Blagojevich Makes Some New Friends

In breaking news, our esteemed Governor was picked up at his house this morning (his home in Chicago, not the Governor's Mansion in Springfield...) by the FBI. The Tribune has been running updates on the story here.

Among other things, the Governor apparently had Obama's empty Senate seat on Craigslist. Some of those "other things" also included planned retaliation at the Tribune for critical articles and editorials. Refer to the above link to the Tribune for the whole story.

"So help us God"

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, of the House of Representatives:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The People of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the People when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our People - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941 a state of War has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.

These are the words of President Franklin Roosevelt on December 8th, 1941. If you have the time and the inclination, you can listen to the CBS News broadcast of the speech, here. I will refrain from making any of the obvious comparisons to our current issues with terrorism and other potential troubles around the world.

I do want to bring attention to the event on this it's 67th anniversary and lend weight to the vow of the people that lived through it when they no doubt vowed never to forget that day.

~ Gabriel

Quote of the Day

Uttered by my esteemed brother during an internet conversation about the government's justification for the bailouts. Their repeated claims that all heck would break loose if we didn't give them 750B dollars IMMEDIATELY.

"Yeah, the world end? maybe its just the Midwesterner in me, but I don't think I'll let someone else tell me when my world is ending nor what qualifies as that end."

Well said, Michael, well said.

A Hearty Congratulations

It's a freezing cold morning morning here in Central, IL. The "feels like" temp. on my walk to work was about 10F. (On a side note, is there anything more ridiculous than the "feels like" tempurature? nevermind) Despite the cold, we do have baseball news. All of us here at Country Roads would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Albert Pujols, National League MVP.

From Matthew Leach's write up on the Cardinals website:

Albert Pujols' magnificent season earned him his second NL Most Valuable Player Award. Pujols' 369 points bested the 308 points garnered by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, who beat him out by a narrow margin to win the 2006 MVP.

Pujols has finished in the top 10 in the voting in every one of his eight Major League seasons, and has been fourth or better seven times. He is the 11th player to win two NL MVP Awards, and he's one of three active players with a pair of MVPs.

Pujols is truly one of the greatest players in baseball and it's nice to see him getting recognition, even after a fourth place finish from the Cards (should I say something here about the Cards winning the same amount of play-off games as the Cubs? ah, better not...). His numbers speak for themselves, but his work ethic and attitude that he brings to the game elevate him from a player with good numbers, to a great baseball player. He doesn't "throw away" at bats. He is more than a homerun hitter, he's a great hitter and baserunner, if you follow me there. He's a defensive asset at first base.

At the risk of sounding like a bit of a hero worshipper... He's a great guy too, or certainly appears to be, I don't actually know him personally.

Additionally, Pujols became the third player, along with Sammy Sosa in 1998 and Rod Carew in 1977, to win the MVP and the Roberto Clemente Award in the same year.

Pujol's comments on being awarded the National League MVP:

"I have to thank my teammates," Pujols said at a news conference at Busch Stadium on Monday afternoon. "Obviously this is not an award that you win by yourself. My teammates were involved every day, day in and day out, supporting me, getting on base and driving me in. These kinds of numbers, you can't do it by yourself."

For you Cardinal fans, this award (and the previous MVP award he won in 2005) puts Albert in some great company,

... Musial had been the only Cardinal to win the award at least twice.

In the history of the award, 13 Cardinals have won a combined 16 times. In addition to Pujols and Musial, Willie McGee, Keith Hernandez, Joe Torre, Bob Gibson, Orlando Cepeda, Ken Boyer, Marty Marion, Mort Cooper, Joe Medwick, Dizzy Dean and Frankie Frisch all garnered MVP honors.

Congratulations to Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. Here's looking forward to 2009.

~ Gabriel

Veteran's Day

"Words alone are insufficient to express our lasting gratitude and admiration to those whose patriotism and courage have ensured our peace and freedom despite threats of tyranny and aggression. Significant disruptions in their lives and other personal hardships have been the price that our Nation's veterans have paid so that the rest of us might enjoy the fruits of justice and liberty. ...

... Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby call on all Americans to join in observing Thursday, November 11, 1982, as Veterans Day. I urge both public ceremonies, as well as private thoughts and prayers, in recognition of the great contribution of our veterans to an America that today is an example to all nations of freedom, liberty, and democracy."

~ Ronald Reagan

Post-election pondering

Ready for a long and rambling blog post on politics? Good good. With the election come and gone there is much that can be learned by looking back over recent events and anticipating some of what is to come. I'm struggling quite a bit with this post. Not because it's too controversial, or too personal or any such thing. It's just that... I've said all this before, so many times.

Let's go back in time a bit. Back to the beginning of the primaries. I (along with a great many others) was quite concerned about the direction our country was heading in. I had high hopes for George W. Bush, and in many respects he has been a great president. Greater than he gets credit for being. However, the issues with which I was greatly disappointed with him were beginning to mount rather high. Government spending, illegal immigration and border enforcement, education policies (this could be a post to itself, I do give him credit for standing on principle and making a good faith effort. No one else has done this in recent memory), etc.

As the Republican candidates began to come forward, I (along with a great many others) continued to wonder, anyone else? anyone? I looked at my party's candidates and couldn't really get excited about any of them. Where were the conservatives? The strong men who believed in a strong America, a country made strong by the limits on its government and the freedom of it's people? I didn't see any that truly mirrored my vision of what an American president ought to be.

As mildly depressing as this was, I only needed to look at the Democrat candidates to be both further depressed and encouraged at the same time. Further depressed because at least one of these nutjobs would have a serious shot at being our president, but encouraged because, surely our worst was better than their best? I remarked on more than one occasion that any one of our candidates would easily beat anyone of the Democrat candidates... with the exception of McCain (and probably Ron Paul, but more about him later). Only John McCain had no serious shot, I said. In an interesting twist of fate (if you believe in that sort thing), the one man I felt least excited about as a Replican candidate became our nominee.

