DJ's Year in Review

DJ Drummond over at Polipundit has come up with an excellent Year in Review Post.

US aid $350 million and counting - Updated

Direct Link to the Captain's Campaign. As of 7:30 am CST on 1/13/05 it's at $34,223.16! Update: Captain's Quarters has set January 12th as World Relief Day:

At Captain's Quarters, we're declaring January 12th World Relief Day. I ask that CQ readers donate their take-home pay for January 12th to the tsunami relief effort at World Vision. Obviously, we cannot hope to match the funds raised by governments -- but we can show what a handful of determined private individuals can do to help. If you can't afford to donate all of your take-home pay for that day, please donate what you can.

Spread the word. CBS Marketwatch: U.S. boosts aid to tsunami victims President Bush commits $350 million, with more to come "Our contributions will continue to be revised as the full effects of this terrible tragedy become clearer," the president said in a statement issued Friday as Americans celebrated the New Year's Holiday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this epic disaster." I guess France isn't leading anymore...

France Leads Tsunami Aid Says Self

France is claiming to lead in tsunami aid. Link. I am reproducing the story in its entirety here.

PARIS France says it's the top donor for the tsunami disaster relief effort in Asia. The prime minister's boast that France is vaulting to "the head of all the contributors" follows barbs from the U-S about the extent of French generosity. In an interview this week on Fox News, the chief of the agency that distributes American aid said France tends not to be a world leader in foreign aid -- and often packages its help as loans. France's Foreign Ministry has rejected those allegations. Since Sunday's earthquake that triggered the tsunamis, the U-S has announced an initial aid package of 35 (m) million dollars, while also facing accusations from some that it had been stingy. France has pledged to provide 57 (m) million dollars.

Search strings

I've had a few hits from search results lately: On Google someone searched for: baen free library instapundit My post mentioning the Baen Free Library is here. On Yahoo someone searched for: jerry orbach religion I posted on Jerry Orbach's death yesterday and I have mentioned religion in a few posts. Google Ads points to religious ads a lot. I've also had several searches for assam american video because I posted that Fox News had the video.

Wish List for 2005

Here, in no particular order, are my wishes for 2005 including, but are not limited to (as I shall surely think of more), the following:

• The Iraqi election on January 30th goes off, if not without a hitch, at least with minimal problems.
• The Palestinian election is free, fair and valid.
• Annan and the rest of upper management at the U.N. realize that they have no credibility and resign.
• The clean up from the Tsunami is completed as quickly as possible to reduce the inevitable further losses due to disease.
• After the successful Iraqi election, Osama turns himself in.
• I find a job (preferably one I can do from home), or get myself some clients.
• Get a nice, new, highly powered laptop with lots of RAM, a big hard drive, a DVD/CD burner and loaded with software.
• Moonbats from both sides wake up and move a little more to center.

Add your own to the comments.

Iowahawk Exclusive

Iowahawk has found the first draft of Nick Coleman's diatribe against Powerline in a dumpster at the Mall of America. It begins:

NICK COLEMAN: THE FIRST DRAFT [ed. note: found in a dumpster outside the Mall of America -- the first draft of Nick Coleman's latest cry for help in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune] OOOH, TIME MAGAZINE BLOG OF THE YEAR! I AM SO FREAKING IMPRESSED... NOT By Nick Coleman Star-Tribune The end of the year is a time to bury the hatchet, so congratulations to Powerline, the Twin Cities blog that last week was named Time magazine's "Blog of the Year!" Now let me get a new hatchet. That's a veiled warning, readers, because Sensei Nick is about to unleash a flurry of professional journalism hatchet-fu on the so-called "Blog of the Year," which will soon be begging for mercy from my metaphors of fury. Trust me. It won't be pretty.

Read the rest.

Blogs, Bloggers and the Blogosphere

Wretchard has a well written essay that you should go read in its entirety: "Fortress Unvanquishable Save for Sacnoth"

Jerry Orbach Dead

Jerry Orbach is dead (last night) of prostate cancer at 69. He will be greatly missed. Lumiere the candelabra from Beauty and the Beast Lenny Briscoe of all the Law and Orders. And much, much more. IMDb Jerry Orbach page. God Bless Jerry and his family.

Blogosphere Wish List for 2005

La Shawn Barber has a Wish List for 2005.

Tsunami

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those lost in the tsunami and those who will be lost due to the aftermath. Command Post has a long list of charities that are helping.

Osama-Sunni Boycott

I was reading Captain Ed's post Osama Demands Boycott, Sunnis Respond. Coincidence? The Captain has a quote from the Washington Post stating (emphasis mine):

The largest political party representing Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority announced Monday that it would drop out of the Jan. 30 election, dealing a fresh blow to the vote's credibility on the same day the top Shiite Muslim candidate survived a car bombing.

If the Sunnis actually do boycott the elections and pull any of their candidates, they only disenfranchise themselves and can blame no one but themselves when they don't have a voice in the new government. They are not dealing a blow to the vote's credibility, they are dealing a blow to their own credibility. The MSM is at it again. Instead of criticizing the Sunnis (and Osama) for calling for a delay and/or boycott of the election, they are criticizing the Iraqis for wanting the election to go on as planned and calling those results into question a month before the election even happens. They seem to think that turnout will determine the credibility of the election. It won't. If only 20 percent of the people come out to vote, those 20 percent will determine the winners for the whole country. I am under the impression that if the Sunnis refuse to participate, after the election is over, they will insist on the new government giving them a voice, the voice that they deliberately gave up by not participating. The Captain ends his post with this graf, and I agree:

To get there, we have to have elections, and we have to make Iraqis confident in their existence. Delaying elections only feeds the conspiracy theorists and fatalists who refuse to believe in democracy and the rule of law. Regardless of Sunni participation, the elections must proceed.

Allah's Moving Back to Blogspot

Link to blogspot site where there is a new post waiting. The Allahpundit.com site is going dark January 1.

Christmas Morning

Well it's Christmas Morning. The few presents under the tree this year were opened. Children's faces were lit with Joy. "It's just what I always wanted", said the four year old of his Buzz Lightyear spaceship, Buzz, Woody, Alien and Zorg. "My very own Chess set, I really wanted one!", said the ten year old. The fourteen year old with a developmental delay was very happy that her new dolly had a bottle, so she could feed her. The snow is gently falling, large, dry flakes, to finally cover the grass. Today is the birthday of the Christ Child. First and foremost this is what we celebrate this day. Merry Christmas one and all!

Merry Christmas

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord - Luke 2:11

Update on Uncle David

Uncle David's surgery has been rescheduled to January 4th. He will be coming home today to spend Christmas and New Year's with the family.

Prayers for my Uncle David

Prayers would be appreciated for my Uncle David. He's been at Mayo for the past two weeks and they have found some cancer on his pancreas. He has been previously diagnosed with pancreatitis, which was why he is there. They plan to do surgery on Thursday. Thank you.

Faith in Faith - Updated

I wonder if the people that have such a problem with religion in the public square just don't have enough faith in their own faith or non-faith. Are they afraid that a creche will suddenly convert them? That a wish of "Merry Christmas" will turn them into a Christian against their will? That a wish of "Happy Channukah" will convert them to Judaism? I have enough faith in my faith that I am not offended by any other expression of any other faith. As a child, we all sang Christmas songs and Channukah songs in the weeks before Christmas Break. Update: It seems Charles Krauthammer feels the same way.

Some Americans get angry at parents who want to ban carols because they tremble that their kids might feel "different" and "uncomfortable" should they, God forbid, hear Christian music sung at their school. I feel pity. What kind of fragile religious identity have they bequeathed their children that it should be threatened by exposure to carols? I'm struck by the fact that you almost never find Orthodox Jews complaining about a Christmas creche in the public square. That is because their children, steeped in the richness of their own religious tradition, know who they are and are not threatened by Christians celebrating their religion in public. They are enlarged by it. It is the more deracinated members of religious minorities, brought up largely ignorant of their own traditions, whose religious identity is so tenuous that they feel the need to be constantly on guard against displays of other religions -- and who think the solution to their predicament is to prevent the other guy from displaying his religion, rather than learning a bit about their own.

4-year-olds

My four year old noticed the Nativity set tonight. He went over to it and said, "Mommy, who are these people?" Right at that point he had his finger on the Baby Jesus figure. I said, "That's the Baby Jesus." He said, very seriously, "He's the Son of God." He is learning.

This is this year's gift - a pin. 

Favorite Hymn - O Holy Night

This is my absolute favorite Christmas Hymn O Holy Night O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine! Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the wise men from Orient land. The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our Friend! He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His Name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy Name! Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

I try to make a ornament or pin every year as a gift for my children's teachers and for relatives. This is last year's ornament.  

Rathergate Report delayed until January

Just heard on Fox News - The Ra^thergate report will now be issued sometime in January. USA Today story here. Media Research Center has a prediction about the bias at CBS

Kerik's pseudo-nannygate

LaShawn Barber is guestblogging over at Blogs for Bush. In her post Leftist Media (And Bloggers) Still Campaigning for Kerry she notes that the liberal media are trying to make a scandal out of this. My own thoughts mirror LaShawn's.

