Sheepishly Terrific

"All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all."

We may know this stanza from the wonderful books by James Herriot,or the television series, but actually they are the opening lines of a poem by Cecil F. Aexander. 

Think about it-everything you love, everything that you have put in your heart, was made by God.

I know that it is de rigueur to live as if God isn't in charge, has no place in 'our' post-mod soc...but before we were, God is.

Praise God for all.

Spox ABO In Kind

The fun to be had whilst listening to 

a radio program! I heard the podcast of a radio show which rhymes with "Wush Rimbaugh" when a caller used mental shorthand to define his point: "I'm ABO."

Clear and concise-I get it.

I would not be ABO in the same sense as that caller-if the Republicans were to draft Dennis Kucinich, for example-I hear he has some free time now-I would hitch my wagon to any Independent who stood 

a chance of dethroning king Barry the First. Dennis K is scary; he reminds me of Al Franken, but with a personality.

Just kidding about Al-he has a personality. I've been in the same room with him twice-it didn't go in my diary.

Anybody But Obama. I saw my first (!) Obama 2012 bumpersticker today, and it wasn't even on a Chevy Volt.

I'm still sticking with my prediction that Biden may 'bow out' of a second term to make room for Al Franken or any other Democrat who might solidify the {vanishing} Dem base. Teddy Kennedy? Nah- Hil Clinton? What does Vegas say?

Actually, if I'm right about President Obama (next week for St Paddy's Day he'll be O'Bama...again) he may keep Joe (the Albatross) Biden tied to his neck so that he can escape the White House. I still believe he can't stomach the responsibilities of the office-yes, he's running, but I think he's 'playing to lose' like a basketball player shaving points.

Did you see that our State Department has added Vatican City to a list of criminal money laundering countries? 

In Vegas we called that a shakedown-"you don't like our policy of forcing Catholic institutions to distribute contraceptives? You just made our list!"

To be fair, the Holy See HAS had it's troubled history of financial malfeasance, including money laundering, but that's Roberto Calvi ( I mean...water) under the bridge.

But the Obama State Department calling out anyone over money laundering while the Dems are getting kicks back from SEIU and the UAW...well, maybe they are projecting just a bit much. What will they do next? Pick fights with women and babies? Israel? (oh, wait...)

I have made peace with the idea of Mitt Romney possibly being the Republican nominee. I'd rather it be Santorum, but according to the Stones, "You can't always get what you want."

By November, I think it possible that many Democrats who fear being taxed back to the Stone's Age will pull the lever for Anybody But Obama. Call it the resurgence of "Reagan Democrats" who feared four more years of Jimmy Carter. Back then it was A.B.C. Simple Yes.

Vultures Carrion Luggages

I just set down a plate sitting next to my computer-an old Edwin Knowles plate from the 1920-1930's. I've had it for 20 plus years and, if I remember aright, I pulled it out of an old 'trash dump' on our family property that we bought in 1962. I like it because it's pretty.

American Pickers. Pawn Stars. Storage Wars. Storage Wars Texas. Cajun Pawn Stars. Antiques Roadshow.

What is this fascination with 'old stuff'?
It isn't that it's old. It isn't that it's pretty, like my plate.
It's greed. What can I get for this old glass jar? Or this stained glass Jar Jar Binks?
Greed. Hoping to find gold in a dime store item. "I can be RICH if I just find that one big payday!"
I used to walk around and around and around inside casinos, watching the greed parade. Watch someone pick a machine, dump in $100.00, get discouraged and move on, looking for that 'hot' machine. I used to hold contests, awarding prizes for the heaviest gambler, the oldest, the oldest gambler carting around an oxygen tank...while still smoking like a chimney...
anyway, there is no pot of gold waiting for anyone-it grows wings and flies away out of your grasp, as it says in Proverbs, " ⁴    Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. ⁵  When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.  For wealth certainly makes itself wings   Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens."
Proverbs 23:4-5

I've heard lottery tickets described as a 'tax on the poor', as rich people don't buy them and poor people never get rich buying them. The odd duck will become a Duke, will win big, millions of dollars...which is what keeps the rest of the poor shelling out their hard earned-to buy a chance, Hope, one dollar at a time.

