Thanksgiving

Psalm 107
(Young's Literal Translation)

1 Give ye thanks to Jehovah, For good, for to the age [is] His kindness:

2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say, Whom He redeemed from the hand of an adversary.

3 And from the lands hath gathered them, From east and from west, From north, and from the sea.

4 They wandered in a wilderness, in a desert by the way, A city of habitation they have not found.

5 Hungry - yea - thirsty, Their soul in them becometh feeble,

6 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distress He delivereth them,

7 And causeth them to tread in a right way, To go unto a city of habitation.

8 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men.

9 For He hath satisfied a longing soul, And a hungry soul hath filled [with] goodness.

10 Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,

11 Because they changed the saying of God, And the counsel of the Most High despised.

12 And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper.

13 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them.

14 He bringeth them out from the dark place, And death-shade, And their bands He draweth away.

15 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men.

16 For He hath broken doors of brass, And bars of iron He hath cut.

17 Fools, by means of their transgression, And by their iniquities, afflict themselves.

18 All food doth their soul abominate, And they come nigh unto the gates of death,

19 And cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them,

20 He sendeth His word and healeth them, And delivereth from their destructions.

21 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men,

22 And they sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving, And recount His works with singing.

23 Those going down [to] the sea in ships, Doing business in many waters,

24 They have seen the works of Jehovah, And His wonders in the deep.

25 And He saith, and appointeth a tempest, And it lifteth up its billows,

26 They go up [to] the heavens, they go down [to] the depths, Their soul in evil is melted.

27 They reel to and fro, and move as a drunkard, And all their wisdom is swallowed up.

28 And they cry to Jehovah in their adversity, And from their distresses He bringeth them out.

29 He establisheth a whirlwind to a calm, And hushed are their billows.

30 And they rejoice because they are quiet, And He leadeth them to the haven of their desire.

31 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men,

32 And they exalt Him in the assembly of the people, And in the seat of the elders praise Him.

33 He maketh rivers become a wilderness, And fountains of waters become dry land.

34 A fruitful land becometh a barren place, For the wickedness of its inhabitants.

35 He maketh a wilderness become a pool of water, And a dry land become fountains of waters.

36 And He causeth the hungry to dwell there, And they prepare a city of habitation.

37 And they sow fields, and plant vineyards, And they make fruits of increase.

38 And He blesseth them, and they multiply exceedingly, And their cattle He doth not diminish.

39 And they are diminished, and bow down, By restraint, evil, and sorrow.

40 He is pouring contempt upon nobles, And causeth them to wander in vacancy - no way.

41 And setteth on high the needy from affliction, And placeth families as a flock.

42 The upright do see and rejoice, And all perversity hath shut her mouth.

43 Who [is] wise, and observeth these? They understand the kind acts of Jehovah!

(you may find other versions in previous years)

for the person who has everything

you could buy them a submarine.

in debasement

where modern art lies:

"It’s not the humanism that ruined art, it was humanism that divorced itself from the possibility of transcendence. Which would be bad enough if it hadn’t decided to splash around in the gutters as well."

spreading it thick

in theory and in practice

slim pickins

sorry about the lack of posts. have had a small project ongoing here, then found out saturday that a friend (younger than me) had a stroke. according to him, he's doing "much better than he has any right to be", but he does have a stretch of rehab coming up.

so (as if you need any hint from me), just keep reading 'the usual suspects' in my sidebar, including but not limited to:

Viewpoint
Bleat
ScrappleFace
Varifrank
No Oil For Pacifists
Steyn Online

...and most importantly, find some time for the Author of life, online or otherwise.

money, power, etc.

the news, in lyric form:

everybody wants to rule the world

i want it all, and i want it now

money, it's a gas

everybody's crazy

tonight's editorial: one way or another

dc talk

"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding."

politely stating the obvious

update: Wry Mouth wrote these five posts about Proposition 8.

In reference to the whiners still fighting California's Proposition 8, one anonymous viewer responded:

"The folks on the other side of this issue have always painted themselves as the most tolerant, wanting to embrace diversity and it just seems like their conduct is not consistent with that picture."

"Hypocrisy from the left?!? Inconceivable!?!" <\vizzinivoice>

stumbled upon

bears & donkeys

thugocracy

A majority of voters have apparently forgotten the history of the thirties, and have thus doomed us all to repeat it.

transfer of wealth

retirement plans kept equal by hatchet, ax, and saw.

several thousand rpm

spins Jefferson...

to voters, on unemployment

see what happens when you vote for the national socialist party?

The Age Of Incompetence

(This one will stay top-posted for a while. Scroll down for updates.)

With an insincere apology to the Fifth Dimension, I present "The Age Of Incompetence":

---

When the loon is in the White House
And Pelosi's allowed to Speak
Then peace becomes impossible
False hopes enslave the weak.

This is the dawning of the age of Incompetence
The age of Incompetence
Incompetence!
Incompetence!

Slogans without understanding
Sycophants and lust abounding
Doubleplusgood media derisions
Gilded history revisions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's obliteration
Incompetence!
Incompetence!

Empty suit is in the White House,
And commies on the Hill.
Common sense has left the planet
And real achievers foot the bill.

This is the dawning of the age of Incompetence
The age of Incompetence
Incompetence!
Incompetence!

Gary Coleman comes to mind

"Call me an optimist, but I like to think when America's breadlines erupt into riots it will be because of our shared starvation, not the differences in our color."

Tolerance Strikes Again!

Families hit hardest!

big brother my eye!

Cincinnati voters poke the nanny state in the eye:

On Tuesday, voters in Cincinnati, Ohio made it clear that photo enforcement is not welcome in the city. A majority of voters approved an amendment to the city charter prohibiting local officials from ever installing either red light cameras or speed cameras. Referendum co-sponsor Josh Weitzman hopes his coalition’s victory inspires other cities. “This election is further proof that people do not want to have traffic cameras,” Weitzman told the Newspaper.com. “Politicians in cities across the country need to take note of this if they plan on getting re-elected.” Cincinnati city council members had been trying for the past four years to install the devices that promised to generate between $2m and $12m in annual revenue. Advocates were stopped in 2005 when former Mayor Charlie Luken vetoed a camera ordinance saying, “Let’s be honest with the public — we didn’t think about this until we came up with a budget problem.”

A diverse group of political activists from all ends of the political spectrum banded together to form the “We Demand a Vote” coalition to stop the idea. Members include regional chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Republican Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party and others. The group received more than 10k signatures on a petition to put the subject of cameras on the ballot before the devices even had a chance to issue a single ticket. Political leaders quickly backed off their support of cameras after seeing public opinion on the matter.

I hope that mood catches on everywhere. We live in America, not Oceania.

after taking a deep breath

My actual prediction for the next four years is that it will get at least Carter-bad, maybe FDR-bad but not Stalin-bad. Economy down, wars up, malaise way up after the first year.

The worst part of the electorate's foolish decision is that America's enemies, primarily Iran and the Islamofascists, will likely expand Jihad with apparent (as far as earthly strength is reckoned) impunity. Perhaps we can make it through without too many mushroom clouds.

sore winners

NewsWeak whines:

Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill.

Notably absent from the article is any hint of outrage at the OVER ONE-HALF BILLION DOLLARS with which Obama and his backers purchased the presidency.

upsides of the election

Blacks have forever given up the right to claim "the man" is keeping them down.

Whites can now demand reparations for the decades they suffered unfair taxation under the lost war on poverty.

No more pollution from American coal.

It will be costly, but our enslavement under the Democrats' control should prove once and for all that their policies are morally and intellectually bankrupt failures.

The media will be blamed for their complicity in destroying America.

The end of the world may be much sooner than previously thought. Islam will probably start Armageddon before Obama gets unpacked in the White House, since they have nothing to fear from an Obama-led American military. (As an added bonus, nuclear winter will solve global warming.)

Tina Fey returns to the obscurity of SNL.

Illegal immigration will decrease drastically as Mexicans realize they might as well stay in their own corrupt socialist country instead of exchanging it for another one.

(This list may be updated as I think of more. The reader is free to guess which of these I am or am not serious about.)

Green Pastures and Wry Mouth see other upsides, as does Discerning Texan:

This election is going to be a "coming of age" moment for a lot of people. They say, "Be careful what you wish for" and a lot of people got their wish yesterday. And now they're bound to be disappointed.

I think Obama is going to turn out to be the worst president since Carter, and for the same reason: good intentions do not guarantee good results. Idealists often stub their toes on the wayward rocks of reality, and fall on their faces. And the world doesn't respond to benign behavior benignly.

But there's another reason why: Obama has been hiding his light under a basket. A lot of people bought a pig in a poke today, and now they're going to find out what they bought. Obama isn't what most of them think he is. The intoxication of the cult will wear off, leaving a monumental hangover...

this will be a "coming of age" moment is that now Obama and the Democrats have to put up or shut up. Obama got elected by making himself a blank slate, with vapid promises about "hope" and "change" -- but now he actually has to do something. Now he has to reveal his true agenda. And with the Democrats also having a majority in both chambers of Congress, now the Democrats really have to lead. And they're not going to do a very good job of it. It's going to be amusing to watch. And the people who fell for the demagoguery will learn an invaluable lesson.

read the rest

Mythbusters

Viewpoint:

It's both remarkable and encouraging that a nation with our history can elect an African-American to the presidency. For that we can rejoice. It's just too bad that it happened to be this particular African-American who has broken the barrier.

Obama's victory was a triumph of intuition over knowledge, emotion over reason, race over qualification, style over substance, hope over plausibility, and youth over experience. Perhaps now Michelle Obama can at long last be proud of her country.

Last night's result has buried several myths about the American people: First, that they're generally moderate to conservative and, secondly, that they're corporately wise...

Another myth this election should have exploded but probably didn't is the myth of racist America. Obama is our next president because whites voted for him in large numbers. Even those who voted against him did so because of his ideas rather than his race. There may have been a fraction of the anti-Obama vote that was inspired by race, but it was small and insignificant. Indeed, there's at least was much evidence during this campaign of racism in the black community as there is among whites.

Read the rest.

question authority

remember, dissent is still the highest form of patriotism.

a darker view

doc russia is not optimistic:

So, what will happen if (Obama) wins? Well, the first thing you may expect is that (since) the media has already made its deal with the devil by not vetting Obama, that they will have no choice but to continue to act as his propaganda machine lest they be forced to admit that he was not all they cracked him up to be when the wheels start coming off the wagon... and they most certainly will...

Once such a disastrous ideology starts getting enacted into policy, you will start seeing people go John Galt... "going John Galt" is basically refusing to allow yourself to be punished for achieving. This is done by withdrawing your contribution to society in the form of taxes, by producing less, and thusly getting taxed less...

We will see exactly the same kind of wall-to-wall spin coverage of the Obama presidency that we have seen in his campaign. Gaffes will be edited out, statements will be resubmitted, the original never being published. We will also see more of what we have already seen with dissent. If you question him, you will be attacked. It was Obama who approached Joe the plumber, and Joe spoke his mind. For daring to question Authority, Obama's agents started digging through his past in order to assassinate the man in an attempt to undermine his question which revealed, in an unguarded moment that he was, in fact, a Marxist. Whenever the media or the citizenry question Obama, you will see the agents of Obama set to work against them in a manner reminiscent of secret police. They will dig through your past in order to find something to punish you with. Failing that, the IRS will be directed to audit you. We will see Obama use the levers of power in a future presidency because we have already seen him use it in his present campaign for presidency.

This is how Stalin held power. He gained control of the levers of power, and then used them against both political opponents and allies who were starting to outshine him. He persecuted his opposition with the tools of the State, and eliminated the inconvenient in his own party to the point where there were none to hold him in check...

Texas will again reconsider the question of secession. The media will not pay attention, just as they did with Clinton, because to admit that the policies of their favorite politician are leading to the breakup of the union is to admit that they were wrong in his ability to unite America, and that while Bush was hated, you did not see California thinking about seccession. Whether Texas has the legal right is neither clear nor of consequence. Since Texans believe that they have the right, for all intents and purposes, they do. Period. Any efforts, legal or otherwise, to restrict what they see as a right will be seen as Tyranny, and opposed by violence which will preclude the state of Texas as being a member of the union since it will only see the relationship as an occupied republic. Sorry, but that is the way Texas views things, and there is no way to reverse it other than to persuade us by logic that we want to be part of the union, or that we have no right to secede. Good luck with that. Most Yankees I meet simply cannot comprehend this Texas state of mind. It is beyond them. Kind of like describing colors to the blind. Alaska may follow suit...

Four years of economic stagnation and civil unrest will probably be too much for even the combined forces of the media to peddle to the public as a golden age of Obama. Even if Texas does not secede, and he is thrown out of office, it will take decades to reverse the damage...

Still, we vote, because resistance is never futile. If Obama wins, and things get as bad as I suspect they will, then I will go John Galt. I will look at the jobs as a physician which give me the greatest return per hour for working, and then work only enough hours that I stay just under the threshold of punishment. I will oppose Obama's Marxist policies at every step, and will never let the public forget that he came to power by vote fraud, and Chicago style intimidation. If things get really bad, then I will support Texas in seceding from the union.

As long as you are prepared to go all the way, resistance is never futile. They will invest energy in silencing you that they will never have returned. Getting you out of the way will only incur cost, and never benefit. As long as the state never benefits from your subjugation, you will never be subjugated. So, while things look bleak, I will approach this with the same resilience that has held men fast in dark times. I will fight while there is no hope, and resist while there is no respite. I will do this as long as I may draw breath in the hope that someday, there will be a crack in the enemy's defenses, and I will be able to fight my way to final victory.

McGehee isn't happy either

before the aftermath

remember this

on redistribution of wealth

Overheard in reference to Obama's financial plans: "Robin Hood redistributed wealth too, and the Industrial Revolution was delayed by several hundred years because of it."

Some things I've noticed

Liberals always value feelings over facts.

Liberals prize freedom of speech until you say something they don't like.

Liberals will tell you to think for yourself, unless you think differently from them.

Liberals value their individuality, despite how utterly identical their core beliefs are.

putting words in obama's mouth

and this time it rings true:

“Sarah Palin tried to tell you that I’m a socialist, but you wouldn’t listen. Instead the media viciously ridiculed a woman who has actual executive experience, the highest popularity rating of any U.S. governor, a demonstrated track record of fiscal responsibility, and a personal story of hard work, determination, grace under fire and success that I think represents the ultimate expression of feminist ideals. But the liberal feminists came out of the closet and all but admitted they didn’t really want a woman in the executive branch, they wanted a liberal. And so here I am — Jane Fonda with a baritone voice and a buzz cut.”

read the rest.