Would this be a better picture if Michelle Obama's head did not appear to be a bulbous extension of Obama's head? And if Bush's head didn't seem to be a weight hanging from Obama's neck? At first I thought yes, but now I think it's utterly fascinating, symbolically and graphically. Note that we only see Obama's body, so the other 2 heads seem like growths on that body. His wife would pull him back, perhaps with excessive braininess, and his predecessor would pull him down, with all the regrets and burdens of the past. With effort, he lifts up his head...
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.That's not the Psalm Obama read at the ceremony, which was Psalm 46. This is Psalm 3.
LORD, how many are my foes!Lord, take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.
How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”...
Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
Posts
152 comments:
You know, Ms Althouse, that last line makes it sound like desiring slavery?
Or a cry for Mother.
Good GOD! Ann has started drinking with Carol Herman.
We are undone.
In God's presence we are humbled at our weakness.
In The exalted High President's own presence, Obama preens at his glorious image that he knows he projects so well.
Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
Boy, that would be an interesting sermon. I got "love Al Qaeda as yourself" this morning.
The Bible is large and contains multitudes.
Fuck you and your gods. I'm a proud atheist. Fuck Jesus with a rusty dildo.
Re religious symbolism/words: Walter Russell Meade had a great post on why excluding a prayer service was a shame: 9/11 and God.
Key graf:
"The hollow rhetoric and conventional cliches that politicians habitually spout at events like this one are superficial and soporific. One turns to the clergy, bringing ancient words of comfort and reassurance to provide some dignity and honor to these events."
Amen.
1 For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
"The hollow rhetoric and conventional cliches that politicians habitually spout at events like this one are superficial and soporific. One turns to the clergy, bringing ancient words of comfort and reassurance to provide some dignity and honor to these events."
The clergy spouts ancient hollow rhetoric and ancient conventional cliches.
Alex, I will pray for you; that you will be delivered from your hatred of others.
Head bowed/head uplifted.
Am I out of line to point out those two head positions are the ones typically used to depict men receiving oral sex, and the irony that Clinton wasn't there?
Saint Croix - change churches. Yeah -- I know the verse.
But it also says to take care of the innocent and the widows and the orphans. And when someone comes to kill them or you, you don't turn the other cheek, buddy. You draw your sword.
The imprecatory Psalms are something else. :-)
Fuck you and your gods. I'm a proud atheist. Fuck Jesus with a rusty dildo.
I wonder if you're a Christian moby, trying to drive people to church by making atheism seem like an angry and unhappy philosophy?
The clergy spouts ancient hollow rhetoric and ancient conventional cliches
Not to the degree of our modern politicians who succumb to those who demand that religion be driven from the public square.
If all one sees in religion is a Jerry Falwell or a Pat Robertson or a Islamic extremist, one is missing out of a vast amount of insight into human nature.
@Althouse His wife would pull him back, perhaps with excessive braininess,
Excessive braininess? ROFL.. Surely, you're joking, Ms. Althouse!
Fuck you and your gods. I'm a proud atheist. Fuck Jesus with a rusty dildo
You know, some people are not so much atheist as they are anti-Christian.
The greatest orators in American history - a Lincoln, a King, et cetera - were all, to some degree, influenced by religious symbols and words and stories.
Their speeches are filled with them.
Heck, even Churchill's speeches were filled with religious expressions ("blood, sweat and tears").
Obama knows people like you will find deep, deep meaning in his head uptilt. In fact he has practiced that pose to perfection. But mostly because he thinks that way the skin thingy on the side of his nostril does not show in pictures. I can imagine him being sensitive about that.
I commemorated 9/11 by shopping; throwing down $1100 on a puppy.
Palladian said:
"The clergy spouts ancient hollow rhetoric and ancient conventional cliches."
I thought that's what artists do.
TenMile said..."You know, Ms Althouse, that last line makes it sound like desiring slavery? Or a cry for Mother."
Or like you don't recognize an allusion when you see it. Link added to help you out.
Try again.
I think prayers are personal.
And, what really needs to be said is that Dubya had the guts to take ACTION!
He took the risks that are still working out well, for all of us! Better than doing nothing? YOU BET! Better than expecting diplomacy to work? He got that right, too!
Turns out, Bush was spot on in his response! And, that makes us all LUCKY AMERICANS for it!
Yup. We are all in a better place, now, because in response to 9/11, he had the GUTS to take military steps which are still pushing us deep into our enemy's belly!
The people killed that day were killed by PURE EVIL.
Americans don't forget. And, we won't forget.
I've said this many times... Alex is a TROLL and will write anything to get a reaction. Later in this thread it will probably write about how atheists are ruining America. It has ruined more discussions here than almost any other troll ( though it may also be just one head of the hydra that runs some of the other trolls).
It's a rusty mousetrap with very stale bait. Don't fall for it.
"Good GOD! Ann has started drinking with Carol Herman."
If you can't deal with elision, you can't read the Althouse blog. If you want it all spelled out for you, you came to the wrong place.
Black-church custom vs. white-church custom.
"The people killed that day were killed by PURE EVIL."
No, it wasn't pure evil. Pure evil never gets that far. It was the adulteration of that evil with idealism. Or idealism with evil. That's what is deadly.
Whilst we're on biblical prayers, mine for Obama is Psalm 109:8
May his days be few, and another take his place of leadership.
“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayert: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus, recorded in Luke 18:9-13
Or like you don't recognize an allusion when you see it. Link added to help you out.
Yeah, but if Hoffa indentified the sons of bitches who want to hurt America as Al-Qaeda, who would disagree with him? Or are we supposed to think that Al-Qaeda and the Tea Party are close enough for purposes of analogy?
For a decade on my wall, where I see it when I rise and when I lie down, hangs a framed picture of an FA-18 Hornet, afterburners glowing, launching into the sunrise.
The inscription reads:
The Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.
Deuteronomy 7:20
NKJVB
This is an iconic image.
Barack Hussein Obama would no more bow his head to Allah over 9/11 than Osama bin Laden would.
Barack Obama is exultant at witnessing the damage done to a country he fucking despises and is working as hard as he can to destroy from within.
Here is another (smart) blogger's interpretation of the same picture:
What was even more disturbing was the photo that accompanied the article. There is George Bush, head bowed piously, and Barack Obama, nose stuck up in the air. Pictures say a thousand words and this one says that someone at the NYTimes is preparing to Gore Obama.
As much as I dislike Bush's handling of the 9/11 response and his complacency before it, I must appreciate his class in handling these events and I see genuine angst and grief on his face. Mr. Headtilt, nothing, nada, zero.
@Luke Excellent. Generally, Obama would prefer that Bush, and not he, be characterized as the tax collector.
Odd.
It looks as if Barry is enduring it, rather than praying.
Well, maybe that's how he exalts.
LilyBart said...
Fuck you and your gods. I'm a proud atheist. Fuck Jesus with a rusty dildo
You know, some people are not so much atheist as they are anti-Christian.
Exactly.
Ann Althouse said...
"Good GOD! Ann has started drinking with Carol Herman."
If you can't deal with elision, you can't read the Althouse blog. If you want it all spelled out for you, you came to the wrong place.
Elision????
Oh, no!!!
I haven't had to deal with that since I fought my way through translating The Aeneid.
I see Obama is wearing one of those American flag lapel pins that he used to describe as a substitute for true patriotism.
"Yeah, but if Hoffa indentified the sons of bitches who want to hurt America as Al-Qaeda, who would disagree with him? Or are we supposed to think that Al-Qaeda and the Tea Party are close enough for purposes of analogy?"
That's the intended conundrum.
It just doesn't have anything to do with "desiring slavery." (Where does *that* come from?!)
Funny I was just reading Norman Mailer on Picasso. forms. "For he is also saying that exploration is circular, it moves along the route of association, and so any exploration of reality must travel not from object to object but from relation to relation."
Also, I found it interesting that the Psalmist calls upon God in such brutish language, which seemed about equivalent to Hoffa. The Bible is a strange compendium, with all sorts of things we would decry if we encountered the modern-day equivalent.
Now, I started off talking about Psalm 3 because I wanted one of those lift-up-your-heads-to-the-Lord lines. Then I kept reading and thought: That a hell of a prayer! Hey, God, punch those guys in the jaw and break their teeth.
Is that a worthy imprecation? Maybe Hoffa's lines weren't all that bad.
Alex, as an orthodox Christian, all I can say is.....is that I love you and pray for you. If you ever are in need, please feel free to contact me and I will come to your aid. Whether it is food, a place to stay, or some other issue.
@pm317/
Yes , that pic DOES say it all, doesn't it? The blogress (and ex librarian) "Joan of Argghhh" @ her site "Primordial Slack" captioned the photo "GROUND EGO." Couldn't be more appropriate
Now, I started off talking about Psalm 3 because I wanted one of those lift-up-your-heads-to-the-Lord lines. Then I kept reading and thought: That a hell of a prayer! Hey, God, punch those guys in the jaw and break their teeth.
The prayer is against those that were determined enemies of God and God's people.
One thing is certain, the determined enemies of God are not His children. Which means it'a always good to be careful knowing that God describes himself as a Father who watches out for His children.
"If all one sees in religion is a Jerry Falwell or a Pat Robertson or a Islamic extremist, one is missing out of a vast amount of insight into human nature."
I was reminded of this when reading about the flooding in Minot North Dakota. Mennenites and Southern Baptists have both come into the city to volunteer to work on the 4,000 houses damaged by the flooding. They are staying in churches, sleeping on the floors.
It would be a better picture if Obama were not our president.
With effort, he lifts up his head...
No effort required to lift an airhead filled with hot air.
Linked at the Krugman post: 'Progressives Shame the Country on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11'.
Thanks for all you do, Ann.
Ann Althouse said...
Also, I found it interesting that the Psalmist calls upon God in such brutish language, which seemed about equivalent to Hoffa. The Bible is a strange compendium, with all sorts of things we would decry if we encountered the modern-day equivalent.
Now, I started off talking about Psalm 3 because I wanted one of those lift-up-your-heads-to-the-Lord lines. Then I kept reading and thought: That a hell of a prayer! Hey, God, punch those guys in the jaw and break their teeth.
Is that a worthy imprecation? Maybe Hoffa's lines weren't all that bad.
The children of Israel spent a great part of the time chronicled in the Old Testament fighting for their very existence. They didn't need a God whose motto was BOHICA.
The people on the American frontier in the days before and during the American Revolution also had an affinity for the Old Testament - besieged as they were by the Indians and the French or, later, British.
I know an educated woman such as yourself knows this, but it's good to remember that the Judeo-Christian religions aren't only meekness. Even Christ picked up a scourge when He thought the cause was just.
He's looking up toward the heavens, with his eyes closed. Why are you attributing egotistical thoughts to him? Bush could be thinking about himself too. God only knows if their thoughts effectively reached their intended addressee, if any.
Do you purport to know, and if you do, are you sure it does not displease God to purport to know?
"I know an educated woman such as yourself knows this, but it's good to remember that the Judeo-Christian religions aren't only meekness. Even Christ picked up a scourge when He thought the cause was just."
I'm aware of the Christian fondness for the muscular Jesus. What would you guys do without the whip scene?
I remember the part where he teaches us how to pray. There was nothing in there about asking God to sock your enemies in the jaw and break their teeth.
The Bible is a strange compendium, with all sorts of things we would decry if we encountered the modern-day equivalent.
Sure, if one takes it literally.
But you know quite well, you're a very smart person, that the Bible is filled with allegories and metaphors and symbols.
"If thy eye offend thee pluck it out" doesn't literally mean you should gouge your eye out. It means, of course, that if something in your life is causing you to sin or causing grief, remove it from your life.
When we were younger we'd have to close our eyes during the prayer for a meal. And of course we'd cry out as soon as it was done, "Daddy, Johnny had his eyes open!" And of course Daddy would say, "How would you know? Did you have YOUR eyes open?"
Why you even care about this I don't know. How someone prays - or doesn't pray - is a matter between them and their God.
He's looking up toward the heavens, with his eyes closed. Why are you attributing egotistical thoughts to him
Perhaps it is a cultural thing. I have never been to a church or to an event where there was prayer where people did not bow their heads. It would be seen as disrespectful, arrogant and just very weird to be lifting your head during a prayer or moment of silence in lieu of prayer.
Lord's Prayer = "deliver us from evil."
An end is sought. The means are left to God's discretion.
Why are you attributing egotistical thoughts to him?
You are a comedienne today, Ann.
As for my thoughts pleasing God, I have a feeling that he is used to me disappointing him. I am not happy about that.
I also think that God is probably not too happy about the United States, the hope of all enslaved people, being turned into just another country that enslaves its citizens. I do think that is the way it is going.
@DBQ But the Psalm says "But you, LORD, are ... the One who lifts my head high."
Sometimes, Obama bows.
Ha! Snared by that tricky Althouse!
Serves me right.
"Sure, if one takes it literally. But you know quite well, you're a very smart person, that the Bible is filled with allegories and metaphors and symbols. If thy eye offend thee pluck it out" doesn't literally mean you should gouge your eye out. It means, of course, that if something in your life is causing you to sin or causing grief, remove it from your life."
Does Hoffa get off the hook too?
(What sort of a hook?!)
I didn't think it possible but "Presidential Prayer demeanor"
may outdo "Why are the letters "NIG" on the child's pajamas" on the Althouse space cadet hit parade.
This is how our President honors the memory of those who died on 9/11...with a Hallmark moment.
Today's events are nothing more than must-do ceremonies and campaign photo ops.
When most adult Americans can touch a shared emotion, a common thread in such moments, Obama is cool and aloof. Perhaps it's a coping mechanism, but Michelle may have revealed more than she intended in Madison in 2008. They do not feel a part of the fabric of America, and it shows time and time again.
(What sort of a hook?!)
A meat hook, of course...bada bing!
It appears that today everybody's doin' it wrong
Get Over It – 9/11 is Now NATIONAL GRANDPARENTS DAY – So DECREES Obama
Home - by BigFurHat -
*************************
"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2011, as National Grandparents Day. I call upon all Americans to take the time to honor their own grandparents and those in their community."
-Barack Hussein Obama
Whitehouse.gov
Happy Grandparents Day everybody!
Say, ain't this the anniversary of the day America's CHICKENS came home to roost?
"As you know, a prayer is something secret..." et seq.
Derrida gives a talk on prayer.
Which President seems to be praying?
9/11 reminded me of this from Brigham Young, which is an excellent way to judge good and evil, unpolluted by politics:
"I frequently think of the difference between the power of God and the power of the Devil."
"To illustrate, here is a structure in which we can be seated comfortably, protected from the heat of summer or the cold of winter."
"Now, it required labor, mechanical skill and ingenuity and faithfulness and diligence to erect this building, but any poor, miserable fool or devil can set fire to it and destroy it."
"That is just what the Devil can do, but he never can build anything."
"The difference between God and the Devil is that God creates and organizes, while the whole study of the Devil is to destroy." [end quote.]
I knew the 9/11 hijackers and their particular intellectual culture were evil because they never could have built the WTC, but they could destroy them.
The psalm is a request to God for action against the allies of a son that wants to kill David, Hoffa was asking mortals to take action against people who disagree with him.
"But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high."
Not being bowed in defeat is not the same as not bowing one's head in prayer.
Ann Althouse said...
"I know an educated woman such as yourself knows this, but it's good to remember that the Judeo-Christian religions aren't only meekness. Even Christ picked up a scourge when He thought the cause was just."
I'm aware of the Christian fondness for the muscular Jesus. What would you guys do without the whip scene?
I remember the part where he teaches us how to pray. There was nothing in there about asking God to sock your enemies in the jaw and break their teeth.
You're in a frisky mood today.
My main point was about the Old Testament and that it reflected the need of a people whose God would endorse the smiting of their enemies. That Christians in a similar situation would turn there, rather than the Beatitudes was in response to your statement, "Then I kept reading and thought: That a hell of a prayer! Hey, God, punch those guys in the jaw and break their teeth.
Is that a worthy imprecation? Maybe Hoffa's lines weren't all that bad."
As to the moneychangers reference, I was merely referring to the fact that even the New Testament isn't entirely given over to meekness.
As someone, whom I can't remember once observed, Christ never said anything in refutation of the Old Testament, but, as you say, His prayer was aimed in a different direction.
PS Saying "I'm aware of the Christian fondness for the muscular Jesus. What would you guys do without the whip scene?" is an odd bit of stereotyping. I have never been able to see Christ as the action hero of Terminator IV.
Some guys might, but I'm not one of them and can't recall meeting any who do.
Does Hoffa get off the hook too?
Yeah, actually I think the criticism was a bit much.
He's a union guy! They talk like that all the time.
But the point is (or was) that the President and liberals were going around screaming that even metaphorical language - gun sites and targets - were too much. That unstable people might take them literally.
So, if that's the standard then Hoffa is guilty.
It's a silly standard but it's not mine (I can be silly all by myself).
Since I serve as a weekday sacristan/acolyte and a Eucharistic minister at times one of the things I worry about most is the way I appear to others at Mass. My goal is to be invisible, and I hope people are never offended by something like the way I hold my head during the prayers.
Maybe Hoffa's a bad Biblical scholar, like that guy in Pulp Fiction: "And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon you."
I been sayin' that shit for years. I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass.
I am in Utica New York and the hot quotient went way up.
Lots of beefed up Italians in this finger lakes city.
I am horny.
The pizza place was really hot.
Tits and Clouds.
Obama is thinking: "Are we there yet?"
As it turns out, all this turned out to be our fault after all. Our last great president lost his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/11/president-jimmy-carter-interview
Assuming you can make it all the way to the end, the comments are impressive. Clearly, we as a nation, didn't deserve the last truly good and successful president.
That's reading a lot into a picture
To be fair to the current President, his head IS bowed during a moment of silence around 48 minutes into the video on CSPAN.
The Bible lesson in Luke is plainly that it is the attitude of the heart that matters.
Looks like some sort of variation on horsemanning.
"PS Saying "I'm aware of the Christian fondness for the muscular Jesus. What would you guys do without the whip scene?" is an odd bit of stereotyping. I have never been able to see Christ as the action hero of Terminator IV."
I didn't mean that to refer to all Christians. There's just a subset of Christians who are really into telling you about Christ's most macho moments. They love the whip.
Obama converts 9-11, a day of national disaster and murder into Grandparent's Day.
Are..you..fucking..kidding..me!!
Quick look over there.....squirrel.
Obama is like a cat in the litter box trying to frantically cover up the muslim shit.
Also...as a grandparent, I am deeply offended. How dare he use the grandparent/grandchild relationship to cover up and deflect.
Just what planet is Obama actually from? Because it sure doesn't seem to be Earth.
Jenny, I agree.
Alex, I to will pray for you; that you will be delivered from your hatred of others.
You see, I have no hatred for you. If you wish to worship the god of humanism, well that is your choice. But to spit out your venom of hate, that is just sad.
As for Ann, maybe she is staring to waken up. Many a conservative were liberals before their eyes were opened.
More on Hoffa. It's not just rhetoric, apparently.
"Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview [Wash.] early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha," the Associated Press reports:
Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.
This political violence came just three days after Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa, introducing President Obama's Labor Day speech in Detroit, called for "workers" to wage "war" and "take these son of a bitches out."
There's just a subset of Christians who are really into telling you about Christ's most macho moments. They love the whip.
Paging Mel Gibson...
George W. Bush responded to 9/11. And, today, we are in a much better place!
The blessings should go to our military people who all volunteer.
And, for the realization that we are now inside their belly. They are not in ours! They don't rule us. They don't command us. And, everything "western" they have they BUY. They don't create!
We met EVIL! Evil din't win. We are ahead. AND, WE, THIS COUNTRY, IS DEFINITELY BLESSED!
I hope Obama stays blessed. This time, just by his doing as little as possible, against the forces from the mideast and europe ... I think he keeps our ship of state OUT of trouble. (Sure. It drives his enemies crazy. So what?)
DBQ, I understand the outrage but are you seriously surpirised? Doesn't it fit in perfectly with all the other off-tune things he has done?
I don't think people in prayer should be talked about.
At least not that way.
Ann Althouse said...
"PS Saying "I'm aware of the Christian fondness for the muscular Jesus. What would you guys do without the whip scene?" is an odd bit of stereotyping. I have never been able to see Christ as the action hero of Terminator IV."
I didn't mean that to refer to all Christians. There's just a subset of Christians who are really into telling you about Christ's most macho moments. They love the whip.
New one on me, but thank you for explaining.
Dust Bunny Queen said...
Obama converts 9-11, a day of national disaster and murder into Grandparent's Day.
Just what planet is Obama actually from? Because it sure doesn't seem to be Earth.
It's Earth, all right. Just the Left hand side.
And I don't think he's converted anything. If he had, Mr Krugman would not have soiled himself and the rest of the Left the way he did this morning.
Grandparent's Day has been the first Sunday after Labor Day since 1978.
King David was the warrior guy. And David wrote the Psalms about doing in his enemies.
While God appreciated his sincerity, and promised to establish David a Kingdom that would have a descendant of David on the throne forever, God still picked David's son Solomon to build God a House of Prayer for men to meet God. David was too war like for God's planned prayer and sacrifice operation.
But David's descendant later took back up the Throne of David, and He especially liked to quote Psalm 110 as a description of His role.
At the second coming it seems that His role is again to be a warrior king like David who takes no prisoners.
So, when is Meadehouse stopping by to see the new puppy at Garage's place?
Grandparent's Day has been the first Sunday after Labor Day since 1978.
Really?
Well, that still doesn't make it September 11th every year... does it?
Like Memorial Day.... it..the first Sunday after Labor Day changes every year.
If Grandparent's day (which I have never been aware of) exists then why did Obama make a proclamation from on high. What was the point?
Does Obama have NO advisors to advise him on how something will resonate with the public. Maybe he does, but just refuses to listen.
We all know Obama is a narcissist. A photo capturing a 1/100 of a second in time, or less, doesn't change that one way or the other. He could be getting ready to sneeze. A picture may be worth a 1,000 words, or it may be worthless. Obama's posture often displays aloofness. Just another picture that seems to show that.
There *wasn't* anything wrong with what Hoffa said. That's been everyone's point. It was only bad insofar as liberals have been bashing conservatives over using far less vigorous language. It's all been about the double standard. Surely we all know this by now, right?
As for the bowing, it is tempting to see it metaphorically. In Evangelical circles, the general standard is to bow when praying and lift one's head while praising. But they aren't hard and fast rules, and I doubt anyone would think anything of it. So what is the point again? Is it bad optics for Obama? Absolutely. But in the context of his other flubs, this is nothing.
"Perhaps it is a cultural thing. I have never been to a church or to an event where there was prayer where people did not bow their heads."
You've never been in a church where congregants are feeling the Holy Spirit, looking up with eyes closed and one or both arms raised?
I agree with phx.
God bless those souls who did not survive the attack and the loved ones they left behind.
WE WON!
Obama should have shouted that from the rooftops! We didn't prevent the evil, because we were naive.
Less naive, today.
I just came back from DelMonico's in Utica and it was fucking HOT!
The hostesses wear Al Capone hats. They have big tits and take cigarette smoking breaks.
The Take Out/Curb Side guy was also Fucking Hot. He was the son of the owner and business is booming.
He was a total guid who loved my Boston Red Sox hat and to prove it to me he rolled up his sleeve to show me this amazing Red B tat. on his incredible brown, sculpted, hard shoulder. He will be going to Fenway next week to watch the game against the Devil Rays-isn't that hot?
We talked about the economy and when GE left Utica 15 years ago and the Adirodack's and his ex girlfriend who lives in the North End.
He also spoke about a story in the NY Times which said that Utica was one of the Rust Belt cities that has weathered the bad economy better than other places. I was like no way, this amazing package read the NY Times? Total Hard On.
I almost started wanking while in my car at Curbside Take out.
So hot.
The food was great too.
Long story short, if in the Finger Lake Region go to Delmonico's. I believe they have 5-6 locations.
I was food was $20.00 and I gave him a $20.00 tip.
Hog.
Would this be a better picture if Michelle Obama's head did not appear to be a bulbous extension of Obama's head?
I'm surprised you didn't make an allusion to wise Athena springing full-grown from the head of Zeus.
To some people, Obama is "sort of like a god," you know.
You nuts who aren't issuing retractions for your now obvious insanity re "Grandparents Day" aren't doing yourselves any favors.
Hint: when you get caught w/ your pants down, you can't blather yourself out of it. It's best to acknowledge the error, and then fight another day.
"I'm surprised you didn't make an allusion to wise Athena springing full-grown from the head of Zeus."
I'm surprised that we didn't get a new evaluation of BHO's hair color, where Althouse susses out the secret message BHO is sending us w/ his carefully and purposefully hued hair.
I can't help but see "Kent" from Real Genius.. Obama's basking in the glow from the star wars laser popped popcorn.
Utica is still a shell of it's former self though, I must admit.
The downtown is rather large, with decent size buildings. Some beautiful, but many abandoned. When I see that I am sad.
The gay bar is called "That Place". I am not kidding.
I saw more hot guys in Utica in 5 hours than I did in my entire time in Madison.
The owner's son told me the population of Utica used to be around 110,000 but now is 55,000.
Utica.
Hog.
So, when is Meadehouse stopping by to see the new puppy at Garage's place?
I pick him up Weds, I have 2nd pick. Can't wait! One of the pups from Chico and Lilly's litter. Really like one of the males, but he has an umbilical hernia, so I'm torn. The breeder will pay for the surgery, which as I understand is not a big deal at all.
That Place's motto is....Where Dreams Come True.
I think I'll get a pure lab as a second dog, in a couple years.
I'm always asking the groomers to make my Australian Labradoodle as un-frilly as possible, but there's only so much you can do.
The one problem will be my bro-inlaw, who I often hang w/, and who has dog allergies.
Anywho, labs seem like they may be the perfect dog, as long as you don't have allergies.
One thing is for sure, I'm never getting a spaniel, rare or not.
oh this is cruel neutrality?
...you all are true to form.
Trolls and sock puppets ugh!
Carter issued the original proclamation of Grandparents Day in 1978 and then another in 1979. Obama issued one last year and another this year. I can't find a record of any other president doing this. Maybe they thought it would help with the senior voters.
"Perhaps it is a cultural thing. I have never been to a church or to an event where there was prayer where people did not bow their heads."
You've never been in a church where congregants are feeling the Holy Spirit, looking up with eyes closed and one or both arms raised?
Never.
Isn't that what I just typed? Do you have a problem with reading?
Congrats to Garage. Enjoy...puppy breath. The sweetest thing on earth.
pb&j
Labs are awesome dogs, I've owned three and they have a real sweet dispostion. You have to watch out for bad hips, finding a breeder that knows what they're doing and provides a gurantee is a must.
And thanks DBQ
"Isn't that what I just typed? Do you have a problem with reading?"
It surprised me. I didn't think it was that uncommon or unusual.
My view of the Lord's Prayer goes like this: Jesus seems to be reciting a basic, boring prayer that was probably said all the time by the hypocrites of the age:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
He's saying it sarcastically. It's like Jesus is saying yadda, yadda, yadda. Then, near the end, Jesus throws in something totally new and unexpected:
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
He says it loudly, in an attention-getting way, because it's different. That line is the key to the whole thing, and, frankly, the whole of Christianity.
Then, he closes with more yadda, yadda. He winks, and walks away.
The fact is, Kid Rock would be a superior POTUS than even Mark Steyn.
You don't believe it. And that's not a problem.
The question is if you, as in you, not the royal "you" or whatnot, can make a case, whether logical, moral, or other than downright non-idiotic, for the case Kid Rock is not the ideal American.
The only stipulation I have is that which negates everything Buckley regarded ethosly (Buckley parasite; though to be a parasite of Buckley is beyond me) unSteynian.
"Labs are awesome dogs'
I had a neighbor who used them for hunting. Those dogs were the most loyal and dedicated--by a large margin--dogs I've ever come across.
And, one of my dog trainers (my 1yr1mo old has been to four dog schools) said that labs will do anything you ask them. She even said that they have such high pain tolerances that they'll trudge along w/ a broken leg, if that's what it takes to complete a task.
That's a bit extreme. But, I think the point is that labs are very dedicated and competent dogs.
BTW, didn't this blog result in the name for Irene's dog (Poppy)? Are you looking for names? If not, what have you decided on?
I'm aware of the Christian fondness for the muscular Jesus....I didn't mean that to refer to all Christians.
Sure.
Tell me you're aware of the black fondness for misogynistic rap.
Why are you attributing egotistical thoughts to him?
If you want it all spelled out for you, you came to the wrong place.
Tell me you're aware of the black fondness for misogynistic rap.
What?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DQup4hd1_o
Congrats to garage on the puppy!
pbandj,
I owned a black lab when I was still single - the sweetest, most beautiful dog I ever owned. She was pure bred, given to me for free by a military family that needed to move overseas with only i month's notice.
Hope you get the one you want.
Garage,
That one with the blue eyes is teh die for. But then again I have a blue eyed Siberian. And a tiny, brown eyed, borkie (bichon-yorkie).
For those of you out west - Mountain and Pacific time -- CBS has the film by the French filmmakers attached to NYFD Ladder 1.
Catch it if you can.
Are you looking for names? If not, what have you decided on?
Still kicking it around! I like Tank, cuz the male I'm looking at is built like one. If you have anyone ideas hit me.
@kimsch
I dog sat a husky for a month that had those cool blue eyes. Actually one blue eye, the other was brown. That dog was friggin scary smart. These pups will lose that blue color in a few weeks, although there is a really nice female from another older litter that has and will keep the blue eyes. He wants to keep her to breed though.
Garage -- My favorite dog names are regular people names: Gary, Dave, etc.
I had the exact same thoughts, Ann. Looks to me like Obama's striking a dramatic pose for the cameras while Bush is remembering and truly grieving for the lives lost Sept 11 and in the wars fighting terrorism since then. I'm sure it's impossible to see the photo without interpretation, but that's the way I see it! I sure miss the sincerity of Bush!
My chocolate lab mix is an extremely loyal and good dog. He is smart and wants to please. Sadly, due to circumstances beyond his control, he has only had a few months where he was not beta dog to a female dog. Life's a bitch, then another one shows up.
One thing for sure, that dog loves water. I walk him to the river every day so he can swim if he cares to. My Border Collie has taken up swimming just to remain alpha in all situations, but of course, she just wants to herd the minnows she sees in the water.
Wow. This thread has taken a few unexpected turns.
Yeah, Old Testament is hardcore, starring Vengeful God (Merciful God is New Testament, until you get to Revelations). The only reason I read any of the bible as a child was for the fight scenes. God even asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son, and Abraham was just about to do it when God said 'just kidding! You were really gonna kill your own kid. You're hardcore!' And don't even get me started on Job. David was a great Jewish king but he also sent one of his generals to his death so David could have his wife. This despite David having dozens of wives and hundreds of concubines. That's hardcore!
(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)
Althouse, there's a very nice, if flawed book, entitled Your God is Too Small. It addresses various aspects of Jesus...and one of them is the idea of the Meek and Pale Christ. And the counter is Jesus Cleansing the Temple. I'd agree, the number of Christians who see Jesus as an “action hero” is small, BUT Jesus was no shrinking violet. Certainly, he demanded a great deal from His followers and was uncompromising towards Evil. He may not have advocated punching people's lights out, but He certainly didn't advocate meekly going to the slaughter or failing to oppose Evil.
His wife would pull him back, perhaps with excessive braininess, and his predecessor would pull him down, with all the regrets and burdens of the past. With effort, he lifts up his head...
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
Good grief, Ann, with prose that purple, we can be grateful for a few elisions. But perhaps that was the effect you were going for.
Jesus would have a pit bull.
WV: horts - one letter short.
And sorry for the canine thread detour.
Still kicking it around! I like Tank, cuz the male I'm looking at is built like one. If you have anyone ideas hit me.
Family member has a dog named....get ready...
Turbo
Haha Turbo, I like it. Officially under consideration!
And sorry for the canine thread detour.
Mrs Karl was watching 9/11 retrospectives all fn day. Ugh.
Chocolate Lab? Not bad.
I would have bet money on Border Collie.
"Brink" sounds like a solid name.
Or "Mack."
Maybe "Planck," but you'll need to mispronounce it so it sounds like "plank."
And, it's hard to go wrong w/ "Chuck."
Of course, it'd be hard to argue against "Tank."
Of course, it'd be hard to argue against "Tank."
"Trooper" is a pretty solid name, no?
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
He says it loudly, in an attention-getting way, because it's different. That line is the key to the whole thing, and, frankly, the whole of Christianity.
Very insightful. Well said!
Name the dog 'Quentin'.
You can call him 'Q' for short.
Hey, just an idea!
Trooper is the name of one of the studs this breeder uses, so that name is probably out. Trooper, a stud. It pains me.
Garage, congrats on the Lab. No better breed of dog exists.
We had a male, about 115 lib. We called him Bear.
Glad Titus had a nice time Upstate. From Buffalo to Syracuse to Utica to Rome, the region has been destroyed by NY State high taxes 1st, then by globalization and free trade.
Rochester clings on in a little better shape as a technology outpost, but half the city is now minority and on welfare and crime is 150% greater than the national average.
But as Titus noted, the place is still beautiful, a lot remains from the more prosperous times when America rewarded industry and hard work in factories. And the people are really great, gay or straight. A lot of Italian American, Balkan American, Ukrainian types still there even as the minorities converted many downtowns into slums.
Saint Croix,
Correlation is not causation. In the Longview, WA case--reprehensible though it certainly is--we have a dispute between two unions. Due to increased mechanization at the Port of Longview, some Longshoreman jobs are being eliminated and more Teamsters are being hired. No union-busting (or even "union-busting" in scare-quotes) in sight, as far as I can see.
Kirk,
Here's the link.
Imagine the press reaction if pro-lifers acted this way.
Is that a worthy imprecation?
It's certainly a human one.
In the Bible, the Jewish people are the perennial underdogs in need of God's protection and guidance.
Jimmy Hoffa and the unions he represents? Not so much.
As to the "lift my head high" part -- I don't think that's referring to demeanor during prayer. I think that's getting back to the beleagured underdog thing -- with God on my side, I need never hang my head in shame before my enemies. That sort of thing.
@DaveW: If, while stationed at the front of the church, you hold your head high, eyes closed, with a slight smile on your face, others will most certainly notice you, and probably roll their eyes. Just sayin'.
(Lead them not into temptation, Dave!!) :)
Journal article is behind a wall now. NYT article is here.
WSJ reports that the company was using union-free labor. NYT says the workers were from another union. I suspect the NYT reporter got it wrong, but it doesn't matter. This union has lashed out with Hoffa-style violence.
Correlation is not causation.
Okay, so imagine Mother Teresa gives a pro-life speech. And she says we need to "take them out." And 3 days later 200 pro-lifers storm an abortion clinic and damage the facilities as they take hostages for four hours.
What would the press reaction to that be? It would be another Catholic scandal, right? They would go ballistic.
The press is so dominated by liberals that Hoffa is barely being attacked for what he said, and the union is barely being attacked for what they did.
I can't emphasize enough how liberals have a near-monopoly on the media. The own the film industry. They own all 3 major networks on television. (This is why Fox pisses off liberals so much, Republicans have finally broken the television monopoly). They own just about every major newspaper, and the Associate Press.
Republicans own talk radio, Fox, a few newspapers. And we share the internet, which is free as a bird. (Liberals would love to fix that!)
When pro-lifers organize massive criminal conduct (for instance, Operation Rescue), it is utterly non-violent. It has to be, as the press kills us if it's any other way.
Union violence, on the other hand, is ignored, or justified. (See this).
Do you think Hoffa is going to be hurt at all by this crime? Ha! Do you think he will be demonized in the media? Ho!
I forgot to mention, they own the public schools, too.
One of the nicest things Republicans can do for the country, for our children, and for African-Americans, is to break the teacher's union.
Obama sends his daughters to private school. Clinton sent his daughters to private school.
Think about that.
All across D.C., public officials, who are paid with public tax dollars, send their own kids to private schools. They all do it.
Meanwhile, the poor in Washington D.C. are stuck sending their kids to the crappy D.C. schools that all the public officials avoid.
Assignment for today, class: Waiting For Superman.
Saint Croix,
I am all for drumming Hoffa out of polite society (on the very questionable assertion that he was ever in polite society in the first place.) And I am all for prosecuting the criminals in Longview to within an inch of their lives.
I merely object to the notion that the thugs in Longview are somehow taking their lead from Hoffa. My apologies if that's not what you meant.
And the WSJ can say what it wants' but all the local reporting says otherwise, e.g.:
"The union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of laborers from another union, the Portland-based Operating Engineers Local 701. Representatives of the engineers union did not immediately return a call seeking comment."
ooops wrong damn thread
Oh, and to clarify: initial reports some time ago were that the Longshoremen were going to be replaced by non-union workers, but that's no longer the case and the current violent attack is about the union-vs-union battle.
"He certainly didn't advocate meekly going to the slaughter"
Actually he did
Luke 9:23-24
And He said to them all, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.
Each of the 12, except John and Judas Iscariot died as martyrs.
the current violent attack is about the union-vs-union battle.
If that's the case, why aren't they protesting outside the union shop and trashing the union offices?
Seems to me they went after the corporate son of a bitches. Just like Hoffa told them to.
And I'm not saying Hoffa's speech is criminal. It's clearly not. But I am saying his speech should be sharply rebuked by the media, and at least an argument should be made about a possible connection between what he said and the rise in union violence.
He should be attacked in the media, in other words. And he's not.
Reason? Liberals are not outraged about union violence. They approve or they acquiesce.
@Dave: The original apostles, plus St. Paul and other notable sorts, brazenly defied government dictates regarding the open sharing and spreading of their faith. They were repeatedly hunted down, jailed (and on more than one occasion, escaped), exiled (if they were lucky), and their followers fed to the lions. In the end, they met with stoning, decapitation, crucifixion and other nasty executions, all in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to shut them up.
I dunno. You could call that a lot of things, but "meekly led to the slaughter" isn't really one of them.
I get your point Eileen, but perhaps we could talk about what "meek" really means. It has come to mean weakness or cowardice, but that's not it's Christian meaning or how I meant it. Humility is the better word, meaning simply the acceptance of the truth of our dependence on God and obedience to His plan for us. Christ himself was exceedingly humble in death as were the Apostles. Were they courageous? Certainly, but they were also meek fully abandoning their own desires to serve as God would have them serve because they suppressed the temptation of pride (with the help of grace, of course).
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