Faith, Politics and Other Stuff

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." Ps 34:4

Monday, April 21, 2008

How can we fix America

The following is a guest post from Thomas Kassin.

There  is still a chance that we can fix America.  The moral code has been so eroded that Christianity is barely visible.  Yet it is possible to turn things around.  Look at Nineveh and how the people repented and God was merciful with them.  If the Christians of this country will collectively humble themselves and fast and pray perhaps God will allow another generation to experience His blessing.  That is the beginning.  If we don't, then we may only have a very short time before we experience hardship and the great falling away

There are several things that we need to do as a country if we want to survive. 

First we need to bring all of our armed forces home from around the world.  Yes even Iraq.  Do you think the world will fall apart if we do?  Why?  Lets look at the alternative.  If we don't, it will bring this country to bankruptcy. We are spending money that we have no way of paying back.  There has to be a reckoning concerning runaway spending.  Next consider how we would react if a foreign power came to America marched in and took over!!  Would we like it?  Sure there have been times in history where we needed to be involved in foreign wars.  During those times we had clear objectives, and we achieved them.  Let the people of Iraq pick up the pieces and rebuild their country.  If the will sell us oil for a reasonable price they will have all the money they need to do so.  Which brings us to the next point.. Oil prices.  There is an easy way to fix this problem.  We need to stop any export of oil from the United States.  Why are we selling Alaskan oil to Japan and buying oil from the Middle East?  If we tell Saudi Arabia to keep their oil and buy from Canada and Mexico and several other friendly sourced [sic] it would drive prices down overnight.  We have also recently discovered a vast oil reserve in Montana.  Lets use it.  The oil crisis is completely manufactured and can be turned around with just a little wisdom.

Next, it is time to stop sending money all over the world to buy influence.  It is time to get our own house in order.  Our government has become so drunk with power they cannot make sound judgments.  This money at one time might have been helpful to some struggling countries, but it is so out of control it is drowning us all in debt we can't afford.  The world will not fall apart if we stop.  When some catastrophic event occurs we are often the first there to help. And the government doesn't need to be involved.  There are several charitable organizations at the ready to help.  If our economy stumbles people will not be able to afford to help.  We need to start spending money at home to fix roads and bridges instead of handing it to foreign governments.  Lets put our own people to work.  Welfare hasn't worked here and it won't work on an International level either.  It just leads to dependency and abuse.  It used to be that if someone was struggling they turned to family or church for help.  At least then there was some accountability. 

The next problem we need to fix is illegal immigration.  If Mexicans want to come here and earn some money to take back home,  that is fine.  We can allow them temporary green cards to work and pay a percentage of their earnings to taxes.  This could not in any way be tied to Social Security.  They would not be given educations or free health care.  There would have to be strict time limits, and anyone violating them would be banned from coming back.  We do love our neighbors and are willing to work together to solve this problem, if they are.  Any illegals [sic] now here would be allowed to apply for green cards from their home country.   Also, America is spending a lot of money in Mexico to help build their economy.  With some cooperation they can be a prosperous country.

None of this will work if people aren't willing to turn to God.  Bring back The 10 Commandments and discipline to our schools.  Call out to our Media to speak the truth and not propaganda.  Insist that the entertainment industry clean up it's act.  We are sick of the homosexual agenda and people celebrating childbirth outside of wedlock.  While we are at it how about getting rid of the flesh parade thrown in the faces of America.  It's one thing to look elegant and quite another to be pornographic.  And finally it's time to take Congress, The President, and The Supreme Court to the woodshed.  Read the preamble to our Constitution, "We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights."  Our Creator means that as a country we acknowledge God.  If you don't want to do so then we Americans call for your immediate resignation.  We have had about all we can take.  We hereby hold you all accountable.  You cannot uphold the constitution unless you believe in God!! 

Sincerely, Thomas Kassin

This is a guest post and may or may not represent my own views.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

whose to blame

Note: For you Kool Aid drinkers out there, and we all know who you are......This is especially for YOU!!!! This email comes in three parts.

Part 1:
In Just One Year:

Remember the election in 2006? Thought you might like to read the following. A little over one year ago:

  1. Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
  2. Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
  3. The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

  1. Consumer confidence plummet;
  2. The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
  3. Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
  4. American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
  5. Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
  6. 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it! Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work with what's handed to him.

Quote of the Day........'My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it.' -- Barack Obama

Part 2:
Taxes...Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.
www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html
Taxes under Clinton 1999 - Taxes under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250

Both democratic candidates will return to the higher tax rates. It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen. This is like the movie The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of some money and they don't even know what happened.

PART 3:
You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much?

Read this: Boy am I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS. I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts:

  1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77
  2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
  3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
  4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English! Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html
  5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
  6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
  7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
  8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
    Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
  9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. Verify at:
    http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
  10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.  Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html
  11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S. from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
  12. The National Policy Institute estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period. Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
  13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin. Verify at:
    http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
  14. The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants in the United States.  Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml The total cost is a whopping $338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

Are we THAT stupid?

interesting stats

Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000 (ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED MILLION) or 20% of the world's population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature:
1988 - Najib Mahfooz

Peace:
1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat
1994 - Yaser Arafat:
1990 - Elias James Corey
1999 - Ahmed Zewai

Economics
(zero)

Physics:
(zero)

Medicine:
1960 - Peter Brian Medawar
1998 - Ferid Mourad
TOTAL: 7

The Global Jewish population is approximately14,000,000 (FOURTEEN MILLION) or about 0.02% of the world's population.
They have received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature:
1910 - Paul Heyse
1927 - Henri Bergson
1958 - Boris Pasternak
1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon
1966 - Nelly Sachs
1976 - Saul Bellow
1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer
1981 - Elias Canetti
1987 - Joseph Brodsky
1991 - Nadine Gordimer World

Peace:
1911 - Alfred Fried
1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser
1968 - Rene Cassin
1973 - Henry Kissinger
1978 - Menachem Begin
1986 - Elie Wiesel
1994 -Shimon Peres
1994 - Yitzhak Rabin

Physics:
1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer
1906 - Henri Moissan
1907 - AlbertAbraham Michelson
1908 - Gabriel Lippmann
1910 - Otto Wallach
1915 - Richard Willstaetter
1918 - Fritz Haber
1921 - Albert Einstein
1922 - Niels Bohr
1925 - James Franck
1925 - Gustav Hertz
1943 - Gustav Stern
1943 - George Charles de Hevesy
1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi
1952 - Felix Bloch
1954 - Max Born
1958 - Igor Tamm
1959 - Emilio Segre
1960 - Donald A. Glaser
1961 - Robert Hofstadter
1961 - Melvin Calvin
1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau
1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz
1965 - Richard Phillips Feynman
1965 - JulianSchwinger
1969 - Murray Gell-Mann
1971 - Dennis Gabor
1972 - William Howard Stein
1973 - Brian David Josephson
1975 - Benjamin Mottleson
1976 - Burton Richter
1977 - Ilya Prigogine
1978 - Arno Allan Penzias
1978 - Peter L Kapitza
1979 - Stephen Weinberg
1979 - Sheldon Glashow
1979 - Herbert Charle s Brown
1980 - Paul Berg
1980 - Walter Gilbert
1981 - Roald Hoffmann
1982 - Aaron Klug
1985 - Albert A. Hauptman
1985 - Jerome Karle
1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach
1988 - Robert Huber
1988 - Leon Lederman
1988 - Melvin Schwartz
1988 - Jack Steinberger
1989 - Sidney Altman
1990 - Jerome Friedman
1992 - Rudolph Marcus
1995 - Martin Perl
2000 - Alan J. Heeger

