The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily

"If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if
without it?"

-- Benjamin Franklin (to Thomas Paine, Date Unknown)

Reference: Original Intent, Barton (297); original The Works of
Benjamin Franklin, Sparks, ed., vol. 10 (281-282)

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I have been watching this situation between Israel and the Palestinians for a long time. I was a freelance reporter for Talon News when Condoleeza Rice was named Secretary of State. And I remember her making promises that she would spend however much time was necessary to hammer-out a peace agreement between the two sides.

Then came a spate of Palestinian rocket attacks, suicide bombings, and kidnappings, not just of Israelis, but of Western reporters, workers, and so on. There was, of course, retaliation for these acts on the part of Israel, who has every right to defend and protect herself. What started out as a hopeful process has sadly turned back to “the way we were” for the Israelis and Palestinians.

I actually was hopeful when Yasser Arafat died that a more moderate leader would be able to step to the fore of Palestinian politics. And one did: Mahmoud Abbas, who was at least ready to admit that the state of Israel had a right to exist…kind of a rarity in those parts.

Still, in the back of my mind, I was leery of the proposed “roadmap” that Pres. Bush had laid out. For it called for Israel to divide itself and give up some of its most sacred lands, something that I know, from reading my Bible, is not to be done. In fact, God threatens retaliation on anyone who divides the land he has set aside for His “chosen people.” And when God retaliates, things get ugly--fast!

But I think that I, like a lot of people, still held out hope that Israel could somehow reach an agreement with a more moderate leader like Abbas. And, if Abbas were all that the world had to contend with, I think that ideal might have merit. Abbas seems at least AS concerned for the plight of his people as he is with stealing back land which is rightfully Israel’s.

But then something shocking happened. Of all the “political” groups, Hamas won the majority of Palestinian elections. Hamas, a terrorist organization that refuses to even acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, a group of radical islamo-facists, funded by Syria, and by proxy, by Iran, took control of the Palestinian people and rendered Abbas essentially impotent.

I write about this now because U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is on a mission to the region, meeting with Abbas and Israeli PM Ehud Ulmert. Cheney is desperately trying to salvage the roadmap, and find a way to achieve peace before the end of the Bush administration’s term. And if peace between the two sides is to be achieved, now is certainly the time.

If they wait, and if Hillary, or even worse, Barack Hussein Obama, becomes the next U.S. President, America’s official support of Israel will be diminished significantly, if not all together. A point which PM Ulmert made clear in his speech during Pres. Bush’s trip to the region in January. He knows what is on the horizon if one of these two Democrats gets into power.

And I have a feeling the Palestinians are well aware of this, too. For recent weeks have seen increased rocket attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip. And, as is to be expected, Israel has retaliated. So, peace seems to be an illusion.

As V.P. Cheney said of the Palestinian attacks, “"Terror and rockets do not merely kill innocent civilians…[T]hey also kill legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people."

Be sure to check out Michael A. Minton’s new book, “Mr. Right Opinion-Unplugged and Unashamed: one man’s musings during perilous times in America’s history,” which will be available in late April/early May at: http://www.51756.authorworld.com/, author house.com, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble online, and other online retailers.

It seems to be “that time of year” again. For some of us, “that time of year” means midnight mass, for others it may mean waking up bright and early and searching feverishly through our closets trying to find that “Spring” suit that we haven’t worn since last Easter and making the annual pilgrimage to church to make sure we cover our butts for yet another year.

For some, it may mean hiding Easter eggs in the back yard, some chocolate, some marshmallow, and some plastic with a wadded up one-dollar bill inside. My kids LOVE the plastic ones. There is nothing better than the excitement on a young child’s face when she/he “finds” a dollar!

Or is there? Have you ever seen the face of a broken-down alcoholic or drug addict who has lost everything, including his children, because of his uncontrollable addictions? How about the face of a mother who has just had her children taken away because she felt the need to spend that last $20.00 on crack, instead of taking it to the store and getting a day’s worth of food?

Those faces are hard to watch. And no, they’re most definitely not better than the face of a child who finds a dollar. But those faces can change, and that is what this “time of year” is all about.

Now, I would ask that you think about the faces I mentioned, the negative ones. You have seen them on street corners, lying in alley ways, or maybe just on your television set in your nice, comfortable home. No matter the medium, we have all seen the faces.

Now I want to ask you this: Have you ever seen the face of a broken-down alcoholic, a drug addict, or a mother who made the wrong choice and lost her kids after they have heard the Easter message? Have you seen the glimmer of hope in their eyes that says “maybe, just maybe, it’s not too late?”

Once they have heard that Jesus Christ lived, and yes, died, to save them from their sin. Once they actually realize, and firmly believe, that Easter is not about bunnies, or candy, or even colored eggs. But rather, it is about salvation, about the prospect of redemption! What great news! Christ has died to forgive all of these sins and so much more!

I am so glad, not just today, but every day, that God loved me so much that he sacrificed his only Son, that I shall not perish, but have everlasting life! Is that not fabulous? Of course it is!

Earthly judges may hold onto their resentments for a lifetime. I may have harmed people in my past who will never forgive me. But God says He stands ready to forgive us all of all our sin. All we need to do is ask, and it shall be delivered unto us.

