Royal Wisdom

"There's an old saying that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."
                                                                   Queen Elizabeth                                                                                                   
Yes, your Majesty, that is precisely what God did in Bethlehem.

Merry Christmas!

Last Night

Note to Self at Crunch Time

It's Crunch Time. Every year I vow to have everything done well ahead and every year I violate my vow. It's that time. And when the self-inflicted pressure begins to ratchet up, I can get grumpy. Not exactly the Christmas spirit. 

A short verse in Daily Guideposts this morning caught my eye as an antidote to short circuit the "grumps":

10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

                                                                                                                      Deuteronomy 15:10-11

I can't solve the problems of the poor or even those of my own family and friends, but I can give without a grudging heart of my time, talent, treasure and attitude and thereby receive what is really at the heart of Christmas. God did so in sending His Son, so it's the least I can do. 

Greater Love Hath No Man ...

At the start of the week when we celebrate God's personal entry into this dark corner of the universe which ultimately ended with the greatest sacrifice of all, we need to remember the name and face of this young man too. 

Sophomore Zaevion Dobson was a 15-year old who lived in Knoxville, Tennessee, He was a football player, a leader and a great kid say those who knew him. And earlier this week, during a random gang shooting into a crowd of kids, Zaevion's actions were described thusly:  

"Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch broke down at a press conference discussing the young man’s heroism: 'Zaevion Dobson, a 15-year-old Fulton High School student and football player, was struck and killed after he had jumped on top of three girls to shield them…to shield them from the shooters.'

A teary-eyed and choked-up Rausch paused for several seconds before he could finish the sentence."

And so should we all be saddened by the loss of this fine young man to thugs. I hope the young women he saved will never forget his face or his life given so that they might live. I am certain that the One who sent His Son took notice and will never forget. 

www.breitbart.com/sports/2015/12/19/hs-football-player-killed-shielding-three-girls-from-shooters/

Christmas is Coming

Earth's Guardian

Bill Whittle has an interesting segment at PJTV.com talking about why the earth may be alone in the universe as a life-supporting planet despite the fact that there are probably millions of similar planets out there and it's the moon. That I wasn't expecting. 

He reports that the moon was formed in a gigantic collision with another similar-sized planet early on and the debris that flew off was captured by earth's gravitational pull and coalesced into the moon. Since then it has done two important things.

First, it is a shield. As Whittle notes, if you look at all the craters on the moon you must realize that all of those would have hit earth but for our celestial guardian and developing life in a constant artillery barrage is not easy to do. A second shield function is that the moon has enough of its own gravitational field that it deflects the orbit of extinction-sized asteroids, comets, etc. and most often causes a near-miss with earth.

The second function performed by the moon is that exerts just enough gravitational pull on the earth to keep the earth's axis canted at exactly the right angle to produce seasons and tides, both of which refresh life on earth on a seasonal basis. 

Bill chalks all this up to an astounding occurrence of chance. Sounds to me as if it's almost like someone planned it. Hmm...

It's All About Climate Change

We all now know that the biggest threat the world faces is Global Warming, so a fatwa by ISIS to murder Downs Syndrome kids and the subsequent killing of 38 children is of no significance. I am glad that in the end there is a Judge to whom this does matter. A lot. 

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/12/14/islamic-state-issues-fatwa-children-syndrome-murders-38-disabled-infants/

By Their Fruit You Shall Know Them

An interesting poll was released by the Huffington Post concerning America's views of Islam. Across the board, with only minor difference between political parties, the answer was "Not so much." David French has an interesting piece in National Review about the poll wondering if the influence of 2 million Americans who have served in Islamic countries since 9/11 has been a major factor. He thinks the answer is probably "yes."

French describes a religion and the culture that is "shockingly broken":
 

Yes, they were in the middle of a war — but speaking from my own experience — the war was conducted from within a culture that was shockingly broken. I expected the jihadists to be evil, but even I couldn’t fathom the depths of their depravity. And it was all occurring against the backdrop of a brutally violent and intolerant culture. Women were beaten almost as an afterthought, there was a near-total lack of empathy for even friends and neighbors, lying was endemic, and sexual abuse was rampant. Even more disturbingly, it seemed that every problem was exacerbated the more religious and pious a person (or village) became.

