This May Be the First Time I've Ever Agreed with a Clinton

"Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday"

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Of course, Obama can't decide if it's Tuesday or Wednesday on a Sunday.

And for a limited time only, two links for the price of one!

Idiot of the Day/Week/Month

On Wednesday, church founder Robert H. Schuller said he strongly disapproved of the covenant [which states that Crystal Cathedral ministries preaches chastity] because it goes against what he has built his church upon.

"I have a reputation worldwide of being tolerant of all people and their views," he told the Orange County Register. "I'm too well-educated to criticize a certain religion or group of people for what they believe in [further evidence for Dennis Prager's maxim that the more time you spend in college, the dumber you get]. It's called freedom."

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(So what, exactly did he build his church upon? A wise man builds his church on the Rock.)

Reminds me a of a certain adjunct community college professor.

I will not tolerate intolerance!

When did a conservative infiltrate The Onion?

Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner

Required Reading:

Stem Cells: A Political History.

Some interesting stuff that I did not know in that article. For instance, did you know that President Bush was the first president to allow the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research? I knew he had allowed non-destructive ESCR, but did not realize that Clinton had not acted on that front.

It also makes President Obama look so much more the fool for diverting money from induced pluripotent stem cells—which are akin to embryonic stem cells but derived from adult stem cells—and adult stem cell (which both show tremendous promise) to embryonic stem cells (which have so far produced no cures or treatments).

So the relevant question here is: if you can produce iPSCs in two ways, one of which destroys a unique human life and poses ethical problems, and one of which has no such hindrance and as such poses no such ethical issue, why, Mr. President, do you chose the former?

The only options I can think of are: you are ignorant of the issue because it is "above your pay grade"; you are bowing to pressure from lobbyists; you are intentionally trying to devalue human life.

In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

This video was made before Obama signed the largest spending bill in US history, and before he proposed a budget to add more to the national debt than all previous presidents combined. How prophetic.

When The Onion is right, they are very, very right.

How Obama Got Elected.

I don't remember why I didn't post this when I first came across it (or where I even came across it), but it's interesting and worth a look. I don't even remember what made me remember it, but I just wanted to mention that the girl wearing the "Obama" shirt reminds me of my coworker, in that she, too, cannot say Palin's name without smirking and rolling her eyes. It's almost Pavlovian in its reflexiveness.

The similarity is uncanny.

Also, someone tell ABC that if they're still looking for someone to replace Peter Jennings they should give this girl a call. Maybe they could put her in a little picture-in-picture box during World News Tonight so she can smirk to let the viewers know when they should disapprove of something.

Charles Gibson: "Millions of delusional people gathered in Washington DC this past week for the annual 'March for Life'."

Girl in box: *smirk*.

Change We Can All Believe In.

That is, so long as you agree with the use of taxpayer money to fund foriegn abortions. What a brilliant, wonderful use of public funds during a recession.

As this commentor from John C. Wright's blog mentions, "I like to point out that now, you will get thrown in jail if you don't want to pay money to kill foreign children."

Let it be known that now and forever more, the argument of the pro-choice crowd that pro-lifers try to force their beliefs on others while they, taking the moral high ground, do no such thing, is now nothing but a bald-faced lie. You are now required to pay to abort children, even if you find the procedure a gross violation of your morals and ethics.

Also, this video was brilliant.

Now that the election is over....

A couple bumperstickers I want.

One, "Palin 2012"

Secondly, something that summarizes these posts by Scott Ott and John C. Wright.

Over the last eight years, I've gotten so sick of the hatred and vitriol directed at the current president. You know, the bumper stickers that say "Not my president" or "Bush should be behind bars" or "Buck Fush" or "Bush is poopy" (yes, I did see that one; it reflects the level of maturity I expect from the left). Even the media (especially the media) had resorted to it. Did anyone ever notice how President Bush was never referred to as such in virtually any newspaper article? Every time I saw him referenced, it was always as "Mr. Bush".

Now that there's someone I don't like in the white house it's my turn to show that I am the better man, and refrain from resorting to such infantile name-calling. I'm thinking a bumper sticker like:

"Obama is my president. He may be a liberal hack, but he's MY liberal hack."

Also, it may be time that I stopped shirking my responsibility to defense of my family and bought a firearm, before they are banned. The advice of some guy on the internet is "First, get a shotgun. If you can afford it, a Benelli M4. If you can't, get a Remington 870, preferably a 'Police Magnum'. Barring that, a standard 870 in a minimum-legal length barrel configuration will do superbly. You can also get a plain 870 hunting shotgun and get whatever barrel you want for it. There's plenty of 870 aftermarket accessories to make it do whatever you want it to. Mossberg 500s run a close second, but the safety location makes some add-ons unwieldy. If it's going to be for home defense, get a flashlight add-on. If you've got the money, a Surefire foregrip is ideal. If not, pick up a Maglite LED with a pressure switch and a mount. But a light of some variety is essential."

Reasonable advice? I know there are at least two readers of this blog who are also gun owners. What do they think? Perhaps I should head to a local gun store on December 4th?

And Yet—Somehow—Life Goes On.

I think the stoics had it right when they said that if you wanted to be happy, you could not let external events affect you. It makes sense; if your happiness depends on factors entirely beyond your control, how could you ever achieve it?

This is particularly true for elections. I was mildly upset for a little while after the 2006 election, when the Republicans, apparently tired of running the legislative branch of government, succeeded in giving it away to their opposition. Eventually I realized that it didn't matter if the rest of the nation disagreed with my political or social beliefs. I don't require a majority referendum to validate what I know to be the truth.

With this election, obviously the greatest loss is in the cause for the defense of human life, given Obama's track record of being the single most pro-choice member of the senate, going so far as to oppose legal rights for newly born infants, and boldly standing up for his vote against the ban on the single most barbaric procedure ever devised by man.

The judges that Obama will appoint are going to set the pro-life cause back decades, and we will undoubtedly be feeling their effects for years after.

But, ultimately, this civil rights battle won't be won in the courts, but in the hearts and minds of the people across this great nation. And it is constantly being fought and won on a daily basis, judging by polls and statistics. The abortion ratio continues to fall, even under pro-abortion presidents, and each new generation is more pro-life than the previous. According to a 2003 Gallup poll, 72% of teens believe that abortion is morally wrong, and fewer teens than adults believe it should be allowed in all circumstances (19% vs. 26%). And as the Baby Gap widens, this shift will likely continue. Any philosophy that frowns on procreation is unlikely to survive.

My next concern was over economics. Considering Obama's proximity to the people who, if not caused, then severely contributed to the current financial situation, and considering his outright socialism, I was worried about financial security.

But it's times like this that we should thank God for our Papa, Benedict XVI, who reminds us, "we are now seeing, in the collapse of major banks, that money vanishes, it is nothing. All these things that appear to be real are in fact secondary. Only God's words are a solid reality."

And he is right (of course). What is money? Does it make me happy or lead me to God? If not, why should I be concerned about it, then?

While a national election may seem far more "big picture" than burnt toast, it is important to remember that in the biggest picture, which is that of God, they are both as dust. And in that big picture view, it doesn't matter who wins the election; His is the final victory.

But perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind, even in the midst of darkness, is St. Thomas Aquinas' insistence that "God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good." What that greater good is, how it will come about, and when, are questions we may not ever fully understand the answers to until God reveals them to us in the next life.