South Texas News

The world according to Gore

2007-05-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

Watching Al Gore make the rounds on the TV talk shows these days is absolutely painful.
Gore’s bloated appearance makes him look like a younger version of Teddy “Bullfrog” Kennedy. Actually, Gore more resembles a marshmallow than a bullfrog, but you get the picture. I know that’s not nice, but when was politics ever nice!
Having suddenly become the poster boy of the liberal Holly-wood left, Al Gore was a shoo-in for winning an Academy Award for his science fiction, “An Inconvenient Truth.” The Oscar was supposed to give him instant celebrity and, thus, credi-bility. As Fred Owens said (WCN May 2): “There they were, Gore and DiCaprio, the two leading experts in the na-tion, warning us about the com-ing end of the world as we know it.”
This is scaring little children, but that doesn’t seem to concern most educators as Al Gore and “renowned climate-change scien-tists” trained individuals and educators on how to best indoctrinate students with his theories and proposed solutions for global warming.
Aside from the captive audience of unsuspecting school children, however, the credibility part has been a bit more difficult than the celebrity part.
Those who chose him for the Academy Award now are considering bestowing upon him their blessings in another presidential run. Only this time around, the cool ones would treat him like one of the in-crowd instead of like the nerd he was during the last presidential race.
One of the first things that had to happen to maintain his credibility was, now that global warming seems in doubt, he has become, instead of the global warming activist, he now is the “climate change” activist.
Indeed, according to washingtonpost.com, “Gore has undergone a series of life-changing experiences since his school years … Young Gore learned to adapt within the confines of a disciplined life, a structure im-posed on him by his parents and teachers, and against which he rarely rebelled.” Now, he obliges the Hollywood elite. He's proud to be accepted by them and most eager to please.

What's happening in Washingon is abominable

2007-05-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

AND IT’S NOT ABOUT BUSH AND IT IS NOT BUSH’S WAR!

What is going on in Washington is abominable! Our troops are being hung out to dry, and America is going to be left vulnerable to attack right here at home. When this happens, it will be of no satisfaction to say to the Dems, “I told you so.”

And, it will be too late.

"Listening to the messages of al-Qaida's leaders, you understand that they
see their old defeats in very personal and contemporary terms. They are in a
'long war' against us -- even if we don't know it! And it's their intention to WIN."
-- Fred Thompson

THERE’S PLENTY OF EVIDENCE OUT THERE THAT THIS IS ONLY TOO TRUE! If only people would take their heads out of the sand, quit watching television, get beyond the mainstream misinformation. Talk to the troops. Read something other than the most popular TIMES newspapers.

Pray for Peace and God Bless America!

Gun laws should be revisited

2007-04-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

Perhaps if our gun laws were different, the Virginia Tech massacre might not have happened as it did. While there were some who speculated that Virginia laws made buying guns too easy. I disagree. The system has failed; not because gun laws were too relaxed but because gun laws are too screwed up. What if, rather than banning guns, guns would be allowed to properly licensed persons. What if, instead of making campus "gun-free" zones, you allowed teachers and properly trained students to carry concealed weapons?
It would ahe been entirely possible that the brave Israeli professor wouldl lhae been able to stolp the funman before the other 30 students were shot. If you consider how out of touch this sad, sick person was, he did not need an easy way to get guns. He spent a lot of time planning this, and it's doubtful any silly gun laws would have stopped him.
However, I do see a real need for guns. If the brave Israeli professor would have been allowed to have carried a concealed weapon, he might still be alive. Perhaps he would have been able to kill the shooter before the other 31 students were slaughtered.

Bill and Hill meet Obama at the polls

2007-04-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

What has many bumfuzzled is that Ms. Hillary, the one-time clear front runner whom many assumed would, in fact, become the first woman president of the United States, is no longer clearly a front-runner. It’s a wide-open race for the 2008 presidential campaigns. So said one political analyst last week in referring to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s recent plunge at the polls.

It’s not scientific, but I have a theory about Hillary. First of all, the campaign doesn’t mean much to the voting public. (Yawn.)

Secondly, what is causing at least some of Hill's headaches and heartaches? (Besides Bill, that is?) It is my theory that Ms. Clinton’s troubles have something to do with Ms. Pelosi.

