At My Witz End

A Gift From Ground Zero

2011-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

A fictional tale of Christian Love in the wake of tragedy.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2001 --- 9:30am --- KAY'S JEWELERS, LOWER MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY

Kay's Jewelers store manager Mary Beth Fowler sipped on her Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut Decaf as she half-heartedly scanned the morning's headlines in the New York Daily News. The jewelry store, located just a few blocks north of Ground Zero, had a very slow Christmas selling season due to the terrorist attacks on The World Trade Center three months earlier. Aside from the cleanup efforts at the 'pile' of the fallen towers, Lower Manhattan was still in a state of shock and at a virtual standstill.

Her attention shifted from the newspaper as the first customer of the day entered the store.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up an item I have on layaway for Christmas." The young Wall Street executive had a twinkle in his eye as he shook the crisp December cold from himself as he entered the store and handed the store manager his layaway receipt.

"Sure, no problem" Mary Beth beamed. "I'll just get your item from the safe. I'll be right back."

For some reason,and she didn't quite know why, this young executive reminded Mary Beth of someone. As she retrieved the layaway item from the safe, however, Mary Beth completely connected the dots. On this Friday morning, December 21, 2001, this layaway was only one of two remaining for the Christmas Season. The other still-unclaimed layaway belonged to another young executive, Chris Gibbons.

A chill went down Mary Beth's spine as she looked at Chris' place of business listed on the sales invoice: World Trade Center, 99th Floor, North Tower.

Mary Beth stared at the remaining unclaimed layaway after concluding the sale with her first customer and he left the store. She trembled as she vividly remembered the transaction.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th, 2001 --- 12:30pm --- KAY'S JEWELERS , NYC

"Do you allow layaways?" Newly-hired financial executive Chris Gibbons pointed to a 24ct gold necklace, containing two hearts joined in the middle with a cross.

"I would love to get this necklace as a Christmas Gift for my wife, but I've got to be honest, I just started my job last month. I really can't afford to just buy it now, but I don't want to lose the piece by you selling it to someone else. Can I put it on layaway and make weekly payments until I pay it off. I will probably be able to pick it up around Thanksgiving."

"You bet!" Mary Beth exclaimed. "It sounds like this necklace has a very special meaning."

"Wow, does it ever!" Chris was smiling ear to ear. "My wife Amy and I are Christians and we feel we have Jesus Christ at the center of our marriage. This necklace with the two hearts and the cross in between them is the perfect symbol of our relationship." Chris paused as he looked Mary Beth squarely in the eye. "Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?"

Mary Beth bristled a bit at the question. At twenty four years of age, she had become the youngest manager in the giant jewelry store chain and her success-driven lifestyle was the epitome of a fast-paced Manhattan go-getter. God was never a part of her thinking, much less her life.

"Uh, no,... I, um, well, I don't think about religious things very much."

Chris did not flinch or skip a beat.

"I understand. Here, take this tract and read it when you get a chance. I would love to discuss it with you sometime when I make my payments."

"Sure, that would be nice." Mary Beth was lying through her teeth. The last thing she wanted was for some religious zealot trying to slam-dunk his beliefs into her business, sex, and good-times lifestyle. All she wanted to do was to complete the sales invoice for the layaway and be done with it.

Chris left the store in as bright a mood as when he entered, and Mary Beth was relieved she had dodged a religious bullet. Yet, strangely enough, Chris' faith in Jesus Christ had an impact on her, though she struggled not to admit it.

Mary Beth tossed the tract, unread, into the center drawer of her desk.

TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 11th, 2001 --- 6:30am --- METROPARK TRAIN STATION, WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY

Chris Gibbons was driving his wife Amy crazy. He was up to something and she didn't have a clue as to what it could be. As she was dropping her husband off at the Metropark New Jersey Transit Train Station for his morning commute into 'the city', Chris' excitement over something was downright maddening. Throughout the prior evening, Chris made not-so-subtle hints that he got a surprise for his wife, but he wouldn't say anything beyond that. And the secret was tormenting Amy!

"Christopher Gibbons, if you don't tell me, right here and right now, what you're up to, I won't make dinner for you tonight!" Amy hoped Chris would fall for her bluff.

"That's why The Good Lord created fast food joints!" Chris teasingly responded as he gave his wife a goodbye kiss and jumped from the car. "I'll see you tonight."

And with that simple statement, Chris bounded up the steps to the platform as his commuter train was slowing to a stop to pick up the fifty or so waiting passengers. Amy watched him until he was out of sight, completely unaware that she would never see him again.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2001 --- 10:15am --- KAY'S JEWELERS, NYC

Mary Beth was trembling, still holding the unclaimed layaway of Chris Gibbons as she went to her desk in the rear of the store. The memory of Chris' enthusiasm flashed through her mind, but his business address on the layaway invoice made her sick to her stomach. With a shaking hand, Mary Beth dialed Chris' office phone number and was momentarily relieved when someone answered the call.

"Good morning, Cantor Fitgerald" The young telephone receptionist exclaimed. "How may I direct your call?"

"Chris, eh, Christopher Gibbons, please."

"Just a moment, ma'am, as I check my company directory for him." A interminable pause was followed by a gasped, hushed, "OH!!!" After another anguished pause, the receptionist stammered "I'll, uh, I'll connect you with our Human Resources Department."

Another maddening wait, until a very tired-sounding girl mechanically blurted "HR, Wendy speaking."

"Hi Wendy, I'm trying to reach Christopher Gibbons."

"Do you know what department he's in?"

"No, I just know his office was in the World Trade Center."

"OH !!!"

The very tone of Wendy's voice made Mary Beth tremble all the more.

"Are you a relative?" Wendy tentatively inquired.

"No, I have to confess, I'm not" Mary Beth then proceeded to explain how Chris had placed an item on layaway for Christmas and she was trying to contact him.

"Well, I'm not supposed to discuss this with anyone other than relatives, but..." She paused, clearly trying to gain her composure before proceeding. "Chris Gibbons was killed in the World Trade Center terrorist attack. Fact is, our entire staff in the tower lost their lives. THE WHOLE COMPANY!!! WE WERE LITERALLY WIPED OUT!!! All calls to the New York number are now automatically routed to our office here in LA."

Wendy broke down in tears, followed immediately by Mary Beth.

Through innumerable tears, both young women shared their grief and anguish about the day that changed America forever. They shared their experiences for about 15 minutes before they decided they had better get back to their jobs. After wishing each other a Happy Holiday - if it could be possible - they terminated the call and Mary Beth was alone in her office.

She stared at the layaway that would never be claimed in her hand, crying profusely.

And then, somehow, she remembered the tract. Did she still have it? Fumbling through her center desk drawer, Mary Beth recovered it, bunched in between menus from Panera Bread and Mama Leone's Restaurant.

And the tears came even more...

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2001 --- CHRISTMAS EVE --- 9:30am --- WOODBRIDGE GARDENS TOWNHOMES, WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY

Since September 12th, Amy Gibbons could not bear to stay in the two-story townhouse she and Chris had rented the previous June. The evening of 9/11, Amy was joined by her parents, who lived just across the Goethals Bridge on the western side of Staten Island, and Chris' parents, who lived about 25 miles northwest in Morristown, New Jersey. The two sets of parents spent a tearful, sleepless night with Amy glued to the CNN coverage of the disaster, praying and waiting anxiously for a call from Chris: A call that would never come.

The awful realization, heavily deluted with hopeful denial, made staying at the townhome impossible for the young bride. Amy set her telephone to call-forward all incoming calls to her parent's Staten Island home, where she would wait for any word about Chris.

The wait would be endless.

Amy refused to set foot in the townhouse for the next three months. She just could not bear to see the apartment she and Chris called home. The week of Halloween made the loss of Chris even more unbearable: Amy had thought her 'being late' was the result of the anquish she was experiencing. A trip to her doctor told a different story: Amy was two months pregnant with Chris' child.

This morning, however, Christmas Eve, Amy made a decision: Her unborn child, now confirmed to be a boy by her gynocologist, would have his daddy's picture beside the Christmas Tree in her parent's living room. If not in person, Chris would be there to celebrate Christmas with his family in spirit.

Amy announced she was going to make the drive back to Woodbridge to retrieve her and Chris' wedding portrait, but her father adamantly refused to allow her to make the trip alone. He insisted he would drive his daughter and unborn grandson. Amy gratefully consented.

At the townhome, Amy asked her father if he would wait in the car, parked directly in front, as she nervously and sadly went into the apartment alone. She needed to make this entry on her own. Her father understood and watched his pregnant daughter unlock the door and enter, leaving the front door behind her wide open.

As he waited for his daughter, lost in his thoughts of the tragedy and his love for her, Amy's father was startled back to the present by a FedEx truck that abruptly pulled into the parking space right next to him. He was stunned as the FedEx driver jumped from the van clutching a small FedEx Box and walked right up to the open door of Amy's apartment.

The driver froze for a moment in the open doorway as he observed a young woman inside, slumped on a loveseat, cradling a wedding picture to her breast, and crying hysterically.

Nervously, he cleared his throat. "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm sorry to startle you, but I have a delivery here for Mrs. Christopher Gibbons."

Wide-eyed in confusion, Amy took a long moment to let the salutation sink into her consciousness.

Trying to gain her composure, Amy stammered "I'm Mrs. Christopher Gibbons." She placed the portrait beside her on the loveseat and walked to the FedEx driver.

"Could you please sign here, maam?" The drivers voice was ripe with compassion and nervousness.

Amy signed for the package and stared at it for a long time as the driver thanked her and made his exit. To the young woman's complete confusion, the waybill listed the sender as 'Mary Beth Fowler, Kay's Jewelers' with a New York City address. As she pulled the zip-cord to open the box, Amy's father appeared on the threshhold, equally curious at the reason and the contents of the surprise delivery.

Amy was amazed as she discovered a beautiful red velvet jewelry case and a card inside. Totally baffled, she opened the card:

"Dear Mrs. Gibbons,

My name is Mary Beth Fowler, and I'm the store manager of Kay's Jewelers in Lower Manhattan.

The enclosed necklace is from your husband Chris. He came into my store on Monday afternoon, September 10th, and chose this for you. He placed it on layaway and had planned to pick it up in time to give it to you as a Christmas Gift. Today (Friday, 12/21), I found his unclaimed layaway and I remember so well how excited he was and how much he obviously loved you. Chris told me how the necklace perfectly reflected your marriage: Two hearts with the Cross of Christ in the center.

Chris even gave me a tract to read.

Mrs. Gibbons, I have to tell you: The day Chris came in to place the necklace on layaway, I was living a very wild and reckless life. I'm ashamed to admit many of the poor choices I made in bad relationships and one-night stands. When Chris gave me the tract, I have to confess I wanted to just throw it in the trash, but for some reason, (and I know now that reason was The Lord preparing me!), I tossed it in my desk drawer.

But today, after finding your necklace, I pulled out the tract and read it. And I found The Lord! I accepted Jesus into my heart and life! I know He died for my sins and I know my sins are forgiven because of His Death on the Cross.

And I have Chris to thank for leading me to Jesus!

Mrs. Gibbons, I know this necklace will never bring Chris back, but I hope it will somehow bring you some happiness in knowing his love for you and your mutual love of Jesus.

And it's your mutual love that brought Chris into my store and helped a sinful store manager find the Savior.

If it's any consolation at all, because of Chris, I will be celebrating my first Christmas as a Child of God. Thank you!!!

I sincerely and respectfully wish you a Merry Christmas.

Your new sister in The Lord,
Mary Beth"

Tears were flowing freely from both Amy and her father, as he had come beside his daughter and, with his arm gently around her shoulders, was reading the note along with her.

Gingerly, Amy opened the red velvet case and looked at the exquisite necklace inside: Two hearts joined by a Cross in the center.

As she stared at the beautiful piece of jewelry, Amy's father gently removed it from it's case and tenderly placed it around his daughter's neck and fastened the latch in back.

"Chris loved you so much, honey! He's wishing you a Merry Christmas from Heaven!"

Wiping away tears, Amy walked over to a wall mirror and studied herself wearing the most precious Christmas Gift, other than God's Gift of His Son to the world, she would ever receive.

A gift from her fallen husband, whose remains would never be recovered from the debis field of the collapsed World Trade Center.

A Gift From Ground Zero.

The Greatest Songs of All Time - Part 4

2009-08-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Good Run of Bad Luck - Clint Black

Great Song, with video from one of my favorite movies of all time.

Country doesn't get any better than this!

The Greatest Songs of All Time - Part 3

2009-08-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Back In The USSR - Paul McCartney (The Beatles)

(Popular)

OK, maybe Back In The USSR is not one of the greatest songs of all time, but this performance deseves special recognition: Paul McCartney is performing on the Marquee of the theatre where The Fab Four debuted 45 years earlier on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.

This video elicits both nostalgically sad and happy emotions, but most importantly,

eternally grateful praises in me.

