Success is Bad?

With the reports of success of the surge in Iraq, Dems are getting worried. Wait...I know...you think I'm being overly partisan. Ok...I'll quote them in their own words and let you decide for yourself. House Majority Whip (third highest Dem in the House) Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said a good report coming out of Iraq in September would be "a real big problem for us." So, is it just me or are liberal Dems (the big concern is that the Blue Dog Dems, the more conservative Dems, will abandon the party) more worried about success politically than success of our troops in Iraq?

Selective Abortion Outrage

To watch the news coverage of the grisly discovery of 4 dead premature babies in MD, you would think they were all strong pro-life. They are horrified that someone would kill an infant before it was born. The fact that they are calling them infants is itself confusing. I thought they were just fetuses until they were viable? If all four end up being born dead, where is the crime, even if she did it to herself?

That's the hypocrisy of the abortion crowd. If a doctor kills an infant...oops fetus...then it is legal, but if the mother does it, it is murder? Someone on one of the local news programs actually said what was most sad in this case is that she had options if she didn't want more children. She then listed the options as birth control, adoption and abortion. Isn't abortion the option she apparently chose?

NY Times Urges Support for Surge

If the NY Times is starting to write positive op-eds about the surge, then it must really be working. So much so that even they can't ignore it. Here is their conclusion after spending 8 days there: "there is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008."

Where is the ACLU???

Put the Cross in urine...the ACLU defends it as free speech. Put a statue of the Virgin Mary in elephant dung...yep...ACLU defends as free speech. Burn the US Flag...you guessed it...ACLU defends as free speech. However, flush a koran down the toilet...charged with two felonies as a hate crime...ACLU no where to be found.

Hat Tip: Flopping Aces

Burundi Stories Part 7 - R&R

Beautiful Beach

Hike in the Mountains

Drummers of Burundi

Hippos (I promise that is what is in the water)

Female Lions and Cubs (off in the background)

Part of every Global Impact trip is Rest and Reflection so that we have time to process everything we are experiencing. Here are some of the things we did during the rest periods of the trip. Burundi is bordered by the longest lake in the world and has beautiful beaches in between two mountain ranges which have some nice trails. On our last night in Burundi, the World Relief staff had a going away party in which they invited the world famous Burundian drummers which was a very neat experience. We were also able to go on a safari during our two day layover in Kenya. Besides the animals above, we also saw a black rhino, a water buffalo, and a cheetah, but they were to far to get any good pictures. Our guide said it was the most animals he has seen in several years.

This will be my last post of stories from the trip, so I just want to take this opportunity to again thank everyone that made this trip possible for me and our team through prayers and financial support. As I have shared through these stories, it had a huge impact on my life and hopefully the life of some of the people we were blessed to meet. If you have never served on a mission trip in a third world nation, I can't encourage you enough to take the step of faith. Your life will never be the same afterwards.

In case you missed any of them, here are all the previous stories:
Always Be Prepared
It Is Possible
You Mean Peace
Joy in the Suffering
Rebuilding the Wall
Hope in Midst of Despair

The Ice Is Falling

The global warming crowd never ceases to amaze. Just like Chicken Little's false assumption was no where near reality, global warming is being blamed for ICE falling from the sky in Iowa.

Political Pay Back

In the Labor funding bill all oversight agencies are getting increases in the Congressional budget bill except for one, OLMS. This little agency is the agency that has oversight responsibility for unions and they have proposed a $2million cut to the agency. Political thanks for the union support? You decide.

Hat Tip: The Union Label

No More Wisdom

Today I went visit the doctor and dentist in order to get medically cleared to be deployable to Iraq for a year. Doctor visit went fine and all is good to go. However, the dentist won't clear me until I get my wisdom teeth pulled. I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 10am to do the deed. Would appreciate your prayers for a successful surgery as all four have to be pulled out and one is not going to be fun and then a quick recovery due to as of now I'm flying out on Friday for GA for my week of training then off to Iraq the following weekend.

Update: Surgery went smooth and I'm feeling reeeaaalll gooooood right now...lol Also my deployment has been delayed again until next week for now. The saga continues =) Thanks for your surgery prayers and quick recovery prayers!!!

Burundi Stories Part 6 - Hope in Midst of Despair

Pastor Timothy Looking Out Over Kibera

One of many trash piles among the houses

Why We Went!

After leaving Burundi, we had a two day layover in Nairobi, Kenya. One of the team members had been to Nairobi on a mission trip a few years earlier and was able to connect us with Pastor Timothy who ministers and lives in Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world. He has one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard. From one of the worst hoodlums to one of its most influential pastors. His spirit and joy is extremely contagious. This was definitely one of the toughest days of the trip seeing the conditions in which they live. However, when you look at the kids in the last pic, this is why we go!

Minimum Wage Increase Means Fewer Jobs

From Cato's daily email:

“The minimum wage rises 70 cents to $5.85 an hour today, the first increase in a decade," reports The New York Times. "It ends the longest period without an increase since the federal minimum wage was enacted in 1938. The last previous increase came in September 1997. Legislation signed in May increases the wage 70 cents each summer until 2009, when it will reach $7.25 an hour. Government figures show about 1.7 million people earned $5.15 or less per hour in 2006. A person working 40 hours a week at the current minimum wage of $5.15 makes about $10,700 a year. A raise to $5.85 an hour would increase that to $12,168 a year before taxes. An increase to $7.25 would raise that to just over $15,000 a year."

James A. Dorn, editor of the Cato Journal, writes: "Arbitrarily increasing the legal minimum wage simply increases the price of labor without changing a worker's skill level or other conditions that lead to low wages. Congress cannot repeal the law of demand by a stroke of the legislative pen. When the real (inflation-adjusted) minimum wage rises above the prevailing market wage for unskilled workers, employers will cut back on hours, reduce benefits, and introduce labor-saving methods of production. This is common sense. "Government interventions such as the minimum wage destroy opportunities for the least skilled members of society. The government promises low-skilled workers higher wage rates, but their incomes will be zero if they lose their jobs. Contrary to popular opinion, a minimum wage law is not 'progressive' legislation. Rather, it prevents progress by limiting the options of poor people."

Greenland or Bust

Senator Boxer took a weekend trip to Greenland to see the "effects" of global warming. Wonder if while she was there she asked how the country got its name?

Libs Worst Nightmare...President Cheney

For a couple of hours tomorrow, we will have President Cheney. Too bad it couldn't be for 8 years.

Mimi Serving It Up in South Africa

Isn't she beautiful =)

Birthday in Africa

Serving it up

Snow in Africa

As most of you know, Mimi is currently in South Africa on a two month mission trip with a group called Thrive Africa. She left on June 17 and will be there until Aug 10 and of course I'm missing her like crazy =) She has been having a great time, learning a lot and meeting lots of great people. I can't wait to hear even more of her stories. More pictures from her trip so far here.

Unfortunately as of now, I'll be in Iraq when she gets back. What is it with me and long distance relationships...lol God has definitely taught me lots of patience but apparently still not enough.

So anyway...this is just me missing Mimi and also asking ya'll to keep her in your prayers!

Kerry Denies Vietnamese Bloodbath

In an amazing attempt to re-write history, Senator Kerry made the outrageous claim on CSPAN that there was not a major bloodbath after America pulled out of Vietnam and that the "re-education" camps weren't bad either and in fact the people who were held there are "thriving" today.

Tell that to the 165,000 family members that are documented to have had family members killed and the millions who were tortured and held prisoners for years in these "re-education" camps!

Senator Kerry owes the millions of Vietnamese as well as the Cambodian and Laos people who were slaughtered in the millions because America left before they were able to defend themselves an apology for such a ridiculous statement. It was his actions that were responsible then and he is attempting to do it again in Iraq. I guess he feels like Congressman Obey that the deaths would be horrendous if we leave but that isn't our problem.

14,000!!!

Another record close as the Dow breaks another milestone by closing above 14,000 for the first time and less than 3 months after breaking the 13,000 level. Let's see how hard the MSM tries to bury this tonight and tomorrow.

Dangerous Precedent

When the victims of 9-11 were giving $2million as a settlement, I said then that it was setting a dangerous precedent. Now the families of the Tech shooting tragedy is considering suing Tech (heard the lawyer on radio but can't find an online article) for more money than just from the memorial fund ($150K each) by appealing to the amount of money that the 9-11 families received.

As I said with the 9-11 settlement, why are the taxpayers responsible for acts of violence against other citizens? Where does this "responsibility" end? It is a very dangerous and slippery slope, especially in the age of terror. Will all victims of any future terrorists attack be entitled to $2million. How about the Oklahoma bombing victims or the '93 Trade Center bombing? Should we retroactively pay all of them $2million?

Bad things happen. Some can't be predicted or avoided. I can't begin to imagine the pain and suffering the families feel. However, how does fleecing fellow taxpayers ease that pain?

Burundi Stories Part 5 - Rebuilding the Wall

Rebuilding a Church

Passing the Bricks

Making the Mortar

Dave Delivering the Mortar

James and Danny Carrying Stones Local Style

On our last day of ministry in Burundi, we were able to help rebuild a church in Bubanza. This church was destroyed three times, twice by rebels and once by a storm, yet they continue to rebuild. It reminded James of the story of Nehemiah's call to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. He was able to share that with them at lunch as a blessing to them. They expressed great appreciation that we were literally willing to get our hands dirty with them. It was a great moment of being the Church together.

Iraq Update

Well, I was supposed to leave for GA yesterday for a week of training before heading to Iraq. However, another company is protesting the contract we won, so I'm still in DC waiting for that to be settled. It could take a week; it could take several months. I'll update again when something changes.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Yet another great video made up of some of the world's top climate experts (some of which who were cited wrongly by the UN in the IPCC report and aren't happy about it) from Oxford, MIT and others as well as one of the co-founders of Greenpeace disputing the "facts" of human caused global warming. They also point out the dangers of following this path, especially to those in the undeveloped third world. It is a must see!

Hat Tip: Mike's America

Big Loss...Front Page, Record Gains...Bury It

When the DOW fell 400 points in February, it was on every major paper's front page painting gloom and doom. Now with two days of record closes by the DOW and the S&P, it is buried or even ignored in the same papers. Can't report anything that gives the impression that the economy is booming now can we?

POWERFUL VIDEO - Can I Live?

Cup Half Empty Media

If you have read or watched any media report on the Iraq surge interim report, you would think that it is a complete failure. However, here are the benchmark facts after only ONE MONTH of the full surge troops being in place:

8 of the 18 benchmarks have made satisfactory progress:

• Forming a Constitutional Review Committee and then completing the constitutional review.
• Enacting and implementing legislation on procedures to form semiautonomous regions.
• Establishing supporting political, media, economic, and services committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.
• Providing three trained and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations.
• Ensuring that the Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for outlaws, regardless of sectarian or political affiliation, as Bush says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has pledged to do.
• Establishing all of the planned joint security stations in neighborhoods across Baghdad.
• Ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.
• Allocating and spending $10 billion in Iraqi revenues for reconstruction projects, including delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis.

2 of the 18 are too mixed to determine progress:

• Enacting and implementing legislation addressing amnesty.
• Enacting and implementing legislation establishing a strong militia disarmament program to ensure that such security forces are accountable only to the central government and loyal to the constitution of Iraq.

2 of the 18 are unsatisfactory but with some components of progress:

• Reducing the level of sectarian violence in Iraq and eliminating militia control of local security.
• Enacting and implementing legislation establishing an Independent High Electoral Commission, provincial elections law, provincial council authorities, and a date for provincial elections.

6 of the 18 are unsatisfactory

• Enacting and implementing legislation on de-Baathification.
• Enacting and implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources of the people of Iraq without regard to the sect or ethnicity of recipients, and enacting and implementing legislation to ensure that the energy resources of Iraq benefit Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, Kurds, and other Iraqi citizens in an equitable manner.
• Providing Iraqi commanders with all authorities to execute this plan and to make tactical and operational decisions, in consultation with U.S commanders, without political intervention, to include the authority to pursue all extremists, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.
• Ensuring that the Iraqi Security Forces are providing evenhanded enforcement of the law.
• Increasing the number of Iraqi security forces units capable of operating independently.
• Ensuring that Iraq's political authorities are not undermining or making false accusations against members of the Iraqi Security Forces.

Seems to me that shows progress on some level for 12 of the 18 in only one month of full surge. Not only is the cup not half empty, it is 2/3 full!

UnFairness at NBC

One of the big buzzes on Capital Hill lately is the Dems push for the Fairness doctrine against conservative talk radio to force them to give liberals equal airtime. However, according to this article, AlGore's human caused global warming concert infomercial received 75 hours of play by NBC without one minute of the other side's view (and that's not counting the tons of promoting on the MSN website since that partners with NBC via MSNBC). Yep...that is completely Fair!

Katrina Not Abnormal

A new study is showing that Hurricane Katrina was not an abnormally destructive storm caused by global warming. Once again...can you say CYCLE!

Gay Spokesman Leaves Homosexuality

One of the most extreme left wing gay spokesman has left homosexuality.

2 Year Anniversary

My, how time flies when you are having fun. Today marks two years since I started my blog. As I did last year, below is a list of the personal highlights of the year starting with the 1 year anniversary post.

1 Year Anniversary

Home on Leave

Closure

Vacation is Over

Heading Home

GEAUX TIGERS

Hanging with the Peanuts

Hanging with Dad

Pentagon Bound

Renaissance Festival

Visiting Washington with Mimi

12,000

Fruit of the Spirit

Full Circle

Homeowner

Trip to NYC with Mimi

Saddam Executed

House Pics

Gathering of Eagles

Resurrection Fact or Fiction?

We Are All Hokies Today

Heading to Burundi

Burundi Stories: 1, 2, 3, 4

Heading Back to Iraq

Another year filled with ups and downs, but would not change a single moment b/c through it all I'm exactly where God wants me to be!

Run Towards the Ambush

When I was in Iraq, one of my teammates was a former Marine. One afternoon the subject of an ambush came up and he said what you have to do is run towards the ambush if you want to have any chance of surviving it. Completely counter-intuitive of instincts, but nonetheless the best tactic. Bill Kristol wrote an article in that vein giving advice to the President that I totally agree with, especially in light of this NY Times (yeah...can you actually believe they have an article showing something positive...don't worry though...it was buried and way outnumbered with articles and editorials calling for surrender) showing the progress. Pay special attention to the attacks being down tremendously and the ratio of the enemy killed and captured versus Soldiers and Marines killed.

Live Hypocrisy Concerts

It is being estimated that Gore's latest gimmick, world wide concert, to spread the human caused global warming myth will generate 74,500 tons of carbon emissions. Don't worry though...they will balance the "damage" they are causing by buying offsets from Gore's carbon offset company. He must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Two Americas Indeed

John Edwards is working real hard to prove his own campaign slogan, Two Americas. He spent $1250 on a HAIRCUT and I thought having to pay $25 was crazy.

Happy Birthday America!!!

Can They Read???

I'm really starting to wonder if Pelosi and company can read? If they can, then it is becoming more and more obvious they have never read the Constitution! Despite being spelled out in very plain English in Article 2 Section 2 of the Constitution the President's power and authority to pardon anyone he likes without needing any approval from Congress, they are considering holding hearings on the Libby clemency. Gotta love how they waste so much taxpayer dollars on meaningless hearings.