redink

California's Spare Change

2010-11-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

I love California.
I do.
Though I no longer live there, it holds my past in its hands.

I grew up in the gentle sunshine; waking to the smell of salty sea fog and spicy eucalyptus trees.

I roamed the crumbly cliffs of Gaviota and Goleta; spent my summers among the vineyards and valleys of Northern California wine country, and learned to drive through the golden hills and orange orchards in the southern cities.

I remember spending Christmas Day on the beach in Santa Barbara playing volleyball while the Santa Ana winds blew warm air around me.

And my summers knew no boundaries.

I love the excitment of beach festivals and Los Angeles theater.

I love avocados, fresh seafood and the endless variety of taco stands.

I love the misty mornings of early summer and the sometimes wild wet winters when El Nino visited.

I love the dramatic change of mountain and desert; bustling city and sleepy seaside towns.

...but all this abundance of beauty, fun, and sunshine has a downside.

How could anything possibly go wrong when life ambles along so comfortably?

When disaster strikes, yet the surfboard is still waiting to catch the perfect wave?

When a job loss means more time to enjoy the sun?

It's a difficult thing to be a pessimist in California.

It's very easy to believe that no matter how dismal the economic forecast evolves, how great the unemployment numbers soar, how chaotic the civic structure becomes as illegal immigration takes its toll...the sun will still shine, the avocados will still ripen and the beaches will still offer up their waves in compensation.

But it doesn't...not really. All the fun in the sun merely puts off the inevitable.

And inevitably I became a Christian. Then, a Conservative.

I valued life and I valued liberty as I never had before because I learned to love the Author of life and liberty--Christ.

There are places in California where church life thrives and those places vote conservative.

As Ronald Reagan once said: "Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged."

But there remains a stranglehold on politics which places only moderates on the ballot box year after sunny year and conservatives have no choice but to vote for them if they're going to vote at all.

And after awhile, people began to believe no true conservative can win in California.

I disagree.

Truth is truth. It stands on its own and needs no 'moderation' to make it palatable.

The thing is--in California politics--timing is everything.

Living in another state for the past few years has given me some perspective on what my home is doing politically. The demographics shift and change continuously, but it is too large a state and much too diverse to ever pin down with a generalization.

It is a complicated place in some ways, and very simple in others.

But it isn't communist quite yet.

When Obama was elected with his "hope and change", many of my family and friends were horrified. They knew, as I knew, that this ominous "change" Obama repeated endlessly, would not make our country better.

The change we were hoping for had nothing to do with massive trillion-dollar bailouts and a nationalized economy.

It had nothing to do with communist organizing and a foreign policy reducing America to bowing and scraping to our enemies.

And we watched as a moderate America turned a blind eye to the liberal behind the curtain, and we waited as our fears became a reality.

...and then something extraordinary happened.

I began to realize what a blessing it was that this radical progressive implemented his version of utopia. We finally got to see it unravel.

Massive government expansion and welfare, governing against the will of the people, plunging millions into poverty for years to come....it doesn't work.

And the Tea Party emerged.

And it reminded the rest of us that we have a voice in government. That the hypnotist who pacificed our wills with visions of prosperity, peace and the very earth tamed beneath his benevolence...was all an illusion.

What has any of this to do with my beloved California?

Last night the voters of my home state had a chance to put a moderate in the senate and fiscally responsible business woman at the helm of a sinking economy.

They chose not to.

Now my state is going to be run into the ground by a moldy hippy governor with the policies of a lunatic, and an arrogant, ungrateful incumbent will remain the sour Senator Boxer.

Even with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country; industry strangled by environmental hooey, and an education system down the rabbit hole...California was too scared to vote for moderate change and so kept the spare change of Obama's liberal promises.

I find it not a little ironic that voters struck down the proposition to legalize marijuana...with Governor Moonbeam at the helm, I imagine it would have eased the pain of the coming fiscal nightmares.

But that's okay.

Let the moderates go home and let the liberals reign.

I'm still an optimist.

You can take the girl out of California...

Timing. Is. Everything.

And California needs this time to wear itself out.
It falling, but it hasn't hit bottom.

So let these liberal dinosaurs have their way with my beloved home state.

California will survive.

It will not be all it can be. But it will survive.

And when the real deal--the true conservatives arrive--Californians will be ready.

Just as the Tea Party was ready.

The truth will defend itself.
And that means a conservative doesn't need to be moderate to win in California...they just need to be there at the right time.

The time when Californians tire of seeing their lovely state sink into the welfare hole.

Tire of watching their once-vibrant cities and towns decay and disappear under the heavy hand of static and stupid environmental laws.

Tire of listening to the lies about their broken education system when their children grow up illiterate and unmotivated.

Tire of unemployment and the rising crime that accompanies it.

And then they'll raise up the real conservative who believes California is as exceptional as it looks and as American as the rest of the country. They'll recognize the tried and true policies of tax cuts and a business-friendly sweep of deregulation to inspire economic growth.

And my fellow Californians will finally take out that spare change and toss it aside.

...then grab their surfboards and head for the beach.

redink

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Is Life a Game?

2010-09-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

When you picture a gamer in your mind, who do you see?

A pale, pudgy adolescent who never sees the light of day and speaks with a binary accent?

An indolent young man living in his parent's Dorito-strewn basement, saving his part-time work money for the newest game?

Or maybe something darker; more extreme?
...or maybe something wonderful.

Who are gamers?

I asked myself this question because I have six boys.
Now, I make no claim to any special powers of observation, but over the last two decades of raising boys...I've noticed some things.

But first a little personal history on video games:
Electronic gaming blossomed with my youth.
First it was "Pong", then "Pac-Man", and then it got a little more exciting with "Space Invaders". We saved our quarters and went to the local arcades, which were popping up all over the place (plug for capitalism here).
The boys went to compete for the highest score and the girls went to compete for the guys.
It was grand.
And along the way, I found out I loved to play the video games more than the social games.
I like them mostly because they offered me some autonomy.
Of course, I didn't process it quite that way at the time, but now it makes sense.
I won or failed all on my own.
I liked that. That was the challenge.
The appeal was that failing was not a catastrophic event...just humiliating if your friends were packed liked sardines around you and you missed the record for the all-time-high score by one lousy missle.

But I digress.

I loved video games from their inception...and I still do.
By the time the home-gaming system was perfected enough for me to afford it, I was married and having kids. When my boys got older, we bought a Ninetendo 64 and became BFF's with Mario and Co.

We raced with them across beaches and deserts; we jumped, kicked, flipped and woo-whooed our way through a castle full of flames, funny creatures and tricky illusions to find those golden stars. We defeated the Bowzers--each one harder to fight than the last.

Then Sega made some inroads and we discovered the darker world of "Vectorman" and the super-duper speed of "Sonic the Hedgehog" (I still think they made up a speedy hedgehog to play with gamer's minds)
Both those games took it up a notch for sheer survival.

Suddenly, Mario's leisurely strolls past giant pixel-eating flowers could no longer compete with cool-looking, segmented Vectorman who battled underground slugs with laser guns or self-detonating explosions.

And Princess Peach in a race car, trying to avoid banana peels, just didn't have the same punch as revving up the blue hedgehog and watching him spin his way through loops and twists with super-sonic speed, or bounding across platforms high in the air. But the thing we liked the most about Sonic was his survival capabilites. To defeat the "Boss" in a Sonic game, you had to simultaneously hit your nemesis and avoid his slings and arrows, and each level increased the slings and arrows.
Soon we forgot about high scores and focused on survival.
How many levels can you survive?

After a few missteps, the digital disc made its way into our lives and changed everything about gaming. The possibilities were endless. The graphics jumped light-years ahead of the clunky cartridge's two-dimensional character movements.
Plus...discs were so much easier to take care of and store (the mom-side speaks).

Over the ensuing years, I had more babies and new games developed more or less under my radar. I turned from surviving Bowzer and Dr. Robotnik to surviving child-birth and child-rearing in the midst of an unfortunate marriage.
Though I had a great love for Christ, the years of chaos were taking their toll. I began to see God as less merciful than He really is.
So in my effort to be the Christian I erroneously saw in other Christians...I fell into fundamentalism and forgot about grace.

Rules ruled my life.
And in turn the lives of my sons.
Video games were the first to go.
"Did you hear Johnny's mother lets him play that M-rated video game?" Gasp.
"Did you know they have witchcraft on that one video game? They have stabbing, shooting, blood...they have curse words!"
"Did you hear those kids who shot up their school played video games all day?"
"Did you hear...?"

Oh, yes. I heard everything.
I lived in fear on a daily basis, so this was grist for my fear mill.
Were my fears exaggerated?
Of course they were.

There are people who will take eating vanilla wafers to the extreme.
Human proclivity for extreme behavior is built right into our DNA. It's going to happen.
I can't imagine video games are exempt.
And there did appear to be a time of adjustment when game developers went through their stupidity-stage and created gratuitously gross and aimless stories which captured no one's imagination and fed the ever-widening culture gap.
I mean...did these guys actually think the kids were buying their games?

But there's a learning curve in everything, and the geniuses who really loved to play realized who gamers were...or who they were trying to be.
And despite my best and worst effort to build a perfect life, which would have done so much better left in the Lord's capable hands...I never did throw away the video games.
I just packed them up and waited.

Life ebbed and flowed. More babies were born.
Then something changed.
It was summer. I had just come home from a month-long stay in the hospital and had to recover from a catastrophic illness.
There was no homeschooling.
There were no trips because the air-conditioning had gone out on our car.
And in the high desert, you just don't go anywhere during the summer without air-conditioning.
So we were home all summer.
And a new video game came out.

It was called "Halo".

Fast-forward years later to September 14, 2010.
My oldest son (he doesn't eat Doritos, but he did save his money for the game), is waiting in line at midnight for the release of the Long-Awaited "Halo Reach".

Our lives have all changed since that first "Halo" game.
God called me back to live under His grace...and I'm more than willing to listen now.
And my sons are gamers.
And "Halo" is a part of our lives.
And when I'm tempted to stress-out over the opinions of others on the whole gaming thing,
I just remember who my God really is...and who I am to Him.
Now, I've taken a closer look at what this means--the impact of gaming on a generation.

Why is it so huge? Why is "Halo" so much a part of it all?
And I think I've seen something promising, encouraging even, beneath the surface of the gaming culture.

A little background info on "Halo":
The first game was introduced in 1999 and improved on when Microsoft acquired the developer, Bungie. They marketed the video game to go with the new XBox 360 console...and the star that is the Halo franchise was born.

Two more Halo games followed the first, each with more success than the last.

"Halo 3: ODST" came out in 2009, and the storyline, set between events in the first two Halo games, was an instant success.
The whole franchise has changed the way gaming is influenced and I've followed it enough to know why.

It's the story.

Yes. The graphics are amazing.
Yes. The action intense and realistic.
Yes. The weaponry is state-of-the-art.

But it's the story that has turned millions of young men and women into gamers, and those gamers into a new generation of heroes-to-be.

The story centers around a group of supersoldiers called "Spartans" who battle a theocratic alliance of alien races known as "The Covenant".
The Covenant declares humanity an affront to their gods and begin a systematic extermination of the human race.

The story is much more complicated as it evolves through each "Halo" game.
Gamers following the story would spread the word each time a new game was released and the lines and waiting-lists got longer.
The story had captured their imaginations.

On September 14th of this year, "Halo Reach" grossed $200 million at its launch.
It set a record in the gaming industry.
But why?
The story itself is already known. It's a prequel.

Reach is the name of a planet under attack by The Covenant.
The gamer assumes the role of "Noble 6"--part of a six-man team known as The Noble Team.
The team is dispatched on a mission to Reach to find out why a relay station is off-line.
They soon discover The Covenant has sent its enormous military resources to wipe out the inhabitants.
As the story progresses, each Spartan member of The Noble Team makes a choice to sacrifice their lives in an ultimately futile effort to halt the Covenant's attack.
By the end, Noble 6 (the gamer), leaves his cracked helmet on the ground to record the last moments of his life.
He goes down fighting.
The last shot in the game shows the helmet lying on a grassy plain in the now-restored colony of Reach, and the Noble Team is eulogized by the narrator.
They are credited with victory over the Covenant, bringing the story full-circle in the Halo trilogy.

Why did millions of young men and women line up at midnight to break gaming records for a prequel in which they know the entire team is doomed?

Because "Halo Reach" is all about sacrifice.

When I watched my sons play, I saw their faces grow grim and resolved as each of the Noble Team characters died. They knew how the game would end...and still they did their best.

There is something that speaks loud and clear to the human heart when it comes to sacrifice.
We know what it means.
We know it is justice.
We know it is love...the greatest love of all.
"Halo Reach" is a story which is ages old.
It's a story millions of people yearn to be a part of.

On September 15, the day after "Halo Reach" made its debut, a man named Brian Wood, gamer and game developer for Relic Entertainment, was driving his car with his pregnant wife at his side. When an oncoming vehicle abruptly swerved into his lane, Brian made the split-second decision to turn his car so as to take the full force of the crash onto his side in the hopes of saving his wife and child.

He died instantly.
His wife, Erin and their unborn child survived.
Even now, gamers who played "Company of Heroes", the game Brian developed, have banded together with a memorial fund for his widow and child.

Who are the gamers?
They are heroes waiting to happen.
They are men like Brian Wood who know the true meaning of love.

Is life a game?

I think it's the best game there is...and gamers play it to win.

redink

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39146785/ns/today-today_people/
http://news.filefront.com/halo-reach-earns-200-million-in-day-one-sales/

I Remember

2010-09-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

I woke up on September 11, 2001 and fixed myself a cup of tea before getting our school room ready for the day's lessons. Heavily pregnant with my sixth child, I sat on the couch for a few moments to enjoy the peaceful morning before waking up the boys.

I remember, as it seems the whole country did, how beautiful and clear the day had begun.

We lived in the Mojave Desert at the time, a few minutes drive from Edward's Air Force Base. The boys loved living next to it. Every day they would dive out the door at the sound of a sonic boom and try to identify the aircraft flying overhead. We even took a tour of the base some months previously and got to see the new Osprey hyprid up close as it was taking off on a test flight.

The skies of the desert were a constant hum of jets and airplanes, helicopters and huge carriers, until the noise blended with the every day sounds of life in the desert.

But that morning was strangely silent. And I didn't notice it until I received an early morning phone call from my neighbor across the street.
Her voice sounded shocked and frantic.
"Did you see the news?" she asked.
"I just got up," I responded. "I was getting ready for school...what's going on, Anna?"
"TURN ON YOUR T.V.!"
I waddled over to the television, my heart suddenly pounding with anxiety.
Anna continued. "A plane hit the World Trade Center in New York!" she gasped. "There's a huge hole in the building, Julia! They don't know how the plane could have missed it by accident...some people are talking about an attack!"

I watched the screen while Anna kept talking. The two enormous towers of the World Trade Center were easily seen even though the shots were far away. I clicked from channel to channel and every single one had a camera focused on those buildings.
Suddenly I saw a close up of the tower that was hit.

It showed a huge, ragged slash, like the mouth of hell spewing black smoke with orange-red glowing from the interior. My breath caught.

"Anna," I began. "What..."
My thought was interrupted as the camera panned back unexpectedly and caught the streamlined shaped of another plane careening toward the second tower.

"Oh God!" I whispered.

In those three heartbeats before the plane hit, I knew.
I knew America would be changed today.
I knew we were under attack. I knew it was terrorism.

George W. Bush had only been President of the United States for ten months.
I had read an interview he did with a homeschool magazine the month after his inauguration.
It was a good interview and I read it with the strong feeling that we had elected a man who loved his country and had a great optimism about it.
But the last question the interviewer asked President Bush and his response, gave me a chill.
"What is the one thing that keeps you awake at night...the one thing you are most concerned about for America?"
"A terrorist attack on U.S. soil," President Bush answered.
His answer to that question right after he took office stayed with me. I couldn't forget it.

As incoming President, Bush was privy to all the intelligence information in preparation for his taking office. I remember how difficult the transitions was after the voting debacle in Florida. I remember how it prevented Bush from taking office, and the uneasy feeling that our country was rudderless during that time.

I also remembered how I felt during the Clinton years when terrorism began to occur with increaseing frequency. His milquetoast response to the terror attacks frustrated and angered me. I didn't want him to TALK about it. I didn't want to hear he would "go after those responsible" for the tenth time. I wanted him to DO something.

And after the U.S.S. Cole, when the country was begging Clinton to dispense with the crocodile tears and get on with "going after those responsible", he lobbed a missle at an aspirin factory and declared some kind of victory.
But in reality, the pot had bubbled over while he was busy with...other things.
And on that clear blue morning of September 11, America paid the price.

As I watched the skyline of New York fill with smoke, as Anna and I gasped into the phone, unable to speak; unable to hang up, all those things I remembered congealed in a lump in my throat.
Terrorists had finally struck on U.S. soil.

Anna and I both realized at the same time we needed to talk to our families.
We hung up and I dialed my sister's number.
She lived a few hours north in Santa Barbara and I wasn't sure if she knew what had happened until she answered the phone in the same shell-shocked voice I would hear from everyone else that day.

As my sister and I tried to absorb what was happening, the television flashed. We both stopped talking as the news camera panned across the Pentagon, showing another enormous smoking-black section of the building, the roof caved in; emergency vehicles flashing lights everywhere.
The report came in that another plane had possibly hit the Pentagon.
My sister I and both started talking at once.

"How many planes have been hijacked?!"
"Do you know anyone on the east coast?"
"Who's doing this to us?!"

The television flashed again, back to the World Trade Center.
The close-ups were unbearable. Smoke billowed around the tops of the towers, while the beautiful blue sky showed an incongruent background.
Then the cameras on the streets followed the people escaping from the towers.
It showed crowds standing, everyone's eyes fixed upwards on the burning tower. Many people had their hands clapped over their mouths in shock.
Disbelief was on every face.

My sister and I were silent while the cameras moved around the ground recording everything-every horrified voice, every frantic word of witness.
Suddenly the cameras panned back to show the two towers, and it seemed to me something even more terrible was about to happen.
From the couch where I was sitting three thousand miles away, I heard the rumble and roar of the North tower of the World Trade Center as it collapsed.
I saw the terror awaken on the faces of those on the ground and the cameras shaking as everyone began to run for their lives.

The tears finally came for my sister and I.
We both burst out weeping, crying as we saw the tons of steel crushing the lives we knew were still in that tower.
And as we cried "No, God, No!"
Then the South tower collapsed.

In the next few hours, the television images became a blur even as details emerged.
And out of the details, we learned names and places we would never forget:
Osama Bin Laden. Al-Qaeda. Afghanistan. Muslim Terrorists.

And later I saw the numbers of the hijacked flights:
United Flight 93. American Flight 11. United Flight 175. American Flight 77.

And the name of one of the hijackers:
Mohammad Atta.

At the end of the that terrible day, after I had put the boys to bed, I went outside and listened.
All flights had been grounded.
The silence in the desert hurt my ears.
It seemed to throb with the ghost of flying aircraft.
Like an amputated limb I thought was still there.

I prayed...for everyone and everything.

When I went back inside, I turned on the television again...unable to bear the silence.
President Bush was addressing the nation.
And he broke that horrifying silence with words I remember still:

"Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts."

"These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation."

"Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America,"

"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

"America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time.
None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world."

For the full text of this address: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/bush.speech.text/index.html

I remember how I felt after I heard President Bush.
His message made me feel stronger, safer, prepared for the next thing.
He was a real leader.
He would put the full resources of this country into our protection.
In the plain words of a man who could discern good and evil, I knew he would take care of business.
And throughout it all, our President reminded us what a strong and capable people we are.
We are free. We are good. We are a beacon of light in this savage world.
We will not bow to our enemies. We will stand up to them.
We will now cower in the face of this attack. We will respond with "a quiet unyeilding anger" to the "evil, despicable acts of terror".

Yes. I remember.

How could half the country forget?

redink

http://www.israelnewsagency.com/cherney911terrorism.jpg

The City in the Clouds--Conclusion

2010-08-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

(continued from part two)

Many years passed.

The archway was removed and the new leader proclaimed the inhabitants of the Battle Lands enemies no longer.

A new stairway was built, broader and unguarded.

And the clans from the Battle Lands poured into the City in the Clouds.

And all staked a claim as the greatest clan in the city...all that is, except the remaining Eagle Clan.

Fights broke out.

Those who still pledged their allegiance to the Law of Eagles were hunted down by the Wolf Clan and cast out of the city, down the new stairway...back to the Battle Lands.

The Bear Clan built prisons for those refused to work for them.

The Snake Clan spied for the Wolf Clan and routed out the people who hid their loyalty to the Eagle Clan.

One day, as the City went about their business, they felt a great tremor.
Buildings began to topple.

People screamed and scattered in fear.

The new leader rushed to the balcony of his newly-built palace. He watched in horror as a great rift appeared in the clouds that supported the city.

More and more clouds thinned and parted, opening in wider gaps.
And the city with all its inhabitants fell through the gaps to the Battle Lands below.

When the dust settled, the people looked up to the sky and gasped.

The dome of clouds which had held the city together for centuries…had disappeared.
The sky darkened. The people wailed in despair.
They ran for the hills, and scattered throughout the valleys.
The City in the Clouds was no more.

The former leader, now bent with age, his eyes watery with grief, watched the buildings crumble and crunch against each other as they rolled down the valleys and into the great lakes.

His eyes followed the people as fled for their lives into the darkened land.

He turned his back and made his way slowly up the mountaintop where his ancestors had once asked the wisdom of the eagle.

He saw an eagle flying high above and cried out for help in a feeble voice.
The eagle floated down to the old man and spoke.
“Why do you cry out for my help?” the eagle calmly asked.
“My need is great, Mighty One,” the former leader said.
“Tell me of your need, then,” the eagle said.
“We had a great City in the Clouds,” the old man said. “But now it is crumbled to dust. How do we rebuild it?”
“You cannot,” the eagle replied. “For you have forgotten the Law of Eagles…and without the Law, you cannot live free in the clouds.”
“I did not forget the Law,” protested the leader. “And there are others who did not forget.”
“Why did you not soar in vigilance then?” asked the eagle. “You chose your leadership carelessly; you allowed the flocks below to grow greater than you and they cast you out. You did not own the sky as the eagles do. You became ashamed. That is why you can no longer live free in the clouds.”
“What if we started anew?” asked the former leader in desperation. “What if we gathered the Eagle clan together and built a new stairway and promised to keep the Law? Could we build a new City in the Clouds?”
The eagle inclined his beak toward the sky.

The old man followed with his eyes.
The dark expanse of evening showed the new starlight clearly.

Not a wisp of cloud floated in the midnight sky. It was crisp as a newly washed sheet. All traces of the City in the Cloud and its majestic beginnings...wiped clean.

“The dome of clouds is gone,” the eagle said. “It will not return for many generations.”
“But it will return one day?” the former leaders voice quavered with faint hope.
“Perhaps,” said the eagle. “In the meantime, what will you do?”
The former leader looked over the cliffs to the valleys below. Devastation met his eye at every turn. No one could be seen among the ruins of the once-beautiful City in the Clouds.

“I will teach the Law of Eagles to those who will listen,” he said. “Then maybe one day, they will be ready to rebuild when the clouds return.”

And he thanked the eagle, walking slowly back down the mountain to the Battle Lands below.

THE END

redink

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The City in the Clouds--Part Two

2010-08-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

(continued from part one)

Down below in the Battle Lands, the war intensified.

For all the people of the clans had heard that the City in the Clouds was a place of true freedom and prosperity, where no man lived at the whim of another.

The Bear Clan kept their slaves from escaping by building a stone wall to surround them. They beat the people who rebelled and took their children to raise as loyal Bear warriors.

The Snake Clan did not have the strength to keep their people from escaping, so they crafted rumors to spread among the clan.

They said the City in the Clouds was really a trap for those who were foolish enough to go.

They said no one could survive in the clouds and those who did were really demons.

They said anyone who dared to enter the archway to the city was immediately captured and eaten at their feasts.

And the tribes of the Snake Clan trembled in fear of the City.

But still their people escaped...risking everything for the chance to live free.

The Wolf Clan was enraged. They did not want the City in the Clouds to exist at all.

They remembered well the loss of their best warriors in the battle to win the stairway.

They howled their anger and vowed revenge.

To this end, the Wolf Clan made plans to infiltrate the City in the Clouds and tear it down from within.

They discovered the Eagle Clan allowed refugees into the city merely by making a promise of loyalty.

So, the Wolf Clan decided to send their spies to the archway. They would enter the City in the Clouds by taking the Eagle pledge…but it would be a lie.

For the Wolf Clan would always remain the Wolf Clan, no matter what pledge they spoke aloud.

The years wore on.

The City in the Clouds grew. The refugees became part of the Eagle Clan and helped to build the city bigger and better than before.

But the spies from the Wolf Clan prospered also. And they taught their children and their children’s children that they must never forget they were not really Eagle—they were Wolf, and their duty was always to their Clan.

The day came when a new leader was chosen from among the people. Many came forth to claim the title of leader to the City in the Clouds. Each of them eager to serve as their Eagle Clan ancestors had served.

One man, however, stood taller and prouder than the rest. His voice was like honey, sweet to the ears of the gathering crowds. He made such promises and his eyes glowed with such fierceness, that the people were dazzled.

They cried out for this man to be the next leader.

One voice rose in warning. It was a former leader, who lived his days in less honor than of old. For the people of the City had begun to tire of the Eagle Clan ways and many adopted the new ways of all the other clans.

"We do not know this man," he protested. "From which clan does he descend? All the leaders of the City in the Clouds must be Eagle Clan."

The crowd hushed him. Some told him to mind his own business. Some said it made no difference anymore, for there were so many different clans now. And it was right and good that a leader should be from any clan. After all, were they not all residents of the City?

The former leader again raised his voice in protest. "He has not the wisdom of age."

But the people had grown careless and thought this new man wonderfully well-spoken and able to lead their beautiful city better because of his youth and vibrancy.
The voice of the former leader was drowned out by the eagerness of many.

And the tall young man with the shining eyes became the new leader of the City in the Clouds.

The Wolf Clan secretly rejoiced. For they knew the young man to be a descendent of their clan.

They knew he did not really love the City in the Clouds, and despised the ways of the Eagle Clan.

The new leader stood high above the crowds and declared an end to the evening readings of the Law of Eagles. An uneasy silence spread, for though the people no longer gathered to hear the Law...still, it was tradition, they mumbled.

The leader spoke instead of all the contributions made by the other clans.

Every night, he spoke of the Bear Clan's great strength; the Snake Clan's great wisdom; and the Wolf Clan's noble heritage.

Soon those descendents of the Eagle Clan began to lower their gaze whenever the leader spoke. Soon they stopped coming to the gatherings...and their shame grew. Many moved to the outskirts of the City to escape the glowering looks from other clans at the evening oratory.

At the end of the year, the new leader replaced the guardians of the archway with men specially chosen from the Wolf Clan.

Men from the Bear Clan removed the monument at the bottom of the stairway and required all citizens to submit their ancestry papers if they wanted to leave the City in the Clouds.

The Eagle Clan no longer told their neighbor from which clan they descended.

Fear and suspicion darkened the clouds of the city.

One day the former leader of the city, desired to go down the stairway to pay his respects to the fallen of long ago. The guards refused him.

“Why?” he asked. “I have made this pilgrimage to the bottom of the stairway every year on the eve of the Last Land War. It is my right as a free citizen of the city.”

“The monument is no longer there,” said one of the guards.

“What!?” gasped the former leader.

“It was dismantled at the request of the people,” the guard smirked. “The new leader asked if they really wanted to remember a war in which they oppressed so many in the Battle Lands.”

“But we were not the oppressor!” protested the former leader. “We were the liberators!”

“That is not what the new leader says,” the guard yawned.

“It is written in the archives!” the former leader shouted. “You can look it up!”

“You look it up, old man,” the guard waved the former leader away with a flick of his hand. “No one goes down the stairway anymore, except with approval from the new leader.”

The former leader strode angrily to the city archives. He would bring out the written account of the battle and read it to all the citizens. Then they would demand the new leader put the monument back.
But when he arrived at the library, the entrance was barred.

He could not go in.

“All archives are sealed by order of the new leader,” the librarian said.

“Those archives belong to the people of the city!” the former leader cried. “I demand entrance!”

“The people have asked the new leader to seal the archives,” the librarian said.

“Why?” the former leader felt nothing but dread by now.

“Because they do not want them read aloud anymore,” said the librarian with the confidence of one born to the Snake Clan. “It embarrasses the people of the city. The Eagle Clan was so oppressive.”

The former leader backed away from the building, stunned and confused.
“…but we were the liberators,” he whispered.

(...to be continued in part three)

redink

http://imails.blogspot.com/2009/04/spectacular-digital-art-by-inga-nielsen.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Uh7PXXJMTPY/SewgGhGMfrI/AAAAAAAAAO0/0TU-ioz68d0/s400/digirt_inganie_Funzug.com_08_3.jpg

The City in the Clouds--Part One

2010-08-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

(a parable in three parts)

Once upon a time, in a great and beautiful land, there lived many people and they named themselves after the animal that best symbolized their desires.

The Bear Clan was the largest and most powerful. They grew proud and fierce and desired the subjugation of all the other clans. The Snake Clan was also large, but not so powerful and they learned to survive through subtlety and deceit. The Wolf Clan was the most feared, because they hunted the other clans at night, in packs, killing those who would not pledge their allegiance to them and enslaving those who did.

But the Eagle Clan desired only to live free; to work and raise their children in peace and safety.

And so the once great and beautiful land was torn and laid waste through centuries of war, and it became known as The Battle Lands.

Now the Eagle Clan knew they would never have peace and safety within the Battle Lands. They gathered the wisest of their leaders and made a journey up the tallest mountain where the eagle lived to seek wisdom from their namesake.
They found the eagle soaring high above the mountaintop and called desperately for his help. The eagle heard their cries and calmly floated down to greet the leaders.

“Why do you cry out for my help?” asked the eagle.

“We have a great need, Mighty One,” a leader said.

“Tell me your need then,” the eagle responded.

“We desire only to live in freedom, but the inhabitants of the Battle Lands will not let us,” said another leader. “They refuse to make a treaty so we may all live in peace. What are we to do? Our only choice is slavery or death…and that is no choice at all.”

The eagle turned his head this way and that to stare at each of the leaders. Finally he asked a question. “Why do you name yourselves after the eagle?”

“Because we desire to live free as you do. We want to spread out, as you spread your wings and soar among the clouds.”

“Then build your city in the clouds,” the eagle said.

The leaders looked to the dome of clouds above them. “Is it possible?” they asked each other.

“Of course it is possible,” the eagle continued. “But once you attain your freedom, what will you do to keep it?”

“What do you do to keep your freedom in the skies?” the leaders asked.

“We learn at first hatch of the Law of Eagles,” it said. “The sky is ours, but only if we use it.”

“What does this mean?” the leaders asked in puzzlement.

The eagle patiently explained. “If the eagle does not soar above the other birds, they must give way to them, for they are many and we are few. If we did not soar among the clouds in constant vigilance, the other birds would gather in great flocks and cast us out. You must always be on guard. Your city in the clouds will not survive if you do not use your freedom daily.”

“We understand,” they said.

The Eagle Clan leaders thanked the mighty bird and left the mountaintop to tell their tribes the good news. They would build a city in the clouds.

The first thing the Eagle Clan built was a massive stairway of stone.

Up and up it went until it reached the clouds.

An archway of granite was put in place above the stairway and inscribed with the wise words of the eagle: “Soar in vigilance.”

But the Bear Clan, the Snake Clan and the Wolf Clan all heard about the stairway to the city in the clouds, and they sent their warriors to claim it for themselves.

The Eagle Clan prepared for the attack, digging a deep gorge around the stairway and covering it with leaves and dead branches. When the advancing army charged, the ground opened beneath their feet and they fell to their deaths at the bottom of the gorge. But the remainder of the army fired their arrows and though the Eagle Clan had armed every man, woman and child, many still lost their lives. The battle lasted through the night, and when the dawn rose, the warring clans realized they were decimated and fled.

They did not attack again.

A monument to the fallen was placed at the foot of the stairway.

And the battle was named The Last Land War, for the Eagle Clan vowed never to fight in the Battle Lands again.

When the seasons had moved in a full circle, the City in the Clouds was ready.

The Eagle Clan had a great ceremony at the archway, swearing allegiance to the City and the Law of Eagles.
They agreed to choose one man to lead the City.

He would be old enough for wisdom, but young enough to serve the people for ten years.

He would read the Law of Eagles every evening.

He would choose guardians for the archway to the City and when he had served his time as leader, he would live out the remainder of his days in honor among the Eagle Clan.

It was decided by the people to allow asylum for those who escaped from the Battle Lands.

The guards placed at the archway asked the refugees for a pledge of allegiance to the Eagle Clan and a promise to follow their ways. The people who made it to the archway, eagerly pledged their loyalty. They were grateful for the chance to live in such a place of freedom and called themselves the Eagle Clan with great pride.

The City in the Clouds prospered as the people worked hard and raised their children in peace and plenty. They kept the Law of the Eagles and guarded the archway with vigilance.

(...to be continued)

redink

http://www.gatetonowhere.de/gallery/details.php?image_id=122

http://www.gatetonowhere.de/gallery/data/media/3/city_in_the_clouds1024x768.jpg

Remember...

2010-05-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Hebrews to build altars in memorium to momentous events.

He knows the struggle our minds and souls go through to wipe out the pain of the past.

Our memories can be an anesthetic at times, numbing us to reality; distorting our perceptions.

Our memories can also be a inspiration, helping us to overcome a life-time battle against whatever seeks to enslave us.

God wanted the Hebrews to commemorate freedom, so they would never forget to be vigilant.

When we feel safest, when we are prosperous, the memories of battle fade and we come to believe we never have to fight for our freedom again.

I have no reason to post this...no anniversary...no crisis...no fear.

But that is why this video needs to be posted.

http://gunstuff.com/america-attacked.html

Ft. Hood

Christmas Day Bomber

May Day Car Bomb in Times Square

No amount of bows and scrapes by our President to the enemies of freedom has made us safer.

Our greatest danger now is the distortion of our memory and the lack of will to fight.

Remember...

redink

http://mbatm27.wordpress.com/2008/09/

Christie's Capital Creation

2010-04-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, folks, this is how it's done:

From the The Washington Post:
"Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey"
by George Will
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042104451.html

FTA:
"The bridge (connecting New Jersey to Pennsylvania) is a tutorial on a subject this government has flunked -- economics, which is mostly about incentives."

"In late afternoon, Gov. Chris Christie says, the bridge is congested with New Jersey government employees heading home to Pennsylvania, where the income tax rate is 3 percent, compared with New Jersey's top rate of 9 percent."

The article states that New Jersey's deficit of 2.2 billion is the worst in the nation (he's looking at it relative to the state's budget).
Next year's projected deficit is five times that.

These days we're so used to looking at the word "trillion" that 2 billion has no meaning anymore.

This translates into the daily life of hard-working New Jersey resident's who have seen their taxes raised 115 times in the last eight years.
They have seen their kids graduate from college and make the same exodus out of state as their fellow graduates...again putting New Jersey on the map as number one in disappearing graduate students.
They have watched small businesses pack their bags and join the long lines of large corporations fleeing their taxed-to-death and death-taxed state until no one is left but government employees.

But newly elected Governor Chris Christie is showing New Jersey and the rest of the country (are you listening D.C.?) how to build a thriving economy, how to encourage growth and investment and how to let loose the American spirit of incentive and invention.

Here's how he did it...are you ready?

Spending freezes and tax cuts!

Gasp! Is it possible?
Can not spending taxpayer's money on government union pensions and benefits bring down such a huge debt?
Can cutting taxes on property and product actually build a stronger economy?

FTA:

"In eight weeks he cut $13 billion -- $232 million a day, $9 million an hour."

Why, yes it can.