How could that be, you ask? Nancy Pelosi is the speaker of the house. But, she also has appointed herself the unofficial international representative of women everywhere, an impromptu ambassador de jour.

She has gone too quickly from being America’s Homecoming Queen to trying to bring peace to the world. Her overtures seem out of place, coming as they did, so soon after she left the kitchen.

Perhaps her goodwill world tour would have looked better if she had given some time to first getting her own House in order before spending time in the House of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

At any rate, what does all this globetrotting have to do with Bill and Hill? Well, I think it has something to do with the fact that the American public might be getting these two women confused. It’s nothing intentional, of course, but here we have two sharply dressed, independent women who are extremely proud of their motherhood.

One is America’s Homecoming Queen and the other America’s Mom.

Or course, Ms. Pelosi is not running for president. She is merely telling the president how he should be doing his job. When the president did not listen after she told him the voters demanded he change his Iraq policy, boy did she show him! She just got on a plane and went over there to talk to those people. Now that’s a go-getter.

Perhaps it is that go-to attitude that scares people. If Nan will do this as she was just elected speaker of the house, what would Hill do if she were actually elected president?

This “listen, Buster, I’m talking to you” attitude in Ms. Pelosi might have voters worried about the other mother in the campaign.

This could leave the door open for Obama. It’s wait and see until November 2008. -

Not another Clinton!

2007-02-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

"The Mouth," James Carville, predicts Al Gore will run again in 2008. At least that will guarantee an interesting primary campaign.

Carville also puts his money on former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as a long shot for the Republican presidential nomination in '08 because "he's a little like President Clinton. Carville is "impressed with this guy’s political skills.”

That's a little frightening -- no, a LOT frightening. Has this country really come down to electing someone based on the political skills rather than their philosophy, experience, and policy recommendations? Sadly, the answer is yes, but I'm not sure the country is ready for another Clinton -- or another president from Arkansas.

America is not what she used to be

2007-02-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

We watched an old movie tonight about the Japanese attack on Wake Island. These GIs were tough and knew they had a mission. I couldn't help but feel for our own soldiers now in the Middle East in harms way. I pray they don't know what is going on in Congress and in the national media. But, I fear they do know. This is not a good time for America.

But, can she sing?

2007-01-29T15:59:00.000-08:00

The talk shows were having a good time today playing the recording of Democrat New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton singing off-key.

Frankly, that would not bother me a twit if I thought she were the better candidate. In fact, if I thought she would make a good president, I wouldn't care if she couldn't spell potato either!

It's working!

2007-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Did you hear the news? There were more than insurgents killed in weekend fights in Iraq! This is a new development. Yes, it is with great sadness that we acknowledge more American deaths. That is sad. That is war.

Politics makes the strangest alliances, especially in 2008

2007-01-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

Someone once said politics makes strange bedfellows, and that’s perhaps never been truer than it will be for the 2008 presidential election.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul filed the necessary papers on Jan. 11 to form an exploratory committee in order to raise funds for a possible presidential run in ’08.

While this story garnered all of almost 4 inches on page 4A of the next day’s San Antonio Express-News, I would have missed it completely if not for an alert reader’s e-mail. Obviously, Paul is an underdog.

While the traditional media overlooks his campaign in favor of the likes of Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, and Hillary Clinton, the blogs are all over it. The raves for Paul are filling the blogosphere faster than you can say cyberspace. Now the nine-term congressman from southeast Texas is the darling of the anti-war crowd as well as Republican-leaning Libertarians and Libertarian-leaning Republicans, and those in the Constitution Party and other fringes. Interesting bedfellows, indeed!

A more genuine candidate than Dr. Ron Paul is not likely. He speaks his mind, votes his conscience, and doesn’t play Washington politics. In fact, he doesn’t play politics, period. Paul is a friend of small business and may be the taxpayers’ best friend.

He may be anti-war but he is not anti-American. He is a statesman and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime candidate. He loves this country and, despite his age, can work circles around folks half his age. “We have a hard time keeping up with him,” one of his staffers said to me when he visited Floresville a few years ago. Paul’s district included Wilson County for a brief time following one of the redistricting attempts.

If the Republican Party actually would nominate him, it means they really would have to make a change toward limited government. That in itself makes it unlikely.

