Forbidden Word

Fewer and fewer businesses and governments are willing to acknowledge that the reason for our ever-lengthening "holiday season" is Christmas. I don't mind wishing someone a "Happy Hannukka." Why is it so hard (in our "tolerant" and "diverse" society) to wish Christians (still America's largest religious group) a "Merry Christmas"?

Painful Questions

They say it never hurts to ask. They (whoever they are) are wrong. Sometimes it does hurt to ask.

Child Sinners

Show me a man who doesn't believe in original sin, and I'll show you someone who doesn't have children (or who hasn't been paying attention).

Throw It Out

When in doubt, throw it out.

Fine Print 4

"Your results will vary" (so you can't sue us if they aren't very good).

Religion of Peace 8

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We interrupt this program for a breaking news bulletin:

"On Thanksgiving Day, a suicide bomber targeted a hospital south of Baghdad, killing 30 people and wounding 40 more. At the time of the attack, American troops were handing out candy to children."

We now return to our regularly scheduled program:

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Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

Abraham Lincoln

Giving Thanks

Not feeling particularly thankful with Thanksgiving just around the corner? Here's an idea: Write down the names of 10 people who have touched or helped you. Then make it your goal to contact them between Thanksgiving and Christmas to say how much you appreciate them. My guess is that you (and they) will be feeling a whole lot more thankful by the beginning of the New Year.

Thankfulness in Two Dimensions

Thanksgiving has two dimensions, the horizontal and the vertical.

Unnecessary Blessings

Show me a man who doesn't give thanks, and I'll show you someone who doesn't realize that his blessings are unnecessary.

Family Matters

Your reputation doesn't matter if you don't treat your family well.

Enjoy Today

Enjoy today and do your best. There is no guarantee of tomorrow.

"Lashing Out"

The word in the mainstream media now is that President Bush is "lashing out" at Democratic critics of the war, who for months have been accusing the administration–against all evidence–of manipulating pre-war intelligence to trick them into authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Funny how the media never characterize the rantings of Teddy Kennedy as "lashing out."

Dissing Your Friends

The Anti-Defamation League's Abraham Foxman recently labeled evangelicals a "menace" to Jews. More level-headed Jewish spokesmen, such as Dennis Prager, recognize that Bible-believing Christians are the best friends the Jewish people have. One wonders what the reaction would be if, say, Pat Robertson labeled Jews a menace to Christians. I suspect such a gaffe would garner far bigger headlines than Foxman is getting.

A Start

After the brutal Al Qaeda bombing of a wedding in Amman, Jordanians apparently are shocked, shocked at the the terrorists, who murderered 56 defenseless people in this latest attack. There have been angry marches, and the government is vowing to track down the killers. A wire service quoted a Jordanian woman questioning why the killers targeted fellow Arabs and Muslims. So it would have been okay if this latest atrocity had been confined to non-Arabs or Christians and Jews?

I'm glad some in the Arab world are starting to discover the menace that the United States has been trying to defeat since 2001. Terrorism is evil, no matter who gets killed. The Jordanians have a way to go, but it's a start.

Happy Worker

A happy worker is a productive worker ... up to a point.

Seriously

Take life seriously. But don't take yourself too seriously.

T.O. and "Mama McNabb"

A broken leg couldn't keep superstar receiver Terrell Owens out of the last Super Bowl, but a big mouth is keeping him out of the lineup for the Eagles this year. I hate to say it, but "Mama McNabb" isn't getting the job done as "team mom."

Christmas Jeer

While the nation's retailers make much of their money every Christmas, they increasingly seem embarrassed by the Christian holiday that makes it all possible. Last year, Target kicked Salvation Army bell-ringers off its premises. This year, apparently, "family friendly" Wal-Mart is replacing "Merry Christmas" with the more politically correct greeting "Happy Holidays."

Retailers seem to be sensitive to eveyone's feelings but Christians'. Since harmless expressions of Christianity are no longer welcome in the nation's red and green season of materialism, perhaps Christians need to refocus on the real meaning of Christmas ... and buy less.

On Veterans Day

"[L]et us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us re-consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Religion of Peace 7

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We interrupt this program for a breaking news bulletin:

"On Wednesday, Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in Jordan that killed 56 people and wounded an additional 115. In a statement, Al Qaeda said the moderate Muslim state was targeted because it had become 'a backyard garden for the enemies of the religion, Jews and crusaders ... a filthy place for the traitors ... and a center for prostitution.'"

We now return to our regularly scheduled program:

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Getting Tough ... Not

After 13 nights of street mayhem, France's overmatched government has instituted 50-year-old get-tough laws designed to bring order to dozens of ravaged French cities. Even so, some in the land of wine and cheese are not happy and say officials have gone too far.

"The prime minister seems to be losing his cool," the liberal Le Monde newspaper wrote. Turning to laws from France's colonial period betray that the prime minister "does not have the nerves that a statesman needs."

Do the laws authorize the gendarmes to shoot looters on sight? No, they merely institute a curfew at night. If that's considered losing one's cool, no wonder France is being overrun.

Success and Failure

Often you cannot meet success until you have stared at failure full in the face.

Patience

If you are a critical person, be at least as patient with others as you are with yourself. If you are a perfectionist, be as patient with yourself as you are with others.

Impermanent Disability

For the Christian awaiting the resurrection, disability is temporary.

Odd Job Hunt

Muslim youths in France are responding to a lack of jobs by burning cars and rioting in the streets. Is that really going to make their resumes look better?

Those *?@!!*!$! Chocolate Chips!

For many of us, life is a milkshake, so drink it up ... and don't complain about the occasional chocolate chip that gets stuck in the straw.

Religion of Peace 6

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We interrupt this program for a breaking news bulletin:

"On Saturday in the Poso region of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, Islamic terrorists wearing black abducted three teenaged Christian girls on their way to school and beheaded them. Muslim extremists are seeking to drive all Christians from the region."

We now return to our regularly scheduled program:

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"Fun Size"

What's the deal with all those dinky "fun size" candy bars? You call two bites fun? What a bunch of marketing bosh. They'd be a lot more fun if they were regular size.

Black Speed

Fisher DeBerry, football coach at the Air Force Academy, is in hot water for saying his team needs more black athletes because African Americans are fast. (The Air Force team apparently has too many slow white guys.) While most of the "speed positions" in the National Football League are indeed occupied by African Americans, it is apparently politically incorrect to acknowledge this reality.

Yet wasn't it just last week that Hank Aaron took Major League Baseball to task for having too few African Americans? Here is a respected football coach offering them more opportunities, and he gets slapped down by the racial police.

You can't win.