Saturday, December 29, 2007

An expert of the obvious

It has finally taken an expert to tell us what every parent could have already told you.

It's OK for boys to play with toy guns.

Excerpt
Playing with toy weapons helps the development of young boys, according to new Government advice to nurseries and playgroups.

Staff have been told they must resist their "natural instinct" to stop boys using pretend weapons such as guns or light sabres in games with other toddlers.

Fantasy play involving weapons and superheroes allows healthy and safe risk-taking and can also make learning more appealing, says the guidance.


WOW and here I thought all of my nephews were going to be homicidal maniacs.

More...

Columbus sex sting

A sex sting in Columbus.

I guess they didn't bother with the whole toe tapping morse code in the johns.

The Steyn Inquistion

I'm actually astonished that the main stream press hasn't carried the ball on Mark Steyn and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

But then the media's all about free speech right?

Here's a journalist with a take.

Created in the late 1970s, Canada’s human rights commissions were to be the Holy Office of the Inquisition of the ultra-liberal state. This quickly gave rise to a dilemma. Human rights commissions always had a problem with a fundamental tenet of liberalism, namely liberty. But what the hell — the Holy Inquisition always had a problem with a fundamental tenet of Christianity, namely compassion. When zealots are hot to trot, they don’t let little contradictions stop them.

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) came into being to guarantee free speech, press, conscience and opinion. Canada’s human rights commissions (1977) came into being to limit free speech, press, conscience and opinion. Together they symbolize the divine omnipotence of the modern state that giveth and taketh away — whether rights and freedoms, or crass matters such as income and capital gains.


More.....

Friday, December 28, 2007

Friday Funny

I'm pretty sure this guy was my driver's ed teacher in high school.

Now that's progress

So your city is in tough financial straights and having difficulty finding dollars to pay for things like cops, fire, roads.

Well if you are a "progressive" politician, you don't let a budget crunch nuisance get in the way when you want to give $50,000 to a movie theater in town.

No kidding, the city of Cincinnati is giving a grant to a guy for running a for profit movie theater in Saylor Park.

Now that's "progressive" thinking.

Excuse me.... What's that sound?.... It's the sound of another person moving out of Progress City and into Redville.

Tonight's Bengal reunion

A DUI checkpoint has been set up for tonight in Butler County, Rt 4, just north of I-275.

I have no idea why the police are setting this up, I'm pretty sure the Bengals are down in Miami already.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Around the blogger world

American Spectator on Paul Krugman
Washington Times on Country Club Democrats
Arizona Republic on scientists fleeing border
Michelle Malkin on the surge

"Progressive" thought

"Our politics can get a little unbalanced. We move off to the left or the right, but eventually we find our way back to the center."

This quote from Hillary Clinton, "Progressive".

A buddy was asking me, "What's up with the 'progressive' in quotations?".

Because I'm still trying to find someone who can tell me what is so "progressive" about "progressive" thought.

You know what would be progressive in my mind. Before we started an SCHIP program, we actually did something about the 17 trillion dollar unfunded Medicare liability. I think it's "progressive" to consider private retirement accounts to stave off the 20 trillion dollar unfunded Social Security liability. I think vouchers are a "progressive" solution to a horrible public education system.

So one of you liberals out there. What's a new idea you bring to the table?

The fact is "progressive" is just liberal all dressed up; like putting lip stick on a pig. In my mind, everyone's for "progress" yet you can't get a politician out there to own the label.

Do you see conservatives out there trying to repackage the label and deny that they are conservative? You could even call me a "neo-con", if you would explain what the hell that means.

Don't liberals get upset when the pols won't own their liberalism? I'm always amazed when I read liberal blogs how much acceptance there is for a politician to run as a centrist. Shouldn't you be pushing the envelope of "progressive" ideas without running from the label?

The bottom line is this, the American people have rejected liberals and "progressives" since Lyndon Johnson. Jimmy Carter is the only Democrat to win over 50% of the popular vote since Johnson and he won a whopping 50.1% against a mortally wounded republican.

So for my "progressive" brethren out there, come up with something truly progressive, more of the old doesn't sound that progressive to me and apparently to the American public.

Let's celebrate Christmas

Apparently, I just don't get "progressive" thought.

For me, celebrating Christmas means being with my family, enjoying good food & company and watching kids open gifts.

But for "progressives" celebrating Christmas means going into the 'hood and shooting people. Four people shot Christmas day in the city of Cincinnati.

Now I know we've got a murder record inside the city that the thugs want to break. But take it easy guys, it's not going to happen this year unless we have one big ass shoot out on New Year's eve. Try again next year.

What's interesting is why the Enquirer, the paper of record, has no reports on the shootings. I guess their reporters must not be "progressive" because they were with their families Christmas night.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Hillary, The Movie


Click here to see the trailer.

Hat Tip to Doug Ross

Telemarketers

I wish I had the stones to pull this off.

Rated R for language

Tax burdens by city


Here's a graph showing the highest tax burdens on a typical family of three (click to enlarge). Buckeyeville is the only Ohio city on the list; coming in at a healthy #11.

The first thing you'll notice on the chart is that you'll see few if any "red" or "conservative" cities; all the cities are "blue"or "progressive".

But at least with all these "progressive" cities, you'll get to pay for such amenities as, higher crime, higher unemployment, crappy schools, toll roads, trans fat bans, red light cameras, etc.

Where's that "progressive" guy when I need him. Maybe he can explain to me how this is "progress".

Hillary's Presents

It used to be embarrassing to be so blatantly socialist. Now, the pols campaign on it.

Hat Tip NBS

Facebook libel

The Cincinnati Enquirer has an editorial and follow up emails about a group of students who posted about a certain teacher being a pedophile.

What was interesting, was this particular excerpt from the story
Legally, the students' lawyer may be right that the school has no right to interfere with whatever stupid things they say or do outside of school. But the outrage is over the monumental unfairness of the situation to the teacher.

Students' lawyers?

I'm just guessing but the fact that the parent's "lawyered up" instead of beating their kids and dragging them down to the school by the hair to apologize to the teacher, the principal, etc. for their behavior is exactly why their kids have turned out to be the punks they are.

For these parents, congratulations; you've raised yet another group of our future delinquents.

Two America's Edwards

Apparently the NY Times doesn't like John Edwards. How else can you explain this libelous hit piece on him.

Excerpt
Like Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson before him, Mr. Edwards nearly always runs late while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. He routinely begins events more than 45 minutes or even an hour past the scheduled starting time, keeping dozens or, lately, hundreds of people in jam-packed rooms awaiting his entrance.

Now everyone knows that John Edwards is one of the few politicians that "gets it". Despite being a billionaire, he feels the pain of the "other" America; the one not populated by billionaires.

He would never keep the hard working, generous, American people waiting for him, he's got too much respect for other people's time.

And just because he spends more money on hair care products in a month than the average American eats on, doesn't mean he doesn't have compassion for people who don't have health care.

And just because he lives in a 28,000 square foot house, doesn't mean he can't feel compassion for all those squatters who have to squeeze into a 3,000 square footer.

If I were his campaign, I'd sue the Times.

The Clinton Resume

The NY Times has finally done a piece detailing Hillary's experience.

Excerpt

In seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, Mrs. Clinton lays claim to two traits nearly every day: strength and experience. But as the junior senator from New York, she has few significant legislative accomplishments to her name. She has cast herself, instead, as a first lady like no other: a full partner to her husband in his administration, and, she says, all the stronger and more experienced for her “eight years with a front-row seat on history.”

More.....

You didn't have to waste your time reading the Times for this, I had it here for free 9 days ago.... Of course, here at taxmanblog we don't have things like fact checkers and editors to tell us she hasn't done anything as a senator since she's been one.

As an aside. After reading this piece, does anyone wonder about who the Times is pulling for here. I'd be shocked if they endorsed Hillary in the primary.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light." Luke 11:33

The day Jesus Christ was born, God showed us the light. He didn't hide it under a bowl he put it all out there for the world to see just as the above verse illustrates.

But the question to my fellow Christians is this... Are we, as followers of Christ, being the light to others?

If you asked non believers to describe a Christian, you'd probably get hundreds of different adjectives and few of them would be complimentary.

So as we celebrate the birth of our savior, the light, use this day to evaluate who you are as a Christian. Not how you measure up on the sin score sheet but on the "light" sheet. Are you being a light for people so that they can really get who Jesus was/is through who you are.

Remember Jesus hung out with the tax collectors and prostitutes, not the religious types. Why? Because he knew these were the people who most needed to see the light. So I challenge all of my fellow Christians to not be a judge of others lives but to be the light just as Jesus is the light to us.

Monday, December 24, 2007

In Hoc Anno Domini

Every Christmas, the Wall Street Journal prints a piece from1949. I've always been incredibly moved by the piece.

It's so easy in today's environment where we battle between Hillary, Barack, Rudy, Mike, et al. to lose sight on the fact that at one time, men were considered subjects of rulers; nothing more.

It really wasn't until the birth of Christ, that the paradigm shifted. No longer were people the subjects of tyrants, but beholden to God, their creator.

To all our readers, have a great Christmas.

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression -- for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Happy Festivus

For those who don't celebrate X-mas.

Christmas Music:

Tell the kids Santa is on the way. Unless you're my kids... then the coal man is coming to town.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Entitlement poker

Two Dave's, Nix Guy and ThirdwaveDave, have some interesting takes on life in New Orleans.

Check them out.

Elf the movie

Beer Tree: The Ultimate Christmas Project

I think I know what I'll be doing with all those left over beer bottles from Thanksgiving.

"Progressives" part two

"conservatives" are for status quo while "progressives" are for progress. I can live with that definition.

This is the comment (from a liberal I'm guessing) that perfectly illustrates my earlier post on "progressives".

How is it that spending more money and energy on the same old tired programs that have already proven themselves to be ineffective is considered "progressive" on any level?

How can you call what's happening in Cuyahoga County "progress"?

Look at any inner city, dominated by "progressive" thought. Do they look like the models of "progress"?

One could say conservatives are for status quo? I would counter conservatives are for effective? And just like I pointed out in my post Blue City Red Lights, people are not flocking to those areas dominated by "progressive" leadership; they're leaving. Wouldn't you think people would love living in a "progressive" place?

Maybe they just prefer effective.