Radio Flyer

If you are just plain fed up and sick of reading my take on the current “depression” and whining that folks don’t really know what a depression is all about; don’t read further. Actually, thanks to the efforts of my parents and a lack of comparative knowledge and the eternal optimism of youth, I have little memory of personal depravation. About the only area in which I have an active memory of lacking the basic necessities of life was the absence of a Radio Flyer coaster wagon under the Christmas tree.



That venerable and essential tool of childhood never did make an appearance. It was especially biting on my seventh Christmas in 1939 when my cousin (ugh!) –a year younger—managed to score one under the tree. Never mind that I was covered up with Tinker Toys, Erector sets, wood burning kits, hats, gloves, socks and wonderful stimulating little books; I didn’t manage the “big” one. That stinging memory still burns in my breast and detracts from an otherwise wonderful childhood. My parents, although personally incompatible, treated me as a person favored by God. A condition I continue to enjoy which has, thankfully, not abated in the intervening years.

My lack of personal ownership of this cherished icon did not bar me from enjoying the use of ones which my close friends possessed. There were so many that our favorite occupations were parades, cavalcades, convoys and any other formations our fertile minds could originate. We loaded them as buses, dog carriers, covered wagons heading west, and on hills of appropriate height, racers. After December 7th, ’41, they—with the addition of a piece of stove pipe—became artillery pieces, tanks, personnel carriers, and generally, the precursor of the ubiquitous “jeep.” Its utile simplicity encouraged the imagination to furnish a transition to whatever was demanded by the occasion.

Once WWII was underway, they became the vehicle of choice for the collection of waste metal, old newspapers, and whatever else was required for doing our part to help out in the war effort. The government realized the foolishness of sending scrap metal to Japan to be recast as weapons of war and we all enlisted, with wagons, in the effort to obtain critical discarded materiel for our own factories. Every grocery outlet had a place to park the wagons for the pull home laden with groceries—driving to the store was a waste of gas. They were also a useful, if unstable, platform to enable their height-challenged owners to gain a better view at various rallies, war bond drives and other public gatherings.

When the hostilities ceased and the surviving owners aged, they found peace and comfort in using their dependable childhood toy as garden carts and tool caddies in their new lives as veterans in the emerging “homes of their own.” They were then passed on to their progeny in the baby boom and found new life firing the imaginations of the young.

Progress—or provable evolution—has now provided us with what is considered by the manufacturer to be the “final” step in their newest offering of this old stand-by. In a world now consumed with the use of poly carbonates, we find the absolute latest edition of my childhood favorite.

Seat belts?!? Cup holders?!? Have I become such a cantankerous old dyspeptic that I cannot see this as the marvel which it is? The tires are pneumatic and mounted on axles which actually have bearings and grease zirks. They have provided every possible safety feature thus depriving the user of the opportunity of the injuries so common on the learning curve of my generation. I am certain that no statistics were ever kept on the broken arms, contusions from roll-overs, and other mishaps so common with the original. I am not the “market” for this item so the manufacturer is not in the least concerned with my response to this travesty.

I do have faith in the youth of America, and for that matter, the world, that they will find a way to supercede the safety and turn this wonder into a wagon. Kids today have variant interests from my generation but they are still kids. They have imaginations to turn this thing into a space ship or whatever they choose. Some things are inescapable. Thank God!


In His abiding love,


Cecil Moon

Luke 2:1-11

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all his empire should be taxed.

2 This same taxing was when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

3 And all went to be taxed, every one in his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David.)

5 To be taxed, with Mary his espoused wife, she being great with child.

6 And so it was, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was none to give room for them in the inns.

8 And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

9 And lo, an angel of the Lord appeared unto them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid.

10 But the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.



In His abiding love

Monday Morning Rant 70

(OK, so it’s Wednesday; just continue reading…..)

Monday was a beautiful day. I was completely filled with a good spirit and ready to resume my normal activity. A busy weekend, interrupted by a trip to Independence to be with old, faithful friends of the orthodox Saints variety, had left me in a marvelous mood. The gathering was instigated by an east coast friend and further punctuated by telephone calls from those who could not conveniently travel long distances on short notice. To hear their cheery voices and have some brief contact was wonderful. I returned through the 7º night with a heart full of hope and excitement.

On the trip up and back (350 miles) I had plenty of alone time and an opportunity to review the Sunday sermon taken from (where else?) Luke. My mind was filled with thoughts of the young mother who had conceived under circumstances which had probably left her confused. Although selected by God she could not be faulted for having unanswered questions about her circumstance. As usual, His choice was more than up to the job. I also contemplated the thoughts of her alleged perfection. She was obviously a great mother, a wonderful person, a guide and a superb director of the life she was charged with but, being human, was also subject to sin. She was human. Were she not, the entire exercise would lose its validity. This is not a criticism but rather an acknowledgement that as humans, we share the capacity for sin. It’s something to keep in mind as we pursue our daily lives.

Once I arrived home, I went to the computer and tidied up the “Rant” a bit for posting on Monday morning. I then retired for the sleep of the just. One little problem arose; I found my concept of “just” was not shared by my computer. On awakening, I found all my systems in near complete disarray. With one slight errant click, I managed to delete the “Rant” into the black hole of memory loss. In an attempt at recovery, I discovered my internet service had gone to live elsewhere. At the same time, the entire system came up fuzzy and I was invited to use “SAFE MODE” to reinstate it. This is not my idea of a good time. After two days (!) the system is not yet operating at the speed I desire but it is operating. This has to be a result of divine intervention because I certainly don’t possess the skills to make the change. Now I shall attempt to remember what was so important that I regretted the loss.

More on Chris Dodd

The senator from Connecticut has been dilly dallying now for about five months in gathering a response on the particulars of the mortgage he received from Country Wide. You may recall that as a “friend of Angelo,” he is accused of accepting an exceptional favorable rate on his indebtedness on his personal residence. His denials have been met with a request to see the application for the mortgage. Perhaps he has misplaced the papers.

Personally, I have a small mortgage on my property here in the wilds of the Ozarks. If I were to stand up and turn left, take one step and open the overhead cabinet, I would see a large manila envelope which contains copies of all the mortgage papers. Actually, there are three such envelopes of about the same size for each of my preceding loans which I had on property in Las Vegas and before that, Wisconsin. I am not the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee but if I were, I would be profoundly embarrassed to not be able to come up with confirmation of the loan particulars. Perhaps some folks are more easily embarrassed than others.

Reminder from the time machine

Does this sound familiar? “I did not have conversational relations with that Governor, Rod Blagojevich”

Observations on the auto bailout

The following is from Mark Steyn by way of Instapundit:

“Can you still see the USA in your Chevrolet? Through a windscreen darkly..

General Motors now has a market valuation about a third of Bed, Bath And Beyond, and no one says your Swash 700 Elongated Biscuit Toilet Seat Bidet is too big to fail. GM has a market capitalization of just over two billion dollars. For purposes of comparison, Toyota’s market cap is one hundred billion and change (the change being bigger than the whole of GM). General Motors, like the other two geezers of the Old Three, is a vast retirement home with a small loss-making auto subsidiary.. The UAW is the AARP in an Edsel: It has three times as many retirees and widows as “workers” (I use the term loosely). GM has 96,000 employees but provides health benefits to a million people. . . .

So many areas of endeavor that once embodied the youth and energy of this great land are now old and sclerotic. I include, naturally, my own industry. I loved the American newsrooms you saw in movies like The Front Page, full of hardboiled, hard-livin’ newspapermen. By the time I got there myself, there were no hardboiled newspapermen, just bland anemic newspaperpersons turning out politically correct snooze sheets of torpid portentousness. The owners of The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune recently filed for bankruptcy protection. . . .

See the USA from your Chevrolet: An hereditary legislature, a media fawning its way into bankruptcy, its iconic coastal states driving out innovators and entrepreneurs, the arrival of the new Messiah heralded only by the leaden dirge of “We Three Kings Of Ol’ Detroit Are/Seeking checks we traverse afar”, and Route 66 looking ever more like a one-way dead-end street to Bailoutistan. Boy, I sure could use a poem by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis right now, even one of the lesser-loved ones.”

Reynolds comments; “Ouch. Well, things got worse because people — politicians, and their enablers — made ‘em worse. They’ll get better when people make ‘em better.”

And finally

The bird feeders (actually, 2-liter bottles) are all full for the voracious feathery creatures who occupy the view over the new deck and cause me so much delight. I often wonder about the charge that “he/she eats like a bird.” The intention is to describe an individual who scarcely eats. Obviously, a person who says this has never actively attempted to feed birds and keep the feeders full. The feeders are designed for birds the size of the finches but that doesn’t discourage the full grown cardinals from trying to hang on to that precarious perch. It’s hard to miss their colorful presence.

Again, my apologies for the computer mess. It is our prayer that each of you may enjoy the fullness of the season with emphasis on the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is, without doubt, the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

A Capitol Idea

Lost in the publicity over Illinois politics, bailouts for banking and industry, and the preparations for the upcoming inauguration are a couple of items which I think are worthy of some considerations. The first to come to mind is the new visitor center in our nation’s capital, or more specifically, at our nation’s new Capitol Visitor Center.

In the early nineties, it was proposed that we create a welcome area adjacent to or underneath the existing building to receive the tens of thousands of visitors to the venerable building which in itself is ill prepared to host them. The original building was not intended as a museum but rather a work place for our elected representatives. After all, the building only had five restrooms. The suggested cost was a measly $71 million. The Republicans fought the proposal as wasteful and it was left to another day.

In 1998, you may recall a crazed gunman entered the building and killed two Capitol Police officers and the center was again suggested as a result of concern for increased security. This time it was approved for about $100 million. In the wake of cost overrides and unexpected additional features the cost rose to $265 million over the next two years. With anthrax attacks and other issues subsequent to 9/11, security concerns increased and the cost rose to $373.5 million.

The center opened finally on December 2 and the final bill—hold on to your hat--$621 million. That is nearly nine times as much as the original estimate in the nineties. The next time any politician mentions a number as the proposed costs of a vital program you might want to keep these relationships of estimates in mind. Personally, I labor long to pre-estimate the cost of a building project and they seldom come in within the budget. They are not subject to a 9X differential however. The 20% I add to cost projections for contingencies would be laughably unrealistic on Capitol Hill.

Were the cost overruns not enough, the displays and exhibits are rife with error and the usual attempts at political correctness. The chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) said, “There’s a terrible movement to rewrite our history and obscure our faith.” He was, no doubt, in part reacting to false identification of the national motto as e pluribus unum instead of “In God We Trust” which was established by Congress in 1956. The tendency within the displayed materials to downplay the faith of the founders and be actively hostile to any expression of religion is prevalent.

The removal of expressions of faith is not limited to the CVC but also is an ongoing assault on monuments throughout the city. In typical fashion the new memorial to FDR omits any mention of God. On the even newer WWII memorial, a quote by Eisenhower is abbreviated just before his invocation of “the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.” (From his remarks on the eve of D-Day.)

I suppose we shouldn’t carp about the cost of this boondoggle since it ensures that Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) will not have to endure the smell of the great unwashed who come to visit “their” building. Yes Senator, the building is not yours; it belongs to us, poor hygiene and all.

When Jim DeMint (R-SC) toured the hall, he complained; “There was an obvious absence of any accurate historical reference to our religious heritage.” He added, on the floor of the Senate: “In touring the CVC, I found the exhibits to be politically correct, left-leaning, and secular in nature.” On September 27th, he was quoted as saying; “There seems to be a trend to whitewashing God out of our history.

As one might expect, the halls are full of exhibits and tributes to a full range of diversified “American Heroes.” There are celebrations of race, gender, and the full mix of the American experience. Apparently it was felt that an exhibit about the longest serving woman in Congress was more important than God. Edith Norse Rogers' accomplishment was of course, important, but hardly as important as the Almighty. There is a display concerning the impeachment of Andrew Johnson but curiously, no similar display on the impeachment of Wm. Jefferson Clinton. Naturally, Earth Day, an ACTUP protest on AIDS funding and miscreants at the Pentagon during the Viet Nam War are there in huge color photos. Throwing a bone to the participants in the War in Viet Nam, they have shown a photo of a woman standing at a gravesite, captioned; “a nation continued to mourn its fallen soldiers of the Vietnam conflict. The war claimed over 58,000 casualties.” Closer inspection of the photo reveals that the veteran actually died in 1982, seven years after the end of hostilities. He had been a veteran of three wars. The 58,000 were not casualties; that figure numbered the dead in that struggle. The numbers of casualties were exponentially higher.

In a hall where the overall sense is denial of the Almighty, inaccuracy in simple reporting, and celebration of questionable heroes is the rule, might we evaluate the quality of the legislative bodies that call it home by those standards? Perhaps we got off easy. The apportioned cost when we pro-rate it to each citizen comes to a little over $2 apiece. Next time you are in DC, drop by and enjoy the air conditioned comfort, the 530 seat restaurant, the 26 restrooms and the two orientation theaters. Try not to concentrate too much on what you might have done with $621,000,000.00 to improve the lives of every day Americans.

In an article by John J. Miller, we find this wry comment; “Congress’s memorial to itself isn’t even good enough for government work.” John, I seriously doubt that anyone inside the beltway finds that phrase in common usage but you are absolutely right.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

A Doctor’s Observation

Despite this being one of the very busiest seasons of the year, my email buddies manage to keep my inbox full of inspiring items. I thank all of you who forward that which you consider important. The following is no exception:

“A DOCTOR WRITES

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio. He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably big our God is. How He spoke the universe into being. How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. Etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God also knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am loving it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know) and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God' s handiwork.

I remember so many times thinking. . .'How can anyone deny that a Creator did all of this???' Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart. . .how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.He started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see. . .laminins are what hold us together; literally. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin looked like, but now I do.


And I have thought about it a thousand times since.


Here is what the structure of laminin looks like and this is not a 'Christian portrayal' of it. If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see:







Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing!The glue that holds us together-all of us-is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,Whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;All things were created by Him and for Him.He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together.'Colossians 1:15-17

Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very literal standpoint, we are held together. . .one cell to another. . .by the cross. You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew exactly what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!! We praise YOU, Lord! This is simply awesome.

'There is no one so good that he can save himself; Neither is there anyone so bad that God cannot save him.'
Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him
.
WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE."

There you have it. Now go back to wrapping your Christmas presents and baking your cookies.

In His abiding love,


Cecil Moon

Anthropogenic

It is an interesting word which entered the lexicon just before the turn of the twentieth century. Outside the scientific community, it had little currency until the advent of the new religion called “Global Warming.” It is defined by that which is caused in nature by manmade provocation. It has become the operative word in today’s relentless campaign to assign terror to every raindrop, dry spell, and other weather event to identify the evil of men to use the resources God assigned to our care. The entire effort is useless unless man is the designated culprit. Especially, it is necessary to pillory those who would dare to profit from their own labors.

Not everyone takes anthropogenic global warming (AGW) seriously. Some months ago, our regular readers will remember, we furnished a short video to display the talents and good sense of the M4GW organization. That would be Minnesotans for Global Warming. If ever any group of people joyfully awaited the outcome of global warming it would be Minnesotans. They gathered in a ratty trailer with their musical instruments and amid the snows of a typical “gopher” winter, begged for an increase in global temperatures. They were more than willing to trade their hockey sticks for suntan lotion and also their snow covered pines for palm trees.

That noble band has a later edition which you will find delightful. Follow the link, and enjoy their latest effort.

I came across it as I was reading various sources concerning the latest freakish (?) weather throughout the nation. 10” snow in Chicago, ice storms in New England, fog, snow and ice here in the Ozarks, snow above Malibu, and not least we enjoyed reading about the record (greatest since 1979) snow and cold in Las Vegas. A snow which I have confirmed from a reliable source will be gone completely by noon.

Do not miss this video; it is great.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 69

It’s petty, but I couldn’t resist. In my belief that everything is quantifiable I took the research from an article I posted which included Oprah’s annual income of $385 million and combined it with a recent headline announcing her current weight at 200 lbs. This works out to $1,925,000.00 per pound. This in turn results in an annual income per ounce of $60,156.25.

These dollar figures can only increase if she could find a weight loss program that worked.. Now there is a solid reason to watch your food intake and exercise.

I am really ashamed of myself because by using the same formula, my generous frame and niggardly earnings only stimulate an annual income of $3.12 per ounce. Since neither one of us is paid by the pound I probably shouldn’t be concerned.

Lies equal truth?

In an on going assault on truth, the AP has furnished a story which perfectly exemplifies the use of the press as an agent of propaganda. There is little news in the story by Seth Borenstein, other than an absolute verification of the twisted, biased, desire to continue the myth of global warming. The link is included for the sole purpose of allowing you to isolate this near perfect example of their misguided efforts.

The inclusion of false examples, predictions, and assertions of expertise are rank within the piece. It is, in fact, so lacking in balance that the least astute can see the lame attempt to project their self-serving agenda.

Mixed in with the rest of the diatribe is a lame paragraph near the end which makes the observation that the exact opposite of the main message is not supported by data. If you can make it that far, you will find that those comments even attempt to weasel their way around the truth. Richard S. Courtney, a climate and atmospheric science consultant and a UN IPCC expert reviewer ridiculed the AP article and goes through the list. He also labels the article as such: “Rarely have I read such a collection of unsubstantiated and scare-mongering twaddle.”

In another example, Borenstein called upon John Christy of the University of Alabama and claimed that he predicted a sea level rise of nearly 3’. When that assertion was checked out with Christy it was revealed that it was not a quote on the results of global warming but rather an observation about the possibility of storm surge in the aftermath of a hurricane. That is an extremely critical difference. Most third graders recognize that difference.

The message here is quite simple. People lie! If we are unwilling to actually check on what they say then we are the willing victims of their perfidy. Unfortunately, there are many in positions of trust with high sounding tittles (science writer for the Associated Press, formerly with Knight-Ridder) who distribute this bile.

Sanctuary

Wasilla Bible Church in Wasilla, Alaska was damaged by a fire Saturday which was allegedly set by an arsonist. Fortunately, the few people inside escaped the million dollar blaze without harm. No one has been named as the perpetrator but there was some speculation that the presence of a prominent national figure in the congregation may have been instrumental in the crime.

In the recent terrorist attacks in India, one of the targets was a Jewish couple and their orthodox missionary branch in Mumbai. They were slain in the presence of their horrified children. One of the purposes of the branch was to provide a safe haven and comfort to visiting Jews in that area.

Although little reported, attacks on black churches, often in the form of arson, has not diminished since the troublesome sixties. They continue apace here in the United States.

These primitive acts are difficult to understand by those who follow the laws and wishes of God. For people of all faiths who worship God and cherish their church home as they do their own, it is impossible to understand the mindset of those who would contrive to do them harm. These evildoers will continue to exist, however, as long as there are people who follow the risen Savior and not men. It does pose some difficult questions.

Do we bother to think of security in our houses of worship? Are we prepared to deal with the various assaults on our sanctuaries? Can we safely assume that no one would ever have aught with us and bring grief to our congregations?

I believe that God will protect the helpless. But, does helpless describe those of us who are able bodied and fit to assume some of the responsibility for the protection of our churches? About a year or so ago, an assailant entered a church in Colorado Springs with the intent to slay some of the congregants. Fortunately, they had anticipated this terrible possibility and had security personnel within the congregation who handled the matter with a vastly lessened loss of life. Being prepared does not lessen our dependence upon God. He does not command us to be as sheep in the presence of wolves. In a perfect world, we may all lie together, but, this is not a perfect world. Our world is fraught with danger and people of evil intent. Some measure of anticipation could well mean the difference between tragedy and tranquility..

And finally

I am a veteran of many-a-church dinner but I will concede in an effort to try out every dish possible I have been known to not quite finish each morsel. Some unfortunate kitchen accident or misstep has been known to render a dish less than pleasant if not inedible. Such was not the case at our dinner in Miami on Sunday. No emperor ever dined as well. The lowly corn stood proudly beside the baked ham in my preference for the next bite. At the close we were challenged with a desert table which literally groaned from excess. There is no doubt that my selection of the apple pie is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

“Skip” Robison delivered the message on the vital importance of example teaching our children and it was my pleasure to be seated near him and his wife Jean at our dinner.

My visiting white breasted nuthatch finally settled down long enough to affirm my identification of his species. No doubt lingers and I now wonder how I ever confused him with his cousin the downy woodpecker. In my defense, it is the first nut hatch I have ever positively identified.

Although threatened with an ice storm last night, we caught a break and got some very minor precipitation As a result I can more comfortably refill the bird feeder for the predicted fall of temperature. It’s 13º right now and I am grateful that we have been spared any electrical interruptions.

Please do enjoy your week and continue to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Merry Christmas

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon