We Americans prefer not to have war at all, but when we do we desire to fight and win without blood, in quick time and with having achieved a goal we can feel good about. Civilized war, after all, has rules and regulations, limits and boundaries and propriety. And, you don’t devastate your enemy too much, or the international courts and civilized people of the world get huffy.

Even our uncivilized opponents hold up our own rules of engagement and point out when we stumble. Unfortunately, when somebody is trying to kill our solders they will occasionally stumble. It’s amazing how the feeling of an AK 47 round buzzing past your head puts your brain into survival mode.

Our modern opponents have leaned that waging a modern civilized war with us can not be won. So, they don’t try. They shoot us with the military equivalent of air guns and pocket knives and wait until we get mad and go home. Which we’re getting ready to do.

In fifty years Paris or Berlin or Rome of any other European capital could very possibly look like Baghdad does today. War torn, with jihad raging and what’s left of civilization fleeing. Perhaps the French will repopulate part of Canada; or the Spanish Florida; or the Germans Chicago. Who knows?

Several things are certain: we are not in a civilized war; we won’t win this war using civilized tactics; and we can’t file divorce papers unless we want the consequences to devastate civilization for decades to come.

John

To be a really good reporter or journalist you have to have the soul of a prostitute. You have to be willing to fornicate with just about anybody, for the right price of course. The goal of both professions is, after all, to make as much money as your meager talent can generate and go home feeling as good as you can about yourself.

I had a conversation about prostitutes and reporters with an old police sergeant once. I asked him why he and his buddies leaked stuff to the press all the time. His answer shocked me. “It’s all about power, he said. Some people don’t think their wedding vows mean anything, and it makes them feel good to say F-you to their wife or husband. Some of us don’t think that our integrity means anything so when it suits us we say F-you to our bosses and call the press. Use the press, or use a hooker, it’s all the same." Reporters like sex trade workers are not the most reliable people you’ll ever meet either. They both transmit lies and disease with aplomb.

So, reporters, like night crawlers, are probably going to be around a long time. Some people can’t get enough of them. But have you ever noticed that those who frequent reporter or prostitutes live to keep their rendezvous in darkness?

When we all get to Heavens’ gates, and I’m sure that the only thing that will qualify me to get in is the blood of Jesus, I’ll be standing with the rest of the sinners, many of them prostitutes, reporters and bloggers. I’ll look around at my comrades who’ve sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and hope that I don’t look too much like a goat.

John

I've had one of the kindest, nicest, most intelligent and loving mothers a man could have had.

Thanks  Mom!

John

Capitalism is the cause of illegal immigration into the United States. If there wasn’t the opportunity for illegal immigrants to make money here, they wouldn’t come. Market forces are ripe for lower paid pools of labor to prosper in our country at this time. It’s true, and many of us may not like it, but it is a fact.

The legal and social cost for individual employers to employ nominally documented employees is very low, and I’ve personally spoken with employers who tell me they need the lower cost labor or they couldn’t exist. So until the cost of compliance with existing regulations out weighs the benefit of employing illegal immigrants, businesses will probably continue to employ them. Labor follows the available work. Employers employ the cheapest workers they can find to get the job done.

Where I used to live in California, entrepreneurs would purchase homes, put 30 to 50 cots into the homes and rent each cot to an illegal alien for a hundred bucks a month. In pure capitalist terms, these entrepreneurs were smart and profitable. They also were breaking a ton of laws.

Illegal immigration is about making money. Unfortunately, morality and making money in this case have very little in common. We’ve become used to treating labor as a commodity, like corn or pork bellies. We’ve also become used to treating our laborers as commodities to be used and disposed of as the market sees fit. Our economy holds up a big welcome sign to illegal immigrants. Now, these immigrants want to be treated like human beings and not like pork bellies, imagine that.

It’s sad when the people who run Cook County and Chicago resemble organized criminals. Really, really dreadful behavior is not only tolerated, but rewarded. When groups who were previously excluded from power finally get power, they demand the right to act as badly and corruptly as the previous generation. It’s not unlike watching prison gangs compete for turf and domination.

Yet, there is something obscenely entertaining about watching the gangs duke it out. It’s like running to the scene of a plane wreck to see the carnage and search for any survivors. It’s horrible but you can’t take your eyes off of it.

Dancing in Cook County and Chicago politics is like running in a giant mosh-pit where everybody has razors and guns. You will get cut and occasionally shot, but what a rush

John

We Americans have a long tradition of compassion and the use of immigration as a tool to provide oppressed people with opportunities for economic and physical safety. Our social freedoms and powerful world economy beacons huddled masses that vote with their feet and come here one way or the other. About half of the youth in the middle east what to leave given the opportunity; and about one in seven Mexican men of working age come here to work. The men who conspired to kill our solders at Fort Dix are some of the people we’ve welcomed as guests.

