Month: September 2013

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Our Daily Thread 9-16-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1620 the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England.

In 1630 the village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.

In 1782 The Great Seal of the United States was impressed on document to negotiate a prisoner of war agreement with the British.  It was the first official use of the impression.

In 1924 Jim Bottomley knocked in 12 runs in a single game setting a major league baseball record.

And in 1953 the St. Louis Browns of the American League were given permission to move to Baltimore, MD, where they became the Baltimore Orioles.

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Quote of the Day

“We can not play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent.”

Ronald Reagan

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Today is Trisha Yearwood’s birthday.

It’s also B.B. King’s. And since I like him, 2 of his. 🙂

This one is fun, and has a bunch of well-known singers and musicians playing along.

There’s your wake-up. 🙂

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 9-16-13

Who has a request or praise to share today?

Psalm 33:13-22

13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

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News/Politics 9-16-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, well what did they think would happen? Of course it would benefit Assad and Russia. Funny though, the Obama admin considers this a victory. ‘Course they have to say that, otherwise they might have to admit they totally failed here.

From TheNYPost  “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gets to stay in power — and keep his chemical weapons for a year — under a Russian-sponsored deal that critics slammed as undermining American leverage in the Mideast.

Under the pact reached Saturday by Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Assad must submit an inventory of his chemical arsenal this week but has until mid-2014 to dispose of it.

Kerry said the first inspection of Syrian weapons will be in November and destruction will begin sometime next year.”

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More on Syria.

From TheTelegraph/UK  “Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane’s report

Nearly half the rebel fighters in Syria are now aligned to jihadist or hardline Islamist groups according to a new analysis of factions in the country’s civil war.

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The Obama admin sure does love the MB huh?

From BizPacReview  “A controversial Homeland Security advisor who was recently promoted to senior fellow is a self-declared Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Mohamed Morsi supporter.

Mohamed Elibiary, who was appointed to the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council by then-Secretary Janet Napolitano in 2010, tweeted Thursday that his appointment was renewed and his position elevated:”

“Elibiary’s tenure on the advisory council created controversy almost from the start. About a year after his appointment, PJ Media reported that he used his new federal security clearance to download information on the Texas Department of Public Safety and sell it to left-leaning media outlets as proof of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s “Islamophobia.””

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Common Core sounds great, unless the left gets to be the ones deciding on that “Core” curriculum. Think 50 Shades of Common Core. Yeah, like that. 😦

CONTENT WARNING!!!

From TheDailyCaller  “The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a project that attempts to  standardize various K-12 curricula around the country. By design, American  students subject to the Common Core will experience a reading  regime that focuses heavily on nonfiction.”

“There will be a slice of fiction here and there, though. One such slice for  sophomores at Buena High School in Sierra  Vista, Ariz. is an utterly minor 1992 novel called “Dreaming in Cuban” by  Cristina Garcia, reports Eagnews.org.

An unidentified parent claimed in  an email to Eagnews that “Dreaming in Cuban” was assigned to everyone in one of  her son’s 10th-grade classes. In addition, students read the book out loud  during class.”

It then gives a few excerpts from the book. It’s Porn in class.

More here from EAGNews.

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I doubt this will do much good, but it’s worth a shot I suppose.

From Breitbart  “On Sept. 12, religious-liberty leaders met with Pentagon officials to discuss the rapidly-escalating incidents of religious-liberty violations in the military under the Obama administration.  

On Apr. 28, Breitbart News broke the story of Pentagon brass meeting with anti-Christian activist Mikey Weinstein to discuss religious-liberty policies. Quoting Weinstein in his own printed words, this activist has a record of calling observant Christians “fundamentalist monsters” who seek impose “theocratic terror” on America, and that evangelizing (sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ) in the military is an act of “sedition and treason” against this country, making those who do it “enemies of the Constitution.” He says those who do so should be court-martialed (criminally prosecuted).”

