CatHouse Chat

Happy New Year: TSA displays government efficiency and transparency... NOT!

Via Wired:  "TSA Threatens Blogger Who Posted New Screening Directive" -

Special agents from the TSA’s Office of Inspection interrogated two U.S. bloggers, one of them an established travel columnist, and served them each with a civil subpoena demanding information on the anonymous source that provided the TSA document.

The document, which the two bloggers published within minutes of each other Dec. 27, was sent by TSA to airlines and airports around the world and described temporary new requirements for screening passengers through Dec. 30, including conducting “pat-downs” of legs and torsos. The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous bloggers. Information from it was also published on some airline websites.

“They’re saying it’s a security document but it was sent to every airport and airline,” says Steven Frischling, one of the bloggers. “It was sent to Islamabad, to Riyadh and to Nigeria. So they’re looking for information about a security document sent to 10,000-plus people internationally. You can’t have a right to expect privacy after that.”

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said in a statement that security directives “are not for public disclosure.”

“TSA’s Office of Inspections is currently investigating how the recent Security Directives were acquired and published by parties who should not have been privy to this information,” the statement said.

My gosh, it's like TSA is doing it's best to replace the Keystone Cops!

Frischling, a freelance travel writer and photographer in Connecticut who writes a blog for the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said the two agents who visited him arrived around 7 p.m. Tuesday, were armed and threatened him with a criminal search warrant if he didn’t provide the name of his source. They also threatened to get him fired from his KLM job and indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.

“They were indicating there would be significant ramifications if I didn’t cooperate,” said Frischling, who was home alone with his three children when the agents arrived. “It’s not hard to intimidate someone when they’re holding a 3-year-old [child] in their hands. My wife works at night. I go to jail, and my kids are here with nobody.”

Oh, no, not the Keystone Cops - try the Nazi SS!

Frischling wrote on his blog that he decided to publish the TSA directive to clear up much of the confusion and speculation that was circulating among the public about changes that were being instituted in airport security procedures after a passenger unsuccessfully tried to ignite a bomb Dec. 25 using a syringe and explosive chemicals hidden in his underwear.

“We are a free society, knowledge is power and informing the masses allows for public conversation and collective understanding,” Frischling wrote on his blog. “You can agree or disagree, but you need information to know if you want to agree or disagree. My goal is to inform and help people better understand what is happening, as well as allow them to form their own opinions.”

You would think that TSA would WANT the traveling public to know about new security measures so there is less confusion and fewer delays at airports. Accurate information also helps keep frustration levels down, because travelers are not surprised with unexpected restrictions and packing requirements.

*sigh*

What a bumbling mass of idiots - but then, look at their "leadership."

God help us.

Related articles by Zemanta

• TSA subpoenas, threatens two bloggers who published security directive (boingboing.net)
• TSA subpoenas bloggers, demands names of sources (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• TSA Subpoenas Bloggers (flightwisdom.com)
• Blake Fleetwood: Exclusive: TSA Seizes Hard Drive from Travel Blogger (huffingtonpost.com)

Christmas Day, 2009 - Welcome, Savior!

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. (Matthew 1:18-25, NKJV)

(Thank you to NiceDeb for bringing this rendition to my attention!)

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

       “Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. (Luke 2:1-20, NKJV)

The Carnival of Christmas, 2009: GLORIA!

UPDATE, 25Dec2009 - What a lovely Christmas present: a link from the Blog Daddy himself! Thank you, Prof. Reynolds, and I hope your day was a joyful as mine. For those who would like more Christmas awesomeness, you can also read the first, second, third and fourth Carnivals of Christmas. I love hosting this wonderful Carnival; it has blessed me each year. So, I hope to see you all again for the SIXTH Carnival next year - and you'll send something in for me to link, right? ;-)

Best blessings to you all for a glorious day! (/UPDATE)

UPDATE (24Dec2009, 9a)! Kender, that blessed man, decided to feature the Carnival on his Right Talk Radio program on the 23rd of December. He graciously sent me the file and encouraged me to post it here. So, for your listening pleasure - and in hopes that this becomes a Christmas tradition - here it is. It's just over two hours long, and Kender did an AWESOME job! Thank you, my friend!

