This is too good not to keep forever

From The Corner.

Two Great Stories--Truly Great [Michael Ledeen]

Another inspirational email going around. Fabulous.

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago .. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but also, Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against TheMob, and he knew that the cost would be great.

So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street.

But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop At late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching
danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.


Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet.

He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.


So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.

Captialism rocks!

From the invaluable Jay Nordlinger at NRO:

Finally, a picture from a reader: here. He accompanied it with the words, “Capitalism rocks.” In case your computer has trouble bringing the photo up: It shows a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Karl Marx Street. The street, and the store, are located in the former East Germany.

This is for Kyle

Buy the shirt here.

Poor Congress, half as popular as the President

I still like Mitt most, but this is hilarious

* Fred Thompson's glare has the same effect as a Cruciatus Curse.

* Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort ever feared. Why? Because Dumbledore was friends with Fred Thompson.

* Fred Thompson can transform into the most powerful Animagus form of all: Fred Thompson.

* If you call Fred Thompson a Muggle, he'll cast a spell on you where you spit out all your teeth. He uses his fist to cast the spell.

* A Quidditch game ends when either the Golden Snitch is caught or Fred Thompson becomes bored.

* Fred Thompson has killed more Death Eaters than any Auror... and that was just this morning.

* Even an Imperius Curse can't make you vote against Fred Thompson.

* SPOILER!!! At the end of Deathly Hallows, Fred Thompson kills Voldemort. With a ping pong paddle.

Mitt says: clean up the water our kids are swimming in

He's right again.

A Week in Seattle - Days One and Two

Last week, I made a trip with my parents to Seattle to see a cousin's wedding. On day one we missed the flight from DFW and had to go standby on a later flight. We lucked out and made it before it was too late.





After arriving in Seattle we found food and then found the Temple. That night the cousins arrived from Houston and Oregon. We rented a cabin in the shadow of Mount Ranier.

On day two, Mom, Dad, Braden Asay, Patrick Jones, and I went hiking on around Mount Ranier.


The scenery was breathtaking and the weather was perfect.





Whoop! Little Tahoma Peak is behind me here. More pictures are on others' cameras, so I will post them when I get copies.

The White Horse Prophecy

There was an article making the rounds on the Internet which talks about a prophecy about the constitution hanging by a thread and the Latter-day Saints coming to the rescue. The Church does not accept the prophecy as authentic, but it still has some traction in the lore of many Church members.

Some criticize this as evidence of Mormon intentions to take over the country. The recording of the prophecy 10 years after the Prophet Joseph Smith's death is interesting historically. This was a time when the Church was under intense scrutiny from the American government. It would not be long before federal troops were sent to squash the "Mormon uprising." So just when the government is ramping up its opposition to the Church, an alleged prophecy of Joseph's makes the rounds about the Mormons saving the Constitution and the United States. Even if origins of the prophecy are questionable, the timing of its publication is interesting.

I have heard about the constitution hanging by a thread for many years. I have never been inclined to believe that a Mormon being president was key to its fulfillment. I have always thought that this would be more of a grassroots type thing. Mormons would join with like minded citizens to work towards common goals and save the country. Many today talk about threats to the Constitution. The revelations instruct us to seek good and wise men to administer government (see D&C 98:5-10). If there is any validity to the warning of the constitution hanging by a thread, finding good and wise leaders is the key to its protection.

Joe Lieberman has it Right

To surrender to al Qaeda in Iraq would be catastrophic.

The officials I met in Baghdad said that 90% of suicide bombings in Iraq today are the work of non-Iraqi, al Qaeda terrorists.

Mitt the Pro-Lifer

I remember this speech from when it happened. All of Massachusetts knew Mitt was pro life and yet he kept campaign promises to not mess with the people's abortion laws (either to tighten or loosen). His articulation of this position is one of the main reasons I have been such a Mitt Romney fan for the past four years.

Liars in others' campaigns have tried to cherry pick this press conference to say Mitt is a flip flopper and has not always been pro life. Instead, he shows a great ability to articulate a strong pro-life position.

Here is a great website for t-shirts.
Saw 'em off short baby!

Bust Business Man in North America

This is for Posterity

I Consider this Prophetic

Nordlinger reports:

Later in the conference, another regional leader will say to an American, “If you leave Iraq too soon, you may find that you have to come back.”

Rev. Sharpton Visited Utah

I have read several accounts of Al Sharpton's visit to Utah. I may have been pretty hard on his comments, but I feel pretty good about how he looked for common ground. The reports say he visited Welfare Square, Temple Square, and the Family History Library. I sincerely hope Sharpton recognizes the good we do and, despite differences, can join with us for good causes should occasion arise.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

That is the phrase Paul used in Hebrews 12:1. That is one of the best testimonies of the Church. I look at the men and woment I have seen in the Church and they are the most noble, most inspiring, and most upright before the Lord that I have ever seen.

From the Quorum of the Twelve, to the professors I had at BYU, to the local leadership, to the friends I have had along the way I have marveled at their goodness.

Moroni 7:10-15 tells us how to judge. If it leads us to do good, to believe in God, and to follow Christ it is good and is of God. The doctrines of the Church lead these amazing people. No one can honestly separate beliefs from behavior.

I've finally got Democrats figured out

Zombies must have eaten their brains.
Update: I apoligize. It is the Republicans who support the amnesty bill who have had their brains eaten by zombies. I presume that the zombies will vote Democrat too.

Mr. Tolerance still at it

So it seems Sharpton backed off his bigoted statement for a bit, but has changed his mind. He is apparently ready to come out in full attack mode on the Church's "racism." Who on earth made Sharpton the conscience of anyone? He is perhaps the most racist person I have ever heard. Disgusting.

"Mormons Are Good People, But..."

I love sentences that start that way. They usually end in "...their doctrine is wacky/wrong/inspired of the devil."

If we are so misguided, why do we do so much good? Why do so many of our youth avoid the pitfalls of the modern era like sex and drugs? Why do hundreds of thousands of our high schoolers get out of bed at 5AM to attend seminary? Why do over 25,000 19-year-olds volunteer for grueling missionary service each year? Why do we have such a high rate of upper level education? Why are we so well respected in the business world?

The people who have the biggest problem with the Church are the extremely open minded and extremely closed minded. Those with open minds hate the Church for its unyielding adherance to standards, and those with closed minds hate the Church because of its challenge to the traditions of their fathters.

Mister Tolerance Himself

Not only is Al Sharpton an anti-Semite, it would appear he is also an anti-Mormon. He recently said:

As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.

Aren't tolerant people wonderful? (I wonder what Sharpton thinks of Harry Reid. I will attack Reid for his positions, but if someone were to attack him on the basis of his religion, I will be the first to come to his defence.)

(Hat tip NRO- I first heard this on Rush during the first hour)

I Thought This Was A Masterpiece

I know this is long, but it would be a shame to paraphrase.

You already know basic LDS doctrine—the idea of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And that PBS special gave you glimpses into our homes and our peculiarities, and introduced you to some of the controversies and oxymorons we live with. But I still want to answer your question, What does it mean to be LDS.?

My instant answer is that the core of the LDS religion is an eternal view of everything—from before birth to long after death. It is a series of enlarging circles.

I write this from my woman’s perspective, and in 2007. Some things may change over the next fifty years, but this is what I have seen and been in my nearly 52 years of life as a Mormon.

As an infant, my parents’ firstborn, I was taken in my father’s arms and given a name and a blessing. There, I was at the center of a priesthood circle. Other men (probably my uncles, though of course I don’t remember), joined Dad as he blessed me. They each put one hand under my little body and one hand on the shoulder of the person standing next to them. They literally and symbolically supported me, and joined their faith with my dad’s. This circle—a prayer circle, if you will—is a common one in our community.

Though Dad was in his early twenties when he gave me that first blessing, he had already served a three-year mission for the Church in Finland, during which he anointed the sick and gave other blessings by the laying on of hands and by virtue of the priesthood (usually referred to as the Melchizedek Priesthood, but actually called the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God). Dad was never formally trained in this priesthood, but was ordained to various offices in it from the time he was twelve, learning “line upon line, precept upon precept.”

I suspect my father was tearful at the miracle of my tiny body, and at the responsibility I introduced. He was a student, pursuing an advanced degree, and Mom was a recent college graduate. Though poor and struggling under the rigors of academia, it was nothing new for Dad to claim priesthood authority as he blessed me, and, knowing Dad, he did this with great faith. I’m sure he blessed Mom before her hard labor began (I have watched him bless her several times before childbirth), and he would continue giving priesthood blessings to me and to my siblings throughout our lives—the most difficult one being at my brother’s hospital bedside after we were told he would not survive the injuries he had sustained in an accident. That brother, Dad’s namesake (Bobby), lifted his arms as high as he could when Dad walked into the ER room. Bobby was threaded and tubed to monitors and IVs, and being transfused. He said one word: “Hug.” And that’s it—that’s the picture. Dad is maneuvering around the ganglia of wires and tubes to embrace his son, and then to bless him. It’s a godly scene. It expresses the image I have of God—a corporeal being who can reach around our mortal mischief and earthbound wiring to embrace us in the fullness of His glory, no matter how damaged we are.

Later, when Dad’s pancreas failed, it was Bobby who blessed him. That’s the Mormon circle.

Often, at the beginning of a school year or at moments of crisis, a Mormon father will place his hands on the head of his child or of his wife and say the words, “In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I bless you.” He will try to open his soul to whatever words God would have him say. His faith that God can reveal things to him magnifies his sense of a divine and loving Father in Heaven, and also magnifies his love for the one he is blessing. That principle—that everyone can receive revelation, and that everyone can be a priest (and yes, a priestess)—is core to Mormonism.

By the time I was five, I learned the words to the most frequently sung Primary song: “I am a Child of God/ And He has sent me here/ Has given me an earthly home/with parents kind and dear.” I grew up understanding before I understood anything else that God was the father of my spirit, and knew who I was, that he knew me by name.

At age eight, I was baptized, and again surrounded by a circle of men and blessed by my father. This time, I was confirmed a member of the Church and instructed to “receive the Holy Ghost.”

At age twelve, I began what we now call Young Women’s. It has changed somewhat since I entered the program, and I like the changes. Each YW class starts this way: One of the girls stands and asks, “Who will stand for truth and righteousness?” The others then rise and answer, “I will stand for truth and righteousness.” Together, they recite, “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places…”

Again, that communal circle of commitment, and the individual reiteration of a real and loving God embrace a Mormon’s world.

I was still twelve when I got my Patriarchal Blessing, given (as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob blessed their sons) in the spirit of revelation. My grandfather was an ordained Patriarch, so my blessing begins, “Dear grand-daughter, Margaret Jean Blair.” Almost all Patriarchal blessings contain yet another message of God’s love. Among many other things, my blessing says that because I am the firstborn in my family, I am to “be a guide and to set an example for [my] younger brothers and sisters, even as a star sets the course for the mariner.” It also says something which became deeply important during my teenage years: “Know that your parents love you.”

When I went to the temple at age twenty-four, I was introduced to other circles and embraces. I began wearing “garments,”–underclothes which remind me daily of the promises I have made to God. I live in a world of symbols and metaphors. I wear them, and I love them. If I could, I would dance the temple rituals with uplifted arms and jubilant music. I would bless and receive blessings; I would praise and thank God with every part of my body.

I became a writer, a historian, a sometimes scholar, and a teacher. But I always understood that my most important roles would be as my husband’s wife and my children’s mother—just as Bruce’s most important roles would be as my husband and as their father.

One of the most beautiful days of my life was when Bruce and I went to the temple with our oldest daughter and watched her marry a good man. Mormon weddings don’t have long aisles and cathedral-filling organ chords. In fact, there’s no music at all, and we can’t see much of the bridal gown, because it is covered by temple robes. In a small room, furnished with a cloth-covered altar and fifty chairs or so, the temple sealer (in this case, my uncle—though it’s not usually a family member) gives counsel to the couple, and then instructs the groom to lead his bride to the altar. There, they kneel facing each other, and a sealer binds them together for “time and eternity.” It is a holy and quiet ceremony. The coordinated bridesmaid dresses and perfect cake wait until the reception.

After I die, I will be dressed in my temple robes for burial. My daughters will cover my face with my temple veil before the casket is closed. One of my sons will likely dedicate my grave—again in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood. This time, my body will be supported by pall bearers, probably my sons and grandsons. I hope many of my posterity will have served missions by then, and that my sons will have blessed their own babies. I hope I will see it all. I hope I will enjoy one living circle before I am enclosed in the earth: the circle where my husband and I hold a great-grandbaby right before she is given a name and a blessing.

So the core of my Mormon life, Pastor, is Jesus Christ. My life began by being consecrated to Him in the center of that priesthood circle, and it will end with someone dedicating my grave in His name. I hope that His name will also be engraved in the marrow of my bones and in the eternal cells of my immortal soul. I fully believe that He knows me by name, and that my name—with yours and everyone else’s—is already engraved in his hands and in his heart.

Romney Speaks of the Deep Waters of Life

Romney spoke at commencement at Regent University. All I can say is WOW!

Over the years, I have watched a number of people live out their lives in shallow water. In the shallows, life is all about yourself – your job, your money, your rights, your needs, your ideas, your comforts. In the deeper waters, life is about others – spouse, family, friends, faith, community, country. In the deep waters, there are challenging ideas, opposing opinions, protracted battles of consequence.

You are, of course, giving a great deal of thought to your career. The economic environment may be more turbulent and competitive than my generation has known. Some of you will be tempted to stay near shore, where there are no big breakers and where you will never make any waves. Others will push beyond the sandbar, pursuing new frontiers, exploring new ideas, driving to achieve, to learn, to influence, to contribute.

If there ever was a time for great Americans, great and good Americans, Americans who are willing to cross into the deep waters of life, it is now. You cross into the deep waters by marrying and raising good children. There is no work more important to America's future that the work that is done within the four walls of the American home.

You cross into the deep waters by driving yourself in your education and in your avocation beyond the safe and comfortable, to reach new insights, to make contributions, to serve. You cross into the deep waters by serving in your church, in your community, in the military, in government or in volunteer service. I am optimistic about the future of America because I have seen the spirit and heart of the American people.

