2011 archive
Call to Christmas Worship 0
It’s a holy day of obligation.
Fall on your knees.
Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, 8 p. m. EDT.
I will skip this particular service.
Stray Thought, Christmas Dept. 0
The energies expended over two centuries to change a gospel of love into a canon of hate are most impressive.
QOTD 0
Blaise Pascal, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.
The One Percent Solution 0
Empathy schmempathy.
Link Love 0
The Booman suggests that you click on NewtGingrich.com. Several times.
You’ll be glad you did.
Go to the Booman’s place for his interpretation of what this means.
Oh! Christmas Tree 0
At Science 2 dot O, Kimberly Crandell considers the merits of artificial vs. natural Christmas trees. Among other things, she points out that many artificial trees (brand names are not mentioned) contain lead. So here are a few safety tips for your artificial Christmas trees:
- Keep children away from the tree. Do not allow them to touch the tree.
- If you touch the tree, was your hands thoroughly before touching your face or handling food.
- Do not vacuum dust from under the tree, especially with a vacuum that does not have a HEPA filter. Vacuuming could spread lead dust through the air in tiny particles, creating an inhalation danger.
Follow the link for the the rest of the argument.
Afterthought:
Have yourself a merry leaden Christmas tree.
Facebook Frolics 0
Objection sustained.
It’s unlikely Arturo Ramirez of Sacramento knew one of his Facebook posts written in 2008 would jar legal scholars and inspire a state law that goes into effect Jan. 1.
Ramirez, who served as a foreman on a gang trial, posted updates during the case, including one that reported he found testimony about cell phone bills “so boring.”
(snip)
Come January, everyone will know the consequences. Before trials, California judges will admonish jurors to forgo any online research or chatter on Facebook or Twitter. The penalty for ignoring the instruction will be contempt of court charges, punishable by jail.
Teabag Lights
0
Joel Connelly, at SeattlePI dot com, considers the ramped teabaggery in the House of Representives. A snippet:
(snip)
The craziness now can even be viewed through a light bulb.
At a Seattle open-house last Saturday, Rep. Jay Inslee talked about how, five years ago, he worked with Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan on legislation to phase in energy-efficient light bulbs.
Of course, this made sense. Only 10 percent of the energy consumed by an old 100-watt incandescent bulb goes to create light. The rest is wasted heat. The industry is phasing in a more efficient product and have come to live with the phase-out of old pear-shaped bulbs.
Yet, Thomas Edison’s little-changed invention has become a cause celebre for dim bulbs of the Tea Party.
Read the rest.
Beyond the Paul 0
It is gratifying to see the Southern strategy come back to bite a Republican in the rear end.
One more time: A Libertarian is a Republican who’s ashamed to admit it.
The Long Game 0
Keith Olbermann and Andy Koll discuss the Republican cave-in on payroll taxes.
It will be reconsidered in two months.
Republicans have set themselves up to display their desire to make the rich richer and the poor poorer just as primary season gets under way.
QOTD 0
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
How can you expect a man who’s warm to understand one who’s cold?
Stray Thought 0
On the second night of winter, it is not right to be opening windows at midnight because the house is too warm.
Also, climate change is obviously a hoax.
