D-Day Anniversary

Today is the 65th anniversary of D-Day the invasion of Normandy. I want to honor the men who faced the horrors of those beaches. They sacrificed in ways that those who weren't there will never comprehend. Thank you, men, for your courage and for paying such a high price to win the war. Thank you for fighting for your buddies and for your families. May your sacrifices not be in vain. God bless you all.

Anybody Know Who These Guys Are?

These guys were the main characters from my favorite show of all time, Emergency!. I watched the show with great devotion and even have pictures that I drew from no later than second grade based on the show. I watched it every Friday night and woe be unto any stupid basketball game that interrupted its normal scheduled broadcast. Me and my best friend Johnny Ward played this at recess every day.

When it went into syndication I watched it every afternoon - religiously. I lost track of it I think the year that we moved from Greensboro to Salisbury. Yet one more reason to mourn that year.

However, I just recently discovered that the whole series is available on DVD! SCORE! It would be a major score if I had actually acquired them! One day I shall... one day....

John McCain

Many of you know that I was not a big fan of John McCain at the outset of the campaigning season, but I have to say that my opinion of him has been greatly boosted after watching him through the campaign. I have to admit that I misjudged him. John McCain is a true patriot and servant of our nation. I wish we had 99 others just like him in the Senate... and one in the White House.

I was especially proud of his concession speech that ended the Presidential race of 2008. His words and poise showed great character, vision, and devotion to our nation. In case you didn't get the chance to hear what he said, I have provided the text below.

John McCain is a fine man. I wish that I could have called him my President, but that was not to be.

I dare say that it was necessary for the election to end the way it did if real change is to come to our nation. Had John McCain won the Presidency I believe that the trials that are coming our way would have been postponed. The Congress (both Republicans and Democrats) would have done everything in their power to resist the reform that he wanted to bring to Washington. He would have been a very frustrated man because as surely as I breathe as I am writing this there would have been no change.

The people would have remained as they are or gotten worse.

As things are now, I believe that the trials to come will purify our nation and cause a real change in the place that matters most: the hearts of the people of this nation. As John Adams put it:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other. "

So true. Our fallen nature sees to that.

Senator McCain, my hat is off to you. Thank you for your service to our country. I pray that you will still be in office to see the changes that you have so earnestly desired to see.

The Text Of John McCain's Concession Speech For the 2008 Presidential Election

JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

(BOOING)

Please.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now...

(APPLAUSE)

Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans...

(APPLAUSE)

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

(APPLAUSE)

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (OFF-MIKE)

We fought -- we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

AUDIENCE: No!

MCCAIN: I am so...

AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)

MCCAIN: I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We do, too (OFF-MIKE)

MCCAIN: The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother...

(APPLAUSE)

... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen...

(APPLAUSE)

... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength...

(APPLAUSE)

... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children...

(APPLAUSE)

... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

(APPLAUSE)

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

(BOOING)

Please. Please.

I would not -- I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.

Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

(APPLAUSE)

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

Died On The Fourth Of July

I was saddened to learn this morning that Jesse Helms died yesterday, July 4, 2008. Yahoo! News ran a no-gloss story about him this morning. It seems appropriate that he would die on our nation's birthday. Some truly great American statesmen (including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson) have died on the anniversary of our freedom. Jesse Helms was certainly worthy of this title and the honor of dying on the 4th of July.

Jesse Helms was the only other American politician that I know that was as maligned and hated as much as George W. Bush. I think that is because both of them had something in common: they both believed in standing up for what they believed was right and in the best interest of their constituency and frankly didn't care who it offended.

It turns out that there are a lot of people who really don't like it when you tell them the truth. I guess Jesus Christ found this out too. Not that Jesse or Dubya are or were perfect - far from it. I never liked Jesse's racist tendencies. But no one would question that these men stood for what they believed. (Whether you like what they believed or not.) Perhaps the good news is that there are a lot of people who DO like people who have some character and some spine.

I decided to post the headline picture today because Jesse Helms had so many really bad pictures published throughout his lifetime. I guess a pretty big part of that came from journalists who hated him (this was nearly universal it seemed) and picked the worst, most unflattering picture they could to run with stories about him.