(UPDATE to the UPDATE(25Dec2009 7a): *sigh* The complete file was just too long, and died at about 1:15:00, so I have uploaded the eight parts separately.)

Carnival of Christmas, part one

Carnival of Christmas, part two

Carnival of Christmas, part three

Carnival of Christmas, part four

Carnival of Christmas, part five

Carnival of Christmas, part six

Carnival of Christmas, part seven

Carnival of Christmas, part eight

Thank you for coming by this year's Carnival of Christmas. It's a little quieter than it was last year, but there is a lot here to encourage and bless you for this most holy day.

I want to give my deepest thanks to all the contributors; it wouldn't be the Carnival without you all, and I am blessed and honored that you got involved. I truly appreciate all the beauty and care you put into your submissions, and I know they will be a wonderful gift of grace to your readers. Thanks again!

This year's Carnival was a bit hard for me, since we're mourning the loss of our dear Princess Pixel of the Prodigious Purr. It's sad to lose a beloved pet, especially so close to the holidays, but she lived a very good life with lots of kitti-skritchies, snuggles, cuddles, and love. We will miss her cat conversations and her quirky character very much.

With Pixel in mind, I'd like to open with an entry from A Ski, "The Christmas Tale of Baby the Cat." I think that I'm going to see if I can find a little Hummel cat figurine to add to my crèche scene, so that I can remember the purrs who have gone across the Rainbow Bridge.

Let's start with entries about

The Real Meaning of Christmas

Adam, the founder of the Carnival, gives us "The Season of Good News," and reminds us -

Presents are nice, and it’s great to share Christmas with family, but the extravagant gift of God, of what He invites us into is what is the true meaning of Christmas, and that’s why Christmas can be meaningful, even to the pauper and the lonely.

A.F. Ticker reminds us of the Reason we celebrate Christmas - 

Now this is a reason for celebration! The King Who came to the world as a child, grew to manhood, was crucified, buried, raised from the tomb, and ascended into heaven is coming again. This time He will not come as a peaceful Child. This time He will come as The King of kings and the Lord of lords.

My friend Doug, who writes at Political Pistacio, sent this in:

On Christmas Morning in 1987 it was my third Christmas in the United States Navy, and my third Christmas away from home. Like all of my other Christmas mornings, I was alone, and on duty.

The first Christmas I was in the state of Mississippi. I volunteered to stand duty watch, since I had nobody else to spend it with.

On my second Christmas in the Navy I was out to sea. I served underway watch, cold in the dark of night with the sea spray tapping on my skin. I served watch alone. I had nobody else to spend it with.

My third Christmas was on shore duty, in an office, alone. I had nobody to spend it with.

I was alone each Christmas, or so I thought, with nobody to spend it with. But during that time, when I felt my most lonely, He was watching over me, keeping me safe, keeping me close. I thought I was alone, but it was then that He was with me.

I assumed I had nobody to spend the time with, but despite my doubts, Christ spent the time with me.

Indeed! Remember, one of the Names of Christ is Immanuel - God With Us!

My dear blog brother, GM Roper, sends in his story about Daddy Bah - 

... when you give something to someone this Christmas, do it not because giving is important, do it from love, because Love is most important and the most important gift you can give.

I adore the Random Yak, and this year he sends in proof that Yak the Younger knows the true meaning of Christmas, too!

“Besides, it’s not about getting an expensive gift.  We only give presents to remind one another that Christ came into the world to live and die on our behalf.  The presents aren’t important, and if you put too much emphasis on them, people forget what they’re really all about in the first place.

“It doesn’t matter what they give me.  I know what it stands for, and I’m glad they care enough to send anything at all.”

Ah, Kender - my dear brother, my goofy, fierce, and wonderful friend - Kender sends in his own poem about the Reason for the Season -

No gift on Earth can equal
What the Lord above has done
He sent us our salvation
When He Sent His only Son

Kender is an excellent wordsmith in his own right - and I'm still waiting for that collection of poems and stories, my friend! ;-)

Of course, Kender isn't the only poet here at the Carnival; David at Third World County has penned a beautiful set of verses, the Gift, to celebrate the Reason for the season!

Big Dog has a great post up - no, trust me! - "It's all about the gifts" -

But the true spirit of Christmas is when we give something, no matter what the value, to someone we either do not know or do not have a close relationship with. It is our chance to demonstrate the kindness and to redeem ourselves. It is a chance to do something without any expectation of something in return.

And Cao chimes in with some great Illinois pictures and says

Material things…wealth, money – they come and go. But hopefully through it all, we’re able to maintain relationships with family and friends and help each other out and be there for each other when the times get tough. It is when people go through rough times that you truly find out who cares about you. It is those times when Christ’s message shines through…in that forgiving, unconditional love that is taught in 2nd Corinthians.

The Sounds of Christmas

Adam also sent in two old time radio shows, first from Let George Do It, and the second from Dragnet. Both have Christmas themes and are lots of fun to hear.

LOL, well there are sounds in this one, but it's not quite what you'd expect! Both GM Roper and David at Third World County thought this worthy of inclusion...

The cadences of poetry frequently set the mood for some stirring or thoughtful ideas. David at Third World County found this beautiful gem by C.S. Lewis, truly an excellent writer in a class of his own.

Nice Deb sends in her annual "A Very Perry Christmas" - oh, I remember Steve Perry (and Journey)! I guess I do miss the 80's sometimes ;-)

"Crabs for Christmas"? Well, Fishersville Mike says you might not get it if you're not from Baltimore... LOL! Very cute, though!

One of my Virginia blog friends, Rick Sincere, has a fascinating discussion of carols and Christmas hymns that I earnestly encourage you to go read. There's a lot of information there, and a lot to learn! Do you know where your favorite carol came from?

A Ski, who sent in the story about Baby the Cat, also sent in this video on YouTube - a beautiful choral rendition of O Magnum Mysterium.

The Traditions of Christmas

My dear friend, Always On Watch, has had a very hard year. But thanks to friends who believe in doing what Christ commands, AOW and her husband have had a joyous early Christmas!

Is it really the tree or the presents that make Christmas? Brian from Bearing Drift sends in a story about the best Christmas Tree ever - and gives an excellent answer to the question.

The Random Yak reappears to comment on the traditions of how we choose our Christmas trees (oh, I've seen one or two of those trees in my own life!), and reminds us that these family memories really help make Christmas special.

What could be more traditional for Christmas than Santa Claus? Well, Paul at Thoughts of a Regular Guy has a great entry that explains why he believes in Santa - the real Santa! And for more information about St. Nicholas, I encourage you to go over to the Mars Hill Church blog and read all about him.

I can remember, many years ago, that my parents got quite upset with the abbreviation of Christmas to "Xmas." David at Third World County reminds us that "Xmas" is actually a respectful and historical version of the word - so let's keep the "X" in Christmas!

Laying Wreaths at Arlington and other National Cemeteries is very definitely a tradition of Christmas, and one we should hold close. never forget the Man who took the Ultimate Fall, so that we might be raised to new life in Him...

SWAC Girl also posts some gorgeous pictures of Christmas in Williamsburg - a colonial Christmas is truly a thing of beauty, but oh, that candy!!! Yum! Plus, she also has an absolutely perfect story about visiting Santa as a young girl, as well as going to have a Christmas tea after seeing Santa.

Obi's Sister has a picture-filled post up about all the gorgeous Santas she owns  - truly an impressive collection!

The Flavors of Christmas

David directs us to a Christmas "Chili" - apparently it's not a real chili, but it certainly looks awesomely excellent!

And Peppermint Bark? I loooooooove Peppermint Bark! This looks like an excellent recipe, posted over at Charm Offensive Cooking.

Christmas in the News

This is a new section for the Carnival, but I received two entries that I think warranted it. First is from Beth Shaw at Right Pundits, "Advent Conspiracy: Have Americans Lost Our Way?" It is indeed a good question, with so many resenting a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" wish. Beth's post dovetails in nicely with a post from last year by Cassie Fiano at Stop the ACLU: "Christmas is now an official holiday in Iraq." I pray that, as Iraq celebrates Christmas - officially - for the first time this year, that the Savior whose birth we celebrate is born in many hearts!

And that's all for this year's Carnival; I hope that all these wonderful posts will help you enjoy Christmas. May you be surrounded by family and friends this year, but most importantly, I pray that you remember and rejoice over the greatest Gift ever given: a little, helpless babe born in a tiny town who is the God who came to us to be our Savior.

May the Spirit of Christ be born in your heart this year, and may you bow before Him in worship and gratitude for all the abundant gifts He has poured out upon us!

My first try at Pfeffernusse cookies

And OH GOOD GRACIOUS they're goooooood! !!!!!!

Here's the recipe I used, and I made a couple of changes. First, since I couldn't find anise extract, I used 1 tsp ground anise. Maybe next time, I might add 1/4 tsp to that, but since I'm not an anise fan... *shrug*

The second change I made was to use 1 1/2 tsp of freshly ground Tellicherry pepper, plus 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper. I'm told that these cookies get better as they age, but I'm going to consider trying to use 1 3/4 tsp of the Tellicherry and 3/4 tsp of the white pepper - but then, I'm a pepper ADDICT! LOL

Now it's REALLY Christmas...

All my life, I remember my mom setting up the Hummel figurines in the manger scene. When they went on their honeymoon in 1955, my parents went to Europe, and one of their stops was in Germany where Mom bought the core of the Hummel manger scene. Over the years, she added a few extras, and for Christmas 1995 when I was pregnant with the Darling Munchkin, Mom gave me the whole crêche ensemble.

And so, each year for Christmas I've tried to keep the tradition going. I gather evergreen sprigs and white fairy lights, and set up the crêche...

I worship the God who humbled Himself and came to earth as a baby, born in a rude stable. He lived a perfect life, showed us the love of His Father, died on the Cross to pay for our sins, and rose to prove that His grace and mercy were absolutely all that sinful man needed to be reconciled to his Creator God.

Christ Jesus, I praise You for all You did for me... but Your humble birth reminds me that You know all my trials, and You know all my pains and worries. Savior, be reborn in me today, and may I praise Your Name and live so that I lift Your life up to all people!

May you have a blessed Christmas, filled with the love and peace of God who gave His Son so that we may be gathered into His family and reconciled with our holy Creator!

Can't make an intelligent, reasoned argument for the health care reform debacle? That's OK - just sex it up!

(Via my Cotillion sister, Greta)

Oh, yeah, right! Women have no brains, so they have to use sex and flirting to get others to do what they want. There's no need for point-by-point discussion and rebuttal, all you need to do is ignore the opposing view and lie to anyone who holds it.

Rock the Vote should be ashamed - and where the heck are the feminists? Shouldn't they be up in arms in outrage over the sexism running rampant through this video?

Yep, this pretty much says it all...

via blog.cagle.com

Merry Christmas, America - you've been so wonderful and awesome in electing TehOne™ and his DemonRATic cohorts, that here's a nice smelly, steaming pile called "health care reform" to sit under your tree...

The real purpose of a Pittsylvania snow storm...

Why, it's to showcase the darling Munchkin, of course!

And thank you all so much for your very kind words and prayers, both here and on Facebook and via e-mail, encouraging us after Pixel's death. I am truly blessed of God to have so many wonderful, loving friends!

The Senate goes for the pragmatic solution rather than a truly practical one

With a self-imposed Christmas deadline at stake, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid engineered a last-minute compromise in the health care debate that has won the support of the lone Democratic holdout and clinched the required 60 votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system.

via www.foxnews.com

And thus puts America further in debt, places more restrictions on businesses, and penalizes health insurance companies.

It's pragmatic because it "works" right now, but it's not practical because it provides no REAL solutions. As I said, this places America further in debt - a debt our children and grand children and GREAT-grand children will be paying.

It's extremely short-sighted and selfish, but then that doesn't surprise me when it comes from a DemonRATic Congress.

More worthy quotes from the article:

"The best thing government could do to ensure more Americans have access to health care insurance is to institute reforms that would rein in costs and make health care more affordable," said McCain, who lost last year's presidential race to Obama. "Regrettably, there's nothing in this legislation that effectively addresses the problem."

(Yep. Like tort reform, multistate regulations, and so on...)

In an article she wrote in Saturday's Washington Post, Vicki Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, said that while the Senate bill is imperfect, it would achieve many of the goals her husband fought for over four decades.

"I humbly ask his colleagues to finish the work of his life, the work of generations, to allow the vote to go forward and to pass health care reform now. As Ted always said, when it's finally done, the people will wonder what took so long," she said.

(It's for TEDDY! Oh, just freakin' gag me! That's not a rational, logical, intelligent argument; it's solely an appeal to emotion, and we should not be making and passing laws on the basis of pure emotion!)

The compromise package Reid released Saturday puts new limits on insurance company  profits.The measure would require insurers in the individual market to spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care. The requirement for group policies would be 85 percent.

(Big business is is Teh Eeeeee-Vuhl™!!!! It must be stopped! Never mind the money it pumps into the economy via jobs and insurance payments... Look for reduced coverage, company layoffs, and refused new enrollments.)

I refer my readers to Zombietime's excellent article on why rank-and-file America hates universal health care:

What I don’t like about the very concept of universal health care is that it compels me to become my brother’s keeper and insert myself into the moral decisions of his life. I’d rather grant each person maximum freedom. I’d prefer to let people make whatever choices they want, however stupid or dangerous I may deem those choices to be. Just so long as you take responsibility for your actions, and you reap the consequences and pay for them yourself — hey, be as foolish or hedonistic or selfish or thoughtless as you like. Not my business.

But if the bill for your foolishness shows up in the form of higher taxes on me, then I unwillingly start to care what you do. And, trust me on this, you don’t want me turning my heartless judgmental eye on your foolish lifestyle. Because I’d have no qualms criticizing half the stuff you do.

Make sure you read the whole thing, 'cause Congress sure won't. Or, even if they did, they'd ignore it...

Farewell, Princess Pixel. Godspeed.

This past Wednesday, 16December, I noticed that Pixel seemed to be having a bit of difficulty breathing. It was late in the evening, so I brought her in to the vet the next afternoon (yesterday) to see what was going on.

Initially, the veterinarian thought it might be asthma, but Pixel was pretty stressed, so the doc wanted to keep her overnight to get blood samples and make sure the cortisone shot helped her lungs. Later that evening, though, I got a call... The doc said there was fluid around our Pixel-purr's lungs, and that she'd drawn off almost half a pint. 

Something else was wrong...

This morning, I got another call from the vet, saying that she earnestly recommended that I take Pixel down to the emergency vet in Greensboro, NC, for more testing. Pixel rested in my lap, getting lots of strokes and skritchies, almost all the way down - a 90 minute drive.

Unfortunately, Pix's breathing continued to worsen, and when the new sonogram and x-rays were taken, the doc found a large mass in her chest, along with serious irregularities on her lungs.

Oh, what a hard decision! The doc said that even with a good reaction to aggressive chemo (suspected lymphoma cancer), Pixel only had maybe another six months. She was only about 5 years old; I feel like I'd just done this with her older brother, Romeo, when he died at 19. I did not want to have to do this again - especially so SOON!

But today, at about 11am ET, Practically Perfect Princess Pixel of the Prodigious Purr went across the Rainbow Bridge to join her brother Romeo. I told her how very much we all loved her and that she had to tell him he was supposed to take good care of her until we could join them.

And then I held her and loved her as she went across...

Bye, bye, Picklepurr. I love you. I miss you already.

UPDATE:

• She had the most actively expressive tail I've ever seen on a cat
• She loved to carry on long, involved conversations with her people
• She had the cutest unique way of lap-lap-lap-sip-sip-sipping water
• She knew when she wanted your skritchies, and when she didn't
• She loved to play "come away closer," and you never knew if she'd allow you to pet her
• She had the most awesome, satisfied and smug kitty "I am SO happy that my humans are properly worshipful" smile I've ever seen on a cat

(submitted to the Friday Ark at the Modulator)