The Aardvark has been blessed with a number of things in his life...the Dread Dormomoo, the other denizens of Chez 'Vark, friends, a business which is tottering along reasonably well, a lovely church family where he is loved AND tolerated, and an IQ somewhere in the genius stratum. No, I am not bragging, as will become evident (obvious from my inability to maintain the third-person pose). If nothing else, I serve as the poster child of high-IQ non-exceptionalism. My mind is like a Formula One racer being used solely to go to the market and back. IQ represents potential, and not much else. Vox Day's touted (and much-maligned) Mensa-approved cyber-intelligence has much the same stiff bloody lard between his ears as I, the major difference being training. He has been well-trained in the use of his biological Calculation Engine.

Your Aardvark has, alas, not been.

As a child, he was often admonished by his paternal grandmother that "God has given you a wonderful mind. It is a sin not to use it." His first-grade teacher got a mini Real School Desk to keep next to her desk, to more easily keep him fed with work to keep him occupied and thus less-disruptive. Lesson learned: If you are smart, you get to do more work. Your Aardvark even did reading aloud for the THIRD GRADERS to show 'em how it is done. (Imagine how his popularity skyrocketed amongst the other kiddies!) Even skipped the second grade - Vox and John Taylor Gatto can detail precisely how much that is worth. By sixth grade he was a confirmed under-achiever; blowing off homework was normative, even de rigueur . It was only his rescue by Christ that got him on a righteous road of nominal intellectual rigor, but the damage was done. By college, he blew off attendance in some classes, and aced them (c'mon...philosophy?) The predations of Late-Great-Planet-Earthism (now Left-Behindodoxy) took their toll, and I dropped out of college, did not finish my Environmental Studies major, so the Earth was not saved through his efforts, because, hey, you don't polish brass on a sinking ship.

So, your Humble could possibly qualify to hand out cards like Wile E. Coyote's (if not quite) if native ability were the measure. Training is the key, however: how to reason, how to think , logic.

All that said, the point of this screed is not to be a paean to himself's smarts, rather the opposite.... On Christmas Eve, Loen and Riatsila ran across this atheistic YouTube tour-de-force: Why god won't heal amputees.

This Dawkins and Harris approved video is part of an Evangelistic Atheist effort to dissuade nominal believers from their folly by Embarrassing Them For Their Putative Beliefs, primarily by showing How Loathsome Is the Bible, and What A Jerk God Is, and You Are a Delusional Nutcase for Believing.

Some people won't believe in God until pasta flies.

I have no desire to go point-by-point on his entire sales-pitch, for that is what it is: a series of points, questions and answers to lead the viewer ineluctably to the conclusion that There Is No God, and I Need Therapy For Having Believed In One. Generally, the author's arguments consist of claiming that historical exegetical Biblical answers to his shaming questions are mere Excuse-Making for the putative Almighty. I work for a living, and have no time for the task. I have my own answers which satisfy me, but his format and program make it clear that he is interested merely in axe-grinding rather than truth-seeking. The one point which does interest me is this:

Chapter 13: Why Does God Love Slavery?

All of us know that slavery is abhorrent. Slavery involves the loss of free will and the subjugation of one person to another. Slavery is a form of imprisonment. Slavery turns human beings into a type of livestock that can be bought and sold as the property of another person. As described by Frederick Douglass above, slavery is often accompanied by remarkable brutality. No human being would want to be enslaved. This is what makes the concept of slavery so repugnant.

Now that you have a clear image of slavery in your head, here is an important question: How would you imagine that God feels about slavery?

As the all-loving creator of the universe and of each human soul, you would expect God to be violently opposed to the enslavement of human beings. Our all-knowing God would certainly despise slavery in the same way that any normal person does. What other position could a perfect God take?

It is surprising, therefore, to discover that the Bible tells a different story. If we read the Bible, we find instead a God who embraces slavery wholeheartedly. The Bible is so supportive of slavery, in fact, that it was frequently used as a justification for American slavery prior to the Civil War.

We ALL know that slavery is BAD, and are universally repelled by it, but God really LIKES it! We are morally superior to God!

Stupid, stupid God.

This whinge is as fallacious as any I have read, which of course surprises me, since he would have no anti-God bias, a priori . To state that God embraces slavery, that He condones it, is like saying that the US Government condones cigarette smoking because they regulate and tax its sale. No industry has been more publicly reviled by Washington than the tobacco, so much so that the Givemint has cut its own throat, tax-wise.

Likewise slavery, vis a vis God. The historic church understanding is that we live in a bent, a fallen world, made so by mankind's rebellion. Thus the world is filled with bent, fallen activity, which God seeks to regulate by Laws, establishing His will, while also maintaining man's free will. People will fornicate; God regulates sexual practice covenentally for man's ultimate good. Some still choose to fornicate.

Rebel mankind enslaves one another. God provides behavioral guidelines to make the practice more humane. Some choose to abuse their slaves anyway. If they were in covenant with God, there were punitive actions to be taken against the slave-holders.

There is an important distinction between chattel slavery (A civil relationship in which one person has absolute power over the life, fortune, and liberty of another), and indentured servitude (a person who signs and is bound by indentures to work for another for a specified time especially in return for payment of travel expenses and maintenance). God regulates both, establishing what is and is not allowable in the master/slave arrangement.

First off, an admission: the Bible does not prohibit slavery. Let not the wrath of liberals fall upon my head. Sorry, it doesn't, which makes me wonder at the modern allergy to the subject. Few movements have been more set in fiction than the popular abolitionist movement which fueled the War Between the States. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe presented theatrical caricatures of slave AND slaveholder, which drummed up popular support for war. Perhaps more ire should be leveled at the black Islamists who sold (and still do) their fellows than currently is. Contrariwise, New Testament Christian doctrine (first century and beyond) did more to eliminate slavery than anything else. The day-to-day living out of the faith renders it uncomfortable for me to call "slave", whom I also call "brother". The Letter that Paul wrote to Philemon lays down the groundwork for that change.

No, the Bible regulates the practice of slavery, establishes ground rules for treating a slave or an indentured servant and preventing their abuse. A cursory reading of the applicable passages will reveal a message 180 degrees from the one claimed by the YouTube Evangelistic Atheist.

Lev 19:20 And whoever lies with a woman with semen, and she is a slave-girl, betrothed to a husband and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her, there shall be an inquest. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

Levitical law prescribed death to the fornicator or adulterer. In the case of intercourse with a slave-girl, there shall be an investigation, the parties shall not receive the death penalty, because she was not free. This protected the slave.

Please take time to read the passages quoted here.

Deu 15:12 If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
Deu 15:13 And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty.
Deu 15:14 You shall richly bestow on him from your flock, and from your grain floor, and from your winepress; with what Jehovah your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
Deu 15:15 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today.
Deu 15:16 And if he says to you, I will not go away from you, because he loves you and your house, because it has been good for him with you;
Deu 15:17 then you shall take an awl and put it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. And also to your slave-girl you shall do so.
Deu 15:18 It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away from you free, for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. And Jehovah your God shall bless you in all that you do.

