A Feather Or Jewel--Any Way You Look At It.....Historic
January 30th will long be remembered in the annals of world history. On this day, the Iraqi people arose, and with their collective voice, chose their government. The significance of this event cannot be underscored enough. The 22 member League of Arab Nations must take notice, for certainly their people are.
Additionally, tyrants everywhere are on notice. The use of violence to intimidate Iraqi voters did not work. Cities in the Sunni triangle (like Fallujah) were expected to have low turnout, which they did comparatively, but yet exceeded expectations. Insurgent, homicide bombers resorted to
acts of desperation, which only served to reinforce how utterly pathetic they are and how hopelessly futile their cause. One
Iraqi voter noted that
dipping his finger in the purple ink was like poking his finger in the eyes of the terrorists.
Some have indicated that total turnout was nearly 70%,
others have the numbers a little lower, but certifying this election should prove newsworthy; however, don’t plan on seeing the true story in MSM (e.g.
this). It doesn’t serve their agenda. This is a phenomenal first experience to which all Americans and the coalition of the willing should be proud of.
Successes such as this, coupled with the
effusive praise from Iraqi voters and ex-patriates, spells certain doom for the left.
Kerry’s interview yesterday on Meet The Press, was nothing more than sour grapes, and he knows it. If he was in charge, the election would never have taken place. The left criticizes a lack of Sunni participation, yet the Sunnis only account for 20% of the population and according to Christopher Hitchens, nearly 30% of this 20% particpated. Freakin' amazing if you ask me. Kerry cautions against the
spin of “overhyping," yet is trying to sell the American public a tired platform of nonsense. Once again, the magic hat wearing, Christmas in Cambodia charlatan appeared utterly out of touch with reality and cartoonish.
I hope President Bush savors this moment for it is truly triumphant. It is by the sheer force of his political will coupled with the dedication of our brave armed forces to his vision, that has made this historic event possible. I don't think he will be able to rest on his laurels too long though. As
Rush indicated this afternoon, the "left has lost two elections in three months", and I think they are going ballistic. According to
Drudge, the pouters on the left are already pushing for a firmer time-line regarding the exit strategy. Of course, a large measure of this decision lies in the hands of a capable, new Iraqi government.
Beating A Dead Horse
Quick Note: I added a crucial piece (in last paragraph) to my "Buffet" post, that my editor's eye somehow missed. Oh well, bet late than never.
Six days till history is made. I think free Iraqi elections portends well for an exit strategy; although the repurcussions of such an exit, could yield some, shall I say, interesting consequences. More to come later.
This morning on my way in to work, I caught a portion of
Laura Ingraham's program. She was discussing the passing of the iconic Johnny Carson (
Lilek's too, chimes in on Johnny, and as always, is worth the read). They were talking about the class that Johnny displayed. Specifically, someone recalled a moment after Nixon first won office, where Johnny said something to the effect of "Well, I voted for Humphrey, but Nixon is our President and so I stand behind him."
If this is true, it is a worthy example of gentlemanly class rarely seen in public life today. Can you imagine the likes of Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn & Suasan Sarandon, et. al, taking such a posture? Hardly! I can see your scoffing at the very thought. This is unfortunate, for such an act would be a much needed gesture of civility and [cough, gasp...] dare I say, mature wisdom on the part of the left.
Of course this is fanciful thinking on my part. For all the lefty losers who took off from work to protest the inaugeration of President Bush, all anyone hears of such excoriating criticisms and childish whimpers, is
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Wah. Wah. Wah. Grow up and get over it already.
The Dessert Bar
For many of us, tomorrow is a day of sweet frosting. Unfortunately, I have to work, but the VCR will be set to watch President Bush be sworn in for his second term. Justice Rehnquist is set to do the honors, although his health has
faltered considerably.
In lieu of the Gonzalez and Rice Senate hearings, this portends a long and protracted fight. The conservative element cannot compromise on getting their nominees confirmed. It should be an interesting year, even if the Chief Justice's health improves.
And to the lovable lefty, who keeps sending me
stuff like this; how is it you spent all that money on a quality liberal arts education and never learned to spot a straw man?
After listening to some of Kerry's interrogation of Condi yesterday, all I can say is Thank God. Oh, and four more years.
