I don't remember everything I was supposed to have learned in high school, but one of the things I recall from those decades ago is what defined a "Comedy" and a "Tragedy" in the Greek world. A "comedy" was a story that ended well, no matter how harrying and dark the path toward the end, a happy ending gave a theatrical production the "comedy" stamp. Likewise was the case for the "tragedy". Things may be going well even late into the last act, but if our hero dies of poisoning, that's it... it's a "tragedy" for sure.
     What has me thinking on this is the recent revelation of some of Mother Theresa's memoirs which revealed some of the doubts that she had in her heart about God. And it would seem that there are those who are trying to make some real hay out of that. It's as if, "if Mother Theresa had doubts, shouldn't we question our faith?" Now I am a pastor. I know the "Christian thing". And I am revealing no deep secrets when I say that almost everyone who ever decided to walk with Jesus has had his or her doubts and struggles. In fact, it's pretty safe to say that all of us, regardless of our relationship with faith, have experienced many of life's peaks and valleys. Life just isn't a straight line toward the sun. If layed out like a topographical map, it would have more bumps than a kid with chicken pox. And the definition of faith and sainthood and all the rest isn't whether you've had doubts and fears. What defines us all is how we finish. It's "News at 11" now that the world's most famous nun had her doubts at times and even wrote them down in her personal journal. What we already knew is that after that day (or days, or week, or however long it was) there was yet another when she got up at 4AM to dedicate herself yet again to the cause of Christ. She doubted, but she did not allow her doubts to lead her to despair. The Lord she served had gotten her too far for her to turn back when questions and feelings of spiritual distance came her way.
     Maybe you're reading this and faith is just not your bag. You have no interest in Christianity or church or any of that stuff and you would rather I not preach. That's cool. But in case you wondered, yes, those of us who believe sometimes have our doubts... just like you do. But the trick is that we're not staying there. No matter what I feel, one thing I know... God loves me and desires for me to live for Him. Therefore I will believe and I will trust and I will follow Jesus no matter what peaks and valleys lie yet ahead. That's in case you were wondering. But I suspect that most have the same reaction so many of us had when the broadcast media revealed the shocking revelation that saint Mother Theresa went through the valley of the shadow of death like everyone else... "What's next? The sun goes down in the west?"

    I don't watch many horror movies, so I'm a little unclear on just how zombies are finally defeated. Is it some sort of ritual thing or the breaking of a spell or something? The reason I ask is I have the feeling this illegal immigration issue is one that just will not die until it eats the heart out of America. Where is Michelle Malkin when I need her? Is there some way we can make her the official potentate of all things immigration? Of course not. She makes way too much sense for the beltway crowd. And without her leading the charge, I really feel that the concept of a Canadamerixico is very, very real. And this incident with scofflaw-turned-cause celibre' for the left Elvira Arellano only serves to to cement that feeling. I want to scream, "We'll welcome you with open arms should you come back LEGALLY!" But the more I think about it, the more I can see around the corner and down the lane of the future to a day when the shouts of "Here we come, like it or not!" will drown out my desperate plea. And as long as certain people control the majority of television cameras and printing presses and microphones, those of us who think we are making a reasonable request will be evil tyrants in the eyes of way too many to beat back. So, just as the politicians are waking up to the political expediency of not only backing down on the most recent Immigration bill to saunter through Congress but of actually putting some teeth to border security, here comes Ms. Arellano. And it's not a personal thing with someone whom I am sure is very nice and kind and a good person, it is the cause she brings back from the grave that sends a shiver down my spine. I am a Christian, so the break-up of families portion of this whole debate disturbs me greatly. I am a minister, and I am determined to help anybody who needs my help, illegal alien or native citizen. But I am also a proud American citizen in a world rife with terror and a father of three little ones who deserve to be safe. So all of this does keep me awake some nights.

     But Michelle or someone else needs to tell me this is winnable. Because right now I cannot see it. I can see the "zombie" rising again and again until it eats America whole. I do not see a future in which Mexico says, "okay, we will only come in legally from now on." I can, unfortunately, envision a day when American throws up the white flag and gives in to the more determined group. Is there anyone out there who can show me another scenario in which this whole "spell" is broken and the rule of law reigns in our country again?

I never know what headings to put on these things. Anyway, I just read the headline on the Drudge Report that W. is on pace to be on vacation more than any POTUS in history. Let's pause for a moment and let that sink in. One of the most successful, effective leaders we've had in this country is on pace for more hammocks and golf clubs than any leader of the free world ever. I know it drives the "Drive Bys" and the Dems crazy, just how often Bush is away from "Mecca" on vacation. Then you have to take into account just what the president has done WHILE on vacation. How many military campaigns has he been involved in, international incidents, sticky negotiations... all while down in Crawford in his bunny slippers out on the back porch with his hound dog? He's running circles around his opponents, folks. Don't let the prevailing media fool you. He's not intimidated or worried or backing down one iota. I say we give the man a raise and a few more weeks' vacation. He's certainly earned it and we certainly benefit from it. So do you have some fishing tackle he can borrow? A cottage in West Virginia? A speed boat on the Missouri River? Tickets to Disney World? Whatever the components of the president's vacation might be, he's proving one thing for sure... Washington is NOT the center of the universe or the only source of power. President Bush is proving that power, true power comes from above... and from within.

