Thoughts On A Sunday

Winter-like temperatures arrived Friday, with lows in the teens and highs at or just below freezing. The Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove did its job, keeping The Manse nice and warm. While it has been requiring a little more wood than we had thought it would, it hasn't been too much above what we originally thought. We had to keep in mind that we were home 24/7, which meant keeping the temperatures higher than we would otherwise. Hence, higher consumption of wood. Since we go back to work and school tomorrow, we'll be back to 'normal' use.

However this doesn't mean we won't have to make another trip to the WP In-Law's home to pick up the last of our firewood sometime in late January or early February..

*******

It's another evening game for the New England Patriots tonight. This weekend they're taking on the 5-5 Philadelphia Eagles in Foxborough. It won't help the Eagles that their quarterback, Donovan McNabb, will not be playing. He's still recovering from an injured ankle and right thumb.

Let's see if the Patriots can make their season 11-0!

Note: Even before they've played the game tonight the Patriots have clinched the AFC East division title. Not bad. Not bad at all.

*******

While Fred Thompson hasn't been making many visits to New Hampshire, it doesn't meant he hasn't been campaigning hard.

According to an article in The Tennessean, he's been making numerous campaign stops. In fact he's second only to John McCain in the number of campaign events he's attended over a given period.

While his poll numbers in New Hampshire are the lowest they've ever been, he's doing quite well throughout the South.

Could it be that's he's focusing on the Super Tuesday primaries in February?

*******

Fellow Granite Stater and conservative Skip Murphy has a lengthy essay about deciphering leftist Democratic speech and analyzing what it is they really mean with their election rhetoric.

Read The Whole Thing.

*******

It's not surprising to me that as the number of home foreclosures climb that a like number of predatory and deceptive lender practices have been coming to light. There have been questions about foreclosure procedures that may, in themselves, be deceptive and causing homeowners to lose their homes unnecessarily. Some mortgage servicers have been profiting from foreclosures, which may induce them to put homeowners into default even though they are not.

At least some federal judges handling questionable foreclosures have required lenders to prove they actually own the properties they intend to foreclose. A couple of federal judges in Ohio have dismissed foreclosure proceedings because lenders failed to prove they owned the properties in question.

As we've been hearing for some time, some of the blame for the ever increasing number of foreclosures lies with the sub-prime lenders giving out mortgages that were designed to fail.

*******

Now that the date of the New Hampshire primary has been set I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of the presidential hopefuls and the news media covering them. I figure the week prior to the primary it will be a madhouse around here, much as it has any time there is no incumbent running for re-election. While the local news operations are covering the campaign stops by the candidates for the time being, the national operations will move in shortly after Christmas and the talking heads/news anchors will supplant the stringers and local anchors.

If nothing else it will be amusing to watch the flatlander press flounder about trying to make heads or tails of our ways and our contrariness.

*******

A new batch of young voters in college will be casting their first presidential votes come November 2008. Unfortunately it appears that some of them have a poor understanding of where the money that funds government college programs they support comes from.

Take for example, this round of college-age letter writers touting the plans of Hillary Clinton and others to make college more "affordable."

"Hillary wants to make going to a four-year college easier and have it cost less. She wants to expand the HOPE tax credit so a family can receive up to $3,500 as opposed to $1,650," wrote one student.

Others have touted larger federal Pell Grants, lower interest rates on government-backed loans and even direct government aid to colleges and universities.

None of these letters — and it is worth repeating — none have addressed the question of where this government largesse is going to come from.

What the use of government subsidies means — and what these young, innocent letter writers miss — is that the cost of a college education comes out of someone's pocket, not thin air.

This happens in two ways — greater government debt or higher taxes — and more often both.

As the saying goes There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. It's a lesson they'll learn the hard way.

*******

Thanksgiving is three days past and already BeezleBub has been pulling out the Christmas decorations. His old fashioned snowy New England village was set up on our hutch in the dining room and the Nativity scene on one of the tables in the living room.

He's also made plans for us to string Christmas lights along the front of The Manse, but they will be the plain white miniature bulbs. No multicolored bulbs, no flashing patterns, just plain old white lights.

While the retailers start their Christmas decorating just before Black Friday, I recall as a kid we didn't start decorating for Christmas until a week or two before Christmas. Setting up a full month before seems too early to me, but I'll learn to deal with it.

*******

Will the US Supreme Court finally decide the Second Amendment is an individual right?

I don't know about you, but I hope the Justices decide the right to keep and bear arms is indeed an individual right. Of course such a decision would be a major setback for the gun-grabbers and the liberals who believe we're too stupid and irresponsible to defend ourselves against criminal miscreants.

*******

And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where winter keeps teasing us, warmer weather will arrive on Tuesday, and Christmas decorations are making their appearance.