Month: September 2013

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Our Daily Thread 9-5-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1774 the first session of the U.S. Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. The delegates drafted a declaration of rights and grievances, organized the Continental Association, and elected Peyton Randolph as the first president of the Continental Congress.

In 1836 Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1881 the American Red Cross provided relief for a disaster for the first time. The disaster was the Great Fire of 1881 in Michigan.

In 1906 Bradbury Robinson executed the first legal forward pass in football. Robinson threw the ball to Jack Schneider of St. Louis University in a game against Carroll College.

In 1914 Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional player in the International League. 

In 1917 federal raids were carried out in 24 cities on International Workers of the World (IWW) headquarters. The raids were prompted by suspected anti-war activities within the labor organization.

And in 1930 Charles Creighton and James Hagris completed the drive from New York City to Los Angeles and back to New York City all in reverse gear. The trip took 42 days in their 1929 Ford Model A. I have no idea why, I guess it was because they could.

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Quote of the Day

“I think one reason for a successful marriage is laughter. I think laughter gets you through the rough moments in a marriage.”

Bob  Newhart

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Today is Johann Christian Bach’s birthday. This young lady, Ji Eun Park, and her assistant do a very nice rendition of Concerto for Viola & Piano.

Today is also John Stewart’s birthday. No, not THAT Jon Stewart.

And it’s Dweezil Zappa’s birthday too. So here he is with Steve Vai doing a musical version of his dad’s song, “More Trouble Every Day.”

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Who has a QoD for us?

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Prayer Requests 9-5-13

Who has a request or praise to share?

Since the Monday holiday has my days messed up, I forgot to remind everyone to pray for Gambia yesterday. My apologies for the oversight. 😳

Psalm 25

¹ Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

4 Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.

12 What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

15 Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.

18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.

21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.

22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

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News/Politics 9-5-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

First up, the rush to war. They’re in such a hurry they broke their own rules to get it moving.

From TheDailyBeast  “Senate Democratic leadership tossed aside the rules for moving legislation with regard to the resolution authorizing the use of military force against Syria, angering some Republicans and creating confusion on Capitol Hill in the run-up to the war vote.”

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The Russians are chiming in as well.

From TheGuardian  “World leaders will gather in St Petersburg on Thursday for what has transformed into an international showdown with Vladimir Putin threatening to send a missile shield to Syria if the US launches an attack without the authority of the United Nations.

The G20 summit, hosted by Putin, had been expected to focus on the world economy and growth, but will now be dominated by the Middle East crisis, even if the formal agenda remains fixed on the slowdown of growth in emerging markets.”

Putin has also called Kerry a liar.

From Reuters  “Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the U.S. Congress had no right to approve the use of force against Syria without a decision from the U.N. Security Council, and that doing so would be an “act of aggression”.

He said “anything that is outside the U.N. Security Council is aggression, except self-defense. Now what Congress and the U.S. Senate are doing in essence is legitimizing aggression. This is inadmissible in principle.”

“They lie beautifully, of course. I saw debates in Congress. A congressman asks Mr Kerry: ‘Is al Qaeda there?’ He says: ‘No, I am telling you responsibly that it is not’,” Putin said at a meeting of his human rights council in the Kremlin.“

“Al Qaeda units are the main military echelon, and they know this,” he said, referring to the United States. “It was unpleasant and surprising for me – we talk to them, we proceed from the assumption that they are decent people. But he is lying and knows he is lying. It’s sad.”

As much as I dislike the Russian leader, and most of what he stands for, I can’t say I disagree.

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Meanwhile, the people these strike will benefit have struck again. And yes, despite Kerry’s claims, they are Al-Qaida.

From TheBostonHerald  “Al-Qaida-linked rebels launched an assault Wednesday on a regime-held Christian village in the densely populated west of Syria and new clashes erupted near the capital, Damascus — part of a brutal battle of attrition each side believes it can win despite more than two years of deadlock.

