He's Singing My Song

Sarah Palin, small town America, elites versus real people, the four year future and having a woman at the TOP of the ticket.

Happy Feast of St Stephen

His expression is frightened but resolute.

May we be ready for martyrdom when it may come.

Merry Christmas from the Alexander kids

Anastasia 18, Rose 17, Andrew 15, Nathaniel 13, Tim 11, Stephen 7, Edmund 5 and Rebekah 3.

PERSIAN ASTROLOGERS UPSET TAX REGISTRATION, INSTIGATE HEROD TO KILL CHILDREN

SPQR
PRAEFECTUM IMPERII IN JUDAEA




UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION FROM THE LATIN

UNCLASSIFIED
IMPERIAL POST SERVICE DENARII FUND CITE
APPROVE:PREFECT
DRAFT:ASSISTANT TO ASSISTANT PREFECT
CLEAR:ASSISTANT PREFECT

FROM:JUDEAN PREFECT JERUSALEM
TO:OFFICE OF PROVINCES ROME
INFO:GOV/SYRIA:QUIRINIUS
GOV/EGYPT
GOV/ASIAMINOR

SENSITIVE

ROME OFFICE OF PROVINCES FOR BUREAU OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

E.O. MCMXVII: N/A
TAGS: PLEX, PEMP, PFSC

SUBJECT: PERSIAN ASTROLOGERS UPSET TAX REGISTRATION, INSTIGATE HEROD TO KILL CHILDREN

Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly.

I. (U) Summary: Imperial efforts to register the residents of Judea for tax purposes have been complicated by local political events. Client-"king" Herod has taken an unnecessarily pro-active approach regarding a child predicted to be a challenger to his position, and ordered the killing of all unweaned children in and around Bethlehem. Imperial and local security forces are watching border crossings for the three Persian astrologers implicated in the instigation of Herod's suspicions. End summary.

II. (U) The astrologers appear to have traveled into Judea by night, over less-frequented roads. According to local contacts, they were carrying undeclared baggage full of precious metals and aromatics, and chose their routes and timing to avoid paying Customs duties. Little is known about their activities. They were observed by locals in Jerusalem asking about the welfare and whereabouts of a child born to be "King of the Jews." Herod's steward (strictly protect) told us that the "king" met the astrologers in secret, and instructed them to find the child so that he could worship him.

III. (U) The astrologers were apparently tipped off regarding Herod's mala fide intentions regarding the child, and may have slipped out of Judea by avoiding daylight travel and mandatory Customs posts. (Note: Post plans to make up for the lost revenue by imposing a one-time regional death-registration tax for children under the age of two. End note.)

IV. (U) Although generally amenable to Roman demarches concerning Judean governance, Herod is known to be touchy about threats to his position. His half-Nabatean, half-Idumean ancestry has inspired local concerns about his qualifications to "rule" (even as our client) the Jewish people, and further fed Herod's fear and suspicions. His killing of children under two years of age in and around Bethlehem is another example of his tendency to take matters into his own hands in a manner prejudicial to the peaceful ordering of Roman governance. Post requests language from Rome to make an official demarche against such behavior.

V. (U) Comment: As in all areas where Roman concepts of the rule of law have not taken firm root, local actors, especially those in high places, feel no compunction in wrecking Rome's plans for fiscal registration and revenue, in pursuit of their own private vendettas. Parents in Bethlehem who are concerned about the treatment of their children have proved to be uncooperative in registering for and paying taxes. Several have made threats against local and Roman law enforcement authorities. Unknown actors have daubed "Romans Go Home" and other graffiti on the perimeter wall of the chancery. In light of these actions, Post believes that this is an opportune time to raise again the requests made earlier this year for another cohort of well-trained Roman or Gallic troops, and for four extra denarii per month for working-level staff, in the form of danger pay and hardship allowance. End Comment.

Amici

Santa Claus? Yes or No for the Traditonal Catholic.

I can tell you why Catholics question the notion of Santa Claus.

