Saving Christmas

If you've had enough of hearing salesclerks wish you a "happy holiday," if you're exasperated that our country now celebrates with a Capitol "Holiday" Tree, GrinchList.com will give you some relief. Here's its mission statement:

The GrinchList.com is a response to the growing censorship and revisionist policies and practices concerning Christmas that is evident in retail stores, public schools, government offices, businesses, and the media. Our mission is to compile an ongoing list of businesses and organizations that engage in egregious cultural revisionism and expose them to the millions of consumers whose heritage is being expunged from the public cultural arena.

There's a good list of the worst offenders and their contact information, but also be sure to visit the "Grow the Grinch's Heart" section, where you can reward organizations and businesses that support use of that oh so offensive term "Christmas."

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Good Fences...

While only less than a third complete, the Israeli security fence has thwarted more than 20 Palestinian suicide bomb attacks, including a planned attack on a school, the country's domestic intelligence chief reported.

This begs the question, why is there no such fence on the US borders? Would the terror threat have been raised to "high" recently if it were not the case that pretty much anyone can cross our borders undetected, perhaps with a nuclear weapon hidden in a shipment of cocaine?

In a perfect world there would be no fences. But this is a fallen world, and we are at war.

Use our Take Action page to express to the President and your representatives support both for the Israeli security fence and the construction of a similar fence on the US borders.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Administer the Liberal Test

From DennisPrager.com:

Are You a Liberal?

It is my belief that about half of the Americans who call themselves liberal do not hold the great majority of positions held by mainstream liberal institutions such as the New York Times editorial page, People for the American Way, and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. So here is a test of this thesis to be given to anyone who believes he or she is a liberal. If you feel I have omitted a liberal position or have unfairly characterized any of them here, please email me. This is still a work in progress.

Dennis might be a little optimistic in his estimate that half of Americans who call themselves liberal do not hold most liberal positions. My suspicion is that there is a formidable Oprah-said-it-I-believe-it-That-settles-it contingent out there, bent on allegiance to a personality with no real thought given to ideology.

But if you have a liberal friend or acquaintance whom you think is sufficiently sincere to take a hard look at his beliefs, take a few minutes to e-mail him the link to Dennis Prager's test, and offer to discuss the results. Most people grow out of their liberalism. Maybe today you can accelerate the process for one person.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Oy, Canada

If you live in the US, reading this brief Seattle Times piece will give you an instant gratitude infusion.

Living in Canada made me feel like a barn animal in George Orwell's "Animal Farm." My only worry is that someday the United States will resemble Canada. Sort of like one giant Seattle. That would be my nightmare.

Use our Take Action page to express your opposition to US adoption of Canadian-style "reforms" such as official bilingualism, socialized medicine and high taxes. Then thank God that you live in the US.

UPDATE: To be fair, Canada does have a really swell national anthem.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Lessons From Saddam's Capture

A superb piece from Dennis Prager on Ten Lessons From Saddam Hussein's Capture:

...No Muslim or Arab country lifted a finger to help the Iraqi people. This is because the Muslim and Arab worlds do not divide the world between good and evil, but between Muslim and non-Muslim and Arab and non-Arab. Since Saddam was a fellow Muslim and Arab, the fact that he tortured and murdered so many was as irrelevant to the Muslim and Arab worlds as the Islamic regime's genocide in Sudan and the subjugation of women in Taliban Afghanistan.

...There are many who respect goodness above all else. But humanity as a whole has far more respect for power, and takes powerful societies more seriously than good ones. That is why China is respected despite its being a dictatorship and its brutal crushing of Tibet. China is powerful. The stronger America is, the more people will take it and its values seriously. As an unprecedented combination of power and goodness, America could reshape the world.

Use this link to send your thanks to our troops for their efforts in the liberation of Iraq and the capture of Saddam.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Judicial Tyranny Aids the Fifth Column

Two judges on the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ordered the Pentagon to release enemy combatant Abdullah Al-Muhajir (Jose Padilla) from military custody. Upon Al-Muhajir's arrest, Attorney General John Ashcroft explained that:

On several occasions in 2001, [Al-Muhajir] met with senior al Qaeda officials. While in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Al Muhajir trained with the enemy, including studying how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion devices. Al Qaeda officials knew that . . . as a citizen of the United States holding a valid U.S. passport, Al Muhajir would be able to travel freely in the U.S. without drawing attention to himself. . . .

