Friday, March 30, 2007

Please Indulge Me...

...while I put on my Angry Not-Quite-Young-Anymore Man hat.

Is anyone else out there mad that the liberals in Congress and their friends in the mainstream media can get away with throwing our troops under the bus? And, can anyone out there see that these people are mainly against the war in Iraq not because of any opposition to war, but because they hate President Bush?

You didn't see conservatives organizing anti-war rallies while Bill Clinton was bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and the aspirin factory in Sudan. Likewise, the left was nowhere to be seen in opposition to American military involvement in the former Yugoslavia. No, they supported their president to the ultimate degree.

If Bill Clinton or any other Democrat had been President, and led us into war in Iraq under the exact same circumstances and with the same knowledge, the Democrats in Washington would be with him all the way. So, too, would Republicans. The GOP is not opposed to war in defense of the security and values of the United States, even when a Democrat is running the country. The Democrats are opposed to this war because it is Bush's war, plain and simple.

There have been obvious missteps in the war in Iraq. That happens when you are fighting with one arm tied behind your back. That happens when you have the press and Democrats in Congress trying to micro-manage the military. We are trying to fight a more "sensitive" war in order to attempt to manage public opinion in blue states and in the rest of the world.

The modern Democratic party does not believe in fighting foreign enemies of the United States. They only believe in fighting Republicans and those who believe in absolute values, especially absolute values that differ from their own. This is not Harry Truman's, or even John F. Kennedy's Democratic party. Heck, it's not even the party of LBJ anymore. The Democratic party is now run by people that view the United States as the root of all evil in the world.

May God protect America from its enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Generally Speaking

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, stepped into contoversy this week in an interview with editors of the Chicago Tribune. In the interview, he called homosexual acts "immoral".

As predicted, the media and their liberal allies have been on the warpath to castigate Gen. Pace. "Advocacy" groups have come out as credible spokesmen to the media to provide a welcomed opposing viewpoint. The drive-by media have their sights on Gen. Pace, and would really like for him to step down.

Gen. Pace released a statement today, declaring his support for the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military. He did not apologize for his comments, as homosexual groups were begging him to do. He merely stated that he wished he hadn't declared his personal view on the subject publicly.

Gen. Pace is more than entitled to his opinion. He is also entitled to express his opinion. In an earlier day and time, it would not even be a news story.

Liberals and their friends in the media view the military as a social engineering factory. They have driven our government into fighting more "sensitive" wars, and are attempting to lead our military to defeat in Iraq, just as they did in Vietnam almost 40 years ago. They believe the United States is the root of all evil in the world. One of the reasons for this is that they believe people like Gen. Pace are what's wrong with our country. They sneer upon people with traditional values. In the liberal world, the only absolute value is tolerance. To be intolerant is to be evil. Gen. Pace is right regarding homosexual and adulterous behavior. We need more leaders like him to be vigilant for traditional morality, in the face of opposition from the dominant media culture.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Pander, Pander

Conservatives, and especially Christian conservatives, are torn among prospective Republican presidential candidates in the 2008 election. None of the major candidates have been able to move sufficiently right enough to excite a good chunk of the party base. Each of the major announced candidates have some negatives that turn off the base, but have some positives that can attract independent voters.

Lurking in the background for some time has been former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Newt engineered the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, and has been a champion for conservative principles. Mr. Newt (as Rush Limbaugh used to call him) has also had some personal moral failures in his past, which helped to destroy his political career.

This week, Newt attempted to shore up the Republican base, by addressing questions of his moral character. He appeared on Dr. James Dobson's radio show, and admitted to an adulterous affair, at the same time that the House was pursuing the impeachment of President Clinton. Gingrich expressed an admission of guilt in this environment, and revealed himself as a sinner in need of grace.

Apparently, Newt did ok with Dr. Dobson, as Jerry Falwell invited him to give the commencement address at Liberty University in May. Falwell last year invited John McCain (no friend of conservatives) to speak at Liberty's graduation. Dr. Falwell still fashions himself as some sort of Republican power broker.

I am so torn on this. I strongly believe in the grace of God, and that God will forgive the sins of anyone who asks with a repentant heart. I believe God can be at work in the hearts of men, including Newt Gingrich. I hope this is the case. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt.

However, the cynic in me sees this as pandering. Newt sees a large group of uncommitted Republican voters up for grabs, primarily conservative Christians who comprise up to 40 percent of GOP primary voters. He also knows that Dr. Dobson and Dr. Falwell are respected figures among social conservatives. Gingrich has always pushed social conservative values as part of his agenda, and his credentials there are not questioned. However, the timing of the Dobson interview and the Falwell invitation smack of pandering and some coordination. I don't think Christians are all a bunch of Southern redneck rubes. Christians are not just merely a monolithic voting bloc. Our votes have to be earned.

One of my concerns is that we have someone with admitted moral failures positioning himself as the social conservative candidate. Once again, I believe that God can and will forgive him of his sin. However, will the electorate be so forgiving? And, will the liberal mainstream media be so forgiving? I don't think so.

Americans vote for likable people, based on the information they have. The press has so demonized Newt that I don't think he has a chance of being elected president. I think he would make a great Vice President under a President Giuliani (this is not an endorsement of Rudy-I don't see myself going down that road).

Newt has some appeal. However, don't look for church parking lots full of "Gingrich for President" bumper stickers next year.

Saturday, March 3, 2007

The Obama Shakedown

Video of Barack Obama in the 'hood in Cleveland.

No, Barack, not everyone has $5 for a political campaign.

I bet he doesn't check the box on his tax returns to donate $3 to the Presidential Campaign Fund.