THE GLOVES MUST COME OFF.

Fallujah is the "graveyard of Americans"? If we were ruled by more decisive and impassioned men, Fallujah would indeed become a graveyard. But unlike the favoured former regime of these stunted little savages, we do not suppress evil men with blanket reciprocity. I admit, if I were in command today, Fallujah might now be a smoldering ash heap smelling faintly of napalm residue.

I'm painting an unflattering portrait of myself here...posting only commentary on news items that are so repugnant that I respond in heated passion and, some might say, apparent savagery. People just don't understand terrorism very well in this country. I'll leave it at that I suppose.

You've got videotape of these cretins mangling American bodies. Identify them and execute them publicly, one at a time. At least its more fair than my initial carpet bombing thought.

NASA Plans To Fly Jet 5,000 MPH

Very interesting article. Of note:

"The Department of Defense is developing a hypersonic bomber that theoretically could reach targets anywhere on Earth within two hours of takeoff from the continental United States. The earliest such a plane would enter operation is 2025."

We live in by far the most advanced, most powerful, and most freedom-oriented nation on Earth. I count it a tremendous blessing to have been born here!

A Side Note: I have yet to decide on another language to pursue. So many interesting ones. Latin? It bores upperclass schoolchildren, but I was never forced to learn it, so why not? German? I've spent many years studying it, might as well finish it up and get fluent. Dutch? Half German, half English...its the perfect third language for me! Quenya? Another dead language...but I daresay more interesting than its failed cousin Esperanto.

Maybe I could just learn Finnish and be done with it.

IDF Stops 16-Year Old Bomber

This is really sad...I'm not one to usually get emotionally entangled by the news...on the contrary, my oversaturation and absorption of newsmedia has made me quite detached, but this one got to me. Here's a kid, a schoolkid, who was given the equivalent of $23 to go blow himself up in a murder/suicide at the promptings of some very hate-filled men who are too gutless to attempt it themselves. He admits to being motivated by the promise of virgins in paradise. But he couldn't do it, he didn't want to die. I'm glad he lived through it, but these people, they are still people, they aren't all homicidal maniacs. Some of them are just horrendously misled. These manipulators, these gutless prompters of such egregious sins, they assuredly have an especially welcome bit of real-estate in an eternal hell. Future President Talbert and I once had a discussion along those lines, on how God must reserve a special place in hell for those who lead others there. Good riddance, Ahmed Yassin.

Perhaps it was the pictures of the boy looking terrified with a bomb strapped to his waist, or his words "I don't want to die, I don't want to blow up." What devilish bastards would be so lacking in courage, honour, or decency to send children off to violently murder themselves while they hide behind bodyguards and political organizations?

Concerning Terror

Something to ponder for those wondering why Spain capitulated to fear, and why our nation lacks the steely resolve of Israel in facing down terror threats.

In the Madrid bombings, one per every 200,000 Spaniards were killed.

In the 9/11 attacks, one per every 100,000 Americans were killed.

In the last 3 1/2 years of terrorist attacks on Israel, one per every 6800 Israelis have been killed.

Does that make it any clearer? It does to me, anyway. These numbers are approximations, by the way, but pretty close to accurate. Consider this:

Perhaps in order to come to the point where it is truly "kill or be killed" in our approach to terrorism, what if we had to lose a similar percentage of our population as Israel has suffered. We would lose somewhere around 43,000 Americans. Fourteen September 11th attacks. I hope to God we will not require such tragedy to wake us up to reality!

A Murderer Ushered Into Paradise

Well, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, goodbye and good riddance. How ironic that a man who will send women and children into Israel strapped with explosives is posthumously labelled a "spiritual leader" by the major news outlets. I would venture to say I'm as irked by their usage of the term "leader" as the term "spiritual". This man exhorted his followers to martyr themselves for Islam, and he was constantly surrounded by bodyguards. What a dastardly, pitiful excuse for a human being. A hearty OO-RAH for Israel today, they've struck back. It's stunning to read the Palestinian reaction...for example, a man lamenting that "their bodies were shattered" by the missile strike. Does that not sound like a perfect description of the aftermath of the suicide bombings? But not just militant, terrorist thugs...we are talking about little boys and girls, mothers and fathers, grandparents...civilians. I'll shed no tears for Yassin.

Finally saw Mel Gibson's movie this weekend. A (literally) stunning movie, one of those experiences that seems to transcend just a show on a screen. Ultimately I believe that faith is what is behind the controversy. To those that know Christ...those that believe and know the Gospel...this is a glimpse at the horrific reality of the Crucifixion. To those that have rejected Him, its pointlessly violent and fixated on one particular event to excess. Those are the people who want more of a balanced story...they've come to the theatre to see art, and to be entertained, or at least enlightened. Mel's movie is not about entertainment (obviously), and is not really a backdrop for intellectual pondering. It is simply evocative of intensely deep emotion (although the word Passion is unrelated to our current English usage, in this context, it does seem to have some coincidental application). I do not mean this as a criticism in ANY way. That is merely the scope of his film...he sets out to break our hearts with the suffering of Christ, and most would agree he succeeds.

Now as for anti-semitism, HORSEFEATHERS. All the lame, wobbly arguments that this is anti-semitic flew out the window after I saw this movie. We could start with Satan. I don't know if anyone else saw this, but this man was 100% Vladimir Putin. As white as white can be, boys. Imagine if Satan was portrayed with darker skin...can you imagine the outrage? These things are subtly overlooked, when people desire to find bigotry where there is none. The Romans were picture perfect Europeans...lighter skin, Latin language (which would form the basis of French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian, and influence many other European languages). Neat close cropped hair and clothing that seemed far more Western than Oriental, when compared to the Jewish ceremonial dress. Yet these were the most savage men depicted in the film, as evidenced by the scourging scene. The scene where Satan walks among the crowd of Jewish men was cited as "anti-semitic" by Krauthammer. For one, there were no other people groups around for him to walk through, which seems blazingly obvious! And secondly, the scene was much deeper than that...you had Mary walking along one side of the street, and Satan on the other. Let us not discount the Catholic roots of this movie (nor unduly criticize them!). I will say, the vast majority of "good" characters in this movie were Jewish. Simon of Cyrene, John, Peter (despite his failure!), the dissenting Pharisees, Mary Magdalene, and of course, Jesus himself. The only non-Jewish good characters were Claudia (Pilate's wife), and to some extent, Pilate himself, who was painted as a "decent" man, but one given to pragmatic concessions, instead of moral clarity.

"Quid es veritas?"

Welcome back to this bastion of Neufobabble.

Two more ace articles by Krauthammer and Coulter this week, although if I recall correctly, last weeks Coulter column was exceptionally good.

If anyone else caught Mel Gibson on Hannity's radio show, wasn't it just fantastic when Mel basically asked Andy Rooney to step outside? And his repeated conjecturing on whether he "has a pair"...I was laughing pretty hard.

We bought a new LCD monitor. The world is grand, and the gods of Best Buy financing have smiled upon me. No more CRT monitor for me. Goodbye, you vicious cathode ray tube bastard! Good riddance...it was flickering and going out, finally.

Pardon my uncharacteristically off-colour language there...reminds me of a terrifically funny scene from John Cleese's "Fawlty Towers", that probably none of you (...none of who???) have seen, so I shan't try and replicate it.

Well, one more day of the grind to get through this week. No more gibbering for now, I'm entirely unfocused and without insight.

The news of late has been far too disturbing for me to wax on about. The Spanish people caving in to fear, and thus affirming the effectiveness of the "terror" in terrorism, and Kerry's almost ludicrous attempts at self-destruction (definately the most upbeat bit of news of late!)...but instead of that, I composed a poem, to remind me of those days years ago in Shakespeare classes when I thought I had "the Bard" all figured out...what a hack, but what a flowery-worded hack!

To My Dear Wapcaplet
By General Arthur Sir Tennydale Winsley-Bucklethorpe, MBA, DDS, MBE, Mrs.

Woe to the castigated Visigoth ensconced in such revelry,
Besmirch't in curried plots by and by, my Wapcaplet!
What pithy trotter's guide could so rend thy father's womb?
What denizens of paltry juxtaposition bear this forthright proxy?