This is written in the context of the seventh-year release (or Sabbath year). All loans were to be forgiven, including indenture contracts. Please note: "And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty." This proviso insures the indentured servant a fresh start, a chance at not having to resort to that situation again. If, however, the indentured servant loves his master, and is loath to leave, he may then sign on for life, by his own choice.

Deu 16:10 And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Jehovah your God with a measure of a free-will offering of your hand, which you shall give according as Jehovah your God has blessed you.
Deu 16:11 And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your slave girl, and the Levite inside your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, those among you, in the place which Jehovah your God has chosen to place His name there.
Deu 16:12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. And you shall be careful to do these statutes.
Deu 16:13 You shall keep the Feast of Tabernacles seven days after you have gathered in your grain floor and your wine press.
Deu 16:14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow inside your gates.
Deu 16:15 Seven days you shall keep a solemn feast to Jehovah your God in the place which Jehovah shall choose. Because Jehovah your God shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice.

Even slaves were included as part of the feasts of the covenant community.

Deu 21:10 When you go forth to war against your enemies, and Jehovah your God has delivered them into your hands and you have taken them captive,
Deu 21:11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire to her, that you would take her for your wife,
Deu 21:12 then you shall bring her home to your house. And she shall shave her head and dress her nails.
Deu 21:13 And she shall put off the clothing of her captivity, and shall remain in your house, and shall sorrow for her father and her mother a full month. And after that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
Deu 21:14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will. But you shall not sell her at all for silver, you shall not make a slave of her, because you have humbled her.

This regulates the treatment of women taken as spoils of war. The idea is abhorrent to modern sensibilities, but the point here is that the victor is not given carte blanche to do as he wills. He is to grant her a time of adjustment, and then take her as wife. He may not thereafter sell her as a slave.

Deu 24:7 If a man is found stealing a person of his brothers, the sons of Israel, and makes a slave of him, or sells him, then that thief shall die. And you shall put evil away from among you.

Kidnapping for slavery was punishable by death.

Deu 24:14 You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers, or of your strangers that are in your land within your gates.
Deu 24:15 At his day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it. For he is poor and sets his heart on it; lest he cry against you to Jehovah, and it shall be sin to you.

Clearly God had NO interest whatever in the welfare of the hireling, whether Israelite or no.

1Sa 8:10 And Samuel told all the Words of Jehovah to the people who asked a king of him.
1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the privilege of the king who shall reign over you. He shall take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and his horsemen. And they shall run before his chariots.
1Sa 8:12 And he will appoint commanders over thousands, and commanders over fifties, and some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and weapons for his chariots.
1Sa 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
1Sa 8:14 And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your olive-yards, the best, and give them to his servants.
1Sa 8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give it to his eunuchs and to his servants.
1Sa 8:16 And he will take your male slaves and your slave girls, and your finest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
1Sa 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep, and you shall be his servants.
1Sa 8:18 And you shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

God is showing here that slavery is not a thing to be desired, yet He recognises the thing exists, and that the government's propensity for taxation, conscription and slave-taking is a bad thing, not to be borne.

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There is much more, but should I go through it all, this will never be published, because of my time constraints. A simple Old Testament concordance search for "slave" will show that the video atheist is utterly canted and incorrect in his opinions about the Biblical topics of slavery and indentured servitude, that the God of the Old Testament limits slavery, and mitigates the abuses and harm which are potentials in the master/slave relationship through regulating what may-or-may-not be done to a slave.

This is me being shocked .

Merry Christmas!

Chez 'Vark has been full of happiness, lovely things to nosh, goodies, and fun.

It is a great day to be thankful for the matchless present the Father gave to mankind.

The (grown) kids are playing Dark Tower in the kitchen, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is on the DVD player.

Oh, and I forgot to press "PUBLISH".

Have a blessed and prosperous New Year!

OK, I am tired of it. (He didn't say "Merry Christmas!) I am weary beyond words with the
"culture war" foofooraw about NOT saying "Merry Christmas". We are in a season chock-full of holidays: Thanksgiving, Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years. When I hear "Seasons Greetings". "Happy Holidays", Merry Christmas, Cunning Kwanzaa, no problem.
The wishing of kind sentiments is inoffensive to me. Come on, people, is the season celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace really the time to rattle sabers, and mutter darkly about the culture war ?

I am reminded of a poem by Victor Buono which he recited on Johnny Carson in the mid-70's at this time of year, ending on the irony of giving Mattel toy guns to celebrate the Prince of Peace. (I even prowled YouTube to find it, to no avail.)

It is time to lighten up, I believe. Laugh at the foolishness of the Christmas Haters, for it is not your lights and Nativity decorations that they disdain. They just hate The Light, period. So Merry Christmas, Cool Yule, Happy Hannukah, Kewl Kwanzaa, Scintillating Solstice, and all that.

Happy Holidays!

The vast purple MP3 widget to the right has our latest Aardvark ad, to be run in January.
Listen, and enjoy! Also, your comments would be appreciated. The ad was written and voiced by Your Humble, tweaked and produced by Vidad, who is also the Interviewer.

The McHorror.



Micky-D's has a new advert flogging their Breakfast Burrito. It shows a string of Little-League types swatting the ball a mighty swat, but not with the resounding *CRACK* of a Louisville Slugger. No. They swing, and a tooth-piercing *TINK* signals the connection.



I hate aluminium bats. Postmodern baseball, all rules, no soul.

Depression Glass is back in vogue!




















Signs of the times, kiddies. Depression glass was given as a premium during the Great Depression at movie theaters, stores and such. It was a classic loss-leader item to get people into your place, with a something-for-nothing cachet.

McDonald's is re-introducing the concept in the second photo: free Coke glasses as a premium!
They are pretty, stylish, and a sign of our current times.

Drink up!

WEEABOO!

Well, it's been too long. I am too full of stuff to adequately express it all. The lying liars in Washington who keep saying that "the American Pee-pul DEMAND the health care reforms" are beyond me. The People have resoundingly said "NO!!!" time and again. Tea Parties, letters, emails, phone calls, town hall meetings, all have made it clear that the majority of Americans do not want this legislation, legislation that does not do as advertised. I am angry beyond words at Pelosi's stubborn inability to speak truth. "We want to give this as a Christmas present to the American people" or somesuch. AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!

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On the BPH study front: Wednesday last I received my REAL medicine. Since all indications are that I did in fact receive the real thing throughout the double-blind study, this will be all the more interesting. I got double shots of what we lovingly refer to at home as "Man-No-More Angry Juice", one in each...hip. I have already developed the hair-trigger over the top anger reaction (a legit side-effect). Meh.

A sad thing: my original study supervisor, Dr. Nadine, has shuffled off this mortal coil. She was an awesome doc, who succumbed to liver cancer. I actually caught myself grieving a little. I will miss her.

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Ken Rogulski with WJR interviewed several of Detroit's sterling citizens in early October when they were lined up for free cash from the givemint.

Here is one exchange:

KEN ROGULSKI: Why are you here?

WOMAN: To get some money.

ROGULSKI: What kind of money?

WOMAN: Obama money.

ROGULSKI: Where's it coming from?

WOMAN: Obama.

ROGULSKI: And where did Obama get it?

WOMAN: I don't know. His stash. I don't know. I don't know where he got it from but he's giving it to us, to help us. We love him. That's why we voted for him. Obama! Obama!

This has firmed my resolve to see us return to the Founders' idea of only landowners being able to vote. Any color of person can own land, so there is no racial issue involved. If we do not do it, the US taxpayer will be enslaved to the voting whims of women like that.

Picture ganked from Toon Tracker



I have discovered The Invisible Man. There was a Sci-Fi cartoon from 1962-64 called Space Angel, which used the very odd Synchro-Vox mouth animation. The main character was voiced by Ned Lefebvre. Who? You know, Ned ...the guy who voiced such memorable characters as...then there was...and we musn't forget.... Yeah, like that.

Then, I tuned into When Radio Was on Wednesday night, and there, on The Whistler
(Originally broadcast: 11/7/1948, Cover Up) was...The Voice! Mr. Lefebvre was an OTR actor. If anyone has heard of any other work he has done, please let me know.

Well, I have found the BEST new diet. I mean, 10 pounds in less than one month. Amazing.
You take three weeks of H1N1, mix well with bronchitis. Get over that, then get bitten by a brown recluse spider on the inner thigh, really high up.

Well, that's my life for the last month.

At least I'm closer to my hot college 'Varkness.

One of my favorite pictures from college.

Chris Carter, the not X-files one.

The doing energy-independence one.

His site is here.

The camera jockey is Your Humble.

I was thinking about high school in the mid-seventies. We lived in a largely agricultural county, and it was not unusual for someone to have their shotgun or .22 in their truck. Many boys had a pocket knife on hand. This said, I do not recall a single instance of kids, white or black, being gunned down in the hall, or of someone being found stabbed to death in a bathroom stall. Ours was a very integrated school, yet there were no loud arguments with shoving and fisticuffs in the commons; certainly, no-one was bludgeoned to death with railroad ties.

Just thinking out loud, here.

So, then, each American man, woman and child owes $343,000 plus. This is what OTHER PEOPLE have charged to your account by making promises that will buy them votes and international prizes. Money that is wrested from you like armed robbery. Money YOUR REPRESENTATIVES have spent for you without asking...not only without asking, but in utter defiance of your stated will, and doing "the politically brave thing". Representatives who do not represent.

I suggest it is time to default.

The Loen and I are in Huntington, WV at TsubasaCon, which is surpassing itself. The kids are wild about our shirty goodness. We are both fighting the Deplorable Microbe. Not the Flu de Cochon, but the standard It's Fall, So Let's Fill Their Lungs With Crud bug. Meh. On the plus side, we have outdone the two previous years, sales-wise.

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"L--so people with bad posture can cosplay"

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I am unimpressed with UNO, the Chicago-style eatery at Pullman Station here. We were inveigled into going there with the promise of a Reuben and Fries combo for six dollars ninety-nine. We ordered beverages, and I ordered a seasonal brew (Shipyard, a Canadian ale), which would have served as a handy muscle-relaxant for various ills, as well as being tasty. Our waiter came back - I'll call him Chad, because he seems like a Chad - and told me "We don't have the things to make a Shapiro.", which is waiter-speak for "There is no such drink, you idiot.".

I would think a Shapiro could be made with Mogen David wine, with a pickled beet garnish.

I pointed out that what I wanted was a Shipyard ale. He trotted off to acquire one, and then returned to inform us that they could not get it in this region. This item in their full-color, printed, laminated seasonal chain-wide menu. I sighed the sigh of the long-suffering, and ordered iced tea. He brought the tea, and I inquired as to the Reuben combo, which was on the sign out front, enticing the unwary to enter.

Chad, who will likely make it big in middle-management, said, "We don't have the lunch specials on weekends.".

I asked him to go away while we figured out a different approach, whereupon I was seized with a heat rising from the back of my neck to the back of my head, and a fury in the front of my head. I maintained an outward control, but I wanted to break something. Chad allowed my to stew awhile, then walked back to take our order, which was "Let us pay for our drinks. We want to go.". He seemed surprised, but said no charge for the tea.

We left, walked two doors down, when I stopped and walked back to UNO's door. I reached for the handle, then decided not to go in. I was steaming, and no good would come of it. I stalked back to Loen, and we walked three or four blocks to Wendy's. Yum.

I muttered a lot.

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We have beaten last year's total, and we still have a day to go. I hope that we feel better. This bug is no fun, and I am ready to be rid of it. I particularly despise the locomotive cough that barrels up the bronchii, through the throat, part goes on a siding out of your mouth, with the rest smashing painfully in your forehead. If Nyquil doesn't do the job, then we may pack up early. I would rather stay to the end, what with the money-making and all, but I do not want to drive seven hours home in the middle of he night feeling like we do.

I find this poem apropos, given the crop we have in Washington.

Elegy in a Country Churchyard

THE men that worked for England

They have their graves at home:

And birds and bees of England

About the cross can roam.

But they that fought for England,

Following a falling star,

Alas, alas for England

They have their graves afar.

And they that rule in England,

In stately conclave met,

Alas, alas for England

They have no graves as yet.

G. K. Chesterton

I have been worried about the new "Prisoner" mini-series coming on AMC in November. I just saw the trailer, and while the architecture more closely fits "The Villages" in Florida, the whole thing hangs together in a creepily good way. Something more than turkey to look forward to come the eleventh month.

Cuppa tea?

The placards, flags, and banners are back in the garage, becoming homes for blobby, splotchy spiders, people are back at work, and the gas cards need to be paid. The Tea Partyers and 9/12ers have come home. Hail the conquering heroes.

Don't misunderstand my tone. They accomplished some important things: they showed the nation that they made it to D.C., gave FOX News a day or two of sexy programming. Most importantly, they fellowshipped with each other, showed each other that they have common ground, common concerns, ideals, goals. They displayed an almost church-like level of koinonia and commonality of purpose, bound together across social, sectarian, and ethnic divides. I just don't want these good people to go home thinking that they accomplished much more than that. Remember Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ? Frank Capra was a prophet. Remember the scene of the Evil Political Machine cranking up to shut out any reporting of Mr. Smith's Congressional heroics? That is what happened the 9/12 Saturday. FOX reported in depth. NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC mentioned. As far as the non-FOX watchers are concerned, a few thousand people had a tantrum on the Mall.

The marchers wanted their voices, their Voice, heard by their representatives. By-and-large, they weren't. Even the President was out-of-town that day. (And has anyone noticed Barack Hussein Obama's use of the word "rule" as to his office? He refers to "ruling" which betrays a misapprehension of his station. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.)

Two weeks have passed, and the rumblings have subsided, and A.C.O.R.N.'s corruption fills the news...at least on FOX. Our reps seem to have gotten that , at least, and are defunding that bunch of nuts, but this is only one thing: getting rid of something that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Congress and the Senate are being unprofitable servants, doing only what they ought to have done. Our government is so far out of bounds as to provide an endless menu of deconstruction.

I do not mean to discourage you doughty marchers, Tea Partyers, 9/12ers, but rather to encourage you stay the course, as Ronaldus Magnus said. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Work to diminish the Federal, and enhance States Rights. Restore the Founders' vision. Do not lose sight of the Goal, in the flush of victory of beginning the race.

Dormammu (c) Marvel Comics

The Dread Dormomoo does not have a blog. She desperately needs one. Hear what the D.D. saith:

The current illegal alien / undocumented worker debacle is a bit of cleverness by the Left. A look at any demographical data shows that (1) The Boomer generation is getting overwhelmingly old, fast, and (2) the old majority white Euro-derived population is not reproducing at replacement levels, thus we have a shift in age and spectrum in our broad land. Social Security is bankrupt. Srsly. It consists of boxes filled with IOUs from Congress (which has used all the money for everything but Social Security) likely stored in the West Virginia warehouse that Scully and Mulder found the DNA records of every soul in the YewEssof AY. Congress has spent every dime. Every one. The S.S. checks issued to oldsters today are drawn on the money withheld from present-day workers, who will never see a penny of that money, and whose withholding will not be able to cover the vast needs of a populace pulling into Geezerville. Never, unless some alternative source of funding is found.

But WAIT! What if we IMPORT strapping young workers to pay into the system. But some are already here illegally. How shall we deal with them?

*coughamnestycough*

Once they are legal, they can be taxed, and the Union is SAVED!
The idea is amazing in its simplicity, and duplicity. Our "representatives" have come up with a way to save their rears, and save Social Security, unless of course they spend all of that money.

And she got here before Glenn Beck.

Of COURSE women never lie about rape.

(AP) Four New York men were released from jail Wednesday and authorities dismissed charges that they gang-raped a Hofstra University student after the 18-year-old woman recanted her story.

"I'm so happy the truth finally came out," said Stalin Felipe, 19, outside the Nassau County Jail in East Meadow where he and the other three had just been released Wednesday night.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement late Wednesday that the woman told law enforcement officials that the sex encounter in a dormitory men's room was consensual.

Rice said a county judge then dismissed the charges against the four men and ordered their release. She said her office has launched a criminal investigation into the woman's statements.

The woman had accused five men, including a Hofstra student, of taking her cell phone at an on-campus nightclub and luring her into a dormitory men's room and sexually assaulting her early Sunday.

I heard this from the corner of my ear yesterday, and it has been percolating. I like what Vox suggests:

One hopes that the lying woman will be prosecuted and jailed, as crying rape harms the interests of innocent men and real female victims alike. A woman who lies in an attempt to press rape charges should not only be prosecuted and jailed for years, but her picture should also be distributed as widely throughout the media as were the pictures of those she falsely accused.

Of course, it must be stated in all fairness that men never lie about sex either.

Happy 9/11 DAY!


You remember September 11, 2001. You know, the day when the US Government condemned and razed some real estate in NYC, added a door to the Pentagon, and attempted aerial plowing in a Pennsylvania field. That MUST be what happened, 'cos an actor and a Communist rabble-rouser both agree that it did. Don't forget, too, that today has been determined by some tool-or-other to be a National Day of Service. Find a member of Al Qaeda and polish his Quran.

I have fussed about the uselessness of psychological scab-picking at celebrations like the Oklahoma City Bombing, letting the wounds heal for a year, then reopening the thing with One More Remembrance. It would be like a wife buying her husband a Happy Adultery Day cake each year to commemorate his indiscretion. I don't have much patience for this kind of psychological self-injury.

That said, 9/11 is different. Our nation, and our fellow citizens were attacked by Muslims. Not Swedish Lutherans, nor Southern Baptists. Whack-job Muslims incited to murder, and then financed with Saudi money. Ron Paul AND Osama bin Laden have stated that the reason for the attacks was the US's involving itself in the Middle East and elsewhere. I trust Dr. Congressman Paul far more than I do bin Laden, and believe the the most prudent course for the US is to bring back our troops from every locale where we have overstayed our welcome, which is almost everywhere, except for one task: hunt everyone down who was involved with the attack on the US with extreme prejudice. For those unaware, that doesn't mean make fun of their clothing, coloring, or mode of speech. It means take them out. Kill them. Period. Then, get on with our lives.

Muslim extremists plotted, some acted, killed our people, and destroyed our buildings. That bunch needs to be made to go away. All Muslims are not murderous jihadists. There are many who do not accurately follow the Prophet's teachings. They likely make good neighbors. I am not worried about them, but the culpable jihadists still living need to be not living anymore.

Remember 9/11. Remember who our enemies are. Remember that they are out there still, and that they have made promises.

NOTHING has gone right today, and now The Prexy is talking on about his sorely needed healthcare revamp that is being begged for by millions whom I never see.

Nancy Pelosi is reacting to naysaying noises from the Right like the psycho mom in the Rollover Minutes adverts. Scary.


One salvo of applause from the Right: a promise of a measure of tort reform.

Obama beat the drum of TeddyCare, invoking the Ghost of Kopechnes Past. Lets win one for the Tedster.

I'm so reassured. I'm also waiting for the Givemint to start paying my mortgage. I mean, he's been President seven whole months.

Czar Van Jones is lookin' for work, and should be thankful that this is not 1917. Unknown Forces have promulgated "lies and distortions" about him, so he is pouting and taking his Fair Trade ball, and his eco-friendly bat, and going home. I'm not sure which cheeses me more, that he was in an unConstitutional "Green is the new Red" unvetted position in the first place, or that he weeniely folded after Glenn Beck and WorldNetDaily started digging out the truth about him. "They lied about me, so I'm leaving!" Wow, how loser. He could at least have identified the truth, and let the facts be known...

Awwwwwwwww....

Because I said so, that is why.

I had talk radio on as room noise whilst doing laundry - the Dread Dormomoo is recuperating nicely from her surgery, but still may not do much aboot the hoose - and heard Mark Steyn parrying a female caller who was claiming that conservative talk hosts were anti-ObamaCare because they are in the pockets of groups like Big Pharma (which oddly is supportive of nationalized healthcare here). What bugged me was her naked assertion that Limbaugh, Beck, Hannitoad, and the rest are bought-and-paid-for by Eeeee-vil Corporate Forces. No proof, no footnotes, just her insistence that This Is So. It has nothing to do with thoughtful opinion derived from study, or forensic digging into public records...just making a statement, 'cos she heard it from NPR, or heard it from a friend, or read it on HuffPo, or got an ACORN email, or merely pulled it from her nethers.

Ergo, it is all true.

When did we all become sixth-graders parroting gossip about The New Girl? Wait...most of us WERE in public school sixth-grade! From K through Twelve, we are prudently not taught how to think, nor how to effectively look into a matter. I mean, Wikipedia is now accepted as a legitimate source for term paper research. In college, liberal arts education is more about fitting in, and trying to be cool for the popular profs. Rather than the avowed raison d'etre of teaching one how to think, and how to learn, modern liberal arts education methods ultimately teach one what to think, whether through indoctrination, or peer-pressure. This was true when the Aardvark was in college; moreso now.

President Obama relies upon his charisma, more than even did President Clinton. (Have I mentioned lately how much I miss Bill Clinton?) The drum-bangers and tambourine-janglers in Congress support razing our vast healthcare system and building a Rube Goldbergesque structure to distribute inadequate care equally claim to support it "because the Peeeee-pul demand it!". The poll numbers do not support this claim, and a bit of reading will show it to be a top-down effort like HillaryCare, and is just as loved by the Peeeee-pul. Seen any good Town Hall meetings lately?

Tortured Logic


Much of the fuss about the "torture" of terrorists, or non-military combatants, comes from the fuzzy thinking of the religious - both right and left - who somehow conflate the State with the Kingdom of God. This is not a biblically tenable position, for while the State "is a servant of God to you for good" (Romans 13:4), it is not presented as the Kingdom of God. This distinction is important. Were I to be a Roman householder with bondservants, they would be the servants of the household, not members of my family. While individual members of the government may be Christian, the government is not. While individual citizens of the country may be Christian, the country is not. A "Christian consensus" may hold sway in the Body Politic, but this does not make it Christian. The Kingdom of God is wholly Other than the kingdoms of mankind.

I believe that it says much of our society, and the echoes of former Biblical influence upon it, that so much effort has been put into finding non-lethal, non-maiming methods of persuading terrorists to part with intel. Torquemada and his ilk had quite an arsenal of effective persuasion; we could have gone with those, but instead, we have developed methods that leave the subject perhaps wet and breathless, perhaps emotionally shaken, but still whole. War is a nasty business, terrorism worse still, and that we still seek not to cross the line into Inquisitionville must needs be recognized and trumpeted.

Ooooooh, I'm wet.

Ooooooh, there is dog breath, and I'm scared.

Ooooooh, they shot the guy in the next cell, so I'll talk....Ah, they didn't really. Boy is my face red.



Ooooooh, they say that they will take out my family if I kill another three thousand of their citizens.

Seems rather tame, doesn't it? But even if it doesn't, the State, the governing authority HAS the authority to do that, and worse:

For if you practice evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is a servant of God, a revenger for wrath on him who does evil. (Romans 13:4)

Much of the torture teapot-tempests are brewed from emotional squeamishness, not the accurate intel from God's Word. That said, what our interrogators do does not approach what has been ID'd as torture historically: beatings, maimings, burning, impromptu surgery, rape. Read some history, then maybe you will understand. The name "Club Gitmo" isn't as far-fetched as you thought.

The Dread Dormomoo keeps the yoks coming:



Q: How are the American people like Astroturf?


A: Neither of them needs government healthcare.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, arrived in Tripoli to a hero's welcome. Playing the strings of (very) nominally Christian Scottish sentiment won him his freedom. Confronted with combined Brit and American ire at Al Megrahi's being released on compassionate grounds because of his terminal prostate cancer, Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary grumped about Scotland not having a "vigilante" justice system. Al Megrahi was convicted and sentenced by a Scottish court, not exactly what I would call vigilante justice. His release is blamed on "compassion". Read: he is dying of cancer, so he should do so in the bosom of his family. Not to release him would be mean, not compassionate. It is kindergarten reasoning. Likewise, the retort thet "He didn't show any compassion toward the victims of Pan Am Flight 103.". Well, DUH. Of COURSE he didn't, and the sky is blue, and water is wet. Kindergarten again.

The feelgood fairness of releasing the bomber is a foolish shadow of Christian justice. When you remove a culture and justice from the direct influence of Biblical teaching and discipline, as is evident in the UK and Europe, all that remains is silly sentimentality in the guise of moral certitude. His malady does not exonerate him. It does not mollify any of the victims' families, nor resurrect any of the dead. His having prostate cancer changes nothing, beyond the actual duration of his sentence.
Shucks, I'll bet that NHS Scotland offers better healthcare than does Libya, except that the Libyan reaction of Local Boy Makes Good might bode for preferential end-of-life care for the Hero Come Home.

Frankly, the Scottish justice minister makes me, a MacLeod, want to hang up my kilt.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Finding their inner bigot.

Your Aardvark has been a civil rights proponent all his life. (It is rumored that the placards he waved about in utero were responsible for his premature birth. That, and the auto accident.) Thus he looks askance at the race-baiters and Klan types alike, if for no other reason that we all of us have sinned, and are in need of rescue, whatever one's hue. But it remains difficult to maintain a pristine reputation of Tolerance (what an awful thing, to be merely tolerated ...) when one disagrees with the President, and opinion has it that ANY disagreement is base bigotry: "You just don't like him 'cos he's BLACK!".

Perhaps your Aardvark should consider a run for the Maison Blanc, campaigning as the first 'Varky President. Mr. Obama's fans certainly raised the bar with the hosannas over the first black president, or African-American, or somesuch. I thought that Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed the ideal of content of one's character, rather than the color of one's epidermis, but then, Mr. Obama is from Chicago politics, so the character issue may be moot. Certainly much of the bigotry charged by his followers against detractors of his blatantly ruinous and unConstitutional programs is imputed rather than inherent in "them wot disagrees wiv 'im". While there are sheet-wearers and cross-burners out there, for the most part they do little more than hang around each other and indulge in paranoid conspiracy talk. ("If it ain't the blacks, then it must be th' Joos!")

The biggest problem is this imputed bigotry thing. If you are unjustly accused of being intolerant or bigoted for your disagreements with the first President of Color, is there a point where one throws up one's hands and says " if everyone says it, it must be true" and dons the figurative hood for oneself? Perhaps finding one's inner bigot is possible because others helped put it there.

This is not a thing to be concerned about:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Surely sign up as an informant now! You could become the head of your Neighborhood Security Unit. It's a ground floor opportunity. Unlike MLM's, the payoff for taking advantage of this is POWER!

OH, THE PAIN !



Your Aardvark is 52, has (controlled) high blood pressure, is somewhat overweight (no longer a svelte 165, but certainly not needing a piano-crate coffin, either), and has no health insurance.

Oh, the pain!

That's right, kiddies. When your Aardvark has pollen-impacted sinuses, or the galloping bronchitis, or has his arm yaw when it should have pitched whilst carrying a heavy piece of equipment, he goes to a local clinic, where he pays cash, either then, or in thirty days.

He is often prescribed pharmaceuticals, and more often than not, at least part of the scrip is in the form of free samples of the drug. When he thought he was having a heart Event at an out-of-town convention, the pain eased, and (we perhaps foolishly drove back to AL)) upon arriving home, to the local clinic he went, fast as he could caper. The nurse practitioner did an EKG, then asked about insurance. None. He went "Whoops" or somesuch, trundled the EKG out, and pretended he had not run the test, which had shown normal. Finally after much pokery and proddery, he put his palms on your hero's breastbone, and all but did a handstand. "Did it feel like this?" "Yessss" came the reply. Turns out the 'varky sternum had been strained from overmuch t-shirt printing, and himself was told to lay off for awhile. Your Aardvark was treated, and well, and paid in cash.

Your Aardvark has Health Care. No insurance, but health care.

The Dread Dormomoo, now, has insurance. She will be going in for a Small Procedure in a few weeks - nothing dramatic or to be flailing arms about, but needful. There will be a Deductible, which we will pay out over a few months, but the bulk will be paid for by insurance. She has Health Care, and insurance.

We both of us have Health Care.

A woman of our acquaintance does not work. She was kept out of school by her well-meaning parents because of "nerves". She has zero marketable skills, and I do mean zero. Both of her parents are dead, so now Everyone is her parent. She is on welfare, buys food with an EBT card, and lives in subsidised housing. When she is ill, she goes to the Clinic. If there were no clinic, she would likely go to the ER, where she would be treated.

She has Health Care. No insurance, but she DOES have Health Care.

Seems the ObamaCare argument uses the wrong terms. Everyone in the nation has Health Care available. By law.

The Aardvark drives Dodge minivans, firstly because they are so-o-o-o-o sexy, secondly because nothing gives him more pleasure than zooming past a Camaro on the Interstate in one, and thirdly because he is cheap, and refuses to pay Escalade prices. There are many such vehicles on the market, and each has its fans. So too health insurance. Some pay for insurance, some pay more for insurance, some cannot afford insurance, and some choose to use their money in ways other than paying for insurance. Some drive Vespas, some VW's, some Beemers, some bike, some walk. The market is filled with -dare it be said? -diversity. The Obama administration is proving that it does not truly believe in diversity, but in Tapioca. Very, very expensive Tapioca, that no-one really wants, and which purports to fill a need that does not truly exist.

Bite My Shiny
Metal Daffodil

The new FUTURAMA episodes are on order from Comedy Central...26 whopping episodes, due in 2010. i09 offers a disturbing twist to the gladsome tidings:

Excited about the return of Futurama to our television screens? Prepare to lose that feeling: Fox have apparently cut the original voices of Fry, Leela, Bender and many other characters from the revival and are about to recast the roles.

Meh. It's like casting Ben Stiller as Captain Kirk.
A move to write to the casting people is in the works, and is detailed in the comments for the i09 article. Here is mine:



Dear Mr. Moller:
The excitement over the restart of the FUTURAMA franchise is palpable in our household...or at least was until we heard of the announcement of the recasting of the main characters. We are hoping that this is a pro-wrestling type promo for a staged San Diego Comic Con dustup between the cast and FOX executives. If, however, the recast news is true, I predict major fan unrest, unpleasant faux audition CD's, and possibly dogs marrying cats in the streets.
FUTURAMA without its classic cast will not be FUTURAMA. It will be unwatchable, and thus, we will not watch it. Nor buy merchandise, nor DVD sets, nor purchase from show sponsors.
I strongly urge that you push for the original cast, and pass this on to the Powers That Be.
Thank you,
Weatherly Hardy

Photo by Loen (c)2009

This lovely bit of plating is from Loen. My youngest son made real croissants from scratch, the eighty-one buttered layers kind. The blackberry jam was made by the Dread Dormomoo, from our home-grown blackberries, and Fuji apples. The berries of the lovely garnish are what our homegrowns look like, pre-jam. The sugared mint sprig is a variety we brought from my home in SC. Butter by Sam's Club.

A lovelier num num I have never had.

Well-done, son.

Trot out the little carts, and those adorable little hats; the dog-and-pony show is set to begin Monday. Supreme Court la-TEEN-a nominee Sonia Sotomayor-r-r-r-r will be bunting softballs for a few days next week. (I am reminded of a rarity: a funny SNL skit from years ago, showing TV news reporters ordering Mexican for lunch, very white, very American newsreaders pronouncing the dishes as though they were reporting from Central America- Nee-ha-RAH-WAH, chee-mee-CHONG-ah.) Rightists are fulminating that a liberal woman will be on the Supreme Court, not realising that she will merely be replacing one.

I am headed to 'Bamaburg on Thursday. G-Fest is held right outside of Chicago in Rosemont. Hello, Crowne Plaza! A Godzilla convention is great fun, and J.D.Lees and crew ALWAYS do it up right. We print their convention shirts, and take our own super-cool and groovy kaiju (giant monster) designs, which the con-goers buy with gusto! Here is our latest design, a take-off of the "Yo Gabba Gabba" show on Nick, with a kaiju flavor. The Mothra makes me so happy! Marty Whitmore did the art for us, which we printed four-color process on pastel shirts. We will have 12-14 kaiju-related designs this year, besides the other pop-culture stuff we do. Check the Aardvark Tees link to your right and check out our goodies!

Phony headlines that would not surprise us

"Obama Administration Implicated in Michael Jackson Death"

Hey, who's the King NOW?

Sure is taking the minds of the dumb masses off of Cap and Trade, and the Bernanke Follies, idd'n it?

I must make a new tinfoil bowler.
--------------------------------------------------------

I emailed AND called our local Congressman Parker Griffith Friday. The poor, sweet lady who answered was bumfuzzled as to why they were being hammered so, so I gently 'splained it to her. She was still surprised at the fuss since "Congressman Griffith had sent a letter out in April presenting his opposition" to this carbon energy tax thingie. I thanked her gave my "Vote NO!" message, and left her to figure out that congressional opinions are only exceeded in lifespan by the Mayfly.
-------------------------------------------------------

Do you hate the product name "Salonpas" as much as I do?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

We have some pretty neat kids, the Dread Dormomoo and I. The boys and we went out to Jose' Pepper's (a new Steakhouse/Mexican restaurant in Ardmore) after church for nom noms, I had the 12 oz NY strip, rare, and everyone else had fajita-type goodies, 'cept for Loen, who had Pollo Vallarta, a chicken, cheese, rice, and pineapple plate of yum. Very good, after which we adjourned home, where I was gifted. Mr. McLeod gave me his at the restaurant parking lot: a brown paper bag twisted closed. It was two hundred rounds of .22 gun candy, for the plinking. Thank you. Loen and Riatsila, who know my fondness for kitsch, got me a Slap Chop, so I can now slap my troubles away, and not have a boring life.
Gothgeek had seen me earlier in the week, and gave me Invasion Iowa, the Shatner "reality" show where he fools the town whose claim to fame is being the birthplace of a Starfleet Captain, except that now he isn't because of the movie so why does J.J.Abrams hate Iowa boy I hate time travel stories. Thankee kindly!
Then Loen gave me a dodgeball to the ballocks. Lookit, tearing my throat out to establish his dominance would have been more elegant than that.

Happy Fathers Day!

It has been a frightfully busy few weeks! I am ending a four-week stint on the road, where I have done Animazement, Mobicon, Wrath of Con, and now Anime Alabama.

Animazement, in Raleigh,NC. What can I say? It is my favorite con...period. April is the dealer room Queen of Queens, and has my huckster's heart! Sabrina, Jenny, and the rest of Crew AZ: you ALL rock. The AZ Powers that Be always put on a boffo show, with Japanese guests and artists. We print the con shirts, and Koichi Tsunoda always does great art for the shirts and program books. It's a joy to print them. Domo arigato, Tsunoda-san! The attendees are...enthusiastic about our shirts, and despite Washington's best efforts, this year was record-breaking sales wise. AZ love from the Aardvark.

And there was Tir Na Nog, a most excellent Irish pub. Riatsila, Loen, Zoomerdog and I went with Frank and Lisa of Frank's Cool Stuff (Anime DVDs, new and used). The hangar steak and the fish & chips are so very good, and they have a great selection of import beers, and local brews on tap. And then there's Amanda, our server on Saturday night. She was amazing, efficient, winsome, pretty, full of personality, pretty...we all kicked in for a primo tip for her. We had a sparkling evening. Sunday night, we had another server who was entirely adequate, but Amanda was there with her mother, saw us, ran over and side-hugged Riatsila and me. Sweet. We decided that she MUST be there for us next Animazement!

Raleigh has rickshaws. Tricycle rickshaws, run solely on tips. We took those Sunday night to dinner. We tipped. Our driver even slalomed around facade columns. He earned his tip.
I really believe in tipping well for good service, especially as a Christian. I've been a waiter, given attentive service, and been rewarded with...

A tract.

It is fortunate that I was already a disciple when this occurred, because it would have surely driven me away. As it was, I wanted to chase him down, return it, and tell him that he needed it more than I. I chose instead to keep my job.

Lookit. Jesus said "the laborer is worthy of his hire". If someone does an adequate job, tip them adequately. If they are extravagant in caring for you, then tip them commensurately. As to evangelizing a server, get a tract that doesn't read like it's from the 1940's, and remember, the idea is to earn their reading time, as well as thanking them for a job well done, so slip a nice tip inside. The horror stories of the "great witness" that churchy types present at restaurants are epic. Most waitresses quail at the prospect of the Sunday-after-church crowd, who are generally the rudest, most demanding, least-tipping demographic out there. As I said, great witness. Behavior like that really earns the gospel a hearing, especially because others really want to be just like you! Jesus also said "I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly". That abundance does not come from stiffing the help. Be a blessing to the people who serve you. You may claim to be a King's Kid, but if you act like a b*st*rd, then your legitimacy may be called into question.

Here endeth the Lesson.

-------------------------------------
MobiCon was a huge success...for a scifi con. I say this NOT as a slam, but as a comparison. At an anime con, we normally do on Friday what I do in the whole weekend at a scifi con. It's a matter of scale, and the rabidity of fandoms. Anime is where the Fan Dollar is.

Mobicon was a fun relaxacon this year, AND was rewarding sales-wise. The guys always put on a faboo show, tho' it is a decidedly adult con. I have some good friends down there, and they seem to tolerate me right well.

I posted from Wrath of Con whilst there. That is all that need be said. The high point of the con was going out to eat on Saturday night with Herb, Chris, Joe, and Tim Riley, dealers all. Such Harrowing Tales of Commerce there were. Bootleggers Undone, like that.

I am currently at Anime Alabama, and having a good time, as well as making sales. They have close to double the attendees of "Wrath", and they love our shirts. Marc Yu, the con organiser, has a felicitous knack for getting luxury venues, and wrangling two-star prices for his attendees. We are at the VERY plush Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel.

Marc does Anime South as well, at the Hilton Sandestin Resort. VERY nice. If Marc did a con in the middle of the Mohave in August, I would be inclined to go. He ALWAYS does a great job, by my observation. Thanks, Marc!

Toward An Evangelical Theology Of Cussing

This is amusing, and while humorous, seems to fit Pauline concerns better than the standard take on Colossians 3:8: ( But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.)

Every
Ferengi
needs a
Dabo girl!


Your Aardvark with Chase Masterson, of Star Trek DS9 fame. A sweet lady, who does jazz as well. I am at Wrath of Con this weekend, warehousing shirts.

The term for small, intimate sci-fi cons is "relaxacon". I dub this one a "comacon", but one with an impressive guest list. Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Jerry Doyle B-5's Mr. Garibaldi), Andrea Thompson (B-5's Talia Winters), Chase, John Billingsley (Enterprise's Dr. Phlox) and his wife, Bonita Friedericy. A friendly lot. J.G. Hertzler, the Klingon Chancellor Martok from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is a personable soul, and actually bought our "KlingON-apply directly to the forehead" shirt. He HAD to have it! Yaaaay! Tim Russ, (Voyager's "Tuvok) is here, looking older but good!

My buddy Starbase Atlanta's Herb McCaulla is a fellow huckster, here. Fellow fan and now publisher Tim Riley is here. I see a CAO or Macanudo in the offing!

I'm glad there are so many old pals here, 'cause camaraderie is all I'm gettin' out of this one.

And no, Vidad, she won't be at G-fest. All you get is a guy in a green rubber suit.

The perception of point-of-view offers a new dimension in understanding behavior.

Could that sound any more boring?

A Certain anime voice actor, Vic Mignogna - who is also a music minister at his church - catches a great deal of grief on the more Belial-oriented web forums. He is openly Christian, and offers a "chapel service" on Sunday mornings at anime conventions, a voluntary get-together for believers who wish a church service away from home. A sweet young miss of my acquaintance took umbrage upon hearing that he had said at one such meeting that someone might go to hell., Now, I know this artist, and have been to a couple of the meetings, and have never heard a tart utterance in his presentations, himself making a case for reconciliation with God through Christ. Now, if I go to a happenin' dance club, I do not get offended by the techno beat, because I expect it in that context. If you go to an as-advertised Christian meeting, you should not be surprised or offended by hearing Christian ideas.

Now, if I am a marathon runner, and upon approaching a treacherous mountain path, a man with a light baton starts waving wildly and shouting that if I continue on that path, I will fall to my doom because the bridge is out, I can either 1) be thankful that he cared enough for me to warn of the impending peril, or 2) I can get angry that he interrupted what I was doing, and tried to force his wacky ideas on me. Number one is my only reasonable response.

In Christian teaching, we have the concept of a loving Father God, who sent his very Son to be born a human, who taught us how to live lovingly, and was killed for his trouble. His death atoned for, paid the blood-price for our sins, and through faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God, and to one another. But God is a gentleman, and does not force himself upon anyone. If we do not wish His company, we may go elsewhere. That is hell. It is the ultimate in Choice. So, if a Christian perceives that you may not have chosen company with God, and recognises the alternative, he is caring for you, showing you love by warning you of the consequences of your choice. That is his point-of-view, that is his motivation. Eternity in God's company, or a gnawing eternity of regret. One should always make informed choices.

I do not discount that there are hateful people (*cough*Westboro) who buttress their own insecurities and self-righteousness by verbally consigning people whose actions they do not like to Eternal Grilling. Their motivation and message are both horribly flawed. It is not their job to punch anyone's ticket. Judgment is above their pay grade. But the committed Christian believer is commanded to point the way to the Father, and to warn of the alternative. Each is a side of the same doctrinal coin. Whether YOU agree or not, please recognise that the major motivations are care and loving concern for you.

Lying Liars and the Imbeciles Who Vote for Them


Dear Varksters, I have been remiss in maintaining my efforts here. We are still percolating along with our business, with record-breaking sales at the anime conventions, and excellent local biz as well, for which we are profoundly thankful. Busy-ness abounds.

Policy people in Washington DC are looking at VAT or a National Sales Tax to goose the flagging income of the givemint.

Please read the piece. Also, please note that the FairTax is prominently not mentioned. The Europhiles are wanting to ADD additional taxes to the income tax, and all the extant invisible taxes we are so blessed with. The FairTax will disband the IRS, repeal the Sixteenth Amendment which established the income tax, and set up a national retail sales tax which will be offset by the reduction in retail prices due to the embedded hidden taxes disappearing in retail goods. You keep your earnings: no witholding, no FICA. You just pay a tax that YOU control by your spending habits. Please read the FairTax info linked above.

This is NOT what the Washington wonks are discussing. They want to ADD a VAT or sales tax to all the rest of the taxes we are burdened with, but I'll bet you credits to Navy beans that they will wrap it in FairTax clothing. It will be a dodge, and a lie; in other words, SOP.

PUSH the FairTax locally, to your friends, write and email your representatives, and teach them this is the ONLY national sales tax to consider. If you value your income, and the financial future of our children, don't be fooled by the liars who spend money to look good for re-election, and forget that it is YOUR money they are spending.

...and then I'm driving to Mobile for MobiCon, with a LOT of thinking time, and beaucoups of ideas for the blog come to mind. Many, many cogent and pithy remarks on The Human Condition, The Whole State of Christ's Church, and How Pocky Just Isn't Special Anymore.

None of which come to mind now.

The predations of, if not age, then sheer busy-ness, drives the best ideas away over sadly brief periods of time. Perhaps I should carry an actually useful version of those digital recorders the TV box flogs to an ever-senescent population; I do need one that can carry more than "Butter...eggs...milk...." I refuse to nod with obvious satisfaction as I listen to the replay of my prior thoughts and instructions.
---------------------------------

I am in the second phase of my BPH trials. I have a bum full of the Real Deal this time: three shots of Whateverol to reduce testosterone production, and so shrink the prostate. Side effects are lethargy, a tendency toward flash depression, decreased libido (hmmm...could there be a connexion?) and oddly enough, hair-trigger anger. The pluses are freer ability to urinate, ability to sleep through the night without having to get up and go, like that. There must be a better methodology.

Isn't Transparency a hoot ?

STAR TREK is BORN AGAIN!

I repent in dust and ashes. Srsly.

J.J.Abrams and company have dood it, and well. The new Trek movie is a hit, even without a James Horner score, he said waggishly. I shan't do spoilers as the movie is brand-new, but suffice it to say, the proto-crew of the indomitable USS Enterprise is as close to spot-on as I can imagine without a bunch of Trekkie impressionists doing the job. The actors caught the spirit of Kirk, Spock, Scotty and all, without scenery-chewing and mugging. You can begin to see the James Tiberius Kirk ot TOS fame in Pine's portrayal, and I did not see a speck of Sylar in Spock. The io9 crowd complained about Simon Pegg apparently beaming in his portrayal, and appearing to be in a different movie than everyone else. Pish and tosh. Pfui, even. Other expostulations as required. Simon Pegg is Scotty a-borning..

This movie even has Deep Roy. How keen is that?

I have devised a Star Trek movie drinking game. Every time you see a lens flare, you take a drink of a Potent Potable. Sadly, you will not last beyond the first 30 minutes without acute alcohol poisoning. It is a bright and sparkly film, except for the dark bits.

I have only one quibble, and it's not huge, and dammit, I'm a screenprinter, not an engineer, but you don't build a starship in Iowa or wherever. You build it in geostationary orbit above Iowa, or wherever. (BTW, Carl Urban is a great "Bones" McCoy.)

If you are a Trek fan, go and wallow in the Trekness. If you are not, go and enjoy a ripping action movie, with some old friends you didn't know you had.

Y'know, I'm increasingly of the opinion that most Christians are pansies (and I am a believer). We read of a Savior who stilled the seas with a word, and who told the storm "BE MUZZLED!" and got results; then we hear a bad weather report and close up shop. "There are bad storms rolling in from the West! We have to close the Event!!" We SAY we believe, but our belief seems not to extend beyond the comfort of our pews. Rather than stand with the faithful and pray in faith, expecting God to be faithful, we fold like Chinese cardboard in a drizzle.

If we do not behave like we believe God is faithful to His Word (and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God - Romans 10:17 ), then the world can derive no other "truth" than that espoused by Mark Twain: "Faith is believin' what you know ain't so." .

"But..but...but...It's a liability issue!" God forbid that the young ones see anything about the faith that is outside their current experience, or their comfort zone. The churches surely would not want to be liable if the young faithful were to be censured in the public square, or jailed for teaching an unpopular Biblical truth to a hostile society. Let's teach them "Jesus loves me, this I know...", and how to get in out of the rain. That'll be enough. Their atheist college professors will surely respect that.

Liability? That sounds like you would expect fellow believers to sue you in court, even though Paul explicitly said not to, and shamed the litigious Corinthians for doing so. What? Christians doing what the Bible says not to?

The faith is about daring , daring to believe God, no matter what, daring to take the unpopular stand just because God says. The First Century church dared the weather, robbers, being stoned by enemies, dared the condemnation of religious leaders, and the very might of Rome to proclaim and live the Gospel. Two thousand years later, the American church dares...to be safe.

The Glutting of America

"In my day", he began in a crotchety tone, "we had one meal every three weeks! Di'n't hurt us none...." Here he trailed off as drool began to collect on his bib.

When I was in college, doing environmental studies things, I developed an intense loathing for McDonalds. The idea of perfectly good burgers being thrown away after a few minutes incensed me to no end, especially as there were the Poor and the Homeless to be fed. Vacuum-sealing the older burgers and having the homeless shelter pick 'em up seemed a perfectly reasonable solution to me. Of course, all the other burger mills do the same thing, tossing out perfectly good food after X minutes in the name of Quality Control.

At the same time that BK or Micky-Dee's are tossing food into the trash, they are feeding overstuffed Americans a cheap diet of fat-infused potatoes, fatty burger 'n' bun combos, and syrupy soft drinks. Oh, and apple sticks, with caramel dipping goo. That makes it a healthy, balanced meal.

Cap'n D's, has a new product line: Biscuit-battered fish and shrimp. Not merely breaded; biscuit-ized, and served with white flour and grease-based sawmill gravy. And mashed potatoes. You CAN order green beans....So, you get fried biscuit dough coated fish, over which you pour peppery biscuit-goo, with a side of green be...no, I can't even say it.

We have a world filled with the hungry, some even in our country, yet we have ad campaigns like the above "Fourthmeal" abomination. People who may get a single poor meal a day are rife on the planet (primarily due to the unrighteousness of their ostensible leaders), yet we have advertisements here that tout "the meal between dinner and breakfast". Three meals are not enough in America. A single hunger pang at 10PM, and hey, presto, FOURTHMEAL!

In 1983, a spinoff of M*A*S*H, AfterM*A*S*H featured Klinger's Korean wife Soon-Lee. One of the amusing bits featured her being taken to a restaurant, where she refers to the appetizer as "the meal before the meal". Very apt. When I was a kid, desserts were sparse...one serving,as were snacks. Three Oreos and milk.
Now, who stops at five or six cookies? We get peckish, and eat a half-a-bag of chips. At Tuscaloosa last weekend, I was amazed at the number of buffet restaurants. There was one called "Buffet City". The ad writes itself:

"It's not just a Buffet...IT'S A CITY!!!! "

Look at the people walking down the street. How many are reasonably proportioned?
How many look like the poster child for Golden Corral? ( I say this as more grocer-than-burglar-like, meself.)

The unrestrained appetite of Americans for food food FOOD is troubling, and seems symptomatic of a general emptiness...lack of quality relationships, meaningful work, creativity, community. We try to fill the God-shaped hole with all sorts of other things; why not Twinkies amd Big Macs?

Ommmmmmm-nom-nom-nom.