All Grown Up

You know you're all grown up when you stop getting money tucked inside your birthday cards.

Driving Me Nuts

My state, Illinois, citing safety concerns, is considering legislation giving illegal aliens the right to drive. I await reciprocal action in Mexico.

The Mortgage Blame Game

Ever seeking to cast African-Americans into the role of victims, Jesse Jackson is now fulminating against sub-prime lenders, whom he calls "exploiters" for having the temerity to lend to high-risk financial groups. Those who indeed misled borrowers to take out too large a mortgage should indeed be punished according to applicable law, but consumers always take on debt at their own risk. Is it the lender's fault when a client cannot repay mortgage debt?

It's my guess that the sub-prime lenders would rather be repaid than see borrowers default. (Because if too many customers cannot repay, the companies themselves go belly up.) And it's a bit rich for Jackson to blame these companies. I'll bet he was out front years ago excoriating lenders for not loaning to blacks and giving them the opportunity to own a home. Now that it didn't work out, he looks to blame them for doing the very thing he advocated.

Force or Folding?

Iran's kidnapping last week of 15 British sailors and marines for allegedly straying into Iranian waters has provoked a warning from Prime Minister Tony Blair. When Jimmy Carter faced a similar situation, he folded. When Margaraet Thatcher was provoked by Argentina over the Falkland Islands crisis, she met force with force. Something tells me Blair will do the same.

Rules for Living

No. 30: Don't take your philosophy of life from the back of a cereal box.

Advocates for Good

The weekend just past marked the 200th anniversary of Great Britain's abolition of the slave trade. One of, but by no means the only, the heroes in the great struggle against slavery was William Wilberforce, a Christian who used his position in Parliament to call on the nation to do the right thing. We need more such advocates for good in our day, as there are still 27 million slaves worldwide.

Three Wishes about March Madness

While I'm enjoying the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year, I do have a few pet peeves:

1. I wish players would not congratulate a teammate who has just missed a foul shot;

2. I wish CBS would not call a winner and cut to another game before the first game is over;

3. I wish the refs would call a consistent game.

The Party of Appeasement

Yesterday House Democrats got what they wanted, narrowly: a declaration that the troops must come home from Iraq by September 2008, combined with the latest appropriation for the troops. The legislation, which will probably be vetored anyway, portrays the Democrats as the party of appeasement and surrender. But they are dreaming if they think the thugs will now leave us alone. That's the kind of fantasy that brought on 9/11 in the first place.

The Democrats aren't the only ones cheering, either. Al Qaeda and the various thugs vying for control of Iraq, plus other terrorists around the world, are also happy that the U.S. appears indeed to be the paper tiger they have said we are all along. They can't wait for the Democrats to regain control of the White House. When they do, Iraq's democratic experiment will be history, and the terrorists will be that much closer to obliterating Western civilization.

The Week of John Edwards

It has not been a good week for John Edwards. First came the embarrassing release of the YouTube "primping video." Then came the devastating news that cancer has recurred–in an incurable but treatable form–in Elizabeth, his wife of 30 years.

Edwards, committed to his long-shot campaign for the presidency, has decided to remain in the race. It's either a case of blind ambition or a sense of divine calling. The Edwards family, regardless, should be in our prayers. Politics is not for the faint of heart.

Bad Deal

Italy's government has just traded five Taliban prisoners for one Italian hostage in Afghanistan. A spokesman, attempting to justify the deal, stated, "We think that the life of a person is very precious. So if there is a chance to save a life, we must do all we can do."

What about the lives of all they have endangered by encouraging kidnapping, and by allowing five terrorists to go free? And do they think that the terrorists will respect and fear them more? This is a very bad deal.

Twin Killings

Politicians who condemn Big Oil for its current windfall need to look in the mirror. High prices for gasoline and other petroleum products also benefit Big Government. Much of the cost of a gallon of gas, after all, comes from taxes, not from price-gouging. The pain is made all the worse at the pump because many of these taxes are based on a percentage of the price per gallon, not on a set amount.

Thus, the higher the price at the pump goes, the more tax money is raised. There is no limit. Politicians who really want to help consumers should not seek to cap oil company profits, but their own tax take.

I'm not holding my breath.

Seeking Another Scalp

Having gotten the scalp of "Scooter" Libby after a politically motivated investigation of a non-crime, the Democrats have set their sights on Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. This time, the "infraction" is that the president fired eight U.S. attorneys. Never mind that they served at the president's pleasure and that former President Clinton fired, in one fell swoop, all 93 U.S. attorneys during his watch.

Have the Democrats forgotten that we are fighting a war on terror? That the administration is trying to bring democracy and order to Iraq? That the president is facing myriad challenges to keep this country prosperous and safe? That he is the president serving not just the Republicans, but every other group? Why then are they continually undermining his administration as if he is the enemy?

Meanwhile, al Qaeda and Taliban sympathizers can only laugh, watching us tear ourselves apart. No wonder they see us as feckless and irresolute.

From Pity to Prayer

If you're going through hard times, bring to mind someone who is worse off than you are. (This person will not be hard to find.) You may not feel better, but at least this exercise will put your own suffering into perspective. Then leave your pity party and pray for the other person.

On Your Knees

When something in life knocks you to your knees, take the opportunity to pray.

The March of Spring

In the Midwest, March is like November ... but with a little more hope.

Pace Out of Step?

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is taking fire for saying that homosexual acts are immoral. It shows just how far our society has fallen from its Judeo-Christian heritage that such a remark is considered controversial.

300

After a boffo opening weekend for 300, the R-rated, sexualized depiction of Spartan bloodlust, I heard a woman caller to a radio talk show express shock that parents had taken young children to see it. The lady said, quite rightly, that 300 is inappropriate fare for children.

Agreed. But just because a movie is inappropriate for children doesn't make it appropriate for adults. The principle still applies: garbage in, garbage out. As for me, I'll probably wait for the sanitized airplane version.

Bureaucracy Run Amok

As the scandal over roaches and other problems at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center unfolds, the Army's surgeon general has been given his marching orders–the third such bigwig to pay for the fiasco with his job. It is bureaucracy run amok. Many politicians are saying it's time for the government to take over.

Friends, that's one of the main problems: The government is already running things at Walter Reed and at other facilities charged with treating wounded soldiers. If you want health care with the efficiency of the Post Office and the compassion of the IRS, get the government to do it.

The Price of Gas

The price of gasoline has spiked about 20 cents in the last couple of weeks–not because of turmoil and uncertainty in the Middle East, but because demand has remained strong even while some U.S. refineries have gone off line. In other words, it's a supply and demand problem. What you don't hear much is that we have not built a new refinery in decades, when population and oil usage were much lower.

So don't blame Bush the next time it costs you $30 or $40 to fill 'er up. Blame U.S. environmental policy and zealots like Al Gore, who want to sock it to the rest of us in an absolutist pursuit of a pristine environment–one in which people definitely come last.

Confessions

Politicians have learned from Watergate that not only is confession good for the soul, it's good for your career. Last week Barack Obama paid a reported 17 unpaid parking tickets from his days in the Ivy League. Now that this detail from his past is taken care of publicly, it's no longer fair game during the campaign–at least that's the hope.

Then Newt Gingrich confessed marital infidelity while he was in Congress, even when he was leading the charge against Bill ("I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky") Clinton. I guess this means Newt is seriously considering running for president, too.

Here's a question, though: Wouldn't you feel better about these confessions if they were not used as a political tactic, when there is nothing to be gained from them? I know I would.

The NAACP's Mistake

The NAACP board recently forced out the civil-right's organization's new leader, Bruce Gordon, after only 19 months in the office. According to Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune, Gordon's corporate background and results-oriented focus inclined him away from the stock-in-trade of the old dinosaurs in the movement, who blame most problems in the African-American community on white racism. Gordon was more interested in helping young blacks get better educations, as well as taking other practical steps for black advancement.

Now that Gordon is out, the NAACP is back to its old ways. Latest on the agenda is a push to get the state of Georgia to apologize for slavery. Now that's practical!

Fight Global Warming

Fight global warming and the unrestricted spewing of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Boycott Al Gore.

It Depends What the Definition of "Lying" Is

With "Scooter" Libby now facing 25 years in prison for lying about a crime no one committed, I await a groundswell of Democrats who will admit that the investigation and impeachment of Bill Clinton for committing perjury were justified. Who's with me?

Productivity

A wise person once said, "Never confuse activity with productivity." True, but never confuse inactivity with it, either.

The Bimbo Brigade

Anna Nicole Smith's burial may (it is to be fervently hoped) put a merciful end to the unseemly hype about her life and death. Let her memory rest in peace now, with hope that this troubled woman found grace with her Creator, who knows the state of her heart.

Don't worry, though, fans of the tony and tawdry. There are plenty more American bimbos to ogle: Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears, just to name a few. And there will be many more. Our fascination with the tramp appears unlikely to dissipate anytime soon.

Perceptions and Obama

Barack Obama, still facing perceptions in the African-American community that he is not "black" enough (his mother is white and his father is from Kenya and he comes from a life of privilege), the Illinois senator is facing a new problem. An amateur genealogist is advancing the theory that a couple of Obama's ancestors owned slaves. I can see the enthusiasm for the nation's first "African-American" president being decidedly muted should the theory be proven true, can't you?

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Obama would be the first "American-African" president–though that doesn't quite have the same ring, does it? Maybe the simplest solution is for Obama to pay reparations ... to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Wasted

Just weeks after Barack Obama stepped in it for saying the lives of American soldiers have been "wasted" in Iraq, John McCain used the same word while announcing his candidacy to, of all people, David Letterman. McCain has yet to apologize, though Democrats, who always "suuport the troops," are demanding that he do so immediately. Yes, McCain, a former POW and a staunch supporter of the Iraq mission, should indeed apologize for this gaffe. But I do think he has a touch more credibility on the issue than does Obama.