In the Care of Angels

“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book."
~ Daniel 12:1

Today, September 29, is the feast day of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael on the Church calendar. Being a bit of an angel nut, it's a tradition for me to acknowledge their special day.

There are many levels of angels, and several more archangels. But if I may be irreverant for the purpose of description, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael represent the "trifecta" of angelic prominence. They are all mentioned by name in the Bible, and each one has a special focus for their divine duties. Archangel names all end in "el," which means "in God."

Raphael heals and guides, Gabriel announces, and Michael protects. I think we're covered.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

~ Psalm 91:11

A Rose Remembered

Gloria Stuart died last night. She had turned 100 this summer, on July 4.

Although most famous for playing "Old Rose" in the 1997 blockbuster movie "Titanic," that role came to her more than 60 years after her starlet days in "Old Hollywood" had ended. At age 87, she became the oldest Academy Award nominee.

No disrespect to "Young Rose," co-star Kate Winslet, but I think the young Gloria Stuart's appearance left most actresses of any era in the dust. As her early publicity photos prove, she was flat-out gorgeous.

Stuart's late-life celebrity was one of those uplifting stories that proves how fate sometimes keeps bright surprises hidden for us. A joyful moment may emerge when we least expect it, or perhaps after we have forgotten the possibility might even exist. Such was Gloria Stuart's Oscar-nominated portrayal of Rose Calvert, a marvelous role in a world-famous movie, one that Stuart embraced and made her own. She will be remembered.

Photo from DigitalHit

Pledging Improvement

National Review Online has posted an editorial analyzing the Republican "Pledge to America." There are five components in the pledge, each of them compelling and timely. If your time doesn't allow you to read the full article, a quick review of the key points appears below:

1. Jobs - stop tax increases, require congressional approval of all new regulations, give small businesses a tax break.

2. Budget restraint - cut spending to pre-bailout/stimulus levels, impose a federal hiring freeze, require a full accounting of Social Security and Medicare funds.

3. Obamacare - (this is a biggy) - repeal Obama's healthcare bill, require medical malpractice reform, allow purchase of insurance across state lines, increase funding for high-risk pre-existing conditions, ban federal funding of abortion.

4. Transparency - require that all new legislation be available for public review online for 72 hours before any action is taken by Congress.

5. National Defense - keep troop funding bills clean, support military courts, improve missile defense systems, maintain sanctions on Iran, introduce legislation for combined state-and local control of illegal immigration.

There's nothing for me to argue against in any of those five points. I wonder how Democratic competition will manage.

Time for Tea

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come."

~ Victor Hugo

Anyone for tea?

Politicians of both parties would do themselves a favor if they took the time to read and--key word--understand Clark Judge's article, "Tea With Sympathy," posted at Hugh Hewitt's blog.

To use the kids' term, American voters are "over it." They are finished and done with talk, spending, talk, unemployment, talk, bailouts, talk, stimulus, talk, deficits, talk, and forced legislation. And, it bears repeating, talk. The voters are sick of talk. As Judge astutely notes, this is why there is a Tea Party.

The coming elections will be fascinating. I'm going to watch the returns on television over a toasty cup of tea.

42 days to the 2010 mid-term elections

776 days to the 2012 presidential election

Photo from Republic for which it stands

Can You Spare a Dime?

President Obama made a promise about not raising taxes "one single dime," and he's keeping it. If you pay taxes, they indeed will not go up "one single dime."

Taxes are going to go up by many, many dimes after Jan. 1 and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. For everyone, at every income level. But then, most of us who have been paying attention had figured that out already.

47 days to the 2010 mid-term elections

781 days to the 2012 presidential election

The Way Forward

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."

~ Romans 12:21

Photos by Getty and Associated Press (linked here)

Well Said

"Meaning of the crowd: An enormous upheaval in the emotions of average Americans is coursing through the country..."

~ Hugh Hewitt

"Seventy percent of Americans know they've been conned" is the telling title of Hugh Hewitt's Washington Examiner August 29 post. It gives a blunt and powerful recounting of the many reasons why 70% of Americans are fed up enough with the federal government to overrun the Washington D.C. mall at Saturday's rally.

Credit: AirPhotosLIVE.com

It's amusing to watch MSM struggling to downplay and belittle the significance of Glenn Beck's event. The sourest of media grapes won't neutralize voter wrath before November 2. It's time for the majority political party to get ready for some real change--that American citizens, not Beltway elites and their media cronies, can believe in.

Election Day Countdown:

64 days to the 2010 mid-term elections

798 days to the 2012 presidential election

The Right to Do Wrong

Most Americans are familiar with the First Amendment. Not all Americans realize that the First Amendment has nothing to do with the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. Some prominent players in the debate are using “freedom of religion” as a straw man argument to demonize all Americans who stand for honor, decency, and respect for the dead, murdered in an act of war.

Common sense, which is increasingly rare, tells me that nothing intrusive or controversial should be built anywhere near the site of Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers once stood. That means no church, no temple, no synagogue—and no mosque. Ground Zero is a sacred site, as worthy of national reverence as the Pearl Harbor or Gettysburg memorials.

In fact, Gettysburg had its own issue with inappropriate construction. A politically neutral observation tower opened in 1974, to provide aerial views of the battlefield. After a long legal fight in which area residents, historians, and many other Americans across the country protested this desecration, the tower was demolished in 2000.

Gettysburg is hallowed ground, a place where ten of thousands of American soldiers died in battle nearly 150 years ago. It is, quite rightly, federally protected land. A mere nine years ago, at the World Trade Center, a murderous enemy that remains openly dedicated to our total destruction slaughtered nearly three thousand innocent civilians. If they could speak, I would not be surprised if the combatants who died at Gettysburg would say that the land at Ground Zero is equally as holy in American history as their own blood-soaked battlefield.

Memo to Imam Rauf and all his endorsers, especially those in media and politics: Just because someone has the right to do something does not mean it is the right thing to do. Most Americans still understand that. It’s beyond pitiful that so many of our so-called “leaders” do not.

KeepAmericaSafe.com: WE REMEMBER

An Intolerable Situation

I didn't know that remains of 9/11 victims are still being recovered in the vicinity of the destroyed World Trade Center. This fact renders me so breathtakingly outraged over the disgusting mosque flap that I'll let Andy McCarthy do the talking for me, in this link.

McCarthy wrote another piece, "The Tolerant Pose," linked here. It's long, but concerned Americans won't notice. It's well worth your time to read every word. Be prepared to be thoroughly disturbed. But knowledge is power, and we need to stay educated about what we as a people are up against--from our government as well as our international enemies.

Election Day countdown:

77 days to the 2010 mid-term elections

811 days to the 2012 presidential election