The Conservative Kitchen Table

Celebration At The Kitchen!

2012-02-11T07:14:00.003-06:00

~To our wonderful friends Fay and Matt~

~Mazel Tov!~

Dispatches From The Department - 1

2012-02-09T15:53:00.002-06:00

Hello, old friends! It took me longer than expected to get settled back into life here in America, but I thought I would celebrate by inaugurating a new feature: Dispatches From the Department. This series will bring you snippets of life inside the foreign policy agency of the world's superpower! Take it away!

[Scene: On a Department shuttle bus. Behind me, two Foreign Service Officers are speaking, loudly]

FSO One: Well, I need to get my papers in to the Expedited Citizenship office right away too. I was supposed to get this packet in before Christmas and now it's the end of January. Well, I suppose we have time.

[NOTE: "Expedited Citizenship" is the process by which the spouses of U.S. diplomats acquire U.S. citizenship fairly quickly]

FSO Two: Yeah, they work pretty quick. We're still not decided on which way to go.

FSO One: Really? What's the issue?

FSO Two: Well, my wife is Guatemalan, and, you know, the anti-American thing is reallly in their genes. [Nervous Laugh] It's bad enough that she's married to an American, but then to become a citizen too, that may be too much for her.

FSO One: I see.

FSO Two: But, you know, I told her, whichever way she wants to go, I'll support her. I'm supportive.

Despite this obvious provocation, I refrained from killing FSO Two.

It's my New Year's resolution to lighten up, in action.

A Free And Independent People

2012-02-08T09:15:00.000-06:00

Well, sorta.

It seems Barry and the Dems have been busy as beavers, building their base.

We all knew this was going on, but I at least, had no idea just how fast it was happening.

Truth, Lies, and Afghanistan

2012-02-07T04:42:00.004-06:00

Well, this isn't very cheerful...

Read the whole thing.

Minnie!

2012-02-06T22:15:00.005-06:00

From the wonderful Letters of Note:

In 1951, E. B. White — the novelist responsible for, most notably, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little — was accused by the ASPCA of not paying his dog tax and, as a result, "harboring" an unlicensed dog. He responded by way of the following delightful letter:

12 April 1951

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
York Avenue and East 92nd Street
New York, 28, NY

Dear Sirs:

I have your letter, undated, saying that I am harboring an unlicensed dog in violation of the law. If by "harboring" you mean getting up two or three times every night to pull Minnie's blanket up over her, I am harboring a dog all right. The blanket keeps slipping off. I suppose you are wondering by now why I don't get her a sweater instead. That's a joke on you. She has a knitted sweater, but she doesn't like to wear it for sleeping; her legs are so short they work out of a sweater and her toenails get caught in the mesh, and this disturbs her rest. If Minnie doesn't get her rest, she feels it right away. I do myself, and of course with this night duty of mine, the way the blanket slips and all, I haven't had any real rest in years. Minnie is twelve.

In spite of what your inspector reported, she has a license. She is licensed in the State of Maine as an unspayed bitch, or what is more commonly called an "unspaded" bitch. She wears her metal license tag but I must say I don't particularly care for it, as it is in the shape of a hydrant, which seems to me a feeble gag, besides being pointless in the case of a female. It is hard to believe that any state in the Union would circulate a gag like that and make people pay money for it, but Maine is always thinking of something. Maine puts up roadside crosses along the highways to mark the spots where people have lost their lives in motor accidents, so the highways are beginning to take on the appearance of a cemetery, and motoring in Maine has become a solemn experience, when one thinks mostly about death. I was driving along a road near Kittery the other day thinking about death and all of a sudden I heard the spring peepers. That changed me right away and I suddenly thought about life. It was the nicest feeling.

You asked about Minnie's name, sex, breed, and phone number. She doesn't answer the phone. She is a dachshund and can't reach it, but she wouldn't answer it even if she could, as she has no interest in outside calls. I did have a dachshund once, a male, who was interested in the telephone, and who got a great many calls, but Fred was an exceptional dog (his name was Fred) and I can't think of anything offhand that he wasn't interested in. The telephone was only one of a thousand things. He loved life — that is, he loved life if by "life" you mean "trouble," and of course the phone is almost synonymous with trouble. Minnie loves life, too, but her idea of life is a warm bed, preferably with an electric pad, and a friend in bed with her, and plenty of shut-eye, night and days. She's almost twelve. I guess I've already mentioned that. I got her from Dr. Clarence Little in 1939. He was using dachshunds in his cancer-research experiments (that was before Winchell was running the thing) and he had a couple of extra puppies, so I wheedled Minnie out of him. She later had puppies by her own father, at Dr. Little's request. What do you think about that for a scandal? I know what Fred thought about it. He was some put out.

Sincerely yours,

E. B. White

Devastating

2012-02-05T22:30:00.003-06:00

That this exists in 2012 is beyond belief. That the UN produces almost daily condemnations against Israel for defending herself, but ignores North Korea, beggars belief.

I guess I knew these camps existed, I just hadn't bothered to find out the breadth and sheer evil of their existence. There are no words.

“One lucky day, I discovered some kernels of corn in a small pile of cow dung,” he said in a report released by Amnesty International in May.

“I picked them up and cleaned them with my sleeve before eating.”

Mitt: An Incomplete Picture

2012-02-05T06:47:00.000-06:00

Frank Bruni has penned a thoughtful and thought-provoking column in the NYT. It's worth a read.

LAST week he did it again, wading into a discussion of money — or, rather, of the “very poor” who lack it — and succumbing to yet another pink slip of the tongue. Mitt Romney is forever being tripped up this election cycle by the topic of wealth.

Not, interestingly, religion.

While mentioning the "poverty" of Mormon missionaries is a bit absurd, Bruni does make other interesting points regarding Romney's failure to publicly embrace his faith. Is Bruni wily like a fox, or sincere and insightful? Either way, I think he addresses the elephant in the room without the spittle-flecked hysteria and arm-flapping dramatics of other Times writers. The left is up against a bit of a wall; they can't wildly embrace Islam (and by extension "cultural diversity" as a whole) while denigrating the Mormon brand of Christianity. To do so would be trumpeting their hypocrisy, and make them look like...well... asses.

Saturday Matinee

2012-02-04T12:37:00.004-06:00

For your viewing enjoyment, a training film from World War II. This film was made by the First Motion Picture Unit of the Air Forces. It uses all of the skills that Hollywood had to offer.

It's a pretty good film -- along the lines of a phycological drama.

Friday Night Music

2012-02-03T23:04:00.003-06:00

Matt had his first day of practicum today! Yeah Matt! You done did good baby.

Leon Panetta

2012-02-02T19:55:00.001-06:00

Is he insane?

Technical Note

2012-02-02T06:32:00.000-06:00

Good morning everyone! The bad news? Recent comments are not updating, because SOMEONE {looking around the Table and scowling} had an oopsie this morning while playing with widgets. I won't say who...but her initials are LR. Oops!

The good news? I've added recent posts to the sidebar. It's a great idea! Thanks annie!

Your patience is appreciated while we tinker with TCKT. Well, I tinker, and Vikram fixes my tinkering.

Hello? Lewy? It's so strange...I was just WALKING BY our blog, when suddenly, out of nowhere....

Obama's Enemies List

2012-02-02T00:29:00.003-06:00

David and Charles Koch have been the targets of a campaign of vituperation and assault, choreographed from the very top.

How would you feel if aides to the president of the United States singled you out by name for attack, and if you were featured prominently in the president's re-election campaign as an enemy of the people?

What would you do if the White House engaged in derogatory speculative innuendo about the integrity of your tax returns? Suppose also that the president's surrogates and allies in the media regularly attacked you, sullied your reputation and questioned your integrity. On top of all of that, what if a leading member of the president's party in Congress demanded your appearance before a congressional committee this week so that you could be interrogated about the Keystone XL oil pipeline project in which you have repeatedly—and accurately—stated that you have no involvement?

Consider that all this is happening because you have been selected as an attractive political punching bag by the president's re-election team. This is precisely what has happened to Charles and David Koch, even though they are private citizens, and neither is a candidate for the president's or anyone else's office.

You can read the rest here at the WSJ online. It was written by the brilliant and principled attorney, Ted Olson, who I admire very much. Although I hear increasingly bizarre accusations against the Koch Brothers (including the most recent by Henry Waxman, which was called stupid and intellectually desperate by Charles Krauthammer), I knew very little about them. Anyway, I found the article to be worth reading.

How's That Working Out For Ya?

2012-01-31T02:27:00.002-06:00

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan isn't quite as enthralled today with the OWS movement in her city as she has been in the past.

As our late friend Solus Rex would say, schadenfreude ensues.

