Allow me to explain.  One of the failings of the liberal press and its fellow travelers is that for them, history started this morning.  Those of us who have a memory longer than the last news cycle recall the creepy cult of personality that sprung up around Obama and continues largely undiminished among true believers.  Americans reared with more traditional notions of the relationship between citizen and nation recoil in horror at videos where celebrities pledge to serve the president.

The Obama campaign allowed or nurtured a messianic bubble around their candidate where all the hopes and dreams of the people in that inner circle of devotees were poured into the man.  Consider the online video where an Obama acolyte has people chanting “President Barack Obama” like a New Age mantra to the camera while Randy Rothwell’s “Sanctuary” plays as the soundtrack.  This song calls on God to prepare the heart of the believer to receive the Spirit of God.   It is almost impossible for me to adequately express how profoundly awful it is to see a worship song used in this fashion.  Blasphemy still fails to play in Peoria.

I do not necessarily blame the President for weirdness on the part of his supporters.  I do blame him for the weirdness of those on his payroll.  While the President’s speech may prove innocuous, the lesson plan fronted by the White House included such things as asking kids to meditate on how they could “help the President”.  Not their family, school, or community, but the President.  Coupled with an invitation to read the President’s books and other touchstones of “dear leader-ism” and you can see why we who have not yet drunk the Kool-Aid vigorously object.

Though now withdrawn, given that somewhere north of 90% of education establishment is part of Obama’s cult of personality I believe that many teachers and school administrators will indulge the administration in doing their part to chip away at what is left of individualism.  The very fact that someone in the White House read that lesson plan and saw that it was good tells me that they are paddling their canoe toward a place where leaders are venerated at the expense of the individual.

Bottom line, I don’t think that parents freaked out over an address by the President, it really was a freak out over an address by this President given the backdrop of his cultish campaign and the behavior in which his administration engages.  Not because he is a Democrat, but because the presidency seems to be all about him. Frankly I am encouraged that so many citizens objected.

Jacked-up creepy-freakin’ “Sanctuary” video:

Bizzarre, weird, pompous, self-important “Pledge to be a Servant” video:

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The topic was smoke-free bars in the City of St. Louis. I hate smoking, for the record. I think smokers have a nasty history of being thoughtless in the pursuit of their habit. I am surprised at how offensive I find the smell. Long gone, the stink of cigarettes linger in public spaces where smokers have traveled. The curbs are clotted with filthy little butts. I see nothing whatsoever to recommend smoking…except that it is perfectly legal.

In discussing the liberty aspects of a bar owner choosing whether or not to offer a smoke-free environment, my friend noted that he was surprised that the free market failed to provide more smoke-free environments. He planned to vote in favor of a smoking ban because he liked bars but hated smoke.

First, free markets are not a guarantee that we will eventually get what we want, but that in generally, the free market will provide enough of something to meet demand at a given price, all things being equal. As smoking has become less popular, I don’t think we will get a wide variety of smoke-free bars to choose from, but rather enough to meet demand. Eventually. All things being equal.

The statist is an impatient creature. Once they settle into their heads they wish something, they will get it however they feel they can. Smoking ban fans are certainly well-meaning, and the “work environment” arguments about employees who work in bars and their exposure to smoke have a solid point not easily defeated. Still, my friend was simply voting in favor of a ban because he wanted more smoke-free bars.

It disturbs me when an American will go to the government to demand of a property owner a thing that the owner is not willing to provide. My friend is not being denied a smoke-free bar based on race, color, creed or religion. He is being denied because the bar owner thinks there are more customers to be had by allowing smoking in his bar. While there is a principled argument on health to make about a smoking ban, simply voting for the ban for my own preference of environment is simply participating in mob rule.

Nobody has the guts to just ban cigarettes. If they are so damn dangerous, then just ban the stupid things. The thing is, they are not dangerous enough to ban in the mind of the public, so nanny-state do-gooders get together and nibble at the edges. This is bad enough, but to join in in a form of soft tyranny for no other reason than to expand your selection of watering hole is downright un-American. We are either free men, or we are slaves to the mob. Unfortunately this sort of me-centric thinking is very common today, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

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I attended the Promise Keepers “Stand In The Gap” (or as I like to call it, the Million Mostly White Men March) back in the mid-nineties. Even though we were “Christianists” and voted overwhelmingly Republican, I distinctly recall spending a solid hour along with tens of thousands of other men PICKING UP THE &^%$#*&% TRASH.

Unlike hippies, we spend less time talking about how we love the environment and more time actually doing something about it.

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First, congratulations to the Pulitzer family for their amazing timing.  Considering that the whole Lee chain of newspapers can now be bought for a years worth of interest on the STLPD’s purchase price I think we can all applaud the acumen shown by these good folk.  Clearly the Pulitzers were tired of the newspaper business, and part of me is glad they found a sucker.

The part of me that is glad they found a sucker is the part that is sick and tired of not getting the newspaper.  I have been a fairly loyal subscriber for years.  Once, I took the paper daily and weekend paper.  Getting up in the morning, sliding the wrapper off and drinking a cup of coffee while reading the happenings of the last 24 hours was a uniquely rewarding experience. I felt all grown-up.

Unfortunately I lost faith in the “news” part of newspaper.  Listening to a number of sources, it rapidly dawned on me that reporters are less interested in telling me the news than in telling me a story.  “Balanced reporting” frequently turned out to simply be the publication of opposing sets of statements without regard to the actually, factual, truthfulness of those statements.  The right kind of liars had equal weight with those who spoke the truth.  I began to see a pattern where only the “correct” kind of story got told and that from the “correct” perspective.

The last straw came with the inclusion of “Rise Up”, a insert/publication that sought to “have a conversation about race”.  Inserted into the already thin weekend paper, it was little more than middle-school level blather about everyone getting along, overcoming our differences and other piffle. Nothing about overcoming being an idiot.

I am weary of “conversations” in the bloody newspaper.  I would like to know who did what, what happened, where it happened, why it happened and how does it affect me. I am open to any variation of these themes but I would like a presentation of the facts, the whole facts and nothing but the facts in a readable, punchy style.  That they have the money and interest to distribute “RiseUp” but not invest in hard-bitten, cynical “if your momma says she loves you, check with at least two sources” reporters said it all. We canceled our subscription and now I just read the comics online.

Lee could have called me and asked if the newspaper was worth buying.  I would have told them hell no.  The product is crap, and I don’t have time or inclination to try to figure out what the reporters or editors have failed to ask or failed to say either out of laziness, ignorance, a lack of curiosity or for my own good.

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And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

In the old testament, Isaiah has a similar reaction in the presence of the Lord.

Isaiah 6:5 -- And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Many who are familiar with this passage in Luke know that the Angels tell the shepherds to not be afraid, that they bring good tidings of great joy. Linus, in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” gives what I think is the sweetest version of this event in our culture. Sweet news though it is, I grew up thinking that the shepherds were freaking out simply because the faced the unknown.

I now believe that the fear these men felt was the fear an employee who had been embezzling funds would feel if an FBI agent appeared unexpectedly in his office, only multiplied by an infinite amount. In Isaiah’s encounter, the prophet -- who had dedicated his whole life to serving God -- recognized instantaneously his wretched, sinful condition once exposed to the glory of God.

God’s glory exposes the hidden crevices where our wickedness is hidden. God’s angelic messengers bring with them that penetrating power. Like an enemy combatant who sits in a ruined fortification with an empty rifle, the sudden sight of Marines freezes his blood. Doom crushes his heart.

Mankind knows that it is at war with God. We fool ourselves for a while as we busy ourselves with daily living. We do our deeds both kind and cruel and somehow deceive ourselves into thinking our kindness is counted and cruelties forgotten. Because of the nature of the warfare, we do not recognize the whistling of the artillery overhead, though hospitals, battlefields, and cemeteries are constant reminders of sin’s curse. We turn our face away, but our false oblivion changes nothing.

Then God’s glory appears, and whether a prophet or a shepherd the Glory of God pierces you and you know you are unspeakably wicked by contrast. Doom is here. All you can do is tremble and await.

“Do not be afraid” His agent says. “I bring you tidings of Great Joy” His herald proclaims. God’s justice will be satisfied, but not by your doom, but by His son, who lies in a manger just a few miles away. Just as the old prophet’s sins were taken away by the burning coal, God’s Son has come to take away the sin of the world. God’s Glory will still illuminate the heart, but instead of doomful wickedness it will only reveal the perfect cleanliness of His Son if we will only surrender to Him.

Glory to God in the Highest indeed.

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Beatles

Fun REM cover

Build me up Buttercup

Check out JULIA NUNES

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