Weather Or Not November 30, 2010

When I read through the “5 years ago” post that I put up this time, it reminded me of just how fickle the weather can be anywhere. This year, five years later almost to the day, it’s absolutely balmy compared to what I wrote about in that piece. Today, it’s around 20 degrees above. The sun is shining, even though it is low in the sky, and we are expecting tonight to get into the single digits. Also above. When I looked at the “almanac” part of my weather underground page, I saw that this weather is within a few degrees of “normal,” and even the weather I wrote about in that article was nowhere near the extreme for the date. (Incidentally, the information on the page is for today, and like the weather, it’s subject to change without notice.)

It’s easy to take this kind of weather in stride as long as everything works properly. Electricity, of course, makes all the difference. I could survive in my little house without it for a while at this temperature, but eventually it would simply be unbearable. Gas heat is good, but it works best in the furnace.

Not having a woodburning stove in this house has caused me a bit of worry lately, so I think that little item will be the upgrade earmarked for my next year’s Permanent Fund Dividend, after this year’s new and weathertight front door. The size of my house will mean a small stove and minimal expense, thank goodness. And, with any luck, I might even have enough left over to buy a stack of firewood to feed it.

The Power Of Truth November 29, 2010

Now the law entered in, that sin might abound. But where sin abounded, grace hath abounded more. –Romans 5:20 Douay

At the same time these days that the truth is coming out more and more often, thanks to the “new media,” i.e., internet bloggers, commentators, and talk radio, the left seems to be gaining the upper hand in just about every part of life that we experience. Truth has its own power, though.

Looks are deceiving, and the truth, being what it is, will out. We can’t know when, but truth, like beauty, cannot be suppressed for long. As long as there are bloggers and broadcasters who care more for the truth than their personal safety, the truth will continue to spread.

What this will mean for the deceivers on the left, the desperate leftist media and their handlers, and all the power brokers in washington is the eventual erosion of their positions of power. They will have to continually manipulate, maneuver, and obfuscate in their attempts to cover the truth and prevent its escape into the minds of the people. This is already happening on the news networks and in the print media, as anchors, pundits, and analysts, sold out to the leftist system, must lie and spin to make sure that the “official” version of events is what their viewers and readers see and hear. This is the exact same situation that was prevalent in the old Soviet Union years ago.

Truth is more powerful than power. Sooner or later, truth triumphs. The power to force Americans to submit themselves to fondling by contemptuous security officers before they can board any airline flight is only temporary. The power to force Americans to accept a “healthcare” bill they vociferously and persistently rejected is also only temprary, although we may feel the effects for some time. But the truth about these government practices will also come out at the same time. Truth arms us with the ability to resist with our spirits, and strengthens us with its unwavering purity. Lovers of the truth may have to go underground to survive, but they will take the truth with them. Like the early Christian persecutions, new catacombs will be formed.

The truth has its own power, and we who love it understand that the power of truth is its ability to transcend all the lies that come against it. Like the Phoenix, it will rise from its ashes renewed.

What we do with the power of the truth is a whole different matter.

From Fear To Hate To Fear, Etc. November 27, 2010

Fear can be a good thing. It keeps us (generally) from foolhardy mistakes and dangerous situations. But it can be blown into a consuming psychological phobia in susceptible people, or even an unacknowledged excuse to hate something we don’t understand, by triggering a “projection.” Any way you look at it, it has a strong effect on our behavior.

There are a lot of reasons why the left fears Sarah Palin. Read the comments section on any liberal website after any article that mentions her, even in passing, to see that they are not rational in their fear of her, and that the fear is being expressed in foul hatred. Listen to the Hollywood types flush their mouths about her and her family. Entertainment, broadcasting, journalism, politics… When all of these groups agree like a row of bobblehead dolls in an earthquake, you know there is something deep going on. The usual expressed fear is of her “lack of experience,” but we all know she can govern, and do it very well. From her years as Mayor of Wasilla, to Governor of Alaska, she has had administrative experience that caused her to become the most wildly popular governor in the country. Or, they take her to task because of her unpolished and homey persona. But the deeper current is always there, no matter how they try to camouflage it. They fear something in Sarah Palin, and they can’t do anything about it but hate it.

The “average” leftist doesn’t want a judiciary that isn’t pro-abortion, in the first place, with the other amoral “pro-’s” in the second place. Just the thought of Sarah Palin appointing a pro-Life, pro-Constitution judge who could tell them that their promiscuity and abortion would no longer be permissible sets off a cacophony of alarm bells in their heads. (As an aside, have you noticed that the behaviors that they most fear to lose have to do with any kind of sex, any way, without fear of consequences, or the ability to destroy the products that sexual license?)

They fear her as President because they know she will select Constitutional judges who might rule against them and their carefully-crafted liberal permissiveness. They fear her strong pro-Life position, best illustrated by her decision to bring her son, Trig, into the world. That choice showed them that she was going to be someone who wouldn’t run from a challenge or back down from a difficult decision. No matter what they say is wrong with her and her ability to lead the country, the reality is that they FEAR her possible effect on their sexual license and accessible abortion through any judges she might appoint.

There is no guarantee or proof that such judicial selections would be made if Gov. Palin was to be elected President. But the left fears it like they fear death. In fact, the two are probably strongly related. The idea of a God who will judge us by our choices and decisions in life is pretty terrifying to people who have spent their entire adult lives doing things they know are anti-God, or are done because they are anti-God. If God exists, their shredded consciences tell them, they are in for big trouble. And, the idea of a President who respects and obeys that God simply adds to their fear.

The fear of death for moral reasons is a healthy thing, leading normal people to correct their behavior. It can at least prod consciences enough to keep most of us out of prison for brutal mayhem. It’s one thing to tease God with the “if you exist, I dare you to strike me dead!” challenge, and quite another to know deep inside that the One Who Is All The TRUTH and knows everything about us will have the last say about where we spend eternity, which even the leftists know is a long, long time. Whether they acknowledge Him or not, they do FEAR Him on a primal level, which should be proof enough of their understanding that there is an all-good, all-just Being Who controls these things. Knowing Sarah Palin is willing to make her decisions by prayerful consideration, that she believes all human life is sacred from conception to natural death is all it takes to push the leftists into frothing hate mode.

They don’t realize that it’s not so much they are hating what they fear. They are fearing what they hate. And that scares them even worse. Sound irrational? Just read some of those comments. Just listen to some of those so-called comedians. They are scared to death of Sarah Palin, they hate the fact that they are, and they hate her for all of it.

Point-Missing November 25, 2010

The left just loves to change the subject.

If you have ever had a discussion with a leftist (or even an ignorant person who thinks the current resident is their new god), you will notice quickly how they love to deliberately miss the point of the discussion. No matter how simply and carefully you describe your position, the leftist will never respond to the real meaning of that position, or the point being discussed, but will, like a free-associating psychiatric patient, go off on a tangent and refuse to address the real topic. If they are unable to swing the conversation through misdirection, they will resort to personal attack and namecalling. They simply have no argument.

Missing the point is admissible if you are young, inexperienced, naive, uneducated, or any combination of these conditions. Deliberately missing the point because your quiver is empty is a whole different thing. But this seems to be the only tactic the left can use in the face of a conservative argument. Unfortunately, things won’t be changing soon. Liberals and conservatives look at things in completely opposite ways. Those on the left as a rule use their emotions to formulate their positions, while those on the right more often look at facts and history. This makes a calm discussion of any topic virtually impossible, since neither is able to see things from the other’s point of view, although a conservative will at least make the effort.

This phenomenon is not limited to the uneducated among us. It is also the modus operandi of the elitists in government, in the press, and in academia. But, if you already know going in that your “opponent” is not going to listen to any of your positions, why should you be upset if that person uses the point-missing technique on you to pull you away from the topic? Get the point?

Culture With A Twist November 23, 2010

Don’t take my word for it. Just play and enjoy…

None Better November 23, 2010

A lot of Americans are just like Sarah Palin… they are patriotic, faithful to their families and friends, honest, hard-working, and strongly believe in God’s plan for us.

What sets her apart? It’s very simple, really. It’s the fact that she is very much on the public stage. She is where she is because it is her time. If God can make “…even the stones to cry out,” He can make Sarah Palin the standardbearer for the patriots of America.

I have not the slightest doubt that Sarah will be able to accomplish whatever she sets out to do in this battle, as long as she stays prayerful and submitted to the Lord. I think most American Christians feel pretty much the same way. We all know that life goes much better when we put God in the Driver’s Seat. This obviously doesn’t mean the “roll over and play dead” kind of submission, but the kind that seeks His will in all major decisions and does what we believe to be His will for us at that time.

Sarah Palin’s detractors love to pick at the little, superficial things they perceive about her: her accent, her voice, her family life, but every one of them has missed the real point. Sarah Palin has political instincts that have shocked, stunned, and, depending on a person’s point of view, either thrilled or dismayed them wildly.

Is she the best candidate for the Presidency? At this point, I believe she is. Does this mean I think she should run? I honestly don’t know at this point. We already know she can govern. We know she is a dedicated budget cutter. We know she is not intimidated by the mossbacks and criminals who think they OWN congress. And there is no doubt about her love for America and her desire to see it restored to Constitutional governance.

Part of me wants her to do it just to prove it’s possible (and because we need a President with her abilities), but part of me says, “we don’t have a similar weapon in anyone else at the moment. Will someone else step forward to do the hand-to-hand at which Sarah Palin is so adept?” Fortunately, it’s a solid year and a half before any decisions and choices must be made. In the meantime, Sarah is learning, praying, and adding to her resume, and fighting like a Spartan for America’s survival.

I see very few people who could do what she has done for the Constitutional Republic of America in the recent past. Some might be as good, but, right now, there are none better.

Questions About Consequences November 21, 2010

Has it not occurred to most people that what America is suffering is a consequence?

God has told us time and again that to shed the blood of the innocent is an abomination and that it will carry with it the consequences of destruction. And, yet, America, the most blessed of all nations in history, proceeded to do just that. We continue to feed our children to Moloch, and we and continue to slaughter our posterity in the millions, for the sake of convenience and profit. Is it any wonder that we have seen our nation brought to its knees? It is a testament to God’s Mercy that we have gotten away with this vile evil as long as we have. Apparently, whatever restraints held back His judgment have been removed.

The other question is this: What would happen if we were to stop all legal permissions for abortion across the board, in perpetuity? Dare we to hope that it might restore us as a nation?

T.ouching S.ensitive A.reas November 20, 2010

I have stated more than once that political correctness alone could easily be the death of this country. We can see evidence in the mortal blow being struck in airports all over the country, as security employees frisk and touch people in places that, in a sane and rational world, would at least cost them their jobs, if not outright arrest. Americans are used to a security force that is polite and seldom touches even the guilty in such ways. How do we stand and tolerate this?

If the DHS was SERIOUS about protecting airline passengers from terrorism and bombing threats, they would be doing this to the people who can fit the profile of terrorists, under the standard rules of thumb no one is allowed to mention for the sake of political correctness. Instead, the profile is applied to blue-eyed citizen grandmothers, 80-year-old nuns, and 3-year old girls. Men who object are arrested, regardless of how poorly the profile fits them.

Has anybody asked why women in full burkas are not subjected to this humiliation? Does anybody even know if those women in burkas are even really women? Why are men with shifty eyes and guilty expressions and behaviors not the targets of the searches? Political correctness (and foul spite) are the only explanations for this new policy.

If Americans tolerate this monstrous attack on the First Clause of the Fourth Amendment**, and allow continued encroachements into personal privacy by badge-toting agents, perhaps this country really is finished. There is a name for people who allow this kind of degrading fondling and inappropriate touching. It shouldn’t have to apply to average people flying from Des Moines to Kallispell.

Touching a man’s “junk” should still be a perfectly good reason to knock somebody flat on their kiester. Touching a 3-year old girl inapropriately should be grounds for a lifetime behind bars. And, humiliating an 80-year-old nun in such a way USED to be wildly unthinkable. Just how low will this monstrous mauling be allowed to go? All airline passengers who have been subjected to this shameful and depraved fondling should immediately file a huge class-action suit against the phony agency of DHS. Enough is enough.

If you aren’t outraged by any of this, you simply aren’t paying attention. Time to drop the political correctness and frisk the people who are the REAL threat, and leave my sagging, grandmotherly old hide to its well-earned privacy.

“Why are we in this basket, and why is it so HOT here??”

** “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”

Violated? Are YOU feeling violated? I certainly am, and I’m not even flying.

Catty November 19, 2010

The women of the press are so jealous of Sarah Palin that they are having a hard time keeping the spit from flying out of their mouths when they talk about her.

Her natural beauty drives them wild with envy, because they know that men everywhere are crosseyed with infatuation over her, and it’s not themselves who are the objects of the male obsession. Marilyn Monroe had it. Catherine Zeta Jones has it. They don’t, and it’s painful for them. To top it all off, she has a hunk of a husband who dotes on her. She has everything they threw away to get to where they are, and they hate her for having it and making it look so easy.

Jealousy is usually a manifestation of a real insecurity, especially in a job where looks are everything if you are a woman, and that grabs them the wrong way, too. Not only does she have a bachelor’s degree (from a small college, but it’s still on her resume) in Journalism, but she is still an athlete, and knows strategy and tactics better than most men. For women who have never left the east coast or the beltway, these accomplishments are so monstrous they must be mocked on every occasion. Consider the audience she had for her inaugural show on TLC, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” Five million people tuned in eagerly. Does this mean virtually nobody was watching the soreheads on the other stations? Probably.

They are now walking in mortal terror that she will run for president in 2012. It would serve them right if she did, but I think she has other fish to fry. She has done so much damage to the left in the last two years, it’s hard to quantify it. As a sitting president, those opportunities would no longer be open to her, and I hope she prefers the fight to the victory in this instance. It would be like the combat General who gets kicked upstairs after years in theater, only to find his new job is behind a desk. I think she would not want to be where she couldn’t lead the team to a championship. She can be as partisan as she wishes, doing what she’s doing, but that option isn’t really open to a President in office (current resident excluded, of course…).

With her vorpal blades (her endorsements, her books and her Facebook page and Twitter, and now her TLC show) going “Snicker-snack!” she can do incredible, effortless damage to the liberals right where she is. The establishment republicans are afraid of just that, because they are as liberal as their democrat counterparts. If you put them all into a giant paper bag, closed the top, and shook it for a while, you still wouldn’t be able to separate them according to their political initials.

Catty women of the media know that they are outclassed by someone they consider a social inferior, and it drives them wild. The emasculated men of the media have joined them in their condescending character assassination, and to people of normal intelligence and healthy emotions, it looks petty and small. “Catty.” Yeah…that’s a good word for it.

Slapped Around November 17, 2010

Every time the current resident goes overseas, he gets the snot slapped out of him. He went to Denmark to pick up the Olympics for Chicago, and got the absolute most hilarious slapdown seen on live tv in a long time. This trip to Asia has been no better. Do the leaders of other countries have a contest to see who can inflict the most damage without him realizing he’s being mocked? It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t supposed to be representing American interests overseas. A black eye for him is one for America, too.

Government officials overseas are so contemptuous of him it is virtually impossible for them to be civil to him. Does he notice? Probably not, or only in the most superficial ways. He has absolutely no idea what he should be doing, no idea why he is there, and absolutely no reason to try to negotiate anything favorable for the United States, given his dislike for America.

I am sure that Vladimir Putin is rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the so-called “START” talks coming up soon. It’s like putting the little goldfish in the pirahnna tank…