Monthly Archives: December 2009

Christmas Song of the Day

Good King Wenceslas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmgsDfmPSI

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath’ring winter fuel

“Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know’st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes’ fountain.”

“Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither.”
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather

“Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.”

In his master’s steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

Last Minute Shopping

Amazon has a special today on Selected Jewelry. Free one day shipping and 30% off at checkout!

*** For the FTC, if someone clicks the link above (or any of the Amazon links in the sidebars) and purchases something, I will receive a small commission. It is a good deal however, especially if one can’t get out to shop.***

Christmas Song of the Day

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but do you recall… the most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glowed
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight
Then all the reindeer loved him
And they shouted out with glee
Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
You’ll go down in his-to-ry!

Christmas Song of the Day

White Christmas (The Incomparable Bing Crosby – from Holiday Inn)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vPfOjAw5Z0

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Critical Care

That’s the name of a Star Trek: Voyager episode first aired November 1, 2000, right before the election.

It was recently rerun on Spike TV and it’s quite interesting in this day and age.

The Doctor’s Holographic Emitter that allows him to interact outside the sickbay or holodeck is stolen and sold to the administrator of an alien hospital. The Doctor is activated on Level Red, a dark, crowded level with many patients and few doctors. Many of these patients are dying for want of medication, but The Allocator – a computer program that decides who gets what – found that the Red Patient’s TC (treatment coefficient) was too low.

The Doctor did what he could for the patients on Level Red, so well that The Allocator reassigned him to Level Blue, where the TC per patient was much higher (Government workers vs laborers) and the doctor/patient ratio was one to one. These patients were more valuable don’t you know.

The Level Blue patients were being given a medication to slow arterial aging. Totally unnecessary to their health, was just supposed to help extend the life of the Level Blue patient. Kind of like a Botox injection for purely cosmetic reasons versus a Botox injection that would kill a tumor and save a life. Only there’s only so many injections and The Allocator has decided that the Level Blue people are more worthy than the Level Red people.

Of course the Doctor steals some of the medication from Level Blue and brings it to Level Red to treat the patients there and the hospital administrator comes down to chew him out. The doctor infects the Administrator with the disease so as to blackmail him into getting medication for those who really need it on Level Red.

This is where we are headed people. Because the government won’t be able to fund full health care for everyone, the government will have to find its own version of “The Allocator” that will use some kind of extremely complicated formula to determine who gets the necessary surgeries and who gets to take an aspirin, who gets medication and who will just have to do without.

Christmas Song of the Day

Mary Did You Know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0WIJw8JVeU

Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I AM

(buddy greene, mark lowry)

Christmas Song of the Day

We Three Kings

Hugh Jackman! (Wolverine….), David Hobson, Peter Cousen

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Refrain

O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.

Refrain

Christmas Song of the Day

Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)

Luciano Pavarotti and Trisha Yearwood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MYQneoYhYY

In Latin:

Adeste Fideles
Laeti triumphantes
Venite, venite in Bethlehem
Natum videte
Regem angelorum
Venite adoremus
Dominum
Cantet nunc io
Chorus angelorum
Cantet nunc aula caelestium
Gloria, gloria
In excelsis Deo
Venite adoremus
Dominum
Ergo qui natus
Die hodierna
Jesu, tibi sit gloria
Patris aeterni
Verbum caro factus
Venite adoremus
Dominum

In English:

Oh, come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him
Born the king of angels:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Highest, most holy,
Light of light eternal,
Born of a virgin,
A mortal he comes;
Son of the Father
Now in flesh appearing!
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
In the highest:
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given!
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing!
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Hymn # 41 from Lutheran Worship
Composer: John F. Wade
Tune: Adeste Fideles
1st Published in: 1767

Gitmo North Just 125 Miles Away

Thomson Correctional has been chosen to be Gitmo North. It’s just 125 miles from my home. The prison is currently owned by the State of Illinois and is underused. It’s not underused because there aren’t enough state prisoners. It’s just underused. Sen Dick Durbin (D) and Governor Quinn (D) think this is a great idea to sell the prison to the Federal Government, upgrade it to a Federal Maximum Security Facility and hold trials there. They say it will bring in a lot of jobs to the area.

What a crock of sh*t. Wasn’t the original construction of the prison supposed to bring in a lot of jobs? It probably did for a while, while the construction was going on. Thomson, Illinois still only has a population of 600 souls.

The Illinois Times reported on November 25th that:

The IDOC Web site shows that 25 of Illinois’ 28 prisons are operating over capacity, with at least three prisons holding more than double their capacity of prisoners. Compiling the online data shows Illinois prisons hold about 44,000 inmates – almost 14,000 inmates over their combined capacity of about 30,000. Those numbers do not include the state’s adult transitional centers, some of which are overcrowded as well.

The prison was opened in 2006 at a cost of ~ $145 million. As of the 2008 Annual Report, it is a Min/Max Security facility that holds 0 maximum security prisoners and only 144 minimum security prisoners. The prison has 1600 max security beds and that section of the prison has never opened. The minimum security side has 200 beds. There are 15 buildings. There are the 1600 cells and eight housing units in addition to the 200 bed minimum security section. Total building space is 625,000 square feet on 146 acres.

Durbin was just re-elected again in 2008 so he’s safe for another 5 years. Quinn on the other hand will need to be elected in 2010 in order to hold on to the Governor’s seat he fell into when Blagojevich (D) was impeached earlier this year.

Illinois primaries will be held in February. Quinn, even though he is the “incumbent” has primary challengers. With a majority of Illinoisans against bringing Gitmo north, his Dem opponents in the primary would do well to play this up. If Quinn should win the primary, his Republican and Independent opponents would also do well to play this up. Hopefully Quinn will only have this partial term as governor under his belt.

A Couple of Polls

The Anchoress has a couple of polls up.

The first asks for your opinion on President Obama’s statement that he gives better gifts than he gets.

The second (in the same post) asks what grade you would give President Obama. He gave himself a solid B+.

mm-5