The Captain tells us that Trent Lott will retire before year-end, as will Denny Hastert.
What he doesn't mention is the reason for the "before-year-end" timing.
Simple.
After 1/1/08, Senators and Reps who retire must spend two years on the sidelines before joining a lobbying business. In order for these guys to parlay their elected experience into REAL money, they have to get out now.
Neither is much of a loss for Conservatives.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Our Man in Washington
A perspective on the Presidential race from the Badger-in-DC.
He handicaps all of them and has some interesting comments about the Democrats' REAL objective (hint: winning the White House is only #2)...
Good read.
He handicaps all of them and has some interesting comments about the Democrats' REAL objective (hint: winning the White House is only #2)...
Good read.
Wisconsin: Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt
The State of Wisconsin should adopt Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" as its theme song.
To pay for highways, buildings and environmental programs, state government slid 87% deeper in long-term debt over the past 10 years.
According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state had $8.28 billion in general-obligation, transportation and environmental debt in mid-2006; the same debts totaled $4.41 billion in 1996.
You can call that 'an 87% increase,' or you can say that 'it damn near doubled.'
Principal and interest payments on general-obligation bonds will exceed $700 million for the first time this year; and payments on transportation bonds will cost an additional $174 million.
Don't you just love this steaming-pile explanation?
Schmiedicke said incurring more debt allowed Doyle and legislators to protect public schools, aid to local governments and the transportation infrastructure. It also freed up state aid to control increases in property tax bills, he added.
Let me translate:
"Protect" WEAC, the RoadBuilders, and local co-conspirator Spend It Now gummints, not to mention AFSCME employees of those locals.
Wisconsin has the largest deficit of any state, under the so-called generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, system of budgeting, Berry noted. Berry said the state's annual deficit under GAAP - which reflects the imbalance between future spending commitments and expected tax collections - is $2.1 billion
Not to worry!
...state officials discount the GAAP budgeting method. Wisconsin is unique because it promises to return $6 out of every $10 collected in future taxes to local governments - a cash-flow cycle that GAAP goes not take into account, officials said
That's a crock, folks. GAAP is GAAP is GAAP, and just because the State is sending money to the locals doesn't make it a rose.
Face it: it's the SPENDING, STUPID!!!
To pay for highways, buildings and environmental programs, state government slid 87% deeper in long-term debt over the past 10 years.
According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state had $8.28 billion in general-obligation, transportation and environmental debt in mid-2006; the same debts totaled $4.41 billion in 1996.
You can call that 'an 87% increase,' or you can say that 'it damn near doubled.'
Principal and interest payments on general-obligation bonds will exceed $700 million for the first time this year; and payments on transportation bonds will cost an additional $174 million.
Don't you just love this steaming-pile explanation?
Schmiedicke said incurring more debt allowed Doyle and legislators to protect public schools, aid to local governments and the transportation infrastructure. It also freed up state aid to control increases in property tax bills, he added.
Let me translate:
"Protect" WEAC, the RoadBuilders, and local co-conspirator Spend It Now gummints, not to mention AFSCME employees of those locals.
Wisconsin has the largest deficit of any state, under the so-called generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, system of budgeting, Berry noted. Berry said the state's annual deficit under GAAP - which reflects the imbalance between future spending commitments and expected tax collections - is $2.1 billion
Not to worry!
...state officials discount the GAAP budgeting method. Wisconsin is unique because it promises to return $6 out of every $10 collected in future taxes to local governments - a cash-flow cycle that GAAP goes not take into account, officials said
That's a crock, folks. GAAP is GAAP is GAAP, and just because the State is sending money to the locals doesn't make it a rose.
Face it: it's the SPENDING, STUPID!!!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Reflection on "The Wisconsin Way"
One other thought and a P.S. on "The Wisconsin Way."
Their interest is in removing (or substantially reducing) both school and County taxes applied as property-tax. Since they cannot seem to utter the words "reduce spending" in that precise sequence, however, there are few options remaining.
Increase income taxes. Increase sales taxes. Increase "fee" revenues.
In the first two instances, the State's coffers get larger. The "fee" item may or may not be State revenue--but in any case, the money will be almost insignificant in comparison to a State income-tax or sales-tax increase sufficient to offset loss of prop-tax revenues.
Now it is presumed that the State's revenue bulge will be temporary--that the State will merely serve as a conduit to Schools and Counties (less the transfer-fees, of course).
But that ignores the Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rules."
So, whether in 3, 5, or 20 years, the State will be making all the rules for Counties and Schools, because, after all, the State will be funding them.
So much for the idea of 'local control,' and the Principle of Subsidiarity. Put another way, Statism will have emerged victorious.
P. S. Do you think that the Counties will disband themselves because they no longer collect or spend money? What about the School Boards and Administrations?
Their interest is in removing (or substantially reducing) both school and County taxes applied as property-tax. Since they cannot seem to utter the words "reduce spending" in that precise sequence, however, there are few options remaining.
Increase income taxes. Increase sales taxes. Increase "fee" revenues.
In the first two instances, the State's coffers get larger. The "fee" item may or may not be State revenue--but in any case, the money will be almost insignificant in comparison to a State income-tax or sales-tax increase sufficient to offset loss of prop-tax revenues.
Now it is presumed that the State's revenue bulge will be temporary--that the State will merely serve as a conduit to Schools and Counties (less the transfer-fees, of course).
But that ignores the Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rules."
So, whether in 3, 5, or 20 years, the State will be making all the rules for Counties and Schools, because, after all, the State will be funding them.
So much for the idea of 'local control,' and the Principle of Subsidiarity. Put another way, Statism will have emerged victorious.
P. S. Do you think that the Counties will disband themselves because they no longer collect or spend money? What about the School Boards and Administrations?
Woopsy! Missed!! Too Bad!
A simple phone call or two might have been smart, boyzzz.
A SWAT team from the Milwaukee Police Department burst into Denise Berndsen's apartment and turned the place upside down looking for evidence of child porn...
A friggin' SWAT TEAM? For a child porn bust? That's the first question I might have asked, but certainly not the only one...
...they roughed up Berndsen, who had returned home from back surgery that day, her 74-year-old father, and a man she had just started dating and who for a few terrifying minutes wondered what he got himself into.
The second question: why didn't the DA (or the cop-shop) do the elementary stuff?
The man they were targeting had moved out five weeks earlier
A West Allis police report put it this way: "It was later determined MPD's suspect had moved out sometime in mid to late September, and we were now talking to the new tenants."
Actually it was more like Sept. 6, said the landlord, who asked that her name not be dragged into this.
Doh.
Sure, we want the kiddie porn types to be ...ah...dis-welcomed.
But a full-game SWAT team? No due diligence?
A SWAT team from the Milwaukee Police Department burst into Denise Berndsen's apartment and turned the place upside down looking for evidence of child porn...
A friggin' SWAT TEAM? For a child porn bust? That's the first question I might have asked, but certainly not the only one...
...they roughed up Berndsen, who had returned home from back surgery that day, her 74-year-old father, and a man she had just started dating and who for a few terrifying minutes wondered what he got himself into.
The second question: why didn't the DA (or the cop-shop) do the elementary stuff?
The man they were targeting had moved out five weeks earlier
A West Allis police report put it this way: "It was later determined MPD's suspect had moved out sometime in mid to late September, and we were now talking to the new tenants."
Actually it was more like Sept. 6, said the landlord, who asked that her name not be dragged into this.
Doh.
Sure, we want the kiddie porn types to be ...ah...dis-welcomed.
But a full-game SWAT team? No due diligence?
Illegals and Rudy and Romney
We've already mentioned Rudy's extraordinary lenience toward the illegals.
Turns out Mitt Romney has the same inclinations.
Of course, they're both fudging their records, too.
Giuliani, the mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, and Romney, the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 through January, are battling for the Republican presidential nomination amid an uproar over illegal immigration. So they're gritting their teeth, squaring their shoulders and vowing to throw the bums out and keep them out.
Giuliani and Romney also are battling about who was more tolerant of undocumented workers.
The Romney camp likes to trot out a 1994 Giuliani statement: "If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status," he said, "you're one of the people we want in this city.
"You're somebody we want to protect, and we want you to get out from under what is often a life of being like a fugitive, which is really unfair."
Thompson has the only common-sense position on the immigration situation, by the way.
Turns out Mitt Romney has the same inclinations.
Of course, they're both fudging their records, too.
Giuliani, the mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, and Romney, the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 through January, are battling for the Republican presidential nomination amid an uproar over illegal immigration. So they're gritting their teeth, squaring their shoulders and vowing to throw the bums out and keep them out.
Giuliani and Romney also are battling about who was more tolerant of undocumented workers.
The Romney camp likes to trot out a 1994 Giuliani statement: "If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status," he said, "you're one of the people we want in this city.
"You're somebody we want to protect, and we want you to get out from under what is often a life of being like a fugitive, which is really unfair."
Thompson has the only common-sense position on the immigration situation, by the way.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The Wisconsin Way: Spend More, Stupid!
Spent 30 minutes or so this afternoon listening to James Wood (he ran for Governor of Wisconsin and was defeated) talk with a paid lobbyist for the Wisconsin Counties Ass'n and and a host from some consulting group in Milwaukee.
They talked about "The Wisconsin Way."
In 30 solid minutes, I NEVER heard the phrase "cut spending." What I DID hear was "increase investment" and "re-align taxation."
(That means increasing the state income tax--both the top rate AND the graduation of the curve. Now you know why the Realtors are in this. Less proptax means larger home values means larger commissions. Duhhh.)
You know what that means, dear reader...
Yup....
The Roadbuilders, County Boards, Teachers, and Realtors are "helping" you to Spend More Money!!
And a tax-paid lobbyist is one of the leaders of the charge--along with a Democrat PR type from Madistan who ran for Governor and was,....ah...defeated.
One of the humorous parts occurred when the term "tax Hell" was brought up. Naturally, Sykes, Belling, and Weber were the Bad Guys--because they have the nerve to use the term. There was no interest in defining "tax Hell," of course--because that might mean mentioning that Wisconsin is somewhere between 4th and 6th in the country in state/local/sales tax/capita.
Nope. We're just going to say that those who USE the term are the bad guys.
And we're going to persuade you to Spend More Money because, of course, that's the solution to everything. More highways to noplace (see e.g., Hy 151 west of Madison.) More school-money. More "help" for senior citizens (who are leaving as fast as they can.)
They're coming to a place near you soon. Guard the women and children...
They talked about "The Wisconsin Way."
In 30 solid minutes, I NEVER heard the phrase "cut spending." What I DID hear was "increase investment" and "re-align taxation."
(That means increasing the state income tax--both the top rate AND the graduation of the curve. Now you know why the Realtors are in this. Less proptax means larger home values means larger commissions. Duhhh.)
You know what that means, dear reader...
Yup....
The Roadbuilders, County Boards, Teachers, and Realtors are "helping" you to Spend More Money!!
And a tax-paid lobbyist is one of the leaders of the charge--along with a Democrat PR type from Madistan who ran for Governor and was,....ah...defeated.
One of the humorous parts occurred when the term "tax Hell" was brought up. Naturally, Sykes, Belling, and Weber were the Bad Guys--because they have the nerve to use the term. There was no interest in defining "tax Hell," of course--because that might mean mentioning that Wisconsin is somewhere between 4th and 6th in the country in state/local/sales tax/capita.
Nope. We're just going to say that those who USE the term are the bad guys.
And we're going to persuade you to Spend More Money because, of course, that's the solution to everything. More highways to noplace (see e.g., Hy 151 west of Madison.) More school-money. More "help" for senior citizens (who are leaving as fast as they can.)
They're coming to a place near you soon. Guard the women and children...
MSO to Pursue Radio Station License
Reported on Fox6/Business Journal news last night...
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has filed with the FCC to obtain a license for radio broadcast of classical music in the Milwaukee area.
The Fox6 website does not provide a confirming link at this time, nor does the Business Journal; nor does the MSO webpage.
That's good news for a small number of hard-core classical listeners who do not have digital radio-receivers capable of picking up similar programming from the State radio system.
The question: is that 'small number of listeners' enough to offset the MSO's cost?
Let's hope so!
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has filed with the FCC to obtain a license for radio broadcast of classical music in the Milwaukee area.
The Fox6 website does not provide a confirming link at this time, nor does the Business Journal; nor does the MSO webpage.
That's good news for a small number of hard-core classical listeners who do not have digital radio-receivers capable of picking up similar programming from the State radio system.
The question: is that 'small number of listeners' enough to offset the MSO's cost?
Let's hope so!
Health Price Disclosures: Go For It
There's progress on the "health care" costs front.
Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) and Rep. Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton) this week introduced a bill requiring health care providers and insurance companies to make available information about the cost of procedures or services to patients who ask for it.
And maybe more progress to follow:
Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), chairwoman of the Assembly's Committee on Health and Health Care Reform, said she would introduce her own proposal in the coming weeks.
"Merely taking the top 50 procedures out there, what if you have procedure 51?" Vukmir said. "How does that help you?"
Knowledge is power. The difference between "list" and "negotiated" prices for hospital and MD care is often substantial, raising the question "what's it REALLY worth?" in the mind of the consumer--especially the consumer who is un-insured.
Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) and Rep. Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton) this week introduced a bill requiring health care providers and insurance companies to make available information about the cost of procedures or services to patients who ask for it.
And maybe more progress to follow:
Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), chairwoman of the Assembly's Committee on Health and Health Care Reform, said she would introduce her own proposal in the coming weeks.
"Merely taking the top 50 procedures out there, what if you have procedure 51?" Vukmir said. "How does that help you?"
Knowledge is power. The difference between "list" and "negotiated" prices for hospital and MD care is often substantial, raising the question "what's it REALLY worth?" in the mind of the consumer--especially the consumer who is un-insured.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Wisconsin's Price-Fix Laws
Yup. The Leggies have introduced a bill to delete Wisconsin's Price-Fixing laws.
Take THAT, Wiggy!
Madison – Today, Representative Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and Representative Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha) unveiled legislation that will repeal Wisconsin’s archaic Unfair Sales Act and put into place a legislative framework that fosters competition, puts consumer welfare paramount, and reflects a vibrant 21st century marketplace.
The statutes will reflect United States and Wisconsin Supreme Court standards for determining anticompetitive behavior. Recent decisions by the courts have clearly stated that competition, not competitors, should be the overriding interest in the marketplace. As Daniel Crane of the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law points out, “punishing excessively low prices is paradoxical because the very objective of […] antitrust laws is to secure low prices for consumers.”
Take THAT, Wiggy!
Madison – Today, Representative Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and Representative Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha) unveiled legislation that will repeal Wisconsin’s archaic Unfair Sales Act and put into place a legislative framework that fosters competition, puts consumer welfare paramount, and reflects a vibrant 21st century marketplace.
The statutes will reflect United States and Wisconsin Supreme Court standards for determining anticompetitive behavior. Recent decisions by the courts have clearly stated that competition, not competitors, should be the overriding interest in the marketplace. As Daniel Crane of the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law points out, “punishing excessively low prices is paradoxical because the very objective of […] antitrust laws is to secure low prices for consumers.”
Cranmer's Dead! Long Live Cranmer!!
Some Englishmen still think Henry VIII was right.
Earlier this year Benedict XVI finally sacked Archbishop Piero Marini, the liberal papal Master of Ceremonies who is strongly opposed to the Pope’s liturgical reforms. A furious Marini has now written a book ...
And guess where the book is being launched? In the throne room of Archbishop’s House, Westminster, by His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.
Heh.
You may prophesy in the combox which US prelate will host a similar rebellion when the book is launched here.
Of course, "launch" and "hurl" are interchangeable terms with respect to Marini's screed.
HT: Damian Thompson
Earlier this year Benedict XVI finally sacked Archbishop Piero Marini, the liberal papal Master of Ceremonies who is strongly opposed to the Pope’s liturgical reforms. A furious Marini has now written a book ...
And guess where the book is being launched? In the throne room of Archbishop’s House, Westminster, by His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.
Heh.
You may prophesy in the combox which US prelate will host a similar rebellion when the book is launched here.
Of course, "launch" and "hurl" are interchangeable terms with respect to Marini's screed.
HT: Damian Thompson
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Konrad Adenauer on Islamism
Another little bit of wisdom from a fellow who was on the front lines (different war...)
"An infallible method of conciliating a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured."
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Home Depot's Command-Economy Tricks
A floodlight burned out. It's our "critterwatch" flood, one of a pair focused on the back yard, where wildlife occasionally wanders through in the evening.
Them critters which we don't shoot we watch. Some are very cute.
So, anyway, to replace the floodlight, I trek over to HomeDespot Depot.
The old one was a 150-watt incandescent.
Spent about 3 full minutes looking at the light-display. Up, down, sideways; walk back and forth, looking high and low.
Zero, Zip, Nada 150-watters. None.
The Despot went "green" on my behalf. Best I can get is a 90-watter, non-incandescent--some sort of rare-earth metallic compound.
Let's hope Lowe's understands "market-demand" retailing, eh?
Them critters which we don't shoot we watch. Some are very cute.
So, anyway, to replace the floodlight, I trek over to Home
The old one was a 150-watt incandescent.
Spent about 3 full minutes looking at the light-display. Up, down, sideways; walk back and forth, looking high and low.
Zero, Zip, Nada 150-watters. None.
The Despot went "green" on my behalf. Best I can get is a 90-watter, non-incandescent--some sort of rare-earth metallic compound.
Let's hope Lowe's understands "market-demand" retailing, eh?
Kindle? I'd Rather Use Matches
Curt Jester happens to be a technophile and has a critique of the Amazon Kindle:
Three years in the making and much delayed and they came up with a device obviously designed by a committee where little interest was paid to people who would want an e-book reader in the first place. Now if I wanted to design an e-book reader that was sure to fail and possibly serve as a tax write off like in The Producers these are some of the features I would include.
Three years in the making and much delayed and they came up with a device obviously designed by a committee where little interest was paid to people who would want an e-book reader in the first place. Now if I wanted to design an e-book reader that was sure to fail and possibly serve as a tax write off like in The Producers these are some of the features I would include.
- Charge $399 for the reader.
- Make it really ugly with lots of angles.
- Make it incompatible with the ebook format you use to sell.
- Not allow you to add your own files such as PDF, docs, and text without going through the companies site with a fee attached.
- Charge you two bucks for books available for free at Project Gutenberg.
- Allow you to read from a group of blogs selected by the company and then charge you $1 to $2 a month for each blog you subscribe to.
- Have EVDO available but not WI-FI.
- Charge you $14 dollars a month to view newspaper content freely available on the web.
Add a crappy cover that won't last long.
Helluvadeal!
Fun With "Jed" and "Wilbur"
Ah, those cute little Lefties.
Stamping their feets, squalling, shrieking, and attempting humor without a license (nor a humorous bone in their bodies...) It's enough to make me ask 'em to just go hide behind their own skirts.
"Jed" and "Wilbur" take exception to a couple of posts, here and here.
(I KNOW that school's out for a lot of the kiddies, and Mom lets them play with the computer.)
By the way, judging from my Sitemeter, "Jed" and "Wilbur" work for Milwaukee County.
Stamping their feets, squalling, shrieking, and attempting humor without a license (nor a humorous bone in their bodies...) It's enough to make me ask 'em to just go hide behind their own skirts.
"Jed" and "Wilbur" take exception to a couple of posts, here and here.
(I KNOW that school's out for a lot of the kiddies, and Mom lets them play with the computer.)
By the way, judging from my Sitemeter, "Jed" and "Wilbur" work for Milwaukee County.
Kumbaya and Screaming Victims
Yah. Shari'a is so...."Co-Exist-ish."
Here's "Co-Existence" in full:
Saudi Arabia defended on Tuesday a court's decision to sentence a woman who was gang-raped to 200 lashes of the whip, after the United States described the verdict as "astonishing".
The 19-year-old Shi'ite woman from the town of Qatif in the Eastern Province and an unrelated male companion were abducted and raped by seven men in 2006.
