Humor or Hatred? You Decide

Ladies and Gentlemen:

In lieu of a posting the day after Christmas, I'm going to refer you to the comments section of the prior post where I wished everyone a Merry Christmas. I do so for two reasons:

1.) Sir Charles left a beautiful message on Christmas's past

2.) Dave left a message

For those of you who don't know, Dave, whoever he may be, has taken it upon himself to become my radical-liberal overseer, taking delight in pointing out the errors of my ways. Here is Dave's note to me for December 26th:

"OK, it's the 26th.

Can we put away the bells and kettles, close the soup kitchens, take down the "Peace on Earth" banners and get back to the homo-hating, immigrant bashing, controlling women's rights, fear mongering, imperialist, war fighting, corporate welfare, and tax cuts for the rich?"

I would like to believe that Dave was just busting my chops and left the note above as a facetious post-Christmas offering. The only other option is that Dave is really serious and is ready to jump back on the hate-wagon as soon as possible.

I'm sure Dave will take the time to let us know his intent, so I will reserve any further comment until we here from Dave, other than to share my response in the comments section as well:

"God Bless You Dave - I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I pray that in the New Year you'll find a way to have that chip surgically removed from your shoulder and the stick removed from the aperture of your hindquarters."

Just for future reference Dave, Christmas is a very difficult time for some of us. I spent most of my day trying to focus on my grandchildren and not dwell on the fact that its been a little more than a year since my daughter died in my arms. Your petty attempts at either humor or sarcasm are duly noted, and I pray that you never have to experience the devastating loss of a child like I did. I'm not the first parent to lose a child and I won't be the last, so I'm not looking for any special consideration from you Dave, I only wish you the best and pray that somehow God manages to touch your life and bring you peace.

Merry Christmas - It's Okay To Say It

I'd like to start off by wishing each and every one of you a Merry Christmas!

There, I said it and the world still turns.

If you chose not to say it, the same thing will almost certainly happen.

At this time of the year it is especially important for Christians everywhere to remember not only what we celebrate, but some of the things it means to be a Christian here in America.

It means you don't have to worry if there's no nativity scene on government property - that's how we keep the church and the state separated. We're all free to worship or not, so consideration for the feelings of others need not be associated with any religious activity - it's just courtesy.

It means you don't have to worry when you say "Merry Christmas" to anyone. Most people understand you're just being friendly and wishing them the best of the spirit of the season. If they're offended, just apologize and offer them the best of the season. Just remember to be Christian in your definition of "best of the season". (Reindeer chips in their hot cocoa is not Christian)

It means that being a Christian in America is usually not a life-threatening activity, but that's not the case everywhere in the world. We really should be incredibly thankful for being born into a time and place where freedom is our foundation. Imperfect as it often is, there's no place else I'd rather be.

It means that even if there is an assault on Christmas as some would promote, we really don't need to be all that concerned about it.

Of all the people in the past 2007+ years, Jesus Christ is the last person who would be concerned if you didn't want to celebrate His birthday. The uproar over the use of two little words like "Merry Christmas" will fade into time, but the words and actions of Jesus Christ will continue to resonate through the ages.

Thanks for everything Jesus & Happy Birthday . . .

and all I can say to those of you who continue to honor me with your visits:

Merry Christmas!

Animals: The Good-The Bad-The Fugly

THE GOOD

Daisy is the latest addition to the menagerie here, bringing the total to 3 dogs and 2 cats. She's been with us almost four months now, but still has a lot of kitten in her growing feline form. I had been doing laundry most of the day, used the final dryer sheet, and was awaiting the return of my wife to dry the final load of the day. I left the door to the front loading dryer open, ready to just toss in a couple of sheets, close the door and start the clothes drying.

After the usual hubbub had settled from the unloading and packing away of a week's worth of groceries, I grabbed the dryer sheets, tossed a couple in the open door, closed the door and started the dryer up.

I heard a thumping sound that reminded me of sneakers, or maybe boots left in a dryer. My grandson had been outside playing in the snow earlier, so I suspected he had tossed his boots right in without caring what else was in there.

I stopped the dryer and opened the door. That darn cat literally flew out of that dryer so fast that he was out of the dryer and out of the room before my butt hit the floor. Startled but not all that surprised - knowing how cats like to hide away - I sat there and just laughed my fool head off.

Driving Miss Daisy in deed.

THE BAD

And now, a couple of more animal related stories, starting with a salute to my brother Joe. He worked in Wrangle, Alaska for over a year, helping to bring a major power line through. While traveling the wilder portions of the line, he carried a pistol with him in case he happened to run into a bear. Had he been aware of the bear below, he would have immediately recognized the fact that he would have been better off slapping a C.O.D. sticker on his body and hoping there was enough left to ship home.



This gentleman, a member of the U.S. Forest Service, was out hunting deer when he encountered this behemoth. Coming in a just over 1,600 pounds, standing 12'6" at the shoulder and 14' at the head, this lucky gentlemen emptied his 7mm Magnum, semi-automatic rifle into the grizzly, dropping it a few feet from him. Still alive, he then finished him off with his pistol.

The remains of two humans were found inside the bear, and after backtracking, they located one of the bodies and an emptied .38 caliber pistol nearby. The second body was never located.

Reminds me of the atheist walking in the woods who encountered such a bear. He dropped to his knees and screamed "Oh my God!".

At those words, time stood still, bright light encompassed him, and the atheist heard a voice say to him:

"You have denied my existence all these years; you've taught others that I don't exist and have gone so far as to credit the existence of the universe to cosmic chance - so now I am to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light and said, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?"

"Very Well," said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke:

"Bless us oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen." (Thanks JR - I enjoyed that one!)

THE FUGLY

The Naked Mole-Rat exists and can be found in Africa. Based upon the picture below, I can only hope that God does not have any odd reincarnation plans for me. As for the inevitable comparisons between the Naked Mole-Rat and yours truly, I have been called a dick from time to time, but I do not have buck teeth thank you very much.

The Summer of '64

Living in the Town of Watson in 1964 was a slice of Americana now gone forever. With no laptops, video games, and the ability to receive only one channel on our TV, there was not a lot to keep one indoors during the summer.

Thank God there was baseball.

If my brother and I weren't on the side of the house playing imaginary games by fielding ground balls and popups, or playing pitcher and catcher, we were practicing our hitting skills along side the house. Although we tried desperately not to go to right field, the number of windows replaced in my parents bedroom will attest to our inability to pull the ball all the time.

We were actually ahead of the curve on women's rights. Not because we were noble or anything like that, we were pragmatic. Very seldom could you field even 7 players on a side, so the girls were always welcome to play, albeit the last ones picked. Except for Mousey - she could play!

We'd show up at the open field at Petrie's Corners around 9:30 am for the morning session, home for lunch, back around 1:00 pm for the afternoon session, then dinner and a final game of the day until it got too dark to see the ball. Peter & Eleanor Biche owned the bar on the corner where you could get Mallo cups and a soda for less than a quarter, so our concession stand was close at hand if we had the need for refreshment.

Then it was home to listen to the game on the radio.

Some of my earliest recollections are listening to Yankee baseball on the radio. The voice of Mel Allen is a voice that my children will never hear, much to their detriment. There's something about listening to a baseball game on the radio that was magical, and I still love to listen to games when I'm traveling.

By this time you've probably come to the realization that baseball was pretty much all I lived for up until I was 14. If the summer of '64 was baseball, the summer of '65 was girls and life has never been the same since.

My brother Joe and I played on a team called "Young's Yankees", named after Judge Fred Youngs of Lowville. We had one of those seasons where everything just fell into place. We had great pitching and batting averages so gaudy that I still have to look at the newspaper clippings to confirm that we did so well (Thanks Mom!)

We won the regular season title and the Lowville Little League Championship, and then we went on to the Lewis County Fair for the County Championship. There are two things about that game that have stayed with me over the years. First, I can still remember Mr. Kibling (baseball coach at LACS) being the umpire that day. After a swing my first time at bat, he told me I really should hold my bat higher in my stance. I hit the next pitch over the centerfielders head for a home run - so you know why I remember that incident.

The other incident was memorable only because I wasn't killed.

I tried to steal home without the batter being aware that I was coming. Luckily, I was still far enough away as he swung the bat that neither the bat nor the ball caught me in the noggin, much to the dismay of future liberals and my ex-wife.

We won the Lewis County Championship that year. The patch that you see above was one given to every person who participated in the county tournament that year. The item directly below that was something that only the guys on Young's Yankees got - a trip to the fourth game of the 1964 World Series between the Yankees and the Cardinals.

To a young man who had grown up idolizing Mickey Mantle (who didn't - except the Red Sox nation), this was the ultimate. I barely slept the night before and I couldn't wait to get going. I again have only two memories of that day that stick out:

1.) Mickey Mantle won the game in the bottom of the 9th inning with a home run. Although they eventually lost the series, this will forever be my greatest sports moment.