I (and a great many others) said at the time that I would never vote for him. I had been part of the voting public in South Carolina that essentially booted him from the primaries in 2000 and I had never seen him do anything to make me regret that action. He had been a thorn in the side of Bush from the moment he took office, emboldening the opposition at every turn. He had worked against Bush on judge appointments, tax cuts, border enforcement (OK, he didn't really have much work to do against Bush on this one), campaign finance "reform" and on and on. He stood against almost every conservative initiative in the Senate. McCain was anything but conservative, and while I am a registered Republican, I am conservative first.

It only went downhill from there. The Democrats nominated Obama rather than Hillary. McCain, for some reason, refused to campaign against him. Old habits are hard to break, and criticizing Democrats just wasn't something McCain had any practice at. The harshest words from McCain were directed at Republicans who questioned the policies and associations of Obama. He ran a bumbling, rambling, incompetent campaign. Despite that fact, people were getting to know Obama, and didn't like what they saw. McCain hung in the race because he was the default choice if you didn't want Obama.

That is, until Sarah. With the sudden appearance of Sarah Palin his campaign was rejuvinated. Conservatives began to take a second look at the old man. (please note, I do not use the term "old" as a perjorative term, simply descriptive. If you want to hear one of my soapbox speeches sometime, ask me how I feel about the respect shown or not shown to old age in this culture...) McCain had been trying to label himself as a conservative since the primaries and now was suddenly starting to look like one. Of course, this was one of my (and a great many others) problems with him. Senator McCain and Candidate McCain were two very different individuals. But still... it was very enticing, what if he really did have a change of heart? What if he would listen to the conservative base once in office? What if? Then it happened....

The financial markets began to come apart at the seams. Politicians of all stripes raced to "fix" the situation. A few lonely voices called for calm, common sense, and a non-big government solution. Those voices were few and far between in the Senate, and John McCain's was not one of them. His vote went to Paulson, he helped write a check for some 800 + Billion dollars and give it to Sec. Paulson with virtually no strings attached. No strings except, of course, the billions of dollars in superfluous pet projects the Senators paid themselves for their votes. John McCain supposedly hates "pork," would work tirelessly to eliminate it... unless given the chance to do so.

In the end McCain was what he was, a Democrat Senator strong on National defense living in the Republican party. The democrats and liberals who voted for him in the primaries now had a real liberal to vote for, McCain went down to his inevitable defeat.

Permit me a few additional observations (the election and subsequent events):

- Interestingly, both candidates felt they had to get increasingly conservative in their campaigning in order to win. McCain suddenly embraced Bush's tax cuts, conservative judges and the like; Obama ran on tax cuts and invading Pakistan. Despite the so-called conventional wisdom of appealing the "moderates" or middle ground, when push came to shove, both candidates felt the need to be more conservative than their records have shown them to be.

- A Republican running as a Democrat will lose to an actual Democrat every time.

- Historical "first" moments are only for liberals. If you don't meet the litmus test on sacred liberal issues prepare for the attempted destruction of your reputation, family, and career.

- In what I sincerely hope is not a harbinger of things to come, questioning our leaders is only for liberals as well. If you're not one of them, prepare to have no stone of your personal life unturned for your audacity to ask a question of our Heroic Leader.

- In a circular, self fulfulling chain of ideas you're only a "viable" candidate if the press thinks you are a viable candidate. Seriously, what would be so bad about having all the candidates for President at each Presidential debate? Since when does a network executive get to decide presidential elections?

- Regarding Prop. 8 in CA: The will of the people is only valid if a non-elected judge agrees with their position.

I could go on and on. I haven't even started to talk about the consequences of the election or the blatant media campaigning for a political party. I do worry a bit for the future of our country. It is interesting to note that the moment Reagan came to power American hostages were released from prisons overseas. Today, the Russians are moving their missiles towards Europe. Putin is making a bid to return to power. Stocks are falling, wealth is being moved and sheltered. I was a young boy when Reagan left office, but I clearly remember our enemies dancing in the streets at his departure. Today, our enemies congratulate the American people on their wisdom. All this for lack of strong, conservative leadership. I hope the lesson learned will not come at too high a price.

~ Gabriel

Bedtime Reflections

Barack Obama is on the major networks right now. I would normally be watching such an event. A political candidate with so much money to throw around that he's buying an entire half-hour of primetime on three major networks. However, I know he will just infuriate and depress me.
Instead I am clinging to God and guns, to turn a phrase (if only I were kidding... Remington 870's are on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods this week). So rather than listen to the political grandstanding and sugar-coated shredding of our Constitution I am listening to my two year old son sing along with Fernando Ortega as he blesses us with some hymns. Allow me to share one of my favorites with you. Written in 1787 it has lifted the souls of Christians through many a dark hour,

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
to you that for refuge to Jesus have fled?

"Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed!
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell shall endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."

Beautiful. Now, I must be off to tend to the afformentioned son as he protests the audacity of bedtime.

~ Gabriel

Illinois Corn Huskers

It's a beautiful Autumn day today. A crisp 54 degrees, bright sunshine and deep, deep blue skies. Perfect weather for harvesting corn. It's been a little wetter than you'd want recently, but today is perfect. The combines are out in the fields in force, mostly John Deere green with a good showing of Case IH red as well. There should be a few New Hollands out there and perhaps an occasional CAT. Grain trucks shuttle back and forth; new Peterbuilt day-cabs with full trailers, rusty old Ford F-600's, and classic International trucks. Hundreds of thousands of bushels of corn are currently being stripped from the stalks, husked, seperated from the cob, and loaded onto the waiting trucks in a single operation.

Innovation in harvesting technology and techniques allow the modern American farmer to harvest large tracts of land with very few people in a short amount of time. Even a single farmer can now quickly harvest acreage that would have been out of reach for a team of people a few short decades ago. So what did Central Illinois corn farmers do before the advent of GPS guided combines and diesel powered Kenworths?

Bill Kemp, at the McLean Country Museum of History provides us with a glimpse into harvest time in the Midwest before the advent of mechanized harvesting equipment:

Today, corn is harvested by the kernel, but for most of human history the grain was harvested and stored by the ear. In Octobers now long past, the Corn Belt countryside would be dotted with groups of men and boys methodically working their way through the fields, picking the ears by hand.

A good picker - also known as a husker, shucker or even jerker - could work two or three rows simultaneously, snapping the ears off the stalks, removing the husks, and bouncing the now-cleaned ears off of a raised backboard (or "bangboard") of a horse-drawn wagon.

