Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"Pulpit Freedom Sunday"
Please Pass This Along To All Pastors and Other Judeo-Christian Leaders!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Pulpit Freedom Sunday 2009
There is great news about recent efforts to free pastors and pulpits from the threat of government interference, especially from the IRS. (No government restrictions were placed on the pulpit until 1954, when freshman U. S. Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson added a one-line provision to a Senate bill limiting the right of non-profits to engage in what had always previously been free speech.)
Last year, Alliance Defense Fund, a premier national legal group that defends the constitutional rights of Christians, organized a concerted effort to push back against this unconstitutional government intrusion. On September 28, 2008, numerous pastors participated in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" by preaching a sermon specifically addressing the candidates running for president in light of Scriptural truths.
For example, during the presidential primaries in May 2008, the Rev. Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church in Minnesota told his congregation:
"If you are a Christian, you cannot support a candidate like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president....They both support abortion and homosexual marriage, and the Scripture vehemently opposes both."
Months later, Pastor Booth preached a sermon addressing the 2008 presidential election. He then turned himself in to the IRS, sending them a copy of both sermons. The IRS has just notified Pastor Booth that it has closed the investigation against him, with no action taken! This is another of several recent cases where the IRS has closed the investigation without taking action against the church or pastor.
This year, the Alliance Defense Fund is encouraging pastors to participate in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" on September 27, 2009. According to ADF:
(1) ADF will encourage churches and pastors to exercise their right to comment on current government officials and the issues they espouse. Every church should feel very safe in commenting on the moral strengths and weaknesses of sitting politicians and the issues they promote without endangering their tax-exempt status.
(2) Some pastors may choose to exercise their full range of constitutional rights in preaching from the pulpit in ways that may bring them into conflict with the vague standards contained in the Johnson Amendment. ADF continues to believe that the Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional as applied to prohibit any part of a pastor's speech from the pulpit. (By the way, ADF represents pastors and churches without charge should any challenge be filed against them.)
Your church can help make Pulpit Freedom Sunday a great success. Now more than ever, the church must be heard on all the vital issues of the day. Pastors should not fear the IRS when they boldly confront the moral and social questions of the day in the realm of politics. Call ADF today (800-TELL-ADF) or visit their website (www.telladf.org/church) and let them know of your church's willingness to participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday. ADF attorneys stand ready to answer your questions.
We hope you will be among hundreds of pastors who will sign up to participate in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." Some will be addressing elections in their state or locality (e.g., Virginia, New Jersey, etc.), and others will be addressing policies being enacted by sitting politicians. Whatever the case, we strongly encourage your church to contact ADF and let them know that you will participate.
Daniel Webster rightly noted: "God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it," and the freedom of the American pulpit is a liberty worth defending. On behalf of this effort, I agree with the prayer offered by signer of the Declaration Francis Hopkinson who, when contemplating America's struggle against its oppressors, fervently uttered: "And may Heaven prosper their virtuous undertaking!"
God Bless!
David Barton
"Daily Motivations"
The more you discipline yourself to use your time well, the happier you will feel and the better will be the quality of your life in every area. -- Brian Tracy
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us." (Matthew 6:12)
In 1944, during the horrible days of World War II, in the Ravensbruck concentration camp, Corrie Ten Boom and many other emaciated women worked long hours every day under the watchful eye of the prison guards. That year, Corrie's sister, Betsie, died, a victim of the tortuous conditions.
In 1947, after the war, Corrie spoke to a group of Germans in a sparsely furnished Munich church basement. During her talk, she said, "Those who have been able to forgive their former enemies have been able to rebuild their lives...We, as Christians, have every reason to forgive each other, for our God richly lavishes His mercy on us."
When she finished, she was approached by a balding, heavyset man in a gray overcoat. Horror filled her as she realized he had been one of the prison guards .
He thrust out his hand. "How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!" Dumbfounded, Corrie did not take his hand.
He went on, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me... but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein, will you forgive me?"
Corrie remembered how he had pushed Betsie with the butt of his gun. Slowly, her hand moved toward his. Their hands touched and she finally vigorously shook his hand. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I forgive you, brother...with all my heart."
God loves us no matter what we have done. He forgives us when we ask. Since God richly lavishes His mercy on us, we must show mercy. And that means letting go of hurts caused by others.
"The Patriot Post"
"[W]hy give through agents whom we know not, to persons whom we know not, and in countries from which we get no account, where we can do it at short hand, to objects under our eye, through agents we know, and to supply wants we see?" -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Michael Megear, 1823
"It is an unquestionable truth, that the body of the people in every country desire sincerely its prosperity. But it is equally unquestionable that they do not possess the discernment and stability necessary for systematic government. To deny that they are frequently led into the grossest of errors, by misinformation and passion, would be a flattery which their own good sense must despise." -- Alexander Hamilton, speech to the Ratifying Convention of New York, 1788
"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." -- Declaration of Independence
Principium Imprimis -- First Principles
"Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties, and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of people, it shall be the duty of legislators and magistrates...to cherish the interest of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them." -- John Adams
"Liberty Counsel"
Online version easier to read? Go to www.LC.org
Liberty Counsel Petitions Supreme Court to Hear Graduation Free Speech Case
Liberty Counsel has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of Erica Corder http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/petition_cert_corder082708.pdf, a Colorado valedictorian who was denied her diploma until she wrote an apology for mentioning Jesus in her high school graduation speech.
Erica complied with the principal's demand for an apology because she feared the school would withhold her diploma, put disciplinary notes in her file, and generate negative publicity which could prevent her from becoming a school teacher. The principal sent the coerced apology to the entire school, and Erica received her diploma.
Erica sued the school, but the district court ruled that Erica’s speech was "school-sponsored," and thus the forced apology was not improper. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, but that decision undermines student free speech rights and conflicts with an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a case that Liberty Counsel won after an 8½-year battle against the ACLU.
In the case of Adler v. Duval County School Board, the entire 12-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that a policy whereby students select the content of their messages is student speech, not school-sponsored speech. Thus, religious viewpoints of students are protected by the First Amendment.
Please pray that the Supreme Court hears this case.
Read our News Release for more details. http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=848
Read Liberty Counsel's Petition to the Supreme Court. http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachments/petition_cert_corder082708.pdf
Forward this Liberty Alert to your entire e-mail list of family and friends, and encourage them to subscribe http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14103.
Liberty Counsel does not charge clients for representation, so we depend on individuals, groups and churches who care about advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family. Liberty Counsel is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that accepts tax-deductible donations. Donate https://dlq4.donatelinq.net/qv10/default.aspx?MerchantID=LibertyC4u&lnk= or order resources from the Liberty Counsel online store
https://www.liberty.edu/libertycounsel/index.cfm?event=splash&pid=10769&dept=288.
"OneNewsNow"
Kennedy leaves 'sad legacy' on traditional values
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow
A Massachusetts pro-family leader says Senator Ted Kennedy was a "remarkable individual," but has left a "sad legacy" of opposition to traditional values. (View news video)
Edward "Ted" Kennedy, 77, passed away Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He served nearly 50 years in the U.S. Senate, serving alongside 10 presidents and nearly as many governors in his tenure of public service. He is survived by his wife, a daughter, two sons (Patrick is a congressman from Rhode Island), and two stepchildren. (More details from Associated Press)
Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute says the death of the long-time Democratic lawmaker marks the end of an era and provides a time of reflection about what America's political leaders should be standing for regarding family, human sexuality, and parents' rights.
"Senator Kennedy was certainly opposed to many of our traditional value issues," the family advocate notes. "Nonetheless, we have to give credit that he was a man of integrity and well-esteemed by his [fellow] senators -- both those conservative as well as liberals."
Mineau says sadly, Kennedy "epitomized what is wrong with our leaders and their value of life." He notes the liberal lawmaker originally ran for office as a pro-lifer, but once he took office was lured to the pro-abortion side for "power and finances."
"He was a champion for abortion, later on a champion for same-sex 'marriage' and the pushing of the homosexual agenda in our public schools," he points out. "That's a very sad legacy."
According to Mineau, Kennedy's passing is an opportunity for Massachusetts to elect a future leader who "would be more open to the great need for the restoration of values in our culture.
Echoing Mineau, CatholicVote.org President Brian Burch acknowledges the pros and cons of Kennnedy's career, what he calls a "mixed legacy." He notes Kennedy's efforts to improve education and help the uninsured and the poor, but he says the late senator neglected to acknowlege his Catholic roots by protecting the rights of unborn children.
"Senator Kennedy's legacy evokes deep sadness. During his early days in the Senate, Kennedy fittingly included the rights of unborn children in his dedication to protecting the most vulnerable," Burch remembers. "Since that time, millions of Catholics have been both saddened and disappointed by his decision to abandon the defense of unborn children and their mothers, a position contrary to the common good."
Burch says he will join today with fellow Catholics to pray for the repose of Ted Kennedy's soul and the comfort of his family and loved ones.
"The Web"
Il Divo UK AV - "Amazing Grace"
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785324681?bclid=1338935106&bctid=1913313052
Cloward and Piven - Influence of 1960s radicals in a nutshell
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=8619916&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/glennbeck/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,542521,00.html
Senate Bill Would Give President Emergency Control of Internet
Details of a revamped version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 show the Senate bill could give the president a "kill switch" on the Internet and allow him to shut out private networks from online access.
FOXNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/28/senate-president-emergency-control-internet/
In this July 14, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich. (AP)
A Senate bill would offer President Obama emergency control of the Internet and may give him a "kill switch" to shut down online traffic by seizing private networks -- a move cybersecurity experts worry will choke off industry and civil liberties.
Details of a revamped version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 emerged late Thursday, months after an initial version authored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., was blasted in Silicon Valley as dangerous government intrusion.
"In the original bill they empowered the president to essentially turn off the Internet in the case of a 'cyber-emergency,' which they didn't define," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which represents the telecommunications industry.
"We think it's a very bad idea ... to put in legislation," he told FOXNews.com.
Clinton said the new version of the bill that surfaced this week is improved from its first draft, but troubling language that was removed was replaced by vague language that could still offer the same powers to the president in case of an emergency.
"The current language is so unclear that we can't be confident that the changes have actually been made," he said.
The new legislation allows the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and make a plan to respond to the danger, according to an excerpt published online -- a broad license that rights experts worry would give the president "amorphous powers" over private users.
"As soon as you're saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it's going to be a really big issue," Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNET News.
A Senate source familiar with the bill likened the new power to take control of portions of the Internet to what President Bush did when he grounded all aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001, CNET News reported.
Spokesmen for Senator Rockefeller and the Commerce Committee did not return calls seeking comment before this article was published.
But Rockefeller, who introduced the bill in April with bipartisan support, said the legislation was critical to protecting everything from water and electricity to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records.
"I know the threats we face," Rockefeller said in a prepared statement when the legislation was introduced. "Our enemies are real. They are sophisticated, they are determined and they will not rest."
The bill would also let the government create a detailed set of standards for licensing "cybersecurity professionals" who would oversee a single standard for security measures.
But many in the technology sector believe it's a job the government is ill-equipped to handle, said Franck Journoud, a policy analyst with the Business Software Alliance.
"Simply put, who has the expertise?" he told FOXNews.com in April. "It's the industry, not the government. We have a responsibility to increase and improve security. That responsibility cannot be captured in a government standard."
Clinton, of the Internet Security Alliance, praised President Obama's May science policy review, which he said would take cybersecurity in the right direction by promoting incentives to get the private industry to improve its own security measures.
But he faulted the Senate bill, which he said would centralize regulations for an industry that is too varied to fall under the control of a single set of rules without endangering the economy and security.
"We think a lot of things need to be done to enhance cybersecurity," he told FOXNews.com, but this bill is "not something that we could support."
Cheney: Obama's CIA Probe a 'Political Act'
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/cheney_cia_investigation/2009/08/28/253839.html?s=al&promo_code=8424-1
Former Vice President Dick Cheney Friday called a Justice Department probe into alleged abusive interrogation techniques by CIA agents as an "outrageous political act" that is sure to weaken national security and endanger lives.
In an excerpt from an interview to be aired this weekend on “Fox News Sunday,” Cheney said the investigation would do long term damage to the country's ability to protect itself.
On Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced he had named assistant U.S. attorney John Durham to review the CIA interrogations of detainees at secret sites overseas to determine whether any laws were broken.
The move represented a flip-flop from the much-stated position of President Barack Obama, who has said repeatedly that he did not want to launch investigations that could demoralize our intelligence services at a time when the country is fighting two foreign wars. Already, reports indicate that Director of Intelligence Leon Panetta was angry and may ultimately resign over the investigation, which he had vigorously fought against.
"We had a track record now of eight years of defending the nation against any further mass casualty attacks from al Qaeda. The approach of the Obama administration should be to come to those people who were involved in that policy and say, 'How did you do it? What were the keys to keeping this country safe over that period of time?'" Cheney said.
"Instead, they're out there now threatening to disbar the lawyers who gave us the legal opinions -- threatening contrary to what the president originally said. They're going to go out and investigate the CIA personnel who carried out those investigations," Cheney added.
Durham is tasked with looking at data obtained about enhanced interrogation techniques to determine whether criminal acts were committed. The data are the same previously reviewed by career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the CIA is headquartered. The data led to one arrest and conviction.
Cheney has for months has demanded the CIA release materials to show the effectiveness of harsh tactics in enabling interrogators to get information used to thwart planned attacks.
This week, the CIA's inspector general released a declassified report on the use of enhanced interrogation tactics. The report said that CIA agents got valuable information but critics insist the results did not justify the methods.
GOP lawmakers with expertise in intelligence issues have told Newsmax that the probe is likely to descend into a partisan witch hunt to placate Obama’s liberal base, which has pushed for an investigation into the CIA’s conduct during the war on terror for several years.
“This operation that he has announced really goes back and plows ground that has already been covered by the Department of Justice,” Sen. Kit Bond, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Newsmax.TV. The CIA inspector general's report "was turned over to the Department of Justice. They brought one criminal prosecution. The rest of the actions they figured did not have enough basis for criminal prosecution and the agency itself took disciplinary action.
“So I don’t know what he hopes to prove other than to satisfy the president’s left-wing agenda. He’s going to do everything he can to tar the reputation of the people who protected us after 9/11.”
Kit Bond: Obama Mounting 'Witch Hunt' on CIA for Political Gain
By: Ashley Martella
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/bond_obama_cia_holder/2009/08/27/253105.html?s=al&promo_code=86C0-1
Before Attorney General Eric Holder announced he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists, Sen. Kit Bond and eight other GOP senators wrote a letter imploring him not to go down this road.
Holder ignored their plea, and announced his decision Monday. Bond tells Newsmax.TV that Holder made a big mistake.
“We expected to get a response from him because he told me personally that he didn’t intend to go back and open up a criminal witch hunt on the CIA,” the Missouri Republican says. “What he has done now is one more step to put the CIA operatives in a CYA [cover your a**] mode where they are worried about whether somebody is going to watch their backs or stab them in the back.”
See Video: Sen. Kit Bond talks about the damage an investigation of the CIA will do to national security - Click Here Now http://video.newsmax.com/?bcpid=20972460001&bclid=22770166001&bctid=35410360001
Does Bond feel as though Holder lied to him?
“I can’t say he lied to me, but I specifically asked him about the suggestions from the extreme left wing at the time that they go back and open criminal investigations and he assured me that it didn’t make sense to go back and look at people who were operating under lawful opinions at the time,” Bond recalls.
The ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee notes that Justice Department attorneys have examined the few cases of possible CIA abuse and dismissed them as meritless.
“This operation that he has announced really goes back and plows ground that has already been covered by the Department of Justice,” Bond says. The CIA inspector general's report "was turned over to the Department of Justice. They brought one criminal prosecution. The rest of the actions they figured did not have enough basis for criminal prosecution and the agency itself took disciplinary action.
“So I don’t know what he hopes to prove other than to satisfy the president’s left-wing agenda. He’s going to do everything he can to tar the reputation of the people who protected us after 9/11,” Bond tells Newsmax.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said the CIA interrogators deserve the American people's gratitude and not to be targets of political prosecutions. Bond agrees.
“That’s pretty much what I’m hearing from my people in Missouri. They say the CIA working with all the law enforcement agencies like the FBI and the military overseas did the best they could piecing together the information that led to collection of enough information to disrupt an attack at Heathrow Airport in London and the Liberty Towers in Los Angeles.”
People who live in those locations should be particularly grateful to the CIA, Bond says.
Does it bother Bond that, except for Sen. Joe Lieberman, no Democrat spoke out against what Holder did?
“Unfortunately I gather they’re in a circle-the-wagons mode and they recognize the political gain that I suppose the administration hopes to gain from opening up this closed chapter even though it was something that President Obama promised he would not do. He said he’s going to look forward. This is looking backward and he told the CIA he had their back; looks to me like they’re stabbing them in the back.”
The four-term Missouri Republican, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of this term, tells Newsmax.TV that Holder’s action not only hurts the CIA and U.S. partners overseas who depend on the United States to keep secrets on intelligence matters but also helps al-Qaida and other enemies.
It gives them “all kinds of new ammunition to say that even the administration thinks it was a bunch of criminals who kept our country safe from attacks after 9/11,” he says.
How he feel about Obama's taking future interrogations out of the hands of the CIA and running them out of the White House through the National Security Council?
“That one is really bizarre. My first reaction was what does the White House have against Leon Panetta? It’s a vote of no confidence not only in the terror fighters who kept us safe since 9/11, but their very own CIA director. Apparently taking over Chrysler and Citigroup were not enough, and the White House now wants to take over from the CIA how we interrogate Osama bin Laden. Even the Democrats’ favorite boogeyman, Dick Cheney, did not try to take over intelligence functions from the CIA."
Obamacare: The Only Exit Strategy
by Charles Krauthammer
http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2009/08/28/obamacare_the_only_exit_strategy?page=full&comments=true
WASHINGTON -- Obamacare Version 1.0 is dead. The 1,000-page monstrosity that emerged in various editions from Congress was done in by widespread national revulsion not just at its expense and intrusiveness but at the mendacity with which it is being sold. You don't need a Ph.D. to see that the promise to expand coverage and reduce costs is a crude deception, or that cutting $500 billion from Medicare without affecting care is a fiction.
But there is an exit strategy. And a politically clever one, if the Democrats are smart enough to seize it.
