Merry Christmas

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas from the folks at the Country Store.

Juche Fruit Kim Jong Il Goes To Hell

North Korean state media say that long time wingnut dictator Kim Jong Il has finally kicked the bucket:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died Saturday on a train trip, a tearful state television announcer, dressed in black, reported Monday. The announcer said that the 69-year old had died of physical and mental over-work on his way to give "field guidance."

I guess being a crazed dictator was a ronery job but someone had to do it:

George Washington's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

You can find the original in the National Archives, but the following is bit easier to read:

WHEREAS, It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor;

WHEREAS, Both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted' for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

--George Washington - October 3, 1789

The current occupant of the White House ought to study the last paragraph.

Veterans Day 2011

Our thanks to the veterans who have sacrificed so much to keep this country free and who remain our bulwark against tyranny, both foreign and domestic.

NEWS FLASH: Joe Biden sworn in as new President

Joseph Robinette Biden becomes 45th President of the United States

Joseph Robinette Biden was sworn in today at noon as the 45th President of the United States. This succession follows the theft of President Obama's teleprompter. This resulted in Obama's inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office as outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. When asked about the succession Obama was quoted as saying, "um..er..um..I..bill..pass."

Here's an audio clip of the Obama statement:

Easy for him to say.

Occupy Wall Street Poster Boy: Edward T. Hall III

The New York Times has finally found a poster boy for the Occupy Wall Street mob. It must have been tough to filter out the usual clowns from 15 splinter communist parties, the peace groups, Code Pink, and MoveOn.org as well as the street people, druggies, and panhandlers; but after careful consideration Times reporter Cory Kilgannon settled on Edward T. Hall III. The problem as P.J. Gladnick reveals is that Little Eddie is a rather bizarre drama queen (Warning: crude language):

You too can be a Drama Queen

 

The Times article describes Little Eddie thusly:

Mr. Hall is a well-educated young man with a privileged upbringing who said he was following a calling greater than getting a job and making money. He said he saw the protest as a global movement to help fight poverty and economic inequality. He has spent the past month sleeping in the park and is one of the organizers of the protest.

...

Mr. Hall said that he grew up in New Mexico and that both his parents were politically active lawyers who were thrilled that he was pursuing a socially conscious life and was involved in the Occupy Wall Street protest. Mr. Hall said he attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and then transferred to Bard College in upstate New York because of its reputation as a socially conscious school.

He had been renting in Washington Heights for the past two years while attending doctoral classes at Columbia University as a nonmatriculated student. He said that he supported his modest lifestyle with savings from working as a teenager and that he also had “a small trust fund” from his grandfather that he had not drawn from yet. For the past four weeks, he has eaten free meals and has slept in the park.

Translation: Little Eddie is a spoiled Trust Fund Baby whose family is paying for him to hang around in New York amusing himself and annoying others. Probably a good idea since having Little Eddie living in the basement might be fraught with peril. Particularly since there is more to Little Eddie than just bad acting - among other things he is also well known for crawling though the baggage carousel at JFK airport in January to get around security so he could visit a girlfriend in San Francisco (more at Loon Has A Lot of Baggage). The best part is:

Conditional discharge in New York State means that if Ted stays out of trouble for a year, he stays out of jail. When he was not actively looking for trouble or trying to spend a little more time with Maya, Ted was previously employed as a research assistant at Columbia University’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions: his specific discipline, human impatience.

Let's see, a whacked-out 1%er pretending solidarity with the common folk. One can't help but congratulate the Times on their choice. One can only hope that Little Eddie gets to use his Go Directly  to Jail card soon.

Today's Hoot: Meet the 1%

Exurban League alerts us to the inconvenient truth that the "I Am The 99 Percent" crowd refuses to face:

The Democrats love to claim that the Republicans are the party of Big Business, but whatever the truth in the past, those days are long gone. Nowadays the Democrats regularly haul in truckloads of cash from Big Business, dish out taxpayer money to their wealthy business backers (Solyndra anyone?),  find sinecures for their leading lights on the boards of large corporations (how about Chelsea Clinton's new gig?), and fill the ranks of the GSEs (Government Sponsored Enterprises) with thieving politicos of the worst stripe like Franklin Raines and James Johnson. Meanwhile the Republicans have become the party of the small businessman, the self-employed, and the long-suffering middle class. Don't hold your breath waiting to hear that from the wannabe members of the Democrat ruling class in the Lamestream Media though.

Obama invades Africa - again!

Friday war document dump: Obama sends troops to Africa. Hey, whatever happened to the antiwar movement? First it was Libya, and now it is Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. C'mon moonbats, time to protest the imperialist aggressor.

Has anyone seen Ahmadinejad lately?

Report: Iran Attempt to Launch Monkey Into Space Fails

(h/t Inside of Iran for the photo)

"Occupy Chicago" Protestor caught smuggling watermelon

Her local McDonalds must miss her.