Posted on 07/01/2005 5:28:18 AM PDT by Convert from ECUSA
Our Christian Friends
"I believe that September 11 is a departure point in the history of the relationship between Jews and Christians. I think on the day that the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, every single American understood what it meant to be an Israeli." Ralph Reed
The year is 1981. Saddam Hussein is firmly control of Iraq and is trying to create an empire. His current objective is to conquer Iran. The war has been going on for a year and Saddam wants Iran and its oil reserves, the second biggest in the world. With Iran, he can take Kuwait, then Saudi Arabia, and control the whole region. This would spell disaster for the free world. What was more dangerous was that the Iraqi dictator had plans underway to guarantee his conquests. With the help of the French, Hussein was developing a nuclear arsenal. The Iraqi government had no problem firing chemical weapons into its northern region. The Kurds were rebelling against his rule. On Saddam’s command, the Iraqi army fired chemical bombs into its own territory. 100,000 Kurds lost their lives. To this day there are deformed Kurdish children living in Northern Iraq, a causality of Saddam’s brutality. Nobody in the world had any doubt that if the leader of Iraq had the bomb, he would use it. The Israelis were well aware of this fact.
Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel had many sleepless nights over this threat. His intelligence services provided him with an exact location of the weapons sites. He was told that Iraq was developing the bomb and a course of action had to be taken. He chose to attack and take out the nukes. In doing so, he knew that weather or not his Air Force succeeded, he would come under intense fire from the international community. Israel-U.S. relations at the time were tenuous at best. Begin had taken two actions at that time that put a strain on U.S.-Israel ties. In 1980, Israel officially declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Soon after, the Golan Heights fell under Israeli civilian law, making Israel’s de facto annexation of the area complete. Begin knew that this act would invite hostility from his allies, and outright rage from his enemies. Upon hearing news that the mission was a success, Begin called one of his closest friends. He contacted the one man he could count on to protect Israeli interests to the United States and the world. Before contacting the head of the United Nations, before contacting the President of the United States, Prime Minister Begin placed a call to a man he could trust. That man was Reverend Jerry Fallwell.
Fast forward 20 years. In an unprecedented accomplishment, displaying the depths that shared academic research between Israel and the United States could accomplish, Colonel Ilan Ramon blasted off into space with an American crew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. They conducted all sorts of research and experiments to advance the knowledge of all mankind. Tragically, they did not come back. The Space Shuttle Columbia exploded on its descent and all crewmembers were killed. On that very day a man made a speech in Boca Raton, Florida. He spoke to a Jewish audience and expressed his sincere condolences. He talked about the relationship between Israel and the United States. He talked about what they represent, what they are fighting for, and their shared destiny as free and prosperous nations. He asked for G-d’s help in protecting both countries. Then, to the shock of the audience, this man recited, in Hebrew, the last line of the Mourners Kaddish. The audience was so surprised, and touched, that this man would go to such lengths to console the Jewish people at this moment of tragedy, some of the in the audience broke out in tears. Other’s joined this Righteous Gentile in leading this Jewish prayer. That man was a Congressman from a district with little to no Jewish constituency. An evangelical Christian from Sugar Land, Texas, his name is Tom DeLay and he is the Republican leader in the House of Representatives.
One of Israel’s best friends has been the Christian community. Ever since the founding of the State, Christian Americans have been among Israel’s biggest supporters. When I first moved to Israel, I decided to do non-combat duty as a volunteer in the Israeli Army. There is a program that enables people from around the world to go to Israel for 2 to three weeks and support the IDF as a non-combat soldier. I was very pleasantly shocked to find out that at the time, half of the volunteers were Christian. They came to support Israel by directly participating in their defense. Do you realize that 12% of all non-combat volunteer soldiers for the IDF are Christian? Talk about standing with Israel. Two years later, I found myself in the Army guarding a post in Hebron. Along with the solidarity missions from Jewish communities, the congressional candidates, and the pilgrims of all faiths, there were groups of Evangelical Christians giving their love and support to the Israeli soldiers protecting the freedoms of all religious groups in the Holy Land. They didn’t just come to Tel Aviv to stand with Israeli leaders, they didn’t only go to Jerusalem to pray for peace and the welfare of the world. They went to an outpost deep inside the West Bank and gave moral support to the Jewish communities and soldiers stationed there. They handed out candies, they toured the Cave of the Patriarchs, they went to the soldiers and handed out gifts with words of encouragement and comfort from another man who dwelt among a Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. His name was Yeshiyahu Ben Amotz, the Prophet Isaiah.
Why do they do it? Why do American Christians put so much support in a country that is not their own, and which is based on another religion? There are several reasons why there has been a fundamental shift among the Christian Community towards standing by the Jewish State. The first has been the establishment of the Jewish State and its ramifications on religion as a whole. To many Christians, who believe very devoutly in the Bible and the Prophecies within it, Israel is seen as the fulfillment of G-d’s word. The very existence of the State of Israel and the mass Aliyah from all over the world has brought to truth the predictions the ancient Prophets made well over two thousand years ago when they said that the Jews would one day return to their Homeland and be gathered in from the four corners of the earth. The return of millions of Jews from the four corners of the earth has made a 2,500 year old prophecy reality. Evangelical Christians, like all of us, have seen how the words of the Bible have come to life before our very eyes. There is a very important verse in the Book of Genesis that deals primarily with the Nations of the world. It is a statement G-d made to Abraham (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 12, Verse 3), “I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you, I will curse.” This statement was made as Abraham was on the journey that would make him the first Hebrew to settle in the Land of Israel. It is in the same chapter, just four lines later where G-d tells Abraham in Genesis 12:7, “To your offspring I will give this Land.” This is a statement from G-d, made 4,000 years ago, about the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. The Christian Community believes, as do many Jews, that this prophesy concerns the First Kingdom of Israel, a nation ruled by Kings David and Solomon, the Second Kingdom of Israel, a nation that was once given its freedom by the Maccabees, and the modern State of Israel. This statement made four millennium ago, is being realized right before our eyes. Many Christians believe that G-d’s statement to Abraham about how He will treat the nations of the world based on their treatment of Israel is a test and an opportunity for Divine favor for those who bless Israel. Many Christians believe that a source of their blessing and that of the United States has been their steadfast support for Israel and the Jewish people. Think about it. What became of Russia after they brutally pummeled and pillaged the Jewish communities within their lands at the end of the 19th Century? Russia saw 75 years of brutal totalitarian rule. What became of Germany after the atrocities they committed against the Jewish people during World War II? Germany lost the war, and saw its country split into pieces for over 50 years. What became of the United States after it has steadfastly stood by Israel from the time the U.S. recognized her to today, where the U.S. provides Israel with $3.5 billion a year in military and economic support? America has seen more prosperity and strength than any nation in the world. America won World War II, America won the Cold War, and America has led the world in the battle to keep it free.
Christians also believe in how much we have in common. A recent movement among Christian intellectuals talks about the life of Jesus. They are becoming more and more accepting and enthusiastic about acknowledging that Jesus was Jewish. They are looking at the life and times of Jesus not only in the context of what it means to the Christian people, but in the context of the life and times Jesus lived in and the values that surrounded early Christian teaching. In learning about Judaism and the Jewish roots of Jesus, Christianity is learning about the roots of their own faith. They are also realizing that those values that are most dear to them are most dear to the Jewish people. The Book of Exodus documents the first set of laws for all mankind. Don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t covet, don’t commit adultery, observe the Sabbath, honor your mother and father. These are the core values of any civilized society. These are among the core values of both Christianity and Judaism. We are just beginning to realize this and take it to the next level.
One of the most important bonds that have been made between Israel and the Christian community is the war we are now fighting together. Ralph Reed was very accurate when he stated that 9-11 made an Israeli out of every American. After 9-11, Lower Manhattan became a war zone. For the first time in decades, Manhattan was filled with tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers, and soldiers manning positions throughout the area. To most Americans, it was an unprecedented and scary site. The Jews I spoke to all had the same thing to say: “I feel like I am in Israel.” The enemies Americans are fighting are the enemies Israel is fighting. The values that America is fighting for, freedom, democracy, diversity, and tolerance, are values that Israel has been fighting for over six decades. Christian America, whose values are the foundation of American society, has rightfully identified with Israel. Israel has become the symbol of everything we are fighting for. Standing with Israel means standing with freedom, democracy, and the eternal belief that it is the power of right that will always win of the power of might.
