Prayers And Support For Sad Occurrences Over Christmas

The first is a Salvation Army Major who was accosted and shot in front of his three very young children on Christmas Eve. See the linked article for where to send donations.

Secondly, a father who was sent to Iraq- he was only a few days from his actual deployment, training at a base stateside- was unable to be with his family over Christmas despite his house burning down last week. I heard about it on a local radio station based in Littleton, New Hampshire, where the man’s family lives. The father was able to come home for one day and then had to go back to his unit. The family lost everything, though none of the three young children- all five years old or younger- were injured, nor was the childrens’ mother.? Donations may be made by calling the Littleton Police Department at (603) 444-2422 and asking to speak to the dispatcher.

Iranian officials are still cracking down on those brave enough to protest. Contact your Members of Congress- Senate and House- and the White House to urge our leaders to support the protesters before it’s too late.

A bridge has collapsed in India, and dozens are feared dead. I don’t know how to offer support here, other than prayer.

Of course, there are always the military service members overseas, their families, those the soldiers are fighting and their families- prayers and support for all sides so there may be peace and justice I’m sure would help.

I know these kinds of incidents and occurrences are not happy things to think about during the Christmas season- especially when we all have our own troubles in this recession. However, as those fortunate enough to be able to celebrate Christmas in relative peace and happiness, I hope we can remember to go out of our way to help those we run into and those we don’t while the spirit of the season is still upon us, and we get too caught up in the necessities of our normal daily lives once Christmas and New Year’s vacations are over.

Iran, Nuclear Weapons, & Sanctions

A few days ago, secret documents detailing Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon surfaced. (SURPRISE!)

Then, on December 16, Iran launched its most sophisticated missile yet.

What was the House of Representatives’ response? 412-12, our Members of Congress voted to impose sanctions on Iran.

I’ll reiterate what I’ve said before- sanctions don’t work. They didn’t work with Iraq, they didn’t work with Cuba and they won’t do anything to stop Iran’s terrible treatment of its people. In fact, they’ll only make things worse, as they have in countless countries including Myanmar and North Korea. Instead, we should support the protesters who are still opposing their government’s murderous tendencies, support Israel’s right to defend itself and prepare for a military assault should America or one of our allies be attacked by the country.

I know there are other ways to eliminate the threat Iran’s leadership is to the rest of the world, but I must express ignorance as to what they are (plus, I didn’t sleep well last night and can’t really think very hard right now). Any ideas?

Update: Iranian-backed insurgents in Iraq have hacked U.S. Predator drones- perhaps we should back Israel’s approach to negotiation with Iran.