Sunday, Idols to Discard and Prophecies to Embrace Before God Says "Time's Up!"

We are hopeless idolators who put everything on the throne of our lives ahead of Jesus Christ. Today, Lon Solomon at McLean Bible Church talks about idolatry, and the primary powers that lead us away from putting God first: family, stuff and self---just to name a few.

I am guilty on all counts, and without the Holy Spirit's constant intervention, do not have the strength or discipline to daily order my life in a way pleasing to God, even in the slightest. I can make an idol out of any and everything.

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Another outstanding online sermon from last week is the continuation of Chuck Swindoll's series on Revelation. This is Part 3, from chapter 14. It deals with the prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgment. At that time, our ability to choose will be finished and we will be held accountable for whether we have accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ came to earth to accomplish and offer to each one of us.

It's sometimes hard to believe that God predicts a time of great and final separation. Yet, it is foretold over and over and over and over in the Bible. And we ignore the prophecies at our great peril, according to John's Revelation. And at our eternal final destiny.

Weekend, Evan Sayet: How Modern Liberals Think

Evan Sayet, a liberal New York Jew turned conservative looks back on where he's been and where modern liberalism is today. Pull up a chair and sit a spell.

Can we say "No standards?"

Has it really come to this? Rational and moral thought is a hateful act of bigotry, and it won't be tolerated? Tearing down everything, replacing it with nothing?

I'm on my way out the door for the day, but will have a few further comments on this later.

To Wit: Fever....

"I'm afraid we'll have to remove your head, Sir. No more thinking. And no second opinions allowed......"

First Amendment Freedoms: Barroso Backing the Right to Offend

This from the Daily Telegraph:

Who or what is the greatest threat to freedom in Europe?
Europe should be on its guard against political correctness and moralising politicians, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, has told the Telegraph.

The former Portuguese prime minister is concerned lest freedom be the loser in global culture wars over climate change, cheap air travel, Islam and free speech.

"We should be aware of people who, sometimes for good reasons, try to establish what I call private moral codes, for this or that, be it climate change, religious behaviour or any kind of social behaviour," he said. He also described himself as a "radical" who believes that "if there is an excess of freedom, it is better to have excess than less."

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I couldn't agree more. Political correctness is cultural co-dependency at its worst and threatens all of our freedoms probably more then radical Islam. And in fact it, is something that Radical Islam takes advantage of in our Western culture, both in Europe and the United States.

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Jungle Mom who comments below and often here, has some wonderful posts on her own blog The Jungle Hut on Islam and many other subjects. Please take a look at her writing from Venezuela when you can. It's well worth your time.

A Commenter on the Valerie Plame Affair: Was She or Wasn't She?

I apprecitate and respect this well written comment and want to put it on my front page, however much I still disagree with the contention that Plame was covert. Thank you for sharing this with us:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post referring to "The Farce Called the Valerie Plame Affair":

"My husband is a military officer. Whether in uniform, or at the grocery store in civilian clothes, or at the gym in workout gear, he's an officer in the US military. Even when he's driving to work. Both of our vehicles have stickers which indicate both where my husband works and his status in the military; I highly doubt Valerie Plame had anything on her vehicle which indicated where she worked or what she did. Valerie Plame stated, under oath, that she was covert according to the IPAA, because she had done work overseas in a covert status within five years of her House testimony, which meant, of course that she was also covert in July of 2003. Besides Robert Novak and Victoria Toensing, neither of whom know Valerie Plame personally or work (or worked) at the CIA, can you name one individual who knows her and worked with her who denies her covert status?As for your contention that 4 star AF General Michael Hayden, Director of the CIA, is "too close to democrats", apparently you don't have too much knowledge of Generals, or the military in general. It's a very conservative, heavily Republican, pro-Bush group of folks. I can understand why the Director of the CIA might not want to be discussing sensitive information with each of the 40 members of the House Oversight and Reform committee, but save his remarks for either the Chair (Henry Waxman) or the Ranking Minority Member (Tom Davis). What was interesting about the hearing was that Tom Davis basically accepted what Hayden said about Valerie Plame's covert status and blamed the CIA for not doing more to protect her identity. By the way, why not acknowledge where those questions came from? I read that op-ed in that well known communist anti-American front - otherwise known as the Washington Post - delivered to my doorstep yesteray. Maybe that editorial was the only "truth" in the whole rag. overt, that is. "

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And her later comment on Saturday:

GEN Michael Hayden was appointed as CIA Director in May, 2006, replacing former Congressman Porter Goss (R-FL). From March, 1999 - April, 2005 he was the Dirctor of the National Security Agency and Chief of the Central Security Service. From April, 2005 - May, 2006 he was the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. I'd say the guy has his bonafides in intelligence.So, you're right that he's only been onboard since 2006. My guess is that during his early days as Director required more than just "reading documents written by someone else". I think I've reached the end of this. There is no point in going forward with this topic on this site. No one has provided a single source or link to anyone who says that Valerie Plame was not covert - save for Robert Novak, who certainly has his own personal reasons for wanting to "prove" by offering more questions that Valerie Plame wasn't covert, if only to assuage his guilty conscience for writing the editorial in July, 2003 that led the CIA to contact the Justice Department to investigate the outing. You continue to doubt what the players in this story have said - many times UNDER OATH - believing that Valerie Plame and her outing is nothing more than a "non-story" and a "farce", and that the damage done by outing her, and her front company, are nothing to be concerned about. I can't help but wonder, though, if this had been done in either the Clinton, Gore or Kerry administrations - would you still feel the same way? I can state with certainty that I would. I doubt the same could be said for you.

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Thank you. I'm sure there will be more on this in the days ahead.

Stunning Sun Video from Japanese Spacecraft Hinode

We're about the forget all we've ever known about the sun. Seething and swaying, dazzling looping are just a few of the new descriptions of what we're now able to see on the surface of the sun.

And to me, it's so much more interesting than what's happening down here on planet Earth right now, where people are so bored they're obsessing about Fred Thompson running for president, among many other things.

Fred Thompson will never be president. But he might be a good VP. Maybe it'll be Rudy and Freddy.

Still, give me a new sun video any day!

The Faithful, Getting Baptized By Brother Al in the Jordan?

The day after I returned home from Israel, an old friend called to tell me of the death of a mutual friend and urged me to go to his funeral later that day.

After the service, I was standing in the hallway of the church chatting. I allowed as how I had just returned from Israel.

One of the women standing there said she had been to Israel a number of years earlier with none other than Al Gore.

"To Israel with Al Gore"?" I queried.

"Yes, Al," she assured me. "It was right before he ran for president and he was doing an economic mission thing. Lots of people invited."
"The best part was that some of our group were so in awe of him that they wanted Al to baptize them --then and there-- in the Jordan River....."

