'TIS THE SEASON. Well, I'm in for it now. Thanksgiving is over, so the Christmas season has begun. When did we go from Christmas day to Christmas season? It must have been when malls were invented. I cannot get away from it now. We sang Christmas songs in Sunday School. The preacher said he would preach Christmas sermons from now until Christmas. My anal retentive, engineer (is that redundant?) neighbor has already put out 10,000 lights, moving my family to say "when will we have lights?" This happens every year.

I think his yard looks like one of those carnivals that comes to your supermarket parking lot if you live in a bad part of town. You know the one, where the rides all look like death traps and the workers all look like pedophiles. If he would just put a guy in his driveway in a greasy t-shirt with a roll of paper tickets, I would be convinced.

You know that, even when Christ was actually born, as opposed to celebrated, God only put the one star up in advance. The rest of the stuff he did not even do until the actual day of his birth. Then, only a few guys got to see it. Remember the shepherds abiding in the field? They were the only ones to see the angels. The wise men got the star. For everyone else, well, they got nothing.

But now, everyone has lights on their house and bushes. They have "yard art", Santas, reindeer, trains, and wreaths. Wreaths are big at Christmas. Now there are lighted ones. The electric company must have a hand in all this. Then there is the guy that puts the big "TCU" sign on his house, lighted, at Christmas. All he wants for Christmas is a BCS bowl bid.

All this is bad enough. But today, driving to church, I caught myself humming a Christmas hymn. I slapped myself and turned the radio on to a jazz station. I was hoping for "Grazin' In The Grass". I got "Santa Baby".

Please, somebody help me.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY III. Me. So, it has all come down to this. The feast is over. The Oldest and her husband left for Oklahoma, returning to her home. The College Daughter left yesterday amid much kisssing and I love you's, but still not calling when she arrived. The Baby has gone with new boyfriend to a party with his family. The Little Woman left for work. Left is the operative word.

I stayed. I have arrayed my books and computer to study, but I cannot fail but notice that when I am not typing, there is no sound, just silence. The silence of left.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY II. Speaking of Hillary, she has become a prominent turkey this week, traveling to Iraq to review the troops. See a report here that she got a chilly reception from the soldiers who, for some reason, do not see her as a big supporter. Notice also how the press has not been howling that her trip is a big publicity stunt. I am sure they have just not getting to it, because they tell us they are not biased.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY. Despite many important things going on in the world, and even in our humble Cowtown, local liberal columnist Bob Ray Sanders chose to write about cooking oil. It seems tha BRS is worried about people deep frying turkey on Thanksgiving, because they use a lot of oil. BRS is afraid they will all dump it into the sewer rather than take it to the disposal center for hazardous materials. As a true liberal, I am sure Bob is aghast that the government does not regulate this important area. There should be a government issued permit that requires you to check in with your oil within 24 hours to avoid massive fines and taxes that would be used to clean up the environment. A cabinet level position would be created, the Turkey Oil Minister, who would put together a top level staff with offices in every major city with a budget of millions. The staff, of course, would be hired from a cross section of multi-ethnic persons for maximum diversity, preferably with a plethora of sexual orientations, all liberal, anti-war, anti-bus, well just generally anti. All offices would be required to post a large picture of Hillary Clinton on the wall with a plague that says "hope springs eternal".

LEGACY. Chuck Colson points out that C. S. Lewis died on the same day as John Kennedy. He got lost in the shuffle, did he not. Kennedy is celebrated, disected, and remembered. Who remembers C. S. Lewis? Well, many Christians do. His book and articles left a great impression. Many read and re-read his works. Kennedy is now seen as a handsome rich guy who cheated on his wife, failed to unseat Castro, and really did not accomplish much of anything other than popularity. His presidency is more a tribute to his father's determination than his own acumen. Face it, he left behind wood, hay, and straw. But Lewis spent his later years pursuing God and making him known. He left behind refined gold that continues to open hearts for the Lord. It would be great to slip off into eternity knowing you left behind something that the Lord would use for his glory.