(1) Forget the public option. Whatever the merits, and they are few, it is political poison. It dies by the Liasson Logic, the unassailable observation by NPR's Mara Liasson that there are no liberal Democrats who will lose their seats if the public option is left out, while there are many moderate Democrats who could lose their seats if the public option is included.
(2) Jettison any reference to end-of-life counseling. People see (correctly) such Medicare-paid advice as subtle encouragement to voluntarily refuse treatment. People don't want government involvement in a process they consider the private province of patient, family and doctor. The Senate is already dropping it. The House must follow.
(3) Soft-pedal the idea of government committees determining "best practices." President Obama's Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research was sold as simply government helping doctors choose the best treatments. But there are dozens of medical journal review articles that do just that. The real purpose of FCCCERs is ultimately to establish official criteria for denying reimbursement to less favored (because presumably less effective) treatments -- precisely the triage done by the NICE committee in Britain, the Orwellian body that once blocked access to a certain expensive anti-blindness drug until you went blind in one eye.
(4) More generally, abandon the whole idea of Obamacare as cost-cutting. True, it was Obama's original rationale for creating a whole new entitlement at a time of a sinking economy and a bankrupt Treasury. But, as many universal-health care liberals complain, selling pain is poor salesmanship.
(5) Promise nothing but pleasure -- for now. Make health insurance universal and permanently protected. Tear up the existing bills and write a clean one -- Obamacare 2.0 -- promulgating draconian health-insurance regulation that prohibits (a) denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, (b) dropping coverage if the client gets sick, and (c) capping insurance company reimbursement.
What's not to like? If you have insurance, you'll never lose it. Nor will your children ever be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.
The regulated insurance companies will get two things in return. Government will impose an individual mandate that will force the purchase of health insurance on the millions of healthy young people who today forgo it. And government will subsidize all the others who are too poor to buy health insurance. The result? Two enormous new revenue streams created by government for the insurance companies.
And here's what makes it so politically seductive: The end result is the liberal dream of universal and guaranteed coverage -- but without overt nationalization. It is all done through private insurance companies. Ostensibly private. They will, in reality, have been turned into government utilities. No longer able to control whom they can enroll, whom they can drop and how much they can limit their own liability, they will live off government largesse -- subsidized premiums from the poor; forced premiums from the young and healthy.
It's the perfect finesse -- government health care by proxy. And because it's proxy, and because it will guarantee access to (supposedly) private health insurance -- something that enjoys considerable Republican support -- it will pass with wide bipartisan backing and give Obama a resounding political victory.
Isn't there a catch? Of course, there is. This scheme is the ultimate bait-and-switch. The pleasure comes now, the pain later. Government-subsidized universal and virtually unlimited coverage will vastly compound already out-of-control government spending on health care. The financial and budgetary consequences will be catastrophic.
However, they will not appear immediately. And when they do, the only solution will be rationing. That's when the liberals will give the FCCCER regulatory power and give you end-of-life counseling.
But by then, resistance will be feeble. Why? Because at that point the only remaining option will be to give up the benefits we will have become accustomed to. Once granted, guaranteed universal health care is not relinquished. Look at Canada. Look at Britain. They got hooked; now they ration. So will we.
FAITH UNDER FIRE
IRS investigation of church 'closed'
Pastor addressed 'moral' qualifications of political candidates
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105375
The Internal Revenue Service says it has closed an investigation into a Minnesota pastor's sermons just before the 2008 election that addressed the moral qualifications of the political candidates.
According to a letter posted online by the Alliance Defense Fund, which created a Pulpit Freedom Sunday to challenge IRS censorship of pastors' speech, the Dallas, Texas, office of the IRS notified Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn., the review was being closed.
"The IRS may commence a future inquiry to address the concerns described … after it resolves [a] procedural issue," said the letter, signed by Sunita B. Lough.
The ADF said Pastor Gus Booth had preached on moral issues as a part of the Alliance Defense Fund's Pulpit Initiative last year.
"Booth originally sent the IRS a copy of a sermon he preached in May 2008 with regard to the primary elections. After participating in the Pulpit Initiative's Pulpit Freedom Sunday Sept. 28, Booth also sent the agency his sermon regarding the general election. After launching an audit of the church in August 2008, the IRS has now stated in a letter that it is closing its examination of the sermons due to a procedural problem," the ADF said.
"Pastors have a right to speak freely from their pulpits. Something is very wrong in America when free speech is held hostage by bungling bureaucracies," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley.
"This latest action from the IRS continues to leave churches in limbo when it comes to speaking freely from their pulpits. It illustrates everything that is wrong with the current enforcement of the Johnson Amendment. After an 11-month audit, it is disingenuous for the IRS to simply close the file and walk away as if nothing happened."
Since the Johnson Amendment was added to the Federal Tax Code in 1954, the IRS has issued increasingly vague guidance on the law, which limits the First Amendment rights of pastors speaking from the pulpit.
But the ADF said the IRS has continued to launch investigations while avoiding court review of the constitutionality of its actions.
"The IRS apparently has no desire to clarify the law for churches and has studiously avoided a court confrontation over this issue for years," Stanley explained. "They continue to vaguely interpret the law, leave churches guessing as to what the law actually means, and enforce the Johnson Amendment through fear and intimidation."
ADF attorneys say the IRS could have continued its investigation of Warroad Community Church and reached a conclusion on the merits of the case, which they argue is the unconstitutionality of the Johnson Amendment.
"Instead of standing and fighting in court, the IRS prefers to run the other way," said Stanley. "ADF would likely have waived any complaint about procedural concerns involved in the investigation stage of the audit in order to reach the merits of the case and clarify the law. Once a federal court has an opportunity to review the Johnson Amendment, we believe it will not take long for the court to strike it down as unconstitutional. Pastors have the right to preach from their pulpits on all issues, including candidates and elections. No pastor should fear the IRS."
The ADF said dozens of pastors partipicated in the Pulpit Freedom Sunday. They used Sept. 28, 2008, to address the moral qualifications of candidates seeking political office.
WND reported when the IRS said it was dropping a two-year investigation into another church – this one in Kansas – over similar issues.
As WND reported, Wichita, Kan., Pastor Mark Holick's church, Spirit One Christian Center, was targeted by the IRS in April 2007 for "engaging in political activities."
One of his messages said, "Sebelius accepted $100,000 from abortionist Tiller, price of 1,000 babies." A separate posting repeated President Obama's statement from a campaign speech about sex education: "I don't want [my daughters] punished with a baby."
The notice Holick received from the IRS warned him about putting his Christian beliefs on the sign, and he responded that he would continue to preach the Word of God.
He explained the signs all "are spiritual messages that communicate God's truth or are directly related to messages in the Bible." He also provided the IRS with a list of dozens of biblical instructions, including "to lift up Jesus, to rebuke sin, to save babies, to be honest, to take a righteous stand."
Fatal Flaw of Democracies
by Patrick J. Buchanan
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33267
"We just can't afford it!"
Not long ago, every America child heard that, at one time or another, in the home in which he or she was raised.
"We just can't afford it!" It may have been a new car, or two weeks at the beach, or the new flat-panel TV screen.
Every family knew there were times you had to do without. Every father and mother has had to disappoint their kids with those words. Why is it that what parents do many times a year politicians seem incapable of doing: saying no.
How many times in the last decade have the political leaders of either party stood up and declared, "No, we cannot afford this."
Consider. Friday, the White House conceded that the deficits over the next 10 years will total $2 trillion more than they had reported just months ago. Instead of $7.1 trillion, we will run $9 trillion in deficits.
Meanwhile, the White House demands a new entitlement -- health care coverage for 47 million uninsured who can't afford it or refuse to buy it -- that will cost at least $1 trillion over 10 years. Can we afford this -- now?
"We can't afford not to," comes the retort. This is "a core ethical and moral obligation," says Barack Obama.
But is it not a core ethical and moral obligation not to debauch the currency in which most of the hard-earned wealth of the American people is invested? Yet, as Warren Buffett writes in The New York Times, collapse of the dollar and the end of its days as the world's reserve currency is what we are risking.
Government expenditures are running at 185 percent of revenue, which is like the lone family breadwinner earning $50,000 a year, while the family spends $92,500 a year. With families that do that, it is not too long before the credit cards are cut off, the mortgage is called in and the family Chevy is repossessed.
According to those same White House figures, this year's deficit will be closer to $1.6 trillion than the $1.8 trillion previously projected. Now, there are only three basic ways to finance that deficit.
The first is by borrowing the savings of one's own citizens, thus consuming the seed corn of the private economy. The second is by borrowing from abroad. The third is by having the Fed, "through a roundabout process," writes Buffett, "printing money."
Assume the Treasury borrows most of the savings of the American people this year, say, $500 billion. Then Uncle Sam is able to persuade Beijing to buy another $500 billion in Treasury bonds. The Fed must still run the printing presses to create another $600 billion.
How long before our Chinese, Japanese and OPEC creditors conclude that the Americans are depreciating their currency, and dump their U.S. Treasury bonds, or demand a higher rate of interest to cover the risks of their dollar-denominated assets sinking in value?
Can anyone believe the dollar can even retain its present diminished purchasing power if we run $9 trillion in deficits over 10 years? How long before producers conclude the same and start to demand more dollars for their goods -- and inflation takes off?
As Buffett argues, even when the U.S. economy returns to full employment, the new tax revenue it would throw off cannot close a deficit of that size. One must either slash spending or raise taxes to balance a budget where the feds are spending a fourth of gross domestic product.
But how do we cut spending when the five largest items in the budget -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, interest on the debt and national defense -- are untouchables and growing faster then the 3 percent to 4 percent a year a full-employment economy can manage?
Are we going to cut veterans benefits, spending on our crumbling infrastructure or education, when Obama is promising every kid a college degree? Are we going to cut funds for Afghanistan and Iraq, and risk losing both wars? Are we going to cut foreign aid after Hillary Clinton has been touring Africa telling one and all America is here to stay?
How about cutting funds for food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit? Good luck. How about PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts? Just try it.
Does either party have any plan to cut federal spending from today's near 28 percent of GDP to the more traditional 21 percent?
George W. Bush didn't even try, and Obama is making that Great Society Republican president look like Ron Paul.
When a democracy reaches a point where the politicians cannot say no to the people, and both parties are competing for votes by promising even more spending or even lower taxes, or both, the experiment is about over.
"Remember," said John Adams, "democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
Barack Obama’s Civilian Army
http://texan2driver.wordpress..com/
Brown Shirts. A para-military force outside the law being used to strong arm people and silence dissent. That’s what the Brown Shirts did in the 30’s, and that’s what Obama’s fledgling army is doing now. Oh, they’re not as well organized and wearing one distinct uniform… yet. But the SEIU shirts that many are wearing are a start. Make no mistake, unless we stand up to and see to the dismantling of this “army” of thugs, any who dissent with Obama will wind up just like the Jews did in Germany in the 30’s and 40’s. He is a despot looking for a throne to occupy. The White House is just a stop on the way to that throne. Obama will bring violence to this nation if he continues to pursue this course. His quest for absolute power must be stopped.
WE, the Americans who love liberty and respect our Constitution, are Obama’s enemy.
"The e-mail Bag"
Sometimes, even "lawyers", allow their mouths to "our talk" their brain(?).
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Massachusetts Legislature’s Arrogance To Prevent A Special Election
The majority Democrats in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts appear to be out to change the state law, just to fit their own personal political cause. Some years ago, Massachusetts had a law for the Governor to replace a vacancy.
Then, along came the election of a new governor who happened to be Republican Mitt Romney. To prevent GOP Governor Romney from making an open appointment, members of the state house and senate passed a new law to require a special election to fill a vacancy.
Now that GOP Gov. Romney is gone, and a Democrat Governor is in place, the Massachusetts General Assembly is considering changing the law to again, allow the state Governor to appoint a replacement for the late Sen. Kennedy
.
It appears the majority Massachusetts Democrats have caught up with, and joined President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder in destroying objectivity in the free and open political process, and replacing it with pure left-wing, radical, liberal, Democrat Party partisan politics? You see, these legislators do not want to wait for some few 120 to 150 days for a special election. They do not want to give you a choice as to whom, you, the citizens of Massachusetts want to replace in Sen. Kennedy’s US Senate seat.
This action is just the type of arrogance which as the lady from Pennsylvania told Sen. Specter (D-PA) at a Town Hall meeting “You have awakened a sleeping giant”. Yes, America is awakening!
Then, along came the election of a new governor who happened to be Republican Mitt Romney. To prevent GOP Governor Romney from making an open appointment, members of the state house and senate passed a new law to require a special election to fill a vacancy.
Now that GOP Gov. Romney is gone, and a Democrat Governor is in place, the Massachusetts General Assembly is considering changing the law to again, allow the state Governor to appoint a replacement for the late Sen. Kennedy
.
It appears the majority Massachusetts Democrats have caught up with, and joined President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder in destroying objectivity in the free and open political process, and replacing it with pure left-wing, radical, liberal, Democrat Party partisan politics? You see, these legislators do not want to wait for some few 120 to 150 days for a special election. They do not want to give you a choice as to whom, you, the citizens of Massachusetts want to replace in Sen. Kennedy’s US Senate seat.
This action is just the type of arrogance which as the lady from Pennsylvania told Sen. Specter (D-PA) at a Town Hall meeting “You have awakened a sleeping giant”. Yes, America is awakening!
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090828
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"Daily Motivations"
"Put me in, coach!" Your positive attitude is displayed when you're ready to play and ask for the opportunity to get into the game. Tell your leader, "I've been doing things to prepare myself for this job/task. I'm confident I can deliver if you'll give me the chance!" -- Paul Sims
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"They said to one another, 'Who is this Man, that even the winds and waves obey Him?'" (Luke 8:25)
In 1967, 300 Campus Crusade for Christ staff and 300 selected students converged on the University of California at Berkeley for a week of intense evangelism in every facet of the campus. The plan was to culminate the week with a large rally in the Greek Outdoor Theatre with Billy Graham as the speaker. The Amphitheatre held about 8,000 people.
Friday morning, the group met as usual. It was raining very heavily. They feared that the heavy rain would prevent their final evangelistic outreach with Billy Graham. They got on their knees as a group and prayed for almost an hour, asking God to stop the rain.
When they finished praying at about 11:30 a.m. and looked outside, the sun was shining! By meeting time, the seats had dried enough to attract 8,000 students, and Billy Graham's preaching went forward. After the rally, at about 2 p.m., it started raining again!
God established scientific laws that regulate the universe, but He can overrule their effect. For God, miracles are "routine."
I am amazed when I hear from Christians who doubt God's supernatural intervention in their lives. God did mighty miracles through Noah, Moses, and other Old Testament characters. Jesus performed miracles. His resurrection is the greatest miracle of all. Now His powerful Spirit lives in the hearts of millions of believers around the world.
God still suspends His natural laws today.
"The Patriot Post"
"Can you then consent to be the only sufferers by this revolution, and retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, wretchedness and contempt? Can you consent to wade through the vile mire of dependency, and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity, which has hitherto been spent in honor? If you can -- GO -- and carry with you the jest of Tories and scorn of Whigs -- the ridicule, and what is worse, the pity of the world. Go, starve, and be forgotten!" -- George Washington
In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.-- John Adams
OBAMA LIED!!!
"I have not said that I was a 'single-payer' supporter." -- President Barack Obama at a town hall meeting this week
"I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program." -- Obama in 2003
OBAMA LIED!!! Part II
"We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors. ... AARP would not be endorsing a bill if it was undermining Medicare, okay?" -- Barack Obama
Scratch that. AARP Chief Operating Officer Tom Nelson issued a statement saying, "While the President was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate."
This Week's 'Braying Jackass' Award
"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems." -- Barack Obama, in a rare moment of truth-telling, arguing that a public option won't force private insurance out of business
So let's see: Government-run health care = the Post Office. And this is supposed to make us feel good about the idea?
This Week's 'Alpha Jackass' Award
"The rumor that's been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for 'death panels' that will basically pull the plug on grandma because we've decided that we don't -- it's too expensive to let her live anymore. (Laughter.)" -- New York Times transcript, including the crowd's reaction, of Barack Obama yukking it up about the "death panels"
Honduras 1, Obama 0
Rule of law scored a victory this week when the U.S. State Department was forced to back down in the face of the Honduran people's steadfast commitment to preserving their constitutional government. Since ousting President Manuel Zelaya nearly two months ago, the small South American country has had to endure immense pressure, not only from Zelaya and Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, but from the American government as well.
Zelaya was removed from office in June after the Honduran Supreme Court, Attorney General and Congress determined that the president had violated the constitution by trying to do away with term limits. Zelaya was elected by the people, but governed more like a despot. He then tried to hijack the government altogether by calling for a referendum that would have robbed the Honduran people of the freedom to choose their leaders.
Zelaya threatened violence if he was not returned to power, while Chavez cut off Honduras's oil supply. But the most surprising (and heartbreaking) response came from the United States government. President Obama and Hillary "I am the secretary of state, not my husband" Clinton condemned the Hondurans' move as an illegal military coup and urged them to follow the rule of law, by which they meant ignore the rule of law.. For two people trained as attorneys, one would think they would recognize that the Honduran legal institutions had in fact already followed the rule of law, but lawyers trained in leftist institutions believe only in exploiting laws.
The administration even resorted to bullying and blackmail by threatening economic sanctions, which for Honduras -- a country that relies on America for 80 percent of its trade -- would have been crippling..
Now, thanks to the Hondurans' refusal to give up, the U..S. State Department has withdrawn both its economic threats and insistence on Zelaya's return. Several congressional liberals, however, citing "human rights violations under the current de facto regime," continue to push the administration to intervene on Zelaya's behalf. Obama, with a political about-face that is becoming the rule rather than the exception, is calling these U.S. legislators "hypocritical." Clearly, he and Clinton have seen the writing on the wall and are now distancing themselves from the "interventionists" in their own party.
The people of Honduras should be applauded for reminding us that liberty can trump tyranny, whether it comes from the dictator next door or from the halls of Washington.
"OneNewsNow"
New Hampshire Court orders Christian homeschooled girl to attend public school
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=659638
A Christian homeschool girl in New Hampshire has been ordered into government-run public school for having "sincerely held" religious beliefs -- and the Alliance Defense Fund is troubled by the ruling.
