GOP's Man is Steele

In the 2nd most important political moment of the month, the Republican National Committee yesterday elected former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele as our party Chairman. The 50-year old Steele, elected on the 6th ballot after a spirited 3-man battle, thus becomes the first-ever black American to hold the top position within the Republican Party national governing body. Steele, who has been charged within the party by some of his rivals as being a closet social liberal immediately set the tone by stating unequivocally that "Conservative principles have made us the strong and proud party we are." Only the most ideologically far-right wing members of the party would try to make a case for him being anything other than conservative, as Steele has always espoused solid conservative principles even as he has occasionally taken more moderate positions on particular issues. His election shows that the majority of the party wishes to retain those conservative values while also being unafraid to show moderation when situations warrant, not for political expediency, but out of common sense. "It's time for something completely different and we're going to bring it to them," Steele said in referring to the Republican Party and its relationship to all Americans. "We're going to bring this party to every corner, every boardroom, every neighborhood, every community." Michael Steele is a family man, he and wife Andrea have two sons, Michael and Drew. Steele was born in 1958 at Andrews Air Force base and grew up near Washington, D.C., and interestingly enough has a sister who was once married to former boxing champ Mike Tyson. Always studious and a leader from an early age, Steele was named to the National Honor Society in high school and elected his class president. He won a scholarship to the prestigious Johns Hopkins University and was elected as the freshman class president there. He received his degree in International Relations in 1981, and then his life took a very interesting turn. He entered the seminary and for three years studied for a life in the Catholic priesthood at Villanova University, serving for a short time as a teacher at Malvern Prep. Ultimately this was not his calling. Steele entered the Georgetown University Law Center and obtained his law degree there, and as he entered into private practice he also began to become involved in Republican political activities. In 1995, he was selected as the Maryland Republican Man of the Year, and he went on to serve in delegate positions with the RNC at both the 1996 and 2000 national conventions. In 2000, he was elected as Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, and in 2002 as the Maryland Lieutenant Governor under Governor Robert Ehrlich, becoming the first African-American to hold these positions. Steele then ran for a Maryland U.S. Senate seat in 2006, only to be wiped out in a 55-44 margin by Democrat Ben Cardin as opposition built against the policies of President George W. Bush. He recovered in February of 2007 when he was elected to be the chairman of GOPAC, the Republican Party's largest political action committee. Steele is considered to be a likely candidate for either the Maryland Governor position, or a Senate seat in the 2010 elections. As the head of the RNC, Steele will have tremendous influence in the direction that the Party takes in moving forward. On the Iraq War his position has been that we need to withdraw and allow the Iraqis to control their own destiny, but that we should set no firm timetable for this withdrawal, and instead allow circumstances and conditions on the battle fields determine how and when this should happen. On energy policy he has called for rescinding the gas tax, and for greatly increasing research into alternative fuels. On taxation he has called for further tax cuts, making those now in place permanent, repealing of the death tax, and adherence to "sane spending guidelines." He has not been in favor of socializing health care, but instead has favored increased access to quality health care through Health Savings Accounts and other methods. Not unlike the original 'Man of Steel' (Superman), the GOP's new leader faces a daunting assignment against a difficult foe as he tries to lead our Republican Party back to power at both the state and federal levels. Steele has shown himself to be a strong, intelligent, articulate, principled leader during his lifetime. Michael Steele has all of the tools and talent to lead the Party back to prominence, but it will take the combined efforts and cooperation of all Republicans and conservative thinkers to make it happen.

It's Easy to Root for Kurt Warner

He is 37 years old now, which is getting pretty long in the tooth for an NFL starting quarterback. He is also a decade removed from his first trip to the Super Bowl, when he led Dick Vermiel's Saint Louis Rams to victory and was named the MVP of the Super Bowl. He also won the first of two NFL MVP awards that season. The midwest boy, born and raised in the Iowa corn fields, grew into one of the most accurate passers in the history of the National Football League. But perhaps more importantly, Kurt Warner grew into a leader of men, and a strong, positive example for mankind. That's a mouthful to say about a football player, but the Arizona Cardinals quarterback is far from being your normal high-profile athlete. First, that football career. Kurt Warner stayed home and played college ball at Northern Iowa. He was not able to win the starting job there until his senior year when he was named the Gateway Conference Player of the Year. Still, the NFL did not come calling. Warner went undrafted in 1994, and so he went to work at a grocery store. In 1995 the local Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League offered him a contract, and over the next three seasons he played well enough that he was considered the best quarterback in the AFL. The officials with the Saint Louis Rams noticed, gave him a tryout, and signed him to a contract for the 1998 season. Warner spent that 1998 season riding the bench and went into 1999 expecting to again be a backup. But an injury to starting quarterback Mark Bulger gave Warner an opportunity, and just as he had at Northern Iowa and with the Barnstormers, he made the most of it. Warner went on to an MVP season with the Rams, passing for more than 4,300 yards with 41 touchdown passes. He was named the NFL MVP, led the Rams to victory in only their 2nd franchise Super Bowl (their first in St. Louis), and was named the Super Bowl MVP as well. In both 2000 and 2001 Warner was again one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, and he won his 2nd NFL MVP award after that 2001 season. Then the career wheels fell off. Nagging injuries drove Warner to the trainer's room and to backup status. He left the Rams for the Giants, and then moved on to Arizona, all the while becoming more and more viewed as an aging, injury-risk, backup-type quarterback who was now just a shell of his former greatness. Coming in to the 2008 season, Warner was expected to be backup to young phenom Matt Leinert. But it was Warner who was healthy and shined in the pre-season, and it was Warner who was named the starter by coach Ken Whisenhunt. He was phenomenal, passing for over 4,500 yards and 30 TD passes. He led the Cardinals to their first NFC West championship, and now will lead the Cards franchise into it's first-ever Super Bowl on Sunday. Warner has thus gained a trip to the Super Bowl for both the city of Saint Louis and their former longtime Cardinals team. He may very well win his 3rd NFL MVP award. With this season and his latest trip to the NFL's biggest stage he has likely cemented his place in the Hall of Fame. But all of that only tells a part of the story, for it is Kurt Warner's personal life that has so endeared him to teammates and fans alike. Let's go back to those days when Warner was undrafted and stocking groceries for a year, prior to the AFL giving him his first shot at pro football. The story is told like this. Kurt was a stockboy at the supermarket when one day a new voice came over the loudspeaker asking for a 'carry out' at register four. Kurt was almost finished, wanted some fresh air, and decided to go answer the call. As he approached the checkout he noticed a new girl working there. As the girl smiled at him he thought how beautiful she was, but also that she was older. Turns out she was 26, while Kurt was only 22 at the time. He found out that her name was Brenda, and after work he offered her a ride home, which she accepted. When he dropped her off Kurt asked if he could see her again outside of work. She said that it wouldn't be possible, but he pressed her and she responded that she had two small children. Kurt was unfazed and volunteered to pay for a babysitter and so Brenda agreed to a Saturday night first date. However, when Kurt arrived she told him that she wouldn't be able to go because the babysitter had called and cancelled at the last minute. Kurt was again unfazed and told her that they could take the kids out with them. She again said that it wasn't possible, and again Kurt pressed her for a reason. As Brenda called out, her cute-as-a-button daughter came running, and Brenda went to get her other child. She came back with him: a wheel-chair bound son who was born with Downs Syndrome. "I still don't get it, why can't they come out with us?" Warner asked. Brenda was amazed, believing that most men would have seen this as their opportunity to bow out gracefully but quickly. After all, her husband had left when he found out about the disability and it's responsibilities. But Warner wasn't like most guys. They went out together that night, and any time that the son needed help, Kurt was there to provide it. Brenda and Kurt fell in love, were married a year later, and Kurt adopted her kids. Where did Kurt Warner get this fortitude, this maturity? It turns out that Kurt Warner is an open, out of the closet, wear it on his sleeves Christian. Kurt Warner, you see, has been touched by the Holy Spirit and has never been ashamed to talk to anyone about his love of Jesus Christ. His teammates on the Arizona Cardinals, as with anywhere else that he has played, have always been both moved and inspired by the depth and openness of his faith. Many of them have come to the Lord and been saved by his direct example and his willingness to share his beliefs with them. So as you can see, there are many more reasons to be a fan of Kurt Warner than simply because he is a great football player. Despite the fact that he beat my Philadelphia Eagles to get here, on Sunday evening I will be rooting for Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals to win the Super Bowl over the Pittsburgh Steelers. When you know the whole story, it's easy to root for a guy like that.

Lost Opportunity to Teach Charity

Two small private schools that were little-known outside of the Dallas, Texas area were thrust into the spotlight last week. The Covenant School girls basketball team put a whuppin' on the girls from Dallas Academy, a whuppin' to the tune of 100-0. You read that right, Covenant scored 100 points in a high school girls game. That might be worth talking about under some circumstances. Most girls basketball contests end with the winner scoring in the 40's or 50's, so scoring 100 points shows that you either have an outstanding club, or the other team was really bad (at least in comparison), or some other freakish thing occurred such as a multiple overtime game. In this game, we can blame all of the above. Covenant is a Texas state-championship contender, Dallas Academy is not very good, and there was indeed something freakish afoot here. But that freakish event was not some multiple overtime thriller in which one team scored those 100 points and the other scored in the 90's. No, Dallas Academy scored zero points. None, nadda, zilch. They came up empty. They put up a donut. Nothing on the board, no balls through the hoop. Think about how hard this 100-0 thing is to have happen. There are 48 playing minutes in a regulation girls high school basketball game. Each basket is worth two points. To score 100 points, Covenant was scoring at better than a basket per minute throughout the game. Meanwhile, Dallas Academy did absolutely nothing. I overheard someone commenting on this game, that it would likely never happen in a boys game. Their reasoning was that at some point boys simply wouldn't have taken it any more, and there would have been a physical penalty inflicted on the leading team by the losers that would have slowed down the pace, or ended the game. Yep, he was talking about fighting. It isn't right either, but his point was that at some point the losing boys team would have taken matters into their own hands and let the winners know that the embarrassment had gone too far. At 10-0 you are off to a good start. At 20-0 you have taken complete control of the game. At 30-0 you have almost no chance to lose, especially at the high school level. At that point, and arguably far earlier, you have shown that your talent level is no match for the other squad. You probably have already gone to your 'bench', meaning you have put in your backup or substitute-level players and they have continued the dominance. At some point around this time, any further building of your lead has a simple phrase in the sporting world that describes what is happening: piling on. This is where Micah Grimes got it all wrong. He is the Covenant girls basketball coach, and his response was that "it just happened." Pardon me, Mr. Grimes, but something like a 100-0 sporting event between young girls can never 'just happen'. Rather as the coach you allowed it to happen. This was a teaching moment that someone in charge of our kids is supposed to take advantage of and use to better their lives. Long after the embarrassment of being on the winning side of a 100-0 game subsides, the lessons of a 50-0 victory could have been felt, perhaps for the rest of the lives of some of the girls involved. This was a moment to teach the virtue of charity, the generosity and helpfulness for the needy or suffering, the gift for a public benevolent purpose, the idea of benevolent good will. Grimes was in control. He controlled what was said to the girls on the sidelines. He controlled their playing time, both in this game and in future games. He had the ability to put on the brakes. What could he have done? He could have told his girls to walk the ball up the floor on every possession. He could have told them to play soft defense and allow the Dallas Academy girls to setup plays and take shots. He could have pulled a couple of his key on-court leaders aside and made sure that the girls stayed with this program on the floor. There are ways to handle this type of situation without making it look like a joke or a Harlem Globetrotters game. The fact is that the result was already settled, all that remained at a certain point was to determine the final score, and to determine how this level of a blowout would be remembered. Grimes should have taken this opportunity to speak to his girls about these very ideas of charity, generosity, good will, benevolence, and sportsmanship. He could have built his halftime speach around it. He could have reinforced it at every stoppage of play. He easily could have made the girls understand that they were in a unique situation, one that they may never be in again in their playing careers. He could have let them know that this was a one night reduction in their playing level intensity. There was obviously no real competition available to them here. He was wrong to say that it just happened. He allowed it to happen. In fact, he directed it to happen. He had his team keep up full pressure until the 100-0 mark had been achieved. From attendee accounts it was very obvious that the score was something that was seen as a goal as the game unfolded. Afterwards, coach Grimes felt no guilt or shame. The school, on the other hand, got it right. They fired Grimes in the immediate aftermath, the same day as the game, and issued a public apology. For his part, Grimes remained steadfast in disagreeing with the apology and saying that "Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy." He got the first part right about a lack of compassion. But his team lost it's honor and integrity as they continued to effectively kick a person lying on the ground. How they showed any respect at all to Dallas Academy is beyond me. This was not a professional game where players are paid and must accept the consequences of any game. This is a high school where athletics are supposed to be only one part of a learning process for the kids involved, from players and cheerleaders to spectators and even disinterested students. Micah Grimes may have been just a coach at Covenant and not have had the official title of teacher, but he failed in that a big part of the job of every high school athletic coach is exactly that - teacher. He missed a huge opportunity to teach his girls, and his school, about charity. For the resulting magnitude of that failure, Grimes deserved to lose his job, and no high school should consider hiring him until he admits his mistake, shows that he truly understands its ramifications, apologizes to all involved, and takes steps to prove that he is ready to move forward with an adjusted mindset. There is never a need to sacrifice charity and compassion simply for winning a sporting event.

Obama-Dem Mistake #2

It's bad enough that the United States supports by law the murder of our most innocent citizens, the helpless babies aborted by the millions each year simply to make their parents lives a bit easier. As we discussed last week during the 'March for Life' recognition, with the 'Roe vs. Wade' decision by the SCOTUS in 1973 the U.S. began officially supporting the legality of most forms of abortion. But now we are no longer happy with actively supporting this policy creating a culture of death in our own country. Now we are actively supporting the policy worldwide, not just with ideals, but with taxpayer dollars. During the administration of perhaps the greatest President of the last century, Ronald Reagan, the 'Great Communicator' instituted what became known as the 'Mexico City Policy'. In this policy, Reagan made it clear that any recipient of U.S. foreign aid would not be permitted to promote abortion as a method of family planning. According to ABC News, the American "government under Reagan would not provide funding for family planning services to clinics or groups that offered abortion-related services overseas." When Bill Clinton was elected the policy was overturned, but it was reinstated under President George W. Bush and has been in place for the past eight years. In renewing the policy, President Bush stated "It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either here or abroad." This past week, on the January 22nd anniversary of the 'Roe' decision, new U.S. President Barack Obama again reversed the policy. In announcing his decision, Obama once again made the classic liberal Democrat philosophical and moral mistake. He only recognized one party in this process when he said that the decision "protects women's health and reproductive freedom", ignoring the rights and the very life of the unborn child who it is his sworn duty to protect to the best of his ability. The closing of Guantanamo Bay highlighted in last week's 'Obama-Dem Mistake #1' article is likely to result in American deaths. This decision on allowing taxpayer funding of overseas abortions will absolutely result in the deaths of Americans and foreigners. It is hard to believe that any self-respecting Catholic could possibly support Obama or any congressional Democrat who would actively and outwardly support the murder of innocents as a key part of their agenda. It is another clear difference in liberal and conservative positions in American politics. It is a moral stain on the American way of life. And it is clearly the 'Obama-Dem Mistake #2'. As each one is highlighted and explained you can click on the below label of that name to see the full listing of the accumulated mistakes of the Obama administration and the Democratic congress that is supporting them.

Octuplets? That's How Many?

There is nothing like a new life being welcomed into a family to bring up the spirits of everyone involved. My niece Cheri Clegg, my wife Deb's sister's daughter, was admitted to a hospital over in New Jersey today in order to have her 3rd child. She was overdue and has been in our thoughts and prayers, and we are very much looking forward to meeting the new entry into the family. It was just six months ago that my eldest daughter, Christine, brought my grandson Reznor Lloyd into the world. It is blessed events like these that grow and sustain a family, and we look forward to even more grandchildren, nieces, and nephews in the future. Just yesterday, at the Bellflower medical center in California, a woman gave birth and her family also grew. Why the interest in a California family welcoming a new birth? Well, that birth involved the family welcoming not one child, but multiples. No, not twins, not even triplets. Nope, not quadruplets, quintuplets, or sextuplets. That would be six, by the way. Do you even know what they call a 7-baby birth? I didn't, I had to look it up. That would be septuplets. But no, the California woman had even more. She gave birth to what might end up as an American first should they all survive. They are only the 2nd set of octuplets to be born alive in this country's history. The first set was born to the Nigerian-born American citizen Chukwu family in December of 1998 in Houston, Texas. In that birth, one of the babies, the tiniest, died of heart and lung failure at one week old. The other 7 survived despite being born three months premature, and are all healthy, happy 10-year olds now. Can you imagine what that family went through, and still goes through, in raising ten children of the same age all at once? I had two little girls when I was 19 years old, and I thought that I had it tough. This octuplet thing is beyond anything that most any of us could ever fathom. In this latest octuplet birth out in California, the 8th baby was a complete surprise even to doctors and hospital staff, who had been preparing for weeks for the arrival of what they all believed would be septuplets. The 8th baby was not discovered until well into the birth process, which was by Cesarean section. Dr. Richard Paulson is the director of the fertility program at USC and stated "When you hear about someone having octuplets, it's almost always the case that they took fertility medications". In many cases of fertility drug-induced multiple births, couples make a life or death decision involving their children and opt for what is known as 'selective reduction' of the unborn babies, reducing their number to a level of what they and their doctors determine to be manageable risk. The other babies are effectively aborted. So despite the obvious challenges and risks, to hear of a couple taking all of their babies through to the birthing process is both encouraging and inspiring. Both over the next few days and on into the future, this family is going to take on many challenges and is going to need as many prayers as possible from the wider human community, so take the time to say a little prayer for them. Octuplets? That's eight babies, in case you didn't catch the idea yet. God bless them all.
NOTE: As always, the title of this post is a link for further information. In this case to a BBC article titled "How Do You Raise Octuplets?" pertaining to the practical steps necessary to care for this many babies at once.

Islamism Series: Fort Dix and Beyond

Two headlines blared across the tops of the front pages of Philadelphia's two major newspapers within the past four days. The Bulletin was first when last Thursday their front page headline read "Islamic Terrorists Forming Cells in US", and the Inquirer followed suit on Sunday when in reference to the Fort Dix case the headline read "They were going to do it".

Here are the cold, hard facts for everyone who has not yet caught on to what this 'Islamism Series' is all about: organized Islamic forces with the full backing of some Arab nations and with the tacit support of others are at war with the West. They see the United States, Great Britain, and Israel as their main enemies in this war.

The war did not end with the election of Barack Obama, just as it did not begin with the election of George W. Bush. It will not end with the closing of Guantanamo Bay. It will not end with the withdrawal of American troops from the Middle East. It will not end with the death or capture of Osama bin Laden.

The leadership and forces of Islam have made it abundantly clear how this will end: with the end of our civilization, or theirs. Their dream is to reestablish what they call the Islamic Caliphate under Sharia Law, that Islamic rule by Muslim religious, legal, and cultural laws.

To begin this process they want to destroy Israel and take control of the entire Middle East. Then, united under a leader they will call the Caliph, they wish to spread their influence and ultimately their control to the surrounding regions of Europe and Asia, spread down into Africa, and ultimately the world over, including here in America. They have vowed to see the Islamic flag flying over the White House.

The Inquirer story spoke in reference to the Fort Dix case wherein "five foreign-born Muslims...had intended to carry out an attack on the Army base" (at Ft. Dix, New Jersey.) Jurors interviewed by the Inquirer stated that "the defendants had taken serious steps toward an armed attack on the Burlington County base."

The details of the plots made by these men to attack an American military installation here on American soil are frightening enough. But what perhaps is more frightening is the scene inside the courtroom each day, when jurors stated that "large extended families" of the men were regularly present. One must wonder as to the feelings regarding the United States and the West of these family members and friends, now living here in America and raising families with these same beliefs.

The Bulletin article of Thursday, January 22nd spoke to intelligence sources who claim that the terrorist group Hezbollah is expected to be a major threat here in the United States by 2014. If the idea that this is five years away gives you any comfort, consider this: do any of you plan on not being alive five years from now? Didn't think so.

The article states that an official government report has concluded that the Iranian-backed Islamic terror group "has been forming sleeper cells throughout the United States" that could become operational at any time, and that this threat should be much more potent within those next five years.

For those unfamiliar, a 'sleeper cell' is a group of people who live and blend in with our culture, right in our own neighborhoods and work places. But these individuals, despite their outward appearances and actions, are prepared to join together and attack America whenever they are called upon to be activated to such a purpose.

They basically lay low in the weeds waiting for orders. Those orders might not come for months, years, even decades. When they finally come, the attack could be anything from a major nuclear, biological, radiological, or chemical one against a large target such as a sporting event or a downtown area, to one by more conventional methods such as the use of guns, knives, and grenades at a shopping mall or at a school.

The one thing that these recent articles at the front of Philadelphia's own major newspapers highlights is that Americans of all parties, affiliations, and ideologies need to understand exactly what is going on in this war.

The Philadelphia police department and all police officers within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania received training in 2008 that introduced them to the ideas, practices, and plans of these groups in a course titled 'Radical Islam', so law enforcement is very much aware of the dangers. From the Fort Dix case and prior, and that Hezbollah 2014 threat and beyond, this blog will continue with important and timely articles of interest.

NOTE: Simply click on to the 'Islamism Series' label below to read all entries in the series.

The Temple of You

We've all done it from time to time, taken a good, hard, long look in the mirror. That isn't meant to be rhetorical. I mean actually looked at our visage as it is reflected back to us, our physical appearance. The reactions to that visage spread out across a wide spectrum from "yeah, baby, I got it goin' on" to a panicked scream. People who don't like what they see have sometimes taken extreme measures to change their bodies, but this does not always change the reflection. Some of these include turning to an eating disorder such as anorexia and bulimia, even plastic surgeries that are not for some medical necessity. Some decide they just want to forget or push away the image. They turn to the bottle or to drugs. Some need constant reinforcement of their worth, and in doing so turn to numerous sexual partners in an effort to constantly stroke their egos. This isn't going to turn into one of those 'hell fire and brimstone' speeches against the evils of the flesh. God knows that I have fallen victim many a time in my own life. Taking control of some of these reactions to the reflection has taken me most of the 47 years that I have looked in the mirror. But maybe it would have all clicked in a bit sooner, and maybe I would have control of my weight and its related concerns, if I had the experience that I had a few days ago at an earlier point. In the past few days I have been re-exposed to an old, famous quotation, and had it more clearly expressed and explained, and I hope that this renewal finally changes my approach to this problem. We have all likely heard the old saying "Your body is your temple", but how many of us have really ever thought much about the meaning behind that saying? The saying comes directly from the Bible. From Saint Paul's first letter to the Corinthians comes this exhortation: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." For each of the more than two billion Christians on the planet, the message should be clear, but it's amazing how little emphasis we place on these simple but vitally important ideas. We all know that the Holy Spirit of God Himself dwells inside of us. That our bodies have been "bought at a price" refers explicitly to Christ's selfless, sacrificial death on the cross so that our bodies and souls might be saved from death itself and eternal damnation. When we abuse or misuse our bodies with drugs, drink, food, mutilation, sex and other measures we are taking that gift of redemption, throwing it to the ground, and stomping on it. We are supposed to "honor God" with our bodies but we do just the opposite. This idea also goes directly to our treatment of the most innocent, those who depend entirely on us for both their perception of their bodies and the direct treatment of them. It goes to the children to whom we are responsible, from the unborn in the womb to the infants, toddlers, pre-teens and teenagers under our daily care. All of this responsibility goes directly to the struggle that takes place every single day in every single human life everywhere in the world. It is the struggle between good and evil that has taken place since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, and since the snake known as Satan was set against our heels. Satan finds that weakness in each of us and tempts, distracts, suppresses, and amuses us all. For the vast majority of us the instrument that he uses against us is our very own body. Pope John Paul II, perhaps the greatest spiritual leader of our time, spoke directly to many of these issues in his 'Theology of Life' talks and his most famous encyclical 'Humanae Vitae', which is a must-read for every Catholic. There are many avenues we can take to begin overcoming our own personal demons, those things that cause us to turn our temple into a slum. But our efforts will be far more effective if they come within the context of a knowledge that when you fight for your body you are fighting a war against evil. It will not be an easy fight, and it will definitely be a life long fight. You will win some battles and lose some. The harder you fight against evil, the harder it will fight back. But ultimately you will always win, because God is on your side. You just have to be willing to believe in Him, receive Him into your life actively, and He will fight alongside of you. He will help you to put out that final cigarette, lose those fifty pounds, put down that bottle, end that affair, escape that sexual hedonism, accept a healthy body image. And as you win, He will help you to tear down the slum that your body has become. He will help you to work from the base that is already there and is always solid to finally build up the 'Temple of You'.

All That Junk

You know, we can't always write and talk about the big things like religion, politics and culture. Sometimes you just have to get something that is relatively small and insignificant out on to the table and off your chest. I was going through my mail today. Perhaps you see where this is going. Is it not incredible the amount of junk mail we receive at our homes? Junk mail alone probably keeps tens of thousands of U.S. Postal employees in their jobs. Unless there is something of obvious interest or importance, during the week I will let most of our mail pile up and then go through it on Saturday mornings. This morning's haul included items from the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Verizon, Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, and Comcast. These were just the mailings that you could tell from the outer envelope were from particular businesses or organizations. There were a number more that were important looking, but that had no identification on the outside letting me know where they were coming from. Of course by experience in opening them in the past, the odds were that most of these would be credit card or bank loan offers. Let's open them and take a look. Capital One loan offer, American Express gold card offer, BJ's member value program, Mealey's mattress 'overstock blitz' sale, and finally a notice that my property might be involved in some class action law suit involving PGW and mercury poisoning. Nice. And this is all before today's mail delivery has even arrived. The St. Jude's mailing involved address labels. We probably receive that kind of thing 3-4 times a year. All unsolicited, of course. So what are you supposed to do with them, toss them away? Perfectly good return address labels that someone made up with your infomation on them. As for me and mine, we are keeping the labels and using them. No one told you to make them up. We did not place an order for these items. There is no legal or even moral obligation for me to send you even a small donation in return. So thanks for the free return address labels that more likely than not will end up on my Christmas cards in December. There are any number of websites and organizations out there that will help you reduce the amount of junk mail that you receive, and they work. Just 'Google' the term 'junk mail' for their information and advice. I know that it is effective, because a few years back I followed some advice and sure enough found less in my mailbox. For awhile. What happens is that as time goes along, I found that I was back on mailing lists. Almost every time that you order anything at all, or become a member of any organization, your information is back out there in mailers files. Order books from Amazon or B.Dalton online, clothing or paraphernalia from the NFL or MLB, make a charitable donation to a large organization, take a poll, sign up for a website affiliation, subscribe to a newspaper or magazine, order flowers or other gifts. Any of these activities leave you open to having your information back out there again in the solicitors hands. And there goes your mailbox, bulging again from all the junk mail. Funny thing is, I can't remember ever actually ordering anything that came in to my home as junk mail. I don't recall ever taking out a loan, or obtaining a credit card, or ordering merchandise in this way. It makes me curious as to what the overall results are for those who do the mailings. Are the costs in sending these mass mailings out to our homes really recouped by sales or donations or applications? I honestly find that hard to believe. But if not, you would expect that this practice would have died out a long time ago. And with all this talk of junk mail, I am not even including the flyers that are hand-delivered for pizza parlors, chinese food joints, sandwich shops, real estate offices, and political campaigns. It all adds up to what seems to be a mountain of wasted paper and ink. In any event, despite the claims that some will make to you, there really is no way to ultimately kill the junk mail from coming to your home. Perhaps if you got yourself a 'P.O.' box address, that would alleviate some, if you instruct the post office to deliver all of your mail there. Before ending this little rant against junk mail, an important security reminder. Much of this stuff has your personal, private information. Your name and address are included on most of it, and sometimes even more private information is included on the items. If you don't already do it as a practice, you need to begin to make 'shredding' a part of your regular routine. Any junk mail that comes into your home should be shredded. You can either shred the entire envelope and contents, or open the mail, discard the envelopes and any inserts into the trash, and then shred the applications or other items that actually show your information. Making this a regular habit will greatly reduce your risk of having your identity stolen and misused. If you are someone who saves pay stubs, financial statements, and medical records, make sure that you establish a regular pattern of shredding these items as well, perhaps once a year, or every 3-5 years or so. I thought that it might be an interesting project to get a box and just toss all the junk mail for a year into it, and then at the end of the year get that box weighed. Multiply the weight of all that junk by all the homes in the country, and the shear volume of waste would have to be staggering. But then I found out that folks have already done this. Some have even turned their voluminous junk mail piles into artistic sculptures. Talk about too much time on your hands. Oh well, here comes the mailman...

Obama-Dem Mistake #1

There are going to be many of them in the coming days, weeks, months and years (hopefully not too many years.) Major mistakes made by President Barack Obama, the Obama administration, and the Democratic Party power in the congress. Each one of them is going to need to be pointed out and explained. Any number of sources will take on that responsibility, and I am going to ensure that this blog covers the worst of these mistakes. The 'Obama-Dem Mistake #1' began this week with the order to close the prisoner holding facility at Guantanamo Bay, known as 'Gitmo'. For those who are unaware, Guantanamo Bay is located on the southeast edge of Cuba. In 1898, the U.S. established a naval base there, and the 1903 'Cuba-America Treaty' gave the U.S. a perpetual lease on this area. In 2002, three camps were established on the naval base for the detainment and interrogation of prisoners captured on the battlefields in the war on terrorism in the Middle East. There were no appropriate facilities that were acceptable from a security standpoint within the Middle East countries where these combatants were captured for their continued detainment. There was also no way that such individuals were going to be allowed on to U.S. mainland soil, subject to American laws, and allowed to have the American judicial system available to them as if they had the same rights as the average American citizen. These were people who were actively involved in a war against the United States and the entirety of western civilization. They have already been filtered out and it has been determined that there is a high probability that these detainees have particular intelligence or information of a sensitive nature going directly to the security of the United States and/or our troops. Many of them have also been trained to resist normal levels of questioning and usual interrogation methods. Gitmo was selected as a location where these individuals could be kept safe from everyday Americans, and where they could be controlled and interrogated outside the reach of the American legal system. Gitmo has been inappropriately characterized as a 'torture facility' by all of the usual liberal sources such as the ACLU. It is also seen as a linchpin in the overall war on terror, which the liberal community wants shut down. President Obama was elected by these folks, and one of his promises to them was that he would shut down Gitmo and put a halt to any alleged American torture practices. In one of his first acts, he has ordered that Gitmo shutdown to happen within a year, and has ordered that most interrogation be conducted pursuant to the Army field munual. In many cases our intelligence and military officials will now be more restricted when interrogating threats to our national security than are our nations police officers in interrogating common criminals. And as Gitmo is closed down, where will the detainees, all of whom are genuine threats to Americans, be sent? The first recourse will be to attempt returning them to their homelands. But as this has been tried in the past, these nations do not want and will not accept the individuals. Will these individuals simply be released on to the streets of the United States? The ones who do get accepted for return to their homelands, will they return to fighting America? These dangerous individuals are about to become some of the first pawns in the liberal Democrat game. Closing Gitmo and restricting our intel resources is the first mistake of the new Obama-Dem administration. We can only hope that the ultimate price paid is relatively small, and not something even more cataclysmic than the 9/11 attacks.

Marching For Life

January 22nd, 1973 was one of the worst dates in the history of the United States of America. On that date 36 years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) delivered its opinion in the case of 'Roe vs. Wade'. According to the SCOTUS decision, most laws restricting abortion in America violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ruling basically overturned all state and federal laws restricting abortions. It centrally held that a mother could abort her pregnancy for any reason up until the point at which the baby, referred to in the ruling by its scientific developmental stage name 'fetus', became 'viable'. It defined viability as the baby having the potential to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid, and placed this term at between 24-28 weeks. The court also held that abortion after viability must also be available in order to protect a woman's health, and this 'health' was defined broadly in a companion case called 'Doe vs. Bolton'. The court based its ruling on its desire to protect personal freedoms and privacy. A woman should be able to make medical decisions involving her health along with her doctor, and the government should in no way be interfering in this process. Of course never anywhere in their ruling did the court recognize the very apparent fact that there is not just one life, not just one person's health, being affected by a decision to abort. There is a baby alive inside of the mother. Unfortunately for that baby, it can not yet speak for itself. It cannot stand up for its own rights. It cannot vote for politicians who will support its cause. And there is, of course, only one 'cause' for which these babies are fighting at this early stage of their development - their very lives. A year after the 'Roe v. Wade' ruling was handed down a group of grassroots Americans who recognized the fundamental importance of standing up for these lives got together and organized a relatively small memorial. On January 22nd, 1974 the very first 'March for Life' took place with 20,000 participants marching on the U.S. Capitol in protest of the SCOTUS decision. By the following year of 1975, that number more than doubled to 50,000 and has grown now to the point where approximately 200,000 people regularly flood the Capitol steps and the surrounding areas each year. The 'March for Life' movement supports a set of 'Life Principles' that simply sound like common sense. They support the self-evident truth that all human beings are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which is the right to life. They support the preservation of every human life by every other human life, from the moment that the father's sperm fertilizes the mother's ovum. This factually and truthfully results in the creation of life, which will result in the birth of a human being, which will result in that human being growing into a child, and finally into an adult. The actual march begins on 4th Street in Washington, D.C. near the U.S. District Court. It then proceeds along Constitution Avenue past the U.S. Capitol and on to 7th Street, between the Capitol and the Supreme Court building. This evening the annual 'Rose Dinner' (the rose being the symbol of the movement) will be held at the Hyatt Regency. There will be speeches by a few key players in the movement, awards for a half dozen student activists, learning opportunities on the issues, some fine dining, and a toast to success for life issues during the coming year. You know, it just seems to me to be incredible that we need a 'movement' dedicated to life itself. I mean, where would all of the pro-abortion folks be if their parents had made what they determine to be the 'choice' not to give birth to them? Dead, that's where they would be today. Just like the hundreds of millions of babies who have been killed since that infamously egregious 'Roe v. Wade' decision decades ago. Approximately 47 years ago, a young single mother gave birth to a child whose father had abandoned them both. Three months later, my own mother gave birth to me. The son of that single mother, who raised him sometimes in poverty, often in difficulty, was sworn in this week as the 44th President of the United States of America. Many of his supporters decry the more than 4,000 American lives lost by people who by their own choice fought and died for our country. But most of those same supporters hold their tongues for the 7.5 million babies killed by abortion in America since the war began in Iraq. Or worse, they support these deaths. The same streets on which Barack Obama was inaugurated and on which parades honored him just two short days ago were filled today with people marching for human life. Thanks to the hundreds of thousands who flooded the streets of Washington, D.C. today we may one day live to see Americans overturn that immoral and murderous court ruling.

Islamism Series: al Qaeda's Black Death

When most people think of attacks or attempted attacks by Muslim radicals against the United States, Israel, England, and others who they perceive as their enemies we think of bombs and guns. The radical Muslim group Hamas continues to bombard Israel with rockets from Gaza, prolonging a conflict that the Israelis tried to halt days ago. But it is not just these 'conventional' weapons that we need to be concerned with when addressing the problems of Radical Islam.

The British tabloid 'The Sun' recently published a report that al Qaeda members in Algeria had been killed during experiments with a strain of the bubonic plague. A report in the Washington Times stated that a U.S. intelligence official dismissed that claim, but did say that the terror group had to close a base of operations in the African nation after an experiment with 'unconventional weapons went awry' killing at least 40 al Qaeda operatives. The experiment was believed to likely be either biological or chemical in nature.

Intelligence officials estimate that Muslim terror groups have been pursuing biological and chemical weapons for at least a decade. The Times article goes on to quote a 2005 U.S. commission report that the al Qaeda bio/chem weapons program "was extensive, well organized, and operated two years before" the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States.

In January of 2003, British authorities arrested seven men in connection with an effort to produce ricin, the poison that killed a dozen people and sent over 3,000 to Tokyo-area hospitals after it was released on that city's subway system back in 1995. At least one of the men had spent time at an al Qaeda training camp, and during their investigation authorities found an al Qaeda manual that included a recipe for making the poison.

The fact is that Islamic terror groups are exploring and experimenting with many ways of attacking the West, and they are not going to stand down in these efforts just because we have elected a new president. Whether our presidents name is Bush or Obama, the Muslim radicals see their struggle with our way of life. They will continue their war on us whether or not we bring any or all of our troops home from the Middle East.

This year in the Philadelphia police department's MPO curriculum one of the courses is titled "Crisis & Emergency Management." It is a scenario-based course that presents four different scenarios outside of the usual, day to day law enforcement experience and asks for ideas on how to handle them. It also presents some of the resources available above the police department level, and explores how and when these resources would be made available.

One of the scenarios involves a bio-terror attack such as the type that al Qaeda has been planning. It is hoped that we here in the City of Brotherly Love never have to deal with such a scenario in reality, but that in attending this class our officers may have a little better picture of how we will respond should it ever come to pass.

Whether the al Qaeda experiment in Algeria involved bubonic plague, which killed 1/3 of Europe's population in the 14th century and became known as 'the black death', or some other agent is relatively unimportant. What remains most important is that we understand that radical Islam and its tens of millions of adherents continue to look for ways to attack freedom loving people everywhere, especially in Israel, Europe, and here in the United States. The very real plague of this radical Muslim ideology is a virus that must be stamped out, and against which we must remain on the offensive.
NOTE: This is a continuation of the "Islamism Series" articles, all of which can be viewed by clicking on that below label.

Obamanation!

Barack Obama was sworn in this afternoon as the 44th President of the United States of America. He thus becomes the first black President, the first minority of any type, ending the monopoly held by white males on the highest office in the land for over two centuries. In some ways this very fact is a good thing. No longer will America's detractors, both within and outside of our country, be able to speak of glass ceilings and inequality with any credibility. Anyone can rise to the highest office in the land. America is willing to accept a person of color, as proven by President Obama's new position. America is willing to accept a woman in the position as well. The support for both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin from their respective party's as they ran last year prove that statement as well. So this is now officially an Obama Nation. He and his supporters are in charge now. The celebrations will continue with a number of parties tonight known as Presidential Ball's, but when everyone wakes up in the morning the real business of governance will begin. President Obama began his tenure by stumbling over his swearing-in ceremony as he was incorrectly led in taking the oath of office by SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts inserted the word 'faithfully' at the wrong point, causing Obama, who had likely prepared for this and practiced the oath a number of times, to halt. The two then did a verbal dance until Obama simply said it in the manner that Roberts led him. We can write that off to nervousness on both men's parts, and the awesome reality setting in that this event was actually finally happening. Everyone is not perfect all the time, not even Barack Obama and John Roberts. However, can you imagine the field day that the media and celebrities would be having were it George W. Bush being involved in such a blunder in front of the whole world? This was a real shame for such a truly historic moment. But human gaffes aside, its the meat and potatoes of the acceptance speech that really matter. President Obama started well by properly thanking President Bush for both his service to the nation and his cooperation in the transition. But he then spoke of how the economy has been weakened by, among other things, a "collective failure to make hard choices." Obama himself and his Democratic Senate colleagues have been front and center in failing to make hard choices and consistently cow-towing to liberal special interests and pork barrel spending programs. It will be interesting to see how the new President leads us into the more fiscally responsible era that he seems to be calling for. He said that jobs have been shed and businesses shuttered. I wonder if he plans on following or supporting the path of Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat House colleagues in allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, and in raising taxes that will only result in even more businesses closing and more jobs lost. He spoke of our health care being too costly. Now is not the time for details, but when they eventually come out will they involve a socialized medical coverage plan that will lower costs for some in initially, but lower care as well while creating frustrating and interminable bueracracies such as those that have emerged with Canada's national health care system? And the costs that will rise from that bueracracy? They will be borne by 'We the People' in increased taxes for all. We will all pay in the end. It's just that now you will be paying that bigger Uncle Sam rather than some medical provider. He said that "our schools fail too many", but is that really appropriate, or do too many students fail themselves because they are unwilling and undisciplined. Is the problem really mostly in the schools, or is it in the home? He said that "we use our energy to strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet" and yet consistently voted against programs that would have led to greater energy independence for America. The new President also incredibly stated that there was a "sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable." I don't know who President Obama has been speaking with...oh wait, yes I do. He has been speaking with and is speaking of his fellow Democrat politicians and their followers. Republicans and American traditionalists of all stripes have never had any such thoughts. We are always confident in our belief in the strength, power, faith, and resilience of America. We always see both the spirit and the actuality of America's greatness extending well into the future. We are always positive. It has only been the Dems and their supporters who have felt this "sapping" and "nagging" about our nation, its world role, its direction. He later went on to call those who do not believe in his programs "cynics" who "fail to understand that the ground has shifted beneath them", and claimed that "stale political arguments...no longer apply." Trust me, we conservatives are well aware of the political shift. And we also realize that political differences remain and the arguments will continue. We will regroup, re-engage, and come back again even stronger in the future. The President said that the problems of government are not whether it is too big or small, but whether it works. The fact is that whether it's working or not is defined differently by many different sources. However, it is also factual that if government is too big, that in itself is a huge problem. Government is already too big and President Obama and his followers plan to grow it to an incredible size. That will create a true "problem of government." The President made a telling statement in addressing world leaders when he said that "America is a friend of every nation, and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity." What he failed to say was anything about how he would deal with those nations whose vision of peace and dignity is not possible without the destruction of Israel as a nation and the erasing of America from its position as a world power. He began to draw to his closing, and one of his comments referred to the goodness of "a parent's willingness to nurture a child." It will be interesting to see how his Supreme Court nominees stand up to that measure of goodness in their willingness to protect those children as God's most precious gift of human life. Despite my skepticism of his plans, Barack Obama is now my President. Unlike the destructive path that the Dems took with President Bush, myself and most Republicans will pray for and support President Obama as our own, our leader, our Commander-in-Chief. But we are indeed the 'loyal opposition', and our loyalty only extends so far. We will continue to fight against him and the liberal Democrats as hard as we can to maintain traditional American values, keep government out of our individual and familial business as much as possible, and maintain our safety and security. We will not allow this new Obama Nation to become an abomination. God bless President Barack Obama, but more importantly, God bless America.
NOTE: This article has been amended from its original form, which alluded to problems with the swearing-in ceremony being caused by Obama's nervousness. He may have been nervous, but it was Justice Roberts' gaffe that started the problems. Thanks to a commenter for pointing out this error. Comments can be viewed by clicking on to that below label on every entry.

Trying to Find a Silver Lining

I have always been a pretty positive person. It's hard to get me down for long, and I've learned in the course of a life that is now well into it's 5th decade that most of the things that we worry over are somewhat insignificant. For instance, my hometown Philadelphia Eagles lost a heart-breaking NFC Championship game yesterday to the Arizona Cardinals. The defeat means that the team falls just short of reaching football's ultimate goal - the Super Bowl. It was very disappointing and somewhat frustrating as the final seconds ticked away and we came to realize that our team was not going to make it. What is even more ludicrous to me is what will happen over the next week or so, as all of the 'Monday Morning Quarterbacks' come out of the woodwork to criticize every poor play and missed opportunity. I will most definitely be avoiding all sports talk radio stations for the next couple of weeks. As for me, I try to find the silver lining. With the Eagles it will be in the way they played for the last six weeks of their season, when they had to win nearly every week to keep their season alive. They won most of those games, and it was a fun time to be a fan. To me, Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid showed that they are still among the best quarterbacks and head coaches in the league, and some strong young players leave me believing that next season will be a strong one for the team. So football is over for 2009 here in Philadelphia. Only the Arizona-Pittsburgh meeting in the Super Bowl remains for the NFL. Tomorrow will be an even bigger challenge for me in trying to find a silver lining. Today marks the final day of the Presidential administration of George W. Bush. One of the most liberal politicians to ever become the President of the United States, Democrat Barack Obama, will take the oath of office on Tuesday. He will have a mostly supportive Congress and Senate behind him, as the Democratic Party is back in charge of both Houses. And the big television networks and former mainstream media newspapers are all on board with this liberal Democratic government monopoly. The fact is that for conservative Republicans such as myself, the next few years are likely going to see one disaster after another play out against the country that we love. We are likely to see taxes raised for all Americans as the Dems both repeal the outstanding Bush tax cuts and raise them further with their own legislation. We are likely to become far less safe as the Dems slowly dismantle the security programs put in place by the Bush administration after 9/11. The budget deficits of today will balloon with pork-barrel spending that goes far beyond any savings found by repealing the tax cuts and bringing home some troops. And at least in the first year there will be partisan calls for investigations into members of the Bush administration for nothing more than political vindictiveness. It is going to be a very, very ugly time in America. But that is what Democrats do best. They complain, they whine, they distract, they get divisive and vindictive, and they bury America under taxation and regulation while playing Russian roulette with our national security. This is what is likely to happen over the next four years. We can only hope that the liberal Dems don't do too much damage before the Republicans can get our acts back together and reclaim power. In the mean time the positive attitude person inside me will be searching for a silver lining for America. For one, black Americans should have to finally set aside any thoughts that they have any barriers. The United States of America has proven that race and sex are no barrier in advancing to the highest offices in the land. That is a good thing. But which minority is the one that takes office and commands power, that has always been the real issue. A black or female President, or any other minority, is not the problem. A liberal Democrat President of any stripe is the problem. Here's to hoping that the Democrats finally find a way to get more things right than wrong for once. I pray for the success of Barack Obama in keeping America safe, in leading a fix of the financial problems our country faces, in maintaining traditional American values, and in building political bridges rather than allowing the country to remain distracted by the partisan politics of people like Nancy Pelosi. I will sincerely pray for those things. But knowing the nature of the Party to which he belongs, and that of the vast majority of its members in political power seats, I don't have much hope. But I will keep praying for America, and will keep looking for the silver lining.

Playing With House Money

Continuation of the 'Sunday Sermon' series, all entries of which can be viewed by clicking on that label below this posting.
I just heard a reporter on the ESPN flagship program 'SportsCenter' mention that the Baltimore Ravens players feel that they are playing today's AFC Championship game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers with "house money." It struck me because I had just prior to that been reading in the newspaper that some of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals were both using that same phrase this past week, that their respective teams would be playing the NFC Championship game with that same "house money." For those who don't understand, what the term 'playing with house money' refers to is the attitude that you have nothing to lose. It is an old gambling phrase that alludes to being so far ahead already in your expected winnings that you are not playing with your own money, you are playing with that 'house money' (the casino or sponsoring organization of the gambling being referred to as the 'house'.) So what the NFL teams here are saying is that they were not expected to get this far, or that they are such underdogs in todays games, that they have nothing to lose. I would argue that this is nothing more than a way to handle the pressure that they actually are feeling. I would argue that this is misleading in the sports context, and the same goes with your own life. Just as in today's respective conference title tilts, there is no such thing as a day in your life with nothing on the line. In the two games being played later today, the Eagles, Cardinals, Steelers and Ravens are playing for an opportunity to advance to the biggest stage in American professional sports, the Super Bowl. Most players will never reach that game as a competitor. If the Eagles should win and advance it will be just the third time since the game was established some four decades ago that the franchise has advanced that far. They have never won a Super Bowl. There is no house money on the line here. The Eagles are no longer that far ahead of things. They have played as well as any team in football for two months now. There is nothing surprising about their appearance here, they have fully earned it on the field. Should they lose today's game, the Eagles players and fan base will certainly not say "Well, it was a great run, we're happy with getting this far." The Eagles are not underdogs. There is something of worth on the line today. The game stands on its own as meaning something important. The prize in winning is large and worth playing, fighting and cheering for them. The same goes with your own life. We are never so well off, so safe, so saved that we can spiritually coast along. There is no highway to heaven. You can be a regular church-goer. You can pray regularly. You can participate in the sacraments. You can read your Bible. But you get no automatic pass into the Kingdom. All of those things are important. You should be doing them. They will help you live a far better, more secure life with more peace of mind. And they will give you something to hang your hat on when you ultimately leave this world and stand in front of Him looking for your place in eternity. But you cannot let down your guard. You can never say that you have prayed so much, gone to church so many times, given so much in tithing, memorized so many Bible verses that you can slip a little bit and still be safe. Sin is sin. You can do all of those good things, but if you turn your back on God and intentionally sin against his commandments at the end you will be in trouble. You will find at that time that there is no 'house money' with which you were playing. You will find that you have lost, and this time it is no game. NFL Hall of Fame coach Don Shula (pictured above) won a pair of Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins in the 1970's. He also lost his share of playoff games. Shula once famously said "..when you're there, it's not good enough to be there, when you're there, you better walk away with that ring." He went on to discuss the feeling the day after you lose following a nice playoff run. The feeling is no better, and in some instances is even worse, than a regular season defeat. The losers today will find out first-hand about the feeling of getting so close but falling just short of the Super Bowl, the goal for every player in the NFL. Just the same, you need to keep playing the game of life well all the way to the finish. You have to close the deal. You have to play well and practice well every day for your opportunity at the post-life of eternal bliss. Let down your guard and decide that you are playing with 'house money' and you will find yourself sitting in a worse place than today's conference game losers.

TV Watch: Big Love

The 3rd season of the outstanding HBO drama 'Big Love' from Executive Producer Tom Hanks kicks off tomorrow (Sunday) night at 9pm. For those who have access to a service, such as Comcast's OnDemand product, that allows you to catch up on the first two seasons, now is the time to catch up on the interesting and well-acted story line.

The basic premise of 'Big Love' is a polygamist Utah family trying to emerge from the shadowy cult-like past and into mainstream society. As a Catholic, there is no way that I will ever advocate the family lifestyle of the featured Henderson clan. As a Christian, however, there is much to take from their struggles.

There is a basic recognition, love, and respect for God here, albeit with a number of misguided principles and interpretations inherent in some of Mormon teaching and in the polygamist community in particular. 'Big Love' also draws strength from its extremely talented cast who you will mostly know from their motion picture work.

The show is set in the suburban town of Sandy, Utah. Family head Bill Henderson, played by veteran actor Bill Paxton, was born and raised in a polygamist cult community, but escaped as a teenager and eventually blended into normal society. But after establishing himself with a normal family, fate brought drastic change to the Henderson clan.

In the show, he has set up three single homes in a row. From the outside they appear to be three different families. But a shared rear yard shows the true story. In each home lives one of Bill's three wives, and with each wife lives the children that they have conceived with him.

