Brutally Honest

Ever heard of Robert Dick Wilson?

A google search will reveal some interesting facts……

Robert Wilson was born in 1856 in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The son of a leading merchant he could read by age 4 and began school at 5. Continuing in the public school, he was ready for the sophomore class at Princeton when he was 14 years old.

He proved to be an extraordinary language student. While at Princeton, he was able to read the New Testament in 9 languages, and eventually learned a total of 45 languages. He graduated from Princeton University at the age of 20 and went on to earn both a Masters degree and a Ph.D. He then did further post-graduate work at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

Wilson was 25 years old when he determined that he would invest years of careful study in the text of the Old Testament, so that he could speak with authority as to its accuracy.

He wrote,

“I was twenty-five then; and I judged from the life of my ancestors that I should live to be seventy; so that I should have forty-five years to work. I divided the period into three parts. The first fifteen years I would devote to the study of the languages necessary. For the second fifteen I was going to devote myself to the study of the text of the Old Testament; and I reserved the last fifteen years to the work of writing the results of my previous studies and investigations, so as to give them to the world".

For the first 15 years, he studied every language that had a bearing on the text of the Old Testament. He not only became an expert in Hebrew, but learned all the languages the Scriptures had been translated into down to the year A.D. 600.

In the second 15 years Wilson dedicated himself to studying the text of the Old Testament itself. He looked at every consonant in the Old Testament text (the Hebrew Old Testament has no vowels) - about one and a quarter million of them. He made a thorough scientific investigation of the Old Testament text, as compared to other writings of antiquity.

Wilson noted that there are 29 ancient, pagan kings of various nations which are mentioned in the Bible. Their names are also found in the writings of their own lands. The names of these kings consist of 195 consonants. He discovered that in the Old Testament, there are only two or three of the letters - of the entire 195 - that are in question as to spelling. In contrast, in secular literature of the same period, the names of those rulers frequently are so garbled that one can scarcely identify the person. Ptolemy, an ancient writer, drew up a list of 18 Babylonian kings, and not a one of them is spelled correctly.

The last 15 years where spent writing the results of his research. He authored “A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament”, in which he confidently affirmed “we are scientifically certain that we have substantially the same [OT] text that was in the possession of Christ and the apostles and, so far as anybody knows, the same as that written by the original composers of the Old Testament documents.”

Dr. John Walvoord, President of Dallas Theological Seminary, called Dr. Wilson "probably the outstanding authority on ancient languages of the Middle East."

When asked how he accomplished so much he replied,

"Well, you see, I used my spare time. When I went out for a walk I would take a grammar with me, and when I sat down to rest, I would take out the book, study it a little, and learn what I could. I made up my mind that I wanted to read the great classics in the originals, so I just learned the languages in order to do that.
"I would read a grammar through, look up the examples, making notes as I went along, and I wouldn’t pass by anything until I could explain it. I never learned long lists of words, but I would read a page through, recall the words I didn’t know, and then look them up. I read anything that I thought would be interesting to me if it were in English. I got so interested in the story that I was unconscious of the labor–as a man is interested in his roses, and doesn’t think of the thorns. So I learned Greek, Latin, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Biblical Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, and so on."

After many years, I am picking back up the studies to complete my pursuit of a Maters in OT Theology. Dr. Wilson’s diligence, perseverance and love for God’s word are surely an inspiration to me, and a model for those who would seek to be students of the word. In an age that values “spare time” and seeks the “easy button” for our problems, lets strive to be found as good and faithful servants.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2:15 (NASB)

..Nicks

Matt Drudge is getting Dowd and Dirty

And I bet she's gettin' more than a little perturbed.

It's Alito: Let the gnashing and wailing begin...

... an early sign that Bush may very well have made the right choice:

Samuel A. Alito has been a strong conservative jurist on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a court with a reputation for being among the nation's most liberal.

Dubbed "Scalito" or "Scalia-lite," a play not only on his name but his opinions, Alito, 55, brings a hefty legal resume that belies his age. He has served on the federal appeals court for 15 years since President George H.W. Bush nominated him in 1990.

I'm thinking this one might unite both the left and the right, against each other.

We shall see.  Stay tuned folks.

