The Economic Stimulus Plan

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's home district includes San Francisco.

Star-Kist Tuna's headquarters are in San Francisco, Pelosi's home
district.

Star-Kist is owned by Del Monte Foods.

Star-Kist is a major contributor to Pelosi.

Star-Kist is the major employer in American Samoa employing 75% of the
Samoan work force.

In January, 2007 when the minimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $7.25,
Pelosi had American Samoa exempted from the increase. Result: Del Monte\Star-Kist would not have to pay the higher wage. This makes Del Monte products less
expensive than their competition's.

Last week when the huge bailout bill was passed, Pelosi added an earmark to
the final bill adding $33 million dollars for an economic development
credit in American Samoa.

If Obama wants to stop pork and corruption, I'd suggest he call Nancy's office and schedule a meeting. He might open with the words "Sooo-eeee pig".

I'm sure NP supports the minimum wage, except when she and her supporters benefit from opposing it. I'm sure she decries pork projects.

I'm sure she should have plastic surgery to remove the two face.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT CATS IS TRUE

I heard that Rev. Ted Haggard, the Colorado pastor that resigned after revelations of drug use and homosexual prostitution, will be on television tonight. I wonder what church he is going to now. Since he used crystal meth, does that mean he is a Crystal Methodist?

Sorry for the lack of blogging. The Little Woman has been in the hospital. She is home now and recovering, with help from chicken soup and tortilla soup from friends.

A hospital room is really claustrophibia inducing. I sat in this funky chair for 10 hours. It looks like a recliner, but is not. The leg thingie did come up about half way, but the back did not recline.

There was the shelf for me to sleep on. The nurse said pull down the cushion and it is much more comfortable. I'd rate it as the difference between sleeping on a sharp rock and a dull one. Plus, the cushion kept sliding off the shelf and the pillows kept sliding out from under my head. I guess they were all made by the Slick Bedding Company.

I couldn't carry my laptop with my brief case (books) and the Little Woman's luggage. I did bring my Blackberry, which died after an hour of email. I did not have the charger. So, no blogging or Internet.

I tried to watch a little television at one point. It was mounted high up on the wall and there was no natural human position in which one could comfortably see it. No matter, nothing was on. Every channel had non-stop coverage of the ice storm. At one point, the news we watched kept a cameron on the same freeway exit for 15 minutes giving a play by play of cars trying to go down the ramp. Ice storms give these stations a freebie. They can just talk about it on and on. But, all they said was "it's icy and cold. It's hard to drive. Here are pictures of people trying to drive. Here is video of cold people. Now, let's do it over 27 times."

I mean really. Was there no news in the whole world? Al Qaeda called off all attacks to watch the coverage of the ice storm from a cave in Pakistan? Mr. Putin did not cut off the gas to any more countries to show them he can, preferably with his shirt off? Sarkozy's wife the model did not pose beautifully anywhere? Obama did not change the world today and bring everlasting peace and prosperity or appoint Oprah as minister of the Galactic Well Being? Nope. Only ice, ice baby.

After being cooped up in the hospital, being out with the sun shining seemed like a day of endless opportunities. That is what I would title the picture above.

Of course, I took the opportunity to go to work. Not very exciting you say, but hey, it pays the bills.

And, it allows me to catch up on my blogging.

Fiat Buys Into Chrysler

I had a Fiat once. It was nice looking, but did not hold up real well. Should be a marriage made in heaven.

INAUGERATION NATION

I cannot bring myself to watch. All the breathless anticipation, the Hope, the hype, the first Black guy in the White House. It is just too much for me. I don't begrudge it. I'm happy they're happy. I just have a low gushing threshold.

And I don't care what Michelle is wearing.

But, if you don't want to watch it, you can read Ann Althouse's blog. She is "liveblogging" it from Liberal Land (Madison, Wisconsin). You can read how Chief Justice Roberts flubbed the Oath as he recited it to Obama.

If you did watch it, reading the blog would be like watching the post convention tv coverage where they tell you for two hours that you just saw them nominate Bill Blockhead for whatever it was. But, if you are more like me, her coverage is a public service. Thanks, Ann.

HAMAS = INSANITY

Despite having their butts thoroughly and painfully kicked, having the Israeli army run through their country and their armed forces like a hot knife through butter, having the Israeli Air Force bomb them at will, and not having any Arab country come their aid, the inmates of the Hamas asylum in Gaza say they won a great victory over Israel.

It should be clear to the whole world that these people are irrational and delusional. They cannot be dealt with, just as their sponsor in Iran, because their perception of the world is so skewed by their madness. You can kill them or possibly contain them, but you cannot reason with them or make treaties with them, for they cannot reason and they do not keep their agreements.