Economics:
1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson
1971 - Simon Kuznets
1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow
1975 - Leonid Kantorovich
1976 - Milton Friedman
1978 - Herbert A. Simon
1980 -Lawrence Robert Klein
1985 - Franco Modigliani
1987 - Robert M. Solow
1990 - Harry Markowitz
1990 - Merton Miller
1992 - Gary Becker
1993 - Robert Fogel

Medicine:
1908 - Elie Metchnikoff
1908 - Paul Erlich
1914 - Robert Barany
1922 - Otto Meyerhof
1930 - Karl Landsteiner
1931 - Otto Warburg
1936 - Otto Loewi
1944 - Joseph Erlanger
1944 - Herbert Spencer Gasser
1945 - Ernst Boris Chain
1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller
1950 - Tadeus Reichstein
1952 - Selman Abra ham Waksman
1953 - Hans Krebs
1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann
1958 - Joshua Lederberg
1959 - Arthur Kornberg
1964 - Konrad Bloch
1965 - Francois Jacob
1965 - Andre Lwoff
1967 - George Wald
1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg
1969 - Salvador Luria
1970 - Julius Axelrod
1970 - Sir Bernard Katz
1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman
1975 - Howard Martin Temin
1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg
1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow
1978 - Daniel Nathans
1980 - Baruj Benacerraf
1984 - Cesar Milstein
1985 - Michael Stuart Brown
1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein
1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini]
1988 - Gertrude Elion
1989 - Harold Varmus
1991 - Erwin Neher
1991 - Bert Sakmann
1993 - Richard J. Roberts
1993 - Phillip Sharp
1994 - Alfred Gilman
1995 - Edward B. Lewis
TOTAL: 129

  • The Jews are not promoting brain washing the children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of non-Jews.
  • The Jews don't hijack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics or blow themselves up in German restaurants.
  • Jewish leaders do not call for Jihad and death to all the Infidels. 
  • Perhaps the world's Muslims should consider investing more in standard education and less in blaming the Jews for all their problems.
  • Muslims must ask 'what can they do for humankind' before they demand that humankind respects them!!

Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel 's part, the following two sentences really say it all:

'If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel'
BB. (Benjamin Netanyahu)

carter and arafat

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Jimmy Carter Honors Yasser Arafat... Says Arafat Fought For Just Causes

Surprise!

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, second right lays a wreath at late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's grave in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, April 15, 2008. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said he will meet with a Hamas leader in the West Bank. The move signals he has not been cowed by criticism of his plans to meet with the violently anti-Israel group during his Mideast visit. Woman standing next to him is unidentified. (AP Photo/Atef Safadi, Pool)

Former President Carter once again slapped Israel and the American people in the face by honoring Arafat. Arafat, a known terrorist, liar, embezzler and enemy of the U.S. and Israel should certainly not be honored by any American, little less a former President.

He is the absolute worst President in American history. His only hope to a Presidential legacy was his time after his Presidency and he has now established that legacy... a traitor to Israel and the U.S. and an embracer of terrorists.

Mr. Carter needs to go home to the Carter Center and study peanuts! You are a disgrace to America!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

putin in libya

* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *

WHERE IS VLADIMIR PUTIN TODAY? RISING RUSSIAN CZAR MAKES HISTORIC TRIP TO LIBYA, AN EZEKIEL 38 COUNTRY

By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Jerusalem, Israel, April 17, 2008) -- One week ago today, my colleagues and I were holding our inaugural Epicenter Conference in Jerusalem, discussing the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 which foretell the rise of a dictator in Russia who forms strategic alliances in the "last days" not only with Iran but also with Libya.

Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin is actually in Libya, the first Russian leader in history to visit the North African country, creating a strategic alliance, signing numerous agreements, and negotiating a $2.5 billion arms sale to this enormous and historic enemy of Israel.

"Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit as 'historic and strategic' during a state dinner at the Bab Azizia palace," reported Agence France Presse. "'This is the first visit by a Russian president to Libya. It is a historic, strategic and very important visit,' Kadhafi said in a speech....'The trip will enable increased cooperation, given that we are both producers of gas and oil,' Kadhafi said. 'We will work together to defend our interests.' Libya is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2007-2008, and Khadafi said the world body needed to be reformed in order to face what he called an "imbalance of forces" internationally. Putin, who spoke in Russian, said: 'We must reflect on the project to reform the United Nations' and referred to 'a friendly country on the Security Council with which we can work together to resolve problems.' The Russian president said 'a large number of agreements' would be signed between the two countries during his 24-hour visit to Libya. Putin arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday at the head of a large delegation for a visit expected to be dominated by talks over energy contracts and arms sales."

Is this proof that the prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39 are close to fulfillment? This is a question I have addressed in the Epicenter book and film, and addressed at last week's conference. Let me state again in no uncertain terms that in my view it remains too early to draw such a definitive conclusion. More would have to happen geopolitically to cause me to be able to state publicly and with assurance that we were about to see the "War of Gog and Magog" come to pass in our lifetime, much less soon.

That said, however, Putin's historic trip to Libya today -- along with many of Putin's moves over the past eight years, including his historic visit to Iran last fall -- have been remarkably, even eerily, consistent with Biblical prophecy. Which is why a large and growing number of people are asking such questions.

For now, the bigger question is: Are evangelical Christians doing everything we possibly can to pray for peace and prepare for war in the Middle East?

... [full article]

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

freedom of religion not for everyone

image

School coach violated religion ban in prayer ritual: US court

15 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A football coach violated a ban on teaching religion in public schools when he joined his players in kneeling and head-bowing rituals before games, a US appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The decision could have national implications and may ultimately affect thousands of schools throughout the United States, many of which are believed to employ coaches who engage in prayer with their teams.

Marcus Borden, a Spanish teacher and coach since 1983 at East Brunswick High School in the eastern state of New Jersey, routinely joined in prayers at team meals and invited his players to drop to one knee in a silent locker-room prayer before kick-off.

In 2005 some parents complained of what they saw as Borden introducing religion into the public school system -- an act banned by the US Constitution which calls for the separation of church and state.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ruled that Borden's extensive involvement with the team's prayers violated the Establishment clause of the Constitution's First Amendment.

"When viewing the acts in light of Borden's 23 years of prior prayer activities with the East Brunswick High School football team during which he organized, participated in, and even led prayer activities with his team, a reasonable observer would conclude that Borden was endorsing religion when he engaged in these acts," the court said in a statement.

Following the parent complaints in 2005, the school ordered that students be allowed to retain their constitutional rights to pray, but that teachers could not participate.

Borden reportedly had earlier sued the school district for his right to silently join his players in the pre-game ritual. In July 2006 a judge upheld Borden's right to do so, but the appeals court annuled [sic] the decision.

