HERE'S A THOUGHT

"Congress has insisted that auto company executives achieve performance standards or be financially penalized. The CEOs of Chrysler, Ford and GM all are working for $1 per year. Shouldn't congressional pay be adjusted the same way?"

Oliver North

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1864

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

TALK ABOUT HISTORIC (NOT TO MENTION ANNOYINGLY HILARIOUS)

How to have a little fun in the remaining months of President Bush's tenure:

1. Bush should resign now so Dick Cheney becomes President (that would REALLY irritate certain people).

2. Cheney then appoints Condoleeza Rice as Vice President.

3. Two weeks later, Cheney resigns. Then Condoleeza Rice, a Republican, becomes the first BLACK and the first WOMAN president.

The cost of all this; nothing. The value: Priceless.

ANNUAL HEBREW LESSON

Michael Medved posted the following on townhall.com today:

In this holiday season, Americans hear lots of talk about “Hanukkah” but most Christians—and most Jews, for that matter—don’t know what that word actually means. No, Hanukkah doesn’t mean “Festival of Lights,” or “Festival of Tolerance” – the Hebrew word means, simply, “dedication.” It refers to the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C., after its desecration by Hellenists who worshipped Greek Gods in the shape of men. The holiday calls for our re-dedication to resisting secularism and assimilation, and recommitting to God’s commandments. The word “Hanukah” has the same root as “Hinukh” –education—emphasizing that there’s no meaningful education without dedication to divine truth. At the darkest time of each year, the glowing candles of Hanukkah signal dedication to bring light to a world that too often worships men, instead of God.

WHY ARE WE STILL SEEING CLAIMS OF HIGH GAS PRICES?

PRETEND TO BE A TIME TRAVELER DAY

Last year, Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day was on Saturday, December 8, as reported in Wired Magazine:

The whole idea is to pretend for the day that you are a traveler from a different time - except that, of course, you can't actually *tell* people you're a time traveler, because they'll think you're crazy. There are, of course, options as to how a traveler from a certain other time might act:

1) Utopian/cliché Future - "If the Future did a documentary of the last fifty years, this is how badly the reenactors would dress." Think Star Trek: TNG or the Time Travelers from Hob. Ever see how the society in Futurama sees the 20th century? Run with it. Your job is to dress with moderately anachronistic clothing and speak in slang from varying decades. Here are some good starters:

- Greet people by referring to things that don't yet exist or haven't existed for a long time. Example: "Have you penetrated the atmosphere lately?" "What spectrum will today's broadcast be in?" and "Your king must be a kindly soul!"

- Show extreme ignorance in operating regular technology. Pay phones should be a complete mystery (try placing the receiver in odd places). Chuckle knowingly at cell phones.

2) Dystopian Future - This one offers a little more flexibility. It can be any kind of future from Terminator to Freejack. The important thing to remember is dress like a crazy person with armor. Black spray painted football pads, high tech visors, torn up trenchcoats and maybe even some dirt here or there. Remember, dystopian future travelers are very startled that they've gone back in time. Some starters:

- If you go the "prisoner who's escaped the future" try shaving your head and putting a barcode on the back of your neck. Then stagger around and stare at the sky, as if you've never seen it before.

- Walk up to random people and say "WHAT YEAR IS THIS?" and when they tell you, get quiet and then say "Then there's still time!" and run off.

- Stand in front of a statue (any statue, really), fall to your knees, and yell "NOOOOOOOOO"

- Stare at newspaper headlines and look astonished.

- Take some trinket with you (it can be anything really), hand it to some stranger, along with a phone number and say "In thirty years dial this number. You'll know what to do after that." Then slip away.

3) The Past - This one is more for beginners. Basically dress in period clothing (preferably Victorian era) and stagger around amazed at everything. Since the culture's set in place already, you have more of a template to work off of. Some pointers:

- Airplanes are terrifying. Also, carry on conversations with televisions for a while.

- Discover and become obsessed with one trivial aspect of technology, like automatic grocery doors. Stay there for hours playing with it.

- Be generally terrified of people who are dressed immodestly compared to your era. Tattoos and shorts on women are especially scary.

This year December 8 is on Monday. Have fun!

Well, I guess it beats national Talk like A Pirate Day.

SOME NOTEWORTHY EXAMPLES:

"Where can I find the nuclear wessles?"

"Too much LDS in the sixties."

"Marty, I'm sure that in 1985 plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955 it's a little bit harder to come by!"

THE OL' POT AND KETTLE ANALOGY

COMPASSION

Earlier this year I got involved with my local Sheriff's Department Clergy Council. We advise the Sheriff's Department, find ways to benefit the deputies and make ourselves available for counseling and sometimes even help out with routine clerical matters. In an effort to learn what the deputies do and make myself available for service I've begun riding in the cars once a month. I'm trying to rotate all three watches to get to know the deputies and make myself known as well.

I'm not writing this to brag about my compassion. I want to praise the deputies. Of course I've seen them doing their duty with the stern conformity to the law that you'd expect. That's not a surprise. What did surprise me was a ride I did last week. My eyes were opened to the fact law enforcement officers can be compassionate people, too.

The first call we went to was an attempted suicide. I was impressed how well the two deputies cooperated with the firemen and interacted with distraught family members. But that was just the beginning. Later we went to a seedy street lined with empty duplexes. The call said dope was being sold from one of them. All we found was a lone guy sleeping in an abandoned building. When the deputies headed for their cars I asked if they were going to do anything about the squatter. Mine said something like; "he's not robbing a store, he's not burning the place down; its 40 degrees out and I'm not going to hassle him."

Those are two examples. I've seen more and talked with the deputies a bit. These are not wooden, authority-figure, cardboard cut-outs. They are people trained and dedicated to protecting you and me. They are people doing a largely thankless job. Without their efforts our cities would be ruled by chaos. I want to say thank you.

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

TILTING AT STRAW MEN

I 've been reading blog comments, watching network news and Stephen Colbert lately. Apparently I've been going about this whole Christianity thing all collywobbled. It looks like I have a lot of work to get myself into the proper practice of my religion.

First I have to flush my brain of fours years at a liberal arts College and three years of academically critical graduate school. Why? Because Christians are all uneducated, stupid people, that's why. I learned that from watching TV. Thanks Hollywood!

Second I've gotta run out and get myself fitted for an explosive vest so I can commit ritual siucide (taking a goodly number of infidels with me, of course) in some crowded public place. All for the greater glory of God.

Third, every single time someone makes fun of Jesus I have to throw a huge public protest, burn pillage and kill--or at least threaten--those who did the deed. It's common knowledge that Christians still live in the seventh century along with radical Islam.

Hummm... what else? Oh, right! I hate you because you are different from me. (did I quote that line properly? can't be too careful when you are helping people be comfortable with their delusions)

Wow. That IS a lot of work. No thanks. I'll just stick with my OLD tried and true faith: I am a fallen creature in need of salvation. God became human in Jesus the Christ and died in my place, bearing the burden of my sin. He rose from the dead and promises everlasting life to those who believe.

I know a lot of people who are critical of Christianity. But so many times it turns out they are actually critical of a carefully constructed straw man in their own mind. Apparently its not enough to disagree with someone, you have to trash them as well in order to feel really good about yourself.