There are few times that I am speechless, but this was one of them. Brother Al Gore baptizing the faithful in the Jordan River.

I didn't stay to hear the rest of the story or learn whether the alleged baptisms actually took place. I merely rolled my eyes, laughed out loud, and moved on to the next conversation. I had heard quite enough.

Oh Brother Al, where art thou?

Come to think of it, a right reverend might be just the profession for Al after all this global warming, I mean climate change, hysteria quietens down. Just the thing.

And he can rewrite the book of Revelations while he's at it.

Come to think of it....he already has.

The Farce Called the Valerie Plame Affair

"The blond leading the blind. "

Ramirez nails it again at Investors Business Daily.

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UPDATE:
Waxman and Democratic colleagues did not ask these pertinent questions: Had not Plame been outed years ago by a Soviet agent? Was she not on an administrative, not operational, track at Langley? How could she be covert if, in public view, she drove to work each day at Langley? What about comments to me by then CIA spokesman Bill Harlow that Plame never would be given another foreign assignment? What about testimony to the FBI that her CIA employment was common knowledge in Washington?
Instead of posing such questions, Waxman said flatly that Plame was covert and cited Hayden as proof. Hayden's endorsement of Waxman's statement astounded Republicans whose queries about her had been rebuffed by the agency. That confirmed Republican suspicions that Hayden is too close to Democrats.

Early Sunday Morning in Continental Terminal C at Newark

Arriving from Tel Aviv to Newark before the crack of dawn Sunday at 4:30 a.m., going through immigrations and customs, nothing could not have prepared me for what I encountered when I transfered to the Continental Terminal to make my connecting flight back to the South. A sea of people in lines as far as the eye could see waiting for 3-4 hours just to get to the check-in counter for a boarding pass.

The woman in front of me in the line, had been trying to get out of New York with her family, since 5 am Friday, two days earlier---for 48 hours. Note to self: if possible, don't ever fly through a terminal where snow storms can shut it down during winter months and stack people and planes up for days.

After flying back with almost no sleep, all I really wanted to do was lie down on the floor and sleep or die, rather than go through such unmitigated pandemonium.

Still, it's always an ineffable thrill and a privilege to walk off the plane, under the big, big sign of which there is nothing else comparable in the whole wide world: Welcome to the United States of America.

God bless and save our country for future generations. Including all of us poor wretches standing in line for hours at Newark, Continenetal Terminal C.

Sunday Post

"There is another area in which cultural Christians have faulty thinking regarding authentic faith. It has to do with the role good deeds and living a so-called "good" life play in the spiritual life. The error has to do with placing the proverbial cart before the horse. By that I am referring to the erroneous belief that if you are good enough and practice enough good deeds, that in and of itself is adequate to earn the favor of God and make up for the lack of placing God and His will first in your life."
-----William Wilberforce, Real Christianity

This book, Real Christianity, by William Wilburforce---revised and edited by Bob Beltz---is the only one I took on my trip to Israel. I can honestly say, it's one of the most powerful, convicting books I've ever read. His insights are penetrating to the quick. One of the few books I will read and re-read over and over, until it's threadbare. It also reminds me of how far I have to go in God's economy.

The premise of the book is how many so called Christians are nominal---anything goes---rather than real Christians. Too often we take Christianity on our own terms, rather than on God's. Jesus warns us frequently about where this leads us and encourages us to do God in God's way, and not our own. To accomplish that we have to read and study the Bible and pay close to what it says. Transformation of our will and lives by the Holy Spirit is a lifelong process and not without many internal battles.

Though it was written back in the early 19th Century, it could just as well have been penned today. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind being moved and challenged in their walk with Christ. Sobering and stunning indeed.

Saturday: Hiking to the Top of Masada

Saturday is our last full day in Israel and we can each choose how we want to spend it before flying back to New York early Sunday morning.

My choice is an easy one: I'm driving down along the Dead Sea to Masada with three of the younger men on the trip from Allantown, PA and we're hiking to the top. They're two doctors and a lawyer---my kind of demographics---and everyone appears to be in good shape.

Interestingly, these men don't have wives who would dream of making this hike and so they can't imagine that I---a mid-lifed woman---can make it to the top or would even want to. Who knows, maybe they're right.

But now that they've hounded, challenged and insulted me, I have no choice but to go and stand up for myself and my age group as best as I can!

Don't throw me in the briar patch, fellows.

Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem

Lest any of us are politically correct enough to believe man has evolved beyond his basic depravity and innate sinful nature, one need only spend a few hours at the stunning new wing of the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, opened in 2005.

There is no way to express the intensity of a first visit there or to comprehend the width and depth of human suffering endured by the Jews under Nazi Germany during World War II. One cannot even begin to take it all in in one visit. Or in several. Or perhaps ever.

Six million Jews were exterminated during those years---nearly the exact number of Jews now living in Israel---a country surrounded today by over 250,000,000 Muslims on all sides in the Middle East.

This Memorial is a small way that we can remind ourselves of the past horrors--and man's capacity for the cruelest of behaviors to his fellow man---and commit to supporting the existence and progress of the Jewish democratic state of Israel today.

Israeli High School Students Talk about Their "Journey Through Israel" and Upcoming Military Service

While traveling with the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley in Israel this week, we visited several Israeli schools. One highlight yesterday was talking to some outstanding 11th graders in the more remote region of Yoav, south of Tel Aviv. This school at Tsafit is rated one of the ten best in the country because of high academic acheivement and student participation in community services.

There, 11th graders discussed the "life changing" experience of their "Journey Through Israel" last November. Traveling first into the desert near the Dead Sea and then for a week to other important historical and cultural sites in the founding of Israel, these students explained how they were strengthened in both their individual and Jewish identities.

Calling it a "very strong, intense experience," these students talked about the realities of coming of age in Israel today.

With a little over a year before graduation, each and every one of them---male and female alike---will go into the military for a minimum of two years after high school.

At one site on the Journey, they saw the graves of two 18 and 23 year-old brothers killed together in a military operation. It had a sobering effect on each one of them:

"That's the exact age difference between my brother and me," one student said.

"We're going to be in the military soon and any one of us could be next," one said. "Our survival here depends on 18-20 year olds with big guns."

And it's true. With six million Jews in Israel and 250 million Muslims in surrounding countries in the Middle East---many who want to wipe their country off the map--the realities of war and defending their country in order to survive individually and nationally are becoming crystal to these students.

High school students grow up fast in this kind of environment. They were a delight to talk with yesterday.

And not a spoiled, over-indulged one in the bunch. They said they were most grateful to have an opportunity to have an audience of American supporters. And they emphasized how much our support means to them.

The pleasure was all ours. A highlight of our trip, truly.

Global Warming Comes to Jerusalem

Our group---the Jewish Federation of Leigh Valley of Allentown, PA---arrived in Jerusalem Wednesday night and woke up this morning to snow and cold.

It's great fun to be here in this weather. And people seem grateful for the moisture in whatever form they can get it.

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Update: As the day progressed, the snow turned back into a freezing cold rain, with gusts of even colder wind. Still, being in Jerusalem is an amazing experience in all kinds of weather. There's no place like it on earth, in my opinion. No place. It's the center of the world.

The Little Israeli Hospital That Could

Tucked up in the uppermost northwest corner of Israel, only six miles from the Lebanese border, lies a little hospital with a big heart, very tight security, and a deep underground emergency facility it hopes it will never have to use again.

For years it has hoped for the best, but fortunately prepared for the worst.

Last summer during the war with Hezbollah, its preparedness paid off: this hospital was the best functioning, most overworked hospital in all of Israel--even as hundreds of katyushas whizzed overhead and several made direct hits on its facilities.

It's Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya and serves some 400,000 Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Druze in the northern region.

It's existed for decades with the reality and constant threat of missile attacks from Southern Lebanon and beyond. For this reason it is quickly developing a global reputation as one of the best wartime facilities in the world---for mass casualty events including injuries from biological/chemical warfare and acute stress syndrome.

Surrounded by over 250,000,000 Muslims in the Middle East, many of whom want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, this little country of 6 million Jews is taking war and casualty preparedness very, very seriously. WGH is leading the charge to take care of its people.

With this growing threat coupled with the explosion of population in the Northern Galilee region---including Russian and Ethiopian Jews and Lebanese refuges---WGH is urgently trying to expand its emergency facilities during the ceasefire, even as Hezbollah rearms itself with supplies provided by Syria and Iran.

"We've had hundreds of people---doctors, administrators, psychologists and government officials---from all over the world visit us since the war ended to see how a hospital operates with the kinds of pressures we've been under," said Judy Jochnowitz, International Liason of WGH. "It's gratifying but a bit overwhelming. In the midst of it all, we're working on an expansion of the underground Emergency Department."

It's a race against time. The little hospital that serves so valiently---and even gives a week-long course on preparedness each year to medical professional and government officials from everywhere---now needs whatever support the world community can muster.

WGH is now working on raising the last $2,500,000 necessary to commence a $25,000,000 renovation of its underground Emergency Department and shielded operating rooms, which include expansion of the hallways for ambulances to drive into.

If all goes well and enough pledges and donations come in, construction is due to begin this summer.

"What makes our hospital so special," said Dr. Mosche Daniel, Acting Director of WGH, "is that both our patients and employees are made up of Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze. We live and work in a peaceful co-existence. As bad as it got last summer, almost everyone came to work during the war because they love this place and feel like we're all family here."

When the war started last July 12 with a barrage of rockets, it was Dr. Daniel who gave the order the evacuate patients and staff to the underground quickly. Over 400 patients were moved in just one hour.

The underground served as a shelter for patients. Employees as well as their children took refuge there too. With the planned expansion, WGH can take in even more patients and families into its underground.

But no one gets into WGH, or its underground without going through very tight security.

"Even patients bleeding and on stretchers have to go through tight security," Daniel told me when I visited there this week, adding that terrorists have been known to strap bombs and explosives under their clothes and bags when thye're carried in.

So they check everyone, and thus far such check point security has paid off.

For now there's an uneasy peace at WGH. But they live with a sense of urgency, as all Israel does. They know the preparedness and emergency drills they undertake today, could have major impacts on future wartime functioning of their people in the Northern Galilee.

I, for one, am privileged to know about WGH through the wonderful people I have met there, especially my new friend and "sister" Dr. Malka Yaholom, a cardiologist at WGH I met last year in the Istanbul airport and have stayed in touch with by e-mails. And I plan to continue supporting this worthy cause and my friends there both now and going forward.

Anyone wishing to support Western Galilee Hospital's Emergency Department expansion in or outside the United States may contact Mark Goldstein (markg@jflv.org) at the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley (JFLV) in Allentown, PA. This organization sends 100% of all contributions earmarked for WGH on to the hospital in Nahariya. Donations are tax-deductible.

Or they can contact me.

WGH needs our friendship and support.

The little Israeli hospital that could has big plans, as it hopes for the best, but prepares for the worst in northern Israel.

Why I'm in Israel with Jews, One Year After Being Here With Evangelical Christians

I am too tired and jet-lagged to make a long and elaborate post today. I have gotten less sleep in the last three nights than I usually get in one at home. Dead dog tired.

But I want to say why I'm back in Israel today with Jews, exactly one year after being here with Evangelical Christians.

Last year at this time, I came to Israel with my daughter and other Christians on a tour of renewal, led by Lon Solomon of McLean Bible Church outside Washington, D.C. We visited dozens of Old and New Testament sites and it profoundly deepened my faith and commitment to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I will never be the same.

But a funny thing happened to me on that trip, in the Istanbul airport. Little did I know at the time, I was about to be given an opportunity to live this renewed faith in a way I could never have foreseen at the time.

I met a lovely woman, an Israeli cardiologist named Malka Yahalom, who slowly inspired me through friendship and e-mails over the last year, of war and peace, to change---to take my mental support of Israel to a new level---a hands on, real interaction with the land and people I have known since my earliest childhood. A land and people I had known of since I was a toddler --about the time Israel came back into being in 1948.

It had only been 1900 years since the diaspora of the Jews, when the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem, the Temple and dispersed the Jews to the ends of the earth in 70 AD. And now, against all odds, against hate and centuries of persecution, the holocaust, Israel was born again into the land of its fathers.

And my generation was born to see this miracle unfold, and unfold, and unfold, and unfold.

Through faith and friendship, I have been inspired to finally put my support and money where my lazy mouth and mind has been for a long time. Today I am traveling with the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley of Allantown, PA, an organization that supports---with friendship and money--some of the more needy and less glamorous charities in Israel today.

This support includes the little hospital with a big heart up on the Lebanese border where Malka lives and works. It sustained more katyushas from Hezbollah last summer than any hospital in Israel.

Today I had the privilege of going to Nahariya with the JFLV and seeing my new friends at Western Galilee Hospital. It is an amazing story.

But that's a story for tomorrow. For now, let it suffice to say, I am happy to be back in Israel with new friends who support the country's right to exist and defend itself.

And, at this time in history, Israel needs our hands-on friendship and support---from Jews and Christians---more than we can ever know.

Haifa in the Haze

My group is getting settled in Haifa where we will base ourselves for the next two days to attend various Israeli missions in the Northern Galilee region. Tomorrow, I will talk about what I'm doing here and with whom I'm traveling.

Sands from the Sahara Desert have blown into the country causing visibility to be extremely limited everywhere we've been today. The scene above looks out to the Mediterrean, but you would never know it. Israel is very green at this time of year and flowers are blooming everywhere.

Landing at Ben Gurion Airport Outside Tel Aviv

Landing in Israel yesterday afternoon, there was just enough light to see how green the country is at the end of the rainy season. Ben Gurion Airport is a dazzling new facility. Very contemporary, easy to move around in.

A great haze has settled on the country as winds have blown sand from the Sahara Desert in North Africa---much like the Mistral in Southern France---into the Middle East. And it has made visibility extremely limited, in spite of sunshine today.

My Night Flight to Israel Seated Next to a Former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq

You've heard of "Food for Peace," "Oil for Peace." Now there's "Sleep for Peace." One small step for mankind happened last night on our flight to Israel.

It wasn't until the eighth hour of a ten hour flight from New York to Tel Aviv last night that we---I and the very gruff man sitting on the row with me---started chatting in a civilized manner. It was daylight over France. Coffee was being served and we had managed to come through the night basically unscathed.

When we boarded the plane at Newark a little before midnight, I had only one thing in mind: finding a small spot to lay my head and sleep for several hours. Any sleep was better than none. I didn't want wine. Didn't want dinner. And I certainly didn't want conversation. I had spent the prior three hours trying to stay awake at the gate so I wouldn't fall asleep and have the plane leave without me. Standed in Newwark is not my idea of a good time.

The stranger I was seated next to on row 55 of El Al flight 026 was the grinch that stole Christmas. He was so cross that I thought of exiting the plane and forgetting the whole trip. We had an empty seat between us. And he made it abundantly clear he was hoping for the whole row so he could lie down. But then I had appeared to dash his hopes.

I am not given to chit chat late at night and this was no exception. I simply gave a small smile, opened my packaged blanket and pillow, curled up as best I could, covered my entire body---head to toe--with what small cover I had been provided and went to sleep. I tried my best to stay out of the demilitarized zone between us, that he had had his heart set on.

Five hours later, I awakened with a renewed lease on life. Not only that, I felt magnanimous.

The grinch to my right appeared to be sleeping fitfully and his facial expression tortured. I could bare his pain no longer and decided to find another seat for a while and let him have the whole row. When I woke him to tell him the good news, he thanked me and disappeared from sight for the next four hours.

When I returned to claim my seat later hours later, he was a changed man. So convivial in fact that he actually broke out into a smile. We both ordered coffee and, refreshed, began to chat.

First we asked each other about accents: he grew up in South Africa, but was now living in the United States. After a while, we got around to illegal immigration, politics and finally the War in Iraq. I could tell he was conservative. There was hope for this man yet! I was sitting next to a conservative grinch.

Then he came clean: He had been a UN weapons inspector privately contracted in Iraq in 1991 when they had found WMDs. And he was there again in 2003, and one of the last to be evacuated before the start of the war.

"We couldn't find them. Not because they weren't there. They most certainly were. They had been there. Saddam had them, everyone knew that," he said.

So where did they all go? I queried, having heard this many times before.

"Saddam sent a lot of it into Syria. Everyone knew that too. But in Iraq there were so many, many munitions stored in hugh bunkers we went through--it would have taken years to search everything thoroughly," he continued. "It was like looking for a needle in a haystack."

" And there were and are lots of weapons buried underground there too."

"We say in the business, if you go digging in the Middle East, especially Iraq, sooner or later you'll either find oil or weapons."

Yes, yes, we all know all this, yet it was fun hearing from first hand experience. Last question from me was about what he thought about Iraq. now.

"It will never end," he said. "It will never end between the Sunnis and Shiites. It will never end between Israel and Palestine."

Though I didn't agree with everything he said, I left it at that, as our plane touched down in Tel Aviv.

I was satisfied that we both had negotiated a "sleep for peace" on row 55 of El Al flight 026, and left the plane in better spirits than when we got on.

Come to think of it, what if Sunni and Shiite, Palestinean and Israeli got a little more sleep?

Could world peace be just around the corner, after all?

Weekend: Heading to Israel Today

I'm leaving for Israel later today, flying to Tel Aviv tonight.

It is my second trip to the Holy Land. And my first trip taking a computer abroad. Heaven only knows whether anything will work over there, but if all goes well, I intend to do some blogging from this fascinating part of the globe, the Center of the World and History in my opinion.

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If you have a chance this weekend, go and see the wonderful movie "Amazing Grace," about how William Wilberforce fought to end both the slave trade and slavery in the 18/19th century British Empire. We fought it out in the Civil War, but one man with conviction fought the war in Parliament and ultimately won, with the help of a former slave trader and converted Christian, John Newton, and his friend William Pitt, the youngest Prime Minister in that country's history.

An amazing story filled with Grace. In any language, it's still amazing. One of the greatest stories never told, until now. Don't miss it.

Major Eric Egland: The Troops Need You, America!

Michelle Malkin at Hot Air has an interview with Major Egland about his forthcoming book describing how we can support our troops in Iraq from our living rooms. Listen to the intereview and read the book.

We need to get more sophsticated in how we mobilize and ramp up our support. They need us, and we need them. Here's Egland's link.

What a great idea.

The troops need us, America.

The Scooter Libby Conviction Disgrace: Bush Should Do an Intervention

American Thinker expounds on the disgraceful miscarriage of justice in the Scooter Libby case. I couldn't agree more. Many people haven't kept up with this case, but if only they really got it that this is a pathetic political scapegoating of the highest order. We should all be appalled. And Bush should do an intervention.

Here's an except:

"Scooter Libby is a convicted perjurer because the United States Department of Justice grossly abused its power and because politics short-circuited all the safeguards that are supposed to prevent such abuses. This is one of the most appalling perversions of a civilized judicial system since France sent Alfred Dreyfus to Devil's Island because the ruling elite didn't like Jews.

"If the appellate and executive review processes fail as badly as the investigative and trial processes did in Libby's case, Libby will go to a federal penitentiary because Democrats don't like Republicans. There is enough shame in this outcome to go around.

"Patrick Fitzgerald is a disgrace both to the legal profession and to the human race. His partisan allies, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and certain nameless bureaucrats at the CIA, are beneath contempt. The jury was unfit for its task, because it was apparently both prejudiced and intellectually incapable of noticing that the prosecution had no case. The trial judge lacked either the wit to see a gross miscarriage of justice unfolding before his eyes or the courage to stop it. But ultimate responsibility for Fitzgerald's outrageous misconduct lies with his boss.

"George W. Bush could have stopped Fitzgerald's farce at any time. He could stop it today. He doesn't even need to use the pardon power, at least not yet. Fitzgerald serves at the President's pleasure Mr. Bush has every reason to be severely displeased. The President could simply fire him and, for good measure, order the DOJ to start an investigation into Fitzgerald's misconduct in the Libby matter. President Bush could then instruct Fitzgerald's replacement to join Libby's defense in its motion for a new trial. If the court grants that motion the DOJ could then offer Libby its apologies and withdraw the prosecution. If it doesn't the DOJ could join in Libby's appeal. If that fails then the pardon power lies in reserve."

Read the whole thing.

Do You Want Your Free Speech Straight Up, On the Rocks or Watered Down with Your Pablum, Sir?

Are the people of our country man enough for the First Amendment anymore? Or have we become such regressed weenie babies that we want our government to protect us from all real or perceived slights of speech?

Has it come to this: a nation of snivelling hysterical crybabies?

"Boo Hoo, Ann said a bad word, Mommy! Boooo Hoooo!"

Tell me truly.

Ann Coulter made in my opinion a stupid comment at CPAC over the weekend. Some allusion to John Edwards in the same breath with faggots.

It was 150-proof Coulter on the rocks, with a twist of venom.

It was her concoction of hard speech--and not to my personal taste. I prefer red whine myself.

It said much more about her than it ever could about Edwards. I was unimpressed and frankly thought to myself that she must be pretty hard up for attention. Rather than picking up her drink offer, I walked away from the bar. And stayed sober, noting that she is often not my cup of tea. But still, I can take Coulter in small doses from time to time, as an after dinner apertif on a full stomch, like an occasion grappe.

But to many others you would have thought she had announced a suicide bomber had just entered the room with KoolAid laced with vodka and arsenic.

People--liberals and conservatives alike---drank up her offering and started getting drunk and sick all over the room, like drunken, debauched sailors.

The drink she fixed was just too strong for a room full of regressed adult cry babies who can no longer hold the liquor of free speech and know when to stop drinking other peoples concoctions. Cry babies who think they are entitled to having a perfect world where no one ever offends their sensibilities.

When will will we learn we can walk away from the bar and stop drinking when we've had enough? That's part of our First Amendment freedom and responsibility? The burden is on us and not just the person who offers us the drink?

But we endlessly wail " Booo Hooo!"

We'd now rather make everyone else responsible for our happiness in free speech, than taking responsibility for ourselves in the market place of ideas.

And yes, it takes two hands to handle a whooper like Coulter served up.

I propose a 12-step program for people who get perpetually falling down drunk and self-righteous at other peoples' disingenuous words: Free Speech Anonymous.

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What in this country don't we get about the First Amendment? I mean, do we have any idea what it is and what its implications are to free speech?

Praytell.

Again, do we have any idea of the rights and the responsibilities First Amendment freedom bestows on individuals in a country as free as ours? The operative work here is "individual." Not lemmings, weenie babies or herds of hyenias or government buracracies.

It's freedom to consenting adult individuals in a grand, free country like ours. In our country this freedom of speech not only doesn't guarantee that we'll never be offended. It assures us that we will be offended--early and often. And we'd better come to understand that sooner rather than later, or be prepared to give up our freedoms and status as adults who are called upon to develop the character quality of discernment.

We now demand---people of all political persuasions---that every word, every speech, every system of belief--be sanitized for our consumption. No one is allowed to offend us or,
God forbid, our children. And if they do, "Off with their heads!"

Note that the responsibility for not being offended is always "out there." We only know how to respond one way when we're offended--- whine and faint away in horror and righteous indignation. "Somebody else do something!" I'm too weak to walk away, change the channel, focus my attention on something else. Don't ask her back as the speaker.

Boo hoo, Ann Couter said the word"faggot." "Off with her head!" "I'm so offeneded. Boo hoo!"

Whether you agree with her or not, or her choice of words, this is free speech in action. And, in this country, it requires an adult individual response from the receiver, as well as the giver.

We'd better know. And if we don't, we'd better take a crash course to find out. The free speech correcters are getting louder and more demanding in their march towards political correctness and loss of individual freedom of speech. The weeniebabies are getting louder and louder.

And would put us all into a controlled speech straight jacket.

The First Amendment is not for the fainthearted. It's strong freedom and requires adults to handle it wisely. To learn to take what we want and leave the rest. And not get slobbering drunk every time someone says an unbecoming word.

More on this post and others soon.

What Does It Mean That The Fear of God Is The Beginning of Wisdom?

Dr. David Jeremiah continues his series on Joseph and the repentance and redemption of Jacob and his brothers in Egypt. Learning to fear the Lord is shown to lead to repentance and recovery. And it's never too late to turn from our sinful lifestyle and back to God.

It's never too late.

Do you want to believe, but don't know how? Then you can pray a simple prayer acknowledging that you are a sinner, and ask Christ to reveal Himself to you in your heart. And if you are steadfast and sincere in your prayer requests, then at some time--sooner or later in God's perfect timing---He will make Himself known to you.

Jerry Lee, Ray, Fats et al Tearing It Up

Ain't gonna be your low down dog no mo.

Forget all the endless drivel from last week---the campaign, Al's flora and folly, the stock market---and get down. What a dyno combo!

Dazzling New Photos of Saturn

When I was a little girl, I would visit my grandparents in Georgia. One of the things I most loved was to sneak into my grandfather's grand library with my cousin, Allan. There, we would find and peruse some of the most wonderful books on every subject imaginable. It was thrilling for me. His was a true intellectual's library, the likes of which I had never seen. I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

Allan, a year younger, always went straight to the Greek and Roman art books to see all the naked men and women and show them gleefully to me. He had every page marked as to where the next Aphrodite or David or Zeus statutes were depicted. We giggled endlessly at the shameless display of male and female body parts.

But when we had gotten our fill, I would begin to explore other volumes, and inevitably come to my favorite tome of all: the huge astronomy books featuring chapters on each of the planets in our solar system with magnificent illustrations.

There, in that book I would bury myself for hours on end, dreaming of what lay ahead and far out in the universe. And pondering where God might be living out there somewhere. And trying to comtemplate eternity.

Seeing these thrilling photos of Saturn today reminded me of my early fascination with the planets in my grandfather's library and then later in school. These new photos still thrill and dazzle me.

