Farewell to a Great President

I began writing with nothing important to say (as you'll see later on this page), but I learned this afternoon that President Ronald Reagan passed away today (June 5, 2004) at the age of 93.

When President Reagan was first elected in 1980, I was deeply skeptical of him. I was just finishing my undergraduate studies, and like many young people, I was idealistic and, politically, fairly liberal. As I matured, got married and entered the working world, I began to appreciate President Reagan more and more. His tough stance on communism lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union and freedom for millions in eastern Europe. His moral clarity and ability to communicate made him a strong leader: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

His presidency wasn't without flaws, of course. The Iran-Contra scandal was a major mistake. There were others, as well. Critics ridiculed him for relying too much on the First Lady, Nancy Reagan, especially in his second term. Despite that, however, I believe, that Ronald Reagan will go down in history as one of the best presidents in our history. His lasting legacy will be the collapse of communism in eastern Europe, symbolized by the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, and freedom from tyranny for millions of people. There is absolutely no doubt that Ronald Reagan served our country honorably and with distinction, and I am happy to admit that my first impressions of him were completely wrong. I am certain that God received him in heaven saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

Goodbye Mr. President.

And now, back to your (ir)regularly scheduled blog post...

Today's Trivia

I don't have anything really important to write about today, so I thought I'd waste your time by filling this space with a bunch of trivial stuff that you'll probably find really boring, but I found kind of interesting. Make of it what you will. As James Lileks might say, you've been warned. (Well, that turned out not to be true, didn't it?)

What Color Is Your Brain?

You know, brain "color" is not something that I've ever really considered before. Brains, from what I've read and seen, are a kind of pinkish-grey. So, I was somewhat surprised to learn that my brain is actually green!

What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla

You know, the interesting thing about this quiz is that it actually is pretty much accurate - at least for me it is. For those of you interested in psychology, specifically the branch known as "personality theory," there are some interesting surveys and tests you can take that will help you to understand your own personality better. One of the better known approaches to categorizing personality is the Jung-Myers-Briggs typology. It categorizes personality along four dimensions: introversion vs. extroversion, sensing vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving. The four dimensions have technical definitions that don't exactly correspond to the everyday, common meaning of the words, so you have to do a bit of research to understand the meanings in this context. For example, in the Jung-Myers-Briggs typology, "introversion" doesn't imply shyness or being reserved. If you're interested in knowing more about your own personality, check out some of the online tests. (There are many besides the one I linked. Google "Myers Briggs" for a bunch of hits.) For reference, my Myers-Briggs personality type is INTJ. There are good descriptions of the 16 Myers-Briggs types at Typelogic.com.

Mmmm...Chocolate

I'm not that much of a "chocoholic," but I definitely like chocolate. Now, I have an excuse for eating more of it! It turns out, according to a recent study, that dark chocolate may actually be beneficial to your health. Dark chocolate is full of nutrients called "flavonoids" that apparently are good for your heart and blood vessels. Since I tend to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I think I need to eat lots of chocolate. Right?

What Was I Thinking!?!

I hate it when I'm a dimwit; although, I should be used to it by now. I thought I didn't have anything important to write about, completely forgetting that tomorrow (June 6th) is the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. Sixty years ago, Allied forces landed on beaches in Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Europe from Hitler's Nazis. The courage of the men that stormed ashore that day was simply incredible. How can we possibly show enough appreciation for what they did? I am glad to see that France is honoring some of the men that took part, and I am doubly glad that, finally, the National World War II Memorial has been opened in Washington, D.C.

President Bush is in France to take part in memorial services and is meeting with the president of France, Jacques Chirac. I have to say that President Bush is a far better diplomat than I am or could be. He is reaching out to the Surrenderer-in-Chief of France, looking for common ground. I'd be inclined to tell Mr. Chirac to take a long walk on a short pier. It galls me when a country like France, that hasn't even stood up for itself lately, dares to lecture the U.S. when we are paying with so many lives and billions of dollars - once again! - to bring freedom and prosperity to others. The arrogance of the president of France is just appalling. They have no grounds to be lecturing anyone. If they had any conscience, they'd recognize their lack of moral authority and just keep their mouths shut.

O.K. - that last was a bit of a rant. The real story of D-Day is the heroism and courage of those that planned, led and fought to make that pivotal day in history a victory for the free world. Thank God for the brave men and women of the "Greatest Generation." Can you imagine how different the world would be if they hadn't been willing to make the sacrifices that it took to win World War II? Can you imagine living under Nazi tyranny? Can you imagine living in a world where all Jews had been executed, merely because they were Jews?

"No," you say. "Thank God that we won the war."

Well, I agree, but let me point out that the threat of the Nazis hasn't been completely eliminated - not even close.

I'm not talking about the lunatic, neo-Nazi skinheads you hear about now and then. They're brutal and deranged, but not a threat to our country or civilization.

I am talking about the Islamic terrorists we are fighting right now - the ones responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, Israelis, Australians, English and citizens of many other nations.

The Islamists are every bit as brutal as Hitler's Nazis, and they share many of the same goals. They are supported by several countries - Iran and Syria to begin with. They're long-term plan is to force their brand of intolerant, misogynist, violent, medieval Islam on the whole of the world. Like the Nazis, they hate all Jews. The Islamists, and even moderate Muslims, want Israel eliminated from the face of the earth. You don't believe me? Go to the MEMRI.org web site, and read for yourself the Islamists' own words. Here's some quotes, if you aren't inclined to check it out for yourself:

From MEMRI Special Dispatch Series - No. 723:

"Our missiles are now ready to strike at their civilization, and as soon as the instructions arrive from Leader ['Ali Khamenei], we will launch our missiles at their cities and installations. Our motto during the war (in Iraq) was: Karbala, we are coming, Jerusalem, we are coming. And because of Khatami's policies and dialogue between the civilizations, we have been compelled to freeze our plan to liberate the Islamic cities. And now we are [again] about to carry out the program."

In his speech, he added: "The global infidel front is a front against Allah and the Muslims, and we must make use of everything we have at hand to strike at this front, by means of our suicide operations or by means of our missiles. There are 29 sensitive sites in the U.S. and in the West. We have already spied on these sites and we know how we are going to attack them."

So, they have plans to use nukes against American cities - isn't that comforting? Here's another one for you from MEMRI Special Dispatch Series - No. 594:

The Jews lived their whole lives in a nest of corruption, propagating vile and fighting virtue. Therefore, Allah – through the Prophets - cursed them throughout time because they constantly propagated treason, be it their way of life and their way of dealing with people… They worship and venerate money, using it to breed depravity and to raze values. Because of this Allah, be He praised, said [Koran 5: 78-79]: 'The heretics among the Israelites were cursed by David and by Jesus the son of Mary because they rebelled and acted violently. They did not counsel each other from committing evil, but [indeed] did it and therefore their deeds are sinful.' Allah be He praised, did not curse all the Jews, since there is a group amongst them that has known Allah and believed in Him… Some of the Jews, though a minority, have decency and conscience.

Quite a piece of disgusting anti-Semitism, isn't it? That was written by a former official in Egypt's government, not some wild-eyed suicide bomber. It's representative of mainstream thought amongst Arab Muslims.

I started writing this to honor those who served 60 years ago to protect our country, indeed all of civilization, from Nazi fascism and Japanese imperialism. The people of the Greatest Generation recognized what was at stake, and they rose to the challenge.

Many people today refuse to recognize that we are in a war at all, let alone one just as dire as the one 60 years ago. Indeed, the threat from Islamic radical fundamentalism may be even greater, if nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction fall into the hands of those willing to use them against us - and the Islamist terrorists are actively seeking to acquire them. Read what they have said. If we falter now in our opposition to the terrorists - if we allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into terrorists' hands - there is a high likelihood that thousands or millions of Americans will die.

Do just a bit of research. Read what they have said. Then try to tell me I'm wrong. The threat of the Islamists is every bit as great as that of the Nazis; indeed, they have much in common. I only hope that our current generation is as clear-headed as that of our fathers and grandfathers and that, like them, we will rise to meet the challenge. Our lives and the future of the free world are, once again, at stake.

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