Commentary: Ad Hominem Strikes Again!

It's happening again. Every other year all members of the US House come up for re-election. And every other year, the Democrat party starts desperately trying to unseat Representative Ryun from his seat. Just like last time, they're running out Nancy Boyda. And just like last time, I expect them to pull all of their bag of cheap tricks out.

For example, most of the time last year, Boyda spent her campaign money trying to look like Ryun. She ran ads about how she biked across Kansas or about how important her faith was to her. (By the way, vague statements about faith don't win over Christian voters. We know that there's a difference between faith in faith and faith in Jesus Christ.) Above all, though, when all of those tactics failed, her campaign degenerated to ad hominem arguments against Ryun, a strong Christian man of wonderful character.
Now, the Democrat party is at it again. The Washington Post ran a questionable story, and the Topeka Democrat, er, Capital-Journal picked it up. It attempts to tie Ryun to the scandal-ridden lobbyist Abrahamoff through a real estate deal. Not direclty, of course. It's more like the game "Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon." Ryun bought real estate from a non-profit (step 1) founded by former House Speaker Tom DeLay (step 2). DeLay did not run the organization (step 3). Abrahamoff is the now-infamous lobbyist with ties to Republicans and Democrats, including Mr. DeLay (step 4). The house itself had some structural issues that lowered its asking price significantly.
However, the media quickly jumped on the story, claiming that Ryun is guilty of some sort of corrupt behavior for buying a run-down property. Give me a break! That charge is patently false, as anyone who takes the time to read through the entire story will know. As absurd is the attempt to connect Ryun with Abrahamoff. Ryun is a tenuous 4 steps away from Abrahamoff at best. In reality, there is no connection. This is just mudslinging out of season. Did the Democrats remember to get their license for out-of-season mudslinging? Probably. The party seems to be capable solely of that and not much more.
What's sad about this story is that a lot of swing voters won't take the time to read the whole story, and all they'll do is associate Ryun with scandal. This, of course, is exactly what the Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media want. They want conservatives who disagree with them out, and they're willing to go to great lengths, including the printing of questionable stories, to get it.

Commentary: Iraq

War weariness is setting in for some Americans. They understandably are tired of hearing about what's wrong in Iraq. Of course, there's a lot of good being done in Iraq. The media, of course, ignores this. Notice, for example, that the majority of the problems are centered in one or two spots within the country. Overall, the country is in pretty good shape.
A more significant problem right now, though, is the constant attack by "peace" activists on the war. "The US is the weapon of mass destruction", they claim. "If we leave, Iraq will be better off." I want to take a second to respond to these two claims because they are false and because they fail to take into account the attitude of the enemy.

First, to blame the US for damage done to civilians by the Iraqi opposition is like blaming the Allies during World War II for the damage done during the Battle of Britain. The enemy is the one causing the damage, not the US. It is the Islamic terrorists who are driving explosive-laden cars into marketplaces, not the US government. It is terrorists who ambush Iraqi and US military convoys, not caring if they hit civilians in the process.
Now, some argue that the radical element in Iraq would stop attacking if the US weren't there. "Iraq will be peaceful if the US leaves," they claim. This statement shows an inherent lack of understanding about the enemy is. Our enemy is going to attack anyone and everyone who disagrees with them. Their sole goal is to establish an Islamic theocracy in Iraq, and anyone who stands in their way must convert, flee, or be killed. There is no true peace with them. If the US were not there, providing support and even fighting, Iraq would degenerate into civil war between the moderate Muslim majority and a fanatical group of Islamic fascists. The "peace" activists operate under the flawed humanist assumption that everyone is inherently good and that given the choice, each person would chose to live a quiet life and mind his own business. The history of the world shows otherwise. These terrorists will go attack somewhere else if they weren't attacking the Iraqis. The only way to have peace is not to retreat into a protective shell. We have to fight. Such is the way of this fallen world.

Rambling: Have You Ever Noticed?

Once in a while, I like to stop to notice the little things about this world and wonder why they are the way they are. Have you ever noticed...

-- That M and N look a lot alike even though they are different sounds? M and B are very similar in terms of how they are produced, yet they look very different. Why do M and N look so similar?
-- That stop signs all have white borders? Why a white border? Why not yellow or green or orange?
-- That in most languages, people write from the left towards the right? Why that direction? In Middle Eastern languages, like Arabic and Hebrew, they write from right to left. Again, why that way? Which way did the first writer write?
-- That stop lights always have a yellow body? The box that holds the signal is inevitably painted yellow. Why? Have you ever seen a stop light painted another color?
-- That we tell time in 12-hour increments? Why 12-hours? Why not 24? Why not 4 or 6? All of those go into 360 evenly. Who decided that we should always measure time as ante meridim (AM) or post meridim (PM)?
-- That the sky during the day is blue? I'm being serious. Why should it be blue? Why didn't God design the sky so that it looked red or orange or yellow or pink or black?

Hmmm...interesting thoughts. I'll stop there and let you ponder that. Any thoughts are welcome.

Rambling: Tired

I've been very busy. I have nothing to post, and I am very tired. The end.

Rambling: Duck! And Cover!

Today is going to be an interesting weather day. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, has put NE Kansas in a High Risk area for severe weather. For those of you who don't know what that means, the SPC only puts out High Risk areas about two or three times a year. It's basically their way of saying, "Be ready to take cover quickly, because the weather is about to get ugly."

I've only seen only High Risk outlook ever come to nothing, and that was 9 years ago, when the SPC put Iowa in a High Risk area. In that case, dry air in the middle levels of the troposphere prevented the storms from firing. I don't think that will be the case today.
Neither does the SPC. Right now, we are in a PDS Tornado Watch. The PDS stands for Particularly Dangerous Situation, meaning the potential for strong, long-lived tornadoes; damaging straight line winds; and extremely large hail are all possible between now and sunset.
So, being trained as a meteorologist, I'm excited on the one-hand to see how today will unfold. As a person, though, I'm praying that God will spare those who are in the direct path of these storms.
So, whatever you do today, keep an eye on the weather and be ready to head for shelter should the weather become severe.

Rant: Laundromats

<rant>I had a large amount of laundry to do, so I thought I'd go to a laundromat in an effort to speed up the process. Bad idea.

First, the environment was not good. It was a noisy place, with a lot of washers and driers making a tremendous racket. The laundromat was playing a radio station that was doing the best of the '80s. I grew up during the late '80s, but I can only take some much Aerosmith before I just reach overload.
To make matters worse, the washers were more expensive than in my complex, so I wound up spending nearly 10 dollars to do what would have cost me just over half that here.
Moreover, the driers were incredibly slow, resulting in it taking 2 hours for me to get laundry done, about equal to the time it would have taken me to do all of my laundry here in my apartment building, where I wouldn't have had to nearly break into a sweat in a hot, smelly environment while listening to the best of the Police.
Actually, I expected about as much, although in hindsight I still say that I would have gone. Why? One simple reason: I didn't have enough quarters, and the laundromat is the only place where there is a change machine. The moral of the story: always have enough quarters so you can stay at home.</rant>

Rambling: Down Go the Cyclones

My alma mater's basketball team is done again, this time losing to Oklahoma State in the Big XII tournament.

We crawled to within 2, and then the classic Iowa State collapse began. Players drove into an overcrowded lane and turned the ball over, guards missed free throws left and right, and post players missed easy layups. We easily could have won the game by making a few more free throws or by committing a few less stupid mistakes.
Well, it's off, maybe, to the NIT, and on to next year. [Sigh]

Hebrews 12:7-11

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.