Obviously, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals does not support the First Amendment or freedom of religion. This is disgusting but it goes back to the separation of church and state issue that does not exist. There is nothing in the Constitution about separation of church and state. In addition, this particular case sounds like the prayers are being held by the students not the coach. There is nothing in the Constitution or previous court ruling that prohibit students from conducting prayers.

Christians should support this coach and he should take this on the the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Carter, go home to Plains

image
Peres slams Carter for harming Israel, damaging peace, meeting murderer

By Israel Insider staff  April 13, 2008

During his meeting with Jimmy Carter Sunday, Israeli President Shimon Peres sharply criticized the former US president for his latest book in which he called Israel an apartheid state. Peres said Carter's activities over the last few years had caused grave damage to Israel and the peace process. He said that Carter's planned meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Damascus would be a "severe mistake," calling Mashaal a "murderer and terrorist." ... [complete story click here.]

Over the years I have read many of former President Jimmy Carter's books and have enjoyed all of them. However, those days are over. I will not read or recommend any of his books as long as continues to hold his current beliefs about Israel. Israel is a friend of the United States and more importantly than that, Israel is God's chosen people.

Carter is out to do as much harm as possible to the diplomatic efforts of the Bush administration. Any presidential candidate that does not condemn Carter meeting with Hamas has no business being president. Since Carter has already pretty much aligned himself with Obama, Obama should be condemning him. Since there has been no comment by Obama we can only speculate that he is blessing this adventure of Carter's.

Carter has become delusional with his own ego and has convinced himself that he is a world peace maker. Well when he was President he sure wasn't a peace maker; he under estimated our enemies and brought this country to the brink of financial ruin.

Mr. Carter, it's time for you to go home to Plains and raise peanuts!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Carter to hold talks with America's enemy

From The American Daily

'What Will Carter’s Meeting With Hamas Accomplish?'

By Aaron Goldstein (04/12/08)

...Naturally this statement begs several questions. Does Carter consider Khaled Meshal a defender of human rights? If he believes Meshal is a defender of human rights why does Meshal praise Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s statements the Holocaust is a myth and that Israel should be wiped off the map as “courageous declarations’? (http://english.aljazeera.net?English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=17093)

Does Carter believe Hamas seeks to build a peaceful and democratic society? If he believes Hamas seeks to build a peaceful and democratic society why does the Hamas Charter call for the State of Israel to be destroyed and replaced with a Palestinian state based on Islamic law?

If Carter honestly believes Meshal is a defender of human rights and also believes Hamas seeks to build a peaceful and democratic society then the former President is a fool who ought not to be suffered gladly.
But it is possible Carter does realize Meshal is no defender of human rights. It is also possible he knows Hamas wants a peaceful and democratic society about as much as Robert Mugabe wants to voluntarily leave power in Zimbabwe. In that case, why is Carter meeting with Meshal? What does he think he will accomplish?

For one thing, Carter gets one last chance to give the Bush Administration the one finger salute and undermine its position. He also gets yet another chance to stick a thumb to the eye of American Jews who have been increasingly critical of him in recent years.

It also gives Carter a platform to state he is restoring America’s good name by talking with its adversaries. This, of course, assumes America was ever in good standing with the likes of Hamas or that America should want to be in good standing with Hamas.

A visit with Meshal also gives Carter a forum to tell the world Hamas are a happy go lucky kind of people who want to live in peace with their Zionist comrades. I am sure he would tell Americans they have an inordinate fear of Hamas. After all, this is a man who said in Man From Plains that Ismail Haniyeh, the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, supports peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. This is the same Haniyeh who told students at Friday prayers in Tehran in December 2006 that Hamas would never recognize the State of Israel and would fight for the “liberation of Jerusalem.” (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-08-palestinian-pm_x.htm)...

The above is just part of an article from The American Daily and, in my opinion, sets the tone for the entire article. Click on the title to read the entire article.

Former President Carter is out of touch with America. The Bush administration should deny Carter and his group the privilege of traveling to the mid-east.

Carter has no business talking to Hamas or any other terrorist organization. While in office he proved in Iran that he had no concept of handling foreign political affairs. He was completely out of touch regarding the state of affairs in Iran and thought that the Ayatollah was just a "nice old religious man."

History proves that Carter has never been a friend of Israel. Carter claims to be a Christian but I don't understand how he can be when he keeps stabbing them in the back. The Bible says about Israel "I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you." When Carter stands before our Lord on Judgement Day he will definitely not receive any rewards for his stand and treatment of Israel, God's chosen people.

Jimmy, it's time you go home and retire!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

what a testimony!

Nick Vujicic on Hour of Power

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

2008 NCAA National Champions

 image 

University of Kansas Basketball

Jayhawks

a new earth and oprah

This is a powerful video that all Christians should watch. I am glad that this is finally coming out and making the rounds.

I read this book (A New Earth) and found it quite disturbing. Several times I contemplated discontinuance but I decided I was strong enough to finish the book and see if Tolle backed off his initial sacrilegious stand… he did not! I have contemplated this book for the past couple of weeks, since finishing it, and continue to find it disturbing.

In one respect this book if very early 70’s ish from the “me first” attitude of the era. But, this book is so much more deceiving and in my opinion evil.

I am extremely disappointed that Oprah 1) chose this for her book club, 2) is conducting weekly classes to deceive millions, and 3) seems to have elevated Tolle to some type of “high priest”.

If you haven’t read A New Earth DON’T! If you have read it then get busy reading the New Testament. You will need serious spiritual help immediately!

I am currently reading “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis. So far it is proving to be a great counter point, counter balance and truth to follow up with!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Amazing Grace: Just the Black Notes

This is truly amazing and inspirational!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

expelled: no intelligence required (the movie)

I have never been a fan of Ben Stein but based on the trailer of this movie I may become a "huge" fan. I know I will go see this movie... assuming it is shown somewhere in Kansas City.

Link to www.expelledthemovie.com/playgroundvideo3.swf

Please take just a couple of minutes and watch this movie trailer.

The movie releases nationwide Friday, April 18. To find a theater near you click here.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

turning against Hillary

Richardson tells Clintons to move on

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor April 3, 2008 11:58 AM

After feuding with Hillary Clinton supporters for days about his endorsement of Barack Obama, Bill Richardson has a simple message for them: Get over it.

Appearing on CNN Wednesday, the New Mexico governor categorically denied that he had told Bill Clinton that he would not endorse Obama -- as the former president reportedly told Democratic leaders in California recently.

Another one of those accusing Richardson of going back on his word, James Carville, has called Richardson a Judas for what he described as an act of betrayal for accepting high posts in Bill Clinton's administration -- then stiffing the former first lady when she needed his endorsement.

Richardson told CNN that he was close to endorsing her, but backed off when the campaign got nasty. When he announced his support for Obama last month, he called him a "once-in-a-lifetime leader."

"The Clintons should get over this," Richardson said on CNN.

This whole thing makes the Clintons look like big cry babies! Instead of making accusations maybe Hillary should be questioning why former supporters of Bill don't want to support her. It sure makes some of the "Hillary horror stories" appear to be true when people that have been close to Bill don't want anything to do with Hillary. Maybe her socialist stand on issues isn't what the country wants or needs!

Monday, March 31, 2008

Hillary's welcome to Bosnia

The following was emailed to me by a friend. I thought it was so good I just couldn't resist positing it.

This was posted as from a GI who was at Bosnia.  I don't know if he was--but wow !!!! does he get Hillary Clinton.  This is from a column by Peggy Noonan Wall Street Journal.

What struck me as the best commentary on the Bosnia story came from a poster called GI Joe who wrote in to a news blog: "Actually Mrs. Clinton was too modest. I was there and saw it all. When Mrs. Clinton got off the plane the tarmac came under mortar and machine gun fire. I was blown off my tank and exposed to enemy fire. Mrs. Clinton without regard to her own safety dragged me to safety, jumped on the tank and opened fire, killing 50 of the enemy." Soon a suicide bomber appeared, but Mrs. Clinton stopped the guards from opening fire. "She talked to the man in his own language and got him [to] surrender. She found that he had suffered terribly as a result of policies of George Bush. She defused the bomb vest herself." Then she turned to his wounds. "She stopped my bleeding and saved my life. Chelsea donated the blood."

Sunday, March 30, 2008

nobody will notice

When you are faking a pose for a camera photo opportunity, at least you can get the phone turned in the right direction!

And he wants to be President??? ???

clip_image001

SHARP AS A BAG OF OATMEAL!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Elderly woman witnesses to man trying to rob her

One reason to read your Bible daily:
A 92-year-old woman from Dyersburg, Tennessee recently turned an attempted robbery into an opportunity to minister to the would-be robber.

Read the full story on WMCTV.com here: 
http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp...

This story aired during Action News 5 at 10:00 on December 9, 2007. 


Monday, March 24, 2008

America asked for a change

A little over one year ago:
1)  Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2)  Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3)  The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we've seen:
1)  Consumer confidence plummet;
2)  The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3 a gallon;
3)  Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4)  American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses)
5)  Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6)  1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!  Thank you, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democratic Majority.

The most significant accomplishment by the Democratic controlled Congress in 2007:
THEY VOTED TO INCREASE THEIR PAY !!!

Oh, they also managed to drop their approval rating to the lowest in history!

Friday, March 21, 2008

commentary from One Jerusalem

McCain and Obama

[03.21.2008]

As Barak Obama is consumed with trying (and in our estimation failing) to answer the question of why he could faithfully attended a church which preached hatred of America, John McCain visited Israel and made news by what he said and did not do.

One journalist, who believes that Israel actually ha someone to negotiate a peace deal with, criticized McCain for failing to meet with the "moderate" Abbas.

The Arab press has forcefully denounced McCain for emphatically stating that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people. While we wish McCain had gone further and declared that Jerusalem should not be divided -- his statement caused Arabs to brand him a Zionist agent.

But perhaps more importantly McCain used his visit to go to the besieged town of Sderot. McCain helped focus international attention on the plight of these innocent Israelis who are under constant attack by Israel's enemies.

While McCain is on the firing line for defending Israel, Obama is failing to distract people away from the fact that he spent most of his adulthood looking to an anti-American racist for spiritual guidance.

I have to agree with this article on both counts. Obama made a good speech and no doubt he is very charismatic but he cannot deny knowledge of the speeches from Rev. Dr. Wright. If I were in a church where these types of statements were made I would be leaving the church and I certainly would not consider this type of a person a spiritual advisor. Obama's stand on Rev. Dr. Wright is not right (no pun intended) and could very well cost him the Democratic nomination.

I am proud of McCain's handling this past week. I do support Jerusalem and feel that McCain must openly state that Jerusalem must remain united

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

slick willie

Denial

Confession

Is he still up to his old tricks?

Friday, March 7, 2008

McCain blows

The Associated Press

McCain Flashes Temper at Reporter

By LIBBY QUAID – 1 hour ago

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Republican Sen. John McCain, showing a flash of the temper he is known for, repeatedly cut off a reporter Friday when asked whether he had spoken to Democratic Sen. John Kerry about being his vice president in 2004. "Everybody knows that I had a private conversation. Everybody knows that, that I had a conversation," McCain told the reporter. "And you know it, too. No. You know it, too. No. You do know. You do know."

The reporter, Elisabeth Bumiller of The New York Times, was following up on a question McCain had answered at a campaign event Friday morning in Atlanta. Asked if he might consider Kerry as a running mate, since Kerry asked him in 2004, McCain said no.

Afterward, on a campaign flight, Bumiller said she looked in the Times' archives and that McCain had denied talking with Kerry in a May 2004 story. [story]

I saw the video and I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Of course, you have to consider that Ms. Bumiller, who checked the Times' archives also works for the Times. You know, the Times that published unsubstantiated, anonymous sources accusing McCain of having an affair.

Yeah, I would have gotten upset, too. Well, actually I would have kicked the Times' reporter(s) off my campaign airplane after the previous article. I think he was pretty kind to put up with the Times' dirty tricks, back stabbing and untruthfulness.

If the Times was a really responsible in their reporting they would have just a few ethics and apologize to McCain for the the story they printed.

pray for peace of Jerusalem and Israel

* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *

JOSHUA FUND CALLS ON PASTORS, CHRISTIAN LEADERS, CHURCHES AROUND THE WORLD TO PRAY FOR PEACE OF JERUSALEM
Epicenter conference will continue as scheduled next month. "More important than ever" to stand with Israel in prayer and in person.

By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., March 7, 2008) -- The Joshua Fund staff last night held an emergency conference call to pray for the wounded and families of all the victims after a horrifying terror attack at a religious Jewish school left 8 dead and 10 wounded. During that call, we agreed that we are even more committed than ever to encouraging thousands of Christians to go to Israel next month and participate in the Epicenter conference. We believe now is the time to show the people of Israel that evangelical Christians love them, pray for them and will stand with them no matter what happens.

We are calling on pastors, evangelical leaders and churches around the world to mobilize your email and phone prayer chains to pray for the people of Jerusalem and Israel at this critical time. Please also pray for the largely forgotten Israeli citizens who live in Sderot, Ashkelon and other towns along the border with Gaza who are being hit with a seeming never-ending barrage of rockets, missiles and mortars. Please consider having a special time of prayer during your weekend church services for the peace of Jerusalem and for peace along the Gaza border. Please also pray that God would miraculously change the hearts of the Palestinians who are responsibile such evil attacks. And pray that the Lord would have mercy on the vast majority of Palestinians who hate such attacks and feel trapped by the actions of the Radical Islamic jihadists around them.

A few other specific prayer requests you might consider:
* Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as we are commanded in Psalm 122:6.
* Please pray that the Lord would comfort those wounded in the attack, and the families of those killed, and that the

Lord would show His people how to comfort all those who are suffering so greatly. "'Comfort, O comfort My people,' says your God. 'Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the LORD'S hand, double for all her sins.'" (Isaiah 40:1-2)

* Please pray for wisdom for the leaders of Israel to know how best to respond to this attack. May they be like "men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." (I Chronicles 12:32)

* Please pray for wisdom and discernment for the Christians in Jerusalem and throughout Israel to know how best to comfort their neighbors and be a force for prayer and peace. "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15)

* Please pray for the upcoming Joshua Fund tour in Israel and Epicenter conference in Jerusalem. As I noted above, we believe it is more important than ever to bless Israel and stand with her. We trust that the Israeli authorities are going to keep the city and country safe. And we intend to be on our knees, beseeching the God of Israel to be our hope, our protection, and our shield. Now is not the time to abandon Israel. Now is the time to stand with her in prayer, and in person. "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet....You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves, and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isaiah 60:1, 6-7)

* Finally, please pray that the Lord would show you and your congregation how to bless Israel in tangible and practical ways in the days and weeks ahead. "For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me." (Matthew 25:35-36)

Next week, my Joshua Fund colleagues and I fly to Tucson, Arizona where I will address 1,000 evangelical Christian pastors on what is happening in the epicenter and how they and their congregations can bless Israel and her neighbors at this critical hour. By God's grace, we will be able to enlist allies for OPERATION EPICENTER, our drive to provide $120 million worth of humanitarian relief aid to the poor and needy and victims of war and terrorism in the region over the next few years.

If there is any way we can serve you; answer your questions about OPERATION EPICENTER; or help you mobilize your congregations to LEARN, PRAY, GIVE and GO; please don't hesitate to contact Jeremy Grafman, TJF's Director of Special Projects. His email is jeremy@joshuafund.net. Or visit our website, www.joshuafund.net.

Thank you so much for loving Israel and standing with her people. They need you more than ever. God bless you.

To visit Joel's WEBLOG with the latest on events in the Middle East and Russia, please click here.

To sign up for free >> FLASH TRAFFIC << geopolitical and prayer updates, please click here.

To visit www.epicenter08.com -- for more information and/or to sign up for the Epicenter conference -- please click here

To learn more about The Joshua Fund and "Operation Epicenter," and/or make a secure, tax-deductible financial contribution -- even on-line -- please click here.

To visit The Joshua Fund's WEBLOG and see the latest prayer needs for the Middle East, please click here

HELP US HELP ISRAEL


The Joshua Fund calls on Christians everywhere to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and especially for the Lord to comfort the wounded and the families of those innocent Israelis slaughtered in this senseless attack. TJF is planning a major humanitarian relief project in Jerusalem next month. We will be distributing food and other relief supplies to the poor and needy and victims of war and terror in the Holy City. If you would like to contribute to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please make your check payable to "The Joshua Fund" and send to:
The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009
Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to forward to others.
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November

Friday, February 29, 2008

veeps

Nader announces Matt Gonzalez as his running mate

FORMER S.F. SUPERVISOR GONZALEZ IS CHOSEN FOR INDEPENDENT TICKET

By Patrick May
Mercury News

Article Launched: 02/29/2008 01:38:42 AM PST

Beginning a climb as steep as some of the streets in his hometown, former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez signed on Thursday as running mate in Independent Ralph Nader's mid-stream - and many say, quixotic - bid for the White House. [article]

Although I know nothing about Matt Gonzalez, personally, I think this was a good move. I, for one, would like to know who the candidates would have for their running mate. Yeah, I know, the media says we don't vote based on the vice presidential candidate; we vote for the presidential candidate.

While that may be true having this information might make a difference in who becomes the party nominee. It might also tell us what kind of "deal" were made during the campaign process. If one of those candidates that dropped out of the race becomes the vice presidential pick we have the right to know what kind of deal was made to get that person to accept and "endorse" the presidential candidate. We all know that "deals" is how Washington works so why not make this "deal" now.

interesting?

clip_image001

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

house of reps bored

The democratic controlled United States House of Representatives must be horribly bored! Either that or they don't realize there is real business to do that is pertaining to the people who elected them. They are under the unfortunate impression that taking the Justice Department away from important investigations is in the peoples' best interest. How in the world are they going to prove or disprove Roger Clemens' honesty?

Justice Dept. Asked to Investigate Roger Clemens
New York Times - 1 hour ago
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT A Congressional committee has asked federal law enforcement authorities to investigate whether Roger Clemens made false statements under oath about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Congress requests Clemens investigation Los Angeles Times
Congress asks Justice Department to investigate if Clemens lied ... New York Daily News
Guardian Unlimited - ABC News - Bloomberg - Reuters
all 1,164 news articles »

This congress, controlled by the democrats, is the most useless group of partisans I can remember. For the past seven (7) years they have complained about the Bust Justice Department no doing what it is supposed to do and now they are asking it to investigate Clemens. Congress needs to let the Justice Department do their job! And, Congress needs to get busy and do their job... for a change. The congressional democrats are constantly complaining about the Bush administrations ineptness or blaming the administration for something.

It appears to me that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi just need to do their jobs and quit worrying about whether the administration is inept. What they have been doing is showing their ineptness as leaders in congress.

what's up with the Chiefs?

Chiefs to release Law, Bell, Reed, Dunn

By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

The Chiefs continued their rebuilding process by telling four more veteran players they would be released, sources said.

One, cornerback Ty Law, was a starter last season. Two, linebacker Kendrell Bell and defensive tackle James Reed, are former starters while the fourth player, tight end Jason Dunn, was once a key reserve.

All of the players are over 30 except Bell, who turns 30 in July.

The Chiefs have either released or will release six veterans who had 2008 contracts. Offensive tackle John Welbourn and wide receiver Eddie Kennison, both also over 30, were previously released. [emphasis added]

I certainly understand that the Kansas City Chiefs are trying to "rebuild" with younger players. Apparently, you must tear down or destroy before you can "rebuild".

Just wondering... do anti-age-discrimination laws apply to sports corporations?

Monday, February 25, 2008

fun with the democrats

For the past seven (7) years we have heard the democratic party leadership complain and tell us that George Bush stole the 2000 election from Al Gore. Granted it was extremely close in Florida (about 500 votes) but Al Gore lost... no one stole it from him. Now that Ralph Nader has thrown his hit it the ring, again, all those pundits are now saying if he hadn't been in the 2000 race Gore would have won. What it amounts to is Gore lost and the democratic pundits have to blame something or someone!

Howard Dean, democratic party chairman, is insisting that he Federal Election Commission now allow McCain to withdraw from public financing of his campaign. Today, the party apparently has decided to file a complaint with the FEC. Unfortunately, the FEC will have difficulty addressing the issue because four (4) of the six (6) commission seats are vacant because the democratically controlled Senate has held up votes on the nominees. How ironic!

Another ironic thing about this situations is Howard Dean withdrew from public financing of his campaign in 2003. Of course, like most democratic politicians, his circumstances were different.

I still think Dean and the democratic leadership needs to be concentrating on how they are going to enforce the rules pertaining to delegates in Florida and Michigan not being seated at the convention. The Clintons are going to push and fight for their seating as hard as possible and are not above anything to get their way. The party should not back down from the rule!

nationalized healthcare

While the liberal democrats running for president keep touting nationalized health care other systems in the world are falling apart. I have posted before on this subject (Saturday, December 22, 2007; Free advertising is never good advertising).

This video is from Free Market Cure.

If nationalized health care is so great and is the only answer to health care in this country then people from other nationalized health care countries wouldn't be coming to this country for their health care.

Under Hillary's plan we will all be forced to purchase insurance from the government. If you don't purchase it then the government will garnish your pay. In all aspects her plan sounds like socialism! That may be why she couldn't even get a vote from Congress on it in 1993. If you listen to very much of Hillary it become apparent that she is clearly a socialist.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

the haircut

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut.  After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies, 'I cannot accept money from you.  I'm doing community service this week.'  The florist was pleased and left the shop. 

