A Successful Wrecking Ball

  
Granny and I were having a serious discussion this evening on the advent of the new, and hopefully, much improved New Year. The subject matter, as it often does, drifted to a more positive view of the president. After all, we do want to be fair and balanced. Basically, we settled on the proposition that no man, no matter how clumsy, could screw up absolutely everything. What then, were his major accomplishments during his 11 months in office? We scratched our collective heads and put on our thinking caps because the search would require some in-depth cogitation.

Near the top of the list is the fact that when he mistook a White House window for a door and walked into it, he managed the feat without breaking the window. That may not count because it is my understanding that windows in the White House are actually made of a clear bullet proof material which can withstand gunfire.

He managed to pick a family dog, much to the relief of animal lovers, which, even though pedigreed, is still a dog. The best part of the transaction was the fact the mutt had a European (Portuguese water dog) background and wasn’t from Africa or some Islamic country. We were all willing to overlook the fact that there are tens of thousands of dogs nationwide which are in rescue shelters and need a home. At the least now his kids have someone to chase a ball. It does raise the question of whether there is now a resident White House veterinarian on staff.

During the affirmation of the oath of office, he managed to outshine Chief Justice Roberts, who bungled the inauguration ceremony. Would we expect less from a professor of Constitutional Law?

Over the past 11 months he has done wonders to establish the brand identity of “Teleprompter” in the national awareness. In the political arena, it is a ubiquitous but highly necessary device and deserves all the attention it can get. It also provided an opportunity for another acronym; TOPUS. Here, let me be perfectly clear, it eliminates many “ers” and “uhs.” It does not, however, eliminate embarrassing questions from the floor. Oh, that’s right, they are not allowed.

In a remarkable effort to promote civility and diversity, he engineered the famous “Beer Summit” on the White House lawn. In an unusual display he was able to meld academia and law enforcement—and beer. By bringing the “guys” together in a social setting he also deflected the usual anxieties of a “town and gown” culture. One can only assume that all charges were dropped against Gates.

In a major coup, his mere presence in Denmark was able to save Chicago billions of dollars in preparing for an Olympic Games which will now not occur. They could have been saddled with major traffic problems, swollen hotel accommodations, and a severe strain on private businesses to keep up with the increased visitor load. They are now able to continue filling the Chicago River with corpses from “accidental” deaths.

In a rare demonstration of acknowledgment of local customs he made trips abroad and proved that US presidents can bow with the best of them. From vertical to an exact 90º he also served as a physical specimen that millions of Americans may well wish to emulate. His only remaining accomplishment in that department will be to remember which hand you shake when greeting Arabic rulers. I’ll not remind you why that is important. Just take my word for it.

Ever the teacher, he has educated America to the “Chicago Way.” Mired as we were with old-fashioned constitutional mandates, many in Washington have come to learn of intimidation, goon squads, strong-arm tactics, community organizing, and the ever popular “lean on him.” By associating only with the finest instructors—Ayers, Mayor Daley, Rev. Wright, Tony Rezko, et al—he was able to refine the Alinsky techniques in record time. In brief, every one in the US will become familiar with these methods.

In a continuance of “teaching moments,” he has been an inspiration to school children nationwide by inspiring them to seek the Obama-inspired arts. He took the trouble to provide teaching materials, show up in classrooms, inspire videos, have new songs and routines written and generally be a “hands on” role model. Who would not be motivated by such a charismatic leader?

In the process of becoming a populist president, he has invited ordinary citizens on White House tours to join him for a bite of breakfast. He didn’t say but it appears a good way to take the pulse of the people. No comment was available from his Secret Service protectors on the subject.

There now, don’t you feel better knowing that our president has much to recommend him? Although difficult to believe sometimes, there is a real, warm human being beneath the mantle of responsibility which is the presidency. It is amazing what you can do with a couple of beers here, and a breakfast there, to gain the confidence of the people. He might be well advised to further emphasize that approach instead of struggling with balky congress critters.

Gee whiz, I feel better now that we have had an inventory of the great things which our leader in Washington has achieved in his first year in office. Don’t you?

Have a happy new year and remember to vote this coming November. It is our civic duty.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon


This is cross-posted on Conservative Firestorm

All the News that’s NOT Fit to Print

  
New Year’s Eve, the occasion when everybody and his brother who has a keyboard or a camera takes the opportunity to make a list. Generally, it celebrates accomplishments which have occurred over the past year. In this case, it is also appropriate to chronicle the happenings of a decade. We shall concentrate on the year because the decade has become history while the year continues to present current problems.

The purpose then is to fill the gap for those who are dependent upon ABC/CBS/NBC/MSNBC/CNN/New York Times/Washington Post as their sole source of “news.” If you live in some backward area (NYC, Washington, NE corridor or the left coast) and have no access to Fox News or the internet, this is primarily for your benefit. Freedom of the press is limited by what ever pap the various news services choose to shovel your way. On this list, however, Fox News has released major stories which were completely ignored or under reported by the mainstream press.

We say ignored but in some cases they did actually report some of the details—well after the fact. When the general knowledge became saturated in the public mind, then, and only then, did they deign to impart their information and consequent spin.

The Tea Parties are, perhaps, the best example. 800,000 people is a crowd which is hard to cover up and render invisible. On 9/12, the silence from the media was deafening. Most major events attract an armada of sound trucks and camera platforms from every news agency. To their credit, CNN had a bus parked next to the Fox News fleet but that was the only indication they were there.

When challenged to actually mention the attendance at the rally on the Capitol steps which spilled past the reflecting pool and down the mall and the hours-long packed parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, the event was grossly under-reported. The press of the crowd was constant from 8 AM until late in the afternoon. The occasion of simultaneous events staged through out the country never made it to the evening news. Subsequent visits to town hall meetings with congressional representatives and local Tea Parties by outraged constituents were downplayed as minor blips by the media.

As you check on the link and review the other egregious omissions, observe that the mainstream media failures amount to little more than a cover-up. Van Jones, Charles Freeman, NEA, John Holdren and Kevin Jennings are not frequently mentioned except on reportage of their replacement or chastisement. Climate-gate, Acorn, and recipients of stimulus money are non-issues in the mind of the media elite. Apparently their absence in the news is an indication that they are normal, civic minded citizens and create situations which require no scrutiny. Rarely do you hear any of these stories which include words like fraudulent, Marxist, deviant, or un-American. All of their sins are suddenly “washed away” and they become victims of right-wing extremists.

One event which was not included was the exclusion of details which supported the role of Major Hasan at Fort Hood as the radical Islamic extremist murderer which he has proven to be. The media behavior in skirting the obvious truly is one of the best examples of failure on their part. It appears that a B+ is the grade which they would self-apply to be consistent with the president.

The damning evidence then is not what was reported but rather that which was not. While it is not unpredictable that these were not mentioned, it is shameful. Further, it is a childish device to deny reality in the belief it will disappear if not mentioned. As burgeoning interest in the frailty of our current administration is leaked to the population one would think that accurate reportage would gain more readers/viewers and increase the bottom line for these news agencies. All people want to hear and see is the truth. It seems that power is more important than money.

To foolishly wish for a more balanced future political outlook on the part of the media is unrealistic. Continue to keep visiting your favorite blogs, Fox News, and that hand full of print sources which do not fear “hope and change.” It may not make your New Year happier but at least you’ll know the truth.

Happy New Year!


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Interesting Factoids

Polling statistics from Rasmussen are the very best available. We maintain that fact based on past results of polling compared to actual election results and the fact that Rasmussen polls on registered voters who are declared “likely to vote.” In addition, they use an automated telephone polling system which does not involve live operators who would have the opportunity to give either direct or subtle direction to the respondents. Most results are within the 3% +/- range.

For example, they have been polling the approval of Obama by using the “strongly approve” vs. “strongly disapprove” method. On January 22nd, his numbers indicated a strongly approve factor of +30% on that index. On June 23rd, the difference was 0 for the first time and wavered until June 30th when the difference was -2%. It has not been positive as much as one day since. On November 15th, the difference went to minus double-digits and has remained there since. The -21% on December 22, was the lowest recorded and is -15% today. The difference between the starting point and now is 45%. The indicators of consistent trends are more dependable than individual statistics.

To follow this polling on a daily basis, click here for Rasmussen.

One of the more interesting quotes from Rasmussen was this one. “Today, 46% of government employees say the economy is getting better while just 31% say it’s getting worse. Among those who work in the private sector, the numbers are reversed: 32% say better and 49% worse.” Speaking as one whose wife has been unable to work for the last three months, I am more comfortable (or uncomfortable) with the 49% number.

That’s not hard to figure out. If you are employed with a government job and just got a raise or promotion, things are looking pretty good—for you. On the other hand, if you or your brother or your wife just got laid-off, you are probably struggling to see how you can make ends meet. It also informs us as to why the government is so ineffective at solving our current problems. If they foolishly think things are getting better that would mean they are blind to the real problems which surround the citizenry. I believe that is what they mean when they say the “government is out of touch.”

In the “wages of sin” department, the infamous Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska who garnered a sweetheart deal for Nebraskans on Health Care, came up short in the approval/disapproval rankings. When compared to Governor Dave Heineman, it was only 30% for the senator and a whopping 61% for the governor. Apparently, Nebraskans have more character than the senator imagined and are not ruled by self interest.

I highly recommend checking these numbers as therapy. Just when you think that America is in hopeless straits, you find that you share your opinion with millions of your fellow citizens and it raises your hopes for the nation. Perhaps the people are not so much the victims of ignorance as we imagine. Some of the opinion polls demonstrate some very sound thinking.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

“But “Ossifer”, I only Had One Beer!”

  

During the glorious twenty-nine years of recovery from alcoholism I have spent endless hours in meeting rooms, coffee shops, drunk tanks, and private conversations with guys who had to be led to understand that they were booze soaked sots. I have heard every lame excuse for excessive drinking which man can dream up. I recognize the slurred speech, repetition of words, hand waving, illogical arguments and abject self centeredness which typifies a drunk. While not a certified, credentialed, lettered person with sealed diplomas on the wall, I have paid my dues and feel qualified to “call ‘em as I see ‘em.”

In this video we introduce you to another side of the “distinguished” senator from Montana, Max Baucus. Watch this piece and see for yourself the embarrassing spectacle of a United States Senator drunk in that hallowed chamber. It is a classic example of a man who has very obviously had too much to drink and we find him maudlin, hostile, rude, and extremely combative. Please click on this link and see for yourself.

Interestingly, the subject of his remarks was the lack of cooperation he received from “across the aisle” to formulate the absolute worst unconstitutional piece of highway robbery ever presented to that august body. The federal takeover of 16% of the US economy is defended by the drunken Baucus as a boon to the citizens instead of honestly being presented as the socialized medicine boondoggle which it actually is. Especially interesting is that during his last campaign 89% of his available funds came from pharmaceutical and other medically oriented interests outside Montana. In his defense, any one who could defend this atrocious legislation would have to be drunk. He was!

As you view the tape, you will have an unparalleled opportunity to see a familiar figure defeated by booze. He is a man, familiar with argumentation and debate in a sober state, reduced to shouting and hyperbole in his alcohol induced condition.

The sixty-eight year old Baucus has been in public service all of his adult life since graduating from Stanford, with the exception of three years as a lawyer. Although he owns several properties in Montana plus a recently acquired half interest in a home there, he is actually a resident of Georgetown and only “visits” his home state. Earlier this year, he gained considerable attention when he promoted his girl friend, Melodee Hanes for a federal judgeship in Montana and later backed off. He is currently in the process of divorcing his second wife.

As a recovering alcoholic, I hold no animus to those who can drink responsibly and enjoy a toddy now and then. Many of my sane friends can do just that without wrecking cars, going broke and destroying marriages. Those same friends also don’t get up on the floor of the United States Senate and make fools of themselves. There are times in a man’s life when he has to make some serious choices. For Max Baucus, this may well be one of those occasions.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 125

  
Well, did you have a good Christmas? Ours was a time of good rest, faithful friends, and thanksgiving for our many blessings. Our pastor reminded us this morning that it is a “season.” More than just “eve” and “day,” it represents a prolonged exposure to the fulfillment of prophecy and the realization of the Son of God making his first earthly appearance. After all, He is the reason we have this blessed time of year.

I’ll not be asking how your year went. I already know. Superficially, it may have looked normal but we both realize that it went downhill in a number of areas. I will take a look at it in a later post but for now I’ll settle for being alive, having a wife on the mend, not being completely broke, and thanking God for the stamina to put up with things as they are.

On TSA, Homeland Security and other failed enterprises

In the interest of keeping my sanity, my person, and my integrity intact, I do not fly. At my stage of life I have vowed that if I can’t drive there: I don’t go there. I have seen all of the world beyond the seas which I care to. My last flight was one-way to Hawaii to link up with the Fitzgerald (DDG-62) for a Tiger cruise on that destroyer to San Diego. It was well worth the time, trouble and inconvenience.

Over the weekend, an Islamic terrorist from Nigeria made a “failed” attempt to blow up a plane as it landed in Detroit. The explosion didn’t occur but the terror took place anyway. Much has been heard from Washington about how this somehow reflects favorably on the department of Homeland Security.

Apparently the word terrorist is not well understood in DC. It may be safely understood that any attack on any American anywhere causes a measure of fear in all Americans. The assumption that we are all easy targets is at the root of that terror. Each time a radical Islamic extremist slips through the security net, it lessens our confidence in the agencies that are sworn to protect the citizens. This in turn heightens our mutual fears for ourselves and kindred and therefore achieves the desired intent of the terrorist. If this zealot had been successful, it would have been a horrible tragedy but it still damages the country to know that his penetration of our protective wall was accomplished at all.

Mr. Abdulmutallab’s father ratted him out some time ago and firmly identified him as a Muslim extremist. He was then placed on a watch list with 550,000 others with that dubious distinction. Theoretically, his name could be checked on that list and he could be be forbidden to fly on a commercial flight. The president’s press secretary pled that huge number made bringing up the information extremely difficult due to that vast number. To test that theory, I just Googled “Abdulmutallab” and had 411,000 returns in 0.21 seconds. To further emphasize the rank stupidity of Gibb’s remark; I am using Windows 98, with IE 6, on a satellite link which downloads at 56 kps. My computer is an antique! It takes far longer to enter the name than it does to get the information. Yes, this is the same government that just paid $19,000,000 to set up web site on the internet which still doesn’t work.

Mrs. Napalitano, director of DHS, is claiming the airport security system works! Perhaps in some parallel universe it is satisfactory but surely not in this one. If your goal is throwing away granny’s hair gel, seizing a nail clipper from a teenie-bopper or exposing a hole in your sock, it works really well; thwarting terrorists--not so much. One wonders how long it will take her to recommend civilian criminal law to deal with this cretin. Her main thrust has been to seek remedies after the fact to dispose of those charged but encompasses little in the way of actual constructive defensive measures to prevent terrorism. The primary result has been to turn airline travel into a punch line for late night comedians and make little difference in actual security. Mr. Abdulmutallab was on the plane. What further proof is necessary?

The absolute result of this fiasco should be the immediate dismissal of Janet Napalitano to be replaced by one of the many un-employed professionals we have idle. If nothing else, can we now have air marshals on the planes so that we don’t have to depend on some guy from Holland to do the dirty work? Oh, I forgot, Obama has them all committed to join his private army.

Greetings

This was lifted from a piece by Andy McCarthy on NRO and it was too good not to filch:

“To All My Liberal Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To All My Conservative Friends:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

And Finally

This patch we call home on Buzzard’s Ridge underwent a transformation which started about the time I finished the annual reading of “King Robert of Sicily” on Christmas Eve.

At first it was a light coating of ice and then the temperature dropped to about 15º and the world went white. When we awoke, we had a beautiful 3”+ with a breeze shaping the snow into moraines and gullies. We rolled over and went back to sleep.