"A heinous, despicable and honourless crime"

2012-01-31T00:10:00.003-06:00

The wonderful Canadian columnist, Christie Blatchford, has been reporting on this crime investigation and trial since the beginning. Here is her summary after the verdicts.

The trial judge:

“The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameless murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honour that has absolutely no place in any civilized society.”

By using the words “honourless” and “shameless”, Maranger was tossing back at Shafia some of the very epithets he used so often when speaking about his dead daughters.

The mass honour slaying of Zainab, Sahar and Geeti — respectively 19, 17 and 13 — and 52-year-old Mohammad, Shafia’s other, and sadly barren, wife, ranks among the worst in the sordid history of honour crimes.

Buycott Israel!

2012-01-30T16:00:00.004-06:00

I posted this story on my blog but I felt it should receive as much publicity as possible, and since Aussie Dave and Brian of London at Israellycool gave their permission, here it is:

A new trend that has been developing amongst pro-Israel activists is to promote a “buycott” – the exact opposite of a boycott, that most popular tool of the BDS (Boycott Sanctions Divest) anti-Israel haters. The purpose of a buycott is to go out and buy Israeli-made products to defeat the evil intentions of the anti-Israel brigade.

My friends at Israellycool have drawn up the poster above (based on the BDS posters) and have started an internet effort to promote their Buycott Israel campaign, explaining their intentions and the method:

Go out and BUY the products and services of the companies you find listed here!

As you can see this carefully prepared graphic contains an up to date list of many companies that do business in and with Israel and which we would urge you to consider supporting.

It may just appear that we’ve borrowed the design and layout from some Jew hating BDS clowns in the UK and you’d be completely correct! This leaflet was produced in conjunction with the revolting “Islamic Human Rights Commission” who each year organise the terrorist supporting Al Quds march in London and supply the handy “We are all Hamas” or “We are all Hezbollah” posters.

…

Also notice that many of the companies, like Starbucks, which failed commercially in Israel, don’t operate in Israel and their only real reason for being on the list is because some part may be owned by Jews. OK, the haters will dress it up and say they are “Zionists” but as we all know anti-Zionism is just the new, disguised form of Jew hatred for the modern fascist about town.

Feel free to spread the buycott campaign and the poster amongst your friends. Just remember to give credit back to Israellycool.

Let the shopping begin!

Woman Claims Neighbor’s Energy Efficient Windows Are Melting Her Toyota Prius

2012-01-29T21:40:00.002-06:00

Comedy that writes itself. Really. You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.

Is Allen West Being Redistricted Out Of Office?

2012-01-29T18:34:00.000-06:00

Florida has gained two new representatives from the 2010 census, so it would seem that a popular first-term congressman with a possible stellar career ahead of him would have no worries.

Unless of course, he is not so popular with the Florida GOP as he is with the voters.

Song Of Bernardette - Jennifer Warnes

2012-01-29T00:02:00.003-06:00

Jennifer Warnes sings Leonard Cohen, from the Famous Blue Raincoat album. Oh my, how I love this album. Thinking of our friend Solus tonight and saying thank you lady red for keeping his memorial on the front page of the newly decorated blog.

Where Your Donation To The Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund Went

2012-01-27T22:04:00.004-06:00

This report is devastating.

I have read other reports that were less than complimentary about the methods the Red Cross uses to collect and distribute aid. I decided a number of years ago not to make any contributions through them. We made our Haiti Relief donation through our local Jewish Federation, I trust them to use the money to aid those in need.

Gaetan Drossart, its head of mission, said it was wrong for charities to raise more than they could spend. ‘Organisations want to be in front of the cameras in an emergency to attract attention since this gets the money,’ he said. ‘The humanitarian business is no different to any other business.’
Drossart wants limits placed on the numbers of groups allowed in to disaster zones given the chaos and poor co-ordination he witnessed in the earthquake’s aftermath.

Just down the road from his office colourful wooden sheds called Transitional Shelters dot the landscape. These tiny temporary homes were built not because survivors wanted them — they would have preferred to have ruined properties rebuilt or new homes — but because donors wanted visible signs of progress.

They are taking twice as long and — at £345 million — nearly three times as much money to build as planned. The flagship community was Corail, about ten miles outside Port-au-Prince. Families were lured here with promises of clean water, medical care, education and jobs in proposed garment factories. The actor Sean Penn, who spent several months in Haiti after the quake, was among those who persuaded people to move. (emphasis mine)

Now these unfortunate people are marooned on a rocky patch of land: the factories have not materialised, there are no hospitals, the schools are inadequate and they have started being charged for water at more than twice the cost in the camps. Vast squatter camps have sprung up on the hillsides around them.

‘They promised us when we came here we would find everything we needed,’ said Marjorie Saint Hilaire, a mother of three boys whose husband was killed in the quake. ‘Now we are living in a desert.’

LOLcat Vikram Sayz...

2012-01-27T20:25:00.001-06:00

i m in ur templatz hakin ur codez.

[Please step away from the template momentarily. Thankyouveddumuchyes.]

UPDATE: the immediate status quo antebellum has been restored. I'm going to continue to futz with things - unless lady red want's to check out the sitemeter issue or some such...

UPDATE2: OK, going to try to revert back to threaded, embedded comment posting now. Cross fingers.

UPDATE3: So far so good. Embedded, threaded comments seem to work - with images. Not getting any weird blank page behavior. What are others seeing?

UPDATE4: Status == "Seems to work for us". (Nothing is forever in tech-space.) The feature roll-out that Blogger is doing could yet cause "aftershocks"; if things stop working, don't panic, odds are it can be fixed. The small amount of custom script we employ seems pretty resilient.

Nursing Humououour

2012-01-27T18:17:00.000-06:00

I start my mental health rotation on Monday, so of course the jokes are flying. A fellow student shared this one:

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end.He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out.

When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.When she went to tell Edna the news she said,'Edna, I have good news and bad news.The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to respond rationally to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love.... I have concluded that your act displays soundness of mind.The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him.I am so sorry, but he's dead.'

Edna replied,'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry..How soon can I go home?'

Friday Night Feast

2012-01-27T18:00:00.000-06:00

A feast for the eyes and spirit; courtesy of our old friend RIP Ford.
Enjoy the beauty of Arizona and Utah; best watched full-screen with the sound on.

Americans Barred From Leaving Egypt

2012-01-26T18:46:00.003-06:00

including Transportation Sec'y Lahood's son. From NPR

Gee, I bet Obama and his State Dept. are really glad they backed Mubarak's ouster and the so-called "Arab Spring".

SOTU

2012-01-25T00:47:00.003-06:00

I hate that frickin index finger. Does he think we are all naughty kids in the school yard?

I'm not even American and I feel like he is scolding me. Be gone with the finger already.

MAKE THE RICH PAY!

YEAH! That'll work, or not.

To A Louse

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

No, it's not a post about the 44th POTUS.

January 25th is Rabbie Burns day!

Here's to Haggis!

And to whiskey!

And:

To A Louse

On seeing one on a lady's bonnet at church.

Ha! Whare ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly,
I canna say but ye strut rarely
Owre gauze and lace,
Tho' faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.

Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunn'd by saunt an' sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her --
Sae fine a lady!
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner
On some poor body.

Swith! in some beggar's hauffet squattle:
There you may creep, and sprawl, and spr
Wi' ither kindred, jumping cattle,
In shoals and nations;
Whare horn nor bane ne'er daur unsettle
Your thick plantations.

Now haud you there! ye're out o' sight,
Below the fatt'rils, snug an' tight;
Na, faith ye yet! ye'll no be right,
Till ye've got on it ---
The vera tapmost, tow'ring height
O' miss's bonnet.

My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose ou
As plump an' grey as onie grozet:
O for some rank, mercurial rozet,
Or fell, red smeddum,
I'd gie ye sic a hearty dose o't,
Wad dress your droddum!

I wad na been surpris'd to spy
You on an auld wife's flainen toy:
Or aiblins some bit duddie boy,
On's wyliecoat;
But Miss's fine Lunardi! fye!
How daur ye do't.

O Jenny, dinna toss your head,
An' set your beauties a' abread!
You little ken what cursed speed
The blastie's makin!
Thae winks an' finger-ends, I dread,
Are notice takin'!

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

Another test post.

2012-01-24T06:48:00.001-06:00

Will likely be deleted.

UPDATE 1/24/12 0[Dark]:00AM PST: It seems the act of posting a comment - any comment - kills the whole body of the post. Fascinating...

UPDATE 1/24/12 12:15PM PST: I turned off the embedded comment posting form - this brought the comments back. Comment posting now works like it does in some other (e.g. Althouse) Blogger blogs. Note, this also kills the "threaded" comment feature, which, depending on your perspective, is a feature or a bug.

Silly Blogger!

2012-01-24T06:42:00.001-06:00

Our comments section is currently not working; it shows a blank page. Vikram has been working to fix the problem, and others may help during the day...so there may be lots of strange goings-on until we can fix whatever blogger has done to our code.Stay tuned, TCKTers!

A Woman's Week at the Gym

2012-01-23T16:21:00.004-06:00

My mom sent me this and I thought I'd pass it on. After all the political in-fighting, I was ready for a chuckle. Enjoy!

Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my husband purchased for me a week of personal training at the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
________________________________

MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but
found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find
Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring! Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
________________________________

TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.
_______________________________

WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.
_______________________________

THURSDAY:
Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late; it took me that long to tie my shoes. He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny bitch to find me. Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine--which I sank.
_________________________________

FRIDAY:
I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anaemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
________________________________

SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel...
________________________________

SUNDAY:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun...like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Raise Your Hands

2012-01-23T14:21:00.002-06:00

Today Is The 40th Anniversary Of Roe Vs Wade.

Pro-life marches are being held all over the country.

Primitive societies sacrificed infants to the Gods of Fertility.

Our society sacrifices them to the 'God' of convenience.

I will warn those who believe in life and decency against clicking this link.

A Canadian Perspective On How To Lose Friends and Piss Off People.

2012-01-21T21:06:00.004-06:00

Ezra Levant is a Canadian conservative. He, along with Mark Steyn, was ~~lynched~~ brought before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal a couple of years ago for ~~speaking the truth~~ racial bigotry.

Here is his take on Obama's oil pipeline decision this past week.

The truth shall set you free.

Friday Night Music

2012-01-20T20:55:00.003-06:00

This is a really busy time of year for me work wise and this afternoon I was wondering where this week went. Then I remembered this song title. Here is the Brook Benton version. Benton is one of my hubby's favourites.

Rallying The Hobbits

2012-01-20T08:03:00.001-06:00

Whether you like him or not, Newt throws a mean right punch!Knock out. King, and by extension the hyper-partisan media, have been publicly humiliated. It's about time someone had the guts to stand up to these weasels.

Baaa-rking mad!

2012-01-19T07:01:00.003-06:00

Take your minds off politicians, elections, snow and world peace.

I received this video by email from a friend of mine and have been giggling madly ever since! It was originally from Wimp.com but I couldn't figure out how to post a video from there, so I found it on YouTube instead.

Just watch and enjoy!

Zuppa!

2012-01-18T17:00:00.001-06:00

Homemade Winter Minestrone and Cheese Biscuits. It's what's for dinner. Yummylicious.

I am Maru

2012-01-17T15:10:00.003-06:00

I tried to call up lewy's link in the Lenny thread but it didn't go to the same page as it did last night. Since I can't read Japanese, let alone speak it, I wasn't able to locate the original link so thought I better post a sample of my other heart-throb in case you all didn't get a chance to see the original link.

Moments at 3:03 and 4:24 should earn Maru an Academy Award. I've watched them several times now...

Enjoy, everyone!

Newt Rising!

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Wow. Just wow!

For florrie, the r*cist

2012-01-16T21:30:00.000-06:00

They like us. They really like us.

2012-01-15T20:48:00.005-06:00

Yes, we conservatives really need to take lessons in civility from the likes of Andrew Sullivan and Newsweek.

HT: Weasel Zippers

On the Subject of Artists Who Hated the Song They Were Told to Record

2012-01-13T21:21:00.002-06:00

The Lemon Pipers were a psychedelic band. They managed to get a contract with Buddha Records, mainly known for their teeny-bopper schlock. The label gave them a song to record. The group hated it. They were told "Record it, or you contract is history." They recorded it

Friday Night Music

2012-01-13T20:51:00.006-06:00

Come On-A My House, Rosemary Clooney

From the person who posted the video on You Tube:

"Come On-A My House" has an interesting history. The song was composed in 1939 by Armenian-born author and playwright William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville of Alvin & Chipmunks fame). The melody is based on an old Armenian folk song and the subject matter of the song touches on gracious Armenian customs. Rosemary Clooney hated the song and when first approached with it by Columbia Records producer, Mitch MIller, she refused to record it. Mitch told her to either sing it or leave Columbia so she decided to go on with it. However, as Rosemary recounted years later, "you can hear the anger in my voice as I'm singing it". "Come On-A My House" ended up being one of the biggest hits of 1951, and a song by which Rosemary has always been identified.

This story about the Armenian connection would explain the lyric about giving "figs and dates" and later in the song "pomegranate too." I'm pretty sure pomegranates were virtually unknown in 1951 in the USA. Not sure how common figs or dates would have been either.

It's Come To This

2012-01-12T19:42:00.002-06:00

Well, I cannot make (or even read) the comments at this point in time.

So I am doing this post by way of experiment, to see if anything works for me.

I already followed Lewy's link to the Blogger Buzz Blog (a little alliteration always alleviates all) and asked them if there was any way to go back to the old system.

We don't really need a reply feature here, as we almost never get even close to 100 comments.

UPDATE: Vikram here. Internet Explorer is in fact spectacularly broken by our post pages with comments... as in: won't render at all in IE9 on Windows 7 (the only windows setup at my disposal this moment). All other combos work for me: latest versions of Firefox/Safari/Chrome are OK on Mac OS X, and Firefox and Chrome on Windows 7 are likewise working just fine.

Further, the Google "Blogger Buzz" comment page works OK with IE9/Win7 - the Google blog uses the new templates. Something tells me the hacks Blogger did to retrofit the new threaded comments into the old templates aren't working so well. I'm thinking we should consider moving to one of the new templates. I'm going to play around with this in my "practice blog". In the meantime I urge all those affected to give Google Chrome a shot, it's really pretty good.

The 'Stache Endorses Mittens!

2012-01-12T10:49:00.005-06:00

Well, heavens to murgatroyd. I didn't see this coming at all, at least not in mid-January when the campaign cycle is in it's early days.

John Bolton, the hawkish former ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, endorsed Mitt Romney Wednesday night. “I think Gov. Romney is the person who can best lead the party, best articulate our conservative principles and is most likely to beat Barack Obama,” Bolton told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.

Maybe it's for the best. If Romney is to be our candidate, then we ALL need to get behind the guy. I know there is much concern that Tea Party types like me won't support another stinky candidate, but let me assure the R establishment that I would support a week-old grilled cheese sandwich if it would depose the Obama regime. I think a majority of the Ron Paul(!) supporters will too. They'd better, or we're screwed.

A "sprinkle of levity" bonus round! A piping hot cuppa Tetley's to the first person to name the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character who uttered the phrase "heavens to murgatroyd", and the two cartoons in which he appeared.

PSA: The somewhat pleasant late unpleasantness with comments...

2012-01-12T05:42:00.000-06:00

So. Blogger finally rolled out threaded comments, which is awesome, ~~all~~ some things considered. (I was using threaded comments on Slashdot, oh, I dunno, fifteen years or so ago, or three centuries in Internet time...)

Blogger however failed to warn folks and failed to have a way to roll back the change, short of changing the way we deal with comments (like having a separate page to comment on, a la Althouse). The change broke a couple features we have, like the numbering of the comments, and the nifty (iidssms) emoticon menu. Emoticons still work if you know the codes.

As of right now I know of one person (DWT) who is unable to view comments at all. If you find yourself in this boat, please email me and let me know what browser you are using, and if you can view the comments on Blogger's own blog (the first link I posted above). That should tell me whether it's specific to our template, or a general blogger problem.

Also, please consider downloading Google Chrome. It's awesome, as software goes these days.

Long term, I think this is a positive sign - Blogger is being maintained and its features are keeping up. I suggest in the medium term we look at updating to one of their new model templates, which are likely to be better supported.

I'm going to be unavailable for some time during the day today - I'll try to check back in Thursday evening.

thankyouveddymuch.

News From Utopia

2012-01-11T20:53:00.003-06:00

If government funded "safe" injections sites and "free" crack pipes don't address every addicts every need how about a "lounge" serving free alchohol to alchoholics?

I kid you, not.

“It would be members only because once word gets out it is free alcohol, everyone that just wants a free drink would show up,” he said.

Genius!

Angry Black Woman Is Angry Again

2012-01-11T12:27:00.000-06:00

She's always struck me as being perpetually angry and defensive. Now she's angry at being portrayed by the people who know her best as "angry".

First lady Michelle Obama is challenging assertions she's forcefully imposed her will on White House aides and says people have inaccurately tried to portray her as "some kind of angry black woman."

I'll be so freakin' glad when this woman is loading up the UHaul for the long trip back to ChiTown. I'm sure the next first lady, whoever she may be, will exhibit more class and appreciation than Michelle Obama; it wouldn't take much.

Operation Counterweight Has Started

2012-01-09T09:25:00.001-06:00

From the good Professor at Legal Insurrection:

If you haven’t heard of Ludmya “Mia” B. Love before, you will be hearing a lot more about her. Mia has the potential to be the next big thing in conservative politics. And you heard about her here first!

Mia is the American-born daughter of Haitian immigrants, mother of three children, served on the PTA, city council and now is Mayor of Sarotoga Springs, Utah. She is an avid runner and shooter, and I’m sure the readers will love this tidbit:

"She has a concealed carry permit and often packs a gun. Her husband introduced her to shooting on their first date. His first gift to her was a rifle."

She’s also recently announced that she’s running for Congress in the newly created 4th District of Utah. This morning she rolled out a video to introduce herself to a wider audience:

Mrs. Love's website is here.

I think it's imperative that conservatives send her what we can, even if it's five dollars. It will add up, and she'll be better prepared to run against the fatcat politicians and wealthy lawyers.

Tea anyone?

A Must-Read Mark Steyn

2012-01-09T01:22:00.003-06:00

The Left's So-Called Empathy
It doesn’t extend to conservatives or dead babies.

Arguably, one of the best things he's ever written.

Guess Who Threw a Touchdown on the First Play in Overtime?

2012-01-08T19:33:00.004-06:00

Bill Maher most devastated.

Happy 65th Birthday To: David Bowie! Ziggy Stardust! & The Thin White Duke!

2012-01-08T00:01:00.001-06:00

I absolutely adore this Space Oddity video of Bowie's first TV performance that took place on a British awards show. This is a pretty difficult song to sing live and Bowie absolutely nails it.

It’s hard to imagine that most of the crop of what passes for musicians and pop stars today will still be relevant five decades from now. David Robert Jones was born in London on 8 January 1947 subsequently changing his name to David Bowie in 1966. Still performing five decades later, Bowie is perhaps one of the most influential figures ever in British pop music. He began performing music when he was 13 years old, learning the saxophone while he was at Bromley Technical High School where one of his tutors was Owen Frampton, the father of musician Peter Frampton.

Bowie demonstrated remarkable skill for perceiving musical trends at his peak in the '70s. After spending several years in the late '60s as a mod and as an all-around music-hall entertainer, Bowie reinvented himself as a hippie singer/songwriter. Prior to his breakthrough in 1972, he recorded a proto-metal record and a pop/rock album, eventually redefining glam rock with his ambiguously sexy Ziggy Stardust persona. Ziggy made Bowie an international star, yet he wasn't content to continue to churn out glitter rock. By the mid-'70s, he developed an effete, sophisticated version of Philly soul that he dubbed "plastic soul." Other trends followed in the ensuing decades, including avant-garde pop, minimalist electronic rock, dance pop and techno. These in turn, sparked a number of subgenres, including punk, new wave, goth rock, the new romantics, and electronica. Few rockers ever had such lasting impact.

I saw Bowie in 1990 at BC Place Stadium on his Sound and Vision Tour. His voice stunned me, he sounds so much better live than he does on record.

Bowie and Mercury. Magic.

Heroes.

Peaking at number 2 the week of Bowie's 26th birthday in 1973, The Jean Genie.

Let's Dance.

And finally, one I never knew before. This Is Not America.

Thank you for the music, David. And Happy Birthday.

Ramblings of the Mind

2012-01-07T19:46:00.004-06:00

Lots of deep thought at the Table today. Maybe it is something in the coffee. Here are some thoughts I have had. Some of the questions I posed are things about which I have an impression or might have heard: feel free to correct me if I am wrong. But here are some things that have been running through my mind.

Lord, give me the strength to not discuss politics on Facebook. That’s what blogs are for. I do not enjoy being involved in flame wars. Discussion is fine, but you know that discussing politics on Facebook cannot come to a happy conclusion. There really is not the room to get into thoughtful discussion there.

I have a friend on Facebook that I have know for almost forty years. She loves Robert Reich, and is forever posting links to his column where he expresses his opinion on how the US economy should be run.

I was pretty sure of his background, but I was wanted to confirm it – so I looked it up.

According to his Wikipedia article, Reich has done a number of things in his life, but having a real job has not been one of them. He has worked in academia. He has worked in law. He was worked in government. He has written books and articles. He has not ever had to make a payroll. He has not ever had to deal with customers. All he has ever done is work in an environment where all he had to do was make like-minded people believe that the Reich way is the right way – but the Reich way has never been proven in the real world. He just thinks it we should do it anyway.

So why should I get all fussed about Reich’s pronouncements on how things should be done? Show me where anything like it has worked and maybe I think about it.

This morning another friend posted this picture:

OK. I am sorry this woman had all of these tumors. Most states have health insurance programs for people who can’t get insurance elsewhere -- and these programs were in place long before Obama came into office. Is the big problem here, “Hey, I’m only 34. I don’t need no stinking insurance?” and did nothing to protect herself?

The purpose of insurance is to help in case something happens, not. “Oh something happened, let me try and get these people to pay for it.” As Rush Limbaugh put it, how well would it work if people did not get car insurance, then bought it after they had an accident and expected the insurance to pay for the damage? It does not work that way.

If insurance companies did pay for pre-existing conditions, do you have any idea how much insurance would cost? Despite how much we hear about how the insurance companies are rolling in money, they have a very narrow range of profit margin in which they can work. If they make more they are penalized for charging too much. If they have less they are deemed under capitalized.

Several years ago, a man in his 30s worked for Microsoft on a contract basis. Since he was on contract and not an employee, he could not be part of the company medical plan. Microsoft did pay him extra so that he could get his own medical coverage. Being a young man, though, he thought having a Corvette was more important than having health insurance. Then he was diagnosed as having a brain tumor. He sued for Microsoft to pay for his treatment. I never heard the outcome of the case. If I were to guess, I would say he probably lost, or it would have made large headlines. Someone making poor choices usually does not rate ink in the newspaper – sticking it to the “man” does.

I have extended health coverage through school. Yes, in Canada, people still need extended health coverage because the government plan does not pay for everything. Unless a student proves he or she has extended coverage elsewhere, it is mandatory to take part in this program. The reason is that otherwise, only people who had an immediate need would get the insurance, and the insurance would be very expensive. They require that everyone participate to spread the cost around to as many people as possible.

In the United States system, people seem to believe that “My insurance will not pay for it” means that they cannot get treatment. Lack of insurance or denial of payment does not preclude benefactors. Lack of insurance or denial of payment does not preclude friends chipping in, or having bake sales or whatever. Lack of insurance or denial of payment does not preclude some of the excellent hospitals in the United States that handle these sorts of cases. All lack of insurance or denial of payment means is that an insurance company will not pay for the treatment. It does not mean that treatment is not otherwise available to the patient.

Let’s look at the government “single payer” health care systems. First, could that woman with the tumors wait one to two years before having her surgery? What if the government bureaucrats decided that her case was too far along or that she was too old for limited resources to be spent on her (and I know of cases in BC of this happening to people in their 30s)? That means she does not get the treatment. There is no fallback plan, unless she wants to go somewhere else – such as the United States. She could also participate in the “medical tourism” industry in Canada and go to India – if her condition is treated there. In either of those cases, she pays for it herself.

By the way, US Federal health care plans have a higher rejection rate than American health insurance companies.

Within the past year or two, the Premier of New Brunswick needed emergency heart surgery. He needed it “now,” he could not wait. The government system flew him to where, Toronto, Quebec, Windsor, Vancouver? If he waited the normal wait time the Canadian system would have been, he would have died. So they flew him to – Florida. Now, quite frankly, I wonder if the night clerk at a 7-11 would have been flown to Florida, but that is another issue.

About that same time the head of the Canadian Auto Workers Union in Windsor, Ontario, had a heart attack. Government system drove him to – Detroit.

Why did the government system transport those two men to the United States? The reason is that the Canadian system does not have the facilities to give the necessary treatment in a timely manner. If the United States adopts such a system, where will Canadian patients be sent? Where will American patients be sent?

And, with Obama as President, what would you do if you campaigned for Clinton or -- gasp -- McCain in 2008? Everyone is created equal, but some are more equal than others. Do you really doubt that Obama and his people do not track this? Even if they don’t, who’s to say someone else won’t?

If the Obama Health Care Plan is so good, why are Obama’s cronies being given exemptions?

