You don't have be a soothsayer to figure out that in 2005 two stories will continue to bedevil America: the war in Iraq and the culture war raging throughout the USA.

On the Iraq front, every American should be hoping that democracy will take root and that terrorism will be defeated in that chaotic country. If you are not hoping that, there is something very wrong in your outlook. It is simply disgraceful that so many in the free world cannot put aside political differences and help the USA defeat the brutal villains who are creating mayhem in a country that has suffered for decades.

The world is a screwed up place these days, and the terrorists know it. The United Nations has allowed thousands of innocents to be slaughtered in Darfur, and has turned its back on the suffering Iraqi people. The U.N. is impotent, and there's not enough Viagra in the world to reverse the condition.

Back home, we are coming off of a Christmas season where the federal holiday was bruised and battered by secular forces that see any Christian public display as an affront. Writing in Newsweek Magazine, the liberal columnist Anna Quindlen extended sympathy to those offended by Christmas: "It has little to do with separation of church and state or liberal politics and everything to do with the way the blunt cudgel of Christianity has been heedlessly used, the tyranny of the majority."

To Ms. Quindlen, I ask just one simple question: What tyranny? Last time I looked, every form of spirituality was alive and well in the USA. Am I missing some kind of Christian persecution going on? Is Jerry Falwell holding witch trials or something? What exactly is Anna Quindlen talking about?

The answer is she's blowing smoke. If you are offended by the image of a baby in a manger displayed in front of public building, you don't need reassurance by a PC columnist, you need therapy. The heroic Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Christian minister whom we will honor with a federal holiday on January 17th. Should we not see pictures of Dr. King displayed on public property?

The unbelievable nonsense surrounding the culture war is not going to end anytime soon. Billionaire secularist George Soros is pouring millions into the ACLU so it can sue your butt off if you step out of the politically correct progressive line. The defamation pipeline that extends from libelous liberal internet sites to carefully selected newspaper columnists to radio and television talk shows is designed to defame and destroy any high profile person who dares fight the progressives. Talk about a cudgel!

Of course, intimidation tactics also extend to the right, which often smears liberal politicians and commentators. The big difference, however, is that conservatives don't have access to the elite media, and progressives do.

Unfortunately, I am a warrior in this take-no-prisoners culture war, and it is a brutal occupation. As you may know, I have been slimed every which way for taking a traditionalist stand. When I defended public displays of Christmas, I was branded an anti-Semite. When I pointed out the deleterious effect "gangsta rap" has on children, I was called a racist. After arguing for border controls, I was labeled anti-Hispanic. But the topper was an accusation that I "despised the Pope" because I criticized him for not being proactive enough during the priest scandals.

In the coming year, I expect things to get even worse. I truly hope I am wrong. In open defiance of the ACLU, I am praying things improve dramatically in Iraq and that the culture war dissolves into a discussion of the issues, rather than the carnival of slander we have today.

So Happy New Year America, and keep fighting the good fight. And pray the good guys win.