Seconds
In the previous discussion regarding the worthiness of non-profits in ameliorationg suffering, I realized that I may have done disservice, by only citing two worthy examples. Of course there exist a great many fine organizations, but I would like to highlight another for your consideration.
One great pain, that many couples endure is that of infertility, loss of pregnancy, stillbirth, SIDS, and failed adoptions. Recently, a prayer request came through our Sunday school class. A class member's dear friends lost their toddler son in a horrible accident. Shortly thereafter, a friend of ours experienced a horrible tragedy as well.
Around this time, I became reacquainted with some dear friends who have a powerful ministry regarding the unspeakable and profound pain, such a loss brings.
The Missing GRACE Organization is well equipped in meeting such sufferring head on. They are having their annual conference April 23rd-24th at the Doubletree Hotel Minneapolis Park Place. If you would like to volunteer or make a donation (I suggest both) to this worthy cause, please do so through the link above. MissingGRACE is an invaluable resource for hurting families and professional counselors/therapists alike. Grieve-Restore-Arise-Commemorate-Educate. Dig deep.
Mea Culpa---From Fast To Buffet
As it has been nearly one month since my last post (a sure fired way to kill a blog), I must tip my hat to the loyal readers who kept checking in. I stand in your graces and I can't imagine another such drought anytime soon.
CATCH UP
Craziness has ensued in our household. The normal holiday rush and travels, and my squirreling away as many "spare" moments as possible, in preparation for the EPPP on January 7th. I am glad that it is behind me now and I feel I have my life back to some degree. I won't have my results until mid-February, but I remain cautiously optimistic. Much has happened in the world during the past weeks and there as been a plethora of insightful commentary given in the links contained to the right of the page, so I will not recap.
Congratulations to Christy and Jason, married on January 17th, and to our grandparents who celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary on the same day. Also, a big Happy Birthday to Dana, who is celebrating today, and has a
new blog of her own worth reading. Is it just me or has the curse of the Red Sox been shifted to the Vikings? Anyone?
AND NOW...
Tsunami relief has been a major story in the past weeks, and much effort has been put forth to raise support. The potentiality for frauding a concerned public is immense with such an undertaking, which is why
Hugh,
Captain's Quarters, and others have been strongly adovocating for
World Vision. Another worthy organization is
Samaritan's Purse, which like World Vision, has a proven track record of ameliortating suffering and already had relief workers/ministries dispatched in the area.
One important aspect of giving to charities is knowing something about who you are entrusting with your gift. I would contend that the larger the organization the more buearcratic it's needs. Thus, we saw scandal at the beloved Red Cross following September 11th, and of course the degradation of a million dollar + CEO salary for the darling of U.S. non-profits, The United Way.
This is exactly the sort of disaster that the United Nations should be poised to handle, but such a propostion is naive and lacks the merit of serious consideration. No doubt, some of you are scratching your head in regards to that last statement, but bear in mind what follows. I've made the assertion elsewhere, that
WHO, may in fact be the only good thing to come from the UN; however, confidence iin the UN as a force for moral good, is severely and deservedly shaken. The assembly's incessant and boistrous condemnation of Israel, blind eye to the manifold human rights atrocities in the Arab world, and impotence to effect an end to Rwandan and Sudanese genocides renders it virtually useless. Not to mention, an effective mouthpiece for the islamo-facists. And if such indignities aren't enough to convince you of this point, add on the
Oil for Food Scandal and
now this.
It is unfortunate that this latest humiliation received as little coverage in the US as it has. Especially, in lieu of the horrific human rights abuses occurring and the implications for human traficking. The Western World is exporting billions of dollars of pornograpic material, and with it rampant destruction. Adulterers, sex addicts, and pedophiles, have been instrumental in spreading AIDS throughout the African and now Asian continent. The resulting destruction of human life is utterly appalling and it continues to spread westward. In our society alone, one in four women have been or will be the victims of sexual abuse. In Thailand & Vietnam, some poor farmers are forced to sell their twelve year old daughters into prostituition to save their land and feed their families. Forgive my sermonizing here, but money for drugs and condoms, while necessary, is small consolation. We need a more effective education program. That is, we need to address the heart issues that drive men toward transformation into celluloid zombies; vacant in soul and compulsive in behavior. The girl on the corner at 3am is there because of demand. It all begins in the same place, the seat of morality and immorality, the heart.
I think it is readily apparent that the church and para-church organizations (such as are mentioned above) are deservedly more capable of attending to human suffering and effectively managing donations. This is true, for no other reason, than they are already there and supplying food, blankets, and medicine. Again, know where your money is going. In a post 9/11 world, where chief of our concerns is the GWOT, does it alarm anyone that Indonesia is predominantly Muslim and unsympathetic to our national interests? To my thinking, the bureacracy and track record of the UN presents ample opportunity for dollars given in good will to end up in the coffers of our enemies; namely anti-American groups, such as Al Qaeda and others. As
Michael Barone wrote in a column a few weeks ago, "the voices on the left celebrating the U.N. as a force for human rights and world peace sound increasingly tinny."
Other governments don’t torture people … Do they?
I have been suffering from winter writer’s block. I have been in a post-election, post-holiday slump. The only news of late (and deservedly so) is about the tsunami. I just haven’t felt much like writing. That all changed last night. Being an individual with a really “happening” social life, I was watching a few minutes of the Gonzales nomination hearings on CSPAN. Yes, the fun never stops at my house. In total I only watched about ten minutes, but that was all it took.
As I tuned in, Senator Patrick Leahy was attempting to corner Mr. Gonzales about the use of torture and the infamous memo that he had authored on the subject. He was asking Mr. Gonzales to speculate about a hypothetical situation where the President would order government officials to violate federal statutes by authorizing people to be tortured. Mr. Gonzales, correctly, refused to play the Senator’s game.
In a last ditch attempt, the Senator threw out one last hypothetical that just floored me. He asked Mr. Gonzales if he felt the leaders and presidents of any foreign nations did or would be allowed to violate their own laws and torture American citizens. Needless to say, Mr. Gonzales did a much better job of handling the question than I would have.
“Hello!!! Senator!!! Have you been on a junket to the moon for the past fifteen or forty years? Have you been completely oblivious to the numerous American citizens that have been beaten, tortured, kidnapped and murdered around the world? How many of those do you think occurred with some support, either direct or indirect, from local government authorities? Wake up Senator! Not everyone plays by the same rules we do.”
Comedian and talk-show host
Dennis Miller made probably the best observation on this topic that I ever heard. He was giving reasons why Americans should support the war on terror. One of his reasons was that even If you oppose the war, Osama thinks you’re an infidel and wants you dead too. As Senator Leahy shows, the left still does not get it. They think by taking the “moral high ground” they gain an advantage. What they don’t realize is that we are dealing, to some extent, with incompatible world views. They may be playing our game, but they have a completely different set of rules.
In my lifetime, I have only visited Canada. There are a few other countries that I would like to visit someday. There is also a long list of countries that I would never set foot in. Sure, there may be some sights in those countries that I would like to see. What I fear, however, is that while visiting one of those countries I would be pulled over by some American-hating local police official who would mysteriously find bag of blow in my luggage. So, instead of relaxing on the beach, Squirrel Boy ends up chained to the wall of a local jail cell that makes the Black-Hole of Calcutta look like a Hyatt. But while I am in jail, I will be comforted to know that, as Senator Leahy apparently believes, since the country is part of a convention that forbids torture and has statutes against torture, I’ll be fine. I’m also sure that if the leader of that country is questioned about it, he will deny that I am being tortured. Of course, behind the scenes he’ll probably be telling the local officials to hook up a pair of jumper cables to my nether regions so they can glean any possible information from me, because they suspect that I am a CIA operative.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating that we stoop to the level of our enemies. I’m not saying that all the detainees at Gitmo should be beheaded (like they do to westerners). They should be treated with civility, which I think is how they are being treated. They should not be treated, as Senator Leahy and the left believe, like an
Art Bigotti commemorative plate.
A tradition is born on New Years eve...
The Spande Theatre
The Spande Theatre opened for business.
The kids enjoyed purchasing their tickets (authentic tickets, see link below), buying their candy, then entering in through the draped off family room to watch movies (as well as home movies) on the wall from a rented video projector. The concession stand was loaded with Dots, Jr. Mints, Mike & Ike, Tootsie Rolls, Popcorn, Peanuts, Pop, oreos, and more! The kids heights/age were also documented on the side of the concession stand.
http://www.spande.com/spande_theatre.htm
