An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for December 2011
Christmas With The Ol’ Broad’s Clan
We had a large number of packages in big boxes. The thought of putting them out under the tree with 3 dogs, 3 cats, and 3 kids was NOT an option! 
Lack of room was also an issue.
So, we waited till all the kids were sufficiently drugged and in bed. Ok, they weren’t really, but the thought did cross our minds. Heh. Instead of putting anything under the tree, we piled it all on the dining room table.
Another angle. 
Yeah, with 3 kids, and one on the way, there was a LOT of stuff. Spud made out like a bandit, and he hasn’t even been born yet. LOL
Luke 2:1-20
Merry CHRISTmas!
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.
Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. “Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger. “I see you’re busy, I’ll just go.”
“Not without something hot in your belly.” George said.
He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. “It ain’t much, but it’s hot and tasty. Stew … Made it myself. When you’re done, there’s coffee and it’s fresh.”
Just at that moment he heard the “ding” of the driveway bell. “Excuse me, be right back,” George said. There in the driveway was an old ’53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front.. The driver was panicked. “Mister can you help me!” said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. “My wife is with child and my car is broken.” George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.
“You ain’t going in this thing,” George said as he turned away.
“But Mister, please help …” The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. “Here, take my truck,” he said. “She ain’t the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good.”
George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. “Glad I gave ‘em the truck, their tires were shot too. That ‘ol truck has brand new.” George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. “Well, at least he got something in his belly,” George thought.
George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn’t cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. “Well, shoot, I can fix this,” he said to himself. So he put a new one on.
“Those tires ain’t gonna get ‘em through the winter either.” He took the snow treads off of his wife’s old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn’t going to drive the car anyway.
As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, “Please help me.”
George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. “Pressure to stop the bleeding,” he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. “Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin’,” he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease.
“Something for pain,” George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. “These ought to work.” He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. “You hang in there, I’m going to get you an ambulance.”
The phone was dead. “Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car.” He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.
He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. “Thanks,” said the officer. “You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area.”
George sat down beside him, “I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain’t gonna leave you.” George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. “Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through ‘ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain.”
George got up and poured a cup of coffee. “How do you take it?” he asked.
“None for me,” said the officer..
“Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain’t got no donuts.” The officer laughed and winced at the same time.
The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. “Give me all your cash! Do it now!” the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.
“That’s the guy that shot me!” exclaimed the officer.
“Son, why are you doing this?” asked George, “You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt.”
The young man was confused. “Shut up old man, or I’ll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!”
The cop was reaching for his gun. “Put that thing away,” George said to the cop, “we got one too many in here now.”
He turned his attention to the young man. “Son, it’s Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain’t much but it’s all I got. Now put that pea shooter away.”
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. “I’m not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son,” he went on. “I’ve lost my job, my rent is due, my car got
repossessed last week.”
George handed the gun to the cop. “Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can.”
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. “Sometimes we do stupid things.” George handed the young man a cup of coffee. “Bein’ stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin’ in here with a gun ain’t the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we’ll sort this thing out.”
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. “Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I’m sorry officer.”
“Shut up and drink your coffee ” the cop said.
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. “Chuck! You ok?” one of the cops asked the wounded officer.
“Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?”
“GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?” the other cop asked as he approached the young man.
Chuck answered him, “I don’t know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran.”
George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.
“That guy work here?” the wounded cop continued.
“Yep,” George said, “just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job.”
The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, “Why?”
Chuck just said, “Merry Christmas boy … and you too, George, and thanks for everything.”
“Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems.”
George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. “Here you go, something for the little woman. I don’t think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day.”
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. “I can’t take this,” said the young man. “It means something to you.”
“And now it means something to you,” replied George. “I got my memories. That’s all I need.”
George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. “Here’s something for that little man of yours.”
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier.
“And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too,” George said. “Now git home to your family.”
The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. “I’ll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good.”
“Nope. I’m closed Christmas day,” George said. “See ya the day after.”
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. “Where’d you come from? I thought you left?”
“I have been here. I have always been here,” said the stranger. “You say you don’t celebrate Christmas. Why?”
“Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn’t see what all the bother was. Puttin’ up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin’ cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn’t the same by myself and besides I was gettin’ a little chubby.”
The stranger put his hand on George’s shoulder. “But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.
The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. “That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man.”
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. “And how do you know all this?” asked the old man.
“Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again.”
The stranger moved toward the door. “If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned.”
George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.
“You see, George … it’s My birthday. Merry Christmas.”
George fell to his knees and replied, “Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus”
Shared by Jerry.
It’s Christmas Eve!
And obviously, since it is Christmas Eve, and we are spending time with family, there will be no Saturday Laundry links. Sorry ’bout that! 
But if you want to put some links you want to share in the comments, have at it! I won’t mind.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day today, and a very Blessed Christmas tomorrow, with friends and family. I pray we all remember why we celebrate the Day. Yeah… I know, it’s not the actual day of His Birth, but since we SHOULD remember every day, it’s probably a good idea to have one day as a reminder of why we are here, I suppose it’s as good a date as any other, right? God knows our hearts!
Islamo-Liberal Misery
Open Mouths, Insert Feet
Andrew Klavan – Traditional Christmas vs. Progressive Christmas
Coal In Their Stockings
Iowa Caucus Voter Guide
Now, according this, the only people I can support, in good conscience, are Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry.
Disappointment Is Too Mild A Word!
I love Marsha Blackburn. She is a delightful lady and a solidly conservative member of Congress.
And I am pledging right now that I will do everything in my power to defeat her in her 2012 re-election bid.
I wonder if the left feels that way about Debbie Wasserman Schultz?
Both Marsha Blackburn and Debbie Wasserman Schults, the head of the Democratic National Committee and a Congresswoman from Florida, are cosponsors of the Stop Online Piracy Act.
The Act intends to stop online piracy. The way the Act goes about doing this is, in large part, allowing Eric Holder to take control of the internet and shut down websites he does not like. It is a totalitarian response from a bipartisan coalition of Congresscritters most of whom admit they have no freaking idea how the internet even works. Don’t believe me?
Ok, I’d have to say disgust is a much better word, and even that doesn’t quite cover it! The idea that Marsha Blackburn would collaborate on ANYTHING with that raving lunatic is beyond rational. The fact that this bill would give the worst Attorney General in our history the power to shut down anything he deemed necessary, or just doesn’t like, is even MORE unbelievable.
Marsha, you know I think quite highly of you, or at least I did. However, this is just beyond reason. You have always been as close to my ideal conservative as a person can get, but this is just mind blowing! You have led the way in many areas to try to retain our liberties, yet you would sign your name to co-sponsor a bill like this? Have you become so entrenched in Washington politics that you have forgotten all about us? With an alternative like the OPEN Act, I would think you would re-consider signing your name to such a violation. Giving such a power to anyone even remotely related to the Obama administration should have set off warning bells in your head. 
Stopping online piracy is a good thing. Giving Holder the power to shut down people who tend to criticize this administration, is flat out censorship. Does the name Joseph Goebbels ring a bell? Propaganda is a real useful tool, and I think you’ve been sucked into the Dems version.
Time To Re-Learn Gratitude
Our Christmas Wish – The Gift of Gratitude
The Foundry
Gratitude, it’s been observed, is a hallmark conservative virtue.
We prize the heritage passed down to us through the generations. We look beyond ourselves to the wisdom of the ages to shape our outlook and to the enduring principles of America’s founding to ground our decisions today.
Gratitude for what we’ve received makes us respond by giving, especially at this season. This year, the season of gifts is particularly poignant, as Heritage research fellow Ryan Messmore writes in an op-ed this week:
Christmastime is a season of gratitude. Whether it’s because we reflect upon the birth of the Christ child or the blessings of the past year, the holiday often prompts a sense of appreciation and thankfulness as well as the tradition of gift-giving.
And this year, the season of giving and receiving gifts comes in sharp contrast to a succession of months pervaded with a sense of entitlement.
The politics of resentment has characterized much of 2011. It’s been fueled by an entitlement mentality that “threatens not only the spirit of Christmas but the very fabric of a just and prosperous society,” Messmore says.
What’s Next? Burkas?
Army to adjust policy on religious headdresses in JROTC
The Army will develop a policy allowing Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets to ask for permission to wear religious headdresses with their uniforms.
The decision came in a letter dated Monday, the response to an October complaint filed by the Council of American-Islamic Relations on behalf of a Williamson County student.
Gadeir Abbas, a staff attorney with the council, said the decision was a victory for all.
“This is sending a message that the JROTC is a program for all Americans,” he said.
Well, that message would be real nice, except for one thing. Muslims and American freedom, fought and won by the U.S. Military, do NOT mix. They are a total contradiction. This is just one more example of the wussification of our military, thanks to the politically correct, but utterly ignorant!
The student, Demin Zawity, was the first to challenge the JROTC policy, Abbas said. Demin, Muslim and a freshman at Ravenwood High School, quit the JROTC program earlier this year because she wasn’t allowed to wear a religious headscarf in a parade. She said the scarf protected her modesty.
Give me a flippin’ break! So what if she quit! Here’s a huge WHO CARES! And those ‘headscarves’ are not religious! They are tradition in backwards countries, where women are suppressed. This is the U.S., not some 3rd world country stuck in the middle ages!
In Monday’s letter, Larry Stubblefield, deputy assistant secretary of the Army’s diversity and leadership division, confirmed the policy would change. He wrote that officials from the JROTC planned to contact Demin and offer her the chance to re-enroll in Ravenwood’s program.
“Diversity and leadership division”? Are they kidding? There is only one color in the Army….that’s green, or camo…depending on where said soldier is located at any given time. What’s this ‘diversity’ horse manure? There is no ‘diversity’ in the military, or shouldn’t be! They should be soldiers, ready to defend this country and her citizens, not a bunch of pussified whiners!
Demin said previously that she probably wouldn’t return to JROTC because she was too busy with her studies but that she hoped other Muslims would join. She didn’t return messages left Thursday.
And there, problem solved! Now pull your collective head’s out of CAIR’s hind end, and start acting like strong Americans….again….instead of a bunch of PC bowers and scrapers to the enemies of the country.
To date, five exceptions have been granted nationwide. Four of the exceptions were for servicemen belonging to the Sikh faith, and one was for an Orthodox Jewish rabbi serving in the Army Reserve, Wright said, adding that he didn’t know how many people had applied for an exception.
“Persons who are in active combat are less likely to get granted,” he said. “They have to have a good seal around their neck to prevent the leakage of their gas mask equipment, and a beard and/or a turban could be problematic.”
The turbans of the Sikhs, and the yamaka of the Orthodox Jews, ARE religious. That head scare is NOT.
“We are an emerging group in the U.S., and as we emerge, there are inevitably going to be instances where rules, albeit not intentionally, disadvantage Muslims,” he said. “But there is a difference between possible discrimination and safety. If the rule is designed around safety, that’s just acknowledging a reality.”
And there in lies the problem. An “emerging group” that wants to destroy the U.S. FYI CAIR….I’m one of those who will NOT be bowing to Mecca. I’ve no doubt there a whole lot of us who will push back!
Contradictions From The Father Of Lies
Santa Claws!
Gotta get those claws OUT of our pockets!
Playing The World’s Smallest Violin
‘Waa, No Pizza Night’: Sad Stories Roll In at Request of Obama White House
The White House says it’s been flooded with responses to the question it posed Wednesday: “What does $40 mean to you?”
One day after the White House asked “working” people to “tell us what your family will give up if your (payroll) taxes increase,” the stories are rolling in, including one from a person who worried about not having enough to pay the cable bill — or continue family pizza nights.
“Our cable internet bill is $49 per month. If we lose this payroll tax cut then we will have to give up either (our) internet access or possibly our ‘Friday Family Pizza’ night. Either way, we will lose something that brings us together as a family,” wrote “K.Z” from Frederick, Maryland.
Honestly, I can’t believe there are people in this country that are so freakin’ dense that they actually buy into the large piles of male bovine excrement that continuously come out of this White House and the sad sacks of Congress. It’s truly pathetic!
An extension of the payroll tax cut will save a “typical” family earning $50,000 around $40 a paycheck, the White House says. It also will reduce the only dedicated funding source for Social Security benefits, but only a few people in Washington are talking about that.
If that typical family is making $50K, they aren’t suffering all that much. Some folks really do need to learn how to live without luxuries. And yes, having cable or ‘pizza night’ is a luxury, NOT a necessity of life. Are we truly so spoiled that a mere two month extension of a pitiful ‘tax break’ would so totally ruin our lives that we find it necessary to whine to the White House? This is truly embarrassing, and I’ve no doubt that if people in other countries read this drivel, they’d think even less of us spoiled RICH Americans than they do now….if that’s even possible.
President Obama and his fellow Democrats are blaming House Republicans for the current stalemate over extending the payroll tax cut. The House bill calls for a year-long extension; but the Senate passed a bill extending it for two months. Unless the two bills are reconciled by the end of the year, the payroll tax will go up.
Naturally D’Bama blames others. I think I’d be totally shocked if he, just ONCE, took responsibility of his own actions. And heaven knows, the Senate Dems, led by one of the most weaselly beings on the planet, can’t possibly tell the truth about this whole issue. 2 months from the Dem controlled Senate VS a full year from the Republican controlled House….which one makes more sense? To the left, naturally 2 months of a break is so much better than a full year. Why? Because they are feckless morons who want YOUR money. Of course, the left stream media is all over this, right? Pointing out the difference between the two plans? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ok, stupid question. I admit it.
Some conservative Republicans say the payroll tax cut extension is a bad idea, period, because it siphons money from the Social Security Trust Fund.
What a novel concept. A Social Security Trust Fund. Problem is….there is no “Trust Fund”. Congress has been so busy spending money that was intended to be returned to the person who paid it in, that there is nothing left for the future. How many older people bought into the idea that S.S. was going to fund their retirement? Likely way more than the population of the State of Texas!
Wolf called the payroll tax extension a “raid on Social Security, which is already going broke,” and he noted that the money paid into the system now — through payroll taxes — pays benefits for existing retirees.
“Granting another tax holiday is unwise. It puts the existing benefits of those 55 million Americans who currently receive Social Security at risk to continue a failed ‘stimulus’ policy,” Wolf said.
*shakes head* We don’t need another ridiculous scheme from Congress. Both sides of the aisle has been playing fast and lose with our money for way too long. We need a TOTAL tax system overhaul. You jackwipes in D.C. need to pull your collective heads out of you collective hinders and realize, we ain’t as stupid as you believe us to be! We are quite well aware of your irresponsible behavior, year in, and year out. And ya know what? We are DAMN SICK OF IT! The behavior of BOTH parties has been down right criminal, and the vast majority of y’all should be behind bars! Stealing is a crime, you know!
