American Chronicle

No "Passion" at this Years Oscars

2005-02-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

I forgot to watch the Oscars last night to see if Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion" won any of its nominations. I knew it did not get nominated for Best Picture, but I wanted to see how Hollywood would deal with this great movie showing the final hours Jesus had on earth. Since I missed the show, I did spend a few minutes this morning checking the news about last night's Oscar ceremony. It turns out that i did not miss anything.

This article gives a good representation of what I found this morning. Towards the bottom it reads,

"Also shocking was the fact that 'The Passion of the Christ' had not been nominated for Best Picture, and that the controversial political documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11' hadn't been nominated in any category at all.

Michael Moore, director of the film, had been pushing Academy members to nominate 'Fahrenheit 9/11' for Best Picture instead of Best Documentary, which they would not do."

Every article I read this morning would not mention "The Passion" without also mentioning "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the same sentence. For the media, they saw the fact that both movies got snubbed as some sort of "draw." In essence they are saying, "See, our movie didn't get nominated earlier." By mentioning both films together the media lets Hollywood off the hook for ignoring "The Passion," which was clearly one of the best films in the last 20 years- but they can not escape the reality of their choice that easily. The common American is not fooled by the Hollywood and media elite.

However, the fact that "The Passion" did not get any official recognition by Hollywood does not really bother me. This movie will only impact those people who have an open mind and spirit to God's message of grace and forgiveness. How can we expect Hollywood to understand that?

Podcasting' Lets Masses Do Radio Shows

2005-02-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

This could be a lot of fun. I may have to try this out. Isn't technology great!

Helms Pleads to Keep Clinton Out of U.N.

2005-02-02T11:55:00.000-05:00

Interesting article from Yahoo! News.

Strange Events

2005-01-29T11:07:00.000-05:00

Today I found out that the Jumping Mouse Loses Federal Protection. The AP news story says,

The Interior Department said Friday that new DNA research shows the 9-inch mouse, which can launch itself a foot and a half into the air and switch direction in mid-flight, is probably identical to another variety of mouse common enough not to need protection.

This is clearly not a good day for animals or those who love them. Another article today is titled, Man Sentenced for Releasing Computer Worm. The report says,

Jeffrey Lee Parson, 19, of Hopkins, Minn., will serve his time at a low-security prison and must also perform 10 months of community service.

He could have gotten 10 years behind bars, but the judge took pity on him, saying his neglectful parents were to blame for the psychological troubles that led to his actions.

A worm's rights activist imprisoned for saving a worm? What is this world coming to?

"Global warming approaching critical point"

2005-01-24T17:12:00.000-05:00

This breaking news from CNN.com. The article is mostly focused on rallying supporting from the United States by saying,

Byers said it was vital Blair secured U.S. cooperation in tackling climate change. U.S. President George W. Bush has rejected the Kyoto accord, arguing that the carbon emission cuts it demands would damage the U.S. economy.

"What we have got to do then is get the Americans as part of the G-8 to engage in international concerted effort to tackle global warming," said Byers. "If they refuse to do that then other countries will be reluctant to take any steps."

I have yet to be convinced that this global warming hysteria approaches anything close to science, but it is ironic to me that those who do believe this stuff won't do anything until the United States gets involved. It is very difficult for us in the U.S. to not get a power complex when we read things like this. Apparently, if we were to jump off a building the rest of the world would rush to follow.

On a side note click here to check out a middle school supplemental curriculum titled "Have and Have-Not." This lesson brought to your local public school by www.rprogress.org.

Anyway, the last few nights here in the Southeast has been very, very cold with temperatures dipping down to 20 degrees. Those of you up North will certainly laugh at my complaining, but I have always lived in the South and I don't really like the cold weather. In the South we have a term for "global warming." We usually refer to as SUMMER.

Blogger Influence Raises Ethical Questions

2005-01-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

This article from the AP just goes to show that some people can't leave well enough alone. I personally like the unregulated blog environment as it is now. Of course, people should not take anything at face value when reading a blog, and they should carefully research primary sources. However, check out this quote from the article.

Jonathan Dube, managing producer at MSNBC.com and publisher of CyberJournalist.net, modified the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics and urged fellow bloggers to adopt it. The principles: Be honest and fair. Minimize harm. Be accountable.

So, some producer at MSNBC wants bloggers to be honest, fair and accountable! How ironic is it that the liberal media is preaching that bloggers should be honest and fair? It is ridiculous and the height of hypocrisy. If you ask me, a bigger story from AP would be- "Liberal Media Influence Raises Ethical Questions."

Preacher Dies During Sermon About Heaven

2005-01-17T13:44:00.000-05:00

You can find this story here.

Google AdSense Service May Not Be Up To Speed.

2005-01-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

This article at MediaDailyNews is discussing Evan Maloney, who authors a conservative political blog called www.Brain-Terminal.com. He just recently decided to sign up with Google's AdSense service and was disappoint. The article says,

As it turned out, publishing ads was more complicated than it first seemed. Maloney pronounced Thursday on his site that Google's contextual ad service, AdSense, was "not ready for primetime." He complained that Google routinely sent ads that weren't meant for his conservative audience. One ad, for instance, asked readers: "How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?"--referring to the voters who re-elected President George W. Bush in 2004.

The article later goes on to say,

Google declined to comment on Maloney's specific situation, but the company said that AdSense allows publishers to manage ads placed on blogs. "Computer science plus a bit of human tuning creates the best results," said AdSense Product Manager Brian Axe. "If [the publishers] find an ad that they don't like on their site, they can enter in the URL for that site, and then that ad will not show up." But, said Axe, publishers can't exclude more than 200 ads from their sites.

I admit that I am not a huge expert in this field, but it seems to be that there could be a reasonable fix. Rather then allow bloggers to choose which adds to EXCLUDE, maybe it would be better to allow them to choose the types of products and services that would appear on their website. This suggestion, however, does come with a problem. It may not give Google the flexibility they need to post advertising.

On further thought there may be an even better idea. Bloggers who wish to use AdSense can fill out a profile of sorts. This could act as a advertising filter, regulating the kind of ads that appear on a specific blog. It could include interests, political persuasion, religion, blog theme and other demographic details. As Google's AdSense then queries a specific blog, it could use the profile to fine tune the type of ads that appear.

If you ask me the folks over at Blog Ads have the right idea. They allow advertisers to pick specific blogs to promote their service or product and also allow bloggers to choose the type of ads that appear on their website. Both parties have control, but in cases of dispute, the blogger get's the right to deny specific advertisements. I highly recommend that you review the Blog Ads model....

No, I do not get a penny for saying that. At least not yet.

Blogs Are Becoming Serious Business

2005-01-09T14:31:00.000-05:00

The LA Times is reporting that,

San Francisco-based Six Apart, the host of a widely used blogging service called TypePad, is buying Portland, Ore.-based Danga Interactive Inc., which operates LiveJournal, a youthful blogging community. The financial terms of the cash-and-stock deal were not disclosed.

Bush Plans to Boost Commercial Human Space Flight

2005-01-08T08:38:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News has an interesting report from Reuters. It says,

In a policy statement released on Thursday, the White House said a big decline in the market for commercial launches had weakened the U.S. space-transportation industry. Major changes were needed in the government's role to ensure America's access to space and protect vital security and economic interests.

"The U.S. government must capitalize on the entrepreneurial spirit of the U.S. private sector, which offers...opportunities to open new commercial markets, including public space travel," it said.

The new policy comes only months after the world's first privately funded manned spacecraft soared into space while the space shuttle program remains grounded after the Columbia disaster in 2003.

In the new policy, Bush directed the secretaries of Commerce and Transportation to "encourage, facilitate and promote" commercial space transportation including human space flight.

If you ask me, this is eerily similar to what I posted here. While that is somewhat beside the point, it is nice to have a President in the White House who understands the limitless potential of private space flight. This is the key to our future in space.

UPDATE #2: Where in the Blog is Hugh's book now?

2005-01-07T07:59:00.000-05:00

Well, after I submitted my first "master piece" I became hooked, so I created a few more. My eyes are frozen open from starring at my computer screen so long, but it has all been worth it. I may or may not make the top ten, but I want to thank Hugh Hewitt and Radio Blogger for the fun contest.

UPDATE: Where in the Blog is Hugh's book now?

2005-01-06T09:43:00.000-05:00

Well, my photo was added to the list (Click here and search for # 60). Now, Hugh Hewitt and his staff will choose the top ten pictures and I expect to be on the list. You may be saying, “But Aaron, it looks like you just pasted a copy of Hugh’s book over the American flag staked into the moon. What is so great about that? Frankly, it looks kind of stupid.”

What?!? Don’t you see the silent drama, the simple yet bold layout of the astronaut and the “Blog flag,” or how about the hidden meaning of the picture? Yes, this picture signifies that Hewitt’s book will reach a level of success that books written by other humans can only dream about.

So you see my submission will obviously make it to the top ten. If the merits of my “master piece” are not enough, maybe Hewitt and his awesome staff (and I mean really AWESOME) would consider that I bought “Blog” for my dad this Christmas. Of course he was not actually able to open it on Christmas day, because the book was not available at the time.

I would ask you loyal readers (yes, both of you) to leave a comment or e-mail me requesting to be included on the “Petition to Include Aaron’s Master Piece in the Top Ten.”

Thank you for your support.

Where in the Blog is Hugh's book now?

2005-01-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

Radio Blogger is having a fun little photo contest. People have submitted some great pictures. Your humble American Chronicle blogger submitted the picture below. It has not been posted yet...

Asteroid Earth impact in 2029 ruled out

2005-01-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

I know I will be sleeping a lot easier tonight. Read this article from CNN.com for your peace of mind.

I'm Working. You're Working. Where's John Kerry?

2005-01-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

A report from the Boston Globe says,

Senator John F. Kerry is reemerging on the public stage this week with a 13-day fact-finding trip through the Middle East, which supporters say shows that the Massachusetts Democrat is determined to maintain a high profile after his losing presidential campaign.

"He intends to play a prominent role in foreign and domestic policy, and this is clear evidence of this," said Philip W. Johnston, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. "The fact that his first major public outing following the election relates to Iraq and foreign policy tells us that he intends to be a strong spokesperson on those issues."

The report above also said that "Kerry is the only elected official on his trip." How long will the people of Massachusetts put up with John Kerry? He is a Senator for the greatest most powerful nation in the world, and he is determined to maintain a high profile by continuing to not show up for work?!? Instead he is gallivanting across the Middle East on some sort of public relations campaign. Not for the United States mind you, but for himself. You would think that after he missed almost all of last year due to his presidential aspirations, he would feel inclined to get back to his duties in the Senate.

Last year John Kerry "reported for duty." Maybe this year he should consider reporting for work.

To Infinity and Beyond!

2005-01-03T15:39:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been posting a lot about space flight and I thought it would be good to summarize my general thoughts on the subject. I believe that space exploration has long term benefits for the human race and is strategically important to the defense of America. I now see two distinct and separate movements:

1. privately funded, commercial oriented space technology
2. government funded, strategic space technology.

Both of these will be instrumental to the long term health and success of America’s space aspirations.

An example of a private funded space program is the recent success of SpaceShipOne. This craft took two suborbital space flights within a two week period to win the $10M X Prize. You can read this press release for more information. Most amazing about this achievement was that it only cost $25M, which is peanuts compared to what NASA would have spent. Secondly, the team came up with creative and technologically brilliant way to send the equivalent of three people into suborbital space flight and bring the pilot back safely. Thirdly, their success and the success of others will make the reality of affordable, commercial space flight possible. It will be these groups that will continue to drive technological advances for the future. By the way, you can click here to recreate SpaceShipOne's winning X Prize mission.

