The Black Republican

I strongly suggest this piece by Jim Petersen as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by The Chicago Tribune as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Robert F. Turner as "Recommended Reading".

A history of Christmas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is presented in an exhibition at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library And Museum. The exhibition is titled, "Christmas At The White House", and runs through January 8, 2006. Replete with trees decorated in period manner, original ornaments, presidential Christmas cards and other artifacts from celebrations reaching back 200 years, it is a display of a segment of our national heritage.

And we can all take joy in knowing that, at this writing, the ACLU Grinch has been unable to steal this Christmas, or the history of how our Presidents have celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas to all!

I strongly suggest this piece by Bret Stephens as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Marc Morano as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Julia Duin as "Recommended Reading".

A while back my wife forwarded me a poem that, after reading it, I knew I would be posting. It reminded me that with all the hustle and bustle, there are many who - by their own choice - would not be enjoying the season as much. So as you begin your weekend travel plans, start preparing the Christmas pies, wrapping the Chanukah gifts, enjoy all of the festive events of this upcoming Holiday weekend, don't forget some very important things: Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Saviour Jesus Christ; the festival of Chanukah celebrates the triumphant return of the Jewish people to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of the oil; and that soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen have been fighting, dying, and standing guard for over 225 years to protect the right of the citizens of this country (and extending that right to freedom loving peoples all over the world) to celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Ramadan, Diwali, Juneteenth, Cinco De Mayo, Mardi Gras, or whatever other religious or non-religious events they wish, without fear of retaliation.

Just as in the past, selfless men and women guard our celebrations still, and they ask nothing from us other than our respect, thoughts, and prayers. They understand that they, like their brethren before, are the reason that we can have a safe and peaceful Holiday. So while we open our gifts, eat our meals, and hug our children, we must not forget that somewhere, someone's son or daughter is risking their life, standing watch on a cold deck, or walking lonely a post, just to make sure we can do so in peace.

The poem did not have a title so I have dubed it

Like my fathers before me.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.

Then he sighed and he said "It's really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?"

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

Sometime you say something without thinking that turns out to be more profound that you thought it would. Today a co-worker (and frequent commenter here) Sue and I were IM-ing about her son's adventures playing the PS2 game 'Call of Duty'. If you are not familiar with the game it is a historical first-person game that places you in an infantry squad in the First Infantry Division (the Big Red One) during that Divisions exploits of WWII. As she was telling us yesterday, he was really loving the game and had played it for two days straight, but then something happened:

Sue: Since Evan's "buddy" in Call of Duty got killed yesterday, he has not played the game at all!!

Me: War is hell!

Me: Tell him a good soldier doesn't let his buddy die in vain! He continues the fight - eventually someone gets to go home and grow old!

Sue: Good one. I'll tell him that. THANKS!

Me: Tell him to watch Saving Private Ryan! Not continuing is the absolute wrong thing to do! It doesn't necessarily take courage to fight... but it takes a lot of courage to keep fighting!

Sue: Amazingly enough, I'm planning on buying him that movie for Christmas. I thought it might be just the thing he needs.

Me: It will be rough on him - reality is ALWAYS tougher than we think! And though SPR is just a movie, and by definition NOT reality, it comes closer to the real thing than anything else he could (or we would want him to) experience. But it will reinforce that it is up to the living to attach meaning to such sacrifices.... to "earn" what the blood of our buddies has bought.

Having sent that, I then read what I had written... and I couldn't help but think about how even more disgraceful the actions and words of Murtha, Dean, Kerry and Pelosi really are. What a slap - not to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen who will eventually return from this war - but to the ones who won't!

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

My Christmas wish? That all American's could read that statement and shake their heads in agreement.

Hope springs eternal!

A major news outlet for most Americans has broken a big story with an interview with Rep. Major Owens (D-New York), revealing his true feelings about slavery.

Businesses would be more profitable if they went back to slavery.... You could work people the way slave masters worked them, from sunup to sundown.

Best of the Web

I strongly suggest this piece by John McIntyre - RealClearPolitics as "Recommended Reading".

Dick Morris - a man who, for a long while, sat at the right hand of President Bill Clinton and who is a also New Yorker - has written a piece in the NYPost skewering Hillary, Chuckie Schumer, and the other Democratic Senators stating that "the Democrats have shown a total disregard for national security."

While the legislation President Bush proposed extends the entire act, certain key provisions are set to expire at year's end. (The rest of the act is good until September 2007.) By voting to allow these provisions to lapse, the Democrats have shown a total disregard for national security.

It is particularly galling that Sens. Clinton and Chuck Schumer - whose New York constituents are in the terrorists' bull's-eye - voted to let these vital protections expire.

How galling? One of the key provisions due to expire in two weeks is one that President Bill Clinton presented as the cornerstone of his response to the escalation of terrorism in the wake of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

The measure allows "roving wiretaps" - so that the FBI can tap all phones a suspect uses, rather than just one specific number. Hillary's vote to let this provision expire is incredible.

Given this bit of information, and the interesting fact that (Clinton-era Deputy Attorney General) Jamie Gorelick has completely contradicted herself in the same manner, I must conclude that Cliff May is correct when he states we now have proof of what many of us have believed for some time: The rules are different when there is a Democrat in the White House.

Big Stovepipe hat tip to Cliff May and Byron York over at The Corner (NRO) and RealClearPolotics

Update: Seems Drudge has uncovered further proof that what's good for the Democratic goose is outrageous abuse of power for the Republican gander!

Thanks Sue!

I strongly suggest this piece by Thomas Sowell as "Recommended Reading".

The President had a speech last night on national TV. From most accounts, unless you needed a pep talk or your support for the President has been waning, anti-idiotarians could skip it and not miss much. I'll leave the details to those not working 70 hours a week outside blogging.

Meanwhile, among detached-reality-Americans...

The speech was, like everything else Bush has said on the topic, a nice object lesson in the rhetorical possibilities of the straw man and the false dilemma. As an effort to smear the opposition, it's good work. As a serious argument, it's patronizing and insulting. - Matthew Yglesias

Ever since hearing these words from John Kerry*:

"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not...

SCHIEFFER: Yeah.

Sen. KERRY: ...Iraqis should be doing that....

I have wanted to remind people that Kerry seems to have a consistent appreciation for having a country's soldiers terrorize children on their own land. For he had no problem with this:

*This is the same John Kerry who contends he served in Vietnam, though he has refused to fulfill his promise to release the military records which could confirm his claim.

One more myth from the Hurricane Katrina disaster is exposed as false. It wasn't just the poor that died.

Once again he makes us proud.

In his radio address today President Bush explained why it is necessary for him to authorize the use of wiretaps against the enemy, and he calls the leaking of that program illegal. I anxiously await the arrest of the perpetrator.

Here is his full speech:

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. Before we intercept these communications, the government must have information that establishes a clear link to these terrorist networks.

This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.

As the 9/11 Commission pointed out, it was clear that terrorists inside the United States were communicating with terrorists abroad before the September the 11th attacks, and the commission criticized our nation’s inability to uncover links between terrorists here at home and terrorists abroad. Two of the terrorist hijackers who flew a jet into the Pentagon, Nawaf al Hamzi and Khalid al Mihdhar, communicated while they were in the United States to other members of al Qaeda who were overseas. But we didn’t know they were here, until it was too late.

The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after September the 11th helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities. The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time. And the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad.

The activities I authorized are reviewed approximately every 45 days. Each review is based on a fresh intelligence assessment of terrorist threats to the continuity of our government and the threat of catastrophic damage to our homeland. During each assessment, previous activities under the authorization are reviewed. The review includes approval by our nation’s top legal officials, including the Attorney General and the Counsel to the President. I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks, and I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related groups.

The NSA’s activities under this authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and NSA’s top legal officials, including NSA’s general counsel and inspector general. Leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it. Intelligence officials involved in this activity also receive extensive training to ensure they perform their duties consistent with the letter and intent of the authorization.

This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I’m the President of the United States.

LGF

I was watching Special Report w/Brit Hume last night (as I often do) and he related a story about the political firestorm created by President Bush when he declared, in an interview conducted the night before by the same Brit Hume, that he believed that Tom DeLay was [GASP!] innocent. Here - in context - is exactly what the President said in that interview:

"I want this trial to be conducted as fairly as possible. And the more politics that are in it, the less likely it's going to be fair," Bush said. Asked if he thinks DeLay is innocent, Bush responded; "Yes, I do."

"The president of the United States announced that the jury need not assemble in Texas, that Tom DeLay is innocent. To have someone of his stature that is the president of the United States prejudge the facts on a case is something I've never heard of before. And here is a president who believes in law and order?"

"ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence."

Given all this, I was all set to criticize the Democrats for not reading and adhering to the US Constitution - but that principal, while implied, is not specifically spelled out in e Constitution. But (surprise, surprise!) it is spelled out in this document - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, it seems that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean have violated Tom DeLays human rights, while the President, by proclaiming his innocence, is championing them.

Someone call AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL!

In the tradition of myth busting for which Snopes.com is famous, I have discovered a site which I recommend. Break The Chain.org is dedicated to helping us, “Stop junk e-mail and misinformation!”, by offering their conclusions about the truth in the various stories which are being sent around the electronic universe.

I came across BreakTheChain while engaged in a face-saving effort to verify the information in an e-mail received today, before I made the unforgivable mistake of sending it on without knowing if it was true. My effort was not wasted, as the story about the soldiers who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier within Arlington National Cemetary, was both true and false.

I replied to the friend who sent the e-mail to me thusly:

I was about to forward this when I remembered who is on my list, and how I was taken to task once before for sending something which one of my friends knew to be false. So, I did some quick research. First I found this site which outlines some of the guard's specifications. Then I found this site which purports to debunk a few myths in the very language you forwarded to me, while upholding the truth in other parts.

Sorry to be so anal, just thought you'd want to know too.

Rick

That said, the e-mail I received is not entirely true, but the honor of the men who guard the Tomb of the Unknown is true; and I am grateful to have been reminded of their service.

To read the myth busting of the image above of the two Presidents Bush, click on the image.

Hey Howard Dean, you need to scream a bit louder next time...

...the people in Iraq seem not to have heard your words that the "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong".

And in case you don't yet understand the meaning of the images coming out of Iraq, todays election is absolute proof that it is you and those like you who are "just plain wrong."

Every life lost in this war is not just a tragedy for the families, but a great loss for our country. But if it was worth the cost of 200,000+ precious lives of America's best and brightest to liberate Europe from the grip of a fascist tyrant, it was certainly worth the cost of 2100 precious lives of America's best and brightest to liberate Iraq from the grip of a similarly fascist tyrant. To say that it was not is not only a bald faced lie, it smacks of racism. The people of Iraq and the middle east deserve freedom at least as much as the French and Europeans, don't you think?

I strongly suggest this piece by Nathan Burchfiel as "Recommended Reading".

I cannot let today pass without acknowledging our third blogiversary.

It's been a tough year. We knew it was going to be a tough one coming in, but we were at times surpised by disaster from unexpected directions. We have seen moments of terrible injustice, disturbing inappropriateness, and hilarious ineptitude.

That said, we have also seen moments of great determination and inspiration. Familiar faces wore new hats, and noble heroes followed radical saints to their great reward.

Skimming back on the year in our archives, I've barely begun to recap the best and worst of the last year. Take a trip through the months yourself and tell us in the comments what moments will be most memorable for you. And while you're doing that...

I think it's about time we started a tradition that Steve, Rick, and I have mulled over for some time. While skipping through the archives, and as our friends in the MSM begin their "Year in Review" pieces (like TIME Magazine's "Man of the Year"), take a moment to think who might deserve the honor of Black Republican of the Year.

While I am tempted to nominate our Secretary of State, and despite his many missteps throughout the year, I believe the man who made this happen may be the person most exemplifying the principles and ideals of The Black Republican: George W. Bush.

Who will you nominate?

I strongly suggest this piece by John Stossel as "Recommended Reading".

Norman Podhoretz has written a brilliant analysis, and Paul Greenberg has written an inspiring condemnation.

There is little that I can or feel compelled to add other than a hearty "Well done gentlemen. Well done!"

I strongly suggest this piece by Thomas Sowell as "Recommended Reading".

Won't you also vote for Alex?

Voting has actually closed, but this wonderful little girl is among the three finalists, let's hope the panel gives her her due. It is not too late, however, to donate to Alex's Lemonade Stand.

[the phone rings] The Warden of San Quentin: Hello. It's for you.
[takes the phone] Tookie Williams: Yeah?
Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger (aka U.S. Marshal John Kruger): [over phone] You've just been erased.

I have no sympathy for someone who, like Mr. Williams, kills another human being with little or no regard. And for the record, and to dissuade those who would be tempted to use the "R" word, I will have just as little sympathy for Scott Peterson when his time comes. If someone is willing to take a life, they should be prepared to face the legal consequences of doing so should they be caught and convicted. Anyone who isn't is either a fool or a coward.

I pray that, before the end, Stanley Williams sought forgiveness for his earthly sins, and that the families of his victims can finally find peace.

In a December 12, 2005 front page report the Courier-Journal relates that:

U of L researchers find stem cells that could lead to cures, resolve controversy

"University of Louisville researchers have coaxed stem cells from adult mice to change into brain, nerve, heart muscle and pancreatic cells- a discovery that could lead to therapies for a host of human diseases and possibly end the national debate over use of embryonic stem cells"

We hope that this work proves out, a win win situation.

I've been saving this image, taken on Marco Island, Florida, for a snowy day up north. Sorry folks, just have to rub it in now and then.

To Karen for helping me correctly identify that machine.

Tonight, for the 40th time, Charles Shultz' first - and still greatest - animated masterpiece, A Charlie Brown Christmas, will be shown on network television. In their cover feature today, USAToday offers us a glimse into MSM past, present, and future by explaining how it was "The Christmas classic that almost wasn't." Color us shocked.

When CBS bigwigs saw a rough cut of A Charlie Brown Christmas in November 1965, they hated it.

"They said it was slow," executive producer Lee Mendelson remembers with a laugh. There were concerns that the show was almost defiantly different: There was no laugh track, real children provided the voices, and there was a swinging score by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi.

Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez fretted about the insistence by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz that his first-ever TV spinoff end with a reading of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke by a lisping little boy named Linus.

"We told Schulz, 'Look, you can't read from the Bible on network television,'" Mendelson says. "When we finished the show and watched it, Melendez and I looked at each other and I said, 'We've ruined Charlie Brown.'"

Good grief, were they wrong. The first broadcast was watched by almost 50% of the nation's viewers. "When I started reading the reviews, I was absolutely shocked," says Melendez, 89. "They actually liked it!"

Hardly. Which begs the question: if Linus telling us about the birth of Christ is acceptable, popular, and profitable, why aren't more kid shows doing the same? It says something about CBS in particular that they decided five years ago they wouldn't pay for the right to show it anymore, so now it's shown on ABC.

Howard Dean is not only a coward for not having the balls to stay and fight to ensure a peaceful Iraq, but he is a traitor for actually helping the cause of our enemies!

This is cowardly...

I've seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam. Everybody then kept saying, 'just another year, just stay the course, we'll have a victory.' Well, we didn't have a victory, and this policy cost the lives of an additional 25,000 troops because we were too stubborn to recognize what was happening.

The idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong...

• To practice and prescribe to the best of my ability for the good of my patients, and to try to avoid harming them.
• To never deliberately do harm to anyone for anyone else's interest.

It's too bad that you are more concerned with bashing the President and his policies than with the health and welfare of our countrymen - both here and abroad. The painful truth is, the patients you assist with their suicides will undoubtedly take a few young Americans with them... Dr. Kevorkian would be so proud!

It is time for the annual Idiotarian award nominations (the award is now known as the Fiskie).

Cindy Sheehan seems to be the frontruner. But as shown by the volume of nominations so far, there are so many deserving candidates this year.

I strongly suggest this piece by Jed Babbin as "Recommended Reading".