Politics

So what would a conservative Mennonite care about mere earthly politics? And why?

Bye, Fred

I thought he would have made the race much more interesting.

And maybe he did.

But now we won’t know for sure.

Because Fred Thompson dropped out. (No, I’m not linking to any blogs or news stories about the matter.)

Too bad he left, I think.

On the other hand, it’s surely part of God doing part what the Ancient of Days does — setting up and taking down rulers.

I rest in that.

And I look forward to learning more of what He is up to in the US Presidential election.

Oh, and here’s the requisite statement on the subject: Maybe Fred’s departure is another signal to me to start making public the planks of the platform of my own Presidential campaign. (I suppose you still think I’m joking, eh?)

Uh…Mr. Bush?

I guess I should no longer be amazed at this:

President Bush, summing up meetings with both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, said Thursday that a peace accord will require “painful political concessions” by each. Resolving the status of Jerusalem will be hard, he said, and he called for the end of the “occupation” of Arab land by the Israeli military.

Israel has made lots of concessions.

What have the Palestinians done?

And that “occupation” business is not good either.

Here’s more from the AP news piece:

He made a point of using a loaded term “occupation” to describe Israeli control over land that would eventually form the bulk of an independent Palestinian state. That he did so in Jerusalem underscored that he is trying not to seem partial to Israel.

[…]

“The point of departure for permanent status negotiations to realize this vision seems clear,” he said. “There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people.”

Is the US still “occupying” any territory taken in war?

I think I need a head-shaking, eye-rolling emoticon here.

I have no idea whose side the book below takes.

Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East

New Hampshire Speaks

Well, folks, according to what Drudge is headlining at this moment (and it keeps changing every few minutes), Obama and Edwards failed to knock Clinton into third place…and Thompson got knocked into sixth place:

OBAMA 36; CLINTON 37; EDWARDS 17; RICHARDSON 4; KUCINICH 2...
MCCAIN 38; ROMNEY 29; HUCKABEE 11; PAUL 8; GIULIANI 9; THOMPSON 1.

That may signal the end of Thompson, branded by some pundits (many, perhaps?) as the only true conservative among all of the above.

In which case, maybe it’s time to make my move.

😀

A Two-State Solution

BOA (Bush, Olmert, Abbas) sounds sinister, but it makes a handy, efficient acronym. (I certainly don’t mean it to sound disrespectful, I should append.)

When BOA (and others) talk of a two-state solution, they have in mind Israel and Palestine. Like this:

Palestinian state crucial for Israel, Olmert says

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said after peace talks in Washington that failure to negotiate a two-state solution with the Palestinians could threaten Israel’s long-term survival.

When I think of a two-state reality, I think of Gaza and the West Bank. These are both Palestinian entities, but they are two separate entities. At each other’s throats. Frequently, literally. With Israel sorta surrounding and sorta surrounded by the pinchers.

They already threaten Israel’s long-term viability.

To continue negotiations with them, especially with the weaker pincher, only makes matters worse.

And matters will get worse. Much worse. Modern Israel ain’t seen nothing yet.

That’s how I read my Bible, anyway.

Oh, and speaking of the West Bank and Gaza (and even the Golan Heights) . . . .

Why should they be Israel’s any less than certain American states, seized and annexed from Mexico, are the US’s?

Perhaps pro-two-stater politicians in the US should lead by example and enter into negotiations with Mexico for the return of those certain American states.

Just a thought.

A wild one, I know, especially since (good) example and politics may be oxymoronic concepts. 🙂

Mr. President, Don’t Divide Jerusalem

Joel Rosenberg reports in his blog:

The Bush administration’s much-anticipated and highly-controversial Arab-Israeli peace conference opens tomorrow in Annapolis, Maryland. A great deal is at stake. The most contentious issue on the table: the future of Jerusalem. The government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is talking openly about the possibility of dividing the holy city and giving part of it to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. This would be a mistake of colossal proportions. It will not send a message of goodwill and peace to Israel’s enemies, as Olmert and his advisors hope. Rather, it will invite more attacks by radical Islamic jihadists who want all of Jerusalem, not just part of it. What’s more, even mere talk of dividing Jerusalem fuels the apocalyptic, genocidal ambitions of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his colleagues who believe Israel’s day of judgment is coming and that Shia Muslims are destined to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization and gain control of Jerusalem for themselves.

Mr. President, don’t divide Jerusalem. Don’t consider it. Don’t talk about it. Don’t encourage others to talk about it. Doing so will bring war — and a horrifying one at that — not the peace that you seek. Rather, open tomorrow’s conference by making it crystal clear that precisely because we want peace in the Middle East, we will not support any division of Jerusalem any more than we would support dividing Washington or London or Paris or Moscow with our enemies or our neighbors.

Then we have this news story from Agence Presse France via Yahoo: Israelis, Palestinians make progress in US talks

Israel and the Palestinians said Monday they had made major progress in reviving frozen peace talks, as US President George W. Bush launched his biggest push yet to end the Middle East conflict.

And WorldNetDaily reports:

Syria agreed to attend this week’s U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit after Damscus received American and Israeli commitments the Golan Heights would be put on the table at the Israeli-Palestinian conference.

The Golan Heights is strategic mountainous territory that looks down on Israeli population centers, and was twice used by Syria to launch ground invasions into the Jewish state.

WND prefaces its report with this observation: “U.S. invitation has no preconditions for state accused of supporting terror.”

In my view, it requires a willing suspension of disbelief to accept all this as good news.

Most? Seriously!

What percentage of global population lives in indigence and poverty?

So what’s with this BBC headline and story?

Most ready for ‘green sacrifices’

Most people are ready to make personal sacrifices to address climate change, according to a BBC poll of 22,000 people in 21 countries.

I dare say most people on the planet have greater matters of more pressing concern regarding daily survival. I suspect they don’t know about or even care about global warming. They have nothing to sacrifice.

Where Little Ones CryBut to those who have money to spend and fall in BBC’s “most people” category, an extremely practical and helpful suggestion for a green sacrifice:

You’re welcome.

Disclaimer: I didn’t interview and/or poll anyone in any country. I have been wrong before.

Measure 49: A Lesson

A few weeks ago I started seeing signs like these:

Yes on 49

The more I saw, the more it seemed the best thing was to approve 49.

Especially since I didn’t see any anti-49 signs.

Finally I noticed one in town.

Then a few started popping up in the country:

No on 49

So despite my early misimpressions, the issue does have two sides. (No real shock there, of course.)

Monday morning, as I drove by some of the aforementioned signs, I suddenly thought of two Bible verses.

I see now they’re both from Proverbs 18:

“He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him” (verse 17).

“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him” (verse 13).

So there you are — an important life lesson that far exceeds the importance of Oregon’s Measure 49.

Every story has two sides, so wait to express judgment till you know both sides!

(And even then, be careful.)

Above all, love God!