As the world focused on possible U.S. military action against Syria, rebels commandeered a mountaintop hotel in the village of Maaloula and shelled the community below, said a nun, speaking by phone from a convent in the village. She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The attack came hours before a Senate panel voted to give President Barack Obama authority to use military force against Syria — the first time lawmakers have voted to allow military action since the October 2002 votes authorizing the invasion of Iraq.”

They have also vowed to slaughter Christians after Obama “liberates” Syria.

From Raymond Ibrahim  “Arabic news agency Al Hadath gives more information concerning this latest terror attack on Syria’s Christians, specifically how the al-Qaeda linked rebels “terrorized the Christians, threatening to be avenged on them after the triumph of the revolution.”

Thus al-Qaeda terrorists eagerly await U.S. assistance against the Syrian government, so they can subjugate if not slaughter Syria’s Christians, secularists, and non-Muslims — even as the Obama administration tries to justify war on Syria by absurdly evoking the “human rights” of Syrians on the one hand, and lying about al-Qaeda’s presence in Syria on the other.”

More here,

From WeaselZippers  “This video is a few months old but very relevant considering the Obama administration said yesterday the rebels are becoming more moderate and less affiliated with al-Qaeda. As shown in the above video, the exact opposite is true.

This footage from May and June 2013 shows battalions from the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) declaring their unification with al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front) in the eastern Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta and in Aleppo, both strongholds of the anti-government militants. Although some instances have occurred where clashes between the two groups have taken place, for the most part, the FSA and al-Qaeda unite under the banner of Islamic monotheism.”

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And in other news…..

From CNBC  “Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday blasted a $5 billion fraud lawsuit by the U.S. government as retaliation for its 2011 decision to strip the country of its AAA credit rating.

The McGraw Hill Financial unit was the only major credit rating agency to take away the United States’ top rating and the only one sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly misleading banks and credit unions about the credibility of its ratings before the 2008 financial crisis.

In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., S&P said the lawsuit attempts to punish it for exercising its First Amendment free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution but also seeks “excessive fines” in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

It said the government’s “impermissibly selective, punitive and meritless” lawsuit was brought “in retaliation for defendants’ exercise of their free speech rights with respect to the creditworthiness of the United States of America.”

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Next, 2 ObamaCare stories.

More from TheWeeklyStandard.

And different state, same outcome.

From HotAir  “The Lincoln Journal Star added to the annals of ‘If you like your plan you can keep your plan (Midwestern edition)” yesterday with a new report on the impact of ObamaCare on health insurance premiums in Nebraska.  Thanks to the mandates in ObamaCare, most of the individual insurance plans offered in the past will no longer be available, whether consumers liked their plan or not.  The replacements will be much more expensive, with cost hikes ranging from 21% increases to as much as 143%:”

“Nebraska Insurance Commissioner Bruce Ramge pointed out that a comparison of rates between Coventry and Blue Cross Blue Shield, the only companies of the four that offered rates in past years, showed that health insurance costs are going up for most Nebraskans.

Tom Gilsdorf, director of product development at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska countered: “An apples-to-apples comparison of 2013 health insurance costs to 2014 costs is virtually impossible,” he said. “Health insurance that will be sold to individuals, families and small businesses for 2014 is new and must cover a range of Essential Health Benefits that were not covered in the past.”

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And here’s a story related to a topic we discussed on the Daily Thread.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “God is still great in the eyes of Americans, even on the internet. While an amazing 88 percent of the nation’s homes own a Bible, more and more are switching to the internet, cell phones and iPad for their weekly inspiration, according to a sweeping new survey of Bible use.

In their latest survey of Bible use, the American Bible Society finds that 41 percent of Americans used the internet to read the good book on a computer. Some 29 percent said they searched Bible verses on a cell phone and 17 percent said they read an electronic version of the Bible on a Kindle or iPad.

The trend is similar in the news business, with the readers shifting to digital over paper.

“The data shows a continual shift to digital content. The number of Bible readers who use their smart phone or cell phone to search for Bible content has increased each year, with a 6 percent increase in the use of this format from 2012,” said the Society. “Use of internet to find Bible content has also increased, up 4 percent from 2011,” they added.”

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Our Daily Thread 9-4-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1609 English navigator Henry Hudson began exploring the island of Manhattan.

