Politics of Envy.

As I watch the story about criticism of the US with regards to its contributions to the relief efforts in south Asia I couldn't help but remember something I read by the late Dorothy L. Sayers. It was a rather lengthy essay titled, "Christian Morality" (she also did a shorter version titled, "The other Six Deadly Sins"). The part of the essay that that I am referring to is the discussion of the sin of invidia of, as we know it, "envy".
As we all know, the UN official in charge of relief labeled the US as "stingy" and suggested we raise taxes so we could contribute more to the effort. At this point you may well be asking, "What has this got to do with envy?". Glad you asked! Bear in mind, I am operating primarily off of memory as I have lost my copy of "Christian Morality" so please forgive me any errors I may make in citing Miss Sayers.
According to Sayers, "If greed is the sin of the rich against the poor, then envy is the sin of the poor against the rich" Contrary to popular belief, envy does not consist of simply seeing what some one has and wanting the same for one's self. If someone decides that he or she wishes to put in the effort to gain the wherewithall to obtain the object of their desire, then we have no problem. The problem arises when we decide that the other person should not have it either. Envy likes to masquerade under such noble-sounding names as "social justice", and "redistribution of wealth" . It is envy that says, "If I cannot have it nobody can". Here is where it gets even colder blooded as a sin. If nobody is deserving of having wealth in the first place, then nobody is noble enough to donate on their own.
The US government's initial contribution to the relief effort is going $35billion in cash. When it is all said and done, the US will have donated well over a billion dollars in cash and material, of which a small fraction will have come from the government. You see, the UN only counts what a government contributes. The voluntary contribution of individuals do not enter into their thinking. Much of the contributions will come from faith-based organizations. To the envious, however, that doesn't count. It can't because the envious don't think that people can be generous on their own, it has to be coerced by the government...hence the official (who I refuse to name so as not to legitimize him at all) making the suggestion we raise taxes.
The American people of faith will surpass the sum total of all governmental "contributions". Not because we are Americans, but because people of faith know that there are things that are bigger than us and that "as you did so even to the least of these, you did so to me"

En Memorium: Reggie White

I played defensive end in high school. Reggie White played defensive end well past high school...and played it well. He did it so well that he has become the prototype for that position. He owns the the record for QB sacks. He has more than games he played in.I can think of no one who has done the same. His Carolina Panther jersey is the only replica jersey I have ever owned that was not the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Off the field was where he forever commands my respect. He recognized that his abilities were a gift from God and used them to glorify Him. He was unashamedly a man of God who put his heart into his work for disadvantaged youths. What's not to like?
Ask the good people of the NY Times who wrote his obituary.(warning:requires sign-in). They couldn't resist putting this in:

"White created a stir in March 1998 with a speech to the Wisconsin State Assembly. In it, he referred to homosexuality as "one of the biggest sins in the Bible" and used ethnic stereotypes for blacks and whites"

His stereotyping consisted of a quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn regarding human varieties.

Of course the AP couldn't resist this:

"White worked tirelessly with disadvantaged youths. But his image was tarnished when he gave a speech in which he denounced homosexuality and used ethnic stereotypes. White later apologized."

I wrestled including those quotes as a number of other blogs, most notably Michelle Malkin have pointed out these hypocrytical musings by obit writers.
Reggie White has gone home to be with Jesus. He played football like he lived his life, as his tribute and witness to his love of God and his his fellow humanity. That will live on long after the little digs by the press are forgotten.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Here's wishing you and yours all the blessings of the day.

The Moderate Voice: A Politically Correct Xmas Carol

The only problem I have withThe Moderate Voice: A Politically Correct Xmas Carol is that somebody might actually try to rewrite "Deck the Halls" like this.
In other words...don't give 'em ideas!

Wesley Blog: A Word of Encouragement: 6 Reasons to Stay and Fight

Some things never change. 2005 will mark the twentieth anniversary of my commencement from Asbury theological Seminary. As I readWesley Blog: A Word of Encouragement: 6 Reasons to Stay and Fight I see that little has changed, even after I left the UM clergy. There is still the abandon-it-or-fight-for-it question amongst those who still believe in John Wesley's vision and want to see the UMC restored to what Wesley had envisioned for the former Methodist Episcopal Church.
Unfortunately, Bro. Raynor's next post doesn't inspire much confidence. Read Poll Shows 27% of UM Pastors Have Biblical Worldview.

Evangelicals Use Courts to Fight Restrictions on Christmas Tidings (washingtonpost.com)

Evangelicals Use Courts to Fight Restrictions on Christmas Tidings (washingtonpost.com) Now, can anybody honestly say this is unexpected? After decades of selective repression of religious expression by Christians, this was bound to happen.
I have no problem with diversity, but diversity cannot be achieved by exclusion...of any group be they the majority or very small minority. The naswer is not in curtailing such expression, but in increasing it.

Wanted: Six Busses to Haul Parents to the Looney Bin

I read Yahoo! News - Busloads of Kids Visit Jackson's Neverland Ranch and immediately thought, "Please tell me this originally appeared in The Onion" It is with deep sadness I must report, it didn't.
What parent in their right mind send thier children to a party with this man(?)
"Holy terror, Bat-Man! The Joker's on the loose again!"

Thanks to Michelle Malkin

White House Hanukkah: Wasn't "The Passion" Supposed to Fan the Flames of Anti-Semitism?

