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