Yes

The following was written by Francis P. Church in 1897. It's famous and still worth remembering on Christmas:

http://beebo.org/smackerels/yes-virginia.html

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Was I Right?

So going back to last year I looked at the predictions I made. Let's see which ones I was right and which ones I was wrong:

Nothing will change in Iraq.
Right there

Bush will try his best to stop the Democrats from getting anything done YET will blame them for not getting anything done.
Right there

The Media will continue to parade criminal Republicans (and occassional Democrats) on their talk shows meaning we will only get one point of view as always and it will be the wrong point of view.
Right there

The hype for the 2008 election will continue to be more then what it is.
Absolutely right there

The Super Bowl winner will be the Baltimore Ravens.
Wrong there

UCLA Basketball will make another run in the Tourney but will end up losing to Ohio State in the final four.
1/2 right there. They made it to the final four but lost to Florida again

USC Basketball will show signs of life even though no one shows up to their games to see.
Right. But not last year but they are this year. Mayo is great.

While another year of fear but no terror attacks.
Right there

Celebrities will continue to go through spouses like they go through their wardrobes and no one but the media will care like right now.
Right there

Bush will sacrifice more troops in Iran.
Wrong there. For now

There will be investigations on Bush and the most damning thing will be with his and Cheney's energy task force which will show beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bush has everything to do with the high gas prices because gas prices are going up right now and the price of oil is falling.

Wrong there since Congress and the Senate doesn't have a backbone despite the criminal activity of this administration.

The Cubs, despite making perhaps the biggest splash in free agency this year, still will not win the world series. In fact I think it will be the Florida Marlins who will win. They had a great run last year.

1/2 right. The Cubs didn't make the World Series of course but the Marlins stunk


The Detroit Red Wings will win the NHL Stanley Cup. No one will care.
Wrong

The Lakers will make a run in the NBA Playoffs but will fall short to eventual winner the Denver Nuggets. No one will care.
Wrong

I'll have a few predictions for next year soon. In the meantime I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and if they celebrate Kwanzaa I hope you have a happy Kwanzaa as well.

Remember do NOT drink and drive.

Thinking About It

Thinking about it maybe Bush should have been named man of the year. After all he managed to lie, bully, intimidate this country into complete submission. He managed to murder hundreds of citizens (troops) he is allowed to be corrupt, he has a media that is in his back pocket he has the country so scared with his threats he has done whatever he wants and no one has the backbone to stand up to him. Those are the facts.

Uh oh

Wondering why False News hasn't jumped on Bush and Sec. Rice after all with this "war" on Christmas they both said at press conferences "happy holidays" instead of Merry Christmas. I guess it shows it's ok if they say it but not anyone else. Typical hypocrite.

Funny

The funniest thing I ever heard in the wake of 16 year old Jamie Lynn Spears (sister of Brittney) pregnancy was hearing their mother was writing a book of parenting. Should it be called how to screw up your kids??

Man of the Year

Boy has Time Magazine got soft. I remember when they would pick controversial people for their man of the year but this year they picked Vladimir Putin which really what impact has he made? If Time Magazine really wanted to they should have picked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran who really made the impact in the world this year if you think about it.

Good News

Good news everyone. The Iowa Caucus is less then two weeks away. For those who want the first part of the election over with we should know the Democratic and Republican nominees by Super Tuesday which is on Feb. 5th or so.

The first leg is almost completed.

Question

I have a question for anyone who may or may not want to respond but this does apply to anyone who is planning to vote Republican during the next election:

Is it more important to have someone who would represent your religious views who might not be electable or would you sacrifice that in order to retain the Presidency you already have?

I ask that because in the case of Mike Huckabee. He is surging and I wrote about his quotes and the fact he is a baptist minister and some of his stupid, out of touch with reality, (in my opinion) views. He is surging as I said in Iowa but still trails Nationally behind the usual suspects so I wonder what is more important.

No surprise

Joe Lieberman during a Connecticut Debate in 2006 between him and real Democrat Ned LaMont:
“I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008. This man [Ned Lamont] and his supporters will frustrate and defeat our hopes of doing that.”


It comes as no surprise Democratic turncoat Joe Lie-berman (not a typo) has not endorsed a Democrat but a Republican John McCain. Not like his endorsement means anything in fact here is his quote with a comment why would any sane person want this idiots support.

LIEBERMAN: Well, I did. I mean, to have full disclosure, not one of the Democrats asked for my support, which may be a story in itself. John McCain and I are friends. He did ask for my support.

Abstinence Only

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/15/AR2007121500773.html

So I see where 14 states, including California, are rejecting federal funding for abstinence only education. I say good because that never has and never will work. The people who support that are backwards in limiting people's options when they have sex. People should be aware of every option in terms of protection no matter how awkward it might make parents feel should be taught.

Good for the states who have smartened up.

Steroid Report

So Major League Baseball released it's long-awaited report on steroid use among ballplayers. While I won't list the names involved (too many and you can easily find them) there were some surprising and some not surprising people listed. I do have some questions though if anyone wants to answer:

Can Commissioner Selig suspend players?

Can these players be charged?

If you have seen the report you see there is a lot of heresay can that hold up in court?

How many owners knew what was going on?

And did they cover it up because their pocketbooks were increasing?

Will it affect how you view players?

Will it affect if you attend games or not?

How should it affect players with record like Clemens and Bonds?

Yet Again

Yet again Bush shows he hates children as he killed the s-chip bill. If he bothered to look at the actual measure (as I have) none of the things he claims is in the bill is in the bill. But since the bill would help people who wouldn't vote for him mine as well not give them proper care.

Republican Stupidity

You know it's funny I have typed previously on this site when Republicans were in charge of the House and Senate how they whined and complained when Democrats used the filibuster to block bills. In fact here are a few quotes from the alleged party of values:

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS): “[Filibustering] is wrong. It’s not supportable under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters, I’m perfectly prepared to blow the place up.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spokesman: “Senator McConnell always has and continues to fully support the use of what has become known as the ‘[nuclear]’ option in order to restore the norms and traditions of the Senate.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “I support the [nuclear] option, I support a rule change, I support elimination of the unconstitutional filibuster by any legal means.”

So what happens when the Democrats are in charge:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/27/senate-obstruction/

So the House has passed 239 measures since Democrats took over yet Republicans are blocking most of them since they are petty and babies since they no longer have control of all three branches. mind you these are the people who claim nothing is being done and now we know why.

More

I got another quote from Huckabee showing how backwards he is and backing up my previous post about him:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02EED8123AF933A25755C0A96E958260

You are right because you called wives to graciously submit to their husband’s sacrificial leadership.




Nice guy

A few observations

Just a few notes from the weekend (including a lot of sports)

Wondering if Oprah Winfrey's support for Barrack Obama will make a difference or not

Wondering how Mike Huckabee feels about being a front runner now that it came out over the weekend comments he made about people with Aids being quarantined and that he pardoned a rapist when he was governor who went on to kill two people in Missouri

Wondering how much punishment Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Back Anthony Smith received after guaranteeing a Steelers win on Sunday and they got their butts whipped

Can the Patriots go undefeated?

Will the Dolphins win a game?

And can they beat the Ravens who have quit on the season this Sunday?

Sorry Robert but what happened to the Rams this year I thought they would be contending this year

Same for the Saints and Bengals

Most surprising team this year in the NFL: the Cleveland Browns

The Raiders are the team I thought they'd be (sorry Dennis Green I had to)

Was this the most screwed up year in college football or what?

Will the election finally get here already?

Sad

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/07/MNFHTPMQD.DTL

I want to talk about a liberal talk show host on kgo 810 in San Francisco. I always listened and liked his views on issues and he is one of the few talk show host I went out of my way to listen to. I was shocked and saddened to learn he is under indictment for possessing internet kiddie porn.

While I hope he is found innocent if he is found guilty the pervert needs to be locked up a long time.

Way to set the example Bernie.

More Religion

Just one more question since Mike Huckabee is a Baptist Minister shouldn't that disqualify him for running for President based on separation of church and state? Would Huckabee, who has said that he doesn't believe in evolution

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May04/0,4670,Onthe2008Trail,00.html

And that abortion should be outlawed

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/mike-huckabee.htm

But that notwithstanding again the fact he is a minister should disqualify him under again separation of church and state.

Religion and Politics

So I see where Mitt Romney is going to give a speech talking about his religion which as everyone knows that he is Mormon. As long as his religious views are not forced upon us (remembering we are supposed to have separation of church and state) I really don't care what any politicians religion is. I care more on how they view issues and how their views on issues effect me. That's the bottom line.

Liar

So let me get this straight, Iran abandoned it's nuclear weapons a few years ago but according to this freak in the White House they are still a threat and military action is still on the table? Man I guess Bush is still on drugs.

Curious

Robert and I talked about this when we hooked up awhile ago and it's something that needs to be talked about regarding when you have the right to shoot someone. Here is a link for some background information but I will give the details as I know them as well.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/11/27/shooting_of_burglars_in_texas_draws_debate/

The situation is this: A person's neighbor is being robbed. The person rightfully called 911 but the police did not show up at the point the robbers were going to leave so that person, instead of helping the police and giving accurate descriptions of the felons and an accurate description of the vehicle they were driving, decided to take the law in his own hands and kill the robbers. He did not fire a warning shot to get them to stop he shot to kill nevermind the robber posed no direct threat to him or his family.

I think some questions need to be asked and I would like any response if you choose.

A) Was this shooting justified
B) Should this person be charged with a crime and what crime should he be charged with
C) Does this change your position on guns and or gun control
D) Is this person a hero or a villain