In apprehending Al Muhajir as he sought entry into the United States, we have disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive "dirty bomb."

In the his 12/18 Best of the Web column, James Taranto observes:

[The three-judge panel's decision held that] "clear congressional authorization is required for detentions of American citizens on American soil," and that the September 2001 declaration of war does not constitute such authorization.

One can expect the government to appeal the ruling, either to the full Second Circuit or to the Supreme Court. But perhaps it's also worth asking Congress to take up this issue. Some lawmakers, notably Sen. John Edwards, a presidential candidate, have been championing the civil liberties of would-be terrorists, as if setting off a dirty bomb in an American city were a matter of no more gravity than an ordinary mugging or embezzlement. Why not force all members of Congress to go on record for or against this proposition?

Why not indeed. Use our Take Action page to ask Congress to enact clear authorization for detentions of American citizens with ties to the enemy.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Non-Evangelicals?

Lest we think the only moral idiots are at the Vatican:

Worldmagblog reports (see the 12/12 and 12/9 entries) Fuller Theological Seminary has received a federal Department of Justice grant of $1 million to develop an interfaith code of ethics that would "prohibit proselytizing for two years and ask Christians and Muslims not to say things that would offend each other." Apparently the grant was instigated by Democratic representative Adam Schiff and was tagged for use in a "conflict resolution program."

World Magazine's reporter is still investigating, but in the meantime Worldmagblog asks these very poignant questions:

Why are government funds going to create religious codes? Why is an evangelical seminary pushing for Christians not to proselytize? Why is a new code needed, anyway? Last May the Institute for Religion and Democracy, a broad Christian group, published Guidelines for Christian-Muslim Dialogue: The guidelines emphasize rights of evangelism that some evangelicals are apparently willing to concede.

A million dollars for a speech code against criticizing Islam and sharing one's faith. Your tax dollars at work.

This is a developing story, but while we are awaiting more facts, you can use our Take Action page to bring this grant to your representative's attention and ask for answers to Worldmagblog's questions. The response should be ... interesting.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Homeland Insecurity
Topic: Nuclear Terrorism

Immediately after 9-11, most of us believed we would be living in a different nation, one awakened to the threat of Islamic terrorism -- a nation more like Israel, where domestic security is a high priority on the policy agenda. Few imagined that more than two years later our country would still have open borders, lax immigration enforcement, inadequate airport security, and have taken no steps to reduce the bioterror threat, not to mention the nuclear threat.

Shouldn't we be seeing nuclear sniffing devices on every street corner by now? Shouldn't there be an Israeli-style fence on our borders? Wouldn't a reasonable person expect to see deported every non-US citizen from the terror-sponsoring states, at least for the duration of the war? Who would have imagined racial and ethnic profiling would not only be omitted from airport security screening, but would be illegal?

Will it take a nuclear terror attack, with the constituent loss of possibly millions of lives, before such steps are taken?

Today Michelle Malkin opines on a recent, little-noticed report by the federal homeland security commission which cautioned that anti-terrorism "momentum appears to have waned" and efforts are often hampered by "the lack of a clear, articulated vision from the federal level." She wisely observes that it is of little use to send American soldiers to defend other countries' borders if we will not defend our own.

Her excellent piece from September 2003, Spitting on the Graves of the 9-11 Dead, is a must-read on this topic.

Use our Take Action page to express your support for increased homeland security measures, including racial and ethnic profiling in transportation security, a security fence on the US borders, strict immigration controls, and serious and effective measures to discover nuclear, chemical and biological materials smuggled into the country.

Click here to receive each day's political devotions entry by e-mail. What could be simpler?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Moral Idiocy in High Places

In a risible speech for the "World Day of Peace," Pope John Paul II attributed terrorism to "injustice" (not evil values or cultures), and put forth this howler:

...he appealed to terrorists, telling them that violence was not only unacceptable but compromises "the very cause for which you are fighting."

That'll show `em. Nothing persuades terrorists like a heartfelt appeal (or a daisy cutter).

A top cardinal Tuesday expressed "pity and compassion" for Saddam. One could conceivably attribute the pope's irrationality to illness but, to my knowledge, this cardinal is disease-free - - well, physically anyway. Pity and compassion for someone who had children tortured in front of their parents. Someone's miter is on too tight.

And on Monday U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Saddam must not receive the death penalty. Sure, he put thousands of others in mass graves. But he shouldn't die. That wouldn't be fair.

In a recent article, Dennis Prager made a fine argument on the consequences of allowing murderers to live. By executing them, we not only punish murderers but we protect the world from their further evil influence. (When was the last time you heard anything about Timothy McVeigh?) When Saddam dies, so will his influence in the Arab and Moslem world. There are many reasons why the death penalty is moral, but in this case, that is reason enough. For a more in-depth exploration of the death penalty issue, see Dennis Prager's book "Think a Second Time" on our Recommended Books page.

To express your support for the death penalty for Saddam and all first-degree murderers, visit our Take Action page.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

It Will Happen There. It Can Happen Here

In today's Telegraph, Kevin Meyers observes that Islam is Now the Rising Church of England. Moslems now exceed ten percent of the population in several European countries, and with continued liberal immigration policies and a superior birth rate, they are poised to become a dominant force on that continent by 2050.

Meyers notes:

...I'd be interested to know what proportion of the Muslim population of Bradford or Blackburn, Paris or Marseilles, are "moderate" in the way I understand the word, or how many European Muslims genuinely yearn for the foundation of the khilafa, a single Islamic world run on religious lines.

It is a mistake to put our faith in the Islamic "moderates." The prevailing reaction of "moderate" Islam after 9-11 has been silence or warnings (some would say threats) of action against anti-Islamic bigotry. As Charles Krauthammer observed in November 2001:

...After Sept. 11, where were the Muslim theologians and clergy, the imams and mullahs, rising around the world to declare that Sept. 11 was a crime against Islam? Where were the fatwas against Osama bin Laden? The voices of high religious authority have been scandalously still.

Yes, there were generic denunciations of the 9-11 abomination, but nothing like the mass grief and apology we would see from Christian or Jewish leaders if Christian or Jewish terrorists had perpetrated such a revolting crime. (And if you know of a prominent moderate Moslem who has spoken out against murder-suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, please e-mail me.)

There may be no stopping the reality that our grandchildren will have to deal with what could easily become a militant Moslem superpower in Europe. But as American citizens we can act to prevent such a negative cultural shift here. Use our Take Action page to express your support for strict immigration policies, particularly as to countries on the State Department's list of rogue nations. In addition, you can support your church's missionary efforts to Moslems, both in the US and abroad.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

"Ladies and Gentlemen, We Got Him"

Yanked out of his rathole, looking like Satanic Santa and noticeably "incoherent," on Saturday the Butcher of Bagdad finally encountered the US Military. (And I thought Al Gore had bad hair.)

Reuters describes the Arab world's emotions as "divided." Divided? Apparently there is a "tinge of regret" that a "symbol of Arab defiance" is behind bars. The Jerusalem Post describes the Palestinians as "pained" by Saddam's capture.

One thing is certain. The decent Arabs cheered. President Bush believes their numbers are sufficient to one day create a democratic Middle East, and I sincerely hope he is correct.

Presidential candidate and barking lunatic Howard Dean used the capture to remind America that it must submit to United Nations rule in this matter and bring our boys home.

Last week, Victor Davis Hanson brilliantly observed that the war on terror had reached a critical turning point:

...The reason that states are not rushing to install imams as rulers or open their borders to al Qaeda training camps is not that they like democracy, but rather that they are just now beginning to fear the dire consequences of such action

...We are beginning the third year of this multi-theater conflict, and it resembles the Punic War after the Carthaginian defeat at the Metaurus in 207 B.C., the year of decision of 1863, or the autumn leading to Alamein and Stalingrad. Ever so slowly the momentum is building. If we stay resolute and tighten the noose around the Baathists, the days of the extremists in Iraq will be numbered even as the rest of the country begins to prosper. And the final victory will only embolden us and discourage our enemies. The war itself cannot be won in the Sunni Triangle, but it might well have been lost there.