Kerik Withdraws

Bernard Kerik has withdrawn his name from consideration for the post of Secretary of Homeland Security. Reuters story has the following:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's pick to become homeland security secretary, former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, abruptly withdrew his nomination for the job on Friday night. The move came after news organizations raised some potential problems about Kerik, including his profitable membership on the board of Taser International, the stun-gun maker.

Read the rest.

Geneaology Blog

Joe Edmon at Geneaology Blog has linked to my photo below. He's called it Winter Wonderland. Snow's all gone now, it's been in the 40's here for a week. We had a beautifully white Thanksgiving, then it melted, then it snowed again and melted again. I hope we can have a white Christmas. Go check out their site, it looks as though they have a lot of news, information and resources available for investigating your own family tree.

The Anti-Immigration Wing of the Republican Party - updated

Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) said on O'Reilly tonight (I had to watch the repeat to make sure I had heard correctly the first time) that the people having trouble with drivers licenses are the "Anti-Immigration Wing of the Republican Party." Did you get the memo? I sure didn't. I am not against immigration - I have friends who are immigrants. People who followed the rules, learned the language, took the test and took the oath. Illegal Aliens don't belong here. Period. Go back to your home country and if you want to come back here, do it right. Any amnesty would be allowing them to "cut in line". If you want to become an American - you are quite welcome here. Just do it legally. Terrorists come here illegally to use our own system against us. When 19 terrorists can have 63 drivers licenses between them, there is a problem. When I moved from Vermont to back to Illinois and got my Illinois drivers license I had to surrender my Vermont drivers license. Of course, the terrorists didn't tell the DMV that they had valid licenses from other states and/or lied and said they physically lost it or something. If there were a national database of drivers licenses, DMV's would be able to check for unexpired licenses from other states, and, if they issue a new one, have the previous unexpired license(s) declared void. Update: Prestopundit has more on the Driver's License issue from an article in the LA Times.

Reciprocating

Drew at Darn Floor linked to my Reformation post below and put me on his blogroll. I have reciprocated.

Daou Report

Via Prestopundit:

A NEW BLOG AGGREGATOR -- left, right and center-- THE DAOU REPORT.

Cool site.

Protestant Reformation = Bloggers vs MSM??

I saw Luther when it came out on DVD last week and when I read Bill Bennett's commentary at RCP I was struck by the similarities between the two. In Bill Bennett's commentary there is the following quote:

Empowered, the people are changing talk radio. Speaking as a host of a three-hour talk show, it is evident that the public, which is checking assertions of fact as they are being made, is not sitting back and merely absorbing pontification. On talk radio, the lecture is fading, and it is being replaced by the interactive national seminar, where callers inform the host and audience as much as the host is informing listeners.

This is the paragraph that brought to mind the story of Martin Luther. He felt that the Church was interpreting the Word of God for the masses, not as written, but how they felt it should be. The Church was getting rich selling indulgences, time off from Purgatory and Martin couldn't find anyplace in Scripture that said there even was such a thing. He translated the Bible from Latin to German so the masses could read the Word of God for themselves, making their decisions from that Word, and not just the Church's interpretation of it. It seems to me that there is a parallel between Luther and the Church and the MSM and bloggers. The MSM tries to sell us their interpretation, expecting us to sit back and absorb their pontification. The bloggers and talk radio are providing the translation so we can make up our own minds. Update: Welcome Polipundit readers! Thanks Lorie. Update 2: Some commenters over at the Polipundit post that directs visitors here are positing that bloggers are equivalent to the printing press, rather than Luther. I still think that the bloggers are equivalent to Luther and the internet itself is equivalent to Gutenberg's printing press. Luther did the translation and the printing press was what allowed the translation to be widely disseminated. Think back to Ra^thergate - The attitude was "This is the truth because I/we say it's so." The bloggers took that "truth", dissected it, translated it and using their printing press (the internet) broadcast their translation to everyone.

Never Forget

Today is the 63rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. 2,388 Americans lost their lives that day. Michelle Malkin has a great post with links.

The tree in my front yard the other night. The moon is just peeking over the top. Now it's 45 and there's no more snow. 

Allah's back ...

... and trolling for votes for Michele. Nice to see you back.

Becker-Posner Blog up and running

Gary Becker and Richard Posner have started their blog Becker-Posner Blog. They should provide some very interesting reading.

We have decided to start a blog that will explore current issues of economics, law, and policy in a dialogic format. Initially we will be posting just once a week, on Mondays. In time we may post more frequently. The first postings will be tomorrow, December 6. Becker is a Nobel-prize-winning economist who in addition to scholarly publications on a wide range of economic issues including education, discrimination, labor, the family, crime, addiction, and immigration, for many years wrote a monthly column for Business Week. Posner is a federal circuit judge and also a writer of books and articles in a variety of fields, including antitrust, intellectual property, and other fields in which economics is applied to law, but also topical fields such as impeachment, contested elections, and national-security issues. (The rules of judicial ethics preclude Posner from commenting publicly on pending or impending litigation or participating in politics, as by endorsing candidates.)

The Groningen Protocol

Hugh has several posts (here, here, here and Hugh's Weekly Standard column) on the Groningen Protocol linking to several other posts on the subject. He was looking for more MSM and blogger coverage of the story. I sent a copy of the Washington Times AP story to Fox to see if they were aware of it. Currently they have one story dated Tuesday, November 30 with two different links and headlines: Dutch Hospital Euthanizing Gravely Ill Babies and Netherlands Hospital Permits Euthanasia for Terminal Newborns. Hugh's Weekly Standard column contains the following:

This is either a low point, or a point of no return. The establishment of "independent committees" to dispatch non-consenting humans is nothing but a death penalty committee for innocents. Once begun, it is impossible--simply impossible--to limit the concept with any bright line. Abortion, of course, has always been limited by the physical act of birth, and once out of the womb, only the most extreme "reproductive rights" advocates have argued that the baby's natural right to live can be compromised by the mother. But now the Netherlands has gone farther--much, much farther. If the "severely retarded" may be killed upon appropriate motion, second, debate, and majority vote, why not the moderately retarded? Why not the mildly retarded? Why not, in fact, anyone the "independent committee" deems as usefully dispatched.

This is what really concerns me. My daughter has a developmental delay, epilepsy and moderate hearing and vision impairments. She weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces at birth, which is small, but her APGAR scores were 9 and 10. She has two genetic anomalies: She has an "extra" gene on one of her 10th chromosome pair and her 19th chromosome has a "ring" in a mosaic pattern. The chromosomes usually look like an eleven (11) two straight lines. On Katie's 19th chromosome, every other pair looks like a ten (10) instead. One of the pair is a circle instead of a straight line. She is 14 years old now. She doesn't speak well and uses some sign language to help her "get her message across.” Her 4-year-old brother is leaps and bounds ahead of her in speaking and development. Her 10-year-old brother also passed her up a long, long time ago. She may have Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. It is a severe form of epilepsy that usually develops in children between 1 and 8 years old (I took her to a neurologist at 18 months old). Most children with Lennox-Gastaut experience some degree of impaired intellectual functioning or information processing. It may be caused by brain injury, severe brain infections, genetic brain diseases, or developmental malformations of the brain. In some cases, no cause has been found. Prognosis varies, there is no cure. Complete recovery including freedom from seizures and normal development is very unusual. She can dress herself, feed herself, use the bathroom herself, and watch Barney and Shrek all day long. She likes to color and can copy some letters down. She can sight read some words. When her littlest brother was five weeks old and she was 10 years and 5 weeks old (her littlest brother was born the day before her 10th birthday) she had surgery for a vagus nerve implant. We were hoping that it could help "reprogram" her brain not to seize so often. She's been on many different medications over the last twelve years. Currently we have her on only one that seems to be working better. Her seizures are not as frequent, or as long. We are lucky that she doesn't have grand mal seizures. She'll just suddenly stop and jerk a few times. She can do this while walking and not fall down (atypical absence and myoclonic seizures). She needs to have weekly occupational, physical and speech therapy. Insurance companies don't want to cover this though, because the therapies will need to long term. The insurance companies seem to only want to cover, say, physical therapy after a broken bone. Something that won't take too long to show progress and finally be done. I've seen some that limit all three therapies to 30-60 visits total. This would allow her 10-20 weeks of all three therapies. I was first worried that Hugh was sliding down a slippery slope, but I don't think he is. Eventually they could do this to children and people older than 12. Katie is a beautiful, loving child and she will be a beautiful, loving adult. However, she probably won't be a "productive" adult. She probably won't be a "normal" woman who has a job, or gets married and has children. She won't go to college. She will need care for the rest of her life, either with me or with a group home of some kind. I also have to think about her care after I am gone. Death by committee could decide that she's "useless" and terminate her. That's what's really scary.

Kerik tapped to head Homeland Security - Updated

A senior administration official said that Bernie Kerik will be tapped to fill the Homeland Security Secretary position left open after Tom Ridge's resignation. Forbes story. I personally think that Bernie Kerik was a very good choice. Update: 12/10/04: Kerik withdraws name from consideration.