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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Reflections on Christmases past, present Oh boy! It’s Christmas time. My favorite time of the year. I love Christmas. I love giving presents. I love sing ing Christmas carols. I love the smell of cookies as they come to life in the oven. I love the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. I love the wide-eyed wonder of lit tle children. I love watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol.” Heck, I even love fruit cake just not in large doses. As a child, I remember lying in bed on Christmas Eve and wondering if Santa Claus was really going to come to my house. For one thing, we didn’t have a chim ney, which unnerved me a bit. But more than that, I had been taught that a visit from Santa wasn’t a slam-dunk The incredible disappearing border fence Do you know the story of the Incredible Disappearing Border Fence? It’s an object lesson in gesture politics and homeland insecurity. It’s a tale of hollow rhetoric, meaningless legislation and bipartisan betrayal. And in the run-up to the lowa cau cuses, it’s a helpful learning tool as you assess the prom ises of immigration enforce ment converts now running for president. Last fall, Democrats and Republicans in Washington responded to continued pub lic outrage over border chaos by passing the “Secure Fence Act.” Did you question the timing? You should have. It’s no coincidence they finally got off their duffs to respond just before the 2006 midterm elections. Lawmakers vowed grandi osely to keep America safe. The law specifically called for “at least 2 layers of rein forced fencing, the installa tion of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras and sensors” at five specific stretches of border Toni's stocking: A Christmas story Our stockings are hung by the chim ney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas - or another paunchy guy with toys - will soon be there. On the far right of our mantle is my stocking, knit ted by a dear family friend as a gift nearly 40 years ago. The stocking has aged much more gracefully than its ben eficiary. It looks brand new - red and green and white with a tree etched on the bottom, multi-colored sequins acting as Christmas fights. Toward the top is Rudolph, leading the sleigh; his nose adorned in red. In green lettering at the top is my name. The same family friend knitted similar stockings for my wife after we married, and for two of our children. They are hanging from the mantle to the left of mine. For each, their names are knitted near the brim of the stocking. Their stockings are equally impressive, meticu lously crafted and finely made. Our third child’s stocking is located at the end, on the far left side of our fireplace. His stocking has a similar look to it, but the markings are different than the others. Etched toward the top of the stocking is the name, “Toni.” Yes, Toni with an ‘l.’ No, our youngest son’s RECEIVE From page iA laptop computers are called, is placed in a moveable holder on the police vehicle dashboard, and enables officers on patrol to access information from the local level all the way to the federal. For example, if you’ve called 911 for help, your address, directions to your home, and all essential information will be immediately accessible to the police officer responding. On the other hand, if you’re fleeing the law, have a criminal record, have a long that he rewarded children who had been nice, but not those who had been naughty. I knew I was right on the «XL ■ Dick Yarbrough Columnist yarb24oo@bellsouth.net cusp every year. Sure, I went to Sunday school and church and said, “Yes ma’am” and “Yes sir” to adults, but I also poured salt in the sugar jars at the Red Bird Case when nobody was looking, and ran away from kindergarten because I didn’t want to take a nap, and deftly placed ink spots on the necks of the kids who sat in front of me in class to see if they washed their necks at night. (You’d JBL « y 1 \| totaling approxi mat e 1 y 700 miles. GOP leaders patted them selves on the back for their tough- Michelle Malkin Columnist malkin@comcast.net ness. President Bush made a huge to-do in signing the bill into law. Never mind the lack of funding for the fence and the failure to address many other immedi ate reforms that could have been adopted immediately to strengthen immigration enforcement, close deporta tion loopholes and provide systemic relief at the border without the need for a single brick or bulldozer. On the very day the bill was signed, open-borders politicians were already mov ing to water it down. Texas Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn pushed for “flexibility to choose other options instead of fencing, if needed.” Six name is not Toni with an I, or even a Y. The young est child in a fam ily always seems to get hand- Len Robbins Columnist airpub@planttel.net me-downs - even when it comes to family heirlooms. In this case, his stocking isn’t exactly a hand-me-down. More like a leftover. Allow me to explain. Years ago, while in college, my wife moved into an apart ment and the previous ten ant - an acquaintance - left a box full of items. In this box was the “Toni” stocking. My wife tried to get in touch with Toni to return this keepsake, but could never find her. Knowing it was an irre placeable memento, she couldn’t bear to throw the stocking away. So as she moved from place to place over the years, Toni’s stock ing went with her. Two years ago, when our youngest son neared his first Christmas, we never even thought about providing him with a stocking of his own. We were too busy with potty training and getting gum out of hair and other such child-rearing issues. Then, record of traffic violations, are driving a stolen car or have an abducted child or other missing person with you, the officer has access to vital information. The MDTs keep radio communications from being tied up, and give officers ready access to the information they need, Potter said. Some of the vehicles already have them installed. The funding will be used to have still more officers on the highway with the entire information highway right in front of their eyes. Training is provided for each officer using the MDTs, Potter said. be surprised how many didn’t.) As you can imagine, a Christmas visit from Santa was always touch-and-go. I am happy to report that a magnanimous and forgiving Santa Claus managed to over look my deficiencies every year with train sets, baseball gloves, bicycles and other neat stuff. Every Christmas morning, I heaved a sigh of relief and swore I would keep the “naughty” list down to an absolute minimum before the next Christmas rolled around. It was pretty much a losing battle. A lot of Christmases have come and gone since those days of my