Sad, because of how people make the wrong people and things idols in their life.

The Beatles were nothing more than performers - Human just like the rest of us.

Sadly, John Lennon was murdered just a few blocks north of this theatre.

Happy, because The Beatles bring back many happy memories of growing up in Orange, NJ. (My old Rock Band used to play Back In The USSR)!

And ETERNALLY GRATEFUL that in spite of all the changes in the past 45 years,

(Paul McCartney points out that even the USSR doesn't exist anymore)

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.

The Greatest Songs of All Time - Part 2

2009-08-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

SIR DUKE - Stevie Wonder

(Popular)

A Musical Genius saluting another Musical Genius!

ENJOY !!!

It Had Better Be Tonight - Michael Buble

(Popular)

Michael Buble is a good singer, but he does not have what I consider an exceptional voice.

What I like most about Michael Buble is he sings great songs, with fantastic arrangements.

The orchestra on It Had Better Be Tonight is phenominal.

Bandstand Boogie - Barry Manilow

(Popular)

This is the only video I could find with Barry performing this classic theme song from Dick Clark's American Bandstand..

Unfortunately, you have to suffer through 4:24 of the video before you get to the song. I suggest just fast-forwarding to the 4:24 mark.

You Can't Sit Down - The Dovells

(Popular)

Just hard-drivin', Hammond Organ and Saxophone-powered, Rock & Roll.

Bruce Springsteen's version doesn't even come close.

This is getting really scary...

2009-08-05T04:44:00.000-07:00

The more I learn about Barack Hussein Obama,

The more afraid I become.

The Greatest Songs of All Time

2009-07-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

I just realized I've been spending WAY TOO MUCH time complaining about Barack. It's time to blog about enjoyable things!

So, starting today...

I am going to compile what I believe are the greatest songs of all time - - - both secular (popular) and Christian.

Generally speaking, they will be in no order of favorites as to which is "#1" and so forth, as I enjoy all the songs equally. (With two notable exceptions for the Christian Genre: I unabashedly state the two songs I believe are the greatest.)

I will be posting (actually, paying tribute) to the songs as they come to mind - - - and in many cases, after I locate it on YouTube or elsewhere.

Feel free to agree, disagree, or suggest other songs for the list.

I hope you enjoy listening and watching in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Young At Heart - Frank Sinatra

(Popular)

Young At Heart would have been a hit even if I recorded it! (Well, OK, maybe not me!)

More Today Than Yesterday - The Spiral Staircase

(Popular)

One of the two songs my wife and I consider "our songs".

Enough said...

Never My Love - The Association

(Popular)

"Our Song" #2

Cat's In The Cradle - Harry Chapin

(Popular)

One of the most powerful songs ever written.

An absolute Masterpiece!

The Walk - Sawyer Brown

(Popular)

This song is incredible. Mark Miller has one of the best male voices in the world!

Birth of the Blues - Sammy Davis, Jr.

(Popular)

NOTE: This song needs Sammy Davis Jr.'s voice, but this is the only video I could find. Frank, Dean, and (surprizingly!) Johnny do a good job, but nobody sings it better than Sammy.

Baby Grand - Billy Joel & Ray Charles

(Popular)

OK, I admit I'm partial to The Blues, but the Piano Man and The Genius teaming up on Billy Joel's composition is just phenominal! (Unfortunately, this video does not do justice to the incredible blues riffs played by Billy and Ray on the two pianos.)

Amos Moses - Jerry Reid

(Popular)

Granted, the video is extremely dorky, but this is just a great down-home, foot-stompin' tune!

Officer Krupke - West Side Story

(Popular)

There were so many great Broadway shows in the past, picking a best song from a great musical was really tough, but Officer Krupke is hilarious.

Musical Comedy doesn't get any better than this!

Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones

(Popular)

I'm placing this as the last popular song for this list, right before the Christian Songs.

This song has a surprizingly Christian application.

I've posted the words, because Paint It Black conveys quite well how our hearts are black. Though I'm sure Mick Jagger never intended it this way, Paint It Black could be viewed as me admitting I am a sinner, which is the first step in becoming a Christian.

(I do not, however, suggest singing it in Church!)

He's Alive - Don Francisco

(Christian)

One of the two Greatest Contemporary Christian Songs

And my absolute Christian favorite.

I call this a "Story Song".

Watch The Lamb - Ray Boltz

(Christian)

The other Greatest Contemporay Christian Song.

Another "Story Song".

(Sorry about the Spanish Subtitles - I couldn't find the version without them!)

I Want To Be Just Like You You - Phillips, Craig, & Dean

(Christian)

As a father, this is my favorite "Prayer Song".

I hope God answers this prayer with "YES!!!"

I will be posting other songs in the future,

so check back often.

A Post-Racial President?

2009-07-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

Note from At My Witz End:

This is an extremely powerful article written by Thomas Sowell, an African American. The white highlighted paragraph is an emphasis I added, for I believe that section passionately summarizes the dillusion to which the media - and the voters - have succombed.

I strongly urge everyone who reads this article to pass it on for others to read.

A Post-Racial President?

by Thomas Sewell

Many people hoped that the election of a black President of the United States would mark our entering a "post-racial" era, when we could finally put some ugly aspects of our history behind us.

That is quite understandable. But it takes two to tango. Those of us who want to see racism on its way out need to realize that others benefit greatly from crying racism. They benefit politically, financially, and socially.

Barack Obama has been allied with such people for decades. He found it expedient to appeal to a wider electorate as a post-racial candidate, just as he has found it expedient to say a lot of other popular things-- about campaign finance, about transparency in government, about not rushing legislation through Congress without having it first posted on the Internet long enough to be studied-- all of which turned to be the direct opposite of what he actually did after getting elected.

Those who were shocked at President Obama's cheap shot at the Cambridge police for being "stupid" in arresting Henry Louis Gates must have been among those who let their wishes prevail over the obvious implications of Obama's 20 years of association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Anyone who can believe that Obama did not understand what the racist rants of Jeremiah Wright meant can believe anything.

With race-- as with campaign finance, transparency and the rest-- Barack Obama knows what the public wants to hear and that is what he has said. But his policies as president have been the opposite of his rhetoric, with race as with other issues.

As a state senator in Illinois, Obama pushed the "racial profiling" issue, so it is hardly surprising that he jumped to the conclusion that a policeman was racial profiling when in fact the cop was investigating a report received from a neighbor that someone seemed to be breaking into the house that Professor Gates was renting in Cambridge.

For those who are interested in facts-- and these obviously do not include President Obama-- there has been a serious study of racial profiling in a book titled "Are Cops Racist?" by Heather Mac Donald. Her analysis of the data shows how this issue has long been distorted beyond recognition by politics.

The racial profiling issue is a great vote-getter. And if it polarizes the society, that is a price that politicians are willing to pay in order to get votes. Academics who run black studies departments, as Professor Henry Louis Gates does, likewise have a vested interest in racial paranoia.

For "community organizers" as well, racial resentments are a stock in trade. President Obama's background as a community organizer has received far too little attention, though it should have been a high-alert warning that this was no post-racial figure.

What does a community organizer do? What he does not do is organize a community. What he organizes are the resentments and paranoia within a community, directing those feelings against other communities, from whom either benefits or revenge are to be gotten, using whatever rhetoric or tactics will accomplish that purpose.

To think that someone who has spent years promoting grievance and polarization was going to bring us all together as president is a triumph of wishful thinking over reality.

Not only Barack Obama's past, but his present, tell the same story. His appointment of an attorney general who called America "a nation of cowards" for not dialoguing about race was a foretaste of what to expect from Eric Holder.

The way Attorney General Holder has refused to prosecute young black thugs who gathered at a voting site with menacing clubs, in blatant violation of federal laws against intimidating voters, speaks louder than any words from him or his president.

President Obama's first nominee to the Supreme Court is, like Obama himself, someone with a background of years of affiliation with an organization dedicated to promoting racial resentments and a sense of racial entitlement.

An 18th century philosopher said, "When I speak I put on a mask. When I act I am forced to take it off." Barack Obama's mask slipped for a moment last week but he quickly recovered, with the help of the media. But we should never forget what we saw.

Michael & Michaels - 2 Singers Who Died This Year

2009-07-16T04:24:00.000-07:00

They both were singers.
They both wanted to enact change.
And they both traveled the world with their message.

But the change they enacted - and the message they delivered - was 100% different.

Michael carried the message of Michael. He was the "greatest entertainer". He was the "lover of children". He was Peter Pan personified, living in his own Neverland.

Michael Jackson served himself. He was, after all, The King of Pop.

Michael Jackson viewed himself as king.

Bobby Michaels, on the other hand, was a servant, using his musical talents in service to The King of Kings!

Bobby Michaels' named his worldwide ministry Musicianairies International, NOT 'Bobby Michaels Ministries'. Even though he started the ministry, Bobby Michaels made sure his ministry would continue, with or without him.

Today, July 16, 2009, as I write these words, Michael Jackson's legacy is selling, in death, more of Michael Jackson: CD's, tee shirts, pictures of himself.

Bobby Michaels' legacy, however, lives on as we speak: His yearly 'Rice for Cambodia' missions trip is at this very moment distributing hundreds of tons of rice to needy people in southeast Asia.

Bobby Michaels passed away on March 31st, but his ministry lives on.

Michael Jackson died on June 25th, but his self-centeredness drags on.

The most important person in Michael Jackson's life was Michael Jackson.

The most important person in Bobby Michaels' life IS Jesus Christ!

Bobby Michaels is now with his King!

Sadly, for all eternity, I'm afraid Michael Jackson is with his.

What scares me the most...

2009-07-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Adolf Hitler could never - NEVER! - have done a single hideous thing if he did not have many - MANY! - Germans ready and willing to carry out his atrocities.

One lone madman could not have accomplished so much horror on his own. Hitler needed the assistance of a host of like-minded lunatics.

Now, in America, Barack Obama is bringing an incredibly Godless, sick, and decidedly unAmerican mindset to our government!!! And just like in Nazi Germany, he has legions of leftist like-minded Godless lunatics ready and willing to carry out his Socialist Agenda.

Wake up, America - - - before it's too late !!!

It won't be long before we might hear: Heil Obama !!!

I Hope The Answer Is: NO !!!

2009-07-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah!

2009-07-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Who says Christians don't have fun?

Tiller, Thriller, Killer, Lies

2009-06-30T03:41:00.000-07:00

How did we as individuals and collectively as a nation drift so very far away from recognizing what is undeniably bad - and WRONG ???!!!

In short, how did we buy into the lies ???

There are many who have called the murdered Doctor George Tiller "a hero". How in the world is a person who kills a baby the day before it is born "a hero" ????????? ( Please see: http://www.nowpublic.com/health/dr-george-tiller-admits-performing-abortions-day-delivery )

There are many who believed "The King of Pop" when he went on national television proclaiming he loved children and was not a child molester. How in the world could a 'lover of children' have young boys sleep in his bed?

But I believe the lie goes even deeper than that...

The Bible states that what a man speaks shows what is truly in his heart. How in the world could someone who claims to love children have his biggest hit be a song adamantly disavowing fatherhood and shoving a baby away? ( "But the kid is not my son." [Refrain from "Billie Jean" off the "Thriller" album.] ) (Please Note: Michael Jackson didn't just record this song - - - he WROTE it!)

There are many who believe the likes of Michael Jackson, Elvis Pressley, and The Beatles changed the world - - - and that is undeniably true.

But did they change the world for the better - - - or the worse?

Make no mistake about it... I like a lot of the music all of these entertainers recorded. "Beat It", "Man in the Mirror", "Hound Dog", "Heartbreak Hotel", "In The Ghetto", "Ob La Di, Ob La Da", "Back in the USSR", and "In My Life" are just a few of the songs I sing-along to. (I even admit I like the infectious base line in "Billie Jean" - - - I just wish the words were something far different.)

The problem is, however, these entertainers went from being just that - entertainers - into trying to be world changers.

And changing the world to fit their own twisted, self-centered, ungodly image was absolutely WRONG!

And unfortunately, the world bought into the lie.

Billy Graham wrote in his classic book "Peace With God" that we are the most bored generation in history and since we are so bored, we are quick to make a god out of almost anyone or anything. (Amazingly, he penned this accusation over 50 years ago: before Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, PacMan, MTV, or the Internet!)

THE LIE is to elevate anyone - - - whether it be Michael Jackson, Elvis Pressley, Paul McCartney, Steven Curtis Chapman, or even Billy Graham - - - to the status whereby we make them the gods of our life.

Our only God is the One True God who sent His Only Begotten Son to die on Calvary's Cross in full payment for our sins.

To worship or idolize anyone or anything else is a lie.

The Devil Sells

2009-06-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Barnes & Noble is passing the Devil's Torch this morning on their website (www.bn.com).

