OIL SPILL INTERSECTION

The Gulf oil spill is a picture book of two value systems intersecting.

On one hand, a camp of people are bleeding because the environment is being desecrated. On the other hand, a camp of people are bleeding because their livelihood is being destroyed.

No one likes either scenario, but which camp understands the order of life?

"People" trump "slick pelicans". Why?

The Creator made man in His image for communion with Him. He made the world and the animals for man. We are made to worship the Creator, not the creation.

Good stewards of the land/animals? Of course that's our commission. But the One who made our environment will one day replace it. He will heat the globe to destruction...on HIS timetable...and make a new heaven and earth.

"Because of this day (of judgment), the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze! But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides." 2Peter 3.12-13

The bottom line is this...we know oil spills can be cleaned up, but it is catastrophic for a whole area of the country to lose the way they provide for their families.

DITHER: TO HESITATE, VACILLATE

Dithering in the Illinois Senate (voting "present" 130 times) led Hillary Clinton to say her Democratic rival was more a "talker" than a "doer".

Dithering over the pirates (shoot 'em or not shoot 'em).

Dithering over troop increase. McChrystal wanted more than 50k, but asked for 40k on October 1st. The skimpy answer came February 15th.

Dithering over oil spill. The "On Top of It From Day One" strategies: threat of criminal charges to be filed...no waiver STILL on Jones Act...postponement of berms and other protective ideas due to lack of environmental impact statement...declaration of moratorium to keep other companies from drilling (later blocked by federal judge)...and by Day 64, some softening to consider some private-sector creative ideas for cleanup.

But now ALL OF A SUDDEN...the President is decisive.

The fired general runs 7-8 miles a day, eats one meal, sleeps four hours, has served his country all his life. It doesn't take a crystal ball to recognize an intensely focused man. He didn't just "pop off"...he raised the curtains of his work station.

General McChrystal said he tendered his resignation out of a desire to see the mission in Afghanistan succeed. "He should have kept his mouth shut then" you say? Maybe he has brought the focus to Afghanistan and how the latest offensive in Kandahar is behind schedule. Why? The Afghan soldiers are shifting sides...and Karzai may be corrupt, but he's not crazy. They all know that July 2011 is "game over" and they are lining up. Winning in Afghanistan will take commitment. I have no doubt that McChrystal is blunt and says what he thinks. No doubt he is like a lazer beam on his goal. That's what made him successful. He's no ditherer.

Now General Petraeus takes the helm. He's a good commander who is more "public relations" oriented. He leaves a post at Central Command coordinating operations in twenty countries.

One ironic note: when the NYTimes ran a MoveOn.org ad (General Petraeus or BetrayUs) back in 2007, the Senate passed legislation to condemn. Forty-nine Republicans and twenty-two Democrats supported the bill; Barack Obama did not vote.

PICKING OUT A PATRIOT

Think it was easier to recognize a patriot in the "olden days"?

Here are some patriots from the July 4th parade in 1912.

And here's a Youtube video from WW2 that beautifully defines patriotism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=07DGeLvDw8I

But how do we pick out a patriot in 2010?

I put a Mark Steyn comment on Facebook the other day:

"It is hard to imagine Obama wandering along to watch a Memorial Day or Fourth of July parade until the job required him to. That's not to say he's un-American or anti-American, but merely that he's beyond all that. Way beyond...He's the first president to give off the pronounced whiff that he's condescending to the job — that it's really too small for him and he's just killing time until something more commensurate with his stature comes along."

The quote struck a chord with me because it verbalized something I hadn't been able to put into words. Mark Steyn would not be the first to notice the President's nose in the air. But regarding the patriotism, I DO wonder if President Obama ever attended a Fourth of July parade...before he was on the clock. And I wonder what he taught his little girls about patriotism.

Wasn't it President Obama who brought his patriotism into question himself? He chose not to cover his heart during the National Anthem.

Then at his last "presser", there were no flags behind him. It's as though he's trying to redefine patriotism. Is his way "cool"...or just "cold"?

The President has said a person is not an automatic patriot by just putting a flag pin in their lapel. Fair enough.

But if you add his actions to Michelle's quote about being proud of her country for the first time...and then take into consideration the home Barack Obama was raised in, the mentor

that he was given, the ACORN community organizers that he worked with, and the Chicago corruption...then the question is not "is he patriotic"? The question is "why wasn't he vetted"?

A simple google of Frank Marshall Davis can make your hair stand up. He's the mentor chosen for the President by his mother's parents. READ of Mr. Davis' life choices and behavior.

If the crowd around Barack Obama (the Dunhams and Stanley Ann Dunham, Davis, Ayres, Wright, etc.) DID feel such anger and political alienation, then they aren't likely the parade crowd.

But then maybe I am selling the President short. I tried to think how it could be proven that Mike and I love OUR country. Is there a case for our patriotism? We've always flown a flag out front and we usually eat barbeque and watch fireworks on the Fourth. But patriotism is about doing more than those things.

We have a picture of George Washington hanging in the hall, but hanging a picture doesn't make you a patriot.

We vote and try to stay informed. Mike retired with twenty years of service in the Air Guard. Hmmm. This is hard. How do you express that feeling when you hear of a disaster across the globe and you know YOUR country will be there with humanitarian supplies? Or what about that flood that engulfs your heart when F16s do a flyover at a ballgame?

If I question what the President taught his girls about patriotism, I also have to ask myself if Beth and Brad left home with a sense of pride in their country. They both probably would complain that we dragged them through museums...and send more political emails than they need. And we did sign for Brad at age 17 to join the Air Guard. He was the third generation to do so.

Then I had a random thought of the neighborhood Fourth of July parade when the kids were little. Colony West organized an annual parade; now THERE'S community organizing. People went all out decorating their little red wagons, four wheelers, bikes, and trikes. Maybe that stimulated patriotic roots.

Can we agree that patriotism is a hard trait to nail down? But I do know who "got" the love of country...George Washington. He motivated men without food or shoes to fight at frozen Valley Forge. They fought because of his personal leadership and I can't believe they just didn't turn around on him and walk back home.

When I taught third grade at Little Rock Christian, we learned "three firsts" from our unit on President Washington. You probably remember them from third grade. He was first in war (Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army), first in peace (presiding over the Constitutional Convention), and first in the hearts of his countrymen. In his day, most homes hung a picture of him because he was so revered for the things he did for his country.

They say that President Washington could have been crowned king for the asking. But he knew monarchy was the past, not the future. He cared more about his country's future than his personal future.

God, bless the leaders who love their country more than self.

And forgive us in America, Lord...so you can bless America.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33.12

AN ANALOGOUS TALE OF BETRAYAL

Once upon a time, the people of New York state enjoyed their small and Beautiful Land. But next door, the New Jersey citizens were irrational in their hatred for their neighbors. And so were the people from ALL the other adjoining states around New York. In fact, the New Yorkers were hated viciously...and these hateful neighbors based their personal happiness on the destruction of the people of New York state.

Of course, that made New Yorkers a little blinky. It is unsettling to know there are overwhelming numbers of people at arm's length from your piece of real estate who are salivating to win religious points for snuffing you before taking your property. In 2000 and 2005, New Yorkers had already bowed to international pressure and had given up pieces of their tiny state in trade for "peace". Peace did not occur.

One day some naughty Pennsylvanians started lobbying rockets into New York. After the barrage, it was said that 4,000 rockets hit randomly inside NY borders. Naturally, that caused terror and destruction and instability in their land. So what did New York do to retaliate? Did they drop a bomb on Pennsylvania?

The international community told New Yorkers not to strike back. Instead, they were told their response should be a passive one...a blockade to prevent their enemies from rearming. Ignoring the fact that the coalition of hateful states were being funded by terrorists, New Yorkers were told that their protection could be found out in the East River. There they could screen ships that might be carrying arms. They would let ships of humanitarian supplies through the blockade based on a condition of inspection. That was the agreed-upon international law.

But one day, some thugs from Connecticut devised a plan. They would hide terrorists on the humanitarian boats (much like terrorists hide in hospitals or churches or behind women and children). These thugs boarded the boat at different ports than the peace activist passengers. Their plan was to make the world feel REALLY sorry for them by setting up New Yorkers to look like predators.

Then the kamikaze Connecticut boat volunteers prepared to die. We know of their pre-meditation because they made wills, martyr videos, and spoke to loved ones. When they entered New York harbor, they were warned to stop for the routine inspection. The boat did not stop. Then the ship was made to stop, but the crew did not cooperate. Now their intentions were clear and active resistance began when the commandos were helicoptered in and rappelled down. The commandos were armed with paint guns and ordered to use pistols as the last option. The thugs beat the commandos with steel pipes and stabbed them with knives. That provocation was met with deadly force. Here is a link to footage of the weapons taken and how they stripped the boat to make weapons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbbornDkaxU

After the violence, the wounded from Connecticut were taken to a New York hospital to be cared for because there is regard for life in New York.

How was this unprovoked altercation reported on the international scene? All over the world, countries cried "BLOODY MASSACRE!". How ridiculous. What was New York to do? Surrounded by hateful predators, she daily walks a thin line. Does New York have any friends? Who will come to her defense?

New York has always enjoyed the support of her friend, the United States. But this time, both the President and the Secretary of State betrayed a historic alliance and condemned New York's actions. Something different is in the wind. The U.S. has forgotten...

"I will bless those who bless you" Genesis 12.3

Even though this blog is written by The Square Nail, I would like to make an exception. Today a friend sent a wonderful piece about the illegal immigration issue. It was written by a naturalized citizen who was formerly from Mexico. The piece was a sparkly clear analogy and I offer his words for your inspection:

"If you had tickets to a sports event, concert, Disneyland, or for an airline flight, and when you got to your assigned seat you found someone else was in that seat, what would you do? You would call for a person in charge of ticket checking and have the person in your seat removed. You would properly be asked to show your ticket, and you would gladly and proudly do so, for you have bought and paid for that seat. The person in your seat would also be asked for a ticket, which they would not be able to produce. They would be called "gate crashers" and they would properly be removed.

Now in this huge stadium called the USA we have had millions of gate crashers. We have been asking security to check for tickets and remove the gate crashers. We have been asking security to have better controls in checking at the door. We have asked security to lock the back doors. Security has failed us. They are still looking the other way. They are afraid to ask to see the tickets. Many people say there is unlimited seating, and whether there is or not, no one should be allowed in for free while the rest of us pay full price!

In "section AZ", of "Stadium USA", we have had enough of the failures of Security. We have decided to do our own ticket checking, and properly remove those who do not have tickets. Now it seems very strange to me that so many people in the other 49 "sections", and even many in our own "section" do not want tickets checked, or even to be asked to show their ticket! Even the head of Security is chastising us, while not doing his own job which he has sworn to do.

My own ticket has been bought and paid for, so I am proudly going to show it when asked to do so. I have a right to my seat, and I want the gate crashers to be asked to show their tickets too. The only reason that I can imagine anyone objecting to being asked for their ticket is that they are in favor of gate crashing, and all of the illegal activities that go with it, such as drug smuggling, gang wars, murder, human smuggling for profit, and many more illegal and inhumane acts that we are trying to prevent with our new legislation. Is that what I am hearing from all of the protestors such as Phoenix Mayor Gordon, US Rep. Grijalva, even President Obama? If you are not in favor of showing tickets, (proof of citizenship, passport, green card, or other legal document) when asked, as I would do proudly, then you must be condoning those illegal activities."

The above opinion was written by a citizen of Globe, Arizona. My hat is off to you, Sir.

CONUNDRUM

It already IS illegal to enter our country improperly. Can you "square" illegal? Do you get llegal-er?

Everyone agrees that immigration is not a good situation. So then why isn't something done? President Bush kept us safe but did nothing about the border. Why? What motives by elected officials keep the border open? And how can there be so many varied camps in this immigration issue?

There is one Latino in the Senate, New Jersey's Senator Menendez. Last week he called for a Major League baseball players boycott of AZ. He also said "IF there is a greater border presence necessary, it should be in the form of additional border patrol agents." IF, Senator? IF? New Jersey must be a "fer piece" from the border. Or perhaps the Senator lacks the ability to see this issue as it affects the country as a whole.

Then there is President Obama making a joke about the issue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLgZ1LWLlko His Attorney General and his Homeland Security Secretary (and others in the administration) spoke vociferously against what AZ passed. Well, they spoke vociferously until someone asked them if they had read the bill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rH1FEcbi4A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIwI1ICYCFE&feature=PlayList&p=EAD4BE57D39D9938&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=4

On another side there are the compassionates. They are good-willed people plus some Open Border people who must think that everyone has a right to live here and the country can accommodate everyone. I wonder if the compassionates' back yards looked like this if they would protect their property?

We've all heard of the AZ rancher who tried to protect his property. He and his dog were killed on March 27, 2010. The fifty-eight year old Rob Krentz (below) was a husband and father and granddad. His land had been in his family for 100 years. What would you do if your land became a drug corridor?

Armed burglaries are commonplace there as the drug smugglers deliver their goods and then rob on their way back through to Mexico. You wouldn't want to leave home for fear they would take it all. You certainly would be afraid to leave your wife at home alone. Rob Krentz had multiple burglaries and he had complained to law enforcement for years. The killer is at large, but the sheriff followed footprints back to Mexico.

Mike hunted back in the 60's with a college friend who had a ranch out in west Texas. Even back then, Mike can remember that they would come up on one of the unoccupied houses on the ranch and it was always unlocked. The policy was to leave it unlocked so transients wouldn't tear up the house getting in...and they left cans of frijoles prominently out on the kitchen table. Mike's rancher friend did the best he could to protect his family back then by basically bribing them to come and go peacefully.

There is another group in the immigration issue, the guilt crowd. Life is good for them and they feel bad that everyone does not share prosperity. Most people DO appreciate the life we have in this country. But if faux remorse swells the number of people and sinks the ship, our opportunity to do good for others goes down, too. America has an immigration plan that has worked in the past. Visit Ellis Island and look at what those immigrants wanted. They longed to come here and share the American experience. They demonstrated good faith by learning our language and fighting in our army and demonstrating their productivity. They wanted to become Americans. Ellis Island also teaches that people were admitted because of what they had to add as citizens. Criminals and people with communicable diseases need not apply. That's a far cry from today.

Our country is generous with her resources. We have always reached out to the poor and the oppressed. If our immigration policy needs to be tweaked, then let's TWEAK IT. But secure the border! We cannot continue to fling wide the door by enticing people to come here with offers of free healthcare and anchor babies and free schooling and sanctuary cities and free housing and free food. It was well intentioned in the beginning. It might have started out with a can of frijoles in the 60's, but you and I live in today's results.

And today the screen door opens, and a duke's mixture comes in. True, some are just people desperate to improve life for themselves and their family they left behind. They may not have any idea of becoming Americans (so they are not "immigrating")...and they endure abominable treatment in the process. Even so, are they the greatest danger? No. Borders must be regulated to protect us from the deadly undesirables - terrorists and drug runners and gangs who kidnap and kill. They hardly fit the inscription on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." NONE of these undesirables yearn to breathe free; they yearn to enslave and kill.

Have we taken leave of our senses? Truly, the enemy is at our gate. Yes, Senator Menendez, we DO need a greater border presence and it will take more than just border patrol. And President Obama, it will take more than that token 1,200 Guardsmen you just sent.

We need to protect our land so America may continue to be the shining city on a hill.

TEXAS ON MY MIND

Mike and I headed west on I40 toward Texas longhorn country for two reasons: we needed some margin in our lives, and Mike wanted to kill a turkey.

We drove 333 miles across the middle of Oklahoma and into the panhandle of the great state of Texas.

They do everything big in Texas, with the exception of the first TX town on I40 big enough for a McDonalds...a town called Shamrock, Texas.

Population in Shamrock hit it's peak in the 30's with 4,000 folks, but they have half that today. Because the town is also on old Route 66, there are some really neat old restored gas stations in town.

State Hwy 83 runs north and south through Shamrock. Mike has hunted for ten years in that area. A rancher friend has property close to two nearby towns on Hwy 83. Wheeler is 17 miles north of Shamrock...and Wellington is 26 miles south of Shamrock.

Those two small towns each are county seats and both have nice courthouses.

You may remember Wheeler, Texas. That is where George Bush announced his candidacy for the presidency. He was having lunch at Maxie's when he made the announcement.

We ate at Maxie's and it was chocked full of people with straw cowboy hats and shiny buckles and iPhones...and the parking lot was full of pickups and Escalades.

Wheeler is oil country.

The town to the south, Wellington, has to work harder for their identity. When Mike and I pulled into the RV campground outside of Wellington, we parked under huge cottonwood trees beside the fork of a river. The helpful camp hosts (Austin and Patsy) had lots of information to help us settle in.

They told us that we were in an area without TV/cell phone coverage. They told us about the places in town to eat. Wellington has less than a half-dozen restaurants and they all close at 2pm, so you have to be purposeful.

Patsy and I talked a long time about their community and she explained that they were important because of Bonnie and Clyde...

In 1933 Clyde Barrow was barreling north on Hwy 83 (then a dirt road) going 70 mph (at night) in a stolen v8 Ford that could outrun every one of the "laws" that tried to catch them.

But that night, Clyde didn't see a detour sign and he plowed through a barricade, went airborne, and landed upside down in the Salt Fork of the Red River where Mike is wading.

If you would like to read more about Bonnie and Clyde, I would recommend the book ("Go Down Together") that the camp host shared with me. It came out in 2009 and was diligently researched. Because it had history about the founding of Dallas...plus history of the 30's...it was interesting. Bonnie and Clyde's lives were not the lives portrayed in Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway's 1967 movie.

https://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-9781416557067-0

After lunch in town at the Taco Shack, we headed back to the motor home. Mike was going hunting and I was going to read my borrowed book.

Mike left and I began reading and enjoying having the windows open and the breeze blowing. Then the wind picked up and the coach began rocking. After about an hour, I realized I was hot (think beaker frogs) and checked to find it was 91 degrees inside. Boy, I WAS into my book. I turned on the air conditioner and looked out at a brown sky. It was dark and there was a dust storm. We had noticed as we drove from town that farmers were disking to plant their cotton. My book was talking about the Dust Bowl in the 30's, and I could EASILY understand how that happened. I wondered how the farmer down the road could plant when most of his dirt seemed to be on my teeth...

Now my mind was multi-tasking (reading and watching the sky). Plus I was remembering the camp host's admonition about the increased rattlesnakes this year. My husband had worn his high snake boots, but he was out crawling around in shin oak underbrush. And also in this 35-40 mph wind, how was he even going to get a shot off that hit the mark?

I didn't stew for long...in 90 minutes Mike was back. When I first saw him, I figured he had given up hunting because he wasn't able to see 20 yards in front of his face. But no, he quit because he had a turkey. My husband is quite the hunter/gatherer.

Later, when Texas was in our rear-view mirror, Mike and I missed the longhorns and the big country. But we had claimed our "space" and our turkey. And now we know a little about Texas history. Someone said that travel broadens one's horizons and reminds us that there are other worlds out there. Texas did seem to be another world. A big one.

But an even bigger world is coming when we hear the trumpet sound...

"Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world HAS BECOME the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11.15 NET

Didn't someone named Handel write a song about that moment in time?