When It Rains...

This has been a rough week-and-a-half. It started off with that bizarre shoulder injury that sidelined me for about 5 days, 3 of which I was bed-ridden and pretty much useless. Since I missed so much work, it was nuts trying to catch up, especially still being on those crazy meds that made it so difficult to concentrate.

On Thursday night, I was in the process of putting together a quick band rehearsal to learn a new song I wrote for the LTA show next week. Rehearsal was to take place in the vacant rental house next door, so as to take advantage of the air conditioning (it was extremly hot here last week). When I opened the front door and turned on the air, I noticed that the back window was busted. My son was playing in the back yard (without permission), so I assumed that maybe he and his friends had shattered it playing ball or something. He vehemently denied breaking the window. I assured him I believed him.

At about the same time, a realtor arrived to show the house to some prospective buyers. I let them in, explaining that I had just noticed a broken window and that they should disregard it and some musical equipment in the front room. I had been using this space to cut a demo of the new song during the 2-3 weeks preceding the rehearsal. Then I noticed...almost all the equipment was gone! For a few seconds, I racked my brain trying to remember when I had removed the gear. But a few moments later I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized...we had been burglarized. The theifs got away with about $10,000 worth of gear, including equipment that belonged to Wade and Dean (former bassist for LTA). Here's a round-up of what was lost.

• Electronic drum kit and kick pedals (Wade's)
• Gaillean Krueger bass amp (Dean's)
• 4 x 10 Hartke bass cabinet (Dean's)
• "Magic" guitar amp (my new boutique amp that was amazing)
• 1967 Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar w/early 50s tweed case
• Tom Anderson Cobra electric guitar w/hard case
• Foot pedal board with 10-12 guitar pedals and guitar cables
• SM-57 microphone with mic stand and cable.

The burglars must have gotten scared off because two more amps were left by the sliding glass door, which apparently was their escape route. I'm so thankful they weren't able to get away with my 1963 Fender Deluxe. They also left my little ol' Gretsch amp, my bass guitar, gig bag, and an empty 12-space rack.

I felt horrible calling Wade and Dean to tell them the bad news. Rehearsal was ruined, too, which sucks because Darren subsequently had to fly out to Texas on business and won't be able to learn the new song in time for the gig. Unfortunately, we do not have personal property insurance coverage on the house because it's a rental and we never intended to have personal property in there. So, basically, it's a total loss. I am determined to replace Wade and Dean's equipment at some point in the near future, but don't have a spare $2,500 laying around at the moment.

To top it off, I couldn't seem to get any good combination of cards dealt to me in last night's poker game and I lost some dough. At least that was fun, though.

I hope this post doesn't sound pouty. I'm upset, naturally. My bad feelings are compounded because of the fear the burglary instilled in my kids. Things are pretty simple for young kids. There's an order to their world--it's when they learn right from wrong (in healthy families, anyway). So, when you're young, you don't conceive of such things happening, especially to your parents. And yet it did. Now, the little ones are scared it could happen at our home. It has shaken their feeling of security. It makes me sad and angry because I love this season in their lives when they're young and innocent. That innocence has taken some blows this year. But, unfortunately, that's part of growing older--becoming aware that the world is not an idyllic place.

People get robbed everyday and I know from this, and other experiences, that it is a painful, personal assault. I mean, somebody actually broke into my house to steal stuff. It sucks more because the things they took were very dear to me. Having said that, I don't harbor a burning anger. I really don't. I'm grounded in the fact that my life is not defined by that which I own, but by He who owns me. This event is just another chapter in the story of my life--one that I hope will make me better somehow.

I believe in divine justice, whether you call it karma or sowing/reaping, or whatever. I do pray that those who stole my stuff face justice. But, I also pray for their redemption, believing that God can affect change in their hearts. In the meantime, I'll save my pennies for some new gear.

Prager On Hating Evil

Dennis Prager:

It is neither possible nor virtuous to be devoid of hatred. Even those who think it is always wrong to hate must hate hatred. The question therefore is not whether one hates, but what (or whom) one hates.

For example, on the basis of the value system that I hold – the Judeo-Christian – I try to confine my hating to evil. By evil I mean the deliberate infliction of unjust suffering on the undeserving – cruelty is the best example of such evil.

...everyone hates someone, and that includes people on the Left. The problem is that because they don't hate evil, they hate those who oppose evil. That is how liberals went from anti-communist to anti-anti-communist. To paraphrase one of the greatest moral insights of the Talmud, those who show mercy to the cruel will be cruel to the merciful. So, George W. Bush, not the Islamic terror world, is the Left's villain; life-embracing Israel is the Left's villain, not their death-loving enemies; and religious Christians who note moral weaknesses within the Islamic world are the real danger, not the moral weaknesses within the Islamic world.

A Beautiful Blog

Another blog I've been enjoying recently is All Things Beautiful. It's a really cool site with amazing art work, thoughtful analysis, and well-sourced posts. I'm adding it to my blogroll. It's worth a read!

A Couple Of Observations

The media typically do a fairly good job during the first couple of weeks of a "hot" war, when reporters have their hands full. It seems that after a couple of weeks, reporters get bored and start becoming analysts.

Take, for example, Shepard Smith of Fox News. On location in northern Israel, he's been giving breathless reports tonight about "enormous losses" being inflicted upon the Israeli's, with today being "the bloodiest day of the war." Upon first hearing his reporting, I thought perhaps Hezbollah had inflicted mass casualties on Israel with WMD or something. Turns out the grand total of Israeli KIAs is...9. It makes one wonder what superlatives he would have deployed had he covered the battle of Iwo Jima.

I'm just griping, I guess. But, hyperbole is not an appealing character trait for a journalist. Smith is becoming unbearable to watch.

One other news item of note: Sadaam Hussein reportedly said that, if found guilty, he would prefer to be shot rather than hung. To this I say, "Hang 'em High!"

Dems Are Right On This One

I applaud the Democrats' call for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to retract his recent denouncement of Israel's actions against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. His refusal to condemn the terror group is troubling, particularly in light of the fact that Baghdad suffers daily from terror attacks.

Unfortunately, he's a Shiite with close ties to Iran, Syria and, by extension, Hezbollah. So, he's certainly under significant domestic pressure to support fellow Muslims and appear independant from the U.S. I don't expect any Arab Muslim leader to come out and publically support Israel. But, even the Arab League condemned Hezbollah's aggression. It would have been best for him to keep his trap shut, especially right before coming to the U.S. to speak before a joint session of Congress.

Even though the Democrats are taking political advantage of the situation, they're still right. Good for the Democrats.

John Kerry and the Problem of Evil

JAMES TARANTO:

The Detroit News goes out for a drink with a visitor from the east:

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was in town Sunday to help Gov. Jennifer Granholm campaign for her re-election bid, took time to take a jab at the Bush administration for its lack of leadership in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict.

"If I was president, this wouldn't have happened," said Kerry during a noon stop at Honest John's bar and grill in Detroit's Cass Corridor.

Now, our first thought when we read this was: Yeah, if Kerry were president, he wouldn't spend his days moping around some bar in Detroit. But then we realized that's not what he meant. He meant that if he were president, Hezbollah wouldn't be waging war on Israel. Just like, as John Edwards said in 2004, "we will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases. . . . People like Chris Reeve will get out of their wheelchairs and walk again."

If Kedwards have the power to eliminate war and disease, why don't they use it? This is the age-old problem of evil:

Why does [John Kerry] allow evil? If He is all powerful, then He should be able to prevent it. If He is omnipotent and does nothing about evil, then we suspect that there are limits to His goodness, that there is something wrong with Him, that He is not all good. Perhaps He has an evil streak, or is truly malicious and we are merely His toys--expendable and counting for nothing.

Or perhaps, like Al Gore, he doesn't exist.

Philosophical Differences

A reader of this blog recently commented about having a fascination with the polarization that characterizes politics in America today. Politics has always been a partisan affair and there certainly have been times in our nation's history when it's been more combative (the Civil War comes to mind). The reasons for the current poisonous political climate are legion--too many to cover in this post.

But, I recently stumbled across a rather lengthy and interesting post on One Cosmos, my favortie new blog, which lays out the differences between the left and right from a philosophical point of view. Forgive me as I quote extensively from Gagdad Bob's post (which I recommend you read in its entirety).

The philosopher Michael Polanyi pointed out that what distinguishes leftist thought in all its forms is the dangerous combination of a ruthless contempt for traditional moral values with an unbounded moral passion for utopian perfection.

The first step in this process is a complete skepticism that rejects traditional ideals of moral authority and transcendent moral obligation. This materialistic skepticism is then combined with a boundless, utopian moral fervor to transform mankind. However, being that the moral impulse remains in place, there is no longer any boundary or channel for it. One sees this, for example, in college students (and those permanent college students known as professors) who, in attempting to individuate from parental authority and define their own identities, turn their intense skepticism against existing society, denouncing it as morally shoddy, artificial, hypocritical, and a mere mask for oppression and exploitation. In other words, as the philosopher Voegelin explained it, the religious hope for a better afterlife is “immamentized” into the present, expressing the same faith but in wholly horizontal and materialistic and terms.