When we finally ventured out to walk the dogs we remembered that they were unfamiliar with this rarity. There is nothing quite as funny as a dog using his nose as a snow plow. Shortly thereafter, we discovered that the 100 watt bulb in the well house had burnt out, the water froze and the joy of the winter idyll ended abruptly. We lucked out because after I placed the double wicked propane lantern in the well house we soon had our water back. It was a close call since nothing ruptured, but, also, very good training for the winter to come. Normally a 100 watt bulb will protect to -5º since the tiny house is extremely well insulated. I’m not sure what we’ll do when they are outlawed completely.

The rest of the day was spent rejoicing; gorging on T-bones (we’ll save the turkey for New Years) and pies, and making sure the birds were also well fed. God’s in His heaven and all’s right with the world. Mostly!


On His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

The Kennedy Curse

 
In the warm glow and aftermath of the annual Christmas celebrations, it may appear unseemly to post an article such as the one which follows. However, in this interval between holidays, it is traditional to look back upon significant events in the preceding year. In the course of that review, I came across this entry on Liberty by Stephen Cox.

Mr. Cox states in far more comprehensive and eloquent words than I could ever muster, an unvarnished look at the late senior senator from Massachusetts. For those too young to have followed his career in real time you will find Mr. Cox’s appraisal (and mine) quite enlightening.

“The Kennedy Curse

It is said that people make gods in their own likeness. If that is true, what kind of people created Edward Kennedy (1932–2009)?

Kennedy’s biological father was a goatish, pro-fascist crook whose politics were chiefly motivated by Irish-American nationalism and the desire to make one or more of his children president, for no other reason than that they were his children. His mother was a twisted religious bigot. (“Dad was the spark,” Teddy recalled; “Mother was the light of our lives.”) Their children were all, to one degree or another, seriously damaged by their domineering parents. One of the children was lobotomized by a father disgusted by her mental “slowness.” The others were deformed by the assumption that the only way to amount to anything was to achieve power over others. A more vicious premise can hardly be imagined. It is fortunate that at least one of them — John F. Kennedy — knew better, although his life was still grievously influenced by his father’s political ambitions and his lessons in sexual aggression.

Teddy, youngest male of the family, was a person of average intelligence and below-average capability, darkly overshadowed by his older brothers. He got Cs at prep school but was admitted to Harvard because his family was rich. At Harvard he was caught cheating and expelled. At the University of Virginia Law School he was ticketed for reckless driving four times and received the kind of punishment that the children of wealthy fixers generally receive.

In 1962, after a one-year career as assistant to the district attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, for no other reason than that his father was rich and his brother was president. He was 30 years old, and he held the job for the rest of his life.

In 1969, he hosted a party on Chappaquiddick Island, MA, for some girls who had worked for his brother Robert’s presidential campaign the previous year. Drunk, he took one of the girls out in his car and drove the car off a bridge. While his companion struggled for life in the overturned vehicle, Kennedy extricated himself, ignored the lights in a nearby house, fled across the island, swam an inlet, and returned to his hotel. In the morning, other people discovered the car and the dead girl, and Kennedy finally reported his association with the event, after soliciting advice from the kind of statesmen who flock around money and power. He went on television to deliver the first of many lachrymose speeches in which he urged people to support him because his brothers were dead. And Massachusetts voters did support him. They reelected him eight times.

During the following years, Kennedy repeatedly ran or threatened to run for the presidency, convinced that a person who had no work experience, no relevant education, no analytical ability, no sense of morality, no qualifications of any sort except his association with a wealthy family, had a duty to become the nation’s chief executive. He failed ignominiously. Eventually he gave it up, having discovered that even so incompetent and unpopular a figure as Jimmy Carter could beat him handily. Strangely, political pundits were incapable of reaching the same conclusion. For the rest of his life they considered Kennedy the idol of the American people.

After magnanimously relinquishing the presidency, Teddy devoted himself to his four favorite pursuits: drinking, eating, womanizing, and pushing people around (“legislating”). Like other people who know just enough to understand that there is always someone dumber than they are, Kennedy played the demagogue to an audience of poor people and Hollywood liberals, making violent speeches in which he denounced all who opposed his policies as racists and sexists. Then, in private, he cuddled up to Republican politicians who had no qualms about selling out their party. Together, they produced “compromise legislation” that (imagine!) gave Kennedy virtually everything he had originally wanted. (The press lauded this as “bipartisanship.”)

Kennedy’s constant desire was to increase the power of government. Always he advocated state power, from the days when he demanded universal conscription to the days when he demanded racial quotas for hiring (“quotas, shmotas” was his contemptuous dismissal of those who objected to this patent inequity) to the days when he moved heaven and earth to impose government healthcare on an unwilling populace. He could not be troubled to read a book, consult experience, or consider the logical implications of the things he wanted. He just wanted them, because they gratified his ego, no matter what the costs might be to others. He had money, so he wanted power. He was a wicked man, a thousand times more wicked than the man who holds up a 7-Eleven, desiring only the cash that’s in the till.

In 2008, Kennedy developed brain cancer. Instead of resigning the duties he could no longer fulfill, he kept on being a senator, using his remaining days to demand more government, plan a heroic funeral, and try to get his home state to change its electoral laws so that a clone could be inserted in his place. He died on August 25, before he could do any more harm. President Obama, in his funeral oration, called him “the greatest legislator of our time” and “the soul of the Democratic Party.”

Soul. Can it be that this ranting, bloated, red-faced drunk was the soul of anything?

It staggers the imagination. Yet this was the hero of the academics and the intellectuals. This was the organism over which National Public Radio claimed “the nation is in mourning.” This was the entity that prompted Yahoo News to run a headline in this form: “Throughout history, Kennedys have grieved losses in public” — as if the Kennedys had, like gods, existed from the dawn of time, making spectacles of themselves to mortals and reveling in their attention.

All of this is embarrassing to contemplate. But the biggest embarrassments are the teachers and commentators, the political leaders and self-proclaimed idealists, who created Edward Moore Kennedy in the image of their highest aspirations. — Stephen Cox “

Now that you have waded through this evisceration of Sen. Kennedy; don’t you feel better? I do! Now go and prepare to enjoy a prosperous and happy New Year.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Another Note from my New Friend, Barry

  
Last evening in all the hustle and bustle of Christmas Eve, I got another quick personal note from my new found best buddy, Barry. I thought I might share it with you since it’s not really all that personal. I will, as usual share, my reaction with you in the traditional red type remarks.

From: President Barack Obama

To: XXXX@XXXX.com

Date: Dec. 24, 2009, 1:46 PM

Friend – (He still hasn’t read this blog.)

Although it's Christmas Eve, (I thought they did that at the crack of dawn.) I wanted to share some exciting news: The Senate just passed their version of a (sic) historic health reform bill.

In all the back and forth, it's easy to lose sight of what this incredible breakthrough really means. (You had better hope the entire public doesn’t ever understand what it really means.) But consider this: This Christmas, (Would that be the same one that has a tree with Mao’s picture hanging on it?) there are millions of Americans (that would be the illegal immigrants, right?) without health insurance who risk losing everything if they get sick. (Since it won’t kick in until 2014, I guess that means Christmas in 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 too.)

There are mothers and fathers who wonder how they'll provide for their children because an illness has wiped out their savings. (You mean to tell me that some people still have savings?) There are small business owners who worry that they'll have to lay off a long-time employee because the cost of insurance is rapidly rising. (Since the tax kicks in before we ever see a benefit, that would be true for the next four years.)

If we finish the job, (what you mean “we”, wh… ...? Never mind.) all this can change. We will have beaten back the special interests (And that would be who? Oh yeah, the doctors!) who have for so long perpetuated the status quo. We will have enacted the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, (Most of us geezers down here on the branch thought “repeal” (Amendment XXI) was the most important.) and the most important health reform since Medicare in the 1960s.
In Decembers to come, (Well, um, not next December, or the next, or the next, or, uh, the next) millions (For sure that refers again to illegal lawbreaking border jumpers) more will have access to affordable coverage. Parents (If you have state approval to procreate.) will have the security and stability of knowing their insurance can't be revoked at a moment's notice. And the skyrocketing costs plaguing our small businesses will be brought under control. (That apparently means no more over regulated and over taxed small businesses.)
When you make calls, write letters, organize, this is the change you're making -- a better life for your family and for men and women in every state. (Especially Nebraska)

There is still more to do before I can sign reform into law -- a last round of negotiations and final votes in the Senate and the House -- and I'm counting on your help every step of the way. (Trust me Barry, I’ll be there every step of the way.) But for now, I hope that as you celebrate this holiday season, you remember that the work you are doing is making our union (That’s the SEIU, right?) more perfect, one step at a time. For that, I am grateful to you. (Aw shucks, it was nothin’.)

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,

President Barack Obama

P.S. -- Supporters of reform are signing a note of appreciation to all the senators who have worked so hard to make this possible. I hope you'll join them: (For certain, they will hear from me. Especially Claire McCaskill.)

http://my.democraps.org/SenateLetter”

At least this time he didn’t hit me up for a loan of $5 like he did last time. I guess he figures that this new bill will get him all the loot he needs for walkin’ around money. Now I guess he and the missus can scoot off to Hawaii for a little R & R. He’s definitely earned a rest and a couple of those funny drinks with little umbrellas in them.

Now wasn’t that a considerate note to send to a pal on Christmas?

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Please take a moment to remember our service men and women serving far from home this year…

A SOLDIER’S CHRISTMAS

Michael Marks

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.


Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight;

The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.



My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.



The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,

But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.



My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood; his face weary and tight.



A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.



“What are you doing?” I asked without fear

“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”



For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light

Then he sighed and he said, “It’s really all right,

I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night”



“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.



My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”

Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.



I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red white and blue… an American flag.



“I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home,

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,

I can carry the weight of killing another

Or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To insure for all time that this flag will not fall.”



“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright

Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,

“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,

For being away from your wife and your son.”



Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

“Just tell us you love us, and never forget

To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone;

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.



For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust.

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”



Written by Michael Marks- Thank you Sir, for a beautiful Poem…



This entry was taken in its entirety from “Nobody asked Me”. I had no doubt that his intention was to share it with everyone who would take the time to read it.

Keep these kids in mind tonight and every night as you snuggle down in the safe comfort of your bed. They are there for you—be there for them in your prayers.

Merry Christmas


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Carrot Meet Stick

  
What is the carrot at the end of the stick in the socialized medicine disaster? It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Democrat Party will suffer huge losses of representation in the congress over this continuing brouhaha over proposed legislation. They appear more than willing to sacrifice several senators and upwards of three dozen or more representatives if they continue to insult the American people. Blanche Lincoln, Michael Bennet, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson and an assortment of Blue Dog Demos plus others will undoubtedly feel the wrath of the voters. One can only wonder how they can possibly reconcile such a prospective beating with any result they might hope for from the reorganization of the country’s health delivery.

Some White House insiders have been voicing the opinion that the voters have a short memory and the projected losses my never come to fruition. That argument has slight currency when projected on the massive amount of the federal budget which it intimately concerns. Sixteen percent of that gross ain’t bean bag. When coupled with cap and trade, stimulus, bailouts, unnecessary pork, and acquisition of a variety of industries it would appear that the folks who pay the bills (taxes) might have an inclination to remember.

The purists maintain that this horrendous legislation actually might accomplish something and choose to discount anything but the cost reviews provided by the White House. In their messianic zeal they ignore any reining in of trial lawyers, abridgement of Medicare, impending practitioner shortages, interstate medical plans, or any of the other very real problems with our current medical delivery systems. Their naiveté in promoting care for the uninsured and imposing prohibitive tax on those who pay their own way is astonishing. It becomes one of those “do it for the children” type arguments. In private moments they more than likely relish the thought of having done some good for the “little people.”

Inasmuch as 230 plus members are verified as millionaires already, it is unlikely that most of them will require a collection be taken up to supply their breakfast if they get tossed out. With a job that pays $174,000 a year they should be able to make arrangements for a premature retirement. We are talking salary here and not counting the ubiquitous graft which is available to those with excessive influence. Even if they never saw a spending bill they didn’t like, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the capacity to be personally parsimonious.

So, as they wear out their welcome in Washington and eventually wander back to the hustings from whence they sprang, we find the homefolks have good memories, being a do-gooder doesn’t pay and there is really no shortage of money to tide them over. So then we must get down to cases if we want to find what drives them to enact monstrosities like socialized medicine and other government enlargement.

To gain the ideological goal of absolute control of the government, someone is going to have to fall on their sword. The most likely will be those Democrats who are from fly-over country or have large populations of seniors--and whites. Federally funded abortion is a hard sell in the mid-west and south. Some coastal and border states host a large population of the Medicare set. Most of the power players are from areas friendlier to Marxist plots to reorganize our constitutional republic. I believe that the threatened hold the thought that their loss of a current seat in congress will be rewarded later in their careers by an administration exercising the power gained at their expense today. These are the “true believers” who see the government as the end-all in our lives.

For those accustomed to the comfort and the protection of the constitution, it is difficult to believe that such an anti-American thought could be hidden in the deepest recesses of any citizen’s mind--let alone a member of congress. Worst, it comes from a person who has sworn to uphold that same document. We are more easily inclined to understand the inhabitants of a paradisiacal under-developed nation, with flowers and sandy beaches, rising to overthrow a tyrannical government. It is incomprehensible that anyone would wish to destroy the most powerful nation on earth from within. They do, and they will if they are not stopped.

Although many of our citizens have come to vaguely realize what is happening, there is a huge block who are totally clueless. They are not bad people; they are just not into following the realities of politics. Hey, they voted for representation and figure that their obligation stops there. They thought that those who keep up and are aware of the deeper meanings are just hysterical rabble-rousers who want to constantly disrupt the processes of government.

They are also under the impression that the media, with their soothing tones and well tailored appearance are infused with the same hopes and dreams which fill their hearts. They also fall for the “schtick” that throwing money at problems will always make them go away. Some even honestly believe that the much touted “health care” is about doctors, hospitals, insurance, and other medical matters. Somehow, they do not recognize their responsibilities reach past voting and keeping the lawn mowed to maintain neighborhood integrity. Any attempt at conversation about the affairs of the nation suddenly reminds them of a forgotten 1 o’clock tee time.

In our continuing search for the “carrot” we find the false promises of socialism and complete expansion of our government. The reward lies in the furtherance of that “cause” using the device of helping the disadvantaged. Never mind that our history is rife with examples of immensely successful people having risen from abject poverty and despair through their own efforts, ingenuity and hard work to achieve benefits for themselves and subsequent opportunities for others. For the average bear, it is impossible to imagine that the ghosts of Lenin, Marx, Engels, Stalin, Trotsky, and Himmler frequent the dreams of many of our leaders. They do, and encourage our plunge to an all-out socialist state. Historically, this has led to a collapse of all but heavy industry with attendant shortages of food and other daily needs. Lacking the freedom of entrepreneurship, this is a predictable outcome.

So then, what drives public men to ruin our economy and exert absolute control over the people? Once you answer that, please tell me what drives a man to senselessly kill huge numbers of innocent people? Both are real events and may well have the same simple response: power! This is not the same power which we attribute to God. This power is the raw, bludgeoning, overt force which is becoming more apparent by the day. It is a merciless manifestation of control which has a blind devotion to a “cause.”

We are all subject to our personal measure of selfish acquisition. It is part of our survival mechanism in a perceived avaricious world. As a result of our constant comforts, we have difficulty seeing this characteristic clearly in others. They cleverly offer diversions disguised in platitudes praising the equality of man, opportunity for all, the safety of the herd, and “a chicken in every pot.” They downplay the necessity of work, effort, individuality, and responsibility.

During the revolution and formation of the republic, we faced an easily identifiable enemy who had a familiar name--King George. Although benign in comparison to some of the opponents we have subsequently faced as a nation, he epitomized, at that time, all that was in opposition to the character of the people he ruled in this foreign land. We struggled our way from under his thumb and launched an unheard of experiment.

Today we must contend against an alien concept which fronts no battalions to threaten our populace but rather an equally alien notion of a complete change in governmental style. You have felt the stick but you shall not be part of those enjoying the carrot. That shall be reserved for the power brokers who are corrupting the US Constitution and assuming the role of today’s despots.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

One Guy Gets IT

  
Some of the most stimulating reading I do on the net is creditable to American Thinker.  The articles are from a wide variety of folks who individually understand their subject matter and are capable of making lucid compositions. Their readership and commenters are among the brightest as well. That does not mean they have no dissenters but rather everyone involved is courteous and offers reasoned responses.

The link above will take you to the specific article from which I have taken this comment. Read it and enjoy and then go back to the American Thinker, read a few posts, and see if you don’t agree. Here is the comment:

“Posted by KENNYJR.

Dec22, 08:57 AM

Please remember everyone, the loony leftists may control the government of this country, but God is in control of the whole universe. The moonbats on the left are no match for God & if they continue on their current path, they will experience God's wrath. God told us to be good stewards of the earth, He did not tell us to worship it. God told us to be fruitful & multiply, He did not tell us to kill our own because the earth isn't big enough to hold everyone created by God. God told us to have dominion over all the creatures of the earth, He did not tell us to worship animals & put them above the human beings created by Him. God blessed us with the natural resources we have to sustain us. By not using them we are telling Him we do not appreciate His blessings & we don't need Him or his gifts to us. People, the left are on a collision course with Almighty God & I think we know who will come out victorious. They make my life miserable, they may try to take away my freedom, they may try to separate me from my God, but I know deep down they have already lost the battle. God & everything good will be victorious in the end & there is NOTHING the left can do to alter the outcome of this battle. I know the left cannot hurt me if I stick with God & trust Him. Are you with me? Better yet, are you with Him? For your sake I truly hope you are. Through God nothing is impossible & everything is possible. Keep the faith everyone & don't worry about the left. They will take care of themselves if you know what I mean. May the reason for the season bless you all today, tomorrow, & always!”

Perhaps it was because I agreed with KENNYJR that I found the comment so pleasing. I always appreciate it when at least “one guy gets it.”


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

MINUS 21%


With socialized medicine on the verge of passage, the voice of the people has loudly screamed its disapproval. Nearly eleven months after the inauguration, Obama has plummeted to his lowest approve/disapprove margin ever. Here is the current chart from the nation’s most dependable pollster, Rasmussen.

Keep in mind that the -21% is determined by subtracting strongly approve” numbers from “strongly disapprove.”

For additional comparative numbers, go directly to Rasmussen for other poll views as well as links to other match-ups in senatorial races, governors, etc.. In nearly every circumstance, the American people have aired their displeasure as the Democrat controlled congress forces more and more issues of socialization. We are grateful to Rasmussen for compiling these figures.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

The Future of Tea Parties

  
I read a piece this morning from Breitbart‘s Big Government on the diminished importance of the Tea Party. In it he makes several valid points for latter-day patriots to advance along a refreshed path for the republic. He also asserts that the movement was ignored by the ruling elites and ineffective. To give him the benefit of the doubt I recommend that you read his offering.

As part of the 800,000 who descended upon Washington on 9/12/09, I strongly deny that we did not have the desired affect on the leadership. Their denial that it didn’t happen amounted to little more than whistling past the graveyard. What did anyone expect them to do: admit that it was a powerful statement by the people in opposition to their programs and policies? You would have to be smoking something to think that. Of course they would deny, lie, obstruct, divert, confuse and use every other trick in the book to obfuscate the terrible realization that many of the population would come to town to rain on their little parade. The worst of it was that every person who went knew many at home who could not come but wanted to.

These people make a career out of ignoring the truth. The obtuse habit of using the obscene sexual reference to refer to their fellow citizens who disagree simply underlines their innate fear of the movement. A glance out of just about any window in the DC area would have revealed the immensity of the crowd. Their opinions were plainly stated on hundreds of thousands of placards, hats, T-shirts, flags, banners and shouted with the help of bull horns. An even 100 port-a-potties had 35 to 40 persons each in line for use all day long.

If that were not enough, once home, these protestors and more showed up at a huge number of town halls, and local rallies to further ask the hard questions to which no one had satisfactorily responded. They didn’t get to be professional robbers of the public treasury by ignoring which way the wind is blowing. I’ll even give them credit for recognizing a hurricane when they see it--and see it they do.

We are all aware by now that the major media will not report any bad news for this administration. Therefore, it is not surprising that they didn’t cover the national or local tea parties. That, in itself, did not deny the occurrence but became a further signal of the importance of the march. They were conspicuous in the absence of reporting. Keep in mind that if 8 leftists show up for a protest they are always outnumbered by reporters by a factor of ten. The failure to acknowledge the presence of 800,000 then becomes very telling. We were there and they knew it. It scared them to death but they are dedicated to a relentless move toward socialism and continue it they must.

It is here that my agreement with the article kicks in. The piece outlines the importance of seeking control of government at all levels. From the council seat on up, our governance must be surrendered to citizen representatives who have the capacity to exert the will of the people. They have other duties in the community so they would be able to serve for a while, one or two terms, and then pass it on to the next guy. I trust my vet to be the mayor (he is!) and my insurance agent to be on the school board (he is!) and my good friend at the local golf course to also be on the school board (he is!) because I respect their character and financial abilities. None of these guys have aspirations to climb the ladder of fraud to gain political success for themselves. All three are reliable family men with the best interests of the community at heart.

My conclusion is that it is not a case of one or the other but rather both. I believe we need the local guys to keep things straight in our local offices and we also need the massive demonstrations to filter up and have an affect on the ruling elites. They have to be reminded that our “team” has a “deep bench” and we would happily make substitutions.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 124

  
There is an extra-special feeling in the sanctuary on the Sunday before Christmas. The very thought of the humble birth of the Christ child sobers our thoughts and distracts from the obvious hoopla extant in the community at large. The children, in a state of justified excitement this time of year, are even almost contemplative. The choir reaches new levels of accomplishment, the collection plate is heaped a bit higher, and the pastor lovingly lauds the star of the show---the baby Jesus.

Each of us tends to offer our hand in greeting to more people than usual and the card exchange would burden a small post office. We were reminded that there would still be two additional services (Sunday 6 pm and Wednesday at 7) before the awaited day and were encouraged to attend. The world beyond the doors of the church is put on hold and we focus exclusively on God and His love. The remaining challenge is to maintain that attitude throughout the year coming.

It does discourage the will to maintain the acerbic attitude necessary to write a successful “Rant.” How does one get filled with love, then discard it to deal with the brigands and criminals who infest our world? And criminals they are.

The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, paragraph 6

Read this carefully. Pay attention to each and every word. Then, explain just how Harry Reid thinks that the deal he cut with Senator Nelson of Nebraska will ever pass muster. It can not possibly do that. Rejection of this business should be a slam-dunk for any freshly graduated lawyer to plead before the Supreme Court. To save you the trouble of finding your copy, here it is:

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties to another.

The critical word is the “or” between the words Commerce and Revenue. It creates a conjunctive separation between two entirely different functions of government. Obviously land locked Nebraska has little in the line of Ports except on the Missouri River. The key lies in the word Commerce which qualifies the despicable deal cut for two of Nebraska’s huge health care insurers, Mutual of Omaha and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

The deal also speaks to the worst of it: “the federal government will forever cover the costs of Medicaid expansion in Nebraska." Taxpayers in every other state will forever be responsible for the expanded Medicaid program in Nebraska. This adds up to a privileged Nebraska, exempt from the onerous expenses of the federal socialized medicine scheme and enjoying a superior level of service and medical care. That is, of course, until the courts drop the other shoe. This makes Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) deal look like chump change.

For those of you in fear of abbreviated coverage of your health care needs, you should be more immediately concerned over the damage done to your financial resources. Your tax increases start immediately, while any changes in your medical coverage won’t take place until 2014.

