Boston Globe's 40 pictures of the year. Very interesting stuff is here, with a fair sample of the profound human suffering going on around the globe.

Dr. Mohler has a good analysis of the gay furor over Obama's selection of Rick Warrent to pray at the inaugeration. Everything thing he does has symbolic importance to his supporters, good and bad.

Hey, here is your thought for the day. How is the Gay_Lesbian movement like the old Revivalist leadership of the SBC? For both, you are either totally with them, or you are against them. If you disagree on anything, you are the opposition.

Quote of the Day

“…there is an expanding frontier of ignorance.”

R. Feynman, Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained By Its Most Brilliant Teacher, 2 , Helix books 1997, California Institute of Technology 1963.

Where is that Global Warming when you need it?

It is about 25 degrees and I am freezing. Yesterday was warm and balmy, but by late evening a cold front roared through and now it is cold and windy. I have not had my overcoat out of the closet in 3 winters, and have already worn it almost 10 times in December alone. Now they say we may have some freezing rain.

Al? Al Gore are you there? I need some warm air, Al.

However cold it feels here, though, our northern neighbors really are seeing you know what freeze over. For example, Denver reported -18 on Sunday. I don't think I've ever experienced that. This, by the way, is a new record low for Denver for December 14. Obama better get on into office and fulfill his global warming pledges before long, or a record cold year could put a damper on things. The next coldest year for this date in Denver was 1901.

Monday was worse. It was -19 degrees, another new record low. The next closest was in 1951, when it was only -6.

But Montana was even colder. White Sulphur Springs, Montan, reported -29 degrees. Yikes! That breaks the record set in 1922 of -17.

I'm going to have to get re-acclimated to winter. I used to not mind being cold, but I'm not feeling the love at present.

Madison Grace on the 10 Most Irritating Phrases

I personally vote for the single word "like".

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

As far back as 2001, public funds (i.e., your tax dollars) paid for 46% of all health care costs according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

IN 1907

Think things haven't changed?

The average life expectancy in the U.S. Was 47 years old.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. Had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City Cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S. and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama , Mississippi , Iowa , and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the US was 22 Cents per hour. The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. Took place at home. Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education, but attended medical schools, many of which Were condemned in the press and the government as 'substandard.'

Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke



The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona , Oklahoma , New Mexico , Hawaii , and

Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas , Nevada was only 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.


Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Pharmacists believed heroin cleared the complexion, gave buoyancy to the mind, regulated the stomach and bowels, and was the perfect guardian of health.

There were about 230 reported Murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.

GLOBAL, UH, WARMING

It snowed in Houston Wednesday.

It does not snow there often.

The last time it snowed this early in winter in Houston was in, duh duh DUH, 1944.

PROMISES PROMISES

"Promises, Promises" is a musical. It was based on the 1960 film "The Apartment" by Billy Wilder. (The movie poster features a racy picture of Jane Mansfield.) The music is by Burt Bacharach. The lyrics were written by Hal David. The "book" was written by Neil Simon. It was quite successful and resulted in a Top 40 hit for Dionne Warwick for the title song.

Why torture me with this musical trivia, you say?

Mr. Obama's liberal supporters may need to adopt it as their theme song, as they seem to feel jilted by his promises. I feel for them. We Republicans feel that way about the last Congress.

Just as you hope your lover won't break his or her promises at least until after the honeymoon, a candidate's supporters would like to think their candidate would not break his promises even before he officially lists the White House as his current address.

But, it seems that the bloom is off the rose. Obama the candidate separated himself from rival Hillary Clinton, and later John McCain, by emphasizing his opposition to the war in Iraq ab initio (from the start)(yes, I love me some Latin).

It is incovenient to remember those promises, but Obama promised to begin to end the war on his first day in office. Lefties had the image of The One removing his hand from the Bible, pulling pen and paper from his overcoat, and signing an executive order bringing the troops back home from Iraq. And within days, boys in camo gear would arrive at airports, hug wives and girlfriends, or not ask and not tell, cuddle babies, shed tears of joy and wave banners emblazoned with the picture of their Beloved President, the long awaited liberal messiah. They might even sing the Obama song.

But in the midst of this beautiful dream, Liberals awoke to the harsh alarm of Their Candidate appointing the dreaded Clinton as Secretary of State. Mrs. Clinton supported the war, though criticized the conduct of it, and refused to back away from it. Now she will run State. Also, her husband (since the liberals confuse his experience with hers, I will take the liberty of hanging it around her neck also) invaded Kosovo and Bosnia and fired the famous Monica Missles at that other Islamic country with whom we are engaged.

Then, Their Candidate retained the services of one Robert Gates (an intelligent move in my estimation). Gates is no liberal and does not support immediate and undignified flight from the Middle East. Now, the Liberal Democrats are singing along with Dionne "those kind of promises can just destroy your life".

Then, the final reality shatters the dream of promises made and kept. Their Candidate now says that on his first day in office he will begin to “design a plan for a responsible drawdown”. Notice the word "begin" and "design". This is a long way from "pull out" or "run like heck".

Now the liberals may not even want to sing "Promises Promises". They'll be wailing along with The Who: "meet the new boss, same as the old boss".

As Mork used to say: "reality, what a concept!"

So, to all you Lefties out there, go here and hear Dionne sing "Promises Promises".

Take some comfort. I can no longer sing Tom Petty's "you don't know how I feel".

'cause you do.

PROVIDENCE

Doug Wilson has a good post explaining Providence (not the city in Rhode Island, but the doctrine, including the roots of the word itself.

Americans With No Abilities Act

This just in from the nation's capitol:

AWNAA - The Americans With No Abilities Act

WASHINGTON , DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation which will provide new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

"Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said California Senator Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing."

In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack any job skills, making this agency the single largest U.S. employer of Persons of Inability.

Private-sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement "warehouse" stores (65%). At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has a great record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%).

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given, to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle-management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNA Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled--banning, for example, discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?"

"As a Non-abled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint , Michigan , due to her lack of any discernible job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Ted Kennedy: "As a Senator With No Abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities."

The future of children.