I’ve listened to the headline hawkers say that this group had no known tie to terrorist groups. The reports are that they were terrorist groupies, admirers of Osama and the like. They received their instruction and inspiration form Jihadist fan websites and the like.

Fortunately, theses stupid boys weren’t the brightest or sharpest tools in the terrorist shed. Conversely, that isn’t always going to be the case. Our enemy can and will adapt. Make no mistake, other current and future Jihad groupies can and will watch and learn from this event. Another fortunate thing is that Jihad groupies don’t usually get crack training and mentoring from just groupie websites. We all owe the brave soul at the video store who called the FBI when they saw the Jihad video these geniuses wanted converted to DVD.

As Jihad fans and trainees adapt, we must adapt, improvise and innovate ahead of them. It is my sincere hope that we can adapt and innovate in such a way as to provide safety for ourselves, weed out the knuckleheads form the immigrant pool, and preserve the huge value and contributions that immigration has brought us.

It is a tall order, but we are Americans after all.

John

I was listening to Chuck Colson’s commentary this morning, found here http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6467, and thinking about having pay as you go public services, such as jail. I find it outrageous that people with money should be able to purchase greater comfort and safety during incarceration. Yet I look around and see where people with money purchase better health care, education, recreation, living standards and safety in the rest of life.

In Chicago, the area where I live, public schools are by and large abominable. We pay huge taxes in Illinois and our local schools are often bad, if not very bad. I don’t have the inclination to fight the fight to change our public schools, so my children attend private school. As a result my kids can read, write, spell, calculate and reason at or above his grade level. There is no violence in my kids’ school. Bad behavior, bad attitudes and bad blood aren’t tolerated. Most of the kids in my son’s school still have an innocence about themselves you don’t find in public schools.

My wife and I decided to make the financial sacrifice for our kids, for their future, so that they can have more choices and opportunities in the future. We don’t drive new cars, but our kids are getting a superior education.

People, who owe a civil or criminal debt to society, need to pay it. Yet the fact is that our prisons and jails are usually horrid. Individuals who can pay to lessen the horror of their own incarceration free up resources for the rest of the population.

My kids suffer less at their private school then they would in a public one. The difference is that my kids and all kids have no civil or criminal penalty to pay to society.

If I had to go to jail I suppose the Drake Hotel in Chicago would be a more comfortable place to live then the Penn at Joliet. But, do we want people paying their debt to feel less pain because they have money?

John

 

Years ago, I was stalked by a hit man who had the intent of first humbling me and then killing me. The feeling that somebody is trying to kill you is most unpleasant as you might guess. In the world of violence and naked power hit men are fairly effective in altering others behavior or influence. Normal people don’t become killers as a matter of course. Most regular folk don’t have to deal with killers on a regular basis. But the question arose in my life, “What do you do when somebody who doesn’t care much about his own life, is trying to kill you?”

Let’s see, what are my choices: Pray; Apologize; Run to the psycho killer and try to make his life better so he doesn’t want to hurt me; Maybe bribe him; Try to talk him out of killing me by showing him I’m not such a bad guy; Run away for him so he can’t find me; Defend myself when he attacks me; Strike first. There are a few others, but let’s deal with these.

I always turn to prayer first. I pray for the Lord’s intervention in the situation, that I would confess my sin, and that God would give me wisdom to handle the situation in the best way possible according to him. My son’s karate teacher tells his class that that the two best elements of defense are daily prayer and daily bible reading. I agree.

Now, when the psycho killer announces that my life and breath are an anathema to him, I usually avoid the negotiating part. Years ago my parents taught me that when somebody announces that they can’t and won’t accept you, believe them. Somebody who can’t and won’t accept you is also probably immune to the long term effectiveness of bribery. Running away usually doesn’t help in the long run; and often there isn’t anywhere to run to. That leaves me with two issues, defend myself or strike him, now.

Tactically, putting yourself into the position to defend you is a positive choice. That’s why some wise people train to fight if need be. When defending yourself, it’s preferable to be able choose how and when and where to defend yourself. But, if you get blind sided, you also need to know how to survive a surprise attack, intact. When attacked we have the right to defend ourselves and to use what ever force is necessary to survive intact. Being well prepared is good.

Now, when dealing with a psycho killer, rules of civility are out the window. His desire is to kill you and he will do anything to accomplish that mission. He usually actually enjoys hunting and killing you. To a psycho killer your death is another trophy. Thank goodness most people are not psycho killers. But, the rules of civilization don’t work in these situations.

Striking a psycho killer breaks all rules of civilization. Yet, it is effective.

The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrestled with such a question when debating in his mind weather to get involved with attempts to assassinate Hitler during World War II. Bonhoeffer left no record of his reasoning, yet somehow became involved in at least one plot to kill Hitler, in cold blood.

I have had more then one pastor pale when asked, “How did Bonhoeffer arrive at a biblical, theological justification for Hitler’s murder?” Now, Bonhoeffer was not successful in killing Hitler, but certainly was involved in conspiring to kill him.

We have international psycho killers hiding behind religion and ideology that are hunting us as a nation and western culture. Has being civilized worked when dealing with them?

I feel today like I felt years ago when I had a psycho killer hit man after me. These psycho killers have chosen a fractional sliver of Islam as their justification for violence. They are willing to do anything to annihilate us. We seem to have a veil of national denial around our heads. I hope we wake up soon. The world is filled with bad men, some of whom are psycho killers.

Most psycho killers only understand one thing: naked power. They only cease and desist when they stop breathing.

I pray that God give us wisdom. We are in a bit of a pickle and the juice is getting nasty.

John

 

Politics is a lot like watching the events going on inside of a prison. You throw a bunch of depraved people inside of a highly confined area, put them under scrutiny and watch the sinners as they vie for how to run the insane asylum. You got your tough guys, your snitches, your perverts, your honest Johns and the guards; all of whom are seeking power and trying to compensate for their weaknesses.

I am not surprised when politicians and prisoners have flings with prostitutes, lies, drugs, wars, graft, violence, dishonesty and flagrant disregard for decency. I’m also not surprised when people who profess goodness and Godliness are caught in compromising positions. Washington, like prison, after all is utterly depraved. To pretend otherwise is, in my opinion, denial.

Sigmund Freud used to talk about the three best friends of depraved people, Denial, Distortion and Repression. These three are the best friends to have when you want to sleep at night after you’ve been naughty. These three are standard fare for politicians, prisoners and sinners.

So, when politicians of all ilk are found in the bed with prostitutes of all kinds, I’m not surprised. When politicians are seduced by the ring of power, I’m not surprised. When politicians lie, I’m not surprised. When politicians don’t come home to normal life after their sentence is up, I’m not surprised. When politicians trade their power for money, sex, fame, and new spouses, I’m not surprised.

Where there are politician, prisoners, or sinners you will find kink, swag and the other trappings of depravity chasing after them. Where there are sinners there is sin.

However, we do not live in a morally neutral universe. Sin is sin, regardless of how we feel about it. I know that sinners will sin and the depraved will act out their depravity. I just pray that God give me the strength not to join them in that venture.

In the mean time I pray that the sinners running the place control themselves. I’m not surprised when sinners sin. I am however, disappointed.

John.

 

My son and I were fishing in the Chicago River the other day. The Chicago River, like politics in Chicago is a polluted, fetid, sewer filled cesspool of chemical contamination. It’s a boiling caldron of filth and you never know just what is going to pop up from it bowels. Some of you may ask, “ Why do you fish in such a place?” The answer my friend is blowing in the depraved nature of humanity, of which I am a member.

Just the other day I pulled a two and a half headed radioactive lamprey covered with oozing tumors out of the river. It was gloriously hideous, just like Chicago Politics. My elderly mother keeps hoping that we’ll pull the lost or tampered with poll boxes out of the river that will finally prove that the first Mayor Daily threw the 1960 election to JFK.

I read the other day that the term “ Underworld,” was invented right here in Chicago. It is a cesspool that flows under the showpiece Opera House downtown. How appropriate.

I like to keep track of the abominations that rear their heads in Chicago politics. It’s one of the best freak shows around. If it’s funky, infectious or contagious you’ll find it right here in Chicago, next to the Chicago River. It’s human political waste being discharged into the river of society, just so we can all enjoy the smell.

 

Contending for the truth. I am a born again Christian, a protestant and a Reformed Dutch Pentecostal. The term fundamentalist doesn’t bother me because I believe in the protestant fundamentals; nor do the terms evangelical, reformed, charismatic, Bible toting, scripture thumping, spirit filled, hell-fire-and- brimstone believer. They are all true. I learned long ago not to let others define me. These days I let Jesus Christ define me. The Love of my Triune Lord shapes and defines me, and hopefully shines through me into the world.

I disagree, fiercely, with many people and things, yet I don’t hate the people I disagree with. My Lord has instructed me to Love those who hate me for what I am, a disciple of Christ. It’s easy to love the people you agree with, but not so easy when the people you disagree with draw a firm line in the sands of life which triggers their attack. Jesus said that the world would hate us because of him. Many in this world do. Yet I am still instructed to love the people who hate me, even when they target me for attack.

My hope is that Osama bin Laden will repent and come to know the salvation available only through Jesus Christ. Yes, even when he has attacked and killed many, many innocent people, God would that all should know Christ and his redeeming sacrifice.

I am contending for the truth. The truth has set me free and I hope it will you also.

John

 

Today as I write, there are tens of thousand if not hundreds of thousand of protestors clogging the arteries of downtown Chicago over immigration. The event that sparked the massive participation to this 2^nd annual event was a raid on a shopping center where very good fake identification papers could be purchased. Homeland Security swooped down on the illicit affair with machine guns drawn, dressed in body armor and the attitude of not taking any guff.

We as a society and economy have nobody but ourselves to blame for the current immigration situation. We have been passively tolerant of undocumented immigration. Our economy has encouraged it. Our leaders have refused to deal with it because we as a country have refused to deal with it. We have been in national denial about it.

The very souls we allowed to immigrate here are demanding to be treated with dignity and respect. In all honesty we should treat every person with dignity and humanity. By allowing undocumented immigration to flourish in the United States of America we have spawned an entire third class that is no longer content with being treated like illegal outsiders. The very human beings who took my order for breakfast this morning are marching for dignity this afternoon. This despite the fact that they have no legal right to be here.

The woman from Mexico who took my order this morning deserves dignified and respectful treatment from me and our society and our government. She is not nor should she be treated as untouchable. She is precious in Gods eyes. She is caught in an untenable trap, one that we as citizens have allowed, and one that is stuffed full of millions of human beings worthy of our respect.

Sadly I don’t believe that we as a country will do anything about the problem. We seem to like our denial on this matter.

Not controlling our boarders has been highly profitable for our businesses and highly damaging for our public schools, public healthcare system and increased our prison populations. One of the major economic reasons the nation of Mexico hasn’t exploded in violent Cuba style revolution is the money their sons and daughters send home.

The woman who served my breakfast this morning is from the state of Jalisco in Mexico. She has a family, is somebody’s daughter, somebody’s aunt and took great personal risk to improve her economic condition. We let her into the country. We let her work. And she will probably marry, have a family of citizen children, eventually become a citizen and contribute to our mainstream society. It is disrespectful to her to allow a prospering underworld of undocumented immigration to abuse her.

Unfortunately for the woman who served my breakfast this morning she still and probably will continue to have no legal right to be here.

The answer, I fear, will be unbelievably painful for many people. Sadly, we have only ourselves to blame.

 

When I keep in mind that ultimately what’s important in life is my relationship with Jesus, then my family and then my society, the 2008 elections seem pitiful in comparison. The emotional blood sport of politics and its quest for power has nothing to do with my relationship with Jesus, yet it can make my worldly pleasures more or less pleasurable depending upon my preferred sin of the moment.

I’ve always professed that I relate to the concept of utter depravity. Hopeless depravity that can only be solved by the power of Jesus’ sacrifice and the intervention of the power of the Holy Spirit is my condition. It’s everybody else’s condition also. Every time I see an even more outrageous act of political utter depravity, religious utter depravity, or societal utter depravity, I shake my head and pray for the redeeming power of Jesus to save us all.

People who advocate their preferred depravity will never give up their depraved goals until they die, have a change of heart, get tired of the cost of their depravity, or get a real life.

All through out the Old Testament God spoke to people and nations about what He found unacceptable and detrimental to having a fruitful relationship with Him. Most people and nations largely ignored His guidance then and continue to do so today. That is unfortunately true of many who have received the gift of reconciliation to God that comes only through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.

Yet when I see mothers and fathers sacrifice their young children by strapping suicide belts on their little bodies and glorifying the bloody gore that results in the pink mist, I am reminded of why God found such child sacrifice abhorrent. It is yet one sadder example of utter depravity.

We here in the United States like to be comfortable in our own depravity. We love our money, our sexual perversions and our comforts. Most of us are just as guilty of sin as those who sacrifice their children to fire via suicide belt.

Still there is an answer to utter depravity, but only one. His Name is Jesus.

We must be careful not to confuse our lust for power with our quest for righteousness sake. The gift of righteousness is far more valuable then the outcome of an election. The people who hunger for political power are often seduced my it’s shine allure and forget God. They often like to think of themselves as kings.

Remember, God desired to be the King of His People. The People rejected Him and demanded a mortal king. God obliged them and we’ve been disappointed since.

John