But where does Christian Zionism come from?
The year 1800 saw some major changes in the world. The revolutions in France and the United States shook the western world to its foundations. At the time, democracy and liberty were theories. Nobody thought it could be successfully put into practice. The very concept of the people electing their leaders was revolutionary and to many, outrageous. By the early 19th century the world began to accept the fact that these new ideas were successful and practical. The year 1800 brought us one step closer to the new millennium, a very serious time for Christians. New ideas were being fostered by radical thinkers within the frame work of Christianity. One of those thinkers was an Irish priest named John Nelson Darby.
Reverend Darby interpreted history as seven phases, or “dispensations.” Each dispensation is a different way with which G-d deals with man. In this interpretation, history is an ongoing battle between good and evil. Darby believed that Biblical prophecies must be interpreted literally. He believed that the true church will be shielded from the worst days of Armageddon by an event called “The Rapture.” He maintained that G-d will use the Nation of Israel as the primary figure in the end of history. It is this belief, a belief that in order for mankind to be redeemed, the Jewish people must return to their Homeland, that is one of the foundations of Christian Zionism.
Darby spread the word throughout Europe and the United States. His disciples brought his ideas to the political arena and made a major impact on the process of the Western World’s view of the possibility of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. William Blackstone, a student of Darby, brought dispensationalism to millions in the United States with his book, Jesus is Coming, in 1882. He took his efforts one step further. In 1891 he won the support of J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and other financiers to help him start a major newspaper campaign requesting that President Benjamin Harrison support the establishment of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. Another disciple of Darby was a man named Lord Shaftesbury. Lord Shaftesbury spread Darby’s Christianity to England. Both Lord Balfour and Prime Minister David Lloyd George were raised in Dispensationalist churches. These were the men that successfully drafted and got approved by the British Parliament the 1917 Balfour Declaration. This proclamation by the British government called for the establishment of a Jewish State on all of the Land of Israel. It is the legal basis used in international courts that validates the Jewish claim to create a county on its Land. Another famous British soldier was a dispensationalist, or a Christian Zionist. He was General Allenby. He was a devout Christian and it was he who commanded the troops that took Jerusalem from the Turks in World War I. It is said that before the invasion, General Allenby, prayed to G-d that in the battle for Jerusalem, the Holy Sites within her wouldn’t be harmed. When the British army went in to take Jerusalem, they used air support. In the early 1900s, planes were new. These new inventions terrified the Turks. They fled the city without a major fight, and no significant damage came to Jerusalem and the Holy sites within it.
Throughout the history of the modern Zionist movement, the Christian Zionists have been a major supporter. In 1980, Israel declared Jerusalem as its capital. In protest, 13 nations pulled their embassies out of the Holy City and moved them to Tel Aviv. The Christian response was different. At that time, the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem was founded. It is a lasting testament to the Christian belief that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. The Prime Minister at the time, Menachem Begin, was a close friend of Jerry Falwell. In 1979, Begin gave Falwell a Lear jet for his personal use. In 1981, Reverend Falwell received the Jabotinsky award for being, in Begin’s words, a defender of Jerusalem. If you read Mr. Begins memoirs, you discover that he had an intense love and admiration for his personal mentor, Vladimir Jobotinsky. For Mr. Falwell to receive an award named after Begin’s mentor tells you how much Prime Minister Begin admired and appreciated Falwell’s support. In 1982, it was the Christian Community that lobbied President Reagan to more adamantly support Israel. Jimmy Carter was a born again Christian. He lost support of the Christian community and many believe that is why he lost to Reagan in 1980. Reagan was also a born again Christian. Coming from Hollywood, he had a special affinity with the Jewish people. He would tell crowds that throughout his Hollywood career he would always carry a Kippa, or traditional Jewish head covering. You never knew when there would be a Brit (the Jewish rite of Circumcision), a Bar-Mitzvah, or a wedding. President Reagan’s relationship with the Christian community, and their relationship with Israel would prove immensely important in the early years of Reagan’s presidency. Throughout the late seventies and early eighties, Yasir Arafat used the country of Lebanon as his own private terror base. He based himself in Beruit and terrorized Israel. In 1981, 2,885 Keytusha rockets had fallen on the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shemona, scores of residents were killed and hundreds were wounded. By 1982, Israel had enough. Something had to be done. After securing the safety of the western border with a peace treaty with Egypt in 1978, Israel was ready to focus on taking out Arafat and more importantly, his terrorist base in Lebanon. The biggest problem would be the Americans. It was a given that the Soviet Union and Europe would not see any incursion into Lebanon as a retaliation to a brutal terror war instigated by Arafat (a war, by the way, that was financed by the Soviet Union). It was assumed that Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Arab world would call this an outright act of aggression by Israel. There was little Israel had to gain or lose by losing Soviet and Arab support – in 1982 they had none. Plus, the little support Israel received from Europe was not enough to allow Arafat to kill Israelis in the North. The problem was that Israel had received unprecedented levels of support and aid from the United States. They were working on a document of strategic alliance which was the closest thing to a military alliance the United States was willing to sign. Any attack on Lebanon would risk losing U.S. support. Begin sent his Defense Minister, a man by the name of Ariel Sharon, to America to win U.S. acceptance of the Peace in the Galilee operation.. Sharon went to the Evangelical community. The Christian community very bluntly reminded President Reagan that support for his presidency came from the Christian Right. He was also reminded that this support was taken away from Jimmy Carter which is why it is Regan and not Carter who is currently in charge. 1982 saw a U.S. economy coming off the worst inflation and recession it had seen in 50 years. At that time, the U.S. economy was not picking up as fast as Regan wanted and he needed all the support he could get. You remember 1982? Rubix Cubes, Coke vs Pepsi, E.T.? In that year the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded at 1200. These are same levels that the Dow was trading at in 1966. Reagan gave Sharon the green light. Israel went into Lebanon to take out the terrorists and Arafat. Contrary to most interpretations, the Lebanon War was a success. Israel cleared Lebanon out of the terrorists, and Arafat and the rest of the Palestinian leadership were exiled to Algeria where they would stay for another ten years. This was a very significant and important act on behalf of the U.S. government. The U.S. government, in allowing Israel to act when it felt it had to, repented for a very horrible sin it had committed 15 years earlier. In 1956 Gamel Abdel Nasser, President of Egypt, nationalized the Suez Canal. France and Britain had a serious problem and decided to collaborate with Israel to take the canal back from the Egyptians. The 1956 war was very quick. France and Britain took the canal, and Israel took the Sinai Peninsula. You ever see a football game in where the quarterback throws a perfect 40 yard pass to the receiver and he waltzes in for a touchdown? The play seems too good to be true. Just when the receiver is about to make his touchdown dance, the referee calls a holding play on the offense and a touchdown just became 1st and 20 at your own 40 yard line. That was the 1956 war in a nutshell. Israel decided to ally herself with the colonial powers of France and Britain. The problem was that the powers of the world were no longer these two countries. The new powers of the world, the United States and the U.S.S.R. were very upset at this move. President Eisenhower demanded that Israel pullback from the Sinai. After forcing the Egyptians to agree not to place troops in the Sinai Desert, the Israelis withdrew and the crisis ended. The 1956 war taught the Israelis one big lesson – the Americans are the dominating power and if Israel were to act without American support, or at least their knowledge, there would be consequences. Fast forward 11 years to the spring of 1967. The Egyptians are preparing for war. Nasser takes several moves to give the world the impression that the Middle East is about to engulf itself into armed conflict. Egypt signs a pact with Syria. If one country is attacked, both countries will retaliate against the attacker. Nasser and the leader of Syria pledge to fight and meet up for coffee in Dizengoff Street, in the heart of Tel Aviv. The leaders are taunting Israel by planning an attack by Syria from the north, and Egypt from the south. When the conquest of Israel was complete, they would meet in the middle. This caused Israel great alarm. It didn’t stop at that. Nasser was actively inciting his country into a war frenzy. The Israelis got nervous. By May of 1967 war had become a foregone conclusion. As early as a month before the start of the war, Army Chief of Staff General Yitzchak Rabin was demanding permission from Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to attack. Right now, he claimed, the Egyptians were still on the other side of the Sinai. The Syrians were not completely mobilized