When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, 'I cannot accept money from you.  I'm doing community service this week.'  The cop is happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later that day, a college professor comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, 'I cannot accept money from you.  I'm doing community service this week.' The professor is very happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber opens his shop, there is a 'thank you' card and a dozen different books, such as 'How to Improve Your Business' and 'Becoming More Successful'.

'Then, a Congressman comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies ,'I cannot accept money from you.  I'm doing community service this week.'  The Congressman is very happy and leaves the shop. 

The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the members of our Congress.--

Vote carefully this year.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

opinions and rumors

It appears to me that Obama will be the democratic nominee unless the super delegates take it away from him. He has won ten in a row. The Clinton campaign is depending on Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania to pull Hillary out of the ditch. I really don't think that will happen. It appears that Hillary is losing ground in Texas and Pennsylvania. With Teamsters endorsing Obama yesterday that will go a long way to eroding support in Ohio. It won't surprise me if Obama wins all three states but it is a must win for Hillary in order to keep her campaign alive.

Romney and Huckabee have suspended their campaigns. Now might be a good time for them to revive those campaigns, just to say they are still in the race even though they can't get enough delegates. The accusations made last night against McCain by the New York Times, whether true or not, will harm the McCain campaign. It is my belief that if he is the republican nominee the republicans will be giving up the White House. The democrats will turn this into a character race and there will be too many doubts about McCain.

One thing this story has done is begin to unite the conservatives, especially the conservative talk show hosts. They have been criticizing and haranguing McCain since he became the front runner. Now they are rallying to defend and support him. How fickle!

At this point it will not surprise me if McCain is forced to step aside and release his delegates either before or during the convention. This may sound far fetched but it is my prediction, especially if the accusers, the former aides, come forward or are disclosed. After the fiasco with Bill Clinton lying to the country and getting away with it the public is not ready to elect a president that may/may no be guilty of the same thing.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

which is worse?

The Clintons are up in arms and attacking Obama for plagiarizing a speech made by a friend of his and not giving his friend credit. Apparently Obama had given him credit before but not in one particular instance. The friend has said he didn't have a problem with Obama using the speech.

In reality, I doubt that Obama's friend even wrote the speech. He probably had a speech writer that wrote it for him. Most politicians have speech writer so why don't they all give the speech writer credit for writing such a good speech?

If this is the best the Clintons have to go after Obama they have a pretty poor campaign staff and the race is definitely over. They should send Bill back to New York and let him get on with his sex life. Hillary might as well stop campaigning if she really thinks this is going to be an issue that gets her the nomination.

So which is worse, Obama using a friend's speech or Bill saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"?  

At the risk of plagiarisms, I have to write..."Give me a break!"... "What a fairytale!"

Monday, February 18, 2008

Refinery explosion

There was another refinery explosion; this one was in Big Springs, Texas. And the price of gasoline continues to spiral upward.

Have you wondered why refineries keep exploding? I sure have! It seems to me that over the past few years there have been numerous refineries that have been leveled. However, you don't hear much about new ones being built. As a matter of fact, I have only heard of one being built but I don't remember where it was. I do remember thinking that it was the first time I had ever heard of any being constructed.

We keep hearing of all these record profits the oil companies are experiencing. Why aren't they using some of these profits to build new refineries? Why build refineries when a shortage of gasoline would make the price spiral even higher.

Friday, February 15, 2008

one more nail driven

This is just one more nail in the defeat Hillary coffin. As I have predicted, it is all beginning to fall apart on the Clintons. You can be that they are mad as hell and are already planning their revenge for when they "take over" the White House. Remember, she is ready to go on "day-one" so these "traitors" better get ready... of course they are going to try to get revenge even when they don't win the White House back.

Super-delegate withdraws support for Clinton to back Obama

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Friday February 15 2008. It was last updated at 16:05 on February 15 2008.

Hillary Clinton's strategy of relying on high-ranking Democrats to keep her ahead of Barack Obama in the race for the presidential nomination is in jeopardy today after a leading figure of the civil rights era said he would switch sides to support her opponent.

John Lewis, a Georgia congressman who had been supporting Clinton, said he now planned to back Obama. The move from Lewis, one of Clinton's most prominent African-American supporters, could encourage other black leaders and Democratic so-called "super-delegates" to switch sides.

Lewis, like other Democratic members of Congress, governors and high-ranking members of the party, is one of the country's 796 super-delegates, who act as free agents at the nominating convention. Unlike normal delegates they are not chosen by primaries or caucuses. His defection could prove especially damaging for Clinton because of his moral authority. As a student in the early 1960s, Lewis was one of the leaders of the civil rights movement. [full article]

I just can't wait to hear what conservative talk radio has to say about this development. I bet they agree with me that the Clinton campaign is falling like a Japanese dive bomber in WWII.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

President of Iran to pay landmark two-day visit to Baghdad

From NEWS.scotsman.com

  • Published Date: 15 February 2008
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Scotland
  • Related Topics: Iran

MAHMOUD Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, is to make a landmark visit to Baghdad for talks with Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, and other officials.

The visit, on 2 and 3 March, will be the first by the president of the Islamic Republic, which is at loggerheads with many in the West over the causes of violence in Iraq as well as Tehran's nuclear programme.

Washington and London accuse Iran of helping Shiite militias in Iraq, by giving them training and weapons, including armour-piercing bombs known as explosively formed penetrators that have killed US and British troops. Tehran denies the charges.

Iran, a predominantly Shiite Muslim country, and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s in which hundreds of thousands were killed. Ties have improved since Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab, was ousted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and a Shiite Muslim-led government came to power in Baghdad. Both Mr Maliki and Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, have visited Iran. {Click the link above to read the entire story.)

Wouldn't it be too bad if the insurgent radical Islamic fascists sent a homicide bomber to greet Ahmadinejad? Sure would resolve some issues for the world.

Protect Israel and God's Chosen People!!

bill's running?

Sean Hannity reported and broadcast today on this radio program that Bill Clinton had a little slip while making a stump speech for Hillary. Apparently, during the speech lauding all of Hillary's accomplishments and qualifications he followed it up with "vote for me." After the slip he went on just like nothing had happened.

As I've said, voting for Hillary is a 2-for-1 vote. We could for the first time have co-presidents. (lol)

From all the on-line news stories it appears to me that Hillary is out of the race. She is busy badgering and condemning Obama. In the mean time Obama and McCain are getting an early start debating. Hillary has put all her eggs in the Ohio and Texas basket just as Giuliani put all his in the Florida basket. She might as well just throw in the towel, endorse Obama and "re-unite" the party.

Romney has decided to endorse McCain... I really hoped he would endorse Huckabee. Romney is obviously trying to be a good "party man." Maybe he is now shooting for Vice President. I have a feeling McCain has been cutting deals left and right to get endorsements. Who knows who would be what in his administration. To be quiet honest I think anyone will be better than Clinton (either one of them) or Obama.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

potpourri predictions

In my post yesterday I said that Hillary would not back out of the MSNBC/NBC debate and I was correct:

image

Clinton MSNBC Debate Back On

By Howard Kurtz
Brian Williams and Tim Russert must be relieved.

After threatening for days to back out of a scheduled MSNBC debate on Feb. 26, Hillary Clinton's campaign said yesterday that she will show up for the Cleveland face-off against Barack Obama after all.

My other prediction pertaining to the Florida and Minnesota delegates being seated at the democratic convention will yet come true. Hillary would get most of those delegate because she won in those states. In Minnesota she was the ONLY democrat on the ballot. In Florida she campaign after she signed a pledge stating that she wouldn't. Conservative and liberal pundits are all saying the party can't seat the delegates, but the Clintons are used to special treatment and they will go after anyone that stands in the way of them, Bill and Hillary, regaining the White House. They will apply pressure and buy votes on the committee that decides if these expelled delegates will be seated. These delegates will be seated or the Clintons will cause the biggest "row" the democratic party has ever seen... and they will still get their way.

This could be the best thing to happen to the GOP and the republican nominee. While the democrats are fighting the republicans can say, "see they are polarizing even in their own party." This campaign season might just get interesting yet!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

today's potpourri

Elevation

One of my favorite churches and pastors is Elevation Church and Steven Furtick. I've written about this church and pastor before but Sunday was the Church's Second Anniversary. Steven Furtick is the founder and lead pastor of the church. It has grown from the eight original families to attendance of 4,000 people at two campuses.

Why do I like this church and pastor? Pastor Furtick is one of the most excited, energetic, enthusiastic and charismatic followers of Christ that I have ever seen or heard. Every week I either watch Pastor Furtick via Internet or listen to the Podcast.

Take a few minutes and visit the Church web site or Pastor Furtick's blog. Take less than an hour and listen to a sermon.

Democratic Campaign

What a race and I'm not even a Democrat! It appears to me that Obama is trouncing Hillary. What's better, it appears that Hillary knows it and is beginning to run scared. Obviously, the money has started drying up a little and Bill spent too much time on the road "attacking." Most people don't like the attacks and are turned off by them. Now, she is taking up the call of attacks toward Obama. To me that is a sign of desperation.

As I have said in a prior post the "attack" on Chelsea was okay with me. Chelsea should expect these attacks if she is going to hit the campaign trail for her mother. Hillary has complained that NBC/MCNBC has treated her unfairly and demanded changes... isn't that just like her. She wants to be President of the greatest country on earth but she needs some special treatment. It's the "oh, woe is me" syndrome. Think that will work with Iran, North Korea, China or radical fascist Islamists? I can just hear her telling Ahmadinejad, "You're being mean to me, you need to be nice to me." Yeah, right!

Republican Campaign

Washington State party chairman has taken it upon himself to declare Senator McCain the winner of their caucus this past weekend. Unfortunately, he has done this without counting all the votes. McCain was approximately 200 votes ahead of Huckabee but there was 1,500 votes left to count. This sounds, to me, to be Nixon tactics and back smoke filled room nomination. The RNC should be forcing a recount and removing this state chairman from office.

Conservative talk show hosts and pundits tried to force Romney down our throats as the "only true conservative" and that is what turned me off to him. Most of these people repeatedly said they would not endorse a candidate and would support the Republican nominee. What they really meant is they would not endorse a candidate but would support only Romney as the nominee. I feel they weren't true to their word and still don't understand all the criticism of them.

Some of the political pundits and "conservative" leaders are saying that if McCain wins the nomination they will sit at home and not vote. Good for them! That shows an excellent example of our American citizenship duty. I was always told if you don't vote you don't have the right to criticize. As for me, any of them I hear that don't vote won't get me ear anymore. People like Ann Coulter can't survive if true voting citizens don't listen to them. I find it hard to believe that any of these conservative pundits would actually follow through and not vote.

Huckabee says he is in it till the delegate count is reached by either he or McCain. "Mathematically" Huckabee can't get the number of delegates he needs to be the nominee. He says he doesn't know about the math but he believes in miracles. In this case, a miracle would be for McCain to make a major faux pas, probably in a speech. That would surprise me since he speaks so slowly and thoughtfully.

In my opinion, Huckabee is the only "true conservative" left in the race. I agree with virtually all of his positions on the issues but he scares me regarding taxes. I'm not sure if he would resist raising taxes. But, on the other had I disagree with McCain on virtually all issues except the war on radical Islamic fascists.

I guess what it boils down to is I'm flipping back to supporting Huckabee even though he probably can't win the nomination. Maybe a miracle will happen!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Iran planning more rocket tests

Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST
Feb. 11, 2008

Iran will launch two more research rockets into space before putting its first domestically built satellite into orbit, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday, claiming the first rocket launch earlier this month was a success.

The hard-line president, speaking at a rally marking the 29th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, said with the rocket launches and the recent unveiling of its first major space center, his country had the ability to send an Iranian-made satellite into orbit, hopefully this summer.

"Having a presence in space is the need for a nation to enjoy a glorious life," Ahmadinejad said. "Today, we possess all the fundamental sections needed to launch a satellite into space. We built all [of the sections] ourselves."

Iran launched its first research rocket on February 4 when it also announced the space center and its first indigenous satellite - called Omid, or Hope.

Iran has long declared a goal of developing a space program, but the same technology used to put satellites in space can also be used to deliver warheads. The country's space program, like its nuclear power program, has provoked unease abroad.

Despite the anxiety over Iran's space program, it is not exactly clear how developed it is, and analysts have expressed doubts about such technological achievements announced by the country in the past.

Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications. Iranian officials also point to America's use of satellites to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq and say they need similar abilities for their security.

Iranian officials have said the country wants to launch a satellite on an indigenous rocket and indicated they are developing a Shahab-4 missile to do that. Iran's powerful ballistic missile, the Shahab-3, is believed to have a range of at least 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), putting Israel and much of the Middle East in range. In November, Iran said it had manufactured a new missile, the Ashoura, with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).

Iran hopes to launch four more satellites by 2010, the government has said.

I do not think Iran should be allowed to launch any more rockets or develop a space program. The United States should shoot down these rockets and any others the Iranians launch. The entire purpose of rocket launching is anti-Israel and should not be tolerated by any rational country that is part of the world community.

Israel must be protected!

political opinion

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Kansas poem

A Friend from Oklahoma email this to me:

It's winter in Kansas
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.

Oh, how I love Kansas
when the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Kansas
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Hillary hopes you have forgotten. Have you?

Hillary Clinton has been telling America that she is the most qualified candidate for president based on her "record," which she says includes her eight years in the White House as First Lady - or "co-president" - and her seven years in the Senate. Here is a reminder of what that record includes:

  1. As First Lady, Hillary assumed authority over Health Care Reform, a process that cost the taxpayers over $13 million. She told both Bill Bradley and Pat Moynahan, key votes needed to pass her legislation, that she would "demonize "anyone who opposed it. But it was opposed; she couldn't even get it to a vote in a Congress controlled by her own party. (And in the next election, her party lost control of both the House and Senate.)
  2. Hillary assumed authority over selecting a female Attorney General. Her first two recommendations (Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood) were forced to withdraw their names from consideration, and then she chose Janet Reno. Janet Reno has since been described by Bill himself as "my worst mistake."
  3. Hillary recommended Lani Guanier for head of the Civil Rights Commission. When Guanier's radical views became known, her name had to be withdrawn.
  4. Hillary recommended her former law partners, Web Hubbell, Vince Foster, and William Kennedy for positions in the Justice Department, White House staff, and the Treasury,respectively. Hubbell was later imprisoned, Foster committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign.
  5. Hillary also recommended a close friend of the Clintons, Craig Livingstone, for the position of director of White House security. When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of up to 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (Filegate) and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, both Hillary and her husband denied knowing him. (FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene Confirmed in a Senate Judiciary Committee in 1996 both the drug use and Hillary's involvement in hiring Livingstone. After that, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office, after serving seven presidents for over thirty years.)
  6. In order to open "slots" in the White House for her friends the Harry Thomasons (to whom millions of dollars in travel contracts could be awarded), Hillary had the entire staff of the White House Travel Office fired; they were reported to the FBI for "gross mismanagement" and their reputations ruined. After a thirty-month investigation, only one, Billy Dale, was charged with a crime - mixing personal money with White House funds when he cashed checks. The jury acquitted him in less than two hours.
  7. Another of Hillary's assumed duties was directing the "bimbo eruption squad" and scandal defense: ---- She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit.. ---- She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs.

Also,

  • Then they had to settle with Paula Jones after all.
  • And Bill lost his law license for lying to the grand jury.
  • And Bill was impeached by the House.
  • And Hillary almost got herself indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice (she avoided it mostly because she repeated, "I do not recall," "I have no recollection," and "I don't know" 56 times under oath).
  • Hillary accepted the traditional First Lady's role of decorator of the White House at Christmas, but in a unique Hillary way. In 1994, for example, The First Lady's Tree in the Blue Room (the focal point each year) was Decorated with drug paraphernalia, sex toys, and pornographic ornaments, all personally approved by Hillary as the invited artists' depictions of the theme, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
  • Hillary wrote "It Takes a Village," demonstrating her Socialist viewpoint.
  • Hillary decided to seek election to the Senate in a state she had never lived in. Her husband pardoned FALN terrorists in order to get Latino support and the New Square Hassidim to get Jewish support. Hillary also had Bill pardon her brother's clients, for a small fee, to get financial support. {He also pardoned his own brother on drug charges... you know, the one who likes to repeatedly use the "N" word.}
  • Then Hillary left the White House, but later had to return $200,000 in White House furniture, China, and artwork she had stolen.
  • In the campaign for the Senate, Hillary played the "woman card" by portraying her opponent (Lazio) as a bully picking on her.
  • Hillary's husband further protected her by asking the National Archives to withhold from the public until 2012 many records of their time in the White House, including much of Hillary's correspondence and her calendars. (There are ongoing lawsuits to force the release of those records.)
  • As the junior Senator from New York , Hillary has passed no major legislation. She has deferred to the senior Senator (Schumer) to tend to the needs of New Yorkers, even on the hot issue of medical problems of workers involved in the cleanup of Ground Zero after 9/11.
  • Hillary's one notable vote, supporting the plan to invade Iraq , she has since disavowed.

Quite a resume, isn't it? Sounds more like an organized crime family..

is Chelsea being "pimped out?"

Sure she is being "pimped out" along with the children of any other candidate that is stumping for the parent. MCNBC has suspended David Shuster for making the comment, but it is the truth, in my opinion.

The LA Times reports:

Shuster apologized Friday morning on MSNBC for the term he applied to Chelsea. He issued a second apology on the MSNBC show "Tucker," where he had uttered his comment while acting as guest host.

Hillary Clinton's campaign staff has been critical of what it considers a hostile attitude toward her in MSNBC's coverage, and the Shuster incident brought matters to a head. 

Other media outlets including Sean Hannity have criticized Shuster saying that the children should be "off-limits" to media criticism. I disagree. If Mom and/or Dad are putting them out there to stump and speak for them then Mom, Dad and children have to accept all the criticism. If Mom and Dad want to protect the children from political attacks then keep them off the campaign trail.

Hillary says she may shun future debates sponsored by MSNBC/NBC because of the comment. She is bluffing; she isn't about to allow a debate with Obama the only democrat on stage presenting his case; she isn't stupid... she just wants some special concessions. After all she is Hillary Clinton and the Clintons always get special treatment.

In my opinion MSNBC and Shuster made a mistake by apologizing for the "pimped out" comment. I don't think an apology was needed or necessary.

To read the full LA Times article cited here, just click here.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

early mentor

Thirty five years ago when I started in the banking business Martha was one of my mentors. This was long before "mentoring" was a buzz word or the thing to do. We didn't always agree but she was patient with a know-it-all 19 year old and taught me a great deal about business.

I have quoted her often in my 35 years of banking. One of my favorite pieces of advice she gave me was an explanation of which customers walking through the door of the bank were important. She always said the guy coming in in a business suit with his shoes shined looking like money could wait a few minutes... he was there for a loan. The guy in his overall and boots with cow shit on his boots took priority. He doesn't wait, get up and and help him immediately... he is there to make a deposit and probably a large deposit. Over the years this has been proven true to me numerous times.

Not often in life does a person have the opportunity to be taught by a dedicated, passionate professional like Martha. That dedications is what too many business are missing today.

Martha was also passionate about her husband Kenneth. In her eyes Kenneth could do no wrong and he was a priority in her life every day.

Martha Donley

STERLING - Martha Donley, 81, died Feb. 1, 2008, in the Sterling Presbyterian Manor, Sterling.

She was born Feb. 22, 1926, in Sterling, Okla. the daughter of David Henry and Myrtle Mae Hayes Woods. She attended Sterling schools and graduated from Sterling High School. She went to work as a secretary at the Fort Sill Army Base in Lawton. In 1959, she went to work for Woodward Savings and Loan as a bookkeeper, later as a cashier, and retired as vice president in 1989. In 2005, she moved to Rice County.

She was a member of the First Christian Church of Woodward, Okla.

On Dec. 26, 1944, she married Kenneth Dean Donley in Higgins, Texas. He died Dec. 19, 1982.

Survivors include: two sons, Larry Donley, Sterling, Terry Donley, Russellville, Ark.; a brother, Jack Woods, Dodge City; a sister, Joyce McDonald, Elk City; 11 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Janice Mae.

Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the First Christian Church in Woodward with the Rev. Chuck Shorow presiding. Burial will follow in the Elmwood Cemetery with the Billings Funeral Home, Woodward, Okla. in charge of arrangements.

Memorials may be sent to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Parkinson Division, in care of the funeral home.

(Hutchinson News, February 5, 2008)

Monday, February 4, 2008

Giants win; we all win

I am not and never have been a NY Giants fan but I am so happy they won the Superbowl last night. I am even less of a fan of the Patriots than I am of the Giants.

I noticed when the Patriots made their last touchdown the announcers started assuming and talking about their "perfect" season. They commented that Tom Brady was the greatest quarterback. They had already wrapped up the game and were just congratulating and patting each other on the back. Once again the media was wrong!

The Patriots started out the season as a loser team by cheating and they ended the season as a loser team. Personally, I don't think they should have been allowed to play in the Superbowl. Sure there were fines paid, but what does this say to our youth... cheat, if you get caught you can pay a fine and all is well. That isn't the message I think our youth should be left with. Cheating is wrong, fine or no fine.

My Chiefs had a losing season, Miami had a losing season but in my book... both teams are bigger and better winners than New England is. As cheaters they are the worst team in the league!

This is why "we all win" because the Giants won without cheating!