CatHouse Chat

The most beautiful tree of Fall

Has GOT to be this one!

The man is a disgrace!

Thank the good Lord above that Kerry isn't our President now...

How dare he smear and malign our troops like this???

The people of Taxachusetts ought to wise up and get rid of this cretin...

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has an excellent round-up of reader reactions (don't forget to check the articles that trackbacked to her), including this set of data from David:

After just a quick search, I found the following:

Academic Education

-- 49.2 percent of officers have advanced or professional degrees; 39.4 percent have master's degrees, 8.5 percent have professional degrees and 1.3 percent have doctorate degrees.

-- 22.8 percent of company grade officers have advanced degrees; 16.5 percent have master's degrees, 5.9 percent have professional degrees and 0.3 percent have doctorate degrees.

-- 85.4 percent of field grade officers have advanced degrees; 70.7 percent have master's degrees, 12.1 percent have professional degrees and 2.5 percent have doctorate degrees.

-- 99.9 percent of the enlisted force have at least a high school education; 73.3 percent have some semester hours toward a college degree; 16.2 percent have an associate's degree or equivalent semester hours; 4.7 percent have a bachelor's degree; 0.7 percent have a master's degree and .01 percent have a professional or doctorate degree."

That comes from http://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?storyID=123027385 (about a third of the way down). I'm sure there's better information out there. Also, while I was in the military, I remember reading a study showing that the education levels in the military FAR outstrip anything seen in the civilian world. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything like it in the short time I looked. I'd bet that if you contacted an official military liaison, they could give you good information instantly.

And you should also read Cassandra's excellent post on this as well:

America. It's a great country.

The land of the free and the home of the brave. Here, we have the freedom to do, or be, or even say anything we want. America is a land filled with opportunity; a land of plenty, and peace. A land where a young boy or girl can grow up to be an astronaut, a doctor, an engineer, an exotic dancer, or even a United States senator who gratuitously insults the men and women who gave him the precious freedoms enjoyed by every American:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Funny. I went to high school with my husband. He was a Merit Scholar with SATs in the 98th percentile. He got into every school he applied to, including (as I recall) at least one Ivy. He graduated from college with grades far better than John Kerry's, though he had a full-time job, a wife, and a baby to support while attending class. He could have written his own ticket, but he chose the Marine Corps. Of course, what would he know? By definition, he must not be terribly smart.

It just gets better from there... Now I'm also going to check out the Rott to see just how bloody-minded Emperor Misha and His minions are feeling...

(UPDATE 2) Ah, yes... The Emperor chimes in... And I have come to the personal conclusion that this Senator from Taxachusetts has so disgraced himself and his position that I can no longer offer him the courtesy of his legal name. I shall now refer to him only as "Lurch," without even "Senator" in front of it. My apologies to the actor(s) who have played this character in the past, but the resemblance is uncanny, and the moniker is family-friendly, at least, compared to others out there.

Virginia Absentee Voting

I did not know this, but I'm glad I got the e-mail from the Allen Campaign, because the Beloved Husband is probably travelling on Tuesday the 7th - Election Day:

The State of Virginia allows "In Person Absentee Voting" for 45 days prior to an election. You can continue to vote absentee in person until Saturday, November 4th at 5:00 PM. For information on who may vote absentee go to the Virginia State Board of Elections web site. Chances are that you qualify!

The "In Person Absentee Balloting" takes place in the County Registrar's office. Use the following link to find your County or Independent Town Registrar's specific office hours and contact information.

This is a good thing!

So, whatever party you "belong" to, don't let travel or work prohibit you from voting! Do the research on the candidates, consider who you believe to be the best choice, and exercise your civic duty -

VOTE!!!!

Virginia Blog Carnival - BOO!

Melissa and Kristen over at Ditzy Democrats/Monstrosity have done a lovely job of rounding up some light-hearted and fun posts to give us all a break from the madness of this year's elections. Make sure you go on over and enjoy their crazy style and wonderful sense of humor!

Fall in Virginia

Well, Melissa was hoping for some funny stuff, but was willing - thank God! - to accept pictures of fall in Virginia for the Virginia Blog Carnival. That's a very good thing, because even though I love jokes, I couldn't tell them or write a funny story to save my life!

So, here are some pictures I took this weekend. I hope you enjoy (and envy, perhaps? LOL) all the beauty that surrounds me in Southside Virginia:

Cattle grazing peacefully in the afternoon sun:

A winding road, and a winding stream...

The beauty and color of a fallen leaf:

Railroads cris-crossing my county:

The manicured front lawn of Hargrave Military Academy:

Old trees lining the streets of Chatham, VA:

Coming home to deer in my front lawn... And they pose!

I pray you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween!

And remember, no matter our different political positions, we all love America, and are blessed and proud to be citizens of this incredible, wonderful country!

Conversation in the Cotillion

My dear Cotillion sister, Beth of Blue Star Chronicles, made a lovely offer the other day to do a round-up of the Cotillion's interesting posts this week. Many of the Ladies (including me) sent her links, and she's got a wonderful link-fest right here.

Please go on over and enjoy all the brilliance and erudition Beth has collected from the Ladies!

Playing around with Google Docs and TPad

This is a test document. I am posting it to CatHouse Chat to see how the formatting looks, as well as to see how easy it is to insert files/photos.

So far, I've very much enjoyed the Google products. I've been seeing the "Docs & Spreadsheets" link up at the top o the page in my GMail account, and finally I'm getting around to trying it out. I do like the convenience of being able to access all my stuff from any computer, but of course, I have some worries about privacy issues and Google's storage procedures. Well, we'll see how it goes...

Let's see if I can insert a picture:


Well, how cool is this? The "insert image" button had a 2MB limit, so I wasn't sure if the pic would upload...

*EX*cellent!

OK, now I'll see about posting it [hunting for proper button]... Hope this works!

(UPDATE) Well, it worked very well... GoogleDocs tells me that I can add tags, which will then translate to my categories in TPad, and I need to figure out how to make the title a title... The pic loads kind of slowly, and I'm also wondering if I can change the color of the border around it. Hm. I generally don't use borders anyway, so perhaps that's not really a problem.

I VERY much like the text I can insert in hyperlinks which shows up when you hover the cursor over the link (yeah, and wasn't THAT an awkward sentence...)

Oh, I also think I've figured out how to tag the document so TPad will pick it up as a category. Maybe.

So far, as a post-manager, it's not terrible, but I don't think I'd give up RocketPost just yet. RPost has some issues, but it's very quick, and GDocs is being veryVERYvery slow handling this picture. Oooo, here's a thought, I wonder if I could use the "img src" HTML code and link a picture from Flickr...? Let's try:



DEFINITELY much easier! We still have a small problem though... When I go look in the HTML in GDocs, there are a lot of "br/" type things instead of "p" and "/p"... But this has much promise.....

When Work and Life Intersect

Sometimes my grading of students’ compositions actually qualifies as R&R, especially when the course I’m teaching is Creative Writing.

This year’s first creative-writing assignment was “A Further Adventure of Tom Sawyer” — based, of course, upon Mark Twain’s timeless novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. With a minimum of instruction from me, all the students in the class were off and running. I got the best batch ever of first-assignments, and even my one slacker submitted a story! Students actually begged to read their stories to the class.

Such moments make me love what I do for a living!

Sunday Thoughts on WideAwakes Radio tomorrow!

I invite you all to join me on WideAwakes Radio tomorrow at 4:30 pm, ET (1:30 pm, PT), for Sunday Thoughts with Kat. I'll be discussing Romans 5:6-9, and I think you'll find it very thought-provoking. To listen in, you can go down on my right hand column, and click on the WideAwakes Radio microphone...

Here's a "practice run" of what I'll be saying (.wma file).

So, get your Bible ready and listen in!

The love of a Father for his son

What a beautiful and uplifting video! And Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine" is a perfect accompaniment. (HT with deep gratitude to BlackFive)

Here's his story:

Can you do this?

Chris Rice, "Untitled Hymn (Call on Jesus)" from his Run the Earth, Watch the Sky album

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus... AND LIVE!

Can you do this? Have you taken His nail scarred hand, and accepted your Lord and His gift to you?

Thank You, God...

From Third Day's album, Wire "You Are Mine" -

It doesn't take much for my heart to break
You have done it for what seems a millionth time
Whenever I hear of Your saving grace
and how You gave Your life in exchange for mine

Chorus:

Sometimes I wonder why You even love me
and why You ever chose to call me child
and I remember just by Your sacrifice
I can say that I am Yours and You are mine

It doesn't take much for me to shed a tear
You have done so many things to make me cry
Whenever I think all that I've done wrong
And everything You have done to make it right

Chorus

It doesn't take much for my heart to break
You have done it for what seems a millionth time.
Sometimes I wonder why You even love me
And why You ever chose to call me child
Sometimes I wonder why You even love me
And why You ever chose to call me child
And I remember it's by Your sacrifice

I can say that I am Yours and You are mine.

I can. Thank You for Your gift to me, Jesus. Thank You for being the Lover of my soul. Thank You for Your grace and mercy and kindness. Thank You for Your guidance and Your discipline.

I do not know why You chose to call me, but I am so grateful that You did!

As Third Day sings in another song, "Your Love, O Lord" -

Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings

Thank You, Father!

This morning's selections from the iPod

First up is Rich Mullins' "Sometimes by Step," which I've loved for the longest time. My favorite part is:

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

And then there's Avalon's "Take You at Your Word"

Your word is life,
Your word is love,
Your word is true. . .
Everybody's looking for something to believe in
Lord, I find the faithful are few and far between
The more I read about You
The less I've cause to doubt you
What You say Lord,
You mean Now I've seen
I can take You at Your word
And my heart can rest assured
Lord I love you, Oh, I trust You
As I live I've learned
That I can take You at Your word
Your name is written here on the my life in love and kindness
Your word is hidden here in my heart to guard my soul
I've heard the gospel of
You're redeeming love
What You say, Lord, You do
I know it's true
Your word is life,
Your word is love,
Your word is true
Say You, say Your word to me
Lord, Your word is a lamp to my feet
And Your word is a light to my path

And, finally, Casting Crowns (an excellent band which debuted about three years ago, and keeps getting better) "Glory"

You are holy in this place
You are worthy of my praise and we worship You
Jesus we worship You
(You're the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
You're the Master of the Universe
You're the Ruler of all Nations
And we sing to You,

When You call my name, I'll run to You
I'll do anything You ask me to
Falling on my knees I worship You, my Lord )
We give You GLORY <We give You GLORY>
We give You GLORY <We give You GLORY>

Mmmmm! God is good, He is good all the time, and I love to praise Him!

Lileks channels Sullivan on Hewitt

OMG, this is too funny!

And it's a riff off of the real interview Hewitt did with Andrew Sullivan earlier that same day (yesterday), which I must now go listen to...

(UPDATE: Oh. My. Gosh...! Can you say "defensive"? Can you say "wiggle room"? Can you say "waffle"? I'm only 7 minutes in to the 50 minute interview, and Sullivan is totally incompetent as a theological debater... He refuses to keep on topic and give straight answers to Hewitt's questions...)

(Oh, and here's Hugh's permalink, which I hope will permalink both interviews...)

Y'all *HAVE* seen this one, haven't you?

Damn, I love the Archies... *snicker, giggle, snort*

I don't love the Republicans, and I've got a whole host of issues with them... but they're better than the jokers on the Democrat(ic) side!

By the way, what *IS* the Dem's plan to win in Iraq, anyway?

*snerk* Clueless, simply clueless...

Via the Emperor, I get to hear this clip of cluelessness that Kender found.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Oh, and make sure you listen to all of it: it's good to the last drop! *snicker*

Ooops: BTW, for an overview of the guy they're really asking about in that clip, you could do no better than to read Dafydd ab Hugh's riviting biography. Seriously. ;-)

A mini-Virginia Blog Carnival

Well, folks, a pathetic ONE PERSON submitted posts for this week's VBC. Not that Roci (the only submitter) is pathetic - oh, no, not at all! It's just that it would have been nice to have more submissions!

So, I'm adding one early entry for next week's Carnival as well as something of mine from last week. For a grand total of three... [staring sternly at my ODBA brothers...]

*sigh* I begin to see why Chad needed to get someone else to manage the Carnival...

But FIRST, I want to remind y'all that Melissa and Kristen will be hosting the Carnival next week for a frightful, crazy, rollercoaster ride - and I want everyone to look at their suggestions and have fun! No seriousness, please: the elections the following week will have us all tied in knots, so let us all enjoy a week of frivolity.

Hm. I wonder if I can get NotLarrySabato to participate - he's got a great sense of humor, y'know!

Anyway....

Pride of place this week goes to Adam Gurri at Sophistipundit, who so graciously and enthusiastically got his submission in for next week's Carnival. He talks about the New Media Paradigm, and it's definitely worth a careful and thoughtful read. Go on over right now!

Rocinate's Burden submitted the only post for this week's Carnival. Roci is discussing the Lessons of War, and - as always - provides a LOT of food for thought. Roci has a good, analytical mind, and you ought to have him on your RSS feed!

I add my little More of Beautiful Virginia post which has some pics I took last week of the fall sights around Southside Virginia... Y'all ought to consider moving out her and telecommuting, if you can!

But that's all there is for this week. I delayed posting because I hoped more might add to the discussion, but.... *sigh*

Don't forget, after Melissa and Kristen scare us to death next week, I still need some brave hosts to deal with election week and the follow up... Heeelllllpppp!????

Oh, the joys of domesticity...!

Today has been a day of enjoying my home-ly duties... Current affairs can go hang: *I'm* going to revel in being a homemaker!

It was nice and cooooold this morning, so we fired up the gas insert and enjoyed that mellow warmth:

I sipped some coffee and sat near the flames while chatting with child and husband as we got ready for the day. After I dropped the Darling Munchkin off at school, I came back home and started making bread. First, I got out the wheat berries and my mill and ground the flour:

I also made sure that I had all my ingredients (only the buttermilk isn't shown, but I had it ready in the 'fridge)

Time to do the first knead:

While the dough rested and rose, I got to give snuggly skritchies to one of the purrs (Hi, Smudgie!):

And then I went down to the basement and worked on blocks for a quilt top that's been sitting for MONTHS!

Then I surfed for a little bit, and one of the Ladies of the Cotillion pointed me to an excellent video, which I forwarded to a friend

After that, I contemplated some pictures I'd take on Sunday - I want to tweak them a little. I also dreamed a little about how I'd take these same shots with my new Canon Rebel XTi (if the Beloved Husband does, indeed, get it for my birthday).

Then I went back to my bread so I could knead it again and add the bulgher wheat, which had been boild with some molassas and allowed to soak up the cooking water. This addition makes a lovely "cracked wheat" bread, and if you let the bulgher really soak in the water (I added about 1/2 cup more than the recipe required), you don't get the crack-your-tooth crunchy effect on the crust.

I let that rise while I went back to sewing quilt blocks, and shoved them in the oven just before I went to pick up the Munchkin and take her to her riding lesson. The Beloved Husband graciously took the loaves out when the timer went off, and they came out GREAT!

Munchkin loved her lesson (as usual), and we came back home to go through the dinner-homework-chores routine. And now I'm working on the quilt blocks again, because I really don't feel like facing folding and putting all this away:

Yeah, a slice of my boring but very fulfilling life... I am really blessed by the Lord God Almighty!

Our Great God

This past week I've been enjoying my "Christian Favs" playlist on my iPod (BTW, anyone able to tell me how to put them on my current laptop??), and Fernando Ortega's song, "Our Great God" from his Storm album. Actually, I prefer the duet he did with Mac Powell (Third Day) on City on a Hill: Sing Alleluia, but for some reason, it's disappeared from my iPod. I guess I'll have to see if I can dig out the CD....

Anyway, it's a gorgeous, dramatic song, and here are the lyrics:

(Words and Music by Fernando Ortega and Johnnie Mac Powell)

Eternal God unchanging
Mysterious and unknown
Your boundless love unfailing
In grace and mercy shown

Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight
Around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night
In praise to You alone

Chorus:

Hallelujah
Glory be to our great God
Hallelujah
Glory be to our great God

Lord we are weak and frail
Helpless in the storm
Surround us with Your angels
Hold us in Your arms

Our cold and ruthless enemy
His pleasure is our harm
Rise up O Lord and he will flee
Before our sovereign God

Chorus

Let every creature in the sea and
Every flying bird
Let every mountain every field
And valley of the earth

Let all the moons and all the stars
In all the universe
Sing praises to the living God
Who rules them by His Word

Chorus

*sigh* Just... uplifting!

More of beautiful Virginia

I've been very off politics and current events recently (goodness, who could blame me?), but then, I've got all this beauty around me, so it's very easy to be distracted.

Last week for the Carnival, I posted a picture that I'd tweaked in PhotoShop Elements 5, but none of these pictures have been "retouched" at all. I may end up doing so to emphasise the colors, but they came out beautifully anyway.

And it looks like the Beloved Husband is going to TOTALLY spoil me for my birthday (November 4th, if you're interested, LOL) by getting me the new Canon Rebel XTi (body only, since he's got proper lenses already), so I can really star looking for good photo ops. I will always carry my little Sony DSC-N1 in my purse, however, because you never know when you're going to have to have that quick point-and-shoot... Plus, the Canon doesn't take video clips like this:

But, my Sony does a pretty good job for a point-and-shoot:

Response to a busy day...

This morning, I got two VERY LARGE topics dropped in my lap... I gave a first response to one (gotta do major editing and more research) and am working on the other...

But, I had a "date" with a friend to go over to her house and ride (first time on a horse in 4 years...), and I could *NOT* (notnotnotNOT) pass on that... So, I went, and rode a lovely Arab mare (20-ish, "arab with a quarter horse personality" - Yep, good description!), who was lively but very gracious to me.

*sigh* I love horses... and I've GOT to make it a regularly scheduled thing to ride with my friend, because I think she's smart and fun to be with, and because... Well, hey! Girls and horses...? Natural match! LOL

BTW, just as a snarky aside, my friend and I are not, um, shall we say, "politically aligned," and yet, despite our differences, we manage to discuss and joke and get along... She is so terribly like me, and yet gloriously NOT, that I know I am blessed with a good friend. She will challenge me, make me think, and still *like* me, even if we disagree! I cannot thank God enough for the blessing of her and her family in my life....

ANYWAY... (back to "riding - haven't done that in tooooo long"), tonight, I made sure my oldOLD muscles would be eased by soaking in a hot bath with some essential oils. The Munchkin graced me with her company, and we had a lovely chat (you DO realize that the Munchkin is the BEST blessing - after the Darling Husband - God has ever given me, right?) and she took a pic...

OK, my profile is... severe... But, OH, dayUM, and bring me another glass of WINE!!!

It was great, and the Darling Munchkin and I had a warm, snuggly, how-to-get-thru-life conversation (have I said that she's absoLUTEly God's blessing on my life?)

Ah, nummy beautiful candles...

The BEST lighting for a yummy bath, LOL - and a lovely halo on good company and conversation.

Mmmmmm... I am blessed beyond words!

Crises of Faith in Gethsemane

Initial thoughts from a conversation with Sonnabend. He was suggesting that I use one of my Sunday Thoughts programs on Wide Awakes Radio (my show "airs" on Sundays at 4:30pm ET, 1:30PM PT) to speak about what happens when reality smacks you in your face. How does your faith function; how do you get through a crisis of faith?

As you may know, I'm working on memorizing Romans, chapters 5-8, and also using the verses I memorize each week as a starting point for my Sunday Thoughts program. Last week, I started this series intending to discuss Romans 5:1-5, but ended up concentrating on the first two verses.

I really didn't want to skip vv 3-5, because they are awesome, and Sonnabend's topic suddenly seemed to puzzle-piece in quite nicely.

WARNING: it's just my initial unrehearsed and poorly researched "draft" if you will ... So, be gentle! *wink* I am going to be doing more research, fleshing this out and polishing it up, but it looks like this will be my outline for Sunday.

However, constructive feedback is more than welcome!

Virginia Blog Carnival a la Leslie carbone

Leslie graciously volunteered to host this week, and then I forget to link her as soon as it went up.... So, please go on over and enjoy all the good reading from Virginia, and tell her thanks for hosting!

Technorati Tags: Virginia, Virginia Blog Carnival

Lemons into lemonade

Glenn Reynolds quoted me recently, but didn't mention my name... I got a little miffed (which was wrong), and so I'm going to try to get some sort of blog burst going about the REAL issue:

Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Every town in this country depends on men and women who volunteer their time and effort to save lives. Certainly, most metropolitan areas have paid or contract personnel, but there is no substitute for the backbone of these services, which depend upon volunteers.

These volunteers range, in the general sense, from candy-stripers to advanced medical technitians and firemen - and they all have one goal in mind:

To provide the best service to give health, life, and safety to the community

That's no quote from a website for any service... That is simply WHAT THEY **DO**

These men and women sacrifice their time and talents to provide their communities with the best health and safety services they can.

How can you climb aboard and lend your efforts?

• take First Aid/CPR courses
• train with Fire/Emergency medical units
• get certified in advanced emergency rescue courses
• support your local emergency service squads
• promote awareness about Fire/Emergency Rescue needs and issues
• ... (among many other things - be helpfully inventive!)

These men and women -whether they are paid or volunteers - serve their communities with valor and dedication. Please let them know how much they are valued, and do whatever you can to assist them and make their jobs easier!

Please, blog about volunteering and training in First Aid. Keep this topic up and vibrant! I don't care if you link to me (well, I'd LIKE it, I won't lie, LOL), but remind people that they can make a difference in their communities: it all starts...

WITH ***YOU!!!***

Blogging about this:

• Beth at Blue Star Chronicles
• Viva La Blog
• basil (yay, basil!)

My beloved, passionate, opinionated and outspoken friend

Just turned two...

Raven has spent the last 18+ months encouraging me, kicking me in the ass, pushing me to do better, and being one of the best internet friends I could wish for. She has been an irritant, a clown, a burr under the saddle, a pushy broad, a thought-provoker and a HUGE blessing to me, every day and every hour.

She is one of the real "Ladies of the Blogosphere," and her blog And Rightly So just turned two...

Please go on over and express your appreciation for Raven's love and passion for life and dedicated, quality healthcare - among so many other critical and fundamental things - and tell her

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!!!!

I love you, Raven: you are a real friend and a Lady in the truest sense of the word. God has blessed me with you, and I cannot tell about all the wonderful blessings you have given back to me!

Technorati Tags: EMS, Fire Rescue, volunteer

I'll take you up on it, too!

Well, I saw this post over at my blog-brother Rick Sincere's place, and then I saw that Greg Letique had linked it... with nothing terribly brilliant (which is NOT a dig at Greg - it just meant that *I* didn't have to be terribly brilliant and witty, either).

So, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

Of course, Rick, I don't know if the Log Cabin Republicans of Virginia will be all that interested in the ramblings of a 40-something, wife and mom... But I'll still take the bait! ;-)

Thanks, Rick, and I hope your speech goes well!

Fifteen micro-seconds of fame...

... is nice, but it would have been nicer to mention my name! ;-) LOL

Nevertheless, what I e-mailed to the Instapundit bears repeating:

Glenn, if you are so inclined, please remind people that one of the best things to do to be prepared for disasters is to be trained in first aid and CPR. Too many people (myself included, but I'm planning to fix that) don't even know the basics of first aid, and ought to.

Secondly, a plug: If anyone can, please try to volunteer at and be trained by local fire and rescue/emergency medical units, especially in more rural areas. Many men and women volunteer their time to serve their communities in this way, and they are CRITICAL. I am so proud of my husband, because he saw this need in our community, and stepped up to the plate.

Each person who aids their neighbors this way deserves our deep gratitude and recognition!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Via Ace of Spades - the battle of the band album covers:

Beautiful Virginia

Thursday morning, I woke up and gazed on a world made soft and mysterious by a heavy fog. I rousted the Munchkin out of her bed and hustled her into the shower, made my coffee and sat looking out the window. As the sun crept over the horizon, the fog glowed - first hiding, and then lightly veiling the sun's face. The Munchkin and I went about our morning rituals, and then we were in the car and off to school. I had to cautiously (well, for *me* LOL) inch my way out of the driveway and down the road because the fog was a heavy blanket which allowed me to see only 10-20 feet ahead. The heat of the sun quickly burned off the mist, but I got a few beautiful pictures of the beautiful, green countryside...

"He Is" by Aaron Jeoffrey

I finally wrestled back my iPod from the Darling Munchkin - who had let the battery die, thankyouverymuch - and was listening to some of the songs on my "Christian Favs" list. It's been a long time since I've heard this song by the father-son group, Aaron Jeoffrey (I don't believe they're recording anymore...), and I'd forgotten how awesome it is - because it reminds me of how awesome *HE* is!

All praise, all glory, all honor be unto Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lamb upon the throne!

In Genesis, He's the breath of Life
In Exodus, the passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, Law giver
In Ruth, the kinsman redeemer
First and Second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, He is

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, He is

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and the Lord of Lords

He is, He is, He is

The prince of peace
The Son of man
The Lamb of God

The great I am

He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior
He is Jesus Christ Lord and when time is no more

He is, He is

Meet Skidboot

One of my Cotillion sisters - Darleen (oops, no, it was BethD), I think - sent this to the list, and I just had to put this up here at CHC. Skidboot the dog is amazing, and his Daddy seems like the best of America - simple (not simplistic), faithful, diligent, and all-around good guy. He talks about the blessings God has given him, and he talks about being a good steward of Skidboot's talents.

I think we all could do with more of this genuine character and integrity in our lives.

I thank Barbara and David for sharing Skidboot with us!

www.skidboot.com

God bless the U.S. Navy!

Two hundred thirty one years ago today, the Continental Congress established our Navy. From two ships intended to act more like customs vessels, to our current size of over 300 ships and almost 400,000 men and women, our Navy has served and defended the United States of America with courage and honor.

Speaking as the wife of a retired Naval Officer, and as the daughter of a World War II Navy veteran, it is the Navy that is my favorite branch of the DoD. The Marines rock, the Army is awesome, the Airforce is stupendous, and the Cost Guard is fantastic (yes, I include the Coasties in our Armed Forces!) - but the US Navy is all these things and more!

Come on, we've got hot ships:

We've got fast planes:

We've got cool missles:

We've got stealthly submarines:

We've got guys that kick ass:

And we've got men and women who go out and do the job, day after day, with honor and bravery:

So, God bless them all, amd may all the citizens of the United States of America give them the honor and respect that these men and women - past and present - have earned. May the Navy always be blessed with the service of men and women of integrity and courage!

Happy Birthday to the United States Navy!

This does not come as a surprise

Robert Spenser posts about a story which quotes one of Iran's religious leaders as saying that liberty and democracy are "Satan's tools" -

"The devil presents himself in many forms, and employs every means to convey his message. He uses each concept such as liberty and democracy to achieve his plans."

Yeah. Right.

Well, I can certainly agree with Robert Spenser that there is plenty of immorality in the West, but I would direct Ayatollah Shirazi (quoted above) to note the immorality running rampant in the Islamic world: slavery, abuse of women, intolerance, genocide, suidical death cults... Or, how about this story (HT Gates of Vienna) -

On Monday, October 9, a prominent Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) priest, Fr. Paulos Iskander (Paul Alexander), was kidnapped by an unknown Islamic group. His ransom was posted at either $250,000 or $350,000. This group had demanded that signs be posted once again on his church apologizing for the Pope's remarks as a condition for negotiations to begin.

Father Alexander was beheaded on Wednesday. [...]

Christians are living a terrified life in Mosul and Baghdad. Several priests have been kidnapped, girls are being raped and murdered and a couple of days ago a fourteen year old boy was crucified in the Christian neighborhood Albasra. [empha. mine]

... or this -

Christian Leaders in Iraq have asked their parishioners to be extremely cautious and not to leave their homes as a new group called the young Brigades of Fundamental Islam ' has distributed papers announcing the slaying of all Iraqi Christians in three days if the Pope does not Apologize.

... or this -

Genocide perpetrated against Black African non-Arab Muslims in the Darfur region of oil-rich Sudan rages on, yet these same Muslim Israel/Jew bashers will likewise not bash contemptible Islamic President Omar al-Bashir and his crew of subhumans; instigators and perpetrators of the pillaging, raping, torturing, mutilating, and murdering of such non-Arab Black Muslim men, women, and children in the homeland they control. Presumably, pillaging, raping, torturing, mutilating, and murdering non-Arab Black men, women, and children, albeit they are Muslims, is Koranically correct, to better serve Allah, as far as the outer Muslim apparently racist world is concerned.

... or this -

Robert Redeker went underground after publishing an attack on Islam on Sept. 19, in which he called the Koran "a book of incredible violence" and Islam's prophet Muhammad "a merciless warlord, a looter, a butcher of Jews and a polygamist."

Islam, Mr. Redeker said, "exalts violence and hate."

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the threats against Mr. Redeker, who teaches philosophy in a suburban Toulouse high school, were intolerable and showed that "we live in a dangerous world that is often marked by intolerance."

The threats came amid widespread criticism of Pope Benedict XVI by Muslims who accused him of implying in a speech that Islam was violent. And they coincided with the cancellation of a Mozart opera in Berlin out of fear of Muslim protests.

... or this -

"We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said an Internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaeda, according to the Reuters news agency.

"We shall break the cross and spill the wine. ... God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome. ... God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen," said the statement.

I much prefer the Christian worldview, frankly.

• 2 Cor 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
• Romans 12:18 "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."
• Matthew 5:9-12 "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Christians - as directed by our authoritative scriptures - are called to sacrifice themselves to holiness and righteousness, not to murder and hate.

Jesus is a far better example to follow than Mohammed (the pedophile, the murderer, the liar).

Technorati Tags: Satan, democracy, murder, beheading, crucifixion, atrocities, intolerance, barbarians

Oh, yeah - today's Friday the 13th...

... which I've never understood. I mean, c'mon, REALLY!!! It's Friday! End of the week, party on, dude!

Wouldn't it be more logical to make it Monday the 13th?

Technorati Tags: Friday, 13th, humor

Good news for Danville

Blog brother Jerry Fuhrman points me to this:

IKEA Subsidiary Headed for Danville

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced today that a furniture manufacturing subsidiary of the Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA will build a plant in the Danville area and employ 740.

The announcement is being cheered in Danville, whose economy has been wracked by an exodus of manufacturing jobs in recent years - most notably the sale and shutdown of Dan River Mills.

Yay! This is something that can really benefit Danville and sout Pittsylvania county!

Technorati Tags: Danville, Virginia, IKEA, economy

How to Kill a Terrorist

Sounds harsh, yes? Here's a quote from the author's description:

To kill terrorism we must behead it and cut it at the roots..its ideology and philosophy of hate. That only the truth of the teachings of Jesus the Messiah can ultimately stop it. His truth is for all the world and his promise is to greek, jew and gentiles. The Message is "Repent" and recieve His transforming Love.

And here's the video:

Yes - it is!

Via BlackFive: ARMY STRONG

Yes. This is the standard of character for our military - and our citizens!

CHARACTER. HONOR. STRENGTH. PERSEVERANCE. DUTY.

Words which have - tragically - fallen into disrepute. Words distained by liberals. Words which are dengrated by the "intelligentsia" of our day.

Well, mooonbats, here's what I have to remind you:

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War. - George Washington

Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. - GW, again

War - An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will. - and again

Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state. - Thomas Jefferson

Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition. - Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. - Thomas Jefferson

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.- Abraham Lincoln

Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. - Abraham Lincoln

Just a smattering of scattered thoughts...

God bless our military. May He bless their service, and guide them in the ways of truth and courage. May He give them His strength and wisdom, and may He bring them home in victory and honor!

God bless the Armed Forces of the United States of America!

Technorati Tags: Army, strong, Army strong, military, character

This weekend on Sunday Thoughts: Romans 5:1-5

This Sunday, please join me on Wide Awakes Radio for a study in Romans 5. I am currently endeavoring to memorize Romans, chapters 5 through 8, and my focus over the next several weeks will be the thoughts and discoveries God shows me in these chapters.

All week, I've been wrestling with chapter 5, verses 1 through 5:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

and God has been seriously kicking my poor, sore rear end (um, can I say that? LOL) and showing me a lot of excellent applications for my life and my attitude. Here's a taste of what I have so far:

One thing we can take away from this is that, whatever we **feeeeeeellll**, the FACT is that God says His children stand in His grace continually. So, we shouldn't whine and moan about how we "don't feeeeel the touch of His grace!" God's Word says we are there already, and that we will remain there.

Therefore, the problem is not with God, it's with us. We need to change our thoughts, change our attitudes, and eventually change our emotions to align with God's Word. We STAND in His grace, so let's start acting like it!

(for this snippit, go here)

See? He's really working me over this week... Actually, at the moment, I'm not certain I'll even get past verses 1 and 2, because He's teaching me so much right here.

(UPDATE: Yep. I was right - I'm staying in verses 1 and 2 this week, but I HAVE been good and memorized vv. 1-5... and there's a LOT of excellent goodness in these two verses.)

So join me this Sunday, 4:30 p.m. Eastern, 1:30 p.m. Pacific, and find out if what God is teaching me can help and encourage YOU, as well!

(Crossposted at Wide Awakes Radio)

Technorati Tags: Sunday Thoughts, Wide Awakes Radio, Romans, scripture, bible study, memorize, grace, Jesus Christ

Dear God in Heaven - not again!

Breaking news: Small Aircraft crashes into New York City High Rise Building -

The crash set off a raging fire that sent a pillar of gray smoke over the city, police said. Witnesses reported seeing a gigantic fireball come out of the building, police said.

Flames could be seen shooting from windows on two upper floors of the 50-story building, near the East River. Burning debris fell from the tower, and a column of gray smoke rose over the city.

Thank God, however, that this does not appear to be terrorist related:

Officials said there is no indication the incident was a result of terrorism. There were dozens of firefighters, emergency workers and other first responders on the scene.

So far, two deaths have been reported.

I wonder what happened? It was a small plane, and so my impression is that it's likely to be pilot error, or some medical situation, perhaps. But what was a plane doing flying so close to this area, anyway?

UPDATE: Ooops, forgot to HT Ms U! Sorry....

UPDATE 2.0: FoxNews has a "Breaking News" banner "Jet Fighters Flying Over U.S. Cities as a 'Prudent Measure'"

Technorati Tags: New York, plane crash, small plane, fixed wing

Kitty pr0n...

My dear friend Greta showed this to me, and I've put it below the fold so I don't shock anyone... ;-)

Mega-Update time

... for all of us with MS Windows... Make sure you go get your update, because with patches for 26 flaws, this is a doozy!

The record number of flaws would have been even higher had Microsoft not been forced to issue an out of cycle fix for a much publicised zero-day attack on the VML (vector markup language) used for graphics in Internet Explorer.

Of course, *I* don't use Internet Explorer (blech!), nor do I use the MS Office Suite (Open Office rocks! Freeware, open source!), so a lot of the issues do not apply to me.

Nevertheless, all those patches are now downloaded and installed!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, update, patch, critical updates, MS Windows, Internet Explorer, Office Suite, Open Office

Since YouTube still has it up...

I thought I'd post it here, too... Absolutely, hilariously, scarily true....

REALLY hilarious....

UPDATE: Well, so long as I'm enjoying the genius of Mr. Zucker, here's a blast from the past:

Technorati Tags: Madeline Albright, North Korea, terrorism, Democrats, Kim Jong Il, David Zuker, campaign ad,

Heh.

Ragnar, over at the Jawa Report, found this:

Hosted on Flurl Video Search - Watch More Videos

Autumn Is My Favorite Season

I can't take credit for taking this photo, "Fall Puddle." The credit goes to Joe Citizen.

CLICK HERE to see a larger view.

With all the ugliness in the world, don't forget to notice the beauty!

[Hat-tip to CUANAS, where I spotted this photo]

And detonating a nuclear weapon *isn't*?!

On FoxNews this morning: Increased US Pressure Would Be "Act of War"

"If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement, the first formal announcement from the North Korean government since KCNA reported the Monday test, didn't specify what those measures could be.

Yep. Madman in the firehouse, that's for sure!

And yet, people insist, "Oh, we need to talk! If we're still talking, we're not shooting! Let's all just play nice now, and get along!" It makes me gag... This odious little man (and his father before him) has held his country hostage for how many years? His people are starving, and yet he wants to play chihuahua challenging a rottweiler.

Does he have a death wish, or what?

On a lighter note, I really like the Manolo's little comment about Kim Jong Il - go read!

Testing linkng to Flickr photos...

OK, will this work? And, will it work in such a war that I'm going to have to learn sizing, and borders and  so on to make it look pretty...? (Probably...)

UPDATE: Ah. Well. I told you so! I didn't see the different sizes that Flickr offered at the TOP of the photo page... The Darling Munchkin doesn't look too good with *MY* sizing, so why don't I use Flickr's?

MUCH better!

I really love my kitti-purrs...

  PixSmudgeSnuggle.2 
  Originally uploaded by Romeocat.

Even when they go thundering around the house when I'm trying to sleep. Fortunately, they *did* calm down long enough for me to go off into Dreamland last night, and I don't know WHAT the darling little monsters did after that...

I admit, I'm also testing out posting this pic to CHC from Flickr. The TPad uploader often takes about a century (well, I usually upload the full picture for click-to-enlarge, so I s'pose I shouldn't complain), so I'm wondering if it would be faster to upload pics to Flickr, and then "hotlink" to them from TPad.

I guess we'll see, won't we?

(UPDATE: Well, it looks rather nice, doesn't it? Of course, if I post from Flickr, they don't have any HTML tools, so I really ought to look at using the "img src" tag I guess. I'm going to look at the code Flickr used then posting this, and see how they did sizing and so on...)

A Spankin' good Virginia Blog Carnival!

Make sure you go on over to Spank That Donkey for this week's round up of the best of Virginia bloggers... well, those who submitted entries, anyway!

Chis has done a wonderful job, and next week the Carnival will be hosted by the talented and eloquent Leslie Carbone, so make sure you've got something *AND* that you submit it!

Forgiveness, redux

This morning before I took the Munchkin to school and ran all my errands, I was chatting with my dear friend and fellow WARrior, Sonnabend. We were discussing my previous post and talking about forgiveness and how hard it can be to really forgive in our own lives. Both of us have a few people we find hard to forgive, and I was thinking of one person in particular, who didn't hurt me, so much as he hurt my Beloved Husband.

Just in case that was too subtle: nobody messes with my family. NOBODY. I'd rather that you hurt me; it would be easier to forgive.

