A Little Saturday Night Music

Dan Fogelberg - Same Auld Lang Syne

Saturday Linkaround

Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page


Liberal Court Allows Mining at National Forest –only if you use Hand Tools and Mules


Iraq’s “March Backwards Into the Sun”

Paul's Attack On Perry Based Upon Lies, A Pattern For Paul

Not a Joke: Obama Campaign Blasts Romney Over Releasing Records


A Vandalized Valley –Victor Davis Hanson – What does rural crime say about our society?


How Did We Get Here? Or, Why Do 20 Year Old Newsletters Matter So Damn Much?


Sen. Harry Reid's Unicorns: Fact Checking A Whopper


Bam’s still pocketing MF money

Sen. Chuck Schumer’s brother-in-law nominated to federal judgeship

Mark Steyn Calls Ron Paul's Worldview 'Sheer stupid, half-witted parochialism'


Journalistic Sun Stroke –Iowahawk on Solyndra

Australia looking to recruit in our military

BILL WHITTLE: Doing The Job The MSM Refuses To Do


Ron Paul: Where Left Meets Right

Union Leader Editorial: Ron Paul is truly dangerous


The GOP’s Payroll-tax Debacle –Krauthammer

Exclusive: Ron Paul in 2009 “I wouldn’t risk American lives to end the Holocaust”

Random Thoughts for the New Year –Thomas Sowell


"Gun sales at record levels"?

The Year in Obama Scandals


Ron Paul: Sanctions against Iran are 'acts of war'

2011 Retrospective

Ron Paul Bumper stickers -IMAO


In early book, Rep. Ron Paul criticized AIDS patients, minority rights and sexual harassment victims –Harassed on the job ladies? You can always quit!

Ron Paul is Lying at Best

Dustbury – Never say “Bite me” to Santa





Rule Five Roundup*:

American Perspective – Aishwarya Rai

American Power- Israeli Defense Forces Wish You a Happy New Year (video)

Camp of the Saints - Rule Five Saturday

Classic Liberal – Rule 5 – Hot for teacher

The Daley Gator – Daley Babes, Jennifer Allen, Lisa Marie Scott


El Opinador Compulsivo - This ain't Ron Paul, Christmas Sweater

Eye of Polyphemus – Olivia Wilde, Jewel Staite

The Feral Irishman - Rule Five

Friday Night Babe – Melissa Adams

Guns and Bikinis – Sugar is sweet

Hookers and Booze - Hooker of the week

Jake Finnegan – Burkalesque Babes

Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - Friday Pin up

Maggie’s Notebook – Rule 5 –Daniela Pestova

Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, If All You See…, If All You See…, If All You See…


Pitsnipegripes -Rule Five

PostalDog -Brittany and Sherri

Randy’s Roundtable – Top Five Midweek Breaks, Thursday Nite Tart

Reaganite Republican – Miss Albania

Christmas Dream Team Rule Five -NSFW

Sex in Advertising -Scarlett Johansson (video)

Soylent Green – Friday Corset

Teresamerica – Rule 5 –Santa Babes

The Last Tradition - Best Celebrity Bikini Bodies Of 2011, Claudia Galanti

Theo Spark –Bedtime Toddy , Bedtime Toddy, Packer Lingerie video

The Other McCain- Rule 5 Monday

Vintage Babe of the Week – Claudette Colbert

Rule 5 Woodsterman Style

Happy New Year!








*By no means comprehensive.

Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar. (All spambots must die!)

Cross posted at Say Anything

Thanks for Setting a New Record at Proof Positive!

I want to thank everyone who stops by the blog, for another great year!



It looks like we received an all time record number of hits in December, (and the day's not over yet) despite the holidays, and even more notably, it wasn't in a month with an Instalanche, a dead bin Laden or the End of the World!

So, with that, I'll leave you with my Sally Field moment: You like me! You really like me! (Or at least tolerate me! I can live with that!)



Y'all have a very safe, very prosperous, very happy new year! And come back again some time!

My Predictions for 2012

According to my crystal ball...oh, wait! We had to hock all the good crystal because of the Obama economy! So, I'll just have to "wing it" this year!

The biggest question of all is the Presidential race, so, without further adieu, I tell you:

Reply hazy, try again

I did not crib that answer from anything round and black with the number eight on it. Honest! This one is too early to call until there's at least a glimmer of who the Republican nominee will be. Conventional wisdom says "Romney", but they've been wrong before.

Will Republicans keep the House? Will they take the Senate?

Ask again later

Again, I believe this will also be dependent on who is at the top of the ticket, so, I'll get back to you on that as well.

Look for a resurgence of the Occupy movement as soon as the weather gets warmer this spring, and Obamavilles pop up once again. Expect Democrats to try to distance themselves from the movement publicly, while still soliciting their support.

Ron Paul will take a shellacking in the primaries. Lesser candidates such as Jon Huntsman (actually had to stop to try to remember his name there!) will cut their losses early.

Will Ron Paul go third party? I'm going to stick my neck out here and say yes. He is not running for re-election in his district, so he is all in. This is his "last hurrah". Even though Paul should have no delusions of winning, some of his followers do and will drink the Kool-Aid® up until November.

Reports of growing sectarian violence and civilian deaths in Iraq will have many questioning Obama's judgment, placing politics above the advice of his generals.

If Iran is able to restrict our oil supply and causes shortages and price hikes here, by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Obama will not be re-elected, having been seen as the head of a party that blocked drilling, exploration and pipelines.

If Iran acquires and detonates a nuclear device, Obama will not be re-elected, having been seen as antagonistic to Israel, when cooperation with Israel might have avoided such a thing.

On the lighter side,

Green Bay will win the Super Bowl. The Indianapolis Colts will use their first round draft choice on a quarterback.

Miley Cyrus will continue her headlong rush to the gutter, doing her best Lindsay Lohan impression. Robert Downey, Jr., on the other hand, will remain clean, and prosper with his newly found successes.

"The Hobbit" will make tons of cash, with great reviews. "The Dark Knight Rises" will meet and surpass expectation. "The Avengers" will not stink.