In British Columbia, the employer pays the premium for the “free” medical care. And not only is it paid for by the employer, it is a taxable benefit. That’s right, the amount your employer pays for your “free” healthcare is added up and added to your T4 (the Canadian W2) as income.

Here is a cute video from Vancouver.

Barry and Squire even made it on the Ellen Degeneres show. Squire Barnes is a hoot, and the video is funny, but don’t let that make you miss the fact that the lottery was for a hospital. Hospitals in BC have lotteries to pay for new equipment and to make improvements to their facilities. Is that the sign of a strong medical system? Is that really how people want it to be in the United States?

It is not unusual to see “Doc in the boxes” here that are closed in the middle of the day because they cannot get physicians to work. There just are not enough doctors to go around.

There is a line in the Joni Mitchell song, “Big Yellow Taxi”: “Give me spots on apples, but leave me the birds and the bees.” I won’t even address the many doubts that have been raised about the science that lead to the banning of DDT. I just shake my head at the people who think that the use of pesticides was only to have pretty food. They do not realize it was so that we could have enough food or any food at all. People need to realize that just because you have it now does not mean you will have it if you dismantle the system that brought it to you. Granted, there are times when hard decisions need to be made. Many people, however, refuse to see the consequences of decisions made for emotional rather than practical reasons.

Before the early 1980’s, the “phone company” handled both local and long-distance service. The thought was that basic service was vital, but that long-distance was a luxury. Therefore, long-distance rates were higher, but they subsidized basic service. A lawsuit was brought to break up this monopoly. When courts ruled that the local phone company could not be the long distance provider, “consumer advocates” celebrated the decision as a win for the people. They were shocked when the cost of basic phone service doubled overnight.

“You can’t do that!” they shouted. Well, something has to pay for it. If you did not like the way it was being paid for before, we have to do something else.

We now we have a President who believes that he can do whatever he wants and bypass Congress. Does the Constitution mean anything anymore?

He has sued a state for having a law that requires that voters produce ID in order to vote. Never mind that the law provides for free ID to those who cannot afford it, or that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 2008 that requiring voters to have ID is not unconstitutional -- but he is suing this state anyway. And look at the states that are being sued for cracking down on illegal aliens. Most of these laws are no more stringent than what federal law says, but the DOJ is suing those states anyway.

These are frightening times. We can only hope, pray, and be active to help turn things around next November.

The Disastrous First One Thousand Days

2012-01-07T18:32:00.000-06:00

A little something you would never see in the mainstream American press.

Nile Gardiner at the Telegraph, telling it like it is (Gawd, I hate that phrase).

Far-Left Shenanigans

2012-01-07T13:02:00.000-06:00

Why? Why would labor unions spend huge piles of their money to support ObamaCare, only to turn around and ask for exemptions for their members?

Labor unions continued to receive the overwhelming majority of waivers from the president’s health care reform law since the Obama administration tightened application rules last summer.

Documents released in a classic Friday afternoon news dump show that labor unions representing 543,812 workers received waivers from President Barack Obama‘s signature legislation since June 17, 2011.

By contrast, private employers with a total of 69,813 employees, many of whom work for small businesses, were granted waivers.

There is obviously a power-play on an enormous scale playing out right before our eyes, but what is the end game for the unions?

The article also pointed out a tasty little tidbit about how deep Nancy Pelosi's corruption runs:

...nearly 20 percent of last May’s waivers went to businesses in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district in California.

Friday Night Music

2012-01-06T22:39:00.002-06:00

Genesis (the Peter Gabriel version) for lewy. A very young Phil on drums. Oh sweet youth, wherefore art thou...

Let'Hear It For Gun Control

2012-01-06T19:21:00.003-06:00

Came upon this article. This woman has been through enough. At least she does not live in an area run by eunuchs.

Oh Canada Quebec

2012-01-05T22:52:00.003-06:00

Charming.

Stéphane Gendron, host of Face à Face, a daily talk show on Quebec’s V Television network, garnered a flood of complaints after a December broadcast where he said he supported an ongoing boycott of a Montreal store that sold Israeli-made shoes.

Products made in Israel on land stolen from the Palestinians that is walled in, in an apartheid regime where they are cut off, it’s very serious,” said Mr. Gendron, who is also the mayor of Huntingdon, a small town south of Montreal. “And a country like that does not deserve to exist.

And I'm sure Gendron was a vocal anti-proponent of French only (racist, apathied) language laws in la belle province.

Not.

The Dental Diaries

2012-01-05T22:12:00.003-06:00

Toothsome tales of terror.

She is suing Colgate for a total of $100,000. $6,000 for dental treatment so far and $94,000 for future treatment.

Excuse me while I Laugh My Ass Off.

Needless to say, no dental bills were produced and no Dentists called to testify.

Another day, another idiot lawsuit dies.

A B.C. woman, who sued Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc. over allegations she suffered serious injuries when a toothbrush broke apart while she was brushing her teeth, abandoned her lawsuit on Wednesday.

And it only cost $30,000 for Colgate's defense costs. Thank this moron for increases in the price of your toothpaste.

Oy!

A Three-Way Split

2012-01-03T13:08:00.000-06:00

This story from Rasmussen is very telling:

During December, 35.4% of Americans considered themselves Republicans. That’s up from 34.3% in November and just below the high for the year of 35.6% reached in May.

At the same time, just 32.7% of adults said they were Democrats, down from 34.9% in November. The previous low for Democrats was 33.0% in August of this year. .

The number of voters not affiliated with either of the major political parties rose to 32.0% in December from 30.8% the month before.

In summary:

REPUBS: 35% (up)
DEMS: 33% (down)
INDIES/OTHER: 32% (up)

Back In Hobbit-Land

2012-01-03T09:53:00.000-06:00

This was written by my nephew this morning, and I found it so poignant that I wanted to share it with you all.

As terrifying as this whole deployment thing is, I'm excited that C gets to travel halfway across the world by plane and then come the rest of the way by boat. She'll be going around the world in (hopefully) less than 80 days. She's going to have a chance to practice a skill that I'm jealous of and see parts of the world that most americans don't get to see. She's starting the next generation of wartime service members in her family and joining my brothers as an active member of the Navy. She stepped out the door scared and excited and the next time she walks through it, she will be a veteran, with war-stories to tell and a new appreciation for the freedoms we have here at home that nobody but the people fighting for them can have.I feel a weird mix of lonliness, pride, fear and a whole bunch of other emotions that I'm never good at expressing so I'm not going to attempt to try. If you're reading this, give her a lot of support, she will have limited internet access so send her good thoughts.Come home safe C, I'm going to miss you.

Godspeed niece.

A Glimpse Of Rick Perry's Character

2012-01-02T09:37:00.000-06:00

This morning I stumbled on a story about Perry I hadn't heard. A few years ago, he and his wife Anita reached out to help a troubled young SEAL.

Over time, Rick and Anita Perry – the parents of two children – offered him a spare bedroom in the third floor of their Austin-area home. (They still are unable to live in the Texas Governor’s Mansion since it was burned by an arsonist while being renovated in 2008.)

Luttrell’s bed was nothing more than an air mattress, the governor related.

Perry said he also intervened with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to get Luttrell the medical and psychological treatment he needed. He ended up being a regular presence in the home for about two years.

In response to Luttrell's plight, the Perry family didn't form a committee, or cobble together an exploratory group, or commission a taxpayer-funded board. Instead, they opened their home and their hearts to help a heroic young man regain his balance and his purpose in life.

With the Romney machine in full steamroller-mode, I know that the Perry family will not be residing at 1600 anytime soon; however, it's comforting to know that we do indeed have leaders with character.

What Part Of The Word 'Concentration' Do We Not Understand?

2012-01-02T04:51:00.000-06:00

The government seems to have a very strange view of the nature of emergency relief, when the contracts for FEMA camps includes 6 foot perimeter fencing, secureed off limits areas within the camps, and the option to contract with the operators for up to 5 years.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T18:28:00.000-06:00

I'm Spartacus!!

2011-12-30T18:05:00.002-06:00

A wonderfully written piece from a thoughtful Briton.

About just who, and and what, is missing from the current GOP wannabee's.

Winter Means Fondue!

2011-12-30T18:02:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe in the Oregonian:

Ingredients

2 cups pinot gris wine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 shallots, quartered
2 to 3 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups milk
6 ounces gruyère cheese, shredded
6 ounces raclette cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound boiled fingerling potatoes, cut into quarters lengthwise
1/2 pound high-quality charcuterie, such as artisan salami or prosciutto
Various pickled vegetables, such as cornichons, cauliflower or green beans
2 loaves crusty baguette, cut into cubes

Instructions

Pour wine into a heavy saucepan and add garlic, shallots and thyme. Heat wine over medium-low heat until it just starts to boil, 3 to 4 minutes. Strain wine into a medium-sized bowl and set aside, discarding garlic, shallots and thyme.