GOOD TERROR NEWS. Mohammed (but of course) Hamdi al-Ahdal has been caught in Yemen. You might know his as the planner of the attack of the U.S.S. Cole that killed 17 American sailors, and a later attack on a French Cheese, I mean Oil, Tanker in 2002. Mohammed, of course, has another name, Abu Assem al-Makky. Do you notice how every story on these guys begins with "so and so, also known as so and so". This bi-named Arab terrorist, who just happens to be Muslim, is the number two guy in Al-Qaeda in Yemen. Good catch, guys. We'll all sing "another one bites the dust".

In further news of Arabs with two names, good old James Yee, also known as Yousef, the Muslim chaplin at Gitmo who was arrested for possession of classified documents, was also charged with having pornography on his computer. It was probably naked pictures of his 70 virgins.

In yet more good terror news, the Saudis foiled a car bomb and killed two terrorists. No word on how many names those guys had. It seems like you have to put an asterisk by the low Saudi arrest record. A lot of the terrorists seem to get shot resisting arrest.

But, I guess it frees up extra names for the other Arab terrorists to use.

That's all for now from Larry Thompson, also known as...

SELF ABASEMENT. It always amazes me how much people will abase themselves to get on camera. For years, fat people and old people have taken embarrassing roles in sitcoms and commercials. Often, the only point of the role is to ridicule the person's appearance, age, or other feature. Now, rich people join the act. Paris Hilton evidently decided that she does not have her picture taken enough at all the parties and events she attends. She is now on a tv show, living with a rural family, and acting stupid and out of place so Americans can laugh at her. I guess debasing herself with a sex video just was not enough. She needs more! Please, make me look stupid to millions of people, she cries. Let me look vain, vapid, and ignorant. I want to be humiliated. Just let it be in front of a camera I beg you.

MORE BAD NEWS (FOR DEMOCRATS). The GDP rose at an 8.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, beating projections by a point. It is the highest rate in 20 years. If the economy is cooking, Bush is even harder to beat.

WELL THAT SETTLES IT. This just in, Elizabeth Taylor says Michael Jackson is innocent. She is not exactly known as a good judge of character. I wonder if she could clue us in on Phil Spector too. Maybe even Robert Blake.

WOMB WITH A VIEW. It was such a wonderful title, I just had to use it. Go here to read a good article by Naomi Emery pointing out that feminists do not acknowledge that most women support the ban on partial birth abortions.

LIBERTARIAN OR LIBERTINE? It is disappointing to see Instapundit support both premarital promiscuity and homosexual marriage. It really will not work if we let everyone do anthing they want. It sounds good, but the fallout if costly. Surely, we have proved that in America.

K-K-K-KATY. Katy Couric and NBC certainly showed their colors today. As if the provide equal time for their coverage of the President in England, they cut to an interview with the Dixie Chicks. Just so you'll know, I switched back to Fox and did not watch the Chicks.

PROTESTORS II. While anti-war protestors in England try to maintain some momentum, with the help of the lefty press, Germans are protesting in big numbers over possible cuts in their welfare checks. The Associated Press reports: About 100,000 people took to the streets of Berlin on Saturday to demonstrate against Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's plans to trim Germany's generous welfare state, the biggest show of public opposition so far to his drive to revive Europe's largest economy I did not see any film about this on the news. I guess the Michael Jackson arrest is a better sell.

Nobody wants to get their check cut, and people that do not earn it are no exception. Who said democracy was great until the public learns they can vote themselves money from the public largesse. As France and Germany maintain large socialist programs, they are bumping into the ultimate reality. Someone has to pay the bill. It all comes down to taxes and who pays them. If you run out of people to tax, you must take over private businesses and run them for the benefit of the state, so the state can continue to make payments. But, when you do, those businesses always drop in profitability as the motivation to work and earn decreases.

Now that the city has torn down the projects across from my office building and sold the land to Radio Shack, one thing has changed. I noticed last week, as I was working on a project about 11 p. m., that I could no longer look across the street and notice that I was working late while they were sitting on the hoods of their cars drinking and smoking. It made me feel a little better.

PROTESTORS. The protestors at the free trade conference in Miami seem more numerous and more violent that the protestors in England. The pictures look like a third world country, with black suited police in riot gear shooting gas grenades and wielding batons, while protestors rush them and throw things. Remind me to vote no if our city ever wants to host one of these conferences.

SIGN OF THE TIMES. Fox News today is devoting equal time to the bombings in Turkey, the President's visit to England, and the arrest of Michael Jackson. It is a sign of the times that his arrest is major news even when he is not at the height of his popularity. They were calling him the "cuffed one" on Fox.

As they flashed a close up of MJ, I thought, in Fort Worth, if they saw this guy walking down the street at night, they would take their children indoors.

SMOOTH CRIMINAL. Michael Jackson has returned to face criminal charges, posting this three million in bail. MJ was in Las Vegas, but the District Attorney said "I WANT YOU BACK." MJ did not BEAT IT, but returned to face the music. It could be DANGEROUS and it will certainly be BAD. He faces up to 8 years in prison. MJ said he is innocent, that things are not BLACK AND WHITE and he just needs ONE MORE CHANCE! I guess it is just HUMAN NATURE in these type of cases, but a lot of people outside of California think the guy is creepy.

MJ's family and attorney scrambled to his defense, producing a few comical results. Brother Jermaine Jackson said "My brother is not eccentric". OK JJ, he lives on a ranch with a zoo and a merry go round. He entertains smally boys without their parents, despite having to pay off millions in 1994 to prevent one from testifying. He has bleached the color out of his skin and had so much facial surgery his nose has disappeared. What would it take for you to think he is eccentric? How about that, at this last court appearance, he giggled and made faces during his testimony? Maybe eccentric is too mild a word.

THE REAL JIHAD? Front Page Magazine has an interesting article claiming that the bombing in Saudi Arabia was not directed at Muslims, but at Lebanese Christians working and living in the kingdom. Given the bombing of Jewish sites, the attack on Christians seems likely. It will be ironic if, despite all of Islam's accusations against the President for crusading against Muslims, the Muslims themselves bring their religious crusade out in the open by attacking other religions head on. I do not think that Muslims here and in countries loosely allied with us want that, because they do not want to see a huge Christian backlash. They can threaten Jews and get away with it, for many people do not identify with that struggle. But, if Christians become the prime targets, much more fallout is likely. The better watch out. We might send them Paige Patterson. He knows how to mobilize opinion, marshall the troops, and defeat his enemies. Plus, given his speeding history, he could get over there really fast. I think if you could conquer the Southern Baptist Convention, Al Qaeda should be a picnic.

HOW MANY WAS THAT AGAIN? Fox News this morning showed some folks showing up to protest President Bush in England. It was early, but there were less than 100 people there. More have come, but it is not near the 100,000 people predicted. Go here to see it live. It is hard to count crowds, but people love to overestimate when it is for a cause. I remember going to a meeting once and counting about 40 people there. I read a quote in the paper the next day saying 250 people had appeared at the meeting. In church circles, we call that ministerial speaking.

BAD DAY FOR MJ. Michael Jackson will be arrested today on child molesting charges.

BAD NEWS.The White House has been evacuated, evidently due to an airspace violation. The British consulate and a bank in Turkey have been bombed today by Al-Qaeda, killing 25 and wounding 445.

STAY THE COURSE. One thing the Brits learned is that the President intends to stay the course. That will give the left, both home and abroad, something to complain about, as if they would not complain if we left Iraq to its own devices. But, who wants to be admired by the British left? They admired Stalin. They opposed Britain's opposition to Hitler. Now the like Saddam the Butcher and Arafat the Terrorist. A man is known by the company he keeps.

Bush ended by saying the British are the type of friends we want when serious work needs to be done. He received a great round ofapplause from Whitehall.

England should gain some additional appreciation for the President. He came across as serious, smart, determined, and principled.

He received a great applause when he said we did not liberate 25 million people at bitter cost only to retreat before a band of thugs.

The secularists will cringe, because the President said we would pray for the comfort of those who have lost loved ones in the war.

THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS. President Bush is speaking this morning in the U.K. He pointed to the common heritage and ideals of the U.S. and U.K. He complimented the bravery of the sons and daughters of England and said the old alliance is strong.

The President has received several strong rounds of applause. He also received a good laugh when he reminded the crowd that the last president to visit Buckingham Palace was Woodrow Wilson, who also received derision from the French. Wilson came to present his 14 points for peace. The French Prime Minister whined that even God only had 10 commandments. President Bush said "sounds familiar" and the crowd laughed.

The President presented three pillars for peace. First, international organizations that are up to the challenge. This implied that the U.N. is not up to the challenge, especially when he said we must respond to danger with more than resolutions. Second, the use of restrained force when necessary. Third, a commitment to open democracy.

Bush also pointed out the arrogance of those in the West who say that Arabs do not want freedom and economic security. He rejects the idea that one fifth of the world's people are unfit for self government. That brought a round of applause. (Of course, we know that the left does in fact not want personal freedom and self government, but big, centralized government that controls every element of our lives. We also know they will kill those who oppose them when they can, for history has taught us.)

The President says we now have only two options: to keep our word or break our word. But he said, our will is firm and our word is good. I love this guy.

THE WHOLE STORY. While CNN was showing Brititsh protestors this morning, they also reported the results of a British poll. It turns out that more Brits support President Bush and want him to visit Britain than oppose him. Forty two percent of Brits believe the President should be there and support the war.

The press certainly does not support him, but, as here, the big papers are run by liberals. But the whole story is, we have a great deal of support in England. God Bless Tony Blair.

France and Germany are, of course, a different story. But, maybe the fear the Anglo alliance, and the same strength that resulted in victory in WWII. The French are basically powerless and want to reduce all actions to talk, the one thing they can still do without surrendering.

CHRISTIAN RADIO PART 2. The third major station is The Word FM. On the way to work I listen to Alistair Begg. Most of this company's programmng is preacher programs, and they pay the station to run their tapes. The station also has commercials. So, they should be profitable. Weekends are a bummer, as they have vitamin salesmen and various health shows, some of whch are wacky.

During the week, however, the have Alistair Begg, who is great, Jack Graham, the Bible Answerman, and others that are good.

I used to listen to the Bible Answerman on the way home from work, and that was both entertaining and informative. Now, however, they have moved him to later in the evening and I often miss him. The drive home guy is a talk show host, Scott Wilder, and I do not usually listen, because I get tired of the rants. I prefer the Bible stuff and doing my own ranting.

All of this is to say, it will be interesting to see where KCBI goes. Are they trying to compete with the more commercial stations by playing music that is more contemporary but less doctrinally correct? (Oh, I left out one. I heard a guy named Chip Ingram last night, talking about how to manage your anger. The part I heard was all psychology, no Bible. I have a degree in psychology. I would rather hear the Bible.)

I may have to go back to turning off the radio and listening to tapes during the commute. I need the Godly influence while driving. It reduces the urge to kill substantially.

CHRISTIAN? RADIO. I have not had a good last few days on Christian radio. There are two stations here in competition and another trying. The first is KLTY, a commercial station. I gave them up long ago, as you could not tell they were Christian except for their self promotion. The songs were vague love songs. Then they began playing old pop songs remade by so called Christian groups. How about a song by the drug addled Joe Cocker? Do you find that uplifting. Then came the arrangements of old Beatles songs. I bailed.

The other main station is KCBI. It is owned by Criswell Communications, an arm of Criswell College, an arm of First Baptist Church of Dallas, formerly pastored by, you guessed it, Dr. Criswell. I detect a theme. Regardless, it has been a pretty good station, more conservative than KLTY. They have a mix of music,news, talk shows, and preachers. KLTY is all music.

KCBI maintains that it is non-commercial, although they sneak in a plug for commercial sponsors at most every opportunity. For example, the news is brought to you by some company, the traffic by another, and so on. But, I could live with that, even though they might be more accurate in their description of themselves.

But, the last few days have been a problem. First, Sunday morning I get in the car and turn on KCBI as usual, only to hear the announcer say let's come home to Christmas, and then hear a flowery version of White Christmas! No, it is not a rascist song, but it is not Christian either. Not to mention that I do not want to hear Christmas music for two months, but that is probably just me.

Then, on the way home today, I hear another song. The guy keeps singing "you can dream". I do not remember that part of the Bible. God saved you so you can dream? I thought the goal was to find God's will and do it. It smacks of that old self help gospel. God saved you so you can reach your full potential, so dream. There is another one, by the Martins, that tells you to dream big. Maybe they think that is what God meant in Joel when he said your men will dream dreams and see visions.

Then tonight, on the way to pick up the Baby from her Bible study, I hear Tony Evans preaching. He preached the give to get gospel. God says to give what you want and he will give you more of it. Oh no! I thought only those Word of Faith guys, the prosperty gospel folks preached that, and here it is on KCBI. I freaked.

Tomorrow I think I will listen to jazz. At least I know what to expect.

YOU DECIDE. Which person is more stupid, the mayor of London or Paris Hilton? The mayor is an idiot. There, I said it and I feel better. He said George Bush is the greatest danger to humanity that we have seen. This staggeringly stupid comment ignores Hitler for example, Pol Pot, Stalin, and our personal favorite, Saddam Hussein. But, those guys were all socialists were they not? Paris Hilton said she did not think the sex video she made with her boyfriend would ever become public. Do they ever not? Did she ever hear of Pam and Tommy? Did she ever read of all the actresses that complained of the nude photos they made when they were young and needed money? Does Paris Hilton read?

I vote for the mayor.

WHAT TO DO TODAY. Christ at Work has a good post.

THINGS I LEARNED AT STARBUCKS. So I was at Starbucks last night, picking up my nightly libation and dropping off supper for Daniel, when I observed two TCU co-eds trying to order. I say trying, because it was obviously difficult for them. Neither seem to have the attention span to get through the process. I don't know if it was because they were both dumber than a bag of hammers, which is the impression they gave, or distracted by worry that their way to low cut jeans would simply fall off, or if they were thinking deep academic thoughts.

That situation, however, set me to thinking about the young people I know. I had a house full of them this week for Disciple Now weekend, 8th grade boys. Plus, the College Daughter was home briefly before going off to be a counselor for Disciple Now. Plus, I know lots of others through church and The Baby.

All in all, I see a lot of hope for the world in that generation. I often feel bad that most of the legacy of my generation is free sex, drugs, and Bill Clinton. Yes, I know that statement was redundant. But, I see a lot of great Christians in this younger generation. God is working. It is my prayer, and my hope, that He has not abandoned America to its self indulgence (not counting Starbucks, of course) and sensuality and is instead working in this younger generation to bring about a great revival. I pray for that and I pray for them. Please join me.

AMERICA THE MISSION FIELD. John Tobin talks about the huge revival in Uganda and compares it to the declining influence of the church in the USA.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS? That is the question at North Crowley High School. After losing their first 3 games, the Panthers went on to win their division. Then, tonight, they won over Arlington Heights 28-14! They are district champs for the first time ever. They even got a trophy. Way to go guys. Way to go.

GRAND OLD FLAG. The sidewalks downtown are lined with flags. The wind is blowing and they are all snapping at their poles as if to get your attention. It is red, white, and blue as far as you can see. Bands played, ROTC students marched. It is a great day to be an American. Thank you veterans.

MY BAD. Oops, it was ABC, but CBS involved in the Reagan show. It doesn't change my opinion of ABC. Thanks to Mike for the correction.

VETERANS DAY. Here is to my father in law, who as a young man fresh out of high school in Oklahoma, traveled to the Pacific and fought the Japanese island to island. So many of his companions were killed they had to consolidate units. Without men like him, who went into war because it was the right thing to do to protect our country, we would all speak Japanese or German. While the French surrendered to protect themselves, American teenagers and young men fought all over the world, dying in scores, to preserve freedom. They don't whine, most will not even speak of it, so many do not know of the common bravery of these men. They were ordinary men driven to do extaordinary things. God bless them all.

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES. "Mommy, this is nasty." These comments, reported by the Fort Worth Star Telegram, came from a 9 year old girl watching Britney Spears tape her new ABC special.

A few minutes later, the perceptive 9 year old said "It's just stripping."

That is what the music video business has become. Stripping. And yes, little girl, it is nasty, and your mother should not have taken you to see it and the rest of us should not watch it and should write ABC and complain.

ABC continues its assault on traditional values with this show. They tried to assault Ronald Reagan, but the protests backed them down. They have been on a rampage against Christianity, producing shows under the guise of documentary which only present the critiques of Christianity.

If only they didn't have Alias, I would never watch the network.

ROCK AND ROLL HEAVEN. Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers is dead. I remember dancing to "Inspiration" down in the basement of the Eastland YMCA. My Sunday School director even brought a special devotional one Sunday about the one of us who was going off to the den of iniquity. I guess by now Bobby knows if there is a rock and roll heaven. Hopefull, he has not lost that lovin' feelin' and God has considered him a righteous brother.

A GREAT DAY. It is a Great Day. The President has signed the partial birth abortion bill, banning this barbaric practice. Litigation will continue, but at least the Chief Executive realizes that pulling a human being partially from the womb and crushing his brain until he dies is wrong. There is nothing different from this and the old Chinese practice of taking unwanted babies, usually female, and throwing on the rocks to kill them. Thank you President Bush. Thank you God.

LOVING GOD. If we want to convince Jesus Christ that we love him, there is only one way to do so.

It is neither to make protestations of our devotion, nor to work up feelings of affection toward him, nor to sing hymns of personal piety, nor even to give ourselves to the service of humanity.

It is to obey his commandments. Jesus demonstrated his love for the Father by his obedience ('I do as the Father has commanded me', Jn. 14:31); we must demonstrate our love for Christ by our obedience.

--From 'The Upper Room Discourse', in "Christ the
Liberator", by John Stott and others (Downers Grove: IVP, 1971), p. 39.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO (DOME). Sorry about the lack of blogging. I have been at the State Marching Band Contest in San Antonio as a sponsor to my beloved Mighty Panther Band. The Baby plays in “The Pit”. Here are my observations about the trip.

1. The Alamo Dome is a beautiful facility and perfect for band competitions. We sat in the third level. The sound was wonderful and the view was perfect for seeing all the formations.

2. The Alamo Dome is not well run. We waited over an hour in line for tickets, missing several bands. Since they were charging a whopping $17.00 for the prelims only, that was not appreciated. They were understaffed badly. Some people did not get to see their own band. Others would have missed, but people had mercy on them and let them go ahead. Then, it took over half an hour to get a mushy hot dog from Aramark. There was one person taking orders, filling them, and taking money, while dozens of people stood in line. Bad Dome, Bad Dome

It was all overpriced. You had to buy tickets separately for the preliminaries and the finals. Food was exorbitant. Cokes were $4.50 and did not taste like cokes. The food was no better than you would get at a high school football game, but was very expensive. Some of the kids had a hard time getting enough to eat on the money they had. Bad Dome!

3. Band kids are good kids. Out of 250 kids, we had only two or three problems. The odds would be worse with adults.

4. My body does not like bus trips. Who knows how long it will take me to recover from this. I had to stop at Starbucks for a latte just to make it into the office.

5. It is hard to stay on the Atkins diet when you travel with kids.

6. Teenagers are amazingly resilient. We got them up at 5 a.m. on contest day. They dragged around the hotel like zombies. Five hours later they marched and played the best they ever had.

7. I love marching band.

8. But, most of all, I love The Baby.

NOW THAT'S SCARY. Joshua Claybourn mentions in his blog that the Wesley Clark website promoted support parties for Halloween. That is appropriate, since Clark has become a master of disguise. It would have to be a costume party, where this general could masquerade as a liberal anti-war candidate. He could wear the Bill Clinton mask, both to disguise his former beliefs and to celebrate his donning the Clinton persona of changing your beliefs with every political change in climate. Of course the cruelest trick would be to be deceived into voting for him.

DEATH MERCHANTS SUE. Abortionists have already filed three lawsuits to block the partial birth abortion bill, and the President has not even signed it yet! The battle continues.

BIG D. I have not been able to blog for the last two days. I have been attending a seminar in Dallas to get my continuing legal education hours and keep my license. I have had to leave before dark and return after dark both days. Even though Fort Worth and Dallas are just 30 miles apart, it may take up to two hours to make the trip. Traffic was horrible. My office will pay for me to go to Austin and stay in a hotel, but not Dallas. It is actually easier to go to Austin.

There are two truths about Dallas I learned. First, there are a lot of people in Dallas. Second, they are all in their cars. Next time I need to try the train. Or better yet, just do not ever go to Dallas on a work day. I have avoided it for years, and this seminar reinforced my choice.