Thank you, Gov. Christie, for showing us how it's done.

redink

johnpaulus.com/.../

The Writing on the Wall

2010-04-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

April 1, 2010 in Portland, Maine

THE PRESIDENT: "You turned on the news, you’d see that those same folks who were hollering about [HCR] before it passed, they’re still hollering, about how the world will end because we passed this bill. (Laughter.) This is not an exaggeration. John Boehner called the passage of this bill..."

AUDIENCE: "Booo!"

THE PRESIDENT: "— no need to — we don’t need to boo, I just want to give the facts — called this passage of this bill “Armageddon.” You had others who said this is the end of freedom as we know it.

So after I signed the bill, I looked around. (Laughter and applause.) I looked up at the sky to see if asteroids were coming."

(Meteorite over Wisconsin. April 15)

http://www.styleblips.com/2010/04/meteor-fireball-in-wisconsin-last-night.html

(Laughter.) "I looked at the ground to see if cracks had opened up in the earth."

(Volcanic eruption in Iceland. Began on March 20. Ash plume erupted into atmosphere on April 15. Opened 2,000 ft. fissure)
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/04/ash-plume-from-space/

The world is full of coincidence and happenstance.

I make no connections here. Nature provides the illustration.

So when our President laughs and pokes his finger in the eyes of concerned Americans, and when he decimates our liberty and laughingly tells us to "go for it", I don't think he's mocking me personally.

I think he's mocking God who created man in His image.

I think he's daring God to show who is greater.

Obama's mocking words continue to reverberate and expand...like a malignant echo.

Like Belthazzar in his palace mocking God, while he partied on the plunder of Israel's sacred temple.

Like Nebuchanezzar who strolled his mighty fortress and declared there was none greater than himself.

The writing on the wall will soon become clear.

Americans are a praying people still.

We know who is greater...and it's not Obama.

redink

Time for a Visual

2010-04-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

In this article by Phil Kerpan at Foxnews.com, he displays and interesting flow chart showing exactly by what means Obama is destroying America.

"Obama's Secret Power Grabs"
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/04/12/phil-kerpen-obama-power-grab-fcc-internet-congress-lisa-jackson-epa-carol/ama-power-grab-fcc-internet-congress-lisa-jackson-epa -carol/

This heedless grab for power will continue unless the electorate wakes up to
the facts presented on this chart.
Take time to visualize what this will mean for every one of us if Obama is not stopped in November.

Cap and Trade will increase our energy bills beyond the average American salary.
Union Card Check will create a permanent unemployment class.
Internet regulation will effectively destroy free speech and open the door to completely dismantle the rest of the Bill of Rights.
The Debt commission will institutionalize the failed stimulus and lock in higher spending, at the same time Obama claims it as a "spending freeze".

Obamacare was never the goal...it was the lid on Pandora's Box.

Print out this chart from the article if you dare and remember in November.

redink

http://www.dcpsite.com/blog/

A Congressional Hero

2010-04-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

I watched the "healthcare summit" on the internet.

And what I came away with was a great appreciation for the Republican congress and their valiant effort to explain the President's own healthcare bill to him. They spent those long hours responding graciously to the President's sour and sarcastic interruptions and spoke respectfully, but seriously about the most troubling aspects of the bill. They offered reasonable alternatives to the unnecessary federal interference, and gave well-founded warnings about unsustainable costs.

It seemed a hopeless waste of time after the bill passed.

But I don't believe heroics like that go unrecognized.

One man stood out in that summit and now has a voice which is being listened to all across the country.

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin's First Congressional District.

This is a speech he gave on March 31 in Oklahoma after the passage of Obamacare:
"Should America Bid Farewell to Exceptional Freedom?"
By Rep. Paul Ryan
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/04/02/should_america_bid_farewell_to_exceptional_freedom.html
It is a long read, but well worth it.
Here are some highlights:

"Americans are preparing to fight another American Revolution, this time, a peaceful one with election ballots...but the "causes" of both are the same:
Should unchecked centralized government be allowed to grow and grow in power ... or should its powers be limited and returned to the people?"

"These leaders are walking America down a new path ... creating entitlements and promising benefits that model the United States after the European Union: a welfare state society where most people pay little or no taxes but become dependent on government benefits ..."

"We already see enough of "crony capitalism." When government sends bailout money to Wall Street firms they label "too big to fail," that's "crony capitalism." When government buys shares in General Motors, names their management, and dictates their salaries, that's "crony capitalism." When big health insurance companies, instead of competing for market, team up with Congressional Health Care writers to order every individual to buy their products, that's "crony capitalism." When thousands of small businesses have to meet bottom lines with no government bailout, well, you're too small to succeed...good luck!"

"Let's see: since 4 million Americans have been unemployed since they passed these "stimuli," that averages $220,000 per job lost. Think about that. Democrats can't even put people out of work without spending near a trillion dollars!"

"CBO estimates that Cap and Trade's total cost is another near-trillion dollars. By one CBO estimate, the tax and energy cost bills for the average American household may grow by $1,600 a year. Other studies put this cost a lot higher."

"Most Americans understand that government-run Health Care is not free, not cheap, and not compassionate."

"The drama that brought this creature to life was unedifying ... part tragedy and part farce. Ethical categories went out the window. Never in history have the deliberations of Congress been subverted on this scale. The secrecy, the lack of transparency, the half-truths were stunning. The votes called at midnight ... the 2 and 3 thousand page bills members of Congress had no time to read before the votes ... the sordid backroom deals, the Cornhusker Kickback that shamed Nebraska, the Louisiana Purchase, the "Gator Aid" Medicare privilege for Florida, the additional Medicare dollars for states whose wavering representatives only yesterday were ferociously denouncing earmarks ... the federal judgeship dangled for one lawmaker's brother ... the raid on the Medicare piggy bank ... the lie that $250 billion for "doc fix" shouldn't count as a Health Care cost ... the double-counted deficit estimate scam that would land any accountant in jail ... the proposed Slaughter rule that Congressmen not record a vote on a bill their constituents hate, just "deem" it passed and vote on the amendments...and to complete the farce, the phony Executive Order pretending not to fund abortions when the Health Care bill, as "the supreme law of the land," does fund abortions."

"Self-government stands or falls on integrity, not only in those who represent you but in the enactment of law. This indecency soiled our freedom and embarrassed the democracy we promote in other nations."

"Supposing the American people use their referendum in November to elect a new majority, what would the next Congress do?
The first order of business will be "repeal and replace." We will work to repeal federalized Health Care and replace it with a robust, competitive open market in health care that puts patients and their doctors at the center - not employers, not insurers, and not government agents. This takes at least two elections, and we must show our perseverance."

"I would welcome honest debate in the next Congress on how to tackle our fiscal crisis - and the larger debate on the proper role of government. It's time politicians in Washington stopped patronizing the American people as if they were children - deferring tough decisions and promising fiscal fantasies. Tell Americans the truth, offer them a choice, and count on them to do what's right."

"A political realignment is on the way."

"The question is, do we realign with the vision of a European-style social welfare state, or do we realign with the American idea?"

"Those leaders have underestimated the good sense of the American people. They broke faith with independents, Republicans, and their own rank-and-file. They walked away from the foundational truths that made America the wonder and the envy of the world. The price of their infidelity will be high."

"Knowing America, and Oklahoma as I have come to know it, I am confident that the American character is up to every challenge. America is not over. This exceptional nation will not go down the way of mediocrity. Ronald Reagan used to say: "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction ... It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for [our children] to do the same." We are that generation. The fight is our fight, and it begins now! The time is at hand to reclaim America for freedom."

I have nothing to add, except this:
I pray I wake up on a chilly Wednesday morning in November 2012 and say these words..."God Bless America and President Ryan"!

redink
blog.heritage.org/.../

First the Trip...Then the Fall

2010-04-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

America's current President had this to say after he rammed
the nation-dividing bill known as "healthcare reform" down our throats and into our gullets like a
force-fed goose whose only purpose is to provide
foie gras:

"So after I signed the bill, I looked around. I looked up at the sky to see if asteroids were coming. I looked at the ground to see if cracks had opened up in the earth. You know what, it turned out it was a pretty nice day. Birds were still chirping. Folks were strolling down the street. Nobody had lost their doctor. Nobody had pulled the plug on Granny. Nobody was being dragged away to be forced into some government-run health care plan."

...breathtaking.

Obama crowed and cackled after the passage of the bill, like an old hen hatching a clutch of ten dozen eggs.
You'd think he would recall the last year of debate, the warnings from Republicans and the massive protests and polls showing more than 70% opposition to unprecedented government takeover of America.

No. He saw nothing but his own victory and in his victory, he's shown not an ounce of humility. It's as if he's paying us all back for calling his baby ugly.

I've never seen the like.
But, I have seen this:
"Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall"
Proverbs 16:18

Americans have had enough.

Representative Steve King of Iowa has responded:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/02/100-percent-repeal-of-obamacare/

FTA:
"The rights to "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" are prioritized rights. No one has the right to kill in the name of liberty just as no one has the right to take your liberty in pursuit of their happiness. Obamacare is a "taking" of our liberty.

We the People understand this intuitively and reject this injustice which will, if not repealed, bring about the American decline. We cannot "hide the decline" or "manage the decline." We must decline the decline by repealing 100 percent of Obamacare."

And this is what Rep. King is doing about it:

"Before the first light of dawn on the morning after this Pelosi Congress sent Obamacare to the President's desk, I started the process to repeal. My decision to take this fight to and through the next election and probably through the presidential election in 2012 was not a knee jerk response to a legislative defeat. It is a commitment to the Constitution, fiscal responsibility, real health care reform and American Liberty."

The Fall is coming...I believe it begins this November.

God Bless this Good Friday.

redink
www.footgrips.co.nz/

Obamacorps

2010-03-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

I guess Speaker "You-have-to-pass-the-bill-to-find-out-what's-in-it" Pelosi was correct.

Obamacare Prescription: ‘Emergency Health Army”
By Lou Scatigna

http://www.thefinancialphysician.com/blog/?p=2495

FTA:

"According to Section 5210 of HR 3590, titled “Establishing a Ready Reserve Corps,” the force must be ready for “involuntary calls to active duty during national emergencies and public health crises.”

Sooo...is this to help out with the "earthquake in Hawaii"? (Obama's teleprompter must not have made it to the Fox interview)

Let's see...

America's emergency response is one of the best in the world. Who was it helping out there in Haiti? How did Mississippi get back on their feet after Hurricane Katrina? Who airlifted those poor souls in New Orleans? Will this new "corps" have some power to get flu vaccines out that the old corps didn't?

And more importantly:

Why do we need to spend millions more on a "reserve and INVOLUNTARY (see forced) corps to supplement a voluntary, well-trained and funded FEMA?

And also:

What does Obama believe to be a national emergency?

...the next Tea Party perhaps?

Caution and courage, my fellow Americans.

We need to disseminate the facts of Obama and the Democrat congress' agenda.

Information is our ally.

An informed electorate is a powerful one.

Let's remember in November. We still have a voice...and a vote.

God Bless you.

redink

http://www.fashion-res.com/long-term-causes-of-the-american-revolution/

The Party of No

2010-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Young Daughter: "Mommy, will you put Dolly in the washing machine? She's dirty."

Mother: "No, Dear. The washing machine will ruin Dolly. I'll try and clean her by hand."

News Headline:

"Mother refuses to sanitze child's toys."

Young Son: "Mommy, can I climb on the roof? I promise to wear my bike helmet."

Mother: "No, Son. The roof is too high and a helmet won't prevent a broken leg or neck if you fall."

News Headline:

"Mother refuses to let son wear safety helmet."

Young Son: "Mommy, can I walk down to the park by myself?"

Mother: "No. It's getting dark out and there's a busy street to cross. Play in the backyard."

News Headline:

"Mother imprisons child."

Teenage Son: "Mom, can I have some money to go the movies with my friends?"

Mother: "What are you going to see?"

Teenage Son: "I don't know. My friend said he wanted to see a movie by some guy named Michael Moore."

Mother: "No, Son. If you want to waste your money on two hours of propaganda, go ahead. But I won't give you any money for it."

News Headline:

"Mother indoctrinates son. Refuses to pay for his education."

Teenage Son: "Mom, can I go down to the shooting range today? I have to get ready to take my gun safety certification test."

Mother: "Sure, Son. I'll take you as soon as I'm done with the laundry."

News Headline:

"Mother encourages violence in son."

Teenage Son: "Mom, can I take the car tonite? My friends are having a party."

Mother: "What kind of party?"

Teenage Son: "Er...a bachelor party. One of my friend's brothers is getting married and he invited me to come."

Mother: "No, Son. They might have a stripper as well as drinking....definitely NO."

Teenage Son: "C'mon, Mom! They promised to pass out condoms."

Mother: "Oh, okay then...it's HELL NO! And if I ever catch you touching a girl without putting a ring on her finger, I'll shave you from head to toe in the middle of the night when you're sleeping...and that includes your eyebrows!"

News Headline:

"Mother refuses to let son practice safe sex; uses profanity in front of a child, and threatens torture. CPS to launch investigation."

This post is meant to illustrate the absurdity of the media's portrayal of the Republican party as the "Party of No". There is a concerted effort right now by the media to demonize those in opposition to Obamacare. So, please take some time to think about what the news means when they harp on Republicans for saying no to government foolishness.

Because every mother in America keeps a "no" tucked away in her pocket to be used judiciously and sensibly...just like in politics.

redink

http://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/just-say-no3.jpg

Go and Build and Ark!

2010-03-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

I watched the movie "2012" the other night.
I needed something to lighten my mood as I witnessed our tyrannical President eliminating freedom from America.
It had all the campiness I needed to put things in perspective about the end of the world.

One thing about this film that stood out to me, was the government's decision to hide the arks they'd built for survival. They figured on saving just enough "worthy" people to repopulate the world again...and of course those who paid a billion euros for a seat.

Toward the end, the geologist who discovered the coming apocalypse (there's always a smart, though hapless rube who the government uses), wails in despair that the people should know what's coming so they have a chance to save themselves.
Of course, he runs up against a politician who insists the masses would riot and no one would be saved.

My sons and I debated the point afterwards. Do we give people a chance to save themselves? Or do we keep their doom a secret to guarantee the survival of a few?

I suggested that America's history of freedom meant our leaders would come up with a solution to give everyone a chance for survival. Couldn't each state have allocated their funds and gathered a workforce to build their own ark? There would be no time or energy to riot if people were busy building and working together to ensure their survival. They would need no billionaires to secretly fund it. Whoever wanted to live, would give their money and time to get their ark built.

God gave humanity a hundred and twenty years to join hands in building Noah's ark. He gave them blueprints and resources. But more importantly, God gave humanity a choice.

Choice is really the heart of freedom.

There are viable solutions to healthcare reform which Republicans tried desperately to make known, but they were ignorned because those reforms involved choice.
Remove the barriers to buying insurance across state lines. That is already proven to bring healthcare costs down, because it makes insurance more competitive.
You know? Like Geico?
Don't people shop around for the best deals when they make an important purchase?
What would happen if car companies were owned by the government and we didn't have a choice which car we wanted to buy...oh...wait.

Obama sees us all collectively. And collectively we can only be ruled...not led.
Our survival depends upon our choice and our knowledge of the truth.

There is no free healthcare...everyone will pay a price.
It is a pandora's box that has already been opened and out of it 16,000 new IRS agents are coming to force you to buy government insurance.

Do you think Obama's going to stop with this bill? Of course not! Everything's on the table now. The Democrats have nothing to lose. They can sign Cap and Trade and put all our utilities under government control. How will you feel when you can't turn up the heat during winter, or cool off during summer? How will you feel when your bank account is drained to pay insurance premiums or fines or taxes or whatever the government says it wants...because it's all for the "common good" doncha' know.

We can survive the tyranny at our door, but only if we know the truth and set our sights on building an ark to get through this socialist tsunami. We can start with the blueprint and resources at hand. In November, we can vote out of office every treacherous fool who sold their soul to sign this monstrous bill.
...and in 2012?

NOBAMA!

We will survive.

redink
http://2012news.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/2012_movie.jpg

The Last Alliance

2010-03-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sauron has the ring.
I'm probably not the only person making this analogy today.
Tolkien's story "The Lord of the Rings" has long been understood as the human history of man's struggle to be free pitted against the forces which crave power.

In this story, a dark lord devises a ring of power to enslave all free people. As long as it is in his possession, he can do pretty much whatever he wants.

This healthcare bill has always been about power.
This power will be transferred from the republic itself to a select committee...I believe that's what is called "communism". The bill was over 2600 pages and written in a language that resembles ancient Sumerian. That means the government can interpret it in any manner they choose to suit their desires.

America's President, complicit with his orcs in congress, have begun a war against the free people of the world. Make no mistake--America is a beacon of freedom and once it is lost, there will be no place for the oppressed of the world to run to. Just look what is happening to Israel since Obama criticized their decision to build housing within their own territory. Can you just imagine what the rabid Iranian dictator is thinking right now?

All things come to this: We are still America whether the ring is on Sauron's finger or not.
We have a Constitution in place, which, like the Sword of Anduril, can cut the ring from the dark lord's finger.

We just need someone to wield that sword.
And they will.

"U.S. states launch lawsuits against healthcare plan"
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2219776820100322

In Karl Marx's own words, he warns future dictators-to-be about the consequences of trying to socialize the masses when they are not ready for it. To paraphrase, he says the worst that could befall such a movement and its leaders is if the nation of people were not ready for such change. In other words, Obama could fail if enough Americans are willing to put a stop to this.
I know I'm not ready to be a slave.
From what I've seen and read today, I believe enough Americans have woken up to the fact that this "historic" bill being signed means the same kind of historic as Paul Revere's ride.
The government is coming by land and by sea and there is a call to arms.

Here's a good article from David Greenfield out of Canada to put this power grab into perspective:
"The Empire out of Touch"
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/21217

The end of this excellent article states:
"Obama got as far as he did, to the highest office in the land, without ever once learning how to understand people. And that happened because he got there on fraud, smear campaigns and a whole lot of money backing his cult of personality. More importantly he got there because powerful people were standing behind him all the way up, paving the way for him, clearing away the roadblocks and moving him up the red carpet escalators to the sky. But how do you clear away a roadblock as big as the American Electorate?
So far no one in Obama’s Empire of the Out of Touch has found an answer for that."

Have no fear, friends...only fight the fight in front of you now and keep hope that the love of freedom is greater than the craving for power.

redink
http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages/LOTR_Fell001_SauronRing.jpg

What Will You Do Without Freedom?

2010-03-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

Freedom.

It's given by God.

And taken by men.

But real freedom cannot be wholly eliminated.

Because real freedom is in free will.

When Obama was voted into the office of the Presidency, he vowed to change America as we know it.

He's kept his vow.

Many people who researched and listened to him during the campaign knew what he meant when he spoke of hope and change.

We knew his ideology.

We knew his views on life and liberty.

The words and warnings have all been written, read and spoken, and this is what we have.

We have a President who believes in centralized power--the power of the government.

This healthcare bill has within its thousands of pages the words which will remove all choice from the people.

The debt it will incur has the ability to enslave a nation.

The regulations it demands will empower federal government to an extent never before seen in this country.

It will be the end of our freedom.

...or will it?

This government control of one-sixth of the economy and unquantified control of our daily lives can do a lot of damage.

They can tell me what to eat, what to drink, where to live and how to think.

But they can't force me to eat, drink, live and think their way.

They can drive me into poverty, but they can't drive me to despair.

Because true freedom isn't what the government says it is.

It's what God says it is.

We can find it on Easter Sunday when we remember the empty tomb.

We can know it in a jail cell when we pray.

We can feel it in our hearts when we speak the truth.

To quote the character of William Wallace in the movie, "Braveheart":

"They can take our lives...but they can never take OUR FREEDOM!"

redink

http://www.reellifewisdom.com/files/images/braveheart.bmp

Obamcare Unleashed

2010-03-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

This letter was written by Dr. Stephen Fraser, an anesthesiologist practicing in Indiana.
He sent it to his Senator, Evan Bayh.
He has read the entire healthcare bill put forth by President Obama and the Democrats in congress and this is how he encapsulates it:

"As a practicing physician, I have major concerns with the health care bill before Congress. I actually have read the bill & am shocked by the brazenness of the government’s proposed involvement in the patient-physician relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate & ration patient care is dangerous & certainly not helpful in designing a health care system that works for all. Every physician I work with agrees that we need to fix our health care system, but the proposed bills currently making their way through congress will be a disaster if passed. I ask you respectfully & as a patriotic American to look at the following troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that these proposals are in the best interests of the country & our fellow citizens."

Below are just FEW of the pages summarized by Dr. Fraser. To Read the entire thing, including many of the taxes and penalties inserted into this bill, go here:
http://lucianne.com/article/?pageid=obamacare_rules

...and try not to scream.

Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill: THERE WILL BE A GOV'T COMMITTEE deciding what treatments &benefits you get.

Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC benefits for you. You have no choice!

Page 58 HC Bill: Gov't will have real-time access to individuals' finances & a ‘National ID Health card' will be issued!

Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Gov't will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors. (Low-income & the poor are affected.)

Page 317 L 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. (The Gov't tells doctors what & how much they can own!)

Page 354 Sec 1177: The Gov't will RESTRICT enrollment of 'special needs people!' Unbelievable!

Page 427 Lines 15-24: The Gov't mandates a program for orders on "end-of-life." (The Gov't has a say in how your life ends!)

Page 429 Lines 10-12: An "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end-of-life plans... (AN ORDER TO DIE FROM THE GOVERNMENT?)

Page 494-498: Gov't will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, & rationing those services.

"Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to inform patients & my fellow physicians about the dangers of the proposed bills you & your colleagues are debating. Furthermore, if you vote for a bill that enforces socialized medicine on the country & destroys the doctor-patient relationship, I will do everything in my power to make sure each one of you loses his or her job in the next election. Respectfully, Stephen E. Fraser, MD"

I understand Dr. Fraser sees this bill through the eyes of someone who distrust a government-run healthcare system. I distrust it also.
If one looks at the language of the bill itself, one may come away with a different view...as in "what's so wrong with that?"
But taken together with the lack of true discourse on what amounts to a structural shift of the entire United States economy and yes, even culture, how are else are we to define this bill?

The "health summit" was supposed to give us this discourse.
It was supposed to bring forth Republican's ideas about healthcare reform (of which there have been many), and show the Democrats and President willing to work together and use the best ideas to complete healthcare reform.

Alas, there was no discourse. There was no exchange of ideas. Obama made it clear it was his way or the highway.
In spite of the CBO numbers and the facts presented concerning the ruination of our economy. In spite of the overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens opposing this bill from the get-go.
In spite of the time and effort spent by Republicans to offer alternatives.
This bill is what Obama wants, regardless of what the People want.

I read Dr. Fraser's letter and his interpretation of the bill.
And I agree with his assessment. This is not about universal healthcare. This is about government control. It is unsustainable, unconscionable and unbelievable!

I don't like to be frightened and I don't like to frighten others. Fear makes bad choices in the end. So why did I post such a scary portrait of the healthcare bill?

Because fear need not drive our choice to speak out.
Love of freedom will.
Love of America's independence, autonomy, generosity, exhuberance, ambition, innovation, philanthropy, inclusion, and downright neighborliness.
I love all those things about America and they can only be lost with the enroachment of federal laws into every area of our lives.
Is our health up to us?
Because if it's not, nothing else is either.

redink

http://giovanniworld.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/obamacare.jpg

The Message

2010-01-21T18:06:00.000-08:00

The Massachusetts special senatorial election on Tuesday has been written about, talked about and pretty much picked cleaner than a Thanksgiving turkey by every blogger on the planet.
...but I'll add my two cents anyway.

Scott Brown made some history.
Real good history, you know? The kind that happens and we all know what we're going to tell our kids and grandkids, with great embellishment, of course.

But it's not Mr. Brown whom I believe is the hero of this history. It is the American people.

If I lived in Massachusetts, I would not have voted for Mr. Brown during a more conservative period...meaning a time of lower-taxes and stronger defense.
I would have sought someone whose political and social views lined up more cleanly with mine.
But true-blue conservative leaders are hard to find these days...and these days are neither prosperous nor safe.
These days are different.

We don't have the luxury of voting down a list when our President has abdicated our national defense, deepened a recession with record deficits and spending that makes Paris Hilton look like a thrifty shopper.
And perhaps the most important, or at least the most pressing problem, is the absolute deafness from the President and the democrats in congress standing in front of cameras daily and insisting his monstrosity of a healthcare bill ain't no big deal.

I am glad the people of Massachusetts understood the stakes.
They saw the bill for what it was,
they saw the danger of one-party rule in D.C.
and they quite sensibly put a stop to it.

And I hope most people made note of something important during Mr. Brown's campaign and even after the election.
Though excited at the thought of making of difference, though Brown's name, face and now-famous truck appeared everywhere...I didn't see any Greek Columns, know what I mean?
I think the voters understood this election was not about the man.
I think the voters saw Mr. Brown for what he was and understood what he was not.
He is not a god, nor even god-like.
There is no halo around his head.
He is simply a man who represents.
A man with a vote.
And this election was more than the man...it was the message.

I find it not a little humorous to see so many in the media miss this simple point.
I find it not at all humorous that the President misses it.
But to a great many Americans, we understood the message loud and clear.

This country is still a republic.

"that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
--Abraham Lincoln

redink

http://www.regent.edu/general/library/about_the_library/news_publications/images/ConstitutionDayPic.PNG

The Awakening

2009-11-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

I found this on the internet today and I had to post it...that's how things happen right?

One little drop here--a drop there. Pretty soon there is a flood.

And right now, I believe America is in need of that flood.

Take the time to read this:

http://hillbuzz.org/2009/11/10/thank-you-former-president-george-w-bush-and-former-first-lady-laura-bush/

redink

http://www.giussani.com/articles_politics/articlespict/george-and-laura-bush_15sept04.jpg

Religious Intolerance

2009-10-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

This article from the Christian Science Monitor explains how the U.N. is making another effort to rip our already tenuous and rapidly disappearing liberty away from us:

"Islamic countries push a global 'blasphemy' law"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20091027/ts_csm/edefamation

According to the article, the 57-nation OIC (Organization of the Islamic Council), under the leadership of Pakistan, intends to take the non-binding resolutions to limit offensive religious speech, and turn them into a legally binding treaty.

This means that every government that signs on to the treaty would have to prosecute every incident of religious "hate speech" that was reported.

Tell me where the slippery slope will end?
What if a Christian, Hindu or Jew disagreed with Sharia Law?

Suprisingly, Hillary Clinton, came out for freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

"Some claim that the best way to protect the freedom of religion is to implement so-called antidefamation policies that would restrict freedom of expression and the freedom of religion. I strongly disagree," said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week.
She went on to argue that the best antidote to religious intolerance is enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, government "outreach" to minority religious groups, and "the vigorous defense of both freedom of religion and expression".

Though I'm too conservative to agree with "government outreach"...whatever that may be, I applaud the former first lady and current Secretary of State for making this statement.

I'm also too much of an optimist to believe America would agree to sign such a treaty, though I think President "57-states" Obama would sign (it's just my opinion, but what I've seen so far in the presidency makes me believe this with every fiber of my being).
However our Constitution says the majority of congress must also sign international treaties for them to become the law of the land.
That means Americans would really have to love this treaty...and I don't think we will.
And if congress tries to sell it to the public, they would only wind up looking foolish.

No, I really don't think this attempt to squelch religious freedom will gain much traction.
And now we know it's out there; now we know who wants it and who is the most religiously intolerant.
...but do we know why?
There will always be something or someone in this world who wants control, and of course they will either take it by force, by law, or with persuasion that our loss of liberty is in our best interest.

So, as a red-blooded Conservative, I'm passing on my humble opinion that in here in America, we need to be aware of the fragility of true freedom. It is certainly not free and bears constant vigiliance.
Freedom is messy and imperfect...but beautiful and filled with hope.
I'll fight for it.

redink

http://img2.allposters.com/images/LPIPOD/lpi13645_5-FB.jpg

The Bad Luck of the Irish

2009-10-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

I'm part Irish...who isn't?

There might be a few Americans out there who haven't a drizzle of Irish fairy dust on them, but it doesn't matter.

Share a beer with an Irishman and he'll find you some Irish in you...if he has to go back to Adam and Eve and claim the Garden of Eden originated in the County of Cork...er, West Cork...and don't you be forgettin'.

Maybe that sort of happy embrace into Irish arms explains this:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZmQwMzM3MWE4MmRhOWVkMTY1ZDE5ZTZkOGVhOTFjMGQ=

(from "The Great Irish Surrender" by Nile Gardiner)
"The Irish ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon will pave the way for the biggest erosion of national sovereignty in Europe since the Second World War."

Ireland has finally caved to European Union pressure and signed the Lisbon Treaty.

The significance of this is the gradual eroding of Ireland's national sovereignity.
Even if none of us were Irish, we are all American enough to appreciate what happens when you centralize a government.

This is what the Lisbon Treaty is:

(FTA)

"It is in essence a blueprint for a European superstate, paving the way for the creation of a European Union president, foreign minister, foreign service, and diplomatic corps."

Europe is not a United States and never will be.
So for the European Union to contrive a superstate out of a compilation of such diverse countries spells disaster for individual culture, economic freedom or any other liberty.

The Lisbon Treaty will centralize all political power into one entity and remove all decision making from each nation-state as to what is in their own best interest.
All for one..?

(FTA)
"The Treaty is all about building a vast supranational political entity that will increasingly challenge and oppose American leadership on the world stage. It is inherently undemocratic, and it will ultimately strip away the ability of individual nation-states within Europe to shape their own destinies."

At the moment, Eastern Europe is still holding out, but they don't have the clout or the military might to keep a united Europe at bay. If in the end, if England signs the treaty, than they too, will be absorbed with little or no say in the matter.

...but all is not as bleak as it looks.

(FTA)
"If Great Britain does derail the European train as it advances toward “ever closer union,” she will have struck a huge blow for the cause of liberty, freedom, sovereignty, and democracy in Europe."

The British are struggling under the liberal policies of Gordon Brown and their Consevative Party is beginning to make some headway.

It's very possible that with a change in leadership, England will pave the way for the rest of Europe to tell those "wankers" in the EU to stuff their "dodgy" treaty in the fat "gobs" and put an end to their power grab.

(Who would want to see such cultural excellence end up like Prussia?)

Oh!

...did I mention I was also part English?

redink

Hi. My name is America.

2009-10-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I'm America.

(Hello, America. Welcome to Al Anon.)

Thank you for letting me share.

First I just want to say, that I never thought I'd find myself in this position--reaching out for help like this. But I'm suffering right now and have no where else to turn.

When I first met my husband, I had no idea things would turn out this way.

I met him in the Church of Communism...a friend talked me in to going one day, just to broaden my horizons, he said.

I didn't really want to. I'd always heard the Church of Communism hated people like me, but the day that I went, I met this man...I know we have to keep things anonymous here, so I'll just refer to him as "Mr. O"...

Well, Mr. O immediately came up to me, welcomed me warmly and told me how much I needed someone like him in my life.

It felt kind of nice to be wanted so badly. I'd been through a lot these last few years, and I was a little insecure. Mr. O was so full of charisma and smiles and he kept telling me to have hope, that he could change all that had gone wrong in my life.

Little did I realize what he meant by hope and change.

We were married last November and he took charge right away.

At first it felt good to have someone be so completely involved in my life, but I began notice some things that started to give me second thoughts right after the wedding.

I had gotten into debt...not too terribly, mind you and I was working hard to pay it off.

I still had a nest egg for retirement, I still had a job, I still owned my own home, I was always a pretty independent person.

But my new husband decided to take my nest egg and give it to the people in my neighborhood who were losing their homes.

Mr. O insisted the money would stabilize the neighborhood, providing greater protections for me and my kids.

I believed him.

But it didn't work out like he said.

Everyone took the money...some of them weren't even from my neighborhood!

And then they left their homes anyway.

It went down hill from there.

Mr. O told me to give him my paycheck so he could spread it around, then everyone would love me and become more productive.

I tried to tell him I was struggling as it was and barely had enough for my own kids.

I didn't understand how anyone could become productive by just giving them someone else's money.

But he told me I should be ashamed for only thinking about what I wanted.

He told me I had the chance to make a great moral statement about myself and show the world what it really means to be generous.

I couldn't help it, friends...Mr. O has such a way with words.

I gave him my paycheck.

But he turned around and gave most of it to a bunch of crooks who made off with the money, never to be seen or heard from again.

Then he gave the rest to a street gang from the worst side of town and they used my money to recruit more people to stir up trouble so I wouldn't go asking for my money back!

I started to get angry, but he called me childish and said I wasn't giving him a chance to change things around.

That I wanted a quick fix for the things I messed up before I met him and it wasn't going to be easy.

I had to learn how to sacrifice for the good of others.

It all sounded so familiar...I didn't realize at the time that I'd heard these very words in the church I had met him in.

Then Mr. O told me to give up my car because it was polluting the environment and wasting resources.

I did as he asked and lost my job when I couldn't get to work.

He also made me turn off the heater right in the middle of winter! He told me I should get some extra blankets, but I had no money to get any.

Mr. O went out with his friends all the time, flying around the world, enjoying five star hotels and restaurants, while I stayed home with the kids trying to keep warm and fed.

I went into denial. I didn't want to admit what was right in front of my eyes.

...that Mr. O is a Communist.

He is throwing my money away and destroying my freedom.

He is telling me I have no right to defend myself and that I am no better than anyone else in the world.

And still I stayed with him, defending him to my friends and neighbors who became concerned that I would lose everything.

But if losing my job and all my money wasn't enough, Mr. O had to go around insulting my friends.

They were the only ones there for me when I got attacked a few years ago by a another street gang. They didn't usually come to my neighborhood, but somehow they snuck in and beat me to a pulp!

I survived only because I was strong at the time.

I was still independent and surrounded by friends who saw this gang as a threat and helped me fight them back to their own street corner.

But now my husband has alienated all my friends, ignoring them, making fun of them.

Not only that, but he took away our guard dogs...even the ones I had already given to my friends.

He put those dogs in the pound where they are wasting away...and he muzzled the rest so they are sitting ducks in case the gangs come back to harm us.

To make matters worse, Mr. O actually went to visit the gang that hurt me and apologized for my behavior and that of my friends.

Now I feel like it's my fault this gang attacked me!

Can you believe it?! I feel so betrayed.

I know...I know, this is classic co-dependency, right?

And we all know that being co-dependent means always having to say you're sorry.

I have such regret now.

I've been married to Mr. O for less than a year, but I don't know if I'll survive till the end of this marriage.

He's so controlling, but persuasive at the same time.

He still has charisma, but the rest of my friends are starting to see how battered and ashamed I look and they're questioning whether this marriage is worth saving.

I have to do every thing he says all the time. He doesn't allow me to disagree with anything he says.

I've tried reasoning with him, compromising with him and even shouting till I'm blue in the face. But it's always his way or the highway.

He belittles me all the time and tells me I don't know what I want...as if I were a child!

I'm 233 years old, for cryin' out loud!

I fought a war to become my own person, fought another with myself to root out a terrible sin in my life, fought two world wars to help my friends and keep us all from becoming slaves, tried to fight two other wars, but my husbands then were not in the mood to win, so I took a beating.

I guess at some point, I lost my nerve and felt too much like a victim.

I wanted everyone to like me so much, that I gave up my freedom and who I really am to please my husband.

Mr. O made such promises and I believed everyone of them.

But now...I'm here, trying to cope with what I've become.

Realizing that all his words were just fancy dressing covering up his own ego.

When did this relationship become so abusive?

I realize too late, that my husband never really liked me...he was taught in the Church of Communism after all.

Hello?? I guess that should have been my first clue.

And he didn't want any children...he had a record of counseling women in the church to abort their babies. But at the time, I really believed he was helping them like he said.

Now I know he didn't care about them, he just wanted to be the one who made decisions about life and death.

I guess Mr. O thinks he's kinda like God that way.

And everything is always about him...never about me, or what's good for me.

He gets to buy whatever he wants and go out whenever he feels like it.

But I have to stay home and work my fingers to the bone, I've even spent a weekend on the street corner trying to panhandle....so much for independence.