Dennis Prager, in an LA LA Times op-ed piece reflects on celebrating Hanukka at the White House with the President and Mrs Bush. You know, that evil Christian nutcase hate-monger that the Red Staters foisted on us.
I remember when "The Passion" came out it was supposed to make life hell for Jews in America because Evangelical Christians would feel justified in doing violence against Jews. Now if the Pres. was like he has been protrayed by the mainstream media in this country, this COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. The pres et al would be making pronouncement after pronouncement decrying the "evil influence of the Jew"
First of all, any Christian with an ounce of biblical understanding knows that Jesus himself was a Jew. There is absolutely NO biblical justification for hating Jews...period. The press does not know this, they accept the rantings of KKK types as a source authority for contemporary Christian thought on the matter when it suits their purpose. their purpose of making Christians as unthinking intolerant morons.
Which brings us to the press' hypocracy. While they decry Anti-Semitism in the US, they bend over forward and grab their ankles to justify it in Jerusalem. Now, they will argue that that violence is anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic. Folks, the only difference between the two is that anti-Zionism is nothing more or less than selective anti-Semitism. Kind of like a Klansman saying he only hates Blacks of a certain shade or darker.

FIRST ANNUAL PANCAKE AWARDS

Hey, why can't I give out awards everybody else does. JRob's House o' Opinions will publish the winners of the First Annual Pancake awards. Given to those deserving figures who exhibit insanity above and beyond the call of stupidity. Baloting is based on the "Who's Line is It, Anyway" model. Votes don't count because I make it up as I go. The list will go up on New Years eve. All that's needed to win the coveted Lead Spatula Trophy is evidence that your brain has been falttened and flipped on a hot grittle.
Watch this space for the nominees (or email me your suggestions for nominees)

Yahoo! News - Study: TV Show Negative Image of Religion: Dog-Bites-Man Headline of the Year

There is an old newspaper maxim, " 'Dog Bites Man', that's not news"Yahoo! News - Study: TV Show Negative Image of Religion is a prime example of that. People of faith, particularly Christians, are routinely portrayed a bigoted, intolerant, naieve and stupid.

Now the part that is laughable is this comment from NBC spokeswoman, Shannon Jacobs,"It is never our intention to appear, nor do we accept the notion that we are, anti-religious" All I can say is that apparently they have gotten so good at it that they no longer have to consciously try to do so.

Does this put the Losers out of Our Misery yet?

Yahoo! News - Ohio Justice Throws Out Election Challenge Maybe now super sycophant can go back to the important work of cheating on his wife.

Sorry, Mr. President, I Can't go Along with This

Tenet, Bremer, Franks get Presidential Medal.I have no trouble with two-thirds of that line-up for the medals. But George Tenet? At best he was a well-intentioned bungler...at worst he was outright incompetent. For once I'm in agreement with the Losers...W should have looked elsewhere to give this high honor. Maybe Mr. tenet will do the honorable thing and refuse to accept it.

Time to Resurrect an Old Limbaugh Bit

When I saw the Washington Times piece,"Dems to continue oversight effort "- (United Press International) I nearly hit the roof (I easily went through the ceiling) I remember right after Bush (41) defeated Michael Dukakis, Dems still acted like they won the election, so to remind them that this was contrary to the truth, Rush Limbaugh always refered to Dukakis as, "The Loser".
Well, it's time to resurrect that, and not just refer to Kerry as the Loser, but from this point forward...TFN...The Democrat Party in general shall be called, on this blog, "The LOSER"

This Has Gone from Silly to Obsessive

My Way News reports that a Kerry lawyer wants tyo inspect ballots on which no vote for president was cast.

""We're trying to increase the transparency of the election process," said Donald McTigue, the lawyer handling the recount for the Kerry campaign. But he added that several requests - such as using independent experts to check election equipment, "are trying to push the edge of envelope.""

You lost, now go home and take Teresa and do whatever it is you two do. You are showing yourselves to be sad and pathetic

This is Bound to Irritate Both Sides of the Arguement

Fellow South Carolinian, Michael Graham wrote this for his weekly column, "The Usual Suspects" This is one of his best ever:

Keeping the "X" in Xmas

By now you've probably heard about the New Jersey public school system that has banned all Christmas carols from its "Formerly Known As Christmas" concert. Even the instrumental versions of such innocuous fare as "Jingle Bells" and "Here Comes Santa Claus" have been stricken from the program because of their overt "religious" content.

The theological dogma raised while "dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh" escapes me, but I'm not a professional educator and no doubt lack their insight.

New Jersey is not the only place one can find such anti-Christmas lunacy, of course. The mayor of Denver tried to pull down the traditional "Merry Christmas" sign outside City Hall. This PC stupidity provoked a severe backlash from radical, pro-Christmas extremists (aka "normal people"), and the mayor quickly backed down.

At the same time, however, the Denver Christmas Parade ‹ oops! make that the "Parade of Lights" ‹ has chosen to exclude a church-sponsored float featuring choir members singing both secular and sacred Christmas music. Instead, the parade will include floats like one last year that featured (I kid you not) cross-dressing, homosexual American Indians participating in religious ritual and dance.

Ah, yes ‹ nothing says "Merry Christmas" like gay, cross-dressing Indians. Didn't they make an appearance in that Rankin & Bass claymation classic Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Hairdressers?

When asked why the parade association was kicking the church float out of the lineup, a representative of the event said songs about religion "made some people uncomfortable." More uncomfortable, apparently, than a truck full of gender-confused tribal holy men rolling past crowds of Denver children waiting to see Santa.

Banning the church choir is "not something where we want to exclude anyone," parade spokeswoman Susan Rogers-Kark said. "And I realize this feels like it's excluding someone, but it's about a concern for someone else watching it and not feeling that it's a specific reflection on, perhaps, what their own religion is or what their beliefs are."

So remember, kids ‹ when I kick you out, it only "feels like" I'm excluding you. In fact, I'm giving you a big Rama-Hanu-Kwanz-Mas holiday hug.

What bugs me about stories like these ‹ and they are all too common ‹ is that they are premised on the idea that there is something potentially offensive about Christmas. That's simply nonsensical. Christmas is the ultimate inclusive event.

You want a Christian Christmas? No problem. Pick up your inflatable nativity scene with the baby Jesus action figure on aisle seven.

No religion? No problem. Santa and the snowmen are waiting for you on aisle eight.

Black Santa? Got him. Asian Santa? Got him. Transgendered Native-American Santa? I'll have to call Denver for that one.

Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Druid, atheist, Rotarian, even registered Democrats ‹ EVERYONE can do Christmas. All you need is the desire for a little peace and good will in this world.

There are some in the Christian community who disagree. They believe Christmas is, and should be, a specifically Christian celebration. They're wrong on both counts.

First, one could argue that, from the time the early church swiped the winter solstice party from the Romans, Christmas has never been a Christian holiday. Jesus was likely born in August, not December. There were no Santas, snowmen or small, decorative bowls of Andes mints scattered about. Until someone can tell me what side of the manger Mary put the tree and mistletoe in, I will continue to view Christmas as a celebration that only has profound religious meaning for the faithful.

Some devout Christians insist that it is impossible to celebrate Christmas without celebrating Christ. But spending an hour in any mall shows that this is nonsense. The only religion found among the teeming masses is the religion of commerce and the holy text of the "50 percent Off All Items" coupon.

And if Christmas is impossible without celebrating the unique Godhood of Jesus, then those who are banning Christmas trees and songs from public schools are in the right. Putting Christ in Christmas means promptly removing it from City Hall as a state-sponsored religious event.

But are the Scrooges right that Christmas must be about Christ's birth or it shouldn't be celebrated at all? I understand why Christians would want all the world to put Christ at the center of their Christmases. But that is impossible.

What's left, though, is a celebration of the idea that selflessness and generosity ought to be celebrated. The specific theology of Jesus might be optional at Christmastime, but his spirit, often repackaged under the label "Christmas spirit," is still there. Is that such a bad thing?

Forget "Keeping the Christ in Christmas." If we can just keep the spirit of Christmas, that's a pretty good start.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Yahoo! News - Court: Mom's Eavesdropping Violated Law

This reeks!. So now if you want to get away with a crime. make friends with a teenager and confess a crime so the parents can hear it. No wonder some think that Washing State is where those who think California isn't weird enough go.

Advice to Dems: Lose these "owners"

In Yahoo! News - MoveOn to Democratic Party: 'We Own It', we see MoveOn's real colors. What they fail to realize is that they probably cost John Kerry the election. They honestly believe themselves to be in the mainstream. Apparently the lunatic fringe of the Democrat party is taking a page from Julian Bond's book and seek to alienate the swing voters who lean true center and realize that forging alliances is better than creating philosophical warfare.
I am not advocating that either side give up its ideals. Rather an intentional search for those things on which we can agree on for the good of the country. I know a number of my fellow republicans and conservatives are saying things like, "keep listening to them", or "yeah, more of the same". Folks, we dare not wish for opposition parties so far on the fringe as to become irrelevant. I really don't want to see us become as arrogant as the Dems were when they controlled BOTH houses.

This Kind of Thing Was Supposed to End With the Soviet Union

Who Poisoned Yuschenko? in the Times Online reads like a bad Cold War spy thriller. One has to wonder, would the Kremlin really be that stupid to try something so transparent.

Mary and Joseph Mythology

As promised in "Tis the Season" here is where I address some mythology surrounding the earthly parents of Jesus of Nazareth. First of all, Mary was not an unwed mother. Betrothal in first century Palestine required a divorce in order to be severed, so what's the difference between that and marriage?
Second, Joseph and Mary were not homeless. Bear in mind they were citizens of Nazareth in Gallilee and had to go to Bethlehem because Joseph was a descendant of David. They were travelers who found themselves with out a room for the night. I like the way Rush Limbaugh put it a number of years ago, "They had a home. What they didn't have was a reservation." Just a note, Rush. Nobody did...the inns were first-come-first-served.

Tis the Season

Oh, for those carefree days where my disgust with the perversion of Christmas (or as we have been coearced into by the PC thought police, the "happy Holiday" season.) was pretty much limited to ham-fisted, psuedo-clever crass advertising campaigns. Remember Norelco's, "Even our name says,'Merry Christmas': Noel-Co" (I have to admit that the animated Santa riding the razor head was cute though) Thanks to Dawn Eden's The Dawn Patrol, I see such have taken a new low.
First there is the "Immaculate Contraception" ad campaign for a mornng-after pill. First off, there is a long-standing confusion between "Imaculate Conception" and virgin birth. The imaculate conception refers to the notion that mary was different. Her own conception was imaculate and she was not born in sin, as the rest of us (this notion is long disputed by non-Roman Catholics). None the less this is still offensive to Christians both Catholic and Non-Catholic. The mornng-after pill is not safe and effective, and certainly not something that should be so glibly advised...even by it a manufacturer.
But think for a moment. Young Mary, approximately age 14, expecting and unmarried(I will address this a little later in another post). The Nazareth chapter of Panned Parenthood ...well you can figure where this is going. Joseph and Mary have been trotted out, incorrectly, by homeless advocates, and I do seem to remember some pro-life groups pointing out, rightly I believe, that Mary is in PP's target group...teenaged "unwed" mothers. Now before the pro-choice crowd cries "fowl", it is known that there is an extreme faction in the pro-choice camp that believes that every abortion that can be had, much be had and pressure is brought to bear.
This brings me to Elanore Smeal.
She is bent out of shape because the head of Catholics for Choice has called on the pro-choice side to at least acknowledge that there is tragedy in abortion. She even goes on to talk about the "Joy" of abortion. JOY? I guess if you are one of those self-absorbed twits more concerned with her bikini line than suffering I guess there might be some joy. They wouldn't be hard spot...they will be the ones wearing the "I had an abortion" t-shirts from the fine folk at Clamor Magazine. Ms. Smeal, even if we are talkng about an early-term abortion for an eleven-year-old victim of incest, or a partial-birth abortion, there is tragedy. There is no relief and certainly no joy. Just do us a favor and go back to reading your copy of Clamor.

