Is This Really the Argument They Want to Make?

Yesterday in an interview on ABC, Wesley Clark attacked McCain saying that just b/c he was shot down in a plane doesn't mean he has the experience necessary to be Commander-in-Chief. As a Captain in the Navy, (equivalent to a Colonel in the Army which is right under general) he had hundreds of people under his command.

How many people has Obama ever led? What executive experience does Obama have? I really don't think the Obama campaign wants to make this campaign about leadership or executive experience in the military or any other area for that matter because that is a definite losing issue for him.

When asked about Obama's executive experience, Clark said Obama is running on strength of his character and good judgment. So in other words, he has none!

Conception Begins Fatherhood But Not Life?

Bad News for Obama Campaign

Looks like there will be more "bitter" people "clinging to their guns" which according to Obama is not a good thing for his campaign thanks to the Supreme Court finally getting one right today and confirming our 2nd Amendment right in a baffling 5-4 ruling.

It totally baffles me how anyone cannot understand very clear and plain English, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Yet 4 of the 9 Justices tried to do that very thing. That it wasn't a unanimous ruling shows we still have lots of work to do to get the Court back to its constitutional mandate being we were only 1 vote away from losing a very fundamental right by a method not prescribed by the constitution.

Just one more reason I will hold my nose while voting for McCain this fall b/c while I only trust his pics at about the 60% level, I have no doubt I'd be 100% against any of Obama's picks. With two of the liberal justices very likely retiring in the next four years, we have a very strong chance of getting a strict constructionist court with a very solid majority.

Installment #14 - Persecution Watch - England???

How far has the "Christian" west fallen when Christians are being persecuted in ENGLAND for handing out tracts!!! How is it a "hate crime" to speak the Word of God? This is America's future if we don't get back to our roots and quick.

FEMA Shines

Seems that once again, in a state not Louisiana, FEMA does a great job. FEMA is getting great reviews from the people on the ground on how they are responding to the Midwest floods. Again makes my theory that it wasn't FEMA that messed up in Katrina, but the LA government (mainly Gov. Blanco) being every other disaster FEMA is the same and performs great. Also probably another reason you don't see Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson on the news every night b/c they can't use a disaster to blame Pres. Bush.

Softball in Iraq

Some of the activities held by the MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation...kinda like the military's YMCA) here in Iraq are sporting tournaments. Obviously this time of the year is softball. Our coach, Sarah, was able to get our team a sponsor, USSSA, so we did these cheesy baseball card pics to put together as a poster and send to them as thanks for the hats, bats, and balls they sent us.

Our team name is Habibis, which is Arabic for friends. We have played in 3 tournaments so far this summer. It's hard to field a consistent team with rotations of people leaving and new people, but we have held our own (most of the other teams are all Army unit teams and have been playing together for awhile back stateside). We took 4th out of 18 teams in the second one, but didn't do so well in the other two. So far I'm 10 for 13 with 11 RBIs, a sac fly and a walk at the plate, but do have 3 fielding errors in 7 games. We have at least one more tourney before I leave on the 4th of July weekend. It is definitely a great distraction for everyone here.

Day at the Beach

Surprise Visit

As some may have noticed, I've been MIA for the last 5 days which is very long for me. Well, here is the reason. I went visit Mimi =) I was able to take a short two day trip to visit and still not go over my allotted days to qualify for my overseas tax break so I did. The fun thing was I didn't tell anyone, including her, so it was a complete surprise. I showed up at the door and to say she was totally surprised and not believing her eyes is a major understatement =)

Thanks to the kindness of a friend who has a vacation home near the MD shore, we left a couple hours after I got in and spent a day and a half at the beach which was very nice and relaxing. Then I headed back.

I'll be done here the first week of Sept...71 days left to go...not that I'm counting or anything. This short little trip will definitely help those days go by faster b/c had I not gone home, it would have been 8 full months apart!

Good Bye to a Class Act

I was totally shocked with the news of Tim Russert's passing as everyone was. A heart attack at 58...we are never promised tomorrow.

He was truly a class act. If you didn't know his personal politics were pretty liberal, you would never have guessed it by watching Meet the Press. He was the epitome of what journalism should be about. He was hard on both sides equally. He didn't give anyone a break, no matter his personal beliefs on the issue. Every politician knew that an hour on his show could either make you or break you.

When I worked at MSNBC in '03, one of my jobs was to maintain contacts in the conservative circles of DC so we could have a good pool of guests. That involved going down from NYC to DC about once a month or so. When I did, I worked out of the NBC office in DC which is where Russert worked. I had the privilege of meeting him several times and seeing him in his "zone." He always had a smile on his face and was very easy to be around, unlike a few other MSNBC hosts who worked in DC.

This Presidential campaign won't be the same without him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

31,000 Scientists Refute Manmade Global Warming

So much for the science being settled and there being a scientific consensus (which I still ask when has that ever been part of the scientific method?). Now a new report (not surprisingly I'm finding it almost two weeks after b/c it of course never appeared in the MSM) is out that has over 31,000 scientists, 9000 of which are PhDs (the UN's "consensus" report only had 2500 supposed scientists) stating that CO2 produced by humans is not causing global warming, which they accurately also point out peaked 10 years ago and has been cooling since.

Also the founder of the Weather Channel is once again bashing the claims of Gore and his enablers and showing how these erroneous claims are causing food shortages worldwide and one of the major reasons for the high gas prices. A very informative article everyone needs to read.

Absurd Ruling

Can someone please tell me where in the US Constitution it says that non-US citizens who were captured trying to KILL actual US citizens on foreign soil have the same rights as US citizens? Well according to the US Supreme Court's activists liberals and moderate, now they do by having access to US courts for appeals of the military tribunals at Gitmo.

Judge Scalia nails it with this quote in his dissenting opinion,"Today's decision will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed."

This should be red meat for the Republican Presidential nominee. However, while McCain said it was a bad decision and Obama praised it, McCain's position on Gitmo being shut down takes away much of the strength of the issue for him.

This issue once again highlights the importance of this coming election. Many expect the next President to appoint one, possibly two new Supremes. While I'm only about 60% confident in that McCain will pick a strict constructionist, I'm 100% confident that such a judge will not even be considered by Obama. Another reason to hold my nose while voting for McCain b/c we are only one judge away from having a Supreme Court that follows the US Constitution and not legislate from the bench.

Also blogging on topic:
Little Miss Chatterbox

Must Be a Coincidence

I'm sure the fact that solar sun spots peaked in 2001, the last year global temperatures rose, and have now not had any for over a year, this last year being one of the coolest on record in decades, is just a coincidence. I'm sure us CO2 spewing humans have way more effect on the climate than that huge ball of fire in the sky.

Combat Showers

I've learned a new term recently, Combat Showers. We are experiencing a VERY dry summer due to hardly any rain this past winter and spring, so the commanders on Camp Victory and other connected bases are putting in water preservation measures. One of those is combat showers.

When it was first announced that we should all start using this showering method, I at first thought it meant to just get in and out as quick as possible, no lingering around under a hot or cold shower to relax or cool off. That however is not the case.

A combat shower for you non-initiated like myself is even more involved and saves even more water than that method. The basic idea is if you aren't using the water to rinse, you turn it off. So you wet your hair, then turn off the water while you are shampooing. Turn it back on to rinse shampoo and lather up the soap, then turn it off while scrubbing. Then turn it back on one last time to rinse off...shower over. We are also using the on and off rinse method for shaving and brushing our teeth.

So, if you want to feel some solidarity with the soldiers and others out here then feel free to adopt the combat shower method and you may even save on your water bill as well. Then use your new found savings to stimulate the economy or at least help with the gas bill =)

Would Serve Them Right

A woman in England tried to abort her 8 week old baby b/c she was afraid it would have major kidney problems and die young like her previous two kids. Well, the baby decided he wasn't ready to go just quite yet and survived the attempted abortion. Once discovered that at 19 weeks she will still pregnant, she ultimately decided to have the child.

Being the statue on attempted murder never runs out, it would serve them right if once he is old enough he would file an attempted murder charge on his parents.

Update: Ok, after a challenge from a friend on where is the balance of love with justice, I have to take back my thoughts above. I hope this new life will be a vessel used to show God's love and forgiveness to this family and they become advocates of that love by working to promote a culture of life instead of abortion on demand.

Good Bye to the Box

LSU baseball is the hottest team in the nation having won 23 straight games. They also hosted a regional and will host a super regional this weekend in Baton Rouge after a two year hiatus from the CWS scene. What makes this even more special is that this is the last season for Alex Box Stadium as a new one is being built for next season. Here is a great poem written by Bradford Smith that captures it all.

For one final weekend, at Ole Alex Box.
The stands will be packed and the stadium will rock.
An unthinkable run by this young Tiger team,
Allows The Box to go out the way everyone dreamed.

"Rosenblatt of the South" will open its gates,
As the Tigers play host, thanks to twenty-three straight.
It's Baseball at Box, for the very last time,
As the Purple and Gold take on UC Irvine.

In the middle of April, things sure did look grim.
Thinking the Tigers might watch the post-season again.
Then on April 22nd, things finally went right.
And LSU started something special that night.

Down 4 to 3, in the top of the eighth,
The Tigers rewarded the fans for their faith.
The clutch hitting came, like Paul said it would.
And his team started playing the way that they could.

The sweeps started coming, first home, then away.
The Tigers were winning, no matter who they would play.
The streak kept on building, just game after game,
No matter what the situation, the result was the same.

There have been some heroics, some balls left the park,
Like that time in Kentucky, off the bat of Matt Clark.
It was especially sweet, when we made seventeen,
Against the USC gamecocks on a walk-off by Dean.

With an SEC championship and regional too,
The hottest team in the land is named LSU.
And while the streak has been nice, and the games have been fun,
The season's not over, and the Tigers aren't done.

Gorilla Ball's back and not a moment too soon.
As the Tigers play ball for one more time in June.
It's fitting that The Box should go out like this,
With thousands upon thousands watching every last pitch.

From the Lunatics in left to Chris at home plate,
And Coons Corner in right calling guys Tiger Bait.
With the Bullies sitting there, right by the bullpen.
There will never be a weekend like this one again.

Put me in Coach will blare when it's hot,
And you just might remember the things you forgot.
Like twenty-five cent programs, free cokes for foul balls
The SEC standings, starting lineups on walls.

The birds will be chirping and the K-lady will run.
Five flags will remind us of championships won.
The ping of Tiger bats will echo once more.
And this will be the last time we hear ole Alex Box roar.

The 7th inning stretch will have that old familiar song,
And the voices will be heard of the seven thousand strong.
Then with a rush of emotion and perhaps a tear in your eye,
We'll send off our Tigers, and tell Alex Box goodbye.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Obama, The Illegitimate Nominee

For 8 years all we have heard from liberals and the MSM over and over is that Bush is an illegitimate President because he didn't win the majority of the popular vote in 2000. Now by that same logic then Obama is an illegitimate Democratic nominee right being Clinton has won the majority of the popular vote? Don't hold your breath waiting for the MSM and the libs to be consistent with their logic though as it no longer serves their purpose.

Cat & Dog Theology

A dog says, "You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be God."

A cat says, "You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, I must be God."

Cat & Dog Theology is a great book and I highly recommend it. It will totally change your outlook and your behaviors towards what it means to truly give God the glory He is due as opposed to thinking it is all about you.

One out of the many nuggets I've picked up is a change in focus on prayers. When you say, "God help me..." in essence you are saying that you can do some or most of it on your own without God. You just need a little of His help to get you over the top. A more Biblical approach as found in Ezek 36:27:

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (KJV)

So instead of praying, "God help me to be more holy. God help me to become more like You", you instead pray, "God cause me to be more holy. God cause me to become more like You." This puts the responsibility on God and not on us.

The other big point of the book is to get out of our minds that once we become a Christian life will be all roses. We are never promised that anywhere in the Bible, quite the opposite, Jn 15:18:

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

Those are words most Christians don't like hearing but they are reality, especially for the Christians I post about frequently with my Persecution Watch updates. This will book will definitely be in my top book recommendations.

Missing My Girl

Isn't she so beautiful!!! I'm so blessed =)

I'm big time missing my girl. She has been in South Africa for the last 11 days on a mission trip and has 5 days left to go. Going from talking and seeing someone (thank God for Skype) every day to not talking at all for two weeks is no fun at all. Please keep her and her team in prayers that they shine God's glory to all they encounter and return home safe =)

The Party of Rules Don't Matter

I had not doubt that the Dems would ultimately change the rules for FL and MI. It is their standard operating procedure when the rules don't fit their agenda. It is the same as the Senate race in NJ when Lautengburg broke the rules and entered the race after the very clear agreed upon deadline.

They know by completely banning the delegates of FL and MI, even though that was the rule and EVERYONE, including Dean, Clinton and Obama, agreed to those rules, they risked alienating two very important general election states.

Their solution will only serve to create more rifts in the party which will help McCain, who needs absolutely all the help he can get b/c he is not doing much to shore up his right flank with the conservative base, in fact quite the opposite. This will no doubt be one of the most interesting elections in history as it already has proven.