A plea for prayer for the war in Iraq

A US army officer wants Americans to pray for the war in Iraq...and he's shelled out five-thousand dollars of his own money to make that plea.

The Associated Press's Religion Roundup today reports that Major Danny Davis took out an ad in the Washington Times, titled "An Open Letter to American Christians."

Major Davis is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and is now stationed in Florida. He's urging fellow believers to become prayer warriors in the war on terrorism.

Davis' ad states in part: "While the terrorists have been
driven to murder by a fanaticism for Islamic domination, American
Christians have been absent from the spiritual battlefield..,We will win this battle on our knees or we will not win it."

If you'd like to join Major Davis in this prayer effort, you can contact him at majordavis3(at)yahoo.com.

I'm disappointed in Rafael Palmeiro...

I remember not long ago, watching a profile of Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro along with my husband, and thinking, "Finally...a baseball star we can trust. One who's making records on his own power, without the use of performance enhancers. This guy is the real deal!"


Palmeiro in his Cubs days

And since several months of each year in my household include the running soundtrack of a Chicago Cubs game, either on radio or TV, I even remember when Palmeiro played for the Cubs and Harry Caray used to accidentally pronounce his name "Palermo."

My sons have told me not to do two things: talk about sports, or rap. I guess I'm not knowledgeable enough to do either without coming off sounding a little silly.

But the truth is, with a husband and two sons who are avid Cubs fans--and actually my daughter is becoming a pretty big fan herself--it's impossible to not have some of that rub off on me. Although something of a marginal and fair-weather fan, I do follow sports to a certain extent, and I've been disgusted by the fact that several of the major baseball stars have been at least implicated in steroid abuse.

But Palmeiro was different--right? Well, maybe not. Palmeiro has become the first high-profile player to receive a ten-day suspension under baseball's new steroid policy. This comes just comes four and a-half months after Palmeiro testified
before a congressional panel that he had never used steroids.

Now Palmeiro is admitting he ingested steroids, but he claims he did so by accident.

Like Baltimore Sun reporter Peter Schmuck, I want to believe him. Says Schmuck: "I want to believe it because Palmeiro doesn't fit the profile. He's not some pumped-up cartoon character like McGwire, and he never exhibited the classic steroid symptoms. He isn't covered with acne or prone to unexplainable fits of rage. He has always been a solid guy and a solid citizen."

I want to believe him, because it makes me sad that one more athlete that is a hero and role model to young fans has been tainted, even if the circumstances are questionable.

How far to we have to go back in baseball history to find a heavy hitter that did it all on his own, without any question of using anything but his own muscle and skill?

I guess we'll have to wait and see if Palmeiro can prove he accidentally took steroids. Till then...I'm just feeling disappointed.