Well, I'm off the a Lord of the Rings DVD watching marathon at Mike's house. We'll be about an hour late. Hopefully, they told the Little Woman the wrong time by at least half an hour on purpose. She wants me to go and rearrange the flag I put out. I told her to make up for all the anti-French things I said this year, I would fly the French flag below ours. She just went outside to see it: Old Glory waving magestically above a white pillow case.

See you later.

Instapundit has good Memorial Day coverage with links and stories. Check it out. He is still the Man in the blogosphere.

Thanks by the way to Oldest Daughter for commenting here and plugging the blog on her own (www.michellegilbreath.blogspot.com). Thanks to her saint of a husband, Favorit Son In Law, for reading and posting.

MEMORIAL DAY. Yesterday I was in Kinko's getting copies made. I asked a young man there if he had Memorial Day off. He told me know, he missed all the good beer holidays. That made me a little sad. All of our observance days have become party days, since we get the day off from work. But in that process many of us have lost the meaning of the days.

Memorial Day simply remembers those who have died in service to our country in the armed services. Many of us are more keely aware of this since we know men and women in the service in Iraq or other places, or who have died in conflict recently, as Kelly Hornbeck from our church.

History is usually studied by kids who cannot appreciate it. Only adults can truly learn to appreciate the sacrifice many have made. In between beers, or in my case Diet Cokes, today, get on the Internet and read about some of our heros. We speak English rather than German or Japanese because many farm boys, small town girls, and young people from all over this country went to war.

My father in law spent WWII charging up beaches in the South Pacific into withering gunfire. His unit was so decimated, they had to combine it with others. Thanks, Haskell, and all like you who gave lives, limbs, sanity, and time to keep us free.

Let's change the name of these days from "holidays" to "Remembrance Days".

SILVER THREADS AND GOLDEN NEEDLES. The Associated Press reports that Pope John Paul II told U.S. bishops America is turning against spirituality in favor of materialism. His remedy: study contemporary culture and find out how to appeal to young people. Pardon me for saying this, but this sounds very evangelical, in fact, very Baptist. Only, if he were a Baptist, he would appoint a committee or a task force to study the issue. And if it were like most Baptist churches, the committee would meet every week for months and issue a report, which would then be ignored by the church staff.

It is true that America is materialistic. It always will be. It will never completely change, barring disaster. That is because it has always been that way. People came here to be free to make a living. They still do. Fort Worth is loaded with them. We have Koreans taking over the donut businesses. We have Vietnamese families coming here with no English, graduating their kids first in their high school clasess and going to college while mom and dad work and save. There is an interesting cafe in Haltom City, its name sounds like "too high", and the owner is a former military man in South Vietnam. It goes on and on.

There has always been a religious and spiritual component in America also. Some people came to worship. That has died out quite a bit. But, John Paul, let me tell you this. The danger is not atheistic materialism, it is polytheism and paganism. People have a desire for the spiritual. Many have turned their back on Christianity, but few are true atheists. But, there are lots of folks who make up their own religion, taking a little from each in a cafeteria plan. They like God, as long as he isn't enforcing those pesky rules. Especially about sex.

They like reincarnation; Americans believe in second chances. It is comforting to believe that, if you screw it up this time, you got this safety net.

Most paganism in America is by people who think they are Christians. They just redefine God to suit their purposes. You can hardly recognize him if you are an orthodox, classical Christian. This God did not make hell. This God does not get upset if we break the rules. Lots of people that go to church on Sunday believe God wants to make you rich if you only believe.

But, you know, I'd like us to worry less about appealing to the culture, and just preach the gospel. Tell it like it is. Don't hide anything. Then let God do his work.

The church could also learn to live its own lessons. The Pope said the church must "respond to the profound religious needs and aspirations of a society increasingly in danger of forgetting its spiritual roots and yielding to a purely materialistic and soulless vision of the world." Well, I'm not sure the opulent Catholic church can say much about materialism. Who owns more stuff than the Catholic church? They own their own little country. They own zillions of pieces of priceless art. They own buildings. Look how many people are on the payroll. Now that is opulent.

I remember an old story about a priest who came to visit Rome. An older priest, who had been there a while, took him on a tour of the Vatican. He showed him the impressive buildings, the fabulous art, the statues, the rare books, the relics, all the great guilded things owned by the Church. The young priest said "well, we sure can no longer say with Peter, 'silver and gold' have I none." The older priest nodded in agreement and said, "true, but neither can we say 'rise up and walk'."

FLIP FLOP. Go here for a chart showing Kerry's changing positions on Iraq.

WEAPONS OF MATTRESS DESTRUCTION. I have to admit this is funny. This site by people with way to much time on their hands carries a story that the Bush Administration has found a cache of illegally removed mattress tags in Iraq. I wish I'd have thought of that (but, then I would have had to think of a way to blame it on John Kerry).

IRAN ROCKS. A major earthquake has hit Iran again, just about six months after the big one at Bam. The premillienalists must be going wild.

MY BALONEY HAS A SECOND NAME. Mustafa Kamel Mustafa has been indicted in the U.S. on 11 terrorism related counts. He has been arrested in London and awaits extradition proceedings. Mustafa, as all Muslim terrorists must, has a second name, it's Abu Hamza Al-Masri. He probably changed his name after Mustafa was used as a name in The Lion King. It is hard to be taken seriously as a terrorist when everyone you meet says "weren't you a character in Lion King"?

