Friday, December 26, 2008

End of the Year Blogging

The end of the year is upon us and you know what that means...

LISTS!

The first one out is from the Young America's Foundation with Academia’s Top 10 Abuses of 2008.

Political correctness ran amuck in our nation’s school system this past year, and Young America’s Foundation has once again compiled our “best of the worst” academic abuses for 2008. From “free speech zones” to transgenderedspeakers at military academies, the following list may make you both laugh and cry in the same breath. That probably isn’t too surprising, however, since we are talking about academia after all…

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas


What Child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shephers watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherd guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary!

Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spears shall peirce him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary!

So bring incense, gold, and myrrh;
Come peasent, king to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise the song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby;
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The babe, the son of Mary!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Priority Blogging

I don't think my husband can complain about my blogging after this guy.

From Fox News:

Maybe one day they will include it on the safety instruction card: in the event of a crash, please do not start Twittering until you have left the aircraft.

An American software engineer appears to have raised the bar on real-time citizen-journalism after the Boeing 737-500 he was traveling on careened off the runway on take-off at Denver International Airport Saturday.

As flames engulfed the plane, Mike Wilson sent his first Tweet even before managing to get off the aircraft, alerting his friends and family to the drama: "Holy f***ing s*** I was just in a plane crash!"

It was the first of 30 messages Wilson sent to the popular microblogging service, initially via text message and then, when he got home later that night, via the Web. Each message is a maximum of 140 characters long.

The aircraft veered off the runway at about 6:22 p.m. MST on Saturday, shedding one of two engines and catching fire as it skidded off into the snow.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Video explains Keynesian Economics



(Hat tip: Robert Stacy McCain of RWN)

Friday, December 19, 2008

If God Sent a Christmas Card...

...what would it say?

Hope
Love
Joy
Pictures of Angels
Merry Christmas


REPENT!

23 He said: “I am
‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“ Make straight the way of the LORD,”’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
John 1:23

Before you can spread joy, you must have joy in your heart. Before you can spread love, you must have love in your heart. If you heart is full of hatred and anger for your brother, then that anger is going to spew from your heart. I know we try to hid that anger but our mouths always betrays us!

So if you have sin and darkness in your heart, the love and peace the Christ brings can not find a home there. The Lord wants you to be free of these heavy hearts! Please spend this Christmas season learning to forgive others and asking the Lord's forgiveness. The Lord came to our little Earth just for you! He wants to fill your heart with the unmeasurable joy that the Lord brings to you with the gift of his only begotten Son.

Have a Merry Christmas everybody!

Friday Math Joke

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Did the cop assault the bicyclist?

Maybe you've seen this video of a New York cop and a bicyclist colliding:



As you can see, it looks like the police man is purposefully elbowing the cyclist. I had watched it a couple of months ago when it was released and came to the same conclusion as many others. The policeman was charged with assault over the incident and today plead not guilty, bring the issue to the forefront again.

So, I watched the video again. This time I came to a completely different conclusion!

I really think the policeman was just trying to get out of the middle of the street. When he saw a cyclist coming his way, he tried to move a little faster and give the cyclist the right of way. The cyclist must have had the same thought as he made a sudden, tight move to the left in the video. The officer puts up his elbow in self-defense of the impending collision and runs. Well, while trying to avoid each other, they wind up colliding.

Well, if that was what really happened, then two normal, non New Yorkers might have apologized to each other and let it end. Maybe if it was on a normal day and not in the middle of an annoying, rude bicycle group's protest, things would have been different. Instead of helping him up, the police officer arrested him for assault and filed additional resisting arrest charges! On top of the assault charge that was brought after this video surfaced, the officer also faces charges of fraudulent filings against the biker.

I can't wait until this one is fought out in court. It seems that most New York cops are found not guilty of the charges against them. I would say he's not guilty of assault but is guilty of filing a false document against the biker.

last thought: I've been in an accident where I was the bicyclist and went flying over my handlebars. The guy I hit helped me up even as I was apologizing profusely.

Wait! You mean economic bailouts have been tried before?

And they didn't work then either?

From Reason Online:


Return of the Living Dead
What the U.S. can learn from Japan's failed experiment with "zombie businesses"

Anthony Randazzo

Twenty years ago, Japan faced nearly the exact same problems. Then they fell prey to the zombies.

After Japan's asset bubble burst in the late 1980s, their economy took a sharp downturn, prompting government officials to try bailing out banks and investing in infrastructure, much like the activity and proposals floating around America today. The results were terrible.

Mr. Randazzo goes on to list the incredible parallels between the current American economic crisis and the previous Japanese one. It's uncanny and scary. It's your duty to read this eye popping article. Stay informed, no matter how much of an idiot we feel like after reading it.

Grrr: Why didn't our leading officials know this!?!?!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

11 Tools to Get for Your Kids

From Popular Mechanics:

11 Tools to Get for Your Kids

It's important to instill a work ethic in your kids early in their lives, but it is equally important to teach them how to enjoy working and gaining new skills, and it all starts at home. Kids will always remember the first set of tools they lay their hands on, the first thing they make. But with all the tools out there, where should you start? A building contractor gives tips and suggests eleven tools to buy for your children this
holiday season.

Getting Served on Facebook

There are quite a few people raising alarms over privacy on the Internet after this episode.

From ARS Technica:

The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court has approved the use of Facebook to serve legal documents to a couple who was otherwise inaccessible at their home or by e-mail, although the couple has since disappeared from the social networking site as well.

The unnamed Australian couple had defaulted on their home loan for AUS$100,000 (almost US$67,000), which spurred the bank to seek the services of Canberra-based law firm Meyer Vandenberg. Attorney Mark McCormack was assigned to the case and unsuccessfully attempted to contact the couple several times at their home, and then again via e-mail. With nowhere else to turn, McCormack asked the Australian court to allow him to serve the papers electronically to the couple via Facebook.
Did this couple have their "right to privacy" violated? First, let's note that this actually occurred in Australia and I have no idea what their laws entail. If this happened in American, I would say that no, there was no violation, merely embarrassment.

If the couple is being served, then that means these documents, their name, and their money problems are already a matter of PUBLIC RECORD. That means any Joe can go and see this document.

Second, the court has an obligation to serve people, even if they are hiding from them. I know in divorce cases, the court will allow for publication in the local newspapers. Facebook is just another means of communicating with people, just like a newspaper.

Now some people have also brought up the idea that you could be late on a bill and that creditor would publish something on your Facebook. In most cases, creditors itself have privacy rules about release of private information and that scenario would be in violation of their own rules. Violating their owe rules gets them sued a lot so I doubt they would do that. But if they publish on Facebook, heck, anywhere on the internet, would that be a violation of some privacy law here in America? I don't really know today but I know in the past, business would post public lists of those behind on store credit on the front door to embarrass their patrons. (It worked too.)

The words "internet" and "privacy" just don't mix. I know in the Brazos Valley, all documents and mug shots are available for free to the public with a quick internet search. I spoke with one mother whose son was arrested for being public intoxicated. She really worries about a future employer finding this past indiscretion and her son losing a prospective job over it. Okay, worried isn't the best word - livid is more like it!

last thought: Did you know that there are groups that peruse the public records to find and publish for business this very information? You can receive list of home and vehicle foreclosures, new purchases, and even lists of those who started up monthly utilities in the mail, all legally obtained from public records. That's one of the ways that you get junk mail when you just moved in a week ago!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Quote of the Day

Sign me up when you find one!

From Ladyblog:

To be clear, I’m not opposed to a massive right wing conspiracy against an
S&M children’s toy. But I just can’t find any evidence that it actually
exists.

*edit - link fixed

He Stepped in IT

and then wiped it on his shirt? Ewww!

From the Houston Chronicle:

DNA — animal and human — leads to man's conviction
Evidence on his shirt linked him to rape victim's dog


DUMAS — A Texas Panhandle man was convicted of rape and sentenced to three life terms in prison after tests showed dog feces found on a man's shirt matched DNA from the victim's pet.

...

Police sent the fecal matter on Nanez's shirt, fecal matter from the woman's yard and saliva from her dog to a veterinary genetics lab in California, which matched DNA. DNA does not exist in fecal matter, but cells from the walls of colons attach themselves to waste material, prosecutor David Green said.

Abortion Definitions

NOTE: I wrote this back in September but forgot to post it. A little late, but I didn't think it was half bad after I re-read it. Sarcasm is hard so please forgive me if I don't get it right for you.

Abortion is a hot topic between two of my favorite blogs and Provenzo. Provenzo, who is desperately trying to defend a women's right to abort her baby has a long and thought out argument. But arguments can only stand of the base they're built and that's why you don't build on sand. The Left likes to use new words and definitions such as "biological independence", "fetus", and "personhood" and weigh them against the more common terms of "with child", "baby", and "human". It's a confusing world when



From Provenzo via Casey Fiano:


"But why is biological independence the defining factor of personhood in both
morality and under the law?"

