By Victor Davis Hanson
“Unexpected. Terrible. Inevitable. Everyone has a particular take on the dramatic Palestinian election victory of Hamas.
Right-wing cynics of American support for Middle East democracy say that we got our just desserts for our naive idealism. How foolish to ever believe that such tribal people might vote themselves a responsible government!
“Be careful what you wish for,” smug leftists chime in. But they harp that the Bush administration is hypocritical in lamenting the results. After all, how can the United States advocate democracy and then back away when it doesn’t get pro-Americans?
Others hedge that the Hamas victory hardly means consensual government as we know it — given the Palestinians’ lack of an independent judiciary, free speech or habeas corpus.”
Read the whole thing, excellent as always.
Jenny Hatch

Jonah Goldberg had a good piece on the movie today. I enjoyed reading it, especially since today is my 38th birthday.
Here is a picture sent from my sister….

I don’t have any words of wisdom or insights into life at 38. All I know is that my life is very full and I am daily engaged in the sort of lifestyle I always thought I would live. Surrounded by my own children, busy with helping them to develop their talents, testimony, and skills, and working hard to help build up the Kingdom of God on the earth.
I don’t see anything changing in the next twenty or thirty years. Ben is only three and I will be mothering him for many years to come. We may have more children and I am very much looking forward to being a grandma. I have watched many of my close friends make the transition to grandmothering and it has been beautiful to observe the joy these women are experiencing in this new phase of life.
I have a strong belief that no couple should be allowed to easily divorce until they have held a grandchild in their arms. Then and only then will they understand what all of the sacrifice and years of instilling habits of righteous living into their families has been for.
I have a dear friend who is the mother of six children. As I have observed these children marry over the past ten years, and now welcome little ones, I have observed my friend’s joy expand with the arrival of each baby. Her posterity is growing by leaps each year, and these babies are such a testimony to me of a mother who gave her whole heart and soul to her family for decades. I feel so blessed to have these sorts of mentors in my day to day life.
Jenny Hatch
Oh, Phil says six more weeks of winter!

John Stossel
“But there is good news, said the state school’s superintendent: South Carolina is seeing great progress in some areas. “We are ranked No. 1 in the country,” she bragged, “on improvement on SAT.”
That’s great. But when you’re ranked at the bottom, improvement doesn’t mean much, and South Carolina, even after its “No. 1 improvement” is still last among states. SATs don’t make for perfect comparisons because states have different participation rates, but South Carolina’s participation rate is about average, and yet its students perform well below the average.
That’s not good. Yet the superintendent said, “We are making tremendous progress in South Carolina, and we’re very proud.”
In government monopolies, that’s how bureaucrats think.”
Teach your own child to read!
Jenny Hatch

My husband has been surprisingly supportive of my new love.
Actually, he loves Jack Bauer about as much as I do.

Over the christmas break we borrowed season 2 of 24 from the library. I am ashamed to admit it but Ben lived in his pajamas for three days during that time – I did change his diaper but during those quiet days off from normal work and school schedules, we slept in late because we were staying up until 2 am watching 24. We were confirmed junkies by the end of the 24 hours of season 2 – which we watched in approximately five days.
We have not had the time or chance to watch other past seasons, but we have watched every episode of this season and in a couple minutes…Jack will be back on screen dealing with terrorists. Pretty cool stuff. Bye Bye…off to tv land…
Jenny Hatch

“A pregnant Steelers fan is not letting the birth of her baby get in the way of the Super Bowl celebrations.
She convinced her doctor to induce her early, so she’ll be home in time to watch the Super Bowl with all of her friends.
Baby Alexandria is just a blurry image of a baby right now, but she’ll enter the world with a wardrobe of Steelers clothes, her birth scheduled around the Super Bowl.
“The Super Bowl is like Christmas,” said Carrie Welling, of New Kensington. “The fact that the Steelers are going – that’s what you live for.”
Welling is due the day before the Super Bowl, but when she screams through the game, she doesn’t want it to be from labor pains.”
And I’m sure it took some real arm twisting to get that OB to sign on to an early induction…hmmm?
INDUCTIONS are BAD for Mothers and Babies….PERIOD. DOctors know this and yet they still let mothers induce for the dumbest reasons…this one has to be the dumbest of the year.
Jenny Hatch