One of his notable achievements is recruiting and converting old and worn out Black Panther H. Rap Brown and teaching him that he needs a second name, which is Jamil Abdulla Al Amin.

Mustafa also tried to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon. He intended to teach them to infiltrate Oregonian society with abortion on demand, euthanasia, and same sex marriage, but was embarrassed to find out they had all that already.

Then, he also worked as a bouncer in a bar. He was pretty effective, what with the steel hook for a hand and one eye missing. Whenever anyone would say "weren't you in Lion King?", he would give them a left hook. (Pause for drum and cymbal.)

He also married a woman who was already married. I think they idea was reverse polygamy. You know, you hardly ever see that in polygamy circles, where there are many men and one woman. That may be because women are smarter than men. Or, it may be that there is no one woman who wants to pick up that many socks.

Mustafa is also known for believing that the 9/11 attack was a Jewish plot. I called him today and asked if he also believed, along with John Kerry, that Truman missed his acceptance speech by staying home with the missus, and he said "even I can't believe that one".

KERRY GETS IT WRONG AGAIN. John Kerry, the un-candidate, to justify his delay in accepting the Democrat nomination, claimed that Harry Truman was not at the convention to accept his nomination. This is dead wrong. He was there, he accepted, and it is recorded on film. The real tradition here is for John Kerry to make up whatever story justifies his actions. We call that lying in West Texas.

NICHOLS CONVICTED. An Oklahoma jury has convicted Terry Nichols of all 161 murders in less than 5 hours of deliberations. That includes an unborn child. The same jury decides punishment. Look for the death penalty.

I HAVE COMMENTS! Reminds me of that line in the movie, Twister: I can't talk right now, we have cows!

YET ANOTHER OPTIMIST. Houston Attorney Neal Davis represented Susan Wright in her murder case, according to the Texas Prosecutor, volume 34, Number 3. Mrs. Wright stabbed her husband 193 times. His nude body was found buried in the back yard. It had ligatures tied around his wrists and one ankle. Attorney Davis had her plead self defense!

Optimists: I'm not one, but I love 'em.

CHEESEBURGERS IN PARADISE II. There is an interesting article at www.Space.com today, by Robert Roy Britt, about the size of the universe. I know, I know, you’re more worried about the size of your waist than the size of the universe, especially after that post about McDonalds. Plus, most of us do not plan to travel the universe, if for no other reason than there are no Starbucks there.

But, guess how big scientist now say it is: 156 billion light-years wide!

Guess how they did it. They “examined primordial radiation imprinted on the cosmos.” I kid you not. Ha, you didn’t even know there was such a thing a primordial radiation, did you, much less that it was imprinted on the cosmos.

O.K., I don’t know what any of those things are either.

But, I’m concerned. I mean, what effect will primordial radiation have on me? How do you get it off? I don’t think I want it imprinted on me. Am I part of the cosmos?

Scientists also think the universe is about 13.7 billion years old. That is really old. That means light we see from the earliest known galaxies left home 13 billion years ago. No wonder ET wanted to phone home.

I actually went out last night to see some light from the earliest known galaxies. It was hard to tell. So, I just went on to Starbucks. At least I can recognize it.

What does light from the earliest known galaxies look like? It is old and wrinkled looking light. It also looks really tired from traveling all that way. The traffic was terrible, what with all that old light traveling around. And think of how many times the baby lights asked “are we there yet?”

To make it worse, it is really hard to get anywhere in the universe, because the universe has been expanding since the beginning of time. That is like going to visit your grandma in Vernon. When you left it was 120 miles away. But, when you got to Wichita Falls, the sign tells you Vernon is now 200 miles away. You’re going to need a lot of DVDs on your way across the universe.

Does this mean that the universe might not be that old, but just expanding really fast so light is farther away than we thought? Is that scientific? I feel like the king in The King and I. That’s scientific!

The article also said scientists studied the cosmic microwave background. That sounds like something a hippie would make popcorn in.

Here’s a great quote: "The problem is that funny things happen in general relativity which appear to violate special relativity.” Doesn’t that sound like something John Kerry would say. “When I voted for relativity, I meant special relativity, not general relativity. Did I mention I fought in Vietnam?”

Finally, the scientists concluded that the universe has started expanding again. Distant galaxies are moving away at a rate that is increasing. Wow, even galaxies do not want to be near us. It must be the greenhouse gas.

All this is making me weary. I think I’ll go watch a DVD. Maybe “Back To The Future”.

BAPTIST POLITICS. The Baptist General Convention of Texas will not allow Southern Baptist Convention seminaries to exhibit at the annual convention. That includes the local seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Mr. Rogers says "can you say PETTY?"

Preachers are amateurs in the political game, compared to lawyers. They are clumsy and obvious when they think they are devious. But, what they lack in skill, they make up for in zeal and blood lust.

I tried to warn a preacher friend of mine some time ago as he went off to the BGCT thinking he could make a difference. I told him, preachers and lawyers will both stab you. But lawyers will let you see the knife. Preachers hide it in their Bibles. He came back bloody as a friend and mentor he had previously defended set him up for humiliation in front of the whole convention.

I used to refrain from criticizing these guys in public, to not hamper the cause, so to speak. But, since they insist on bending over and dropping their trousers in public, why should I stand behind them and try to block the view?

So, here's to you, BGCT, you have shown your naked back side to the public again. Now, I guess the SBC will have to decide how to respond. I can hardly wait.

I guess I should not complain. It is hard being a schismatic, but the professionals in the Catholic Church area abusing children and trying to cover it up. So, what is a fellow to do?

HELL ON EARTH. As you know if you read my blog, I believe Haiti and Sudan are in a contest to become the Deepest Hell Hole On Earth. Sudan may have just pulled ahead. Ebola has broken out and a dozen people have died. Of course, a dozen people die, plus many more, in Sudan every day, but from assasination, murder, genocide, starvation. So, no one has noticed until now.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings;and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)


e e cummings

CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE. McDonald's is now going into the DVD business. You will be able to pick up a DVD and return it at any McDonald's.

I guess this is aimed at mobile parents, especially on vacation. You can stop in Abilene and rent "Vacation", get a Coke and a cheeseburger, then drive on. When you get to, say Clarendon, you stop, use the facilities, buy ice cream, return the video, and rent European Vacation.

I thought vacation was supposed to be family time. You know, you and your brother fight in the back seat while your Mom yells at you, and your Dad threatens "Am going to have to stop this car?"

Actually, in our family, the conversation often went like this:

Mom: Larry, look out the window and see the beautiful mountains.

Larry: I'm reading.

Dad: If you read, you're going to get car sick.

Larry: I'm already sick of the car.

Dad: Watch your mouth.

Mom: But, the mountains are beautiful. You can read any time.

Larry: No, I can't. You always make me look out the window.

Dad: Watch your mouth.

Mom: What could be so interesting? Don't you want to see the mountains?

Larry: Aragorn is going on the Paths of the Dead. I don't care about mountains.

Dad: Do I need to stop this car?

Mom: Maybe we should just let him read.

Dad: OK, but if he gets carsick, he's cleaning it up.

But now, the kid can watch the whole thing on DVD. You could drive from Fort Worth all the way to Colorado, only stopping at McDonald's for your wife to go to the bathroom and your kid to get the next DVD.

But, every now and then, you could rattle their cage and say "turn off the DVD and watch the scenery." The kid would say, Oh Dad, the movie is just getting interesting.

I'd say, do I need to stop this car?

Of course, my kid would say "only if you want to watch the DVD."

THE SPIRIT WITNESSES. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts sinners of their sin and guilt, opens their eyes to see Christ, draws them to him, enables them to repent and believe, and implants life in their dead souls. Before Christ sent the church into the world, he sent the Spirit to the church.

From 'The Great Commission', in "One Race, One Gospel,
One Task", ed. C. F. Henry and W. S. Mooneyham
(Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1967), p. 56.

WE KNEW THIS, BUT IT IS NICE TO BE CONFIRMED. The Pew Research Center survey shows that, at national news organizations, the political leanings of the press are as follows: 34% liberal, 7% conservative. Local news organizations come in at: 23% liberal, 12% conservative. But, the survey of the general public shows: 20% liberal, 33% conservative. It is a shame there is no requirement that the media represent the political ratios of the society. While it is considered a virtue to seek racial parity, there is not such virtue politically in the media. So, we take a lot of what they report with a grain of salt. They just don't know it.

WE KNEW THIS, BUT IT IS NICE TO BE CONFIRMED. The Pew Research Center survey shows that, at national news organizations, the political leanings of the press are as follows: 34% liberal, 7% conservative. Local news organizations come in at: 23% liberal, 12% conservative. But, the survey of the general public shows: 20% liberal, 33% conservative. It is a shame there is no requirement that the media represent the political ratios of the society. While it is considered a virtue to seek racial parity, there is not such virtue politically in the media. So, we take a lot of what they report with a grain of salt. They just don't know it.

Kim Jong II is, without a doubt, the best extortionist on the planet. North Korea has agreed to return 13 Japanese it kidnapped in the 1970-1980 period and have held against their will ever since. These two countries were not at war. This is a simple criminal act. Jong only agreed to the return after Japan promised food and humanitarian aid.

This scenario plays over and over, as Jong commits illegal or belligerent acts, then gets paid to stop.

Sadly, there is little hope the humanitarian aid will reach the starving populace. Historically, Jong has diverted it to himself or the army while hundreds of thousands starve to death.

Notice, if you will, the absence of a prominent international body in this situation. Probably no money in it for them.

Kim Jong II is, without a doubt, the best extortionist on the planet. North Korea has agreed to return 13 Japanese it kidnapped in the 1970-1980 period and have held against their will ever since. These two countries were not at war. This is a simple criminal act. Jong only agreed to the return after Japan promised food and humanitarian aid.

This scenario plays over and over, as Jong commits illegal or belligerent acts, then gets paid to stop.

Sadly, there is little hope the humanitarian aid will reach the starving populace. Historically, Jong has diverted it to himself or the army while hundreds of thousands starve to death.

Notice, if you will, the absence of a prominent international body in this situation. Probably no money in it for them.

According to the AP, a couple in Eugene, Oregon were not non-creedal. After they argued a while about a Bible verse, the woman poured hot cooking oil on the man.