Because we have learned not to trust the Culture.

When the culture is secular, expedient, selfish and materialistic you tend to become reactionary. (or maybe it is just me)

But, when Chesterton speaks, who can help but listen?

Catholic Culture had a piece of teaching your children about Santa Claus.

I have nothing to add: Voila:

Chesterton tells us why we should believe

By Father John Dietzen
Catholic News Service

Q. My question isn't very deep, but with Christmas coming I am
concerned about the attitude of some friends who don't want their
children to "believe in Santa Claus." From almost infancy, they
tell their children there isn't really a Santa and that it was all
made up to sell more things at Christmastime. I think they're missing
something, but I'm not sure how to tell them. (Florida)

A. I too think they are missing something - very big. It's always
risky to analyze fantasies, but maybe it's worth trying for a moment.
Fantasies, perhaps especially for children, are critical ways of
entering a world, a real world that is closed to us in ordinary human
language and happenings. They are doors to wonder and awe, a way of
touching something otherwise incomprehensible. Santa Claus, I believe,
is like that.
No one has ever expressed this truth more movingly and accurately,
in my opinion, than the great British Catholic author G.K. Chesterton
in an essay years ago in the London Tablet. On Christmas morning, he
remembered, his stockings were filled with things he had not worked
for, or made, or even been good for.
The only explanation people had was that a being called Santa
Claus was somehow kindly disposed toward him. "We believed," he wrote,
that a certain benevolent person "did give us those toys for nothing.
And ... I believe it still. I have merely extended the idea.
"Then I only wondered who put the toys in the stocking; now I
wonder who put the stocking by the bed, and the bed in the room, and
the room in the house, and the house on the planet, and the great
planet in the void.
"Once I only thanked Santa Claus for a few dolls and crackers, now
I thank him for stars and street faces and wine and the great sea.
Once I thought it delightful and astonishing to find a present so big
that it only went halfway into the stocking.
"Now I am delighted and astonished every morning to find a present
so big that it takes two stockings to hold it, and then leaves a great
deal outside; it is the large and preposterous present of myself, as
to the origin of which I can offer no suggestion except that Santa
Claus gave it to me in a fit of peculiarly fantastic good will."
Are not parents of faith blessed, countless times over, to have
for their children (and for themselves) such a fantastic and playful
bridge to infinite, unconditionally loving Goodness, the Goodness
which dreamed up the Christmas event in the first place?
Call Santa Claus a myth or what you will, but in his name parents,
and for that matter all of us who give gifts at this special time of
the year, are putting each other in deeper touch with the "peculiarly
fantastic good will" who is the ultimate Source of it all. Plus, it's
fun!
I hope your friends reconsider.

12 Twelve Days of Christmas: for the Bollywood Lovers in all of us

Migrant Mother- story behind the image

I saw this article from CNN that explains the story behind this famous photograph. The photo was taken by Dorothea Lange at a Migrant work camp in 1936. The mother pictured was 32 year old Florence Owens Thompson. She was the mother of 7 children.

Katherine McIntosh (pictured on her mother's left) was 4 years old when this picture was taken and she had this to say about her mother:

"She was the backbone of our family," McIntosh says of her mom. "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something. She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us children ate. That's one thing she did do."

The message from the McIntosh is to work hard and live within your means. Meanwhile everyone is saying that on the one hand but the next minute we have commercials for "no payments until 2010", no credit, no cash, no problem. Save but spend to help "save" the economy.

I read an article recently about a mother who had lost her job and was feeling guilty that she could not spend $600 on her one daughter for Christmas. Yes, $600 on ONE daughter. I've spend $500 on 5 kids and felt guilty about that. It's interesting to read about what people consider "hard times".

I'm reading this great book: "We Had Everything but Money: When Banks Closed and Hearts Opened: Stories of the Great Depression".



And what you come away with after reading this is that no money did not equal misery. People were happy. They struggled. They worked hard and sometimes they were disappointed but life went on, they were able to prevail and most of all the children remember those times as filled with the love of family.

So which would you rather have- money, financial security or the love of your parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents and aunts and uncles?

N.B. This is a clue for those struggling with the issue of "family size". Please see my last post and the anonymous commenter.

True Love

A dear friend, or one who I count as such but have never met in real life has a new baby.

This baby is the 10th child in the family. Of the 10, 9 are adopted. Most of the children have profound needs. In this beautiful family their needs are more than being met and they have all surpassed the expectations of the "professionals". They never do seem to account for love. Especially true love.

Lesa and her new baby.



This is a picture of all the children.



This is not a family of extravagant means but they are certainly extravagant in the way they love.

When you start to worry about the future, the economy, how God will supply your needs and those of your family think of this family and their incredible faith. It is not for us to doubt God's providence, or second guess His provision.

A little boy came to the world at Christmas time. And this family said, "There is room at the Inn."

By Request : Happiness

In "this brave new world that has such people in it" I give thee happiness. It is only a chemical concoction away. Or a television broadcast. Or a cable TV subscription.



And if you haven't read Brave New World by Alduos Huxley- well you simply must. When I started reading it I could not put it down and read all night until daylight. It's that kind of book. Required reading.

Since the election and the devastation loss of a dear friend, a sister really it is hard to know how to go on. What to think.

My current coping mechanism is that the next 4 years will be but an anomaly, a blip and soon forgot and repented of.

Yes, I do believe in Fairy Tales. I recommend Grimm's.

But life goes on, unrelentingly. Mum 2 Twelve will soon be Mum 2 Thirteen. Our children still need their oatmeal in the morning. They still need to be educated. And we place all our hopes in THEM. Perhaps in a very unfair and intense way.

Will it make them better? More capable? Courageous?

Can we transmit to them what our generation lacks? Self preservation at the expense of morality. Also Known As expediency.



From Don McLean’s lyrics:

Starry starry night
paint your palette blue and grey
look out on a summer’s day
with eyes that know the
darkness in my soul.

Shadows on the hills
sketch the trees and the daffodils
catch the breeze and the winter chills
in colors on the snowy linen land.

And now I understand what you tried to say to me
how you suffered for your sanity
how you tried to set them free.

They would not listen
they did not know how
perhaps they’ll listen now.

Voter Intimidation in Philadelphia

With thanks to Thomas Shawn.



When I voted this morning in Townsend, MA I followed one of the links provided by the McCain link and went to Memorial Town Hall (where I had voted in the past). When I got there it seemed no one was voting and there was a sign outside that said vote at North Middlesex High School. I got back in the car and drove down there. When I entered to vote I was told that I had to take my Sarah Palin button off (?). And then I indicated to the election workers that the polling place advertised online is Town Hall. The election workers tried to tell me well that is the information from the campaign right? Exactly I said and that is what THEY were told.

Then I learned that the decision to change the election location was only made in October. Now wasn't it in October that McCain started winning? (probably just a coincidence.) Then I learned that a postcard was supposedly sent out to every voter telling them where the polling place was. Guess what- we didn't get it.

Crooks. I will be writing a letter to the Town Clerk. Townsend is a pretty conservative town and I think largely going for McCain.

Keep voting and don't let anyone intimidate you.

The Victory Feast is in the Oven

We're preparing a home-raised turkey, and there will be mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, butternut squash, homemade bread and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. We are thinking optimistically here. "Claiming it" as the Southern Baptists would say.

The questions that will be answered today:

1. How many votes for Obama are a result of "white guilt"?

2. How wrong were the polls who have had Obama as high as 15% points over McCain. As if.

3. How much of a fool of herself will Katie Couric make this time? (Remember when she almost burst into tears when Kerry conceded?) I enjoyed that far too much.

4. Will there be rioting? My daughter is in Chicago so I told her to get home from work early and lock the dorm doors in case things get lively in Chicago- "the murder capitol of the country". (The effects of Community Organizing are still being felt it seems.)

5. How much voter fraud will be revealed? My daughter has 2 friends from Indiana (white Catholics from a battleground state who are breaking for McCain)who requested absentee ballots. They never received them. When they called to inquire about the status they were told they never received their information. I think those votes have probably already been cast if you know what I mean.

6. What will Meghan McCain do now? I've enjoyed her blog- McCain Blogette for all the important reasons- great photos, great fashion and great music. Spirit, Dedication to her family, and hard work- what a great role model she has been. The Cindy and John McCain must be as proud of her as she is of them.

7. I'm listening to something really funny- The Manning Report. Reverend Manning is a Manhattan minister who is African American and opposed to Obama. Warning this is very politically incorrect and very hilarious. I've just hit replay. (perhaps some of the humor is in bad taste and the language is strong but I'm in a forgiving mood today). (you can find it on YouTube).

8. Which Thrift store will get Sarah Palin's campaign wardrobe? Will that information be released to committed Republicans who had 3 yard signs, attended a Sarah Palin rally, conducted sign waves in NH and defended the ticket fearlessly online? (There may be a sizing challenge but in my euphoria at McCain's victory I expect I won't eat for several weeks.)

9. What will McCain's Cabinet look like? My social and professional calendar can be cleared at a moment's notice. I hate to leave New England you know but for my country I could make the sacrifice.

10. If Obama wins (and I've left this possibility last because I believe it is so remote) how long will it be before we are attacked and Obama does absolutely nothing to defend us? And at that point will the people voting for him who have said, "We should be okay as long as Obama doesn't go all radical on us." realize they've made a mistake.

Happy Halloween a little late...

Because I need something to keep my mind off the election. Though this helped. And I don't know anything about Bob Krumm except that he is right ;).

The house all decked out.



The kids dressed up for a night of Trick or Treating. The only one not pictured is Rose who was Taylor Swift. Andrew is a Celtic's player, Nathaniel an Indian, Tim is batman, Stephen is a gladiator, Teddy is Optimus Prime and Becca is a Princess. (in real life too, not just for Halloween.)I put a snowsuit on Becca under her costume because in New England you just never snow. One minute it's 70 degrees and the next minute it's snowing.






A better view of the pumpkins.

A Civilian National Security Force

Sort of like the KGB I imagine.

Third Party Voters- keep those feelings of moral superiority coming. It may be all you have to hold on to if you get your way.

Most Watched Election Video on YouTube

Hank Williams Jr weighs in

Was there ever any doubt?

And according to Drudge gun sales are up in FL in fear of an Obama presidency.

I think given this and the stunning, truly stunning polling data (if we believed them we would think that Obama's lead as shrunk from 15 pts to 2 in just a day or 2) we can say that the sleeping giant is waking up. And he's not a morning person.

Abortion and the "Negro Project": Margaret Sanger the Founder of Planned Parenthood

The Real Danger in Dissing Sarah Palin

Those conservatives who have sought to distinguish themselves by dissing Sarah Palin have proved themselves empty vessels and eager tools for the media and cultural notables who have expressed their disdain for Palin as Vice Presidential nominee.

When I saw this effigy hanging in West Hollywood, CA I naturally thought about the fact that this is "protected free speech" and even more significant to the cultural elites "art". Now if this same effigy featured Barack Obama the artistes who were only looking for "a voice" would be guilty and no doubt charged and convicted of a hate crime.

Yet, I was not sorry to see this display. I was glad to see some honesty, some bareknuckled, riveting honesty. Because it is not the double standard that struck me most acutely. That observation has become so commonplace that it hardly bears noting. What struck me was the depth of hatred we have seen expressed for Sarah Palin. And I don't believe that hatred is directed towards her as a person. (not yet anyway). That hatred is directed towards what she represents and to her opponents she represents a pro-life outlook, even a radically pro-life outlook.

