Mom and Dad, you have been a blessing to us!

It is Friday, September 10, 2010 and I am a little stirred up today. Let me see if I have this right. Number one, give us 1 trillion and we will make sure the unemployment rate will stay 8% or less. Number two, pass this universe sized health care quagmire called an overhaul and we will not only lower individual annual costs but we will go a long way in fixing the deficit. We know the answer to number one, it's called 9.6% Now one of the government analysis groups is predicting that individual health care costs will increase under the Obama plan but only slightly with 32 million more people covered. Hello? What about the deficit busting this was supposed to accomplish? And, if the folks inside the administration are forecasting a slight increase over the next 10 years, then what do you think the real numbers will be? Higher or lower than their estimate? Can you find anyone who would bet the farm that it will be lower? Not on your life because government estimates are notoriously wrong, and that's a fact Jack, Jane, and the rest of us as well. There is a reason democratic candidates are fleeing the Obama ship like the proverbial rats and there's also a reason the President's former budget director has written an editorial in the New York Times speaking in opposition to the fiscal plans of the administration. I think it's time to take that teleprompter out to the woodshed and teach it some new ideas!

Tomorrow we will mark the solemn and sad anniversary of those attacks against our nation on September 11, 2001. All of us know exactly where we were and what we were doing when the news reached us. The Muslim Cleric behind the building of the Mosque near Ground Zero issued somewhat of a veiled threat in an interview this week. Essentially, he said that if this matter is not handled right by America there would be an explosion of anger throughout the Muslim world that could lead to widespread violence. What a comforting thought on this building which supposedly is to establish peace and harmony in the world. I also heard an interview with a 9-11 surviving family member who held a photo of her firefighter brother and told a group of assembled experts how the families felt about this provocation. CNN would most likely have screened her out if they had known how her heartfelt words would literally shut the mouths of their illustrious panel of experts. I've also heard a number of the Hollywood crowd loudly protesting any interference in this building project. Some of these women speaking the loudest make their living by running around half naked, a crime under Islamic law, for which they could be stoned. And, just in passing, when's the last time you ever saw the liberal crowd standing up so vociferously for anything having to do with religion, any religion? Call be an old fuddy duddy, out of touch, and out of luck kind of guy, but it does appear to me there are powers at work here and it's a little scary to see them join forces together. But, we do remember. We remember the lives of innocent people snatched away. We remember the courageous and heroic acts of so many who responded. And, we remember the stirring of the American spirit as we turned back to God and we joined hands and stood against this great evil. Yes. We sing this prayer together: "Stand beside her and guide her through the night with light from above." Amen.

Let me end on a more positive note. Yesterday, September 9, we paused to pay homage to my mom and step dad in recognition of their 33rd wedding anniversary. It's hard to put into words all these folks mean to so many of us. A thank you seems inadequate for this couple who have lead the way in their example and in their devotion to each other and to us all. I could prove up the case in a heartbeat that their coming together in 1977 did not produce a tip toe through the tulips for them or our family. Mom, you've always been our hero. Dad, no one could have asked for a better man and who would have ever believed you would come in, grab hold of our family, and stand up for and stand by us all. That's what the two of you have done through the good times and bad, and there have been plenty of both. We have the scars to prove it and the grave markers also. Yes, the challenges continue. Dad's daughter Miriam continues to face every day as a victim of ALS, and this has been such a struggle for her and her family. Mom and dad have been there with them to help in whatever way they can. Now we have my brother who is also facing an uncertain future. But, again, what has been certain is the steady and reliable love of our mom and dad. Happy Anniversary again. When trying to innumerate our blessings, we don't have to search very far, we just have to remember what you all have meant to us and our hearts are drawn upward as we thank Almighty God for you. That's it for this week folks. We have a busy Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday planned, but if everything unfolds as it should, and the Lord provides, I'll catch up with you next Monday. Until then, may God bless each one! Amen. ......More later.