UPDATE: Michelle has a burgeoning round-up and given this linked tidbit, I'm thinking Bush has done good, real good:

Harry Reid was not happy with a possible Alito nomination yesterday:

"This is not one of the names I've suggested to the president," Reid said yesterday of Alito on CNN's "Late Edition."

"In fact, I've done the opposite," he said. "I think it would create a lot of problems."

MILD SURPRISE: The Political Teen expresses some disappointment in the pick.

POLL: Hugh's collecting stats, go now and vote.

STILL MORE: Juliette posits an interesting idea:

Is anyone still wondering why the president didn’t pick someone like Judge Alito the last time? I’m not. I still think that he may have been trying to stir up the right side of the fence (at least in the Senate; the stirring up of the conservative general public was likely an unforeseen consequence). I’m betting that it worked, but keep your fingers crossed.

UNO MAS: Back to the Political Teen for a must see video.

Deconstructing the Decontructionists

The Anchoress is feeling under the weather but you couldn't tell that by her writing:

These elites are not simply milling about waiting for “the next chapter of trouble.” I think in too many cases, they - like troubled eldest siblings, the “First Children” who have never quite gotten over the subsequent additions to the family - have been actively fomenting chapter after chapter of trouble, for some 40 years. They are complacently building little fortresses, but they are doing so for a reason. Having written all of these chapters of trouble, they are feeling quite confident that their story is solidly structured, and they are ready for the dénouement they have planned. The anticipation of their surprise ending is making them almost giddy.

The ending, of course, is the coup d’état. Believing that the rest of us, now disillusioned, are no longer clinging to romantic ideals of honor, or truth or nobility, these always-restless First Children, devoted to deconstruction, believe they are about to take down the presidency, the churches, the “old” government and even the “old” media. They expect to put into place something “brand new.” But believe me when I tell you what they are building is older than dirt. And up from it. Which is why they will need their fortresses. Castro lives in one, too.

They’ve been practicing all of this, by the way, perfecting the Art of the Painless Coup so thoroughly that most ordinary folks do not even realize what has occured.

Over the past 40 years these hyperactive First Children have been pulling off small scale coups with varying levels of success. They managed to deconstruct the academies, so that education is less a broadening of knowledge than a narrowing of perspective. They have deconstructed the liturgy to insist that a pantomime in clownface is a vast improvement over 2000 year-old prayers and scripture. They have deconstructed government by constructing something so huge and unweildly that nothing coming out of it is reliable or dependable, and almost no one is accountable, either. They have deconstructed the press to the point where the truth of a story is less important than how it may be framed and spun. They have deconstructed the idea of fascism to mean “those democracies in Israel and America” rather than the freedom-suppressing regimes which surround them.

And all the while they have been busily pulling things down and apart, they have kept the rest of the family distracted with the television, with the radio, with the cinema - any or all of which have instantly been called into service whenever someone got a little bored and looked around, wondering what these kids were up to. “Abortion,” said Aunt Sally? “Abortion is a terrible thing!” Suddenly every news story is about the grim circumstance of illegal abortion. Suddenly sitcoms are showing the way. “Well, if Maude had an abortion…maybe sometimes it’s a good thing…”

“Free love,” sputtered Uncle Jim, “it’s immoral! It’s damaging to the family!” Suddenly every film hero or heroine is having free, uncomplicated, undamaging sex, and flashing some gratuitous T and A at Uncle Jim in the process. “I dunno,” he smiles to Aunt Sally as he settles back, “maybe it’s not all that bad…”

The Anchoress goes on and effectively counters Uncle Jim's lusty acquiescence and in fact speaks strong words against what she sees to be a culture of compliance capturing the hearts of too many Americans.

I think it something worth reading in it's entirety.  Hope you will as well.

The NYTimes is beyond despicable

The fact that this rag is considered to be a pillar of journalism is a joke only a few seem to get.

Count Michelle Malkin amongst those attempting to let the world know.

The WonTonStreet Boys - I want it that way - Google Video

Yet another Chinese import of questionable quality.

H/T to Greg.

The next Reich?

It's one thing when terrorists or radical clerics say it.  It's quite another when the leader of a nation state engages in this kind of rhetoric:

The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Iranians Thursday "to riot against Zionists (Israel) and unbelievers" in nationwide demonstrations planned for Friday.

Earlier, the president himself touched off concern around the world with a call for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and a claim that "Anyone who signs a treaty which recognises the entity of Israel means he has signed the surrender of the Muslim world."

