Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.

So now our fearless leader has made his choice known. How appropriate this is done on Halloween. Trick or Treat?
What bugs me is the unchallenged lie used by conservatives who say they want judges who "don't legislate from the bench but who apply the law as our Founding Fathers meant it to be."
The lie is that they do want judges who legislate from the bench, but legislate according to their idea of conservitive guidelines.
The other quality of the lie is the mask of Christianity they put on.
This country has never been a Christian country. Doubt me? In God we trust our money says. But God doesn't need money and all other must pay by cash, check or credit card.
Do our prison populations prove we are Christian? Do the high interest rates charged to those who can least afford them proof of a Christian nation? Does trashing God's creation for the almighty dollar prove this is a Christian nation. Perhaps it is our willingness to go to war for just about any reason that is proof of this being a Christian nation.
Funny, but I always thought Christianity was supposed to be about love and forgiveness, feeding the poor, housing the homeless, caring for the sick and providing clothing for those who have but rags against the cold. I didn't think it was about sitting at the front of the church and thanking God for not making us like the scummy sinners Jesus used to hang out with.

Property Rights

Here in the Adirondacks and elsewhere, you will often hear people complaining about how their property rights are being violated.
While I endorse property rights, I often wonder how many people care to realize how human rights are the foundation of property rights and how all rights must be tempered with responsibility.
If responsibility were taken into the equation, there might be fewer confrontations between environmentalists and property owners, including businesses. Too often, when one starts talking about their rights, they are doing so in the vacuum of their own selfishness. Not always, but often.

Happy Halloween

The days grow short. The nights grow long. Trick or Treat came a little early this week with some pre-Halloween snow here in the Adirondacks.
All summer long, I wait for the first snow. It's not that I ski or snowmobile, although I do take to the woods on snowshoes when I have the time. It's just that I have always loved snow and feel most alive during the colder months of the year. It is because of the snow and cold that I picked the Adirondacks to live in. That and the mountains, lakes, rivers and forest.
Perhaps it is just the ancient pagan in me, something that draws me to my roots in far away Europe (Bavaria) when the last Ice Age still held the land in its mystical embrace.

Small me or big chair

 

Novel now in NY

My vampire novel, now named "The Dancing Valkyrie," has been at a publisher for almost 2 months now and the wait is becoming frustrating.
Winter is coming on. Had 7 inches of snow a few days ago.
As you can see, winter comes early in the Adirondacks.
Happy Halloween!