Good News from Iraq

This time, Col. Oliver North is the bearer of good tidings. It seems the tide is beginning to turn in Iraq and particularly Bagdad. However, the silence in the U.S. mainstream media is deafening!!
Initiatives such as the Bagdad prayer patrol have allowed pressure to be applied to the problem that does not even register a blip on the secular radar. What they can't explain they choose to ignore. Thankfully a goodly portion of middle America are not so foolish. Pink can sing her anti-Bush song, the Dixie-Chicks can win another meaningless award and Sean Penn can do whatever Sean Penn does. I believe that soon President Bush will be vindicated and all those running away from him both Democrat and Republican are going to look very foolish!

Iraqi PM Sees Decline in Baghdad Attacks

It's not exactly making front page news but the reports out of Bagdad are nothing short of amazing. Of course the official reason given for the turnaround is the effect of more troops on the ground (the surge) and a growing dissatisfaction among Iraqis with sectarian violence and especially the brutal tactics of Al Qaeda.
I would like to offer another reason - PRAYER!
Since the summer a website http://prayercentral.net/baghdad/ has been mobilizing intercession for that troubled city. The results have been encouraging. Daily prayer for the troops and the inhabitants as well as daily focuses on particular neighborhoods are beginning to bring transformation. I encourage YOU to become involved.

K-Ville ...A hit in Jail!!

I made the fatal mistake of showing the pilot episode of K-Ville to my Jail GED class a few weeks ago. Their assignment was to write a review. Some were so engrossed that they never took notes, but the couple of reviews I read, gave it a definite 'Thumbs up!'
The result of that session is that now they have demanded to see subsequent episodes.
If they like it ...it must be good.....So I hope that K-Ville survives the cut and continues to capture new fans.
The writing continues to be layered, with enough twists and surprises to hold our attention. In addition, the ensemble cast grows and deepens with each succeeding episode. Anthony Anderson is very impressive, showing grit at the appropriate times and humor when needed. He really is an excellent actor. I hope you check it out - Fox Broadcast channel Monday nights at 8:00 pm CST.

Thugz Off Drugz founder coming to Grenada

The war on drugs is a global battle waged locally. The aftermath of drug addiction is a long journey out of darkness and only starts when the regular Drug and Alcohol programs end. Here in Grenada, MS, we are battling the nexus of Drugs and Crime that threatens to hold our community in its vise-like grip. As a group of us began to meet, we heard of a successful program based in Oregon. We are thrilled that Alan Evans, founder of Thugz Off Drugz is going to be with us next month. We hope that he can inspire us to go on to the next step towards transformation.

Cussin' in the bedroom

If you want to see what J. Lee Grady was referring to then click on "Cussin in the bedroom" and it'll take you there....Unbelievable!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waXrbpFikZU

Lee Grady continues to shine the light on us..

I appreciate the commentaries of Lee Grady more than I enjoy reading Charisma Magazine. Unfortunately the excesses of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement are being broadcast on the nightly news and accessed through YouTube. I am now wary of identifying myself as a charismatic christian because of the negative connotation.

K-Ville a show worth watching

I have to admit I'm hooked. I have downloaded the first three episodes of this drama from I-Tunes and am enjoying the acting abilities of both Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser. As long as i can keep Kangaroo Jack from entering my imagination.....I'm fine! All seriousness aside - I am pleased to watch Mr Anderson in a non-comedic role, having already demonstrated his versatility in "Hustle and Flow". Cole Hauser, I was unfamiliar with, but these two cops are developing a chemistry reminiscent of Starsky and Hutch and I am looking forward to watching episode three later on today.

P.S. I watched it...it's the best yet. Watch Fox Channel Mondays' at 9 CST.

Sanity returns with Wallace and Gromit

In the midst of the mundane and the mildly ridiculous, comes news that Wallace and Gromit are set to return to the glories of the small screen. The B.B.C. might have slipped a little bit over the years into the Post-Modern pseudo-intellectual morass, but all is not lost. Sanity is about to return if only in claymation!" Trouble At' Mill " promises to be a classic. It's a pity it takes so long to do - we'll have to wait until late 2008 to enjoy the latest bit of wit from Nick Park and Aardman studios.

The most maligned man in America

I watched the interview with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes last Sunday and was truly impressed with Judge Thomas. In fact the few times I have heard him speak publically, he has made eminent sense. I look forward to reading his book, "My Grandfather's Son".

My friend at work

Check out an interesting cross-pollination. Punk and Punjabi Pop. My friend Chris Constantinou and Punjabi pop sensation Daler Mehndi. Available now on I-Tunes

Sombre Anniversary

Six years on and I wonder how many of us need to be reminded of that awful Tuesday morning. I just watched again, the very good CNN documentary on 9/11, shown for the benefit of a class of 17-19 year olds. I'm not sure that it resonated with them as much as I would have liked. Our culture suffers from short term memory and we are probably more concerned about Britney Spears career freefall than remembering the events that have brought us to this juncture in History. Maybe the members of the House and the Senate ought to take a small refresher course before some of the more ideological ones of them try to decimate the potent testimony of both General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker.
As if we needed an added injection of reality, Osama Bin Laden has issued another video calling for a caravan of martyrs to be released upon us. A word to the not so wise......George Bush is not and never has been.....The Enemy!! As braver men and women than I, fight to defend and protect freedom, I pray that this country's obsession with self absorption and tendency to sabotage its best efforts, will be halted at least for a moment, as we listen to the names of those who lost their lives on that day; and then that we, having been called to attention oncemore, would recover an urgency and commitment to triumph in this war of the worlds.

House Passes Bill Requiring Troop Withdrawal Within 120 Days

Mark this date on your calendar. On July 12th, 2007, the Congress of the United States, officially surrendered in the War on Terror. We have capitulated in the face of butchery and horror. Now all that is left for Congress to do is to send an official invitation for Islamic extremists anywhere in the world to 'have their way'.

If it weren't for courageous reporters like Michael Yon http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/al-qaeda-on-the-run-feasting-on-the-moveable-beast.htm few of us would have any idea that this war is continuing to be fought and won against a demonic enemy, in spite of the weak-knee-ed and lily-livered politicos.

George W. Bush will stand his ground and will be vilified for it, but history will treat him with honor. The mainstream media continues its relenting attack on the President with Senator Reid and Nancy Pelosi fanning the flames from their hypocritical ivory towers. Senator Reid even had the gall to suggest that the surge had been a failure when if fact it has only been in full effect for about a week...

IF as some allege, Al-Quaeda are baking children and serving them to their parents, then what this country's leaders are in the process of doing is no less sickening.

Let us surround this President with prayer for not only wisdom but courage to stand firm!

Idol crazy

What? it's finally over? Jordin wins over Blake? Now I can finally get some sleep. Big voice overcomes beatbox and now we have two more names to add to the ever growing list of talented youngsters vying for attention in an attention deficient world. It was fun to follow, even though I had to rely on second hand reporting from my family much of the time, as I was otherwise engaged in working for a living!
But does it all amount to anything in the long run?... I think not. "What the world needs now (to quote Bacharach) is love sweet love" not another vocal gymnast to compete with the Whitneys, Mariahs and others.
Another interesting side note is just how many of the Idol finalists claimed a faith and had 'church' connections.
Idol...church...Idol....church....Now there's a disturbing trend to ponder!

Cho Seung-Hui and red flags

Thesmokinggun.com has posted some of Cho Seung-Hui's writings and considering that he was a senior in a prestigious University maybe the biggest red flag should have not just been the expressions of rage and hate that are contained therein but that his writing was not what I would imagine University level creative writing should be. It raises the question as to what standard they are expecting on a college level these days.
Of course, Cho is not the first writer to ever spew hatefilled rhetoric or dwell on the bizarre or horrific - and I'm not condoning either but there are also examples of horror and violence in literature that are still considered great literature - some of the pre-Shakespearean plays for example.
That said, it could be that no-one was willing to confront his lack of creative writing ability for fear that he might 'go postal'. Unfortunately it was to no avail. The lack of confrontation appears to have only increased his sense of alienation resulting in this monumental tragedy.
To be fair, his professor attempted to have him go to counselling but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Maybe the emotional damage had been done years before and like post-traumatic stress disorder, surfaced to cataclysmic results, this past Tuesday.

Melissa Etheridge's wife and other incongruities

I'm afraid I succumbed to temptation and sat through the entire Academy Awards broadcast. I found Ellen DeGeneres to be a pleasant surprise, Al Gore to be as irritating as ever and Melissa Etheridge to be the one to drag everybody in America into her psycho-sexual eccentricity, masquerading as civil rights activism. Her use of the term 'wife' to describe her 'partner' left something behind bigger than her undoubtably diminished carbon footprint. Why does the Hollywood liberal mafia insist on ramming the barrel of its Berkeley pseudo-elitism down our collective throats? And then they go and give her "Best Song"...please......Sorry Randy Newman, you will never be forgiven for "Short People"!!

Mississippi works to heal itself.

The recent sterling work by Jerry Mitchell and others at the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson have meant that justice long awaited might at last be realized. This is a crucial step as MS, even in the face of Rep Charles Rangel's comments, works to heal itself.
Please check out the articles:

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701250391

Happy New Year - Brand New Music

Hey!
Sorry to have been absent for a while....I've been busy laying down some new music and revising the "Recovered Memory" project from last year.

Click on http://iacmusic.com/jonathanpatrickmoore

or http://recoveredmemory.bravehost.com/

to hear some new music or stream the project in its entirety.

Meanwhile the world descends into chaos, George Bush's poll numbers dip proportionately, and after a promising start, the Cincinnati Bengals return to relative mediocrity while still hitting the headlines for most arrests per team. Three good reasons to put your faith in Jesus this New Year!!