I will start off by acknowledging that I have never played Dungeons & Dragons....have never really liked the "fantasy games". I have no statistical data to promote or demote the game. I played cowboys and indians as a child and war games with my friends but could never get into writing stuff down. Was kind of a geek also growing up as I have always loved to read. Was able to escape into books and movies. Loved the science fiction books but was not into J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings (my loss that has now become a gain).
On the blog site BAYLY BLOG, which is the blog of David and Tim Bayly, two Presbyterian Pastors, there is a very well-written article by Paul Cote about Gary Gygax and Dungeon and Dragons. Tim knew Paul Cote from his University days and Divinity school. It is a very compelling recounting of a 15 year old boy who met and was charmed by Gary. Please click on the link below to read the article.
The Bayly Blog - Another Post on Gary Gygax and D & D
By the way, there is one commenter who gives the the content of one of the last emails from Gary in which he professes to know the Lord.
This is a bit of my history to show where I came from.
I spent a period of time in the '70s reading about parapsychology, out-of-body travel, and near-death experiences. But I was deathly afraid of anything occult or witchcraft, or satanic. Was also told that it could be dangerous to play with a Ouija board, that it may open you up to things beyond your control or comprehension. And you know what, I believed that on the off chance that it was true. It wasn't until I surrendered to Jesus that I realized those things that are not biblical truths and that are counter to biblical teachings should be avoided. That there are forces and powers beyond my ability to comprehend. I've also realized that there are many seekers, just like I was, that gravitate to these areas that are unchurched and non-believers and they need to be given the chance to hear the "better choice". Not all are hardened devil worshippers and likely (I have no imperical data to back this up) most of them are simply lost. As Christians we are supposed to be seeking the lost (non-believers and the unchurched) and helping them to find the way. We are now proposing to seek the unchurched and non-believers in our areas poor and we are uncomfortable with that (voiced in the questions and objections that we don't have the time or the gifting when what we are really afraid of is change). Imagine then the objections to reaching out to the gay community or to the troubled youth or what about a prison ministry?
Travis has posted about the passing of Gary Gylax and Dungeons and Dragons on his blog. Please click on the link below to read the article.
Patriarchate of Constantinople
These comments are for Travis's article on Gary Gygax.
I admit that when I first read the article I was a bit shaken by some of the "tone of voice" and the open attack on Christians and defense of this game. I had to read it several times and read other articles that were offered by others. After about the third time I realized that Travis was not promoting the game so much as he was condemning the unfair attacks by Christians. There is only empirical data given by individuals with no statistical data to support either side. Just a lot of suppositions based on a person's personal view. The condemnation concerning the Christian attacks is appropriate in that we despise what others do when they condemn Christianity or religion using disproportionately unfair descriptors to make their points. We should not do the same. I also read The Bayly Blog with the accompanying comments and was surprised at the affirmations by pastors and others that were unapologetic Christians. It did make me start to think about the hypocrisy that is prevalent in the church and that that very hypocrisy is then used to demean the Christian religion. We tend to condemn and isolate that which we find repugnant and/or fear. We also inadvertently "throw the baby out with the bathwater" because we condemn and shun those that need the gospel the most. It is the very reason why I have to face my own hypocrisy of shunning the gays, pierced, tattooed and outrageously dressed. These are the very people who need the love and kindness that was displayed by the very Lord that I profess to love and to whom he would be attending.
First let me back up and say that to honor or remember someone who has had an influence in your life and has died is a good thing to do. From all I've read, I do not believe that Gary had any intent to lead people to the devil. At the same time I am sure that there were those that used it for their own agendas and that unchecked and unsupervised a person who has the desire will dabble in the occult and magic.
By the way Travis, do you realize that in that 6 year period of time you spent 1 year, 7 months and 2 weeks (at 40 hrs per week) playing this game? I used the 6 years and 1.5(1 to 2 times per week) times a week and an average of 7 hours per session((4+10)/2=7) for a total of 3275 hours divided by 40(hours per week) equals right at 82 wks. That is a lot of time and one of my objections to any game, computer game, tv watching, or movie watching. Yes, that game requires you to do math (a redeeming value), and strategize, and the computer games produce lightening fast decision making and superior eye hand coordination. All this to say that all things require a balance. I had to make some tough decisions with our kids. They spent too much time in front of the tv and it was impossible to completely control time and programs. The solution was to remove the cable for which I was prepared to be hated and despised. However none of that came about and beyond the initial grumbling there was not a huge revolt.
I do believe that we do not teach our young enough about our nation or church's past...that work is good (the hated "chores"), that it is ok to use your imagination (I think "growing up", being adult and just getting older inhibits the use of the imagination).....that you don't check your imagination at the door of the church (don't we have to spend time imagining who and what God is...and what about heaven?)......that there is evil in the world.....about the secular world......about the secular world view......that being a Christian means we will have struggles.......that you do not have to be some weak kneed, quivering shell of a boy/man or some covered head to toe clothed, always silent girl/woman to be a Christian....that we can have more fun and joy without having to sin to obtain it.
We have to be careful not to be like Lot and "linger" as J.C. Ryle puts it in his book "Holiness". We cannot forget that the dangers of the world and worldly people. Lot moved to Sodom and in the course of events "He appears to have no weight or influence with the people who lived around him." "If ever you would be safe from lingering, beware of needless mingling with worldly people."
I do not believe that D & D presents any problem because it is dying out. On the other hand I do not think it should be promoted or even glamorized to our youth.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Debate over the Translation of Ahmadinejad's Talk of The Destruction of Israel
If you think that maybe Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich have the makings for being a President of the United States maybe this article will start to change your mind.
Read the following article from the Jerusalem Post about the debate over the translation of what the President of Iran said about Israel and it's destruction...note that our finest (that's a joke now folks) institutions of higher learning had a real fine input into the debate.
Please note also what these two fine congressmen proposed and how well their proposal was accepted in the House.
Analysis: Iran's talk of destroying Israel must not get lost in translation
Read the following article from the Jerusalem Post about the debate over the translation of what the President of Iran said about Israel and it's destruction...note that our finest (that's a joke now folks) institutions of higher learning had a real fine input into the debate.
Please note also what these two fine congressmen proposed and how well their proposal was accepted in the House.
Analysis: Iran's talk of destroying Israel must not get lost in translation
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The Upcoming History Making Election
I read a post on Townhall.com by Donald Kochan that I think needs to be widely read. The column is reprinted here in it's entirety.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
"A Time for Choosing"
Posted by: Donald Kochan at 11:06 AM
With the election less than 5 months away, we truly are at a a time for choosing.
From social security to eminent domain to social planning to the other debates on the governmental role, Ronald Reagan's October 27, 1964 "A Time for Choosing" speech should still speak to us today -- one that is a historic moment in political history. It is part of Reagan's legacy, and for that it has independent worth. But it is as insightful to this election as it was then. I re-listened last night to this wisdom at these sites: Part I, then Part II, and Part III. To read it, click here for a version of the text of this historic speech.
Among his statements, Reagan explains that "No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size." Very true and in line with the scholarship in law and economics on bureacracy theory that bureaucracies tend to perpetuate themselves. A cautionary tale. Reagan continued that "government programs once launched never disappear." (this is consistent with my previous post on the New Deal, crises, and fear).
As the election emerges, the following paragraph from Reagan's 1964 speech is particularly poignant for all those that wish to choose:
"Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor's fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can't socialize the doctors without socializing the patients. Recognize that government invasion of public power is eventually an assault upon your own business. If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he'll eat you last."
Ideological differences do, in fact, matter. Choices matter. I want to suggest that everyone listen to or read (via the links above) this speech before making that choice this election year.
The link to the article is posted below:
A Time For Choosing
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
"A Time for Choosing"
Posted by: Donald Kochan at 11:06 AM
With the election less than 5 months away, we truly are at a a time for choosing.
From social security to eminent domain to social planning to the other debates on the governmental role, Ronald Reagan's October 27, 1964 "A Time for Choosing" speech should still speak to us today -- one that is a historic moment in political history. It is part of Reagan's legacy, and for that it has independent worth. But it is as insightful to this election as it was then. I re-listened last night to this wisdom at these sites: Part I, then Part II, and Part III. To read it, click here for a version of the text of this historic speech.
Among his statements, Reagan explains that "No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size." Very true and in line with the scholarship in law and economics on bureacracy theory that bureaucracies tend to perpetuate themselves. A cautionary tale. Reagan continued that "government programs once launched never disappear." (this is consistent with my previous post on the New Deal, crises, and fear).
As the election emerges, the following paragraph from Reagan's 1964 speech is particularly poignant for all those that wish to choose:
"Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor's fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can't socialize the doctors without socializing the patients. Recognize that government invasion of public power is eventually an assault upon your own business. If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he'll eat you last."
Ideological differences do, in fact, matter. Choices matter. I want to suggest that everyone listen to or read (via the links above) this speech before making that choice this election year.
The link to the article is posted below:
A Time For Choosing
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Are We Making the Gate More Wide and the Cross More Light?
When do we as Christians, stand up and say "Enough!". In J.C. Ryle's book Holiness, chapter 9, Lot - a beacon, he says "The Holy Scriptures, which were written for our learning, contain beacons as well as patterns. They show us examples of what we should avoid, as well as examples of what we should follow. The man whose name heads this page is set for a beacon to the whole church of Christ. His character is put before us in one little word: 'He lingered.'
Who is this man that lingered? It is the nephew of faithful Abraham. And when did he linger? The very morning Sodom was to be destroyed. And where did he linger? Within the walls of Sodom itself. And before whom did he linger? Under the eyes of the two angels, who were sent to bring him out of the city. Even then 'he lingered'!"
On down the page...."I ask the special attention of all who have reason to hope they are real Christians, and desire to live holy lives. Let it be a settled principle in our minds, if we follow holiness, that we must not 'linger'."
Have we as a church made the mistake of "Lingering". The church for too many years ignored issues or issued edicts deploring the "sin". Perhaps we too should take our lead from Jesus and invite the sinners into our house and invite them to explore the rich truths of the Bible without condemnations and open disapprovals. Perhaps we should let go of trying to shove the Bible down others throats and invite them to explore the richness of the gospels. Perhaps by letting go and letting the Holy Spirit in (yes, let's go back to letting it be God-centered and not man-centered), we will see God in action. Why are we so arrogant that we think we can fix anything? We are the ones, after all that introduced sin into the world. Are we also the very one's that have inadvertently fostered this denial of truth?
This is a denial of truth and rebellion against God and mankind. Homosexuality is a choice of lifestyle that has no redeeming value to society. It fosters disease. and demeans the instituton of marriage and family. There is an imbalance when raising children. Children need the balance of having a man and a woman in their lives as they are growing up.
And now we are faced with the indignation and shame of having this in our federal government. But then we have not held our Presidents to a high standard either.
This will only go away if we get more committed Christians in office and the Christian public voices their opinions in the voting booth.
Homosexuality takes Congress by storm
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/13/2008 10:40:00 AM
The two openly homosexual members of the U.S. House of Representatives have recruited 50 of their colleagues to officially join them in promoting the homosexual agenda in Congress.
Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are the only open homosexuals serving in Congress. They have joined with Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and 50 other Democrats to create the House Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus. Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says it is a sad day when Congress enshrines official promotion of sexual immorality.
"The gays are all about political power. They know how to vote. They're very committed. They're not apathetic like many Christians," says the activist. "And they've 'earned' this extraordinary total: 52 congressmen coming right out and saying, 'We are going to vote for homosexuality and transsexuality in Congress," LaBarbera contends.
The 52 members of the LGBT Caucus are: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Howard Berman (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Robert Brady (D-PA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Phil Hare (D-IL), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Doris Matsui (D-CA), James Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), José Serrano (D-NY), Chris Shays (R-CT), Pete Stark (D-CA), Betty Sutton (D-OH), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
To read the whole article click
HERE
If there is anyone out there who have family or acquaintences in the state districts that are represented above, please get this message to them and have them state their "opinion" in the voting booth this November.
Who is this man that lingered? It is the nephew of faithful Abraham. And when did he linger? The very morning Sodom was to be destroyed. And where did he linger? Within the walls of Sodom itself. And before whom did he linger? Under the eyes of the two angels, who were sent to bring him out of the city. Even then 'he lingered'!"
On down the page...."I ask the special attention of all who have reason to hope they are real Christians, and desire to live holy lives. Let it be a settled principle in our minds, if we follow holiness, that we must not 'linger'."
Have we as a church made the mistake of "Lingering". The church for too many years ignored issues or issued edicts deploring the "sin". Perhaps we too should take our lead from Jesus and invite the sinners into our house and invite them to explore the rich truths of the Bible without condemnations and open disapprovals. Perhaps we should let go of trying to shove the Bible down others throats and invite them to explore the richness of the gospels. Perhaps by letting go and letting the Holy Spirit in (yes, let's go back to letting it be God-centered and not man-centered), we will see God in action. Why are we so arrogant that we think we can fix anything? We are the ones, after all that introduced sin into the world. Are we also the very one's that have inadvertently fostered this denial of truth?
This is a denial of truth and rebellion against God and mankind. Homosexuality is a choice of lifestyle that has no redeeming value to society. It fosters disease. and demeans the instituton of marriage and family. There is an imbalance when raising children. Children need the balance of having a man and a woman in their lives as they are growing up.
And now we are faced with the indignation and shame of having this in our federal government. But then we have not held our Presidents to a high standard either.
This will only go away if we get more committed Christians in office and the Christian public voices their opinions in the voting booth.
Homosexuality takes Congress by storm
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/13/2008 10:40:00 AM
The two openly homosexual members of the U.S. House of Representatives have recruited 50 of their colleagues to officially join them in promoting the homosexual agenda in Congress.
Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are the only open homosexuals serving in Congress. They have joined with Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and 50 other Democrats to create the House Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus. Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says it is a sad day when Congress enshrines official promotion of sexual immorality.
"The gays are all about political power. They know how to vote. They're very committed. They're not apathetic like many Christians," says the activist. "And they've 'earned' this extraordinary total: 52 congressmen coming right out and saying, 'We are going to vote for homosexuality and transsexuality in Congress," LaBarbera contends.
The 52 members of the LGBT Caucus are: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Mike Honda (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Howard Berman (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Robert Brady (D-PA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Susan Davis (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Phil Hare (D-IL), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Doris Matsui (D-CA), James Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), José Serrano (D-NY), Chris Shays (R-CT), Pete Stark (D-CA), Betty Sutton (D-OH), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
To read the whole article click
HERE
If there is anyone out there who have family or acquaintences in the state districts that are represented above, please get this message to them and have them state their "opinion" in the voting booth this November.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Do Christians Really Have the "Fighting Spirit"?
Time for conservatives to wake up
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 6/10/2008 10:55:00 AM
A pro-family leader says a recent announcement from the ACLU -- that it is expanding its work on social justice issues in the country's heartland -- ought to unite conservatives against such a judicial threat.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it has already raised $258 million over the last year and is seeking $77 million more to hire new attorneys and launch new liberal advocacy programs in states like Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Major donors to the ACLU's fundraising campaign include billionaire financier George Soros, who gave $12 million through his Open Society Institute. (More details)
ACLU executive director Anthony Romero says the group plans to, among other things, expand its advocacy on behalf of illegal aliens and homosexuals seeking marriage rights in heartland states.
American Values president Gary Bauer says the ACLU campaign is one more sign that conservative and pro-family people "better wake up."
"I still hear a lot of grousing, a lot of complaining about the election, about nothing's at stake, there are no choices or whatever -- that couldn't be more wrong," Bauer emphasizes. "The left right now is on the offensive; they are raising massive amounts of money. This ACLU announcement makes it clear they're going to take the battle right into the heartland where the pro-family movement is the strongest."
Bauer says the ACLU is going to use the courts, their regulators, and every other option available to force the country to accept their "radical left-wing agenda." Pointing to the outcomes in the last two presidential elections, he says liberal activists understand they are in a battle to make America in their image.
"The day after those elections you didn't hear [liberals] moaning and groaning and firing [accusations] at each other and blaming each other," he recalls. "What you saw ... was people going to microphones and saying 'We're going to fight even harder. We're going to raise even more money. We're going to do even more things at the grassroots level until we prevail.'"
Bauer laments that many "men and women of faith" currently lack the "fighting spirit" that exists on the left.
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 6/10/2008 10:55:00 AM
A pro-family leader says a recent announcement from the ACLU -- that it is expanding its work on social justice issues in the country's heartland -- ought to unite conservatives against such a judicial threat.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it has already raised $258 million over the last year and is seeking $77 million more to hire new attorneys and launch new liberal advocacy programs in states like Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Major donors to the ACLU's fundraising campaign include billionaire financier George Soros, who gave $12 million through his Open Society Institute. (More details)
ACLU executive director Anthony Romero says the group plans to, among other things, expand its advocacy on behalf of illegal aliens and homosexuals seeking marriage rights in heartland states.
American Values president Gary Bauer says the ACLU campaign is one more sign that conservative and pro-family people "better wake up."
"I still hear a lot of grousing, a lot of complaining about the election, about nothing's at stake, there are no choices or whatever -- that couldn't be more wrong," Bauer emphasizes. "The left right now is on the offensive; they are raising massive amounts of money. This ACLU announcement makes it clear they're going to take the battle right into the heartland where the pro-family movement is the strongest."
Bauer says the ACLU is going to use the courts, their regulators, and every other option available to force the country to accept their "radical left-wing agenda." Pointing to the outcomes in the last two presidential elections, he says liberal activists understand they are in a battle to make America in their image.
"The day after those elections you didn't hear [liberals] moaning and groaning and firing [accusations] at each other and blaming each other," he recalls. "What you saw ... was people going to microphones and saying 'We're going to fight even harder. We're going to raise even more money. We're going to do even more things at the grassroots level until we prevail.'"
Bauer laments that many "men and women of faith" currently lack the "fighting spirit" that exists on the left.
Chuck Norris on The Oil Crisis
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Congress, Get Off Your Gas, and Drill
By Chuck Norris
Last Thursday, oil prices increased $5.50 per barrel in one day. Last Friday marked the biggest single-day surge in oil price history, rocketing $11 more to $138 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In just two days, oil costs increased 13 percent.
Average Americans literally are driving to the poorhouse on financial fumes. With gas at $4 per gallon, roughly two cars in every household, and the average annual gas usage at 700 gallons, you do the math. Americans are being forced to use their hard-earned money that once put food in their stomachs to put petroleum in their tanks and to drive the exact same distances they drove a decade ago for four to five times the price.
As oil and gas prices skyrocket, Congress continues to play the blame game. In April 2006, with the Democrats poised to take over Congress with Nancy Pelosi at the helm, she released a statement saying, "With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress." She followed that with a commitment, "Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging." So, has the Democrats' common-sense plan worked? Average gas prices were about $2.50 a gallon at the time. Now they're $4 a gallon and rising. Some crackdown plan.
Look at the energy chaos that our government has allowed. While we remain at the mercy of oil companies, cartels and OPEC, our government has tied the hands of states and citizens to tap even temporary energy relief from our own land. Here are a few key vistas on the oil and energy landscape:
-- Though we have more oil in the shale of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming than there is in the Middle East (800 billion barrels), liberals and environmentalists have made it illegal to touch it.
-- It's illegal to drill in northern Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or off the coasts of Florida or California.
-- It's illegal to explore the Atlantic Ocean for oil.
-- It's illegal to explore the Pacific Ocean for oil.
-- We're not receiving leases anymore to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, while China, Venezuela and Cuba are.
-- We haven't built an oil refinery in more than 30 years and have reduced in half those we have.
-- American airlines are in danger of going out of business.
-- American truckers are being stranded on the sides of roads.
-- American commuters are going bankrupt trying to travel back and forth to work and are being forced to work locally for lower wages.
-- There's enough natural gas beneath America (406 trillion cubic feet) to heat every home in America for the next 150 years, but we can't tap it all.
-- We have the largest supply of coal in the world, but it's Germany who is planning to build 27 coal-fired power plants by 2020.
-- Etc.!
Click Hereto read the rest of Chuck's column
Congress, Get Off Your Gas, and Drill
By Chuck Norris
Last Thursday, oil prices increased $5.50 per barrel in one day. Last Friday marked the biggest single-day surge in oil price history, rocketing $11 more to $138 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In just two days, oil costs increased 13 percent.
Average Americans literally are driving to the poorhouse on financial fumes. With gas at $4 per gallon, roughly two cars in every household, and the average annual gas usage at 700 gallons, you do the math. Americans are being forced to use their hard-earned money that once put food in their stomachs to put petroleum in their tanks and to drive the exact same distances they drove a decade ago for four to five times the price.
As oil and gas prices skyrocket, Congress continues to play the blame game. In April 2006, with the Democrats poised to take over Congress with Nancy Pelosi at the helm, she released a statement saying, "With skyrocketing gas prices, it is clear that the American people can no longer afford the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress." She followed that with a commitment, "Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices by cracking down on price gouging." So, has the Democrats' common-sense plan worked? Average gas prices were about $2.50 a gallon at the time. Now they're $4 a gallon and rising. Some crackdown plan.
Look at the energy chaos that our government has allowed. While we remain at the mercy of oil companies, cartels and OPEC, our government has tied the hands of states and citizens to tap even temporary energy relief from our own land. Here are a few key vistas on the oil and energy landscape:
-- Though we have more oil in the shale of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming than there is in the Middle East (800 billion barrels), liberals and environmentalists have made it illegal to touch it.
-- It's illegal to drill in northern Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or off the coasts of Florida or California.
-- It's illegal to explore the Atlantic Ocean for oil.
-- It's illegal to explore the Pacific Ocean for oil.
-- We're not receiving leases anymore to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, while China, Venezuela and Cuba are.
-- We haven't built an oil refinery in more than 30 years and have reduced in half those we have.
-- American airlines are in danger of going out of business.
-- American truckers are being stranded on the sides of roads.
-- American commuters are going bankrupt trying to travel back and forth to work and are being forced to work locally for lower wages.
-- There's enough natural gas beneath America (406 trillion cubic feet) to heat every home in America for the next 150 years, but we can't tap it all.
-- We have the largest supply of coal in the world, but it's Germany who is planning to build 27 coal-fired power plants by 2020.
-- Etc.!
Click Hereto read the rest of Chuck's column
When I was a Boy, America Was a Better Place
I listen to the Dennis Prager radio talk show and heard this on a segment a few months ago and it shocked me. It shocked me because after a heartbeat of thinking I knew he was also speaking for me. You see, I remember the days when family was first. When the concern was not about what "I deserved" or what "was right for me" or about how "I looked" or that "I was getting my fair share". It was about Mom, Dad, my brother, my sister and our family including aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and friends and neighbors. Yes, we knew and cared about our neighbors. We had family picnics, get togethers and camping trips. We had huge Saturday picnics with games and fishing, horseback riding and talks with friends, neighbors, fellow workers(that's for Dad, 'cuz all I cared about was my friends and what games we would get to play). It was a country that emerged from two world wars and a depression that would have ruined almost any other nation on earth, into two decades of an almost idyllic time that is unmatched in all of history. Our (my) childhood was without precedent for being unfettered by trials and tribulations. Please read Dennis's column, it is an eye opener.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
When I Was a Boy, America Was a Better Place
By Dennis Prager
The day the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced, I said to my then-teenage son, "David, please forgive me. I am handing over to you a worse America than my father handed over to me."
Unfortunately, I still feel this way.
Please Read the Rest of Dennis's Column
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
When I Was a Boy, America Was a Better Place
By Dennis Prager
The day the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced, I said to my then-teenage son, "David, please forgive me. I am handing over to you a worse America than my father handed over to me."
Unfortunately, I still feel this way.
Please Read the Rest of Dennis's Column
Monday, June 09, 2008
Lord's Prayer - Hawaii Pidgin
Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord's Prayer:
“God, you our Fadda.
You stay inside da sky.
We like all da peopo know fo shua how you stay,
An dat you stay good an spesho,
An we like dem give you plenny respeck.
We like you come King fo everybody now.
We like everybody make jalike you like,
Ova hea inside da world,
Jalike da angel guys up inside da sky make jalike you like.
Give us da food we need fo today an every day.
Hemmo our shame, an let us go
Fo all da kine bad stuff we do to you,
Jalike us guys let da odda guys go awready,
And we no stay huhu wit dem
Fo all da kine bad stuff dey do to us.
No let us get chance fo do bad kine stuff,
But take us outa dea, so da Bad Guy no can hurt us.
Cuz you our King.
You get da real power,
An you stay awesome foeva.
Dass it!”
“God, you our Fadda.
You stay inside da sky.
We like all da peopo know fo shua how you stay,
An dat you stay good an spesho,
An we like dem give you plenny respeck.
We like you come King fo everybody now.
We like everybody make jalike you like,
Ova hea inside da world,
Jalike da angel guys up inside da sky make jalike you like.
Give us da food we need fo today an every day.
Hemmo our shame, an let us go
Fo all da kine bad stuff we do to you,
Jalike us guys let da odda guys go awready,
And we no stay huhu wit dem
Fo all da kine bad stuff dey do to us.
No let us get chance fo do bad kine stuff,
But take us outa dea, so da Bad Guy no can hurt us.
Cuz you our King.
You get da real power,
An you stay awesome foeva.
Dass it!”
2008 PC
In this article by Mike S. Adams, professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina, the world of politically correct words that are being forced on some students in another professor's class are analysed.
Monday, June 09, 2008
2008 PC
By Mike S. Adams
I was asked recently - by a child porn advocate, no less - why I write books with chapter titles that are so “offensive.” Citing two such chapter titles – “Fag Hags and Rainbow Flags” and “The Liar, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” – the child porn advocate asked what some of my fellow UNC professors had done to make me sound so “nasty.” I think the question is worth answering.
Put simply, I use provocative language in chapters (more often in columns) criticizing a small minority of my fellow professors for two reasons: 1) because they are proponents of fascism, and 2) because the UNC administration is too cowardly to confront fascist professors due to political correctness - the principal means of enforcing academic fascism.
Let me be more specific by relying upon a recent example involving one of our more authoritarian UNC professors.
Students taking a criminology course approached me after the professor banned (fortunately in writing) the use of the word “mankind” as “sexist.” Students were threatened specifically with point deductions for every single use of the word in exams or papers. Unfortunately, students did not stand up to the professor. Now I have learned that the professor has adopted another rule – this one banning use of the terms “BC” and “AD.”
Click here to read the rest of the article
Monday, June 09, 2008
2008 PC
By Mike S. Adams
I was asked recently - by a child porn advocate, no less - why I write books with chapter titles that are so “offensive.” Citing two such chapter titles – “Fag Hags and Rainbow Flags” and “The Liar, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” – the child porn advocate asked what some of my fellow UNC professors had done to make me sound so “nasty.” I think the question is worth answering.
