Pops finally made it home, and I don't mean to Newport. He died last night around 10:00.
We had a great day. Lots of laughing, lots of crying, and lots of singing. It's amazing looking back over Pops' life and seeing what the Lord has done for him.
We're still finalizing funeral arrangements, but it's going to be a grand celebration.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Monday, November 01, 2004
It's Important, But Let's Not Go Overboard
Bush Win Would Mean Dark Times
World Would Perceive Support For Preemptive War
by Helen Thomas
The presidential election on Tuesday is one of the most crucial in American history.
I continue to hear this from both the Left and the Right. Thomas qualifies her statement with "one of the most", but most pundits and politicos come straight out and say this is the most important election ever.
Look, this year is clearly an important election for the war on terrorism and domestic policy. But isn't every national election critically important? Doesn't every President and Congress shape the future both for the living and future generations?
I mean, is this year's election more important than 2000? Think how the world would be different with Algore in charge. How about 1980? Four more years of Jimmy Carter would have compounded the disaster of the previous four years and emboldened the Soviets. What about 1984? Reagan finished off the greatest evil of our time.
I think people just need to relax. This election is important - but it's still only an election.
World Would Perceive Support For Preemptive War
by Helen Thomas
The presidential election on Tuesday is one of the most crucial in American history.
I continue to hear this from both the Left and the Right. Thomas qualifies her statement with "one of the most", but most pundits and politicos come straight out and say this is the most important election ever.
Look, this year is clearly an important election for the war on terrorism and domestic policy. But isn't every national election critically important? Doesn't every President and Congress shape the future both for the living and future generations?
I mean, is this year's election more important than 2000? Think how the world would be different with Algore in charge. How about 1980? Four more years of Jimmy Carter would have compounded the disaster of the previous four years and emboldened the Soviets. What about 1984? Reagan finished off the greatest evil of our time.
I think people just need to relax. This election is important - but it's still only an election.
BBC Biased? Nooooooo
This is a "news" story from BBC correspondent Barbara Plett:
The world watches the unfolding drama as the man who has become the symbol for Palestinian nationalism seems to hover between life and death. Though full of uncertainties, Mr Arafat's life has been one of sheer dedication and resilience.
To be honest, the coverage of Yasser Arafat's illness and departure from Palestine was a real grind. I churned out one report after the other, without any sense of drama.
Foreign journalists seemed much more excited about Mr Arafat's fate than anyone in Ramallah. We hovered around the gate to his compound, swarming around the Palestinian officials who drove by, poking our microphones through their dark, half-open windows.
But where were the people, I wondered, the mass demonstrations of solidarity, the frantic expressions of concern?
Was this another story we Western journalists were getting wrong, bombarding the world with news of what we think is an historic event, while the locals get on with their lives?
Yet when the helicopter carrying the frail old man rose above his ruined compound, I started to cry... without warning.
In quieter moments since I have asked myself, why the sudden surge of emotion?
I'll tell you why, because you love fascist, murdering, Jew-hating bastards.
The world watches the unfolding drama as the man who has become the symbol for Palestinian nationalism seems to hover between life and death. Though full of uncertainties, Mr Arafat's life has been one of sheer dedication and resilience.
To be honest, the coverage of Yasser Arafat's illness and departure from Palestine was a real grind. I churned out one report after the other, without any sense of drama.
Foreign journalists seemed much more excited about Mr Arafat's fate than anyone in Ramallah. We hovered around the gate to his compound, swarming around the Palestinian officials who drove by, poking our microphones through their dark, half-open windows.
But where were the people, I wondered, the mass demonstrations of solidarity, the frantic expressions of concern?
Was this another story we Western journalists were getting wrong, bombarding the world with news of what we think is an historic event, while the locals get on with their lives?
Yet when the helicopter carrying the frail old man rose above his ruined compound, I started to cry... without warning.
In quieter moments since I have asked myself, why the sudden surge of emotion?
I'll tell you why, because you love fascist, murdering, Jew-hating bastards.
Pops Update #6
Pops' condition has continued to deteriorate. There really isn't a lot they can do for him right now. They've taken him off dialysis. His kidney infection is in his blood now, and the most potent drugs have had little affect.
The next step to prolong his life would be to intubate him and put him on a ventilator to help him breath (he still has fluid on his lungs and pneumonia). But Pops didn't want that. They'll keep him on oxygen and continue to give him antibiotics, but we'll no longer take measures to prolong the inevitable.
So this morning they'll move him to a regular hospital room and then send him home in a day or so with hospice care. Pops is tired and ready to go home...first to Newport and then to Heaven. He longs to see his Savior face-to-face and to see mom again.
We had a great day yesterday. He opened his eyes a few times (hasn't done that in days) and was talking some (though he's hard to understand). I sang him some of his favorite worship songs. He kept saying "Let's go home" and "Let's get out of here." He throws his leg over the side of the bed and tries to lift up. I don't know where he gets his strength.
