Sunday.....Christianity.....The Gideons

The Apollo 8 mission in 1968 saw, for the first time, man leave the gravitational pull of the earth and come under the same force of another heavenly body. Frank Borman commanded the mission that included James Lovell and William Anders. On Christmas Eve, on the ninth orbit of the Moon, with the world watching on television, Commander Borman read the first ten verses from the book of Genesis:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
The earth was without form, and void; darkness was on the face of the waters.
Then God said, "Let there be light", and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Then God said; "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (NKJV)
There was a Japanese correspondent watching this on television from his hotel and called NASA for a copy of the script that  the astronaut was reading. He was asked where he was calling from and told to look in the desk drawer and he would see it in the first ten verses of the first book, Genesis, of the Gideons Bible that would be there. The correspondent was impressed that NASA Public Relations would leave him an advance copy of the script!
In 1982, as a new Christian, my wife and I were on our first and only cruise. As we rounded the western end of Cuba there was a storm that rocked the boat so much that the passengers could do nothing but sit in their cabins. Too new of a believer to even bring a Bible with me, I opened the desk drawer and there was the Gideons Bible. I opened it and read the first verses that I came to. It was the 93rd Psalm. As the boat rocked, I read:
The Lord Reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength, Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting from of old; You are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea.
Your testimonies are very sure; holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever. (ASV)
I'm writing this blog from a motel room and the ever present Gideons Bible is in the drawer. They have distributed over 1.5 billion Bibles since 1908 and I am reminded of Romans 10:15b:
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. (NIV)

Saturday.....War On Terror.....Tripartite Wink?

Japan's aggression was already in effect against neighbors since 1936 when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The next year they, along with Rome, signed what became known as the Tripartite Pact, this over a year before Pearl Harbor. The Japanese were no friends of the German people nor did Germany consider the Japanese their ethnic equal, neither did they coordinate military actions during World War II. They simply served each other's desires by sharing common enemies. There is no discernible similarities between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez and Kim Jong il, save the shared enemies. Prior to the turn of the 21st century, Kim knew very well that an attack on the South would result in a monstrous military retribution from the United States. Ahmadinejhad knows that should a war develop now between Iran and Israel, a North Korean attack on South Korea would severely strain and limit American help for Israel. Kim knows that such a situation would benefit him also. Chavez' fortunes are waning considerably and Columbia's relationship with the United States is part of it. Alliances need not be formally crafted with sharing of resources and communications during the conflict. An initial survey of China's economic power and its economic stability being dependent on the stability of Western nations might lead one to believe that they would put enormous pressure on Kim to control his actions. Maybe...maybe not, for China faces many internal problems in areas of social stability and would very much like to take full control of them. Whether this is a viable argument or not, and I certainly hope it never happens, we cannot prepare for hostilities in the Middle-East without also preparing for unexpected alliances arising against us, informal though they may be. Yet we continue to curtail our military's might and resources and instead of preparing our military by uniting them in one common purpose, we do the opposite and spend our time trying to do away with don't ask, don't tell. Hitler talked peace while preparing for war. Reagan talked peace while preparing for Hitlers which we would do well to emulate today.

Thursday.....Politics....Duty, Honor and Country

Many companies hire retired military officers, some even trained in the academies where personal honor is a requirement. Until proven wrong, I will be encouraged by this for in an age where stockholder profits reign supreme at the expense of the employee and the customer, I would think that those who served as officers in our military would not bend so easily and may even "move on" before a vocational change includes a priorities change. A retired Admiral is in the middle of a controversy that transcends Pennsylvania politics. During the campaign, he said that the White House had offered him a high position if he would not challenge Arlen Specter for his Senate seat. I had hoped that Joe Sestak would be open and forthcoming with the details of this affair but today's events lead me to believe that he is cleaving more to his new vocation than his naval career. The Obama administration has to be in full panic mode for this fiasco has the makings of a Watergate. The transparency of the explanation is so unbelievable that they must be counting on new heights of gullibility while even  parts of the usually reliable media seem concerned over the gaffes, mistakes and disimpassioned efforts on serious issues. Surely the administration must know that this problem will follow Congressman Sestak throughout the campaign!

There has been a lot of commentary on whether Barack Obama can win again in 2012. I don't believe that he will even be the nominee, for if he has any legitimate challenger at all, particularly from an older mold, he will be the first President since Lyndon Johnson, not to be on the party ticket for a second complete term, and the first elected president to fail in his attempt for the nomination to a second term since Franklin Pierce in 1857.

A Tale Of Two Pennsylvania Congressional races:
The race in the 12th District of Pennsylvania for John Murtha's seat made national news as the Democrat ran as a "conservative," and won the seat in this "special election", but he will have ample opportunity to show if these are his true colors. My thoughts? Those conservative colors will run and his tenure in the Congress will be very short. Meanwhile, Congressman Jason Altmire represents the 4th District in Pennsylvania and  has bucked the administration a few times. If he continues to listen to the people and not David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel, he may not only win another term but be a leader in a future resurgent Democrat Party.

I mentioned a few times that the agenda of this administration is so outrageous that the Republican Party should hold "in abeyance" all legislation with any political ramifications at all as long as they can. Every bill should be delayed, every nomination scrutinized ad nauseum.The last thing the Democrats want, are the issues of cap and trade, immigration reform, FCC regulations and numerous other initiatives still in debate this fall. They have a few recesses to deal with but need these issues to be dealt with before the campaign heats up to retain the support of powerful groups who put them where they are.

The coming congressional elections could be seen as a jigsaw puzzle where every piece is a photo of the
Democratic candidate but when the puzzle is complete, there is a superimposed image indicating an America of Socialism, serfdom and weakness. In such a scenario, the Democrats would certainly want to concentrate on each individual piece, and obscure the collective image. The Republican Party needs to do the opposite and concentrate on the image that those pieces come together to form. Not likely though. 

Tuesday.....International.....Stock Markets

Theoretically, the stock market is a vehicle for companies to raise money and for investors to join them and make profits. The origin of markets may go back 900 years and various investment trading companies played a big part in the settlement of this nation. The fact that shares in these companies can go up and down for various reasons gave rise to speculators playing the market as a roulette wheel, and the fact that these shares can rise and fall from nefarious and illegal maneuvers make it more like a poker game where one player can have an ace up the sleeve. Are the markets, just entities that models can be fashioned from to determine what they will do in certain situations or are they also organisms that control those who think they are in control?  The combined markets are worth hundreds of trillions of dollars for which the security of nations depend. Recently, financial experts have been making comments that the markets are out of control, which could be likened to a turbine that starts to show vibrations in which the operators are unsure if it will settle down or literally explode. One current scheme is where one entity sells securities to another entity when they do not own the securities to begin with. If the price drops they will purchase the securities and complete the original trade at the higher price. It is not surprising that we act this way and the German government is acting on it, not by controlling the seller, but by restricting the ability of the cost of securities to rise and fall as they normally would do. So ultimately, we may have an organism that is agitated to begin with and instead of going after those who are poking it, we poke it in our own way.  Greed is an awesome characteristic to behold. I'd like to have a log cabin on a hundred acres with a few horses to graze within the white fences, but if I had such then I might want an antebellum mansion with stables and a track...and oh...a nine hole golf course would be nice where I could play and not worry about beaning someone with my slice that is in my DNA. If there is an explosion adjacent to that turbine it may go offline from the percussion, and if war erupts around the world the markets will most likely collapse. This is a time for caution, something that you cannot regulate, and caution in the markets is contagious. We can desire to have a bull market but that bull may find itself in a China shop. In an editorial from the latest Forbes, Rich Karlgaard, writing on recovery, mentioned something that is not often brought up. He begins: the one-year old recovery is weak and uneven, it faces headwinds of fear, deficits, terror threats, entitlement bombs, higher taxes and moral hazards, as well as armies of hair-trigger traders with their eyes on a black swan. The purpose of his piece is in giving seven secrets for recovery. My purpose in mentioning this is his acknowledging that terror attacks are one of the outside influences, and that a booming recovery might result in the greatest bust of all. A strong recovery should not be our primary objective. If it is, we are in effect playing craps with even a basic standard of living. This is a time for restructuring, not through legislation but within our own lives. Redistribution of our wealth is not the answer, redistribution of our priorities is. As long as America is fascinated by offerings such as Dancing With The Stars and other various and sundry entertainments, we will fall prey to every predator whether on Wall Street or Madison Avenue. We are fixated on the belief that we need a magnificent, booming economy to lead the world but it is innovation and invention, freedom and liberty that placed us there to begin with and dependence on a benevolent Almighty God that bestowed us with those qualities.

Sunday.....Christianity.....Christian In Complete Armour

I had come into the Christian faith under the tutelage of Pat Robertson and the 700 Club. In spite of enormous differences in theology and even politics today, I still fondly remember those days when his show was so important to me. David Wilkerson is another preacher who had a great effect on my beliefs. You may remember him from the book and movie The Cross And The Switchblade. He has had a church in Times Square for decades now, preaching the gospel to the busy metropolitan New Yorkers, and hope to drug addicts, the homeless and those suffering with AIDS. Pat Robertson is what would theologically be called a Charismatic while David Wilkerson is very traditional Pentecostal but he is also a Puritan at heart. In case you think that the Puritans were a bunch of legalists who were never happy as long as someone was having fun, I'll give a link a the bottom to a book that would clear that up if you are interested but it is a reprint of a Puritan book that I want to highlight on this blog. I spent a lot of time in Christian bookstores in the 80s and 90s, going from one to another in search of reading in my new found faith. I have not kept most of the first few hundred books that I bought for, in retrospect, they were not theologically sound, but I kept pressing on and one day (circa 1987) I came across a brightly packaged, neon orange paperback with a robed preacher on the spine of the book indicating the publishing house Banner Of Truth. To my disappointment, the eighth reprinting no longer has that handsome cover. There was a blurb on the back by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, where the great London preacher called the book peerless and priceless; every line is full of wisdom, every sentence suggestive.  Now I didn't now who this Spurgeon was, which is very telling for where I was as a Christian of five or six years. John Newton's word's were there too in; If I might read only one book, beside the Bible, I would choose "The Christian In Complete Armour," but the preface of this classic Puritan book by William Gurnall was by David Wilkerson who I knew and respected very much, so I bought the book (volume one of three.) David was given the book from a friend and was at first uninterested in reading it. Here are his words. At first I put the book aside.....Out of curiosity, I scanned the first twenty-five pages. That is all it took to bring me to my knees....I immediately ordered additional copies to give to minister friends. As I remember it, I was, even in my newness to the faith, twenty-seven pages into this book and on the telephone to others. The following are some samples from those first twenty-seven pages:
The Apostle Paul....must have known a fear-wracked soul is too preoccupied with its present distress to listen to advice from anyone, even a well-meaning friend. Fear immobilizes its victim-like a distraught soldier who runs trembling to his foxhole at first rumor of an attack and refuses to come out until all threat of danger is past. So Paul searches for an antidote to their fear and soon finds one. It is a timeless answer to the disabling condition suffered by every Christian since Adam. He tells us, 'Don't let your fears overwhelm you. March on with undaunted courage and be strong in the Lord....' And here is the great consolation: "The outcome of the battle rests on God's performance, not on your skills or strength.'
Secular reason sees a Christian on his knees and laughs at the feeble posture God's child assumes as his enemies descend upon him. Only divine insight can perceive what mighty preparations are actually taking place.
Every duty in the Christian's whole course of walking with God is lined with many difficulties which shoot at him through the hedges on his march toward heaven. He must fight the enemy for every inch of ground along the way. Only those noble-spirited souls who dare take heaven by force are fit for this calling.
This warfare analogy reveals why there are so many who profess Christ and so few who are in fact Christians; so many who go into the field against Satan, and so few who come out conquerors...All Israel followed Moses joyfully out of Egypt. But when their stomachs were a little pinched with hunger, and their immediate desires deferred, they were ready at once to retreat. They preferred the bondage of Pharaoh to the promised blessings of the Lord..
Men are no different today (1655.) They profess the gospel and name themselves heirs to the blessings of the saints. But when put to the test, they quickly grow sick of the journey and refuse to endure for Christ.....If they must resist so many enemies on the way, they will content themselves with their own stagnant cisterns and leave the Water of Life for others who will venture further for it.
As part of Christ's army, you march in the ranks of gallant spirits. Every one of your fellow soldiers is the child of a King. Some, like you, are in the midst of the battle, besieged on every side by affliction and temptation. Others, after many assaults, repulses, and rallyings of their faith, are already standing upon the wall of heaven as conquerors. From there they look down and urge you, their comrades on earth, to march up the hill after them...this great crowd of witnesses shouts joyfully from the celestial sidelines every time you defeat a temptation, scale a difficulty, or regain lost ground from your enemies.
And if the fight should be too much for you, your dear Savior stands by with reserves for your relief at a moment's notice.
I hesitate every time I relay to you words such as these from Christians of the past, whose life and faith make mine look puny and feeble which they are, but I know they are true, and that our journey is difficult with dangers at every turn, and I know even more that it is Christ's strength that is my, and our, assurance and that when (we) come off the field, He will receive (us) as joyously as the Father received Him upon His return to heaven.

Tuesday.....International.....Road To Serfdom

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, an architect of the European Community and staunch supporter of the efforts to prop up Greece, spoke to a gathering which included Angela Merkel and said that defense of the Euro amounted to the difference between war and peace. The New York Times reported that President Obama is pressuring Merkel and others to try something big. It is being recommending that the European Union take powers upon themselves for the economies of the individual states. A bit of a reprimand was given that they hem-hawed too long on the Greece bailout. President Obama advised her that these steps were politically difficult steps that he had taken himself. And don't we understand the implications of that?  Right now the European Union does not share a single treasury, tax system or budgetary authority. Quoting a senior official in our government, you have to convince people that the government will get its act together. Negotiations between these European states are going on constantly at this time and the latest proposal agreed upon is the forming of a special purposes vehicle that would provide loans and those only to last for three years (right!). Some states balked at the proposal but agreed only if the European Commission not control the vehicle but only manage it (you can bank on that!.) This is an additional trillion dollar proposal which is being touted as the shock and awe Europe needs. The normal criticisms are there that you cannot loan more to governments that cannot pay what they owe now, but they are going unheeded. Europe is taking advice from those over here who gave us a debt that cannot be repaid, at least without full governmental control of our lives. One has to feel sorry for Angela Merkel, for Margaret Thatcher had the advice and support of Ronald Reagan while she has Barack Obama and Timothy Geithner. For some serious reading, the link below is a well-regarded description on where we are going.

Monday.....Miscellaneous.....Rosebud

Websters defines the word enchant as to influence by charms and incantations, obviously not a Christian proposition but a somewhat frequent theme in children's books and film. Images can have a powerful effect on the human mind. Edvard Munch's The Scream has to be one of the most depressing paintings I have ever encountered. It was in the news recently alongside of the erupting volcano in Iceland as some believe that Munch did this work after seeing the frightful skies caused by a similar eruption. Some say the scenario is improbable but his diaries were used  in support of it. The swinging naked light bulb over the corpse in Hitchcock's Psycho gave me nightmares for quite some time, way back then. The recent photo of Hillary goose-stepping behind Russian soldiers on a diplomatic visit to that country had the same effect. I was about ten years old when I saw a movie, made in 1945, on television called The Enchanted Cottage which starred Robert Young and Dorothy Malone. A short synopsis of the plot has a returning veteran from World War II who was disfigured from a plane crash. He is despondent on life, his plans of marriage shattered by his accident. He retreats to a cottage where he previously planned on spending his honeymoon. Unknown to him, the cottage comes with local yore that it is enchanted, for so many newlyweds had come there. The housekeeper was a young girl who makeup transformed into a homely person with little prospects of finding a husband. They marry, then fall in love. The enchantment arrives as both Robert Young and Dorothy Malone see each other as beautiful, the makeup removed for the viewer although everyone around them saw them as they physically were. The movie ends with their happiness. Love had transformed their vision of each other. Now, I'm not one who would seek benefit from an enchantment. I won't even read the paper in a Chinese fortune cookie for a laugh but I see a parallel here. Admittedly, I could see a parallel in Hillary's pantsuits and Mao's Cultural Revolution but I submit it to you anyway. The socialist agenda in the minds of those who proclaim to seek equality, therefore happiness, in the redistribution of wealth acts upon the assumption that if all people have access to $150 bluejeans, we will have achieved a more fair, thus peaceful, society. I see it differently. When we come to see $150 bluejeans as narcissism, we may not be as susceptible to political promises made solely to keep the politicians in a Rolex and Gucci as they party in their dachas on the Potomac.
I'm obviously a lover of good poetry, this being one of my favorites:
Green acres  is the place for me.
farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
I may often have my foot in my mouth but I wasn't born with a silver spoon there. Some of my fondest memories emanate from a three story apartment building in Buffalo, New York. We rarely had an automobile when I was growing up which makes them more of a blessing today, a thought which I often bring up in prayer while driving one. My only vacation as a youth was cabins and a swimming pool outside of Ligonier, Pennsylvania where I learned to swim. We had the electricity and telephone turned off on many occasions which makes me so thankful that I can pay my bills today upon receiving them. My favorite toy ever was a 110 pound iron weight set that we lugged home in a taxi, after having a steak dinner in The Flame (yesterday's Bonanza) at the Point in Pittsburgh, which is a memory I cherish. I do not remember the last time I did not pray for an individual walking along an isolated stretch of road for I have been there. Today, I stood outside the Giant Eagle praying for the man collecting shopping carts. The homeless, the family in an automobile that looks as if it may not make it another mile and aimless youth gathered on street corners with obviously no supervision soberly effect me, but the answer is not a permanent welfare and entitlement society or taking the job of another and impoverishing him. It is not in envying the rich so much that it morphs into hate. It's not in 60 cable television channels in every house. The Liberal and the Conservative both struggle with the best ways to show compassion but the new extreme liberal in charge of the Democratic party today, the Progressive and those who have bought into its narcissism seek compassion only upon themselves who are forced to live in a world that does not serve them adequately and places responsibilities on them that make them cringe. No the answer is in respecting the person next to you and hoping for God's grace upon them so that they would respect you. It is in being an example of someone with the means to, but the rejection of flaunting the appearances of wealth. It's in supporting libraries and schools in low income areas instead of sports arenas. It's in moderation in entertainments and not fertilizing a culture of celebrity worship. It's in churches being more concerned about the gospel than latte cafes in the foyer. One cannot help anyone else without discernment on how to best do so. One cannot love without seeing the love bestowed by God upon oneself, the vilest of all. Fairness cannot be attained without truth and without laws based on that truth. If we become a more religious people, we will become a people of peace and if we become a Christian people we will become a peaceful and joyful people.

Sunday.....Christianity.....Glory Road

While traveling this past weekend, two black men came into the lobby of the inn. One immediately went to a house computer and while typing in a URL address turned to his friend and said something about a story on Obama that he heard about and had to read. I've mentioned before that the pride on the faces of Black Americans over the ascendancy of Barack Obama is often visibly evident. Not all Blacks feel this way and one would have to go no further than the writings of Thomas Sowell, who I have highlighted often, to see that the extreme disagreements with our socialist president are not race oriented. The fact remains, as bad as his agenda is, the love in the children's faces is a hard thing to overlook, but overlook it we have to, for their futures are in jeopardy, as are all Americans, and the momentary benefit of the reward of the looks on their faces has to be looked at as just that...momentary. Black Americans voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in 2008. The true Black heroes that have stood up, the Sowell's, the Clarence Thomases, the J. C. Watts and many others, had immediately been ridiculed by the extreme liberal element of the Democratic party. The question has to be asked and explored, on how the Black churches of America were taken in. Barack Obama's religious belief is evident in what it is not. Whether it is comments he made, the church he went to or the agenda he pursues, it is anything but the Person, the redemptive work, the glory and the Gospel of Christ that is put forth. The American church has been Arminian for well over a hundred years. The glorious truths it proclaims have been dampened by the weaknesses in Arminianism which revolve around doctrinal truths that are meant to strengthen the church. The Black church in America is part and parcel of the overall church that has, politically, personally and theologically, been assimilated into the mainstream American culture. That American church, which includes the Black churches, needs the opportunity at least, to know the history of Christian doctrine from the beginning, the changes that came about and why they came about, and how those doctrinal changes fare against the sovereignty of God proclaimed during the Reformation in strengthening the church and the nation's citizenry. On that same trip, I visited a tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia where, much like today's Tea Parties,  a rebellion grew against the Stamp Act. We know the lasting effect that Martin Luther's tacking his 95 five theses on the church door at the castle of Wittenburg had, and on a trip to Cambridge University in 2001, we stood on the site where the White Horse Inn operated where spirited conversations were said to have brought about the Reformation in England. We need similar conversations today, similar debates. We need a thesis tacked up that proclaims the abuses of governments against the God who caused those governments to rise and will bring them down just  as readily. There is a Christian organization that has chosen the name of that tavern in Cambridge, The White Horse Inn (http://www.whitehorseinn.org/) and its motto is Know what you believe and why you believe it. Available for purchase on that web site right now is a book Glory Road, The Journey of Ten African-Americans into Reformed Christianity, that our Black brothers and sisters in Christ should read.  The icon for that book from Amazon is below. In fact, any ethnic group, any Christian should consider the testimonies of the ten Christian men given in this book.

Tuesday.....International.....Cinco De Mayo

In 1862, a large French military force was defeated in the town of Puebla by a smaller Mexican army. It was the beginning of the French defeat in which, although the United States was involved in its own Civil War, it did apply what pressure it could in support of Mexico. Today, the 5th of May is a day of celebration, to one degree or another, across America, moreso even than in Mexico. The American of Spanish heritage is an integral part of American society. They are not cousins, they are us. They are part of the fabric of this nation, productive, a blessing in their joining with us in citizenship and a key to our future. The heritage they bring is as wonderful as any other nation's contributions to our country. Immigration of Latinos needs be expedited for our benefit as well as theirs. Illegal immigration, if not halted, would play no small part in the collapse of our nation. We cannot afford incorporating a mass exodus. The entitlements would cripple us, the precedent of an amnesty would do a great disservice to those who have come to join us legally, it would be a personal and economic assault on Americans in most affected states, it would leave our Constitution in tatters. the only benefit, and that temporarily, would be for those politicians in office who live to pad their positions of prestige, a prestige that is now as admirable as a governor in Vichy France. Amnesty would not be an addition of people who respect, admire, even love America and its heritage, it would be an invasion of people who wants the benefits regardless of who it harms. This should be a strong litmus test for any Republican running for office. We have a lot of official holidays in this nation, but if we were to have another, I would opt for a celebration of all those who, patiently but determinately, legally, and not only for their benefit but in hopes of strengthening us, come and join us. Mark Levin's book Liberty And Tyranny is a short read but powerful and profound. Please make the effort to read this, or listen to it on CDs. In his chapter on immigration he quotes from George Washington's Farewell Address in this: Citizens, either by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has the right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. This does not describe an amnesty, but does point favorably to those who have respected our laws and come to be part of us and help defend those laws.

Monday.....Miscellaneous.....Pox Americana

The Pentagon, at President Obama's order, released for the world to know, the exact number of nuclear warheads the United States possesses. This is a first. Russia can now plan accordingly, China knows exactly what it is up against and Iran knows what to rail against. This announcement came on the heels of telling our enemies just when we would and would not use them. In another development, Secretary Of Defense Gates, who had previously canceled production of the F-22 (Feb 28,2009 blog,), today fired shots over the bow of the Navy, (words used in one news story) by telling them that the orders for expensive ships have to cease. How often we watch the television news reporting on a violent crime and when the reporter interviews neighbors the standard answer is, this is a quiet community, we never thought anything like that would happen here. The same principle clouds the perception of our national security, coup d'etats happen elsewhere, totalitarian societies occur in other countries. Phrases like boot on the throat are expected by Third World dictators, not an American Secretary of the Interior and White House Press Secretary. If we worried half as much about our own children and grandchildren, as we do the illegal immigrant, we might elect wiser leaders. If we held respect for the religion that prays for America as much as a religion that prays against it, we might not be so divided. If we honored the veteran more than we investigated them, listened to the tea partier more than condemned them, and had looked into the backgournd of the Democratic nominee for President (see the book icon at the bottom) a tenth as much as we did the Republican nominee for Vice-President, we might not have become a society that tasers a young fan running across the field at a Phillies game. A number of years ago I expressed the opinion, whenever I had the chance, that a division was coming in America that would far exceed normal  political and religious differences. That has proved out. We are, at this point, two peoples within one nation. The next step in this downward spiral is an abuse of power, the extent of which was not previously seen in America, in not only government, but every facet of life that this new Progressive and Globalist can attain that power. These people take by force and need no constitution for legal or moral support for all they need is like minded voices in their ear egging them on, and our media, in the grand failure of their profession, provides this. What good will Super Bowl Trophies be in a nation whose freedoms are a thing of the past and whose national security is built solely on kowtowing to world opinion that no longer sees a Pax Americana, rather a Pox Americana. I had mentioned this before, Brother Michael's typewriting class had us typing over and over again this sentence that speaks, no shouts, to every one of us today...Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country!!!

Sunday.....Christianity.....On The Pains Of Marathon

Pittsburgh hosted its marathon today with 13,000 participants. I used to run and my favorite place to do so was the track. Lap after lap, thinking all the time on life, its challenges and opportunities, all too often forgetting what lap I was on. I ran my first and only marathon back in 1982 (?) and was totally unprepared for a 26 mile run which itself was complicated by soaking the motel bed with sweat the night before. I could take no water after the eight mile mark, for I would swallow it and it would come right back up. At the half-way turn, I knew it was over. The last 13 miles were arduous. At one point an EMT ran up to me to see if I needed some assistance. At another, a mounted policemen barked at me to hurry up so they can open the streets. It was a flat course but the last 13 miles were uphill. I can't remember my exact time but it was well over 5 hours. I finished second to last. I think that a young Michael Moore was the last runner carrying a camera as he attempted to produce his first film Death In The Marathon. An elderly couple waddled across the finish line before me to the cheers of a small crowd. I felt a sudden burst of exhilaration and could have passed them and finished fourth from the last but the crowd might have pummeled me. For some unknown reason I ordered a picture of me from a photographer identifying the runners by their numbers. Dixie cups were strewn all around without a runner in sight and my head was down with the bill of my Pitt cap covering most of my face. The Apostle Paul likens the Christian life to a race in Hebrews 12: 1-3 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  My marathon has some similarities with my Christian walk. I came out running, certain that I was prepared for battle but I have since stumbled at times and even been reduced to a crawl. There were times that I could take no nourishment and the pictures are memories meant to elicit praise for mercies given and not to weigh one down. There is indeed a crowd of witnesses who I hope are sparse as my marathon when I cross that finish line. In retrospect, I have  fond memories of that marathon because I finished. I have a great hope that I will finish this race for it is not in my hands. If it were I would not only never finish but never embark upon it to begin with. My particular prayer is simply never to stop.  Even a crawl is progress. Thomas Jonathon Stonewall Jackson may have been America's most effective general. He was a Christian who could not even take a drink of water without giving thanks to his benefactor.The seeming oxymoron in the term foot cavalry implied that his infantry was constantly on the move no matter how beat, tired and even famished they were. His constant command was press on!  God indeed gives pleasant meadows for rest but even this is not stopping for the praise and joy experienced in full measure is a weapon used against His enemies.

Saturday.....War On Terror.....Repeating History

J Street is an American lobbying organization started in 2008.  Primarily consisting of American Jews, its founding was in no small part helped by George Soros who departed in 2008 because his reputation might be detrimental to the organization. It claims to be pro-Israel but is called by some a front organization for anti-Zionists. One of its members has been appointed by President Obama to a significant position on American-Israeli relations. In Europe, a new leftist organization of Jewish intellectuals has just formed a similar organization called JCall.  This group claims to be pro-Israel but also has its detractors. Its goal is a lasting peace in the Middle East through negotiations. Yesterday marked the 35 year anniversary of North Vietnamese tanks rolling into Saigon. This was a war that was essentially won by the United States on more than one occasion but eventually lost due to a failure to recognize that much of the criticism coming from this country came from people, who also claimed to be pro-America, but inhibited the work of its military. In his book Intellectuals And Society, Thomas Sowell quotes a little diity about a master of one of the colleges at Oxford University;
My name is Benjamin Jowett.
If it's knowledge, I know it.
I am master of this college.
What I don't know isn't knowledge.
The type of intellectual that comprises JCall deals with a philosophical theory. They experiment on paper and the model's results are formulated in their own minds. Its an interesting thing to consider but a dangerous thing to implement for the virus of profound hate and determination for war cannot harm the computer model but infects and destroys when it is forced to deal with real human beings. The knowledge these intellectuals do not have is that only if Iran and Syria were dealt with first could negotiations have a lasting effect.  But...if it's knowledge they do not have...it's not knowledge. Just as the protesters during the war in Vietnam emboldened and motivated the North to continue, and just as the protesters of the war in Iraq gave determination and sustenance that prolonged the agony before a turning point, the Jewish intellectual that claims to speak for all European Jews and Jewish intellectuals makes it much more difficult for the Israeli government to defend their nation and their very existence. In his chapter Intellectuals And War: Repeating History, Sowell quotes the North Vietnamese architect of war, General Vo Nguyen Giap from a 1995 interview in:
Q: Was the American antiwar movement important to Hanoi's victory?
A: It was essential to our victory....Every day our leadership would listen to world news at 9 a.m. to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement. Visits to Hanoi by people like Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and ministers gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses. We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war and that she would struggle along with us.
In 1972 I stood, wearing my field jacket, stone faced, in front of the Pitt Student Union as Jane Fonda spoke to cheers and applause. She looked at me with a smile that disappeared when it wasn't returned. Neither she nor I were, or are, intellectuals but concerned citizens, one who thought that stopping war, was stopping evil, the other who thought stopping evil, was stopping war.