...In the last two years our enemies have lacked not the will but the power to defeat us; we in contrast had more than enough power but not enough will. But all that is changing as we ever so slowly become angrier while they get weaker.

So we are witnessing right now the war's critical turning point in these the most historic of times. What has been amazing about the war so far is not that we have been winning, but that we have been doing so -- quite unlike our increasingly exhausted enemies -- without the full mobilization of our vast economic, political, material, and human resources.

The capture of Saddam is huge. But World War IV is not over. Use our Take Action page to express your support for full mobilization and bringing the war, if necessary, to other terrorist-sponsoring states like Syria and Iran.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

Barbarians With Nuclear Weapons, Part 3
Topic: Nuclear Terrorism

Actually, this is more of a Barbarians-With-Nuclear-Weapons-meets-UN-anti-Semitism combo, and another great find by the premier weblog Little Green Footballs.

The position of the International Atomic Energy Agency's director, Mohamed ElBaradei, is that
Israel is "assumed" to have nuclear weapons and should disarm, but as to Iran's Manhattan Project, "we do not work on the basis of assumptions." It's clear the IAEA is going to give Iran plenty of time to build nuclear weapons. Unless something is done.

Use our Take Action page to again express your support for all necessary action, including military, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons among Western civilization's enemies.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)

More Judicial Tyranny - Censoring Political Speech

Another instance proving that, when it comes to the US Supreme Court and Constitutional rights, the power to "interpret" is the power to destroy. Its recent decision in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission shows the only speech the court wants to limit is political speech, by way of what is known by the Orwellian term "campaign finance reform." Yet the First Amendment specifically states that Congress shall not so much as abridge free speech, let alone censor it.

From Justice Scalia's dissent:

Who could have imagined that the same Court which, within the past four years, has sternly disapproved of restrictions upon such inconsequential forms of expression as virtual child pornography, tobacco advertising, dissemination of illegally intercepted communications, and sexually explicit cable programming, would smile with favor upon a law that cut to the heart of what the First Amendment is meant to protect: the right to criticize the government.

Jonah Goldberg and Mona Charen each have clear, concise pieces on this today.

Use our Take Action page to ask your representatives to seek repeal of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known as McCain-Feingold, and to support the appointment of strict constructionist judges who will not, to indulge fashion or their own whims, interpret away explicit provisions in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally!)

The Treasonous Left

Grab your vomit bag.

The first-rate weblog Little Green Footballs today reports on "mainstream" Left-wing websites' propagation of a column offering open support for attacks against American troops and civilian contractors in Iraq. This is an excellent reminder that the hard Left is not just a bunch of angry, spoiled 19-year-old college kids, but a serious movement which believes as a "moral" position that America is evil and should be fought by any means necessary.

The Patriot Act is an important weapon in fighting this fifth column in the US, and the Wall Street Journal recently published a fine analysis of Panic and the Patriot Act.

Visit our Take Action page to express to your elected officials support for Patriot Act's preservation and enforcement.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally!)

The Foul-mouthed Left
The 12/9 edition of the Wall Street Journal's fine Best of the Web column focuses on the language used from the stage at a Howard Dean fund-raiser and a Dean rally. Read it, then try to you imagine, in your wildest fantasies, such language being used at a George W. Bush event. The Republican party has its imperfections, not the least of which is its recent penchant for mega-spending, but the gulf between it and the Democrat party is huge.

Visit the Republican National Committee website to give financial support and express your opinions.

Bonus Links:

The Alliance Defense Fund has a piece on A Small Victory, but it's a battle that should never have had to be fought.

The Media Research Center's Cyberalert features Letterman's Top Ten Reasons Al Gore Has Endorsed Howard Dean.

BTW, for those of you who saw the Gore endorsement on TV: what political imaging genius advised Gore to go with the Hitler haircut?

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally!)

Great Moments in Higher Education, Part 2
Yet another idiocy in education story.

The Indiana University School of Law has removed a Christmas tree from its atrium because SOME students were offended. Forget that Christmas is a national holiday, celebrated by 95% of the country. As Dennis Prager pointed out on his radio show this morning, this is like a whole family being prohibited from going to the zoo because one petulant son or daughter demurs.

In his book "Successful Intelligence" (see our Recommended Books page), Robert J. Sternberg explores a theory that may explain the stupidity of college administrators and professors. He posits that there are actually three types of intelligence: analytical, creative and practical. (IQ tests generally test only for analytical intelligence.) The state of the Academy leads one to believe that there may be a lot of analytical intelligence among its members, but little practical intelligence. That would explain why so many of them have hidden in school their entire lives, failed to seek real world jobs, and hold to outlandishly impractical theories like socialism and communism.

Use our Take Action page to express your support for withdrawal of public funds to colleges and universities. See the December 6 and 7 entries below for more education privatization action links.

(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally!)

United Tyrannies
Today in the Wall Street Journal, Anne Bayefsky documents the long history of United Nations anti-Semitism.

And in a recent column, Jonah Goldberg makes an excellent case for a League of Democracies to replace the UN.

An excerpt:

"You can't have a civil rights organization where Klansmen are welcomed as members; you can't have a softball team where half the players want to play basketball, and you can't have a global organization dedicated to the spread of human rights and democracy with nearly half the members representing barbaric, corrupt regimes."

To express support for replacing the UN with a League of Democracies, use our Take Action page to contact your representatives and the State Department.

The Education Monopoly
Here's a great tirade against corruption in public education by Michael Graham. An excerpt:

"If government-run schools are so good, then why isn't the NEA pushing for a government-run grocery store chain where your groceries are chosen for you based solely on your age and address--and you're required to pay for them whether you shop there or not? If it makes sense for the government to pick my daughter's teacher and curriculum with no input from me whatsoever, then shouldn't they pick her doctor and dentist and after-school activity, too? I've got my kid in karate class -- maybe I should have asked my school board member first?"

As a bonus, here's a Marty Nemko piece on the fecklessness of higher education: Beware of Going Back to School.

The Parent News section of Focus on the Family's Focus on Education website has a nice collection of news stories on education issues, many suitable for citizen action.

Great Moments in Higher Education (Warning: Explicit Content)
A New York University film student recently pitched to her professor a project in which two actor friends agreed to have sex on camera in front of the class. Her professor approved. The class approved. Oddly enough, the university administration didn't. Not so oddly, the "controversy" on campus surrounding the project does not involve the proposed pornographic show and tell, but administration "censorship." Yes, students' right to have sex in class is in danger. Call the ACLU!

The New York Civil Liberties Union said that while there was no First Amendment issue involved because the university is a private institution, the decision "runs counter to the tradition of academic freedom"

How much "academic freedom" would the New York Civil Liberties Union tolerate if the student wanted to use tax-supported university funds and classrooms to make a film about the Ten Commandments?

To take action on REAL suppression of academic freedom on campus, visit the Students for Academic Freedom website.

To take action on the privatization of public schools and the ensuing prevention of future campus porn stars, visit Focus on the Family Citizenlink's school choice and vouchers page.

Judicial Tyranny and The Destruction of Judeo-Christian National Identity
Today David Limbaugh cites new examples of anti-Christian bias in his piece on The "Offensiveness" of Christianity.

He recounts an astonishing example in which a seventh grade history teacher recently offered students extra credit for observing Islam by fasting for two days during Ramadan. Imagine the left-wing outcry if that teacher had given extra credit for keeping kosher for two days, for abstaining from meat on Friday, or for taking communion in a Baptist church.

While not the only driver of anti-Judeo-Christian bias, judicial activism is the method by which such suppression began and is propagated to this day. Use our Take Action page to express your support for President Bush's judicial nominees.

Here is Ann Coulter's entertaining review of David Limbaugh's book "Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity."

You can read more about the book at Amazon.com: