Hooked

It's over. RIP 2006 Iowa football season. You gave it the old college try with that last one versus Texas. Despite coming up a little short, you made us proud.

Hey Drew, I wrote this because I don't have anything else to do in my free time as there aren't any professional sports teams in Iowa and I heard the farm report earlier today. In case you're curious, beans are holding steady and pork bellies are up.

Back From Iowa - With Cheer

I'm back from the Holy Land, aka Iowa, where I did some very important and meaningful mulling and observing. Returning home is always a melancholy experience for me - I find meaning and memory at every turn and in the simplest of places. The public swimming pool where I worked for four summers teaching tiny tot swimming lessons and selling Laffey Taffey; the park behind my house where I spent countless hours playing with my brothers and my beloved dog Flanders; the middle school where I made lifelong friends; the cemetary where my maternal and paternal grandparents rest. It is the place and the people who shaped me more than any other place I have lived or will ever live. I know this to be absolutely true.

Needing to purchase a few more presents, I borrowed my parents mini van and dashed out to the Crossroads Mall to see what Younkers department store had to offer. As I was about to leave, I glanced across the store and saw a man standing alone by a display of scarves. I stopped. He looked up at me. "Mr. Lee?" It was my high school calculus teacher. His eyes brightened with recognition.

Now I was a terrible math student, so all I could think was, "Ugh. I bet he's thinking, 'It's that Hawkeyegirl. Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.'" We shook hands. He seemed genuinely happy to see me. We briefly chatted about our families and all the wonderful trips he's taken since retiring. But the 'dim light bulb' thought kept nagging at me, so I said jokingly, "Well, I'm still really bad at math!" He chuckled, then said with such sincerity that I felt my throat tighten with emotion, "You know what I always admired about you? You struggled with math, but you persevered because you told me you wanted a well-rounded education. Yes, I found that very admirable."

I graduated from high school nearly 17 years ago and this wonderful man remembered something personal about me - one student among thousands in his career. Thanks, Mr. Lee. I was such a lucky girl to have a teacher like you.

Besides seeing my family and old friends, one of the best things about going home to Fort Dodge (The Phat Dawg, Ft. Lauderdodge or Ft. Fun to the uneducated) is reading the Fort Dodge Messenger.

Fort Dodge is the county seat of Webster County, a navy blue county in a sea of red and pink. Webster County lies the farthest west in Iowa of any blue county. On the Communist News Network map it looks white because Kerry won the county by slightly more than 500 votes (don't ask me for the exact number - I'm bad at math, remember?). That in and of itself speaks to his weakness as a candidate. No respectable Democrat should win Webster County by such a paltry margin. But he's old news and so is Iowa as a red state, so let's move on.

I love The Messenger because it is what it is - a hometown newspaper. World and National news often take a back seat to the heroics of local high school football and basketball teams or the generosity of locals to their less fortunate neighbors. I don't say this to belittle the paper's relevance, but rather to compare the focus to what Tip O'Neil said of politics - it's all local. Report on what you know best, focus on what matters most to your readers and do it well. If you do, they'll stick with you. Again, I'm not saying that folks back home don't care or pay attention to world or national news - quite the contrary - but they can get that from the television, radio, magazines and The Daily Worker (aka the Des Moines Register).

By now The Faithful Three are wondering, "Where is she going with this?" Hold yer horses, friends, I'm getting there.

So here I've described a simple, locally-focused hometown paper in a deep blue town. But here's the oddity: the editorial page. The editorial page - that delicious page in every paper where opinion has a proper place - a home. The Messenger editorial page holds a dear place in my heart because as often as I read it, I never cease to be surprised. Such objectivity! Let me share one:

‘Blind sheik’ does well in prison
Americans sometimes are told that our government’s policies are to blame, in part, for terrorist attacks. But a warning issued by the FBI puts the difference between U.S. government policies and those of Islamic extremists in perspective.

Terrorist leader Omar Abdel-Rahman has been imprisoned in the United States since he was found guilty in a trial of being involved in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Six people were killed; more than 1,000 were injured.

But Rahman, familiar to many as the “blind sheik,” suffers from severe health problems.

His ailments were the subject of a recent FBI warning, reminding national security officials that the al-Qaida organization has called for terrorist attacks if Rahman dies while in U.S. custody. The “blind sheik’s” last will and testament in fact demands that terrorists “extract the most violent revenge” if he dies in prison.

But that may not happen as soon as al-Qaida leaders would like — simply because Americans treat prisoners much differently than do many Islamic terrorist organizations.

Their captives often are beheaded.Rahman, in contrast, has received excellent medical care, most recently for a tumor on his liver. According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, “his condition has improved.”

Yes, there indeed is a difference between policies followed by Islamic extremists and those supported by Americans. Sometimes it really does pay to be aware of them.

Now that's an editorial. All those folks slummin' it at the Washington Post could learn a lesson or two from the Fort Dodge Messenger.

Since Christmas Eve landed on a Sunday this year, I attended regular Sunday mass with my family at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Moorland, a tiny farming community about 15 minutes outside of Fort Dodge. Because I'm easily distracted, I didn't notice that I'd left my purse behind at the church until we'd already pulled into my folks' driveway.

Mom and I turned around and drove back to the church, but it was already locked. Knowing our good family friends have a key to the church, we drove the short gravel road to their home to pick it up. My purse was right where I left it under the pew. We dropped the key back with our friends and were given a lovely loaf of homemade pumpkin bread in return. "In case you run short with all your family home," they said as my mom protested the gift.

The next morning - a bright, crisp, sunny Christmas morning - I read the following editorial in The Messenger. I was reminded of the blessing of good friends, simple kindnesses and the importance of staying close and true to those that have helped you along your journey.

Christmas cheer to one and all
In these days of affluence, enlightenment and rising expectations, has our supply of good cheer been diminished? That is a concern that comes to mind as we ponder the observance of another Christmas.

In at least some sophisticated circles today, even the cheer of Christmas is said to be unfashionable. It is considered square or naive to be caught up in the joy and happiness of the season. It is true that for many — those brave men and women in our nation’s uniform and their concerned families — there could be reason to ask what there is to celebrate in a world where peace remains elusive and repressive regimes make a mockery of human rights. And we know that in all too many parts of our world, poverty and hunger grip millions of people.

There has never been a perfect time for Christmas. But there certainly have been worse times to observe the birthday of Christ than this year of 2006. We have made enormous social and technical advances over the past several decades. The world is appreciably better than most of us knew in our childhood.

If it is good cheer that one seeks, you had better seek it in yourself, for you will never find it in progress — neither in laws and movements which invariably stop short of achieving the miracles hoped for, nor in new political heroes whose feet invariably turn out to be made of clay. The good cheer of Christmas is extremely personal, a flickering but ancient hope in the heart of man that has nothing to do with commerce or social progress or politics. There are so many cheap curtain-raisers, but they cannot compare with this season of love, goodness and holiness.

Christmas Day evokes — as does no other time — the memory of simpler days, when it was easy to believe what one was told — when the people in the beautiful old Christmas story seemed as real as the children next door, and no wide-eyed youngster could doubt that some day a star of wonder would come to lead him to a perfect light.

No Christmas is ever passed without making this a better universe, at least for a time. So cheer up this day when Christendom pauses to celebrate the birth of Christ — God’s gift to men and the cause for all of today’s giving. A very Merry Christmas to all.

Indeed.

Home to Iowa

I'm flying home to Iowa on Friday. It's not the most direct flight: Reagan National to Kansas City...to Milwaukee...to Des Moines. Awesome, eh? It's my Christmas tour of the Midwest. I'm hoping to peruse and purchase some nice Greenbay Packers merchandise at the Milwaukee airport. I think, as the owner of one share in the team, I should get a discount on all Packer gear. Ownership should have its privileges.

I love Christmas, but I treasure Christmas in Iowa. My parents still live in the house I grew up in. They've lived in the same house since about 1968. I still have "my room." The dresses I wore to homecoming, prom and senior dinner dance still hang in the closet. The top drawer in my bureau is filled with dried coursages, track medals, yearbooks and sorority pictures. My nieces play with my barbies, doll house and tea set. My baton twirling trohpies line the attic wall.

The ornaments on the tree are the same ones I grew up with and each one brings back memories. When I was seven, my brother Patrick ("Pesty Pat") wrapped my gift in a giant box and put it under the tree at least four weeks before Christmas. I was tortured by the sheer size of this gift. Nightly I would sit by the tree, shake the present and throw guesses at him. "Five dolls?" "Barbie Dream Cottage?" "An entire set of Care Bears?" Like I said, this went on for weeks.

When Christmas morning arrived, it was the first gift I opened...and opened...and opened...and opened. He had wrapped a box inside a box inside a box. The last box I opened held a little ceramic Woodstock ornament. You know, the little yellow bird from Charlie Brown? I was crushed. I looked over at my brother who, with his fire engine red hair, was laughing his ass off. He got me. He got me good.

Last Christmas, when my niece Katherine was 6, she pointed to the Woodstock ornament on grandma and grandpa's tree and said, "Aunt Hawkeyegirl, that's the ornament my daddy got you when you were little, right? Remember how he wrapped it in a big box to tease you?" I love that ornament. I can't wait to go home.

A Picture Says It All

The bleeding hearts back in Iowa are working themselves into a tizzy over the recent raid by federal immigrantion officials on the Swift plant in Marshalltown. Finally the feds are cracking down on illegal aliens and the companies that employ them.

While the Des Moines Register has yet to write an objective piece (read unbiased) on the event, the comments posted to their site are nearly unanimous: "Enjoy your free trip home." And that's putting it nicely. There is little sympathy for the lawbreakers, nor do I think there should be. Could the last straw have been this picture, which was featured on the Register's Web site? How do you really feel about the United States of America and our laws? How unfortnate for you. Feliz Navidad.

All I Hate At Christmas

Apologies to the Faithful Three for letting several weeks pass without posting. It's a busy time and honestly, I haven't had much to mull and observe. Okay, I take that back. I've mulled a lot and observed some interesting things, I just haven't had the energy to compose anything of substance.

In the spirit of Christmas, I've decided to list all the things I hate about December in America in the 21st century.

1. I hate holiday trees. I grew up with a Christmas tree in my house every December. There was always a huge Christmas tree on the town square. The mall had several Christmas trees. What is a "holiday" tree? I mean, what "holiday" do people think it represents?

2. I hate it when people are offended by the phrase "Merry Christmas." In fact, I hate it when people believe they have a constitutional right not to be offended. Who gets offended by a Christmas tree? They're pretty and smell good.

3. I hate the Kay Jeweler commercials. "Every kiss begins with Kay"? And Zales, too. Oh, and Lexus commercials. Pretty much all "holiday shopping" commercials. Oh geez, I just saw a Kay Jewelers ad on ABC. Diamond earings for $149.99. Awesome.

4. I hate Christmas songs that are perverted to sell either a product or a store. Take for instance the ads for overstock.com. "O, o, o. O, o, o. Overstock.com" to the tune of Jingle Bells.

5. I hate having to buy white elephant and gag gifts to exchange at parties. It all adds up and before you know it, you've spent $50-$75 on crap and paper/bows to wrap up the crap.

6. I hate nuts in cookies, breads and candies. They ruin good Christmas goodies. Especially those nasty black walnuts. My dad had a patient years ago who always made him the most decadent fudge as a Christmas gift. But she put black walnuts in it. Ruined.

7. I hate "holiday" TV specials featuring mediocre singers and cheesey staging. It's particularly off-putting when the mediocre singer decimates a traditional Christmas song with a "new interpretation." If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

8. I hate the term "Chrismukkah." I do, however, like Festivus.

9. I hate it when Salvation Army bell ringers don't ring the bell. I stood in the freezing cold outside K-Mart two years in a row and rang the hell out of that bell. I worked hard for the money. Ring the damn bell!

I'll end with 9. It would seem grinchy to go all the way to 10.

Now go sing traditional songs around your beautiful Christmas tree while enjoying nut-free treats. Merry Christmas to all and to all a Kay Jewelers-free night!

Yes Virginia, You Put Him In Office

Thanks a lot, Virginia.

November 30, 2006

Webb Offends Bush & the English Language

By George Will

WASHINGTON -- That was certainly swift. Washington has a way of quickly acculturating people, especially those who are most susceptible to derangement by the derivative dignity of office. But Jim Webb, Democratic senator-elect from Virginia, has become a pompous poseur and an abuser of the English language before actually becoming a senator.

Wednesday's Washington Post reported that at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress, Webb "tried to avoid President Bush,'' refusing to pass through the reception line or have his picture taken with the president. When Bush asked Webb, whose son is a Marine in Iraq, "How's your boy?'' Webb replied, "I'd like to get them (sic) out of Iraq.'' When the president again asked, "How's your boy?'' Webb replied, "That's between me and my boy.'' Webb told the Post:

"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall. No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration. (But) leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the message is.''

Webb certainly has conveyed what he is: a boor. Never mind the patent disrespect for the presidency. Webb's more gross offense was calculated rudeness toward another human being -- one who, disregarding many hard things Webb had said about him during the campaign, asked a civil and caring question, as one parent to another. When -- if ever -- Webb grows weary of admiring his new grandeur as a "leader'' who carefully calibrates the "symbolic things'' he does to convey messages, he might consider this: In a republic, people decline to be led by leaders who are insufferably full of themselves.

Even before Webb's studied truculence in response to the president's hospitality, Webb was going out of his way to make waves. A week after the election, he published a column in The Wall Street Journal that began this way:

"The most important -- and unfortunately the least debated -- issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country.''

Well.

In his novels and his political commentary, Webb has been a writer of genuine distinction, using language with care and precision. But just days after winning an election, he was turning out slapdash prose that would be rejected by a reasonably demanding high school teacher.
Never mind Webb's careless and absurd assertion that the nation's incessantly discussed wealth gap is "the least debated'' issue in American politics.

And never mind his use of the word "literally,'' although even with private schools and a large share of the nation's wealth, the "top tier'' -- whatever cohort he intends to denote by that phrase; he is suddenly too inflamed by social injustice to tarry over the task of defining his terms -- does not "literally'' live in another country.

And never mind the cavalier historical judgments -- although is he sure that America is less egalitarian today than it was, say, 50 years ago, when only about 7 percent of American adults had college degrees? (Twenty-eight percent do today.) Or 80 years ago, when more than 80 percent of American adults did not have high school diplomas (85 percent have them today), and only about 46 percent owned their own homes, compared with 69 percent today?

But notice, in the second sentence of Webb's column, the word "infinitely.'' Earth to Webb: Words have meanings that not even senators can alter. And he has been elected to be a senator, not Humpty Dumpty in "Through the Looking Glass.'' (When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.) America's national economic statistics are excellent; Webb could actually tell us howmuch richer the "top tier'' has become, relative to other cohorts, over a particular span. But that would require him to actually say who he is talking about, and that takes time and effort, and senators -- Webb is a natural -- often are too busy for accuracy.

Based on Webb's behavior before being sworn in, one shudders to think what he will be like after that. He already has become what Washington did not need another of, a subtraction from the city's civility and clear speaking.
georgewill@washpost.com

Praying or Terrorism? Mull It

How the imams terrorized an airliner
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published November 28, 2006

Muslim religious leaders removed from a Minneapolis flight last week exhibited behavior associated with a security probe by terrorists and were not merely engaged in prayers, according to witnesses, police reports and aviation security officials.

Witnesses said three of the imams were praying loudly in the concourse and repeatedly shouted "Allah" when passengers were called for boarding US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix. "I was suspicious by the way they were praying very loud," the gate agent told the Minneapolis Police Department.

Passengers and flight attendants told law-enforcement officials the imams switched from their assigned seats to a pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks and also found in probes of U.S. security since the attacks -- two in the front row first-class, two in the middle of the plane on the exit aisle and two in the rear of the cabin.

"That would alarm me," said a federal air marshal who asked to remain anonymous. "They now control all of the entry and exit routes to the plane."

A pilot from another airline said: "That behavior has been identified as a terrorist probe in the airline industry."

But the imams who were escorted off the flight in handcuffs say they were merely praying before the 6:30 p.m. flight on Nov. 20, and yesterday led a protest by prayer with other religious leaders at the airline's ticket counter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, called removing the imams an act of Islamophobia and compared it to racism against blacks.

"It's a shame that as an African-American and a Muslim I have the double whammy of having to worry about driving while black and flying while Muslim," Mr. Bray said.

The protesters also called on Congress to pass legislation to outlaw passenger profiling.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas Democrat, said the September 11 terrorist attacks "cannot be permitted to be used to justify racial profiling, harassment and discrimination of Muslim and Arab Americans."

"Understandably, the imams felt profiled, humiliated, and discriminated against by their treatment," she said.

According to witnesses, police reports and aviation security officials, the imams displayed other suspicious behavior.

Three of the men asked for seat-belt extenders, although two flight attendants told police the men were not oversized. One flight attendant told police she "found this unsettling, as crew knew about the six [passengers] on board and where they were sitting." Rather than attach the extensions, the men placed the straps and buckles on the cabin floor, the flight attendant said.

The imams said they were not discussing politics and only spoke in English, but witnesses told law enforcement that the men spoke in Arabic and English, criticizing the war in Iraq and President Bush, and talking about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

The imams who claimed two first-class seats said their tickets were upgraded. The gate agent told police that when the imams asked to be upgraded, they were told no such seats were available. Nevertheless, the two men were seated in first class when removed.

A flight attendant said one of the men made two trips to the rear of the plane to talk to the imam during boarding, and again when the flight was delayed because of their behavior. Aviation officials, including air marshals and pilots, said these actions alone would not warrant a second look, but the combination is suspicious.

"That's like shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater. You just can't do that anymore," said Robert MacLean, a former air marshal.

"They should have been denied boarding and been investigated," Mr. MacLean said. "It looks like they are trying to create public sympathy or maybe setting someone up for a lawsuit."

The pilot with another airline who talked to The Washington Times on condition of anonymity, said he would have made the same call as the US Airways pilot.

