For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ---Ephesians 6:12


"The age of casual Catholicism is over; the age of heroic Catholicism has begun. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead must be Catholics by CONVICTION." ---Fr. Terrence Henry TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

GO LOU...GO!



Maybe I'll start watching CNN again....just for Lou.

Just can't help but wonder why it's taken so long for interviewers to show serious outrage and hold pro-open-borders types feet to the fire. Let us not be lulled into complacency by the "soft bigotry of low expectations."

Monday, September 10, 2007

Rememberance





















Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)

Reason For Outrage....Extreme Outrage

On Sunday, two days before the 6th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, several dozen Muslims decided to have a little parade in New York City.

Urban Infidel, who is on my left sidebar under Favorite Conservative Blogs and Sites, took some great still-shots, while the lovely Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs, also on list of faves, created some videos of the event. Both accounts are documented well enough to enrage a choir boy, which I am not.

Isn't it nice of the Muslims to remind us so close to a 9-11 anniversary (and in New York City, to boot!) that they intend to subjugate the rest of the world under Sharia Law? Click on the respective links for pics and details. This does not appear to have been a friendly "it's-a-small-world" moment.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Democrat Leaders Insult General Petraeus And Troops


I've been busy but I don't think it's too late to post this. In fact I'd be very remiss not to. It has to do with the Democrat leadership and their apparent investment in our defeat in both the war in Iraq and the war on terror in general (most argue they are one and the same---I have no problem with this).

Congressman James Clyburn, Democrat--South Carolina, who has relatives stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, stated a couple of weeks ago that if the report to be submitted by General Petraeus is a positive one, "that would be a real big problem for us, no question about that" (Democrats), ...even though "no one wants to see us lose...we love our country." It's good that Mr. Clyburn threw in that qualifier...later...because later is better than never.

But another Democrat, Senator Chuck Shumer of New York, has taken a slightly different approach. He has taken his own anti-American-soldier comments made on the Senate floor just days ago and simply omitted them from the printed text of his speech ("inability of American soldiers"). That's a funny way to qualify an unfair statement of blame of our quite capable soldiers in combat. Laura Ingraham said Shumer's omission was typical of the old Soviet Union. Here is what he actually said:



Sometimes I don't know at whom I should be more angry: the senior senator from New York or the fools who keep sending him to Washington. One thing is certain. He seems to be suffering from the same hubris that plagued former Senator Tom Daschle, D-SD in his last two years in office: the tendancy for overconfidence to cause one to make ridiculous statements as if factual. Now if we can only find a Thune in the Empire State to run against Shumer...

Senators Shumer and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have both attacked the credibility of General Petraeus (in spite of approving his appointment to his current post 81-0) and his report before reading it, and reaffirmed their commitment for withdrawal of our troops. In fact Senator Durbin, in speaking for the other Copperheads (an historical term used by blogger, Scottish Right, which I am thoroughly enjoying), has announced he will no longer vote for Iraq war funding bills unless they are tied to troop reductions.

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said "We will see what the Bush report will be at the end of next week,...The facts are self-evident that the progress is not being made. They might want to find one or two places where there has been progress but the plural of anecdote is not data." She said Democrats were determined to uncover "the ground truth in Iraq." Grind the truth--more like.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Fred Announces On Leno


Link: sevenload.com

Here is the link to Fred Thompson's formal announcement (15 minutes, but worth it)

Friday, August 31, 2007

Fred Thompson To Announce Next Week



Here is the latest update on the Fred Thompson campaign as seen on WKRN-TV. He is expected to announce his candidacy early next week after Labor Day.

Everyone have a SAFE and enjoyable weekend!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Folly Of Abortion


(enjoy the Spanish music and please accept my apologies for no subtitles)


On December 8, 1982 Nick Vujicic was born in Melbourne, Australia with no arms or legs, but only a small, two-toed foot growing out of his left thigh. Although there was no known medical reason for this occurrence, he resembled the Thalidomide babies from the early 1960's.

According to his testimony the midwives hid him from his mother when he was born, to spare her the shock of his deformity; while his father, having seen the newborn, had to run outside and purge. It was a shock to everyone, but they made the best of it with what they had available school-wise. Although Nick suffered at the hands of his peers and experienced great depression throughout his childhood, he was able to overcome his disability and emotional distraught through the Grace of God. He then founded Life Without Limbs, an organization dedicated to inspiring others not only to face life, but to achieve life's greater purpose. Currently he travels abroad working as a motivational and Christian inspirational speaker.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.





What a shame it would've been had his parents looked at a sonogram early in the pregnancy and decided to abort the child. While some short-sighted person would have recommended this to spare the hardship of the child and the family in general, we can now clearly see the folly in such a decision which would've denied other limbless people a man of such inspiration.

And with this in mind, how can anyone rationalize having an abortion performed simply because a child would be "unwanted?" I ask, unwanted by whom? Certainly not by God! And the lives of these children are not unwanted by themselves, either. Go to any orphanage and ask a child: Do you wish you had been aborted? The answer you can expect is: Of course not! I wish I had a Mom and Dad who loved me enough to raise me. Adoption is always an option. And if it isn't the next best thing, it sure beats killing babies in the womb.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Mark Steyn Seeks Sanctuary From "Sanctuary Cities"

Yesterday, Mark Steyn came out with one of his best columns so far this year, IMHO. It deals with the three teenagers murdered recently in Newark, NJ by an illegal alien who was already out on bail for a barroom assault and the rape of a 5 year old; but is mainly about the media and politicians' reluctance to deal with the root cause: illegal immigration. Here's an excerpt:


America has a high murder rate: Murdering people is definitely one of the jobs Americans can do. But that's what ties young Malvo to Jose Carranza: He's just another killer let loose in this country to kill Americans by the bureaucracy's boundless sensitivity toward the "undocumented." Will the Newark murders change anything? Will there be an Ioefemi Hightower Act of Congress like the Matthew Shepard Act passed by the House of Representatives? No. Three thousand people died Sept. 11, 2001, in an act of murder facilitated by the illegal-immigration support structures in this country, and, if that didn't rouse Americans to action, another trio of victims seems unlikely to tip the scales.

You can read the full article by clicking here.


Feeding The Parishioners

Originally when I created this blog, my intention was to give equal time to the political and religious matters that seem relevant today. Unfortunately the political has grossly outweighed the religious (or spiritual) here due to my recent focus on news rather than scripture.

In an attempt to equal the balance I have included part of a Sunday church service I heard on some radio station while driving on some highway last year. I wish I could give the person who first delivered this the credit he deserves. It isn't transcribed word for word, but instead is put together by me from memory after listening to it while simultaneously driving a big rig. Hope you find it coherent and enlightening.

One day a man walks into a pet store to purchase a bird. He sees a few from which to choose. One is very talkative and another sings a lot, but both are very expensive. Then he finds one on sale who's just sitting there on his perch quietly, doing nothing...

CUSTOMER: (to salesman) What's this one doing? He's just sitting there. I'm looking for a talking bird.

SALESMAN: Oh, he's quite a good talker. He talks all day and night if you let him. Just buy him some toys to play with and he'll keep you entertained.

CUSTOMER: Hmmm. Well, the price is right. Sure, why not?

So the customer takes his new pet bird home and puts him near the window, ties a bell to the top of the cage for him to ring, and waits. The bird rings the bell a few times and then just sits there.

The next day the customer goes back to the pet shop...

CUSTOMER: (to salesman) I bought a bell for the bird to ring and he just sits there.

SALESMAN: Oh, well then...here (handing customer another toy). Try this ladder. They just love running up and down ladders.

CUSTOMER: Okay.

So the customer takes the ladder home, puts it in the cage and waits. The bird runs up and down the ladder, rings the bell, and then just sits there.

The customer returns to the pet store again and again buying several toys to get his bird to talk. Finally the bird rings the bell, runs up and down the ladder, looks in his little mirror, spars with the little punching bag, runs on the hamster wheel for a while, dashes through his little tube maze, and then falls over on his back. And in his last dying breath says:

BIRD: Doesn't that pet store sell any birdseed?

The moral of the story is this:

Too many churches today rely too much on activities and entertainment rather than feeding God's Word to its people.

Friday, August 17, 2007

"Keep Your Powder Dry"



Five minutes of Fred Thompson's impromptu speech at the Iowa State Fair.

Sure sounds like he's running. In fact he stated to a woman who said she was "in limbo" on whether or not to support him: "We'll be in your face so much you'll be sick of us."

And he looks like he's running. He appears to have slimmed down to a healthy "fighting weight" like he's ready for a race or something. And he has greatly improved his impromptu speaking skills--I see no note cards, prepared text, or teleprompters, and yet he speaks on important issues so comfortably.

Yes, he's running. And he's likely to run past the others all the way to the White House.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Mind On Other Things

Had something happen on the road that I've been a bit preoccupied with. See details here and join me in praying for those involved.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Advice From An Old Foe

In The WSJ yesterday there was an article written by an ex-KJB hand from Romania (actually it's Lieutenant General Pacepa, the highest ranking intelligence official to defect from the Eastern bloc) with some insight about today's propaganda against the U.S.. He sees a redux of old Soviet methods (some of which worked well) being used to build anti-American support today by attacking our leaders. Here is an excerpt:

Unfortunately, partisans today have taken a page from the old Soviet playbook. At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, for example, Bush critics continued our mud-slinging at America's commander in chief. One speaker, Martin O'Malley, now governor of Maryland, had earlier in the summer stated he was more worried about the actions of the Bush administration than about al Qaeda. On another occasion, retired four-star general Wesley Clark gave Michael Moore a platform to denounce the American commander in chief as a "deserter." And visitors to the national chairman of the Democratic Party had to step across a doormat depicting the American president surrounded by the words, "Give Bush the Boot."

You can read the rest of it by clicking here.