The GOP - A Gift That Keeps On Giving - Originally Posted 11/19/11 

Now that the Penn State Scandal has all but floated away, it's time to once again get back to some important news...that would be the Republican Party or GOP which continues to amuse and amaze.  There are many who come to this page for sage advice from The Raptor and all I can say is to stay tuned.

Today was another banner day in politics as Herman Cain, the past flavor of the month has all but crashed, burned and had a fork stuck in him due to yet another incident involving a woman who is not his spouse.  This newest scandal apparently is involving a gal who had a 13 year relationship with Candidate Cain and included such juicy tête-à-têtes as a Mike Tyson boxing match...let's face it folks...Herman has a "growing" problem...

Also, our old friend Barney Frank is in the news...Congressman Frank has decided not to run for re-election next year and has proffered redistricting as his principal rationale.  It's obvious that Frank would have had to actually campaign for a change so he will now become the Capital's newest lobbyist....

Speaking of lobbyists, Newt Gingrich, who is also a GOP Presidential Candidate was in South Carolina yesterday letting the voters know all about how he is such a great guy. Gingrich, Former Speaker of The House of Representatives, spent long hours criticizing President Bill Clinton over the definition of "is" but now he is having trouble with the definition of "lobbyist"...maybe he could ask Fannie Mae of the Telecommunications Industry about that.

Not lost in this report is perennial looser, Mitt Romney, who continues to plod along in his quest for the nomination trying mightily not to discuss his past dealings whilst he was Governor of Massachusetts...specifically his "health care plan" which was a lot like the Obama Care Plan which some Americans despise...

Candidate Romney is vehement in his criticism of President Obama.  There is nothing that he has done right, but at the end of the day, Romney isn't "conservative" enough to earn the respect of the Republican base.  Gingerich may be able to pick up that mantle but he has soooo much baggage and hew is such a pompous gasbag that really....who could vote for the SOB....well...The Raptor can think of a few who can and will!  Like I said..."The gift that keeps on giving!

The Rapture  - Originally Posted 05/19/2011 

The Raptor has been seeing a lot of stuff in the news lately on The Rapture...according to Wikeppedia...

"The Rapture is a reference to the being caught up referred to in the Biblical passage 1 Thess 4:17 when in the End Times the Christians will be gathered together in the air to meet Christ. 

The primary passage used to support the idea of the Rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, in which Paul cites "the word of the Lord" about the return of Jesus to gather his saints. 

... and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.1… Thess 4 

There are many views among Christians regarding the timing of Christ's return (including whether it will occur in one event or two), and various views regarding the destination of the 1 Thessalonians 4 aerial gathering:"

Well...regardless of the consequences, The Raptor looks at this Rapture stuff as just plain silly....that's right...if your feeble mind is caught up in this metaphysical mush you should be Raptured.  Perhaps if only you could actually be swept away to heaven and leave the Earth to normal people with normal feelings and a capability to act in a reasonable and caring manner with out having the bonds of religious zealots waving their Bibles around...whew! it was good to get that out...now onward...

There has been a rain problem lately and it 's not just here in Western Pennsylvania...consider this pic of the circumstances down there yonder at the Mississippi Delta...

This years rain/flooding event is being compared to the awful conditions that were prevalent back in the late 1920's...and at that time there were not as many large metropolitan areas which tried to fight the good fight against "Old Man River" But, this weather pattern is not exclusive to the Mississippi Basin.  Down in Texas, severe drought is wreaking havoc with farmers and the southeastern states of Florida and Georgia also have been affected.  However, here in the Northeastern United States, it has been a rainy spring.  How rainy, you might ask...check this out...

Abbynormal...something  - Originally Posted 02/25/2011 

As usual, The Raptor is building today's thread on the basis of a classic film, "Young Frankenstein"...The film's producer/director was the legendary Mel Brooks who also came to the plate with another Raptor Fav, "Blazing Saddles". 

If there is one scene in Frankenstein which can resonate across the divide it would have to be the point in the film when the Monster, played to a tee in the film by Peter Boyle, has been brought to life and Dr. Frankenstein is about to release him from his bindings.

The film's lead character was Dr. Froederick Frankenstein, played by Gene Wilder...in the story, Dr. Frankenstein is ambivalent about the practices of his grandfather, the original "Frankenstein".  However, once he moves to Transylvania, he locates the workpapers of his Grandfather and manages to create "The Monster" from a dead corpse.

Dr. Frankenstien's capable assistant was Eyegor, played by Marty Feldman.  It is Eyegor who did all the "dirty" work and Froederick had given him the responsibility of stealing a brain for the Monster from the Brian Lab.  Dr Frankenstein had hoped to plant the brain of noted smartguy Hans Delprick in the skull of the Monster, but due to an accident which ruined Delprick's brain, Eyegor grabbed a random brain and scampered out of the Brain Lab.

As Dr Frankenstein released The Monster he immediately knew something was amiss since The Monster grabbed Frankenstein by the throat...Using charades as a communication tool, Frankenstien was able to get Eygor to administer a "sedative" which Eyegor initially thought was a "sedagive".

Frankenstein then sat down with Eygor to determine that he had inserted a brina from Abbynormal" into the Monster...and abnormal brain.

This concept of "abbynormal something" has long been a buzz word in The Raptor lexicon and these past several weeks have seen many of these abnormal situations.  From the tragic shooting of numerous people in Tuscon, Arizona to the wild unrest in the Middle East, to the contentious debate going on up in the great state of Wisconsin, it seems that there is nothing going right...even the Steeler's were not exempt from this abnormal behaviour as they let a Super Bowl victory slip away.

So abnormal is the order of the day and it can be seen in a lot of locales.  It was interesting to note that some abnormal behavior occurred recently at The Creation Museum down there in Christian Kentucky. For those of you unaware, according to Wilipedia...

"The Creation Museum is a museum that presents an account of the origins of the universe, life, mankind, and man's early history according to a literal reading of the Book of Genesis. This museum has been heavily criticized by the scientific and academic communities as promoting "fallacy over fact" and attempting to advance the tenets of a particular religion while rejecting scientific knowledge. Its exhibits reject universal common descent, along with most other central tenets of evolution, and assert that the Earth and all of its life forms were created 6,000 years ago over a six-day period. In contrast to the overwhelming scientific consensus, exhibits promote young Earth creationist claims, including the idea that humans and dinosaurs once coexisted, and that dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark. The museum exhibits are at odds with the determination of the scientific community that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, and that the dinosaurs became extinct 65.5 million years before human beings arose. The museum has generated criticism by the scientific community, several groups of educators, Christian groups opposed to young Earth creationism, and in the general press.

The museum, which is said to have cost $27 million, is privately funded through donations to the apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis and opened its doors to the public on May 28, 2007. Based on projections, the museum anticipated 250,000 paying visitors in its first year of operation. According to AiG, within its first two months attendance surpassed 100,000 visitors by July 21, 2007 and 200,000 visitors on September 20, 2007. They claim that visitor attendance also exceeded first year expectations only 5 months and 5 days after opening, with a total of 250,000 visitors on November 2, 2007, and the half-million visitor mark was reached just under 9 months later. The one-millionth visitor was announced on April 26, 2010, just over a month away from the museum's three-year anniversary."

It comes as no surprise then that abnormal behavior was possible at the Museum...so according to the news of the day...the "USA Today" stated that "A Gay Couple Shut out of Creation Museum Date"...

"A date-night event at the Creation Museum here was disrupted when a same-sex couple was denied entry.

While accounts differ, what is clear is that a man who planned to enter the Feb. 11 event with a male friend was told the two would not be allowed to enter. Additionally, they did not receive a refund of the $71.90 for two tickets they had purchased online.

"On the website, there was no mention of sexual orientation," said Jonathan Meador, who was involved in the situation.

Mark Looy, chief communications officer for the Creation Museum, said it was clear from promotional material that the event was for heterosexual couples only.

The event included dinner, a talk from museum founder Ken Ham about love and the Biblical view of marriage and musical performances.

"The message was one of Christian marriage, which the Bible teaches is between a man and a woman," Looy said.

Meador attended the event with a female guest and a third man, who told security guards he was waiting for his date.

By Meador's account, when the male friend informed security personnel that the friend was also male they were told they would not be allowed to enter.

Meador, who writes for an alternative publication in Louisville, and his date were allowed in. Meador said to his knowledge, no one in the group is homosexual.

Meador admitted that the other member of the group, Joe Sonka, had posted a blog entry in January suggesting that it was the patriotic duty of his readers to send a flamboyantly gay couple to the event.

Looy said that message suggests the group was looking to provoke an incident.

"We are not going to allow anyone to come to a private event and be disruptive," Looy said. "It's not fair to the other people who also paid to attend the event. We welcome anyone to come to the Creation Museum during regular business hours because we want all people to be exposed to our message."

Meador acknowledges that the Creation Museum did not break any laws but feels they should have at least refunded the admission cost.

"It is telling, however, that they equate gayness and flamboyance with disruption," Meador said."

Is this what it has come down to in this once proud Nation?...Creation Museum...dinosauars with Noah?...gays "on a date"...talk about abbynormal...

15 Minutes  - Originally Posted 01/04/2011 

The Raptor recalls that famous scrawny SOB, Andy Worhol stated that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."  In reality, many pop culture icons have had their fame extend waaaaay past that 15 minute allotment....right Sara?....

The Republican party's newest star is Representative Darrell Issa (R) California. 

"Hello Tom Delay....move over and let me try..."

Rep. Issa is the now Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and according to a story on the Huffington Post, Rep. Issa was asked during a recent appearance on CNN about a suggestion he made in November following the elections that President Obama "has been one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times." The Republican congressman found himself addressing the controversial remarks despite having already expressed regret over his choice of words....

The Raptor finds the next words to come out of Rep. Issa's mouth to be typical of someone who is harvesting their 15 minutes as carefully as possible...

"I corrected -- what I meant to say -- you know, on live radio, with Rush going back and forth -- and by the way that was because Rush had me on to answer the question of -- about coming together, having compromise. He didn't like the compromise word, when I said we're going to agree to disagree and then we're going to find a kind of common ground, the kind of compromise that makes -- and gets things done.

In saying that this is one of the most corrupt administrations, which is what I meant to say there, when you hand out $1 trillion in TARP just before this president came in, most of it unspent, $1 trillion nearly in stimulus that this president asked for, plus this huge expansion in health care and government, it has a corrupting effect.

When I look at waste, fraud and abuse in the bureaucracy and in the government, this is like steroids to pump up the muscles of waste. "

Oh really...The Raptor knows exactly why Congressman Issa is so worked up...his problem is size...like many Republican elected officials and their minions Issa has a small "presence" and he now joins a select club including the following...

Is it too early to yell impeachment Re. Issa?