The most difficult step was stripping the husk off the ear. For this, many used glove-like husking hooks. Strapped to the wrist or across the palm, these tools featured a sharp steel edge that when drawn down the husk separated the shuck from the ear.

As you can imagine, this was a simple process in concept, yet demanding and skillful work if done well and quickly. In the manner of men since the beginning of time (I assume) any activity that requires skill and strength must soon become a competitive endeavor.

Like a lot of manual farm labor, husking was simple to learn yet difficult to master. It demanded stamina, speed and hands of iron. The more accomplished huskers competed against each other in local, county, state and national contests, and crowds numbering in the tens of thousands would gather in fields to watch men "bang" upward of 50 ears a minute.

The typical husking contest lasted 80 minutes. Speed was not the only measure of success. Pickers, for instance, were penalized for leaving corn in the field (referred to as "gleanings"), or failing to strip away enough husk on the picked ears.

Irvin (also known as Irvan) Bauman, an unmarried, 22-year-old farmer from Congerville, captured the 1935 state championship. A crowd estimated at 25,000 gathered at the Woodford County farm of George Shuman to watch Bauman husk 2,662 pounds of corn, with a deduction of 105 pounds for missed corn and excess husks. Bauman’s net load of 36.5 bushels was not far from the then-world record of 36.9 bushels.

The next time you here someone refer to the "Midwestern work ethic" keep this story in mind. Mr. Bauman single-handedly harvested 36.5 bushels of corn in 80 minutes. Now, that was the state record of course, not your average Livingston Country cornhusker, but still. And the next time you see a football game on a Sunday afternoon and marvel at the huge stadiums and the 75,000 people in attendance, think back through Illinois history to a time when farmers drew bigger crowds than athletes or movie stars:

In 1939, the state title match in Danville drew a crowd of 90,000. The champion was Ecus Vaughan, a Kentuckian who helped work his half brother’s farm in Monticello. "Despite a record-breaking crowd," the Pantagraph reported, "many of the farm advisors reported interest in husking contests waning, due to more and more general use of machines."

The advent and evolution of farming machinery might be another post in itself. The 1930's were the last decade in IL to see virtually all the corn crop harvested by hand. As the country boomed after WWII, manufacturing took giant leaps forward and farming became increasingly changed by the availability of tractors, harvesters, combines and everything else that have become the staples of the modern farmer's life.

So next time you drive through the country and witness the corn harvest coming in, think of two things. Firstly, marvel at the ingenuity and technological prowess that allows so few people to grow and harvest so much grain. It is a feat unprecedented in human history. Secondly, take moment to picture groups people moving through the fields picking and shucking each ear of corn by hand and tossing them into a horse-drawn wagon; take a moment to appreciate the strength, determination, and hard-working spirit that was exemplified by the people that built these counties into the heartland that we sometimes take for granted today.

~ Gabriel

Bill Kemp, the Archivist/Librarian at the McLean County Museum of History has put together a series of articles at the Pantagraph detailing various aspects of life in Bloomington/Normal and the surrounding counties throughout the history of the region. I find these articles fascinating and intend bring a few of these articles and stories to my blog in an effort to celebrate the history and cultural roots of Central Illinois.

An Offer They couldn't Refuse?

Normally I don't read or recommend the New York Times, but take the time to read this story, it should be an eye-opening experience. A few relevant quotes, and a lot of questions:

The chief executives of the nine largest banks in the United States trooped into a gilded conference room at the Treasury Department at 3 p.m. Monday. To their astonishment, they were each handed a one-page document that said they agreed to sell shares to the government, then Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said they must sign it before they left.

What? Well, certainly these executives had already agreed to the deal and this was only a formality, right? Surely they attended this meeting fully aware of what they were getting into, greedily holding their hands out for government money? Right?

The chairman of Wells Fargo, Richard M. Kovacevich, protested strongly that, unlike his New York rivals, his bank was not in trouble because of investments in exotic mortgages, and did not need a bailout, according to people briefed on the meeting.

Wait a minute, at least one of these banks had made wise choices, stayed out of the mortgage mess and WASN'T on board? Hm. Surely they were allowed to opt out? Take their chances? Trust to their own judgement?

What happened during those three and a half hours is a story of high drama and brief conflict, followed by acquiescence by the bankers, who felt they had little choice but to go along with the Treasury plan to inject $250 billion of capital into thousands of banks — starting with theirs. ...

...But unlike in Britain, the Treasury secretary presented his plan as an offer the banks could not refuse. “It was a take it or take it offer,” said one person who was briefed on the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. “Everyone knew there was only one answer.”...

This should send chills down our collective spines. This is an unelected government official that has just been given a 750B blank check flexing his muscles Mafia-style. "We've taken the liberty of writing your confession, you're welcome to sign it... sure would be unfortunate if something were to happen..." Of course, this is a last resort, there are no other options, these banks NEED this intervention to function. Right?

Kenneth D. Lewis, the chairman of Bank of America, also pushed back, saying his bank had just raised $10 billion on its own. ...

... In an interview on Monday, before the meeting, John J. Mack said his bank, Morgan Stanley, did not need capital from the Treasury. It had just sealed a $9 billion deal with a large Japanese bank.

Hm, apparently financial professionals are able to work on financial problems without Big Brother buying shares in their companies.
With every buyout, bailout, and safety net that the Federal Government provides, our country falls farther and farther from it's roots, foundations, and principles. This is disheartening when it is done with willing accomplices in the private sector. When it is done TO an unwilling company it is maddening, criminal. That's not a bailout, it's extortion.

This begs two questions that need answering:
What CAN we do?
What SHOULD we do?

Paulson is not elected Bernake is not elected. They were appointed by the party of "fiscal responsibility." Normally my response to questions of this nature is "elections matter, vote conservative." However, apparently, in this case, elections did not matter. Would the response to this "crisis" have been MORE socialist with Kerry or Gore as president? I ask again, what can we do? What should we do? Should we do anything?

~ Gabriel

When Confidence Fails

Of the many things that conspire together to make the United States of America the greatest place in the world to live, our long record of peaceful transfer of power has to among the most prominent. Throughout our 200+ year history our leaders have been replaced and disputes about power transfer have been settled with the ballot or through elected representatives. Obviously this has not always been perfectly accomplished, or done without some occasionally bitter divisions and disputes. But on January 9, 2009 George W. Bush will willingly surrender his office to the winner of this years presidential election. Such a peaceful succession of power is only possible if the citizens and the politicians involved have a reasonable level of confidence in the election process.

Surely all Americans will admit there is some amount of voter fraud in every election. We would be naive not to admit it. However, we have chosen to believe that the vast majority of voters and election officials are honest, that there are enough safeguards to ensure an accurate and fair election. We have to believe this, otherwise our system of government is a sham.

Recent evidence is beginning to call that confidence into question. Particularly in regards to the activist group ACORN. ACORN purports to be a non-partisan, non-profit organization that is interested in promoting involvement in the democratic process by as many people at possible. Admirable, if true. Nothing could be further from the truth however, they are actively partisan, supporting and promoting Barack Obama. Unashamedly so. This should be scandal enough, but there's more, and worse. They have been shown to be engaged in widespread voter registration fraud. Deroy Murdock over at National Review Online posts a good article summarizing most of the voter registration fraud connected to ACORN that is currently known. I have no doubt that more will come to light. You'll have to read the whole thing for yourself, but some relevant sections:

In Indiana, people seem really psyched for November. STATSIndiana reveals that 644,197 adults in Marion County (Indianapolis) are of voting age. Among those, 677,401 are registered to vote. Thanks to these 33,204 fake voters, Indianapolis enjoys an amazing 105.15 percent registration rate.

In Lake County, among 5,000 registration applications that ACORN submitted, all of the first 2,100 proved bogus. “All the signatures looked exactly the same,” Republican election official Ruthann Hoagland told CNN. “Everything on the card filled out looks exactly the same.” Her Democratic colleague, Sally LaSota, agreed. “We’re not handwriting experts, but what’s obvious is obvious.” These 5,000 forms were placed in what Hoagland called the “fake pile” for later scrutiny.

One card was filed by Jimmy Johns. His address is listed as 10839 Broadway in Crown Point. That turns out to be the location of a fast-food restaurant called . . . Jimmy Johns.

Don't worry, each one of those 35,000 registrations is an isolated incident by an over-enthusiastic volunteer, not typical. (Of course, my 35,000 number is HUGELY conservative considering it allows a 100% registration rate for Marion county and assumes that only the first 2,100 registrations in Lake County are fraudulent.) But wait, there's more:

In New Mexico, Bernalillo County authorities are examining 1,400 dubious registration cards. Also, ACORN illegally has hired felons there to register voters. This apparently included a child rapist. ACORN reportedly has had at least 59 felons signing up voters across America.

More isolated incidents:

According to the Wall Street Journal, a worker for one Ohio ACORN affiliate in 2004 “was given crack cocaine in exchange for fraudulent registrations that included underage voters, dead voters, and pillars of the community named Mary Poppins, Dick Tracy, and Jive Turkey.”

And yet a few more over-enthusiastic volunteers, just wanting to help people:

In Washington State, ACORN agreed to court supervision and paid a $25,000 fine after five of its workers went to jail in July 2007 for sitting in a Seattle public library and filling out 1,800 registration forms with names they invented. In 2004, some Democratic precincts generated more mail-in ballots than there were mail voters.

This is just a sampling. ACORN is being investigated in 13 different states. This is probably the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Many states, including our own Illinois, aren't even looking at ACORN for voter fraud. It's impossible to tell how much fraud takes place when the people responsible for the safety of elections aren't interested in groups like ACORN. Of course, elections in Illinios are largely determined by the Daley machine. "Vote early, vote often!" has long been a Cook County motto. Now, a group like ACORN can handle the dirty work under the cloak of "non-partisanship."

For more on ACORN and Barack Obama's ties to the organization see Stanley Kurtz's piece, here; Mark Hemingway, here; or any one of Michelle Malkin's posts on the subject, start here.

Back to the greater point. In light of prevalent fraud of this nature, and the knowledge that we are only looking at the tip of the iceberg, what are we as a society to do? It has become rather common for elections, even national ones, to come down to thousands, even hundreds of votes. What if the candidates are separated by 2,000 votes in Indiana? 5,000 in Illinois? (unlikely I know) Iowa by 500? What would we do? Pretend that fraud didn't play a part in the selection our President? If we DO recognize the fraud, what would we be able to do about it?

Our election systems are in trouble. It's time to take a hard, honest look at some of our policies. Like even allowing a third party to register voters in the first place. Or same day registration/early voting. Or even early voting at all, I guess there are some situations where it is needed, but it should be rare. One immediate way to begin reform is to ask for a simple photo ID at the voting booth. We show photo ID for virtually everything else. I have to show a photo ID to buy cold medicine for my kids, to rent a video, to drive a car, the list is endless. The idea that this would discriminate against any eligible voter in any way is ridiculous and embarrassing. The idea that it would it would unfairly hurt minorities is condescending, offensive, and racist.

Open, honest and fair elections are among the basic foundations for our system of government and way of life. These elections are under attack. If we do nothing, we risk losing our collective confidence in the electoral process. What will happen when that confidence fails?

~Gabriel

Photoshop credit: Leo Alberti

Monday Quote of the Day

From Charles Robinson's "Winners and Losers" column at Yahoo Sports:

The decision to squib the kickoff with 11 seconds remaining cost the Bears the game, plain and simple. What was with the soft zone in the secondary, allowing Michael Jenkins to catch a 26-yard pass to put Jason Elam in field-goal range? This is a team that could be 6-0 right now with some better coaching decisions.

Agreed, with the one caveat that there is virtually never one decision that costs a game. There were plenty of poor decisions to go around. However, once you overcome your poor decisions/play to take the lead with 11 seconds... you have to stop making those same mistakes that nearly cost you the game already. "Could be" is for wimps, but still... 6-0 would have had a nice ring to it.

~ Gabriel

Catching up and Stuff

At long last I'm posting again. Life has been keeping me rather busy. An emergency surgery in the family, a family camping trip and time spent sailing into the sea of mortgages have kept me on my toes. So much has transpired since my last post that I would normally write about that I shall try to catch up with an "Impromptus"-style post (with apologies to Jay Nordlinger at National Review). A stream-of-consciousness post mixing personal, political, and sports news of interest to me (and hopefully you as well):

It's interesting to note, when I signed on to Blogger yesterday I found an unfinished post from about 4 or 5 weeks ago in which I set out to illustrate that the times we live in aren't nearly as bad or unique as they seem. Our country just isn't THAT old and each previous generation has dealt with challenges that certainly seemed to be worst the country had faced. However... given the events of the last few weeks, I'm beginning to wonder if that post is still valid. Particularly in regard to the nearly unprecedented government involvement in the banking/investment/mortgage business and the subsequent reaction and instability in the markets.

Speaking of big-government, for you Illinois folks, our own Dick Durbin is up for re-election this year. So make sure and get out on election day and vote for Steve Sauerberg. Frankly, I'd just about vote for Mickey Mouse if he was running against Durbin. We're not supposed to question politician's patriotism (couldn't tell you why not), in Durbin's case I guess you can't question what you can't see.

Since my last post we've had two debates between McCain/Obama and one between Biden/Palin. I can't really bring myself to care enough about the debates to write much by way of analysis. Suffice to say, it's too bad Fred Thompson never made it past the primaries.

On to sports. The baseball season has come to an end for our regional teams. My own St. Louis Cardinals sputtered out and finished in an entirely unspectacular fashion. Their finish not withstanding, it was a great year for the Cardinals as they outperformed all expectations and chased the first place Cubs and held off the Brewers for most of the season.

Speaking of the Cubs... "unspectacular" is about the last word you'd use for their end of season. After setting some kind of team record for back to back appearances in the post season, they proceeded to AGAIN fail to win a single game. I wonder what the record is for postseason appearances without a win? A few words from Buzz Bissenger,

"...The inevitable implosion of the Cubs – the sad fury of their futility – only gave the rivalry an added extra, with nothing more fun for a Cards fan than to watch the Cubs self-destruct with their own special brand of pathos..."

I really did think this year might be the exception.

Harvest is now in full swing. This my absolute favorite time of every year. I know, every season has it's special moments, but Autumn is far and away dearest to me. The sweltering humidity of August breaks and is replaced by 65-70 degree days and 45 degree nights. The trees go out it a blaze of glory, the fields of corn are shining and golden, the sunsets shining through the cumulative dust of hundreds of thousands of acres being harvested are spectacular.

I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but there's a certain intangible quality about this time of year. Maybe it's the romanticism of harvest. Maybe it's the bittersweet nature of Fall; beautiful in its own right, but ultimately all the beauty is a collection of endings, harbingers of winter. Maybe it's nothing more than hot apple cider on a cool evening. Whatever the reason, this time of year speaks to me in ways I can't always explain, I hope it does for you too.

I look forward to fitting in a few more posts in the near future that are currently half-written in my mind. By request I'm also planning on doing a review of "To Train up a Child" by Michael and Debbie Pearl sometime this fall. I'm still debating what sort of format to do it in, it's a rather time-consuming process to do a good job. As always, feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I'm trying out the "Live Chat" box on the right side of the screen. If it says I'm available for chat, I really am. Feel free to try it out or to leave a message for me through it.

~Gabriel

Backyard Politics

How's this for a Monday morning chuckle? Matt Gauntt posted this over at Illinois Review this weekend, I thought it was amusing.

I was talking to a friend of mine's little boy the other day. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he replied, 'I want to be President!' Both of his parents are liberal Democrats and were standing there. So then I asked him, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?'

He replied, 'I'd give houses to all the homeless people.'

'Wow - what a worthy goal.' I told him, 'You don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where this homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house.'

Since he is only 6, he thought that over for a few seconds while his Mom glared at me. He looked me straight in the eye and asked, 'Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?'

And I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.'

Out of the mouths of babes, as they say...

~Gabriel

Remembering

Hardly an attention-grabbing title I know. What else can anyone do however? There has been a plethora of tributes and memories recorded in virtually any medium imaginable about this day, what can I add? I admit, probably nothing; but I would be remiss if I let this day go by without any recognition.

Seven years ago... so odd how time passes and is recorded in our memories. Parts of that day and the following days seem etched in my memory as if it were yesterday. At the same time... it almost seems as if those events took place in a different lifetime, to a different person. Part of this, of course, is because in many ways it's true, for me personally, and for all of us in a general sense.

I was 23 years old and living in Columbia, SC. I had been married for just over two years and our children wouldn't come for several years down the road. I was back in school part-time at Columbia International University. While in school I worked for the grounds dept. as a utility player. Primarily equipment maintenance/repair/whatever Christy Lomas needed done (my job description would probably fill a post of its own). Nikki was teaching sixth grade at Crossroads Middle School, having just started her second year of teaching. Life was good. I enjoyed my work, I was in a groove with school. Nikki and I were loving married life, particularly married life in South Carolina. Weekends in Charleston, backpacking in the Appalachians, camping in all the various regions of the state. We had a great church, great friends, it was a happy carefree time for us; all was right with the world. That was Sept. 10.

September 11 was just like every other day. We got up early in order to drive Nikki to Irmo for school. I kept the car and drove to campus to start my work day. I had a John Deere 430 tractor to get to that had been giving us trouble for a few days. It was Tuesday, a chapel day, so I got to work pretty quickly as my morning would be cut short for services. I recall it was a cloudy day, not dark and sullen, but a lightly overcast day. Still summer in South Carolina (at least to my Midwestern tastes). I was shoulder-deep in the tractor when Jeff Fulton came striding through the shop, having just been in the truck listening the radio. He was all exercised about something. (If you know Jeff, you know this isn't that uncommon... if you're reading this Jeff, you know I mean that in the nicest possible way) from my position under the tractor it sounded like he said someone had run a plane into the World Trade Center.

I must admit, at this point my reaction was little more than to extracate myself from the tractor long enough to take another sip from my coffee mug (smeared with grease by now) and say something insightful like, "uh huh." I shook my head at whatever yahoo celebrity had run his little Cesna into some New York skyscraper and went back to work.

Jeff came back out from office muttering something about explosions and fire and who knows what else... I had work to do. Wasn't long before someone said they were trying to hook up a TV in the breakroom so we could catch the news. What? All for some idiot that couldn't see a 110 story building in his flight path? I dusted myself off and figured I might as well refill the 'ol coffee cup and see what the hubbub was about when someone (Dick Lindsey?) grimly tells me that a second plane had hit the towers. What? By this time I was in the breakroom and trying to discern the images on the screen as several folks tried to fabricate an antennae. You all know the images I saw. They're imprinted on our collective memories.

They were replaying the second plane hitting over and over again, trying to figure what kind of plane it was. I stood in disbelief as both towers came down. We eventually moved over to the chapel to find out that they had set up CNN on the video projector. The dust, the confusion, the replays, the speculation. We tried to take it in. The world was changing. Before our eyes. The Pearl Harbor attack couldn't have been anything like this, broadcast live on CNN. No red "meatball" on the side of the planes to identify our enemy. Just fire, dust, death, confusion.

That night and the days that followed are bit more blurry. I have memories of gathering around the radio with Mike and Ann Prime, listening to President Bush give some of the best speeches of his life. I remember listening to him and knowing we were at war. We would go to bed late, having been glued to the TV, we would get up in the dark hours of the morning, watching the TV as we got ready for work. The skies were strangely quiet with all air traffic grounded. I do have a specific memory of watching airplanes in the sky afterward and noticing contrails that indicated where a plane had sharply changed direction. Mentioning it to Nikki only to find out she had been watching it as well. It was an eerie time.

The world changed that day, particularly for Americans of course, but the world changed. We were at war. The terrorists had been at war with us, but now we finally acknowledged that, and went to fight them. You could argue we've lost our way a bit here and there, but we were fighting back.

This is another oddity of our times, both good and bad. In a very real sense the world had changed, dramatically. However, in many ways that you might expect, it still has not. Look forward to today. We still generally live in peace and prosperity. I know, I know, things aren't as good as some folks say they should be, but we really do. The little towns of middle America live from day to day, much as we always have. My kids ride their bikes up and down the sidewalk, the old men gather for coffee and donuts and watch the corn grow, we complain about taxes, gas prices and the governor. We still live as if we're not at war, we still live as if we're safe. This is a credit to our armed forces (these same middle-American towns do send a lot of guardsmen to the Middle-east, we're not that isolated), and to the unswerving dedication of our leaders, particularly George W. Bush.

I don't want to get terribly political here at the end, but I believe he is a much greater president than even I have given him credit for. I have strongly disagreed with how he has handled most domestic issues, among other things. However, I believe, at least for him, all those other issues faded pretty quickly and permanently into the background when he spoke these words on Sept. 20 to a special joint session of Congress:

"It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing... ...I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people."

He was absolutely right. Life for most, has returned almost to normal. We do remember that day. He has not yielded his resolve to preserve the safety of this nation. Let us not either. Let us live our lives as free Americans, let us remember that day, let us not grow complacent in that struggle that sometimes seems so far way.

~ Gabriel

Let's See that Again

It's finally happening. I had thought it wouldn't, I had hoped it wouldn't, but here it is. This weekend the crew chief at every Major League Baseball game will have the option to use instant replay to determine a call. Oh sure, it's only to be used for disputed home-runs, fair/foul calls, and fan interference. At least for now... what about hit batsmen? balls caught/trapped in the outfield? calls at the plate? close calls at any base? The possibilities are endless. Seriously. The rationale is that this will be used for "game changing calls." This is a silly assertion at best.

Part of the beauty of baseball is that virtually any play can be be a "game changing" play. The unique combination of a lengthy game, precise rules, potential human error, and highly skilled players mean that anything can happen over the course of nine innings. On one hand, games are won on the smallest of margins. Decided by one mistake, one great catch, one clutch hit, one wild pitch, etc. On the other hand, no obstacle or error is insurmountable. Virtually no lead is enough, no pitcher too good to hit, no fielder too good for an error. Baseball is a game where there is always hope. There is not such a fine distinction between a "game changing play" and a "non-game changing play" until after the game is over.

Given that games are often decided by a single homerun, rallies are started with a single hit, and post-season glory can be denied by fan interference (eh Cub fans? OK, in the long history of the Chicago Cubs that bit of blame shifting has to take the cake for silliness), bad calls do occasionally decide games as well. We all wish this weren't the case, and I do applaud the umpires for signing on to this in the interest of a fair game. However, even MLB admits that the instances where it has allowed instant replay are quite rare. (Frankly, those "rare" instances would be cut in half if Minute-Maid Park in Houston hadn't been designed by a kindergarten class at recess) They cast this as a good thing, and it is, but it's also an argument against the use of the replay. If it's so rare, why should we bother with the cost and bother of instant replay at all? From the previously linked-to article:

"It's such an infrequent occurrence," said A's manager Bob Geren, whose club defeated the Twins, 3-2, in a homerless game at McAfee Coliseum. "The umpires are so good and you have four of them out there. Very rarely will this really be used, in my opinion."

My point exactly, then why have it? There are plenty of complaints that the game is too slow already, why add another hindrance? Baseball is a game played by humans (I guess we can talk about steroids later...) and officiated by humans. I've always liked the way disputed calls are generally handled. The umpires get together and talk about it like adults, the crew chief gives the call and the game goes on. Do we really want to turn MLB into the NFL? Where no play is complete until it has been minutely examined from every angle? Where officials, coaches, announcers, and players continually wrangle over definitions of "catch," "in bounds," etc. I for one don't want to see that happen to my beloved baseball.

Oh, I know, some of that is just sentimentality on my part, but seriously, it's just not needed. If Major League Baseball wants to address issues that affect games (and even careers) there are plenty of other issues. Inconsistent strike zones for one. Random drug testing for another.

I don't expect baseball to never change with the times, I'm not naive about the myriad of changes over the years. I do think this change, as it is now, addresses a problem that doesn't really exist in a significant way. The proposed fix to this this non-existent problem also opens the door for the further micro-management of a game that has been successfully played for well over a century without cameras making the calls. Let the players play, let the umpires officiate, lets not turn the game into a spectacle.

~Gabriel

"I'm great! Really! Seriously... come on guys..."