Greed is a baser motivation than Love or even Success. You can succeed by living within your means. But Greed will always goad you on to want more than you have, chasing dreams over cliffs. Don't be greedy.
Be satisfied with what you have, and you will never be tempted by what you do not have. 

A Wake-Up Call To...Wait...Never Mind

What marvelous times we exist in! While we've been Oscaring and Dancing W/Stars, amusing ourselves with Politics (the only game in town until Baseball starts up) and other non-essentials...while the world keeps turning and the stuff we don't pay attention to...Could! Fill! A! Book!
Iran with a Nuclear bomb might be just as devastating to the world as another term for President Obama; the Mullahs there must be quaking in their little sand filled booties right now because President Obama has warned them to knock it off, or he might...well, he didn't say what he would do exactly, but he tried to strike fear in their hearts by stating:

"I'm the President...and I don't bluff."

What an idiot. I'm sorry to have to be so blunt, but that was the weakest, most idiotic thing he could have said.
Have you ever played poker? Have you ever seen some newbie try to finesse the table by stating, "I don't bluff."?
It is weak. Monday President Obama is meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. I assume that a nuclear Iran may come up in conversation. Binyamin might have to show President Obama how to play poker, how to keep a poker face or face losing all his chips while also losing face. (If you can't appeal to his Reason, try his vanity.)

{Not Polka face-that is the new Weird Al song}

In other stuff we don't pay attention to news, the Iranian's pocket monkey Bashar Assad has been keeping a tight grip on power by using government troops to kill Syrians who have expressed an interest in climbing aboard this "Arab Spring" bandwagon that they had heard about from Egypt and Libya.
Of course, this pales in comparison to Paula Abdul being fired from a TV show. Priorities, people! She's a STAR! Assad doesn't even have a Crescent on the Mullahs Walk of Fame! And he has a weak chin-he'd never make it on television.
Bye the bye, speaking of never making it on television, Rush Limbaugh apologized to some college student for getting too personal in his sarcasm about her appearance before a government committee.
She was making an emotional appeal for her workplace medical insurance to cover the cost of her birth control.
Limbaugh went too far, and he apologized. Fine and good. But he was right about the idiocy of any insurance company being mandated by the Government to cover the cost of "Birth control".
I thought that Liberals were all about the Government not being able to tell THEM what they can or cannot do with their bodies.
Why should insurance companies be forced to pay for birth control? Doesn't the individual have ANY responsibility for their own needs, wants and actions?
The young woman is an American. In China, where the notion of the Individual has been replaced by the State, the government not only mandates who can have children, but their one child policy by law targets female babies for abortion to control the population. They also force sterilization on young people. The State OWNS them, under the false premise that they are the State, and so they own themselves.
Do we as Americans want the Government to control every aspect of our lives? That is what is coming under the alleged Obamacare, of which this birth control issue is an opening salvo. 
But of course, the new mid-season TV shows will be starting soon. Guess WHO! is COMING BACK in a NEW SITCOM?????
I have no idea.

Only God

God is God. Whilst fervors rage for and against God, God remains unchanged and immutable.
Most of our global populace (those taking the wide gate, wide road to destruction) rage for and/or against an image of God that is less than true. A God of their own imaginings, created in their own imperfect image.
The True God is an offense to those who are perishing. His Laws are impossible for anyone to follow. Can't be done-bar is set so high over our heads that we are doomed to fail.
Doomed. To. Fail.
This is what leads many prideful men and women to worship at the feet of false gods, to remake in their own image a god who is not quite so offensive or demanding.
"A loving God," they say, "would not send anyone to hell. Just Love, people. Love love love."
Others, prideful men and women, refuse to worship God at all, taking Him to task for the evils he allows in THEIR world.
"Your so-called loving God is a brute, a bully, who has no right to send anyone to hell-he is the worst sinner!"
But, before all and after all (alpha and omega) God remains God.
Look for heard and had in the comments.