Once outside the womb, a biological mother's body continues to sustain the "fetus". The same level of nutrients and antibodies, less oxygen, that were delivered to the fetus via blood and an umbilical cord are now delivered via milk and breasts. This unique system is equipped to every female to allow them to continue the biological dependence of their fetus.

As the fetus grows, it learns small tasks, such as picking up food and that, if you push certain buttons on doors, food pops out. Some talented fetuses even develop tool and hunting skills. Parents of the fetus are astounded when they use sticks to stab bugs before they eat them. At this point in development, the human fetus has the intelligence of it's close cousin, the ape. Since 99.99999% of our genes are the same, a blind alien might be unable to tell a human fetus from an ape fetus.

During this time of development, human parents are often exhibit signs of herd mentality. As with dolphins and elephants, two very alike creatures, the development is left with older humans of the same clan. At approximately age 3, humans teach their fetuses to poop in a distinct location, just like the earth animal named pig.

Suddenly, at approximately age 5, the fetus graduates into a new level of intelligence, decisively separating it from it's ape cousin and mysteriously morphing into a "human". The first sign of logical, verbal argument are usually presented in the fetus' self-defense: "But Jimmy did it first!" Though frustrating to fetus' parents, is also the hallmark that a fetus has finally developed into a human, unique from other animals on earth.


//sarcasm off


Biological independence is a bad fact, a farce. There is no such thing. I've never met a truly biological independent person. I can say today that I am biologically dependent from my mother but I can never say that I am biologically independent. Besides, the independent/dependent relationship does not automatically translate into an authoritative relationship. Even further, an authoritative relationship does not automatically grant the authority over life or death. Historically, even owners of slaves, which were considered property and not given recognition of personhood by the government, were not granted the authority over their life and death.


Even the left's definition of "personhood" is weak and easily ripped apart. Their definition of personhood is represented by what rights are afforded it. You're getting it mixed up. Historically rights have defined citizenship and, only recently, been afforded to all people. Yet all these centuries, people were people even without "rights". Rights are granted by government; Personhood is not and can not. Slaves were always people, just people without rights.


Being outside the womb isn't what makes us different from the animals around us. Being outside the womb isn't what makes us human.


Scientists can't settle on a definition of life yet everybody knows what it is. Don't hide behind made-up definitions.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Word of the Year

Merriam-Webster announced their word of the year based on "highest intensity of lookups on Merriam-Webster Online over the shortest period of time."

10. turmoil
9. misogyny
8. rogue
7. precipice
6. trepidation
5. bipartisan
4. maverick
3. socialism
2. vet (v)
1. bailout

Most of the words are related to the most current election: bailout, socialism, maverick, bipartisan, and maybe even rogue and vet. Yet I'm completely floored at the simplicity of most of these words. Did people really not know what rogue, vet, or maverick meant? Yet, a look at previous year word list shows that this isn't a new trend at all.

Bailout takes the top honors. Just think of it: Congress passed a bailout but there were a lot of American that didn't even know what that meant!

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Outstanding Young Man

Do you remember hearing about the young man who campaigned for a local school board seat and won at age 19? Don't you wonder what happened to him? Here's an awesome article about him, definitely worth your time to read.

From Human Events:

Gen Y Republican
by Elisabeth Meinecke

He’s from Illinois, young, smart and has a natural talent for relating to voters. And no, he’s not Barack Obama: he’s Aaron Schock, the newly elected U.S. representative for Illinois’ 18th district. Even Biden would like him -- he’s young, clean, and articulate, and at 27, will bring a Generation Y voice to Congress in January.

British Schools Dump History, Geography

Just remember, whatever Europe trys, liberals will eventually try to adopt here in America too, even if it's a complete failure.

From the Daily Mail:

History and geography axed in primary schools for lessons on healthy living and the environment
By Laura Clark

Traditional subjects such as history and geography are to be axed in the biggest overhaul of primary education for 20 years.

Timetables will instead be arranged around six 'areas of learning' that merge subjects into general themes. Pupils will also spend more time learning how to deal with 'deep societal concerns' such as violence, drug abuse, obesity, teenage pregnancy and debt.

This announcement comes on the heals over another important British educational study: (Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)

From the Times Online:

School lessons designed to help children to learn social and emotional skills and improve classroom discipline have had little impact on pupil behaviour, a study suggests.

The programme called Seal (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) encourages pupils to discuss their feelings and manage their emotions. But a study of the group work phase of the project indicates that it is not having the desired effect on classroom or home behaviour.

Parents, teachers and pupils who took part in the study said there was no formal evidence the programme had any impact on “core” social skills like behaviour, empathy and self-awareness, when undertaken in groups.

I guess groups hugs, journals, wearing the same t-shirts, and hours upon hours of role play just couldn't rid middle school of mean girls and bully boys. Now they want to make failed programs like this into "curriculum". I wonder if students will be tested on it. Do you fail the section on healthy eating if they catch you snacking on a candy bar? Get caught fighting and have to "retest" on anger management?

I gotta feel for the students though. If there's one thing they can do, it's smell BS in adults. Can you imagine having to put up with 40 minutes every day?

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Winter Solstice - A celebration of attacking everybody else?

Here's the background story: Some religious groups have been putting up their holiday displays and an atheist group wanted to add their own Winter Solstice display. The sign was displayed, but stolen, found in a ditch, returned to a radio station, and put back on display.

As you can see, the sign is not celebrating anything. The group is taking this opportunity to insult and protest everybody else who disagrees with them. But the aethists can't even see the hatred in front of their own noses. Their leader was quoted as saying, "The atheist message was never intended to attack anyone."

Friendly rivalry

Raising some money for a good cause.

From KBTX.com:

Twin Cities' Mayors Ring Bells For Salvation Army

Its a rivalry in the twin cities that's even involved the mayors, only this contest is friendly, and all about trying to see who could raise the most money for the Salvation Army.

Bryan mayor Mark Conlee rang a bell and took donations outside the Bryan Walmart for an hour Saturday.

College Station mayor Ben White did the same, in front of that city's Walmart.

Mayor Conlee was the overwhelming winner, and so Mayor White will present his Bryan counterpart with a bell trophy at an upcoming Bryan City Council meeting.

Over $5,500 dollars was raised for the Salvation Army, with Walmart providing $3,000 dollars to the cause.

Now the College Station Walmart is not a Super Walmart like the Bryan site. The Super Walmart has two entrances though, making it a fair fight. Kudos to Bryan people!

Thank you Walmart too!

Update:

The Eagle has a lot more details on the pots.

Conlee collected $4,002.89, and White brought in $1,589.28, officials said.

Wal-Mart added $1,000 each and pitched an additional $1,000 to Conlee's kettle for his victory, bringing the total raised during the event to more than $8,590.

Last year, Bryan's mayor raised more than $3,000, while College Station's mayor pro tem raised roughly $1,600.

The KBTX article makes it seem like $3000 of the $5,500 came from Walmart. It's good to know that the total was actually over $8000! Wow!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Legalized Sin attracts Crime

European liberal society has tried to decrimilize the "sin" of our culture. By letting the sun shine on these victimless crimes, they believed that it would allow people to get their kicks and then return to their normal life. For some reason unknown, it just kept attracting more crime anyway. The Libertarians must be heartbroken!

From Fox News:

Many of Amsterdam's Brothels, Marijuana Cafes to Close

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Amsterdam unveiled plans Saturday to shutter up to half of its famed brothels and marijuana cafes as part of a major cleanup of its ancient city center.
The city says it wants to drive organized crime out of the neighborhood, and is targeting businesses that "generate criminality," including prostitution, gambling parlors, "smart shops" that sell herbal treatments, head shops and "coffee shops" where marijuana is sold openly.

Sex in the City....Park

A town had to re-write their laws after a Judge suddenly decided that sex in the park was not considered "disorderly conduct".

From The State:

But in June, Columbia got a new chief administrative judge who had a different interpretation of the law, Coble said.

Judge Dana Turner, who was one of the city’s assistant city managers, said the disorderly conduct ordinance was meant to keep people from shouting profanities and fighting in public, not from having sex in public.

“We have made an attempt to have people charged for doing things in our park that were not acceptable, and we were not successful in court,” Baker said.


It was "meant" only to do what she think? The definition of disorderly conduct has been around since 1786. Maybe the judge should have read the definition of disorderly conduct at Merriam-Webster:

:a petty offense chiefly against public order and decency that falls short of an indictable misdemeanor
Does not keeping your clothes on in public fall under the term decency? Isn't keeping sexual activities out the public park part of keeping public order? If the judge is confused, she should just hire a Texas Grandma. If Texas Grandma says, "Well, that just ain't right," then it probably doesn't qualify as "decent".

I had thought the article would be about catching teenagers driving down "Lover's Lane" and making out in their cars. The first line of the article set off my "gaydar" though.

People are having consensual sex in Columbia’s parks — but primarily in Granby Park along the river — and a loophole in the city’s ordinance has kept the city from prosecuting them.
Consensual sex? Versus what- rape? By applying the label "consensual", the reporter is telling us not to judge them -butt out- as they are adults making their own decisions that are none of our business. If the newspaper is justifying the sex, then you know it's gotta be about gays. Oh yeah, it was all about gay men. However, I find over and over, it's always worse than I think.

Granby Park has had problems before with men soliciting sex from other men.

It's hook-up spot for whoring gay men. These aren't even couples! And it gets even nastier because the article goes on to state how it happens in a lot of other city parks. I must have been stupid to think it was just limited to airport bathrooms.

Medical Blogging

My favorite Medical blogger closed up shop last year and I have been without for a long time! Here are two good articles for y'all to read.

The Blog That Ate Manhattan breaks down the marketing ploys of Big Pharma's newest, gotta have little pill.

But what if we could combine disease awareness with brand name recognition by actually renaming the disease with your drug's brand name? Better still, forget disease recognition altogether. Cast an even wider net and tie your brand name to the symptoms of the disorder. Who cares if other diseases might have the same symptoms? You're going to own that symptom, and then, like a rancher with a
roped calf, brand it
.
Growing up, my mother always said that generics were no different than the name brand medicines. She might have been right then, but with the emergence of non-American drugs, can we still be so sure? Dr. Reyes breaks down a recent study for us here.

Translation: one of the ten studies, they found that generic diuretics, AKA “water pills”, a medicine used for water retention and high blood pressure,
didn’t work as well as the name brand product; but what is more upsetting is that two of the seven studies that compared Calcium channel blockers found that the drugs were not equivalent. These medicines are mainly used for high blood pressure, but sometimes used for irregular heart beat.

Friday, December 05, 2008

A Love Guru at Age 9

This article was absolutely darling!

From the New York Post:

I WROTE THE BOOK OF LOVE
9-YEAR-OLD REVEALS DATING SECRETS
By JENNIFER FERMINO

He's only 9, but this pint-sized pickup artist already knows plenty about pleasing the ladies.

So much, in fact, that Alec Greven's dating primer, "How to Talk to Girls" - which began as a handwritten, $3 pamphlet sold at his school book fair - hit the shelves nationwide last week.

The fourth-grader from Castle Rock, Colo., advises Lothario wannabes to stop showing off, go easy on the compliments to avoid looking desperate - and be wary of "pretty girls."

"It is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewelry," he writes in Chapter Three.

"Pretty girls are like cars that need a lot of oil."

He advises, "The best choice for most boys is a regular girl. Remember, some pretty girls are coldhearted when it comes to boys. Don't let them get to you."



Sigh! Don't we wish all boys thought with the head and didn't think excess deoderant and hairspray was the way to impress the ladies.

Thanksgiving dinner

Howdy Everybody!

I was hoping to have pics of my feast by now but no such luck. My mom takes most of the pictures in the family and I forgot to download them all before she left. Then I forgot again to download them when she was here on Saturday, and when we met on Sunday...

Our Menu

Turkey - Hubby makes the turkey! It was absolutely wonderful, juicy and tender.
Stuffing - I made three boxes for the turkey and then had to make two more to feed everybody.
Sweet Potato Casserole - Sister was going to try a new of doing the sweet potatoes as individual patties but we didn't. Instead we relied on Mom's years of experience and tossed her in the kitchen when she arrived. It was wonderful even though she didn't have a recipe. (I actually liked it a little better!)
Green Bean Casserole - A double recipe of this left us with no leftovers. Sad.
Mashed Potatoes - I used plenty of real butter and half and half instead of milk. Then I whipped them instead of beating for a different texture.
Apple Tart - Cut up apples in a pastry covered with marmalade jam. Sister forgot to add the butter and sugar to the recipe but it turned out wonderful anyway. The sweetness and flavor of the apples stood out instead.
Corn Bread - Again, made from scratch. Two people asked me for my recipe!
Desserts - There was so much food that I ran out of room for the desserts and had to set up my ironing board to contain the overflow. Three pumpkin pies, a pumpkin cake, banana bread, chocolate cake, pecan pie, apple pie w/ ice cream, pineapple upside down cake, and two giant pans of fudge. I also make my own cool whip.

I had 11 adults and four children for Thanksgiving. There were almost no leftovers! I'll make more food next time.