I had the opportunity to meet Jesse when I was in High School. I wish I had a picture. I was honored to receive a nomination to West Point from Senator Helms back in the late 80s. It was then that I began to respect him more and more as a sharp-minded conservative. I began to take a greater interest in politics, and noticed how he voted. I cannot recall a single time that I checked that Senator Helms had not voted in a way that was pleasing to me. Both he and Ronald Reagan influenced my political thought significantly. They will always be my two favorite politicians. Dubya comes in a close third. It is just sad to me that two of them have died, and one is very close to the end of his political career.

Perhaps one of the most shocking things that happened during Jesse's tenure in office was his meeting and befriending of U2 lead singer Bono. It caught even his (probably both Bono's and Senator Helms') fans totally off guard. It was this friendship that caused Senator Helms to soften the stances that he had taken on a few issues. And in a way, I think that it shows that there was far more to this man than the media allowed us to learn. I believe and hope that history will vindicate him one day.

As far as I am concerned, Jesse Helms will be missed sorely. He was one of the pillars in American society that made me believe that everything wasn't so bad - that there was still hope. Ronald Regan was another. Even though they weren't actively involved in American politics it was comforting to know that they were still there. Now both are gone, and that makes me wonder if anyone will step up to take the mantle that they have left behind.

D-Day Anniversary

UPDATED:

Today is the anniversary of D-Day (the beginning of the Battle of Normandy.) It is always strange for me to see pictures like this one because when you think about it you realize what those guys are heading into and that many of them very likely never made it home. It is very sobering.

According to the website where I got this picture the casualties on both sides of this battle were staggering. It reported the following figures:

United States: 29,000 dead, 106,000 wounded or missing
United Kingdom: 11,000 dead, 54,000 wounded or missing
Canada: 5,000 dead, 13,000 wounded or missing
France: 12,000 dead or missing civilians
Germany: 23,019 dead, 67,060 wounded, 198,616 missing or captured

That is a total of just over 80,000 people killed in one battle. In fact, many of the missing were most likely dead. Like I said, the numbers are staggering. These numbers are the totals between June 6 and June 30, 1944 - 25 days.

All I can say is I am glad the American people had the will to win World War II. To me this really puts the losses that we have suffered in the Global War on Terror since 9/11/01 into perspective. While we have paid dearly in the War on Terror we have not sacrificed the way America did during World War II. Thank God such a sacrifice has not been required to this point, because I am not certain that our nation would be willing to pay such a price for freedom now. (Perhaps they would be more willing to if Hollywood and the media were as supportive of the mission now as they were then.)

When Saving Private Ryan came out, there were reports that veterans who saw the movie and were at Omaha beach said that the movie was just like the real thing - except for the smell. Watching the movie I couldn't believe that anyone survived. It is hard for the mind to comprehend.

I am so grateful for the men and women who down through America's history have been willing to lay their lives down to purchase freedom. Some purchased it for themselves, some purchased it for others, and some purchased it for generations yet to come. Thank you so much.

Another Great Outing

Well, tonight I was treated to another South Rowan High School Jazz Band concert. Once again they did a fabulous job. Tonight we got to preview their version of Sing, Sing, Sing! and It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing. Not bad at all. Both are very tough songs and they did a pretty decent job with them considering that they just started working on them recently. I can't wait to hear them at the final concert of the semester.

One of their Senior trumpet players wailed on his solo. I think his name is Nader. (Sounds like 'Mater, like TUH-Mater without the TUH!) Everyone was cheering for him.

The band leaves on a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC tomorrow after school for a big jazz festival/competition that they are having down there. They won't be competing, but they will be playing. I'd love to go down there and hear them. Unfortunately, I think they have to play pretty early in the morning on both Friday and Saturday - I think. I look forward to hearing what the competition is like. I don't know if this is all high school jazz bands or if it is an open competition.

My hat is off to Justin Dickson, second year band teacher, who blew the doors off of my high school band teacher. I dare say that he is the best band director in Rowan County. If any of the others happen to read this and want to prove me wrong, then let them provide soloists from each section of their band that can improv over jazz and swing tunes and sound good. If they can do that then they may enter the discussion. Otherwise they need not apply.

If you live in the area and want to see what a high school band should be like, come out to the year end concert. I'll be posting the dates here as soon as I know about them. You WON'T be disappointed, but you WILL probably be shocked. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I wish I'd had a band teacher like that.

The StillWaters Jazz Band Version Of A USO Tour

This past Saturday the StillWaters Jazz Band had one of its most fun gigs so far. We got to play at the NC Veterans' Home on the campus of the VA Hospital in Salisbury, NC. None of us really knew what to expect as we began unloading our equipment. We set up in the front lobby of the facility and the crowd began to gather.

Right off the bat we could tell that these guys were different than the groups we had played for so far. They were asking questions and talking to us - genuinely interested in what we were doing and who we were. It didn't take long before our nerves had settled down. In the picture above you can see Justin talking with one of the residents. This particular fellow was really up on his jazz. He related one story about how he had the pleasure of seeing Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Al Hirt in concert with some other giants of the jazz world back in the late 60s. We were all envious!

Unfortunately, we didn't have any of our friends or family with us so pictures didn't get taken until after the fact, but in many ways these pictures really communicate the sweetness of the time that we had with these aging heroes. These folks were awesome! They interacted with us throughout the entire show, and as you can see, many hung around afterwards to talk.

Sara was a particular favorite of the crowd. I guess it is tough to be the only pretty girl in the band! One fellow in particular was quite vocal in his appreciation! (It isn't the fellow that appears in this picture though!)

We opened the show with Stormy Weather. We thought it fitting considering the weather that day. When we announced the title of the song one of the fellows asked which one of us was going to be singing. We told him that was HIS job! Well, he didn't sing it, but another fellow did, and he did a fine job I might add.

This week we were running a little short. Our bass player, Gillon wasn't able to join us. I think his insane schedule finally caught up with him! We really missed having him with us, because he adds a lot. Hopefully he'll be back in the loop soon!

I was really blessed by most of the conversations that I had with the guys. The gentleman that I was talking to in the picture was wounded twice during World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I learned a lot talking with him. I hope that he'll be able to join us the next time that we play there. And we will be playing there again. We all THOROUGHLY enjoyed ourselves. And the residents seemed to have a good time too.

In fact, one of the nurses on duty there came out to make sure that she got our card so that they could invite us back. She told me that if the guys hadn't liked us they wouldn't have wasted any time leaving. That made me feel pretty good. Most of the guys hung around for the duration. But as much as they seemed to enjoy our music they seemed to enjoy our company even more.

Another fellow used to play piano when he was in service. He worked with one of the chaplains and played hymns for the chapel services. He is blind now, but can still play. All of the residents were encouraging him to play some with us. I hope we can talk him into it when we go back.

We even had a lady who got up and danced about halfway through the show. It was a great experience.

We had numerous requests too. Someone requested Amazing Grace and another wanted to hear Taps. OK, that one weirded us out a little bit, but hey, he was the one who asked! We also got requests for Stardust, Misty, and In The Mood. Unfortunately we couldn't just whip those out, but we plan to add them before we go back.

This week in practice we worked on Bye Bye Blackbird, The Preacher, I've Heard That Song Before, Little Brown Jug, and St. Louis Blues. I think that all of these will do well with our friends at the NC Veterans' Home next time. They will probably come in handy this weekend too. We'll be playing at the Salisbury Brian Center on Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00. I expect we'll be playing for a similar crowd. We are also hoping to schedule a couple shows for Trinity Oaks in the coming weeks. I hope that they will be as fun as the guys at the Veterans' Home.

As much fun as we have playing this music by ourselves, it is even more fun to be playing it for someone else. It was a blast giving just a little back to these men and women who gave so much for us. We can never adequately repay them for all of their sacrifice on our behalf, but it sure was fun beginning the payback. Justin said it well when he said, "One day a year isn't enough to tell you guys thanks."

I Will Tease You Only...

Here it is nearing midnight and I still haven't told you about the StillWaters Jazz Band's concert at the NC Veteran's home. You'll have to wait just a little bit longer. But here is a picture to tide you over...

North Carolina Soldier Earns The Silver Star

Just two days before Christmas 2006, then-Chief Warrant Officer 3 James B. Herring, 46, was leading a five-vehicle patrol near Baquabah, Iraq, searching for a Sunni-Arab insurgent cell responsible for assaults on Coalition Forces, when they were attacked. His heroic efforts saved the lives of 23 American and Iraqi men and earned him the Silver Star.

On December 23, 2006, CW3 Herring, a North Carolina National Guardsman, was the Detachment Commander for Operational Detachment Alpha 2084, Special Operations Task Force – North and was serving as the Ground Force Commander of the mission.
As he led his force down the narrow streets of the nearby village of Tahrir, they were fired upon by three insurgents with machine guns. As they moved forward, Sgt. Broughton Aragon, the gunner on Herring’s Humvee, was able to kill the first three insurgents, only to face 20 more pouring over a concrete wall less than 30 feet away.

Click Here To Read the Rest Of The Story

A Positive Story About the War

Hi, all. Yesterday I was up to my eyes in an Advent blog, but I did find an interesting article for you over at Bear Creek Ledger. You and I know that there is a dearth of news items about positive things being done by our troops in Iraq. Well here is one that shows how a soldier took it upon himself to do something that is making a big difference in how he and his unit are being received.



Nashville Native Learns Arabic To Help With Mission in Iraq

Perhaps there is something Christians can learn from this soldier. Maybe if we try to "learn the language" of the lost around us we'll have more success in helping them to find the truth.

While You Are Shopping This Holiday Season...

Did you know that Sears supports the troops? You may not be aware of it, but Sears pays its active duty National Guard and Reserve employees the difference between their Sears salary and their military pay while they have been called up. They also maintain the employee benefits for these patriots. You can read about it at Snopes HERE. According to the article at Snopes they aren't the only ones who do this. HERE is a link to the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve website. They maintain a list of the other employers who maintain the same policy.

I am still on the warpath with Target stores over their ouster of the Salvation Army during the Christmas season. They won't be getting any of my money, but I will do whatever possible to spend some money at Sears. I hope you will too.

An Amazing Picture

I saw this picture over at Babalu Blog. With the picture was a great post by Val Prieto about his experience in Washington. Val is a great writer and I think that you will enjoy it very much. The title of the post is, Gracias

Thank You, Veterans

Thank you for your sacrifice. You are much appreciated. God bless our veterans and troops. America, bless God, and He'll bless us.

Good Progress

I have made very good progress on my web design project today. I finally have a layout that I am pleased with and will be putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow before I start showing it around some to get others' opinions. There is still much work to be done on it - like making the buttons work, finding the html widgets that I want, and actually publishing it to the site, but I am pleased that I seem to be learning the software at a reasonable pace. I am tired of sitting at the computer, but I am simultaneously pleased with the achieved result. I'm sure that I will be sharing it with you soon.

I have just completed 1776 by David McCullough. I've had it on my "to be read" list for over a year now and finally dove in. It wasn't quite the riveting read that I expected, but was good nonetheless.

I realized quickly how little I actually know about the the Revolutionary War. As a young boy (before I was 7 years old) I had a great interest in the stories about this war, most likely spurred on by re-runs of Daniel Boone. (No, I'm not quite old enough to have seen them first run.) Unfortunately, history books written about the Revolution at an elementary school reading level were pretty hard to come by back then. I doubt it is any different now. How many 7-year-olds are interested in Revolutionary history? I suppose a bit of my interest was also driven by the fact that I was 7-years-old in 1976.

One of the things that struck me as I read was that the British weren't the baby-eating demons that I had imagined them to be (at least not during the period of the war covered by the book - although there was mention of a number of atrocities carried out.) At times their generosity and concern for the well-being of "the colonies" was not unlike our own concern for those that our armies have encountered. The main fault of the British seemed to be their arrogance.

I was also struck by some of the similarities that I saw between America at the time of the Revolution and America today. The British were arrogantly secure in their belief that as the world's greatest superpower they couldn't be beaten by a ragamuffin army like the one fielded by America. They were wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that our military is the greatest on the earth, but we would do well to learn from the lesson we taught the British when they were in a similar situation.

Another similarity is that America was as greatly divided then as it is today. There were major fundamental differences between the Tories (or Loyalists) viewed things and the way that the Patriots (or Rebels) viewed things - Conservative versus Radical all over again. The only difference I would suggest is that the conservatives are on the right side this time. (I dare say they believed that they were on the right side that time!)

Politics was just as convoluted then as it is now. Nobody seemed capable to get anything done in Congress. We KNOW that hasn't changed.

Finally there was also the general apathy of the populace towards victory or defeat. The future lay in the hands of a handful of soldiers - some as young as 14. One quote by Colonel William Tudor about Washington struck me particularly. To his wife he wrote:

I cannot desert a man (and it would certainly be desertion in a court of honor) who has deserted everything to defend his country, and whose chief misfortune, among ten thousand others, is that a large part of it wants spirit to defend itself.

My, my, my, how history does repeat itself. His condemnation could have been written of the defeatists in the Congress, on the campaign trail, and in the media this year, self-serving cowards that they are. It is truly a shame that history is so neglected in our schools (and culture) today, and it is sad that so few realize the dear price payed for our liberties today.

God bless our troops and God bless America. Honor the veterans that you know this weekend.

Navy Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Chiarini

As enemy forces ambushed the front of his convoy, and with explosions going off on the road ahead of him, Navy Hospital Corpsman Joshua Chiarini could have remained in his vehicle and waited for the action to pass. Instead, the petty officer bolted from his truck and joined the battle. His ensuing gallantry resulted in a Silver Star and the recovery of several wounded Marines from the line of fire, saving their lives.

Read the entire account HERE.

The enemy, er, I mean the media may try to deny that any good thing can come from America, but here is proof that they are wrong.

Quote Of The Day

Our cultural and political leaders have forgotten, if they ever knew, that the willingness to sacrifice on behalf of others is why serving in the military is considered such a high calling—and a part of what makes just wars just. Thomas Aquinas in his classic Summa Theologica puts his discussion of just war in the chapter on charity—the love of God and neighbor.

And reformer John Calvin called the soldier an “agent of God’s love” because “restraining evil out of love for neighbor is an imitation of God’s restraining evil out of love for His creatures.”

We are blessed that so many fine men and women are willing to wield the sword on our behalf in this country. But are we, in turn, willing to respect and honor those sacrificing for us? And if not, can we blame them if one day they decide to lay down their arms?

What kind of a world would this be if that happened? We would have a world where evil reigned unchecked by justice, and where the strong would be free to prey on the weak.

The problem is not with our service members who are serving us nobly and ably in Iraq; it is the political and cultural leaders who are dishonoring them. If most Americans share their attitude, then I say bring the troops home. Why should they risk their lives for an ungrateful nation?

-Chuck Colson

EXCELLENT article read it HERE.

Medal Of Honor Awarded Posthumously To Michael Murphy, US Navy SEAL

I am always humbled when I read the stories of the heroism of our men and women in uniform. The courage and selflessness displayed by these heroes is staggering and it makes me proud to be an American alongside them.

I am sad and shocked that this story was not carried by the New York Post. I guess patriotism, honor, and courage aren't fashionable in New York this fall.

Here is the story of the heroism that earned Lt. Murphy the Medal of Honor, but cost him his life:

Murphy, Luttrell and two other SEALs were searching for a terrorist in the Afghan mountains on June 28, 2005, when their mission was compromised after they were spotted by locals, who presumably alerted the Taliban to their presence.

An intense gun battle ensued, with more than 50 anti-coalition fighters swarming around the outnumbered SEALs.

Although wounded, Murphy is credited with risking his own life by moving into the open for a better position to transmit a call for help.

Still under fire, Murphy provided his unit's location and the size of the enemy force. At one point he was shot in the back, causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in.

He then returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle. A U.S. helicopter sent to rescue the men was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing all 16 aboard.

By the end of the two-hour gunfight, Murphy and two of his comrades were also dead. An estimated 35 Taliban were also killed. Luttrell was blown over a ridge and knocked unconscious. He escaped, and was protected by local villagers for several days before he was rescued.

"We look at these guys and say, 'What heroes,'" said Murphy's father, Dan Murphy. "These guys look at themselves and say, 'I'm just doing my job.' That's an understatement, but that's the way they view it, and that was Michael's whole life."

Murphy's heroics have been widely recognized on Long Island, where he graduated in 1994 from Patchogue-Medford High School....

To his fellow SEALs, he was known as "Murph," but as a child, his parents nicknamed him "The Protector," because of his strong moral compass. After the 2001 terror attacks, that compass eventually led him to Afghanistan, where he wore a patch of the New York City Fire Department on his uniform.

"He took his deployment personally. He was going after, and his team was going after, the men who planned, plotted against and attacked not only the United States, but the city he loved, New York," said his father. "He knew what he was fighting for."

Thank you Lt. Murphy. God bless his family and friends.

I Just Found The Coolest Website!

I was over looking at Cox And Forkum's Site and found a link to this really neat website sponsored by the Department of Defense. It is called Heroes In The War On Terror and they have stories of American Heroes from all over the country.

The link that I supplied above will take you to a page where they show a map of the 50 states and you can click on each state and see men and women who have been decorated for valor in the Global War On Terror (GWOT.)

Here is a link that will take you to stories about heroes from my home state, North Carolina.

The story that Cox and Forkum linked to was about a soldier from the unit that my grandfather, Billy Miller, fought with during the campaign at Anzio during World War II. Here is the link to that story.

That reminds me. I met a very fine soldier while I was waiting at the Bank Of America on Innes Street in Salisbury, NC. He was home for some R&R from Afghanistan. I guess by now he is on his way back. He's a Blackhawk mechanic. Unfortunately, I didn't catch his name, but he made an impression, and my prayers are with him. Thank you for serving so that I can be here. God bless our men and women in uniform and keep them safe. And God bless America.

New Address for Kevin Rumsey

Nothing like a letter from home... 

My friend Kevin Rumsey (the chaplain's assistant in the Navy Reserves) is finishing up his training in California and will be shipping out to Iraq towards the end of the month after a brief leave to return home. His mailing address will be changing. The new address is:

RP2 Kevin A Rumsey
1/23 H&S Comp Chaplian Office
UNIT 41900
FPO AP 96426-1900

Please take the time to drop him a line from time to time. Mail from home is a big morale booster. Also, if you know someone who is serving overseas take the time to write to them. Even if you aren't in a hostile environment where people are trying to shoot you or blow you up, the culture shock of leaving America is very real and makes a significant impact on your ability to handle the situations that you find yourself in. A letter can really help brighten someone's day and make them not feel so alone. There's nothing like a good old fashioned piece of snail mail!

The Hour of the Thief

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
- God (Luke 12:39)

They say that ignorance is bliss. If that is true Michael Moore must be in a constant state of ecstasy. Actually, I don't believe that Michael Moore is ignorant. I could excuse him if he were. No, His Royal Haughtiness is something far more malevolent - he is a bold-faced liar and distorter of truth. The sad thing is that he is right about one thing: there are a lot of really stupid Americans. Let me take that back. I don't know how many Americans are really stupid, but I will say that there are a lot that are pretty ignorant. These people act like they have been hypnotized. They fall for everything that they see or hear hook, line, and sinker.

One of my greatest laments these days is, "Where have all of the thinkers gone?" It seems like way too many Americans checked their brains at the door of the hospital when they left the maternity ward. I lay much of the blame at the feet of the educators of this country. There is very little in the education of our population that actually challenges an individual to learn the basic principles of logic and reasoning. There are very few courses that require this sort of thought. Geometry and Trigonometry and some of the higher maths incorporate proofs into their curricula. These certainly train individuals to use logical thought to solve problems. Computer programming requires an understanding and application of logic. However, these courses are few and far between, and (with the exception of computer programming) few emphasize the logical aspects of the disciplines. If you think back on your education, I dare say that like me, you will have to admit that you were rarely ever forced to think logically. 90% of all education today doesn't require thought. It requires an ability to memorize, regurgitate, and apply. That is a far cry from real thought.

I guess I was one of the fortunate ones. One of my teachers in Junior High School began my logic instruction. Oddly enough it was my English teacher in 7th and 9th grade. Mrs. Emerson was a great teacher. I hated her in 7th grade because she actually made you work! Sheesh! But occasionally she would give our class logic puzzles to solve. They were incredibly hard! But eventually I began to get the hang of drawing accurate conclusions based on incomplete information. In college I actually had a course that applied logical principles to more abstract ideas like morality and ethics. Fortunately, my professor did not take advantage of this opportunity to force me to conform to any predetermined conclusions. (Thank you SO much Dr. Stalnaker! I am eternally grateful to you!) The two courses that I took with Dr. Stalnaker at NC State taught me like nothing else to follow an argument to its logical conclusion. They also forced me to look at the major issues of the day and form well conceived opinions. He also taught me to be consistent in my arguments to avoid contradicting myself. Perhaps the honorable Senator Kerry would benefit by taking Dr. Stalnaker's class. I would be willing to say that these two courses were the most valuable ones that I took in 5 years at the university. But I digress.

The point that I intend to make at some point this evening is that people like Michael Moore are trying to convince Americans that the events of 9/11 were either an aberration - a fluke, or that they are a fabrication of the great satan, President Bush. I am here to assure you tonight that neither assertion is true. Sadly, there are many who would prefer to live their lives like the proverbial ostrich with their heads in the sand. They have chosen denial because they cannot handle the undeniable truth that there is a rather large group of unreasonable people out there who hate America regardless of who is in the White House and have made it their mission and quest to destroy as many of us as possible.

