Zero more days until Christmas. Are you ready for the big day? If you have little people around, you might be Christmas’ed out. Who has a wonderful tradition they would like to share with everyone? Who has a favorite album of Christmas songs? How about just a favorite song? Who sang it? You may choose more than one.
I will go first. Joan Baez has the voice of an angel. have you ever heard her sing O Holy Night? Jennifer Hudson runs a close second. Then there is Rachel from Glee. Rachel’s version is very dramatic and I can’t listen without it bringing tears to my eyes. How about Roy Orbison singing Pretty Paper?
The First Noel – Nat King Cole/Carrie Underwood/Celtic Women – I just love the song.
Soooo…what do you guys plan for the end of the world, tomorrow?
heh… I see I should have read more of the blog before checking the open thread….
You darn right…we have our doomsday already mapped out.
The Repubicans who refused to compromise finished us off.
I want names.
What wimps! Scared of Norquist. Crummy DeMint leaving in the middle or so of his term in order to be more able to “urge” GOP to obey the right fringe AND make much more money. What about the people who elected him?
Turn out the lights and go home for Christmas! Wimps! Isn’t there any fight left among our politicians any longer?
Christmas songs / I love Nat King Cole and Elvis. “O Holy Night” is my favorite when sung by someone who REALLY can sing. Among the worst is “The Little Drummer Boy”; drives me crazy! Parumpapa, parumpapapa ,parumpapapa, parumpapapa, etc. etc. etc.
Good night!
Man arrested at Va. school that shares same name with Conn. school where massacre occurred
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By Associated Press, Published: December 19
STRASBURG, Va. — A man walked into northern Virginia’s Sandy Hook Elementary School on Wednesday with a 2-by-4 printed with the words “High Powered Rifle” and was quickly subdued by a school resource officer, the sheriff’s office said.
Christopher G. Johnson, 33, did not resist arrest and was attempting to deliver a message “related to school safety,” said Maj. Scott Proctor of the Shenandoah Sheriff’s Department.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/man-arrested-at-va-school-that-shares-same-name-with-conn-school-where-massacre-occurred/2012/12/19/5ebf5efc-4a2b-11e2-8af9-9b50cb4605a7_story.html?hpid=z5
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/21/republicans-have-a-message-problem-not-a-messenger-problem/
53 percent of Americans say the problem with the GOP is that their policies stink. Has nothing to do with their salesmen.
@Starryflights
So imagine a slew of armed teachers and Administrative staff ” helping”. It would have looked like one of those adrenaline charged situations where everyone ends up in a circle with guns pointed at each other. It’s not just firearms training – it’s tactical training. Knowing how to approach, de escalate and apprehend. That training requires a fair amount of time; more than most realize. And it not an add on to a teaching certificate. Why many law enforcement aren’t so thrilled with Lone Ranger citizens with guns. Most citizens that carry are a little over zealous and end up being more of an unintentional yet real threat.
WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association on Friday called for schools to be protected by armed guards as the best way to protect children from gun violence.
Congratulations to Assault Weapons of Ohio, Johnson Firearms, Bushmaster. Your playoffs are still working – for now. This recommendation serves to make them all richer.
And I’m sure the NRA would be willing to coordinate the distributions to localities from manufacturers to offset huge tax increases to support this. Lets see 300 schools in Fairfax, 100 in PWC – no cars or equipment maybe 90k for a cop (well, a one with a few good years of experience) a mere $36M without cars, equipment and training. O Mr Candland……..about that flat tax proposal you’re running down there…
I think we need a well rounded tax proposal instead. These are just not flat tax times.
It sounds like the cops are going to have to ride the bus to school.
The schools took school safety seriously over a decade ago. Its the American public who is now playing catch up.
The NRA’s solution is hardly compatible with their low-tax, small government philosophy.
The NRA’s solution really isn’t workable either without a high fence around schools and a guard watching it. A shooter could break a classroom window and shoot before a police officer in a school ever had time to respond. One officer can’t be everywhere at once. I suppose if a nut had a grenade or rocket launcher at his use, the NRA would expect the school or tax district to supply its own army.
As the NRA was presenting its TSA in schools plan 7 people were shot in PA leaving 4 dead. It started in a church and continued along the roads, so once we’ve fortified the 98,000 schools we’ll need to do churches and then figure out the appropriate distance to station snipers along the roadways.
@Morris Davis
Snipers or counter-snipers?
Very expensive price for me to have to pay to allow somebody to own guns – not for hunting animals. At what point does the brain kick in. People are really dumber than I thought. See a post nearby. No point in getting upset. Maybe the tea party folks can figure out the funding needs for us and who they don’t want to tax and what they’ll cut.
@Lyssa
Generalize much? You are obviously projecting.
May I ask why police carry a weapon. Think about it for awhile, and then maybe you can come up with a way to protect our children without the use of weapons. When you do, how about letting the police know. Thanks.
SA, one reason the police need weapons is that Joe or Jane Rambo allowed his/her cache to be stolen. The local teenager looking for a quick flat screen, booze, or laptop hit pay dirt when he broke in and now he can make some cash by using the stolen guns or selling them on the street.
@Cargosquid
No, I’m trying to process what I’m reading and hearing. I can’t.
@Censored bybvbl
Sometimes Officer Joe/Jane Rambo can be careless too. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Stolen-Va-Police-Cruiser-Found-in-Md-183698751.html
At the time of the theft, police say the [stolen] cruiser had a Remington 870 shotgun and a Panasonic Toughbook mobile computer inside.
Cargo, you can appreciate this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3uLTnzs60
yes. No human being is perfect. However, only the brightest and best would be in PWC.
Oh, and sometimes the military messes up, too.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/30/27-rifles-stolen-from-california-military-base/
“More than two dozen assault rifles have been stolen from a Southern California military base, and investigators sought the public’s help as they looked to arrest suspects and recover the weapons, federal officials said Friday.”
And those are not the pansy civilian grade stuff. 😉
WE SURVIVED! I WAS AWAKE SO I WOULDN’T MISS IT! ITS 12:O5 AM AND WE’RE STILL HERE!
Of course, the world might end elsewhere…but WE’RE SAFE!
hi-5. haha mayans! suckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I see President Obama has nominated the traitorous John Kerry to be Sec. Of State.
I’m not surprised. He’s the perfect man for the job of representing this administration.
I find that statement very offensive. John Kerry did nothing traiterous. He called attention to that which was wrong. I believe General Westmoreland was traiterous. He lied about conditions in Vietnam, He obviously didn’t care about American boys that were my contemporaries.
John Kerry will not be swift-boated again, on this blog.
We’ll just stick to the truth, then, and Kerry’s own words: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
That was a slap in the face to the soldiers who have sacrificed years away from their families, and to all the lost lives since that war began. The soldiers don’t get to pick which pointless wars they get put in. But Kerry apparently thinks they’re dumb, uneducated slackers who couldn’t do any better for themselves. Quite the diplomat, that John Kerry. He’ll be perfect for the DOS.
Both John Kerry and I agree that those were a horrible choice of words and he would be the first to agree. He apologized for making such a stupid remark. I expect he was doing a Vietnam flashback. If he had said it about Vietnam I would have agreed with him. Draft was still in effect.
When Kerry made those remarks several years ago, all volunteer military.
Now, have you never said something you wanted to suck back in, Emma?
@Moon-howler
He negotiated with and cooperated with the North Vietnamese while still a Reserve Lt.
He assisted them in presenting their demands for “peace.” He lied during the hearings, providing aid and comfort to the enemy.
The Swift Boat vets told the truth. I’m ashamed that he was ever in the US Navy and he’s known as a sailor.
I have no objection to Kerry being Sec of State. I think it’ll be amusing to watch.
@Cargosquid
Says who? The swiftboat liars?
In the first place, he was not in the position to negotiate with the North vietnamese. He was not an agent of the United States. He, like many veterans, was against the war. That was his right. He had been there. He had talked to other veterans.
He did not offer aid and comfort to the enemy.
You are swift-boating. I am not going to have that here. The swift boaters are liars.
They were liars in 2004 and they are liars now. They have no honor.
Just a few more hours before the damage control begins.
Supposedly there will be a great unveiling. Nah…it won’t happen. That is a ruse. We will not be finding out any identities.
The great unveiling will launch a new newspaper and will attempt to do some much needed damage control.
Meanwhile, I know what I think…and I think in multiples, as does Elena.
I just wish I had gotten together with Mr. Cuddles and done an interview with him.
Bwaaaahahahahahahahahahahaha,. Mr. Cuddles indeed.
Mr. Cuddles? would you consent to an interview?
I interpret his comments as utter despair toward the once intensive military recruitment in high schools. Promising education and anything and everything to 17 year olds.
Recruitment in high schools by the military is very much a part of No Child Left Behind. Unless you opt out, then the military gets your phone number and can call upon your kid at will.
I don’t know if that part has been removed from the act or not. I haven’t read anything about it.
@Moon-howler
Say’s Kerry.
He met with the communists in Paris to assist in presenting THEIR peace plan and testified in Congress. He was a Reserve Lt. at the time. He should have faced a court martial.
On April 22, 1971, as he testified before Senator Fulbright’s Committee on Foreign Relations, John Kerry mentioned that in Paris he had meetings with “both sides” of the Paris Peace Talks. The strong likelihood is that John Kerry also met with Le Duc Tho, or some other representative of the North Vietnamese delegation, in addition to Madame Binh who was in Paris representing the PRG. There is no reason to assume John Kerry had any interest in meeting with representatives of the other two sides in the Peace Talks — the United States or South Vietnam.
Madame Binh’s proposal was carefully crafted to send a strong emotional message to the American home front; that the only barrier to having our POWs returned was America’s own unwillingness to set a date to withdraw — even if the proposed withdrawal amounted to a defeat. The 7-Point Proposal directly challenged the South Vietnamese proposal to set a date for a truce and a free election designed to reunify Vietnam. The PRG and the Viet Cong clearly agreed with the Premier of Communist China, Cho En-lai that complete withdrawal of American military forces from Vietnam was the only precondition that would be discussed.
On July 22, 1971, John Kerry called a press conference in Washington, D.C. Speaking on behalf of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Kerry openly urged President Nixon to accept Madame Binh’s 7-Point plan.
John Kerry represented the universal American soldier and the POWs. He did not represent the United States govt. If you want to believe hard -liner John Wayne anti communist propganda that spewed by our generals….get in line. Been there, done that.
John Kerry was not a traitor for going to Paris. He held no power unless we say that knowledge was power.
Most of the troops knew they were being lied to and saw no reason for them to be there. Yet over 58,000 of them are on the wall.
Why are they there? What good did they do? How are we better off today that we were before the first American set foot in that God-forsaken country? John Kerry was right to throw his medals.
You might want to get a different perspective other than from the right wing blah blah blah about killing commies. Hear it from the troops themselves–Dear America : letters home from Vietnam. It will be a real eye opener.
Keep in mind, the average age of the combat troops was 19 years old. WWII was 26. The US government was sending kids over to get torn and sliced up. The kill rates were tremendous. The American people were lied to. The numbers of enemy dead were falsely reported and yes, Americans were committing atrocities. I know this from hearing about things first hand.
We shouldn’t have been there. America swept it under the rug. My brother in law just got PTSD diagnosed last year. That’s how much the govt gave a rat’s ass.
Don’t try to label me communist sympathizer Hanoi Jane either. It just wont fit. I was quite the different person back then. Vet fiance and all.
Bull crap. You obviously have no idea why he went to Paris. You don’t know his intent and you misrepresent.
Too many right wing blogs and internet rags.
Tell me Cargo, should we have been in Vietnam? Should the generals been giving the wrong body-counts to congress? How about the statement, “Its the only war we have, make the best of it.” Do you think that statement has the best interests of MY generation at heart?
Those boys, and most of them were boys, were set up. Drafted, shipped out, and too many killed. It was all political.
What about Vietnam today? Its basically a communist nation and we do business with them.
When our boys were over there dying those little turds were riding around Saigon ..oh excuse me, ho chi minh city, on mopeds, living it up and going clubbing. Our boys were out in their bush, up to their asses in elephant grass, getting gutted like squirrels.
Tell me again why we were in Vietnam. Over population? Too many young men? sounds like it.
@Moon-howler
John Kerry was a reserve Navy Lt. when he met with foreign gov’t officials that were in conflict with the US and were killing American soldiers. He then proceeded to present THEIR demands. That is aid and comfort to the enemy.
Here it from the troops themselves? My brother is one of those troops. I served with officers that served in Vietnam.
The question of “should we have been there” is a different kettle of fish. If all Kerry wanted to do was protest…fine. Don’t meet with the enemy. And if Kerry had first hand knowledge of atrocities…why didn’t he do something about it, ie report it? He was an officer.
As for Fonda…. What do you mean “label” her?
So let’s see, when was everyone in Vietnam? It makes a big difference. What is your point?
John Kerry was not authorized to negotiate for the USA. You don’t know who all he met with or what he said. The swift boat fits your politics so you will go with it.
His sole concern were American soldiers. You speak of serving with officers that served in Vietnam. They did they all agree then? No one answered my questions “Why are they there? What good did they do? How are we better off today that we were before the first American set foot in that God-forsaken country?”
I don’t think you have the right to call Kerry a traitor anywhere. He was one of the few people speaking up for the kids who were being shipped over there and coming back in body bags. I praise him for that. He wassn’t working for the enemy. he was working for the boys. (or as Westmoreland called them, ‘lads.’)
Let’s talk about those false body kill counts.
Hanoi Jane? I said don’t even think about labeling me as one of her. I thought I was clear.
@Moon-howler
Standing ovation!
I have seen first hand the cruelty and lies that can be told for political purposes. Last The last round of Virginia elections I read some of our fine Prince William gentleman (sic) excoriate Toddy Puller and accuse her of not being fit to use the Puller name. It was disgusting and shameful. There was also discussion of her being responsible for Lewis’ suicide.
Toddy, whether you like her politics or not, spent at least a quarter of a century with the man she married. They had a brief married life together before he got sent to Nam. After being there 4 months or so he was severely wounded. He lost legs, fingers, and had injuries left him debilitated, depressed, alcoholic and dependent on pills. What a shame to use that family’s tragedy to attack her politically.
Yea, I have seen swiftboating. It was done to Toddy Puller also for political reasons. There are some people who will stop at nothing for political gain, right, Greg and Riley?
Disclosure–Toddy and I both graduated from Mary Washington College. I was behind her a couple years. I did not know her personally but I knew of her after Lewis was wounded.
@Moon-howler
i DON’T KNOW? It was HIS testimony.
@Moon-howler
Hanoi Jane? I said don’t even think about labeling me as one of her. I thought I was clear.
Apparently you are not reading or comprehending. I ASKED A QUESTION,”What do you mean “label” her?” And I certainly didn’t label you.
And the only one that I was talking about was Kerry. So instead of transferring your outrage about what happened to another party that I know nothing about, and denigrating the fact that every one of the officers that I served with DID agree about Kerry, stop taking your anger out on me for an opinion about man that, as you say, WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO NEGOTIATE, but did so while he was a SERVING NAVY OFFICER. If he wants to do it as a private citizen, that’s his business. He should have resigned his commission.
@Cargo,
Take the caps off at me. No one said anything about labeling Jane Fonda. Who has the comprehension problem? You might want to reread my first mention of her.
Kerry was on standby reserve status. Nothing more was required of him than to keep a current address. He has an honorable discharge, as he should have.
Seriously, who are you to second guess him? He has been declared a war hero by this country. Your officers didn’t know him I am willing to bet. Maybe they had desk jobs during Vietnam. I know how these things work. I know people who backed Lt. Cally also. These things do get political.
It sounds like you served with a bunch of officers who listened to political gossip. You have absolutely no proof Kerry negotiated with the enemy. He wasn’t authorized to negotiate. You either are authorized or you aren’t. Did he talk with people there who were with the North Vietnam govt? Perhaps. Maybe he shouldnt have. Maybe we should have aimed for 100k on the wall. I don’t think so. You have no idea what that war did to this country and to a generation of young people.
You can like or dislike his platform, his policies, but calling him a traitor is definitely unacceptable. Of course, I have heard the same thing out of republicans about John McCain. I might not like McCain’s politics but I would never take away from his heroics during the Vietnam War. I would not do that to Kerry either. They were both there, we weren’t.
My anger is directly at you for having the audacity to call Kerry a traitor on this blog. I don’t know what you would do that. Make no mistake what my anger is over. Those are just opinions that you keep to yourself in public. That is sort of a private conversaton for when you get around your right wing extremist friends. Same goes for McCain. Don’t call him a traitor here either–anyone. Add Stonewall Jackson to that list.
You don’t have to know much about Lewis Puller. You know about Chesty I am sure and his daughter in law is a state Senator. I gave you an example of how nasty politics gets…hopefully you can apply it elsewhere. It was an example of bad behavior or what I consider bad beahvior.
when exactly was your brother in Vietnam and what branch of the service?
Huckabee is interviewing Jessica Lynch.
I am surprised he didn’t try to summons up the Lord, given the season.
@Moon-howler
Mr. Cuddles does not consent to Starbucks interviews, however, being football season he might be persuaded to chat over a glass or two of Knob Hill with a splash of ginger ale, presuming of course that someone else is picking up the tab.
I guess Mr. Cuddles is just not a cheap date. Knob Hill, eh? I guess Elena and I need to be saving our shekels.
Sorry, meant Knob Creek, so many bottles in front of me I’m a bit addled this evening.
@The Derecho, I thought for a minute you were trying to run the bill up on us. I thought Creek and typed Hill also.
I don’t even have an excuse.
Tell me Cargo, should we have been in Vietnam? Should the generals been giving the wrong body-counts to congress? How about the statement, “Its the only war we have, make the best of it.” Do you think that statement has the best interests of MY generation at heart?
I still don’t have an answer.
It’s a classic American tale. Guy starts a new job but then has to skip out the second day at work because he has a mandatory court appearance. That’s what Idaho Sen Mike Crapo will be doing. The 113th Congress begins work on Jan. 3. Sen Crapo has a Jan. 4 court appearance on the DUI charge he got after he was stopped and arrested in the wee hours this morning. The Idaho Republican, who is a strong family values Mormon, has apologized and said he’s taking steps to ensure it won’t happen again. Now that’s some real Americana. http://fxn.ws/108Zd1k.
I felt sorry for him. Drunk driving laws in this country are screwed up. How does a person tell when they are a 0.08 rather than a 0.07?
Bars sell you liquor. Hosts serve you drinks. You might very well think you are drinking moderately. Who really feels drunk at .08?
I want bars to have to have high end working breathalizers so drinkers can monitor their own status.
I have never had a DUI, just in case anyone thinks I have sour grapes. I just think the laws are screwed up.
If I went out regularly and drank, I would buy my own breathalizer–cost not an issue. Its cheaper in the long run.
As it is, I use my chauffer. 👿
Don’t try to label me communist sympathizer Hanoi Jane either. It just wont fit. I was quite the different person back then. Vet fiance and all.
Here’s where the confusion started about Fonda. I was asking about “labeling her.” Now I see. No…I’m not even comparing you to her.
So….. One of the officers that I served with was a company commander in the Army in Vietnam. Another was a Lt on cruiser. Another was a former F4 pilot. And lastly, one was a mustang..former Marine Sgt, became an officer. So…no desk jobs there.
As for Kerry, he’s the one that testified that he met with the communists. That he took their peace plans, and assisted in presenting them. Period. And he did this while still a Navy officer.
As for being in Vietnam? I don’t know. But our reasons and actions in being in Vietnam do not excuse Kerry’s actions as a Reserve Navy officer after he returned to the States. If you want to meet with the enemy, do it AFTER you resign your commission.
War hero? I guess. If he was a war hero, then any and all of them were war heroes. Know who else is a war hero? Benedict Arnold.
My brother was a Marine Corp Helo pilot.
What years was he there?
His reserve status was only that he had to keep a current address.
I don’t necessarily approve or disapprove of him going to the Paris Peace talks. I know that he isnt a traitor. A traitor cares more about himself or the enemy. John Kerry cared about Americans….in particular the POWs and their families.
You have only been around military types it sounds like for your Vietnamization. For people who are only around military types, you get John Wayned.
I was mainly around military types too, even though I was in college. Quantico, Ft Belvoir, Meyers, etc. Annapolis, Norfolk, Bainbridge, etc. I was with a vet for about a year and a half.
Towards the end of that war, say after Tet, things started looking a whole lot different. People weren’t carrying so much about stopping communism and the troops began to see that they were being duped. I don’t know…I have talked to people who committed war atrocities and who just got mean as snakes. Sort of like how you get if you deal with suicide bombers day after day after day.
I have a whole mixture in my head about how I feel. Freaking brass was lying to Congress and the President about how things were going, what the body kill was. Meanwhile a bunch of boys were doing the dirty work. Sorry…to me 18 and 19 …you are still a boy. What does one do to end something that awful?
Surely your brother saw enough so that he knows what a bad thing that war was?
I don’t care what you think of Kerry, I just don’t want him called a traitor here. What he did took a great deal of courage, looking at it through my eyes. I have no respect for the swiftboaters. That was political cowardice. If they had problems they should have come forward long before. ost of them didn’t even know him and most of his crew all liked him.
On e more thing….I don’t think it really matters what your status is if you meet with the enemy. You either behave honroably or you don’t.
Did he sell secrets? NO.
We can ask Moe if he broke any laws. Moe?????!!!!!! (secret dog whistle for Moe)
I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree as to John Kerry’s fitness as a representative. Remember, I think he’s the perfect representative for this President. I didn’t object to his nomination.
The hypocrisy of these so called Christian conservatives knows no bounds. Now a family values republican senator, Crapo, arrested for drunk driving on our streets! And a Mormon to boot!
I worked as a volunteer for John Kerry a long time ago and he is the most sincere politician I have had the fortune to meet. He stands on his convictions and does what he thinks is right. I am amazed that those that do not agree with him lash out at his patriotism. By the way, there actually are sincere politicians.
@clueless
I’m sure that he is completely sincere about his convictions and what he thinks is right. And since I’m the only one here “lashing out” at him… I am not doing so because I don’t agree with him. There are many politicians that I don’t agree with and I don’t attack their patriotism.
But they didn’t do what he did. And I completely believe that HE believes that he did the right thing.
Others, including me, agree with you Cargo. Kerry went into the military to prepare for his political future. He has said as much. I am trying to figure out why anyone, who has read anything about the man then or since, could believe he was or is a sincere politician about anything, but then this is the Obama and party loyalty is more important than patriotic loyalty or comitment to duty.
What exactly are you reading, Blue? Give me something mainstream to read on him.
Apparently the residents of Massachusetts support John Kerry.
I knew a lot of guys who were drafted, honorably discharged, and immediately active in the anti-war movement. It wasn’t an unusual thing.
I think the Swift-boating crew was the thug branch of the you know which party – another of Atwater’s ploys and about as honorable as the Willie Horton ad.
Totally agree.
And there were people who protested the war while in uniform. right or wrong….they did it. That says something about that war. it says something NOT good.
Inflating body counts while American boys died. Where is the honor in that?
@Censored bybvbl
I knew a lot of guys who were drafted, honorably discharged, and immediately active in the anti-war movement.
Absolutely! HONORABLY DISCHARGED is the key phrase. He was still a serving officer of the US Navy.
So what. Does that make him God? No. The Navy discharged him honorably. Are you all second guessing the Navy? You have to live with their decision. I expect that they know more about what he did and did not do than you do.