Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

I frequently sat down to my meat with thankfulness, and admired the hand of God's providence, which had thus spread my table in the wilderness. I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition, and less upon the dark side; and to consider what I enjoyed rather than what I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented people in mind of it who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they see and covet something that he has not given them. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.

from Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe (pub.1719)

That America would re-elect this idiot –not to mention his senate–is beyond my comprehension.

 

 

Look who parks their cash at Bain Capital

This was printed some six weeks ago but I missed it.
You want to know how EVILLLL Mitt Romney and Bain Capital are?
Read on…
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/look_who_parks_their_cash_at_bain_88KSQrw8BXciEidja2ZQXN

 

 

Chris Wallace is right. Joe Biden's "performance" tonight was unbelievably condescending and rude. Maybe a "shut up, Joe, it's my turn" would have been an appropriate response from Ryan, but I suppose he just doesn't have as much bile in his system as Biden. (Or The Madman, for that matter. I would have lowered the boom on that SOB--and probably lost the election. That's why I'm not a politician.) LINK

Big-Bird-Brained

Excellent editorial about PBS and Big Bird:

 

http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/329846

 

 

Phony-in-Chief

Phony-in-Chief

 

BY THOMAS SOWELL

 

 

When President Barack Obama and others on the left are not busy admonishing the rest of us to be “civil” in our discussions of political issues, they are busy letting loose insults, accusations, and smears against those who dare to disagree with them.

 

Like so many people who have been beaten in a verbal encounter, and who can think of clever things to say the next day after it is all over, President Obama, after his clear loss in his debate with Mitt Romney, called Governor Romney a “phony.”

 

Innumerable facts, however, show that it is our commander-in-chief who is phony-in-chief. A classic example was his speech to a predominantly black audience at Hampton University on June 5, 2007. That date is important, as we shall see.

 

In his speech — delivered in a ghetto-style accent that Obama doesn’t use anywhere except when he is addressing a black audience — he charged the federal government with not showing the same concern for the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit as it had shown for the people of New York after the 9/11 attacks, or the people of Florida after Hurricane Andrew hit.

 

Departing from his prepared remarks, he mentioned the Stafford Act, which requires communities receiving federal disaster relief to contribute 10 percent as much as the federal government does.

 

Senator Obama, as he was then, pointed out that this requirement was waived in the case of New York and Florida because the people there were considered “part of the American family.” But the people in New Orleans — predominantly black — “they don’t care about as much,” according to Barack Obama.

 

If you want to know what community organizers do, this is it — rub people’s emotions raw to hype their resentments. And this was Barack Obama in his old community-organizer role, a role that should have warned those who thought that he was someone who would bring us together, when he was all too well practiced in the arts of polarizing us.

 

Why is the date of this speech important? Because less than two weeks earlier, on May 24, 2007, the United States Senate had in fact voted 80–14 to waive the Stafford Act requirement for New Orleans, as it had waived that requirement for New York and Florida. More federal money was spent rebuilding New Orleans than was spent in New York after 9/11 and in Florida after hurricane Andrew, combined.

 

Truth is not a job requirement for a community organizer. Barack Obama cannot claim that he wasn’t present the day of that Senate vote, as he claimed he wasn’t there when Jeremiah Wright unleashed his obscene attacks on America from the pulpit of the church that Obama attended for 20 years.

 

Unlike Jeremiah Wright’s church, the U.S. Senate keeps a record of who was there on a given day. The Congressional Record for May 24, 2007, shows Senator Barack Obama present that day and voting on the bill that waived the Stafford Act requirement. Moreover, he was one of just 14 senators who voted against — repeat, against – the legislation which included the waiver.

 

When he gave that demagogic speech, in a feigned accent and style, it was world-class chutzpah and a rhetorical triumph. He truly deserves the title phony-in-chief.

If you know any true believers in Obama, show them the transcript of his June 5, 2007, speech at Hampton University (available from the Federal News Service) and then show them page S6823 of the Congressional Record for May 24, 2007, which lists how Senators voted on the waiver of the Stafford Act requirement for New Orleans.

 

Some people in the media have tried to dismiss this and other revelations of Barack Obama’s real character that have belatedly come to light as “old news.” But the truth is one thing that never wears out. The Pythagorean Theorem is 2,000 years old, but it can still tell you the distance from home plate to second base (127 ft.) without measuring it. And what happened five years ago can tell a lot about Barack Obama’s character — or lack of character.

