One Christmas morn, after finishing off a dispiriting bowl of Kaboom, I opened my presents, which consisted of a shovel and gravedigger's overalls. My pappy thought it was important that I learn a trade. And the family trade was thieving from the newly dead.

And then I watched the Ghetto Fireplace on television, and dreamt of a world in which I would have a pretty golden watch that didn't come off the wrist of a dead man. A world of kindness and decency and wonder.

An Apple Jacks world, if you will.
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Posted by: Ace at 09:31 AM | Comments (300)
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Talk about what ya like here.

Be it cold or hot, sunny or not, Bing and I wish you a very merry Christmas.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:50 AM | Comments (84)
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And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ~ Luke 2:9-11

Merry Christmas

Posted by: andy at 03:15 AM | Comments (178)
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Ace and the co-bloggers are often respectful in their remembrance of Veterans and of the wars they fought but, today, I would like to say a special thanks to one Vet in particular.

Mr. Harrison and I are not personally acquainted but that fact is irrelevant for what I do know is this: He served our nation during the The Big One; World War II. As a young man he signed his name on the dotted line and took an oath to protect this nation and, in doing so, helped to ensure freedom for Americans in the generations who followed. My grandparents and my mother before me, and now my daughter who succeeds me, have enjoyed liberty because he had the courage to fight for us. So, again, I need to know no more to know that I owe this man a debt of gratitude.

That said, what I do know is this:

Seaman Calvin Harrison served on several ships during World War II, including the USS Mahogany.

Mahogany (YN‑1 was laid down 18 October 1940 by the American Shipbuilding Co., Cleveland, Ohio; launched 13 February 1941; and commissioned 22 December 1942, Lt. R. L. Collins in command.

Shortly after commissioning and sea trials, Mahogany reported to Argentia, Newfoundland. There she conducted net tending, rescue, and icebreaking operations through 1943. On 20 January 1944 she was redesignated AN‑23. Four months later, having received additional armament and equipment, she was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. She completed passage through the Panama Canal 14 July and continued on to San Diego for further exercises. Arriving Pearl Harbor in August, she soon steamed westward; and, from 14 September into March 1945, she laid and tended torpedo nets, moorings and buoys, and participated in various towing, salvage and demolition operations in the central Pacific. By April, Mahogany had moved to the western Pacific for the invasion of Okinawa. She operated with minecraft during the 82‑day campaign, 1 April to 21 July, and then remained in the Okinawa Gunto area until after the end of the war.

On 14 September 1945 Mahogany. caught in a typhoon, grounded on a reef in Buckner Bay. She was towed to Guam for repairs, but these promised to be so extensive that she was scrapped. After salvageable equipment had been removed, she decommissioned and her hulk was destroyed 19 April 1946 at Guam.

Mahogany received one battle star for World War II service.

Following an honorable discharge, Mr. Harrison joined the Merchant Marines and served aboard the Liberty ship, Joseph V. Connolly. The Connolly and her crew had the grim responsibility for returning the dead to the states until, in January 1947, the ship caught fire at sea and sank with her cargo. Blessedly, her crew was rescued.

On 12 January 1947
In January 1947 USAT General R. E. Callan responded to a distress signal from Army Transport Joseph V. Connolly which was burning at 39°48′N 54°37′W, some 890 nautical miles (1,650 km) east of New York. Freighters SS Union Victory and Black Diamond each picked up a lifeboat, while General R. E. Callan picked up the remaining two boats. The Army transport stayed with the burning hulk of Joseph V. Connolly until being relieved by Army ocean-going tug LT-788. General R. E. Callan was ordered to Halifax with the survivors. All 46 hands from Joseph V. Connolly were saved by the three ships, while the ship itself was lost.

Today Mr. Harrison is 91 years old and in Hospice Care in Florence, SC.

I wish I could provide more information about Mr. Harrison but, alas, my limited research skills have yielded little. For the above information, I am grateful to Bill Krzyk of Honor Flight Myrtle Beach, a wonderful organization, who first brought Mr. Harrison to our attention and who responded quickly to a request for information. As well, Mr. Krzyk was kind enough to send a recent photo of Mr. Harrison who is seen holding a Christmas tree sent to him by the firefighters of New York City.

Saying "thank you" to the men and women who risked their young lives in service to our great nation will never be enough but, today, we can assure that Mr. Harrison's name and photo will be seen by the thousands of followers who visit this site and he will be remembered. And, if Mr. Harrison should ever find himself reading this post he will know that today and forever more, he is in our thoughts and our prayers.

It's the least we can do.