“Now leaders from Restore Military Religious Freedom—a coalition to protect service members of faith—met with Pentagon officials. Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (ret.) of the Family Research Council, Col. Ron Crews (ret.) of the Chaplains Alliance for Religious Liberty, Kellie Fiedorek of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and nationally-known Christian talk radio host Sandy Rios took with them two petitions calling on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to protect religious liberty. One was a general petition with 170,000 signatures, and the other—with 50,000 signatures—was sparked by the last incident mentioned above, where Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk was relieved of duty by Maj. Elisa Valenzuela, allegedly because of Monk’s Christian beliefs on marriage. Monk now faces possible court martial.”

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I know seceding from the Union is frowned upon, but what about counties from individual states? I guess it would depend on the state constitution. It seems to be an idea that’s spreading. As someone who lives in an area where Philly presents the same problem, I like the idea.

Five words. Arlen Specter, Bob Casey Jr.

See. Of course I’m all for it.

From FoxNews  “A group of Maryland residents frustrated with its state’s liberal government  is joining a recent movement across the country of regions trying to secede.

 Western Maryland is made up of five counties whose residents largely vote  Republican and feel under-represented at the state capitol, run by Democratic  Gov. Martin O’Malley and a Democrat-controlled legislature.”

“Strzelczyk said the biggest concerns are increasing taxes, and the  Democrat-controlled legislature gerrymander voting district so that the state’s  big metropolitan areas have the most representation and tighter gun laws enacted  this year, which he calls “the last straw.”  

The movement is just one of several across the country that includes the  Upper Peninsula in Michigan, Northern California and several conservative  northern Colorado counties.”

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And this last one I submit with no comment. Take it for what you will.

Also from Breitbart  “Almost everything you think you know about the Matthew Shepard narrative is false.”

“Almost immediately Shepard became a secular saint, and his killing became a kind of gay Passion Play where he suffered and died for the cause of homosexuality against the growing homophobia and hatred of gay America.

Indeed, a Mathew Shepard industry grew rapidly with plays and foundations along with state and even national hate crimes legislation named for him. Rock stars wrote songs about him, including Elton John and Melissa Etheridge. Lady Gaga performed John Lennon’s “Imagine” and changed the lyrics to include Shepard.

Thanks to a new book by an award winning gay journalist we now know that much of this narrative turns out to be false, little more than gay hagiography.”

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Our Daily Thread 9-14-13

Good Morning!

And Happy Saturday!

On this day in 1752 the British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).

In 1814 the poem Defence of Fort McHenry is written by Francis Scott Key. The poem is later used as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner.

In 1901 President of the United States William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1960 the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded.

And in 1994 the Major League Baseball season is canceled because of a strike.

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Quote of the Day

“A word to the wise ain’t necessary – it’s the stupid ones that need the advice.”

Bill Cosby  🙂

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Today is John “Bowser” Bauman’s birthday.

And it’s Steve Berlin’s as well. I like these guys. 🙂

It’s also Steven Gaines’.

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QoD? Anyone?

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Prayer Requests 9-14-13

Who would like to share a request or praise?

Psalm 33:1-12

¹ Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

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News/Politics 9-14-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, Colorado.

From Denver/CBSLocal  “Officials in Boulder are urging people to stay away from Boulder Creek, which is still running at dangerously high levels on Friday.

The flooding has destroyed several residences in Boulder County, officials said Friday morning. They don’t have a specific number of homes that have been destroyed yet, and it’s not clear so far where the worst damage is in the county.”

““We are asking people to avoid driving in Boulder, avoid being in areas where water is rising or where creeks are crossing intersections or streets. If you should happen to fall in those waters it would be very difficult to get out and in some cases you might not be able to get out,” Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said. “We are asking people not to come to Boulder unless absolutely necessary because if you get here you might not be able to get out.”

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Next, sure they are, but they’ll screw it up.

From Politico  “Republicans are now leading Democrats on handling several key issues,  according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll.

The poll, released Friday, shows more Americans think that the  Republicans are doing a better job on the economy, foreign policy and reducing  the federal deficit.

The GOP has an edge of 7 percentage points over the Democrats on the issue of  foreign policy. This is up from 2006, when the GOP was behind by 9 percentage  points.”

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This has to be killing Emanuel.

From TheDailyCaller  “Gun owners in Chicago no longer have to register firearms with local  authorities, the New York Times reports.

Chicago’s City Council reluctantly voted Wednesday to end the decades old  registration policy in the wake of the new law allowing Illinois residents the  right to carry concealed weapons in public. The modification follows the United  States Court of Appeals for the 7th District December ruling that stated Illinois’s ban  on public concealed carry was unconstitutional. So far, the Democratic-majority  Legislature has struggled to balance the perceived needs of the people with the  court ruling.”

“Despite this seemingly revolutionary change, Chicago is far from encouraging gun  ownership. The Council strengthened other gun regulations, even as it struck down  the registration law.”

Sure, because their methods and ideas on gun control have worked so well up until now. 🙄

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Strange that they would only do this for certain Pastors. OK, not really.

Also from TheDailyCaller  “Attorney General  Eric Holder and IRS officials advised black ministers on how to engage in  political activity during the 2012 election without violating their tax-exempt  status.

Holder, then-IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman, and Peter Lorenzetti, a senior  official in the scandal-plagued agency’s exempt organizations division,  participated in a May 2012 training session for black ministers from the  Conference of National Black  Churches at the U.S. Capitol hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).  Holder spoke at the event.

“We’re going to, first of all, equip them with the information they need to  know about what they can say and what they cannot say in the church that would  violate their 501(c)(3) status with the IRS,” said then-CBC chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver,  a Democrat from Missouri. “In fact, we’re going to have the IRS administrator  there. We’re going to have Attorney General Eric Holder there…the ACLU.”

They used these churches to push Obama and his agenda. The IRS targets the Tea Party, yet enables this. Sad.

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The Senate is up to more nonsense. And the best part is they want our totally non-partisan DoJ to decide who gets journalistic protections and who doesn’t. Freedom of the Press, for officially approved Press anyway. I bet the recent change to anti-propaganda laws is related.

From Breitbart  “Who would decide who fell within these guidelines? A “judge of the United States” can “exercise discretion to avail the persons of the protections of this Act.” But in the first instance, the DOJ would have the discretion to determine whether a person is a “journalist” for purposes of the law. Instead of focusing on acts of journalism, the law would identify people by employment status.

 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said that it should not matter to citizen journalists if new protections extended to a special class of journalists created by the government, since the First Amendment does not grant any right to protect sources in the first place. “When we’re discussing the issue of adding a privilege, the issue of taking away someone’s First Amendment rights just isn’t engaged….All we’re doing is adding privilege to existing First Amendment rights, so there is, logically, zero First Amendment threat out of this,” said Whitehouse, ignoring the fact that a massive institutional advantage would be handed to approved government outlets, thereby perverting the entire system of a free press.

 Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) launched into the proposed bill, which he said could “have the effect of excluding certain persons from enjoying the added First Amendment protections the bill would provide.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) agreed, stating, “Essentially as I understand this amendment, it protects what I would characterize as the ‘corporate media.’…But it leaves out citizen bloggers….I don’t think any protection should treat citizen bloggers who are meeting the underlying test of being primarily engaged in gathering news to report it I don’t think they should be excluded because they don’t happen to work for a media corporation.”

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And last for today, this one. 🙂

From TheCompetitiveEnterpriseInstitute  “Today, teachers in Kenosha, Wis., voted to decertify their union, the Kenosha Education Association, by a margin of nearly two to one. Only 37 percent of the teachers opted to retain the union in an election made possible by the labor reforms enacted under Gov. Scott Walker (R). The result goes to show that when workers have a choice on whether to join a union instead of being forced into one by law, they often choose to vote down the union.”

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Our Daily Thread 9-13-13

Good Morning!

It’s Friday! 🙂

Today is Milton Hershey’s birthday. So celebrate, and eat some chocolate. 🙂

On this day in 1788 the Constitutional Convention decided that the first federal election was to be held on Wednesday the following February.  On that day George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States.  In addition, New York City was named the temporary national capital.

