Now I don't want to get off on a rant here...

Republican Puppet

Being the Republican puppet that I am, I couldn't let this go by without saying something:

Don't miss Sean Hannity's live broadcast from the State Fair on August 27th from 2-5pm! Sean's special guests include country music star Sara EVans and Gov. Bob Ehrlich!

Listen now on WCBM

Also, don't forget to pick up your copy of the self-proclaimed antidote to Fahrenheit 911, "Hannitization of America Tour" DVD.

Puppetry complete.

Coffee with a Cause

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Nuptial Updates

With being T minus 28 days and counting we have had a lot going on lately. Two big events that have taken place recently was Amy’s wedding shower and a food tasting at our reception site. Both being very fun.

SHOWER
Last Saturday, the good women at Amy’s old church were nice enough to have a fairly large shower for her. While she was there I was out running around with my father buying stuff to work on our bathroom. But I eventually got to hear about everything that went on and obviously got to see all the stuff she came home with! We were also blessed with some of her family coming back to our house to check everything out and have some crabs and shrimp.

Amy’s mother did a devotional there which I am very glad my mom was there to hear because I am not sure where her heart is with Christ. This was also very important to Amy and meant a lot to have her mother there to do that. I understand she shared Amy’s conversion story of coming to Christ at a very young age (3 or 4 years old) and my testimony of conversion as an adult. She shared that God had brought us together and that our very different conversions were all a part of his plan and purpose for us. This really opened my mom’s eyes to see how much Amy’s parents trusted the Lord and were excited about his plan for our lives. When she shared this with me, I tried to point out to her that is how Christians view all aspects of life and can always be excited of God is working in their lives.

The time with her family was a lot of fun as well and I never turn down a reason to have a crab feast! I am very Baltimore centric and have trouble eating seafood anywhere else but here, so with some family members that aren’t originally from this area it was fun to see them trying to figure out how to eat crabs. That was really the first time Amy & I had a chance to host a lot of people. We had about 10 – 11 people there and I think it went fairly well. After most of her family left, we had a good time and some good conversation with her cousin and cousin-in-law (who actually visited my blog)! We broke out 1 of 3 new blenders we got to make some piña coladas, which I proceeded to shoot into my face when I thought the blade had stopped moving and I stuck a wooden spoon down into the mix.

Not only did we have a good time, but we scored a lot of stuff too! After all was said and done, we mostly got stuff for our kitchen but it was all very much needed. People have been very generous to us and God has certainly provided for many of our needs. Getting married is an amazing time and an amazing investment of money all around. I can’t imagine adding up the total cost of having a wedding including the presents, but I am sure thankful for these provisions the Lord has graciously given us. Our hope is to be able to have a very welcoming home where people will feel comfortable to come and have a good time. I know that all these presents will be used to create that atmosphere. It took us several hours to go through everything that we received. Then we had to go through the kitchen and get rid of all the mix match stuff we had and plastic cups (apparently a guy thing) and anything else that was deemed ugly or from 1975.

FOOD TASTING
Last night we got to go to a full dinner food tasting for our wedding reception. This was a very enjoyable time with getting to see the room set-up, taste the great food and meet some really neat couples.

Amy was buzzing around looking at all the little intricate details that made the room look beautiful and asking questions about this, that and the other thing. She was in full wedding glory last night! We got to see the colors, the decorations and the food displays. Which were all very pretty and I did my husband-to-be duties of reassuring Amy with, “yes dear, that looks beautiful!” I really think she was pleased with all that we saw with the room decorations. The food was delicious too and I only hope we’ll get to enjoy it on our big day!

We were also fortunate enough to be sitting with some very pleasant young couples at our table. I suppose all the wedding details really afford you with a lot in common and a lot to talk about with one another, but I think these were some genuinely nice people too. We enjoyed our evening exchanging pleasantries and stories and getting to know them. I really wish them the best in their relationships and pray that God will truly bless their unions and help them to see his beauty and plan for marriage.

Phish Envy

Take the Pledge

I pledge a vote to [INSERT CANDIDATE NAME HERE] for President of the United States of America and to the Electoral College for which it decides one nation under God divisible into red, blue, green, etc with liberty and justice for all those that don’t complain about the process and actually intelligently engage in it.

Pledge your vote monitors the "pulse of the people" in Election 2004. You can "pledge" your vote to a presidential candidate, while still having the option to change your mind anytime before Election 2004. Changes will be tracked throughout the year, so you will be able to see presidential preference trends with sampling of online users.