"Blagojevich on third term: I'm a great governor"

So read the Pantagraph headline this morning. I almost laughed out loud right here at my desk. Makes you wonder who he's trying to convince. I had to share it, just too funny. The rest of the article reads (or you can read it on the Pantagraph here):

By Associated Press

DENVER -- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich isn't saying whether he'll run for a third term, but he calls himself "a great governor" who loves his job.

Blagojevich says: "There's more to do, and I have no reason to think I don't want to keep doing this job."

The Democratic governor has lousy poll ratings and terrible relationships with many state officials. Several Democrats are getting ready for possible gubernatorial campaigns.

Still, Blagojevich says he has a strong track record that includes expanding health care for children and working-class families.

"Lousy poll ratings and terrible relationships" indeed. This is the guy that commutes from Chicago via tax-payer funded airplane while the tax-payer funded governor's mansion sits empty in Springfield. Ask the folks up the road in Pontiac how they feel about him trying to shut down the prison while simultaneously paying lots of lawyers lots of (taxpayer?) money to keep himself out of it. I could go on and on. Nice to have a little chuckle at 5:45 in the morning.

~Gabriel

(Photo by AP)

Obama, Abortion, and Infanticide

"Well I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity...uh....you know is...uh. ...above my pay grade."

What the h***?? That's the best Barack Obama can do? The question, in case you haven't heard, was "At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?" Not citizenship rights, or legal rights, or anything less than... "human" rights. When does life begin? When is a baby, a baby? Obama had no answer.

According to a great post on this subject over at SpunkyHomeSchool, there are only three answers to this question:

There are only three possible answers to this question, and each one poses a problem for Obama.
a) Conception
b) Some time after conception but before birth
c) After birth

Obama could not answer any of these, because he is not convinced of the truth of any of them. He believes the answer is a bit more ambiguous, nuanced, and apparently, above his pay grade. He can't answer "a" because he is pro-"choice." He can't answer "b" because he is pro-partial birth abortion. He can't answer "c" because he has demonstrated that he does not believe ALL live births produce babies with human rights. His multiple votes and statements against the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act and similar attest to this fact. I have to nod in whole-hearted agreement with Rich Lowry at NRO when he says:

At Saddleback, Obama said determining when a baby gets rights is “above his pay grade.” Leave aside that presidents usually have an opinion about who deserves legal rights. If Obama is willing to permit any abortions in any circumstances, he’d better possess an absolute certainty about the absolute moral nullity of the fetus.

Excellent point. Obama has made very clear by both his words and his actions (a rarity with this candidate) that he does indeed support anything that makes abortions easier to obtain. It would seem to reasonable person, that if you were unsure of the moment life begins, you wouldn't be so eager to be possibly throwing that life in the trash can. As I already stated, he opposed legislation to protect the rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness) of babies born alive after being subjected to forced-labor abortions. Stated more forcefully, he encouraged the practice of leaving them to die from neglect. He has also promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act "first thing" in his administration. This would, among other things, leave all abortion issues to the federal government, rather than the states. (For an excellent summary of these issues see Ed Lasky's piece at American Thinker.)

So why didn't Obama just answer Warren's question with a simple "at birth, Rick."? That would be the accepted position of all but the most radical "pro-choice" crowd. But he IS part of the most radical end of the "pro-choice" crowd. However, I wonder if he is actually being honest when he refuses to answer the question. When I see Obama's statements on abortion, morality, Christianity and infanticide (what else can you call tossing living babies in the trash and leaving them to die?) I (like most thinking people) see statements that are generally contradictory in nature. Take some of these quotes from Obama:

I absolutely think we can find common ground. And it requires a couple of things.
It requires us to acknowledge that..

1. There is a moral dimension to abortion, which I think that all too often those of us who are pro-choice have not talked about or tried to tamp down. I think that's a mistake because I think all of us understand that it is a wrenching choice for anybody
to think about.
2. People of good will can exist on both sides. That nobody wishes to be placed in a circumstance where they are even confronted with the choice of abortion. How we determine what's right at that moment, I think, people of good will can differ.
(Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008)

Quote of note here, "How we determine what's right at that moment, I think, people of good will can differ." People of principle do not "determine what's right at that moment," we have convictions that define right and wrong well before any such moment might arise. And no, we cannot differ. What compromise is there between life and death?
One more that's a bit more familiar:

"I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."

He's talking about abortion here. He's going to teach them "first of all" about "values" and "morals." One would presume, in this context, that he means that he's going to teach them not to sleep around. But if they do? Well they certainly shouldn't be "punished" with a baby. Many things could be said here, for instance, a baby isn't "punishment, its a natural consequence of sex. The same way that exhaustion is a result of lack of sleep. But there are other issues here.
I'm a little confused as to where he gets his sense of morality. What is it based on? What objective standard does he measure his actions against? On what does he base his labeling of getting pregnant as a "mistake?" Under what moral code is it a "mistake" to become pregnant, but acceptable to abandon that same living, breathing baby? It certainly isn't part of the Christian worldview. For a great, great article on this read this post by Kyle-Anne Shiver.

So why do I think he was being honest? (well, it is a possibility anyway) The more cynical among us will no doubt say that he was dodging. He is beholden to the "choice" crowd and could not risk offending them while at the same time, he didn't want to offend his audience either. He was simply being politic. I don't doubt this may be true. However, if he was simply covering for his true convictions, then his true self is cold, calculating, without consience, without soul. Knowingly and intentionally so.

I tend to believe that he defines his words a bit differently. He lives in a postmodern world. His "convictions" are of a postmodern variety. He is hesitant to define any stance, because he doesn't believe that there is an absolute, objective standard to measure it against. He knows he might have to change that stance, and doesn't understand why that would be a problem for some. His "morals" and "values" are nebulous things. They mean different things in different circumstances. He believes everyone is this way and is confused and irritated when people question him and call him on inconsistencies.
I'm not sure that he is cold-bloodedly diabolical so much as consistent. His worldview says that it is up to each individual to decide what is "right" for themselves in a given situation. If someone chooses to get married, have a child, and raise it with love and care... well that is certainly commendable and a good moral choice, for them. If someone else has sex, becomes pregnant, and decides she doesn't want the baby... well then, a good moral society will support her choice in any way possible. Including paying for the child to be abandoned in a utility closet with the other "medical waste" with taxpayer dollars. Whether that child is alive or dead is irrelevant, we have supported the mother's "moral choice."

