The Violence Worker!

Stand By Me

Something to end the weekend with here.

This a bit of kumbaya, but it's kind of interesting how they did it and got all these folks on the same musical page, so to speak.  Enjoy!

By way of my friend Bruce

VW

Tiller Didn't Deserve It

Dr. George Tiller was an abortionist and one of just a few doctors in the United States that would perform a late term abortion on a viable infant.  To me, it's immoral and unconscionable to do such a procedure, but morality aside, it is legal.  It's just as immoral or unconscionable to take the law into your own hands to murder someone who does what Dr. Tiller did. 

Regardless of how strongly an individual individual feels about an issue (and abortion is one issue that can bring out some strong feelings), you do not have the right to take the law into your own hands.  Killing  another human being by an ordinary citizen can only be justified for self-defense reasons.

I note that Dr. Tiller belonged to an ELCA Lutheran Church.  It's interesting because I  belong to an ELCA Congregation here in Tacoma.  I don't know how I would react to someone like Dr. Miller in the congregation.  I do know, that I would cause him no harm or be uncivil.  It's not Christian.

To those of you who think it was justified to kill Dr. Tiller, you are no better than he was.  Those of us who are anti-abortion, our cause was not served by this idiot's actions.

My sincerest condolences to Dr. Tiller's family on their loss.  He did not deserve to be gunned down in cold blood.

VW

Bird Strikes

USAF effort to reduce bird strikes.

H/T:  Theodore's World

The New Officer Reynolds

Mrs. VW and I have eight children between us.  I have four and she has four.  Half are girls and the other half, obviously, are male.  We still have one at home, he's a 15-year-old autistic boy.  He's my wife's youngest, but I've been "Dad" to him for that past 11 of those years.  So far, all the rest of our children have turned out pretty good.  We don't have any criminals or drug addicts.  They are all productive citizens.  Our girls that are married, chose good honorable men.  We are proud of them all.

Today, one of our sons-in-law was commissioned as a County Corrections Officer.  We attended the small ceremony and watched as my youngest daughter pinned the badge on her husband's shirt.  The little girl in the yellow dress is their three-year-old daughter, Zoe.   The lady in the background taking a picture is Mrs. VW.  He was one of five young men commissioned today.

Here's a shot of me and the newly minted Officer Reynolds.

 

One with Mrs. VW.

Another with wife and daughter

Congrats to the new Officer Reynolds!

VW

Corporate Corruption

I don't have much time to post much this evening so I shall point you here for an excellent treatise that pretty much describes what went wrong in Corporate America and the subsequent meltdown that ensued.

Here's a teaser:

Mediocrity breeds corruption. The business world is crawling with affable, industrious, intelligent people with nothing to distinguish them from ten thousand other affable, industrious and intelligent people, but who very much would like to be rich. Except by winning the equivalent of a lottery or marrying up, their chances of becoming rich are quite poor. They joint a fraternity at college to make contacts, and went to business school to network. They have no friends, only contacts, as their entire social life from freshman year onward has been a struggle to get to know people who might help them. They live in silent terror that they will fall off the corporate gravy train and never have the chance to clamber back on.

It gets better and the solutions make sense.

By way of Blogs for Victory

VW

Sotomayor - Unqualified

Judge Sonia Sotomayor gets overturned 60% of the time according to the Washington Times.  In other words, she only gets it right two out of five times.  It's not a bad average if you are a major league slugger, but baseball is the only profession that I can think of where being successful less then half the time is considered to be an achievement.

Imagine, if you will, if we applied that rate to other professions.  How about airplanes?  How would you feel if the engineers who designed your 747 or A380 were only right 40% of the time?  Or how about the mechanic who services those airplanes?  What if he only did 40 percent of his repairs correctly?  How about the mechanic who works on your car?  Would you feel comfortable driving your family around knowing that 60 percent of his work was error?  How about your own job?  Would the boss keep you around if you didn't get it right most of the time?

Do we really want to promote her to the big leagues where she can be wrong 60 percent of the time and there is absolutely no way to correct her?  At least she can be overturned now.  Once she is elevated to the big bench, error rates don't count.

We don't need a racist bumbler on the Supreme Court!

VW

Bell's Beers (Shameless Plug)

On my beer blog, my partner (not my life partner) Crackladen tastes a few of Bell's offerings.  Check it out.

Also, I'm still soliciting writers for the beer blog.  No experience necessary, you just have to be a craft beer aficionado.

Email me and we'll discuss it.  I'm gentle, I promise.

VW

The Flag

Texas Fred posted an article about a hospital supervisor who was ordered to take down the American Flag she put up in her office.  Apparently a co-worker, not of American birth, was offended by the American Flag. 

A while back, some moonbat said this about the American Flag on a blog I commented on: 

“I’m amazed. You really don’t have a clue, here. Please, try to get it: we fight to protect a Constitution, not a flag. Flags are just symbols. They aren’t the real thing”.

In response to that moonbat, I wrote the following: 

 

What this person said about what we fight for is absolutely right.   When members of the Armed Forces swear their Oath of Enlistment, they swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.  No oath is sworn to the flag and neither is their any oath sworn to protect the flag.  Also, no oath is sworn to protect and defend the people of the United States either. 

But, when a military member swears an Oath of Enlistment there is always an American Flag present; a requirement.    When military members hear the National Anthem being played, they will always stand at attention and face the American Flag if it’s present.   When the American Flag passes in review, military personnel will always stand and salute the Flag.   When a military member dies in service to his country, an American Flag will cover their casket.  At the funeral of a deceased member, that flag will be presented to his/her next of kin.  The flag will be folded with the utmost precision and cradled like a new born child until presentation is made.  When a hero or great American dies, it’s the flag that’s flown at half staff to signify a nation in mourning.    

 Throughout history, men have literally sacrificed their lives to keep the American Flag raised during battles.   The Flag Bearer was a position of honor and entrusted only to the best and bravest of soldiers. 

Medal of Honor recipient, Private Joseph E. Brandle: 

During the Civil War, the job of color bearer was one of the most hazardous as well as important duties in the Army. Soldiers looked to the flag for direction and inspiration in battle and the bearer was usually out in front, drawing heavy enemy fire while holding the flag high. On Nov. 16, 1863, regimental color bearer Pvt. Joseph E. Brandle, from the 17th Michigan Infantry, participated in a battle near Lenoire, Tenn. “…Having been twice wounded and the sight of one eye destroyed, he still held to the colors until ordered to the rear by his regimental commander.”

http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/smith/medal/index.html

 

What the commenter fails to realize is that the American Flag is the symbol of our nation.   That flag represents all that our men and women fight for.   It’s the visible representative of the Constitution of the United States and therefore leads our troops into battle, brings them home when they have fallen in battle, and is present when we lay them to rest.   

To some people the American Flag is nothing but a brightly colored dish rag.   To others it represents all their nation stands for and those who fought and died defending the Constitution while looking to the Flag. 

Child of Fallen Marine Accepts American Flag

Choking back tears, Christian Golczynski accepted the flag from his father's casket.

Photographer Aaron Thompson described this moment as "the most emotionally moving event I may have ever witnessed and may ever witness in my life."

H/T to Wild Thing

The Sotomayor Nomination

Most people don't realize the ramifications of a Presidential election.  For most people, their lives just go on.  Maybe a little harder, maybe a little easier, but mostly their lives are the same.  If their fortunes change at all, it isn't readily apparent.  This will be the case with the Sotomayor nomination to the Supreme Court.  It isn't going to change the balance of the court just yet, but if Obama get another pick (and he will), it will skew the court left - hard left.

When it changes, however, we'll see freedom slip away even faster.  This person should not be confirmed.  We all know that liberal judges will be selected, but this one is worth fighting.

The problem with Sotomayor isn't her ethnicity or her gender, it's the fact that she apparently sees both as a cudgel to wield in instead of a gavel.

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,”

Imagine if Chief Justice John Roberts once said that a white man would come to a better conclusion than (insert whatever minority here).  He would be tarred and feathered, run out of town and never heard from again.  Thus the double standard of the left.  However, It's not the double standard that's the problem.  The problem is how will that kind of thinking will change our law and freedoms?

Supreme Court Justices are supposed to base their opinions on the Constitution, not on the basis of their genitalia and/or melanin content.  If that is how her decisions will be based, we may as well pack it in and call it a day for this country.

Republicans should base their opposition on her statements, writings, ethics and decisions.  Leave abortion alone. We will not win on abortion.  All of you single issue ideologues need to understand that abortion as the sole criterion to choose a justice is a battle you cannot win.  Fight this nominee on the substance of her judicial history, not abortion.

VW

New Beer Blog Post

I review the Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, WA.

VW