Well, friends, tonight could well be one of the most anticipated State Of The Union Addresses in many years. In a period of disappointment following the grand illusion of hope put forth by the President and Congressional Democrats, tonight’s speech may well a pivotal driver to the 2010 Congressional Elections.

Health Care

Look for President Obama to sound confident and yet cautious on this topic. He may well fire barbs at the Republicans in Congress, but the fact is that House and Senate Democrats had the ability to make this happen months ago if they had the intestinal fortitude to put personal pride, personal gain and “pet ideas” aside and come to a consensus on what most of us would agree is a critical issue in America. But the President won’t point any of that out.

The Economy

There will be more demands to poor money into the hands of businesses and citizens… unfortunately it will likely be more of the same non-stimulating “stimulus” money, feeding [...]

As discussed and promised on The Conservative Reader Report on December 22, here is the full Senate Minority Leader’s speech (Mitch McConnell of Kentucky) just prior to the Monday’s Cloture vote.  If you don’t have 13 minutes, you can see a 3 minute highlight just below it.  This was a power and compelling speech, and [...]

We’ve had a number of great opportunities to interact with our Congressmen in townhalls, the President speaking anytime he gets within 50 feet of a camera, and Kathleen Sebelius criticizing a reporter for not sneezing into his elbow. What’s really interesting is that none of these folks really know anything about providing medical care for, well, anybody.

Here’s an opportunity for those of you that are interested in the perspective of a (Christian) Physician’s organization with regard to the Healthcare Reform currently being discussed in Congress. Granted, the world view of Christians in the medical field will be skewed toward Christ’s admonitions to feed the poor and heal the sick, but perhaps we can put up with that kind of crazy talk (wry smile).

BRISTOL, Tenn., Sept. 28 /Christian Newswire/ — The Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA, www.cmda.org), the nation’s largest faith-based organization of doctors announced they will hold a free Webcast on healthcare reform, “Health Care Reform – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 at 8:30 PM/EDT. The Webcast can be accessed by going to www.livestream.com/cmda. Freedom2Care, an ad-hoc coalition of conscience-affirming organizations is a sponsor of the event.

Dr. Gene Rudd, Sr. VP for CMDA will moderate the event. New Jersey Congressman Christopher Smith; David [...]

I’m saddened, frustrated , and absolutely disappointed. The story of Mark Sanford was a roller coaster that dumped me off a cliff at the end. Allow me to take you through this sequentially.

I’ve spent the past 36 hours dramatically changing my thoughts about how I might speak to the unusual story of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s mysterious disappearance. Mark was the head of the Republican Governor’s Association (now headed by Haley Barbour), and considered a potential candidate for the 2012 Presidential nomination.

First I thought, after hearing that he had been missing for several days after driving off in a bodyguard’s SUV, that this guy was a little weird. I could, at that point, conceive of only one type of circumstance that might explain this behavior, and that would be some kind of kidnapping or other threat by an outside party. Barring such a circumstance, I figured running for President didn’t sound like something that could be on his calendar… disappearing on purpose and intentionally avoiding everyone with no explanation just didn’t sound like an event that would instill anyone’s confidence. The good news, I thought, is that he certainly hadn’t disappeared because of an extramarital affair. No one would draw this much attention just so they could spend time with an alternate squeeze.

Later on I heard he was hiking in the Appalachian Trail. Clearing his head, evidently. According to his staff, this was not unusual, so my thoughts about the man didn’t change much, just continuing to seem very odd and unlikely to be a kidnapping but rather just some eccentricity. South Carolina officials were [...]

• July 4. 1776: British Colonies In America Declare Independence
• August 12, 1861: Southern Rebels Attack Fort Sumter
• December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks US at Pearl Harbor
• September 11, 2001: Terrorists Fly Jets Into World Trade Center

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Listed above are some of the key events in the history of the United States that signaled the beginning of war. One could make a similar list of events related to events signaling the beginnings of economic turmoil. Others that signaled the beginnings of territorial expansion and industrial advances.

None holds a candle to the day we celebrate today.

Today is the day that signaled the beginning of peace between God and Man. The beginning of a greater war for our hearts. The beginning of a new level of relationship with God.

Good Friday is called “good” because this is the day that Jesus Christ, God and Man in one, died on a cross to pay the price for all of our sins. Pope Benedict stated today in his Good Friday remarks that Jesus was unique in that he impacted the world not by taking the lives of others, but by allowing his own life to be taken for the sake of others.

I cannot imagine the pain that Jesus experience, both physical and emotional, as [...]