The Kingdom - Movie

I just rented The Kingdom with fellow Texan Jamie Foxx. The Kingdom is a very good movie; fast paced, excellent action scenes, great story and good acting. (I do think the Wahabi's are out to kill all Westerners and or Non-muslims. I don't think we can negotitate with them to save ourselves.) The movie ends with a great scene / quote around the Circle of Violence. I highly recommend the movie.

Lawrence of Arabia says, "The Wahabis, followers of a fanatical Moslem heresy, had impressed their strict rules on easy and civilized Kasim. In Kasim there was but little coffee-hospitality, much prayer and fasting, no tobacco, no artistic dalliance with women, no silk clothes, no gold or silver head ropes or ornaments. Everything was forcibly pious or forcibly puritanical. It was a natural phenomenon, this periodic rise at internals of little more than a century, of ascetic creeds in Central Arabia. Always the votaries found their neighbor's beliefs cluttered with inessential things, which had become impious in the hot imagination of their preachers. Again and again they had arisen, had taken possession, soul and body, of the tribes, and had dashed themselves to pieces on the urban Semites, merchants, and concupiscent men of the world. About their comfortable possessions the new creeds ebbed and flowed like the tides or the changing seasons, each movement with the seeds of early death in its excess of rightness. Doubtless they must recur so long as the causes -- sun, moon, wind, acting in the emptiness of open spaces, weigh without check on the unhurried and unencumbered minds of the desert dwellers."--T.E. Lawrence, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922)

Iraq War Spending

I don't really mean to be a liberal on the Iraq War spending, but it seems like we could have spent that money better at home on Katrina victims, cutting taxes, homeless, low income housing etc. Yes, we should spend the money on the soldiers, but upon reflection, we could have spent this money more wisely. I don't think we should have gone into Iraq, now that I look back. We should continue the War on Terror but Iraq has cost too much money and lives for people that really could care less about the US and what we stand for.

Until the US understands that countries that do not beleive in Christian values will never become democratic in the US' definition of the term, we will continue to have Iraqs and Palestines. Just like in relationships, you can't change people over night. Countries and cultures have been doing things their way for centuries or even thousands of years, so why do we beleive our way will change them overnight. Warring cultures just have no definition for peace. Of course you may say Japan but they were conquered and were made to change under the gun.
Christian values and the politics that follows us into battle is no way to win a war. As the saying goes all is fair in love and war. Bad things happen in war. Unmentionable things. Answering to the US press and political pressures will not win a victory in Iraq. While they are cutting off heads, we are court martialing soldiers for actions during a war. We burned down most of Japan during WWII, have we lost our spine.

Oh well, if we are not going to do what ot takes to rid ourselves of Iraq then we need to pull out and use those monies on the greater good within the US borders. Maybe better border technology and manpower.

Out,
TGPM

Digital Picture Frames

I just bought my parents a Digital Picture Frame for Christmas and added a 1GB memory card. I am loading just about every picture of our boys over the last 3 years on the card to display on the digital frame. I tested it last night and this may be the best gift you can give your parents. Now I want one for my office. If you are hainvg trouble finding a cool Christmas gift I highly recommend a digital picture frame.

Merry Christmas,
TGPM

Alt Fuel

I was wondering the other day, why hasn't one of the last few Presidents set a goal to ahieve alternative fuels in ten years like JFK set for reaching the moon. What are they waiting on? We need to set a goal, so we know what path to take, otherwise we are lost. What's new?

Out,
TGPM