The home page features not only a tribute to Michael Jackson 1958-2009, who died yesterday, but in a banner near the top of the page, the bookseller boasts "Dan Brown Is Back!".

Great!

Alive or dead, Barnes & Noble is making sure the works of the devil's advocates are still being sold.

The Red Monster on The Green Monster

2009-06-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

The Red Monster on The Green Monster

(with CAL)

Fenway Park

Boston, Massachusetts

Friday, June 5, 2009

( No wonder all the seats are EMPTY !!! )

2009-05-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

I came upon this disturbing portion of a memoir in a book I began reading last night.

No, this is not a commentary by Glenn Beck about the Barack Obama Presidency. Quite the contrary, this is a portion of a 'Memoir' written by G. Leibholz about the great German Theologian and Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

But the similarities to the Presidency of Barack Obama are hauntingly uncanny - - - and frightening!

(Copied from the introductory 'Memoir' by G.Leibholz, pages 14-15, from the book 'The Cost of Discipleship' by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

( Larger, cropped view of page )

The words jumped off the page:

"Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a great realist. He was one of the few who quickly realized, even before Hitler came to power, that National Socialism was a brutal attempt to make history without God and to found it on the strength of man alone."

"As late as February 1933 he denounced on the wireless a political system which corrupted and grossly misled a nation and made the "Fuhrer" its idol and god."

Sound familiar?

People may not be referring to Obama as the 'Fuhrer', but he is constantly being given the title of 'messiah', 'savior', and 'chosen one'. What amazes me most is not the deity-sounding names attributed to him, but the fact Barack Obama NEVER disputes any of the titles!

Barack Obama is more-than-happy to be viewed as deity.

Nicolae Carpathia would be proud.

And Dietrich Bonhoeffer would be appalled.

The time has come to wake up, America.

"Ask not what your country can do for you..." - 48 years later

2009-01-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

The inspriring words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, spoken 48 years ago at his Presidentail Inauguration, will come to an end on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

No longer will we be encouraged and inspired to serve our country.

Instead, our new President, with his Socialist Agenda, fervently believes it is the government that is the cure for all our problems. Barack Obama has made it perfectly clear how he believes government is the only way to solve our economic problems, as well as the other challenges facing our nation.

Big, overbearing, socialistic government is the vision of this new administration.

It's time for John Kennedy's words to be altered: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask what your country can do for you!"

Praying for our leaders

2008-12-09T04:25:00.000-08:00

I know the Bible COMMANDS me to pray for my elected officials.

Sadly, I rarely do.

And because of my disobedience, my country - and my President - have been weakened. I was shocked and saddened today to hear that President Bush does not believe the Bible to be literally true and how it can be compatible with the 'scientific belief' of evolution.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/09/bush-says-creation-incompatible-evolution/

Don't get me wrong; I'm NOT implying that just because of little-ole-me not praying, the country is going down the tubes.

I DO BELIEVE, however, that God wants us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and that He ANSWERS those prayers, though not always in the time or manner we want.

I do not think this was a coincidence: At the same time my wife told me about the news story about President Bush (above), I was reading a daily devotional from Dr. Charles Stanley, talking about praying for your country.

December 9, 2008Nation BuildersNehemiah 1
In Touch magazine makes its way into many countries. So I am thinking globally when I write this: Your nation needs your prayers.

Before a single stone was laid to rebuild Jerusalem's walls, Nehemiah began the work on his knees before God. He fasted and mourned over his motherland's vulnerability. The soon-to-be construction foreman then offered up a three-part prayer. First, he confessed Israel's sin; next, he reminded the Lord of His promises to the faithful; and finally, he requested success for his plans.

Like Nehemiah, all of us are to be nation builders. His response to Israel's situation should be our template for fighting threats of evil to our homelands. Perhaps you've never thought to fast over a national crisis. Or you may not know that you can intercede about your countrymen's disobedience to God. But taking action to protect and serve others is a believer's responsibility (Matt. 25:35-40).

Some people argue that one individual's prayers or activities cannot make a dent in a country's problems. Nehemiah proved otherwise. God used him to gather supplies and organize the Jewish people to rebuild Jerusalem's walls in just 52 days (Neh. 6:15).

The effect of your intercession will likely be subtler than Nehemiah's. In fact, until you reach heaven, you may not even know the impact. Countries are always in flux, but steps of change are often so small as to be imperceptible day to day. If we are to build nations where the innocent are protected and justice prevails, then we must begin as Nehemiah did--on our knees.

Man, did God use Charles Stanley to put me in my place today!

Our leaders - even our leaders whom we believe to be Christians - are not immune to being deceived. Quite the contrary, being in the constant spotlight makes our leaders all-the-more susceptible to having their Christian Faith challenged and their Christian witness compromised.

They NEED our prayers - our CONSTANT prayers!

I think I better start "praying without ceasing" for my leaders - and my country.

God Bless America.

Joe Lukawitz

Who Is The REAL Running Mate?

2008-09-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

OBAMA

BIN LADEN

Obama / Biden

2008-09-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last week, I caught a quick glimpse of the first Democratic Presidential lawn sign to appear in my neighborhood with both candidates names listed on it:

OBAMA
BIDEN

With no exaggeration, as I first saw the sign, I honestly thought it said:

OBAMA
BIN LADEN

OK, I admit it, I'm dumb - actually, my supidity knows no bounds - but it scares me to no end that my misreading the sign was in many ways right on the money.

Have Pro-Abortionists ever considered...

2008-09-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

I oppose abortion 100%, and honestly, my opposition stems primarily from my fundamental Christian Right-to-Life beliefs. In no uncertain terms, I believe abortion is murder.

Yet, I find a simple, logical, practical, and obvious reason against abortion even more compelling why the proponents of the "Right to Choose" theory are 100% wrong.

Have you ever noticed how the proponents of the "Right to Choose" are invariably women who have NEVER had an abortion? The reason is simple, and very, very sad.

Abortion does far more than simply terminate the fetus; it phychologically damages the woman for life. Women who have abortions suffer a lifetime of grief and guilt after having the procedure.

No wonder you never see signs proclaiming "I had an abortion and I'm glad I did!" at pro-choice demonstrations. The 'Right to Choose' proponents don't want people to know the so-called 'right' has disastrous consequences, subjecting the woman to a lifetime of anguish.

A woman making the choice to terminate does not realize the consequences of making that choice until it's too late.

And after she makes the choice to abort, the woman is no longer Pro-Choice.

I wonder if the Democrats will ever figure it out.

102 Minutes that changed the world

2008-09-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

It all happened in 102 minutes.

The Twin Towers that dominated Lower Manhattan's skyline like two exclamation points were leveled.

The Pentagon was heavily damaged in the first successful attack on Washington since the War of 1812.

And ordinary citizens won the first war on terrorism aboard United Airlines Flight 93 before crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

102 minutes.

That's about 3 quarters of a professional football game or 7 innings of a typical professional baseball game. It's a shorter amount of time than the length of a typical movie.

In 102 minutes, we went from being a nation at peace to a nation at war.

The first plane hit at 8:46am - - - the second tower fell at 10:28am.

And in that short amount of time, our entire world changed. Forever.

I can't believe there are people who say that President Bush did not react swiftly enough that fateful morning.

I can't believe there are actually people who try to diminish the significance of September 11th, saying in effect it is just another tragedy in a long list of other tragedies.

And I really can't believe we have a presidential candidate who sat under the teaching of a pastor for most of the seven years since 9/11 who claimed we got what we deserved!

Quite frankly, if 9/11 didn't make you a better American, you don't deserve to live in this great country.

And since 9/11, if you sat under the teaching of anti-American pastoral loudmouths, you are not qualified to be President of the United States.

102 minutes changed our country forever.

Do the math.

My sons, the Politicians

2008-09-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

I'm becoming the patriarch of a political dynasty.

Today, my 11 year old son CAL, who started 6th grade last week, was elected to the Student Council of his Middle School in New Hampshire! I am so proud of him!

I am equally proud of my older son JJL, who will be 34 on Monday, who is running for the position of Alderman in his hometown in Tennessee. (No pressure, but the WITZ family is batting 1.000 in winning elections: I fully expect JJL to continue the perfect score.)

Next stop, WASHINGTON!

Move over, John and Sarah!

The Barack Black Attack

2008-07-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama told black Americans they needed to stop blaming the government for their plight and start taking personal responsibility for their actions.

The Democratic Presidential Nominee said, in effect, black Americans need to stop complaining and making excuses and instead start to help themselves.

I can't believe it!

Do you know what this really means?

Barack Obama is urging black Americans of all economic levels to act maturely and responsibly.

To put it succinctly, Barack Obama is trying to get Black Americans to act, well, like REPUBLICANS !!!

July 4, 2008 - Independence Day

2008-07-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July. Independence day. The day we celebrate our freedom in America.

I'm free to pursue my dreams. I'm free to vote for - and free to complain about - my goverment officials. Most important of all, I'm free to worship my God and Savior openly and without fear of imprisonment for doing so.

It's occurred to me today, however, I don't know what it's like not to be free.

Sadly, I take it for granted. Freedom is nice, it's comfortable, it's relaxing, and as I all-too-often forget, freedom is a privilege.

But my freedom didn't - and doesn't - come free.

Many brave men and women have fought for - and died for - the freedoms I ashamedly take for granted.

And they're still there today, protecting my freedom.

They're in Iraq, Afganistan, Guantanimo Bay, and everywhere else on the globe. They're stationed on Military Bases, Aircraft Carriers, Navy Ships, and Coast Guard Cutters. They man security checkpoints, ride Humvees, operate artillery, pilot F-16's, and pass out chocolate bars to little kids in war torn countries.

And though they don't know me, they risk their lives on a daily basis for me.

I wish I could say that I would do the same for them.

So today (especially today!), I just want to say THANK YOU !!!

If you know someone in uniform, or you happen to pass a member of the Armed Forces on the street, in an airport, in a parade, or at a fireworks display, give them a salute or a thumbs-up today.

And tell them Joe says thanks!

God Bless our men and women in the service of our country.

And God Bless America!

Barack Hussein Obama and The Religious Sidestep

2008-06-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of discussion about Barack Obama's speech pertaining to religion a couple of years ago and Dr. James Dobson's broadcast denouncing Obama's Biblical misinterpretations. Many people have expressed sharply divided opinions in favor of one man over the other.

Lost in all these discussions about Obama and Dobson's religious views, however, is perhaps the most crucial piece of subversive political and religious sidestepping that was pulled off by Barack Obama.

Barack Obama went for the comedic one liner in referring to The Sermon on the Mount and how the Defense Department would react to it. Obama wanted to obtain a laugh at the expense of Jesus and he succeeded.

Bottom line, no matter how you look at it, Barack Obama was making fun of the words and the teachings of Jesus.

Keep in mind, Barack Hussein Obama NEVER made fun or try to make a joke of any of the words or teachings of Mohammed. Indeed, if he had, Muslim fundamentalists would demand that Barack Obama be exucuted.

NO! Barack Hussein Obama would NEVER denounce a Muslim's words!

But Barack Hussein Obama was quick to ridicule and make fun of the words of Jesus!

Barack Hussein Obama KNEW that denouncing Mohammed would mark him worthy of death, but here in the good ole' USA , denouncing Jesus would make many people believe him worthy to be elected President of the United States.

It's long overdue for us to demand better from our presidential candidates.

Barack Obama wants us to believe religion should have nothing to do with politics? I would like to see him prove it.

Let's have Obama give other religions the same verbal assault he has unleashed on Christianity. Let's see Barack Hussein Obama make some one liners about Mohammed.

'Left Behind' The Movie - - - New Cast Member

2008-06-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

I believe the movie 'Left Behind' was terribly mis-cast.

The role of Nicholae Carpathia should have been played by Barack Obama.

Like the old Beatles/country song says, all he would have to do is
"Act Naturally".

I urge all Christians...

2008-06-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

I urge everyone who has accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord to listen to Dr. James Dobson's 'Focus On The Family' Broadcast, linked below:

http://www.oneplace.com/common/player/oneplace/CustomPlayer.asp?bcd=6/24/2008&url=http://swn.edgeboss.net/wmedia/swn/oneplace/wm/ffd/ffd20080624.wax&MinTitle=Focus+on+the+Family&MinURL=http://www.oneplace.comhttp://www.oneplace.com/ministries/focus_on_the_family/&MinArchives=http://www.oneplace.comhttp://www.oneplace.com/ministries/focus_on_the_family/archives.asp&Refresh=&AdsCategory=MINISTRY.FOTF&Show_ID=132

It's time Christians took a stand against Barack Obama.

I remember George Carlin before he said seven words...

2008-06-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

George Carlin used to be my favorite comedienne. (emphasis on used to be)

I remember as a teenager in the late 60's, George Carlin was a regular on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" - - - or as it was usually called, "The Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour."