In 1789 the United States Government took out its first loan. 😦

In 1922, in El Azizia, Libya, the highest shade temperature was recorded at 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

In 1948 Margaret Chase Smith was elected to the U.S. Senate and became the first woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress.

And in 1971, in New York, National Guardsmen stormed the Attica Correctional Facility and put an end to the four-day revolt.  A total of 43 people were killed in the final assault.

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Quote of the Day

“If it happens, it happens… We can’t stop living.”

Walter Reed
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Today is Bill Monroe’s birthday.

It’s also Clara Schumann’s birthday.

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QoD

As I’m sure you’re aware, today is the dreaded Friday the 13th. 🙄

I find some people’s superstition of, and response to the day to be really annoying. Does today, or is there any other day, that gets a similar reaction from you?

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Prayer Requests 9-13-13

Who has a request to share today?

Psalm 32

¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him.

7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

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News/Politics 9-13-13

What’s interesting out there today?

First up…..  Retreat?

From TheWaPo  “Sometimes a president does not have a communications problem. Sometimes a president has a reality problem.

President Obama’s speech to the nation on Syria was premised on the denial of reality. He claimed that the Russian/Syrian initiative resulted from the “credible threat of U.S. military action.” In fact, it filled a vacuum of presidential credibility. Obama had been isolated within the G-20 and abandoned by our closest ally, Britain. Americans overwhelmingly disapproved of a military strike for which the president clearly had no stomach. Obama was on the verge of the most devastating congressional foreign policy repudiation since the Senate voted 49-35 against entering the League of Nations in 1920.

Vladimir Putin offered Obama an escape, which he gratefully took. But there are implicit costs. A U.S. military strike — something Putin thought inevitable just a few weeks ago — is off. Russia’s Syrian client, Bashar al-Assad, stays in power. The Syrian opposition is effectively hung out to dry. Russia gains a position of influence in the Middle East it has not held since Anwar Sadat threw the Soviets out of Egypt. This allows Moscow to supply proxies such as Syria and Iran with weapons while positioning itself as the defender of international law and peace. Iran sees that the United States is a reluctant power, with a timid and polarized legislature, that can easily be deflected from action by transparent maneuvers.

Other than this, ’twas a famous victory.”

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Assad has gotten a little bolder now.

From YahooNews  “”When we see the United States really wants stability in our region and stops threatening, striving to attack, and also ceases arms deliveries to terrorists, then we will believe that the necessary processes can be finalized,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with Russian state television.”

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I think he means these guys.

From TheDailyCaller  “Jonathan Spyer says the moderate rebels in Syria the Obama administration has  been touting are really Muslim Brotherhood-types who adhere to an Islamist  ideology.

Spyer should know. An academic who lives  in Israel and studies the Middle East, he has traveled to and through Syrian  rebel-controlled territory, reporting on what he saw for various publications.  Asked by The Daily Caller to respond to a much-cited Wall Street Journal article  by Elizabeth O’Bagy, which claimed “[m]oderate opposition forces … continue to  lead the fight against the Syrian regime,” Spyer said, “I can only speak  regarding my own experiences and my own knowledge.”

“Undoubtedly outside of Syria, and in the Syrian opposition structures, there  are civilian political activists and leaders who are opposed to al-Qaida and opposed to Islamism,” Spyer explained to TheDC in an  email interview. “There are also civilian activists and structures within the  country which are opposed to al-Qaida and Islamism. But when one looks at the  armed rebel groups, one finds an obvious vast majority there who are adherents  of Islamism of one kind or another — stretching from Muslim Brotherhood-type  formations all the way across to groups openly aligned with al-Qaida central and  with al-Zawahiri.””

And we are arming them.

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The Jersey shore is still trying to recover from the devastation of Sandy. A section of Seaside Heights’ boardwalk was just rebuilt after Sandy, but now it has been destroyed by fire. 😦

From ABCNews  “Firefighters dug a trench under a Jersey Shore boardwalk in an effort to prevent a furious, wind-whipped blaze from spreading to a section just rebuilt after being destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.

