Israel, the "Occupying Oppressor"

June 20, 2007 - News reports today confirm that Ehud Barak, the newly-appointed, Israeli Defense Minister has ordered the IDF to begin evacuating any of the "Palestinians" attempting to flee Gaza who require urgent medical attention into Israel through the Erez crossing. These are the same Arabs who, just over a year ago, democratically-elected a terrorist regime, whose charter openly advances an ideology committed to the eradication and annihilation of Israel, into public office shortly after Israel evacuated the region. Mind you, I realize, as Christians, we are to love our enemies, but I must say: Mr. Barak, you, sir, are a better man than I.

Here is where you'll find irony in its purest form. Through their own repetitive, tired accusations, the "Palestinians" have continually and emphatically labeled Israel as an "occupying oppressor"--guilty of untold, countless crimes of brutality against the Arabs within her borders. Yet, when true oppression comes raining down in the Gaza Strip at the hands of Hamas, to where is the first place these same "Palestinians" flee to safety?

A History Lesson Unleashed: The Gaza-Iraq Connection

June 19, 2007 - My apologies for the extended hiatus since my last entry. I have recently returned from Israel and jet-lag isn't exactly a writer's best friend. In walking the present-day streets of Jerusalem, one is hardly able to discern that just over the Judean Hills to the South, on the coastal sand dunes of the Gaza Strip, the essence of pure evil has manifested itself in the form of an isolated, radical Islamist state. Generally speaking, a visitor in Israel needs only to look at the faces of its everyday citizens in order to accurately discern the levels of safety and stability in the Holy Land. Quite literally, if they look worried, so should you. Surprisingly, Israelis--or at least the ones I've encountered--have remained quite calm and collected despite Israel bearing witness to full-blown, Arab civil war within her borders. Israel has been here before. However, let us in no way be unclear: all hell has broken loose in the Gaza Strip, and the "flood waters" of chaos and anarchy have spilled over into the territories. Such is the case when the essence of pure evil is disengaged, allowed to multiply in numbers, and left to its own devices.

The manifestation of pure evil in the form of radical Islam in Gaza was left unchecked when Ariel Sharon ordered the complete, Israeli evacuation of the Gaza Strip in August of 2005. Ever-willing to play the role of "control freak" in all things concerning Arab-Israeli relations, the foreign policy of the United States--specifically, the Bush administration's "vision" of a "two-state solution", ultimately cornered Sharon, applied the "chokehold" of international pressure on Israel to concede more land for nothing but death in return, and coerced the Jewish state into taking yet another step toward demographic suicide. Nearly five years ago to the day, President Bush, in an address outlining his "vision" for a new Middle East, stated, "I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders". Well documented, in the days leading up to the Gaza evacuation, was the Bush administration's staunch opposition to Israel's further expansion of settlements in Judea and Samaria. Of no secret are several meetings between Bush and Sharon in which Bush advised the Israeli Prime Minister not to expand settlements in Judea and Samaria, while praising him for his "courage" in dismantling and evacuating all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip. Such "courage" gave birth to democratic elections in Gaza in January of 2006 through which Hamas--a lawless band of Islamic, terrorist, Iranian-backed thugs sworn to Israel's destruction--emerged the more popular. While indescriminately capping off AK-47 rounds into the skies over southern Israel, the Arabs of Gaza rejoiced in the streets--certain the "new sheriff in town" would bring with them the economic and social reform they promised. They brought only death and destruction.

Although there were those people, like Bibi Netanyahu, who accurately predicted beforehand the catastrophic consequences of an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, hindsight can now reveal a brutal reality, as evidenced by the current state of affairs in Gaza: President Bush, your "vision for a new Middle East"--a title to which you lay claim, just like the countless number of innocent people caught in its wake, is dead. Read this article in its entirety: Gaza Civil War

ACLU-lawsuit Gets Christian Cross at War Memorial Covered with Tarp; Courts: Wiccan Symbols OK

May 29, 2007 - Our nation paused this week to pay tribute to the millions of brave and courageous souls who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation so that its citizens may continue to live their lives as a free and democratic society. Even as memorial preparations were being made, the war in Iraq saw its bloodiest day, in terms of troop casualties, since it began in 2003. But while a nation grieved the loss of its fallen heroes, during services such as those seen at the Arlington National Cemetery and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) continued to feed its bloodlust for anything Christian by attacking the presence of religious symbols--mainly the Christian cross--found on war memorials across the country.

Adding to its existing lawsuit targeting a cross at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, American Civil Liberties Union (or is it the Anti-Christian League United? My memory escapes me.) attorneys petitioned the courts for removal of a cross found at a war memorial in the Mojave Desert, which was placed there by the Veterans of Foreign Wars seeking to honor and pay tribute to World War I veterans. Said ACLU attorneys should be proud of themselves, as family members and visitors desiring to honor fallen loved ones at the Mojave war memorial can now expect to see the cross covered by a box and a tarp, as per court order.

In stark contrast, a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of two churches and three individuals, including the mother of a U.S. soldier who lost his life in Iraq, for not being permitted by the V.A. to use wiccan symbols at gravesites ultimately prevailed, allowing the use of the pagan symbols. In a display of pathetic, nearly unfathomable irony, the lawsuit was filed by none other than the ACLU, who stated, "All veterans, regardless of their religion, deserve to have their faith recognized on an equal basis."

So which is it? If all veterans "deserve to have their faith recognized" in their memory, why is the ACLU gunning for war memorials in search of Christian symbols, whilst filing litigation proceedings effectively defending the presence of pagan symbolism at military gravesites? At what point did this country allow the terms, "dishonor" and "jurisprudence" to intermingle synonymously? What does it do to the morale of our Christian men and women in uniform currently giving their lives, daily, on foreign fields in defense of freedom to know that, back at home, legalities are mandating war memorials bearing Christian crosses be covered with boxes and tarps because they "offend"?

I don't pretend to have all of the answers, but of this I, and you, can be certain: In such a time as war, a nation's strength and resolve are directly proportionate to its unity and resilience--neither of which are nurtured when this government allows our war memorials to become purged of Christian representation.