The Second Amendment Can Too Be Cute!

To see it is to believe it (but the post and comments are the real eye-openers!):

h.t. Dyspepsia Generation


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Hosting Woes

Note: the post below is replete with opinion based on a year’s suffering through with Fatcow (sucks dead bunnies through a straw). Be warned.


Napolean is reported to have said,

Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity.

By this time, there is some small degree of doubt on my part that stupidity alone can account for all the misbehavior of my former hosting company, Fatcow (sucks dead bunnies through a straw). After all, I canceled the account last month and was assured (“assured” by a Fatcow representative–now there’s a laugh!) that I would not be charged by Fatcow for any further service.

I shoulda known.

Sure enough, a charge showed up yesterday on my bank account. From Fatcow. Wonder of wonders, it at least reflected ONE of the two offers of three free months’ service (not quite 1/3 and a little more than 1/4 of an annual charge had been deducted from my account–IOW, not anything like an honest 3 months’ service, let along the SIX monts’ service Fatcow–sucks dead bunnies through a straw–people had CLAIMED they were crediting my account with. Oh, and yes, the account charged is a debit account. Philosophical reasons. Just ask sometime.) But… if they were going to steal from me–and they were stealing from me–why deduct ONE of TWO offers for free service?

Idiots? Diabolical? Diabolical idiots? I’m going with door number three.

So, I called Fatcow (sucks dead bunnies through a straw) to discover what tales the people there would spin (surely you do not think I would expect anything approaching honesty or accountability!).

It’s all my fault, I discovered. Of course. I canceled at the wrong time. Why, I should have known that they’d be swamped in December and allowed for the inevitable failure of the cancellation to wend its way through to actually being effected! Shame on me for expecting that the poor, beleagered minions of Satan at Fatcow would have the time or inclination to actually DO THEIR JOB any time in December! No! Impossible! What in the world was I thinking?!? Why, as much expect honesty from a politician *spit* or news from a Mass Media Podperson!

But wait! There’s more! Not only that, but Fatcow has also supposedly issued a refund for the theft!

“Gimme your money!”

Days (or weeks or months) later, “Here’s your money back. I’ve used it in the meantime, but you have it back, now dontcha?”

Except… I don’t have my money. They stole theirs (with a canceled authorization) some days ago, but the return they say was effected… isn’t in my hands.

Question: If someone steals money from me and then shrugs me off with a callous, “The check’s in the mail,” type answer, what am I to think?

Riiiiight. As I said, “I don’t care what your records show. Your records have lied–or Fatcow reps have lied–repeatedly to me in the past. Give me my money.”

Pushed that last one hard enough I at least got someone to say (do you think I can believe them? Me neither) that Fatcow’s legal department would give me a call.

Now, that’s a call I welcome. What could be more fun than talking to the lawyers of the most disgusting, incompetent, dishonest business I have ever done business with?

Just waiting for the state attorney general’s office to open so I can lodge a complaint for fraud, theft, whatever I can.

Fatcow sucks dead bunnies through a straw.

Methinks a comment that differs to no small degree from the opening quote could well apply to all the lies, distortions, incompetence and outright idiocy I have experienced at the hands of Fatcow (sucks dead bunnies through a straw). At least some of the “I’ve followed policy and helped you all I can” B.S. I’ve had to put up with, now even past when I had severed all ties with Fatcow (sucks dead bunnies through a straw):

When a stupid man does something he knows is wrong, he always claims it is his duty.–G.B. Shaw

Update: Well, Fatcow (sucks dead bunnies through a straw) did finally come through with the refund. Finally. Doofuses.


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Trackposted to Nuke’s, Outside the Beltway, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Allie is Wired, Woman Honor Thyself, Shadowscope, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Big Dog’s Weblog, Wolf Pangloss, and Conservative Cat, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day: Pig in a Blanket

That’s me: staying warm n toasty and “pigging out” on Bryn Terfel while enjoying some home brewed wheat beer (yeh, yeh: from a kit ;-)).

*heh*

This kinda stuff can easily carry me through New Year’s Day.

๐Ÿ™‚

Bryn Terfel - We'll Keep a Welcome

Bryn Terfel – We’ll Keep a Welcome

and

Mr. Beer Whispering Wheat Weizenbier Refill Brew PackMr. Beer Whispering Wheat Weizenbier Refill Brew Pack


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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Big Dog’s Weblog, Pursuing Holiness, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Fred on immigration

Yesterday, I listed thirteen reasons to get on board the Fredwagon. I left it to the reader to do some reading offsite, at Fred08 , but I thought to myself, “Self, why not go ahead and just give a more detailed example of Thompson’s stance?” And what better item to select (apart from his White Paper on Federalism–which I linked to in yesterday’s post) than his…
Border Security and Immigration Reform Plan?

I’ll get you started, then you can CLICK the LINK and read the rest at Fred’s site.


Border Security and Immigration Reform Plan

In the post-9/11 world, immigration is much more of a national security issue. A government that cannot secure its borders and determine who may enter and who may not, fails in a fundamental responsibility. As we take steps to secure our borders and enforce our laws, we must also ensure that our immigration laws and policies advance our national interests in a variety of areas, and that the immigration process itself is as fair, efficient, and effective as possible.

Securing the Border and Enforcing the Law

A fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to secure the nation’s borders and enforce the law. The
following policies and initiatives will put the nation on a path to success:

  1. No Amnesty. Do not provide legal status to illegal aliens. Amnesty undermines U.S. law and policy, rewards bad behavior, and is unfair to the millions of immigrants who follow the law and are awaiting legal entry into the United States. In some cases, those law-abiding and aspiring immigrants have been waiting for several years.

  2. Attrition through Enforcement Reduce the number of illegal aliens through increased enforcement against unauthorized alien workers and their employers. Without illegal employment opportunities available, fewer illegal aliens will attempt to enter the country, and many of those illegally in the country now likely will return home. Self-deportation can also be maximized by stepping up the enforcement levels of other existing immigration laws. This course of action offers a reasonable alternative to the false choices currently proposed to deal with the 12 million or more aliens already in the U.S. illegally: either arrest and deport them all, or give them all amnesty. Attrition through enforcement is a more reasonable and achievable solution, but this approach requires additional resources for enforcement and border security:

    1. Doubling ICE agents handling interior enforcement, increasing the Border Patrol to at least 25,000 agents, and increasing detention space to incarcerate illegal aliens we arrest rather than letting them go with a promise to show up later for legal proceedings against them.
    2. Adding resources for the Department of Justice to prosecute alien smugglers, people involved in trafficking in false identification documents, and previously deported felons.
    3. Maximizing efforts to prosecute and convict members of criminal alien gangs, such as MS-13 and affiliated gangs. These gangs have brought unusual levels of violence to more than 30 U.S. states and have also become very active in drug-smuggling, gun-smuggling, and alien-smuggling.
    4. Implementing fully and making greater use of the expedited removal process already allowed under federal law.
    5. Enabling the Social Security Administration to share relevant information with immigration and law enforcement personnel in a manner that will support effective interior enforcement efforts.
  3. Enforce Existing Federal Laws. Enforce the laws Congress has already enacted to prevent illegal aliens from unlawfully benefiting from their presence in the country:

    1. End Sanctuary Cities by cutting off discretionary federal grant funds as appropriate to any community that, by law, ordinance, executive order, or other formal policy directs its public officials not to comply with the provisions of 8 USC 1373 and 8 USC 1644, which prohibit any state or local government from restricting in any way communications with the Department of Homeland Security “regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an alien in the United States.”
    2. Deny discretionary Federal education grants as appropriate to public universities that violate federal law by offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens without also offering identical benefits to United States citizens, regardless of whether or not they live in the state, as required by 8 USC 1623.
    3. Deny discretionary Federal grants as appropriate to states and local governments that violate federal law by offering public benefits to illegal aliens, as prohibited by 8 USC 1621(a).
  4. Reduce the Jobs Incentive. Ensure employee verification by requiring that all U.S. employers use the Department of Homeland Security’s electronic database (the E-Verify system) to confirm that a prospective employee is authorized to work in the U.S. Now that the technology is proven, provide sufficient resources to make the system as thorough, fast, accurate, and easy-to-use as possible.

  5. Add to the Cost of Hiring Illegal Aliens. Deny a tax deduction to employers for the wages they pay to illegal aliens, thereby dramatically increasing the real cost of employing illegal aliens. Businesses that do not play by the rules should not be rewarded under our tax system.

  6. Bolster Border Security. Finish building the 854-mile wall along the border by 2010 as required by 8 USC 1103. Extend the wall beyond that as appropriate and deploy new technologies and additional resources to enhance detection and rapid apprehension along our borders by 2012.

  7. Increased Prosecution. Deploy the additional assets outlined above to prosecute alien smugglers (“coyotes”), alien gang members, previously deported felons, and aliens who have repeatedly violated our immigration laws much more vigorously.

  8. Rigorous Entry/Exit Tracking. Complete the implementation of a system to track visa entrants and exits, as has been required by federal law for more than ten years, and connect it to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), in order to curb visa overstays and permit more effective enforcement.

And that, folks, is just the first half of Fred’s immigration and border security plan. Read the rest!


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Trackposted to Is It Just Me?, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, The Uncooperative Blogger, The World According to Carl, DragonLady’s World, Pirate’s Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, Chuck Adkins, Adeline and Hazel, and Stageleft, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Who Is He in Yonder Stall?

Benjamin Russell Hanby is probably best known in popular society, if at all, for the great yawner, “Up On the Housetop” (click, click, click…), that merry paean to “Old Saint Nick” often sung at the yuletide.

But Hanby had a deeper side. In fact, he wrote one of the clearest expositions of the life and work of Christ that is available in easily accessible song, “Who Is He in Yonder Stall.”

Who is He in yonder stall
At whose feet the shepherds fall?
Who is He, in deep distress,
Fasting in the wilderness?

Refrain:

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
At His feet, we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

Who is He the people bless?
For His words of gentleness?
Who is He to whom they bring?
All the sick and sorrowing?

(Refrain)

Who is He that stands and weeps
At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
Who is He the gathering throng
Greet with loud triumphant song?

(Refrain)

Lo, at midnight who is He
Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He on yonder tree
Dies in grief and agony?

(Refrain)

Who is He that from the grave
Comes to heal and help and save?
Who is He that from his throne
Rules through all the world alone?

Refrain:

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
At His feet, we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

I prefer hearing this sung as a series of questions posed by various choirs and soloists with the refrain sung once at the end in answer to all the questions posed, but that’s not how Hanby wrote it, so usually when I selected this hymn for use, I’d just have the congregation sing it as Hanby wrote it: one verse (question) and the answer repeated again and again in the refrain.

It’s a simple story, simply told and easily grasped.

‘Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory;
At His feet, we humbly fall,
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

Here’s an excerpt of the song as performed (I think–don’t hold me to this) in the early 1990s by the Moody Bible Institute choir/band:



Click here for standalone player


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A 15th Century Christmas Message

Today’s Christmas-related post is clipped from Chip Stam’s “Worship Quote of the Week.” Click the link to subscribe.


FIFTEENTH-CENTURY CHRISTMAS SERMON

Seek the Lord, while he may be found; call on him, while he is nearโ€ (Isa. 55:6). Arise, all you faithful of Christ: eagerly gather for this reverent observance of the Lordโ€™s birth. For this is the most holy night on which the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, chose to be born of the glorious Virgin Mary. Arise, therefore, all, and watch. Prepare your hearts and pray. The Lord has come. Come and adore. Seek Jesus, and you will find him. Knock at the door and it will be opened to you. Enter the house and you will see. Our King has arrived. Christ has been born to us. Come, let us adore and fall down before him: for he it is who made us. Come, you angels and archangels: chant and rejoice and sing psalms. Be glad, you just in the Lord: sing a hymn to our God. Proclaim his works among the nations. God has come in the flesh. He who is never away from us in the divine is with us in human nature. Come, little and great, old and aged, youths and maidens: sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonders this day. Lift up your hearts with your hands to heaven and above all rejoicing give glory to his praise.

The Lord is with us: do not be sad. Put on the garments of gladness and joy, you chosen ones of God. Cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. As in the light of day, so let us watch this sacred night. Let us rejoice and exult. Let us sing songs and hymns. Let us praise God our Savior. Let us offer him our vows. Let us present him the service of our mouth, The Lord is with us, depart not, weary not, but stand strongly, and sing psalms to him with cheerfulness. . . .

Therefore be glad and rejoice, daughter of Zion. Give praise, O Jerusalem. For this day true peace has come down from heaven to appease and restore the things that are in heaven and the things that are on earth. This day the true Light has shone on the earth to enlighten everyone that believes in him. This day there is great joy in Israel, for Christ is born in Bethlehem. This day throughout the world the heavens are flowing with honey; for from the mouth of the learned comes very sweet speeches by which the weak are refreshed, the devout consoled, the ignorant instructed, the slothful aroused, the faithful strengthened, and unbelievers put to shame.

Today the angels rejoice, the archangels exult, and all the just are expressing adoration and spiritual joy. Today night is turned into day and great brightness, for to those with righteous hearts a light has risen up in darkness, the merciful and compassionate Lord. . . . And when the day shall have dawned, may the Sun of Justice, who is born shine in the hearts of all those who love him, and may fresh devotion again rise in the hearts of all who celebrate. . . .

O blessed and joyful birth, which has changed the curse of our first parents into blessing and has turned their grief into everlasting joy. This night is truly worthy of the awe and love of all people, the night in which Christ permitted himself to be delivered in order to deliver all.

Blessed therefore be the holy Trinity, by whose goodness and wisdom the dignity of humanity has been restored and the cunning of the devil deceived. I bless you, heavenly Father, who sent your beloved Son into the world for our redemption. I bless you only-begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, who to redeem us assumed our nature. I bless you, Holy Spirit, the paraclete, who gloriously and wondrously perfected all the mysteries of our redemption from the beginning to the end. To you be infinite praise and glory, to you be honor and empire, O supreme, eternal Trinity, by whose providence and ordering so sweet and solemn a festival has come to us. Amen.

โ€”Thomas ร  Kempis (1380-1471), from Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel: Ancient Sermons and Hymns for Contemporary Christian Inspiration. Edited by John D. Witvliet and David Vroege. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004, pages 102-4. ISBN 0-8010-6405-8.

Linked to the Christmas Alliance and submitted to the Carnival of Christmas.


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Trackposted to Pirate’s Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Adam’s Blog, and Right Truth, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Dream Fred08 Ad

THIS is not an official, approved Fred08 ad… but it darned well oughta be. *heh*

What’s not to like?


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We’re All Cretins

…Or, “What Advertisers Think of Us”

Of the many reasons I especially like to avoid television during the Christmas season, one stands head and shoulders above even the crappy “holiday specials” that turn the Christmas season into a hode-podge season of slush: the commercial that as much as says straight out that women are all prostitutes. You know the one. A guy gives his (wife, girlfriend, lover, whatever) a diamond do-hickey and the jingle “sings,”

“Every Kiss Begins with ____”

Yep. That’s right. guys, the commercial states right out front: women sell their favors for jewelry–especially jewelry from the particular company that markets their wares as a means to “get lucky.” IOW, according to that particular jewelry manufacturer (the most direct and honest of the lot advertizing during the Christmas season–others are a bit more subtle, though their message is pretty much the same), women are whores and guys are all just johns.

Now, that’s just plain disgusting. And insulting.

Guys, if “getting lucky” with your gal depends on getting her some jewlery, you’d be better off traveling to Vegas or some other such place where whoring is at least legally recognized and regulated (to some extent, at least) and out in the open. Paying for sex at home is just degrading.

And women, if some guy thinks he can buy your “favors” with a gift, then you’ve got the wrong guy, and it’ll cost you bigtime down the road. Worse still, if you do “sell” your “favors” for gifts, you know what that makes you.

Exactly what the commercial says in so many words.

And the fact that advertizers think (probably rightly) that most folks won’t see this means they think we’re all cretins.


Trackposted to Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Mark My Words, Allie is Wired, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Chuck Adkins, Conservative Cat, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Send the Grinches a Christmas Card? Maybe…

Crossposted from Stop The ACLU

It’s become a popular yearly tradition now to send the Anti-Christian Liars Union grinches a Christmas card. I personally think its ineffective, and that the money you waste on a stamp for the organization to toss in the shredder would be better served towards a good cause. So, I encourage you to save that money, dig a little deeper, and contribute to an organization that fights the ACLU and defends Christmas. The Alliance Defense Fund, and the ACLJ are both great organizations that defend Christmas each year. The Alliance Defense Fund does it for free. Why not help groups like that out this year?

However, from experience last year…I know that many will insist on sending the ACLU a Christmas card. After all, it is tradition. If that is how you want to make your message…we have some great greeting cards and postcards available at our online store. Plenty of other great Christmas gifts too.

Send your Christmas card to the ACLU at:

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York , NY 10004

jitcrunch2.jpg


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Getting Inside the Mind of a Terrorist

I’ve been tardy making note of one of the best posts off-twc this week. Angel, at Woman Honor Thyself–a sometime contributor here at twc, I might note–had a “slap oneself upside the head” mind-boggler earlier this week with, Doozie of the DaY, on Monday. (Go read it. No, really!)

It seems some *cough* “Palestinian” guy thought he could “terrorize” folks at that “international conference on the Mideast conflict” (yeh, scare quotes. What? You thought there really was such a thing as a real “international conference on the Mideast conflict”? Riiiight… And Hillary Clinton is a sweet lil lady who bakes cookies) by threatening to jump off a building if they didn’t force Israel to release some terrorists and eject former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaโ€™alon from the meeting.

Angel’s response was a bit wordy, but apropos, I think: “GO FOR IT” Hmmm… I’d have thought a simple, “JUMP!” would have done the trick…

Better yet, I’m reminded of what “Dink Chavez”–a character in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six–had to say about getting inside a terrorist’s mind,

โ€œโ€ฆthe best thing about the inside of a terroristโ€™s mind was a 185-grain 10mm hollow-point bullet entering at high speed.โ€

Or, as a bumper sticker I saw (just today, as a matter of fact) said, “Marine Sniper: You Can Run, You Just Die Tired.”

Yeh, how to respond to a “terrorist’s threat” to jump off a building if his demands aren’t met? ANgel had three words, but may I suggest three different words, addressed to a different party?

“Take the shot.”


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