2.) On the way back, I can remember Dave Markham's father and one of the other father's who was driving having a race on the thruway. I'm sure they were drinking sodas at the game and thus were completely sober when they were entertaining us boys with a good old game of "Catch Us If You Can". Forty years after the fact I think it's safe to reveal this now.

So why a recollection of sandlot baseball in 1964?

To get the taste of disgust out of my mouth.

Give Roger Maris back his record, same thing with Hank Aaron and anyone else who owns a "Roid-Record". It is unfortunate that the majority of the evidence is circumstantial and based on the word of an ex-club house worker who's credulity is questionable. In any instance where there is definitive proof of steroid use, penalties need to be imposed.

Baseball needs to make a decision - do you want to play the game as it was intended to be played, or do you let everyone become a chemically enhanced ballplayer.

Actually, they could have two leagues - one for the normal human beings and MLFB - Major League Freak Baseball. Nah - bad idea.

It's a bad idea only because of what it is doing to our children. When my son played football in Amsterdam, there were players on the high school football team who were doing steroids. When he was offered a "whole series" for $40, he turned them down. Since that time there have been numerous arrests in Amsterdam of people he played with who were continuing to supply steroids to high school athletes.

There is the danger, and there is the reason these baseball players need to be severely disciplined. If we fail to do so, what kind of message are we sending to our children?

As a basic rule of thumb, the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) should apply. If you test positive once for steroids, you're suspended for a year. A second infraction is a life time ban from the sport. There are those who would suggest that the life time ban should apply after the first incident, but think everyone deserves at least one shot to prove that they've changed.

There are massive amounts of money at stake here, that's why the players union has continued to stonewall and drag their feet. In lieu of an essay on how unions are ruining education, sports and manufacturing, suffice it to say that this is one time Congress should stick it's nose in where it belongs. If Bud Selig and the union reps can't put together a program to stop this problem, then Congress must.

You will recall that I opposed the effort by Massachusetts lawmakers to ban spanking. In my opinion, that's a direct interference with the parents right to raise their child as they see fit, barring any physical abuse. In this case, kids have died - many by suicide - because of the effects of steroids.

Therein lies the difference, and the reason Congress needs to keep an eye on what happens in the coming weeks. If Selig and the players can't get it done, we need to get it done for them and make it painfully obvious to every teenage athlete in this country that performance enhancement drugs of any type will never be acceptable!

New Jersey Got It Right - Nancy Didn't

The New Jersey state legislators today enacted a prohibition against the death penalty, even for the most heinous of murders. I salute them for their actions. Polling in the state indicated that a substantial majority of the people polled still wanted the death penalty for the worst offenders, but the legislative body, under the control of NJ Democrats, stuck with total elimination of the death penalty in the state.


I suspect that there are those of you reading this who are aghast and/or surprised at me casting my lot with the Democrats of New Jersey, but I've expressed my opposition to the death penalty in a previous post as well, just shortly after two New York State Troopers were killed. (See "Death and Life" - April 25, 2007).

Now if we could only give an unborn child the same protection as we're giving to convicted murderers, then our position on the sanctity of life becomes a great deal more logical.

Logic, however, must be an elusive concept for Speaker Pelosi. Outwitted, outFoxed (eat your heart out TF) and out-maneuvered at every turn, she resorted today to saying the "...Republicans like this war ..." Later, in an effort to recant and show remorse, she clarified her statement to say that she meant to say that "...they just support this war."

Imagine that. There are some Americans out there who support our troops and our objectives.

All sarcasm aside, here's where I think she and the rest of the Democrats have miscalculated. They misread their victory in the last election. Rather than an overwhelming desire to just quit and get out, the majority of Americans want the damn thing over, but they want it over with our objectives met.

So what does "objectives met" really mean? Though I hate to use such a simplistic characterization, for many of us I suspect it may be a simple matter of pride in our country; a belief that we went there as liberators not conquerors, and we'll leave when the Iraqi's are ready to take control. The surge would not be working if local tribal leaders were not cooperating in many areas, such as Al Anbar province. As would likely be the case in most countries, they would like us out of there as quickly as possible and will be only too happy to let us know when they think they're ready to assume full control.

In an effort to maintain my "glass is half-full" outlook on life, I believe that we'll begin to see the number of troops start to diminish as early as the spring of '08. If the politicians in Iraq can get their work done, we could see significant reductions in troop numbers in Iraq by summer. If the Iraqi politicians fail in their duty to their country and take their two month break next summer without accomplishing anything, then it will be time to start winnowing down the number of troops - regardless of the military situation on the ground.