Soon he'll be back in his house - the house he raised his family in, the house where he played with his 13 grandchildren. We'll have a great party celebrating Pops' life and his impact on his family and friends and community. And finally, we'll celebrate his transition from this temporary life to his eternal reward...a glorified body in the presence of his God where he can run and jump again.
The next step to prolong his life would be to intubate him and put him on a ventilator to help him breath (he still has fluid on his lungs and pneumonia). But Pops didn't want that. They'll keep him on oxygen and continue to give him antibiotics, but we'll no longer take measures to prolong the inevitable.
So this morning they'll move him to a regular hospital room and then send him home in a day or so with hospice care. Pops is tired and ready to go home...first to Newport and then to Heaven. He longs to see his Savior face-to-face and to see mom again.
We had a great day yesterday. He opened his eyes a few times (hasn't done that in days) and was talking some (though he's hard to understand). I sang him some of his favorite worship songs. He kept saying "Let's go home" and "Let's get out of here." He throws his leg over the side of the bed and tries to lift up. I don't know where he gets his strength.
Soon he'll be back in his house - the house he raised his family in, the house where he played with his 13 grandchildren. We'll have a great party celebrating Pops' life and his impact on his family and friends and community. And finally, we'll celebrate his transition from this temporary life to his eternal reward...a glorified body in the presence of his God where he can run and jump again.
If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat
Philly's Democratic Mayor accidentally stumbles into the truth:
MATTHEWS: Let's talk resources. how much money are you getting to run this city operation, this get out the vote campaign? a couple million bucks? How much money is being spread around by the campaign to win Philadelphia? I heard you're aiming at higher an 350, but to get that, that's a lot of street money, to use a term we're all familiar with, isn't it?
STREET: That's an awful lot of money. We will distribute -- we have distributed to our party workers probably between -- between $750,000 and $1 million, and that will probably be doubled or tripled by the other efforts that are going on.
MATTHEWS: Let's talk resources. how much money are you getting to run this city operation, this get out the vote campaign? a couple million bucks? How much money is being spread around by the campaign to win Philadelphia? I heard you're aiming at higher an 350, but to get that, that's a lot of street money, to use a term we're all familiar with, isn't it?
STREET: That's an awful lot of money. We will distribute -- we have distributed to our party workers probably between -- between $750,000 and $1 million, and that will probably be doubled or tripled by the other efforts that are going on.
A Man in Full
Author Tom Wolfe on the presidential candidates:
Tom Wolfe on Bush, in the Guardian: "I think support for Bush is about not wanting to be led by East-coast pretensions. It is about not wanting to be led by people who are forever trying to force their twisted sense of morality onto us, which is a non-morality. That is constantly done, and there is real resentment."
Tom Wolfe on Kerry: "He is a man no one should worry about, because he has no beliefs at all. He is not going to introduce some manic radical plan, because he is poll-driven, and it is therefore impossible to know where or for what he stands."
Tom Wolfe on Bush, in the Guardian: "I think support for Bush is about not wanting to be led by East-coast pretensions. It is about not wanting to be led by people who are forever trying to force their twisted sense of morality onto us, which is a non-morality. That is constantly done, and there is real resentment."
Tom Wolfe on Kerry: "He is a man no one should worry about, because he has no beliefs at all. He is not going to introduce some manic radical plan, because he is poll-driven, and it is therefore impossible to know where or for what he stands."
Beware Red States
Here's something to keep in mind:
November 1, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden warned in his October Surprise video that he will be closely monitoring the state-by-state election returns in tomorrow's presidential race — and will spare any state that votes against President Bush from being attacked, according to a new analysis of his statement.
The respected Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and translates Arabic media and Internet sites, said initial translations of a key portion of bin Laden's video rant to the American people Friday night missed an ostentatious bid by the Saudi-born terror master to divide American voters and tilt the election towards Democratic challenger John Kerry.
MEMRI said radical Islamist commentators monitored over the Internet this past weekend also interpreted the key passage of bin Laden's diatribe to mean that any U.S. state that votes to elect Bush on Tuesday will be considered an "enemy" and any state that votes for Kerry has "chosen to make peace with us."
The statement in question is when bin Laden said on the tape: "Your security is up to you, and any state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security."
That sentence followed a lengthy passage in the video in which bin Laden launches personal attacks on the president.
Yigal Carmon, president of MEMRI, said bin Laden used the Arabic term "ay-wilaya" to refer to a "state" in that sentence.
That term "specifically refers to an American state, like Tennessee," Carmon said, adding that if bin Laden were referring to a "country" he would have used the Arabic word "dawla."
MEMRI also translated an analysis of bin Laden's statement from the Islamist Web site al-Qal'a, well known for posting al-Qaeda messages, which agreed that bin Laden's use of the word "ay-wilaya" was meant as a "warning to every U.S state separately."
"It means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president, it means that it chose to fight us and we will consider it an enemy to us, and any state that will vote against Bush, it means that it chose to make peace with us and we will not characterize it as an enemy," the Web site said, according to MEMRI's translation.
I'm so glad the major media has shared the ENTIRE translation with us. But then, that wouldn't be helpful to the cause, would it.
November 1, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden warned in his October Surprise video that he will be closely monitoring the state-by-state election returns in tomorrow's presidential race — and will spare any state that votes against President Bush from being attacked, according to a new analysis of his statement.
The respected Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and translates Arabic media and Internet sites, said initial translations of a key portion of bin Laden's video rant to the American people Friday night missed an ostentatious bid by the Saudi-born terror master to divide American voters and tilt the election towards Democratic challenger John Kerry.
MEMRI said radical Islamist commentators monitored over the Internet this past weekend also interpreted the key passage of bin Laden's diatribe to mean that any U.S. state that votes to elect Bush on Tuesday will be considered an "enemy" and any state that votes for Kerry has "chosen to make peace with us."
The statement in question is when bin Laden said on the tape: "Your security is up to you, and any state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security."
That sentence followed a lengthy passage in the video in which bin Laden launches personal attacks on the president.
Yigal Carmon, president of MEMRI, said bin Laden used the Arabic term "ay-wilaya" to refer to a "state" in that sentence.
That term "specifically refers to an American state, like Tennessee," Carmon said, adding that if bin Laden were referring to a "country" he would have used the Arabic word "dawla."
MEMRI also translated an analysis of bin Laden's statement from the Islamist Web site al-Qal'a, well known for posting al-Qaeda messages, which agreed that bin Laden's use of the word "ay-wilaya" was meant as a "warning to every U.S state separately."
"It means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president, it means that it chose to fight us and we will consider it an enemy to us, and any state that will vote against Bush, it means that it chose to make peace with us and we will not characterize it as an enemy," the Web site said, according to MEMRI's translation.
I'm so glad the major media has shared the ENTIRE translation with us. But then, that wouldn't be helpful to the cause, would it.
Huh?
I mean, really, what can you say.
Former CBSNEWS anchorman Walter Cronkite believes Bush adviser Karl Rove is possibly behind the new Bin Laden tape. Cronkite made the startling comments late Friday during an interview on CNN.
Somewhat smiling, Cronkite said he is "inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing."
Former CBSNEWS anchorman Walter Cronkite believes Bush adviser Karl Rove is possibly behind the new Bin Laden tape. Cronkite made the startling comments late Friday during an interview on CNN.
Somewhat smiling, Cronkite said he is "inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing."
Good News for Bush
Good late economic news.
Employment Growth Accelerated in October: U.S. Economy Preview
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers probably added 175,000 workers to payrolls in October, the most in five months, while the unemployment rate held at a three-year low of 5.4 percent, the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists shows.
Employment Growth Accelerated in October: U.S. Economy Preview
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers probably added 175,000 workers to payrolls in October, the most in five months, while the unemployment rate held at a three-year low of 5.4 percent, the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists shows.
Chris Heinz, Moron
Think the Bushies will be passing this around in Florida?
October 31, 2004 -- THIS campaign is ending just in time before someone gets hurt. John Kerry's stepson, Chris Heinz, 31, displayed his mother Teresa's famous lack of rhetorical restraint at a recent campaign event with a group of Wharton students. Philadelphia magazine reports: "Heinz accused Kerry's opponents - 'our enemies' - of making the race dirty. 'We didn't start out with negative ads calling George Bush a cokehead,' he said, before adding, 'I'll do it now.' Asked later about it, Heinz said, 'I have no evidence. He never sold me anything.'" Heinz also reminded writer Sasha Issenberg of Pat Buchanan by saying, "One of the things I've noticed is the Israel lobby - the treatment of Israel as the 51st state, sort of a swing state." Buchanan was blasted as an anti-Semite years ago when he cited Israel's "amen corner" in Congress.
That will play well down there.
October 31, 2004 -- THIS campaign is ending just in time before someone gets hurt. John Kerry's stepson, Chris Heinz, 31, displayed his mother Teresa's famous lack of rhetorical restraint at a recent campaign event with a group of Wharton students. Philadelphia magazine reports: "Heinz accused Kerry's opponents - 'our enemies' - of making the race dirty. 'We didn't start out with negative ads calling George Bush a cokehead,' he said, before adding, 'I'll do it now.' Asked later about it, Heinz said, 'I have no evidence. He never sold me anything.'" Heinz also reminded writer Sasha Issenberg of Pat Buchanan by saying, "One of the things I've noticed is the Israel lobby - the treatment of Israel as the 51st state, sort of a swing state." Buchanan was blasted as an anti-Semite years ago when he cited Israel's "amen corner" in Congress.
That will play well down there.
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