Food for thought as Christians and Moslems start a series of meetings to discuss the shared beliefs of the two faiths:

Christian and Muslim leaders from around the world met this summer at Yale University for the first of four conferences to discuss “the foundational principles” of the two faiths…

…Last fall, 138 Islamic leaders from forty nations sent a letter, “A Common Word between Us and You,” addressed to the pope and other Christian leaders worldwide. The twenty-nine-page letter invited Christians to meet with Muslims on the basis of “what is common to us and most essential to our faith and practice: the Two Commandments,” i.e., love of God and love of neighbor…

…Many are ready to dismiss this … as mere piety or naivete. They should reconsider: The history of democracy in the West owes a great debt to these two commandments. Secular-minded historians and political scientists would like us to believe that democratic ideals emerged from the triumph of Enlightenment thought—in opposition to Christian doctrine. In fact, the Biblical concepts of human dignity and equality supplied the philosophical pillars of liberal democracy, especially in the Anglo-American tradition. Ministers on both sides of the Atlantic, for example, regularly cited the golden rule—what they called “the great rule of equity”—to argue for religious toleration and equal justice under the law.

Are the Christian leaders who gathered at Yale familiar with this history, and are they willing to press its lessons upon their Muslim guests? Participating groups such as the liberal National Council of Churches have shown scant interest in defending the persecuted church, the principle of religious freedom, or the democratic institutions that sustain it. Yet if Muslims are serious about the golden rule, they must explain why the governments of most Islamic states represent such a brutal contradiction to its democratic expression.

Another potential problem with “The Common Word” dialogue is its implication that the Christian Church must reform itself no less so than the Islamic community. There’s no doubt that reform is needed. Whether the issue is materialism, hypocrisy, or the politicization of the gospel, there are real problems in the Church. Yet the danger here is the trap of moral equivalency—the assumption that modern Christianity is as prone to terrorist violence as Islam. As the Muslim letter put the matter: “The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians.”

The future of the world depends on no such thing. The existential threat to international peace and security is not a religious war between Islam and Christianity. The global threat today is a faith-based version of European fascism—a re-emergence of the totalitarian impulse, animated by the theology of radical, Islamist jihad. This ideology of bloodlust and martyrdom claims millions of adherents worldwide, inspires terrorist cells across entire continents, and is obsessed with acquiring the world’s most destructive weapons to unleash against civilian populations. “Why were millions of people astounded by what happened to America on September 11?” writes Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second in command. “We have the right to kill four million Americans—two million of them children—and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands.”

There is simply no equivalent to this perverted religion anywhere in the Christian world—it is a crisis within Islam, a moral and spiritual malaise that has grown unchecked for decades. It is incumbent upon the Christian leaders engaged in this dialogue to ask why this is the case, and what their Islamic interlocutors intend to do about it.

They might take a cue from a Muslim reformer, Abd Al-Hamid Al-Ansari, the former dean of the law faculty at Qatar University. He argues that terrorism is the result of a “culture of hatred” in Arab countries and “a discourse of denial” about its homegrown sources. “How can this miserable creature called the Arab and Muslim individual not turn to extremism, when he is surrounded by an overall atmosphere of extremism, bound by the shackles of repression and prohibitions, and girded by the ideas of intimidation and terrorization, and of almost endless torment?” he writes. “Go to hear a Friday sermon, and you will find a preacher who is enraged at the world, angry at civilization, spreading the poison of hatred and enmity.”

And yet there is that – love of God and love of neighbor, which is the foundation of the West and, as noted, the foundation of our modern liberties. Moslems do profess this love, and thus there is grounds for hope. Of course, for this hope to be realised it will require not just Moslems willing to reform, but Christians willing to stand foursquare for Christian beliefs – the liberties built upon love of God and neighbor are being erroded in the West by consumerism and despair, two sins the Moslems radicals use to great effect, telling their followers that failure to fight for Islamism will result in the same moral disintegration in the Moslem world. The other problem on the Christian end, as noted by the author of the piece, is all too many Christians willing to ignore Christian belief…when the Archbishop of Canterbury starts saying that sharia law is ok by him, you know you’ve got a terrible problem in Christianity.

For Moslems to listen to us they first have to respect us – as it is, Moslems in Iraq respect our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. Why is this? Because they are strong men and women who act upon their convictions with no thought to personal risks. But looking past the Marine on patrol, the Moslem world can still see an America slouching ever further into a sewer of moral decay. It is a fair question for any Moslem to ask – if we are to become democratic, does this mean we have to suffer the social breakdown the West has undergone? If the answer to that question is “yes”, then it is easy to see why a lot of Moslems would be wary of democracy and willing to lend an ear to Islamist propaganda. We must show the Moslem world that freedom means the freedom to do the right thing, not an excuse to do whatever depraved thing you want.

Victory in the war, peace with the Moslem world and repairing our badly damaged society go hand in hand – and just so long as we listen to those who offer us the easy way out, so will this war go on, and our society continue to decay. On the other hand, if we arrest our rot and start back on a path to social sanity – and no better place to start than in the matter of abortion – we will show that freedom is a boon, not a bane, and the Moslem world will follow suit.

There is such a thing as not wanting certain types of suppor, ya know?

A simple sign in the window of the local Barack Obama campaign headquarters has reignited a conversation about convicted felons’ right to vote in this country.

The poster board welcomed all passersby to register to vote and included the statement: “Felons can vote.” The sign, which was visible at the office opening a week ago, has since been removed.

A lifesize cardboard printout of the presumptive Democratic nominee for president has replaced the sign. A spokesman from the Philadelphia campaign office said this decision was made at the local level.

“They just realized maybe it was sending the wrong message and took it down themselves,” Sean Smith said.

Yeah, no kidding. Come on, Obamaniacs, do you really want to troll for votes amongst the jailbirds and ‘scapegallows of the United States? I realise that a person can find redemption – in fact, such a thing is central to my worldview – but to actively seek the votes of criminals? For crying out loud, shouldn’t they be working on bettering themselves and shouldn’t the Obama people be working on getting people who aren’t criminals to vote for them? Or is it that Obama’s people realise he’s on a downward slurge and they are just leaving no stone unturned? How long before we see the Kerry ’04 tactic of bribing homeless people with smokes?

A poem to start the morning:

The Strange Music

Other loves may sink and settle, other loves may loose and slack,

But I wander like a minstrel with a harp upon my back,

Though the harp be on my bosom, though I finger and I fret,

Still, my hope is all before me; for I cannot play it yet.

In your strings is hid a music that no hand hath e’er let fall,

In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all;

Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame,

Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow’s name.

Not as mine, my soul’s annointed, not as mine the rude and light

Easy mirth of many faces, swaggering pride of song and fight;

Something stranger, something sweeter, something waiting you afar,

Secret as your stricken senses, magic as your sorrows are.

But on this, God’s harp supernal, stretched but to be stricken once,

Hoary time is a beginner, Life a bungler, Death a dunce.

But I will not fear to match them – no by God, I will not fear,

I will learn you, I will play you and the stars stand still to hear.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Have at it, boys and girls.

Back on that day the Towers crumbled, who saw that we’d have in 2008 armies of Iraqi and Afghan Moslems fighting on our side?

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan National Security Forces fought off several insurgents in the Bak district of Khowst province August 20.

The insurgents attacked a group of construction workers. Citizens from a nearby village notified the district centre, and ANSF responded to the site and engaged the militants.

And ISAF ground element responded to assist the ANSF, and U.S. forces sent attack helicopters. More than a dozen insurgents died during the fighting.

This is what the critics don’t understand but what President Bush – backed by John McCain – saw clearly; that the people of the Moslem world are, indeed, people and thus not inclined to kill and destroy but to live and to build. People like Senator McCain understood that the reason for terrorism isn’t Israel or American policy, but the fact that wicked men, backed by wicked governments, were able to have the field all to themselves, with the peoples of the Moslem world cannon-fodder for Islamist ambitions. Get the people away from the wicked men, even for a moment, and the idea was that they would choose living over dying, and that is what happened…and not only did they choose to live, but plenty of Iraqis and Afghans have chosen to risk their own lives so that their peoples can have a better future.

Victory is ours in this War on Terrorism, provided we just keep fighitng and, more to the point, fighting to provide a better life for the people of the Moslem world. The only thing which can stop us is ourselves, should we be so foolish as to elect a President who thinks you can sit down with evil and come to an agreement.

As Real Clear Politics points out, Obama said he’d bring a gun to the knife fight with the GOP – but it look like he’s only capable of shooting himself in the foot. The set up: Obama’s people run an ad in Georgia linking McCain to Reed in an attempt to tie McCain to Abramoff. Response from Team McCain:

“Barack Obama’s ad is ridiculous. Because of John McCain, corruption was exposed and people like Jack Abramoff went to jail.

However, if Barack Obama wants to have a discussion about truly questionable associations, let’s start with his relationship with the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, at whose home Obama’s political career was reportedly launched. Mr. Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground, a terrorist group responsible for countless bombings against targets including the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and numerous police stations, courthouses and banks. In recent years, Mr. Ayers has stated, ‘I don’t regret setting bombs… I feel we didn’t do enough.’

“The question now is, will Barack Obama immediately call on the University of Illinois to release all of the records they are currently withholding to shed further light on Senator Obama’s relationship with this unrepentant terrorist?”

Now thats gonna leave a mark! Obama said the other day that McCain doesn’t know what he’s up against – I begin to think that McCain has taken the measure of Obama and heaved a sigh of relief that the Democrats didn’t pick Hillary, Richardson or any Democrat who actually has some experience in a hostile campaign environment. Obama is a man of many gifts, but there’s really no substitute for experience. Obama vs McCain is the difference between a recent business school grad and the guy who’s been in business for 20 years – the grad might have some really good things going for him, but he doesn’t know how things work in the real world.

As of this moment, I still place the advantage with Obama – in terms of money, friendly media and the continuing unpopularity of President Bush and the GOP, Obama still has all the ingredients a Democrat needs to win the White House. But there has been a noticable shift in the campaign, and McCain is now surging while Obama is trying to hold on to his early advantage.

Being interviewed by Hugh Hewitt, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver states clearly the need for injecting faith into politics:

HH: Now Archbishop, let’s dive into the book. Again, for the benefit of people tuning in, it’s Render Unto Caesar: Serving The Nation By Living Our Catholic Beliefs In Public Life. And I want to emphasize, it’s not just for Catholics, though that’s obviously the intent of this. I was trying to figure out your motive, and then I came across a quote from a Vietnamese bishop, later made a cardinal, which was, “The greatest failure in leadership is for the leader to be afraid to speak and act as leader.” Is that part of the motive, Archbishop?

CC: Well, I have a responsibility as a bishop to clearly proclaim the Gospel in its entirety, even when people don’t want me to do that, and even when it’s difficult. So I wouldn’t claim to be particularly courageous, but I feel responsible. And if I don’t speak on the issues that I think the Lord calls me to speak, I feel guilty about that. So for me to be quiet on these issues would have been a harder burden for me to carry, perhaps, than speaking about it. Actually, I mentioned two reasons why I wrote the book. One is some Catholic political folks asked me to, people who ran for office, and were having struggles because of that. But more importantly, I’ve grown tired of so many people in our culture saying to believers that they ought to be quiet, that there’s no place in the public square for the voice of faith. I wanted to make a distinction between separation of Church and state, and separating our faith from our politics. You can embrace the concept of separation of Church and state, but that’s not at all the same thing as separating our faith from our actions, from our political actions.

Bravo, Archbishop! All of the people must be allowed to bring their beliefs into the public square and be allowed argue that their worldview should be adopted, in whole or in part, in law and custom. What the secularists of today are trying to do – especially through such things as the ACLU’s war on Christmas – is to say that the believer, especially the Christian believer, must check his beliefs that door to politics. This attitude is unjust, un-American and, fundamentally, a fascist point of view, and it must be fought against tooth and nail.

I don’t have a right to insist that my fellow citizens worship in the Catholic Church or believe any of the dogmas of the Church. We are free in our consciences. But it is not an imposition of my religion if I convince a constitutional majority of my fellow citizens to enact into law some thing which also happens to be in accordance with Catholic teaching. If what I advocate seems good and true and appears to meet some need identified by the citizenry and the resultant law is enacted under whatever constitutional reguirements prove necessary, then all I’ve done is creat a law – not established a religion or imposed a particular religion on everyone.

Outside of that, I also argue that our secularists are not just wrong to attempt this separation of faith and politics, but are also foolish. The plain fact of the matter is that our way of life is built upon a Judeo-Christian base. The fundamental concept that we, as individuals, are valuable and have endowed rights is a Judeo-Christian concept – cut our politics off from its wellsprings and it will dry up and die. At bottom, if you wish to live your life as an agnostic secularist, you desperately need the cooperation of believers who sustain the concepts which allow you to live as you do.

In our faith we find our true political beliefs, and as long as our political beliefs are grounded in our faith, so they will be healthy and beneficial to the world. Seperate the two and faith will continue to thrive, but politics will die – and with it many of the liberties we cherish.

An excellent pick, if you ask me:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention next month.

First lady Laura Bush, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and John McCain’s former Republican rivals will speak as well.

The theme will be “Country First” with four days devoted to service, reform, prosperity and peace.

President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other dignitaries also get speaking roles at the convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Giuliani brings a strong public presence to the GOP stage and will help greatly set the “Country First” tone of the McCain campaign – and offer up the stark contrast with Obama and his Democrats’ “party first” politics.

At 59 years old:

Pioneering Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones died Wednesday evening after suffering a brain aneurysm while driving on Tuesday night.

According to a statement from the Cleveland Clinic Tubbs Jones passed away at 6:12 p.m.

The statement read:

“Throughout the course of the day and into this evening, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones’ medical condition declined. Medical doctors and neurosurgeons from Huron Hospital and Cleveland Clinic sadly report that at 6:12 p.m. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones died.

She dedicated her life in public service to helping others and will continue to do so through organ donations.

Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.”

Our prayers for the family and friends of Mrs. Tubbs Jones – and a timely reminder to say “I love you” each time you part, because you never know when your time is up. We’ve lost a number of people at relatively young ages recently, and we must always remember that none of us are promised tomorrow.

While Obama whines about mythical attacks on his patriotism, John McCain speaks the blunt truth:

Though victory in Iraq is finally in sight, a great deal still depends on the decisions and good judgment of the next president. The hard-won gains of our troops hang in the balance. The lasting advantage of a peaceful and democratic ally in the heart of the Middle East could still be squandered by hasty withdrawal and arbitrary timelines. And this is one of many problems in the shifting positions of my opponent, Senator Obama.

With less than three months to go before the election, a lot of people are still trying to square Senator Obama’s varying positions on the surge in Iraq. First, he opposed the surge and confidently predicted that it would fail. Then he tried to prevent funding for the troops who carried out the surge. Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure. This was back when supporting America’s efforts in Iraq entailed serious political risk. It was a clarifying moment. It was a moment when political self-interest and the national interest parted ways. For my part, with so much in the balance, it was an easy call. As I said at the time, I would rather lose an election than lose a war.

Thanks to the courage and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines and to brave Iraqi fighters the surge has succeeded. And yet Senator Obama still cannot quite bring himself to admit his own failure in judgment. Nor has he been willing to heed the guidance of General Petraeus, or to listen to our troops on the ground when they say — as they have said to me on my trips to Iraq: “Let us win, just let us win.” Instead, Senator Obama commits the greater error of insisting that even in hindsight, he would oppose the surge. Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of retreat and failure for America over the path of success and victory. In short, both candidates in this election pledge to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference is that I intend to win it first.

Once we got into Iraq, the fundamental question for each American to answer was, “do you want to win, or do you want to lose?”. There is no “end” to a war – a war is won or a war is lost. Vietnam didn’t “end” – we lost. The enemy won. Those who relied upon us to keep our word were coldly betrayed and subjected to a horrific fate because the controlling powers in the United States decided to lose the war. John McCain answered the question: he wants to win. Barack Obama answered the question: he wants to lose.

Oh, to be sure, Obama will never say it that way – in fact, he might not even be aware he’s advocating the defeat of the United States, the country he proposes to lead. So disconnected is the left from reality and so ignorant are most leftists of the way the world works, it is very possible that Obama really thinks you can “end” a war, no harm and no foul, and go forward without any consequences of your defeat. He may think, that is, that after he scuttles Iraq that the enemy will take him seriously about Afghanistan and that Iran would be ready to meet us on the square after we cut and ran from Iraq. Its an absurd way to view the world, but Obama just might think like that – and there’s the really frightening thing about the prospect of a President Obama.

As noted earlier regarding Afghanistan, there is still plenty of fight left in the enemy and the curious nature of the War on Terrorism is that no matter how bad off the enemy is, as long as he can preserve any part of his power, he can rebuild. We must keep battling in this war until the enemy – which is really the States who sponsor and shield terrorist groups – become convinced that terrorism is a losing prospect and that America will never quit until every last terrorist is dead or taken. When President Bush said at the start of this war that it was a generational fight, he was dead on – and McCain also understands the long term nature of this war; Obama seems to think that we can fiddle around with a little battle here, a little diplomacy there and leave it to the cops and regular legal procedure and all will be well. The folly of Obama would eventually be writ large in the number of dead as a revived terrorist enemy strikes hard at a United States perceived as weak and divided.

McCain is the man who can lead us through the next four years of war – the man we can rely on to keep fighting, and never lost faith. He’s proven this by word and deed throughout his life, and we’d be worse than fools to choose Obama over McCain this November.

We give the French a lot of grief, but lets not forget that they are with us in Afghanistan, and under President Sarkozy they are getting ever more aggressive in fighting the enemy:

KABUL, Afghanistan – Ten French ISAF soldiers were killed and 21 injured when about 100 insurgents attacked a patrol in Kabul Province on Aug. 18. Afghan security forces were also involved in the patrol.

Fighting began in the late afternoon 18 Aug. and continued into Tuesday, 19 August. The initial patrol was reinforced with quick reaction forces, close air support, and mobile medical teams. During the engagement a large number of insurgents were killed.

“This is a difficult time right now for the families and friends of those who died or were injured, and we offer them our sincere condolences and sympathies,” said Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette, ISAF spokesperson. “The lives of these soldiers are irreplaceable, but this loss does not deter ISAF from supporting the people of Afghanistan in their fight against the enemies of peace and stability.”

The enemy also attacked a US base with a force of suicide bombers – the enemy, defeated in Iraq, seems to making a stand in Afghanistan. This really is a long war, and while Obama says he will fight it out in Afghanistan, the plain fact of the matter is that he’s an untried quantity, and for the long war we need a President who has proven he can take the worst and carry on – John McCain is that man, and lets hope we make the right choice in November.