In the same saucepan over low heat, whisk together the flour and butter to form a roux, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn't brown, until mixture is smooth and the raw flour flavor has cooked out, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat milk just until it starts to boil. Add the milk to the roux and whisk mixture until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add seasoned wine and whisk until mixture is smooth.

Begin adding cheese a handful at a time, whisking until each addition is melted and fully incorporated before adding another. Repeat process until all the cheese has been added and mixture drips from the whisk in solid sheets. Transfer fondue into a fondue pot or slow-cooker. Keep the fondue warm over an alcohol burner or in the slow-cooker on the lowest setting. Serve with accompaniments.

Delightful and delicious!

Hope! Hopeyhood of Uncovering Our President's Long Lost Past!

2011-12-30T09:00:00.002-06:00

I've never understood why modern blacks who are descended from slaves have stood behind Obama. He is NOT one of them, and does not share a common experience with them. Nor do his ancestors. Obama is the product of wealthy, privileged, spoiled parents; they were well-off enough to indulge their childish socialist "one world" fantasies because they always had a roof over their heads and knew where their next meal was coming from.

Now let me introduce the most ridiculous genealogical project goal of the century: tying Barack Obama to the American slavery experience by digging up slaves named "Obama". It matters not that the "Obama"s these genealogists have "discovered" hail from the west coast of Africa, while Barack's ancestral family home is on the east coast. It matters not that Barack descended from free African blacks. The premise behind this research is anyone's guess, but it probably runs something like this: our president's ancestors may have could have known someone who had a fourteenth cousin three times removed who married into a family that bought a chicken from a guy who's uncle's cousin was captured and transported to America as a slave...or not.

While researching slave names is a genuine research project, tying these wisps of smoke to Barack is purely political and fantastical.

Quote of the day:

The president's great-grandfather's name was Obama. Obama is derived from the word 'bam', meaning crooked or indirect, she said in her book.

Thursday Night Collins

2011-12-29T20:22:00.000-06:00

This is one of my favorite videos; it always makes me smile, especially the last minute or two.

This is Noah's favorite group...he's a Fogerty fan from WAY back!

I admit it; I had this 8-track when I was a teenager. I also had a tape deck that looked like a space helmet...with AM and FM!

SOPA on a rope.

2011-12-28T23:36:00.000-06:00

The bare outline of the Stop Online Piracy Act sounds innocuous enough.

If it passes, I suppose we can simply rely on the good sense of regulators, the discretion of prosecutors and the broad minded, non-partisan good will of government officials in general to avoid any miscarriage of justice, chilling of free speech, or general breakdown of the internet.

Which is a polite way of saying we'll be screwed.

If you've not formed an opinion on the matter I suggest you read the stories about the opposition from both the grass roots right and left who are joining forces against the Hollywood bought and paid for ruling class (both R and D).

Even pure techie sources (which tend to lean left) are giving credit to grass roots conservatives opposed to the measure, even though there are partisan points to be scored by highlighting all the Rs in favor.

I trust I've made my own views clear. Thoughts?

Happy Holidays

2011-12-27T07:47:00.002-06:00

Yes, Virginia, there is a war on Christmas.

From The Irish Times.

While much of it is no more than PC foolishness, some of it is far worse. From the column:

"Without any overt persecution of the church, one military government contributed greatly towards secularising 60 per cent Catholic Uruguay in about 10 years. The anti-church government did not try to change this directly. Their strategy was to rename the feasts. For instance, Holy Week became Tourist Week, Good Friday became Beach Day and Christmas Day became Family Day."

Sigh.

Christmas Pics!

2011-12-25T10:58:00.001-06:00

Everyone feel free to post your photos! You can add them to this post, create your own post, or add them to the comments section (instructions are in the sidebar under "lewy's codez and Stuff:sekrit codez"). I'll post these for a short time:

Pics removed from front page. Have a happy Monday everyone!

Psst...it's almost spring!

Bibi's Christmas Message

2011-12-24T17:50:00.000-06:00

I want to wish all my friends here at the Table a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday. I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families and friends.

Here is Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu in his Christmas message to our friends worldwide. He can say it so much better than I can. All I can do is echo his message.

O Holy Night

2011-12-24T17:32:00.000-06:00

This is the time of year when mankind yearns for the light and warmth of hope and a new beginning. Divine wonders light our darkest nights, and we bow our heads in awe and bewilderment.

From our family to yours, may peace and love bless your homes and hearts.

A Non-Musical Christmas Carol

2011-12-23T20:36:00.001-06:00

I've just seen the schedule for next year's Reitz Theater (our local playhouse) productions.

At the Christmas season, they plan to put on Charles Dickens' glorious tale of sin and redemption.

I've been waiting for this.

I will audition for the part of Marley's Ghost.

In the meantime, please enjoy this lovely little novella, originally published in 1843, with a length of just 66 pages.

No matter how hard I try, I do not think any other author has made such an impression on the world in so short a space.

Still Wondering What To Buy That Special Someone?

2011-12-23T19:38:00.003-06:00

From today's Telegraph.

For Him:

There is no valid reason for this. Ever.

For Her:

Deck your boobs with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la la, la la la la

Hannukah Music

2011-12-22T18:58:00.001-06:00

H/T joem

LOL!

Christmas Music

2011-12-21T21:26:00.001-06:00

Pavarotti in his prime.

Happy Channukah!

2011-12-20T02:12:00.004-06:00

I've been greatly enjoying all the Christmas videos that you guys have been posting here, so now it's my turn to bring some music to you. Channukah music this time. (Or is it Hannukah or Hanukah or Hanukkah or Channukkahhh? )

You can read more about the Fountainheads and the Ein Prat Academy here: Ein Prat Academy.

Channukah begins tonight so Happy Channukah to those celebrating. And Merry Christmas to everyone else!

Give Me an Effing Break

2011-12-20T01:00:00.004-06:00

OK, George. If those 400,000 jobs have not gone overseas, then where are they?

And if the American car manufacturers have come back, it wouldn't be because they have dumped unwanted cars on dealers -- members of the 1% you want to tax the snot out of, would it?

If you want to be a flaming moron, go ahead. But don't throw my country onto the same garbage heap that many other countries have been thrown upon in the past to salve your liberal self-hatred.

Please Tell Me I'm Paranoid

2011-12-19T10:22:00.006-06:00

"But, but I don't know anything!"

"Either answer the questions, or just shut up."

"But I don't know."

The interrogator raised a heavy hand, and brought it down hard on my right cheek, again.

"We want the names.  All you damn racist terrorist scum who've been lying about the Our President ever since he was elected. We want (smack) the (smack) NAMES!!"

"I don't know any names. They're just people on a blog, like me. We were only giving our opinions. It's free speech."

"Not any more, asshole. To question the decisions, competence or plans of Our President, to make others wonder if he is not completely correct, is classified as Domestic Terrorism."

I felt the blood ooze from a re-opened cut on my cheek, mixing with the tears flowing fom my eyes.

"All right! Strap him down again!"

"No, God, PLEASE! I can't breathe, I can't swim, I'll drown!"

"Yeah? So?  Why would a damn terrorist like you think you deserve any better?"

So, the latest defense appropriation bill has a provision that names the United States mainland as a war zone, and therefore anyone, including American citizens, engaged in domestic terrorism can be killed, detained, and subjected to 'enhanced interrogation' indefinitely, without a trial.

Still sounds OK, I guess, until you realize who has been named as possible terrorists by various current government officials. Like Tea Partiers, Military Veterans, Owners of Firearms, etc. We're a dangerous lot, it seems.

Even though the law currently states that only those 'affiliated with Al Queda or associated groups' can be so held, it also provides for the Secretary of State(?!) at the Request of the Attorney General to name anyone they please as a terrorist.

Natt Hentoff has been warning about this ever since the Patriot Act was first passed. I was one of those who pooh-poohed the very idea. Mostly I guess, because I did not think George Bush would do such a thing.

Well, he never did, but then W also never whined about how much easier it would be if he were the Pesident of Communist China.  Does anyone else also think Barry may be taking steps here to make his job easier?

Christmas Music

2011-12-18T22:47:00.002-06:00

Neck. Hairs. Back of. Standing up.

Chiquita Are Bananas

2011-12-17T17:20:00.002-06:00

The Canadian oil sands industry is facing an unlikely adversary in Chiquita Brands International, the banana company.

The Ohio-based company said it will work with environmental organization ForestEthics to eliminate shipping of Chiquita bananas with fuel from refineries that use Canada’s oil sands.

Bwahahaha...let's see how that works out for you Chiquita.

