Thankful For Seasons

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a (A) time for every event under heaven.

2 A time to give birth and a (B) time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

3 A (C) time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to (D) weep and a time to (E) laugh; a time to mourn and a time to (F) dance.

5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; a time to (G) be silent and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to (H) hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Pitiful, Helpless Democrats?

Well, I feel Jim's pain when he talks about putting together posts only to have them eaten by Blogger. That has been happening to me this morning...hopefully this one will make it through.

While not a big Dick Morris fan, I found this article interesting. It echoes what I've heard from a couple of people at National Review, people whose opinion I greatly respect. One in particular told me right before the election when I was complaining about how worried I was about the outcome, "Don't worry. No matter what happens, nothing much will change."

Morris says:

For all of the dire warnings and pre-election commotion about the impact of a Democratic majority in Congress, the fact is that - now that it is upon us - it can do little or nothing but harass the Administration.

There is no real danger of any legislative action emerging from this Congress. Yes, the President has a veto the Democrats cannot override, but nothing will ever make it as far as the desk at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, are just spinning their wheels.

Later in the article, he explains the problem the Democrats have with satisfying their many liberal spinoff groups within their party:

First, one has to go to check with the Black Caucus - hat in hand - to see if one's bill has enough liberal giveaways to round up its forty or so votes. Thence to the Hispanic Caucus for a similar screening. Then, with one's legislation weighted down with liberal provisions added by these two groups, one has to sell it to the Democratic Leadership Council moderates and, even worse, to the Blue Dog Democrats - the out and out conservatives.

If you are fortunate enough to pass these contradictory litmus tests, you then have to go to the environmentalists, the labor people, and even the gays to see that your bill passes muster. Only then can you begin to hope for House passage.

The result of this labyrinth is that the relatively moderate bill you first sought to pass ends up like a Christmas tree, laden with ornaments added to appease each of the caucuses. Unrecognizable in its final form, it heads to House passage.

He does a good job of explaining how, once they Democrats please all of their "payback" people, there is little chance of it passing in the Senate, and even less of a chance of being able to override a veto.

Made me feel a *little* better. :-)

JASmius adds: Morris is neglecting the RINO factor. Whatever difficulties the Democrats have in unifying their own caususes (which I think he's vastly overestimating in any case), they'll be more than offset by timid, supine 'Pubbies drawing all the wrong lessons from the '06 election outcome.

In short, they'll steamroll over us (including the impeachments of Bush and Cheney) and, with Hillary at the helm, blow us out at the polls again in 2008.

Hey, Morris is also saying that American women are demanding a female president. If you can't believe a turd-in-every-pocket analyst like the Toe-Sucker, whom can you trust?

A Different Christmas Poem

My niece sent me this. Read it and remember it!

~ ~ ~

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Thenthe sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.
"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,"
Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Always Winter

4 (A) Sing praise to the LORD, you (B) His godly ones, and (C) give thanks to His holy (D) name.

5 For (E) His anger is but for a moment, His (F) favor is for a lifetime; weeping may (G) last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, "I will (H) never be moved."

7 O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You (I) hid Your face, I was dismayed.

8 To You, O LORD, I called, and to the LORD I made supplication: 9 "What profit is there in my blood, if I (J) go down to the pit? Will the (K) dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

10 "(L) Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be my (M) helper."

11 You have turned for me (N) my mourning into dancing; You have (O) loosed my sackcloth and girded me with (P) gladness, 12 That my (Q) soul may sing praise to You and not be silent; O LORD my God, I will (R) give thanks to You forever.

-Psalm 30:4-12

Please Stand By

A regular meeting, two irregular conference calls, all in the middle of a closing week smack in the midst of budget season is more excuse than I shall ever need to cover a day here without posting.

I'm already behind on yesterday's ample grist. Fortunately today only saw three [okay, four....] stories of note.

***Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the man who squandered and lost the biggest Republican senate majority in at least eighty years (matching the "achievement" of incoming Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott), announced today that he will not, after all, be running for president in 2008.

I wonder what his first clue was.

***Ex-SecState Uncle Colin helpfully contributed to the meltdown of America's Middle East war effort by parroting the lie that Iraq is in "civil war" and the tiresome "realist" canard that the best way to "fight terrorism" is to "reach out" to Islamic Fundamentalists.

***Meanwhile, two days after Iraqi president Jalal Talibani cried out for help to Iran to "establish security and stability" in his country whose security and stability is being ferociously undermined by his would-be rescuer, he reached a "security agreement" in a hastily arranged summit meeting with Iranian fuehrer Adolph Ahmadinejad, after which the latter urged the United States to cut & run from Iraq as being "in our own best interests". This at the same time that the Iraqis abruptly scotched a meeting in Jordan between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

My, but the neoVietnam worm is turning fast. And the Democrats haven't even officially taken power yet, either.

***Just behold what one of their incoming freshman is bragging about now:

Newly elected Senator Jim Webb, D-VA, was so infuriated by a remark from President George W. Bush that the former Marine officer was tempted to punch the commander-in-chief.

The confrontation, disclosed in the influential Washington, D.C.-based publication The Hill, came shortly after the midterm elections at a private White House reception for newly elected lawmakers.

Webb, who defeated Republican Senator George Allen in Virginia, ran a campaign critical of the administration’s Iraq policy, and has a son, a Marine lance corporal, serving in Iraq.

At the reception, Bush asked Webb how his son was doing. Webb answered that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, a source close to Webb reported. "I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush countered, according to the source.

Emily Heil wrote in The Hill: "Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t.”

If Webb's not committing a federal felony was such a foregone conclusion, why is he making such a point of talking up his temptation to do so after the fact? Is he trying to impress fellow Donk caucus-mate Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, the last Dem senator to threaten to physically attack the President?

Frankly, I wish one of them would try. Wouldn't it have been a hoot to see Webb lunge at Bush, get swarmed, beaten down, and dragged away by the Secret Service, and the Democrats forfeit control of the Senate back to the GOP?

Oops, that's right, Virginia has a Donk governor, doesn't it? So why didn't Webb just cut loose anyway?

Ah, well. Perhaps at the State of the Union Address Dubya should wear a big lapel pin that says, "Are ya feelin' lucky, punk? Well, are ya?" Not only could he put the DisLoyalists in their place like he did Webb, but we might be able to get both houses of Congress back in one fell swoop. That'd be worth a few presidential bruises and stitches, if you ask me.

Angry Floods

1 (A) The LORD reigns, He is (B) clothed with majesty; the LORD has (C) clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the (D) world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

2 Your (E) throne is established from of old; You (F) are from everlasting.

3 The (G) floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding waves.

4 More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the LORD (H) on high is mighty.

5 Your (I) testimonies are fully confirmed; (J) holiness befits Your house, O LORD, forevermore.

-Psalm 93

Ecumenicalism Another One-Way Street

Pope Benedict XVI is still diligently attempting to kiss Muslim ass over the understated but overly-deserved criticism he directed at Islam a couple of months back, which naturally gave Muslims another excuse to throw another violent temper tantrum:

Pope Benedict XVI began his first visit to a Muslim country Tuesday with a message of dialogue and "brotherhood" between Christians and Muslims in an attempt to ease anger over his perceived criticism of Islam....

"All feel the same responsibility in this difficult moment in history, let's work together," Benedict said during his flight from Rome to Ankara, where more than 3,000 police and sharpshooters joined a security effort that surpassed even the visit of President Bush two years ago.

The pope used his first moments of his four-day trip to try to mend fences with Islamic leaders.

"We know that the scope of this trip is dialogue and brotherhood and the commitment for understanding between cultures ... and for reconciliation," he told reporters on his plane.

"Mend fences"? Pardon me, but don't Muslim leaders have a helluva lot more fences to mend with Christian leaders - to say nothing of their Jewish counterparts? How can Benedict, with a straight face, speak of "brotherhood" with a demonic faith possessed of homocidal intolerence, delusions of global conquest, and dark visions of jihadic apocalypse? For what does he have to apologize given that his mere quote of a 14th century Christian emperor who quite factually characterized Islam as "a religion spread by the sword" and the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman" was in the context of the self-evident incompatibility of legitimate faith and violence? Did not the very violent Muslim reaction to Benedict's words amply prove his implicit point that Islam is not a religion but a psychopathic fascist political ideology?

As if to prove the point yet again, a vanguard of "the religion of peace" has called for a massive attack against the Vatican - this time via cyberspace:

An appeal to Jihadist hackers was sent out through Web forums linked to al-Qaida and was posted on two of the Web sites that publish messages from the terrorist organization.

"The leadership of the electronic Jihad has decided to undertake a grand attack against the official Vatican site following the insults by the Pope against our Prophet," the statement read in Arabic, referring to remarks the Pope made in a September 12 speech.

"With Allah's blessing, the attack will succeed thanks to the help of our brothers if we all attack simultaneously. We ask all our brothers to be present at the hour of the attack for a joint action, because they (Catholics) have struck our religion. They must be fought and deserve to be attacked and not only on their Internet site.”

I understand that the pope can't tell Islamist fanatics to go pound sand or do something anatomically impossible. That isn't his mission. But neither is it his job to "give what is holy to dogs, and....throw your pearls before swine, [lest] they....trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

If Benedict is going to go to Turkey, let it be to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let it be a true missionary journey worthy of the Apostle Paul, not an unrequitted ecumenical gauntlet that can only feed the bloodthirsty appetites of the devil's advocates.

Meanwhile, let us give Islamists the war they lust after with such ghoulish gusto - and then some.

Allahu Akbar, Or Else

Keith Ellison, Democrat from Minnesota, the first Muslim to be elected to the House of Representatives, says he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but insists on using the Koran. Dennis Prager says he should not be allowed to do that, and I agree.

First, it is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism -- my culture trumps America's culture. What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Amen. Ellison should never have been elected, I don't understand what the people of Minnesota could have been thinking. With his background he shouldn't have gotten a single vote. But look where he is. Now he insists that WE conform to HIS way of thinking, the Muslim way, and wants to take his oath on the very book which contains admonitions to kill us. What a screwed up situation.

In my opinion, if he refuses to take his oath as an American and use the Bible like everyone else, he should not be allowed to take office. Never happen, of course. The Democrats are too bold, and the Republicans too timid to make an issue of it.

Come Quickly

7 "And behold, (A) I am coming quickly. (B) Blessed is he who heeds (C) the words of the prophecy of this book."

8 (D) I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, (E) I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

9 But (F) he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a (G) fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of (H) this book. Worship God."

10 And he said to me, "(I) Do not seal up (J) the words of the prophecy of this book, (K) for the time is near.

11 "(L) Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."

12 "Behold, (M) I am coming quickly, and My (N) reward is with Me, (O) to render to every man according to what he has done.

13 "I am the (P) Alpha and the Omega, (Q) the first and the last, (R) the beginning and the end."
14 Blessed are those who (S) wash their robes, so that they may have the right to (T) the tree of life, and may (U) enter by the (V) gates into the city.

15 (W) Outside are the (X) dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

16 "(Y) I, Jesus, have sent (Z) My angel to testify to you these things (AA) for the churches I am (AB) the root and the (AC) descendant of David, the bright (AD) morning star."

17 The (AE) Spirit and the (AF) bride say, "Come " And let the one who hears say, "Come." And (AG) let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the (AH) water of life without cost.

-Revelation 22:7-17

Cutting Bait For The Fishing To Come

Add the hyperpartisan House Donk John Dingell to the incoming Democrat majorities' aspiring political death squad:

The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is promising an array of oversight investigations that could provoke sharp disagreement with Republicans and the White House.

Representative John Dingell, D-MI, pledged that Democrats, swept to power in the November 7 elections, would govern "in the middle” next year [uncontrollable eyerolling]. But the veteran lawmaker has a reputation as one who has never avoided a fight and he did not back away from that reputation on Sunday.