Prayer of Adoration

William Meisheid at Beyond the Rim has shared a great idea with Personal Prayers Written Down. He challenges the reader to write a prayer to someone they love, based on Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi in Philippians 1: 9-11.

While Amy was in college, I used to write a daily prayer for us each morning to send to her by email. This kept us focused on Christ for the day and reminded her that I was thinking and praying for her. So writing prayers down is not something that is new to me, but framing it in this context really brought the scriptures out of the book and into my heart.

Today, marks one month (30 days) until Amy and I will be married and I could not think of any better way to signify that than to write her a prayer.

My lord, you have blessed me beyond my deserts with Amy and shown me your true glory and beauty. You have used her in amazing ways to show me the grace and patience that is found in your holy word. You have brought us together in a very particular way, to show your true power to transform, unite and bless. I give thanks for your amazing sovereignty to work all things for our good with plans to prosper and not hurt us.

Father, give me the abilities to be the servant-leader that I am called to be. Help me to find the ways to attend to each of Amy’s needs and always point her back to the cross for her ultimate rejuvenation of spirit. Grant me the wisdom to humbly and gently lead our relationship towards a greater understanding in your knowledge. May my gentle spirit always be evident to her. Wash us with your holiness and unite our hearts with the bond of Jesus Christ. Equip me with the ability to praise and encourage Amy to be the woman in Christ you have made her to be, and exude the adoration I have for her with each word or action.

I pray that you will always reign in her heart and that she will always look towards you for her strength. That she will never be anxious, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present [her] requests to God.” Lord, may you always abound in our relationship and indeed be the very fabric which binds us together, so that we may glorify you in all that we do. Amen.

Vote for Change - Intelligent Change

Vote for Change - Artist Declaration
Most importantly, we wish to communicate our concerns to our fellow citizens and join with them in the effort to change the direction of our government towards one that will make our country as great as it can be.

I agree with the above statement that we need to be moving our government towards greatness and away from demagoguery. However, the change that needs to occur is not “regime” related, but is related to the worldview of those that do not understand the world we currently live in.

People like Dave Matthews who said, "A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America. A vote for Bush is a vote for a divided, unstable, paranoid America. It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it." I have no problem with his voice being heard, even though I didn’t know he was an American citizen. But he demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the world we live in and has things very backwards. A vote for change, should be a vote for supporting our couragous leaders in the face of this fundamental misunderstanding of the world that is shared by the likes of France and Michael Moore.

Bruce Springsteen adds, “I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions. They understand that we need an administration that places a priority on fairness, curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's citizens, courage and faith.”

What Bruce, Dave and the other artists involved in this misguided campaign overlook, is the point that we only have the freedoms to have those priorities when we defend our nation. We will only have those freedoms by quashing terrorists and anyone that supports them. Kerry/Edwards have shown they have no real idea, no real focus on how to even attempt to begin that process. President Bush has been doing it for three years now and has made us strong, kept us safe and preserved our health, which Dave Matthews rightfully values.

"[Bruce Springsteen] thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote," Marilyn O'Grady says in the 30-second spot. "Here's my vote: Boycott the Boss. If you don't buy his politics, don't buy his music." (Senate Candidate Says 'Boycott the Boss')

With more and more Hollywood elites putting their 2 cents into the political arena, they maybe losing more than that when people don’t agree with their point of view. I don’t see any problem with them voicing their opinions, but we certainly should not be looking to these individuals as sources of truth and wisdom in politics. Who reads “Vanity Fair” for political rhetoric? Who watches “Entertainment Tonight” to understand the great issues of our time?

Update:

The Testosterone Driven Life (Wild At Heart)

This is a post I’ve been planning for a few weeks, but hadn’t gotten around to it until now. I, like many other Christian men have read Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul by John Eldredge. So this is my obligatory post on a few gems I gleaned from this testosterone driven book. It was an enjoyable read, but I think Jollyblogger’s post John Eldredge - An Example of Reductionism is a great summary of the dangers of his theology.

One aspect that I enjoyed about this book was the charge to be a freedom fighter like William Wallace (Braveheart), respected like Maximus (Gladiator) and introspective and intelligent like Will Hunting (Good Will Hunting). Three great movies, all part of my DVD collection, and if for no other reason this book gave me cause to revisit these flix to see this new nuance in the storylines.

First of all, Eldredge helped me to see an aspect of man’s fall that I had not noticed before. Eve ate of the forbidden fruit before Adam did, so there was at least for a moment where she was fallen and he was not. Then Adam let his love for Eve come before his love for the Lord, and here we are today. This seems to explain so much about my own heart and how important Amy is to me. I would go to the depths of hell, as in “What Dreams May Come”, to save her if I could. There is an immense feeling of love and connectedness that we have that the thought of living without her is unbearable. Is it even worth questioning what would have happened if Adam hadn’t eaten and Eve did? No, because they were made for one another and their fates were always aligned.

There is no advocacy here to put the love of spouse above the love of our Lord because we can only experience that true agape love for another when we do put the Lord first. However, there is a very important reminder here to do just that and to remember that I was made for Amy and she was made for me. Our lives, our hearts, our futures are intertwined together and not even a temporal death changes that fact.

Secondly, for all Eldredge’s talk about the wound in our hearts and perhaps his unhealthy focus on this, he did touch on two key aspects of this Will Hunting phenomena. We must not let our fear of anything other than the Lord rule in our hearts, and we must shed the skin of our fake selves.

Have you ever been home alone and walking up the stairs after turning the lights off and just felt like someone was behind you? These “Sixth Sense” moments when we feel the chill on the back of our necks and start thinking that something is going to reach out and grab you can feel very real. Perhaps, if you believe in the existence of the super-natural, they are real. But someone whose life and faith is grounded in the fear of the Lord has nothing to fear in these situations. By the power, glory & blood of Christ, no one or nothing has hold of our souls but our very Savior himself. What then is there to fear in that situation or any situation when we remember that though Satan may have hurt Job physically, he had no control of the stronghold God had on his heart?!

Keeping this in mind and claiming yourself a new creation in Christ, removes the need to hide who you are. Not that who you are, is not sinful and that you will no longer struggle with this, and also remember that without Christ you are not worthy of salvation. These are very humbling reminders that cannot be forgotten. But you now have the glory of the Holy Spirit in your life; you must not hide that fact. Be comfortable with who you are, who God has made you to be and how he has redeemed you. Do not continue to put on masks, the facades of the disingenuous. Let people into your life and share your heart with them. We were created to be in relationship, so don’t set up road blocks to these treasures.

Finally, Eldredge reminded me of the need to explore God’s calling for my life and the responsibility we have for following this path. His own example of how this played out in his own life was like many other stories I’ve heard before. He was headed in one direction, changed course after being prompted by the Lord and he stepped out in faith. This is very easy to say when looking back at your life, but extremely hard to do within the situation.

I came to Christ, over 3 years ago and I am now 26 years old. This means I’ve been headed down my current career path since BC (before Christ), and I made these choices without seeking God’s counsel. I’m a network/database geek working on computers all day long, but is this the work ministry that God wants me to have? I’m not sure.

There are two directions that I feel a prompting to head in and I need to figure out how this plays into my life currently. Do I immediately step out in faith towards one of these other career choices or do I take more time to think, pray and prepare for that time? I’m in a holding pattern there with the second choice, but am reminded not to just fall into a comfort zone where I am.

I enjoy working with kids, I am involved with youth group at church and I already have this body of knowledge with computers. This lends itself very well to me possibly becoming a computer teacher in a middle/high school. A very different vocation then I am currently pursuing.

There is also a deep passion for politics in my heart that just doesn’t seem to go away. This has made me think about getting involved by supporting another candidate, running myself or getting involved in the national party of my choice.

These are very different paths from each other and from where I am today. I have no doubt in my mind that God will reveal the direction he is calling me in time. As long as my heart is focused on Him and my life continues to reflect His glory I cannot fail.

While I’m not sure I am wild at heart, I do think some secrets to my soul were revealed to me. Although there is nothing here that a faithful believer will not get from reading God’s word directly and of course meditating on it day and night (Psalm 1:2).

Happy Athens Day?!

From those kooky cats at Google:

The Journey Continues

The Requiest has picked up on the endless journey of a Christian’s life from Doug McHone, who in turn got his creative juices flowing from Judge Dredd. Being a younger guy, 26 years old, I have not fully been faced with the ideas of retirement (from a secular stand-point) or even really feeling the approaching end to this life. Although I do have an appreciation for and seek comfort in the future coming of Jesus Christ and rest in the assurances of ever-lasting life, knowing this is only a temporary existence.

So why do these posts stand out to me? There are several reasons. First, I believe these guys have touched on some key Biblical principles of living an ever-lasting life, both now and in the future. Secondly, I have been giving thought to my eschatological views with an REM look towards, “It’s the end of the world as we know it” (material for another post). This has been brought on by Jollyblogger’s posts on the role of politics and Christian living, and my Church has begun a series on eschatology in Sunday school. Finally, I am a member of an aging congregation and I believe we are facing the issues of retirement & withdrawal presently. How convenient of me to see other people’s flaws? Of course there is no log in my eye, right!?

I think Doug & The Requiest are right on target:

Doug, “The Lord causes rain to fall in it’s season and the harvest is plentiful wherever one goes. If a preacher is to no longer preach in the confines of a traditional corporate church, isn’t their calling to spread the gospel still active? Does the work of the Lord ever stop? If we are to be Christlike, we need to continue doing His work for the rest of our days, wherever we happen to be.”

There are obvious applications here, not only for preachers, but for the laymen as well, who is also called to serve the Lord in a very specific way according to his/her abilities.

The Requiest, “But what about after the kids have moved out and are done with college? What about after the mortgage is paid off and there really isn’t any more long term debt? What about after I’ve decided to retire? Do I still have any reason to not go into full time work for the Lord?

“When I decide to retire from the work force is when I should hire on full time to God’s work force…So my question to you is, “What are you going to do after you retire?” Will this be a time of withdrawl or a time for growth?” “

I have never taken a Hebrew class, so I really know nothing about the language. But I do have access to an Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon, and I looked up the word retire, to see its uses in the Bible. Two definitions stood out to me:

Retire (transliterated word - ‘uwz) - to take refuge, bring to refuge, seek refuge
Retired (transliterated word – Puwts) - to scatter, be dispersed, be scattered

What better place to take refuge, to seek protection from the hardships of the world, than to bath yourself in the Word and the Kingdom of God? There is no greater comfort, than the ability to trust in the promises of Jesus Christ and live your life proclaiming those truths. How more poignant can the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) be in light of the scattering and dispersion of teachers of living examples of the Holy Spirit?

Admittedly, I could be completely off with my take on the Hebrew words and their application to this topic, and would love the opportunity for correction if someone wishes to give it.

In the August edition of my church’s newsletter, Pastor [name edited out] exhorts our congregation to service in the name of Christ. “The same people (the active 10%) can not carry the whole ministry of the church on their shoulders. To be healthy means that we will make bold plans for the future, so that we can fulfill the Great Commission, and not only plan, but create ways to hold ourselves accountable for growth.” Our congregation is very fortunate to have a living example of this view of retirement and continual faithful service to our Lord, Jesus Christ, in Pastor [name edited out]. May he be strengthened in his service and ability to provide such wisdom and understanding to our faithful body of believers!

There is no end to the eternal membership in the Kingdom of God and we must live our lives in accordance with His principles and obedience to His word.

Citizen Disciple

As Citizen King sings, “Cuz I've seen better days”, or at least that is how I felt yesterday as I left work. Overall, it really wasn’t a bad day but there was an incident that certainly tainted the day.

BACKGROUND
I utilize MSN Messenger at work to facilitate communication among our employees. We had a new employee that I set-up with email and MSN Messenger. She began to have problems logging onto MSN Messenger and I discovered there was a problem with the account. I contacted Microsoft to have this resolved and in the interim, I set-up a fake e-mail account and created a new MSN Messenger account. The fake e-mail account was coming to me because it was temporary and was never meant to be used.

I received an e-mail from someone that I didn’t recognize, but I get a great deal of mail from various accounts and for various reasons so this is not out of the ordinary. I opened the message and began to skim it to see what it was about. I soon realized it was a personal message for this employee that had been sent to that fake account. This was a very personal message, which I wish I hadn’t seen. I debated as to whether I should just delete it and forget about or if I should forward it along to them.

The later seemed more like the appropriate thing to do, but I felt I needed to clarify what happened. Knowing the content of the message I also sent along a word of encouragement to talk to someone at work if they were unhappy about their job situation and wanted to get those issues resolved. We had not spoken about this at all and I noticed there was some level of tension mounting between us.

UN-BETTER DAY
So yesterday I asked if everything was alright because I had noticed I was being ignored. This may or may not have been a wise decision of mine. They proceeded to lay into me accusing me of monitoring their e-mail, informed me that the message was not sent to the address I explained that it was and that we weren’t friends so my advice was not needed. They also told me that my supervisor was supposed to talk to me about this.

Very shocked at this reaction I explained what had happened again and asked that my message be re-read. That it was an accident that I read the message, but I can’t change the past. Additionally, I reminded them that my message did not deal with any of their personal issues and was merely suggesting that to resolve any work related hard-ships they would need to speak to someone at work that could help. None of this seemed to matter and accusations continued.

The muscle in my upper leg was now twitching as I strained to contain my anger. I informed them that if they had come to me directly about this in the first place, that it would have been resolved quicker, but now the situation had elevated and they were refusing to understand. I apologized for having read the message, but added that it was their decision whether to accept that and move on or not. They obviously did not care and choose to hold onto the tension. So I walked away.

I took a walk around the block to cool off and collected my thoughts. When I came back into the building I had a message that Amy called, so I called her and gave a very brief synopsis of what happened. She suggested that I pray about it and when I got off the phone that is exactly what I did.

Last night we spoke about it in more depth, and I discovered that while my intentions were good I probably should not have offered up any advice showing that I'd seen any part of the message. I struggle with this because I really truly wanted to reach out and help. We decided the best way to help now was to simply pray for them, which we did.

BETTER DAY
I awoke this morning with a renewed and refreshed view of the situation. Reaching the conclusion that I could not change their point of view and that wasn’t even needed. I have no personal problems with them and really truly hope they are able to find peace and happiness. I will continue to lift them up in prayer in hopes that they may find the comfort they need. My true hope is that they will find a way to put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. To that end, it is entirely in the hands of the Holy Spirit and I pray that I will be used in such a way to exhibit grace, humility and understanding.

Nothing short of that is expected from a citizen of the glorious kingdom of God.

Searching for Signs of Life

Will you be one of them at Power Plant Live?

8/12/2004 - Party on the Plaza featuring Better Than Ezra

Better Than Ezra is a flashback to 90’s alternative rock for me and I certainly was an Eddie Vedder disciple. I’m looking forward to the show and haven’t been down to PPL for awhile. I love the outside atmosphere though and there is no shortage of places to keep your attention, no matter your preference.

What happened to the Band of Brothers?

Here are some:

Kerry Lied
John Kerry brought it up. Viet Nam veterans are jumping all over it. What is it? It's something that's been in the craws of Viet Nam vets since 1971.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
Senator John Kerry has made his 4-month combat tour in Vietnam the centerpiece of his bid for the Presidency. His campaign jets a handful of veterans around the country, and trots them out at public appearances to sing his praises. John Kerry wants us to believe that these men represent all those he calls his "band of brothers."

Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry

William G. Meisheid @ Beyond The Rim…
Memories of Vietnam
I am not sure how Senator Kerry’s campaign can recover from these revelations, which are presented in such a direct and straight forward manner.

I think the answer is by having them ignored by the major media or at least presenting a skewed view (i.e. Baltimore Sun headlines).

McCain condemns ad criticizing Kerry war service
Spot by veterans group runs in crucial states, says he lied about wounds

Kerry’s Unholy Alliances

Updated with commentary at Seadragon’s request:

Being a Christian conservative republican, I can’t imagine two more antithetical worldviews to mine than atheists & communists. These are people that base truth on a fluid, constantly changing perception of the world and have no real absolutes to stand on (at least none that they would readily admit). These are people that promote a brand of government that buys into the failed ideologies of socialism and Marxism, which tour down the Soviet Union, represses the people of China and keeps France & Canada from making any significant contributions to the world.

ATHEISTS

Atheists Endorse Kerry-Edwards Ticket
This endorsement of Kerry, by those who do not believe in God, and want to outlaw all references to God in public places, re-define marriage, make homosexuality the norm, advance a culture of vulgarity and kill all babies of inconvenience, [should not] come as a surprise. If elected, Kerry will fully represent them.

Since issues of homosexuality and abortion are based on moral views of the world, they are closely related to one’s faith or lack thereof. To a believer, morality is founded in God, founded in the Bible and thus founded in truth. To a non-believer these issues get significantly more complicated because they are not based on an absolute truth. Their beliefs are based on personal decisions and personal views of morality, which are all relative. Therefore, it would not be right for one person to legislate their view of morality over another.

The problem with this is that a standard view of morality is already legislated and based on an absolute truth. It then becomes a choice of recognizing that or not, but to recognize that calls into question their entire godless worldview. To view homosexuality and abortion as civil rights issues gets at the heart of the difference between the godless and the God centered citizens.

Communist Joins Atheists And Muslim's Endorsement Of Kerry
The Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC), an atheist group with the goal of removing all references to God from currency, public buildings, and in court oaths. They also want to outlaw the celebration of Christmas. Kerry is their man.

Reading the articles and issue briefings on the GAMPAC website, you begin to see a picture of the key hot buttons that the Bush administration has pressed with them. The involvement of legislated morality in regards to homosexuality and abortion, based on Biblical worldviews, is obviously a big NO NO.

Atheism and Secular Humanism are extremely similar if not synonyms. Here are a couple tenants of secular humanism:
• A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
• A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.

Here we see that a secular humanist must test truth for themselves and reach their own conclusions. This puts the value of the individual over the value of truth itself. This is only a problem when the conclusions reached are not the same. This sounds awfully familiar to the problem we find ourselves in now. Additionally, if you are in a constant search for objective truth, you will never be satisfied with any truth that is found. Because truth is only based on a limited and “imperfect perception” of what you know thus far and can never be relied upon.

COMMUNISTS

Kerry Receives Communist Endorsement
The Associated Press reported Monday that the head of the communist movement in Nicaragua and Sandinista Leader Tomas Borge announced his support for Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) presidential bid.

Perspective: Communist Party USA supports John Kerry
The CPUSA has made available on its Web site, cpusa.org, an advertisement entitled Top Ten Reasons To Defeat Bush. This advertisement can be downloaded. The communist party urges readers to place this ad in local newspapers throughout the country to defeat President Bush.

Remarkably, the "Top Ten Reasons" of the Communist party are identical to those of the Democratic party; out-sourcing, homosexual rights, abortion and the like.

Tying the two (atheists & communists) together now:

"Let America be America Again" [former Kerry slogan] sounds good but is a rambling, gloomy poem. Interestingly, another poem by Langston goes as follows; (Goodbye Christ by Langston Hughes)

Make way for a new guy with no religion at all -- A real guy named Marx, communist, Lenin, Peasant, Stalin, Worker, ME -- I said, ME!"

The Democratic Party has shifted its focus from homosexual and abortion rights to health care and borderline anti-capitalism. This only seems to align it more with the CPUSA than turn from it. Kerry and liberal democrats seem to be able to seamlessly align themselves equally with anti-God and pro-Marxists alike.

Red China Endorses Kerry - Communists Pick Kerry Over Bush
John Kerry has gained the support of the largest political party in the world. The official online news outlet for communist China, the People's Daily, endorsed the Senator from Massachusetts for President of the United States.

China policy volatile in election
Different from Bush, Democratic candidate John Kerry has been friendly towards China.

Very friendly indeed: KERRY'S PICTURE FEATURED IN VIETNAMS COMMUNIST HERO'S HALL OF FAME

Sino-US relations viewed from general election
[F]rom a long-term view, a Democratic administration, which stresses international cooperation, pursues "multilateralism" and stands for a policy of contacts, will be better for both world peace and Sino-US relations.

Is Yuan Peng on Kerry’s staff? This sounds like a John Kerry ad, which also lacks a fundamental understanding of the war on terror and the definition of multilateralism. To protect our nation, President Bush has engaged the enemy in their own neighborhood. This is exactly what is needed to win the peace. Imagine the devastating results on our economy and our way of life if we were only engaging the enemy here at home. Israel has become accustomed to this level of violence, but is that what we want to see happen to the US? Both Kerry and obviously communist China seem to believe that multilateral diplomacy must include France, Germany, China & the DNC. And then they have the audacity to claim the cowboy, go it alone, Bush is the prideful one. There is some kind of failed logic there that I don’t understand.

Of course that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Poor John Kerry III

Poll: No boost for Kerry after convention

The survey showed Kerry losing 1 percentage point and Bush gaining 4 percentage points from a poll taken the week before the Boston convention.

The change in support was within the poll's margin of error of +/-4 percentage points in the sample of 763 likely voters. But it was nonetheless surprising, the first time since the chaotic Democratic convention in 1972 that a candidate hasn't gained ground during his convention.

USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll results

Some additional numbers that President Bush or John Kerry may or may not want to talk up:

4. Now, suppose that the presidential election were being held today, and it included John Kerry and John Edwards as the Democratic candidates, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as the Republican candidates, and Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo as independent candidates. Who would you vote for?