Announcement!!!

I am happy to announce "Cola Towne Rugby", another blog by JRob. this one, however is sports oriented, mainly rugby, but other sports as well yu can find it at Cola Towne Rugby It's still a work in progress so bear with me.

Be Your Own Bell Ringer

I decided a long time ago that boycots should be reserved for very eggregious conduct. While Target's dumping is dispicable, it does not rise to the level of a boycottable offense. That is my opinion, I don't expect anybody else to go along with me on that. I prefer actions like the one I described the other day This, however, does not solve the SA's immediate problem, SOOOOOOOOOOO if you look to your right you will find a button that links to the SA's website. It's fairly easy to make...but it does make the more, in my opinion to help the SA than a boycott by itself.

Great Read

Ben Stein's piece in The American Spectator needs no further comment

HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: NAACP Head Mfume Didn't Retire, He Was Booted Out by Armstrong Williams

Fellow South Carolinian, Armstrong Williams makes a powerful statement in HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: NAACP Head Mfume Didn't Retire, He Was Booted Out . Now I will never be accused of being a Kweisi Mfume fan, but in my own never-to-be-humble opinion, the NAACP ousted the wrong person.
On the other hand, if they want to continue to marginalize themselves, let 'em.

John Stewart's Book Named Best of the Year.

Publisher's Weekly has named John Stewart's America (the Book), a Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction "Book of the Year. That's right, folks."Best sofa-leg evener-upper" I could see...but best book? I for one am more-than-a-little tired of seeing sophmoric attempts at political humor rewarded like this. A better candidate for the honor would be Edna the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying, or better yet, The Amazing Adventures of Captain Galdys Stotepamphlet and Her Intrepid Spaniel, Stig Among the Giant Pygmies of Beckles. Vol VIII

You're a Vile one, Mr. Grinch

Okay, so I'm becoming a Dawn Eden fan. She is a very intelligent Christian woman from NJ who writes brilliantly. Besides, she has given me a trackback on her blog.(thanks, Dawn) In her op-ed from theNew York Post entitled ,"The Grinch Who Stole "Messiah" makes a very poignant recollection of having been part of music program of Soputh Orange and Malepwood, NJ which has now thrown out some of the greatest cultural experiences available in the name of "diversity" (not her words but easily infered in the context). Having sung Handel's "Messiah" I know the thrill of seeing everyone stant as the opening notes of the "Hallelujah Chorus" are played. I know the feeling of having done something worthwhile with my time learning that complex piece of music that is part of handel's legacy.
Unfortunately, this isn't just happening in NJ. Even here in SC, the strains of "For the Lord God Omnipotent shal reigneth" are being replaced with "Dashing through the snow". Not that there is anything wrong with that song. Let's face it, musicaly "Jingle Bells" compares to "The Hallelujah Chorus" the way a hamburger compares to a full steak dinner.
Sadly, most kids thes days will not get to experience a great deal of great music because of its religious (mainly Judeo-Christian) nature. In New Jersey, South Carolina and points all over this nation, school music programs are going, in Eden's words, "...from Handel to scandal — all so that students barred from singing about a living God can instead sing about a living snowman." Could it be that one day in the not-too distant future, that our childrens only exposure to the "Hallelujah Chorus" will be the School House Rock episode about interjections . God forbid.

The Dawn Patrol: Porn Conservatives.

I found this on Dawn Eden's blog,The Dawn Patrol I was intrigued b y the phrase "Porn Conservatives" So I read. It was a delightful piece (pauses for the groans from the unintended double entendre pun). It is bad enough that conservatives are viewed as either sexist or misogyinstic ("woman-haters" for those of you in Swansea, SC).
Nobody enjoys the image of a lovely woman more than me. But when you engage in a conversation with said woman, is your thought along the lines of a)I wonder what she thinks about...; or, b)I wonder if she thinks; or, c)I wonder what she looks like in [insert "nude" or favorite fetish wear here]. Hopefully "a" comes somewhere early on. Sadly, more often than not it's "b", "c" or some combination of the two.
Which brings me back to "Porn Conservatives". As long as we are perceived as thinking of women with zero respect as to their thoughts, we can pretty much forget about being taken seriously by many women in the moderate area of the socio-political spectrum. And please don't cite the obvious examples of Whoppie "cushion" Goldberg (see, Whoopie, we can be pseudo-clever with people's names too) Susan Sarandon and Babs Streisand. They will continue to think as they always have. fact is I know a few extreme conservatives who are just as bad vis a vis being closed-minded as well as being wrong.

Bah! Humbug to you too! - Target in tough spot after banning Salvation Army bell-ringers

HoustonChronicle.com - Target in tough spot after banning Salvation Army bell-ringersI likewhat one L_dotterdid. Took a bunch of merchandise to the checkout. Asked wheres the Salvation Army bell-ringer was. After being told there was not going to be one, they left all the merchandise at the register. If this begins to be a common occurance, they might reconsider.

Now This is Lonnnnnnnnnng Overdue

Yahoo! News - Conservative Republican group urges UN's expulsion from US is a story I have long wanted to see. The UN is a bunch of bad house guests who need to go home. Tip of the hat to Michelle Malkin

I Know This is Late,But...Please, Mr. Carter, Go Away

Yahoo! News - Former US President Jimmy Carter calls Arafat a "powerful human symbol". Ind I call Mr Carter a bad joke that isn't even funny. The article mentions both Carter and Arafat were Nobel laureates. Kinda discredits the the Nobel Peace Prize, doesn't it?

I Can't Believe this Guy

UN Secretary Generalissimo, Kofi Annan's Letter to Pres. Bush, PM Blair and Iraqi interim Pres, Allawi is either the most incredible piece of political naievete, or it is most revealing as to Mr. Annan's true motivation. Can he seriously believe that the terrorists are the innocents in all this? If so, then he is actually more clueless than "Grinnin' Jimmy" Carter (I had previously thought that impossible.)
It's time for the UN to have a moving sale and relocate to Brussels and put themselves out of our misery.

