More "Outrage" from Sarah Palin

This is getting ridiculous. Getting upset over a joke at your kid's expense is one thing. Getting upset over a sophomoric photoshop gag worthy of the most childish of email jokes/chain letters is just plain absurd.

I don't know what else to say, except this: EVERYONE GROW UP AND STOP GETTING OFFENDED, DANG IT!!! Has anyone besides me ever heard the aphorism "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?" My mother taught it to me when I was 5 years old!! If a child of 5 can comprehend the fact that being picked on is not the worst thing in the world, then I'd like to think the governor of the state of Alaska is also capable of such a thought.

One thing I'll say for George W. Bush. He may not have been a great president, but one thing I have to admit: the man was unflappable. No matter what was thrown at him (sometimes literally!), he just grinned and bore it. He never "called for an apology." He never "decried" anything. Heck, I don't think he knows what the word "decried" even means (I'm so sorry, that was my lame attempt at a joke)! But he took it all in stride, let people say or think whatever they wanted to, and continued to do his job--leading the free world, for weal or woe.

My advice for Palin? Its obvious you have ambitions for national politics. There's even been talk of you topping a presidential ticket. You're going to need to develop a thicker skin, though, or you won't make it past the primaries. In the big leagues, you need to learn to ignore the hecklers.

Sarah Palin: An Example of What's Wrong with America

Sarah Palin is relatively new to the spotlight, so maybe I should cut her some slack when she can't handle being picked on by the late night crowd. But then, she's the latest fussbucket in a long succession of politicos who are always offended.

And that's a problem.

See, people have the freedom to speak their minds in America (so long as such speech does not constitute a "clear and present danger"). You think Obama smells like cheese and oughta go soak his head? Go right ahead and say it. You think the Queen of England is an alien, and you'd like to see her sent back to Mars? You're certainly free to say as much. Go America, right?

But for, oh, the past 30 or 40 years, that right to say whatever you want, no matter how weird, stupid, wrongheaded, or just plain insane (so long as it doesn't constitute a threat on the lives of others) has been under attack. It used to be the "Liberals," with their insistance on politically correct speech. But more and more, speech has been limited by both sides of the aisle. And the criterion determining what is acceptable speech? "Feelings." How will what you have to say make people "feel?" Will you hurt someone's "feelings" by speaking your mind? Because if so, then you'd better keep your darn trap shut!

The real problem is this: I cannot hurt your feelings, and you cannot hurt my feelings. Our feelings are based on our own thoughts. So when Sarah Palin cried foul because she insisted Letterman's joke targetted her 14 year old daughter (even though the joke doesn't even make sense if understood that way), the fault wasn't Letterman's joke, it was Palin's mindset. Or, in the words of the old proverb, "people who are looking for a fight usually find one."

Now I'm not saying Letterman was completely innocent. He took a cheap shot at an easy target. And really, it isn't Sarah Palin's fault her 18 year old daughter went and got pregnant out of wedlock. Sarah Palin didn't make that decision, her daughter did. It's a low blow and pretty tasteless, and he was right to apologize.

But Sarah Palin needs to come to terms with the fact that this kinda crap is gonna happen to her from now on. She chose to go into national politics. She chose for her name to become a household word. That means being picked on by Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brian, and the rest of the late night crowd. It happened to Bush (both of them), it happened to Clinton, and it'll happen to Obama--just give him time to make a few good goof ups.

Anyhow, to come back to the topic, if I could tell everyone one thing, it would be this: chill out! If someone says something that offends you, just shrug it off. Does it really matter what others say or think about you? Let's get back to being a nation where people are able to say whatever stupid thing is on their minds without fear of being lynched. After all, they're only feelings-there are more important things to worry about, right?

North Korea needs a butt whoopin'

Yes, I was against the war in Iraq. I didn't think the situation there warranted military intervention, and I felt the cost of war (both financial and in terms of human lives) was simply unjustified when dealing with a malevolent, but well contained, crack-pot (aka Saddam Hussein).

But N. Korea is different. They tested 2 nuclear weapons so far (yeah, they didn't really work, but it was a start). They've been testing long range missiles. They've been outright belligerent. Now they're telling us that they're going to continue weaponizing plutonium, and they'll declare nuclear war on anyone who threatens them.

No one wants to be embroiled in yet another war. Especially me. But as Popeye might say, "I've had all I can stands, and I can't stands no more!" This regime can't be bargained with. They perceive everyone as a threat, and as far as they're concerned, the only way they'll be safe is if they have nuclear missiles pointed at everyone they've ever had a problem with. And that simply isn't acceptable.

I love how optimistic President Obama is, as a person. It is both refreshing and beneficial as we face the problems of our age. But there has to come a point where optimism ends and pragmatism begins. And continuing to try and "talk" with North Korea is simply no longer pragmatic.

Who are the bad guys again?

In the past week, I've been told (on separate occasions) that a liberal supreme court, the homosexual agenda, and the worldwide spread of Islam are "the bad guys." On other occasions, the "bad guys" have been terror sponsoring states (Iran, Syria, N. Korea, etc), the influx of Latin American "pseudo-Catholics," and pro-abortion activists.

Now I'm no political genius--I'm a pastor, not a politician (thank GOD!!!). But it seems to me that if these guys are our collective "enemies"--"us" being conservative, Protestant Christians--then there must be some major dissention in their ranks. The GLBT agenda is about as far from the "Terror state" agenda as you can get. A liberal supreme court is going to retard constitutional freedoms (speech, right to bear arms, etc), which isn't going to jive well with the Middle Eastern Islamic worldview of "everyone who isn't Muslim is an infidel and deserves a grisly death!" Latin American "pseudo-Catholics" (I qualify my calling them Catholics because most Latin American Catholics have beliefs that aren't compatible with proper, "papal" Catholicism) aren't exactly going to be in bed with the pro-abortion people.

Now I don't want to minimalize the differences we as conservative Christians have with these other groups. They're real, authentic, and should be taken seriously. But enough sensationalization guys! Our job is to preach the Word and make disciples, not to socially engineer global demographics. Whatever happens is God's will for the world; we just need to do our job, no matter what.