"Well, Doctor, what have we got...

the original influencer, circa 1787

...a republic or a monarchy?" 

"A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."

That famous exchange between Elizabeth Willing Powel and Benjamin Franklin was recorded in the journal of James McHenry of Maryland at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in September of 1787.

Earlier in that session Franklin affirmed his belief the new constitution would be "...well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”

John Adams, our 1st Vice President and 2nd President, presciently opined:

Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Given the collapsed moral estate of the people who are about to assume power, it's fair to say we've arrived at that point in history to which Dr. Franklin alluded.

The corrupt D's campaigned on "affordability"; since the election they've made it abundantly clear what their true intentions are come January...

...and it ain't affordability.

Perhaps it's time we acquiesce to Dr. Franklin's gloomy assessment, cue the military and embrace a new age of American despotism.

Can you say <Presidente De Por Vida>?¹

 Lord willing, Future President Marco Rubio

¹ c'mon...he's of Cuban descent, and clearly the best man for the job

We're less than two weeks away from my favorite holiday...

...couched in fading autumnal splendor...

...and warm, inviting decor...

our living room, circa 2016

...punctuated by jovial celebration...

well...occasionally, anyway

...and shared with family and friends:

In the short runup remaining, let us prepare our hearts and minds for...

Why is this my favorite holiday?

A couple of reasons.

One, I like to cheer for the underdog, and if ever there was a forgotten holiday, this is it.

Thanksgiving for too many of us is little more than a speed bump on the holiday highway between Halloween and Christmas.

Renamed "Turkey Day" by the secular masses, it's been reduced to little more than gluttony, gridirons and a familial strife of tongues.

More than that, however, it's my favorite due to its historical underpinnings and unique origin as a day we corporately set aside solely for the purpose of giving thanks to Almighty God...see especially <Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation> of 1864.

Thus, for the coming celebration and what we will receive from God's most gracious hand, let us be truly thankful.

¹ O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.

    - Psalms 107 

We can either clean the cats' litter boxes...

...or 23 Skidoo.

Even if it's sometimes hard to tell the difference, I say we 23 Skidoo:

sunrise this morning, 36 degrees

our "autumn tree" in all its november glory

a look at some of our woodland creatures (note their proximity to colorful fall leaves, evidence their arboreal perch is in fact, an autumn tree, NOT a...well, you know).  there's mr. raccoon...

mr. fox

mr. owl (and others who could not join us today)

my daily job has become keeping the yard clean of falling leaves...so where do they all go?

down the hill in back and watch your step...may not look it, but those leaf piles are a slippery slope straight down to the bottom

A storm is brewing and is due to hit our troubled shores on January 3rd at noon.

That's when all the looney tunes and miscreants will be sworn in for the new Congress in Washington, DC.

This is akin to giving a 13 year old the keys to your Maserati...

...and hoping for the best.

It's not going to go well.

Within 24 hour of the election all pretense of focusing on affordability and putting the needs of the electorate first had evaporated under withering threats of lawfare and persecution.

Left unchecked, the next few years will be a tidal wave of investigative fishing expeditions, government overreach and gridlock.

The D's primary message to their republican counterparts?

Lawyer up.

Some encouragement from God's Word in the face of conflict:

¹⁰ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

    - Isaiah 41

later, mcm fans...