Moonpie over Mobile

I have a local story that illustrates a national problem. In Mobile, Alabama, Councilman Fred Richardson--a Democrat no less--has decided that the city needs a large object to lower from the top of our largest building ala-New York's Times Square ball.

But this won't be made of Waterford crystal. Oh no. It will be a giant moonpie.

"A moonpie", you say. "What's that?"

Well gather round kiddies and I'll tell you. A moonpie is a confection that appears once a year (usually) around these parts for the annual Mardi Gras celebration. The banana and the vanilla varieties are pretty good, but personally the chocolate takes like something that the parade horses leave behind.

But I digress. The point of this little missive is that in a time of recession and economic uncertainty, terrorist attacks and a liberal majority in Congress and Obama in the White House, this is just what we need. Major cities, several states, the auto industry and every Tom, Dick and Harry around is traveling to Washington, D.C. with their hand out to get bailout money. Yeah, we really need to spend good money on a giant googaw that will only be used once a year. Then it will probably sit there like a giant diaphragm so that all the visitors to our area can say that they saw the world's largest contraceptive.

The unnecessary spending is bad enough. Now the entire city will look like a trailer park at Christmas.

Well, Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez. And let's hope that the bloody thing doesn't fall on someone (unless it's the city council, of course).

The wolf stalks you

The federal government is a ravening wolf. It seeks out the producers in our country and seizes them by the jugular. If you don't pay due deference to it the wolf will rip out your throat. and there are people in the government--politicians, bureaucrats and functionaries—and those outside it, who stoke the blood lust of the beast.

The government has no remorse. When it attacks a person or business it doesn't care that they were trying to do the right thing, but simply misplaced a decimal or failed to file on time. Once it smells blood and fear it comes for its prey and no one can do anything to stop it. Some of its prey choose to end their own lives rather than let the wolf devour them alive.

We live in a time in our republic where the wants and desires of those people that the wolf's keepers determine are “needs”, overrule the needs, wants and desires of those that earned their wealth. Class and wealth envy are the sticks that the keepers use to stir up the wolf's pups. When the pups start whining and baying at the moon, Momma Wolf leaps in to “save” them.

It doesn't matter to these people how much of the country's gross domestic product that wolf consumes. It matters to them only that the “pups” are taken care of, whether they need it or not. But it's not only about caring for the pups. It's about controlling the pack.

With tax policy the keepers wave sticks and carrots at the prey to entice them into the trap. If you make too much they will tax you by a larger percentage of your income than someone that doesn't make as much. Then they will turn around and use your money to dangle as a carrot in front of those that don't make as much.

The keepers only want the wolf to grow up big and strong. They don't care whether they take the pay of honest workers for frivolous, and even unconstitutional things. So long as they stay in control and the wolf stays happy.

Capitol visitor boondoggle

The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center has finally been completed. The original estimate was for $265 million. The final tally was $621 million. That's $356 million over budget. Now don't you just love government. Fifty-two percent of you must; you voted for Obama and the Democrats.

SOURCE: CNN.com article

$53,000,000,000,000

$53,000,000,000,000. That's the current estimated amount of the U.S. Government's unfunded liability. That's Social Security, Medicare, etc. That's a lot of zeros my friends.

That's a lot of money.

The celebration of Advent

This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. Advent, for those of you that don't know celebrates the coming of the Messiah and his eventual return.

Advent has always been one of my favorite aspects of the Christmas season. When I was a member of the United Methodist church our congregations would have an Advent wreath that would be lit by the acolyte. There were four candles for the Sundays leading up to Christmas, and one larger candle in the center representing Christ.

We also had a Chrismon tree—a concept originally created by Frances Kipps Spencer, a Lutheran, in 1957—that had Christ-oriented ornaments. Chrismon are ancient symbols of Christianity, like the Pisces and crosses, as well as others. The tree, like most Christmas trees, is an evergreen. It represents eternal life through Christ.

My family created our own Chrismon and an Advent wreath. We've somehow misplaced the wreath, but our tree always has a Chrismon or two on it.

I don't know how many other denominations beside United Methodist and Lutheran use the Chrismon but I always enjoyed it. I'm sure pagans will say that we stole the idea from them, but since God created the tree, it doesn't really matter what either of us think.

Despite what this time of year meant in the past, it has come to be the accepted time for celebrating the birth of Jesus the Christ. However, over the last several years more groups are coming out against public expressions of Christmas, even when the property in question isn't owned by the government.

The interesting thing about all the hubbub is that the majority of the people who protest the most about Christmas celebrations are people of no faith—atheists. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, none of them argue about it. And some even get in on the fun, whether they believe in the spiritual side of it or not. But atheists for some reason have a chip on their shoulder about Christians. I hardly ever hear of some atheist complaining about Eid al-Adha or Hanukkah decorations or celebrations. Admittedly there aren't as many overt displays of Jewish or Muslim celebrations.

However, I think it goes deeper than that. They are more terrified of Christianity than any other religion. It's not the Crusades or the Salem witch hunts. Those were crimes against people of faith and they happened centuries ago. And we have repented of those atrocities, whether anyone accepts that or not. But just as there are, and were, evil people who used the cover of Christianity to commit crimes that Christ abhors, there have been more than enough atheists that have committed crimes against humanity (read: Mao Zedong, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, etc.). There have also been plenty of pagans that have killed on genocidal scales. For Christians this is simply proof of the fallen nature of man. For the atheist there's always the question: “What drove them to do that?”.

Regardless, Advent is a time of celebration and reflection for Christians just as Hanukkah and Eid al-Adha are for Jews and Muslims, respectively. We should all live with each other, if only for a month or so. There are so many real problems in the world that we don't need to be squashing the holiday season simply because we don't worship the same god, or any god. Take a deep breath and listen to some Christmas songs, light a menorah or watch the sun from Stonehenge on the Solstice.

God bless.

How to revive the Republican Party by Dan Calabrese

There is an insightful article on how to revive the Republican Party by Dan Calabrese at North Star Writers Group. It offers a very strong case for conservative principles rather than centrist moderation.

SOURCE: North Star Writer’s Group article