While it is pleasing to see the illegality of this whole matter exposed for what it is, I deeply regret that we must seek redress in the Supreme Court to regain equity for the citizens of the entire country. Even though I have long thought that Massachusetts should have been forced out of the union for their slavish devotion to their un-convicted manslaughterer, Teddy Kennedy, so long as they remain they should not be taxed one dime to support socialized medicine in Nebraska.

All of this to salve the egos of the leadership and further enslave the American people.

With this ring I thee wed

As if there were not enough lunacy in the District of Columbia we find the city council responsible for a new ukase which puts the final nail in the coffin of marriage. In their “wisdom” they have essentially decided that marriage should be between two human beings. At least I’m pretty sure they excluded the family dog—I hope. However, no mention was made of fur bearing animals and reptiles.

For the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered, this presents an opportunity to express their devotion by tying the knot. After all, why should these folks be excluded from grubbing to make a living to support the other, regardless of sexual orientation? Should your bedtime habits determine who carries out the trash or walks the dog? They no longer have to labor long over who does what, and with which, and to whom. It suddenly has become a grab bag with everyone eligible to participate.

Omitted in their pronouncement was the prospect of brother/sister unions, father/daughter, multiple spouse relationships or other incestial hook-ups. If the absolute destruction of the institution was their goal, they went a long way to promote it.

The polygamy thing is probably made available because of the example set by Obama’s parents. You may have missed it but hidden in the information on Wikipedia, we find that Obama’s daddy had a wife and children in Kenya when he encountered the seventeen-year-old Ann Dunham in a Russian class in Hawaii and married her six months before the child was born. (Ed. This information is not the author’s active imagination but taken from Googling “Barack Obama” and “Ann Dunham” entries on the info website Wikipedia.)

If you don’t happen to live in the District, this will have little affect on you. Unless of course, you have concerns for the failing families of America and sympathetic awareness of children without traditional homes complete with a mother and a father. These youngsters are generally acknowledged by social scientists as enduring a much rougher road in life because of the absence of one of their parents and a disruption of a normal family structure. They further point to the costs to society for this decline as well. It is more than apparent that our most valuable resource is the loser here.

And finally

Well it appears that the loss of the “acerbic attitude” I was mourning, returned in good shape. I shall now struggle to regain the warm fuzzy feelings I brought home from church.

We have had an absolutely fantastic display of cardinals at the feeder this week. The trees are a very few feet from the edge of deck and it seemed that each branch had one waiting for its turn at the trough. For anyone wanting to enjoy this spectacle, you can find the little gadgets I screw onto an empty 2 ltr. soda bottle at any dollar store. Punch a couple holes the size of hanger wire, insert a wire loop for a hanging device, fill it with birdseed (I use Pennington Wild Bird Seed available at Wal-Mart for $13.97 for 22.5 lbs.) and put it where you can see it and enjoy the show.

In addition to the cardinals we still have the nuthatches, juncos, faded gold finches, and a couple of spectacular jays. The hunters are still about but discouraged from taking game on our property. The dogs love it and keep bringing home hunks and chunks left by careless hunters. I’m not really anti-hunting but just wish to preserve the peace of our little corner of the world.

Granny is on the verge of being healed with the help of a kind and loving God who has responded to the prayers of the faithful. Something good is always going on if you just glance around and look for it.

Merry Christmas !!!


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Those Were the Days

First, we must give credit to a Common Sense Citizen Commentator who in turn gives credit to My Random Blog for this insightful observation of what I personally enjoyed as a child. It should serve as a reminder of how much freedom has been lost. Read the piece and when you get to the end, I shall have some commentary.

“TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE

1930's, 40's, 50's,

60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill; only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Born in ’32, I can vividly remember each and every situation mentioned in the above. I would add a couple of things which the author neglected.

If you dropped a cookie on the ground, kitchen floor, or the dog dish, you picked it up and ate it.

The kid’s 6th birthdays were noted with their own .22 cal., single shot, bolt action rifle. Strangely, none turned into serial killers.

The threat of physical discipline was an ever present danger in a classroom. No diversity training, anger management, or “time outs,” just a whack on the wrist or the butt.

Jealousy was rampant because the Catholic kids got out early on Friday for religious instruction. Even worse, we never got meat on Fridays even though we were Methodist.

The traditional cure for tears was a quick swipe of the eye with the corner of an apron.

Even though born in the Great Depression, we had little appreciation of the event.

“Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end.” But they have !!


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Obama Anonymous

  
I have belabored you previously on the subject of extracting a bountiful life from degradation and despair through Alcoholics Anonymous. I make no apology for doing so because I am obligated to share the benefits with others that they might consider a similar path to improve their lives.

Nearly thirty years ago I drug my sorry butt to a meeting and altered, with God’s help, an ingrained life style which had cost me everything—wife, the love of my kids, treasure, friends, respect and self-esteem. As a result, I have regained all, except the treasure which no longer seems important. I will not bore you with a “drunk-a-log” to saddle you with every excruciating moment on my descent into a personal hell. I shall rather mention some basic truths I learned on my journey back to a rich full life.

I do this because our nation and its citizens will require a similar exercise to recover from the Marxist direction which has dominated every issue the last few months in Washington. Tens of millions of our people have an actual addiction to Mr. Hope and Change. Although the number lessens by the day, real progress cannot be made until these sufferers are able to put a name on their problem. Any AA member will admit that recovery really only begins when he able to stand at a meeting and introduce himself thusly: “Hi, I’m Cec and I am an alcoholic!” One must identify his problem openly and sincerely if he ever hopes to get on the long road to recovery. His opening would then become: “Hi I’m Joe, and I’m an Obamaniac.”

His next step is to then recognize that there is a Power greater than himself. This does not require immediate baptism into the church of his choice or becoming a street corner evangelist. All it requires is the sublimation to a directive spiritual force which may be identified as God, Jehovah, Jesus, Buddha, Fred or whatever; anything so long as it is not himself. We enact the course of our lives but satisfactory alteration requires the intervention of a higher power. Otherwise, as your own personal god, you may do what you please to the exclusion of all others. Is the Obamanism becoming recognizable at this point?

So now the Obamaniac has named himself and acknowledged he is not God—now what? It is time for a decision to seek relief from your addiction. This decision can only come from within but it must become essential to every aspect of your being. The actual implementation is only possible with the help of your assigned spiritual force or in my case, God. To become relieved of one’s suffering, this is absolutely necessary. This decision then becomes a promise to you to seek help. Awareness of the possibility of recovery from Obamamaniaism then is placed in your hands with the help of God. It is highly recommended that this promise is reviewed every morning upon arising. Since there is no formal organization with meetings nightly to attend, it is suggested that you acquire a sponsor to share your struggle for abstinence from your former life. Obviously, you should pick someone who has “been there and done that.” A Tea Party is an excellent place to meet those who are not currently suffering from Obamunism. This body of people is increasing by the day and will help you avoid the further influences to which you are constantly subjected. Since they are the finest, friendliest people you will ever meet they will be eager to help and guide you on your way.

Now comes the tough part; you must admit to yourself through a personal inventory the false ideas and ideologies which you have maintained. Make a physical list of those things which you have held which have proven to be false. As you add to this hard copy and more things appear there, the enormity of your Obamanism will become more and more apparent and become a substantial aid to recovery. Be honest with yourself.

After the list is underway, it becomes necessary to admit to your higher power, yourself, and another human being the exact nature of your wrongs and be ready for God to remove them all. This is easily accomplished by simply asking Him to do so. These expressions will allow you to vent your missteps and help clear your mind of the oppression of false ideology.

The next logical progression is to list those we have harmed and be prepared to make amends. If one has made the grievance publicly, the amends should be made the same way. If one to one, the same rule applies: one to one. In any case, so long as making amends would not do them further injury, the sincere attempt should be made. As the personal inventory continues, any further wrong should be promptly admitted. Both the alcoholic and the Obamamaniac hold the lie as a standard of behavior. In both circumstances the immediate apology and reconciliation is required.

