Our House

Over the last few months we have made many references in various posts about our home in the Ozarks. We love it. Set on twenty acres of woodland overlooking the Spring River Valley – about five miles downstream from the source of the river – it has provided a sanctuary in isolated solitude. Inhabited by deer, fox, bob cats, turkey, small animals and bird species too numerous to count, it has proven the ideal setting for us and the dogs. The only challenge was coping with the terrain. The house is a little unusual, but we do so love the property. It's the perfect defensive compound, which will offer protection when the jihadists come roaring up the hill.(Ed.)

Since many of you, in private emails have asked about it; I have included a photo of our little paradise. Enjoy!




Okay, I found the picture on Boortz web site and couldn’t resist sharing it. Forgive me please.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Ed. note: I usually have the final say as to what goes up here and I try to be tolerant. However, I have no control over his sense of humor.

Troop Surge

Congratulations will be in order when the final successes of the “troop surge” in Iraq come to fruition. It would be inappropriate to offer them at this time. What are required now are prayers of thanksgiving for the immediate progress and for the continued success of this mission.

The results to this point, are stunning, if incomplete. In rough terms, attacks (combat action, IED, etc.) by the enemy (Radical Islam) have diminished by about 65%. The number of coalition troops killed in action has steadily diminished in monthly numbers from a July 2007 figure of 180 to about 35 in December. That’s nearly an 80% reduction in six months. Take a minute and reread these numbers to fully appreciate the success so far.

Obviously, the importance of these statistics is tightly bound to the companion evaluation of the strengthening of the Iraqi government. Viewing the overall progress requires an examination of both. If quantifying the effectiveness of a government was as simple as crunching raw numbers on battle casualties, the entire process would be simple. It is not. Attempting to unify an un-natural collection of tribal interests in a country with little actual record as a nation is a monumental task. Yes, the area has an ancient history (Garden of Eden?) but not as a nation. Statehood was accomplished by a commission of Europeans over half a century ago. Given this lack of national history, overcoming their difficulty uniting the various factions is remarkable. They deserve applause for even making the attempt.

We are besot with a collection of people who for various selfish interests choose to ignore or at least conceal these obvious truths. Mainstream media and powerful politicians (Reid, Pelosi, Biden, Murnah, Dodd, et al) continue to drone endless criticism, mindless of the facts. I can understand the media. They have a commercial interest in promoting tragedy; it’s news. We rarely hear from them about puppies, kitties, playful children, and citizens doing good deeds. Instead, it’s a steady diet of fire, flood, death and mayhem in the streets. They never saw an axe murderer who couldn’t sell more papers or boost ratings. For the most part, their agenda is clear. In their defense, it is apparent that they could not long continue without a willing audience.

The Congress and other politicos are quite another matter. Their childish refusal to acknowledge the progressive success requires probing their deeper motives. They constantly refer to Viet Nam and their successful attempt to affect a withdrawal with the resultant diminishment of respect for America (well deserved) and the ensuing bloodbath of innocents. It is exactly the same template. Their interpretation defines that which they wish for their own ends and certainly not for the good of the United States and, for that matter, the world. To repeat the above, they could not continue to advance their destructive plans without willing voters to support them.

So, in the final analysis, it is we who are at fault. If we are unwilling to staunchly defend those young men and women who put their lives on the line for liberty for all and seek representatives in government who are willing to read the Constitution as written, we will reap the just reward. It is imperative that each American take responsibility for his gift of citizenship. We live in a marvelous country, peopled, thank God, by folks with an inherent sense of goodness and resilience. All we need to do is enhance our awareness and rise to the defense of the nation in our own communities. When God provided His marvelous gifts, did He say we would never have to defend them? No, but even though as individuals we do not have to take up arms, we do have an obligation to share the truth. It is a clear function of stewardship to maintain and carefully preserve that which we have been given.

Before anyone accuses me of partisanship, let me avow that I am not. The word implies blind and determined acceptance of a cause. I have that cause, but I am not blind. I have, with open-eyed wonder, watched my country carefully for a third of its life. From the grief of the Great Depression, WWII, and the widely varying challenges we have faced as a nation, I have seen the goodness of our cause and the sharing with the world; goods, industry, charity, benevolence and general assistance. We have made mistakes and will continue to do so. There is a difference between being “of God” and being God. I believe “we were endowed by our Creator” to be who and what we are. My prayer is that each and every citizen can realize his full potential as a citizen of this great and marvelous country.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Monday Morning Rant 26

It’s a beautiful day in the Ozarks! There's actually a break in the cloud cover. I find it difficult to find fault and support a “rant” when the promise of spring is in the air. I will do my best even though I am in an exceptionally good frame of mind. Good preachers do that for me.