Among the investigations he said he wants the committee to undertake:

The new Medicare drug benefit. "There are lots and lots and lots of scandals,” he said, without citing specifics [heh].

Spending on government contractors in Iraq, including Halliburton Co., the Texas-based oil services conglomerate once led by Vice President Dick Cheney.

An energy task force overseen by Cheney. It "was carefully cooked to provide only participation by oil companies and energy companies,” Dingell said.

One long fishing expedition featuring Halliburton conspiracism and anti-Cheney paranoia. Yeah, that's "governing from the middle," alright.

Charlie Rangel - he of the galloping contempt for the military that his party is incapable of suppressing - echoes this sick joke of Democrat "centrism" by claiming that his House Ways & Means Committee will be civil and responsible by avoiding "contentious issues, such as extending expiring tax cuts or overhauling Social Security, at the beginning of the year." Raising taxes and expanding Social Security, on the other hand, will be a top "bipartisan" priority.

Barney Frank, the rump ranger set to chair the House Financial Services Committee, will use a crusade to destroy more working class jobs (i.e. raise the minimum wage) as a metaphorical rain slicker to cover a renewal of another Dem crusade, the one to force the military to accept open homosexuals into its ranks. Unconfirmed rumors hold that Frank will extend this push to queer chaplains performing sodomarriages in foxholes. Evidently there are quite a few dinnermashers who want to tie the knot in Darfur next spring.

Perhaps that's the castor oil (or Crisco....) to make Rangel's cynical draft reinstatement bill seem palatable by comparison. If so, the gambit doesn't appear to be working.

But then again I can't fathom why Crazy Nancy and Dirty Harry are bothering to try and conceal the left-wing extremism of their party now that they've finally wrested their power back. They were as discrete as a SuperBowl halftime "wardrobe malfuction" before, and they still won the mid-terms. The logical conclusion to draw is that the American people have turned back to the left with a vengeance and want all the neoBolshevism the Donks have to offer: tax increases, more entitlement programs, more public debt, more anti-Christian persecution and regulatory repression, unconditional unilateral surrender in the GWOT. That's what the American people voted for on November 7th, whether or not they realized it, and that's what they're going to get.

It's not as though Donk leaders could keep a lid on their hordes of Bushophobic, Christophobic, Ameriphobic fanatics anyway, even if they were so inclined. With the wind now unquestionably at their backs, happy New Deal/Great Society/Saigon April 1975 days will be here again.

It would have been preferable to keep the GOP in charge and avoid all the tragedies soon to come. But as a future famous astronomer will declare seventy-two years from now, "It seems that every once in a while, history requires that the monsters win, so that when they are utterly defeated, future generations may count their blessings."

Until the next election, anyway.

Sedition Personified

I was just reading over at Blogs for Bush, I can't believe what I've just read. Well...yes I do. They link to Stop the ACLU, and here is a quote from our incoming House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Charles Rangel. It'll make you proud.

I want to make it abundantly clear: if there’s anyone who believes that these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits. And most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment. If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq.

Where to begin? He packed so much cynicism and stupidity into that one paragraph that it's a little tough to know where to start. These young, bright individuals don't just go into it for their bonuses and educational benefits. Completely foreign to this doddering idiot is the idea that they believe in their country and know it's worth fighting for. "...most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment." ???? WHERE? Come on, Rangel, give us some examples of communities in America with "very, very high unemployment," then show us the enlistment numbers. He won't because he can't.

Rangel manages to insult his country, his military, and anyone who has the misfortune of reading his stupid words...except of course the moonbats who agree with him.

Hey...way to go American voters who thought they were teaching the Republicans a lesson. You put people like THIS in power.

JASmius adds: The one state in the country with significantly above-average unemployment is Michigan, and they overwhelmingly re-elected their Donk governor and U.S. senator. That leaves three possibilities:

1) Voters in Michigan (and across the country) were ignorant;

2) Voters in Michigan (and across the country) went temporarily insane;

3) Voters in Michigan (and across the country) knew exactly what they were doing because seditionists like Charlie Rangel were the kind of people they wanted to put into power.

Given how undisguised was the extremism of Rangel and his comrades for the past six years, and the magnitude of the Dems' popular vote margin this time 'round, #3 looks like a stronger and stronger possibility.

The Finish Line

24 (A) Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives (B) the prize? (C) Run in such a way that you may win.

25 Everyone who (D) competes in the games exercises self-control in all things They then do it to receive a perishable (E) wreath, but we an imperishable.

26 Therefore I (F) run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not (G) beating the air; 27 but I discipline (H) my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

-1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Same Pork, New Flavor

Help me with something here, please. I'm afraid I just can't get my mind around it.

The Democrats ran in 2006 on, in part, the idea of "Republican corruption," right? And part of that meme was GOPers' supposed cushy releationships with lobbyists, right? And that led to a supposed tsunami of pork-barrel spending, right? And voters supposedly didn't like that and voted the Republicans out of majority control because of it, right?

So could somebody please explain this from the Donk most responsible for the Dems reconquest of the U.S. Senate?

Schumer said he'd focus on:

* Building the Second Avenue subway;

* Building a railway linking lower Manhattan to JFK Airport;

* Building a new tunnel under the Hudson River to connect Midtown with New Jersey.

* Changing Medicare and Medicaid formulas;

* Doling out homeland-security funds based on threat;

* Getting more federal money for education and affordable housing, and

* Increasing tax deductions for college tuition.

Aren't most of the items on that list a mass disembowelment of whole herds of hogs? And could voters have really, actually, truly forgotten that Republicans, whatever their fiscal sins over the past dozen years, were simply following the playbook the Democrats authored?

Or is budget-busting precisely what voters want, and they simply put in charge the party that will always have its heart fully in the blizzard of bread & circuses?

