The Last Day of 2013 - Happy New Year, Y'All

Last night, wifey, some friends and I, celebrated New Year's Eve, Eve.  They have a big dance at the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz, California on December 30, with a nice band.  We went.

The advantage of a New Year's Eve, Eve party is that you avoid the crowds and the drunks of December 31.  It's also far less crowded in the restaurants, and you can easily find a parking place.

Santa Cruz was quiet and seemingly deserted last night when we drove into town, and that was actually rather nice.  We had dinner with our friends, then walked back to the Cocoanut Grove where we danced to the Joe Sharino band, who play classical rock music.  They're very good.  The Grove was crowded with people, as the event is well attended.

So tonight, the REAL New Year's Eve, I'll be staying home and watching all the hoopla on television.  When the ball drops, I will also drop, into bed.

Happy New Year, all.

Better Raindrops on Glass Effect -- AND I Made It Myself (Photoshop)

I really wasn't satisfied with Photoshop tutorials for making rain on windows, that I found on web. The drops just looked icky, not realistic, not shaped like real raindrops. I finally found one that does a very nice job of producing realistic raindrops, and I used it in the picture directly below.  (See the tutorial at this link.)

Raindrops on Roses....(Photoshopped, of Course)

I am still experimenting on adding water drops to images.

I like that line in the song "My Favorite Things" that goes:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

It inspired me to Photoshop a rose with raindrops on it.  Here it is:

The tutorial I used to do this first attempt is at this link.

Here is a different technique that is far easier to use, and I think it looks better too.

The tutorial for this second technique can be found here.

Here's the original without the raindrops:

Raindrops on a Window - My Latest Photoshop

My latest desired Photoshop technique is to put realistic raindrops on a window pane.   I worked on this over the past three days in an attempt to learn some ways to do this.

UPDATE:  I didn't like the odd shapes of the raindrops in my first attempt, directly below.  So I changed the way I created the random shapes, by using a simple hard round brush to create a defined brush set, then turned on the shape dynamics, scattering and smoothing brush presets, to create the rounder shapes.  I also filled the window pane with tiny droplets as well as the scattering of larger droplets.  This makes the pane look wetter and more realistic.

Here is the update:

I hate injustice, So I REALLY don't like Brett Kimberlin

There is one thing that really angers and animates me, and that is injustice.

The injustice can be culturally or socially derived -- like the late sliming of Phil Robertson and Justine Sacco, or legally derived, like the bogus prosecution of Amanda Knox for a crime she clearly had nothing to do with, or the politically motivated prosecution of George Zimmerman or the Duke Lacrosse team.  Other examples include biased media coverage, frivolous lawsuits like those brought by Brett Kimberlin, and SWATting crimes against various bloggers, which could have possibly resulted in their deaths.

I don't care if the injustice is directed at conservatives or liberals, straight or gay, white or black.  I just hate injustice.  Making innocent people suffer, merely to satisfy the spite or political ambitions of their accusers -- that is a call to action for me as a blogger.

My latest passion is helping the victims of Brett Kimberlin, a notorious felon with a long and odious criminal past -- and I would not be surprised to learn that his criminal career is not limited to the past.  What role, if any, did Brett Kimberlin play in the SWATting of Patrick Frey, Eric Erickson, Aaron Walker?  Does he know who initiated these criminal acts?

What role, if any, did Brett Kimberlin play in the recent DDOS attack on the website Kimberlinunmasked.com?  Does he know who did it?

And finally, I detest Kimberlin's filing of false and frivolous lawsuits against his political enemies, with little hope of actually winning the cases, merely to punish them for telling the truth about Kimberlin's odious crimes.  This is a gross abuse of the legal system, in my opinion.  Does Kimberlin's Parole Board know about these controversies?  Do they even care?

Kimberlin Unmasked Suffers DDOS Attack: "Team Kimberlin" Suspected

Yesterday Kimberlin Unmasked (KU) emailed me, saying he couldn't log onto his site, Kimberlinunmasked.com.  I tried, and couldn't log on either.  I immediately suspected a DDOS attack.  KU contacted his web host and they confirmed it was indeed a DDOS attack (a "distributed denial of service" attack).  In a couple of hours, the web host was able to terminate the DDOS attack and service was restored.

A DDOS attack is when hackers direct many computers (and/or special programs) at a targeted website, all of them requesting to log on to that site.  The website is overwhelmed with these requests and traffic either slows noticeably or just shuts down.  Hackers create "bot nets" by infecting computers all over the world with trojan programs, without the knowledge of the computer owners.  Those infected computers can then be directed to send service requests to the target, knocking it off line.

The purpose of a DDOS attack is to shut down the targeted website, so that no one can log on or view the site.  The group of cyber-goons known as "Anonymous" have used DDOS attacks against banks and other commercial websites, costing the owners millions of dollars in lost revenue.  DDOS attacks are illegal, of course, and perpetrators have been sentenced to prison terms.

Brett Kimberlin, the convicted Speedway bomber, perjurer and drug kingpin, is the subject of Kimberlinunmasked.com.  All it does is reveal Kimberlin's criminal past and current unethical behavior, e.g., filing frivolous lawsuits against critics to cost them time and money defending such suits.  KU also criticizes and satirizes Kimberlin's supporters and yes-men, like Bill Schmalfeldt and Neal Rauhauser.  However, the KU site greatly angers Brett Kimberlin and his followers and fans.  The fact that KU's blogger is anonymous and unknown is particularly galling to Brett Kimberlin, as it has prevented him from serving that blogger with Kimberlin's latest lawsuit.  According to KU, the deadline for serving KU in Brett's RICO lawsuit expired yesterday.

Kimberlin, of course, has plausible denial of any knowledge of the DDOS attack, as it could have been initiated by one of his fans acting on his own and without Kimberlin's knowledge or approval.  Kimberlin's involvement in the crime cannot be assumed.

Kimberlin Unmasked has suffered aggressive and ruthless tactics by Kimberlin's minions, including an unwarranted take-down of the KU blogger blog site and the closing of KU twitter accounts, all based on false and phony accusations -- both Blogger and Twitter simply take a complainant's word for it when they accuse a site of Terms of Service violations, without any attempt to confirm the accuracy of the charges.  It then becomes the site owner's obligation to prove the accusations are false, while his site or Twitter account remain offline for weeks at a time.

