Nothing New Under the Sun

What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

That passage is from Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verses 3 through 11, and it perfectly describes how I feel about life sometimes. I read the news, hear the political debates, the endless carping, ad hominem attacks, bleating, blathering and bloviating, and I think, "What is the point of all of this?!"

Perhaps I am just tired and cranky tonight. So I'm going to complain and rant. If you don't like it, well, change the channel.

Rant the first: Who are the idiots that thought abusing Iraqi prisoners was a good idea? I can't think of a more effective way to completely screw up whatever successes we were having in Iraq and in the Arab world. Those responsible need to be identified and brought to justice immediately and publicly, and no amount of stonewalling by the military establishment should be tolerated. The citizens of Iraq need to see a clear distinction between U.S. policy and U.S. justice and the policies and justice of Saddam's regime. Those responsible for any violation of the laws governing treatment of prisoners of war cannot be allowed to get away with it. I wholeheartedly support our military men and women; they serve with honor and bravery in the most difficult circumstances. The dishonorable and despicable actions of a few cannot be allowed to ruin the reputation of the many who have sacrificed for our country. Which brings me to...

My second rant: Pat Tillman gave up a dream career as a professional football player. He gave up millions of dollars, fame, and adulation. He joined the Army as a Ranger, and gave up his life to serve our country. And yet, there are morons that would spit on his grave. These dim bulbs cannot fathom that someone would actually believe in the ideals that underpin this country and would find them worth fighting for. I'd provide links to the bilge that some of these leftist brainiacs spewed, but I don't want to drive traffic their way. Instead, I'll provide a link to an article written about the memorial service for Pat Tillman held today. When anyone asks you who your hero is, you can say, without a second thought, "Pat Tillman." Those of you that can't comprehend true heroism are pathetic and morally stunted. Keep your "nuance" to yourselves. I'm tired of hearing it. And speaking of "nuance..."

Rant III: How long is John Kerry going to be on every side of every issue? I really wish the election was, like, tomorrow, because I don't want to have to listen to six more months of his or his supporters' blather. Recently, I heard Dave Ross of KIRO radio in Seattle defend Kerry's flip-flopping by wondering why people aren't talking about how President Bush has changed his mind on some issues. President Bush has adjusted to changing facts when he has needed to. Kerry is just trying to be all things to all people, never taking a clear stand on anything, and saying whatever he thinks will get him votes. Dave Ross apparently doesn't understand the difference. I think the American people do, and it's showing in the recent poll numbers.

Rant #4: Why is it that every single doggone day, I read where some Islamic nutcases have shot up or blown up innocent people? I know, I know: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times'" Matthew 18:21,22. But when terrorists shoot unarmed, pregnant women and children they've sunk, once again, to a low that they all too often reach. My patience is getting really thin. It seems apparent that everywhere that Muslims come in contact with people following other religions, violence is the result. Witness: Albania and the Balkans, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Chechnya, the Sudan, Kenya, Kashmir, India, even Westerners in Saudi Arabia. I can't think of any place in the world, other than the Western democracies, where Islam co-exists peacefully with other religions. Until Muslims renounce violence, we will never have even hope for peace between the rest of the world and Islam: "...all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Matthew 26:52  The Islamic world is risking utter annihilation by its continued tolerance for and outright support of terrorist tactics. They must stop, or they will reap what they have sown. Another dramatic terrorist attack on U.S. citizens might be the final straw. Of course, saying this is definitely not politically correct, as our friends in the United Nations are fond of reminding us barbaric Americans. On the other hand, many of us barbaric Americans are asking...

My last rant of the night: What use is the United Nations? Why do we give our tax money to support it? The UN was completely useless in stopping genocide in Rwanda. The "peacekeeping" mission in the Balkans is a disaster. The UN Oil-for-PalacesFood program in Iraq is the largest financial scam in the history of the world. The so-called UN Human Rights Commission is a joke. The U.S. ought to pull out of the UN and start a new organization, one that couldn't be hijacked by tin-pot dictatorships, theocracies, and communist hold-outs that violate basic human rights as a matter of policy. At the very least, the UN requires fundamental and drastic reforms, starting with the ousting of Kofi Annan as Secretary-General. His tenure in that post has been one disaster after another, with little to redeem it, other than admonishing Canada to outlaw spanking. Since the first Gulf War, the United Nations has obstructed progress on human rights, supported genocidal dictators, refused to intervene against, or in some cases even condemn, acts of terrorist violence perpetrated on Israeli and U.S. citizens. The UN is a bureaucratic nightmare, and should be abolished in favor of a new organization, post haste.

Ok, I feel a little better now. I don't normally rant like that, but there's been so much lately that I just had to get it off my chest. I haven't posted in quite a while, just because the news has been so depressing. Fallujah, Najaf, Saudi Arabia, on and on. Everywhere you turn, there's just more violence; senseless killing of innocent people just trying to go about their lives, never expecting when they woke up this morning that they would be brutally murdered by some raving, Islamist lunatic. It has to stop. Now.

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