WHEN IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE…PRAY!

 {For an image of John McCain with the miraculous image of Guadalupe:  http://media.lasvegassun.com/media/img/photos/2008/10/16/scaled.McCain_Hispanics_WX205_t318.jpg?35f122e0f08a19b997c3516b471ccb8daa82d675}

*published on Flopping Aces*  
The situation for Christendom in 1571, by any measure was impossible. The resurgent Ottoman Empire was poised to invade Italy, march up the boot and finally crush the Christian world out of existence. The earliest Arab Muslim empires had been more civilized and tolerant, perhaps, but the converted Turks retained many of their brutal ways; and now the time had come to finally destroy Europe. Ali Pasha had gathered a large fleet and army, had overwhelmed many of the Mediterranean islands with vastly superior numbers and vicious cruelty and what they would do to Europe was a horror just to contemplate in its certain fierceness and in its inevitable scope. [By the way, no ‘anti-Muslim’ prejudice is intended in telling this particular story.]

Pope Pius V (the future Saint Pius V) was virtually alone in seeing the threat. Europe was much too engrossed in the fratricidal religious struggles of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the venal impulses of nationalism. He finally did prod Phillip II of Spain to provide some ships and men and the famous Admiral Andrea Doria of Genoa joined under the leadership of Don Juan de Asturias, half-brother of Phillip. This 24-year old ‘Don Juan’ was the very same original profligate high-liver we associate with that name. This neophyte’s chances at keeping the fractious, disorganized, vastly outnumbered alliance together at all were dim at best, and odds of his defeating the far more experienced and dominant Ottoman force were infinitesimal. Everyone frankly considered the last-ditch effort doomed from the start, and any honest appraisal could actually come to no other conclusion.

What does a believer do at a time when the situation is absolutely overwhelming and impossible? Jesus had said something may indeed be impossible for us, but for God nothing is impossible. He promised us the power of prayer could pierce circumstances of time and space. Pope Pius called on all the people of Rome to pray a novena of Rosaries. [The idea of a ‘Novena’ has its origins in the nine days that Mary & the Apostles prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Rosary has always been amazingly powerful, I think, because it is so accessible and simple, sums up what Christians believe and can engage all levels of prayer.] All went to their churches praying for nine days.

The forces of the ‘Holy League’ went to confront the Turkish fleet off the coast of Greece at a place called Lepanto. Turkish spies reported that crushing victory was inevitable. Andrea Doria hoisted the blessed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which had been touched to the original miraculous image in Mexico. Don Juan called for the attack and at that moment the winds immediately turned to maximum effect. A series of more unforeseen and astounding events brought about the miraculous victory.

The Pope at that moment in Rome turned to his Cardinals and asked them to sing the Te Deum Laudamus for God had delivered the people. He said this though news was weeks away, for God Himself had somehow revealed it. Sure enough news came confirming the miracle. The Pope credited the act of faith by the people. From that time October 7 has been celebrated, now as ‘Our Lady of the Rosary’. Many historians regard Lepanto as the most momentous history-changing naval battle since Actium itself which created the Roman Empire. From that moment on, the Ottoman Empire began its long, steady decline into “the Sick Man of Europe” of latter days. It was impossible; but it happened.

Now we find ourselves in an impossible situation for our country. Most of the major powers-that-be are using every possible force, legal, illegal, nefarious and otherwise to foist upon us “The One” they have ordained. The media, the entertainment industry, millionaires, well-financed PR groups, ACORN, etc. etc. have declared the election of Obama inevitable.