 

Obama’s true believers may not want to know the truth. But there are millions of other people who have simply projected their desires for a post-racial America onto Barack Obama. These are the ones who need to be confronted with the truth, before they repeat the mistake they made when they voted four years ago.

 

— Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © 2012 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

 

President Obama says "We've come too far to turn back now."
7.8% unemployment is too far? 16 trillion in debt is where we need to be?
Could we be moving too far down the wrong road? How much farther in the wrong direction can we afford to go?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

“In Wisconsin, high school athletes are complaining about not getting enough to eat each day, due to the skimpy new school lunch menu mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama.”

http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/09/23/complaints_mount_against_michelle_obamas_new_lunch_menu

This is a perfect example of what’s wrong with liberals—they’re so smart that they always know what’s best for everybody else.  Remember when Cheryl Crow proposed “a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting” to help fight global warming?  Yes, she did, because one size fits all!  Now I love Cheryl’s voice, but not so much her brain.

It would surely take more than a roll of toilet paper to clean all the crap out of Michelle Obama’s head.

Now just where do the Department of Agriculture and Michelle Obama get the power to dictate school lunch menus? 

Well, obviously it’s YOU if you vote for these idiots!

Thank goodness Cheryl Crow isn’t First Lady!

How do you spell "incompetence"?

If Obamacare, 5 trillion dollars in new debt, four dead diplomats, and showing the Russian Navy at the Dimbecile National Convention aren’t enough…

 

http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/17/fighter-jets-in-democratic-conventions-military-montage-were-turkish-not-american/

 

Let us count the ways…

Ted Cruz for Senate!

My hero.

This is great!

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120716/ARTICLES/120719707/1109/sports?Title=Video-shows-patron-shooting-robbers-at-Palms-Internet-Cafe

 

Kind of a drag...

Got low blood pressure and about 3 minutes. This will fix you right up.

Toucan, near Purascal, Costa Rica

Source: Uploaded by user via Cliff on Pinterest

One thing I’ve learned from playing piano—if you miss a note…just stay with it and see where it takes you.  Sometimes it ain’t pretty, but it’s usually interesting.

Now voting is a little different.  Yes it sure can get interesting if you get it wrong, but interesting can turn to poverty, fear and even despair after four years of incompetence. And that always isn’t pretty. (See the chart if you don’t believe me.)

If we even hope to turn this country around we need a complete Republican / Tea Party takeover in every state and federal branch of government.

The Dimocrats had total veto and filibuster-proof control of the government for two years and screwed  the country up big time. 

Republicans have never had that much power, which up to now may have been a good thing—they haven’t always been reliable. (Though they are almost always better than Dimocrats!)

This fall please vote for Mitt Romney and every other Republican you can find on the ballot.  None of them are perfect candidates, but the alternative is just too horrible to contemplate.

 

The Manhatten Declaration

The Manhattan Declaration was drafted and released in 2009.  It is a declaration of Christian faith and responsibility and talks extensively about life, marriage and religious liberty. 

 

Here is the actual pledge:

 

We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.

 

This is not a line in the sand.  It is a line etched in the granite of Mount Sinai.  I signed it two years ago, but have neglected to do my part in spreading the word.  Tonight I will try to rectify that.

 

Please read and prayerfully sign the pledge at http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-declaration/read.aspx .  Then please pass it along to your Christian friends.

 

Cliff Raymond

 

 

“If there were no God, there would be no atheists.” 
― G.K. Chesterton

 

“It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make

everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything.” 
― G.K. Chesterton

 

Chancey got a job!

In fact, Chancey got his dream job!!!  He’s going to be a game designer for Wizards of the Coast!  They flew him to Seattle on May 28 for an interview, along with three other prospects.  Tonight they called him and offered him the job.

I still can’t believe he’ll be getting paid to do stuff like that.  When he was 10 or so he would spend every weekend in a place called Heroes, full of kids playing card games like Magic, or Dungeons and Dragons.  He even designed several dozen cards of his own, making up new rules and other stuff I don’t pretend to understand.  (He took a portfolio of those cards to the interview.)

Now he’s going to work for the company that makes those games. 

It’s also a great company to work for, apparently.  It’s a division of Hasbro, which Money magazine ranks in the top 100 best places to work in the country.

My only regret is that it’s on the left coast—a long way off, both geographically and politically.

Please keep him in your prayers.  He will have to face challenges even a Wizard of the Coast can’t imagine!

RAYMOND ENDORSES CRUZ!!!

RAYMOND ENDORSES CRUZ!!!