(All comments unrelated to this topic should be directed to the open thread below. Thank you for your consideration.)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:52 AM | Comments (73)
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:00 AM | Comments (199)
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The Johnny Cash Show From Christmas 1977

Johnny was in true form and had as guests the most amount of musical talent I've ever seen in a single special. Pretty much every song is a good one.

Ye Old Blog Yule Log

Posted by: Maetenloch at 04:16 PM | Comments (718)
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Merry Christmas, you morons friends.

Posted by: Ace at 01:24 PM | Comments (296)
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Big story.

From the WSJ:

The premier has refused to remove four ministers implicated in the corruption scandal and has accused an unspecified international group of diplomats, journalists and financiers that he called “the interest-rate lobby” of fabricating allegations.

Mr. Erdogan took back-to-back swipes at the U.S. too, suggesting that the American ambassador may be meddling in TurkeyÂ’s affairs and accusing lawmakers in Washington of trying to cripple a state-run bank, whose chief was also jailed pending trial in the bribery case.

“A totally illegal, very dirty, and extremely dark trap is being set under the guise of this corruption case,” Mr. Erdogan said Sunday in Giresun, on Turkey’s eastern Black Sea coast. “The meaning of the conspiracy that was hatched last week is very clear: disrupting peace and stability….We will destroy these nasty games being played on Turkey.”

Erdogan is a dark populist, so whenever public dissatisfaction grows against him, he starts blaming foreign interests, foreign agents, and so forth. Jews, he means. Sometimes he means Israelis, but sometimes he just means French Jewish pop-philosophers. Whoever.

But he also means secularist political opponents. Popular opposition to him is always caused by "outside forces" conspiring with domestic un-Islamic assassins.

“Mr Erdogan says the Turkish protests are linked to terrorism, an international plot against his country and ‘an interest rate lobby’ disturbed by its recent high rates of growth,” Daniel Dombey reports for the Financial Times.

This “interest rate lobby” is a good issue for Erdogan to jump on. It conjures up shadowy international capitalists with ties to traditional Turkish big businesses (which were mostly affiliated with the Kemalists). Charging interest is prohibited under most circumstances in Islamic banking, so he accuses this “lobby” and its network of being anti-religious and sinful as well as betraying Turkey to foreigners.

What is surprising is that Turkey is growing economically -- it's growing a lot. But about half of Turkey just rejects Ergodan's ultra-Islamic rule.

And his corruption, of course. And killing protesters.

Posted by: Ace at 11:24 AM | Comments (154)
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Very good piece by Kathryn Jean Lopez.

Bob Newhart had been scheduled to headline a convention of Catholic business leaders called Legatus.

GLAAD ask-threatened him to cancel.

And get this: Newhart is scheduled to appear alongside such noted anti-LGBT figures as the Catholic League's Bill Donohue and Rick "man on dog" Santorum. Yeah, it's going to be that kind of a night. Why in Larry, Darryl, and my other brother Darryl's name would Mr. Newhart, legendary TV star and one of the most genuinely well-liked people to ever appear before a film camera, sign up for such a gig?!

In 2012, Kirk Cameron provoked a storm of controversy when he told Piers Morgan that marriage equality is, "detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization." Hundreds told Cameron it was time to grow up. His Growing Pains co-star Tracy Gold was joined by several celebrities to condemn his words. And the National Organization for Marriage realized that they found their "non-cognitive elite" spokesperson.

Personally, I'm choosing to believe that he just doesn't know and that this booking is the result of bad advice. I'm looking at this post as an opportunity to fill in the missing details so that Mr. Newhart makes a more informed choice rather than presuming to know his intent. That's the only way I know to approach it, since I can't stand to think that this man who I admire is actually supportive of the truly shocking ideas that I showed you at the beginning of this post. As a kid who stayed up late to watch Nick at Nite reruns of multiple Newhart shows, I have to believe that this is an act of ignorance, not malice. I have to believe that he simply doesn't know.

GLAAD is reaching out to Mr. Newhart's representatives to let them know how, exactly, an appearance at this event will come across to LGBT people and allied voices. I am hoping that I am right, and Mr. Newhart doesn't want to go down that path. He can still express his Catholic faith in a way more consistent with the rest of American Catholics, by loving and supporting his LGBT friends and family. GLAAD is urging him to do the right thing.

The "Where are they now?" question -- suggesting that Kirk Cameron's career was ended, or at least damaged, by GLAAD -- combined with GLAAD's admonition not to "go down that path" is clearly a warning to Newhart that he can expect consequences should he speak at Legatus.

Well, he took the hint. He cancelled. more...

Posted by: Ace at 09:44 AM | Comments (452)
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Posted by: rdbrewer at 07:48 AM | Comments (313)
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