Holy Land Still SNAFU'd

I realize I haven't posted much about the dying state of Israel this fall. Here is an outstanding example of why:

Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire Saturday to end a five-month Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants into the Jewish state - a major step toward possibly reviving long-stalled peace talks.

The cease-fire was to go into effect at 6 a.m. Sunday (11 p.m. Saturday EST), both sides said.

And here:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has instructed Israel's security forces to show restraint Sunday despite repeated Palestinian violations of a cease-fire that came into effect earlier in the day....

Olmert "gave the security forces instructions to show restraint and to try and give the cease-fire the possibility to succeed," said Miri Eisin, Olmert's spokeswoman. [emphasis added]

Annnnnnnd here:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during a visit to the Bedouin town of Rahat Sunday, that, “I hope the ceasefire will take effect in the West Bank as well, although it currently does not apply there; however, the responsibility and good will may lead to the beginning of serious, open and direct negotiations between us and the Palestinians.”

Is there any element of this idiotic "peace process" equation that is not now firmly back in place? Israel has ceased military operations against the Pals; the Pals are already breaking the cease-fire; Israel is not resuming the Gaza military operations it should have ruthlessly and viciously completed months ago; and the fool Olmert hopes this "peace" can be spread to the Israeli heartland.

After this debacle and the self-inflicted defeat to Hezbollah, how is this moron still in office? Or is he simply reading the tea leaves in the American mid-term elections and making the best he thinks he can of a perilous situation he knows is coming?

Then again, perhaps it was the Bush Administration's nutbag idea of arming Fatah to fight Hamas in a Pal civil war (sorry, too lazy to look up the link).

All I know is, in matters of life and death, foolishness always exacts a heavy, heavy price. A lesson we learned via 9/11 and have since forgotten. I wouldn't think the Jews, with their tumultuous history, would need any more historical lessons, but I guess Robert Heinlein's Lazarus Long knew what he was talking about when he said, "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."

VBC Missionaries Of The Week: Warren & Lyn Sears

The Sears serve as missionaries to the students at New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson, MI. Warren is personal campus ministry coordinator and is in charge of campus security. Lyn is administrative assistant and office manager.

Emptiness Without God

1 In the (A) second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet (B) Haggai to (C) Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (D) governor of Judah, and to (E) Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'This people says, "The time has not come, even the time for the house of the LORD to be rebuilt."'"

3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house (F) lies desolate?"

5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways!

6 "You have (G)s own much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes."

7 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways!

8 "Go up to the mountains, bring wood and (H) rebuild the temple, that I may be (I) pleased with it and be (J) glorified," says the LORD.

9 "(K) You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I (L) blow it away Why?" declares the LORD of hosts, "Because of My house which (M) lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

10 "Therefore, because of you the (N) sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce.

11 "I called for a (O) drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on (P) men, on cattle, and on (Q) all the labor of your hands."

-Haggai 1:1-11

The Impeachment-Mongering Begins

Here the Democrats go already, on both sides of the Capitol.

First, Senate Donks are ramping up their fishing expedition in one of their favorite "lakes," the Bush Administration's methods of gathering intelligence from captured jihadis:

Senator Patrick J. Leahy, D-VT, who will chair the Senate Judiciary Committee starting in January has asked the Justice Department to release two newly acknowledged documents, which set U.S. policy on how terrorism suspects are detained and interrogated. The existence of the documents has been confirmed by the CIA.

The first document sought is a directive President Bush signed giving the CIA authority to establish detention facilities outside the United States....

I.e. "rendition," a policy also employed by the Clinton administration with no self-righteous objections from "Leaky" and friends.

....It also outlines interrogation methods that may be used against detainees. The second is a 2002 memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to the CIA’s general counsel regarding interrogation methods that the CIA was empowered to employ against detained al-Qaida leaders.

"The American people deserve to have detailed and accurate information about the role of the Bush Administration in developing the interrogation policies and practices that have engendered such deep criticism and concern at home and around the world,” Leahy wrote Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, demanding that Gonzales produce any revisions and analyses of those and other memos. In addition he demanded any CIA documents that interpret the scope of interrogation practices permitted and prohibited by the Detainee Treatment Act or the Military Commissions Act. [emphasis added]

Translation: Protecting the lives of American civilians matters less than appeasing the anti-American sensibilities of "world opinion." And just in case the Bushies are going beyond the bounds of the DTA or MCA, which Leaky and friends are going to repeal in any case, he's going to cut off those avenues of attack as well.

By any means necessary:

"I expect real answers, or we’ll have testimony under oath until we get them,” Senator Leahy told the New York Times. "We’re entitled to know these answers, and in many instances we don’t get them because people are hiding their mistakes. And that’s no excuse.”

His aides have cited more than sixty-five requests he has made to the Justice Department or other agencies in recent years that have been rejected or permitted to languish without reply.

Leahy expressed hope for greater cooperation from the Bush Administration, which he described to the Times as having been "obsessively secretive.”

The Bushies have been "obsessively secretive" because they know that intelligence-gathering is of paramount importance in countering terrorist plots and the "obsessive secrecy" is critical to that intelligence-gathering. "We" are NOT entitled to know these answers because if we learn them, the enemy will learn them and stopping their attacks will become that much more difficult. Which is why the White House has repeatedly told Leaky to go pound sand.

The Democrats know this, of course. And while they certainly do seek to take the baton from their friends at the New York Times and pave the way for more massive al Qaeda and/or Iranian attacks against the homeland, the primary objective of Leaky's fishing expedition is to force a partisan confrontation with the Bush Administration so as to lay the foundation for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Because to Leaky and friends, they, and not Osama bin Laden or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are the true enemy.

Meanwhile, over on the House side, Representative Henry "Nostrildamus" Waxman, incoming Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, believes he has so many avenues of investigation that he doesn't know where to start:

The lawmaker poised to cause the Bush Administration's biggest headaches when Democrats take control of Congress may just be a grocer's son from Watts who's hardly a household name off Capitol Hill.