I don't feel like celebrating holidays anymore. Mr. O keeps turning them into a party for himself.

I can't call up my friends and hang out with them, because Mr. O doesn't make them feel welcome anymore.

I'm afraid to travel, even if I could afford to. That street gang is just waiting for me to step into their territory.

I don't have a future, and Mr. O won't let me talk about the past unless I admit I screwed my life up before I met him, and now he's here to fix it all.

Lots of people think he's a wonderful man still, but they don't really know what he's like at home.

He pastes on his smile for the world, but at home he is trying to put me in a box.

I want out now.

I want a divorce.

So I came to Al Anon today to get my thinking straight.

I know you have a saying called stinkin' thinkin' and I believe I fit the bill.

But I need to take the first step...right?

I know the first step is to admit I'm powerless over Communism and that my life has become unmanageable.

...I tried so hard to make myself believe it could work this time. I know now, it was all an illusion.

Step two is to realize that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity.

...I used to think that power was Mr. O. But he's definitely not restoring my sanity. So I better take a closer look at who's really in charge.

The third step is to turn over my will to the care of God.

...Ah! I thought it was someone other than Mr. O. Now things are starting to make sense.

The fourth step is to make a searching an fearless moral inventory of myself.

...wow! that's a hard one, but I can't get away from men like Mr. O if I don't.

The fifth step is admit to God, myself and others the exact nature of my wrongs.

...see, I always thought Mr. O knew all my wrongs and was trying to right them...when in fact he'd gotten my wrongs--wrong! The only thing I did wrong was hand over my liberty to such a man. He won't even let me think for myself anymore.

The sixth step is make myself entirely ready for God to remove this defect in my character.

...this is going to take a lot more humility than I thought. But really, what do I have to lose now? Mr. O has already humiliated me more than anyone else could ever do...including myself.

The seventh-ninth steps are to make a list of persons I have harmed and make amends when and where I can.

...I'm sooo, sorry Eastern Europe! I'll get those missle defense shields up and running as soon as I unload this worthless husband. I'm sorry, also, Israel. Of course you have the right to defend yourself! Just because Mr. O is a kiss-butt to your enemies doesn't mean I go along with it. Hey! If you need a hand...I'm still here. My hands are just kinda tied right now. And the rest of my old friends...don't worry. Just ride this out with me for a few more years. I'm working on real change.

The tenth step is to continue to take a personal inventory and when I'm wrong, promptly admit it.

...I'm going to keep a closer eye on things now. There's just too much at stake not to anymore.

The eleventh step is basically a recap of the the first three

...go to God with the big stuff and pray for guidance. He's the one really in charge after all.

The twelfth step is for me to share as I am doing today, a lesson learned the hard way. And to give my encouragement to others that all is not lost.

...Mr. O is doing me a lot of damage, yes, but having admitted I had a problem is giving me enough detachment to do something about it.

And realizing that God is bigger than Mr. O's mistakes, gives me just the hope I need.

Thank you for letting me share today.

(Thank you for sharing, America.)

Let us end our meeting with the Serenity Prayer:

"God, grant us the serenity

To accept the things we cannot change,

Courage to change the things we can,

And the wisdom to know the difference."

Keep coming back...it works if you work it!.

redink

http://www.choices-nyc.com/images/product/s_Books_Paths_to_Recovery_28.jpg

God Bless Amerika

2009-09-23T13:31:00.001-07:00

These are the lyrics of a song taught to schoolchildren at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in New Jersey.

Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand [?]
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be clear today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said Red, Yellow, Black or White
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
Yes
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama

(UPDATE: youtube video no longer available)

I just wanted to know if anyone...anyone at all is disturbed by this?

And no...I do not think this speaks to the downfall of America, despite the title of the post.
It just makes me think and wonder on the changes we're willing to accept when
our schools deliberately teach children to praise the President with words usually reserved for Jesus Christ.

redink

Logic and Lying

2009-09-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm going to ask your indulgence as I once again use C. S. Lewis' marvelous story to illustrate something about the recent flap over Rep. Joe Wilson's shout-out during the President's speech on health care reform.

From "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

Lucy Pevensie has just discovered another world in a wardrobe.

Her siblings do not believe her tale of fauns and white witches.

But one day her brother, Edmund stumbles upon the magical world of Narnia and finds all that Lucy said to be true.

However, he has his own reasons for lying about this knowledge and later betrays Lucy by telling the other siblings, Peter and Susan, that Lucy was in fact, lying.

Peter and Susan go to Professor Kirke for advice and here is the interesting part--the part I wish to focus on:

(Professor Kirke) "How do you know," he asked, "that your sister's story is not true?"

"Oh, but--" began Susan, and then stopped.

Anyone could see from the old man's face that he was perfectly serious.

Then Susan pulled herself together and said, "But Edmund said they had only been pretending."

"That is a point," said the Professor, "which certainly deserves consideration; very careful consideration. For instance--if you will excuse me for asking the question--does your experience lead you to regard your brother or your sister as the more reliable? I mean, which is the more truthful?"

"That's just the funny thing about it, sir," said Peter. "up till now, I'd have said Lucy every time."

(Susan concurs when the Professor asks her the same question)

"Logic!" said the Professor half to himself. "Why don't they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either you sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth..."

Now, about Joe Wilson's outburst...I have no desire to get into an argument about propriety.

Accusing the President of lying is more important than where and when it happened.

If the accusation is false, then the decorum was terribly breached. If the accusation is true then I believe Rep. Wilson's outburst to be excusable.

So let's focus on the accusation and try to figure out who was lying.

Let's apply Professor Kirke's logic:

Either Obama or Joe Wilson is lying, mad or telling the truth.

First let's ask: who is known to be the more truthful?

Has Joe Wilson contsistently lied during his tenure as Representative in South Carolina?

Has President Obama consistently lied during his time as Senator and President?

I'll leave that question to be answered by your own research.

I have posted numerous words about the President's "misrepresentations" throughout his time in the spotlight...so I'm not trying to be coy.

As for Joe Wilson, I've done some reading up on him since his foray into the hottest spotlight of all, and so far I've seen nothing untoward or nefarious in his past behaviors.

If someone has a different take, I'd be happy to take a look at it.

As to Joe Wilson's accusation against the President, let's apply the three possibilities:

Either Joe Wilson is lying, mad or telling the truth.

I see no evidence of insanity...on the contrary, the democrat-controlled congress are on the verge of looking insane if they keep ignoring the public outrage at their drunken spending sprees.

Is Joe Wilson lying?

According to the Congressional Research Report for H.R. 3200 (Obama's health care bill),

there is no provision in the bill to exclude "non-resident" aliens from government healthcare...which means they can get it if they want it.

The reference to illegal aliens and healthcare is the denying of a "tax credit" which residents with proof of citizenship will receive for their healthcare.

Ironically, citizens would be taxed extra for not taking the public option while illegals would not be taxed extra if they decided not to be forced into government healthcare with the rest of us.

It appears then, that Rep. Joe Wilson's accusation has merit.

(I need to take a moment to sigh deeply here...this whole debate is based on the premise that this healthcare bill will pass...and I'm not ready to accept the downfall of American liberty just yet.)

*SIGH*

So here we have it: Joe Wilson isn't crazy and he isn't lying. He is telling the truth.

What about President Obama?

Is he crazy?

I don't think so...obtuse when he doesn't get what he wants, but crazy? Like a fox, perhaps?

Is he telling the truth?

If he hasn't read the bill, then in a sense he believes what he is saying, but that would make him rather stupid to keep pushing this bill to the public without having read it.

And if he's that stupid, how many other things has he gotten wrong?

And why if he doesn't know what is in the bill, did he accuse certain congressmen of lying to misrepresent the bill?

Is he, as Rep. Wilson accused, lying?

According to the provisions in Obama's healthcare bill itself...yes.

"Nothing is more probable," said the Professor, taking off his spectacles and beginning to polish them, while he muttered to himself, "I wonder what they do teach at these schools."

redink
www.homeschoolblogger.com/thelionsmane/

The Deplorable Word

2009-09-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

In the story "The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis, we find out the origins of the White Witch from the Narnia series.
When two children use magic to enter the dying world of Charn, they awaken the powerful Queen Jadis who tells the children how she destroyed every living thing in her world.
She tried to take the throne from her sister by force, but was defeated. When her sister declared victory, Queen Jadis spoke "The Deplorable Word" at the last moment and all life was destroyed.

What was the "Deplorable Word"?

(From the book)
"That was the secret of secrets," said the Queen Jadis. "It had long been known to the great Kings of our race that there was a word which, if spoken with the proper ceremonies, would destroy all living things except the one who spoke it. But the ancient kings were weak and soft-hearted and bound themselves and all who should come after them with great oaths never even to seek after the knowledge of that word. But I learned it in a secret place and paid a terrible price to learn it."

I took a facebook poll on this question:
"Should President Obama be allowed to give a nationwide address to school children without parental consent".
Now the question's importance lies in the "without parental consent" part, and out of the 160 thousand who took that poll, over sixty percent voted "no".
And every reason written in the comment section revealed their disfavor with the President overriding parental consent...pretty simple.
Presidents don't get to tell our children how to think, feel or act without our say-so.

But the majority of comments revealed a word that popped up continuously from those who voted in favor of Obama's speech without parental consent.

The word was "racist" or "racism", directed at those who disagreed with the President.

I read conservative websites daily and I've never read one single article from a journalist or blogger who wrote against Obama's policies because of his race.
In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find out what our President's race is when reading arguments against any of his policies.
His race only comes to the fore when Obama himself brings it up...which is sadly, quite often.

Racist: The Deplorable Word

No one can fight such a charge.
It removes all focus from the real arguments and annhililates the person protesting Obama's policies.

Once said aloud, the Deplorable Word continues reverberate.

It spreads across the whole debate of whether something is right or wrong, constitutional or lawless and turns everything to dust.
And it no longer matters if Obama is wrong to bypass parent's wishes, because the Deplorable Word has elimnated the objectors.

If you object to the President's wealth-destroying, anti-capitalistic economic policies, he can use (or have his minions use) the Deplorable Word.
Poof!
His policies are all that's left standing afterwards.
See...I used two perfectly sound adjectives (with hyphens, no less) to describe Obama's policies and they have nothing to do with his race.

If you object to the President's naive and dangerous foreign policy, the Deplorable Word will eliminate your arguments and make you disappear.

If you object to the President's economy-crushing, life-endangering health care bill, he has only to speak the Deplorable Word and reduce a townhall meeting full of everyday Americans to rubble.

...but Americans have their own Deplorable Word: "ruler"

(From the Book)
"But the people?" gasped Digory.
"What people, boy?" asked the Queen.
"All the ordinary people," said Polly. "who'd never done you any harm. And the women, and the children, and the animals."
"Don't you understand?" said the Queen. "I was the Queen. They were all my people. What else were they there for but to do my will?"
"It was rather hard luck on them, all the same," said he.
"I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny."

"Digory suddenly remembered that Uncle Andrew had used exactly the same words. But they sounded much grander when Queen Jadis said them; perhaps because Uncle Andrew was not seven feet tall and dazzlingly beautiful."

(my translation...with apologies to Mr. Lewis)
Americans suddenly remembered that Stalin, Hitler, Kim Jong Il and Mao had used exactly the same words. But they sounded much grander when President Obama said them; perhaps because they were not tall and dazzlingly African-American.

redink

http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs21/f/2007/284/2/5/The_Magician__s_Nephew_by_suburbanbeatnik.jpg

Courage, Friends...Life is Beautiful

2009-09-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

It takes courage to live this life.

Courage to face painful times,

Courage to face broken relationships, rebellious children, addicted spouses.

Courage to deal with loss.

The loss of our homes, our money, our dreams.

And courage to look death in the face and see all the beauty of life.

For Deidrea and T.K. Laux, their courage gave them five precious days with their son, Thomas.

Thomas was born with Trisonomy 13, a fatal disorder.

They filmed this heart-wrenching tribute to their son, to parenthood, to life.

And now they have the memory of those five days when they got to hold, feed, bathe and change Thomas.

Five days to love and bond and imprint their hearts with the knowledge of their child.

Five days in which Thomas lived a lifetime of love in the arms of his courageous parents.

Life is Beautiful.

redink

HT: Barbara Curtis at Mommy Life

http://mommylife.net/

Gutenberg and the Internet

2009-08-28T10:25:00.001-07:00

This just in from CNET News:
"Bill would give president emergency control of Internet"
by Declan McCullagh
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html

The U.S. Senate proposed this bill in the spring and Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Democrat from West Virginia, spent the past few months revising it.

But the revisions still give the President authority to shut down private internet access if he so much as sticks his wet finger in the air and declares "a cybersecurity threat".

From the Article:
"The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license."

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the early fifteenth century, the first full length book he printed was the Gutenberg Bible.
With biblical truth made available directly to the masses, the people broke the religious stranglehold the church had placed upon them.

They knew the truth.
And they were set free.

Science, art, inventions, politics, geography, and the list goes on...all these subjects spread knowledge with the advent of the printing press.
Adult literacy exploded and the simple farmer as well as the lofty monarch could read about the world around them.
The spread of knowledge brought communities together in shared passions and interests instead of fear of the unknown.

And of course the powers that be did not like it.
They did not like the masses having access to knowledge...it weakened their power.

Power is the same drug today that it was then, and has always been.

If you don't think our President wants that kind of power, I'm afraid you haven't been paying attention to his reactions lately.
This is what he's done with the debacle of Obamacare:
He refuses to address the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans across the country.
He refuses to admit he's read it, or knows what's in it.
He calls seniors and vets who protest it, right-wing liars and organized mobs.
He is telling lies about the bill in the hopes that most Americans are too apathetic to find out what's in it.

But he can't stop the truth from filtering out through conservative news sites, social networking sites, and the like.
The jig is up on Obamacare, because of the internet.

Unconstitutional, liberty-killing laws cannot be pushed onto the masses if the masses know what's coming down the pike.
So Obama has to stop the information at its source.
...the internet.
He knows what a powerful tool it is...he used it to his great advantage during his campaign.
Now the pesky thing has turned on him.
Because the internet is neutral and beyond his control.
It can be used to spread lies or the truth.
And the truth has a way of coming out on top.

But, I have hope this internet power grab will take some time.
And time is not on Obama's side.
It takes time to lull people into believing it's for their own good.
That is why we've seen an unprecedented push of unread bills, and hidden amendments...these bills cannot see the light or the exposure will kill them.
That is why we didn't get to see the stimulus bill, or debate it before it passed.

So, I'm not willing to let this internet power grab alarm me...yet.

But, I'm open to the possibility.

redink
http://www.martinsville.k12.va.us/mhs/gdean/test1/printpress%5B1%5D.jpg

Emos for Trees and Terrorists

2009-08-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

I homeschool my youngest children, but my fourteen year old son goes to public school.
He came home the other day and told me about a film his teacher showed him in his World Civics class.
The show depicted various adults from all walks of life, hugging trees and crying.
They cried about the tree's pain. They cried about the inhumanity that cut them down.
They cried about the tree's being made into paper and houses and grocery bags.

I asked my son what he thought about all that.
He said the whole class burst out laughing. They sniggered and giggled during the entire film.

Because teenagers are fairly canny human beings.

They can tell when adults are acting like lunatics.

They even have a name for people who live by their emotions.
They call them "Emos".
Of course calling teenagers emotional is a little redundant, but apparently Emos kick it up a notch.

I'm not making fun of them, teenage culture is what it is.

They're just kids trying to find their place in the world.

But teenage culture belongs to the teenagers...and they know it.

So, when they see it in adults, they respond quite naturally with sniggers and sneers.

Now a few Emo adults let loose on trees doesn't bother me.
But Emos let loose to decide the fate of millions of Americans...well, that bothers me greatly.

With the recent release of the Lockerbie airplane bomber, Ali Megrahi, we caught a glimpse of what happens when Emos in the British government coddle and comfort the enemy.

The government hoped to show the world their sympathy and moral superiority by releasing the dying Ali Megrahi, convicted in the Lockerbie airplane bombing, to his family.
But from the enemy...they got a sneer and a giggle.

And the terrorist was celebrated upon his arrival. He will die in peace and glory, surrounded by family and given honor for his actions.

In the meantime, the families of the victims of the Lockerbie murder have lost their loved ones yet again. The death of every man, woman and child on that airplane has been rendered meaningless.

It is a travesty of justice and morality.

And now the Obama government is continuing this season of contempt for victims of terror by investigating the very people who saved America from further terrorist attacks.

Obama is going after the CIA.

Attorney General, Eric Holder, is launching an investigation into the CIA's interrogation techniques used during the Bush administration.

Yes, that's right. The lawyers have arrived to bring humanity, empathy, and good feelings to the War on Terror...er, I mean "Overseas Contingency Operation".

The effect is such that no CIA operative will ever get life-saving information from a terrorist again.

Instead, this is what the Obama administration will put in place...call it the Emo Interrogation:

"Obama Administration Urged to Consider Expanded Interrogation Methods"
by Judson Berger
http://http//www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/26/obama-administration-urged-consider-expanded-interrogation-methods/

"It permits interrogators to ask questions in a "rapid fire" sequence; repeat questions over and over; try to break the prisoner by focusing on his emotional anxieties or personal fears; change the environment in which the prisoner is being questioned; and, under very specific circumstances, keep a detainee separated from others.

"One method, the "direct approach," is simply when the interrogator asks questions. Another involves creating incentives for cooperation. The "emotional pride" approach is when the interrogator flatters the prisoner into cooperating by appealing to his ego. The "silent approach" is also relatively mild."

"When employing this technique, the (interrogator) says nothing to the source, but looks him squarely in the eye, preferably with a slight smile on his face," the guide says, urging the interrogator not to be the first to break eye contact.

"The new interrogation unit would report to the White House-based National Security Council."

Let's dispense with a security council and just have the interrogation unit report to the public schools.

They use those techniques all the time.

redink

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/35724/thumbs/s-EMO-FOR-OBAMA-large.jpg

The Painful Best

2009-08-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Learning to live without money is one of those blessings from God that looks like it's gonna hurt...and it often does.
C. S. Lewis says this:
"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."