The case involves divorced couple Martin Kurowski and Brenda Voydatch and their 10-year-old daughter, Amanda. The couple split in 1999 when they were living in Massachusetts, and the proceedings moved to New Hampshire after Voydatch relocated to that state with her daughter in 2002.
Although Voydatch has primary custody over Amanda, both parents agreed to a parenting plan that included joint decision-making responsibility. A court-appointed guardian served as a mediator.
A source of contention between the parents has been the mother's decision to home school Amanda since first grade. Amanda's father believes she should be sent to public school, while the mother is adamant about home schooling. Since both parents have failed to reach common ground, the issue moved to the court.
The situation was then analyzed by the court-appointed guardian, who made a recommendation to the court. During the evaluation process it was determined that Amanda was excelling in her schooling and used curriculum that was approved by her school district. The curriculum used in her home schooling was created by certified teachers, and Amanda routinely took standardized tests.
Furthermore, Amanda attended her local public school to take art, Spanish, and P.E. classes. Her public school instructors also commented on the fact that Amanda was well-rounded in her social skills. But a sticking point arose concerning Voydatch's Christian faith.
The court order stated: "According to the guardian ad litem's further report and testimony, the counselor found Amanda to lack some youthful characteristics. She appeard to reflect her mother's rigidity on questions of faith." The guardian noted that during a counseling session, Amanda tried to witness to the counselor and appeared "visibly upset" when the counselor purposefully did not pay attention.
The guardian also noted that Amanda's relationship with her father suffered because she did not think he loved her as much as he said he did due to the fact that he refused to "adopt her religious beliefs."
According to the court order, the guardian concluded that Amanda's "interests, and particularly her intellectual and emotional development, would be best served by exposure to a public school setting in which she would be challenged to solve problems presented by a group learning situation and...Amanda would be best served by exposure to different points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior."
Furthermore the court order states that despite Amanda's mother insisting that her daughter's religious beliefs were her own, "it would be remarkable if a ten-year-old child who spends her school time with her mother and the vast majority of all her other time with her mother would seriously consider adopting any other religious point of view."
Although the court noted that it "is extremely reluctant to impose on parents a decision about a child's education," it ruled that Amanda must attend public school.
Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney John Anthony Simmons has filed a motion to reconsider. He says this ruling is dangerous to home schoolers because it will set a precedent for other cases.
"Every time you have a court order that uses a wrong standard or misapplies constitutional law, everyone's rights are eventually at stake," the attorney explains. "Because what happens with precedent is it gets expanded -- it gets cited in other cases."
Simmons believes this case goes beyond the initial divorce and custody battle with this ruling because the standard used in the decision contained in the court order is troubling. He contends that the child's religion should not have played a role in the decision, and that the court should have focused solely on the academic merits of Amanda's education which proved to be excellent.
"The Web"
Louie Giglio - Laminin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4
Lou Dobbs: Amnesty Bill Provisions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjeJnjUGnIA
Is the Congressional Research Service Making 'False Claims' Too?
[Mark Krikorian]
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTk1ODA5MmM5MjY5ODU5ZGI1ZGNmZTFjODMyNTdmNTU
Rep. Lamar Smith quotes from a new report by the Congressional Research Service to debunk President Obama's "willful misrepresentations," "outright distortions," and "outrageous myths" on immigration and health care.* Given the political importance of the illegal-alien question, it's worth quoting Smith's press release at length, especially since CRS reports aren't usually released to the public:
BACKGROUND: IMMIGRATION LOOPHOLES IN HR 3200
Open access to Insurance Exchange: HR 3200 contains no provisions preventing illegal immigrants from participating in the Health Insurance Exchange that is to be created, including the government-run "public plan" that will be available through the federally-run and federally-subsidized Exchange.
According to CRS: "Under H.R. 3200, a 'Health Insurance Exchange' would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option…H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating in the Exchange."
No verification mechanism: Democrats point to language in the House bill that says illegal immigrants cannot get benefits. While that may be technically accurate, it is far from the truth.
The fact is that the statement is meaningless because the bill contains no verification mechanism to ensure that illegal immigrants do not receive benefits. Democrats defeated amendments in two congressional committees to close this loophole, including amendments that would use the very same verification mechanism that already exist in statute for other federal programs. Why not include the same verification mechanisms in this bill as already exist for other federal benefits programs? Without the requirement that there be a verification mechanism or a specific verification mechanism provided in statute, the Commissioner could determine that the eligibility requirements could be met either without verification or with as little as a signed attestation.
According to CRS: "Some have expressed concerns that since H.R. 3200 does not contain a mechanism to verify immigration status, the prohibitions on certain noncitizens (e.g, nonimmigrants and unauthorized aliens) receiving the credits may not be enforced. However, others note that under §142(a)(3) of the bill, it is the responsibility of the Health Choices Commissioner (Commissioner) to administer the "individual affordability credits under subtitle C of title II, including determination of eligibility for such credits."
Family eligibility for affordability credits: Section 242(a)(2) of the bill provides that "[e]xcept as the Commissioner may otherwise provide, members of the same family who are affordable credit eligible individuals shall be treated as a single affordable credit individual eligible for the applicable credit for such a family under this subtitle." This suggests that if one member of a family is legally eligible, every family member will be considered eligible. This is significant in terms of numbers — the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that there are almost two million families in the United States where illegal immigrant parents have U.S.-born children. That does not include other "mixed status families" - one legal parent, one illegal parent and illegal child, etc.
According to CRS: "There could be instances where some family members would meet the definition of an eligible individual for purposes of the credit, while other family members would not. For example, in a family consisting of a U.S. citizen married to an unauthorized alien and a U.S. citizen child, the U.S. citizen spouse and child could meet the criteria for being a credit-eligible individual, while the unauthorized alien spouse would not meet the criteria. H.R. 3200 does not expressly address how such a situation would be treated. Therefore, it appears that the Health Choices Commissioner would be responsible for determining how the credits would be administered in the case of mixed-status families."
[me again] I'm waiting for the Democrats to say that we should trust Obama's "Health Choices Commissioner" (Tom Daschle, anyone?) to make the right choices regarding "mixed status families" and other questions regarding eligibility for illegal aliens.
* At the risk of ruining the irony, I need to point out that those are the president's descriptions of efforts to highlight the flaws in the bill, and not Representative Smith's words.
Something to think about with all our new electronic technology!
GPS
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football match. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean up the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
MOBILE PHONE
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet..etc.. was stolen.
Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our pin number and I've replied a little while ago.'
When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back. Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you..
SLEEP LAST NIGHT?
Freedom Is Not Free! "Pray" for America! "Pray" for our leaders! "Pray" for our troops who are fighting for freedoms, all around the world! - oyh
http://www.libertyhigh56.net/sleep/Baker%20Company.htm
Bed a little lumpy... Toss and turn any... Wish the heat was higher... Maybe the a/c wasn't on... Had to go to the john... Need a drink of water...
Scroll down
Bed a little lumpy... Yes... It is like that! Count your blessings, pray for them,
Talk to your Creator and the next time when... the other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes, or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be, or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant, or you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you, or the shower runs out of hot water,
Think of them... Protecting your freedom!
DO NOT DELETE-PLS PASS ON-Message from Iraq
The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that "WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN" and are proud to serve our country." Semper Fi 1st. Sgt. Dave Jobe
The attached photo was forwarded from one of the last U.S. Marine companies in Iraq. They would like to have it passed to as many people as possible, to let the folks back home know that they remember why they're there and that they remember those who've been lost.
Recent scenes from Afghanistan
Scenes from Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
God Bless our troops, and God Bless America. - oyh
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/2100445:BlogPost:36253
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is the mission established by the UN Security Council in 2001 to secure parts of Afghanistan to allow the establishment of Hamid Karzai's new administration. The ISAF operates separately, but cooperatively, with the U.S. coalition operation in Afghanistan called "Operation Enduring Freedom". The mission of the ISAF has expanded to provide security for all of Afghanistan, and is presently made up of over 53,000 troops from 43 different nations.
In the photo above a Panzerhaubitze 2000 Armoured Howitzer of the 14th company field artillery (B-battery C-platoon) of the Royal Netherlands Army fires its 155mm canon from Camp Holland in Uruzgan at enemy positions in Chora, Afghanistan on February 18, 2008 (Gerben van Es/SHAPE photos)
A German Bundeswehr armoured personnel carrier of the 263rd paratroopers unit of the ISAF passes in front of a well-guarded building where a reception commemorating the 18th anniversary of the reunification of Germany took place in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 3, 2008.. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An ISAF Patria XA-188 GVV armored personnel carrier passes local Afghans while patrol mission around Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan on June 9, 2008. (Richard Frigge/SHAPE photos)
A German Bundeswehr soldier with the ISAF monitors the area on a mountain during a sweep mission with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team on the outskirts of Fayzabad, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on September 20, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An observer aboard a German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter with the ISAF sits on the back door during a flight from Fayzabad to Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on September 24, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An Afghan boy on a donkey with a water bucket on his shoulders passes by ISAF soldiers with the German Bundeswehr patrolling the mountain villages on the outskirts of Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
British paratroopers Private Danny Berk, right, and Corporal Scott Evens move through a hole blown in a compound wall by a grenade, Saturday Aug. 31, 2008, while protecting a convoy. The convoy consisted of over 100 vehicles in total, some carrying equipment and a new turbine for the power station at the Kajaki Dam. It passed through Taliban positions which were hit with artillery, mortars, Apache Attack helicopters firing rockets and Hellfire missiles, and fast jets dropping precision guided bombs, which resulted in an estimated 250 Taliban casualties. (AP Photo/Sgt. Anthony Boocock, MOD ho)
Afghan National Police officers, seen training with mock guns during a session with ISAF soldiers from the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) at the German army camp in Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
German Bundeswehr soldiers of the ISAF Quick Reaction Force (QRF) open fire during a night drill in the Marmal mountains near Masar-i-Sharif, north of Kabul, September 16, 2008. Picture is taken through a night vision device. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An ISAF soldier with the German Bundeswehr observes the situation from the back door during a flight on a German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter from Kunduz to the German base in Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
A pair of ISAF soldiers stand on a hillside overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan on the night of January 11, 2008 (ISAF Photos)
"The e-mail Bag"
'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'
A contestant Sally, on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ had reached the final plateau.
If she answered the next question correctly, she would win $1,000,000.
If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the $25,000 milestone money..
And as she suspected it would be, the million-dollar question was no pushover.
It was:
‘Which of the following species of birds does not build its own nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds?
Is it:
A) The Condor
B) The Buzzard
C) The Cuckoo
D) The Vulture
The woman was on the spot. She did not know the answer.
She had used up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience Lifeline. All that remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline. She hoped she would not have to use it because ... Her friend was, well, blonde. But she had no alternative.
She called her friend and gave her the question and the four choices.
The blonde responded unhesitatingly: ‘That’s easy. The answer is C: the cuckoo.’
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast.
She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving Meredith any answer except the one that her friend had given her.
And considering her friend was a blonde that would seem to be the logical thing to do.
But her friend had responded with such confidence, such certitude, that the contestant could not help but be convinced.
‘I need an answer,’ said Meredith.
Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, ‘C: The Cuckoo.’
‘Is that your final answer?’
‘Yes, that is my final answer.’
And Meredith replied, ‘That answer is…. Absolutely correct!
You are now a millionaire!’
Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family and friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the million dollars.
‘Joni, I just do not know how to thank you,’ said the contestant.
‘How did you happen to know the right answer?’
‘Oh, come on,’ said the blonde…’Everybody knows that cuckoos don’t build nests. They live in clocks.’
Sally fainted…......
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"Daily Motivations"
"Put me in, coach!" Your positive attitude is displayed when you're ready to play and ask for the opportunity to get into the game. Tell your leader, "I've been doing things to prepare myself for this job/task. I'm confident I can deliver if you'll give me the chance!" -- Paul Sims
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"They said to one another, 'Who is this Man, that even the winds and waves obey Him?'" (Luke 8:25)
In 1967, 300 Campus Crusade for Christ staff and 300 selected students converged on the University of California at Berkeley for a week of intense evangelism in every facet of the campus. The plan was to culminate the week with a large rally in the Greek Outdoor Theatre with Billy Graham as the speaker. The Amphitheatre held about 8,000 people.
Friday morning, the group met as usual. It was raining very heavily. They feared that the heavy rain would prevent their final evangelistic outreach with Billy Graham. They got on their knees as a group and prayed for almost an hour, asking God to stop the rain.
When they finished praying at about 11:30 a.m. and looked outside, the sun was shining! By meeting time, the seats had dried enough to attract 8,000 students, and Billy Graham's preaching went forward. After the rally, at about 2 p.m., it started raining again!
God established scientific laws that regulate the universe, but He can overrule their effect. For God, miracles are "routine."
I am amazed when I hear from Christians who doubt God's supernatural intervention in their lives. God did mighty miracles through Noah, Moses, and other Old Testament characters. Jesus performed miracles. His resurrection is the greatest miracle of all. Now His powerful Spirit lives in the hearts of millions of believers around the world.
God still suspends His natural laws today.
"The Patriot Post"
"Can you then consent to be the only sufferers by this revolution, and retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, wretchedness and contempt? Can you consent to wade through the vile mire of dependency, and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity, which has hitherto been spent in honor? If you can -- GO -- and carry with you the jest of Tories and scorn of Whigs -- the ridicule, and what is worse, the pity of the world. Go, starve, and be forgotten!" -- George Washington
In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.-- John Adams
OBAMA LIED!!!
"I have not said that I was a 'single-payer' supporter." -- President Barack Obama at a town hall meeting this week
"I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program." -- Obama in 2003
OBAMA LIED!!! Part II
"We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors. ... AARP would not be endorsing a bill if it was undermining Medicare, okay?" -- Barack Obama
Scratch that. AARP Chief Operating Officer Tom Nelson issued a statement saying, "While the President was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate."
This Week's 'Braying Jackass' Award
"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems." -- Barack Obama, in a rare moment of truth-telling, arguing that a public option won't force private insurance out of business
So let's see: Government-run health care = the Post Office. And this is supposed to make us feel good about the idea?
This Week's 'Alpha Jackass' Award
"The rumor that's been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for 'death panels' that will basically pull the plug on grandma because we've decided that we don't -- it's too expensive to let her live anymore. (Laughter.)" -- New York Times transcript, including the crowd's reaction, of Barack Obama yukking it up about the "death panels"
Honduras 1, Obama 0
Rule of law scored a victory this week when the U.S. State Department was forced to back down in the face of the Honduran people's steadfast commitment to preserving their constitutional government. Since ousting President Manuel Zelaya nearly two months ago, the small South American country has had to endure immense pressure, not only from Zelaya and Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, but from the American government as well.
Zelaya was removed from office in June after the Honduran Supreme Court, Attorney General and Congress determined that the president had violated the constitution by trying to do away with term limits. Zelaya was elected by the people, but governed more like a despot. He then tried to hijack the government altogether by calling for a referendum that would have robbed the Honduran people of the freedom to choose their leaders.
Zelaya threatened violence if he was not returned to power, while Chavez cut off Honduras's oil supply. But the most surprising (and heartbreaking) response came from the United States government. President Obama and Hillary "I am the secretary of state, not my husband" Clinton condemned the Hondurans' move as an illegal military coup and urged them to follow the rule of law, by which they meant ignore the rule of law.. For two people trained as attorneys, one would think they would recognize that the Honduran legal institutions had in fact already followed the rule of law, but lawyers trained in leftist institutions believe only in exploiting laws.
The administration even resorted to bullying and blackmail by threatening economic sanctions, which for Honduras -- a country that relies on America for 80 percent of its trade -- would have been crippling..
Now, thanks to the Hondurans' refusal to give up, the U..S. State Department has withdrawn both its economic threats and insistence on Zelaya's return. Several congressional liberals, however, citing "human rights violations under the current de facto regime," continue to push the administration to intervene on Zelaya's behalf. Obama, with a political about-face that is becoming the rule rather than the exception, is calling these U.S. legislators "hypocritical." Clearly, he and Clinton have seen the writing on the wall and are now distancing themselves from the "interventionists" in their own party.
The people of Honduras should be applauded for reminding us that liberty can trump tyranny, whether it comes from the dictator next door or from the halls of Washington.
"OneNewsNow"
New Hampshire Court orders Christian homeschooled girl to attend public school
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=659638
A Christian homeschool girl in New Hampshire has been ordered into government-run public school for having "sincerely held" religious beliefs -- and the Alliance Defense Fund is troubled by the ruling.
The case involves divorced couple Martin Kurowski and Brenda Voydatch and their 10-year-old daughter, Amanda. The couple split in 1999 when they were living in Massachusetts, and the proceedings moved to New Hampshire after Voydatch relocated to that state with her daughter in 2002.
Although Voydatch has primary custody over Amanda, both parents agreed to a parenting plan that included joint decision-making responsibility. A court-appointed guardian served as a mediator.
A source of contention between the parents has been the mother's decision to home school Amanda since first grade. Amanda's father believes she should be sent to public school, while the mother is adamant about home schooling. Since both parents have failed to reach common ground, the issue moved to the court.
The situation was then analyzed by the court-appointed guardian, who made a recommendation to the court. During the evaluation process it was determined that Amanda was excelling in her schooling and used curriculum that was approved by her school district. The curriculum used in her home schooling was created by certified teachers, and Amanda routinely took standardized tests.
Furthermore, Amanda attended her local public school to take art, Spanish, and P.E. classes. Her public school instructors also commented on the fact that Amanda was well-rounded in her social skills. But a sticking point arose concerning Voydatch's Christian faith.
The court order stated: "According to the guardian ad litem's further report and testimony, the counselor found Amanda to lack some youthful characteristics. She appeard to reflect her mother's rigidity on questions of faith." The guardian noted that during a counseling session, Amanda tried to witness to the counselor and appeared "visibly upset" when the counselor purposefully did not pay attention.
The guardian also noted that Amanda's relationship with her father suffered because she did not think he loved her as much as he said he did due to the fact that he refused to "adopt her religious beliefs."
According to the court order, the guardian concluded that Amanda's "interests, and particularly her intellectual and emotional development, would be best served by exposure to a public school setting in which she would be challenged to solve problems presented by a group learning situation and...Amanda would be best served by exposure to different points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior."