Although French is willing to allow that there may be exceptions to this judgment, he nevertheless has not seen many (or any) that run counter to his characterization:

While it’s certainly unfair to judge Indonesia or Malaysia by the standards of Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s very hard to shake the power of lived experience, nor should we necessarily try. After all, when we hear stories from Syria, Yemen, Gaza, the Sinai, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, Mali, Pakistan, and elsewhere they all fit the same depressing template of the American conflict zones. Nor is the dazzlingly wealthy veneer of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or the other Gulf States all that impressive. 

 

Islam arose as a desert religion, just as harsh and oppressive as its birthplace. Time has not mellowed it. There are many Muslims who just want to live their lives in peace. I know some. But there are far too many in whom religious zeal burns with the intensity of the desert sun and withers and kills anything it touches that is unprotected. We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to a religion and its followers like that. 

www.nationalreview.com/corner/428349/hidden-reason-why-americans-dislike-islam-david-french

And Then There Are Statistics.

Nobody can argue that Planned Parenthood isn't clever. A poll done by USA Today/Suffolk University asked respondents the question: 

“Do you think federal funding for Planned Parenthood should be eliminated – yes or no?” 

PP has been spinning about all the "other" wonderful services for women it provides - wink, wink - and the survey results came back with a "no." One wonders if there was any behind-the- scenes coordination. I'm sure not.

Robert Morris University then did another poll and re-framed the question thusly:

“Congressional Republicans favor shifting Planned Parenthood federal funds to community clinics that perform the same services, but do not perform abortions. Would you say you support or oppose this plan?"

Framed this way, 53% of respondents said they supported the Republican plan. Not surprisingly, the media is not reporting this poll.  

News media - yeah right! Rubio had it right at the last debate - the propaganda arm of the Democratic Party. 

townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2015/12/12/new-more-accurately-worded-poll-shows-majority-wants-to-defund-planned-parenthood-n2092593

A Little Budget Matter Has Come Up

Obamacare "authorized" and paid for (with deficit dollars) a Medicaid expansion for the states to subsidize health care for people above the then current Medicaid income levels. Oregon, of course, grabbed at this "free" gift. Shoulda read the fine print. 

The U.S. Senate voted to kill this Federal subsidy to the 30 states who opted into this program. Even if Obama vetoes it this time, it will happen. Thus, Oregon will have to come up with the bucks to fund it or throw people off the health care dole. This is on top of a $20 billion + PERS unfunded liability (which would take 27% of all the gross income earned by everyone in the state to cover) and repaying the Feds the $300M for the Cover Oregon website which never was. Yup, that's how Blue States are run. 

townhall.com/columnists/nicholashorton/2015/12/10/how-the-senate-just-changed-the-obamacare-debate-forever-n2092170

Chimpanzees, Typewriters, etc., etc.

I was siting here feeling guilty while pondering this graphic until I read about the recent Climate Change conference in Paris. Many of the world's leaders came together and collectively exhaled enough hot air to accelerate the process of Global Warming by several years, but there was one gem by none other than John Kerry! Wonder of wonders, the Hero of Vietnam, the Distinguished Senator from Maine, the Uber Secretary of State, was honest about what effect U.S. efforts alone would have on the supposed course of the Great Warm Up:

" … The fact is that even if every American citizen biked to work, carpooled to school, used only solar panels to power their homes, if we each planted a dozen trees, if we somehow eliminated all of our domestic greenhouse gas emissions, guess what – that still wouldn’t be enough to offset the carbon pollution coming from the rest of the world.


If all the industrial nations went down to zero emissions –- remember what I just said, all the industrial emissions went down to zero emissions -– it wouldn’t be enough, not when more than 65% of the world’s carbon pollution comes from the developing world."

Still feeling guilty? Nah. Since China and India have made it pretty clear that they won't be contributing to solving the "crisis", I'd get my order into Amazon now for a case of tanning lotion and a beach umbrella. Lemonade anyone?

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/09/why-bother-john-kerry-admits-american-co2-cuts-would-be-pointless/

What Does It Matter?

So saith Hillary. Here's why:

“I just tried you on the phone but you were all in with S [apparent reference to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton],” reads the email, from Panetta’s chief of staff Jeremy Bash. “After consulting with General Dempsey, General Ham and the Joint Staff, we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak.”

This was shortly after the attack started. It ended almost 8 hours later. The State Department and Hillary never replied. 

