“This is the senator that hired his staffer and then took her on trips…and divorced his wife…and they had me run out of town.” — Former Congressman Mark Foley on Democrat Senator Max Baucus
That’s okay, he’s a Democrat
Posted December 28, 2009 by MarkCategories: U.S. Politics
But if Senator Max Baucus were a Republican, you can bet the farm this clip would be leading off the nightly news, not that anyone watches the nightly news anymore.
Wait until this government starts running your health care
Posted December 28, 2009 by MarkCategories: Government
Instead of focusing their energies on right-wing extremists, perhaps the Obama administration should start keeping an eye on actual terrorists.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that the aviation security system failed when a young man on a watchlist with a U.S. visa in his pocket and a powerful explosive hidden on his body was allowed to board a fight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
The Obama administration has ordered investigations into the two areas of aviation security — how travelers are placed on watch lists and how passengers are screened — as critics questioned how the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged in the airliner attack was allowed to board the Dec. 25 flight.
Napolitano concedes airline security system failed – Yahoo! News
Tennessee Republicans take a stand for what’s left of the U.S. Constitution
Posted December 28, 2009 by MarkCategories: ObamaCare
State Representative Susan Lynn (TN-57), the heir apparent to Senator Mae Beavers here in Senate District 17, has asked the Tennessee Attorney General to weigh in on how ObamaCare will affect the individual states through unfunded mandates.
Other legal objections are emerging in the wake of a concession that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., won for his state as a condition for his support of the health care bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed to provide for full and permanent federal aid for Nebraska’s expanded Medicaid population. It was only one of a slew of hand-crafted sweetheart deals for those senators who agreed to support the bill.
But the Nelson deal swiftly drew the ire of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has asked his state’s attorney general to give the issue a legal review. He told Fox News on Tuesday that other states can probably bring a “constitutional challenge” over the issue. He said it’s unfair for one state to get special treatment while others pick up the tab.
“I don’t believe most senators believe this is OK,” Graham said. “I think it stinks. I think it’s sleazy.”
Graham said his state could file an equal rights suit under the Constitution. The Constitution calls for “equal protection” of all citizens.
Likewise, two Republican state representatives from Tennessee on Monday asked their state attorney general to look into the issue — they called the Medicaid expansion an “unfunded mandate.”
Rep. Debra Young Maggart and Rep. Susan Lynn claimed the Nebraska deal was unfair to other states and asked that Attorney General Robert Cooper take “appropriate legal action” against the federal government if the bill becomes law.
“It is clear by the wording of the legislation itself that not every state would face a similar and equal burden,” they wrote. “We see this as a violation of equal protection of the law, an affront to our sovereignty, and a breach of the U.S. Constitution.”
FOXNews.com – Health Care Bill Could Face String of Legal Challenges
At least the view was nice
Posted December 27, 2009 by MarkCategories: Pictures, Sports, Tennessee
Tags: Titans
Well, the Titans game didn’t provide much excitement Christmas night, but at least the night view of downtown from LP Field was remarkable, so it wasn’t a total bummer.
Titans get hammered
Posted December 26, 2009 by MarkCategories: Sports
Tags: Titans
The 12-year-old and I went to LP Field last night to see what was billed as a game between the Titans and the San Diego Chargers. But there was no game. Instead, we saw the Chargers run roughshod over a bunch of guys wearing Titans jerseys, and the final score of 42-17 does not reflect how lopsided the contest was. I can’t even come up with a caveat, a “Yeah, we lost but…” remark to make myself feel better about it. With the loss, the Titans, who are now 7-8, have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, and will finish the 2009 season next week in Seattle.
Senate Democrats usher in the Age of Tyranny
Posted December 24, 2009 by MarkCategories: ObamaCare
Senate Democrats have passed their sham of a health care bill designed not to help the poor, but to put private insurance companies out of business, raise taxes, transfer wealth, and get every single American dependent on government for his health care. Welcome to the birth of the United Socialist States of America.
Senate OKs health care measure, reaching milestone – Yahoo! News
Quote du jour
Posted December 23, 2009 by MarkCategories: Quotables
“There are no longer liberals and conservatives. There are just liars and those who are lied to.” — A caller on Friday’s Rush Limbaugh Show
Today’s Lebanon Democrat column: “With stem-cell research, results matter”
Posted December 22, 2009 by MarkCategories: Published Columns 2009, Stem-cells
Tags: Lebanon Democrat Columns
In yet another milestone for adult stem-cell research, stem-cells derived from umbilical cord blood have been used to reverse the effects of cerebral palsy in a Colorado toddler.
Chloe Levin, from Denver, was successfully treated last May using stem-cells from her own umbilical cord blood that had been stored away upon her birth.
David Zitlow of Cord Blood Registry, the world’s largest cord blood bank, explains that umbilical cord cells are smart. Once they are re-infused into the body, they migrate to the exact spot of injury and help the damaged cells or tissue repair itself.
So, Chloe received a 15-minute re-infusion of her stem cells. Her parents were told that, best case, they would see signs of improvement in six months to a year.
Within four days, Chloe’s parents saw a noticeable difference, although such rapid improvement is out of the ordinary. Indeed, the rigidity on her right side loosened up, and her speech began to improve. She was able to ride her toy tractor, which in the past had been too difficult to pedal.
Says her mother, Jenny, “Her life is completely normal, she doesn’t drag her right foot, she can use her right hand. She rides a bike, a scooter…we’re taking her skiing this year. She’s fabulous.”
The successes from medical treatments involving adult (non-embryonic) stem-cells are too numerous to mention here. Positive results from adult stem-cell research have been chronicled for years. Chloe Levin’s case is merely one of the more recent.
Earlier this month, and as expected, President Obama lifted President Bush’s restrictions on using federal funding for embryonic stem-cell (ESC) research. In August, 2001, President Bush restricted federal funding of ESC research to existing lines only. To date, despite all the public and private money that has been poured into ESC research, embryonic stem-cells have yet to produce a single medical treatment for humans.
Like global warming, ESC research is a hoax.
Those who advocate public funding for ESC research (typically those on the left), completely ignore the advances that have been made in ASC research. Instead, the left clings to ESC research, which has been nothing but a proven failure. With them, results simply don’t matter.
Yet advocates of ESC research will tell you that denying public funding is tantamount to denying cures for people with Parkinson’s and other diseases.
If you paid attention to the general elections in both 2004 and 2006, you saw shameless campaigning for ESC research by leftists. In 2004, it was John Edwards who proclaimed that if John Kerry were elected president, people like Christopher Reeve would get up out of that wheelchair and walk again. It was a terrible thing to say, as Edwards had zero scientific proof that ESC research could ever cure paralysis.
In 2006, Michael J. Fox, while campaigning for Democrats, proclaimed that “Stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans with diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s….”
No, it doesn’t, and it never has.
So why does the left continue to push for public funding of ESC research when it has produced zero results?
It all comes down to abortion. Abortion remains the sacrament of the Democrat Party. ESC’s, of course, are derived by destroying human embryos. Abortion-rights advocates, who also tend to advocate for ESC research, will usually tell you an embryo is nothing more than a microscopic clump of cells. Those of us who oppose abortion and advocate the right to life see this clump of cells as a human being in the earliest stage of development.
The way to keep abortion legal is to first dehumanize the unborn. From the embryonic stage to the third trimester, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an abortion-rights advocate who will concede the humanity of the unborn. Thus, carving up human embryos under the false premise that doing so will one day provide life-saving cures for human diseases gives the left one mechanism for denying the humanity of the unborn.
Otherwise, if results really mattered, leftists would recognize the wholesale failure of ESC research and instead be celebrating the treatments provided by adult-stems cells. Let’s end the charade of ESC research, shelve the whole thing, and stick with what actually works.
Memphis Tigers 2009-2010 basketball video intro
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: Sports
Tags: Tigers
Back in the day
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: Science & Technology
The 12-year-old and I are lying in bed watching Monday Night Football after a day of running errands and doing chores, and neither of us have a care in the world right now. He’s playing his PSP, thumbs moving faster than the eye can see. I told him he should see what we had to play with when I was his age. It was about then, around 1981 (when I was 12) that the Atari 2600 video game console first came out. For those of you aren’t old enough to remember, that was the first video game console that you could buy in the store and hook up to your TV. I went digging around the Internet for some screen captures of old Atari 2600 games, and found this image of 1981-era hoops:
Of course, when you’ve played an xBox 360 on HDTV, or even a PSP, the Atari 2600 graphics are just terrible. But back then, it was the greatest thing in the world.
Gore Effect reaches Copenhagen
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: Global Warming
This is a little dated, but how about that rare snowstorm that hit Copenhagen while socialists from around the world debated what to do about global warming?
God sure does have a marvelous sense of humor.
The cost of twisting arms
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: U.S. Politics
Michelle Malkin calls it “Cash for Cloture.” She has compiled a list of senators who votes for ObamaCare have been purchased by Harry Reid…with OUR dollars.
Michelle Malkin » Cash for Cloture: Demcare bribe list, Pt. II
December 21…not just another day on the calendar
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: Humor
From the unpaid research assistant:
Today is the 21st day of the 12th month – often written as 21/12 in many parts of the world. The occasion has become a sort of unofficial Rush holiday in recent years. What better excuse do you need to listen to Rush all day long, watch Rush DVDs, wear Rush paraphernalia, etc? To make it especially significant, do something extra special at exactly 9:12PM this evening; 21:12 in military time.
And so I wish you all a Happy International Rush Day!
They play football in anything
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: History, Sports
That’s one of the advantages football has over other outdoor sports. They don’t cancel a game on account of the weather. The Philadelphia Daily News takes a look back at the 1948 NFL title game between the Chicago Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles, played in a blinding snowstorm in Philly.
There exists a picture of the Cardinals – then based in Chicago – and the Eagles aiding the grounds crew as they removed the tarp from the field. With it came the chalked lines showing the yardage markers, frozen to the underside of the tarp.
Ropes tied to sticks marked the sidelines and end zone. Commissioner Bert Bell ruled that, since yardage lines no longer existed and snow would immediately obscure new lines, referee Ron Gibbs would use his judgment to rule on first-down yardage.
The future of Islam
Posted December 21, 2009 by MarkCategories: Religion of Peace
Tom Bevan over at Real Clear Politics has disposed of any sort of optimism he might have been holding out that moderate Islamists might reclaim their religion.
Note to Tom: don’t hold your breath. We’re now eight years removed from 9/11, and the only thing the last 3,016 days have taught us is that there is no Islamic reformation coming any time soon, no budding civil war from which moderate Islam will emerge victorious.
As an aside, it certainly doesn’t help matters that despite nearly a decade peppered with additional acts of terrorism by Islamic fundamentalists, much of the media and the liberal intellectual elite of the Western world (among them, Mr. Friedman himself) continue to cling to a doctrine of political correctness that prevents the kind of unvarnished dialogue the matter requires. One need look no further than the terrorist attack at Fort Hood last month for a good example of what I’m talking about.
Waiting in Vain for the Islamic Reformation – Real Clear Politics – TIME.com
Titans even their record at 7-7…playoff hopes rising
Posted December 20, 2009 by MarkCategories: Sports
Tags: Titans
After starting the season 0-6, here we are with the Tennessee Titans at 7-7, and suddenly a playoff contender. The Titans beat the Miami Dolphins at LP Field today 27-24, but it wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t easy. The Titans looked as though they were going to run away with it after taking a 24-6 lead early in the 2nd half. But the Titans could then do no right, and the Dolphins could do no wrong, and the visiting team tied the score at 24-24 with just 1:34 remaining on the clock following a touchdown and 2-point conversion.
The game went to overtime, with the Dolphins winning the coin toss. But Michael Griffin picked off Chad Henne for the Dolphins’ 4th turnover of the game, and a late hit penalty put the Titans in automatic field goal range. Three plays later, Rob Bironas kicked the game-winner from 46 yards.
A loss would have been devastating for the Titans, because a lot of other things they need to go their way are indeed going their way. Already this week, three teams that were one-game ahead in the standings have lost: Jacksonville, New York Jets, and Miami. That leaves Baltimore as the front-runner for the last playoff spot in the AFC. They are 7-6, and are playing at home against the Bears. Should they lose, that would leave the Ravens in a tie for that playoff spot with the Titans, Jaguars, Dolphins, Jets, Texans, and, if they win this afternoon, the Steelers.
With two games left, anything can still happen. But the Titans have a difficult mountain to climb next week as they host the 10-3 San Diego Chargers on Christmas night. The Chargers have won 8 games in a row. The Titans have won 7 of 8. It promises to be a dog fight, and Right Minded will be there with the 12-year-old to cheer on the good guys.
Trip down Amnesia Lane
Posted December 19, 2009 by MarkCategories: Pictures, Right Minded, Tennessee
Tags: Churches
Right Minded is visiting family this weekend. With a little extra time on our hands today, we made the relatively short drive from Jackson to Alamo, with a return detour through Bells. Below is the church I attended and the house I lived in from 1980 to 1983 (aged 10 to 13). The house, located at 101 College Street, is where I lived when I watched my beloved Philadelphia Phillies win the 1980 World Series. The second-floor window you see was my room window.
The real story of Christmas
Posted December 25, 2009 by MarkCategories: Christianity, Christmas
Tags: Bible Commentary
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. (Matthew 1:1-17)
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38)
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:1-20)
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:1-15)
Footnote: The genealogy of Jesus Christ given in Matthew 1 does not include those 19 generations that preceded Abraham. (The numbers in parentheses are the ages of the men when they became fathers to the next members in the line of succession.) They are Adam (130), Seth (105), Enosh (90), Kenan (70), Mahalalel (65), Jared (162), Enoch (65), Methuselah (187), Lamech (182), Noah (500), Shem (100), Arphaxad (35), Shelah (30), Eber (34), Peleg (30), Reu (32), Serug (30), Nahor (29), Terah (70), and Abram, who became Abraham, and was born 1,946 years after the creation of Adam. Therefore, all of the generations from Adam to Jesus Christ are 61.
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