Obama will play golf. Perhaps less than this year. Obama is already in the eighties (number of rounds played in office, not his score), but he may have to take time off from his busy golf game for some fund raising and campaigning.

Joe Biden will say something really stupid. (C'mon! That's a "gimme"!)

Al Gore will fly in a private jet, met by a limousine, to speak about how much we need to change our lifestyle, or at least to buy carbon credits from him. Bachelor Al will be seen stepping out more with his lady friend while the press says, "Tipper, who?"

And, last but not least, for the third year running, liberal trolls will still be clueless.

That's it for now! If you think this is easy, leave your predictions in the comments and we'll check back here next year to see who did better? I double dog dare you! Heh.

Quote du jour

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.”

-Fulton Oursler

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Melissa Adams!

(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

Is it Karma if Al Gore's Electric Cars Cause Fires?

And we're not talking about the car-b-que prone Chevy Volt here.


(Karma is the name of the car!)

After confirming that the A123 battery in the Fisker Karma has a battery safety issue and then figuring out a way to fix the problem, Fisker and the NHTSA have announced an official recall for 239 Karmas. The official reason for the recall is that:

Within the high-voltage battery, certain hose clamps may have been positioned incorrectly during assembly. if positioned incorrectly, the battery compartment cover could interfere with the hose clamps, potentially causing a coolant leak from the cooling hoses.
Consequence: If coolant enters the battery compartment, an electrical short could occur possibly resulting in a fire.

Fisker Motors was the recipient of an Obama administration approved federal loan guarantee of $529 million, to build cars in Finland. From October 20th.:

The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore...

Is it just me, or is the electric car just not ready for prime time yet? At least the 1% will have something stylish to drive on their way to Occupy Wall Street rallies!

Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers' driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio. Tesla's SEC filings reveal the start-up has lost money every quarter. And while its federal funding is intended to help it mass produce a new $57,400 Model S sedan, the company has no experience in a project so vast.

Well, the Obama administration has a lot of experience in doing things half-vast!
Just three words, think: Solyndra on wheels!

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer?"

-Steven Wright

Vintage Babe of the Week

Tonight's Vintage Babe* is Claudette Colbert !
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Thursday)














Like fine wines, the ladies improve with age!

Quote du jour

"The old neighborhood has changed. Hurley Brothers Funeral Home is now called Death 'n' Things."

-Elmore Leonard

Paul Endorser: Homosexuals Should Be Executed

Not this guy.
Some might say that our coverage of Ron Paul has been a little lopsided of late, and there are a number of reasons for that. One, is his apparent placement in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, despite approximately half of his support coming from other than Republicans. And two, Art Linkletter used to say that "Kids say the darndest things". Art Linkletter never met Ron Paul*.

I could write about the ...Jon Huntsman campaign, if that weren't as exciting as watching milk curdle. (I put in the ellipsis, since it usually takes me just a second or two to remember his name.) Remember that guy some years back, back before Tebow ever Tebowed, used to go to football games and sit on the end zone side of the stands, wearing a rainbow colored wig? Whenever a team would kick a field goal or an extra point in his direction, he would stand up with a sign that said "John 3:16"** on it. Hundreds of people in the end zone, but the guy getting the attention was the one in the rainbow wig. Which brings us to Ron Paul...Since Paul is generating the buzz about Iowa, and complained not that long ago that he wasn't getting as much coverage as he should, we are making up for lost time! (Moral: Be careful what you wish for!)

via the Huffington Post, Phillip Kayser, Ron Paul Endorser, Called For Executing Homosexuals Under 'Biblical Law'

Ron Paul's campaign is touting the endorsement of Phillip G. Kayser, an Iowa pastor who believes in imposing the death penalty on homosexuals, reports Talking Points Memo.

"We welcome Rev. Kayser's endorsement and the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul's approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs," said Paul's Iowa chairman, Drew Ivers, in a recent press release on Paul's campaign website.

Okay...it's not as if there's been any controversy at all about whom Paul accepts support from!

"Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just," wrote Kayser in a recent pamphlet. "But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative." Kayser added that homosexuals could be prosecuted only after the law was enacted.

"many homosexuals would be executed" But not all! (Vote Ron Paul!)

H/T Memeorandum
Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.



*I don't know this for a certainty. Ron Paul is older than dirt and he may have met Linkletter at some point in his life. However, it makes for a better rhetorical flourish if we say he did not. I, as always, am ready to post a retraction on the slim, outside chance that I am incorrect.

**John 3: 16 is a reference to the third chapter of the book of John, in the New Testament, the sixteenth verse:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Medal of Honor

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Alfred Rascon

Citation:

Lieutenant Colonel (then Specialist Four) Alfred Rascon, distinguished himself by a series of extraordinarily courageous acts on 16 March 1966, while assigned as a medic to the Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). While moving to reinforce its sister battalion under intense enemy attack, the Reconnaissance Platoon came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force. The intense enemy fire from crew-served weapons and grenades severely wounded several point squad soldiers. Specialist Rascon, ignoring directions to stay behind shelter until covering fire could be provided, made his way forward. He repeatedly tried to reach the severely wounded point machine-gunner laying on an open enemy trail, but was driven back each time by the withering fire. Disregarding his personal safety, he jumped to his feet, ignoring flying bullets and exploding grenades to reach his comrade. To protect him from further wounds, he intentionally placed his body between the soldier and enemy machine guns, sustaining numerous shrapnel injuries and a serious wound to the hip. Disregarding his serious wounds he dragged the larger soldier from the fire-raked trail. Hearing the second machine-gunner yell that he was running out of ammunition, Specialist Rascon, under heavy enemy fire crawled back to the wounded machine-gunner stripping him of his bandoleers of ammunition, giving them to the machine-gunner who continued his suppressive fire. Specialist Rascon fearing the abandoned machine gun, its ammunition and spare barrel could fall into enemy hands made his way to retrieve them. On the way, he was wounded in the face and torso by grenade fragments, but disregarded these wounds to recover the abandoned machine gun, ammunition and spare barrel items, enabling another soldier to provide added suppressive fire to the pinned-down squad. In searching for the wounded, he saw the point grenadier being wounded by small arms fire and grenades being thrown at him. Disregarding his own life and his numerous wounds, Specialist Rascon reached and covered him with his body absorbing the blasts from the exploding grenades, and saving the soldier's life, but sustaining additional wounds to his body. While making his way to the wounded point squad leader, grenades were hurled at the sergeant. Again, in complete disregard for his own life, he reached and covered the sergeant with his body, absorbing the full force of the grenade explosions. Once more Specialist Rascon was critically wounded by shrapnel, but disregarded his own wounds to continue to search and aid the wounded. Severely wounded, he remained on the battlefield, inspiring his fellow soldiers to continue the battle. After the enemy broke contact, he disregarded aid for himself, instead treating the wounded and directing their evacuation. Only after being placed on the evacuation helicopter did he allow aid to be given to him. Specialist Rascon's extraordinary valor in the face of deadly enemy fire, his heroism in rescuing the wounded, and his gallantry by repeatedly risking his own life for his fellow soldiers are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Lt. Colonel Rascon: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.



Hat tip Home of Heroes

There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice. In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy:

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors; the men it remembers.”

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"Errol Flynn died on a seventy-foot yacht with a seventeen year old girl. Walter's always wanted to go that way, but he's going to settle for a seventeen footer and a seventy-year-old."

-Mrs. Walter Cronkite

Ron Paul's Own Operation Chaos?

Remember back in 2008, when Rush Limbaugh tried to bolster Hillary's flagging campaign to sow discord among Democrats up until Obama had clinched the nomination, that he called Operation Chaos? Could be a little bit of that going on in Iowa and New Hampshire...just from the other side. According to Byron York:

In a hotly-contested Republican race, it appears that only about half of Paul's supporters are Republicans. In Iowa, according to Rasmussen, just 51 percent of Paul supporters consider themselves Republicans. In New Hampshire, the number is 56 percent, according to Andrew Smith, head of the University of New Hampshire poll.

The same New Hampshire survey found that 87 percent of the people who support Romney consider themselves Republicans. For Newt Gingrich, it's 85 percent.

49% of Paul supporters in Iowa are Democrats and Independents? That would be a good thing, if Paul were truly broadening the base. I suspect, however, that every Democrat who votes for Paul in the primary will happily pull the lever for Obama in November.

So who is supporting Paul? In New Hampshire, Paul is the choice of just 13 percent of Republicans, according to the new poll, while he is the favorite of 36 percent of independents and 26 percent of Democrats who intend to vote in the primary. Paul leads in both non-Republican categories.

"Paul is doing the best job of getting those people who aren't really Republicans but say they're going to vote in the Republican primary," explains Smith. Among that group are libertarians, dissatisfied independents and Democrats who are "trying to throw a monkey wrench in the campaign by voting for someone who is more philosophically extreme," says Smith.

I believe it was cross over voting in open primaries that helped give us John McCain as standard bearer in 2008. If, God forbid, something similar happens next year, there needs to be some major house cleaning in the primary process to limit voting to registered Republican residents of the state.


Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.
More at Memeorandum

Sex in Advertising

For all you connoisseurs of advertising...



I may not be sure exactly what she's selling, but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the market!

Quote du jour

Put simply, for too long we have been unwilling to distinguish right from wrong. “Live and let live” has too often become “do what you please.”

Bad choices have too often been defended as just different lifestyles. To be confident in saying something is wrong, is not a sign of weakness, it’s a strength.

-David Cameron

A Libertarian Looks at Ron Paul

I was just going to link to this article on the Saturday Linkaround, but it may be enlightening in view of some of the discussions going on concurrently.

Steve Horwitz at Bleeding Heart Libertarians:

The paleo (libertarian) strategy was a horrific mistake, both strategically and theoretically, though it apparently made some folks (such as [Lew] Rockwell and Paul) pretty rich selling newsletters predicting the collapse of Western civilization at the hands of the blacks, gays, and multiculturalists. The explicit strategy was abandoned by around the turn of the century, but not after a lot of bad stuff had been written in all kinds of places. There was way more than the Ron Paul newsletters. There was the Rothbard-Rockwell Report, which was another major place publishing these sorts of views. They could also be found in a whole bunch of Mises Institute publications of that era... What the media has in their hands is only the tip of the iceberg of the really unsavory garbage that the paleo turn produced back then.

The Paul camp was crying that they did not get enough coverage. Be careful what you wish for!

Through it all though, Ron Paul was a constant. He kept plugging away, first at the center of the paleo strategy as evidenced by the newsletters. To be clear, I am quite certain he did not write them. There is little doubt that they were written by [Lew] Rockwell and [Murray] Rothbard. People I know who were on the inside at the time confirm it and the style matches pretty well to those two and does not match to Ron Paul. Paul knows who wrote them too, but he’s protecting his long-time friend and advisor, unfortunately. And even more sadly, Rockwell doesn’t have the guts to confess and end this whole megillah. So although I don’t think Ron Paul is a racist, like Archie Bunker, he was willing to, metaphorically, toast a marshmallow on the cross others were burning.

At least on libertarian who is willing to state the obvious: Paul knows who wrote the inflammatory things in those newsletters. At the very least, the editor whom Paul chose would have to know and the information would be at most a phone call away.

Even after the paleo strategy was abandoned, Ron was still there walking the line between “mainstream” libertarianism and the winking appeal to the hard right courted by the paleo strategy. Paul’s continued contact with the fringe groups of Truthers, racists, and the paranoid right are well documented. Even in 2008, he refused to return a campaign contribution of $500 from the white supremacist group Stormfront. You can still go to their site and see their love for Ron Paul in this campaign and you can find a picture of Ron with the owner of Stormfront’s website. Even if Ron had never intentionally courted them, isn’t it a huge problem that they think he is a good candidate? Doesn’t that say something really bad about the way Ron Paul is communicating his message?