Representative Henry Waxman has spent the last six years waging a guerrilla campaign against the White House and its corporate allies, launching searing investigations into everything from military contracts to Medicare prices from his perch on the Government Reform Committee.

In January, Waxman becomes committee chairman - and thus the lead congressional hound of an Administration many Democrats feel has blundered badly as it expanded the power of the executive branch.

Waxman's biggest challenge as he mulls what to probe?

"The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose," he said.

The choices he makes could help define Bush's legacy.

"There is just no question that life is going to be different for the Administration," said Representative Tom Davis, R-VA, the current committee chairman. "Henry is going to be tough. . . . And he's been waiting a long time to be able to do this."

The whole Democrat party has been waiting a long time to exact its harrowing revenge. And no amount of "New Tone" nonsense or "reaching out" is going to blunt it, either.

The rest of the ASSociated Press piece fellates Waxman unbearably, but it includes this not-very-veiled Waxman warning to the defeated GOP:

He wants to do it all with the help of Republicans.

"We want to return to civility and bipartisanship," Waxman said. "Legislation ought to be based on evidence, not ideology."

Legislative Stockholm Syndrome. And there'll be a lot of cowed Pachyderms who'll go along, too, with both Waxman and Leahy.

If you think the Republicans lost the mid-term elections because they let themselves get "RINOized" in the majority, just wait till you see how bad they get now that they're back in the political wilderness. They'll slip into their meek, servile minority persona without missing a beat. And the groundwork for further losses in 2008 - to say nothing of major reverses in the war against Islamic Fundamentalism - will be irretrievably laid.

If it ever gets better, it'll get a lot worse first.

A Scary Place

Wow, the world's a scary place right now. The news of Putin's delivery of weapons to Iran was chilling. Ronald Reagan helped us all breathe a sigh of relief when he brought down the Soviet Union. Now George W. Bush has a chance to do it with terrorism. I keep hoping, praying that he has a secret plan, that we're going to wake up one morning to the news that the nuclear facilities of Iran and North Korea have been taken out simultaneously by U.S. and allied forces. He would have to keep it absolutely secret to keep the New York Times from getting hold of it. He better do it soon, before the cut and run Democrats start their terms in January, or God help us all.

Not "Why", But "Who?"

1 As the deer [a] pants for the water brooks, so my soul (A) pants for You, O God.

2 My soul (B) thirsts for God, for the (C) living God; when shall I come and (D) appear before God?

3 My (E) tears have been my food day and night, while they (F) say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

4 These things I remember and I (G) pour out my soul within me for I (H) used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with the voice of (I) joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

5 (J) Why are you (K) in despair, O my soul? And why have you become (L) disturbed within me? (M) Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the (N) help of His presence.

6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I (O) remember You from (P) the land of the Jordan and the peaks of (Q) Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your (R) breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

8 The LORD will (S) command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me (T) in the night, a prayer to (U) the God of my life.

9 I will say to God (V) my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go (W) mourning because of the (X) oppression of the enemy?"

10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they (Y) say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

11 (Z) Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.

-Psalm 42

Dubya's Last Chance

Victor Davis Hanson has fired a shot across the bow of the Bush White House that, given they'll be facing an impeachment inquiry and a drive to defund the GWOT next year, the Bushies dare not ignore:

HH: Victor Davis Hanson, if you had a chance to visit with the President tonight, what would you be telling him?

VDH: Don't give up. Don't weaken. Don't hesitate. Don't pause. Do not cut a deal with those two governments. They're killing American soldiers through surrogates in Iraq. They're trying to destablize Lebanon like they did in the 1980's. They're the source of most of the evil that's now causing us problems from Afghanistan to Iraq. And this idea that you're going to bring James Baker back, and that team back who gave us everything from Iran-Contra to jobs, jobs, jobs as the only reason we're going to go into the Middle East, to flank the Jews. I could go on, but it's a very sensitive point with me.

I think a lot of us, Hugh, stood by this Administration through thick and thin when the paleocons turned on them, when the liberal hawks turned on them, when the neocons are starting to bail. But my God, if you're going to go into the Middle East, and put 130,000 Americans in harm's way, fighting for democracy, and then you turn around and you appease those two governments who are killing people, I don't think a lot of us are going to stand for that.

HH: Is this an Archduke Ferdinand moment with the assassination of Gemayel?

VDH: I think it may be. I really do. I think that Syria realizes that as soon as they saw that the United States was going to cease pressure on them, it was time to go in and start killing non-Shia politicians, reporters especially. They've killed journalists, they've killed T.V...it's not just this Gemayel. It's not just a Christian politician. They've been doing this for two years, killing, systematically, any critics. And they sense that they get a green light from us when we pull back. And I think it should be a wake up call for the United States, that when you go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, you don't go to war in a half measure. You either go to war or you don't go to war. And we're in a war in Iraq, and we're in war with, as the President said, Islamic-facism, and autocracy and dictatorship, and there's no better examples than Iran and Syria. [emphases added]

It's a heady thing to be echoed by a historian of VDH's calibre. Looks like I've got my work cut out to remain your "humble" proprietor.

But in all seriousness, the stakes couldn't be set forth any clearer than VDH does here. The GOP lost Congress not because of earmarks or pork-barrel spending or Jack Abramoff; they lost Congress because a majority of voters questioned whether we're even trying to win in Iraq, and therefore in the larger GWOT of which Iraq has been proclaimed (by both sides) as the "central front. It's just gotten too similar to Vietnam in the sense that we are limiting ourselves, we're conceding "privileged sanctuaries" to our enemies from which they can wage assymmetrical war against us with utter impunity for as long as it takes to undermine another "democracy project" and the domestic public support for the effort.

The problem isn't that President Bush hasn't made, or ceased making, an effective case for being actively engaged in the war; it's that his strategy never called for being FULLY engaged in the war to begin with. Afghanistan and Iraq had to be followed up with campaigns for regime-change in Iran and Syria as well. Only by defeating and destroying ALL the "terror masters" can this war be won. And if George W. Bush now fades back into his oafish father's hapless shadow, invites in all of Pappy's cynically incompetent old poops to take all he has managed to accomplish in the Middle East and flush it down the crapper - in essence, beating the newly-elected Defeatocrat majority to the self-directed punch - he may deserve the impeachment he gets, and when it comes there may be nobody left to defend him against it.

Only the spectre of putting Dick Cheney in the Oval Office may make the Donk conspirators hestitate. Which is why I think they'll do an impeachment "blue plate special" and try to take out Bush AND Cheney in tandem. That may be what it takes to reel back in pro-Bush diehards like VDH.

Even better would be sudden military action against Iran (with Israel taking out Syria, as VDH also suggests). It'd be the perfect GDub retort to the mid-term election results as well as a long-belated move forward in the war effort.

Besides, what would the Democrats be able to do about it? Impeach him?

The Bear & The Dragon

While the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency flirts with helping the Iranian mullahgarchy build another plutonium reactor, and another prominent Israeli figure states the obvious about the war on Islamic Fundamentalism that nobody in the West wants to hear, the two enemy near-superpowers looming behind the existing global conflict have provided fresh evidence of their perfidy and eventual malevolence.

First, if the Bush Administration still has any plans on the drawing board for an air offensive against Iranian nuclear facilities, Dubya's dear friend Vlad Putin just made that idea a bit more complicated:

Russia has begun delivery of Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran, a Defense Ministry official said Friday, confirming that Moscow would proceed with arms deals with Tehran in spite of Western criticism.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue, declined to specify when the deliveries had been made and how many systems had been delivered.

Ministry officials have previously said Moscow would supply 29 of the sophisticated missile systems to Iran under a $700 million contract signed in December, according to Russian media reports.

The United States called on all countries last spring to stop all arms exports to Iran, as well as ending all nuclear cooperation with it to put pressure on Tehran to halt uranium enrichment activities. Israel, too, has severely criticized arms deals with Iran....

According to the Interfax news agency, the Tor-M1 system can identify up to forty-eight targets and fire at two targets simultaneously at a height of up to 20,000 feet.

Russian media have reported previously that Moscow had conducted talks on selling even more powerful long-range S-300 air defense missiles, but Russian officials have denied that.

These would be the same Putinoids who also vociferously deny the slaying of a dissident ex-spook who has been a PR thorn in Vlad's side over the past decade or so:

A former Russian spy who died in an apparent poisoning signed a statement on his deathbed blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death, friends said Friday.

The statement, read to reporters outside the hospital where Alexander Litvinenko died late Thursday, accused the Russian leader of having "no respect for life, liberty or any civilized value."

"You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilized men and women," Litvinenko said in a statement read by his friend Alex Goldfarb.

"You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life."

Suffice it to say the veracity of the Putin administration is dragging through the muck these days, and justifiably so. Only the chronic wishful thinking of Western "dupelomats" prevents the sober, widespread recognition of a reality that oughtn't be that difficult to discern:

1) Vlad Putin misses the "good old days" of the Evil Empire;

2) The power that accompanied those "good old days" is gone and irretrievable;

3) Ergo, the best Vlad can do is passively block us where we choose to allow ourselves to be blocked (i.e. the UN Security Council) and quietly arm our declared enemies (i.e. Iran, Syria) to the teeth. And when the mullahs make their Plan R bid for global power, the lure to play Napoleon-in-reverse may be too great for the neoCzar to resist.

The Red Chinese, meanwhile, are also quietly but industriously building toward that future global showdown:

A Hawaii-based spy ring sold secret U.S. stealth bomber technology to China.

According to the Washington Times, the technology relates to the B-2 bomber's engine exhaust system and its ability to avoid detection by infrared sensors. The Times reports that the information was sold to Chinese officials by former defense contractor Noshir S. Gowadia, an Indian-born citizen charged with spying in a federal indictment released by prosecutors in Hawaii.

Court papers also allege that Gowadia helped Chinese weapons designers develop a cruise missile with an engine exhaust system that is hard to detect by radar, and a missile that can intercept U.S. air-to-air missiles.

According to the Times, court papers say Gowadia is charged with making at least six secret visits to China from 2002 through 2005, and being paid at least $110,000 by Chinese officials for highly classified defense technology supplied through January. He may have been paid as much as $2 million.

I'd be more interested in what Gowadia's partisan affiliation was. Even a rudimentary educated guess suggests he isn't a Republican.

He can't have any Clinton affiliations, though, since (1) he got caught and (2) he didn't flee the country. And if he was a Clintonoid at one time, they'd certainly wash their hands of him, so don't expect any clemency from President Rodham two years from now.

Depending upon the rapidity of the Democrat-induced collapse in Iraq and elsewhere, Madusa may have far too much on her plate to even notice Gowadia's fate. But his benefactor, and Mr. Litvinenko's killers - the ultimate "Axis" - will be busily exploiting every last bit of it.

Congressional Resolutions Soon To Come

Want to see the personification of the classlessness of the moonbats? Read this.

All About Gratitude

6 Therefore as you have received (A) Christ Jesus the LORD, so (B) walk in Him, 7 having been firmly (C) rooted and now being (D) built up in Him and (E) established [a]in your faith, just as you (F) were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

~ ~ ~

12 So, as those who have been (A) chosen of God, holy and beloved, (B) put on a (C) heart of compassion, kindness, (D) humility, gentleness and (E) patience; 13 (F) bearing with one another, and (G) forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; (H) just as the LORD forgave you, so also should you.

14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is (I) the perfect bond of (J) unity.

15 Let (K) the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in (L) one body; and be thankful.

16 Let (M) the word of [a] Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, (N) teaching and admonishing one another (O) with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, (P) singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

17 (Q) Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the LORD Jesus, (R) giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

-Colossians 2:6-7; 3:12-17

Congressional Resolutions We'll Never Hear Again

For as much as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to Him for benefits received, and to implore such farther blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased Him in His abundant mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of a just and necessary war, for the defense and establishment of our unalienable rights and liberties; particularly in that He hath been pleased, in so great a measure, to prosper the means used for the support of our troops, and to crown our arms with most signal success.

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States to set apart Thursday, the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise: that at one time and with one voice, the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor; and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please Him graciously to afford His blessing on the governments of these states respectively, and proper the public council of the whole; to inspire our commanders, both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them unfit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human blessings, independence and peace.; that it may please Him, to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people, and the labor of the husbandmen, that our land may yield its increase; to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue, and piety, under His nurturing hand; and to prosper the means of religion, for the
promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

And it is further recommended that servile labor and such recreation as, though at other times innocent, may be unbecoming to the purpose of this appointment, be omitted on so solemn an occasion.

-First Thanksgiving proclamation given by Congress, November 1st, 1777

Seize & Hold

Christian soldier, move still higher
Keep your eyes upon the peak;
Never falter, never waiver
Never fear because your weak.

Christ the Conqueror has gone before you
Climbing up the devil’s hill;
Attacked by Stan and armies legion,
In the Spirit He moved on still.

Christian soldier, heed your Commander
Follow orders, move ahead;
To gain each inch of ground you cover
He has fought and died and bled.

Look above you, see the banner of the
Conquering King of kings;
He alone secure the colors
And from His victory our hope springs.

Christian soldier, check your weapons
And secure your equipment well;
With your issued grace provisions
Drive your enemy back to hell.

Press them, press them, harder, harder
Keep them moving in retreat;
Advance, advance, advance still farther
No soldier of Christ must meet defeat.

Christian soldier, hold on tighter
The going is extremely rough;
Just above you fly the colors
The time has come to hang in there tough.

The battle rages ever stronger
At your soul the barrage is aimed;
Iron of soul, Christ’s mind within you
Will continue to sustain.

When you reach the high ground shortly
Do not think the victory won;
Quickly secure your new position
For the battle’s just begun

With your weapons most effective
Defend the high ground from attack;
Dig in deep and fortify it
By persistent daily GAP.

When your tour of duty’s over
And other soldiers take your place;
At the golden bridge of dying
Salute your Commander face to face.

Christian soldier, I commend you
For the victory you have won;
A hero’s welcome thus awaits you
Your R&R has just begun.

-Marlene J. Taylor, March 4th, 1977

Presidential Proclamations We Don't Hear Anymore

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow; yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the LORD.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment influenced upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father Who dwelleth in the heavens.

-Abraham Lincoln, October 3rd, 1863

The Blessing Of A Thankful Heart

From "The Pastor's Pen" in the November 2006 Voice of the Valley, the monthly newsletter of Valley Bible Church, by the Reverend Frank C. Emrich. Re-posted here with permission.

~ ~ ~

I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair at this story:

Once in an old city, a man went to his rabbi and complained, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The wise old rabbi replied, "Bring your goat into the room with you." The man was skeptical, but the rabbi insisted. "Do it and come back in one week."

So one week later, the man went back to the rabbi even more troubled. "We cannot stand it, and the goat is just filthy." His elderly rabbi answered, "Good, now go home and let the goat out. Then come back again in a week."

The third time the man went to his rabbi, he smiled and exclaimed, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it. Now there's no stinky, dirty goat in our room - it's just the nine of us."

Now, no one in their right mind has a goat running around their house, but how often do we pause to thank God for everything He has done? I love Thanksgiving and look forward to our family gathering together, and because we have been so blessed there is much to be thankful for.

May I suggest that you take the time this year to stop and remember all the blessings God has given your family? Perhaps you can be thankful for good health, or good jobs, or even for a roof over your head. Perhaps you can be thankful that you still live in a country that allows you to worship our wonderful LORD [especially since that probably won't be the case for very much longer - Ed.]. You may want to write out a list and read them aloud. YOu will be amazed at how many blessings appear.

Here are a few thinks for which I am thankful:

1) The LORD Jesus dying on the cross to pay for my sins.

2) I have an eternal home forever in heavan with Jesus Christ.

3) God's mecries are new every morning.

4) My wonderful wife, precious children and grandchildren....

5) The opportunities that God has given me to grow spiritually (even the difficult times).

6) My wonderful church family that continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of the LORD and those who joyfully serve Him.

7) The Word of God, miraculously preserved for thousands of years so that we can read and learn from it.

8) The godly leaders that serve with me at Valley Bible Church.

9) Answered prayer.

10) Our growing AWANA club.

I could go on and on, but maybe I should stop so you can write a list of your own.

Beloved, I believe that God delights in hearing our prayers of thanksgiving and listening to us count our blessings. I think it must make God smile knowing that we are learning to trust Him and what He has planned for us. So why don't you take some time this Thanksgiving with your family and write down a few blessings. Read them, meditate on them, let them brighten your day, and may you never forget all He has given your family. After all, it's better than having a goat running loose all over your house.

And while you are at it, why not sing this precious old hymn around the dinner table this year. It's called Count Your Blessings:

When upon life's billows,
You are tempest tossed;
When you are discouraged,
Thinking all is lost;
Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one;
And it will surprise you,
What the LORD has done.

Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your blessings,
See what God hath done.
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your many blessings,
See what God hath done.

A Little More Light

Ann Coulter sheds a little more light on the incident where 6 Muslim Imams were removed from a US Airways flight. Turns out they weren't just praying, there was a lot more to it than that. I would have been concerned, too.

Witnesses said the imams stood to do their evening prayers in the terminal before boarding, chanting "Allah, Allah, Allah" -- coincidentally, the last words heard by hundreds of airline passengers on 9/11 before they died.

Witnesses also said that the imams were talking about Saddam Hussein, and denouncing America and the war in Iraq. About the only scary preflight ritual the imams didn't perform was the signing of last wills and testaments.

After boarding, the imams did not sit together and some asked for seat belt extensions, although none were morbidly obese. Three of the men had one-way tickets and no checked baggage. Also they were Muslims.

Unfortunately, the media is helping CAIR along with its claims of victimhood. Tucker Carlson of MSNBC, of all people, takes the leader of CAIR to task about their claims of racism, etc. Although Tucker sympathizes with the "wrongs" these Imams endured, he is bothered by CAIR's making a political event out of it. Little Green Footballs has the YouTube video of the interview.

All of a sudden, we have people, not just Muslims, fretting about our fascist America and how we are "profiling" Muslims now, how we are all racists, Islamophobic, etc. etc. etc. Sheesh. Next they'll be asking for reparations.

Heart-Prints

36 Now in (A) Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.

37 And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an (B) upper room.

38 Since Lydda was near (C) Joppa, (D) the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, "Do not delay in coming to us."

39 So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the (E) upper room; and all the (F) widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the [a] tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

40 But Peter (G) sent them all out and (H) knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, "(I) Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling (J) the saints and (K) widows, he presented her alive.

42 It became known all over (L) Joppa, and (M) many believed in the LORD.

43 And Peter stayed many days in (N) Joppa with (O) a tanner named Simon.

-Acts 9:36-43

Thank God For Our Troops

One of my last customers today at the Post Office was a man sending candy to his son who is stationed in Texas right now, but will be going to Iraq in January. I told him of my nephew, who is expecting to be sent over for his 3rd or 4th tour (I can't remember which) early next year. Nathan volunteers to go. This young man's father whom I was talking to was so very proud of his son, and rightly so. We talked about how thankful we are that there are fine young men and women willing to put their lives on the line so that we can sleep comfortably in our beds.

We can't give up on them. I know the election was a real downer, but that just means we have to be ever more vigilant and persistent in letting them know in Washington that we need to support our military in every way possible. The most powerful thing we can do is pray for them, and pray for our leaders. Hey, God can change hearts. Maybe he'll turn Nancy Pelosi into a hawk.

The Shape Of Defeat

When you only fight half a war, the whole war cannot be won. And any war that is fought, by whatever rationale, without absolute, comprehensive victory as its final objective, will invariably be lost because the American public will not support it indefinitely.

For years, we defenders of Operation Iraqi Freedom were successful in propping up that necessary public support for the Iraq project because we had the better arguments. Or, rather, we had the only rational arguments, mustered against an opposition that did nothing more than hurl seditious Vietnam-era "anti-war" bromides and Bushophobic invective. But with no follow-up campaigns to liberate Syria and Iran, and therefore leaving those two undefeated enemies to wage war against us assymmetrically in Iraq and drag out the process of pacifying and securing the country, the question became how long it would take for the American people to start figuring out that there really was no endgame to this particular status quo.

We got that answer two weeks ago. Now, already, 2008 GOP presidential hopefuls are scattering to the four winds as to what to do about the war next.

Darth Queeg (aka Senator John "Sailor" McCain) says "send in more troops," as he's been saying consistently over the past few years. Not exactly what the public wants to hear, judging by the midterm election results.

Retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is hedging by calling for a "bipartisan discussion" on how victory is to be defined. In the current atmosphere that sounds to me like the formula for another Saigon, April 1975.

Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), the outgoing House Armed Services Committee Chairman and (who knew?) REALLLLY long-shot, dark-horse, no-chance-in-hell presidential non-contender, is pushing Iraqification, another echo of the Nixon/Vietnam era.

Senator Chuck Hagel, an even longer shot than Representative Hunter, is the bridge to the Democrats' "RETREEEEEEEEEAT!!!!!" position in his expressed view that, "The time for more troops is past. There's not going to be a military resolution that decides the outcome of Iraq. It will be a political solution." Aka the Baker/Hamilton "report" that will call, in effect, for handing Iraq over to Syria and Iran.

You'll notice that nowhere in any of the above, nor former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's planned "third conservative missionary journey," is there anything about actually winning the war, which is not limited to Iraq. McCain comes closest, but even he is not saying what needs to be said about what has to be done. If we don't do what needs to be done, if we don't take the belated steps necessary to win the war ASAP, and with Islamist/apocalypticist Iran joining the nuclear weapons club, the war that (according to AP/Ipsos) 58% of American "adults" think was a "mistake" will get a lot hotter, a lot costlier, and will come back home with a blistering vengeance.

Not to put myself over as any kind of Churchillian prophet, but three years ago I was arguing that liberating Iraq was not enough. That view was condemned to my electronic face as "madness." My retort was straightforward: the same thing was said by the Stanley Baldwins and Neville Chamberlains about pre-empting Nazi Germany in the late 1930s before Adolph Hitler could plunge the world into his brand of the abyss.

As the Autolite pitchman used to say, "You can pay me now, or pay me later."

It's at times like these that being an amateur history buff is a real cross.

UPDATE: Senator Sam Brownback has volunteered to be the Phil Gramm of the 2008 GOP presidential primaries.

UPDATE II: Just as the assassination of Rafik Hariri heralded Syria's retreat from Lebanon (the fabled "Cedar Revolution"); the assassination of Christian anti-Syrian leader Pierre Gemayel presages Syria's return.

Hezbollah, of course, has remained throughout.

UPDATE III: You want a sneak preview of the Iraq issue in 2008? Forget "Stay or 'redeploy'?" and try "Who lost Iraq?" Or perhaps even, "Who lost Israel?"

Getting Iraq back in the face of Iranian nuclear blackmail will not, I'm educatedly guessing, be on the table. At least not until our own nuclear 9/11, anyway.

Hearing Aid

1 Now (A) the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli and (B) word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent.

2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now (C) his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), 3 and (D) the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, 4 that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, "(E) Here I am."

5 Then he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, lie down again." So he went and lay down.

6 The LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he answered, "I did not call, my son, lie down again."

7 (F) Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him.

8 So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy.

9 And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

-1 Samuel 3:1-10