Put simply, I use provocative language in chapters (more often in columns) criticizing a small minority of my fellow professors for two reasons: 1) because they are proponents of fascism, and 2) because the UNC administration is too cowardly to confront fascist professors due to political correctness - the principal means of enforcing academic fascism.
Let me be more specific by relying upon a recent example involving one of our more authoritarian UNC professors.
Students taking a criminology course approached me after the professor banned (fortunately in writing) the use of the word “mankind” as “sexist.” Students were threatened specifically with point deductions for every single use of the word in exams or papers. Unfortunately, students did not stand up to the professor. Now I have learned that the professor has adopted another rule – this one banning use of the terms “BC” and “AD.”
Click here to read the rest of the article
Party Voting Record on Energy
Read this if you want to know how the voting record stands for each party on our energy issues.
For several decades, the Democratic Party has pursued policies designed to drive up the cost of petroleum, and therefore gas at the pump. Remarkably, the Democrats don't seem to have taken much of a political hit from the current spike in gas prices. Probably that's because most people don't realize how different the two parties' energy policies have been.
ANWR Exploration
House Republicans: 91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed
Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed
Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed
SUMMARY
91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.
86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.
It's useful to keep this sort of thing in mind when we hear (on something like a daily basis these days) that the Republicans have run out of ideas or that Republican ideas didn't work. The truth is that most major Republican ideas weren't tried because the Democrats blocked them. Increasing the domestic production of oil and gas (a move so obvious it barely meets the standard for being an idea) is hardly the only example. Social security reform and school choice also come quickly to mind. Republican-backed policies for increasing the number of Americans with health insurance were also blocked by Democrats. And so forth.
For several decades, the Democratic Party has pursued policies designed to drive up the cost of petroleum, and therefore gas at the pump. Remarkably, the Democrats don't seem to have taken much of a political hit from the current spike in gas prices. Probably that's because most people don't realize how different the two parties' energy policies have been.
ANWR Exploration
House Republicans: 91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed
Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed
Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed
SUMMARY
91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.
86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.
It's useful to keep this sort of thing in mind when we hear (on something like a daily basis these days) that the Republicans have run out of ideas or that Republican ideas didn't work. The truth is that most major Republican ideas weren't tried because the Democrats blocked them. Increasing the domestic production of oil and gas (a move so obvious it barely meets the standard for being an idea) is hardly the only example. Social security reform and school choice also come quickly to mind. Republican-backed policies for increasing the number of Americans with health insurance were also blocked by Democrats. And so forth.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Mark 1:9-11 Hawaii Pidgin
From the Jordan River in Israel:
Double click the photo to view in a larger picture.
Two more:
Jesus say, "God wen get so plenny love an aloha fo da peopo inside da world, dat he wen send me, his one an ony Boy, so dat everybody dat trus me no get cut off from God, but get da kine life dat stay to da max foeva." (John 3:16)
Tink hard bout wat I telling you. Cuz da Boss, he goin make shua you undastan everyting I say. So tink plenny bout Jesus, da Spesho Guy God Wen Send. He da One dat wen come from King David ohana. God wen make him come back alive, afta he wen mahke. An dass da Good Kine Stuff From God dat I stay telling everybody. (Letta Numba 2 Fo Timoty 2:7-
Double click the photo to view in a larger picture.
Two more:
Jesus say, "God wen get so plenny love an aloha fo da peopo inside da world, dat he wen send me, his one an ony Boy, so dat everybody dat trus me no get cut off from God, but get da kine life dat stay to da max foeva." (John 3:16)
Tink hard bout wat I telling you. Cuz da Boss, he goin make shua you undastan everyting I say. So tink plenny bout Jesus, da Spesho Guy God Wen Send. He da One dat wen come from King David ohana. God wen make him come back alive, afta he wen mahke. An dass da Good Kine Stuff From God dat I stay telling everybody. (Letta Numba 2 Fo Timoty 2:7-
Friday, June 06, 2008
And the Insanity Continues
While we continue to supply the terrorists with money through the purchase of oil and we sit by while our government is in a stalemate which compromises our national security, the Chinese are being proactive......with our oil.
CHINA STARTS OIL DRILLING OFF FLORIDA
WHILE AMERICA TWIDDLES THUMBS, CHINESE TAP BILLIONS OF BARRELS
By Mike Blair
While Washington dithers over exploiting oil and gas reserves off the coast of Florida, China has seized the opportunity to gobble up these deposits, which run throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and along the U.S. Gulf coast.
The Chinese have forged a deal with Cuban leader Fidel Castro to explore and tap into massive oil reserves almost within sight of Key West, Florida. At the same time, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who controls the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, is making deals to sell his country’s oil to China, oil that is currently coming to the United States.
Meanwhile, a new left-wing populist regime in Bolivia has nationalized the natural gas industry, threatening to cut off supplies to the United States.
SLANT DRILLING
There are new reports out circulating that Chinese firms are planning to slant drill off the Cuban coast near the Florida Straits, tapping into U.S. oil reserves that are estimated at 4.6 billion to 9.3 billion barrels. This compares with 4 billion to 10 billion barrels believed to be beneath the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, where drilling is held up in Congress due to the objections of environmental groups which warn of endangering caribou. Permission to drill in the refuge, which experts are certain will not present any environmental hazard, has failed by just two votes in the Senate.
As Chinese business increases its reach around the world, it is seeking oil, which it lacks domestically.
After elections in Mexico in early July, when a new regime hostile to Washington is expected to take power, the United States might be without supplies of Mexican crude oil. The United States gets about 40 percent of its imported oil from Mexico and Venezuela.
China is eager to tap into oil reserves in the Florida Straits and then make a deal with Castro to control it. The Chinese have already reopened an abandoned Russian oil refinery in Cuba. Much of the gas refined there is believed to be destined for Freeport in the Bahamas, where the Chinese, through front company Hutchison-Whampoa, has developed a massive port facility and airfield.
With the refinery reopened and expanded it will also meet the needs of Castro.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has introduced legislation to ease U.S. restrictions that prevent dealing with Cuba to drill in the Florida Straits. It is hoped that Florida regulations that prevent U.S. oil drilling off the state’s coasts could also be eased.
The irony is that Chinese drilling could be even more of an environmental hazard since China is not as concerned about or equipped to deal with any potential ecological disaster as a result of a spill, said Craig.
(Issue #22, May 29, 2006)
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CHINA STARTS OIL DRILLING OFF FLORIDA
WHILE AMERICA TWIDDLES THUMBS, CHINESE TAP BILLIONS OF BARRELS
By Mike Blair
While Washington dithers over exploiting oil and gas reserves off the coast of Florida, China has seized the opportunity to gobble up these deposits, which run throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and along the U.S. Gulf coast.
The Chinese have forged a deal with Cuban leader Fidel Castro to explore and tap into massive oil reserves almost within sight of Key West, Florida. At the same time, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who controls the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, is making deals to sell his country’s oil to China, oil that is currently coming to the United States.
Meanwhile, a new left-wing populist regime in Bolivia has nationalized the natural gas industry, threatening to cut off supplies to the United States.
SLANT DRILLING
There are new reports out circulating that Chinese firms are planning to slant drill off the Cuban coast near the Florida Straits, tapping into U.S. oil reserves that are estimated at 4.6 billion to 9.3 billion barrels. This compares with 4 billion to 10 billion barrels believed to be beneath the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, where drilling is held up in Congress due to the objections of environmental groups which warn of endangering caribou. Permission to drill in the refuge, which experts are certain will not present any environmental hazard, has failed by just two votes in the Senate.
As Chinese business increases its reach around the world, it is seeking oil, which it lacks domestically.
After elections in Mexico in early July, when a new regime hostile to Washington is expected to take power, the United States might be without supplies of Mexican crude oil. The United States gets about 40 percent of its imported oil from Mexico and Venezuela.
China is eager to tap into oil reserves in the Florida Straits and then make a deal with Castro to control it. The Chinese have already reopened an abandoned Russian oil refinery in Cuba. Much of the gas refined there is believed to be destined for Freeport in the Bahamas, where the Chinese, through front company Hutchison-Whampoa, has developed a massive port facility and airfield.
With the refinery reopened and expanded it will also meet the needs of Castro.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has introduced legislation to ease U.S. restrictions that prevent dealing with Cuba to drill in the Florida Straits. It is hoped that Florida regulations that prevent U.S. oil drilling off the state’s coasts could also be eased.
The irony is that Chinese drilling could be even more of an environmental hazard since China is not as concerned about or equipped to deal with any potential ecological disaster as a result of a spill, said Craig.
(Issue #22, May 29, 2006)
AmericanFreePress.net
Please make a donation to American Free Press
Not Copyrighted. Readers can reprint and are free to redistribute - as long as full credit is given to American Free Press - 645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 100 Washington, D.C. 20003
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Funding terrorism: Hezbollah uses its US websites to collect donations-shut them down!
Funding terrorism: Hezbollah uses its US websites to collect donations-shut them down!
comment by Jerry Gordon
We posted on the fact that Hezbollah has several websites hosted by Internet Service Providers here in the US. As this Terrorism Information article illustrates, those English and Arabic Language websites here in the US are used to raise funds for Hezbollah terrorist purposes. This Terrorism-Info article published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel notes that funds are deposited at designated financial institutions in Lebanon and in Europe. That raises a few questions. Shouldn’t our US Treasury Department and Counterterrorism agencies be closing down these Hezbollah websites to stop the collection of funds for such terrorist activities? We are sure that our colleague Joseph Shahda would urge that. The funds are being used for support of Hezbollah terrorist activities in Lebanon. There is no useful intelligence to be gained from keeping the Hezbollah websites up that are hosted here in the US. That should be something for Senator Lieberman’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee to consider in addition to shutting al Qaeda You Tube videos engaging in instructing Jihadis on how to attack us. That is, if the ACLU and others like the New York Times would stop criticizing these internet counter terrorism actions as censorship of ‘free speech’. Note what this critic said:
Please click Here to read the rest of the article.
comment by Jerry Gordon
We posted on the fact that Hezbollah has several websites hosted by Internet Service Providers here in the US. As this Terrorism Information article illustrates, those English and Arabic Language websites here in the US are used to raise funds for Hezbollah terrorist purposes. This Terrorism-Info article published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel notes that funds are deposited at designated financial institutions in Lebanon and in Europe. That raises a few questions. Shouldn’t our US Treasury Department and Counterterrorism agencies be closing down these Hezbollah websites to stop the collection of funds for such terrorist activities? We are sure that our colleague Joseph Shahda would urge that. The funds are being used for support of Hezbollah terrorist activities in Lebanon. There is no useful intelligence to be gained from keeping the Hezbollah websites up that are hosted here in the US. That should be something for Senator Lieberman’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee to consider in addition to shutting al Qaeda You Tube videos engaging in instructing Jihadis on how to attack us. That is, if the ACLU and others like the New York Times would stop criticizing these internet counter terrorism actions as censorship of ‘free speech’. Note what this critic said:
Please click Here to read the rest of the article.
The UN and Islam
Words of Warning to the West
By Joel Richardson
© 2008
The United States is about to be tried. At stake are the very freedoms that we all hold so dear. On March 27, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to adopt resolution 7/19 on "Combating defamation of religions." In one of the most Orwellian resolutions ever passed, this so-called "Human Rights Council" condemns "Islamophobia," which includes any, "attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations."
Think about this for a moment. Suppose that I tell you that according to sacred Islamic tradition, Muhammad himself stated that those who leave Islam should be punished by execution. And suppose that I also point out that all four of the Orthodox Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence as well as the Shiites interpret Muhammad's statements to mean that death is the appropriate punishment for leaving Islam. According to this resolution, I should be arrested and tried for a "criminal" act. Free speech anyone?
Read the Rest of the Story
By Joel Richardson
© 2008
The United States is about to be tried. At stake are the very freedoms that we all hold so dear. On March 27, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to adopt resolution 7/19 on "Combating defamation of religions." In one of the most Orwellian resolutions ever passed, this so-called "Human Rights Council" condemns "Islamophobia," which includes any, "attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations."
Think about this for a moment. Suppose that I tell you that according to sacred Islamic tradition, Muhammad himself stated that those who leave Islam should be punished by execution. And suppose that I also point out that all four of the Orthodox Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence as well as the Shiites interpret Muhammad's statements to mean that death is the appropriate punishment for leaving Islam. According to this resolution, I should be arrested and tried for a "criminal" act. Free speech anyone?
Read the Rest of the Story
Election Information
Here is a good link to find information on the upcoming elections.State by State Election (General) Information
Georgia State November General Election Offices to be Filled
This is a list of the candidates that have qualified to run to date. List of Candidates
Georgia State November General Election Offices to be Filled
This is a list of the candidates that have qualified to run to date. List of Candidates
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Islamic infiltration in Texas school
Islamic infiltration in Texas school
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/3/2008 10:05:00 AM
Parents and Christian pastors in the Houston area are angry after a local junior high school forced students to attend what they describe as an indoctrination to Islam.
Pastor Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, is just one of those angry over a presentation by two female representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that students at the Friendswood Junior High School were forced to attend two weeks ago.
"The specific details, as we were given by the students, included teachings that Adam, Noah, and Jesus were all prophets like Mohammed; the basic tenets of Islam; the process of how to pray five times a day; again, the pillars of Islam. These were specific, religious instructions," Welch explains.
Welch says Principal Robin Lowe explained to parents, who initially complained, that the assembly was held to deal with comments some students had made that were insensitive to Arab students. "This was not just cultural issues of the manners and ways of Arab culture. This was Islamic teaching," says the Houston pastor. "That was the issue that, obviously, raised great concern. This was forced religious instruction and [what we call] Islamic ... 'indoctrination.'"
Even more egregious, Welch says, is the fact that the principal was allegedly ordered by the superintendent of the school district not to allow the pro-Islam assembly, but did so anyway.
"Because ... we have now verified that the principal did, in fact, act in direct contradiction and violation of the expressed direction of the superintendent, in addition to violating the policies, we're supporting the call for her removal. She just has lost the trust and violated the trust of the parents and the students to operate in this capacity," the pastor adds.
He also notes the double standard that would have existed in this situation had Islam been replaced with Christianity. Welch says he has no doubt there would be an "uprising" -- not to mention reprimands or firings of school personnel -- if Christian pastors were in a classroom setting, teaching on Christian doctrine and theology.
"Lawsuits would be engaged in by organizations from the left [if that happened]," he suggests. "So the double standard is obviously one issue we're deeply concerned about in this -- and we're just not going to let this go," Welch says.
According to Welch, several parents' groups are also demanding that the principal resign or be fired.
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/3/2008 10:05:00 AM
Parents and Christian pastors in the Houston area are angry after a local junior high school forced students to attend what they describe as an indoctrination to Islam.
Pastor Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, is just one of those angry over a presentation by two female representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that students at the Friendswood Junior High School were forced to attend two weeks ago.
"The specific details, as we were given by the students, included teachings that Adam, Noah, and Jesus were all prophets like Mohammed; the basic tenets of Islam; the process of how to pray five times a day; again, the pillars of Islam. These were specific, religious instructions," Welch explains.
Welch says Principal Robin Lowe explained to parents, who initially complained, that the assembly was held to deal with comments some students had made that were insensitive to Arab students. "This was not just cultural issues of the manners and ways of Arab culture. This was Islamic teaching," says the Houston pastor. "That was the issue that, obviously, raised great concern. This was forced religious instruction and [what we call] Islamic ... 'indoctrination.'"
Even more egregious, Welch says, is the fact that the principal was allegedly ordered by the superintendent of the school district not to allow the pro-Islam assembly, but did so anyway.
"Because ... we have now verified that the principal did, in fact, act in direct contradiction and violation of the expressed direction of the superintendent, in addition to violating the policies, we're supporting the call for her removal. She just has lost the trust and violated the trust of the parents and the students to operate in this capacity," the pastor adds.
He also notes the double standard that would have existed in this situation had Islam been replaced with Christianity. Welch says he has no doubt there would be an "uprising" -- not to mention reprimands or firings of school personnel -- if Christian pastors were in a classroom setting, teaching on Christian doctrine and theology.
"Lawsuits would be engaged in by organizations from the left [if that happened]," he suggests. "So the double standard is obviously one issue we're deeply concerned about in this -- and we're just not going to let this go," Welch says.
According to Welch, several parents' groups are also demanding that the principal resign or be fired.
Islamic infiltration in Texas school
Islamic infiltration in Texas school
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/3/2008 10:05:00 AM
Parents and Christian pastors in the Houston area are angry after a local junior high school forced students to attend what they describe as an indoctrination to Islam.
Pastor Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, is just one of those angry over a presentation by two female representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that students at the Friendswood Junior High School were forced to attend two weeks ago.
"The specific details, as we were given by the students, included teachings that Adam, Noah, and Jesus were all prophets like Mohammed; the basic tenets of Islam; the process of how to pray five times a day; again, the pillars of Islam. These were specific, religious instructions," Welch explains.
Welch says Principal Robin Lowe explained to parents, who initially complained, that the assembly was held to deal with comments some students had made that were insensitive to Arab students. "This was not just cultural issues of the manners and ways of Arab culture. This was Islamic teaching," says the Houston pastor. "That was the issue that, obviously, raised great concern. This was forced religious instruction and [what we call] Islamic ... 'indoctrination.'"
Even more egregious, Welch says, is the fact that the principal was allegedly ordered by the superintendent of the school district not to allow the pro-Islam assembly, but did so anyway.
"Because ... we have now verified that the principal did, in fact, act in direct contradiction and violation of the expressed direction of the superintendent, in addition to violating the policies, we're supporting the call for her removal. She just has lost the trust and violated the trust of the parents and the students to operate in this capacity," the pastor adds.
He also notes the double standard that would have existed in this situation had Islam been replaced with Christianity. Welch says he has no doubt there would be an "uprising" -- not to mention reprimands or firings of school personnel -- if Christian pastors were in a classroom setting, teaching on Christian doctrine and theology.
"Lawsuits would be engaged in by organizations from the left [if that happened]," he suggests. "So the double standard is obviously one issue we're deeply concerned about in this -- and we're just not going to let this go," Welch says.
According to Welch, several parents' groups are also demanding that the principal resign or be fired.
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/3/2008 10:05:00 AM
Parents and Christian pastors in the Houston area are angry after a local junior high school forced students to attend what they describe as an indoctrination to Islam.
Pastor Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, is just one of those angry over a presentation by two female representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that students at the Friendswood Junior High School were forced to attend two weeks ago.
"The specific details, as we were given by the students, included teachings that Adam, Noah, and Jesus were all prophets like Mohammed; the basic tenets of Islam; the process of how to pray five times a day; again, the pillars of Islam. These were specific, religious instructions," Welch explains.
Welch says Principal Robin Lowe explained to parents, who initially complained, that the assembly was held to deal with comments some students had made that were insensitive to Arab students. "This was not just cultural issues of the manners and ways of Arab culture. This was Islamic teaching," says the Houston pastor. "That was the issue that, obviously, raised great concern. This was forced religious instruction and [what we call] Islamic ... 'indoctrination.'"
Even more egregious, Welch says, is the fact that the principal was allegedly ordered by the superintendent of the school district not to allow the pro-Islam assembly, but did so anyway.
"Because ... we have now verified that the principal did, in fact, act in direct contradiction and violation of the expressed direction of the superintendent, in addition to violating the policies, we're supporting the call for her removal. She just has lost the trust and violated the trust of the parents and the students to operate in this capacity," the pastor adds.
He also notes the double standard that would have existed in this situation had Islam been replaced with Christianity. Welch says he has no doubt there would be an "uprising" -- not to mention reprimands or firings of school personnel -- if Christian pastors were in a classroom setting, teaching on Christian doctrine and theology.
"Lawsuits would be engaged in by organizations from the left [if that happened]," he suggests. "So the double standard is obviously one issue we're deeply concerned about in this -- and we're just not going to let this go," Welch says.
According to Welch, several parents' groups are also demanding that the principal resign or be fired.
ADF Initiative to Reclaim Pastor's Rights
ADF announces new initiative
to reclaim pastors’ First Amendment rights
New effort challenges intimidation tactics
of organizations that use IRS to silence pastors
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Alliance Defense Fund announced a new initiative Friday that will challenge the tactics of groups that use the Internal Revenue Service to intimidate churches and pastors into silence on important issues of the day.
“Pastors have a right to speak about biblical values from the pulpit without fear of punishment. No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The government can’t demand that a church give up its right to tax-exempt status simply because the pastor exercises his First Amendment rights in the pulpit. Groups like Americans United intentionally trigger IRS investigations that will silence churches through fear, intimidation, and disinformation.”
The new initiative will equip, protect, and defend pastors who wish to exercise their First Amendment right to openly discuss the positions of political candidates and other moral and social issues from the pulpit. Participating pastors across the country will deliver a sermon along these lines in their own churches Sept. 28.
Prior to 1954, churches were free to evaluate the positions of political candidates on moral issues without fear of the Internal Revenue Service revoking their tax-exempt status. That year, then-Senator Lyndon Johnson amended the tax code to add the threat of IRS action against churches if their pastors mentioned the positions of specific candidates from the pulpit. Citing that rule, groups like AU have repeatedly threatened to report churches to the IRS if they speak out on such issues.
Many tax-exempt organizations are permitted to evaluate candidates’ positions based on the values important to those groups. Organizations which are tax-exempt but do not have the same speech restrictions the IRS places on churches include civic leagues; labor, agricultural, or horticultural associations; business leagues; chambers of commerce; real estate boards; boards of trade; professional football leagues; clubs organized for pleasure, recreation, and other nonprofit purposes; fraternal beneficiary societies; and cemeteries.
“The intimidation of churches by leftist groups using the IRS has grown to a point that ADF has no choice but to respond,” said Stanley. “The number of threats being reported to ADF is growing because of the aggressive campaign to unlawfully silence the church. IRS rules don’t trump the Constitution, and the First Amendment certainly trumps the Johnson amendment.”
Pastors who want to learn more or who wish to be considered for participation in Pulpit Freedom Sunday Sept. 28 can visit www.telladf.org/church.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
to reclaim pastors’ First Amendment rights
New effort challenges intimidation tactics
of organizations that use IRS to silence pastors
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Alliance Defense Fund announced a new initiative Friday that will challenge the tactics of groups that use the Internal Revenue Service to intimidate churches and pastors into silence on important issues of the day.
“Pastors have a right to speak about biblical values from the pulpit without fear of punishment. No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The government can’t demand that a church give up its right to tax-exempt status simply because the pastor exercises his First Amendment rights in the pulpit. Groups like Americans United intentionally trigger IRS investigations that will silence churches through fear, intimidation, and disinformation.”
The new initiative will equip, protect, and defend pastors who wish to exercise their First Amendment right to openly discuss the positions of political candidates and other moral and social issues from the pulpit. Participating pastors across the country will deliver a sermon along these lines in their own churches Sept. 28.
Prior to 1954, churches were free to evaluate the positions of political candidates on moral issues without fear of the Internal Revenue Service revoking their tax-exempt status. That year, then-Senator Lyndon Johnson amended the tax code to add the threat of IRS action against churches if their pastors mentioned the positions of specific candidates from the pulpit. Citing that rule, groups like AU have repeatedly threatened to report churches to the IRS if they speak out on such issues.
Many tax-exempt organizations are permitted to evaluate candidates’ positions based on the values important to those groups. Organizations which are tax-exempt but do not have the same speech restrictions the IRS places on churches include civic leagues; labor, agricultural, or horticultural associations; business leagues; chambers of commerce; real estate boards; boards of trade; professional football leagues; clubs organized for pleasure, recreation, and other nonprofit purposes; fraternal beneficiary societies; and cemeteries.
“The intimidation of churches by leftist groups using the IRS has grown to a point that ADF has no choice but to respond,” said Stanley. “The number of threats being reported to ADF is growing because of the aggressive campaign to unlawfully silence the church. IRS rules don’t trump the Constitution, and the First Amendment certainly trumps the Johnson amendment.”
Pastors who want to learn more or who wish to be considered for participation in Pulpit Freedom Sunday Sept. 28 can visit www.telladf.org/church.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
Monday, June 02, 2008
When "Market-Based" Is a Facade
When "Market-Based" Is a Facade
By George Will
WASHINGTON - An unprecedentedly radical government grab for control of the American economy will be debated this week when the Senate considers saving the planet by means of a cap-and-trade system to ration carbon emissions. The plan is co-authored (with John Warner) by Joe Lieberman, an ardent supporter of John McCain, who supports Lieberman's legislation and recently spoke about "the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring."
Speaking of endless troubles, "cap-and-trade" comes cloaked in reassuring rhetoric about the government merely creating a market, but government actually would create a scarcity so government could sell what it has made scarce. The Wall Street Journal underestimates cap-and-trade's perniciousness when it says the scheme would create a new right ("allowances") to produce carbon dioxide and would put a price on the right. Actually, because freedom is the silence of the law, that right has always existed in the absence of prohibitions. With cap-and-trade, government would create a right for itself -- an extraordinarily lucrative right to ration Americans' exercise of their traditional rights.
Businesses with unused emission allowances could sell their surpluses to businesses that exceed their allowances. The more expensive and constraining the allowances, the more money government would gain.
Read The Rest of the Story
By George Will
WASHINGTON - An unprecedentedly radical government grab for control of the American economy will be debated this week when the Senate considers saving the planet by means of a cap-and-trade system to ration carbon emissions. The plan is co-authored (with John Warner) by Joe Lieberman, an ardent supporter of John McCain, who supports Lieberman's legislation and recently spoke about "the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring."
Speaking of endless troubles, "cap-and-trade" comes cloaked in reassuring rhetoric about the government merely creating a market, but government actually would create a scarcity so government could sell what it has made scarce. The Wall Street Journal underestimates cap-and-trade's perniciousness when it says the scheme would create a new right ("allowances") to produce carbon dioxide and would put a price on the right. Actually, because freedom is the silence of the law, that right has always existed in the absence of prohibitions. With cap-and-trade, government would create a right for itself -- an extraordinarily lucrative right to ration Americans' exercise of their traditional rights.
Businesses with unused emission allowances could sell their surpluses to businesses that exceed their allowances. The more expensive and constraining the allowances, the more money government would gain.
Read The Rest of the Story
True Story
The Ant and the Contact Lens: a true story
Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope
snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry." She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying.. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens.
When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not
clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."
She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!
The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."
I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."
God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)
Reply Forward
Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope
snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry." She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying.. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens.
When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not
clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."
She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!
The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."
I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."
God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)
Reply Forward
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