This bothered me back in '08. Paul would be approached by a 9/11 Truther and instead of telling that person to go "pound sand", he would make conciliatory noises towards them as if he were sympathetic to their cause. Panderer or whackadoodle? You decide.

There is one particularly telling quote about Paul's acceptance of contributions and support from fringe groups:

We can, however, take pains to make clear that some of Ron Paul’s past and current associations are rejected by libertarians who understand the “liberal” in libertarian and whose vision of a free society is one that is so clearly in conflict with racism, homophobia, antisemitism and all the rest that people like Stormfront would never even consider sending us a donation and we would recoil at being photographed with them.

Exactly! If I were a candidate for public office who was being followed by people that I strongly disagreed with, I would do everything in my power to make them understand that disagreement. Then, I would not have to worry about whether or not to accept their support, because there wouldn't be any. To soft pedal your message so as not to discourage contributions and support is shameless pandering. Shouldn't it behoove a leader to make it plain where he stands on what he believes? Me, too.

Cross posted at Say Anything

2011 Prediction Score Card: 70%+

A wise man once said, "Making predictions is always a bit of risky business." Oh, wait! That was me last year, making my "Predictions for 2011"

Looking back, it was a mixed bag. The most glaringly obvious miss to me was this:

Hillary will undoubtedly resign as Sec State in 2011.

If Hillary is going to run, her timetable is different than I expected. Perhaps the wikileaks revelations were too much to overcome. (-1)

The new Republican majority in the House allows Obama to blame all his failures on Republican "obstructionism", which he will (those he's still not blaming on Bush, anyway!). He will use his veto pen repeatedly.

This was a wash. The president did blame Republican obstructionism, even for bills that weren't written yet, but to my knowledge, he hasn't had to veto anything due in large part to Harry Reid still running the Senate. (Net 0)

Look for some kind of rule reform in caucus states like Iowa to prevent lopsided victories such as Obama's in 2008.

To my knowledge it hasn't happened (but should) (-1)

I don't foresee an aggressive rollback of the Obama agenda, which will, nonetheless, anger the right and left respectively, as both too little and too much.

Other than some success (to the nation's detriment) of Obamacare, this was pretty much spot on. (+1)

Let's see if Obama can make it from New Year's Day to the end of February without another vacation. Smart money says "No".

From WhiteHouse.gov: Hawaii Vacation ARRIVAL ESTIMATE: Friday, December 23 (2010)at 6:25PM HST

The trip lasted fourteen days, so...technically, Obama started the year on vacation New Year's day for five days. (+1)

The Tea Party will hold another big rally in Washington in late Spring.

Washington had one in April, I'd call that mid to late Spring. I'm going with a win on this one. (+1)

Obama will be conspicuously absent from Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day.

I was happy to be wrong on this one. The C-in-C should be at Arlington on Memorial Day. (-1)

Any attempt for Republicans to reform Social Security will be characterized both by Democrats and their media arm, the MSM, as "Republicans want to starve grandma".

Or push her wheelchair off a cliff. Remember this one?

I think that counts as plus one. (+1)

Look for the class envy card to be played a lot in 2011.

Hello? Occupy Wall Street anyone? In addition to the administrations many efforts at class warfare, too numerous to list here, their unwashed fellow travelers (who the administration embraced) bleating about a mythical 1% , fulfilled this predictions in spades. (+1)

Look for fewer press conferences with subsequently fewer opportunities for former presidents to outshine him. (Jimmy Carter will be so upset at the lost opportunity, he will write another book bashing Israel.)

Another wash. Barry managed to hold twenty press conferences without requiring an ex-president at his side, but Jimmy managed to contain his vitriol to press releases and interviews. (Net 0)

Look for Air Force One to be spotted in countries all around the world. At least once or twice, it will be for an official presidential visit.

Dan Rather will finally find a copy of Barry Sotero's "birth certificate" stuck between two pages of GWB's Texas Air National Guard fitness reports.

The Rather one was a joke. The first was true, it was the president who was the joke. (+1)

The Final Four:

Obama will play golf. (frequently)

Joe Biden will say something really stupid.

Al Gore will fly in a private jet, met by a limousine, to speak about how much we need to change our lifestyle, or at least to buy carbon credits from him.

And, last but not least, liberal trolls will still be clueless.

If Charlie Sheen hadn't already appropriated "winning", it would apply to my final four! (+4)

So, we take the five I missed, add them to the twelve I got right, for an 70.58% accuracy on my predictions! Will I do as well this year? Time will tell!

Ron Paul on Foreign Policy: "Most Assuredly an Isolationist"

More from senior aide Eric Dondero:

It’s his foreign policy that’s the problem; not so much some stupid and whacky things on race and gays he may have said or written in the past.

Ron Paul is most assuredly an isolationist. He denies this charge vociferously.

Not the most surprising thing you'll read all year, but refreshing to hear a little honesty on the matter.

But I can tell you straight out, I had countless arguments/discussions with him over his personal views. For example, he strenuously does not believe the United States had any business getting involved in fighting Hitler in WWII. He expressed to me countless times, that “saving the Jews,” was absolutely none of our business. When pressed, he often times brings up conspiracy theories like FDR knew about the attacks of Pearl Harbor weeks before hand, or that WWII was just “blowback,” for Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy errors, and such.

I would challenge him, like for example, what about the instances of German U-boats attacking U.S. ships, or even landing on the coast of North Carolina or Long Island, NY. He’d finally concede that that and only that was reason enough to counter-attack against the Nazis, not any humanitarian causes like preventing the Holocaust.

There is much more information I could give you on the sheer lunacy of his foreign policy views. Let me just concentrate on one in specific. And I will state this with absolute certainty:

Ron Paul was opposed to the War in Afghanistan, and to any military reaction to the attacks of 9/11. He did not want to vote for the resolution. He immediately stated to us staffers, me in particular, that Bush/Cheney were going to use the attacks as a precursor for “invading” Iraq. He engaged in conspiracy theories including perhaps the attacks were coordinated with the CIA, and that the Bush administration might have known about the attacks ahead of time. He expressed no sympathies whatsoever for those who died on 9/11, and pretty much forbade us staffers from engaging in any sort of memorial expressions, or openly asserting pro-military statements in support of the Bush administration.

On the eve of the vote, Ron Paul was still telling us staffers that he was planning to vote “No,” on the resolution, and to be prepared for a seriously negative reaction in the District. Jackie Gloor and I, along with quiet nods of agreement from the other staffers in the District, declared our intentions to Tom Lizardo, our Chief of Staff, and to each other, that if Ron voted No, we would immediately resign.

Ron was “under the spell” of left-anarchist and Lew Rockwell associate Joe Becker at the time, who was our legislative director. Norm Singleton, another Lew Rockwell fanatic agreed with Joe. All other staffers were against Ron, Joe and Norm on this, including Lizardo. At the very last minute Ron switched his stance and voted “Yay" (sic)...

Paul's isolationism would have extended to us not entering WWII, according to his aide. If that is the case, he certainly would have viewed FDR's Lend/Lease program as interventionism, which would have weakened Britain's ability to resist Hitler. Danke Gott, Paul wasn't in the Oval Office at the time, or far too many of you would have understood that phrase perfectly!

I have been trying, since the last debate, to try to get someone from the Paul side to tell me the difference, in principle, between the Israeli arms blockade that he condemned as an act of war and the blockade put in place by JFK, whom he praised for his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. (Without mentioning JFK's pesky blockade, that Paul, were he consistent, would have considered an act of war without a declaration of war.)

Paul is all over the map when it comes to lunacy on his foreign policy. It appears that those closest to him recognize that as well. Most of them are just keeping quiet.


H/T Memeorandum
Cross posted at Say Anything

Ron Paul on Israel: "Give it Back to the Arabs"

...according to a senior aide of his.

He (Ron Paul) is however, most certainly Anti-Israel, and Anti-Israeli in general. He wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all. He expressed this to me numerous times in our private conversations. His view is that Israel is more trouble than it is worth, specifically to the America taxpayer. He sides with the Palestinians, and supports their calls for the abolishment of the Jewish state, and the return of Israel, all of it, to the Arabs.

-Eric Dondero

Fmr. Senior Aide, US Cong. Ron Paul, 1997 – 2003
Campaign Coordinator, Ron Paul for Congress, 1995/96
National Organizer, Draft Ron Paul for President, 1991/92
Travel Aide/Personal Asst. Ron Paul, Libertarian for President 1987/88

So, how does this jibe with Paul's statements that he would treat all countries equally...(except for the ones he wishes would vanish from the face of the earth)?

Got to love a man of principle, don't you? /sarc

H/T Memeorandum
Cross posted at Say Anything

Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day to our good neighbors to the North! (I'm sure you'll let me know if the header doesn't capture the spirit of the day!)

Have a good one!

Quote du jour

"Santa Claus has the right idea: Visit people once a year."

-Victor Borge

A Little Holiday Music

Silent Night

Themes Like Old Times

Moonlighting



Back when Bruce Willis had hair and Cybil Shepperd was a bigger star. Good times!

Christmas Photo Caption Contest

"Santa's kind of busy right now..."

Kind of a slow news day, and I did find this picture I liked, from Afghanistan in Christmas of '08.

If you can still think after all that turkey and figgy pudding, give it a shot! Winner will receive accolades. Runners up will receive kudos.

A Little Holiday Music

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Wal-Mart: Christmas Greetings to the Men in Uniform

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

Merry Christmas!

Remember the old Kodak ads that said: "Open me first"?


Merry Christmas from Proof Positive! May the time spent with loved ones and family (not always the same!) bring you the truest of gifts!

Quote du jour

"God bless us every one!"
-Tiny Tim Cratchit (via Charles Dickens)

A Little More Holiday Music

Christmas Song - Nat King Cole



And despite what the video says, it's "Jack Frost 'nipping' at your nose", not "sniffing".

11-3 Niners Play 7-7 Seahawks

I was remiss in not posting the Obligatory Cheerleader sooner. Too used to the games being on Sundays I guess!

Update : Not wanting to take all the credit, but the Niners were down by seven when I posted the picture at the end of the first half. Now, they've tied it up on the first drive of the second half.

UpdateII: Niners win by two!

Never underestimate the power of the cheerleader!

A Little Holiday Music

White Christmas -Bing Crosby

A Look Back at Bob Hope's USO Christmas Shows

I can remember wanting to be Bob Hope. I always liked making people laugh. I saw nearly all his movies, read nearly all his books, and I can remember praying that God would keep him safe as he visited our troops around the world. The world was a better place for having him in it.

Video shamelessly stolen from Brutally Honest

Charles Krauthammer Wishes Eric Holder a Merry Christmas

Too funny!