OBAMA'S HONEYMOON IS OVER - IN IRAN

He is not the president yet, but the Iranians already hate him. Read it here. I guess these idiots think the President Elect can actually do something to help the Palestinians. Of course, given the American press coverage, I could understand some confusion.

A NEW SONG

"I Think My Wife's A Calvinist". Here.

My favorite line: "She likes Spurgeon more than she likes me."

also a J. I. Packer Quote:

The greatest single secret of spiritual development lies in personal, humble, believing, obedient response to the Word of God. It is as God speaks to us through his Word that his warnings can bring us to conviction of sin, his promises to assurance of forgiveness, and his commands to amendment of life. We live and grow by his Word. From "Confess your Sins" (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1964), p. 82.

Who are your favorite theologians?

CALVIN QUOTE OF THE DAY

Since it is the big 500 for John Calvin this year, I feel the urge to post lots of quotes. Here is #1 for the year:

Calvin: We owe it to the goodness of God, not only that we have been elected and adopted to everlasting life, but that he deigns to make use of our services, who would otherwise have been altogether useless, and that he assigns to us a lawful calling, in which we may be employed.

I am otherwise altogether useless, by God lets me teach a Bible Study Class. How cool is that? Really, really cool.

Thanks.

Q. What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?

A. The Dallas Cowboys!

"We may let go all things which we canot carry into eternal life." Anna Robertson Brown, What is Worth While?, 1898.

Ms. Brown was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsyvania. She studied at Wellesley as an undergraduate, then at Oxford and the College de France, unusual for the 1800s.

WE HAVE A DISHWASHER - WOOHOO!!

After waiting several weeks for warranty approval, delivery and installation, we got a new dishwasher in yesterday. Washing dishes by hand - what a disgusting concept! Who thought of that anyway? I mean, you put all these dirty dishes with food bits and junk on them in a sink full of water. So, every time you put your hand in there, you touch someone else's floating food remains. Ugh.

Then the water turns gray or brown. And you keep washing! How can that be good?

I think this is more primitive than natural child birth.

Do they still do natural child birth? It was big in the '80s when we started having kids. It was kind of a female macho thing, I think. I remember them telling my wife if she concentrated it wouldn't hurt. I'm thinking to myself, 7 lbs or more of human is coming through there, man, no one can concentrate that hard.

I mean, how does breathing make something not hurt. The only reason you breathe is so you can scream when it really hurts!

But, I digress.

I tried breathing and concentrating while doing the dishes, but it didn't help either. It was still gross. So, I started giving all the dishes to the dog. It kept the dishwater much cleaner. Todd and Joanna, if you are reading this, I swear I washed them in really hot water after the dog licked them. Really. Don't listen to anything the Little Woman says about this.

The dog is really fat now. I'm sending him to Doggie Weight Watchers while I am in therapy.

I Love Jesus Christ

A great message from John Piper. And I say "AMEN".

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Yes, I know it is a few days late, but I'm not really very good at special occasions. Plus, my computer got hit by a trojan and virus. I managed to get a laptop hooked up to the cable connection until I get the desktop computer fixed. Anyway.

2009 sounds like a really big number. I was born in 1951. I usually do not feel old, but 2009 sounds like a long way from 1951.

My prayer for you is a blessed and peaceful new year. It has the potential to be a rocky one for many people.

The Palestinians, for example, are celebrating the new year by taking it on the chin from the Israelis. Who knew they would get that riled up about firing some rockets into their country every day for months?

Then, there is that President Elect guy. He is poised to be sucked under by scandal and controversy before he gets to move into the White House. He is, of course, from Illinois, and specifically Chicago, likely number one on most folks' list of poltically corrupt places. It is ironic that he could run as the agent of political change from the location of the most old fashioned political machine in the country. Only Americans could fall for something like that. Didn't someone say people got the leader they deserved?

So, first he picks a chief of staff that is the ultimate pit bull. All this nice and transformational talk, then we hire a hit man to be our chief assistant? Hmmm.

Then, the governor of his state gets indicted and Obama's people are all in orbit around him. Time will tell if Obama gets sucked in. We know the main stream media will not pursue it. They are on vacation now that Bush is on his way back to Dallas.

Now, Bill Richardson is having to decline his selection for secretary of commerce due to corruption charges.

Will he make it? Will he get sucked into the vortex and drown? Stay tuned for Adventures in Obamaland.

Then, those car makers groveled enough to get their money from the government. You know, often there are unintended consequences. All this bail out must cost tax dollars, and may lead to tax increases, which means you have less money to spend on, you guessed it, CARS!!

More still: Democratic congressmen are under scrutiny: Dodd, Rangel.

It will be an interesting year. That is, like the Chinese curse: may you live in interesting times.

Happy New Year. Have fun.