These tactics are ruthless, unethical, probably illegal, and might qualify as harassment in any legal proceedings against the accusers.

I suppose the only good thing in the harassment directed against Kimberlin Unmasked, is that it proves his effectivemenss in exposing Kimberlin's unsavory practices and past.

Disclosures:
1.  Photoshopped photo of Brett Kimberlin found on the web; Fair Use Claimed under US Copyright Laws
2.  The term "Team Kimberlin" is short hand for certain fans and followers of Brett Kimberlin who may act on Kimberlin's behalf, with or without his knowledge or permission.
3.  Only a court of law can determine the guilt or innocence of any person, and guilt for any crime can not be assumed.  Every suspect of a crime is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
4.  I do not know the identity, gender or location of the blogger known as "Kimberlin Unmasked," nor do I wish to know, for his or her protection.

KINKY GAY MUSLIMS POST SIGNAGE

I found this pic on a liberal pro-gay Muslim website.  Kinky.

With apologies to everyone.  Except Muslims.

Happy Christmas After-Day: My Thoughts

Christmas 2013 was one of the best Christmases I have enjoyed for some time.  Why, I am not sure.  My chronic depression disappeared, and I enjoyed the company of family and friends.  I even felt (and still feel) strangely optimistic.

One of the factors in erasing my depression was learning new Photoshop skills -- I had a ball learning and implementing moving graphics, e.g. falling snow, flickering candle light.  I notice that when I am doing something creative and learning new skills, my depression shrinks or becomes non-existent.  Playing bass in bands also works.  In 2014, I plan to increase my skills and my activities in both of these pursuits.

I also think that 2014 will be my last year to do taxes.  I allowed myself to get roped into working the tax season, but I am not enthusiastic about it.  If my friend, the manager of the tax office, was not very short on tax accountants, I would bow out -- but I hate to leave a friend in the lurch.  Doing taxes is always a painful reminder of just how wasteful and arbitrary and absurdly complicated our tax laws are.  Also, how expensive  and frightening it is for the average citizen to to comply with those laws.  The Tax Code offends me greatly.

Well I am going downstairs to find my breakfast, after which I will study some more Photoshop techniques.  Have a great day, y'all.

Merry Christmas 2013 - Christmas Tree in Snowy Woods, Animated Snow

Merry Christmas to my readers, my fellow bloggers, my friends and family who sometimes wander this way.

Justine Sacco, Liberal, Latest Victim of a Fanatical Racial Hyper-Sensitivity

Call me obtuse.  I just don't get it.  I don't see the "offensiveness" in the latest public lynching of an apostate to liberalism.

Justine Sacco, a liberal PR representative of IAC, the parent company of the liberal Daily Beast, committed heresy Friday when she tweeted the following:

“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just Kidding. I’m white!”

Sacco tweeted this from a plane on its way to Africa, and IAC fired her before the plane even landed.  The tweet went viral, with legions of offended liberals denouncing Sacco as the most brazen reprobate ever to befoul the planet.  Indeed, I got into a debate with a liberal commenter at American Power who "felt sorry for me" if I couldn't see the deep offensiveness in this tweet.  I must be a reprobate too, as I still am not the least bit offended by it.  Let's analyze.

1.  First of all, the comment doesn't seem to make any sense.  It's true there is a raging epidemic of AIDS in Africa, because many blacks there have unprotected sex with numerous partners.  The only way Sacco would be in danger is if she joined in on the orgy, which seems unlikely.  And if she did, being white would not protect her.  The comment left me scratching my head until R.S. McCain explained it.

2.  What point was Sacco trying to make?  R.S. McCain of "The Other McCain" posits that Sacco was attempting a snarky put-down of white privilege.  If so, she was merely advancing a key liberal ideology: when blacks screw up, it's white people's fault.  If it weren't for "white privilege," whatever that is, blacks in Africa would be no more likely to get AIDS than white people.  I think McCain's interpretation is correct.

Summary and Conclusions:  Our culture is utterly sick and depraved, not because of rampant racism, but because of a fanatical form of racial hypersensitivity.  Any comment by a media personality that broaches the subject of race (especially the black race), sets off a kind of public frenzy, like sharks smelling blood in the water and then eating their own.  Any mention of blacks compared to whites is automatically assumed to be vicious, "racist," hateful and devolved from the darkest and basest of human emotions -- and to be utterly, reflexively condemned.

The penalty for this racial apostasy is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's 1948 short story, "The Lottery," wherein a person is periodically chosen at random by the townsfolk to be stoned to death in the public square.  Blood must be shed, though no one seems to know why.  Justine Sacco is the random victim in this case, a periodic sacrifice to the gods of political correctness.  

It's time to oppose and end this insanity, even when it is applied to liberals.  Too many people have had their careers damaged or ended and their reputations sullied by this fanaticism.  It is an evil that helps no one, and only serves to stifle discussion and debate on important subjects.  All of us, conservative or liberal, must stand together to end this oppressive cultural tyranny.

*******

Links:

Prior Issue of "Tales From the Politically Correct" can be found here.

A thoughtful essay on this subject has been posted at Allergic to Bull.  Highly recommended.

Cracker Barrel Reverses Itself: Restores Duck Dynasty Products to Its Stores

Spooked by the Duck Dynasty controversy, Cracker Barrel (a sponsor of the show) removed all Duck Dynasty products from its shelves.  In our highly-charged, leftwing culture, people and companies have good reason to fear an economic backlash for views not preapproved by leftist gate keepers.  Cracker Barrel, no doubt fearing an economic boycott from the left, panicked.

Now it seems a huge outpouring of public condemnation has changed the minds of Cracker Barrel Management.  They have apologized and report that all Duck Dynasty products are being returned to their shelves.

Wow, imagine that.

Read about it here.

Claire Davis Dies From Wounds

Claire Davis

Claire Davis, the 17 year old student at Arapahoe High School in Colorado, has died.  She was shot point blank in the head on December 13, by fellow student Karl Pierson, and had been in a coma since then.  Pierson later turned the gun on himself when confronted by an armed security guard.

I have been praying for Claire's recovery, but some prayers are not answered.

Karl Pierson, arrived on campus in a state of rage, with a loaded shotgun, and began firing shots down hallways.  Allegedly, Pierson was looking to murder a teacher who had him suspended, but couldn't find the teacher, who had fled the school.  Claire Davis happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Pierson shot her instead. She was a target of opportunity.   Now that she has died, they can chisel "murderer" into Pierson's epitaph, right next to the word "lunatic."

It appears to me that Pierson was emulating the two killers of Columbine High, intent on killing innocents and setting fire to the school before killing themselves. (In addition to his shotgun, Pierson was carrying three Molotov cocktails in a knapsack.  He detonated one in the school library, starting a fire.)

Students from surrounding high schools raised funds for Claire's medical expenses, and the singing group "One Direction" made a video for her.  Alas, Claire never got to see it.

Go with God, little lady.

Read more about it here.

Animated Snow Fall: Little Girl at Window (Photoshop)

Waiting For Santa

Use graphic if you like.

The Duck Dynasty Controversy and What It Means for Conservatives

My last post was a bit long and rambling. Allow me to summarize my position, and what I recommend for conservatives concerning gays.

1. Being virulently anti-gay is unlikely to help us regain control of the federal government, and therefore such expressions should be avoided. They hinder more than help. If I would be free to live my life as I choose, within the law, I must be willing to allow others the same privilege.

2. The purpose of government is not, or should not be, to enforce anyone's religious imperatives on the public at large.

3. The intense social and economic ostracism of the left on anyone who expresses contrary opinions is unfortunate and to be resisted; therefore, I support the boycott against A&E.

4. As conservatives, we need to pick and choose our fights carefully, with a long view, and avoid unnecessary controversies. We have a tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot and to fight battles we cannot win, and do not need to win, in order to restore the Constitution, limited government, and economic prosperity.

That's basically what I was trying to say in my last post. What do you think? What am I missing here?

Phil Robertson and Gay Stuff: Stogie's Deep Philosophical Discussion About Same

Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty"

Phil Robertson, patriarch of the family featured in the TV series "Duck Dynasty" is under considerable fire this week.  Seems he was interviewed by GQ magazine, and asked his opinion about homosexuality.  Since Roberston is a devoted Christian, his opinion was bound to enrage many gays and gay organizations.

What is the Christian opinion?  It is that homosexuality is a sin, a violation of the laws of God, and practitioners thereof are going to Hell.  Roberson also questioned whether a man's anus is a preferable choice to a woman's vagina when making whoopee.  How dare he!

The religious abhorrence to homosexuality is based on a long tradition, dating back to the legend of Sodom and Gomorrah, where God is said to have destroyed these cities and killed everyone therein, for their widespread practice of gay sex.

Polygamy, on the other hand, was practiced by many Biblical patriarchs with nary a word of disapproval by God. However, very few Christians would defend that practice in today's world.  The point is this:  time passes and things change.

Here's my take on the whole thing, and I doubt anyone will like what I believe.

1.  Gay people are not going to go to Hell, because Hell does not exist (in my opinion).  Even if it did, I doubt God would give two hoots in Hell who someone sleeps with.  I know at least one gay couple (one of whom is an in-law) who recently married in California, and I have no doubt that they sincerely love each other.  Their 19 year relationship is based on a lot more than lust and sex.  They make each other happy and are harming no one.

2.  Still, I view this gay couple's sexual orientation to be something of a tragedy, or at the very least, a disadvantage  They will never know the joy of children.  I am not totally repulsed by their relationship, but I do view it with a vague aversion.  It's like a bad smell, however faint, that is always there.  It won't kill me, but I don't find it pleasant either.  However, neither of these gays is obligated to live his life to please me or anyone other than himself.  Personally, I like both of them and enjoy their company.  I do not socially ostracize them; however, I have a very leftwing, pro-Obama sister, and I do not associate with her -- because her political orientation thoroughly disgusts and offends me.

3.  I am not a Christian fundamentalist, and I don't really care who said what in the Bible.  So please don't quote scripture at me.  The problem with established religion is that it is an ideology that is frozen in time, it offers absolutes and is never updated for new paradigms, values or standards. Strict adherence to religious texts is like putting your brain in a small cage:  it is never allowed to stray beyond fixed boundaries.  However, I recognize that many Christians don't see it my way, Phil Robertson being one of them.  My advice to him would be:  don't pronounce religious judgment on gays, because you do not speak for God and do not know what path the Almighty has assigned them, or for what purpose.

4.  Phil Robertson has a right to his opinions and his religion.  Leave him alone.  I absolutely support Robertson's right to freely and truthfully express his opinions, as long as they are not hateful (and they were not). If you don't want to know his opinions, don't ask him to express them.  Severe social ostracism and loss of employment for holding non-leftwing views is not acceptable and we should not tolerate it.

5.  Homosexuality is the orientation of a decided minority of citizens, and heterosexuals naturally find it unnatural and even disgusting.  Therefore, gays should respect the sensibilities of the vast majority, by not practicing affectionate or romantic displays in public.  Likewise, Hollyweird should stop rubbing our faces in the glories of gayness, by over-representing gays and over-emphasizing gayness in movies and TV series (like "Glee").

I smoke cigars, and many people find the smell offensive -- so I do not smoke them in public places or near other people who might object.  If I can be sensitive to the sensibilities of others who may not enjoy cigars (the rotten bigots), so can gays about their sexual orientation.  It is simple manners, folks.

6.  Homosexuality exists and has existed for millenia.  It isn't going away.  Gays will not become straight, no matter how mean we are to them.  So the obvious solution is "Live and Let Live."  Gays should not be discriminated against in employment, bullied, denounced or punished.  Leave them alone.  Anything else is self-defeating and self-destructive, particularly to the goals of conservatism.

That's the way I see it, anyway.  If you disagree, I really don't care -- none of us has the power to see the whole truth.  Feel free to disagree, and we will still be friends.

Falling Snow, Rustic Fence Post (Photoshop, Moving Graphics)

Aha, now here's a moving graphic that's a bit more realistic than the last one. I created some random snow using the noise, blur and levels functions, plus pattern overlay. I found this cold and lonely looking photo on the web, and it really appeals to me. Looks like a farm somewhere -- a hard life, but an invigorating one. The original photo without the falling snow is below, so you can better judge the snow fall effect.

UPDATE:  I noticed a "hiccup" in the falling snow every few seconds, so found another tutorial that explains how to get rid of that, as well as making the snowfall more random and realistic.

Snow Fall and Christmas Tree - My Second Moving Graphic in Photoshop

Here's my second moving graphic experiment. This one is snow falling on a Christmas tree that I Photoshopped last year. Looks okay, but the snow is too one-dimensional. I'd like to see another layer of falling snow behind this one, to give the graphic a better sense of depth.  Feel free to use this graphic anyway you like.  Update:  I fixed a hiccup in the snow so it falls more smoothly and realistically.

My First Moving Image: A Christmas Card From Stogie (Photoshop)

Today I learned how to make moving images in Photoshop.

This is my first moving image but I doubt it will be my last.

Enjoy.

John Boehner's a Jerk

John Boehner:  "I'm Collaborating As Fast As I Can"

This past week House Speaker John Boehner attacked the conservative wing of the Republican Party -- the "Tea Party" -- saying that "they lack all credibility."  Boehner was immediately praised to the skies by various Democrat and liberal spokesmen.  Dick Morris said that "Boehner Eats His Young" by castigating the very people responsible for his being a Congressman in the first place.

The truth is, John Boehner is to the GOP what the Vichy Government was to France in the 1940's.  He is a collaborator.  He likes the limelight, the praise from major media.  He wants to be seen as "responsible," as mischaracterized by the mainstream (Democrat) media, for the GOP's slow surrender to liberalism.

I would hope that we can kick Boehner's butt out ASAP.  I don't really care if there is a huge internecine fight for the "soul" of the GOP.  With our Vichy Republicans, we continue to lose our freedoms, our prosperity, our culture. Our nation continues its downward trend with increasing debt and decreasing credibility in a hostile world.  Supporting ideological wimps like Boehner accomplishes nothing.

If the Tea Party cannot take control of the Republican Party, then it is time to create a Third Party that advances conservative goals and candidates.  We may continue to lose the country, but I'd rather go down fighting than to submit to the slow death the GOP establishment seems to embrace.

Holiday Trees vs Christmas Trees: The Economic Solution (Photo)

Found on Facebook

Atheists Demand Florida Town Remove Nativity Scene; Town Officials Say "Piss Off"

With all of the ignorance of the Constitution and original intent, modern judges have often ruled that religious scenes cannot be displayed on government owned property.  This is absolute nonsense.

Federal judges are, for the most part, agents of their statist and leftist masters, not defenders of the Constitution.  They have allowed atheists and other grinches and scrooges to dictate their foul preferences to our traditionally Christian culture.  This usually takes the form of some bullying leftist group to sue or threaten to sue anyone who displays a nativity scene in the public square at Christmas time.

Finally, someone has the gonads to tell the atheists, as represented by the culturally Marxist "Freedom From Religion" abomination, to piss off.  The Mayor and town council of Chipley, Florida told "Freedom From Religion" that they will not remove their nativity scene from City Hall.

Read about it here.

Arapahoe School Shooting Victim Is In a Coma

Claire Davis

Claire Davis, the high school student shot last Friday, is described as "stable, but in a coma."

Davis, a 17 year old senior at Arapahoe High in Colorado, was shot in the head with a shotgun.  First responders saved her life in spite of severe head trauma.  She remains in critical condition while her fellow students pray for her recovery.  Others are raising funds to help pay for her medical expenses.

Claire Davis was apparently a random victim of fellow student Karl Pierson, who came to school last Friday with the intent to shoot his debate teacher for suspending him and kicking him off the debate team.  Pierson may have been emulating fellow nutcases Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two students at Columbine High (also in Colorado) who committed mass murders at their school in 1999.

Fortunately for the students and staff at Arapahoe High, an armed guard was present.  When the firing started, the guard ran towards the sound of the gunfire.  It is believed his closing in on the shooter resulted in the latter ending his own life.

Read more about it here.

Ending Obamacare: Nullification by the States is Legal and Necessary #nullification #obamacare

My friend Adrienne at Adrienne's Corner has a post and a valuable link up today.  Her post links to a blog about "Understanding the Constitution," in which the author Publius rebuts Mark Levin's "Liberty Amendments" approach.  Publius argues that nullification is the proper and most efficient way to end Obamacare.  This is a must read.

Nullification was discussed by the Founding Fathers as a way that individual states can frustrate unconstitutional federal laws by simply refusing to implement or support those laws.  This is not as radical as it sounds, and it has been used before by certain states in our history (some recently).  South Carolina is on the verge of nullifying a federal law, by refusing to implement Obamacare.  If South Carolina carries it off, you can bet other states will quickly follow her lead.

A year ago, there were four states planning to nullify Obamacare.  See that discussion here.

Wyoming has been considering the possibility of nullifying federal laws on gun control.  See that here.

Further Reading and Study: 
State Nullification:  What Is It? by Thomas Woods
The Tenth Amendment Center (website)
U.S. Constitution and Amendments - Actual Texts
Understanding the Constitution - a Blog by Publius Huldah

South Africa's Slow Genocide of White Residents: an Ongoing Tragedy

South African singer Tina Schouw holds a poster of
murdered rape victim Anene Booysen in Cape Town.
Photograph: Sue Kramer/Demotix/Corbis

If you can stomach it, American Thinker has an article describing atrocities committed by Mandela's party on white South Africans.  These atrocities include the savage murders of small children, who were killed in especially cruel ways after witnessing the murder of their parents.

The bestial savages who committed these crimes against humanity deserve a specially hot place in Hell.  However, we can do nothing for their dead victims.  We can and should do something for the white South Africans who remain in that African hell-hole.  Rape and murder of white girls and women is commonplace. (See photo of protest against rape.)

The American Thinker article by Selwyn Duke reports the fact that around twenty whites are murdered each day in Mandela's nation of South Africa. Around 70,000 whites have been murdered there since 1994. The ethnic cleansing of white Afrikaners is an on-going tragedy.

In a more perfect world, the United States would seek and allow for the unrestricted immigration of those white survivors into the United States.  Imagine that -- white immigrants!  Now there's something new.

Read the article here:  White-Washing Mandela's Memory

Arapahoe Shooter Identified: Was a Liberal Democrat Who Hated Republicans

Karl Pierson, Arapahoe Shooter

The Arapahoe shooter, who shot two students at Arapahoe High School in Denver last Friday, has been identified.  He was 18 year old student Karl Pierson.  His fellow students described him as someone with strong political opinions.  Indeed, his opinions were leftwing and anti-Republican.  According to the Denver Post:

Carl Schmidt and Brendon Mendelson, both seniors at Arapahoe High, knew Pierson. They said he had political views that were "outside the mainstream," but they did not elaborate.

Although described as very smart, Pierson was apparently a hot-head who threatened one of his teachers, Tracy Murphy, with death; the teacher had him suspended for the remark.  It was this teacher that Pierson sought to shoot on Friday, December 13, to exact revenge for the suspension.  Unable to kill Murphy (who fled the school), Pierson used a shotgun to shoot two students, wounding them, one critically, before turning the gun on himself.

On his FaceBook page, Pierson attacked Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" theory of economics, and castigated Republicans for their opposition to Obamacare and other issues.  He wrote:

The Republican Party: Health Care: Let 'em Die, Climate Change: Let 'em Die, Gun Violence: Let 'em Die, Women's Rights: Let 'em Die, More War: Let 'em Die. Is this really the side you want to be on?

 About that gun violence, Pierson apparently died a martyr to hypocrisy.  Once again we see that the nut cases who go berserk with guns and start shooting innocent people are invariably left wingers.  Don't expect the mainstream media to point this out anytime soon.

Read the Denver Post article here.
Read the New York Daily News article here.

What Do You Call a White Snowman? #Photoshop

Idea stolen from Dixon Diaz, "Libtards," on FaceBook.  Do link to him!

The Mount Soledad Christian Cross: Judge Orders Veterans Memorial Removed From San Diego Hill Top

The Mount Soledad Cross

This week a judge ordered a veteran's memorial removed from a hill top in San Diego, stating that the memorial, a Christian cross, violates the "separation of church and state."  The current cross was erected in 1954, though a cross has stood on this spot for 100 years, the first being erected in 1913.

At first I thought this was a slam-dunk bad (as in illegal, unconstitutional) decision by the judge.  After looking into it, I see that it's not that clear, though I still disagree with the judge. His decision was not slam-dunk bad, just plan old bad.

Federal courts have often strayed far beyond the boundaries of the Constitution in finding religious displays "unconstitutional."  If they relied solely on the First Amendment to the Constitution, they would likely not make such decisions.  The First Amendment reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Note that the Amendment says that CONGRESS shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.  Individual states could, and did, make all kinds of laws establishing religion, and such laws were perfectly constitutional.  This was the original intent of the First Amendment.  (I personally would prefer that no state establish any "official" religions, but my personal preferences should not supersede the Bill of Rights.)  In any case, the words "separation of church and state" do not appear anywhere in the Constitution.

Since the First Amendment was added to the Constitution, however, federal courts have often gone off the reservation by declaring any and all public displays of a religious nature to be "unconstitutional," particularly if they occur in schools, government buildings, government lands, i.e., the public square.  It is really stretching it to claim that a display of a creche somewhere downtown constitutes a Congressional "law establishing religion."  It would appear that prohibition of such displays is a violation of the First Amendment "by prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  Federal law does not govern such displays; they are governed by state law only, per the original intent of the Founders.

These overboard court decisions rely on Stare Decisis ("Let the Decision Stand"), merely repeating what earlier courts have ruled, a legality known as precedence.  If one Federal court makes a bad ruling that is not reversed on appeal, the bad decision stands.  It's called "case law," as opposed to legislated ("statutory") law.  One bad judicial ruling can therefore give birth to countless other bad rulings, like a feral cat dropping litters of mangy kittens.

The Mount Soledad cross was originally erected on state land, but at some point the land was transferred to federal ownership.  Okay, does federal ownership of the land somehow make the cross a "Congressional establishment of religion"?  Many federal courts have replied in the affirmative -- that any religious symbol is unconstitutional if erected on government owned land.  This belief goes beyond the plain language and original intent of the First Amendment, but has been reinforced through bad precedence.

Plans are being made to transfer the land to state or private ownership, which would apparently remove all doubt -- or would it?  If the land is state owned, there is still a problem because California's state constitution has its own "No Preference Clause" which prohibits the display of religious symbols on state-owned land.

In order to be privately owned, the land would have to be offered for sale to the highest bidder, regardless of their religious persuasion, and the new owners not obligated to keep the cross.

Read more about it here.

Another Fake Sign Language Interpreter (Spin City TV, Not Mandela) Funny Youtube Video

This week some man at the Mandela funeral in South Africa pretended to be a "sign language interpreter" for the benefit of the deaf. It was later revealed that the man's gestures were not sign language at all, but just fake gestures that he made up. Some are saying that this fakery was appropriate for both Mandela and many of the heads of state who spoke. I found the video below that shows another example of fake sign language interpretation. Enjoy.

Kim Kardashian's Twerking Capacity is Awesome!

I had a deep philosophical thought this morning.  Here it is:

Kim Kardashian's butt is so big, she could twerk an entire regiment of U.S. Marines, all at the same time.

If her butt was real estate, it would qualify for its own zip code (postal code for those in Europe).

South Carolina: First to Secede, First to Outlaw Obamacare?

South Carolina is a beautiful state.  It was the first state to secede in December of 1860; it is now on its way to being the first state to secede from Obamacare.

Well actually, when I say "secede" from Obamacare, I am really describing nullification.  Any state has the right to opt out of any federal law that violates the Constitution, regardless of what the Supreme Court says (screw you John Roberts).  South Carolina may be the first state to nullify the so-called "Affordable Care Act" by exempting all of its citizens and businesses from participating in Obamacare.