As far as Speaker Pelosi is concerned, I know she misspoke herself, and even her clarification was lacking in tact, but she did not mean to infer that Republicans "like the war". There are those who would echo her initial sentiments with no reluctance at all, but most of us see it for what it was - a mistake.

I just wish she weren't such an apt apostle of the Peter Principle.

The Candidate of The Month Club?

You've got to hand it Barack Obama when it comes to a celebrity endorsement.

Over the past weekend Hillary got an endorsement from the Mayor of San Francisco. If I'd been a member of Hillary's staff I would have told Gavin thanks, but lets not make a big deal out of it. Sodom on the Sea is not exactly heartland America, and his endorsement is as likely to turn off as many people as it turns on - an appropriate phrasing I suppose as far as San Francisco is concerned.

John Edwards got a couple of big celebrity endorsements as well: Harry Belafonte and Sean Penn. That means he's got the calypso vote and most of the folks at S.A.G. (That used to stand for Screen Actors Guild, but has been changed to Silly-Ass-Goofballs to reflect their relevance to American society.)

Senator Obama simply crushed the competition. I'll grant you that fannies in the seats to see Oprah doesn't necessarily translate into Obama votes, but considering the fact that names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and donations of time and/or money were required to get tickets to the event, this was pure genius on the part of those responsible.

I'm not sure if this is democracy at work or just the Mickey Mouse Club redux, but whatever it is, it can do nothing but help Senator Obama. Now before you libs start passing frozen chickens, my reference to the Mickey Mouse Club is complimentary, not negative. It is true that when I "Mickey Mouse" some repair around the house (duct tape required), the phrase does not induce confidence in the trustworthiness of the repairs. In this case however, I'm referring to the marketing brilliance of Disney, a brilliance that's still blinding even today.

Consider the voting population in terms of a swimming pool. There is a shallow end and a deeper end in most pools, and in our voting pool there is quite a bit of shallow water. Not everyone is as afflicted as we are my friends. Regardless of political persuasion, what other conclusion are we to reach when we have such a dismal turn out for elections?

In the shallow end of the pool, it doesn't take as much to roil the waters as it does at the deep end, and right now Oprah is just starting to get her feet wet. The cult of celebrity has always been a player in politics, but I think Oprah brings a dimension to the situation that is above and beyond what anyone else in this country can bring. Don't ask me to explain it, because I've never forgiven her for introducing Dr. Phil to us, but I have the feeling that she will soon be playing a much larger roll in this election cycle.

It's not just the celebrity aspect, because you have to have some substance to go with the smoke and the mirrors. Though I'm in total disagreement with his position on Iraq and abortion, I must admit that Barack Obama has brought something to this election that I had hoped Fred Thompson could bring - excitement and hope.

In the summer of 1968, after Dr. King was murdered, I was one of millions of teenagers who saw in Bobby Kennedy the hope for a better future, even though I was a member of the Young Republicans Club. Once he was killed, I began to question everything about my government and wonder what would cause our nation to writhe in such agony. I became a liberal and voted for George McGovern in 1972. I was so disgusted by our government that by the time we got around to Carter and Reagan that I voted for John Anderson. After four years of Reagan I was changed forever - a thought that horrifies some and makes others nod in agreement.

The point of that brief journey through part of my voting history is this: A President needs to be a leader. Your politics become secondary to the voting population when you can inject and infuse the people with confidence, energy, and most importantly of all, hope. The life long bureaucrats pretty much control the basic operations of government, and our balance of government assures that very little gets done by anyone without a true mandate from the people, so we should never make the mistake of underestimating the importance of "persona" in a leader.

George Bush had it atop the rubble with the bullhorn in his hand, but he lost it almost immediately and has failed to find it again.

Hillary has a "persona", but when half the population would cast you as the witch in the latest stage production of "Hansel & Gretel", that's not the persona needed to lead the country.

There is no other candidate, Republican or Democrat, that is currently capable of creating this feeling. Mike Huckabee may have a shot, but it may be nothing other than a flash in the pan - too soon to tell.

At least at this stage of the game, Senator Obama is getting the best out of a celebrity endorsement that a candidate can expect: plenty of airtime, plenty of print, and plenty of names to add to their database.

Like I said, you've got to hand it Senator Obama, and Oprah may well do that with the nomination.

NBC - Nothing But Crap

A copy of my email submission to NBC and MSNBC:

Please rest assured that an NBC program will never contaminate my TV screen again. Your pathetic excuse for not running an ad that thanks our troops is not only transparent, but fits in nicely with the biased reporting you provide through the likes of Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman.

You are of course entitled to represent the opinion of those in power at your corporation, and we are entitled to turn you off and brand you for the spineless weasels you are.

With no respect whatsoever,

Ben Blair

When even the flagship of the left fringe, the New York Times, can run the full page ad with the sponsoring groups URL, we are supposed to believe that the standards of NBC won't allow them to run the ad because it has the groups web address. Yeah - right.

I love to listen to the left wail about "fair and balanced" when someone refers to Fox News, but then again, the vast majority of them have never watched Fox News, or have had so limited an exposure as to have an opinion based upon the pinings of like-biased non-viewers. You'll never have to worry about that phrase being applied to NBC or MSNBC, at least not by me.

Much to my distaste, I continue to watch both Matthews and Olberman, but I will admit that I have never watched even a second of Katie Couric. That's because the nice folks at WWNY won't allow us to get a CBS feed from DirectTV - for which I am most grateful. If the Giants happen to be on CBS, I can always jury-rig a coat hanger and get the snowy-feed I was used to growing up, albeit in color - kinda.

Personally, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas - regardless of whether you're Christian or not. It's the one time of the year when liberals can look at conservatives and think that we're almost human, because we really appear to care about others....and, oh golly, they really do hate war too don't they....and they, they use fake trees to keep the earth green .... and ....it's January 1st, it's an election year and the bloodsport will kick into a much higher gear.

I haven't made a choice yet, and even when I do, if you pay attention to me instead of figuring it out for yourself, make sure you sign my guest book - I'd like to be a cult leader someday.

A Special 50th Birthday Wish

I can't make out the name of the artist, but the date is 1976. I am well acquainted with the subject of the drawing. Her name was Deborah Brower, but she changed her last name to Blair some 29 years ago. This beautiful young lady will turn 50 on Thursday, December 6, 2007.

Tomorrow, December 5, 2007, will be our daughter Bethany's first anniversary of her birth into heaven.

The inexorable erosion of time will never effect how my wife looks at her birthday now, but it is nonetheless a notable occurrence in her life. We will go out of town tomorrow and find a place to have a celebratory dinner. Even though the pain is as if it were just inflicted, our faith in Beth's passage to God is as celebratory an event as a 50th birthday - so we'll combine the two.

The concept is easy to grasp and simple to put into words - the date of death becomes the new date of birth. Unfortunately, concepts are not salves that can mend a broken heart.

I know that there are many of you who keep us in your prayers, and we dearly appreciate that - thank you.

How Do These Things Happen?

How did the Nazis ever gain power in 1930's Germany?

Preaching a message of German pride, Hitler cajoled and coddled his way into power, assuring everyone that his only concern was restoring the German nation.

V. Putin has followed A. Hitler's lead. With the press under state control, opposition candidates such as Gary Kasparov being arrested, voting irregularities that are usually seen only in certain Chicago wards - Mr. Putin's success was a foregone conclusion and utterly invalid. He will retain the power, even if he does step down and give the title to someone else. When you've been ruled by monarchs and communist dictators for hundreds of years, perhaps the the thought of democracy is too scary - like actually taking responsibility for yourself. If things don't go right, then the monarch or the state can be blamed - but not out loud.

Then we have Benito Jr. in Venezuela who has asked everyone to remain calm. Why not, he still has five more years before his term expires. If you think he's been beaten, you are sadly mistaken. You are only beaten when you stop trying, and Hugo will not stop trying. Congratulations to the people of Venezuela for their vote - just be aware that this was only a battle, not the war.

The biggest revelation of the day: the combined intelligence reports that indicate Iran stopped it's militarily sponsored program to develop a nuclear weapon in 2003. The general consensus now is that the 3,000 centrifuges could be used to develop weapons grade material, but are not currently being used in that fashion - at least as far as anyone knows.

I'm certain that our intelligence services have undergone a dramatic overhaul, and I'm willing to accept their assessment. They also concur that the sanctions have been effective, so we're in a position to consult with our allies and continue negotiations; never, ever taking anything off the table - TR's stick is still useful in the 21st century.

Even while Hitler was schmoozing Neville Chamberlain, the pages of Mein Kempf contained the blueprint for what was to come.

Ahmahdinejahd, denier of the holocaust, has stated repeatedly that Israel will be wiped from the face of the earth.

Nuclear weapons are the quickest way I know of to do that.

Trust with verification is still the order of the day.