Furthermore the court order states that despite Amanda's mother insisting that her daughter's religious beliefs were her own, "it would be remarkable if a ten-year-old child who spends her school time with her mother and the vast majority of all her other time with her mother would seriously consider adopting any other religious point of view."
Although the court noted that it "is extremely reluctant to impose on parents a decision about a child's education," it ruled that Amanda must attend public school.
Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney John Anthony Simmons has filed a motion to reconsider. He says this ruling is dangerous to home schoolers because it will set a precedent for other cases.
"Every time you have a court order that uses a wrong standard or misapplies constitutional law, everyone's rights are eventually at stake," the attorney explains. "Because what happens with precedent is it gets expanded -- it gets cited in other cases."
Simmons believes this case goes beyond the initial divorce and custody battle with this ruling because the standard used in the decision contained in the court order is troubling. He contends that the child's religion should not have played a role in the decision, and that the court should have focused solely on the academic merits of Amanda's education which proved to be excellent.
"The Web"
Louie Giglio - Laminin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4
Lou Dobbs: Amnesty Bill Provisions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjeJnjUGnIA
Is the Congressional Research Service Making 'False Claims' Too?
[Mark Krikorian]
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTk1ODA5MmM5MjY5ODU5ZGI1ZGNmZTFjODMyNTdmNTU
Rep. Lamar Smith quotes from a new report by the Congressional Research Service to debunk President Obama's "willful misrepresentations," "outright distortions," and "outrageous myths" on immigration and health care.* Given the political importance of the illegal-alien question, it's worth quoting Smith's press release at length, especially since CRS reports aren't usually released to the public:
BACKGROUND: IMMIGRATION LOOPHOLES IN HR 3200
Open access to Insurance Exchange: HR 3200 contains no provisions preventing illegal immigrants from participating in the Health Insurance Exchange that is to be created, including the government-run "public plan" that will be available through the federally-run and federally-subsidized Exchange.
According to CRS: "Under H.R. 3200, a 'Health Insurance Exchange' would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option…H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating in the Exchange."
No verification mechanism: Democrats point to language in the House bill that says illegal immigrants cannot get benefits. While that may be technically accurate, it is far from the truth.
The fact is that the statement is meaningless because the bill contains no verification mechanism to ensure that illegal immigrants do not receive benefits. Democrats defeated amendments in two congressional committees to close this loophole, including amendments that would use the very same verification mechanism that already exist in statute for other federal programs. Why not include the same verification mechanisms in this bill as already exist for other federal benefits programs? Without the requirement that there be a verification mechanism or a specific verification mechanism provided in statute, the Commissioner could determine that the eligibility requirements could be met either without verification or with as little as a signed attestation.
According to CRS: "Some have expressed concerns that since H.R. 3200 does not contain a mechanism to verify immigration status, the prohibitions on certain noncitizens (e.g, nonimmigrants and unauthorized aliens) receiving the credits may not be enforced. However, others note that under §142(a)(3) of the bill, it is the responsibility of the Health Choices Commissioner (Commissioner) to administer the "individual affordability credits under subtitle C of title II, including determination of eligibility for such credits."
Family eligibility for affordability credits: Section 242(a)(2) of the bill provides that "[e]xcept as the Commissioner may otherwise provide, members of the same family who are affordable credit eligible individuals shall be treated as a single affordable credit individual eligible for the applicable credit for such a family under this subtitle." This suggests that if one member of a family is legally eligible, every family member will be considered eligible. This is significant in terms of numbers — the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that there are almost two million families in the United States where illegal immigrant parents have U.S.-born children. That does not include other "mixed status families" - one legal parent, one illegal parent and illegal child, etc.
According to CRS: "There could be instances where some family members would meet the definition of an eligible individual for purposes of the credit, while other family members would not. For example, in a family consisting of a U.S. citizen married to an unauthorized alien and a U.S. citizen child, the U.S. citizen spouse and child could meet the criteria for being a credit-eligible individual, while the unauthorized alien spouse would not meet the criteria. H.R. 3200 does not expressly address how such a situation would be treated. Therefore, it appears that the Health Choices Commissioner would be responsible for determining how the credits would be administered in the case of mixed-status families."
[me again] I'm waiting for the Democrats to say that we should trust Obama's "Health Choices Commissioner" (Tom Daschle, anyone?) to make the right choices regarding "mixed status families" and other questions regarding eligibility for illegal aliens.
* At the risk of ruining the irony, I need to point out that those are the president's descriptions of efforts to highlight the flaws in the bill, and not Representative Smith's words.
Something to think about with all our new electronic technology!
GPS
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football match. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean up the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
MOBILE PHONE
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet..etc.. was stolen.
Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our pin number and I've replied a little while ago.'
When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back. Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you..
SLEEP LAST NIGHT?
Freedom Is Not Free! "Pray" for America! "Pray" for our leaders! "Pray" for our troops who are fighting for freedoms, all around the world! - oyh
http://www.libertyhigh56.net/sleep/Baker%20Company.htm
Bed a little lumpy... Toss and turn any... Wish the heat was higher... Maybe the a/c wasn't on... Had to go to the john... Need a drink of water...
Scroll down
Bed a little lumpy... Yes... It is like that! Count your blessings, pray for them,
Talk to your Creator and the next time when... the other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes, or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be, or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant, or you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you, or the shower runs out of hot water,
Think of them... Protecting your freedom!
DO NOT DELETE-PLS PASS ON-Message from Iraq
The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that "WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN" and are proud to serve our country." Semper Fi 1st. Sgt. Dave Jobe
The attached photo was forwarded from one of the last U.S. Marine companies in Iraq. They would like to have it passed to as many people as possible, to let the folks back home know that they remember why they're there and that they remember those who've been lost.
Recent scenes from Afghanistan
Scenes from Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
God Bless our troops, and God Bless America. - oyh
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/2100445:BlogPost:36253
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is the mission established by the UN Security Council in 2001 to secure parts of Afghanistan to allow the establishment of Hamid Karzai's new administration. The ISAF operates separately, but cooperatively, with the U.S. coalition operation in Afghanistan called "Operation Enduring Freedom". The mission of the ISAF has expanded to provide security for all of Afghanistan, and is presently made up of over 53,000 troops from 43 different nations.
In the photo above a Panzerhaubitze 2000 Armoured Howitzer of the 14th company field artillery (B-battery C-platoon) of the Royal Netherlands Army fires its 155mm canon from Camp Holland in Uruzgan at enemy positions in Chora, Afghanistan on February 18, 2008 (Gerben van Es/SHAPE photos)
A German Bundeswehr armoured personnel carrier of the 263rd paratroopers unit of the ISAF passes in front of a well-guarded building where a reception commemorating the 18th anniversary of the reunification of Germany took place in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 3, 2008.. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An ISAF Patria XA-188 GVV armored personnel carrier passes local Afghans while patrol mission around Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan on June 9, 2008. (Richard Frigge/SHAPE photos)
A German Bundeswehr soldier with the ISAF monitors the area on a mountain during a sweep mission with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team on the outskirts of Fayzabad, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on September 20, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An observer aboard a German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter with the ISAF sits on the back door during a flight from Fayzabad to Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on September 24, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An Afghan boy on a donkey with a water bucket on his shoulders passes by ISAF soldiers with the German Bundeswehr patrolling the mountain villages on the outskirts of Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
British paratroopers Private Danny Berk, right, and Corporal Scott Evens move through a hole blown in a compound wall by a grenade, Saturday Aug. 31, 2008, while protecting a convoy. The convoy consisted of over 100 vehicles in total, some carrying equipment and a new turbine for the power station at the Kajaki Dam. It passed through Taliban positions which were hit with artillery, mortars, Apache Attack helicopters firing rockets and Hellfire missiles, and fast jets dropping precision guided bombs, which resulted in an estimated 250 Taliban casualties. (AP Photo/Sgt. Anthony Boocock, MOD ho)
Afghan National Police officers, seen training with mock guns during a session with ISAF soldiers from the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) at the German army camp in Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
German Bundeswehr soldiers of the ISAF Quick Reaction Force (QRF) open fire during a night drill in the Marmal mountains near Masar-i-Sharif, north of Kabul, September 16, 2008. Picture is taken through a night vision device. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An ISAF soldier with the German Bundeswehr observes the situation from the back door during a flight on a German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter from Kunduz to the German base in Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
A pair of ISAF soldiers stand on a hillside overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan on the night of January 11, 2008 (ISAF Photos)
"The e-mail Bag"
'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'
A contestant Sally, on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ had reached the final plateau.
If she answered the next question correctly, she would win $1,000,000.
If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the $25,000 milestone money..
And as she suspected it would be, the million-dollar question was no pushover.
It was:
‘Which of the following species of birds does not build its own nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds?
Is it:
A) The Condor
B) The Buzzard
C) The Cuckoo
D) The Vulture
The woman was on the spot. She did not know the answer.
She had used up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience Lifeline. All that remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline. She hoped she would not have to use it because ... Her friend was, well, blonde. But she had no alternative.
She called her friend and gave her the question and the four choices.
The blonde responded unhesitatingly: ‘That’s easy. The answer is C: the cuckoo.’
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast.
She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving Meredith any answer except the one that her friend had given her.
And considering her friend was a blonde that would seem to be the logical thing to do.
But her friend had responded with such confidence, such certitude, that the contestant could not help but be convinced.
‘I need an answer,’ said Meredith.
Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, ‘C: The Cuckoo.’
‘Is that your final answer?’
‘Yes, that is my final answer.’
And Meredith replied, ‘That answer is…. Absolutely correct!
You are now a millionaire!’
Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family and friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the million dollars.
‘Joni, I just do not know how to thank you,’ said the contestant.
‘How did you happen to know the right answer?’
‘Oh, come on,’ said the blonde…’Everybody knows that cuckoos don’t build nests. They live in clocks.’
Sally fainted…......
Thursday, August 27, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090827
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"9/11 - Special"
GET YOUR FLAG READY
Please join us in this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this email immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to do the same. We have a little less than three week and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America.
THE PROGRAM:
On September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.
ACTION PLAN:
(1) Forward this email to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.
(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.
Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America!
"Daily Motivations"
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion. -- Dale Carnegie
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV)
George Muller, a founder of Christian orphanages, believed only God could supply the needs of his ministry. In five great houses he provided for two thousand children. But he never personally asked donors to supply food, clothing, repairs or any other need. Rather, he prayed, totally depending on God to provide.
One night he retired to bed with the knowledge that his cupboards were bare. It appeared there would be no breakfast for his children the following morning. But Muller knew that his ministry was in the hands of God. So he prayed about it and had a good night's sleep.
The next morning, George Muller rose at his usual early hour and took a walk. He came across a friend, and the two men began to talk. Muller's friend suddenly mentioned that he had a contribution for the orphanage. He said, "I've been meaning to give you this money."
On another occasion, Muller had the children wash their hands and sit down for their meal, even though there was no food. At that very moment a meat cart broke down right outside the orphanage door. The driver knocked, and he told Muller he had a cart full of meat that would spoil if not eaten soon. The children ate well that morning.
During his lifetime, George Muller's prayer log grew to ten thousand answered prayers! He saw every detail of life with an uncompromised faith perspective, and he claimed God's promises at every opportunity. Therefore he experienced the joy of God's miracles on almost a daily basis.
"The Patriot Post"
"Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage on them." -- Thomas Jefferson
"Can you then consent to be the only sufferers by this revolution, and retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, wretchedness and contempt? Can you consent to wade through the vile mire of dependency, and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity, which has hitherto been spent in honor? If you can -- GO -- and carry with you the jest of stories and scorn of whigs -- the ridicule, and what is worse, the pity of the world. Go, starve, and be forgotten!" -- George Washington, letter to the Officers of the Army, 1783
INSIGHT
"The history of the race, and each individual's experience, are thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal." --American author and humorist Mark Twain (1835-1910)
"If falsehood, like truth, had but one face, we would be more on equal terms. For we would consider the contrary of what the liar said to be certain. But the opposite of truth has a hundred thousand faces and an infinite field." --French writer Michel Eyquem De Montaigne (1533-1592)
"Men hate those to whom they have to lie." --French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
Upright
"The health debate, which now has moved beyond the Beltway and into raucous town halls across the land, is so intense in part because it's not really about health care at all. On a deeper level, it's about the role of government in America's economy. And that is a raw and unresolved topic, only made more so by months of exceptional government intervention amid a deep recession." -- columnist Gerald Seib
"Today's ruling Democrats propose to fix our extremely high quality (but inefficient and therefore expensive) health care system with 1,000 pages of additional curlicued complexity -- employer mandates, individual mandates, insurance company mandates, allocation formulas, political payoffs and myriad other conjured regulations and interventions -- with the promise that this massive concoction will lower costs. This is all quite mad. It creates a Rube Goldberg system that simply multiplies the current inefficiencies and arbitrariness, thus producing staggering deficits with less choice and lower-quality care. That's why the administration can't sell Obamacare." -- columnist Charles Krauthammer
"Ever since Congress created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, health politics has followed a simple logic: Expand benefits and talk about controlling costs. That's the status quo, and Obama faithfully adheres to it. While denouncing skyrocketing health spending, he would increase it by extending government health insurance to millions more Americans." -- columnist Robert Samuelson
"[Barack] Obama seems to think the country owes it to him to accept ObamaCare because he was kind enough to agree to be our president." -- Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto
DEZINFORMATSIA
When right-wing extremists attack: "If you thought the health care debate was heated in Washington, outside the Beltway it's gotten downright hostile. From Tampa, Florida, to Austin, Texas, to Romulus, Michigan, town hall meetings over health care have turned chaotic; death threats against members of Congress, taunting and shouting, even fistfights. Democrats claim it's all political theater organized by reform opponents." -- NBC's David Gregory
Nothing like hyperbole: "The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage.. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems." -- Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein
THE DEMO-GOGUES
Nothing to fear but ... nothing?: "For all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary is if we do nothing. ... Where we disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that don't bear any resemblance to anything that's actually being proposed." -- President Barack Obama
The BIG Lie:
"I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter..." -- President Pinnochio, who, as we noted last week, was caught on tape more than once advocating single-payer health care
"I'm the best, if I do say so myself": "Today we're pointed in the right direction. ... While we've rescued our economy from catastrophe, we've also begun to build a new foundation for growth." -- Barack Obama, readily taking all the credit for less bad economic and employment news
Pork train's second run: "My view is if we don't have the recovery that we're looking for in the next year and a half, [another stimulus] is something I would certainly look at, and you probably want it to be on a significant magnitude if you need it." -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
VILLAGE IDIOTS
Backwards Nazi comparisons: "Taking a page right out of a Nazi playbook, organizers bus in professional protestors and arm them with instructions on how to take over meetings, shut down discussion, shout over any pro-health care reform speakers, and then post video of the resulting chaos on YouTube. It's mob rule, pure and simple." -- radio talk-show host Bill Press
Or maybe it's the SEIU playbook: "We must fight back against lies and fear-mongering to drown out the opposition -- and send the message that health care reform must happen this year." -- Web site of the Service Employees International Union
SHORT CUTS
"DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTIC... No, wait, that bumper sticker expired January 20th. Under the stimulus bill, there's a new $1.3 trillion bills-for-bumpers program whereby, if you peel off old slogans now recognized as environmentally harmful ('QUESTION AUTHORITY'), you can trade them in for a new 'CELEBRATE CONFORMITY' sticker, complete with a holographic image of President Obama that never takes his eyes off you." -- columnist Mark Steyn
"If the Republicans in Washington are smart, and I'm not saying they are, they'd do well to get out of Nancy Pelosi's way. She may be just about the best politician the GOP has these days. Every time Madam Speaker goes on camera, you can almost hear Democrats' approval ratings drop." -- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editor Paul Greenberg
Note -- sarcastic humor: "In any event, it's true that people who believe in health care choices and free markets are zombies. For one thing, they are entirely too well-dressed to contemplate serious issues independently -- and thank you, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, for pointing that out. A man without Birkenstocks, after all, is a man without a soul. Organizing and protesting, as any sensible and compassionate citizen already understands, is exclusively the bailiwick of ideologically diverse and freethinking groups, such as unions. And really, the most galling aspect of this entire spurious uprising is the rumor that protestors are actually organized. Can you imagine?" -- columnist David Harsanyi
"The Web"
"Senator? You have awakened a SLEEPING GIANT"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bomsaBNnNek
Cheney: CIA Tactics Saved Lives
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/cia_interrogations_cheney/2009/08/25/251977.html?s=al&promo_code=8613-1
Former Vice President Dick Cheney says the CIA's interrogations of terror suspects "saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks."
In a statement Monday, Cheney said those who carried out the interrogations "deserve our gratitude" and do not deserve "to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions." He said the questioning "played a role in nearly every capture of al-Qaida members and associates since 2002."
President Barack Obama on Monday ordered changes that bar certain harsh interrogation tactics. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a criminal probe of past interrogations.
Cheney said that was "a reminder ... of why so many Americans have doubts about this administration's ability to be responsible for our nation's security."
Obama wishes Muslims a blessed Ramadan
Says U.S. wants to expand contact with Islamic world
By Christina Bellantoni (Contact)
http://www..washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/22/obama-wishes-muslims-a-blessed-ramadan/?feat=article_related_stories
Continuing his administration's outreach efforts to the Islamic world, President Obama has recorded a video greeting to Muslims as they begin their annual holy season of Ramadan.
The president used a few Arabic words and described in the video the origin of the holiday and its importance, noting it is a time of festivity but also of devotion and reflection.
The holiday is marked with a month of fasting from dawn to sunset, when Muslims break their fast with a prayer.
"These rituals remind us of the principles we hold in common and of Islam's role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings," said Mr. Obama in the video.
Earlier this year Mr. Obama offered a similar message of friendship in a Web video to mark Nowruz, the Iranian new year.
That video kicked off a full effort to engage with Muslims, with Mr. Obama delivering major speeches in Ankara and Cairo seeking a new way forward.
Mr. Obama addressed the "new beginning" he has proposed in his Ramadan message, saying it must be "borne out in a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground."
Mr. Obama said the United States has heard from Muslims around the globe in response to his speeches and the outreach done on social networking Web sites, adding that the nation is going after "concrete actions that will make a difference over time."
He said America wants to partner with the Islamic world for expanding educational exchange programs and on science and technology collaboration, adding that the U.S. is working closely to prepare for the global pandemic of the H1N1 virus.
