Closing in on 2006

In a few of my recent web-wanderings I have run across these tidbits:

http://acertainslantoflight.blogspot.com/ - some interesting comments on the immigration problem.

This reporter "gets it":
http://www.newsminerextra.com/iraq/blog/
As always, Dr. Hanson knocks it over the fence:
http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson200512290821.asp

An interesting case of "idealistic wanderlust run amuck":
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/29/D8EQ72LO3.html

First Things has something both erudite and funny:
http://www.firstthings.com/

As usual The Anchoress brings something pithy to the conversation:
http://theanchoressonline.com/

And finally in explaination of the photo: Its the Galaxy cluster in Perseus. As http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ points out:

"Here is one of the largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky. Each of these fuzzy blobs is a galaxy, together making up the Perseus Cluster, one of the closest clusters of galaxies. The cluster is seen through a foreground of faint stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Near the cluster center, roughly 250 million light-years away, is the cluster's dominant galaxy NGC 1275, seen here just left of picture center. A prodigious source of x-rays and radio emission, NGC 1275 accretes matter as gas and galaxies fall into it. The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster spanning over 15 degrees and containing over 1,000 galaxies. At the distance of NGC 1275, this view covers about 1.5 million light-years. "

The wife and I have quite a busy New Year's Weekend planned, I may not get anything posted before 2006. In case I don't, have a happy, prosperous and blessed New Year.

tis the season...

Over the past few weeks many friends and family have sent cards, its easy to fall into the competitive spirit when the Season rolls around and we find ourselves attempting the balance between celebrating Advent (spiritual) and preparing for Christmas (secular). We start receiving cards and soon fall into that trap of either feeling guilty because (gasp) we DID NOT SEND ANY CARDS this year! Or we fall into paroxysms of guilty card scribbling one night in order to GETTHEMALLOUTSOTHEYWILLBEDELIVEREDBEFORE CHRISTMAS!
This year with my surgery and recovery, we became distracted and did not send anything out. Still the spirit and prayers are the same. I find myself both ready for the upcoming Holiday Season and yet still not quite prepared for receiving my Savior as I should be.
I must admit that each year I seem to find myself walking along the same path; one of knowing I could have done better but at the same time knowing I am steadily walking towards the goal.

Oh well, maybe it is as the Chosen Folk say, “Next year in Jerusalem…”

Merry Christmas 2005 from Kent and Linda

Help me, I'm driftin away

Maybe its the soporific, Frenchie drug music. Maybe its the Dr. Suess-like backgrounds. maybe its the satisfying "pop" the bubbles make when you score but
I'M HOOKED!!!
http://www.repeatwhiletrue.com/drifts/

The land where up is down and inside is out.

This is a comment on a posting from Cold Fury's Blog. http://coldfury.com/index.php/?p=6122

The current issue of internal spying is as Mike so succinctly points out only another chapter in the ongoing saga of the left's immolation. One of the most telling things that I see in it is that it is becoming harder and harder for the left to continue the charade of claiming to be patriots while speaking words and committing actions that are not in any way remotely patriotic. One would almost be tempted to say that they protest too much when wailing about "Big Brother"and government intrusion in their precious personal liberties. In my youth I was taught that our liberty was paid for with a terrible price in blood and sacrifice by those who went before us. I was taught that liberty like freedom came with responsibility and if abused could be and probably should be lost. I was also taught that liberty and freedom were not simply licenseence to do and act as children let loose unsupervised in a candy store.
I for one would like to see how many actual citizens were investigated and for what actions but I am willing to wait until the end of these hostilities. Personally, I have nothing to hide. Moreover, most of us have little to hide; Hell nearly nothing worth hiding is illegal these days. I cannot imagine anything untoward that someone could find out that would be shameful or useful in blackmail unless it WERE illegal or treasonous.
It certainly appears that this is only one more grasp by the left in its effort to undue the past two elections. Elections they do not acknowledge as valid not do they appear to understand why they lost. When I hear of Sen. Kerry talking about possible impeachment proceedings if they manage to wrest the control of the House back from the Republicans this fall, what I perceive is the sound of a defeated loser who cannot bear the thought of losing and will stop at nothing to appear to win even if it means wandering into that cuckoo-land where President Clinton was a true leader and the country really does want to listen to Air America.