I loved him! Carlin was a comedic genius! I couldn't wait to hear his routine on each of the weekly Smothers Brothers shows. In one memorable performance, Carlin portrayed an Indian Chief talking to his tribe about the upcoming day's events: "OK, let me have your attention. Knock off the horseplay... Knock off the horse play... Hey, you guys playing with the horses, knock it off!" Then later in the routine: "And tonight we will again be attacking the soldier's fort, but it will be different than last time: Tonight - THERE - WILL - BE - SOLDIERS - IN - THE - FORT!"

But, unfortunately, George Carlin changed - - - and to quote Cole Porter:

Good authors too who once knew better words,
Now only use four letter words
Writing prose,
Anything Goes

George Carlin was far too funny and infinitely too talented to have to resort to seven words you can't say on television, because on television, the man was hilarious. For all the incredibly funny routines George Carlin did, it's a pity he is remembered for seven stupid words.

It's a shame he limited his vocabulary.

PAINT IT BLACK

2008-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

PAINT IT BLACK
Words by: Joe Lukawitz
Sung (somewhat loosely) to the tune of The Rolling Stones Classic 'Paint it Black'

I see the White House and he wants to paint it black
With Obama living there he’ll want to paint it black.

(refrain)
I heard the scathing words of Obama’s Pastor Wright
Who wants us to believe all black problems were caused by whites.

Only blacks have suffered unjustly Pastor Wright does insist.
I doubt he ever gave a thought or knows a thing about Schindler’s List.

(refrain)
It doesn’t matter that blacks are killing fellow blacks by selling illegal drugs.
Or that street gangs are filled with machine gun carrying black thugs.

I see the Presidential Limosine is fine because it is colored black.
But Air Force One must change from white and blue to black.

(refrain)
I hear Bing Crosby sing and wish for a Christmas White.
I wonder if Obama will say Christmas infringes on Muslim’s rights?

For many years American Pride Michelle Obama sadly lacked.
I wonder if it’s because our flag is not red, white, and black?

(refrain)
This election will most surely in history take it’s place
For it’s no longer about the man, but merely about his race.

I see the White House and I fear it will turn black
Because the new resident’s heart might surely be all black.

(refrain)
There’s only one way now for us to avoid this pain.
It’s to vote this Fall and elect Senator John McCain.

A Christian Being Persecuted for Christ

2008-05-30T04:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/29/iraq.bible/index.html

This Marine makes me PROUD to be an American - and humbled to be a Christian.

In spite of putting himself in obvious personal danger, this brave Christian American handed out coins with John 3:16 at a military checkpoint in Falluja, Iraq.

And to think I can all-too-often be embarrassed to share the Gospel with my next door neighbor.

I want to encourage ALL CHRISTIANS in the United States to come to the aid of this Marine Brother In Christ. Write your congressman, your state senators, the Pentagon, The White House, and your local TV stations, in support of this truly Amazing American.

Then follow in the giant footsteps of this Marine Christian Hero: Go out and share the Gospel with someone you know today.

God Bless This Brave Marine.

And God Bless America.

A Tribute to My Wife, CAL's Mom

2008-05-11T05:23:00.000-07:00

It's a shame Mother's Day only comes once a year.

My wife is a FANTASTIC mother to our son. She works tirelessly at trying to find ways to make CAL happy and, like most kids, he doesn't even come close to appreciating it.

I won't give specific examples, except one (the most important one): My wife demonstrates on a daily basis what it means to be a Christian Mother and never fails in teaching CAL Sound Biblical Values.

The Scriptual Principles my wife displays in raising our son is especially apparant at school.

We manage the school store at CAL's Bicentennial Elementary School and, being at the school every day, we see the effects of poor parenting in the lives of these young people. Some of these kids are vitual orphans. It breaks my heart.

But it also makes me even more appreciative of the great mother my wife truly is.

So today, May 11, 2008, Mothers Day, I just want to say "Thank You" to my son's Fantastic Mother.

And oh, by the way, I Love You.

A Tribute to Mom and Dad

2008-05-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Mom died May 4, 1996.

A typical Saturday afternoon changed tragically when I received a phone call from the assisted living home early that evening. Mom was gone.

As it turned out, May 4th was exactly seven months before my wife gave birth to our son. Grandma and grandson would never meet each other.

I was 44 years old when I found myself without a living parent. Dad had passed away November 28, 1988.

And now today, 12 years since I lost Mom and almost 20 years since I lost Dad, I just want to say how much I love and miss them.

They were THE BEST !!!

Mom and Dad were simple people, raising me in a small four room apartment on the second floor of my grandparent's house. Many times as a teenager in the 60's, I thought they were too simple and set in their ways, as I was keenly aware of the Rock and Roll civil unrest that characterized that tumultuous decade. I thought they needed to be more 'with it'.

Was I WRONG!

Mom and Dad weren't perfect - - - in many ways, far from it - - - but they provided a home wherein I knew I was loved. I can never repay the sense of love and stability they provided for me growing up.

And I just wish I could tell them face-to-face today:

I Love You, Mom. I Love You, Dad.

Thanks for being such great parents.

I only wish I could be half the parent to my kids.

Guns petrify me

2008-05-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have stated my opinion this past week on other blog sites about how I am 100% AGAINST the idea of students carrying concealed weapons for protection against armed maniacal assailants. I will not belabor the point here, but suffice to say I see absolutely nothing good to be gained by students packing heat. (If you're really interested in what I had to say, I have copied my reasoning at the bottom of this post.)

Guns scare me or, better said, guns petrify me.

I grew up in Orange, New Jersey, where my father never owned a gun. Firearms of ANY kind, even hunting rifles, were nowhere to be found in my house growing up.

My first real-life, personal encounter with a gun occurred in January or February 1972, and it scared the excrement out of me.

I worked briefly in 1972 for a Consumer Finance Company, the type of loan company that made higher-risk, high interest loans to people with marginal-at-best credit worthiness.

One day, I had to 'chase an account', which meant I had to go to the home of a delinquent debtor, since telephone contact proved futile, in an atempt to collect on the debt. Surprisingly, the home was located in a fairly nice suburban middle class neighborhood of West Orange, New Jersey. (I say 'surprisingly' because most of the loan company's customers lived in rougher urban areas of Newark and East Orange.) The quiet residential street was a welcome change to some of the tenements I usually visited.

As I drove up the street looking for the particular house number, I noticed a 'No Parking' sign on the street about 50 yards away. I was very hesitant whether I could park my car for the few minutes I would be at the house. Adding to my hesitation, no other cars were parked on the street at all.

Deciding to risk it, I parked my car about two houses farther up the street (making it that much farther away from the 'No Parking' sign) and began to cross the street in the direction of the residence I needed to visit. As I was walking, much to my uneasiness, a Police Car slowly passed and, as he did, I nervously watched him over my shoulder to see if he was going to stop and ticket my car.

The Police Car not only stopped, but immediately backed up and pulled up next to me. The officer rolled down the window and suspiciously looked me over, asking me where I was headed. I motioned with my head to the house.

I have to note here that this was either late January or early February and it was cold outside. I had my winter coat on, with my gloves squished in my pockets, and I was walking with my hands in the same coat pockets as my balled-up gloves.

"What's in your pockets" demanded the Officer.

That's when I saw the gun.

The Police Officer had quickly drawn his gun, aiming right at me, and ordered me to SLOWLY remove whatever I had in my pockets.

I remember imploring him "Please don't sneeze!" as I didn't want the last sounds I ever heard to be "Achoo" and BANG !!!

Slowly and methodically, I told him I was removing my not-loaded GLOVES from my pocket and, oh, by the way, "WHY ARE YOU POINTING A GUN AT ME ???!!!'

The Officer asked why I was going to that particular house and I told him who I was and how I was trying to collect money.

Oh, and I again asked "WHY ARE YOU POINTING A GUN AT ME ???!!!"

Well, the Officer, seemingly convinced of my innocence, lowered his firearm and proceeded to tell me there were a rash of home robberies in the past few weeks and this particular house was suspected as being the culprits. Moreover, drugs were suspected as being distributed from this house.

I politely implored the Officer to stay in the area while I made my call on the house. Frankly, I couldn't care less at that point if I collected any money or not - I just wanted to get far away from there.

Fortunately, no one was home. I headed back to my car, waved politely to the Officer, jumped in my car, checked to see if I had Number Two-ed in my pants, and drove back to the office.

I don't think I have ever been as scared as I was when that gun was pointed right at me.

If I never see another gun close up, it will be too soon.

Guns petrify me.

And as far as I'm concerned, NOTHING GOOD can come about from students carrying guns under the guise of "self protection".

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need guns at all, because VT and Columbine monsters wouldn’t exist.
In a less-than-perfect world, your argument would be 100% correct (and in a less-than-perfect world, I would agree with you 100%.) School shooters would be taken out by legally-armed students protecting themselves and everyone else in the class.
In the REAL world, however, armed students are a larger tragedy waiting to happen.
VT is the perfect example.
One of the complaints waged against the VT Administration that horrible day was that students were not fully made aware that a double homicide occured on campus. The thinking has it that if the student body knew of the slayings, the massacre that followed over an hour later never would have happened.
Had that alarm gone out, however, with concealed weapons being allowed, armed students would have been on the vigilante trail, hunting for the gunman (who, at the time, wasn’t even on campus, but at the post office.)
So here you would have a host of pistol-brandishing students, under the guise of ‘protecting themselves’, patroling the campus. Many students, many guns, many fears, and virtually no information about the description of the actual shooter.
I don’t know if you’ve been to a college campus recently, but quite frankly, many, many students trying to ‘express themselves’ with their wardrobe look suspiciously like ‘trenchcoat mafias’ every single day. Even kids wearing tee shirts proclaiming the likes of Tupac Shakur and other ‘gangsta rappers’ do not give the impression that the wearer is hoping for “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men”.
Now, with guns visibly in their hands, and murders already having been reported, these ‘peaceful’ self-protectors wearing Tupac’s image will more-than-likely look anything but innocent.
Do you shoot him/her because he/she LOOKS like the shooter?
And what if that suspiciously dressed, gun-wielding person happens to turn in YOUR direction, gun pointed directly at you? (Remember, you have a gun drawn, and he thinks YOU might be the shooter!) Do you fire first?
And what if you take out that person, who is NOT the actual shooter? Now you have THREE murders already - and one of the murders was committed BY YOU !!!
You get to live indeed - probably in prison for the next 20 years.
But the tragedy of VT points out the danger of concealed weapons in other ways.
With the advance warning at VT not being issued, when the shooter arrived in the first lecture hall, many if not most of the students, armed or not, were sitting ducks anyway. The element of surprise is a terrorist’s strongest weapon.
After the initial shock dissipates, however, the frantic scramble to take cover while the shooter continues his rampage makes anyone’s concealed weapon a moot point: the safely holstered firearm is of little use when one is ducking to save his life.
Assuming the guns could (eventually) be drawn, the shooter by that time would be heading down the hall to the next lecture room, where chaos would most certainly already be in effect as armed vigilantes would be doing their Clint Eastwood impersonations. The real shooter would just be one of many gun-toting ’students’.
(Note to anyone naive enough to believe the availability of concealed firearms would be a deterrent to some lunatic desiring to be the lead story on CNN: You are kidding yourself. The concealed guns would be envisioned by the madman as more of a challenge to carry out his executions.)
Bottom line: More guns, more chance of people getting shot.
And just to add one more note regarding how the availability of guns DOES NOT deter anyone OR prevent shootings: Many a successful bank robbery has occured where an armed security guard was present - - - and every armored car that has been robbed has had armed personnel aboard. The guns were proven worthless.

Goodbye Tony Soprano

2008-04-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

We made a huge decision yesterday: We are selling our six Sopranos DVD sets on Craig's List. We are getting rid of the video cesspool known as the Sopranos.

I know, I know, as a Christian, I should never have been watching that smut in the first place. Guilty as charged... I will not try to rationalize it.

Actually, (and this is 100% the truth), what drew me to watch the Sopranos in the first place was a Quiz about being a Jerseyite my son in Nashville emailed me a couple of years ago. One of the questions said you are a true "Joiseyite" if you recognized most of the locales in the opening credits of The Sopranos. Having been born and raised in the Garden State, the macadam jungle that is Northeast New Jersey brings back many fond memories of my growing-up years. I had to see the opening credits for myself.

Soon, I was hooked.

Truth be told, however, I liked watching the Sopranos mostly for the locations rather than the stories themselves. With each new starting episode, my wife always wanted to fast-forward past the opening theme song as Tony drove out of the Lincoln Tunnel and proceeded south on The New Jersey Turnpike. She wanted to just get to the episode.

No way!

I loved seeing the Turnpike (Bostonians call their highway "The Mass Pike", but in Joisey, it's THE TURNPIKE!), signs for Newark Airport, and of course, the engineering marvel of it's day, the Pulaski Skyway.

Nothing says "Joisey" better than seeing the 12 lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike at Exit 14, with "The Skyway" looming majestically toward the northeast!

Not surprizingly, my favorite episodes of Tony and Company occured in Season Two, when many of the scenes were filmed on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. My wife got sick of me pausing the DVD to point out the various attractions I recognized.

One of my favorite scenes showed Tony and Paulie sitting at a card table in the main entrance of Convention Hall, a building I've passed through many, many times. I loved it!

Unfortunately, however, putting reminiscing aside, The Sopranos came with a high price - a VERY high price - and I am ashamed of that price.

First and foremost, using the Lord's Name in vain is so rampant throughout the entire show, you tend to become numb to it. I don't mean to sound churchy or sactimoneous about this, but I do take very seriously how Jesus' Name is used in the wrong way. (Frankly, the fact the Lord's Name is used so much by people of all nationalities in an angry, cursing manner proves without a doubt Jesus is indeed The Messiah. You NEVER hear someone exclaim in a fit of rage 'Mohammed!' - or 'Allah!' - or 'Buddha!' - or 'Joseph Smith!' It's only Jesus that comes to mind; the other imposters are never mentioned.)

I am also very uneasy about the blatantly disgusting way sex is presented episode after episode. My wife would chuckle as I literally squirmed in my chair for every 'Bada Bing' scene. (Not to mention other equally sleezey scenes.)

Needless to say, the constant violence was never easy to watch.

BUT...

I do owe a debt of gratitude to The Sopranos for 'educating' me in my relatively naive corner of the world. Remembering there are Tony Sopranos everywhere in real life has made my wife and I more cautious.

Only a week or two after we stared watching The Sopranos in July of 2006, we were in the courtyard outside of Fannuil Hall in downtown Boston ordering Lemon Ice from a streetcart vendor. Immediately behind the vendor, sitting on a bench, a man of Italian descent was screaming loudly into his cellphone, calling the person at the other end all types of names Tony Soprano would be quick to use. Normally, my wife would probably have spoken up, telling the guy to knock it off; but, after seeing The Sopranos, we knew better. We did our best to ignor the irrate 'gentleman'.

The Sopranos also showed how organized crime is behind so many Unions, particularly those doing government-financed work. Wherever public funds are going to be spent, you can be sure there's a Tony Soprano waiting to get his hands on them.

'Bada Bing' really opened up my eyes (NO, not because of the barenaked ladies trapsing about!). I have never been to a strip club and I naively believed those types of establishments had 'look, but don't touch' rules of behavior. I honestly thought the girls were there to dance - period. Stupid me, I truly thought extracurricular activities were strictly verbotten.

Man, was I WRONG! Seeing the behind-closed-doors activities at 'The Bing' shocked - and nauseated - me.

Sadly, 'Bada Bing' shaped my reaction to a local tragedy that happened two weeks before Christmas, 2006. I know the mother of a twentysomething year old man, working as manager in his uncle's "adult entertainment" club, who was shot and killed by a disgruntled customer.

My sympathy for the grieving family was virtually squelched by my anger of this 'upstanding' family supporting this type of employment and entertainment in the first place. How could they think ANYTHING good could come from engaging in this sordid business? (Another pathetic note: In spite of his nephew being shot and killed inside this fine establishment, the bereaved uncle reopened this so-called reputable club THREE DAYS - yes, just THREE DAYS - after the murder!)

Just another day at the office...

No doubt about it - Tony Soprano taught me things.

I'm just not sure it was an education I really needed.

Good Friday - - - And the Cost of My Salvation

2008-03-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

Mark 15: 33-34 (Today's New International Version)
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").

Today is Friday, March 21, 2008 - - - Good Friday.

A few years ago, the Mel Gibson Film "The Passion of the Christ" painted a gruesome, gut-wrenching picture of what Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered to attain my salvation. The detailed depiction of each aspect of the crucifixtion - the crown of thorns, the scourging, the nails being driven through His Hands and Feet - made us truly take note of what Our Savior suffered.

And yet, I sincerely believe this was only a small portion of what Jesus did to pay for my sins. For fear of sounding like I am making light of all this torture, (and believe me, I AM NOT, for each and every detail turns my stomach), I think the most severe suffering is not recorded in the Gospels.

Mark 15:33 tells us that darkness covered the earth for three hours, from noon until three in the afternoon.

I believe the entire earth was completely dark during those three hours. No log fires, no oil lamps, no torches for light. The immediate onslaught of midday darkness caught everyone off guard. No one was able to ignite anything to cast light.

If you have ever experienced a sudden nighttime power blackout on an overcast night, you can get a small understanding of those three hours. It's so dark, you can't see your hand when you hold it up right in front of your face. No street lights, no stars in the sky, no moonlight. Darkness - complete, total darkness - envelopes you with an eerie, frightening blackness.

During the crucifixtion darkness, however, I believe there was another numbing element: complete, total silence. I think the sudden blackness left people dumbfounded - they were far too scared to utter a sound, much less a word.

During those three hours of darkness, God's vengence against sin was fully unleashed. The total Wrath of God was directed at His Only Son, an act of punishment so great, God had to pull down the earth-darkening shades so that we wouldn't see it.

We couldn't see a thing. The Gospel writer can only feebly state "darkness came over the whole land."

God was judging God on our behalf. We could not see - and thanks to Jesus, we do not EVER HAVE to see - the complete judgement our sins deserve.

Darkness covered the punishment Our Savior suffered at the Hand of God The Father.

But I believe we should consider one additional aspect of those three hours.

Psalm 90:4 (New International Version)
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

I wonder if the reverse of Psalm 90:4 is true in relation to those three hours.

For three hours, I think eternity was cut in two.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were always in communication with Each Other throughout eternity. Even while Jesus walked this earth in human form, He was still in constant contact with His Father in Heaven.

Until the noontime darkness.

For the first time in eternity, God the Father and God the Son were truly separated - - - and if I can use this terminology, at war with Each Other. In those three hours, an eternity of torment in Hell was unleashed upon Jesus.

Just as Psalm 90:4 says a thousand years are but a day in God's Sight, I believe those three hours were an eternity for Jesus, for it was only AFTER those three hours did Jesus cry out "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Those three hours contained the most excruciating torment for Jesus.

Mel Gibson could only scratch the surface of the suffering Jesus went through to save me. Thank God I never have to find out how truly awful it was.

A Birthday I Will Always Remember

2008-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today, March 6, 2008, is my 56th birthday. It's kind of ironic, but with all the fuss we usually make about a person's birthday - - - sending cards, calling and wishing the birthday boy/girl a Happy Birthday, giving gifts, etc. - - - for me personally, there are only 2 birthdays of mine that I can recall any special details about at all.

The first one I recall was two years ago. My wife and son decided, after a few not-so-subtle hints were dropped by me, to get me a Mrs. Fields Giant Birthday Cookie in place of a birthday cake. It was great! I was really happy with their keen perception of my hints.

I'll never forget that cookie!

The only other birthday I recall very vividly happened 45 years ago. Actually, I don't remember a thing about my actual birthday that year; I remember the afternoon of the day before my birthday as if it happened yesterday.

My childhood friend Billy and I had a daily weekday pilgrimmage we made, weather permitting, without fail. I am a lifelong lover of trains and as kids, Billy and I would race up to the Highland Avenue Train Station of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. We made it a point to be on time to see the 5:15pm express diesel train speeding by on the center track of the three-track commuter line that ran through Orange, New Jersey. We were such regulars there at the station, waving at the engineer, that each evening he rewarded us with two or three blasts of his train whistle as he thundered by on his southerly journey.

The evening of March 5, 1963, the eve of my 11th birthday, Billy and I were walking up Freeman Street en route to our daily meeting with our engineer friend. (The southern end of the train station is on Freeman Street.) Most of Freeman Street was a business district, with various types of retail stores - - - a hardware store, neighborhood grocers, and oh yes, a toy store. About a half block before we reached the train station, my older brother Richie drove up and parked his car across the street from the toy store. At first I thought he was making a delivery, for he worked as a delivery boy for a local liquor store, but to my surprise, he did not have a delivery with him to be made. I asked him excitedly if he was there buying me a present and he told me basically to mind my own business and keep walking.

I watched the diesel that evening with an added amount of excitment, knowing that Richie was down the street shopping for my birthday present.

Funny, I don't remember what the actual present was that I received the next day from my brother- - - probably a model car, as I was really into building models as a kid - - - but I don't remember for sure.

What I do remember, though, is the important part: Richie taking the time to buy me a present.

Thanks, Richie. You made that birthday absolutely unforgetable.

I'm extremely blessed to have you as a brother.

20,454 - 490,896 - 29,453,760

2008-03-06T06:38:00.001-08:00

Days: 20,454

Hours: 490,896

Minutes: 29,453,760

The sum total of my life to date: Today I turned 56 years old.

And what do I have to show for my 29,453,760 minutes of life? In spite of 58,907,520 sins I have commited in my life - - - this figure is an approximation and it is in all probability very low, as I just estimated I sin two times per minute - - - Thanks to God's Amazing Grace and Love, I have quite a lot to show.

I have a gorgeous wife, who is beautiful both inside and out, who never ceases to amaze me as to what a loving wife and mother she is and who truly knows Jesus and sincerely wants to make Him the Center of Her Life.

I have a fantastic 11-year-old son here at home, who is my Best Buddy and keeps me young.

I have a grown 33-year-old son in Tennessee, who has become a fine Christian Husband and Father.

I have a beautiful 31-year-old (as of tomorrow, when she celebrates her birthday) daughter in Florida, who is just an amazing young woman.

I have an adorable 20-month-old Grandson in Tennessee who is carrying on the proud family tradition of extremely handsome men. :-)

I have a daughter-in-law in Tennessee who is an unbelievable mother.

I have a son-in-law in Florida that I am still getting to know.

And most important of all, I have a God, whose Son Jesus Died for my 58,907,520 - and counting - sins. (And because of My Savior, My Father God doesn't even remember my 58 million +++ sins!)

Not bad, eh ?

Birthdays just don't come any better than this!

I can't wait to see what my next 20,454 days have in store for me!

Timeless, Soul-Searching, Awe-Inspiring Words of Wisdom...

2008-03-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

In my constant quest to present contemplative, substantive, and informative reading, I offer the following Words of Wisdom that are truly Timeless, Soul-Searching, and Awe-Inspiring:

"To be or not to be." Shakespeare
"To be is to do." Socrates
"Do be do be do." Sinatra

Baleep, baleep, baleep, That's All Folks!

An Inconvenient Truth - Another Snowstorm - That @#%&# Global Warming!

2008-03-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday, March 1, 2008

I learned An Inconvenient Truth today as I was out snowblowing with my John Deere tractor : Global Warming causes frequent snowstorms. I'm sure glad Al Gore has educated me about what is happening to our planet.

This is the third winter we've owned the John Deere Tractor with a snowblower attachment and I have had to use it more this season than the previous two years combined. Today's eight inches of snow is the seventh or eighth significant accumulation so far this winter.

I have no doubt that as our planet gets warmer and warmer each year, I will need to do even more snowblowing in the future.

As a matter of fact, if this @#%&# global warming continues on it's current fever pitch, I am sure I will soon be snowblowing on the Fourth of July!

We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Al Gore, the great Inventor of the Internet, who called Bill Clinton one of America's Greatest Presidents on the Day Clinton was Impeached, for enlightening us all to the Peril of Global Warming.

It's just too bad Irving Berlin never wrote a song entitled "White Easter."

Identity Theft - And the Loss of My Identity

2008-02-28T12:54:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I definitely believe this national fixation about identity theft is getting ridiculously out of hand.

No matter where I turn anymore, I'm being cautioned to protect my identity. I go online, I'm told to protect my identity. I watch TV, and some overweight middle-aged guy talking like a teenybopper Valley Girl laments over lost identity. I go to post something here, and I'm reminded that I need to protect my identity.

Enough already about identity theft!

I mean, come on, do you really mean to tell me there is some scheming, conniving, pathetic lowlife of a person out there who actually wants to financially masquerade as ME !!!

Geez - - - Knock yourself out, fella.

Frankly, I'm kinda' flattered!

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm a total moron (emphasis on total) who is going to send a broadcast email to everyone in the world with all my financial information on it. I do take reasonable precautions with my barely-above-busted bank balances.

It's just that, well, in all this hysteria to protect my identity from everyone else, somehow in the shuffle, I've managed to protect my identity FROM ME !!!!!!

I mean, I've completely forgotten who I am !!!

I go to log in online for one of my credit cards, and immediately I'm accosted with a great big red warning: YOUR LOG IN INFORMATION DOES NOT MATCH OUR RECORDS!!!

Stupid computer screens...

I can almost feel someone out there in surround sound cyberspace just gloating over my stupidity in not knowing anything about myself.

So, I immediately select the "Forgot Your User Name / Password?" button and - voila! - I am now confronted with the online equivelent of a College SAT Exam:

What is your Auntie Grizelda's youngest sister's name?

Who inked the smallest signature on the Declaration of Independence?

Does your dog have fleas?

HELP !!!

I don't remember any of the answers I gave to my secret questions!

(For the record, though, I would like to make it perfectly clear that my dog DOES NOT have fleas, but unfortunately, my Auntie Grizelda does!)

So, after I bomb out big time in trying to answer my personal secret online questions, I have to resort to calling their 1-800 number and subject myself to an interrogation only slightly less intense as those reserved for suspected terrorists.

All this to find out I have $3.28 available on my credit limit.

Come on, now, does this sound like the type of identity that really needs protection? I didn't think so.

Fact is, the only time my identity came even close to being stolen, it turned out to be my Auntie Grizelda trying to steal it!

(I hope I don't have fleas now!)

Frankly, I don't worry at all about identity theft, for to be perfectly blunt about it, if anyone ever stole MY identity, they would very quickly give it back!

Puskas Murder - February 25, 1982

2008-02-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

Twenty six years have elapsed since that fateful Thursday morning in 1982 when a bomb was mysteriously delivered to Dick and Patricia Puskas' home in Middlesex, New Jersey, subsequently exploding and killing them both. The case has baffled investigators all these many years, for a clear cut motive could never be established, and the murderer never apprehended.

Even though there is no smoking gun in the case, an examination of the preponderance of seemingly circumstantial evidence adds up to a disturbing conclusion that almost certainly demands a verdict.

And the verdict is not pretty.

The facts of the case are fairly known to everyone: A mysterious package, simply addressed "For Andy Puskas" was left on the front stoop of their home. Andy Puskas brought the package into their living room , left it on a table, unopened, and proceeded to get in the car to take their three kids to school. Patricia Puskas' curiosity was peeked and she opened the package, revealing what looked suspiciously like a bomb. Pat went to the front door and called out to her husband "Dick, you better take a look at this." Dick Puskas went back into the house, saw the eerie looking device in the package, and called the police. A 59 second phone call to the police resulted in a patrolman being dispatched to the house and, as he was getting out of his police car across the street, the bomb exploded, killing Dick and Pat and burning the home to the ground.

A seemingly quiet, perfect Christian couple died instantly, without a hint of a reason to explain the tragedy. Dick and Pat Puskas were elevated in their Christian circle to near-Saint status.

The facts of the case, however, though admittedly circumstantial as individual elements, combine to paint a very different picture.

Fact #1: The Box. Let's be honest. A box is delivered to your front stoop early in the morning
(and deliveries like this were NOT the norm for the Puskas' - this delivery was a one time occurance) and curiosity does not prompt you to immediately open the box? That makes absolutely no sense, yet Dick Puskas just drops it on a table and goes out the door to take the kids to school. Even if they were running late, a sneak peek would most certainly be the obvious thing to do. But no, Dick Puskas just drops it and proceeds out the door.

(A sinister question also must be raised here: Why was Puskas known by two names: Andy Puskas at work, and Dick Puskas at church?)

Fact #2: Thursday. The explosion happened on a Thursday. This is no small detail. Tuesday and Thursday were the only 2 days of the week when all three Puskas boys went off to school. The youngest one went to nursery school only on Tuesdays and Thursdays and, as such, these 2 days were the only ones when the parents would be alone at home.

Fact #3: The bomb. It was widely reported that, due to the all-consuming destruction of the device, the bomb was the handiwork of a professional. Baloney! Professional assasins DO NOT give their targets time to get away: You open the box, the bomb goes off. End of story. - - - But not with the Puskas bomb. Not only does the bomb NOT go off upon Patricia opening the box, but there is plenty of time left over for Dick Puskas to come back in the house, examine the box, discuss it with his wife, dial the police, talk to the police for 59 seconds, and then wait several minutes for the squad car to show up.

All the while, even with Dick Puskas telling the police it looked like some kind of sick joke, let's be honest: If YOU thought a bomb was sitting in your living room - - - even if you were not sure it was genuine - - - you would get out of the house immediately and let professional bomb experts determine it's authenticity.

But not Dick Puskas: He stays right there, with the bomb. HE DOESN"T EVEN TELL HIS WIFE TO GO OUTSIDE, JUST FOR PRECAUTION. She could easily have taken the kids to school if Dick wanted to play "PROTECTIVE HUSBAND AND FATHER".

Fact #4: The timing of the explosion. After all the time mentioned in Fact #3 - - - several minutes - - - the bomb coincidentally goes off when the policeman exits his patrol car across the street. (The point of no return had arrived for the bomber. If the bomb didn't go off immediately right then, the unexploded bomb could have yielded much evidence as to whom actually made it.)

A smaller, but incriminating, point about the explosion must be made here: Dick Puskas tells the police it looks like some type of sick joke, yet he tells his kids to stay outside. He wants his wife inside, but he wants the kids outside.

Fact #5: Dick's favorite Bible Story. Granted, this one is stretching it a bit, but Dick Puskas' favorite Bible Story was Elijah being carried away to Heaven on a Charriot of Fire. Was Dick looking to enter Heaven in an equally dramatic, fiery style?

Admittedly, the facts above are coincidental. Intriguing, fairly incriminating, but nonetheless coincidental.

Until you factor in a disturbingly veiled threat.

Dick Puskas was a troubled man who felt he was 'under fire' at his church. Pat and Dick Puskas were VERY involved in the church, with Dick sharing some of the pastoral duties with some other men of the church, and Pat being involved in many activities, including Sunday School Teacher.

Unfortunately, the Puskas boys were, well, less-than-well behaved. Truth be told, the Puskas boys pretty much ran wild while in the church - even during Worship Services. The situation with the boys became so distracting that, the Sunday evening a week and a half before the bombing, the elders of the church held a special meeting with Dick Puskas to discuss the problem about the children.

The meeting resulted in the elders telling Dick he had to get his kids under control. Dick responded with a ludicrous assertion that, as long as the kids were under the church's roof, the kids were THE CHURCH'S responsibility to discipline.

The elders issued an ultimatum to Dick Puskas: Either get his kids under control while at church, or he and Pat should step down from their respective duties. The elders stressed their children were Dick and Pat's primary responsibility, even above church involvement.

Dick Puskas became very argumentative and flatly stated HE WOULD SEE TO IT THE CHURCH WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE KIDS.

The meeting ended in a less-than-amiable manner.

CONCLUSION: Though I am not a professional investigator by any means, it is my opinion the Puskas Bombing was a tragic murder-suicide. Dick Puskas planned to take his and his wife's life in dramatic 'charriot of fire' fashion while all 3 kids were at school. The 'delivered box' was meant to be a ruse: an important element for the kids to remember as to what happened, thereby leading to the belief the bomb came from some mysterious stranger.

Hence, he dropped the box and 'ran', hoping to get the kids to school and then return to detonate it. His plan began to unravel, however, with Pat opening the box so quickly. He did not plan on that happening and, when it did, he was under pressure to go through the charade of calling the police. The patrol car pulling up across the street was the point of no return: Dick Puskas had to either detonate the bomb, or risk being caught as the perpetrator and possibly going to jail.

And there was no possible way for Saintly Dick Puskas to allow himself to get caught.

Dick Puskas made sure the kids became the church's responsibility.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

2008-02-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

We have been completely duped. In spite of the horrors of September 11, 2001, as well as other tragic events around the world, the Democratic Party would have us come to a wrong understanding of what truly constitutes a "Weapon of Mass Destruction".

By definition, a WMD is anything that causes massive destruction and loss of life. IT DOES NOT MEAN a WMD needs to be a Nuclear Weapon.

Columbine High School and Virginia Tech proved guns can be Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The Madrid Subway tragedy proved a suicide bomber can be a WMD.

And 9/11 proved a Boeing 767 can be a Weapon of Mass Destruction.

Amazingly, not a single nuclear weapon was used at Columbine, VT, Madrid, NYC, or Washington. And yet, massive loss of life was the sad consequence of each of these horrible tragedies.

It is high time we realize a Weapon of Mass Destruction is NOT AN ITEM, but A PERSON.

Adolph Hitler killed millions of Jews.

Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, and Seung-Hui Cho killed dozens of students and several faculty members.

Mohammed Atta and his fellow terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people.

And Saddam Hussein killed tens of thousands of his countrymen.

Not one of these homicidal maniacs used nuclear weapons. And yet, each and every one of these killers became true Weapons of Mass Destruction.

It's not the weapon, it's the user, that is the true weapon of mass destruction.

It's long overdue the Democratic party realizes this undeniable fact. Our National Security demands it.

Barack Obama - The Candidate for REAL CHANGE

2008-02-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm convinced. Wholeheartedly, COMPLETELY convinced!

Barack Obama claims he is the candidate who will bring real change to America.

I could not agree more.

Barack shows complete defiance when the Pledge of Allegiance is recited. Barack's wife excitedly declares this week is the first time in her adult life she is really proud of her country. And Barack hangs a picture of Che Guevara in his campagn headquarters.

Wow !!!

It's been 75 years since a candidate of this magnitude embarked on a crusade to bring real change to his country.

In the 1930's, Adolph Hitler was, without question, the individual for change. He changed Germany and, in the process, changed the world.

Hitler even altered our language. Thanks to Adolph's undeniable leadership ability, his enduring legacy can be summed up in single words that immediately bring his image to our memory.

Words like Nazi.

Fuhrer.

Auschwitz.

And now, thanks to the undeniable leadership ability of Barack Obama and his beautiful wife, every time I hear Lee Greenwood sing "God Bless The U.S.A.", an image of a defiant leader and his prideless wife will immediately spring up in our memory.

And if Obama is elected, the White House will be the center of American Pride shamelessly squelched.

Barack Obama is indeed changing America.

If we elect him President, we deserve exactly what we get.

An Ode to Michelle Obama

2008-02-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

An Ode to Michelle Obama

(Sung to the tune of The Beatles 60's Hit 'Michelle')

Music by: John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Words by: Joe Lukawitz

Michelle
Oh swell
Your cold words have shown your true heart well
Not proud Michelle.

Michelle
Please tell
How U.S. pride escaped your one brain cell
Michelle dumbbell.

We heard you, We heard you, We heard you.
We heard all you had to say
About no pride in the USA
Until today, you mean to say, you’re not proud of the USA
Pride-Less Michelle.

Superior Court Judge Richard Moses

2008-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

It scares me to have to admit this, but Superior Court Judge Richard Moses is just the latest supposedly educated person to be sucked into our national society's declining moral standard.

And it's getting worse each and every day.

Just look at how much our country has fallen in the past 20 years.

In the late 1980's, Senator Gary Hart was forced to withdraw as a candidate for President because he admitted to having had an affair in the past. The country viewed Senator Hart as lacking in the stable moral character necessary to occupy our nation's highest office.

Twenty years later, however, not only do we condone Bill Clinton's affair IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHILE HE WAS PRESIDENT, but now we are pushing to have his wife occupy the nation's highest office.

Even as openly liberal a TV station as FOX ridiculed this moral decline on shows such as "Boston Public", but we as a nation accept, even applaud, it.

But it gets even worse.

In Clinton's first year as President, Vincent Foster commits suicide and sensitive, incriminating documents suddenly disappear from his office. Weeks later, the missing documents 'mysteriously' reappear in Hillary Clinton's personal living quarters!

In Hillary's bedroom!

And let's not forget, consummate liar Bill Clinton commits perjury - PERJURY! - and is disbarred.

Do we as a nation say "NO MORE" and demand morally stable individuals to be in the race for the White House?

No, quite the opposite.

We as a nation are now attempting to put the morally bankrupt Clintons once-again in the highest office in the land.

So why are we so shocked at the morally bankrupt 'legal' decisions now being handed down from the bench?

Superior Court Judge Richard Moses is just the latest example of a downward spiral of morally incapable individuals occupying positions of authority.

Please don't misunderstand me: I AM NOT CONDONING JUDGE MOSES' POOR JUDGEMENT. Quite the contrary: I am saying we as a country must stop putting morally inept people in positions of authority in the first place!

Superior Court Judge Richard Moses has no business to be sitting on the Bench.

And the Clintons have no business to be in Washington.

Our Founding Fathers had great moral backbones.

Modern day Americans, sadly, have none.

If we don't stop this moral errosion immediately, twenty years from now, this tragic rape case will inevidibly be viewed in a totally different light: The six year old boy will probably be prosecuted for having seduced the sex offender.

America, we are morally bankrupt.

It's time we start voting with our hearts and intellect and not our wallet.

If we continue to put immoral people such as the Clintons in the White House, the trickle-down effect of moral ineptitude becomes a tsunami of bad judgements resulting in little boys being tragicly violated.

Let's put MORAL PEOPLE in office.

Come November, we can make a difference. We owe that much to this little six year old boy.

Perhaps more importantly, we owe it to ourselves.

January 19, 2008 - A MONUMENTAL DAY for man!

