The headline really says it all. The Mrs. prodded me to help her clean out the guest room. The mother in law is visiting next weekend. So in order to make room in the garage for extra stuff from the room, I had to clean out the garage. Recycled a bunch of stuff. Threw a ton of junk away. Now the guest room and the garage both feel airier, lighter, better. And I feel pleased with the results on a personal level. There is the sense of accomplishment for a job well done. The Mrs. and I make a good team when we put our heads  and hands together. But my spirit feels more buoyant, too. Something about removing material clutter that makes the soul feel less encumbered as well. Don't really know how to explain it, or what metaphysical law to point to. But God just must have designed it that way. Less junk, less stuff, less pieces, more peace.

So where do we go from here? I feel like my country is slipping away from me, into the hands of Dear Leader. I think prayer is a wonderful thing, but it does not seem to be enough. The speech by Obama to schoolchildren is not a small thing. It is an arrogant and egotistical attempt to push himself, above all else, into the classroom. Cap and Trade and Obamacare are attempts to put more power in his hand, place more Americans under his/their control. This is all extremely scary stuff. Attempts to prosecute, or even overly second-guess, our intelligence gathering communities are just an overt way of signalling to our enemies that we are gutless, spineless and actually rooting for them to blow up a city or two. Obama may be naive, but even scarier, he may just be so anti-American that he wants to encourage and embolden our enemies. Not to mention his dispicable treatment of Israel. As a Christian, I don't want to be silent about that.

I have been to a couple of tea party rallies. I enjoyed the clever signs and being among like-minded folk. But in the end, I was disappointed. They are events that, in and of themselves, do not accomplish anything. I left discouraged.

I have actually been listening to less talk radio. Not necessarily an effort to do so, maybe just too busy with life to make time for it. So I am not all fired up on rhetoric. Just deeply concerned. On the spiritual side, I feel more motivated to share my faith. And that is a great thing. But on the social and political side, life feels like it is spinning out of control. I only wish there was more I could do, and knew what that was.

Maybe there are hopeful signs. The American public doesn't seem to like Obamacare. That may or may not be enough to stop it from passing. But how were they so blind to support him in the first place? And we could be moving rapidly toward the end times. Bring it on. Still, it is hard to see your country slide off into the abyss in the process.

I am so disappointed/angry with George Will and his opinions on Afghanistan. He has been duplicitous on this and Iraq, too. He has lost my respect and his conservative credentials. If we withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban and Islamic jihad in general, win a HUGE victory in terms of P.R., recruitment, etc. We signal to the rest of the world that we are not a super power, that the protection of our own citizens is unimportant, that our word means nothing, that nothing is worth fighting for, nothing worth fighting against, that we don't have the will for victory, I could go on and on. I have no ability to tolerate this kind of crap. All we need is for conservatives to turn against the war and give Obama the cover he needs to do what he has wanted to do all along -- get out and buddy up with our enemies.

My son Parker, who has CP and is developmentally delayed, is a big fan of Wheel of Fortune. We watch it, on the average, at least once a day. He has learned so much from this wholesome show. I would highly recommend it to other parents of small children, especially those with learning disabilities. Wheel of Fortune accelarated my son's learning of the alphabet, identifying vowels, and using certain words and phrases. And this fast-paced, colorful program has made it fun in the process. Praise God for Pat, Vanna and the Wheel of Fortune. Now if I could only get on the show and win a bunch of money!

Jennifer Rubin has become my favorite political pundit. Her blog posting at Commentary Magazine is top-notch. I check for updates multiple times a day. She is great at skewering Obama for his liberal hypocrisy, anti-Israel policies, etc. Her daily "Flotsam and Jetsam" blog post summarizing top news stories is a great way to start your day. Jennifer, keep up the great work!

As conservatives and Christians, how much more can we take before the church in the USA is either forced to go underground because we won't agree to gay marriage, or we secede from the government and start a civil war? It doesn't feel like it is an absurd question. It feels like a matter of when, not if.

My 3 year old son Parker has Cerebral Palsy. He has limited strength in his hands and has been unable to hold a pencil, crayon or eating utensil in his hands. But tonight he made progress holding a fat-handled spoon. Very exciting stuff.