An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for November 2008
For Your Thanksgiving Viewing Pleasure
Jupiter, Venus, Moon to Converge
It’s not just families that are getting together this Thanksgiving week. The three brightest objects in the night sky — Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon — will crowd around each other for an unusual group shot.
Starting Thanksgiving evening, Jupiter and Venus will begin moving closer so that by Sunday and Monday, they will appear 2 degrees apart, which is about a finger width held out at arm’s length, said Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine. Then on Monday night, they will be joined by a crescent moon right next to them, he said.
Look in the southwestern sky around twilight — no telescope or binoculars needed. The show will even be visible in cities if it’s a clear night.
“It’ll be a head-turner,” MacRobert said. “This certainly is an unusual coincidence for the crescent moon to be right there in the days when they are going to be closest together.”
A Kosher Thanksgiving
I just had to link to this! Ya don’t have to be Jewish to find humor in this one. Hilarious!
Funny, you don’t look Standish
By ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL
Every year around this time, the American Jewish Committee sponsors interfaith events, based on their 2001 publication America’s Table: A Thanksgiving Haggadah. The contents are modeled on the Passover Seder, with prayers, readings and rituals.
The problem is that while these events promote fellowship and tolerance, they don’t fully convey the
Seder experience for a non-Jewish audience.
That’s why I’ve written Company’s Coming: A
Thanksgiving Haggada for Non-Jews and Other Gentiles. Some excerpts:
The
table: The
Thanksgiving
table is set with traditional ritual objects, including your best china, a paper turkey made by one of the children, and an animal-shaped soup tureen. According to tradition, the tureen is hideously ugly and is being brought out on this day because the aunt who gave it to you is invited to dinner.
Welcoming the guests: As the guests gather in the front hall, the youngest child no longer in diapers is asked to take their coats and put them in an upstairs bedroom. Parents are to recite the age-old admonition, “And place them nicely – don’t just throw them.”
The blessing: Before the meal, two toasts are recited: The first, by the teenagers, is mocking and inappropriate; the second, thanking God, is self-conscious and slightly uncomfortable for everyone at the
table. (This is in contrast to the closing blessing, said with deep feeling by the host and hostess: “Thank God we don’t have to do this again for another year.”)
The Bitter Herb: No one knows the origins of this ancient custom, but it involves keeping the liquor away from your angriest guest. In some families he is named “Herb”; in others it is Morris or Aunt Faye.
Go, read the rest here.
Terror Attacks In India
Terror attacks in Mumbai; 80 dead, over 900 injured
In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city’s most high-profile targets — the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard — killing at least 80 and sending more than 900 to hospital, according to latest reports.
The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city’s top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai’s additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed.
Read the rest.
Since there haven’t been any major attacks in recent years, with great loss of life, we’ve become quite complacent…not just here in the U.S., but pretty much worldwide. Those who believe that Muslims are not a threat are not only blind, but deaf and dumb as well. REALLY dumb! Ignorance will bring even more attacks, and it’s way past time for us to face this reality.
Now I know full well there will be people who will say that you can’t blame all Muslims for these kinds of attacks. Well, perhaps not, but I can sure blame them for letting such attacks to continue. Some will condemn these acts, but not enough to make me believe they aren’t buying into the “rule the world” preaching of the Islamonazis.
You want to be mad at me? I don’t care. Too many people have died at the hands of these pigs, and they need to be stopped, by any means possible!
I’m Grateful For…..
…………….too many thing to list, but friends and family are at the top!
YOU Are NOT That Important!
‘World mandate’ on climate action
An opinion poll in 11 countries has produced what organisers term a “global mandate” for action on climate change.
About half of the respondents wanted governments to play a major role in curbing emissions, but only a quarter said their leaders were doing enough.
In developing countries, a majority of people were prepared to make “lifestyle changes” to reduce climate change.
How stupid do you have to be not to be aware that you can NOT change the climate? The only thing I can figure out is that the world’s education system is a whole lot worse than I thought previously.
The arrogance of the human race is becoming more and more disturbing. We do not control the planet! I can’t say it any plainer than that! We don’t. We won’t. We can’t.
It doesn’t matter if you are in a ‘developing country’ or a very industrialized one, we just don’t have the ability to mandate anything concerning the planet. See that great big star up there? The one you see every morning when you wake up (if it’s not cloudy)? THAT is what warms the planet. There is also this real hot stuff at the core that is always active, and it has an effect on the temperture too when it comes bubbling out of the mountain tops, spewing all sorts of things into the atmosphere. Do they really think we could stop either one?
And what would be so wrong about having a warmer planet anyway? You’d have more area to plant crops to feed the ever growing population. Do they want people to starve? A little ice melting could irrigate lands that haven’t bloomed in centuries. This is a problem? No, I guess those folks who built their houses on sand think it’s more important to have an arid planet, instead of a lush growing one.
Have I put this is simplistic enough terms? Sure hope so, because obviously, there are way too many who are even more simple minded than I, who need to take it down to the lowest common denominator.
Obamarama
Morning Coffee – 11/26/08
Cooper urges cuts to offset spending
Nashville Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper warned Tuesday that plans for massive federal spending to stimulate the moribund U.S. economy must be offset with budget cuts.
Too many people say, “stimulate, stimulate,” Cooper said during a meeting with The Tennessean’s editorial board, “but they forget about cut, cut.”
A Dhimmi that wants to cut spending? Uh oh….he just might lose his Dhimmicrat membership card. Seriously, I’m impressed….with a few exceptions. One thing the Dhimms fail to understand…when you give tax breaks to businesses, they tend to create jobs. No jobs, no tax revenue. I didn’t realize it was this difficult to comprehend. And BO wants to spend even more? Where does he think the money is going to come from….I wasn’t aware there was a money tree orchard on Capital Hill. Oh, wait a minute….WE are the money tree. Pfft!
Iraq poised for US pull-out vote
The Iraqi parliament is due to hold a crucial vote on a plan to withdraw all US troops from the country by the end of 2011.
They would also be off the streets by the middle of next year and they will be banned from carrying out certain raids without Iraqi permission.
The Shia-led government says it is confident the vote will go through.
If they are ready to take the reigns, then so be it! I’ll be more than happy to see our troops come home.
Obama promises to weed out wasteful spending
President-elect Barack Obama delivered a message Tuesday that even as the nation girds for a major stimulus package meant to “jolt” the economy out of its downturn, he will be a careful custodian of the budget, eliminating wasteful spending such as federal crop subsidies for millionaire farmers.
That type of federal outlay “is a prime example of the kind of waste that I intend to end as president,” Obama told reporters at a hotel in downtown Chicago, as he introduced Peter R. Orszag as his nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget. Orszag, educated at Princeton and the London School of Economics, headed the Congressional Budget Office, which analyzes budget issues.
Oh paleeeze! We don’t need another stimulus package. What we need it for those morons in D.C. to stop tinkering. All they are doing is making matters worse, and putting the country even further into debt. Contrary to what The One believes, he does NOT have all the answers, he can’t part the seas, and he does NOT walk on water.
Why won’t polar bears mate? They’re both female
Puzzled Japanese zookeepers have cleared up a mystery over a lack of chemistry between a couple of polar bears as both turn out to be female, a Japanese zoo said Wednesday.
Tsuyoshi, a four-year-old “male” polar bear, and his 11-year-old female partner, Kurumi, have been living together since June at the Kushiro Municipal Zoo in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
But much to the frustration and puzzlement of zookeepers, the bear couple, on a breeding mission, showed no signs of chemistry, and Tsuyoshi has never gone into rut even during “his” mating period.
“Observing his behaviors, we got suspicious as to whether Tsuyoshi was really a male,” the zoo said in a statement.
I don’t suppose it ever occurred to them to ‘lift her leg’ before expecting her to mate with another female? I couldn’t swear to it, having never been up close and personal with a polar bear, but I’m pretty sure they have the same sort of equipment that other mammals have, don’t ya think? And it only took them 5 months to figure it out. 
Karzai says U.S., NATO created ‘parallel’ government
President Hamid Karzai criticized the U.S. and other foreign countries for creating a “parallel government” in the countryside during a blunt overview of Afghanistan’s problems before a U.N. Security Council delegation.
Karzai called Tuesday for the international community to set a timeline to end the war in Afghanistan and asked why — given the number of countries involved and the amount of money spent — the Taliban remains so powerful.
“This war has gone on for seven years, the Afghans don’t understand anymore, how come a little force like the Taliban can continue to exist, can continue to flourish, can continue to launch attacks,” he asked.
Funded by the drug trade, perhaps? Maybe if the Afghans would get off their duffs and actually DO something to stop the trade, they could stop the Taliban? They also might want to consider closing off the border with Pakistan. Just a thought.
Obama’s Small Donor Juggernaut More Myth than Reality, Report Shows
It was widely reported that Barack Obama’s historic presidential win was fueled by an army of small donors, often contributing $5 and $10, at an unheard of rate in American history, but a recent study shows that Obama’s small donor base – and possibly reports of unparalleled youth-voter turnout – was more myth than reality.
The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) study says that 26 percent of donors to Obama’s presidential campaign gave $200 or less, the definition of a small donation. That’s compared to 25 percent for President George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign.
Golly gee! A feckless politician that lies! I’m shocked! (insert sarcasm here)
Iran: Ten hanged in mass execution
Iran executed nine men and one woman on Wednesday at the country’s notorious Evin prison, in Tehran, semi-official news agency Fars reported. Some reports said the woman, identified as Fatemeh Haqiqat-Pajuh, killed her husband because he had raped her daughter from a previous marriage.
However, the official overseeing the execution said Fatemeh was executed because she brutally murdered her husband in 2001, cutting him into pieces.
Seems to me she was justified in taking the scuzzball out. But since she and her daughter were both female, it doesn’t matter. Their lives aren’t worth much in the Muslim world….especially Iran.
1 of 6 Wisconsin banks post loss in the 3rd quarter
One of every six Wisconsin banks posted a loss in the third quarter.
It shows communities large and small are feeling the effects of the housing slump, financial crisis and slowing economy. But it’s better than banks nationally, with nearly one in four not making a profit in the quarter.
Put another way, 5 out 6 banks are doing ok locally, and 3 out of 4 nationally. Criminy. If there is a way to turn a positive into a negative, the fish wrap will do it!
S.S. D.D.
Verse of the Day
Hebrews 12:25-29
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
(grumble grumble grumble)
I typed in my blog address twice, and got two different answers. Odd. First it was 69% sure….now….
We guess An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings is written by a man (60%), however it’s quite gender neutral.
Man? Gender neutral? Criminy! I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not exactly the dainty feminine type, but I’m far from being male! Sheesh!
However, on a positive note…..
Reid Thinks We’re Stupid
Reid: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Will Come Early
Harry Reid told the Detroit Free Press that he expects comprehensive immigration reform to be passed relatively early in the next Congress:
Q. With more Democrats in the Senate and the House and a Democrat in the White House, how do you see congressional efforts playing out on such issues as health care and immigration?
A: On immigration, there’s been an agreement between (President-elect Barack) Obama and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain to move forward on that. … We’ll do that. We have to get this economy stuff figured out first, so I think we’ll have a shot at doing something on health care in the next Congress for sure.
Q: Will there be as much of a fight on immigration as last time?
A: We’ve got McCain and we’ve got a few others. I don’t expect much of a fight at all. Now health care is going to be difficult. That’s a very complicated issue. We debated at great length immigration. People understand the issues very well. We have not debated health care, so that’s going to take a lot more time to do.
You wanna lay a few bucks on that bud???? What y’all think is “reform”, isn’t! Don’t y’all take some sort of oath to uphold the Constitution? To obey the law? Well, then DO IT! Enforce the laws! And stop expecting us….you know…us little folks out here who PAY YOUR SALARY….to roll over and play dead every time you come up with each progressively ignorant idea.
H/T: Sean Hackbarth via email
Kid Sees Some History
The Mr took Short Person on an adventure this afternoon, while the ol’ broad was curled up in bed….basically dead to the world. The intent was to visit the little River Museum in Savannah, and take a tour of Shiloh. Well, when he woke me to tell me they were going, I didn’t think to remind him to take the camera, so all he had was his cell phone. I don’t know how other people get such clear pictures from their phones, but neither of us ever get that lucky.
Poor kid has no face! Heh.
Rocky?
Should have named him Bullwinkle….cuz he’s a MOOSE, not a squirrel!
Obamarama
Morning Coffee – 11/25/08
Pirates off the Somali coast in Africa have seized a Yemeni freighter, a Kenyan maritime official said Tuesday.
Details about the ship, crew and cargo were unavailable, Andrew Mwangura, leader of the Kenya Seafarers Association, told CNN. The organization tracks the welfare of sailors captured by the pirates.
Maybe the powers that be should install some kind of knock out gas on these ships, set to go off a couple of hours after the ship is seized. Knock everyone out, good guys come in for the rescue. Either that, or a self destruct mechanism.
Bush pardons 14, cuts prison time for 2 others
Breaking a logjam of hundreds of pent-up clemency requests, President Bush granted pardons to 14 people on Monday and shortened the prison terms of two others.
The majority of the felons who won leniency from Bush are far from household names.
I didn’t see Ramos or Compean on that list. Those two unjustly imprisoned men should have been the very first to see a Presidential pardon! Get with the program Bush!!!! Set those young men free…..NOW!
Memphis metro-area crime ranks No. 2 in nation; police dispute national comparison as skewed
A new ranking released Monday says the eight-county Memphis metropolitan area has the nation’s second-worst crime rate.
The city of Memphis itself ranks 14th on the list compiled by CQ Press, a division of Congressional Quarterly.
The news revived the debate about the value of such rankings. Critics say they misuse FBI statistics, and the FBI itself warns that comparing cities’ stats can produce simplistic conclusions.
Pfft! I’m surprised they aren’t #1! If you ever watch news out of Memphis, murder seems to average out at least one a day. Other than the thugs themselves, I blame the city council, who have thwarted efforts to increase police presence.
Israel Recognizes El Salvador’s Holocaust Role
“The government and people of Israel extend their deepest gratitude to the El Salvadoran government, which, by issuing El Salvadoran citizenship papers at the consulate in Geneva, headed by Consul-General José Arturo Castellanos Contreras, contributed to saving perhaps as many as 30,000 persecuted European Jews during the Second World War.”
During the Second World War, Contreras issued thousands of false citizenship papers to Jews from central Europe, mainly from Hungary. In 1942, he appointed a Transylvanian-born Jewish businessman named György Mandl as the consulate’s “First Secretary,” a fictitious title that does not exist in the Salvadoran diplomatic hierarchy, in order to enable him to issue the life-saving papers. These documents enabled whole families to register as citizens of El Salvador and avoid deportation to Nazi concentration camps.
And what did the US do? How about England? Vatican City? How many died because supposed civilized Christian nations did NOTHING?
Government announces new loan programs
The government has introduced a pair of new programs that will provide $800 billion to help unfreeze the market for consumer debt which Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calls vital to supporting the economy.
Paulson says key markets for consumer debt such as credit cards, auto loans and student loans essentially came to a halt in October. He says the new programs are aimed to get lending back to more normal levels.
Paulson says all the government programs have been aimed at supporting the lending that is vital to the economy.
Why wouldn’t people paying cash for their bills be vital, instead of encouraging folks to dig a hole of debt for the rest of their lives? Just wondering.
Arrests after Afghan acid attack
Police in southern Afghanistan have arrested 10 men in connection with an acid attack on schoolgirls earlier this month, officials say.
The men are all Taleban insurgents and some have confessed to taking part in the attack, the authorities say.
Several girls received severe burns when acid was thrown in their faces on 12 November in Kandahar city.
Pigs! Attacking children is a real grownup thing to do, isn’t it. These animals must be destroyed! NOW! They are not ‘freedom fighters’, contrary to what the Code Pinko types would like to believe. They are EVIL!
NPR Sends Wiccan Priestess to Public Prayer Booth
“There are serious efforts under way right now to erase religious expression from the public square,” said Father Jonathan Morris, a Catholic priest and FOX News contributor. “I don’t understand why these groups would be so fascinated with taking this [religious expression] away.”
NPR vehemently denied that its coverage was opposed to prayer or organized religion.
“There’s no bias in this story and to imply that there is because of a reporter’s religious beliefs is absurd,” said Anna Christopher, an NPR spokeswoman. “[Adler] spoke with several different people with several different viewpoints on the booth.”
Not ONE thin dime of taxpayer money should fund this feckless organization! For them to continue claiming they are unbiased is an insult to every rational person in this country.
Violence Against Journalists Grows in Mexico’s Drug War
Armando Rodríguez, at El Diario newspaper, was the top crime reporter in the deadliest city in Mexico. He had seen it all. But this was different. This was personal. Earlier this month, someone had hung the decapitated body of a local drug thug from a bridge on the airport road. Later the head appeared downtown at the Plaza of Journalists, wrapped in a plastic bag, carefully placed at the foot of a statue of a newsboy hawking papers.
Arturo Chacón, a reporter at El Norte, a competing daily in this tough border city, said the message was unmistakable: Journalists beware. “We knew it was bad, but we didn’t know how bad,” he said. “A week later I heard the shots, and then I heard they got Armando.”
Life means nothing to these thugs. Evil is running rampant world wide, and unless it’s stopped, it will be coming to a neighborhood near you.
Mayor Dean’s aide fights English-only proposal
One of Mayor Karl Dean’s top aides has taken a two-month leave of absence to help run the campaign against a proposal that would require Metro government to do business in English only.
Jim Hester, a senior adviser who ran Dean’s mayoral campaign last year, said Monday that he’ll also work against a second ballot initiative, which would allow voters to seek Metro Charter amendments through petitions more often than they can now. Referendums on both measures are scheduled for a special election on Jan. 22.
So, when is this ANTI American politician up for re-election? I’ll be more than happy to contribute to his competition, even if I don’t live in Nashville! I am so sick of elected officials taking sides against LEGAL citizens!
S.S. D.D.
Verse of the Day
Colossians 3:1-4
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
