The Bush Administration Didn't Lie about WMD

I have resisted the urge to post about the inane, despicable, grandstanding, do-you-think-people-just-don't-remember?, why-are-you-giving-the-enemy-ammunition?, treasoness behavior of Democrat party leaders and elected representatives who claim the Bush administration lied about WMD to get us into war in Iraq.

There is plenty of documentation available for those who actually care to check facts rather than swallow elephant-sized 'sound bites.' Start with this excellent summary by Norman Podheretz, "Who is Lying About Iraq?"

Get Some Quiet!

The Screwtape Letters is a popular book in our home, so this article caught my attention:

"A Kingdom of Noise: A Screwtape Letter for the Media Age"

Read it and enjoy. And then here's my challenge -- what can you do today to get some quiet? God is speaking, and there are things you will not hear in the presence of manufactured noise.

Prepare for Narnia Discussions

Our family is really looking forward to the new movie coming out, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on December 9th.

Check out Roaring Narnia for resources and ideas about discussions around this movie.

Get over it!

John Piper answers objections about going into missions. Great responses from the wise and tender heart of a Scripture-soaked challenger!

Recommended American History Books

Marvin Olasky -- whom I do not always agree with, but always read -- has some excellent ideas for good books to help you and your kids appreciate American history. I've read nearly all his suggested books, concurring wholeheartedly with his recommendations.

"Jedi Christians"

For those of you interested in the Star Wars saga, or who have children interested in it, check out this interview with Dick Staub, author of "Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters."

I love what A.W. Tozer told his father, about the secret to knowing God: "Young man, read the Bible and pray every day and you'll grow like a weed!"

Praise is Hard, Revealing

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln

"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives." -- Proverbs 27:21

Yesterday at CrossTrainers we held a Medal of Faithfulness ceremony to honor four men -- including my good friend Rick Holmertz -- who had gone home to be with the Lord in the past few months. This was a wonderful, tender time celebrating their strong walks and that they finished well, and the legacy echoing forward through their families.

My dad, dead now for four years, was likewise honored at a ceremony like this. I burst into tears when saw his pictures again yesterday. I think about him every day (in fact, I wear his beloved watch to remind me of him), and miss him terribly.

A good friend pointed out to me when he died that the reason we hurt so much is that we weren't built to say goodbye. It wasn't in our original design. There's wisdom in that.

But most of the chest pains I experienced yesterday were because God did some work in me. "Get rid of this stupid stuff that doesn't belong in the life I have for you." One of the best quotes of 2005 is "Don't get stuck on stupid." Apparently in military training they say that pain is the feeling of fear leaving your body. Well, as men, sometimes it's not fear leaving your body, it's stupid stuff leaving your heart.

Semper Fi, Jesus. With your help, I will be semper fi.

385 years ago -- A Seminal Event

The Mayflower Compact was signed 385 years ago on November 11, 1620. This was the critical forerunner document to the US Constitution, a huge break from conventional ways of thinking. No one but the Puritans could have made this covenantal kind of agreement.

Worth reading again today:

"IN THE name of God, Amen.
We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the 11 of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domine 1620."

The Riots in France

It's useful to talk with your older children about the riots in France. Why aren't immigrants rioting in the US? The seeds for this rebellion against the French society was seeded, watered, and fertilized over many years. The social structures there do not give them any economic equality, and the Muslims are not interested in conforming to the "French" way of living.

Read Thomas Sowell's excellent column for good insights.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/2005/11/08/174706.html

You can look at these surface issues, but here's the thing to talk with your kids about -- what are the heart issues involved?

Good Insights -- on heathens and the First Amendment

"Many of our people, without knowing it, are Christian heathen, and demand as much missionary effort as the heathen of foreign lands." -- Booker T. Washington

"Why...must government be neutral about religion? Because, we are told, the First Amendment demands it by forbidding any 'establishment of religion.' But this is nonsense. The First Amendment says nothing of the sort, and I wish atheists would read it as literally as they think most Christians read the Bible. 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' means something very different from 'Government must be neutral about religion.' It bars the Congress of the United States from legislation that either establishes a religion or prohibits its free exercise. This left the states free to do both, and for a long time they did. Several states had official religions as late as the 1830s. You may deplore this, but don't say the Constitution bans it, because it plainly doesn't. Now we are told that the Constitution forbids everything from a moment of silence in the classroom to the phrase under God in the Pledge of Allegiance!" —Joseph Sobran

About Gas Prices

I filled up on gas at $1.99 yesterday. I'm sure the Des Moines Register post a major headline "Bush Causes Gas to Fall $1 in 75 Days" any time now. (After all, if it was Bush's fault the price went up to $3, surely he gets the credit for making it go down $1?)

Alan Reynolds writes a nice column about oil profits, prices and politics. "If prices or crude oil and gasoline really rise and fall at the whim of U.S. petroleum companies, why would oil and gas prices ever fall?"

Make sure your kids get some basic economics so they can be good citizens.

Transparency?

Fun quote from Ann Coulter: "Minority Leader Harry Reid dramatically invoked an obscure Senate rule to close the Senate for two hours, putatively in order to rehash old arguments about the Iraq war in closed session. In other words, Reid demanded more transparency in government by shutting the doors, throwing out the public, dimming the lights, and turning off the TV cameras in the chambers of the U.S. Senate. "

Fun Picture

These "make your own sign" sites continuing to pop-up -- so let's enjoy. Hat Tip : B.R.

25 Years Ago

Ronald Reagan was elected President 25 years ago yesterday -- Nov 4, 1980.

President Reagan reduced taxes and took firm stands that helped end the Cold War.

But for the husbands and fathers who read this blog, I want to emphasize one thing about Ronald Reagan that we need to emulate more: his optimism.

Our families need us to identify hope in the future, see potential for progress, and have confidence in God working out his plans. Are there tough days ahead, likely tougher than some in the past? You bet. But we're God's guys in this situation, and God plus anyone is a majority force.

I think about what they tell the Navy Seals in training: "You can do three to ten times what you think you can do." God promises us much bigger harvests than that (30, 60, and 100-fold!).

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained." (Philippians 3:13-16)

Allah is not God

There is a lot of hooha and multiculturalist talk about Allah being God, or the same as the Christian God. This

Male-bashing

Jennifer Roback Morse has a useful insight about male-bashing feminists: "Male-bashing has developed into a full-blown art-form in this country. And strangely enough, the male-bashing is often accompanied by the presumption that men and women are the same in every significant way. No one seems to notice the logical conclusion: if men are bad, and women and men are the same, ergo, women must be bad."

Appropriate Anger

We get all hung up on anger. Anger is a serious spiritual problem. I personally really struggle with anger (rage, actually) because there was a period in my pre-Christian life when I cultivated rage and hate for its power.

Christian men do need to get angry, just at the right things, people, and events. That's why I can recommend Doug Giles column, where he rails against milquetoast passivity. He has two great recommendations:

"1. Don’t unleash your anger on your loved ones, friends or pets (unless you have a cat).
2. Don’t waste your wrath on the inconsequential. For example, I wanted to get really peeved at the people down here in Miami who are screaming for the government to take care of them post-Wilma because they did not take care of themselves pre-Wilma as they were warned to do. Instead of getting wound-up, I decided that I would chill out with one of my stockpiled Coronas and a beautiful Cuesta Rey #9 in my hurricane-shuttered, generator-powered, canned-food-filled, fully armored home. Remember, soldier, anger has a shelf life. Use it sparingly and wisely. "

Anger has a shelf-life. That's a great insight.

The Problem with Utility as a Measure of Good

I'm a reasonable fan of technological progress. I'm not completely blind to the spiritual and cultural problems technological advances have created, and will continue to accelerate. (The real problems of mankind haven't changed in thousands of years.)

These days I watch the fascination of the Internet and Web 2.0 and the Google "brain." People get excited, people get rich.

Most of the arguments for going forward are utilitarian: X technology helps people do Y better, so it must be good.

Simon Ings, a science fiction writer, said this: "When our machines overtook us, too complex and efficient for us to control, they did it so fast and so smoothly and so usefully, only a fool or a prophet would have dared complain."

May the Lord help us to be fools and prophets at the right time.

Thinking about Suitcase Nukes

There's an excellent article by Brendan Miniter that reviews the "suitcase nukes" information. Read this, think about why we want to believe it. Let's work to be discerning men, not gullible.