No, this was not a campaign mounted by the NRA, but by activists for the homeless at Ohio State University.

In 1993, a press release was given to the Columbus, Ohio, news media that announced the formation of a new charity to help homeless people. They would provide the homeless with protection in the form of guns. They called the organization, “The Arm the Homeless Coalition.”

See how it turned out.

I have spent most of the day reformating my computer’s main drive and reinstalling everything. The OS was dumping device drivers and the thing booted somewhat irregularly. Every other fix failed to fix, so I finally had to go with the nuclear option. Yes, I did have everything backed up, which I have auto-set to do every night. So that’s why I haven’t blogged today until now.

This caught my eye this morning. Today’s Tennessean has a front-page piece called, “Liquor stores close doors for New Year’s Eve Sunday.”

Tennessee still has “blue laws,” which regulate Sunday alcohol sales. Liquor and wine cannot be sold in stores but can be bought by the drink in bars or clubs. Regulations on beer sales are set by local jurisdictions and vary from county to county.

After a brief discussion of the blue laws and their history, we come to this startling revelation:

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, states that repealed blue laws and allowed open commerce on Sundays saw a drop in church attendance and an increase in drug and alcohol use.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what is known as a blinding glimpse of the obvious.

How can you pass up a great buy like this? And just in time for Christmas!

In most of Europe Santa Claus does not come on Christmas Eve. In fact, “Santa Claus” as we know him is a highly Americanized version of Sinter Klaas, the traditional Dutch representation of Saint Nicholas. Unlike Santa, Sinter Klaas is not rotund and wears red bishop’s robes, not a red snow suit.

who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church… .[link]

Street Prophets blog has a lot more information, including many links and details of the monstrous figures who precede St. Nicholas and why they do so. Interesting stuff, including why in 1968 the Vatican demoted St. Nicholas and “removed his feast day from the calendar of days of obligation.”

Just guess.

I wrote about a month ago of why the Western left operates significantly on an honor/shame basis. Now Josh Manchester unintentionally illustrates my thesis in , “Moral Purification, Why intellectuals love defeat.”

James Carroll, recently writing in the Boston Globe, wondered if America could finally accept defeat in Iraq, and be the better for it, comparing it to Vietnam:

But what about the moral question? For all of the anguish felt over the loss of American lives, can we acknowledge that there is something proper in the way that hubristic American power has been thwarted? Can we admit that the loss of honor will not come with how the war ends, because we lost our honor when we began it? This time, can we accept defeat?

To be frank, no. In Mr. Carroll’s fantasyland, the United States is deserving of defeat, and through some sort of mental gymnastics, that defeat is honorable, because it smacked of hubris to ever have fought in the first place.

With the Left it always seems to come down to feelings rather than actual analysis. Josh explains that, too.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, with the federal holiday being observed Monday. As I have a very busy weekend, I’ll likely not get a chance to post after today until Monday.

Today’s Tennessean has some good coverage about Veterans Day in today’s edition, such as “Families dread idea of losing war. They hope for Iraq end that dignifies their loved ones.”

When Cpl. David Bass was killed in Iraq 21 days shy of his 21st birthday, his mother, Tammy Delle, of Madison, was confident she lost him to a noble cause.

The only thing that could take that away from her is losing the war. …

“I think our country is quite capable of winning,” Delle said. “If we give up, if we surrender, then we are in trouble as a country.” …

Cathy Odle of Manchester supported her son, Pfc. Brian J. Schoff, when he decided to enlist in the Army soon after high school. She has continued to support the war even after he was killed by a roadside bomb in January, because he was fighting for democracy.

“I don’t have a problem with anyone being freed from oppression,” Odle said.

“Veteran recalls trip to retrieve buddy’s body”

Ed Morris has never forgotten that evening in March 1965, in Vietnam.

Four decades plus one year have passed since the night when the Viet Cong kept firing and firing and firing. …

Staff Sgt. Bill Bowman, the best friend he had made during his Vietnam tour, was next to him — or his body was. …

On the day Morris returned from two weeks in the field leading a squad of South Vietnamese soldiers in a reconnaissance mission, Bowman and another American soldier had left their base for their turn in the jungle.

Two days out, Bowman’s partner stepped on a “Bouncing Betty,” a type of landmine that pops up from the ground when activated. A few feet off the ground it exploded, peppering Bowman’s body with fatal shrapnel. …

Morris volunteered to go into the jungle and help bring his friend’s body out, the first leg of its journey back to the United States.

“Vet recalls days when whole family fought. James Putman remembers his four siblings’ role in WWII”

He took the Queen Elizabeth luxury liner to England, but on James Putman’s first night there, he ran through the mud avoiding German bombers.

“We got in there late in the evening, and that night, we had a real awakening,” he said. “Because at that time, the Germans was still coming over whenever they wanted to. As night come on, you could see the flashes in the distance from the guns coming across the channel.” …

Putman family members who served during World War II are, from left, Mary, Lenard, James, Leroy and Gordon. Mary, who was later digitally added to the photo, served 12 months, Lenard served 44 months, James 39 months, Leroy 24 months and Gordon 31 months.

“Rock of faith sustains in chaos of war. Veterans say their brushes with brutality and death helped them focus on accepting God’s will.”

For seven brutal months during World War II, Bates Southall of the Craigfield community feared for his life as a prisoner of the Germans.

From his capture Sept. 30, 1944, to his liberation April 14, 1945, Southall worked at a prison camp in Poland. In addition to the intense labor, he suffered from injuries incurred in a train wreck when he was transported from France to Poland. …

“After I was captured, my main concern was if we would win the war, and if we didn’t what would become of me. Would I always be working as a slave? After we were in the process of being liberated, I wondered if I was going to last that long. I had frozen feet, and injuries from the train wreck. We weren’t getting much food, and I didn’t know if I would survive long enough to get back home,” Southall said.

But he had one book to read, and that book helped sustain the teenager through the darkest night of his soul.

“I had nothing else to read, but I had a New Testament. I read it through one time and then almost three-fourths through the second time. It settled my nerves, and I was able to make peace with God,” he said.

Other veterans are quoted, too, including your truly and OHC contributor John Krenson.