Ethicaloil.org, an advocacy group that says Americans should choose Canada’s ‘ethical’ oil over crude from dictatorial regimes in the Middle East, says it will launch a Chiquita boycott campaign soon.

“We will be launching a radio ad campaign urging Canadians not to buy Chiquita products. Canada’s oil is the most ethical in the world,” said Kathryn Marshall, spokesperson from EthicalOil.org.

“And Chiquita is a company with a terrible human rights record — just four years ago they were fined for giving money to terrorist groups in South America, and now they want to discriminate against Canadian oil?”

‘We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so."

2011-12-16T21:00:00.004-06:00

Wow, just wow. David Cameron really grew a pair the last two weeks. First he told the EU to p**s off and now he blasts The A of C.

Well done Cameron.

David Cameron last night called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to lead a return to the ‘moral code’ of the Bible.

In a highly personal speech about faith, the Prime Minister accused Dr Rowan Williams of failing to speak ‘to the whole nation’ when he criticised Government austerity policies and expressed sympathy with the summer rioters.

Mr Cameron declared Britain ‘a Christian country’ and said politicians and churchmen should not be afraid to say so.

He warned that a failure to ‘stand up and defend’ the values and morals taught by the Bible helped spark the riots and fuelled terrorism.

Linky

Friday Funny!

2011-12-16T17:56:00.001-06:00

Stolen from a FB friend.

The Good News and the Bad News

2011-12-16T15:42:00.005-06:00

Right Wing News has published a list of the 40 top Conservative Web Sites. For reasons I cannot fathom, we are not on this list. Hmmm.

However, it is an interesting list. There are a number of familiar names on the list, but there are also some of which I have not heard. Check out the list. Maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.

Cyndi Lauper - December Child

2011-12-16T00:01:00.001-06:00

Great live performance.

In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011

2011-12-15T23:47:00.003-06:00

Courtesy of Vanity Fair.

Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir, Hitch-22, and began chemotherapy soon after. His matchless prose has appeared in Vanity Fair since 1992, when he was named contributing editor.

“Cancer victimhood contains a permanent temptation to be self-centered and even solipsistic,” Hitchens wrote nearly a year ago in Vanity Fair, but his own final labors were anything but: in the last 12 months, he produced for this magazine a piece on U.S.-Pakistani relations in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, a portrait of Joan Didion, an essay on the Private Eye retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum, a prediction about the future of democracy in Egypt, a meditation on the legacy of progressivism in Wisconsin, and a series of frank, graceful, and exquisitely written essays in which he chronicled the physical and spiritual effects of his disease. At the end, Hitchens was more engaged, relentless, hilarious, observant, and intelligent than just about everyone else—just as he had been for the last four decades.

“My chief consolation in this year of living dyingly has been the presence of friends,” he wrote in the June 2011 issue. He died in their presence, too, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. May his 62 years of living, well, so livingly console the many of us who will miss him dearly.

Bing and Bowie

2011-12-15T21:22:00.001-06:00

Love this clip. Never get tired of watching Bing and Bowie.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

2011-12-15T17:20:00.003-06:00

Someone has finally found the statistcial reason behind the burning questions of our time. You will be a more informed citizen after reading this article.

Let's Form a Company to Import These to North America!

2011-12-15T12:45:00.003-06:00

I remember seeing these things when Fay and I were in England two years ago. I thought they looked, er, odd. I guess they don't just look odd....

Those Pesky Little Christians Will Riot And Burn Stuff!

2011-12-15T08:43:00.000-06:00

The Tebow-bashing (which is actually an assault on Christianity) gets even crazier...now a rabbi joins the fray. I read this story yesterday on Jewish Week, and was nonplussed. It has since been yanked, but I found it this morning, preserved on zee intarnetz FOREVAH AND EVAH here. A snippet:

If Tebow wins the Super Bowl, against all odds, it will buoy his faithful, and emboldened faithful can do insane things, like burning mosques, bashing gays and indiscriminately banishing immigrants. While America has become more inclusive since Jerry Falwell’s first political forays, a Tebow triumph could set those efforts back considerably.

Bob Beckel, the always-angry liberal nitwit on The Five, is a Christian. Yeah, it's news to me too...I'll bet he doesn't get invited to many Beltway cocktail parties. Anyhoo, he took exception to the rabbi's offensive words. In this video, Beckel calls him a "punk".

Here's a thought that should make the good rabbi's head explode: if Denver does make it to the Superbowl, they will in all likelihood be playing the Green Bay Packers. Their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is a...(dare I say it?) ...is a Christian. *gasp!* And not only is Aaron a Christian, he can fly! Beat that, Tim Tebow!

I believe I'll stock up on extra nacho-makings for the Big Game, because no matter who wins, the pesky little Christians will be riotin' on Wall Street and rapin' small furry animals and burnin' stuff and pillagin' all my beer. The rascals!

Odds And Ends From The Heartland

2011-12-14T08:30:00.000-06:00

Have you seen the price of meat lately? We generally shop for meat twice a year; we buy the big family packs, and repackage them for our freezer. Monday we went to our favorite meat department and left with almost nothing...we paid $4.20/lb for 80/20 ground beef, and almost that much for pork cube steaks. The quality of the meat selections was poor, and the sticker price was outrageous to the point that we simply didn't buy much. Being the people-watcher that I am, I observed other shoppers slowly walking up and down the meat counters, staring, and shaking their heads, their baskets empty or nearly empty. I worry for young families; prices are soaring, work is scarce, and paychecks are stagnant. Even a bar of soap costs more, and toilet paper is so precious that I've wondered if Charmin is felling agarwood for their paper mills.

I see that Tim Tebow, the unrepentant Christian quarterback of the Denver Broncos, is still winning games by the skin of his teeth. It tickles me to see him take a knee on the sideline, because it throws the atheists and Muslim appeasers into a frothy meltdown. The oh-so-politically-correct staff at ESPN have been shrieking like banshees on crack, and the louder they squall, the firmer my stance is in support of Tebow. Christianity has taken quite a brutal bashing in the last few decades, and I'd like to see more Christians express their faith with the courage displayed by Mr. Tebow.

Noah and I were chatting with a retired couple last week. They shared with us that they have pulled all of their retirement monies from the stock market, and will invest in land. They said their tax hit was horrendous, but they're weary of worrying if/when the system will implode. They said they were happy with their decision and now have peace of mind. I found it incredibly sad...and chilling.

The rise of that old scalawag Newt Gingrich in the polls doesn't surprise me. Is he REALLY a conservative? Probably not. Is he a *spit* progressive? I guess that depends on how "progressive" is defined, and whether a person is analyzing Newt's recent positions or his past positions. I think I know why so many TPers are cheering him on anyway...it's not his politics as much as it is the certainty that he could kick Obama's ass in a debate. We may pay dearly for our fervent desire to see such an event. Time will tell.

Our family has scaled back the commercial aspect of Christmas this year. For the first time, we are drawing names for gifts, with a $10 limit if the gift is store-bought rather than handmade (children excluded from the $ limit). For the children, the adults are buying one gift per child, per couple. Instead of the insane glut of material "stuff", we are concentrating on things like baking and singing songs around the tree. We'll have our traditional Christmas Eve feast, and share stories of Christmas past. In a crazy world, we are attempting to instill a bit of sanity and peace.

Whether you are celebrating the Birth of the Christ Child, the Festival of Lights, or both...Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah my friends!

Christmas Music Request Revisted

2011-12-12T17:11:00.001-06:00

For Dances, Patapan

And a second request for Mr. Dances, Carol Of The Bells

Christmas Music Request Revisted

2011-12-11T22:24:00.000-06:00

Michael Holm - When A Child Is Born

For my darling hubby Matt. Sorry, there is no video link for this version.

Meanwhile, Across the Pond...

2011-12-10T03:45:00.005-06:00

I don't know if you all are au fait with events in Europe, but David Cameron has refused to accede to the demands of the Continent*, to the joy of some and the consternation of others.

The Daily Telegraph, the broadsheet close to Cameron's Conservative party, said the prime minister "stands as lone man of Europe" -- and made clear that this was a good thing.

...

"Cameron cuts UK adrift" headlined The Guardian, accusing the premier of acting not for the good of the country and its valuable financial services industry as he claimed, but to appease Conservative eurosceptics.

I don't want to rehash the minutiae of what is a complex issue - the extensive coverage in the Financial Times, for example, defies parsimonious summary.

I post this merely to point out a collision of political imperatives...

I think I'm on safe ground suggesting that the banking industry has disproportionate influence in politics, and that this is a source of aggravation generally and among conservatives in particular, particularly the, ah, "newly infused" conservatives.
I think it's also understood that said conservatives view the EU as an anti-democratic, transnational progressive bureaucracy, whose frustration by those traditional nationalists who would defy it is everywhere and always to be cheered.

The peculiar circumstance of David Cameron's defiance of the EU is that no decision available to him could satisfy both, even if he were positively disposed toward each.

I would submit that, pace The Guardian, Mr. Cameron absolutely obstructed the EU at this juncture at the behest of the City of London - the financial center.

This is understandable - what the EU was angling for was nothing less than the end of the dominance of the City as a financial hub. (Apparently the EU never lets a good crisis go to waste either.)

But I would caution those nationalists who might cheer this event - "Conservative eurosceptics" had precious little to do with motivating David Cameron's decision. They may pat themselves on the back, and the Left may tilt at them as they tilt at various windmills, but it was the City that called this shot.

* Ireland being an honorary member of the Continent...

Local Boy Remembers When He Was a Teenager.

2011-12-09T13:46:00.003-06:00

We have heard Michael Buble' on the radio just sitting in with the hosts, even on the local sports station. We know people who know people who know him very well, and everything we hear indicates that he is a great guy. Someone posted this video on Facebook, and it is great.

Michael Buble Heckled By Mom - Watch MoreFunny Videos

Since you heard a snippet, why not the whole song?

Friday afternoon music?

Christmas Funny

2011-12-08T23:59:00.000-06:00

The Teacher asked young Patrick Murphy: "What do you do at Christmas time?

Patrick addressed the class: "Well Ms. Jones, me and my twelve brothers and sisters go to midnight mass and we sing hymns; then we come home very late and we put mince pies by the back door and hang up our stockings. Then all excited, we go to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come with all our toys.

"Very nice Patrick," she said. "Now Jimmy Brown, what do you do at Christmas?"

Well, Ms. Jones, me and my sister also go to church with Mom and Dad and we sing carols and we get home ever so late. We put cookies and milk by the chimney and we hang up our stockings. We hardly sleep, waiting for Santa Claus to bring our presents.

Realizing there was a Jewish boy in the class and not wanting to leave him out of the discussion, she asked, "Now, Isaac Cohen, what do you do at Christmas? "Isaac said, "Well, it's the same thing every year...Dad comes home from the office. We all pile into the Rolls Royce; then we drive to Dad's toy factory. When we get inside, we look at all the empty shelves...and begin to sing: “What A Friend We Have in Jesus”. Then we all go to the Bahamas.

Iran Displays Downed US Drone

2011-12-08T13:20:00.004-06:00

From DEBKAfile

Iran exhibited the top-secret US stealth drone RQ-170 Sentinel captured on Sunday, Dec. 4. Its almost perfect condition confirmed Tehran's claim that the UAV was downed by a cyber attack, meaning it was not shot down but brought in undamaged by an electronic warfare ambush.

This is a major debacle for the stealth technology the US uses in its warplanes and the drone technology developed by the US and Israel.

The state of the lost UAV refutes the US military contention that the Sentinel's systems malfunctioned. If this had happened, it would have crashed and either been wrecked or damaged. The condition of the RQ-170 intact obliges the US and Israel to make major changes in plans for a potential strike against Iran's nuclear program.

Earlier Thursday, DEBKAfile reported:
The Obama administration's decision after internal debate not to send US commando or air units into Iran to retrieve or destroy the secret RQ-170 stealth drone which fell into Iranian hands has strengthened the hands of the Israeli faction which argues the case for striking Iran's nuclear installations without waiting for the Americans to make their move.

Senior Israeli diplomatic and security officials who followed the discussion in Washington concluded that, by failing to act, the administration has left Iran not only with the secrets of the Sentinel's stealth coating, its sensors and cameras, but also with the data stored in its computer cells on targets marked out by the US and/or Israeli for attack.

DEBKAfile’s military sources say that this knowledge compels the US and Israel to revise their plans of attack for aborting the Iranian nuclear program.

Like every clandestine weapons system, the RQ-170 had a self-destruct mechanism to prevent its secrets spilling out to the enemy in the event of a crash or capture. This did not happen. Tehran was able to claim the spy drone was only slightly damaged when they downed it.

The NATO spokesman claimed control was lost of the US UAV and it went missing, a common occurrence for these unmanned aircraft.

The enigmas surrounding its capture continue to pile up. How did Iran know the drone had entered its airspace? How was it caused to land? Most of all, why did the craft's self-destruct mechanism which is programmed to activate automatically fail to work? And if it malfunctioned, why was it not activated by remote control?

Thursday, Dec. 8, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that from Sunday, Dec. 4, when Tehran announced the stealth drone's capture, the Obama administration weighed sending special commando forces into Iran from bases in Afghanistan to bring the downed aircraft back to Afghanistan or blow it up to destroy the almost intact secret systems - either by a sneak operation or by an air strike.
Iranian officials said the drone was detected near the Iranian town of Kashmar, 200 kilometers from the Afghan border and presumably moved to a military or air base inside the country. The NYT disclosed that the special force would have used "allied agents inside Iran" to hunt down the missing aircraft, the first time Washington has admitted to support from "allied agents" operating covertly in Iran.

In the end, the paper quoted a US official as explaining that the attack option was ruled out "because of the potential it could become a larger incident." If an assault team entered the country, the US "could be accused of an act of war" by Tehran.

The Obama administration's internal discussion on how to handle the loss of the high-value reconnaissance drone was followed tensely in Jerusalem. The decision it took against mounting a mission to recover or destroy the top-secret Sentinel was perceived in Israel as symptomatic of a wider decision to call off the covert war America has been conducting for some months against Iran's drive for a nuclear bomb – at least until the damage caused by RQ-170 incident is fully assessed.

A senior Israeli security official had this to say: “Everything that’s happened around the RQ-170 shows that when it comes to Iran and its nuclear program, the Obama administration and Israel have different objectives. On this issue, each country needs to go its own way.”

Christmas Music

2011-12-05T21:42:00.001-06:00

Once In Royal David's City, Anthony Way and St. Paul's Cathedral Choir.

Voice of an angel.

New Definition of Greed

2011-12-05T13:54:00.004-06:00

Just one of the many things that's wrong with our education system in the United States.

Meet Arlene Ackerman.

Here's her heart-warming, holiday story...

Former SF schools chief collects six-figure Philly buyout and then…

File this under the category of You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me.

Former San Francisco school Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has filed for unemployment in Philadelphia after receiving a nearly $1 million payout to leave the same job there, according to CBS Philly.

She would be eligible for the maximum unemployment benefit of $573 per week, if her claim is approved.

The Philadelphia school board paid Ackerman $905,000 to buyout the remaining three years of her five-year contract, with $405,000 coming from private donations and the rest from the district. The agreement included a clause that allowed the ousted school’s chief to file for unemployment.

To refresh everyone’s memory, in 2006, Ackerman was also shown the door in San Francisco, collecting $375,000 in severance pay to clear out of her office. She then briefly sued the district, claiming she was owed $172,000 more in unused benefits, a lawsuit she eventually dropped.

Link here.

But, but, but...it's for the KIDS!!!!

Dr. Bill Wattenburg gone from KGO

2011-12-05T01:29:00.007-06:00

I don't know how many here are radio listeners but in the McNally household late Saturday and Sunday nights are time we spend with Dr. Bill Wattenburg. He was a fixture on KGO with his "Open Line to the West Coast". Occasionally he had a substitute so we didn't pay much attention last night but when he was gone tonight as well we did some digging and found that KGO fired most of their talent to go to a mainly news format (although Dr. Bill's slot this weekend was still "talk" and not news). He was a fixture there for 25 years!

He is a man who has led a most fascinating life full of varied interests and accomplishments. He's amazing! I think he's one of the most intelligent people I've ever listened to, he's got a surplus of common sense and I like his curmudgeonly nature. Whether you wanted to talk about nuclear science, ecology, politics, logging, automobiles, mining, wildlife management...you name it, he could answer your question.

I sincerely hope some station snaps him up right away, we need voices like his now more than ever. Bad move, KGO.

Christmas Music Request Revisted

2011-12-04T14:47:00.000-06:00

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear for lady red, sung by Josh Grobin for Lyana!

Wherever You Are

2011-12-03T11:45:00.001-06:00

Thanks and H/T to Selsey.Steve who tells us:

Choir Master Gareth Malone, a most unassuming sort, took the wives of British Servicemen serving in Afghanistan and moulded them into an amazing choir. The choir performed at the British Legion Festival of Remembrance, HM The Queen was in attendance.
The song was composed using lines from the letters the men and their wives had written to each other and is expected to be the top-selling song this Christmas here in the UK.