Skip, Author at Granite Grok

An entitlement parsonage?

November 1, 2024August 6, 2006 Skip

The New Orlean Times-Picayune has a story about a 23 year old single mom who appeared on the Oprah show, destitute from Katrina. A church in the Chicago area offered her their parsonage for free for her and her two daughters and son (now 5, 1, and 4 months). and she moved into it in September.

She had a job back in October, which seemed to end soon after she got it. She subsequently said no to several other jobs (as the article states):

She has since stayed home to raise the children.

A year has effectively gone by, and the church wants its parsonage (a house usually owned by a church for use by its clergy) back. She doesn’t want to go. Complicating the matter a bit, there seems to be a "church said / she said" disagreement about her leaving – was it June (the church) or December (the mom). She says that she has no money to go anywhere.

The story does say a single mom – no mention of a boyfriend coming up with her from New Orleans. So I will ask the hard question: Where’s the Dad? The answer is "Who knows?" (certainly not from the story – no mention at all). So I will assume the worst – he skipped out.

Oh, but Skip, you’re being judgemental, you mean spirited conservative Republican who, in this case, REALLY wants to throw the baby out with the bathwater for bringing it up.

My answer is that this question is not being asked enough; the discussion on this has been put away too many times because it is too sensitive. It is judgemental and rightfully so, this affects kids. I applaud Bill Cosby (still love his "Noah" bit after all these years) for causing a ruckus in the black community about the problems in the black community, among them unwed mothers and men refusing to be fathers (and yes, I am stereotyping here based based on the names of the mother and offsprings – the story doesn’t say but they certainly aren’t from my Irish or Swedish background).

So why isn’t Dad in the picture, providing for his family? What is it about a lot of men (or should I just call them kids?) that they feel that they do not have to provide for what they have created? Is it just a "all about me" mentality, or is it just a lack of maturity and a willingness to take responsibility for one’s actions (and their results)?

Andy why do we let them get away with it?

So what’s wrong with taking sides

November 1, 2024August 6, 2006 Skip

The Muslim community is upset at yet another politician that publicly has not yet prostrated himself to their point of view – so what else is new? I’m not happy with LA Mayor Villaraigosa for his stance on illegal immigration. However, he is now taking it on the chin. Why? This story from the San … Read more

Taking away freedom – next!

November 1, 2024August 5, 2006 Skip

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) notes a new speech code at CSU: Colorado State University’s Residence Hall Handbook bans “hate incidents,” which it defines as: [E]xpressions of hostility against a person or property because of a person’s race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, ability, age, gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. … Read more

Stopping the anti-freedom folks – PCRM

November 1, 2024August 5, 2006 Skip

From The Center for Consumer Freedom comes this story: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is probably hoping you didn’t catch the news this morning. The PETA-linked animal rights group, dedicated to eliminating animal products like meat, dairy, and fish from Americans’ diets, was handed a decisive defeat Wednesday in federal court. Judge Henry … Read more

Who’s in charge, and who’s country is it?

November 7, 2024August 5, 2006 Skip

From the Washington Post comes this: UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 2 — Lebanon’s acting foreign minister, Tarek Mitri, said Wednesday he doubts that his government would agree to invite a European-led intervention force into southern Lebanon, citing fierce opposition from Hezbollah and its key foreign backers, Syria and Iran. Let’s see if I have this straight: … Read more

Setting ourselves up for another bank bailout?

November 1, 2024August 5, 2006 Skip

From the Houston Chronicle is this story about illegal immigrants buying houses: Despite being in the U.S. illegally, undocumented immigrants can legally buy a house. OK, I can live with this without a problem at all. Certain lenders don’t ask for immigration papers. And buyers using a special tax ID often don’t need a lengthy … Read more

Go see this and read that

November 1, 2024August 5, 2006 Skip

More photo doctoring from Hezbullah? Little Green Footballs is all over the story that Reuters is trying to pull wool again. No comment needed from me. And Weekend Pundit nails another aspect of the entire this war that gets no play in our MSM.

Warm? You want warm?

November 7, 2024August 4, 2006 Skip

From National Geographic, I found this:

An ancient period of global warming spurred the world’s first primates to spread from Asia to North America, new research shows.

The article then went on to discuss mammal migration across North America:

Gingerich’s team concludes that the tiny primates first appeared in China at the beginning of an ancient warming period that began 55 million years ago.

The animals appeared in Europe slightly later and then made their way to North America 20,000 years into the warming event.

"So you have a suggestion that it’s appearing earlier in China than in Europe, and earlier in Europe than in North America," Gingerich said.

In addition, he says, the Chinese animals appear to be more primitive than the European ones, which in turn appear more primitive than North American specimens.

Well, this blog is not generally in the topic of discussing mammalian migrations as a general theme, but one thing did catch my eye:

Ancient Global Warming

The ancient global warming period, known to scientists as the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum, lasted approximately 100,000 years.

During the first 20,000 years, the Earth warmed by about 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) before returning to previous levels.

Gee, something positive from a warming trend happened?

Thanks for the link, and appreciate the visits!

November 7, 2024August 4, 2006 Skip

We want to say thank you to the folks at both Anke Biting Pundits (Pat Hynes) and Right Wing News (John Hawkins) for their mentions of us as a "new blog" and as "web site of the day" (and apologies for not putting this up sooner – we ARE a new blog and the amazement … Read more

Making a tiny plea for socialism

December 1, 2024August 3, 2006 Skip

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The dwindling of the American middle class has been much documented over the past three decades. Now comes a sobering reminder from the Brookings Institution that middle-class neighborhoods are disappearing even faster than middle-class people. Or, to put it another way, Americans are increasingly sorting themselves geographically into income-based enclaves where the haves and have-nots seldom mingle.

From 1970 to 2000, the proportion of middle-income neighborhoods in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas declined from 58 percent to 41 percent, according to a new Brookings report. That was a faster drop than the metrowide share of middle-income families. Their proportion fell from 28 percent in 1970 to 22 percent in 2000. Given more recent trends in household incomes, it’s likely that the rich-poor gap has continued to widen.

I know that the middle class has been written about a lot. However, I’ve never seen any stats that the middle class overall is actually shrinking. That said, I’m not sure why this author is so confused?

Let’s see if I get this right – I have some money but my neighborhood is going down the toilet as crime goes up, the schools are poor, there’s no where to park, my kids have no place to play, I’d like to have my own single family home with grass and a couple of trees, and I want to get away from the noise and the smells. And the bite of city taxes are rising faster than my income. But this guy is upset that I want out and don’t want to stick around? Umm, no.

Sometimes, I just can’t shut up

December 1, 2024August 3, 2006 Skip

Over at Weekend Pundit, DCE has a couple of comments on my Post here about how I feel about the West losing its back bone.

The one that caught my eye was that of:

We have thousands of nuclear weapons and numerous ways to deliver them with pinpoint accuracy. If the Islamofascists ever made the mistake of using nukes, they will have lost the war, for we would retaliate, and the nascent Caliphate would die in nuclear fire

I’m not so sure that we would use them. Or, at least, it would depend two things:

Who is in the White House
What type of nuclear weapon was used

Right now, we have shown in the last three major conflicts (Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq) that we will not wage total war (think Sherman’s march to the sea during our Civil War, for instance).

The Blame Game

December 19, 2024August 2, 2006 Skip

There have been murmurings from the readership of our local newspapers that there has to be a ceasefire in the current conflict between Israel and Hezbullah. I do feel that they are wrong when they states that we are “stubbornly defending Israel’s right to bomb civilian infrastructures.” No, we defend the right of a sovereign nation-state, Israel, to defend itself against a terrorist organization,
Hezbullah. That group established itself within a weak nation-state, Lebanon and hijacked Lebanon’s foreign policy by waging war on Israel by itself without the consent of the host Lebanese government. Its self-proclaimed end point is nothing less the destruction of Israel (similar to that of Hamas in Gaza).

The highest duty of a nation-state is to protect its citizens. Hezbullah, not the US or Israel, should be the target of your scorn, for it was those state-less terrorists that crossed the sovereign border of Israel and killed its citizens and kidnapped two more. I take it that you believe that Israel should have just ignored this attack and allow this to happen? Do you even recognize the ramifications of the word “sovereign” in this event? I take it that you do not support the right of Israel to defend itself?

Notable Quotes: Abraham Lincoln

December 19, 2024August 2, 2006 Skip

From our friends at Refdesk.com comes this Thought of the Day: "The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it have any evil in it; but whether it have more of evil, than of good. There are few things wholly evil, or wholly good. Almost every thing, especially of … Read more

No, computers do not solve all problems

December 1, 2024August 2, 2006 Skip

From Computerworld: Manager complains to pilot fish [the IT guy -Skip] that "my Internet is broken," so fish stops by his cube. "He wants to know why he can’t find archery supplies on the Internet," says fish. "I give him a stern look — this is on company time — and look at the search … Read more

Gee, enforcing the law? What a concept!

December 19, 2024August 1, 2006 Skip

This from Julius Preston at the New York Times:

CINCINNATI, July 30 — Immigration agents had prepared a nasty surprise for the Garcia Labor Company, a temporary worker contractor, when they moved against it on charges of hiring illegal immigrants. They brought a 40-count federal indictment, part of a new nationwide strategy by immigration officials to clamp down on employers of illegal immigrant laborers.

The criminal charges against Mr. Garcia and his company were brought by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. The campaign has included at least five other federal indictments of business executives in Ohio and Kentucky and has sent payroll managers rushing to re-examine their workers’ papers and rethink plans for their work force.

Your company is breaking the law, and you are surprised? We have had laws against hiring illegals – common sense should say "don’t do this!"

It also created a new environment of fear in Ohio’s immigrant communities.

“It’s a very uneasy feeling,” said Sister Teresa Ann Wolf, a Roman Catholic nun who works with immigrant workers in Canton, Ohio. “People are afraid to leave the house to go to the store. They are afraid to come to church.”

Notice the lack of the word illegal before "immigrant"?

English – Press what?

December 19, 2024August 1, 2006 Skip

I received this from a friend of mine and while many may roll their eyes, others get mad, and others chuckle, it does raise a point. FINALLY!! An answer to the de-Americanizing crap that has been suffocating our country. A short, concise message that makes sense. Every business should be required to install this message … Read more

It just seems to be jets….

December 19, 2024July 31, 2006 Skip

First the JetBug, then the Jet Scooter, followed by Jet Taxis, and NOW! The Jet Pack! There seems to be a trend here…….. (H/T: Engadget)

Ruminations on 7/31/06

December 19, 2024July 31, 2006 Skip

CAIR is at it again…..calling Israel "terrorists":

(WASHINGTON, DC, 7/30/06) – A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today said the Bush administration and the international community must act to stop Israel’s campaign of "terror" in Southern Lebanon.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued that call after an Israeli air strike killed at least 57 civilians in the town of Qana, the site of a similar massacre of civilians by Israel a decade ago. (In 1996, an Israeli air strike on a United Nations compound in Qana killed more than 100 civilians who had sought shelter there.) Lebanese officials said the majority of the dead in today’s attack were children. Hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed in previous Israeli attacks.

Only one little itty-bitty tiny small problem….CAIR makes no mention of Hezbullah. Hey, CAIR, shall we talk about the root cause, that Hezbullah causes those civilian casualties by hiding and fighting among them. Gee, for an "honor" society, they show a lot of cowardice….(H/T: CNSNews)

*****

From Blackfive:

I asked a few of the soldiers how they felt about this war, a war that had begun with an attack on American soil. How did it feel being Canadian leading the fight? The answers were nearly all the same, "It’s time that someone else steps up. The United States shouldn’t have to carry the fight alone. We may be Canadians, but the attack was an attack on our common values and beliefs. The attack of 9-11 was an attack on all of us."

Thank you. It is much appreciated

The sissy-fication of War in the West – Part 1

December 19, 2024July 30, 2006 Skip

As promised, here is the update to my Post "The changing nature of war, or is the West just starting to catch up?" Of course, timing is everything and as I was typing, FOX News just switched to the Kofi Annan news conference. They are also showing film from Israel military sources showing Hezbullah shooting … Read more

The sissy-fication of War in the West – Part 2

December 19, 2024July 30, 2006 Skip

Perhaps the length of time from my first Post until now (have been doing technical work [such as I can do it] on our new blog, GilfordGrok) has been helpful.

Have we become too civilized for the horrors of war? Have we become too timid and pacifistic to wage war or defend ourselves?

I now listen to and watch the commentary of the political elites over the the conflict of Israel and Hezbullah. I do not hear calls for winning from those in the West; rather, I hear that only from those that would first destroy Israel, and then, the West. From the West, I hear calls of an immediate cease fire, of cessation of hostilities, of laying down arms, of engaging only through diplomacy and talk. I do not hear calls for winning the battle and destroying the enemy.

What comes to mind is a episode from the original Star Trek series called "A Taste of Armageddon". Being still of a young age when this first ran, I only understood the story line -the visited planet conducted war solely by computer simulation and "human" casualties had to report to disintegration chambers to die. This allowed the infrastructure remained intact and life went on. When Captain Kirk destroyed the simulation computers (the Enterprise had become ensnared in this scheme), horror breaks out among the elite of that planet, decrying that real war will break out with real horror being meted out. Unless of course, Captain Kirk points out, they really talk about and solve the real problems.

The overall point was that if one civilizes war too much the underlying causes will go unaddressed. It becomes too easy to sweep things under the rug, keep ignoring the problems that pop up, and try to accept things as "that’s the way it is". It becomes too easy to ignore reality and one will do anything to not upset the status quo. In other words, settle for stability now and worry about real peace sometime later. If ever. Maybe the problems will go away on their own…..uh-huh.

Of the industrialized nations, the US spends more on its military than the next 20 countries combined. We have capabilities that outshine the rest of the world and that gap is only growing. While we are the lone superpower of the world, have we assumed the title of "cop of the world" as well? And if so, why has this happened? All I have to do is look at what the world is saying in the Israeli / Hezbullah conflict – Hey, US, put a stop to it?

My answer is – Hey, how about your turn?