We Could Do Worse . . .

How's this for a potential '08 ticket? I guess they would run as independents?

Remodeling

Major redesign underway! Everything should still be here . . . somewhere. Posts will resume shortly. For now, the mail must go through!

"I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries."
~Stephen King~

I Passed the US Citizenship Quiz:

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Quiz?

The best data we have (concerning the big bang) are exactly what I would have predicted had I nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, the Bible as a whole.
~Arno Penzias~

FDR's D-Day Prayer

I heard this on the radio on my way home today. I don't know why I've never heard this before! (I guess government schools are as bad as I thought.) This is the prayer FDR led the nation in by radio the evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944. There are enough mentions of Almighty God and faith to make any self-respecting atheist squeamish. What is amazing is placing yourself in the context of that day, sitting by the radio and praying along with the president in such uncertain times. Incredible!

Text here. Audio here. For you high-speeders here is an excellent video presentation of the prayer appropriately updated for our nation's current conflict. And for something else interesting, even General Eisenhower made mention of Almighty God in his Order of the Day delivered to the Allied Expeditionary Force that morning.

D-Day Remembered

On the 40th anniversary of Operation Overlord, known forvever to the world as D-Day, June 6, 1944, Ronald Reagan spoke at the site of the U.S. Ranger Monument above the beaches upon which so many had died. In addition to the valor of those troops, the words of our 40th president are also worth remembering. You can read the whole speech here, but here is a portion:

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge--and pray God we have not lost it--that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you."...you knew the people of your countries were behind you."

The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They thought--or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.

Something else helped the men of D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''

He goes on to add words for which Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, William F. Buckley, and the like ought to give heed:

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.

May we never forget.

Talk (or rather Listen) to Mr. Ed !

Back to the Grindstone!

Wow. "Vacation" is over. Now the garage is cleaner; the basement could probably still be called a mess (too many toys); my cousin is married due in small part to Jacob's ringbearing and my eating a good share of the rehearsal dinner! So, it's back to the Post Office and maybe even back to blogging.

"Self Portrait" by Drew

Drew says, "This is how I look when I'm scared." That's his hair going wild with fright. I wish you could see the whole thing; it fills a 12 x 18 inch page, but our scanner isn't that big.

He says you can tell it's him by the "whale tail" necklace. You can also recognize him by the square jaw (if you don't first mistake him for Tom Petty or Steve Tyler!).

Daily Mail Straw Poll

I've posted a new poll asking which Republican presidential candidate you would vote for. The poll is in the left-hand column, or you can access it by clicking here.

I voted for Duncan Hunter. He hasn't flipped on anything. He's built a wall in San Diego to combat illegal immigration. He voted for a war which he has sent his own son to fight in (3rd tour coming up). He's tough on Iran. Tough on China. Solidly pro-life. His vote ratings:

• A+ National Rifle Association
• 100% Eagle Forum
• 100% National Right to Life
• 92% Lifetime rating, American Conservative Union
• 100% Concerned Women for America
• 100% Christian Coalition
• 100% Campaign for Working Families
• 7% ACLU (that's right, 7%)

Besides, if he's good enough for Chuck Yeager, he's good enough for me! He's just the sort of ideological conservative we need in la Casa Blanca. Who are you supporting?

Time to Make the Donuts!

One of my all-time favorite characters and one of my all-time favorite foods:

Good Call

I wonder how accurate any of you think this is . . .

A caller to the Laura Ingraham radio program this week made the point that the mood of the country toward abortion is generally presented by the media as "pro-choice with restrictions," whereas he felt it could more accurately be described as "pro-life with exceptions." It's a significant distinction; I think he makes a good point.

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men.
~Benjamin Franklin~

What if you were a pompous curmudgeon who was pudgy with self-importance?

You would be Chris Hitchens! Initially I wanted to place here the video of Hitchens making a self-righteous fool of himself as he blamed every problem on earth for the last 30 years on Jerry Falwell, but I decided I didn't want his face on my beautiful little corner of the internet, so if you want to take a look at it you'll have to go here. He begins by lamenting that there is no hell for Falwell to go to. Well, at least there's no atheist heaven for Hitchens to go to. Now, I'm not the huge fan of Falwell that Ann Coutler is, but he is nowhere near the cause of the world's ills.

Also, Hitchens vs. Wilson Part 3 is up over at CT. I'm learning from this debate that Hitchens is not all that interested in the debate; he's simply impressed with his own thoughts. And somehow he has convinced himself that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist, but he needs to see my post of May 15, or he could at least read the Declaration of Independence!

Survey Says . . .

I stumbled onto pollingreport.com and though it's a bit overwhelming it really does pull together all the polls you hear about on different subjects. Just click on a category and you can go through a chronological listing of questions and answers from Gallup, Zogby, ABC, FOX, CNN, etc. Now, I don't in the end care about polls, and they are usually misrepresented in the media reports as much as possible (and of course no one has ever solicited my opinion!). But sometimes there are interesting things to be found in the "internals" of the polls. For you political junkies especially, Polling Report is worth a look.

"Morning Glories for Mother's Day" by Drew

God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed our only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?

~Thomas Jefferson~

Lord Willing and the Pancakes Don't Rise

I was unhappy with some blueberry pancakes I made recently. They were flat, not fluffy. If this happens to you, it's probably your baking powder. It doesn't have a very long shelf-life, so if you're unsure you should test it before using it. Here's how: pour a teaspoon of it into 1/3 cup or so of hot water. You should get some serious fizzing. If not, your baking powder is a dud. In a pinch you can mix your own by combining a tablespoon of baking soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar and 1-1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch. It's not quite a good "double acting" baking powder, but it will get some air into your pancakes (or whatever else).

What would the PC police do with this guy?

So much of our contemporary study of history is both tragic and humorous at the same time. It is indeed sad the length to which "historians" have gone to remake our national history--particularly that of the founding generation; but it is also funny to imagine the anguished contortions a PC liberal trying to cleanse the public square of religion must go through when he reads stuff like these following gems from George Washington.

To the Delaware Indian Chiefs he said in May 1779:

Brothers: I am glad you have brought three of the Children of your principal Chiefs to be educated with us. I am sure Congress will open the Arms of love to them, and will look upon them as their own Children, and will have them educated accordingly. This is a great mark of your confidence and of your desire to preserve the friendship between the Two Nations to the end of time, and to become One people with your Brethren of the United States. My ears hear with pleasure the other matters you mention. Congress will be glad to hear them too. You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.

Whoa! Doesn't he know the superiority of good-old Native American paganism to all that Jesus stuff? A few graduate courses in multi-culturalism should set him straight. And when it comes to the military, secularists would rather not ask and have Washington not tell:

While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.

If he were around making statements like these today I'm afraid poor George would have to go to PC prison along with Imus and the rest. No wonder the secularistas try to ignore and rewrite this history stuff!