As 2006 fades away ....

* Met with Mr. D at Lu High in the pm and got MCW's Spring schedule.
* KAR & J visited from Friday last to Sunday. We opened presents and Saturday and wen to 7:00 pm service on Sunday. KAR performed an amazing packing job with the new presents on Sunday.
* Saw RMR on Christmas after noon then went to HFW's house. We saw DJW (& family) in KC from Tuesday, Wednesday and left Thursday (12-28).
* On Wednesday, I found out that EJB had died on Friday (12-22). RAH called me on cell phone. Sent flowers.
* Saddam Hussein was hung last night and Sunnis ain't happy about it. Is that a bad thing?
* As of Thursday 12-28, I am on short rations until further notice. I've been fighting back problems. clothing problems, family problems, etc for too long now due to my weight. Hunger is my friend.
* PCW called us in KC to thank LCW & I for Christmas gift.

Why Left vs Right ...

It has been a mystery to me since before I ever had Internet access as to why the Left and Right spheres of thought exist. When I used to just read newspaper columnists it frustrated me that my opinion never seemed to be represented in the newspaper. When I received access to the Internet (10 or so years ago), I found that there were others like me that looked at events (public and private) in a traditional conservative light. We admired Ronald Reagan for call the Communist bluff, were thrilled then disappointed with Bush '41 and gnashed our teeth at Bill (& Hillary) Clinton's pecadillos and were aghast that the electorate elected him TWICE! Gadzooks, was everybody insane? We finally found, in George Bush a no-nonsense traditional valued president. Saddam Hussein played peek-a-boo with the no-fly zone in Iraq, the 911 event precipitated Afghanistan invaded then finally Iraq. The

I am not surprised that the Sunni's and Shiite's are no longer awed by American military might because they know that the might is on a very short leash and they know that the clock is running out. The American Left has done everything humanly possible to thwart success in Iraq (with the blatant support of the American media).

I have to ask: "WHY?" I have now formulated an opinion as to what is transpiring here and why.

1. World view is everything: The worldview of the Sunnis cause them to kill civilians (in the name of Allah) and Shiites, the Shiites worldview causes them to work toward establishing a ne Caliphate, the American Left see Marx class struggle at work, and we Christians see that sin is alive and well in the world (Come, Lord Jesus).
   

Christmas 2006 minus eleven ...

When last we talked, it was the weekend before last. Since then:
* I have worked a lot of "casual" overtime at work on the Compass, the Maintenance Meter, and the RFID switch
* DG seems to be taking over the UL/CSA stuff for the hourmeters pretty well
* I heard yesterday that Ed Breitung's cancer has spread to his liver and he is in the hospital and will likely enter hospice care
* Tomorrow night is the office Christmas party - actually a dinner theater at a winery north-east of here
* Received HFW's Christmas gift and sent a check to DJW for H's gift. I plan to send a check to PCW's place of employment (No other address).
* LCW & I shopped for her presents and, as usual, LCW is handling Christmas
*

A Sunday in winter ...

* Four or five squirrels on the backyard fence eating acorns ...
* Read three chapters from Romans ... but skipped church ...
* Instead L & I watched "You've Got Mail" DVD (Remake of an old Jimmy Stewart movie re-set in the Upper West Side of New York)
* L let Kit Cat out of basement (her new home) to play with Leo ... Kit Cat climbed on gerbil cage and set gerbil to thumping out a warning ...
* Might to see Nativity Story movie again this afternoon
* M just got up (11:30 am)
* Reading Guns of August bit by bit (it was a birthday gift). I have yet to finish Signal & Noise.

A winter wonderland ...

Several newsy items today:
* My 1996 white Lumina died on Monday so I bought a 1998 white Lumina (middle picture) on Wednesday ... wierd, eh?
* A major ice and snow storm raged hear from Thursday noon to Friday noon
* Mark missed two school days due to illness (sore throat) and one day due to the ice storm
* Mark got a shot for his throat infection that was diagnosed as "Staff" ... called RH-G and let her know that her son might have been exposed somehow.
* Power went out early Friday morning and came back on early this morning (Saturday) ... we spent Friday night at the Hampton Inn
* Took Lila to see "The Nativity Story" movie last night ... we both loved it.

This year's Nativity scene...














Typical ice storm damage ...














From the porch ...









"New" Lumina from the porch ...









Another from the Porch ...