Estrada. Mark Byron has an excellent note about DC Court nominee Miguel Estrada. It should be noted that it has been ELEVEN months since he was nominated and Leahy still hasn't held hearings.

Quote

. . . right now, all of us are enduring a time of testing, loss, and fear; a time when our vulnerability to evil and the certainty of our mortality are all too clear; a time when once again our intellect is insufficient to answer the question, "Why?" And at these times more than ever, we are reminded that it is a privilege to struggle for good against evil.

We do not choose our circumstances or trials, but we do choose how we respond to them. Too often when all is well, we slip into the false joy and satisfaction of the material and a complacent pride and faith in ourselves. Yet it is through struggle that we find redemption and self-knowledge. This is what the slaves of Exodus learned. And it is what slaves in America meant when they sang: "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen "Glory Hallelujah!"

--Condoleezza Rice, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs at the 2002 National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance
U.S. Capitol Rotunda
April 10, 2002

Homicide Bombing. Even before today's homicide bombing in Israel, the administration had made the switch from labeling these as suicide bombers. Yesterday, Ari Fleischer responding to a questioner stated:

I think what he would say to that, David, is one, he recognizes Israel's right to defend herself. Israel, of course, had been attacked in a series of suicide bombings which are really homicide bombings. I think the name "suicide bombings" is not an apt description of what Israel faced from these attacks across the border.

Today, in response to qustioning on this reference, Fleisher expanded:

But the reason I started to use that term is because it's a more accurate description. These are not suicide bombings. These are not people who just kill themselves. These are people who deliberately go to murder others, with no regard to the values of their own life. These are murderers. The President has said that in the Rose Garden. And I think that is just a more accurate description of what these people are doing. It's not suicide, it's murder.

If I remember correctly, it was a blogger that first pointed the suicide appelation was incorrect and that the intent was not primarily suicide, but homicide. Suicide is the only ancillary benefit.

Anniversary. Today, we have a guest writer, my father. This was the e-mail message he sent out to our family yesterday:

A long, long time ago in a place far, far away a young Marine Corps Officer asked a pretty little miss to be his wife. She agreed and so their story began. It was an adventure story that took them from Barstow to Kitty Hawk with side stops all over the world. It produced four great kids and nine beautiful grand children. God had blessed their marriage.

Their union was tested in many ways......by wars, separations and the stress of supporting and raising a family. They disagreed, they differed but they also loved and cared for each other. Together they cried as they lost their parents, a brother,a sister and so many good friends. Together they watched with pride as their kids succeeded spiritually and materially. They suffered when their children made mistakes, when they failed or when something or someone hurt them. They, themselves, at one time or another failed. But somehow they covered for each other. When one was weak the other was strong. Where one lacked confidence the other carried the day. And so it went....

Joanne, tomorrow - 12 April - we will have been married for forty-four years. As each year has passed I find myself loving you just a little bit more until today my heart is full... and now I think it shall burst. But if it should....therein you will find harbored...amongst my love....the shards of my imperfections. And for those times I ask your forgiveness.
But enough...I prefer, instead, to remember all the good times we have had together. We loved, we laughed and thoroughly enjoyed life. What the future holds we know not. But whatever it brings we will face it... together.......................I love you my princess.
Richard

Saudi Telethon. On Saudi television they held a telethon yesterday that raised over $55,000,000 to support the homicide bombers who live in Israel. One of the fundraisers reported that a widow said she had nothing to give except her wedding band which she was donating.

A long time ago, when I lived in Tulsa, we had friends who worked for OREA, the Oral Roberts fund-raising arm who told us a similar story. It seems that a worker opened a letter from a widow that had a wedding ring and a very sad story. The woman was sending in her ring as her pledge of faith to God. She wrote that she was in need of many miracles and explained her situation. She had heard Roberts say that a person needed to sew in faith to the Roberts ministry and, in return, would reap a hundred-fold reward.

The story was very moving and the worker brought it to the supervisor and it eventually went to Richard Roberts, Oral’s son, who ran OREA. The hope, of course, was that OREA would return the ring and would take steps to intervene directly in the lady’s life. Richard was delighted to receive this ring and was unmoved by the story. The line workers, most of whom worked at minimum wage, quietly took up a collection and sent it, anonymously, to the lady. Richard Roberts turned the ring over to the OREA liquidators. This is the difference between real religion and false religion.

On the Rez. I've been on the Rez for the past few days -- I'm back to where dialing up to my ISP is a local call. It's very late right now -- I need to get to bed, I'm taking the Judge to the airport at 5 am. More later. (I have a lot to say).

Out Borrowing a PC to let you know I'm out for awhile -- be back on Saturday.