So, at least for today, instead of focusing on all the negative, political garbage going on in our country, and indeed the world, I choose to focus on the fact that God loves me, just as I am. I don’t have to wear fancy clothes or make six figures for God to love me. And I don’t have to go to prison to atone for my sins. All I have to do is ask, and all will be made right.

I hope that your Easter is full of turkey, ham, and all the good nourishment that our body needs. But let us not forget to nourish the soul as well. I hope your kids will laugh, play, and glow when they find that dollar. But let us not forget to tell our children the true meaning of Easter as well.

God Bless you all! Happy Easter!

This week, anti-war protestors, at least seventy-strong, took the capital city of Washington, D. C. by storm. Actually, they just did some protesting on Capital Hill, but I bet they would have stormed if more than seventy of them had shown up.

The organizer of the event, David Swanson, also is the head of a lobbying coalition that involves, according to CNSNews.com, “hundreds of prominent liberal activist groups, including Veterans Against the Iraq War and Code Pink.” And he also got cheered on by the small group of activists as he called for Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the head of the House Judiciary Committee, to make good on his promise to start impeachment proceedings against President Bush.

However, Mr. Swanson is beginning to realize that which conservatives have known, and preached, for a long time: "liberals exploit and manipulate their party’s members for their own good.”

As reality took hold for Mr. Swanson, frustration began setting in. He told Cybercast News that “he has grown frustrated with Conyers' posturing about impeachment. ‘He doesn't mean it,’ said Swanson. ‘He isn't really working on it with anyone in the House. It's just an applause line.’”

Swanson, as reported by CNS, yelled, “This is up to you, Congressman Conyers, this is your chairmanship…We voted for lousy Democrats all across the country so you could have the chairmanship and act on your promises and impeach these criminals."

I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Swanson, but you are right. You’re right when you said that you liberals voted in a bunch of lousy democrat choices so your party could get the chairmanships it wanted in the House and Senate, and you are right about Mr. Conyers.

For years we have been telling you liberals this. If you buy my book when it is released in a month or so, Mr. Right Opinion-Unplugged and Unashamed: one man’s musings during perilous times in America’s history” at http://www.51756.authorworld.com/, you will see that, for years now, many of my cohorts and I have been saying that the Democrat party manipulates their base to meet their agenda.

Sure, they’ll throw you a few bones. They might raise the minimum wage (which really does nothing to help the economy, but, boy it sure boosts that ego until prices start catching up), They may increase welfare just a little (which keeps you in that poverty cycle-also in the book). But in the end, it’s going to be about what THEY, not YOU want.

I kind of look at the Democrat party as a casino. They have to let a few suckers win, or people would stop coming back. Same thing goes for the Democrat agenda. They’ll promise you a turkey and deliver a neck bone. Then they’ll blame their loss of the rest of the turkey on the big, bad, minority Republicans.

I guess Democrat supporters will never learn. Didn’t all those years of no welfare reform between 1970-1995, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, teach you guys ANYTHING? Didn’t Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats not let you down when, in January of 2007, they promised to be out of Iraq in a year if they were elected to Congress. Now here we are, fifteen months later, and we’re still there. Not that I’m for an immediate, or even eminent, withdrawal of troops. I’m just saying….

Democrat politicians are great at making promises. They have high, lofty ideals a lot of times. The only problem is that they have no idea, no plan or formula, on how to attain those goals.

According to the Cybercast News article, even a Conyer’s aide said, “He will never do it…[T]his is just rhetoric, and it is not part of the agenda. It's mostly just a red herring to the Republicans.”

Feeling a little betrayed? Hey, we always have room for one more on our side. Think about it. We’ll leave the light on for you!

Yesterday afternoon, I was listening to the Kevin McCullough show on BlogNet Radio, and we were all discussing the controversy surrounding Barack Obama, and his racist, anti-American pastor, the wrong-reverend Wright.

As we discussed the issue, Kevin was elightened with a wonderful idea...kill 'em with love. Here is what his Townhall blog says:

Posted by: Kevin McCullough at 12:44 AM

"God Bless America!"

On the broadcast today a SPECIAL Easter Weekend idea hit some of my listeners and I at the same time. This weekend - thousands of born again, Evangelical and Catholic, Black and White - CHRISTIANS will be observing the celebration of Jesus Christ's miracle of Resurrection over sin and death. In this nation - we have greater religious liberty and freedom than any other nation on earth.

So our goal for the "GOD BLESS AMERICA" campaign - THIS WEEKEND - is to remind Dr. Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ about God's blessings that He HAS poured out on us.

We are asking YOU to take part in this with thousands of like-minded Christians from across the nation...

Dial Trinity at 773.962.5650 - all weekend long - and tell them that you're praying "for God to bless America." Repeat it three times, thank them for their time and then let them go. Three times Dr. Wright called down God's damnation on America in the soundbyte that has been played over and over.

Imagine thousands of messages of blessing - coming from mostly WHITE people to let Dr. Wright know that we are asking God to bless us, and Trinity UCC by extension.

The weight of this ounce of goodness would be heavier than ten tons of guilt. My listeners took to the idea immediately. But we need radio shows, blogs, columnists and everyday people to pass it on to their friends.

Call Trinity at 773.962.5650...

Or fill up their e-mail inbox at: info@TUCC.org!

Hear my listeners respond to the idea in the podcast right here: