to some legislators.
GBW

Listen to "the Mrs."

One of the best things about A Nation of Riflemen, Kim Dutoit's blog, is The Mrs., Kim's wife. She has her own blog, though she doesn't post often enough, and her latest post, This is Normal, is right on the money.

Take a moment and read it, won't you?
GBW

Why the Left hates the 2nd Amendment

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. "

Noah Webster, An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 178o

But surely nothing like that would ever happen in the United States!
GBW

Haven't abandoned the blog...

Greetings.
I haven't abandoned the blog. I have let work issues distract me from the important things.
Between not really keeping up with the news, and a general disgust for the lack of leadership from the GOP and their unseemly way of taking whatever the Left dishes out by laying down and whimpering has just left me cold.
I'll try to do better, I promise.
GBW

Rule 18

USNews.com: John Leo wonders about news that doesn't make the news, why the media ignore some stories (6/13/05)

John Leo's article has some excellent examples of unreported stories, one of which is "Rule 18" in the Al Qaeda handbook.

"Mainstream media have been reluctant, in all the coverage of treatment of detainees at Guantanamo, to mention that the al Qaeda training manual specifically instructs all of its agents to make false claims of torture. The New York Times seems to have mentioned the manual's torture reference only once, in a short report from Australia. Several other papers mentioned it as a one-line quote from a military spokesman who pointed it out. But until the Washington Times ran a front-page piece last week, a Nexis search could find no clear and pointed article in the U.S. press like the one by Alasdair Palmer in the London Sunday Telegraph, with the headline "This is al Qaeda Rule 18: 'You must claim you were tortured.' " He wrote that the manual doesn't prove "that the Britons were not tortured in Guantanamo. But it ought to encourage some doubts about uncritically accepting that they were--which seems to be the attitude adopted by most of the media." Amen to both points in that last sentence."

Does it make you wonder, given the general tone of the torture and abuse stories in most of the media, just how much reporting is going on versus hysterical repeating of rumors, innuendo, and lies? And just why are they so eager to believe the worst all the time?
GBW

Not another cent.

I received a pledge form from the RNC today. It reminded me of the promise I'd made to support my Party. I will be sending it back with only a letter asking why I should support my Party when it breaks its promise to me.

We were told the Republican Party would lead. I have to say I'll believe it when I see it. And that's when they'll see another check from me.
GBW

No good will come of it...

Well, the Democrats "caved" in the Senate. Well, not really. They gave up nothing and gained legitimacy for their erroneous position by the collusion of Republican defectors. Yes, that's what they are. The Republicans gained nothing and lost legitimacy for their correct position by the sabotage of Republican defectors. No, the up or down votes agreed on really don't mean anything. There will be a Supreme Court appointment in the near future, and unless it's Hillary Clinton, the Dems will filibuster.

Would have been much better to get it out of the way now.

If I were a Republican in the Senate, I'd be thinking about some new leadership. I'm a Republican in Ky, and I know that's what my next letter to Senator McConnell and Senator Bunning will suggest.

There's an envelope on my counter in the kitchen right now with a pledge form to the Republican National Committee. What to do??? HMMM.

Just one quick question. - who won the election, anyway? Right now, it sure doesn't look like we picked up nearly as many seats as it seemed on Election Day.
GBW

Details on the Rolling Block

From my cousin:

We started with an old military Remington action, and my gunsmith buddy completely reworked it to Sporting Rifle configuration. The barrel is by Green Mountain (highly regarded in our circles), full octagon, 32” long, chambered in .45-70. Stock is Remington Sporting Rifle configuration, English walnut, steel buttplate and forend tip. The action was engraved by Ken Hurst, of NC (used to work in the Colt Custom Shop). The metal finish is a combination of methods, all original to these types of rifles…the buttplate, forend tip, triggerguard, hammer, breechblock, and tang sight base were color-case hardened. The action frame is carbonia blue (think pre-war Colt blue-black), and the barrel is slow rust blued. Montana Vintage Arms tang sight and globe front with spirit level complete the piece.

GBW

New (old) Rifle

The pictures below show the current pride and joy of my cousin, G.P. (After his family, of course)
The engraving was done by Ken Hurst. The stock work was done by my cousin.
I'll have to try really hard not to covet this one. Right.
I've lost the details about the rifle, and G. is at a silhouette match in TN this weekend, so I'll try to post details Monday or Tuesday.
When Master Sgt. G.P. leaves the Army, he'll get to do this kind of thing all the time.
GBW

Beautiful wood.  

Completed rifle, right side of action. Look at that wood. 

The completed rifle, with proud owner 

In the white, right view. 

In the white, left view. 

The Nuclear Option according to Nick Anderson

This is another of the many reasons why I seldom read and never buy The Courier-Journal, the only daily paper here in the Peoples' Republic of Louisville Metro. Nick Anderson, prize-winning cartoonist at the C-J, has this take on some Senate Republican's efforts to get the Senate to do its Constitutionally mandated job and give an up or down vote to the President's nominees. While you're on this page, you can look at more of his work and get really steamed.

Oh, I know it's on the op-ed page, but really, if one of the major voices (picture's worth a thousand works, remember?) of the C-J can't see the difference between elected officials in the United States doing their job, and the Communist dictator of North Korea, why should I spend money on the rag, unless, of course, you are a moonbat. At least Anderson is a better artist than the poor-excuse-for-a cartoonist Joel Pett at the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Louisville and the Commonwealth deserve a top-notch Conservative daily newpaper. Where o' where are you O' Voice of Truth and Reason?!?!?!?!
GBW

Those who can't do...

Nice article by Victor David Hansen in The American Enterprise Online.

I've often wondered at the level of willfull ignorance of the Left in America, but it pales in comparison to that found on the Continent. That and what I have always believed is rank envy.

The next time you think someone across the Pond is making a good point, just remember the surest prediction of the British elections: 40%+ minimum taxes for everyone in formerly Jolly Olde England. And the Continent is worse. Of course, that only applies to the small percentage who actually have jobs.

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

Winston Churchill

GBW

More on the Hawpe view of Justice Sunday

(See Kadnine's fine post for links and comments.)
Funny, Mr. Hawpe calls it a crusade, but I thought it was called Civil Rights. Let's see.

Freedom of religion? Check
Freedom of assembly? Check
Freedom of speech? Check
Freedom to seek redress of grievances? Check

Hmmm. I wonder what part of that Mr. Hawpe doesn't understand.

Actually, Mr. Hawpe does understand it. It's just that he and his ilk don't like it because they don't like some Christians. Oh, the Marxist "Christians" and their liberation theology are OK. And the social justice "Christians" are fine, too. But those uppity fundamentalists, those right-wingers? Nah, no use for those poor ignorant, unenlightened souls. (And BTW, if this an abuse of politics and religion, where was Mr. Hawpe's indignation when John Kerry was making the rounds of churches on Sunday mornings during the Presidential campaign?)

The Left's problem with Justice Sunday is that some Christians have moved out of the sphere of action the Left's view of Christianity allows. The namby-pamby version of Christianity they allow narrowly focuses on the "love" and "turn the other cheek" teachings of Christ to the exclusion of the teachings about the wrath of a righteous God upon Sin, and is not the Christianity of the Bible, but of liberal deconstructionists who neutered the Gospel to suit a social agenda. Kind of like the Left today.

Well, this is still the United States of America, there's still a Constitution, and the rights enumerated therein still apply to all the citizens, yes, even people of faith, and not just the ones that agree with Left Wing newspaper editors, Senators and seminarians.

If the members of Highview Baptist Church want to host a meeting and broadcast with Dr. Mohler, Dr. Dobson, and Mr. Colson, that's their right. If Senator Frist is invited to participate, that's their right. If the people who participate at the church and around the country via satellite can convice enough people to join their point of view, and they in turn can convince elected representives to listen to them, and changes in governance result from it, well gee whiz, that's just the way a representative democracy works.

So, with respect, my advice to Mr. Hawpe and all the others who are frothing at the mouth over this exercise of democracy is simply this.

Wipe the spittle from your chin. Suck it up. Get over it.
Of course, they won't.
GBW

I hope the Dems don't read this...

Of course, if the Dems did read this piece (Taking Faith Seriously: Contempt for religion cost Democrats more that votes.) by Mike Gecan, not enough would get it to make a difference. Just read the article to see what I mean.

Mr. Gecan's article shows a heart of America the Leftist elitists cannot countenance because of their snearing disdain for people of faith, indeed, for God.
GBW

Human Fallibility

Digital Video Recording, DVR, took all the fun out of the NCAA Tournament for me this year.

Well, I don't know much about basketball, so when I can see a foul, I figure the referees will be all over it. Now I understand that they can't see everything, but come on. Take the game last night. Using DVR, I can do my own slow-motion replays. Over and over, I saw obvious fouls committed where one or more of the referees were at least looking in the same direction. I rolled back the recording and looked at the slo-mo, and sure enough there was an obvious, sometiimes blatant foul.

I'm not talking about the subtle fouls, there isn't much subtle about basketball anymore. I'm talking about hacking, punching, pushing, and tripping. And while I'm on the subject, I was taught basketball was not a contact sport. What has happened to the game? I've seen street brawls where there was less contact.

I don't expect the referees to see everything, but is it too much to ask they control the game to keep it from being so physical? With all the pushing, hand-checking, etc. that goes on, I don't see how the refs can even figure out what to call a foul. They've also apparently forgotten how to count to three and how to call turning the ball over.

No, they can't see everything, but after watching some of the games from this tournament in slo-mo, I expect to see lines of college referees waiting for LASIK procedures. Maybe while they are standing there, they could review the rules of basketball and get the game back to something Naismith would recognize.
GBW

Catching up.

Well, Spring has sprung and I am finally getting over my pneumonia. Fits of hacking are confined to a couple of fairly predictable times a day and getting up to walk across the room no longer requires a rest stop. Also found is a clarity of mind that I had forgotten existed. (Or what passes for clarity in my case, reminds the Wonderful Wife.) So here are some observations about recent events.

Terry Schiavo
The most striking fact about this entire ordeal is the lack of generally accepted facts about the health of Ms. Schiavo. Ask five people about her condition and what was being done for her and you'd get seven different answers. The courts' greatest failure was not ordering an independent medical evaluation of Ms. Schiavo's condition before condemning her to death. I expect to see the fallout from this in State legistatures. Oh, and Michael Schiavo is a jerk of the first order.

Living Wills
My wife is an R.N. and has spent many years working in intensive care units. Her observations through the years have stopped me from signing a living will. What I would like done at age 50 may be radically different than what I would prefer at age 80. We tend to think of what we want done in those latter years, but an automobile accident tomorrow may activate conditions in a living will that might prohibit life-saving measures that are quite reasonable under the circumstances. I can't begin to think of all the different things that might happen, so I have chosen a renewable medical power-of-attorney that delineates who makes decisions when I can't. Since it has to be renewed, periodic revisions could reasonably be expected to avoid the estranged spouse issues we saw in Florida.

Red Lake School Shooting
This is an incident which wouldn't have been averted by any gun-control measure that isn't blatantly unconstitutional. The preoccupation so many have blaming guns for every shooting like this obscures the personal tragedies that cause them and the societal issues that contribute to them.

Officer Grignon killed in Louisville
Why was this young man on the street? The person(s) responsible for the officer's death are the ones that allowed the boy that pulled the trigger to remain at large. Breakdowns in the system are inevitable, but why do they happen so often?

Social Security and Taxes
It's broke. Fix it. I like privitization and I like the National Sales Tax, but I'm open to other ideas. Just don't say it doesn't need fixing.

The Pope's death.
I am not Roman Catholic, so I really don't understand it from that viewpoint, but I admire him for his stand against Communism and his role in promoting freedom in the former Soviet satellite states.

Alaska National Wildlife Refuge
Drill.

Oil Prices.
My monthly gasoline bill has gone from about $70 to over $120. So we went to Iraq for the oil? Right. Just keep saying it, Moonbats, as the prices keep rising. So much for traveling this summer.

If I haven't made you made today, I'll try harder next time.
GBW

Among these are Life...

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

All rights enumerated in the Constitution are predicated by the assumption that those who would enjoy their God-given rights are alive. Dead people don't have rights.

Terry Schiavo's most basic civil right has been violated. Convicted felons sentenced to death receive more consideration in the appeals process than is available to Ms. Schiavo, who has been denied recourse to the Federal courts.

Believe what you want, but beginning with Roe v. Wade in 1973, the Baby Doe incident in the 80's, assisted suicide laws, etc., the U.S.A. has been sliding down the slippery slope of devaluation of human life to the point where you should fear being incapacitated in an accident or medical situation. In Europe, euthanasia is common practice in delivery rooms and, if stories I have heard from some Europeans are true, hospitals and nursing homes.

Terry Schiavo should receive judicial relief on the principles of basic civil rights. To do otherwise is to declare her a de facto non-person as the Florida courts have done. Hmmm. Non-person. Where have we heard that kind of terminology before?

It doesn't matter what her husband or parents think. There is a higher moral issue here that transcends the emotion we see on both sides. Terry Schiavo deserves to live, no matter the quality of that life, because she has a right to live that should not be abrogated, even with the cooperation of the courts. Expediency and emotion have no place in this decision.

Let us hope that those who hold Terry Schiavo's life in their hands will choose life.
GBW

Atlanta and Wisconson Shootings

I wonder how long it will take for someone to start talking about more restrictions on firearms because of the prisoner who took a deputy's gun and shot several people or the man that opened fire during a church service.

If you think more laws restricting firearms would have averted this tragedy, tell me how that would work. Then explain how this infringement on the civil rights of law-abiding citizens would be justifiable if applied to freedom of speech and religion.

Restrictions of the freedoms of all because of the actions of criminals and madmen demonstrates an egregious misunderstanding of freedom and the responsibilities of a law-abiding citizen.
GBW

Relapse

Sorry to be so delinquent, but I didn't have my facts straight before. Instead of getting better, which lasted less than one day, I found out I still had pneumonia. Apparently my bugs didn't pay any attention to the Z-Pack.

So, having had pneumonia for the better part of the last month (or the worst part, depending on how you look at it), I have benignly neglected my blog. I hope to do much better in the coming days as it seems the new antibiotic is doing what it is supposed to.
GBW

Something else to worry about

Imagine the economic devastation if almost all the electronics on which we depend (phones, computers, cell phones, basic electric service, electronic instruments, automobiles, lights, etc.) were all disabled in a few milliseconds. A single medium yield nuclear device airburst about 300 miles over the center of the U.S. (a ship-borne SCUD ballistic missle from North Korea or other rogue state), or several smaller devices detonated at lower altitudes (by terrorists) would shut us down in much less than the proverbial New York minute.

The president of The Claremont Institute was interveiwed by Bill Bennet this morning on Morning in America. He mentioned the danger of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) to national security. Do you know what EMP is? Take a look at this link for an interesting page with basic explanations.

Those of us who live around busy airports commented on the quietness after 9/11. Try to imagine what it would be like if you didn't hear any cars or trucks, any airplanes, any refrigerator motors or furnace fans, no television or radio, no air-conditioner hum, no motorcyles, well, you get the idea. Few electronic devices or devices which depend on electronics would be of much use. .

Try to imagine the loss of life if we had an EMP event in a cold winter. No heat, no transportation, and little, if any, chance of restoring either for a long time. Not to mention that every traffic light would fail, every plane in the air would crash, and every patient whose life depended on electricity would die.

I don't know about you, but I don't have a source of water that isn't dependent on electricy and six months of food. Expect millions to die of thirst, exposure and starvation. In fact, if you aren't in a position to survive with the technology of rural late 19th-early 20th Century America, you'd be in a world of hurt.

Unthinkable you say? Unrealistically alarmist you think? See this link for a Heritage Foundation paper that references testimony to Congress by The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. Not a question of if, but when. If someone had told you on 9/10/2001 about the events of the next day, you would have laughed at them. Until the first plane flew into the World Trade Center the next morning.

Just something else to worry about.
GBW

Out of the fog.

I have to admit to having almost no serious thoughts about anything for almost two weeks. A very nasty flu turned into bronchitis turned into pneumonia and the concurrent fevers pretty much shut down the old gray matter. Of course, I'm told by some that a brain scan would be necessary to tell the difference from when I'm well.

Isn't it amazing how small the issues that usually occupy our minds seem when we are ill? Suddenly, budgets, political races, court cases, outrageous comments that would generate immediate praise or condemnation are not even placed on the back burner, but thrown out in the back yard for the duration, if, indeed, we even really hear them. I barely had the gumption (that's a good country word) to check my email every couple of days.

But, like my slowly returning appetite for food, so returns my appetite for news. And with that, a slowly returning desire to say something about whatever piques my interest. I wonder what will be next?
GBW

Pneumonia

Bad to worse. I am ready to be well. My Wonderful Wife, who had pneumonia at Christmas, now has the flu, too.
Well, we have pestilence. Can famine be far behind?
GBW

The Flu, or How to be truly miserable without even trying.

Been down with the Flu.
Will be back when I can hold my head up and type more that two words without being interrupted by coughing spasms.
GBW

Blaster Worm nets inventor 18 months in prison.

And now for a bit of news that's near and dear to me.

The young man responsible for the initial Blaster worm has been sentenced to prison.

The ComputerWorld article says the judge didn't set the maximum sentence of 37 months "partly because of neglectful upbringing and supervision."

Give me a break. He entered a guilty plea. He knew it was wrong. He's going to a country club Federal pen, not out to break big rocks into little rocks.

Oh well. I'm glad she didn't give him a hug and send him home..
GBW

The American Holocaust

Nearly 40,000,000 deaths bloody the hands of abortionists in the United States.

FBI statistics say the violent crime rate is dropping, but I don't understand how that can be when one in ten Americans have been murdered in the last thirty years. Oh, wait. It's legal murder.

Future generations will judge us more guilty than Hitler for the atrocity we have allowed to happen to these unborn children.

Please click on the link below for Dr. Mohler's post, The Cause of Life--Where We Now Stand.
Crosswalk.com - Albert Mohler's Weblog

What have you done today to help stop this madness? Have you prayed? Have you written a letter to a newspaper? Have you made a donation to or volunteered to help at a Pro-Life clinic? Have you participated in a public protest? Do you communicate your concern with your elected officials?

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
(British Philosopher Edmund Burke)
So, Do Something.

GBW

Mr. Rauch's Miracle Brush - Tars with one hand, whitewashes with the other.

"On balance it is probably healthier if religious conservatives are inside the
political system than if they operate as insurgents and provocateurs on the
outside. Better they should write anti-abortion planks into the Republican
platform than bomb abortion clinics. The same is true of the left. The clashes
over civil rights and Vietnam turned into street warfare partly because
activists were locked out of their own party establishments and had to fight,
literally, to be heard. When Michael Moore receives a hero's welcome at the
Democratic National Convention, we moderates grumble; but if the parties engage
fierce activists while marginalizing tame centrists, that is probably better for
the social peace than the other way around." Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic
Monthly

When you cut to the chase, it seems Mr. Rauch thinks that religious conservatives bomb abortion clinics and Leftist radicals turned to violence in the Sixties and early Seventies because it was the only way they could be heard. Consequently, the only way to keep social peace is to embrace the madness on both sides of the cultural spectrum.

I'd be very interested to know how many religious conservatives Mr. Rauch has in his circle of friends. Few, I would wager, for if religious conservatives are as he states here, I'm sure he runs screaming whenever he thinks he sees one. (Come to think of it, so would I.) I wish I could persuade him to sit in with my Sunday School class for a couple of Sundays, maybe attend one of our class socials. A member for some years, I have yet to hear any instruction on manufacturing explosive devices or the effective placement of the same. There have been no trips to the range to hone sniper skills. Instead, we talk about ourselves, our families, our jobs, our co-workers, and study how the Bible is relevant in our lives every day. We ask each other to pray for those about whom we are concerned. Mr. Rauch might hear about class plans to donate money to purchase gifts for an Indianapolis pastor's family with six children our class has taken under our wing. Perhaps he'd hear about opportunities to sing in the choir, work in childcare, assist in the media ministry, or attend Bible studies. Oh well, maybe my church is a rare exception. No, wait, the last four churches I attended were the same way. Hmmm. Maybe it isnt an exception after all.

Mr. Rauch's comments show either the egregious willful ignorance of religious conservatism usually exhibited by the Left, or a carelessness of expression of which a writer with his credentials should not be guilty. If religious conservatives were prone to bomb abortion clinics because they were marginalized in the political process, the Clinton years would have been a veritable firestorm. Why is Mr. Rauch so wrong? He is wrong simply because he wants to be. Either he has not taken the time to get to know any religious conservatives, and/or he accepts the distorted caricature of conservative persons of faith as truth without corroboration, and/or he has been careless.

Mr. Rauch has also seems to have accepted the Left's justifying interpretation of the "glorious struggle" of the Sixties and early Seventies. Objective observation reveals most radicals of the era were one of two things, communist/socialists masquerading as "progressives", or immature children, regardless of their age, throwing tantrums because they couldn't have their way and have it now, and they wanted to stick it to their parents. It wasn't because they were marginalized. It was because they were impatient.

I bought the relevant issue of the Atlantic Monthly last evening, and in context with the rest of the article. I think Mr. Rauch was careless. I hope we see some sense of accountability from him which has been so lacking in recent instances of media malfeasance.
GBW

UPDATE:
Hugh Hewitt had Mr. Rauch on his show last evening, and guess what? Mr. Rauch was responsive to the point of allowing his entire article to be included on Hugh's blog and penning a response.
Integrity in media. What a concept!!

Kudos to Jonathan Rauch for being a responsible journalist. At least in hindsight.
GBW

The Counter-Counter Inaugural

The Central Kentucky Chapter of Protest Warrior staged a Counter-Counter Inaugural Thursday in response to the Louisville Peace Action Community's Counter-Inaugural (That means "WehateBushwewishhewasdeadhe'snotourPresident.) at the Courthouse in downtown Louisville.
See Paul's post here, Brent's post here, and Dawn's post here and a couple of comments from me here. (Note: There is some strong language in some of these posts.) Paul and Brent serve up some great pictures. I wish there was video of the LPAC'ers that were not all that peaceful.

Most people on the right have no idea how many on the left exhibit what seems to be lunatic behavior and reasoning. These posts will give you a glimpse. I heartily recommend you attend one of their rallies for a real eye opener.

Then join Protest Warrior.
GBW

Idealism untempered with pragmatism

(For some reason, this didn't post up Thursday. So, here it is)
Driving to work this morning, I passed the preparations for Greater Louisville Peace and Justice Communities' "All Day Counter-Inaugural" rally in front of the courthouse in downtown Louisville. I immediately recalled the words of noted British evolutionist, Sir Arthur Keith*, who said, "Evolution is unproved and unprovable; we believe it only because the alternative is the belief in God and creation, and that is unthinkable!"

In case you haven't noticed, we do not live in a perfect world. Though peace is always an admirable goal, all parties involved in a dispute must sign on, or it is not peace, but oppression. Sadly, sometimes force must be met with force. It is at this point we see Sir Arthur's mindset manifest itself in the peace movement. Peace is the only answer for them because their minds are closed to reality and the necessities of it.

Their blind devotion to utopianism (or their blind hatred of George W. Bush, you decide) flies in the face of the way things are. Reality. The terrorist insurgents in Iraq are responsible for most of the civilian deaths since the United States liberated Iraq. "Oh, but if the U.S. hadn't invaded Iraq, the insurgents wouldn't be killing civilians." No, but if we hadn't invaded, the former regime would have continued to kill by the tens of thousands and continued to support Islamic terrorists by paying bounties to families of suicide bombers. Palestinian terrorism continues in Israel, even as the Israeli government meets more of the (corrupt) Palestinian Authority's demands. Radical Islamic terrorists continue to strike civilian targets around the world. I don't even know how to begin to describe what is going on in Africa.

Many in the "Peace and Justice" community put the cart before the horse. They insist on peace at any cost, all the time, every time, even when the other side refuses to participate. In a utopia, this is not a problem, but in our world it is appeasement, not peace. The peace movement's idealism untempered with pragmatism is not only foolish, but, in this instance, dangerous.

I wonder if the "peace" demonstrators see the irony of their situation today. Demonstrating in public, covering a public building with their propaganda, publicly dissenting against their country that came into being through war and preserved thru the centuries by war, while Americans serve around the world, striving to allow others to exercise those same God-given rights in their own countries.

The United States is working for peace in Iraq. Working for it, not just hoping.
GBW

p.s.
I thought it interesting that the flag displayed on the LouisvillePeace.org website ("Join or Die") is a battleflag from the American Revolution.

*Sir Arthur Keith wrote the preface to the 100th Anniversary Edition of Darwin's Origen of the Species.

A brief History of the Conservative Movement

I received this brief history lesson in an email from my cousin, a Master Sergeant in the Army. I thank him for his consideration.

A Brief History of the Conservative Movement

Division of the human family into two distinct groups began some 12,000 years ago. Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains in the summer and would go to the beach and live on fish in winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented by Man to get to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives. Once beer was discovered, it required grain, and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor the aluminum can was invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what became known as the "Conservative Movement".

Other men, who were weaker and less skilled at hunting, learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the "Liberal Movement". Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as "girlie men".

Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the trade union, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide up the meat and the beer that the conservatives were providing. Over the years, conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer, ( with lime added ), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish, but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting, revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than liberal men. Most social workers, personal injury lawyers, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood, and group therapists are liberals. Liberals also invented the Designated Hitter Rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer, and eat red meat and potatoes. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, soldiers, athletes, and generally anyone who works productively outside of government. Conservatives who own companies employ other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little, or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed, and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

This ends today's history lesson.

Thanks again, cuz.
GBW

Another Dunce Cap for Brady Campaign

(Source: NRA/ILA, January 15, 2005)

You know the anti-gunners are desperate when they have to resort to nonsense like this. Even though violent crime has declined 12 straight years and is at a 27-year low, the Brady Campaign says that 31 states deserve a "D" or "F" grade for their gun laws. This, according to their eighth annual "report card."

If that isn`t silly enough, on the January 12 episode of NRA`s live talk-radio show, NRANEWS.com, Brady spokesman Peter Hamm claimed Brady`s grades are determined by a "secret" formula. There`s no secret, though. Plain and simple, Brady gives the highest grades to the states that have the most "gun control." So, for example, the state of Maryland gets the highest grade (A-), even though it has the nation`s second highest murder rate and highest robbery rate. But low-crime states with fewer restrictions on the rights of lawful gun owners, like Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Vermont get a "D" or "F."

If anyone deserves a bad grade, the Brady Campaign does for failing "Civics 101." It reduced Ohio`s grade from a "D+" to a "D-" because the state`s Right-to-Carry law "forced police to issue CCW" permits! Well of course they did; that`s called "democracy." Legislatures, representing the people, pass laws. That`s what they do!

The Brady Campaign also gets an "F" for failing math, claiming that "gun control" reduces crime. As noted in numerous studies, including recent ones from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Research Council, there is no evidence to support that claim.

Basically, the Brady Campaign`s "report card" is a superficial publicity stunt, perpetrated by an extremist anti-gun organization trying to attract attention to itself because it is fast on its way to becoming irrelevant. Name the issue, and the Brady Campaign is either losing the battle, or has lost the war. To wit: the right to arms is now widely recognized as an individual right. The federal "assault weapons" ban expired. The federal waiting period expired in favor of Instant Check. And NRA-PVF-supported candidates were even more successful than usual in the recent elections, while virtually all Brady-supported candidates for national office were defeated.

While sitting in the corner, the folks at the Brady Campaign would do well to read the writing on the wall.

Cosby addresses universal problem.

Bill Cosby has been excoriated by many for his criticism of certain aspects of African-American culture he believes have been shown to be destructive. He doesn't back off with this op-ed piece he wrote for The Detroit Free Press.

After you've read his piece and my comments, ask yourself a question. Ignoring the Civil Rights angle, aren't Mr. Cosby's questions ones all parents should be asking? My parents certainly did.

My Mom and Dad knew where I was 99% of the time. Not much room for meaness in that 1% left over. And they checked up on me. I wasn't a bad kid, they just took parenting seriously. Most of the time I was at home doing chores. There was very little running around the neighborhood and no ranging further afield.

My parents knew what was going on at school because they took the time to find out. Sometimes they found out things before I got home. They met with or called teachers. They checked my homework. They looked at my report cards and held me accountable for the grades.

Mom and Dad knew my friends and their families. We couldn't afford expensive sneakers, but they wouldn't have bought them if we could. My mom bought all my clothes until I was well into High School. They were never "cool", but they were always decent and tasteful. My folks taught and insisted on manners, respect for morals and property, both ours and others, respect for law-enforcement personnel, teachers, members of the armed forces, veterans, my elders, and much more.

I was always amazed when I saw what many of my friends and acquaintances got away with. Mom and Dad would (and did!) stop "that nonsense" in a New York Minute. We always knew the exact location of the boundaries and exactly what would happen when we crossed them. My grandparents, aunts and uncles were in on it, too.

My Wonderful Wife and I are not blessed with children of our own. We have tried to do our small part to support the parents of our nieces, nephews, younger cousins, and the children we were privileged to teach in a Christian School, Sunday school, and youth group. But we have also had the experience of sitting across the desk from parents saying, "I can't do nothin' with him." Their son was seven years old.

I have seen the same problems Mr. Cosby describes in the small mountain communities of my childhood, but the population most affected there is white. A boom-and-bust economic cycle based on coal mining and generations of handouts from the failed experiments of the War on Poverty and The Great Society have created a culture of dependency and victimism (is that a word?), that is startlingly like that which he decries in the inner cities and Louisville's own West End.

I find I must agree with Mr. Cosby because the things he recommends are how I was reared. I think it worked out well.
GBW

Boycott CBS

Why is no one crying from the roofs, "Boycott CBS News sponsors!!!"

Headlines should be saying, "CBS News Sponsor Boycott Enters Third Month"

If Rather and Heyward are to go, one must get the attention of the important people they answer to, Finance and the stockholders.

I will watch CBS news this evening for the first time in a very, very long time for the sole purpose of getting a list of sponsors. Tomorrow I will be writing letters to those sponsors.

It's amazing how few letters it takes to get under a sponsor's skin and get them to take action.

I wonder what several truckloads a day would do.

Hmmmmmmmm...
GBW

Judge goes too far in 37th District Senate race.

Republican Dana Seum Stephenson won the 37th District Senate race, but a Franklin County Circuit Judge ordered the Kentucky Board of Elections to certify her opponent, Democrat Virginia Woodward, the winner. The judge went too far with his order.

Apparently there is nothing that forbids a person who may not serve in an office to run for it in either the Constitution or the Kentucky Revised Statutes . Nor is there any provision in either to allow the runner-up to take the office by default. Ms. Woodward did not win the election. She lost by about 1000 votes. The judge should have stayed out of it.

If Ms. Stephenson were otherwise eligible to serve in office, but died before being sworn in, Ms. Woodward would not normally be considered to take her place. In this instance, would it be reasonable for a Franklin Circuit Judge to order Ms. Woodward be sworn into office? No, it would not. The responsibility for that decision rests with the Senate.

The Constitutional authority of the Senate to choose who it will seat is clear. Subject only to the Constitution and itself, the Senate must be the ultimate arbiter in this race. Though many may say Ms. Stephenson is not eligible to serve, residency in Kentucky is a fluid concept, defined differently in several statutes. We shall see which definition the Senate prefers.

The Senate is unlikely to seat Ms. Woodward. To do so would ignore the expressed will of the voters of the 37th District. We shall see.
GBW

Oh my aching back!

My lower back has been a bit grumbly lately. No big deal, just letting me know it's there. So I go home last night, lay back on the bed to study a bit for my test (see below), put my legs up on the big wedge pillow to take some strain off my lower back. I was in tall cotton. And then I sneezed.

I'm not sure exactly what happened, all I know is my lower back exploded. I immediately supspected a terrorist bomb triggered by sound waves. When the initial shockwave subsided, I knew I was in trouble. I tried to get up and couldn't. Had to call my Wonderful Wife to assist me out of bed. It was not pleasant. I spent the rest of evening flat of my back by necessity rather than choice, and planned a trip to see my chiropractor first thing in the morning.

This morning, I thought I would be ok since I could get out of bed without help. I was wrong. By the time I finished my shower, I could barely walk. I had to get my WW out of bed (it was 7 a.m. and she was up until 2 a.m. wrapping Christmas presents) to help me. Did the trip to the chiropractor, shot the X-rays, L4 was definitely the problem, had my adjustments, did some interferential E-stim, got hooked up to a portable stim unit, and left to take my test. Did you notice all the review time I got in this morning? Neither did I.

I passed the test. However, the best news of the day is that I haven't sneezed again. And for that, I am very thankful.
GBW

The Great Society at work.

OK, SWFw/Attitude, here's one of mine. This story was told as true to a friend of mine in Southeastern Ky.

A woman went to the Health Department in a mountain county to talk with a social worker. She asked the social worker if he could help her get a bed. She had eight children and they couldn’t all fit in the beds she had on hand.

After determining she had enough room for another bed, the social worker agreed to help the woman out of her predicament, and told her to come back at the same time the next week.The social worker called around and found a headboard, footboard, side rails, slats, and full-size box springs and mattress. When the woman returned the next week with her dilapidated pickup truck, the social worker helped her load up the bed and tied it down.

The woman turned around and told the social worker, “I sure appreciate you helping me out. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Why, my two youngest have been sleeping in the box the color television came in!”
GBW

I know, I know, it's off to test I go...

If you are a praying person, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you said one for me. Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. I will be taking a computer certification test called Server+. Fun, fun, fun.

The Bible mentions people who are "ever learning, but never coming to an understanding of the Truth." If you are considering a career in Information Technology, that is a pretty apt description of the certification tracks. It. Never. Ends.

I'm sure you can tell how excited I am about this. But, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and then do it again at least twice next month for Network+ and a Microsoft course.

(sigh)
GBW

ps: Stop laughing, John!

Department of Justice affirms 2nd Amendment rights

See my post on Cardinal Coaliton for more on this great news from the DOJ.
GBW

Senator McConnell in Newsweek

In an MSNBC/Newsweek article, Howard Fineman gives us an interesting look at Senator Mitch McConnell's views on building a consensus in the new Congress. Looking forward, Senator McConnell says, "The key now will be whether there are a group of Democrats willing to join with most Republicans in a coalition of the center-right."

Many of the strategies used to turn Kentucky from Blue to Red are attributed to Senator McConnell, who also played a major role in establishing the Republican majority in the Senate. If, as many suspect, Bill Frist runs for President in 2008, Senator McConnell is generally considered next in line for Senate Majority Leader, a position the Senator from Kentucky would fill ably, admirably and honorably.

Following the 2002 elections, the Kentucky Post called Senator McConnell "the master strategist of the state GOP..." Here's hoping his efforts as Senate Majority Whip are as effective in Washington as he works to move the Republican legislative agenda forward.
GBW

Thanks for the memories...

My wonderful wife and I went to see "Christmas with the Kranks" this evening. A good time was had by all. I heartily recommend the film. Lots of laughter throughout and applause at the end.

As we were walking out to our car, B said, "If it weren't for women, there wouldn't be any memories." You'll see what prompted her to say this when you watch the movie.

It took a few seconds for that to sink in. You know, I had to agree with her. Most of the things I remember about Christmas are things that directly involved the women in my life. There's the smell of woodsmoke when we got to my Grandparent's home for breakfast Christmas morning. My Grandmother liked to cook on the old woodstove in the room across the dog-run (read "Old Yeller" and think screened windows). The wonderful aromas of food, no, make that Food! So much food you couldn't eat even a little bit of everything if you tried, not that we didn't try. Lots of country ham, sugar-cured and salt-cured, bacon, sausage, fried chicken, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, pickled eggs, fried apples (the real thing, not the sad stuff they to pass off as fried apples at Cracker Barrel and other restaurants), biscuits that my Grandmother squeezed off in her huge flour bowl, toast, fried potatoes, ham gravy, sausage gravy, corn fritters, hashbrown, sweet potato and several other breakfast casseroles, fresh churned butter, homemade applebutter, jellies and preserves, pancakes, and waffles. Coffee, OJ, milk, hot chocolate, and Oh, my Aunt Barbara's spiced apple cider! Can I get a testimony? Amen! The women in our extended family can flat-out cook!

We call it breakfast, but it's really a brunch, and that means there are desserts on the sideboards. Don't even get me started on them. Imagine what they do for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners when it's piled on like that for breakfast! (I think I gained 4 pounds writing this!)

And you know the men had but little hand in the preparation, though through the years we have been getting more involved. The women still call the men and children in to eat first while the womenfolk go in another room (get over it, it's a Southern thing) to rest a while and listen to the flatware clattering on the plates, the pass this and pass that, and the groans as everyone fills up. Make no mistake, we all lavish them with praise for the fine job they've done, and they bask in it.

Decorations for holidays are almost all done by women. Excepting the outdoor variety, under the fairer sex's supervision of course, the men usually aren't very interested in all that stuff. Frankly, if it were left up to the average man, at Christmas there wouldn't be any darling red bows on the lampshades, no candles surrounded by cranberries on a crystal plate, no greenery swags, no holiday centerpieces, no ribbons around the columns like candy canes, no candles in the windows, no wreaths on the doors, nor stockings hung. No snowmen, reindeer, or other Christmas knick-knacks around the house, no cards hanging around the doors, no Dickens villages, no sleigh bells on the door, probably not even a Nativity tableau on the mantle, nor carols playing in the background. The Christmas tree would most likely be a life-sized poster hanging on a wall. Not that we don't enjoy it. We just don't want to do it, just don't feel the need for it, and if we feel that way about Christmas, imagine what we wouldn't do for the other holidays.

Have you thanked the women who have laid the foundations of memory year after year in your life? I know I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow.
GBW

Ignorance is bliss? May be...

My Mother-in-Law often observes the world is a terrible place and getting worse all the time. I don't agree with her. People are people wherever they are, whenever they lived. The difference the constant bombardment of information. Since the invention of the telegraph allowed news to travel great distances almost instantaneously, information has gone from a sprinkle, to a shower, to the deluge we "enjoy" today. One hundred years ago, life was bad enough right where you were. You didn't want to share everyone else's troubles. Your own were sufficient.

Are we better off flailing around in an indiscriminate information ocean? (I don't exclude this blog.)

I refused to look at news on TV or listen to talk radio the last four days. The closest I came to breaking over was walking thru the livingroom when my Dad switched over to Fox News. It took a lot of willpower, but I just walked by into the kitchen without stopping. (the desserts on the counter didn't have a thing to do with it. It was willpower, I tell you!!)

What did I miss in those four days? Celebrity trials, celebrity plane crashes, celebrity births, knifings in the midwest, abandoned baby in Arizona, missing children, murder # xxx in New York, Dems trying to figure out the election, pundits telling everyone the painfully obvious or ridiculously obscure, Republicans grandstanding... I could certainly go on and on. And by the way, if you think I cheated and looked back at the news, you're wrong. All these just swam from the murky water between my ears right onto the blog. I didn't even listen to Bill Bennett this morning or Hugh Hewitt this evening. Hey, that makes it five days. Well, I'll admit I did look at RealClearPolitics.com this afternoon.

Will Rogers was often quoted saying, "All I know is what I read in the papers." Would we be better off it that was all the information we had? I don't think so, particularly if all one read was our local liberal rag. But, it would be more manageable, easier to assimilate and actually has some potential value to us locally. Maybe that is what attracts many people to blogs. Bite-sized bits of information about things they really care about in one spot, with links if they want them.

Maybe the day will come when we can really customize the news we want to see, and can filter out all the junk that shouldn't have been reported more than 50 miles from where it occured. I'm not saying that less news will make us happy. I'm just saying it might make us less sad.
GBW

'Scuse me whilst I drag my knuckles...

If the Left was as open-minded, tolerant, and caring as they claim to be, this excellent article by Bernard Moon wouldn't be necessary.

Course, us Neanderthals ain't got no reel idee whut the reel smart peepul in the city thank about up thair in thur ivuree tairs. Brung 'em on up ta Red cuntry. Weel shoot 'em, skin 'em and eat 'em fer dinnr.
GBW

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation 1863

Washington, DC—October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Abraham Lincoln

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

There's a new blog in town.

Cardinal Coalition is a new cooperative blog started by GotDesign. I'm very pleased to be able to participate. SWFw/Attitude is also posting there, and I expect others may join in as time goes by.

Cardinal Coalition was recognized on Hugh Hewitt's blog after his live broadcast Friday evening from the Frazier Historical Arms Museum. Congrats to the local bloggers who were able to speak to Hugh last evening and received an on-air mention. I must admit I'm a bit envious, as I was unable to attend the event. I have every intention of making the next one a priority.

So, I recommend Cardinal Coalition for your consideration as well as the other fine blogs listed in my blogroll. Remember, we want to hear from you, too. Leave a comment.
GBW

I really haven't abandoned my blog!

I have been unable to post since last Thursday. All I get are errors. My posts via email never make it, either.
I'm keeping this one simple in hopes it doesn't disappear into LaLa Land like the last several I have tried
GBW

Mandate, shmandate, we're WINNERS!!

Does anyone really think that the Democrats wouldn't be acting as though they had a mandate if the results had been reversed? Does anyone really think the Democrats would be talking about the 56 million people who would have voted against them? Does anyone really think that even if they didn't talk about a mandate the Democrats wouldn't be pushing the Liberal agenda down our throats?

Remember, we're stupid. We don't have the sense to get in out of the rain unless talk radio tells us to.

Remember, we're bigoted. We have to be shown the way to sexual and racial enlightenment.

Remember, we live in an outdated past. We have to be dragged into the 21st Century, away from the "Dark Age" morality we espouse.

Remember, it's for our own good.

Liberals reading this would shout, 'YES, HE GETS IT!!"

But.

Remember. Bush won. We picked up 4 seats in the Senate. Four. And four more seats in the House.

It's about time we quit talking and started acting like winners. Remember?

Veterans Day

When the Tree of Liberty is "freshened with the blood of patriots and tyrants," the men and women who serve in our armed forces carry the brunt of the cost. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have served, and currently serve in any capacity in our armed forces.

The greatness of our country is due in greatest part to the sacrifice of those who placed themselves in harm's way for our sake, who were not afraid to say, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day so that my child may have peace."

If you are a veteran, or currently serving in the armed forces, please accept my sincere gratitude for your service and sacrifice.

If you are not a veteran, please make the time today to thank someone for their service.

Hut, two, three, four...

In my youth I spent a number of years in marching bands, both in high school and college. If you've ever watched a marching band, I'm sure you've noticed that all the members are in step. At least, they're supposed to be.
When a member is out-of-step, it's usually pretty obvious to observers. The person marching sometimes takes a while to figure it out, but when they do, they hop and skip for a moment until they get back into rhythm.

Kind of reminds me of the hopping and skipping I'm seeing from some Democrats in print who are trying to figure out how to get back in step with the center. However, a very large portion of the Left hasn't figured it out yet. They still think the center and right are the ones out of step, kind of like the dad who remarked to a bystander, "Look at that, everyone in the band is out of step except my son!"

Like that poor dad, I don't think they'll ever figure it out.

Great turnout??????

Fantastic turnout! How do you figure?

Compared to last time! So?

About 72% of registered voters went to the polls. Exciting until you flip it and and realize 28% stayed home. About 43 million registered voters stayed home! Plus the tens of millions who aren't registered but are otherwise eligible to vote?

GOTV has a long way to go on all sides.

The next challenge: the under-30 vote

Looking at the demographics of who voted for who across the country, it seems to me the Republican Party's next great electoral challenge is the under-30 voter. This must be a grassroots effort. Personal relationships with younger voters is the only way to make any headway here. Conservatives who are passionate about their values must share them in a passionate, logical, reasonable way. We must become the party of persuasion to this age group.

The younger we reach them, the better. Democrats have an advantage that is not easily overcome. By the time students have completed their "Liberal Arts" education, too many have become too thouroughly indoctrinated with the Liberal Agenda. According to Michael Barone's comments last evening on Fox, voters with advanced degrees are overwhelmingly Democrat. Contrary to Liberal elitist tenets, it isn't because smart people are naturally Liberal. (or that Liberals are naturally smart)

Polls are saying Bush won every age group except the under-30 folks. True, a large portion of the age group doesn't seem to interested in voting, but I have to believe that the passion we saw from the Right in this election, passed on to passionate, committed younger voters, would translate into large gains for the Republican Party in years to come.

So, each one, mentor one. Find a younger voter with whom you have some personal credibility and let them in on your side of the issues. Treat them like adults. Don't talk down to them or make proclamations from On High. Persuade them with the truth.

Friends, it's time to enlarge the Base. Will you do your share to grow it?

"...we esteem too lightly."

"...we esteem too lightly."
(See the full quote on the previous post.)

Somewhere between 40-50 million people who are otherwise eligible to participate in the upcoming election are not even registered to vote. Some may decide upon arising from their slumber this morning, that it is a good day to vote. Some may even avail themselves of the provisional vote now allowed under Federal law. But by and large, most of them will go about their normal day. On Wednesday, when they find out who won, they will rejoice or complain about the results, but will have no hand in determining them.

It is shameful.

When I hear someone complaining about an elected official, I am compelled to ask, "Did you vote last election?" An affirmative response keeps my attention. A negative response usually sidetracks the conversation into a discussion of why I should listen to the opinions of a person who does not participate in the process that produced the official about whom they are complaining.

You may say, "Why, GBW, that person has as much right to an opinion as you do!" Sure they do, but I don't have to listen to it.

It isn't rocket science. Even if you can't read, you can get assistance filling out a voter registration card. Twice a year, at most, you go to the polls (assistance is available there, too), flip a few levers, fill in a few circles, or whatever your ballot system requires. Why is this so difficult for so many people?

In my last post, I wrote, "...a substantial portion of our people, uneducated in the history and foundation of our country, desiring only what is easy and without personal effort or cost, no longer have the desire or will to work for what they want." Have too many become too soft, too dependent? Have the costs paid by so many brave men an women in lonely places all around the world lost any meaning? Are our wars to small to stir the patriotism and citizenship of the population at large? Do so many care so little because it has cost them so little?

I wonder how many members of the families who lost loved ones Sept. 11th will not vote today? I wonder how many members of families who have loved ones in harm's way in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Balkans will fail to cast their vote? How many men and women serving our country in uniform don't care enough to participate in the governance of the country they protect? I expect most of them will find a way to make it to the polls.

They've paid the price. They know what is at stake.

I hope the poll count proves me wrong today, but too many have obtained too much, "too cheap," and will disenfranchise themselves for petty reasons at best, ignoring the cost paid by others and having no appreciation for it.

Please vote. It is your right. It is your duty.

God bless the United States of America.