There's no end to the number of articles written demanding that Israel's response to Hezbollah is improper. Yet in all of those blogs, only one offers a solution, and, ironically that solution is one that opponents of Israel's foreign policy would even find appalling. That solution is, of course, Emp's solution of the complete extermination of all Israelis. Not surprisingly, Emp's solution is also Hezbollah's solution. The lack of real, viable solutions for Israel is part of what is making th...

I've seen so much written about the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. And most of the arguments, on both sides, frankly, make me sick. First and foremost, while my interpretation of Revelations runs nearer to those who would defend Israel, I am no fool. I know that God's timing is God's timing, and that our actions can neither hasten nor hinder God's actions. And that to even attempt to do so would be futile. But Israel's right to self defense has nothing to do with end times pro...

Link A Houston jury today found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity. This means that Yates will be committed to a mental health facility, and her case will be reviewed regularly to see if she is eligible for release. It is an unthinkable verdict, and the latest in a series of developing around a bizarre, incomprehensible day when Yates drowned her five children in a bathtub. Not once, but five times she acted, and she called police after her actions were concluded. While I hav...

Another thread kicked this off. But, because these comments would have been completely tangential, I had to blog about it separately. There's a young lady in our community who, like many others, got pregnant before she was married. She's married now, and raising her child, and doing a good job of it, too, but, sadly enough, despite her own inability to keep to her own standards, is quite judgemental of others. Some friends were in the store where she works, purchasing cigarettes, among oth...

Barry Bonds received the news yesterday that he wasn't being indicted, at least not by THIS grand jury, THIS time around. Yet, he continues to be baseball's "bad boy", and many fans who are polled declare that they "hate" Barry Bonds, but they have no idea why. "Because he uses steroids" will be the most common answer, but aside from testimony by others who have something to gain in the matter, close ties with people who DID deal in steroids, and the testimony of a man who never actually played ...

I deliver newspapers to the low income housing projects in the community near us. These are not the slums of the larger cities, but are, in fact, fairly nicely kept, and the people in these projects are usually polite and well mannered. These housing projects sit about 300 feet from the local community college. Those who are wheelchair bound would find it about twice as long, but still far less than the trips they routinely take to the store, to McDonald's, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and ...

I have not seen Al Gore's new movie "An Inconvenient Truth" Believe it or not, though, I do intend to. I have heard good things about the movie and, frankly, I like getting input on all sides of the situation. But I feel that Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" cannot even begin to be addressed until we begin addressing a few of our own. The chief "inconvenient truth" that conservatives must realize is that even if global warming is not a reality, it does not mean we should not make better use of our...

There's been a lot of discussion centering on whether or not Israel's response to Palestine has been disproportionate. I think it's really silly, because anyone who would even ASK the question misunderstands the very nature of war. My response: Hell, yeah, it's disproportionate! And it better be, if Israel intends to survive. You see, Israel is quickly proving what has been said by "extremists" of Islamic fundamentalists all along: they don't want their own nation, they want the exterminat...

I believe in secure borders. I believe that we need some way to control our southern border, which is out of control by many accounts. But I have a hard time suppressing the anger I feel when I read news like today's article about the 100 Mexicans found in the Arizona desert, suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion. You see, there's a side to the story of illegal immigration that our politicians and pundits AREN'T telling; a story that needs to be told because of the lives that hang in th...

One of the biggest mistakes I have made in my life has been trying to be "all things to all people". When I look back over my life, there's little wonder why I have not had great success and have burned out quickly; I have the intensity, I have the energy, and I have the desire. What I have lacked is the ability to narrow my focus in leadership to those areas where I am called and where I have the ability. I have spent much time around those with a more ecumenical, or even Unitarian, point of...

There are things about me that you'd really have to get inside my head to know. Or have me blurt out here. But even when I write about it, you cannot perceive the full depth of feeling that drives my thinking. It sometimes annoys a few, but anyone who has watched me over time would understand I am a very driven man -- when I truly commit to something, I doggedly stick to it, even in the face of people who may think my course of action less than wise. I can't say whether this is good or bad --...

The movie version of "The Da Vinci Code" was supposed to be the 800 pound gorilla of the summer movie season. While it certainly hasn't disappointed at the box office (few $200 million movies could be categorized as "disappointments"), it hasn't carried the weight the pundits predicted from the 40 million copies of the book that have been sold (my guess is that a good number of them were bought as "gifts" by anti-Christians trying to convert their believing relatives away from their faith, frank...

So, I'm looking desperately for some lyrics to an obscure song, and digging through the Internet. A misspelling on my part did not help initial search results, but being the resourceful man that I am, I simply put enough words in from the lyrics I did know to net a good result. I then used the corrected spelling to narrow down my search criteria (man, I rock!). I netted about 70 results for these lyrics (I said they were obscure), only to find they were not actually listed on some sites, just re...

AN increase in the minimum wage is almost certain to top the agenda in the fall elections as Democratic strategists grasp at straws to try to reclaim a majority in at least one of the legislative houses. Yet for all their political posturing, the politicians will ignore the cost of a minimum wage increase, knowing full well that their "smoke and mirrors" will probably be enough to fool most of the people THIS time. Even the "advertised" minimum wage is itself deceptive. The minimum wage is no...

****SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT***** In the "writing" section of the forums, I have two recent "poems". Both were written as lyrics, the first being more contemporary and consistent in its rhythm, the second being a folk song basically. I would invite you to read them and give me an indication of whether you think they're marketable, or garbage. I can handle either assessment, so let me have it. I don't write poetry much because, while I am usually content with the end product, I don't see it as hav...