Old Blood and Guts" dies

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a big WWII history buff...fanatic. So, I like to periodically blog about WWII stuff. Today, 63 years ago, General George S. Patton, Jr. (affectionately known by his Soldiers as 'Old Blood and Guts') was severely injured in a car accident outside of Mannheim, Germany (in fact, the accident occurred in the vicinity of Kafertal, where I used to live).

He certainly was a 'tough as nails leader' but proved to be a little too controversial for the U.S. Army.

"Along the way, Patton's mouth proved as dangerous to his career as the Germans. When he berated and slapped a hospitalized soldier diagnosed with 'shell shock,' but whom Patton accused of 'malingering,' the press turned on him, and pressure was applied to cut him down to size. He might have found himself enjoying early retirement had not General Dwight Eisenhower and General George Marshall intervened on his behalf."

On December 9, 1945, a day before he was due to return to the United States, Patton was severely injured in a road accident. He and his chief of staff, Major General Hobart R. "Hap" Gay, were on a day trip to hunt pheasants in the country outside Mannheim. Their 1938 Cadillac Model 75 was driven by PFC Horace Woodring (1926 - 2003). Patton sat in the back seat, on the right with General Gay on his left, as per custom. At 11:45 near Neckarstadt, (Käfertal), a 2½ ton GMC truck driven by Technical Sergeant Robert L. Thompson hit the car containing the general head-on. According to the book "Unexplained Mysteries of World War II" the crash was at a railway crossing and the vehicles were just starting up, this means the crash was at no more than 20 MPH. At first the crash seemed minor, the vehicles were hardly damaged, no one in the truck was hurt, but George Patton was leaning back with trouble breathing. General Patton had been thrown forward and his head struck a metal part of the partition between the front and back seats. Gay and Woodring were uninjured. Paralyzed from the neck down, George Patton died of an embolism on December 21, 1945 at the military hospital in Heidelberg, Germany with his wife present.

America's Greatest Mind

Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) is best remembered for his masterful sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In addition to his achievements as a pastor, Edwards was a father to eight daughters and three sons, missionary to the Housatonic Indians, revivalist, philosopher, and accomplished scientist. From a very early age, Jonathan was mesmerized by the beauty and order of God’s world. In fact, he was especially fond of studying spiders. So much so that his accurate observations have been preserved and are acknowledged in the scientific community today. Even more remarkable is that these observations were made when he was a boy with no tools, training or body of knowledge with which to compare and test his findings. In his childhood work, “Of Insects,” Jonathan wrote “Multitudes of time I have beheld with wonderment and pleasure the spiders marching in the air from one tree to another… their little shining webs and Glistening Strings of a Great Length and at such a height as that one would think they were tack’d to the Sky by one end were it not that they were moving and floating.” As a young man, Jonathan wrote seventy resolutions. One of these resolutions was, “To live with all my might, while I do live.” That he did. Blessed with a brilliant mind, Jonathan Edwards used his brief 55 years to advance the Kingdom of Christ.

Many believe Jonathan Edwards was the greatest mind in American history.

Artist of Faith

Mention the name Michelangelo and frescoes of the Bible’s creation story on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel come to mind. Three million people a year flock to the Vatican to gaze at the famous masterpieces. The frescoes are a magnificent example of how a Christian artist interpreted Scripture through his art. Though it is one of the most studied and well known works of art, the Sistine Chapel is one of the least understood. It has become a temple to art, but Michelangelo intended it to be a place to worship God.

In his later years, the artist concentrated on the free and priceless gift of salvation entirely dependent on God’s grace. Michelangelo emphasized God’s grace through his art, which was in contrast to the prevailing system of gaining salvation through indulgences and good works.

William F. Buckley Jr.: 1925-2008

NEW YORK — William F. Buckley Jr., the erudite Ivy Leaguer and conservative herald who showered huge and scornful words on liberalism as he observed, abetted and cheered on the right's post-World War II rise from the fringes to the White House, died Wednesday. He was 82.

A conservative icon has passed.

I picked up my first issue of National Review while in college, and subsequently became an avid reader and fan of William Buckley. Reading the magazine in public was an act of defiance. Embracing the ideas within was an act of heresy.

I also enjoyed his Firing Line appearances (thanks to Mom and Dad). This vaulted him into the mainstream cultural stratosphere, but the enduring power of his written words made him an intellectual supernova. Check out God and Man at Yale or any of the Blackford Oakes spy novels.

Mr. Buckley built the Right’s communications infrastructure and laid the groundwork for the New Media. He was an engaged and engaging Renaissance man who joined conservatism and libertarianism, fought statism, and served the Lord–with trademark good humor and joie de vivre.

William F. Buckley Jr. left, talks with former California Gov. Ronald Reagan at the South Carolina Governor's Mansion in Columbia S.C., on Jan. 13, 1978, after the two debated the Panama Canal Treaty. (Photo: AP Photo/Lou Krasky)

And, I admired his wit:

"Mr. Buckley," one non-fan wrote in 1967, "you are the mouthpiece of that evil rabble that depends on fraud, perjury, dirty tricks, anything at all that suits their purposes. I would trust a snake before I would trust you or anybody you support."

Responded Buckley: "What would you do if I supported the snake?"

Reagan Quotes from '75-'76 Diagnose Our Current Situation

"I don't know about you," said Reagan in 1975, "but I'm impatient with those Republicans who, after the last election, rushed into print saying we must broaden the base of our party, when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents."

John McCain comes to mind: I don't trust him because he has supported a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants (remember him teaming up with Teddy Kennedy on this one?!?!), worked to limit money in politics in what can be considered a violation of free speech (McCain-Feingold) and opposed a constitutional ban on gay marriage. And he voted against President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003.

Second Reagan quote, 1976: "Don't give up your ideals, don't compromise, don't turn to expediency -- and don't, for heaven's sake, having seen the inner workings of the watch -- don't get cynical."

Republicans want to fuzz up and blur the differences between ourselves and the liberal democrats. This is the kind of thing that leads to those crazy super-dunderhead team ups like McCain-Kennedy and, leaves the Republican resembling a wimpy RINO (Republican in Name Only).

The First American Idol

Some of my friends and family are really into American Idol. I'm not really into it other than singing a few songs on my American Idol Karaoke video game for the Sony Playstation 2. However, the "real," first American idol was Elvis Presley, aka "The King." He’s been dead for 30 years, but Elvis Presley through his estate earns millions more than he did when he was alive. New generations of young people continue to be fascinated by the man whose wiggling hips were once censored on TV and whose voice offered something special to listeners. Born in a simple shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis’ life should have been one of mediocrity considering his humble beginnings. He was catapulted from truck driver to recording star when he cut a record during his lunch break. Elvis came from a poor-white culture but loved black music. His songs reflected the blues and his country roots. Later musicians admit that they wouldn’t have made it without him. Elvis Presley was the creative that made rock ‘n’ roll popular to the masses. Our society, for ill or good, has never been the same since.

Here's something else interesting about Elvis:

A photograph of President Nixon with Elvis Presley is the most requested item from the National Archives. More requested than the Bill of Rights or the Constitution, the photograph shows the president shaking hands with Elvis in the Oval Office of the White House. Elvis had written a letter to Nixon suggesting that he be given a badge and made a “Federal Agent-at-Large” in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. On December 21, 1970, Elvis paid the president a visit, bringing gifts, which included a Colt .45 pistol and some family photographs. Elvis asked Nixon if he could be given a badge, and the president honored the request. Elvis was so happy that he hugged Nixon and asked if he could bring in his bodyguards to meet the president. Permission was granted, and President Nixon passed out gifts to his guests. A movie called When Elvis Met Nixon humorously tells this strange but delightful story.

The Foundation of Civilization

“The Battle of Britain,” said Winston Churchill on the 18th of June 1940, “is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization.”1 Churchill saw something in his nation’s history and moral composition that made him identify Christianity with the preservation and advance of civilization. England had a long history of Christian influence that resulted in the advance of civilization around the world. America’s earliest founders did not break from their English heritage. In fact, they sought to establish old England in New England. Samuel Eliot Morison writes the following in his Builders of the Bay Colony:

New England was founded consciously, and in no fit of absence of mind. Patriots seeking the glory of England first called the attention of their countrymen to these shores. Commercial enterprise made the first attempts at settlement. Puritanism overlaid these feeble beginnings by a proud self-governing commonwealth, dedicated to the glory of God and the happiness of a peculiar people. These three main streams in the life of old England, the patriotic, the commercial, and the religious, mingled their waters on every slope.2

It’s no wonder that John Winthrop described colonial America as a “City on a Hill,” a light to the nations.

1 Quoted in John Baillie, What is Christian Civilization? (London, England: Oxford University Press, 1945), 5.

2 Samuel Eliot Morison, Builders of the Bay Colony (Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, [1930] 1981), 3.

Some Great Speeches

Patrick Henry's "Treason" speech before the House of Burgesses in an 1851 painting by Peter F. Rothermel

In honor of the 2008 Presidential Primaries I thought I'd post what I consider to be great speeches from American history. I got this idea from Washington Post.com and American Thinker. The Washignton Post left out what I thought were some extremely important speeches, but I think their list was more geared to MLK day. There are a couple of things that all great speeches have in common:
1.) The moment. The exact time in history where the speakers words will resonate.
2.) The backdrop. The place the speech is delivered amplifies its meaning.
3.) The words. All great speeches are as inspiring when read as they are when delivered orally.

Here's my list (in no particular order):

1. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural

On March 4, 1865 the Civil War was finally winding down. Abraham Lincoln stood on the Capitol steps underneath the recently completed dome – a symbol of the country’s commitment to the Union.

Lincoln delivered one of the shortest but one of the most memorable inaugural addresses of all time. The peroration haunts us to this day:

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether’.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Standing 15 feet away from Lincoln was John Wilkes Booth. The two would meet a month later in Ford’s Theater.

2. Patrick Henry “Give me liberty or give me death.”

On March 23, 1775, the British were occupying Boston and had declared martial law throughout the colony. A rabble rousing firebrand member of the House of Burgess named Patrick Henry stood up and, some believe, helped start a war. Others say he gave America a national consciousness that day. What he did was convince some very influential people – George Washington among them – that if the British could take away the rights of New Englanders they could do it to Virginians.

Henry’s bombastic, sneering, inspiring speech was a catalyst for Virgina to support Massachusetts and thus start the country down the road to independence. The peroration from Henry’s speech is what we most remember:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, “Peace! Peace!”—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

3. Washington’s Speech before Congress Resigning his Commission

It was an act that stunned the Europeans and caused them to elevate Washington to hero status. A winning general simply resigning and going home? Such a thing had never been done – going all the way back to the Romans.

Washington, ever cognizant of his place in history and knowing full well what his self-abnegation would mean to the history books, nevertheless was quite sincere about going home. On December 23, 1783, he stood before Congress and with trembling hands, delivered a short, graceful speech that assured the strength of civilian rule and democracy in America:

Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life.

4. Franklin Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address

March 4, 1933 saw the American experiment in ruins. More than 13 million unemployed. Industrial capacity at 50% of what it was pre-stock market crash. Banks closing, soup lines, suicides up – people had lost faith.

Franklin Roosevelt didn’t change things immediately. Indeed, unemployment was still at 10% more than 8 years later on December 7, 1941. But what Roosevelt offered was hope that things were going to get better. And for a people as optimistic as Americans historically are, that’s all that was needed.

Contrasted with the do-nothing Hoover administration, Roosevelt’s activism was a tonic that got America out of the doldrums and blunted much of the impetus for a communist revolution that in 1932 seemed a possibility. Here’s the passage everyone remembers:

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

But it is his peroration that inspires:

We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.

In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.

5. Ronald Reagan at Point du Hoc

This speech is consistently ranked in the top 10 of the greatest of the 20th Century. And for good reason. It has all the elements I mentioned above that makes a great speech plus the drama of having the survivors of D-Day present to listen to it.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers—the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machineguns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your ``lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.’‘

Video here. MP3 here.

6. Roosevelt Declaration of War Against Japan

In a voice shaking with emotion and indignation, Roosevelt threw down the gauntlet to the Japanese empire:

Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

Given before a joint session of Congress while men were still trapped below decks in many of the ships bombed at Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt’s peroration drew the loudest and most prolonged standing ovation of his career:

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.

Roosevelt’s words awoke the “Sleeping Giant” by putting the war in terms of a crusade against the Japanese.

MP3 here.

7. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

He was invited as an after thought. The great orator of the time Edward Everett was slated to give the dedication with Lincoln invited to make a “few appropriate remarks.” Originally scheduled for September 23, 1863, Horton said he could hardly do justice to the event with such short notice. The organizers rescheduled for November 19th.

Everett’s two hour oration held the audience spellbound. It was a classic 19th century eulogy with allusions to the Greeks and the Romans, biblical quotes, and flowery language – all given in a booming voice so that all could hear.

Then the President of the United States rose and in his high pitched, tinny, nasally voice, spoke the words that redefined America for all time by greatly expanding the very definition of freedom:

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

No other speech in American history has accomplished so much by saying so little.

8. Kennedy Inaugural

Many historians believe that the January 20, 1961 Kennedy Inaugural address was the best of all time. I agree. The speech is a masterpiece of writing and Kennedy delivered it magnificently.

Beyond that, it was the time the speech was given that gave it such resonance. World War II vets were moving into positions of authority in business, in labor, in politics. The torch was indeed being passed to a new generation. And most Americans believed that the coming years would see a confrontation with the Soviet Union.

But little noticed by many is that the “young people” who flocked to Kennedy’s banner were not baby boomers. That group was too young. Rather it was the “tweeners” who were born between 1935 and 1945 who were too young for World War II and mostly too young for Korea (the Korean war ended in 1953) who supported him. The baby boomers adopted him after his death for the most part.

But Kennedy’s apparent youthfulness – something he cultivated religiously despite his poor health – inspired the entire population. His enthusiasm or “vigor” also was contagious. After the Eisenhower years, it was like the country woke up from a long nap.

The speech was a challenge to the country and to the Soviets. Reading it, one is struck by how bellicose it was – a cold warrior’s dream come true. And its stirring call to sacrifice for the common good – so often misused by Democrats when they call upon the people to help the poor or pay more in taxes – was actually an echo of the kind of sacrifice the country made during WWII.

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Kennedy is referring to the coming confrontation with the Soviets – that he makes quite clear he wishes to avoid but has no illusions about the enemy. Echoes of this speech are still heard today making it a truly historic speech.

Video here.

Politically Incorrect Jefferson

The modern-day image of Jefferson as a social and political liberal would be shattered after a single reading of his Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments. Capital punishment is maintained for murder and treason while rescinded for all other crimes. Even so, other crimes receive some rather harsh and politically incorrect penalties.

Consider these examples:

"If any person commit petty treason, or a husband murder his wife, a parent his child, or a child his parent, he shall suffer death, by hanging, and his body be delivered to Anatomists to be dissected" (Sec. IV).

"Whosoever committith murder by poisoning, shall suffer death by poison" (Sec. V).

"Whosoever shall be guilty of rape, polygamy, or sodomy with man or woman, shall be punished; if a man, by castration, a woman, by boring through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one half inch in diameter at the least" (Sec. XIV).

"Whosoever committith a robbery, shall be condemned to hard labour four years in the public works, and shall make double reparation to the persons injured" (Sec. XX).

"All attempts to delude the people, or to abuse their understanding by exercise of the pretended arts of witchcraft, conjuration, enchantment, or sorcery, or by pretended prophecies, shall be punished by ducking and whipping, at the discretion of a jury, not exceeding fifteen stripes" (Sec. XXIX).

There's no way that Thomas Jefferson could ever run for political office today holding these views.

Prophet Pat's Latest

Pat the "prophet" Robertson is at it again. For 2008, he's predicting a recession and major upheaval in the financial markets. He's also predicting increasing violence and chaos around the world. He even claims God told him who the next president will be (but he's not telling...so there!).

What I find interesting about this modern day prophet is one of his recently failed prophecies: Robertson acknowledged Wednesday that his prophecy of a nuclear terror attack in 2007 failed to unfold. He also cited information from God when he predicted on a year go that major U.S. cities would be hit by "very serious terrorist attacks" causing "possibly millions" of deaths.

No surprise here. The catastrophe never occurred.

Robertson's response: "All I can think is that somehow the people of God prayed and God in his mercy spared us. So did I miss it? Possibly. Or, on the other hand, did God avert it? Possibly. But whatever, it didn't happen, so I think we can all rejoice."

Let me get this straight. God told him it was going to happen. And it doesn't. Is God a liar? 'Just kidding Pat, I was only pullin' your leg. No nuke attack in '07. Maybe next year.'

However, instead in 2008, we are going to get higher gas prices (duh!), a recession, and violence in the world. The last one is really funny. How more broad can you get? I too can read the newspapers and make predictions. Maybe I’ll just pull out my Magic 8 Ball or chicken bones. These are tools that I use regularly in my current job.

Or maybe, I’ll settle on the sufficiency of Scripture. If God has revealed himself in Christ, why do we need Pat Robertson? After all, Pat’s not even that good of a prophet.

Ezekiel 22:28 (English Standard Version) And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.

Harvard Ain't What She Used to Be

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The past few days I've been getting a healthy dose of NFL and NCAA football. Although my Broncs had a dismal season, they ended on a win against the Vikings (or as they say in Deutschland...Wikings). Now I eagerly await my Sooners taking on the WV Mountaineers in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan 2. Anyway, I regress; as I was watching these college football games, I began thinking of some of the Ivy league schools and their histories. In particularly Harvard (now I weren't smart enuff to get into an Ivy league skool- BA at Colorado State U and an MA from U of Oklahoma).

So here's what I found out about the origins of Harvard:

Harvard University was founded in 1636 with one instructor and nine students with the goal of establishing a school to train Christian ministers. The school was named after John Harvard, a 31-year-old clergyman from Charlestown, Massachusetts, who died and left his library and half his estate to the fledgling institution. In accordance with its original vision, Harvard adopted a set of “Rules and Precepts” in 1646 that stated the following (spelling has been modernized):

—Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only gives wisdom, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him (Prov. 2:3).

—Every one shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of language and Logic, and in practical and spiritual truths, as his Tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing the entrance of the word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

In 1692, Harvard adopted the motto Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae—“Truth for Christ and the Church.” The phrase was embedded on a shield and can be found on many buildings around the Harvard campus and various dorms in Harvard Yard.

The books on the shield represent revelation and reason. The top two books that are shown face up represent the Word of God revealed to us in the Old and New Testaments. The book on the bottom of the shield, which faces down, symbolizes the limits of reason and the need for God’s revelation.

A second and earlier (1650) Harvard motto carried the Latin phrase, In Christi Gloriam, “For the Glory of Christ.” Samuel Eliot Morison, in his history of Harvard, writes, “Like the Medieval schoolmen, [the founders] believed that all knowledge without Christ was vain. Veritas to them, as to Dante, meant the divine truth. . . .”

What once was Harvard is no more. Harvard, like so many of our nation’s earliest colleges, has left its “first love” (Rev. 2:4).

Would you, could you, vote McCain?

John McCain's campaign has recently come back from the dead. His poll numbers in New Hampshire were up but I still have major issues with his soft on immigration (similar to the Huckabee and Giuliani 'immigration drag queens') or the 'I'm with Ted' stance, and the McCain-Feingold bill. Also, he looks pretty rough these days. Let's face it, a presidential candidate has to look good.

I’m certainly not looking forward to nine months of “well, he beats the alternative," but then again, it seems like we’re pretty much guaranteed that, no matter who wins the Republican nomination.

I agree with Thomas Sowell :

None of the candidates looks truly inspiring at this point. I wouldn’t buy a used car from most of them, nor a brand new car from some of them…

… John McCain seems to be having a little resurgence but it is hard to believe that Republicans are so desperate as to support a man who joined with far left Democrat Russ Feingold to restrict free speech in the name of “campaign finance reform” and with Ted Kennedy to sponsor a bill giving amnesty to illegal immigrants.

…This nation has come back from unpromising times before. Let’s hope that we have not already used up all our luck.