Everyone I know has made adjustments during this recession.
When I talk to my family and friends about it, they've got lots to say about handling these tough economic times.
But the most wonderful thing is what I don't hear: I don't hear a single complaint.

Not one.

Quite the contrary, I hear hope and excitement.
With looming foreclosures on their houses, I hear excitement to learn how the banking system works.

In the humilty of showing strangers their money problems, I hear about new relationships being formed with the faceless people who handle their mortgages.

In the empty time-slots where restaurants and movies used to be, I hear how great it is to spend an evening with the kids and watch a show with a cheap bowl of popcorn.

While appliances break down and groceries become more expensive, I hear about how someone taught themselves how to fix a toaster, or make their own bread, or find out that empty side yard full of trash will grow a wonderful garden.

Who knew a recession could be so beneficial?

Well...actually, I did.
This is not a brag. This is a humble confession of living with financial instability for most of my life. I know what happens when you have to hunker down and count pennies.
I've lived the feast and famine cycle for so long, I now have the luxury of contentment whether I have money or not.
But, I also have great admiration for those who chose wiser and saved their money. The financial wisdom of other people is necessary for the rest of us.
Look at how many money advisors have their own t.v. shows now.
I'm a believer that life always educates us...whether we want it to or not.
But, it's easier if we want it.

...sorry for the rabbit trail.

My point is: I always felt good about myself when I was at my most resourceful.
And I think that's a pretty universal trait in all of us.

It's the "teach-a-man-to-fish philosophy".
It's liberating.
It builds confidence, independence, strength.

But most of all, it keeps us humble.

As strange as it sounds, confidence, independence and strength can only be built on the bedrock of humility.
And trying to fix the broken things in our lives is a humbling task.

Because we know how easily broken our world is.
And in trying to fix it, we know what it takes to keep it going.
And while we are keeping things going, we see that there are some things that cannot be fixed no matter what we do.

We cannot fix a broken spirit,
We cannot fix a broken heart,
We cannot fix the person we love, or fix their broken promises.
And we can never go back and fix our mistakes.
And that is perhaps the most humbling thing of all.

We can fix the broken lawnmower, but we can't go back and stop what broke it in the first place.
We can fix the broken window, but we can't go back and stop the baseball from breaking it.
We can build a garden and enjoy the fruit of our labors, but we can't make it rain, or stop an unexpected plague from destroying our efforts.
And then we have to start all over and fix what we can.

We live out the parable of God's plan for salvation with every broken thing in our life.
We can't go back to stop anything from breaking, but according to the Bible, we don't need to.
It was fixed 2,000 years ago on a wooden cross at Calvary.

God took what we broke and repaired it with three nails and a crown of thorns.

He stood between us and our doom and declared, "It is finished".

The best for us turned out to be God's pain.

Now He offers us Himself and only asks for our hearts in return.
And when our hearts break from the endless entropy of life, He steps in to repair them.

This recession is bringing out the best in us.
It's showing us how resourceful we are.
It eliminates the trivial and shines a light on the wonderful.
It shows us what we can do.
...and what we can't.

redink
http://http//camms.org/images/The%20Cross%20(Ron%20DiCianni)_0.jpg

The Grief of Politics

2009-08-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Before I became a Christian, I never thought about politics.

I lived in my tiny corner of the earth, trying to fit my square soul into a world with no square holes.

Politics had no connection to my life.

Politics was something men in pressed suits discussed in their quiet offices while sitting in smooth leather chairs.

Politics was a class in college taught in dry tones by a teacher uninterested in real life.

Politics was law and lecture; papers and pens, and best left to the news reporters to figure out and tell me when they had all the answers.

After I became a Christian, everything changed.

Now I had a relationship with the One who made life, and His words illuminated the world for me.

When I watched the news, I no longer took it for granted that I was being told everything I needed to know.

Because now I had a premise.

I had a foundation from which everything was viewed.

I had truth.

And politics changed for me.

I saw it as something that affected me directly.

I saw it move the world and by extension, move me.

I saw the people involved and realized their decisions could make my life better or worse.

And I started paying attention.

I was startled with an epiphany about the politics of abortion.

Roe v. Wade somehow got relegated to a political platform and people stopped talking about the consequences.

Broken women, broken hearts, broken lives.

...and something much more insidious.

I had a conversation a little while ago with a woman on the subject of abortion.

She believed Roe v. Wade was a necessity for women.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because the government should never be able to tell women what to do with their bodies."

"Should the government allow its citizens to die before they're even born?"

"Don't be so dramatic," this woman admonished me. "A fetus isn't a citizen. It isn't even viable outside the womb."

"If the baby is viable," I asked. "Then would abortion be wrong?"

"Well," she said slowly. "That should be determined by a doctor."

I could sense a shift in her perceptions. She had never really had to think deeply about abortion before...it was always a campaign talking point, never a reality.

I understood. I had once done the same thing.

"Can't you tell me at what point in a pregnancy you think abortion should be illegal?" I asked.

"I don't think that's the issue," she said. "If we just prevented unwanted pregnancies in the first place, we wouldn't have to deal with abortion."

And with those words, she dismissed the uncomfortable place we all arrive at when we are forced to think about life and death.

Because it's so much easier to place abortion on that shelf with taxes and policies and let it move outside the realm of our daily lives.

But our daily lives will continue to play out until they bring us back to the same place.

When we are old and unwanted,

or disabled and unwanted,

or divorced and unwanted,

or just plain smelly and unwanted...our abortion legacy is waiting there to claim us.

We feel it in the fear permeating the country with the push for socialized medicine.

We know governments are incapable of dealing with individual needs. We know the weakest are the first to be sacrificed for the needs of the state.

They round us up and strike off the negative economic units first.

But even as our instinct for survival still thrives, we all feel the fear that it may be too late.

Because for the last forty years America has gotten so used to abortion, that we elected a man to the Presidency who voted to stop a law that would have prevented the worst form of abortion...infanticide.

The Born-Alive Act demanded that doctors and nurses make every effort to save the life of a baby that survived abortion. And it was based on the testimony of a nurse in a Chicago hospital who held these viable infants, unwilling to watch a living human being tossed into a utility room to die alone.

No one disputed her testimony except...Obama.

In the Illinois senate, Obama not only voted against the Born-Alive Act twice, but as chairmen of the Health and Human Services Committee, he made sure the bill never came up for a vote.It was not until he left Illinois for the U.S. Senate that the bill went for a vote and passed unanimously into law.

Unanimously.

When these facts came to light before the Presidential election, there was nary a peep of shock or dismay.

Not even from professing Christians.

And I knew America had lost its collective way.

There are many people like me, who stood in confusion while a man who admitted babies were a "punishment", was hailed as a hero in our land.

And yet now, with this healthcare bill scaring the daylights out of seniors and the rest of us who know what it will do...we get to see the effects of abortion.

Of what happens when our leadership defends it. When people vote for the hardest of hearts to protect it.

Do these people really think they would never be considered "unwanted" or looked on as a "punishment" one day?

Life is tricky that way. Some people call it 'karma'.

I call it a season of grief.

redink
http://erlc.com/images/article_photos/misc/father_and_infant_hands.JPG http://www.foxnews.com/images/218885/0_61_abortion_pro_support.jpg

This Little Piggie...

2009-08-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, a famous pig farmer brought his prize boar to market.

It wasn't to be sold for slaughter.
It was a breeding pig, designed to grow and make more pigs just like it.
But this pig, it was told, would be a pig so enormous, so massive, it would change the face of pork production forever.

So this famous pig farmer...let's call him Farmer Obama...wanted to sell his giant pig to the valley pig farmers.
But he didn't show them what he was selling.
So, he hid his pig in a crate of words.
And stood at the auction block describing it in wonderous tones.
Telling everyone how marvelous, magical and down-right heavenly his pig was.

But something happened while Farmer Obama was trying to sell his pig.
Someone opened the crate of words.
And other people got a peek inside.
Then the pig waddled out for all to see.

There was a collective gasp as the valley inhabitants witnessed this breeding monstrosity.

They saw a beast too massive to hold its own weight.
They saw a horror of genetic manipulation from a thousand overblown breeds.
They saw destruction of the natural order of farming if this mutation were allowed to live.
They saw sickness and death spread with its progeny.
They saw a creature of unending hunger that would devastate their crops and pastures.

...and they shouted for Farmer Obama to stop!
They could not bear to have such a frightful creature breed. It would destroy them all.

But Farmer Obama only told them to put a cork in it.
And quickly got his pig handlers to usher the beast back into its crate.

But his dismissive words and shifty pig handlers only attracted more horrified farmers.
They filed into the market stall to see what all the fuss was about.

Sheep farmers, goat farmers, chicken farmers and crop farmers.
After one glimpse of the beast, they too, took up the cry of their fellow farmers.
"Kill the Pig!"
The entire valley spread the word, frightened at the thought of this monster breeding throughout their land.

And Farmer Obama grew petulant.
He became angry.
Like a man in love, he could only see the beauty in his beast.

He accused the pig farmers of organizing a mob.
He railed against the sheep farmers for telling lies about his pig.
He ranted at the goat farmers for shouting at him on the auction block and hurting his feelings.
He pointed at the chicken farmers and threatened to send his hired hands to their farms for some fried chicken.
And promised the crop farmers he would buy all their crops forever at inflated prices if they went along with him.

But the farmers planted their pitchforks in the ground and said no.
They wanted that pig bled.
They wanted it slaughtered.
They wanted is cut up and eaten with a side of applesauce.
And they never want to see such a beast again.

So Farmer Obama covered up his pig in a larger crate of words.
And sent out his pig handlers to convince the crowds they did not see what they thought they saw.

But the farmers were too smart for Farmer Obama's pig handlers.
They know if someone is trying to sell them a pig they've never seen...there's a con in the works.

But Farmer Obama hasn't given up.
He loves his pig. He pets it, feeds it, watches it grow with pride. It is his legacy, his gift to a wayward and tired old farming valley with no new ideas.

Now in these last days of August, and the first cold snap around the corner, what will become of Farmer Obama's fantastical pig?
He can't afford to keep it anymore...it will starve in the long cold winter.

His pig handlers are running for their lives as the people of the valley rise against them with pitchforks and branding irons.

They are pleading with Farmer Obama to let the pig go to slaughter.
"Raise another breed!" they cry.
They do not want to be branded or find themselves sitting on a pitchfork.
But if they don't sell Farmer Obama's monstrous pig, he will make sure they never work in his pastures again.
And Farmer Obama has the best pastures in the valley.
They are lush with promise and good times for all.
They have been cultivated by others for many generations.
Farmer Obama and his pig handlers are plundering them.
And there's many years of harvest left.
...what's a pig handler to do?

Oh! Oh! They wail.
It is the evil pig farmers of the valley who are keeping this wondrous pig from the people who need it so badly.
They are just afraid of competition.
This is a pig to beat all pigs and they don't want their fellow farmers to benefit!

But the people aren't buying it.

In one last ditch effort, Farmer Obama sat down with a once respected pig farmer, turned pig handler, and tried to do some 'splainin.

Joseph Curl from The Washington Times wrote today,
Quoting Obama:
"There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-wee'd up," the world's most powerful man observed. "I don't know what it is, but that's what happens."

http://www.washtimes.com/news/2009/aug/21/flustered-obama-a-wee-bit-touchy-during-the-dog-da/?feat=home_headlines

Did Obama really say "wee-wee'd up"?

Another Obama quote:
"I know there are a lot of people out there who've been hand-wringing, and folks in the press are following every little twist and turn of the legislative process, but having a big bill like this is always messy," he said.
"And it promises to get a wee bit messier. "

Yes, an enormous pig is very messy.

"As far as negotiations with Republicans, my attitude has always been, Let's see if we can get this done with some consensus," he said, seemingly unaware that the Republicans appear to be just a wee bit wee-wee'd off at him."

Well, uh...calling Americans mobs and nazis when they are scared out of their minds at the sight of such a monster, will have that effect.

"Still, the president urged his faithful to work hard for his health care proposal. "We are not going give up now! We are not going to give up now!" the president said as his supporters chanted "Yes we can!"

"And some may just get wee-wee'd on. "

Indeed. Wee-wee-wee, all the way home.

redink

http://www.bookmakersltd.com/images/large/This-Little-Piggy.jpg

Language Transformation Crisis Halts Tower Construction

2009-08-18T21:49:00.001-07:00

I had a commentor from Canada leave me this response to the healthcare debate in a previous post:

Anonymous said...
"I commend you for attempting to dissect the health care issue. It is very complex. I always wonder why Canada keeps being brought into the discussion of US healthcare. The changes being made to the insurance system in the US will not in any way resemble Canadian health care, which is universal and entirely public.

We do not have a private option. We DO ration health care in Canada. We have rather long wait times for elective procedures and surgeries. We DO NOT ration emergency care. We DO NOT ration care to the elderly. These are plain lies. I am very pleased and proud indeed of our healthcare system in Canada. I am proud of my peaceful country. Incidentally we have lower rates of infant mortality and higher life expectancies than the US. The United States also rations health care, you ration it by the ability of the people to pay. Wealth is your criteria. As a born-again Christian, you should be fighting for universal coverage for ALL American people. Not covering a significant percentage of your population should be unacceptable. I thought we were to be advocates for the less fortunate?"

First, let me say this:

A polite and well-thought out comment is a treasure in my estimation.

I've seen an egregious lack of civil debate with this issue and I very much appreciate Anonymous' intelligent and reasoned points of argument.

This is the best possible way to discuss any issue...and I applaud you, Canadian Anonymous...I really do!

So, in the spirit of honest debate, here is my response:

Exactly, Canada!

WE are to be the advocates...not the government.

No government on this earth has ever given anything without taking something, be it in the form of higher taxes or freedom to choose or both.

By its very nature governments remove liberty with every law and every tax.

Christ never told us to put our trust in government.

He exhorted us to go and find the least of these to help. He didn't tell us to let the government help them. To pass the buck of healthcare is as un-Christian as it gets.

Churches often got together to help out an ailing member of their community with healthcare costs. They still do to some extent with fund-raisers and such. But it is more difficult than ever with so much government oversight and regulation.

Now doctors are leaving in droves as those regulations push their salaries down.

Pharmecutical companies are taking less risks with new medicines as government regulation holds up their products in red tape for years on end.

Hospitals are closing their doors because the government forces them to cover expenses which they are increasingly failing to reimburse.

In the end, it is the government who is motivated by money.

The private citizen wants to work at what they do best, provide for their family, enjoy the life they've been given, and have enough to help their neighbor.

Wealth creation isn't evil.

Those doctors and private hospitals and pharmecutical companies all incur heavy costs to be the best and give the best healthcare the world has ever seen.

Why should their motivation be only philanthropic?

Does earning money for something make it evil?

Does the government ever give without expecting anything in return?

No, but individuals do.

Does the government ever invent anything that has helped improve the human condition?

No, but individuals have.

I'm glad you are proud of your peaceful country.

It is good to love one's country. It reminds me of one of my favorite poems by Sir Walter Scott:

"Breathes there the man with soul so dead,

Who never to himself hath said,

This is my own, my native land?"

Everyone should feel that way about their land of birth.

I hope I always feel that way about America.

That is why I'm trying to get people here to think about what it is they are facing with this healthcare fiasco.

This mess of a bill is not even about healthcare, it is all about changing the face of America and removing every freedom we hold dear.

I'm not exaggerating, Canada.

To give the government the power to take a private citizen's money right out of their private bank account is unheard of in this country...and that's just one little paragraph in a 1200-page bill!

Just let me explain a little of our thought process, and maybe you'll understand my alarm.

America is by nature a freedom-loving nation.

We do not like our government grabbing such power.

Wealth is the by-product of a free, innovative and motivated people.

It is not the criteria by which we live our lives, it is merely the fruits of our passions and our ability to work hard for those passions.

Americans are inventors, creators, independent thinkers and movers. We don't like having our hands tied by regulation, or our efforts undermined by excessive and unnecessary oversight.

Americans are the first to help, from their next-door neighbor to an unpronounceable country on the other side of the world. We will give them the shirt off our back, but not the gun off our rack, because we understand true freedom has a price.

We have innovation in everything from food to transporation to technology, with the only limitation being government regulation.

And by golly, I stand by the claim that we have the best healthcare out there.

The one and only reform to our healthcare that needs to take place would be de-regulation from the government. Anything other than that will raise costs, ration care, reduce medical innovation and breakthrough medicines, close hospitals and give us fewer skilled medical personnel...as well as plunge us ever deeper into a recession.

Healthcare is one-sixth of our economy and the government has never been efficient with anything close to that amount of money...or any money at all now that I think of it.

Obama said it himself...the private mail companies run better than the government post offices.

I know we're coming back to the 'wealth is our criteria' statement you made, but quite honestly, Canada, I'd really rather have healthcare from a doctor who wants to make money, than healthcare from a government that wants to save money.

I don't see any contradiction with my belief in caring for the least among us.

Who will be here to care for them if the government decides I'm a 'negative economic unit'?

(If you don't know what that means...google Barbara Wagner. She's a cancer patient denied life-extending medicines and declared NEU by the state. Thankfully, a Christian stepped in to help provide her with her expensive treatments.)

Incidentally, Infant mortality rates are factored by birth weight.

A child weighing less than 500kg in Canada is not considered a living child.

This skews the statistics considerably.

In Japan, a child that dies within 24 hours of birth is labeled as a miscarriage....again, statistics become something quite different.

I could go on...it's the same with life-expectancy.

In the U.S. all infants who show signs of life at birth, no matter their weight, are considered living children...and counted in the statistics.

Be careful about stats.

And one more thing...when my fourth son was born, we had just gotten private health insurance. He had a heart attack after birth and wound up in three different hospitals to keep him alive.

In the end, the doctors, hospitals and insurance companies all saved his life with their passion, commitment and willingness to explore every possible avenue that could help him.

I'm convinced government healthcare would have let him die.

And out of a quarter million dollars in hospital and doctor's bills, we paid only a 5 dollar filing fee. Yes...five lonely dollars and we hadn't even had the insurance for a year.

Also, I met dozens, literally dozens of women with premature and gravely ill babies.

And none (zero) of those women had insurance...they were the uninsured that government-controlled healthcare advocates weep for.

...and every single one was given access to the same hospitals, doctors and medicines that I had.

They are the least among us and America takes care of them already, Canada.

Freedom doesn't mean everyone will behave compassionately or responsibly.

Freedom is kinda messy that way.

Freedom is a genuine risk.

But to a Christian who knows what it means to really be free...I'll cherish it, fight for it and spread its message as long as I live.

redink

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/900/PreviewComp/SuperStock_900-8204.jpg

UPDATE:
Here's a link to an article from The Canadian Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jbjzPEY0Y3bvRD335rGu_Z3KXoQw
From Dr. Ann Doig: "We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize,"
She is planning on addressing the Canadian Medical Association at a meeting to determine how to bring private healtcare options to Canadians.
The system is breaking down as it stands. This is the reason so many Americans are keeping a close eye on Canada and Britain's socialized medicine.
It is the platform from which we can see why government-run healthcare is unworkable.
...evidence, if you will.

Primary Issue Voter

2009-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

I call myself a "primary issue voter"...not a single-issue voter.

From Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary, we can define the term:
PRI'MARY, a. [L. primarius. See Prime.]
1. First in order of time; original; 2. First in dignity or importance; chief; principal. 3. Elemental; 4. Radical; original.

I am a first-in-order issue voter.
I am a first-in-dignity issue voter.
I am a chief issue voter.
I am a principal issue voter.
I am an elemental issue voter.
I am a radical issue voter!
...oh, I like that. Radical issue voter.
Makes me feel positively anti-establishment!
But it's one of those good hearty words that stewed too long with the Birkenstocks...it's lost its flavor.

I'll stick with primary issue voter.

When I vote, I look at the person who wants my vote and I want to know one thing:
Is my life valuable to them?
They may say it is when they're on t.v.
But how do I know?
Will they ensure my protection? Will they ensure my liberty?
Those two things are not contradictory.

After 9/11, I think many people came to the conclusion that we had to sacrifice our liberty for our protection. I didn't think so, because I voted for George W. Bush based on the primary issue.
So, is my primary issue defense?

No.

It is life.

How a person views life at its most vulnerable is the lens through which they view all other issues.
This is an important concept.

If a leader believes that life begins in the womb and should be protected, then it's highly unlikely that person's other policies will harm me.
Taxes, healthcare, foreign policy, education, civil law...all these issues are the water that flows out of the pro-life faucet.
If a leader recognizes the life of an unborn citizen, that leader will recognize the value in my life.

My right to make a living and not remove my incentive by taxing me into a hole and making me dependent on government assistance.

My right to seek out medical care that meets my needs and not be forced into a system where money is "saved" at the expense of my life.

My right to live in my country in freedom without fear of foreign invasion or control.
In addition, a recognition that countries need protection...there will always be a dictator somewhere in the world salivating at the thought of being more powerful than America.

My right to teach my children as I see fit, give them my values, instill in them my beliefs...recognize they are my children, given to me by God.
A leader who sees life in the womb will understand this concept and not see children as vessels of the state to be filled with state-approved curriculum, for the good of all.

My right to be treated equally under the law as the child in the womb is treated.

But most important of all is that person's belief in the right of women to have a choice.
And abortion is not a choice.

Abortion is what women do when they have no choice.

It is prison they are sent to when there is no support, no help, no encouragement for them to have their babies.

A pro-life leader sees the potential of life in everything...especially in the lives of women.
Women have the right to give birth to the child growing within them.

It is our right.

Women should not feel threatened when a leader shows their love for life.
And when a leader condemns Roe v. Wade, women should feel secure, safe, reassured.
Because that leader understand a woman's value, and they understand that the law let loose on this land in 1972 was a Pandora's Box of death.
They understand it destroys women and takes from them their real birthright.

A pro-life leader loves women and wants them to live lives of wholeness and joy.

A pro-life leader does not want a country filled with broken-hearted women who have to live a life of pain; a life without their child; a life wondering every year how old their baby would have been, what he would have looked like, what he would have done.

A pro-life leader doesn't play on the fears of women, a pro-life leader reassures them.

How much of our country's real ills and woes would vanish if we protected women and their wombs?

How high would our taxes be if we had leaders who encouraged parents to keep most of the money they earned to care for their children?

How well-educated would our children be if our leaders broke the bureaucratic stranglehold on the public schools for the sake of parents and their children?

How much stronger our defenses and respect from other countries, if they saw us care for the least among our own? If they trembled at the thought of what we would do to protect our children?

How much better for our healthcare if our leaders valued the life of the vulnerable? Would we see doctors and hospitals protected from frivolous lawsuits? Would we see more innovation in medicines and cancer treatments? Would there be less anti-depressants for women and more birth centers?

One can imagine a world without abortion...and see real beauty.

Or see the lies and fears put upon women by leaders who don't want to lose the power derived from those lies and fears.
Abortion is an industry, a multi-billion dollar business of death for our children and crippling self-hatred for women.
A leader who supports abortion is not concerned about women's rights.
A leader who supports abortion has no compassion for women or their babies.
A leader with a pro-choice ideology sees society as a thing to be controlled, curtailed and packaged into a workforce which serves those ideals.

A leader who supports life is concerned about women's rights.
A leader who supports life has compassion for women and their babies.

A leader with a pro-life ideology sees society as individuals who need the freedom to live, work and grow for their own reasons...not the state's.

That is why I call myself a Primary Issue Voter.

Because life is first in order, principal, chief, elemental...life is primary.

Everything else is secondary.

redink

http://prolife.villanova.edu/images/maternal%20bond.JPG

The Tower is Under Construction

2009-08-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

There's so much going on in the world right now.
Global everything.
I think that's what drives people into craziness...TMI: Too Much Information.
There's so much information, we're forced into changing our language.

IMO, BFF, LOL, ROFL.

This isn't a rant against technology. I'm all for technology. This blog is technology. Facebook is technology. Paying bills online is a technological marvel IMO.

But I do resist the dogpile.
I don't think people are meant to absorb so much information. It doesn't produce knowledge.
Because information is not the same as knowledge. And with too much information, we lose the ability to discern the truth.

Information does not have to contain facts or logic.
Knowledge is application of facts and logic.
Information tells us only what another person thinks.
Knowledge tells us who that person is and whether they can be trusted.
To gain knowledge out of information we have to know three things about the source:

*If the source is experienced in the subject.
*If the source has a trustworthy character, proven through actions.
*If the source's ideal, or vision, is based on a precendent that has proven effective.

Now we have knowledge. But how to apply this knowledge?
Let's take for example, a subject with lots of information out there, but little knowledge:

Healthcare Reform

The information is a 1200-page document outlining the President's plan for changing our system. It holds within its pages, the information that tells us what we can expect if the government runs our healthcare.
Have you ever read a 1200-page book?
It takes awhile, folks...and it better be interesting.
The size of this bill alone should give us pause.

Here's an excerpt from page 58:
"(D)enable the real time (or near real time) determination of an individual's responsibility at the point of service and, to the extent possible, prior to the service, including whether the individual is eligible for a specific service, with a specific physician, at a specific facility, which may include utilization of a machine-readable health plan beneficiary identification card.

Translation: This is an identification card issued by the government with all our medical records on it...all in the name of efficiency, I'm sure. And we all know how efficient government is. They just created millions of jobs with that trillion dollar stimulus package. Oh wait...

Here's page 59:
"(C) enable electronic funds transfers, in order to allow automated reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance advice;"

Translation: The government will be able to access your private bank account to pay for universal healthcare.
There's that efficiency thingy again.
But there's also that pesky liberty stuff.

Page 239:
"Limitations in physician's services included in target growth rate computation to services covered under physician fee schedule."

Translation: Limitations. This is rationed care folks. Now I don't know about you, but reading through this bill was very creepy.
It was dehuminizing. It was demoralizing. There is nothing in there that talks about saving life, extending life, caring for the weakest, providing options for the fearful. There was no humanity.

Now let's apply what we know about the source.
*Is the source experienced in the subject?
Obama has experience in organizing communities to protest the injustices of the world...but what does he know about how to remake the entire American healthcare system?
Is it even a crisis that needs remaking?
Does he know what to do with a sixth of the U.S. economy?
Does he understand the medical community?
Does he understand the outcome? Has he thought of all the unintended consequences?
What kind of bureaucracy would take place? Who would run it? The Hemlock Society? Hey...I'm semi-serious here. Obama put tax-cheats in charge of our taxes.
With more questions than answers, I believe it shows the source is inexperienced.

*Has the source proven his trustworthy character through action?
The President signed a stimulus bill which has proved 'unstimulating'.
He promised in April the unemployment rate would not top 8.5%...it is almost 10%.
He promised not to sign the stimulus if there were earmarks in it...there were 9000 earmarks in the stimulus bill.
He promised to give the public 5 days to review the bill before he signed it...he signed it the day after congress passed it.
These examples are dated, I know. The stimulus bill is so last crisis. But it is tangible proof of something he has now done...a record of Obama's actions. Do they show a trustworthy character?

*Is the source's vision based on a precedent that has proven effective?
Canadian, British and Cuban healthcare (well...let's stick with basic democracies, shall we? Canada and Britain), have their supporters and opponents. But their government-run healthcare does as all government-run entities do...they ration care.
Their reasons for rationing are sensible of course...to save taxpayer's money. I mean why would a governement spend extra money for only a few years of an unproductive citizen's life? These are the questions only a bureaucracy can ask.

Now Canadians and Brits also know they can come to the U.S. when their life is on the line and their government doesn't want to spend the money on an elderly patient's life-extending medicines, a terminal patient's life-extending medicinces, or a disabled child's life-extending medicines. Which leads me to believe they aren't clamoring for private sector healthcare because they still have a choice.
The precendent for government-run healthcare has proven ineffective.
The conclusion is that government-run healthcare removes liberty, is inefficient, devalues life to the greatest extent, has no vested interest in the individual and plunges the country into unretractable debt, providing a vicious cycle of higher taxes and less freedom.

Our President is telling Americans they are getting disinformation about his bill.
How to get to the truth?
Go to the source first. Read the bill. It is Obama's bill, even though he hasn't read it.
He is responsible for it. He wants it. He owns it.

If you believe in your heart of hearts that Obama would never sell you down the river, that he has a heart of gold, that you are the change he's been waiting for...then I suppose you have all the information you need.

But if you really want to know what this bill will do to your life as an individual, how it will change our economy, how it will shape our society, then gain some knowledge.
Because all that information does is build a huge tower to glorify another human being.

It's been done before.

redink

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/e/e1/20080330134658!Brueghel-tower-of-babel.jpg

Prestobama and His Sorcerer's Pen

2009-06-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

From the archives.

Worth posting again what with our health care on the chopping block...along with the rest of the free-market economy.

Oh, and that pesky terrorism thing...er, I mean "man-caused disaster".
How's that working out, Mr. President?

redink: Prestobama and His Sorcerer's Pen

redink

Community Disorganizer

2009-05-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

COMMUNITY, n. : 2. A society of people, having common rights and privileges, or common interests, civil, politcal or ecclesiastical; or living under the same laws and regulation.

This definition is from the American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.
...so let's start with definition.

If we define a community as a society of people under the same laws, then suppose we define what a community organizer does, because if this society of law-abiding citizens needs organizing as the 2008 Presidential election showed; then shouldn't we know what's in store for us all?

From "The Community Organizing Toolbox"
http://www.nfg.org/cotb/12organizers.htm

"Organizers challenge people to act on behalf of their common interests."

America has long been a country defined by individual interests, with our Constitution and the Bill of Rights laying the boundaries within which we pursue our version of what makes us happy.
Communities within our nation are made up of people who have a common interest:
rich communities, poor communities, religious and secular, liberal and conservative.
The individual American decides what his definition of happiness is and gravitates to the communitiy which shares his views, ambitions (or lack thereof), and ethics.

To me, this defines America's common interest as one of liberty...freedom.
Which makes community organizing rather useless on a national scale.

"Organizers motivate people to act by creating experiences to challenge those feelings which inhibit action, such as fear, apathy, self-doubt, inertia and isolation with those feelings that support action such as anger, hope, self-worth, urgency and a sense of community."

Now this is interesting.

So the CO will motivate me to act by:
replacing my fear with anger; my apathy with hope, my self-doubt with self-worth; my inertia with urgency and my isolation with a sense of belonging.
Extraordinary!
One person has the capability to change my very soul!

...wait! didn't Jesus already do that?

Actually, this tactic has a name with its own definition: manipulation.
Again, I must point out, that to organize a community of individuals by manipulating emotions...well, it flies in the face of liberty, does it not?

"Organizers work at constructing communities which are bounded yet inclusive, communal yet diverse, soladaristic yet tolerant. "

...er,
...uhh,
I can only offer this challenge to anyone who is a community organizer or thinking of joining:

If you can explain with credible logic what "bounded yet inclusive", "communal yet diverse" and "soladaristic yet tolerant" mean without bringing on an aneurysm or speaking in a Martian dialect...I will shave my head and pass out daisies on the nearest street corner while wearing a placard promoting community organizing...amen.

'Reveille for Radicals' by Saul Alinsky

"A People's Organization is not a philanthropic plaything or a social service's ameliorative gesture. It is a deep, hard-driving social force, striking and cutting at the very roots of all the evils which beset the people."

"A People's Organization is dedicated to an eternal war...A war is not an intellectual debate, and in the war against social evils there are no rules of fair play."

'Rules for Radicals' by Saul Alinsky

"Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future."

"the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer."

Saul Alinksy: Community Organizer, radical Marxist.
President Obama absorbed Saul Alinsky's teachings during his formative years, when his ideology became entrenched.

Community organizing is not an action...it is an ideology.
It produces no work; it foments rebellion; it gives the illusion of freedom while taking it away.
It uses whatever means necessary to achieve its ends.

I think I'm ready for a little disorganization.

How about you?

redink

http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

It's a Wonderful World!

2009-05-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

redink

Truth in Baking

2009-05-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

When I first started baking, I made all kinds of complicated doughs: natural sourdough starter doughs; brioche; flatbreads with three different kinds of flour; french bread with four different proofing stages and sponges so delicate they evaporated with a sneeze.

Some of them turned out great...others not so great.

But, one day when I tried my hand at the simplest dough of all--pizza dough--I got stuck.

Pizza dough is merely flour, yeast, water, sugar, salt and a little oil.

You just put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix; an hour later a nice, large pouffy bowl of risen dough should be the result.

...not for me.

I tried the same recipe for two weeks straight and all I could get was a lump of the same dough I started with.

It refused to rise.

I became obsessed. I went over that recipe with a fine-toothed comb. I tried different combinations at different times. I thought the water was too warm or too cold; I thought I kneaded it too much or too little; I tried bringing my bowl of dough over to my neighbor's house to rise, because I thought the temperature or humidity in my house was the culprit.

I must have thrown away a hundred pounds of dough.

Finally, I just gave up. I walked away from the recipe for a couple of days because I would cry every time I read it.

Six simple ingredients, and I couldn't handle it. My ego was severely bruised.

But I learned something from this...humility was the most important ingredient of all.

You see in baking--the truth is absolute.

You can play with flavors, but when it comes to measurements...there is no room for mistakes.

I took another look at the recipe a few days later and saw something different.

The recipe called for 4 tsp. of salt...that means teaspoons.

Now, salt is vital in giving giving the dough texture and support. Without it the dough would be a flavorless mass of nothing. But too much salt will turn dough into a hardened lump which would bake into a teeth-breaking loaf.

Too much salt prevents the dough from rising like it should.

...I had been using 4 tablespoons of salt.

For some reason, my eyes saw this: tblsp.

But, the real measurement was this: tsp.

And for two weeks I went insane trying to fix something a little dose of humility would have caught right away.

I knew the rules of baking; I knew if you got a measurement wrong it wouldn't turn out.

But, I was convinced I had gotten all the measurements correct...I kept reading the stupid thing day after day.

I just refused to see the truth.

The truth is irrefutable. We all arrive at the truth through different means, but it takes the same dose of humility to recognize it.

This is a link to an article by a columnist for the Chronicle Hearld: Andrew W. Smith.

http://http//thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1119680.html

Think of it as a recipe for President Obama's first 100 days:

From the article:

"•Obama’s first two major bills alone, the "stimulus" and "omnibus," cost nearly twice as much as was spent on Iraq over six years – $1.2 trillion vs. $650 billion.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise of "a net spending cut," his first annual deficit – not counting bailouts – being three times the worst deficit under President George W. Bush.

•Obama’s objective in his first G20 summit – commitments to spend our way to prosperity with massive stimulus boondoggles across the G20 – was rejected out of hand.

•Obama’s objective in his first NATO summit – commitments to combat troops for Afghanistan from "our European allies," which Obama and his party imagined were ready and willing to fight if only someone "enlightened" like him were running things – was predictably refused, with some more European non-combat contingents offered as a token.

•Obama’s Defence Department announced cuts of $1.4 billion to missile defence, the day after North Korea test-fired its long-range, multi-stage ballistic missile.

•Obama’s "tax cuts for 95 per cent" turned out to mean $13 a week from June to December, to be clawed back to $8 a week in January – as compared with President Bush’s 2008 tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 plus $300 per child, which were notably scoffed at during the election campaign by Michelle Obama.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise to reform earmarks, signing the omnibus bill which contained 8,816 of them.

•Obama took more money from AIG than any other politician in 2008 – over $100,000 – and signed into law the provision guaranteeing the AIG bonuses which later had him in front of the cameras "shaking with outrage" and siccing the pitchfork crowd on law-abiding citizens who had fulfilled their end of a contract and had their payment upheld by Obama’s own legislation. "

Now look carefully at that recipe and ask: if America were the dough, do you think it would rise?

redink

Churchill in May

2009-05-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of May.

I just wanted to use this day to spread my gratitude.
To see what is beautiful in the world.

The truth is beautiful, like sunshine--and like sunshine it can be a little harsh at times.

But, today I just want to pull back the curtains gently and let a little sunshine in.

Did you know the sun has antibacterial qualities?

So, here's some quotes from a man who deserves to be quoted...and a little sunshine to brighten the first day of May!