dissolute youth. I have watched two little moppets who never had to worry about Santa coming to see them, because they were always more nice months after passage of the Secure Fence Act - now interpreted by Washington as the Flexible Non-Fence Act or, as I call it, the Fence in Name Only Act - 700 miles shrunk to “somewhere in the ballpark” of 370 miles. A 14-mile fence-building proj ect in San Diego was stalled for years by environmental legal challenges and budget shortfalls. The first deadline - a May 30 requirement for instal lation of an “interlocking surveillance camera system” along the border in California and Arizona - passed unmet. GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, one of the few Republican presidential candidates to walk the talk on border security, blasted the Bush administration for suffering from “a case of ‘the slows’ on border enforcement.” More than a year after the law’s passage, the citizen watchdog group Grassfire reports that just five miles of double-layer fencing has been built in the first 12 months of implementation of the act. when we were hanging up our stockings, we realized we didn’t have one for him. “Hey, let’s just hang up this one,” I offered, pulling the Toni stocking from one of the dozens of Christmas boxes extracted from the attic. “He can’t read. He won’t know the difference.” Two years later, he still can’t read, and has no clue he’s being cheated in terms of personalized holiday dec orations. But others have noticed. “I recognize all these other names as members of your family, but who’s Toni?,” asked a visitor to our home last year while perusing our mantle. My wife and I looked at each other, then each came up with a different answer, spoken at the exact same time. “She’s our dog,” my wife gushed. I said, “he’s our Italian foreign exchange stu dent.” To avoid such moments, my wife turned the stock ing’s name - Toni - toward the wall. Once a day, I turn-it back outward, just for kicks. When we will get our son his own stocking and not use someone’s leftover? I don’t know. I figure we have a few more years before he starts reading. And we could always hold up him back to buy more time. No rush. Besides, Santa knows who he is. OPINION than naughty, grow up and become responsible parents with children of their own. I have seen four excited little grandboys, who could rip into presents faster than piranhas can strip a big fish, morph into strapping young adults who are the epitome of “cool.” I have witnessed the politically correct crowd try to stomp out the spir it of Christmas at every turn. They are modern-day Grinches whose shoes are too tight and whose hearts are two sizes too small. But they serve to remind us that we should focus more on the real meaning of Christmas and it is not Santa Claus and presents and parties and decorations and Black Fridays. Christmas is the time we Five lousy miles. The Government Accountability Office claims 70 miles were erected - but most of that fencing failed to meet the specifications of the law. Is Congress up in arms? Will there be accountabil ity? Don’t make me snort. Instead of demanding that the law be enforced, the pols are sabotaging the law. As part of the omnibus spending package passed this week, House Democrats incorporated Senate Republicans’ provisions to remove the two-layer fenc ing requirements and the specific target list of fencing locations. GOP Rep. Peter T. King, who sponsored the Secure Fence Act, told the Washington Times: “This is either a blatant oversight or a deliberate attempt to dis regard the border security of our country. As it’s currently written, the omnibus lan m jßr W m 1 1 m « / m m m m iv I i # t M . ■ r M W # /W I X ST W w , • y * X/I / m / EVE SERVICES M Service Times: 4 P.M. and 6 P.M. COMMUNION «f!sf */r Uj*n^fflpM^KS| 1002 Carroll Street • Perry, GA 478-987-1852 Christians celebrate the birth of Christ to a virgin mother in a manger in Bethlehem. His birth, death and resurrec tion form the foundation of our faith, and the PC police can never take that away from us if we believe. Let me suggest we lower the decibel level and reflect on the real miracle of Christmas. Be still and know. As has been our custom for many years, we gather at church with friends on Christmas Eve and soak up a Christmas message from Dr. Gil Watson, the World’s Greatest Preacher, guar anteed to be so riveting it would slack-jaw ol’ St. Peter. (I swear, if I could ever get that ACLU crowd to church, Dr. Gil would have them gnashing their teeth and asking for forgiveness of sins guage guts the Secure Fence Act almost entirely. Quite simply, it is unacceptable.” But so totally, totally pre dictable. Republican Leader John Boehner tried to blame the House Democrat majority: “The fact that this was bur ied in a bloated, 3,500-page omnibus speaks volumes about the Democrats’ unseri ous approach on border security and illegal immigra tion,” he said. “Gutting the Secure Fence Act will make our borders less secure, but it’s consistent with the pat tern of behavior we’ve seen all year from this major ity.” But it’s border state Republicans who’ve been gunning to undermine the law while the ink was still fresh. To add insult to injury and homeland insecurity upon homeland insecurity. Congress failed to adopt a ban on federal aid to sanc - 9wuf United Mdfwdht dkvtd SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2007 ♦ before we ever got around to taking up the collection. The man can preach.) After cel ebrating Holy Communion, we fight candles, the sanc tuary fights dim, and we sing “Silent Night.” At that precise moment I feel closer to God than at any other time of the year. And like that little boy of long ago, I always swear I will keep my “naughty” fist to an abso lute minimum before the next Christmas rolls around. Alas, after all these years it is still pretty much a losing battle. Merry Christmas to you and yours. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or website: www.dick yarbrough.com. tuary cities that prevent government employees and law enforcement officers from asking about immigra tion status; voted to stall implementation of strict er ID standards at border crossings; and miraculously found enough money to pro vide $lO million in “emer gency” funding for attorneys of illegal aliens. Next time you hear a leading presidential candi date try to woo you with his nine-point immigration enforcement plan or his secure ID plan or his Secure Borders platform, point to the Incredible Disappearing Border Fence. Poof! That is what happens to election season homeland security promises. Why would theirs be any different? Michelle Malkin is author of Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild. Her e-mail address is malkinblog@gmail.com. Message by Rev. Jenny Jackson-Adams gh. @ Child Care H Provided 7A 57229