As the Catholic Church prepares for the season of Advent; the celebration that culminates with Christmas; concern over threats to the life of Pope Benedict XVI are mounting. This Tuesday the Pope will begin his four day visit to Turkey. While it is more secular than most Islamic nations, Turkey has its share of radical Islamists and they are still outraged by a speak Pope Benedict gave in September on Faith and Reason. The overall theme of the speech was lost on radical Islamists when the Pontiff quoted 14^th Century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II.

Benedict, in a speech on faith and reason on Tuesday at Regensburg University in his native Germany, recalled a debate between the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and a Persian Muslim after the siege of Constantinople in 1391.

He quoted the emperor as saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The Pope also condemned the concept of holy wars as "unreasonable". Story

Again we see Islam enraged to the point of violence by words perceived to be insulting. This is not a new development as we have witnessed several outbreaks of violence in recent years in response to anything that is perceived as insulting to Islam. In response to the outrage, the Pope rescheduled his visit to Turkey until and has made it clear that the purpose of this trip is religious. He will meet and pray with one of the leaders of the Orthodox Church in Turkey, Bartholomew I, and visit the grave of Kemal Ataturk who is revered as the founder of the modern Turkish nation.

Islamic leaders have tried to instill the idea that Islam is a religion of peace. Radical forces within the religion have a completely opposite interpretation and view their purpose in life to convert or kill all infidels. The Pope’s visit will test the concept that Islam IS a religion of peace as well as the secular control of this Islamic nation over its radical elements as they prepare unprecedented security measures to protect Pope Benedict.

An army of snipers, riot police, secret agents and bomb disposal experts has been mobilised for the Pope's four-day visit to Turkey. Naval units will patrol the Bosphorus armed with machine guns after warnings to police and security services that the life of Benedict XVI may be threatened by Islamic extremists after he arrives on Tuesday.

Celalettin Cerrah, the police chief in Istanbul, said that the city would have maximum security and warned that he would "call for reinforcements from nearby cities" if needed. Fears within the Vatican, which has been making preparations on the ground for the past month, were heightened when a man lunged at Archbishop Pierluigi Celata, the former papal ambassador to Turkey, who was on a advance scouting mission in his Catholic robes. Story

Hopes of peace spring up once again in the Middle East as Israel and Palestine have agreed to a cease fire. This may be the first step in resuming peace talks in the region. As history has shown us, however, the wild card continues to be radical Islam. If the cease fire is to have any chance of success Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas must get control of the Hamas terrorists that have worked their way into the government. As long as they are present, the Palestinian government will not gain any legitimacy in the eyes of the world; this because Hamas has sworn to destroy Israel and kill all Jews in the Middle East.

The truce announcement held out the promise of a possible resumption of long-stalled peace talks, and was a significant achievement for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to put together a more moderate government to replace the one currently led by Islamic Hamas radicals.

The sides announced the impending truce after Abbas telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late Saturday to tell him he had arrived at an agreement with Palestinian factions to stop all violence from Gaza. Abbas asked that Israel, in turn, stop all military operations in Gaza and withdraw all its forces, and Olmert agreed, spokespeople for both leaders said. Story

Peace in the Middle East is the key to stability in the world today. A legitimate peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians would be a first step toward building a greater peace in the Middle East, but it will be all but impossible as long as islamo-fascist groups like Hamas are involved in government. What the Islamic opponents of Israel fail to realize is that history is against them in their quest to drive God’s chosen people from the Holy Land. Jesus walked the very streets of Jerusalem and was himself a Jew. They have every right to live there and there are probably religious scholars who will tell you that they have a God given right to be there.

Throughout history; whether it was Pharaoh, the Ottomans, the Nazis, and possibly today’s islamo-fascists; those who try to eliminate the Jewish people have paid the ultimate penalty. The scriptures make it very clear that they are God’s chosen people and history seems to bear it out. For centuries evil has tried to wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth and failed. No mater what has been thrown at them, they have persevered and will continue to do so; it would be naïve to think otherwise.

Today we see the Christian community becoming closer to the Jewish community than ever before; like the Old and New Testaments coming together. The common core of Judeo-Christian Values binds them together and presents a united front against the gathering storm of Islamic fundamentalism. Together the Jews and the Christians, through the grace of God, can defeat the greatest evil of our day. Pray that this first step in Palestine is followed up by closer relations between Christianity and Judaism which lead to the defeat of the islamo-fascist movement that is sweeping the world. Together we are strong, divided we are vulnerable.

It is hardly surprising that many Americans are happy the political season is behind us. I, for one, couldn’t wait for the mudslinging political attacks to come to an end. The beautiful thing about having elections in November is that they are quickly followed up by Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas. In the wake of cut throat backstabbing, we all need to spend time with our families and cherish the moments we spend together. I often feel sad for politicians and wonder if they know what it feels like to stand behind someone you love and to have someone stand behind you when you need it. It must be lonely to spend a life stabbing your adversaries in the back and having them respond in kind. Now that the political season has come to a close, ponder my philosophy on life and think of the people in your life; they may need you and you may need them.

I am a conservative by nature and have long felt that the Republican Party has drifted to the center and abandoned people like me. What disturbs me the most is that conservatives are heard daily calling in to talk radio and lamenting their lot in life. They complain about no conservative candidates to vote for and no viable third party in this country; the nature of the two party systems makes the emergence of one that can succeed slim to none. The result is that conservatives either vote for the lesser of two evils, the Republican Party, or do not vote at all (for the purposes of this piece I consider votes for non-viable third parties as not voting at all).

