“I paint like the world depends upon it, then I come home and my wife tells me to change diapers. Life is good”
– Jon McNaughton

The progressive mantra of modern liberalism is flailing miserably everywhere you look and the media protestations of a “Do Nothing Congress” are flares shooting up from their encampments identifying exactly where they reside.

All around us are signs the various liberalist causes are visibly in the minority.   The odd thing is how willing the progressives are to out their failing positions.    Against the liberal yard-stick of emotional legislative advancement, which is diametrically antithetical to freedom, the media are proclaiming congress as failed.
However, when you consider that stopping intrusion by government into your life is a central tenant of freedom this congress is the most successful in a decade.
Coast to coast people are showing their pushback against the nanny state.    People are rising up, or using their TV remotes, or tuning their car radios, or expressing their voice, to reflect an ideology of freedom in opposition to the current federal administration and the beliefs they visibly represent. (more…)

I owe WeeWeed an apology.  She’s claimed for years that a certain “Godzilla” she knows has an uncanny ability to watch her every move.   How unnerving.  Sorry Wee…I should have listened.

Video below the fold….   (more…)

*Note* Jacksonville is the juristidction of Angela Corey’s 4th District State Attorney Office.
Jacksonville, FL – Via Yahoo –  Five teenagers were arrested when a 600-person brawl broke out in a Florida movie theater’s parking lot on Christmas night.

Described by police as a “melee,” the fight occurred around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday outside the Hollywood River City 14 movie theater in Jacksonville when a group tried to storm the theater’s doors without purchasing tickets, police said. Several had rushed an off-duty police officer working as a security guard. (more…)

HatTip GWP – A gay business owner told police in November he was attacked and beaten because he was gay. His claim included marking his own head with a gay slur to give validity to his accusations. However, now police have determined the victim actually falsified the entire incident.  Here’s the initial report:

TENNESSEE – A man who told police he had been robbed and beaten at a Paris health food store a few days before Thanksgiving was arrested after he allegedly withheld information about the incident and has now been charged with filing a false report.
Joe Williams, 32, of 803 E. Wood St. was arrested Friday afternoon after turning himself in at the Henry County jail. (more…)

The Washington Times reports on the filing of federal Hate Crimes charges in connection with a “Knock Out Assault” that was videotaped:

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“Suspected crimes of this nature will simply not be tolerated,” said Kenneth Magidson the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Texas. “Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law.”

(more…)

Venezuela, in a squeeze for hard currency, devalued its currency for foreigners another 44%, following an initial devaluation of 32% by Chavez in February.  The move is seen as a necessity to keep Venezuela from defaulting on sovereign debt when reliance on excessively high levels of public spending has been the tool of Chavez and his successor, Maduro, to maintain their grip on power.  It is the 6th such major devaluation in a decade.
The move is essentially a bookkeeping sleight-of-hand – it allows the Venezuelan central bank to balance its books by “earning” more Bolivars for its oil export sales, at a time when overall sales volume has decreased dramatically.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

…. A Christmas wish that cannot be purchased and won’t be identified until May of 2014.
So much of what we are dealing in our daily lives is a direct result of the polar opposite of what is reflected in the birth story of Jesus Christ.
In many ways the birth of Jesus challenged the contract between those who ruled and those who are forced by consequence to live under those rulers.   A leader born to serve people instead of demanding service from people.
Politically speaking, until the birth of Jesus Christ all leaders exhibited their will upon the people beneath them.    The Macedonians, the Babylonians, The Persians, the Romans and the Egyptians et al , all led from a power base of top down construct enforcing the will of Kings and Emperors.   Rules made by Rulers.
The birth of a Leader who would change the never negotiated contract to a concept of  service for His people was so extraordinary it became dangerous to even discuss such considerations.
So too do we find ourselves, albeit millennia removed, engaged in this exact same struggle today.   Nations of people ruled by power systems manipulated and constructed by the few against the will of many.  (more…)