So, anyway, I was thinking of this person in particular, but I wasn't too "grrr-growl-tear-shred-REVENGE," because I doubted we'd ever see or hear from him again. And therefore, I said something like this to Sonnabend:

Forgiveness isn't about feelings. If you ACT like you forgive someone, eventually your feelings will follow. When I encounter a situation where I'm having trouble forgiving someone, I have to stop and turn to God, and say," Father, I've chosen to forgive this person, but I'm having trouble remembering that now. Please help me, and show me how You want me to act and what You want me to do."

... and then we went on with our days.

Well, as I was walking around WalMart, getting some shopping done while I waited for my new tires to be put on, the Beloved Husband called from the D.C. area... to tell me "Guess who *I* just saw?"

Yup.

It was that particular person who totally screwed with my guy so many years ago.

I have a bit more work to do on forgiveness, obviously.

*sigh*

But, it reminded me of another way I can turn my mind away from bitterness and towards gratitude to God: If the Beloved Husband hadn't gone through what he did with this person, he wouldn't have left that area of the Navy (which was fun, and interesting, but a lot of hard, slogging work for him) and gone into the specialty he works at now. This specialty - even now that he's retired - if fun, interesting, and a lot of work... But it's a work that fascinates and intrigues him, and he enjoys it far more than his previous job.

If he hadn't gone through that, I don't know when God would have called me back to Himself and told me, "Come along, child. I love you, and it's time you started understanding just Who your Father is."

Um, what was I saying in that last post? Oh, yes! I was quoting Romans 8:28:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Thank You, Father. I know I still have a long way to go, but You have softened the pain, and You have given us blessings untold in their place. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing, and I rejoice in Your grace and mercy - and in the power You shed over my life, to my good and Your glory.

Great is Your faithfulness, Lord! I will praise You all the days of my life, for You are good and true and holy, and I can rest assured that all the promises You have made You will bring to pass. You have said it, and so it shall be done, for who can thwart Your will?

To forgive, or not to forgive... that is the question!

There's a very interesting thread over at Hot Air which deserves thoughtful consideration. I wish I could comment, but their registration is closed, so I'll have to settle for sending a trackback.

In reference to the murderer of the Amish schoolchildren, Allahpundit is asking:

My Christian friends tell me it's perfectly okay to get righteously angry; witness Jesus's behavior in the temple vis-a-vis the moneychangers, etc. It's good sense, too: an evildoer worried about an angry reaction might be deterred, even if he knows he'd be forgiven later.

Of course, Jesus said "turn the other cheek," not "hit back, then forgive." But we needn't rehash that.

The question is, should we (and by "we" I of course mean our religious readers) emulate the Amish or not? Do they forgive too readily?

There's quite a bit of excellent discussion in the comments, including this gem by my Dread Lord, Emperor Misha I:

I can and should strive to forgive those who have done ME wrong, because that is within my power.

Thus, I can learn to forgive the murdering scumbag in PA for making me angry.

But I can NEVER, EVER forgive him for what he did.

Only G-d can do that.

Oh, and when Jesus said "turn the other cheek", he didn't say "thou shalt be a doormat." He was very specific about it being YOUR cheek, not somebody elses, not to mention that a slap on the cheek really isn't quite in the same league as rape and murder...

However, I think there's a dimension to this discussion that no one's really touched on: there is a separation between what God has called us as individuals to do, and what God had commanded governments to do.

As an individual, I am commanded to forgive. The thing is, God doesn't say "After that person apologizes, then you forgive." No. He says, "Forgive." The reason for this is quite simple: to hold on to rage and anger and bitterness harms no one but ourselves. These emotions turn in upon themselves and fester, and eventually wreak more havok on top of the original harm done to us. Secondly, to hold on to anger and unforgiveness give the person who did us evil power over us. Their sinful action against us will influence us and lure us into areas we don't want to go. Someone else's actions will control what we think and how we feel, instead of us having control over our own lives.

Now. I do not want anyone to suppose that forgiveness is an easy thing: "Oh, I forgive you!" and SHAZAM!!! all is sweetness and light. That's not at all the case, except in truly unusual or particularly sanctified circumstances. Each day, each hour, each minute, we must make the choice to turn away from anger and bitterness, and trust God to rightly see the whole truth, and to apply perfect justice. As it says in Romans 12:19 -

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

Vengeance is God's business, not yours.

However, this moves us to the responsibilities of governments. One of the ways that God exercises justice is through the governmental process. The government bears the sword of justice, and it is supposed to wield it upholding the law and protecting the innocent. Romans 13: 1-4:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. [emph. mine]

Therefore, it is the government's duty to be the instrument of God's wrath and punish evildoers. The government is not called to forgive, it is called to uphold and enforce the law. Of course, this man is dead by his own hand, and beyond the reach of earthly justice. However, he has now been before the God of all truth, the omniscient and holy God, and he has been perfectly judged and sentenced. We don't need to worry about him anymore.

I think FrankJ put it beautifully in the comments:

It seems to me the only point is forgiving a dead person is to find peace in yourself, and I guess that's good.

Inspired by the Amish's example, I prayed for my enemies the other night. It's nice to think there is a solution to things other than just bad things happening to people you don't like.

One thing I'd like to add in closing, and I suppose it's rather tangental to this discussion... I've seen that the Amish have gone to this man's family, offering love and support and forgiveness. I think this is a splendidly gracious thing to do, and a beautiful example of the Christian worldview. I think this will help them in healing their shattered lives, and provide peace and comfort in the midst of this terrible tragedy.

But what has this man's family done that needs forgiving? They are victims of his actions as much as the Amish families are. I am glad that the Amish did it, because this family needs to know that they're not blamed, and that they will not be ostracized. But in the strictest sense of forgiving a wrong, it is not required, because they did no wrong.

Just to remind you that there are more victims of this atrocity than we usually keep in mind...

(Crossposted to the Wide Awakes, the Cotillion, and [WOW!] basil's blog)