The candidates for President and Vice President hold vastly disparate world views and visions for our country. So much that we as Americans hold dear and have fought to retain is subject to destruction if Obama is elected. Some examples, to name a few:

-- Right to free speech vs. the “Fairness Doctrine” 
-- Free market economy Capitalism vs. Redistribution of wealth Socialism
-- The Pursuit of Happiness vs. Taxes, taxes, taxes
-- The inalienable Right to Life vs. the “Freedom of Choice Act”

What possible chance is there for those who still love freedom, the American ideal and independence? The answer remains the same. We must pray. I have heard of several groups beginning daily prayer chains. My wife and I are praying the Rosary and the Chaplet of Mercy every day in a deep way. When I saw a picture of John McCain with the same image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that won an impossible victory in 1571, it gave me hope. Hope when inspired by God’s will is unconquerable. Our Lady recently saved Mexico from a Marxist government. Perhaps it is God’s will that her Son save us now rather than later, and, hence, the entire world. Man proposes; God disposes. Let us truly turn to God and perhaps we may be delivered. Freedom isn’t free. It takes the total devotion of our lives and all we are. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, won’t you?
http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

STAND UP, BARACK! O GOD, WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?
*published on Flopping Aces*

It seems everyone is talking about the latest absolutely amazing super-gaffe from Joe “Gaffe-a-day” Biden. (Everyone is talking, that is, except the major media organs of communication who are supposed to be reporting fairly. If I were them, I would camp out permanently right next to Joe for at least for a day, if only for the entertainment value! Forget for just a minute that you are a sold-out toady for the Messiah!)

I won’t bother to quote at length or recount all of the details at this point. Go to Glenn Beck today or other places like the following article by Matt Jaffe on the ABC News blog to see what he said: (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/biden-to-suppor.html).

Suffice it to say, Joe began blabbing about the possible foreign policy threats out there that are certain to strike us soon, and how Barack will stand up for us, when he realized in mid-blab that his guy is a foreign policy cripple in a wheelchair. Figuratively speaking, it is virtually the same double-take he did with Chuck, the wheelchair-bound politician of “Stand up, Chuck!” fame. When he realized the implications of his realization, he began to babble like a babble-head doll.

The sheer incoherence of what followed was absolutely breath-taking. Basically, he’s guaranteeing that Obama’s weakness WILL bring us a catastrophic attack, a la Khrushchev and Kennedy (which gave us the Bay of Pigs and nearly blowing up the world!). He tried to reassure everyone by resorting to one of his standard fallback positions - shameless, narcissistic boasting – saying he knows more about foreign policy than everyone else around (a move certain to make friends and influence his legislative compatriots). He’ll out-Cheney Dick Cheney and save the country when it seems like Barack is doing the wrong thing when he’s really doing the right thing. BLAAAAH! I can’t stand it! It seems like the truth keeps leaking out of the holes in this guy like water from a pin-pricked balloon.

[And they say Sarah Palin isn’t qualified?? My goodness, at least she’s faced down some tough customers and gotten a lot of things done! Biden has either been on the wrong side of things or he’s devolved into these nearly psychotic skeins of verbal folderol.]

Maybe he’s subconsciously trying to do all of us a huge favor and warn us all about the sheer lunacy of hiring a security risk who’s never run anything but radical community organizations to lead the world. He could possibly make Jimmy Carter look bold, experienced and decisive.

Please, anyone within the sound of my voice, listen to the nervous tension in Joe’s voice; I mean Joe the Plumber AND Joe the Babbler. Elect John McCain for the good of the country! Put country first before any other motivation which might be driving you. Don’t sell out. Be noble and STAND UP! STAND UP before you find you can’t or you are not allowed to…

“What Do You Do With a General
When He Stops Being a General?”

*published on Flopping Aces*

Well, now we see; it is clear. Colin Powell is Obama’s October Surprise. Those who know better and have decided whom we need in spite of us are bringing in the biggest gun to secure their victory and make it clear for us.

Colin Powell is a very good man, by all accounts, in many ways. I’m sure he’s trying to be sincere. But like all of us he has weaknesses and tendencies that might explain why he was open to taking this move directly on behalf of Obama. What was he really doing this morning on “Meet the Press”?

This is my take. What Powell gave was an uninterrupted political speech not the argument of a statesman. (Tom Brokaw didn’t seem as concerned about time constraints this time, by the way; he must have left his stopwatch at home. Somehow, I don’t think Tim Russert would have left several of Powell’s points unchallenged like Brokaw did.) My wife’s remark as we watched him was: “he’s reading through a list of Obama campaign talking points, bullet point by bullet point. He’s not even coming up for air!” His tone and manner even sounded liked Obama’s, reassuring but lacking something somehow. Why did it seem this way?

Logical reasons don’t seem to be the primary justification for this move he’s made. Rather, his points seem to be political, power-sharing and influence-building more than issue-based or ideological. He seems more concerned about appearances, how he looks, how we ‘look’, “approval ratings” and our perception in the world. (For instance, I understand we need to build coalitions more than Bush has, but I think Obama and Powell are not really talking about that; they want ‘standing’.)  



There are more clues in the programmatic points he made that indicate they are more ‘excuses’ than reasons. I would like to address some of them as examples of the overall pattern I see.

- If he really was “impressed” by Obama’s response to the current crisis, what exactly did Obama DO that impressed him so much? The one meeting he tried to conduct as an “executive” was an unmitigated disaster. His stated purpose was to pass the original version that had billions for ACORN. Thank God he failed. He also employed the “call me if you need me” method of leadership most of that time. McCain actually did help save us from the original bill and did get some safeguards put in, no matter what it looked like. I think what Powell is telling us is that Obama gives an IMPRESSION of ‘calm’ and he ‘looks presidential’ through the crisis while McCain ‘looked’ “erratic” in the codeword of the Obama campaign (even though he was the one who actually DID something). If this is what he’s really saying, then this is more evidence his move is a political one not a principled one.

- He claims to be very concerned about education. Does he really think the slavish toeing of the education unions’ line which is what Obama is really espousing has been or will be good for us? Does he not know what kind of “education” Obama was funding and promoting with Bill Ayres in Chicago? Shouldn’t he be for true “change” like vouchers or true teacher standards? But, I suppose, that wouldn’t ‘look’ right.

- Powell said the Republican Party is “becoming narrower.” This, once again, is all about impressions, vague characterizations and talking points as opposed to principle, records and evidence of actually doing something. Powell claimed Obama has somehow “widened” his approach. After all we’ve seen, is there anybody that’s been paying attention who, with full and firm conviction, buys any of Obama’s “post-partisan” rhetoric now? Ask the ordinary citizens who supported Hilary how THEY feel about his actual practices, for one thing. Ask the victims of the ACORN, Fannie Mae and other fiascos about the Alinsky tactics used against them. Who is it that has been ‘wider’ in the REAL world? McCain has lived it; Obama NEVER has and has done the opposite. John McCain has the proof of it in ways that has actually upset the so-called ‘narrower’ Republicans.

- His accepting of Obama’s “experience” and rejection of Palin’s seems to be totally based on what it will LOOK LIKE. Can the ‘poise’ shown in ‘running a campaign’ really outweigh real actions and the supervision of a very large budget or a business? Powell says he prefers how we’ll be perceived over actual records and accomplishments. Biden has been totally wrong and loopy at times in his foreign policy approach and he lied 14 times in 90 minutes during his debate with Palin, but he ‘seems’ more Presidential so he is preferable to that bumpkin Sarah?

So what’s really going on here? Why would he do it? My guess, because of the political nature of his polemic, is that it has everything to do with the fact that Powell shares the upper class, pro-choice, we know better than you socially liberal approach of Obama’s core support. His reputation in the military has been that of a rather ‘soft’ Beta male, in opposition to the Schwarzkopf types. He wants to be well regarded, I suspect, by his elite peer group. If that is so, Americans should recognize it as such. It seems pretty obvious to me that’s what he has done. Unfortunately, we are an image-driven society and the impact of this will probably be very large. We will need to work hard to get this insight out there, if we can.

Well, I hope he will take responsibility for making this move later on if it actually helps elect the least experienced President ever. He is spending the well-earned capital of his reputation in a very dubious way. I hope he will be strong enough to admit that the voices callin’ Powell were lying. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The Emperor still has no clothes, even when a retired General says its so.

Joe the Plumber Flushes Out Senator Government!
*published on Flopping Aces*
How very revealing all of this has been, hasn’t it? Obama wandered onto the wrong street that day didn’t he? The question itself ‘flushed out’ Barry well enough. It forced him to pretty much admit his socialist mindset. I suspect the effect has been earth-shaking. Their internal polling must have alarmed them quite a bit or they wouldn’t have reacted they way they have.

And it is that very reaction that has even more successfully ‘flushed out’ the REAL Barack Obama, so fortuitously re-named by McCain as “Senator Government”. He and his friends have that Marxist impulse so perfected by Stalin of attacking the symbols which reveal their hypocrisy ruthlessly. As in Orwell’s 1984, they can produce their own reality, without worrying about the effect on their hapless victims. This is what they are trying to do to Joe. I won’t go into the details of the facts about him and their attacks. Suffice it to say, he was in no way a plant, he asked a question about a possible business, not his present situation. The inquisition he is undergoing in two days exceeds most of the MSM’s efforts investigating Senator Government for two years.

But I think they just may have overplayed their hand this time on the heels of what they did and are doing to Sarah Palin. I just went to one of her rallies and the crowd was truly astounding. Like the people of Solidarity or the non-violent crowds of the Velvet Revolution and their sister uprisings, many are simply not going to ALLOW themselves to be stampeded this time by the hackneyed ‘tell us what to believe’ cant coming from the old, far-left power bases. Their reaction reveals them as not agents of reform, but the most predictable socialist idealogues with the same failed ideas.

‘Senator Government’ has been flushed out by ‘the Plumber’.

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

’69 Celtics, double-knot Red Sox and the Audacity of Hubris
*published on Flopping Aces*

The Obamas are celebrating already. Michelle was ordering that lobster and caviar at the Waldorf. Plans for all the celebrations are, apparently, already moving forward at a feverish pace. Obama’s performance at the Al Smith fundraiser for the Catholic Archdiocesan charities, which was supposed to feature “comedy”, aroused in me a great deal of discomfort; he seems to lack true humor about himself despite the great lines written for him and there was a hard edge to some of his jabs. I think he takes himself very seriously. Contrast that with the deep, authentic self-deprecation and true joy in John McCain’s humor.

My sense is that Obama just can’t help himself and he’s getting ready for the celebration. Meanwhile, Comeback McCain seems to have this underdog mojo happening again like it has so many times. He actually seems to relish and thrive on it.

My memory was jarred. Hadn’t I seen and felt something like this before? My son was marveling over yet another Red Sox miraculous, historic comeback against the Rays last night. He made the comparison to Obama and McCain without even having seen the fundraiser. He said that he had the feeling that McCain was making a totally unexpected miracle comeback because of his authenticity, just like the Red Sox have done the past few years. I remembered the night in 2004 when the Red Sox were down three games to none to the Yankees after laying one of the biggest eggs in history. Curt Schilling simply said, “Why not us? Why not now?” The simple, stark, powerful truth of this statement impelled them to a remarkable team effort. Roberts stole a base and history was changed.

My son can’t remember, but I can never forget the very similar 1969 Celtics. They weren’t supposed to even make it to the Championship. They sure had a lot of pedigree and some nostalgic respect, but they were simply TOO OLD! It was Bill Russell’s last hurrah. The Lakers were the newest, exciting wave of the future featuring Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt the Stilt; they wowed everyone and swept to the Finals with a fresh sense of inevitability and celebrity. Celtics were yesterday’s news and the odds were all against them. Somehow, against any reasonable expectations, the over-the-hill gang made it to the Finals against the anointed ones. Then, lo and behold, they managed to scratch and fight and stretch it to a Game Seven; but it was the considered appraisal of the Lakers’ organization that the worn-out Celtics could not possibly have anything left to beat the new best team in the world. They loaded the balloons in the ceiling in Los Angeles. They purchased magnums of champagne on ice and all the accoutrements of celebration. Red Auerbach shrewdly showed this ostentation to his team before the game. In the final seconds, Nelson’s shot bounced straight up and swished through the basket and Bill Russell had his eleventh Ring. The old fighters pulled off one of their greatest achievements.

I’m no seer and I’m not predicting what will happen, but I can sure see a lot of correlation. Several times in his career, John McCain has specialized in the improbable comeback. We’ve just seen it in the primaries again. The set-up is now almost identical to 1969. McCain has a LOT of pedigree and nostalgic respect but he has been presented by the Obama campaign as TOO OLD; his time has past! Obama is the new, exciting wave of the future, someone who has wowed everyone in the media with his fresh sense of inevitability and celebrity. Somehow, McCain has managed to keep it reasonably close toward the end, but it’s obvious to the Obama campaign that’s it’s over already or else they wouldn’t be doing these things they’re doing. But like Bill Russell, it’s obvious to me John McCain has some powerful shots left in his gun with bullets just right for the crises we face. I don’t think any one of us should be surprised on November 4 if McCain clanks one on the back of the rim and has it swish perfectly down through the net. And then Obama will have to do with all of his celebratory bric-a-brac whatever it is the Lakers did with theirs in 1969.

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/

 ACORN-y Idea!

I come up with nutty ideas all the time. Here’s another one. Why not carry an acorn in your pocket when you go to vote. In the secret of the booth, take out the acorn and leave it as a nice decoration. It is fall, after all. It is symbolic of hope for renewal after the death of winter. The multiplying power of the seed in the acorn, the multiplying power of the vote: yes, it seems to be a perfect aesthetic and artistic statement! A lot of our “community organizer” friends should really ‘dig’ this as much as the squirrels do.

Mark A. Lajoie
http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/
http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

Hey, they're looking for you….Who?....The squirrels!!!

   

Ayres: “‘c’ommunist” More Than Terrorist

The issue of Barack Obama’s ties to William Ayres has re-emerged in the closing days of the election, but I think even the McCain campaign is missing the salient fact. It is very true that having a friendship with a terrorist is troubling enough, but the evidence of a shared radical left agenda is far more troubling.

Bill Ayres, of course, was part of a radical offshoot of the notorious Weather Underground which bombed the Capital and the Pentagon and killed policemen. He was a leader of all this activity. In 2001 he said he wished he had done more.

Obama at first tried to claim to claim he was merely a “neighbor on my street”, but it soon came to light they had worked together for eight years and Obama had launched his campaign at his house. Could Obama had been the only person in Chicago who didn’t know about his tainted past?

As I said, having any association with anyone having this man’s past would be troubling enough. What if John McCain had known Timothy McVeigh? It is what they were doing together and how often that troubles me.  

The Obama campaign and their helpmates the media have tried to portray him as a reformed person making contributions to society. This ignores the words he has spoken and the nature of his activities. He has described himself as “a small ‘c’ Communist”, saying he has preferred the writings of Marx to Lenin. He is a major force in education promoting far left thought, such as portraying our country as a militaristic bully whose capitalist system must be destroyed.

Ayres hired Obama as his Chairman of an Annenberg project on education in Chicago (and, by the way, how could you ‘forget’ someone who gave you $50 million dollars to spend?!). They worked together to pay outside radical groups to indoctrinate students in far left politics, specifically mentioning they should NOT push basics such as math and science. [The results were a total failure, in terms of any educational measures.] Ayres and Obama also worked together in the similarly minded Woods Foundation. Obama has pointed with pride to his work here. Further, the launch of Obama’s political career at Ayres’ house was set up by them; it was NOT set up by the previous State Rep. as Obama has tried to claim.

The main conclusion coming out of this is that Obama must share the radical views of Ayres, especially in light of all his other work and associations, such as his “community organizer” work with the far left group ACORN and his contributions to Wright and Fleger. Fill in this tableau with the voter fraud and mortgage bullying of ACORN which Obama, Frank and Dodd tried to sneak down our throats (to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars) in the initial version of the bailout bill, and we have a threat much more ominous than a mere association with a terrorist. Without stretching credulity much at all, we could be about to elect someone who wants to destroy capitalism and promote far left socialism. Can we really take that chance?