All That Glitters Is Gold
It is often said,
if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. This little pearl is seldom disproved and with good reason. Consider this recent experience.
On one particular winter’s day, I found myself sorting through my mail-junk, junk, junk, and more junk. As is my customary method, I ripped the entire Everest-like stack into halves, then quarters and so forth. To my surprise, a colorful scratch off ticket fell to the floor mid-process. The ticket indicated that it was from a local auto dealer and the prizes that beckoned ranged from $5 to a free vehicle, with a thousand dollar shopping spree sandwiched in between. I rummaged for the scraps that now were the accompaniment to this ticket and carefully taped the pieces back into their original letterform.
Now from the way this post began, you certainly know the end promises weeping and gnashing of teeth, but none-the-less, the eternal optimist in me overcame the cynical, you-know-better-Grisby adult, and I read on. I discovered that every ticket was a guaranteed winner and that there was no catch (you can pick yourself up now). I simply had to present to the dealer, answer a few harmless questions and claim the spoils.
Spoils? Okay, at this point I am absolutely convinced that this will turn out like one of those Sunday paper holiday coupons from Marshall Fields. The coupon promises the allurement of a $500 shopping spree, but you and I both know, that the coupon will be for ten bucks and with the fifty minimum, you’re up to a net loss of forty dollars. You know where I’m coming from.
I grabbed a coin and scratched the ticket. Low and behold I won a thousand dollar shopping spree! Wonders never cease! My mind raced. What should I buy? A digital camera? A new television? Jewelry or fancy footwear for the fetching Mrs. Grisby? Ah, the anticipation!
Two days later, I found myself in the dealership waiting room, answering all of the nice man’s questions as briefly as possible. Seeing that I was not sellable, the salesman summoned his manager (typical ploy) who presented me with my thousand dollar ONLINE shopping spree. Umm...excuse me, but what’s this online piece about? Did I miss some fine print somewhere?
The shopping bonanza I expected turned out to be a website loaded with products that are cheaply made and generally under-priced. Let’s call it
http://www.pickyourcrappygift.com/. The company seems to make their money on charging a processing fee (per order) and shipping and handling. Needless to say, 10% of the products were actually worthwhile (but overpriced) the remaining 90% utter detritus. C’mon! How long does a $10 digital camera (manufactured by the Inuit, somewhere above the arctic circle & with no rear LCD) last? How many Tony Stewart Bobble head dolls and key chains does the world really need? NASCAR pillow case anyone? How about a Pleather jacket (not a misspelling-don’t ask)? Well at least they offered a fine assortment of DVD’s for my viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, every single offering had the intent of teaching me Texas Hold ‘Em, so you can imagine my excitement!
Well, it wasn’t all bad, there were still some good items available; however, before I could bring myself to purchase one, I was interrupted by the ecstatic squeals of my 4.5 year old daughter, who has difficulty pronouncing her L’s.
“Dad the Cwapper! The Cwapper’s on! Come see the Cwapper!”
What!? I raced to the living room, just in time to see the same elderly women from my junior high years, you know the one with the orangutan arms? Clap on. Clap off. The Clapper!
“Dad! It’s magic! CAN WE GET THE CWAPPER!?"
Wow! From the makers of Ch-Ch-Chia pet! The Clapper still lives!
Yes honey, it is magic.
Merry X-mas or Bah Humbug .... Its Your Choice
After reading
James Lileks' The 12 Catastrophes of Christmas in today's Bleat, I am now officially in the Christmas Spirit. Ho! Ho! Ho!
Obstruction
My mother always said, "if you can't say anything nice about a person, don't say anything at all." I am compelled to take that advice, as I am absolutely infuriated by what the left is doing right now.
From Valerie stinkin' Plame to NSA wire-tapping, to the refusal to renew the Patriot Act, to Rockefeller's cowardice; the left in this country are acting like a group of adolescent punks, posturing for the cheerleaders. Well, in this case voters. Time and again, the foolishness being espoused demonstrates the lack of seriousness of these people.
Rather than go off for the next hour, click
here,
here,
here and
here. This will adequately CONVINCE you of the legality and moral obligation of the President's actions.
The left are a bunch of jackals who will stop at nothing to grab power.
Specious Charge?
Often times, the left maligns charges of main-stream media (MSM) bias from the center right, as being paranoid , mistrusting or even as evidence of a radical right-wing agenda on par with the machinations of conspiracy theorists.
Interestingly enough, this same group views the existence of the
Fox News network, as the penultimate example of a right-wing media bias; however a recent study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, touts the first quantifiable evidence of media bias, and this
UCLA lead study cites
Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume as being demonstrably centrist.
Also noteworthy, was that
Drudge Report exhibts a slightly left of center leaning, while
News Hour With Jim Lehrer is cited as most centrist. Both examples fly in the face of conventional wisdom, as Drudge is oft touted as a mouth-piece of the right, with Lehrer's program appearing on what many consider a bastion of liberal thought, PBS.
While both sides of the political spectrum manifest a tendency to see what they want, this study demonstrates that as a whole, MSM is left-leaning.
Vindication.
Curious?
When
this wonderful piece of news came across the wire, how do you think Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, et. al, felt? Were they overcome by the pro-American/pro-Bush sentiment expressed by the Iraqis? Doubtful. I suspect the first thought concerned political recriminations. Think about it! Near 70% voter turnout? We can't even boast such success within the borders of our own great republic!
Time after time, bench mark after bench mark, the objectives of the American mission in Iraq have been, or are being achieved. How then are we losing this war? How then is Iraq like Vietnam? How is it, that the lefties can tout the term
quagmire with a straight face?
How is it, that populist America has let that specious claim go virtually unchallenged for so long?
I am proud of OUR mission in Iraq, proud of our leadership, and most of all proud of the men and women of our armed forces, who selflessly make it possible for Iraqis to vote their conscience and choose their own representative government.
Oh wait, I must be drinking the kool-aid right?
Stop & Ponder
The following is the latest edition of
The Star, which is the newsletter of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. The article is written by the senior pastor of that church, Dr. John Piper. You will find this article and a host of free down-loadable Christian resources on their website, which is
www.desiringgod.org. This is a website that most certainly should be added to your favorites and visited often. Invaluable.
ENEMIES OF THE CROSS AND HOW TO RESPOND TO THEM
In the Minneapolis Star Tribune on December 12, 2005, Paul Garwood reported the following:
"CAIRO - In a tape that surfaced Sunday, Osama bin Laden's deputy urged all Muslims to take up arms, saying a refusal to join the fight against "THE CROSS and ZIONISM" was a "malignant illness" that would lead to the defeat of militant Islam. Egyptian-born Ayman Al-Zawahri said the global Islamic community had "no hope for victory" until all Muslims signed on to the Al-Qaida-led jihad."
The most important word theologically, politically, and personally in that paragraph is the word "Cross." In this context it is a word to be wept over. The apostle Paul said in his day, "Many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18). Tears are not the only proper response to militant Islam, but tears are right when a group of people declare themselves enemies of the cross.
The tears are not for fear that we will be hurt. They are for sadness that Christ's sacrifice and God's love are so dishonored, and that so many enemies of the cross will perish. The Bible says, "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). It is a huge sadness when God shows his love for people and in return they despise it. That is what God did on the cross: "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us [on the cross]" (Romans 5:8). To hate the cross is to hate the demonstration of the love of God, because the cross is the greatest display of God's love that ever was or ever will be.
The cross was the climax of Christ's obedience. It is as though all his obedience was summed up in those final hours of final testing. No obedience compared to the obedience of staying on the cross in fulfillment of his Father's will. The apostle Paul said, "[Christ] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). It was the Father's will that Christ die for sinners. Christ obeyed. That's why Paul calls the cross, astonishingly, a sweet aroma to God: "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
Most precious to broken-hearted sinners is what the cross achieved in canceling all our shortcomings and opening the way to God. Paul said in Colossians 2:14 that in the death of Christ God was "canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 1:14). And when all our failures were nailed to the cross, the way was open to God himself. "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
The cross is our life and our joy and our only hope of fellowship with God. Therefore it is a great sadness when militant Islam calls all Muslims everywhere to fight the cross. But it is not new. Acts 9:1 said that Paul was "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord," and Jesus said that "the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God" (John 16:2). It is breathtaking to read the transcripts of Al-Qaida tapes giving thanks to God for the successes of their killing.
My greatest longing in response to this enmity is that Christians walk in the way of the cross. Yes, militant Islam is big and threatening. It may even be the true Quranic Islam. There are alarmists whose whole tone seems to awaken political and even militant responses from Christians. My concern is that as the church we distance ourselves from this kind of response and focus on the truth that we will never spread the Christian faith by the sword. Some Muslims may kill to spread their faith. Some Christians have.
But it is not the way of Christ. It is not the way of the cross.
Let us heed what Peter said, "But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:20-21). Militant Islam may call the Muslim world to arms against the cross. But the followers of the cross will never take up arms to proclaim or defend Christ. We will die to make him known. But we will not kill to make him known. And even if there be but a remnant of Christ-followers left, the Lamb himself will stand forth at the end and win.
Pastor John
Defeatism Abounds
All I can say is that I am greatly appreciative
this man isn't running our country. And if this isn't enough to undermine the morale of our men and women in uniform,
this joker adds more fuel to the fire.
The attitude of the left in this nation is so sour, they would rather see Americans die and the GWOT undermined so they can regain political power. If I am wrong on this, why such posturing regarding the war? Such talk serves no practical purpose. It undermines the war effort by demoralizing the troops and the American populace; it emboldens our enemies, and I predict that such pessimism will be met with polictical reprisals in 2006.
If the prevailing attitude of the left today was expressed this fervently in 1942, I would have begun this post with
Wie Geht's and ended it with
Auf wiedersen! Forgive my spelling, it has been since high school after all, but you get the point.