While I’m not anti-war or anti-Bush, I am pro-listening to the solid reasoning of Ron Paul. Had anyone been listening in 2001, we might not be where we are with the War on Terror.

A press release from Paul’s office dated Oct. 11, 2001, shows that he presented Congress with a chance to give President Bush more options in fighting terrorism. “The President promised the American people that the federal government would use every available resource to defeat the global terror network,” Paul stated in that release.

Western intelligence in the Middle East is exceedingly limited, said Paul. “We should avail ourselves of the assistance of those with better information to track, capture, or kill bin Laden,” he said. Legislation he introduced would have allowed Congress to narrowly target terrorist enemies, lessening the likelihood of a full-scale war with any Middle Eastern nations. The legislation also threatened terrorist cells worldwide by making it more difficult for our enemies to simply slip back into civilian populations or hide in remote locations.

Every terrorist would have become a marked man, Paul concluded. “Congress should … give the president another weapon to supplement our military strikes.”

Perhaps Paul’s approach would have worked. We’ll never know, but it makes sense.

His ’08 campaign will be faced with having to attract sufficient financial and political support in order to launch a full-fledged campaign. He is expected to formally announce his bid in the next week or two, his staff said.

It will be a grassroots campaign at its best. Politics does, indeed, make strange bedfellows.

The State of the Union 2007

2007-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, made the following statement Tuesday regarding the President’s State of the Union address:

“The President laid out a comprehensive, forward-looking agenda that addresses many of the key issues facing America today. As Governor of Texas, the President had a strong record of accomplishment in working with a Democrat-controlled Legislature. It is my sincere hope that Democrats in Washington will likewise work to meet the President halfway. The 110th Congress has started on a strong bipartisan note, but a lot of hard work remains. I hope both parties will continue working together in the best interests of the American people.”

War on Terror / Victory in Iraq
“The one thing we should all agree on is that our military men and women serving in Iraq, and their leaders, should be given a reasonable chance to execute the President’s plan. The President has made clear that the consequences of failure pose a serious threat to our nation’s security and economic interests. So the United States must unify in its effort to achieve victory and avoid playing politics with national security.”

Immigration Reform / Border Security
“I remain committed to seeking a comprehensive solution to one of the top domestic issues facing our nation. Congress has taken some steps in the right direction to secure our borders, but we can and must do more. This comprehensive effort will require improving border and interior enforcement by equipping law enforcement agencies with the additional personnel, up-to-date technology and infrastructure needed to carry out this vital mission. Also, we should implement a successful employment-verification system, which includes adequate information-sharing and the ability to identify theft and document fraud. And we need broader reforms of our broken immigration system to restore respect for the rule of law, while also protecting our nation’s security and the U.S. economy.”

Energy Independence
“President Bush continues to address a pressing challenge—increasing domestic energy production and decreasing our dependence on foreign sources. Greater energy independence is a key to our economic and national security. We need a consistent and strategic energy policy that efficiently utilizes our domestic resources, diversifies our energy sources, and invests in new and cleaner technologies, rather than to pursue expensive or punitive patchwork policies that do not produce long-term solutions. I will continue working with my colleagues to develop such solutions.”

Education Reform
“As we move toward re-authorization of No Child Left Behind, it’s time to return education decision-making authority to the state level, and renew our focus on results. Education is best left mainly to parents, teachers and local school boards. This is in the best interest of our country, our states, and most importantly, our children. I’ll soon join Sen. DeMint in introducing the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success (A-PLUS) Act of 2007, which will allow states flexibility in funding and innovation in programs to best serve their students. It will give parents and teachers greater influence in what happens in classrooms across America everyday.”

Access to Health Care
“I applaud President Bush’s efforts to address the rising cost of health care, increasing accessibility and affordability. Many Americans will see tax relief under this plan. It will also begin to level the playing field for those who do not get health coverage through their employer. This plan promotes a market-based solution to the increasing number of uninsured Americans. And it will allow more Americans to choose the coverage they want and retain it even when they change jobs—providing true portability and ownership of health insurance. In addition, I’ll soon co-sponsor legislation that builds on the President’s proposal and provides tax credits to low-income Americans to purchase health insurance.”

Economic Growth / Fiscal Responsibility
“As a result of the pro-growth, low-tax economic policies of President Bush and Republicans in Congress, more than 7.2 million new jobs have been created since 2003. The last thing we should consider doing now is raising taxes—as some Democrats would like to do. What we must do is rein in wasteful government spending and reform entitlements, which is perhaps the greatest long-term fiscal challenge facing our country. I believe the President is committed to greater fiscal restraint, and I hope my Democrat colleagues will work with us to tackle the serious economic challenges ahead while continuing to create good, high-paying jobs.”

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee.

Cautious message of hope for the coming year

2007-01-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

If we ever forget that we’re One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
— Ronald Reagan

Focusing on the Christmas message last week was difficult enough, but perhaps even more difficult to write is the New Year’s column for this week. It’s a struggle to come up with the usual words of inspiration, hope, and optimism.

Looking back on 2006, one sees the monumental problems that only will continue to fester in the coming year. Let us remember the words of Ronald Reagan, and take them to heart.

Truthfully, the year ahead will be filled with challenges that must be met.

Locally, our cities and towns each face their own difficulties and internal power struggles as they attempt to promote their economies. Wilson County is challenged with issues such as clean air, preservation of its water supply, transportation issues, and politics.

Texas has it own formidable obstacles, as its Trans-Texas Corridor puts it right in the midst of the NAFTA Super Highway controversy.

In Congress, newly elected officials are faced with programs, policies, and procedures already set in place. Hampering any progress, of course, is the usual politics of Washington, which will prevent any meaningful changes from either side of the political spectrum.

Foreign policy will continue to be affected by the big bullies in Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China, as well as all the little, ferocious factions in such miserable places as Nigeria, Darfur, Sudan, and other God-forsaken places whose citizens are being held in a stranglehold by terrorists. Terrorists by any other name still are terrorists and those people most certainly terrorize their populations.

And for the sake of the free world, all Americans must meet the challenges posed by terrorists throughout the world.
Aside from the global scene, there still remains the immediate need to deal with Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. Despite the best heroic efforts of our fighting forces, the Western media continues, even if unwittingly, to take the side of the enemy, presenting a pretty dismal picture overall.

But we Americans are a resilient people whose history is one of having fought valiantly for the freedom we now enjoy. Perhaps, however, it’s a case of having become too accustomed to the niceties that previous generations have earned for us through their sacrifices. Perhaps it has become more important for us to enjoy these luxuries at all costs.

Or, in the more eloquent words of William Somerset Maugham:

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that, too.

As we forge ahead in 2007, this is a lesson that must be learned if we are to continue as a free nation. Pray that it be so. -

One year ends

2006-12-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

As 2006 comes to an end, it's difficult to distinguish what is most important. News media are providing nonstop coverage of President Ford's death and funeral, but rivaling that are the tributes paid to the talented renegade "Godfather of Soul," James Brown. Struggling to find its proper place in history alongside these two stories is the demise of the "Butcher of Baghdad," as Saddam Hussein met his death by hanging. What an end to a year!

Celebrations

2006-12-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

While I know that some people remain blissfully unaware that a war exists, I have a need to be within easy access to news at all times. I may keep the radio off for a few hours, but intermittently, I will turn it on just for a few minutes to reassure myself that the world is still there. I guess I am a news junkie.

For this holy time of the year, however, I’ve sworn off the news or at least I’ve tried to, sort of. Such drastic action is not easy, but necessary to get me through the holidays. It’s difficult to write about the war in Iraq in one sentence and say “Merry Christmas” in the next.

At the beginning of the season, it simply sounded too glib to say, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” Not only was the War on Terror on my mind, but there was all the ugly political carping that never let up after the election in November. Add to that the War on Christmas itself, and it made the act of issuing a simple Christmas greeting a very contrived ritual. All this created an extreme sense of foreboding that pervaded my every thought.

The nasty politics began well before the last election and will last clear through the 2008 election and beyond. In fact, the ugly political scene likely will outlast the current War On Terror — or whatever name is now being used. But whether it’s “The War,” or politics, or the War on Christmas, it all can be downright depressing. It’s enough to make a grown person quit believing in Santa.

I don’t really mean to be glib. Actually, I have a sense of guilt about it all. I feel almost a responsibility to all those who are out there fighting battles, that I must keep informed about what is going on.

I also have a sense of guilt about celebrating too much when I know that there are those who cannot be celebrating with us. I think of those who have given their lives in the defense of our country.

I think of the men and women who are away from home serving their country. I think of their families. They all are making the sacrifices so that we can be here in the comfort of our homes enjoying the luxuries that life in America has presented us — and I am feeling guilty. Why should we be having so much fun when others are in miserable, faraway places witnessing the worst of humanity? Shouldn’t we be miserable, too?

Although “misery loves company,” I’m afraid shared misery would accomplish nothing. It just increases the number of people who are miserable.

Feeling guilty at Christmas might be comparable to not eating so that you can “help” those who are starving. In reality, momentarily experiencing self-imposed hunger does not in and of itself provide food for the hungry.

By the same token, making ourselves feel the misery of those who cannot be here would do nothing to bring them home sooner. Perhaps, only by celebrating properly, do we honor them.

Just as I was contemplating my dilemma, “To celebrate or not to celebrate,” I got an e-mail from Regan Turner who is in Iraq on his second tour in the Middle East. The subject line: “Merry Christmas!”

It just made my day. He is in Iraq, yet he sends his greetings home telling us to celebrate our freedom, pray for our troops, and go on with our lives. They are over there fighting so that we can do just those things.

So, thank you, Regan, for that reminder. Thank you, Regan, for your service.

Thank you to all those men and women in uniform who are away from their families and loved ones this Christmas, so that we here at home are able to
carry on normal lives.

Thus, we will celebrate this Christmas season as best we can:

“Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display — so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn’t the holly, it isn’t the snow. It isn’t the tree, nor the firelight’s glow. It is the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again.” — Anonymous

“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” - One Opinion

IRS, taxes and such

2006-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

In church Sunday, there was a plea for people to participate in a certain program because there’s money from the federal government just waiting for us. There was a sense of entitlement as we were encouraged to use the money that was ours for the asking.
What was not mentioned is that the money “from the federal government” actually is our money that was taken by the federal government from hard-working Americans to be redistributed to other hard-working taxpayers of their choosing.
In today’s society, Americans have too many entitlements. It should be essential when discussing such entitlements that the entire issue be disclosed. For instance, why is one person entitled to money earned by another person? Of course, no one thinks of it in this way, but isn’t that the bottom line?
Put another way: “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” Unfortunately, a great number of people today probably would nod their heads in approval, not even realizing that this is straight from the teachings of Karl Marx.
Continuing with this entitlement philosophy was an e-mail I received that same day. This time the message was to the citizens of Texas: “The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot) has launched a public education campaign to increase vehicle registration compliance in the State of Texas.” They are asking help in getting the message out to fellow Texans. The message is not that all vehicles should meet certain inspection requirements to ensure the safety of all citizens from unsafe vehicles on the roads.
Rather, the message is that our state “is deprived of approximately $42.3 million annually because residents don’t register their vehicles, or fail to register them on time. And “newcomers who don’t abide by the 30-day registration grace period …” cost us taxpayers an estimated additional $40 million!
I guess the problem I have with this is not so much that I think registration is a bad thing, but it’s this entitlement thing about “being deprived of” something that belongs to them. In fact, this is an additional tax that most hard-working Americans gladly pay in order to keep our transportation system going.
So, while I’m not opposed to vehicle registration, I question the logic that says the money is there and, thus the state is missing out on what they consider rightfully theirs.
As April 15 approaches, the subject of the IRS and taxes weighs heavily on the minds of all taxpayers. It’s a good time to be thinking about hard work and the money we earn.
A recent “World News Tonight” explored some of the problems with the income tax program as it exists today. Even many professional tax return preparers and well-known CPA firms simply cannot keep up with an average of more than 800 changes to the tax code each year.
Congress’ answer to all this? Not simplify the tax code, but require more training, meaning more bureaucracy on top of a burgeoning bureaucracy.
But, what if we used the common sense approach and adopt the FairTax law?
Indeed, the key here might be
“common sense.” Common sense is something sorely lacking from America’s politically hypersensitive society, but that will be the subject of next week’s column.

No regrets

2006-02-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

Last week, we passed up what could have been our biggest breaking story ever from our small community in South Texas.
A friend alerted us Monday morning after the nine hostages, including three Aemricans, were taken off the Coast of Nigeria.
After speaking to Macon Hawkins family members and gathering all the details for a story, we honored the family’s wishes and withheld the story. They felt that releasing the details of the situation would only jeopardize any negotiations that were ongoing.
We continued to monitor the story through the week and kept in contact with family members. We contacted the Willbros Group Inc. in Houston.
After three days, the stories in the United States the stories disappeared from the front pages for more important stories. Those that did run still did not mention the names of the hostages. The family had hopes that authorities would be successful in obtaining the hostages' release.
But, on Thursday, the name of Macon Hawkins began to show up on Asian news sites on the Internet. By Friday, we were getting calls, and “big city” reporters were snooping around Wilson County.
We held our story until after the Associated Press released the story to all of America and all of the world at about 4 p.m. EST. There no longer was any reason for us not to publihs our story. Within minutes, we posted it online, still not disclosing all the information we had from family members.
While there are those who will turn their noses up at us for sitting on a story, we can live with that. As our news staff discussed whether or not to release the information, our conclusion was that the only reason we would do it was so that we could be first and “beat the big guys.” We didn’t think that was justification for possibly putting lives at risk.
As we told each other, we will be here long after the big guys have forgotten this story. It is our hometown, and we will have plenty of time to tell our story –- the real story and we will get it right.
So, go ahead. Call us the Podunk Newspaper of South Texas, We think we are in good company.

God Bless America
Elaine Kolodziej
Publisher
Wilson County News
http://wilsoncountynews.com
Floresville, Tx 78114

Another perspective of protestors

2006-02-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

Americans protest peacefully as Muslim protests spread outrage
As Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and countries all over Europe relinquish their freedom of speech, Americans continue to exercise theirs.
The question might be how long can Americans hold out for their free-speech rights when faced with this expanding global pressure. Let’s examine the issues involved.
After Americans recently protested an NBC drama about a pill-popping priest, “The Book of Daniel” was cancelled. Through the American Family Association and several dozen other conservative organizations, Americans then turned their wrath to an upcoming “Will & Grace” episode that will mock Christ’s crucifixion.
The segment, according to NBC’s press release, was set to air the day before Good Friday, a notable holy day to Christians. Britney Spears was to star as a conservative Christian woman hosting a cooking show called “Cruci-fixins.”
The American Family Association immediately raised objections to the announced episode, saying it “mocks the crucifixion of Christ” and will “further denigrate Christianity” by airing during Holy Week.
Protestors urged network affiliates to refuse to run the episode and to write letters of protest to NBC.
NBC countered that the dispute stemmed — not from the show itself — but from an inaccurate press release that went out without being properly vetted. The information was reported by the Associated Press.
“Some erroneous information was mistakenly included in a press release describing an upcoming episode of ‘Will & Grace’ which in fact has yet to be written,” NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks told Reuters.
All that has been decided, according to NBC as they tried to quiet the controversy, is that Spears will play a central role in an upcoming episode that will likely air sometime in April.
It would seem that the pro-family advocates won again, as the network also had trouble finding commercial sponsors for the show, and several smaller affiliates declined to carry the series, objecting to its portrayal of Christian themes.
This might be viewed as free-speech at its best, but of course, such free-speech issues seldom reflect the Christian conservative viewpoint. Take the case of the National Endowment for the Arts showing exhibits of the crucifix standing in human urine. Protests, however well-intentioned, were not effective in cutting funds to the NEA.
But, compare these American protests to the outrage currently being spewed all over Europe and Middle East. Embassies are being burned, mobs are torching buildings, and neighborhoods ransacked because of cartoons published in a number of European newspapers.
Muslims claim the cartoons are an attack on their faith and culture.
The difference is in how they protest. There were diplomatic protests by governments of Islamic countries that closed embassies. And, there were boycotts, but when these proved ineffective, armed groups made threats against citizens. They are calling for the beheading of the cartoonists. Embassies in Denmark and Norway have been trashed and several have been killed in the riots. Many more have been injured.
The prospect is, indeed, frightening, as the radical Muslims will not back down. And, countries in Europe have begun to back off their free-speech claims.
As Akbar Ahmed, professor of Islamic studies at American University, wrote: “What was once an occasional event — silencing scholars —increasingly has become a way of life in most Muslim countries. From South Asia to North Africa, an entire generation of Muslim intellectuals is at this moment under threat: Many have already been killed, silenced, or forced into exile.”
We all recall the death threats issued for Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses.
Where will it stop? Will the Western World acquiesce in the vain hope of preserving peace? Or will the fighting and terrorism spread as a result of a few cartoons?

A new year looking back at trying times

2006-01-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of thoughts as we end the year: The more things change, the more they stay the same; if people and governments never learn anything from history, it will be repeated.

Indeed, this seems to be the case.

Borrowing from what I wrote in 1998, it’s difficult to get into the spirit of the season of “peace and goodwill” when all the world is in turmoil. With bombs falling in Iraq, the future of America seems to be called into question. In 1998, it was the Clinton ‘affairs” (pun intended). Today, it’s the president’s approval ratings plummeting, because of negative press over the war on terrorism.

Can this country survive these uncertain times, I asked, when America seemingly has lost its once-strong will to protect itself and all it stands for? When it seems to have lost its sense of pride and its dogged determination to do what is right?

It’s particularly unsettling as Hollywood types and the media join the French and Germans and other Europeans in blaming those who are trying to defend our freedom and protect our country for future generations. They want terrorists to be given the rights of American citizens. They accuse the president of advocating “spying” on citizens. Don’t I recall that some of the terrorist sympathizers actually were or had become American citizens?

Meanwhile, a brutal dictator accuses the Americans of abuse and that makes headlines, whereas, the mass graves uncovered in Iraq were all but overlooked in the major media. These are trying times for America and for the world.

But, because this is the season for hope and good cheer, we will continue to have faith in ourselves, our country, and in the future.

We pray that the turmoil that presently surrounds us will not be allowed to consume our confidence, and will lead us, instead, to a better and brighter future for ourselves and our posterity.

A year's end

2005-12-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

A new year brings opportunities to start over and try harder to do things differently or better. It provides a time to look back at the year just past. It’s time to take a deep breath and say we’ll do a better job at being who we are.
This past year has been one of a world in turmoil, but when wasn’t the world in turmoil. It is, after all, populated with humans.

The meaning of Christmas

2005-12-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

I sometimes think that we Christians have done it to ourselves. WE have commercialized the holidays until smart marketing requires saying HAPPY HOLIDAYS, because, really, wouldn’t it sound dumb to say “Merry Christmas” in October? :)

That would get old.

Under attack? Perhaps that is exaggerated, but who knows. There are some instances, I fear, that would amount to an attack of sorts. For instance, when they forbid children to bring “Christmas” cookies or decorations to school, I think that is going too far. We all grew up being able to laugh and joke about ethnics and religion, but now you dare not say anything even slightly suggestive lest you be labeled insensitive and punished for lacking diversity!

Well, I digress. I think it’s fine to use the “holidays” for marketing purposes, but I’m not sure about having the government step in and dictate what we can and cannot say in school programs. But, then again, I’m not sure about a lot of things ... :)

I do think the attack comes in the form of ACLU actions such as having the County of Los Angeles redesign their official logo, stationary, etc. to remove a small cross that historically has always been a part of their representation. I guess you have to wonder where it will all stop.

Our good friend, the late Father Bernard Goebel, was persecuted mercilessly in the concentration camps because of his Catholic religion, so attack can comes from all sides. And, I know some very fundamentalist Christians, and, indeed, I would not want them to rule my country! :)

I have a funny story. I took my 3-year-old granddaughter this evening to pick up Churches fried chicken because her mother was working late (I’m a slave driver!) When we pulled up to the window to get our order, Little Miss Julia yells out (she has a naturally loud voice) to the lady at the window, “Happy Holidays!” and again the same thing to the next lady who came to the window! They answered her back with Merry Christmas and got a kick out of this little kid greeting them. I — and her mother — have no idea where this little kid got that from!!!! But, how ironic? Happy Holidays, indeed. :)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the best to you and yours!

First Day Blog

2005-12-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

The beginning of anything is the first time. You have to start somewhere as all things mortal have a beginning and an end. With only one week left until Christmas, this is a busy time to begin anything.