Have you ever noticed that if you say a word over and over long enough it no longer sounds like a word? Such as "boat" or "ethics".
Been close to a month since my presence has graced this domain. Been busy. Cut me some slack. I've got this new woman in Peoria who has been monopolizing my time...and I am very happy about that.
This will be one of those random thought blogs since it's been awhile and I am playing catch up...or is that ketchup? Plus, this is how my brain usually works anyway. So buckle up kiddos.
According to an FBI agent who was interviewed on "60 Minutes" and was Saddam's chief interrogator, Mr. Hussein didn't believe the US would attack Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction, so he concealed the fact that he didn't have any to prevent an Iranian invasion. He apparently stated that he miscalculated President Bush's intentions. Yeah...I would say so. Now, I don't know if I completely believe this or not. Even if it is true it is widely believed by those close to Saddam that he had every intention of ramping his WMD programs up again and he certainly had a precedent for using them - just ask the Kurds in the North. "60 Minutes" loves this though as it gives them one more data point to call into question the decision to send our military into Iraq in the first place. Of course, there are so many holes in that thought process it is hard to know where to begin:
1) The best anyone can do at any point in time is make the best decision with the information that they have on hand.
2) To now call in a question based on information made public after 7 years is ridiculous. I've heard of Monday morning quarterbacking but this is insanity.
3) To say that we should not have gone into Iraq when we believed Saddam had WMDs is to say that the 9/11 attacks should not have changed our foreign and security policies. That is as absurd a position as choosing to ignore Pearl Harbor would have been.
4) Are we safer after going into Iraq or less safe? This is also the wrong question. We are safer than we thought we were. End of story.
OK...that topic took awhile. Let's move along. Nice article on Yahoo following another "60 Minutes" interview - this one with Joel Osteen. The title of the article? "Popular Preacher Doesn't Talk Much About God" Wow...nice title Joel. Could that possibly be why you are so popular? Don't want to get bogged down with all that God stuff. Much better to talk about being positive and being kind and to let people know that God has ordained numerous blessings for them...they just have to show a little patience. I watched some of that interview. The guy asking him questions actually did a good job. At one point he asked Joel why in his 16,000 seat auditorium there were no Bibles and Jesus was rarely, if ever, mentioned by name? Joel stated, and I am paraphrasing, that teaching Scripture isn't his gift. Can you really be a Christian pastor and not teach the Bible to your congregation? I don't think so. Joel was not called to be a pastor. Perhaps his father was...I never heard him speak. I think the interiewer was much closer to the truth when he compared Joel to Dr. Phil. It really loves me wondering what is going on in Joel's heart.
Stimulus package got passed. Everyone excited? The government is borrowing money...a lot of it from Chinese investors...to give you a little spending cash. Oh, of course, it will be your tax money that eventually has to pay off that loan...and with interest it will end up costing you more in the end then you will be getting now. But hey...at least Congress is doing something, right? Blah. No wonder their approval ratings are lower than Shaq's shoe size.
Best line from "Numb3rs" last night..."Satisfaction doesn't come from having all the right answers but in helping others find them." Amen. That is why I love discipling others.
