Post Scripts

by Jack Lee

Every year just before Christmas it’s the same thing, we say have to cut back on buying so many presents. We talk about how Christmas has become too commercialized and we mock those who spend way more than they should on presents, presents that people probably didn’t want anyway. We reassure each other that Christmas is about celebrating family and friends and some of us will actually mention that it’s about Christ’s birthday. So we say confidently that it’s really okay to just limit this years Christmas to a few token gifts aqnd only for the closest family members.

Famous last bah humbug words: “Hey, if I want to buy somebody something I’ll buy it when they need it, not just because it’s Christmas.”

That is what we say, but it’s not what we do is it? No. We’ve established a tradition of spending like crazy at Christmas and running ourselves into the ground physically and mentally. For some this extravaganza might involve one or two trip to a large neighboring city. In our case that would be San Francisco. This is where you shop till you drop at the mega-stores in a frenzy to find sales that are “real sales on really good quality things that will last and you absolutely can’t find anywhere else so its really, really worth it” or so we make ourselves believe.

“Madison bought a really great purse that was priced at $295 and on sale at Macy’s for just $155!” Madison’s new purse may well last for 10 years because it’s so well made, but if she carries it for one season I’ll be surprised. But, as men folk we smile and agree what a wonderful buy it was, even if we’re thinking it was way overpriced to begin with and at half off it’s still no bargain! Cost of meals on trip $230, cost of hotel $200 a night, cost of purse $155..yeah it was real deal.

The real bottom line is, going to the city is a like mini-vacation, and its an indulgent adventure for the shopaholics (you know who you are) and that’s the real motivation.

Yeah, we talk a good game about not overdoing it at Christmas, but we always do, don’t we?

Spending is just part of the madness, Christmas is a lot of work too! Most of us probably put out more physical labor this time of year than at any other, and I’m not just talking about the marathon shopping. It’s the mad house cleaning, tuning up the yard, buying and then trimming out the Christmas tree, hanging the outside lights, planning the big Christmas meal, grocery shopping, making snack for guests, sending out Christmas cards, the invitations to the pre-Christmas parties, wrapping gifts, or getting the bedroom ready for your college age kid coming home or relatives from back East…there’s one heck a lot of labor involved here for just two days of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then there is all the stress and tension to meet certain deadlines!

A lot of family fights breakout over the Christmas season thanks to all the stress! It’s starts out that somebody, usually one of the kids, is accused of being a shirker and not helping out enough, then husbands start yelling because Moms are yelling and they’re trying to watch the game. And so it goes until on Dec. 26th, it’s officially over and by January 1st there’s not suppose to be one Christmas decoration left standing and all the Christmas stuff has been put away until next year where the cycle repeats itself.

Yikes, I lost track of the time I have to make a dash to the Mall, haven’t got half the presents I need to buy…I’m freaking out, the clock is ticking…HELP!!!

‘Tis the season to be generous…one person’s very nice gift to strangers:

New York – In his stylish, sleek and sparkling white Manhattan salon, hairdresser Cristiano Cora is trying to do his bit for those less fortunate. A top-of-the-range snipper, he usually charges $300 for a cut. But every Tuesday morning, at his minimalist Greenwich Village studio, unemployed Americans can get a spruced up coiffure for free.

by One Vike

Ok, now I have seen hunting dogs track down an animal, but this is the first time I have ever seen a dog catch a fish. And not just any fish, this dog is playing in the water, then he sees a salmon and chases it until he catches it. then he brings it to shore for his owner. Awesome must see video.

This video reminds me of a little poem I heard once;

The rocks and pool

They seem so cool

So juicy and so sweet

My only wish is to catch a fish

As juicy and as sweet

GOOD BOY!

by Anonymous

At this time of year fireplace mantles are filled with Christmas cards, somewhere nearby there is a Christmas tree, intricately and lovingly deocorated with colored ornaments. And under this beautiful tree are brightly wrapped gifts. It’s a wonderful time to think of family and friends and to be thankful for all that we have.