Random Thoughts Feb Friday Edition

I was just in a arts/crafty type store yesterday and was actually tempted to buy a pair of 'bunny ears' ala the faux bunny chomping carrot above. Thankfully the moment passed. I DO have an image to maintain.
But not online. I have posted one video here, and no current pictures for a very good reason-there is too much personal information available on the internets. Facetwitter and other social sites allow a person to put ALL of their 'life' online, and private should remain private. I mistrust the alleged security of the social media sites as I have studied computering. I was thinking at one time of going into I.T., went to uni, got a...but I was just saying that one shouldn't divulge too much personal info on line, so never you mind about the uni thing.
'Oscars' night of a thousand egos erupts this Sunday. For a non-drinking game, I will not take a drink every time a Conservative/Christian/Republican gets slammed by a shamlibrity. I'll be sober all night.
I haven't seen any of this years Oscar contenders anyway. But I do LOVE Turner Classic Movies, and have bunches of fine films siting on my shelves and on my DVR.

This is the reason I was in the craft store yesterday-I had this picture blown up and custom framed for my birthday, which is... never you mind. I've shown it here at FDW before, but now I have it on my wall.
Random thoughtfully I will touch on politics for just a mome: I think that President Obama is doing everything he can to NOT be re-elected. The latest kerfluffle, demanding that religious schools and Christian hospitals hand out birth control, even if their religious beliefs make them reject some forms of 'death control', isn't the act of a man seeking re-election. When the uproar roared up, he off handedly said, "Okay-then the insurance companies can pay instead."
Ruling by whim? I think he loves the prestige of the Presidency but has no stomach for the job. He may vote for Romney, crying "Mister Wizard, get me out of here!"
Yes, I said Romney. I don't care if he is a Mormon-I think he will win. If he were to ask Sarah Palin to join him as the Veep candidate, I think they might win 48 states. With Santorum as Veep? 47.
Enough of that stuff.
One of the common refrains of 2012: "I have internet on my phone." No-the internet has YOU programmed and processed and dressed out to be stressed out. My 'cell' is so cheap it doesn't even make calls. I went for years without a cell phone, was proud of my non-cell self...until the phone companies started pulling pay phones out of my hometown. I had to keep in touch with my family, so for $15.00 a month I have a cheap cell. Which I dislike.
A friend has the Kindle Fire, and has been encouraging me to get one. He loves it just fine, and I may get a 'reader' someday, but the Fire doesn't yet warm me to buying one.
Amazon is cool, though. I buy more stuff through Amazon than I do going to the big city and seeing the stores, so if I do get a reader, it will probably be the Kindle Fire.
Is this Random Enough? I have to bake cookies. See you on the podcast.

What Do You Mean, "What Do You Mean?"

American African History Life

Note the title, please. February is officially African-American History Month; consider this my small contribution.
He was an American first; according to Wikipedia: "born in a light-skinned, Creole African American family in New Orleans. Both of his parents were listed as "mullato" in the 1880 census."
His family moved to Los Angeles to get away from the 'Jim Crow" laws of the South.
His name was George Herriman, artist and poet, creator of "Krazy Kat" and illustrator of  many books, including "Archy and Mehitabel " by Don Marquis (who is a story and two thirds in his own right-another time).
Herriman succeeded at his craft, drawing and writing Kat for decades. He was a black man making his own way in the world-his talent opening the doors to Success. He didn't wait for a Movement to declare his rights-he simply lived. Towards the end of his life, arthritis took the pen out of his hand-he would use a knife to cut shapes and designs-his public, those who loved Krazy Kat understood and accepted the more chaotic art.
I've had one of Herriman's "Kat" books for over 30 years, another one closing in on 20.
I encourage you to seek out Herriman's works, especially the Kat, and see genius expressing itself through an art form long gone from our world today.