His first wife, Barb, is literally known within the setup as 'First Wife', and is played by Jeanne Tripplehorn. At one time in the past, Barb and Bill had a 'normal' one-on-one marriage, had three children, and belonged to a mainstream Mormon church. Then one day, Barb became extremely ill and was near death.

A young woman from Bill's former community named Nikki, played by Chloe Sevigny, came to live with the family and help with Barb's care. It was the beginning of the end for the Henderson's normalcy. Largely thanks to Nikki's help, Barb recovered. But a relationship had formed between Barb, Bill and Nikki, and Bill became 'inspired' to return to practicing what is known as the 'Principle' of a polygamist lifestyle.

In this lifestyle men are permitted to take any number of wives as they are inspired to and to have children with these women, as long as they can afford to properly support this expanded family. They also are responsible for bringing this family up in God's teachings.

After a period of struggle with this idea, Barb decided to stay with Bill and enter the lifestyle, and they took in Nikki as a 2nd wife. This eventually spread to a 3rd wife, the very young and perky Margene, played by Ginnifer Goodwin. It is this 3-wife setup that is in place as the series began.

The show covers the challenges of family life in such a setup. From within, the three wives have the challenge of sharing time with Bill, and sharing a life with one another as 'sister wives'. There is also an issue within Bill's first family in that the oldest daughter Sarah, played by Amanda Seyfried, is not totally on board with the whole polygamy setup.

Further stress is put on the family by their ties to the polygamist cult community of Juniper Creek. With both Bill and Nikki having been born and raised there, and still having family ties there, the community insinuates itself into the family constantly, never in a postive way.

Juniper Creek is led by Nikki's father, Roman Grant, who is played by Harry Dean Stanton, and who is set as Bill's main antagonist in the first two seasons. Other co-starring turns come from young Douglas Smith as the Henderson's eldest son Ben, and from veteran actors Grace Zabriskie, Bruce Dern, Mary Kay Place, Brian Kerwin, Joel McKinnon Miller, and Tina Majorino, all of whom are familiar faces.

Bill Henderson supports his family with a chain of Home Depot-like hardware stores, and is attempting to expand into the gaming industry, with the business dealings adding intrigue and challenges to the family. And now adding further strain is a relationship that he has entered into with a woman named Ana, played by Branka Katic, who he may have designs on making wife #4, something that at least two of his current wives will not welcome easily.

The acting is tremendous in this series, and there is a basic loving, redemptive family story here underneath all of the challenges of an extremely dysfunctional family. I highly recommend 'Big Love', a quirky but ultimately satisfying family drama, for adults with a discerning mind and heart.

NOTE: This is a continuation of the regular "TV Watch" series of articles, all entries of which can be viewed by clicking on that below 'label'

Ann Coulter is Guilty as Charged

For over a decade now, conservative writer Ann Coulter has been directing her sharp wit and keen mind as well as her biting sense of humor at everything that liberals hold dear. She has emerged as the single most articulate and beloved voice of the far right in American politics, and the honesty and clarity of her works has gained her fans across the vast conservative Republican populace. Her latest book titled "Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America" generally covers just what it says in that title. "Guilty" speaks of the 'victim mentality' prevalent in all liberal quarters, and that has been particularly embraced by the Democratic Party over the past few decades. The libs and the Dems take segments of society that feel they have been victimized by the American culture and government, embrace them, and tell them that they, the Dems, will take care of all of their problems. They care about the 'victims', and will make sure that these 'lowly' have a 'voice' if elected. What the liberal Dems never mention, of course, is that the vast majority of these 'victims' have created or exacerbated their own situations. The 'culture' or 'government' or 'the man' or 'the system' had absolutely nothing to do with it. Did 'the government' stick that needle in their arm, or that crack pipe in their mouth, or that pill down their throats? No. Did 'the man' force them to buy that bottle and drink it down? No. Did 'the system' distract them in school and keep them from going to classes, paying attention, studying, and doing their homework? No. Did the 'culture' get them pregnant? No. If you are poor and have little or nothing as you are being raised, why on earth would you want to continue that into your adulthood and for your entire life? That is exactly what you are asking for when you don't emphasize school and instead turn to drugs, booze, and sex as a way out. Fact is, those are no ways out, they are road blocks and in some cases life enders. They are also choices, things that the 'victims' never, ever want to admit. Then you have the 'enablers' as well. These are the people who may recognize that people are victims of their own choices and decisions, but ask the question of "now what?" Do we throw these people away, or do we help them come back? That is indeed a complex question that these 'victims' have made even more so over the years as the vast majority have either abused or misused or turned away what help has been offered. Their perpetual cycles of self-destruction leave those of us who are politically and culturally in the center and on the right throwing up our hands in frustration. But there is no stopping those on the left and their continued romance with the 'victims', and this is the eloquent target of Ann Coulter's "Guilty" work. Coulter's previous books are an endless barrage of clever quips, elegant prose, and sometimes over-the-top comments against all that is Left. In "High Crimes & Misdemeanors" she looks closely at the crimes and immorality of the Clinton White House. In "Slander" she points out the attacks on conservatism by the left-controlled former mainstream media, and highlights the lies they perpetuate. In "Treason" she shows how liberalism has consistently undermined traditional American values in recent decades. In "How to Talk to a Liberal" she speaks their language in a way that only a conservative could love. In "Godless", Coulter hits hard in defending one of the left's biggest targets - God Himself - and takes on their own church-like causes. "If Democrats Had Any Brains They'd Be Republicans" is a strong political statement for conservative causes highlighting the pure lack of common sense in liberalism. This new work in "Guilty" is another in this incomparable string of modern conservative political and cultural thought. As with all other Coulter works it both sings and bites, sometimes in the same paragraph. Ann Coulter was born just three weeks after me, so maybe there was something in the air or water here in the northeastern United States back then. I find her extremely attractive, humorous, and articulate, and I challenge anyone who believes they are in the 'center' politically to actually fully read a couple of her books, especially "Godless" and "How to Talk to a Liberal", and see if you still feel that way afterwards. Try to point out instances where Coulter goes over some imaginary 'line' in her descriptions of certain people or circumstances, and you will find them easily. Try to find instances where Coulter actually lies about something and your job will be impossible. Ann Coulter's critics charge her with being ultra-right win in her orthodoxy and approach, and to that I say, and she would undoubtedly be proud to say, that she is guilty as charged.

Philly Residency Part of Larger Problem

In May of 2006, an ordinance was introduced in the city council of Philadelphia addressing modifications to the city's residency requirement. For decades the policy in Philadelphia was that in order to be employed by the city you needed to live in the city for a year prior to employment. What council proposed was that city employment opportunities be opened to anyone living outside, but that any such person who accepted a position had to move into town within six months. Many of the comments in the summary of the ordinance either directly state or imply some of the reasons that such a measure was believed to be needed. Among them that Philly had lost half a million residents since 1950, and that the current residency requirement had 'helped foster stable neighborhoods and economic opportunities for its residents...' The summary also stated that a new approach would 'encourage people to move into the city...' This is such pie-in-the-sky, ridiculous thinking that it almost defies belief and makes one wonder if the authors and sponsors of the bill actually believe it. There is absolutely no correlation between the city residency requirement and the loss of a half million citizens since 1950. The current residency requirement has not fostered 'stable neighborhoods' in any way. All you need to have done is lived in the city for the past few decades to know that there are very few 'stable neighborhoods'. Talk to the former residents, and many still there, from places like Kensington and Southwest Philly and Oxford Circle about changes in their neighorhoods over those decades. The residency requirement has in no way helped foster 'economic opportunities' for Philadelphians. How exactly? In what way? Constant poor choices by Philadelphia's leadership over the past quarter century or so is the consistent theme in the city's loss of residents. Businesses have not trickled out, they have poured out of the city, and they have taken tens of thousands of jobs with them. To in any way say that anything in Philadelphia is as good as it was or better than just a few decades ago is a farce. Philly's slip from consistently 4th in American population lists down to its current level of 6th and still sliding has specific reasons. The ultra-liberal political policies with no reasonable opposition are one. Over-taxation of businesses and residents is another, which springs from the first reason. Outrageous union demands and procedures, and political cow-towing to those is still another. An unwillingness to overhaul Philadelphia's anitquaited City Charter is yet another. That's all nice theory from a social and political conservative about what ails the city. It will remain theory only because there is no chance of a change in Philly. The Democratic Party and its liberal policies are totally entrenched in the power structure within the city limits. What is the tie to the residency rules? Those liberal Dem power brokers have seen their tax base shrink significantly. They can ill afford to allow it to shrink much further, and that is exactly what would happen if there is any change to the residency requirement. My prediction is that if the city did away with a residency requirement then of the 24,500 or so employees now working for the city at least 10% would be gone within a year, 25% within five years, and as many as half within a decade. City leadership knows this, which is why they will never allow a change like this to occur. They cannot allow the tax base to shrink further. City employees are in effect trapped within the confines of the city as long as they want to maintain their job. Another phenomenon now occurs with greater frequency. Employees are bending and in some cases outright breaking the rules on residency, and their fellow employees are 'diming them out' when they find out about it. There is a boss with the Aviation section who has been in the news recently relating to reports in the local TV news that he was seen staying at a home in South Jersey. He claimed that the home was owned by his wife who is sick and was recently more in need of his constant presence for care during an illness. This man had only married the wife a year and a half ago, and planned on retiring this coming summer. It all sounds logical, but logic played no part as the TV news crew followed him and 'exposed' him as a residency fraud. Of course the key point here is that the news had to be tipped off by someone. There was someone working with this man who resented him or his actions so badly that they called the press. That is a dangerous habit, for few of us know exactly what is going on within another person's life situations. Without a residency requirement, none of this would matter. The funny thing is that as Philadelphia has lost residents, it has not significantly lost employees to match. The size of Philadelphia government is almost as big personnel-wise, and much larger financially, than it was back in 1961 when I was born. Back then Philly's population was over the 2 million mark, it is now down to under a million and a half. Back then there were about 27,500 employees. Today there are about 24,500. Philadelphia needs to have its government size trimmed badly both in employee size and financial outlay, to reform its tax procedures across the board, to make significant charter changes to effect more favorable vendor union relations. It needs to begin to operate like the local government it is supposed to be rather than as a 'Big Momma' taking care of all our needs. The residency requirement is one place to start. Eliminate it and stand on your own two feet as a city rather than hold folks hostage. If you make your city attractive enough, people will want to live here rather than having to be forced to live here. Therein lies the challenge in the 21st century to future Philly leaders: make the City of Brotherly Love a place that people want to live in, that business wants to operate in, and where no one needs to be forced to live. I don't see much hope of it, but as long as I live and pay taxes here, I can dream.

Nearly Everybody Reads the Bulletin

In the city of Philadelphia, the Bulletin is back, and just in time to save local newspaper readers from the quagmire of liberal junk for which we had no alternative for years. Actually, the Bulletin has been back since 2004. I had heard something about it, but didn't know the story and didn't pay much attention to it. I just figured that someone else was coming out with yet another newspaper. Same old same old. However this all began to change when I attended a Christmas party a few weeks ago. At the party, my wife and I were introduced to some of the party-goers as "the Republicans", almost as if to say "the vampires." There was another such couple at the party, and we were naturally introduced, paired up, and left at the dining room table together. It was the wife in this couple who told us that we simply had to try The Bulletin. She stated that it was nothing like the liberal hogwash pushed everyday in repetitive fashion by the Daily News and Inquirer. She said that we would enjoy the fresh, fair, slightly conservative slant in which the news was portrayed, and especially the editorial section. When the woman told us that The Bulletin would deliver to you free for thirty days as a trial offer, I was sold. I made the call during the following week and the deal was that they would indeed deliver to you free for a month. You would be billed during that time in order to continue your subscription. If you didn't want to continue, you just ignored the bill. It was a deal too good to pass up. The only problem is that The Bulletin has not yet grown in circulation to the point where it has a carrier in every section of our area. The woman at the party said that her Bulletin comes in the morning via the same carrier who delivers her Inquirer. There was no such arrangement in my area of Somerton, and so the paper would be delivered daily with my regular mail. This seemed a bit odd, but it has worked out. The paper does indeed arrive every day with my mail. More importantly, the content is everything that I was told it would be. It is informative, well written, and largely conservative. Back in 2004, investment banker Thomas G. Rice had the great idea that I had thought of for years. A conservative slanted newspaper to counter the overt liberal bias of the current local newspapers. Rice bought the naming rights of the old Evening & Sunday Bulletin from the McLean family and began publishing on November 22nd of that year. With receipt of the new version of The Bulletin daily at my home, much has come full circle. Back in the early-late 1970's, I was a newspaper delivery boy for the old Bulletin, as well as eventually becoming an assistant branch manager. The old Bulletin was the first company from which I ever received an official paycheck. Now I am back with The Bulletin as a regular subscriber and reader, and I whole-heartedly endorse the paper to anyone out there. The Bulletin presents the news clearly and concisely, fully covering all of the major stories of the day, and does so with that conservative slant that many of us have hungered for years to read. It will take you a week or so to get used to the paper's format. It does not cover all of the 'fluff' of the other papers, but also does not have as much advertising to wade through. I believe that you will find The Bulletin a great addition to your daily newspaper reading, and eventually may find that it is the only paper you want and need. There is no specific weekend edition, publishing from Monday to Friday, so if you like just order the weekend Inquirer and the Bulletin as your daily. You absolutely will not regret it. The news will be much easier to digest. Blood will stop shooting from your eyes when you read these editorials. You will remember what a great newspaper was like. Back in its former heyday when for 76 years it was the largest circulated evening newspaper in the United States, the old saying for the paper was "Nearly Everybody Reads the Bulletin". The new version of the paper may not have grown to that level yet, but it has the content and the potential. Give it a try, and if you are like me you will find a reason to believe that perhaps the newspaper business is not dying. The Bulletin should be read by nearly everybody, and certainly by anyone who leans to the right-of-center culturally and politically. Just call 215-735-9150 to start your free trial subscription.

It Is What It Is

Father Joe was wrong. Man, I hope that doesn't get me in any trouble. In his homily at the 10:30am Mass yesterday our Pastor at St. Christopher's Church in Somerton said that he hated the phrase "It is what it is." When the words came out of his mouth they hit close to home because I use that phrase all the time. But as he went on to explain his opposition to the sudden popular usage of this phrase, I came to realize that there has obviously been a misunderstanding in either his interpretation or the use by some of the phrase. Father Joe was making the point that the phrase lent itself to our having to accept certain situations when in fact those situations were indeed subject to change if we just wanted it bad enough and worked towards such change. For instance, the statement "I am an alcoholic, and that isn't going to change. It is what it is." Now we all know that the alcoholic can indeed make a change in his or her life. Buying that bottle is a choice. Drinking the bottle is another choice. Change our choices, we change our lives. Under these types of conditions "It is what it is" just doesn't hold water, and that is what Father Joe was pointing out. No one says it will be easy, but we can accomplish change if we really want it bad enough and are willing to dedicate ourselves to it. However, anyone who would use the phrase in that manner would, in my opinion, be using it improperly as a copout or a crutch. That is not the proper use of the phrase, and when examined in its proper usage even Father Joe should change his opinion and embrace the phrase. When I use the phrase, I take it as a modern shortening of the old idea "Don't cry over spilt milk." The phrase "It is what it is" is meant to address events, activities, situations that have occurred in the past, whether a decade ago, a year ago, yesterday, or even just a moment ago. It is about getting past situations that in fact we simply cannot change. Dinner is about to be served. The food is on the table. The only bottle of juice is carried towards the table, but is dropped before reaching the family. The bottle shatters, and all of the juice spills out onto the floor. There is no more juice, and aside from tap water there is nothing else to drink in the house. Here is what will happen: you will clean up the mess, and move on to dinner. Folks will make due with water, or they will have nothing to drink. It is what it is. Period. Now some would say that you could run out to the store to get more. Ridiculous. Dinner is served, the food is warm on the table, the family is ready to eat. In the vast majority of cases, going to the store is going to require time way from the meal that you just don't have on a practical level. You move on without crying or whining about something that is in the past and that you cannot change. It is what it is. You are a New York Giants fan this morning. The Philadelphia Eagles have just knocked your team out of the playoffs despite the fact that you were the defending Super Bowl champions, won the NFC East title, and after you had the best regular season record in the league. You can cry, you can curse, you can call for the head of the coach. But the fact is that they lost, you have to live with it. You're not going to kill yourself. You're not going to quit your job and become a hermit. It is what it is. That is the true nature of the statement. It is a positive, not a negative. It is not meant to be a copout, it is meant as a rallying cry for folks not to let a situation beyond their control, or a situation that is over and cannot be reversed, knock them down and keep them down. "It is what it is" means deal with it, get over it, learn from it perhaps, and move on from it. I believe that Father Joe is wrong to hate the statement, although I give him props for hating the attitude that allows someone to wallow in a misery that may often be of their own creation, and that they can indeed change if they want it bad enough.