Community Kids

We need to get over the idea that our kids are our kids and come to realize that our kids are the communities kids.  Then we will spend more money on the community's kids for education.

That is what she says.  I'm not buying it, not for a second.

xtnyoda, shalomed

"Being straight isn’t a guarantee of having a healthy, shiny, pre-integrated sexuality"

A good read from Brutally Honest.

I’m so used to being gay and Catholic, I forget how strange that sounds.
I forget that, for some people, “homosexual” describes something like a different race, or maybe even a different gender. I forget that some Christians think I’m the worst kind of pervert (but a pervert they have to treat nicely), and some secularists think I’m the worst kind of hypocrite; the former because I’m sexually attracted to men, and the latter because I don’t do anything about it.
Read the last part again. Yes, I’m attracted to men; no, I don’t sleep with them, for the same reason that a lot of Catholics don’t sleep with people they’re not married to. But you’d be surprised how often people hear the first part (gay) and not the second (celibate) — even though the second is the only part that’s up to me.

Follow the top link for the whole post.  Very worthwhile!

xtnyoda, shalomed.

Drug War Ghosts

By Tomas Bravo
The memory is still fresh. I close my eyes and I can feel the tension. First the explosions… then the screams… then the silence.

The trickles of blood on the concrete make their way as small, red rivers to form a puddle, quickly dried by the sun. The bodies lie there, surrounded by police tape, waiting to be checked by forensic technicians. The prying eyes of the neighbors are fixed on the laughing police officers and the reporters who are speculating on the reasons for the execution......

Mexico is enduring a very dark night.  She needs our prayers.

Read the whole  article ... look at the pictures ... feel the burden for our sister nation.  We are linked.

xtnyoda, shalomed

"Pretty is cherished. Hotness, on the other hand, is a commodity."

This thoughtful rendering taken from Brutally Honest

Pat Archbold laments the loss of pretty:

Once upon a time, women wanted to project an innocence. I am not idealizing another age and I have no illusions about the virtues of our grandparents, concupiscence being what it is. But some things were different in the back then. First and foremost, many beautiful women, whatever the state of their souls, still wished to project a public innocence and virtue. And that combination of beauty and innocence is what I define as pretty.

By nature, generally when men see this combination in women it brings out their better qualities, their best in fact. That special combination of beauty and innocence, the pretty inspires men to protect and defend it.

Young women today do not seem to aspire to pretty, they prefer to be regarded as hot. Hotness is something altogether different. When women want to be hot instead of pretty, they must view themselves in a certain way and consequently men view them differently as well.

As I said, pretty inspires men’s nobler instincts to protect and defend. Pretty is cherished. Hotness, on the other hand, is a commodity. Its value is temporary and must be used. It is a consumable.

Nowhere is this pretty deficit more obvious than in our “stars,” the people we elevate as the “ideal.” The stars of the fifties surely suffered from the same sin as do stars of today. Stars of the fifties weren’t ideal but they pursued a public ideal different from today.

The merits of hotness over pretty is easy enough to understand, they made an entire musical about it. Who can forget how pretty Olivia Newton John was at the beginning of Grease. Beautiful and innocent. But her desire to be desired leads her to throw away all that is valuable in herself in the vain hopes of getting the attention of a boy. In the process, she destroys her innocence and thus destroys the pretty. What we are left with is hotness.

Hotness is a consumable. A consumable that consumes as it is consumed but brings no warmth.

Most girls don’t want to be pretty anymore even if they understand what it is. It is ironic that 40 years of women’s liberation has succeeded only in turning women into a commodity. Something to be used up and thrown out.

Of course men play a role in this as well, but women should know better and they once did. Once upon a time you would hear girls talk about kind of women men date and the kind they marry. You don’t hear things like that anymore

But here is the real truth. Most men prefer pretty over hot.

I can't help but think that a piece like this would be seen by most as prudish and puritanical. It's sad but true. I found it to hit the nail on the head though maybe I need to come to grips with the fact that I'm simply an old prude. Not sure. I really do however think that most men prefer pretty over hot, at least those men who are looking for life long mates.

The piece finishes with a plea for girls to bring back pretty.

To that I give a hearty amen.

H/T Brutally Honest

MSNBC is hiring more anti-gun advocates

MSNBC is bringing on board a reporter that is openly for resending the 2nd amendment of our constitution.

MSNBC analyst and soon-to-be host of a daytime television show on the network Alex Wagner is asked what she thinks needs to be removed in the Constitution. Wagner says the second Amendment since it doesn't seem to fit in with the others.

.....

Bill Maher, HBO: "Let's ask Alex. What would you change in the Constitution?"

Alex Wagner, Huffington Post: "Well, I'm going to be pilloried for this. I think get rid of the second Amendment, the right to bear arms. I just think in the grand scheme of the rights that we have; the right of assembly, free speech, I mean, owning a gun does not, it does not tally on the same level as those other Constitutional rights. And being more discreet about who gets to have a firearm and right to kill with a firearm, I think is something that would be in our national interest to revisit that."

I'm not so sure that you will be "pilloried" over this Alex, but it will certainly be taken under consideration as you attempt to give your view of neutral journalism.

I would wonder, just what is it that makes you think that a law abiding citizen owning a weapon is not to be considered in the same category of free speech or assembly? It is that very amendment that has purchased the guarantees that you mention as being of a ... different level somehow.

xtnyoda, shalomed

In God We Trust

Here is some interesting news out of the House of Representatives that hasn't received much play, a voted on House Resolution to affirm our national motto, "In God We Trust."

I guess it is a little heart warming that the House would elect to make such a resolution ... but it is a little disheartening to realize that they felt the need to do so. Not that they didn't need to do so, it is just a rather sad commentary about the reality of the place that our nation has come to.

Following is an excerpt from the article. Go read the whole article to see what was the tipping point that ended up convincing members of our House of Representatives to decide that this resolution needed to be presented.

House Votes to Reaffirm 'In God We Trust' as National Motto

The House on Tuesday passed a measure reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the national motto of the U.S., in an effort to encourage its display in public buildings and send a message to those who seek to remove God from the public domain.

The resolution required a two-thirds vote to pass, and did so easily, 396 to 9.

.......

“We need to make clear to the people in this country that our motto is ‘In God We Trust,’ and encourage them to proudly display that motto,” Forbes said.

.......

Rep. Dan Lungren (R.-Calif.) said the reaffirmation is also important because the word “God” has been challenged in the courts when used on public buildings, such as the new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, and in the Pledge of Allegiance when it's recited in public schools.

“This is an important message that we need to affirm. It is under attack, and we are not wasting time. How could we waste time making sure ‘In God We Trust’ is enshrined in our national motto?” Lungren said.

.....

Rep. Jeff Miller (R.-Fla.) said the U.S. has relied on its faith in God since the country's inception.

“Yes, there are attacks on God, every day,” Miller said. “As President Reagan​ said, 'If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.’ ”

Even though this has not made it into any MSM news reports ... it might just be a resolution that is referred to in days ahead.

xtnyoda, shalomed

Difference in definitions

This has been shamelessly stolen/borrowed from The Borg Conspiracy!

nuff said.

xtnyoda, shalomed

Gingrich's Upper-Cut is connecting

Gingrich is telling it like it is friends ... and exposing the damnable hypocrisy of politicians, policy drivers, and the economic dealers of our day ... that are subjugating people and trying to make it look like they are great souls in doing so.

The Emperor's New Clothes are being ripped away and the charade is being exposed for the demented evil that it truly is.

Gingrich on the Fed and assigning responsibility

Newt pulls no punches. He directs his fire with specificity and facts. An excerpt from the Dartmouth debate.

"Start with Barney Frank & Chris Dodd"

"Bernake has in secret spent hundreds of billions of dollars bailing out one group and not bailing out another group, I don't see anybody in the news media, demanding the kind of transparency at the Fed, that you would demand of every other aspect of the federal government and I think it is corrupt and it is wrong for one man to have that kind of secret power."

This via The Borg Conspiracy

OK, somebody refute what the man has spoken.

xtnyoda, shalomed

the "Occupy Wall Street" song

GoRemy has a song about the Occupy Wall Street stuff. Funny and filled with truth.



You GoRemy!

xtnyoda, shalomed

Winter Wonderland in October?!

Snow is arriving in the East, and some of the folks that live in the Northeast aren't that excited about it. This coming from Accu Weather.

Parts of the Appalachians looked like a winter wonderland during the few two days of October with snow and gusty winds howling.

Elevations of 3,000 to 3,500 feet in West Virginia got 1-3 inches of snow Saturday night into Sunday morning. Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia picked up nearly 4 inches of snow through Sunday afternoon!

Other snow totals across the Appalachians include: 1 inch in Ebensburg, Pa., 1.2 inches in Philipsburg, Pa., and 0.7 inches at Laurel Summit, Pa.

More snow will continue through this evening at the highest elevations, but little additional accumulations are expected with the ground still remaining warm this time of year.

Snow also whitened some mountains all the way down to North Carolina late on Friday and early on Saturday morning.

Ski enthusiasts rejoiced about the snow on the Snowshoe Ski Resort Facebook Page.

However, other Northeasterners are not too excited to hear the "s" word so early in the season....

Seems I can hear our Father saying, "Be still, and know, that I Am God."

xtnyoda, shalomed

"Anti-Bullying" is the call word

The previous post about labeling children in the UK is being played out in the US under the disguise of "Anti-bullying" initiatives.

LA Schools To Teach LGBT Curriculum In Anti-Bullying Effort

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Students in the Los Angeles Unified school district may soon be taught “age-appropriate” curriculum promoting positive images of homosexuals and their contributions to society.

KNX 1070′s Claudia Peschiutta reports the district approved an anti-bullying program aimed at reducing harassment at school for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.

The resolution approved on Tuesday directs officials to come up with an implementation plan within 90 days, the Associated Press reported.....

The "thought police" are coming to a community near you ... and evidently pretty soon.

xtnyoda, shalomed

What IS going on

Charlie who is quoted over at Brutally Honest, has some relevant insight as to what is actually going on in Washington DC these days.

As clearly as any issue you could name, the debate over the US debt ceiling exposes the radically different governing philosophies held by Democrats and Republicans. On the left it is taken as an article of faith that government must constantly grow and increase its sphere of influence as a counter to the power of private corporations, and to provide a constantly-growing safety net for Americans living at the margins. On the right it is taken as an article of faith that government must dramatically shrink in order to correct the decades-long diminution of personal liberty and the strangulation of free enterprise that threatens to undo all that is best about the American experiment.

At stake are the most cherished and bedrock beliefs of both sides. So how can there be any compromise? Either government continues to grow and our national indebtedness increases, a defeat for the right, or government growth is checked for the first time since the New Deal, a precedent that would be anathema to the left.

We have a divided government because we have a divided country. Government isn't broken; it is merely the most public face of the radical philosophical differences that can be found in any Main Street café in America.

If we were debating abortion rights or NAFTA instead of indebtedness, each side would be equally entrenched, equally unwilling to compromise, because each side holds a mutually exclusive vision of what American values and American government should be.

This great legislative battle is exactly how a great debate should happen in this country, and is the exact consequence of electing representatives who take to Washington the viewpoints of their states and neighborhoods. The high stakes and dire consequences should the two sides fail to reach an agreement is entirely appropriate given the opposite views each side holds on the fundamental purpose of government.

What Charlie is describing is what we call a "war of cultures" ... or if you will ... Culture Wars.

There is a "war" going on in our land ... and it is a war of epic proportions ... a war of ideas about the role of 'Government' and the 'Individual' citizen of this nation. And you my friends ... are the battle field ... for it is each of us that will ultimately decide who will win this war at this time.

xtnyoda, shalomed

"Marriage is so Gay"

Do you think the title of this post just might be "offensive" to some married people?

Well, according to the "gay" couple wearing the message .... "That's just too bad ... my desire to change your moral world-view is more important than your feelings!" Or something to that effect.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A lesbian couple is asking for changes at Dollywood after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt reading "marriage is so gay" inside-out to avoid offending others on a recent visit to the Tennessee theme park complex.

Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton said Tuesday they want the park to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families after Odom was asked to reverse her shirt when they visited Dollywood Splash Country next to the Pigeon Forge amusement park. The story was first reported by WBIR-TV in Knoxville.

Dollywood spokesman Pete Owens said on Tuesday that Dollywood is open to all families, but their dress code policy is to ask people with clothing or tattoos that could be considered offensive to change clothes or cover up....

report in AP

Oh ... it should be OK for this gay couple to be obnoxious and offensive ... on purpose ... but the whole world better make sure that it is willing to accept their offensive behavior without even a whisper ... or they'll scream to high heaven.

Sissies.

xtnyoda, shalomed

N/T Jeremy

Rainbow Flag at the Richmond Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond Va. has joined in the culture wars taking place in America.

from the NY Times

Rainbow Flag Goes Up; Letters Flow In

RICHMOND, Va. — The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond ran a rainbow flag up its flagpole last week and has been hearing about it ever since.

From conservative groups who are outraged. From gay rights groups who are pleased ... The bank unfurled the flag on June 1, at the request of a group of gay and lesbian employees in honor of gay pride month.
......

Jim Strader, a spokesman for the bank, said the bank had fielded hundreds of phone calls and as many e-mails about the flag. The flag, he said, symbolizes “values of being open and inclusive,” and shows that the bank is “a place that doesn’t discriminate.”
....

One of the most popular arguments by the flag’s opponents was that the bank is a government institution and so should not be displaying a flag that promotes a cause. And now that they are, the argument goes, they have an obligation to other causes.
.....

Mr. Strader’s response is that the bank is in fact privately owned, as are all regional Federal Reserves, and that it considers requests by employees — this was the first one — but not the general public.....

OK ... so the Federal Reserve is not a government bank but rather a "privately owned" bank according to Mr. Strader. That will be news to most Americans ... but that is another story.

So ... Mr. Strader ... will you honor a potential request from Christian employees to fly the Christian Flag ... say ... during Easter ... or Christmas?

Or ... why not fly the Muslim Flag during Ramadan? Or why not fly the Mexican Flag during Cinco de Mayo?

Now ... Mr. Strader ... you said the bank does want to be "open minded and inclusive" ... Mr. Strader ... Mr. Strader ....

xtnyoda, shalomed