Via Tom Maguire we find that the NYT thinks that Accepting Peace Prize Will Be a Test for Obama.

We also find out that David Axelrod has no freakin’ clue.

“There is one very pregnant question,” said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama. “How do you reconcile your role as a commander in chief with your aspirations to promote a more peaceful world at a time of war? That’s a question that he’s going to explore in some detail.”

Axelrod seems to think that commander in chief = warmonger. Of course, we know that’s what they felt about GWB in the role of commander in chief, but it’s not so.

Axelrod also seems to think that there is some kind of essential disconnect between commanding the U.S. Armed Forces and wanting peace.

A strong military is a deterrent to those who would war with us. The presence of a strong military does more to promote peace than to promote war.

New Guinness commercial “Slide”. A neat Rube Goldberg-esque delivery system!

Trans Siberian Orchestra’s mash up of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Carol of the Bells

This is Tiffany (Tiffy) our new puppy.

Tiffy, click to embiggen

She is a Yorkshire Terrier/Bichon Frise mix. One hybrid club calls this mix a Borkie, another calls it a Yo-Chon.  Because the Bichon hair is curly and the Yorkie hair is straight, this poor baby has half and half and is having a perpetual bad hair day.

Yorkies have stand up ears and Bichons have floppy ears, hers start to stand up, then flop.

She’s got mostly the white of the Bichon and the tan of the Yorkie with only a little bit of the Yorkie blue here and there.

We are working hard on potty training (she mostly hits the pads) and some simple commands like sit, come, and answering to her name.

She’s 4 months old.

Early on a beautiful Sunday morning 67 years ago, the world changed.

At 7:55 a.m. December 7, 1941 the attack begins.

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor to remove what it saw as a threat to the empire’s southern expansion. The Pearl Harbor attack hurt us badly, but it also hardened our resolve and brought us fully into WWII.

Snopes has some photos that were purported to be found in an old Brownie camera years after the attack. The story was untrue, but the photos are archival and genuine.

The U.S. Navy has a Pearl Harbor site with more photos.

Chris at A Large Regular has linked to this National Geographic Pearl Harbor site in the past. It has a multimedia timeline, survivor stories, kid’s section, and more.

We’ll probably pop in our DVD of the blockbuster movie Pearl Harbor
.

I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In

I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And what was in those ships all three,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?
And what was in those ships all three,
On Christmas Day in the morning?

The Virgin Mary and Christ were there,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
The Virgin Mary and Christ were there,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Pray, wither sailed those ships all three,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
Pray, wither sailed those ships all three,
On Christmas Day in the morning?

O they sailed into Bethlehem,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
O they sailed into Bethlehem,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the bells on earth shall ring,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
And all the bells on earth shall ring,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

And all the souls on earth shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
And all the souls on earth shall sing,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Then let us all rejoice again,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;
Then let us all rejoice again,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Those were the first words out of Hubby’s mouth when the staffer in Melissa Bean’s Washington office answered the phone (she’s our representative… )

That was also the third call placed, the first two didn’t go through because of busy signals. The call was made immediately after the video embedded below ends.

From the Miami Herald:

The committee bill would create so-called “resolution authority,” allowing the federal government to dismantle such huge financial firms, which it was unable to do when Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008.

Bean voted for the bill, but was one of a few dems voting against an amendment by Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.). The amendment passed however, and will be part of the bill brought to the floor next week.

Bean explains why she thinks that the federal government should be able to preemptively take more control over financial firms if they feel it’s necessary. Judge Andrew Napolitano had just been on with Neil explaining that the bill is unconstitutional in three areas, violates three sections of the constitution. Bean honestly thinks that the government needs to be ready to step in and take control so that the cost doesn’t devolve onto the taxpayers. It wouldn’t if the government would just keep its sticky fingers out of the business pie and let the markets take their courses. Let bankruptcy and other mechanisms currently in place do what they were meant to do. Let failure occur.

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

Jesu, joy of man’s desiring
Holy wisdom, love most bright

Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned
With the fire of life impassioned
Striving still to truth unknown
Soaring, dying round Thy throne

To the Press: SHAME ON YOU!

Badgering and badgering the poor man until he had to issue a statement on a purely private matter between his wife and him.

Without the press scrutiny they might have been able to resolve their issues and we would have been none the wiser (and still no need to be wiser).

I pray that Tiger and Elin can find the best solution for them and I think the Press should just leave them the hell alone.

Via Walter Olson at Overlawyered:

The Christmas Tree in Poole, Dorset, UK (Times)

The 33ft structure turned out to be their Christmas tree, designed according to the principles of health and safety, circa 2009.

Thus it has no trunk so it won’t blow over, no branches to break off and land on someone’s head, no pine needles to poke a passer-by in the eye, no decorations for drunken teenagers to steal and no angel, presumably because it would need a dangerously long ladder to place it at the top.

And at only 28 times the cost of a real Norwegian Spruce. Better yet, plant a Norwegian Spruce in the square and use it again and again and it will absorb carbon dioxide as well!