Witch’s Will For A December Morning
How About A Little Christmas Music?
Twas the Night before Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”
My Pick Of The Litter Today
Obama derangement syndrome
By Victor Davis Hanson
I’d say if you live in the United States of America and you vote for George Bush, you’ve lost your mind. — John Edwards
When does the legitimate “I oppose Obama” descend into the illegitimate “I hate Obama”?
It is popular now to suggest that conservatives in general and congressional Republicans in particular suffer from an obsession characterized by an uncontrolled antipathy for Barack Obama — personal and visceral — that warps their entire political outlook. No doubt some do experience the same obsessions that infected the Left in their furor at George W. Bush. One can find unhinged posters at anti-Obama rallies similar to those at anti-Bush demonstrations. Bloggers can show hatred for Obama in the manner one found them despising Bush. Perhaps for Howard Dean’s rants about Bush’s supposed foreknowledge of 9/11, we have Donald Trump insisting on a fraudulent Obama birth certificate. Truthers are analogous to Birthers. And for every conspiracy theory that Bush was continuing a long family tradition of profiting from Nazi trade, there was a suggestion that Obama was a Manchurian candidate planted here by Islamic interests to destroy from the inside the United States.
But again, I am not talking about conspiracy rants and raves, but a general psychiatric affliction that infects the influential political class — politicians, journalists, and those in popular culture and the arts.
So how does one distinguish natural political opposition from a psychotic state? In other words, when will we know that popular opposition to Obama’s worldview and a dislike at the way he seeks to divide the country degenerate into the paranoid venom that was unleashed against Bush?
More: http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/obama-derangement-syndrome/
I will take a back seat to no one in my loathing of the POS who now occupies the Oval Office. However, once people start with the Hitler comparisons I quickly exit. A mediocre POS with delusions of grandeur is not a Nazi. Get a grip folks.
Stories/Articles You Might Find Interesting – or not
Governor or of the year: Scott Walker
(Madison, WI) – In 2011, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker(R) served as the embodiment of the state by state battle to balance budgets and the best symbol of the struggle between the two political parties about how best to meet those fiscal challenges. His first year will extend well into his second year, quite likely culminating in a recall election to remove him from office.
He has dominated the political debate on both sides. Defining the issues. He is cited by both Democrats and Republicans as the best of example of what is wrong, or what is right with a conservative approach to government. Although they will never admit it, many Democratic governors are different from Walker only in a matter of degrees.
Nearly every governor, regardless of party, began the year saying the current path of expensive pension and benefit packages for public employees is unsustainable. The way the issue exploded in Wisconsin is as much a function of the legal and legislative tools at Walker’s disposal as it is about the specific route he chose to take.
This is why Governors Journal has selected Scott Walker as the 2011 Governor of the Year.
It is not accurate to say Scott Walker launched an unannounced attack on public employees. For decades, state and local government leaders have complained about government employee unions: Collective bargaining, growing benefit packages, under-funded pension systems and binding arbitration. The warning siren had howled.
As Idaho Governor Butch Otter(R) observed in one interview this year, the changes that occurred in 2011 could not have happened in the absence of the national economic collapse. In politics, things change when a crisis necessitates change.
That was the case this year in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Years of complaining about the problem led to action in state after state. Walker was faced with a larger crisis in Wisconsin, in large part, because the unions fighting his proposal to curtail collective bargaining rights had the help of a small group of Senate Democrats who fled the state, preventing a vote, for several weeks, as pro-union forces took over the Capitol in support.
Eventually Walker prevailed. In an ironic twist, the union organized Madison melodrama may have helped efforts to curtail union rights and benefit packages in other states, where reforms slipped in under the radar.
The union cause had one victory this year when voters over turned Walker style reforms in Ohio. Just a few weeks later, public employees suffered another defeat in Rhode Island, where a heavily Democratic legislature, working with Governor Lincoln Chafee(I), enacted what is considered the most sweeping pension reform in the country.
Now on to 2012. Walker is facing a well organized and well funded movement to recall him from office. Democrats and unions have teamed up and seem well on their way to gathering the signatures they need(540,000) to force an election.
Walker is raising money himself and has begun a campaign to defend his record and hold onto his office through 2014. Next to the presidential race, if the recall election takes place, it may be the biggest political story in the country in the coming year.
But consider this. Even if Walker is removed from office, he still wins the debate. Any setback will be temporary. Pension reforms are a reality. California is next.