"If any group of passengers is commingling in the terminal and didn't sit in their assigned seats or with each other, I would stop everything and investigate until they could provide me with a reason they did not sit in their assigned seats."

One of the passengers, Omar Shahin, told Newsweek the group did everything it could to avoid suspicion by wearing Western clothes, speaking English and booking seats so they were not together. He said they conducted prayers quietly and separately to avoid attention.

The imams had attended a conference sponsored by the North American Imam Federation in Minneapolis and were returning to Phoenix. Mr. Shahin, who is president of the federation, said on his Web site that none of the passengers made pro-Saddam or anti-American statements.

The pilot said the airlines are not "secretly prejudiced against any nationality, religion or culture," and that the only target of profiling is passenger behavior.

"There are certain behaviors that raise the bar, and not sitting in your assigned seat raises the bar substantially," the pilot said. "Especially since we know that this behavior has been evident in suspicious probes in the past."

"Someone at US Airways made a notably good decision," said a second pilot, who also does not work for US Airways.

A spokeswoman for US Airways declined to discuss the incident. Aviation security officials said thousands of Muslims fly every day and conduct prayers in airports in a quiet and private manner without creating incidents.

A few thoughts to share after mulling this over a bit. I'm still a little too fired up to pull it all together, but here goes:

1. Good for US Airways. Give thosse folks a medal.
2. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. She's in the majority now. I shudder.
3. Outlaw passenger profiling? It wasn't a bunch of Catholics with rosaries in their hands that murdered 3,000 people on September 11. If it had been, then profile me baby. Bring it on!
4. Who is this Mr. Bray fellow and why does he chose to live in a country that oppresses him so? If he doesn't like it here he can leave. It's a free country...for everyone. '
5. If you behave suspiciously, people will regard you with suspicion. Pretty basic stuff here.

Watch this Michelle Malkin Vent for more on the "pray in" at Reagan National.

Remember the Alamo!

My Iowa mole reports, and I've confirmed with sources at the Des Moines Register, that the University of Iowa Hawkeye football team has accepted an invitation to play in the December 30 Alamo Bowl. What does this mean? Drew Tate gets to play his final college football game in his home state. What else does this mean? This most painful of seasons is being dragged out even longer...and I'm being dragged along with it.

It also means a chance for redemption. And who doesn't love redemption?

Keep checking back for updates. In the meantime, well, just try not to think about it.

It's official: Iowa to play in Alamo Bowl

ANDREW LOGUEREGISTER STAFF WRITER
November 21, 2006

Iowa has accepted an invitation to play in the Alamo Bowl, Dec. 30 in San Antonio, Texas, officials announced this afternoon. The Hawkeyes (6-6) were given the nod over Minnesota, another 6-6 team that beat Iowa 34-24 on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Iowa lost five of its last six games. It’s the sixth consecutive bowl for the Hawkeyes, who last played in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, 2001 — a 19-16 victory against Texas Tech.

Iowa has made three other Alamo Bowl appearances. The Hawkeyes lost to California 37-3 in the inaugural bowl game in 1993 and beat Texas Tech 27-0 in 1996.

A Lot of Nothing

Why do the world leaders who attend the annual APEC Summit have to pose for a picture in the host country's native attire? Look at President Bush. He looks so awkward and weird. Putin looks worse. It's actually kind of funny...but still weird. Apparently next year it's "down under" in Australia. Any thoughts on the outfit choice?

The bishop is transferring one of our priests to a parish in Falls Church. I was at mass when it was announced. Everyone's pretty down (Heather - it's not Kleinmann) and trying to be charitable about it. But for now I'm going to be selfish and bitter. Maybe tomorrow I'll think about the needs of others. Everyone thinks the world of him and will miss him greatly. But isn't it great to know there are young priests out there who make a difference in the lives of their parishoners - both young and old alike? Awesome. (I'm not a religious nut)

I think it's okay to NOT want to go to work sometimes. I really like my job, but I really don't want to be there this week. I need a little time away. Christmas. I'm going home to Iowa for about 6 days over Christmas. Looking forward to seeing friends and spending time with family. I hope I return refreshed and not 5 pounds heavier.

Why is Jessica Simpson famous? She's an awful singer. Truly.

I still don't like that "Studio 60" show. I'm still trying to watch it because it follows "Heroes" on NBC Mondays. SAVE THE CHEERLEADER SAVE THE WORLD. I have some serious science fiction geek potential going on. Love it.

I saved at least 10 minutes on the commute home by taking the worm hole off Maine Avenue and 395 South. I LOVE IT!

I changed vets not for medical purposes but because my friends said the new one is good looking. And let me tell you something, Faithful Three, they're right! Woo hoo! Hello doctor!

Ab Absurdo

Let Us Read

Building U.S.-Mexican fence shortsighted, Vatican cardinal says
By Cindy Wooden10/30/2006
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Building a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border is a shortsighted move that may hurt the U.S. economy and shows a serious lack of respect for the dignity of Mexican workers, said a Vatican official.

"This wall, together with the fact that this border is patrolled by thousands of armed men ready to shoot on sight those who try to cross it, certainly is not respectful of the dignity of the human person," said Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan.

The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, spoke about the fence in an Oct. 29 interview with Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily newspaper.

President George W. Bush signed a bill Oct. 26 authorizing construction of the fence along a total of 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Cardinal Lozano told Avvenire the bill's passage and signing were a sign of a "lack of intelligence" in U.S. efforts to find solutions to its border problems as well as a lack of political courage to take a moral stand just before the November elections.

He said the fence is unlikely to stop illegal entry into the United States, but is likely to lead people "to try to cross the border in increasingly risky ways or by putting themselves into the hands of unscrupulous traffickers."

In addition, the cardinal said, "from an economic point of view, it does not seem to me to be a very farsighted choice."

The millions of dollars that Mexicans working in the United States send home to their families is essential for their survival and for the Mexican economy, he said.

And if they can afford to send so much home, "how much greater is the profit earned by their bosses" in the United States? the cardinal asked.

"Does it make sense for the United States to kill this goose that lays golden eggs, which objectively is what the phenomenon of immigration is doing?" he asked.

Cardinal Lozano told Avvenire that Pope Benedict XVI had spoken on other occasions about the need to build bridges, not walls.

Walls and fences, he said, are not the solution, "not along the border between Mexico and the United States, not in the Holy Land, not anywhere. Let us hope that they meet the same end as the Berlin Wall did."

Let Us Discuss

Forgive me Father, for I’m about to sin. But you, dear servant of our Lord, provide a fatally flawed argument. Let’s break this article down:

1. “Building a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border is a shortsighted move that may hurt the U.S. economy and shows a serious lack of respect for the dignity of Mexican workers, said a Vatican official.”

Thank you, Father, for your concern for our economy, but you have it all wrong. You fail to recognize the strain illegal immigrants place on our health care system, public schools, prisons and law enforcement - all of which are supported by taxpayer dollars. Illegal immigrants, dear Father, do not pay taxes. American taxpayers are shouldering the burden.

As to your criticism of the “lack of respect” shown to the “Mexican worker”, do you have nothing to say about the lack of respect the “Mexican worker” shows for the laws of the United States of America?

2. “The fence is unlikely to stop illegal entry into the United States, but is likely to lead people to try to cross the border in increasingly risky ways or by putting themselves into the hands of unscrupulous traffickers." And “the millions of dollars that Mexicans working in the United States send home to their families is essential for their survival and for the Mexican economy.”

Father, a fence does not lead people to cross the border in risky ways and it is not the responsibility of the United States to ensure the stability and viability of the Mexican economy. It is a corrupt and unscrupulous Mexican government whose policies keep more than 50% of its citizens living in poverty that drives these poor people to make such difficult choices.

Please refer below to Chapter Six from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

Employment problems challenge the responsibility of the State, whose duty it is to promote active employment policies, that is, policies that will encourage the creation of employment opportunities within the national territory, providing the production sector with incentives to this end. The duty of the State does not consist so much in directly guaranteeing the right to work of every citizen, making the whole of economic life very rigid and restricting individual free initiative, as much as in the duty to “sustain business activities by creating conditions which will ensure job opportunities, by stimulating those activities where they are lacking or by supporting them in moments of crisis”.

3. Walls and fences, he said, are not the solution, "not along the border between Mexico and the United States, not in the Holy Land, not anywhere. Let us hope that they meet the same end as the Berlin Wall did."

Shame on you, Father! Do you dare to compare a fence along the southern U.S. border with the Berlin Wall? If so, let me point out a fundamental flaw in your comparison: The Berlin Wall was an oppressive and deadly tool used to keep people in. We merely want to keep people out. You, for instance, may come and go as you please...just do it according to the laws and regulations of the United States of America.

Dòminus vobìscum. Vade In Pace.

35

Happy Birthday to Me.
Happy Birthday to Me.
Happy Birthday dear Hawkeyegirl.
Happy Birthday to Me.

Today I'm grateful for many things, especially my nieces, Mary and Kate, and my nephews Mark and Matthew.

I'm blessed with an urban tribe that looks out for me. Thanks guys.