for war and the West Bank, at the time part of Jordan, was not in a state of military readiness. Eshkol balked. He remembered 1956 and knew that if he attacked without American support or at least, understanding, the Americans would force him to pullback from whatever territorial gains Israel could make. Eshkol was in an untenable situation. He did everything he could to persuade President Lyndon B. Johnson to ‘allow’ him to attack the Arabs without fear of political retaliation from the U.S. Johnson never answered Eshkol’s pleas. Eshkol waited. The Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and moved their troops to the Israeli border. It takes a tank 24 hours to cross the Sinai. This was valuable heads up time the Israelis would have to mobilize their armies for a defense and counterattack. This advantage was gone. Johnson was silent and Eshkol waited while Rabin grew impatient. The Syrians mobilized, the Iraqis put tens of thousands of troops in the West Bank to fight with Jordan. Eshkol pleaded with Johnson to accept an Israeli first strike after these blatant acts of war perpetrated by now, four nations. The Egyptians cut off the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. The Straits were the waterway that feeds into Eliat, a port city in the South of Israel. Israel was no longer able to receive oil from Iran, which was ruled by the Shah, a western ally. Israel was surrounded, isolated, and partially cut off from one of its supply routes. Every strategic advantage the Israelis had in the weeks leading up to the ’67 war were squandered. Eshkol waited too long. Johnson didn’t do a thing. These were arguably the two biggest mistakes made before the War. Once Israel’s position was totally compromised and General Rabin’s hands were completely tied by Prime Minister Eshkol and President Johnson, he did two things. He revised his estimated casualty figures and commissioned the Rabbinical Unit in the army to find land for a military cemetery for 15,000 soldiers, and he offered his resignation as Army Chief of Staff. Thank G-d neither of these potential disasters became were realized. As Israel’s position seemed to be on the brink of total disaster, LBJ muttered these famous words to the Prime Minister: “Israel will not go it alone unless Israel decides to go it alone.” That’s all the Israelis needed. With a green light from the U.S., Israel attacked and the rest is history. It was the waiting by President Johnson that weakened Israel’s position to a danger of being wiped off the map. Compare that hesitation to the reaction President Reagan gave the Israelis when they were under attack from the PLO in Lebanon. In comparing the different reactions, one act taken by a president on his own discretion, and one act taken by a president at the insistence of the traditional Christian faction in his party, and you see how important Israel’s Christian friend’s are to its security, and how crucial their help has been throughout the history of the State.
We don’t have to go back that far to be reminded of the impact Christian have made on our society. They have been there for us when we needed them the most. In 2002, a Palestinian terrorist murdered 29 people in a Netanya Hotel. They were people sitting at a Passover Seder. 29 Innocent civilians were murdered in cold blood while observing a Jewish Holy day. After 400 Israelis had been killed over the previous 2 months, Prime Minister Sharon decided that action had to be taken to stop the terror. He ordered troops back into the West Bank for the first time in almost 10 years. The world was irate. They didn’t seem to have much of a problem with the hundreds of Israeli civilians randomly and brutally murdered. They just couldn’t stand that Israel had recaptured the West Bank. President George Bush was furious. He screamed to the world that Sharon wanted war and demanded that the Israelis withdraw. Enter our Christian brethren. George Bush, Jr. won the his brother’s state of Florida and the presidency in 2000 by about 530 votes. Florida is a very conservative state with a huge Evangelical population. Somebody reminded the President of that because less than a week after he ordered Sharon to withdraw, and compared him and the actions of the IDF to Palestinian terror, he became very silent, very fast. Not only did President Bush stop talking about what was going on in Israel, he called Sharon a man of peace. This came from a president who won barely 15% of the Jewish vote. Somebody was pulling his strings and it wasn’t the 4 Jews in the country who voted for him. The list of deeds on behalf of the Christian community goes on and on. While the Palestinian terror campaign decimated the Israeli tourist industry, over 200,000 Evangelicals came to support the State when it desperately needed tourists. Christians have given millions to Israel to support soup kitchens, social welfare projects, and immigration. Recently, $7.2 million was donated to help upgrade the security systems on buses. The Christian community has given $24 million in assistance towards encouraging Aliyah, or moving to Israel. Over the past 10 years, 365,000 Evangelical Christians have donated over $100 million to the Jewish state.
Israel is not a Jewish organization. Nor is it a Synagogue, or a shetl. Israel is a nation. Every nation has allies and enemies. Unfortunately, our enemies number among 1 billion angry Arabs and Muslims, and about 400 million hostile Europeans. We are very lucky and blessed that there are as many as 100 million good Christians in the world that are on our side. We may disagree with the Christian people when it comes to other aspects of domestic and social policy. It’s the lesser argument. What matters most is that the Christian people are fighting as diligently as the Jewish people to ensure a strong and prosperous Israel. In recognizing our shared history, and our common values, Christians see the Israelis as natural allies in the war we are waging against Islamic Fundamentalism. This is a battle that we re fighting together, as brothers, for our common heritage and our shared destiny. It is so important for us Jews to show gratitude to our Christian brethren.
Ping!
That previous incident with Bush, should have been a warning to his true nature towards Israel. That his Christian supporters were able to cause him to reverse then, but not now, is testimony that he acted due to politics and not convictions.
What are his convictions? If this article truly reflects Evangelical opinion towards Israel, and in large measure it probably does, how does Bush's pro- "Palestinians" policy not conflict with his purported Evangelical Christian beliefs.
Israel is not a Jewish organization. Nor is it a Synagogue, or a shetl. Israel is a nation. Every nation has allies and enemies.
America is also not a religious institution and Bush is not a religious leader. There are secular considerations involved in his actions.
Given that, IMO the roadmap is going nowhere, will never go anywhere. Support for the Palestinians may be diplomatically necessary for public consumption (much like hopeful statements from Israeli prime ministers) but it is not destined for success. They have no interest in being a nation.
A Stab In The Heart [Video]
IsraelNationalNews - A Video on Gush Katif [Video]
The Nature Of Bruce ~
Thanks for your sensible answer. The President of the United States has a job to do. I get it.
Good informative article. MRN
Pres. Bush has never indicated he believes the State of Israel has some special role to play in world history, or that he has religious beliefs concerning it. And I have never seen evidence that Pres. Bush is not a traditional 'supersessionist' rather than the a more pro-Israel 'dispensationalist'. If someone has evidence, I'm willing to be proven wrong.
If AIPAC, The Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations, the AJC, and Ariel Sharon support a 'two-state solution' involving the dismantling of Israel, what political gain would there be for an American president to oppose such a solution?
whose very name causes me no end of amusement!
Two responses.
One. My comment about Bush's pro(?) Israel views where in response to all the many posts I read here about how strange it is for Jewish Americans to ever vote Democrat(if Israel is a controlling issue) when Republicans- and devout Christian- Bush are so pro Israel.
Two. I can't believe Sharon decided to commit Israel to suicide all on his own. I believe the red hot poker up his a** came from somewhere.
Unless the voters in Israel and the Likud accept the suicide, Sharon couldn't pull it off.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=78071
The most recent edition of National Survey of American Jews, sponsored by the Jewish Agency's Education Department... shows that 26% of the respondents said they were very emotionally attached to Israel...
...Just 57% affirmed that "caring about Israel is a very important part of my being Jewish," compared with 73% in a similar survey in 1989, the Forward reports...
Sorry. I don't buy the acceptance.
Sharon won in a landslide against Mitzna on precisely this issue.
Even the opponents would have to accept the outcome if Sharon called an election on this issue. The fact that he doesn't tells me he knows the Jewish majority doesn't accept. Read Glick's columns in the Jerusalem Post on Sharon's corruption of the Likud.
bump for later detailed reading
You certainly might be right. But that would also mean Bush is more cynical, manipulative or corrupt than I think he is; I could be wrong about that too.
My bottom line is that non-Jews do not determine the fate of Israel.
That would be an Israel that would do Entebbe, Osirk. That Israel is dead. My estimation of Bush is sinking faster the Monica to her knees.
My pleasure, MRN!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
