hell’s handmaiden

December 1, 2007: No, this is not the Christmas edition. There won’t be a Christmas edition. This is ‘Hell’s Handmaiden’ not ‘Celebrating Jesus’ Birthday on the Wrong Day’. It is a large edition, though, and it is full of Christmas Cheer. And on that note…

Annual Rerun: Why We Skip The Holidays Altogether from Wenchypoo at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.

From Scholars & Rogues, Real heroes refuse to shut up and sing. Amen. I’ve had this fight myself, but it is a good one. There really is nothing more un-American than ‘America: Love it of Leave it’.

Ever wonder how American you are? “Is insularity an American trait?” Charles H. Green can help. Test How American You Really Are! posted at Trust Matters. Hell’s Handmaiden “may technically be an American, but clearly a lib-dem [sort-of]; 3 to 1 says you’re from New York, possibly San Francisco [no, but would like to be... or Boston. Boston is good]. You probably went to a private school [nope], and you’re probably in favor of letting immigrants stomp all over our right to bear arms. [Immigrants and arms are connected now are they?]”

Not surprisingly, we’ve got a few posts on the Presidential candidates.

I can’t bring myself to do it, but Blue Skelton Endorses Ron Paul for President, saying, “With my usual scorn for Libertarians aside, I have found myself moved and inspired by this man. At least Ron Paul believes in the words of our forefathers who were true patriots, and more importantly our country. The republican party would have you believe that anyone who goes against George Bush and the republicans is unpatriotic. But the truth is that our forefathers (true patriots) would string up each and every one of them for treason for what they have done to our Great Nation and that includes a lot of Democrats as well.”

One wonders why blue skelton also offers Blue Skelton Endorses Hillary Clinton for President for our consideration, saying, “Blue Skelton has said a lot of things about Hillary Clinton. After Hillary exposed herself, Blue said that he would like to see Hillary Clinton in the nude. He has also inferred that she is bit of a biotch. But now he has just one more thing to say about Hillary Rodham Clinton. Blue Skelton is endorsing her for President.”

Suzanne, of adventures in daily living, comes in on the side of Ron Paul– Ron Paul: Hope for America.

Carole G. McKay, of McKay Today, offers The Clinton Evolution saying, “The challenge to see what is our responsibility for what we have created and where we are going from here” though I am not quite sure how to interpret the title of the piece.

Debt Prison’s Michael Bass isn’t letting Hillary off so easily–Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Congress, and this repugnant Iraq War.

Shaun Connell, of Reason and Capitalism, takes a close look at Mike Huckabee, asking Huckabee a Conservative? and saying, “Mike Huckabee has a huge chance of being the GOP’s candidate, yet he abandons the value of the dollar and of free markets. He’s a fiscal liberal, not a conservative.” I imagine that Connell’s point is closely tied to his views on Capitalism. “America is abandoning the idea of capitalism, and is replacing it with a policy based upon restriction, guns and cages”.

billspaced rants about Redistributing wealth the Republican way: A new socialism posted at the aptly titled Rants ‘n Reviews, saying, “Observations from a real conservative OR Rubbing slightly more salt into the wound”. Personally, I liked this chunk best: “They’re all for redistributing wealth. They want your money in their pockets! You see, they’re Republican Socialists.”

And now we move into law and civil rights.

Shaun Connell also presents The Definition of Militia, saying, “The liberal agenda claims that the “militia” is the national guard. They’re dead wrong. The militia are, in fact, the people at large.”

Ah… sweet, sweet abstinence. There really is no better way to get pregnant, and/or VD. Holly Ord presents $141 Million for Ineffective Education posted at Woman Tribune.

Just two days ago I listened to a professor of philosophy describe his experience sharing the stage with Jonas Salk. Hundreds– I believe the figure was over four hundred– lined up to shake Salk’s hand, each offering stories of dead friends and relatives and each thanking him for stopping the body count. Now consider Tiffany Washko’s action alert. From Natural Family Living Blog, Action Alert: Vaccinate Your Kids or Else!.

Gavin R. Putland, from Bush Lawyer, discusses ‘Peter Wellington’s Criminal Code (Double Jeopardy) Amendment Act” enacted by the Australian Parliament on October 17, 2007 and argues that double jeopardy is a double blow for victims. He makes a good case, it looks like to me.

Mike Billy, of Reflections From A Rotting Nation, offers two posts to the carnival. The first concerns the sad case of a man who has been refused Ankle Surgery Because Patient is a Smoker. Mike blames socialized medicine for the problem, a questionable inference, and closes with some rhetorical slight of hand, “I can’t even begin to fathom how much worse a socialized healthcare system in the U.S. would be.” Why would socialized health care in the US necessarily be worse? Mike’s second offering concerns a troubling case of DUI– Man Gets DUI For Sleeping in Parked Car. Is sleeping in the car with the car on and the heater running enough to warrant a driving under the influence charge? It is a tricky question.

Bill Riccio, Birmingham, Alabama’s early 90s neo-nazi skinhead leader contra Becky Fischer of Jesus Camp fame. Such is the topic of Ian EBH’s The Parallels Between Those Who Blame Each Other posted at Going Through the Motions, except that there isn’t so much ‘contra’ as there is ’similarity’. “But, they’re really so much alike it’s scary. Watching the interviews with Becky Fischer, there were parts where she almost quoted Bill Riccio.”

The Agonist’s Ian Welsh takes on the recent changes in bankruptcy law and how Making Bankruptcy Harder Comes Back To Bite Banks In the Butt saying, “Chuck Prince III, the head of Citigroup, lost his job over this. Of course, he’s still worth hundreds of millions, I’m sure, so you needn’t cry any tears for him. While Prince won’t pay any price worth mentioning, the families who are losing their houses because of the banks’ greedy decision to revise the bankruptcy act certainly will.” Certainly there is a connection to Welsh’s other contribution to the carnival– The American Myth of Mobility Gets Another Nail In Its Coffin.

Madeleine Begun Kane, of Mad Kane’s Political Madness, wonders if we are feeling safe yet? First Pakistan And Then?.

The Country That Kills It’s Citizens? Which one would that be? One suggestion comes from Holly Ord of Menstrual Poetry. America: The Country That Kills It’s Citizens.

Rickey Henderson, of posted at Riding with Rickey, lets us have This Week in Media Malfeasance…, certainly a topic appropriate for the times.

Frugal Fanny presents The Absurd Wastefulness of Meat Recalls posted at Frugal Fanny’s Everyday Money Saving Tips, saying, “Thoughts about the extreme wastefulness of the meat recalls of the past year from an American lady living in Africa at the moment.”

And closing it out, Lucynda Riley asks that you Think before you shout something out a window!!! posted at Witch on White Mountain.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of this is not my country using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.