"All of these efforts are aimed at advancing our common aspirations - to live in peace and security, to get an education and to work with dignity, to love our families, our communities and our God," he said. "We cannot change things overnight, but we can honestly resolve to do what must be done, while setting off in a new direction - toward the destination that we seek for ourselves, and for our children. That is the journey that we must travel together."
He also discussed foreign policy, saying that the United States is committed to "responsibly ending the war in Iraq" and fighting violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The president said he is "unyielding" in supporting a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. He also mentioned Ramadan in a brief statement about the elections in Afghanistan.
Mr. Obama, who spoke to rabbis and left-leaning faith groups about health care this week, said in the video that fasting is a tradition observed by many, including members of his own Christian faith.
He said it's "a way to bring people closer to God, and to those among us who cannot take their next meal for granted."
"The support that Muslims provide to others recalls our responsibility to advance opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere. For all of us must remember that the world we want to build - and the changes that we want to make - must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities," he said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations thanked the president for the message, saying his mention of Muslims participating in the summer White House community service drive United We Serve was welcomed.
Rashad Hussain, deputy associate White House counsel, said over the course of the Muslim holy month the White House will "highlight the perspectives of various faiths on fasting and profile faith-based organizations making real impacts in American cities and towns."
In his message, subtitled in Arabic on YouTube, Mr. Obama wished Muslims a "blessed month" and closed with, "May God's peace be upon you."
Empathy 101: Ten Commandments Of Human Relationships
by Kerri Salls
These ten commandments of human relations aren't original to me, and I don't know the source. At the same time, they don't go out of style or out of date if you are in business. Everyone in your business must imbue their efforts with these commandments. They are required in every type of relationship be it marketing or selling to clients, providing customer support before or after the sale, working with and negotiating with vendors or your support team and of course internal to your organization.
These skills are not the sole domain of your designated human resource professional. In fact they should be part of your company's Hedgehog Concept (ref: From Good to Great by Jim Collins, http://www.jimcollins.com/lib/books.html)
As the leader of your team, go through these commandments and consider how well you and everyone on your team abides by them. Encouraging their use just might smooth some ruffled feathers or diffuse a tense situation.
1. Speak to People
There is nothing like a cheerful word of greeting. To really connect, look them in the eye as you speak.
2. Smile at People
It takes 72 muscles to frown, only 14 to smile. They can hear the difference in your voice - even over the phone.
3. Call People by Name
The sweetest music to anyone's ear is the sound of his/her own name. Be sure you say it correctly. Say it often.
The 10 human relations commandments are required in every type of relationship... A deep understanding of human interactions is imperative.
4. Be Friendly and Helpful
To have friends and build relationships, be a friend first.
5. Be Cordial
Sincerely speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.
6. Be Genuinely Interested In People
You can like almost everybody if you try. They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Be sure they know how much you care.
7. Be Generous With Praise
Praise publicly, correct privately. Everyone wins this way.
8. Be Considerate
of the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy: yours, the other person's, and the right side. Keep ego and emotions in check.
9. Be Alert
to give excellent service. What counts most is what we do for others not ourselves.
10. Have a Good Sense of Humor
Don't take yourself too seriously. When you add lots of patience, and humility, you will have a recipe for enduring success.
Do you think these are soft skills you can brush aside as non-critical? Think again. In this Conceptual Age, a deeper understanding of the subtleties of human interactions becomes not only important but imperative. In fact, at the Stanford Business School, students are flocking to one of the newer courses called "Interpersonal Dynamics". Be sure everyone on your team masters the basics.
A Little Boy & His Fishing Pole
This true story is about someone in Indiana and I couldn't resist passing it on.... gives one pause for thought....
Howard County Sheriff Jerry Marr got a disturbing call one Saturday afternoon a few months ago.
His 6-year-old grandson Mikey had been hit by a car while fishing with his dad. The father and son were near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir when a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge and hit Mikey at a rate of about 50 mph.
Sheriff Marr had seen the results of accidents like this and feared the worst. When he got to Saint JosephHospital, he rushed through the emergency room to find Mikey conscious and in fairly good spirits.
"Mikey, what happened?" Sheriff Marr asked.
Mikey replied, "Well, Papaw, I was fishin' with Dad, and some lady runned me over, I flew into a mud puddle, and broke my fishin' pole and I didn't get to catch no fish!"
As it turned out, the impact propelled Mikey about 500 feet, over a few trees and an embankment and in the middle of a mud puddle. His only injuries were to his right femur bonewhich had broken in two places. Mikey had surgery to place pins in his leg. Otherwise the boy is fine.
Since all the boy could talk about was that his fishing pole was broken, the Sheriff went out to Wal-mart and bought him a new one while he was in surgery so he could have it
when he came out.
The next day the Sheriff sat with Mikey to keep him company in the hospital. Mikey was enjoying his new fishing pole and talked about when he could go fishing again as he cast into the trash can.
When they were alone, Mikey matter-of-factly said, "Papaw, did you know Jesus is real?"
"Well," the Sheriff replied, a little startled. "Yes, Jesus is real to all who believe in him and love him in their hearts."
"No," said Mikey. "I mean Jesus is REALLY real."
"What do you mean?" asked the Sheriff.
"I know he's real 'cause I saw him, "said Mikey,still casting into the trash can.
"You did?" said the Sheriff.
"Yep," said Mikey. "When that lady runned me over and broke my fishing pole, Jesus caught me in his arms and laid me down in the mud puddle."
GIVES YOU GOOSE BUMPS DOESN'T IT!?
And so.........
I asked the Lord to bless you
As I prayed for you today
To guide you and protect you
As you go along your way
His love is always with you
His promises are true
And when we give Him all our cares
You know He will see us through
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best
Just remember I'm here praying
And GOD WILL DO THE REST.
Pass this on to people you want God tobless and don't forget to send it back to the onewho asked God to bless you first.
There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it behooves any of us,
To find fault with the rest of us.
- Anonymous
"The e-mail Bag"
An optimist thinks this is the best possible world. A pessimist fears this is true.
There will always be death and taxes; however, death doesn't get worse every year.
In School!
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
(I Love this kid)
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"9/11 - Special"
GET YOUR FLAG READY
Please join us in this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this email immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to do the same. We have a little less than three week and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America.
THE PROGRAM:
On September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.
ACTION PLAN:
(1) Forward this email to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.
(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.
Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America!
"Daily Motivations"
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion. -- Dale Carnegie
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV)
George Muller, a founder of Christian orphanages, believed only God could supply the needs of his ministry. In five great houses he provided for two thousand children. But he never personally asked donors to supply food, clothing, repairs or any other need. Rather, he prayed, totally depending on God to provide.
One night he retired to bed with the knowledge that his cupboards were bare. It appeared there would be no breakfast for his children the following morning. But Muller knew that his ministry was in the hands of God. So he prayed about it and had a good night's sleep.
The next morning, George Muller rose at his usual early hour and took a walk. He came across a friend, and the two men began to talk. Muller's friend suddenly mentioned that he had a contribution for the orphanage. He said, "I've been meaning to give you this money."
On another occasion, Muller had the children wash their hands and sit down for their meal, even though there was no food. At that very moment a meat cart broke down right outside the orphanage door. The driver knocked, and he told Muller he had a cart full of meat that would spoil if not eaten soon. The children ate well that morning.
During his lifetime, George Muller's prayer log grew to ten thousand answered prayers! He saw every detail of life with an uncompromised faith perspective, and he claimed God's promises at every opportunity. Therefore he experienced the joy of God's miracles on almost a daily basis.
"The Patriot Post"
"Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage on them." -- Thomas Jefferson
"Can you then consent to be the only sufferers by this revolution, and retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, wretchedness and contempt? Can you consent to wade through the vile mire of dependency, and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity, which has hitherto been spent in honor? If you can -- GO -- and carry with you the jest of stories and scorn of whigs -- the ridicule, and what is worse, the pity of the world. Go, starve, and be forgotten!" -- George Washington, letter to the Officers of the Army, 1783
INSIGHT
"The history of the race, and each individual's experience, are thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal." --American author and humorist Mark Twain (1835-1910)
"If falsehood, like truth, had but one face, we would be more on equal terms. For we would consider the contrary of what the liar said to be certain. But the opposite of truth has a hundred thousand faces and an infinite field." --French writer Michel Eyquem De Montaigne (1533-1592)
"Men hate those to whom they have to lie." --French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
Upright
"The health debate, which now has moved beyond the Beltway and into raucous town halls across the land, is so intense in part because it's not really about health care at all. On a deeper level, it's about the role of government in America's economy. And that is a raw and unresolved topic, only made more so by months of exceptional government intervention amid a deep recession." -- columnist Gerald Seib
"Today's ruling Democrats propose to fix our extremely high quality (but inefficient and therefore expensive) health care system with 1,000 pages of additional curlicued complexity -- employer mandates, individual mandates, insurance company mandates, allocation formulas, political payoffs and myriad other conjured regulations and interventions -- with the promise that this massive concoction will lower costs. This is all quite mad. It creates a Rube Goldberg system that simply multiplies the current inefficiencies and arbitrariness, thus producing staggering deficits with less choice and lower-quality care. That's why the administration can't sell Obamacare." -- columnist Charles Krauthammer
"Ever since Congress created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, health politics has followed a simple logic: Expand benefits and talk about controlling costs. That's the status quo, and Obama faithfully adheres to it. While denouncing skyrocketing health spending, he would increase it by extending government health insurance to millions more Americans." -- columnist Robert Samuelson
"[Barack] Obama seems to think the country owes it to him to accept ObamaCare because he was kind enough to agree to be our president." -- Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto
DEZINFORMATSIA
When right-wing extremists attack: "If you thought the health care debate was heated in Washington, outside the Beltway it's gotten downright hostile. From Tampa, Florida, to Austin, Texas, to Romulus, Michigan, town hall meetings over health care have turned chaotic; death threats against members of Congress, taunting and shouting, even fistfights. Democrats claim it's all political theater organized by reform opponents." -- NBC's David Gregory
Nothing like hyperbole: "The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage.. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems." -- Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein
THE DEMO-GOGUES
Nothing to fear but ... nothing?: "For all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary is if we do nothing. ... Where we disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that don't bear any resemblance to anything that's actually being proposed." -- President Barack Obama
The BIG Lie:
"I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter..." -- President Pinnochio, who, as we noted last week, was caught on tape more than once advocating single-payer health care
"I'm the best, if I do say so myself": "Today we're pointed in the right direction. ... While we've rescued our economy from catastrophe, we've also begun to build a new foundation for growth." -- Barack Obama, readily taking all the credit for less bad economic and employment news
Pork train's second run: "My view is if we don't have the recovery that we're looking for in the next year and a half, [another stimulus] is something I would certainly look at, and you probably want it to be on a significant magnitude if you need it." -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
VILLAGE IDIOTS
Backwards Nazi comparisons: "Taking a page right out of a Nazi playbook, organizers bus in professional protestors and arm them with instructions on how to take over meetings, shut down discussion, shout over any pro-health care reform speakers, and then post video of the resulting chaos on YouTube. It's mob rule, pure and simple." -- radio talk-show host Bill Press
Or maybe it's the SEIU playbook: "We must fight back against lies and fear-mongering to drown out the opposition -- and send the message that health care reform must happen this year." -- Web site of the Service Employees International Union
SHORT CUTS
"DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTIC... No, wait, that bumper sticker expired January 20th. Under the stimulus bill, there's a new $1.3 trillion bills-for-bumpers program whereby, if you peel off old slogans now recognized as environmentally harmful ('QUESTION AUTHORITY'), you can trade them in for a new 'CELEBRATE CONFORMITY' sticker, complete with a holographic image of President Obama that never takes his eyes off you." -- columnist Mark Steyn
"If the Republicans in Washington are smart, and I'm not saying they are, they'd do well to get out of Nancy Pelosi's way. She may be just about the best politician the GOP has these days. Every time Madam Speaker goes on camera, you can almost hear Democrats' approval ratings drop." -- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editor Paul Greenberg
Note -- sarcastic humor: "In any event, it's true that people who believe in health care choices and free markets are zombies. For one thing, they are entirely too well-dressed to contemplate serious issues independently -- and thank you, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, for pointing that out. A man without Birkenstocks, after all, is a man without a soul. Organizing and protesting, as any sensible and compassionate citizen already understands, is exclusively the bailiwick of ideologically diverse and freethinking groups, such as unions. And really, the most galling aspect of this entire spurious uprising is the rumor that protestors are actually organized. Can you imagine?" -- columnist David Harsanyi
"The Web"
"Senator? You have awakened a SLEEPING GIANT"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bomsaBNnNek
Cheney: CIA Tactics Saved Lives
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/cia_interrogations_cheney/2009/08/25/251977.html?s=al&promo_code=8613-1
Former Vice President Dick Cheney says the CIA's interrogations of terror suspects "saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks."
In a statement Monday, Cheney said those who carried out the interrogations "deserve our gratitude" and do not deserve "to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions." He said the questioning "played a role in nearly every capture of al-Qaida members and associates since 2002."
President Barack Obama on Monday ordered changes that bar certain harsh interrogation tactics. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a criminal probe of past interrogations.
Cheney said that was "a reminder ... of why so many Americans have doubts about this administration's ability to be responsible for our nation's security."
Obama wishes Muslims a blessed Ramadan
Says U.S. wants to expand contact with Islamic world
By Christina Bellantoni (Contact)
http://www..washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/22/obama-wishes-muslims-a-blessed-ramadan/?feat=article_related_stories
Continuing his administration's outreach efforts to the Islamic world, President Obama has recorded a video greeting to Muslims as they begin their annual holy season of Ramadan.
The president used a few Arabic words and described in the video the origin of the holiday and its importance, noting it is a time of festivity but also of devotion and reflection.
The holiday is marked with a month of fasting from dawn to sunset, when Muslims break their fast with a prayer.
"These rituals remind us of the principles we hold in common and of Islam's role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings," said Mr. Obama in the video.
Earlier this year Mr. Obama offered a similar message of friendship in a Web video to mark Nowruz, the Iranian new year.
That video kicked off a full effort to engage with Muslims, with Mr. Obama delivering major speeches in Ankara and Cairo seeking a new way forward.
Mr. Obama addressed the "new beginning" he has proposed in his Ramadan message, saying it must be "borne out in a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground."
Mr. Obama said the United States has heard from Muslims around the globe in response to his speeches and the outreach done on social networking Web sites, adding that the nation is going after "concrete actions that will make a difference over time."
He said America wants to partner with the Islamic world for expanding educational exchange programs and on science and technology collaboration, adding that the U.S. is working closely to prepare for the global pandemic of the H1N1 virus.
"All of these efforts are aimed at advancing our common aspirations - to live in peace and security, to get an education and to work with dignity, to love our families, our communities and our God," he said. "We cannot change things overnight, but we can honestly resolve to do what must be done, while setting off in a new direction - toward the destination that we seek for ourselves, and for our children. That is the journey that we must travel together."
He also discussed foreign policy, saying that the United States is committed to "responsibly ending the war in Iraq" and fighting violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The president said he is "unyielding" in supporting a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. He also mentioned Ramadan in a brief statement about the elections in Afghanistan.
Mr. Obama, who spoke to rabbis and left-leaning faith groups about health care this week, said in the video that fasting is a tradition observed by many, including members of his own Christian faith.
He said it's "a way to bring people closer to God, and to those among us who cannot take their next meal for granted."
"The support that Muslims provide to others recalls our responsibility to advance opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere. For all of us must remember that the world we want to build - and the changes that we want to make - must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities," he said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations thanked the president for the message, saying his mention of Muslims participating in the summer White House community service drive United We Serve was welcomed.
Rashad Hussain, deputy associate White House counsel, said over the course of the Muslim holy month the White House will "highlight the perspectives of various faiths on fasting and profile faith-based organizations making real impacts in American cities and towns."
In his message, subtitled in Arabic on YouTube, Mr. Obama wished Muslims a "blessed month" and closed with, "May God's peace be upon you."
Empathy 101: Ten Commandments Of Human Relationships
by Kerri Salls
These ten commandments of human relations aren't original to me, and I don't know the source. At the same time, they don't go out of style or out of date if you are in business. Everyone in your business must imbue their efforts with these commandments. They are required in every type of relationship be it marketing or selling to clients, providing customer support before or after the sale, working with and negotiating with vendors or your support team and of course internal to your organization.
These skills are not the sole domain of your designated human resource professional. In fact they should be part of your company's Hedgehog Concept (ref: From Good to Great by Jim Collins, http://www.jimcollins.com/lib/books.html)
As the leader of your team, go through these commandments and consider how well you and everyone on your team abides by them. Encouraging their use just might smooth some ruffled feathers or diffuse a tense situation.
1. Speak to People
There is nothing like a cheerful word of greeting. To really connect, look them in the eye as you speak.
2. Smile at People
It takes 72 muscles to frown, only 14 to smile. They can hear the difference in your voice - even over the phone.
3. Call People by Name
The sweetest music to anyone's ear is the sound of his/her own name. Be sure you say it correctly. Say it often.
The 10 human relations commandments are required in every type of relationship... A deep understanding of human interactions is imperative.
4. Be Friendly and Helpful
To have friends and build relationships, be a friend first.
5. Be Cordial
Sincerely speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.
6. Be Genuinely Interested In People
You can like almost everybody if you try. They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Be sure they know how much you care.
7. Be Generous With Praise
Praise publicly, correct privately. Everyone wins this way.
8. Be Considerate
of the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy: yours, the other person's, and the right side. Keep ego and emotions in check.
9. Be Alert
to give excellent service. What counts most is what we do for others not ourselves.
10. Have a Good Sense of Humor
Don't take yourself too seriously. When you add lots of patience, and humility, you will have a recipe for enduring success.
Do you think these are soft skills you can brush aside as non-critical? Think again. In this Conceptual Age, a deeper understanding of the subtleties of human interactions becomes not only important but imperative. In fact, at the Stanford Business School, students are flocking to one of the newer courses called "Interpersonal Dynamics". Be sure everyone on your team masters the basics.
A Little Boy & His Fishing Pole
This true story is about someone in Indiana and I couldn't resist passing it on.... gives one pause for thought....
Howard County Sheriff Jerry Marr got a disturbing call one Saturday afternoon a few months ago.
His 6-year-old grandson Mikey had been hit by a car while fishing with his dad. The father and son were near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir when a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge and hit Mikey at a rate of about 50 mph.
Sheriff Marr had seen the results of accidents like this and feared the worst. When he got to Saint JosephHospital, he rushed through the emergency room to find Mikey conscious and in fairly good spirits.
"Mikey, what happened?" Sheriff Marr asked.
Mikey replied, "Well, Papaw, I was fishin' with Dad, and some lady runned me over, I flew into a mud puddle, and broke my fishin' pole and I didn't get to catch no fish!"
As it turned out, the impact propelled Mikey about 500 feet, over a few trees and an embankment and in the middle of a mud puddle. His only injuries were to his right femur bonewhich had broken in two places. Mikey had surgery to place pins in his leg. Otherwise the boy is fine.
Since all the boy could talk about was that his fishing pole was broken, the Sheriff went out to Wal-mart and bought him a new one while he was in surgery so he could have it
when he came out.
The next day the Sheriff sat with Mikey to keep him company in the hospital. Mikey was enjoying his new fishing pole and talked about when he could go fishing again as he cast into the trash can.
When they were alone, Mikey matter-of-factly said, "Papaw, did you know Jesus is real?"
"Well," the Sheriff replied, a little startled. "Yes, Jesus is real to all who believe in him and love him in their hearts."
"No," said Mikey. "I mean Jesus is REALLY real."
"What do you mean?" asked the Sheriff.
"I know he's real 'cause I saw him, "said Mikey,still casting into the trash can.
"You did?" said the Sheriff.
"Yep," said Mikey. "When that lady runned me over and broke my fishing pole, Jesus caught me in his arms and laid me down in the mud puddle."
GIVES YOU GOOSE BUMPS DOESN'T IT!?
And so.........
I asked the Lord to bless you
As I prayed for you today
To guide you and protect you
As you go along your way
His love is always with you
His promises are true
And when we give Him all our cares
You know He will see us through
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best
Just remember I'm here praying
And GOD WILL DO THE REST.
Pass this on to people you want God tobless and don't forget to send it back to the onewho asked God to bless you first.
There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it behooves any of us,
To find fault with the rest of us.
- Anonymous
"The e-mail Bag"
An optimist thinks this is the best possible world. A pessimist fears this is true.
There will always be death and taxes; however, death doesn't get worse every year.
In School!
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
(I Love this kid)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Chris Simcox for US Senate
It was political stimulating to see Fox News Channel televise a Sen. John McCain Town Hall. Sen. McCain is to be commended for his service as a pilot while in the US Navy, and specifically for his service while imprisoned in North Vietnam as a prisoner-of-war.
There comes a time as Winston Churchill once said “Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason”. As for me, now may be the time for Arizona to consider making a change for a true Conservative to represent the great state and its’ people of Arizona.
At the Town Hall, it was interesting as Sen. McCain continually making reference to his friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC-R). You may remember it was Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham who were members of the “Gang of 14” US Senators who were to rebuke President Bush for his appointments to the US Supreme Court as being too Conservative. Lindsey Graham is now been renamed “Flimsy Lindsey”. You will find McCain and Graham supporting many of the same issues, in lieu of supporting the GOP Platform.
Sen. John McCain has a "comprehensive immigration reform"; others refer to as "amnesty". A better description could be described is “Monopoly Immigration”. In the game of Monopoly, you pay $200.00 to get out of jail. Under John McCain’s plan, you pay $5,000.00 and you have just purchased American freedoms.
Please do not forget the McCain-Feingold legislation in the US Senate which allows the likes of billionaire George Soros who fund MoveOn.Org and recently funded an advertisement against General George Petraeus named ”General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” This legislation was co-authored by Republican Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold.
Many of us all across America have served and/or are currently serving in the US Military to protect our American Flag, our US Constitution, our nation, and the freedoms within. Over the history of our great nation’s history, over 600,000 soldiers have given their own life in the wars for these liberties to survive. Shame on you, Sen. McCain and others, who are willing to sell or even give away these precious values to illegal immigrants! Support legal immigration, not illegal immigration.
The leading root for the disappointment within the GOP is that so many registered Republicans who run for public office fail to support the RNC Platform. Some of these candidates are Republicans In Name Only (RINO). Republican candidates must support a minimum of 80% of the GOP Platform. Then, we will see more election successes. The GOP Platform begins at the precinct level, then to the counties, the Districts, the State, and then advancing to be adopted as a formal document Platform Plan at the Republican National Committee meeting http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/.
In summary, for a fresh vision, I invite each of you to take a look at Chris Simcox for US Senate http://www.simcoxforsenate.com/index.php, and evaluate Chris Simcox on his issues http://www.simcoxforsenate.com/index.php?p=issues. Then I believe you may agree with Chris Simcox on the most important issues for this crucial election for US Senate.
There comes a time as Winston Churchill once said “Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason”. As for me, now may be the time for Arizona to consider making a change for a true Conservative to represent the great state and its’ people of Arizona.
At the Town Hall, it was interesting as Sen. McCain continually making reference to his friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC-R). You may remember it was Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham who were members of the “Gang of 14” US Senators who were to rebuke President Bush for his appointments to the US Supreme Court as being too Conservative. Lindsey Graham is now been renamed “Flimsy Lindsey”. You will find McCain and Graham supporting many of the same issues, in lieu of supporting the GOP Platform.
Sen. John McCain has a "comprehensive immigration reform"; others refer to as "amnesty". A better description could be described is “Monopoly Immigration”. In the game of Monopoly, you pay $200.00 to get out of jail. Under John McCain’s plan, you pay $5,000.00 and you have just purchased American freedoms.
Please do not forget the McCain-Feingold legislation in the US Senate which allows the likes of billionaire George Soros who fund MoveOn.Org and recently funded an advertisement against General George Petraeus named ”General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” This legislation was co-authored by Republican Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold.
Many of us all across America have served and/or are currently serving in the US Military to protect our American Flag, our US Constitution, our nation, and the freedoms within. Over the history of our great nation’s history, over 600,000 soldiers have given their own life in the wars for these liberties to survive. Shame on you, Sen. McCain and others, who are willing to sell or even give away these precious values to illegal immigrants! Support legal immigration, not illegal immigration.
The leading root for the disappointment within the GOP is that so many registered Republicans who run for public office fail to support the RNC Platform. Some of these candidates are Republicans In Name Only (RINO). Republican candidates must support a minimum of 80% of the GOP Platform. Then, we will see more election successes. The GOP Platform begins at the precinct level, then to the counties, the Districts, the State, and then advancing to be adopted as a formal document Platform Plan at the Republican National Committee meeting http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/.
In summary, for a fresh vision, I invite each of you to take a look at Chris Simcox for US Senate http://www.simcoxforsenate.com/index.php, and evaluate Chris Simcox on his issues http://www.simcoxforsenate.com/index.php?p=issues. Then I believe you may agree with Chris Simcox on the most important issues for this crucial election for US Senate.
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090826
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"News Alert"
Ted Kennedy, Senate Lion and Liberal Champion, Dies
The Massachusetts Democrat was seen by many as an American version of a Greek tragedy as his personal tragedies along with his professional triumphs and losses unfolded in the public eye.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/26/ted-kennedy-dies/
Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime Massachusetts lawmaker whose personal tragedies along with his professional triumphs and losses unfolded in the public eye, has died at his home in Hyannis Port after battling a brain tumor. He was 77.
His family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.
"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," the statement said. "We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all."
The Massachusetts Democrat was seen by many as an American version of a Greek tragedy. Born into political royalty, Kennedy's triumphs were often overshadowed by those of his brothers, John and Bobby Kennedy. But nonetheless, the younger Kennedy carved his own political legacy as one of the longest serving senators in U.S. history.
Click here for a timeline of Ted Kennedy's life. (Click On Timeline) http://www..foxnews.com/politics/tedkennedy/index.html
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on Wednesday both the Kennedy family and the Senate have "lost our patriarch."
Reid promised that Congress, while mourning Kennedy's loss, would renew the push for the cause of Kennedy's life, health care reform.
"Ted Kennedy's dream was the one for which the founding fathers fought and for which his brothers sought to realize," Reid said in a statement. "The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall silent, but his dream shall never die."
The youngest of the nine-sibling Kennedy clan, Teddy had much of his path paved by famous older brothers and father. That created problems as well as opportunities for him.
As a member of a roving family, Kennedy moved around a lot in his youth and made friends easily. He attended Harvard in 1951, playing on the freshman football team before he was caught cheating by having a friend take his Spanish language exam.
Kennedy was expelled and entered the Army, where he served in Paris during the Korean War. and after almost two years was re-admitted to Harvard for demonstrating good behavior.
He went on to get a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School and served as an assistant D.A in Suffolk County, Mass. He married Virginia Joan Bennett, who was introduced to him by his sister Jean. They had three children, the youngest was Patrick, who also would enter public office.
When John Kennedy was elected to the presidency in 1960, it appeared the Kennedy clan had the makings of a political dynasty. At the time, Robert Kennedy was attorney general and Teddy, as he was affectionately known, was elected to the Senate in 1962.
But Kennedy soon found himself alone on the political stage after his brothers were killed by assassins in 1963 and 1968.
Shouldering the burden of a grieving family, Kennedy delivered Bobby's eulogy at New York's Saint Patrick's Cathedral in 1968, attributing to Robert a quote by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw: "Some men see things as they are and say 'why.' I dream things that never were and say 'why not.'"
He added: "Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today pray that what he was to us, and what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world."
But Kennedy's own aspirations for the White House were dashed in 1969 when his car plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick on Martha's Vineyard, killing Robert Kennedy campaign aide Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy swam to safety and only alerted authorities to the accident hours later.
As Kopechne's body was pulled from the dark sedan, the senator told investigators he panicked.
"That tragedy will live with me for the rest of my life...every day for the rest of my life," he said.
An investigation later absolved Kennedy of responsibility. He received two months suspended jail time for leaving the scene of an accident, but questions about his character would follow him and haunt his political ambitions for the nation's highest office.
Despite the Chappaquiddick incident, Kennedy decided to throw his hat into the 1980 presidential race, going up against incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter. Kennedy lost his bid for the White House and returned to the Senate -- becoming the lion of the liberal left.
Like his first wife, Joan, Kennedy also struggled with alcohol, and through much of the 1980s was viewed as a playboy with a bottle. That image culminated with the arrest of his nephew, William Kennedy Smith, who was later acquitted on charges of raping a woman he met at a bar while out with his uncle. It also hurt his ability to fight the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas over allegations of harassment by former Thomas aide Anita Hill.
Kennedy credited his second wife Victoria Anne Reggie with turning him around and redirecting him back to his political career and liberal agenda.
Kennedy served as an ardent supporter for other Democrats seeking the presidency and endorsed Barack Obama early in his campaign -- comparing the Illinois senator with his late brother, John.
At times, it seemed Kennedy and his abundant energy would last for years. But last May, he suffered a seizure at his Cape Cod home and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
Kennedy stayed active for as long as he could after his diagnosis, offering a key address in support of Obama during the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008. He also attended Obama's presidential inauguration, where he had to be taken away in a stretcher.
Though he was absent from the Senate for much of President Obama's first year, his name was attached to health care legislation, penned a widely read op-ed in support of health care reform and was a critical vote on several piece of legislation.
Kennedy was too ill to attend his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral or to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed upon him by President Obama, both in in August 2009.
FOX News' Molly Line contributed to this report.
"Daily Motivations"
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. -- Albert Einstein
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"This is My command---be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
At times this life can be very lonely and terrifying. We may have many friends, relatives, or a loving spouse, but ultimately we still must face our problems on our own. No one can take our place. No one can be with us at all times. No one, except for One---God! He is present everywhere.
Because God is always present, we never have to wonder first thing in the morning: Is God here in this room, and is He willing to start the day with me? We do not have to ask ourselves: Will God be with me tonight---even when I'm asleep? We never have to worry: Will God be with me tomorrow when I undertake a difficult task?
God is our ever-present friend. In joy, heartache, temptation, and peace, God is there.
"The Patriot Post"
"On every unauthoritative exercise of power by the legislature must the people rise in rebellion or their silence be construed into a surrender of that power to them? If so, how many rebellions should we have had already?" -- Thomas Jefferson
LIBERTY
"So what has the White House told supporters to do when you run across those who spread 'disinformation' about the new attempt by the Obama administration to install the anti-competitive practices of a 'public option' into a federalized universal health care initiative? Report them. ... Pardon me for asking such an obvious question, but what concern is it to the President or his administration if private citizens have disagreements, discussions, and dissections of his proposed take over of the health care industry? Last I checked I had the constitutional right to do so. But now he wishes to turn one citizen against another? ... The mistake this White House continues to make, seemingly on a daily basis, is that they reveal very much what they truly think of freedoms of the American political process." -- radio talk-show host Kevin McCullough
THE GIPPER
"The intellectual establishment [is] so busy demanding more power for government, more bureaucracy, regulation, spending and -- oh, yes -- more and more taxes, they forgot all about the secret of America's success -- opportunity for people, for all the people. ... Will we heed the pessimists' agenda of higher taxes, more bureaucracy, and a bigger welfare state leading us right back to runaway inflation and economic decay, or will we [take the] road toward a true opportunity society of economic growth, more jobs, lower tax rates, and rising take-home pay?" -- Ronald Reagan
THE LAST WORD
"'The right-wing extremist Republican base is back!' warns the Democratic National Committee. These right-wing extremists have been given their marching orders by their masters: They've been directed to show up at 'thousands of events,' told to 'organize,' 'knock on doors' ... No, wait. My mistake. That's the e-mail I got from Mitch Stewart, Director of 'Organizing for America' at BarackObama.com. But that's the good kind of 'organizing.' Obama's a community organizer. We're the community. He organizes us. What part of that don't you get? When the community starts organizing against the organizer, the whole rigmarole goes to hell. ... Decrying the snarling, angry protesters, liberal talk-show host Bill Press ... says that 'Americans want serious discussion' on health care. If only we'd stuck to the President's August timetable and passed a gazillion-page health care reform entirely unread by the House of Representatives or the Senate (the world's greatest deliberative body) in nothing flat, we'd now have all the time in the world to sit around having a 'serious discussion' and 'real debate' on whatever it was we just did to one-sixth of the economy. But a sick, deranged, un-American mob has put an end to all that moderate and reasonable steamrollering by showing up and yelling insane, out-of-control questions like, 'Awfully sorry to bother you, your Most Excellent Senatorial Eminence, but I was wondering if you could tell me why you don't read any of the laws you make before you make them into law?' The community is restless. The firm hand of greater organization is needed." -- columnist Mark Steyn
"Simple Truths"
“Patience, persistence and timing reap rewards.” -- Margaret Woods
"When we choose not to focus on what's missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present... we experience heaven on earth." -- Sarah Breathnach
Learning To Dance In The Rain
http://www.danceintherainmovie.com/
"texan2driver"
Obama and Liberals: Domestic Enemies of America
Posted on August 24, 2009 by texan2driver
What are congressmen and senators of this country sworn to do? What are the military servicemen and women of America sworn to do? What does one have to do to be labeled a “domestic enemy?” Let’s take a look.
Current Senatorial and Congressional Oath of Office:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Current United States Air Force Oath of Office:
I, (Full Name (First, Middle, Last)) (Social Security Number) having been appointed a (Grade in which appointed), United States Air Force do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, SO HELP ME GOD.
Domestic Enemy of the United States of America:
Here is one possible definition provided by Richard L. Wilde: (read his post by clicking here)
Domestic Enemies (to the US Constitution) are those who manipulate the law or lawmakers to violate the Founder’s intent, remove their safeguards, distort, circumvent, or in any way threaten the Constitution, threaten sovereignty, infringe upon state and individual rights, usurp authority, advance tyranny, or provide immunity or pardons for such.
Richard makes a very astute observation and analysis of the origin and intent of the oaths of office required of our elected officials.
After further thought, it made sense to me that the only entities who could constitute any possible threat to our Constitution are its guardians … those who have legal access to it.
So it follows that these oaths are aimed explicitly at the Federal Government, and those behind the scenes who manipulate them. The warning is: “If you alter or change the intent of the US Constitution or attempt to circumvent it, you are the enemy.”
Based upon this analysis and definition, which I feel are quite fair and accurate, it becomes quite easy to identify Domestic Enemies of America. Here is a short list, but many names can easily be added from both the democrat and republican parties:
Barack Hussein Obama
Nancy “Nazi” Pelosi
Harry Reid
John Murtha
Ted Kennedy
All of those voting for or supporting: Nationalized health care, carbon/environmental taxes, amnesty and/or benefits for illegal aliens, etc.
etc.
18 years ago I took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” All military members take this oath.
So, we have defined what constitutes a “domestic enemy,” we have several examples that fit the definition quite easily, and we have the actions required by oath of office in relation to “domestic enemies.” So what does this mean? I am bound by the Constitution of the United States to oppose Barack Hussein Obama and his legion of liberal socialists. All citizens who honor our Constitution are bound to do the same. So what does that mean for the liberals who are gleefully destroying this country?
You can do the math.
I ask the same question that Marine Corps veteran David Hedrick asks of his representative Brian Baird in the following video. “I (we) have kept our oath. DO YOU EVER INTEND TO KEEP YOUR?“
"The Web"
F-16 Falcon vs F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet Dogfight
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/494472/2636626
Does "GOD" talk to us This will give you chills
by HauntedShanleyHotel
http://www.iamhaunted.com/blog/view/id_9098/title_does-%22god%22-talk-to-us-this-will-give-you-chills/
This will give you the chills........ GOOD chills.
A young man had been to Wednesday Night BibleStudy.
The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice The young man couldn't help but wonder, 'Does God still speak to people?'
After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God...If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.'
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, 'God is that you?' He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. 'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.' It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.'
He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, 'Turn Down that street.' This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street . At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay, God, I will.'
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi- commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.'
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. 'Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.' Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, oka y. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. 'What is it?' The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen.
The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, 'We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.' His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?' The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face.
He knew that God still answers prayers
Wait, it gets better: Cash for Coiffures!
By Michelle Malkin • August 24, 2009 01:27 PM
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/24/wait-it-gets-better-cash-for-coiffures/
Cash for Clunkers.