One Last Houston Post

Warning: Dated reference ahead.
His name was Mike. Mike and I worked together for a short while in Vegas-I don't remember much about him, except that he had been in jail; he loved when Christians would bring pocket New Testaments to the prisoners, as those little pages made the best cigarettes.
Mike was racist in a regular, matter of fact manner, and in the course of 'work chatter' one day we had this conversation:
Me: "Okay, Mike-suppose you are the last man on earth, and have to choose between Whitney Houston, who is beautiful but black, and Rosanne Barr, white but not beautiful...who would you choose?"
He hesitated for a second before he said,
"Um, Rosanne Barr."
Me: "You're an idiot."

There has been some debate/conflict about Governor Christie of New Jersey having the state flags lowered to half mast in honor of Houston. I joined in a conversation on another website, suggesting that it was a class move, that she deserved such an honor for her life and career. Others felt that she wasn't deserving due to her trouble life and manner of passing.
I also suggested that I wouldn't be surprised to see President Obama and his family attend her funeral-some things are above politics; if this had happened when he wasn't running for re-election, he would probably still attend out of respect for Houston. I was shouted down by others saying that EVERYTHING is political.
No, it's not. 
Much of the world exists outside of the stinkpot of politics. Politics is an evil which becomes necessary, intrudes on our lives intermittently; we put up with it every few years because it is all we have in voicing our opinions as to how we should govern ourselves. My opinion is my vote, as is yours. That it has become such a dirty enterprise is a shame-I may have to have a moist towelette ready to wipe my hands as I leave the voting booth.

Far afield, and now I return: it is sad that Whitney Houston had a troubled life and death, and I hope that her family will be comforted as they sit in that memorial service, hearing how she touched many lives with her talent.
May she rest in peace.

Confounded vs Abounded

Nice guy, Carl Sagan. Wrong about God, and, if this quote is accurate, not in Heaven at this moment, as he did not know God.
Wishful thinking didn't create the 'idea' of God, nor of an 'afterlife'. God is, and He makes it easy for those He has chosen to have Faith. He also made it impossible for those He has NOT chosen to have or understand that Faith.
Wishful thinking didn't set apart a people group (Jews).
I've said it before-if you want evidence that God exists, look to the Jews. In no other part of the world, ever (!) has a family group been kept separate from the rest of the world, no matter where they are living.
More evidence of God: the hatred FOR the Jews exhibited nearly universally. If they were merely a mid-eastern family group, no one would even know the difference between a Jew and an Arab.
Back to Carl. He was the one invested in wishful thinking. With a wave of his hand he dismissed six thousand years of history as "ancient traditions". In effect, he was relegating God to the status of 'Myth'.
Why? Simply because he didn't know God. His wishful thinking was that MAN was preeminent.
He might have suggested that he could not have faith in a God he couldn't see-but why would he have any faith at all in the sinful, corrupt MAN that he could see?

A side note-it was very sad to hear of the passing of Whitney Houston today. She had a tough life. I don't know if she was a Christian-growing up in church doesn't get you into Heaven. But I know that tough times usually drive someone to seek help, it causes many to reach out for God, and perhaps I'll see her in Heaven. I hope so.

Laff Clownz, Laff

Robert Benchley was a quipper. He wrote funny (no-he wasn't right handed) meaning that his had the gift of stating things in a humorous way-well enough to build a career out of laughter.
Possibly this is a stone that I shouldn't pick up, as I do have the word 'Wit' in the title here, but I think that what passes for humor this century doesn't pass mustard. See?
I will admit to publishing a few jokes here and there through this blog, but I'm not a humorist, and I don't always think I'm funny. Smelling.
Here's the thing-it has become de' regular to mock, smear, lie about and lambaste those who do not share your opinion on an issue-political, religious, race, etc.
Saturday Night Live mocked Gingrich the other night, Bill Maher mocked Romney's religion (shock, right?),
and a thousand trolls on a million blogs daily ridicule anything of importance coming from the Right side of the planet.
Christians in particular are noted as targets of scorn and hatred. I'm not complaining-it comes with the territory (Heaven). If we DARE make a statement about Sin on a non-Christian blog the Athei-gnostitx lose their collective cool and start with the verbal tar and feathers. And they often think they are funny.
Before you chuckle at the next cartoon/quip which reaffirms your prejudices...think about why the joker/quip-to-zoo-ologist is attempting to make you laugh. To lighten your heart with an amusement? Or to firmly entrench you in his or her or it's mindset?
Agenda comedy fails the stink test.
Get wise, guys.

The Scripturally Precise Return Of Random Thoughts Tuesday On Thursday

Oh, my head. It isn't quite dizzy, but I could stand a few months of contemplative quiet away from the political geek show. I'm not even watching/listening to the politics yet, and somehow it bleeds into my indifference and gives me a case of the fearful anticipatories. I KNOW it is going to get nasty before peacequiet returns.
A friend lent me a great book by Dr. Charles Stanley which is helping to keep the politics in perspective.
I've been hearing warnings about POMO for awhile now, that post-modern thinking is somehow muddying the consciousness of people (more than usual) so that there is no basis for truth anymore-what I believe is as valid as what you believe which can be the opposite of what she or he believes-that nothing is solid, truth is a metal liquid like Mercury, able to shift in whichever direction it is tilted.
Nah. Truth is God's truth. What He says is the bedrock on which everything stands, even if the post modern world wants to wish Him and His moral laws away. They will be brought to their knees, humbled with the rest of us who already know God. Read Zechariah and Isaiah. Ouch for them, blessing for us.
I don't have hope in Man to do anything more than continually mess up worser and ungooder. We are Devo!
But God is Good, and Patient, and Kind. Tesed.

Really, I'm Not Psychic!

So much for sunshine.

"MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — U.S. Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed.

President Barack Obama authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6 two days earlier, deploying the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden last year. Minutes after the president gave his State of the Union address to Congress he was on the phone with the American's father to tell him his daughter was safe."

I'm as happy as butter that the two hostages are free, but I do have a few questions.

Are we at war with Somalia? Is it legal for us to send military troops to kill kidnappers? 

Enemy soldiers on the field of battle are a given. Terrorists make themselves our enemies. But kidnappers? When did they become a high priority target? If the hostages had been held since October, why wait so long? Why wait until the night of the State of the Union speech?

As I said, I am glad that they are free. 

What makes me question the timing is that line in the story above about President Obama authorizing the mission.

Is that his call? Does he have the authority to send our military into a country with which we are not at war to kill civilians? 

How about Canada? If President Obama can send death squads into Somalia, why couldn't he dispatch Navy Seals north of the border on retrieval missions?

President Bush was called a Cowboy for allegedly going to war without unilateral support. If he had sent OUR military against non-military targets, the Cindy Sheehans would still be screeching about it this many years later.

She and her ilk would offer to be human shields for the impoverished, mis-understood Somalis.

But President Obama they cheer. Go figure.

One more kick: the American woman held hostage, Jessica Buchanan, was born in 1980. This President, who was willing to risk many American lives to rescue her...just this past week affirmed his support for Abortion on the anniversary of "Roe v Wade". Her life was so precious in Somalia, but he would have had no problem with her life being extinguished in the womb. 

Abortion is our GLOBAL shame-that it is 'legal' will never make it moral, and those who protect it will one day stand before God and find out what it is to have Life taken away.

Fret Not, Friends

I assume that in tonight's State of the Union address President Obama will claim credit for every sunny day while blaming Republicans for snow.
He can claim anything he wants, and reality just moves forward without him.
Listening to Wretched Radio last night, I heard Psalm 73 done as a spoken word 'song'-it was great to hear, and it struck me that Psalms 73 and 37 complement each other quite nicely-I read through them today at lunch, and I encourage you to do the same.
Fret not indeed.