Vanderbilt Chancellor Gee and His Liberal Wife Constance Call it Quits

It doesn't come as a surprise, really, that the Gees are divorcing.
Rumors have been swirling around Vanderbilt University's golden couple---Chancellor Gordon and Mrs. Constance Gee---for months, ever since the Wall Street Journal ran a front page article on them and their extravagant lifestyles last fall.

He---the debonair rock star/chancellor/fund raiser extraordinaire who draws the highest salary of any university head in the country, if not in all of the free world. His supporters say his fund raising track record calls for this stratospheric salary.

She---the liberal/feminist second wife and first lady of the University, as well as tenured professor, who increasingly has used her classroom and official residence as soapboxes for her far left-leaning liberal politics. She ordered the flag lowered to half-mast at the mansion when Bush was re-elected, and protested vociferously the appearance of Condolezza Rice at a university function last year.

They--the popular couple who could do no wrong , early on, remoded the official residence oppulently and then proceeded to entertain and live there lavishly. They have repeated this renovation style project at every university the Gordon has taken on the helm.

All seemed to be going quite well until the bills started rolling in greatly over-budget and her secret marijuana habit started leaking out to the Vanderbilt Board of Trustees and the WSJ.

Suffice it to say, no one was amused, though the University went into damage control with the media and alumni, after the WSJ left no stone unturned in revealing their secrets.

Their marriage's sad and probably inevitable end was announced to the world this week.

I got my two cents worth in last fall here on Webutante after the WSJ story broke in early October.

While, I am sorry for any divorce, theirs included, I can't help thinking this will be best for my old alma mater Vanderbilt University---its students and alumni---in the short and long run. And I can't help wondering if Chancellor Gee's job will be the next to go.

But stay tuned.

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor

For the past week-and-a-half, I've been struggling with Comcast, my wireless internet provider. My service, which has been fairly decent up to now, has recently gone from existent to non-existent to sporadically existent back to existent but painfully slow. I have been on the phone, or cued up, to talk to their well trained (with exasperated customers) representatives at least 10-15 times over the past eight days. And they've sent men out to my home to try to figure what's working improperly on three occasions.

Now, I think it might be fixed, finally, though I don't want to get my hopes up too much.

In any event, after a recent sinking spell because of internet woes and winter blahs--I'm hopelessly dull at this time of year--I plan to get back into the groove of writing soon, not just waiting to speak to another Comcast customer service representative.

But first, a good night's sleep is in order.

Tim Keller on Idolatry

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, defines idolatry thusly:

"Idolatry is taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing."

What is in our lives--if suddenly taken away--would affect us to the point that we might not want to go on living? A tough question that gets to the heart of what we organize our lives around for meaning, identity, significance, and love other than God.

Thomas Chalmers the 18th century Scottish Presbyterian pastor talks about idols and personal transformation: "There is not one personal transformation in which the heart is left without an object of ultimate beauty and joy. The heart's desire for one particular object can be conquered, but it's desire to have some object is unconquerable. The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one."

In another wonderful sermon---which I can't link directly to---Keller talks about finding transformation and dismantling idols---through the power of Jesus Christ working in our lives. Scroll down to the sermon entitled "Christ our Life," based on a Scripture reading from Colossians 3:1-14.

It doesn't get much better than Keller.

My Vote for Best Picture Oscar: The Queen

My hands-down favorite movie this year. Long live "The Queen."

John Kenneth Galbraith on Conventional Wisdom

"The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking."

And the conventional view is rarely, if ever, right., I might add. It's like an executive being on the cover of TIME or another big national mag, it usually means the man or company has already peaked and on the downhill slide. So it goes with the rise of conventional, often hysterical thinking---like global warming. Or the population bomb or global freezing of yesteryear.

Whenever conventional views reach such a crescendo as we see today, with people everywhere jumping on the bandwagon of "truth," the smart money and people have long since moved on from the hype.

Learning to think for oneself, outside the buzz of "undisputable" wisdom, has got to be one of life's greatest but worthwhile challenges.

I believe the latest mass group-think--global warming--will prove to be the shibboleth of the century and will never come to pass. But not, unfortunately, before Al Gore is crowned king of the mythical One World Kingdom. Stay tuned for his extended coronation...

Feminism and Female Oppression over at The American Thinker

I often wonder why feminists in our country are silent when it comes of the total opporession of women abroad, especially in the Middle East. This article puts it well. They have reframed oppression into a new brand of feminism. Wow, what a little relativism can do for one's perspective these days.

Then why a staunch Southern pro-lifer is backing Giuliani. It's short and sweet and well worth reading. I, as a conservative, Christian woman, strongly support Rudy because I think he's undoubtedly the best man for the job at this time of global war.

Being Online Verses Being Off

I suppose everyone has to reassess how much time they spend online verses off.

And for the first time I'm doing that in my life.

Since starting this blog last October, I have spent more time online than I ever dreamed possible. Because I'm also an online investor for many years and do much of my research and chart reading on the web, the amount of time I now spend on the computer has doubled or tripled in the past year.

Is it healthy for me? Can I sustain it? Can I add anything really unique to the political and cultural conversation in substance or style? Or can and should I only offer a rehashing and reframing of what's already out there from some really good online minds? And is it really worthwhile?

But most of all, do I want to? And am I too addicted too stop?

I love to write and read and since starting to read some of the more conservative political blogs last year--especially the likes of American Digest, Roger Simon, Works and Days, Powerline, Atlas Shrugs and Neo-neocon---all found on the right side links bar here--- I have feasted on sophisticated daily opinions and enjoyed it all immensely. I've loved reading, thinking about, commenting and then writing my take here at Webutante.

But lately, I am beginning to get bored and overwhelmed with all the daily blather--- wonderful as it's been---and dread the upcoming election. I'm finding myself griping a bit about the long lengths and numbers of posts, and often the nasty tone and the tenor. Some of it comes as across as self-righteous.

Even Victor Davis Hanson is starting to be laborious to me, as he writes longer and longer pieces, especially over at Works and Days. When people write too much---like talking too much--- I tend to tune out and walk away, even though they have important things to say.

I can better handle Roger Simon's work on a dailybasis because it's usually short and to the point. And the comments are often interesting.

With a presidential election coming up, just how involved and invested in all this do I really want to be? It's gonna get really, really mean-spirited out there in politikland. We ain't seen nothing yet.

I find online blogs to be very sticky---easy to get hooked on and very hard to get away from. And there's very little online support for someone like me. And for the most part, that's okay cause I still have plenty of real life friends and family, most of whom spend very little time online reading or caring about blogs---good for them!

Still, perhaps because I have just returned from a prayer retreat in Arizona, I am starting to question my priorities during these cold, dreary weeks in February. Aren't there people I want to spend more time with face to face? And offline projects? And more time outdoors?