From Winston Churchill:

"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

"Continuous effort--not strength or intelligence--is the key to unlocking our potential."

"Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

God Bless!

redink

A Halo for a Hipster

2009-04-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

People poured out of their office buildings and ran for cover.
Elevators, stairwells and the streets of Manhattan clogged with panicked men and women as a large plane flew close overhead.
Construction stopped. Traffic re-routed. Ambulances stalled.
And 9/11 returned to haunt those who had survived.
Fear returned to stalk those who were witness to the worst terrorist attack in American history.

An Air Force One backup and two F16 fighter jets flew low over Manhattan this morning to give the media a photo opportunity in chronicling Obama's first 100 days in office. Along with the extravaganzas planned (look for those Greek columns), they needed a great photograph representing...

what exactly?

That 9/11 wasn't that long ago?
That the threat of terrorism is never as far away as Obama would like us to believe?
That no matter what name you paste over terrorism, underneath we all know what it really looks like?

I'm being rhetorical, of course.
We all know how hard our President works to keep that halo around his head.

While our national security is being dismantled by the "righteous left", who believe that waterboarding is torture, and would rather L.A. had a hole to match the one in Manhattan rather than trickle water up the nose of the real torturers;

while dictators around the world salivate at the thought of getting their hands on the jewel that was once America;

while the President figures a golf game in the midst of a flu epidemic is a needed stress reliever;

while he leaves the CDC leaderless and rudderless;

while hollywood and politicians join forces to convince America to stop breathing and breeding, working, and worshipping a Christian God;

while the good guys are portrayed by the media as evil;

while the evil are portrayed as compassionate;

while our greatest natural resource is destroyed daily in the womb, and Obama spreads this evil even farther;

while mayhem and murder cover our southern borders;

while deposts and dictators get an apology from America's President for being...well, American;

while North Korea and Iran get nuclear;

while the viciously radical Taliban inch closer to Islamabad and control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal...

The President of the United States wants a photo-op:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/air-force-one-backup-rattles-new-york-nerve/

redink

UPDATE: The Hipster's halo slipped after this stunt; but he's counting on the masses, hypnotized by the glow of his evervescent personality and panache, to believe him when he says he found out about it the same time we did...and he's furious.

And if you do happen to believe that the President of the United States--the most protected and scheduled person on the planet-- did not know Air Force One! was being used for a flyby

...then I have some swampland and two bridges to sell in the Mojave Desert. Please call.

Venezuelan BFF

2009-04-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

So let's get a handle on this Chavez fellow:

He took control of Venezuela in 1999.

Set himself up as a social justice Jesus...and managed to do it without the "accidental" halos from the Venezuelan media.

Quickly rewrote their constitution to give him more time in office and more power to put forth his social programs.

You know: the chicken-in-every-pot and gas-in-the-tank and pay-my-mortgage kinda socialism/communism thingy.

He replaced the elected congress with his own allies.

Called in troops to quell the protestors of his 2000 election.

In 2001, business and labor organizations in Venezuela got a little tired of Chavez's wealth re-distribution machine; so they did a "John Galt" and refused to produce.

In 2002 the oil workers did the same.

Things came to a boil and in a massive protest against Chavez's policies, 17 people were killed by Chavez's military.

Enough was enough...for a little while anyway.

Though Chavez was forced out of office, that international protest stuff started;
and lo and behold...Chavez got his crown back.
That wily Latino was still very popular with the poor.
And he promised them lotsa goodies for their support.

So in 2003, while those evil money makers called 'capitalists' worked to get a recall referendum on the dictator-to-be, Chavez raided the producer's pocketbooks and spent huge amounts for his social programs on those who were grateful not to have to work for a living.

Abracadabra...Chavez won his own referendum, which the opposition protested as fraudulent.

And once again the international observers gave Chavez a wink, a nod, and an okey-dokey from them...and he stayed.

Hey! What's a little election fraud among friends?

Moving on...

By 2007, Chavez had nationlized energy and telecomunications.
He shut down the main opposition t.v. station: Fox News...er, I mean RCTV;
and got the National Assembly to finally get rid of those pesky term limits on the presidency.

But our favorite dictator got a little trigger-happy in 2008 and replaced the secret police and intelligence agencies with the Chavez version--adding a happy little law that says anyone who does not assist said agency will enjoy some prison time.
...all in the name of national security, of course.

But, apparently even socialists have their limits and the hue and cry forced him to reverse those policies.

...does a dictator ever actually reverse policies?
hmm...worth looking into.
Based on his past performances, I'd say Chavez just tucked that little number away until a more opportune time.

Last year Chavez approved 26 new laws to increase his control in government; create a new military branch; take control of more private companies and fuel distribution; and last but certainly not least, won a referendum giving him the ability to steal...er, I mean run for re-election indefinitely.

Ta-da!

Now, I think I could ignore a tin-pot dictator foolishly stuffing his country into the dust bin of communism--if he was only interested in his own country.

But, alas...the tower of Babel mindset has never really left us; and Chavez has reached out to dictators large and small all over the world to join hands in building the new world order, just like the old world order after the Flood...but, um...newer.

Of course Chavez's best chance at gathering a dictator club-of-the-month is to first: denounce Israel and the U.S.
Let me give a few examples:

In 2006 alone Chavez gave a strange little speech at the U.N. in which he called Bush the 'devil' and said he could 'smell the sulfur' coming from America.

Next he went to China and accused Israel of genocide.

Then a stop to his new BFF's in Tehran where he called Israel terrorists and fascists.

Then on Obama's favorite news network, Al Jazeera, Chavez likened Israel to Hitler (huh?) and declared the U.S. the worst menace to humanity, with Israel as our instrument.

...dittos in Qatar and everywhere anti-American, anti-semitism reigns.

Chavez has quite an audience.

And he hasn't even gotten started.

Three weeks ago, Chavez went to Iran and in Tehran sat down with his buddy, Ahmadinejad, and agreed to a joint bank between Iran and Venezeula. At the same time he said "Tehran for us is like arriving at our home."

Okay....I guess that means Chavez has given Roman Catholisim the heave-ho.

And in ridiculing the G20 summit Chavez said:
"Capitalism has to end."
"We must take a transitional road to a new model that we call 'socialism'."

Pssst....Chavez, dude, I hate to rain on your socialist parade, but that new model you're so excited about...well, it's been around for awhile now and the engine is shot.

Of course, we who take the time to find out about history already know this.
And it's a good bet Chavez and Obama know it too
...which is why they're shaking hands.

redink

I Heart Susan Boyle

2009-04-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

She appeared as a contestant on the show "Britain's Got Talent" last week, and suddenly her voice has spread over the internet like a wildfire.

There are to date: 10 million, 150 thousand hits on YouTube for Susan Boyle's performance.

I wanted to know why.

Why did she touch so many people?

Why did her appearance inspire millions to watch her over and over?
Her voice surprised everyone, certainly.
I say surprised because it came from a homely, kind and rather frumpy old maid in her late forties.

Her silliness was large enough to cover her insecurities; but her sweetness shone through nonetheless.

...and she sang with the voice of the angels.

I watched as one of the girls in the audience rolled her eyes.
The girl was young, heavy make-up and lots of arrogance...but that is because she is a Susan Boyle.
Another older woman, frowning as she listens to Susan express her dream of being a famous singer; she was another Susan Boyle.
The audience of scoffers and laughers were all Susan Boyles; angry that someone like them would dare to dream; dare to get on that stage and entertain them with her plain face and dumpy figure...she couldn't possibly meet their expectations.

She was average...like them!

In fact, she was less than average!

She was the weak and foolish one that Jesus had singled out.
She was the jar of clay that Jesus filled with a voice too beautiful to forget.
She was all heart and no sense; taking the dreams that Jesus would not let die, and walking out onto that stage to show us that we are Susan Boyles too.

And when she let that first note come out...we all knew it.

We knew what she really was.

We saw God's thumbprint in her eyes, and heard His creation in her voice.

And we knew what we could be.

Those 10 million, 150 thousand visits were from every Susan Boyle on this earth; and are a witness to what God can do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

redink

A Dangerous Man

2009-04-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

"There is a danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with the power to endanger the public liberty."

John Adams

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security is titled:

"Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."

From Michelle Malkin's blog the incredible facts unfold.

http://http//michellemalkin.com/

For all the Bush-bashers out there who thought they had lost their freedom when the DHS actually did its job smoking out terrorists...er, the bad guys...sorry, I don't know the current Orwellian newsspeak for terrorists.

CAIR Bears, perhaps?

(HT: Ldotter)

Does that mean this blog is in the DHS file?

According to the report:

"Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

So, let me see...

If I'm a Christian speaking out against gay marriage and terrorism--I'm a hate-oriented extremist.

If I support the Constitution and its premise of a government run by the people; and I'm opposed to federal power-grabs and taxation without representation--I'm an anti-government extremist.

If I speak out against abortion or illegal immigration--I'm a rightwing extremist

According to this report: I'm extreme.

Funny, I've been all those things since 1994.

They weren't extreme then.

But, in the Spring of 2009, I am considered a threat to America.

Who is more dangerous:

The man who wants to keep his freedom, or the man who wants to keep freedom silent?

redink

Prestobama and His Sorcerer's Pen

2009-04-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Come One! Come All!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Boys and Girls!

Step right up and see the show!

For only one thin dime and three trillion dollars, witness the Astounding, the Amazing, the Magical and the Mystical as we enter the first 100 days of the Prestobama Presidency!

Experience the thrills and chills as 200...count 'em-200! executive orders from the Bush administration disappear right before your very eyes!

Yes, friends, with a stroke of his Sorcerer's Pen, Prestobama has made Gitmo a distant memory!

No more must America cringe in embarrassment before Europe's elite.

No more will the terrorist's cries of pain haunt our dreams as they are subjected to three meals a day; a bed to sleep on, and forced sanitation.

No more will they sputter out the names of their terrorist masters; or spit out the next target for an attack as water trickles up their noses.

But wait! That's not all, Folks!

Watch with wide eyes and bated breath as Prestobama performs an illusion of such preposterous proportions, few magicians in our lifetime have attempted it!

With a flick of his wrist and a bam-o change-0! Terrorism will vanish!

All you will see is a flock of doves crying out "man-caused disaster" as they fly into the sunset!

And he doesn't stop there! Hang onto your hats kiddos! 'Cause in an amazing two-fer, Prestobama will aslo change the Global War on Terror into...

"Overseas Contingency Operation"!

Friends, you just won't believe your eyes!

*warning:

These illusions are extremely frightening. Only the heavily medicated or galactically stupid will be allowed into this portion of the performance.

Now Neighbors, Comrades and Community Organizers,

for only a few trillion more--a mere pittance--you can watch as Prestobama transforms capitalism into communism to thundering applause!

And as a special treat, Prestobama will saw a CEO in half!

Can he put him back together?

Sure! But why ruin a great performance?

So many undeserving rich...so little time.

Nevermind! On with the show!

With another stroke of his Sorcerer's Pen, Prestobama will turn Wall Street into Stall Street and America's economy will drop to one knee faster than America's President in front of a Saudi King.

And while the world watches (and laughs behind their hands), Prestobama will wave his Sorcerer's Pen and turn oil, gas and coal--all at once, mind you--into pretty wind farms and useless solar panels! Restoring the horse-drawn carriage to its rightful place as America's mode of transportation!

Yes! You too can join the fun of facism!

Just hop onto the stage during the Spread-the-Wealth portion of the show; hand over all your money, and you will receive a brownshirt with the Prestobama logo on the lapel.

All you have to do is volunteer 40 hours of your time each week in the Magical, Mystery Tour (also known as the Civilian National Security Force).

Spy on your neighbors!

Rummage through their recycling bins!

It's an experience you won't want to miss!

Now...Dim the lights!

Drum roll, please!

Here we enter the most dangerous part of the performance:

Prestobama will light his Sorcerer's Pen...on fire!

gasp!

And while the flames shoot high into the air...Prestobama the Great! The Magnificent!...will overturn not one--but two of the most terrifying measures put forth by the Bush administration:

The ban on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, and...hold onto your socks!

The ban on federally funded abortions overseas!

Can he do it?

Yes he can!

Phew! Now you can all breathe a collective sigh of relief, knowing that your tax dollars will provide the freedom to destroy life here and abroad.

And if you hold onto your tickets folks, they'll be good for the next show in which Prestobama uses his flaming pen to sign the Freedom of Choice Act!

*Adults with tickets will get in free...but your children will have to pay.

Coming Soon!

Prestobama's jaw-dropping, adrenaline-pumping attempt to nationalize healthcare!

*Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Please show your ID and all your medical records at the door.

No wheelchair access.

Latecomers will be euthanized.

redink

Death...

2009-04-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

For most of us, death is confined to television and the internet. The blood, the gore and the smell of death are safely imbedded in pixel.
Even then some of us can't see death on a screen without fearing it will punch a skeletal finger through to touch us. So we turn the channel, or surf away at first sight of the monster.
Some of us stare in fascination, trying to unlock death's code. And still others crave death in the dark places of their hearts...and we are all afraid.

"...those who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage."
Hebrews 2:15

Sometimes death brushes close by us, and we remember it for the rest of our lives.
I can't smell antiseptic without being pulled, resisting, back to the moment when I stared at my infant son's lifeless body in his hospital bassinet.
But death lost its grip on my child.
God said no...not yet.

And there are nights when I lie in my bed and look at the ceiling, remembering death whisper my name in the emergency room seven years ago. I lay on a gurney, staring up at the ceiling, dying from undiagnosed pancreatitis.
Death sat close to me.
Yes, Death sits. It sits because it waits.
It waits because its prey may be snatched from its hand at the last second.
Death left me with a terrible sigh.
God said no...not yet.

Death is an insect. It stings
Death is a reptile. It suffocates.
Death is hungry; yet never satisfied.

Some people say death is natural. I disagree.
I believe death is unnatural and should be eliminated.

"He will swallow up death forever."
Isaiah 25:8

Jesus hanging on the cross. His blood which anchored Him to this earth, pouring out upon it.
Satan watches carefully before releasing his pet to feast on the mightiest of all: God.
Death will finally be satisfied.
...or will it?

"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood. he himself likewise shared the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil,"
Hebrews 2:14

God on the cross.

"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross."
Philippians 2:8

Why would You do that, God?

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

You died for me?
Yes.
But death is...awful!
Not anymore. I have removed its sting.
Is there nothing I can do?
Nothing. IT IS FINISHED!

In the Year of Our Lord, 33
Good Friday

redink

All the News that's Printed to Fit

2009-04-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

" A tyrant must put on the appearance on uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious."

Aristotle

Is Obama a Christian?

He says he is. He was a member of Chicago's United Trinity Church for almost two decades.

But, once we confess Jesus Christ as Lord, the Bible tells us there are characteristics of a Believer which not only give us assurance, but witnesses to the world what a Christian truly is.

Among them:

Blameless and harmless (Philippians 2:15)

Devout (Acts 8:2)

Faithful (Revelation17:14)

Follow Christ (John 10:4)

Godly (Ps.4:3)

Without deceit (John 1:47)

Humble (Ps.34:2)

Holy (Deut. &:6)

Hunger for righteousness (Matthew 5:6)

Just and Merciful (Luke 2:25, Ps. 37:26)

Pure in heart (Matthew (5:8)

Righteous (Luke 1:6)

True (2 Corinthians 6:8)

Upright ( (1 Kings 3:6)

Now granted we could argue all day about Obama possessing any and all of these characteristics, and allowing for grace, we know that most of us don't meet that criteria on a daily basis...I know I don't. But, inherently our nature changes when we accept Christ and we desire to be those things because He desires it for us.

Obama's radical abortion position alone disqualifies him for that list right off the bat.

Why?

Not because of his past views on abortion, but because he is unrepentant in his present view on abortion and actively works to devalue life as President of our country.

On the matter of Obama's church. Well, Reverend Wright's hate-preach is now so well-documented as to give a true indication of what kind of "Christian teachings" Obama has been exposed to for the last twenty years.

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/barack-obamas-church-ultra-left-and-afrocentric

But, that's old news, isn't it? The wheels of the bus go 'round and 'round.

If Obama's stance on abortion isn't enough to convince you his intentions toward life in America are at best, malignant and at worst, well...what is the worst you could think of?

I have a good idea already given this video of the first President of the United States bowing before a muslim king.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/obama_doubles_down_on_the_bow.html

Now, search that list again, but do not ask:

"Would an American President bow in subservience to a muslim King?"

Instead ask: "Would a Christian?"

But, if that is too much to take in, an anonymous aide to Obama assures us that:

"It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hands with two hands and he's taller than King Abdullah."

(never mind the photo which shows Obama's left hand hanging down at his side).

From the White House: all the news that's printed to fit.

redink

The Study of Logic

2009-04-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

"...no lie is of the Truth." 1 John 2:21

When I first began homeschooling my children, I was almost
incapcitated by doubt. But, I was also determined to find out how it
all worked, because the alternative was a government education...and I was beginning to wake up to the way government was running things.

What is logic?
Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines it as:
"The art of thinking and reasoning justly"

ART! I love art.
To think and reason justly is considered an art.
I can do that...I think.

After homeschooling in fits and starts for a few years, I found a
a great book about how logic fits into education:
"Teaching the Trivium" by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn
Two important points stood out to me:
#1. What affects the mind affects the spirit.
#2. Logic is discernment.

Put simply-learning logic helps us in our search for the truth. Without it there is no searching and there is no truth. Now granted we may stumble upon the truth like a broken clock is right twice a day. But is that the "art of thinking"?
...er, let me think.
No.

I'm not saying I'm always going to use logic in my posts.
What I am saying is I'm going to try.
Just as I tried to homeschool...I didn't always get it right.
Just as I try to draw and paint...it takes practice.
But, I'm determined to find out how it all works.
Because the alternative is to blindly follow the media-endorsed government now operating with so much malicious intent, that it takes my breath away.

I will try not to use tin-foil in my posts. Y'all are welcome to point out any shiny objects atop my head.
But, I can't promise my beliefs, opinions or logical assumptions won't make some teeth grind.
We are a country of diverse opinions on top of opinions. But, we are still free to voice them.

...and that's what counts.

redink