Passing Storms

2011 has been a tough year for a lot of reasons, both societally and personally. There has been good to be sure, but weighed as a whole, the scales have been more down than up. God never promised, though, that life would be easy, but rather that He would be with us in the good times and the bad. And He has been. So here is to more good times for us all in 2012 - and the sure knowledge that even if that doesn't prove true, He will be right here with us. Happy New Year.

Euro Could Become World's Leading Currency

So says the chief policy maker for the European Central Bank.

news.yahoo.com/euro-could-become-worlds-leading-currency-noyer-191853289.html

Ring Out the Old; Bring in the New; then the Old...

Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun. He was right. Victor Davis Hanson gives us a look at the New/Old Europe, which really hasn't changed much over the last several hundred years. The rest of Europe is wooing Germany to pay the bills for the profligacy of its more undisciplined members and hoping that Germany doesn't go off the deep end again.

Perhaps the bigger variable this time is that Europe has let millions of Muslims into their countries. Combined with an abysmal birthrate among its natural born citizens, the future of Europe could be very different indeed. Then again, civilizations rising and falling isn't new under the sun either.

townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2011/12/29/the_new_old_europe

A Big Thumbs Up!

USA Today reports that charitable giving over Christmas was up 4% over last year. Nice job in tough times America! There is still time before 12/31 if you weren't a part of it.

www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-28/charity-holiday-giving/52253398/1

U.S. Leads Industrial World - In Mule Technology

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Enough of sugar plums dancing in your heads and let's instead think about industrial policy.

A modern industrial economy needs lots of different minerals and metals to thrive. The more a country depends on other countries to provide these materials, the more it places itself at risk if relations go sour. The U.S. imports a lot of its minerals but we are fortunate to be rich in many, tungsten for example. But that asumes that it can be mined, which as it turns out is a big assumption.

Columnist Marita Noon writes about recent efforts to mine tungsten in Montana. It gives a good idea why the American economy stinks:

"In Montana’s Finley Basin there are known tungsten deposits. An Australian company wanted to bring revenue and jobs to the state by developing the resource. While the property was successfully drilled and recognized by Union Carbide in the seventies, it is now about 200 yards inside a roadless study area. The Forest Service was willing to offer a conditional drilling permit. Among the conditions were these requirements:

•          The drill sites must be cleared using hand tools,
•          The drilling equipment and fuel must be transported to the site by a team of pack mules,
•          The mules must be fed certified weed-free hay, and
•          Drill site and trail reclamation must be done using hand tools.

The company gave up.

How can America remain competitive in a global marketplace when we are required to use pick axes and mules? How does this help America’s heavy equipment manufacturers like Caterpillar?

No wonder we are in trouble."

You think? Hand tools? Mules? Certified weed-free hay? Amazing. November 6, 2012 is coming.

finance.townhall.com/columnists/maritanoon/2011/12/24/obamaland_american_mules_must_eat_certified_weed-free_hay

Merry Christmas!

See Ya Pardner

We are now done in Iraq - the upcoming Presidential election made sure of that. We lost 4,000+ dead and 32,000 wounded. Iraq is free, at least for the moment. Peggy Noonan comments on an interesting interview that she did this year in Iraq:

"In Iraq this year I asked an Iraqi military officer doing joint training at an American base what was the big thing he'd come to believe about Americans in the years they'd been there. He thought. 

"You are a better people than your movies say." 

He had judged us by our exports. He had seen the low slag heap of our culture and assumed it was a true expression of who we are. And so he'd assumed we were disgusting."

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204552304577115051424219634.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

I'd like to think we are better than our movies. Certainly the men and women who served our country so well in Iraq are first class. Thank you - a lot - for your service. You acquitted yourselves well and history will judge you charitably, in the finest tradition of the American soldier. 

Light of the World

The Shroud of Turin is back in the news. The arguments over whether this really is the burial shroud of Christ have gone back and forth for a long time. A new research team has now concluded that the images are genuine and could only have been created by an extremely short burst of very intense light. The team was able to replicate the images using a very brief burst of UV light, the technology for which was not available  at the time the images were created. The scientists cautioned that they cannot, of course, say that this is Christ's burial shroud.  Jesus is the light of the world, though, so we can say that these new findings are perfectly consistent. Interesting validation of the Christmas story.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8966422/Italian-study-claims-Turin-Shroud-is-Christs-authentic-burial-robe.html

It Can't Come Too Soon!

Medical research shows promise that a super-memory pill could soon be on the way. Most excellent! Researchers found that suppressing a brain molecule (PKR) that has a virus early warning function led to increased memory and learning capability. It can't happen too soon for me, as I sit here trying to remember what my wife wants for Christmas.
www.vancouversun.com/health/Discovery+could+lead+memory+enhancing+pill+realm+science+fiction/5873583/story.html

The Christmas Spirit

Traveling over Christmas can often be an ordeal. We've done it and one of my not fond memories is the Mt. Hood-sized pile of luggage at United's baggage claim area at O"Hare when my tribe arrived on Christmas Eve from Portland. But my purpose today is not to beat up on the airlines, but rather to spread a little Christmas cheer by sending them some love. Yes, Virginia, there are good employees who work at airlines!

My personal story was on a United flight from Denver to Portland. I was transporting a 1-year old from Texas to Oregon who was being adopted. By the time we made it to Denver, he had worn me out. We had the last flight of the day and I crawled down the jetway with baby in tow and me in sad shape. Fortunately, the combination of a kind flight attendant and a light load soon found me napping while the flight attendant (a mom herself) delightedly played with the baby at the back of the plane. When I got back to the office, a letter was soon on its way from my office to United HQ about their terrific employee.

Enjoy these stories and, if you are traveling this Christmas, especially by air or rail, spread a little Christmas cheer by a kind word and a good attitude for the folks who are trying to get you home safely.

www.thestreet.com/story/11350575/1/top-5-airline-service-moments-of-2012.html

Point/Counterpoint

There is no question that Iran has one of our super secret stealth recon drones. news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57344032-83/u.s-drone-hijacked-by-gps-hack/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver In fact, this one was so secret that no picture of it had been published until the Iranians showed it to the world. The bigger question is how did this CIA-operated aircraft end up in the hands of the bad guys and how do we prevent his from happening again?

A lot of stories are floating around as to just what went wrong. One is simply operator error. That may be, but there should be an absolutely fail safe destruction circuit built into these things that will blow it up if there is no other recourse. Of course, it may have been as simple as some lieutenant who was flying this thing not wanting to hit the kill switch on one of America's most secret - and expensive - pieces of hardware because his orders were not clear as to when he was authorized to do this. That is a command-and-control problem.

A larger command-and-control problem is why orders were not immediately given to either go in and recover the drone by force, or destroy it on the ground with an air strike. Rumor has it that the President spiked this option. The President did say that we have asked for it back and "we'll see" what the Iranian response is.  Right. Five guesses what their response will be. This is a command-and-control problem that can only be solved next November.

The more technical explanation is that the Iranians spoofed the GPS feed and tricked it into landing in Iran. The article below from Wired says that this is possible, but it would be difficult. www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12/iran-drone-hack-gps/

My best guess is that this was probably a Chinese or Russian operation that was a field test of new equipment to counter our drones. They got lucky by snatching one of our newest models instead of a Predator or other older drone. Since they now have our best and brightest, they can manufacture their own after reverse-engineering it and work out new countermeasures to bring ours down. Great. Point/counterpoint is the nature of the game and we just got painfully counterpointed in a big way.  Wherever the screw-ups occurred here, there is no excuse for not taking the drone out when we knew it was down in Indian Country.

Good Newt/Bad Newt

For those of you still considering Newt for President, I hope that you will read the attached article from today's WSJ. He has only reluctantly fessed up that he pulled down $1.6 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and he defended these colossal failures in the same way as Barney Frank, which he "does not recall at this time."Newt is not particularly conservative and if he is the Republican nominee it is going to be the the old exploding cigar routine and Barack Obama will be re-elected. We can't afford that.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203699404577046312408153358.html

Parting the Veil

Christopher Hitchens died yesterday at 62 after a battle with throat cancer. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16212418   Hitchens was a gifted writer and a fiery polemicist with a real animus toward Christianity. I wonder what he thinks now.

Steve Jobs is an even higher profile figure who recently died. His last words were reputed to be, "Oh wow.  Oh wow. Oh wow!" It does make you wonder.

Death has been on my mind of late because of the death of our cat, who died in my wife's arms last Sunday, and because of the imminent deaths of three friends. St. Paul says that now we see through the glass darkly and I believe this is true, if we see at all.

Non-believers either ignore death or deal with it by false bravado - "Do not go gentle into that good night!" in the words of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. You may not go gently, Mr. Thomas, but most assuredly you will (and did) go.

Christians too often try to ignore death too or paper over it with a glib religious gloss. It is easy to say that God will see us through when it is someone else who is dying. It becomes much more difficult when we are the one who is looking down the long end of the barrel and our own earthly existence is drawing to a close. We all fear what we do not know and we do not know what lies on the other side in the same sense that we know our wife sitting next to us, the smile of our children, or the warmth of the morning sun. But do we, in fact, have some real knowledge even now that we do not realize that is enough to bring us through? The answer, I believe, is "yes."

It starts by acknowledging that Paul says that we see though the glass darkly, not that we don't see at all. That would be the experience of my life. Occasionally we are given "God sightings." Chuck Colson calls them "signposts to God." www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/18420 For most of us they are few and far between. It could be because we are blind and deaf and simply missing them all the time, but more likely it is because He doesn't want to overwhelm us with His presence and so withholds it from us. Being constantly in His immediate presence can breed a blase' attitude - think the Jews and Moses trekking around Mt. Sinai for 40 years. It can also cause fear, but not inspire love, and it is love freely given that God desires from us.

Thinking back over my life, I can count a few occasions where I can say unequivocally that God was with me. They were unmistakeable and have stayed with me ever since. I may see through a glass darkly but for a few moments at least, I did see face-to-face. If He can do that, then I know He can walk with me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

So dear friends, know that we on this side, and your family and friends on the other side, are praying for you as you approach the veil. We pray that you know beyond any doubt that He has you in the palm of His hand. I know that some day you will return the favor. Remember the God sightings that you have known in this life - He is the same God who will bring you through. Aloha means "Until we meet again," so Aloha and not goodbye.

The Fourth Reich?

Yup, at least Victor Davis Hanson thinks so and they got there without resorting to military. Basically, for a long time Germany has played the ant while the rest of Europe did the grasshopper routine. Now that winter has arrived, Germany is sitting fat and happy while the rest of the continent (with a few exceptions like Norway) is out starving in the cold. Europe worries whether Germany will press its advantage into a Pax Germana. Doh! You only have to ignore several hundred years of history to believe they won't. Ve-dy in-te-westing.

townhall.com/columnists/victordavishanson/2011/12/15/the_hundred_years_german_war

Egyptian Stew

While major U.S. media focus on important stories like Lindsay Lohan, Der Spiegel is actually sending reporters out to interview players in the Egyptian political scene. Where Egypt goes, the rest of the Arab crescent is likely to go and this article, not to mention the recent election, is not particularly encouraging. It appears that between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists there will be a warm embrace of the 5th century in Egypt's future. Any chance we could consider energy independence for the U.S. so we don't have to deal with these folks?

www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,803500,00.html

Hope

I am melancholy. I don't like the darkness of winter and people I care about are dying. They have run the good race, fought the good fight and heaven awaits, but they will be missed here. The sadness seeps from my soul.


Yet the darkness of the hour makes the Light who came into the world that we celebrate this Christmas season that much brighter:


I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.  John 8:12


 He who is Light came into this dark place and brought hope. And someday -


He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4


The substance of things hoped for. May He come soon. Amen.

Newt with Kraut

Newt Gingrich is rapidly closing on Romney as the GOP front-runner, but their are some serious people who aren't Newt fans. Take Charles Krauthammer for example:

"Gingrich has his own vulnerabilities. The first is often overlooked because it is characterological rather than ideological: his own unreliability. Gingrich has a self-regard so immense that it rivals Obama's — but, unlike Obama's, is untamed by self-discipline.

Take that ad Gingrich did with Nancy Pelosi on global warming advocating urgent government action. He laughs it off today with "that is probably the dumbest single thing I've done in recent years. It is inexplicable."