I don't know if this is allowed or not... This isn't one of those "stupid Dems" posts or anything like that. This is a simple recommendation of a cool television show my wife and I have come to enjoy over this summer. The show is called "Burn Notice" and it airs at 10pm on Thursday nights on the USA Network. The concept is cool. An international spy of an unknown U.S. agency, is in the middle of an operation in Africa when he gets a phone call. Right in the middle of negotiating with what looks like a very dangerous person in that person's "lair" the caller informs him he's been "burned." When a spy is "burned" it means he's been let go. It really means more than that, however. Whatever resources were available before are gone. All money, contacts, knowledge of his existence by his former superiors is gone. He has to figure out how to get out of his situation on his own. Our main character gets the tar kicked out of him and wakes up in Miami. He does not know who "burned" him or why. But when he goes to find out he gets major heat. It's as if he is imprisoned within the city of Miami. His estranged mother lives there, as does his hot-headed former IRA guerrilla girlfriend and an old spy-buddy who is ratting him out to the FBI. He has an FBI tail wherever he goes and has to learn to get by on his wits and the training he has had as a field agent (no Valerie Plame desk-jockey this guy). As much as it pains him he has to make contact with his mother and find a way to generate cash while he is trying to sniff out just who "burned" him. This ends up being a series of "private eye" cases to which our main character applies his very formidable skills and experience. With the help of his quasi-girlfriend and rat-fink buddy, he brings a terrifying level of justice to bad guys in Miami. The show is slick and cool and very well-paced. It is the one show my wife and I cannot wait to watch each week. You should check it out.

 At a website devoted mostly to sports, there is a corner where a person can talk about just about anything that is not sports related as long as the National Guard isn't called in. After staying away from a thread entitled "Election 2008" for weeks, I waded in this past weekend armed with facts and in the mood to tweak some progressives. And I learned a couple of things in the process. One is that most people are not privy to the facts I had in hand. This is most likely due to the "weighted" reporting my progressive friends claimed was not happening. The other thing I learned is that being confronted with reason is very upsetting for progressives. First of all, in calling themselves "progressives", they are implying that those of us who are not of their political/philosophical persuasion are only slightly up the evolutionary scale from Neanderthals. So it unnerves them to hear one of us conservatives speaking in complete sentences and using a grown up vocabulary. Also, "I think" has very little place in an "I feel" world. If a person "feels" a certain way about the world or about one aspect of the world we live in, what one thinks or what facts are presented that dispute that feeling are irrelevant. For example, the Bush Tax Cuts have caused a huge swell of revenue for the U.S. Treasury. The response I got, "What has Bush done with this extra revenue?" Regarding my questioning of Barak Obama's Pakistan policy, talking about specific candidates was apparently taboo. Again, the thread's title was "Election 2008..." Bias in the media? "Not since 1984," opined one U.K. Guardian devotee. And the thought of Democrat candidates sitting down with Brit Hume for an interview? "Why should they go over to Fox News?" The disdain nearly dripped through my computer screen. I guess getting interviewed by a snowman is preferable. I also learned that Ralph Nader is "above politics", Bush "thinks he's king", and all sorts of wonderful things. How I crave an actual debate between ideologies. How I wish for intellectual honesty on the part of my political opponents/fellow Americans. Alas, my reason is the problem. If only I could see what an evil jerk George W. Bush is and how socialized medicine and education and the like are the way to go. But then I'm not progressive. I wouldn't understand.

      All I want to say at this time is that I am tired of "news cycles". The current "cycle" involves the barely day-old tragedy involving the 35W bridge in the Twin Cities. People lost their lives. Others were severely injured. Many more have had their daily lives affected for the foreseeable future. The human element of this incident can be explored in depth. But here we are, roughly 26 hours have passed, and already it would seem there is a "crisis" involving America's infrastructure. And there are some who seem to think the answer for every problem is more taxpayers' money. And there are others, many others, sniffing around in the fog of other peoples' pain for someone to blame. What does it mean that the bridge was given an evaluation in 2005 that was "structurally deficient?" Whose head should roll for this? I haven't heard yet that it's W's fault for diverting funds that should have went to bridges and sending them to Iraq, but we are just hours into this. 
    Isn't it true that sometimes a tragedy is just a tragedy? Don't we have men and women doing the best they can all over our country to inspect and repair and evaluate our bridges and highways already? Does anybody doubt that the folks in Minnesota were doing their best? (Don't answer that). Is it at all possible that everyone was doing their jobs and tragedy struck anyway? Is there room for that sort of thinking today? Or are we destined always for a parade of experts and pundits and university professors to analyze the "crisis" to death each time something happens in this country? Are FoxNews and CNN that desperate for ratings? I really wonder if there isn't someone at PMSNBC who sees something like this as a "ratings winner". It's sick I know. But how much more sick is it to see how long something like this is strung out. Every ounce of relevance is milked out of the accidents and spills and murders and missing person cases that most catch the public's eye. It is making careers for certain people in media today. There are certain folks who seem to cover nothing but the mistrials and collapsed bridges of America.
     I think there are times when we just need time to mourn. We don't need the networks to figure it all out for us and have someone to finger for our tragedy before we turn in for the night. And we certainly don't need more from the Democrats turning every incident into a political football. Sometimes we just need to cry, to reflect, to rebuild, and to try to get on with our lives. So pack up your news trucks, shut down your helicopters, roll up your microphone cords and get out of our faces. Sometimes tragedy is just tragedy, not a ratings winner.