New Year, News Overload

If you're in search of a topic for discussion on current events, there's an embarrassment of riches to choose from in just the first week of 2026.

But where is one to begin? Go ahead, pick a subject. Here's a fast dozen for consideration: Venezuela? Cuba? Colombia? Greenland? Iran? Nigeria? Somalia? Russia? Ukraine? Washington D.C.? New York City? Minnesota? It's information overload in every direction. I'm exhausted just scanning the headlines. 

This could be a good time to take a break from news to and concentrate on finishing the 900-page novel I'm halfway through. By the time I'm done reading it, there will be at least a dozen more major news stories to absorb. With any luck, maybe a few of today's hot topics will be old news by then. We can only hope.

Welcome to 2026. Please consume information responsibly.

Casualties of War

 St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

I've noticed that in the past year, the philosophical soldiers of light are being picked off the battlefield of good vs. evil.

I'm referring to prominent champions of Western values, the outspoken cultural warriors who defend the tenets of the Western world's Judeo-Christian faith such as the necessity of God's grace, strong men, healthy nuclear families, and a country that honors its laws and founding principles.

By my observation, the onslaught against the agents of light began in November 2024 with Dennis Prager's catastrophic injury; it has left him sidelined as a quadriplegic. Speaking as a longtime member of PragerU, this loss has been devastating. Dennis was followed by so many people, young and old, worldwide. I looked forward to Dennis Prager's Fireside Chat each week, and I although I enjoy PragerU CEO Marissa Streit's weekly interviews, I sorely miss Dennis and his cheerful, common-sense wisdom. 

Jordan Peterson, a popular author, psychologist, and conservative influencer, was critically ill and in the hospital for most of this year. He was close to death and, although still unwell, is now recovering from chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS).

In August, the founder of Focus on the Family, James Dobson, died. At age 89, he was certainly entitled to do so, but it was yet another strong voice for good silenced. I did not follow Dobson closely, but I noted his passing as another casualty in our ongoing struggle against the cultural darkness.

In September, of course, we lost Charlie Kirk to an assassin's bullet. Kirk's death is a tragic blow to uncounted millions of people around the world, perhaps especially a loss to the young people he so successfully was able to reach and influence for good. Charlie, cut down at age 31, is irreplaceable.

Today, my favorite of all the great thinkers of our time, Victor Davis Hanson, is undergoing "major surgery" for a "serious problem." I don't even want to imagine what the "problem" could be, although my mind keeps going there. All I can do is pray for him, which I have done and will continue to do. The forces of good have lost too much. We need a win, badly.

On his podcasts, Hanson has referred to this surgery and the threat of death with dark humor: "Not today," he wryly remarks of his demise. I'm praying he's right. I'm begging the Lord to let us keep Victor here, on the battlefield, at least for a little while more.

Victor's Podcast, "In His Own Words" - The Daily Signal

Merry Christmas to All

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." ~ John 1:14

Joy to the World ~ Christmas 2025

May your days be merry and bright.

Tiptoeing Around Terrorism

It was a bad news weekend, beginning with the murderous ISIS ambush of two US soldiers and their translator in Syria and ending with the stabbing deaths of Hollywood's Rob Reiner and his wife inside their home (this last, not terrorism). Sandwiched in between were the Brown University mass shooting (motive thus far undeclared) and the anti-Semitic slaughter of Jews celebrating Hanukkah on a beach in Australia.

I think most reasonable people--worldwide--are sick of the collective media types and government officials walking on eggshells around the bloody results of radical Islamic terrorism. The following are my top three "tiptoe terms," and they should no longer be tolerated:

1. "Globalize the Intifada" - This is an elegant way of urging radical Islamists and their acolytes to kill Jews and Christians wherever you find them. It's been a spectacularly successful strategy for the Kill the West crowd lately.

2. "Senseless tragedy" - This is doublespeak that in reality is describing a purposeful, carefully planned atrocity deliberately inflicted upon people of a particular religion or political ideology, specifically Jews (e.g., Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre in Australia), Christians (e.g., murder of Christians by radical Islamists in Africa), or adherents to political conservatism (e.g., Charlie Kirk in the USA).

3. "Islamophobia" - This mislabel is a ubiquitous attempt to extinguish a perfectly logical skepticism and suspicion about the intentions of radical Islamists who are actively dedicated to destroying Western civilization. Westerners aren't the ones deploying around the world with detailed plans to murder radical Islamists by as many dozens as possible; quite the reverse is true.

If the Judeo-Christian Western world has any hope of survival, it's long past time to stop tiptoeing around radical Islamist terrorism and start stomping on it--hard. Lace up your combat boots, and let's go.

RIP ~ Iowa National Guardsmen, Sgts. Torres-Tovar and Howard

'Tis the Season

Okay...the tree is up, the cards are in the mail, and the shopping is just about done. I've given myself permission to take it easier this year; many people in my life are doing the same. It's more the season to enjoy and spend precious time together. 

My closest friends are retired, as am I. We are busy planning social get-togethers rather than gift exchanges, and we're all looking forward to enjoying the luxury of time with each other. Time is what was always in such short supply during our hectic working years. It's a true Christmas treat for us to be able to splurge on unfettered hours together, celebrating in leisurely fashion.

Good memories are far more enduring than gifts. They are, in fact, gifts in themselves. I hope you are planning to share these Christmas holidays with family and friends. 'Tis the season to unwrap good times. May your days be merry and bright.

"Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime."
~ Charles Dickens 

The Christmas Rush

In my neighborhood, Christmas decorations appeared on Veterans Day--November 11.

It wasn't just one or two houses; it was entire blocks, fully illuminated in festive decor. I was driving in the dark on November 12 and thought I had entered a rupture in the space/time continuum. Wait...wasn't it still two weeks until Thanksgiving?

What is up with this frantic rush to year-end? Whatever happened to celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which once upon a time was a treasured tradition? Thanksgiving is the only truly American holiday, but it has been all but eliminated by the stampede to Christmas. If it weren't for the enduring popularity of turkey and trimmings, Thanksgiving would probably be a mere memory by now.

My Christmas tree isn't set up yet, nor are any of my yuletide decorations. I'll do that this weekend. There's plenty of time until Christmas, nearly three weeks. When they do go up, my decorations will stay put until the Church celebrates the wise men arriving in Bethlehem, the feast of Epiphany in January. As usual, I'll be the last one in my neighborhood to wait until the Twelve Days of Christmas are completed to store away my seasonal items. All those trees tossed at the curb or dumped in lots on December 26 are being thrown out on the second day of Christmas. 

These days it seems that Christmas expires faster than leftover turkey. 'Tis the season to hurtle ahead, I suppose. But I'm in no rush. Cheers to a long and leisurely Christmas season.

The Twelve Days of Christmas ~ December 25 to January 6

Let the Holidays Begin

Enjoy Your Thanksgiving Holiday
~ back online in December

Forgotten Heroes

 "We're as good as dead." ~ a Palawan POW survivor, p.164

The European battle theatre of World War II usually gathers the lion's share of historical coverage, as it is surely entitled to do. But often overlooked or forgotten are the stories of American combat veterans who fought in the Pacific theatre battles, which were exceedingly brutal and horrifying.

As Good As Dead by Stephen L. Moore is a riveting, meticulously researched account of the fate of World War II American POWs held on the Pacific island of Palawan. Having learned about the 1942 Bataan Death March in my youth, I prided myself that I was educated about the war. Until I read Moore's book, I didn't know that the death march was the very beginning of the American prisoners' agonies.

The surviving death march POWs of Palawan were put to forced labor building a landing field for Japanese war planes. It was backbreaking work. As Moore's recounting illustrates in grim detail, the prisoners were incessantly starved, beaten, tortured, and murdered by the guards and officers. 

As the war approached its end and the Americans began advancing towards Palawan, the POWs were forced to dig pits for their own mass graves. They were packed into the pits, drenched in fuel, and set afire. The few POWs who escaped by tumbling to the beach far below were hunted down and first tortured, then killed, when found. 

Eleven men survived Palawan's death camp. Even as they made their escapes, they sustained terrifying wounds while creeping through the jungle or swimming through the ocean to freedom. It is truly miraculous that any of these brave men lived to tell their harrowing story.

It took me many weeks to finish As Good As Dead. I had to keep pausing, because the events depicted were so upsetting. What these POWs suffered daily were horrific torments beyond my imagination. This Veterans Day, I'm remembering the Palawan POW victims and the few courageous survivors who forged on after the war to rebuild successful lives back home in the USA.

Thank you to all our US Veterans, especially the men of Palawan.

Happy Birthday, Marines

 "I ought to do my own share of the fighting."

~ John Adams, founder of the US Marines and 2nd US president

Founded before the birth of our nation, the United States Marine Corps, the troops of the Marines fight by land and by sea since America's Revolutionary War. Even as they earned the moniker "Devil Dogs" on the battlefields of France, Marines also fought by air in the first World War. In World War II, Marines fought at enormous cost so many key battles in the Pacific theatre--in such places as Guam, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima. The iconic photo of the American flag being raised on Iwo Jima captures the unyielding spirit, courage, and determination of these dedicated warriors.

Two and a half centuries is a long time to keep exceling in combat and achieving victories. Yet the US Marines continue bringing it home, year after year, decade after decade--century after century.

Thank you to the brave members of our US Marine Corps. As our second president noted, I ought to do my own share of the fighting, too. Every American should do so. Our country is certainly worth the battle.

No Longer Free

A British man was fired from his teaching job for hoisting 150 national flags around his hometown.

Furthermore, he has been blackballed by a former employer and an employment agency that refuses to work with him because he is "racist"--a word that currently conveys absolutely no meaning due to constant, dishonest overuse and misapplication. 

The concepts of rule of law and individual liberties were enshrined in Britain's Magna Carta, signed in 1215 by King John. The framers of the United States Constitution drew heavily from the Magna Carta in establishing our American rights and freedoms. One might say eight centuries is a good run for such a foundational document of Western civilization, but one would be wrong. Our God-given freedoms are timeless and should be fiercely protected as such.

The global immigration onslaught from Islamic countries continues to wreak havoc throughout the Western Judeo-Christian world, coming as close as Dearborn, Michigan, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and now New York City in our own nation. A frightening number of these immigrants come not to assimilate into our culture, but to dominate it. "Diversity," far from being our strength, is turning out to be our downfall.  

The United Kingdom should stand as a stark warning to the USA. If your government cowers to those who come to destroy your people's way of life; if you cannot speak openly and honor your country's values at will; if you cannot fly your own country's flag without fear of punishment--you are no longer free.

British dad Shaun Remmer - fired for flying his nation's flag.