Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 23 December 2016

Today is the day before Christmas Eve.

The wkrld is filled with wars and rumors of war, of death and hate and hopelessness.  Then came the morning.

Off on some of those end-of-the-year errands.  And lost in some thoughts.  Including those of profound gratitude to those  who have been so good to us.  Thank you

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Our Old Testament reading today is the book of Habakkuk, all three chapters.
Habakkuk is the name of the prophet bringing us this.  He was, probably, a professional prophet or perhaps a priest, and this dates to some time around 600 B/C., before the Babylonian invasion that destroyed Jerusalem.  The first two chapters are almost a conversation between the Lord and Habakkuk, with chapter 3 being a bit different.
Habakkuk deals with age-old questions, ones we still raise, about why the Lord permits great evil to exist, even to apparently triumph, in the world He made in harm to His people.
The name of the author is an oddity.  It is found nowhere else in Scripture.  Many of us know people with Biblical names or carry one ourselves.  Names like Mark, Daniel, David, Luke, Mary, Sarah, and so forth.  Even rarer ones like Homer (my uncle), Jerome, and such.  Know anyone named Habakkuk?  I know OF one, a family in a church we once attended named their first-born Habakkuk.  I suspect that he goes by his middle name.

Habakkuk 1

1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. 5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you. 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. 9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. 12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?

Habakkuk 2

1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. 5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Habakkuk 3

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. 3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. 4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. 5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 8 Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? 9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. 11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. 14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. 15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. 16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. 17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 14 of the Revelation.

Today''s Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 20 December 2013

getting down to it on the calendar.  At this rate, we'll need to start writing 2014 pretty soon.  Seems as if the year vanished like a dream when you wake.  Sometimes I wonder if, when on the Other Side, our life here will have that same import, a dream barely remembered when we truly awake.  Something to think about when the day's issues seem so massive and important.  Perhaps they're not.

On the other hand,\
Just got off the phone after an hour-long phone interview with an engineering manager from a manufacturer in the Greater Cleveland  area.  We shall see. It would be a daily commute of about 80 minutes each way.  We shall see.

The Big Issue of the day seems to be the Duck Dynasty and A&E flap.  Seems that a magazine has quoted one of the principal people on the show with respect to his views on issues, homosexual behavior in particular.  The response was to essentially quote the Bible on the matter.  And now the whole thing has blown up.  How DARE anyone say anything that does not celebrate that particular perversion!!  How DARE he!!!  Well, I dare.  The Lord has made His decision on the matter.  I think that if He can set the speed of light and the force of gravity, He has rather more power in the matter than the top dogs of GLAAD or at A&E or any of the usual loudmouths. 

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The Old Testament assignment for today is chapters 4 and 5 of Micah.  In some ways, this is much more positive than yesterday's passage was.

Micah 4

1	But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2	And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3	And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4	But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5	For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
6	In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7	And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
8	And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
9	Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
10	Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
11	Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
12	But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
13	Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

Micah 5

1	Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
2	But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
3	Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
4	And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
5	And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
6	And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
7	And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
8	And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
9	Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
10	And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:
11	And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:
12	And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:
13	Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
14	And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.
15	And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 11 of the Revelation.

Revelation 11

1	And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2	But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3	And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4	These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5	And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6	These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7	And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8	And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9	And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10	And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11	And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12	And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13	And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14	The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
15	And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16	And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17	Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18	And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19	And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Is ACORN Intenionally Stuctured As A Criminal Enterprise?

A fair question, actually. One you probably won't find addressed by the LameStreamMedia. Or, given the pack of knaves in power, one addressed by the FBI or any US Attorney.
But there remain the citizens of this once-free nation.


Go here and read. Weep. Get angry. But be informed.