I also recognize that America’s government funded space program is necessary. It will be this program that will maintain the heavy lift capabilities necessary for future moon and even Mars landings. Also, in these modern times we need to have a dominating presence and access to the space above the earth. For example, as of today only Russia can get people into the International Space station- America can not. If this trend were to continue (although that is not likely, the Space Shuttle will be launching in May or June of this year) it would mean the long term vulnerability of American interests around the world.

NASA has a giant leap ahead of America’s privately funded space programs, however I expect that to change in the next 20 years or so. Eventually, as commercial success continues, private funded space flight will be America’s primary access to space. These groups will drive technology and innovation while maintaining a cost effective, profit driven program. New space innovation will then be used by NASA for more national, strategic purposes.

I would sure be interested to know anyone else’s thoughts on this subject. Do you agree with my analysis? Leave me a comment one way or the other!

Blog Creation, Readership Rise in 2004

2005-01-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News has a great article on the new blog phenomenon. They attribute the recent success and attention of blogs to the past election and the tsunami disaster. However, for those of you who have been blogging for a long time while readership has increased, the number of American's who actually maintain a blog only increased a little. The article said,

"Though blog readership jumped, the percentage of online Americans who write blogs grew only slightly - to 7 percent in November, up from 5 percent early in the year. Blog creators tend to be male, affluent, well-educated and young; 70 percent of them have high-speed connections at home, and 82 percent have been online at least six years.

Despite the attention to blogging, a large number of Americans remain clueless - only 38 percent of Internet users know what a blog is: online agglomerations of ideas, information and links, usually presented with the most recent postings on top, and often offering a mechanism for visitors to post comments."

So for those of you like me who constantly check and re-check blog visitor stats, the outlook looks good.

Are Americans Still Unified by Space Exploration?

2005-01-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

The Republican had a great editorial on the return of Space Shuttle launches by NASA. It said,

"From its infancy to today, our nation's space program has provided people of all political persuasions a common rallying point. There were no Democrats or Republicans in August 1969 when Neil Armstrong took his bold leap for mankind. There was, instead, a nation of proud Americans. There were no Democrats or Republicans on the days when the two space shuttles and their crews were tragically lost. There were only Americans in mourning.

When the space shuttle Discovery leaves the bounds of this Earth behind sometime next year, the hearts of everyone in the land will be made a bit lighter. We will all of us travel with that brave crew"

I totally agree! The launch of the next Discovery is an important step to continue space exploration and lift the spirit of America. However, while I hope to believe these thoughts of political unity are true, I am a bit cynical. I work in an office with many liberals. From my discussion with these people and others, I have gathered that the space program is just another obstacle blocking their dreams of socialistic euphoria. In my opinion their attitude on this subject is just another example of how little vision liberals have.

It is a well known fact that John F Kennedy had a real vision for space exploration. However, since his death other liberal politicians have taken an opposing view of the U.S. space program. Take for example Walter Mondale in 1972. I have been watching the HBO series "From The Earth to the Moon," and was surprised to find out that this man tried to shut it down. CBS News on January 30, 2004 posted a "Weekly Standard" column by Joseph Rodota. In it he said,

But my collection has an unusual centerpiece: a signed letter from Walter Mondale, the former vice president who unsuccessfully challenged Ronald Reagan for the presidency in 1984.

The letter is dated February 14, 1972, and is addressed by Mondale, at the time a U.S. Senator from Minnesota, to a man who lived not far from the Capitol, in the posh suburb of Chevy Chase, Maryland. I found the letter on the bargain table at a political memorabilia show shortly after the '84 election, which Mondale lost overwhelmingly. I bought it for almost nothing -- there's a weak market for autographs from the also-rans -- but it caught my eye because of the opening paragraph:

"Thank you very much for your message supporting my position against the space shuttle. I hope that our efforts to reject this project here in the Senate will be successful."

Opposed to the space shuttle? How strange.

Mondale went on:

"President Nixon's decision to proceed with the development of the space shuttle is another example of perverse priorities and colossal waste in government spending. There is expert evidence that we can achieve the same scientific and utilitarian goals in space at only a fraction of the billions to be spent on the shuttle. And there are certainly more sensible ways to create new jobs than by an enormous federal boondoggle."

Of course Mondale's "boondoggle" turned out to be the nation's pride, undiminished by the losses of the Challenger and the Columbia.

Mondale's letter serves as a reminder that big ideas matter in American politics. Space exploration is a big idea. John F. Kennedy understood this, as did Ronald Reagan. And so too, does George W. Bush.

From my perspective many liberals have unfortunately chosen this pessimistic, visionless voice of Walter Mondale over the passion and inspiration of John F. Kennedy. It is a shame that even national scientific and space policy could be discarded by liberals and their Democratic Party.

On a lighter Note....

2004-12-31T15:57:00.000-05:00

...the AP is reporting that,

"Martha Stewart, who built a billion-dollar media empire based on her holiday and home decorating tips, was unable to lead her team to victory in a prison decoration contest, a magazine reported.

Stewart and a team of fellow inmates at a federal prison camp in Alderson, W.Va., crafted paper cranes to be hung from the ceiling, People magazine reported in an article posted on its Web site Wednesday. They lost out to a competing team that built a nativity scene showing "pictures of snow-covered hills and sleds and clouds on the wall," the magazine quoted an inmate as saying.

Each team was given $25 worth of glitter, ribbons, construction paper and glue to build a display based on the theme "Peace on Earth," the magazine said."

UCD team: We predicted quake

2004-12-31T15:52:00.000-05:00

This sacbee.com report says,

"University of California, Davis, scientists venturing into the controversial field of earthquake prediction say they successfully forecast Sunday's monstrous temblor in Indonesia.

Twelve days before the magnitude 9 earthquake struck, spawning deadly tsunamis across the Indian Ocean, geologist Donald Turcotte unveiled at a science meeting a world map identifying locations where he and his colleagues anticipate large quakes will occur this decade.

Among the places highlighted with a bright orange dot was the northern tip of Indonesia."

IT'S ABOUT THE TRAGEDY - NOT MORE BUSH-BASHING

2004-12-31T12:26:00.000-05:00

This New York Post commentary by John Podhoretz is excellent.

Scientists: Quake may have made Earth wobble

2004-12-30T17:23:00.000-05:00

Interesting article yesterday from CNN.com. Here is part of it,

The deadly Asian earthquake may have permanently accelerated the Earth's rotation, shortening days by a fraction of a second and caused the planet to wobble on its axis, U.S. scientists said Tuesday.

Richard Gross, a geophysicist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, theorized that a shift of mass toward the Earth's center during the quake Sunday caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or millionths of a second, faster and to tilt about an inch on its axis.

When one huge tectonic plate beneath the Indian Ocean was forced below the edge of another "it had the effect of making the Earth more compact and spinning faster," Gross said.

NASA Finishes Redesigned Shuttle Fuel Tank

2004-12-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

This report from Yahoo! News says,

"NASA has finished building a redesigned space shuttle fuel tank that was reconfigured to eliminate the debris problem that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts, agency officials said on Tuesday.

Project managers called the step a major advance in returning the U.S. space program to manned flight after the shuttles were grounded when Columbia broke apart over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003.

The first reconfigured tank is to be shipped by Friday from a NASA facility near New Orleans to the Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites) in Florida as the space agency prepares for shuttle Discovery's launch in May or early June."

Private-spaceflight bill signed into law

2004-12-29T22:26:00.000-05:00

This news from MSNBC. The article from December 23,2004 says,

"President Bush gave suborbital space companies an early Christmas gift on Thursday by signing a bill that helps open the way for commercial tourism on the final frontier.

The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, or H.R. 5382, puts a clear legislative stamp on regulations already being formulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. More significantly, the law would eventually let paying passengers fly on suborbital launch vehicles at their own risk."

I will be posting more on private space flight later, but this bill is a huge and important step. While this bill opens the door for substantial government regulation, it does calm the fears of potential and necessary private investors. Space flight comes with obvious risks and private citizens needed some protection against lawsuits.

For anyone who is interested in private space flight click here to learn about the recent flight of Space Ship One.

Massive quake strikes Antarctica (December 24, 2004)

2004-12-29T14:28:00.000-05:00

I had not heard about this until now, but another quake hit Antarctica on Friday, December 24th. The linked article says,

"A MASSIVE earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale struck the largely uninhabited area around Macquarie Island in Antarctica, French seismological officials said.

The quake hit at 1:58am Friday AEDT, the Earth Sciences Observatory in Strasbourg said in a statement."

I have to say that if I lived near a major fault line (aka California) I would be more than a little bit nervous.

BTW... if you are interested I found this Seismic Monitor. It shows all the seismic activity going on in the world today (real time). It all gives a good indication of where the earthquake hotspots are located.

Good Post From DGCI.net

2004-12-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

It is titled Unlike The UN, We Don't Trade "Our" Humanitarian Aid For Oil (Or Anything Else) . Read it!

Judge embroiders Ten Commandments on judicial robe

2004-12-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

Seemingly in the spirit of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, another Alabama judge has embroidered the Ten Commandments on his judicial robe. The linked report from al.com says,

"Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan showed up Monday at his Covington County courtroom in Andalusia wearing the robe at the start of a week of jury trials of cases that were being appealed from lower courts - mostly cases like driving under the influence and possession of marijuana."

The Southern Poverty Law Center (the same outfit that successfully brought suit against Roy Moore) is looking to sue Judge McKathan. WSFA TV reports,

"Of course, the embroidered robe is not as big and as conspicuous as the two-and-a-half ton granite monument. However, Richard Cohen with the Southern Poverty Law Center was shaking his head as he saw the robe for the first time in our story. He thinks what the judge is doing is against the law because he says it appears he's doing it for religious reasons. "I think it's outrageous. Much more outrageous than I realized. He made a display of his private religious beliefs in his courthouse. He's not wearing it on his jacket that he wears out in public. He's not embroidering it on clothes that he wears in other places where he appears as a private citizen. He emblazoned it on his robe that he wears as a public official.""

Richard Cohen and his ilk are now waiting for someone to step forward and sue Judge McKathan so they can get involved.

NPR's Debbie Elliott has a report at NPR.org. In the report Judge McKathan said among other things that, "the Ten Commandments are the link between law and truth."

Law and Truth
Judge McKathan understands a basic human problem. Any law or regulation we think up on our own is arbitrary and at the mercy of our ever changing society and culture. Take for example the abortion issue. At what point does a "fetus" become a human baby? Is it the 1st trimester, 3rd trimester or birth? At what point does abortion become murder? When Scott Peterson murdered his wife he also killed their unborn baby, and was held accountable for the murder of that unborn person. Was the end result of his action any different then that of a doctor performing an abortion? When is a baby a baby and when is the baby legally protected? Any law concocted by man to answer this final question is arbitrary because the answer can (and does) change from one society to the next.

Law can not stand on its own, but must have an unshakable foundations. What I have defined as an arbitrary law is a law not founded on eternal morals and truth. Mankind by himself is fickle, unstable, unreliable, mortal, evil and altogether unfit to rule himself successfully. We can not in ourselves find the answer because we are the problem. No just and righteous law will ever come from mankind-- it must come from another source.

In America, we live in a society that is based on Judeo-Christian values that have existed since our beginning over two hundred years ago. This great country exists today because many of our founding fathers did not rely on themselves for solutions but on God. Read my earlier post on the First Prayer of the Continental Congress of 1774. Part of this first prayer says,

"Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation."

As representatives in the First Continental Congress, these men recognized their own limitation as humans. They knew that the answers they were seeking would not come from themselves, but from God. If the founding fathers recognized and called on God for wisdom and direction, why is it wrong for Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan to publicly recognize the same source of eternal wisdom and truth?

A Great Cartoon!

2004-12-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

Liberals' efforts to purge 'Christmas' have backfired

2004-12-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

This is a great article by Mark Steyn. He has noticed an interesting trend.

"And yet this year I'm disinclined to join in the general bemoaning. Flipping the dial on my car radio, I noticed more stations than ever were playing nonstop 24-hour ''holiday music'' for the month before C-day -- not just ''Winter Wonderland'' and ''Jingle Bell Rock,'' but Bing and Frank doing ''Go Tell It On The Mountain'' and Andy Williams singing ''O Holy Night.'' And not just the old guys, but all the current fellows, especially the country singers: Garth Brooks' new album -- "The Magic Of Christmas" -- includes ''Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!'' but also ''Baby Jesus Is Born'' and ''O Little Town Of Bethlehem.''"

I have to say that I also noticed my local Atlanta radio stations were playing religious Christmas songs. Also, I noticed many people saying "Merry Christmas" with a lot more enthusiasm and spirit this year. The move by secularists to ban God from public places has only resulted in Christians being more fervent then ever. Steyn ends his article by saying,

"But every time some sensitive flower pulls off a legal victory over the school board, who really wins? For the answer to that, look no further than last month's election results. Forty years of ACLU efforts to eliminate God from the public square have led to a resurgent, evangelical and politicized Christianity in America. By ''politicized,'' I don't mean that anyone who feels his kid should be allowed to sing ''Silent Night'' if he wants to is perforce a Republican, but only that year in, year out, it becomes harder for such folks to support a secular Democratic Party closely allied with the anti-Christmas militants. American liberals need to rethink their priorities: What's more important? Winning a victory over the New Jersey kindergarten teacher's holiday concert, or winning back Congress and the White House?"

The Year In Review

2004-12-27T09:23:00.000-05:00

We'll be seeing a lot of these over the next few days. Hope you enjoy this one from Joe Kovacs.

Funniest news stories of 2004

Merry Christmas!

2004-12-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

"Let no pleasure tempt thee, no profit allure thee, no ambition corrupt thee, no example sway thee, no persuasion move thee to do anything which thou knowest to be evil; so thou shalt live jollily, for a good conscience is a continual Christmas." --Benjamin Franklin

Annan determined to put UN's 'horrible year' behind him

2004-12-23T13:30:00.000-05:00

Yeah, good luck with that. Koffi Annan at a year end news conference on Tuesday said,

"The United States needs the United Nations and the United Nations needs the United States and we need to find a way of working together. The current criticisms and the attacks have not been helpful for the relationship, regardless of which quarter it comes from, and we need to find a way of putting those kinds of acrimonious discussions behind us and move on"

Wow, I wonder why Kofi Annan is in such a hurry to put this behind him. I don't trust that man any more then I trust the United Nations. While I don't believe he will walk away from the oil-for-food scandal unscathed, many in the world community will be more than willing to turn a blind eye. Regardless, his assessment on the relationship between the U.S. and the U.N. is incorrect. The United States DOES NOT need the United Nations. We need an organization made up of nations who will take a stand against corruption and have similar morals and values.

Atheist's turn toward God was a 4-year process, friend says

2004-12-23T12:06:00.000-05:00

This story from BP News.

Joke Text Message Triggers Terror Alert

2004-12-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

This story from CNN.

U.S. Wireless Use Behind Rest of World

2004-12-18T11:41:00.000-05:00

I found this interesting story on Yahoo! News. Apparently, Europe and Asia lead the U.S. in wireless use. The article says,

An estimated 57 percent of the U.S. population chats on wireless phones not much greater than the percentage of wireless phone users in much poorer Jamaica, where 54 percent of the people have mobile phones, according to the International Telecommunications Union.

By comparison, in Hong Kong there are 105.75 mobile subscribers for every 100 inhabitants. In Taiwan, there are 110.

The report later does on to say,

"Why? The reasons range from credit checks to network quality to coverage areas.

Wireless networks elsewhere are simply better than those in the United States, said Albert Lin, an analyst at American Technology Research."

That is all well a good, but I have my own opinion on this interesting wireless disparity. Why do only 57% of Americans use wireless phones? Click here to look at a world population map from worlstats.org. Look at the populations of Asia and Europe compared to the U.S. Clearly, Europe and Asia have a higher population density then America. In a place like Japan, a company can build a large network that can cover hundreds of miles of highly dense population. Other than major city areas, American companies can not afford to build such vast networks and stay profitable.

I helped a good friend of mine move from Atlanta, Georgia to Los Angeles, California. We packed up his car and drove across the country. As we traveled through West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona we passed vast expanses of wide open space. It was an amazing car trip.

Click this link to view coverage maps for several major U.S. wireless companies. Each of these maps show that the major wireless companies struggle to cover areas in the mid-west, but a decent amount of the U.S. population is spread out over these areas. Look at how few mid-west States have access to Sprints PCS Network Coverage.

The cost of the infrastructure and maintenance of these digital networks is high. Clearly, companies in Asia or Europe can build larger, higher quality networks that can reach more people then any company in the U.S could hope to.

Michael Reagan Article

2004-12-16T21:11:00.000-05:00

Michael wrote an insightful article concerning the zero tolerance policies found in many of America's schools. He wrote,

"...this kind of nonsense is becoming commonplace in our idiotic government school system. Drugs are banned and a child can be expelled for having an aspirin. The school, however, doesn't hesitate to force kids to take drugs to make them more docile and manageable. And those drugs have been shown sometimes to provoke students to kill themselves or their classmates."

His piece on World Net Daily shows the folly of zero tolerance and is a great read.

Rampaging Elephants Show Little Regard for the Environment and Human Life

2004-12-15T07:28:00.000-05:00

Reuters today has this story on rampaging elephants.

"'What I have seen ... is the total decimation of a number of big trees in the park ... Impalas don't push trees or uproot them and eat their roots, elephants do and you can see it all over the park,' Mabunda said.

Less than 5,000 elephants roamed south of the Zambezi River at the turn of the century, now, Kruger alone has 12,000. Experts say if left unchecked that population could explode over the next decade.

Culling may be, as one official put it, the most 'practical' solution but it is not all that cut-and-dried.

Apart from the logistics involved, the issue is -- to put it mildly -- a thorny one and has already raised the ire of animal rights activists, who say the intelligence and sensitivity of elephants raises ethical questions about culling."

The story goes on to say that some elephants have even trampled to death their human neighbors. The article ends with this great incite,

"Still, the elephant has another side that has won the hearts of humans and made any discussion around its culling so heated.

As if to prove that, a young elephant put on an impromptu show in a nearby pool, splashing and swishing ostentatiously through his muddy playground, and trumpeting proudly.

No one was left untouched by the display -- a poignant reminder of the more 'human' side of the creature who has caused so much trouble; a reminder, also, that any decision around this animal cannot be taken lightly."

This massive elephant overpopluation problem is the result of animal activists ending the practice of "culling" in 1994. This is the practice of shooting entire families from helicopters. Animal rights groups said that the practice was traumatic on these large mammals who are sensitive, intelligent and highly codependent.

You would think that these "human" like mammals who are both intelligent and sensitive would be more considerate of the environment.

Jedi Knight- One of Many Thriving English Faiths

2004-12-13T21:24:00.000-05:00

The Telegraph is reporting that,

"Britons follow more than 170 different faiths or belief systems, according to newly-published official figures which suggest that spirituality is thriving.

The huge range of belief, much of it exotic or New Age, has been revealed by the raw statistics collated during the 2001 census, the first national count of religious affiliation."

The article goes on to say,

"A number of students, encouraged by a tongue-in-cheek internet campaign, also registered themselves as Jedi Knights, after the fictional characters in the Star Wars films."

Chanukah: The Feast of Dedication

2004-12-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to the basic story of Chanukah. If you are unfamiliar with this this story, take a few minutes to read it.

The two major themes of Chanukah are light and dedication. Even though I am not Jewish, these themes play an important part of my life? This great story takes place 167 years before the birth of Jesus. The events after the rededication of the temple (a little over 100 years of Jewish self rule and then 63 years of Roman rule), set the stage for the birth of a special baby in Bethlehem—hence the celebration of Christmas.

Today I wanted to spend a few minutes writing about the concept of dedication. My favorite part of the Chanukah story is when the Jews rededicate the temple back to God, because it serves as important lesson for us today. Before you continue reading, answer this question. In what state is my “temple” in today?

In Luke 11: 39, 40. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees saying, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?” Jesus made it clear in this passage and throughout his ministry that he was not interested in the outside appearance of people but their spiritual health inside.

In 2 Corinthians 6:16 Rabbi Shaul (the apostle Paul) said that our bodies are God’s temple. “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’"

As in the days of the Maccabee’s we have to carefully guard ourselves from the corrupt world around us. As temples of the living God we need to make sure that we don’t slowly allow ourselves to compromise our faith in Jesus and what God has shown us to be true.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

This is a great time for year to dedicate ourselves to the Lord, who alone is able to render us clean, acceptable in His site and set apart or holy. It is not so much a time to take issue with the world for physical persecution, but rather a time to cease from pursuing the world’s vain cares and distractions which draw us away from God.

Have a happy and safe Chanukah!

It's About Time...

2004-12-12T21:28:00.000-05:00

Gardiner Rynne has finally posted over at Rynnefiles. He's alive!

Essay on Human Nature: A Lobster "Tale"

2004-12-08T09:43:00.000-05:00

I have been visiting a blog as of late called metamorphosis, written by Hansel Dobbs. Today he has a post titled Lobsters!!!. He is an entrepreneur who finds himself surrounded by those who constantly down play his ideas. In his frustration he called these negative people "LOBSTERS." He goes on to explain,

"That's right! Lobsters! If you put a bunch of lobsters in a bucket; if they just piled onto each other they could get out and when by chance one gets close another will grab him and pull him back in. This is the way people are. They are lobsters trying to keep me in the bucket when I am trying madly to get out of it because they don't want anyone around them to get out. It's easier to believe it can't be done when no one around you is doing it."

This analogy is very intriguing. After reading it, I found myself wondering why would a lobster (human as described above or real) deny another lobster the chance of life, opportunity and freedom? As I was thinking through the philosophical implications of this question, the answer suddenly came to mind! It is the same reason why lobsters never share... lobsters are "shellfish."

WorldNetDaily: Radical alternative 'road map' proposed

2004-12-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

You can find this report linked here. I have to say that this particular road map to peace is very intriguing. It was created by the Minister of Tourism, Benny Elon. His plan has six major points:

1. Dissolution of the Palestinian Authority.

2. A firm end to Palestinian terrorism by expelling terrorists, collecting weapons and dismantling terror-hotbed refugee camps.

3. The international community will recognize the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as the sole representative of the Palestinians and provide it economic assistance to enable absorption of a limited number of refugees.

4. Israel will become sovereign over Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and the Arabs living there will be Jordanian citizens living as residents of Israel.

5. The exchange of Jewish and Arab populations begun in 1948 will be completed, and the international community will assist with rehabilitation of refugees in their new countries.

6. Israel and Jordan-Palestine will declare the conflict ended and will work together as neighbors.

Now, whether Palestinians will like this plan remains to be seen, but it does resolve many issues. Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza would even be able to remain there as Jordanian citizens.

I believe this plan would offer the Palestinians the greatest amount of economic prosperity. With Gaza and West Bank territories in Israel's control, the Palestinian population would greatly benefit from new freedom, commerce, opportunity and prosperity. Those who wish to relocate to Jordan would have the benefit of rehabilitation efforts provided by the international community.

