The following article by Gerard Baker appeared in the Times of London on 25 July 2008. It was entitled, "He ventured forth to bring light to the world." This is such a masterpiece, it will be shared with my readers verbatim. As we enter the hard core political season, the following shall serve as a worthy appetizer. The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers

It is an absolute shame how a few years in the United States Senate can take a down-to-earth likeable guy and turn him into a self-serving, egomaniacal media whore! Page one of the 27 July 2008 issue of the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper had a headline stating "For Hagel, it’s country above political party." All one has to do is follow Hagel’s "Bush-Bashing-Bologna" to glean, he is in the political game for his own agenda and he could care less about the people of Nebraska or of the United States.

As you might suspect, from the hundreds of thousands who have read the articles on this "blog", I get sent more than plenty of cute, patriotic, religious and though provoking articles. Usually, I read them, laugh a bit or even occasionally tear-up a bit then press the "delete" button and send most of them into cyber-space. The following article is one of those rare exceptions. It touched my heart as I know it will yours. The author had pondered, as all of us have whose Mothers are now in Heaven, all of the things we wish we had told that special lady who, in the fullness of time, took God’s hand in hers and together, they gave us life. In honor of my own Mother, my wife, my daughters and my sisters, all of whom are Mothers, I am sharing this gem with you on "MOTHERS’ DAY, 2008.". .

I receive a number of very good writings every week from people who seem to think like I think and share the same beliefs and opinions on many subjects with me. The folks who shout "Separation of Church and State" usually know so little of what is contained in the Constitution of the United States of America their rattling brings to mind the words of William Shakespeare in one of his writings - "A poor player struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. ‘Tis the tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." This story makes a couple of very important points which I hope every adult and every child in school learns. I chose not to "send it to everyone on my mailing list", but rather, to print it here. Take the time to discuss the contents with your children, you Pastor or Priest and with those we send to Washington, D.C. to represent us. The strength of our country stems from the fact, we are indeed, "One Nation Under God." LAUS DEO!

As each year draws to a close, those of us who have been allowed to live during the decades in question sometimes take time to reflect upon the past. Memories of events from years gone by and faces of friends, many of whom have passed on seem to surface for a moment or two than fade back into our mental "hard drives." Most of us look back at our childhood, those simpler times, and wish the "kids" of today could have as much fun with so little. As parents and grandparents, we wonder how we got along raising our little ones without having all of the "safety" gadgets which our current over-protective government demands. A good friend furnished me with the following article which caused me to take a few moments from the present to ponder the past. Since I enjoyed it and I’d like to share it with my readers. Enjoy..

Another assessment of where the US stands in relation to the Middle East problems, this one according to John R. (Jack) Farrington, Major General (Retired), "is from the guy who had his finger on the nuclear trigger for three years as head of our defense and response complex buried under Cheyenne Mountain at Colorado Springs. He was the only person who could initiate a nuclear attack after advising the sitting president of a missile launch by our enemies and our need to respond. No political or civilian type in the US had more knowledge about day to day military actions around the world. Everyone should find quiet time to read this. As far as I am concerned, it is exactly the direction we should go and the consequences of not doing so are well thought out." I personally called and visited with Brig. Gen. (Ret.) USAF and verified the authenticity of the story which follows. General Cash is truly a great American and tells it like it is. Read what he has to say and understand this isn't going away any time soon folks! I strongly recommend you invite your friends to also read and spread the message of the story which follows are attributed to the now retired general.

This article was forwarded to me by e-mail without identifying the source. A bit of checking revealed the contents to be authentic and involved a speech given a couple of years ago. Since it expressed my thoughts on the subject matter very well, I have chosen to share it with those who honor me by reading what I post. For those of you on the "Conservative" side of the fence, read this and learn to understand your feelings better than ever. For those of you on the other side of the fence, read and learn where your thinking is fouled up. If you take the time to read this, it ought to scare the pants off of you! Believe it or not, the speaker, Dick Lamm was and presumably still is....a DEMOCRAT!

I believe you will find the Secret Service views of the personalities of our current and past presidents to be quite interesting and reflective of the character of our current president and some of those who occupied the Oval Office before him. I am furnishing to my readers a report which was forwarded to me. It is the writing of a United Air Lines pilot who, while in the military, flew many Special Air Missions for the White House. As a former military pilot myself, I can tell you first hand some elected officials and high ranking officers are first class pains in the fanny while others appreciate the safe and professional treatment all military pilots try to give their "PAX" (passengers) while on the ground and in the air. Consider this information as you make future political decisions

It is Thanksgiving Day, 2007 and I have pondered most of last night and all of today the answer I would give to the question my Pastor asked which was the core of his sermon - "What are you thankful for?" Since the schedules of our family members are so complicated, we elected to assemble on Friday rather than Thursday so as to allow more of our bunch to be present. My "Dearly Beloved" and I attended a church service on Wednesday evening due to professional obligations we had on Thursday. I had concluded long ago my blessings have been so many it would take hours just to scratch the surface of all I personally have for which to be thankful. Thus, I try to express my thanks and gratitude daily to my God for the countless things He has done for me and my family. The older I get I knew if I stored all of such up for Thanksgiving day I would likely forget or overlook something important. What a wonderful thing vansopinion.com is, for it will allow me to tell the world a number of the things for which I continually give thanks..