Ruling according to Saudi Arabia's strict reading of Islamic law, a court had originally sentenced the woman to 90 lashes and the rapists to jail terms of between 10 months and five years. It blamed the woman for being alone with an unrelated man.
Last week the Supreme Judicial Council increased the sentence to 200 lashes and six months in prison and ordered the rapists to serve between two and nine years in jail.
Milwaukee's Interfaith Council members will be singing Kumbaya during the administration of the 200-lash punishment.
I don't think that the singing will drown out the screaming from the rape-and-Sharia victim, do you?
Here's "Co-Existence" in full:
Saudi Arabia defended on Tuesday a court's decision to sentence a woman who was gang-raped to 200 lashes of the whip, after the United States described the verdict as "astonishing".
The 19-year-old Shi'ite woman from the town of Qatif in the Eastern Province and an unrelated male companion were abducted and raped by seven men in 2006.
Ruling according to Saudi Arabia's strict reading of Islamic law, a court had originally sentenced the woman to 90 lashes and the rapists to jail terms of between 10 months and five years. It blamed the woman for being alone with an unrelated man.
Last week the Supreme Judicial Council increased the sentence to 200 lashes and six months in prison and ordered the rapists to serve between two and nine years in jail.
Milwaukee's Interfaith Council members will be singing Kumbaya during the administration of the 200-lash punishment.
I don't think that the singing will drown out the screaming from the rape-and-Sharia victim, do you?
Happy Thanksgiving--(With History)
This is from Patriot Post:
Contemporary textbook narratives of the first American harvest celebration portray the Pilgrim colonists as having given thanks to their Indian neighbors for teaching them how to survive in a strange new world. This, of course, is in stark contrast to the historical record, in which the colonists gave thanks to God Almighty, the Provider of their blessings.
The “First Thanksgiving” is usually depicted as the Pilgrims’ three-day feast in early November 1621. The Pilgrims, Calvinist Protestants who rejected the institutional Church of England, believed that the worship of God must originate freely in the individual soul, under no coercion. The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on 6 September 1620, sailing to the New World on the promise of opportunity for religious and civil liberty.
For almost three months, 102 seafarers braved the brutal elements, arriving off what is now the Massachusetts coast. On 11 December, before disembarking at Plymouth Rock, the voyagers signed the Mayflower Compact, America’s original document of civil government predicated on principles of self-government. While still anchored at Provincetown harbor, Pastor John Robinson counseled, “You are become a body politic... and are to have only them for your... governors which yourselves shall make choice of.” Governor William Bradford described the Mayflower Compact as “a combination... that when they came a shore they would use their owne libertie; for none had power to command them...”
Upon landing, the Pilgrims conducted a prayer service and quickly turned to building shelters. Malnutrition and illness during the ensuing New England winter killed nearly half their number. Through prayer and hard work, with the assistance of their Wampanoag Indian friends, the Pilgrims reaped a rich harvest in the summer of 1621, the bounty of which they shared with the Wampanoag. The celebration incorporated feasting and games, which remain holiday traditions.
Such ready abundance soon waned, however. Under demands from investors funding their endeavor, the Pilgrims had acquiesced to a disastrous arrangement holding all crops and property in common, in order to return an agreed-to half of their produce to their overseas backers. (These financiers insisted they could not trust faraway freeholders to split the colony’s profits honestly.) Within two years, Plymouth was in danger of foundering under famine, blight and drought. Colonist Edward Winslow wrote, “The most courageous were now discouraged, because God, which hitherto had been our only shield and supporter, now seemed in his anger to arm himself against us.”
Governor Bradford’s record of the history of the colony describes 1623 as a period of arduous work coupled with “a great drought... without any rain and with great heat for the most part,” lasting from spring until midsummer. The Plymouth settlers followed the Wampanoag’s recommended cultivation practices carefully, but their crops withered.
The Pilgrims soon thereafter thought better of relying solely on the physical realm, setting “a solemn day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, in this great distress.” In affirmation of their faith and providing a great witness to the Indians, by evening of that day the skies became overcast and gentle rains fell, restoring the yield of the fields. Governor Bradford noted, “And afterwards the Lord sent to them such seasonable showers, with interchange of fair warm weather as, through His blessing caused a fruitful and liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing. For which mercy, in time convenient, they also set apart a day of thanksgiving.”
Winslow noted the Pilgrims’ reaction as believing “it would be great ingratitude, if secretly we should smother up the same, or content ourselves with private thanksgiving for that, which by private prayer could not be obtained. And therefore another solemn day was set apart and appointed for that end; wherein we returned glory, honor, and praise, with all thankfulness, to our good God, which dealt so graciously with us...” This was the original American Thanksgiving Day, centered not on harvest feasting (as in 1621) but on gathering together to publicly recognize the favor and provision of Almighty God.
Bradford’s diary recounts how the colonists repented of their financial folly under sway of their financiers: “At length, after much debate of things, the Governor (with the advice of the chiefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves; in all other things to go in the general way as before. And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number.”
By the mid-17th century, autumnal Thanksgivings were common throughout New England; observance of Thanksgiving Festivals spread to other colonies during the American Revolution. At other junctures of “great distress” or miraculous intervention, colonial leaders called their countrymen to offer prayerful thanks to God. The Continental Congresses, cognizant of the need for a warring country’s continuing grateful entreaties to God, proclaimed yearly Thanksgiving days during the Revolutionary War, from 1777 to 1783.
In 1789, after adopting the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, among the first official acts of Congress was approving a motion for proclamation of a national day of thanksgiving, recommending that citizens gather together and give thanks to God for their new nation’s blessings. Presidents George Washington, John Adams and James Madison followed the custom of declaring national days of thanks, though it was not officially declared again until another moment of national peril, when during the War Between the States Abraham Lincoln invited “the whole American people” to observe “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father... with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.” In 1941, Congress set permanently November’s fourth Thursday as our official national Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims’ temporary folly of sundering and somersaulting the material as transcendent over the spiritual conveys an important lesson that modern histories are reluctant to tell. The Founders, recognizing this, placed first among constitutionally recognized rights the free exercise of religion—faith through action.
If what we seek is a continuance of God s manifold blessings, then a day of heartfelt thanksgiving is a tiny tribute indeed.
This Thanksgiving, please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families—especially the families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who have died in defense of American liberty.
A thought which I happily pass on to you.
Contemporary textbook narratives of the first American harvest celebration portray the Pilgrim colonists as having given thanks to their Indian neighbors for teaching them how to survive in a strange new world. This, of course, is in stark contrast to the historical record, in which the colonists gave thanks to God Almighty, the Provider of their blessings.
The “First Thanksgiving” is usually depicted as the Pilgrims’ three-day feast in early November 1621. The Pilgrims, Calvinist Protestants who rejected the institutional Church of England, believed that the worship of God must originate freely in the individual soul, under no coercion. The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on 6 September 1620, sailing to the New World on the promise of opportunity for religious and civil liberty.
For almost three months, 102 seafarers braved the brutal elements, arriving off what is now the Massachusetts coast. On 11 December, before disembarking at Plymouth Rock, the voyagers signed the Mayflower Compact, America’s original document of civil government predicated on principles of self-government. While still anchored at Provincetown harbor, Pastor John Robinson counseled, “You are become a body politic... and are to have only them for your... governors which yourselves shall make choice of.” Governor William Bradford described the Mayflower Compact as “a combination... that when they came a shore they would use their owne libertie; for none had power to command them...”
Upon landing, the Pilgrims conducted a prayer service and quickly turned to building shelters. Malnutrition and illness during the ensuing New England winter killed nearly half their number. Through prayer and hard work, with the assistance of their Wampanoag Indian friends, the Pilgrims reaped a rich harvest in the summer of 1621, the bounty of which they shared with the Wampanoag. The celebration incorporated feasting and games, which remain holiday traditions.
Such ready abundance soon waned, however. Under demands from investors funding their endeavor, the Pilgrims had acquiesced to a disastrous arrangement holding all crops and property in common, in order to return an agreed-to half of their produce to their overseas backers. (These financiers insisted they could not trust faraway freeholders to split the colony’s profits honestly.) Within two years, Plymouth was in danger of foundering under famine, blight and drought. Colonist Edward Winslow wrote, “The most courageous were now discouraged, because God, which hitherto had been our only shield and supporter, now seemed in his anger to arm himself against us.”
Governor Bradford’s record of the history of the colony describes 1623 as a period of arduous work coupled with “a great drought... without any rain and with great heat for the most part,” lasting from spring until midsummer. The Plymouth settlers followed the Wampanoag’s recommended cultivation practices carefully, but their crops withered.
The Pilgrims soon thereafter thought better of relying solely on the physical realm, setting “a solemn day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, in this great distress.” In affirmation of their faith and providing a great witness to the Indians, by evening of that day the skies became overcast and gentle rains fell, restoring the yield of the fields. Governor Bradford noted, “And afterwards the Lord sent to them such seasonable showers, with interchange of fair warm weather as, through His blessing caused a fruitful and liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing. For which mercy, in time convenient, they also set apart a day of thanksgiving.”
Winslow noted the Pilgrims’ reaction as believing “it would be great ingratitude, if secretly we should smother up the same, or content ourselves with private thanksgiving for that, which by private prayer could not be obtained. And therefore another solemn day was set apart and appointed for that end; wherein we returned glory, honor, and praise, with all thankfulness, to our good God, which dealt so graciously with us...” This was the original American Thanksgiving Day, centered not on harvest feasting (as in 1621) but on gathering together to publicly recognize the favor and provision of Almighty God.
Bradford’s diary recounts how the colonists repented of their financial folly under sway of their financiers: “At length, after much debate of things, the Governor (with the advice of the chiefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves; in all other things to go in the general way as before. And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number.”
By the mid-17th century, autumnal Thanksgivings were common throughout New England; observance of Thanksgiving Festivals spread to other colonies during the American Revolution. At other junctures of “great distress” or miraculous intervention, colonial leaders called their countrymen to offer prayerful thanks to God. The Continental Congresses, cognizant of the need for a warring country’s continuing grateful entreaties to God, proclaimed yearly Thanksgiving days during the Revolutionary War, from 1777 to 1783.
In 1789, after adopting the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, among the first official acts of Congress was approving a motion for proclamation of a national day of thanksgiving, recommending that citizens gather together and give thanks to God for their new nation’s blessings. Presidents George Washington, John Adams and James Madison followed the custom of declaring national days of thanks, though it was not officially declared again until another moment of national peril, when during the War Between the States Abraham Lincoln invited “the whole American people” to observe “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father... with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.” In 1941, Congress set permanently November’s fourth Thursday as our official national Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims’ temporary folly of sundering and somersaulting the material as transcendent over the spiritual conveys an important lesson that modern histories are reluctant to tell. The Founders, recognizing this, placed first among constitutionally recognized rights the free exercise of religion—faith through action.
If what we seek is a continuance of God s manifold blessings, then a day of heartfelt thanksgiving is a tiny tribute indeed.
This Thanksgiving, please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm’s way around the world, and for their families—especially the families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who have died in defense of American liberty.
A thought which I happily pass on to you.
Charlie Sykes Sends a Message
...and the message is forceful.
Evidently the weenies at the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee are "offended" by Sykes' reproduction of a parody on his website.
The parody was inspired by the snarky, condescending "Co-Exist" bumper stickers (which are, evidently, weenie-approved.) The parody has gone national, justifiably, and credit should be given to Tom McMahon, a brilliant satirist and blog-writer.
So anyway, the weenies "asked" Charlie to delete the post.
Charlie told them to stuff their request where the sun doesn't shine (in far more elegant, but no less emphatic language.)
Now we can put Charlie into an exclusive league.
Back about 20 years ago, I was painting the porch woodwork while listening to Rush. At that time, Limbaugh was commenting on one of the the ACLU's lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America--IIRC, it was about the Oath's reference to God.
Rush's comment, unforgettable, was "Well, SCREW the ACLU!!" (And that's exactly what he said.)
Although Sykes has had a few defining moments (his co-production of "schoolhouse door" was one), and although he and I disagree over a few things, Charlie's been a leading light of the Conservative movement for years.
He just affirmed that position. And I will be proud to have his 6.
By the way, the Interfaith Council has a very strange bedfellow, according to John McAdams (HT: Tex)
...Zulfiqar Ali Shah... has continued to bask in the spotlight. He now sits in his new digs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Religious Director of a large Islamic institution and the toast of the media. Today, the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee will be sponsoring a Shah talk, taking place at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
What makes Shah so interesting, aside from his Milwaukee location and the hugs-and-kisses from the Interfaith Conference?
When the Toledo charity KindHearts was shut down this past February, for raising millions of dollars for Hamas, the group’s leaders got off scott free
And yes, Shah was one of the "leaders" of the group.
But that's hardly all.
Shah’s love for his fellow man was not manifest, when, just a few years prior, in June of 2001, he spoke of a wild conspiracy regarding Jews retaking the Saudi city of Medina. He said, “If we are unable to stop the Jews now, their next stop is Yathrib (The Prophet’s city of Medina), where the Jews used to live until their expulsion by Prophet Muhammad. That’s the pinnacle of their motives.”
My, my. Does "anti-Semitic" apply here? Or only to Sykes and McMahon?
Evidently the weenies at the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee are "offended" by Sykes' reproduction of a parody on his website.
The parody was inspired by the snarky, condescending "Co-Exist" bumper stickers (which are, evidently, weenie-approved.) The parody has gone national, justifiably, and credit should be given to Tom McMahon, a brilliant satirist and blog-writer.
So anyway, the weenies "asked" Charlie to delete the post.
Charlie told them to stuff their request where the sun doesn't shine (in far more elegant, but no less emphatic language.)
Now we can put Charlie into an exclusive league.
Back about 20 years ago, I was painting the porch woodwork while listening to Rush. At that time, Limbaugh was commenting on one of the the ACLU's lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America--IIRC, it was about the Oath's reference to God.
Rush's comment, unforgettable, was "Well, SCREW the ACLU!!" (And that's exactly what he said.)
Although Sykes has had a few defining moments (his co-production of "schoolhouse door" was one), and although he and I disagree over a few things, Charlie's been a leading light of the Conservative movement for years.
He just affirmed that position. And I will be proud to have his 6.
By the way, the Interfaith Council has a very strange bedfellow, according to John McAdams (HT: Tex)
...Zulfiqar Ali Shah... has continued to bask in the spotlight. He now sits in his new digs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Religious Director of a large Islamic institution and the toast of the media. Today, the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee will be sponsoring a Shah talk, taking place at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
What makes Shah so interesting, aside from his Milwaukee location and the hugs-and-kisses from the Interfaith Conference?
When the Toledo charity KindHearts was shut down this past February, for raising millions of dollars for Hamas, the group’s leaders got off scott free
And yes, Shah was one of the "leaders" of the group.
But that's hardly all.
Shah’s love for his fellow man was not manifest, when, just a few years prior, in June of 2001, he spoke of a wild conspiracy regarding Jews retaking the Saudi city of Medina. He said, “If we are unable to stop the Jews now, their next stop is Yathrib (The Prophet’s city of Medina), where the Jews used to live until their expulsion by Prophet Muhammad. That’s the pinnacle of their motives.”
My, my. Does "anti-Semitic" apply here? Or only to Sykes and McMahon?
"Jenny-Bennies", MPS, and Babylon
It's really easy to spend someone else's money.
Milwaukee Public Schools took a major step Tuesday night toward becoming the first public school district in southeastern Wisconsin to offer fringe benefits to domestic partners of employees.
The School Board's Finance Committee voted 4 to 1 to recommend a resolution proposed by board member Jennifer Morales that the board support "equal provision of employment benefits regardless of an employee's sexual orientation or family status."
This is the "Morales Bennie." It's expected that (should the deal get done) Jennie-Bennie will get health coverage through her 'spouse' (??), an MPS principal.
MPS administrators suggested that adding domestic partners could cost millions of dollars, but Patrick Flaherty, director of community relations for Center Advocates Inc., an organization supporting the benefits, said the experience of other government units has been that only a small number of employees ask to add partners to health coverage and other benefits. He suggested the cost would be under $1 million for MPS if 1% of employees used the option.
Uh huh.
Establishing as a principle that a housemate arrangement is identical to marriage with respect to employment benefits?
Priceless.
Just ask Babylon.
Milwaukee Public Schools took a major step Tuesday night toward becoming the first public school district in southeastern Wisconsin to offer fringe benefits to domestic partners of employees.
The School Board's Finance Committee voted 4 to 1 to recommend a resolution proposed by board member Jennifer Morales that the board support "equal provision of employment benefits regardless of an employee's sexual orientation or family status."
This is the "Morales Bennie." It's expected that (should the deal get done) Jennie-Bennie will get health coverage through her 'spouse' (??), an MPS principal.
MPS administrators suggested that adding domestic partners could cost millions of dollars, but Patrick Flaherty, director of community relations for Center Advocates Inc., an organization supporting the benefits, said the experience of other government units has been that only a small number of employees ask to add partners to health coverage and other benefits. He suggested the cost would be under $1 million for MPS if 1% of employees used the option.
Uh huh.
Establishing as a principle that a housemate arrangement is identical to marriage with respect to employment benefits?
Priceless.
Just ask Babylon.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Supremes to Hear DC Gun Ban (and) Papal Shooter, to Boot!!
Here we go, folks!
The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will decide whether the District of Columbia can ban handguns, a case that could produce the most in-depth examination of the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms" in nearly 70 years.
The main issue before the justices is whether the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects an individual's right to own guns or instead merely sets forth the collective right of states to maintain militias. The former interpretation would permit fewer restrictions on gun ownership.
The current title: The case is District of Columbia v. Heller, formerly known as Parker.
That's nowhere near as interesting as this little blog-item:
In the curriculum [vitae] of Pius XI there is a certificate for being a first-rate shot
In L’Osservatore Romano for 20 November, ... there stands out in the cultural page a bizarre headline: "the librarian with the pistol".
We are not dealing with just any librarian, but with Achille Ratti, who became Pope with the name Pius XI.And the gun?
Here’s the explanation of this oddity. When he was prefect of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, Ratti kept a a revolver close at had "as a deterent to keep off possible miscreants with gunshots in the air, or the like.
"Once promoted to the Vatican Library, he brought his gun with him. And when in 1918 Benedict XV sent him to Poland as an apostolic visitor, he sent to Warsaw via the diplomatic pouch, "a small revolver and ammunition".
This should make the Heller decision simple. 5 Papists, 4 not.
Of course, that's a simplification.
Lots more here, here, and here.
Nothing SCOTUS does will alter Wisconsin's 25th Amendment, however.
The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will decide whether the District of Columbia can ban handguns, a case that could produce the most in-depth examination of the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms" in nearly 70 years.
The main issue before the justices is whether the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects an individual's right to own guns or instead merely sets forth the collective right of states to maintain militias. The former interpretation would permit fewer restrictions on gun ownership.
The current title: The case is District of Columbia v. Heller, formerly known as Parker.
That's nowhere near as interesting as this little blog-item:
In the curriculum [vitae] of Pius XI there is a certificate for being a first-rate shot
In L’Osservatore Romano for 20 November, ... there stands out in the cultural page a bizarre headline: "the librarian with the pistol".
We are not dealing with just any librarian, but with Achille Ratti, who became Pope with the name Pius XI.And the gun?
Here’s the explanation of this oddity. When he was prefect of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, Ratti kept a a revolver close at had "as a deterent to keep off possible miscreants with gunshots in the air, or the like.
"Once promoted to the Vatican Library, he brought his gun with him. And when in 1918 Benedict XV sent him to Poland as an apostolic visitor, he sent to Warsaw via the diplomatic pouch, "a small revolver and ammunition".
This should make the Heller decision simple. 5 Papists, 4 not.
Of course, that's a simplification.
Lots more here, here, and here.
Nothing SCOTUS does will alter Wisconsin's 25th Amendment, however.
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