 In 1781 Los Angeles, CA, was founded by Spanish settlers. The original name was “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los  Angeles de Porciuncula,” which translates as “The Town of the Queen of Angels.”

In 1833 Barney Flaherty answered an ad in “The New York Sun” and became the first newsboy/paperboy at the age of 10.

In 1886, Geronimo, and the Apache Indians he led, surrendered in Skeleton Canyon in Arizona to Gen. Nelson Miles.

In 1923 the first American dirigible, the “Shenandoah,” began its maiden voyage in Lakehurst, NJ.

In 1949 the longest pro tennis match in history was played when Pancho Gonzales and Ted Schroeder played 67 games in five sets.

In 1953 the New York Yankees became the first baseball team to win five consecutive American League championships.

And in 1972 US swimmer Mark Spitz captured his seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay event at Munich, Germany. Spitz was the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.

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Quote of the Day

“In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.”

Paul Harvey

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On this day in 1952 a birthday party was held for Merald “Bubba” Knight. When the party was over, this band was formed.

And it’s Ronald LaPread’s birthday too.

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Anyone have a QoD for us?

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Prayer Requests 9-4-13

Who has a request or praise to share?

Psalm 24

¹The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

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News/Politics 9-4-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The President continues to shore up support for military action in Syria.

From Politico  “A new use-of-force resolution for Syria sets a 60-day deadline, with one  30-day extension possible, for President Barack Obama to launch military strikes  against the regime of Syria President Bashar Assad — and it will also bar the  involvement of U.S. ground forces in Syria.

The revised resolution was crafted by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bob  Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman and ranking member of the Foreign Relations  Committee, following several days of negotiations. The panel could vote on the  proposal by Wednesday.”

More here on the arm twisting, also from Politico.

And all this despite public opposition to it. Here’s the latest poll, from ABC/WaPo

And here’s further evidence that if we do this, we help the radicals. Seems there’s already delays to previous weapon supply programs because they can’t find anyone who isn’t a radical to give the guns to.

From TheWallStJournal  “In June, the White House authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to help arm moderate fighters battling the Assad regime, a signal to Syrian rebels that the cavalry was coming. Three months later, they are still waiting.

The delay, in part, reflects a broader U.S. approach rarely discussed publicly but that underpins its decision-making, according to former and current U.S. officials: The Obama administration doesn’t want to tip the balance in favor of the opposition for fear the outcome may be even worse for U.S. interests than the current stalemate.

U.S. officials attribute the delay in providing small arms and munitions from the CIA weapons program to the difficulty of establishing secure delivery “pipelines” to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands, in particular Jihadi militants also battling the Assad regime.”

The White House seems to think they can bomb Assad to punish him, and at the same time not help the radicals? Seriously? That’s one of the stupidest things I’ve heard yet. Any action tips the conflict, that’s reality.

Some are asking what’s the point of all this? Good question.

From BuzzFeed  “Frederic Hof spent President Obama’s first term as the State Department’s point man on Syria. He is now a furious administration critic, and a symbol of the growing consensus in the professional foreign policy community that the Obama Administration — no matter how its last-minute detour through Congress turns out — has badly bungled its Syria policy through two years of popular uprising turned bloody civil war.

“The events of the past ten days suggest that there was no administration forethought to the possibility of a major chemical incident in Syria,” wrote Hof, currently a fellow at the Atlantic Council, where his former boss is Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Hof had floated the specter of a chemical attack by the regime months ago.

“The results of this mystifying lack of preparedness have been abysmal,” he wrote, calling Obama’s decision to seek congressional approval for the strikes “constitutionally sound, but strategically appalling” and suggesting the White House find “an objectives-based strategy.”

Our own Generals can’t even tell what the mission actually is here.

From TheFreeBeacon  “Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey couldn’t answer what exactly the U.S. was seeking in Syria Tuesday during questioning from Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) about a resolution authorizing military action there:”

Elect an amateur, this is what you get. Consequences, ya know. It seems to be an awful lot about the White House trying to save face now. And Obama’s ego.

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As you all know I’ve been rough on the anti-war crowd from the Bush years and the disappearing act they pulled when Obama was elected. Some are stirring from their slumber, so it’s only fair I point it out. They’ve been picketing Kerry’s house, and heckling him while he “testifies” to Congress. Yes, even the nuts at Code Pink. 🙂

From WeaselZippers  “Medea Benjamin, head of Code Pink,specifically, was screaming and got tossed.

This was Occupy/Anonymous and other odd assorted anti-war kids outside Kerry’s house two days ago:”

With some photos.

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Here’s a not at all shocking piece.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Just minutes after 35 jihadists crashed through the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, nearly one year ago, the facility got word to the State Department, FBI and Pentagon that terrorists were attacking, according to a forthcoming book that provides the fullest review of the assault to date.

In “Under Fire, the Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi,” it is revealed that an unidentified security official in the Benghazi compound protecting Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens messaged the U.S. embassy in Tripoli: “Benghazi under fire, terrorist attack.” Stevens and three others died that night.

Twenty-five minutes after it began, the operation center at State received an electronic cable announcing the attack, according to authors Fred Burton, a former State Diplomatic Security agent and Samuel Katz, an author and expert on international special operations and counterterrorism.

Their findings in “Under Fire,” based on exclusive interviews of those in the battle, refute days of claims by the administration that the attack was sparked by Muslim anger at a U.S.-made anti-Muslim film, and raise new questions as President Obama eyes military action in Syria that U.S. diplomatic posts in the region are properly protected.”

It’s just one foreign policy failure after another.

From TheIndependent/UK  “A little under two years ago, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, urged British businessmen to begin “packing their suitcases” and to fly to Libya to share in the reconstruction of the country and exploit an anticipated boom in natural resources.

Yet now Libya has almost entirely stopped producing oil as the government loses control of much of the country to militia fighters.

Mutinying security men have taken over oil ports on the Mediterranean and are seeking to sell crude oil on the black market. Ali Zeidan, Libya’s Prime Minister, has threatened to “bomb from the air and the sea” any oil tanker trying to pick up the illicit oil from the oil terminal guards, who are mostly former rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi and have been on strike over low pay and alleged government corruption since July.

As world attention focused on the coup in Egypt and the poison gas attack in Syria over the past two months, Libya has plunged unnoticed into its worst political and economic crisis since the defeat of Gaddafi two years ago. Government authority is disintegrating in all parts of the country putting in doubt claims by American, British and French politicians that Nato’s military action in Libya in 2011 was an outstanding example of a successful foreign military intervention which should be repeated in Syria.

Next, to National Review, and the total destruction of that whole “smart power” meme thingy.

From NationalReview  “Democrats Suddenly Realize What They Miscalculated About the World: Everything”

“Being nicer to countries like Russia will not make them nicer to you. The United Nations is not an effective tool for resolving crises. Some foreign leaders are beyond persuasion and diplomacy. There is no “international community” ready to work together to solve problems, and there probably never will be.

You can pin this on Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Susan Rice, but most of all, the buck stops with the president. Those of us who scoffed a bit at a state senator ascending to the presidency within four years on a wave of media hype and adoration are not quite so shocked by this current mess. We never bought into this notion that getting greater cooperation from our allies, and less hostility from our enemies, was just a matter of giving this crew the wheel and letting them practice, as Hillary Clinton arrogantly declared it, “smart power.” (These people can’t even label a foreign-policy approach without reminding us of how highly they think of themselves.) They looked out at the world at the end of the Bush years, and didn’t see tough decisions, unsolvable problems, unstable institutions, restless populations, technology enabling the impulse to destabilize existing institutions, evil men hungry for more power, and difficult trade-offs. No, our problems and challengers were just a matter of the previous hands running U.S. foreign policy not being smart enough.”

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And last, well fine then, I guess I’ll just continue to be a bad person. At least in this lady’s eyes.

