Of Mice and Men

We had been in our new house for about a week. Our garage was wall-to-wall boxes. It was nice and cool in the garage so we had left a sack of apples out there. I noticed one day that one of the apples was about half eaten. Little mouse droppings were around it. I was impressed that some serious eating had taken place so I threw the bag of apples away and set two mouse traps side by side. I used cheese as the bait. The next morning I went out and both traps had mice. Now I started to think about it. The first mouse had gotten fooled. The second mouse was just stupid. It had been a witness to the other mouse’s catastrophic end just three inches away. But it went right ahead and found its own hunk of cheese.

Now – change of scene. A church in Chicago. It’s big so every service is taped. After many years, the nation is exposed to the contents of the sermons of Reverend Wright. As it turns out, his pulpit was being used as a platform for highly strident political discourse. Once the content of some of the “sermons” was revealed, the general public is rightly outraged. Reverend Wright is “retired” and rightly disavowed by his most famous member, Barack Obama.

Now, a Mr. Pfleger, guest preacher, shows up at the church to deliver a sermon from the same pulpit. This is a Catholic Priest who has a flair for the cadence and style that the people who attend this church are fond of. He then launches into a highly strident political discourse. A good time was had by all. But, like Wright’s sermons this one is immediately sent over the airways and the reaction to it is just the same. By Thursday of the next week, it was over. Just today I learned he has been suspended. But the thing that puzzled me the most were some words after it was apparent he was in trouble. He prefaced his apology with a comment to the affect that “these last three days were some of the most painful of my life”.

He had no premonition that this was coming? He had no foreknowledge that he would be held accountable for his strident political "sermon"? He completely missed the Reverend Wright experience? I feel like the AFLAC Duck after trying to understand Yogi Berra. And I thought of that second mouse.

Memorial Day Thoughts

A week ago, I heard that a soldier just received the Congressional Medal of Honor. In Iraq he watched as a hand grenade was thrown into his vehicle. It rattled to the floorboards. He was manning the machine gun on top and was in a position where he could have safely bailed out of the vehicle. But beneath him, his four comrades were unaware that it was there. Rather than jump, he dove after it, covering it with his body. His four friends lived but young nineteen year old Ross McGinnis did not.

I was driving in my car when I heard it. I just had to pull over and talk to God about it. It is incredible how a young man would make such a selfless decision. Jhn 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” To me, the stunning reality of this verse is that it is walked out time and again by our sons and daughters. So young. So much to life yet to be lived. But in an instance the choice is before them and they make it so their friends can live.

I am sure McGinnis’s parents were stunned at the news. I am sure their grief was immense. I had a family member a long time ago who got similar news. The letter she received is now famous for its heartfelt message of condolence. I like to think of it on Memorial Day. Its author admits that condolence is not possible at a time like this. But it is important to recognize the enormity of the selfless act of all of our sons and daughters who have died for our country.

The letter was written to Mrs. Lydia Parker Bixby

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864

Dear Madam, --I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom. Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln.

For many of us, Memorial Day is just another day off. Fishing season starts, swimming pools are opened. But we all get to do that because many purchased our wonderful freedom with their very lives. Let’s remember and honor them today.

Foreign Policy for Dummies

As President, Barack Obama would open up talks with the leadership of Iran. He claims that since Ronald Reagan talked to Gorbachev the precident has been set for him to talk to Iran with no preconditions. He needs to understand the history.

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger formalized a foreign policy tactic regarding nuclear weapons called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Great acronym, huh? Very simply it meant that if you launch missiles, then we launch missiles. No one can stop either of us from launching so we both have a real survival interest in being nice. A very important part of that policy was the position that neither country had an anti-missile system. For one country to develop an anti-missile system was for it to say that MAD was no longer valid.

When President Reagan took office, he very wisely understood that the Soviet Union had destroyed its own economic engine. Financially it had no power to move to the next level. He went to Congress and got the “Star Wars” program passed. Star Wars was the nickname of a very ambitious anti-missile system. He knew the Soviets could not follow suit because they were simply out of steam.