Knowing and loving Oregon as I do, right up there with France, I figure this was illegal because they were discussing the Bible. Therefore, it was a hate crime.

If she had just made a rational decision that the boyfriend was a waste of oxygen, she could have claimed it was euthanasia, highly favored in Oregon. "He was lying so still, I figured he must be dying, and I just eased him on his way. Yes, the screams concerned me, but I think they were an involuntary reflex after death, a celebration of the release of the spirit."

The Texas Comptroller has ruled that the Unitarian Universalist Church is not a religion entitled to tax exempt status because they do not have one system of belief. Since Southern Baptists are supposed to be non-creedal, does that mean we should surrender our tax exempt status?

BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS BITE? A lawyer in New York has been fined $8,500 for barking at a witness in a deposition. Maybe the case was a dog. Maybe the witness was being catty.

You must make allowances for the fact that it happened in New York. People are a bit high strung there. They do not value the social graces of the south or the west.

Still, it is a bit hard to carry on one's profession with dignity knowing that somewhere, even in Yankee Land, someone in your profession is barking.

John Updike said writing is a way of taming the world. It is certainly a way of trying to define it. It may be a way to confine it.

It may also be a way of taming the soul. I suspect that the world continues along untamed, as wild as ever, despite anything written.

The writer, on the other hand, may be tamed. He expresses his thoughts and flings his emotions onto paper with an abandon he cannot summon in personal encounters. He suspects that no one would take the time to listen, at least no one sober.

But, place the words onto pristine white paper, or a blank monitor screen, and they take on weight. Maybe they take on magnetism, instead, and attract the eyes of those who also want to ponder, but do not want to express, at least not yet.

SUCKING AIR AT AIR AMERICA. Have you heard much about how Air America is doing? Remember that Air America is the great liberal effort to launch a radio network to counter the conservative talk radio shows that are dominant. Anyone but a Democrat would know this is a bad idea. Conservative radio came about because of liberal television, and conservatives keep it in demand. Of course, liberals do not care about realities in the market place. Only this time, the government will not bail them out. This is not NPR.

The mainstream television media hyped the beginning, carrying stories and statements from guys like Al Gore and that comedian fellow about how they would take over the air. Well, where are they now and what stories do we see or hear?

Where they are is down and close to out (allow time here for conservative gloating and ringing choruses of "I told you so".)

After two weeks of operation, they went off the air in Chicago and Los Angeles. In two more weeks, the CEO left. Then one of the co-founders left. Mr. Rogers says "can you say rats off a sinking ship?"

The network then fired around 20 people to kill off its sales offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. I would classify both of those as good liberal markets (if such exists).

In contradiction to good liberal standards, the network never enrolled its Chicago staff in their health insurance plan. Folks, they were uninsured because their employers left them out in the cold to suffer! Talk about cold hearted! Cold hearted liberals!

How many headlines have you seen about that?

CUR DEUS HOMO. It ought not to be disputed that rational nature was made holy by God, in order to be happy in enjoying Him. Anselm, Cur Deus Homo.

PANTS ON FIRE AT THE NYT. The New York Times continues to subvert its truth telling function to its dislike of President Bush and the war in Iraq. The NYT reported the find of sarin gas as that of a "trace". But the amount found is enough to kill 50,000-60,000 people. A gallon of this stuff takes out the city of Odessa. Why is this important? The NYT does not want to admit there are any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Is 50,000 a mass? I think so.

Here is a question for the NYT. How far do you go before you pass partisanship and become a simple liar. I suggest going back to the basic job of a newspaper, that of printing the news, and truthfully. Save the editorial for the editorial page, where you can rant and rave about the President all you want. But, in your reporting, why not just say they found a gallon of sarin and it is enough to kill 50,000 people? You have added an opinion when you replace the fact with an interpretation, saying the found a "trace". You have also mischaracterized the finding, since trace implies an insignificant amount. I promise you would not find it insignificant if it was released in the New York subway as it was in Tokyo. OK, I admit, I think you lied.

Statement by the President

The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges. All Americans have a right to be heard in this debate. I called on the Congress to pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of a man and a woman as husband and wife. The need for that amendment is still urgent, and I repeat that call today.

Forty-eight Catholic congressmen have written a letter to church complaining that the refusal of offer communion to baby killing congressmen will bring back the days of anti-catholic bigotry. All forty-eight congressmen belong to the anti-religious democratic party, by the way.

Well, this born and bred Southern Baptist promises that he, for one, will not engage in anti-Catholic bigotry because of the abortion issue. I applaud the church for standing up for its beliefs and say it is about time it asked its politicians to do the same.

I say this with some sense of shame, as Southern Baptists never gave Bill Clinton the boot. But at least we are supposed to be non-creedal and the Catholics aren't. (I don't really know how you can be non-creedal, but that is another post and lots more duct tape for my exploding head)

Forty-eight Catholic congressmen have written a letter to church complaining that the refusal of offer communion to baby killing congressmen will bring back the days of anti-catholic bigotry. All forty-eight congressmen belong to the anti-religious democratic party, by the way.

Well, this born and bred Southern Baptist promises that he, for one, will not engage in anti-Catholic bigotry because of the abortion issue. I applaud the church for standing up for its beliefs and say it is about time it asked its politicians to do the same.

I say this with some sense of shame, as Southern Baptists never gave Bill Clinton the boot. But at least we are supposed to be non-creedal and the Catholics aren't. (I don't really know how you can be non-creedal, but that is another post and lots more duct tape for my exploding head)

I LOVE THESE GUYS TOO. From the Sun Times Online:

"OUTNUMBERED British soldiers killed 35 Iraqi attackers in the Army’s first bayonet charge since the Falklands War 22 years ago.
The fearless Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders stormed rebel positions after being ambushed and pinned down.

Despite being outnumbered five to one, they suffered only three minor wounds in the hand-to-hand fighting near the city of Amara.

The battle erupted after Land Rovers carrying 20 Argylls came under attack on a highway.

After radioing for back-up, they fixed bayonets and charged at 100 rebels using tactics learned in drills.

When the fighting ended bodies lay all over the highway — and more were floating in a nearby river. Nine rebels were captured.

An Army spokesman said: “This was an intense engagement.”

The last bayonet charge was by the Scots Guards and the Paras against Argentinian positions. "

The Scots are fearless. God love 'em.

That last, by the way, was my 700th post. I really am a talker.

NEWS FROM IRAQ. Go here to read a first hand account that shows things are well in hand in Iraq and not accurately reported by the liberal press in America.

IT ONLY HURTS 'TIL I DIE. From the June 2004 edition of Citizen magazine:

"I pledge allegiance to the court of the ninth circuit of America and to the objection for which it stands. One nation making God invisible with liberty and justice annulled."

Then, from the Associated Press, March 31, 2004 report of the hearing on the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. Judge Richard Casey asked: "Does the fetus feel pain? ... Simple question, doctor. Does it cross your mind?"

Dr. Timothy Johnson replied that he didn't know about pain and never thought about the issue.

From me: "Doctor, I am now going to stab you in the back of the head and suck your brain through this tube. Please tell the court if it hurts."

Seriously, Tim, you never thught abut the pain issue? What did you think about while doing this? Just the money?

It is interesting to me that it is a war crime to take naked pictures of a guy that tried to kill you, but this is legal and profitable.

Thanks to Mike for the quotes.

QUEER QUOTA. There is a homosexual quota at the Democratic National Convention in July. Fifteen states have goals for the number of homosexuals in their delegations. California set its goal at homosexual men and 22 lesbians. Does this mean they are separate, but equal?

Maine Democrats want 3. If they cannot get three, they are willing to accept bisexuals and transgendered substitutes.

It is pretty funny to accept bisexuals as a distinct group. Bisexuals are basically people who will have sex with anyone. So, because you are really promiscuous, you get a quota seat in the delegation for the Democratic convention? What if you are polyamorous, meaning you do it with lots of people? What about, oh never mind, you get the point. Maybe the bisexuals could wear a shirt that says "I'm a slut. I vote Democrat."

MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING. Americans get substandard medical care about half the time, according to a recent study. Yet, studies also show that America spends about twice as much on health care as Australia, Canada, England and New Zealand. As with education, this easy solution to the systemic problem is to spend more money. Our history in education shows this is not successful. Now we know if for health care also. It would be nice if the people in charge would take the time and effort to study the situation and discern the true nature of the problems. Instead, problems become issues for political campaigns, where sound bites and the promises of money to a undiscerning public buy votes. Meanwhile, the situation of the people does not improve. Except for the people in charge.

I LOVE THIS GUY! "If we lose heart, if we abandon our friends, if we choose to give the wrong signal to the terrorists, that will not only make the world a less safe place but also damage the reputation of this country around the world." This is from John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia. You may remember I wrote him some time back to thank him for supporting America in the war and he wrote me back. That made him a good guy in my book, I admit, but his committed stand despite pressure to cave in has been admirable.

THOUGHTS OF EVANGELISM I. Our mandate for world evangelization is the whole Bible.

It is to be found in the creation of God (because of which all human beings are responsible to him),

in the character of God (as outgoing, loving, compassionate, not willing that any should perish, desiring that all should come to
repentance),

in the promises of God (that all nations will
be blessed through Abraham's seed and will become the
Messiah's inheritance),

in the Christ of God (now exalted with universal authority, to receive universal acclaim),

in the Spirit of God (who convicts of sin, witnesses to
Christ, and impels the church to evangelize)

and in the church of God (which is a multinational, missionary
community, under orders to evangelize until Christ
returns).

From John Stott's 'The Bible in World Evangelization', in
"Perspectives on the World Christian Movement", ed. R. D.
Winter and S. C. Hawthorne (Pasadena: William Carey
Library, 1981), p. 4.

KERRY GOES KORPORATE. John Kerry must not be counting on support from corporation (except the ketchup company). He called those who out sourced jobs overseas "Benedict Arnolds".

If it were a farm corporation, he could call them Eggs Benedicts.

LifeWay has released the results of a survey of favorite Bible versions among American pastors. The NIV was most likely to be used as the primary source for 31% of American pastors. The NASB was primary among only 10%.

The numbers are closer when the field is narrowed to Southern Baptist pastors, but the overall placement is the same. First is the NIV with 26%, second is the NKJV with 25%, third is the KJV with 23%, and fourth is the NASB with 22%.

