I think you are right in your assessment, counterpunch.
I would just add that God's providence has a lot to do with outcomes in life. And, the prayers of righteous people avail much.
From the depths of my heart - God bless you, Fred Thompson, and God bless the United States of America.
Don't Quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seem all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest,if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is odd with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
~~~Unknown~~~
Beautiful sentiment, it brought a tear to my eye. I cannot believe how this country has changed. We have become a country without a backbone. We tolerate traitors in our midst, yet do nothing to call them out. While I don’t agree with everything GWB has done, I shudder to think of what awaits us in the next 4, possibly 8 years. I am truly scared that this country is in decline. We have ceased being a people of courage and have become a country of freeloaders.
I imagine if John F Kennedy uttered his famous inaugural line today he would be booed resoundly. If given an opportunity to ammend the line now it would probably read “Ask not what you can do for your country...ask what your country can do for you...” How sad.