Did You Ever Wonder…

o …Why are there always rocks handy when young men wish to riot?

o …Why rich liberals seem to think that if their revolutionary, radical friends should ever win they won’t be the first ones “purged”?

o …Why Al Gore, famous for inventing the internet, is considered a serious scientist (despite evidence to the contrary)?

o …Why, in this age of global warming, we’ve had the snowiest December on record here in Maine?

o …How people who claim to be rational can believe that humans evolved from amoebae or fish or apes?

o …Why we Americans cannot get a decent candidate for President – from either side of the aisle?
o ...Why Christians expect pagans to act like anything other than pagans?

Dear friends, may you have a blessed 2008. Please expand this list of "Did You Ever Wonder..." questions with your own quaint queries.

Remembering the USS Liberty

I try to remind people about the USS Liberty every now and then. This saga is a reminder to all that the Reagan policy of “Trust, but verify,” needs to apply to all, including our nation’s alleged allies.

In June, 1967, Israeli forces attacked the USS Liberty (AGTR5), a basically unarmed US naval vessel in international waters. Thirty-four American sailors were killed, 174 more were wounded. Israel has never acknowledged the seriousness of this war crime. There is absolutely no excuse for the attack and even less credence to Israel’s claims that they didn’t properly identify that ship bearing the American flag and having a very distinctive profile.

American evangelical Christians like to characterize the political entity of modern Israel as the Israel of the Bible. Therefore, they accept anything and everything that happens in and through that state as being some form of fulfillment of prophecy. While Israel has been an ally in many instances and is viewed as a bulwark against Islamic fanaticism, it cannot and must not be given a pass on international honesty and trustworthiness by the United States. Israel’s interests are Israel’s safety and security. That is as it should be. The US, however, must not be naïve in accepting that Israel’s interests will always be the same as ours.

Once again, I call upon Israel to confess regarding its piracy on the high seas, and the murder of American sailors.

God bless America, please.

“No thank you,” Governor Romney

This campaign is already overcooked. We have been subjected to campaigning for the Presidency since 2004. Senator Hillary has been at it longer than that.

One of the issues has been whether or not Christians can vote for a Mormon. Of course I have a few thoughts on that.

First, let me clear up any thoughts of Romney being a Christian. He is not. He is a Mormon. Mormon theology is not Christian theology. There are many areas of divergence, not the least of which is that the Trinity of the Bible is not the trinity of Mormonism.

Romney made a major speech, recently, in which he made the case for his religion to be left out of the equation in the Presidential campaign. That’s fine with me. Mormonism is not the reason I will not vote for Mitt Romney. I will not vote for him because he is not a conservative and because I do not trust him.

When Romney came back to Massachusetts to ascend the gubernatorial throne, I worked as a political reporter. I covered the Republican convention and the campaign. Romney is an elitist who immediately upon receiving the nomination froze out all the grass-roots supporters who had worked so hard for him. He also named his own running mate, after the convention nominated someone he didn’t want. He had stated that he would allow the convention to choose his running mate. He lied. (By the way, when that running mate, Kerry Murphy-Healey, ran for Governor on her own, he did absolutely nothing to help her defeat the liberal Democrat who now occupies that seat).

Romney is hailed as the great hero of health care reform in Massachusetts. He imposed a system which requires Bay State residents to have health insurance or face fines. Now having health insurance is a fine idea. I wish I could afford a better plan. The government, however, should not be allowed to mandate that I spend money on health insurance. Nor should an entire new bureaucracy be created to make sure that we comply.

While he claims to be a defender of family values, Romney was the Governor who ushered in the only legal homosexual marriage law in the US. Did Romney support this? Well, he didn’t fight it very much. When running against Ted Kennedy for the US Senate, in 1994, Romney said that the gay and lesbian community “needs more support from the Republican Party.”

So, I simply do not trust the man. Who do I vote for? I don’t have a clue. Presidential politics in this country has long been a “hold your nose and vote for the least worst” situation. This is the worst crop in a long time.

I’m glad God’s in charge.

Where is the Compassion Police?

I keep waiting. It's been two full days at this point and I have not heard a word of outrage from Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. Christians have been shot to death because they are Christians. Where's the outrage? Perhaps there's nothing in it for them. Using words which are on the "bad" list is a hate crime. Is murder of Christians OK?

Maybe, it's because the victims were not....

One Man Rule (or the French-Frying of America)

We usually associate the term “One Man Rule” with dictatorships. The names Stalin, Mao, and Idi Amin come to mind. Cesar Chavez wanted to join the club – and he may yet. But how about Guillermo Lopez? Sr. Lopez is a leader in the Latino Leadership Alliance somewhere in Pennsylvania. It is he who seemingly spearheaded (can I use this term?) the move to have the name “Pork Chop” removed as the name for a minor league baseball mascot. He was offended because, for some unknown reason, he finds it offensive to Latinos, Hispanics, or somebody. We don’t really need to know the reasons, just know that someone felt disrespected. First the “Frito Bandito,” now this. So, for the sake of this one man, the team caved in. (He will probably claim there were a great number of people who agreed with him. The principle is the same).

We have become so thin-skinned in this nation that we are afraid to speak many words, phrases, and concepts simply because they may offend someone; some one.

My rights to free speech have been abridged. We have become so politically-correct and offense-conscious that we might as well live in France where the collective national spine is as rigid as a French Fry (or “Freedom Fry” if you’re still using that term). This, my friends, is a continuing consequence of the feminization of this great land that was built by great, courageous men – and their strong, supportive women.

Because I happen to be a minority (white, heterosexual, conservative, Christ-following, male), my free speech is often termed “hate speech.” What’s hate speech? Anything that liberals think will upset somebody they are trying to use for more votes, therefore more power.

If I believe that homosexuality is a sin, I should really keep it to myself. That may be hate speech; a crime. Nor are we allowed to speak of our religious beliefs in the workplace or at school, unless we happen to be a pagan of some stripe. We wouldn’t want someone to be scarred for life because he or she heard the name Jesus.

All over the land there are people rising up and saying, “no” to offensive school mascots (you know, "the Fighting Native Americans"), town seals with (oh, no!!) Bibles or Biblical words, displays of American flags or nativity scenes or menorahs. And because of our national fear of one another and absolute dread of the power of actual thought, we cave in and give these fools their way.

Americans, be strong. Resist while you can. Say a word today that they don't like. Then smirk and be on your way!