Things Are Changing

I learned a new thing. "Tony's shared items" are links to interesting articles. I will probably not commentate as much on politics, but will provide links to things I find interesting, either because of their truth or utter absurdity.

One Smart Thing To Say About Global Warming

If the US has draconian pollution laws, companies will leave for countries with fewer restrictions. The same has happened with taxes and labor markets.

And if polluting industries set up shop in lax countries they will be even dirtier that they would have been in the US. So to whatever degree emissions do affect the environment, manufacturers leaving the US will have a net negative affect on the globe even if it improves emissions here.

I like Investors Business Daily cartoons

I thought this one was particularly accurate.

Harry Reid is a Disgrace

I am very irritated with him right now. Examples here, here, and here. I don't feel like commentating (yes that is a word, or at least it is now), but I am rather irritated. It seems like a guy who has read the Book of Mormon would know the great dangers caused by traitors who seek power. Reid seems to be jumping for joy that war may lead to more Democrat seats in Congress.

I will make a prediction: Some time down the road, we will learn what has really happened in the War on Terror and George W. Bush will be revered as a visionary who did everything possible to fight evil. He has never published his greatest successes because to do so would be to reveal our secrets to the enemy and endanger innocent lives.

Instead we have a fifth column operating here at home. Political power is more important that doing the right thing. When the tide of the war was in our favor, almost everyone - Democrats included - supported the President and the war. Now that things aren't going as well as hoped, everyone jumps ship.

This may well be a war we can't win. But this is a war we MUST fight with everything we have or there will be a huge price to pay.

Driving down the road I saw:

Some semis carry heavy loads.

Thus Begins Baseball Season

I attended the Rangers game today. They solidly beat the Red Sox 8 to 4. Sammy Sosa homered. It was a good night. Except for one thing. I nearly froze. They reported over the PA system that it was the coldest game ever played at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Earlier today I was working outside and saw snow. Yes, SNOW - in Texas, in April, during baseball season. I am very concerned with global cooling. I think people should drive SUV's more and use more gas. If that causes warming, then bring it on. I was cold all day.

Here is the man I really wish we could vote for

The rendezvous with destiny is still in front of us. Each generation has its challenge. All generations of the past have faced their challenge head on. Right now, it looks like this one won't.

Amazing, Absolutely Amazing

Love continues to wax colder:

Ah, Germany. Was ever any country less in need of lebensraum? How about this story? “‘Dump Your Children Here’ Box To Stop Mothers Killing Their Babies”:

Desperate mothers are being urged to drop their unwanted babies through hatches at hospitals in an effort to halt a spate of infanticides that has shocked Germany.

At least 23 babies have been killed so far this year, many of them beaten to death or strangled by their mothers before being dumped on wasteland and in dustbins.

Police investigating the murders are at a loss to explain the sudden surge in such cases, which have involved mothers of all ages all over the country…

Last Thursday a 27-year-old woman known as Sabine H surrendered to police in an east German town after her newborn child was found in a blue plastic rubbish bag trapped in the reeds of a lake.

In the same week Monika K, 26, was arrested on suspicion of throwing her baby out of a ten-storey Hamburg apartment building, wrapped in a plastic shopping bag. She had given birth to him half an hour before, in the bath. A dog found the bag and scratched it open.

For the past week, Susanne H from Baiersdorf in Bavaria has been on trial for strangling her baby daughter and putting her in the freezer…

Germany has one of the lowest fertility rates in Europe, net population loss, and a rapidly depopulating east that’s economically unsustainable. Thirty per cent of German women are childless, 40 per cent of female university graduates are childless, and its last election offered voters what Americans would regard as the statistically improbable choice of a childless man vs a childless woman. Meanwhile, the last gals in the country still in the procreation business have to be offered E-Z-trash drop-off bins in order to stop them tossing their bairns out the apartment window.

By the way, look at the first word of that report, from The Times of London: “Desperate” mothers. Why, in a land of socialized health care and lavish welfare, are mothers so “desperate”? Feckless boyfriends seem to play a part. But then Germany has one of the lowest marriage rates in the developed world.

It’s getting harder not to conclude that parts of Europe are evolving into a kind of post-human society.

Hat Tip NRO

Here is a President I could really vote for

AWESOME FACTS ABOUT FRED THOMPSON

* Fred Thompson has on multiple occasions pronounced "nuclear" correctly.

* Fred Thompson has blasted more people in the face with a shotgun than even Dick Cheney.

* The masked executioner of Saddam Hussein: Fred Thompson.

* Not only does Fred Thompson cut taxes, he cuts tax collectors.

* Fred Thompson is the only person to have ever bested Miyamato Mushashi in a duel. The reason Musashi is so vague about the book of the void is because the fifth ring of combat is really Fred Thompson.

* The reason Fred Thompson didn't want to stay in the Senate for long is because all the extra scrutiny kept him from doing his favorite hobby: Prowling the streets at night killing drug dealers.

* Every night before going to sleep, Osama bin Laden checks under his bed for Fred Thompson.

* Fred Thompson took over what was Al Gore's Senate seat, thereby dramatically reducing the Senate's carbon footprint. Fred Thompson then created carbon offset offsets by wastefully burning hippies.

* The Fremen consider "Fred Thompson" a killing word.

* Fred Thompson reconsidered running for reelection after 9/11 but later decided to handle things on his own. He was soon seen entering the Middle East with a bottle of tequila in one hand an a handgun in the other. They're still counting the dead.

* Though Fred Thompson left the Senate in 2003, Harry Reid still hasn't stopped wetting his pants.

* Fred Thompson's gaze can kill small animals.

* Fred Thompson once ended a filibuster by ripping out a Senator's heart and showing it to him before he died.

* The actual cause of global warming: Fred Thompson's burning rage.

* The budget to Law & Order was dramatically increased when Fred Thompson was added to the cast because he has to be digitally inserted into the scenes since anytime he's near Hollywood liberals, he kills them.

* Only two things can kill Superman: Kryptonite and Fred Thompson.

* Fred Thompson once stood on our south border and glared at Mexico. There was no illegal immigration for a month.

* Scientists predict that when Fred Thompson dies he'll explode taking out the five nearest planets before collapsing into a black hole.

* At a campaign stop, a Belgian Hound tried to hump Fred Thompson's leg. That breed of dog no longer exists.

* Fred Thompson vows not only to win in Iraq but also to forcefully free Vietnam from Communism, thus giving America a perfect win/loss record for wars again.

* If you purchase a weather radio, it will wake you up with an alarm to warn you when Fred Thompson is pissed off.

* An abortion doctor tried to kill Fred Thompson when he was still in the womb, but he cut off the man's hand with scalpel while shouting, "Do you know who I am? I'm Fred Thompson!"

* Webster's Dictionary defines "conservatism" as "how closely one's views resemble those of Fred Thompson."

* Fred Thompson's sense of strategy is so great that he can checkmate you using only a pawn and a knight.

* Fred Thompson can know both the exact position and momentum of a particle. Furthermore, he knows Schroedinger's cat is dead because he personally strangled it.

* The most efficient airline security is to have Fred Thompson stare down everyone entering a plane.

* When terrorists get to the afterlife, they'll find that none of their seventy-two women are still virgins. Why? Because of Fred Thompson.

* Fred Thompson can open clamshell packaging without the slightest trouble.

* In a butterfly ballot, no matter where you punch it the vote goes to Fred Thompson.

* Why does Iran want nuclear weapons? Out of fear of Fred Thompson.

* Some versions of the Bible have Mathew 5:5 read, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth... unless Fred Thompson wants it."

(Hat Tip The Corner)

I should run for President

myheritage.com

As In Politics, So In Dating

A useful quote was on Bench Memos.

As the wise old saying goes, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And don't keep trying to salvage a failure with one hand when a promise of success lies in reach of the other.

Mitt has been under serious attack

Mark Levin has links to a couple of blogs which defend Mitt's historical stances on issues. Mitt haters try to count him as nothing more than an opportunistic ego maniac looking for the next job promotion. They argue that Mitt will say whatever will get him elected and that he has no principles.

Levin seems open to Rudy, can't stand McCain, but seems very partial to Mitt. This is already getting very interesting. And election day is about 20.5 months away.

Mitt Takes on a Religious Heclker.

There is going to be lots of this. I am glad Mitt is such a good speaker. He is one of the best prepared to respond to such bigotry. Video link here. (Hat tip NRO.)

Now mITT begins in earnest

Excerpts from Mitt's official Presidential announcement:

The best ally for peace in the world is a strong America.

Our influence must once again match our generosity.

Some believe America's strength comes from government... I believe the American people are the source of America's strength.

We strengthen America by increasing freedom, by letting people keep more of what they earn, and improving education and innovation.

America can't continue to lead the family of nations if we fail the family at home. How do we strengthen the family? By putting marriage before children: every child deserves a mother AND a father.

Mitt is right on. This is a tremendous opportunity. This may prove to be a chance to prove Joseph Smith and Brigham Young right: If the constitution is to be saved at all, it will be by the Elders of Israel. The most important issue of our time is strengthening the family. Mitt is the only candidate who knows about and believes in the Family Proclamation. Following that document is more important than any petty party platform.

Update: Here is the full transcript.

Rocky's Speech to his Son

Buy Rocky Balboa here:Rocky Balboa DVD or Rocky Balboa Blu-ray

This is one of my favorite movie speeches ever. The YouTube is here.

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!

I found the text here.

Hillary is Running for President

This should be fun. While Mitt is my man, Hillary could really provide some great enjoyment as she blathers around the country trying to sell her socialist dream. Jim Geraghty has The Hillary Spot at NRO. This post has his commentary in italics from an excerpt of her announcement.

"So let's talk. Let's chat. Let's start a dialogue about your ideas and mine."

Let's not.

"Because the conversation in Washington has been just just a little one-sided lately, don't you think? And we can all see how well that works."

Oh, come on. There have been two sides in Washington - on one side, the corrupt pork-barrel-loving free-spending big government greedheads who want open borders and to use the public trough as a way to line their own pockets, and then on the other side, we've had the Democrats. I take it back, Senator Clinton is absolutely right. The conversation in Washington has been one-sided; it could use some actual conservatism.

Inconvenient Truths

Few things make my blood boil like global warming alarmists. Especially when I am freezing. The arrogance to think that puny humans can profoundly impact the overall temperature of the planet irks me greatly. Algore is the current ringleader of the global warming crusaders. A group here, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, responds to the claims made in Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth.

mITT's Official

Mitt Romney is running for president. On his website, he has an excellent quote:

America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home.

The Israel Problem

Victor Hanson has another good article up. The whole Arab world is intensely jealous of the economic and military success of Israel. And yet, Hanson asks:

Where alone in the Middle East is there his dream of an Arab middle class of sorts? Where do Arabs have good schools? And where is there adequate medical care?

Ask the over one million Palestinians who live in a democratic Israel.

Mitt Answers Questions on NRO

Quoted in full:

December 14, 2006, 5:00 a.m.

A Primary Factor
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in an exclusive pre-Christmas 2006 interview.

An NRO Q&A


It seemed that the second the 2006 elections were over we were onto 2008, and already the campaign seems to be in full swing — even before some of the potential candidates have set up official exploratory committees. And among the most talked about on the Republican side is Mitt Romney, who is just about to finish his term as governor of Massachusetts. He agreed to be e-interviewed by National Review Online Editor Kathryn Lopez (who — full disclosure — has some pro-Romney tendencies). The full interview — in which he addresses Iraq, gay marriage, abortion, religion, and more, appears below.


Kathryn Jean Lopez: Governor, you recently got back from a trip to Asia. What were you doing there?

Gov. Mitt Romney: I traveled to Japan, China, and South Korea. Two things from my China trip stand out. First, they will be a more powerful economic competitor than we in America recognize. They are hard working, market oriented, and smart. They even have some lower taxes in some areas than we do. Bottom line: They are competing to win. Second, it is important for us as a nation to reach out to China and to chart out a course that is consistent with a free economy and a free society. This goal must be consistent with our own principles.

We also had the opportunity to go to visit the DMZ when we were in Korea. Imagining what goes on behind that border is one thing — but standing there, staring into North Korea is chilling. Communism and the brutal repression there have exacted an extraordinarily heavy penalty on the people of North Korea and the contrast with the exuberance and prosperity of South Korea could not be more stark.


Lopez: China is, of course, a bit of a human-rights disaster too. Did you have qualms going there at all?

Gov. Romney: I believe in building bridges not walls. We specifically addressed the detention of a Massachusetts citizen, Yang Jianli, with Chinese officials and we asked for special attention and consideration for his early release. Working with China on our own security interests — including the isolation of North Korea — must not be at the expense of our commitment to freedom and basic human rights.


Lopez: What did you make of the Iraq Study Group report that was released last week?

Gov. Romney: The members of the Iraq Study Group deserve credit for their hard work. But their recommendations read like the product of a flawed process — one more focused on reaching consensus for the sake of reaching consensus. There were a few recommendations that I found especially striking: Suggesting that somehow the Israel-Palestine conflict is a root of sectarian and insurgent violence in Iraq is just wrong. Sunnis are killing Shia and vice versa. Pressuring Israel won’t change that.

Proposing that we negotiate with terrorist regimes like Syria and Iran — without a rigorous analysis of how our incentives could ever be aligned — is just counter-productive. I have no quarrel with talking, especially if it yields valuable intelligence and insight about an adversary. But that’s a far cry from actually negotiating with Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, has nuclear ambitions, and has been clear in its intention to wipe our ally Israel off the map. And Syria is systematically undermining the sovereignty of Lebanon and funding and arming terrorists. Any suggestion that we might trade something for their help or forbearance is out of the question. When considering a negotiation, one must ask what kind of leverage we have, and recognize that there are situations where we have more to lose than gain by negotiating.

Finally, inferring that our troops may be withdrawn from combat positions before Iraq is secure runs counter to my view and to the views I have heard from some of America’s most accomplished military leaders. I am not suggesting that there are simple solutions for Iraq. But it is clear to me that some of these recommendations will not meet our objectives in Iraq, or in the broader long war America is fighting today.


Lopez: You just finished up a term as head of the Republican Governor’s Association. Do you feel a bit like you couldn’t have been RGA president there at a worse time, given all the November losses? Do you regret at all not running for reelection as governor?

Gov. Romney: This certainly was a difficult year. We knew going into the sixth year of a two-term administration that we would be going against history to try to pick up seats. A wartime election only added to that difficulty. We raised an unprecedented $27 million for the governor’s races — almost 50 percent more than ever before — and we were able to reelect great governors like Sonny Perdue, Mark Sanford, Tim Pawlenty, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don Carcieri, Jim Douglas, Bob Riley, and others and elect new governors in places like Florida, Idaho, and Nevada. The bad news is that we lost six governors, but the good news is that we only lost six governors.

I loved being governor of Massachusetts and feel we accomplished a great deal. I’m proud of what my team was able to get done by applying Republican principles and reaching across the aisle. And now I look forward to devoting my time to new challenges.


Lopez: As you know, in recent days the Boston Globe and the New York Times, as well as the Boston newspaper, Bay Windows, have run pieces about your 1994 race against Ted Kennedy and your run for governor that appear to be in conflict with your current position against gay marriage. Are they?

Gov. Romney: These old interviews and stories have frequently been circulated by my opponents ever since I took a stand against the Massachusetts supreme-court ruling on same-sex marriage. This being the political season, it is not surprising this old news has appeared again. But I have made clear since 2003, when the supreme court of Massachusetts redefined marriage by fiat, that my unwavering advocacy for traditional marriage stands side by side with a tolerance and respect for all Americans.

Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve opposed same-sex marriage, but I’ve also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone, for racial or religious reasons, or for sexual preference. Americans are a tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage and it is a debate about activist judges who make up the law rather than interpret the law.

I agree with 3,000 years of recorded history. I believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman and I have been rock solid in my support of traditional marriage. Marriage is first and foremost about nurturing and developing children. It’s unfortunate that those who choose to defend the institution of marriage are often demonized.


Lopez: And what about the 1994 letter to the Log Cabin Republicans where you indicated you would support the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and seemed open to changing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military? Are those your positions today?

Gov. Romney: No. I don’t see the need for new or special legislation. My experience over the past several years as governor has convinced me that ENDA would be an overly broad law that would open a litigation floodgate and unfairly penalize employers at the hands of activist judges.

As for military policy and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, I trust the counsel of those in uniform who have set these policies over a dozen years ago. I agree with President Bush’s decision to maintain this policy and I would do the same.


Lopez: Congressman Harold Ford and 33 other Democrat House members voted for a federal marriage amendment this year; you don’t hear a whole lot of coverage of facts like that — or criticisms that they might be as mean and hateful as Republicans who vote similarly are regularly characterized. Does the mainstream media have double standards for Republicans?

Gov. Romney: Well, they do tend to ignore a lot of facts on this issue. How many people have heard that marriage amendments or referendums this year passed by large margins including by 84 percent in Tennessee; 84 percent in South Carolina, 58 percent in Virginia, and by 59 percent in Wisconsin? In 2004 similar measures passed by wide margins in 13 states. California passed a referendum by 61 percent opposing same-sex marriage in 2000. This is a mainstream issue on which most Americans are fairly united but coverage often doesn’t reflect that.


Lopez: In a 1994 debate with Senator Kennedy, you said “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time that my Mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a U.S. Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.” Further confusing matters, the Boston Globe reported in 1994 that “as a Mormon lay leader [you] counseled Mormon women not to have abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or where the mother’s life was at risk.” Governor: What is your position on abortion today? On Roe? How do you account for what is obviously a change — certainly publicly — on the issue?

Gov. Romney: My position has changed and I have acknowledged that. How that came about is that several years ago, in the course of the stem-cell-research debate I met with a pair of experts from Harvard. At one point the experts pointed out that embryonic-stem-cell research should not be a moral issue because the embryos were destroyed at 14 days. After the meeting I looked over at Beth Myers, my chief of staff, and we both had exactly the same reaction — it just hit us hard just how much the sanctity of life had been cheapened by virtue of the Roe v. Wade mentality. And from that point forward, I said to the people of Massachusetts, “I will continue to honor what I pledged to you, but I prefer to call myself pro-life.” The state of Massachusetts is a pro-choice state and when I campaigned for governor I said that I would not change the law on abortion. But I do believe that the one-size-fits-all, abortion-on-demand-for-all-nine-months decision in Roe v. Wade does not serve the country well and is another example of judges making the law instead of interpreting the Constitution.

What I would like to see is the Court return the issue to the people to decide. The Republican party is and should remain the pro-life party and work to change hearts and minds and create a culture of life where every child is welcomed and protected by law and the weakest among us are protected. I understand there are people of good faith on both sides of the issue. They should be able to make and advance their case in democratic forums with civility, mutual respect, and confidence that our democratic process is the best place to handle these issues.

And yes, as a private citizen I have counseled women not to have abortions.


Lopez: Does that mean you were “faking it” — as one former adviser has suggested — as a pro-choicer in your previous political campaigns? Why should anyone believe you’re really pro-life now?

Gov. Romney: I believe people will see that as governor, when I had to examine and grapple with this difficult issue, I came down on the side of life. I know in the four years I have served as governor I have learned and grown from the exposure to the thousands of good-hearted people who are working to change the culture in our country. I’m committed to promoting the culture of life. Like Ronald Reagan, and Henry Hyde, and others who became pro-life, I had this issue wrong in the past.


Lopez: Since we’re on the Internet here: How tech savvy are you? Are you constantly plugged in or tend to use staff to filter a lot of the blogs and things? Do you use a crackberry? What’s your view of the importance of this new media?

Gov. Romney: I do spend a fair amount of time on the Internet. I use e-mail, have a Blackberry with me at all times, and get almost all my news online.

The new media is a great force for the democratization of information. No longer can just a few newspapers or television stations control what information we have access to. The monopoly on news has been broken wide open. I trust the people and the power of ideas to triumph in the free and competitive information market that the new media provides.


Lopez: So I gather you might want to run for president. When are we going to hear a Romney exploratory announcement? As you know, Senator McCain, Mayor Giuliani, Sam Brownback, and others — on the Democratic side, too — have already become official explorers. What’s your delay?

Gov. Romney: My term as governor doesn’t end until January 4, 2007, and I will be making my decision after the first of the year after having the opportunity to get together with the whole family over the Christmas holiday. We are already starting the 2008 political season earlier than ever before so I’m sure the American people don’t mind getting a chance to enjoy their holidays before the campaign season begins again.


Lopez: Besides giving your family a last chance to talk you out of running for president, what are you doing for Christmas?

Gov. Romney: I’ll be doing what I enjoy most in life which is playing with my ten grandchildren, catching up on a lot of reading I want to do, and talking with my wife, Ann, as well as to my sons and daughters-in-law about some interesting possibilities for the new year.


Lopez: Will an exposé on Mormon Christmas celebrations hurt you in the primaries?

Gov. Romney: This may sound strange to some, but my grandchildren will be eagerly awaiting presents to be delivered to their homes by a bearded man in a red suit led by a pack of flying reindeer. The lead reindeer, by the way, has a red light bulb for a nose — certainly a YouTube scandal waiting to happen.


Lopez: Read anything good lately?

Gov. Romney: A few of my current favorites are The Cube and the Cathedral by George Weigel, The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, America Alone by Mark Steyn, The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, and Bill Bryson’s latest book The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.


Lopez: Thanks so much for your time, Governor. Merry Christmas and we’ll all see you in 2008.

Gov. Romney: Merry Christmas to everyone at NRO.

This is why America is the Greatest Country

I will quote Mark Levin in full:

For so long we've been flooded with stories about our military intended to paint these brave men and women as abusers, torturers, and murderers. I hope John Murtha, Ted Kennedy, Dick Durbin, Andrew Sullivan, and their like take the time to read the ABC News story below. Our armed forces are made up of magnificent human beings.

Marines Save Iraqi Baby to Honor Fallen Soldier

A Routine Mission Turned Into a Mission to Help Sick Child

Dec. 7, 2006 — - The story of a group of Marines' quest to save a sick baby in war-torn Iraq gives some hope to humanity this holiday season.

At the center of the story is Navy medic Chris Walsh and the 1st Battalion 25th Marines. The Marines were patrolling the streets of Fallujah in June when they faced an enemy attack.

"An IED exploded immediately adjacent to Chris' vehicle, so they all piled out to chase the trigger man," said Capt. Sean Donovan.

But the Marines had a surprise encounter in their pursuit.

"And as they did so, a woman came from one of the houses calling to them that the baby was sick. So they stopped, and Chris came up and looked at the baby," Donovan said. "And this was baby Mariam, and it was immediately clear to him that this baby desperately needed care."

Baby Mariam was just 2 months old and suffering from a rare intestinal abnormality. Under the threat of another attack, Walsh had to make a quick decision.

"Right on the spot, the mission changed from the trigger man to the baby girl," Donovan said.

A routine military mission suddenly became a lifesaving mission for Walsh and those around him.

"The shared willingness to engage this mission was the bravery of the family in bringing her forward," Donovan said.



Visiting Under Cover of Darkness
For the next three months, Walsh and the team made house calls under the cloak of darkness into the dangerous city to help the baby.

They were trying to get baby Mariam stabilized, taking photographs, consulting experts, and trying to get her papers to leave the country for medical care.

Staff Sgt. Ed Ewing led the visits.

"We showed up at all different times of the night," Ewing said. "They never knew when we were coming. We did that purposely to protect us and protect their family."

As months went by, the unit continued its routine patrols. On Sept. 4, tragedy struck when one of their Humvees was hit once again by an IED.

This time three men in the unit were killed — Lance Cpl. Eric Valdepenas; Cpl. Jared Shoemaker; and Walsh, baby Mariam's guardian angel.

For those who survived, saving baby Mariam became a eulogy to their fallen comrade.

"To honor Chris, to honor the other men that died in battalion, we had to go through with the mission and keep fighting," said Father Marc Bishop.



Mission Accomplished
Eventually the Marines won their fight, and baby Mariam was granted permission to leave Iraq.

Dr. Rafael Pieretti from Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital performed the surgery, which took place in October.

"She's doing well," Pieretti said. "She's gained weight. She's socializing more. She has a different life."

On the eve of baby Mariam's arrival, Walsh's mother, Maureen, received a letter from Donovan, telling her the story of a life that was saved because of her son's big heart.

The letter from Donovan read in part: "Although he won't be visible, Chris will be very much on that patrol, the hope for Mariam's very tiny life having arisen from the charity and gallantry of your son."

Recently Maureen Walsh met baby Mariam.

"It made me feel like Chris was there," she said. "He wanted something like this. He wanted to make a difference in somebody's life."

Romney Will Attract Lots of Attention

This Corner reader hits the bullseye with his defense:

I don't want to beat the subject to death, either, but perhaps as a Mormon I should say a few things, partly in our defense and partly to set things straight.

1. The term "Mormon" isn't like "colored," but it's probably headed that way. The anti-Mormon crowd uses it sneeringly, and so it is becoming associated with them. However, for now most Mormons don't take offense at the term, although they do generally prefer "LDS."

2. On Temples: Yes, only members of the Church in good standing can enter. One must be interviewed by a Bishop and a Stake President (analogous to a Catholic Priest and Bishop) in order to confirm that status. This isn't very different than things done by other religions: in the Jewish Temple, for example, only certain men were allowed to enter. Of course, we have many meetinghouses that we regularly use for meetings and activities and anyone is welcome there; Temples are relatively few in number and are not used for general meetings.

3. On Mormon "garments" (underwear): These are very analogous to the vestments worn by priests and ministers in other churches. We have a lay priesthood, not a paid clergy, so members of our priesthood work at jobs like any other person, and wearing symbolic clothing is not always practical. We count among our members farmers and lawyers, doctors and salesmen, bus drivers and educators. If we wore sacred symbolic clothing on the outside we would be thought strange for having everyone dress the same; we don't mind being thought strange, but you can see that however we did it, people would make fun. The garments represent our covenants with God; they're reminders that we should try to be obedient to Him and that He is our Creator and Father. Many people of many faiths wear reminders of one sort or another, from crosses on chains to religious medallions to special aprons to a particular style of dress. Some religious people wear their hair in particular ways. By wearing such garments under our clothing, however, we are not trying to hide our faith. On the contrary, we are strongly encouraged and taught to share our message openly and freely; I think everyone knows enough about us to know that we generally do just that.

4. On being a "loony" religion: Yes, there are parts of our religion that must be taken on faith. K-Lo, your comment about transubstantiation (in which we do not believe) is perfect. I think any religion, including any Christian religion, requires faith in one way or another. In fact, believing that Christ rose from the dead on the third day (which we do believe) and that this was not a story started by followers after His death requires faith. Can anyone prove that the Bible is the inerrant word of God? Or that Christ was born of a virgin mother? These beliefs must appear "loony" to outsiders, too. "Loony" is very much in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not trying to convert anyone here, but such comments and questions are going to come up more often if Romney runs. Frankly, such a thing makes many of us nervous as we know that many of our most sacred beliefs will be ridiculed. We do remember lots of anti-Mormon persecution and we still experience some of it today, although now it's not nearly as bad as when the governor of Missouri issued an "Extermination Order" against us, saying that the Mormons should either be expelled from the State or exterminated.

A Must Read

Democrat and Mormon sci-fi writer, Orson Scott Card, gets it.

How do the Islamicist tyrants answer the obvious success and growing appeal of Bush's democracy program?

They kill people, of course.

But they also tell the story, over and over: "America will never stick it out. We'll keep killing Americans till they give up and go away, and then you will answer to us!"

Until they believe that the Islamofascists are never coming into power, many people will remain afraid to commit themselves to democracy.

Some Stories are Too Dark Not to Tell

Thought there is much of good in the world, evil continues unobstructed. The Sudanese dictator pays the Janjaweed to murder and rape throughout the Darfur region. The National Redemption Front has organized to oppose the Janjaweed.

It is rediculous that so much attention is paid to problems in Iraq when so many other places face far worse evils. How can we fight evil on one place and totally ignore worse evil elsewhere? A Washington Times story is here.

Since the United Nations and United States are frozen voyeurs of this genocide because they honor the sovereignty of Sudan, which refuses to allow U.N. troops to enter and end the mass murders, these rebels are now killing Sudan's murderous forces and being killed by them -- adding to the rivers of blood.

President Hinckley Becomes Oldest Church Leader Ever

6 November 2006

SALT LAKE CITY — Last week, President Gordon B. Hinckley — president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — became the oldest prophet in the history of the Church.

On 3 November 2006, President Hinckley was 96 years old and 133 days, surpassing President David O. McKay, who died at 96 years and 132 days on 18 January 1970.

During the October 2006 general conference of the Church, President Hinckley said: “If I last a few months longer, I will have served to an older age than any previous president. I do not say this to be boastful but rather grateful. ... The Lord has permitted me to live; I do not know for how long. But whatever the time, I shall continue to give my best to the task at hand.”

John Kerry is a Fool

Kerry has long despised the military. His 1971 testimony before the Senate is now infamous. The Boston Globe has an interesting story too. In a 1972 campaign, he said:

I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown.

His recent insult of the troops proves that he still holds the same world view. He is normally a good enough politician to hide what he really thinks. Even if his excuse of botching a joke is true, his actions show that he really does loathe the military.

Ironies of our Era Abound

This article on NRO has a disturbing account of the slippery slope of the marriage debate. On the surface, gay-marriage activists seek acceptance by legalizing gay marriage. After gay marriage they seek to legalize polygamy and polyamory. The result of their advocacy will be to entirely destroy the entire institution of marriage.

The irony of this age is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, once derided for practicing polygamy, will end up being one of the strongest voices against polygamy. The prophets were truly inspired to release the Family Proclamation in 1995. Its message will protect those who follow its counsel.

A Great Clip From Mitt

As usual, thanks to NRO for having a link to this great clip of Mitt putting a reporter in her place.

One Immigration Solution

There are two parts of the immigration problem. One is that it is very easy to enter the US illegally. The enticements of jobs, money, and opportunity make it very hard to combat illegal immigration.

The other half of the problem is that countries illegal immigrants leave are so bad that no one wants to stay. If they want to enter the US and leave Mexico, how can you stop them. There have been a few improvements in making it harder to enter the US, but that doesn't make anyone want to stay in their homeland. If Mexico had a free and open society and opportunities for jobs and prosperity, there would not be this huge flood of people leaving.

I think the US should encourage economic reform for societies who have people who want to come here. There should be standards of overcoming corruption, putting the dealings of government in the daylight, and cultivating opportunities to take advantage of the vast natural and human resources of these countries. These countries could be given more freedom to enter the US as they become more prosperous.

To make it hard to enter the US will help, but to give them a reason to stay home will do far more.

Also, the US can set the example in shedding daylight on government and overcoming corruption. If this was the policy of the US, many problems would be solved across the hemisphere.

When a Christian Man Can Enter a War

This is from John Bytheway who quotes President David O. McKay in the April 1942 General Conference (the first conference after Pearl Harbor was attacked):

There are two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter, mind you I say enter - not begin, a war: one, an attempt to dominate and to deprive another of his free agency. And two, loyalty to his country. Possibly there is a third. Defense of a weak nation being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one.

Preventing Torture

I am amazed at the naivete of the people who argue against all "torture" or coercive interrogations. I am just fine with someone arguing against torture. I hate when they use stupid arguments. Here is the latest one:

Make no mistake — logically, that's where the ticking-bomb scenario takes you. [Hillary] Clinton insists that she wasn't really saying that torture should be legal — no, no, of course not. She still thinks that torture is immoral, ineffective and counterproductive. It's just that for an "improbable but possible eventuality" such as a true ticking-bomb scenario, she thinks that we should make "a very, very narrow exception within very, very limited circumstances."

And this wouldn't undermine the Geneva Convention? You'd better believe that countries such as Syria, North Korea and Iran would also just love to carve out some "very, very narrow exceptions" to treaties banning torture.

This is a stupid argument because Syria, North Korea, and Iran ALREADY VIOLATE GENEVA CONVENTIONS. It is well known that these countries hold political prisoners and starve, torture, and kill them. North Korea's gulags and reeducation camps are infamous.

Our good behavior is not going to change their bad behavior. If you want to argue against coercive interrogations, fine. But don't pretend I am an idiot.

As a side note, I am surprised to (partially) agree with Hillary Clinton.

On Vietnam

I once had an interchange with an idiot on CougarBoard.com who said Iraq and Vietnam were both unwinnable wars short of genocide. I think that is patently absurd. The U.S. military is the best fighting force in the history of this planet. None have sacrificed more to bring freedom and hope to the rest of the world.

The media of the day portrayed the Tet Offensive to be a disaster of biblical proportions for the U.S. military. Military history, however, tells a different story (no surprise there). NRO had a link to this site:

The summary of the Wikipedia entry on the Tet offensive captures the current view of military historians, even if it is quite different from the conventional wisdom of the Boomer editors and producers who set the agenda in the mainstream media:

The Tet Offensive can be considered a crushing military defeat for the Communist forces, as neither the Viet Cong nor the North Vietnamese army achieved any of their tactical goals. Furthermore, the operational cost of the offensive was dangerously high, with the Viet Cong essentially crippled by the huge losses inflicted by South Vietnamese and other Allied forces. Nevertheless, the Offensive is widely considered a turning point of the war in Vietnam, with the NLF and PAVN winning an enormous psychological and propaganda victory. Although US public opinion polls continued to show a majority supporting involvement in the war, this support continued to deteriorate and the nation became increasingly polarized over the war.[1] President Lyndon Johnson saw his popularity fall sharply after the Offensive, and he withdrew as a candidate for re-election in March of 1968. The Tet Offensive is frequently seen as an example of the value of propaganda, media influence and popular opinion in the pursuit of military objectives.

The Boy Scouts is a Favorite Target of Leftists

This was good, so I will just quote Jay Nordlinger (from NRO):

It may be too much to speak of a war on the Boy Scouts, but they are certainly being . . . hampered. A couple of items: In Berkeley, Calif., “a Scouts sailing group lost free use of a public marina because the Boy Scouts bar atheists and gays.” (I’m quoting from a news story.) Okay, that’s Berkeley — Berserkley, whatever.

In Connecticut, “officials dropped the group from a list of charities that receive donations from state employees through a payroll deduction plan.”

Okay, that’s Connecticut, land of nutmeg and nutters.

And in Philadelphia? “The city is threatening to evict a Boy Scout council from the group’s publicly owned headquarters or make the group pay rent unless it changes its policy on gays.”

Just a little more quoting: “On a separate matter, federal judges in two other court cases that are being appealed have ruled that government aid to [the Scouts] is unconstitutional because the [organization] requires members to swear an oath of duty to God.”

Etc.

No, it’s too much to speak of a war on the Scouts. But should I say “too much” or “too early”? Will there come a day when the Scouts will be some kind of underground organization?

These are weird times, my friends.

Mitt Hits a Line Drive

I am so glad to see Mitt getting the message of the Family Proclamation out in the public square. Even if he has no luck in the presidential arena, his message will do some seroius good. NRO has a summary here. The money quote is this:

“Marriage,” Romney said, “is primarily about the nurturing and development of children.” He added, “A child’s development is enhanced by the nurturing of both genders. Every child deserves a mother and a father.” And, driving the point home: “The price for same-sex marriage is paid by children.”

NRO also has a link to this great website supporting Mitt.

More Problems in France

The Corner on NRO points out this article about French Muslims.

Scores of youths had attacked seven officers who had tried to arrest a man for not wearing his seat belt while driving. The driver refused to stop and later rammed a police car trying to block his path.

Les Mureaux Mayor Francois Garay criticized aggressive police tactics that left "the people on the ground to pick up the pieces."

This opposition to police action sounds like the opposition to the mission in Iraq: "Don't oppose the criminals (terrorists) or you will make them mad."

An Interesting Quote on War

I found this interesting quote on NRO and thought I would preserve it for later use.

John Stuart Mill... is no conservative favorite, that’s for sure, but this is arresting:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

Why fighting terrorism is always good:

A recent intelligence report claims that the war in Iraq is responsible for creating more terrorists. That may be true, but it is only because the world perceives the Islamofascists to be winning. Once it is clear that the US is winning, there will be no major recruitment of new terrorists. Victor Davis Hanson says it this way:

Most people have no ideology, but simply accommodate themselves to the prevailing sense of an agenda’s success or failure. Just as there weren’t more than a dozen vocal critics of Hitler after the Wehrmacht finished off France in six weeks in June of 1940, so too there wasn’t a Nazi to be found in June 1945 when Berlin lay in rubble.

It doesn’t matter whether Middle Easterners actually accept the tenets of bin Laden’s worldview — not if they think he is on the ascendancy, can bring them a sense of restored pride, and humiliate the Jews and the West on the cheap. Bin Laden is no more eccentric or impotent than Hitler was in the late 1920s.Yet if he can claim that his martyrs forced the United States out of Afghanistan and Iraq, toppled a petrol sheikdom or two, and acquired its wealth and influence — or if he got his hands on nuclear weapons and lorded it over appeasing Westerners — then he too, like the Fuhrer in the 1930s, will become untouchable. The same is true of Iran’s president Ahmadinejad.

Hanson concludes his comparison thus:

We can argue whether the present-day Islamic fascists have the military means comparable to what was had in the past by Nazis, Fascists, and militarists — I think a dirty bomb is worth the entire Luftwaffe, one nuclear missile all the striking power of the Japanese imperial Navy — but there should be no argument over who they are and what they want. They are fascists of an Islamic sort, pure and simple.

Preventing these crazies from obtaining worse weapons is worth almost any price.

Some people just don't get it

Over and over, liberals cry, 'Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11!' Another article I read (it is not worth a link) said that Fox said it over and over until people believed that Saddam was specifically involved in 9-11. I have watched a lot of Fox and no one has ever argued that.

What is inarguable is that Iraq was involved with al-Qaida. (Interesting, isn't it, how liberals who love 'nuance' can't distinguish between 'Iraq helped on 9-11' and 'Iraq was involved in al-Qaida.') Iraq had no specific role in 9-11, but they were a country proven to have gassed thousands and they would have loved to create some 9-11-like event.

Despite the 'Bush lied' garbage, Saddam did TRY to get uranium. He may not have gotten it, but he TRIED to. Had Saddam been successful, we would have two crazies on the verge of nukes by now. Saddam and Mammoud.

The world could always be more dangerous

I had never even thought of this potential problem. Mark Levin said:

I know from my days at the Justice Department that our prisons would become more difficult to manage if they were sprinkled with terrorists, including the problem of recruitment.

Were terrorists in normal jails, we would have some very scary people on the streets in no time. Jihadists would recurit already crazy people to becoming new terrorists.

My Email to The Corner at NRO

I sent this in response to this article at National Review Online. I doubt they will publish it so I will here.

Philosophers have argued about evil since time immemorial. If God is good, and God is all powerful, how can He allow evil to happen? Also, from the Judeo-Christian perspective, God created all things. Therefore, some conclude, God created evil. Some deny the existence of evil. Others question the existence of God. Others still, wonder if God could really be all powerful.

The Mormon perspective is that creation was not ex nihilo. Things you see were made of something. Even all of humanity existed as spirit children of God before birth on this planet. Good parents sometimes raise bad children. Children bring something with them from their previous life. This is not some funky version of reincarnation. Actually it is a belief that birth on earth is a step forward in eternal progression.

Mormon theology teaches that one thing we had before birth and we bring with us is our moral agency. There was a war in heaven where one third of His children chose not to follow God and thus were denied the opportunity for mortal birth. They remain disembodied spirits for eternity because of their choices. This moral agency is something so precious to God that he will not interfere with it, even if it means suffering in this life. Without our agency and choice, we would be automatons to be acted upon, not Children who knowingly choose to become more like God by choosing good.

The Mormon question is not 'Why evil?', but 'Why agency?' Clearly there is some purpose which is higher for God than preventing suffering. The Mormon answer is found in God's statement in Moses 1:39: "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Something about this mortal experience prepares us to become more like God and to return - not for the first time - to His presence.

Today on Mitt Romney

I laughed right out loud at this one.

The First Wives' Club [Kate O'Beirne]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Governor Mitt Romney's great-grandfather had multiple wives and two great-great grandfathers had 10 wives each. The article allows that Romney "is a confirmed monogamist of nearly four decades and polygamy has been absent from his family going back two generations." While some might note the upside of generously sharing those handsome Romney genes in the past, current history is noteworthy. Should Mitt Romney join a 2008 race that included John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and George Allen, the only guy in the GOP field with only one wife would be the Mormon.

Not Yours To Give

Here is an article from David Crockett about why government should not be in the business of charity (link).

The short version of the article is that to give money to some, the government must take it from others who may be worse off. I wish that an attitude like that would become acceptable again. Instead, even the best political candidates still plan on some form of taxation and redistribution of wealth.

Such is the state of the country that charity is mandated from Washington and taxes determine almost all business decisions and purchases and even life decisions.

Crockett closes with these lines about congressmen:

Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it.

Signs of the Times

The nut-case president of Iran, Mahmood Ahmadi-Najad, wrote a letter to President Bush recently. The letter says, in part:

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God, Feel obliged to respect human rights, Present liberalism as a civilization model, Announce one’s opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMDs, Make “War and Terror” his slogan, And finally, Work towards the establishment of a unified international community – a community which Christ and the virtuous of the Earth will one day govern, But at the same time,Have countries attacked; The lives, reputations and possessions of people destroyed and on the slight chance of the … of a … criminals in a village city, or convoy for example the entire village, city or convey set ablaze, blah, blah, blah.

The excerpts read on the radio contain all sorts of examples of the pot calling the kettle black. Mammood, referring to the United States, pointed out how

History tells us that repressive and cruel governments do not survive.God has entrusted The fate of man to them. The Almighty has not left the universe and humanity to their own devices. Many things have happened contrary to the wishes and plans of governments. These tell us that there is a higher power at work and all events are determined by Him.

and

Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems.

I did not know that Giddianhi was a type of latter-day loonies. His letter to Lachoneous had the same tone:

Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so.

And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their arms, and do await with great anxiety for the word - Go down upon the Nephites and destroy them.

And I, knowing of their unconquerable spirit, having proved them in the field of battle, and knowing of their everlasting hatred towards you because of the many wrongs which ye have done unto them, therefore if they should come down against you they would visit you with utter destruction. 3 Nephi 3:2-4

This happening was not on my list of items to check off as signs of the times but it happened. Now it is on the list and checked off. It may be like Isaiah, in that we will recognize its fulfillment when it happens.