Ouch, Ouch, glad I didn't have tickets

Ever tried to start a car that has a bit of water in the gas tank?
You can crank and crank and crank but sometimes all you get is a rough chug chug chug. Maybe it will start and maybe it won't.
They finally did get rolling and for a while it started to look like a team that wanted to go undefeated but then it all went to pot.
Oh well, we still have a first round bye, home field advantage, and I still have tickets to the Cardinals game (although I am wondering if I will see ANY starters even dress).

Credits to Foxnews sports for the photo.

Morons... all of em, MORONS

I was mulling over a “soft-at-the-edges” contemplation on my spiritual life this morning. It was going to cover my early adulthood and how I have changed as I have grown but all that got set aside when I read of our Senate’s latest romp of suicidal moronicity.

When I logged on this afternoon I read that the Senate Democrats had voted to filibuster the vote on the permanence of the Patriot Act. Included in the vote was one of my states two senators and as is usual for him, Senator Bayh ran back behind Sen. Reid’s skirts to vote with his party rather than represent his state.
Indiana is about as patriotic and “Red-State” as you can get. We didn’t vote for Clinton in either election and voted solidly for President Bush in both of his victories. Yes it can be a bit backward here, we aren’t always up on the latest trend or gay movie but that’s OK with us. We will continue to be part of the solid American heartland much to the left’s chagrin. We voted for Senator Bayh because we were fooled into believing he had a backbone and would stand as a man of his people and principal. (That’s how he ran).
You see what got my dander up was the fact that when the votes really count, when our country’s integrity or defense is on the line, it appears that Senator Bayh is usually to be found on the Capitol Steps with his finger in the wind looking senatorial but in fact just trying to ascertain which way the wind is blowing in order to know how to vote in order to protect his hide. If it appears that his constituency is looking then he will vote defense but if he needs the backing of the party then Hoosier roots be dammed he will join the lockstep. Somewhere in my archive I have a print of the photo of President Clinton shortly after the impeachment vote let him off the hook. There in the Rose Garden with “Al the Gorebot” and the Hildabeast was our favorite HINO (Hoosier in Name Only) Senator Bayh. We all know he wants to be president but we also know he is going to have to get a whole lot more aggressive and determined to take on Ms. Clinton in 08 or else he will get his clock cleaned.
As Lincoln supposedly said, fool me once, damn you, fool me twice, damn me; I’m not voting for him ever again. If he were running against Cruella Deville for dog catcher I would suck it up and start looking for Dalmatian puppies to hide.
What is it going to take to wake Washington up? Are we going to have to wake up to a mushroom cloud over Newark or a poison gas cloud drifting over Norfolk to wake us up to the reality that there are enemies out there who want to hurt us in ways we cannot begin to imagine? Is it so hard for our politicians to put politics aside and support our commander-in-chief? Why is partisan political gamesmanship so important to the left? Are they so terrified that if they are completely out of power they will wither away when Americans finally realize how little substance they have in their camp? The only thing keeping the Republicans from sweeping the Democrats from power is the fact that they keep edging to the left when in power themselves.

The sound of blowing wind...

Cue the sound of plains winds blowing.
Somewhere in the distance a screen door is banging against the side of a house. Picture tumbleweeds blowing along the highway. Hello, is there anyone on the left of the blog-o-sphere who is happy with the fact that Iraq had a THIRD election in less than a year?
A FREE election where there were actually candidates.
Hello?
Come on guys?
What was all that about democracy and freedom you espoused or were those words only for people like you? Weren't the Iraqis good enough to deserve a better life. I remember in the run up to the war, one of the major whine-points on the left was something like: "Yeah, but WE made Hussein in the 1980's!"
Not to admit anything but if we did create him then it was our responsibility to clean up the mess and it is starting to look like we are doing just that.
Congratulations to all those brave Iraqis who are starting to show the US what it means to responsibly participate in elective government.

My kingdom for a sense of smell...

Am I really this lacking in patience?
I am ready for my nose and throat to heal but they are taking their own sweet time. The doctor tells me that it may take a few weeks or so before I am able to breathe fully from the nostrils.
Last night the daughter and BF came over for supper. She made a fine Italian wedding soup all full of vegetables and meatballs that I could not taste. Cannot smell = cannot taste. Good food is wasted on me right now. I love good food; it is a wonder that God made our senses appreciate something tasting good in a way that we can enjoy them simply for the taste.
Attempting to communicate is hard with a marker and a white board but ironically sometimes more effective. It forces you to think about what you are going to say. Silly and inconsequential things aren’t written out because they are usually topical and by the time you have them written the moment has passed.

On a personal note, I absolutely abhor being sick because I get bored and I HATE being bored. I have books and movies and this page but all I really want to do is to go back to work.

The finger PURPLE

Yeah I know it's a goofy picture but as my wife says, about half of my photos are.
I can't say that I've done anything brave but I do believe in what those in Iraq are doing over the last few days culminating in the general election tomorrow.
When they vote they dip the index finger in purple ink to in order to distinguish voters from non-voters.
It's a very brave thing they do.
Maybe we should emulate them when we vote.

Day one of silence

Well, I SURVIVED although frankly had I known how much fun I would be having I most certainly would have forgone the festivities. I’m sitting here with a gauze moustache under my nose to keep me from dripping blood on the keyboard. I have absolutely awful breath (I now understand the phrase “mouth breather”) from not being able to breathe thru my nose. On the plus side I did get plenty of sleep last night – to paraphrase my late sister, Ah the wonders of pharmacology! Vicoden is wonderful stuff – nuff said.
Linda bought me one of those wipe-on/wipe-off note boards so I can communicate of sorts.
1st interesting observation: You know how it is said that the primary issue in communication is listening? I never understood how frustrating I must be when I go on a verbal tear, all ranting and raving. I don’t listen but rather just wait until the other person is done speaking so I can talk. Not being able to speak means that when I am asked a question, the other person must wait till I formulate an answer and can write it out. It is so frustrating when they don’t wait for my answer and instead try to answer for me. I DIDN’T WANT TO SAY THAT! Is what I usually start with, well I have some learning to do. Now the shoe is on the other foot and I see how others must see me. To those who know and understand, I’m sorry for all those times I talked over you.
I’ll try to do better from now on.

Today IS the day.

Well it finally arrived, I leave for the hospital in about an hour.
I think I will be invoking the intercession of St. John Nepomucene once I awake.
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj17.htm
Seems like a good thing to do...

All the way home

Indianapolis Colts 26
Jacksonville Jaguars (pussycats) 18
AFC South, Home field advantage, First Round Bye.
All that is left is the perfect season.

Someone else "gets it"

Patriotism
n : love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it

CAUTION:
THE WEBSITE THIS LINK GOES TO HAS SOME ADULT LANGUAGE.
Mike has run "Cold Fury" since 2001. I read it almost daily.
This post distills some of the thoughts I have been thinking for a year now about the Left in our country and Iraq.
http://coldfury.com/index.php/?p=6072

Actually I should explain this link a bit. Over at the “Cold Fury” website this was a post about the Left and the war. More specifically how the left is frantically working to “convince” America that the war is unwinnable and that the only “rational” course of action is to turn tail and bring the soldiers home and thereby allowing our enemies to win there and gain a huge victory in the battle between Islamo-fascism and the West. We have only begun to see the vehemence and ferocity of their campaign. This is a campaign to wrest control of Congress and ultimately the White House from the Republican Party.

A few comments about the Left and especially the Hollywood Left that so dominates our culture with movies and TV shows constantly parading their views as the only ones worth having:

1. The left does not understand the military nor does it care to. They view our soldiers through a lens that makes all wars look like Vietnam and all soldiers look like the draftees who were sent there. They appear to see all soldiers either as victims or criminals. The idea of a volunteer force of soldiers who would not only go to war on their own free will but reenlist and go back is foreign to their way of thinking.
2. While they talk about being patriots and no one daring to question their patriotism, the version of America they dream about and are working to achieve is nothing like the society the average Red State American thinks of as home. Their idea of partiotism does not include supporting the government in a time of war and their idea of supporting the troops means undercutting them in public all the while saying they "support the troops but not the war".
3. Most of America is appreciative of and supportive of our soldiers overseas. However many Americans cannot imagine that the Left is at war with their way of life. This is due to the slow and incremental way the left has slowly changed the nature of the struggle over the last 50 years.
4. Most of America (even Red State America) still thinks of the major media organs as being basically unbiased and are only now beginning to understand how biased the TV and print media have become. By thinking this they become unwitting victims in a mass indoctrination by the Left. Consisting of constant belittling of the President, a continual stream of bad news from Iraq told in such a way as to make it seem that all the news is bad, the news media are attempting to create news so as to be able to say, "See we told you, Iraq and Vietnam were the same. It was too hard, the enemy too crafty, the country too big, Americans are too soft to win."

I for one am not fooled. I have seen too much and learned too much to go back now. We MUST stay the course. We must win in Iraq and elsewhere. There is too much at stake not to.

Book of Isaiah 40,1-11.

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.
A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
A voice says, "Cry out!" I answer, "What shall I cry out?" "All mankind is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it. (So then, the people is the grass.)
Though the grass withers and the flower wilts the word of our God stands forever."
Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; Cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!
Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

This was the Old Testament reading yesterday, when I read it, I felt something speak to me and I thought, “I’ll save it and comment when I get home” but now that I have slept I cannot for the life of me remember what it was the struck me so profoundly.

On Sunday our priest spoke out on a similar vein. I remember thinking mostly, “Do not put of doing the works of charity, prepare your heart TODAY for there may not be a tomorrow”. We never really know if there will be a tomorrow, do we? The purpose of Advent is to call us to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. Not just on Christmas but forever in our hearts.

...On a side note, today I accidentally bought a regular sandwich for lunch and couldn't finish it. When we were walking back to the office, I gave the uneaten half to a homeless man I met on the street. I asked him if he wanted the half for lunch, he said, "Why yes I would" so I left it with him. I think I may do that more often.

On another note, its December 7th today, in 1941 our country was attacked by the Japanese. You would think that there would be more comment made by the media but apparently they are afraid of making us think patriotically at this time in our history. I spent a few moments this morning thinking and praying about our soldiers.

What's the frequency Kenneth?

I have been participating in a few online discussions regarding Intelligent Design vs. Classic Evolution and have become appalled at the vitriol being slung on all sides by all participants.
These are my thoughts on the subject.
As my former pastor pointed out this afternoon, much of the arguments appear to revolve around either side taking absolutist positions. I prefer to believe as the current view of the church; that God created the universe and during the process it certainly appeared that he used some form of evolution in the design and manufacture of the world we inhabit. This allows for both creation and evolution to exist within the same framework. Intelligent Evolution?

It just appears to me that to say that the entire universe was created in only one way or the other is asinine. Those who are “convinced” that evolution happened all in all simply because of chance appear to be skating on a pond named Faith but refuse to admit it whereas those who want to interpret scripture as a science text are stating their beliefs are wound around a 4000 year old oral tradition by people who did not appear to have any scientific theory. From what I can gather, Christian Scripture wasn’t intended to be the literal story of how the earth began but rather the actual truth behind it. How it started and the process by which it came about are up to us to investigate and unravel.

It would appear rather arbitrary for a God whom we believe and profess to be loving to his creation to form a universe that appears to obey certain specific physical laws only to intentionally disobey those same laws at the start. Sort of like giving someone an infinitely large jigsaw puzzle to solve and neglecting to tell them that the pieces around the edges don’t match those in the center.

Playoff cinched

To paraphrase the play-by-play guy on CBS
"Anybody big enough to tackle him wasn't fast enough, anybody fast enough wasn't big enough to tackle him"

Indianapolis colts: 35

Tennessee Titans: 3

12 down 4 to go then on to Detroit.