Yes, yes and yes.

Most likely, I won't can this blog, but rather scale back from daily posting to writing several times a week, with Sundays still reserved for a good sermon. I want this to be a small part of my life, but not the centerpoint of my life. And--like all things addictive--it's a slippery , seductive slope and could become that.

I don't think that's ultimately healthy for me and will seek to find more balance in the weeks and months ahead between virtuality and reality.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep you posted. Am on my way out the door to breakfast with a friend.

If You Only See One YouTube Video This Week, Watch This One

This is Rep. Sam Johnson of the 3rd District in Texas. He is a former fighter pilot in Korea and Viet Nam where he was shot down and captured as a POW for seven years. Here he argues for supporting the troops in Iraq in the House last week.

Touching, poignant and eloquent. Listen to the whole thing.

One of My Favorite Former Presidents: John Adams

John Adams, 1735-1826
President of the United States, 1779-1801

Founding Father, Foreign Diplomat and Ambassador, Husband Extraordinaire to Abigail---his equal and best friend, first Vice-President of the United States under George Washington, and its second President, John Adams remains one of the foremost characters in early American history.

He is the only early American President who still has no memorial in Washington D.C. dedicated to his service to our country and its founding. A man of less tact and gentility than his more sauve friend and rival, Thomas Jefferson, Adams, a Federalist, was nonetheless a man of the highest intergrity. With Adams one always knew where one stood, like it or not, and that was rarely the case with the more sneaky Jefferson.

Like our current President, John Adams served in turbulent times, and though his controversial foreign policies were ultimately successful, he was perceived as being less effective by the media and his enemies, including Jefferson, his VP.

Jefferson worked diligently behind the scenes to undermine Adams who lost his election to a second term to his unfaithful Vice-President.

Adams departed the White House and Washington, not even staying to attend Jefferson's swearing in as the third President.

Recalling that turn of event years later, Adams noted: " No man who ever held the office of president would ever congratulate a friend on obtaining it."

I'm sure George Bush might agree with Adams at this point. But Adams would tell Bush, if he were still alive, that history has a way of vindicating a great President sooner or later.

Today, I salute a former under-loved and under-appreciated President from our past: John Adams., whose son, John Quincy Adams went on to become the fifth President of our country.

Adams, like Bush today, held on to his principles to the end, even though it cost him popularity in the polls and with the people. My kind of man. Our country needs more like him today.

My Least Favorite Former President

Nuttin nice to say about this nut. Nuff said.

Sunday, Home and Two Important Sermons

Bitter cold and windy weather followed me across the country all week.

Yet, coming home, even in this weather and road weary as I was, was wonderful. I always give thanks for safe traveling. This was a superb trip: lots of hiking, prayer, some good company and a good friend for much of the time. And it's always fun to wander around in this great and vast, vast country.

And now home.

But with a twinge of sadness that Laura is not here anymore to listen to tales of my adventures. I miss her.

Today, Dr. David Jeremiah continues his series on Joseph who suffered as much as any man in the Old Testament: sold to slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of adultery with an Egyptian woman and thrown into prison. Yet, because he had a strong relationship with God, nothing could do him in and he continued to rise to the top in everything he did and wherever he was placed. In the end, he rose to second-in-command in Egypt under Pharoah.

Not bad for a little Jewish kid abandoned by his brothers and thought to be dead by his bereaved father.

But he remained under God's watchful protection every step of the way.

Present problems are often training grounds for future leadership positions. Right behavior isn't always rewarded promptly and sometimes we must suffer terribly for it---and still refrain from bitterness. Not an easy road.

But all things work for good--ultimately--to him or her who love and obey Christ. Though things often don't always work out the way we think or plan.

The life of Joseph should give us all hope and perseverence.

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A second semon I'm posting is today's at McLean Bible Church. Lon Solomon talks about doing things our way verses God's way here.

It is well worth noting that Solomon uses an example of prayer at the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787 and a speech advocating continued fervent prayer by Benjamen Franklin in ending the gridlock at that convention, so that the country could be successfully founded. Many say it was one of the most important turning points of the convention.

Our nation was founded on and by the Grace of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and through the power of prayer.

Joel Rosenberg on How the Dems Are Trying to Tie Bush's Hands in Iran; Defeat Us in Iraq

There are times when I just can't click on Joel's blog because he is so perceptive and prescient.

It's scary. He writes about issues in the Middle East with such foreknowledge that I almost can't look. He says what he writes is all predicted in the Bible. And I believe him.

According to Joel, things continue to line up according to ancient Bible prophecy, especially the book of Ezekiel. Russia is lining up with Iran. And Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map.

Don't miss his posts and especially today's.

Nancy Pelosi continues to ignore the reality of war and pass resolutions condemning Bush's new plan in Iraq. She's a lightweight. What's it going to take to get it that we're in a war with countries and peoples that want to destroy us? And destroy us sooner rather than later?

And so Pelosi and company continue to fiddle and play politics and in doing so only embolden those who want to clean our clocks. Frightening beyond words.

God help us all. And God forbid that we elect a new president that seeks to appease our enemies.

Two Award Winning Stops Along I-40 and Old U.S. Route 66

I'm traveling back to the South on I-40---along the old U.S. Route 66---after several weeks in southern Arizona.

Here are two Webutante award winning stops along the way: a restaurant and a rest room.

First, Burger Hut above for Mex food and guacamole, guacamole, guacamole near the California/Arizona border. A one-of-a-kind little jewel that hits the spot!

Then, the ladies rest room at a dazzling new eastbound rest stop near Amarillo, Texas. It comes with everything, including sparkling clean "powder rooms" and a tornado shelter. But with snow and bitter cold winds today and yesterday, tornados were the least of our worries.

I think Texas has the best rest stops in the entire country. They truly do a bang up job. California, on the other hand, gets poor marks by comparison.

40 All The Way (Almost) and It's Bitter Cold and Windy in the Heartland

What can I say, global warrrrrrmmmmmmm, warrrmmmmmg has definitely set in. Brrrrrrrrrr. Someone please call Al and ask him to bring me another down jacket and gloves.

Always fun to be on the road. But now, it will be great to get home!

Just Another Valentine's Day in Washington, D.C.

This is former U.S. Senator from Tennessee Fred Thompson's assessment of how Valentine's Day is playing out in the District:

"In Congress, they are debating a meaningless resolution. Down the street, they are trying a guy for lying about a leak. A House subcommittee had to cancel a hearing on global warming because of snow. Just another day in Washington. Happy Valentine's Day."

Thanks to The New Editor for this quote.

"24"'s Got It Goin On

"

















I know I'm late to the party, but now I'm hooked. Big time hooked.

Tonight was just too much.

They're about to take out the president because he's gone soft with the terrorists? And Jack Bauer's father is holding his grandson hostage and threatening to kill him in this family axis of evil? And that's not all either.

Amazing. Simply amazing. I don't like it that I'm starting to plan my entire week around Monday nights.

Sunday: Tim Keller on How the Gospel Converts

Without doubt, one of the finest teachers of the Gosepl in America is Tim Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. I have the privilege of hearing Tim in person when I visit my son there. But in the meantime, I listen to him on CD, especially when I travel.

Here, Keller talks about how the Cross of Christ Converts and Changes us.

Unfortunately, I can't link directly to this series of talks. But if you follow the above link and scroll down you can find them. It is well worth your effort. And worth bookmarking for future listening.

And last, a beautiful hymn from Laura's funeral service this week, O God, Our Help in Ages Past at YouTube.

Weekend: Sassy....

..... prefers a man with a Harley and her googles polarized.

Editor's correction:...she prefers her goggles polarized.

Afraid I've been on the computer too long and anything that starts with a "g-o..." my fingers automatically type you-know-what.

Word To The Wise To Rudy

No one would like to see Rudy elected president in 2008 more than I. He has leadership qualities that will serve this country well during the upcoming years of our global war.

However, if he continues to pose for and release these ridiculous lovebird photos of himself and his second wife, Judith, I can assure him he will NEVER get elected.

It's an embarassment, Rudy, so cut it out and act like a serious candidate, instead of someone who just got off the frontpage of the National Enquirer.

You look like some sort of love slave (and she a dominatrix-- not exactly First Lady material), and as a presidential hopeful it's not very becoming, as my mother used to say.

It brings your judgment into question and is truly a faux pas, at least where I come from. You're going to have a hard enough time getting the southern conservative vote as it is.

Hopefully, too much damage hasn't been done by this, but only time will tell.

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A commenter has correctly written to say that Judith is Rudy's third wife, rather than his second.

Also, another of my sources tells me that she has had a total makeover in the past year, in preparation for Giuliani's possible run. This highly glamorized image may end up working more against her, and them, rather than for them in the end, especially if she continues conjuring up staged, vanity photos like the one above.

I know I'm turned off by all this foolishness.

For Laura, Who Died Today, With Love

Laura, my oldest and dearest relative, died this morning. She was like the mother that I lost in my early twenties. We were always so very fond of one another. She was a lady of the highest order and I shall miss her greatly, though I know she was ready to go. She was a voracious reader until her eyesight began to fail several years ago. I never heard her complain about anything. She lived her last days with grace and dignity. Next month she would have turned ninety.

May God bless and rest her soul.

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Update: I flew home from Arizona yesterday to be with family and attend Laura's funeral today (Thursday). It was a simple, lovely service at her Methodist church here. We shall all miss her.
Friday, I fly back to the southwest desert for a few more days.

Super Sunday: Two Extraordinary Coaches and the Lord Who Rules Both Their Lives

Old friends, colleagues and rival head coaches meet this Super Bowl Sunday when Tony Dungy's Indianapolis Colts meet Lovie Smith's Chicago Bears in game XLI of the National Football League championship playoffs.

It's the ultimate in professional football. And the first time in history that not one, but two African American coaches have led their teams to the Super Bowl.

Whatever the outcome, these two fine men---as head coaches, mentors and role models---intend to use their high standing in professional football to higlight an even greater passion they share: their love and faith in Jesus Christ.

They like to call it: Beyond the Ultimate.

Athletes in Action has teamed up with both head coaches and several players to create an opportunity for them to use this historic stage to talk about their common faith in Christ.

Whatever you do, don't miss their inspirational words on this momentous occasion. May God bless them both--both on and off the playing field.This year, both the winner and the loser will give the glory to God and his Son.





Finally, winning the real game of life is the subject of Johnny Parker's sermon today at McLean Bible Church in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Biden on Obama: Are We Outraged Yet, Mr. Wolcott?

When the Senate's Greatest Gaffe-meister meets the Senate's Man from Glad, it's enough to bring you out of retreat for a minute to make a little comment. And tears to your eyes.

But tears of what? Are we laughing or crying?

So let me get this straight: Senator Joe Biden, bigot from Delaware, was serious when he described Illinois Senator Barack Obama's presidential prospects as follows?:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy...I mean that's a storybook, man."

Say what? Are you listening, Mr. Wolcott? Biden's giving a backhanded "compliment" to your man.

Joe's got to be kidding, right? Perhaps Senator Obama should loan him some of his soap to clean his mouth.

What an insult. And not just to Obama whom I am no fan of as a presidential candidate due to his monumental lack of experience and far left leanings. But to other black politicians whose accomplishments so surpass Biden's that he's not even worthy to polish any of their shoes:

Politicians like Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, and Vernon Jordan.

I can only shudder to think what Biden's eastern elitist opinion of ordinary African-Americans are who aren't half-white like Obama or formerly headed the Harvard Law Review as Barack did when he was in law school there.

Not that Biden is a novice at this: How can we forget his recent gaffe regarding hardworking people from India: "You cannot go into a 7-11 or a Dunkin Doughnuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."

Senator Biden, your blue blood is hemorrhaging.

But beyond that, where is the outrage for this kind of racist prattle in the MSM?

Are we outraged yet, Mr. Wolcott?

Hillary?

Obama?

New York Times?

Katie and Diane?

Oprah?

Rosie?


Maybe it's only outrageous if it's spoken by a conservative. And the outrage meter goes through the roof, if it's Christian conservatives, or southern Christian conservatives whom the great eastern leftish elite regard as unreconstructed bigoted idiots.

It's called a double standard and it happens all the time.

Just as Trent Lott, among many others. Or George Allen who was excoriated in the press for using the word "macaca" in mocking an Indian American cameraman who was getting in his face during his campaign for US Senate.

But Biden's remarks go mostly unnoticed by the liberal elitists of the media and politics.

Well, Biden has surely sunk his presidential hopes--to borrow a favorite phrase of Obama---but his legacy of insults lives on. He now joins John Kerry in the Gaffe Hall of Shame, with Kerry on the Wall of Military/foreign policy gaffes and Biden on the Wall of Racism.

Good riddance, Senator Biden. You still have your senatorial soapbox to hurl your insults from, but you'll likely never have the Oval Office.

Still, being a US Senator is not a bad day job for white folk like you. Not bad at all. We all know when you get off the tennis courts you clean up pretty good, too.

************************************************

UPDATE: Good for you Mr. Wolcott, I see your cats haven't got your tongue, after all. And you do have some well-deserved outrage over Biden's remarks. On that rare subject, we both agree.