Every day a blessing...even when the Republicans get spanked and humiliated. There's more in this world. Family.

Mull The Mullet

As promised (and because I don't want to talk about the midterm elections - although the shellacking was well-deserved ... except for Jim Leach, Mike DeWine, Anne Northup, Jim Ryun and Jim Talent.. oh and Michael Steele), it's time to Mull the Mullet.

For those uneducated in the unisex hairstyle culture of rural America, I will refer to the Wikipedia definition of mullet:

"A mullet is a haircut that is short in the front, on the top, and on the sides, but long in the back. Mullets have been worn by males and females of all ages, but they have traditionally been most popular with younger men. A slogan or motto often associated with people who wear mullets is: "Business up front, party in the back!"

For your visual reference, see inserted photo of David Spade playing the title character in the movie Joe Dirt. Note the classic mullet assessories: pedophile 'stache, porkchop burns and an emerging goatee. Great Mullet Movie Quotes:

"God Almighty, mana from inbred heaven. Hey freak
boy: 1976 called, it wants its hairstyle back." - Zander Kelly in
Joe Dirt

"What's the deal with your hair? You doing stunt
work for Billy Ray Cyrus?" - Zander Kelly in Joe Dirt.

I grew up in Iowa with a lot of mullets - camaromullets, femmullets, wrastlermullets and farmullets to name just a few. I even had a partial mullet in my family. My brother Patrick made the entire family proud his senior year in high school (1987) when he created his very own hair style. In the front he butt parted his straight hair and feathered the sides. The back, which was longer - hocky hair length - was then permed. Yes, I said permed. Did I mention he has red hair? Awesomely cool, Pat. Damn I wish I had a picture to post.

Now to be fair, I had a permed mullette in 7th grade. But I was in the 7th grade. Nobody is cute or makes good fashion choices in the 7th grade. I was growing my hair out into a bob. You know, straight hair cut in one length usually between the chin and shoulders. I was on my way to making a good style choice, but was momentarily diverted along the way. Damn I'm glad there's no photo evidence.

Mullets provide a wealth of fodder for ridicule, study, discussion and observation. A mullet is afterall more than a hairstyle, it's a lifestyle.

Favorite mullet links for endless jocularity.

http://www.mulletjunky.com

http://www.mulletsgalore.com

http://www.mulletmadness.com

Happy mullet watching.

The Land

To prepare for tomorrow's election, in my mind I'm heading for The Land. A few of my brothers and a couple of their friends purchased 73 acres of land in Dallas County a few years back. They use it for hunting and riding motorcycles and ATVs. I really need a quiet place, so like James Taylor, in my mind I'm goin' to The Land. I'll see you when it's over.

Chet

I'm mulling Chet Culver as the next governor of Iowa. The image that comes to mind is of Wyatt's jerkwad older brother Chet (Bill Paxton) in the eighties flick "Weird Science." Lisa turns him into a Jabba-the-hut look alike who eats flies.

Tight Pants and the Uneducated

To the Faithful Three - apologies for the lag in posting. Hawkeyegirl has been busy mourning the demise of this year's Hawkeye football season (um...Indiana??), bridesmaiding, working and being lazy.

What I've observed lately is that my pants are getting tighter as my Midwestern body begins to crave carbohydrates and retain girth around the waistline in anticipation of a harsh winter. But there's no harsh winter! If there's even a forecast of snow out here, the schools close, the federal government invokes the "liberal leave" policy and 30 minutes are automatically added to the commute. So not only do I get fat for no reason (is there ever a reason?), I get bitter and self-righteous, too. I am a Midwesterner and I know how to drive in every kind of weather Mother Nature throws out. Who are these white knucklers on the road with me? "Scum, scum, scum, go back to where you're from!" Be the first to name that movie quote and win a mullicious mention on bentpinky.com.

Now, let's mull John Kerry. I know, I know! I thought we were done with that yahoo. But thanks to the good people of Taxachusetts, he'll be on the scene for many years to come. I know you know what I'm going mull - his "joke gone wrong" statement about our uneducated military. What to say...what to say...Oh I know! "Scum, scum, scum, go back to where you're from!" Stick to what you know, Jahnny Boy: windsurfing, waxing non-poetic on the Senate floor and walking in the large shadow of Teddy.


As my brothers would say, it's time to get back to 'the rock.' Growing up in a gypsum mill town, that refers to work. I'm thinking my next mull may be about mullets. Good times.

Mulling For Your Mullitudes

Read this in today's Post and thought it was worthy of mulling. Mull what it means to desire freedom and liberty; mull persistence, patience and hope in the face of crushing autocracies; mull your feelings about the U.S. role in spreading democracy and freedom - is it our responsibility? What are your mullitudes on these mullings?

Support Freedom in the Arab World

By Radwan A. Masmoudi and Amr Hamzawy
Wednesday, October 11, 2006; A19
Washington Post

As Arab and Muslim intellectuals and activists concerned about the promotion of democracy in our region, we call on America and its president to reaffirm -- in words and actions -- its commitment to sustained democratic reform in the Arab world.

We have been heartened by the strong commitment to liberty that President Bush expressed in his November 2003 speech at the National Endowment for Democracy and then in his second inaugural address, when he said: "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you."

Despite some initial skepticism, those statements nurtured hope in our region. We realize that democracy is not easily attained and must ultimately come from within. But it can receive encouragement and support, both of which it badly needs today in Arab countries.

We know that some in the United States, worried by recent Islamist gains among voters in Palestine and Egypt, are having doubts about the wisdom of pushing for freedom and democracy in the Middle East. These worries are exploited by despots in the region to perpetuate the untenable status quo. But there is no way to advance liberty without inclusion of all elements that are willing to abide by democratic rules and reject violence.

Democratic participation is the only way to combat extremism and pressure all groups, including Islamists, to moderate their stance in order to maximize their share of the vote. The United States should continue to press for an end to repression by governing regimes of democratically minded liberal and Islamist groups, and it should emphatically distance itself from such repression and condemn it in the strongest terms whenever and wherever it occurs. We are confident that if Arab citizens are able to have their choice, they will choose democracy, freedom, peace and progress.

Perhaps emboldened by the impression that America is wavering in its support for democracy, some autocrats have recently intensified repression. This makes the need for sustained U.S. and international support and pressure more urgent than ever. The region needs to hear again that the course of freedom and democracy is the only course that America, guided by both interest and principle, will support.

To mention but one case where U.S. influence might do much good: Egypt has experienced a regime crackdown lately on opposition activists. In February the government postponed municipal elections and renewed the emergency law. The regime has not even spared Egypt's venerable judiciary, which has steadfastly proclaimed its independence in recent months. And liberal opposition politician Ayman Nour, who was allowed to run in last year's presidential election and won 8 percent of the popular vote, behind only President Hosni Mubarak, was arrested and sentenced in a murky process to five years in jail.

The health of Ayman Nour, a dear friend and colleague of many of us, continues to deteriorate. We pray that President Bush will take Nour's case to heart and tell the Egyptian regime of his concerns. Hundreds of other activists (including doctors, university professors, journalists and those in civil society) whose only crime was to express their desire for freedom continue to languish in jail and suffer torture and police brutality.

We entreat America to do all it can to ensure that a small number of authoritarian rulers will not control the future of more than 300 million Arabs, more than half of whom are not yet 20 years old. Freedom and democracy are the only ways to build a world where violence is replaced by peaceful public debate and political participation, and despair is replaced by hope, tolerance and dignity.

This article is adapted from an open letter to President Bush signed by 103 other Arab and Muslim activists and thinkers in Arab countries, Europe, the United States and elsewhere who have worked in support of democracy (see www.islam-democracy.org).

Back To The Basics - Mullin' and Observin'

I've mulled Mississippi and decided to keep my thoughts to myself. Shocking I know. But I have multitudes of mullings on other items to entertain and irritate the masses of people who visit bentpinky.com on a daily basis. I think I'm averaging 3 visits a day.

Bentpinky Observations

1. There's something to be said for spending time in a news-free environment. In Mississippi, all I did was go to mass, work on the house for 10 hours, eat a little something and hit the hay. I didn't know about the shootings at the Amish school house or the Mark Foley scandal until I was in the Memphis airport on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Observation: Self-induced ignorance is bliss.

2. That new television show Studio 60 is just a reincarnation of the West Wing (aka Left Wing) on the Left Coast. Same "snappy" and annoying dialogue, same leftist self-righteousness, same blah, blah, blah. Observation: Uhhhhhhhhhhh...yah, I got nothin'. I just don't like the show.

3. Yesterday as I was getting ready for work I swore I heard an animal in my house. Now I have two cats. I know every sound they make. They don't make the sound I heard. So, of course, I slammed my bathroom door so "it" couldn't get me. My only exit was out the bathroom window, so of course that's what I did...in my pajamas...my ugly, cutoff sweatpant shorts and grungy, green Iowa State t-shirt. At this point I recognize loyal readers will question my state of mind. I mean, wearing an Iowa State t-shirt?

Anyway, I proceed to knock on my neighbors' doors to see if I can use their phone to call animal control (for the animal I only heard...I did not see it). Luckily my upstairs neighbor was getting home from the night shift as a Capitol police officer just as I was knocking on his door. He crawled through my bathroom window, searched the place and unlocked the front door for me. No animal. After work I had my friend Sharon's husband do a thorough search. No animal. What the hell did I hear? Observation: I can't believe my neighbor saw me wearing an Iowa State t-shirt. Ugh. The horror.

4. In 2004 I shook Mark Foley's hand as I entered the Capitol rotunda to pay my respects to President Reagan as he laid in state. It was just past 1 a.m. and Foley was there as Chair of the House Aministration Committee (I think) to greet visitors. He was all smiley and saying "God bless" and such. Observation: I thought he was creepy then. I know he's creepy now. Yuck.

Bentpinky Mullings

1. I wonder what kind of product Kim Jong-Il uses in his hair to get it so high and fluffy. Hair products must not be on the international sanction list.

2. Is the number of perverts in Congress proportional to the number of perverts in the general public? It's a fair question. Mull it.

3. Who besides emaciated models do skinny pants look good on and why are eighties styles - namely walking shorts with tights - back in vogue? WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? I distinctly remember watching an episode of What Not To Wear last year in which they mercilessly ridiculed a woman for wearing walking shorts and tights. Who drives seasonal trends?

4. One of the priests at my parish is my age. So I'm calling one of my peers "Father." This is new.

5. I just saw an ad for Mexico. The slogan was "It's beyond your expectations." If half the country's population is fleeing over its northern border to find a better life...mull it.

Thanks to the three loyal readers. Keep on mullin'.

Citgo Can Go...

The Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com
________________________________________
Alaskan villages defend Bush, reject Chavez's fuel
Published October 10, 2006
________________________________________
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A few of Alaska's native villages are refusing free heating oil from the petroleum company controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, based on the patriotic principle that no foreigner has the right to call their president "the devil."
"As a citizen of this country, you can have your own opinion of our president and our country. But I don't want a foreigner coming in here and bashing us," said Justine Gunderson, administrator for the tribal council in the Aleut village of Nelson Lagoon.
"Even though we're in economically dire straits, it was the right choice to make," said Mr. Gunderson, whose village on the Bering Sea can dip to temperatures of minus-15.
While scores of Alaska's Eskimo and Indian villages, where many are poor, say they have no choice but to accept heating-oil money from Citgo, Dimitri Philemonof, president and chief executive of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, said taking the aid would be "compromising ourselves."
"I think we have some duty to our country, and I think it's loyalty," said Mr. Philemonof, whose nonprofit organization would have handled the heating oil donation on behalf of 291 households in Nelson Lagoon, Atka, St. Paul and St. George.
The Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association rejected the offer because Mr. Chavez has repeatedly denigrated Mr. Bush, calling him "the devil" in a speech to the United Nations last month and referring to him as a terrorist.
About 150 native villages in Alaska have accepted money for heating oil from Citgo, the Venezuelan government's Texas-based oil subsidiary. The oil company does not operate in Alaska, so instead of sending oil, it is donating about $5.3 million to native nonprofit organizations to buy 100 gallons this winter for each of more than 12,000 households.
"When you have a dire need and it is a matter of survival for your people, it doesn't matter where, what country, the gift or donation comes from," said Virginia Commack, an elder in the arctic village of Ambler, an impoverished Eskimo community.
The donation to Alaska's native villages has focused attention on the rampant poverty and high fuel prices in a state that is otherwise awash in oil -- and oil profits.
For years, Alaska natives have accused the state and federal governments of sending too little money to their tiny, far-flung communities, where fuel and grocery prices are bloated by the high costs of delivery by plane and barge.
An editorial last month in the Anchorage Daily News criticized the Legislature's rejection in March of an $8.8 million state supplement to a federal program that helps poor Alaskans with home heating costs.
"It's hard to blame villagers for accepting the gift," the editorial stated.
John Manly, a spokesman for Gov. Frank Murkowski, said the governorthought Mr. Chavez's donation was a ploy to undermine Americans' faith in their government. But he said it was up to each village to make its own decision.
Over the past two years, Citgo has given millions of gallons of discounted heating oil to the poor in several states and cities -- including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts -- in what is widely seen as an effort by Mr. Chavez to embarrass and irritate the U.S. government and make himself look good.

Mississippi Briefly

I don't think I'm ready to talk about Biloxi, MS. It was a meaningful trip - a profoundly meaningful trip. I need to mull it over some more. So much to mull on what it means to be a good neighbor, and how sometimes you have to travel 1500 miles to meet the people who live across the hall.

"In the quiet of the American conscience, we know that deep persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise. Whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault... Where there is suffering, there is duty. Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities, and all of us are diminished when any are hopeless. Government has great responsibilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights and common schools. Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government. Some needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer. Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our laws. Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to those who do. I can pledge our nation to a goal, "When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side."

- George W. Bush, January 20, 2001

P.S. I watched the Iowa vs. Ohio State game while in Mississippi. Kinnick looked FANtastic - I nearly wept at the site of it dressed in gold for all the football-loving U.S. to see. Congratulations, Iowa fans, you did us all proud. I know! I know! I'm a complete sap, but that's how I mull. On Iowa!

The Mississippi-Iowa Connection

Tomorrow at this time I'll be in Mississippi. I'm really looking forward to the trip. My parish is sponsoring a house in Biloxi through Habitat for Humanity. I'll be wearing an Iowa t-shirt every day...even if we lose to Ohio State...which is a real possibility. Hey, hey, hey! I'm just being realistic. It doesn't mean I don't have faith in the team - that's not the case at all. In Drew We Trust...The Great Drewdini...I believe.

I remember October 19, 1985. #1 Iowa vs. #2 Michigan...Iowa wins 12-10 in a last second kick by Rob Houghtlin. Even though I was only 13 at the time, I remember it vividly. So I'm a little off topic. Cut me some slack - I love my Hawkeyes.

So on to Mississippi. I'll be out of pocket for a while, so no mullings or observations until the 5th.

(Go Hawks)

Do you forget people jumping off the 80th floor?

I'm always a day late and a dollar short, but I still seem to beat the major cable networks (except Fox News) in "reporting" on significant stories concerning the war on Islamofascism. On Tuesday, Jennifer Loven, that bastion of journalistic integrity and neutrality from the Associated Press, asked Afghanistan's President Karzai this question (cock it and pull it, Jennifer):

"Thank you, sir. Even after hearing that one of the major conclusions of the National Intelligence Estimate in April was that the Iraq war has fueled terror growth around the world, why have you continued to say that the Iraq war has made this country safer?"

The story is not her question, but President Karzai's eloquent response. Follow the link to http://hotair.com/archives/2006/09/26/must-see-video-karzai-responds-to-reporters-question-about-terrorism/ and watch. His answer is at the end of the clip, but the entire clip is excellent. Ahhhhh, eloquence and sense. God keep him safe. A man of reason and sense in a region of irrationality and chaos.

Before I leave to watch it again, I have to send this question out into the void, "Why did I have to read about this in an obscure blog?"

Classic

My friend's colleague ran into Clinton Kelly from TLC's "What Not To Wear" in an Adams' Morgan bar this week. Apparently she was pretty tipsy and was really chatting him up. But her friend had a little bit more to drink and in a burst of excitment walked up to him and asked, "How do I look?" For the non-style mavens out there, that's the name of a different style show on a different network. Classic.

More Material From Heather

Once again, great material passed along from Heather. Quote of the Day from the Wall Street Journal's Political Diary - and it's from the Washington Post. Who knew?

"[N]othing the pope has ever said comes even close to matching the vitriol, extremism and hatred that pour out of the mouths of radical imams and fanatical clerics every day, all across Europe and the Muslim world, almost none of which ever provokes any Western response at all. And maybe it's time that it should... [I]f stray comments by Western leaders -- not to mention Western films, books, cartoons, traditions and values -- are going to inspire regular violence, I don't feel that it's asking too much for the West to quit saying sorry and unite, occasionally, in its own defense. The fanatics attacking the pope already limit the right to free speech among their own followers. I don't see why we should allow them to limit our right to free speech, too" -- Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum.

A Religion of Peace

The irrational Muslim fanatics across the globe are STILL rioting about Pope Benedict XVI quoting a 14th century Turkish emperor who made what the modern day PC police would consider "insensitive remarks" about Islam. But now they're saying he should DIE. Die? Yes, die. They're burning his image in the streets in Pakistan, they're reconsidering allowing him to visit Turkey next month. Hmmm. What was that quote again? Let's revisit:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”’

If their threatening response wasn't so real and filled with sincere vitriol, it would be absolutely hysterical. No! No! Islam isn't a violent religion. What ever would give one that idea? It's clearly a religion of peace.

A sampling of articles from various media outlets highlights the gravity of the situation:

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and Iran’s supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff’s remarks on Islam. Protests broke out in South Asia and Indonesia, with angry Muslims saying Benedict’s statement of regret a day earlier did not go far enough. In southern Iraq, demonstrators carrying black flags burned an effigy of the pope.

London,UK - A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.

Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment".
His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim hardliners towards Pope Benedict XVI appeared to deepen.


The section highlighted in bold represents the first time I've seen the current war characterized by Muslim fanatics as a "war against Christianity." Does that now give us license to call this war what it really is and put the politically correct language on the burn pile? It is not a war on terror. Terrorism is a tactic used in the war. We're in a war against Muslim fanatics - or Islamofascists as the President said a few weeks ago (and as talk radio has been saying for more than a year.) Like Billy Joel says, "We didn't start the fire."

http://www.evilconservativeblog.com/

The Pope, Gremlins, Forests and Iran

I was going to write about the whiners in the Muslim world who take offense at the Pope quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor. “The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war,” the pope said. “He said, I quote, ’Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”’

I was going to write about how some whack job Turkish leader is now comparing our Pope to Hitler and Mussolini. “Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words,” he said. “He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini.” But I'm tired of people clamoring for apologies from this leader and that leader for saying this wrong thing and that wrong thing. This kind of rhetoric, and its perpetuation and distortion in the Muslim and western media, ignites the jihadists and as my friend Kristin would say, "makes them multiply like water on gremlins."

But I'm not going to write about that. Thanks to Heather for bringing another brilliant Charles Krauthammer column to my attention. It is, as Heather pointed out, sobering. We are living, as the president has said but not enough people take seriously, at a defining moment in the history of not only our country, but of the world. Set aside politics and ideology for just a moment. Accept it in the spirit in which it is offered - not to fearmonger but as preparation for what is to come. The scourge of radical Islam threatens to destroy all of civilization, let alone western civilization. I think what worries me more - what really keeps me up at night - is the fear that we are destroying ourselves. United we stand. Divided we fall. See the trees? Look again. It's a forest.

www. realclearpolitics.com
September 15, 2006
The Tehran Calculus
By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- In his televised 9/11 address, President Bush said that we must not "leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons.'' There's only one such current candidate: Iran.

The next day, he responded thus (as reported by Rich Lowry and Kate O'Beirne of National Review) to a question on Iran: "It's very important for the American people to see the president try to solve problems diplomatically before resorting to military force.''

"Before'' implies that the one follows the other. The signal is unmistakable. An aerial attack on Iran's nuclear facilities lies just beyond the horizon of diplomacy. With the crisis advancing and the moment of truth approaching, it is important to begin looking now with unflinching honesty at the military option.

The costs will be terrible:

Economic. An attack on Iran will likely send oil prices overnight to $100 or even to $150. That will cause a worldwide recession perhaps as deep as the one triggered by the Iranian revolution of 1979.

Iran might suspend its own 2.5 million barrels a day of oil exports, and might even be joined by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, asserting primacy as the world's leading anti-imperialist. But even more effectively, Iran will shock the oil markets by closing the Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world's exports flow every day.

Iran could do this by attacking ships in the Strait, scuttling its own ships, laying mines or just threatening to launch Silkworm anti-ship missiles at any passing tanker.

The U.S. Navy will be forced to break the blockade. We will succeed but at considerable cost. And it will take time -- during which time the world economy will be in a deep spiral.

Military. Iran will activate its proxies in Iraq, most notably, Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. Sadr is already wreaking havoc with sectarian attacks on Sunni civilians. Iran could order the Mahdi Army and its other agents within the police and armed forces to take up arms against the institutions of the central government itself, threatening the very anchor of the new Iraq. Many Mahdi will die, but they live to die. Many Iraqis and coalition soldiers are likely to die as well.

Among the lesser military dangers, Iran might activate terrorist cells around the world, although without nuclear capability that threat is hardly strategic. It will also be very difficult to unleash its proxy Hezbollah, now chastened by the destruction it brought upon Lebanon in the latest round with Israel and deterred by the presence of Europeans in the south Lebanon buffer zone.

Diplomatic. There will be massive criticism of America from around the world. Much of it is to be discounted. The Muslim street will come out again for a few days, having replenished its supply of flammable American flags most recently exhausted during the cartoon riots. Their governments will express solidarity with a fellow Muslim state, but this will be entirely hypocritical. The Arabs are terrified about the rise of a nuclear Iran and would privately rejoice in its defanging.

The Europeans will be less hypocritical because their visceral anti-Americanism trumps rational calculation. We will have done them an enormous favor by sparing them the threat of Iranian nukes, but they will vilify us nonetheless.

These are the costs. There is no denying them. However, equally undeniable is the cost of doing nothing.

In the region, Persian Iran will immediately become the hegemonic power in the Arab Middle East. Today it is deterred from overt aggression against its neighbors by the threat of conventional retaliation. Against a nuclear Iran, such deterrence becomes far less credible. As its weak, non-nuclear Persian Gulf neighbors accommodate to it, jihadist Iran will gain control of the most strategic region on the globe.

Then there is the larger danger of permitting nuclear weapons to be acquired by religious fanatics seized with an eschatological belief in the imminent apocalypse and in their own divine duty to hasten the End of Days. The mullahs are infinitely more likely to use these weapons than anyone in the history of the nuclear age. Every city in the civilized world will live under the specter of instant annihilation delivered either by missile or by terrorist. This from a country that has an official Death to America Day and has declared since Ayatollah Khomeini's ascension that Israel must be wiped off the map.

Against millenarian fanaticism glorying in a cult of death, deterrence is a mere wish. Is the West prepared to wager its cities with their millions of inhabitants on that feeble gamble?

These are the questions. These are the calculations. The decision is no more than a year away.

Commuting Humor

Every day on my way to work I sit at a stoplight at the intersection of North Capitol and K Street NW. It's a busy intersection with a lot of eccelctic pedestrian traffic. Today a man strolled past my car eating a bag of microwave popcorn.

About two months ago I was stuck in the 3rd St. tunnel behind a sewage truck. I couldn't help but think if a terrorist blew up the tunnel while I was sitting there, I wouldn't just die. I'd die covered in crap. Then I noticed the slogan on the back of the truck. "We're Number 1 in a Number 2 Business."

I'm sure there will be more. At least I hope so. When it takes at least 45 minutes to travel 9.8 miles, humor is a necessity.

Go Stuff Yourself

I remember nearly every moment of that day. What’s so strange is how clearly I remember leaving my house for work. I remember opening the door and walking out to the stoop. I stopped and took a deep breath, looked up to the sky and smiled. Fall had arrived. The sky was the bluest I’d ever seen. It’s something that everyone who remembers that day says, “The sky was so blue.” But it really was remarkable, like no other blue I’d ever seen – or have seen since. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Summer’s humidity was finally gone and the air was crisp and clean. I even remember the lilt in my step as I walked to the car. It was one of those days that make you stop and consider, just for a second, playing hookey from work.

There’s no need to go into the details of my experience in the intervening hours between when I left for work that morning and finally found a few hours of sleep in the early morning hours of the next day. Five years to the day later, I’m incredulous how quickly people forget. I’m still angry. I haven’t forgiven. “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” Shouldn’t that be the example I should follow? The problem is that they knew exactly what they were doing.

Today I read an article in the Washington Post about a Michigan mother’s quest to speak to the mother of the terrorist who murdered her son on September 11. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091001186.html). It’s a fascinating account of her efforts and I was captivated. And then I read it – it was inevitable. She put together a PowerPoint presentation on what the White House knew before Sept. 11. “Information," she concludes, "was there." She slapped an anti-Bush bumper sticker on her car. Later in the article she concludes “her own nation is not blameless.” The criticisms some Muslims have of American society are well-founded, she argues, "the conspicuous consumption, trash TV, too much drinking and drugs."

So these American transgressions against the world justify murdering nearly 3000 civilians in cold blood? Trash TV too much for you? Turn it off. Too much drinking? Have ya' been to Ireland? Drugs – can you say poppies in Afghanistan? Cocaine in Columbia? My sympathy for this woman is gone. My rage, anger and disgust with the “Blame America First” crowd nears that for the Islamist terrorists who perpetrate the crimes against all of humanity. Don’t like America? Get in your Volvo and drive north...or south. It's a free country.

So to commemorate this day, I observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. on my way to work. At the same time, a jet flew low overhead out of Reagan National Airport above the 14th Street bridge. I indulged in a decadent meal of linguini in vodka sauce, drank too much wine and ate too much ice cream. I watched some trash TV. God bless America.

The following is the transcript from the President 9/11 5th anniversary address to the nation. I can't believe this is the world we live in.

A text of President Bush's address Monday evening, as provided by the White House:
Bush: Good evening. Five years ago, this date _ September the 11th _ was seared into America/s memory. Nineteen men attacked us with a barbarity unequaled in our history. They murdered people of all colors, creeds, and nationalities _ and made war upon the entire free world. Since that day, America and her allies have taken the offensive in a war unlike any we have fought before. Today, we are safer, but we are not yet safe. On this solemn night, I have asked for some of your time to discuss the nature of the threat still before us, what we are doing to protect our nation ... and the building of a more hopeful Middle East that holds the key to peace for America and the world.

On 9/11, our nation saw the face of evil. Yet on that awful day, we also witnessed something distinctly American: ordinary citizens rising to the occasion, and responding with extraordinary acts of courage. We saw courage in office workers who were trapped on the high floors of burning skyscrapers _ and called home so that their last words to their families would be of comfort and love. We saw courage in passengers aboard Flight 93, who recited the 23rd Psalm _ and then charged the cockpit. And we saw courage in the Pentagon staff who made it out of the flames and smoke _ and ran back in to answer cries for help. On this day, we remember the innocent who lost their lives _ and we pay tribute to those who gave their lives so that others might live.

For many of our citizens, the wounds of that morning are still fresh. I have met firefighters and police officers who choke up at the memory of fallen comrades. I have stood with families gathered on a grassy field in Pennsylvania, who take bittersweet pride in loved ones who refused to be victims _ and gave America our first victory in the war on terror. And I have sat beside young mothers with children who are now five-years-old _ and still long for the daddies who will never cradle them in their arms. Out of this suffering, we resolve to honor every man and woman lost. And we seek their lasting memorial in a safer and more hopeful world.

Since the horror of 9/11, we have learned a great deal about the enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy _ but not without purpose. We have learned that they form a global network of extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam _ a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent. And we have learned that their goal is to build a radical Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. The war against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, and the calling of our generation.

Our nation is being tested in a way that we have not been since the start of the Cold War. We saw what a handful of our enemies can do with box-cutters and plane tickets. We hear their threats to launch even more terrible attacks on our people. And we know that if they were able to get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, they would use them against us. We face an enemy determined to bring death and suffering into our homes. America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over. So do I. But the war is not over _ and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious. If we do not defeat these enemies now, we will leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons. We are in a war that will set the course for this new century _ and determine the destiny of millions across the world.
For America, 9/11 was more than a tragedy _ it changed the way we look at the world. On September the 11th, we resolved that we would go on the offense against our enemies _ and we would not distinguish between the terrorists and those who harbor or support them. So we helped drive the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. We put al-Qaida on the run, and killed or captured most of those who planned the 9/11 attacks _ including the man believed to be the mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He and other suspected terrorists have been questioned by the Central Intelligence Agency _ and they have provided valuable information that has helped stop attacks in America and across the world. Now these men have been transferred to Guantanamo Bay, so they can be held to account for their actions. Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are still in hiding. Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to justice.

On September the 11th, we learned that America must confront threats before they reach our shores _ whether those threats come from terrorist networks or terrorist states. I am often asked why we are in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat. My administration, the Congress and the United Nations saw the threat _ and after 9/11, Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. And now the challenge is to help the Iraqi people build a democracy that fulfills the dreams of the nearly 12 million Iraqis who came out to vote in free elections last December.

Al-Qaida and other extremists from across the world have come to Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East. They have joined the remnants of Saddam's regime and other armed groups to foment sectarian violence and drive us out. Our enemies in Iraq are tough and they are committed _ but so are Iraqi and coalition forces. We are adapting to stay ahead of the enemy _ and we are carrying out a clear plan to ensure that a democratic Iraq succeeds.

We are training Iraqi troops so they can defend their nation. We are helping Iraq's unity government grow in strength and serve its people. We will not leave until this work is done. Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad. Osama bin Laden calls this fight "the third world war" _ and he says that victory for the terrorists in Iraq will mean America's "defeat and disgrace forever."

If we yield Iraq to men like Bin Laden, our enemies will be emboldened ... they will gain a new safe haven ... and they will use Iraq's resources to fuel their extremist movement. We will not allow this to happen. America will stay in the fight. Iraq will be a free nation, and a strong ally in the war on terror.

We can be confident that our coalition will succeed _ because the Iraqi people have been steadfast in the face of unspeakable violence. And we can be confident in victory _ because of the skill and resolve of America's armed forces. Every one of our troops is a volunteer, and since the attacks of September the 11th, more than 1.6 million Americans have stepped forward to put on our nation's uniform. In Iraq, Afghanistan and other fronts in the war on terror, the men and women of our military are making great sacrifices to keep us safe. Some have suffered terrible injuries _ and nearly 3,000 have given their lives. America cherishes their memory. We pray for their families. And we will never back down from the work they have begun.

We also honor those who toil day and night to keep our homeland safe _ and we are giving them the tools they need to protect our people. We have created the Department of Homeland Security. We have torn down the wall that kept law enforcement and intelligence from sharing information ... we have tightened security at our airports, seaports, and borders ... and we have created new programs to monitor enemy bank records and phone calls. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement and intelligence professionals, we have broken up terrorist cells in our midst and saved American lives.

Five years after 9/11, our enemies have not succeeded in launching another attack on our soil _ but they have not been idle. Al-Qaida and those inspired by its hateful ideology have carried out terrorist attacks in more than two dozen nations. And just last month, they were foiled in a plot to blow up passenger planes headed for the United States. They remain determined to attack America and kill our citizens _ and we are determined to stop them. We will continue to give the men and women who protect us every resource and legal authority they need to do their jobs.

In the first days after the 9/11 attacks, I promised to use every element of national power to fight the terrorists wherever we find them. One of the strongest weapons in our arsenal is the power of freedom. The terrorists fear freedom as much as they do our firepower. They are thrown into panic at the sight of an old man pulling the election lever, of girls enrolling in school or families worshipping God in their own traditions. They know that given a choice, people will choose freedom over their extremist ideology. So their answer is to deny people this choice by raging against the forces of freedom and moderation. This struggle has been called a clash of civilizations. In truth, it is a struggle for civilization. We are fighting to maintain the way of life enjoyed by free nations. And we are fighting for the possibility that good and decent people across the Middle East can raise up societies based on freedom, and tolerance, and personal dignity.

We are now in the early hours of this struggle between tyranny and freedom. Amid the violence, some question whether the people of the Middle East want their freedom _ and whether the forces of moderation can prevail. For 60 years, these doubts guided our policies in the Middle East. And then, on a bright September morning, it became clear that the calm we saw in the Middle East was only a mirage. Years of pursuing stability to promote peace had left us with neither. So we changed our policies, and committed America's influence in the world to advancing freedom and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and radicalism.

With our help, the people of the Middle East are now stepping forward to claim their freedom. From Kabul to Baghdad to Beirut, there are brave men and women risking their lives each day for the same freedoms that we enjoy. And they have one question for us: Do we have the confidence to do in the Middle East what our fathers and grandfathers accomplished in Europe and Asia? By standing with democratic leaders and reformers, by giving voice to the hopes of decent men and women, we are offering a path away from radicalism. And we are enlisting the most powerful force for peace and moderation in the Middle East: the desire of millions to be free.

Across the broader Middle East, the extremists are fighting to prevent such a future. Yet America has confronted evil before, and we have defeated it _ sometimes at the cost of thousands of good men in a single battle. When Franklin Roosevelt vowed to defeat two enemies across two oceans, he could not have foreseen D-Day and Iwo Jima _ but he would not have been surprised at the outcome. When Harry Truman promised American support for free peoples resisting Soviet aggression, he could not have foreseen the rise of the Berlin Wall _ but he would not have been surprised to see it brought down. Throughout our history, America has seen liberty challenged _ and every time, we have seen liberty triumph with sacrifice and determination.

At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when the people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the fertile gardens of liberty _ and resume their rightful place in a world of peace and prosperity. We look to the day when the nations of that region recognize that their greatest resource is not the oil in the ground _ but the talent and creativity of their people. We look to the day when moms and dads throughout the Middle East see a future of hope and opportunity for their children. And when that good day comes, the clouds of war will part the appeal of radicalism will decline ... and we will leave our children with a better and safer world. On this solemn anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to this cause. Our nation has endured trials _ and we face a difficult road ahead. Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified country. And we must put aside our differences, and work together to meet the test that history has given us. We will defeat our enemies we will protect our people ... and we will lead the 21st century into a shining age of human liberty.

Earlier this year, I traveled to the United States Military Academy. I was there to deliver the commencement address to the first class to arrive at West Point after the attacks of September the 11th. That day I met a proud mom named RoseEllen Dowdell. She was there to watch her son Patrick accept his commission in the finest Army the world has ever known. A few weeks earlier, RoseEllen had watched her other son, James, graduate from the Fire Academy in New York City. On both these days, her thoughts turned to someone who was not there to share the moment: her husband, Kevin Dowdell. Kevin was one of the 343 firefighters who rushed to the burning towers of the World Trade Center on September the 11th _ and never came home. His sons lost their father that day _ but not the passion for service he instilled in them. Here is what RoseEllen says about her boys, "As a mother, I cross my fingers and pray all the time for their safety _ but as worried as I am, I am also proud _ and I know their dad would be too."

Our nation is blessed to have young Americans like these _ and we will need them. Dangerous enemies have declared their intention to destroy our way of life. They are not the first to try _ and their fate will be the same as those who tried before _ 9/11 showed us why. The attacks were meant to bring us to our knees, and they did _ but not in the way the terrorists intended. Americans united in prayer ... came to the aid of neighbors in need ... and resolved that our enemies would not have the last word. The spirit of our people is the source of America's strength. And we go forward with trust in that spirit, confidence in our purpose _ and faith in a loving God who made us to be free.

Thank you, and may God bless you.

Boobs

I had my first bra fitting today. I'm 34. It was easily the single most humiliating experience of my life. A young, waifish French woman - approximately a size 0 with probably an A cup - measured me. She took one look at me and headed to the big girl section of the store. I don't want to talk about it beyond that, so I'd like to conclude with this one statement: Women who get breast implants are deranged.

More Top News

ABC's upcoming miniseries "The Path to 9/11" is generating a firestorm among members of the Clinton administration, who claim the two-part, made-for-TV film is filled with factual errors and lies.

Observation: Hmmm. Hmmmm. Farenheit 9-11.

MILWAUKEE - An 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by as many as 20 boys as a 16-year-old girl watched and told her what sex acts to perform, authorities say in the latest mob attack to rock Milwaukee and set off another round of civic soul-searching.

Observation: I banish Milwaukee from the Midwest.

A majority of Canadians believe U.S. foreign policy was one of the root causes that led to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and Quebecers are quicker to criticize the U.S. administration for its international actions than other Canadians, a recent poll suggests.

Observation: Sometimes I get so pissed that my mind won't work. I get this hot flash and then my brain gets hazy...fuzzy. There is so much fodder in that one sentence. Quebecers...French...cheese eating surrender monkeys. I recall Canada recently arrested a load of home-grown terrorists who were planning a domestic attack. I'm sure that's our fault, too. Think! Use your brains! Wake up and smell the muslim fanatics!!!!

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Officials are considering an unprecedented proposal to ban women from performing the five Muslim prayers in the immediate vicinity of Islam’s most sacred shrine in Mecca.

Observation: I better not hear anything more about Catholics not letting women be priests.

Headline Observations

News from September 6, 2006

President George W. Bush acknowledged on Wednesday the CIA had interrogated dozens of terrorism suspects at secret overseas locations and said 14 of those held had been sent to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

My Observation:: Well I should sure hope so. Geez.

Islamic Republic News Agency reports that Ahmadinejad intends to travel to NYC, hopes to speak at UN on Sept. 19 at 7 PM; same day as Bush [whose speech is set for 11:30 AM] and day before Hugo Chavez... Both Ahmadinejad and Chavez will fly from Havana where they will see Castro... Earlier, Ahmadinejad said he was ready for debate with Bush at UN General Assembly...

My Observation: Isn't that just spit-on-your-neck-kick-you-in-the-crotch fantastic?

The sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 49 people near the Lexington airport last week told family members from his hospital bed, “Why did God do this to me?” but he hasn’t mentioned the crash, a close family friend said Wednesday.

My Observation: Jesus.

In case anyone needed proof, a new study supports the widely held perception: Celebrities are more in love with themselves than the average person.

My Observation:: Why is this news? We're at war. They can't find one "good news" story to report about the war, but they sure find space to print some dumbass USC "study" about mindless celebrities.

Fall enrollment at the University of Iowa went up slightly compared to last year, while there were small declines at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, the universities reported today.

My Observation: ISU aka Agricultural Extension College.

Did those conveniently timed cover stories proclaiming Jessica Simpson "head over heels" in love with John Mayer exaggerate the seriousness of their dating status just a wee bit? That's the word from the dizzy blond, who played down romantic rumblings about the floppyhaired crooner during Rosie O'Donnell's much-hyped co-host debut on "The View" Tuesday.

My Observation: And I was really looking forward to Simpsayer. Phooey.

Can't Sleep

I can't sleep. Part of the reason I can't sleep is because I desperately want to sleep. This happens to me every time I plan to arrive at work early. I just took a sleeping pill at 11:50 p.m., so now I'll eventually get to sleep but won't be able to wake up in the morning.

I decided to list all the crazy things churning through my head in the hopes that they will go away.

1. Jason Johansen. Why in the world did his name pop into my head? I went to school with Jason from 2nd grade through high school. I haven't thought about him in years. Last I knew he was living in Omaha and had a good job. He was always really good with numbers.

2. I need to fix my upstairs bath tub. It's not draining properly. And the toilet won't stop running...so I just shut off the water. Now I have to run downstairs everytime I have "to go." I'm lazy so I sometimes just hold it to avoid having to run downstairs. I'm sure this will cause some type of weird gyno thing and force me to see Dr. G. I like Dr. G very much, but I don't like to see her. Once a year is plenty for me. Geez - now that I talked about having to go I gotta' "go." If I don't think about it maybe it will go away.

3. When I think about work, I throw up a little bit in my mouth. I'm a little stressed out...what if I get fired? What if everyone thinks I suck? I have so much work to do. I need to get organized. But I hate working on the weekends. But the weekends are the only time to get organized.

4. I could really use a back massage. Even when I lay down to sleep my shoulders are scrunched up by my ears. But what if the masseuse has rough hands with callouses? That would be gross.

5. My cats are sound asleep. Salinger keeps making noises. I wonder if cats dream. What would Salinger dream about? Does he have nightmares of me picking him up like he's still a baby and giving him kisses on his head? From his perspective I must be a giant - like the Jolly Green Giant is to the little peapod kid in those old commercials. Boy, that would freak me out, too. Poor Sal.

6. I think it's going to rain during the baseball game tomorrow. What the heck am I going to wear? I need to pack my clothes and take them to work...change at work and leave by 5:05 so I can pick Andrew up by 5:45. Will it look bad that I'm leaving that early? That's why I need to get to work early. But my boss gave me the tickets... Must buy something and get one of the Cardinals to autograph for Mark.

7. I'm going to be 35. How in the hell did that happen?

8. I bought some Pepto Bismol colored pajama bottoms with scottie dogs all over them at Old Navy today. I threw away a pair I'd had since 2000. It was time. As I walked into the store and perused the fall selections I couldn't help but ask myself, "Am I too old to shop at Old Navy?" By the looks of things, yes. I also couldn't find anything at TJ MAXX. I think it may be time to limit my shopping to specialty stores and department stores. I am,m afterall, going to be 35.

9. I talked to a really nice guy at Kathy's party over the weekend. Hadn't seen him in a long time. Turns out he visited the hospital for work about a month ago. He'd never been there before - didn't even know it existed. It was a public service project for work. He's with the media. Small world.

10. I need to make an appointment with my orthodontist. It's been way too long since I was last there. I hope he's still alive. I wonder if I need to start paying again because it's been so long. I mean, I paid it all off years ago. Is there a statute of limitations on "payment in full?"

Okay, hopefully this has helped clear my head and I can sail off to Nevernever Land. It's 12:17 a.m. Just 6 hours and my alarm will go off to WTOP and tomorrow's headlines. Please God, give us a little happy news. Amen.

Gotta' go...literally.

Mississippi On My Mind

Sunday I volunteered at a community immunization event. The event was held on Mississippi Avenue SE, a part of town that I've visited perhaps three times in the 10 years I've lived here, and the previous times were only because I made a wrong turn.

I helped process the preschool age children, pulling their immunization records and getting them lined up by a mobile vaccination unit. At one point I found a two year old boy wandering around the parking lot. I asked him where his mommy and daddy were, but he said his mommy wasn't there. "My daddy left." That couldn’t be true, so I held his hand until he was comfortable, and then picked him up. I walked around asking people, "Does he belong to you?" No takers. I carried him for about 10 minutes when a little girl says to me, "Um, that's my brother." She had a five year old boy with her who I assumed was another brother. I finally figured out there was yet another child and that dad was probably with that child in the outpatient center at the other end of the parking lot getting his vaccinations.

The four of us walked to the outpatient center and just as we entered the dad was walking out of the exam room with his son. He looked at me and asked innocently if there was a problem. My brain was saying, "The problem is you left three children unattended to roam around a parking lot in the scorching sun (the oldest was at the most seven years old.)" I was incredulous, but gently handed the little one to dad and walked back outside.

I later saw him walking away with the four children. He looked up at me as I passed, fatigue in his posture, and thanked me. "That's quite a clan you have there!" I said. He smiled and turned to head home. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge. He was doing the best he could. Isn't that all we can expect of one another?

The day was full of memorable conversations with strangers, like the lovely lady who recently moved here from Riverside, GA. “What a blessing, what a blessing this is,” she said to me of the free immunizations. Having recently moved to the area, she couldn’t get her children in to the doctor’s office for vaccinations until the end of September. The children can’t start school if their vaccinations aren’t up to date. She didn’t know what she was going to do. “Then I heard an announcement for this event on the radio,” she said. “What a blessing.”

I sat and talked to her for at least a half hour. I told her all about my girlfriends from Georgia. “Georgia peaches, that’s what they are!” she exclaimed as I told her about their obsession with the University of Georgia (naturally) and their kind hearts.

At Mass on Sunday I heard something, or felt something, I'm not quite sure. Either way, I’m heading to the Mississippi gulf coast next month to help build a house for a Vietnamese family of five who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. My parish is sponsoring the project. When the hurricane hit, the dad was at work. Mom and the three kids, one of which was 2 days old, survived by living in the attic for two days.

Mississippi. Who knew?