Boarder Watch, '04...Watching the celebs leave as threatened(promised)

Okay, as we are watching the celiBRATies flocking out of the country due to the reelection of the president,first we see...nope...he's still here. Wait! There goes...naaaa she's still here and posting to sorryeverybody.com.
Okay folks, this is turning out to be just another round of empty threats from the hollywood left. they are stung by the fact that many didn't let their threats of leaving sway your vote. In otherwords, you proved to the world that you are not as shallow as they are.

Can You say, "Mandate"?

In his two election victories, Bill Clinton never once got a majority of the popular vote. W didn't get one either the first time. He does this time. I think it is time to claim a mandate, he has a majority of the popular vote...50% plus...that is a MAJORITY, not a plurality like President Dangle had for two terms.
No more "selected not elected" quips. Got it? We won and the celebs can now leave the country like they threatened (I won't hold my breath on that though). Michael Moore should be relegated to the obscurity he show richly deserves.
It's raining in SC ...but the sun is shining brightly. The UN candidate was turned back!

Begin The Healing

It wasn't as close as last time, but it was still close. There is still a lot of polarization. A caller to Michael Graham was saying that republicans need to be gracious winners. While that is true, there are some folks on the other side that need to extend their right hand themselves. When the candidate is refusing to accept the result against all reason it is difficult to be a gracious winner. The loser has to concede for that to happen.
Perhaps if the Deomcrats had not adopted Michael Moore and the MoveOn geeks as their unofficial spokespeople the feelings might not be as bitter. No, the ones who hurled the epithets have to make the first move.

If There was Ever a Question of Bias

It's gone now thanks to Dick Morris' alalysis in the New York Post. I was watching NBC's coverage (I refused to watch CBS) and they were noting that the raw votes were not tracking with the exit polls. Then Brokaw mentioned that the GOP had complained that their pollsters were oversampling certain demographics. Now I'm no demographics scientist, but even I can see that oversampling is not accidental.
Then again neither is using fraudulent documents as the basis of a news story.

Maybe This Time They'll Actually Do It!

National Post is running a story about what has become a quadrennial tradition amongst the Hollywood left. These people slay me. Do they really think that we can't do without them and will vote Kerry to keep them from leaving? I know they are a narcissistic bunch, but they obviously think we are as shallow as they.
Tip of the hat to Michelle Malkin

Gone Ruckin'

Due to rugby tournament I will be away from dear old JRHOO until Sunday evening. Let's just see the world turn without me...Chuckles

The Collapse of the Kerry Campaigne

After yet another bungled October surprise Senator Kerry should spare himself and his supporters any furhter embarrassment and withdraw. He jumped on the fake NY Times artical on the missing weapons. Not only did NBC put the lie to the story, it appears that the UN itself had reported the weapons moved in February, 2003: BEFORE US troops reached Baghdad. The report was cited in NewsMax.com.
Now where were they moved to. Well, that doesn't seem to be that much of a mystery acording to Michelle Malkin. It seems our old friend, the Great Bear, Russia benefited from the "disappearance" of the weapons. The Malkin column goes on to cite that this might be another in a series of coordinated attacks involving the Kerry campaign and CBS. Both articles are worth the read.

More Silliness from The Guardian ...and Jimmy Carter

From the people who brought you the mail to Ohio and wondering where have all the assasins gone comes this gibberish from the Second Coming of Neville Chamberlain, James E. Carter. Mr. Former White House Resident (who was tossed out of office in a landslide), you bungled Iran, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and made a joke of a treaty between Israel and Egypt. Your administration bent over and grabbed your ankles for almost every terrorist leader to come down the pike then have the gall to accuse the president of milking a terrorist attack. Go certify the "election" of another dictator in Latin America and put yourself out of my misery.

Where Ignorance is Bliss...

...'tis folly to be wise. So goes the old saying. During my forty-six years I have learned, to my dismay, that relatively few know the whole quote.
Thanks to Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe an even worse fear of mine has been realized, an electorate that doesn't have a grasp of what is going on. I am not talking about not knowing first names of Mrs. Bush and Kerry either. According to the research cited in the column, at least 58% of the public knows little or nothing about the Patriot Act. Sixty-five percent is unaware that congress voted to ban partial-birth abortions.
Sadly, this isn't new, as Jacoby further states that in 1964, 62% thought the USSR was a member of NATO. In 1970 76% couldn't identify the Secretary of State.
It doesn't matter if you support Bush, Kerry, Nader or Alfred E. Neuman. Our vote is both a right and a duty, but if you are planning to vote, and don't have a clue as to what the fat is going, please stay home!

And We Elected this Guy?

Former White house Resident, Jimmy Carter (after this I can't call him "president") on Hardball with Chris Matthews on Oct. 18 (full transcript here) made this interesting statement:
Well, one parallel is that the Revolutionary War, more than any other war up until recently, has been the most bloody war we‘ve fought. I think another parallel is that in some ways the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. It was an unnecessary war.[emphasis added]

Had the British Parliament been a little more sensitive to the colonial‘s really legitimate complaints and requests the war could have been avoided completely, and of course now we would have been a free country now as is Canada and India and Australia, having gotten our independence in a nonviolent way.

I think in many ways the British were very misled in going to war against America and in trying to enforce their will on people who were quite different from them at the time."

The Revolutionary War was "unnecessary"? Jimmy, you've won your Nobel prize...please stop trying to schmooze for another one. You have shown yourself to be a friend communists and thug dictators everywhere. Some of us haven't forgotten how you refused to recognize regimes in Iran and then Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, then falling all over yourself recognize to recognize Khomeni and Mugabe. You, Sir are a horrendous judge of both history and character.

More on Duke's hosting pro-Terrorist Conference

According to FOX News Duke is coming under fire for hosting a conference which praised terrorist attacks and refused to renounce support of terror. What I found interesting in the story was this little tid bit:
""It is a pretty standard criticism of groups that campaign for Palestinian rights, because any criticism of Israel — especially in this country — is seen as anti-Semitic," said Rann Bar-On of the PSM. "Being Israeli myself, I see that as completely baseless."
This went beyond criticism of Israel. This applauded the intentional killing of Israeli civilians and children from behind the cover of their own children.
This continuation of Hitler's final solution cannot be allowed to continue.The most disgusting part of this is that an arm of the denomination to which I belong not only hosted but encouraged this. If there are any Duke alums out there in agreement with me (especially heavy contributing ones)please express your displeasure to the administration.

The Curse is Broken!

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox for their first-ever comeback from a 3 games to zero deficite to defeat the Evil Empire. Way to go BoSox!

Rather and Koppel:Neither bothers to Check a Thing

the good folks at Media Research Center have recounted this weekend's latest journalistic outrages. NOw I have come to expect nothing credible from Dan Rather. I had expected better from Ted Koppel. To me the coup de grace came when Koppel became upset with O'Neil for contradicting him using Kerry's own account of the incident.

Hey...Over Here...Remember Me?...Al, Al Gore?

Yahoo! News - Gore Says Bush Governs from 'Love of Power' Poor Al. Still suffering from delusions of relavence. Thanks to The Museum of Left Wing Lunacy for this.

William Saphire Sees Through Lt. Smarmy

I love seeing Lt. Smarmy's gay-baiting backfire on him. For once I want him to keep on arrogantly refusing to apologize. The man is nothing but an opportunist who is ascending to new depths on my political disgust-o-meter

As a Methodist I am Disgusted by This

WorldNetDaily: Duke conference speakers endorse terrorism The only consolation I have is that Duke is in the Eastern NC Conference and not the SC so none of our contributions went toward this. I am all for academic freedom, but for a Christian (at least nominaly Christian) institution to countenance the advocation of terrorism on its campus is beyond me.

Bigotry from the Left

Imitating Ernest Angly:
THANK YOUUU! THANK YOUUUUUUU

At long last somebody has picked up on the fact the right doesn't have a monopoly on rash generalizations about the thought processes of a given demographic. It is commonly held among conservatives that Lt. Smarmy's invocation of Mary Cheney the other night was calculated to suppress the vote of evangelical Christians based on the presupposition that they wouldn't vote for a ticket that had the father of an open practicing lesbien. Along comes
this delightful piece from the New York Daily News' Zev Chafets: Kerry's gay ploy backfires. This is an excellant read.

At Last, Have They No Shame

I have always liked those words of Roy Cohen to Joe McCarthy. I think it is time for all of us to say them to the Kerrys and the Edwards after the Junior Sleazer from Mass and the Ken Doll recent antics dragging the family of their opponents into this race. Dispicable.
I couldn't believe it when Lt. Smarmy said it. Unlike when Edwards made his comment about Mary, the VP was on stage and could respond. I, for one, am glad he didn't dignify it with a response or rise to the obvious baiting. Personally I am tired of thinking we have seen just how low he is willing to stoop only to see him sink even lower.
As bad as I think the comment was to begin with, Elizabeth Edwards comments were absolutely disgusting. Ms, Edwards, I rather doubt the Cheneys are ashamed of their daughter. However, a sense of shame is a good thng, perhaps you should develope one.

My Thoughts on the Petition to John Ashcroft.

There is currently a move afoot to petition the US Attorney-General, John Ashcroft to prosecute John Kerry in order to have him disqualified to be president. I am not going to post the link for one reason, I am against this tactic. It makes us look like we are running scared! Do we really want to do that? Do we really want to help the left perpetuate the notion that W can't get elected on his own merits and has to continually resort to legalisms?
Now I still think that Kerry and Edwards are both arrogant jackasses and undeserving of the offices they are seeking. Let's let the process take its course. Now if evidence turns up that Mr. Kerry has committed such crimes then go for it. Having said that I must also add that we shouldn't go on a fishing expedition that makes the Great Pumpkin look like a sympathetic figure.

More on the Morons in Tenn.

People who know me know I have almost zero affection for the Democrat Party. Even I, however, have no wish to see this kind of thing. I don't enjoy seeing enjoy seeing Dems exceeding the worst things I think about them as a party. They have succeeded.
I have been thinking about this since I first saw it
in Michelle Malkin's site As much as it pains me, I have come to the conclusion that the eugenicists in the Democratic Party have gained so much control they think nothing of making such vile comments about a group they think nothing of aborting. It is obvious that somebody thought they could make this poster with impunity. According to the story it had been in distribution for two weeks before the story broke. I honestly don't know what disgusts me more, the existance of the poster, or the fact that a number of people thought this sort of thing is acceptable in human discourse.

Team America gets thumbs-up, site unseen

I recently read the open letter from Sean Penn to the folks behind the flick, "Team America". Havng read a few articals about it I can only say I can't wait for pay day so I can go see it. Any film that pisses Hollywood lefties like this gets my money.
Let them have Mikey Moore. Quite frankly, I have seen better films on top of a cesspool.

I couldn't believe it.

Looks like the Dems are striving to ascend to new depths in tastelessness, Observe:

So much for the party of compassion
UPDATE:Given that this story was originally in a site for a group that opposed "Shrek 2" there was some skepticism over it. Michelle Malkin (where I found this to begin with) has updated the story and tells us that FOX is on the trail as well. There is also a letter to the editor from somebody who got the flier.
Drudge has also picked it up.

Can you Say, "Threat"?

I don't remember the Bush campaigne making threats like this toward CBS.Now I have not seen the piece in question, but that is immaterial. It's called free speech. You know that little thing appended to the Constitution, the one called the "First Ammendment". Oh silly me. That only applies to Democrats!
Mr. Kerry, your stooge needs to brush up on the Constitution before making threats like this one. As far as I am concerned, this does not bode well for the right to dissent should the Junior Senator from Massachusetts be elected. Kind of reminds you of another well known junior senator...from Wisconsin.

Jonah Goldberg on Kedwards and Iraq on National Review Online

Jonah Goldberg tells Kedwards, "Shame, shame, shame" in a piece from the National Review. Goldberg does a marvelous Job of taking the Dem's ticket to task for shamelessly continuing to harp on the same note. Droning on and on while disregarding the obvious answers to their continuous and unfounded claims of the administration's "lies" This is the must read of the week.

Okay, Enough with the "Lurch" bit

Lurch was my favorite character from the Addams Family (well outside of Gomez and Morticia). I really do not like him being identified with Kerry. There is no guile with Lurch. He is what he is. I rather like Jib Jab's identifying him with Herman Munster. I always found the character of Herman annoying at best. He was a well-meaning boob.That is why he is most like Kerry (except for the well-meaning part. Kerry is just a boob)

Now you can pat them on the head

How many times has it happened. You make the statement that the MSM news is slanted, only to have your listener smile condescendingly, pat you on the head (figuratively speaking) and respond something to the effect of, "Oh, what an ammusing idea.
First there was the RATHER embarrassing episode at CBS news using forged documents to make scurrilous allegations. Now along comes Marc Halperin, ABC News' political director, who has been
kind enough to author a memo calling for a DOUBLE STANDARD in the reporting of the campaignes of Mssrs Bush and Kerry.
The worst part of this is that while I have zero respect for either Rather or Halperin, I have to thank them both for giving us solid evidence of the media bias actually being conspiratorial, rather than incidental. Here's to you, "gentlemen"

The Myth That STILL Will Not go Away (and I still don't mean Jimmy Carter...Maybe)

The Junior Senator form Massachusetts is at it again. Never mind that there has been absolutely no evidence of any attempt to suppress voting by anybody. This tired line is the myth that keeps on giving. Show me one place where there was a concerted to prevent target groups from voting. Show me one document (not aired by CBS, thank you) setting up such a program. I think that candidates should be held accountable for making such scurrilous charges with out any evidence whatsoever to back it up.

2nd-Hand Debate Thoughts

Well, the thoughts are my own, but they are formed from second hand sources as I missed the debate as it aired. From all the accounts I've read, my main thought has been, "And you wanted to dump this guy?" The VP made Edwards look like the ambulance-chaser that he is. About the only possible gotcha the Dems can possibly claim is that Dick and John had met since Edwards' election to the senate. By all accounts, however, those meetings were outside the Senate chamber, heck they weren't even on the Hill.
"But what about Halliburton?" is the refrain from the Dems. When they can name EVEN ONE other company that could do the work, I'll take that question seriously. I'm sorry but that was not a job for Ben and Jerry's.

Is there no level to which this man will not stoop?

John Kerry's latest misrepresentation is probably his cruelest. Many are looking to stem cell research to ease suffering for a number of maladies. Not the least of which is alzheimers. There is no research ban, there never was. There was a restriction on receiving federal funding, namely no use of embrionic cells.
Private funded research has no such restriction and private funding levels are currently being funded at twice (or more) than the money Kerry is proposing for research.
Mr. Kerry, if you are going make bombastic claims like this, at least make equally bombastic offers of remedy. Then again, he pretty much did.

Major Announcement

Good ol' JRob's House o' Opinions is now listed in the blogroll of Blogs for Bush. As that late great pundit, Minnie Pearl often said, "Howdyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! I'm just so proud to be here"

AP Wire | 09/30/2004 | Minister mobilizes Missouri Democrats to take back religious turf

AP Wire | 09/30/2004 | Minister mobilizes Missouri Democrats to take back religious turf

I came across this and read it with interest and laughed.

" 'Democrats have ceded ground to the Republicans for 20 to 30 years because Democrats avoid talk of religion and spiritual values,' said the Rev. Jim Wallis, a liberal activist and editor of Sojourners magazine. 'And that turned out to be a mistake.'

Reverend Wallis, the mistake wasn't that Dems avoided the subject. The mistake was that they seemed to go out of their way to marginalize and demonize people of faith, particularly orthodox and evangelical Christians. This effort might have been a little more credible if they had not waited until the last minute. As it is, it is incredibly transparent.

Now Stupid is This?

I can't believe this.Karl rove in a NewsMax.com story has announced that they are going to spring a few surprises in the last month of the campaign. Not now you aren't Karl. You've just tipped your hand.
If you're going to surprise somebody the surprise them. You don't announce to the world you're going to. You've given them warning so they can go through records with fine-toothed combs to find potentially embarrassing stuff.
Fortunately, however, we are dealing with a Kerry campaign staff who think they can do nothing wrong. This may be a no-harm-done situation.

Hollow Victory

Okay...Kerry looked good at the debate. Emphasis on the word "looked". Looking at polling data after the event it would seem that atyle is winning over sunstance. At least until you see that the debate had no effect of voter preferences.
Sure Gigolo John looked good. that is what gigolos do for a living.

The Urban Myth that Won't go Away (And I don't mean Jimmy Carter...well maybe)

Like the annoying kid you see sticking out of the boarder of your high school year book, waving as if to say, "Hey! Over here, it's me", Jimmy Carter is at it again. Here is a rebuttal of his latest nonsense from Peter Kirsanow on Florida 2000 and Jimmy Carter on National Review Online What Grinnin' Jimmy seems to forget, and as Kirsanow reminds us is that Dems were responsoble for any local disenfranchisement that might (or most likely didn't) occur. Jimmy, do the rest of us a favor, stop campaigning for a second Nobel Prize.

Great Comment from the G-Man

This is a great comment on the hypocracy of the left
The G-Man is a favoriteof mine and this is worth the read.

About the caption:

The caption below, the President is said to be punching the opponent. Bear in mind that this is a yearbook photo and the caption was most likely tongue-in-cheek

Play Rugby, Become President

I love this pic Like the captain of my rugby club said after seing this, "Is there a better sport...I THINK NOT"

Just in Time for the DVD release of Fraudenheit 9/11

Celsius 41.11 - The Temperature At Which The Brain Begins To Die

I came across this on Michael Graham.com. It comes at just the right time. Unfortunately, as Graham points out, it probably won't change any minds.
This brings me to to a question, Do we tend to favor form over substance? How is it Moore can foist this drivel (read: Farenheit 911) off on the American public as a documentary and have it believed? And yet a true documentary , "with documents and everything" will barely get a mention. More on this later.

The Case of the Phony Memos

Now this is almost laughable. You launch the "Fortunate Son" campaigne "coincidently" about the same time as the phoney memos were revealed and expect meto take you seriously when you say there was no collusion? I have one question to Joe Lockhart et al:If there was anything to your story, then why resort to fake documents with forged signatures?
Can you say, "fraud"?

On Yom Kippur

To all my Jewish friends, family (one of Mom's cousins married and converted into Judaism)and readers, I wish you all the blessings of the day.

I Can't Believe I'm Saying This, But...

Kudos to
Kid Rock. While I am not a fan of his but I have found a great deal of respect for the guy. While Springsteen, Bon Jovi et al are out campaigning for John Kerry, Kid Rock is performing for the troops.

According to the referenced artical, "He states, "You see this thing now where like Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi - like I love all these guys as musicians - they're gonna raise money for John Kerry. God bless 'em."

"But, before you go and do that, why don't these motherf**kers go over there and play for our soldiers in Iraq? I'm not vocal about my views on the war. I'm just vocal about my views on the troops."

I don't know that my respect has risen to the level of buying any of his work...but it is significantly than it was.

O'Brian Prediction

Conan O'Brian was doing another one of his "In the year Two Thousand" sketches when Elvis Costello delivered this prediction, "CBS suffered its greatest embarrassment to date when Dan Rather whipped out his johnson during the half-timeshow of the Super Bowl"
I kind of have a feeling that CBS news would be less embarrassed if that had been all that Rather did.

This is a must-read

Victor Davis Hanson on Dan Rather and Liberal Hypocrisy on National Review Online
This has to be the most articulate pieces regarding the fiasco that is CBS news...among other things. I need not say more.

Who is Dionne Kidding?

What Is Bush Hiding? (washingtonpost.com) Is a fascinating little collumn. Not because Mr. Dionne plows new ground in the 30+ year-old questions. Rather it is is that is now ready to move on, as it were, from the tired old story of a RATHER embarrassing episode at Can't Believe Snews.


The most amazing statement Dionne makes is this, "CBS messed up, and yesterday, Rather fessed up.". No, Rather made excuses. He offered no apology to any one. He was only sorry he got caught.

Dionne goes on further trotting out yet a nother whistling-in-the-dark claime against the Swift Boat Vets. Having seen the new spot I can understand why Rather, Dionne et al would love to see them discredited. And Kerry could do just that with one signature...at the bottom of form SF-180, just like president Bush did.

Delusions of Relevence

I almost had to laugh at Kofi Annan. Okay I'm lying, I did laugh. "No nation is above the law", he says in a very thinly veiled swipe at President Bush.How longhas the UN stood by and turned a blind eye to numerous human rights violations world wide. In Sudan, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan under the Taliban and Iraq under Houssein. Never mind that Mr. Annan was lining his pockets with kickbacks from the deposed dictator of Iraq courtesy of the Oil for Food scam...er...program, as did France, Germany and Russia.

Tell ya what, Kofi, return those funds to the people of Iraq then come back and talk to me about nobody being above the law.

But,I digress

For years the UN passes worthless resolution after worthless resolution which Saddam routinely ignored while enriching himself personally. The fact is, the UN is a bad joke that isn't even funny. It occupies some prime real estate inNew York Cityand acts as if its charter supercedes the US constitution. It's time for the UN to find a new home and put a McDonalds and a WalMart on the site.

I Hope This Theory is True

DC talk show host and fellow South Carolinian Michael Graham has stated that Dan Rather et al are sunk because they have become something that nobody can recover from: a punch line. When your stock and trade is being a trusted purveyor of fact, and you breach the trust of your audience to the point that they laugh at you, what hope is there for recovering your credibility?
The latest exapmle is a link I found on Glenn Beck's website. The link is to a parody of the discovery of a 1973 email from Jerry Killian's Yahoo account. It is hillarious and at the same time delightfully damning to Dan and the gang at Can't Believe Snews.

Too Little, Too Late

Had it come within the first forty-eight hours, I would have accepted it. Heck, I'm feeling generous, make it seventy-two hours. Almost two weeks later, this is absolutely insufficient to restore any credibility that the Can't Believe Snews organization has even a glimmer of regaining. In a copyrighted story in the Washington Post CBS has apologized for it's lack of judgement. This, as far as I am concerned, about ten days too late. They knew the docs were as bogus as the sincerity of todays apology.

Entertaining Week

I must say that watching Dan Rather and the crew at Can't Believe Snooze twisting in the wind has been quite entertaining. Or at least it would be if not for the magnititude of what they seem to have attempted to do. All the ascerbic (and dead on right) humor aside, Rather et al have crossed a line that I would not previously thought possible.

I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were duped. Had they come out immediately with their mea culpa I would continue to. But coming out almost two weeks later with a half-hearted admission that the docs were not what they were led to believe does nothing but reaffirm (in my own mind at least) that this was a deliberate act to sway an election.

The fact that Burkette is being set up as the fall guy is also very suggestive of the probability that the Kerry campaigne was directly involved.