Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control. These three alone lead to sovereign power.
Lord Alfred Tennyson
The End of Our Iraq Quagmire: FINALLY!
Defense Secretary Panetta presided over the casing of the flag at the Baghdad Airport today, signifying the end of the Iraq War from an American perspective. I think America paid a stiff price for doing exactly what Bush had criticized the Clinton Administration for doing: engaging in nation-building. The issue wasn't so much the war itself, but the subsequent occupation. The fact of sectarian strife was hardly unexpected: be careful of what you wish for: you just might get it. The law of unexpected consequences...
The leftists are doing their best to tweak the event with predictable rhetoric about the "end of the American empire", a win for the Iraqi opposition, etc. I am proud that the American forces left behind a relatively stable Iraq.
But when Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats essentially labeled the Afghanistan battle the "good war": well, what happened to the recognition of the past history of Afghanistan? Wouldn't you think that after the relatively recent failed Russian occupation during the 1980's (just to cite one example), the last thing we needed was scope creep of our troops, invest ever more blood and treasure, in Afghanistan?
I submit that we need to scale back our global footprint, rely more on regional leadership, and learn to pick our battles more carefully. But to those who perished or were injured in the process of bringing democratic reforms in the middle of an unstable global region: your sacrifice was not in vain, and today we left a relatively functional, stable government: the Iraqis now must decide the fate of their own nation.
Excerpt of the Day: Ben Stein, American Spectator: Thumbs UP!
The conservative side of my political orientation starts with a conviction that certain social institutions (in particular, marriage and family) have evolved for certain functional purposes (e.g., social stability), and arbitrary changes in these structures and conventions should be treated with caution, noting the law of unintended consequences. I believe that our laws should promote the ideal of a permanent, monogamous relationship between a man and a woman. Where I differ from some conservatives is that I don't believe in using the power of government to intervene in voluntary, unsanctioned adult relationships and commitments, e.g., gay couples and polygamous relationships.
I've slightly reorganized and edited the content, but the words and sentiment are all Ben Stein's:
In Rancho Mirage, my wife and I stopped at an eerily empty superstore. Only a few elderly men and women, alone, looking desperately lonely... What if I were one of them? A good woman is everything. I had wandered far and I could not see her any longer. I got frightened. What if she were gone? I don't want to be 67 and alone. Or any age and alone. I found my gift from God standing at the checkout counter smiling, looking at magazines. The most beautiful, kindest, smartest, most loving, most generous woman, with the best sense of humor on this earth. The best creature I have ever encountered and I get to have her as my wife. I think my wife has more of the spirit of “love thy neighbor as thyself" than anyone else I have ever met. She's literally the best person on the planet and I get to call her my wife! CHRISTMAS! EVERY DAY!
Political Humor
"Parents in a Connecticut town are upset because their children's' bus driver told the kids that Santa Claus is not real and that Jesus wasn't born on Christmas. Then the kids got really upset when the driver told them, 'And I don't have a driver's license.'" - Conan O'Brien
[The driver first told them because of slower USPS delivery, letters to Santa wouldn't get to the North Pole in time for Christmas and Michelle Obama was in charge of the treats for the Christmas party.]
"According to a new survey, 75 percent of employees would rather get a cash bonus than spend time with coworkers at a holiday party. All I can say to my staff is, 'I will see you at the holiday party.'" - Conan O'Brien
[According to my survey, 100 percent of taxpayers would rather get a tax cut than spend time with politicians from the Democratic Party.]
Musical Interlude: Nostalgic/Instrumental Christmas
"I Believe in Father Christmas". Greg Lake. A classic Christmas rock song from the mid-1970's, I consider the track enigmatic, with a hauntingly beautiful melody and arrangement but the stark, disillusioned words of a once true believer turned skeptic in the magic of Christmas. I didn't want to leave the interlude on a dark note: I have more of a "The Morning After" personality. So I conclude with my favorite over the past decade (Newsong's "The Christmas Shoes" is a close second): "Where Are You, Christmas?", which inverts the sentiments.
U2. This more minimal arrangement by the world's leading rock band is interesting; I didn't expect Bono's burst in delivery near the end of the song. Maybe it's an acquired taste... I would have performed it differently, but then he's sold millions of records and I haven't sold any...
"Where Are You, Christmas?". Faith Hill. One of the reasons I write this holiday music interludes is to help me stay in the holiday spirit; no relatives (or travel plans) in the near future, sharing the holiday with young children, as Gloria Estefan would sing, seeing Christmas through their eyes. To me as a child, the presents, of course, were important, but it really was more about the excitement, the traditional treats, songs, movies and TV specials. It really wasn't a conscious thing--I still did the annual Christmas card writing and gift-shopping for the folks and my goddaughters. But I can remember in particular the end of 1998; I was in the role of a road warrior, ironically commuting to BWI from Chicago. Instead of going home to Chicago for the break, I went to Texas through Atlanta, and my connection flight was postponed because of bad weather in Atlanta. Somehow I managed to get a hotel room with an early morning flight out. But it suddenly occurred to me I had been too busy to celebrate the season. Other than an obligatory office Christmas party at the company owner's house, the weeks before Christmas flew by without seeing a holiday special on TV or even hearing any Christmas music (beyond what was piped through the airport. I really did think to myself, what happened to Christmas? Now the season was just like any of the other weeks in the year. Ironically I never heard this song or watched the movie until probably 2 or 3 years after it was released.
The lyrics of this song really do speak to me. The spirit of Christmas really was there all the time: just different. My inner record producer wants to frame the song in a duet (I'm sure it's been done) as I've always done singing along with Faith on my licensed song copy. Of course, she's married to another country superstar (I like McGraw's performance of "My Little Girl" so much I bought that download, too.)
Adorable 4-Year-Old Girl. Thumbs WAY, WAY UP! Off-the-charts cute and what a personality! Don't you just want to hug and kiss this little precious, beautiful, angelic sweetheart? That gift from God is already a better singer than me...
