Offsite Comments

This reminded me of something Ann Barnhardt wrote a while back about that "good shepherd" image, which I thought folks here might appreciate. It's unfortunate that Ann's site has no archive. I archive her frequently, but I don't get everything, and apparently hadn't saved this one. Fortunately, I found it had been reprinted here.

"Long story short: When a shepherd would go out and search for a lost sheep that had wandered off, when he found the lost lamb, he would BREAK OR DISLOCATE ITS LEG, and then carry it back to the flock on his shoulders. This husbandry technique is called "hobbling." We have all seen that image. Yeah. He wasn't carrying it because it was fun. He was carrying the lamb because he had intentionally crippled it.…"

Not cruel. Kind:

Why? … First, to keep it from wandering off again. Second, in order to train it to stay with the flock. While the leg was mending, the lamb would NOT wander off and learned to stay with the fold. This was done not just to protect the straying lamb, but also to protect the rest of the flock. Sheep are very gregarious. If one is heady and heads off on some tangent, the rest of the flock might go after it instead of staying with the shepherd.

You know, KINDA LIKE PEOPLE.

I hadn't known that. I imagine that old radio hound saying, "and now you know… the rest of the story."

In case anyone would find it convenient, it just so happens I put Ann's series into a playlist a couple of days ago, available on YouTube or on my site.

Tell me that Pete is just taking a breather and he's okay? Please?

Since Pete's Pix seems to have gone away, I thought I'd mention that I've continued making playlists of politicallish vids. You can find the list of all video playlists on my site here. Not as inspiring as Pete's Pix with comments. But what could be?

Ace, this is worse than the movie reviews! You just go on and on to where, no matter how expressive and well-paragraphed, it's just tl;dr! Plus, there were 'way too many videos embedded. Please, try to restrain yourself.

Washington gave the people the marijuana so they wouldn't notice when they took everything else. -Lemmiwinks

Hey, Dude! Where's my... uh... everything, actually?

[clic nic for hardly-related pot comic]

Haven't read the comments, just the post. But did anyone mention... this seems like you're kind-of treading into The People's Cube shtick? I guess maybe we all ought to learn the language.

Somebody commented days ago, maybe on the election live blog, something like, I for one welcome our new Communist overlords and offer to act as translator for the Conservatives in the mines. What a great play on the meme. Keeps coming back to me.

"thanks, FEMA, you bastids!" [-Zilla of the Resistance] B.. b.. but, Zil! What are you talking about? O' did such a great job on that hurricane, it won him re-election! (Must I say /sarc ?)

[Not immediately published]
100%-Republican-state deer are just as stupid about automobiles, yet clever how they know just when to run in front of me. Only managed to clip one, so far. Damage to our old van was about like that picture. But deer can be pretty, I mean, for tick-bearing vermin. (Link is to a short simple vid of mine, done to relieve pre-election burn-out.)

Just because we must recommence the mockery...

The Biden-Obama Debate This seemed funnier in original concept. Then I dropped the sound track on it, and I decided it's more like bittersweet.

Everybody was looking for some relief the morning after

Yesterday, Ace posted three times inviting positive and non-political comments. Lots and lots of inspiring comments resulted, some from long-time never-posted lurkers, some from former participants rarely seen of late, and just lots of folks. Far less (but some, of course) of the usual locker-room level of Ace commentfests, lots more sincere heart than I've ever seen there. A bit of a jump-start on Thanksgiving. I post the links in case any here would like to cruise through them.

Positive, Non-Political Thread
Positive Early Thanksgiving Thread 2
Positive Life Improvement Thread

Half of what I say is meaningless.
But I say it just to please you, Juuuuulia
-Brackish O'Lennon

I've been examining the fine print on the ONT contract. Did you know that if you don't stay all the way over the whole night, you get points off?

Oh, sure, I get through 700 great comments and leave my happy thoughts down there at the bottom on the other thread, and What th...? I come up to the surface, and find this thread? I have to get happy and feel good all over again?

Well, okay. But just because Ace says so.

Just read, or mostly-read, 700 comments. Couldn't quit. Inspiring. Long time lurker first comment: wow.

Y'all made me think of every good thing I ever had, or have, or have experienced, who I've known, where I've lived, and the glorious risks, and the failures, which have a certain... thrill of their own.

Almost forty years with a woman who still puts up with me, sort-of, three grown kids who are all employed, sort-of, and still talk to the 'rents and each other, sort-of. Lots of bittersweet. All wrapped up together, stuff of this life, good and bad.

Last night, after following AoSHQ until the fat lady with the big belt sang, we then listened to the concession speech on the drive home. It was good. I could sleep, somehow.

Then, this morning, I awoke with my little fuzzy yellow special Charlie cat curled up next to me, head on my arm. And I had the thought, "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us." (Raised with that stuff, but not usually so formal in my, uh, internal life.)

So that was my mantra for the day. Troubles I have aplenty, current chaos and threat of more, and a seeming lack of wit to deal with it all. But, what comes will come, as always. I got dressed, fed the half-dozen cats and the good ol' dog and had coffee and the autumn sunrise spread bright horizontal light across the pastures. Mercy, Jesus, and Thanks Father. This'll do for now.

Mrs Mindful came back from the doctor’s the other day with two glossy-paper large-size printouts that a person at the doc’s had given to her. One was that image you used the other day of Jesus lifting Peter out of the waters of faithlessness. The fellow who gave it to her said, he just printed off some pictures he’d found on the web. Maybe he didn’t get it from PoliNation, but that’s quite a coincidence, I think!

Remove the countdown? You meant reset it to 2016, right? So evenly divided is our house, no matter which way the vote had gone, the ongoing battle would have been much the same, Trust in men or princes is always misplaced. And all the rest of Psalm 118.

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

LET THE MOCKERY RECOMMENCE!!

BARACK OBAMA IS, AFTER ALL, STILL A STUTTERING CLUSTERFUCK OF A MISERABLE FAILURE.

And the voters he rode in on.

The mood 'round our place isn't all that upbeat. Seems things might have gone a tad better.

I'm in a Bastion state, surrounded (mostly) by like-thinking states. It's frightening how little that means, though.

So I'm going to go to bed, get up, have some coffee, and figure out what's next. Whachagonnadoo?

Pelosi called it? http://youtu.be/UM0SsC7FWoQ?t=2m

Whatever happens...

large regions of this country appear to be, on average, technically insane.

If this thread keeps getting bumped up, is it the "official" thread of the night? Rolling along like the blob picking up comments and commenters until Pixy breaks....

This thread is already two other threads old. zzzz