Further prayer and consultation with our higher power to seek His will and power will, over time, increase our personal strength to carry out His direction and hurry our recovery. Each prayer raised further establishes this valued relationship and confirms that, indeed, we are not God. If offered in honesty from the heart, the progress will be remarkable.

Finally, once we have the spiritual awakening we must continue to implement this program in all our affairs. Further, and this is important, this result must be shared with others who may also have the same problems we once had. Were you not grateful that God saw fit to help you find the truth and banish your former stinking thinking?

Much of this post is borrowed or adapted from the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous as outlined in the “Big Book” with that title. For relief from the demons of addiction, tweaking the steps is a simple matter. It is a program used universally for overcoming those many tempting diversions which work to ruin our lives.

There is little doubt in my mind that the socialist president has lured many of his followers by devious means to work on his ruinous programs. Our concern is not so much about why they succumbed in the first place but rather how they may escape the clutches of this brainwashing. By accepting the wisdom outlined in the above steps, you will find a new and true freedom which has been heretofore unknown. If you are not in need of this; copy it and pass it on to one who does. Welcome back to sanity!


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

The Moose Hunter vs. The Terminator

  
In a moment of mid-week idiocy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took a shot at Gov. Sarah Palin and global warming. His advice was to take her opinion with a “grain of salt.” This came from a guy who has taken one of the richest states in the union and turned it into a welfare state of epic proportions. He is hardly one you would turn to for advice on governance or for that matter, any topic. Actually, anything which the California governor says risks turning him into a “pillar of salt.”

Palin, not one to avoid a fight, took his criticism to heart and fired right back:

“Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation’s only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change. While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can’t primarily blame man’s activities for those changes. And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn’t do was hamstring Alaska’s job creators with burdensome regulations so that I could act “greener than thou” when talking to reporters.”

This was on her Facebook page and further demonstrated her realization of the electronic advantages of this type of communication with the electorate. By his carping about Palin he has shown that he is part of the problem crowd who really see anthropogenic global warming more as an opportunity for control than a genuine threat to the earth. She, on the other hand, cares deeply about the affect on the people and has positioned policy to get answers for their benefit and protection instead of making ironclad demands on their activity. She has quickly recognized that the science is not verified sufficiently to alter our total economic system to humor the graph designers.

In the final analysis, I question the wisdom of a “Republican” governor declaring war on a true Republican candidate for vice-president; a politician with even more executive experience than the “governator.” If he had any sense at all, he would see her as the lightening rod which the party can center on to provide relief from the onrushing socialism being forced on the people. He may eventually come to realize that run-of-the mill citizens understand taking meat from the woods to put on the table far better than they do complicated psuedo-scientific gadgetry created for celluloid film to enchant teenagers.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Taunton, Mass – A Christmas Story

 

What’s a teacher to do? She has a set of rules she must enforce with a policy which came from on high. We have a kid who has been taught that the Christmas season is about Jesus Christ. It is a classic tale of rigidity meets religion.

What started as a report on a classroom incident in which some rules were broken has now become an attack on the schools and browbeating of the kid. The first report stated that the teacher asked the class of 8 year olds to draw something which showed the meaning of Christmas. The younger Master Johnson allegedly turned in a drawing of a stick figure on a cross. The teacher then looked at the drawing and saw the horror and the crude torture depicted and the alarm bells went off. “We have a “zero-tolerance” for violence here in the second grade and this will not be tolerated.” was probably what went through the teacher’s mind. This, in turn, demanded reporting to a higher echelon, counseling, and action up to and including suspension.

After this exchange, the father, Chester Johnson, a goodly and a Godly man, responsibly made a considerable fuss and sought to find out what these folks at school are thinking. It appears he took the kid to a local shrine as a pre-Christmas treat where the youth was exposed to various Christian icons which included crucifixion statues. He made the connection of the birth celebration as the introduction to the entire life of  Christ and wisely discovered that the beginning led to the glorious end in the death and resurrection. Not bad for an eight year old.

Back at the school this rare theological insight continued to be lost on the educators. There, the concentration was still on the violent death. Now comes the rub. The school officials, now under all out assault from Christians nation-wide, are denying complicity in any of this. They claim the drawing shown by Mr. Johnson is not the same as the one turned in by his son. They also assert that they did not threaten him with any punishment of any stripe for violating the non-violence policy. Julie Hackett, the superintendent, who was formerly unable to return calls of inquiry has now come out with a formal statement to disclaim almost the entire affair.

As a father of boys and grandfather of an ever increasing number of lads as well, I may assure you that an eight year old boy is far more likely to be fascinated by a cross than a crèche. To them, a guy (Jesus Christ) with a spear in his side and wearing a crown of thorns is far more interesting that some dinky kid (also Jesus Christ) wrapped in rags in a manger. These kids are probably not aware of the significance of the fulfillment of Old Testament predictions of His miraculous appearance and deliverance by the Virgin Mary. If you don’t believe this, gift wrap a Barbie doll and a blunderbuss and watch the reaction on Christmas morning.

The villains here are those who are not capable of understanding little boys. Those who wish to turn them into little automatons with squishy, feel-good outlooks, who have been taught to shun any thing which might turn them into solid respectable men. Those who would wish to suppress the natural state of those who would become men to forward a personal questionable outlook are the ones at fault—counter claims not withstanding.

Mr. Chester Johnson of Taunton, Mass. is my hero. He is a real father who will go to any lengths to protect his son from these vultures. His early training of his son, demonstrated by the visit to the shrine, will stay with that kid far longer than the clap trap spewed at the school. Young Johnson has that rare gift of a father who loves and cares for him.

Chester, a word to you: this has nothing to do with race. If my kid had done this, they would have nailed him just as easily and ignorantly. Our public schools have become an “equal opportunity” destroyer of young boys. You may well have bona fide racial grievances but this isn’t one of them.

In conclusion, we wish both Chester Johnson and his son a very Merry Christmas. May God shine His light upon you.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Our Country is in Big Trouble

  
I found this on American Thinker and will not risk altering it in any way. If you ever needed a competent analysis of our current problems: this is it. The author is Larrey Anderson.

“Our country is in big trouble ... huge trouble. It is time that Americans took a hard look at our values, our conception of justice, and our standards for truth. This piece is intended as a first step in that direction.

1) Values

The story of Tiger Woods and his (now admitted) "infidelity" is everywhere. The Woods' story has piqued the prurient interests of America and the world. The story has dominated the mainstream media for days while the injustice being committed against our Navy Seals and the revelation of the computer code from the CRU (exposing the biggest hoax in the history of the world) have gotten scant attention.

Tiger Woods was on the cover of every magazine and tabloid that I saw while standing in line at the grocery store yesterday. Those publications and those stories are on the grocery stores' racks for a reason: Americans are buying them.

We are more interested in the private life of a guy whose claim to fame is that he can hit a little ball with a stick better than anyone else in the world (whoopee!) than we are about the destruction of our culture.

It is not Tiger Woods' moral values that concern me. (Celebrities of his stature face enormous temptations from all kinds of hustlers and harlots everyday of their lives.) It is the facts that while our freedoms and Constitution crumble before our eyes ... we are focused on Tiger and his bimbos.

This is our iniquity -- not Tiger's.

2) Justice

Meanwhile our politically correct military has arraigned two Navy Seals for allegedly punching Ahmed Hashim Abed in the lip. Abed was the terrorist who, several years ago, led the murder and the brutalization of the corpses of four Blackwater security people in Iraq.

Al Qaeda instructs its members how to claim and/or fake being tortured if a member of the terrorist organization is captured.

But Al Qaeda is not the real issue here. We are. America has become so politically correct that a terrorist/murderer/sadist, who bitches about his bloodied lip, might get some of the best and bravest men on this planet thrown into jail. Americans had better pay attention, and soon, to this nonsense.