South Carolina's House voted in favor of banning Obamacare from its state by a vote of 65-34, and the state  Republican-controlled Senate will vote on the bill (HB3101) in January.

Capitalism Institute reports:

The core of the “South Carolina Freedom of Heath Care Protection Act” (HB3101) outlaws any state employees, officers, or agencies from implementing Obamacare.

The federal government can try to subject South Carolinians to the horrors of the ACA – but they would have no personnel or funds in the state to actually carry it out. Obamacare would be nothing more than a ghost.

Capitalism Institute also cites a Supreme Court case of Printz v. United States:

What the Supreme Court said … is that states are not merely political subdivisions of the federal government to carry out what the federal government does; they are sovereign entities. Congress can pass laws, but it cannot compel the states to utilize either their treasury or personnel to implement those federal laws.

Note that kiddies:  the states are sovereign entities, not merely subdivisions of the federal government.  The latter answers to the former, not the other way around.  May this spirit of states' rights expand and spread.  It is exactly what the Founders intended.

CHRISTMAS SING ALONG: "I Saw Miley Twerking Santa Claus -- Underneath the Mistletoe Last Night."

I am really offended by this picture.

That's because the schmo on the right is such a lousy looking Santa Claus.

 What on earth was he thinking?  He's not fat and doesn't have a white beard.  He appears to be just some guy with a cigar in a cheap Santa suit.  I am so disillusioned.  Well, that is a nice bass guitar though.

Photoshop For Today: A Christmas Candle By The Window

The only things real in this image are the pine boughs and the doiley beneath them.  Everything else is Photoshop.

Use it if you like it.

I Had to Return My Christmas Tree

I had to return my Christmas tree.  It seems the neighbor liked it better growing in his yard.

Some people just have no Christmas spirit at all.

UPDATE:  Someone added a twinkle effect to my Photoshop.  Looks cool, so I exchanged my original for the twinkle one.

If You're White, You're a Racist. White Racism and Oppression: It's Everywhere! (Photoshop)

Yesterday American Power reported on a black, female college teacher, one Shannon Gibney, who was reprimanded by her college administrators.  Gibney began preaching her "racism-is-everywhere" meme to her class on Mass Communications at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.  White oppression, dontcha know.  White privilege.  Blah blah blah.

It seems some of her white students felt uncomfortable being painted as villains and filed a grievance complaint with the college.  Gibney was then found to be creating a "hostile work environment" for white students and was reprimanded for same.  She subsequently filed a lawsuit against the college for...guess what?  Racial discrimination.

 It seems Gibney is obsessed with "structural racism," which is another term for "institutional racism."  She is so obsessed with it that she just can't stop talking about it, even in her college classes that have nothing to do with race.    RAAAAAAACISM!  It is her Raison d'Être.

I googled "structural racism" to find out what it is.  Apparently, it alleges that our cultural and societal norms, standards and attitudes somehow prevent racial minorities equal access to jobs, education, housing, bank loans, health care, justice, etc. Examples given are usually archaic practices and laws long since removed, or to myths, such as IQ tests being culturally biased against blacks (they aren't).  It is because of this pernicious, built-in racism, which suffuses every law, tradition, business transaction and societal institution, that many blacks just can't get a break.  If they are jobless, in jail, drunk or high, or killed by gangstas, it isn't their fault -- if you're white, it's YOUR fault.  You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

With the leftists in Academia constantly ululating "racism," one gets the impression that racism radiates outward from white skin, like a  Martian death ray, or perhaps the infection imparted by lepers.  People of European extraction are unwitting transmitters of these evil emanations, which are to blame for everything wrong in the black community.  Racism is therefore akin to radioactive poisoning, and Shannon Gibney and her ilk are the Geiger counters.

Basically, "structural racism" is a leftist myth used to justify income redistribution, equality of results rather than opportunity, social engineering and racial Balkanization. At the same time it is psy-ops designed to reduce opposition to leftist memes, policies and goals, through imparting to whites an unjustified guilt for imaginary wrongs, and to blacks a feeling of perpetual victimization and race-based paranoia.

Finally, it is a a built-in excuse for the black underclass, relieving them of accountability for their own poor life choices and societal dysfunction.  And if there is one thing the left absolutely abhors, it is personal accountability.

That's the way I see it anyway.

Remembering Pearl Harbor: 72 Years Ago Today

American Ships Burn in Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941

Throughout my life, I have always noted the date when December 7th rolled around.  It is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where 2,403 Americans were killed by bombs or bullets, eight Navy ships sunk and twelve more damaged.

The Japanese Empire had drawn first blood in our war with the Axis Powers in World War II.  They would live to regret it -- or should I say, their survivors would live to regret it.

Seventy-two years have passed since that fateful day in history.  God bless those who died on that day, in that place, and may we never forget them.

Source:  Fact Sheet Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Museum online.

Was Nelson Mandela an Anti-Semite?

Mandela and Arafat

Today the Drudge Report's headline is "World Prepares for Biggest Funeral Since Churchill."  The funeral referred to is that of Nelson Mandela, former terrorist, Communist and revolutionary.  Oh yes, and also the first black president of the nation of South Africa, with emphasis on "black."  To our leftist culture, having a dark epidermis trumps all other facts, even the most negative ones.

However, more facts are coming to light about Mandela that cannot be ignored.  One of those is that he was an anti-Semite who hated Israel and supported the so-called Palestinians, who want Israel and its Jews to disappear.  Since Mandela's reign, South Africa has boycotted trade with Israel.  According to an op-ed in Israel National News, Mandela was an enemy of Israel:

Mandela always made it clear that those who are the enemies of the Jews are not necessarily his enemies.

In 2000, the American Jewish Committee canceled a Washington luncheon scheduled to honor Mandela after he said that 13 Jews tried for “espionage” in Iran were receiving a “fair trial”.

Mandela laid a wreath on the grave of Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian revolution, warmly greeting his successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “We are indebted to the Islamic Revolution”, Mandela proclaimed. It is the same Mandela who claimed that Communist Cuba had achieved the “systematic eradication of racism”.

In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a “terrorist state” and declared that “we do not regard the PLO as a terrorist organization. If one has to refer to any parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the Israeli government because they are the people who are slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the occupied territories”.

Mandela may be a hero to many, but not to me.  His having a funeral that is the "biggest since Churchill" only shows how screwed up this world had become.

Nelson Mandela: Some Sour Notes Amid The Chorus of Praise

Mandela and Castro

My impression of Nelson Mandela, the late president of the nation of South Africa, is not entirely positive.  Most people seem to see the man with the kindly, smiling face as a hero for black civil rights in Africa, a revolutionary against racial apartheid.  My take on the man is that he was anti-American, anti-white, often violent, and whose political organization, the African National Congress (ANC) was a Marxist and  terrorist organization supported by the Soviet Union.  Following are some more sour notes.

From Chronicles Magazine:  Nelson Mandela, RIP or RIH?

Are Black South Africans better off than they were in the bad old days? (Forget about South African whites: Most of them, if they could get visas, have fled the country.) It would not seem so. The South African economy is in ruins, the rule of law has so broken down that Johannesburg is recording murder rates several times the rate in Mexico City, and young black professionals are leaving in droves. Interviewed even on NPR, they explain there is no future for them in South Africa. - See more at: http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-rip-or-rih/#sthash.Ghd9NIKB.dpuf

From American Renaissance: White Genocide With a Whimper:

Nelson Mandela is dead, and South Africa without “Madiba” will be much the same as it was before: a wreck of a country with slowly collapsing infrastructure, high crime, and the slow-motion genocide of Afrikaners [white South Africans].

None of this much matters to the opinion makers of what used to be the West. For them, the true hallmark of leftist totalitarianism isn’t brutality—it’s kitsch, and we’ll see plenty of that. Mandela will be on every magazine cover, the Internet will be drowning in sentimental schmaltz, and Facebook will be littered with sanctimonious status updates.

The truth is, the saintly visage of Mandela—all crinkly eyes and warm smiles—conceals a violent past as a terrorist.

Mandela sought support from America's enemies, like communist China, communist Cuba, Egypt and East Germany.  He is well known for anti-American rhetoric and his support for Communism.  See The Other McCain's take on this here.

For much of Nelson Mandela's life, he was dedicated to terrorism and violence against whites  He was anti-American and was openly allied with communist and other totalitarian regimes.  To his credit, he was more or less peaceful after becoming the first black president of South Africa.  It is for that reason I cannot completely condemn the man.  However, I cannot embrace him either.  Or as Thomas Fleming put it:

The best I can say of Mr. Mandela is that he was the Lafayette or Kerensky of the South African revolution, a self-serving but well-intended fool who could not see what horror he was inflicting on his country.

Update:  American Power joins the Sour Note Chorus:  Nelson Mandela, Terrorist and Communist.

Wendy Davis for Governor of Texas! (Photoshop) #abortion

Wendy Davis is a Democrat Texas state senator.  She's famous for filibustering a new Texas law that would prohibit late term abortions in Texas.  (The law was later passed anyway.)

Now she's running for governor of Texas.  She vows to break up the good ole boys club of Texas politics - and allow angry feminists to abort unwanted brats no matter how far along they are.

We suggest that, instead of using a broom to signify "a new broom sweeps clean," she use a vacuum cleaner as her symbol:  "a new vacuum cleaner aborts the little bastards efficiently!"

Photoshop by Stogie, from images off the web.

The War on Christmas: Elvis and Antonio Gramsci

Christmas!  Think of the Elvis song, "Merry Christmas Baby!"  The lyrics go --

Merry, merry Christmas, baby 

Sure did treat me nice 

I said merry Christmas, baby 

Sure did treat me nice 

Gave me diamond rings for Christmas 

Now I'm living in paradise 

Well, I'm feeling mighty fine 

Got good music on my radio 

Well, I'm feeling mighty fine 

Got good music on my radio 

Well, I want to kiss you, baby 

While you're standing 'neath the mistletoe

I like this -- it's a bluesy song for Christmas.  Not too sentimentally sappy for my tastes.  Whatever you think of Christmas, however, it is a cheerful holiday filled with lovely songs, bright colors and lights, and reunions of family and friends.  Brotherhood.  Family traditions.  Good food.  Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and all that.  I like it a lot.

So why the leftist push to ban Christmas from the public consciousness?  The ACLU has been suing schools and other institutions for years now, to prevent them from singing or playing Christmas carols, or even saying "Merry Christmas" in the spoken or written word.  Why does the left attack Christmas?  

I suspect it goes back to the Italian Communist, Antonio Gramsci, who believed that, before Communism could be instituted in any nation, Christianity must be suppressed.  As long as it exists, people will be more loyal to religion than they will be to the state.  Christianity was too much of a competitor for the hearts and minds of people, so it had to go.

Even modern day "progressives," who may not be raging Communists, still oppose Christianity, as it interferes with their social and political goals.  Christians tend to believe that homosexuality is sinful and undesirable.  They are thus more apt to oppose leftist initiatives like gay marriage and changes to the military -- not to mention forcing employers to violate their faith by providing birth control as part of their medical insurance for employees.

Christians are also apt to see the unborn as human beings and thus oppose abortion.  The "right" to an abortion is considered a holy sacrament to the left.  It is an effective means of population control, and controlling the populace is what the left is all about.

Finally, Christianity supports the traditional, nuclear family, where anti-progressive beliefs are fostered and passed from one generation to the next.  The left hates the nuclear family.  Before man can be remade and remolded into an obedient servant for the state, the nuclear family must be ended.  

Christianity can't be abolished overnight, so  the left seeks to dilute its power over time.  They do this by substituting "Happy Holidays" for "Merry Christmas," and by banning Christmas carols, creches and manger displays in the public square; and lately, by attempts to de-Christianize the military by warning soldiers that Evangelical Christians are actually subversives or extremists.  In the U.K., the de-Christianizing also includes welcoming millions of Muslims into the country, the financing of mosques, and public pressure to avoid "offending" them by displays of crosses and other Christian symbols.  

Anyway, that's how I see it.  One of the best ways to combat the Gramscian war on Christmas is to wish everyone you meet a a Merry Christmas!  And if someone is "offended" by this?  TOUGH.

That also explains my Christmas-y blog banner, which will be up through December.

How to Make a Mosque Less Offensive to Westerners

Islam Sucks, But So Do Its Enablers

At left is a picture of the low-life Muslim scum who murdered British soldier Lee Rigby on an open street in the U.K.  He is currently on trial for murder there.

The picture of the scum was taken right after he hacked the soldier to death.  He was proud of what he did, and his hands and meat cleaver are covered in blood.

I would love to see someone shoot the S.O.B. in the gut, so he could suffer a lot before he died.

And as he lay dying, I would hope someone would rip up a Koran  and shove it up his ass, then light it on fire (the Koran, not his ass).

This could be finished by shoving a huge pork sausage down his throat while a dog pissed on his head.

God, I hate Islam.  I hate almost as much the liberal/leftist fools who invite millions of followers of this vile ideology into western nations.  Islam is responsible for this and many other murders, but equally so is the leftist labor government of the U.K.  Fuck you, David Cameron.

And all you liberal leftist progressive morons are responsible too, for your perennial embrace of evil in all its forms, Islam merely being the most recent.

Neoworx Ends Blog Services

My long standing visitor counter, Neoworx, has gone out of business.  This was a great visitor counter, as it showed visitors currently online by country, as well as a cumulative total of all visitors, by country, since first installed.  It was becoming more and more expensive, but I stuck with it in spite of this.  I have replaced Neoworx with the standard, and free, revolvemaps.  It will start over counting at zero visitors.

Neoworx was not my oldest visitor counter -- that would be statcounter, which shows the actual count since the blog was started in 2006.

Here's the email I received from help@neoworx.com:

Dear user,
It saddens me to inform you that after 9 years of services, I am stopping my web counter activity.
The shift from blogs to social networks and the overwhelming competition of free services has dramatically decreased my customer base to the point where I can no longer pay for the hosting of my servers.
I will do my best to refund you pro rata of the time elapsed since your last payment. Please wait for an email from the designated company liquidator.
I thank you wholeheartedly for the interest you have shown in my products during all these years. It was a great adventure for me.
Please find here-after your most recent visitor count. I am sure that you will find a suitable replacement for my counters.
Roberto

Some Final Thoughts on the JFK Grand Conspiracy -- Then Moving On!

Now we move into my favorite time of year, Christmas!

For the past few days I have been debating a JFK conspiracy theorist in my post "Pissing On His Grave:  Lee Harvey Oswald."  Neither of us changed the other's mind, but the exercise was interesting and possibly made us more aware of the others facts or pseudo-facts.  Read the debate in the comments section, if so inclined.  I wonder if people will still be arguing about the assassination in another fifty years, when it is a century in the past?  Probably.

The Other McCain comments on the loony Jim Garrison, the rogue D.A. who prosecuted innocent people in the late 1960's for their imaginary participation in the Great Conspiracy.  Read it, and the comments, here.

I purchased the Kindle version of Vince Bugliosi's book, "Reclaiming History:  The Assassination of John F. Kennedy" and am enjoying it immensely.  This is the most current and most thorough book that refutes the conspiracy theorists, and does so in a convincing fashion.  I have learned facts I never knew before, and they only strengthen the Warren Commission's conclusions.  The only question left in my mind is this:  why do people want to believe that a massive conspiracy killed JFK?

This would be an excellent doctoral thesis for a mental health professional.

Update:  Apparently, psychologists are already studying what they call "Conspiracy Theory Psychology."  Slate has an interesting article on the subject here.

The article describes similar conspiracy theories to the JFK assassination:  the UFO and Roswell cover-ups, the 911 Truther movement.  Come to think of it, almost nothing happens now that isn't a "false flag" or staged disaster, all perpetrated in furtherance of the New World Order (or something).  The Boston bombing, the Sandy Hook shootings -- it's all part of the giant, unfolding conspiracy!  Not.

Psychology Today has a better article on Conspiracy Psychology here.  I like this short explanation of what motivates a belief in conspiracies:

...conspiracy theories help us cope with distressing events and make sense out of them. Conspiracies assure us that bad things don't just happen randomly. Conspiracies tell us that someone out there is accountable, however unwittingly or secretly or incomprehensibly, so it's possible to stop these people and punish them and in due course let everyone else re-establish control over their own lives. Conspiracies also remind us that we shouldn't blame ourselves for our predicaments; it's not our fault, it's them! In these ways, believing in conspiracies serves many of the same self-protective functions as scapegoating.

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey; a Seasoned Citizen Looks Back

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday that warms my oldest and fondest memories of home, family and food.  I have a lot to remember:  I'm a senior citizen.  I was a college sophomore when JFK was assassinated fifty years ago.  I saw the Beatles, Janis Joplin and the Jefferson Airplane perform live (to clarify, not together).  The Beatles in '64 and '65, and Janis Joplin in 1966, with Big Brother and the Holding Company.  I saw Jefferson Airplane the same night that I saw Janis.

My first recollection of a presidential election is when Eisenhower was running for president.  I was a cub scout, and we were given silvery (plastic) medals to "get out the vote, 1952."  I decided I liked Ike, was a Republican in a Democrat household, and never looked back.  I was shocked to learn my father was a Democrat, and he was equally shocked to learn I was a Republican.

I supported Nixon against JFK in the election of 1960, but later became smitten with JFK, as he was a strong anti-communist, as was I, and for a while, I fancied myself a liberal Democrat.  However, I never voted that way, as I was too young to vote.  My first presidential vote was for George Wallace in the 1968 election, as I believed he would have the gonads to win the war in Viet Nam.  I regretted my vote on election night, when Nixon was neck and neck with Hubert Humphrey, but finally pulled ahead to win by a slim margin.  I thought Humphrey would be another liberal disaster.

Yes, through the decades, I always loved Thanksgiving:  turkey and dressing; no school; getting into mischief with my cousins; football on television; and naps.  If only all my departed relatives could be resurrected to join me once more around the table:  grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, and even a cousin or two, all of whom are now in the next world.