Democrats are justifying Obama’s willingness to talk to the President of Iran with the rationalization that Reagan met with his enemy, Gorbachev. Yes he did. But remember, this is the President that stomped on a covert communist takeover in Granada. This is the President who launched a missile and blew up the President of Libya’s own house. His meeting with Gorbachev was not a “no precondition” type talk. It was to simply announce “checkmate.” He came to that meeting fully armed with 4 things.

1. I will launch missiles on leaders who want to harm us.
2. I hate communism and will stop its expansion.
3. I have Star Wars to protect us. You don’t.
4. Economically speaking, you are out of gas. We are stomping on the accelerator.

Gorbachev then went back to Moscow and started presiding over the dismantling of the Soviet Union.

I have no idea what Barrack Obama is thinking when he spouts off that he is willing to talk to our enemies because Reagan talked to his. To borrow a debate line: Barrack Obama – you are no Ronald Reagan.

Global Warming is a Political Ploy

In March I wrote an article that talked about how scientists were organizing in opposition to the theory of Global Warming. The effort is discussed in an in depth study that completly refuted the theory. But just as important, these scientists took the pro-global warming advocates to task for abandoning the process of scientific research. I described the event as sort of a D-Day. These scientists had successfully established a beachhead.

I am now reporting that another beachhead has opened up. A well known Oregon scientist has successfully organized over 31,000 scientists who are not afraid to publicly declare that Global Warming in a farce. His story is here.

For those who think this is about an environmental phenomenon, let me re-explain the issue. All scientists are aware that we are experiencing climate change. Until this year, people thought the trend was temperature increase. Now they are convinced it is temperature decrease. That is confusing, but we can all deal with climate change. Changes in weather patterns mean changes in crop rotations and clothing patterns.

The huge issue is this. The Global Warming theory blames man for these fluctuations. And its formula for correcting the fluctuations is a backward march, a regression of productivity and a redistribution of wealth; in short, socialism. Scientists, thousands upon thousands of them are saying it is impossible that man has affected or can affect the world’s climate as the global warming gurus claim. Therefore these huge wealth redistribution plans will not affect the climate at all. But they will work to bring about a two-class economic system. The ruling class and the ruled class.

What these scientist are saying is that we have been had. Politicians have hijacked the issue. The weather has nothing to do with it. Taxing the more affluent cultures on a world-wide scale is what this is all about.

It is ironic that news of this scientist comes from Oregon. Because another message came from Oregon about the same day. It was from Barack Obama. “We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

Something tells me that the Global Warming ploy works for him just fine.

The Lebanon Reality

While we watch who wins the American Idol show, there is a drama being played out that has huge implications regarding the Middle East.

Iran is at the door of Israel. It is at its northern border ready to attack. So did you hear about that? Do you understand what is happening over there? Ralph Peters of the New York Post makes it really clear. Oh, it’s not really Iran. Its just Hezbollah. Iran trained, Iran armed, Iran equipped, Iran funded, Iran supported Hezbollah. Peters says that there is only one way this is going to go. He asks the following:

When will we face reality? Hezbollah can't be appeased. Hezbollah can't be integrated into a democratic government and domesticated. And Hezbollah, whose cadres believe that death is a promotion, can't be deterred by wagging fingers and flyovers.

When war approaches, typically you see huge headlines and lots of news coverage. But this is hardly even being mentioned. The mainstream media avoids the topic. Heck they don’t understand it any way. Read Peters’ excellent article. It will give you something to pray about. This is very serious.

A Vegan's Worst Nightmare

Switzerland has always been known for its ability to get along with everyone. The people are kind and friendly. And, from what I can see here, they are constantly looking for ways to be kinder and friendlier.

Apparently, the Swiss are seriously looking into the concept of plants’ rights. You know, people have rights, animals now have rights, and so why not plants? Our green friends are our fellow inhabitants on the planet aren’t they? They have prepared a report called The Dignity of Living Beings with Regards to Plants. They are using big words like plant dignity and biocentric moral view. You can read about it here.

So everyone grab hands. You on the right, grab that tree branch. You on the left, take a hold of that fern frawn. Now sway with the music as we sing. . . All we are s-a-y-i-n-g, is give peas a chance.

Feel the love? Feel the connectedness?

Me neither.

The Most Difficult Race

This presidential race is sure getting interesting. The marathon competition this year has been grueling for the candidates. It has also polarized the Democrats and made them choose to love one candidate and hate the other. When it is finally decided, the winner (Obama is the odds on favorite) will have to suddenly do an about face and make nice comments about the other in an effort to heal all the wounds in his own party. Normally that is routine, but this year the race has been so combative that it will not be easy.

Hats off to John McCain for staying away from the negative crossfire between Clinton and Obama. If the Democratic primary is any indication, this race will have the potential of being the most vicious competition there ever was. It is sickening to witness how brutal the campaigns can become. Some might say it is unfair. But remember, the heat from the campaign is simply training for the heat the winner will take as President. President Clinton took such withering punishment at the end of his term, I couldn’t see how he could still function. President Bush has taken as much punishment and is ending his second term with record low ratings. I am amazed by his continued optimism in spite of the way he has become the world’s voodoo doll. He has never forgotten who he is or what he believes.

I hope that the American people recognize the spirit that each candidate will be bringing. Candidates will say different things about issues to different people. But we can always discern the spirit that they bring. We can also see that spirit the spouse brings as well.

Clueless in Indiana

It is fun for me to comment on the political world. There is so much going on there. Lest someone thinks that I simply pick on the Democrats, I found something to balance the scales.

An Indiana Republican Congressional candidate Tony Zirkle was asked to be the guest speaker at a function in Chicago. His topic was the negative effects of pornography and prostitution. The organization he spoke at was the National Socialist Worker’s Party. It is obvious that young Mr. Zirkle didn’t understand who these people were. Defending them, he said he didn’t know enough about them to favor or oppose them. He also defended his choice to speak by saying he would bring his message anywhere. Well Mr. Zirkle, there were some clues you should have picked up on. Here are a few:

1. The big poster behind him of their hero.
2. The uniforms and the brass hardware worn by the club leaders at the speaker’s table.
3. The reason for the event – their hero’s birthday.
4. And last but not least, the birthday cake with their hero Hitler’s picture on it and the words under the picture – Seig Heil!

Well, he got his photo opportunity. Here it is. I am going to predict his political career is over. It should be. The article that tells about it is aptly named: Worst Campaign Idea Ever?

How do Millions of Muslms get converted to Chrisitanity every year?

I read something that really fascinated me. In our conflict with Islam, we do not seem to gain any ground with our efforts to evangelize them. We hear of some things but the impact we have had on showing them the error of their ways and the light of Christianity has been extremely limited.

As it happens there is a man who has been incredibly successful in his efforts to talk to Muslims about the tenants of their beliefs. His name is Zakaria Botros. How much of an impact does he have? He is known in the Muslim world as Public Enemy #1. He is a Coptic Priest who runs a TV program where he dresses in a dark robe with a huge cross around his neck. According to the article written by Raymond Ibrahim, Islamic cleric Ahmad al-Qatani blames him for converting 6 million Muslims a year to Christianity.

His method is that he sits with a Koran and a Bible and challenges the Muslim clergy on what their beliefs are. He asks questions like, “Is jihad an obligation for all Muslims?”; “Are women inferior to men in Islam?”; “Did Mohammed say that adulterous female monkeys should be stoned?” When they respond, which isn’t often because he makes them appear foolish, they end up having to agree with him on absurd Muslim laws. But he wisely never comes to the conclusion of the absurdity of the Muslim faith on the program. He simply repeats the question. So he doesn’t criticize Islam. He just asks questions and then backs up the answer with irrefutable truth from Islam’s own sources. The program is widely watched in the Muslim world.

Read the article I found here.

Check out Father Zakaria Botros’s website here.

I'm Like - A Bible Scholar! Well, Maybe Not

I can’t help it. With every new Presidential candidate, I try to figure out if perhaps this one is the new leader of the New World Order being revealed to us. When Bill Clinton was nominated by the Democratic Party in 1992, he so badly abused scripture in his speeches that I was concerned he was the one. But he just turned out to be – well – Bill Clinton.

When Reagan was nominated in 1984, some people (mean-spirited Democrats) counted the letters in his name, Ronald Wilson Reagan and got 666. That was obviously wrong.

If Barak Obama’s name stands for 666, I can’t see it. I almost gave up thinking about that when there it was. I was trying too hard. It’s right there in scripture! Mark 13:14 mentions the Obamanation of desolation! I knew I didn’t like that guy!

You Read it Here First

We have been witness to the most interesting primary election campaigns in our lifetime. Is it not clearly evident that God is orchestrating this for His people to witness?

Remember when Israel got to choose its King? The process that they went through produced the best amalgamation of attributes that the people could think of. He was a blend of positive features, a cultural and political masterpiece. And, I imagine that there was a list of also-rans. Other candidates who didn’t measure up one way or another. They picked a sure winner – in their eyes. And Saul became their first King.

It seems like this time in America we are choosing our King. It is not a normal election by anyone’s definition. I have been avoiding writing about it a while. It is not that I didn’t want to, but there was so much being written, it seemed like I would be adding to the noise.

It is significant that the Democrats are choosing Obama. He certainly has political smarts but his appeal seems to me to be apolitical. Maybe “anti-political” is a better word. In other words those who are giving him his momentum are doing so because of what he doesn’t stand for rather than what he does. And there are so many people who are fed up with the political system that Obama is the best anti-choice there is.

So, here is the problem for Obama. If he stands for anti- Bush, anti- Washington. anti- old ways, then who will be his Vice President? Obama has an experience problem. Who can solve that problem without being part of the thing that Obama is anti? He needs someone who knows Washington, but who is not really part of what it has done in the past years since the Democrats have taken control of the House and the Senate. Obama has a kind of “rock star” status. Taking up with a Washington insider will compromise that. There is only one person he can choose. I believe he will have the guts to do it. It is the nuclear option. He is going to pick former Vice President and Nobel Prize Winner, Al Gore.

You read it here first.

Living Generously

For most of our adult lives, Helen and I have had some very deep friends. I say deep because we have shared many deep moments, important moments in our lives together.

We are so excited for our deep friends, Steve and Patty because they have moved to Redding, California to focus their lives on experiencing daily the kingdom of God.

In their blog Redding Revelations they shared an experience recently where they were able to help a friend in a time of need. When the need became more acute, their help became more abundant. They also realized when their Pastor asked if anyone had a need for money that they adopted a demure attitude (like we all tend to do) and posed a response of “ no, we do not have a need for money.”

They then related an experience where God showed them that He knows their hearts. He surprised them with a financial blessing. The timing of the blessing was a clear message to them. He recognized generous hearts such as theirs. And just like a great father, he ignored their “we don’t need money” typical response and blessed them beyond belief anyway.

Here is what I realized when I read their story.

1. The financial blessing was in the works for a long time. But God chose to put it into their laps, not in a time of high need, but at a time when they were manifesting hearts of generosity.
2. We all like to manifest a little Protestant ethic and deny ourselves. The Pastor’s question of who needed money got that response from them. But in reality, if our hearts are for His kingdom and our hands are open in a posture of generosity then yes, we need money. We need it because we see others we can bless with it.

Their story makes me want to immediately figure out how to incorporate the things they experienced into my life.

How can I be generous with what I have? Not that I need to show God my generosity, but I just want to make that a more natural and routine part of my life. What has God blessed me with, or what do I have plenty of, that I can pass on and bless others with?

I Did Something Right

Thirty-five years ago I stepped up and took a chance. I walked forward and said, “I do.” As you can see from the photo, I was really young. I had no perspective about such things as marriage except a naïve and innocent love of the incredibly cheerful, happy, and beautiful young blond lady standing next to me. I married Helen. She took my hand and joined my life in college, then on a farm, then in a small house in a strange town. She never complained and she always remained at my side. We had children together and we raised them. Now we are a couple again.

We learned something along the way. In Ephesians Paul says to men, “Husband love your wives as Christ loves the church”. The “love your wives” part in the Greek means to continually, daily, express your love to your wife. I learned that wives need the daily expression of love. Husbands don’t need that so much. But wives remain faithful and committed to their husbands when husbands express, show, demonstrate, spell out, hint, or just tell their wives they love them – daily.

A few verses later, Paul tells the wives to respect their husbands. Husband don’t need words of love as much as they need words of respect. Men need to conquer the world. But they need someone to conquer it for. A guy can get up and face the opposition every day if his wife believes in him. It doesn’t matter if his boss, his competition, his coworkers, or his customers don’t believe in him. If his wife believes in him, and expresses it daily, then he can do anything.

So here’s to my bride of 35 years. She believes in me! And I love her!

Wherever I Stand - I Stand With Israel

I’ve read the book. I know the plot line. Every nation of the world abandons Israel. They all have to. Israel needs to be in a position where no nation comes to its aid. It needs to be backed into a corner where its only hope for salvation is God himself.

Just the same, as this political season moves forward, watching the attitude of our country change before our eyes is very hard to take. Watching what is happening is like watching a horror movie and shouting at the lady as she backs into a dark room. “Don’t do that! Turn around and watch where you’re going!” But the lady has a script to follow. I know that in the end, the hero saves the lady.

Fortunately, for us, our future is tied with our God. We are not only readers of the book, we are in it. No matter what our government does, or when it does it, individually, we are with the winning side.

But how is it that so many Christians are becoming backers of the Palestinian movement instead of backers of Israel? Why is it that whole denominations are making official statements in support of the Palestinian position claiming their rights to the land of Israel? Why has the erosion of support for Israel not only been in the political realm but simultaneously in the religious realm as well?

The answer is that “replacement theology” is going mainstream. Replacement theology is a “christian” belief that Israel forfeited its right to the actual land when it rejected Jesus. Christians therefore replace the Jews as God’s chosen people and the land of Israel becomes a metaphor and not an actuality.

Why is this theory growing so much in popularity? Because it lines up with the only reasonable approach that many people can see to bring peace to the region and therefore to the rest of the world. For “christians” who believe that God only acts through the affairs of men, it makes sense. Where peace is the objective, they cannot see any other possible way. And peace is a christian objective.

The other end of this phenomenon is that the Christians who hold that God gave that land to the Jews will be looked upon by the rest of the world as unrealistic extremists. Our only justification for defending Israel will be that we believe that the Abrahamic Covenant is still in force. It is rapidly coming about that no government will hold that position. It is rapidly coming about that no reasonable, peace loving world citizen will hold that position. The only two groups that will hold that position will be a portion of Christianity and a few ultra-religious extremist Jews.

What will I say when I am labeled as one of those extremists? “GUILTY AS CHARGED!” I know that when God makes a covenant, He keeps it. And I know that He is gathering to himself people who desire to keep their covenant with Him. As the saying goes, wherever I stand, I stand with Israel.

Truth Wins a War

When the Allies stormed the beaches on D Day in 1944, the implications of the success were huge. The opposition couldn’t stop them from landing and establishing positions on the mainland. If the Allies could do that, then the implications for the opposition was that the war was lost. It was only a matter of time.

Today is D Day again. A beachhead has been established. The opposition has lost the beachhead and will not be able to push them back. It is now only a matter of time. Let’s hope that the opposition recognizes the implications and abandons their effort. After all, it is now inevitable that their side has lost.

Today, a large group of the most reputable scientists in the world in the field of climatology have issued the most detailed report ever done. Their conclusion, the beachhead, if you will, is that the man made global warming theory is undeniably false. The report is not something that can be ignored. It is so detailed that it puts the “scientists” who have supported the theory on notice that their hypotheses have been busted. Something so thorough invites the opposition to challenge it. After all, that is the way science moves forward. These scientists do not deny the challenge. They only lament that the world leaders have bought into a “theory” from “scientists” who themselves discouraged challenge. They lament that “scientists” allowed politicians to hijack their discipline for their own purposes. That is the beachhead. They are taking their discipline back. Truth cannot be denied.

Interestingly enough, they do not refute that climate change is upon us. They acknowledge and document it. They simply refute that man has significantly participated in it and that man can significantly alter it going forward. So this study isn’t a tome on denying the need for conservation efforts. However, it is the wooden stake in the heart of the political movement that says that large scale economic restructuring is the only way we can hope to survive the horrible future we have purchased with our technology.

When I have talked to people who have bought into the global warming cause, I have been rather shocked that they were unable to separate the good cause of conservation from the politically socialist cause of economic wealth redistribution. These people identify with Al Gore’s passion, but fail to understand the sinister socialist framework that he claims is necessary to solve the problem. In his future, power and wealth then fall to the ones who make up the rules of redistribution (socialist world leaders) and away from those who have created and earned it (us).

Now, the choice is clear. If you are a truth seeker, you cannot believe in the man-made global warming theory. If you believe in the man-made global warming theory, you cannot be a truth seeker.

Charlie's Place

If you have been to our house then you have met the smallest member of our family. He has soft brown hair and a big flag tail. Charlie is what you call a terrier mix. We still speculate on what the mix is. But whatever it is, it’s a good one. Everyone who meets him seems to be amazed at his personality. He loves people and interacts with them so easily that you forget he is a dog. We even try to train him to react like a human. But every once in a while, he reminds us that he is all dog. And sometimes the dog approach to situations is the best

Last evening I walked out of our house only to see a little white dog in our front yard. There was about 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and the dog nearly blended in. There was a leash attached to the dog. And as I stepped out of the house further, the scene began to make sense. The cute little dog was squatting down and crapping on my front lawn. Standing behind him a few feet away, holding its leash was a woman all bundled up in a matching jacket and pants snow suit.

Now good upbringing in a polite society leads one to be cordial in all situations. So, as the embarrassed woman smiled at me, I just nodded and said, “Oh, hello, there.” She shrugged her shoulders and then looked alarmed because it was then that Charlie bolted from the house and trotted up to her dog with a “what are you doing here?” attitude.

Charlie rushed up to the little dog and they started to go through the sniff each other ritual. The lady was concerned about the confrontation and tried to quiet an agitated Charlie by saying “Oh – what a cute dog you have.”

Because I am human, I wanted to defuse any confrontation too so I immediately started in on a “No Charlie, go into the house Charlie” routine.

But here is the thing that I realized. People sometimes go to too great of lengths to be polite. Dogs don’t need to. They are dogs and the world to them is about territory. Charlie knows dogs well. And as many people can verify he is a quick study of people, too.

In one grand move, Charlie snorted at the intruding little white dog, marched over to the woman holding the leash. He lifted his leg and turned the snow on her stylish snow boot a bright yellow. Then as she shrieked and started hopping around trying to avoid the yellow snow puddle, Charlie turned and trotted into the house, his flag tail waiving high in the air.

The woman then turned to me and said in weak voice, “I guess this is his territory.” It was my turn to shrug my shoulders. I then walked back into the house where my daughter was scolding Charlie for being so much like a dog. I told her that I thought he didn’t deserve a scolding. We gave him his favorite dog biscuit, instead. Then Helen, Jill, and I laughed so hard we started crying. We know that the lady and her dog will never visit our front yard again. Charlie made sure of that.

Pelosi the Change Agent

One thing that has not been reported on concerning national politics is dismal record of this last year’s Congress. When Nancy Pelosi took her place as Speaker of the House we all expected (feared) change. The only thing that I saw changed was the congressional approval ratings. Congress hit an all time low early in 2007 with a 14% approval rating. They failed at passing any meaningful legislation. They failed at blocking the war effort. They failed at defunding the military. Even Democrats in the press have been skewering Nancy Pelosi about her failure as Speaker of the House. I for one, have not been able to find one positive result from her leadership.

However, I now have been proven wrong. I don’t know how I missed it. There has been incredible improvement. In the Politico Blog I learned that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has used her considerable influence to completely revamp the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Cafeterias menus! The article starts:

The processed cheese has been replaced with brie. The Jell-O has made way for raspberry kiwi tarts and mini-lemon blueberry trifles. Meatloaf has moved over for mahi mahi and buns have been shunted aside in favor of baguettes.

It is all part of her "Greening the Capital" plan to make the House campus more environmentally friendly and socially progressive says the article. It goes on to say:

Even the things that haven’t changed seem cooler because their names are in foreign languages. The taco bar is the “Taqueria.” The grill is “A la Plancha.” The salad bar has expanded to “Salad/Antipasti.”

Has our first woman Speaker found her niche? “Where’s Speaker Pelosi? The Russian Ambassador wants to talk with her.”

“Uh – she’s mincing garlic for the chicken marsala. Tell him she’s busy."

Democrat's Time of Testing

If Clinton wins the nomination, what happens then to the Democratic Party? What is supposed to happen is that the fierce competitors suddenly take off the gloves and lock arms with the winner. This could possibly happen if Hillary names Obama as her Vice President. However, if she goes another direction, which is likely, then things will get interesting. Having tasted the power of a new, fresh coalition, the Obama people may resist the conventional path of folding in behind the victor.

In a recent speech, Mrs. Clinton explained to her audience that even though Martin Luther King was huge in the campaign against discrimination, it took a Johnson to get the Civil Rights Act passed. MLK (“I have a dream”) was – well, a dreamer. LBJ was a benevolent champion for their cause. Her analogy of King / Johnson to Obama /Clinton was not lost on the Obama people. It opened up an issue that here-to-for has not been talked about in Democratic circles.

The Democratic Party for years has operated under a co-dependant relationship that upper class white people provide the laws; black people provide the votes. In one speech, Hillary unwittingly opened up this issue and explained that she is the one to maintain that structure.

It has worked in the past because the black voters never coalesced around a candidate like they have Obama. And until now, there has never been one who has added young educated white voters to that coalition. What is happening with Obama is the sense that this coalition is saying, “We don’t need that relationship anymore. We’ve grown up. We’ve come of age and we can recognize our own power. We don’t need you to provide it anymore.”

Look for Hillary to recognize the power of that coalition and try to buy it by making Obama her running mate. The real mystery here is whether Obama will sell out his coalition and take that offer.

Why Truth Seeker?

When I named my blog I did so because of my favorite verse, John 8:32. (then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free). I could also hear in the background Pontius Pilate’s frustrated question in John 18:38 “What is truth?”

For people who are spiritually on the outside, that is a real legitimate question. Unless you know The Truth, you have to reason among competing agendas to apprehend a belief that you hope is closest to the truth. Or, if you have power, lots of power, you can purchase it and establish it, regardless of its reflection of reality.

E. E. Schotsneider in his landmark book called The Semi-sovereign People, gave the famous quote “He who defines an issue, decides who wins.” Every political battle is a war of defining issues. Is the Mexican immigrant problem about poor families needing to work to survive or is it about an invasion of illegal aliens? Or is there another issue that defines this dilemma?

Schotsneider’s observation is very simple but extremely complex. The war of truth in the world today is all about defining the issues. How do you make your definition of the issue stick and the others pass in to oblivion? Is truth subject to revision?

I submit that in the world today, the power struggles are all about the definition of truth. That takes power and capital. And once defined, the maintenance of that definition also takes power and capital because of the constant assault on that definition. I have come to believe that this issue, the establishment of truth and the subsequent maintenance of it are now the primary driving forces in the world today. “He who defines an issue, decides who wins” Wins what? Wins the world! But he who knows the Truth wins what? Wins eternity with the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

Thoughts on the Presidential Race and Leadership so far:

• Except for the 1992 election, the Democratic Party consistently managed to elect as their candidate the most liberal person in the field. Every time it ended in defeat for their party. Are they doing it again?
• Iowa Republicans answered a big question for the candidates. Republican caucus attenders opted for sincerity. Romney spent the most money. Thompson is the most famous. McCain has the best resume. None of that impressed the Iowans. Theirs was clearly a vote for the least political, most sincere candidate.
• A couple of posts ago I asked a question about who do you think can handle the inevitable international crises that our new President will face. I posed a hypothetical tragedy in the Strait of Hormuz. So did you see the news today? Look here.
  
• The Iranians tested our resolve by racing attack craft straight at our ships and then turning away at the last minute when they reached 200 yards. They knew they would be fired upon if they came any closer. Earlier this year when they did the same thing to the British Navy, 14 Brits were captured and held hostage for 15 days. The British chose to be passive in the face of hostile action. That choice had to come from the highest level. Do we want that kind of military? Do we want another Jimmy Carter?