Very special and highly trained military men, including these Navy Seals, are all who stand between a worldwide Islamic war of Jihad and you and me. If we do not rise up to defend these brave soldiers, and demand a full pardon and their immediate release, here is what will happen: Dedicated young men and women will refuse to put their lives on the line if a poke in the face, of someone who would kill them in a heartbeat, gets the soldiers time in the brig.

Would you take that job? Make those sacrifices? Put your life on the line? Would you complete your mission, catch the bad guy, and then be thrown into jail for your efforts? I wouldn't. No rational human being would.

Justice in the real world is not politically correct. "Pretty please" or "We respect your unmitigated desire (and efforts) to kill us" are not phrases that matter to a mass murderer. And the next time some whiny PC liberal tells me "We are better than they are," my reply is going to be, "Of course we are. That's why Ahmed Hashim Abed only got (allegedly) punched in the face. He wasn't shot in the head, beaten with sticks, burned, and hung on a bridge. How much better than they are do we have to be to make you happy?"

3) Truth

Since the release of the CRU documents that prove the fraud of the science behind man made global warming, Al Gore has said at least three times (Andrew Bolt of the Herald Sun puts it at four) that the emails and information were all ten years old. This is a lie. It has been repeated again and again by Al Gore. Some of the emails are less than two months old. And dozens upon dozens are less than ten years old. And everyone -- but Al Gore -- knows it.

Watch the video of the CNN interview with Gore here. One reporter does say to Gore, as a kind of aside, "Some of them [the emails] were from ten years ago, but many of them were far more recent than that."

Gore ignores the statement. Neither of the two reporters further disputes Gore's "ten year old" fabrication. No follow-up challenge from the CNN reporters to Gore's out right lie. None.

The mainstream media has downplayed the significance of the CRU documents. The headline of a recent AP story proclaims that the science from the CRU was not faked. Really? As (among others) Marc Sheppard, Lord Monckton, and I have proven the CRU findings most certainly were doctored. The raw date was manipulated to "prove" that the world is exponentially warming. There is no doubt about this.

And still, the mainstream media has not challenged Al Gore on the blatant absurdity of his claim that the documents were at least ten years old and have no real impact on the AGW debate. CNN did ask him to recite his new poem on the impending doom of mother earth. See that video here. (But not if you have recently eaten a meal. You could lose it.)

John 8:32 states the following:

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

The corollary of this brilliant piece of scripture should also be written. It would go something like this:

If you ignore the lies, the lies will imprison you.

Wake up America. The time for the truth to set us free is growing very, very short."

Larrey Anderson is a writer, a philosopher, and submissions editor for American Thinker. He is the author of The Order of the Beloved, and the memoir, Underground: Life and Survival in the Russian Black Market.

For other well thought articles and commentaries, I strongly recommend that you click the first link and check out the further wisdom available at American Thinker.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 123

  
At last, a “springy” day came to interrupt the recent cold snap. The sun is always welcome without regard to how long it hangs around. If the forecast is correct, we’re headed for a white Christmas. Like most thing in the wonderful world of climate, it remains a crap-shoot. I am constantly amazed that folks fully realize that their local forecast is chancy and yet think that the same type of science can predict weather patterns 10-20-50 years in the future. They would also, no doubt, be in the market for a bridge across the East River.

Who’s in charge?

The easy answer, and the obvious to his supporters is, the president. To the non-Kool-Aid drinking types and those with any vestige of objectivity left, the answer is not so simple. His activities over the last ten months should prompt some serious thought on the matter. Even though he is hyped as being an exceptionally intelligent individual his presentations sometimes have a contradictory nature in the phrasing. Often that which appears firmly stated is then clouded with modifying additions plus disclaimers which ameliorate the message first offered. We all understand that the electronic press and opponents hang on every word and leap to an opportunity to criticize; therefore the construction of public remarks must be done very carefully.

It is possible that bloggers may have a better grasp of this problem than most because the responsible ones agonize over phrasing, word choice, grammar and most important, truth. Most presidents have a staff of writers and consultants who are valuable assistants to help parse the “golden” words which come from the executive’s mouth. The question then becomes: are these aides responsible for tuning the words and ideas for the president or do they emanate from some other source. In plain language: does he think this stuff up all by himself?

The presence of a common thread is always there. Spending excessively, exerting further governmental controls, glossing over the fiscal threat to the republic, ignoring confirmed opposition, and larding the public payroll with extreme left wingers best characterize the total effort. Sometimes it seems as though each person close enough to have influence has been given a “play book” with the overall game plan. Even his appointed personnel, when before any microphone, all sound pretty much the same. Some are more direct than the president, but, carry an equivalent message:

Even the higher officials in the congress are carrying water from the same font. Reid, Pelosi, et.al. are nearly indistinguishable from the executive in their approach to problems of state. This element of shared direction is so common that one suspects a person or group of immense power is actually pulling some strings.

Puppet governments are certainly not unknown in history. The biggest problem, if it were indeed true, is in identifying the hidden direction. Other than the thoughts expressed here is there any additional evidence which might be presented? If it were available we would be delighted to report it.

The University of Delaware

Under the heading of “don’t be insane, it couldn’t happen here” we have a discovery which sent chills up the spine. Univ. of Delaware had a program to be administered by resident advisors to new students which was mandatory for the “newbies”, graded, and could have led to counseling. Here follows a small extract from some of the printed material in the handbook to be taught to the newly arrived students:

"A RACIST: A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. 'The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality. By this definition, people of color cannot be racists, because as peoples within the U.S. system, they do not have the power to back up their prejudices, hostilities, or acts of discrimination….”

The program was pure thought control from the beginning with emphasis on political correctness and assumed grievances toward “white racists” which by the school’s definition would be “all” whites. Fortunately, the school attracts intelligent youngsters who quickly recognized the outrageous behavior of the school who balked and complained to various officials and third party investigative sources. Thanks to these courageous kids and their high school civics teachers who did their jobs well, they recognized the absolute illegality of the program of ideological reeducation.

As a result, President Patrick Harker made an announcement on the cessation of the illegal actions which included this closing paragraph:

“Under the recommendation of Vice President for Student Life Michael Gilbert and Director of Residence Life Kathleen Kerr, I have directed that the program be stopped immediately. No further activities under the current framework will be conducted," he said.

It would be great to report that this is the end of it. Actually, it is just the beginning. Other universities have similar, if not identical, programs to the University of Delaware. For more information on this subject I would recommend you check with World Net Daily which has many additional links on this subject. For all the losses we have suffered over the last ten months, the US Constitution is still in effect and ready to protect our citizens as it has for the last two and quarter centuries. Thank God.

And finally

Over the next few months we will be facing some of the most difficult days our republic has ever seen. I am convinced that the people and not the leadership will be the only salvation which is available for success. We have discussed this before and I make no apology for bringing it up again. It is absolutely essential that all citizens take on a new and refreshed view of his individual role in our society. Each needs to assume responsibility for awareness of the national scene and to be aware of how best to use his talents and resources, regardless of how limited, for the betterment of the nation. It will take an army of Davids to fend off the warped desires of the Philistines in Washington. It has become increasingly obvious that they seek the absolute destruction of the United States as we know and love it. God, help us all.


In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Minus 16% !!!!!


For those who follow the Rasmussen Presidential Approval Index, be of good cheer. Your early Christmas present is here. For those who don’t, please understand that this poll is taken only among likely voters and reflects the comparison between strongly approve and strongly disapprove percentages.

The graph below, from Rasmussen has tracked this comparison since inauguration day (1/21/09) when the president enjoyed an approval rating of +26%. Around the 4th of July, the positive and negative response reversed and the disapproval gap has widened ever since.

Why Rasmussen? Their long term credibility was firmly enhanced by their habit of not taking general polls but rather those targeting only prospective voters. This targeting enabled them to call the presidential election within 0.2 percentage points. Thus people have come to rely upon them for an excellent feel for the national pulse.

We are not the only people who pay attention to these findings. A 42% aggregate downward change in the national mood has to have an affect on those who play in the political sandbox. To ignore it would be political suicide.

For more results of polling on matters of national interest we suggest you click on the link above and go to their website for data on issues which are close to you personally.



In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon