Room...ten-HUT!

I am pleased as punch to share the following moment with you all... My son graduated from the Boot platoon in the Tri-State chapter of Young Marines a couple of weeks ago. (If you're scratching yer heads: Think of it as Scouting ala the USMC, and he just moved up from the Cub Scouts.)

Bear with me, if you please, whilst I bask in the moment.



For those keeping score, he's the handsome gent second from right in the front rank.

A Change of Scenery

Folks, I am here to announce a change.

From here on, the focus of "Stander's Point" is going to shift to more personal (and, frankly, more enjoyable) topics and will be shying away from politics and other such claptrap. It will also be updated on a less frequent basis.

For those who prefer news and views on current events, please feel free to visit my new second home, Adult Supervision Required, wherein my political (and most likely crankier) side will be more fully unfettered.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

SIX-BUUURRRRGH!!!

Now This Takes Balls (Well, Okay...Just One)

One of the prettiest things to grace the White House all year, the annual Christmas Tree, is up in the Blue Room as we speak.

Every year, an artist is chosen from every district of every state to decorate an ornament to be hung on the tree. Folks, there are some real beauties in the roster.

What's that...you say there's one missing?

Hmmm. Well, whaddayaknow. You're right.

Lessee here...Yep, it's the one from Seattle, WA.

Gee....I wonder why it didn't make the cut?

"Oh, dear," said Seattle-based artist Deborah Lawrence, who created the red and white ornament that salutes Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and his support for a resolution to impeach the president. "This doesn't really surprise me. But it's disappointing that I won't get to see it on the tree."

Laura Bush asked all members of Congress to pick artists from their districts to decorate ornaments, presumably highlighting local landmarks and heroes. Lawrence, 55, used the opportunity to honor McDermott, a strong critic of Bush. The collage artist glued tiny text on the nine-inch ball thinking no one would actually read her embedded "subversive" message.

Okay, so she tried to be sneaky about it. Alright, I can see getting a private laugh out of slipping a curve ball past the ump.

And she might have gotten away with it, too. All she had to do was not go bragging about it...

Yeah, right. She's an artist AND a liberal. You do the math.

But Lawrence shared her secret protest with friends, and the news quickly spread. "An artist doesn't always get this kind of attention," she told us. "It took on a life of its own, obviously. In a way, I'm speechless."

Oh, if only.

Awright, enough about her.

Here's the official White House photo list of the ones that remembered what they were doing this for.

My personal favorite?

Why, the State ornament of West Virginia, of course. It's purty.

Points of Interest: Dec 2, 2008

Confederate Yankee shows us what happens when a chainsaw, a little ingenuity, and just enough beer meet each other in the middle.

Jammie Wearing Fool points out a handy little device that might have been useful in Long Island back on Black Friday.

Sister Toldjah kindly directs our attention to a friend of hers who has just opened up his own blog, who was once a civilian contractor in Iraq. Like most people who have gone over there in recent years, he did not come back the same as when he left, which led to the name of his new virtual home. Go find out why.

And finally,Iowahawk proves yet again why he is the REAL Lightworker. (Seriously, can this dude not go for more than a week without making the rest of us look like the subservient primates that we are?)

You have your orders. Stander out.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all...and THANK YOU.

The Theft of Hope, Part II: Meet The New Boss

To those who considered themselves "winners" a few weeks ago...some words to ponder.

On the 4th of November of this year, a Democrat won the 2008 Presidential Election.

It was a hard-fought campaign stretching over the better part of two or three years, with all of the prerequisite wailing and gnashing of teeth...but in the end, there was little doubt who the clear victor would be.

All over the world, a euphoric global community celebrated the dawn of a new era of Hope and Change that promised to wrap the world in its warm, fuzzy, patchouli-scented embrace.

And you know what the best part of all this is?

Those who helped her do it are only just now starting to catch on.

What...Why the confused look all of a sudden?

Oh, right. You thought I was talking about Barack Obama, didn't you?

Well, if it's any consolation, so does he.

Looking at things the way they have developed thus far, with his cabinet picks increasingly being populated by her and Slick's old buddies - and now, apparently, by the Lady herself - I suppose there's really only one position left to fill.

Take it away, 'Hawk.

...Okay, so that was a joke.

In which case, I would make one more observation.

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (U.S. Code title 3.19, as noted here in the Cornell University Law Library), which delineates who shall fill the First Shoes should their current occupant be rendered unable to continue, sets the first line of succession as follows:

The Vice-President
The Speaker of the House
The Senate President pro-tempore, as chosen by the Senate

If none of those three figures are able to step up, we go to the next stage of succession, which consists of the various Cabinet Secretaries.

First on that list?

You guessed it...Secretary of State.

So, if things proceed apace, here's the short list:

1) President Barack Obama
2) Vice-President Joe Biden
3) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
4) SPPT Robert Byrd (if I'm wrong on this, do not hesitate to correct me)
5) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Many moons ago, I once joked to the wife that if Hillary got the nod for Barry's VP pick, I gave him about six months in office before she finally got tired of waiting for Nature to take its course.

The first two noted above won't take long. Barry's still too busy paving the road to notice the truck coming, and Joe...well, actually, we haven't heard much of anything from him lately, have we?

The Pineapple Princess might be a tougher nut to crack. (Ever seen what happens when you put two queen bees in the same hive?)

As for Byrd, a stiff breeze should do the trick.

No, I am NOT saying that all these dominoes will necessary start falling all at once, nor am I advocating that they should start falling at all.

On the contrary...I'm praying to God that they don't.

Care to join me..."winners"?