Jordan while being more directly responsible for a difficult situation, also has something to gain. Their credibility in the Middle East and the world would immediately increase as they take an active step in resolving this long standing conflict.

Israel in turn would be able to wipe out the remaining terrorist elements in the area.

The only loser here would have been Yasser Arafat, but he is thankfully no longer in the picture. It is no wonder that this plan surfaced after his death. If there has ever been such a thing as a road map to peace, this is the best example I have seen so far.

Congress May Block UN Budget Over Oil-for-Food Probe

2004-12-07T07:44:00.000-05:00

This is the report from cnsnews.com. If this actually plays out, I could not be more excited. Our American lawmakers need to start taking this U.N. scandal seriously with the intent to take disciplinary action. The report says,

"More than 100 members of Congress will try to block some United States funding of the United Nations unless U.S. officials are allowed to begin an open and complete investigation into a U.N. humanitarian program in pre-war Iraq -- sooner rather than later."

Here are some quotes from Congressional Representatives,

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.):
"(We) visited some of those palaces that were built with a lot of the oil-for-food money and let me tell you, it makes you sick to see what the money was bled off to."

"...I'd be surprised if anybody could survive at the top of an organization having this kind of scandal beneath him." Having said that, I hope that the calls for his ouster don't bring an end to a call for full investigation of the oil-for-food scandal and that's my fear, that we'll focus on Kofi Annan."

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.):
When comparing U.N. officials to the corporate officers of Enron and Worldcom he said, "Not only did they have to resign, but Congress reacted and implemented laws to ensure good governance at the corporate level. The same standard, really, should apply to the United Nations, and nothing less."

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J):
"To me the question should not be whether Kofi Annan should remain in charge. To me, the larger question is whether he should be in jail." If this were to occur in any corporate scandal in the United States, you would be hearing cries from both sides of the aisle, at this point in time, for his immediate resignation and, also, for his arrest."

Yet, most Liberals still reflexively back the United Nations. An editorial at The New York Times made the following excuse,

"Mr. Annan, who drew the wrath of Republican Washington for opposing President Bush's war in Iraq, will have to face the judgment of United Nations members on how much responsibility he bears. But before the call for his scalp gains more political momentum, it is important to disentangle the mélange of charges swirling around. The United Nations bureaucracy does not bear the primary responsibility for letting Saddam Hussein amass a secret treasury estimated by official investigators at $10 billion to $21 billion."

This statement could not be more incorrect. If U.N. bureaucrats allowed this program to continue with the knowledge of where the money was being misused, then they do bear the primary responsibility because they controlled the flow of money. Not to mention, Mr. Annan's own son may have received money from this now infamous U.N. program.

This editorial ends by saying (emphasis mine),

"Kofi Annan's role will also have to be laid out fully. He has, unfortunately, issued inconsistent statements about the role of his son, Kojo Annan, in working abroad for a Swiss company that won a contract to monitor imports under the oil-for-food program. The whiff of nepotism has set the hounds baying, and may bring grief to Mr. Annan, but what all that has to do with Saddam Hussein's illicit billions remains murky. It seems wildly premature to call for Mr. Annan's resignation."

So the New York Times thinks it is "unfortunate" that Mr. Annan's statements conflicted with what his son said! Oh, if only Annan had not messed up! The only reason the NYT called Annan's actions "unfortunate" is because Liberals in this country can not help but support the United Nations. For them, it is "unfortunate" that they now have to find new and creative ways to defend Kofi Annan and the United Nations who administered the corrupt Oil-for-Food program.

For You Netscape Users...

2004-12-06T21:26:00.000-05:00

I have finally cleaned up my code so that this blog looks just as good using Netscape as it does using Explorer. I have not seen this blog on a Mac, so if anyone of you Mac users feel so inclined please send me an e-mail letting me know how it looks. A screen shot would be great. I can be reached at americanchr(at)bellsouth(dot)net.

Thanks!

French lose explosives at airport

2004-12-06T08:47:00.000-05:00

Here is the report onUSATODAY.com:

"PARIS — French police on Sunday ended their practice of hiding plastic explosives in air passengers' luggage to train bomb-sniffing dogs after one such bag got lost, possibly ending up on a flight out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The luggage that police used Friday for the exercise had yet to turn up. Three flights that arrived in Los Angeles and New York were searched, but it was not found."

2004 Weblog Awards

2004-12-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Vote Now!

First Prayer of the Continental Congress of 1774

2004-12-06T07:52:00.000-05:00

This prayer was given by Rev. Jacob Duche, an Episcopal minister. You can click the link for more information concerning the setting of the First Continental Congress of 1774.

First Prayer in Congress
"O - Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these our American States, who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved bands in the day of battle!

Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honroable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst The people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask In the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior. Amen"

Some See Jesus In Dental X-Ray

2004-12-05T16:31:00.000-05:00

I thought this was interesting. The story is found on several local NBC websites.

Corruption in the United Nations Goes On, Annan, Annan, Annan......

2004-12-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

As the U.N. oil for food scandal escalates one may ask, "Why is the U.S still involved with the United Nations today?" Here is a quick test on compatibility:

The United States stands for individual freedom, limited government, and CAPITALISM. The U.S. recognizes that evil does exist in this world and can be found in corrupt leaders who would oppress their own people for personal gain. The U.S. lead by President Bush will call a dictator a dictator and a terrorist a terrorist.

The United Nations actively works to undermine principles like individual freedom, limited government and capitalism. The relative and nuanced positions of many member countries represented in the United Nations, keeps this organization from taking stands against some of the worst humans in history (Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat to name two). Yet, not only does this organization refuse to stand against rogue dictators and terrorists, they will knowingly support and assist them in defying the United States at the expense of oppressed and tortured populations.

And this becomes the central issue. The United Nations does not work with the United States to promote a culture of freedom, but over time has taken steps to thwart and oppose the U.S. on many fronts.

Today, is it any surprise that this socialistic and bureaucratic organization with no moral foundation is mired in a huge corruption scandal?!? Of course not, it was only a matter of time.

That's it for now. Have a good weekend!

Meteorologist Likens Fear of Global Warming to 'Religious Belief'

2004-12-02T09:34:00.000-05:00

This is a great news report from my new CNS News ticker. Richard Lindzen spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and made a lot of great points. Here is part of the article,

"Essentially if whatever you are told is alleged to be supported by 'all scientists,' you don't have to understand [the issue] anymore. You simply go back to treating it as a matter of religious belief," Lindzen said. His speech was titled, "Climate Alarmism: The Misuse of 'Science'" and was sponsored by the free market George C. Marshall Institute. Lindzen is a professor at MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Once a person becomes a believer of global warming, "you never have to defend this belief except to claim that you are supported by all scientists -- except for a handful of corrupted heretics," Lindzen added.

According to Lindzen, climate "alarmists" have been trying to push the idea that there is scientific consensus on dire climate change.

"With respect to science, the assumption behind the [alarmist] consensus is science is the source of authority and that authority increases with the number of scientists [who agree.] But science is not primarily a source of authority. It is a particularly effective approach of inquiry and analysis. Skepticism is essential to science -- consensus is foreign," Lindzen said.

Two News Stories on Blogs

2004-12-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

'Blog' Most Popular Word on Web Dictionary -
Here is part of the story,
Editors had planned to include "blog" the short term for Web log in the 2005 annual update of both the print and online versions of Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, said Arthur Bicknell, spokesman for the dictionary publisher.

But in face of demand, the company quickly added an early definition to some of its online sites, defining "blog" as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer."

Typically, it takes about 20 years of usage for a word to become prominent enough to merit a place in an abridged dictionary. Some Internet terms and new diseases, such as AIDS (news - web sites) and SARS (news - web sites), have made it in a fraction of that time.

Microsoft Debuts MSN Spaces for Bloggers -
I expect that Microsoft will do well in this market. They know how to leverage internet technologies for their benefit. The article made some interesting points,
Microsoft already offers MSN Groups for people to create their own Web site, but this is the first time it is focusing on the growing blogging phenomenon.

Noting that Microsoft has initially missed the boat on some technologies, such as Web search, Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg said companies must offer these products early, or risk losing them to rival services permanently.

Although Microsoft trails Google and AOL, Gartenberg said it's not too late because blogging is only just catching on with mainstream users.

According to a February report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, only 2 percent of Americans have created blogs, while 11 percent have read those of others.

Microsoft is closely linking MSN Spaces with its Messenger and Hotmail programs on the premise that people will hop from one Microsoft product to another for online communications.

Destruction of the World Will Disproportionately Impact the Poor!

2004-11-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

Reuters is reporting that Asia Faces Living Nightmare from Climate Change. The report says,

"Except many climatologists and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a concerted global effort to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

In the decades to come, Asia -- home to more than half the world's 6.3 billion people -- will lurch from one climate extreme to another, with impoverished farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels."

By citing greenhouse gas emissions, these "green groups" are clearly worried about the potential of global warming. This sounds like the same politically motivated doom and gloom we have been hearing for decades, without any clear scientific proof. However, the big story is further down the article. It goes on to say,

"The Pentagon in its 2003 report looked at what might happen if the climate changed abruptly. The result was near anarchy.

'As global and local carrying capacities are reduced, tensions could mount around the world,' it said. This could lead some wealthier nations becoming virtual fortresses to preserve their resources.

'Less fortunate nations, especially those with ancient enmities with their neighbors, may initiate struggles for access to food, clean water, or energy,' the report said."

As you read this article, it is important to note that this year Deadly Winter Weather Grips Russia! Wow, I am not sure this planet can take any more global warming.

Anyway, for a few laughs why don't read SNL's Global Warming Christmas Special.

Great Blogs Made in the USA

2004-11-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to devote a post to several notable blogs on my blog roll. I spend a good deal of time reading the blogs below and you should also.

You should already know about Best of the Web Today written by James Taranto. If you have never visited, go there right now and then come back. Every morning after you do your morning devotions, make it a habit to check out what he has to say.

Jonathan V. Last's is the online editor of the Weekly Standard but he also has a blog called Galley Slaves. I really find his topics to be refreshingly unique and thought provoking.

Sherri Reese has an excellent blog at Straight Up with Sherri. While she is new to the blogging scene, she is an excellent writer and spends a lot of time researching and preparing her posts. Her hard work shows, because Sherri has become quite popular.

One of my all time favorite bloggers is Joshua Clayborn. He just started a new project called In the Agora. Last I knew he was in college, but this guy is a real professional. I'll be reading his stuff as long as he continues to write.

My beautiful wife has also started blogging at So Jen. Be sure to stop by and see if she has posted anything new. She is very funny and a proficient writer.

Back in the old days I would hang out with a guy named Gardiner Rynne. He has since moved to Illinois, but he has just started a blog called Rynnefiles. He is a real thinker and an excellent writer. He is also owns one of those iPods and has been smitten ever since. Gardiner had a blog devoted to this subject, but he may have discontinued it. Regardless, check the link above for a diverse range of topics including philosophy, religion, current events and iPods.

That's it for now. I plan on doing this every so often. Remember to support a blog near you! If I have missed any good ones be sure to let me know.

Star Wars Kid

2004-11-24T23:16:00.000-05:00

I try to stay current on the major happenings of the internet, but I am not always successful. Case in point, I did not know about the Star Wars Kid until a friend told me about him yesterday. A teenager from Quebec, Ghyslian Raza, filmed himself practicing some of his lightsaber techniques at school. Some of his classmates found the tape and loaded it to the internet. The result is that there are dozens of really creative versions of Star Wars Kid's performance.

For some more information you can check out these articles...

Wired News: Star Wars Kid Files Lawsuit

CBS 2 - New York News: 'Star Wars Kid' Now An Internet Star

Apparently, there are many who have taunted and ridiculed Star Wars Kid after his video "release". However, there are many fans (including myself) who understand Ghyslian and his passion for Star Wars. Frankly, what true fan HAS NOT practiced his light saber techniques, and tell me what true fan of Star Wars is not a little awkward looking? I find his original performance to be somewhat inspiring.

If you feel a deep connection with Star Wars Kid, there is something you can do. Fill out the linked petition to put him in the upcoming Star Wars Episode III movie.

Put The Star Wars Kid in Episode III Petition

Now, you really need to check out some of the enhanced SWK videos. Be sure to watch the original first.

ScreamingPickle.com: Star Wars Kid Videos

Star Wars Kid - ebaumsworld.com

Star Wars Kid Videos

jedimaster.net

Until next time, may the Force be with you and with the SWK!

Work Zone: Speeding Fines Double

2004-11-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

I am taking some time off of work for the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead of posting, I am revamping the layout of my blog. So far I am pleased, but I would welcome any feedback.

Since I'm talking about blog design, how important do you think layout is to the overall success of a blog? While I really enjoy the web design part of blogging, I tend to think that layout only has a minimal impact.

Thomas Sowell: 'Supporting the troops'?

2004-11-19T06:54:00.000-05:00

He had a great article yesterday linked here. Here is some of what he wrote,

"During the recent election campaign, it has been a liberal mantra that they "support the troops" while opposing the war in Iraq. Just what does supporting the troops mean -- other than just a throwaway line to escape the political consequences of a long history of being anti-military?

It certainly does not mean making the slightest effort to understand the pressures and dangers of combat, so as to avoid the obscenity of sitting in peace and comfort while second-guessing at leisure some life-and-death decisions that had to be made in a split second by men 10,000 miles away."

Senator Specter

2004-11-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

I read an interesting news report about Senator Specter. Fox News reported,

"Specter switched parties in 1965 to run as a Republican for Philadelphia district attorney, a race in which he defeated a former mentor. During the Nixon administration, he was once included on a list of 36 possible Supreme Court nominees. He ran for president on an abortion-rights platform in 1995, a bid he abandoned after running out of money in less than a year.

Conservatives have long questioned Specter's credentials. They still fume over his role in 1987 thwarting the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork. Specter counters that he helped Justice Clarence Thomas make it to the Supreme Court in 1991."

FOXNews.com reported earlier that,

Moderate Republicans also have been trying to prop up Specter. "The Senate system is based on seniority," GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Sunday. "Senator Specter's seniority puts him next in line. And I think any effort to deny him his chairmanship will fizzle."

I heard a discussion on the radio this week along these lines. It was said that Senator Specter is due the Chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee because of his seniority and therefore "deserves" the position. If you ask me this concept is ridiculous.

This is what irritates me about politicians in general... they think the world itself revolves around them. Aren’t Senators elected to serve and represent their constituents? Clearly they must now be confused. This very debate on Specter should be a shock to any conservative that voted in our past elections. Is the overwhelming mandate given to President Bush and Republicans in general, going to result in the Senate giving Specter control of the Judiciary Committee? I pray that this will not be so.

I am sure that Senator Specter is serving his constituents well, but I did not vote for the Republicans to see someone like him running the Judiciary Committee. Clearly he does not represent the vast majority of the Republican party on the issue of abortion. If Senator Specter served on the Intelligence Committee, his view on abortion is somewhat tolerable. Now that he is seeking greater political power and prestige by leading the Judiciary Committee, his view on abortion becomes a liability to the Republican party.

A few days after the election I wrote a post titled We won the election, now let’s get to work. Our first order of business should be to make sure that Senator Specter does not get this critical leadership role. He will have to pursue his political ambitions in another committee.

I contacted my Senators, I hope you will do the same.

2004-11-12T14:38:00.000-05:00

My friend at Straight Up with Sherri made a great point today. She wrote,

"...The rhetoric is already at a high DANGER LEVEL! Suddenly Bush=Hitler and Arafat=Peacemaker! This very morning I watched the Palestinians receive their leader via helicopter for burial. As I watched the crowds scaling walls, brandishing weapons, and mobbing the helicopters I actually heard commentary from news "reporters" describing the scene as "quite orderly". As I watched armed men hovering over the coffin, others firing guns randomly into the air, mobs jumping and chanting, and stretchers carrying off injured people- I actually heard "commentators" using the words "dignified" and "calm." It's the equivalent to watching a rape with audio of so-called educated professionals telling you this is the "intimate display of love and affection." The subliminal message is dumbfounding!"

Credibility Lost

2004-11-12T11:53:00.000-05:00

Daniel Henninger has a great article today about "2004's Biggest Losers. He said,

"It is often said that the only sure winner in American politics is the media. Amid GOP victory parties or the ruined dreams of the Kerry candidacy, the one constant is that the media marches on.

Maybe not this time. Big Media lost big. But it was more than a loss. It was an abdication of authority."

Safety First!

2004-11-11T11:46:00.000-05:00

You can never be too careful when operating a forklift. That is why you must watch this German training video on forklift operation. It is about 8 minutes but stick with it and you will understand.

The Changing Face of Middle East

2004-11-10T23:20:00.000-05:00

Now that Arafat is dead the Jerusalem Post is reporting that President Bush is optimistic about the potential of peace in that region. The article quotes Bush,

"There will be an opening for peace when leadership of the Palestinian people steps forward and says, `Help us build a democratic society.'

And when that happens - and I believe it's going to happen because I believe all people desire to live in freedom - the United States of America will be more than willing to help build the institutions necessary for a free society to emerge so that the Palestinians can have their own state,"

President Bush acted correctly by limiting the power of Arafat. Rather than work with a known terrorist and thug he and his administration ignored him. The effect was that Arafat no longer had the same impact in the region that he had at one time. Now that this Palestinian leader is officially out of the picture, his people have an important choice to make.

Yet, the real story here is how much the President has changed the face of the Middle East. Saddam Hussein is no longer in power and Iraq is now beginning to embrace democracy. The evil Taliban regime is toppled in Afghanistan and elections were held for the first time. He is aggressively taking pre-emptive action against militant Islamic terrorist, who are now on the run. I believe that Bush has accomplished more in the Middle East than any other President. Unlike his Democratic predecessors Clinton and Carter, these accomplishments came without aligning himself with terrorists and dictators.

There is a lot more to do in the Middle East and it won't be easy. We need to continue to remove oppressive dictators and destroy Islamic terrorists as we work to stabilize the region. However, this goal must not come at the expense of Israel, our true friend and ally. We need to keep their best interests in mind as the face of the Middle East continues to change. At the end of the day, the nation of Israel is the key to peace in the Middle East.

"Pro-choicers face reality of ultrasound pix"

2004-11-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of my post yesterday read this article by Zev Chafets. He writes about how new 3-D Ultrasound technology has given pro-life supporters new credibility. He wrote,

"Ultrasound images are already changing the perception of abortion. Once, the idea of fetal humanity was a matter of religious conviction. Now, it is an observable fact."

He later goes on to write,

"Dogmatic orthodoxy on abortion is also a philosophical problem for the left. In the great moral debates of our time, they have rested their case on science, not blind belief. Lately they have taken to calling themselves "reality-based," in somewhat sneering contrast to presumably simpleminded "faith-based" conservatives. The problem is, this time they are on the wrong side of science."

Check out some of these 3D ultrasound pictures.

What is our task in the next four years? We need to realize that this new ultrasound technology is changing people's minds on abortion (or at least has the potential to). We also need to realize that even some liberals are not comfortable with the idea of abortion (I know a few of these people). With this in mind, it is time to set policy that protects the life of those who have no political rights in our society today.

I see two areas for conservatives to focus on. First, I think it is our moral responsibility to ban this practice as it exists today. Secondly, we need to find ways to limit and regulate abortions as long as this practice remains legal. We may not be able to save every baby, but we can work to give life to as many unwanted children as possible.

We won the election, now let's get to work!

2004-11-09T08:26:00.000-05:00

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh yesterday afternoon and was interested to hear callers already thinking about the 2008 elections. Of course the big question asked was will Hilary Clinton eventually get the Democratic nomination. I also noticed a lot of conservatives rehashing and analyzing the momentous fall of the Democratic Party. I certainly have spent some time thinking through this historic demise, but it is time to move on. As conservatives do we really need to think about this stuff now?

While these conversations are certainly interesting, they are completely irrelevant. As Republicans and conservatives we now have a lot of important work ahead of us. At this point in time Hilary Clinton and the Democratic Party no longer are a real concern. America voted and by a wide margin chose conservative morals, resolve and optimism over liberal depravity, weakness and pessimism.

This point was not lost on President Bush who spoke about the “political capital” he earned on the campaign trail. He said, “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it." As conservatives we have an unprecedented opportunity ahead of us. We have the solutions, the will of the people and the political majority to see some real progress made.

I have two words of advice. First, I say let the Democrats worry about their own party. Whatever advice we may have will be ignored anyway (they didn’t even listen to Zell Miller) and if you ask me their situation borders on hopeless. Secondly, the best offense against Hilary in 2008 is showing American voters that we will take the next four year seriously. Four years of success, optimism, moral integrity and individual freedom on our part will be hard to overcome.

Prepare yourself and let's get to work!

Modern day event reminiscent of Bible times...

2004-11-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

Egypt Battles Desert Locust Swarms from Libya

"America can teach Israel something about being chosen"

2004-11-08T08:22:00.000-05:00

The more articles I read by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the more I like him. Here is part of the article,

"In the end, Americans decided that their strength lay not in being popular but in being moral. An America that finds Europe and the United Nations arrogant, dishonorable and condescending is content to live in splendid isolation. Kofi Annan can stick up for Saddam, and Jacques Chirac can visit Arafat in the hospital. We'd rather not be invited to those parties.

Yet Israel continues to grovel before the Europeans for acceptance and has always been a supplicant for U.N. approval. I am well aware of the old argument, that America is a superpower that can go it alone, but Israel is a tiny country in need of friends. But that argument is unpersuasive – first, because Israel has a phenomenal friend in the United States and can easily be strong and secure with that friendship alone. And second, because Israelis should have learned by now that no matter how many concessions they make to the Arabs, they will forever be rejected by the international community in favor of the Palestinians. Since that is the case, better to build your walls, protect your people, and proclaim your contempt for the world's amorality, just as Americans have."

BBC reporter cried for Arafat

2004-11-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

This news from the Jerusalem Post

An Inside Look at the Kerry Campaign

2004-11-05T22:54:00.000-05:00

Now that Kerry has lost the presidential race, the media is finally looking at John Kerry more objectively or even critically. This Times Online article gets straight to the point.

"JOHN KERRY constantly squabbled with his difficult and hypochondriac wife, ran a campaign team riven by internal feuding, and repeatedly begged the Republican senator John McCain to become his running-mate, according to a riveting inside account of his doomed presidential bid.

The Massachusetts senator was so obsessed with getting advice from a multitude of rival advisers that one aide confiscated his mobile telephone. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, became such a moody distraction that in the closing weeks of the campaign another aide instructed her to stop whispering advice in his ear and back off."

The article later goes on to say,

During the early summer, Mr Kerry implored Mr McCain, the maverick Republican who ran against Mr Bush in the 2000 Republican primaries, to become his running-mate, meeting him seven times. He even offered to expand the vice-presidency to include running the Pentagon. “I can’t say this is an offer because I’ve got to be able to deny it,” Mr Kerry told Mr McCain. “But you’ve got to do this.”

Mr McCain told him he was out of his mind, and went on to embrace Mr Bush. “Goddammit,” a furious Mr Kerry said to an aide. “Don’t you know what I offered him? Why the f*** didn’t he take it?” At the time, Mr Kerry also thought that John Edwards, his eventual choice, was overly ambitious. “What makes this guy think he can be president?” he asked staff in February.

I guess some in the Liberal media are learning what conservatives have always known-- John Kerry was not presidential material. However, I do have one question. How long did the media know some of this inside information before telling the rest of us?

New ABC News Ad

2004-11-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

I saw this advertisement at Opinionjournal.com this morning.

Do you see anything striking about this ad? What immediately came to mind when I read it were the words "Want-Right," because I instantly thought "Right-Wing". This perception along with a picture of President Bush struck me as odd. There may or may not be something to this, but I have seen ABC and NBC take steps to distinguish themselves from the plight of CBS. Certainly, this somewhat subtle (or not so subtle) advertisement from ABC News would suggest a new trend in gaining conservative viewers. Viewers that a network like CBS has no hope of attaining.

The timing of this ad is also interesting. I first saw this ad today- two days after Republicans won the presidency, and gained seats in Congress. In light of this, I thought Peggy Noonan's article today was interesting. In her opinion the biggest loser of this election was not Kerry, but the mainstream media.

"Who was the biggest loser of the 2004 election? It is easy to say Mr. Kerry: he was a poor candidate with a poor campaign. But I do think the biggest loser was the mainstream media, the famous MSM, the initials that became popular in this election cycle. Every time the big networks and big broadsheet national newspapers tried to pull off a bit of pro-liberal mischief--CBS and the fabricated Bush National Guard documents, the New York Times and bombgate, CBS's "60 Minutes" attempting to coordinate the breaking of bombgate on the Sunday before the election--the yeomen of the blogosphere and AM radio and the Internet took them down. It was to me a great historical development in the history of politics in America. It was Agincourt. It was the yeomen of King Harry taking down the French aristocracy with new technology and rough guts. God bless the pajama-clad yeomen of America. Some day, when America is hit again, and lines go down, and media are hard to get, these bloggers and site runners and independent Internetters of all sorts will find a way to file, and get their word out, and it will be part of the saving of our country."

I wonder if ABC News is making the same assessment?

Man Survives Jump Into Lion's Den

2004-11-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

46-Year-Old Reportedly Trying To Convert Lions To Christianity

Here is a more detailed article and here are some funny jokes about the incident.

While somewhat humorous, I can't help judging these strange occurrences by some equally "strange" things people were asked to do in the Bible. How would you react if you saw some do this today?

I am just asking the question. I have no real incite one way or the other.

"My love affair with evangelical Christians" by Rabbi Shuley Boteach

2004-11-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

WorldNetDaily has a commentary written by Rabbi Boteach. My Dad told me about this article earlier this evening and I have not read an article more sincere and heart warming. Here is an excerpt,

"I am a Jew who is deeply in love with evangelical Christians. Although I am at odds with them on various issues, they today constitute the most potent force for good in all America, and the most influential constituency who consistently demands that America be a nation of justice, standing up for the persecuted and living up to its founding ideals of serving as a global beacon of freedom.

To be sure, I am devoted to my Judaism. Wild horses and iron combs could never pry me away from my Jewish identity and I have devoted my life to the dissemination of Jewish ideas in the mainstream culture and to bringing wayward Jews back to their heritage. But I must give credit where credit is due. And evangelical Christians, more than any other group today, are responsible for America being a Godly country. "

Later he says,

"When evangelical Christians talk to me about God, they speak with an immediacy and sense of intimacy which is both inspiring and impressive. To the evangelicals, God is a loving father rather than a distant relative. And unlike secularists who love making up their own morality, evangelical Christians humbly submit to the Divine will. The potency of evangelical faith is manifest in their being at the forefront of feeding the hungry, curing the sick, and giving clothes to the poor deeds which are practiced by an army of missionaries around the world. "

As a follower and Believer of Jesus, this assessment is humbling and inspiring. I suggest you read the entire commentary.

Rabbi Boteach has a nationally syndicated radio show on the LIBERTY BROADCASTING NETWORK from 2:00 - 5:00 PM EST. I for one intend to listen to his show the first chance I get. Here is the show summary,

"The most explosive new show on radio. Here comes Shmuley, raising the volume on politics, family values under attack, race, religion, crime and more. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach brings it on as he goes after the issues America is most passionate about. Like no other talk show host, he can take on anything with anyone, anytime, anywhere. Light a fire under your schedule and watch it ignite. "

I had a great nap last night....

2004-11-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

I think I slept about 4 hours before getting up for work later this morning. I really enjoy voting and being a part of the election process here in America. My church has become a polling place in the area I live and I used the excuse to go over and talk with the poll workers, voters and even the sheriff. It only took me 15 minutes to vote earlier and I needed to be around the excitement for another hour or so. I must have serious problems.

Anyway, for the record here is where my State (Georgia) stands after the past two elections.

Governor - Republican
State Senate - Republican majority
State House - Republican majority
U.S. Senate - Both Republican

Fox News has all the Georgia stats listed on their website.

Even more amazing there is a high likelihood that President Bush will be reelected, the Republicans control Congress and the conservatives still have a majority in the Supreme Court. It turns out that Senator Daschle was not reelected to represent South Dakota in the U.S. Senate.

Georgia residents also voted on a constitutional amendment to recognize only marriages between one man and one woman. Georgians voted 77% to 23% to not recognize gay marriages. I believe this was a nonbinding resolution.

A lot of ideas were at play in this election. Issues like the war on terror, the economy and health care. However, if you ask me this trend in conservatism is a win for morality, the individual and limited government involvement in our lives.

If you care to, let me know how you think election day went.

Gore Jewish voters choose Bush

2004-11-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

The Jerusalem Post today is reporting,

"From our exit sampling, very strong support for Kerry. But strikingly, a fairly significant number of Jews switching from Gore in 2000 to Bush, somewhere in the order of 12-13%," said David Harris, AJC's executive director, who examined data, which he stressed was not scientific.

Bush won 19% and Gore 80% of the Jewish vote in 2000, according to exit polling. An AJC survey of American Jewish voters in September found 69% would support Kerry and 24% Bush. AJC's Tuesday results suggested slightly stronger gains for Bush in the community.

Harris said that nearly all voters who switched from Gore to Bush "identified either Israel or terrorism (and) 9/11 as the first reason for their decision."

Ode to You, Reader of Blogs

2004-11-01T20:28:00.000-05:00

Most wondrous of all internet users
This is ode was crafted for the few
Who search through the world of blogs
My dreams depend on you

You query a topic in Google
Carefully select link number five
Little did you know
You kept this blogger’s hopes alive!

Your name may be Bob, Sue or Al
Maybe you live in Tennessee
But every day I appreciate
That user from IP 192.168.1.3

So don’t belittle your impact
In this world so big and grand
I REALLY appreciate your visit
I hope you understand

Thank you

It Is Well with My Soul

2004-10-29T08:50:00.000-04:00

I attend a Vineyard church in Atlanta, Georgia so I do not hear a whole lot of hymns. That said, one of the most powerful hymns of all time is called It Is Well with My Soul. I have included the words below, but the link also includes the tune played by piano. I heard a "Vineyard" version of this song at a leadership retreat that was quite powerful.

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.

2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control,
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and hath shed his own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)

3. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)

4. And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
even so, it is well with my soul.
(Refrain)

The words were penned by a man named Horatio Gates Spafford. The story below was found here.

"In 1871, tragedy struck Chicago as fire ravaged the city. When it was all over, 300 people were dead and 100,000 were homeless. Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get back on their feet. A lawyer who had invested much of his money into the downtown Chicago real estate, he'd lost a great deal to the fire. And his one son (he had four daughters) had died about the same time. Still, for two years Spafford--who was a friend of evangelist Dwight Moody--assisted the homeless, impoverished, and grief-stricken ruined by the fire. After about two years of such work, Spafford and his family decided to take
a vacation. They were to go to England to join Moody and Ira Sankey on one of their evangelistic crusades, then travel in Europe. Horatio Spafford was delayed by some business, but sent his family on ahead. He would catch up to them on the other side of the Atlantic. Their ship, the Ville du Havre, never made it. Off Newfoundland, it collided with an English sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and sank within 20 minutes. Though Horatio's wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of floating wreckage (one of only 47 survivors among hundreds), their four daughters--Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie--were killed. Horatio received a horrible telegram from his wife, only two words long: "saved alone." Spafford boarded the next available ship to be near his grieving wife, and the two finally met up with Dwight Moody. "It is well," Spafford told him quietly. "The will of God be done." Though reports vary as to when he did so, that belief led Spafford to pen the words to one of the English language's best-known hymns. Some say he wrote it on the ship to meet his wife, around the place where his daughters died."

Ann Coulter Article

2004-10-28T10:18:00.000-04:00

40 excuses and a mule

Bush/Kerry Hip-Hop Debate

2004-10-22T15:49:00.000-04:00

These days people will go just about anywhere for polling data. Instead of a more scientific poll, may I suggest you take a look at the Hip-Hop Debate between Senator Kerry and President Bush. When I checked it, the President has a clear lead in Hip-Hop Debate poll. I am not exactly sure what this means, but I am optimistic.

I for one would like to know what effect this debate had on the undecided voters.

Here is something to look forward to....

2004-10-21T15:53:00.000-04:00

... former President Bill Clinton may be interested in becoming the next U.N. secretary-general. The linked article says,

"A Clinton candidacy is likely to receive overwhelming support from U.N. member states, particularly the Third World. Diplomats in Washington say Clinton would galvanize the United Nations and give an enormous boost to its prestige. But the former president's hopes hang on a crucial question that will not be addressed until after the presidential elections: can he get the support of the U.S. government -- a prerequisite for nomination?"

Here are some of my thoughts on the U.N. if you care to read them. These posts come from my old blog, The One Force.
Conflicting Values
The United Nations is UN-American

I agree that the U.N. needs a huge boost in prestige, and I also agree that Clinton could help the organization. However, the thought of a stronger, more prestigious United Nations lead by former President Clinton should be a scary thought for any freedom loving American.

Redeem the Vote

2004-10-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

This is a refreshing article from Fox News about a new nonpartisan organization called Redeem the Vote. The founder of this organization, Dr. Randy Brinson said in the article,

"All the polls show that there's only 1 or 2 percentage points in many states across the country that are going to decide this election, and I think that's all the more reason why people of faith need to be involved in this process."

Amen! You can go to their website linked here for more information, including a list of bands. I am glad that many Christian musicians and radio stations are supporting this cause. We have seen their secular counterparts organized and motivated for so long, it is refreshing to see that these artists are taking a stand.

Third Day is also getting involved in the political process. They performed during this past Republican National Convention. Mac Powell said,

"This is a time unlike any other. With so many differences in opinion in cultural and world view values, it's time for each individual to make a stand for the things that we believe in and hold dear. Third Day supports President Bush in is reelection efforts and look forward to working with the RNC in the coming weeks leading up to November's election."

Ed Gillespie the RNC Chairman added, "I'm extremely proud of Third Day's support for the President and the Republican party. I've enjoyed getting to know them and appreciate their work to get more young people involved in the democratic process. In addition to being great artists, they should also be commended for being great citizens by making sure that Americans of all ages get out and exercise their right to vote."

I hope movements like this continue to grow and expand.

Pele for President

2004-10-20T14:49:00.000-04:00

In the absence of any substantive critique of John Kerry or any of his policies (which I have already done), I am submitting this picture. If you decide to vote for this guy, that's your problem.

Why we need to defend the Electoral COllege

2004-10-20T14:37:00.000-04:00

Read this great article by Jonah Goldberg.

NPR or Coffee?

2004-10-20T11:37:00.000-04:00

My local public radio station in Atlanta (WABE) is doing their semi-annual pledge drive for listener support. While I am a long time listener of public radio, I am proud to say I have not given them a cent.

I listen to public radio for two main reasons. First, it helps me keep up with what the liberal media is talking about. I get a huge amount of enjoyment listening to them explain and defend their liberal ideology and philosophy. Certainly the NPR show “All Things Considered” is the most ironically named show of all time. Here is a program that has never seriously “considered” any conservative, Republican or Christian, point of view and yet they obviously don’t recognize the ridiculousness of saying, “This is All Things Considered, I’m ________ (insert announcer name here).”

The second reason I listen to public radio is because they spend at least 5 + minutes on any one particular story. Sure I have to muddle through the propaganda, but I enjoy news programs with longer attention spans. The AM frequency, news radio equivalents that I enjoy only focus on local news (which is boring), and spend about 3 or 4 commercial free minutes summarizing the daily events (including traffic which is also boring).

So, while I do appreciate certain aspects of public radio, the mere fact that they are not balanced in their coverage or analysis of the news, precludes me from giving them any money. Put it simply, I will support a good news product but I will not support liberal ideology.

Now we come to the second point of my post, which is why public radio is so liberal. I think I have a relatively simple answer to that question. There are probably many more simple and complicated reasons, but I think this one is a contributing factor. For public radio to survive they have to “motivate” (shame) the listening audience to give them money. I believe liberal ideology is based on guilt. Liberals in general tend to feel guilty about many things. For public radio to survive they have to reach out to the people most apt to give them money. Public radio needs money and public radio supporters tend to be more prone to guilt, thus requiring a constant stream of liberalism.

Let me prove my point about guilty liberals supporting public radio. Every pledge drive in Atlanta they replay a conversation with a National Public Radio employee and a patron of Starbucks (or some equivalent). In it the radio guy approaches an unknowing individual in a coffee shop and starts asking him about his cup of coffee. All of a sudden he asks this helpless coffee consumer if he listens to public radio. It turns out this guy listens five to ten hours a day and has not ever supported the cause! The Starbucks patron is then faced with a question like, “you drink $100,000,000 (my own exaggeration) worth of coffee a day and you have never considered supporting your local public radio station?” The guilt card is flawlessly played and the coffee drinker immediately promises to go back to the office and support his local station. (I tried to find a clip of this conversation on the internet but could not. I guarantee that if you turn on a public radio station during a pledge drive you will hear this conversation).

The line of reasoning the coffee drinker fell for goes like this. You spend some of the discretionary money that you earned on your self, but you have not given some of that money to us (public radio)? Shame on you! You may blame the NPR announcer for using such a shameless tactic… I blame the individual who fell for it. Living with that much guilt is not healthy.

The moral of this post is to listen to public radio and enjoy hearing the looney left spin their point of view. Tune in often and support them if you wish, but don’t ever let them make you think you owe them anything.

I have been typing for a while now and my throat is a bit parched. I think I am going to drive down the street and get a cup coffee. Not even NPR can quench this thirst

Democrat Campaign Promises

2004-10-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Matt Drudge and others have been reporting on Senator Edward's exploitation of the death of Christopher Reeves and his rather unusual campaign promise. Here is the quote,

'We will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases... When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.'

While this is somewhat shocking, I will submit to you that this promise is no different than any other promise a liberal or Democrat may make.

Democrats have promised to give you anything from healthcare, social security, housing, minimum wage, etc. and will make sure that while they manage these programs, someone else will pay for them. The reality is that the full realization of their socialistic dreams is the end of individual freedom in this country today. There are not enough "rich" people in this country to fully fund their promised social agendas, and in the end they will be forced to increase the tax burden on the middle class. With no ability for people to compete with the government, the quality of these social programs will certainty be poor.

The thing about John Edward's unbelievable claim concerning Christopher Reeves above, is that he actually believes what he says. Just like he believes he can hand out social programs to Americans while keeping cost low and quality high. If you ask me, John Edwards and his boss have been living in a real American "dream."

They dream of a time when two liberal Senators who have flip-flopped on every major issue on the table today will be elected to manager your life. They dream of an America more in line with European aristocracy of France and Germany. They dream that the war on terror begins and ends with Osama bin Laden. And as they sleep at night, they see themselves as silhouettes in front of the magnificent sun, leading a coalition of the world in ending all conflict on the earth today! Oh, I almost forgot... as they unleash the healing abilities of science (held back by the Bush Administration) the lame will walk and the blind will see!

Let's hope that these men wake up to the reality of a second Bush term on November 2nd. These men have been dreaming too long and need to get back to work in the Senate.

Yoda von Starwarsenhoffen?

2004-10-12T08:56:00.000-04:00

Did Yoda know a German playwright, poet, novelist and dramatist?

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Understanding is not enough; we must do. Knowing and understanding in action make for honor. And honor is the heart of wisdom." --Johann von Goethe (1749-1832)

"Try not! Do or do not, there is no try." - Yoda

News Summary

2004-10-12T08:35:00.001-04:00

Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, is having a difficult time keeping his government intact as he pursues a plan to pull settlements out of Gaza. Yet Sharon survives two no-confidence votes. The article says,

"The Israeli parliament gave a symbolic slap to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, voting against a statement defending his Gaza pullout plan, but he survived two no-confidence motions and pledged to bring the withdrawal itself to a vote in two weeks.

The maneuvering came Monday at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, with Sharon heading a government that lost its majority over the Gaza pullout and is vulnerable to being toppled."

Many in Israel believe that once these settlement pullouts start, the Palestinians and the world community will not rest until all such settlements have been disbanded. Israel has been through many years of Palestinian terrorism and the people are clearly not in the mood to appease terrorists and reward their deadly behavior.

Also, this past Saturday John Howard won re-election in Australia. The article says,

"Prime Minister John Howard scored a convincing victory in Australia's federal election Saturday, winning a historic fourth term in a vote ensuring the staunch U.S. ally keeps its troops in Iraq.

With more than 70 percent of votes tallied, Howard appeared likely to increase his government's majority in parliament — exceeding most analysts' predictions that the result would be very tight."

It is heart warming to see a strong U.S. ally win re-election and by such a wide margin. I believe this re-election as well as the events in Israel show that there are those who understand the worldwide war against terrorism. I can only hope that America follows the trend set by our allies.

Afghan Elections in Turmoil

2004-10-09T12:44:00.000-04:00

FOXNews.com has this report today from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's first direct presidential election was thrust into turmoil hours after it started Saturday when all 15 candidates challenging interim leader Hamid Karzai said they would boycott the outcome because of potential fraud in the system designed to keep voters from casting more than one ballot.

The poll also was marred by violence, as militants ambushed police escorting boxes of ballots, killing three officers in the deadliest direct assault on the landmark post-Taliban vote, a senior official said.

There is a lot at stake today for the people of Afghanistan. Today's election represents a unique and ground breaking opportunity for people living in the Arab world. However, it seems that the enemies of freedom and democracy understand that the stakes are high. There are many in the Middle East who would like to see this experiment fail. The question becomes will the good and decent people of Afghanistan take a stand against the Taliban militants and Islamic terrorists who would see them oppressed? In America we know from experience that individual freedom comes at a high price.

SWIFT BOAT PCF-94

2004-10-05T09:18:00.000-04:00

Do you have a guess as to what this could be? It is "an amazing re-creation of the actions in 1969 that earned Kerry the Navy's fifth highest honor." This game by Kuma\War is set to release on October 8th of this year and you can find more details as well as the quote above here.

I am not a big gamer, but I do know that video war games can be pretty violent at times (which is to be expected). This one could have the potential of being over the top. Consider John Kerry's assessment of his own actions during the Vietnam War.

"There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages." -- John Kerry, on NBC's "Meet the Press" April 18, 1971

Incidentally, I don't really think this game will highlight the atrocities that Kerry claimed to commit. The game looks like it will be very complimentary of Kerry.

Did President Bush Flip-Flop on Hussein's WMDs?

2004-10-01T10:02:00.000-04:00

As promised, I want to start discussing some of the President Bush 'flip-flops' as outlined by CBS News. I am covering the first issue today.

CBS states (as I talked about yesterday),

Announcing the invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003, Mr. Bush said, "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

Two months into the war, on May 29, 2003, Mr. Bush said weapons of mass destruction had been found. "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories," Mr. Bush told Polish television. "For those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them."

On Sept. 9, 2004, in Pennsylvania, Mr. Bush said: "I recognize we didn't find the stockpiles [of weapons] we all thought were there."

This is somewhat misleading because many people believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that he was a threat to the security of the United States. These people include Democrats like Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle and Madeline Albright.

The Glenn Beck website has a page called "What Did The Democrats Say About Iraq's WMD," which includes direct links the source of the quote. Here are a few choice quotes.

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

The point here is that President Bush was acting on similar intelligence that the Democrats had when they made their comments above. Some of this intelligence also suggested that we had found mobile laboratories used to create these horrific weapons, which turned out to not be true. The idea that President Bush flip-flopped on this issue is ridiculous. Every major Democrat at one time or another (when it was politically expedient), also believed Saddam Hussein to have WMD. The issue here is that our intelligence capabilities have been found to be somewhat unreliable. To characterize this has a Bush flip-flop is wishful thinking.

President Bush has actually been one of the few leaders consistent on this issue. Faced with the same intelligence that Democrats had, he went after a brutal and murderous dictator. The people who actually changed their opinion/position (aka flip-flopped) on Saddam Hussein and his WMDs were Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore and the like.

That's all for today, folks. Have a great weekend!

Top Ten Flip-Flops

2004-09-30T13:26:00.000-04:00

CBS News has given some detail on John Kerry's top ten flip-flops. Don't get too excited because this is part two of a series that started with President Bush's top ten flip-flops. I guess this is an attempt by CBS news to be balanced. I find President Bush's "flip-flops" to be very humorous and somewhat of a stretch on the part of CBS.

His list can be found here. Over the next few days, I will be discussing some of these Bush inconsistencies outlined by CBS.

Weapons of Mass Destruction
Announcing the invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003, Mr. Bush said, “Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.”

Two months into the war, on May 29, 2003, Mr. Bush said weapons of mass destruction had been found.

“We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories,” Mr. Bush told Polish television. “For those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them."

On Sept. 9, 2004, in Pennsylvania, Mr. Bush said: “I recognize we didn't find the stockpiles [of weapons] we all thought were there.”

Nation Building and the War in Iraq
During the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush argued against nation building and foreign military entanglements. In the second presidential debate, he said: "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, 'This is the way it's got to be.'"

The United States is currently involved in nation building in Iraq on a scale unseen since the years immediately following World War II.

During the 2000 election, Mr. Bush called for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from the NATO peacekeeping mission in the Balkans. His administration now cites such missions as an example of how America must "stay the course."

Iraq and the Sept. 11 Attacks
In a press conference in September 2002, six months before the invasion of Iraq, President Bush said, “you can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror... they're both equally as bad, and equally as evil, and equally as destructive.”

In September of 2004, Mr. Bush said: “We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September 11th." Though he added that “there's no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties,” the statement seemingly belied earlier assertions that Saddam and al Qaeda were “equally bad.”

The Sept. 11 commission found there was no evidence Saddam was linked to the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The Sept. 11 Commission
President Bush initially opposed the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks. In May 2002, he said, “Since it deals with such sensitive information, in my judgment, it's best for the ongoing war against terror that the investigation be done in the intelligence committee.”

Bowing to pressure from victims' families, Mr. Bush reversed his position. The following September, he backed an independent investigation.

Free Trade
During the 2000 presidential election, Mr. Bush championed free trade. Then, eyeing campaign concerns that allowed him to win West Virginia, he imposed 30 percent tariffs on foreign steel products from Europe and other nations in March 2002.

Twenty-one months later, Mr. Bush changed his mind and rescinded the steel tariffs. Choosing to stand on social issues instead of tariffs in steel country – Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – the Bush campaign decided it could afford to upset the steel industry rather than further estrange old alliances.

Homeland Security Department
President Bush initially opposed creating a new Department of Homeland Security. He wanted Tom Ridge, now the secretary of Homeland Security, to remain an adviser.

Mr. Bush reversed himself and backed the largest expansion of the federal government since the creation of the Defense Department in 1949.

Same-Sex Marriage
During the 2000 campaign, Mr. Bush said he was against federal intervention regarding the issue of same-sex marriage. In an interview with CNN's Larry King, he said, states "can do what they want to do" on the issue. Vice President Cheney took the same stance.

Four year later, this past February, Mr. Bush announced his support for an amendment to the Constitution that defines marriage as being exclusively between men and women. The amendment would forbid states from doing "what they want to do" on same-sex marriage.

Citing recent decisions by “activist judges” in states like Massachusetts, Mr. Bush defended his reversal. Critics point out that well before the 2000 presidential race, a judge in Hawaii ruled in December 1996 that there was no compelling reason for withholding marriage from same-sex couples.

Winning the War on Terror
"I don't think you can win it," Mr. Bush said of the war on terror in August. In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, he said, “I think you can create conditions so that . . . those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world."

Before the month closed, Mr. Bush reversed himself at the American Legion national convention in Nashville. He said: "We meet today in a time of war for our country, a war we did not start yet one that we will win." He later added, “we are winning, and we will win."

Campaign Finance Reform
President Bush was initially against the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. He opposed any soft-money limits on individuals to national parties.

But Mr. Bush later signed McCain-Feingold into law. The law, named for Senate sponsors John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., barred both national parties from collecting soft money from individuals.

During the 2000 race, Mr. Bush showed support for the so-called 527 groups’ right to air advertising.

In March 2000, he told CBS News' "Face the Nation," "There have been ads, independent expenditures, that are saying bad things about me. I don't particularly care when they do, but that's what freedom of speech is all about.”

In late August of this year, in an effort to distance himself from controversial anti-Kerry ads by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Mr. Bush reversed his position, announcing he would join McCain in legal action to stop these "shadowy" organizations.

Though it would close the Swift Boat group's funding, court action would also silence well-funded liberal 527 organizations like MoveOn.org and America Coming Together.

Gas Prices
Mr. Bush was critical of Al Gore in the 2000 campaign for being part of “the administration that's been in charge” while the “price of gasoline has gone steadily upward.” In December 1999, in the first Republican primary debate, Mr. Bush said President Clinton “must jawbone OPEC members to lower prices.”

As gas topped a record level of $50 a barrel this week, Mr. Bush has shown no propensity to personally pressure, or “jawbone,” Mideast oil producers to increase output.

A spokesman for the president reportedly said in March that Mr. Bush will not personally lobby oil cartel leaders to change their minds.

THE ULTIMATE JOHN KERRY AD

2004-09-29T15:58:00.000-04:00

THE ULTIMATE JOHN KERRY AD

Because the West dares to exist

2004-09-27T15:57:00.000-04:00

Why would Islamic terrorists hold two French journalists hostage when the French have worked so hard to undermine coalition efforts in Iraq? In Jewish World Review Paul Greenberg gives an intelligent explanation. He says,

"By now suicide bombings have become old hat. So we get attacks on schools full of children and beheadings in front of the cameras. Each new outrage trumps the last in this grisly competition for the allegiance of the hate-filled street. Every time you believe terrorists have done the unthinkable, they think of something else.

The moral of the story: It's not what the West does or doesn't do, or any policy it does or doesn't adopt, that infuriates the Muslim world's fanatics, but that the West dares exist. Which is why France, a nation that has opposed American policy in Iraq, is still considered fair prey."

In such critical and dangerous times, I am thankful that there are still people who clearly understand the enemy that would see us destroyed. Islamic terrorists do not care if people are American or French; conservative or liberal. Their war is against Western philosophy, faith and morals. This is why President Bush's policy of preemption is so very important. After the third anniversary of September 11, it is no longer a question of IF terrorists will strike but WHEN terrorists will strike. Unlike some leaders in the world today who would undermine our efforts in Iraq, President Bush has taken decisive and consistent action against those who would destroy us all if they could.

Maybe I am naively optimistic, but I expect that France will eventually concede that a policy of preemption against Islamic terrorists and their supporters is the only way to win. In the meantime I will pray that the two French journalists in Iraq would be released unharmed.

CBS Tries to Clear Up Signals on Future of 'Evening News'

2004-09-27T11:35:00.000-04:00

It seems that CBS may be considering a replacement for Dan Rather.

Disney Vacation

2004-09-20T21:32:00.001-04:00

Welcome to those of you who are visiting from Blogs4God! I have never been described as a "not unusual, conservative pundit" before but I understand MeanDean's point and really appreciate being listed on B4G anyway.

While conservative punditry has certainly saturated the blogsphere, I don't believe that to be a bad thing. First of all, the good blogs will always rise to the top. Secondly, the trend at least shows that many American's are thinking about politics. I would submit that America could be an even greater place if more registered voters devoted time to this intellectual exercise.

Just fyi, I have taken my family to Disney World for the week. After two days, we have visited Epcot and Animal Kingdom. The highlights, so far, include the "Festival of the Lion King" show as well as touring the represented countries in Epcot. Tomorrow we are going to MGM which is also the day the original Star Wars Trilogy comes out on DVD. I hope this place does something cool to commemorate this historic (at least for me) event.

Disney Vacation

2004-09-20T21:32:00.000-04:00

CBS revisits Bush's Guard memos

2004-09-16T07:35:00.000-04:00

In light of this latest news concerning CBS, I have a suggestion for Dan Rather. Just drop it! Stop talking about these forged National Guard documents.

"CBS News reported that the documents it first broadcast last week on '60 Minutes II' appear to be forgeries to the woman who would have typed the original memos in 1972 and 1973."

The OpinionJournal today made a great point.

"However the flap over CBS and those National Guard 'memos' turns out, the past few weeks mark a milestone in U.S. media and politics. Along with the Swift Boat Veterans' ads, the widespread challenge to Dan Rather's reporting--to his credibility--means that the liberal media establishment has ceased to set the U.S. political agenda."

This is not to say that liberal voices no longer dominate the airwaves, because they do. The point is that the monopoly power of the old media elites is being challenged. This trend has put Dan Rather in a very uncomfortable position. If he reveals his source and it turns out to be either the Kerry campaign or the DNC he loses. If he finally decides to come straight out and say the story was bogus to begin with, he loses. And if he decides to keep pushing these trumped up charges against President Bush, he loses.

Now, it is no fun talking about losers, so the clear winners in this latest media controversy are the bloggers who called CBS' bluff. May they live long and prosper! These newcomers to the media scene, mean that we no longer have to find the voice of Truth in the media today, we can be the voice of Truth.

Ivan Chases Hurricane Hunters

2004-09-16T06:41:00.000-04:00

Wow! You know a hurricane is bad when Air Force Reserve's Hurricane Hunters get out of town. Of course I am only joking. These fearless people fly into the eye of the hurricane to gather information. Lt. Col.. Doug Lipscombe who flew into Ivan on Monday said,

"That is a storm you pray no one will ever have to endure on the ground. The storm is extremely dangerous."

They are resuming their flights from Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida. How is this for a great hurricane quote?

Journalist Edward R. Murrow described Hurricane Edna's eye in 1954, this way: "In the eye of a hurricane, you learn things other than of a scientific nature. You feel the puniness of man and his works. If a true definition of humility is ever written, it might well be written in the eye of a hurricane."

Zell Miller "Telling it Like it Is"

2004-09-14T11:28:00.000-04:00

Zell Miller boldly sets the record straight. I espeically like this quota,

"First, the anger. A lot has been said about my angry demeanor. I've made enough speeches to know that you're supposed to connect with the audience by telling a joke or a humorous anecdote or some amusing tale. It's a tried-and-true formula that I've used for most of my life. But this was not a normal speech in a normal time.

Today, we are at the most serious moment of history that we may ever know, and I wanted to connect with the seriousness of this moment, not the audience."

Handwriting Expert Says Bush Wrote The Hitler Diaries!

2004-09-14T08:06:00.000-04:00

More incite into the most likely forged National Guard documents from Mark Steyn on Jewish World Review.

CBS Producer Who Obtained Questionable Guard Documents Identified

2004-09-13T09:50:00.000-04:00

Story filed by Talon News.

Democrats Just Don't Get It

2004-09-13T08:32:00.000-04:00

Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor for probably one of the worst newspapers in the country, the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Yesterday, one day after the anniversary of September 11th she wrote this opinion piece. Here is a portion of her thoughts.

Why did Bush so recklessly sacrifice so many American lives?

It certainly wasn't because of any alliance between Osama bin Laden and Saddam, who had nothing to do with the terrorist atrocities of September. 11, 2001. No matter how many times Darth Cheney repeats the lie that Saddam and Osama were comrades-in-arms, it's still a lie.

Surely Bush didn't go after Saddam because of an overriding fear that he would use his stockpile of chemical and biological weapons against the United States. In February 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters in Cairo that sanctions had worked to contain Saddam.

"He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors," Powell said. None of that had changed a few months later.

It took years for an America used to trusting its elected leaders to sour on Vietnam -- years and tens of thousands of war dead. The invasion of Iraq, by contrast, rent the country from its start. Half of Americans now believe the war was not worth its costs.

I have a question. Why is Cynthia Tucker so reckless with her words in a critical time of war? First of all let me address her comments. The Bush administration never said there was alliance between Osama bin Laden and Saddam in relation to September 11th. There was, however, plenty of evidence to show that Saddam was a serial sponsor of terrorism including Al Qaeda. I remember one of the Democrat's first accusations after the towers collapsed was that we did not "connect the dots" in time to stop the tragic World Trade Center bombings. The intelligence was there, but no one was looking at the entire body of data to deduce and thwart the second attack on American soil (the first being Pearl Harbor).

Since September 11th, President Bush has been connecting many "dots" and terrorists are on the run. The reality is that after September 11, 2001, this world and especially the United States could no longer accommodate a reckless and defiant dictator. What the Bush administration correctly realized was that the policy of containing men like Saddam was no longer a safe option for America's security. When the United Nations showed no intention of taking any serious action against Saddam Hussein, America had no choice but to step in.

Of course we are still dealing with serious issues in Iraq, but can it not be said that the world is much safer place without Saddam? It was certainly our strong action against this rogue Iraqi dictator that encouraged Libya to stop its nuclear and chemical weapons programs. By my score that is two big "dots" connected and deleted.

I believe it is a shame that Cynthia Tucker would write that the President of the United States "recklessly sacrificed" American lives. I could be upset, but she is a liberal Democrat in the year 2004. Any voice of moderation or reason in her party has either been ignored as in the case of Joe Lieberman or vilified like Zell Miller.

Barrage of Hurricanes May Just Be Florida Normality

2004-09-11T22:05:00.000-04:00

Apparently Florida was hit by three hurricanes in 1926 and 1964. Reuters.com gives more details.