From HotAir  “We still have four more months left in 2013, but we may have found a winner for the single most vapid column of the year, courtesy of Slate. Allison Benedikt wrote a “manifesto” which appeared on their site today demanding that parents stop using private schools for their children, because — and I am not making this up — putting more children in failing schools is the path to improvement.  Benedikt begins her argument by pronouncing herself ignorant on education policy, and proceeds to demonstrate a nearly endless supply of ignorance throughout the rest of the article.

Actually, I’ve gotten ahead of myself.  She starts off her argument by pronouncing anyone who does not put their children in public schools a “bad person”:

You are a bad person if you send your children to private school. Not bad like murderer bad—but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation’s-most-essential-institutions-in-order-to-get-what’s-best-for-your-kid bad. So, pretty bad.

Take a moment to mull over that gem. Benedikt’s entire argument is that non-participants in an organization ruin it by their non-participation.  It’s not the actual participants who are to blame for the institution’s failures – not the teachers, not the administrators, and not the policy-makers — but the people who avoid the failure that should be blamed.  That argument conveniently lets the participants in this “most-essential” institution off the hook for their own failures.  We’ll get back to that in a minute.”

And then it goes downhill from there.

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Our Daily Thread 9-3-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1783 the Revolutionary War between the U.S. and Great Britain ended with the Treaty of Paris.

In 1895 the first professional football game was played in Latrobe, PA. The Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0.

In 1935 Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive an automobile over 300 miles an hour. He reached 304.331 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

In 1943 Italy was invaded by the Allied forces during World War II.

In 1954 “The Lone Ranger” was heard on radio for the final time after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years.

In 1967 the TV game show “What’s My Line?” broadcast its final episode. The show aired over 17 years on CBS.

And in 1976 the U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars.

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Quote of the Day

“I have done stupid with a lot of zeros on the end of it. I know what it looks like.”

Dave  Ramsey

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Today would be Kitty Carlisle’s birthday. She actually sang and acted before doing every game show ever on TV. 🙂 Who knew?

Today is Freddie “The Texas Cannonball” King’s birthday. This should help get you movin’. 🙂

And it’s Al Jardine’s as well.

And in another Beach Boy item, I thought this was nice, all things considered.

From MSN  ” A northeast Ohio couple had planned every detail of their  wedding — except for the sound check of a Beach Boys concert next door during their  ceremony.”

“The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports that when the band found out about the  timing of its sound check, the newlyweds’ guests were told they could attend the  concert for free.”

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 9-3-13

Who can we pray for today?

Psalm 22:1-5

¹ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.

5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

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News/Politics 9-3-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

We have tons to choose from today.

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First up, a disturbing couple of stories. Many of us have warned of the “Slippery Slope.” We were assured it was all in our heads, and that it didn’t really exist. And yet we continue to slide down, and to a new and disturbing low. And a new low for the Post too. It will get worse too, if this is the type of opinion writing the new liberal owner is going to allow.

CONTENT WARNING!!!!

From TheWashingtonPost  “There is a painfully uncomfortable episode of “Louie” in which the comedian Louis C.K. muses that maybe child molesters wouldn’t kill their victims if the penalty weren’t so severe. Everyone I know who watches the show vividly recalls that scene from 2010 because it conjures such a witches’ cauldron of taboo, disgust and moral outrage, all wrapped around a disturbing kernel of truth. I have similar ambivalence about the case involving former Montana high school teacher Stacey Dean Rambold. Louie concluded his riff with a comment to the effect of “I don’t know what to do with that information.” That may be the case for many of us, but with our legal and moral codes failing us, our society needs to have an uncensored dialogue about the reality of sex in schools.

As protesters decry the leniency of Rambold’s sentence — he will spend 30 days in prison after pleading guilty to raping 14-year-old Cherice Morales, who committed suicide at age 16 — I find myself troubled for the opposite reason. I don’t believe that all sexual conduct between underage students and teachers should necessarily be classified as rape, and I believe that absent extenuating circumstances, consensual sexual activity between teachers and students should not be criminalized. While I am not defending Judge G. Todd Baugh’s comments about Morales being “as much in control of the situation” — for which he has appropriately apologized — tarring and feathering him for attempting to articulate the context that informed his sentence will not advance this much-needed dialogue.”

“The point is that there is a vast and extremely nuanced continuum of sexual interactions involving teachers and students, ranging from flirtation to mutual lust to harassment to predatory behavior. Painting all of these behaviors with the same brush sends a damaging message to students and sets the stage for hypocrisy and distortion of the truth. Many teenagers are, biologically speaking, sexually mature. Pretending that this kind of thing won’t happen if we simply punish it severely enough is delusional. If anything, to return to Louis C.K., the indiscriminate criminalization of such situations may deter students struggling with sexual issues from seeking advice from a parent or counselor.”

More here with links to other stories by media outlets attempting to normalize pedophilia, from NationalReview  “The Guardian and the Atlantic have published columns aimed at normalizing pedophilia. Scientific American and the BBC have publishing articles normalizing polyamory. Now the Washington Post publishes an opinion piece that advocates decriminalizing student-teacher sex.”

“How is society “damaged” by protecting children from predatory teachers? Karasik doesn’t actually say, other than to imply that Morales might not have committed suicide had the criminal case not been pending. Despicable. Oh, and maybe students would be more likely to discuss sexual issues with school counselors. 

I repeat, this was published in the Washington Post. How low can we go? I am afraid we are going to find out.”

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This one doesn’t surprise me. Snowden has struck again.

From YNetNews  “Individuals with connections to al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations repeatedly tried to obtain jobs in US intelligence community; ‘One of five CIA applicants has connections to hostile groups’.”

“The CIA found that among a subset of job seekers whose backgrounds raised questions, roughly one out of every five had “significant terrorist and/or hostile intelligence connections,” according to the document, which was provided to the Washington Post by former National Security Agency contractor.”

So how many made it thru?

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Next up, oh the Horror! 🙄

From NationalReview  “Fantastic news for angsty progressive-ish 15-year-olds everywhere: Finally — finally! — after a wait that must have seemed interminable, this readership has gotten its very own Ayn Rand, thanks to Frederic C. Rich and his debut novel, Christian Nation, a story with all the subtlety of a Slipknot video and artfulness of a Chick tract.”

“The basic gist of the story is thus: John McCain wins the 2008 election and then promptly dies from a brain aneurysm. Then Sarah Palin becomes president (the Sarah Palin character in this book puts Tina Fey to shame, by the way) and, in cahoots with those scary homeschool leaders and Evangelicals, sets America on the track to becoming a brutal theocracy where homosexuality, adultery, masturbation, and a bunch of other things are banned. The book’s protagonist, Greg; his best friend Sanjay (a gay man from India who is the new gold standard for one-dimensional characters); and Mike Bloomberg (now the governor of New York) try to stop them before it’s too late. Suspense!”

“Rich’s book suggests that he’s very, very worried that Westboro Baptist Church or their ilk will win the House, the Senate, and the presidency and then proceed to kill all the gays. In fact, above the book’s title on its cover is written “it could happen here . . . ,” suggesting that the book isn’t so much a novel as a progressive doomsday prophecy. Rich goes out of his way to intimate that conservative Evangelicals are currently doing what the Nazis were doing in the 1930s. “This isn’t the first time the world didn’t listen,” he writes after a quick discussion of dominionism. “In college I read Hitler’s Mein Kampf.” He prefaces one chapter with a quotation from Dr. James Luther Adams, an anti-Nazi dissident, which reads, “Repeatedly I heard anti-Nazis say, ‘If only 1,000 of us in the late twenties had combined in heroic resistance, we could have stopped Hitler.’”

Good grief. 🙄

More here from Townhall  “They said what they would do, and we did not listen. Then they did what they said they would do.”

Sounds frightening, doesn’t it? Who could “they” be? A 1984-like government? A terrorist organization? An alien force? Well, according to the author who wrote those words, the “they” are big bad Christians.”

Be afraid. Be very afraid. 😯

Or not.

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I bet the author above would be OK with this though.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “With high-ranking Democratic officials listening reverently in the Iowa state capitol, a liberal activist and union official on Wednesday led a prayer for increased funding for abortions, for greater access to abortions, for doctors who perform abortions, and for what she called “the blessing of choice.”

Midge Slater, an organizer for the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, part of the Iowa Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO, spoke to about 80 people who came to the capitol to protest a proposal that the State Board of Medicine end a program that allows doctors to prescribe an abortion pill for a woman after a video chat, rather than an in-person consultation.”

“In her invocation at the rally, which was attended by Jack Hatch and Tyler Olson, two Democratic candidates for governor of Iowa, Slater prayed that elected officials “may always support a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.” She prayed for “increased financial support for low income women” to have abortions. She prayed that “women in developing nations” have greater access to abortion. She prayed to “give thanks and celebrate that abortion is still safe and legal.” And she prayed that families may know “the blessing of choice.””

Pretty sick if you ask me. But she’s not the only one. Sick seems to be a theme among abortion supporters.

From LifeNews  “The BroChoice campaign — which pushes the notion that supporting abortion is a good thing for men to do because it allows them to get out of the responsibility of becoming a parent by pressuring their partner to have an abortion — is getting worse.

Now, a writer at a popular blog called Return of Kings has written a manual on “How To Convince A Girl To Get An Abortion.” The column is as sick as the headline sounds.”

This one I agree with them on. At least be honest and just admit it. Safe, legal, and rare has always been a lie.

From TheNation  “When did so many feminists get polite on abortion? I cannot take hearing another pundit insist that only a small percentage of Planned Parenthood’s work is providing abortions or that some women need birth control for “medical” reasons. Tiptoeing around the issue is exhausting, and it’s certainly not doing women any favors.

It’s time resuscitate the old rallying cry for “free abortions on demand without apology.” It may not be a popular message but it’s absolutely necessary. After all, the opposition doesn’t have nearly as many caveats. They’re fighting for earlier and earlier bans on abortions, pushing for no exceptions for rape and incest, fighting against birth control coverage—even insisting that they have the right to threaten abortion providers. The all-out strategy is working; since 2010, more than fifty abortion clinics have stopped providing services.

The anti-choice movement isn’t pulling any punches—why should we?”

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After that, I need some good news. And a shower. 😦

From Stripes.com  “Gary Sinise, the actor who played Lt. Dan in the 1993 movie “Forrest Gump,” has been named an Honorary Marine.

Gen. James F. Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, said Sinise earned the recognition because of his efforts to support military veterans.

“There is little I can say to enhance the rich reputation Gary Sinise has earned,” Amos said during a ceremony at the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “What I can do, what I am privileged and proud to do, is to recognize this humble patriot’s selfless service by making him an Honorary Marine.”

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I liked this one too. 🙂 If you haven’t checked them out, you really should. 🙂

From TheChristianPost  “Silas Merritt Robertson, who’s best known as “Uncle Si” on A&E’s most  watched reality television show “Duck Dynasty” spoke with The Christian Post  about his new book, Si-Cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite  Uncle that will be available on Sept. 3.”

“Si’s mastery of storytelling runs throughout his descriptions of the Vietnam War  and how he met his wife, Christine. The always-jovial Uncle Si also speaks  candidly about the difficulties he and Christine have faced, and how God has  blessed and sustained them throughout their 43 years of marriage. He also shares  their unexpected blessing of having two children, Trasa and Scott, and eight  grandchildren.”

“According to Si, marriage is a union between two imperfect people who are  destined to make mistakes. But at the end of the day, their love for each other  and faith in Jesus Christ will bring them through every hardship and enrich the  most joyous times of their lives.”

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And this last one asks a question. Free speech, or treason?

From TheBlaze  “Since the U.S. has started serious discussions about taking military action against Syria, many have publicly spoken out against a possible military strike. And now it appears that some of our uniformed service personnel have come forward to express their disagreement with an attack, any attack on Syria.”

“More than 2,000 people have “liked” this image that was posted on Sunday.”

“There were also photos posted from people wearing the uniforms of the Marines, Navy and Air Force. These have also received Facebook “likes” in the thousands.”

“Is this kind of behavior allowed? Well, there are rules concerning what uniformed military personnel can and cannot do, especially when it comes to making a political statement.”

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