My friend WB wrote an incredible post today entitled Woman With Possible Terror Ties Arrested that is a MUST READ. Folks, I am not kidding. You REALLY need to read this post. When I read it I was reminded that this war on terror is VERY real and isn't just being played out somewhere over in the Middle East. People, the enemy is here and is looking for an opportunity. READ THE POST.

After reading what he had to say a couple of things just jump out at me. First of all, it is evident that we don't hear about all of the potential terrorists that are caught by our law enforcement officers. I don't know who is covering this up. Perhaps it is the government. There are very good economic and security reasons to not let this sort of information get out. Perhaps it is the media. Most of them don't want us to realize that there is still an imminent threat to our country. That would go a long way to getting President Bush re-elected. I'm guessing that it is probably a combination of the two, but if I had to pick one, I'd probably lean more heavily towards the government. Neither of these stories were covered by the Drudge Report or Newsmax, two very conservative news sources. Secondly, we are very blessed to have such a great group of people protecting us. It has been almost 3 years since 9/11 and there hasn't been a successful major attack on America since then. With the type of activity that WB describes in his post that is nothing short of a miracle.

Folks, we need to get real about the threat to our country. The danger is very real, very clear, and very present. How many of the WMDs that the world was convinced existed in Iraq prior to the coalition invasion are now in terrorist hands inside of the United States or our coalition partners? (Yes, the WORLD. The US didn't make this stuff up! Stop believing that tripe that Moore tries to pass off as truth! The UN passed resolution after resolution and asserted over and over that these weapons were there. Why does everyone seem to have such a hard time remembering something that happened longer than 8 hours ago?) How many of the missing Russian "suitcase" nuclear weapons are hidden inside major US cities? If these weapons are used against us, they will make the attack on the World Trade Center look like a bad traffic accident by comparison. These weapons have the capability of destroying CITIES. They don't discriminate between Republican or Democrat, liberal, moderate, or conservative, white or black, male or female, young or old either.

Now let's consider this: who would the terrorists prefer to have in the White House? Would they rather have someone who thinks that we should get a consensus from the UN and especially from countries that are partners with the regimes that support terrorists? Or would they prefer to have a team in Washington that has proven that they are willing to take the fight to the terrorists even if we are the only country on the Earth with the courage to fight them, freeze their assets, and hunt them like the dogs that they are? Where do John Kerry and John Edwards fit into that picture? How about President Bush and Dick Cheney? Which one is the most likely to strike fear into the heart of the enemy? If you were a terrorist would you rather be treated as a criminal or as a combatant? Do you want to agree with a terrorist? Not me!

How about this: which of the candidates has demonstrated an ability to choose a course of action and follow it through to completion? Which of the candidates has actual foreign policy experience? Which team has the most experience actually governing the country? Is this a time for dual mindedness? The Bible says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Is this a time for instability? Is this a time for on-the-job-training? I think not.

I know this is some heavy stuff. It is easy to become fearful when you think of the possible destruction that could be done by a single successful terrorist. I am here to tell you that there is hope though. If we had to rely solely on our ability to catch every terrorist and to uncover every plot against us, we would have reason to fear, but we don't. We can repent of our self-reliance and cry out to the God of our forefathers. We can turn back to Him and ask Him to protect and heal our land. The Bible tells us:

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.
Psalm 28:7

O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
Psalm 140:7

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down." Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. "With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."
- Psalm 91

This is good news. I am so grateful to have a God who loved me enough to rescue me from my own wickedness by sending His Perfect Son as a sacrifice to wash away my sin and imperfection so that I could enjoy the benefits of knowing and loving Him. That is something the terrorists don't understand. I have a God who is into LIFE! He loves to give us life! Isn't that amazing?! We have no need to fear if we have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ to cleanse us and bring us peace with a just God. I don't have to fear the destruction. My God is more than capable of defending me and my life here on earth, but even if He chooses to let my body die, He has promised that I will live with Him FOREVER. If THAT isn't good news, NOTHING is!

If all of this is foreign to you, but you want to know how to gain this confidence it is really simple. Just ask God for it. He says that He will give the gift of salvation to anyone who is willing to ask Him for it, who will confess that Jesus is the King of their life, and who believes that God raised Jesus from the grave. That may still be hard to grasp so I'll try to lay it out in simple steps tomorrow.