If this chronology is correct, which can be verified because the House Select Committee on Benghazi does have the un-redacted version, then Hillary's political career (and others) should be over and she should go down in American history with the likes of Benedict Arnold.

www.foxnews.com/world/2015/12/09/spinning-up-as-speak-email-shows-pentagon-was-ready-to-roll-as-benghazi-attack/?intcmp=hpbt2

Errata: Bassackwards

In my December 6 post "Bassackwards" I stated that a reporterrette mused that the recently deceased female terrorist might have been acting out of post-menopausal depression. My sharp-eyed wife suggested that I perhaps meant post-postpartum depression, as the shooter had recently had a baby and, of course, she is right. May the record so reflect. 

                                                 (Tip o' the hat to Clover Stein)

Never Forget

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

The New York Times ran a front page-editorial on Friday, purportedly in response to the San Bernadino jihadist terror shootings, confirming the suspicions of Second Amendment supporters, shouting it's time to confiscate all guns! Now the Times'  fellow liberal dreadnought, The Washington Post, has weighed in and told the Grey Lady that it's editorial, ahem, hurts the gun control effort, which translated means, "Shhh - you'll tip off the rubes!" 

Sorry Posties but the cat has been out of the bag for awhile that you guys are using the frog/slow-boil approach when it comes to "gun control" as anybody with half a brain (a diminishing number it would seem) has understood that you just want to disarm good guys, and inexplicably leave the field to the bad ones. Not gonna happen.

 www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/12/05/wapo-nyt-hurting-gun-control-cause-calling-confiscation-front-page/

Not Living Life as Usual

Matt Barber in Townhall today says that, "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but that most terrorists are Muslims." He goes on to make his case by quoting Brigitte Gabriel, a world-renowned national security expert whose focus area is Islamic terrorism. Gabriel says that:

" ... there are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. Of them, intelligence agencies estimate that 15-25 percent are orthodox Muslims, meaning they actually follow the teachings of the Quran."

She continues:

“That leaves 75 percent of [Muslims being] peaceful people, but when you look at 15-25 percent of the world’s Muslim population, you’re looking at 180 million to 300 million people dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization. That is as big as the United States,” she concludes.


Barber then adds:

"Indeed, with these harrowing numbers in mind it’s no surprise that there have been nearly 27,500 terrorist attacks worldwide committed by faithful Muslims since 9/11.

There have been zero committed by faithful Christians." (Emphasis added)

Barber and Gabriel are right. The United States and the West need to drop the PC blinders, look reality in the face, and roll up their collective sleeves for a long, messy, and protracted struggle with a sizable minority around the world. It's a very different kind of war but one which will have, at some point in the future, real winners and real losers and all the consequences for each. We did not ask for this fight but we had better win it.

Take Two of These

There's a lot of pain in this world but scientists may have come up with a breakthrough at managing the chronic pain that afflicts some of us feel via reverse engineering.

Amazingly enough, some people in the world never feel pain because of a genetic mutation that results in a lack of ion channels (Nav1.7 channels) transporting sodium across sensory nerves. The first thought was that drugs to block the Nav1.7 channels would yield huge gains in pain management, but there was only limited success with these compounds. 

Researchers went back to the drawing board and, using mice genetically modified to block the Nav1.7 channels, did further research that discovered a second major physical condition present in these unfeeling mice -  substantially more genes that trigger the manufacture of opioid peptides, which are natural painkillers that our bodies produce. 

With this discovery in hand, they went to a human volunteer who suffered from the Nav1.7 mutation and gave her a drug (naxalone) which blocked the opioid peptides and voila', for the first time in 39 years she was able to feel pain!

The reverse, of course, should be true and apparently it is. If you give a human synthetic opioids together with Nav1.7 channel blockers there is very substantial relief from chronic pain. 

More research is needed to assure that there are no long or short term side effects but it looks like a promising new approach to pain management may have arrived none too soon.

www.newscientist.com/article/dn28623-woman-who-has-never-felt-pain-experiences-it-for-the-first-time/

A Cancer Grows in Brooklyn - and A Lot of Other Places

Former FBI counter-terrorism agent John Guandolo says that a large majority of the 2,200 mosques and Islamic centers in the U.S. are part of the jihadi network. His proof? Property records around the country show that this number are owned by the North American Islamic Trust, aka the Muslim Brotherhood Bank. But wait - there's more!
 
Guandolo went on to connect the dots:

"... the San Bernardino terrorists attended the Islamic Center of Riverside, which he said was a “a Muslim Brotherhood Center.” He noted that the Boston Bombers attended the Islamic Society of Boston, which he said was a subsidiary of the Islamic Society of North America that was founded by an al-Qaeda guy who used to advise former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore and is now in prison."

He further described the practical consequences of this network:

" ... the San Bernardino terrorist, the UC Merced stabber, the Chattanooga shooter, and the Boston Bombers can all be traced back to such Islamic Centers where “they were supported and trained.”

These people are absolutely dedicated to doing whatever it takes to turn this country into an Islamic Sharia republic. It's not just the ISIS and al-Qaeda types but the Saudis and other "friends" who are involved. The sooner we get serious about energy independence using all our available resources, the sooner we can deal with this metastasizing cancer that wants to kill our country.

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/04/breitbart-news-daily-ex-fbi-counterterrorism-agent-vast-majority-of-us-mosquesislamic-centers-part-of-jihadi-network/

Bassackwards

Paraphrasing King Solomon, "All is drivel." I'm referring to much of the media coverage of the San Bernadino shooting. 

First the media and their Ruling Class masters were in full-throated denial that it could have been Islamic terrorism. Then, when the details began to emerge that made it incontrovertibly clear that it was, they have simply continued. One reporterette went so far as to surmise that it was because Mrs. Killer was post-menopausal. Amazing. 

From start to finish, of course, the media and the Left have all joined in another chorus of "We need more gun control!" This refrain should really be sub-titled, "We want to confiscate everybody's guns!" for that's what they really mean. Joy Overbeck, writing in Townhall, neatly disposes of this with one paragraph in a piece today:

Actually, the gun-haters in the media, the Democrat party, and the Daily News have it exactly backwards. Bad guys will always be able to get whatever weapons they choose. Proof: the cities with the strictest gun laws like Chicago, New York, and Detroit have the most gun crime. When bad guys are bent on massacre, they understandably prefer that they are the only ones with guns. They may be insane, but they’re not stupid.

Of course reality and facts have never deterred the Left from their march to their imagined Camelot, with its unicorns and rainbows and this total sense of unreality shows no signs of abating. It's the rest of us that I worry about if we are lulled into inaction by the incessant secondhand smoke from our liberal anti-reality stoners.  


townhall.com/columnists/joyoverbeck/2015/12/04/ny-post-headline-god-isnt-a-fixer-but-man-is-n2089067/page/2

He Appointed Who?

The old saw is "Don't listen to what I say; watch what I do." Well, what President Obama says (or doesn't say) about terrorism is bad enough, but what he is doing is even worse. 

The President just appointed Robert Malley, a known sympathizer of Hamas, as his point person in charge of anti-ISIS operations. Just to refresh your recollection, Hamas is the terror branch of the PLO and is responsible for both the tunnels into Israel and rocketing that country. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house! In fact, Malley helped arranged for $1 billion to flow to Hamas. Both he and his family go back a long way in their anti-Israel/pro-Arabic sympathies, including some serious bad guys. 

It is now very apparent whose side this Administration is on and it's not that of U.S. citizens or our interests. Watch for more from Obama Unchained in his last year in office. This is getting very dangerous. 

pjmedia.com/trending/2015/12/3/obama-names-hamas-sympathizer-as-new-isis-czar

Earth to Boxer

The day after the San Bernadino terrorist shootings, California Senator Barbara Boxer said that sensible gun control laws work and California proves it. Excuse me? Fourteen dead bodies in your home state says it doesn't.

www.breitbart.com/california/2015/12/03/senator-boxer-sensible-gun-laws-work-california-proves/

The Useful Idiots on Campus

The phenomenon of “political correctness” is, in fact, an updated version of the “party line” -- a stock feature of the organizations of the Communist-progressive left. The utility of a party line lies in the way it demonizes opponents, converting dissent into deviancy, while requiring its adherents to reduce complex realities to political formulas, which deprives them of the ability to learn from their experiences.                                                                                                                           David Horowitz

We know who the sheep are. Any guesses on the shepherds?

The Syrian Refugees

What to do with the Syrian refugees? What do we do? Conceptually, the answer is not as difficult as we might think, although it is expensive and a massive undertaking.

Most of these refugees are not keen on leaving the Middle East in hopes that they can go home some day when the evil and madness has run its course. Accordingly, the most appropriate response is to build and adequately maintain refugee camps on the periphery of Syria, probably in Turkey and Jordan primarily. This should be a joint effort of the UN, the EU, the United States, and the Gulf States, as well as any other powers that want to constructively participate. There should be a wide buffer around these camps on the Syrian side of no fly/no go zones that are backed up by serious military muscle. 

There are some people that we may want to settle in the West: those compromised by working with Western NGOs or governments, Christians, and those needing specialized medical treatment. This does not include thousands of able-bodied young men outside of these exceptions that we somehow feel guilty about excluding. They stay there - no guilt. 

In the meantime, a Western coalition like Desert Storm needs to be assembled to go in and clean out the nest of vipers that is ISIS, and anyone else who fits the general description, as in sanitized, goy-goy, good bye. Little love taps don't do the job. Let these vermin face armored divisions and see how tough they are. Will there be civilian casualties? To be sure, but there is no choice now and the problem will only grow if we let it fester. 

Eurabia will eventually happen due to misguided European policies, but neither they nor we need to accelerate the process by throwing open borders to refugees, many of whom are Trojan horses just dying - as in Paris - to get in. It's time to quit the hand-wringing and intramural feuding over letting them in or not. Build it in the Middle East and they will come, then get to work so they can go home again. 

Observation Point

Worry is temporary atheism.
                                     Randy Alcorn

So How Serious are We?

The CIA says that we avoided hitting ISIS oil wells for fear of environmental damage. These same wells, BTW, provide the majority of funding for ISIS terror tactics around the world. Question: Do these folks have any idea of how many fully loaded oil tankers were sunk off the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coats during WWII by the Germans? Or Japanese tankers by U.S. subs in the Pacific? Or even the Kuwaiti oil wells set in fire by Saddam as he retreated in Gulf War I? Amazingly, we're all still here. These guys are clearly just play actors in some silly kids' show, not people qualified to direct the best military in the world.

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/11/27/official-environmental-concerns-kept-u-s-attacking-islamic-state-oil/

Unleash the Salami!

The police chief of Washington, D.C., Cathy Lanier, recently said that if members of the public finds themselves in a situation with an active shooter, the best solution is to try to overpower and subdue them. Of course, the same Chief Lanier is very committed to strict gun control and keeping guns out of the hands of even citizens with concealed-carry permits. Well, chief, do we throw salami at them? Call them names? Our CINC now says that new climate change legislation being debated in Paris will strike a "resounding blow" against ISIS, so we turn up the air conditioning? Sheesh.

townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2015/11/27/unreal-antigun-dc-police-chief-urges-public-to-take-down-active-gunman-if-possible-n2084995

The Toxic Academy

American universities have become toxic, as Dennis Prager explores in Townhall. Examples? Consider these from the University of California official "Micro-aggression Manual" -

"There is only one race, the human race."
"America is a melting pot."
"I don't believe in race."
"America is the land of opportunity."

These are all statements that a majority of Americans can agree on, but N-o-o-o, not at UC. No indeedy, these are examples of speech banned as examples of "white oppression" or who knows what other delusional bilge. But wait, there's more!

That's right. Students at the University of Missouri, having fired the president, now want to erase Thomas Jefferson. Princeton students want to delete Woodrow Wilson, the one-time president of Princeton before he became President of the United States. Sure. No problem. History can be written and re-written according to the whims of the day. History is what we say it is. 

The problem is obvious - think George Orwell and 1984. "There is no truth. We will tell you the truth du jour, so just shut up and do what we tell you!" That is the goal of every totalitarian state, whether left or right. We will think for you - you are a tool, nothing more, to be used by the State for the "greater good" however we may define it at the moment. This is what these repositories of the West's precious history of individual worth and all the ancillary grand ideas have become - vats of intellectual poison that have dissolved away the spines and souls of all who enter. I hope that we have our own St. Patrick and his remote island to preserve the precious heritage of the West as the Dark Ages sweep across the land.  

townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2015/11/24/american-universities-begin-to-implode-n2084706

Ain't It the Truth!

(Tip o' the hat to Bill Brooks)

This Kind of Change I Can Believe In

A fresh wind may be blowing through the House. Paul Ryan just completed his first week on the job and the initial reaction is pretty good from the conservatives who ousted Boehner:

"A week into Ryan’s tenure, members of the House Freedom Caucus are crediting the speaker for delivering on his promise to open up the legislative process, and delegate authority to rank-and-file members.

And though the outcomes of the new process did not go how conservatives wanted – the House passed a transportation bill that isn’t fully funded, and permits the revival of the Export-Import Bank – Freedom Caucus members insist that more open debate will allow for their ideas to eventually win out."

I have liked Ryan and supported his election to Speaker while holding my breath that he wasn't going to pull a Boehner once he got there. So far, so good - keep it up Paul!

www.wnd.com/2015/11/paul-ryan-gets-gut-check-on-spending-bills/

They Did Fight for Their Country

My friend Jay Jamieson wrote a reply to my blog on the thumb-suckers at SPU the other day that deserves it's own space as Veterans Day approaches, so without further ado:

You might want to remember the The 4th Marine Division. In WWII they fought  (and won) the Marshall Islands, Saipan (my 19 year old cousin was KIA there), Tinian and Iwo Jima. 

These veterans, who were then ages 17-22 for the most part, are now in their late 80s to 90s. They are old and tired and cannot keep the Fighting Fourth Association going. I am an associate member. I received my last Fighting Fourth magazine this week....  "The Final Muster" and they are signing off and disbanding because they are dying.

At a final color Parade at Camp Lejeune, NC  Major General  James L. Jones, 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, said this;

" The valor and sacrifice of the Marines and Sailors who fought on Iwo Jima is, today and forever, the standard by which we judge what we are and what we might become."

Another piece of the Greatest Generation is put to rest...  Sorry SPU is offended.. SPU  has the freedom to snub these guys because these guys fought, bled and died so we could continue to live in the greatest country on God's green earth.....

Semper Fi, 4th.... May your remaining days here on earth be happy and peaceful.  You earned it. You deserve it! 

As do all of you who faithfully served in our country's armed forces. Thank you for your service. 

Socialism Just Works

Oh yes it does - to royally screw up an economy. Venezuela became a Socialist Paradise under El Jefe Hugo Chavez. It has stayed on course when he died and the fruits are now being enjoyed by all. For example, everybody in Venezuela can now revel in the fact that french fries are back for lunches at Micky D's:

"After a potato shortage forced McDonald’s to remove them from menus, Venezuelans will now once again be able to purchase French fries at local franchises — made using only local ingredients, and costing about $133 for a large serving."

"Hello Central Planning, this is Bernie Sanders. About those potato crop allocations, we gotta talk." 

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/11/06/mcdonalds-french-fries-return-to-venezuela-at-133-a-pop/

They Didn't Fight for Their Country

Our youngest went to Seattle Pacific University for 2 years and generally speaking, we have had a good opinion of SPU. Until now. 

In preparation for a Veteran's Day Chapel service, the university chaplain has decided to delete the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance, saying that there are diverse religious traditions amongst students at the school and the American flag and the Pledge might offend someone. So what country's vets fought that they could enjoy such freedoms? Hint: wasn't Sweden. If some weenies are offended, so be it! This country is being run by infantile thumb-suckers.
  
www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/11/06/university-drops-pledge-flag-from-veterans-day-service.html?intcmp=hphz05

Lighter Than Air

But stinky. A Singapore Airlines freighter was air lifting 2,186 sheep from Australia to Indonesia and ran into a little problem when the sheep started farting en masse. The crew, presumably donning their oxygen masks, decided to divert and land after the abundance of methane caused smoke alarms in the aircraft to go off. The plane landed safely with the help of the self-produced tailwind but the crew could not be reached for comment because no one wanted to go near them.

www.express.co.uk/news/world/617128/Singapore-Airlines-sheep-Sydney-Kuala-Lumpur-Bali

A Minor Problema

NASA just released a new satellite study that Antarctic ice is growing, not shrinking, as previously claimed by Global Warmists. Darn it's an inconvenient truth when the data just don't match your predictions!

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/02/nasa-shock-study-antarctica-growing-not-shrinking/

Politics Isn't Everything

If you've watched Fox News at all, you've seen Bob Beckel, a pugnacious, old-line Democratic operative who occasionally gets himself bleeped out of conversations on The Five. Cal Thomas writes a very nice column today about his friend, Bob Beckel, and his new book, I Should Be Dead: My Life Surviving Politics, TV and Addiction. They are an unlikely pair, this conservative Republican and Democratic operative, but Thomas sees past the political to the heart of a man, which Beckel himself reveals in his book:

"I have known Bob for 20 years. I have traveled with him, shared meals with him and listened to him share deeply personal things, which only happens when one is a trusted friend. The real Bob is the one who rescues drunks and gets them into treatment programs; who talks about and loves his children, who cares deeply for the poor and underprivileged and who is able to see flaws in his own party, as well as in the other party."
Thomas is practicing a trait that should be normative for all of us - charity in outlook; we all fall short of the glory of God. And not surprisingly, God is involved in the story of why Beckel is not dead, as Thomas highlights:

"In his remarkable book, Bob reveals some of his failings, challenges and temptations, not to glorify them, but to give the reader a sense of the magnitude of the grace of God, Who rescued him in his darkest hour."

I once was lost, but now I'm found. Would that all of us have intimate personal familiarity with the truth of this verse. I am happy that Bob Beckel and his friend Cal Thomas do.

townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2015/11/03/bob-beckel-should-be-dead-n2074626

A Geography Lesson

The picture shows the location of the Spratly Islands, which both China and the Philippines claim. The islands are a group of coral atolls that China has been busily filling in with sand and crushed coral to build military bases. The U.S. drove a destroyer the other day past the disputed islands following the accepted international limit of 12 miles and China is howling, claiming a 200-mile territorial limit. 

Look carefully at the map. By China's definition (and assuming its sovereignty which I do not) the straits between the Philippines and Vietnam/Cambodia would be pretty much shut down within the Dragon's grasp. What's next - Mare Island in San Francisco Bay because it's close to Chinatown? Freedom of the seas is crucial to the U.S. and other nations and we were right to throw down the gauntlet. Japan is responding to China the same way. Stand by for future developments in this area. It could get interesting very quickly. 

The Death Throes of a Culture

I like classical music. I will often listen to it playing quietly in the background while I work or on the road stuck in traffic. Classical music draws from a deeper source in us than the surface stimuli demand with which we have to contend in daily life and carries us to places of real thought and introspection, sad ones as well as joy and triumph on occasion. Australian pianist Anna Goldsworthy laments its imminent passing and examines it in a long article in The Monthly.

Goldsworthy notes that the average age of classical concerts has risen from age 30 in 1937 to 65 or above today. She examines some of the culprits: ADD among listeners (i.e. - hitting the clicker), the association with snobbish elites, and the lowest common denominator effect of television with its snippets of music reduced to jingles and silly songs. 

A huge reason is that children never learn to like classical music because they are not exposed to it. Goldsworthy says that:

"Research suggests that only 23% of government schools offer “continuous and developmental” music education, compared to 88% of independent schools. None of this bodes well for audience renewal, and, more problematically, it is a serious equity issue. Children of privilege enjoy the benefits of early music training, and the gap widens. It is no surprise that classical music becomes elitist, when only the privileged are taught its language."

She continues:

In my darkest moments, I wonder whether a transgenerational empathy is still possible, or whether we are drifting so far from the world of Beethoven and Schubert that they will soon have nothing to say to us. And if Beethoven becomes mute, Shakespeare cannot be much further behind.

Indeed that is true and I suspect that we are very near the end of the road or have even entered a new Dark Age. But why?  The reviewer of Goldsworthy's piece has the answer.

William Bigelow, writing for Breitbart, makes this incisive point at the end of his review:

" ... Goldsworthy misses the essential point: art is a reflection of the values espoused by its culture, not an essential pillar on which the culture stands. It is an ancillary aspect of the culture, not a fundamental element of its survival. What Goldsworthy and many other artists ignore is that the two fundamental pillars of Western culture, the nuclear family and Western Judeo-Christian values, are being savaged and left for dead by those who wish to destroy the West. If those two fulcrums of Western civilization are destroyed, the death of all Western traditions will inevitably follow, including classical music."

And Shakespeare, and ... You cannot have the nectar without the flower and as scripture reminds us, who is the One who clothes the lilies of the field? Matthew 6:28-30. Goldsworthy has written a thought-provoking article, but I hope that she and her fellow artists will walk the last mile and understand what, or rather Who, underlies all of creation.


www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/25/real-reason-death-classical-music/

The Return of Morality

Done deal. The Chinese Communist Party has decreed that from henceforth there shall be no: gluttony, heavy drinking, adultery, abuse of power, nepotism - and golf. Golf? Sorry folks, I just read and write this stuff, not decree it in the first place. This done, I am sure that Red China is well on its way to being the paragon of moral virtue in the world. Except for maybe golf.

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/10/22/chinese-communists-ban-gluttony-adultery-moon-cakes-golf/

No Need to Get Excited

Comrade Putin said this week that continuing U.S. work and testing on an anti-missile system threatens Russia. He further said that the threat against which it is purportedly directed, Iran, why those folks would never harm a fly - no, no, no, no, no! 

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/10/22/vladimir-putin-u-s-missile-defense-system-threatens-russia/

Although he has probably convinced our President, there is the troubling fact that Iran successfully tested an IRBM with precise control, as reported by the WSJ on October 12 - just 10 days ago. Hmm..

www.wsj.com/articles/iran-test-fires-new-missile-1444610450

Oh, and in June, 2015, just 5 months ago, Russia itself added 40 of its new SS-27 class of ICBMs replete with MIRVs and all sorts of goodies to make sure they get through to vaporize their intended targets. 

thediplomat.com/2015/06/russia-to-add-40-new-icbms-should-the-west-be-worried/

And then there's the little matter of Russia invading the Ukraine, annexing the Crimea and Georgia, threatening the Baltic countries, Syria, etc., etc., etc. 

Nope, nobody here but us nice peaceful folks, Mr. President, so you can put the shotgun away.

Everybody Knows Women Can't Shoot Straight

An anti-gun and female law school professor contends that women shouldn't be allowed to carry because they can't really know how to use the things. As AWR Hawkins and The Washington Post report, however, it seems that women are batting 1.000 in real-life rape situations:

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts in-person interviews with several thousand persons annually, for the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In 1992-2002, over 2,000 of the persons interviewed disclosed they had been raped or sexually assaulted. Of them, only 26 volunteered that they used a weapon to resist. In none of those 26 cases was the rape completed; in none of the cases did the victim suffer additional injury after she deployed her weapon.

Based on the data, a reasonable conclusion would appear to be, You Go Girl!

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/21/law-professor-campus-carry-women-cant-use-guns-effectively/

The History of the Land of Volvo Ain't What It Seems

Socialists, including the Democratic party in the U.S. (in fact, why don't they just rename themselves the Social Democratic Party?), love to point to Sweden and the Scandinavian countries as exemplars of what socialism can do if done right. Unfortunately for them, when you peer behind the talking points, history shows differently, as a new study by a Swedish scholar, Nima Sanandaji, shows:

Sweden was a poor nation for most of the 19th century (which helps explain the great wave of Swedish emigration to the United States in the 1800s). That began to change as Stockholm, starting around 1870, turned to free-enterprise reforms... The result was an environment in which Swedes experienced "an unprecedented period of sustained and rapid economic development." In fact, between 1870 and 1936 Sweden had the highest growth rate in the industrialized world.

Scandinavia's hard-left turn didn't come about until much later. It was in the late 1960s and early 1970s that taxes soared, welfare payments expanded, and entrepreneurship was discouraged...

Sweden's world-beating growth rate dried up. In 1975, it had been the 4th-wealthiest nation on earth (as measured by GDP per capita); by 1993, it had dropped to 14th. By then, Swedes had begun to regard their experiment with socialism as ... "a colossal failure."

The real key to Scandinavia's unique successes isn't socialism, it's culture. Social trust and cohesion, a broad egalitarian ethic, a strong emphasis on work and responsibility, commitment to the rule of law — these are healthy attributes of a Nordic culture that was ingrained over centuries.

These are the attributes of a healthy society for any nation regardless of ethnic background or geographic location. The sooner we re-learn this again as Americans and quit drinking the Kool Aid of socialism, the better off we are going to be - all of us, red and yellow, black and white. 

townhall.com/columnists/jeffjacoby/2015/10/18/no-bernie-sanders-scandinavia-is-not-a-socialist-utopia-n2067623

A Death Before Dying

A very sad column today on KGW.com, but one worth reading. The writer lost her cousin to a drug overdose when they were still teens and she writes about the experience. Some poignant excerpts:

"I am not an addict.

But try and love one, and then see if you can look me square in the eyes and tell me that you didn't get addicted to trying to fix them.

If you're lucky, they recover. If you're really lucky, you recover, too.

'What if you had to wake up every day and wonder if today was the day your family member was going to die?' will become a popular, not-so-rhetorical question.

Drug addiction has the largest ripple effect that I have ever witnessed firsthand.

It causes parents to outlive their children. It causes jail time and homelessness. It causes sisters to mourn their siblings. It causes nieces to never meet their aunts. It causes an absence before the exit.

You will see your loved one walking and talking, but the truth is, you will lose them far before they actually succumb to their demons; which, if they don't find recovery, is inevitable."

Her cousin died at 19 from a drug overdose. 

www.kgw.com/story/news/features/2015/10/14/lessons-i-learned-from-loving-a-drug-addict/73958870/

Rules, Schmools

We're from the government and we can do whatever the heck we want.

"Two professors of public policy conclude that governments are more likely to violate environmental regulations than private owners. 'Publicly-owned facilities are more likely than similar privately-owned facilities to violate regulatory requirements under the CAA [Clean Air Act] and the SDWA [Safe Drinking Water Act],'as their recent study notes."

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/14/study-governments-likely-break-environmental-law-private-firms/