Cash for Kitchens.
And now…Cash for Coiffures:
Arguing in favor of President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in January Democratic Congressman and senate candidate Paul Hodes claimed the stimulus act would “Reduce Soaring Unemployment.”
It hasn’t worked out that way.
Instead, according to a report issued by the New Hampshire Office of Economic Stimulus, the stimulus act has created only 96 private sector jobs and has “saved” a little over 700 state government jobs. Meanwhile unemployment has climbed to 6.8% since the stimulus became law.
The reason for the low level of job creation is easily gleaned from the so-called Progress Report issued on August 19th: At least $175,000,000 of the first $336 million of stimulus money spent in the New Hampshire has replaced existing state spending on education, housing and safety programs which may have been cut due to state budget constraints.
A NowHampshire.com investigation reveals almost $37,000 of that money went to a Bedford beauty school that does not grant degrees.
The Office of Economic Stimulus granted Coiffures by Michael, Inc. $35,088 in a “direct payment for specified use,” and another $1,571 in “student financial assistance.”
Coiffures by Michael runs Michael’s School of Hair Design and Esthetics. The school promises “no learner is left behind.” Guest speakers at the school include Dean Banowetz, the self-proclaimed “Hair Ho.”
The Generational Theft Act fraud gets more hair-raising every day.
Dr. Obama and the Hypocrite's Oath
By Monte Kuligowski
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/dr_obama_and_the_hypocrites_oa.html
President Obama's preferred method of implementing his leftist agenda is to rush emergency, must-sign-yesterday bills through Congress. Forget about reading the legislation. Just trust Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Schumer and Barney Frank with the details.
The problem with this method is that when the details finally come out, it's too late for the people to do anything about it. President Obama's preferred method naturally fosters frustration and anger. Due to the economic "crisis," Obama and the far left element of the Democrat Party had to pass an emergency stimulus spending plan before anyone had time to read it. Afterwards, the public learned that the bulk of the emergency bill to save the economy in 2009 would not be implemented until 2010and beyond. As the public learns of the legislation's massive waste and cronyism it is becoming apparent that the so-called stimulus was more about stimulating the power of the left than the economy.
Of course the rushed, crises-based legislation is just part of the whirlwind presidency of Obama. Mr. Obama has unconstitutionally appointed 32 czars and counting (including car and salary czars) and has exerted unprecedented government control over the auto, banking, and financial industries. In just six months the administration has more than quadrupled the national debt, passed a $787 billion spending spree, pushed cap and trade (tax) through the House in the dark of night and is feverishly pushing for a radical overhaul of the entire health care system. Obama is no doubt the most ideologically ambitious president in U.S. history. After all, he has a flawed country to fundamentally transform.
The key to understanding the public outrage at the town hall meetings is to understand that the outrage is multidimensional. It's not just about health care; it's about the audacity of Obama. How dare he speak of a new era of transparency as he tries to stuff more major, life-changing, yet unread legislation down our collective throat:
My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. . . . Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.
(Click here to read the full text of Dr. Obama's Hypocrite's Oath, otherwise known as Obama's Transparency and Open Government Memorandum.)
Everything about the Obama presidency was built upon one fraud and hypocrisy after another. Yet, his promise of "transparency" is particularly obscene. On the question of transparency Obama voters had to suspend their disbelief on a grand scale. After all, this is the man who still stubbornly refuses to release his records, including his long form birth certificate, showing the hospital and physician of record. Now, in context of this piece, I don't care if Obama was born in Hawaii, on the moon or descended from heaven. Where he was born is not the point. The point is the man's lack of transparency and utter contempt for the people in arrogantly refusing to release his hospital, medical, school, college, and law school records and passports.
Which brings us to recall Mr. Transparency pounding the table and foolishly demanding that Congress have a "health care" bill on his desk before the August break. At the July 13 speech at the Rose Garden a condescending Obama warned his critics:
"I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone. We are going to get this done. Inaction is not an option. Don't bet against us. We are going to make this thing happen."
On a side note, what is to be said of Obama's competence in attempting to rush through such a monumental overhaul? Other than running a smoke and mirrors campaign Obama has no executive experience -- and that fact is beginning to flash brightly. Only fools, novices and ideologues rush in where angels dare to tread.
After having been all but worshipped as the liberal messiah, Obama's response to legitimate opposition was to dismiss it as annoying "chatter." After the chatter of the people rose to full-on protest, however, Obama was forced to give up the August deadline. The Obama faithful in the media then framed it as though Obama wanted a debate on health care all along. And Obama began to change his tune:
We just heard today that well, we may not be able to get the bill out of the Senate by the end of August or the beginning of August. That's OK. I just want people to keep on working. Just keep working. I want . .. . it done by the end of this year. I want it done by the fall.
Now he wants it done by the fall. Surely, Mr. Openness never intended to impose more costly and life-changing legislation on the people behind closed doors -- legislation that no one, including Obama himself, had fully read.
Now the President wants the "mob" to calm down so we can have a civil but "vigorous" debate. One in which he and his friends in the "mainstream" news media can dispel the "misrepresentations" of the misinformed. The latest headline from the starry-eyed press is that Obama is calling for an "honest debate," on health care. That's like the fox calling for an honest debate with the henhouse on egg preservation.
But now there is a slight problem for the White House. After reading the proposed House bill the people, this time, have the facts (facts of which Obama apparently does not have). Those facts together with the analyses of the Congressional Budget Office, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, Hoover Institution and other organizations unsurprisingly clash with the poll-tested rhetoric of the White House and the dittos of the "mainstream" media.
What we are witnessing and what the White House fails to see is that the dog and pony show is over. Mr. Obama is repeating his poll-tested words about health care, but this time the people have the actual House bill and can separate talking points from reality.
Regardless of whether Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress "go it alone" and push through their leftist longing for government controlled health care, the exposing of Obama's hypocrisy has begun. Think of the Great and Powerful Oz continuing to fake it even after the curtain is removed. So long as the Democrats remain in total control of the federal government Obama will be able to move around the levers and authoritatively speak into the microphone; but new elections are fast approaching. And many are awakening from their teleprompter-induced messianic trance.
The Obama media are trying to replace the curtain, but regardless of how hard they try, they cannot keep the up the covering indefinitely. No one can change the fact that behind the curtain stands an inexperienced ideologue who is hell-bent on remaking America.
Monte Kuligowski is an attorney who can be reached at montekuligowski@gmail.com
Replacing Michelle
http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=54982
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=42030
At the top right hand corner of Page 17 of the New York Post of January 24th, 2009, was a short column entitled "Replacing Michelle" in the National Review "The Week" column. I found this interesting, so here it is, word for word, as it appeared five days ago . . . . . .
'Some employees are simply irreplaceable. Take Michelle Obama: The University of Chicago Medical center hired her in 2002 to run "programs for community relations, neighborhood outreach, volunteer recruitment, staff diversity and minority contracting.”
In 2005 the hospital raised her salary from $120,000 to $317,000 - nearly twice what her husband made as a Senator.
Oh did we mention that her husband had just become a US Senator? He sure had. Requested a $1 Million earmark for the UC Medical Center, in fact. Way to network Michelle!
But now that Mrs. Obama has resigned, the hospital says her position will remain unfilled. How can that be, if the work she did was vital enough to be worth $317,000?
We can think of only one explanation: Senator Roland Burris's wife wasn't interested.
---The Editors of National Review, writing in the Magazine's Feb 9 issue. '
So there you have it. We can all draw our own conclusions.
Waxmanism, the New McCarthyism
http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/Waxmanism-the-New-McCarthyism.html
Since over-the-top name calling is the new sine qua non (see Boethius) of public policy debate, from the President on down to the congressional backbench second through ninth circles of hell (see Dante), let’s just get real deep in the big muddy with the rest of them. That civil discourse stuff, which we once supported, is for varsity losers.
Henry Waxman is the Joseph McCarthy of the Left. Actually, that’s a disservice to McCarthy, who was at least a patriot. Waxman, nominally Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a principal architect of the infamous House version of “health care reform,” is, in reality, just a petty martinet from Hollywood, which is weird, given the McCarthy comparison, don’t you think?
With Waxman, are you now or have ever been a member of the Communist Party has metamorphosed (see Kafka, bugs) into are you now or have you ever been paid for work and how much (including salary, bonus, grant date fair value of stock and option awards, the realized value of all sales of stock and exercised options, non-equity incentive plan compensation, change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings and all other compensation including perquisites)...
That’s part – a small part, mind you – of the “request” that Waxman and some toady named Bart Stupak, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, have sent to the “largest” health insurance companies, 52 of them, to be exact, which is a lot of largest. The “request,” dated August 17, is not a subpoena as some news outlets have erroneously reported...at least not yet. And, oh by the way, please provide some of the information by September 4 and the rest by September 14.
You do see what is happening here, don’t you, dear readers?
Ever since the Obama/Pelosi/Waxman et al government takeover of health care got the raspberry from the American people, who are far from done, and the President’s poll numbers went down faster than a nuclear sub, which are also still far from done, a desperate search for villains other than Obama/Pelosi/Waxman et al has ensued post haste.
Town Hallers, tea baggers, Nazis (see Pelosi), evil (see Reid) and otherwise fishy folks (see Obama) who just want to keep government hands off our last remaining privates are becoming far too numerous, diverse and effective for comfort (see polling).
Thus did “health care reform” metamorphose (see Kafka, bugs, again) into “health insurance reform,” with the “villains” clearly identified as those greedy, grubby health insurance companies. Couldn’t be the drug companies; they cut a deal, and none of them seem responsible for the red and blue (and purple and green) Obama-branded ecstasy pills out there. Couldn’t be the AMA or AARP; they’re in the tank, albeit with blood in the water. Going after docs was getting a bit scary; they go to work with sharp implements.
We have no particular brief for or against health insurance companies. As with any segment of society or business, there are some bad apples, but, by and large, they are necessary and they are what they are and do what they do.
Nevertheless, they are about to be demonized – because an overreaching administration and an overreaching liberal Congress are having near-death visions because of their own excesses.
Since reason and logic are no longer part of any truly effective public policy debate, we are not surprised that an analysis by Dr. Mark J. Perry, a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, is being soundly ignored.
Dr. Perry simply looked at a table of “Profit Margins by Industry.” And where did the soon-to-be savaged and vilified health insurance companies (categorized in the table as “health care plans”) fit? Eighty-sixth. With a whopping profit margin of 3.3 percent.
They could more than double their profit margins by running restaurants and almost double them by making footwear. If they really wanted to go for the gold in profit margins, they’d be brewing beer with 25.9 percent profit margins.
Just to put health insurance companies’ profits in the appropriate context, let’s look only at the profit margins of other health-related fields. Why, there’s “REIT – Healthcare Facilities” at 24.3 percent; “Drug Manufacturers – Major” at 16.5 percent; “Drug Delivery” at 13.5 percent; “Healthcare Information Services” at 9.3 percent; “Home Health Care” at 8.4 percent; “Drugs – Generic” at 6.6 percent; “Accident & Health Insurance” at 3.8 percent; “Hospitals” at 3.6 percent and, finally, the lowly “Health Care Plans” at 3.3 percent.
That’s a lot of numbers, for which we apologize, but that’s context, in a vicious juggernaut for the government to control our health care and demonize anyone who stands in the way.
Just to close the circle, all you Hollywood Liberals who think Chairman Waxman is oh so cool, you might want to remember, if any of you are still old enough, when your guys were in the dock. These kind of tactics come around and go around, and history won’t differentiate the ideology.
P.S. All you liberal morons who wish to label us as thugs, would you please make that “intellectual thugs,” otherwise the Latin and literary references are wasted. At least we didn’t observe that Waxman is a short man with a mustache, as was Hitler.
Growing Up Isn't What It Used To Be
Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. ! 'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it:
Some parents NEVER! owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 5. It was, of course, black and white,
I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.' When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.
We didn't have a car until I was 4. It was an old black Dodge.
I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was.
ll newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week.. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6 AM every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they didn't do that in movies. I don't know what they did in French movies. French movies were dirty and we weren't allowed to see them
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
"The e-mail Bag"
The Beauty of Mathematics and the Love of God!
Just the math part is good enough, the end is even better.
I bet you will NOT be able to read it without sending it on to at least one other person!
I received this e-mail and thought it was pretty cool! Keep scrolling it gets better.
Beauty of Mathematics!!!!!!!
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
Mind Boggling...
Now, take a look at this...
101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they
are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to
GIVE OVER 100%...
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help
answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
And:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%
But:
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%
THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E- O-F -G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!
If you find this interesting share it with your friends & loved ones.
Have a nice day & God bless you
Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!
"News Alert"
Ted Kennedy, Senate Lion and Liberal Champion, Dies
The Massachusetts Democrat was seen by many as an American version of a Greek tragedy as his personal tragedies along with his professional triumphs and losses unfolded in the public eye.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/26/ted-kennedy-dies/
Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime Massachusetts lawmaker whose personal tragedies along with his professional triumphs and losses unfolded in the public eye, has died at his home in Hyannis Port after battling a brain tumor. He was 77.
His family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.
"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," the statement said. "We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all."
The Massachusetts Democrat was seen by many as an American version of a Greek tragedy. Born into political royalty, Kennedy's triumphs were often overshadowed by those of his brothers, John and Bobby Kennedy. But nonetheless, the younger Kennedy carved his own political legacy as one of the longest serving senators in U.S. history.
Click here for a timeline of Ted Kennedy's life. (Click On Timeline) http://www..foxnews.com/politics/tedkennedy/index.html
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on Wednesday both the Kennedy family and the Senate have "lost our patriarch."
Reid promised that Congress, while mourning Kennedy's loss, would renew the push for the cause of Kennedy's life, health care reform.
"Ted Kennedy's dream was the one for which the founding fathers fought and for which his brothers sought to realize," Reid said in a statement. "The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall silent, but his dream shall never die."
The youngest of the nine-sibling Kennedy clan, Teddy had much of his path paved by famous older brothers and father. That created problems as well as opportunities for him.
As a member of a roving family, Kennedy moved around a lot in his youth and made friends easily. He attended Harvard in 1951, playing on the freshman football team before he was caught cheating by having a friend take his Spanish language exam.
Kennedy was expelled and entered the Army, where he served in Paris during the Korean War. and after almost two years was re-admitted to Harvard for demonstrating good behavior.
He went on to get a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School and served as an assistant D.A in Suffolk County, Mass. He married Virginia Joan Bennett, who was introduced to him by his sister Jean. They had three children, the youngest was Patrick, who also would enter public office.
When John Kennedy was elected to the presidency in 1960, it appeared the Kennedy clan had the makings of a political dynasty. At the time, Robert Kennedy was attorney general and Teddy, as he was affectionately known, was elected to the Senate in 1962.
But Kennedy soon found himself alone on the political stage after his brothers were killed by assassins in 1963 and 1968.
Shouldering the burden of a grieving family, Kennedy delivered Bobby's eulogy at New York's Saint Patrick's Cathedral in 1968, attributing to Robert a quote by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw: "Some men see things as they are and say 'why.' I dream things that never were and say 'why not.'"
He added: "Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today pray that what he was to us, and what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world."
But Kennedy's own aspirations for the White House were dashed in 1969 when his car plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick on Martha's Vineyard, killing Robert Kennedy campaign aide Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy swam to safety and only alerted authorities to the accident hours later.
As Kopechne's body was pulled from the dark sedan, the senator told investigators he panicked.
"That tragedy will live with me for the rest of my life...every day for the rest of my life," he said.
An investigation later absolved Kennedy of responsibility. He received two months suspended jail time for leaving the scene of an accident, but questions about his character would follow him and haunt his political ambitions for the nation's highest office.
Despite the Chappaquiddick incident, Kennedy decided to throw his hat into the 1980 presidential race, going up against incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter. Kennedy lost his bid for the White House and returned to the Senate -- becoming the lion of the liberal left.
Like his first wife, Joan, Kennedy also struggled with alcohol, and through much of the 1980s was viewed as a playboy with a bottle. That image culminated with the arrest of his nephew, William Kennedy Smith, who was later acquitted on charges of raping a woman he met at a bar while out with his uncle. It also hurt his ability to fight the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas over allegations of harassment by former Thomas aide Anita Hill.
Kennedy credited his second wife Victoria Anne Reggie with turning him around and redirecting him back to his political career and liberal agenda.
Kennedy served as an ardent supporter for other Democrats seeking the presidency and endorsed Barack Obama early in his campaign -- comparing the Illinois senator with his late brother, John.
At times, it seemed Kennedy and his abundant energy would last for years. But last May, he suffered a seizure at his Cape Cod home and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
Kennedy stayed active for as long as he could after his diagnosis, offering a key address in support of Obama during the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008. He also attended Obama's presidential inauguration, where he had to be taken away in a stretcher.
Though he was absent from the Senate for much of President Obama's first year, his name was attached to health care legislation, penned a widely read op-ed in support of health care reform and was a critical vote on several piece of legislation.
Kennedy was too ill to attend his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral or to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed upon him by President Obama, both in in August 2009.
FOX News' Molly Line contributed to this report.
"Daily Motivations"
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. -- Albert Einstein
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
"This is My command---be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
At times this life can be very lonely and terrifying. We may have many friends, relatives, or a loving spouse, but ultimately we still must face our problems on our own. No one can take our place. No one can be with us at all times. No one, except for One---God! He is present everywhere.
Because God is always present, we never have to wonder first thing in the morning: Is God here in this room, and is He willing to start the day with me? We do not have to ask ourselves: Will God be with me tonight---even when I'm asleep? We never have to worry: Will God be with me tomorrow when I undertake a difficult task?
God is our ever-present friend. In joy, heartache, temptation, and peace, God is there.
"The Patriot Post"
"On every unauthoritative exercise of power by the legislature must the people rise in rebellion or their silence be construed into a surrender of that power to them? If so, how many rebellions should we have had already?" -- Thomas Jefferson
LIBERTY
"So what has the White House told supporters to do when you run across those who spread 'disinformation' about the new attempt by the Obama administration to install the anti-competitive practices of a 'public option' into a federalized universal health care initiative? Report them. ... Pardon me for asking such an obvious question, but what concern is it to the President or his administration if private citizens have disagreements, discussions, and dissections of his proposed take over of the health care industry? Last I checked I had the constitutional right to do so. But now he wishes to turn one citizen against another? ... The mistake this White House continues to make, seemingly on a daily basis, is that they reveal very much what they truly think of freedoms of the American political process." -- radio talk-show host Kevin McCullough
THE GIPPER
"The intellectual establishment [is] so busy demanding more power for government, more bureaucracy, regulation, spending and -- oh, yes -- more and more taxes, they forgot all about the secret of America's success -- opportunity for people, for all the people. ... Will we heed the pessimists' agenda of higher taxes, more bureaucracy, and a bigger welfare state leading us right back to runaway inflation and economic decay, or will we [take the] road toward a true opportunity society of economic growth, more jobs, lower tax rates, and rising take-home pay?" -- Ronald Reagan
THE LAST WORD
"'The right-wing extremist Republican base is back!' warns the Democratic National Committee. These right-wing extremists have been given their marching orders by their masters: They've been directed to show up at 'thousands of events,' told to 'organize,' 'knock on doors' ... No, wait. My mistake. That's the e-mail I got from Mitch Stewart, Director of 'Organizing for America' at BarackObama.com. But that's the good kind of 'organizing.' Obama's a community organizer. We're the community. He organizes us. What part of that don't you get? When the community starts organizing against the organizer, the whole rigmarole goes to hell. ... Decrying the snarling, angry protesters, liberal talk-show host Bill Press ... says that 'Americans want serious discussion' on health care. If only we'd stuck to the President's August timetable and passed a gazillion-page health care reform entirely unread by the House of Representatives or the Senate (the world's greatest deliberative body) in nothing flat, we'd now have all the time in the world to sit around having a 'serious discussion' and 'real debate' on whatever it was we just did to one-sixth of the economy. But a sick, deranged, un-American mob has put an end to all that moderate and reasonable steamrollering by showing up and yelling insane, out-of-control questions like, 'Awfully sorry to bother you, your Most Excellent Senatorial Eminence, but I was wondering if you could tell me why you don't read any of the laws you make before you make them into law?' The community is restless. The firm hand of greater organization is needed." -- columnist Mark Steyn
"Simple Truths"
“Patience, persistence and timing reap rewards.” -- Margaret Woods
"When we choose not to focus on what's missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present... we experience heaven on earth." -- Sarah Breathnach
Learning To Dance In The Rain
http://www.danceintherainmovie.com/
"texan2driver"
Obama and Liberals: Domestic Enemies of America
Posted on August 24, 2009 by texan2driver
What are congressmen and senators of this country sworn to do? What are the military servicemen and women of America sworn to do? What does one have to do to be labeled a “domestic enemy?” Let’s take a look.
Current Senatorial and Congressional Oath of Office:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Current United States Air Force Oath of Office:
I, (Full Name (First, Middle, Last)) (Social Security Number) having been appointed a (Grade in which appointed), United States Air Force do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, SO HELP ME GOD.
Domestic Enemy of the United States of America:
Here is one possible definition provided by Richard L. Wilde: (read his post by clicking here)
Domestic Enemies (to the US Constitution) are those who manipulate the law or lawmakers to violate the Founder’s intent, remove their safeguards, distort, circumvent, or in any way threaten the Constitution, threaten sovereignty, infringe upon state and individual rights, usurp authority, advance tyranny, or provide immunity or pardons for such.
Richard makes a very astute observation and analysis of the origin and intent of the oaths of office required of our elected officials.
After further thought, it made sense to me that the only entities who could constitute any possible threat to our Constitution are its guardians … those who have legal access to it.
So it follows that these oaths are aimed explicitly at the Federal Government, and those behind the scenes who manipulate them. The warning is: “If you alter or change the intent of the US Constitution or attempt to circumvent it, you are the enemy.”
Based upon this analysis and definition, which I feel are quite fair and accurate, it becomes quite easy to identify Domestic Enemies of America. Here is a short list, but many names can easily be added from both the democrat and republican parties:
Barack Hussein Obama
Nancy “Nazi” Pelosi
Harry Reid
John Murtha
Ted Kennedy
All of those voting for or supporting: Nationalized health care, carbon/environmental taxes, amnesty and/or benefits for illegal aliens, etc.
etc.
18 years ago I took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” All military members take this oath.
So, we have defined what constitutes a “domestic enemy,” we have several examples that fit the definition quite easily, and we have the actions required by oath of office in relation to “domestic enemies.” So what does this mean? I am bound by the Constitution of the United States to oppose Barack Hussein Obama and his legion of liberal socialists. All citizens who honor our Constitution are bound to do the same. So what does that mean for the liberals who are gleefully destroying this country?
You can do the math.
I ask the same question that Marine Corps veteran David Hedrick asks of his representative Brian Baird in the following video. “I (we) have kept our oath. DO YOU EVER INTEND TO KEEP YOUR?“
"The Web"
F-16 Falcon vs F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet Dogfight
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/494472/2636626
Does "GOD" talk to us This will give you chills
by HauntedShanleyHotel
http://www.iamhaunted.com/blog/view/id_9098/title_does-%22god%22-talk-to-us-this-will-give-you-chills/
This will give you the chills........ GOOD chills.
A young man had been to Wednesday Night BibleStudy.
The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice The young man couldn't help but wonder, 'Does God still speak to people?'
After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, 'God...If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.'
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, 'God is that you?' He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. 'Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.' It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.'
He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, 'Turn Down that street.' This is crazy he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street . At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, 'Okay, God, I will.'
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi- commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, 'Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.'
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. 'Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.' Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, 'Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, oka y. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here.'
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, 'Who is it? What do you want?' Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. 'What is it?' The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, 'Here, I brought this to you.' The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen.
The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, 'We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.' His wife in the kitchen yelled out, 'I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?' The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face.
He knew that God still answers prayers
Wait, it gets better: Cash for Coiffures!
By Michelle Malkin • August 24, 2009 01:27 PM
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/24/wait-it-gets-better-cash-for-coiffures/
Cash for Clunkers.
Cash for Kitchens.
And now…Cash for Coiffures:
Arguing in favor of President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in January Democratic Congressman and senate candidate Paul Hodes claimed the stimulus act would “Reduce Soaring Unemployment.”
It hasn’t worked out that way.
Instead, according to a report issued by the New Hampshire Office of Economic Stimulus, the stimulus act has created only 96 private sector jobs and has “saved” a little over 700 state government jobs. Meanwhile unemployment has climbed to 6.8% since the stimulus became law.
The reason for the low level of job creation is easily gleaned from the so-called Progress Report issued on August 19th: At least $175,000,000 of the first $336 million of stimulus money spent in the New Hampshire has replaced existing state spending on education, housing and safety programs which may have been cut due to state budget constraints.
A NowHampshire.com investigation reveals almost $37,000 of that money went to a Bedford beauty school that does not grant degrees.
The Office of Economic Stimulus granted Coiffures by Michael, Inc. $35,088 in a “direct payment for specified use,” and another $1,571 in “student financial assistance.”
Coiffures by Michael runs Michael’s School of Hair Design and Esthetics. The school promises “no learner is left behind.” Guest speakers at the school include Dean Banowetz, the self-proclaimed “Hair Ho.”
The Generational Theft Act fraud gets more hair-raising every day.
Dr. Obama and the Hypocrite's Oath
By Monte Kuligowski
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/dr_obama_and_the_hypocrites_oa.html
President Obama's preferred method of implementing his leftist agenda is to rush emergency, must-sign-yesterday bills through Congress. Forget about reading the legislation. Just trust Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Schumer and Barney Frank with the details.
The problem with this method is that when the details finally come out, it's too late for the people to do anything about it. President Obama's preferred method naturally fosters frustration and anger. Due to the economic "crisis," Obama and the far left element of the Democrat Party had to pass an emergency stimulus spending plan before anyone had time to read it. Afterwards, the public learned that the bulk of the emergency bill to save the economy in 2009 would not be implemented until 2010and beyond. As the public learns of the legislation's massive waste and cronyism it is becoming apparent that the so-called stimulus was more about stimulating the power of the left than the economy.
Of course the rushed, crises-based legislation is just part of the whirlwind presidency of Obama. Mr. Obama has unconstitutionally appointed 32 czars and counting (including car and salary czars) and has exerted unprecedented government control over the auto, banking, and financial industries. In just six months the administration has more than quadrupled the national debt, passed a $787 billion spending spree, pushed cap and trade (tax) through the House in the dark of night and is feverishly pushing for a radical overhaul of the entire health care system. Obama is no doubt the most ideologically ambitious president in U.S. history. After all, he has a flawed country to fundamentally transform.
The key to understanding the public outrage at the town hall meetings is to understand that the outrage is multidimensional. It's not just about health care; it's about the audacity of Obama. How dare he speak of a new era of transparency as he tries to stuff more major, life-changing, yet unread legislation down our collective throat:
My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. . . . Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.
(Click here to read the full text of Dr. Obama's Hypocrite's Oath, otherwise known as Obama's Transparency and Open Government Memorandum.)
Everything about the Obama presidency was built upon one fraud and hypocrisy after another. Yet, his promise of "transparency" is particularly obscene. On the question of transparency Obama voters had to suspend their disbelief on a grand scale. After all, this is the man who still stubbornly refuses to release his records, including his long form birth certificate, showing the hospital and physician of record. Now, in context of this piece, I don't care if Obama was born in Hawaii, on the moon or descended from heaven. Where he was born is not the point. The point is the man's lack of transparency and utter contempt for the people in arrogantly refusing to release his hospital, medical, school, college, and law school records and passports.
Which brings us to recall Mr. Transparency pounding the table and foolishly demanding that Congress have a "health care" bill on his desk before the August break. At the July 13 speech at the Rose Garden a condescending Obama warned his critics:
"I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone. We are going to get this done. Inaction is not an option. Don't bet against us. We are going to make this thing happen."
On a side note, what is to be said of Obama's competence in attempting to rush through such a monumental overhaul? Other than running a smoke and mirrors campaign Obama has no executive experience -- and that fact is beginning to flash brightly. Only fools, novices and ideologues rush in where angels dare to tread.
After having been all but worshipped as the liberal messiah, Obama's response to legitimate opposition was to dismiss it as annoying "chatter." After the chatter of the people rose to full-on protest, however, Obama was forced to give up the August deadline. The Obama faithful in the media then framed it as though Obama wanted a debate on health care all along. And Obama began to change his tune:
We just heard today that well, we may not be able to get the bill out of the Senate by the end of August or the beginning of August. That's OK. I just want people to keep on working. Just keep working. I want . .. . it done by the end of this year. I want it done by the fall.
Now he wants it done by the fall. Surely, Mr. Openness never intended to impose more costly and life-changing legislation on the people behind closed doors -- legislation that no one, including Obama himself, had fully read.
Now the President wants the "mob" to calm down so we can have a civil but "vigorous" debate. One in which he and his friends in the "mainstream" news media can dispel the "misrepresentations" of the misinformed. The latest headline from the starry-eyed press is that Obama is calling for an "honest debate," on health care. That's like the fox calling for an honest debate with the henhouse on egg preservation.
But now there is a slight problem for the White House. After reading the proposed House bill the people, this time, have the facts (facts of which Obama apparently does not have). Those facts together with the analyses of the Congressional Budget Office, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, Hoover Institution and other organizations unsurprisingly clash with the poll-tested rhetoric of the White House and the dittos of the "mainstream" media.
What we are witnessing and what the White House fails to see is that the dog and pony show is over. Mr. Obama is repeating his poll-tested words about health care, but this time the people have the actual House bill and can separate talking points from reality.
Regardless of whether Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress "go it alone" and push through their leftist longing for government controlled health care, the exposing of Obama's hypocrisy has begun. Think of the Great and Powerful Oz continuing to fake it even after the curtain is removed. So long as the Democrats remain in total control of the federal government Obama will be able to move around the levers and authoritatively speak into the microphone; but new elections are fast approaching. And many are awakening from their teleprompter-induced messianic trance.
The Obama media are trying to replace the curtain, but regardless of how hard they try, they cannot keep the up the covering indefinitely. No one can change the fact that behind the curtain stands an inexperienced ideologue who is hell-bent on remaking America.
Monte Kuligowski is an attorney who can be reached at montekuligowski@gmail.com
Replacing Michelle
http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=54982
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=42030
At the top right hand corner of Page 17 of the New York Post of January 24th, 2009, was a short column entitled "Replacing Michelle" in the National Review "The Week" column. I found this interesting, so here it is, word for word, as it appeared five days ago . . . . . .
'Some employees are simply irreplaceable. Take Michelle Obama: The University of Chicago Medical center hired her in 2002 to run "programs for community relations, neighborhood outreach, volunteer recruitment, staff diversity and minority contracting.”
In 2005 the hospital raised her salary from $120,000 to $317,000 - nearly twice what her husband made as a Senator.
Oh did we mention that her husband had just become a US Senator? He sure had. Requested a $1 Million earmark for the UC Medical Center, in fact. Way to network Michelle!
But now that Mrs. Obama has resigned, the hospital says her position will remain unfilled. How can that be, if the work she did was vital enough to be worth $317,000?
We can think of only one explanation: Senator Roland Burris's wife wasn't interested.
---The Editors of National Review, writing in the Magazine's Feb 9 issue. '
So there you have it. We can all draw our own conclusions.
Waxmanism, the New McCarthyism
http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/Waxmanism-the-New-McCarthyism.html
Since over-the-top name calling is the new sine qua non (see Boethius) of public policy debate, from the President on down to the congressional backbench second through ninth circles of hell (see Dante), let’s just get real deep in the big muddy with the rest of them. That civil discourse stuff, which we once supported, is for varsity losers.
Henry Waxman is the Joseph McCarthy of the Left. Actually, that’s a disservice to McCarthy, who was at least a patriot. Waxman, nominally Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a principal architect of the infamous House version of “health care reform,” is, in reality, just a petty martinet from Hollywood, which is weird, given the McCarthy comparison, don’t you think?
With Waxman, are you now or have ever been a member of the Communist Party has metamorphosed (see Kafka, bugs) into are you now or have you ever been paid for work and how much (including salary, bonus, grant date fair value of stock and option awards, the realized value of all sales of stock and exercised options, non-equity incentive plan compensation, change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings and all other compensation including perquisites)...
That’s part – a small part, mind you – of the “request” that Waxman and some toady named Bart Stupak, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, have sent to the “largest” health insurance companies, 52 of them, to be exact, which is a lot of largest. The “request,” dated August 17, is not a subpoena as some news outlets have erroneously reported...at least not yet. And, oh by the way, please provide some of the information by September 4 and the rest by September 14.
You do see what is happening here, don’t you, dear readers?
Ever since the Obama/Pelosi/Waxman et al government takeover of health care got the raspberry from the American people, who are far from done, and the President’s poll numbers went down faster than a nuclear sub, which are also still far from done, a desperate search for villains other than Obama/Pelosi/Waxman et al has ensued post haste.
Town Hallers, tea baggers, Nazis (see Pelosi), evil (see Reid) and otherwise fishy folks (see Obama) who just want to keep government hands off our last remaining privates are becoming far too numerous, diverse and effective for comfort (see polling).
Thus did “health care reform” metamorphose (see Kafka, bugs, again) into “health insurance reform,” with the “villains” clearly identified as those greedy, grubby health insurance companies. Couldn’t be the drug companies; they cut a deal, and none of them seem responsible for the red and blue (and purple and green) Obama-branded ecstasy pills out there. Couldn’t be the AMA or AARP; they’re in the tank, albeit with blood in the water. Going after docs was getting a bit scary; they go to work with sharp implements.
We have no particular brief for or against health insurance companies. As with any segment of society or business, there are some bad apples, but, by and large, they are necessary and they are what they are and do what they do.
Nevertheless, they are about to be demonized – because an overreaching administration and an overreaching liberal Congress are having near-death visions because of their own excesses.
Since reason and logic are no longer part of any truly effective public policy debate, we are not surprised that an analysis by Dr. Mark J. Perry, a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, is being soundly ignored.
Dr. Perry simply looked at a table of “Profit Margins by Industry.” And where did the soon-to-be savaged and vilified health insurance companies (categorized in the table as “health care plans”) fit? Eighty-sixth. With a whopping profit margin of 3.3 percent.
They could more than double their profit margins by running restaurants and almost double them by making footwear. If they really wanted to go for the gold in profit margins, they’d be brewing beer with 25.9 percent profit margins.
Just to put health insurance companies’ profits in the appropriate context, let’s look only at the profit margins of other health-related fields. Why, there’s “REIT – Healthcare Facilities” at 24.3 percent; “Drug Manufacturers – Major” at 16.5 percent; “Drug Delivery” at 13.5 percent; “Healthcare Information Services” at 9.3 percent; “Home Health Care” at 8.4 percent; “Drugs – Generic” at 6.6 percent; “Accident & Health Insurance” at 3.8 percent; “Hospitals” at 3.6 percent and, finally, the lowly “Health Care Plans” at 3.3 percent.
That’s a lot of numbers, for which we apologize, but that’s context, in a vicious juggernaut for the government to control our health care and demonize anyone who stands in the way.
Just to close the circle, all you Hollywood Liberals who think Chairman Waxman is oh so cool, you might want to remember, if any of you are still old enough, when your guys were in the dock. These kind of tactics come around and go around, and history won’t differentiate the ideology.
P.S. All you liberal morons who wish to label us as thugs, would you please make that “intellectual thugs,” otherwise the Latin and literary references are wasted. At least we didn’t observe that Waxman is a short man with a mustache, as was Hitler.
Growing Up Isn't What It Used To Be
Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. ! 'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it:
Some parents NEVER! owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 5. It was, of course, black and white,
I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.' When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.
We didn't have a car until I was 4. It was an old black Dodge.
I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was.
ll newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week.. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6 AM every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they didn't do that in movies. I don't know what they did in French movies. French movies were dirty and we weren't allowed to see them
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
"The e-mail Bag"
The Beauty of Mathematics and the Love of God!
Just the math part is good enough, the end is even better.
I bet you will NOT be able to read it without sending it on to at least one other person!
I received this e-mail and thought it was pretty cool! Keep scrolling it gets better.
Beauty of Mathematics!!!!!!!
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
Mind Boggling...
Now, take a look at this...
101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they
are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to
GIVE OVER 100%...
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help
answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
And:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%
But:
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%
THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E- O-F -G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!
If you find this interesting share it with your friends & loved ones.
Have a nice day & God bless you
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