What results is a moral hatred of existing society and the resultant alienation of the postmodern leftist intellectual. Having condemned the distinction between good and evil as dishonest, such an individual can at least find pride in the “honesty” of their condemnation. Since ordinary decent behavior can never be safe against suspicion of sheer conformity or downright hypocrisy, only an amoral meaningless act can assure complete authenticity. This is why, to a leftist, the worst thing you can call someone is a hypocrite, whereas authentic depravity is celebrated in art, music, film, and literature.

All emotionally mature people understand that sexuality, for example, can be a dangerous and destructive force when unhinged from any moral framework. But few people seem to understand that the same type of destruction can occur when the moral impulse is detached from its traditional framework. We can see the deadly combination of these two--“skepticism and moral passion,” or “burning moral fervor with hatred of existing society”--in every radical secular revolution since the French Revolution--from the Bolsheviks to nazi Germany to campus unrest in the 1960s. If society has no divine sanction but is made by man, men can and must perfect society now, while all opposition must be joyfully crushed--with moral sanction, of course.

You often hear it said (in the MSM) that suicide bombers are not immoral, that they are simply operating out of a different moral code. This only highlights the point that, just because you have a moral code, by no means does it mean that you are moral. In fact, the moral code may be entirely corrupt, in that it allows one to behave immorally, all the while being sanctioned by the code itself. This is similar to primitive societies that operate “logically” within a cognitive system that itself is illogical. These primitive individuals can reason perfectly well within the idiom of their beliefs, but they cannot reason outside or against their beliefs because they have no other idiom in which to express their thoughts. Logic doesn't help; it can prove anything, so long as the conclusion follows its premise. If the premise is faulty, then so too will be the conclusion. Likewise, if I believe that murdering infidels will gain me instant access to heaven, it is perversely logical and thoroughly “moral” under such a system to murder infidels.

One can be so enmeshed in the system that, for example, a woman might confess to having ruined her neighbor's crops through witchcraft, just as a a university administrator may confess to crimes against womankind for uttering a banal truth that is forbidden in the cognitively closed, tribal system of the contemporary feminist Ovary Tower. The intellect no longer serves Truth, but is in the service of the ideological superstructure, so that freedom of thought is bound by the confines of the system---by political or academic correctness.

For a while, civilization was able to withstand the skepticism unleashed by the enlightenment, by benefitting from the momentum of the traditional moral framework that gave rise to science to begin with (for example, the use of our God-given free will in pursuit of objective truth in a rational world made so by a beneficent creator who wished for us to know him through his works). But this could only go on for a few generations before it began detaching itself from the religious morality that underlie it. Since no Christian society can ever live up to its ideals, it wasn’t difficult for the skeptics to begin the process of hammering away at the foundations of tradition.

This process of deconstruction began in earnest in the late 1960s, a revolutionary time in America in which many noble political and social acheivements were realized. Unfortunately, many radicals became enamored with their ideals and intoxicated with self-importance, throwing the baby out with the bathwater by rejecting the wisdom of their elders ("don't trust anyone over 30") and traditional institutions, such as the church, the government, and the military. No doubt there were plenty of reasons to feel betrayed by these institutions during the late 60s nd early 70s. But instead of fighting to change them from within, many on the left "turned on, tuned in, and dropped out." In their immaturity, they embraced narcissism (becoming known as the "Me" generation) and rejected God, their parents and a host of societal mores.

Traditional religious observance, for instance, was abandoned and new age spirituality, oftentimes cobbled together from several religious traditions (or just made up entirely), became fashionable. Spiritual practices were developed in keeping with their foundational philosophy--"if it feels good, do it." However, over time the irresponsible behaviour precipitated by this philosophy produced a myriad of harmful consequences, individually and collectively.

Fortunately, many came to realize that, although she is not perfect, American society and institutions are worth preserving. For it is the ideals of America--freedom, liberty, the rule of law, the opportunity to attain a better life (the pursuit of happiness), among others, which are the envy of many around the world. Gagdad Bob argues that this counter-balance has helped to preserve our country.

...America escaped this destruction because it had a very different intellectual genealogy, having been much more influenced by the skeptical enlightenment of Britain and Scotland rather than the radical enlightenment of France. In addition, America never lost touch with its Judeo-Christian ideals, which inspired individuals to work to improve and humanize society without violent disruption of traditional ways or heavy-handed government intervention.

Many of our enlightened friends around the world--particularly those of the heavy-handed-government-intervention variety--view America's steadfast commitment to its Judeo-Christian ideals as laughable. They look down their noses upon the pathetic, ignorant American masses--unsure of whether to scorn or pity us. They mock our lack of sophistication and nuance, which is their clever way of ridiculing our deeply-held beliefs. These are the kindered spirits of many American leftists.