The giving of gifts at Christmas should also be a reminder that many years ago God sent his only son to earth as gift to you and this was the greatest gift you could ever receive. Presents get lost, toys get broken, and dreams of long-lived happiness begin to fade with time, but God’s gift to us is eternal.

The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, all sin, all unrighteousness–past, present, and future–is washed away by the blood of Christ when we confess our sins and receive his gift of eternal salvation. And when that time comes that we leave this earth we are promised we will be welcomed into the Father’s House for eternity. That is God’s gift to you and the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is the message of the Gospel that we celebrate at Christmas–God’s gift to us.

Merry Christmas.

by OneVike

(Look for OneVike’s usual Sunday message on Christmas Day)

Back in May I wrote an article that asked the question, “Was Jesus A Socialist?” As I wrote in the article it is my understanding of the Scriptures, and of God’s many rules and regulations to the Israelites, that Jesus was a capitalist. Thus I believe if He were walking among us and actually voting in our elections today, He would most certainly be a conservative capitalist.

Ok, so now we find ourselves at the doorstep of Christmas and unfortunately more children have probably heard of Santa than have heard of Jesus. So in the spirit of the season, and just so I can be fair and equitable with my political opinions, I have decided to share what I think of Santa’s political persuasion. This will be my message today. I realize it is not a Christian message so much as it is a political statement. I ask that you forgive me for this and allow me to digress into an area that many children may appreciate more then adults. I also do not want anyone to think that I am putting a beloved character on the same level as God, I am not, and please do not misconstrue the meaning of this article. I offer it as a simple and fun explanation of how I see liberals and what I think of Santa’s politics.

Continue reading “Eight Reason’s Santa Must Be a Conservative Republican” »

Turning his back on the unborn

Posted by Tina

“The mother of all unfunded mandates,” by Paul Mirengoff – Powerline

Now that the Medicare expansion has been stripped from the Democrats’ health care legislation, we would do well to focus on the Medicaid expansion. The legislation would expand eligibility for Medicaid to those whose income equals 133 percent or less of the poverty level. According to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, this would add roughly 15 million people to the program. In his state, the increase could be as high as 50 percent. ** Where will the money for the expansion come from? Not from the federal government. If the feds were to foot the bill, this would explode the pretense that the legislation is “revenue neutral.” To keep up that pretense, the bill would leave the states to pay for the expansion after the first three years. Gov. Barbour estimates the size of that bill at $25 billion. Call it the mother of all unfunded mandates.

But not for so-called pro-life Democrat Ben Nelson. He was a hold-out on that issue until today when he managed to negotiate a special deal for his state of Nebraska (as did Mary Landrieu of Louisiana earlier.)

“Ben Nelson’s selling price,” Betsey’s Page

Page 98 of the managers amendment specifically identifies Nebraska for higher federal matching funds, fully funding its expansion for an additional year: ”(3) Notwithstanding subsection (b) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, the Federal medical assistance percentage otherwise determined under subsection (b) with respect to all or any portion of a fiscal year that begins on or after January 1, 2017, for the State of Nebraska, with respect to amounts expended for newly eligible individuals described in subclause (VIII) of section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i), shall be determined as provided for under subsection (y)(1) (A) (notwithstanding the period provided for in such paragraph) * Subsection (y)(1)(A) refers to page 399 of the original merged Senate legislation which fully funds state Mediciad expansions for the first two years. The manager’s amendment also provides 2.2% increase in FMAP to help states finance their existing Medicaid programs.

This citizen thinks “special” provisions given out for votes stinks. My own state is already in deep doo doo financially. Another unfunded mandate will set fire to an already blown budget. So what will Nancy and Harry do to “states” like California when they can’t come up with the funds to cover these expanded programs…fine them? Throw them in jail?

Like they give a rats patootie what is in this bill…as Pelosi recently admitted she doesn’t care about anything except getting a bill passed. This has got to stop. They’re way beyond dysfunctional…we’re into insane now! Time to call out the white coats and have them hawled off to the looney bin….no, I meant the real looney bin.

by OneVike

Earlier Friday afternoon, scientists funded by NOAA and the National Science Foundation released video of an underwater volcano eruption. This eruption is the deepest erupting volcano ever discovered and recorded. The video of this eruption is more than awesome, it is spectacular. In an area near Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, the West Mata volcano was discovered in May. The volcano lies almost 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

The scientists say they found a type of lava they have never seen erupting from an active volcano before. They also witnessed molten lava flowing across the deep-ocean seafloor for the first time ever. That is what the missions Chief Scientist, Joseph Resing, told reporters when he held a news conference explaining their findings. In 2004 the NOAA and it’s partners discovered a much shallower eruption in an area called the Mariana Arc, but they knew that the deeper they went and the closer they got to the eruptions, that they would see the kind of eruptions that formed most of the oceanic crust.

What you will see in the video is a spectacular sequence that is close enough to the eruption that you can actually see violent magma degassing and producing bright flashes of hot magma. The Lava gets blown up into the water and then settles back to the sea floor, while the large plugs of lava flow rapidly down the slope. In the foreground you can see the front of the remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) with sampling hoses. To give you the right perspective of what you are watching, the area in view is about 6-10 feet across in an eruptive area approximately 100 yards that runs along the summit.

Two things I need to know. First question is, we know that 71% of the earths surface is water and we know more about the planet Mars than we do about the ocean floor, is it possible that any warming of the oceans surface temperature is caused by the thousands of underwater volcanoes like the one in the video? And my second question is, when will we as a group quit standing around waiting for the modern day Nazi’s to throw us into their concentration camps of poverty and misery, and take them these clowns down for good?

Continue reading “Could Eruptions Like This One, Raise Ocean Temperatures?” »

Posted by Tina

I hate to bring this up during this joyous time just before Christmas but when I think of how our soldiers are sacrificing for America I realize it would be shameful to let it go. Some things are too important to set aside. What’s happening in Washington DC is unprecedented and anything but indicative of the ideal created for us by the founders. It sickens me to see the power grab unfolding in the name of the people.

Two stories caught my attention today. Read them and weep…for America:

“Readers question Dems’ motives on health care,” by: Byron York, Chief Political Correspondent – Washington Examiner

Earlier this week I asked why Democrats continue to push a national health care bill, even though dozens of polls show a solid majority of Americans don’t want it. Are President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid irrational? Politically tone deaf? What could possibly account for their rush to pass legislation that the public decisively rejects — less than a year before the 2010 elections? ** I outlined the theories of a Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous. He said that Pelosi is determined to fulfill the Democratic Party’s destiny — a national health care system — and believes losing 20, or even 40 Democratic seats in the House would be an acceptable price for achieving a goal the party has pursued since Franklin Roosevelt. The president is looking for a crowning achievement and has the comfort of not running for re-election in 2010. And, the strategist said, Reid believes that whatever losses Senate Democrats sustain in 2010 will happen regardless of whether health care is passed. ** After the column was published, I heard from many readers with their own ideas. ** “The Democrats are playing for the long term,” wrote one reader. “They know that, once they’ve planted a new entitlement, it will grow as fast as they can water it with taxpayer dollars.” ** “The only way to fully understand the motivation for pursuing this legislation is that it creates dependency,” wrote another. “The unstated, but ever-present, goal of health care reform is to make as many Americans as possible as dependent on the federal government as possible for as much of their lives as possible.”

Continue reading “America’s Shame and Irony” »

by OneVike

One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. Ever since i was a young boy growing up in Northern Minnesota I have enjoyed the leisure sport of fishing. In the last 5 years I have taken up the sport of fly Fishing and found it to be even more enjoyable then fishing with a reel and worms. I have fished many rivers and in many states across this vast country, but I have never ventured outside of America to fish.

I always thought that someday I might like to fish in Canada. Then after watching this video and seeing how they fish up there, I have decided to stay in the United States and fish like I have become accustomed. Take a look at this video and see why I am not a great fan of the way they fish North of the U.S. border.

For those that don’t know about history … here is a condensed version that will take about 2 minutes or less to read:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers.. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundations of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1. Liberals, and

2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That’s how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q’s and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. Those became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democrat voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal are. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, politicians, bureaucrats, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn’t fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Continue reading “WORLD HISTORY CONDENSED INTO 2 MINUTES” »