Archive for the 'Today' Category

Then the angel said…”Fear not: for behod I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” – Luke 2:10-11

On this Christmas eve, let us remember our soldiers who are living away from family and friends, many in far off places defending our freedom and freedom for the peoples of the nations in which they are serving.

Merry Christmas to Raven, Duncan, Bigfoot, and our family of readers!

-civil truth

A dramatization of the representatives of the 13 colonies voting on a resolution to approve a declaration of independence from the British Crown

Excerpts from a letter from John Adams to his wife dated July 3, 1776, the evening before that fateful vote:

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This is the Call to Worship that I delivered at our church yesterday.

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On this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to speak a few words about patriotism, since this holiday and this word are closely entwined. In our era, especially in [our community], many are extremely uncomfortable with or even disdainful of patriotism, equating it with idolatry. But that is overreaction.

Rather, in speaking of patriotism, I would speak of loyalty and gratitude. Loyalty to an imperfect nation, to be sure, but one which is worthy still of loyalty and allegiance – but of course not as a substitute for our loyalty and allegiance to God.

Gratitude for the blessings of liberty, prosperity, individual opportunity and freedom to worship that our nation has stood for over its existence.

And it is the loyalty of the soldiers who have fallen in battle to protect our freedoms and the gratitude that we owe them for their sacrifices that evokes the patriotism of this Memorial Day holiday.

As Abraham Lincoln famously spoke at Gettysburg:

…It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

As we reflect on these words, let us consider the patriotism towards a greater nation that these parting words of the Apostle Paul express, that these words may be ours also (found in II Timothy):

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

At this time then, let us take a moment of silence today to remember our fallen soldiers…and our fallen brethren in the faith.

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And I hope that we all will take time to honor our soldiers on duty to protect our liberty and the families of those who have fallen in battle.

With the grim news these past weeks culminating in yesterday’s Friday the 13th Massacre, I though I’d share a tender story of unlikely love on this 14th of February.

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In a city park stood a statue of a man and a women frozen in a caress of love, their love unconsummated for many long years.

Early one Valentine’s Day, when the sun had barely risen, an angel appeared before the statue and said, “Since the two of you have brought such enjoyment to so many visitors, I am granting you your greatest wish. I hereby give you the gift of life. You have thirty minutes to do whatever you desire to satisfy your deepest longings.”

And with that command, the two figures came to life. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, and then wordlessly taking each other’s hand, the couple merrily dashed off towards the nearest woods and dove behind a row of bushes.

The angel smiled to himself as he heard them giggling, punctuated by the sounds of bushes rustling and twigs snapping.

After fifteen minutes, the two unexpectedly emerged from the bushes, a bit flushed and out of breath. Startled, the angel looked at his watch and said to them, “You still have fifteen minutes to go.”

The male gazed lovingly at his companion and asked, “Do you want to do it again?”

“Oh yes, my love, yes,” she purred…

“only this time you hold the pigeon down and I’ll shit on its head!”

(original version here)

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Happy Valentine’s Day to our readers and friends!

May your trysts today likewise satisfy your deepest longings..

Between out-of-town guests and significant end-of-the-year decisions, I suspect I won’t be back in the saddle here at ARS much before New Year’s. Though if the news coming out of Washington and Sacramento remains as sucky as it has been this month, it’s going to be hard to resist the temptation to stick my head in the sand. But enough of that for now.

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On September 11, 2001, I worked in Arlington, Virginia, in an area about a mile away from the Pentagon, even though I had moved to Maryland about a dozen years earlier. The day started out routinely, with a commuter train ride into Washington, DC, and a short ride on the Metro to where I worked. Sometime after 9:00 AM, I noticed that several co-workers were watching a small portable television set, its screen at most 3 inches across. After joining them, I learned that airplanes had crashed into the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York, and another one had hit the Pentagon, just a mile away from us. The newscasters all seemed to realize what was going on. This was a terrorist attack, in which airplanes were hijacked, and then used as suicide weapons. Arab terrorism had merged with the tactics of the Japanese kamikaze.

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Lest anyone, humor-challenged or other, not understand where I’m coming from in my post immediately below:

I support 100% the nomination of Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President and stand in sympathy and support of the Palin family during this challenging time that they face with their daughter Bristol.

I pronounce anathema on the subhuman slime who first spread baseless and abhorrent rumors about Gov. Palin’s fifth child being her daughter Bristol’s child and upon the feckless filth who subsequently are twisting the announcement of Bristol’s pregnancy into a grotesque attack upon Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston, and their unborn child, and upon Sarah’s fitness to serve in office and judgmental condemnation of the Palin family parenting skills.

And I entertain utter disdain for those media personages and media organization in this fine land who have prostituted all journalistic principles and brought down American political discourse to uprecedented and inconceivable depths of degradation, tearing down hitherto unbreached barriers of ethical restraint, in their persecution of Bristol Palin and their lust to destroy by innuendo and guilt-by-parentage the political career of Gov. Palin for strictly partisan and vindictive reasons unmoored from any sense of honesty or integrity.

I trust there are no questions as to where I stand.

[Update 9/3/2008 12:30am] I’ve added the names of Levi Johnston, Bristol’s boyfriend, and their unborn child to the second paragraph, because the cowardly brownshirts behind this character assassination attempt have now decided to set their sights on also destroying the lives of both Bristol, and her boyfriend, and thereby also take out their unborn child. The latest media agent of destruction is Wenner Media who in this week’s issue of Us Weekly have lauched a savage attack of the two teens along with an assault on Gov. Palin. (A most jarring juxtaposition to their goddess worship of Michelle Obama in last week’s issue.)

Not to mention the illegal public release today of Gov. Palin’s social security number (1st five digits) along with other sensitive personal data that will leave her exposed to criminal identity theft activity and potential hacking of her medical and other statuatorily protected records.

I now must condemn the Obama campaign at least materially complicit, if not actually being behind these attacks, as they try to deflect responsibility through their tepid, ineffective criticisms while their proxies launch their nuclear missiles at the Palin family. If they don’t call a halt to this now, they must bear the eternal judgment of history for this unprecedented assault on the foundations of American representative democracy.

-philippic civil truth

The Tall Ships came to Portsmouth Harbor the other day. Got some shots on the way up to Maine.

Quote for today:

Never a ship sails out of the bay
But carries my heart as a stowaway.
~Roselle Mercier Montgomery, The Stowaway

:oldglory: Biden? As in Slimy Joe? NO WAY. It would doom Obama’s campaign that’s for sure. Speaking of slimeballs, I hope Obama reads this. I really do. And all liberals for that matter.

:oldglory: Obama supports the murder of babies. No,really.

:oldglory: No negative ads on September 11th.

:oldglory: Pallie Skunks.

:oldglory: So uh, how’s your mouth health? Important stuff.

:oldglory: Teach has a new theme (that looks vaguely familiar) AND he’s all widgetized.

:oldglory: What IS a BLOG?? Lots of different views here. And, while we’re on the subject of blogs, see how long it takes for yours to load up. This tool will show you what’s slowing it all down. Hint: Outside scripts such as social site bookmarking, lots of ads and lots of Blog Rolling code are the offenders.

:oldglory: The Obesity Epidemic hits China.

:oldglory: Gimme a GAWD damned break:

WASHINGTON (AP) – Paddlings, swats, licks. A quarter of a million schoolchildren got them last year – and blacks, American Indians and kids with disabilities got a disproportionate share of the punishment, according to a study by a human rights group.

This is as disingenuous as it gets, this report.

Another harbor shot- I can still smell the salt water and engine oil.

Today’s quote:

Liberals are very broadminded: they are always willing to give careful consideration to both sides of the same side.

Anonymous

:oldglory: How do you tell when Obama’s lying? When his lips are moving. That about sums it up. And, simple beings can understand the Obomb. I mean SIMPLE.

:oldglory: The Messiah’s Performance plans:

When he delivers his speech on the last night of the convention, Mr. Obama will not be addressing the crowd from a lone lectern at the edge of the field; he will be standing at the 50-yard line, surrounded by a diverse set of people he has met throughout the campaign, whose presence is intended to signal to viewers at home that people like them are O.K. with Mr. Obama. Ten people selected by the campaign from all corners of the country will meet backstage with Mr. Obama and be shown to the television audience, also intended to convey their comfort level with the senator.

:oldglory: BWAHAH….Denver’s secret brigs.

:oldglory: A taxing frame of mind. Just damn.

:oldglory: Ellen DeGeneres breaking down culture walls?

:oldglory: Russ Vaughn: Clueless. White. Males.

:oldglory: About those Olympic Games. And the game China plays. JD tells it like it is.

:oldglory: Brave old world: Are we heading there yet?

:oldglory: I mentioned last week of the subtle change in color we’re seeing up here. It’s happening all over northern New England.

This is Mt Katahdin this morning- in Maine’s Baxter State Park. Wish me and my friends luck as we embark upon it today for a hike. I’ll post pictures tomorrow of the fun and views.

:oldglory: They want substance. They want details. They want to know what he really means when he speaks his chant-like rhetoric:

As Senator Barack Obama Mr. Obama has run for the last 18 months as the candidate of hope. Yet party leaders — while enthusiastic about Mr. Obama and his state-by-state campaign operations — say he must do more to convince the many undecided Democrats and independents that he would address their financial anxieties rather than run, by and large, as an agent of change — given that change, they note, is not an issue.

Hmm. Will Obama be able to deliver??

:oldglory: No democracy for workers if Obama is elected. And, Obama’s rolling in the cash. Plus, McCain’s a party pooper. In a good way.

:oldglory: A teen girl, size 4, is considered too fat to model. SIZE 4?? What are we expecting? Size 0 models are anorexic…

:oldglory: Headline: WAL MART WORKERS UNIONIZE. All 8 of them.

:oldglory: You play you pay. I do think the cases where the 19 yr old boyfriend of the 17 yr old girl should be treated differently though.

LAS VEGAS — Eager to protect children from sexual predators, Nevada and other states across the nation are adopting laws that publicize the names of offenders on the Internet.

But sex offenders say they have rights, too, and argue it’s wrong to lump those guilty of minor offenses with the worst offenders. Some are challenging the laws.

:oldglory: For the children:

There are nine million overweight or obese children in the United States. And although the prevalence of childhood obesity has tripled since 1980, there are few comprehensive or affordable programs to treat them. Summer weight loss camps are usually profit-making and can cost more than $1,000 a week. Most insurance does not cover that cost.

:oldglory: And for the grown ups:

FOXBOROUGH - Jennifer McKeon of West Bridgewater loves the idea of taking her family camping. Except for one thing: She hates camping. She hates the bugs. The dirt. Sleeping in a tent. Waking up in a tent.

Roasting marshmallows? Now that she can appreciate. So McKeon found a way to enjoy the experience of camping without actually camping. She spent last week with her husband and two kids in a luxury yurt at an upscale campground here called Normandy Farms, where amenities include a concierge, a fitness center, four swimming pools, and a stocked fishing pond. The yurt – a round tentlike structure akin to those used by Mongolian nomads – is equipped with a flat-screen TV and air conditioning. It also has a kitchen, bathroom, deck, and a firepit for those marshmallows. A weekly rental costs $1,450.

Speaking of camping, this is one of the BEST places to do just that. Baxter State Park in Maine…rough it up. Live off the land and water. I love it.
:oldglory: