I have to say this was probably one of the more subdued Christmases we've had in a while. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact it was quite pleasant. Other than a few traffic related issues on the way down to the WP In-Laws, it was a rather pleasant day.
We left The Manse at 9AM and made it to the In-Laws about 90 minutes later. Presents were opened and an early dinner was served. Deb and I left the In-Laws a little past 4PM and were back home in time to feed the feline residents at The Manse at their usual time. BeezleBub stayed behind and will be spending the next few days with his grandparents, something he hasn't done for some time.
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It appears RedState.com hasn't done its homework in regards to New Hampshire, implying it's been turned into a blue state due to the in-migration of liberal Massachusetts voters over the past 20 years or so. I guess they never bothered to check the results from the mid-term elections last month, where Republicans took 74% of the New Hampshire House, 79% of the state Senate, 100% of the Executive Council, both Congressional House seats and retained the US Senate seat that was up for grabs.
That doesn't make New Hampshire a blue state by any means.
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The media up here in New England has been making a lot of fuss about our first substantial snowfall predicted to fall starting sometime later today. The area where The Manse is located is under aListening to the TV news you'd think nothing like this has ever happened around here before. These folks have got to get a grip!
I got the Official Weekend Pundit gas grill under cover, the storm glass in on the front screen door, pulled down a snow shovel and push plow from the loft in the garage, and checked the oil and filled the gas tank of the Official Weekend Pundit Snowblower in anticipation of the coming snowfall. The woodbox next to the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove has also been filled (and will be topped off through the early evening hours) just in case.
I know I'll have my work cut out for me as Deb will have to be able to get to work tomorrow, meaning I'll be out more than once to clear the snow from The Manse's driveway. I have no doubt it will also require a liberal application of sand to ensure traction for the trusty Intrepid.
At least I'm off work tomorrow, meaning I won't have to get up an hour before dawn to clear the driveway.
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The debate about the use of ethanol in gasoline and the EPA's mandate to increase the present 10% blend to 15% rages on.As I mention in my comment to the linked post, ethanol is supposed to reduce air emissions on non-fuel injected engines (meaning those using carburetors). It doesn't do a darned thing for fuel-injected engines except reduce the fuel economy. One has to ask just how many cars and truck out there do not have fuel-injected engines? I'll bet the percentage these days is quite small. So why are we wasting tax dollars and consumer's money on this foolishness?
The answer is simple: Control.
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Increased funding for education does not automatically equate to better education.Gee, who'da thunk it?
That's something we've proven again and again here in New Hampshire. Some school systems with the highest per pupil expenditures have consistently tested below those with far more modest spending. It all comes down to this: It doesn't matter how much you spend, it's how you spend what you have.
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On more than one occasion I have opined on these pages that self-esteem – particularly of the artificially promoted variety – is vastly overrated. Now it appears the 25-year long movement to boost children's self-esteem has backfired.I'll bet they didn't see that one coming.
This belief -- that increasing self-esteem among the members of society will increase goodness in society -- spread through the rest of America like proverbial wildfire.
It turns out, however, that the premise was entirely misguided. There is no correlation between goodness and high self-esteem. But there is a correlation between criminality and high self-esteem.
Florida State University Professor Roy Baumeister (Ph.D. psychology, Princeton University) has revealed that in a lifetime of study of violent criminals, the one characteristic nearly all these criminals share is high self-esteem.
Yes, people with high self-esteem are the ones most prone to violence.
(H/T Maggie's Farm)
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Cap'n Teach has some thoughts about Global Warming amidst the heavy snowfall he's experienced at home.
He also provides some comments on the AGW debate and how, to all intents and purposes, it's over...except for the warmists who are still trying their darnedest to claim global warming actually leads to colder temperatures.
Huh?
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It seems a number of federal agencies have decided they aren't required to abide by the law. Tow of the most egregious: the EPA and the FCC.It appears the attitude of these two agencies comes down to “We don't have to listen to the courts!” and “Congress? What the hell do they know?! We'll do what we want no matter what!!!”
It's that kind of attitude that may see both agencies reined in or, worse for them, abolished.
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The states need to increase their taxes, or so says the New York Times.As usual, the Times has it exactly backwards. A number of the states they mention in their editorial are not suffering from a revenue problem, but from an expenditure problem. Raising taxes in states already under the burden of high state taxes won't fill the gap (just look at California if you need any proof of that), but will exacerbate the problem, creating even bigger shortfalls.
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The New England Patriots played the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo today. This was their second meeting of the regular season. The Patriots beat Buffalo during their first match up at the beginning of the season. They did it this time, too, 34-3. That's 15 games in a row New England has beat Buffalo.With this win, the Patriots clinched the division title, won a first week playoff bye, and have home field advantage for all other playoff games this season.
The last game of the season is against Miami at Foxboro. Not a bad way to close out the regular season.
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Gee, first conservationists and environmentalists tout the benefits of alternative energy, then file lawsuits to prevent them from being used.I wish these morons would make up their minds.
It seems far too many of them thing things like wind and solar would solve all our problems, then the move to block the development of them or, if that doesn't work, suing to prevent the construction of the power lines needed to transmit that 'green' power to the places where it's needed.
All any of this proves to me is that the more vocal and litigious 'environmentalists' and 'conservationists' are nothing more than watermelons – green on the outside but red (socialists) on the inside. They talk the talk but are incapable of walking the walk.