A pleasure to read...

...this article in the Telegraph. I love that kind of historical context; the attempt, however imperfect, to place currency in historical streams. (I always figured the Roundheads were the good guys!)

Coughlin II

...and again, here. So I wrote: "The only realistic way out of the current mess in Lebanon is for Israel to follow through and take out both Syria & Iran's capacity to make war against her, either directly or through their proxies, Hizbollah & Hamas. A window of opportunity is open now, but may soon close if an international force ever lands in southern Lebanon. (On the other hand, an international force there might free up Israel to do the real work against the puppetmasters. On still another hand, the last thing Israel needs is a pack of European - & English - anti-Semites encamped on its northern border! It is fitting that the LibDems' foreign affairs spokesman is named Michael Moore.) In any event, the U.S. and U.K. should make it very clear to Israel that it has a free hand to clean up the region. Secretary Rice's diplomatic charade should be abandoned, pronto... or perhaps given a fair chance to fail quickly, thus demonstrating the need for decisive action by Israel."

I wonder if anyone ever reads the comments that are invited for those newspaper columns?

Israel is NOT the problem

Con Coughlin,"Defence and Security Editor" of The Daily Telegraph, wrote this in today's Telegraph: "The Israeli government has already blamed Syria and Iran for the unrest on its northern border."

I posted a comment as follows: "As has everyone else with a brain between their ears! Iran calls the shots with Hezbollah & the terrorists wouldn't be able to take the actions that they have without Damascus' approval. If Western tourists are inconvenienced by the lack of an airport they should place the blame where it belongs: on the shoulders of nutbar Islamic radicals from Beirut to Tehran."

The gist of the article was that Mr. Olmert is a rookie leader with scant military experience, and this could have a variety of negative consequences. True. On the other hand, in terms of his response to this crisis, I think he is placing the blame in the right place. As for President Bush's refusal to condemn Israel for its response to the terrorists, my only concern is that he hasn't shown as much support as he might have done. As William Kristol has suggested, he ought to travel to Jerusalem from the (useless) G8 meeting to show the unconditional support of the U.S. for Israel against the Islamofascists.

God is Good Part I - Purpose

Since I last wrote, much has happened, including a rather serious car accident. After reviewing the witness statements, most of whom thought I was dead for certain, I am more convinced than ever that God wants me alive for some reason. Some reasons are obvious: they live with me, all 4 of them. But beyond that? I wander from the german bakery/sandwich source to the courthouse for my machine-dispensed can of coke, and wonder... and pray... and on my return, I sign into Biblegateway, guilty that I'm reading Lileks over my sandwich rather than something I haven't even looked at today. And there I see it:

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2 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.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Aha!!! And further...

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12 (New International Version)

(Footnotes:
a. Romans 12:1 Or reasonable
b. Romans 12:6 Or in agreement with the
c. Romans 12:16 Or willing to do menial work
d. Romans 12:19 Deut. 32:35
e. Romans 12:20 Prov. 25:21,22)

Pretty quick answer, huh? God is Good.

A Big Day

...and I'm outta there! Bye, Lee. You've been great! Next stop: Independence [corr. - ed.]! Praise God for the path He's leading me on...

Let's not get crazy, now...

Mr. Hewitt led me to a critique of a cartoonist from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who referenced a classic Bill Mauldin cartoon. I think conservatives lose credibility too often when we slap people around just because they're liberals. So I commented on his post: "Hmmm... the guy may be a ranting liberal cartoonist, but I think in this case the criticism is misplaced. If Shakespeare is referenced in a novel it doesn't need to be footnoted. I'm not a huge political cartoon afficionado but I recognized the reference, even if I didn't know the name of the original cartoonist. Blasting away at liberal targets on marginal stuff discredits the legitimate criticism on the cry wolf principle."

SeaDawgs Rule!

...just as I called it, contrary to popular opinion it will be a Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl - and the Dawgs will take it. These guys are much better than anyone is giving them credit for.

Hook 'em Horns!!!

Texas 41, USC 38. 'Nuff said. Vince Young is amazing.

Dizzy...

...is what I am right now. A brisk walk didn't help. Ingesting two double cheeseburgers from DQ didn't help. Man, I hope it's just a cold coming on... or stress... this Constructive Dismissal thing has created a bit of tension around here. OUT! That's what I need. The sooner, the better. Sleep would be good, too.

I can't get interested in the Canuck election this time around - at least not yet. It's hard to get very excited when the outcome is 58% likely to be another Lie-beral minority, 40% likely to be a Tory minority, and 2% likely to be... something else. Besides, one can just tune in after Xmas, which makes it a relatively painless 3 week campaign. Frankly, I couldn't care less that the campaign is happening over Xmas, and I think the Lie-berals have cottoned on to the fact that most people don't care, which is why I haven't heard much lately about the evil Tories forcing - Gasp! A Christmas Election Campaign! Oh, the Horror!

Update: Apparently Child #2 has been dizzy all day too, and wished to go home mid-day. Whew. Hopefully that means I'm not going to die tonight...

The Innu have a Duty to Mitigate

Instead of hunting polar bears and cariboo, for instance, they'll have to learn to kill lions and gazelles. The WWF might not heartily endorse that idea, however.