May All the Joy of Heaven Be Yours This Christmas

From me and my family, I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas. I appreciate the gifts you have brought to me, and I mean this sincerely. Some of you have disagreed with me, sometimes hotly, yet your expressing yourself on my blogsite has made me a better person. You have sharpened me "like iron sharpening iron."

The greatest gift, though, is your allowing me to get to know all of you in this virtual reality of the internet. It is you that is the gift that is of greatest value to me. Thank you again for a wonderful year at the UL, and hopefully, I can put to practice, the valuable lessons you have given to me.

God bless you all.

Why I Do What I Do

As we near one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar, I want to take time and reflect on those core values I hold dear that I hope I represented well on this blogsite, as well as when visiting yours. If at any time I did not, you have my deepest apologies. One of my biggest flaws is unbridled passion which gets in the way of my reason.

With that said, the enterprise of logic is one that effects every area of our lives. The focus of my blogsite has been mainly political, with moral and ethical issues a very close second. Politics is one those arenas that arouses deep feelings, since it is the one arena that we feel the most vulnerable; politics has in it the capacity to sustain our freedom, or to bring repression. In reading Plato's Republic, I am made more aware now than ever of the impact the polis (city) has on us, and the impact just or unjust rulers can have on "the city." The type of government Plato favors is an oligarchy composed of philosopher-kings who rule according to true justice, not an invention of the same. They are people who with right reason see truth as objective, and morality as absolute and universal. The relativism of the sophists are utterly repudiated.

In light of this, he sees democracy as a weaker form of government, in that it the body politic has no philosophical means to prevent the rise of tyrants. In book VIII of the Republic, he uses the "hive" analogy to compare these two types of rule. The hive inevitably produces drones, the male counter-parts to the females who add nothing to the hive except impregnating the females. They do not work to produce honey; they are large and imposing creatures that can offset the "culture" within the hive. They are essentially useless, and the bee-keepers strive to remove them from the hive. The oligarchy, in a way, is like the bee-keepers that remove the "drones" from the city. The drones are in essence, "demagogues" who use their rhetorical powers to try create power blocks to promote their political agendas. The oligarchs remove these men from positions of power and discredit them for who they are. The people and the peace is protected by the oligarch's actions. The democratic hive, however, has no bee-keeper to remove the drones; the drones eventually bring the downfall of the hive.

With this in mind, Plato sees that tyrants come into power in light of the rhetorical activity of these public drones. Since power ultimately rests with the people in a democracy, if the drones are to gain power, and can sway public opinion to believe that the state-of-affairs are as critical as the drones say, they can rest the power they need. When unrest ensues, an opportunistic "protector" arises that will "save" the people, who turns out to be a tyrant.

Although in history, democracies arose after periods of tyrranical oppression, my fear is that in America's case, Plato may be right. Although we have a democratic republic, which, thankfully, is somewhat of a safeguard against the actions of demagogues, demagoguery can still affect our nation. The political rhetoric is so thick and such a fever pitch right now, I am concerned just what damage has been done to us. We won't know this since the media is no longer putting forth news; they're very involved in the "drones" activities. Political positions and statements are made now that would be considered criminal a hundred years ago. The increasing onslaught of Marxist and Maoist ideologies posing as free speech is rotting away at the integrity and strength of our nation. I now wait to see what "protector" will rise to "help" our beleagered nation rise to greatness again.

Since we have no oligarchs who are wise enough to weed out these drones, we, as the people of this "city", America, must work to do the weeding ourselves. We cannot afford to allow the politicos to do this for us, for there are many "drones" among them. In order for us to do remove the drones, we must have the wisdom to do so, requiring that we know what is truth and true justice, and not the justice of Marxist and Maoist "drones" or the wimpish appeasement "drones." Drones of any persuasion must not gain the rhetorical upper hand in what I see as a political war.

Maybe you don't agree. Maybe you scratch your heads in wonder. That is okay. At least you can see that my methods are not simply to irritate or be devil's advocate for the fun of it. I'm really hoping that through dialogue and dialectic, we can awaken the reason that can prevail in these times.

May God bless you as you seek the truth at all costs.

Are You In League With the White Witch?

Some of you may have already seen the 'Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" which is showing in theaters even as I write. C. S. Lewis' story, though wonderful for children, awakens us to the necessity of Christian cultural symbols and celebrations. First, to waylay any confusion as to the origins of Christmas for you purists, read the following article below. I think you'll benefit at once.

Anti-Christ in the Manger?

Also, for a more in depth approach, see Christmas at New Advent.

The battle that is raging between Christmas and paganism is seen by some Christian sophisticates as beneath them, as a battle carried on by fundamentalist extremists who haven't learned to "properly" tolerate the beliefs of their fellow man and have forgotten that Christmas itself has pagan roots. Phooey to you sophisticates! Certainly it's possible to find an extreme example to justify this claim, yet there are a multitude of facts and examples that show that the war against Christmas is symptomatic of a greater war against philosophical realism in general in our culture, and Christian faith in particular.

Ever since the English Empiricists (Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Berkley) altered the philosophical landscape (only what you discover with your senses is real, and even with that, you cannot determine objective reality, which ultimately, is a rejection of metaphysics and ontology), a deep seated skepticism has blanketed our culture like a thick crusty blanket of snow. With the "White Witch" of skepticism, "it is always winter and never Christmas."

In the face of this deadening ideology, it is necessary for us to maintain the "warm" cultural traditions that keep our faith alive. They aren't optional; they are formative and transformative of our own lives and the lives of others. Consider the impact Christmas in history, if you had read the above articles.

Although the birthday of Christ cannot be determined, it's militant purpose is clear: instituting December 25th as the feast of Christ's birth undermined and destroyed the notion of "Natalis Sol Invicti" in Roman culture and transformed the lives of people who were under the sun god's spell. Reason: the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is the singlemost destructive concept to paganism, both in Church history and today. In addition, our celebrating it breaks the power of the "White Witch." (Oh, in case your wondering, the "White Witch" still doesn't like it.)

The fact is there is a battle for peoples' minds and there is an objective that is clear for both Christians and non-Christians: Christ is supreme, and not a collaborator with other religions. The false view of tolerance that is being preached today by the skeptics is done so to relieve the cultural pressure they feel to conform, which inevitably will cause a "thaw" in their winter of skepticism. They do NOT want this to happen.

The Church, on the other hand, shows proper tolerance by being patient and longsuffering with those who are in error. It is always ready to change, transform, and convert people who are willing, to faith in Christ. Non-Christians may not like this agenda, but, it's Christ's agenda given to his Church.

Paganism holds a false view tolerance that accommodates the beliefs of others and sees them as equally valid, siting this as a cornerstone right for humanity. Yet, they promote this "right" by squelching or removing the freedom of Christians from openly celebrating their customs. The Church values the freedom of men, but would never protect one's belief in a falsehood as a right: no one has the right to believe in error. We have a right to know and believe in the truth.

So, the difference in how we view tolerance is clear: if you reject the Christian message, the Church will tolerate you but it will never adjust its message to accommodate you or justify your belief. In addition, if in holding a position of power;, you seek to promote this "winter" at the expense of mankind's right to know the truth, the Church will oppose you. Paganism, on the other hand, continually seeks to be justified as valid, with no basis of validity other than the appeal to tolerance. If the Church validates paganism, it cease to exist as an agent of salvation to all who live. There is no win-win between Christ and Paganism.

So, to my enlightened and sophisticated Christian brothers and sisters who feel that they are above the fray, beware of the effects of skepticism. Your cavalier attitude to what is at stake may be that you have bought the pagan notion of tolerance and are trying to appease the wrath of the "White Witch." Be sure, that if you fail to please her and satisfy her every whim, she will turn you into stone.

Is Prez an Auto-Racist?

Most Katrina Deaths White Says Louisiana State Agency

If the above statistics are true and more whites died per capita than black, and the delay in Katrina assistance from the federal government was racially based, then one could conclude that either George Bush blew it and killed the wrong people, or he secretly despises his own race. Either way can be worked by liberals to their own political advantage.

Just a thought.

Unless, the delay was just typical government bureaucracy in action. Nah, the other way makes more political hay.

Another Joe Comes Through!

Joe Wilson Praises Bush's Iraq Move

Uh, this has got to be in the "Scratch your head, I just don't get it" category. For a man who worked tirelessly to prove the president's infamous "sixteen words" in this state of the union address were pure lies, this one's got me.

Before I get too enthused, I'll be looking for an angle. Wierd. Is he running for office? Got me.

If any of you find the transcript, let me know. I'm too jammed for time to do the leg work.

A Must Read!

Monday Night Football: Reported in Liberal "Iraq Reporting" Style

For a few laughs, read this spoof by Jon Ham. Have a good weekend everybody!

Alright, Joe!!!

Joe Lieberman'd WSJ Editorial: We Must Keep the Troops in Irag

An excellent article by the better half of the Gore/Lieberman 2000 Presidential Ticket. He lists some of the good things that have occured in Iraq that would be jeopardized should we withdraw our troops prematurely. He also gives us an interesting poll taken in Iraq regarding their confidence in Iraq's future.

This is a welcome article during these times of rampant sedition and treasous activity both in our media and with politicos. Oh, by the way, I have a quote here from one of the greatest Presidents of all time. I wonder what would happen if politicos took this statement seriously:

"Congressman who willfully take actions in wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." --Abraham Lincoln

Al Franken wasn't that far off, he needed to just turn to his left.