Sometimes the Brits See it Better

Hard to get a more chilling headline than this one:

I have seen your future, America, and it doesn’t work

It's a neat but chilling reminder of the lick-spittle Socialist/Fascists (not much difference, actually) of the 1930's who went off, variously, to Mussolini's Italy and Stalin's USSR, and sent back the work ''I have seen the future and it works'', this referring to Stalin's giant prison camp, but carefully did not mention the Cheka, the execution squads, the Gulag, Siberia, the mass murder in Ukraine, etc.
This writer before us is doing as good a job of eviscerating the idiocy of Obama-worship as I have seen in a while, basing much of it on the hero-worship of Tony Blair, and expecting the same results. The money phrase:

In four, or more likely, eight years time, America is going to wake up one morning — rather as Britain did in the dog-end of the Blair years — with the most terrible hang- over, only to find its pockets empty, its savings gone, its property trashed to virtual worthlessness, its streets rife with crime and its traditional liberties circumscribed by nannying bureaucrats and pettifogging regulation, and it’s going to ask itself: ‘Huh? How did that happen? Did someone drug me? Why didn’t I see that one coming?’

Some of us did see it coming. And were ignored, or slandered.

Today's Reading 01 November 2008

Happy Saturday, happy 1st day of the month of November. This year seems to be rushing to a close.
I am writing this listening to a version of one of my favorite classical pieces, Samuel Barber's Adagio, the Agnus Dei, but done primarily with voices. It is remarkable, and bids to become one of my very favorite pieces. It takes me places. I recommend it highly. See it here.

I have to take Dear Wife to the doctor in the morning, the local walk-in clinic. She has a bite on her leg that has been there several days now. She looked on-line, and it bears a disturbing resemblance to the bite mark of a Brown Recluse spider. She doesn't need that, not that anyone does, ever, but with her gone-wild immune system, anything is bad.

We have an election coming up this next week. Voting is very important. Prayer is even more so. I'm not a political junkie and not one given to seeing evil conspirators behind ever shadow. But we are called to be Christians, His ambassadors to the world, and I read that to mean conducting ourselves in the voting booth as He would wish. I am not all-wise. But I do believe, firmly, that supporting abortion is repugnant to the Lord, and supporting a candidate who opposed legislation intended to protect babies who survived an abortion attempt is evil. And I regard that candidate, Barack Hussein Obama, as a person utterly unfit for ANY position of public trust. Any. Your mileage may vary. But I will NEVER support this guy.
By the way, it just came out that his aunt, an ILLEGAL ALIEN, is living in taxpayer-funded housing, FOUR YEARS after being ordered out of the country. Oh, and in violation of federal law, is listed as a campaign donor to Obamarama. And the Obama campaign, also in violation of federal law, has accepted the donation. Read the story here.. One might mildly note that this is almost certainly not the only such case of its type, one of the many lousy results of the Bush administration's refusal to honor, obey, and enforce the laws.
That does not necessarily translate into a vote for John McCain. I don't like him much better.
Both of these guys are statists, centralizers of federal power, a direct contravention of the intent and clear language of the Constitution. I regard the presence of either of them, and certainly of both of them, on national tickets for the Presidency, as being sufficient proof of the decadence and rot within the nation.
Vote. Pray first. Pray afterwards as well.

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This morning's reading is chapters 31 and 32 of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 31 Back to Top
1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.
6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.
24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
27 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.
29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

Jeremiah 32

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.
2 For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
8 So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10 And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11 So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12 And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
15 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,
17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,
19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;
21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;
22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:
24 Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.
25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
28 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
29 And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.
31 For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33 And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
34 But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.
35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36 And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
43 And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.

==============================

This evening's passage is chapter 2 of Titus

Titus 2

1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

More Treason by the Democrap Party

The headline on the piece really says it all, and should be enough to get your blood boiling, and starting accumulating the tar and feathers.

Virginia Officials Illegally Discard Military Votes, Allow Out-of-State Votes

We saw this in the last Presidential election, and in the one before that as well. Always being done BY the members of the same party, the same faction, and AGAINST U.S. citizens serving their country in the military. This is not accidental, this is not random, this is part of a concerted effort to damage the nation in order to favor a particular faction long known for treason against the United States and the citizens thereof.

Perhaps ''This could be the big one'

Worth checking out.
Whether the accusations are correct, I do not know. Probably few do. Whether or not Barack Hussein Obama is a fraud, a loathsome toad, and a grotesquely bad candidate for the office of President of the United States of America, I do know.

Two Videos

Check out both of these.
This one is a 32 second clip made by a survivor of a botched abortion. Ask what she thinks about ''Right to Choose''. Perhaps one might, bravely, tell her she isn't really human, or one of those other lies that the Left seems to so nimbly toss about.

And this one is put out by a Roman Catholic organization. I am not a Catholic, have never been one. But I have known many who are, and who took their faith seriously. While I wish that a Baptist, Methodist, or Church of Christ group had done this, the producers are addressing the patent lies of a ''Cafeteria Catholic'' named Joe Biden in the video. Worth seeing.

Neat Link

Check this out on YouTube. Nice take on Obamarama.

Today 23 August 2008

Saturday! Sleep in day! Well, not quite. Dear Wife worked until 8:00 last night, and had to be back at work at 05:00 this morning. So the alarm went off at 04:00 and off she went. Which meant that I was up as well. And so were some cats, demanding food. One, the youngest, is sitting on my leg now, ''washing'' my right forearm, something not conducive to the mechanics of the keyboard. So, my chances for catching up on sleep are limited. Meaning zero. With the outer bands of Tropical Storm Fay coming through, meaning rain, I will get no yard work done.

I've already sent off a page-long e-mail to the main office of work, dealing with some issues that came up last evening after I left for the day. (look, I get to work around 06:15. You'll forgive me if I feel like heading out around 4:15 that afternoon.).

I've already heard the news that Obamarama has picked the gasbag Biden as his running mate. Isn't ANYONE worthwhile running for President? Ron Paul looks better by the minute. The language here isn't to my liking, but the sentiment is correct. Neither party is putting forward a candidate that I can support. I will NEVER support a pro-abortion, pro-infanticide serial liar like Obama. Never, never, never. But I also can't support an anti-free speech, pro-shamnesty hack like McCain. Again, no. None of these bums, and Biden certainly fits that as well, is fit for ANY position of public trust. None of them. Any of them might perform adequately as village idiot, but that's a largely ceremonial post anyway, the Kennedy's have been alternating between that and Town Drunk for decades.

Here's the song for the day. Several years ago, I greatly privileged to be part of a large church choir that did this, with a slightly different arrangement, and it was one of our -- and the congregation's -- favorites. It carries a lot of meaning and many many good memories. Yes, I do miss that experience in the tiny church we are now joined with.

This morning's reading is verses 105 through 176 of Psalm 119. This completes this, the longest Psalm by far, and in a Hebrew acrostic form at that. But I still like it. Look at verse 105 if you wonder why.

Psalm 119:105-176

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.

113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.
119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.

121 I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.
122 Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.
123 Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.
124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
126 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

137 Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
138 Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.
139 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

145 I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
146 I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
149 Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.
150 They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.
151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
166 LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.
167 My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

169 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.
171 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
173 Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.
174 I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

--------

This evening's New Testament reading is chapter 5 of 1st Corinthians. Paul is getting into some people's faces, along the lines of ''How Now Should I Live?'', as some pretty awful behavior has crept into the Church, excused by the doctrine of Grace. Sounds like what goes on in all too many american churches as well, the pernicious doctrines of legalism have been overwhelmed by the even worse doctrines against ''judging''. The result is that, in too many cases, the behavior and personal habits of 'Christians'' are little different, indistinguishable, from those of ''the World''. Folks, it's not supposed to be that way.

I Corinthians 5

1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

Interesting Link

I have spent much of my life dealing with people of all walks of life, many if not most nationalities, all ages, both sexes, all with a story to tell, all with talents, all with faults. Anyone who tells you that all people are identical is a fool. Anyone who tells you that all are equally capable is equally a fool. There are reasons that there are very few Ashkenazi Jews playing in the NBA, very few African pygmies in the NFL, and other similar cases, and no one thinks this to be a wrong thing. But, somehow, it is taken as evidence of evil intent if the racial demography of thoracic surgeons or graduates of the Harvard School of Law (not to mention those passing the bar exam) does not closely match the racial demography of population as a whole. There is no doubt that there have been awful cases where a capable person was excluded due to racial reasons. There is also no doubt that some of those excluded were persons not members of ''official'' minorities. I have known persons of both groups who have been similarly maltreated.
What is awful, today, is the degree to which facts are deliberately excluded from consideration. I don't know all the facts, but I know a few. Here is a link to a site or two or three that dares to ask some of the ugly questions. I don't know all the truth of the matter. But it's time to address the realities, and not the fantasies.

Daily Illegal Aliens Outrage December 15

The story comes from the Citizen Tribune in Morristown, Tennessee. And it involves American citizens suffering damage as a result of the actions of illegal aliens in our country and the - in my humble opinion - criminal nonfeasance in office and manifest dereliction of duty on the part of a variety of public officials. A string reaching right into the Oval Office.

George W. Bush, j'accuse!

Oh, and the story involves a familiar name, Koch Foods. A firm already in trouble for hiring illegal aliens at a variety of plants, and which should have been in trouble for similar actions at other ones as well. I'd like to see the CEO in prison and his personal assets looking at forfeiture. That might get some attention.

Anyway, here's the headline Newport couple faces taxes on income never earned

The story gets really ugly. It gets into identity theft. It gets into illegals using someone else's identity to work in another state. It gets into the point that the IRS wants to seize and sell the victim's home in order to satisfy tax obligations run up by the illegal alien, Elizabeth Velasco Bautista. You'll love this part: ''

The interloper in Mr. Costner’s life was Douglas Valdez, according to Ellis. Ellis says Valdez avoided the identity-theft charge because a judge ruled that it was not a crime to use someone’s identity to obtain employment.''

Like that?
Oh, and the victim's husband got in a problem due to these illegals when in ''

April 2006 when learned that he was in danger of losing his driver’s license because of unpaid citations for speeding and driving without insurance.

The traffic stop came at 3 o’clock in the morning while Mr. Costner was asleep. Also, the driver reportedly did not speak English.''

and that creep turned out to be Douglas Valdez.

So, our country is invaded by criminals, with the criminal connivance of Koch Foods and the criminal dereliction of duty by public officials at all levels, and citizens go through great troubles at the hands of that same government.
This is not what some of us thought that this country was all about.

BUILD THE DANG WALL!!

DECLARE WAR ON MEXICO, AND PROSECUTE IT!!

DEPORT ALL THE ILLEGALS, DO IT NOW, AND BILL THE NATIONS OF ORIGIN FOR THE COST, WITH INTEREST, AND DON'T BE POLITE ABOUT COLLECTING IT

Worth Reading -- Newt

There are some people who take a lot of heat. Usually it's for being right, and for saying things that other people don't like hearing. Some of these are people I wish that I knew personally. One of them is Newt Gingrich. He has the distressing tendency of being right most of the time.
This is another of those times. I won't reproduce the document, even under Fair Use. Go read it yourself. If you save it and print it out, you probably won't be the only one.
Go read Sleepwalking Into a Nightmare over at the familysecuritymatters.org web site. Bookmark it in fact.
I worry for my country. I see her heading towards disaster and the only rescue that I see is the Last Trumpet. Which may yet happen.

A Fred Thompson Interview

I have not settled on a candidate. And, while I normally am supporting the Republicans, that support is not a given. Particularly when we are faced with the candidacy of RINO's - Republicans In Name Only - of which there are far too many. I am open to virtually all the Republicans seeking the nomination for President, with the exception of two: John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. I will actively oppose either, including in a general election. But that leaves some good people.
This is a link to a very interesting video interview that PajamasMedia did with former Senator Fred Thompson. He's not necessarily my guy, but I could vote for him. Listen and make up your own mind.

National decline?

You don't have to like Pat Buchanan. A lot of people don't. But in my years of watching, he hasn't generally been too far off on his observations, though they sometimes make us uncomfortable. That doesn't make him wrong, it just means he sometimes says things that make us uncomfortable.
He's done so, once again. I draw your attention to an article in Creator's Syndicate, dated yesterday and posted at Creator's.com under Sinking Currency, Sinking Country
It is not comforting. He starts out in a manner that is most uncomfortable to our 'Globalization is Good' friends:

The euro, worth 83 cents in the early George W. Bush years, is at $1.45.

The British pound is back up over $2, the highest level since the Carter era. The Canadian dollar, which used to be worth 65 cents, is worth more than the U.S. dollar for the first time in half a century.

Oil is over $90 a barrel. Gold, down to $260 an ounce not so long ago, has hit $800.

Have gold, silver, oil, the euro, the pound and the Canadian dollar all suddenly soared in value in just a few years?

Nope. The dollar has plummeted in value, more so in Bush's term than during any comparable period of U.S. history. Indeed, Bush is presiding over a worldwide abandonment of the American dollar.

I think that's just about the Fair Use limit, hope so, anyway. Go read the rest of it. You won't like it, I didn't. But that doesn't make it wrong.

Backlink to the Anchoress part 2

Let me say first that I respect and admire the owner of the site. That she is a devout Roman Catholic, and I am not; that she has her take on a number of issues that is not in perfect agreement with mine, does not alter that in the least. Reasonable people may differ on range of issues and not descend into bitter rancor. I thank her for her devotion and tone of respect.
Just for the record, and perhaps some self-aggrandizement, I am showing below the backlinks to some comments that I made on a recent thread on the issues surrounding illegal aliens in America. She by no means agrees with me, but has nevertheless graciously posted my rather lengthy comments. Your are invited to examine the entire colloquy.
It begins here
My comments are here , here, and here.
Again, I have profound admiration and respect for her, even in principled disagreement. May her tribe increase.

Illegal Aliens Again, Sept 15 (morning)

The title simply recognizes that there will be further issues today.
Try this one, out of Michigan (not bordering the southern border, last I looked). Driver facing 8th DWI in country illegally
No, you just can't make these things up. You really can be an illegal alien, a criminal. a creep, a crook. And you can get caught over and over, violating the law, endangering citizens, damaging the entire community. And you will be excused, the Chief Magistrate of the nation will make excuses for you, and those who swore solemn oaths to uphold the law in the community will be revealed as liars, and oath-breakers, and knaves. But you will be excused, and you, who have NO RIGHT to even pollute our streets, will still be here.

Politics August 11

I have just added a field on the right side of the page to illustrate some Republican candidates.
For the benefit of those who sometimes catch my comments on places like Lucianne.com, I tend to support the Republicans. But not always, and not blindly, and less so now than at one time. I voted for George Bush in the general elections in 2000 and 2004. But I did not vote for him in the 2000 primary and I did not vote for him in the 2004 primary either. He is a better man than either of his general election candidates, but that is a very low hurdle to surpass. And the experience has not been a good one.
In 1980, 1984, 1988, 2000, and 2004 we hoped we were returning to a time when the federal government would resume its proper, limited role in the life of the Republic. We hoped for a reduction in the number of unconstitutional departments, a return to a true federalist view of government, a lessening of Jacobinism, a recognition that there are some things that government at any level just is not empowered to do, and that there is a difference between the society and the State.
That has not happened. Instead, we've gotten more and more government, more and more intrusion, more and more taxes, more and more officialdom, and less freedom and wisdom. We have departments, Education being a prime example that are not only unconstitutional, they have demonstrably made things far worse. Literacy is now at a lower level than it was 100 years ago, is far more intrusive, and costs far more. The response was to add a No Child Left Behind Act whose true purpose is twofold: to provide yet more jobs for idiot educrats and to ensure that No Child Gets Ahead Either. We now pay for a Department of Energy that produces no energy, and an EPA that seems determined to roll back what we do have. We have bureaucracy that far exceeds anything that King George III ever imagined, and more is threatened.
This is not progress as I measure it.
The Republicans have a large wing determined to put a pro-abortion, pro-sodomy, anti-gun, pro-illegal-aliens, Statist candidate named Giuliani up against the likely Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton. By my standards, that's a contest between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. I won't play.
I have not given my support to any candidate. I will use my feeble powers to root for the best of the lot, but I will not ever again fall for a ''lesser of two evils'' vote: the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Your mileage may vary. That's why we have elections. By the way, if a worthwhile Democrat starts to run, I may put that name up too. But I haven't seen one in 40 years, and I'm not holding my breath.