The political left in America abandoned true (vertical) religion and replaced it with an idealized religion of man (horizontal) that develops its theology in the secular monasteries of academia, finds its resonance in the echo chambers of the leftwing blogosphere, and expresses itself in the political arena. Because secular leftists, by definition, don't believe in an afterlife, their work on earth takes on a fevered urgency and religious zeal. This is why today's pitched political battles are conducted with such religious fervor and apocalyptic phraseology (i.e. Bush = evil = Hitler = fascist = terrorist, etc.).

One example from the news today: The left's crusade against Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), who is struggling to retain his senate seat in the upcoming primary. His sin--supporting the Iraq War and being friendly with Lucifer Incarnate, AKA George W. Bush. Lieberman, a decent and honorable man of the center-left, has become a heretic in the fever swamps and must be excommunicated. If the far left succeeds in defeating Senator Lieberman, it will provide more evidence that there is no room for centrists in the Democrat party.

Gagdad Bob characterizes a surf through the fever swamps,

I think about Polanyi’s simple formulation every time I wade into the left-wing blogosphere. The utterly sad and destructive cynicism. And the boundless moral fervor. Its mantra is “dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” For it is purely mindless and reactionary: no digestion at all, just chewing up and spitting out, repeated ad bulimeum. In short, one is not enough and a hundred is too many when you partake of the Satanic Eucharist of primordial envy.

Ah, envy--a topic for a different post, altogether.

The Passing Pageant

I've had the chance to read so many good articles since I've been at home recuperating. Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a 4-year-old because of the meds and can hardly remember what I read. This makes it extremely difficult to comment intelligently on current events.

Anyway, for some reason (which I can't quite recall) I liked this article by Mark Steyn about the opening of Pandora's Box in the Middle East. Here's a bit:

In Causeries du Lundi, Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve recalls a Parisian dramatist watching the revolutionary mob rampaging through the street below and beaming: "See my pageant passing!" That's how opportunist Arabs and indulgent Europeans looked on the intifada and the terrorists and the schoolgirl suicide bombers: as a kind of uber-authentic piece of performance art with which to torment the Jews and the Americans. They never paused to ask themselves: Hey, what if it doesn't stop there?

Well, about 30 years too late, they're asking it now.

Ouch!

Blogging has been light for awhile. I have a debilitating shoulder injury that has left me pretty much incapacitated. I've been on my back for the past 3+ days. I've been doing a lot of reading, though. That's been good. And, I've watched just about every news report on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict like three or four times. So, I'm really up to date on that, for what it's worth.

I've gotten a few phone calls from friends and family checking in on me. That made me feel really good. It's nice to know that people are thinking of me.

Cherie just got back from the movies with Amber. The saw "You, Me, and Dupree." She said it was hilarious and thinks Mike would love it (she said she could practically hear his pilsbury doughboy laugh). Hopefully, I'll be able to blog more soon. Time to take some meds.

Musings

I'm fascinated by history, psychology, religion, science, sociology, philosophy, literature, and art (among other things) and how they illuminate that which makes people (individually and collectively) do what they do. My brother-in-law, Mike, often says (I'm paraphrasing) that our belief systems --political, moral, and spiritual--are formed around deep-seated emotional responses to stimuli from the early years of our lives, and that much of the young adulthood is spent developing ideologies that justify those deeply-held beliefs.

There is truth to Mike's theory, I think. But, anyone who walks through a Borders Bookstore knows that there are as many theories on the human condition, as well as its development and potential, as there are stars in the sky. Many of these theories are mutually exclusive, which can be maddening.

Nevertheless, I'm intrigued by people and what makes them tick. Perhaps my love of learning about others is somehow related to understanding myself. Introspection is healthy in the proper doses, but not so good if done too much or too little. It's good to evaluate your beliefs--testing them against empirical data--efforting to unhook yourself from the purely subjective, but being careful not to dismiss intuitive knowledge. Not an easy task. But, I believe we can reach for the higher goal of attaining Truth. That it is knowable, albeit sometimes only in degrees.

The pursuit of knowlege and wisdom is important, but incomplete. It is love which binds wisdom and knowledge together with faith and hope to unveil the truth within us ourselves and beyond ourselves--reaching up to the Transcendent. We do well to remember the wisdom of the ages:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Israel Enters Lebanon

Fox News is reporting that Israeli tanks have entered the south of Lebanon. Reportedly, it's a short incursion, not a major ground invasion. Many analysts believe that the IDF is preparing the ground for an assault that will cripple Hezbollah's ability to strike in the future. The Israelis appear ready to fight for the long haul, with polls showing 87% to 95% of the population in support of the effort against Hezbollah. We'll see how much fight the terrorists have after another couple of weeks of fighting.

It's heartbreaking to see civilians on both sides suffer. And the weakening of the already fragile Lebanese government is worrisome. But, this is a unique opportunity for Israel to wipe out the terrorists, who's sick ideology has caused nothing but suffering for decades. I wholeheartedly support Israel.

For analysis regarding the current conflict in the Middle East, I recommend Counterterroism Blog.

Crazy Weekend

It seems that the weekends are getting busier than my work weeks. Errands, atteding a wedding, hosting a poker game, organizing and attending a going-away beach party for one of Cherie's friends, and playing guitar for Cindy's team at church made for an extremely busy time. We had fun at the beach (especially the kids). We finally got back at about 10 p.m. after a BBQ and roasting marshmallows. I couldn't believe how much traffic there was on the way home. It was bumper-to-bumper at 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night!

Just when we got the kids and ourselves to bed, we get a phone call from a neighbor informing us that two police cars were in front of our rental house next door and policemen were approaching the door. Next came a knock on our door at 11:00 p.m. We spoke with two friendly policemen--one really big guy who did all the talking and one really small guy--looking for the guy who used to rent our house next door. We evicted him and his family a few months ago after a domestic violence problem that had his girlfriend afraid for her life and those of their two young boys. The commotion woke my kids up and, fortunately, Mike was there to usher them into one of their rooms and calm them while I tended to the gal, who was in hysterics. She said that he had been drinking and became violent--and that he owned a gun.

Naturally, that made the stress level increase significantly. I went outside to try and calm him down, but he wasn't having it. He took off just before a half-dozen police cars showed up. They captured him, unarmed, in the apartment complex behind our houses. He was arrested and spent the night in jail. Shortly thereafter, they were out of the house and we didn't hear from/about them, other than when I noticed a couple of small road signs advertising some local property that the young lady, who had teamed up with her father (also a realtor), had listed for sale.

Back to tonight. The policeman said that the man had been in a pretty serious car accident and had fled the scene. Reportedly, several people had been hurt, including a young lady that was in the car with him (it didn't sound like the same one that is the mother of his children). Apparently, he had been drinking again and was now in violation of parole. Unfortunatley for him, he left his cell phone at the scene of the accident. The most recent address the cops had for him didn't come up on Mapquest, so they were checking out our rental because it was the last known address. We gave the policemen his former girlfriend's cell phone number and wished them luck.

I have mixed feelings. Part of me is upset with that young man for making such bad decisions and hurting so many people around him. But, I also feel sorry for him. He was a nice guy with potential. But, something is eating him up inside and now alcohol is destroying him. I feel bad for the nice young lady that was his girlfriend and their two beautiful young boys. It's tragic. I tried to help him that night--to find out what was driving him to despair and to drink. His reaction made it clear that he was unwilling--or unable--to talk about it. So sad to see a young life spiral out of control. It won't be long before he's back behind bars. I hope God can get through to him there.

Poker Night

I won $200 tonight at a poker game we hosted at the rental house. It was a fun night, with a good group of people. Winning always makes everything seem better anyway.

Another Blog In The Cosmos

Every once in awhile I happen upon an interesting blog that is worth noting. Over the past couple of weeks I've been reading One Cosmos, a blog by clinical psychologist, Robert Godwin. It's an interesting blog that mixes elements of psychology, religion, politics, and sociology, among other things. His blog header describes it as:

Soph-Help Lumin Development, Paleoliberal Futurism, Pneumablogging Mental Gymgnostics, Leftist Noise Abatement, Darwhiggian Evolution, Supranatural Election, Isness Ministration, Evolutionary Traditionalism, Dilettantric Yoga, & Stand-up Cosmology for All

It's worth reading. I've already learned a lot. Keep up the good work, Dr. Godwin.

Recording a New Song

For far too long my personal recording prospects have been non-existent or inadequate, which is a total bummer when you're trying to write new music. But, I finally purchased the Pro Tools M-Powered system and an interface to start recording some demos again. It's already paying dividends. I'm about 90% through a new song. Wade just got here to record some additional drums on it. It's going to be very cool (at least I think so, anyway). Once I get it completed I may try and post it to MySpace.

Judge Okays Congressional Office Search

This is good news.

A federal judge on Monday upheld the FBI's unprecedented raid of a congressional
office, saying that barring searches of lawmakers' offices would turn Capitol Hill into "a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime."

Not that it isn't already.

A member of Congress is bound by the same laws as ordinary citizens, said the judge, who had approved the FBI's request to conduct the overnight search of Jefferson's office.

Every once in awhile a politician gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and gets his rear end thrown in jail. I'm glad when people of authority and responsibility over a sacred trust--namely, representing the interests of their constituents--are held to the same standard under the law as the common man. It doesn't happen often enough, as the capitol policeman that got whacked by Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) can attest. One hopes that this ruling will at least give corrupt politicians in Washington pause to reconsider before they do something unlawful or unethical.

I doubt it.

Chatting With Chomsky

I'm not a big fan of television shows which make a point of embarassing people. There's something in me that recoils when a scenario is set into play whereby the "subject" is made to look a fool. I think it steals some of their dignity (some would say certain people deserve to be made to look undignified). That's why I'm not a big fan of Ali G, although I do recognize the brilliance of Sacha Baron Cohen.

One thing I like less than these TV shows is virulent anti-American ideology, particularly of the academic variety. That's why it wasn't difficult to watch Ali G interview Noam Chomsky. Cohen didn't tread into political waters, which is fine. He just chatted with Chomsky about his area of study--linguistics. It's pretty funny.

Powerline Fisks The Times

The U.S. economy has been soaring over the past several quarters, posting a 5.6% gain in GDP in the first quarter. Our economy is the main driver of economic activity throughout the world. Thus, a vibrant U.S. economy is good, not only for Americans, but for just about everyone.

You would think the New York Times could handle a straight news story of excellent economic activity with impartiality. You'd be wrong, however. Powerline fisks the New York Times article on the economy, which is set for tomorrow's edition. The Times reportedly includes a false claim that overall revenues have not reached 2000 levels.

Liberals are so blinded by class envy (e.g. "tax cuts for the rich") and hatred (e.g. Bush = Hitler, etc.) that they cannot bring themselves to credit the policies which have produced the outstanding economic growth we are seeing today. Obviously, he's not solely responsible for the economy. Hardworking Americans deserve the lion share of the credit here. Indeed, if Bush could control his profligate spending (which appears to be starting to happen) we could make serious headway in reducing and/or eliminating the deficit.

For more on the economy, here's Larry Kudlow:

"Did you know that just over the past 11 quarters, dating back to the June 2003 Bush tax cuts, America has increased the size of its entire economy by 20 percent? In less than three years, the U.S. economic pie has expanded by $2.2 trillion, an output add-on that is roughly the same size as the total Chinese economy, and much larger than the total economic size of nations like India, Mexico, Ireland and Belgium.

"This is an extraordinary fact, although you may be reading it here first. Most in the mainstream media would rather tout the faults of American capitalism than sing its praises. And of course, the media will almost always discuss supply-side tax cuts in negative terms, such as big budget deficits and static revenue losses. But here's another suppressed fact: Since the 2003 tax cuts, tax-revenue collections from the expanding economy have been surging at double-digit rates, while the deficit is constantly being revised downward.

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks about the economy in front of a portrait of George Washington at the White House in Washington April 7, 2006. Bush said an increase of 211,000 new jobs in March was evidence of a broad economic resurgence. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

For those who bother to look, the economic power of lower-tax-rate incentives is once again working its magic. While most reporters obsess about a mild slowdown in housing, the big-bang story is a high-sizzle pick-up in private business investment, which is directly traceable to Bush's tax reform."

Perhaps the biased and dishonest reporting the Times has been foisting on the American public (not to mention its wanton disregard for its safety by revealing national security secrets) is responsible for the freefall in their subscriptions . And this...

New York Times stock performance (black) vs. S&P 500 (red) over the last two years.

(h/t Pajamas Media).

UPDATE:

Captain's Quarters takes issue with Kudlow's methodology, stating that, adjusted for inflation, GDP growth has been 11.4% since 2000. Captain Ed also discusses some noteworthy distinctions between the Bush, Clinton and Reagen administrations.

First, neither Clinton nor Reagan had a shooting war going on during these periods, allowing for more stable economic environments. Second, oil prices dropped during these periods for Clinton and Reagan, while they have increased considerably during the Bush expansion. Yet the Bush expansion, fuelled by the tax cuts, has shown remarkable stability and consistency. In the past eleven quarters, the only one below an annual rate of growth of 3% was 2005Q4, which reflected the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina. Also, we should recall that the Clinton era coincides with the dot-com bubble and the bulk of the investor frauds of Enron, Global Crossings, and Worldcom.

In fact, in Bush's entire tenure in office, he has only had one quarter of economic loss where he was president for the entire quarter -- and that was 2001Q3, when he ordered the entire airline industry grounded as a result of 9/11, as well as the devastating losses in Manhattan in both lives and property. Even then, the loss was kept to an annual projected rate of -1.4%. (Clinton only had one as well, in 2000Q3, and the two share another, 2001Q1.)

Supremely Bad Decision

Mark Steyn chimes in on the recent Supreme Court decision in the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case:

The United States Supreme Court has now blown a hole in the animating principle behind the Geneva Conventions by choosing to elevate an enemy that disdains the laws of war in order to facilitate the bombing of civilian targets and the beheading of individuals. The argument made by Justice John Paul Stevens is an Alice-In-Jihadland ruling that stands the Conventions on their head in order to give words the precise opposite of their plain meaning and intent. The same kind of inspired jurisprudence conjuring trick that detected in the emanations of the penumbra how the Framers of the U.S. Constitution cannily anticipated a need for partial-birth abortion and gay marriage has now effectively found a Right to Jihad -- or, if you're a female suicide bomber about to board an Israeli bus, a woman's right to Jews.

Happy Friday, Everyone

Bottoms Up!

(h/t Redstate)

Tribute

It’s surreal when death takes a loved one. You can't shake the feeling that they’re return is imminent, as they are simply away on an extended holiday. But, after watching my grandpa waste away from cancer, I knew he would live only in my memory. "From this point forward," I thought, "when describing him to friends or my future wife and children, I can no longer say, 'My grandpa is…'”

From the moment of his birth on June 25, 1921, Glenn Leroy Musso knew suffering. His parents thought he was still born and were ready to dispose of him before they realized he was alive. His father was a kind man who immigrated from Northern Italy. His mother was verbally and physically abusive, likely a result of mental illness. He was extremely intelligent, which earned him the derisive nickname "professor" from schoolmates. He loved music and had a beautiful voice. He wanted to sing opera. But, one day while riding his motorcycle as a young man, he hit an oil patch in the road, lost his balance, and slid for some distance, virtually scraping his nose off his face (thereafter, he had it surgically repaired). His mother, in her anger, broke all of his beloved opera records, which he treasured. He experienced another crushing heartbreak in his late teens when his handsome younger brother, Raymond, jumped off a pier just before his high school graduation, broke his neck on a sandbar, and died.

He went to war in 1941 at the age of 20. On leave before finally shipping out to Europe, he married my beautiful grandmother, Mary, who had to leave school early and travel out to Denver for the ceremony. Then he was gone. And he would not return the same.

As with so many who made it back from that war, my grandpa didn't want to talk about what he saw during those years of bloodshed. I was only able to coax a few stories out of him. I discovered that he flew sorties over Europe in a B-52. I asked him if he was scared when he flew a mission over Germany. He said that it was not uncommon for the crew to soil themselves because the fear was so palpable. He told me that he once saw anti-aircraft artillery explode in the sky in proximity to his airplane and he closed his eyes, convinced he would die, as the flak screamed toward him. It landed all around him, miraculously leaving him unscathed. He said he once had to mop his friend up out of a gunner turret. That was the last story he told me.

The War left him with physical (he spent 6 months in a full-body cast in England) and emotional wounds from which he never fully recovered. His body became so arthritic that his knees would swell to the size of a large grapefruit. Psoriasis drove him crazy. He drank to numb the pain. Alcoholism caused him to lose his job as an engineer. The shame he must have felt as my grandma dutifully went to work full time, plus overtime, in a factory at an aerospace company, is unimaginable. She was working there when they agreed to take my sister and I into their home when he was 60 years old and she was 57. Taking an unruly teenager and his little sister in after having reared triplets of their own was an act of generosity that I have yet to fully comprehend.

He had a great sense of humor. He would practically fall out of his seat in histerics watching the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. I got my love for the Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis) and Dodgers from him. Sometimes he would let me stay up and watch Johnny Carson with him. I saw how he wished he could run with me. He took me bowling once (he had been in a league in his younger years). He fell straight to the ground on his very first approach.

He used to drive my friends and I to the beach during the summers. One summer, my best friend Wade and I were having so much fun that I met my grandpa at the appointed time and place and asked him if he would come back and pick us up later (it was a 40 minute round trip). He agreed. I'll never forget that. He bought me my first guitar, paid for my lessons, and encouraged me to do what I love. His generosity knew only the bounds of his physical limitations. Those limitations finally caught up to him. A lifelong smoker and drinker, he told us he had cancer. It's the only time I've ever seen my grandmother weep.

I vividly remember him lying on his death bed at home, his body racked with cancer. I still feel incredibly guilty for not spending more time with him at his bedside. But, it was just too painful to see the only man I loved as a father suffer so. Near the end he gave me a gift. Knowing that I had become a committed Christian, he called me to his room and sought to reassure me that he had accepted Christ into his heart and that I shouldn't worry, implying that he would see me in heaven. I believe him.

On July 3, 1987, the mortal wound he suffered decades earlier in the War finally bled out and took him from me. He finally succumbed under the weight of his lifetime of suffering. I've now lived as many years without him as I had with him (19). Tragically, I believe he thought his life had little meaning or worth. It is human nature to see ourselves through the prism of our flaws and shortcomings. But, his life was meaningful. His kindness, patience and generosity are the standards by which I measure my behavior toward my own children. And, without trying to sound to new-agey, at least in that way, his legacy lives through me. For all his faults and weakness, he died a hero in my eyes. I’m glad death abided long enough for me to know him. I hope that I am a better man because of him.

The Silence Is Deafening

Via Powerline:

Democrats in the federal bureaucracy collude with Democrats in the press to undermine American foreign policy, hoping thereby to benefit their party. It's one of the most important stories of the last four years, and so far, at least, there isn't a single Democrat of national stature who has spoken out against this unholy alliance.

Independence Day!

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with cetain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The Preamble of the Declaration of Independence, the document which represents the official birth of our nation, sets out the principles upon which our nation was established 230 years ago--a moral code that makes America unique among all nations. Yet, America is not an insular society; rather, it holds forth the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all who migrate to her shores. America is not comprised solely of a particular race or ethnicity, but of a multitude of cultures and languages, all of which add to her beauty.

Abraham Lincoln, speaking of the immigrants that comprise our nation:

If they look back through this history to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none, they cannot carry themselves back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel that they are part of us, but when they look through that old Declaration of Independence they find that those old men say that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," and then they feel that that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration, and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world.

President Calvin Coolidge had this to say about the ideals set forth in the Declaration:

About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

In his excellent article "What's So Great About America," Dinesh D'Souza discusses a number of additional things that make America unique. Here's a small sample:

In America your destiny is not prescribed; it is constructed. Your life is like a blank sheet of paper and you are the artist. This notion of being the architect of your own destiny is the incredibly powerful idea that is behind the worldwide appeal of America. Young people especially find the prospect of authoring their own lives irresistible. The immigrant discovers that America permits him to break free of the constraints that have held him captive, so that the future becomes a landscape of his own choosing.

If there is a single phrase that captures this, it is “the pursuit of happiness.” As writer V. S. Naipaul notes, “much is contained” in that simple phrase: “the idea of the individual, responsibility, choice, the life of the intellect, the idea of vocation, perfectibility, and achievement. It is an immense human idea. It cannot be reduced to a fixed system. It cannot generate fanaticism. But it is known [around the world] to exist; and because of that, other more rigid systems in the end blow away.”

But where did the “pursuit of happiness” come from? And why has it come in America to mean something much more than simple selfishness? America’s founders were religious men. They believed that political legitimacy derives from God. Yet they were determined not to permit theological differences to become the basis for political conflict.

Rocket's Red Glare

The family and I watched the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery this afternoon. It was a nice birthday gift to America on her 230th birthday. It got me to thinking about all of the technological contributions that America has made to the world which, in my opinion, is one of many indicators of the greatness of our nation.

Here are a few of the wonderful inventions created by Americans over the past 2 centuries that have made life better throughout the world (in no particular order).

Space Shuttles!
Airplanes
Telegraph
Telephone
Computer
Internet (thanks Al Gore!)
Artifical Heart
Automobile (combustion engine)
Light Bulb (Electrification)
Nanotechnology
A myriad of energy sources
Television
Cotton Gin
Photography
Agricultural Mechanization
Laser and Fiberoptics
Baseball
Medical Technologies (CAT Scan, EEG, etc..)
Audio and Video Recording Devices
and one of my favorites...the electric guitar!

These are just a handful of the incredible technologies and inventions advanced by American society that have made life better around the world.

Some Mondays Are Great

When I was a kid I loved the Los Angeles Dodgers. I used to listen to all their games on my little transistor radio, even hiding it under my pillow at night. I dreamed one day of being a professional ballplayer. On April 25, 1976, the year of our country's bicentennial, two nutbags decided to run on the field and burn an American flag. Fortunately, their plan was foiled by Rick Monday, center fielder for the visiting Chicago Cubs (and future Dodger). Read about it here. It's one of the 100 Classic Moments in the History of the Game as determined by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jeff Goldberg:

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting around in a straw cowboy hat sipping expensive tequila and making place mats out of thatch. And I have to tell you, I keep getting the strangest urge to hop a fence and make a run for the neighbor’s house. I asked my wife why this might be, and she said, “uh, because you’re a racist?” Hmm. Quizás.

The More Things Change...

Someone said Palestinians, at a fork in the road of their destiny, see the path of peaceful co-existence and self-determination and promptly walk the other way. There's so much truth to that. These people never miss an opportunity to heap misery upon themselves and, unfortunately, Israelis. And when you think you've seen it all, the Palestinians stoop even lower, threatening to bomb school children and hospitals. Captain's Quarters has the details and some commentary.

Hamas has done nothing but bring misery and further shame to the Palestinians, finally doing the near-impossible and inspiring Western nations to force them to take responsibility for their own actions. Now they reveal themselves as the cowards and hypocrites they are, as well as their terrorist nature, by the deliberate targeting of children and health-care facilities. Will the Western media cover this threat, or will they just report the fact that the idiots in Gaza who brought this attack upon themselves still may face a humanitarian crisis, as if that crisis had nothing to do with the stupid decisions they make for themselves?