This will not do. He was obviously thinking something. What was it? Thinking of himself as a grand world-historical figure, attuned to the latest intellectual trend (preferably one with a tinge of futurism and science, like global warming), demonstrating his own incomparable depth and farsightedness." 

www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1477525

Then their is someone not nearly as serious, but usually funny - Ann Coulter. In this piece, though, she is dead serious about serving up deep-fried Newt:

"Before you newly active Republicans commit to Newt Gingrich as your presidential nominee on the basis of the recent debates, here's a bit of Newt history you ought to know. I promise you, it's going to come up if he's the candidate. 

The day after the Republicans' historic takeover of the House of Representatives in the 1994 election, Newt was off and running, giving a series of Fidel Castro-style speeches about "the Third Wave information revolution." It had the unmistakable ring of lingo from his new-age gurus, Alvin and Heidi Toffler. 

(Newt, who was married at the time, also began dating again.) 

A few weeks later, when Newt was elected House speaker by the incoming Republican conference, there was a small elderly couple standing by his side as he gave a one-hour acceptance speech. It soon became clear who they were, when he issued a reading list to the Republican legislators. At the top of the list was a book by the Tofflers. 

Hadn't Republicans just won on a platform of smaller government? Instead of a Republican victory, the '94 election seemed to be a victory for the Tofflers' cyber-babble about "social wavefront analysis," "anticipatory democracy," "de-massification," "materialismo," "the Third Wave" and "decision loads." 

Then, in his first week as speaker, Gingrich was again promoting the Tofflers around town, introducing them at a technology conference and giving a speech titled "From Virtuality to Reality." 

How about a speech on Republican plans to reform entitlement programs? "
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2817392/posts

It would appear that Newt is a little, well flaky. Maybe he's changed. He says the third time is the charm for getting married, he says he has a new Christian faith, and he's a grandfather now for crying out loud - it's the NEW IMPROVED NEWT. Maybe. We'll see. As you listen and read, however, to the Republican candidates, check them all out carefully. Obama's Chicago Gang plays for keeps and we can't afford to kick the 2012 election with someone who self-destructs for all the world to see.

Never Forget

The waters of Pearl Harbor are quiet, as are the souls beneath it. There is peace between the United States and Japan and it has lasted for 66 years. The excellent article below by Jeffrey Anderson gives the key reason: the United States was resolute in battle; magnanimous in victory. The same formula worked with Germany.

The world today is no less dangerous, but the United States seems to be forgetting the part about being resolute. We have enemies and they are dangerous, in fact more so than in WW II. If they act against our country, then they must be resolutely and unconditionally defeated. Only then can we afford to be magnanimous. Never forget. Never forget.

www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/70th-anniversary-japanese-attack-pearl-harbor_611662.html

Why Does It Have to be Zombies?

I must confess that I didn't get vampires and now I am having the same problem with zombies. Everything is about zombies these days - movies, tv shows, even ads. Why? What is it about the walking dead that apparently so intrigues a sizable portion of our population? 


Certainly a lot of people just like a good scare and since zombies are the monster du jour, then zombies it is. 


I wonder, though, if a certain number of people are sensing their own inner condition from these movies and are at once fascinated and repulsed by what they see. Without Christ, we are indeed the walking dead. Physically we are are alive, but inside we are deader than a doornail and go through live "eating" other people without much thought to what this is doing to others - it's all about us.


C.S. Lewis provides some support for this view when he said that he was sure that in this life we meet no "ordinary" people. He stated  that:


"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare."  The Weight of Glory


Are people transfixed by zombies because they are somehow recognizing their inner nightmare - that they really are what they are seeing on the screen? Perhaps I am reading too much into the zombie craze and it is all just in fun. Perhaps, but I don't get the joke. 

No More Mr. Nice Guy!

Are dogs really man's best friend? Perhaps, but I am definitely going to be keeping a better eye on our dog, Sadie (bin Laden). Why?

A Utah duck hunter put his shotgun down in the boat while he got out to move some decoys and Fido, his faithful and loyal companion, stepped on it causing it to go off and deposit a big load of buckshot in his owner's backside. Humans, you are warned - dog biscuits or your life!

 www.kgw.com/news/national/134789438.html