Where's Nixon when you need him?

Ol' Blue Eyes Christmas

WASHINGTON - Ol' Blue Eyes will get his own postage stamp next spring. The stamp commemorating Frank Sinatra was announced Wednesday by Postmaster General John Potter, who called the crooner "an extraordinary entertainer whose life and work left an indelible impression on American culture." Fox News 12/5/07

Frank Sinatra received his first Academy Award in the mid-forties for singing, not acting, in a patriotic World War II short featuring the song "The House I Live In". Thirty years later, at a Nixon White House dinner in 1971, Sinatra performed the song accompanied by the Marine band. The performance so enchanted Nixon and the assembly gathered that the President asked him to sing it again as an encore. Sinatra spoke movingly of how, as a small boy, he never dreamed he would one day speak to a President, and sing in the White House. He choked up before regaining command of himself and began to sing once again.

"The house I live in,

a plot of earth, a tree,

the grocer and the butcher,

and the people that I see, ...

...That's America to me..."

This "voice" of 20^th century America was born in Hoboken, New Jersey this week (December 12^th) ninety two years ago. Frank Sinatra, the boy crooner, movie star, ridiculed has-been, swinging saloon singer, recording star, thug, philanthropist, friend of presidents and gangsters, has been gone for nine years now. His over-the-top life and legend has obscured his greatest gift. He was the best singer of the age. His peers never disputed it. Bennett, Como, Cole and Fitzgerald acknowledged it as a fact. Dean Martin, his pal, gave him a characteristic backhanded compliment, " I hate guys who sing serious." And Bing Crosby, no slacker in the singing department himself, said, "A talent like Sinatra's comes along once in a lifetime. Why did it have to be my lifetime?"

Although he could wow the crowds in live performances with chaotic scenes rivaling the likes of Elvis and the Beatles, Sinatra at his best and most lasting is the Sinatra of the recording studio. Musicians, without exception, speak with awe of the artistry and essential musicianship of Sinatra at work. His voice was respected as a unique instrument played with the utmost skill and thoughtfulness. His legendary concept LP's from the fifties were symphonic in conception. Songs were handpicked from the best the American music songbook had to offer. And his taste was impeccable.

New Sinatra fans (or ones who've enjoyed his crooning for some time) will surely enjoy his Christmas music. I'd recommend adopting a seasonal mood and get out the Sinatra Christmas Album.


Listen to the Gordon Jenkins arrangement of The First Noel. Sense and feel the Sinatra magic. Hear the beginning of Sammy Cahn's Christmas Waltz, "Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside..." with the almost imperceptible hesitating accent on the word "inside" and appreciate what a truly great vocalist can impart to a song. Swing with the playful and surely only, grown-up, version of Jingle Bells. And enjoy and appreciate the unique artistry of one of America's greatest musical talents.

Liberty's Pioneer

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, individual freedom, either political or religious, was virtually unknown. Geneva was a good example. Before the city council had disestablished Roman Catholicism, the Church ruled the State through the Roman Catholic bishop. Afterwards, the State ruled the Church through the council. When John Calvin arrived at Geneva in August 1536, he was confronted with this unbiblical approach to government. Calvin's goal was to establish a Church governmentally independent of the council while assuring that the council would not be independent of God's law as it pertained to its civil jurisdiction. His tool in accomplishing this difficult task was the Word of God. He preached and lectured from the Bible every day. He knew that when changes came they would come from the bottom up--from the people who desired a true Reformation without revolution. Calvin drew a clear line of distinction between the civil magistrate, whose authority was confined to civil matters, and the elders of churches, whose authority was confined to ecclesiastical matters. He established in Geneva the biblical idea of the jurisdictional separation between Church and State. Contrary to popular opinion, Calvin did not set up a system of government in which the clergy dominated the city council. He was not even a citizen of Geneva until 1559, and he appeared before the council when he was called on to offer his opinions on theological issues. He never occupied a political or civil office in Geneva.

The Black Regiment

The clergy helped lead the resistance and independence movement in America. They were often described as the “black regiment” because of the black robes they wore while preaching. Before marching off to join Washington’s army, Lutheran pastor John Muhlenberg delivered a powerful sermon from Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 that concluded with these words:

The Bible tells us there is a time for all things and there is a time to preach and a time to pray but the time for me to preach has passed away, and there is a time to fight, and that time has come now. Now is the time to fight! Call for recruits! Sound the drums!

Then Muhlenberg took off his clerical robe to reveal the uniform of a Virginia colonel. Grabbing his musket from behind the pulpit, he donned his colonel’s hat and marched off to war.

There is a war going on in America today. It has not come to the force of arms, but it is a war nonetheless. Pastors should thunder from the pulpits where the battles are waging, and what we can do to engage in the fight.

Stonewall on Prayer

Stonewall Jackson — his very name evokes the image of the solid, immovable Confederate general whose sobriquet, earned at the Battle of 1st Manassas, no longer requires quotation marks. His pious Christian character, service to the church, unwavering commitment to duty, affectionate role as husband and father, as well as his magnificent service to Virginia were carefully recorded by his close friend Robert Lewis Dabney. Labeled by some a religious fanatic, General Jackson was simply a consistent biblical Christian who lived out his faith every day, seriously and without compromise. The battle accounts in The Life and Campaigns of Stonewall Jackson resonate with the first-hand knowledge of a man who has seen the face of battle, as Major Dabney often did as General Jackson’s adjutant in the Valley Campaign. His account of military life in the field with General Jackson provides poignant insight into the character of the General as they discuss theology and military history, pray together, and gallop to the sound of the guns. Jackson’s theology was supremely orthodox, being rooted in the biblical tradition of Knox, Calvin, and Edwards.

Dabney writes of Jackson (pg. 106-107), “Devotion was the very breath of his soul. Once only was he led to make a revelation of these constant aspirations, to a Christian associate peculiarly near to him; and his description of his intercourse with God was too beautiful and characteristic to be suppressed. This friend expressed to him some embarrassment in comprehending literally the precept to “pray always,” and to “pray without ceasing,” and asked his help in construing it. He replied that obedience ought not to be impracticable for the child of God. “But how,” said the other, “can one always be praying?” He answered that if it might be permitted to him, without suspicion of religious display, he would explain by describing his own habits. He then proceeded, with several parentheses, deprecating earnestly the charge of egotism, to say that, besides the stated daily sessions of secret and social prayer, he had long cultivated the habit of connecting the most trivial and customary acts of life with silent prayer. “When we take our meals,” said he, “there is the grace. When I take a draught of water, I always pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Whenever I drop a letter into the box at the post-office, I send a petition along with it, for God’s blessing upon its mission and upon the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to pray to God that he may prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go to my class-room, and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so of every other familiar act of the day.” ‘But,” said his friend, “do you not often forget these seasons, coming so frequently?” “No,” said he, “I have made the practice habitual to me; and I can no more forget it, than forget to drink when I am thirsty.” He added that the usage had become as delightful to him as it was regular.”

Stonewall's gallant deeds, virtuous conduct, and fervent prayer still move our hearts with admiration. He shows us how a Christian soldier should live and die.

R.I.P., King of the Daredevils

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over crazy obstacles including Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.

Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.

Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.

Longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundel said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Clearwater condominium and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital.

"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" Rundel said.

Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.

Though Knievel dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, the image of the high-flying motorcyclist clad in patriotic, star-studded colors was never erased from public consciousness. He always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.

I enjoyed watching Evel Knievel perform his death defying stunts during TV specials in the 70s. My buddies and I would even tool around on our bicycles pretending we were a gang of stunt bike riders (my short lived gig was crashing my bike into my family's backyard fence). My buddies and I even had our own Evel Knievel action figures (they weren't dolls, you know) with wind-up motorcycles and had them reenact his stunts. Knievel toys accounted for more than $300 million in sales in the 1970s and 80s. Of course, my Evel Knievel action figure "retired" way before the real Daredevil retired.

"No king or prince has lived a better life," he said in a May 2006 interview with The Associated Press. "You're looking at a guy who's really done it all. And there are things I wish I had done better, not only for me but for the ones I loved."

R.I.P., King of the Daredevils.