Sarah Bernhardt said that if Sarah Palin came to New York City she would be gang raped. An effigy is hung and no moves are made to remove it. A joke about incest is made on SNL, about the Palin family and really anyone Alaskan. A tee shirt is circulating that I won't dignify by describing. I trust everyone knows to what I am referring.

Just as Joe-the-plumber has been held up to scrutiny (with the use of government computers no less) and criticism and every attempt has been made to tarnish and discredit him, he is also hated for what he represents- a citizen who dares to question a liberal, African-American, "Messiah" who is running for president. Toe the line comrades or see how you will be treated by those in power.

The criticisms of Palin are revealing in that she is assigned opposite attributes- she is naive and inexperienced or she is cold, calculating and self serving. She is uninterested in the world around her and lacking ambition to become anything more than Governor of Alaska, but she has manipulated an incredible ascent to national politics. She is a mommy-housewife-hockey mom or she is a feminist who is neglecting her family. She brings her children with her while she travels the state or she is pursuing political glory while abandoning her family.

This shows so distinctly that it is not Palin who is being discredited and that the criticisms of her are not substantive. It is the essence of what she represents in her political views that is so hateful. So when you hear the Left criticizing Palin for being stupid and inexperienced, naive and sheltered, ignorant and provincial, and best of all vulgar, what they are really saying is that someone who is a solidly pro-life is stupid, inexperienced, naive, sheltered, ignorant,provincial and vulgar.

We're participating in our own demise people.

I attended a political rally in Salem, NH a few weeks ago at which Sarah Palin appeared and spoke. We waited in line for 2 hours along with 10,000 other people who had come to hear the vice presidential nominee speak. Now to those from NY or LA who think 10,000 is not a large number- recognize that in New Hampshire for a rally that was planned with 48 hour advance notice, 10,000 is a lot of people.

In the audience I saw a good cross section of America. I also saw two babies with Down's syndrome. I admit that made me cry. There was a recognition by the parents of these children that they have been given legitimacy. That there is someone on the national stage who believes their babies have the right to live. Even among conservatives there are far too many who would not give a baby with Down's syndrome, life.

The next day, Joe Biden appeared in NH. I don't know how long the advance time was for the organizers, or how convenient the venue was for people to attend. But either it was such short notice, or so inconvenient or else no one cared enough except for 700 supporters of Joe Biden that showed.

People like Peggy Noonan, Kathleen Parker, Christopher Buckley and lesser knowns are saying that John McCain's defeat will be the responsibility of Sarah Palin. But can anyone really make that claim in seriousness? Aren't they just hedging their bets?

If McCain loses, and I am not yet convinced that he will- if we believed the polls we would have been ruled by John Kerry and Queen Theresa for the past 8 years, but if McCain loses, it will be the result of the difficult economy. Given the economic climate I think it is nothing short of miraculous that McCain is as close as he is.

Charles Krauthammer said that he would rather lose an election than his bearings.

So, go ahead and give people like Katie Couric legitimacy. Suspend your distrust of the media in this one self-serving situation. Reorient yourself to the detractors of the conservative movement and then when you wake up on November 5th ask yourself what exactly it is that you have gained? It won't have been your bearings. And your short lived popularity may seem surprisingly hollow.

In the Candidate's Own Words

Anything that makes me Laugh Out Loud

automatically gets put on my blog. Remember when George Bush's dislike of broccoli ignited such controversy? Another vegetable has become a rallying point: Arugula. I had heard arugula referred to as a reason not to support Sarah Palin (she only eats meat she has killed herself and has probably never seen a salad in her life according to some detractors). But I didn't know about Barack Obama citing the price of Arugula at Whole Foods as the foundation of his economic policy. Well done.

This is from a new blog that I was not aware of. We populists do not get out much unless it's to stand barefooted on our own front porch with a baby on our hip.

Thanks to Catholic Redneck for a good laugh.

Senior pics!

Veronica's pictures came in the mail and I'm so happy at how well they came out!

Thanks to Jane McDonagh a wonderful photographer!