Michigan

Michigan, Philosophy

Sunday Sermon – Why Christmas?

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Worrying about the actual date of Christmas may miss the point of it.

“Why Christmas?” Why does the entire world seem to at least acknowledge that the 25th of December is Christmas?

For just a moment I’d like us to ignore the obvious – that it is the celebration of Christ’s birth, because if we were totally honest with ourselves, that isn’t what it means to the vast majority of people who celebrate it. I mean, look around us. This is a very festive looking room, but what don’t you see? I’d like to take a few moments to examine the history that surrounds some of the traditions of Christmas.

Many people realize the date of Christmas was originally used by pagans to celebrate the passing of the winter solstice. They knew that by this time in December that the shortest day and longest night had passed, and with that came the promise of longer days, shorter nights and eventually spring.  The date of December 25th, as the celebration of Christ’s birth, however, was first seen in a Roman calendar dating from approximately 336 AD.

But it is very unlikely that Christ was born during the winter months. Why not? Good question. In Luke 2:8 we read: “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.” Now, the usual time for the sheep to be kept in the fields surrounding Bethlehem is after the last of the winter rains in April and before they start up again in November. So, if there were shepherds in the fields then the birth likely occurred between April and November.

But December wasn’t always the choice for celebrating Christ’s birthday. In the two hundred years after the death of Christ, Christians celebrated his birth on January 6, April 19, May 20 and several other dates. A few years ago a British physicist and astronomer, David Hughes, calculated that the date of Christ’s birth was September 17th, 7 BC.

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion

It’s A Serious Cracker

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Drug names are bad M'K?

There is nothing as seriously addictive as alcohol.

After watching two of the closest people to me drink themselves to death, one might think I would find drinking jokes to be offensive.  At least if I was a liberal, politically correct, over-sensitized, whiny baby, perhaps. I don’t however. Humor has truths that can make us uncomfortable, but speak a different language.

I cannot get over the overblown, yet seriously pathetic apology for using the cultural name of [methyl (1R,2R,3S,5S)-3- (benzoyloxy)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1] octane-2-carboxylate], or “Crack” for a french fry.  It boggles the mind that anyone would so care about such a mild reference to something that is addictive, yet still, with any sense of propriety can still run an establishment that caters directly to those who suffer from the worst form of addiction, namely alcoholism.

This video is as priceless as it is pathetic and revealing of the cowardly culture we are backing ourselves into.

All is not lost however.  Visit the video page itself, and enjoy the commentary while it lasts.  If the snowflake who made the video is consistent, he will run from this video even faster than he did the ‘insensitive’ name for a deep fried potato.

H/T scales.

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans

Snyder: “I’m Tired – And Not Really A Republican Anyhow”

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Rick Snyder was never 'with us' anyhow.

His people got folks dead in Flint, and his instincts are off when faced down with the next lost decade.

Skubick asks what he’ll do with the GOP legislature’s attempt at reigning in the oncoming freight train of bureaucratic nightmares.  He says “just wait.”  From Fox2:

“In the new year Democrat Jocelyn Benson will be the new Secretary of State, Democrat Dana Nessel will be attorney general. Democrats have cried foul and want the governor to veto those bills.

The governor steadfastly refused to say what he will do even though he was pressed to do so.

“I will carefully evaluate and make a decision in the best interest for the people of Michigan,” Snyder said.

Tim Skubick: “Is it fair to say you would not have introduced this legislation if given the choice?”

“Tim. I’m not to get into all that speculation because people will try to read into what that means I’m going to do,” Snyder said.

The governor confesses he has personal feelings on this alleged power grab but he would not budge on that either.

“I have personal feelings on many issues but as governor I keep those feelings to myself,” Snyder said. “Because I am responsible to not act on my personal feelings but to represent the people of Michigan.”

Of course he is.

The I–Told–You–So is so damned thick around here.

And it (and at least a couple dozen other stories chronicling Slick Rick’s reign of stupid)  ain’t wrong.

 

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Michigan

So Far So Good

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Court of Appeals AFFIRMS Arena Authority Preemption

I mentioned ‘Preemption’ the other day.

Apparently, last week the Michigan appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that preemption is indeed still a thing. It cleared the air that ‘authorities’ which are a subdivision of government fall under the State’s Act 319 of 1990, but also properly noted that the lessees CAN enforce their own rules with regard to publicly owned arenas, etc.

Several years ago, the Lansing center folks booted a bunch of open carry guys from the Republican convention which was awkward, because well ..Republicans are supposed to be pro second amendment, right?  No more, unless the MI GOP SPECIFICALLY issues a no firearms rule for its conventions, right?

Good job, and well done to our brothers at Michigan Open Carry and Michigan Gun Owners Inc..

Until the next challenge.

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics

Lansing “Protest” scheduled for tomorrow.

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Just a friendly heads up from several snitches of mine.

The Michigan People’s Campaign is planning to “lobby”(/protest?) in Lansing on Tuesday at the Capitol Building beginning at 9:00am against the changes made to the Michigan paid sick leave law that Legislature essentially “short-circuited” by passing prior to the election earlier this year.

No word on why the Michigan Legislature couldn’t do the same with Proposal 2, I can only surmise that they just like losing, but I digress.

If anyone has any business up in Lansing tomorrow, again, just a friendly reminder to watch yourselves around this crowd.

Progressives tend to get a little bit hostile when they don’t get their way.

‘Nuff said.

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Detroit, Fees, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Taxes

So What Then?

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Can we expect our constitutional officers to do their jobs appropriately after this year?

What priorities will the new attorney general of Michigan bring to bear on the populace?

It sure as hell won’t be protecting citizens from an over reaching government. Except perhaps for those areas where ‘protecting’ means extending ‘rights’ that don’t exist outside of social norms.

All cultural ills aside, what about Michigan’s firearms protections?  What about keeping local feelings about whether or not it is appropriate to be able to defend oneself with a pistol?

Preemption in Michigan has always protected Michigan gun owners from the overtime efforts of ordinances, rules, restrictions, etc.  Theoretically, it provided protections for firearms possession by those with a CCW even in school environments up until the Michigan Supreme Court screwed the pooch.

The law still provides protections however, and the municipalities run by even the shadiest left wing whack jobs cannot even prevent firearms from being carried into council meeting environments.  That is, unless they are held in a bar or (now) a school.

But in January, priorities change.  The Democrats were able to elect the slate they have been pushing for 8-12 years, and what might have once been a state that respected law and order, will now revert to governance by emotion and fear mongering.

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion

A Dollar Twenty Five

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Is Michigan's bottle deposit law too much?

A buck and a quarter a year is the estimated loss consumers ultimately bear because of the the bottle law.

Scales gets a H/T on the video – And he may agree with a repeal of the law, and I can understand a number of the reasons.  I suspect the actual cost is in fact MUCH higher because of welfare fraud, as well as compliance which requires automation, added employment, and often extra facilities.

However, in my life, I have watched a change in the road side debris that happened IMMEDIATELY following the passage of the law in the  beginning.  I was delivering the Lansing State Journal, the Free Press as a paperboy in the late 70s and spent much time biking the side roads and streets.  When the law was passed, no more were bottles tossed, and those which were found a home in the bags which once carried newsprint door to door.  This resulted in less trash overall, and the areas I was in began to simply look a little nicer.

And now, would it be too much to expand the law to plastic water bottles as they become the new ‘tossable’ we might find littering our roadways?  Or should we throw up our hands and give up trying to encourage less piggishness?

The legislature may pass this on to the governor’s desk, where he probably would not sign it.

Your thoughts?

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Michigan, Michigan Politics

NPV Debate Thursday

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Thursday November 29 debate on Pros/Cons of the absurd NPV manipulation scheme.

Sadly, there are Republicans in our legislature stupid enough who need more convincing about the perils of a national popular vote.

I’ve said my piece time and again, and apparently its not enough to overcome the Hawaii bribery schemes moving our ‘conservative’ mushheads back on track.  Norm Hughes has challenged NPV Shill and fifth columnist Saul Anuzis to a debate on the merits (or lack thereof) of the NPV.  The debate will happen November 29th at the Pontiac Country club, and the doors open at 6:30PM.

Pontiac Country Club
4335 Elizabeth Lake Rd
Waterford Twp, MI 48328

Doors open 6:30PM

 

 

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Michigan, Philosophy

Giving Thanks

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Happy Thanksgiving from Rightmi.com

Some great works pop into the mailbox from time to time.

Something I personally try to do DAILY, is give thanks to my Maker and Provider.  It costs nothing, it takes no time out of my day, and I can honestly feel the power it gives back for exercising a little humility in the presence of God’s works.

There are others who feel this way.  We are empowered by our faith, our personal culture and most importantly our gratitude for so much that we have been given.  From FEE’s What Ten Lepers in the Book of Luke Can Teach Us about Gratitude:

” In his 2008 book, Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Robert A. Emmons, who spent years studying gratitude, wrote that

grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness and optimism, and that the practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed and bitterness.

One would think this would make gratitude easy for us. Who doesn’t want to be happier and more successful? Alas, gratitude, for all its merit, is not something easily embraced, evidence suggests.

The most obvious example, of course, is the presence of the “victimhood culture,” which has turned grievance into a fad. There is indeed something odd and troubling about an ideology that stokes the embers of our resentment, particularly in a time and place enjoying unprecedented wealth and opportunity.

No victimhood message here.  Only full blown gratitude.

Click on the link and read the rest, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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