This evening, the blaze reached 10 alarms, according to ABC News New York station WABC. It had already destroyed a long stretch of boardwalk, according to officials, containing perhaps 30 businesses in Seaside Park, N.J., near the same stretch of sand where a rollercoaster landed upright in the ocean after Sandy hit the coastline in October 2012.”

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Storms are responsible for severe flooding and a few deaths in Colorado. 😦

From YahooNews  “Flash flooding in northern Colorado has left two people dead, and the widespread high waters are keeping search and rescue teams from reaching stranded residents and motorists in Boulder and nearby mountain communities as heavy rains hammered the area Thursday.

The National Weather Service warned of an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation” throughout the region as the flooding forced people from their homes, canceled classes and led to mudslides and rockslides in some areas.

“Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life,” the Weather Service warned in numerous bulletins that went out throughout the morning.”

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Newly released e-mails show that Lois Lerner did in fact specifically target Tea Party and conservative groups. But we already knew that. 🙄

From TheWashingtonTimes  “Newly released emails show that Lois G.  Lerner, the woman at the   center of the IRS scandal over special scrutiny of conservative groups’   applications for  tax-exempt status, specifically targeted tea party   applications and directed  they be held up in 2011 in order to come up   with an agency policy.

The email, released by a House  committee  investigating the IRS,  seems to counter Democrats’  arguments that tea  party groups weren’t  specifically targeted.”

““Tea Party Matter  very dangerous,” Ms.  Lerner said in the 2011  email, saying that those  applications could end up  being the “vehicle  to go to court” to get more  clarity on a 2010 Supreme  Court ruling on  campaign finance rules.”

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One of the Colorado Democrats recalled this week is crying voter suppression. But reality says otherwise. But to admit that would mean to admit defeat of her/Dems anti-gun agenda. No way she does that.

From HotAir  “Via the Corner. Tuesday night, expecting a close race, I couldn’t believe that she lost by 12 points. Now, after watching her for the first time, I can’t believe she lost by only 12 points.

She’s got one argument here — “voter suppression,” ripped straight from the DNC’s talking points memo, which is completely destroyed by her own now-famous admission a few weeks ago that if Bloomberg and his anti-gun group couldn’t buy her a victory in this race, “they might as well fold it up.” They did their best for her; as Erika noted earlier, gun-grabbers outspent gun-rights supporters overwhelmingly. If that kind of money can’t get gun-control fans to drive to the polls, in a state where there was a horrendous mass shooting barely more than a year ago, maybe the votes simply aren’t there.

Sean Trende considers, then largely dismisses, the idea that the lack of mail-in ballots doomed the Democrats.”

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Chuck Todd says the recalls will make Dems “gun-shy.” 😯

What? Oh c’mon, it was too easy. I had too. 🙂

Also from HotAir  “Plenty of Democrats apparently still feel inclined to believe that this week’s successful Colorado recall election was the result of a teeny, tiny but vociferously vocal minority that only managed to pull out a victory because of 1) the egregious gobs of cash funneled their way by the NRA, the Koch Brothers, and other such seedy groups, and 2) the “tactical reasons why Democrats didn’t have a chance here,” i.e. the far-fetched and baseless claims of “voter suppression” à la Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The truth of the matter, of course, tells rather a different story: In fact, a Public Policy Poll that they, ahem, declined to release showed a large margin of support for the pro-recall side; and what’s more, liberal groups outspent the pro-Second Amendment crowd by a 7-to-1 margin. The MSNBC crowd, too, seems happy to gloss over these key pieces of information, but Chuck Todd does point out that this was not, as DWS called determinedly titled it, a “hollow victory.” In a lot of areas, gun control is simply not a winning issue for Democrats, and one of the biggest takeaways here is that Democrats are likely to actively eschew any offering of “help” from the contaminating effects of the well-monied and rabidly anti-gun Bloomberg group — and if he persists in providing it, it’s the Democrats who’ll suffer.”

And that’s a good thing. 🙂

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