A Beer Wasted

Thank goodness it was only one beer. If there had been a keg there, or if there had been something a little stronger, it might have gotten exciting. Each of them may have really spoken their minds. Because you see, there were no apologies offered by anyone. All of them still believing that they acted absolutely correctly.

Barack Hussein didn't even apologize for bringing along "Crazy Joe" Biden, which made no sense, other than he needed a white guy there to balance the scene. Because remember it's all about the "show", and the poor cop (the only one with no need to apologize) would have been outnumbered. And I'm sure old Joe put his foot in his mouth somewhere in the conversation. Wish we could hear it.

Instead of a "teaching moment", this beer summit was nothing but another episode by Barack the Poser. Something fabricated in an attempt (as Barack put it) "to teach us all a lesson on racial interaction". But what was it supposed to do for us, if didn't even teach anything to the guys at the table?

Just Another Government Clunker

This report just in from the field. It seems that Obama's "Cash for Clunkers" rebate program is having the usual issues associated with practically anything government run:

"Minnesota Auto Dealers Association vice president Scott Lambert said the government has created a program that’s “so big and cumbersome that it can’t find a way to accept anything. We’re sending in good, reliable deals.”
It’s nerve-racking for the dealers, he said, because they have given the customer $4,500 and now the dealers need to be reimbursed."

This problem report is just one of many surrounding this new initiative to get rid of gaz-guzzling vehicles. My advice to these guys in Minnesota is to call your new Senator, Al Franken and see what he can do. (Good luck with that.) But the real point here is to highlight a typical government program. Think of any experience you may have had in trying to clear up a problem in any organization run by the government. Paperwork, red tape, and rude and inept union employees that can never be fired. As soon as health care is socialized, that "Clunker" that you're trying to get help with could be your bad heart! Something to take comfort in.

R.I.P. Harry Allingham (Updated Again)

Now here's a nice surprise in a follow up to my two earlier posts on the amazing life of Briton, Harry Allingham, who died two weeks ago at age 113:

It turns out that Mr. Allingham had visited the U.S. many times in his life, and at least four of those times he spent right here in the Leelanau peninsula of Michigan within a few miles of our northern compound!

The story is that his daughter married a U.S. airman at the end of WWII. A B-17 pilot to be precise. So she came to Grand Rapids with her husband in 1946. They started a family there, and one of their children (Harry's grandson) ended up living in Empire. That's where Harry would visit, and sail and fish Lake Michigan as recently as 1997. (Heck, he was only 101!)

So Henry was in the area those few times, and it is told, thoroughly enjoyed the water while he explored the entire peninsula. You might still see his family motoring in local waters in their 36-foot Hinkly picnic boat, named the Henry A.!

Well, there you go: a bit of history where the oldest man in the world spent some of those many, many days of his life right here "up north". It probably added to his longevity! It sure didn't hurt, did it?

Letter From Lambeth

The Archbishop has finally weighed-in on the rogue member of his Church and the actions taken at it's recent national convention. It's well thought out:

http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2502

Issued just today, he obviously took the appropriate amount of time in this important opinion. I think that even though he goes to extraordinary lengths to soften the blow, the overall message will not be well received by those who think that actions taken by the Episcopal Church U.S.A. will somehow be accepted now or in the future by the worldwide Anglican communion. Those people could be called delusional. The die has been cast now. The U.S. Church has ventured too far out on the ice, with the gay/lesbian resolutions allowing ordination and blessing of same-sex unions.

The most important question is how quickly and how deeply this works to the division of the Church here in the U.S.. I think that things will begin to escalate fairly rapidly, with serious momentum given to the organization of an orthodox Church that already has some legs under it.

A new formula has been created by our Episcopal leadership: Inclusion = Division = Contraction. What is progress in their eyes, will result in regression. But none of that is their concern, apparently. So be it.

Honest John

Hey, at least he's honest. (Well, in this instance anyway.)

Michigan's Rep. John Conyers admitted today that he hadn't read the six pounds of legislation on Barack Hussein's nationalized health care plan. He added that he couldn't understand how he'd be expected to! Can you believe that?!! He said that his staff would not even have the time to read it and explain it to him. And this senior congressman heads the Judiciary committee!

So what are we paying him for?

And you can bet that he's not alone. Yet his boss, Queen Pelosi, is demanding a vote on it this week. "Has to happen!" I doubt she's read it either, but the quick vote is part of the strategy, isn't it?. Don't dare let any of these goofs take the time to get educated on this, even if they were willing to try.

You know damned well most Republicans aren't any better. But at least on this bill, I'd rather have a Republican vote no on something he didn't read, that a lib voting yes. This one for sure, is way too important. Let's get this killed or at least gutted and then find out who wants to read.

The Radical Surfaces (Update)

An update to my blog about The Chief Race-baiter and his comments on cops acting "stupidly":

He has now invited both the "stupid" officer and his angry black-elitist buddy to the White House. Apparently both have accepted. How rich it would have been, had the cop turned it down!

And now a prediction on what happens next, which you heard here first:

Watch how the mainstream media (lead by the AP, of course) transforms this into a "teaching moment" for a nation "still mired in racial hatred", even though it was Obama and his pal who made it an issue of color.

I can absolutely gaurantee you here, that Barack Hussein will now be portrayed as the Great Healer. All three will pose together for a photo op in the Rose Garden and a nation will unite, if only for a little while, under it's wise and benevolent leader. Our nation has never been so privledged.

Actually, it's never been so blind.

R.I.P. Harry Allingham - (Update)

As if on cue to follow his comrade, Britian's last surviving WWI veteran died today. Harry Patch was 111. It was just a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about Harry Allingham's passing, and now the U.K. joins Germany and France in having no surviving veteran's to the Great War. Soon this tremendous human conflict with all of it's horrors will go to it's resting place in history, with no living memory of it. For that at least, we can be thankful.

R.I.P. Harry Patch.

The Radical Surfaces

You know it had to happen sooner or later. Elect a black man who comes from an "old school" environment of angry racists like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and eventually an incident will occur where his own underlying anger bubbles to the surface. That trigger was the arrest of his colleague in Massachusetts last week; another angry black activist cut from the same cloth.

Now that Barack Hussein has stepped in it big with his prime-time comment calling the officers actions "stupidity", all hell has come down upon him, as it should. And now he knows he screwed up, but make no mistake: he spoke his true feelings.

So he spent the last two days having his talking-heads saying everything they can to defuse the situation, except apologizing. And the king himself "regrets" everything: the arrest, the reporters question, the reaction, everything except what he said. So if you're waiting for an direct apology from him, forget it. And besides, even if he did, it would be worthless.

It would be more worthwhile to listen in on Rev. Wright's sermon this week. Should be a doozy. But doozy or not, it will be his true feelings, and his friend Barack's too.

Requiem to the F-22

"Be extremely subtle, to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate." --Sun-Tzu (c. 544-496 BC)

The F-22. Easily, the most formidable strike aircraft ever conceived. Fast, invisible, deadly.

Killed by a liberal government that evidently sees no advancing threat to our security for the next 30 years, at least.

Barack Hussein proudly claims a cost savings which is equivalent to .3% of the total defense budget. A real beacon of fiscal restraint, he is, and our hero.

Why Shoot The Dealers? (Part Two)

On June 3rd, I wrote a blog titled "Why Shoot The Dealers?". In it, I questioned the reasoning behind the closure of thousands of GM and Chrysler dealerships amidst Obama's takeover plans. Now congress appears to be trying to undue that. Interesting that there are a whole lot of democrats involved in this amendment. The King is not happy about it either.

The White House had the gall today to scold congress for trying to interfere, arguing that it would “set a dangerous precedent, potentially raising legal concerns, to intervene in a closed judicial bankruptcy proceeding on behalf of one particular group.” Gag on that one. Do they meant that this is somehow different than what Obama handed his buddies at the U.A.W. in these takeovers? I'd like them to explain.

This whole dealership issue had stink all over it from the beginning. Always cloaked in "reducing excessive costs" which as I wrote earlier, made no sense. So as with most Obama crap, we await some "transparency". You know, that thing he promised over and over again.

The Bum's Rush

It's fun to see Barack Hussein frustrated, isn't it?

Today he's expressing his impatience with delays on his socialist health care plan. Excuse us your Highness. He doesn't much care for debate on it (most royalty doesn't), or even if it's read and understood. The fact is, the more exposure it gets, the more concern it raises. Hmmm, imagine that.

His latest comments seem to be directed right at his brain dead supporters, as well as those Americans who never question anything (his electorate). But what does this quote mean to the rest of us: ....."whether we'll seize this opportunity — one we might not have again for generations — and finally pass health insurance reform this year, in 2009."?

So generations will pass before we can ever fine tune or improve health care in the U.S., if we don't do it RIGHT NOW? Interesting.

I would translate that to mean, that by next year, he expects that America will be fed up with mega-deficits and socialist, mega-government. That they will have seen enough of his agenda. That they won't fear being called racist if they disagree, and that they'll want their country back....with decades before they'll ever be fooled again.

No wonder he's in a hurry.

R.I.P. Henry Allingham

The worlds oldest man died yesterday. Henry Allingham, the last surviving original member of Britain's Royal Air Force, and one of a handful of surviving WWI veterans around the world.

He flew and helped maintain warplanes when they were only wire and cloth. He fought in the largest naval battle of the war. He was badly wounded in the arm.

He outlived his wife and both of his children, but is survived by many, including a great, great, great grandchild.

He spent much of his later years supporting veteran's affairs and talking about sacrifice and peace.

And that is what you call "A Life".

R.I.P. Henry Allingham.

Ability Beyond Reason

We have all seen evidence of the miraculous science available to treat infertility. Many times it fails to achieve. I should know. But other times it achieves in a very beautiful and profound way. Many couples have been blessed through the incredible methods developed.

However, there is great responsibility that comes from this great capability, and like many elements of power, it can have it's irresponsible, dark side.

Take the case of the Spanish woman, Carmen Bousada, who at 67 years of age, became the world's oldest (to date) mother through in-vitro fertilization. That was two years ago. This week she died, leaving behind orphan twins. She wasn't hit by a truck, she died of cancer. But that doesn't really matter, except that by the time your 67, cancer has become a much greater risk than being run over!

The clinic she attended for the procedure was in Los Angeles. Where else? (Remember the "octomom" ?) Their pitiful defense was that she apparently lied about her age, stating that she was 55, the supposed maximum age for the procedure. I guess a clinic with such a focused specialty has a much harder time detecting someone's age. And does that mean that 55 is even acceptable?

So now, the little twins will never know their mother, and it's highly likely that grandparents are gone, and even aunts and uncles very old or gone also. Tough. Too bad that same clinic can't whip up a new, artificial mom, but heck, we're just human. Let's remember that.

One Big Step Closer

Today, the national convention of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. took the Church one more step towards dilution and irrelevance with it's gay divorce from Scripture and the rest of the Anglican communion.

With the adoption of a resolution that would allow homosexuals to be ordained into "any ministry", the Church officially turns it's back on a three year old moratorium on the election of homosexual Bishops. Turns out that was nothing but a stunt to placate conservative members after their outrage over the election of Gene Robinson in New Hampshire, and his self-serving drive to change the Church to suit his lifestyle.

With at least a dozen new resolutions by aggressive supporters of gay, lesbian, and transgender lifestyles, there is apt to be more legislation approved in this convention by too many Church members concerned by the appearance of acceptance, rather to stand tall in the truth of God's design. Most of these resolutions take a very devious tact of simply allowing a certain "latitude" to clergy in the blessing of same-sex unions. In other words, making these things optional, and allowing those clergy who don't support such thinking an "out" to stand against it in their own Church. You would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not see through this strategy. The eventual objective is incredibly apparent.

The Church continues to be hell-bent on "inclusiveness" through all of these actions and in doing so, continues to promote it’s own incredible contraction! The fear of it's self-righteous leaders fails to allow them to see or to care about that, apparently. So few willing to stand for the doctrine of Scripture and God's natural order.

I view the current state of our Church as a giant sail with no rigging set to catch the wind and move forward. Instead, the sail flaps and twists, trying to catch every societal “gust”, and ultimately adrift and dead in the water. That is it's future, and it pulled the last lines out of it's sails this week.

Time For A Change

I hope you like the new look of The Mole Hole. It just seemed that it was time for a change. I chose sort of a nautical theme in keeping with my love for boats and water.

I may still do a little fine tuning in some of the page elements, but for now this is enough. This is a very conservative site after all!

Nice Visit

Just returning to the northern compound this evening after a trip across the state to visit the parents. It turned into much more than that!

Over the course of five days, we also saw two sisters, one step-brother, one brother in-law, two cousins, one second-cousin, an aunt and uncle and a niece and nephew! Thankfully not all at once! (Meaning that it was ultimately more gratifying to have special time, with separate visits)

This was especially nice for us, since we just don't get many opportunities to see these folks once we return home to Chicagoland.

For the most part, adults don't change much over periods of months, at least as compared to the kids in the family who can change over a weekend! So it seemed that all was still much the same with everyone. That's not a bad thing in the case of this family, where all are enjoying good if not excellent health and a decent level of prosperity.

We had cool but acceptable summer weather and the beautiful setting of Michigan's Inland Waterway to enjoy our watercraft, the lake house and plenty of food and drink.

We are glad to return to the compound under almost all circumstances, but we'll miss the gang.

The Odd Couple

Our "King of Pomp" was on a roll again today with a stop at the Vatican. I imagined the Pope quickly shutting off the lights and pretending he wasn't home. Guess it didn't work.

They met for the obligatory photo op and then exchanged some pleasantries; neither one's opinions mattering much to the other. But this is what leaders do.

Then the gift exchange. After Barack Hussein's track record of shopping Walmart for gifts to other Heads of State, I can't even imagine what he gave the Pope. Probably some TV gimmick in honor of the late, great Billy Mays!

In his gift to Obama, the Pope sought to communicate his beliefs in giving him a copy of a Vatican document on bioethics that hardened the church's opposition to using embryos for stem cell research, cloning and in-vitro fertilization. Obama told the Pope that he would read it on the plane. Yeah, right! It's probably still rolled-up and stuck down between the seats of the limo. Truth is, unless the "First-dog" has yet to be house-trained, Obama has no use for that thing!

With all of that stuff out of the way, only the ring-kissing remained, and Benedict did a good job with that, although he kind of struggled to get up off his knees after he laid one on The King!

This is some moving stuff.

Right and Wrong on Health Care

With Barack Hussein's rush to nationalize our health care system, and his socialist congress ready to do almost anything to grant his every wish, there is an absolute frenzy of opinions out there on how it should be done. But of course, no opinions within the mainstream media will acknowledge the simple fact that we don't have the money to do it. Instead, they have been scrambling to come up with creative ways to get it.

Now it seems that none of the more imaginative stuff is going to work, probably due to the fact that they need a stack of dollar bills that would reach to the moon in order to get it done. So they are now falling back to the old tried and true method: tax the rich.

In this case, the "rich" are defined as those earning over $200,000 per year. Not hardly! But they need to start at that level in order to steal enough dollars.

I use the word steal, because that's exactly what it is. But I don't see the immorality of that acknowledged in any of these opinions. What I do read about is the morality of helping others to health care.

Let's get this straight: If a person wants to give money out of his paycheck to help others in this aspect or any other, that is an act of morality. But, if any person (say a congressman) takes money from your paycheck in order to hand it over to another who might not have as much, that is stealing; an immoral act.

I read many things from politicians, pundits and religious leaders that shame the United States, which is really to say us, in the supposed dysfunctional wreck that is our health care system. Yes, there are problems that need to be addressed, but the answer does not lie in stealing trillions more from U.S. citizens and then throwing it into a government-run cesspool of waste and corruption, which is exactly what it will become when the government runs it. Do you doubt that? If so, just take a look at any other government agency that you can name. That's what ultimately arises from people spending other people's money.

The point of this blog is to redirect the whole morality finger pointing to where the real immorality lies.

Just like when we were kids, if I wanted to give a marble to another kid, that was right thing to do. But, if the schoolyard bully came up and took one from me to give the other kid, that was wrong. That was stealing. Such a simple concept of right and wrong, but no different in the basic moral question. Where are the voices from our Churches on this aspect; our supposed moral authority?

Is This The Bottom Yet?

What's wrong with Minnesota? Is it something in the air up there, that doesn't seem to exist in neighboring Wisconsin or North Dakota? The water maybe? It can't be the cold; a lot of folks deal with that weather. So what is it up there that makes the likes of Jesse Ventura or Al Franken look attractive to voters? Absolutely baffling.

This latest election of Al Franken is just unbelievable. A self-professed clown. How in the world does he win an election up there? Anywhere?

How would you like to be the Republican that lost to him? Talk about degrading! Is the Republican party really so bereft of strong, appealing candidates that we can't beat Al Franken for God's sake?!!

These are sad, strange times. How long before we wake up?

The Fourth in the North

What a wonderful Independence Day we had at the northern compound!

It was one of those glorious northern summer days without too much heat or humidity, and not a cloud in the sky. Without that damp air, and after being scrubbed clean by a Lake Michigan breeze, the sky was the most perfect shade of blue.

We spent the day doing summer "stuff" and just enjoying our surroundings. Supper was met with, what else, a barbecue, along with libations and the wonderful company of our good friends from The Study and family. The libations were appropriately measured, the food and fellowship were not! Our cup overfloweth.

We capped off the day with the drive up the narrow, curvy highway to the very end of this beautiful peninsula, where, it seems, most everyone in it ended up. Quite the crowd. But this little town does itself proud with the fireworks they launch off the beach and out over the bay.

Lots of noise, and lots of oohs and aahs. A very nice display. And then just to make it perfect, they exploded in a clear sky with a full moon as a backdrop! Many of the shells actually seemed to burst right out of the moon. Very neat.

I've spent just about every 4th of July of my life in the beautiful setting of northern Michigan. Several different small towns, and some larger ones. Even an island. I can remember almost all of them. This one ranks with the best.

An inspiring reflection from John Adams to wife Abigail follows here. Written 233 years ago:

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. — I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. — Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

God Bless America!!

More Fakery From The King

I cut and pasted the following editorial from Michelle Malkin's blog. She's dug up some interesting info on the last "town hall" meeting Obama staged for his socialized health care tour. Staged? Absolutely. But remember, these are supposed to be everyday ordinary citizens plucked from the street for a priviledged Q & A with Barack Hussein and their concerns about health care, and not necessarily pro-nationalization. Yeah, right:

The White House sure likes to put on a show. Fresh off its joint stage production with ABC News, the Obama administration broadcast another health care propaganda play this week under the guise of a citizen “town hall.”
Chicago consigliere and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett managed the floor and human props for Obama. In a telling moment as the event kicked off, she protested a wee bit much: “I want to emphasize that the President has not seen the questions ahead of time.” The audience responded with polite laughter.
But the denials of pre-planning and stacked decks deserve nothing but derisive mockery. Obama’s town hall was filled with backroom players and a supporting cast of socialized medicine activists and ideologues. One of the three lucky audience members whom Obama chose for questioning was Jason Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum works for the Washington, D.C.-based Health Care for America Now (HCAN). That’s the same K Street Astroturf outfit I reported on last week – the one with a $40 million budget to lobby for government-run health care. The one inextricably linked to left-wing billionaire George Soros.
Let’s look at who else miraculously drew a golden ticket. Another one of the three, softball-tossing citizen questioners at the White House forum identified herself as a member of the Service Employees International Union. That’s the same SEIU whose president, Andy Stern, boasted of spending nearly $61 million in members’ dues to elect Barack Obama. It’s the same union that produced Patrick Gaspard, former SEIU health care lobbyist and now White House director of the office of political affairs.
But the Obama health care “town hall’s” climactic moment came when the consoler-in-chief plucked Debby Smith from the crowd to tell her personal health care horror story. She choked back tears as she talked of her battle with kidney cancer, her joblessness, and her lack of insurance. Obama hugged the trembling woman and dubbed her “Exhibit A” for his massive entitlement program.
Debby Smith, however, is no ordinary patient. While she may be “unemployed,” she has been rather busy working for the Obama campaign – as a volunteer for Organizing for America. It’s the old Obama for Change political machine now housed under the Democratic National Committee. Smith has also identified herself as a worker for the Virginia Organizing Project, which has been coordinating lobbying trips and health care forums with HCAN. Yes, that same HCAN.
In December, Smith moderated a “a community discussion on health care issues” in Appalachia, Virginia and told her local paper that the meeting “would be reported back to former Sen. Tom Daschle, who has been directed by President Elect Barack Obama to form a committee to report on health care issues.”
Daschle may be out of the spotlight since his Health and Human Services cabinet nomination fiasco. But he is in constant contact with Team Obama. As he told the Associated Press earlier this week in a media meeting on health care reform: “We interact with them daily.” No doubt.
Veteran liberal journalist Helen Thomas earned some accolades for challenging the tightly-controlled White House events. But where was she back in March, when Team Obama pulled the same stunt? At a health care event in the East Room, the questioners included an Obama donor, a Democratic National Committee member, a former Democratic candidate for the Virginia statehouse who had publicly endorsed Obama, and a member of the SEIU. Yes, that SEIU.
The growing irritation of the once-smitten Beltway media is better late than never, I suppose. But one wonders what took so long for the sedatives to wear off the watchdogs.

A Smell Too Far

We were packing the vehicle for the trip to the northern compound a few days ago, and missed an important item: the retractable leash for our lovable mutt, Jenna. Dang! We've got this packing thing down pretty good, having loaded things up for the north about a thousand times. But we missed one.

So, we made a stop on the way up and purchased a suitable replacement. Not quite the same thing though; a bit cheaper looking and not as well built from our brief experience with it.

But here's the real issue: it's about two feet shorter at full extension.

So that makes things tough on the pooch. Why? Well you see, everything she wants to sniff is apparently just beyond the scope of this leash. In fact, even with the longer leash, everything she wants is just beyond. So this new one is really crimping her style.

Have you ever noticed that phenomena with dogs? Why is it that no matter where you stand, there is nothing that interests them within the diameter served by the length of the leash? It's always just out of reach. So you get the constant pull, like trying to land a six-foot Marlin at sea.
Honestly, I don't get how a 50 pound dog can exert 250 pounds of force on my shoulder socket.

Of course, none of this is anything that just a little dog obedience training couldn't fix. But then why do that and keep her from all of those delicious smells just 18 feet away, and deprive me of the thrill of reeling in the big one!

Or Else What?

I always get a chuckle out of these international ultimatums.

Today the OAS has given the Honduran coup leaders "three days" to undo their takeover of that government.

The universal response to threats like these is, "Or else, what?!!"

Every kid in the world has asked this after being threatened. You and I did it, remember? You see it in cartoons and kiddie flicks all the time. And it carries the exact same weight as when it's applied by the O.A.S., the U.N., or any other of these impotent, insignificant world organizations. It means nothing.

Does anyone really expect anything else? Seriously. When do remember anyone obeying one of these?

I don't care if your a petty little dictator in some forlorn African state, or Hugo Chavez, or Kim Jong Il, or these Honduran military nuts. Nor does it ever mean anything to China, Russia, or the United States.

My opinion has always been to be very careful with threats, unless you intend to back them up with meaningful consequences. Otherwise, they are utterly useless and a waste of breath. Beyond that, empty threats can actually lead to bigger issues. Threats that are unsupported by real action simply encourage unacceptable behavior. Remember a crappy little guy named Saddam Hussein? Suppose the world leadership behind the U.N. had actually enforced all of the smallish threats made year after year on that guy? I think it's very possible that we would have choked him off well before George Bush, practically alone, had to finally pull out the stick.

Threats are fine. But they really don't mean anything coming from any of the current world organizations whom have already lost their credibility through inaction.

Threats should be measured and then absolutely reinforced by capable entities. All these other things are not just laughable, they are tiring and dangerous.