via Last of the Few

Obama Starts His Move to the Center

The best Father's Day sermon I have ever heard.

via American Power

A Wonderful Gift

A day-before-Father's-Day surprise came from my sister, who I had not seen in a few years. She and her husband visited us yesterday. She had put together a wonderful photo album for me, with many (black and white) photos of our extended family. I will cherish this gift.

Softies

This article today in the Denver Post raises the question of whether our kids today are too soft and too overprotected. The article makes the point that in most sports nowadays, kids from underprivileged neighborhoods, often having no fathers in their lives, are the ones who are excelling. Of course, there are genetic components that come into play, and we are only beginning to learn about the significance of genes. Well over half of American adults are overweight. If children are not physically active, they probably won't be physically active as adults, either. And, what about self-sufficiency? If our kids are staying inside, playing video games or watching t.v., how are they going to learn the skills they need to overcome adversities that they will have to face in adulthood?

The Post article concludes with these words by JFK.

On the heels of the disastrous showing by American athletes at the 1960 Rome Olympics, President John F. Kennedy penned an article for Sports Illustrated, cuttingly titled "The Soft American."

JFK wrote: "Our struggles against aggressors throughout our history have been won on the playgrounds, corner lots and fields of America. In a very real and immediate sense, our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security. Physical fitness is as vital to the activities of peace as to those of war, especially when our success in those activities may well determine the future of freedom in the years to come."

Biblical Superpowers

So we all pile into the car after church, and six-year-old Greg decides to be the first to tell us what he learned in Sunday school. "Jesus and John the Baptist got into a big fight." Not remembering that in the scriptures, we, nevertheless, asked for more details (big mistake). "John told Jesus that He should be the one who baptises him. Jesus told him, no, you should baptise me." So, I bit: "What happened next, Greg?" "Jesus used his force powers and sent him to Hell."

I think somebody's imagination got the best of him, and he missed the last part of the teacher's lesson.

Father's Day Sunset

What a fantastic Father's Day! First, a fifty dollar gift certificate to my favorite flower nursery. Then, handmade gifts from all of the little kids. A long phone conversation with my eighteen-year-old son. The afternoon off, to plant the plants I got at the nursery. Sixteen-year-old son put up two hundred yards of fencing. And now, I have been given the night off to blog or do whatever else I want. No dishes, no floor cleaning. First, I decided to go out and water the plants. Then, I saw that we were going to have a great sunset, so I stayed outside long enough to snap these three pictures for your enjoyment.

Got Milk?

Via Last of the Few

A Smile At Sunset

Via Last of the Few

Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!

President Reagan gave this speech on June 12, 1987 in Berlin. I believe it was his finest moment, but he laid the ground work for it in his individual meetings with the communist leaders. God gave Ronald Reagan many early experiences with communists in Hollywood. He understood and knew they were up to no good. His love for America would never allow him to be blinded into believing the socialist b.s.


Via Mike's America
Mike's America has much more documentation of background leading up to Reagan's courageous speech. The man had real backbone, real convictions.

So who has won?

Here are some dissenting comments by Chief Justice Roberts on the grant-liberty-to- the-Guantamo-prisoners Supreme Court ruling.

"So who has won? Not the detainees. The Court’s analysis leaves them with only the prospect of further litigation to determine the content of their new habeas right, followed by further litigation to resolve their particular cases, followed by further litigation before the D. C. Circuit—where they could have started had they invoked the DTA procedure. Not Congress, whose attempt to “determine— through democratic means—how best” to balance the security of the American people with the detainees’ liberty interests, see Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U. S. 557, 636 (2006) (BREYER, J., concurring), has been unceremoniously brushed aside. Not the Great Writ, whose majesty is hardly enhanced by its extension to a jurisdictionally quirky outpost, with no tangible benefit to anyone. Not the rule of law, unless by that is meant the rule of lawyers, who will now arguably have a greater role than military and intelligence officials in shaping policy for alien enemy combatants. And certainly not the American people, who today lose a bit more control over the conduct of this Nation’s foreign policy to unelected, politically unaccountable judges.
I respectfully dissent."

Via This ain't Hell

Rocky Mountain Penstamen

An incredibly deep and brilliant blue.

Goin for the Roses

Actually, he can be trusted not to eat the roses. He only likes grass.

A No-Brainer?

If you click to enlarge this chart prepared by Republican House Whip Roy Blunt, you can see which party has a more effective plan to lower gas prices.

The Worst Person In The World?

Have you been following the actions of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe since he lost the election? His thugs grabbed the wife of an opposition leader, chopped off one of her hands and both of her feet, and threw her in her hut, and set fire to it, killing her and her six-year-old son. Doesn't Mugabe deserve at least a fate similar to that which befell Saddam Hussein?

Maybe Its Not Too Late

Via The Law Dog Files

Riding Third Class

So, how are you feeling about this 2008 presidential election? I just read a post at Heading Right that ended with these words:

No matter how you rearrange the deckchairs, the Titanic is still going to the bottom.

And we conservatives are riding third class.

Running a Marathon Wearing Leg Weights

Did you know that the terrorists at Guantanamo have been given recourse to American courts by the U.S. Supreme Court? Mostly Cajun has a fine post on this travesty. His last paragraph:

Wars are supposed to be fought by soldiers led by generals. Now we want our wars fought by soldiers led by lawyers. We just as well try to run a marathon wearing leg weights.

Islamists: What Are Their goals?

Geckofeeder has a post on Muslims and Islamization that I found to be very eye-opening.

Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddists, and Jews, and all other believers.

Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century.

Please go to her blog and read what happens when Muslims reach 5%, 10%, 20%, and more, of a country's population.

An Exciting Day on the Farm

The woman on the right is our good friend Val, whose husband is in Afghanistan connecting up computers for the U.S. Army. Val said she would like to bring her male alpacas over to "a real farm," so we are leasing out a portion of our land to her to take care of these sweet animals. They will be given lots of loving care here, and the children will enjoy them immensely.

Colleen has always wanted alpacas, but when it came down to plunking down the cash, it was either move to the farm, or buy an alpaca. Now look how God has blessed us with seven of these wonderful creatures (two more coming soon).

Of course, Jon was one of the first to get right in there and pet the adorable creatures.

At first, Sara wasn't so sure what to think about the alpacas. But, soon,..."Look Dad, he is trying to kiss me on the head!"
The horse was one of the first to check out the new animals.

Giving Thanks For Beauty

Every day I thank God for the person who lived here several years before we moved in. He/she planted such a wonderful variety of trees and shrubs. I have no idea what kind of tree this is. It has thorns and is ten or twelve feet high. Anyone know what it is?
And, of course, we have to show you our oriental poppies, which don't have many days left to light up our south side. As you can see, I am preparing the ground to plant lots of flowers soon. With our long winters, we really appreciate the warm days.