Yes!  And so did Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Jim DeMint, and James Dobson.  Not to mention the PACs: Freedom Works, Concerned Women, Club for Growth, Family Research Council, Tea Party Express, Gun Owners of America, and more!

But I’m confident it’s my endorsement that impresses you the most!

I strongly support Ted Cruz as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.  In spite of the barrage of stupid lies put out by his well-funded opponent, Ted Cruz is the candidate that we need to bring integrity back to Washington.  If Dewhurst wins the primary I'll probably have to hold my nose and vote for him in the general election (there's just no way I could ever vote for a Dimocrat), but I hope it doesn't come to that.  I'm getting awfully tired of holding my nose.
This one will be close.  Dewhurst has poured a lot of money into this campaign, and has called in an awful lot of political favors.  If he doesn’t get the nomination, then he will remain as Lieutenant Governor—which is a very powerful position in Texas government.  Many of our state representatives are afraid to come out against him because they know what that will mean to any bills they introduce.

We can’t keep doing things like this.  There has to be a better way.

Please vote for Ted Cruz in the Republican primary this Tuesday, May 29, and let’s send an honest man to Washington.

Thanks,

Cliff Raymond

--
Posted By Cliff Raymond to Touch of the Madman at 5/27/2012 09:43:00 PM

Don't Worry (About GDP), Be Happy - The Wall Street Journal.

Trying to think of a good acronym for this.

How about FHIX...as in "The FHIX is in."

Don't Worry (About GDP), Be Happy

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577369890095195160.html

RIP Charles Colson

Please watch this.

Chuck Colson was a captain  of Marines from 1953 to 1955—in between wars, but somebody had to do it.  He later went to work for President Richard Nixon and, after the Watergate scandal broke, he became famous and went to jail. 

Then he was reborn as a Christian and founded Prison Fellowship Ministries. 

One day, shortly before leaving prison, Colson was going about his business in the prison dorm while some inmates played cards.
Suddenly, one of the players, a six-foot-tall prisoner named Archie, bellowed, "Hey, Colson. You'll be out of here soon. What are you going to do for us?
Suddenly, the whole room fell silent. All ears were straining to hear the answer. "I'll help in some way," replied Colson. "I'll never forget you guys or this stinking place."
"Bull!" roared Archie, slamming down the pack of cards on the table. "You all say that. I've seen big shots like you come and go. They all say the same things while they're inside. Then they get out and forget us fast. There ain't nobody cares about us. Nobody!"
But today, 35 years later, thousands upon thousands of Christian volunteers and churches do care. They care enough to visit prison, mentor prisoners, help their families, and share the Good News of Christ with them.
That's because in 1976, Colson founded Prison Fellowship, which, together with churches of all confessions and denominations, has become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, with ministry taking place in 113 countries around the globe.

I read his book "How Now Shall We Live?" and it had a profound influence on me.  I once tried to teach it in a Sunday school class for eight weeks and learned that I'm not a teacher. Colson's book is a teacher, though. 

I will miss Chuch Colson. 

So will the world.

RIP

Kim Il Sung

Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN) -- Defying warnings from the international community, North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Friday, but it broke apart before escaping the earth's atmosphere and fell into the sea, officials said.  "It flew about a minute, and it flew into the ocean," said Noriyuki Shikata, a spokesman for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. He added that Japanese authorities "have not identified any negative impacts, so far," though he said the international ramifications could be significant. "This is something that we think is a regrettable development," he said.

Joseph Cirincione, president of the global security foundation The Ploughshares Fund, told CNN that the launch's apparent failure "shows the weakness of the North Korea missile program" and suggests that the threat from North Korea has been "exaggerated."

"It's a humiliation," he told CNN. "I wouldn't want to be a North Korean rocket scientist today."

 

That is exactly what I said today when I heard that the rocket failed (for the third time).  The North Koreans kill or imprison anyone who fails, so it’s no wonder they keep failing.  It never occurs to them that you don’t learn from success.  You learn from mistakes. 

Democrats seem to have the same problem.

“It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything.” 
― G.K. Chesterton

OH NO....JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDES!!!!!

I thought this damning statistic, from the Wall Street Journal, was remarkable.

 

At a time when the overall U.S. homicide rate is declining, more civilians are killing each other and claiming self-defense—a trend that is most pronounced in states with new "stand your ground" laws.

These laws, which grant people more leeway to attack and even kill someone who is threatening them, are attracting close scrutiny following February's controversial killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida by a neighborhood watchman.

So-called justifiable homicides nearly doubled from 2000 to 2010, the most recent data available, when 326 were reported, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of crime statistics from all 50 states.

 

Good God, 326 “so-called” justifiable homicides in 2010!  In just 50 states!  How will the nation survive such an onslaught?????

 

Excuse me while I Google something……………………………(yes I’m really googling now)………………………………….Okay—here it is:

 

According to the FBI there were “12,996 murder victims in 2010 for which supplemental data were received”.   I suspect that means there were probably a lot more than that, but why quibble.  Okay, 326/12996 is 0.25%.  Since justifiable homicide “nearly doubled” in 10 years, then it must have increased by 0.12%.  (The word “doubled” really does have an impact, doesn’t it?  And it’s true!)

 

This is a test of your intelligence:

1.       Is the ”nearly doubled” statistic of justified homicide more significant than the opposite (and unstated, not to mention obvious) statistic that unjustified homicide must have declined from 99.75% to 99.63% over that same period?  If so, wouldn’t that be a good thing (albeit rather small)?

2.       Is it possible that an increase in “justified homicide” is logically the same as a decrease in unjustified homicide?

3.       Do you ever really think about the crap the news media feeds you?

 

Thanks for listening.

 

 

Chevy Volt - Building a Better Tomorrow from Ben Howe on Vimeo.

Good Friday surrender suggestion for Santorum

I have a suggestion for Rick Santorum that I believe could get the Tea Party, the Silent Majority, Reagan Democrats, Libertarians, and even a few Republicans excited about the campaign.   I think it would not only guarantee Santorum the GOP nomination, but the election as well. 

Sometime before Super Tuesday on March 6 Rick should announce that at noon Eastern time on Good Friday (April 2) he will surrender himself to federal authorities on the steps of the Supreme Court.  As part of the announcement he will encourage his GOP opponents and all Americans to similarly appear on Good Friday at the nearest federal courthouse and surrender themselves at the same time. (It’s a holiday and lots of people will be off work.)  Rick—and everyone who surrenders—will then provide a written confession that he has conspired to incite the general public to civil disobedience, i.e., by vowing to disobey federal law by refusing to participate with any government mandate that violates their religious and/or Constitutional freedoms. 

Santorum’s staff should be able to come up with a suitably pointed confession and vow.  Distributing it in advance proves that it really is a conspiracy, right?

The publicity in the weeks running up to Good Friday would be pervasive with all the pundits wondering how many people will show up and what the Feds and Obama will do.  Will he arrest everyone who promises to ignore the law?  Probably not, but if anyone does get arrested I suppose we could then petition Pontius Obama to pardon them.  Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

I suspect the turnout would be overwhelming, nationwide, and astonishingly peaceful! Even the mainstream media wouldn’t be able to ignore it. Rick Santorum will get a hero’s welcome everywhere he goes for weeks, before and after!

You’ve said yourself that the candidates need to do more to educate the public to the real issues facing us.  I think this would do so dramatically. 

Santorum better hurry, though.  If Newt Gingrich gets wind of this he’ll steal the idea!

--Cliff

GO RICK!!!

Mitt Romney would probably be a good president.

 

Rick Santorum will be a GREAT PRESIDENT!!!

 

Open letter to Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry

“Mitt Romney appears to be gaining steam in a new national poll, especially among conservatives.”

                --Investor’s Business Daily, 01/13/2012

In other words, conservative are not stupid.  When you attack free market capitalism you’re not just attacking the great economic insight of conservatism—you’re aiding the Enemy by giving demagogic ammunition to Dimocrats. Thanks to government education most American are ignorant enough about basic economics without your asinine campaign ads causing even more damage.

One more time…THIS ELECTION IS NOT ABOUT YOU! 

It’s about AMERICA!!!

And it’s time for you guys to go home.

I was a supporter of Rick Perry when he first entered the race, until he self-destructed in the debates.  Newt Gingrich was a much better debater so I switched my support to him.  Now both of them are attacking capitalism in an attempt to bring Romney down—which is despicable. They have completely lost my support.  One thing that ALL of these candidates need to remember: This election is NOT ABOUT YOU!!! It’s not about Gingrich, or Perry, or Ron Paul, or Rick Santorum, or Mitt Romney being elected president.  IT’S ABOUT GETTING RID OF OBAMA!  The candidates should say nothing that helps the Dimocrats or hurts the Conservative movement.  My top two choices now are Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. They at least seem to understand that this election is even bigger than their egos.

 

Great speech by Santorum!

Rick Santorum for president

For what it’s worth, I hope Rick Santorum wins the Iowa caucus.  He is far and away the most principled conservative running and I really want him to be around when Texans finally get to vote.