Walker, heralded as a “hero” of the conservative cause, will be in Washington in two months to address the American Conservative Union. If he comes out on top, in a special election, he is a right wing political star. If he loses, he is a political martyr, but still a star. What Walker represents – the idea behind his policies – cannot be killed even if he is temporarily removed from office.
http://governorsjournal.com/2011/12/governor-of-the-year-scott-walker/
Scott Walker interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MOgygnGDU0
And the Walker family Christmas message: http://theundergroundconservative.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/gov-walkers-christmas-message/
Newsletter controversy not an isolated affair
Some Ron Paul supporters act as if the newsletter controversy is the only real obstacle to him being taken seriously as a Republican contender. A few have even argued, in the comment section here and other places, that the content in the newsletters doesn’t match anything Paul has otherwise ever said or done.
Even if you ignore the newsletters, it’s difficult to deny that Paul is a conspiracy theorist and an extremist who indulges bigots, crackpots and anti-Semites, based on statements he’s made much more recently. Many of his positions also put him at odds with the Republican electorate. Politico outlines just six of his stances that will haunt him this election cycle, if the newsletter controversy ever dies down:
More: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/12/23/ron-paul-newsletter-controversy/#more-778881
No Lawrence, There Is No Stimulus
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell gets a lump of coal for fibbing about government job creation.
The commercial seems like a parody, but that sure looks like Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC’s Last Word. In the spot O’Donnell addresses politicians who say that “government can’t create jobs.”
“The government created your job!” O’Donnell fires back, smiling triumphantly.
Imagine: In a battle of wits with a phantom politician, O’Donnell lost. Of course he doesn’t know it.
On the off-chance this is not a Saturday Night Live bit, let’s take a closer look.
First — I don’t even know where to start – it’s so ridiculous. How about this? The claim that government can’t create real jobs is not refuted by the existence of politicians. Must that really be explained?
Perhaps O’Donnell would applaud a proposal to make every adult American a member of Congress, paid a salary drawn on the Federal Reserve. Unemployment would vanish overnight. (With the Internet we could all vote on bills from home.)
But maybe that wouldn’t satisfy O’Donnell. He might want at least some people working to make useful things. What do politicians make? Besides messes.
more: http://reason.com/archives/2011/12/23/no-lawrence-there-is-no-stimulus
Holder blocks SC voter ID – Texas next
Eric Holder has blocked South Carolina’s voter ID law. Hans von Spakovsky and I have been predicting this was going to happen for over eight months here at PJ Media. The only surprising thing is that no halftime adjustments were made after it became even clearer an objection was on the way. Texas now faces the same dilemma. Sadly, I’m not convinced Texas understands the battlefield or the stakes involved.
Attorney General Abbot says on Twitter that “Texas will be next. We’ll fight to the end for ballot integrity.”
If true, then pull the Texas voter ID submission now, tonight, by fax, and go to federal court now, on your terms.
I don’t believe these state officials understand the effect of an objection by the Justice Department. Anybody who has been around these issues regularly, as compared with dabbling in them from time to time, knows the effect of the Scarlet O, the objection.
link: http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2011/12/23/breaking-eric-holder-blocks-sc-voter-id-texas-next/
What does it take to get rid of this idiot in our DOJ?
Something To Think About
How come two monologues don’t make a dialogue? 
GOP lawmaker expects race card from Obama in 2012
Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) says the Obama administration has shown a pattern of accusing its detractors of being racists, and said he’s afraid the president will use such accusations in the 2012 election to stymie criticism.
“We’ve seen this behavior with this president where he’s gently and sometimes not-so-subtly thrown out the race card,” Walsh said.
Of course he’ll/they’ll play the race card. They always do. What else have they got? The mudslinging POS always “pretends” that anyone that disagrees with his policies is racist not someone who just doesn’t agree.
Does The New York Times Know What Time It Is?
Mr. Arthur Brisbane
Public Editor
New York Times
Dear Mr. Brisbane:
I am not surprised that the Times would be resentful that a large, prosperous, and profitable company, Banco Santander (one of Spain’s two largest banking organizations) should choose to remit part of its profits to its owners, that is, shareholders.
Nor am I much surprised that your reporter, Landon Thomas, Jr, would allow that viewpoint to permeate the article under his byline which begins very prominently on the first page of today’s Business Section.
“Planning to pay…2011 dividends”? Mr. Brisbane, the bank finished paying its 2011 quarterly dividends in early November, for which the ex-dividend date was October 12. Why did your editors — if there are any — allow such a claim, easily checked in the public record, to proceed to print?
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/12/does_the_ny_times_know_what_time_it_is.html
OOPS?
U.S. Report Faults Two Sides in Deadly Pakistan Strike
WASHINGTON — A United States military investigation has concluded that checks and balances devised to prevent cross-border mishaps with Pakistan failed to avert a deadly NATO airstrike last month in part because American officials did not trust Pakistan enough to give it detailed information about American troop locations in Afghanistan.
Congressman trumps Holder’s race card
Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar told The Daily Caller that Attorney General Eric Holder’s race-card play to attack his critics is “absolutely horrendous.” But Gosar said he thinks race may have played a role in the Department of Justice’s execution of Operation Fast and Furious — but in a different way from how Holder is framing it.
“He [Holder] brought up the race card, and while I think it’s absolutely horrendous that he would bring up the race card, in Fast and Furious, we were in fact impugning the Mexican people,” Gosar said in a phone interview. “About 300 people have lost their lives.”
“When the attorney general brings up the race card, he’d better be very, very careful — particularly for the Hispanics and what’s happened to them,” Gosar adds. “He’s been very insensitive, not only to the [U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian] Terry family in making an apology and making it very public, but where’s the apology to the Mexican government and the families of the victims in Mexico?”
In a front page Sunday New York Times story this weekend, Holder said an unspecified faction of his critics — which he called the “more extreme segment” — is driven to criticize both him and President Barack Obama because of the color of their skin.
“This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him,” Holder said, according to the Times. “Both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we’re both African-American.”
Gosar said documents and testimony have proven that Holder’s inner circle, which includes DOJ Criminal Division head Assistant Attorney General Breuer and Holder’s current chief of staff, former Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler, was well aware of the major pieces of this puzzle.
More: http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/23/congressman-trumps-holders-race-card-asks-if-mexican-gun-walking-deaths-were-racially-motivated/
What’s Going On In The World?
Iraq crisis simmers as Sunni strongholds protest Maliki
SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Several thousand Iraqis protested on Friday against Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Samarra and other Sunni Muslim strongholds after he moved to sideline two Sunni leaders from his power-sharing government.
Iraq faces its worst crisis in a year after Maliki sought Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi’s arrest on terrorism charges and moved to fire a Sunni deputy, threatening to splinter Iraq’s fragile sectarian and ethnic faultlines.
One Thursday, at least 72 people were killed in Baghdad by bombings in mainly Shi’ite neighborhoods that show the risk Iraq faces of tumbling into sectarian conflict following the withdrawal last week of the last U.S. troops nearly nine years after the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
Image of the day from the animal kingdom:
This is so embarrassing!
TSA Agent Confiscates Cupcake
The “gel-like” frosting of a cupcake one woman tried to bring on a plane at a Las Vegas Airport crossed the line for Transportation Security Administration officers, who say it constituted a security risk, and denied allowing the woman to take the cupcake back home to Boston.
Rebecca Hains of Peabody tells the Associated Press that a TSA agent in Las Vegas confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought the icing could be explosive. The TSA has restrictions on taking liquids and gels onto flights to prevent them from being used as explosives.
link: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/tsa-agent-confiscates-frosted-cupcake/
Gingrich’s lead over Romney among Republicans collapses
Gingrich now in statistical tie with Romney for the lead, 26% vs. 24%
PRINCETON, NJ — After enjoying 14- to 15-percentage-point leads over Mitt Romney in early December, Newt Gingrich is now statistically tied with Romney in national Republican preferences for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination: 26% for Gingrich vs. 24% for Romney. This follows a steady decline in support for Gingrich in the past 10 days.
link: http://www.gallup.com/poll/151616/Gingrich-Lead-Romney-Among-Republicans-Collapses.aspx
Both Romney and Gingrich Tie Obama on 2012 Ballot
Negative voting more a factor against Obama than against either Republican
PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich essentially tie President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election preferences of registered voters nationwide. Fifty percent of registered voters would support Obama in each hypothetical matchup, while 48% would give their vote to Gingrich or Romney.
link: http://www.gallup.com/poll/151634/Romney-Gingrich-Tie-Obama-2012-Ballot.aspx
Quote For Today:
“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.” ~ Ronald Reagan