Most postmoderns choose to live inconsistently in order to function in society. If only Barack Obama were one of them.

~ Gabriel

Update 8/22/08: Another excellent article on Obama's rational for opposing the "Born Alive" act while in the IL Senate by Andrew Mcarthy over at NRO.

Boyhood Treasure

There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.
Mark Twain

Sunday my little boy had his 2nd birthday. Happy birthday Little One.

"Open This Gate"

Let me take the occasion of Barack Obama's speech in Berlin today to remember the words of another American to give a speech in that city. An actual American President, a man, a leader with clear moral conviction and courage.

On June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate and gave a speech that would, in part, define the legacy of his presidency and frame his memory in the minds of many Americans. You can read and listen to the entire speech here. Worth the time. I'll quote just a couple highlights:

...In the 1950s -- In the 1950s Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you."

But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind -- too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor...

...There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate.

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.

Mr. Gorbachev -- Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

"Freedom is the victor." "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Fantastic stuff, well delivered lines from a man that believed them. (As an aside, there is one other politician in recent memory that still talks this way, George W. Bush. Seriously. He believes it too)
One more section, then you'll have to listen to the rest yourself. I found this especially interesting with our current situation as we struggle with how to handle the threat of terrorism and a nuclear Middle Eastern power:

While we pursue these arms reductions, I pledge to you that we will maintain the capacity to deter Soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur. And in cooperation with many of our allies, the United States is pursuing the Strategic Defense Initiative -- research to base deterrence not on the threat of offensive retaliation, but on defenses that truly defend; on systems, in short, that will not target populations, but shield them. By these means we seek to increase the safety of Europe and all the world. But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other. And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty. When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those 24 years ago, freedom was encircled; Berlin was under siege. And today, despite all the pressures upon this city, Berlin stands secure in its liberty. And freedom itself is transforming the globe.
(emphasis mine)

Excellent, just excellent. We "do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other." If only more politicians grasped this basic concept and were willing to say it out loud. It was true then, it's true now. Too many people feel that if only we dropped our guns (figuratively and literally) then suddenly our enemies would love and adore us. We have guns because we have enemies, not the other way around.

Barack Obama may be able make the press go weak in the knees with his careful speeches and PC platitudes. He may be able to strut and preen around Europe playing at being president. But it is only possible because of great leaders like Reagan who went before.

~ Gabriel

(photo: Reineke © BPA)

Murtha to be Sent Packing?

Back to politics. Ready for some good news for once? Some time ago I mentioned Senator Murtha in connection with his remarks on the now-infamous "Haditha Incidient." Those remarks aren't the only reason to object to the existence of Murtha in the senate as he has long been a champion of "pork barrel" spending and "pay to play" politics, but frankly, they're enough for me. This is good news? Well, not exactly. But it looks like there's a bit of a dust-up brewing in Pennsylvania.

Michelle Malkin has an article posted at National Review Online this morning talking about Lt. Col. William Russel. Col. Russel is challenging Sen. Murtha for his seat this November. You can read the article for yourself, but if write-in votes and fundraising numbers mean anything, Col. Russel has a real chance. He's raising more cash than Murtha, getting out the "grass-roots" votes and gaining momentum. Did I mention he's not actively campaigning full-time? He's deployed in Iraq.

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The Far Off Country

As the summer heat begins to set come on in earnest and the work day starts earlier and earlier (tis busy season in the steel fabrication business), let us take a break from baseball and our various national celebrations and turn towards more weighty matters.

In the relative cool of the day before work I have been reading through selections from C.S. Lewis' writings. One of my favorite essays of his is The Weight of Glory. I love the way Lewis writes, his cadence, his "voice" as it were. If he were to be sitting in my living room with a cup of coffee, there are many finer points of theology that we would disagree on I am sure. However, I could not help but share the following selection.

In speaking of this desire for our own far-off country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you - the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both. We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name. Our commonest expedient is to call it beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter.
~ C.S. Lewis from The Weight of Glory

When quoting Lewis, the primary challenge is know when to stop. To really get where he's going I would need to post the entire essay, however, this will have to do for a starting point. This may come as a surprise to some, and as no surprise at all to others; but I am a ridiculous romantic. This passage strikes a chord with me as it puts into words thoughts that I have always had. Each of us reacts to certain things around us with a certain... longing, admiration, affection. It can be different things for each of us. Personally, I am most greatly moved by ideas, principles, qualities; as well as the Creation. Ideas and principles like loyalty, nobility, integrity, sacrifice for a cause. Seeing these qualities lived out elicits a deep admiration and respect from the depth of my soul. More than that, often feelings deeper than seem warranted. I am not alone in this.

While the the early morning sunlight shining through the light mists still clinging to the fields under an endless Illinois sky might not move your spirit, there are things that do. Certain landscapes, certain ideas, certain people, memories forgotten, works of art; often for reasons we can't explain.
If we agree with Lewis, these things strike such a strong chord in our hearts because they point us to heaven. To God. To the "eternity set in the hearts of men."

They are not heaven in and of themselves, they are not perfect, they ultimately will not deliver what our spirits desire. They speak to us of a perfection we don't really understand and will not experience in this life. However, in one sense, they are indications to us that we are created for something more than what we experience. We are not accidents of "nature" or "chance." We are created beings. Created by a Creator that is not of this world, and as his creations, neither are we, completely.

We all search for our "far off country" even if only in the deeper corners of our souls. When pressed on it we too often "call it beauty and behave as if that settled the matter." But that doesn't settle the matter. Beauty it is, but not for it's own sake. "Beauty" because it is a reflection of God, imperfect perhaps, but a reflection of God even so.

~ Gabriel

Independence Day fun

My lovely wife has put together a brief slide show featuring some highlights of our 4th of July in Hopedale. It's her first attempt at this software (not to mention the two primary subjects of the slide show can be somewhat distracting while trying to work on the computer), but how can you go wrong with kids this cute? Even though John Denver didn't write a song about Central Illinois, we still appreciate this one anyway. Hope your 4th was as adorable as ours.

~ Gabriel