2008-01-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

History was made today.

GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS are remembered and revered forever: Man first walking on the moon; Dr. Martin Luther King delivering his famous 'I have a Dream' speech; The Miracle in Lake Placid in 1980 when the USA defeated the Russians for the Olympic Gold Medal in Hockey.

Each event is remembered as a monumental achievement in the history of mankind - and each one is permanently etched into the memories of people forever.

But NONE measure up to the MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT attained by yours-truly this day, Saturday, January 19, 2008.

HISTORY was made today!

Today, I shushed my wife! (And lived to tell about it!)

NO ONE - - - least of all me - - - ever, EVER, tells my wife to "Shhh".

Telling my wife to be quiet - - - SHHHHH!!! - - - would immediately subject the unsuspecting speaker to a heated rebuttal containing verbiage that would completely intimidate and silence the burliest, gruffest truck driver on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

But that reaction would be directed at a mere mortal.

Today, I have attained heights of greatness reserved only for the super-human giants most men can only dream to attain.

One small word for man; One giant leap for mankind!

I told my wife to "Shhhh...!!!"

Oh, I replay that splendid moment over and over again in my memory - - -and like a vintage wine stored in a fine old keg, the taste just gets sweeter and sweeter!

It doesn't matter that we were discussing something about our son CAL and CAL was just coming into earshot, requiring both of us to temporarily interrupt the conversation.

It doesn't matter that she probably would have clammed up voluntarily, without prompting, once she saw CAL.

It doesn't even matter that my "Shhh" was more of a subdued, wimpish, under-my-breath utterance as opposed to a bold, demonstrative, outspoken COMMAND.

No, WHAT DOES MATTER is that I was able to utter that imperative, immortal phrase at all: Shhhh!

Today, I conquered!

Today, I reigned supreme in comparison to all other men!

Today, I achieved GREATNESS !!!

And today, I can 100% guarantee - - - She won't let that happen again!

Man, am I in trouble!

Want to investigate the "Integrity" of Professional Sports - Follow the Money

2008-01-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

Ever since the 1919 Chicago Black Sox World Series Scandal, the integrity of professional sports has been the supposed benchmark of every major professional sports league. The outcome of every game played must be above reproach.

A noble endeavor.

Too bad it's a bunch of baloney.

Professional Sports are, and always have been, solely about THE MONEY.

Lest we forget, professional sports are, first and foremost, a business. And like any other business, professional sports adjusts it's marketing practices to maximize the profitability of it's business. Whether we want to admit it or not, professional sports primary marketing tool is what happens on the field of play.

Recent sports "records" sadly attest to this economic fact.

Take baseball, for starters.

In 1994, a Players Strike came very close to putting Major League Baseball out of business. Over 900 games were cancelled, including the entire '94 playoff schedule and World Series, resulting in widespread fan anger and disenchantment. When play resumed in 1995, empty seats and fan apathy were rampant.

The fallout continued up until the 1998 Season. Baseball was, in a word, hurting. Financially hurting!

Baseball needed a fix - and a quick one at that! Breaking Roger Maris' Record of 61 Home Runs belted in the 1961 Season was the perfect remedy for a troubled, financially hurting league.

And nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! - was going to stand in the way of the Professional Baseball Marketing Plan to resurrect fan interest - and spending!

Least of all, steroids.

Mark McGwire's and Sammy Sosa's race to break Roger Maris' Home run Record was a marketing bonanza. Fan interest was peeked and Professional Baseball was enjoying a remarkable resurgence.

The only problem was, this race for the record was drug-enhanced.

And baseball did NOTHING to curtail it!

Professional Baseball would have you believe they were completely unaware of McGwire, Sosa, and others taking controlled substances to bolster their performance.

Give me a break!

You mean to tell me that no one - the managers, coaches, teammates, competing teams, umpires, not to mention the hoards of reporters chronicling their every move - noticed the change in these athletes physiques?

If you are gullible enough to believe that, I suppose you actually believe Bill Clinton really did not inhale!

Baseball stopped at NOTHING to implement their Marketing Plan of the Run At The Record.

But baseball is not alone.

The NFL Season this year is a corker!

During the exhibition season last August - AUGUST!!!! - football 'experts' began talking about the New England Patriots going 16-0.

Make no mistake about it, the Patriots are a very, very good team; But to say they were going to be perfect at the beginning of the season was another record the League determined was good for business.

And nothing was going to prevent the prediction from becoming reality.

In at least 4 games, the Patriots were soundly beaten through 3 1/2 quarters, only to have the opposing team tank and the appointed perfectionists stage a thrilling rally and continue their unbeaten streak.

The Baltimore game was the ultimate predetermined outcome. Late in the fourth quarter, the Patriots were trailing the Ravens and faced a fourth down. Baltimore cleanly stopped them, meaning the Patriots turned the ball over on downs and Baltimore could run out the clock. The perfect season would go by the wayside.

Unbelievably, an official determined a Baltimore Assistant Coach had called timeout before the snap, supposedly nullifying the play. The down was replayed and, of course, the Patriots succeeded in getting the first down and ultimately the victory.

Somehow, nobody noticed how this ruling was truly ridiculous. If a timeout was indeed called just prior to the snap, the official would be wildly blowing his whistle upon the ball being snapped to stop the action. (This is evident on a false start violation: The officials quickly and immediately whistle the play dead. The stopping of the play helps ensure a player does not get injured during the non-play. )

The predetermined outcome, however, ensured the Patriots would have 2 chances to convert on fourth down. You can be certain that, had the Patriots made first down yardage on the 'time out' play, the time out would have been ruled as being called too late and the play would have counted.

But when the Predetermined Perfect Patriots failed in their fourth down conversion, the time out ensured they would have another, successful chance.

This was not the only strikingly shady play during the NFL's Pursuit of Perfection, but it is the only one I will highlight.

For all diehard Patriots fans who are outraged by my questioning the integrity of this so-called perfect season, consider this: I have already mentioned how the Patriots were picked to run the table in the preseason. Week after week, win after win, the Perfect Season was touted endlessly: "The Patriots are going to eclipse the '72 Dolphins." " The Patriots are going to beat everyone." " The Patriots are the Harlem Globetrotters of football and the rest of the league are the Washington Generals."

And on - and on - and on...

Yet, two years ago, the Indianapolis Colts went 13-0 before suffering their first loss of the season. (A loss that came the weekend after Coach Tony Dungy suffered the tragic suicide of his son.) Even after their record was 10-0, 11-0, 12-0, and 13-0, there was barely a mention of the Colts going the distance with a perfect season.

No, this year, the NFL determined a Patriots Perfect Season would be good for business.

And nothing was going to stop this determination.

The NFL would probably have used 'The Tuck Rule' if necessary once again to preserve the Predetermined Perfect Season.

Let's hear it for Sports Integrity!

Sex, Lies, and Videotape - New England Style

2007-09-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

New England is a happening place. We get to see 'Sex, Lies, & Videotape' and never have to rent the movie from Blockbuster.

SEX - All New England is abuzz that Tom Brady got to the end zone and scored a touchdown with his former girlfriend, resulting in a first round draft pick. Predictably, after splitting the uprights, the quarterback felt he did not want a contract and declared himself a free agent. It's still to be determined if there will be a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

LIES - The Democratic Candidates for President have been decending down on New Hampshire in droves in anticipation for the Nation's First Primary Election. Leading the pack is yet another Clinton vying to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Enough said about lies.

VIDEOTAPE - Coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots has been fined for filming the New York Jets during last Sunday's game in direct violation of NFL Rules. It's amazing that Belichick felt he needed to resort to cheating to attain an advantage. Perhaps the team should change their name to the New England Pathetics. ( Sadly, when the Patriots went to the Super Bowl after the 2001 Season, owner Robert Kraft said it was appropriate the Super Bowl have a team called the 'Patriots' playing in it, as it was the first Super Bowl following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Today, in shark contrast, the name 'Patriots' is synonymous with cheaters.)

Stay tuned. Next time, we will look at the New England version of 'The Bridges of Madison County' as we boldly examine 'The Bridge at Chappaquidock'.

I can't forget September 11th - or London

2007-09-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Today is September 11th, 2007 - - - six years since that awful day in 2001.

I have often tried - really tried - to mentally put myself in the North Tower the morning of September 11, 2001. I have often thought about the reality that many people were alive one moment at 8:46am and, literally one second later, were dead - their remains never to be seen again - as the first plane crashed directly into their floor.

I have wondered if someone, perhaps a young secretary, was quietly enjoying their morning coffee and just lazily gazing out upon the million-dollar view on that absolutely dazzling sunny morning before starting their day's work. I imagine her attempting to scream as suddenly she became aware of a jetliner barreling directly at her. It happened so quickly the scream was a silent one, never to be heard.

I have imagined three or fours guys, cups in hand at the water cooler, playing Tuesday Morning Quarterback, analyzing and debating last night's Monday Night Football Game. I wonder if they even heard the jet crashing into their floor before they were blown away.

I have wondered about those who stopped in the men or woman's restroom to freshen up after their commute to the office, fixing their hair in the mirror, and suddenly being whisked away by the hurtling wreckage.

I have thought of the older custodial worker, generally viewed by all the business people as being mentally 'slow' but always friendly, pushing his broom and a moment later, never to be seen by anyone again.

I have wondered if there was an office romance brewing, with two young lovers stealing a kiss in the copy room, literally dying in each other's arms.

I have wondered about all the possible scenerios - - - and today, September 11th, 2007, I wonder why so many people don't give a thought whatsoever to that awful, dreadful day. To them, 9/11 is just another day.

To all the victim's families and friends - - - to all the rescue workers who survived that tragic day - - - to all the people who personally witnessed this hell-on-earth firsthand - - - and to all people worldwide who have a conscience and a soul - - - I sincerely apologize. I am so sorry my country can produce such heartless morons who callously forget what transpired six years ago.

But today, to my fellow human beings in all countries all over the world, I must also apologize for my own unfeeling apathy that I have shamefully exhibited in the past.

Prior to 9/11/01, I am ashamed to admit, the reports of suicide bombers in Israel and other parts of the world barely produced any reaction on my part at all. Bombings were what happened 'over there' and I just plain never gave it much thought.

It didn't affect me - - - or so I naively - and stupidly - thought.

No more.

The almost weekly bombings in Israel, in Iraq, the suicide bombings of the London Subway and buses - - - all these tragedies tear me apart just like 9/11. No longer do I view these as being 'over there' but rather now I view these barbaric acts as being committed against me and all my fellow human beings. We are all susceptible to the maniacal actions of spineless terrorists who prey upon innocent people to satisfy their warped sense of religion. And an attack against my brothers and sisters worldwide is an attack against me.

I can never forget September 11th.

But I will also never forget London, Israel, Iraq, and everywhere else terrorist thugs vent their hate.

I will always remember !!!

Response to N.E. Kleinfeld, New York Times Columnist

2007-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Don't tell me, let me guess - - you're a DEMOCRAT, right?

Trivializing or altogether eliminating 9/11 Memorials is such a Democratic Fixation, it is downright appalling and scary.

It's almost humorous - and indeed very Democratic - how you attempt to put 9/11 on the same plain as other disasters in the past. September 11th was a tragedy unlike any other. Pearl Harbor was an attack against a military base; Oklahoma City was an attack against our government; The Kennedy Assassination attacked one man; the Titanic and General Slocum were tragic accidents; Katrina was a natural disaster; and school shootings are the sad results of troubled individuals taking vengence.

September 11th, however, was an attack against our people, our country, our economy, our transportaion system, and indeed, our very way of living. And virtually EVERY American has been affected in some way by the attack.

After Pearl Harbor, people did not look up to the sky every time a plane flew over wondering if it was a Japanese bomber, yet after 9/11, we all watched the skies with fearful apprehension every time an airliner seemed to be flying too low. (Just 3 weeks ago, here in Nashua New Hampshire, several F-16's were flying circular routes that took them directly over my home. We all thought something terrible must be happening and immediately ran to the TV for news. As it turned out [fortunately], the jets were part of a nearby airshow.)

After the Titanic sank, people did not stop taking cruise ships, yet after 9/11, people were petrified to fly. One airline's TV ads in the months following the attacks stated 'When you're ready to fly, we'll be here.' (It must be noted it was the Republican administration that aggressively sought to reinstill trust in the airline industry by encouraging all government employees to take commercial flights.)

After Pearl Harbor, people did not stop investing; quite the contrary, War Bonds sold like hotcakes. September 11th, however, ELIMINATED A TRILLION DOLLARS OF WEALTH. Financially, people were terrified to invest. (And again, fortunately, a Republican Administration reestablished trust in our financial markets.)

After Pearl Harbor, the Titanic, Oklahoma City, and all the other tragedies of the past you mention, shoes continued to be nothing more than something to be worn on your feet. Even Nikita Krutchev did not evoke fear of footwear when he pounded his shoe on the desk at the United Nations. After September 11th and the immediate fallout in the months following, shoes became one of the terrorists favorite weapons.

The Democrats want us to forget 9/11 because to remember that horrible day and the months following, we must come to the conclusion it was the Republican Administration that proved to be the leaders this country sorely needed.

Mr. Kleinfield, we Americans can NEVER FORGET. I pity you that you would want to.

The fire was part of the attraction...

2007-08-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

In May of 1984, eight teenagers died in The Haunted Castle walk-thru scary attraction at Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park in Jackson Township, New Jersey. One of the survivors interviewed after the tragedy stated that, originally when they first saw the fire, they thought the flames were part of the attraction!

The poor teenagers actually thought the fire was not real and would not harm them!

The same is true of sin.

At first glance, sin can seem so appealing. It won't harm us!

In a very real sense, the flames are part of the attraction!

We must always be on guard for sin's deceptive attraction. And the only way we can succeed in overcoming sin's allure is having our life firmly grounded in God's Word.

Jesus Christ is our true attraction.

The Times, They are a Changin' - EXCEPT...

2007-08-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan was right, The Times, They ARE a Changin'...

In my 55+ years here on planet earth, I have seen many, many changes...

The New York City Skyline has changed...
My waistline has changed...
My hairline has changed...
And the line between what is right and what is wrong has changed.

But contrary to what Mr. Dylan implied, though the times they are a changin', they are not a changin' for the better.

The changes are downright scary.

And depressing.

It would be absolutely hopeless were it not for a Book that, I have to admit, I don't read nearly enough: The Bible.

The Bible gives the only hope available in an otherwise hopeless world: It tells us of God's Love and His Plan of Salvation for us.

And that plan (praise God!) NEVER CHANGES.

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever !!!

Jesus Christ is the Rock that we can steadfastly hold onto and have assurance of salvation - even in this ever-changing world.

I started in the past few weeks to succomb to the bloggers' usual array of topics, a steady stream of commenting and complaining about everything: Politics, sports, people in the news, etc., etc., etc.

No More !!!

I will no longer fill this space with endless complaints and comments about things that will, one day or other, change.

Quite frankly, in the long run, though they may be a changin', the bottom line is they really don't matter.

I will, however, use this space to remind myself - and hopefully others - of the one thing that truly DOES matter, the Solid Rock we have in Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thanks to Him, OUR times are secure.

We HAVE forgotten...

2007-08-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

Three weeks from today will be the sixth anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks - and the first time the anniversary falls on a Tuesday. The country music star, Darryl Worley, recorded a great song that asked the question 'Have You Forgotten?'. Sadly, for the vast majority of Americans, I believe the answer is emphatically, yes.

Darryl Worley's song tells how 'they took the footage off my TV, It's too disturbing for you and me'. If it was up to Darryl, the footage would be shown every day.

I couldn't agree more. I watch a 9/11 documentary at least every few weeks.

We must NEVER forget 9/11 for many reasons, but two of the most compelling are: 1) The absolute horror of the day, and 2) The TRUE LEADERSHIP this country was blessed to have under President Bush, New York City Mayor Rudy Guilliani, and New York State Governor George Patacki. President Bush faced the greatest challenge of any modern-day President - bar none - and succeeded in guiding this nation through undoubtedly it's darkest days in history. Mayor Guilliani and Governor Patacki followed the President's example in also demonstrating true strength and leadership qualities.

Yet now, six years later, we have indeed forgotten.

I've read a number of 9/11 books:
'Firehouse' by David Halberstram, how one firehouse lost most of it's men.
'Last Man Down' by FDNY Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto, who became trapped in a stairwell when the second tower collapsed.
'102 Minutes' by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, an account of the flight from the towers, including some who never made it out.
'God @ Ground Zero' by Chaplain Ray Giunta, a narrative of a trained crises intervention professional at the rubble pile.

I bought, but have not read as yet, 'Called' by Lisa Jefferson, the telephone operator who answered Todd Beamers cell phone call from Flight 93.

Each of these books has added a different, tragic perspective on the total horror experienced by those whose lives were forever changed at Ground Zero. September 11th shook this country to it's very core and left us feeling an emotion we had not known before: Vulnerable.

And very, very afraid.

I urge - no, make that, I IMPLORE - anyone who reads this blog to never forget September 11th, not simply as the most horrific day in our nation's history, but also as a day when God allowed us to become united under Him, lead by a true leader in the White House.

Thank you, Lord, for keeping watch over our country.
And thank you for President Bush.

I will NEVER forget.

Important questions to ponder

2007-08-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

I sincerely hope, in the days, weeks, and months to come, to tackle many important, relevant, and controversial issues in this blog.

In preparation for this noble venture, I pose herewith several questions that serious scholars have studied and pondered for years:

1) What would you do if I sing out of tune
Would you get up and walk out on me?

2) Why is it we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?

3) Who put the bomp in the bomp-sh-bomp-sh-bomp
Who put the ram in the ram-a-lama-ding dong?

4) Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?

5) I wonder, wonder, ooh, be doo do who (THUMP!),
Who Wrote the Book of Love?

6) Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf?

7) Does anyone really know what time it is?

8) There's something strange in the neighborhood
Who you gonna' call?

9) Do you love me, now that I can dance?

And, perhaps the most awe-inspiring question of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries:

10) Eh, What's Up Doc?

Until next time, That's All Folks!

As the Roman Empire Fell, So Will the United States of America

2007-08-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

Elect a Lawyer for President!

The Roman Empire was the undisputed superpower of it’s day, ruling the world with it’s intellectual, engineering, and economic prowess. Just like the United States of today, the Roman Empire was second to none in the world.

And yet it fell.

Two of the leading reasons many experts agree lead to the fall of the Roman Empire were 1) an overabundance of lawsuits [or to put it another way, too many lawyers], and 2) an overemphasis on sports. The Romans put far too much value on destructive activities that steadily eroded their nation.

Indeed, history is in the process of repeating itself. America is rapidly following in the same self-destructive manner.

Since 1980, the past 27 years have seen three Republican Presidents (Ronald Reagan, 1980-1988, George H.W. Bush, 1989-1992, and George W. Bush, 2001-present, totaling 19 years thus far) and one Democratic President (Bill Clinton 1992-2000, who served 8 years.)

Ronald Reagan studied economics and sociology in college, before embarking on a successful acting career. As President, Mr. Reagan became known as “The Great Communicator” and was arguably the greatest President of the Twentieth Century.

George H. W. Bush received a B.A. in economics from Yale University and, as President, continued in the footsteps of his predecessor, under whom he served as Vice President.

George W. Bush carried on the Yale tradition his father implemented and received a B.A. in History in 1968. His first year as President, 2001, exemplified his true ability as a leader as he unified and solidified a stunned nation following the September 11th, 2001 Terrorist Attacks.

Three Republican Presidents spanning 19 years of service, and not a lawyer among them. Sadly, the last Republican Lawyer President, Richard M. Nixon, disgraced his position and ultimately resigned from office. Republicans, no doubt, have learned from their lawyer mistakes.

And then there are the Democrats.

The last Democratic President, Bill Clinton, is a lawyer. Showing his superior ability as a word-twisting lawyer, Bill Clinton shamed the Presidency with a condescending dissertation on the word “is” while under subpoena to explain his immoral antics in office. Following in the footsteps of disgraced former Republican Lawyer Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton became only the second President in history to be impeached.

Unfortunately, the Democrats haven’t learned a single thing.

The top three 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates are – you guessed it – LAWYERS!!!

Hillary Rodham Clinton is, just like her husband, the consummate liar, a lawyer. Hillary sincerely believes she is smarter than all Americans and will use her lawyerly skills to further the damage to the Presidency her husband began.

Barach Obama is, buckle your seatbelts, a Harvard Lawyer, who according to his self-elevating commercials, passed up on a lucrative financial career to serve his country. “I have a fundamental belief – I Am my brother’s keeper – I Am my sisters keeper” Mr. Obama announced to a cheering Democratic crowd. The only problem is, Mr. Obama, the Senator from Illinois, has obviously decided no one in the South Side of Chicago are his brothers and sisters: the city has deteriorated under his watchful care. Senator Obama prefers to be keeper to his rich brothers and sisters!

And lets not forget my personal favorite, John Edwards, who made his mark on the American Dream as a Personal Injury Lawyer (or, better put, an ambulance chaser!)

Three candidates, three lawyers, and not an ounce of integrity amongst them.

Move over, Fallen Roman Empire, here comes America!

But too many lawyers wasn’t the only reason the Roman Empire Declined: An overemphasis on sports also contributed mightily to it’s demise.

Let me state right here and now – I love sports! Baseball, football, basketball, I enjoy watching a good game and I cheer heartily for my favorite teams.

But…

I am utterly dismayed by the stranglehold sports has upon our country and our culture.

The very day I write this blog (August 15, 2007), one of the national sports headlines is about a former NBA Official pleading guilty to betting on games he officiated. NBA Commissioner David Stern has called the scandal the "most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced either as a fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or a commissioner of the NBA."

Huh?

Make no mistake about it, a referee betting on games he officiated is a very serious matter: the integrity of the referee’s calls and the outcome of the games he worked come greatly into question.

But for Mr. Stern to call the betting scandal the “worst situation that I have ever experienced as… commissioner of the NBA?”

Mr. Stern, your lawyerly values are all mixed up! (And America, by agreeing with Commissioner Stern’s conclusion, your values are mixed up also!)

Do you seriously believe a referee betting on a game is a worse scenerio than the mayhem that erupted about a year ago in Auburn Hills with players rushing into the stands and attacking fans?

Do you seriously believe a mere betting scandal is a worse situation than the widespread epidemic of athletes abusing drugs?

And do you seriously believe betting on games is a greater disgrace than the street-thug mentality of many of the players you govern?

Fighting, drug abuse, gang member mentality – all these sins and more are not as serious or harmful as some referee betting on a game. The integrity of the game MUST be protected! Never mind that it is played by druggies, thugs, and hoodlums, as long as the game’s outcome remains beyond reproach.

But the NBA is only the tip of the sports problem.

Have you been to a Little League Game lately in any sport? The behavior of the adults – parents, coaches, and spectators alike – is downright appalling.

We’re in trouble, America. The declined has already begun.

Christianity is really weird... (and Thank God it is!)

2007-02-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

The older I get (and I relunctantly admit I'm getting pretty old!), the more I come to realize the Christian Faith is really, really weird.

I mean, unless you are born filthy rich, you have to earn almost everything in life. During your school years, you have to earn good grades. After you graduate, you have to earn a job. And for the rest of your life, you have to earn a living.

Life offers you no free lunches. You snooze, you lose. It can be awfully scary at times.

I have my own small business and I use Quickbooks for the accounting records. The morning of the first day of each month, I always turn to the Month-to-Date Sales Figure for the shocking, coldhearted truth: $ 0.00 in sales so far this month.

I have to go out and make the sales for that month.

And no one is immune to this scenerio. Even though a baseball team may have won the World Series last year, this year they have to start all over again: They have to go out and win.

Earn, win, achieve. Such is life in a capitalistic society.

The Christian Faith, however, paints a far different picture: Not only do I not need to earn my salvation and my favor with God, I can't earn it !!!

Jesus Christ earned it for me.

There is nothing I can do to attain or maintain my salvation! Jesus Christ has won my salvation and my standing with God for me!

I'm off the hook; I don't have to strive endlessly, hoping to win God's approval. It's all been done for me by Christ.

By modern, capitalistic, sports-driven, just do it standards, that is really weird !!!

And yet, when I really think about it, this truth of me not having to earn my salvation isn't weird at all; I thank God I don't have to earn my salvation. After all, how could I earn it?

By being "good"? That would be a losing proposition, because there are LOTS of people better than me. I wouldn't even come close to making the cut.

By being "religious"? Great, but by which religious standard must I adhere? Even Bible-Believing denominations have greatly differing views on what constitutes the religious life. Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, to name a few, are always argueing over what the Christian lifestyle should be.

By following the commandments? Man, I'm really in trouble on this one. "Love your neighbor as yourself." How in the world am I supposed to accomplish that? For crying out loud, have you ever seen some of my neighbors? You expect me to love them !!!??? - - - And as much as I love myself to boot? - - - Be real!

If I am completely honest with myself, there is no way on earth I could ever earn my way into Heaven. In my own power, I am completely, hopelessly, eternally lost.

But in Christ, everything has been earned for me. Jesus Christ, by His sacrificial death on Calvary's Cross, took my eternal punishment and suffered the consequences for me! I did nothing - Jesus did everything.

Jesus paid the price - - - and I reap the rewards.

As I said before, by modern, over-achieving standards,this is really, really weird.

But it's the only hope I have of spending eternity with God in Heaven.

Thank God He has given us the victory that we did not - and could not - earn by ourselves.

He made what seems to be weird - - - our reality! Jesus Christ is Our Victory!