Nice Help in Fighting Terrorists!!!

More evidence showing that Iran is actively working against us in Iraq by supplying militants with brand new weapons. Yep...let's rely on them to help us in Iraq!

Broken Promises Already?

One of the most talked about things the Dems said they would do if they took control was to implement ALL of the 9-11 Commission recommendations. Well, looks like it was just campaign rhetoric because they are already refusing to do one of the Commissions most vital recommendations, Intelligence Committee control of funding.

My how quick the flip flopping has begun. I thought they would at least wait until January!

Profile Arabs

I'm in a lazy blog mood today, so I'll just post Coulter's weekly column for your consumption =)

So Much for Free Enterprise

San Diego city council has voted to ban Walmart from building Supercenters in the city. I'm getting so sick of Walmart bashing. Looks like the people of San Diego will have less options for cheap prices and more jobs.

Fox Guarding the Hen House???

Iran is saying it is willing to help Iraq security. How about this...STOP SUPPORTING TERRORISTS!!!

Iran is the biggest backer of terrorist and for them to say they will help in Iraq is ridiculous. They are the main reason things are still bad in the Sunni region because of Iranian and Syrian backed Shiite terrorists.

Any effort to give Iran any more influence in the region than it already has will only make things worse.

Nah...Not a Cycle

Hurricane predictions for this year were way off. It was the calmest season since 1997 with only 9 named storms and only two making landfall, none being hurricanes. Not holding my breath though waiting for Gore and his ilk to rethink their gloom and doom predictions.

Thank You US Military!!!

The Family Research Council's Daily newsletter's Thanksgiving email nails it. As it says toward the bottom, please remember in your day with family and friends to say a prayer of thanks and protection for our troops who fight to keep us free.

There isn't a link, so I'm reposting it in full:

Facing the greatest test of American resilience, President Abraham Lincoln's first Thanksgiving came at a pivotal point in his life--and in the history of his torn country. In 1863, with the nation embroiled in war and dark shadows cast on the prospect of peace, President Lincoln revived a tradition of thankfulness at a time when there seem little to be grateful for.

As he walked among the shallow graves at Gettysburg, mourning the thousands who fell, President Lincoln asked his countrymen to lay down their arms and pray. After delivering his famous battlefield address, Lincoln reminded the people that although they were divided by many things, they were still united by the American ideal. There, in Gettysburg, Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving proclamation, setting aside one November day for people of the North and South to join together, and with one voice offer their praise and gratitude to God. The country, though shattered by war and broken in spirit, would observe its first Thanksgiving since the great Revolution.

"In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity... order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict...

"Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship... notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God... It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people... I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also... fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose."

Today, our prayer is not unlike President Lincoln's--that, at a time of war abroad and a bitter conflict of interests at home, the Lord would heal the wounds of this nation and increase its years of peace.

This Thanksgiving, as American families celebrate life's bounty, may we remember the men and women on the fields of battle who are eating meals under enemy fire. As we sit on sofas swapping stories, they sit in humvees, patrolling streets. While we gather around televisions watching football, they huddle under cover watching snipers. In the face of these great challenges, may we, like Lincoln, put gratitude first.

The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving

As we get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday and all that goes along with it, here is a great article from Newt sharing the history of Thanksgiving and its relevance today.

Here are two great quotes for the article:

In 1789, George Washington issued a proclamation calling for a day of "public thanksgiving and prayer" -- a day for Americans to acknowledge "the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Lincoln acknowledged that the nation was "in the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity." But he focused instead on the nation's blessings, urging his fellow Americans to remember that "No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy."

No Surprise...Right Out Gives Left

A new book is coming out next week showing that conservatives far out give liberals to charitable causes and helping the needy across all income levels. No surprise there whatsoever.

Is Your Home Next???

A city in CA has just passed the most sweeping anti-smoking ban in America. It is illegal to smoke anywhere expect single family homes. It is only a matter of time before that right is taken away too if the liberals continue to have their way. I mean come on...I'm sure there is some baby to protect from abusive smoking parents!!!

Imagine the Sore Losers

Can you imagine the cries from the Dems of fraud and intimidation had Allen, Burns or Talent won their respective races by the margins the Dem won? The three combined lost by less than half of what Kerry lost by in Ohio:

Allen lost by 7,217
Burns lost by 2,847
Talent lost by 41,537

Kerry lost by 118,559

No calls for recounts, no claims of fraud and intimidation at the polls. Instead three gracious statesmen accepted defeat and moved on. Allen was even legally allowed to have a recount by VA law paid for by the state and he didn't even ask for it saying the voters have chosen. What a difference between the parties.

Rightometer

A friend from my blogroll, Matt Lewis, has started a new site with Human Events. It is called Rightometer, and it will be a daily briefing on conservative blogs. As everything Matt does, I'm sure this site will be top notch and a great way to get out the conservative message. Be sure to check it out on my blogroll and consider adding it to yours as well.

Also for those of you that do political posts, Rightometer is looking to feature a wide variety of conservative blogs, not just the big ones. So, go to the site and send Matt links to your posts for consideration whenever you have a post you think he may be interested in adding to his daily brief.

Thanks!!!

Microfinancing

I was invited to a dinner this past Saturday hosted by Opportunity International. Their tag line is, "Giving the Poor a Working Chance." They are the pioneers in what is called microfinancing, which just won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Basically they set up a trust bank and provide loans to people in poor countries to start their own business. The stories they told of the success were amazing. One was from a $100 loan to start a sewing business, a lady now owns a sewing company, a taxi company and a cattle farm, all of which now employs several hundred people in her community. All that from just $100!!!

Our missions ministry at Frontline, Global Impact, has partnered with Opportunity with a goal to fund 5 trust banks. You can read about that here and hopefully if you feel so led, help the drive. I'll say more about this later, but I'm excited about being asked to lead a trip next summer to Africa where we will be able to see first hand the impact of microfinancing.

Defaulting to the Pro

I'll let someone, Rush, who is way more qualified than me to analyze yesterday's election. However I didn't too bad of a job when looking at his analysis compared to mine =)

First Thoughts

I'm obviously disappointed with the results. However, if the Dems push their hand to hard, they will be in for a rude awakening. Will they cater to the far left who wants us out of Iraq now which make us and the region less safe? Or, will they be held in check by all the more conservative Dems they put up to win seats.

I haven't done a full analysis yet, but one early thing I see is that blue states have become more blue. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out over the next two years. There were some major defeats in red states, Ohio for example, but overall it looks like blue states are more blue and red states are still red.

One thing I'm fully convinced is that Repubs did themselves a lot of harm by moving to the center and forgetting their base ideals that brought them to power. Hopefully this will be a wake up call to get back to our values and not run from them. That's what I'll be working hard for the next two years.

Those Who Fail to Learn From the Past...

"More than half of the battle is taking place on the battlefield of the media. We are in a media race for . . . hearts and minds. The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam--and how they ran and left their agents--is noteworthy." - Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 man

"The Americans will gather their belongings and leave this region - the entire region. They have no future whatsoever in our region. They will leave the Middle East, and the Arab and Islamic worlds, like they left Vietnam. I advise all those who place their trust in the Americans to learn the lesson of Vietnam, and to learn the lesson of the South Lebanese Army with the Israelis, and to know that when the Americans lose this war--and lose it they will, Allah willing--they will abandon them to their fate, just like they did to all those who placed their trust in them throughout history." - Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader

The enemy thinks we will leave before the job is done just like we did in Vietnam (btw...they also cite Beirut, Mogadishu and Iraq '91 in their propaganda to incite fear among the Iraqis). I wonder where they get that idea from??? Thanks LIBS!!!

Go Vote!!!!

I'll give my thoughts on two states. My home state of LA and my current resident state of VA.

Nick over at the Conservative Cajun has a very good rundown of LA issues on the ballot. I agree with all of his amendment choices except #8. I would vote Yes on Amend #8 because it gives the local government control over its school system and takes the power away from EBR and the state. It is a great school choice amendment. Baker and Zachary have done the same and the results speak for themselves.

I also disagree with his choice for the 3rd district. I agree with his assessment on the two in his comments section and any other year I would probably lean toward Melacon, however, ultimately this year it comes down to control of the House. So, with that in mind, I would vote for Romero. The two main issues for me on that front are Iraq and taxes, both of which, based on their rhetoric and past actions, would be disastrous with the Dems in charge.

In the Virginia elections here is how I voted:
Amendments:
#1 (Marriage Amendment): Yes
#2 (General Assembly limitations): Yes
#3 (Tax Relief): Yes

Bonds:
No on any and all bond requests.

House: There aren't any real close races in the House, so I won't waste ya'll time on those. I voted for Tom Davis in my district.

Senate: George Allen

I've had several friends even through last night unsure of who they would vote for in the Senate race and while I think Allen has done a great job and will continue to do so, some think Webb would be a pretty conservative Dem. Ultimately again I gave the same reason I gave above for Melacon/Romero, even though in this case I am a very strong supporter of Allen and would not personally ever lean towards Webb in this case.

If you have any specific questions on races or issues in your state, feel free to ask and I'll try and check periodically throughout the day. This year more than any other...when in doubt, vote Republican =)

Knowing the End of the Story

Last night I had a very comforting thought.

I watched the first half of the LSU game at home, but I had to leave at halftime when we were down 10-7. Then before I got to where I was going, I heard that Tennessee scored a touchdown right at the beginning of the second half to go ahead 17-7. I wasn't a happy camper.

Then I wasn't able to get any updates until after the game was over. My brother (thanks bro!!!) had texted me the highlights as they happened and so by the time my event was over I had the news that LSU had won 28-24 in the last seconds of the game.

I Tivo'd the game, so when I got home later I watched the second half. When the interception went for a touchdown, I wasn't worried. When later they went up 24-17 with less than 3 minutes left, I wasn't worried.

Why wasn't I worried? Because I knew the end of the story. I knew that we won before starting to watch. I had complete assurance that the end of the game would be in my favor.

That is the same with how I live my life as a Christian. I know the end of the story. I know that if I die before Christ returns, I'll spend eternity in Heaven with the Father. Despite all the bad things that are happening in this world, I know in the end, it will all be set right and good will overcome evil.

That is how I can post my previous post. That is how I can go to Iraq and other places I plan to go in the future. I know that as long as I continue to trust in Christ, I know the end of the story and have complete assurance in that.

If you don't have that same assurance, I pray that this maybe gave you a reason to think about it. If you have any questions, please ask. He doesn't want anyone to perish without knowing Him:

2Pet 3:9
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish , but everyone to come to repentance. (NIV)

Full Circle

Yesterday marked 5 years since I left Louisiana to move to DC. I was pondering on that a couple of days ago and realized for whatever reason, I never looked exactly where I was in the Pentagon in relation to where the plane hit on 9-11.

I'll give you one guess???

Yep, I work in the exact spot where the plane hit. If I had been here working in my office on that morning, I very likely would not be here today. It really got me thinking how things have transpired over the last five years.

For those who don't know, I originally came to DC on 9-13 with a group from my church in BR to cook Cajun food for the Pentagon relief workers. And now I'm working in the exact spot where those relief workers were working around the clock to try and find survivors.

Some may ask, "Doesn't that scare you any or worry you?" Well, I honestly have to say, not one bit. I've seen so many amazing things happen in my life these last five years, that I'd be foolish to worry. Besides if something did happen, I'd just beat ya'll to Heaven and get to spend more time with my Savior =)

Who knows...maybe 5 years from now I'll be working in NYC on the top floor of the Freedom Tower.

Stuk n Irak

Pic credit: Drudge Report

Once again Kerry is defaulting to his base operating procedure of bashing the troops. He is trying to back track saying it was a botched joke and really meant to attack the President. Maybe he was for the joke before he was against it? Here is the video. You decide, but I think the troops pictured above have made their decision.