Hope is in the air

Fox News is back on Dish Network. It has been a long dry spell. I was even getting tempted to subscribe to the local cable provider. Most friends that I talked to were having the same withdrawal frustrations but we are happy now.

A recent news story reconfirmed my happiness of living in Southwest Nebraska. Seems that a couple in Silver Springs, Maryland (I've never been there) are being investigated for neglect by Maryland's Child Protective Services for allowing their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter to play at a Silver Springs park, then walk a mile home---alone. Gee a mile is all of about ten blocks. The dad had dropped the kids off at the park to play and then a do-gooder neighbor spotted them walking home and called 911. The police responded, picked the kids up and CPS got involved.

The parents, he a climate-science expert and she a physicist, state that they are trying to teach their kids how to be independent and self-reliant.

No doubt they were familiar with the park and route home and considered the circumstances safe. CPS sees it as neglect.

Gosh those people must live in a different universe from our lifestyle here in rural Nebraska. Kids walk to and from school, to the swimming pool, play in Kelly park, normal activity here and good on it. No doubt in my mind that this is a wonderful place to live and raise children. Responsible parents and a safe environment. Thank you Lord.

It is a continuing frustration to watch our country's leadership deal with the uprising radical Islamic movement that is tearing the Middle East apart. Our President can't even say the words and Secretary of State Kerry worries about singing friendship to the French. Secretary of Defense Hagel got fired for talking about countering the terrorists. The Liberal big news organizations (all except Fox) tiptoe around the subject and everything just seems to get worse.

There is now a glimmer of hope and again the liberal news barely made mention. Fox News reported exclusively: "In a speech delivered at Al-Azhar at the end of 2014, Egyptian President Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi called to combat extremist ideology and said: "We need to revolutionize our religion." Calling for "religious discourse that is in keeping with its times," Al-Sisi warned that "the Islamic nation is being torn apart and destroyed" by extremism."

The comments by Al-Sisi are important for one because Egypt is the largest Islamic nation in the world and he was speaking to a large gathering of Imans (Imams?) his religion's leaders. He is stating the obvious: that to rid the world of radical Islam it must come from within. Imans preaching 7th century ethics and destruction of the infidels has to change and we cannot cause that from outside the religion.

Another glimmer of hope was "President of France Hollande stating we are at war with radical Islam. The French allowed a wave of Muslim immigrants, mainly from their former colonies, to create their own country within their borders in some misguided liberal thought strain. What has occurred is the breeding of anti-French, anti-Christian, anti-Free World attitudes resulting murderous radicals who harbor disrespect for French ideal of free thought.

Mr. Hollande needs to back up his talk with actions. He needs to clean out these nests. He needs to insist the Islamic schools teach French ideals and history. He needs to say you are welcome in France, but on our terms and if not au revior." Bruce Bialosky | Jan 18, 2015

Oh that our own President Obama would back off from his war against the Republicans and engage in the war against radical Islam as the French President has so boldly stated. Hopefully that change can happen before a similar disaster that the radical Islamists wreaked against the little known Parisian Newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, takes place in our own beloved United States.

Hope is in the air.

That is how I saw it.

Dick Trail