via Nice Deb

Saturday Linkaround

Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page Even Christians taking Christ out of Christmas - Mark Steyn Krauthammer On whether the United States should limit foreign aid to Saudi Arabia Obama: I’m the fourth best president in American history. Gingrich Past Shouldn't Block A Future Sans Obama -Thomas Sowell Will America lose its dominance of the skies? Politico: Six Comments RONPAUL2012!!!!!!!1!!!! Needs To Answer Ron Paul's Greatest Hits The Ron Paul double standard Yes, Virginia, Ron Paul is a 9/11 Truther Found: Ron Paul's solicitation letter warning of "coming race wars" and "federal-homosexual cover-up of AIDS" Ron Paul’s Naïve Promises Ron Paul Says Accused Traitor is a Patriot- I'm starting to notice a trend here! A week ago, Paul and his supporters were lamenting their lack of coverage in the press. Moral: Be careful what you wish for! Have Yourself a Mies-y Little Christmas – Gingerbread house on steroids 50 Facts About The U.S. Economy That Will Shock You No Jesus Ornaments on the ‘Capitol Christmas Tree’ – But it Does Celebrate Obama! Hope and Change! Well, change, anyway! David Cameron "Hits a Six" Mordor is at the corner of Wabash & La Salle in downtown Chicago -Iowahawk Obama's Policies Are So Destructive, Even His Union Buddies are P.O.ed He Was Soooooo Dreamy! Republicans force Obama’s hand on the Keystone pipeline The Dark Knight Rises: Batman vs. Occupy Wall Street? Occupy DC flies al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hizballah flags Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle Fake boarding pass gets through TSA security - News for your holiday edification! How Democrats Fooled California’s Redistricting Commission -Astroturf in action! Top Ten Democrats who would make a better candidate than Obama in 2012 - Wow! How did they ever narrow it down to just 10??? Scrooge: The First 1 Percenter - Did Scrooge get a bad rap? A Pyrrhic victory for Democrats “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” Rule Five Roundup*: American Perspective – Adriana Lima American Power- Kate Upton (video) Camp of the Saints - Rule Five Saturday, Christmas Countdown, Christmas Countdown II Classic Liberal – Rule 5 – Sofia Vergara The Daley Gator – Daley Babes, Kate Beckinsale, Rachel Jean Marteen El Opinador Compulsivo - Jessica Burciaga, Disco Kim Eye of Polyphemus – Emily Scott, Judy Greer, Dana Delaney, Mary Elizabeth Winestead, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Simpson The Feral Irishman - "Fresh from Florida" Friday Night Babe – Poppy Montgomery Full Metal Patriot – Midweek Peek Redskins cheerleader Guns and Bikinis – Ninel Conde Hookers and Booze - Wednesday Jake Finnegan – Burkalesque Babes Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - Friday Pin up Maggie’s Notebook – Rule 5 – Daniela Pestova Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, Hump Day Rule Five, If All You See…, If All You See…, If All You See…, If all you see... End of Week Curves - NSFW PostalDog -Late Night Hotness Randy’s Roundtable – Midweek Break, Thursday Nite Tart Reaganite Republican – Miss Argentina Sex in Advertising -Victoria's Secret and the soundtrack of your life... (video) Support your local Gunfighter – Safe And Sound And Hot, Kate Upton Teresamerica – Rule 5 – Kate Beckinsale The Last Tradition - Marilyn Monroe http://www.thesniper.us/ Theo Spark –Bedtime Toddy , Bonus Babe, Bedtime Toddy, Saturday Totty, Christmas totty The Other McCain- Rule 5 Monday Three Beers Later – Joey Heatherton Vintage Babe of the Week – Harriet Hilliard (A mystery babe this week!) Mariah Carey (video) Obligatory Niner Cheerleader, or two! Shelley Conn *By no means comprehensive. Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar. (All spambots must die!) Cross posted at Say Anything

A Little More Holiday Music, Part II

Roger Miller - Old Toy Trains



Almost forgot this one!

Merry Christmas Eve!

This little fellow has been around every Christmas I can remember. Hopefully he can make his getaway and get to your house before midnight!

The "Domino Theory" to a Social Science Major

"Of course I know the Domino Theory...Thirty minutes or it's free!"

Quote du jour

"Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing."

-Robert Benchley

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Poppy Montgomery!

(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

A Little Holiday Music

Let it Snow -Dean Martin

"Mele Kalikimaka - Suckers!"

I'm sure by now that almost everyone who cares has heard that the Obamas' Hawaiian vacation is scheduled to cost over $1,000,000 and that it cost the taxpayers about $100,000 for Michelle to go earlier than her husband. And that was just in... 2010!

In doing a little research for my 2011 predictions scorecard, I found nearly identical stories about the two vacations. Both were projected at over a million dollars (Four million for his latest) and in both cases (three, if you count her early flight to Martha's Vineyard) the First Lady couldn't be bothered to wait and travel with her husband.

The more things change, the more they stay the same... Oh, and for all you keeping score, the local, less than flourishing Hawaiian economy will foot over a quarter million dollars for added police protection. But, hey! Maybe Obama will make it up to you by buying some doggie treats at a local Pet Smart? Or at least, another shave ice?

Quote du jour

There is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.
-Erma Bombeck

Vintage Babe of the Week

Tonight's Vintage Babe* is star of radio, TV and movies, Harriet Hilliard!
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Thursday)












Can't quite place the face? Not a household name? Well, that's understandable. Ms. Hilliard is probably better known by her married name. You see, she married bandleader Ozzie Nelson and then went on to become a household name! You may know her better as Harriet Nelson!





Her two sons grew up before our eyes, on television, in the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. And, as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know...the rest of the story!


Like fine wines, the ladies improve with age!

A Little Holiday Music

Tennessee Christmas - Amy Grant

Steve Jobs : Proof Positive's Man of the Year

I saw a thumbnail of this picture on my sidebar, from Randy's Roundtable, and I thought...exactly! This guy should have been Time Magazine's person of the Year! Who has influenced American culture greater in the last year? The guy who gave you the iphone, ipad, ipod, etc, or the guys that gave you ipoop?

Randy, however was pursuing a different line of thought...

Move On Dot Org: Flaming Hypocrisy or Selective Amnesia?

Got an email from Moooove On dot org this AM. And "Flaming Hypocrisy or Selective Amnesia" (or both) came to mind. Actually, there was an "L" word in there too, but in the Spirit of the Season, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt!

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday the tea party-led House voted mostly along party lines to increase taxes on 160 million people starting January 1.1 In other words, "Happy Holidays from the Tea Party." Bah, humbug!

Republican members of the House have caused the "Tea Party Tax Increase" of 2012 by ignoring the needs of the 99% in order to score political points. They rejected a bipartisan Senate compromise that extended the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, and prevented cuts for doctors who care for Medicare recipients.

Now they've left Washington for their holiday vacations, giving middle class families a tax increase for the holidays. It's critical that Rep. LaTourette hear from you today before his office closes for the holidays. If he doesn't act, the Tea Party Tax Increase of 2012 goes into effect on January 1.

But, let's jump into the Way Back machine and go all the way back...twelve whole months ago and try very hard to remember if there was a similar amount of faux outrage directed towards...Barack Obama.

Barack Obama, if you recall, was leading the charge to let the Bush tax cuts expire, so that he could raise taxes on the rich, but incidentally, on everyone else as well. The fig leaf he tried to use for cover was, "Oh, he's not raising taxes, he's merely letting the 'tax gift to the wealthy' expire!" Yeah. Right!

So, let's examine the principle that Move On is using (stop laughing!):

Obama letting a tax cut expire is not raising taxes, but Republicans letting a tax cut* expire is raising taxes. Got it! No hypocrisy there! But if this is the Tea Party Tax Increase, then what did you write about the Barack Obama Tax Increase of 2011? *crickets chirp*

I put an asterisk next to the "tax cut" today, because there is some debate that goes all the way back to FDR on whether or not this is really a tax. For big government types like FDR and BHO, it's a tax when it's in their best interest to be a tax and not a tax when rhetorically it doesn't fit the populist BS they feed their constituents.

If the payroll "tax" is the means for funding one's Social Security account, then taking money away from an already underfunded system doesn't sound like a long term solution to insure your retirement funds will be there. But, let's give them the benefit of the doubt again, and say that SS is so screwed up, a few million here or there won't be missed and we really need to stimulate the economy. (Again, funny how Obama gave lip service to this, yet tried to raise taxes let tax relief expire last year anyways!)

Okay, the economy is in bad shape, and letting people keep a little more of their money earmarked for retirement is a good thing, (unless you're talking about letting them keep a little more of their money earmarked for retirement and directing that investment themselves. Then it's the End of Civilization as We Know It!), then why, if Obama is asking for a two month extension does it mean the Republicans are intransigent if they offer him a deal for six times as much? If two is good, wouldn't twelve be better? It certainly would be for those having to track these changes and rewrite software to make the proper deductions for a brief two month period**, not to mention all those middle class families Mooove On was lamenting over.

We have noted in the past the schizophrenic tendencies of Barack Obama. And we know he is also famous for berating Congress to pass an imaginary jobs bill that hadn't been written yet, because "there's no time to waste" in putting Americans back to work!

On the Canadian pipeline project, that would immediately create 20,000 jobs, with more to come over the years, Obama didn't want to sign, saying the jobs would be there in a few years. Really? What happened to "we can't wait"? And the very real possibility that the Canadians might build the pipeline in another direction and sell that oil to someone else means that the jobs deferred would be more jobs lost under this president.

So, if the House Republicans coupled the win/win of new jobs, less dependence on Middle Eastern oil, with tax relief six times greater than the president asked, why are they the bad guys in this scenario? And if Obama will only accept bills that are submitted to him with his own very narrow minded views of what is acceptable, no more no less, why is it the Republicans who refuse to compromise?

Last time I looked, compromise went both ways. Or is Mooove On's agreement with the president not hypocrisy at all, but rather a folie à deux - a delusion shared by two?

**People have been telling BO for three years that one of the biggest things crippling the economy is the uncertainty of what a business's cost might be for the next twelve months, much less a time frame that would accurately allow them to project profit and loss for say five years. Having to waste resources preparing for a change in payroll taxes that might hit them in sixty days or might be renewed again indefinitely only adds to that uncertainty.

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

Quote du jour

If one were trying to dream up a way for the Energy Department to ensure fewer jobs, less energy, and higher costs, it would be hard to match the record of Secretary Chu. We have spent billions subsidizing inefficient solar- and wind-power companies with political connections; the results have been little or no new energy, but lots more federal debt. Thanks to Obama, the “alternative energy” industry is now discredited, as “millions of green jobs” have been downgraded to the status of “stimulus” and “investments.” Apparently, when crony capitalists and insider con men put the word “green” in front of their schemes, we are supposed to suspend moral judgment, as if they purchased medieval indulgences exempting them from scrutiny.

-Victor Davis Hanson

A Little Holiday Music

I'll be Home for Christmas -Rascal Flats

Medal of Honor

Sergeant Richard A. Pittman

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While Company 1 was conducting an operation along the axis of a narrow jungle trail, the leading company elements suffered numerous casualties when they suddenly came under heavy fire from a well concealed and numerically superior enemy force. Hearing the engaged marines' calls for more firepower, Sgt. Pittman quickly exchanged his rifle for a machinegun and several belts of ammunition, left the relative safety of his platoon, and unhesitatingly rushed forward to aid his comrades. Taken under intense enemy small-arms fire at point blank range during his advance, he returned the fire, silencing the enemy position. As Sgt. Pittman continued to forge forward to aid members of the leading platoon, he again came under heavy fire from 2 automatic weapons which he promptly destroyed. Learning that there were additional wounded marines 50 yards further along the trail, he braved a withering hail of enemy mortar and small-arms fire to continue onward. As he reached the position where the leading marines had fallen, he was suddenly confronted with a bold frontal attack by 30 to 40 enemy. Totally disregarding his safety, he calmly established a position in the middle of the trail and raked the advancing enemy with devastating machinegun fire. His weapon rendered ineffective, he picked up an enemy submachinegun and, together with a pistol seized from a fallen comrade, continued his lethal fire until the enemy force had withdrawn. Having exhausted his ammunition except for a grenade which he hurled at the enemy, he then rejoined his platoon. Sgt. Pittman's daring initiative, bold fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty inflicted many enemy casualties, disrupted the enemy attack and saved the lives of many of his wounded comrades. His personal valor at grave risk to himself reflects the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service.

Sgt. Pittman: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.



Hat tip Home of Heroes

There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice. In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy:

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors; the men it remembers.”

Cross posted at Say Anything

New Tom Clancy Game: Liberals Hit Hardest

Caution: Mature content



mrc tv says this about the new Tom Clancy Rainbow Six video game: "It makes liberals cry."

This is due to the fact that, as you can see from the trailer above, the bad guys are basically Occupy Wall Streeters on steroids. Or, considering all the rioting, attacks against police, and pyrotechnics coming from the occupiers lately, just a better organized next step for the more violent members of the 99%.

Either way liberals seem off put by the idea that they might actually be the bad guys in a fictional piece of entertainment for once. Boo freakin hoo.

I've got a suggestion for marketing..."Rainbow Six: Liberals -This Time it's personal!"

Heh.

H/T Memeorandum

Quote du jour

By the way, doesn’t government have a compelling public purpose in keeping the streets free of snow? Too boring for Bloomberg, who flew off to his weekend pad in Bermuda and left New Yorkers without second homes offshore to make the best of it. That’s the very model of a can-do technocrat in the age of Big Government: He can regulate the salt out of your cheeseburger but he can’t regulate it on to Seventh Avenue.

-Mark Steyn

Sex in Advertising

For all you connoisseurs of advertising...



I may not be sure exactly what they're selling, but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the market!

A Little Holiday Music

A Christmas Song - Shawn Phillips

Niners Beat Steelers 20 -3

Go to 11 and 3 on the season...



A good night for the home team!

Quote du jour

"Historical reminder: always put Horace before Descartes."

-Donald O. Rickter

A Little Holiday Music

The Christmas Song -Martina McBride

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar

This next story isn't so much about the commercialization of Christmas as it is the Weirdification of Christmas.



Amazon.com (good people!) is offering the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar for 2011. And though I have often heard of LEGO being associated with Star Wars, I think this is the first time I've ever heard Star Wars and LEGO associated with an Advent calendar.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with "Advent calendars", traditionally, they have been calendars with little "windows", one to be opened every day counting down to Christmas. According to wiki:

In many of these calendars, each window opens to reveal an image, a poem, or a portion of a story such as the story of the Nativity of Jesus. More elaborate Advent calendars have a small gift concealed in each window, such as a toy or a chocolate item.

I had only heard of them in a religious context, counting down the days until the celebration of Jesus' birth, Advent being the "coming of Christ into the world". And nothing says "Jesus is coming" like LEGO Star Wars toys, I guess.

If this floats your boat, you can find it here...although if you've waited this long, you probably want to wait for the 2012 model.

Quote du jour

“Still, we’re assured of how smart Obama is and that he’ll tell us his next genius idea as soon as he gets his tongue unstuck from the flagpole.”

-Frank J. Fleming

A Little Holiday Music

Carol of the Bells

Themes Like Old Times

Dynasty

10-3 Niners Meet 10-3 Steelers Monday Night

Should be a good game! Go Niners!

'Tis the Season to be Shallow...

...fa-la-la-la-la.



Around this time of year, people who have never darkened a church door, or knew that Bibles actually exist outside of hotel night stand drawers, will try to tie some aspect of the Nativity or the life of Jesus to modern day politics. Usually it's when we hear about how Mary and Joseph were "homeless".

Balderdash! Mary and Joseph had a home...in Nazareth. Joseph had a job. He was a carpenter. The fact that they had no lodging for the night was largely a function of big government uncaring and incompetence:

Luke 2: 1-5 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Caesar Augustus decides that there's not enough revenue coming into the government, so he decreed that all the world should be taxed. (Making Caesar Augustus the world's first Democrat.) And so afraid that he might miss someone and not be able to identify them and collect their taxes, he decreed that a census be taken in the home town of one's ancestry. That means that everyone living at that time, who was born in the lineage of King David, had to trek to the little town of Bethlehem* and wait around until some government bureaucrat made sure their name was on the tax roll and said they could go.

Generations of people showed up, as required by law. And, lacking cell phones and Internet, it was a little harder to book a room back then, even if there were any available, which apparently for at least one evening, there were not. How many of us have had problems booking a room, even in larger cities when, say, a convention was in town?

So, a gainfully employed man and his pregnant wife leaving the home temporarily, for the sake of complying with the government's tax code, hardly made them "homeless".

This year, there may be new depths of shallow:

Jesus would join Occupy movement

Give me a break! And there's enough blame for both sides!

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, kicked up a bit of a storm on CNN's "Belief Blog" by declaring that "Jesus was a free marketer, not an occupier."

Really, the only Tony Perkins I know was holed up at the Bates Motel in "Psycho". (But, I'm not saying they're related.) Jesus did not come, was not born into the world to proclaim the beauty of the free market system. (Sorry, Tony! Maybe he missed the whole "Render unto Caesar" thing?)

To prove his point, Perkins relates a number of different parables that Jesus taught. Unfortunately, many people in interpreting the Bible, do not make the distinction between a parable and an allegory.

A parable is a story with one central point**. An allegory, like Pilgrim's Progress, makes any number of points. When you treat a parable as an allegory, it's very easy to come up with all sorts of wild and erroneous interpretations which are then labeled "Biblical".

On the other hand, we have a writer (at least the writer of the headline) who would put Jesus in the "Occupy" movement. (Anyone who has a problem visualizing the Son of God breaking store windows and crapping on a police car, raise your hand.)

The author falls into the same trap as Mr. Perkins, trying to take a parable of one spiritual thing and then apply it as an allegory of earthly things:

...there's the parable in which a landowner insists on paying all of his workers the same wage, whether they went on the clock early in the morning or an hour before quitting time. There are winners and losers in that story, but "diligence and determination" aren't the deciding factors.

Only Jesus wasn't really talking about wage earners here. The "wage" is salvation, which is the same to all that receive it. If one is converted as a child and lives a life dedicated to God, that person is no more "saved" than a sinner who repents on his death bed. Salvation is presented as a gift through Scripture, not a wage. Parables take earthly analogies to make spiritual points, not the other way around.

The writer stated that she was "no theologian", but she did make one very astute observation:

The creator endowed humans with an endless ability to conscript Jesus and his words for their own ends...

Amen.


*We know it was a little town, because we're always singing about it!

**An excellent volume on the study and meaning of the parables is Richard Chenevix Trench's "Notes on the Parables".

***Image via Pitsnipes Gripes