As a constant critic of government schools and a fulltime endorser of home schooling, my opinions on this next matter are constantly reinforced. I watch Jay Leno, the first twenty minutes at least, nearly every night. As I listen to the nuance in the humor based on the day’s news I deduce trends which I don’t always catch in standard opinion pieces. Careful listening will reveal what is an implied truth and what is just there for the laugh. The humor is not limited to one political party. This is followed by a “feature” segment with headlines, bogus interviews, or my least favorite, “Jay walking” and the “Jaywalk All-Stars.” If you are not familiar with it, he goes down to the open mall in Burbank or another city closeby and interviews folks on the street.

He asks extremely simple questions about history, politics, current events, and holiday themes of a random mixed demographic with no preference for race or gender, but normally fairly young people at least of voting age. The results are astonishing and totally embarrassing. As a general rule, their command of the language is atrocious, their knowledge of rudimentary history is appalling, and even though supplied with broad hints, they still cannot seem to assemble anything close to the actual correct answers.

The other night I listened to three separate people muff the question: “Who lives in the Vatican?” Two of these were college students and one was a CNA (certified nurse assistant.) None were able to place Jefferson Davis and his presidency. Nor were they able to properly identify a picture of John McCain. Obama fared better when one finally was able to put a name with his image. When asked about our opponents in the Revolutionary War, I have yet to hear a proper response. Don’t even ask about questions on the US Constitution, either the ship or the document. It’s not just history, world affairs and politics; they come up with equally inane responses on science, physics, and math.

Granted, the producers no doubt cherry pick the morons for exposure on this weekly feature. However, keep in mind; these are still drawn from a pool of high school graduates and college students. There has only been one golden moment in the last few years of watching this series.

A while back Jay interviewed and questioned a black family, four of them on holiday, and they all blew question after question. He then turned to the gray-haired grandfather who quickly fielded about 8 or 10 toughies in a row on the Federal government with flawless accuracy. I was so happy I almost cried. I was blown away by his immediate and accurate handling of each and every question. To hear an actual informed American with a keen knowledge of his country and government made me proud.

This indictment of our schools is anecdotal. Continued conversation with our young people will reveal, if you take the time for it, more surety of their failures. In fifth grade as a kid, I would have put any routine subscriber to the “Weekly Reader” up against any of these excluding the grandpa. These people vote. God help us all!
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It’s pretty hard to plan a ten day bus tour without including at least one Sunday. This creates the necessity of finding a service which is appropriate to the group. This means Catholic for rank and file Milwaukeeans, Lutheran for Germans, Baptist for Northsiders, or whatever the travelers requested. We even scheduled Western trips to be in Salt Lake for mid-week practice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. As a result I found myself in many denominations’ houses of worship.

I came to enjoy these uncritical experiences and the obvious necessity demonstrated by the participants. Although the traditions and the rituals varied, the spirit of seeking a higher power didn’t alter much. Plus, what congregation wouldn’t welcome a bus load (40 to 44 people) of visitors? We always gave advance notice of our intention to attend and were universally showered with warm welcomes. The additional weight of the collection plates didn’t hurt, either.

Although I don’t drive and plan tours for a living anymore I still enjoy going abroad and experiencing other congregations of believers whether of my specific faith or not. It is rare to come away empty handed (hearted?) with a feeling of disappointment. Having done this in recent months I have managed to pull quite a few jewels from the remarks of some of the preachers manning the pulpits. You have surely noted some I have mentioned. My conclusion is that there are a whole lot of Christians out there and they are, thankfully, working their fingers to the bone to promulgate the word of God. I applaud them for their efforts and wish them well.
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One of the really great “big band” leaders, Les Brown, gives us our thought to ponder:

“Live out of your imagination instead of out of your memory.”

It’s easy as we age to rely on experience for our direction. While it has its up side, it also leads to repetition of limited accomplishment and also, not always, mistakes. I would also remind you that as age advances, memory flags and sometimes what we remember might not be exactly the way it was. Maybe imagination is the right way to go.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

High and Dry

As regular readers are aware your host is ever on the alert for evidence to thwart the proponents of global warming, climate change or whatever the euphemism of the day is for the practitioners of this emerging religion. I found a dilly this morning. (Do people still use that word?) ANSA, a fairly new news service primarily concerned with events in the Mediterranean Sea and the sixteen countries surrounding it, had a wonderful piece on the fate of the waters in Venice, Italy. Since it is written in Italian, I’ll not be linking it.

Long famous for the canal system, historic areas and museums, it has been touted as a potential victim of global warming. This depository of priceless works of art and fascinating architecture it is also a “must” on any list of global traveler’s destinations making it one of the planets hottest (estimated at 20,000,000 annually) tourist spots. Who could resist a ride on one of the trade mark gondolas with a rich voiced Italian at the oar singing and poling your way through the complexity of the canals.

The constant alarmists of the cult of global warming have predicted that the rising temperatures in the Polar Regions will raise the sea level to the point of drowning this famous city. A couple of feet could turn it into a chaotic urban swamp. Meanwhile as we patiently wait for the ice cap to melt, on Monday the sea had fallen to a record low 30” below normal and by Tuesday had recovered by 2”. For a peek at the result, take a look at this picture which was featured by the local La Stampa newspaper. That’s mud you’re looking at.

Even the local water taxis (vaporetti) were high and dry with the result of crippling local transportation. In recent years when the city suffered flooding, the cause was easily attributable to torrential rains from inland. While not open ocean, the sea is subject to oceanic changes by virtue of the Straits of Gibraltar to the Atlantic and the Suez canal link to the Arabian Sea (with a somewhat higher level) and thence to the Indian Ocean. While not related to climate change, there have been environmental impacts on the lovely Mediterranean, caused by the link of the Suez to Southern waters. Mostly this has resulted in increased salinity and the introduction of saline tolerant species previously unknown.

This is Al Gore’s worst nightmare. What do you do when you have demonstrable evidence that the infallibility of your messiah is false? Before someone tells you this is anecdotal let me assure you that most of the evidence proffered by the alarmists is either anecdotal or the result of faulty computer models. I’ll not trouble you with a recitation of the record low temperatures we have suffered in the Ozarks recently. I’ll also avoid sharing the actual growth explosion of the polar bear population which they cite as being on the edge of extinction. I will only assure you that God Almighty built it and planned every event on this planet that you will live long enough to experience. Please forgive me if my detectable pride shows in debunking with hard evidence the ridiculous emotional bunkum put forth by the mouthpieces for this cult.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Oxford Study

It’s about time! Over in England, at Oxford no less, they are going to spend four million dollars to find out why mankind embraces God. Their studies will extend to whether “belief is a basic part of mankind’s makeup.” I would happily give them the answer for about $3,999,995 less. All right, I’ll do it without charge.

The most difficult thing to absorb here is the presence of theologians along with the anthropologists, philosophers and other academics. What part of “theology” don’t they understand? A quick check reveals it means “The” combined with “study.” Not “a” study like geology which deals with hard subjects like rocks. No, it places the definite article as part of the word to indicate the unique position of God in the equation. Surely there can be no mystery about this for theologians.

It is my belief they would benefit from a couple of Wednesday night prayer meetings. Here they would hear sworn stories by believers of the power and majesty of an ever-present God in their lives. They would be exposed to testimonies by those who enjoy facing life with a constant companion to help them over life’s hurdles. These same “investigators” would hear those who have absolute trust in their Savior to bring about every needful blessing to their lives and others. Recollections of healing, reconciliation, and Divine assistance in a multitude of ways could be heard from the very ones who had the experiences. The only thing they are unlikely to see are those with a long string of academic letters following their names. Most likely they will be simple God-fearing people who rejoice in His presence.

In the interest in saving a lot of money and providing the researchers with a simple truth, I offer the following. God is! He is from the onset of our lives and if we listen to Him, long after our physical bodies depart. We are hard wired to seek Him from birth and throughout our lives. The “why” of that is not too tough to figure out. That’s the way he made us. Granted, some of us respond to His presence better than others, but He is there nonetheless. That’s it in a nutshell. Spend the money curing cancer. Or better yet, pray for God’s help,

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Old Lessons

From 1955 to 1965 I was employed by a firm in Denver as sales manager. One of the reasons the firm became immensely successful was their emphasis on constant training. There was always an ongoing or upcoming event to hone our skills. When traffic was slow, we conducted informal seminars and examined errors and successes which had recently occurred. They generously allowed persons at every level in the company to take advantage of classes, seminars, and even paid tuition for university courses. When they brought in people from outside to conduct these sessions, they brought only the best. Since every firm has a sales component for every occupational specialty, this proved a valuable asset even when I left the firm.