I'd like to think that diplomatic pressure, forced isolation and other peaceful means can combat this kind of hatred. 

I'd like to.  But I'm not a utopian.

Miers retires

There really was no choice:

President George W. Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, White House counsel Harriet Miers, abruptly withdrew from consideration on Thursday after fierce criticism from the right and the left about her credentials for the lifetime job.

Bush said in a statement he reluctantly accepted her withdrawal and would move in a timely manner to fill the vacancy left open by the pending retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

It's said that one's character can be defined as the byproduct of how mistakes are handled.  President Bush made a mistake with the Miers nomination.  I'm hoping that his next choice will be properly credentialed, a strict constructionist and someone who conservative can not only get behind but get in the face of those on the left who will attempt to block the appointment.

Now is not the time to put forth a nominee that the left will embrace.  Now is the time for a nominee to be named that will challenge the weak-kneed Republicans in the Senate to grow a spine.

My expectations of the Senate living up to that challenge are low sadly but much higher is the hope that President Bush will make amends.

Juliette has similar thoughts:

Will the Senate GOP be willing to fight for a Janice Rogers Brown now? Hopefully, the president will allow us to see what they are truly made of.

MORE: Michelle, as usual, is all over it:

Exit strategy hinged on refusal to release privileged White House documents. (Ed Morrissey and Charles Krauthammer called it.) Whatever. We know the real reasons. Now, onto a candidate that conservatives can be proud of, okay?

STILL MORE: La Shawn is harshly pessimistic about the next choice:

I predict George Bush will nominate another unqualified person. Perhaps his tailor. Or his dentist. Or his dog walker.
What did Bush learn? Maybe he learned that the people who put him in office actually expect him to be a conservative with common sense and choose someone qualified to sit on the highest court in the land, and not an unknown quantity crony. We’ll see.

"... the staggering plenitude of self-righteous hypocrisy..."

Mike at Cold Fury turns us on to what ought to become a best-selling book.  From it's pages comes this chronicling of absolute moonbat perfidiousness:

“NAME THE LIBERAL HYPOCRITE” QUIZ
From Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles In Liberal Hypocrisy, by Peter Schweizer

1. Who says that conservatives are racist because they don’t support affirmative action but has an abysmal record of hiring blacks?
   a. Barbra Streisand
   b. Michael Moore
   c. Al Franken
   d. All of the above
   Answer: D. All of the above. Of the 112 people Franken has hired to work on his books, television projects and radio program, only one was black. Of the 135 individuals Michael Moore hired, only three were black. Barbra Streisand has hired 53 senior people to work on her film projects and only one was black.

2. Who says that corporations are “terrorists” and has said “I don’t own a single share of stock” but secretly owns shares in Pentagon contractors like Boeing, pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, and even Halliburton?
   a. Barney Frank
   b. Gloria Steinem
   c. Michael Moore
   Answer: C. Michael Moore. According to IRS records, Moore owns at least several hundred thousands of dollars in stock and has a broker, even though he has repeatedly claimed he doesn’t “own a single share of stock.”

3. Who says that Americans need to consume less to stave off ecological disaster, but spends $22,000 a year to water their lawn?
   a. Hillary Clinton
   b. Barbra Streisand
   c. Rob Reiner
   Answer: B. Barbra Streisand. The singer, who says that cutting back is the only way to protect the environment, lives alone with her husband on a compound with five homes and a 12,000 square foot air conditioned barn.

4. Who says the rich need to pay their fair share and favors the estate tax, but hides his own assets in numerous trusts, including one in the faraway Pacific island of Fiji?
   a. George Soros
   b. John Edwards
   c. Ted Kennedy
   Answer: C. Ted Kennedy. The Kennedys have transferred more than half a billion in money from generation to generation but according to their own records paid only $34,000 in estate taxes. Their largest asset, the Merchandise Mart real estate company, was in a trust domiciled in Fiji.

5. Who has proclaimed themselves a corporate activist but has made money by investing in companies they were protesting against?
   a. REM’s Michael Stipe
   b. Ralph Nader
   c. Alec Baldwin
   Answer: B. Ralph Nader. When Nader went after Firestone in the 1970s he made stock investments in Goodyear, their main competitor. When he campaigned for the breakup of Microsoft in 2000, he invested hundreds of thousands in other high-tech companies that stood to benefit.
   

Sweet.  Simply sweet.

And certainly to be ignored by most larboard loons.

Exploiting the 2,000 that've died

It was predictable. 

The MSM, the left, the Bush haters and the extremists that make-up so much of today's anti-war movement are making sure that the 2,000th person who died in Iraq isn't recognized or identified in any way as someone who's made the ultimate sacrifice, after all, they could care less about the individual, instead they celebrate 2,000 deaths as something that affirms their political point of view and something they hope will be yet another nail in the coffin of an administration they loathe.

MoveOn.Org is simply shameless about it, MSNBC joins in the exploitation with an audio slide show, Cindy Sheehan will Sheehanitize the White House grounds at a die-in in commemoration,  and Mike makes my point perfectly by blogging an empty post with merely the number 2000 as it's title while his buddy Robert displays an appalling ignorance of current events, opining that America has "lost the war. I wonder if they know", making the Cox and Forkum cartoon above especially prescient. 

Thankfully, there are some level headed people out there who are describing events using logic, reason, wisdom and effect. 

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan:

"The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives. The 2,000th Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine that is killed in action is just as important as the first that died and will be just as important as the last to die in this war against terrorism and to ensure freedom for a people who have not known freedom in over two generations."

J.D. Johannes:

Numbers 2,000, 1,999 and 1,997 also strapped up every day to stand on a wall many in America are willing let crumble. And to those who would let that wall crumble, they are just numbers.

They are not men of action and conviction, to the anti-war faction, they are merely numbers of sufficient quotient to send a press releases and hold press events.

I asked Marines all across Al Anbar province two questions:
1. If something goes bad and you die here. What would you think of people who used your death to protest the war.
2. After being here, and knowing what you know, would you still join the Marines/volunteer for this deployment?

The answers were invariably the same.

They did not want their death to be used as a prop and they would make the same decision all over again. These young Lance Corporals and Non-Commissioned Officers volunteered to join the Marines, many with the intent of coming to Iraq. And while few would say they like war, they all recognize the necessity of it.

The Marines and soldiers who fight in Iraq are not numbers, but the media and certain groups are treating them as if they were. Number 2,000 was a national treasure, just as number 1,435 was and number 2,038 will be. For what is the value of a man who will fight a war for others who despise him?

The Anchoress:

It seems remarkable to me that we could liberate millions of people and help guide them toward Democracy, (in two countries) inspire others in the area to work for Democracy, get Libya to turn over its weapons…with relatively few (though always tragic) losses. Our military lose on average, 500 men and women a year through accidents during training or transport. Even if the loss is not in battle, it is tragic. Today I am sending up a special prayer for all the families of all of our lost and wounded troops, no matter what the circumstances of their deaths - but I’m looking with disgust at those who would exploit them.

Looking with disgust?  About as understated as it can get.

UPDATE:  Brian Dunn dealt with the ludicrous assertion that we are not winning in Iraq a few days ago.  I think it worthy of linking to here today:

Opponents of the war in Iraq like to cite our casualties as proof we are not winning. As we reach 2000 dead in Iraq, many will note that casualties continue to mount and are not declining over time. Therefore, they claim, we are not making progress to end the insurgency. How can we claim we are winning, they say, if we can't seem to make progress?

... remember that while casualties continue, we are on new battlefields. As we atomize the enemy out west and move in Iraqi security forces able to pacify the region against weakened enemy forces, we will finally be able to begin to pull back into a reserve role and to guard against conventional Syrian or Iranian threats. Then our casualties will decline even as Iraqis fight and die to preserve their new democracy.

We will have other tasks to do to help the Iraqis stand on their feet completely before we can pull out of Iraq. The faux press crisis over what it means to be able to fight unaided and the completely ignorant uproar over one or three Iraqi battalions able to fight without any American help at all have nothing to do with when we can begin to draw down combat forces engaged in offensive operations. The day will arrive sooner than such uproars would lead you to believe.

Until then, we are winning. Blathering charges of incompetence to the contrary. How will those charging incompetence explain our victory when even they cannot ignore the reality on the ground?

Blathering charges indeed.

MORE: Matt gives a name, with a picture of his son, to the 2,000th soldier to die.  Don't miss this.