Ex-President Carter (He of double digit inflation and block long gas lines) is up to his old tricks again. According to those in the know, this visit will boost Hamas’ credibility on the world scene. Funny how the Dems have a habit of doing this. For those of you that don’t remember, President Clinton accomplished the same thing when he sat down for a visit with Yasser Arafat.

ME: Hmmm…uh, well, lesee..does this button work? Whadaya mean password? So what. I forgot it.

COMPUTER: Click here and I’ll send it to you.

ME: Ooooo…kay. Yep that’s it. Got it. Now, what to write. Well, maybe an excuse…hmmmm, no, that won’t do. How ’bout the truth. Well, there’s really no excuse for the prolonged absence. Just doin’ things that didn’t include blogging. In a flash of brilliance, I decided that if I was gona pay $18 every month to the good folks at Blogs About, I’d probably better write something every now and then.

Well, where to start after 4 months of absence from the blogging scene?

Victor Davis Hanson of the National Review sums up the goin’s on in the Cliton household pretty well:

If the current president hasn’t been helped by the present campaign, look what’s it’s done to his predecessor. The Clinton legacy is wrecked. Left-wing bloggers, liberal columnists, and some Democratic politicians now despise Bill and Hillary Clinton — even more than did “the vast right-wing conspiracy” of the 1990s.

A furious Hillary keeps charging the media with the same sort of bias that the Republicans used to routinely claim always favored her husband. Apparently the Left has become infatuated with Barack Obama and does not want another eight years of the once-iconic Clintons — especially after their use of the race card, the hardball politics, and Hillary’s chronic exaggeration and misstatements.

Don’t think that I’d want to be a fly on the wall around there….way too much danger from flying objects.

The war against terrorism is progessing now that the politicians have decided to let the “boots on the ground” run things. General Petraeus, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer and head of all things military, summed things up this way:

What tactics are working? “We got down at the people level and are staying,” he said flatly. “Once the people know we are going to be around, then all kinds of things start to happen.”

Rather than continue with all of the newsworthy events of today, I’ll call it quits for now. Wouldn’t want to develop carpal tunnel syndrome what with all the typing and such, you know. Happy Trails for now and we’ll write again, later.

As they peered with searching eyes into the manger, what did the shepherds see? I mean, what did they really see? As they looked into the crude manger, did they see in the Christ child’s intent gaze, the love and compassion that must surely have been there? Did they see the calloused feet that would walk the dusty roads of Galilee? Did they notice the strong hands that, as a carpenter, would ever so lovingly work with the wood in Joseph’s shop and that would eventually heal the sick and bring sight to the blind? Could they discern that searching, compelling look that seeks out the hearts of all men? Were they privy to the look of pain and agony that He would one day have as He was beaten, spat upon, scorned, and then crucified? Could they detect the confident look that foretold His resurrection and eventual return to a fallen world?

From the perspective of two thousand years, we gaze into that same manger. What do we see? What do we really see? Do we see just the son of a humble carpenter? Do we, with a self-righteous cluck of our tongues, say, “Surely, because of His lowly estate, He will live in squalor and poverty all His life and amount to nothing?” Do we see a rebel and rabble rouser destined for nothing but a horrible death? Do we see just a self-proclaimed king? Do we say, “He must be destined for naught? Do we ask, just like His disciple Nathaniel, “What good can come out of Nazareth?” Do we say, as His detractors did, “Surely a troublemaker such as this will come to no account?” Are we perhaps a bit more optimistic and see a respected prophet? Do we intone with a condescending smirk, “Hmmm… maybe he’ll amount to something after all?” Or do we, as He intended, see the nail-scarred hands that down thru the centuries have reached out to a fallen world? More importantly, are we willing to grasp those hands and to take up His cross and follow Him. Do we see the love in His eyes? A love, which was so great that He willingly allowed himself to be nailed to a Roman cross and pay the price that we, so justly, deserved to pay. And finally, do we see the Creator of the universe, a risen Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and soon coming King?

Hmmm….This says something about either the reader or author. Not really sure which. So….you be the judge.

Okay folks. It’s that time of year again.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled and adaptive laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the ‘Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field.

Off to the right side of the page, in the right hand side bar, you’ll see a graph indicating the contributions given to date by the Navy team (Of which, I am a proud member). To contribute, just click in the space indicated.

Please thoughtfully consider your gift. The project is a most worthy endeavor and every dime given is well spent.

Due to the importance of this post, I’ll try to keep it at the top until 11 Nov. 2008, which is the date that the fund raiser ends.

Ladies and gents…I give you the latest from the political classes:

Hundreds of US diplomats have protested against a government move to force them to accept postings in war-torn Iraq.
About 300 angry diplomats attended a meeting at the state department, at which one labelled the decision a “potential death sentence”.

If too few volunteer, some will be forced to go to Iraq - or risk dismissal, except those exempted for medical or personal hardship reasons. Iraq postings have previously been filled on a voluntary basis.
The meeting was called to explain the “forced assignments” order made by state department human resources director Harry Thomas.

Last Friday, he notified about 250 “prime candidates” that they had been selected for one of 48 one-year postings at the embassy in Baghdad or in a Provincial Reconstruction Team elsewhere in the country.

They were given 10 days to reply

Hmmm….I was always under the impression that when you entered government service, you did what you were told to do and went where you were told to go. Golly, I wonder if the Marines that freed Fallujah were given the opportunity to discuss the issue before crossing the ‘line of departure’? Certainly not. They are trained warriors who have pledged their loyalty to the United States and have promised to defend the nation and the Constitution upon which she is founded.

UPDATE:Paul, over at Power Line, has these thoughts to add to the developing story:

….., State Department personnel have a moral imperative to live up to their worldwide availability obligation. And it should not be too much to hope that they would share the view of the woman detailed to Basra who wanted to go where her country thought it needed her, rather than the man who said, to applause, that “any other embassy in the world [facing similar circumstances] would have been closed by now.”

If Rice sticks to her guns, we likely will see a large number of resignations. That sounds like a good thing.

H/T Lex

In a letter to the troops of the Multinational Force, General Petraeus lays out for examination the accomplishments, as well as the tasks that lay ahead for the troops. Notice that this letter was written prior to his visit with the President and Congress.

Sadly, we’ve lost a great ally in Iraq.

Charges against four US Marines that were allegedly involved in the deaths of twenty-four Iraqi citizens have been dropped. You gotta wonder if Ex-Marine, now Congressman John Murtha will issue an apology for his remarks accusing the Marines of cold blooded murder. If Murtha holds true to form, I seriously doubt that an apology will be forth-coming. Should we be surprised?

Prolly not.

Sometime back, I posted on Jim’s project, Letters From Home. He is still gathering letters to send to the Marines of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment 1st, Marine Division. At this point in time, he’s received almost 400 hundred letters toward his goal of 1000. If all goes according to plan, when the goal is reached he will send these in two batches of 500. As you can see, he is considerably short of the goal of 1000. I would encourage everyone that can to join in. Remember, if you’ve already written a letter it’s okay to write more than one, if you’ve posted about the project on your website, please post again, and if you’ve not participated yet, it’s certainly not too late. So, drop by Jim’s site, catch up on the latest, and by all means, be a part of this great project.