Thursday, December 27, 2007

Liberal Arrogance

The arrogance of the Liberal Left is on clear display in a piece by Dave Lindorff in the Baltimore Chronicle;

Global Warming Will Save America from the Right...Eventually

After describing a scenario where much of "red state America" is destroyed or depopulated as a result of rising sea levels and drought, he concludes;
There is a poetic justice to this of course. It is conservatives who are giving us the candidates who steadfastly refuse to have the nation take steps that could slow the pace of climate change, so it is appropriate that they should bear the brunt of its impact.

The important thing is that we, on the higher ground both actually and figuratively, need to remember that, when they begin their historic migration from their doomed regions, we not give them the keys to the city. They certainly should be offered assistance in their time of need, but we need to keep a firm grip on our political systems, making sure that these guilty throngs who allowed the world to go to hell are gerrymandered into political impotence in their new homes.

There will be much work to be done to help the earth and its residents—human and non-human—survive this man-made catastrophe, and we can’t have these future refugee troglodytes, should their personal disasters still fail to make them recognize reality, mucking things up again.

It should be considered acceptable, in this stifling new world, to say, “Shut up. We told you this would happen.”
That is the state of Liberalism in America today. Do not kid yourselves, these people have no use for a free and open democracy, they want totalitarian socialism. If you doubt it, just look at what controls they wish to put in the people. They will even tell you what kind of light bulbs to buy.

And they do not want free speech for any but themselves. Dissenting opinions and those that offer them are to be crushed.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Remembering Cocoa


Two years ago today my beautiful little girl preceded me into Heaven.

I remember the first time we met her at Mary's (the breeder) home. We were looking at a number of Pomeranians. We saw Cocoa, Cocoa's sister, their mother and grandmother. Cocoa and her sister were beautiful little 8-week old puppies. Cocoa's mother was not available, of course, and nor was her grandmother. Cocoa's mother was the only one who was not chocolate colored. She was parti-colored, white and black. We were sitting in the kitchen by the kennel that the dogs would go in and out of. We picked up Cocoa's sister and looked at her. She was very well behaved and an entirely lovely dog. We fell in lover with her. We put her down and she went walking around the into and out of the kennel and the net room.

Then Mary handed Cocoa to us. My wife held her for a bit and then gave her to me. Cocoa was struggling to be let go. I tried to hold her but she was struggling so hard that she fell from my lap to the floor. We were mortified and Mary was not happy. Cocoa shook herself off and went into the kennel for a moment, then came back out. She still wanted our attention and wandered around our the area where we were sitting. She was not going to let any other dog upstage her. We loved her to.

As this would be our first dog, we got into a discussion about what personality of dog would be suitable for us. A dog who was too willful or demanding may not be a good match for us, and that would not be good for the dog either. It was a tough choice. We loved them all, particularly Cocoa and her sister. As we talked, we kept coming back to Cocoa (who continued to wander about in our presence). Although she may turn out to be difficult in the future, she was the choice. Her fiery personality was something that we could not resist. She was the choice.

We loved her very much, and she loved us. The memory of her bring tears to my eyes even as I write this. In a comment to my memorial post of her from last year Marguerite wrote,
I have a priest friend who thinks that man's ability to make friends with animals is a proof of God, perhaps he's right.
I believe that he is right.

I have two dogs now, Niko (a pomeranian) and Mikro (a long haired chihuahua) and love them. We almost lost Niko this summer and it was difficult for us. He is a good friend. He is doing well now, but he is 14 years old. That will be hard to.

Cocoa was exceptional and we miss her.



UPDATE: My wife reminds me that when Cocoa wanted to go into the kennel, she would just push any other dogs aside to go in. The kennel was large enough to hold four or five puppies or an adult and two or three puppies. When Cocoa wanted in, and if there were other puppies in there, she just pushed them aside to get where she wanted. Any other dog would look and see that there was no room and not enter. Cocoa, however, would not be denied.

She lived every aspect of her life with great gusto. She loved people and she loved us with that same gusto. Truely she was a gift directly from God to us and I thank God for her.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Anglo-Orthodox Saints

Our Lady of Walsingham and the holy Abbess Werburgh of Chester


Go and read this very beautiful blog.

Anglo-Orthodox Saints

Some Fallout of Appeasement

Appeasement, however seemingly "minor" will always have bad effects. These effects can be seen not only in the strengthening of the enemy but in the harm do to allies and to the relationships with allies who may be in trouble.

Both of you, my faithful readers, already know what I think of our weakness in the face of the Dear Murderer-Freaks crimes and provocations. Here is some more (it never stops).

Pyongyang Fallout
One unfortunate consequence of the Bush Administration’s about face-face on North Korea is playing out in Tokyo, where the new Prime Minister is struggling to deal with a string of recent insults from Washington. The sharpest slap may come today.

When Yasuo Fukuda visits the White House, President Bush is widely expected to tell him that he plans to take North Korea off the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror, despite Pyongyang’s refusal to provide any new information on the Japanese citizens it kidnapped in the 1970s and ‘80s. Information on the abductees has been Tokyo’s top priority in he six-party nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea.

Until recently, the administration has made progress on the abductees issue a prerequisite for taking North Korea off the terrorist list. Last year Mr. Bush met in the Oval Office with the mother of Megumi Yokota, a 13-year old girl who was kidnapped by North Korean spies in 1977 as she was walking home from school in the western city of Niigata. He called it “one of the most moving meetings since I have been the President.”
so...
U.S. support for Japan’s position also goes to the heart of American credibility as a security partner. Some Japanese are already beginning to wonder why the U.S. is so eager for a deal that won’t truly de-nuclearize the North, which has hundreds of missiles capable of reaching any corner of their country.

North Korea has failed to declare the components of its nuclear program-seven month after the agreed-upon deadline for doing so. And there are growing doubts that the U.S. will insist on an accounting that includes the North’s nuclear weapons, its stockpile of plutonium, and a uranium program That Pyongyang once touted but now says doesn’t exist. Meanwhile, the Yongbyon nuclear reactor that is now being “disabled” too much fanfare may already be at or near the end of its useful life. No wonder Tokyo is nervous.

J. Thomas Schieffer, the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo, is widely reported to have sent Mr. Bush a private cable last month, warning that the pending nuclear deal with North Korea could damage relations with Japan. There are indications that may already be happening.

On November 1, Japan suspended its naval mission to supply fuel to U.S.-led coalition forces in the Indian Ocean. Mr. Fukuda’s government pushed through a watered down bill in the Diet’s lower house this week restarting the mission. The Prime Minister decided against using his authority to push through stronger registration in part, we are told, on the counsel of advisers who urged him to distance himself from the Americans. That kind of thinking could lead to a decision by a future Japanese government to go nuclear, rather than run the risk of relying on the unreliable Americans.
North Korea is winning due to our weakness and gullibility.