Obviously the purpose was to promote sales. The emphasis was not on the merchandise which was exceptional in quality; it was always centered on the prospective customer. The transactions were geared to understanding that individual and finding that which motivated him to buy. We kept daily logs of “ups” (in turn contact with people coming for the first time,) time spent, results and follow up information. By listening and evaluating each prospect, we were then armed with devastating knowledge to tailor the presentation to his individual quirks.

The strongest lesson I took from those ten years was not to confuse merchandise with the reasons people buy things. Even fifty years ago everyone really did have enough. Even newlyweds had a collection of junk acquired from relatives to sit on, dine on, and sleep on. Most often sales were developed by addressing inner desires and not routine necessity. So what was it we were selling?

Through conversation and careful listening we attempted to isolate their paramount concerns. Many folks came to us driven by ego and self esteem. Since we were on the cutting edge of modern merchandising, it was easy for that personality type to identify with our goods. They took pride in being among the elite. Our in-home advisors played to their individualism. Our presentations were peppered with words such as: unique, latest, proud, intelligent, and others which indicated they were a “cut above.” We indulged in moderate observation of their excellent choices in outfits and automobiles. In short, we played to their neighbor’s envy and their boss’s admiration.

The second general group was those persons who were governed primarily by innate fear and insecurity. Ever alert to danger and unsure of their actions we presented a front of solidarity and dependability for our goods and our personnel. We dissected each piece of merchandise to reveal its inner construction and solidity. We placed great emphasis on our guarantees and the expert handling by our delivery persons. The main thrust was to never hurry the customer and to build his confidence in the firm. Our entire staff was constantly trained in the manufacturing process of every vendor. When questioned, if a salesman wasn’t sure, he quickly called the manager for assistance. He did so without hesitation because he knew I would not contradict anything which he had said. We dealt in truth. We also realized that the more folks he met in our establishment, the more we could build his confidence.

The final category of customers was those who were primarily preoccupied with health and safety matters. Merchandise which was easily cleaned and maintained became our primary concern. Items with protruding sharp edges or which seemed frail in their construction were avoided. Heat, stain and scratch resistant surfaces were quite new at the time and frequently featured in our presentations. Maintenance features were carefully explained and emphasized. Any item which had the least therapeutic effect was shown early on.

Our entire program was designed to leave the prospects with the idea that we had a remarkable knowledge of their wants and needs. Once we had gained a rudimentary psychological profile we could proceed successfully. We did not show items; we showed people. Obviously, none of our customers exactly fit the profiles and often slipped into one of the others but in general they maintained the posture. Our sales people had been thoroughly trained for this eventuality and followed the outline to the point of even trading off customers if they discovered a conflict of personalities.

There are two reasons for sharing this essay with you. The first is to enable you to recognize just what a well-trained and alert salesperson can extract from observation and a brief conversation. This is not an attempt to identify any sort of evil in the person of a professional. If you have ever purchased something, returned home and said, “What was I thinking?” this might help to explain it. Closing the sale is much easier if the right buttons are pushed. The absolute demise of any sales presentation is pronounced when the customer says; “boy, you are sure a good salesman.” The uninitiated may take it as a compliment, but it is the kiss of death.

The second reason for the essay is to possibly apply generating interest in evangelism. If we don’t take time to understand the concerns of people we share the gospel with, why should they listen? People at large do have inner concerns which require answers. My personal belief is that we collectively have, in Jesus Christ, the solutions. Just as in sales, we need to remember that God gave us two ears and one mouth. If we can understand the necessity of that proportion, we can proceed to share our testimonies and couch our offering of sharing the benefits of salvation in terms which people can easily gather. Oh, you say, I could never do that; it’s duplicitous. Since when is listening to others and trying to understand their needs duplicitous? We have a far more important mission than the firm I mentioned above.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon

Hopeless?

On February 17, A columnist for the Chicago Sun Times, Mary Mitchell published her opinion about the situation at Northern Illinois University. Steven Kazmierczak, a former grad student, killed 5 and injured 20 others in a shooting rampage on Valentine’s Day.

As a parent I am horrified at all these recent incidents of gunmen gone mad on campuses. My prayers are with those who are the victims of these attacks. My real outrage is with individuals who would seize upon them to further a political agenda. Mitchell's column in the Sun Times is a case in point. Typically she does much hand wringing about the causative factors in the incident. Included in the piece, although not clearly identified as such, are strong hints of the real factors in the incident, none of which she clearly identifies.

She demonstrates abject ignorance of the people she serves and America at large when she asks, “How is it that we live in a country where a young man can get his hands on four weapons including a shotgun?” (Italics mine) It is widely acknowledged that there are in excess of 300,000,000 legally owned firearms in this country, a large percentage of which are shotguns. They exist in the hands of hunters, collectors, aficionados, and citizens concerned with self-defense. By the sheer mass of numbers, they are also available to nut cases with mayhem on their mind. This was not a “young man,” he was a twenty-seven year old adult. Had he lived he would have been old enough to vote in his second presidential election this fall. The actual answer to the question posed requires that we read the second amendment to the Constitution and its closing words: “… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

“Why are people walking around armed to the teeth?” Despite having our liberties seriously limited over the last few decades, we are a free people and have agency to do that which we will. Assuming Mitchell meant the killer, he simply chose to. He might have, just as easily, elected to drive his car across a crowded sidewalk into a busy café. As we all do, he had the option to inflict pain on others in any way he chose. Years ago, people would have had an easy answer for his abhorrent behavior; “He came from a ‘broken’ home.”

Mitchell poses: “we still don’t know the motive for the shooter’s rampage.” In the next paragraph she offers that which may or may not be a factor: “… had apparently gone off his medications.” A quick bit of research reveals clearly stated withdrawal symptoms from the antidepressant Prozac: anxiety, dizziness, fatigue, restlessness, tremors, visual hallucinations, diarrhea, blurred vision, headache, insomnia, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, jolting electric zaps, tingling sensations, vertigo, anorexia, gait disturbances, sweating, fever, abdominal discomfort, irritability, aggression, lethargy, weakness, myalgia, crying spells, suicidal thoughts, nightmares, confusion and memory and concentration difficulties.

Well, that’s certainly a relief. What could possibly go wrong here? Keep in mind that Prozac and other anti-depressants are commonly physician prescribed for Mr. Kazmierczak’s condition with explicit warnings about abrupt withdrawal. If you choose to ignore the warnings you will probably follow up with equally bad additional choices. I’m sorry but any mystery here escapes me.

Mitchell then states that law enforcement claims there was little they could have done differently to prevent the tragedy. She then likens it to the Virginia Tech massacre without singling out the obvious culprit. In these two cases, and many, many others, the perpetrator had the presence of mind to launch these assaults in a “gun free zone.” This is not an accident. These locations are intentionally chosen by the virtue (?) of having guaranteed unarmed victims upon which to prey. I am sympathetic to law enforcement’s claim of having little influence in the prevention of crimes of this type. Like it or not, they cannot be everywhere at once. The best they can hope for, short of citizen assistance, is to come in and clean up in the aftermath. The only possible result of “gun free zone” policies is to turn our malls, schools, and churches into shooting galleries for the mentally deranged with no fear of reprisal. Declaring citizens be defenseless simply verifies an “open season” on them.

“Since Virginia Tech, many parents of college aged students have had to turn to their faith.” “…had to turn to their faith” implies being coerced by circumstance to practice that which should be routine but has sadly become last resort. This suggests a previous callous disregard for faith on the part of millions of parents of youngsters now gone from the nest. I recognize many varieties of faith in our society but as a parent I know that few are not concerned to the point of prayer for the well being of their young. As Christians, we pray earnestly for God’s protection for our offspring realizing the multitude of hazards which they face. If one waits for a insane attack to reach out to God, the delay may prove painful.

The final insult in this piece is the promotion of a presidential candidate as the answer to the problem. It is not his fault that she chooses to proffer him as the “hope of the world.” Obviously swayed by his messianic, rock star appeal, she sees him as a solution. Sorry, but fainting fans at frenzied political rallies are not indicative of the effectiveness of policies and programs which will be required to keep the ship of state afloat in the coming perilous years. I can easily understand his popularity, especially in Illinois, but let’s be realistic. No person in the White House can or should be expected to diffuse the mania in the mind of isolated lunatics.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon