Dubya Speaks Up - Finally

"... our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters — the sober judgment of our military leaders." - George W. Bush

"Ahhh, I'm melting, I'm melting, ohhh my world" - the Wicked Witch of the Left, errr, East

In a speech I think he should of given months ago, Bush hammered the critics with cold hard reality. However, the stratergery may have been downright diabolically Rovian in letting the fever swamp hit fever pitch before dousing all the wicked witches with buckets of water. Rather than listen to my blatherings, here's the text of his speech. I always have to read what he said. I'm slightly audio dyslexic, just ask anybody who's tried to tell me their phone number after the 3rd or 4th attempt, and Bush's speaking style is hard for me to follow, but again, the words he used.... this man is no dope. I've copied the text of his speech below. Read it for yourself rather than listen to the various analyses of it from various talking heads out there. I have, however, highlighted my favorite parts and inserted a few comments:

Thank you and good evening. I am pleased to visit Fort Bragg — “Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces.” It is an honor to speak before you tonight. My greatest responsibility as President is to protect the American people, and that is your calling as well. I thank you for your service, your courage and your sacrifice. I thank your families, who support you in your vital work. The soldiers and families of Fort Bragg have contributed mightily to our efforts to secure our country and promote peace. America is grateful — and so is your Commander-in-Chief.

The troops here and across the world are fighting a global war on terror. This war reached our shores on September 11, 2001. The terrorists who attacked us — and the terrorists we face — murder in the name of a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all dissent. Their aim is to remake the Middle East in their own grim image of tyranny and oppression — by toppling governments, driving us out of the region, and exporting terror.

To achieve these aims, they have continued to kill — in Madrid, Istanbul, Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Bali, and elsewhere. The terrorists believe that free societies are essentially corrupt and decadent, and with a few hard blows they can force us to retreat. They are mistaken. After September 11, I made a commitment to the American people: This Nation will not wait to be attacked again. We will take the fight to the enemy. We will defend our freedom.

Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war. Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home. The commander in charge of Coalition operations in Iraq — who is also senior commander at this base — General John Vines, put it well the other day. He said: “We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we deal with it when it comes to us.”

Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists. We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability — and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren.

The work in Iraq is difficult and dangerous. Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying — and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country. And tonight I will explain the reasons why.

Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of peace and freedom. Our military reports that we have killed or captured hundreds of foreign fighters in Iraq who have come from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and other nations. They are making common cause with criminal elements, Iraqi insurgents, and remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime who want to restore the old order. They fight because they know that the survival of their hateful ideology is at stake. They know that as freedom takes root in Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty as well. And when the Middle East grows in democracy, prosperity, and hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors, lose their recruits, and lose their hopes for turning that region into a base for attacks on America and our allies around the world.

Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: “This Third World War … is raging” in Iraq. “The whole world is watching this war.” He says it will end in “victory and glory or misery and humiliation.” (Well DUH! What part of Osama does the Left not understand?!?! All of him it seems)

The terrorists know that the outcome will leave them emboldened, or defeated. So, they are waging a campaign of murder and destruction. And there is no limit to the innocent lives they are willing to take.

We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who exploded car bombs along a busy shopping street in Baghdad — including one outside a mosque. We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who sent a suicide bomber to a teaching hospital in Mosul. And we see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who behead civilian hostages and broadcast their atrocities for the world to see.

These are savage acts of violence — but they have not brought the terrorists any closer to achieving their strategic objectives. The terrorists — both foreign and Iraqi — failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty. They failed to break our Coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq’s diverse population. And they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large numbers with the police forces and the army to defend their new democracy.

The lesson of this experience is clear: The terrorists can kill the innocent — but they cannot stop the advance of freedom. The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11 … if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi … and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden. For the sake of our Nation’s security, this will not happen on my watch.

A little over a year ago, I spoke to the Nation and described our Coalition’s goal in Iraq. I said that America’s mission in Iraq is to defeat an enemy and give strength to a friend — a free, representative government that is an ally in the war on terror, and a beacon of hope in a part of the world that is desperate for reform. I outlined the steps we would take to achieve this goal: We would hand authority over to a sovereign Iraqi government … we would help Iraqis hold free elections by January 2005 … we would continue helping Iraqis rebuild their nation’s infrastructure and economy … we would encourage more international support for Iraq’s democratic transition … and we would enable Iraqis to take increasing responsibility for their own security and stability.

In the past year, we have made significant progress: One year ago today, we restored sovereignty to the Iraqi people. In January 2005, more than eight million Iraqi men and women voted in elections that were free and fair — and took place on time. We continued our efforts to help them rebuild their country. Rebuilding a country after three decades of tyranny is hard — and rebuilding while at war is even harder. Our progress has been uneven — but progress is being made. We are improving roads, and schools, and health clinics … and working to improve basic services like sanitation, electricity, and water. And together with our allies, we will help the new Iraqi government deliver a better life for its citizens.

In the past year, the international community has stepped forward with vital assistance. Some thirty nations have troops in Iraq, and many others are contributing non-military assistance. The United Nations is in Iraq to help Iraqis write a constitution and conduct their next elections. Thus far, some 40 countries and three international organizations have pledged about 34 billion dollars in assistance for Iraqi reconstruction. More than 80 countries and international organizations recently came together in Brussels to coordinate their efforts to help Iraqis provide for their security and rebuild their country. And next month, donor countries will meet in Jordan to support Iraqi reconstruction. Whatever our differences in the past, the world understands that success in Iraq is critical to the security of all our nations. As German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at the White House yesterday, “There can be no question a stable and democratic Iraq is in the vested interest of not just Germany, but also Europe.”

Finally, we have continued our efforts to equip and train Iraqi Security Forces. We have made gains in both the number and quality of those forces. Today Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions. Iraqi forces have fought bravely — helping to capture terrorists and insurgents in Najaf, Samarra, Fallujah, and Mosul. And in the past month, Iraqi forces have led a major anti-terrorist campaign in Baghdad called Operation Lightning — which has led to the capture of hundreds of suspected insurgents. Like free people everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended by their own countrymen — and we are helping Iraqis assume those duties. The progress in the past year has been significant — and we have a clear path forward.

To complete the mission, we will continue to hunt down the terrorists and insurgents. To complete the mission, we will prevent al-Qaida and other foreign terrorists from turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban — a safe haven from which they could launch attacks on America and our friends. And the best way to complete the mission is to help Iraqis build a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself. So our strategy going forward has both a military track and a political track. The principal task of our military is to find and defeat the terrorists — and that is why we are on the offense. And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi Security Forces so that they can defend their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. (Sounds like an "Exit Strategy" to me!)

We have made progress — but we have a lot more work to do. Today Iraqi Security Forces are at different levels of readiness. Some are capable of taking on the terrorists and insurgents by themselves. A larger number can plan and execute anti-terrorist operations with Coalition support. The rest are forming and not yet ready to participate fully in security operations. Our task is to make the Iraqi units fully capable and independent. We are building up Iraqi Security Forces as quickly as possible, so they can assume the lead in defeating the terrorists and insurgents.

Our Coalition is devoting considerable resources and manpower to this critical task. Thousands of Coalition troops are involved in the training and equipping of Iraqi Security Forces. NATO is establishing a military academy near Baghdad to train the next generation of Iraqi military leaders — and 17 nations are contributing troops to the NATO training mission. Iraqi Army and Police are being trained by personnel from Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Romania, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Today dozens of nations are working toward a common objective: an Iraq that can defend itself, defeat its enemies, and secure its freedom.

To further prepare Iraqi forces to fight the enemy on their own, we are taking three new steps:

First, we are partnering Coalition units with Iraqi units. These Coalition-Iraqi teams are conducting operations together in the field. These combined operations are giving Iraqis a chance to experience how the most professional armed forces in the world operate in combat.

Second, we are embedding Coalition “Transition Teams” inside Iraqi units. These teams are made up of Coalition officers and non-commissioned officers who live, work, and fight together with their Iraqi comrades. Under U.S. command, they are providing battlefield advice and assistance to Iraqi forces during combat operations. Between battles, they are assisting the Iraqis with important skills — such as urban combat, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance techniques.

Third, we are working with the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate anti-terrorist operations. We are helping them develop command and control structures. We are also providing them with civilian and military leadership training, so Iraq’s new leaders can more effectively manage their forces in the fight against terror. The new Iraqi Security Forces are proving their courage every day. More than 2,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces have given their lives in the line of duty. Thousands more have stepped forward, and are now in training to serve their nation. With each engagement, Iraqi soldiers grow more battle-hardened, and their officers grow more experienced. We have learned that Iraqis are courageous and that they need additional skills. That is why a major part of our mission is to train them so they can do the fighting and our troops can come home.

I recognize that Americans want our troops to come home as quickly as possible. So do I. Some contend that we should set a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces. Let me explain why that would be a serious mistake. (Betcha "serious" replaced "stupid" in the first drafts) Setting an artificial timetable would send the wrong message to the Iraqis — who need to know that America will not leave before the job is done. It would send the wrong message to our troops — who need to know that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their lives to achieve. And it would send the wrong message to the enemy — who would know that all they have to do is to wait us out. We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed — and not a day longer. Some Americans ask me, if completing the mission is so important, why don’t you send more troops? If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever — when we are in fact working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave. As we determine the right force level, our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters — the sober judgment of our military leaders. (vs. Ted Kennedy's?)

The other critical element of our strategy is to help ensure that the hopes Iraqis expressed at the polls in January are translated into a secure democracy. The Iraqi people are emerging from decades of tyranny and oppression. Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Shia and Kurds were brutally oppressed — and the vast majority of Sunni Arabs were also denied their basic rights while senior regime officials enjoyed the privileges of unchecked power. The challenge facing Iraqis today is to put this past behind them, and come together to build a new Iraq that includes all its people. They are doing that by building the institutions of a free society — a society based on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and equal justice under law. The Iraqis have held free elections and established a Transitional National Assembly. The next step is to write a good constitution that enshrines these freedoms in permanent law. The Assembly plans to expand its constitutional drafting committee to include more Sunni Arabs. Many Sunnis who opposed the January elections are now taking part in the democratic process — and that is essential to Iraq’s future. After a constitution is written, the Iraqi people will have a chance to vote on it. If approved, Iraqis will go to the polls again, to elect a new government under their new, permanent constitution. By taking these critical steps and meeting their deadlines, Iraqis will bind their multiethnic society together in a democracy that respects the will of the majority and protects minority rights. As Iraqis grow confident that the democratic progress they are making is real and permanent, more will join the political process. And as Iraqis see that their military can protect them, more will step forward with vital intelligence to help defeat the enemies of a free Iraq. The combination of political and military reform will lay a solid foundation for a free and stable Iraq.

As Iraqis make progress toward a free society, the effects are being felt beyond Iraq’s borders. Before our Coalition liberated Iraq, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Today the leader of Libya has given up his chemical and nuclear weapons programs. Across the broader Middle East, people are claiming their freedom. In the last few months, we have witnessed elections in the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon. These elections are inspiring democratic reformers in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Our strategy to defend ourselves and spread freedom is working. The rise of freedom in this vital region will eliminate the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder — and make our Nation safer. We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test America’s resolve.

We are fighting against men with blind hatred — and armed with lethal weapons — who are capable of any atrocity. They wear no uniform; they respect no laws of warfare or morality. They take innocent lives to create chaos for the cameras. (Comment CNN?) They are trying to shake our will in Iraq — just as they tried to shake our will on September 11, 2001. They will fail. The terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter under threat — and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins. America and our friends are in a conflict that demands much of us. It demands the courage of our fighting men and women … it demands the steadfastness of our allies … and it demands the perseverance of our citizens. We accept these burdens — because we know what is at stake. We fight today, because Iraq now carries the hope of freedom in a vital region of the world — and the rise of democracy will be the ultimate triumph over radicalism and terror. And we fight today because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens — and Iraq is where they are making their stand. So we will fight them there … we will fight them across the world — and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won.

America has done difficult work before. From our desperate fight for independence, to the darkest days of a Civil War, to the hard-fought battles against tyranny in the 20th Century, there were many chances to lose our heart, our nerve, or our way. But Americans have always held firm, because we have always believed in certain truths. We know that if evil is not confronted, it gains in strength and audacity, and returns to strike us again. We know that when the work is hard, the proper response is not retreat, it is courage. And we know that this great ideal of human freedom is entrusted to us in a special way — and that the ideal of liberty is worth defending. In this time of testing, our troops can know: The American people are behind you.

Next week, our Nation has an opportunity to make sure that support is felt by every soldier, sailor, airman, coast guardsman, and Marine at every outpost across the world. This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom — by flying the flag … sending letters to our troops in the field … or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a website — www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about private efforts in your own community. At this time when we celebrate our freedom, let us stand with the men and women who defend us all. To the soldiers in this hall, and our servicemen and women across the globe: I thank you for your courage under fire and your service to our Nation. I thank our military families — the burden of war falls especially hard on you. In this war, we have lost good men and women who left our shores to defend freedom — and did not live to make the journey home. I have met with families grieving the loss of loved ones who were taken from us too soon. I have been inspired by their strength in the face of such great loss. We pray for the families. And the best way to honor the lives that have been given in this struggle is to complete the mission. I thank those of you who have re-enlisted in an hour when your country needs you. And to those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our Armed Forces. We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. Those who serve today are taking their rightful place among the greatest generations that have worn our Nation’s uniform. When the history of this period is written, the liberation of Afghanistan and the liberation of Iraq will be remembered as great turning points in the story of freedom.

After September 11, 2001, I told the American people that the road ahead would be difficult — and that we would prevail. Well, it has been difficult. And we are prevailing. Our enemies are brutal — but they are no match for the United States of America — and they are no match for the men and women of the United States military. (ooo-RAHH!)

Thank you. And may God bless America. (Yes HE has!)

Speaking of Osama bin Durbin

Here is an e-mail that I sent to his website directed e-mail address:

Subject: Gitmo = Pol Pot???

Are you serious????

Senator, I have friends in the military and I think you just put their lives at even greater risk with your reckless, and frankly stupid comments on Gitmo. If you disagree with interrogation practices, fine, but to equate our people with Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot makes me question your sanity. These were the most evil people in the 20th Century and you just reduced their evil by equating them to us. That was asinine and I can't wait to watch your censure debate.

Here is the auto reply I got back:


Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting my office through the e-mail address
dick@durbin.senate.gov. That e-mail address is no longer active. If
you have received this automated message, please understand that no one
in my office has read your e-mail but I am still interested in your
views and questions.
To better enable me to provide timely responses to the large number of
e-mails I receive, I have transitioned to a contact form on my web site
(). I hope you will use
the contact form to share your concerns with me. You can copy the
relevant portions of your original message and paste them into the
message portion of the contact form.
While I can no longer answer e-mails at the old address you used, I am
answering e-mails received through the contact form on my web site. If
you would like a response from my office about your concerns please go
to the contact form at .
I look forward to receiving your message.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

Fine, I'll try his contact form and see what kind of reject notice I get from that. Judging from contact forms I used for Kennedy/Lautenberg/Kerry/Levin when they were on their respective Abu "Grab" blatherings, it'll probably boil down to a two-word summary:

"Bite Me"

"I Want You(r property)"

As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer re­sources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result.
– Justice Sandra Day O’Connor


Aloha!!! I was hanging loose on de Big Isle last week for a long overdue vacation until I saw this news item plastered all over the West Hawaii Times front page headline. It sounded pretty bad even after sifting through the WHT’s obvious leftist this-war-is-evil-but-we-support-the-troops opinion columns that were apparently jumping on the Dick Durbin defense bandwagon in Hawaiian time. I was initially torn on the matter having only the WHT’s viewpoint to go by. Initially, I was not very sympathetic to the petitioners as they appeared to be standing in the way of an overall public good out of purely selfish motives, thus struck a dissonant cord from my worldview of a Christian Mission in the world for us all. Stuff is just stuff, even property. The fact it’s been in your family for 100 years doesn’t necessarily mean you are putting it to good use for your brothers and sisters in Christ. I haven’t found much background on the petitioners to fully understand their motives for pursuing this case, so their motives could be quite noble for all I’m aware of at this point, but the overall benefit of the many versus the few is what I’m stuck on regarding the petitioners. I would happily receive correction if way off base. BUT, the immense guv-mint power being upheld by the Supremes is frightening.

Now that I’m home, I read the slip opinion, as should you, before leaping to a conclusion. My initial instincts were correct so I now “talk stink” about this opinion. It justifies unbridled government seizure of your property and mine vaguely justified for public benefit with no supporting facts or analysis to reliably predict that purported overall public benefit. As a new owner of 5 beautiful acres here on the Left Coast, I hope and pray the all knowing and all powerful guv-mint’s eye never falls on it covetously for a liquor store that would obviously provide beneficial employment for at least a few members of the public.

UPDATE: Congress is doing something useful for a change and trying to apply as many leashes to this horrific opinion as they can

Shiavo Autopsy

Michael Shiavo vindicated??? Guess this means the Pharisees have the right to declare you a hopeless case and pull your plug as long as someone says do it.

We're kinder to dogs. Death by dehydration is not mercy - it's cowardice

Diagnosis America VII – Lack of Desperate Prayer

“I want you to pray, son”
“Ummm. Lord, feed the hungry, aannndd… bring peace to all of mankind.”
“How’s that?”
“Fine, if you wanna be Miss America. Now come on, what do you really care about?”
“Grace!”
“Grace, yes. You want her back?”
“No.”
(“God” raises his eyebrow)
“I want her to be happy. No matter what that means. I want her to find someone who will treat her with all the love she deserved from me. I want her to meet someone who will see her always as I do now through Your eyes”
“Hmmmmm. Now THAT’S a prayer! I’ll get right on it.”

- Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman (Bruce Almighty)

“Mulder, what’s going on?!?! Is everything okay?”
“Do you remember disappearing off the face of the Earth for about 4 hours today?”
(Scully’s eyes blink, dart about the room searching for drug paraphernalia) “Nooooo”
“Then everything’s fine.”

- Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (Je Souhaite, The X-Files)

As discussed before, we Americans don’t know how to really pray because we’re inexperienced at it. Some would say we suck at it. Okay, whatever. Pray and suck are two words I wouldn’t normally consider in the same sentence. Anyway, our comforts have tended to make us confident in ourselves to solve any problem. But Bruce Nolan found even possessing the power of God he was still inadequate when it came right down to it. Agent Mulder thought he had the power to change everything once and for all, screwed it up royally, and fortunately was able to set it back the way it was. Like those fictional characters, we are never in much of a position to be desperate about anything. But I mean really desperate. Not just how am I going to pay this credit card bill, or the truck needs new tires, or Billy got a C in math this quarter.

Desperate is people in Iraq right now. People desperate for peace and freedom but not quite sure how to live in that kind of environment. People desperate to determine their own lives for a change. Do you think they really care about something enough to go to God about it? I do. As much as we hear things were better off and more “stable” under saddam – I’ll bet the trains ran on time dang it – freedom by it’s nature is messy. Iraq is the living example of that messiness. It isn’t stable because everyone’s got a voice, most of which don’t conform to some politically correct new order, because there isn’t any new order yet. That fact that some use bombs and bullets speaks to the fact freedom is a frightening thing to those with absolute power. We Americans claimed to be free, but are we really? Are Americans truly free, or are we slaves to our absolute comfort? Freedom threatens comfort; it threatens the status quo, yet freedom to worship Him is all that God ever wanted for us.

Desperate is Uganda right now. Senyonga described the fearful days of Idi Amin, who held absolute power over that poor country. The police were nothing more than gangsters in official uniforms that would shoot you (in the back) for your watch. Neighbors would disappear in the middle of the night. Churches held their services and prayer meetings out in the swamps to avoid detection from the murdering bands of roving government officials. Corruption, brutality, death on a village scale, was the norms of Uganda. Now that’s desperate. Did Ugandans pray desperately? “Yes they did” according to Jackson Senyonga. Ugandans prayed for their families, their villages, their states, their nations, and the world itself. They not only prayed, but they acted on the instructions received. AIDS in Uganda is on the decline now after years of leveling entire tribes. The reason according to Senyonga? Not the Ugandan government or the UN just running about handing out condoms to kids and adults alike, but rather the Ugandan government advocating and its people taking on for the most part a seemingly Christian ethic towards sex. There’s been quite the uproar/outrage at this, but that appears to stem more from a misunderstanding of the Christian view of sex (abstinence only – NOT HARDLY!! jeeez) on the part of the ultra leftwing. The Christian view of sex is can be quite heated. Just read parts of the Song of Solomon and try, just TRY, TRY not feeling amorous towards your better half! But I digress. Uganda’s situation was desperate and its people were desperate, so went their prayers.

Is ours a desperate nation? I think so. When you look at our cultural norms and “tolerance” for self-indulgence I tend to worry for this nations future in paradox to this site’s theme sometimes. The Kingdom of Israel and sometimes Judah went down these same paths as we and wound up destroying themselves because God said, “Fine, have it your way.” But there is a slight difference, and that difference is Christ. Our sins have been forgiven whether we like it or not and through Christ we receive that grace from God. We’ve been reconciled to Him through Christ. Okay, that’s nice but so what? What about all the suffering and death in the world? Say now, THERE’s a desperate prayer!! Why are we so blessed and the rest of the world so seemingly cursed? Why indeed. As I would say to the Class of 2005, there are those in the world that would demand we renounce our blessings, worse yet, denounce them as unfair. That’s a slap across God’s face, that is. Do we really think we earned the blessings of this nation on our own?

Do we truly think we’re the most powerful and richest nation on the face of the Earth because we’re all that righteous?!?! Absolutely not! Our cultural is downright repulsive at times. Let’s see a show of hands. How many people felt a swell of patriotism versus a swell of something else when Janet Jackson flashed the world at the ’04 Superbowl? How many people wish her brother would disappear into a cave somewhere with his wine and Peter Pan books, or whatever books he’s reading these days? How many people wish Madonna and Brittany would lip lock in private and leave the rest of us alone? How many people wish Paris Hilton would get a job, a REAL job, and a real life, crack open a book and learn the hotel business, or just dry up and blow away, and NOT SELL BURGERS? I don’t know about you but American culture is downright boring since it is oh so predictable and self-indulgent. It is! It’s a total snoozer! It’s 1,001 ways to be titillated and that’s about it. Come on folks!! How many people really think they’re going to get a lap dance from Paris for forking over those six bucks for a Superstar meal? What a cheap, tawdry, meaningless existence we teach our progeny and ourselves! You know what? The one thing I have no patience for is being worthless. So all you people out there drooling over the dribble called American culture, do the rest of us a favor and kill yourself now if that’s all life means to you. I mean it. If the above lifestyle type qualifies as the good life to you, but you have heard your calling and know it to mean so much more but ignore that calling, you serve no meaningful purpose to anyone but yourself. The dead are the most skilled at having no purpose. If you’re not alive, you’re dead or on your way (existing and taking up space) to being there, so join them already and take your toys with you. Let the dead bury their dead. Choose Christ and walk in Life.

(Gee. I thought Christians were supposed to make nice)

Shocked to hear a Christian advocate suicide? I’m not. I’m advocating Life by declaring simple existence worthless. Animals have more class than Paris, Carl’s Junior or Madonna, or any of the other worthless icons of our society. So what is Life?

(Uh-oh, now he’s sounding like the drunk at the end of the bar!)

Life with a capital L is purpose. America’s purpose, I desperately pray, it is waking up to. We are the most gifted nation in human history. When those gifts are used wisely, they make us the greatest nation in human history. Like it or not our gifts in this nation were given to us for a “to be Great” reason. And by gifts, I mean our wealth, our education, our power, and certainly not last - our faith. At Adventure Christian Church here in Roseville, we’ve been wrestling with just what do our gifts mean anyway. America has been called is what they mean. You and I have been called to something more then just living the good life. Those that know me know I make wine as a hobby...

(I JUST KNEW I heard him going off at the end the bar once!!)

... because I’m a John 15:2 man in that I believe the Vinedresser has been spending years pruning and tending to me to produce “much fruit.” There was an article in a May issue of US News and World Report that caught my vinous eye. Bottles of high-class Frog hooch going for as much as $40 grand each to “discerning palates.” Give me a break! What a worthless waste of time and resources. Wine is for drinking and then it ends up getting mixed up with other bodily wastes. To spend that kind of money on wine is just plain criminal. The phrase “idle rich” was the one thing communists actually got right. I’m going to cop some lines from Tim Dally, ACC’s Exec, that as the nation to whom God shed His grace on, we are ambassadors to the world of that grace. Through our blessings and gifts, we translate the grace of God to the world in a language all can understand in ‘our wealth, our education, our power, and certainly not last - our faith.’ Am I proclaiming that salvation to the world comes through works? Not at all. But through our works, the world will see good or evil. That’s totally up to us. The evil in the world will declare our good works evil, and fools will believe them. But Christ will know the truth, and those who are in Christ will know the truth.

America has been commissioned by virtue of its blessings to change the world. Jesus Christ as a man could only touch those He could travel to. Even in this day and age, Christ still has a better means of reaching the entire world through us. Through us, God has created a new, but imperfect, Body of Christ. When a part of that body hires a child prostitute in Phnom Penh, that part declares God’s love a lie to Cambodians who witness that perversion. When a part of that body ogles a Carl’s Junior ad to the detriment of acting on its purpose, that part declares salvation a lie, and crowns self-gratification as master of all. That part of the body is an anti-Christ. America can be so much more than a collection of anti-Christs. Before anyone accuses me of advocating wealth redistribution like so many imbeciles have before, quite the opposite actually. I advocate Americans as parts of that body creating as much wealth as possible. Through wealth missions are born and sustained. Through wealth, the Body of Christ grows and spreads. Through wealth used as intended, people everywhere hear the Good News of Christ. That’s the meaning of wealth, not to oppress, not to enslave, but to enlighten and free God’s people from ignorance of Him.

So who stops us?!?! The Dark One, the Old Bastard, the Evil One, the Great Deceiver, that’s who. This seven-part series discussed the seven strongholds Jackson Senyonga observed that old creep has on us. The Dark One has all of us to one degree or another by one of them. Which one do you need to shake off? It could be as simple as the TV remote, or the Lazyboy handle – those are dangerous items in a Christian or even worse, an American household. Or it could be something much darker and sinister.

Today my desperate prayer is that each of us Americans find our purpose for the world. That we shake off the shackles of the Dark One and glorify God in Heaven. That we understand our wealth, our education, our power, and our faith, are gifts to be shared with all. That we determine how we are to be ambassadors of grace to those everywhere around us. That this nation would unleash a 1,000 Pauls into the world. That the people in our family, in our neighborhood, in our city, in our nation, in our world, receive the love they’ve always deserved from us. That we see them wherever they are, in whatever circumstances they are in, as God sees them through His eyes. My desperate prayer for America is it bow down and acknowledge the power and the glory of the Gift Giver and open its eyes. I ask these things in name of the Christ Jesus, Amen.

"Graduating Class..."

Posted this comment on SactoDan’s site regarding what would I say to the Class of 2005. He recommended I should post so here it is with some additions/edits:

“Graduating Class, yours is the most gifted country in the world. There are those in the world, and in this country itself, that will demand you renounce those gifts, or worse yet denounce them as unfair. Is that what you do on Christmas morning? Of course not. To do so would be to denounce the Gift Giver.

"Uh-oh," winces the principal turning to the vice-principal, "Go get the stage hook!"

What you choose to do with those gifts will be either fair or unfair to those around you. That depends solely on you. Gifts can be taken away if not used or misused. Don't let that happen to your generation nor your country. Quoting Ronald Reagan: ‘America is the last best hope of Mankind.’ He couldn’t have been more right. We and our gifts is all that stands before the anarchy and misery we can see all around us if only we were to open our eyes and turn off MTV. Use them or lose them.”

Alas, in this postmodern era of not-wanting-to-offend anybody’s sensibilities, you won’t hear that kind of speech in lieu of speeches quoting Cinderella, Pocahontas, Jiminy Cricket, and some other inane, non-existent figure Hogue revealed occurred at a “Placer County High Skrool” commencement on his show this morning. Oh, yeah, Hercules. Jeeez. It’s only the bloody morning and already I feel an Irish urge for a good, stiff drink. Either that or a good barroom brawl.