Sara Palin for VP

I endorse Sara Palin for Vice President of the United States of America. Here's a person with clarity; who does not see the difficult questions that arise in the governing of a diverse and strong nation in a hostile world as above her pay-grade.

Will Vote for Change

The Two Democrat Parties

That know it all PJ told me to run with my ideas about change, so here's my first attempt at cartooning.

Oh Where oh Where is Frasypoo?

I was just at DD2's blog and he was saying good-bye to frasypoo. Can anyone fill me in?

Death by TV

Our family rented a movie last night called "THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, The Journals of Thomas Merton". It was a good sixties vintage movie, fit for children, and educational ta boot. The plot was simple enough; a 14 year old boy runs away from home to accomplish his dream of living off the land. After finding a hawk's nest he steals a fledgling, trains it, gives it a name, and uses it for the gathering of food.

The sobering point of our movie night was not the movie but my little girl's reaction to it. We are very protective of what our children watch and as such they have not been exposed to a whole lot of violence. In this movie the hawk is accidentally killed by a hunter. When the movie was over we noticed our daughter's sadness and in a few moments she was in tears over the pet bird's death.

This was sobering because I couldn't help but think of how much worse is dumped into America's living rooms every night and taken in by young children who are not equipped to process it; nor are aided in the processing of it; nor for that matter should ever be exposed to it. I think it would be impossible for science to measure how much damage has been done to our society through the searing of young consciences by money hungry, ratings crazy, network CEO's. It's sad how worked up our society can become over the profits of oil companies, which actually produce something good, while having no concern about the profits and motivations of those who pollute the minds of our children.

I realize that parents are not totally innocent in this, and in fact perhaps are more to blame. But if we took that argument far enough, a society could justify parent's serving up meals of cake and cotton candy with a Crown Royal chaser. Ahh but those are bad for the body; who cares what's bad for the mind and soul?

An Abyss Called Hatred

As president elect Abraham Lincoln made his way to Washington across a nation on the brink of war , he was quoted as saying: "When men wrangle by the mouth with no certainty that they mean the same thing while using the same words, it perhaps would be as well if they would keep silence".

This remains an apropos statement today and is along the same vane as an ealier post about the meaning of the word "racist". Much like the word "racist" I would contend that the word "hate" has also suffered torture. It is worthy of consideration that these two words, being cut from the same cloth, have both had to receive the same morphing to accommodate those who throw them around like rocks in a stoning.

Of course to the person who pays a little bit of attention, it is generally understood that the current meaning of this word is often "disagrees with me" or something like that. So then the words "he is preaching hate" usually means "he is preaching something with which I do not agree". This is more than unfortunate but is also frightening because it relieves self proclaimed victims of social "hatred" of any responsibility of self examination, or more importantly, of holding themselves to the very standards they proclaim. Many, after redefining the word, are guilty of the true meaning of that same word as they wage their war against people that simply disagree with them.

This is particularly frightening because of the ultimate ramifications of justifying true hatred under any circumstances. History is replete with example after example of the results of just such unchecked emotion; 9/11 being only the latest spectacular display. But in less sensational forms, but not less cancerous, it's happening everyday in America's culture wars. I have come to expect such self delusion from the left, what with their displays of vitriolic hatred aimed at president Bush, but I also contend that Bush haters have not cornered the market when it comes to such things either. I would especially caution the Body of Christ on this matter for the day is coming when it will find itself face to face with evil in the form of pure hatred. That will not be the day to begin working on a response.

Hatred is ultimately an abyss that once the self gives permission to enter, that self will find no bottom. In the end true hatred, even if it is directed against more true hatred, can only be quenched in the natural by death. Is it any wonder then that God's Word warns us that "there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death", and even more so Jesus' admonition to love our enemies. History does teach us that he who does not heed these words will in the end, become, the very thing he so hates.

The Meaningless Poll

After eight years of president Bush, we now have polls showing that most Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. (here, here, here) From the reports on this particular poll, one would think that most Americans are ready to vote in a leftest government that will put us on the B line to a EU type socialist nanny state. But those with a little bit of political savvy see these polls for what they are; propaganda.

These polls are designed to capitalize on eight years of negative press. The polls would infer that since Bush is president and therefore leader, and Bush is a Republican and so therefore conservative, and a Christian to boot, and the people are unhappy with the direction he has taken us, then the American people want a Democrat who is liberal and secular, and so should you! What the poll really reveals however is akin to people on a bus. A forth of the people are angry because the bus is headed northeast, a forth because it isn't headed west, another forth because they're not happy with the catering, leaving those that consider any direction but west a good thing.

If the polls were actually worth anything besides a platform for propaganda, conservatives could take solace in the historically low approval ratings of this current leftist congress. Lest a right winger be tempted he should consider that the left is causing this. The left does not approve of this congress because Bush is not impeached, and he Cheney and Rove are not behind bars.

Alas we can expect more of the same as Election Day approaches. There will be polls on homelessness, the fear of homelessness, latent racism, poverty, health care, sickness, pollution and basically all the other things that have always dogged mankind. And we can expect for the networks, under the guise of objectivity, to continue to take any opportunity to blame Bush and prostitute themselves as they increase the underlying message and goal of their reporting, which is Obama in 08.

The Blood of The Children

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants". This is a famous Thomas Jefferson Quote. In this era of sound bite thinking this quote has been reduced to a bumper sticker: "Freedom isn't free". The bumper sticker version removes the cost of freedom, blood, and who pays. But consider that perhaps the reason for the removal of such words extends beyond the mere distillation of the quote to a bumper sticker.

Given the pervasive media's morbid infatuation with the death toll in the war on terror, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that, although freedom isn't free, blood might be too high a price to pay. And perhaps this would be the right conclusion when thinking of freedom in the context of modernity. Yet when Jefferson penned those words, he did so within the confines of natural law; a self evident understanding that there was an absolute unchangeable standard that governed the whole of mankind. Within that context, the understanding of liberty dealt with over-reaching governments, tyrants and despots that were to be defeated, even if it meant sending patriots to die on the battlefield, if liberty were to be preserved. There was an understanding in that day by those who had fresh memories of the inherent and enduring tensions that exist between man's yearning for freedom and his lust for power. It is from that perspective that our constitutional government, with its original intent of law and separated powers, can be understood with clarity.

There has been a pernicious shift in prevailing thought in the last half century however. Gone are the underpinnings of an absolute standard upon which the cost of freedom was enumerated; replaced by the shifting sands of a relative standard. Upon this standard of every man a law unto himself, a society's understanding of what morality it should impose upon itself via legislation, and which old impositions should be expunged, is ever changing under the force of anyone who can muster the power to achieve that change. Say hello to the new liberties of the multi-billion dollar porn and abortion industry. Say good by to any standards of decency that might stand in the way, and the freedom of the expression of religion that might cause a tinge of guilt.

Another casualty of this shift in thinking for any nation is its ability to defend itself, for if there is no higher order, there is nothing to defend except licence to do what an individual wills no matter how disdainful. The price paid in a war of this sort is ultimately cheap in terms of Jefferson's "tree of liberty" because it is fought in the courtrooms of a dying and visionless nation where the worst thing that can happen to the "patriot" is the necessity for an appeal. In these battles the blood of the true patriots is trampled upon as dung on the court room floor. Because the truth of the matter is that people do not freely give their lives for the right to buy and sale smut, or the right of a the rapist, child molester or pedophile to roam free . In cultural wars the only nutrition the tree of Jefferson's brand of liberty receives is money. This might explain the tree's impoverished state in America.

This is not to say that a tree of liberty is not refreshed with blood however, for in fact one is. Instead of the blood of patriots and tyrants, it receives the blood of children and the innocent. This fact goes unnoticed because, unlike the blood of the patriot, of which we're constantly reminded with long face and scowl of the tally by those whom disagree with his mission, the children are dying for something with which the prevailing media agrees. This something is the casting off of old guilt riddled restraint, and so called Victorian repression. No longer do we as a society have to live with the repressive consequences of shame and guilt. Judgement and discernment have been thrown into the dungeon along with its contemporaries chastity and decency. But do not be deceived, there is a cost for such licentious liberties, and the larger burden of that cost is bore by the weakest among us: children. But it is a price even the ardent anti-war progressive, with his hand wringing over the death toll of war, and his cries of "it's for the children!" is willing to pay. It's a new day, with a new liberty, and a new price to pay for that liberty. And it's paid by the victims of child murderers, molesters, rapist, and pedophiles. And don't expect a daily tally on the six O:clock news either. But the blood of these children is no less the cost for our current brand of foundationless liberty.

The latest high profile blood spilled was that of twelve year old Brooke Bennett. She is a casualty of a society that sees the liberty of her alleged murderer, Michael Jacques, a convicted sex offender, as more important than her very life; a society that did not have the will to protect her from the evil with which she met; a society that could not even call wrong and evil any of his behavior leading up to the moment he demanded of Brooke her life. Unlike the soldier, Brooke was denied the peace that might comfort a soldier at his time of death as he hopes that his death is not in vane. She could not have known as her consciousness faded that through her death, a lost and deluded society might be able to muster the will to keep this from happening again; at least at the hand of this particular child molester.

The demented addicts of the free flow of smut who have given themselves over to whatever fantasies roam their darkened minds; or the self proclaimed free thinking "progressives" that have freed themselves from the constraints of any concept of objective morality, will not say thank you to Brooke Bennett. There will be no empty moments of silence in commemoration of her or others like her who have paid the ultimate price on their behalf. But we should. Hence forth on July 12th, the day of Brooke Bennett's birth, and her funeral, we should observe another kind of memorial day. We will remember the children who have died at the hands of convicted pedophiles, and their ilk so that a lost and deluded society might finally muster the will to protect the young and defenseless, at least from their particular murderers.

Right now as you read this, somewhere, there is a young and innocent child, perhaps playing with a toy on her living room floor. Somewhere else, perhaps nearby, is a convicted predator enjoying his liberty, prowling the streets in search of his next victim. And one day these two will meet, and while her assailant uses her for his enjoyment, she will die a tortuous and horrific death. And she will do so, not as a soldier trained, equipped and armed on a battle field fighting for a civilized society and so refreshing the tree of liberty, but instead in a quiet secluded place where her screams will be not heard. Like the soldier, that child will be giving her life for the cause of a liberty, but for an ungrateful recipient. And this liberty will be a liberty totally alien to that of Jefferson's. And as we will inevitable demonstrate, totally alien to that of a civilized and peaceful society.

The Last Time

At night I lay down with my five year old son and watch him go to sleep. For a time I did this only on occasion but later he ask for it every night. I began to think of this as an imposition because there were things that competed for my attention, not to mention the fact that I didn't really want to spend the time it took every night. It occurred to me however that there will come a time when he will be too old for this kind of a routine.

Also, it seems like last week that my little girl was in diapers. She's eight now and as such its been quite a while since I last changed one. This brings to mind that one day for both of my children I took a diaper off of them for the very last time and in so doing a door quietly closed to a part of their childhood; a childhood I'm already grieving over. The time will come when I will lay down with my son and we will look into each other's eyes as he drifts off to sleep; I will get up and go about my evening routine getting ready for bed, and never realize that that was the last time we will ever enjoy that particular routine. This reality really changes many "have to's" in family life to "get to's".

Life has a way of changing our outlook on things. I was driving into the Nashville airport one icy morning and a truck had slid on the ice and overturned right in front of the airport. There was a yellow sheet draped over the driver and I realized that his entire morning was a whole list of "last times" both for him and his family. What ever that family "had to" put up with before, I'd bet they would all love the opportunity to "get to" put up with it again one day.

We make a big deal about some last times such as the last time of being a certain age, or going to school, but I want to realize the small ones too, at least as much as a body can. In so doing I think that some of the mundaneness or unpleasantness of everyday life can more easily be embraced. So the next time one of your children spills his milk, or wakes you up afraid at three in the morning, or you are confronted with some other unpleasantness from a loved one, just remember that it might be the very last time it's ever going to happen. Listen for the door quietly closing and forever separating the way things were for you from the the way things are.

What do you think?

Trying to make a long distance call and having some problems, I decided to play around with my blog a little as I sit here and wait. I've always loved the "Inklings" blog and his posted photo, so I decided to imitate him by displaying a similar photo that I love.



I still like his better.

More Automation for Automobiles?

When I was young it seemed I was always in a hurry. I had the art of negotiating with traffic down to a science, and of course when negotiations failed, I resorted to blowing my horn.

Now I'm older and often look in my rear-view mirror to see what I use to look like ; tense face , frequent watch glances, and contempt for the guy in front of me who doesn't have to be anywhere for five years. Nowadays, when I do get in a hurry I find that it just takes too much effort to reach up and blow my horn all the time. That's why I invented a modification to perhaps the only thing not modified on the automobile since Henry Ford started the assembly line.

It seems we now have auto volume control, auto speed control, auto wipers, auto lights, auto-temp. control just to name a few; but we do not yet have auto-horn. The concept is simple enough. You install into your instrument panel a switch that causes your horn to blow automatically. Then when you see traffic slowing or stopping in front of you during your evening commute, you simply reach down and slip your horn into AUTO-BLOW, causing it to blow randomly, without too much dwell time of course, thus saving yourself all the effort of constantly reaching up every few minutes just to blow your horn.

Just so the reader will know, I don't have a patent. If I'm too lazy to blow my horn just think of the effort it would take to dial up my patent attorney; so if you're ambitious, feel free to get one (or not) and call your favorite Chinese manufacturer and put er into production. I'll buy one if it's less than five bucks, Promise.