Mark Byron blogs that mustard gas has also been found.

WMD FOUND. The U. S. military found a bomb in Iraq loaded with Sarin gas. That is a WMD. Remember the Sarin gas bomb set off in the Tokyo subway that killed dozens.

THIS JUST IN. Homer has turned over in his grave. The Greek poet just learned that his epic poem The Iliad had been made into a movie starring Brad Pitt. Who'd a thunk it? Well, it could be worse. It could star the whole cast of Friends (the thought line here, by the way, is that Brad starred in an episode of Friends), with Jennifer playing Helen and Matt playing Hecktor. Maybe at the end they would all sing "Smelly Cat".

I guess some good might come from this late trend of filming classic stories. It is certain very few Britney Spears fans will read the Iliad. They will see the movie, however, which might, at least, make them aware of it and the themes in it. Hopefully, Snoop Dog will not make a rap song out of the poem.

Actually, speaking of trendy, I hear the theme song of the movie is sung by Josh Groban, that young and classically trained tenor who sings "You Raise Me Up", a short, but rousing song with high tenor notes. My wife, who likes young classically trained singers, has the CD. It was too good to last, however, as all things classic. A contemporary Christian group recorded it, adding some white soul sound, a new verse, and a choir to make it sound Christian.

That brings up another pet peeve, Christian artists who record non-Christian songs, usually love songs, and have them played on Christian radio stations. The first one I remember is "Love Lift Us Up", the old Joe Cocker song. Being old enough to remember Joe Cocker, I cannot bear anything of his being played under the guise of Christian music. He always looked stoned and about to have a seizure. He really did not sing well, either. I like him for that, as we have that in common. I just don't like his music on Christian radio.

I finally quit listening to KLTY here in the Metroplex when they began playing remakes of Beatles songs. I was afraid they would move on to the Rolling Stones. They could do "Get Off My Cloud".

I just saw a news story about bird watchers who are mad because they have been observing a rare owl, only to find out it was a decoy. My only question is, why didn't they slink off quietly in embarassment. I wouldn't want anyone to know. Now it is on the television. Hello America, listen up, Larry has done something monumentally stupid and he is complaining about it on national t.v.! More at 10!

Is there a stupid day we could celebrate?

TODAY IS ARMED FORCES DAY. Give a heartfelt thank you to all those who have served or are serving in the armed forces. It makes me think of my father in law, who spent World War II in the South Pacific charging up beaches into Japanese gun fire. He was awarded a Bronze Star.

My Sunday School class celebrated Armed Forces Day planting flowers and trees at the church. My church has a history of being confused about holidays. On Armed Forces Day, we celebrate Arbor Day. You know, we plant trees, plus some flowers and various shrubs. My only worry is the gal who picked out the plants is from California. I asked her what some of the plants were and she didn't know. Hopefully they are not avocado plants.

To top it off, in the tradition of our slightly off beat class, we planted a pink flamingo. We'll see if it is still there in the morning.

On Independence Day, our church always celebrates Armed Forces Day. We do not talk about George Washington, or the evil English, but we sing all the songs of the military and have old guys stand up with their branch of service, if they can remember. We try to have a color guard bring in the Flag if we can find guys who can still fit in their uniform.

Maybe on Labor Day, we'll open Christmas presents.

To top off the Armed Forces Day, we celebrated Mike's birthday. Mike, of course, was not in the Armed Forces. In fact, he is not even armed. But we like him, he was in charge, and it was his birthday.

Well, actually, it wasn't his birtday.

A young lawyer, just out of law school, was pleading his first case in South Carolina. A train had killed twenty-four pigs, and the young attorney was trying to impress the jury with the magnitude of the injury. "Yes, Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, twenty-four pigs. Imagine, twenty-four pigs. Twice the number there are in the jury box."

"We should have stayed and finished our mission," said Jose Francisco Casteneda, 29, a sergeant who served for Spain in Iraq.

"The great majority do not understand what we were doing there or what we went through," another sergeant, Torvisco, said. "I think it was worth it to bring peace to a country at war, as we had helped to do in Kosovo and Afghanistan. But I also know that I won't be able to convince a lot of people in this country of that."

Thanks for your service guys. There are still noble Spaniards.

NADAR NADIR. Ralph Nadar is suing the State of Texas. Nadar could not get enough signatures to get on the ballot in Texas. So, naturally, he has sued claiming the signature requirement is unconstitutional. This is what people do who spend other people's money. OK, Ralph, let's think this through. You cannot find enough people dumb enough to sign your petition, but you think it is worth suing to get on the ballot where no one will vote for you either.

I think I may file a brief supporting Nadar, however. Every vote for Nadar is a cereal vote that will not go for John Kerry.

THIS JUST IN!! The state has offered to settle the suit by giving Ralph a 1963 Corvair!

CREATION. "We [evangelicals] have tended to have a good doctrine of redemption, and a bad doctrine of creation. Of course we have paid lip-service to the truth that God is the Creator of all things, but we seem to have been blind to its implications. Our God has been too 'religious', as if his
main interests were worship services and prayer meetings attended by church members. Don't misunderstand me: God *does* take a delight in the prayers and praises of his people. But now we begin to see him also (as the Bible has always portrayed him) as the Creator, who is concerned for the secular world as well as the church, who loves all men and not Christians only, and who is interested in the whole of life and not merely in religion." From "Balanced Christianity" (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1975), p. 45.

It is hard, sometimes, to cling to the belief that God created the earth. Students at all levels are bombarded with evolution teaching. Much of it is inaccurate, but it often causes doubt. But the Bible is clear in teaching God created the earth. That is my point of initiation. I believe the Bible is God's inspired word. I then have to include creation in that belief.

It is not just Genesis 1-3 that is involved. The Bible is replete with references to God as creator. Words we attribute directly to him, through the prophets, proclaim him as creator. In Isaiah, God constantly refers to himself as the one who created the world and can also destroy it. Psalms is the same. The New Testament has references also. If we excise creation, we must go through the Bible with scissors, cutting in book after book.

That is the problem with the philosophy of some who say they believe in the Bible, but believe the creation story is mythological. God cannot claim throughout scripture to be the creator if the story is mythological.

So the first point for the Christian is this. Do you believe the Bible is true? If so, you must believe in creation.

CATCH UP TO KERRY. John Kerry asked his draft board for a deferment to study for a year in Paris. The draft board refused. Kerry enlisted in the Navy. Everyone I know who did that enlisted in the Navy to stay out of the Army and, hopefull, close action in Vietnam. Kerry the supposed war hero tried to duck military service but failed. Then, he went for a less dangerous alternative. Some hero.

POPE JOHN PAUL II ON ABORTION: "The church affirms the right to life to every innocent human being at the moment of its existence."

Katholic Kerry at a NARAL Pro-Choice America Dinner: "We need to honestly and confidently and candidly take this issue [abortion] out to the country, and we need to speak up and be proud of what we stand for."

HE TRIED TO TELL US. "The U.N. couldn't pour piss from a boot if the instructions were written on the heel." Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965.

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES. Is there some rule that Democratic presidential nominees must do things to look stupid exercising? John Kerry had a bike wreck wearing yellow lycra. That is lycra, as in queer eye for the straight candidate. Then you had Bill Clinton running to McDonalds in those ridiculously short jogging shorts. When he went by, the video shows people vomiting on the sidewalks in disgust and repulsion. Then, my all time favorite, was Jimmy Carter collapsing during a run. It was sort of a metaphor for his presidency. It may be the same for Kerry: a bike wreck waiting to happen.

WORTH MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE. Osama is offering 10,000 grams of gold to anyone who will kill Kofi Anan. That is about $125,000. That means Kofi is worth more to Osama than he is to anyone else. I wouldn't give you a plug nickel for him.

Osama may be in it for the oil. You know it is all about the oil. Kofi may have some of those vouchers his subordinate obtained from Saddam.

There may be a loophole, however. I noticed Osama said "God willing" he would pay the award. That sounds like he is hedging his bets.

Yes, Allah is greatful you have killed the Most High Commissioner of Incompetence, but Allah will not let me pay you for you are an infidel and must bathe in your own blood for stepping on the land of the Arab, of the Muslim Holy Warrior, and leaving Zionist footprints, and your children must be gutted and fried and fed to camels while the children of Ishmael cheer wildly before Allah and fire weapons in the air and, well, you get the picture. You're not gettin' paid, Crusader.

FLIP FLOP NEWS. John Kerry is not the only flip flop in his family. His wife was a registered Republican until last year. That is last year. Might we suggest she changed when John decided to run as a liberal democrat?

She met John Kerry at an Earth First meeting in Brazil. She owns 3 SUVs.

Heh.

MORE KILLERS. CNSNews reports that a judge in Tampa, Florida has ruled that the the law passed by the Florida legislature and carried out by Governor Jeb Bush to keep Terri Schiavo alive is unconstitutional. Governor Bush immediately filed an appeal.

This judge is W. Douglas Baird. He has consistently ruled in favor of Terri's husband, Michael, who want to remove her feeding tube and kill her. He will not let Terri's parents intervene in the lawsuit to defend the statute. You might remember that they have tried to keep Terri alive and have offered to pay for her care and assume responsibility despite the fact that Michael has a big account from a settlement to pay fo rher care. Mikey has a new woman and has had 2 kids by her, so his motives are a bit suspect.

The Culture of Death still moves its agenda in America.

STUPID QUOTE OF THE DAY. Carole Mehlman, who marched in D.C. to support abortion, "I just had to be here to fight for the next generation and the generation after that." Well, Carole, since people like you killed about 30 million of the last generation, I do not think you are fighting for them, I think you are fighting them. And killing them. Your slogan should be, Marching For The Right To Kill Off the Next Generation.

The National Day of Prayer is Thursday. It was established by Congress in 1952 and signed into law by President Truman. This year there will be more than 20,000 organized observances. And more than a few disorganized ones.

This is the time of year the ACLU just about has a stroke. Imagine, people encouraged by the government to pray. I mean, the word "National" is right in there. To make it worse, the President issues a proclamation every year, as do the governors of all 50 states. Even Oregon. No doubt, even people in Washington D.C. will pray. Or at least stand there with their eyes closed and heads bowed.

The President's proclamation is worth reading this year. My guess is, that upsets the ACLU also. So, support your country, make a statement of your beliefs, make a liberal mad, and go to one of the events and pray for our nation. It might make them mad, but you could also pray for the ACLU on National Day of Prayer. Pray that all members of the ACLU would be radically converted to Christianity and committed to nation wide evangelism. They would change their name to American Christians in Loving Unity. God would be glorified!

And think how mad they will be knowing you're doing it. Heh heh.

CALVINIST QUOTE OF THE DAY. All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, 1 by His Word and Spirit, 2 out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; 3 enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, 4 taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; 5 renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, 6 and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: 7 yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace. The Westminister Confession.

CALVINIST QUOTE OF THE DAY. Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God. Zophar the Naamathite (Job 20:29).

IT'S GREAT TO BE TED KOPPEL. I do not watch Ted Koppel. He looks too much like Howdy Doody. He looks more like HD than John Kerry looks like Herman Munster. And I'm short on duct tape right now.

But, if I did watch Ted talking archly to the tv audience with his I'm smarter than you smirk, his show would have the opposite effect on me than he intended. I think we all know that old Ted read the names of all the soldiers killed in Iraq to make Americans turn against the war. I've been reading those names, Ted, and it gives me the opposite reaction. I want to fight Iraq harder, strike back harder when they attack, drop big bombs.

I suggest a counter show. Let's have one of those all day shows. Every 15 minutes a different person will come in. We will read the names of every person killed in the towers on September 11, and follow it with the words "killed by an Muslim terrorist". We'll have widows read, orphans read, friends left behind read, firemen read, policemen, whites, blacks, jews (no mohammed, they did not all get the memo to get out because israel really did the attack), Pakistanis, every group represented in the victims.

Ted, you can read one if you want. Just follow the script.

Let's put it on all the channels, even that camel at the public trough PBS, and get everyone to sit there all day and watch each name read. Maybe we could put a picture of them up on the screen while we read.

Every hour we could take a break and watch the plane crash into the building, then people jumping out of the windows, then the buildings falling.

Then, let's go to Iraq. And let's take Ted.

KERRY DOES NOT RESPECT FREE SPEECH. Rebecca Porter recently attended a Kerry campaign event. She had a sign. The sign read "My abortion hurt me." Kerry went by Porter but did not speak. Later, a Kerry staff person took the sign and tore it up. I'll bet if you asked Kerry about the incident, he would say "I personally am not in favor of tearing up signs to inhibit free speech, but I do not believe I can tell others not to."

If you asked Kerry's staff member about it, he would probably say he was just following orders.

It may just be that Kerry is so rich he is out of touch and thinks free speech is something given after dinner by someone who is not popular enough to charge for it.

"UH, THE COLLEGE DAUGHTER WILL LOVE THIS". Harper's Index reports the average number of "uhs" used by college science professors while lecturing is 1.39 per minute. The average number used by college humanities professors is, uh, 4.85 per minute. I have made the College Daughter paranoid about this, as it is a pet peeve of mine. I think I indicates you can speak faster than you can think. That is especially bad if you come from West Texas, where speaking is painfully slow. (Our poor computer suffers this same fate. I can type faster than it can process, so it periodically locks up so I cannot type any more. I had to take a break, for example, between speak and faster and go get a drink.)

You would like to think a college professor could think as fast as he could speak, since they are educating our young people. It could be that they really just do not have that much to say and are killing time.

Preachers do this at times also. Have you ever sat through a sermon when the preacher clearly preached his sermon in 15 minutes, but did not want to quit? So, he just preaches it over again.

So you see, it is a good principle all around: only speak when you have something to say. Otherwise, let the silence speak for itself. You will find it does not hurt anyone, and you will appear much more intelligent waiting out the silence that filling the air with "uh".

And breathe through your nose.

After Canada becomes Muslim, they can call in Canuckstan.

MAYDAY. The European Union added 10 members to bring the total to 23. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta all joined. The EU has accomplished by economics what the Russians accomplished by force: a unified Europe. Members may travel freely between countries, spend the same money, feel "European" rather than, say, Czech, and observe rules made and ignored by Germany and France. The combined population and economic strength is roughly that of the United States, and they don't spend much money on the military, so there should be plenty of goose liver for everyone.

I will be interested to see if the EU ever squares off with the Muslims. Arabs have not been able to unite in a great Pan Arab state despite the dreamers such as Nassar and the schemers such as Hussein. But, Arabs have left the promise land in large numbers for the EU nations. They move for money and the move for evangelization. They do not move to become European. Much of Europe, and likewise much of the world, has been taken over by Arabs with very little large scale violence. They riot when denied. They beat up Jewish people and deface their houses of worship and grave yards. Mostly, though, they just hang together and demand change, and the Europeans give it to them.

France has awakened to the battle. The government has engaged the Muslims on some fronts, such as the head gear issue. But largely, it is unknown if the EU governments, or the EU will stand up to the Muslims and demand the continuation of Europe for the Europeans, a largely secular, somewhat Catholic, liberal society. Or will they be eaten alive by conservative, agressive, xenophic Arabs.

Canada, in contrast, will be eaten alive without a fight, I think. Ontario now allows Muslims to settle disputes between them under Sharia law. Canada has no strong Christian base to defend. I think they will fold like a cheap card table. But no one ever accused me of being optimistic.