I have respected George W. Bush for the intestinal fortitude he demonstrated initially as he went through the motions to take terrorism on directly. Sadly, the War on Terror has lost its direction and resulted in spending on an unprecedented level by a Republican majority. Additionally, it lead to the creation of a bureaucracy second to none in Homeland Security. The icing on the cake was the prescription drug program which was the Republican version of a social program that really turned his base off. In addition to these failings you have the media darling John McCain. Together with Russ Feingold D-WI he dealt the American electoral process a devastating blow in the form of campaign finance reform. While well intentioned, it has opened the door to well financed 527 groups buying influence in the electoral process like never before. This is true on both sides as we saw the machinations of Move-on and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth fighting it out in 2004 to the degree that the issues became secondary.

The Republican Party has lost its way that is clear, but we have the means by which to get them back on track, and I am not talking about a third party pipe dream that will never materialize. The means to restore the Republican Party to its conservative roots is the primary election system. Too many conservatives take the primaries lightly and save their vote for the “big” election in November. The avenue for change is to support and elect a candidate that reflects conservative values in the primary election and not settle for the middle of the road pandering politician who snuck through, masquerading as a conservative just enough to get on the ticket.

The Republican Party has been given a wake up call in this mid-term election but I am not confident that they have heard it. My concern is that they will drift more to the left and embrace socialism in the hopes to sway moderate voters. I think the Democrat Victory was more than a referendum on the war; it was a referendum on the Republican Party as a whole. If they put their eggs in one basket (John McCain in 2008) we can kiss the Presidency goodbye and welcome a sweep by the Democrats. The time has come for conservatives to embrace the primary process and work to put forth viable candidates that reflect their values for the 2008 election. Some of you may be thinking that 2008 is so far away that we don’t have to think about it yet; wrong. Just think how quickly we got from the Bush-Kerry election battle to the mid-term elections. The time to change the Party is now; those who don't want to step up now work to develop a viable candidate that espouses their views will end up two years from now, on Election Day, either voting for the lesser of two evils or not voting at all.

The United States military has evolved into the most advanced professional fighting force in the world. Many critics of the war in Iraq blame the Bush Administration for keeping them on too short of a leash and not letting them fight with everything they’ve got. One Democrat, Charles Rangel of NY does not agree with that assessment, he seems to think that we are understaffed and wants to take us back to the Vietnam era by reinstating the draft.

A senior House Democrat said Sunday he will introduce legislation to reinstate the military draft, asserting that current troop levels are insufficient to sustain possible challenges against Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. Story

With the Iraq war being the key issue in the Democrat’s return to majority status in Congress, one has to wonder at the logic of Congressman Rangel’s reasoning. Former President Bill Clinton cut our combined military forces by an estimated 600,000+ troops. These were trained and ready military personnel. Now the good Congressman from NY wants to begin to force feed the military because he thinks that it is understaffed?

I think that a better idea is to allow the American Military Machine to take the kid gloves off, stop trying to fight a politically correct war, and let them take the islamo-fascist forces out. It is not a question of numbers, but a question of tactics. Many on both sides of the aisle have criticized former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for running the military like a CEO and not listening to key military advisors. Before we start trying to drag people to the front lines against their will; let’s try letting those who have chosen the military as their profession do their job without the handcuffs that those who think we can fight a sensitive war have put on them. If this is what Democrat control of congress brings to the table, God help us. On the bright side, the more idiotic stunts the Democrats pull between now and 2008, the better the opportunity for the Republicans to regain control. Hopefully there is still some sanity left in Congress despite the influence of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

The RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) have cost their Party and this Nation dearly. Disgust among conservatives over moderate appeasers claiming to be Republicans has been rampant over the airwaves and on the conservative blogs for the past two years. A large portion of the conservative base has called in routinely to conservative talk shows threatening not to support the GOP in this mid-term election to “teach the party a lesson”. Well, a Democrat sweep of control in congress has been the result and the RINOs took down the great elephant leaving the donkey laughing.

The ramifications of two years of in house bickering among the members of the GOP opened the door for the Democrats and they walked right into power. Welcome to a new era of weakness in congress and a push for a more “global” America and more socialist policies. Conservatives have certainly sent their message to the GOP but have they cut off their nose to spite their face? Reuters is already reporting that the Democrats are preparing a plan for a phased withdrawal from Iraq to begin in as few as four months. Certainly a select group of islamo-fascist leaders are overjoyed at the Democrat victory and the sure to be weak kneed policy changes they will try to implement. A withdrawal from Iraq now will surely indicate that the United States has had enough and signal our Nation’s weakness to radical Islamic forces. This is what the Democrats will try to achieve, and we will all be put at risk because of it as our perceived weakness makes us a more attractive target for terrorists.

Democrats, who won control of the U.S. Congress, said on Sunday they will push for a phased withdrawal of American troops from Iraq to begin in four to six months, but the White House cautioned against fixing timetables.

"First order of business is to change the direction of Iraq policy," said Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is expected to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress.

Democrats will press President George W. Bush's administration to tell the Iraqi government that U.S. presence was "not open-ended, and that, as a matter of fact, we need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months," Levin said on ABC's "This Week" program. Reuters

Those of you who chose last Tuesday to teach your party a lesson have opened the door to American weakness, higher taxes, and increased social programs; at best we will get a government in stalemate. Conservatives can forget about any further judicial appointments that would restore this Nation’s legal sanity. The RINOs took the elephant down, but the conservative base let it happen. You reap what you sew, and, sadly, we will have to endure a minimum of two years and potentially much more as the Democrats have gained momentum as we turn toward 2008.