Canst now, my noble Wapcaplet, canst now thy preeding nostril splay!
Dawn to dusk thy chancéd reams convult in splendid array.
Is there naught but candied clams to fright the nightly chill?
Nay, my pretty prawn, such trifles burst the lamplight through the swill.

Behold the regal Sodplant reaping realms of riches ravished by cruel winter,
Regard the juggéd Monkeyfish eviscerated in hardened broach-locket,
Yet never shall the Sun set on a cold sardine can while the red river flows
And this of all things, my dearest Wapcaplet, only the wise man knows.

"The only person in politics who has ever tried to morph himself into Ronald Reagan was Al Gore in his first debate with George W. Bush. He even wore makeup that echoed the heightened color of Mr. Reagan's cheeks. He wound up looking not like Mr. Reagan but like a turn-of-the-century madam in a San Francisco whorehouse, but that's not important."

A quote from Peggy Noonan's latest article. Made me laugh hysterically in my cube. I'd highly recommend her current column, very insightful about Kerry.

"Just when I'd spent the last piaster I could borrow..."

Ahh, Steely Dan. I could sit and quote their most excellent lyrics to you, my notably absent readers, all night. It's amazing how the most ludicrous gibberish sung by a reedy, squawky little jazz-nerd from upstate New York, can seem so poignant and true...as he croons in "Dr. Wu":

"All night long, we would sing that stupid song...and every word we sang I knew was true!"

I'd saw off my left nose to play in a band like this. Hey its not like I need it anyway. Many people would saw it off anyway for cosmetic reasons. But I am not so vain...

Oh heavens!!! Stories like these only come along every so often! Makes up for the poor Krauthammer article today!

North Korea's Budding Fondness for John "Pyongyang" Kerry

Oh, Chuck...

Of course, it is Friday, and the weekly Krauthammer column is up. I have noticed the deviation of the punditry from the masses on this one issue. For some reason, they can't get their heads around Christianity whatsoever.

I have not yet seen Gibson's movie. I plan to...I'm half-looking forward to it, half-dreading it (like dreading a dental procedure, an aerobic workout, or a job interview...you know it's good for you, but you fear the pain involved).

Krauthammer (and countless, countless other pundits) all make the illogical point that Jews are portrayed in an especially bad light in Gibson's movie. Well, may I ask how many people groups are portrayed in total in this movie? Unless Gibson throws in a Samaritan or an Ethiopian somewhere, every character in the movie is either Jewish or Roman. Jesus is Jewish. Mary is Jewish. The disciples are Jewish. Simon of Cyrene is Jewish. Caiaphas is Jewish. The only major gentile characters are the Roman soldiers and Pontius Pilate ("Citizens of Jewusalem...Wome is your Fwend!"). From what I hear, the Romans are vicious and brutal, and Pontius is accurately portrayed as a waffling politico who is confused but ultimately gives the Jewish leadership what they want in spite of better judgment, in desire to bolster his political stability.

Isn't it obvious? Most of the characters are Jews...this is a Jewish story, with a few Romans involved. Even in a literal sense, the Jews did not kill Jesus. Some Jews accused another Jew of something and convinced the Roman authority to crucify him. It's patently clear! Anyone who infers from the Gospel account of the crucifixion that "the Jews killed Jesus" is an illogical moron, who obviously carries enough inherent anti-semitism in him that he needed no such movie to stoke the fires of bigotry in his heart.

Concerning the graphic and shocking violence of the movie...anyone remember the critically celebrated "Schindler's List"? Couldn't that have been made less shocking and graphic? No, my friends, there is an obvious point. There is virtue in shock value...not as a cheap way to spice up low-budget horror flicks, but to jar the viewer into a sense of reality, that this really occurred, and is not simply entertainment while imbibing overpriced soda and popcorn.

Look at "Schindler's List" again and see the parallels. You see a group of people (the Germans) portrayed almost exclusively as vicious, brutal, and evil. You see a German (Schindler) who is good and just. The story of Christ's death isn't hardly as black and white. Only the Jewish political leaders are painted as being malevolent. The parade of sympathetic Jewish characters (listed above) overwhelms the idea that the Jews are pictured as an evil race in this movie. Does your average upperclass American Jew really fear that your average Ned Flanders style evangelical Christian is going to see this movie with his family, and then get his church fellowship group to drive to the upscale 'burbs and drag Jewish families into the streets for a lynching?

And the idea that this movie is bad because it might be used to justify brutality is as repugnant as the idea that the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" is bad because Charles Manson cited it as his inspiration. The song, which is a very good song by the way, is a silly loud rock song about a tornado slide at a playground. It was written and recorded because Paul McCartney wanted to outdo the Who for being considered "the loudest rock band in Britain". What backwards, faulted logic.

I will say, the Jewish community would do well to pick its fights more wisely! The outcry over this is alienating its strongest allies, the Christian evangelicals, a thousand times more than this movie ever could. You want a pro-Israel stance? You won't get it from secularists or Islamists. I mean, we collectively feel a bit betrayed like Michael Corleogne in Godfather II. "Fredo, I know it was you...and it breaks my heart." Disclaimer: NO I AM NOT DRAWING ANY FURTHER PARALLELS OR IMPLYING THAT WE SHOULD APPLY THE FISHING BOAT DOOM OF FREDO TO ANYONE WHATSOEVER.

OK, done ranting.

Well, I've been struck by somewhat of an epiphany. Listening to the gloriously lofi bootlegs of The Banter Curry Sails, I hear enormous potential. I've been struggling for some time (literally years) to find some effective outlet for my creative musical side. Praise bands are fun, and an excellent opportunity to serve the Lord and the church body...but (don't consider this a criticism) there is very little room for expression, improvisation, spontaneous creation, or the wonderful dynamic chemistry that happens between musicians whose brains are operating on the same wavelength. One could debate forever the virtues of instrumental music, so I won't go into it. Honestly, for me, its better to place "the message" into acoustic songs, because wild full band rock songs usually are rendered with fully unintelligible vocals in live situations, anyway. Acoustic songs have been my modus operandi for a good long while now...I had decided to can the electric thing completely. Only problem, doing the solo thing, I don't dig my voice enough to use it. So nothing developing there, yet. Lot of songs written. But for now...my job is to court new members for a newly reformed DEEP-FUNKTI-FRIED psycho-fusion-groove-rock group. I've got specific people in mind...all us old married non-student people don't hardly got the time though. Its not as easy to form bands when you are in the "real world", take my word for it, college/HS punks. For us, spending time with our wives/families and paying the mortgage or rent are the priorities...music has to wait.

But for now mah chilluns (that's Eustace creeping back in), why don't you all go download some Banter Curry Sail bootlegs, alright? Let's bring down Nate's server (space on which was most generously donated) with an orgiastic excess of downloading traffic, eh? Heh, yeah right. Follow the link and get down wich yo' groovy selves:

FREE MUSIC!!!

"The thesis of both media liberals and political liberals is that there are vast millions of people who work hard all their lives and still remain poor. The next chorus of this song is that only the government can save the day for such people. The grand finale is that politicians need to take more money out of your paycheck to buy the votes of those to whom they give it. They don't express it like that, of course, but that is what it amounts to. ... By focusing on those who work hard all their lives and still remain poor -- no more than three percent of the population -- and telling their personal stories endlessly, liberals can present the Big Lie with a human face. There is an even bigger lie behind all this. That lie is the implication that the purpose of all this hand-wringing is to help the poor. But the poor are just the bait in a political bait-and-switch game. The fraud becomes apparent the moment anyone suggests that there be means tests, so that the taxpayers' money will be spent only on the poor. Those who pose as the biggest champions of the poor are almost invariably the biggest opponents of means tests. They want bigger government and the poor are just a means to that end. Whether the issue is housing, medical care or innumerable other things, the argument will be made that the poor are unable to get some benefit that the government ought to provide for them. But the minute you accept that, the switch takes place and suddenly we are no longer talking about some benefit confined to the poor but about 'universal health care' or 'affordable housing' as a 'right' for everyone."

--Thomas Sowell