Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
The more involved clients are the more loyal they become. -- Todd Duncan
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
“...we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17
The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war. (2 Chronicles 16:9)
"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, Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms, 6 July 1775
"Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters." --Samuel Adams
"All of this reads as if yanked from an Ayn Rand novel. The government, in a desperate attempt to avoid political pain caused by its own foolish economic mistakes and lax oversight, has poured billions into bankrupt companies. Then when those companies pass out bonuses they claim are necessary to retain qualified workers, the political firestorm leads government officials to propose tax rates that would make even British socialists of a half century ago blush. We are slipping into debates that have nothing to do with a free economy and everything to do with the government calibrating how to balance the favors it hands out with the inevitable moral outrage those favors engender." -- Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund
This week's 'Braying Jackass' award
"People are rightly outraged about these particular bonuses. But just as outrageous is the culture that these bonuses are a symptom of, that have existed for far too long; a situation where excess greed, excess compensation, excess risk-taking have all made us vulnerable and left us holding the bag. I hope that Wall Street and the marketplace don't think that we can return to business as usual." -- Barack Obama, whose campaign's biggest benefactor was Wall Street
The BIG lie
"I did not want to make any changes to my original Senate-passed amendment [to the stimulus bill,] but I did so at the request of administration officials, who gave us no indication that this was in any way related to AIG. Let me be clear -- I was completely unaware of these AIG bonuses until I learned of them last week." -- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
"The Web"
I May Never See Tomorrow
http://www.ronburgess.com/Tomorrow.htm
Bird Loves Ray Charles - If you remember this one? It was about 1960. - oyh
http://www.maniacworld.com/bird-loves-ray-charles.html
When God Takes Something Away From Your Grasp...
To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.
When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence...
"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you"
I think this message will work well to people who doesn't possess the virtue of PATIENCE like me. True enough! Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.
Speaker Pelosi’s Latest Move to Regulate the News
AIM Column | By Roger Aronoff
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/speaker-pelosis-latest-move-to-regulate-the-news/
The problem is that few papers have been able to successfully monetize the news on the Internet.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder announcing her intentions to hold a hearing on the issue of newspaper consolidation in the San Francisco Bay area, citing anti-trust laws as a potential avenue to do something about this. The hearing would be by the Courts & Competition Policy Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, according to Pelosi’s letter.
While clearly there are serious issues engulfing the newspaper industry, in San Francisco and elsewhere, the problem isn’t one of anti-trust violations. Pelosi has made her feelings known. She would like a return to the Fairness Doctrine. This is a nose under the tent.
Yes, the industry is changing. It has been for years. But other than perhaps some limits on one company owning too many TV, radio and newspapers in a single market, the government really should have no role in the business of news.
The whole news paradigm is changing. We have public radio and TV, both on national and local levels. We have both print and online-only newspapers and magazines. Examples: Seattle Post-Intelligencer has just gone to strictly online; U.S. News & World Report has become online only except for once-a-month consumer oriented issues in print; The Christian Science Monitor became the first national newspaper to go exclusively online; and the nearly 200-year-old Ann Arbor (Michigan) News announced this week that it is going to become exclusively web based starting in July. Many other high profile newspapers have been struggling to stay afloat―in Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and even the New York Times has lost much of its stock value and has had to borrow money against its headquarters in New York.
The problem is that few papers have been able to successfully monetize the news on the Internet. That’s partly because advertisers aren’t satisfied with the results, and subscribers are generally reluctant when they have access to so much free material on the Internet.
The change in the news business is everywhere. We now have Propublica.com, which is 28 investigative reporters paid by the Sandlers of San Francisco, philanthropists who felt the newspapers weren’t doing enough of it on their own. They have done some great work on covering the TARP funds. The Drudge Report is still the largest by far of the news aggregators, which is another type of news source that didn’t used to exist. The Wall Street Journal is one of the only publications making money via subscribers. It is a unique brand that businessmen and stockholders the world over turn to and trust for its reliability on financial and political matters.
It’s true, and unfortunate, that many news organizations are run with the bottom line being the biggest factor to the owners. And it means that there are fewer bureaus, fewer foreign bureaus, and fewer reporters in the remaining bureaus. On the other hand we can read blogs and news sites from all over the world. There are plenty of people willing to keep providing news reports for free. It is up to us as individuals to sort out what is reliable and what isn’t. That cannot be a role for government bureaucrats or politicians.
We are going through a period comparable to changing from horse and buggy to cars. A lot of shake-up that is better left to market forces. Especially with something as sacred as news and its protector, the First Amendment. The government has no business picking winners and losers. If a government entity bails out the last remaining newspaper in a city, is that newspaper’s coverage of that entity tainted? It’s certainly suspect.
In some cities, college and even high school journalism departments have flip-cams and other high quality, low-cost video equipment and send students out to cover school board and city hall meetings. It’s obviously not as desirable as having professional journalists who have covered the beat for years, but it is an industry in flux, and often these students will do a better job than hardened reporters who have lost their passion.
One of the worst things that has happened to the newspaper industry is Craig’s List, which is where people place classified ads for little or nothing, and people go to those classified ads looking for anything from a job, to a prostitute to a used car.
Jack Shafer of Slate.com did a story back in 2006, citing a story from a Harvard Business School publication that traced the history of newspaper consolidation, and found that between 1953 and 1980, the number of family-owned newspapers went from 1,300 to 700, and that the factors included technology, labor unions, and tax codes.
The bottom line is that consolidation is part of the natural evolution of news. It means different things in different markets. This story from 2008 details the consolidation of several San Francisco Bay area publications that more or less went in together to save costs, but have still had to let many people go.
But AIM Editor Cliff Kincaid, in the book that he co-authored, The Death of Talk Radio?, and I have been warning for years that what Speaker Pelosi―and Senators John Kerry, Dick Durbin and others want is a return to the Fairness Doctrine. Our associate Bethany Stotts also wrote an excellent piece describing how the current plan by President Obama is to use localism or diversity of ownership as a ruse to accomplish the same goal. Republican Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana has gathered quotes on his website from a number of leading Democrats who have openly advocated for a return to the Fairness Doctrine.
Speaker Pelosi is determined to try to regulate what news we can read, watch and listen to. It would make it much easier for the Democrats to get their agenda enacted. This latest attempt, using anti-trust laws, should certainly fail.
Illegal Poem
I cross ocean, poor and broke,
Take bus, see employment folk.
Nice man treat me good in there,
Say I need to see welfare.
Welfare say, "You come no more,
We send cash right to your door."
Welfare checks, they make you wealthy,
Medicaid it keep you healthy!
By and by, I got plenty money,
Thanks to you, American dummy.
Write to friends in motherland,
Tell them "come fast as you can."
They come in turbans and Ford trucks,
I buy big house with welfare bucks.
They come here, we live together,
More welfare checks, it gets better!
Fourteen families, they moving in,
But neighbor's patience wearing thin.
Finally, white guy moves away,
Now I buy his house, and then I say,
"Find more aliens for house to rent."
And in the yard I put a tent.
Send for family they just trash,
But they, too, draw the welfare cash!
Everything is very good,
And soon we own the neighborhood.
We have hobby - it's called breeding,
Welfare pay for baby feeding.
Kids need dentist? Wife need pills?
We get free! We got no bills!
American crazy! He pay all year,
To keep welfare running here.
We think America darn good place!
Too darn good for the white man race.
If they no like us, they can scram,
Got lots of room in Pakistan.
It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can also get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of$2,470.00 .
This compares very well to a single pensioner who after contributing to the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!
Lets send this to all Americans, so we can all be ticked off and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470 00 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the Government over the last 40 or 50 years.
SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW
APHORISM: A SHORT, POINTED SENTENCE EXPRESSING A WISE OR CLEVER OBSERVATION OR A GENERAL TRUTH; ADAGE
1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.
2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.
4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay
out all night?
7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?
9. Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.
10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. - Like this: It could be a right number.
13. No one ever says, "It's only a game." when their team is winning.
14. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
15. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.
16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
17. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!)
18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
19. After 60, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!
Always be yourself. Because the people that matter, don't mind. And the one's that do mind don't matter.
The Medical Profession Speaks out on the Financial Bail-Out Package]
No further comment needed....
The allergists voted to scratch it, and the dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
The gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the neurologists thought the administration had a lot of nerve, and the obstetricians felt they were all labouring under a misconception.
The ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted; the pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the pediatricians said, "Oh, Grow up!"
The psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the radiologists could see right through it, and the surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.
The internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the plastic surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter"
The podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water.
The anaesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas; and the cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.
In the end, the proctologists left the decision up to the arseholes in Washington
"The e-mail Bag"
Kids Are Quick
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America ..
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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.
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
LAUGHTER IS THE SOUL'S MEDICINE
Dan was a single guy living at home
Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.
When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.
One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.
"I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $200 million."
Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother.
Moral of the story: Women are so much better at financial planning than men.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Freedom of Speech! – Really?
Amendment I – Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Precious words define the First Amendment freedom in our Constitution. While the entire media protects their own individual First Amendment right views, more Liberal advocates fail to understand, trust, and/or practice opposing views equally; failing to accept more Conservative views of many, and perhaps, a majority of Americans.
Some Liberals fail to even recognize opposing positions, when other views may carry an equal or perhaps, a more productive view. For some Liberals, it is much easier to silence and/or disassociate/discard more Conservative, Christian, and/or old English common sense views. Superficially, rejecting these views are disallowing the same Freedom of Speech they themselves, otherwise, practice.
Supreme Court Justice Brandeis, a President Woodrow Wilson appointee once said, "Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purpose is beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
Just as Justice Brandeis addressed, our Liberal media must understand, trust, and/or practice, all Conservative, Christian, and/or old English common sense values in our Freedom of Speech; then apply it bilaterally, rather than unilaterally.
God Bless America!
Precious words define the First Amendment freedom in our Constitution. While the entire media protects their own individual First Amendment right views, more Liberal advocates fail to understand, trust, and/or practice opposing views equally; failing to accept more Conservative views of many, and perhaps, a majority of Americans.
Some Liberals fail to even recognize opposing positions, when other views may carry an equal or perhaps, a more productive view. For some Liberals, it is much easier to silence and/or disassociate/discard more Conservative, Christian, and/or old English common sense views. Superficially, rejecting these views are disallowing the same Freedom of Speech they themselves, otherwise, practice.
Supreme Court Justice Brandeis, a President Woodrow Wilson appointee once said, "Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purpose is beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
Just as Justice Brandeis addressed, our Liberal media must understand, trust, and/or practice, all Conservative, Christian, and/or old English common sense values in our Freedom of Speech; then apply it bilaterally, rather than unilaterally.
God Bless America!
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090330
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Golden Rule principles are just as necessary for operating a business profitably as are trucks, typewriters, or twine. -- James Cash (J.C.) Penney
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Betrayed by Judas "Friend, do what you came to do" (Matthew 26:50). When betrayal comes, what do you do? Get out? Get angry? Get even?
"For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him." (Philippians 2:13)
"The Patriot Post"
"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." -- Thomas Jefferson
"It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. After discriminating, therefore, in theory, the several classes of power, as they may in their nature be legislative, executive, or judiciary, the next and most difficult task is to provide some practical security for each, against the invasion of the others." -- James Madison, Federalist No. 48
"Did you ever know a politician that was not 'facing the most critical time in the world's affairs' every time he spoke in public?" -- humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
"If Washington's newfound opponents of rewarding failure want to do taxpayers a favor, how about giving back their automatic pay raises? How about returning all their AIG donations? How about taking back all the bailout money to all the failed enterprises, from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to AIG, the automakers and the big banks? Barry? Harry? Nancy? John? Chris? Bueller? Bueller?" -- columnist Michelle Malkin
From the Democrats Version... Why do they fail to investigate these on Capitol Hill?
From the AIG regulating stooges: "One way or another, we're going to try to figure out how to get these resources back." -- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who only a month ago made sure that these particular bonuses were exempt from regulation in the stimulus bill; Dodd is also the recipient of the most campaign cash from AIG ($103,000 in 2008)
"If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you." -- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Congress' possible plan to take back AIG bonuses with a tax.
"Maybe it's time to fire some people." -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on AIG, though we could have sworn he was talking about Congress.
"I think that not just the Chinese government, but every investor, can have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United States." -- Barack Obama
"Liberals still have plenty of work to do, and if they want to be a governing majority for the foreseeable future, relabeling themselves as progressives is part of the task." --Newsweek's Eleanor Clift **How about calling them what they really are? Socialists.
"Simple Truths"
"Any time a thought, a sentence, or paragraph inspires you or opens up your thinking, you need to capture it, like a butterfly in a net, and later release it into your own field of consciousness." -- Steve Chandler
"ADF"
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 26, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
Open road for Mo. ‘Choose Life’ plates after 8th Circuit clears detour
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4887
ADF attorneys win victory in decision that upholds ruling against state’s unconstitutional license plate approval process
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys secured a victory from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit over Missouri Department of Revenue officials Thursday, clearing the way for the creation of “Choose Life” specialty license plates. In the lawsuit, ADF attorneys alleged the state violated Choose Life of Missouri’s free speech rights by engaging in viewpoint discrimination when it refused to approve the specialty plate based on its objection to the pro-life message while allowing the messages of other organizations on other specialty plates.
“The state shouldn’t discriminate against pro-life organizations for their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster, who argued before the 8th Circuit in October of last year. “We are pleased with the 8th Circuit’s decision to recognize the unconstitutionality of the state’s approval process and look forward to the inclusion of Choose Life in Missouri’s specialty license plate program.”
ADF attorneys filed suit in federal court against Missouri Department of Revenue officials in June 2006 after two Missouri senators–both responsible for reviewing the specialty plate applications–objected to the viewpoint of the message on a license plate proposed by Choose Life of Missouri. ADF attorneys argued that the state’s approval process, contained in Missouri Revised Statutes section 21.795(6), failed to provide sufficient decision-making criteria and therefore unconstitutionally allowed the approval committee too much of their own discretion in considering specialty plate applications. The 8th Circuit agreed.
“Because section 21.795(6) allows the Joint Committee unbridled discretion to determine who may speak based on the viewpoint of the speaker, we find that section 21.795(6) allows for viewpoint discrimination and is therefore unconstitutional,” the court wrote. “The Joint Committee can still review and approve or deny specialty plate applications based on the criteria provided [elsewhere in the law]; it simply cannot deny an application based on the viewpoint of the speaker….”
In January 2008, a federal court ruled in favor of Choose Life, determining that the state’s statute outlining the approval process for specialty plates was unconstitutional. The state appealed the ruling to the 8th Circuit, which refused to stay the district court’s decision while the case was on appeal. Last week, the state began to issue the plates, which Missouri motorists can order via the Internet.
An ADF ally, the National Legal Foundation, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in support of Choose Life.
* Opinion issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Roach v. Stouffer
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org
"Chuck Sproull"
An open letter I sent to Miriam-Webster this morning
By: Chuck Sproull, Springville IN
Greetings my beloved American brothers and sisters, (3/23/2009)
I'm 67 years old, and all my life I was under the impression that the Webster Dictionary was the English standard of spoken and written TRUTH. What is TRUTH?
TRUTH is the words we use to completely and accurately describe reality, the way it really is, with words having commonly understood spellings, pronunciations and definitions; which facilitate effective communication between people.
For example, the one and only TRUE and standard definition of "MARRIAGE" is and always has been (for 6,000 years) "the physical and emotional mating procedure and total life-long commitment of love between one man and one woman."
I was shocked this morning when I heard on the news that Miriam-Webster has added a false definition or marriage to include any caring relationship regardless of gender.
About 6,000 years ago, God revealed His will to Adam and Eve and for all mankind after them, to engage in normal marriage, reproduce children and "replenish the earth" (Gen 1:28). God gave mankind freedom to choose to let His moral law to govern them. According to Gen 1:26-28, 9:1, 7, Matt 19:4-6, Eph 5:31 and Deut 30:19, and consistently throughout the Bible, God is 100% for normal marriage.
In other words, for your information, just as it is impossible for two male plugs or two female sockets to "MATE" and complete the circuit intended by the Design Engineer, likewise it is impossible for two men or two women to "MARRY" and complete the biochemical reaction intended by our Creator, leading to the next generation of human life.
Therefore, because my deep, pure-hearted love for historical standards and for TRUTH, I demand that you strike that new contrived, false definition of marriage from your dictionary, and please don't let a small minority of disoriented homosexual activists steer you off course.
God bless you, and have a wonderful, free American day.
"The Web"
Restore the Rule of Law: Allow Failing Corporations to go Bankrupt
Under U.S. law, Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to reorganize. Chapter 7 allows a company to dissolve itself.
The choices for AIG, as both an insurance and non-insurance company, are more complicated, but ultimately boil down to the same options. And for other companies either receiving or looking to receive a bailout from the taxpayers, the option should instead be bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy would send a needed message to U.S. investors: Don't assume the government will bail you out when you do something stupid.
And most importantly, bankruptcy would replace the rule of politicians over U.S. financial institutions with the rule of law.
Steele's Aim Off on Social Issues - Unfortunately, it appears our GOP leaders made a mistake on electing Michael Steele as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, bases on his personal beliefs on the "social issues". I was personally hoping we could rid all, whom failed to support "all life" all the time. It now appears, little did we know, the inside beliefs of Michael Steele, on the social issues of the day. It now be necessary for Michael Steele to step aside or the RNC Committee members to remove him, before the Conservatives are again kicked aside and/or out on the social issues. Protecting life is most essential to any future elections. Supporting homosexuality and/or lesbian activity as a normal life is not acceptable as normal. Having the GOP Chairman loving, believing, and practicing our "RNC Platform" http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/ issues are very critical for a political comeback in 2010. - oyh
By Ken Ervin
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/16591/CWA/nation/index.htm
According to Ron Gunzburger over at Politics 1, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele seems to be steering the party ship to the left. In a GQ magazine interview, the newly minted chairman dubs abortion "an individual choice," directly opposing his own party platform, which labels abortion "a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life."
He also demonstrates a woefully misinformed view of the homosexual lifestyle. "I don't think I've ever really subscribed to that view that you can turn it on and off like a water tap," says Steele. "You just can't simply say, oh, like, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being gay.' It's like saying 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being black.'"
What an unfortunate comparison. I don't believe anyone's ever said that leaving homosexuality is as easy as turning it "on and off like a water tap." That's a deeply oversimplified view of the process - and a process it is. The ex-gay movement (a la Exodus International, et. al.) is more like Alcoholics Anonymous. They recognize that same-sex attractions are more easily broken one day at a time.
Where Mr. Steele errs, obviously, is in comparing sexual attractions to skin color. Mr. Steele rightly says that he will never be able to "stop being black." However, he can't say that about homosexuality because it's not about genetics, it's about temptation. No white man has ever been tempted to become black (or vice versa). And even if one has, there is no way to act upon it. The same is not true in regards to a sexually broken person dealing with same-sex attractions. And that's where Mr. Steele's argument breaks down.
I think former homosexual Tim Wilkins said it best: "One of life's mysteries is that we don't get to choose what we are tempted by. But we do choose how we respond to those temptations." The power of the cross is not that we cease to be tempted, but that sin no longer has such a strangle hold on our lives as to force us to yield to our temptations. By His death and resurrection, Jesus became the Victor over sin. Those who are under His blood have access to that victory and, by virtue of that Power, can successfully stand against those temptations.
In reality, Mr. Steele's views on homosexuality are like his views on abortion. It's an individual choice. But just like abortion, it's a bad choice. Always. Every single time.
Obama White House bars press from press award ceremony - President Obama tells us his administration is the most open of them all. My, My!
We are not making this up:
Barack Obama was elected commander in chief promising to run the most transparent presidential administration in American history.
This achievement and the overall promise of his historic administration caused the National Newspaper Publishers Assn. to name him "Newsmaker of the Year."
The president is to receive the award from the federation of black community newspapers in a White House ceremony this afternoon.
The Obama White House has closed the press award ceremony to the press.
From the president's official schedule:
"Later in the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will attend a reception with the National Newspaper Publisher Association in the State Dining Room, where they will be presented the Newsmaker of the Year award. This event is closed press."
Maybe they'll let the newspaper people pass the award through the fence.
(UPDATE: The White House notes that while other press were barred from the publishers' event, the association's publishers themselves were admitted and the event treated as an exclusive interview and it expects the association to keep a record of what transpired during it.) -- Andrew Malcolm
Justice Scalia Raises the Issue of the Right to Listen
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may have signaled his feelings on the 'freedom to listen' during oral arguments on Citizen's United v. Federal Election Commission. The case is about whether the FEC erred in banning Citizens United from showing its movie on Hillary Clinton.
Said Scalia, "Do you think that there's a possibility that the First Amendment interest is greater when what the government is trying to stifle is not just a speaker who wants to say something, but also a hearer who wants to hear what the speaker has to say?"
The American Civil Rights Union filed an amicus brief in the case. In it, the ACRU argued the FEC violated the right of freedom of speech of not only Citizens United, but also the viewers who wanted to watch the movie
In the brief, the ACRU said, "Viewers of the Movie through the means described above hold their own constitutionally protected, freedom of speech rights to watch and to listen to the Movie and its speech."
Ken Klukowski: Supreme Court Must Be Ready to Defend Conscience Clause from Obama
On March 12, 2009, ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski wrote a column posted on Human Events, that encouraged the Supreme Court to uphold the Conscience Clause for doctors who do not want to perform abortions
Said Klukowski:
For years, it's been accepted within the healthcare field that people who are morally opposed to abortion cannot be compelled to participate in performing one. This understanding has been put into law in several federal statutes, often referred to as the Conscience Clause. The Bush administration further codified this longstanding concept in a federal regulation.
You can read the entire column at Human Events
ACLU Outrage of the Week: Obama Judges versus the Constitution
Candidate Obama said he would appoint federal judges who would decide cases based on the identity of the parties -- not the facts presented. And, he has returned the American Bar Association (ABA) to vet the judicial nominees at the same time a statistical study shows that the ABA is biased toward liberal candidates. Interestingly, President Obama's first nomination.
You can read the entire Outrage here.
Biblical Humor
It doesn’t hurt to have a little biblical humor to start the day……
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.
Q. What do they call pastors in Germany ?
A. German Shepherds ..
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh’s daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David’s Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.
Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden ?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan . The banks were always overflowing.
Q Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.
Q. Why didn’t they play cards on the Ark ?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck. (Groan…)
PS… Did you know it’s a sin for a woman to make coffee?
Yup, it’s in the Bible. It says . . . “He-brews”
Untimely deaths (aka: Don't mock God, or you'll die)
My note: (if he really said that) why did God wait 15 years to kill John Lennon? And what about all the people that have "mocked" God and didn't die. Or didn't mock God but died?
Edited for typical horrible format. Almost unreadable.
Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!
Make a personal reflection about this.....
Very interesting, read until the end..... It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Here are some men and women who mocked God :
John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during an interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple. Today we are
more famous than Him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.
Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.
Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During A show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you." He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.
The man who built the Titanic: After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it" The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic .
Marilyn Monroe (Actress): She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus". A week later, she was found dead in her apartment .
Bon Scott (Singer): The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: "Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell". On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.
Campinas (IN 2005): In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You." She responded: "Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause
Inside Here....It's Already Full "
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken.
Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer): said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus. Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive.
"Jesus"
"Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen."
"The e-mail Bag"
TELL THEM NOW… I LOVE YOU!
As we walk our path of life,
We meet people everyday.
Most are simply met by chance.
But, some are sent our way.
These become special friends
Whose bond we can't explain;
The ones who understand us
And share our joy and pain.
Their love contains no boundaries.
So, even we are apart.
Their presence enhances us
With a warmth felt in the heart.
This love becomes a passageway,
When even the miles disappear.
And so, these friends, God sends our way,
Remain forever near.
Man of the hour
I just had just finished reading a new book entitled, 'YOU CAN BE THE MAN OF YOUR HOUSE'.
I stormed into the kitchen and announced to My Wife, "From now on, you need to know that I am the man of this house and my word is Law. You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert.
After dinner, you are going to go upstairs with me and we will have the kind of sex that I want.
Afterwards, you are going to draw me a bath so I can relax. You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe.
Then, you will massage my feet and hands. Then tomorrow morning, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"
She replied, "The funeral director would be my first guess."
Grandparents
Being a Grandparent…
1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she’d done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, ‘But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!’ I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye!!
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, ‘62.’ He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, ‘Did you start at 1?’
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, ‘Who was THAT?’
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: ‘We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods.’ The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, ‘I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!’
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, ‘Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?’ I mentally polished my halo and I said, ‘No, how are we alike?” You’re both old,’ he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor. She told him she was writing a story. ‘What’s it about?’ he asked. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I can’t read.
7. I didn’t know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying, ‘Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself!’
8. When my grandson Melvin and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, ‘It’s no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights.’
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, ‘I’m not sure.’ ‘Look in your underwear, Grandpa,’ he advised. ‘Mine says I’m four to six.’
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, ‘Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.’ The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. ‘That’s interesting,’ she said, ‘how do you make babies? ”It’s simple,’ replied the girl. ‘You just change ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’.’
11. Children’s Logic: ‘Give me a sentence about a public servant,’ said a teacher. The small boy wrote: ‘The fireman came down the ladder pregnant.’ The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. ‘Don’t you know what pregnant means?’ she asked. ‘Sure,’ said the young boy confidently. ‘It means carrying a child.’
12. A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog’s duties. ‘They use him to keep crowds back,’ said one child. ‘No,’ said another, ‘He’s just for good luck .’ A third child brought the argument to a close. ‘They use the dogs,’ she said firmly, ‘to find the fire hydrants!’
WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds)
Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s.
A grandfather is a man and a grandmother is a lady!
Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn’t step on ‘cracks.’
They don’t say, ‘Hurry up.’
Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.
They wear glasses and funny underwear.
They can take their teeth and gums out.
Grandparents don’t have to be smart.
They have to answer questions like ‘Why isn’t God married?’ and ‘How come dogs chase cats?’
When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.
Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.
They know we should have snack time before bedtime, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we’ve acted bad.
A 6-YEAR-OLD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS GRANDMA LIVED. ”OH,” HE SAID, ”SHE LIVES AT THE AIRPORT, AND WHEN WE WANT HER, WE JUST GO GET HER. THEN WHEN WE’RE DONE HAVING HER VISIT, WE TAKE HER BACK TO THE AIRPORT.”
GRANDPA IS THE SMARTEST MAN ON EARTH! HE TEACHES ME GOOD THINGS, BUT I DON’T GET TO SEE HIM ENOUGH TO GET AS SMART AS HIM!
"Daily Motivations"
Golden Rule principles are just as necessary for operating a business profitably as are trucks, typewriters, or twine. -- James Cash (J.C.) Penney
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Betrayed by Judas "Friend, do what you came to do" (Matthew 26:50). When betrayal comes, what do you do? Get out? Get angry? Get even?
"For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him." (Philippians 2:13)
"The Patriot Post"
"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." -- Thomas Jefferson
"It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. After discriminating, therefore, in theory, the several classes of power, as they may in their nature be legislative, executive, or judiciary, the next and most difficult task is to provide some practical security for each, against the invasion of the others." -- James Madison, Federalist No. 48
"Did you ever know a politician that was not 'facing the most critical time in the world's affairs' every time he spoke in public?" -- humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
"If Washington's newfound opponents of rewarding failure want to do taxpayers a favor, how about giving back their automatic pay raises? How about returning all their AIG donations? How about taking back all the bailout money to all the failed enterprises, from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to AIG, the automakers and the big banks? Barry? Harry? Nancy? John? Chris? Bueller? Bueller?" -- columnist Michelle Malkin
From the Democrats Version... Why do they fail to investigate these on Capitol Hill?
From the AIG regulating stooges: "One way or another, we're going to try to figure out how to get these resources back." -- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who only a month ago made sure that these particular bonuses were exempt from regulation in the stimulus bill; Dodd is also the recipient of the most campaign cash from AIG ($103,000 in 2008)
"If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you." -- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Congress' possible plan to take back AIG bonuses with a tax.
"Maybe it's time to fire some people." -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on AIG, though we could have sworn he was talking about Congress.
"I think that not just the Chinese government, but every investor, can have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United States." -- Barack Obama
"Liberals still have plenty of work to do, and if they want to be a governing majority for the foreseeable future, relabeling themselves as progressives is part of the task." --Newsweek's Eleanor Clift **How about calling them what they really are? Socialists.
"Simple Truths"
"Any time a thought, a sentence, or paragraph inspires you or opens up your thinking, you need to capture it, like a butterfly in a net, and later release it into your own field of consciousness." -- Steve Chandler
"ADF"
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 26, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
Open road for Mo. ‘Choose Life’ plates after 8th Circuit clears detour
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4887
ADF attorneys win victory in decision that upholds ruling against state’s unconstitutional license plate approval process
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys secured a victory from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit over Missouri Department of Revenue officials Thursday, clearing the way for the creation of “Choose Life” specialty license plates. In the lawsuit, ADF attorneys alleged the state violated Choose Life of Missouri’s free speech rights by engaging in viewpoint discrimination when it refused to approve the specialty plate based on its objection to the pro-life message while allowing the messages of other organizations on other specialty plates.
“The state shouldn’t discriminate against pro-life organizations for their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster, who argued before the 8th Circuit in October of last year. “We are pleased with the 8th Circuit’s decision to recognize the unconstitutionality of the state’s approval process and look forward to the inclusion of Choose Life in Missouri’s specialty license plate program.”
ADF attorneys filed suit in federal court against Missouri Department of Revenue officials in June 2006 after two Missouri senators–both responsible for reviewing the specialty plate applications–objected to the viewpoint of the message on a license plate proposed by Choose Life of Missouri. ADF attorneys argued that the state’s approval process, contained in Missouri Revised Statutes section 21.795(6), failed to provide sufficient decision-making criteria and therefore unconstitutionally allowed the approval committee too much of their own discretion in considering specialty plate applications. The 8th Circuit agreed.
“Because section 21.795(6) allows the Joint Committee unbridled discretion to determine who may speak based on the viewpoint of the speaker, we find that section 21.795(6) allows for viewpoint discrimination and is therefore unconstitutional,” the court wrote. “The Joint Committee can still review and approve or deny specialty plate applications based on the criteria provided [elsewhere in the law]; it simply cannot deny an application based on the viewpoint of the speaker….”
In January 2008, a federal court ruled in favor of Choose Life, determining that the state’s statute outlining the approval process for specialty plates was unconstitutional. The state appealed the ruling to the 8th Circuit, which refused to stay the district court’s decision while the case was on appeal. Last week, the state began to issue the plates, which Missouri motorists can order via the Internet.
An ADF ally, the National Legal Foundation, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in support of Choose Life.
* Opinion issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Roach v. Stouffer
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org
"Chuck Sproull"
An open letter I sent to Miriam-Webster this morning
By: Chuck Sproull, Springville IN
Greetings my beloved American brothers and sisters, (3/23/2009)
I'm 67 years old, and all my life I was under the impression that the Webster Dictionary was the English standard of spoken and written TRUTH. What is TRUTH?
TRUTH is the words we use to completely and accurately describe reality, the way it really is, with words having commonly understood spellings, pronunciations and definitions; which facilitate effective communication between people.
For example, the one and only TRUE and standard definition of "MARRIAGE" is and always has been (for 6,000 years) "the physical and emotional mating procedure and total life-long commitment of love between one man and one woman."
I was shocked this morning when I heard on the news that Miriam-Webster has added a false definition or marriage to include any caring relationship regardless of gender.
About 6,000 years ago, God revealed His will to Adam and Eve and for all mankind after them, to engage in normal marriage, reproduce children and "replenish the earth" (Gen 1:28). God gave mankind freedom to choose to let His moral law to govern them. According to Gen 1:26-28, 9:1, 7, Matt 19:4-6, Eph 5:31 and Deut 30:19, and consistently throughout the Bible, God is 100% for normal marriage.
In other words, for your information, just as it is impossible for two male plugs or two female sockets to "MATE" and complete the circuit intended by the Design Engineer, likewise it is impossible for two men or two women to "MARRY" and complete the biochemical reaction intended by our Creator, leading to the next generation of human life.
Therefore, because my deep, pure-hearted love for historical standards and for TRUTH, I demand that you strike that new contrived, false definition of marriage from your dictionary, and please don't let a small minority of disoriented homosexual activists steer you off course.
God bless you, and have a wonderful, free American day.
"The Web"
Restore the Rule of Law: Allow Failing Corporations to go Bankrupt
Under U.S. law, Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to reorganize. Chapter 7 allows a company to dissolve itself.
The choices for AIG, as both an insurance and non-insurance company, are more complicated, but ultimately boil down to the same options. And for other companies either receiving or looking to receive a bailout from the taxpayers, the option should instead be bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy would send a needed message to U.S. investors: Don't assume the government will bail you out when you do something stupid.
And most importantly, bankruptcy would replace the rule of politicians over U.S. financial institutions with the rule of law.
Steele's Aim Off on Social Issues - Unfortunately, it appears our GOP leaders made a mistake on electing Michael Steele as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, bases on his personal beliefs on the "social issues". I was personally hoping we could rid all, whom failed to support "all life" all the time. It now appears, little did we know, the inside beliefs of Michael Steele, on the social issues of the day. It now be necessary for Michael Steele to step aside or the RNC Committee members to remove him, before the Conservatives are again kicked aside and/or out on the social issues. Protecting life is most essential to any future elections. Supporting homosexuality and/or lesbian activity as a normal life is not acceptable as normal. Having the GOP Chairman loving, believing, and practicing our "RNC Platform" http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/ issues are very critical for a political comeback in 2010. - oyh
By Ken Ervin
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/16591/CWA/nation/index.htm
According to Ron Gunzburger over at Politics 1, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele seems to be steering the party ship to the left. In a GQ magazine interview, the newly minted chairman dubs abortion "an individual choice," directly opposing his own party platform, which labels abortion "a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life."
He also demonstrates a woefully misinformed view of the homosexual lifestyle. "I don't think I've ever really subscribed to that view that you can turn it on and off like a water tap," says Steele. "You just can't simply say, oh, like, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being gay.' It's like saying 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being black.'"
What an unfortunate comparison. I don't believe anyone's ever said that leaving homosexuality is as easy as turning it "on and off like a water tap." That's a deeply oversimplified view of the process - and a process it is. The ex-gay movement (a la Exodus International, et. al.) is more like Alcoholics Anonymous. They recognize that same-sex attractions are more easily broken one day at a time.
Where Mr. Steele errs, obviously, is in comparing sexual attractions to skin color. Mr. Steele rightly says that he will never be able to "stop being black." However, he can't say that about homosexuality because it's not about genetics, it's about temptation. No white man has ever been tempted to become black (or vice versa). And even if one has, there is no way to act upon it. The same is not true in regards to a sexually broken person dealing with same-sex attractions. And that's where Mr. Steele's argument breaks down.
I think former homosexual Tim Wilkins said it best: "One of life's mysteries is that we don't get to choose what we are tempted by. But we do choose how we respond to those temptations." The power of the cross is not that we cease to be tempted, but that sin no longer has such a strangle hold on our lives as to force us to yield to our temptations. By His death and resurrection, Jesus became the Victor over sin. Those who are under His blood have access to that victory and, by virtue of that Power, can successfully stand against those temptations.
In reality, Mr. Steele's views on homosexuality are like his views on abortion. It's an individual choice. But just like abortion, it's a bad choice. Always. Every single time.
Obama White House bars press from press award ceremony - President Obama tells us his administration is the most open of them all. My, My!
We are not making this up:
Barack Obama was elected commander in chief promising to run the most transparent presidential administration in American history.
This achievement and the overall promise of his historic administration caused the National Newspaper Publishers Assn. to name him "Newsmaker of the Year."
The president is to receive the award from the federation of black community newspapers in a White House ceremony this afternoon.
The Obama White House has closed the press award ceremony to the press.
From the president's official schedule:
"Later in the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will attend a reception with the National Newspaper Publisher Association in the State Dining Room, where they will be presented the Newsmaker of the Year award. This event is closed press."
Maybe they'll let the newspaper people pass the award through the fence.
(UPDATE: The White House notes that while other press were barred from the publishers' event, the association's publishers themselves were admitted and the event treated as an exclusive interview and it expects the association to keep a record of what transpired during it.) -- Andrew Malcolm
Justice Scalia Raises the Issue of the Right to Listen
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may have signaled his feelings on the 'freedom to listen' during oral arguments on Citizen's United v. Federal Election Commission. The case is about whether the FEC erred in banning Citizens United from showing its movie on Hillary Clinton.
Said Scalia, "Do you think that there's a possibility that the First Amendment interest is greater when what the government is trying to stifle is not just a speaker who wants to say something, but also a hearer who wants to hear what the speaker has to say?"
The American Civil Rights Union filed an amicus brief in the case. In it, the ACRU argued the FEC violated the right of freedom of speech of not only Citizens United, but also the viewers who wanted to watch the movie
In the brief, the ACRU said, "Viewers of the Movie through the means described above hold their own constitutionally protected, freedom of speech rights to watch and to listen to the Movie and its speech."
Ken Klukowski: Supreme Court Must Be Ready to Defend Conscience Clause from Obama
On March 12, 2009, ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski wrote a column posted on Human Events, that encouraged the Supreme Court to uphold the Conscience Clause for doctors who do not want to perform abortions
Said Klukowski:
For years, it's been accepted within the healthcare field that people who are morally opposed to abortion cannot be compelled to participate in performing one. This understanding has been put into law in several federal statutes, often referred to as the Conscience Clause. The Bush administration further codified this longstanding concept in a federal regulation.
You can read the entire column at Human Events
ACLU Outrage of the Week: Obama Judges versus the Constitution
Candidate Obama said he would appoint federal judges who would decide cases based on the identity of the parties -- not the facts presented. And, he has returned the American Bar Association (ABA) to vet the judicial nominees at the same time a statistical study shows that the ABA is biased toward liberal candidates. Interestingly, President Obama's first nomination.
You can read the entire Outrage here.
Biblical Humor
It doesn’t hurt to have a little biblical humor to start the day……
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.
Q. What do they call pastors in Germany ?
A. German Shepherds ..
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh’s daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David’s Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.
Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden ?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan . The banks were always overflowing.
Q Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.
Q. Why didn’t they play cards on the Ark ?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck. (Groan…)
PS… Did you know it’s a sin for a woman to make coffee?
Yup, it’s in the Bible. It says . . . “He-brews”
Untimely deaths (aka: Don't mock God, or you'll die)
My note: (if he really said that) why did God wait 15 years to kill John Lennon? And what about all the people that have "mocked" God and didn't die. Or didn't mock God but died?
Edited for typical horrible format. Almost unreadable.
Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!
Make a personal reflection about this.....
Very interesting, read until the end..... It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Here are some men and women who mocked God :
John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during an interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple. Today we are
more famous than Him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.
Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.
Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During A show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you." He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.
The man who built the Titanic: After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it" The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic .
Marilyn Monroe (Actress): She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus". A week later, she was found dead in her apartment .
Bon Scott (Singer): The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: "Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell". On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.
Campinas (IN 2005): In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You." She responded: "Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause
Inside Here....It's Already Full "
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken.
Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer): said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus. Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive.
"Jesus"
"Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen."
"The e-mail Bag"
TELL THEM NOW… I LOVE YOU!
As we walk our path of life,
We meet people everyday.
Most are simply met by chance.
But, some are sent our way.
These become special friends
Whose bond we can't explain;
The ones who understand us
And share our joy and pain.
Their love contains no boundaries.
So, even we are apart.
Their presence enhances us
With a warmth felt in the heart.
This love becomes a passageway,
When even the miles disappear.
And so, these friends, God sends our way,
Remain forever near.
Man of the hour
I just had just finished reading a new book entitled, 'YOU CAN BE THE MAN OF YOUR HOUSE'.
I stormed into the kitchen and announced to My Wife, "From now on, you need to know that I am the man of this house and my word is Law. You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert.
After dinner, you are going to go upstairs with me and we will have the kind of sex that I want.
Afterwards, you are going to draw me a bath so I can relax. You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe.
Then, you will massage my feet and hands. Then tomorrow morning, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"
She replied, "The funeral director would be my first guess."
Grandparents
Being a Grandparent…
1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she’d done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, ‘But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!’ I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye!!
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, ‘62.’ He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, ‘Did you start at 1?’
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, ‘Who was THAT?’
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: ‘We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods.’ The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, ‘I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!’
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, ‘Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?’ I mentally polished my halo and I said, ‘No, how are we alike?” You’re both old,’ he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor. She told him she was writing a story. ‘What’s it about?’ he asked. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I can’t read.
7. I didn’t know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying, ‘Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself!’
8. When my grandson Melvin and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, ‘It’s no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights.’
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, ‘I’m not sure.’ ‘Look in your underwear, Grandpa,’ he advised. ‘Mine says I’m four to six.’
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, ‘Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.’ The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. ‘That’s interesting,’ she said, ‘how do you make babies? ”It’s simple,’ replied the girl. ‘You just change ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’.’
11. Children’s Logic: ‘Give me a sentence about a public servant,’ said a teacher. The small boy wrote: ‘The fireman came down the ladder pregnant.’ The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. ‘Don’t you know what pregnant means?’ she asked. ‘Sure,’ said the young boy confidently. ‘It means carrying a child.’
12. A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog’s duties. ‘They use him to keep crowds back,’ said one child. ‘No,’ said another, ‘He’s just for good luck .’ A third child brought the argument to a close. ‘They use the dogs,’ she said firmly, ‘to find the fire hydrants!’
WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds)
Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s.
A grandfather is a man and a grandmother is a lady!
Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn’t step on ‘cracks.’
They don’t say, ‘Hurry up.’
Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.
They wear glasses and funny underwear.
They can take their teeth and gums out.
Grandparents don’t have to be smart.
They have to answer questions like ‘Why isn’t God married?’ and ‘How come dogs chase cats?’
When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.
Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.
They know we should have snack time before bedtime, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we’ve acted bad.
A 6-YEAR-OLD WAS ASKED WHERE HIS GRANDMA LIVED. ”OH,” HE SAID, ”SHE LIVES AT THE AIRPORT, AND WHEN WE WANT HER, WE JUST GO GET HER. THEN WHEN WE’RE DONE HAVING HER VISIT, WE TAKE HER BACK TO THE AIRPORT.”
GRANDPA IS THE SMARTEST MAN ON EARTH! HE TEACHES ME GOOD THINGS, BUT I DON’T GET TO SEE HIM ENOUGH TO GET AS SMART AS HIM!
Friday, March 27, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090327
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Become a hunter of blessings, actively seeking them out in every experience and person you encounter. -- Kate Nowak
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Despairing Parents My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word (Psalms 119:28). God is our source of strength when we come to our wit's end.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
"The Patriot Post"
"Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country." -- Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788
"Without wishing to damp the ardor of curiosity or influence the freedom of inquiry, I will hazard a prediction that, after the most industrious and impartial researchers, the longest liver of you all will find no principles, institutions or systems of education more fit in general to be transmitted to your posterity than those you have received from your ancestors." -- John Adams, letter to the young men of the Philadelphia, 7 May 1798
"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness." -- George Washington, Circular to the States, 9 May 1753
"A fondness for power is implanted, in most men, and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired." -- Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 23 February 1775
"Simple Truths"
WEATHER REPORT
BJ Gallagher
"Any day I'm vertical is a good day" ....that's what I always say.
If you ask me, "How are you?"
I'll answer, "GREAT!" because in saying so, I make it so.
When Life gives me dark clouds and rain, I appreciate the moisture that brings a soft curl to my hair.
When Life gives me sunshine, I gratefully turn my face up to feel its warmth on my cheeks.
When Life brings fog, I hug my sweater around me and give thanks for the cool shroud of mystery that makes the familiar seem different and intriguing.
When Life brings snow, I dash outside to catch the first flakes on my tongue, relishing the icy miracle that is a snowflake.
Life's events and experiences are like the weather - they come and go, no matter what my preference.
So, what the heck?! I might as well decide to enjoy them. For indeed, there IS a time for every purpose under Heaven. And each season brings its own unique blessings.
"The Web"
President Barack Obama plans to announce an escalation in Afghanistan in a speech at the White House on Friday morning, committing 4,200 more troops and hundreds more civilians, and embracing a new system of benchmarks to measure progress.
“He’s gone all in,” said an official briefed on the plan. “This is Obama’s war. He’s pushed all the chips to the center of the table.”
A patriot, that lovely lass.... Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would "bar the dollar from being replaced by any foreign currency." - Just as a cousin and friend told me on this last Wednesday that with President Obama even discussiing this issue in his news conference, it was at least being considered. Call, write, or e-mail the White House, your US Senators, and your Representative. Tell each of your support of this legislation. - oyh
Bachmann bill would ban global currency
by Eric Zimmermann
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would "bar the dollar from being replace by any foreign currency." A statement from Bachmann's website:
“Yesterday, during a Financial Services Committee hearing, I asked Secretary Geithner if he would denounce efforts to move towards a global currency and he answered unequivocally that he would," said Bachmann. "And President Obama gave the nation the same assurances. But just a day later, Secretary Geithner has left the option on the table. I want to know which it is. The American people deserve to know."
On Monday, Geithner and Bernanke both rejected the idea of a global currency in Congressional testimony. But in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, Geithner indicated he was open to the idea.
Top 100 Recipients of Federal Contract Awards for "FY 2009" - For details with each company, click onto "dollars amount" below. - oyh
http://www.usaspending.gov/fpds/tables.php?tabtype=t2&subtype=t&year=2009
Table sorted by dollars: re-sort using column headers
FY 2009 Rank Parent Company Name Dollars % of total
1 Lockheed Martin Corporation $3,379,884,409 7.600%
2 The Boeing Company $1,239,857,709 2.788%
3 Northrop Grumman Corporation $955,176,641 2.148%
4 Government of The United States $887,550,984 1.996%
5 Bechtel Group, Inc $788,229,192 1.772%
6 Los Alamos National Security LLC $731,898,741 1.646%
7 Kbr, Inc. $663,675,299 1.492%
8 United Space Alliance LLC $588,624,210 1.324%
9 Raytheon Company $578,127,560 1.300%
10 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC $568,951,386 1.279%
11 McDermott International, Inc. $528,756,811 1.189%
12 Humana Inc. $513,318,318 1.154%
13 General Dynamics Corporation $497,886,757 1.120%
14 Merck & Co., Inc. $494,259,977 1.111%
15 Computer Sciences Corporation $484,463,918 1.089%
16 Alliance For Sustainable Energy, LLC $484,089,746 1.089%
17 URS Corporation $470,932,147 1.059%
18 L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. $410,043,560 0.922%
19 Ut-Battelle, LLC $396,166,223 0.891%
20 Saic, Inc. $375,248,253 0.844%
21 Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, LLC $343,645,802 0.773%
22 Harris Corporation $343,448,093 0.772%
23 Ch2m Hill Companies, Ltd. $335,974,626 0.755%
24 International Business Machines Corporation $328,358,670 0.738%
25 Bae Systems PLC $312,376,897 0.702%
26 Bearingpoint, Inc. $300,101,898 0.675%
27 Wyeth $293,600,167 0.660%
28 Honeywell International Inc $290,656,270 0.654%
29 Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. $273,648,467 0.615%
30 General Electric Company $263,278,894 0.592%
31 United Technologies Corporation $262,371,892 0.590%
32 Afinsa Bienes Tangibles SA $246,587,720 0.554%
33 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Lls $244,189,013 0.549%
34 Valero Energy Corporation $234,721,965 0.528%
35 Alliant Techsystems Inc. $222,841,402 0.501%
36 SANOFI PASTEUR MSD S.N.C. SIGLE SPMSD $218,501,031 0.491%
37 General Motors Corporation $217,735,426 0.490%
38 Triwest Healthcare Alliance Corp. $217,072,477 0.488%
39 Health Net, Inc. $214,786,925 0.483%
40 Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, L L C $210,535,196 0.473%
41 The Shaw Group Inc $209,413,712 0.471%
42 State of California $203,145,588 0.457%
43 Macandrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. $200,913,424 0.452%
44 Battelle Memorial Institute Inc $199,802,259 0.449%
45 Glaxosmithkline PLC $198,945,686 0.447%
46 Associated Universities Inc $191,453,283 0.431%
47 Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. $190,296,485 0.428%
48 Hewlett-Packard Company $180,632,011 0.406%
49 Battelle Memoral Instit $179,213,415 0.403%
50 RUSSIA SPACE AGENCY (unknown parent company, no D&B number) $173,058,538 0.389%
51 National Security Technologies, LLC $171,023,068 0.385%
52 Siemens AG $170,251,469 0.383%
53 Uchicago Argonne, LLC $168,216,993 0.378%
54 G4S PLC $157,098,355 0.353%
55 Unisys Corporation $151,273,761 0.340%
56 Aerospace Testing Alliance $148,986,962 0.335%
57 Washington River Protection Solutions LLC $148,590,715 0.334%
58 A.P. M›ller - M‘rsk A/S $147,941,754 0.333%
59 Fermi Research Alliance LLC $140,641,582 0.316%
60 Leland Stanford Junior University $127,225,559 0.286%
61 Akal Security, Inc $117,156,469 0.263%
62 Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC $112,153,056 0.252%
63 Forfeiture Support Associates LLC $111,813,680 0.251%
64 Fluor Corporation $109,686,731 0.247%
65 Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. $103,213,264 0.232%
66 Indyne, Inc. $102,900,590 0.231%
67 Mitsui & Co. Precious Metals, Inc. $102,486,040 0.230%
68 Arctic Slope Regional Corporation $102,462,073 0.230%
69 Ford Motor Company $93,764,968 0.211%
70 Chenega Corporation $91,088,950 0.205%
71 Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc. $88,648,595 0.199%
72 Management & Training Corporation $88,078,883 0.198%
73 ITT Corporation $88,002,434 0.198%
74 Nfs Service LLC $87,004,400 0.196%
75 Dyncorp International Inc. $84,415,400 0.190%
76 Sgt, Inc. $84,121,493 0.189%
77 Westat, Inc. $82,639,637 0.186%
78 Verizon Communications Inc. $78,554,109 0.177%
79 Hopkins Johns University $78,218,922 0.176%
80 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. $77,011,985 0.173%
81 P.J. Dick Incorporated $75,802,000 0.170%
82 General Atomic Technologies Corporation $74,737,590 0.168%
83 Ceradyne, Inc. $73,119,130 0.164%
84 Accenture Ltd $71,842,586 0.162%
85 Highmark Inc. $71,134,714 0.160%
86 Perot Systems Corporation $70,930,852 0.160%
87 The Mitre Corporation $70,835,999 0.159%
88 Tl Industries, Inc. $70,048,141 0.158%
89 Caci International Inc $69,981,156 0.157%
90 Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation $67,938,542 0.153%
91 Sra International, Inc. $67,485,392 0.152%
92 Chugach Alaska Corporation $65,415,581 0.147%
93 Xerox Corporation $64,991,918 0.146%
94 Corrections Corporation of America $64,202,196 0.144%
95 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority $63,965,623 0.144%
96 Crossland Construction Company, Inc. $62,539,000 0.141%
97 Sunshine Minting, Inc. $62,096,153 0.140%
98 Hensel Phelps Construction Co $61,506,975 0.138%
99 Premier Office Complex, LLC $60,934,400 0.137%
100 Security Consultants Group Inc $60,511,029 0.136%
-- Total for top 100 $27,103,139,946 60.946%
-- All others (includes 52,527 other contractors) $17,367,462,000 39.054%
-- Total $44,470,601,946 100%
The contracts database is compiled from the FPDS-NG system. For timeliness details, please see the Data Quality tab.
Note: The numbers in this table can change after each data load. Transactions included in a data load can impact numbers for the current and previous fiscal years.
The data housed on USASpending.gov is provided by Federal agencies. Please refer to the Data Quality site for information about the current status of data quality. USASpending.gov is continuously developing ways
Holy Man Conversation with the Lord
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.” When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you!
Dodd's Wife a Former Director of Bermuda-Based IPC Holdings, an AIG Controlled Company - Just how corrupt is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn)? Is there anything Sen. Dodd will fail to do enriching his own personal gain; at taxpayers expense?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/03/dodds_wife_a_former_director_o.html
By Kevin Rennie
No wonder Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) went wobbly last week when asked about his February amendment ratifying hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at insurance giant AIG. Dodd has been one of the company's favorite recipients of campaign contributions. But it turns out that Senator Dodd's wife has also benefited from past connections to AIG as well.
From 2001-2004, Jackie Clegg Dodd served as an "outside" director of IPC Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda-based company controlled by AIG. IPC, which provides property casualty catastrophe insurance coverage, was formed in 1993 and currently has a market cap of $1.4 billion and trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IPCR. In 2001, in addition to a public offering of 15 million shares of stock that raised $380 million, IPC raised more than $109 million through a simultaneous private placement sale of 5.6 million shares of stock to AIG - giving AIG a 20% stake in IPC. (AIG sold its 13.397 million shares in IPC in August, 2006.)
Clegg was compensated for her duties to the company, which was managed by a subsidiary of AIG. In 2003, according to a proxy statement, Clegg received $12,000 per year and an additional $1,000 for each Directors' and committee meeting she attended. Clegg served on the Audit and Investment committees during her final year on the board.
IPC paid millions each year to other AIG-related companies for administrative and other services. Clegg was a diligent director. In 2003, the proxy statement report, she attended more than 75% of board and committee meetings. This while she served as the managing partner of Clegg International Consultants, LLC, which she created in 2001, the year she joined the board of IPC. (See Dodd's public financial disclosure reports with the Senate from 2001-2004 here.)
Dodd is likely more familiar with the complicated workings of AIG than he was letting on last week. This week may provide him with another opportunity to refresh his recollections.
Kevin Rennie, a former Republican state senator, is a columnist for the Hartford Courant. He can be reached at kfrennie@yahoo.com.
The Lost Books of the Bible
Books Mentioned, But Not Found, In The Bible There are, at least, twenty-eight books mentioned in the Bible, but not included.
Book of Jasher Here
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
2 Samuel 1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
Book of Enoch Here
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
The Manner of the Kingdom / Book of Statutes (Missing)
1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
Book of Samuel the Seer (Missing)
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Nathan the Prophet (Missing)
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
The Book of the Acts of Solomon (Missing)
1 Kings 11:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
Shemaiah the Prophet (Missing)
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Prophecy of Abijah (Missing)
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Story of Prophet Iddo (Missing)
2 Chronicles 13:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
Visions of Iddo the Seer (Missing)
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Iddo Genealogies (Missing)
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Book of Jehu (Missing)
2 Chronicles 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
Sayings of the Seers Here
2 Chronicles 33:19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
Book of the Covenant (Missing)
Exodus 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
There are those that believe the Book of the Covenant is found in Exodus chapters 20 through 23. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of the Wars of the Lord (Missing)
Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
Certain sources believe that this is to be found by drawing text from several Old Testament books. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of Gad the Seer (Missing)
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Epistle to Corinth Here
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Epistle to the Ephesians (Missing)
Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians (Missing)
Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
Nazarene Prophecy Source (Missing)
Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Acts of Uziah (Missing)
2 Chronicles 26:22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
The Annals of King David (Missing)
1 Chronicles 27:24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.
Jude, the Missing Epistle (Missing)
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Chronicles of King Ahasuerus (Missing)
Esther 2:23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
Esther 6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia (Missing)
Esther 10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
He took my place…..
One day, a man went to visit a church, He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said, " I always park there! You took my place!"
The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, " That's where I always sit! You took my place!"
The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing.
Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change.
Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet.
Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?"
The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye,
"I took your place."
"The e-mail Bag"
A Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage ( a legend )
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone.
He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man.
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump near to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.
A turkey was chatting with a bull.
'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' 'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.
Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.
Moral of the story: Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..
"Daily Motivations"
Become a hunter of blessings, actively seeking them out in every experience and person you encounter. -- Kate Nowak
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Despairing Parents My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word (Psalms 119:28). God is our source of strength when we come to our wit's end.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)
"The Patriot Post"
"Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country." -- Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788
"Without wishing to damp the ardor of curiosity or influence the freedom of inquiry, I will hazard a prediction that, after the most industrious and impartial researchers, the longest liver of you all will find no principles, institutions or systems of education more fit in general to be transmitted to your posterity than those you have received from your ancestors." -- John Adams, letter to the young men of the Philadelphia, 7 May 1798
"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness." -- George Washington, Circular to the States, 9 May 1753
"A fondness for power is implanted, in most men, and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired." -- Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 23 February 1775
"Simple Truths"
WEATHER REPORT
BJ Gallagher
"Any day I'm vertical is a good day" ....that's what I always say.
If you ask me, "How are you?"
I'll answer, "GREAT!" because in saying so, I make it so.
When Life gives me dark clouds and rain, I appreciate the moisture that brings a soft curl to my hair.
When Life gives me sunshine, I gratefully turn my face up to feel its warmth on my cheeks.
When Life brings fog, I hug my sweater around me and give thanks for the cool shroud of mystery that makes the familiar seem different and intriguing.
When Life brings snow, I dash outside to catch the first flakes on my tongue, relishing the icy miracle that is a snowflake.
Life's events and experiences are like the weather - they come and go, no matter what my preference.
So, what the heck?! I might as well decide to enjoy them. For indeed, there IS a time for every purpose under Heaven. And each season brings its own unique blessings.
"The Web"
President Barack Obama plans to announce an escalation in Afghanistan in a speech at the White House on Friday morning, committing 4,200 more troops and hundreds more civilians, and embracing a new system of benchmarks to measure progress.
“He’s gone all in,” said an official briefed on the plan. “This is Obama’s war. He’s pushed all the chips to the center of the table.”
A patriot, that lovely lass.... Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would "bar the dollar from being replaced by any foreign currency." - Just as a cousin and friend told me on this last Wednesday that with President Obama even discussiing this issue in his news conference, it was at least being considered. Call, write, or e-mail the White House, your US Senators, and your Representative. Tell each of your support of this legislation. - oyh
Bachmann bill would ban global currency
by Eric Zimmermann
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would "bar the dollar from being replace by any foreign currency." A statement from Bachmann's website:
“Yesterday, during a Financial Services Committee hearing, I asked Secretary Geithner if he would denounce efforts to move towards a global currency and he answered unequivocally that he would," said Bachmann. "And President Obama gave the nation the same assurances. But just a day later, Secretary Geithner has left the option on the table. I want to know which it is. The American people deserve to know."
On Monday, Geithner and Bernanke both rejected the idea of a global currency in Congressional testimony. But in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, Geithner indicated he was open to the idea.
Top 100 Recipients of Federal Contract Awards for "FY 2009" - For details with each company, click onto "dollars amount" below. - oyh
http://www.usaspending.gov/fpds/tables.php?tabtype=t2&subtype=t&year=2009
Table sorted by dollars: re-sort using column headers
FY 2009 Rank Parent Company Name Dollars % of total
1 Lockheed Martin Corporation $3,379,884,409 7.600%
2 The Boeing Company $1,239,857,709 2.788%
3 Northrop Grumman Corporation $955,176,641 2.148%
4 Government of The United States $887,550,984 1.996%
5 Bechtel Group, Inc $788,229,192 1.772%
6 Los Alamos National Security LLC $731,898,741 1.646%
7 Kbr, Inc. $663,675,299 1.492%
8 United Space Alliance LLC $588,624,210 1.324%
9 Raytheon Company $578,127,560 1.300%
10 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC $568,951,386 1.279%
11 McDermott International, Inc. $528,756,811 1.189%
12 Humana Inc. $513,318,318 1.154%
13 General Dynamics Corporation $497,886,757 1.120%
14 Merck & Co., Inc. $494,259,977 1.111%
15 Computer Sciences Corporation $484,463,918 1.089%
16 Alliance For Sustainable Energy, LLC $484,089,746 1.089%
17 URS Corporation $470,932,147 1.059%
18 L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. $410,043,560 0.922%
19 Ut-Battelle, LLC $396,166,223 0.891%
20 Saic, Inc. $375,248,253 0.844%
21 Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, LLC $343,645,802 0.773%
22 Harris Corporation $343,448,093 0.772%
23 Ch2m Hill Companies, Ltd. $335,974,626 0.755%
24 International Business Machines Corporation $328,358,670 0.738%
25 Bae Systems PLC $312,376,897 0.702%
26 Bearingpoint, Inc. $300,101,898 0.675%
27 Wyeth $293,600,167 0.660%
28 Honeywell International Inc $290,656,270 0.654%
29 Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. $273,648,467 0.615%
30 General Electric Company $263,278,894 0.592%
31 United Technologies Corporation $262,371,892 0.590%
32 Afinsa Bienes Tangibles SA $246,587,720 0.554%
33 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Lls $244,189,013 0.549%
34 Valero Energy Corporation $234,721,965 0.528%
35 Alliant Techsystems Inc. $222,841,402 0.501%
36 SANOFI PASTEUR MSD S.N.C. SIGLE SPMSD $218,501,031 0.491%
37 General Motors Corporation $217,735,426 0.490%
38 Triwest Healthcare Alliance Corp. $217,072,477 0.488%
39 Health Net, Inc. $214,786,925 0.483%
40 Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, L L C $210,535,196 0.473%
41 The Shaw Group Inc $209,413,712 0.471%
42 State of California $203,145,588 0.457%
43 Macandrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. $200,913,424 0.452%
44 Battelle Memorial Institute Inc $199,802,259 0.449%
45 Glaxosmithkline PLC $198,945,686 0.447%
46 Associated Universities Inc $191,453,283 0.431%
47 Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. $190,296,485 0.428%
48 Hewlett-Packard Company $180,632,011 0.406%
49 Battelle Memoral Instit $179,213,415 0.403%
50 RUSSIA SPACE AGENCY (unknown parent company, no D&B number) $173,058,538 0.389%
51 National Security Technologies, LLC $171,023,068 0.385%
52 Siemens AG $170,251,469 0.383%
53 Uchicago Argonne, LLC $168,216,993 0.378%
54 G4S PLC $157,098,355 0.353%
55 Unisys Corporation $151,273,761 0.340%
56 Aerospace Testing Alliance $148,986,962 0.335%
57 Washington River Protection Solutions LLC $148,590,715 0.334%
58 A.P. M›ller - M‘rsk A/S $147,941,754 0.333%
59 Fermi Research Alliance LLC $140,641,582 0.316%
60 Leland Stanford Junior University $127,225,559 0.286%
61 Akal Security, Inc $117,156,469 0.263%
62 Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC $112,153,056 0.252%
63 Forfeiture Support Associates LLC $111,813,680 0.251%
64 Fluor Corporation $109,686,731 0.247%
65 Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. $103,213,264 0.232%
66 Indyne, Inc. $102,900,590 0.231%
67 Mitsui & Co. Precious Metals, Inc. $102,486,040 0.230%
68 Arctic Slope Regional Corporation $102,462,073 0.230%
69 Ford Motor Company $93,764,968 0.211%
70 Chenega Corporation $91,088,950 0.205%
71 Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc. $88,648,595 0.199%
72 Management & Training Corporation $88,078,883 0.198%
73 ITT Corporation $88,002,434 0.198%
74 Nfs Service LLC $87,004,400 0.196%
75 Dyncorp International Inc. $84,415,400 0.190%
76 Sgt, Inc. $84,121,493 0.189%
77 Westat, Inc. $82,639,637 0.186%
78 Verizon Communications Inc. $78,554,109 0.177%
79 Hopkins Johns University $78,218,922 0.176%
80 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. $77,011,985 0.173%
81 P.J. Dick Incorporated $75,802,000 0.170%
82 General Atomic Technologies Corporation $74,737,590 0.168%
83 Ceradyne, Inc. $73,119,130 0.164%
84 Accenture Ltd $71,842,586 0.162%
85 Highmark Inc. $71,134,714 0.160%
86 Perot Systems Corporation $70,930,852 0.160%
87 The Mitre Corporation $70,835,999 0.159%
88 Tl Industries, Inc. $70,048,141 0.158%
89 Caci International Inc $69,981,156 0.157%
90 Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation $67,938,542 0.153%
91 Sra International, Inc. $67,485,392 0.152%
92 Chugach Alaska Corporation $65,415,581 0.147%
93 Xerox Corporation $64,991,918 0.146%
94 Corrections Corporation of America $64,202,196 0.144%
95 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority $63,965,623 0.144%
96 Crossland Construction Company, Inc. $62,539,000 0.141%
97 Sunshine Minting, Inc. $62,096,153 0.140%
98 Hensel Phelps Construction Co $61,506,975 0.138%
99 Premier Office Complex, LLC $60,934,400 0.137%
100 Security Consultants Group Inc $60,511,029 0.136%
-- Total for top 100 $27,103,139,946 60.946%
-- All others (includes 52,527 other contractors) $17,367,462,000 39.054%
-- Total $44,470,601,946 100%
The contracts database is compiled from the FPDS-NG system. For timeliness details, please see the Data Quality tab.
Note: The numbers in this table can change after each data load. Transactions included in a data load can impact numbers for the current and previous fiscal years.
The data housed on USASpending.gov is provided by Federal agencies. Please refer to the Data Quality site for information about the current status of data quality. USASpending.gov is continuously developing ways
Holy Man Conversation with the Lord
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.” When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you!
Dodd's Wife a Former Director of Bermuda-Based IPC Holdings, an AIG Controlled Company - Just how corrupt is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn)? Is there anything Sen. Dodd will fail to do enriching his own personal gain; at taxpayers expense?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/03/dodds_wife_a_former_director_o.html
By Kevin Rennie
No wonder Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) went wobbly last week when asked about his February amendment ratifying hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at insurance giant AIG. Dodd has been one of the company's favorite recipients of campaign contributions. But it turns out that Senator Dodd's wife has also benefited from past connections to AIG as well.
From 2001-2004, Jackie Clegg Dodd served as an "outside" director of IPC Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda-based company controlled by AIG. IPC, which provides property casualty catastrophe insurance coverage, was formed in 1993 and currently has a market cap of $1.4 billion and trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IPCR. In 2001, in addition to a public offering of 15 million shares of stock that raised $380 million, IPC raised more than $109 million through a simultaneous private placement sale of 5.6 million shares of stock to AIG - giving AIG a 20% stake in IPC. (AIG sold its 13.397 million shares in IPC in August, 2006.)
Clegg was compensated for her duties to the company, which was managed by a subsidiary of AIG. In 2003, according to a proxy statement, Clegg received $12,000 per year and an additional $1,000 for each Directors' and committee meeting she attended. Clegg served on the Audit and Investment committees during her final year on the board.
IPC paid millions each year to other AIG-related companies for administrative and other services. Clegg was a diligent director. In 2003, the proxy statement report, she attended more than 75% of board and committee meetings. This while she served as the managing partner of Clegg International Consultants, LLC, which she created in 2001, the year she joined the board of IPC. (See Dodd's public financial disclosure reports with the Senate from 2001-2004 here.)
Dodd is likely more familiar with the complicated workings of AIG than he was letting on last week. This week may provide him with another opportunity to refresh his recollections.
Kevin Rennie, a former Republican state senator, is a columnist for the Hartford Courant. He can be reached at kfrennie@yahoo.com.
The Lost Books of the Bible
Books Mentioned, But Not Found, In The Bible There are, at least, twenty-eight books mentioned in the Bible, but not included.
Book of Jasher Here
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
2 Samuel 1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
Book of Enoch Here
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
The Manner of the Kingdom / Book of Statutes (Missing)
1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
Book of Samuel the Seer (Missing)
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Nathan the Prophet (Missing)
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
The Book of the Acts of Solomon (Missing)
1 Kings 11:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
Shemaiah the Prophet (Missing)
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Prophecy of Abijah (Missing)
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Story of Prophet Iddo (Missing)
2 Chronicles 13:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
Visions of Iddo the Seer (Missing)
2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Iddo Genealogies (Missing)
2 Chronicles 12:15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Book of Jehu (Missing)
2 Chronicles 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
Sayings of the Seers Here
2 Chronicles 33:19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
Book of the Covenant (Missing)
Exodus 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
There are those that believe the Book of the Covenant is found in Exodus chapters 20 through 23. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of the Wars of the Lord (Missing)
Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
Certain sources believe that this is to be found by drawing text from several Old Testament books. There are no authoritative sources for this text.
Book of Gad the Seer (Missing)
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
Epistle to Corinth Here
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
Epistle to the Ephesians (Missing)
Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians (Missing)
Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
Nazarene Prophecy Source (Missing)
Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Acts of Uziah (Missing)
2 Chronicles 26:22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
The Annals of King David (Missing)
1 Chronicles 27:24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.
Jude, the Missing Epistle (Missing)
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Chronicles of King Ahasuerus (Missing)
Esther 2:23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
Esther 6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia (Missing)
Esther 10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
He took my place…..
One day, a man went to visit a church, He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said, " I always park there! You took my place!"
The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, " That's where I always sit! You took my place!"
The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing.
Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change.
Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet.
Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?"
The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye,
"I took your place."
"The e-mail Bag"
A Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage ( a legend )
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone.
He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man.
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump near to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.
A turkey was chatting with a bull.
'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' 'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.
Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.
Moral of the story: Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..
Thursday, March 26, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090326
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder. -- English Proverb
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Every Road Has an End In the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword (Prov. 5:4). Think about where your choices will lead you!
"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." James 5:16)
"The Patriot Post"
"A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the object of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained." -- James Madison
"I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe ... Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. -- From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing. Make them intelligent, and they will be vigilant; give them the means of detecting the wrong, and they will apply the remedy." -- U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
"When I took the oath of office, I pledged loyalty to only one special interest group -- 'We the People.' Those people -- neighbors and friends, shopkeepers and laborers, farmers and craftsmen -- do not have infinite patience. As a matter of fact, some 80 years ago, Teddy Roosevelt wrote these instructive words in his first message to the Congress: 'The American people are slow to wrath, but when their wrath is once kindled, it burns like a consuming flame.' Well, perhaps that kind of wrath will be deserved if our answer to these serious problems is to repeat the mistakes of the past." -- Ronald Reagan
"What President Obama did when he reversed President Bush's executive order banning embryonic stem cell research was based not on solid science, but his desire to cater to the anti-life, pro-abortion forces and their media allies who helped elect him. In doing this, he created the potential for an outbreak of potentially fatal cancerous tumors caused by the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells. Moreover, he killed another Bush presidential order that funded some of the most promising research on the creation of embryonic-like stem cells from harmless but potent adult stem cells. ... What most people are unaware of is that there are three types of stem cell research: there is embryonic stem cell research (ESC), there is induced pluripotent (IPSC) research, and adult stem cell research (ASC). When Barack Obama rescinded George Bush's ban on federal funding on certain types of embryonic stem cell research he also rescinded Bush's Executive Order 13435 which had provided federal funding for induced pluripotent stem cell research using harmless adult stem cells manipulated into mimicking embryonic stem cells without the risk ESC cells entail. This is where 72 different diseases are now being remedied or cured. There are no embryonic stem cells being used anywhere in the world on humans, with one tragic exception. A boy treated with embryonic stem cells for a rare genetic disease developed benign tumors, casting doubt on claims of the therapy's safety and effectiveness. ... There is a 100 percent mortality rate among lab animals that develop these tumors. That's why George Bush banned this lethal form of research that Barack Obama, who should have known better, has now legitimized by overturning this life-saving ban." -- radio talk-show host and columnist Michael Reagan
"Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is the Jennifer Lopez of congressional travel -- fickle, demanding and notoriously insensitive to the time, costs and energy needed to accommodate her endless demands. On Tuesday, the indispensable government watchdog Judicial Watch released a trove of public records through the Freedom of Information Act on Pelosi's travel arrangements with the U.S. military. As speaker of the House, Pelosi is entitled to a reasonable level of military protection and transport. But it's the size of the planes, the frequency of requests and last-minute cancellations, and the political nature of many of her trips that scream out for accountability. And, of course, it's the double-barreled hypocrisy. There's the eco-hypocrisy of the Democratic leader who wags her finger at the rest of us for our too-big carbon footprints, and crusades for massive taxes and regulation to reduce global warming. Then there's the Bay Area hypocrisy of the woman who represents one of the most anti-military areas of the country soaking up military resources to shuttle her (and her many family members) across the country almost every weekend. .... Apparently, those anti-war protesters have no problem with evil military jets currying Pelosi and her massive entourages to the funerals of the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Charlie Norwood; foreign junkets to Rome; and politicized stops to Iowa flood sites to bash the Bush administration." -- columnist Michelle Malkin
"Simple Truths"
"Follow Your Dreams"! - Folks, this may be a rerun, but it is worth it! - oyh
http://www.thedreamsmovie.com/
http://www.thedreamsmovie.com:80/
The Strangest Secrets
http://miammovies.com/movies.php?movie=tssc
"ADF"
Disabled children lose fight against ACLU: Ariz. Supreme Court strikes down voucher program
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4884
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 25, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
Disabled children lose fight against ACLU
Ariz. Supreme Court strikes down voucher program for special needs children; ADF attorneys filed friend-of-the-court brief
PHOENIX — The American Civil Liberties Union won its fight against disabled children Wednesday when the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a state program that allowed special needs kids to use vouchers at private schools so that they could receive the best educational opportunities. ADF attorneys joined attorneys from the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe last year in submitting a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a Christian school in defense of the voucher program, which was upheld by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
“The ACLU, People for the American Way, and the teachers’ unions have denied disabled children the educational opportunities they deserve. They are the ones hurt by this,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Special needs students who attend Christian schools shouldn’t be penalized for their beliefs.”
“Any tuition that goes to a religious school is through the choice of the parent and for the benefit of the child. It is not ‘state support’ of that school,” explained Orrick attorney Raymond Mullady, who co-wrote the friend-of-the-court brief. “We truly disagree with the high court’s decision and are saddened by its consequences for Arizona’s special needs children.”
John and Dina Phipps and Brendan and Susan Fay, founders of Father’s Heart Christian School for the disabled, removed their developmentally and physically challenged children from the Arizona public school system because of the inadequate education they received there. Two of the children suffer from autism and the other from learning and physical challenges.
Upon receiving the customized instruction they needed at Father’s Heart, their behavior and participation improved remarkably and their academic performance rose several grade levels in just one year after leaving the government school system. The children receive vouchers through the Arizona Scholarships for Pupils with Disabilities program to attend Father’s Heart, but Wednesday’s decision from the Arizona Supreme Court effectively kills the program.
Cave Creek Unified School District board member Virgel Cain, the ACLU, People for the American Way, a number of teachers’ unions, and others filed suit against Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne to challenge the constitutionality of the voucher program.
Earlier this month in a separate lawsuit, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against the ACLU, upholding a state program for corporate taxpayers that allows tuition scholarships to be used by students at public or private schools, including religious schools.
• Opinion issued by the Arizona Supreme Court in Cain v. Horne
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America (www.acluvsamerica.com).
www.telladf.org
"The Web"
A Real American Hero - "Don't give up, don't ever give up." - NC State Basketball Coach Jimmy Volvano
http://vodpod.com/watch/1165857-walk-on-espn-video
Read the story of Cicero. mmm….2000 years and nothing has changed. We’re doomed.
http://www.amarketplaceofideas.com/the-budget-should-be-balanced-the-treasury-should-be-refilled-public-debt-should-be-reduced-the-arrogance-of-officialdom-should-be-tempered-and-controlled-and-the-assistance-to-foreign-lands-shoul.htm
The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. -- Marcus Tullius Cicero - 55 BC
Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country.
If they don't like what the professor has said, they can get the hell out of here.
Very interesting ----- the University is standing by their professor and not bowing down to special interest groups!
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/wichman.asp
Professor Wichman E-mail
Claim:A Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country.
Status:True.
The story begins at Michigan State University with a mechanical engineering professor named Indrek Wichman.
Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student's Association. The e-mail was in response to the students' protest of the Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. The group had complained the cartoons were 'hate speech'
Enter Professor Wichman.
In his e-mail, he said the following:
Dear Moslem Association,
As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intend to protest your protest.
I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests(the latest in Turkey), burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavian girls and women(called 'whores' in your culture), the murder of film directors in Holland ,and the rioting and looting in Paris France .
This is what offends me, a soft-spoken person and academic, and many, many of my colleagues. I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile 'protests.'
If you do not like the values of the West - see the 1st Amendment -you are free to leave. I hope for God's sake that most of you choose that option. Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans.
Cordially,
I. S. Wichman
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
As you can imagine, the Muslim group at the university didn't like this too well. They're demanding that Wichman be reprimanded and the university impose mandatory diversity training for faculty and mandate a seminar on hate and discrimination for all freshmen.
Now the local chapter of CAIR has jumped into the fray. CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, apparently doesn't believe that the good professor had the right to express his opinion.
For its part, the university is standing its ground in support of Professor Wichman, saying the e-mail was private, and they don't intend to publicly condemn his remarks.
Send this to your friends, and ask them to do the same. Tell them to keep passing it around until the whole country gets it. We are in a war. This political correctness crap is getting old and killing us.
If you agree with this, please send it to all your friends.
Mandatory Military Service Would Benefit the U.S.
By: Armstrong Williams
Would you like to see your son, daughter, niece, nephew or teenage neighbor become hard-working, respectful, disciplined, honorable and prepared for life? Would you like to see crime, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse rates decline? No, this is not an advertisement for a magic pill; this is an argument for mandatory military service.
Each passing generation produces teenagers who are more and more brazen, disrespectful, lazy and ill-qualified for success in the real world. Thus, our society becomes more dangerous, depleted and dishonest every year. With one simple – albeit radical – move, our government could eliminate these problems and help our children and our country reach their potential. Mandatory military service, or conscription, could cure many of our societal ills and allow American teenagers to truly reach their potential.
Mandatory military service is one of the oldest forms of national service and is common to both democratic and non-democratic countries. Such democratic countries as Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey require male and occasionally female citizens to participate in military service when they become 18 years old. These countries prove that conscription, when handled properly, can be an asset to the military, the society and the conscript.
Here's my basic plan for American conscription: Every able-bodied citizen (both men and women) must honorably serve at least two years in the United States military before they are 25 years old. They can enter the military branch of their liking, request to be trained in a specific field, and serve in the state of their choice.
Furthermore, the military will guarantee that conscience objectors or conscripts wary of conflict will be placed only in non-hostile positions. After two years of service, conscripts are free to depart the military if they choose to do so.
Mandatory military service benefits the military, the country and the conscript. The military benefits because its forces increase dramatically. For a small increase in expense, it receives an influx of able young men and women – including many of the best and brightest, who often avoid joining a professional army. Resources that go into recruiting programs can be used toward training, and because of higher head counts, outsourcing and subcontracting jobs can more easily be handled in-house.
The United States benefits from conscription because national spirit increases, national unity improves, neighborhoods become safer, and society grows healthier. With conscription, troubled teens who normally head to street corners enter the military and receive the training, discipline and experience that propel them to a stable and secure life. They unite with people of all sexes, races and religions to work toward a common good. This allows neighborhoods to become safer and society to become stronger. The workforce gets better workers, families get better mothers and fathers, and the country gets a more unified citizenship.
Conscripts benefit from the military service because they learn practical life skills such as first aid, wilderness survival, computer proficiency and self-defense. They become physically fit, mentally strong and knowledgeable in multiple areas. Conscripts learn how to work hard, discipline themselves, follow orders, think on their feet and lead their peers. Most importantly they come away from the military with the skills that benefit society, the workplace and the family. With a college degree, the men and women who served their two years with honors will be sought after by the public and private sectors.
Of course there are many people who believe conscription armies are illegal, immoral and ineffective. Arguments have been made (and sometimes history has shown) that conscripts often have low morale and little motivation to properly serve in the armed forces. Some say that many conscripts are physically or mentally unfit to be trusted and need training, educating and counseling that the military cannot provide. And finally, because of time and resource constrictions, many mandatory military service opponents point out that conscripts usually receive only rudimentary training, which can cause bloodshed during hostile situations. Besides these noted disadvantages, some economists believe that conscription armies cost more than voluntary ones.
These disadvantages are certainly valid, and I welcome them in a debate about conscription.
Mandatory military service may seem too drastic, too un-American or too impractical to implement in the 21st century, but it is a legitimate idea that deserves a fair discussion and open debate. A review of current democracies using conscription, an analysis of the U.S. military and an evaluation of our country's civilian state lead me to believe that conscription is the answer to many of our country's – and children's – woes.
Job Interview in Texas . . . . . ..
A man seeking to join an East Texas Sheriff's Department is being interviewed. The Deputy doing the interview says, "Your qualifications all look good, but there is an attitude suitability test that you must take before you can be accepted."
Then, sliding a service pistol across the desk, he says, "Take this pistol and go out and shoot six illegal aliens, six meth dealers, six Muslim extremists, and a rabbit."
"Why the rabbit?"
"Great attitude," says the Sergeant. "When can you start?"
The last one is just for you!
“[F]athers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” — Paul of Tarsus
“One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters.” —George Herbert
“Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” — the writer of Hebrews
“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” — Charles Wadsworth
“By profession I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact, but I am also prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father.” — Douglas MacArthur
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” — Mark Twain
An Urgent Message
An Earth-Shattering Calamity Is About To Happen
by David Wilkerson
http://www.worldchallenge.org/coverletter/an_urgent_message
I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world.
AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE — EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.
For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires — such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.
There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting — including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written,
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v. 3).
God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations.
The prophet Jeremiah pleaded with wicked Israel, “God is fashioning a calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh, turn back each of you from your evil way, and reform your ways and deeds. But they will say, It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:11–12).
In Psalm 11:6, David warns, “Upon the wicked he will rain snares (coals of fire)…fire…burning wind…will be the portion of their cup.” Why? David answered, “Because the Lord is righteous” (v. 7). This is a righteous judgment — just as in the judgments of Sodom and in Noah’s generation.
WHAT SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS DO? WHAT ABOUT GOD’S PEOPLE?
First, I give you a practical word I received for my own direction. If possible lay in store a thirty-day supply of non-perishable food, toiletries and other essentials. In major cities, grocery stores are emptied in an hour at the sign of an impending disaster.
As for our spiritual reaction, we have but two options. This is outlined in Psalm 11. We “flee like a bird to a mountain.” Or, as David says, “He fixed his eyes on the Lord on his throne in heaven — his eyes beholding, his eyelids testing the sons of men” (v. 4). “In the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1).
I will say to my soul: No need to run…no need to hide. This is God’s righteous work. I will behold our Lord on his throne, with his eye of tender, loving kindness watching over every step I take — trusting that he will deliver his people even through floods, fires, calamities, tests, trials of all kinds.
Note: I do not know when these things will come to pass, but I know it is not far off. I have unburdened my soul to you. Do with the message as you choose.
God bless and keep you.
In Christ,
DAVID WILKERSON
"The e-mail Bag"
I Sat With Two Friends
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the storefront church, going through his sack.
I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.
'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'
'Have you eaten today?'
'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'
'Would you like to have lunch with me?'
'Do you have some work I could do for you?'
'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.'
'Sure,' he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?'
' St. Louis '
'Where you from?'
'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..'
'How long you been walking?'
'Fourteen years,' came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left
earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong
choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.
He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God
'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.'
'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.
'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?'
'What?'
'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?'
Jesus v. Satan
Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better at using the computer.
They had been going at it for days, and God was tired of hearing all the bickering.
Finally God said, "Cool it. I am going to set up a test which will take two hours and it will judge who does the better job."
So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
They moused.
They did spreadsheets.
They wrote reports.
They sent faxes.
They sent e-mail.
They sent out e-mail with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did some genealogy reports.
They made cards.
They did every known job.
But, ten minutes before the time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, the rain poured, and of course, the electricity went off.
Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.
Jesus just sighed.
The electricity finally flickered back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically screaming, "It's gone!
It's all gone! I lost everything when the power went out!"
Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all his files from the past two hours.
Satan observed this and became even more irate. "Wait! He cheated! How did he do it??!!"
God shrugged and said, "Jesus Saves"
"Daily Motivations"
A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder. -- English Proverb
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Every Road Has an End In the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword (Prov. 5:4). Think about where your choices will lead you!
"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." James 5:16)
"The Patriot Post"
"A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the object of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained." -- James Madison
"I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe ... Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. -- From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing. Make them intelligent, and they will be vigilant; give them the means of detecting the wrong, and they will apply the remedy." -- U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
"When I took the oath of office, I pledged loyalty to only one special interest group -- 'We the People.' Those people -- neighbors and friends, shopkeepers and laborers, farmers and craftsmen -- do not have infinite patience. As a matter of fact, some 80 years ago, Teddy Roosevelt wrote these instructive words in his first message to the Congress: 'The American people are slow to wrath, but when their wrath is once kindled, it burns like a consuming flame.' Well, perhaps that kind of wrath will be deserved if our answer to these serious problems is to repeat the mistakes of the past." -- Ronald Reagan
"What President Obama did when he reversed President Bush's executive order banning embryonic stem cell research was based not on solid science, but his desire to cater to the anti-life, pro-abortion forces and their media allies who helped elect him. In doing this, he created the potential for an outbreak of potentially fatal cancerous tumors caused by the therapeutic use of embryonic stem cells. Moreover, he killed another Bush presidential order that funded some of the most promising research on the creation of embryonic-like stem cells from harmless but potent adult stem cells. ... What most people are unaware of is that there are three types of stem cell research: there is embryonic stem cell research (ESC), there is induced pluripotent (IPSC) research, and adult stem cell research (ASC). When Barack Obama rescinded George Bush's ban on federal funding on certain types of embryonic stem cell research he also rescinded Bush's Executive Order 13435 which had provided federal funding for induced pluripotent stem cell research using harmless adult stem cells manipulated into mimicking embryonic stem cells without the risk ESC cells entail. This is where 72 different diseases are now being remedied or cured. There are no embryonic stem cells being used anywhere in the world on humans, with one tragic exception. A boy treated with embryonic stem cells for a rare genetic disease developed benign tumors, casting doubt on claims of the therapy's safety and effectiveness. ... There is a 100 percent mortality rate among lab animals that develop these tumors. That's why George Bush banned this lethal form of research that Barack Obama, who should have known better, has now legitimized by overturning this life-saving ban." -- radio talk-show host and columnist Michael Reagan
"Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is the Jennifer Lopez of congressional travel -- fickle, demanding and notoriously insensitive to the time, costs and energy needed to accommodate her endless demands. On Tuesday, the indispensable government watchdog Judicial Watch released a trove of public records through the Freedom of Information Act on Pelosi's travel arrangements with the U.S. military. As speaker of the House, Pelosi is entitled to a reasonable level of military protection and transport. But it's the size of the planes, the frequency of requests and last-minute cancellations, and the political nature of many of her trips that scream out for accountability. And, of course, it's the double-barreled hypocrisy. There's the eco-hypocrisy of the Democratic leader who wags her finger at the rest of us for our too-big carbon footprints, and crusades for massive taxes and regulation to reduce global warming. Then there's the Bay Area hypocrisy of the woman who represents one of the most anti-military areas of the country soaking up military resources to shuttle her (and her many family members) across the country almost every weekend. .... Apparently, those anti-war protesters have no problem with evil military jets currying Pelosi and her massive entourages to the funerals of the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Charlie Norwood; foreign junkets to Rome; and politicized stops to Iowa flood sites to bash the Bush administration." -- columnist Michelle Malkin
"Simple Truths"
"Follow Your Dreams"! - Folks, this may be a rerun, but it is worth it! - oyh
http://www.thedreamsmovie.com/
http://www.thedreamsmovie.com:80/
The Strangest Secrets
http://miammovies.com/movies.php?movie=tssc
"ADF"
Disabled children lose fight against ACLU: Ariz. Supreme Court strikes down voucher program
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4884
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 25, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
Disabled children lose fight against ACLU
Ariz. Supreme Court strikes down voucher program for special needs children; ADF attorneys filed friend-of-the-court brief
PHOENIX — The American Civil Liberties Union won its fight against disabled children Wednesday when the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a state program that allowed special needs kids to use vouchers at private schools so that they could receive the best educational opportunities. ADF attorneys joined attorneys from the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe last year in submitting a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a Christian school in defense of the voucher program, which was upheld by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
“The ACLU, People for the American Way, and the teachers’ unions have denied disabled children the educational opportunities they deserve. They are the ones hurt by this,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Special needs students who attend Christian schools shouldn’t be penalized for their beliefs.”
“Any tuition that goes to a religious school is through the choice of the parent and for the benefit of the child. It is not ‘state support’ of that school,” explained Orrick attorney Raymond Mullady, who co-wrote the friend-of-the-court brief. “We truly disagree with the high court’s decision and are saddened by its consequences for Arizona’s special needs children.”
John and Dina Phipps and Brendan and Susan Fay, founders of Father’s Heart Christian School for the disabled, removed their developmentally and physically challenged children from the Arizona public school system because of the inadequate education they received there. Two of the children suffer from autism and the other from learning and physical challenges.
Upon receiving the customized instruction they needed at Father’s Heart, their behavior and participation improved remarkably and their academic performance rose several grade levels in just one year after leaving the government school system. The children receive vouchers through the Arizona Scholarships for Pupils with Disabilities program to attend Father’s Heart, but Wednesday’s decision from the Arizona Supreme Court effectively kills the program.
Cave Creek Unified School District board member Virgel Cain, the ACLU, People for the American Way, a number of teachers’ unions, and others filed suit against Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne to challenge the constitutionality of the voucher program.
Earlier this month in a separate lawsuit, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against the ACLU, upholding a state program for corporate taxpayers that allows tuition scholarships to be used by students at public or private schools, including religious schools.
• Opinion issued by the Arizona Supreme Court in Cain v. Horne
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America (www.acluvsamerica.com).
www.telladf.org
"The Web"
A Real American Hero - "Don't give up, don't ever give up." - NC State Basketball Coach Jimmy Volvano
http://vodpod.com/watch/1165857-walk-on-espn-video
Read the story of Cicero. mmm….2000 years and nothing has changed. We’re doomed.
http://www.amarketplaceofideas.com/the-budget-should-be-balanced-the-treasury-should-be-refilled-public-debt-should-be-reduced-the-arrogance-of-officialdom-should-be-tempered-and-controlled-and-the-assistance-to-foreign-lands-shoul.htm
The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. -- Marcus Tullius Cicero - 55 BC
Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country.
If they don't like what the professor has said, they can get the hell out of here.
Very interesting ----- the University is standing by their professor and not bowing down to special interest groups!
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/wichman.asp
Professor Wichman E-mail
Claim:A Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country.
Status:True.
The story begins at Michigan State University with a mechanical engineering professor named Indrek Wichman.
Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student's Association. The e-mail was in response to the students' protest of the Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. The group had complained the cartoons were 'hate speech'
Enter Professor Wichman.
In his e-mail, he said the following:
Dear Moslem Association,
As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intend to protest your protest.
I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests(the latest in Turkey), burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavian girls and women(called 'whores' in your culture), the murder of film directors in Holland ,and the rioting and looting in Paris France .
This is what offends me, a soft-spoken person and academic, and many, many of my colleagues. I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile 'protests.'
If you do not like the values of the West - see the 1st Amendment -you are free to leave. I hope for God's sake that most of you choose that option. Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans.
Cordially,
I. S. Wichman
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
As you can imagine, the Muslim group at the university didn't like this too well. They're demanding that Wichman be reprimanded and the university impose mandatory diversity training for faculty and mandate a seminar on hate and discrimination for all freshmen.
Now the local chapter of CAIR has jumped into the fray. CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, apparently doesn't believe that the good professor had the right to express his opinion.
For its part, the university is standing its ground in support of Professor Wichman, saying the e-mail was private, and they don't intend to publicly condemn his remarks.
Send this to your friends, and ask them to do the same. Tell them to keep passing it around until the whole country gets it. We are in a war. This political correctness crap is getting old and killing us.
If you agree with this, please send it to all your friends.
Mandatory Military Service Would Benefit the U.S.
By: Armstrong Williams
Would you like to see your son, daughter, niece, nephew or teenage neighbor become hard-working, respectful, disciplined, honorable and prepared for life? Would you like to see crime, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse rates decline? No, this is not an advertisement for a magic pill; this is an argument for mandatory military service.
Each passing generation produces teenagers who are more and more brazen, disrespectful, lazy and ill-qualified for success in the real world. Thus, our society becomes more dangerous, depleted and dishonest every year. With one simple – albeit radical – move, our government could eliminate these problems and help our children and our country reach their potential. Mandatory military service, or conscription, could cure many of our societal ills and allow American teenagers to truly reach their potential.
Mandatory military service is one of the oldest forms of national service and is common to both democratic and non-democratic countries. Such democratic countries as Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey require male and occasionally female citizens to participate in military service when they become 18 years old. These countries prove that conscription, when handled properly, can be an asset to the military, the society and the conscript.
Here's my basic plan for American conscription: Every able-bodied citizen (both men and women) must honorably serve at least two years in the United States military before they are 25 years old. They can enter the military branch of their liking, request to be trained in a specific field, and serve in the state of their choice.
Furthermore, the military will guarantee that conscience objectors or conscripts wary of conflict will be placed only in non-hostile positions. After two years of service, conscripts are free to depart the military if they choose to do so.
Mandatory military service benefits the military, the country and the conscript. The military benefits because its forces increase dramatically. For a small increase in expense, it receives an influx of able young men and women – including many of the best and brightest, who often avoid joining a professional army. Resources that go into recruiting programs can be used toward training, and because of higher head counts, outsourcing and subcontracting jobs can more easily be handled in-house.
The United States benefits from conscription because national spirit increases, national unity improves, neighborhoods become safer, and society grows healthier. With conscription, troubled teens who normally head to street corners enter the military and receive the training, discipline and experience that propel them to a stable and secure life. They unite with people of all sexes, races and religions to work toward a common good. This allows neighborhoods to become safer and society to become stronger. The workforce gets better workers, families get better mothers and fathers, and the country gets a more unified citizenship.
Conscripts benefit from the military service because they learn practical life skills such as first aid, wilderness survival, computer proficiency and self-defense. They become physically fit, mentally strong and knowledgeable in multiple areas. Conscripts learn how to work hard, discipline themselves, follow orders, think on their feet and lead their peers. Most importantly they come away from the military with the skills that benefit society, the workplace and the family. With a college degree, the men and women who served their two years with honors will be sought after by the public and private sectors.
Of course there are many people who believe conscription armies are illegal, immoral and ineffective. Arguments have been made (and sometimes history has shown) that conscripts often have low morale and little motivation to properly serve in the armed forces. Some say that many conscripts are physically or mentally unfit to be trusted and need training, educating and counseling that the military cannot provide. And finally, because of time and resource constrictions, many mandatory military service opponents point out that conscripts usually receive only rudimentary training, which can cause bloodshed during hostile situations. Besides these noted disadvantages, some economists believe that conscription armies cost more than voluntary ones.
These disadvantages are certainly valid, and I welcome them in a debate about conscription.
Mandatory military service may seem too drastic, too un-American or too impractical to implement in the 21st century, but it is a legitimate idea that deserves a fair discussion and open debate. A review of current democracies using conscription, an analysis of the U.S. military and an evaluation of our country's civilian state lead me to believe that conscription is the answer to many of our country's – and children's – woes.
Job Interview in Texas . . . . . ..
A man seeking to join an East Texas Sheriff's Department is being interviewed. The Deputy doing the interview says, "Your qualifications all look good, but there is an attitude suitability test that you must take before you can be accepted."
Then, sliding a service pistol across the desk, he says, "Take this pistol and go out and shoot six illegal aliens, six meth dealers, six Muslim extremists, and a rabbit."
"Why the rabbit?"
"Great attitude," says the Sergeant. "When can you start?"
The last one is just for you!
“[F]athers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” — Paul of Tarsus
“One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters.” —George Herbert
“Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” — the writer of Hebrews
“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” — Charles Wadsworth
“By profession I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact, but I am also prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father.” — Douglas MacArthur
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” — Mark Twain
An Urgent Message
An Earth-Shattering Calamity Is About To Happen
by David Wilkerson
http://www.worldchallenge.org/coverletter/an_urgent_message
I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world.
AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE — EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.
For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires — such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.
There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting — including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written,
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v. 3).
God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations.
The prophet Jeremiah pleaded with wicked Israel, “God is fashioning a calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh, turn back each of you from your evil way, and reform your ways and deeds. But they will say, It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jeremiah 18:11–12).
In Psalm 11:6, David warns, “Upon the wicked he will rain snares (coals of fire)…fire…burning wind…will be the portion of their cup.” Why? David answered, “Because the Lord is righteous” (v. 7). This is a righteous judgment — just as in the judgments of Sodom and in Noah’s generation.
WHAT SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS DO? WHAT ABOUT GOD’S PEOPLE?
First, I give you a practical word I received for my own direction. If possible lay in store a thirty-day supply of non-perishable food, toiletries and other essentials. In major cities, grocery stores are emptied in an hour at the sign of an impending disaster.
As for our spiritual reaction, we have but two options. This is outlined in Psalm 11. We “flee like a bird to a mountain.” Or, as David says, “He fixed his eyes on the Lord on his throne in heaven — his eyes beholding, his eyelids testing the sons of men” (v. 4). “In the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1).
I will say to my soul: No need to run…no need to hide. This is God’s righteous work. I will behold our Lord on his throne, with his eye of tender, loving kindness watching over every step I take — trusting that he will deliver his people even through floods, fires, calamities, tests, trials of all kinds.
Note: I do not know when these things will come to pass, but I know it is not far off. I have unburdened my soul to you. Do with the message as you choose.
God bless and keep you.
In Christ,
DAVID WILKERSON
"The e-mail Bag"
I Sat With Two Friends
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the storefront church, going through his sack.
I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.
'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'
'Have you eaten today?'
'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'
'Would you like to have lunch with me?'
'Do you have some work I could do for you?'
'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.'
'Sure,' he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?'
' St. Louis '
'Where you from?'
'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..'
'How long you been walking?'
'Fourteen years,' came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left
earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong
choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.
He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God
'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.'
'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.
'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?'
'What?'
'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?'
Jesus v. Satan
Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better at using the computer.
They had been going at it for days, and God was tired of hearing all the bickering.
Finally God said, "Cool it. I am going to set up a test which will take two hours and it will judge who does the better job."
So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
They moused.
They did spreadsheets.
They wrote reports.
They sent faxes.
They sent e-mail.
They sent out e-mail with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did some genealogy reports.
They made cards.
They did every known job.
But, ten minutes before the time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, the rain poured, and of course, the electricity went off.
Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.
Jesus just sighed.
The electricity finally flickered back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically screaming, "It's gone!
It's all gone! I lost everything when the power went out!"
Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all his files from the past two hours.
Satan observed this and became even more irate. "Wait! He cheated! How did he do it??!!"
God shrugged and said, "Jesus Saves"
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090325
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Visualize yourself accomplishing the task at hand. -- Scott Beare
Reflection – Subconscious Leadership
Before we can reach our full potential as leaders, we must first be leaders to ourselves. We must capitalize on our innate talents and strengths, challenge the habits that hinder our growth, and manage the fears and negative emotions that frequently keep us from realizing our goals.
As you probably know, our minds function in two distinct spaces: conscious and subconscious. Our conscious space houses our critical, analytical thoughts. Our subconscious is the instinctive, impulsive part of the brain – it houses emotions and memories, and even guides the body to perform its vital functions. While we tend to know our conscious minds rather well, we often overlook the power of the subconscious. Unfortunately, when we do, we squander a wellspring of human potential.
Imagine a tiny ant on the back of a massive African elephant. No matter how diligently that ant marches east, if the elephant he sits upon travels in the opposite direction, the ant will end up farther west than his original starting point. Similarly, we will find ourselves receding from our goals if our conscious and subconscious minds are not aligned. What elephant-like aspects of our personalities hold us back from meeting challenges? How do our emotions get in the way of our ability to act and communicate effectively? What does it truly mean to commit to realize a dream?
Good leaders may recognize they indulge elephant-like habits that keep them shy of their goals – but great leaders do something about it. They confront the behaviors and routines that keep their subcon-scious stuck. They work to refashion deep-seated beliefs, attitudes, and truths so that they support conscious efforts. Great leaders conquer hidden fears and make emotional investments in their vision so that they can show others the way to success. Do you?
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Reasons to Believe The Bible ...the living and enduring word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). Scripture is meant to have a positive influence on our conversation, conduct, and character.
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)
"The Patriot Post"
Indeed, to paraphrase Santayana's aphorism, "They who do not know their history are destined to repeat it."
"If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send 150 lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, & talk by the hour? That 150 lawyers should do business together ought not to be expected." -- Thomas Jefferson, autobiography, 1821
"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts." -- Patrick Henry
"We should never despair, our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times. ... The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. ... It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn. ... The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. ... [T]he propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained." -- George Washington
"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. ... If we suffer [the minds of young people] to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives. ... The foundation of national morality must be laid in private families... How is it possible that Children can have any just Sense of the sacred Obligations of Morality or Religion if, from their earliest Infancy, they learn their Mothers live in habitual Infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as constant Infidelity to their Mothers? ... We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ... The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People ... they may change their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty. ... A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." -- John Adams
"The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys. ... The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife. ... We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. ... The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. ... If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy. ... I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious. .... The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. .... [A] wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government. ... Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question." -- Thomas Jefferson
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents... If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions. ... The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. ... There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
Those who do not understand our history -- mostly those identified as "liberal" in contemporary vernacular -- assume the words of our Founders are as antiquated as the Declaration and Constitution they created. However, students of history understand that both the threats our Founders confronted at the dawn of our nation, and their advice, have endured to this day. -- James Madison
"Simple Truths"
Teamwork
http://www.powerofteamworkmovie.com/
"The Web"
This Is The Truth!
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=702pdl5l6mQ&feature=related
I received a forwarded email recently with the following message…
AFTER A DAY OF CONTEMPLATION AND SOUL-SEARCHING, I HAVE DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES AND ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN TROUBLING ME FOR A LONG TIME.
OUR NATION IS/HAS BEEN ON THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO HELL FOR A LONG TIME. IF YOU LOOK AROUND, YOU WILL FIND CORRUPTION, GREED, MORAL DECAY AND A STEADY MOVE AWAY FROM THE THINGS THAT MADE US GREAT. THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED ARE NO LONGER OUR BACKBONE. HOWEVER, WE CAN REVERSE THIS TREND.
IN GOD’S WORD HE STATES, “IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND HEAL THEIR LAND.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
I AM CONVINCED THAT WE MUST PRAY FOR OUR NATION AND ITS LEADERS AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS.
Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately; illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida . .
Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.
+ Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.
+ Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.
+ Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.
Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?
TO THE OFFICERS OF THE FIRST BRIGADE OF THE THIRD DIVISION OF THE MILITIA OF MASSACHUSETTS.
11 October, 1798.
Gentlemen,
I have received from Major-General Hull and Brigadier-General Walker your unanimous address from Lexington, animated with a martial spirit, and expressed with a military dignity becoming your character and the memorable plains on which it was adopted.
While our country remains untainted with the principles and manners which are now producing desolation in so many parts of the world; while she continues sincere, and incapable of insidious and impious policy, we shall have the strongest reason to rejoice in the local destination assigned us by Providence. But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another, and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practising iniquity and extravagance, and displays in the most captivating manner the charming pictures of candor, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world; because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
An address from the officers commanding two thousand eight hundred men, consisting of such substantial citizens as are able and willing at their own expense completely to arm and clothe themselves in handsome uniforms, does honor to that division of the militia which has done so much honor to its country.
Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations. That which you have taken and so solemnly repeated on that venerable spot, is an ample pledge of your sincerity and devotion to your country and its government.
John Adams.
How many of these did you know about?
A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmmmmm...)
Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze. (wish I had known this for the last 40 years!)
To remove old wax from a glass candleholder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candleholder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. Now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get sharpened this way!
Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogenperoxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! Now, where to put the body? LOL
Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.
Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces. Left over wine? What's that?
To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.
Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.
Use air-freshener to clean mirrors It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer........
Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush.The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.
Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water.
Do your friends a favor. Pass this timely (and some not-so-timely) information on to a friend! I just did. Makes you wonder about ingesting Alka Seltzer, doesn't it??
"The e-mail Bag"
You Gotta Love the Irish
Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!'
Miraculously, a parking place appeared.
Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'
Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'
The man said, 'I do, Father.'
The priest said, 'Then stand over there against the wall.'
Then the priest asked the second man, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'
'Certainly, Father,' was the man's reply.
'Then stand over there against the wall,' said the priest.
Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'
O'Toole said, 'No, I don't Father.'
The priest said, 'I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?'
O'Toole said, 'Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.'
Paddy was in New York .
He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, 'Okay, pedestrians.' Then he'd allow the traffic to pass.
He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk.
After the cop had shouted, 'Pedestrians!' for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, 'Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?'
Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.
'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher. 'They say I died!!'
'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney. 'Where are ye callin' from?'
An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut . The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.
He says, 'Sir, have you been drinking?'
'Just water,' says the priest.
The trooper says, 'Then why do I smell wine?'
The priest looks at the bottle and says, 'Good Lord! He's done it again!'
Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, 'Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman.'
'Oh yeah?' said Charlie, 'And how did this one end?'
'When it was over,' Mike replied, 'She came to me on her hands and knees.
'Really,' said Charles, 'Now that's a switch! What did she say?'
She said, 'Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'
Flynn staggered home very late after another evening with his drinking buddy, Paddy. He took off his shoes to avoid waking his wife, Mary.
He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung around and he landed heavily on his rump. A whiskey bottle in each back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful.
Managing not to yell, Flynn sprung up, pulled down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood.
He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and shuffled and stumbled his way to bed.
In the morning, Flynn woke up with searing pain in both his head and butt and Mary staring at him from across the room.
She said, 'You were drunk again last night weren't you?'
Flynn said, 'Why you say such a mean thing?'
'Well,' Mary said, 'it could be the open front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs, it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house, it could be your bloodshot eyes, but mostly.....it's all those Band-Aids stuck on the hall mirror.
"Daily Motivations"
Visualize yourself accomplishing the task at hand. -- Scott Beare
Reflection – Subconscious Leadership
Before we can reach our full potential as leaders, we must first be leaders to ourselves. We must capitalize on our innate talents and strengths, challenge the habits that hinder our growth, and manage the fears and negative emotions that frequently keep us from realizing our goals.
As you probably know, our minds function in two distinct spaces: conscious and subconscious. Our conscious space houses our critical, analytical thoughts. Our subconscious is the instinctive, impulsive part of the brain – it houses emotions and memories, and even guides the body to perform its vital functions. While we tend to know our conscious minds rather well, we often overlook the power of the subconscious. Unfortunately, when we do, we squander a wellspring of human potential.
Imagine a tiny ant on the back of a massive African elephant. No matter how diligently that ant marches east, if the elephant he sits upon travels in the opposite direction, the ant will end up farther west than his original starting point. Similarly, we will find ourselves receding from our goals if our conscious and subconscious minds are not aligned. What elephant-like aspects of our personalities hold us back from meeting challenges? How do our emotions get in the way of our ability to act and communicate effectively? What does it truly mean to commit to realize a dream?
Good leaders may recognize they indulge elephant-like habits that keep them shy of their goals – but great leaders do something about it. They confront the behaviors and routines that keep their subcon-scious stuck. They work to refashion deep-seated beliefs, attitudes, and truths so that they support conscious efforts. Great leaders conquer hidden fears and make emotional investments in their vision so that they can show others the way to success. Do you?
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Reasons to Believe The Bible ...the living and enduring word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). Scripture is meant to have a positive influence on our conversation, conduct, and character.
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)
"The Patriot Post"
Indeed, to paraphrase Santayana's aphorism, "They who do not know their history are destined to repeat it."
"If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send 150 lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, & talk by the hour? That 150 lawyers should do business together ought not to be expected." -- Thomas Jefferson, autobiography, 1821
"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts." -- Patrick Henry
"We should never despair, our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times. ... The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. ... It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn. ... The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. ... [T]he propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained." -- George Washington
"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. ... If we suffer [the minds of young people] to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives. ... The foundation of national morality must be laid in private families... How is it possible that Children can have any just Sense of the sacred Obligations of Morality or Religion if, from their earliest Infancy, they learn their Mothers live in habitual Infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as constant Infidelity to their Mothers? ... We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ... The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People ... they may change their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty. ... A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." -- John Adams
"The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys. ... The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife. ... We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. ... The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. ... If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy. ... I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious. .... The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. .... [A] wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government. ... Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question." -- Thomas Jefferson
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents... If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions. ... The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. ... There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
Those who do not understand our history -- mostly those identified as "liberal" in contemporary vernacular -- assume the words of our Founders are as antiquated as the Declaration and Constitution they created. However, students of history understand that both the threats our Founders confronted at the dawn of our nation, and their advice, have endured to this day. -- James Madison
"Simple Truths"
Teamwork
http://www.powerofteamworkmovie.com/
"The Web"
This Is The Truth!
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=702pdl5l6mQ&feature=related
I received a forwarded email recently with the following message…
AFTER A DAY OF CONTEMPLATION AND SOUL-SEARCHING, I HAVE DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES AND ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN TROUBLING ME FOR A LONG TIME.
OUR NATION IS/HAS BEEN ON THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO HELL FOR A LONG TIME. IF YOU LOOK AROUND, YOU WILL FIND CORRUPTION, GREED, MORAL DECAY AND A STEADY MOVE AWAY FROM THE THINGS THAT MADE US GREAT. THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED ARE NO LONGER OUR BACKBONE. HOWEVER, WE CAN REVERSE THIS TREND.
IN GOD’S WORD HE STATES, “IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND HEAL THEIR LAND.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
I AM CONVINCED THAT WE MUST PRAY FOR OUR NATION AND ITS LEADERS AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS.
Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately; illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida . .
Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.
+ Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.
+ Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.
+ Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.
Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?
TO THE OFFICERS OF THE FIRST BRIGADE OF THE THIRD DIVISION OF THE MILITIA OF MASSACHUSETTS.
11 October, 1798.
Gentlemen,
I have received from Major-General Hull and Brigadier-General Walker your unanimous address from Lexington, animated with a martial spirit, and expressed with a military dignity becoming your character and the memorable plains on which it was adopted.
While our country remains untainted with the principles and manners which are now producing desolation in so many parts of the world; while she continues sincere, and incapable of insidious and impious policy, we shall have the strongest reason to rejoice in the local destination assigned us by Providence. But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another, and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practising iniquity and extravagance, and displays in the most captivating manner the charming pictures of candor, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world; because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
An address from the officers commanding two thousand eight hundred men, consisting of such substantial citizens as are able and willing at their own expense completely to arm and clothe themselves in handsome uniforms, does honor to that division of the militia which has done so much honor to its country.
Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations. That which you have taken and so solemnly repeated on that venerable spot, is an ample pledge of your sincerity and devotion to your country and its government.
John Adams.
How many of these did you know about?
A sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmmmmm...)
Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze. (wish I had known this for the last 40 years!)
To remove old wax from a glass candleholder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candleholder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. Now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get sharpened this way!
Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogenperoxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! Now, where to put the body? LOL
Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.
Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.
Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces. Left over wine? What's that?
To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.
Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.
Use air-freshener to clean mirrors It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer........
Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush.The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.
Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water.
Do your friends a favor. Pass this timely (and some not-so-timely) information on to a friend! I just did. Makes you wonder about ingesting Alka Seltzer, doesn't it??
"The e-mail Bag"
You Gotta Love the Irish
Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!'
Miraculously, a parking place appeared.
Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'
Father Murphy walks into a pub in Donegal, and says to the first man he meets, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'
The man said, 'I do, Father.'
The priest said, 'Then stand over there against the wall.'
Then the priest asked the second man, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'
'Certainly, Father,' was the man's reply.
'Then stand over there against the wall,' said the priest.
Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, 'Do you want to go to heaven?'
O'Toole said, 'No, I don't Father.'
The priest said, 'I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?'
O'Toole said, 'Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now.'
Paddy was in New York .
He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, 'Okay, pedestrians.' Then he'd allow the traffic to pass.
He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk.
After the cop had shouted, 'Pedestrians!' for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, 'Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?'
Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.
'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher. 'They say I died!!'
'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney. 'Where are ye callin' from?'
An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut . The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.
He says, 'Sir, have you been drinking?'
'Just water,' says the priest.
The trooper says, 'Then why do I smell wine?'
The priest looks at the bottle and says, 'Good Lord! He's done it again!'
Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, 'Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman.'
'Oh yeah?' said Charlie, 'And how did this one end?'
'When it was over,' Mike replied, 'She came to me on her hands and knees.
'Really,' said Charles, 'Now that's a switch! What did she say?'
She said, 'Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'
Flynn staggered home very late after another evening with his drinking buddy, Paddy. He took off his shoes to avoid waking his wife, Mary.
He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung around and he landed heavily on his rump. A whiskey bottle in each back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful.
Managing not to yell, Flynn sprung up, pulled down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood.
He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and shuffled and stumbled his way to bed.
In the morning, Flynn woke up with searing pain in both his head and butt and Mary staring at him from across the room.
She said, 'You were drunk again last night weren't you?'
Flynn said, 'Why you say such a mean thing?'
'Well,' Mary said, 'it could be the open front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs, it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house, it could be your bloodshot eyes, but mostly.....it's all those Band-Aids stuck on the hall mirror.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090324
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Understand your purpose in life by feeling your heart's desires. -- Marcia Wieder
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Ahh, So That's Why This is Happening to Me ...So that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth (Ex. 9:14). Seeing the purpose of it all changes your perspective.
"Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." (Mark 10:27).
"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, Notes on Virginia, Query 12, 1782
"With respect to the two words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." -- James Madison
"We have rights, as individuals, to give as much of our own money as we please to charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of public money." -- American hunter, frontiersman, soldier and politician Davy Crockett (1786-1836)
"Politics are not the high class, marvelous thing that lots of you picture. Our whole government workings are crammed with 'baloney.'" -- humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
Here he comes to save the day: "There are a lot of people out there who are desperate. There's a lot of desperation out there. Today I want them and the people like them across this country to know that I have not forgotten them." -- the Almighty Barack Obama
Troubles with the media: "It was hard for me to believe that you were entirely serious about that socialist question." -- Barack Obama to New York Times reporters who dared ask such a thing about his policies
"Obama is a great pretender. He repeatedly says he's doing things that he isn't, trusting his powerful rhetoric to obscure the difference." -- Washington Post editor Robert Samuelson
The BIG Lie: "[W]e've actually been operating in a way that has been entirely consistent with free-market principles. ... The fact that we've had to take these extraordinary measures and intervene is not an indication of my ideological preference, but an indication of the degree to which lax regulation and extravagant risk taking has precipitated a crisis." -- Barack Obama
"Simple Truths"
The Nature of Success
http://www.natureofsuccessmovie.com/
Eat That From First
http://motivationinaminute.com/lpage/eat-that-frog.php
"The Web"
Veterans Beat the Crap Out of Shameless Commander-in-Chief, Rightly So - For some time, I have noted that with in providing our Veterans with the very best of healthcare, perhaps, it is time to issue Veterans an ID Card, similar to a Medicare Card, providing the individual and/or qualified dependents their choice of any approved healthcare (equal to Medicare physicians, specialists, facilities, etc.), located at and of his/her choice. With the healthcare in the private/public sector, Veterans would be assured of the very best, and usually from a more local physician, specialists, and/or facility. Veterans healthcare cost must be continued to be at least equal to, paid by and through, our Federal Budget; not at the cost of the Veterans and/or the other private businesses. This change could and/or would also reduce the cost of otherwise Veterans' healthcare facilities. Our Veterans have offered their own lives, in serving America, our US Constitution, and our US Flag. We must never let the Veterans down. - oyh
http://www.cfif.org:80/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/Veterans-Beat-the-Crap-Out-of-Shameless-Commander-in-Chief-Rightly-So.html
Remember the President who so loves the “troops?” The camo-clad First Lady who in the past month began staging what was being hailed as a “signature issue” -- her empathy for the problems of military families?
Forget that, and any of the other deceptive rhetoric that has come from the mouth of the Hustler-in-Chief or his ubiquitous teleprompter. Forget, for just a few moments if you can, all the other outrages he’s attempting to perpetrate, too many to list here. Focus just on what he tried to do to veterans this week, because therein is about all you need to know about the character of President Barack Obama.
On Monday, President Obama summoned leaders of veterans’ groups to the White House to discuss an Obama administration proposal to force costs of medical treatment for military service-related disabilities and injuries from the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans’ private insurance carriers.
That the meeting was held at all seems to have resulted from a heartfelt letter of protest eleven of the veterans’ organizations had sent after learning of the plan.
As an angry Commander David K. Rehbein of the American Legion said after the meeting, “It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan. He says he is looking to generate $540 million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.
“The reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!”
The veterans’ groups have quite correctly argued that forcing the mammoth costs of service-related injuries onto veterans’ private insurance plans would make it far more difficult and expensive for veterans to get and maintain such insurance, would consume maximum insurance coverage limits at the expense of veterans’ families on the same plan and have the potential of reducing job opportunities for veterans, particularly by small businesses, due to the skewed cost to company health benefit plans.
Those are, of course, just the practical objections. Far more important are those that recognize the sacrifices the men and women of our military have made and will make, and the debt owed to them that can never be repaid, in the best of circumstances. For those reasons, it is beyond unconscionable that the Obama proposal would have even been floated.
On Wednesday of this week, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “The president has instructed that its consideration be dropped.”
As outrage against President Obama’s policies grow, reserve some anger for this attempt, even though stopped quickly in its tracks, to diminish even the already scant benefits our heroic veterans receive. When President Obama tells you he’s going to fix your health care, remember how he tried to fix that of our veterans and their families.
AIG Bonus Retention Plan for Company Executives
AIG FINANCIAL PRODUCTS CORP. 2008 EMPLOYEE RETENTION PLAN
(Washington, D.C., Mar. 17, 2009) - The House Committee on Financial Services released AIG's retention bonus plan for its financial products group. Amongst other perks, the plan guaranteed that these individuals' 2008 bonuses would at least match their 2007 bonuses. Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com:80/hdocs/docs/aig/bonus-retention-plan2008.html
Plan B 'Morning After' Pill Contraception Ruling - Just one additional scare of a Judge breaking down our Judeo-Christian values. - oyh
ANNIE TUMMINO, ET AL. V. FRANK TORTI, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
(U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D. N.Y., Mar. 23, 2009) - A federal judge ruled against the FDA in a lawsuit over Plan B, the morning after emergency contraception pill. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman concluded that "no useful purpose would be served by continuing to deprive 17 year olds access to Plan B without a prescription," and that FDA officials and staff both agreed that 17 years olds can use Plan B safely without a prescription. Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/fda/plan-b32309ord.html
Related Resources
• Judge Tells FDA to Make a Plan B for Teen Use of Morning After Contraceptive Drug
Systemic Failure - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
by Patrick J. Buchanan
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?fc_c=1383740x2917086x61881988&id=31154
As the U.S. financial crisis broadens and deepens, wiping out the wealth and savings of tens of millions, destroying hopes and dreams, it is hard not to see in all of this history's verdict upon this generation.
We have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
For how did this befall us, save through decisions that brushed aside lessons that history and experience had taught our fathers?
It all began with the corruption called sub-prime mortgages.
The motivation was not wicked. Democrats wanted to raise home ownership among African-Americans from 50 percent to the 75 percent of white folks. Rove Republicans wanted to do the same for Hispanics.
Banks were morally pressured by politicians into making home loans to folks who could not remotely qualify under standards set by decades of experience with mortgage defaults.
Dear Oscar,
Our nation has been in turmoil this week over the bonuses paid at AIG.
After taxpayers infused nearly $200 Billion into the private firm, AIG paid out nearly $165 million of that in bonuses to their executives. The New York Times reported that these bonuses included $33.6 million for 52 people who have already left the failed insurance company and more than $1 million each to 73 people.
If it was not bad enough, we are beginning to hear that many of our nation's elected officials might have known about these bonuses. Worse, it appears that Democrat Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd actually sponsored an amendment in the so-called stimulus bill to protect these bonuses.
The question is, why did he do that? Did Obama and his Treasury Secretary not only know about these bonuses in advance, but actually work to support them?
Senator Chris Dodd slipped into the Obama stimulus bill a secretive provision to protect these specific AIG bonuses. That much we do know.
It is shocking. We need to find out why he did it and hold him accountable. He and others are trying to run and hide from the criticism. We cannot let them.
THAT IS WHY ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG.
We are going to press them in the news media and on Capitol Hill to tell the American people the truth. And, we are launching a special effort right in U.S. Senator Chris Dodd's home state of Connecticut to hold him accountable for his actions.
As the days of the week have passed, we waited to see if they would truly admit to their involvement in the AIG bonus scandal and come clean. However, for days all they have done is point fingers at each other, at previous administration officials, at current administration officials and then at anyone and everyone else to deflect attention from themselves.
As more information leaked out about their involvement they then changed their story and all at once tried to claim responsibility. It was a purposeful shift to try and throw us off the trail, to deflect media criticism, create confusion, and stop the search for answers.
We cannot allow them to succeed. What has become clear is that we, the American people, must stand up and demand the truth.
THAT IS WHY ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, NOW.
At the center of this controversy are three people.
One is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who admitted to not paying his own personal taxes even prior to taking the job as Treasury Secretary, a job where he will oversee the IRS. Geithner said they were "careless mistakes" that he failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. (We have heard that from a number of Obama appointees.) Then in February testimony before Congress he used the word mistake again in reference to his banking plan saying, "we will make mistakes," and the market instantly fell 380+ points. He has been careless with his money and ours, now we cannot allow him to pass off the AIG bonuses as just another "careless mistake."
Geithner has been a central figure in the government's push for bailouts and the spending of our hard-earned taxpayer money on the so-called stimulus and on failed company bailouts. As President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, prior to becoming Treasury Secretary, he has been a principle architect of the bailout strategy. The Washington Post noted, "When the government rescued AIG in mid-September (2008), no one was more central to the decision than Geithner." Obama actually promoted his bailout experience in selecting him as Treasury Secretary.
Now, in just the last few hours we have learned that Geithner knew about the bonuses for days, but the truth may be that he knew about them for weeks as far back as the time when we first pushed their bailout. What is he hiding?
ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, NOW.
Even worse than Geithner's involvement and that of the President, however, may be the involvement of Senator Chris Dodd, the former Chairman of the Democrat National Committee and Democrat candidate for President, who is now the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.
Over the last year the ACU has pointed out some of Chris Dodd's most troubling actions:
SPECIAL MORTGAGE PERKS FOR HIMSELF AND HIS DEMOCRAT BUDDIES - last July ACU disclosed media reports that Chris Dodd was part of the FoA, or Friends of Angelo program, named for Countrywide Mortgage Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo which provided special Countrywide loan rates for politically connected officials. The individuals who got special mortgages? Bill Clinton's former budget director, the man chosen by Obama to pick Joe Biden as his running mate, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Democrat Kent Conrad and, yes, Chris Dodd.
HELPING CREATE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS - our financial crisis was started by the subprime mortgage mess. Dodd helped support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's purchase of subprime loans. The WALL STREET JOURNAL wrote in their editorial last summer on Dodd, "You'll love this one. In the strange accountability of Washington, the same folks who put taxpayers on the hook for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now demanding ransom to let taxpayers bail them out." The Journal reported Dodd publicly attacked critics who were "repeatedly raising alarm bells about the risks Fannie and Freddie pose to the financial system." He promoted and protected them and in return he received more PAC money from them than any other politician. A Journal editorial said, "In any other business, Mr. Dodd would be begging forgiveness."
SUPPORTING ACORN - Not only has ACORN been raided by the FBI for falsifying voter registration records, ACORN directly promoted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's involvement in subprime loans. In return Chris Dodd attended meetings at ACORN offices and promoted their efforts "to stop foreclosures." More shocking, as we have repeatedly pointed out, the stimulus bill a contained a provision to provide taxpayer funding for ACORN. This is the same stimulus bill that apparently became the vehicle for Dodd's support of AIG.
With this track record the American people should not be surprised that it was Senator Chris Dodd who slipped in the secret provision to specifically protect the now infamous bonuses at AIG. The question is why and what is he hiding?
SIGN THE ACU PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, AND SUPPORT ACU, NOW.
While conservative members of Congress were fighting against the pork-filled stimulus bill, Dodd was working for the AIG bonuses - meeting behind closed doors with Treasury officials and the Obama administration writing his amendment that specifically allowed for the multi-million dollar bonuses.
As CNN pointed out, "final language in Dodd's amendment specifically excluded bonuses from contracts signed - before the stimulus bill's passage - a fact which allowed for the AIG bonus payout."
If you received a bonus at AIG you might say, "thank you,"... just as Fannie Mae did with their PAC donations to Dodd when he supported them ...just like ACORN who has showered him with praise.
But the taxpayers of the United States are left thankless for the havoc he continues to wreak on our nation. So, the question is, how does Dodd remain in the Senate after all of this? The simple answer is that the people of Connecticut elected him.
So, not only are we going to hold him accountable in Washington - WE WANT YOUR DIRECT HELP TO HOLD CHRIS DODD ACCOUNTABLE, AT HOME, RIGHT WHERE IT MATTERS MOST, IN HIS HOME STATE.
We have created a special CHRIS DODD CONNECTICUT MEDIA PAGE. When you sign the petition, support ACU and hit "submit" you will be taken to a page where you can find this special, new ACU Chris Dodd media site.
On our Dodd Media Site, you can find contact information for media all over Connecticut; both newspapers for letters to the editor and talk radio shows. You can contact them and express your outrage to the people of Connecticut who sent Dodd to the U.S. Senate. Why did they do it? Are they still proud to have him representing them in Washington? Will they try to send him back to Washington? Let them know what you think.
Please sign the petition below, support ACU's effort, and then click submit to be taken to this special Dodd Media page.
SIGN THE ACU PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG HERE, NOW.
The third person at the center of this scandal is President Barack Obama. The ACU has repeatedly warned about government infusions of taxpayer money into private companies. We have opposed these bailouts and stimulus packages. Barack Obama's agenda to grow the size of government has enabled these activities.
As our Chairman David Keene said this week, "the bonuses are a political issue because the money comes from you and me. We shouldn't have been asked to put it up in the first place and if we hadn't, it would simply be an issue between the management and stockholders. And, if I was a stockholder, I would have been outraged that a bunch of managers who managed to ruin my investment were getting a bonus. But the real mistake was putting the money into AIG in the first place."
The ACU opposed the stimulus package from the start. We delivered petitions from you and others against this bill. Every Republican in the House opposed it and almost every Republican in the Senate did too, and at least they cut hundreds of millions from it. But now in addition to the billions and billions of dollars in wasteful spending we now have the AIG crisis too.
ACU will continue to fight these efforts with your help. Please sign the petition here, now and we will do so.
Don't let Chris Dodd escape accountability. Sign the petition, support ACU and visit the Chris Dodd media page now to express your opinion.
Sincerely,
Dennis Whitfield
Executive Vice President
P.S. Don't let Chris Dodd hide from his actions. Help us get to the truth. Send the message to his own voters, right in Connecticut. Ask them why he is in the Senate. Do so after you sign the petition here, now, to make Obama, his Treasury Secretary and Chris Dodd come clean on their actions, now.
The Obama Rosetta Stone
By DANIEL HENNINGER
Barack Obama has written two famous, widely read books of autobiography -- "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." Let me introduce his third, a book that will touch everyone's life: "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise. The President's Budget and Fiscal Preview" (Government Printing Office, 141 pages, $26; free on the Web). This is the U.S. budget for laymen, and it's a must read.
Turn immediately to page 11. There sits a chart called Figure 9. This is the Rosetta Stone to the presidential mind of Barack Obama. Memorize Figure 9, and you will never be confused. Not happy, perhaps, but not confused.
One finds many charts in a federal budget, most attributed to such deep mines of data as the Census Bureau or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The one on page 11 is attributed to "Piketty and Saez."
Either you know instantly what "Piketty and Saez" means, or you don't. If you do, you spent the past two years working to get Barack Obama into the White House. If you don't, their posse has a six-week head start on you.
Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, French economists, are rock stars of the intellectual left. Their specialty is "earnings inequality" and "wealth concentration."
Messrs. Piketty and Saez have produced the most politically potent squiggle along an axis since Arthur Laffer drew his famous curve on a napkin in the mid-1970s. Laffer's was an economic argument for lowering tax rates for everyone. Piketty-Saez is a moral argument for raising taxes on the rich.
Podcast
Listen to Daniel Henninger's Wonder Land column, now available in audio format.
As described in Mr. Obama's budget, these two economists have shown that by the end of 2004, the top 1% of taxpayers "took home" more than 22% of total national income. This trend, Fig. 9 notes, began during the Reagan presidency, skyrocketed through the Clinton years, dipped after George Bush beat Al Gore, then marched upward. Widening its own definition of money-grubbers, the budget says the top 10% of households "held" 70% of total wealth.
Alan Reynolds of the Cato Institute criticized the Piketty-Saez study on these pages in October 2007. Whatever its merits, their "Top 1%" chart has become a totemic obsession in progressive policy circles.
Turn to page five of Mr. Obama's federal budget, and one may read these commentaries on the top 1% datum:
"While middle-class families have been playing by the rules, living up to their responsibilities as neighbors and citizens, those at the commanding heights of our economy have not."
"Prudent investments in education, clean energy, health care and infrastructure were sacrificed for huge tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected."
"There's nothing wrong with making money, but there is something wrong when we allow the playing field to be tilted so far in the favor of so few. .. .. . It's a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it."
Wonder Land Columnist Daniel Henninger on the latest autobiographical work from Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama made clear in the campaign his intention to raise taxes on this income class by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. What is becoming clearer as his presidency unfolds is that something deeper is underway here than merely using higher taxes to fund his policy goals in health, education and energy.
The "top 1%" isn't just going to pay for these policies. Many of them would assent to that. The rancorous language used to describe these taxpayers makes it clear that as a matter of public policy they will be made to "pay for" the fact of their wealth -- no matter how many of them worked honestly and honorably to produce it. No Democratic president in 60 years has been this explicit.
Complaints have emerged recently, on the right and left, that the $787 billion stimulus bill will produce less growth and jobs than planned because too much of it goes to social programs and transfer payments, or "weak" Keynesian stimulus. The administration's Romer-Bernstein study on the stimulus estimated by the end of next year it would increase jobs by 3.6 million and GDP by 3.7%.
One of the first technical examinations of the Romer-Bernstein projections has been released by Hoover Institution economists John Cogan and John Taylor, and German economists Tobias Cwik and Volker Wieland. They conclude that the growth and jobs stimulus will be only one-sixth what the administration predicts. In part, this is because people anticipate that the spending burst will have to be financed by higher taxes and so will spend less than anticipated.
New York's Mike Bloomberg, mayor of an economically damaged city, has noted the pointlessness of raising taxes on the rich when their wealth is plummeting, or of eliminating the charitable deduction for people who have less to give anyway.
True but irrelevant. Mayor Bloomberg should read the Obama budget chapter, "Inheriting a Legacy of Misplaced Priorities." The economy as most people understand it was a second-order concern of the stimulus strategy. The primary goal is a massive re-flowing of "wealth" from the top toward the bottom, to stop the moral failure they see in the budget's "Top One Percent of Earners" chart.
The White House says its goal is simple "fairness." That may be, as they understand fairness. But Figure 9 makes it clear that for the top earners, there will be blood. This presidency is going to be an act of retribution. In the words of the third book from Mr. Obama, "it is our duty to change it."
Write to henninger@wsj.com
Elevating homosexuality to new heights
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=456348
The Obama administration and other proponents of a United Nations statement that calls for the decriminalization of homosexuality claim it merely targets the seven countries that put homosexuals to death. But one pro-family activist warns the document elevates homosexual behavior to skin color and religious belief.
The Obama State Department has endorsed the U.N. statement out of concern over what one official describes as "violence and human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual individuals" as well as "the criminalization of sexual orientation in many countries." In addition, according to U.S. officials, signing of the nonbinding declaration demonstrates that the U.S. supports human rights for all. (See related article)
Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, says the Obama administration has essentially signed its name to a "press release" initiated by the French government in the U.N. General Assembly last fall. Ruse says he fully expected the Obama administration to sign on to the document immediately because it supports the homosexual agenda.
"What the press release really does is encourage the acceptance of gender identity and sexual orientation as a category of non-discrimination in human rights treaties," explains Ruse, "so that these categories would stand alongside race, religion, and other widely accepted categories of non-discrimination."
Ruse says the Bush administration almost signed on to the U.N. homosexual rights document last fall. He notes there is a "very healthy homosexual lobby" in the State Department and in various parts of the U.S. government. In fact, he reports that for a brief moment last week at the United Nations, the Obama administration endorsed a document titled "The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS," which calls for criminal penalties for those who criticize homosexuality.
"The e-mail Bag"
Why do men die first?
This is a question that has gone unanswered for centuries, but, now we know...
If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race... you're a male chauvinist.
If you stay home and do the housework .. you're a pansy.
If you work too hard... there's never any time for her.
If you don't work enough... you're a good-for-nothing bum.
If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay... this is exploitation.
If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay... you should get off your lazy behind and find something better.
If you get a promotion ahead of her... that is favoritism.
If she gets a job ahead of you... it's equal opportunity.
If you mention how nice she looks .. . . it's sexual harassment.
If you keep quiet . . . it's male indifference.
If you cry . . . you're a wimp.
If you don't . . .. you're insensitive.
If you appreciate the female form and frilly underwear . . . you're a pervert.
If you don't . . . you're gay.
If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape . . . you're sexist.
If you don't . . . you're unromantic.
If you try to keep yourself in shape . .. . you're vain.
If you don't . . . you're a slob.
If she has a headache . . . she's tired.
If you have a headache . . . you don't love her anymore.
If you want it too often . . . you're oversexed.
If you don't .. . . there must be someone else.
Bottom Line . . . Men die first because they want to!
The Divorced Barbie Doll
One day a father gets out of work and on his way home he suddenly remembers that it's his daughter's birthday. He pulls over to a toy shop and asks the sales person, "How much for one of those Barbie's in the display window?"
The salesperson answers, "Which one do you mean, sir? We have: Work Out Barbie for $19.95, Shopping Barbie for $19.95, Beach Barbie for $19.95, Disco Barbie for $19.95, Ballerina Barbie for $19.95, Astronaut Barbie for $19.95, Skater Barbie for $19.95, and Divorced Barbie for $265.95".
The amazed father asks: "It's what? Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.95 and the others only $19.95?"
The annoyed salesperson rolls her eyes, sighs, and answers: "Sir, Divorced Barbie comes with: Ken's Car, Ken's House, Ken's Boat, Ken's Furniture, Ken's Computer and... one of Ken's Friends.
"Daily Motivations"
Understand your purpose in life by feeling your heart's desires. -- Marcia Wieder
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Ahh, So That's Why This is Happening to Me ...So that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth (Ex. 9:14). Seeing the purpose of it all changes your perspective.
"Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." (Mark 10:27).
"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, Notes on Virginia, Query 12, 1782
"With respect to the two words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." -- James Madison
"We have rights, as individuals, to give as much of our own money as we please to charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of public money." -- American hunter, frontiersman, soldier and politician Davy Crockett (1786-1836)
"Politics are not the high class, marvelous thing that lots of you picture. Our whole government workings are crammed with 'baloney.'" -- humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
Here he comes to save the day: "There are a lot of people out there who are desperate. There's a lot of desperation out there. Today I want them and the people like them across this country to know that I have not forgotten them." -- the Almighty Barack Obama
Troubles with the media: "It was hard for me to believe that you were entirely serious about that socialist question." -- Barack Obama to New York Times reporters who dared ask such a thing about his policies
"Obama is a great pretender. He repeatedly says he's doing things that he isn't, trusting his powerful rhetoric to obscure the difference." -- Washington Post editor Robert Samuelson
The BIG Lie: "[W]e've actually been operating in a way that has been entirely consistent with free-market principles. ... The fact that we've had to take these extraordinary measures and intervene is not an indication of my ideological preference, but an indication of the degree to which lax regulation and extravagant risk taking has precipitated a crisis." -- Barack Obama
"Simple Truths"
The Nature of Success
http://www.natureofsuccessmovie.com/
Eat That From First
http://motivationinaminute.com/lpage/eat-that-frog.php
"The Web"
Veterans Beat the Crap Out of Shameless Commander-in-Chief, Rightly So - For some time, I have noted that with in providing our Veterans with the very best of healthcare, perhaps, it is time to issue Veterans an ID Card, similar to a Medicare Card, providing the individual and/or qualified dependents their choice of any approved healthcare (equal to Medicare physicians, specialists, facilities, etc.), located at and of his/her choice. With the healthcare in the private/public sector, Veterans would be assured of the very best, and usually from a more local physician, specialists, and/or facility. Veterans healthcare cost must be continued to be at least equal to, paid by and through, our Federal Budget; not at the cost of the Veterans and/or the other private businesses. This change could and/or would also reduce the cost of otherwise Veterans' healthcare facilities. Our Veterans have offered their own lives, in serving America, our US Constitution, and our US Flag. We must never let the Veterans down. - oyh
http://www.cfif.org:80/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/Veterans-Beat-the-Crap-Out-of-Shameless-Commander-in-Chief-Rightly-So.html
Remember the President who so loves the “troops?” The camo-clad First Lady who in the past month began staging what was being hailed as a “signature issue” -- her empathy for the problems of military families?
Forget that, and any of the other deceptive rhetoric that has come from the mouth of the Hustler-in-Chief or his ubiquitous teleprompter. Forget, for just a few moments if you can, all the other outrages he’s attempting to perpetrate, too many to list here. Focus just on what he tried to do to veterans this week, because therein is about all you need to know about the character of President Barack Obama.
On Monday, President Obama summoned leaders of veterans’ groups to the White House to discuss an Obama administration proposal to force costs of medical treatment for military service-related disabilities and injuries from the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans’ private insurance carriers.
That the meeting was held at all seems to have resulted from a heartfelt letter of protest eleven of the veterans’ organizations had sent after learning of the plan.
As an angry Commander David K. Rehbein of the American Legion said after the meeting, “It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan. He says he is looking to generate $540 million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.
“The reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!”
The veterans’ groups have quite correctly argued that forcing the mammoth costs of service-related injuries onto veterans’ private insurance plans would make it far more difficult and expensive for veterans to get and maintain such insurance, would consume maximum insurance coverage limits at the expense of veterans’ families on the same plan and have the potential of reducing job opportunities for veterans, particularly by small businesses, due to the skewed cost to company health benefit plans.
Those are, of course, just the practical objections. Far more important are those that recognize the sacrifices the men and women of our military have made and will make, and the debt owed to them that can never be repaid, in the best of circumstances. For those reasons, it is beyond unconscionable that the Obama proposal would have even been floated.
On Wednesday of this week, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “The president has instructed that its consideration be dropped.”
As outrage against President Obama’s policies grow, reserve some anger for this attempt, even though stopped quickly in its tracks, to diminish even the already scant benefits our heroic veterans receive. When President Obama tells you he’s going to fix your health care, remember how he tried to fix that of our veterans and their families.
AIG Bonus Retention Plan for Company Executives
AIG FINANCIAL PRODUCTS CORP. 2008 EMPLOYEE RETENTION PLAN
(Washington, D.C., Mar. 17, 2009) - The House Committee on Financial Services released AIG's retention bonus plan for its financial products group. Amongst other perks, the plan guaranteed that these individuals' 2008 bonuses would at least match their 2007 bonuses. Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com:80/hdocs/docs/aig/bonus-retention-plan2008.html
Plan B 'Morning After' Pill Contraception Ruling - Just one additional scare of a Judge breaking down our Judeo-Christian values. - oyh
ANNIE TUMMINO, ET AL. V. FRANK TORTI, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
(U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D. N.Y., Mar. 23, 2009) - A federal judge ruled against the FDA in a lawsuit over Plan B, the morning after emergency contraception pill. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman concluded that "no useful purpose would be served by continuing to deprive 17 year olds access to Plan B without a prescription," and that FDA officials and staff both agreed that 17 years olds can use Plan B safely without a prescription. Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/fda/plan-b32309ord.html
Related Resources
• Judge Tells FDA to Make a Plan B for Teen Use of Morning After Contraceptive Drug
Systemic Failure - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
by Patrick J. Buchanan
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?fc_c=1383740x2917086x61881988&id=31154
As the U.S. financial crisis broadens and deepens, wiping out the wealth and savings of tens of millions, destroying hopes and dreams, it is hard not to see in all of this history's verdict upon this generation.
We have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
For how did this befall us, save through decisions that brushed aside lessons that history and experience had taught our fathers?
It all began with the corruption called sub-prime mortgages.
The motivation was not wicked. Democrats wanted to raise home ownership among African-Americans from 50 percent to the 75 percent of white folks. Rove Republicans wanted to do the same for Hispanics.
Banks were morally pressured by politicians into making home loans to folks who could not remotely qualify under standards set by decades of experience with mortgage defaults.
Dear Oscar,
Our nation has been in turmoil this week over the bonuses paid at AIG.
After taxpayers infused nearly $200 Billion into the private firm, AIG paid out nearly $165 million of that in bonuses to their executives. The New York Times reported that these bonuses included $33.6 million for 52 people who have already left the failed insurance company and more than $1 million each to 73 people.
If it was not bad enough, we are beginning to hear that many of our nation's elected officials might have known about these bonuses. Worse, it appears that Democrat Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd actually sponsored an amendment in the so-called stimulus bill to protect these bonuses.
The question is, why did he do that? Did Obama and his Treasury Secretary not only know about these bonuses in advance, but actually work to support them?
Senator Chris Dodd slipped into the Obama stimulus bill a secretive provision to protect these specific AIG bonuses. That much we do know.
It is shocking. We need to find out why he did it and hold him accountable. He and others are trying to run and hide from the criticism. We cannot let them.
THAT IS WHY ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG.
We are going to press them in the news media and on Capitol Hill to tell the American people the truth. And, we are launching a special effort right in U.S. Senator Chris Dodd's home state of Connecticut to hold him accountable for his actions.
As the days of the week have passed, we waited to see if they would truly admit to their involvement in the AIG bonus scandal and come clean. However, for days all they have done is point fingers at each other, at previous administration officials, at current administration officials and then at anyone and everyone else to deflect attention from themselves.
As more information leaked out about their involvement they then changed their story and all at once tried to claim responsibility. It was a purposeful shift to try and throw us off the trail, to deflect media criticism, create confusion, and stop the search for answers.
We cannot allow them to succeed. What has become clear is that we, the American people, must stand up and demand the truth.
THAT IS WHY ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, NOW.
At the center of this controversy are three people.
One is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who admitted to not paying his own personal taxes even prior to taking the job as Treasury Secretary, a job where he will oversee the IRS. Geithner said they were "careless mistakes" that he failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. (We have heard that from a number of Obama appointees.) Then in February testimony before Congress he used the word mistake again in reference to his banking plan saying, "we will make mistakes," and the market instantly fell 380+ points. He has been careless with his money and ours, now we cannot allow him to pass off the AIG bonuses as just another "careless mistake."
Geithner has been a central figure in the government's push for bailouts and the spending of our hard-earned taxpayer money on the so-called stimulus and on failed company bailouts. As President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, prior to becoming Treasury Secretary, he has been a principle architect of the bailout strategy. The Washington Post noted, "When the government rescued AIG in mid-September (2008), no one was more central to the decision than Geithner." Obama actually promoted his bailout experience in selecting him as Treasury Secretary.
Now, in just the last few hours we have learned that Geithner knew about the bonuses for days, but the truth may be that he knew about them for weeks as far back as the time when we first pushed their bailout. What is he hiding?
ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, NOW.
Even worse than Geithner's involvement and that of the President, however, may be the involvement of Senator Chris Dodd, the former Chairman of the Democrat National Committee and Democrat candidate for President, who is now the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.
Over the last year the ACU has pointed out some of Chris Dodd's most troubling actions:
SPECIAL MORTGAGE PERKS FOR HIMSELF AND HIS DEMOCRAT BUDDIES - last July ACU disclosed media reports that Chris Dodd was part of the FoA, or Friends of Angelo program, named for Countrywide Mortgage Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo which provided special Countrywide loan rates for politically connected officials. The individuals who got special mortgages? Bill Clinton's former budget director, the man chosen by Obama to pick Joe Biden as his running mate, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Democrat Kent Conrad and, yes, Chris Dodd.
HELPING CREATE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS - our financial crisis was started by the subprime mortgage mess. Dodd helped support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's purchase of subprime loans. The WALL STREET JOURNAL wrote in their editorial last summer on Dodd, "You'll love this one. In the strange accountability of Washington, the same folks who put taxpayers on the hook for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now demanding ransom to let taxpayers bail them out." The Journal reported Dodd publicly attacked critics who were "repeatedly raising alarm bells about the risks Fannie and Freddie pose to the financial system." He promoted and protected them and in return he received more PAC money from them than any other politician. A Journal editorial said, "In any other business, Mr. Dodd would be begging forgiveness."
SUPPORTING ACORN - Not only has ACORN been raided by the FBI for falsifying voter registration records, ACORN directly promoted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's involvement in subprime loans. In return Chris Dodd attended meetings at ACORN offices and promoted their efforts "to stop foreclosures." More shocking, as we have repeatedly pointed out, the stimulus bill a contained a provision to provide taxpayer funding for ACORN. This is the same stimulus bill that apparently became the vehicle for Dodd's support of AIG.
With this track record the American people should not be surprised that it was Senator Chris Dodd who slipped in the secret provision to specifically protect the now infamous bonuses at AIG. The question is why and what is he hiding?
SIGN THE ACU PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, AND SUPPORT ACU, NOW.
While conservative members of Congress were fighting against the pork-filled stimulus bill, Dodd was working for the AIG bonuses - meeting behind closed doors with Treasury officials and the Obama administration writing his amendment that specifically allowed for the multi-million dollar bonuses.
As CNN pointed out, "final language in Dodd's amendment specifically excluded bonuses from contracts signed - before the stimulus bill's passage - a fact which allowed for the AIG bonus payout."
If you received a bonus at AIG you might say, "thank you,"... just as Fannie Mae did with their PAC donations to Dodd when he supported them ...just like ACORN who has showered him with praise.
But the taxpayers of the United States are left thankless for the havoc he continues to wreak on our nation. So, the question is, how does Dodd remain in the Senate after all of this? The simple answer is that the people of Connecticut elected him.
So, not only are we going to hold him accountable in Washington - WE WANT YOUR DIRECT HELP TO HOLD CHRIS DODD ACCOUNTABLE, AT HOME, RIGHT WHERE IT MATTERS MOST, IN HIS HOME STATE.
We have created a special CHRIS DODD CONNECTICUT MEDIA PAGE. When you sign the petition, support ACU and hit "submit" you will be taken to a page where you can find this special, new ACU Chris Dodd media site.
On our Dodd Media Site, you can find contact information for media all over Connecticut; both newspapers for letters to the editor and talk radio shows. You can contact them and express your outrage to the people of Connecticut who sent Dodd to the U.S. Senate. Why did they do it? Are they still proud to have him representing them in Washington? Will they try to send him back to Washington? Let them know what you think.
Please sign the petition below, support ACU's effort, and then click submit to be taken to this special Dodd Media page.
SIGN THE ACU PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG HERE, NOW.
The third person at the center of this scandal is President Barack Obama. The ACU has repeatedly warned about government infusions of taxpayer money into private companies. We have opposed these bailouts and stimulus packages. Barack Obama's agenda to grow the size of government has enabled these activities.
As our Chairman David Keene said this week, "the bonuses are a political issue because the money comes from you and me. We shouldn't have been asked to put it up in the first place and if we hadn't, it would simply be an issue between the management and stockholders. And, if I was a stockholder, I would have been outraged that a bunch of managers who managed to ruin my investment were getting a bonus. But the real mistake was putting the money into AIG in the first place."
The ACU opposed the stimulus package from the start. We delivered petitions from you and others against this bill. Every Republican in the House opposed it and almost every Republican in the Senate did too, and at least they cut hundreds of millions from it. But now in addition to the billions and billions of dollars in wasteful spending we now have the AIG crisis too.
ACU will continue to fight these efforts with your help. Please sign the petition here, now and we will do so.
Don't let Chris Dodd escape accountability. Sign the petition, support ACU and visit the Chris Dodd media page now to express your opinion.
Sincerely,
Dennis Whitfield
Executive Vice President
P.S. Don't let Chris Dodd hide from his actions. Help us get to the truth. Send the message to his own voters, right in Connecticut. Ask them why he is in the Senate. Do so after you sign the petition here, now, to make Obama, his Treasury Secretary and Chris Dodd come clean on their actions, now.
The Obama Rosetta Stone
By DANIEL HENNINGER
Barack Obama has written two famous, widely read books of autobiography -- "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." Let me introduce his third, a book that will touch everyone's life: "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise. The President's Budget and Fiscal Preview" (Government Printing Office, 141 pages, $26; free on the Web). This is the U.S. budget for laymen, and it's a must read.
Turn immediately to page 11. There sits a chart called Figure 9. This is the Rosetta Stone to the presidential mind of Barack Obama. Memorize Figure 9, and you will never be confused. Not happy, perhaps, but not confused.
One finds many charts in a federal budget, most attributed to such deep mines of data as the Census Bureau or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The one on page 11 is attributed to "Piketty and Saez."
Either you know instantly what "Piketty and Saez" means, or you don't. If you do, you spent the past two years working to get Barack Obama into the White House. If you don't, their posse has a six-week head start on you.
Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, French economists, are rock stars of the intellectual left. Their specialty is "earnings inequality" and "wealth concentration."
Messrs. Piketty and Saez have produced the most politically potent squiggle along an axis since Arthur Laffer drew his famous curve on a napkin in the mid-1970s. Laffer's was an economic argument for lowering tax rates for everyone. Piketty-Saez is a moral argument for raising taxes on the rich.
Podcast
Listen to Daniel Henninger's Wonder Land column, now available in audio format.
As described in Mr. Obama's budget, these two economists have shown that by the end of 2004, the top 1% of taxpayers "took home" more than 22% of total national income. This trend, Fig. 9 notes, began during the Reagan presidency, skyrocketed through the Clinton years, dipped after George Bush beat Al Gore, then marched upward. Widening its own definition of money-grubbers, the budget says the top 10% of households "held" 70% of total wealth.
Alan Reynolds of the Cato Institute criticized the Piketty-Saez study on these pages in October 2007. Whatever its merits, their "Top 1%" chart has become a totemic obsession in progressive policy circles.
Turn to page five of Mr. Obama's federal budget, and one may read these commentaries on the top 1% datum:
"While middle-class families have been playing by the rules, living up to their responsibilities as neighbors and citizens, those at the commanding heights of our economy have not."
"Prudent investments in education, clean energy, health care and infrastructure were sacrificed for huge tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected."
"There's nothing wrong with making money, but there is something wrong when we allow the playing field to be tilted so far in the favor of so few. .. .. . It's a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it."
Wonder Land Columnist Daniel Henninger on the latest autobiographical work from Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama made clear in the campaign his intention to raise taxes on this income class by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. What is becoming clearer as his presidency unfolds is that something deeper is underway here than merely using higher taxes to fund his policy goals in health, education and energy.
The "top 1%" isn't just going to pay for these policies. Many of them would assent to that. The rancorous language used to describe these taxpayers makes it clear that as a matter of public policy they will be made to "pay for" the fact of their wealth -- no matter how many of them worked honestly and honorably to produce it. No Democratic president in 60 years has been this explicit.
Complaints have emerged recently, on the right and left, that the $787 billion stimulus bill will produce less growth and jobs than planned because too much of it goes to social programs and transfer payments, or "weak" Keynesian stimulus. The administration's Romer-Bernstein study on the stimulus estimated by the end of next year it would increase jobs by 3.6 million and GDP by 3.7%.
One of the first technical examinations of the Romer-Bernstein projections has been released by Hoover Institution economists John Cogan and John Taylor, and German economists Tobias Cwik and Volker Wieland. They conclude that the growth and jobs stimulus will be only one-sixth what the administration predicts. In part, this is because people anticipate that the spending burst will have to be financed by higher taxes and so will spend less than anticipated.
New York's Mike Bloomberg, mayor of an economically damaged city, has noted the pointlessness of raising taxes on the rich when their wealth is plummeting, or of eliminating the charitable deduction for people who have less to give anyway.
True but irrelevant. Mayor Bloomberg should read the Obama budget chapter, "Inheriting a Legacy of Misplaced Priorities." The economy as most people understand it was a second-order concern of the stimulus strategy. The primary goal is a massive re-flowing of "wealth" from the top toward the bottom, to stop the moral failure they see in the budget's "Top One Percent of Earners" chart.
The White House says its goal is simple "fairness." That may be, as they understand fairness. But Figure 9 makes it clear that for the top earners, there will be blood. This presidency is going to be an act of retribution. In the words of the third book from Mr. Obama, "it is our duty to change it."
Write to henninger@wsj.com
Elevating homosexuality to new heights
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=456348
The Obama administration and other proponents of a United Nations statement that calls for the decriminalization of homosexuality claim it merely targets the seven countries that put homosexuals to death. But one pro-family activist warns the document elevates homosexual behavior to skin color and religious belief.
The Obama State Department has endorsed the U.N. statement out of concern over what one official describes as "violence and human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual individuals" as well as "the criminalization of sexual orientation in many countries." In addition, according to U.S. officials, signing of the nonbinding declaration demonstrates that the U.S. supports human rights for all. (See related article)
Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, says the Obama administration has essentially signed its name to a "press release" initiated by the French government in the U.N. General Assembly last fall. Ruse says he fully expected the Obama administration to sign on to the document immediately because it supports the homosexual agenda.
"What the press release really does is encourage the acceptance of gender identity and sexual orientation as a category of non-discrimination in human rights treaties," explains Ruse, "so that these categories would stand alongside race, religion, and other widely accepted categories of non-discrimination."
Ruse says the Bush administration almost signed on to the U.N. homosexual rights document last fall. He notes there is a "very healthy homosexual lobby" in the State Department and in various parts of the U.S. government. In fact, he reports that for a brief moment last week at the United Nations, the Obama administration endorsed a document titled "The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS," which calls for criminal penalties for those who criticize homosexuality.
"The e-mail Bag"
Why do men die first?
This is a question that has gone unanswered for centuries, but, now we know...
If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race... you're a male chauvinist.
If you stay home and do the housework .. you're a pansy.
If you work too hard... there's never any time for her.
If you don't work enough... you're a good-for-nothing bum.
If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay... this is exploitation.
If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay... you should get off your lazy behind and find something better.
If you get a promotion ahead of her... that is favoritism.
If she gets a job ahead of you... it's equal opportunity.
If you mention how nice she looks .. . . it's sexual harassment.
If you keep quiet . . . it's male indifference.
If you cry . . . you're a wimp.
If you don't . . .. you're insensitive.
If you appreciate the female form and frilly underwear . . . you're a pervert.
If you don't . . . you're gay.
If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape . . . you're sexist.
If you don't . . . you're unromantic.
If you try to keep yourself in shape . .. . you're vain.
If you don't . . . you're a slob.
If she has a headache . . . she's tired.
If you have a headache . . . you don't love her anymore.
If you want it too often . . . you're oversexed.
If you don't .. . . there must be someone else.
Bottom Line . . . Men die first because they want to!
The Divorced Barbie Doll
One day a father gets out of work and on his way home he suddenly remembers that it's his daughter's birthday. He pulls over to a toy shop and asks the sales person, "How much for one of those Barbie's in the display window?"
The salesperson answers, "Which one do you mean, sir? We have: Work Out Barbie for $19.95, Shopping Barbie for $19.95, Beach Barbie for $19.95, Disco Barbie for $19.95, Ballerina Barbie for $19.95, Astronaut Barbie for $19.95, Skater Barbie for $19.95, and Divorced Barbie for $265.95".
The amazed father asks: "It's what? Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.95 and the others only $19.95?"
The annoyed salesperson rolls her eyes, sighs, and answers: "Sir, Divorced Barbie comes with: Ken's Car, Ken's House, Ken's Boat, Ken's Furniture, Ken's Computer and... one of Ken's Friends.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sen. Chris Dodd and AIG
Let’s simplify my version of the problem with AIG, Sen. Dodd, Rep. Frank, President Obama and the majority Democrats on Capitol Hill demanding the passage of H.R. 1 (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed the House on January 28, 2009, passed by the Senate on February 10, resolved House/Senate differences on February 13, 2009, and signed into law on February 17, 2009).
The essence of time was so imperative, President Obama and the Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill insisted the legislation be passed immediately, as our nation was in imminent danger. Democrats said this legislation was too vital to allow legislators adequate time to read and understand. All agreed noone on Capitol Hill knew what all the legislation included. President Obama did not practice the impending demand of time, waiting until February 17, 2009 with a Denver, CO ceremony to sign the legislation into law.
It is now discovered many from AIG received $218 Million in bonuses; $165 Million this March 2009. AIG’s failed management team is receiving millions of dollars in bonuses with these failures. American taxpayers screamed. Again, the majority Democrats on Capitol Hill said they were unaware about the bonuses of taxpayers’ money. Now it is discovered Sen. Dodd had installed an amendment to the legislation allowing for these bonuses. Sen. Dodd has now admitted his amendment, which he says was at the direction of the government. Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, says he knew nothing about this legislation until March 10, 2009. Others say Secretary Geithner was there as the legislation was finalized.
If you “follow the money” from those associated with AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and others, you will find hundreds of thousands of dollars directed into campaign pockets of Sen. Chris Dodd, Rep. Barney Frank, President Barack Obama, and others.
Again, Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill are not demanding independent investigations on Sen. Chris Dodd, or Rep. Barney Frank, who may be directly responsible to these corporate action failures, as established. Why?
Both, Dodd and Frank, as Senate Banking and House Finance Committee leaders, allegedly, went to AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and others, instructing and/or demanding these bankers to approve loans to many whom otherwise, would fail to qualify earlier, based on their incomes vs. allowed home payment amount proposals. To see one of these stories, see this Fox News Channel report http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1 .
The ultimate insult by Democrat Party leaders now is to bury their political legislative failures in the financial industry by introducing new legislation (The House bill, HR 1586; Senate bill S 651) to tax the bonus recipients for 90% of their bonus income. This proposed legislation is most likely unconstitutional.
It would have been much more honorable introducing new legislation to investigate and/or expel Sen. Chris Dodd for his deplorable legislation, and then being deceitful about it.
The essence of time was so imperative, President Obama and the Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill insisted the legislation be passed immediately, as our nation was in imminent danger. Democrats said this legislation was too vital to allow legislators adequate time to read and understand. All agreed noone on Capitol Hill knew what all the legislation included. President Obama did not practice the impending demand of time, waiting until February 17, 2009 with a Denver, CO ceremony to sign the legislation into law.
It is now discovered many from AIG received $218 Million in bonuses; $165 Million this March 2009. AIG’s failed management team is receiving millions of dollars in bonuses with these failures. American taxpayers screamed. Again, the majority Democrats on Capitol Hill said they were unaware about the bonuses of taxpayers’ money. Now it is discovered Sen. Dodd had installed an amendment to the legislation allowing for these bonuses. Sen. Dodd has now admitted his amendment, which he says was at the direction of the government. Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, says he knew nothing about this legislation until March 10, 2009. Others say Secretary Geithner was there as the legislation was finalized.
If you “follow the money” from those associated with AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and others, you will find hundreds of thousands of dollars directed into campaign pockets of Sen. Chris Dodd, Rep. Barney Frank, President Barack Obama, and others.
Again, Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill are not demanding independent investigations on Sen. Chris Dodd, or Rep. Barney Frank, who may be directly responsible to these corporate action failures, as established. Why?
Both, Dodd and Frank, as Senate Banking and House Finance Committee leaders, allegedly, went to AIG, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and others, instructing and/or demanding these bankers to approve loans to many whom otherwise, would fail to qualify earlier, based on their incomes vs. allowed home payment amount proposals. To see one of these stories, see this Fox News Channel report http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1 .
The ultimate insult by Democrat Party leaders now is to bury their political legislative failures in the financial industry by introducing new legislation (The House bill, HR 1586; Senate bill S 651) to tax the bonus recipients for 90% of their bonus income. This proposed legislation is most likely unconstitutional.
It would have been much more honorable introducing new legislation to investigate and/or expel Sen. Chris Dodd for his deplorable legislation, and then being deceitful about it.
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090323
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do. -- Elizabeth Smith
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Grumbling or Grateful? Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise (Ps 100:4). A lot of people manufacture their own misery because they fail to be grateful.
"I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for Me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)
"The Patriot Post"
"Government can do something for the people only in proportion as it can do something to the people." -- Thomas Jefferson
"History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy... These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed; whence a total separation of affections, interests, political obligations, and all manner of connections, by which the whole state is weakened." -- Benjamin Franklin, Emblematical Representations
"This is the real task before us: to reassert our commitment as a nation to a law higher than our own, to renew our spiritual strength. Only by building a wall of such spiritual resolve can we, as a free people, hope to protect our own heritage and make it someday the birthright of all men." -- Ronald Reagan
"Been paying your mortgage for the last 15 months -- or 15 years? Stupid. Your taxes are going to go to help pay for the guy who can't, or doesn't want to, pay his. Why should you live in a house free of fear of foreclosure if your neighbor down the block can't? By the way, as I understand it, nothing in the housing plan deals with second or third or fourth mortgages which are part and parcel of this mess. People used their house as a piggy bank and mortgage brokers kept refinancing to build the new pool, the playroom, or the home theater because the overall value of the house kept going up. What about leaving the value of your house IN your house? Nah. If you wanted a new car you redid the second on your house, used that money to buy a new Mercedes and you could drop your kids off at school in style. ... Now the repo guys have come for your car and the bank is coming for your house and Obama wants me to give up what I've earned, to pay for something you haven't, but want to keep. This is the world view of the Community Organizer: There are poor people in this neighborhood who have less than they want. There are rich people in the next neighborhood who have more than they need. If you are a Community Organizer you try and even things out. If you are the Community Organizer-in-Chief you get to do this on a national scale and that is exactly what Barack Obama is planning to do. Who is John Galt?" -- political analyst Rich Galen
"In Washington, one person's waste is another person's pork. Every dime spent by the federal government has well-connected advocates who swear the money is vital to the national interest. ... It's not that people in government aren't as good or competent as those in the private sector (though that may be true). The difference lies in the incentives and feedback they face. Bureaucracies have little check on what they do, no bottom line, no market prices for their 'output.' What they do have is an incentive to spend all the money budgeted or risk getting less next year. As Milton Friedman used to say, no one spends other people's money as carefully as he spends his own. It is absurd to think the humongous constellation of federal bureaucracies is going to identify and root out 'waste' in any significant way. It's just not in the nature of the beast." -- ABC's "20/20" co-anchor John Stossel
"But as long as the nation is obsessed with historic milestones, is no one going to remark on what a great country it is where a mentally retarded woman can become speaker of the house?" - Ann Coulter - Feb 6, 2009
"The Web"
President Bush & John McCain Warned Democrats and America of Financial Failures. Why Did the Liberal Media Cover It Up?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1
Touch Me . . . !.exe
http://www.openmyeyeslord.net/Touchme.htm
Gathering of Eagles
http://www.gatheringofeagles.org/view363176l7751510794.html
Bless Our Soldiers
John McCain Country First
http://www.blessoursoldiers.com/
SF Police Captain tells the media the TRUTH...
This is a piece EVERY judge in the United States should see before he/she decides what appropriate pre-trial action to take when the next alleged/convicted felon stands before him/her. Too often do our heroic law enforcement officials hear nothing but criticism UNLESS one of us needs them. Don’t miss this!
http://mfile.akamai.com/12948/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0728/9591734.300k.asx
ACORN to Partner With Government for 2010 Census
Do you remember as to the ACORN corruption of illegal and multiple voter registration prior to the 2008 General Election? Do you remember several OCORN members who themselves voted several times, got caught, cancelled their multiple votes, and were allowed to cancel their multiple personal votes? Is the President Obama Department of Justice headed by Attorney General Eric Holder going to prosecute this ACORN illegal voter registration and illegal voting? Illegal registration and/or illegal voting is destruction to the foundation of a free society. Will you believe President Obama is now granting ACORN more, by presenting a grant in the "2009 Stimulus" H.R. 1, (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed the US House on January 28, 2009, passed by the US Senate on February 10, differences resolved on February 13, 2009, and signed into law on February 17, 2009)allowing ACORN to work with the US Census? You may remember President Obama and the majority Democrats on Capital Hill said this legislation could not wait; even to disallow the legislators themselves time to read and learn the ingredients included within this new "Stimulus" legislation. The entire process stinks! What new forms of government corruption will this ACORN organization bring? As for me, I believe ACORN may be a hidden corrupt organization. - oyh
By: Dave Eberhart
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/acorn_census_partner/2009/03/18/193218.html?s=al&promo_code=7C64-1
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN) is now a “national partner” with the U.S. Census Bureau, soon to help the White House find 1.4 million workers to canvass for the country’s 2010 census.
If the acronym rings a bell, it’s because the organization has a history of voter fraud charges in the last election cycle, according to a report by FOXNews.com.
ACORN will be joining with more than 250 national partners, including TARGET and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to assist in the hiring of census workers around the country.
ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson told FOXNews.com, “ACORN as an organization has not been charged with any crime,” adding that concerns that the organization will unfairly influence the census are unfounded.
The U.S. Census Bureau has also gone on the defensive.
“The Census (Bureau) is a nonpartisan, non-political agency and we’re very dedicated to an accurate account,” bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner told FOXNews.com. “We have a lot of quality controls in place to keep any kind of systemic error or fraudulent behavior to affect the counts.”
Buckner said 140,000 census taker jobs must be filled to complete the first phase of the effort. Each applicant, he emphasized, must take a basic skills exam and is also subject to an FBI background check.
But there are many who remain concerned about the organization’s role.
"ACORN has been accused of voter fraud, embezzlement, and more... and yet this is a group that the federal government wants helping with the census?" asks Bobby Eberle of GOPUSA.
“It’s a concern, especially when you look at all the different charges of voter fraud. And it’s not just the lawmakers’ concern. It should be the concern of every citizen in the country,” Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland, R-Ga., vice ranking member of the subcommittee for the U.S. Census, told FOXNews.com. “We want an enumeration. We don’t want to have any false numbers.”
ACORN came under assault in 2007 when Washington State filed felony charges against several paid ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 fraudulent voter registration forms.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a member of the House census subcommittee, said, “I feel fairly confident that the penalties for an individual manipulating the count are pretty severe,” noting that the penalties would certainly deter any fraud in the counting by workers. The penalty for any fraudulent activity can be up to five years in jail.
The census count is critical to both politicians and states because it not only determines congressional allocation, but it also provides the raw data by which government spending is allocated on everything from roads to schools.
Obama Wants to Disarm U.S. Pilots
By: David A. Patten Article Font Size
http://www.newsmax.com:80/headlines/obama_airline_pilots/2009/03/18/193314.html?s=al&promo_code=7C69-1
The Obama administration is taking steps quietly to shut down the program that qualifies commercial airline pilots to carry firearms in jetliner cockpits in order to ward off another 9/11-type attack.
The administration recently diverted $2 million from a program to train and certify pilots to carry firearms safely while on duty. Instead, it is using the money to hire additional field inspectors to help discipline pilots who step out of line, according to a report in Tuesday’s Washington Times.
A Times editorial condemned the Obama administration's action, calling it “completely unnecessary harassment of the pilots.”
Since Obama took office, the approval process for certifying pilots to carry firearms has ground to a halt, the newspaper reports. Pilots are afraid to speak out about the behind-the-scenes maneuverings, for fear of retaliation, according to the newspaper. No cases have been reported in which pilots have brandished a weapon inappropriately or otherwise abused their eligibility to carry firearms.
About 12,000 pilots have been authorized to carry handguns while flying aircraft as part of the Federal Flight Deck Officers Program. Congress authorized the program in a 310-to-113 vote following the 9/11 attacks to help prevent terrorists from turning jetliners into flying bombs that could be used to attack key sites like the White House, the Pentagon, or Capitol Hill.
Paul Valone, a Second Amendment advocate who directs Grass Roots North Carolina (GRNC.org), is calling for citizens to contract their congressional representatives to protest the administration’s anti-gun priorities.
Pilots are already required to pay for their own room and board during training, and use paid leave for the time they’re off the job. Every six months, the program requires them to be requalified for firearm use.
Valone writes on Examiner.com: “While bureaucrats . . . may have attempted to hamstring the program with burdensome requirements, training instructors and the Federal Air Marshals who now oversee the program routinely thank the FFDOs for their professionalism and dedication in protecting the nation’s air commerce against terrorism.”
Valone says the Obama administration is “dismantling yet another layer of defense against terrorism and defying the will of the American people.”
Since coming to power, the Obama administration has undertaken a series of moves that signal a major de-emphasis of programs enacted to keep America’s homeland safe from terrorist attack:
Obama’s choice for U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, labeled enhanced interrogation techniques as outright “torture” during his Senate confirmation hearings.
Obama banned waterboarding and ordered CIA interrogators to abide by U.S. Army Field Manual regulations.
He selected Clinton-era political operative Leon Panetta to serve as his CIA director. Panetta’s qualifications to run the agency have been questioned widely.
Obama announced that he would shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba within one year, raising the prospect of hardened terrorists entering the U.S. criminal justice system, or worse, being released to rejoin al-Qaida.
He indicated the U.S. defense budget would be sharply reduced.
He has sent a letter to Russian leaders, apparently offering to back off on the ballistic missile defense system that would protect Europe from Iran and North Korea.
These and other Obama administration moves recently prompted former vice president Dick Cheney to charge that Obama is returning to the Clinton-era view of terrorism as a law enforcement issue.
"Now he's made some choices that in my mind raise the risk to the American people of another attack," Cheney said of Obama on CNN's "State of the Union" program.
The Washington Times points out that about 70 percent of airline pilots have military backgrounds. With airport screening less than 100 percent effective, it states, armed pilots provide a second layer of defense.
“Only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits are worried about armed pilots,” the newspaper editorial says.
WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE
http://mrmom.amaonline.com/special/whoiam.htm
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class.
Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."
Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.
The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart.
As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony
going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius.
Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says: "Who I Am Makes a Difference, on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you.
I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn't think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think I need it after all."
His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, "Mom and Dad."
The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a
difference in his life...one being the boss's son.
And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make difference.
You are under no obligation to send this on to anyone...not to two people or to two hundred. As far as I am concerned, you can delete it and move on to the next message. But if, you have anyone who means a lot to you, I encourage you to send him or her this message and let them know. You never know what kind of difference a little encouragement can make to a person.
Send it to all of the people who mean anything important to you, or send it to the one, two, or three people who mean the most. Or just smile and know that someone thinks that you are important, or you wouldn't have received this in the first place. Remember that! I give you a blue ribbon.
WHO YOU ARE MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT!!
Campbell's Soup condenses its morals
NOTE: If you have the option to do so, please add us to your 'buddy', 'accepted', 'approved' or 'trusted sender' list to ensure you continue to receive our messages. Thanks.
March 19, 2009
Campbell's Soup condenses its morals
Tens of thousands of AFA supporters have expressed their disgust with Campbell Soup Company supporting the gay agenda. AFA asked the company to remain neutral in the culture war, but Campbell's Soup refused. The company said it will continue supporting homosexuals.
According to the Media Daily News, "A Campbell spokesman was quoted as saying, 'Our plans for the Swanson brand include additional placements in The Advocate'."
For example, Campbell Soup Company bought two, two-page advertisements in three of the past four issues of the nation's largest homosexual magazine, The Advocate.
In one of the ads, Campbell Soup Company featured two lesbians and their son. According to the company's website, the lesbians are married. Not only did such ads cost Campbell's a lot of money, they also sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family.
Campbell Soup Company is openly helping homosexual activists push their agenda, which, in turn, shows the company's approval of homosexuality.
Moms, it's time for us to get involved!
Take Action!
Send an e-mail to Campbell Soup Company President Douglas Conant. Tell him you are disappointed that Campbell's Soup has decided to support the homosexual agenda in the culture war.
After sending your e-mail, please call Campbell Soup Company (1-800-257-8443) and their Swanson division (1-800-442-7684) and express your disappointment that Campbell's is supporting same-sex marriage.
"The e-mail Bag"
The Dentist
The man said to the dentist, 'Doc, I'm in one heck of a hurry. I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go play golf, so forget about the anesthetic, just pull the tooth, and be done with it. We have a 10:00 AM tee time at the best golf course in town and it's 9:30 already. I don't have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!'
The dentist thought to himself, 'My goodness, this is a very brave man asking to have his tooth pulled without using anything to kill the pain.'
So the dentist asks him, 'Which tooth is it, sir?'
The man turned to his wife and said, 'Open your mouth, Honey, and show him.'
PRICELESS!!
If you’ve ever worked for a boss that reacts before getting the facts and thinking things through, you will love this!
Arcelor-Mittal Steel, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.
On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall.
The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business.
He walked up to the guy leaning against the wall and asked, ‘How much money do you make a week?’
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and replied, ‘I make $400 a week. Why?’
The CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in cash and screamed, ‘Here’s four weeks’ pay, now GET OUT and don’t come back.’
Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, ‘Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here? ‘
From across the room came a voice - - -
‘Domino’s Pizza delivery guy!!!’
"Daily Motivations"
Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do. -- Elizabeth Smith
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Grumbling or Grateful? Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise (Ps 100:4). A lot of people manufacture their own misery because they fail to be grateful.
"I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for Me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)
"The Patriot Post"
"Government can do something for the people only in proportion as it can do something to the people." -- Thomas Jefferson
"History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy... These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed; whence a total separation of affections, interests, political obligations, and all manner of connections, by which the whole state is weakened." -- Benjamin Franklin, Emblematical Representations
"This is the real task before us: to reassert our commitment as a nation to a law higher than our own, to renew our spiritual strength. Only by building a wall of such spiritual resolve can we, as a free people, hope to protect our own heritage and make it someday the birthright of all men." -- Ronald Reagan
"Been paying your mortgage for the last 15 months -- or 15 years? Stupid. Your taxes are going to go to help pay for the guy who can't, or doesn't want to, pay his. Why should you live in a house free of fear of foreclosure if your neighbor down the block can't? By the way, as I understand it, nothing in the housing plan deals with second or third or fourth mortgages which are part and parcel of this mess. People used their house as a piggy bank and mortgage brokers kept refinancing to build the new pool, the playroom, or the home theater because the overall value of the house kept going up. What about leaving the value of your house IN your house? Nah. If you wanted a new car you redid the second on your house, used that money to buy a new Mercedes and you could drop your kids off at school in style. ... Now the repo guys have come for your car and the bank is coming for your house and Obama wants me to give up what I've earned, to pay for something you haven't, but want to keep. This is the world view of the Community Organizer: There are poor people in this neighborhood who have less than they want. There are rich people in the next neighborhood who have more than they need. If you are a Community Organizer you try and even things out. If you are the Community Organizer-in-Chief you get to do this on a national scale and that is exactly what Barack Obama is planning to do. Who is John Galt?" -- political analyst Rich Galen
"In Washington, one person's waste is another person's pork. Every dime spent by the federal government has well-connected advocates who swear the money is vital to the national interest. ... It's not that people in government aren't as good or competent as those in the private sector (though that may be true). The difference lies in the incentives and feedback they face. Bureaucracies have little check on what they do, no bottom line, no market prices for their 'output.' What they do have is an incentive to spend all the money budgeted or risk getting less next year. As Milton Friedman used to say, no one spends other people's money as carefully as he spends his own. It is absurd to think the humongous constellation of federal bureaucracies is going to identify and root out 'waste' in any significant way. It's just not in the nature of the beast." -- ABC's "20/20" co-anchor John Stossel
"But as long as the nation is obsessed with historic milestones, is no one going to remark on what a great country it is where a mentally retarded woman can become speaker of the house?" - Ann Coulter - Feb 6, 2009
"The Web"
President Bush & John McCain Warned Democrats and America of Financial Failures. Why Did the Liberal Media Cover It Up?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1
Touch Me . . . !.exe
http://www.openmyeyeslord.net/Touchme.htm
Gathering of Eagles
http://www.gatheringofeagles.org/view363176l7751510794.html
Bless Our Soldiers
John McCain Country First
http://www.blessoursoldiers.com/
SF Police Captain tells the media the TRUTH...
This is a piece EVERY judge in the United States should see before he/she decides what appropriate pre-trial action to take when the next alleged/convicted felon stands before him/her. Too often do our heroic law enforcement officials hear nothing but criticism UNLESS one of us needs them. Don’t miss this!
http://mfile.akamai.com/12948/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0728/9591734.300k.asx
ACORN to Partner With Government for 2010 Census
Do you remember as to the ACORN corruption of illegal and multiple voter registration prior to the 2008 General Election? Do you remember several OCORN members who themselves voted several times, got caught, cancelled their multiple votes, and were allowed to cancel their multiple personal votes? Is the President Obama Department of Justice headed by Attorney General Eric Holder going to prosecute this ACORN illegal voter registration and illegal voting? Illegal registration and/or illegal voting is destruction to the foundation of a free society. Will you believe President Obama is now granting ACORN more, by presenting a grant in the "2009 Stimulus" H.R. 1, (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed the US House on January 28, 2009, passed by the US Senate on February 10, differences resolved on February 13, 2009, and signed into law on February 17, 2009)allowing ACORN to work with the US Census? You may remember President Obama and the majority Democrats on Capital Hill said this legislation could not wait; even to disallow the legislators themselves time to read and learn the ingredients included within this new "Stimulus" legislation. The entire process stinks! What new forms of government corruption will this ACORN organization bring? As for me, I believe ACORN may be a hidden corrupt organization. - oyh
By: Dave Eberhart
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/acorn_census_partner/2009/03/18/193218.html?s=al&promo_code=7C64-1
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN) is now a “national partner” with the U.S. Census Bureau, soon to help the White House find 1.4 million workers to canvass for the country’s 2010 census.
If the acronym rings a bell, it’s because the organization has a history of voter fraud charges in the last election cycle, according to a report by FOXNews.com.
ACORN will be joining with more than 250 national partners, including TARGET and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to assist in the hiring of census workers around the country.
ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson told FOXNews.com, “ACORN as an organization has not been charged with any crime,” adding that concerns that the organization will unfairly influence the census are unfounded.
The U.S. Census Bureau has also gone on the defensive.
“The Census (Bureau) is a nonpartisan, non-political agency and we’re very dedicated to an accurate account,” bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner told FOXNews.com. “We have a lot of quality controls in place to keep any kind of systemic error or fraudulent behavior to affect the counts.”
Buckner said 140,000 census taker jobs must be filled to complete the first phase of the effort. Each applicant, he emphasized, must take a basic skills exam and is also subject to an FBI background check.
But there are many who remain concerned about the organization’s role.
"ACORN has been accused of voter fraud, embezzlement, and more... and yet this is a group that the federal government wants helping with the census?" asks Bobby Eberle of GOPUSA.
“It’s a concern, especially when you look at all the different charges of voter fraud. And it’s not just the lawmakers’ concern. It should be the concern of every citizen in the country,” Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland, R-Ga., vice ranking member of the subcommittee for the U.S. Census, told FOXNews.com. “We want an enumeration. We don’t want to have any false numbers.”
ACORN came under assault in 2007 when Washington State filed felony charges against several paid ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 fraudulent voter registration forms.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a member of the House census subcommittee, said, “I feel fairly confident that the penalties for an individual manipulating the count are pretty severe,” noting that the penalties would certainly deter any fraud in the counting by workers. The penalty for any fraudulent activity can be up to five years in jail.
The census count is critical to both politicians and states because it not only determines congressional allocation, but it also provides the raw data by which government spending is allocated on everything from roads to schools.
Obama Wants to Disarm U.S. Pilots
By: David A. Patten Article Font Size
http://www.newsmax.com:80/headlines/obama_airline_pilots/2009/03/18/193314.html?s=al&promo_code=7C69-1
The Obama administration is taking steps quietly to shut down the program that qualifies commercial airline pilots to carry firearms in jetliner cockpits in order to ward off another 9/11-type attack.
The administration recently diverted $2 million from a program to train and certify pilots to carry firearms safely while on duty. Instead, it is using the money to hire additional field inspectors to help discipline pilots who step out of line, according to a report in Tuesday’s Washington Times.
A Times editorial condemned the Obama administration's action, calling it “completely unnecessary harassment of the pilots.”
Since Obama took office, the approval process for certifying pilots to carry firearms has ground to a halt, the newspaper reports. Pilots are afraid to speak out about the behind-the-scenes maneuverings, for fear of retaliation, according to the newspaper. No cases have been reported in which pilots have brandished a weapon inappropriately or otherwise abused their eligibility to carry firearms.
About 12,000 pilots have been authorized to carry handguns while flying aircraft as part of the Federal Flight Deck Officers Program. Congress authorized the program in a 310-to-113 vote following the 9/11 attacks to help prevent terrorists from turning jetliners into flying bombs that could be used to attack key sites like the White House, the Pentagon, or Capitol Hill.
Paul Valone, a Second Amendment advocate who directs Grass Roots North Carolina (GRNC.org), is calling for citizens to contract their congressional representatives to protest the administration’s anti-gun priorities.
Pilots are already required to pay for their own room and board during training, and use paid leave for the time they’re off the job. Every six months, the program requires them to be requalified for firearm use.
Valone writes on Examiner.com: “While bureaucrats . . . may have attempted to hamstring the program with burdensome requirements, training instructors and the Federal Air Marshals who now oversee the program routinely thank the FFDOs for their professionalism and dedication in protecting the nation’s air commerce against terrorism.”
Valone says the Obama administration is “dismantling yet another layer of defense against terrorism and defying the will of the American people.”
Since coming to power, the Obama administration has undertaken a series of moves that signal a major de-emphasis of programs enacted to keep America’s homeland safe from terrorist attack:
Obama’s choice for U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, labeled enhanced interrogation techniques as outright “torture” during his Senate confirmation hearings.
Obama banned waterboarding and ordered CIA interrogators to abide by U.S. Army Field Manual regulations.
He selected Clinton-era political operative Leon Panetta to serve as his CIA director. Panetta’s qualifications to run the agency have been questioned widely.
Obama announced that he would shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba within one year, raising the prospect of hardened terrorists entering the U.S. criminal justice system, or worse, being released to rejoin al-Qaida.
He indicated the U.S. defense budget would be sharply reduced.
He has sent a letter to Russian leaders, apparently offering to back off on the ballistic missile defense system that would protect Europe from Iran and North Korea.
These and other Obama administration moves recently prompted former vice president Dick Cheney to charge that Obama is returning to the Clinton-era view of terrorism as a law enforcement issue.
"Now he's made some choices that in my mind raise the risk to the American people of another attack," Cheney said of Obama on CNN's "State of the Union" program.
The Washington Times points out that about 70 percent of airline pilots have military backgrounds. With airport screening less than 100 percent effective, it states, armed pilots provide a second layer of defense.
“Only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits are worried about armed pilots,” the newspaper editorial says.
WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE
http://mrmom.amaonline.com/special/whoiam.htm
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class.
Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."
Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.
The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart.
As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony
going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius.
Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says: "Who I Am Makes a Difference, on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you.
I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn't think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think I need it after all."
His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, "Mom and Dad."
The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a
difference in his life...one being the boss's son.
And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make difference.
You are under no obligation to send this on to anyone...not to two people or to two hundred. As far as I am concerned, you can delete it and move on to the next message. But if, you have anyone who means a lot to you, I encourage you to send him or her this message and let them know. You never know what kind of difference a little encouragement can make to a person.
Send it to all of the people who mean anything important to you, or send it to the one, two, or three people who mean the most. Or just smile and know that someone thinks that you are important, or you wouldn't have received this in the first place. Remember that! I give you a blue ribbon.
WHO YOU ARE MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT!!
Campbell's Soup condenses its morals
NOTE: If you have the option to do so, please add us to your 'buddy', 'accepted', 'approved' or 'trusted sender' list to ensure you continue to receive our messages. Thanks.
March 19, 2009
Campbell's Soup condenses its morals
Tens of thousands of AFA supporters have expressed their disgust with Campbell Soup Company supporting the gay agenda. AFA asked the company to remain neutral in the culture war, but Campbell's Soup refused. The company said it will continue supporting homosexuals.
According to the Media Daily News, "A Campbell spokesman was quoted as saying, 'Our plans for the Swanson brand include additional placements in The Advocate'."
For example, Campbell Soup Company bought two, two-page advertisements in three of the past four issues of the nation's largest homosexual magazine, The Advocate.
In one of the ads, Campbell Soup Company featured two lesbians and their son. According to the company's website, the lesbians are married. Not only did such ads cost Campbell's a lot of money, they also sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family.
Campbell Soup Company is openly helping homosexual activists push their agenda, which, in turn, shows the company's approval of homosexuality.
Moms, it's time for us to get involved!
Take Action!
Send an e-mail to Campbell Soup Company President Douglas Conant. Tell him you are disappointed that Campbell's Soup has decided to support the homosexual agenda in the culture war.
After sending your e-mail, please call Campbell Soup Company (1-800-257-8443) and their Swanson division (1-800-442-7684) and express your disappointment that Campbell's is supporting same-sex marriage.
"The e-mail Bag"
The Dentist
The man said to the dentist, 'Doc, I'm in one heck of a hurry. I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go play golf, so forget about the anesthetic, just pull the tooth, and be done with it. We have a 10:00 AM tee time at the best golf course in town and it's 9:30 already. I don't have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!'
The dentist thought to himself, 'My goodness, this is a very brave man asking to have his tooth pulled without using anything to kill the pain.'
So the dentist asks him, 'Which tooth is it, sir?'
The man turned to his wife and said, 'Open your mouth, Honey, and show him.'
PRICELESS!!
If you’ve ever worked for a boss that reacts before getting the facts and thinking things through, you will love this!
Arcelor-Mittal Steel, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.
On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall.
The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business.
He walked up to the guy leaning against the wall and asked, ‘How much money do you make a week?’
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and replied, ‘I make $400 a week. Why?’
The CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in cash and screamed, ‘Here’s four weeks’ pay, now GET OUT and don’t come back.’
Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, ‘Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here? ‘
From across the room came a voice - - -
‘Domino’s Pizza delivery guy!!!’
Friday, March 20, 2009
WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE
http://mrmom.amaonline.com/special/whoiam.htm
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class.
Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."
Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.
The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart.
As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony
going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius.
Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says: "Who I Am Makes a Difference, on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you.
I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn't think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think I need it after all."
His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, "Mom and Dad."
The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a
difference in his life...one being the boss's son.
And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make difference.
You are under no obligation to send this on to anyone...not to two people or to two hundred. As far as I am concerned, you can delete it and move on to the next message. But if, you have anyone who means a lot to you, I encourage you to send him or her this message and let them know. You never know what kind of difference a little encouragement can make to a person.
Send it to all of the people who mean anything important to you, or send it to the one, two, or three people who mean the most. Or just smile and know that someone thinks that you are important, or you wouldn't have received this in the first place. Remember that! I give you a blue ribbon.
WHO YOU ARE MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT!!
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class.
Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."
Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.
The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart.
As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony
going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius.
Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says: "Who I Am Makes a Difference, on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you.
I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn't think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think I need it after all."
His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was addressed, "Mom and Dad."
The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a
difference in his life...one being the boss's son.
And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make difference.
You are under no obligation to send this on to anyone...not to two people or to two hundred. As far as I am concerned, you can delete it and move on to the next message. But if, you have anyone who means a lot to you, I encourage you to send him or her this message and let them know. You never know what kind of difference a little encouragement can make to a person.
Send it to all of the people who mean anything important to you, or send it to the one, two, or three people who mean the most. Or just smile and know that someone thinks that you are important, or you wouldn't have received this in the first place. Remember that! I give you a blue ribbon.
WHO YOU ARE MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT!!
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090320
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"My Comments"
Some of you are already aware that Glen Beck has become a TV commentator on Fox News Channel from CNN. While his TV ratings at CNN were low, his ratings at FNC are very high. May I encourage each of you to watch Glen Beck weekdays on FNC at 5:00 PM Eastern and on weekend specials.
May I also encourage each of you to visit Glen Beck at http://theglennbeck912project.com/ and read, learn, and practice his 9 Principles and 12 Values; a great guide to live by. Place these 9 Principles and 12 Values right beside your personal Bible.
9 Principles
1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is know. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson
12 Values
Honesty
Reverence
Hope
Thrift
Humility
Charity
Sincerity
Moderation
Hard Work
Courage
Personal Responsibility
Gratitude
"Daily Motivations"
Celebration wears a lot of different outfits but always wears the same old, beautiful dancing shoes. -- Mary Anne Radmacher
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Persuasion And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved (Acts 28:24). When you give people legitimate answers, they will respond and often be saved.
"I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18)
"The Patriot Post"
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. ... I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere." -- Thomas Jefferson
"Now it doesn't require expropriation or confiscation of private property or business to impose socialism on a people. What does it mean whether you hold the deed ... or the title to your business or property if the government holds the power of life and death over that business or property? And such machinery already exists. The government can find some charge to bring against any concern it chooses to prosecute. Every businessman has his own tale of harassment. Somewhere a perversion has taken place. Our natural, unalienable rights are now considered to be a dispensation of government, and freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment." -- Ronald Reagan
"Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor's fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can't socialize the doctors without socializing the patients. Recognize that government invasion of public power is eventually an assault upon your own business. If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he'll eat you last." -- Ronald Reagan
"Our problem has never been our principles. The Republican party's problem is that they no longer stand for those principles and have run away from them. We have lost people's trust and, therefore, their vote." - Mike Huckabee
This week's 'Alpha Jackass' award
What I'm looking at is not the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market but the long-term, uh, ability for the United States and the entire world economy, uh, to regain its footing. Uh, and, y-y-you know, the stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs up and down day to day, uh, and if you spend all your time worrying about that, you're probably going to get long-term strategy wrong. ... What you're now seeing is profit and -- and earning ratios are -- are starting to, to get to the point where buying stocks is a potentially good deal if you've got a long-term perspective on it. Uhhh, I think that consumer confidence, as they see the American, uh, Recovery and Reinvestment Act taking root, uh, businesses are starting to see opportunities for investment, uh, and potential hiring." -- Barack Obama
The BIG lie
"This is a remarkably fiscally responsible budget. I don't think we've been this fiscally responsible in a very long time." -- Tax-Cheatin' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
"The Web"
Click here: Ultimate Freedom
http://www.openmyeyeslord.net/UltimateFreedom.htm
Honk If You Are Paying My Mortgage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3leTqIX1SQ
Obama appointee no 'moderate' judge - During the election, I continued to report that all would suffer if Obama wins the US Presidency; based on Obama's radical left-wing beliefs contrary to Judeo-Christian values. President Obama's first appointment on the US Federal Court is so damaging to our values in the future. Judeo-Christian values are going backwards from the values we love and trust so strongly. So many in the Judeo-Christian communities chose personal financial issues over Religious values, For this appointment, I am so sorry. - oyh
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 3/19/2009 6:00:00 AM
President Obama has nominated Federal Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
http://www.onenewsnow.com:80/Politics/Default.aspx?id=456720
Hamilton is being touted as a moderate, but Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice disagrees. "He's just your classic, liberal judicial activist on issues like abortion, criminal issues such as suppression of evidence and sex offenders, separation of church and state issues," he says.
It was Judge Hamilton who declared prayer in Jesus' name before the Indiana Legislature unconstitutional, but that decision did not stand for long. "He even had a run-in with the appellate court, the Seventh Circuit, that said that what he was trying to rule in the case was outrageous," Levey points out. That is the same court to which Hamilton has been nominated.
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University's School of Law, also comments. (Listen to audio)
"[Hamilton] was nominated to the federal district bench by President Clinton even though he had no judicial experience and was rated as not qualified by the American Bar Association," he says. "What we have is Barack Obama nominating from all levels, now at the judicial branch, the most left-leaning people that you can imagine on every conceivable issue."
In addition, Hamilton has had some off-duty activities that have come to Levey's attention. "The guy has had a leadership role in the Indiana Chapter of the ACLU, and we know how the ACLU feels about religion," Levey adds. "He even did fundraising for the ultra, ultra liberal group ACORN, so none of this is surprising."
Levey says that appeals court appointments are important because their legal decisions generally are final because of the few cases the Supreme Court accepts. There are 15 vacancies on the appeals courts that the Obama administration will fill.
Dear President Obama,
Thank you for helping my neighbors with their mortgage payments. You know the ones down the street, who in the good times refinanced their house several times and bought SUV's, ATV's, RV's, a pool, a big screen TV, two Wave Runners and a Harley. But I was wondering, since I am paying my mortgage and theirs, could you arrange for me to borrow the Harley now and then?
Richard Ford
Queen Creek , AZ
P.S. They also need help with their credit cards, when do you want me to start making those payments?
P.P.S. I almost forgot - they didn't file their income tax return this year. Should I go ahead and file for them or will you be appointing them to cabinet posts?
Taps
If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps were played; this brings out a new meaning of it.
We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, "Taps." It's the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes.
But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia .. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status.. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral..
The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.
But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.
This wish was granted.
The haunting melody, we now know as "Taps" used at military funerals was born.
The words are:
Day is done.
Gone the sun.
From the lakes
From the hills.
From the sky.
All is well.
Safely rest.
God is nigh.
Fading light.
Dims the sight.
And a star.
Gems the sky.
Gleaming bright.
From afar.
Drawing nigh.
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise.
For our days.
Neath the sun
Neath the stars.
Neath the sky.
As we go.
This we know.
God is nigh
I too have felt the chills while listening to "Taps" but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.
Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces.
SOCIAL SECURITY CHANGES
It is already impossible to live on Social Security alone. If the government gives benefits to 'illegal' aliens who have never contributed, where does that leave those of us who have paid into Social Security all our working lives?
As stated below, the Senate voted this week to allow 'illegal' aliens access to Social Security benefits.. Attached is an opportunity to sign a petition that requires citizenship for eligibility to that social service.
TEA PARTIES ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA TO PROTEST BIG SPENDING AND HIGH TAXES
Americans for Prosperity Encourages You to Attend Events, Standing Up for Individual Economic Freedom
People from coast to coast are saying NO MORE -- ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
AFP- North Carolina is very excited to join hands with the many grassroots activists across the country to protest federal bailouts, spending sprees, so-called stimulus packages, earmarks and fiscal irresponsibility in national, state, and local governments.
As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Please attend one or more of these events and help us spread the word. Our economic freedom is under attack and we must fight back. All of the events below are free and open to the public. (If you are having an event and we don’t have it listed, please email us at info@afpnc.org)
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Raleigh - 12:00-2:00 pm
NC State Capitol (east side) downtown Raleigh
Free Lunch for the first 150 people who attend. Rain or shine. Register online here.
Another Communist Terrorist to be Free - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/another-communist-terrorist-to-be-free/
News reports about Olson’s impending release have inaccurately called her a “domestic terrorist” and have ignored her associations with Ayers and Dohrn.
Another one of Bill Ayers’ and Bernardine Dohrn’s terrorist comrades is being released on the streets of America. Sara Jane Olson, a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an off-shoot of the Weather Underground, has served only seven years for involvement in the murder of a bank customer and the attempted murder of Los Angeles police officers by bombing their cars.
Meanwhile, justice continues to be sought for the victims of Weather Underground terrorism such as San Francisco Police Sergeant Brian V. McDonnell, who was killed by a bomb on February 16, 1970. Former FBI informant Larry Grathwohl has testified under oath that Ayers told him that Dohrn planted the bomb. The case has been re-opened and evidence is still being gathered.
While the SLA committed murders, bank robberies and other acts of violence, it became notorious for kidnapping the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, Patty Hearst.
In the document, “The Last SLA Statement,” Bill Harris of the SLA declared that “The long run aim of the SLA was to work toward the annihilation of U.S. imperialism and the culture and institutions that support it.” The SLA was part of “a people’s army” to accomplish this goal.
"The e-mail Bag"
Cowboy Named Bud
A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"
Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.
Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though
nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep...
Now, give me back my dog...
The sharing of marriage...
The old man placed an order for one hamburger, French fries and a drink.
He unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half, placing one half in front of his wife.
He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife.
He took a sip of the drink; his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them. As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them were looking over and whispering.
Obviously they were thinking, 'That poor old couple - all they can afford is one meal for the two of them.'
As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table and politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man said, they were just fine - they were used to sharing everything.
People closer to the table noticed the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.
Again, the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said 'No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything.'
Finally, as the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked 'What is it you are waiting for?'
She answered, THE TEETH
"My Comments"
Some of you are already aware that Glen Beck has become a TV commentator on Fox News Channel from CNN. While his TV ratings at CNN were low, his ratings at FNC are very high. May I encourage each of you to watch Glen Beck weekdays on FNC at 5:00 PM Eastern and on weekend specials.
May I also encourage each of you to visit Glen Beck at http://theglennbeck912project.com/ and read, learn, and practice his 9 Principles and 12 Values; a great guide to live by. Place these 9 Principles and 12 Values right beside your personal Bible.
9 Principles
1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is know. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson
12 Values
Honesty
Reverence
Hope
Thrift
Humility
Charity
Sincerity
Moderation
Hard Work
Courage
Personal Responsibility
Gratitude
"Daily Motivations"
Celebration wears a lot of different outfits but always wears the same old, beautiful dancing shoes. -- Mary Anne Radmacher
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Persuasion And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved (Acts 28:24). When you give people legitimate answers, they will respond and often be saved.
"I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18)
"The Patriot Post"
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. ... I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere." -- Thomas Jefferson
"Now it doesn't require expropriation or confiscation of private property or business to impose socialism on a people. What does it mean whether you hold the deed ... or the title to your business or property if the government holds the power of life and death over that business or property? And such machinery already exists. The government can find some charge to bring against any concern it chooses to prosecute. Every businessman has his own tale of harassment. Somewhere a perversion has taken place. Our natural, unalienable rights are now considered to be a dispensation of government, and freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment." -- Ronald Reagan
"Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor's fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can't socialize the doctors without socializing the patients. Recognize that government invasion of public power is eventually an assault upon your own business. If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he'll eat you last." -- Ronald Reagan
"Our problem has never been our principles. The Republican party's problem is that they no longer stand for those principles and have run away from them. We have lost people's trust and, therefore, their vote." - Mike Huckabee
This week's 'Alpha Jackass' award
What I'm looking at is not the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market but the long-term, uh, ability for the United States and the entire world economy, uh, to regain its footing. Uh, and, y-y-you know, the stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs up and down day to day, uh, and if you spend all your time worrying about that, you're probably going to get long-term strategy wrong. ... What you're now seeing is profit and -- and earning ratios are -- are starting to, to get to the point where buying stocks is a potentially good deal if you've got a long-term perspective on it. Uhhh, I think that consumer confidence, as they see the American, uh, Recovery and Reinvestment Act taking root, uh, businesses are starting to see opportunities for investment, uh, and potential hiring." -- Barack Obama
The BIG lie
"This is a remarkably fiscally responsible budget. I don't think we've been this fiscally responsible in a very long time." -- Tax-Cheatin' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
"The Web"
Click here: Ultimate Freedom
http://www.openmyeyeslord.net/UltimateFreedom.htm
Honk If You Are Paying My Mortgage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3leTqIX1SQ
Obama appointee no 'moderate' judge - During the election, I continued to report that all would suffer if Obama wins the US Presidency; based on Obama's radical left-wing beliefs contrary to Judeo-Christian values. President Obama's first appointment on the US Federal Court is so damaging to our values in the future. Judeo-Christian values are going backwards from the values we love and trust so strongly. So many in the Judeo-Christian communities chose personal financial issues over Religious values, For this appointment, I am so sorry. - oyh
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 3/19/2009 6:00:00 AM
President Obama has nominated Federal Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
http://www.onenewsnow.com:80/Politics/Default.aspx?id=456720
Hamilton is being touted as a moderate, but Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice disagrees. "He's just your classic, liberal judicial activist on issues like abortion, criminal issues such as suppression of evidence and sex offenders, separation of church and state issues," he says.
It was Judge Hamilton who declared prayer in Jesus' name before the Indiana Legislature unconstitutional, but that decision did not stand for long. "He even had a run-in with the appellate court, the Seventh Circuit, that said that what he was trying to rule in the case was outrageous," Levey points out. That is the same court to which Hamilton has been nominated.
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University's School of Law, also comments. (Listen to audio)
"[Hamilton] was nominated to the federal district bench by President Clinton even though he had no judicial experience and was rated as not qualified by the American Bar Association," he says. "What we have is Barack Obama nominating from all levels, now at the judicial branch, the most left-leaning people that you can imagine on every conceivable issue."
In addition, Hamilton has had some off-duty activities that have come to Levey's attention. "The guy has had a leadership role in the Indiana Chapter of the ACLU, and we know how the ACLU feels about religion," Levey adds. "He even did fundraising for the ultra, ultra liberal group ACORN, so none of this is surprising."
Levey says that appeals court appointments are important because their legal decisions generally are final because of the few cases the Supreme Court accepts. There are 15 vacancies on the appeals courts that the Obama administration will fill.
Dear President Obama,
Thank you for helping my neighbors with their mortgage payments. You know the ones down the street, who in the good times refinanced their house several times and bought SUV's, ATV's, RV's, a pool, a big screen TV, two Wave Runners and a Harley. But I was wondering, since I am paying my mortgage and theirs, could you arrange for me to borrow the Harley now and then?
Richard Ford
Queen Creek , AZ
P.S. They also need help with their credit cards, when do you want me to start making those payments?
P.P.S. I almost forgot - they didn't file their income tax return this year. Should I go ahead and file for them or will you be appointing them to cabinet posts?
Taps
If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps were played; this brings out a new meaning of it.
We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, "Taps." It's the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes.
But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia .. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status.. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral..
The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.
But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.
This wish was granted.
The haunting melody, we now know as "Taps" used at military funerals was born.
The words are:
Day is done.
Gone the sun.
From the lakes
From the hills.
From the sky.
All is well.
Safely rest.
God is nigh.
Fading light.
Dims the sight.
And a star.
Gems the sky.
Gleaming bright.
From afar.
Drawing nigh.
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise.
For our days.
Neath the sun
Neath the stars.
Neath the sky.
As we go.
This we know.
God is nigh
I too have felt the chills while listening to "Taps" but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.
Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces.
SOCIAL SECURITY CHANGES
It is already impossible to live on Social Security alone. If the government gives benefits to 'illegal' aliens who have never contributed, where does that leave those of us who have paid into Social Security all our working lives?
As stated below, the Senate voted this week to allow 'illegal' aliens access to Social Security benefits.. Attached is an opportunity to sign a petition that requires citizenship for eligibility to that social service.
TEA PARTIES ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA TO PROTEST BIG SPENDING AND HIGH TAXES
Americans for Prosperity Encourages You to Attend Events, Standing Up for Individual Economic Freedom
People from coast to coast are saying NO MORE -- ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
AFP- North Carolina is very excited to join hands with the many grassroots activists across the country to protest federal bailouts, spending sprees, so-called stimulus packages, earmarks and fiscal irresponsibility in national, state, and local governments.
As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Please attend one or more of these events and help us spread the word. Our economic freedom is under attack and we must fight back. All of the events below are free and open to the public. (If you are having an event and we don’t have it listed, please email us at info@afpnc.org)
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Raleigh - 12:00-2:00 pm
NC State Capitol (east side) downtown Raleigh
Free Lunch for the first 150 people who attend. Rain or shine. Register online here.
Another Communist Terrorist to be Free - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/another-communist-terrorist-to-be-free/
News reports about Olson’s impending release have inaccurately called her a “domestic terrorist” and have ignored her associations with Ayers and Dohrn.
Another one of Bill Ayers’ and Bernardine Dohrn’s terrorist comrades is being released on the streets of America. Sara Jane Olson, a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an off-shoot of the Weather Underground, has served only seven years for involvement in the murder of a bank customer and the attempted murder of Los Angeles police officers by bombing their cars.
Meanwhile, justice continues to be sought for the victims of Weather Underground terrorism such as San Francisco Police Sergeant Brian V. McDonnell, who was killed by a bomb on February 16, 1970. Former FBI informant Larry Grathwohl has testified under oath that Ayers told him that Dohrn planted the bomb. The case has been re-opened and evidence is still being gathered.
While the SLA committed murders, bank robberies and other acts of violence, it became notorious for kidnapping the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, Patty Hearst.
In the document, “The Last SLA Statement,” Bill Harris of the SLA declared that “The long run aim of the SLA was to work toward the annihilation of U.S. imperialism and the culture and institutions that support it.” The SLA was part of “a people’s army” to accomplish this goal.
"The e-mail Bag"
Cowboy Named Bud
A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"
Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.
Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.
Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though
nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep...
Now, give me back my dog...
The sharing of marriage...
The old man placed an order for one hamburger, French fries and a drink.
He unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half, placing one half in front of his wife.
He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife.
He took a sip of the drink; his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them. As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them were looking over and whispering.
Obviously they were thinking, 'That poor old couple - all they can afford is one meal for the two of them.'
As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table and politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man said, they were just fine - they were used to sharing everything.
People closer to the table noticed the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.
Again, the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said 'No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything.'
Finally, as the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked 'What is it you are waiting for?'
She answered, THE TEETH
Thursday, March 19, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090319
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Aim for service and success will follow. -- Albert Schweitzer
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for You! (Jeremiah 32:17)
"I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for Me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)
"The Patriot Post"
"A just security to property is not afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species." -- James Madison
"If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this in one instance may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.." -- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
"Enough. In a word, that is the message of disgusted taxpayers fed up with the confiscatory policies of both parties in Washington.. George Bush pre-socialized the economy with billion-dollar bailouts of the financial and auto industries. Barack Obama is pouring billions more down those sinkholes. It isn't just the camel's back that's broken. His neck and four legs have all snapped, too." -- columnist Michelle Malkin
THE DEMO-GOGUES
Look out, change is coming: "The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don't. I work for the American people. I didn't come here to do the same thing we've been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November." -- Barack Obama
Hands off: "I don't think the White House has the ability to tell us what to." -- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) telling the White House to leave Congress alone about earmarks
Obamamania: "There's an energy among our people that has never been seen before, never produced by any man or organization before." -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Obama worship among "his people"
"The Web"
May You Be Blessed
http://beblessedmovie.com:80/
Change is Good, You Go First
http://www.changeisgoodmovie.com/land.html
No Party ID for Murtha, But CBS Tags Critic Flake as '(R)' - Was this planned and purposeful by CBS? Shame on CBS! - oyh
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2009/03/17/no-party-id-murtha-cbs-tags-critic-flake-r
Tuesday's CBS Evening News highlighted an ethics investigation of a long-serving House Democrat, but viewers were not clued in to his party affiliation verbally or with any an on-screen notation. Yet CBS slapped a party name on screen as a Murtha critic spoke: "Rep. Jeff Flake (R) Arizona." Fill-in anchor Maggie Rodriguez avoided Murtha's party as she asserted "there are few politicians as polarizing as Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha" and referred to him as "a powerful member of Congress." In a story which consumed about-two-and-a- half minutes, reporter Sharyl Attkisson also failed to identify Murtha's party.
Chain E-mail of the day - Illegal Aliens
http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?p=465849&sid=a12529a6a8d8721a41b647823c5525b4#p465849
Boy, was I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us.
I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.
I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I also have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts.
1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.
Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for llegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... ldt.0.html
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 Billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National policy Institute estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.
Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/ ... tation.pdf
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances to their countries of origin.
Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One million sex crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States ..
Verify at: http: // www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
Are we THAT stupid?
If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message. If, on the other hand, it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, I hope you forward it to every legal resident in the country including every elected representative in Washington, D.C. - five times a week for as long as it takes to restore some semblance of intelligence in our policies and enforcement thereof.
Wisdom – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
1. 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
2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain
3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But, then, I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw
6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man; which he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy
7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-- P. J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. Rockwell".. -- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And, if it stops moving, subsidize it. -- Ronald Reagan (1986)
12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -- Will Rogers
13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! -- P. J. O'Rourke
14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -- Voltaire (1764)
15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -- Pericles (430 B.C.)
16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain (1866)
17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. -- Anonymous
18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -- Ronald Reagan
19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill
20. The only difference between a taxman and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain
21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)
22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class ... save, Congress. -- Mark Twain
23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)
24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -- Thomas Jefferson
25. The biggest difference between Republicans and Democrats is the spelling. -- Anonymous
Isn't It Strange?
Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?
Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?
Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?
Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?
Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?
Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?
Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to gossip?
Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?
Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?
Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mail's and they are forwarded right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?
IT'S STRANGE ISN'T IT?
"The e-mail Bag"
Your Obama Clock
http://obamaclock.org:80/
An Important Upgrade Program
Last year a friend of mine upgraded GirlFriend 1.0 to Wife 1.0 and found that it's a memory hog leaving very little system resources for other applications. He is only now noticing that Wife 1.0 also is spawning Child-Processes which are further consuming valuable resources.
No mention of this particular phenomena was included in the product brochure or the documentation, though other users have informed him that this is to be expected due to the nature of the application.
Not only that, Wife 1.0 installs itself such that it is always launched at system initialization where it can monitor all other system activity. He's finding that some applications such as PokerNight 10.3, BeerBash 2.5, and PubNight 7.0 are no longer able to run in the system at all, crashing the system when selected even though they always worked fine before.
At installation, Wife 1.0 provides no option as to the installation of undesired Plug-Ins such as MotherInLaw 55.8 and BrotherInLaw Beta release. Also, system performance seems to diminish with each passing day.
The features he'd like to see in the upcoming Wife 2.0 include:
- A"Don't remind me again" button
- Minimize button
- An install shield feature that allows Wife
2.0 to be installed with the option to uninstall at anytime without
the loss of cache and other
system resources.
- An option to run the network driver in promiscuous
mode which would allow the systems hardware probe
feature to be much more useful.
I myself decided to avoid all of the headaches associated with Wife 1.0 by sticking with Girlfriend 2.0. Even here, however, I found many problems. Apparently you cannot install Girlfriend 2.0 on top of Girlfriend 1.0. You must uninstall Girlfriend 1.0 first.
Other users say this is a long standing bug which I should have been aware of. Apparently the versions of Girlfriend have conflicts over shared use of the I/O port.
You think they would have fixed such a stupid bug by now. To make matters worse, The uninstall program for Girlfriend 1.0 doesn't work very well leaving undesirable traces of the application in the system.
Another thing that sucks -- all versions of Girlfriend continually pop-up little annoying messages about the advantages of upgrading to Wife 1.0
BUG WARNING
Wife 1.0 has an undocumented bug. If you try to install Mistress 1.1 before uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.1 will refuse to install, claiming insufficient resources.
BUG WORK-AROUNDS
To avoid the above bug, try installing Mistress 1.1 on a different system and never run any file transfer applications such as LapLink 6.0. Also, beware of similar shareware applications that have been
known to carry viruses that may affect Wife 1.0.
Another solution would be to run Mistress 1.0 via a UseNet provider under an anonymous name. Here again, beware of the viruses which can accidentally be downloaded from the UseNet.
"Daily Motivations"
Aim for service and success will follow. -- Albert Schweitzer
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for You! (Jeremiah 32:17)
"I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for Me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)
"The Patriot Post"
"A just security to property is not afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species." -- James Madison
"If in the opinion of the people the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this in one instance may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.." -- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
"Enough. In a word, that is the message of disgusted taxpayers fed up with the confiscatory policies of both parties in Washington.. George Bush pre-socialized the economy with billion-dollar bailouts of the financial and auto industries. Barack Obama is pouring billions more down those sinkholes. It isn't just the camel's back that's broken. His neck and four legs have all snapped, too." -- columnist Michelle Malkin
THE DEMO-GOGUES
Look out, change is coming: "The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don't. I work for the American people. I didn't come here to do the same thing we've been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November." -- Barack Obama
Hands off: "I don't think the White House has the ability to tell us what to." -- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) telling the White House to leave Congress alone about earmarks
Obamamania: "There's an energy among our people that has never been seen before, never produced by any man or organization before." -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Obama worship among "his people"
"The Web"
May You Be Blessed
http://beblessedmovie.com:80/
Change is Good, You Go First
http://www.changeisgoodmovie.com/land.html
No Party ID for Murtha, But CBS Tags Critic Flake as '(R)' - Was this planned and purposeful by CBS? Shame on CBS! - oyh
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2009/03/17/no-party-id-murtha-cbs-tags-critic-flake-r
Tuesday's CBS Evening News highlighted an ethics investigation of a long-serving House Democrat, but viewers were not clued in to his party affiliation verbally or with any an on-screen notation. Yet CBS slapped a party name on screen as a Murtha critic spoke: "Rep. Jeff Flake (R) Arizona." Fill-in anchor Maggie Rodriguez avoided Murtha's party as she asserted "there are few politicians as polarizing as Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha" and referred to him as "a powerful member of Congress." In a story which consumed about-two-and-a- half minutes, reporter Sharyl Attkisson also failed to identify Murtha's party.
Chain E-mail of the day - Illegal Aliens
http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?p=465849&sid=a12529a6a8d8721a41b647823c5525b4#p465849
Boy, was I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us.
I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.
I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I also have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts.
1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.
Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for llegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... ldt.0.html
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 Billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National policy Institute estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.
Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/ ... tation.pdf
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances to their countries of origin.
Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One million sex crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States ..
Verify at: http: // www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
Are we THAT stupid?
If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message. If, on the other hand, it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, I hope you forward it to every legal resident in the country including every elected representative in Washington, D.C. - five times a week for as long as it takes to restore some semblance of intelligence in our policies and enforcement thereof.
Wisdom – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
1. 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
2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain
3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But, then, I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw
6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man; which he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy
7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-- P. J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. Rockwell".. -- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And, if it stops moving, subsidize it. -- Ronald Reagan (1986)
12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -- Will Rogers
13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! -- P. J. O'Rourke
14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -- Voltaire (1764)
15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -- Pericles (430 B.C.)
16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain (1866)
17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. -- Anonymous
18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -- Ronald Reagan
19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill
20. The only difference between a taxman and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain
21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)
22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class ... save, Congress. -- Mark Twain
23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)
24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -- Thomas Jefferson
25. The biggest difference between Republicans and Democrats is the spelling. -- Anonymous
Isn't It Strange?
Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?
Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?
Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?
Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?
Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?
Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?
Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to gossip?
Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?
Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?
Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mail's and they are forwarded right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?
IT'S STRANGE ISN'T IT?
"The e-mail Bag"
Your Obama Clock
http://obamaclock.org:80/
An Important Upgrade Program
Last year a friend of mine upgraded GirlFriend 1.0 to Wife 1.0 and found that it's a memory hog leaving very little system resources for other applications. He is only now noticing that Wife 1.0 also is spawning Child-Processes which are further consuming valuable resources.
No mention of this particular phenomena was included in the product brochure or the documentation, though other users have informed him that this is to be expected due to the nature of the application.
Not only that, Wife 1.0 installs itself such that it is always launched at system initialization where it can monitor all other system activity. He's finding that some applications such as PokerNight 10.3, BeerBash 2.5, and PubNight 7.0 are no longer able to run in the system at all, crashing the system when selected even though they always worked fine before.
At installation, Wife 1.0 provides no option as to the installation of undesired Plug-Ins such as MotherInLaw 55.8 and BrotherInLaw Beta release. Also, system performance seems to diminish with each passing day.
The features he'd like to see in the upcoming Wife 2.0 include:
- A"Don't remind me again" button
- Minimize button
- An install shield feature that allows Wife
2.0 to be installed with the option to uninstall at anytime without
the loss of cache and other
system resources.
- An option to run the network driver in promiscuous
mode which would allow the systems hardware probe
feature to be much more useful.
I myself decided to avoid all of the headaches associated with Wife 1.0 by sticking with Girlfriend 2.0. Even here, however, I found many problems. Apparently you cannot install Girlfriend 2.0 on top of Girlfriend 1.0. You must uninstall Girlfriend 1.0 first.
Other users say this is a long standing bug which I should have been aware of. Apparently the versions of Girlfriend have conflicts over shared use of the I/O port.
You think they would have fixed such a stupid bug by now. To make matters worse, The uninstall program for Girlfriend 1.0 doesn't work very well leaving undesirable traces of the application in the system.
Another thing that sucks -- all versions of Girlfriend continually pop-up little annoying messages about the advantages of upgrading to Wife 1.0
BUG WARNING
Wife 1.0 has an undocumented bug. If you try to install Mistress 1.1 before uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.1 will refuse to install, claiming insufficient resources.
BUG WORK-AROUNDS
To avoid the above bug, try installing Mistress 1.1 on a different system and never run any file transfer applications such as LapLink 6.0. Also, beware of similar shareware applications that have been
known to carry viruses that may affect Wife 1.0.
Another solution would be to run Mistress 1.0 via a UseNet provider under an anonymous name. Here again, beware of the viruses which can accidentally be downloaded from the UseNet.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090318
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. -- Leo Tolstoy
Let Employees Solve Their Own Performance Problems
One of your team members has a performance problem. So, you meet with him or her to discuss the issue. You describe the problem and ask for an explanation. Then, you come face to face with an all-too- common trap: Telling the person what he or she needs to do to solve the problem. DON’T GO THERE!
Granted, you probably have good ideas about what works and how to accomplish expectations. Keep in mind, however, that it’s the employee’s responsibility to resolve the problem – not yours. Your job is to facilitate the discussion so that the person understands the problem and is given an opportunity to correct it. Be prepared to offer suggestions if asked, but give the employee a chance to come up with his or her own solutions. Why do it that way? The answer is simple: Ownership! People tend to work harder for their own ideas. Solutions they participate in developing become commitments that are much more likely to yield quick and permanent results.
You can guide the employee in identifying solutions by asking three simple questions:
What specifically can you do … by when?
(This helps the person pinpoint specific actions)
Can you think of anything that would prevent you from doing that?
(This helps identify potential obstacles and eliminates “down the road” excuses)
Will you do that?
(This locks-in the employee’s agreement/commitment)
People commonly respond with I’ll do my best or I’ll try harder. These aren’t solutions – they’re just statements … with lots of wiggle room. If you hear them, respond by telling the employee that you appreciate his or her cooperation, and then ask, “What specifically will you do to carry out these good intentions?”
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
The Foundation of Emotions God created man in His own image... male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27). God made Adam and Eve like Himself. And what would that include?
"'I don't have a husband,' the woman replied. Jesus said, 'You're right! You don't have a husband--- for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now.'" (John 4:17-18)
"The Patriot Post"
"War is not the best engine for us to resort to; nature has given us one in our commerce, which if properly managed, will be a better instrument for obliging the interested nations of Europe to treat us with justice." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Thomas Pickney, 29 May 1797
"If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions." -- James Madison, letter to Edmund Pendleton, 21 January 1792"The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virture to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust." -- Alexander Hamilton or James Madison, Federalist No. 57, 19 February 1788
How the economic stimulus works
Young Barry in Illinois bought a horse from a farmer for $100.
The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day.
The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news... the horse died."
Barry replied, "Well, then just give me my money back."
The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."
Barry said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse."
The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?"
Barry said, "I'm going to raffle him off."
The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead horse!"
Barry said, "Yes, I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."
A month later, the farmer met up with Barry and asked, "What happened with that dead horse?"
Barry said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898."
The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"
Barry said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."
Barry now works for the government.
"The Web"
Bless My Friends
http://www.angel-stardust.com/verse/blessmyfriends.html
Preserve the "Secret Ballot" On Union Votes
http://workforcefairness.com/luxurious/?ref=316thvid
AIG Bonus Details Revealed - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
Financial Crisis: From Wall Street to Main Street
http://news.lp.findlaw.com:80/hdocs/docs/aig/exec-bonuses-cuomo31709ltr.html
AIG (American International Group, Inc.) paid out tens of millions in taxpayer 'retention' bonuses to company executives "whose performance led to crushing losses and the near failure" of the insurance company, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Information obtained about these taxpayer-funded bonuses reveals that:
The top AIG bonus recipient received more than $6.4 million;
The top seven 7 AIG bonus recipients each received more than $4 million;
The top ten AIG bonus recipients received a combined $42 million;
22 executives received AIG bonuses of $2 million or more, worth a combined $72 million;
73 people received AIG bonuses worth $1 million or more; and
Eleven people who received AIG 'retention' bonuses of more than $1 million are no longer employed by the company, including the executive who received the largest bonus.
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
5th Circuit: Texas moment of silence is constitutional
ADF filed friend-of-the-court brief in defense of state law
NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit Monday upheld a Texas law allowing students to observe one minute of silence following the Pledge of Allegiance. The Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case last year. ADF ally Liberty Legal Institute also filed a brief and represented schoolchildren in a hearing before the court.
“A moment of silence is not a government endorsement of religion just because someone might use the time for prayer,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “No student is compelled to pray under the Texas law. The 5th Circuit was right to uphold the district court’s determination that the law is not an establishment of religion.”
“This law is about freedom. Students have the freedom to pray, meditate, or simply think about their day. It took real intolerance for someone to sue to try to stop students from choosing prayer as their option,” said ADF-allied attorney Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute.
School boards in Texas are required to set aside one minute per day at each school in order to allow students to “reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student.” In 2006, David and Shannon Croft, parents of three children who attend school in the Carrolton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, filed a lawsuit claiming the requirement “causes harm” to their children and is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
In January 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas upheld the law, ruling that it is constitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed briefs in opposition to the law. Several courts have upheld similar moment-of-silence laws against Establishment Clause challenges.
In its unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit wrote, “The statute is facially neutral between religious and non-religious activities that students can choose to engage in during the moment of silence…. As Justice O’Connor stated in her Wallace concurrence: ‘It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.’ None of the courts examining moment of silence statutes have found that the primary effect has been to advance or inhibit religion, and the Crofts point to no case law that supports their contentions.”
• Opinion from the 5th Circuit in Croft v. Perry
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America (www.acluvsamerica.com).
www.telladf.org
Obama's Attack on Medical Civil Liberties - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
By: Newt Gingrich and Rick Tyler
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/gingrich_obama_conscience/2009/03/15/192127.html?s=al&promo_code=7C2F-1
Candidate Barack Obama offered a compelling but formless message of hope and change. Many Americans desiring a new national direction filled his empty rhetorical vessels with their dreams and aspirations. It worked.
But now, obliged by his office, President Obama is giving those words definition and shape bewildering even some of his most ardent supporters.
While the media remain fixated on a slumping economy that gets sicker with each punishing presidential prescription, a different set of defining and similarly freedom-diminishing policy directives emerging from the White House goes dissimilarly unnoticed.
Earlier this month, the President took the first step in rescinding a Bush administration moral conscience regulation which enforces existing legal protections against discrimination and intimidation for doctors and other healthcare professionals who invoke conscience by refusing to participate in medical procedures they believe immoral.
The rule, which was finalized last year placed no restriction upon any legal medical procedure; it simply brought the executive branch into compliance with several existing laws including:
the 1973 "Church Amendments" which protect doctors and other healthcare professionals from discrimination due to religious belief or moral conviction;
the 1996 “Public Health Service Act Amendment” which prohibits government from discriminating against individual and institutional healthcare providers who choose not to provide abortion services or receive abortion training; and
the 2004 "Hyde-Weldon Amendment” which prohibits certain federal funds going to federal and state agencies and programs that discriminate against healthcare providers who decline to offer or refer abortion services.
Simply put, these three venerable laws passed by Congress and signed by former Presidents protect doctors and nurses from being professionally threatened because they allow their conscience to dictate their professional actions.
Healthcare Hypocrisy: Obama May Back Tax on Health Benefits - Is this just another broken pledge? Read the entire article by the "link" below. - oyh
By: Jim Meyers
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obama_health_care_tax/2009/03/16/192352.html?s=al&promo_code=7C3A-1
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama said rival John McCain’s plan for taxing employee health benefits would represent “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.”
But now the Obama administration is signaling to Congress that he could support such a plan to help pay for overhauling the healthcare system, The New York Times reports.
Since companies began offering group health insurance on a large scale during World War II, the value of that benefit has never been counted as income, reducing workers' taxable earnings by an average of $9,000 a year for family coverage. The average family healthcare plan today costs $12,000, a burden shared by many employers.
Though there are several plans that have been offered by lawmakers who have toyed with the idea of taxing benefits, the Obama administration is unclear about what form of taxation they would support. If benefits were taxed at prevailing income rates, a family making between $30,000 and $49,000 could be looking at a tax increase of $2,500, based on the average savings per tax return calculated by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. A family or individual earning $75,000 could be looking at an increased tax bill of at least $3,000 while those making above $100,000 could pay about $4,500 if benefits were taxed at the prevailing rate.
Thus far, the Obama adminstration has been quite coy about how far they want to take the idea of taxing benefits. On "Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace," Austan Goolsbee, a key member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, wouldn't dismiss the idea.
ICU On Sunday at 11:00 AM
In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00am, regardless of their medical condition.
This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the super natural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 am Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents.
The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 am all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about.
Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits.
Just when the clock struck 11:00, Kenneth Roberts, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.
GROCERY LIST
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.
John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.'
John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?'
Louise replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O.K.' he said, 'put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.'
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.'
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.'
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store.
The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said;
'It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'
THE POWER OF PRAYER: When you receive this, say a prayer. That's all you have to do.
Just stop right now, and say a prayer of thanks for your own good fortune. Then please send this to all your friends and relatives.
I believe if you will send this testimony out with prayer in faith, you will receive what you need God to do in your and your families' life
So dear heart, trust God to heal the sick, provide food for the hungry, clothes and shelter for those that don't have as we do. Amen & Amen
There is no cost but a lot of rewards. May you always walk with Angels!
God Bless!
"The e-mail Bag"
PRICELESS!!
If you’ve ever worked for a boss that reacts before getting the facts and thinking things through, you will love this!
Arcelor-Mittal Steel, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.
On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall.
The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business. He walked up to the guy leaning against the wall and asked, ‘How much money do you make a week?’
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and replied, ‘I make $400 a week. Why?’ The CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in cash and screamed, ‘Here’s four weeks’ pay, now GET OUT and don’t come back.’
Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, ‘Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here? ‘
From across the room came a voice - - -
‘Domino’s Pizza delivery guy!!!’
THE TINY CABIN
A social worker from Boston recently was transferred to the Mountains of North Carolina and Georgia and was on the first tour of her new territory when she came upon the tiniest cabin she had ever seen in her life.
Intrigued, she went up and knocked on the door. 'Anybody home?' she asked.
'Yep,' came a kid's voice through the door.
'Is your father there?' asked the social worker.
'Pa? Nope, he left afore Ma came in,' said the kid.
'Well, is your mother there?' persisted the social worker.
'Ma? Nope, she left just afore I got here,' said the kid. Thinking she had her first violation to report, she persisted, ‘'But are you never together as a family?'
'Sure, but not here,' said the kid through the door. 'This is the outhouse!'
DIE-vorce
A married couple is driving along a highway doing a steady 60 miles per hour. The wife is behind the wheel. Her husband suddenly looks across at her and speaks in a clear voice. 'I know we've been married for twenty years, but I want a divorce.'
The wife says nothing, Keeps looking at the road ahead but slowly increases her speed to 65 mph. The husband speaks again. 'I don't want you to try and talk me out of it,' He says, 'because I've been having an affair with your best friend, And she's a far better lover than you are.'
Again the wife stays quiet, But grips the steering wheel more tightly and slowly increases the speed to 75 He pushes his luck. 'I want the house,' he says insistently..
Up to 80. 'I want the car, too,' he continues.
85 mph. 'And,' he says, 'I'll have the bank accounts, all the credit cards and the boat!'
The car slowly starts veering towards a massive concrete bridge. This makes him nervous, so he asks her, 'Isn't there anything you want?'
The wife at last replies in a quiet and controlled voice.
'No, I've got everything I need,' she says.
'Oh, really,' he inquires, 'so what have you got?'
Just before they slam into the wall at 85 mph, The wife turns to him and smiles. 'The airbag.'
"Daily Motivations"
The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. -- Leo Tolstoy
Let Employees Solve Their Own Performance Problems
One of your team members has a performance problem. So, you meet with him or her to discuss the issue. You describe the problem and ask for an explanation. Then, you come face to face with an all-too- common trap: Telling the person what he or she needs to do to solve the problem. DON’T GO THERE!
Granted, you probably have good ideas about what works and how to accomplish expectations. Keep in mind, however, that it’s the employee’s responsibility to resolve the problem – not yours. Your job is to facilitate the discussion so that the person understands the problem and is given an opportunity to correct it. Be prepared to offer suggestions if asked, but give the employee a chance to come up with his or her own solutions. Why do it that way? The answer is simple: Ownership! People tend to work harder for their own ideas. Solutions they participate in developing become commitments that are much more likely to yield quick and permanent results.
You can guide the employee in identifying solutions by asking three simple questions:
What specifically can you do … by when?
(This helps the person pinpoint specific actions)
Can you think of anything that would prevent you from doing that?
(This helps identify potential obstacles and eliminates “down the road” excuses)
Will you do that?
(This locks-in the employee’s agreement/commitment)
People commonly respond with I’ll do my best or I’ll try harder. These aren’t solutions – they’re just statements … with lots of wiggle room. If you hear them, respond by telling the employee that you appreciate his or her cooperation, and then ask, “What specifically will you do to carry out these good intentions?”
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
The Foundation of Emotions God created man in His own image... male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27). God made Adam and Eve like Himself. And what would that include?
"'I don't have a husband,' the woman replied. Jesus said, 'You're right! You don't have a husband--- for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now.'" (John 4:17-18)
"The Patriot Post"
"War is not the best engine for us to resort to; nature has given us one in our commerce, which if properly managed, will be a better instrument for obliging the interested nations of Europe to treat us with justice." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Thomas Pickney, 29 May 1797
"If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions." -- James Madison, letter to Edmund Pendleton, 21 January 1792"The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virture to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust." -- Alexander Hamilton or James Madison, Federalist No. 57, 19 February 1788
How the economic stimulus works
Young Barry in Illinois bought a horse from a farmer for $100.
The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day.
The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news... the horse died."
Barry replied, "Well, then just give me my money back."
The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."
Barry said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse."
The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?"
Barry said, "I'm going to raffle him off."
The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead horse!"
Barry said, "Yes, I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."
A month later, the farmer met up with Barry and asked, "What happened with that dead horse?"
Barry said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898."
The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"
Barry said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."
Barry now works for the government.
"The Web"
Bless My Friends
http://www.angel-stardust.com/verse/blessmyfriends.html
Preserve the "Secret Ballot" On Union Votes
http://workforcefairness.com/luxurious/?ref=316thvid
AIG Bonus Details Revealed - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
Financial Crisis: From Wall Street to Main Street
http://news.lp.findlaw.com:80/hdocs/docs/aig/exec-bonuses-cuomo31709ltr.html
AIG (American International Group, Inc.) paid out tens of millions in taxpayer 'retention' bonuses to company executives "whose performance led to crushing losses and the near failure" of the insurance company, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Information obtained about these taxpayer-funded bonuses reveals that:
The top AIG bonus recipient received more than $6.4 million;
The top seven 7 AIG bonus recipients each received more than $4 million;
The top ten AIG bonus recipients received a combined $42 million;
22 executives received AIG bonuses of $2 million or more, worth a combined $72 million;
73 people received AIG bonuses worth $1 million or more; and
Eleven people who received AIG 'retention' bonuses of more than $1 million are no longer employed by the company, including the executive who received the largest bonus.
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
5th Circuit: Texas moment of silence is constitutional
ADF filed friend-of-the-court brief in defense of state law
NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit Monday upheld a Texas law allowing students to observe one minute of silence following the Pledge of Allegiance. The Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case last year. ADF ally Liberty Legal Institute also filed a brief and represented schoolchildren in a hearing before the court.
“A moment of silence is not a government endorsement of religion just because someone might use the time for prayer,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “No student is compelled to pray under the Texas law. The 5th Circuit was right to uphold the district court’s determination that the law is not an establishment of religion.”
“This law is about freedom. Students have the freedom to pray, meditate, or simply think about their day. It took real intolerance for someone to sue to try to stop students from choosing prayer as their option,” said ADF-allied attorney Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute.
School boards in Texas are required to set aside one minute per day at each school in order to allow students to “reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student.” In 2006, David and Shannon Croft, parents of three children who attend school in the Carrolton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, filed a lawsuit claiming the requirement “causes harm” to their children and is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
In January 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas upheld the law, ruling that it is constitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed briefs in opposition to the law. Several courts have upheld similar moment-of-silence laws against Establishment Clause challenges.
In its unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit wrote, “The statute is facially neutral between religious and non-religious activities that students can choose to engage in during the moment of silence…. As Justice O’Connor stated in her Wallace concurrence: ‘It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.’ None of the courts examining moment of silence statutes have found that the primary effect has been to advance or inhibit religion, and the Crofts point to no case law that supports their contentions.”
• Opinion from the 5th Circuit in Croft v. Perry
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the book The ACLU vs. America (www.acluvsamerica.com).
www.telladf.org
Obama's Attack on Medical Civil Liberties - Read the entire article by the "link" below.
By: Newt Gingrich and Rick Tyler
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/gingrich_obama_conscience/2009/03/15/192127.html?s=al&promo_code=7C2F-1
Candidate Barack Obama offered a compelling but formless message of hope and change. Many Americans desiring a new national direction filled his empty rhetorical vessels with their dreams and aspirations. It worked.
But now, obliged by his office, President Obama is giving those words definition and shape bewildering even some of his most ardent supporters.
While the media remain fixated on a slumping economy that gets sicker with each punishing presidential prescription, a different set of defining and similarly freedom-diminishing policy directives emerging from the White House goes dissimilarly unnoticed.
Earlier this month, the President took the first step in rescinding a Bush administration moral conscience regulation which enforces existing legal protections against discrimination and intimidation for doctors and other healthcare professionals who invoke conscience by refusing to participate in medical procedures they believe immoral.
The rule, which was finalized last year placed no restriction upon any legal medical procedure; it simply brought the executive branch into compliance with several existing laws including:
the 1973 "Church Amendments" which protect doctors and other healthcare professionals from discrimination due to religious belief or moral conviction;
the 1996 “Public Health Service Act Amendment” which prohibits government from discriminating against individual and institutional healthcare providers who choose not to provide abortion services or receive abortion training; and
the 2004 "Hyde-Weldon Amendment” which prohibits certain federal funds going to federal and state agencies and programs that discriminate against healthcare providers who decline to offer or refer abortion services.
Simply put, these three venerable laws passed by Congress and signed by former Presidents protect doctors and nurses from being professionally threatened because they allow their conscience to dictate their professional actions.
Healthcare Hypocrisy: Obama May Back Tax on Health Benefits - Is this just another broken pledge? Read the entire article by the "link" below. - oyh
By: Jim Meyers
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obama_health_care_tax/2009/03/16/192352.html?s=al&promo_code=7C3A-1
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama said rival John McCain’s plan for taxing employee health benefits would represent “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.”
But now the Obama administration is signaling to Congress that he could support such a plan to help pay for overhauling the healthcare system, The New York Times reports.
Since companies began offering group health insurance on a large scale during World War II, the value of that benefit has never been counted as income, reducing workers' taxable earnings by an average of $9,000 a year for family coverage. The average family healthcare plan today costs $12,000, a burden shared by many employers.
Though there are several plans that have been offered by lawmakers who have toyed with the idea of taxing benefits, the Obama administration is unclear about what form of taxation they would support. If benefits were taxed at prevailing income rates, a family making between $30,000 and $49,000 could be looking at a tax increase of $2,500, based on the average savings per tax return calculated by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. A family or individual earning $75,000 could be looking at an increased tax bill of at least $3,000 while those making above $100,000 could pay about $4,500 if benefits were taxed at the prevailing rate.
Thus far, the Obama adminstration has been quite coy about how far they want to take the idea of taxing benefits. On "Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace," Austan Goolsbee, a key member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, wouldn't dismiss the idea.
ICU On Sunday at 11:00 AM
In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00am, regardless of their medical condition.
This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the super natural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 am Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents.
The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 am all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about.
Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits.
Just when the clock struck 11:00, Kenneth Roberts, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.
GROCERY LIST
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.
John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.'
John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?'
Louise replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O.K.' he said, 'put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.'
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.'
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.'
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store.
The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said;
'It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'
THE POWER OF PRAYER: When you receive this, say a prayer. That's all you have to do.
Just stop right now, and say a prayer of thanks for your own good fortune. Then please send this to all your friends and relatives.
I believe if you will send this testimony out with prayer in faith, you will receive what you need God to do in your and your families' life
So dear heart, trust God to heal the sick, provide food for the hungry, clothes and shelter for those that don't have as we do. Amen & Amen
There is no cost but a lot of rewards. May you always walk with Angels!
God Bless!
"The e-mail Bag"
PRICELESS!!
If you’ve ever worked for a boss that reacts before getting the facts and thinking things through, you will love this!
Arcelor-Mittal Steel, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.
On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall.
The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business. He walked up to the guy leaning against the wall and asked, ‘How much money do you make a week?’
A little surprised, the young man looked at him and replied, ‘I make $400 a week. Why?’ The CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in cash and screamed, ‘Here’s four weeks’ pay, now GET OUT and don’t come back.’
Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, ‘Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here? ‘
From across the room came a voice - - -
‘Domino’s Pizza delivery guy!!!’
THE TINY CABIN
A social worker from Boston recently was transferred to the Mountains of North Carolina and Georgia and was on the first tour of her new territory when she came upon the tiniest cabin she had ever seen in her life.
Intrigued, she went up and knocked on the door. 'Anybody home?' she asked.
'Yep,' came a kid's voice through the door.
'Is your father there?' asked the social worker.
'Pa? Nope, he left afore Ma came in,' said the kid.
'Well, is your mother there?' persisted the social worker.
'Ma? Nope, she left just afore I got here,' said the kid. Thinking she had her first violation to report, she persisted, ‘'But are you never together as a family?'
'Sure, but not here,' said the kid through the door. 'This is the outhouse!'
DIE-vorce
A married couple is driving along a highway doing a steady 60 miles per hour. The wife is behind the wheel. Her husband suddenly looks across at her and speaks in a clear voice. 'I know we've been married for twenty years, but I want a divorce.'
The wife says nothing, Keeps looking at the road ahead but slowly increases her speed to 65 mph. The husband speaks again. 'I don't want you to try and talk me out of it,' He says, 'because I've been having an affair with your best friend, And she's a far better lover than you are.'
Again the wife stays quiet, But grips the steering wheel more tightly and slowly increases the speed to 75 He pushes his luck. 'I want the house,' he says insistently..
Up to 80. 'I want the car, too,' he continues.
85 mph. 'And,' he says, 'I'll have the bank accounts, all the credit cards and the boat!'
The car slowly starts veering towards a massive concrete bridge. This makes him nervous, so he asks her, 'Isn't there anything you want?'
The wife at last replies in a quiet and controlled voice.
'No, I've got everything I need,' she says.
'Oh, really,' he inquires, 'so what have you got?'
Just before they slam into the wall at 85 mph, The wife turns to him and smiles. 'The airbag.'
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090317
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Nine-tenths of wisdom is appreciation. Go find somebody's hand and squeeze it…while there's still time. -- Dale Dauten
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
3 Phase Obedience "This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it..." (Matt. 22:38-39). When we first begin our journey we often make decisions from convenience.
"The Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:9)
"The Patriot Post"
"I think all the world would gain by setting commerce at perfect liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, 7 July 1785
"Harmony, liberal intercourse with all Nations, are recommended by policy, humanity and interest. But even our Commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favours or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of Commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing with Powers so disposed; in order to give trade a stable course." -- George Washington, Farewell Address, 19 September 1796
"[C]ommercial shackles are generally unjust, oppressive and impolitic. ...[I]f industry and labour are left to take their own course, they will generally be directed to those objects which are the most productive, and this in a more certain and direct manner than the wisdom of the most enlightened legislature could point out." -- James Madison, speech to Congress, 9 April 1789
"The Web"
Battle Hyme Of The Republic
http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com:80/Battle%20Hymn/index.htm
I Owe To My Mother
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
7. My mother taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"
15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."
19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BE COME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
And my favorite:
25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you".
Holy Man Conversation with the Lord
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.” When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you!
"The e-mail Bag"
Be careful out there!
A man broke into a house to look for money and guns. Inside, he found a couple in bed. He ordered the guy out of the bed and tied him to a chair. While tying the home owner's wife to the bed the convict got on top of her, kissed her neck, then got up & went into the bathroom. While he was in there, the husband whispered over to his wife: 'Listen, this guy is an escaped convict.
Look at his clothes! He's probably spent a lot of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don't resist, don’t complain...do what ever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is obviously very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us both. Be strong, honey. I love you!'
His wife responded: 'He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me that he's gay, thinks you're cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you too.'
Job at the FBI
The FBI had an opening for an assassin.
After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done, there were 3 finalists; two men and a woman.
For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.
'We must know that you will follow your Instructions no matter what the circumstances.
Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair .. . . kill her!!'
The man said, 'You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife.'
The agent said, 'Then you're not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home.'
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes.
The man came out with tears in his eyes, 'I tried, but I can't kill my wife.' The agent said, 'You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.'
Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls.. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman, wiping the sweat from her brow..
'This gun is loaded with blanks' she said. 'I had to beat him to death with the damn chair.'
MORAL: Women are crazy. Don't mess with them.
"Daily Motivations"
Nine-tenths of wisdom is appreciation. Go find somebody's hand and squeeze it…while there's still time. -- Dale Dauten
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
3 Phase Obedience "This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it..." (Matt. 22:38-39). When we first begin our journey we often make decisions from convenience.
"The Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:9)
"The Patriot Post"
"I think all the world would gain by setting commerce at perfect liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, 7 July 1785
"Harmony, liberal intercourse with all Nations, are recommended by policy, humanity and interest. But even our Commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favours or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of Commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing with Powers so disposed; in order to give trade a stable course." -- George Washington, Farewell Address, 19 September 1796
"[C]ommercial shackles are generally unjust, oppressive and impolitic. ...[I]f industry and labour are left to take their own course, they will generally be directed to those objects which are the most productive, and this in a more certain and direct manner than the wisdom of the most enlightened legislature could point out." -- James Madison, speech to Congress, 9 April 1789
"The Web"
Battle Hyme Of The Republic
http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com:80/Battle%20Hymn/index.htm
I Owe To My Mother
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
7. My mother taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"
15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."
19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BE COME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
And my favorite:
25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you".
Holy Man Conversation with the Lord
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.” When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you!
"The e-mail Bag"
Be careful out there!
A man broke into a house to look for money and guns. Inside, he found a couple in bed. He ordered the guy out of the bed and tied him to a chair. While tying the home owner's wife to the bed the convict got on top of her, kissed her neck, then got up & went into the bathroom. While he was in there, the husband whispered over to his wife: 'Listen, this guy is an escaped convict.
Look at his clothes! He's probably spent a lot of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don't resist, don’t complain...do what ever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is obviously very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us both. Be strong, honey. I love you!'
His wife responded: 'He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me that he's gay, thinks you're cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you too.'
Job at the FBI
The FBI had an opening for an assassin.
After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done, there were 3 finalists; two men and a woman.
For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.
'We must know that you will follow your Instructions no matter what the circumstances.
Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair .. . . kill her!!'
The man said, 'You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife.'
The agent said, 'Then you're not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home.'
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes.
The man came out with tears in his eyes, 'I tried, but I can't kill my wife.' The agent said, 'You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.'
Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls.. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman, wiping the sweat from her brow..
'This gun is loaded with blanks' she said. 'I had to beat him to death with the damn chair.'
MORAL: Women are crazy. Don't mess with them.
Monday, March 16, 2009
AIG could trip up Obama
Anger at bonuses is a hot potato
From: News & Observer – March 16, 2009
Adam Nagourney - The New York Times
Published: Mon, Mar. 16, 2009 12:30AM
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1444602.html
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is increasingly concerned about a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street, worried that anger at financial institutions could also end up being directed at Congress and the White House and complicate President Barack Obama's agenda.
The administration's sharp rebuke of American International Group on Sunday for handing out $165 million in executive bonuses -- Lawrence H. Summers, director of the president's National Economic Council, described it as "outrageous" on ABC's "This Week" -- marks the latest effort by the White House to distance itself from abuses that could feed potentially disruptive public anger.
"We've got enormous problems that need to be addressed," David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, said in an interview. "And it's hard to address because there's a lot of anger about the irresponsibility that led us to this point."
"This has been welling up for a long time," he said.
Obama's aides said any surge of such a sentiment could complicate efforts to win congressional approval for the additional bailout packages that Obama has signaled would be necessary to stabilize the banking system. As it is, there have already been moves in Congress to limit compensation to executives at banks and Wall Street firms that are getting government help to survive.
Beyond that, this shifting mood poses a significant challenge to Obama's political skills as he seeks to acknowledge the anger without becoming the target of it.
As Summers was denouncing AIG for the bonuses, he suggested there was little if anything the government could do to stop them, seconding the conclusion of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. But even if their reasoning was legally sound, they also risked having the administration look ineffectual.
"Never underestimate the capacity of angry populism in times of economic stress," said Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, who was labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. "A big challenge for President Obama will be to maintain a rational and tactical public discussion in the midst of this severe downturn. The desire for culprits at time like this is strong."
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1444602.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=188557#Comments_Container
oyharward wrote on March, 16 8:14 AM:
If you take a pig, place it within an enormous grass pasture for food, without a nose ring, the pig will not only eat the grass; the pig will dig and/or root up the grass, wanting more. Many on Wall Street, some in the banking industry, and a few on Capitol Hill, wants not only an honest and ethical living, but some want what they can manipulate, misappropriate, and/or steal to and for their own advantage, at taxpayers expense.
From: News & Observer – March 16, 2009
Adam Nagourney - The New York Times
Published: Mon, Mar. 16, 2009 12:30AM
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1444602.html
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is increasingly concerned about a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street, worried that anger at financial institutions could also end up being directed at Congress and the White House and complicate President Barack Obama's agenda.
The administration's sharp rebuke of American International Group on Sunday for handing out $165 million in executive bonuses -- Lawrence H. Summers, director of the president's National Economic Council, described it as "outrageous" on ABC's "This Week" -- marks the latest effort by the White House to distance itself from abuses that could feed potentially disruptive public anger.
"We've got enormous problems that need to be addressed," David Axelrod, Obama's senior adviser, said in an interview. "And it's hard to address because there's a lot of anger about the irresponsibility that led us to this point."
"This has been welling up for a long time," he said.
Obama's aides said any surge of such a sentiment could complicate efforts to win congressional approval for the additional bailout packages that Obama has signaled would be necessary to stabilize the banking system. As it is, there have already been moves in Congress to limit compensation to executives at banks and Wall Street firms that are getting government help to survive.
Beyond that, this shifting mood poses a significant challenge to Obama's political skills as he seeks to acknowledge the anger without becoming the target of it.
As Summers was denouncing AIG for the bonuses, he suggested there was little if anything the government could do to stop them, seconding the conclusion of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. But even if their reasoning was legally sound, they also risked having the administration look ineffectual.
"Never underestimate the capacity of angry populism in times of economic stress," said Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, who was labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. "A big challenge for President Obama will be to maintain a rational and tactical public discussion in the midst of this severe downturn. The desire for culprits at time like this is strong."
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1444602.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=188557#Comments_Container
oyharward wrote on March, 16 8:14 AM:
If you take a pig, place it within an enormous grass pasture for food, without a nose ring, the pig will not only eat the grass; the pig will dig and/or root up the grass, wanting more. Many on Wall Street, some in the banking industry, and a few on Capitol Hill, wants not only an honest and ethical living, but some want what they can manipulate, misappropriate, and/or steal to and for their own advantage, at taxpayers expense.
Red Cross Described 'Torture' at CIA Jails
From: The Washington Post - 20090316
Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/15/AR2009031502724.html
oharward wrote:
I wish to question if the International Red Cross were ever allowed to enter and approve or criticize the prisons controlled by al-Qaeda, as to any of their violations of International Law? When was the last time you heard members of the International Red Cross criticize the tying captured soldiers hands and feet, then thrown off a bridge? How about the decapitating of Daniel Pearl? Sometimes, I resemble the American leftist organizations and/or Liberal TV and print media practice a system I grew up with listening to the voice of ‘Radio Moscow’. In those days, if you hated America around the world, you listened to ‘Radio Moscow’.
For the world who loved America, any could listen to the ‘Voice of America’ and/or ‘Radio Free Europe’. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, America was, is, and will continue to be a better place to live under, than the socialist and/or communist nations of the world. God Bless America!
3/16/2009 8:45:43 AM
Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/15/AR2009031502724.html
oharward wrote:
I wish to question if the International Red Cross were ever allowed to enter and approve or criticize the prisons controlled by al-Qaeda, as to any of their violations of International Law? When was the last time you heard members of the International Red Cross criticize the tying captured soldiers hands and feet, then thrown off a bridge? How about the decapitating of Daniel Pearl? Sometimes, I resemble the American leftist organizations and/or Liberal TV and print media practice a system I grew up with listening to the voice of ‘Radio Moscow’. In those days, if you hated America around the world, you listened to ‘Radio Moscow’.
For the world who loved America, any could listen to the ‘Voice of America’ and/or ‘Radio Free Europe’. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, America was, is, and will continue to be a better place to live under, than the socialist and/or communist nations of the world. God Bless America!
3/16/2009 8:45:43 AM
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090316
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Next to ensuring that its business practices are legal and ethical, nothing is more important for an organization than serving customers. NOTHING! -- Eric Harvey
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Despise Not Thy Youth Then said I, "Ah, LORD God! behold I cannot speak; for I am a child" (Jer. 1:6). But He who sent Jeremiah would not have him say, "I am just a child."
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
"The Patriot Post"
"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." -- Thomas Jefferson
"One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary." -- Ayn Rand
"Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business, frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise. They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-anointed elite." -- Ronald Reagan
"President Obama, whose whole campaign was about hope over fear, has been scaring the dickens out of people lately. He has certainly terrified the stock market. He's warned of 'catastrophe' and economic 'disaster' from which we may never recover. What's particularly odious about Obama's scare tactics is that he's using them for the mother of all bait-and-switches. He justifiably scares people about the magnitude of the financial crisis, but uses that fear not to sell them on a solution to the crisis but to trick them into signing up for a new Great Society. It's like convincing someone he's got cancer and then telling him that's why he needs to buy a new car." -- National Review editor Jonah Goldberg
"The Web"
Test Your Most Misspelled Words
http://www.businesswriting.com:80/tests/commonmisspelled.html
Lou Dobbs Reports "Obama setting up for the New World Order" - Folks, you "must" see this one from Lou Dobbs at CNN. - oyh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasAu_gkmDQ&feature=related
Take America Back
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=YeGQHzVcsUw&feature=sdig&et=1236765414.11
The Deliverance of God's People
For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. Ps. 27:5.
With earnest longing, God's people await the tokens of their coming King. As the watchmen are accosted, "What of the night?" the answer is given unfalteringly, "'The morning cometh, and also the night' (Isaiah 21: 11, 12). Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. Soon there will be the revealing of His glory." The heavens glow with the dawning of eternal day, and like the melody of angel songs the words fall upon the ear: "Stand fast to your allegiance. Help is coming."
The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear He has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God's people; but it is the time for every true believer to look up, and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him.
The eye of God, looking down the ages, was fixed upon the crisis, which His people are to meet, when earthly powers shall be arrayed against them. Like the captive exile, they will be in fear of death by starvation or by violence. But the Holy One, who divided the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest His mighty power and turn their captivity. "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him" (Malachi 3:17).
If the blood of Christ's faithful witnesses were shed at this time, it would not, like the blood of the martyrs, be as seed sown to yield a harvest for God. Their fidelity would not be a testimony to convince others of the truth; for the obdurate heart has beaten back the waves of mercy until they return no more. If the righteous were now left to fall a prey to their enemies, it would be a triumph for the prince of darkness. Says the psalmist: "In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me."
Christ has spoken: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity" (Isaiah 26:20, 21). Glorious will be the deliverance of those who have patiently waited for His coming and whose names are written in the book of life.
The Proposal
This was mailed to me by a friend. I thought it should be posted here.....
"The Proposal" When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall street and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision" and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. Our government should not be immune from similar risks....
Therefore: Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Also reduce remaining staff by 25%. (better yet is to reduce the House to 100 members and save even more.)
Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.
Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include: $44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay/member/yr.)
$97,175,000 for elimination of above people's staff. ($1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate each year)
$240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion/yr)
The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country?
We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing.
Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones, etc.)
Note: Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators and congress. (For those on the campaign trail they should be made to resign their Seat and allow it to be filled by someone willing to work.)
Summary of opportunity:
$ 44,108,400 reduction of congress members.
$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.
$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.
$59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.
$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.
$8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings. (that's 8-BILLION just to start!)
Big business does these types of cuts all the time.
If Congresspersons and Senators were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years, with benefits of
2.5% per year served with a maximum of 75% (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits, there is no telling how much we would save. Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term.
One last thing that would save us money, is to stop them from voting on their own pay raises. Let the people vote on them.
Top 10 Senate RINOs
by: Human Events
As part of HUMAN EVENTS ongoing campaign against Republicans in name only (RINOs) we have compiled a list of the Top 10 Most Liberal Republican Senators based on the American Conservative Union Ratings for 2008 (110th Congress, second session. The ratings all compare rather unfavorably with that of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), chairman of the Repubican Steering Committee. Sen. DeMint’s score was a perfect 100)
On the conservative scale, the ten lowest-scoring senators are:
1. Olympia Snowe, Maine: (ACU Rating: 12) (Only one point higher than liberal Democrat Hillary Clinton who the ACU scored an 11, and an astonishing 4 points lower than Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid’s 16.)
2. Susan Collins, Maine: 20
(Collins received the same score as liberal Claire McCaskill, and 4 points lower than Russ Feingold’s 24)
3. Arlen Specter, PA: 42 (Only 10 points higher than Mary Landrieu’s 32)
4. George Voinovich, OH: 52
5. Lisa Murkowski, AL: 58
6. Mel Martinez, FL: 60
7. John McCain, AZ: 63
8. Richard Lugar, Ind: 63
9. Robert Bennett, UT: 64
10. Thad Cochran, Miss: 68
Find Law
Breaking Legal Documents
March 13, 2009
FEATURED DOCUMENT
• In Re: Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation You may forward this e-mail in its entirety.
FEATURED DOCUMENT
U.S. Attorney General Asserts Redefined Authority for Holding Guantanamo Detainees, no Longer Using "Enemy Combatant" Status
IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION
(U.S. Dist. Ct., D.C., March 13, 2009) - In a declaration filed by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today in federal court, the Department of Justice submitted a new standard for the government's authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. The definition does not rely on the President's authority as Commander-in-Chief independent of Congress's specific authorization. It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress. It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial, and does not employ the phrase "enemy combatant." Read more...
Related Resources:
• AP: Obama Abandons Term 'Enemy Combatant'
• CommonLaw: "Enemy Combatant" Definition for Guantanamo Detainees Eliminated by Government: Sweeping Policy Reversal?
The Brick
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, 'What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?' The young boy was apologetic.
'Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,' He pleaded. 'I threw the brick because no one else would stop...' With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. 'It's my brother, 'he said 'He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.'
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, 'would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.'
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. 'Thank you and may God bless you,' the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy! Push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: 'Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!' God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.
Thought for the Day:
If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring.
He sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!
Send this to every 'beautiful person' you wish to bless.
God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
Read this line very slowly and let it sink in..
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Pass this message to seven people except you and me. You will receive a miracle tomorrow ( just do it)!
"The e-mail Bag"
Blonde's Alligator Shoes
A blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes, but didn't want to pay the high prices.
After unsuccessfully haggling with of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde said, "Maybe I'll just go out and catch my own alligator, so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price."
Later in the day, the shopkeeper spotted the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. She took aim at an alligator, killed it and hauled it onto the swamp bank.
Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures. The shopkeeper watched in amazement as the blonde flipped the alligator on its back and shouted in frustration, "Damn, this one isn't wearing any shoes either."
Who is your REAL FRIEND?
This really works...!
If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.
l Put your dog and your spouse in the trunk of the car for an hour. When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?
Did you realize?!?
... that President Obama probably signed his Stimulus Package, at the same desk that President Clinton got his Package Stimulated?!?
DEER CAMP
The guys were all at a deer camp. They had to bunk two to a room.
No one wanted to room with Daryl because he snored so badly.
They decided it wasn't fair to make one of them stay with him the whole
time, so they voted to take turns.
The first guy slept with Daryl and comes to breakfast the next morning
with his hair a mess and his eyes all bloodshot.
They said, 'Man, what happened to you?'
He said, 'Daryl snored so loudly, I just sat up and watched him all
night.'
The next night it was a different guy's turn.
In the morning, same thing - hair all standing up, eyes all bloodshot.
They said, 'Man, what happened to you? You look awful!'
He said, 'Man, that Daryl shakes the roof. I watched him all night.'
The third night was Frank's turn. Frank was a big burly ex-football
player; a man's man.
The next morning he came to breakfast bright eyed and bushy tailed.
'Good morning,' he said.
They couldn't believe it! They said, 'Man, what happened?'
He said, 'Well, we got ready for bed. I went and tucked Daryl into bed,
patted his butt and kissed him good night. Daryl sat up and watched me
all night.'
FLORAL DELIVERY...
I would rather have one rose and a kind
word from a friend while I'm here
than a whole truck load when I'm gone
Forward to all your friends, including me.
And don't tell me you're too busy for this.
Don't you know the phrase
'stop and smell the flowers'?
See how many bouquets you end up with!
Happiness keeps you Sweet , Trials keep you
Strong, Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing,
But Only God Keeps You Going!
See how many you get today
"Daily Motivations"
Next to ensuring that its business practices are legal and ethical, nothing is more important for an organization than serving customers. NOTHING! -- Eric Harvey
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Despise Not Thy Youth Then said I, "Ah, LORD God! behold I cannot speak; for I am a child" (Jer. 1:6). But He who sent Jeremiah would not have him say, "I am just a child."
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
"The Patriot Post"
"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." -- Thomas Jefferson
"One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary." -- Ayn Rand
"Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business, frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise. They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-anointed elite." -- Ronald Reagan
"President Obama, whose whole campaign was about hope over fear, has been scaring the dickens out of people lately. He has certainly terrified the stock market. He's warned of 'catastrophe' and economic 'disaster' from which we may never recover. What's particularly odious about Obama's scare tactics is that he's using them for the mother of all bait-and-switches. He justifiably scares people about the magnitude of the financial crisis, but uses that fear not to sell them on a solution to the crisis but to trick them into signing up for a new Great Society. It's like convincing someone he's got cancer and then telling him that's why he needs to buy a new car." -- National Review editor Jonah Goldberg
"The Web"
Test Your Most Misspelled Words
http://www.businesswriting.com:80/tests/commonmisspelled.html
Lou Dobbs Reports "Obama setting up for the New World Order" - Folks, you "must" see this one from Lou Dobbs at CNN. - oyh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasAu_gkmDQ&feature=related
Take America Back
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=YeGQHzVcsUw&feature=sdig&et=1236765414.11
The Deliverance of God's People
For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. Ps. 27:5.
With earnest longing, God's people await the tokens of their coming King. As the watchmen are accosted, "What of the night?" the answer is given unfalteringly, "'The morning cometh, and also the night' (Isaiah 21: 11, 12). Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. Soon there will be the revealing of His glory." The heavens glow with the dawning of eternal day, and like the melody of angel songs the words fall upon the ear: "Stand fast to your allegiance. Help is coming."
The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear He has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God's people; but it is the time for every true believer to look up, and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him.
The eye of God, looking down the ages, was fixed upon the crisis, which His people are to meet, when earthly powers shall be arrayed against them. Like the captive exile, they will be in fear of death by starvation or by violence. But the Holy One, who divided the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest His mighty power and turn their captivity. "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him" (Malachi 3:17).
If the blood of Christ's faithful witnesses were shed at this time, it would not, like the blood of the martyrs, be as seed sown to yield a harvest for God. Their fidelity would not be a testimony to convince others of the truth; for the obdurate heart has beaten back the waves of mercy until they return no more. If the righteous were now left to fall a prey to their enemies, it would be a triumph for the prince of darkness. Says the psalmist: "In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me."
Christ has spoken: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity" (Isaiah 26:20, 21). Glorious will be the deliverance of those who have patiently waited for His coming and whose names are written in the book of life.
The Proposal
This was mailed to me by a friend. I thought it should be posted here.....
"The Proposal" When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall street and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision" and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. Our government should not be immune from similar risks....
Therefore: Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Also reduce remaining staff by 25%. (better yet is to reduce the House to 100 members and save even more.)
Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.
Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include: $44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay/member/yr.)
$97,175,000 for elimination of above people's staff. ($1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate each year)
$240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion/yr)
The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country?
We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing.
Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones, etc.)
Note: Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators and congress. (For those on the campaign trail they should be made to resign their Seat and allow it to be filled by someone willing to work.)
Summary of opportunity:
$ 44,108,400 reduction of congress members.
$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.
$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.
$59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.
$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.
$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.
$8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings. (that's 8-BILLION just to start!)
Big business does these types of cuts all the time.
If Congresspersons and Senators were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years, with benefits of
2.5% per year served with a maximum of 75% (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits, there is no telling how much we would save. Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term.
One last thing that would save us money, is to stop them from voting on their own pay raises. Let the people vote on them.
Top 10 Senate RINOs
by: Human Events
As part of HUMAN EVENTS ongoing campaign against Republicans in name only (RINOs) we have compiled a list of the Top 10 Most Liberal Republican Senators based on the American Conservative Union Ratings for 2008 (110th Congress, second session. The ratings all compare rather unfavorably with that of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), chairman of the Repubican Steering Committee. Sen. DeMint’s score was a perfect 100)
On the conservative scale, the ten lowest-scoring senators are:
1. Olympia Snowe, Maine: (ACU Rating: 12) (Only one point higher than liberal Democrat Hillary Clinton who the ACU scored an 11, and an astonishing 4 points lower than Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid’s 16.)
2. Susan Collins, Maine: 20
(Collins received the same score as liberal Claire McCaskill, and 4 points lower than Russ Feingold’s 24)
3. Arlen Specter, PA: 42 (Only 10 points higher than Mary Landrieu’s 32)
4. George Voinovich, OH: 52
5. Lisa Murkowski, AL: 58
6. Mel Martinez, FL: 60
7. John McCain, AZ: 63
8. Richard Lugar, Ind: 63
9. Robert Bennett, UT: 64
10. Thad Cochran, Miss: 68
Find Law
Breaking Legal Documents
March 13, 2009
FEATURED DOCUMENT
• In Re: Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation You may forward this e-mail in its entirety.
FEATURED DOCUMENT
U.S. Attorney General Asserts Redefined Authority for Holding Guantanamo Detainees, no Longer Using "Enemy Combatant" Status
IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION
(U.S. Dist. Ct., D.C., March 13, 2009) - In a declaration filed by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today in federal court, the Department of Justice submitted a new standard for the government's authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. The definition does not rely on the President's authority as Commander-in-Chief independent of Congress's specific authorization. It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress. It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial, and does not employ the phrase "enemy combatant." Read more...
Related Resources:
• AP: Obama Abandons Term 'Enemy Combatant'
• CommonLaw: "Enemy Combatant" Definition for Guantanamo Detainees Eliminated by Government: Sweeping Policy Reversal?
The Brick
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, 'What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?' The young boy was apologetic.
'Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,' He pleaded. 'I threw the brick because no one else would stop...' With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. 'It's my brother, 'he said 'He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.'
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, 'would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.'
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. 'Thank you and may God bless you,' the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy! Push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: 'Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!' God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.
Thought for the Day:
If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring.
He sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!
Send this to every 'beautiful person' you wish to bless.
God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
Read this line very slowly and let it sink in..
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Pass this message to seven people except you and me. You will receive a miracle tomorrow ( just do it)!
"The e-mail Bag"
Blonde's Alligator Shoes
A blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes, but didn't want to pay the high prices.
After unsuccessfully haggling with of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde said, "Maybe I'll just go out and catch my own alligator, so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price."
Later in the day, the shopkeeper spotted the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. She took aim at an alligator, killed it and hauled it onto the swamp bank.
Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures. The shopkeeper watched in amazement as the blonde flipped the alligator on its back and shouted in frustration, "Damn, this one isn't wearing any shoes either."
Who is your REAL FRIEND?
This really works...!
If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.
l Put your dog and your spouse in the trunk of the car for an hour. When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?
Did you realize?!?
... that President Obama probably signed his Stimulus Package, at the same desk that President Clinton got his Package Stimulated?!?
DEER CAMP
The guys were all at a deer camp. They had to bunk two to a room.
No one wanted to room with Daryl because he snored so badly.
They decided it wasn't fair to make one of them stay with him the whole
time, so they voted to take turns.
The first guy slept with Daryl and comes to breakfast the next morning
with his hair a mess and his eyes all bloodshot.
They said, 'Man, what happened to you?'
He said, 'Daryl snored so loudly, I just sat up and watched him all
night.'
The next night it was a different guy's turn.
In the morning, same thing - hair all standing up, eyes all bloodshot.
They said, 'Man, what happened to you? You look awful!'
He said, 'Man, that Daryl shakes the roof. I watched him all night.'
The third night was Frank's turn. Frank was a big burly ex-football
player; a man's man.
The next morning he came to breakfast bright eyed and bushy tailed.
'Good morning,' he said.
They couldn't believe it! They said, 'Man, what happened?'
He said, 'Well, we got ready for bed. I went and tucked Daryl into bed,
patted his butt and kissed him good night. Daryl sat up and watched me
all night.'
FLORAL DELIVERY...
I would rather have one rose and a kind
word from a friend while I'm here
than a whole truck load when I'm gone
Forward to all your friends, including me.
And don't tell me you're too busy for this.
Don't you know the phrase
'stop and smell the flowers'?
See how many bouquets you end up with!
Happiness keeps you Sweet , Trials keep you
Strong, Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing,
But Only God Keeps You Going!
See how many you get today
Saturday, March 14, 2009
News
Why have we not seen anything of this on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, or FNC?
Violent Intruders Attack Brooklyn Synagogues
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130358
(IsraelNN.com) For the second time in less than a week, a packed Brooklyn, New York, synagogue has been the target of threats of violence by intruders.
On Monday, according to Yeshiva World News, an Arab man in his mid-30s entered Boro Park's 'Sephardish Shul' and began making proclamations of jihad. Members of a Jewish volunteer security organization, the Shomrim, apprehended the threatening individual. They held him until police officers arrived at the scene, arresting the suspect. Detectives spoke with the "Middle Eastern man" at a station house near the synagogue.
Police officials reminded the community, "If you see something, say something." Security in Brooklyn's heavily Jewish Boro Park area has been stepped up during the Purim holiday.
Just two days earlier, a man wielding a butcher's knife burst into a Kerestir Chassidic synagogue in Williamsburg. He initially turned up unarmed and began throwing soda cans at the gathered worshipers, which hit one of them, and returned shortly thereafter with the bladed weapon.
The attacker was prevented from using the butcher's knife on anyone by a young man, described as a "friend" of the knife-wielding intruder, who then fled together with him.
The recent attacks come just over a month after Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn was targeted in a series of English-language jihadist videos posted on the Internet. The videos and accompanying texts singled out "770," but also intimated that all Orthodox Jewish organizations were equally worthy of attack by Muslims. The threatening material included images of the 770 synagogue and study house, pictures of the police van out front, and indications of which parts of the building are crowded at what times.
The source of the thinly-veiled threats, a group called Revolution Muslim, is domestic to the United States.
Why have we not seen anything of this on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, or FNC?
Violent Intruders Attack Brooklyn Synagogues
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130358
(IsraelNN.com) For the second time in less than a week, a packed Brooklyn, New York, synagogue has been the target of threats of violence by intruders.
On Monday, according to Yeshiva World News, an Arab man in his mid-30s entered Boro Park's 'Sephardish Shul' and began making proclamations of jihad. Members of a Jewish volunteer security organization, the Shomrim, apprehended the threatening individual. They held him until police officers arrived at the scene, arresting the suspect. Detectives spoke with the "Middle Eastern man" at a station house near the synagogue.
Police officials reminded the community, "If you see something, say something." Security in Brooklyn's heavily Jewish Boro Park area has been stepped up during the Purim holiday.
Just two days earlier, a man wielding a butcher's knife burst into a Kerestir Chassidic synagogue in Williamsburg. He initially turned up unarmed and began throwing soda cans at the gathered worshipers, which hit one of them, and returned shortly thereafter with the bladed weapon.
The attacker was prevented from using the butcher's knife on anyone by a young man, described as a "friend" of the knife-wielding intruder, who then fled together with him.
The recent attacks come just over a month after Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn was targeted in a series of English-language jihadist videos posted on the Internet. The videos and accompanying texts singled out "770," but also intimated that all Orthodox Jewish organizations were equally worthy of attack by Muslims. The threatening material included images of the 770 synagogue and study house, pictures of the police van out front, and indications of which parts of the building are crowded at what times.
The source of the thinly-veiled threats, a group called Revolution Muslim, is domestic to the United States.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Preserve the ‘Secret Ballot’
Will President Obama, a majority Democrat and a few Republican legislators on Capitol Hill recognize America is in economic strife, and then start to act appropriately? Organized Labor has injured and/or destroyed many in businesses by insistent increased pay raises and other benefits that prohibit American businesses from competing in the marketplace. When businesses close or relocate to other nations, local jobs are lost. Organized Labor is unwilling to compromise in decreased wages and benefits, even at the price of destroying the local businesses and/or our own US economy.
Organized Labor, with the support of a Democrat Party majority and a few Republicans on Capitol Hill are pushing for new legislation named ‘Employee Free Choice Act’ which will abolish the ‘secret ballot’ in union elections. Naming this legislation ‘Employee Free Choice Act’ is equivalent to chickens being mandated to call Kentucky Fried Chicken or Chick-fil-A a secure home.
This legislation will force a ‘Union’ without an election, if a majority of employees merely sign ‘union cards’. Can you imagine the heaviness by labor organizers demanding fellow employees to sign ‘union cards’? Businesses and employees must be preserved the right of a ‘secret ballot’?
The ‘secret ballot’ should be a ‘legal right’ on this issue. This proposed legislation is ‘pay to play’ for Organized Labor and against individual freedoms, and our US economy. What is next? Will legislators then begin an effort to deny elections for elected offices, based on political party voter registration alone?
Please, conserve the ‘secret ballot’.
Organized Labor, with the support of a Democrat Party majority and a few Republicans on Capitol Hill are pushing for new legislation named ‘Employee Free Choice Act’ which will abolish the ‘secret ballot’ in union elections. Naming this legislation ‘Employee Free Choice Act’ is equivalent to chickens being mandated to call Kentucky Fried Chicken or Chick-fil-A a secure home.
This legislation will force a ‘Union’ without an election, if a majority of employees merely sign ‘union cards’. Can you imagine the heaviness by labor organizers demanding fellow employees to sign ‘union cards’? Businesses and employees must be preserved the right of a ‘secret ballot’?
The ‘secret ballot’ should be a ‘legal right’ on this issue. This proposed legislation is ‘pay to play’ for Organized Labor and against individual freedoms, and our US economy. What is next? Will legislators then begin an effort to deny elections for elected offices, based on political party voter registration alone?
Please, conserve the ‘secret ballot’.
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090313
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Make a customer, not a sale. -- Katherine Barchetti
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Lean on Each Other Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). Father, help me not to be too proud to ask others for help.
"We love each other as a result of His loving us first." (1 John 4:19)
"The Patriot Post"
"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." -- John Adams
2nd Amendment: Holder calls for another gun ban
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), a former Black Panther, introduced Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 (H.R. 45).. The bill has no cosponsors to date, but it aims to implement a "system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes." The system includes requiring all handgun owners to submit a federal application including a photo, address, thumbprint, mental health records, a written firearm safety test and a fee. The attorney general would then use that information to establish a database of all handgun sales, transfers and owners' addresses. It would then become illegal to own a "qualifying firearm" -- "any handgun; or any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device" -- without a license.
The BIG lie
"[W]e have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day." -- BHO
"Rick Santorum"
The Burden of Proof Lies on Islam
“Islam Should Prove It’s A Religion of Peace,” insists Tawfik Hamid in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. Hamid, a Muslim reformer and former member of an Egyptian Terrorist organization, can’t understand why the West is so upset about Geert Wilders’ film, Fitna. Don’t blame the messenger, says Hamid:
Many Muslims seem to believe that it is acceptable to teach hatred and violence in the name of their religion—while at the same time expecting the world to respect Islam as a religion of peace, love and harmony.
Scholars in the most prestigious Islamic institutes and universities continue to teach things like Jews are “pigs and monkeys,” that women and men must be stoned to death for adultery, or that Muslims must fight the world to spread their religion. Isn’t, then, Mr.. Wilders’s criticism appropriate? Instead of blaming him, we must blame the leading Islamic scholars for having failed to produce an authoritative book on Islamic jurisprudence that is accepted in the Islamic world and unambiguously rejects these violent teachings.
If you would like to see Tawfik expand on these themes from his perspective as a former jihadist, the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Coldwater Media have co-produced a documentary entitled In the Red Chair: Tawfik Hamid, whose trailer you can watch here.
In other news, it appears that the International Criminal Court at the Hague has gotten itself into a pickle with the more extreme factions of Islam.. On Friday, officials from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah joined Syria's parliament speaker and the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group for talks with Sudanese President al-Bashir in Khartoum, only days after the ICC issued a warrant for al-Bashir's arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's western Darfur region. The delegation’s aim is to express international support for the accused President, whose arrest warrant is being viewed as an “insult directed at Muslims.”
"The Web"
Pelosi not sure about another stimulus!
http://www.onenewsnow.com/vidPlayer.aspx?videoId=11561
Congresswoman With Ties to Bank Helped Seek Funds - How long will it take the majority Democrats on Capitol Hill to call for an 'Independent Investigation' concerning Representatives Maxine Waters and Barney Frank, as well as Senator Chris Dodd for fraud? - oyh
By ERIC LIPTON and JIM RUTENBERG
Published: March 12, 2009
To read the entire article, go to this 'link'.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/us/politics/13waters.html?_r=1&nl=pol&emc=pola1
WASHINGTON — Top banking regulators were taken aback late last year when a California congresswoman helped set up a meeting in which the chief executive of a bank with financial ties to her family asked them for up to $50 million in special bailout funds, Treasury officials said.
Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, requested the September meeting on behalf of executives at OneUnited, one of the nation’s largest black-owned banks. Ms. Water’s husband, Sidney Williams, had served on the bank’s board of directors until early last year and has owned at least $250,000 in stock in the institution. Treasury officials said the session with nearly a dozen senior banking regulators had been intended to allow minority-owned banks and their trade association to discuss the losses they had incurred from the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Kevin Cohee, OneUnited’s chief executive, instead seized the opportunity to plead for special assistance for his bank, federal officials said.
The Battle for Talk Radio: Powerful Foes Want to End the Gabfest
The 2008 election has been decided and one thing is clear: the enemies of talk radio are firmly in control of the White House and Congress. Sen. Chuck Schumer and his fellow Democrats are promising an all-out attack on talk radio.
With a new "Fairness Doctrine" backed by an Obama White House, political talk, as we know it, will end.
If these forces of darkness win, Rush, Imus, Hannity, Savage, Beck, and dozens of other major hosts will be muzzled by using federal regulations to control political talk.
So, what's their plan of attack?
As Newsmax magazine reveals in its special report, "The Battle for Talk Radio," leading liberals in Congress, the Democratic presidential candidates, and even some Republicans speak openly of their plans to end conservative talk radio using federal regulations.
Their weapon: a revived Fairness Doctrine, which would once again require stations to air divergent points of view — a clever ruse that makes station owners leery of airing controversial talk-radio hosts fearing law suits and federal sanctions.
With a new Fairness Doctrine, you could see many top conservative radio hosts canned.
This Newsmax special report also features an exclusive interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly who tells Newsmax there is no question a plan is being hatched. "The far-left kooks will try, but they will fail," O'Reilly says.
The Sneeze
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing… And the traditional caps, they looked almost ... As grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would NOT pray during the commencements----not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine..... until the final speech received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened.
H
All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage.. Simply looked at the audience and said, "GOD BLESS YOU,
Each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
Isn't this a wonderful story? Pass it on to all your friends.........and GOD BLESS YOU!!!! & This is a true story; it happened at the University of Maryland .
WSJ: Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists
http://moneynews.newsmax.com/streettalk/obama_geithner_low_grades/2009/03/12/191096.html?s=al&promo_code=7C08-1
President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to revive the world's largest economy, according to participants in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.
A majority of the 49 economists polled said they were dissatisfied with the administration's economic policies, according to the paper, a stark contrast to Obama's popularity ratings with the general public.
On average, the economists gave the president a grade of 59 out of 100, and although there was a broad range of marks, 42 percent of respondents rated Obama below 60, the paper said.
Geithner received an average grade of 51, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scored better, with an average 71, the paper said.
On average, the economists now expect the economic downturn to end in October, according to the paper. In the previous survey, they had expected the bottom would arrive in August.
The economists' main criticism of the Obama team centered on delays in enacting key parts of plans to rescue banks, the paper said.
The economists' negative ratings mark a turnaround in opinion, the paper said. In December, before Obama took office, three-quarters of respondents said the incoming administration's economic team was better than the departing team under former President George W. Bush.
Geithner's latest marks are lower than the average grade of 57 that former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson received in January, the paper said.
"We have taken an unprecedented level of action toward economic recovery, accomplishing in weeks what took other countries years to do," the paper cited Treasury spokesman Isaac Baker as saying.
"While Wall Street and investors were disappointed when they didn't get a sweeping bank bailout, we've laid out a plan to stabilize the financial system while protecting the taxpayer and ensuring government funds are spent wisely," Baker said, according to the paper.
"This crisis was years in the making, and it will take time to solve."
"The e-mail Bag"
The Badge
DEA officer stops at a ranch in Montana , and talks with an old rancher. He tells the rancher, 'I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.'
The old rancher says, 'Okay, but do not go in that field over there' as he points out the location.
The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, 'Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.' Reaching into his rear pant's pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the farmer. 'See this badge?
This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish...on any land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?'
The old rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.
A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life chased close behind by the rancher's prize bull. With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, and it seems likely that he'll get "horned" before he reaches safety. The officer is clearly terrified. The old rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs.....
'Your badge! Show him your badge!'
INCOME TAXES?
Your income taxes are normally due on April 15th unless that date falls on a Saturday or Sunday in which case they are due on Monday the 16th or 17th.
The good news is that I have learned of a recent change, and for the next 4 years, they will not be due until you are nominated to a cabinet position.
"Daily Motivations"
Make a customer, not a sale. -- Katherine Barchetti
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Lean on Each Other Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). Father, help me not to be too proud to ask others for help.
"We love each other as a result of His loving us first." (1 John 4:19)
"The Patriot Post"
"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." -- John Adams
2nd Amendment: Holder calls for another gun ban
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), a former Black Panther, introduced Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 (H.R. 45).. The bill has no cosponsors to date, but it aims to implement a "system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes." The system includes requiring all handgun owners to submit a federal application including a photo, address, thumbprint, mental health records, a written firearm safety test and a fee. The attorney general would then use that information to establish a database of all handgun sales, transfers and owners' addresses. It would then become illegal to own a "qualifying firearm" -- "any handgun; or any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device" -- without a license.
The BIG lie
"[W]e have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day." -- BHO
"Rick Santorum"
The Burden of Proof Lies on Islam
“Islam Should Prove It’s A Religion of Peace,” insists Tawfik Hamid in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. Hamid, a Muslim reformer and former member of an Egyptian Terrorist organization, can’t understand why the West is so upset about Geert Wilders’ film, Fitna. Don’t blame the messenger, says Hamid:
Many Muslims seem to believe that it is acceptable to teach hatred and violence in the name of their religion—while at the same time expecting the world to respect Islam as a religion of peace, love and harmony.
Scholars in the most prestigious Islamic institutes and universities continue to teach things like Jews are “pigs and monkeys,” that women and men must be stoned to death for adultery, or that Muslims must fight the world to spread their religion. Isn’t, then, Mr.. Wilders’s criticism appropriate? Instead of blaming him, we must blame the leading Islamic scholars for having failed to produce an authoritative book on Islamic jurisprudence that is accepted in the Islamic world and unambiguously rejects these violent teachings.
If you would like to see Tawfik expand on these themes from his perspective as a former jihadist, the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Coldwater Media have co-produced a documentary entitled In the Red Chair: Tawfik Hamid, whose trailer you can watch here.
In other news, it appears that the International Criminal Court at the Hague has gotten itself into a pickle with the more extreme factions of Islam.. On Friday, officials from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah joined Syria's parliament speaker and the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group for talks with Sudanese President al-Bashir in Khartoum, only days after the ICC issued a warrant for al-Bashir's arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's western Darfur region. The delegation’s aim is to express international support for the accused President, whose arrest warrant is being viewed as an “insult directed at Muslims.”
"The Web"
Pelosi not sure about another stimulus!
http://www.onenewsnow.com/vidPlayer.aspx?videoId=11561
Congresswoman With Ties to Bank Helped Seek Funds - How long will it take the majority Democrats on Capitol Hill to call for an 'Independent Investigation' concerning Representatives Maxine Waters and Barney Frank, as well as Senator Chris Dodd for fraud? - oyh
By ERIC LIPTON and JIM RUTENBERG
Published: March 12, 2009
To read the entire article, go to this 'link'.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/us/politics/13waters.html?_r=1&nl=pol&emc=pola1
WASHINGTON — Top banking regulators were taken aback late last year when a California congresswoman helped set up a meeting in which the chief executive of a bank with financial ties to her family asked them for up to $50 million in special bailout funds, Treasury officials said.
Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, requested the September meeting on behalf of executives at OneUnited, one of the nation’s largest black-owned banks. Ms. Water’s husband, Sidney Williams, had served on the bank’s board of directors until early last year and has owned at least $250,000 in stock in the institution. Treasury officials said the session with nearly a dozen senior banking regulators had been intended to allow minority-owned banks and their trade association to discuss the losses they had incurred from the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Kevin Cohee, OneUnited’s chief executive, instead seized the opportunity to plead for special assistance for his bank, federal officials said.
The Battle for Talk Radio: Powerful Foes Want to End the Gabfest
The 2008 election has been decided and one thing is clear: the enemies of talk radio are firmly in control of the White House and Congress. Sen. Chuck Schumer and his fellow Democrats are promising an all-out attack on talk radio.
With a new "Fairness Doctrine" backed by an Obama White House, political talk, as we know it, will end.
If these forces of darkness win, Rush, Imus, Hannity, Savage, Beck, and dozens of other major hosts will be muzzled by using federal regulations to control political talk.
So, what's their plan of attack?
As Newsmax magazine reveals in its special report, "The Battle for Talk Radio," leading liberals in Congress, the Democratic presidential candidates, and even some Republicans speak openly of their plans to end conservative talk radio using federal regulations.
Their weapon: a revived Fairness Doctrine, which would once again require stations to air divergent points of view — a clever ruse that makes station owners leery of airing controversial talk-radio hosts fearing law suits and federal sanctions.
With a new Fairness Doctrine, you could see many top conservative radio hosts canned.
This Newsmax special report also features an exclusive interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly who tells Newsmax there is no question a plan is being hatched. "The far-left kooks will try, but they will fail," O'Reilly says.
The Sneeze
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing… And the traditional caps, they looked almost ... As grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would NOT pray during the commencements----not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine..... until the final speech received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened.
H
All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage.. Simply looked at the audience and said, "GOD BLESS YOU,
Each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
Isn't this a wonderful story? Pass it on to all your friends.........and GOD BLESS YOU!!!! & This is a true story; it happened at the University of Maryland .
WSJ: Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists
http://moneynews.newsmax.com/streettalk/obama_geithner_low_grades/2009/03/12/191096.html?s=al&promo_code=7C08-1
President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to revive the world's largest economy, according to participants in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.
A majority of the 49 economists polled said they were dissatisfied with the administration's economic policies, according to the paper, a stark contrast to Obama's popularity ratings with the general public.
On average, the economists gave the president a grade of 59 out of 100, and although there was a broad range of marks, 42 percent of respondents rated Obama below 60, the paper said.
Geithner received an average grade of 51, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scored better, with an average 71, the paper said.
On average, the economists now expect the economic downturn to end in October, according to the paper. In the previous survey, they had expected the bottom would arrive in August.
The economists' main criticism of the Obama team centered on delays in enacting key parts of plans to rescue banks, the paper said.
The economists' negative ratings mark a turnaround in opinion, the paper said. In December, before Obama took office, three-quarters of respondents said the incoming administration's economic team was better than the departing team under former President George W. Bush.
Geithner's latest marks are lower than the average grade of 57 that former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson received in January, the paper said.
"We have taken an unprecedented level of action toward economic recovery, accomplishing in weeks what took other countries years to do," the paper cited Treasury spokesman Isaac Baker as saying.
"While Wall Street and investors were disappointed when they didn't get a sweeping bank bailout, we've laid out a plan to stabilize the financial system while protecting the taxpayer and ensuring government funds are spent wisely," Baker said, according to the paper.
"This crisis was years in the making, and it will take time to solve."
"The e-mail Bag"
The Badge
DEA officer stops at a ranch in Montana , and talks with an old rancher. He tells the rancher, 'I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.'
The old rancher says, 'Okay, but do not go in that field over there' as he points out the location.
The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, 'Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.' Reaching into his rear pant's pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the farmer. 'See this badge?
This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish...on any land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?'
The old rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.
A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life chased close behind by the rancher's prize bull. With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, and it seems likely that he'll get "horned" before he reaches safety. The officer is clearly terrified. The old rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs.....
'Your badge! Show him your badge!'
INCOME TAXES?
Your income taxes are normally due on April 15th unless that date falls on a Saturday or Sunday in which case they are due on Monday the 16th or 17th.
The good news is that I have learned of a recent change, and for the next 4 years, they will not be due until you are nominated to a cabinet position.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report -20090312
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. -- Alan Lakein
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
My Grace is Sufficient for You And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Cor. 12:9). What do you do when a hurricane-force storm hits and water is filling your boat?
"Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths". (Proverbs 3:6)
"The Patriot Post"
"[G]overnment, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one." -- Thomas Paine
"The prosperity of commerce is now perceived and acknowledged by all enlightened statesmen to be the most useful as well as the most productive source of national wealth, and has accordingly become a primary object of its political cares." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 12, 27 November 1787
"Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.." --commentator, author and founder of National Review William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008)
Folks, this is the voice of Socialism: Government is the be all, end all: "I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity." -- Comrade Obama
Not making this up: "We cannot and will not sustain deficits like these without end. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom in Washington these past few years, we cannot simply spend as we please and defer the consequences to the next budget, the next administration or the next generation." -- Barack Obama **Translation: Get ready for a HUGE tax hike.
Cutting the wrong thing: "I would be very happy if there was some way to make it a misdemeanor for people to talk about reducing the budget deficit without including a recommendation that we substantially cut military spending." -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
"Simple Truths"
The Nature of Success
http://www.natureofsuccessmovie.com/
"Liberty Counsel"
Liberty Counsel
March 11, 2009
Liberty Counsel Argues High School Valedictorian Case at Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
www.LC.org
Liberty Counsel argued today at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Erica Corder, a high school valedictorian who was forced to publicly apologize for sharing her Christian faith during her 30-second message at graduation. Erica was one of fifteen valedictorians from the Lewis-Palmer High School class of 2006 in Denver Colorado.
Immediately afterward, Erica was informed that because of her speech she would not be receiving her diploma with the other students and would have to meet with the principal, Mr. Brewer. Principal Brewer forced Erica to write an apology for her actions in order to receive her diploma, which she then did under protest. The apology was disseminated to the entire school community.
Steve Crampton, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, presented oral argument this morning. On appeal, Liberty Counsel argued that Erica’s speech was private and entitled to full protection under both the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Read our News Release for more details.
Today on Liberty Live
Today, our special guest will be J.C. Watts, Founder and Chairman of J.C. Watts Companies and former US Congressman from Oklahoma. We will discuss how today’s weakened GOP and the larger conservative movement have abandoned social conservativism with devastating results to the movement.
Watch online from 4 - 5 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. CT) at www.LC.org and add your comments to our live blog during the show. The number to call to talk to J.C. Watts during the show is (866) 963-2037.
Show archives and podcasts are also available online. Yesterday our special guest was Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny.
Don't miss a day of Liberty Live, on AFR Talk. Mat Staver hosts Liberty Live and is joined by co-host Matt Barber.
Please help inform as many people as possible by forwarding this Liberty Alert to your entire e-mail list of family and friends, and encourage them to subscribe.
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 or order resources from the Liberty Counsel online store.
Mathew D. Staver - Founder and Chairman
Anita L. Staver - President
Liberty Counsel - 1-800-671-1776
PO Box 540774 - Orlando, FL 32854
"The Web"
Just put your mouse on a city anywhere in the world and the newspaper headlines pop up.
Double click and the page gets larger...then click on "Web Site" and read the whole paper....
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/
Washington's 'Pay to Play': Billions Wasted in Earmarks
The Obama administration is pushing a spending bill that contains perhaps the largest number of pork projects in American history. John McCain said, "So much for change."
Read the Full Story – Go Here Now
Meghan Tisinger
Meghan@MilitaryFamiliesUnited.org
Military Families United Releases GITMO Ad and Petition on President’s Terrorist Release
Washington, DC – February 23, 2009 – Today, Military Families United released a national advertisement in response to the breaking news that Binyam Mohamed, an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ was released from Guantanamo Bay and freed in England. This is an unprecedented release because it is the first time that a GITMO detainee, who is classified as an “Unlawful Enemy Combatant” has been released - meaning that he still poses a threat to our national security and the security of our allies. All of the previous released GITMO detainees were declassified and determined to no longer be of intelligence value or pose a threat to our country.
“Military Families United has issued this ad to bring attention to the dangerous decision the White House has made in releasing Binyam Mohamed, a known member of al-Qaeda and alleged collaborator with the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohamed. Under the dark of night the Administration chartered a plane from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Britain to release this known terrorist as a free man. Actions speak louder than words in the War on Terror, and releasing dangerous terrorists as free men isn’t a way to keep America safe and secure,” said MFU’s Executive Director Brian Wise
“It is important the American people know how dangerous this decision is and how it will affect the ability for our brave men and women in uniform to win the War on Terror. This ad is designed to mobilize the American people to voice their opinions to the President that they do not want these terrorists released back into society where they pose a threat to America and its allies,” continued Wise.
In addition to the new advertisement, Military Families United distributed a petition to its members to urge President Obama to not release dangerous detainees from Guantanamo Bay if they still pose a threat to the United States. Military Families United will present this petition to the President and urge him to stop freeing terrorists. To see the petition visit http://www.dontfreeterrorists.org/
CHAVEZ CALLS ON OBAMA TO FOLLOW PATH OF SOCIALISM
Caracas - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday called upon US President Barack Obama to follow the path to socialism, which he termed as the "only" way out of the global recession. "Come with us, align yourself, come with us on the road to socialism. This is the only path. Imagine a socialist revolution in the United States," Chavez told a group of workers in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar.
The controversial Venezuelan leader, who taunted the United States as a source of capitalistic evil under former president George W Bush, added that the United States needs a leader who can take it to a "higher" destiny and bring it out of "the sad role that it has been given, as a murderous, attacking power that is hated all around the world."
Chavez said that people are calling Obama a "socialist" for the measures of state intervention he is taking to counter the crisis, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that he might join the project of "21st century socialism" that the Venezuelan leader is heading.
"Nothing is impossible. Who would have thought in the 1980s that the Soviet Union would disappear? No one," he said.
"That murderous, genocidal empire has to end, and some day there has to come a leader .... who interprets the best of a people who also include human beings who suffer, endure, weep and laugh," the outspoken Chavez said.
Developing...
"The e-mail Bag"
FARM KID'S LETTER HOME FROM THE US MARINES
Dear Ma and Pa:
I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but am getting so I like to sleep late.
Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, and stuff, but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food. But tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon, when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.
We go on "route" marches, which the Platoon Sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat. The Sergeant is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The Capt. is like the school board. Majors and Colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.
This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move. And it ain't shooting at you, like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in little metal boxes. Speaking of shooting, enclosed is $200 towards a new barn roof and ma's teeth. The city boys shoot craps, but not very good.
Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. He joined up the same time as me. But I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and weighs near 300 pounds dry.
Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.
Your loving daughter,
Gail
 woman goes into Cabela’s …
A woman goes into Cabela’s to buy a rod and reel for her grandson’s birthday. She doesn’t know which one to get so she just grabs one and goes over to the counter.
A Cabela’s associate is standing there wearing dark shades. She says, “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me anything about this rod and reel?”
He says, “Ma’am, I’m completely blind; but if you’ll drop it on the counter, I can tell you everything from the sound it makes.”
She doesn’t believe him but drops it on the counter anyway.
He says, “That’s a six-foot Shakespeare graphite rod with a Zebco 404 reel and 10-LB. Test line. It’s a good all around combination; and it’s on sale this week for only $20.00.”
She says, “It’s amazing that you can tell all that just by the sound of it dropping on the counter. I’ll take it!”
As she opens her purse, her credit card drops on the floor.
“Oh, that sounds like a Master Card,” he says.
She bends down to pick it up and accidentally farts. At first she is really embarrassed, but then realizes there is no way the blind clerk could tell it was she who tooted. Being blind, he wouldn’t know that she was the only person around.
The man rings up the sale and says, “That’ll be $34.50 please.”
The woman is totally confused by this and asks, “Didn’t you tell me the rod and reel were on sale for $20.00?
How did you get $34.50?”
He replies,” Yes, Ma’am. The rod and reel is $20.00, but the Duck Call is $11.00 and the Catfish Bait is $3.50.”
"Daily Motivations"
Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. -- Alan Lakein
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
My Grace is Sufficient for You And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Cor. 12:9). What do you do when a hurricane-force storm hits and water is filling your boat?
"Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths". (Proverbs 3:6)
"The Patriot Post"
"[G]overnment, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one." -- Thomas Paine
"The prosperity of commerce is now perceived and acknowledged by all enlightened statesmen to be the most useful as well as the most productive source of national wealth, and has accordingly become a primary object of its political cares." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 12, 27 November 1787
"Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.." --commentator, author and founder of National Review William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008)
Folks, this is the voice of Socialism: Government is the be all, end all: "I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity." -- Comrade Obama
Not making this up: "We cannot and will not sustain deficits like these without end. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom in Washington these past few years, we cannot simply spend as we please and defer the consequences to the next budget, the next administration or the next generation." -- Barack Obama **Translation: Get ready for a HUGE tax hike.
Cutting the wrong thing: "I would be very happy if there was some way to make it a misdemeanor for people to talk about reducing the budget deficit without including a recommendation that we substantially cut military spending." -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
"Simple Truths"
The Nature of Success
http://www.natureofsuccessmovie.com/
"Liberty Counsel"
Liberty Counsel
March 11, 2009
Liberty Counsel Argues High School Valedictorian Case at Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
www.LC.org
Liberty Counsel argued today at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Erica Corder, a high school valedictorian who was forced to publicly apologize for sharing her Christian faith during her 30-second message at graduation. Erica was one of fifteen valedictorians from the Lewis-Palmer High School class of 2006 in Denver Colorado.
Immediately afterward, Erica was informed that because of her speech she would not be receiving her diploma with the other students and would have to meet with the principal, Mr. Brewer. Principal Brewer forced Erica to write an apology for her actions in order to receive her diploma, which she then did under protest. The apology was disseminated to the entire school community.
Steve Crampton, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, presented oral argument this morning. On appeal, Liberty Counsel argued that Erica’s speech was private and entitled to full protection under both the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Read our News Release for more details.
Today on Liberty Live
Today, our special guest will be J.C. Watts, Founder and Chairman of J.C. Watts Companies and former US Congressman from Oklahoma. We will discuss how today’s weakened GOP and the larger conservative movement have abandoned social conservativism with devastating results to the movement.
Watch online from 4 - 5 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. CT) at www.LC.org and add your comments to our live blog during the show. The number to call to talk to J.C. Watts during the show is (866) 963-2037.
Show archives and podcasts are also available online. Yesterday our special guest was Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny.
Don't miss a day of Liberty Live, on AFR Talk. Mat Staver hosts Liberty Live and is joined by co-host Matt Barber.
Please help inform as many people as possible by forwarding this Liberty Alert to your entire e-mail list of family and friends, and encourage them to subscribe.
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 or order resources from the Liberty Counsel online store.
Mathew D. Staver - Founder and Chairman
Anita L. Staver - President
Liberty Counsel - 1-800-671-1776
PO Box 540774 - Orlando, FL 32854
"The Web"
Just put your mouse on a city anywhere in the world and the newspaper headlines pop up.
Double click and the page gets larger...then click on "Web Site" and read the whole paper....
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/
Washington's 'Pay to Play': Billions Wasted in Earmarks
The Obama administration is pushing a spending bill that contains perhaps the largest number of pork projects in American history. John McCain said, "So much for change."
Read the Full Story – Go Here Now
Meghan Tisinger
Meghan@MilitaryFamiliesUnited.org
Military Families United Releases GITMO Ad and Petition on President’s Terrorist Release
Washington, DC – February 23, 2009 – Today, Military Families United released a national advertisement in response to the breaking news that Binyam Mohamed, an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ was released from Guantanamo Bay and freed in England. This is an unprecedented release because it is the first time that a GITMO detainee, who is classified as an “Unlawful Enemy Combatant” has been released - meaning that he still poses a threat to our national security and the security of our allies. All of the previous released GITMO detainees were declassified and determined to no longer be of intelligence value or pose a threat to our country.
“Military Families United has issued this ad to bring attention to the dangerous decision the White House has made in releasing Binyam Mohamed, a known member of al-Qaeda and alleged collaborator with the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohamed. Under the dark of night the Administration chartered a plane from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Britain to release this known terrorist as a free man. Actions speak louder than words in the War on Terror, and releasing dangerous terrorists as free men isn’t a way to keep America safe and secure,” said MFU’s Executive Director Brian Wise
“It is important the American people know how dangerous this decision is and how it will affect the ability for our brave men and women in uniform to win the War on Terror. This ad is designed to mobilize the American people to voice their opinions to the President that they do not want these terrorists released back into society where they pose a threat to America and its allies,” continued Wise.
In addition to the new advertisement, Military Families United distributed a petition to its members to urge President Obama to not release dangerous detainees from Guantanamo Bay if they still pose a threat to the United States. Military Families United will present this petition to the President and urge him to stop freeing terrorists. To see the petition visit http://www.dontfreeterrorists.org/
CHAVEZ CALLS ON OBAMA TO FOLLOW PATH OF SOCIALISM
Caracas - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday called upon US President Barack Obama to follow the path to socialism, which he termed as the "only" way out of the global recession. "Come with us, align yourself, come with us on the road to socialism. This is the only path. Imagine a socialist revolution in the United States," Chavez told a group of workers in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar.
The controversial Venezuelan leader, who taunted the United States as a source of capitalistic evil under former president George W Bush, added that the United States needs a leader who can take it to a "higher" destiny and bring it out of "the sad role that it has been given, as a murderous, attacking power that is hated all around the world."
Chavez said that people are calling Obama a "socialist" for the measures of state intervention he is taking to counter the crisis, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that he might join the project of "21st century socialism" that the Venezuelan leader is heading.
"Nothing is impossible. Who would have thought in the 1980s that the Soviet Union would disappear? No one," he said.
"That murderous, genocidal empire has to end, and some day there has to come a leader .... who interprets the best of a people who also include human beings who suffer, endure, weep and laugh," the outspoken Chavez said.
Developing...
"The e-mail Bag"
FARM KID'S LETTER HOME FROM THE US MARINES
Dear Ma and Pa:
I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but am getting so I like to sleep late.
Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, and stuff, but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food. But tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon, when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.
We go on "route" marches, which the Platoon Sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat. The Sergeant is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The Capt. is like the school board. Majors and Colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.
This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move. And it ain't shooting at you, like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in little metal boxes. Speaking of shooting, enclosed is $200 towards a new barn roof and ma's teeth. The city boys shoot craps, but not very good.
Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. He joined up the same time as me. But I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and weighs near 300 pounds dry.
Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.
Your loving daughter,
Gail
 woman goes into Cabela’s …
A woman goes into Cabela’s to buy a rod and reel for her grandson’s birthday. She doesn’t know which one to get so she just grabs one and goes over to the counter.
A Cabela’s associate is standing there wearing dark shades. She says, “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me anything about this rod and reel?”
He says, “Ma’am, I’m completely blind; but if you’ll drop it on the counter, I can tell you everything from the sound it makes.”
She doesn’t believe him but drops it on the counter anyway.
He says, “That’s a six-foot Shakespeare graphite rod with a Zebco 404 reel and 10-LB. Test line. It’s a good all around combination; and it’s on sale this week for only $20.00.”
She says, “It’s amazing that you can tell all that just by the sound of it dropping on the counter. I’ll take it!”
As she opens her purse, her credit card drops on the floor.
“Oh, that sounds like a Master Card,” he says.
She bends down to pick it up and accidentally farts. At first she is really embarrassed, but then realizes there is no way the blind clerk could tell it was she who tooted. Being blind, he wouldn’t know that she was the only person around.
The man rings up the sale and says, “That’ll be $34.50 please.”
The woman is totally confused by this and asks, “Didn’t you tell me the rod and reel were on sale for $20.00?
How did you get $34.50?”
He replies,” Yes, Ma’am. The rod and reel is $20.00, but the Duck Call is $11.00 and the Catfish Bait is $3.50.”
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Teens seek broader sex ed
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1437319.html
(An editorial response to the Raleigh, NC News & Observer dated March 11, 2009)
What do these kids want in sex education? Where, or to whom, did they get their idea to lobby to our NC legislators for a more radical left-wing idea in our public education system?
Do they want to view sex education on X-rated video in our schools? Do they want a bed to practice on, in public schools? Do they want their sex education dedicated to one man and one woman? Do they want sex education taught as group sex? Do these kids want sex education dedicated to students who have come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender?
It seems as if another radical left-wing idea comes from some group(s) whom are out to damage and/or destroy our Christian-Judeo values as so many of us learned from ago. Out legislators must say no to these radical left-wing ideas.
(An editorial response to the Raleigh, NC News & Observer dated March 11, 2009)
What do these kids want in sex education? Where, or to whom, did they get their idea to lobby to our NC legislators for a more radical left-wing idea in our public education system?
Do they want to view sex education on X-rated video in our schools? Do they want a bed to practice on, in public schools? Do they want their sex education dedicated to one man and one woman? Do they want sex education taught as group sex? Do these kids want sex education dedicated to students who have come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender?
It seems as if another radical left-wing idea comes from some group(s) whom are out to damage and/or destroy our Christian-Judeo values as so many of us learned from ago. Out legislators must say no to these radical left-wing ideas.
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090311
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life. -- E.M. Forster
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
The Misunderstood Principle of Submission For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3). Submission is hammer for building, not a club for maiming.
"If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:9)
"The Patriot Post"
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States." -- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 10 October 1787
"To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, counties or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws." -- John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787-1788
"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. ...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." -- A Pennsylvanian, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 20February 1788
"The Web"
Landing on the Hudson
http://www.scenesystems.com/news/hudson-1549
In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER
Blogger's Note: from my friend Dennis M in Honolulu: Please read the little cartoon carefully, it's powerful. Then read the comments at the end.
I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll consider doing the same.
In Memoriam
It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!
Now, more than ever, with Iraq, Iran, and others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.
This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!
Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.
Please send this e-mail to 10 people you know and ask them to continue the memorial chain.
Almost $1M in taxpayer money to La Raza
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow
An Iowa congressman says it's outrageous that nearly a million dollars of the proposed Omnibus spending bill would go to an organization that openly advocates illegal immigration.
Congressional officials report the $410-billion Omnibus spending bill currently being debated in Congress is packed with 9,000 earmarks, something candidate Barack Obama said last fall that he opposes. "We need earmark reform," Obama said in the September presidential debate held in Oxford, Mississippi. "And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) says one of the earmarks in the Transportation HUD portion of the Omnibus bill allocates $950,000 to the National Council of La Raza for "capitalization of a revolving loan to be used for nationwide community development activities."
King says taxpayer dollars should not be going to that organization.
"La Raza stands for 'The Race' -- and they say so openly," the congressman notes. "They are a pro-Hispanic organization; I will call them a racist organization. They base their philosophy on race. They advocate for those minorities that fit within the category that they define as drives them."
In addition, says King, La Raza is a pro-amnesty group. "They are apologists for illegal immigrants -- and we are funding them with your tax dollars in this administration through earmarks," he points out. "It is outrageous. It's an in-your-face act on the part of this Congress."
The Omnibus spending bill is still being debated in the Senate, where even some Democrats are questioning its cost. At least one DC budget analyst has observed that "it will be a little embarrassing" if the president signs a bill with so many earmarks in it.
Al Capone
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic.
He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the
money big, but also Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was also large that it filled an entire
Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly.
Eddie saw to it that his young son had the best of everything: clothes, cars and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no
object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong.
Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name and a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity.
To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious
medallion and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
Now is the only time you own.
Live, love, toil with a will.
Place no faith in time.
For the clock may soon be still.
Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare
World War II produced many heroes.
One such man was a Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader ordered him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold. A squadron of Japanese bombers were speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.
There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove directly into the formation of the Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch weaved in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until finally all his ammunition was spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to at least clip off a wing or tail, in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly. He was desperate to do anything he could to keep them from reaching the American ships. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had destroyed five enemy bombers. That was on February 20, 1942, and for that action he became the Navy's first Ace of WWII and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal Of Honor.
A year later he was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of that heroic action die. And today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So the next time you're in O'Hare, visit his memorial with his statue and Medal Of Honor. It is located between terminal 1 and 2.
Most Expensive Catastrophes In History - And the winner is...
11 Most Expensive Catasrophes
# 11. Titanic - $150 Million The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today ' s dollars).
# 10. Tanker Truck vs Bridge - $358 Million On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.
# 9. MetroLink Crash - $500 Million On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles . It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging.. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.
# 8. B-2 Bomber Crash - $1.4 Billion Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we ' re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.
# 7. Exxon Valdez - $2.5 Billion The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world ' s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship ' s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.
# 6. Piper Alpha Oil Rig - $3.4 Billion The world ' s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world ' s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world ' s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion. Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.
# 5. Challenger Explosion - $5.5 Billion The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today ' s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today ' s dollars).
# 4. Prestige Oil Spill - $12 Billion On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia , Spain . Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea. According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.
# 3. Space Shuttle Columbia - $13 Billion The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA ' s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today ' s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million. In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
# 2. Chernobyl - $200 Billion On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.
And The Winner Is
# 1. 2008 Presidential Election- $800 Billion in the first two months...
"The e-mail Bag"
A Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON . . . It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realise is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON . . . Because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Author Unknown
Things I have learned living in North Carolina .....
1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road ..
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in North Carolina
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders.. All 10,000 of them live in North
Carolina , plus a couple no one has ever seen before!
4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha..
5.'Onced' and 'Twiced' are words
6. It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.
7. 'Jaw-P?' means 'Did y'all go to the bathroom?'
8. People actually grow and eat okra.
9. 'Fixinto' is one word.
10. There is no such thing as 'lunch'. There is only dinner and then there
is supper.
11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when
you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar
12. Backwards and forwards means 'I know everything about you.'
13. The word 'Jeet' is actually a phrase meaning 'Did you eat?'
14. You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it
is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH them.
MORE THINGS TO LET YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM NORTH CAROLINA:
1. You measure distance in minutes.
2. You've ever had to switch from heat to A/C in the same day.
3. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable,
grain, insect or animal.
4.. You know what a 'DAWG' is.
5. You carry jumper cables in your car for your OWN car.
6. 90% of NC kitchens will have these five spices/condiments: Morton Salt,
McCormick Black Pepper, Texas Pete, JFG/Dukes Mayonnaise and Hunts Ketchup.
7. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but
require 6 pages for local gossip and motorsports.
8. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.
9. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm'.
10. You know all four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer and
Christmas.
11. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin' to Wally World
or Wal-Martin'.
12. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chicken stew
weather
13. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
14. We don't need no dang driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can
drive, dag-nabbit.
15.. You understand these jokes and forward them to your North Carolina
Friends.
Let's all sing it together folks.............. I like callin' North Carolina
home!
Cowboy Jokes - Wyoming Cowboy
A young cowboy from Wyoming goes off to college, but half way through the semester, he has foolishly squandered all his money. He calls home.
"Dad," he says, "You won't believe what modern education is developing! They actually have a program here in Laramie that will teach our dog, ol' Blue how to talk!"
"That's amazing," his Dad says. "How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?"
"Just send him down here with $1,000" the young cowboy says. "I'll get him in the course."
So, his father sends the dog and $1,000. About two-thirds through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy calls home.
"So how's Ol' Blue doing, son," his father asks.
"Awesome, Dad, he's talking up a storm," he says, "but you just won't believe this they've had such good results they have started to teach the animals how to read!"
"Read!" says his father, "No kidding! How do we get Blue in that program?"
"Just send $2,500, I'll get him in the class." The money promptly arrives.
But the young cowboy has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk, nor read. So he shoots the dog. When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited.
"Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to see him read something and talk!"
"Dad," the boy says, "I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home, Ol' Blue was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal, like he usually does. Then he turned to me and asked, 'So, is your daddy still messing' around with that little redhead who lives in town?'"
The father exclaimed, "I hope you shot that son of a bitch before he talks to your Mother!"
"I sure did, Dad!"
"That's my boy!"
"Daily Motivations"
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life. -- E.M. Forster
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
The Misunderstood Principle of Submission For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3). Submission is hammer for building, not a club for maiming.
"If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:9)
"The Patriot Post"
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States." -- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 10 October 1787
"To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, counties or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws." -- John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787-1788
"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. ...[T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." -- A Pennsylvanian, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 20February 1788
"The Web"
Landing on the Hudson
http://www.scenesystems.com/news/hudson-1549
In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER
Blogger's Note: from my friend Dennis M in Honolulu: Please read the little cartoon carefully, it's powerful. Then read the comments at the end.
I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll consider doing the same.
In Memoriam
It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!
Now, more than ever, with Iraq, Iran, and others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.
This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!
Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.
Please send this e-mail to 10 people you know and ask them to continue the memorial chain.
Almost $1M in taxpayer money to La Raza
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow
An Iowa congressman says it's outrageous that nearly a million dollars of the proposed Omnibus spending bill would go to an organization that openly advocates illegal immigration.
Congressional officials report the $410-billion Omnibus spending bill currently being debated in Congress is packed with 9,000 earmarks, something candidate Barack Obama said last fall that he opposes. "We need earmark reform," Obama said in the September presidential debate held in Oxford, Mississippi. "And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) says one of the earmarks in the Transportation HUD portion of the Omnibus bill allocates $950,000 to the National Council of La Raza for "capitalization of a revolving loan to be used for nationwide community development activities."
King says taxpayer dollars should not be going to that organization.
"La Raza stands for 'The Race' -- and they say so openly," the congressman notes. "They are a pro-Hispanic organization; I will call them a racist organization. They base their philosophy on race. They advocate for those minorities that fit within the category that they define as drives them."
In addition, says King, La Raza is a pro-amnesty group. "They are apologists for illegal immigrants -- and we are funding them with your tax dollars in this administration through earmarks," he points out. "It is outrageous. It's an in-your-face act on the part of this Congress."
The Omnibus spending bill is still being debated in the Senate, where even some Democrats are questioning its cost. At least one DC budget analyst has observed that "it will be a little embarrassing" if the president signs a bill with so many earmarks in it.
Al Capone
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic.
He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the
money big, but also Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was also large that it filled an entire
Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly.
Eddie saw to it that his young son had the best of everything: clothes, cars and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no
object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong.
Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name and a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity.
To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious
medallion and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
Now is the only time you own.
Live, love, toil with a will.
Place no faith in time.
For the clock may soon be still.
Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare
World War II produced many heroes.
One such man was a Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader ordered him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold. A squadron of Japanese bombers were speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.
There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove directly into the formation of the Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch weaved in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until finally all his ammunition was spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to at least clip off a wing or tail, in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly. He was desperate to do anything he could to keep them from reaching the American ships. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had destroyed five enemy bombers. That was on February 20, 1942, and for that action he became the Navy's first Ace of WWII and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal Of Honor.
A year later he was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of that heroic action die. And today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So the next time you're in O'Hare, visit his memorial with his statue and Medal Of Honor. It is located between terminal 1 and 2.
Most Expensive Catastrophes In History - And the winner is...
11 Most Expensive Catasrophes
# 11. Titanic - $150 Million The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today ' s dollars).
# 10. Tanker Truck vs Bridge - $358 Million On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.
# 9. MetroLink Crash - $500 Million On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles . It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging.. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.
# 8. B-2 Bomber Crash - $1.4 Billion Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we ' re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.
# 7. Exxon Valdez - $2.5 Billion The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world ' s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship ' s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.
# 6. Piper Alpha Oil Rig - $3.4 Billion The world ' s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world ' s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world ' s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion. Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.
# 5. Challenger Explosion - $5.5 Billion The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today ' s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today ' s dollars).
# 4. Prestige Oil Spill - $12 Billion On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia , Spain . Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea. According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.
# 3. Space Shuttle Columbia - $13 Billion The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA ' s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today ' s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million. In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
# 2. Chernobyl - $200 Billion On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.
And The Winner Is
# 1. 2008 Presidential Election- $800 Billion in the first two months...
"The e-mail Bag"
A Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON . . . It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realise is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON . . . Because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Author Unknown
Things I have learned living in North Carolina .....
1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road ..
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in North Carolina
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders.. All 10,000 of them live in North
Carolina , plus a couple no one has ever seen before!
4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha..
5.'Onced' and 'Twiced' are words
6. It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.
7. 'Jaw-P?' means 'Did y'all go to the bathroom?'
8. People actually grow and eat okra.
9. 'Fixinto' is one word.
10. There is no such thing as 'lunch'. There is only dinner and then there
is supper.
11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when
you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar
12. Backwards and forwards means 'I know everything about you.'
13. The word 'Jeet' is actually a phrase meaning 'Did you eat?'
14. You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it
is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH them.
MORE THINGS TO LET YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM NORTH CAROLINA:
1. You measure distance in minutes.
2. You've ever had to switch from heat to A/C in the same day.
3. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable,
grain, insect or animal.
4.. You know what a 'DAWG' is.
5. You carry jumper cables in your car for your OWN car.
6. 90% of NC kitchens will have these five spices/condiments: Morton Salt,
McCormick Black Pepper, Texas Pete, JFG/Dukes Mayonnaise and Hunts Ketchup.
7. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but
require 6 pages for local gossip and motorsports.
8. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.
9. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm'.
10. You know all four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer and
Christmas.
11. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin' to Wally World
or Wal-Martin'.
12. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chicken stew
weather
13. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
14. We don't need no dang driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can
drive, dag-nabbit.
15.. You understand these jokes and forward them to your North Carolina
Friends.
Let's all sing it together folks.............. I like callin' North Carolina
home!
Cowboy Jokes - Wyoming Cowboy
A young cowboy from Wyoming goes off to college, but half way through the semester, he has foolishly squandered all his money. He calls home.
"Dad," he says, "You won't believe what modern education is developing! They actually have a program here in Laramie that will teach our dog, ol' Blue how to talk!"
"That's amazing," his Dad says. "How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?"
"Just send him down here with $1,000" the young cowboy says. "I'll get him in the course."
So, his father sends the dog and $1,000. About two-thirds through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy calls home.
"So how's Ol' Blue doing, son," his father asks.
"Awesome, Dad, he's talking up a storm," he says, "but you just won't believe this they've had such good results they have started to teach the animals how to read!"
"Read!" says his father, "No kidding! How do we get Blue in that program?"
"Just send $2,500, I'll get him in the class." The money promptly arrives.
But the young cowboy has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk, nor read. So he shoots the dog. When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited.
"Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to see him read something and talk!"
"Dad," the boy says, "I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home, Ol' Blue was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal, like he usually does. Then he turned to me and asked, 'So, is your daddy still messing' around with that little redhead who lives in town?'"
The father exclaimed, "I hope you shot that son of a bitch before he talks to your Mother!"
"I sure did, Dad!"
"That's my boy!"
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Vote “NO!” on Obama’s Solicitor General Nominee
Vote “NO!” on Obama’s Solicitor General Nominee
http://yaf.org/blog/?p=402
FROM THE DESK OF FLAGG YOUNGBLOOD
Director of Military Outreach, Young America’s Foundation
Please call your U.S. Senators TODAY and urge them to vote “NO” on President Obama’s Solicitor General nominee, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan.
Find Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
While Obama believes students should have voluntary military service options on campus, Kagan fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to deny qualified students the opportunity to serve our country. In fact:
• Kagan considers the Solomon amendment, the law Congress passed and Bill Clinton signed to protect ROTC and military recruiters on campus, “a moral injustice of the first order.”
• Kagan characterizes our voluntary military’s recruiting policy as “deeply wrong” and “unwise.”
Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagrees with Kagan’s radical views on students’ military rights!
Call Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
Get this—Kagan’s never argued a single case in any courtroom! That’s right—Obama wants someone with zero practical experience to defend all our laws before the Supreme Court!
Would you fly on a plane with an untrained pilot? Or, let an unskilled surgeon operate on you?
And, Kagan’s on Obama’s “short list” to fill the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators.
Or, call your Senators’ offices directly by viewing their contact info here.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
http://yaf.org/blog/?p=402
FROM THE DESK OF FLAGG YOUNGBLOOD
Director of Military Outreach, Young America’s Foundation
Please call your U.S. Senators TODAY and urge them to vote “NO” on President Obama’s Solicitor General nominee, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan.
Find Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
While Obama believes students should have voluntary military service options on campus, Kagan fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to deny qualified students the opportunity to serve our country. In fact:
• Kagan considers the Solomon amendment, the law Congress passed and Bill Clinton signed to protect ROTC and military recruiters on campus, “a moral injustice of the first order.”
• Kagan characterizes our voluntary military’s recruiting policy as “deeply wrong” and “unwise.”
Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagrees with Kagan’s radical views on students’ military rights!
Call Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
Get this—Kagan’s never argued a single case in any courtroom! That’s right—Obama wants someone with zero practical experience to defend all our laws before the Supreme Court!
Would you fly on a plane with an untrained pilot? Or, let an unskilled surgeon operate on you?
And, Kagan’s on Obama’s “short list” to fill the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators.
Or, call your Senators’ offices directly by viewing their contact info here.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090310
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"My Comments"
Vote “NO!” on Obama’s Solicitor General Nominee - This is "very important", if you love America, support, and believe in our US Military! - oyh
http://yaf.org/blog/?p=402
FROM THE DESK OF FLAGG YOUNGBLOOD
Director of Military Outreach, Young America’s Foundation
Please call your U.S. Senators TODAY and urge them to vote “NO” on President Obama’s Solicitor General nominee, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan.
Find Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
While Obama believes students should have voluntary military service options on campus, Kagan fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to deny qualified students the opportunity to serve our country. In fact:
• Kagan considers the Solomon amendment, the law Congress passed and Bill Clinton signed to protect ROTC and military recruiters on campus, “a moral injustice of the first order.”
• Kagan characterizes our voluntary military’s recruiting policy as “deeply wrong” and “unwise.”
Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagrees with Kagan’s radical views on students’ military rights!
Call Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
Get this—Kagan’s never argued a single case in any courtroom! That’s right—Obama wants someone with zero practical experience to defend all our laws before the Supreme Court!
Would you fly on a plane with an untrained pilot? Or, let an unskilled surgeon operate on you?
And, Kagan’s on Obama’s “short list” to fill the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators.
Or, call your Senators’ offices directly by viewing their contact info here.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
"Daily Motivations"
Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people. -- John D. Rockefeller
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Begin a Study of Deuteronomy These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel... in the wilderness (Deut. 1:1). To trust when faced with giants and walls does not come naturally.
"If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:9)
"The Patriot Post"
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." -- The Declaration of Independence
"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." -- Presbyterian minister William J.H. Boetcker (1873-1962)
"Government has only two ways of getting money other than raising taxes. It can go into the money market and borrow, competing with its own citizens and driving up interest rates, which it has done, or it can print money, and it's done that. Both methods are inflationary." -- Ronald Reagan
"[N]ot all jobs are created equal. Valuable jobs provide products and services the free market supports; useless jobs provide products and services the free market would not support. Valuable jobs provide products and services that enrich quality of life, making it cheaper to live better; useless jobs provide products and services that have minor impact on quality of life. Here's the magic of private sector jobs. Imagine Bill owns a fruit stand. He sells his fruit for $2 per pound. Herman sees that Bill is doing well, and decides to open a fruit stand of his own. He figures he can undercut Bill and live on less of a profit margin, so he sells his fruit at $1 per pound. Pretty soon, Herman runs Bill out of business. It's tough for Bill. But meanwhile, customers are spending $1 less for their fruit than they were. They're spending that extra money at Bob's clothing store, keeping Bob employed -- and Bob can now hire Bill. The bottom line is this: The power of free enterprise creates competition that raises production, lowers prices, and makes lives better for consumers and producers. And that's true even if employment declines in the fruit stand business." -- columnist Ben Shapiro
"The Web"
Obama Intel Appointment Angers Israel Supporters
President Barack Obama's administration has sparked controversy with its choice for chairman of the National Intelligence Council — a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia who has staunchly supported anti-Israel views.
In his new post, Charles W. Freeman — who was ambassador from 1989 to 1992 and served during Operation Desert Storm — will be responsible for overseeing the production of National Intelligence Estimates and other intelligence data.
The Power Line blog observed that “Saudi shill” Freeman’s “loyalty to Saudi Arabia and his outside-the-mainstream views on the Middle East make him a strange choice for the post, to say the least.”
For the past 12 years, Freeman has been president of the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC), which has received funding from Saudi Arabia and lobbies on behalf of the Arab world.
Views expressed in the organization’s journal, "Middle East Policy," argue that the invasion of Iraq was launched to aid Israel, saying that “the war was an excuse to enlarge the U.S. strategic ‘footprint’ on top of the lakes of oil in the Gulf region and make life easier for Israel, starting with the easiest problem case, Iraq.”
The MEPC published what it called an “unabridged” version of “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. That controversial 2006 essay asserted that American Jews have a “stranglehold” on the U.S. Congress which they exploit to tilt America toward Israel at the expense of broader national interests.
In a 2007 address, Freeman stated that “Israel no longer even pretends to seek peace with the Palestinians” and decried “the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an Israeli occupation,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The MEPC’s political action group publishes a book that teaches children that Muslims discovered the New World. It cites two sources that claim Muslims reached the Western Hemisphere in pre-Columbian times and spread throughout the Americas.
When explorers reached the New World, according to the sources, they met “Iroquois and Algonquin chiefs with names like Abdul-Rahim and Abdallah Ibn Malik.”
Freeman maintained business ties to the bin Laden family and their Saudi Binladen Group construction conglomerate even after the 9/11 attacks. He said in an interview with The Associated Press less than a month after Sept. 11 that he was still “discussing proposals with the Binladen Group — and that won’t change.”
Regarding the terrorist attacks, Freeman said at a 2002 conference that Osama bin Laden “almost certainly” perpetrated 9/11, the hijackers “probably” were recruited in Saudi Arabia, and Americans should ponder “what might have caused the attack.”
Freeman has also created concern over his views on China, saying in 2006 that the specter of a Chinese threat to the U.S. is nothing more than “a great fundraiser for the hyper-expensive advanced weaponry our military-industrial complex prefers to make.”
Freeman also opined that the Chinese government exercised “overly cautious behavior” regarding the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that led to a massacre of demonstrators.
Freeman was on the international advisory board of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which is owned by the Chinese government, while it was doing business with Iran, according to the Weekly Standard.
In 2006, the Chinese firm reportedly agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal with the state-owned Iranian oil company that may violate U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Members of the pro-Israeli community have privately criticized Freeman’s appointment, according to The Washington Times.
“Freeman is well-known for his hostility toward Israel, but what's more substantively troubling . . .. is the obvious inappropriateness of hiring a well-known advocate for the interests of Middle Eastern autocracies to produce national intelligence estimates for the Obama Administration,” Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantic.
And House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia said: “Freeman’s past associations and positions on foreign policy are deeply alarming. His statements about the U.S.-Israel relationship raise serious questions about his ability to support the administration’s attempts to bring security, stability, and peace to the Middle East.”
Stand Up for Capitalism!
Don’t let the U.S. bear the prefix “once-great.”
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDIwZDU2NWEzZmE0MjA3ZGJjODVjNjlmNjA2MmE4MzE=
By Mona Charen
I find myself tuning into CNBC these days. This is unusual for me, as business news bores me. I’m one of those whose eyes glaze at the mention of credit/default swaps, futures trading, and derivatives markets. But now, with the Obama/Pelosi/Reid troika attempting to remake our nation, I will submit to chatter about all of those things as long as I am treated to some full-throated defenses of capitalism.
If ever there were a time when our market economy deserves a little coddling and a soft pillow under its head, it is now. Battered by a financial meltdown, a plunging stock market, declining trade, and frightened consumers, now would be the time to cut corporate tax rates (which are among the highest in the world), reverse the “mark to market” rule for valuing assets, temporarily increase unemployment compensation and Medicaid (with sunset provisions), and keep taxes low. When Barack Obama agreed last autumn that it was not a good idea to raise taxes during a recession, it seemed that he was at least enough of a moderate to understand the importance of markets. One can no longer indulge that hope. Like blasts from a machine gun, Obama has announced higher taxes on the owners of small businesses (the most productive individuals), higher taxes on the energy industry (through the cap-and-trade system), green mandates on the auto industry that will increase the cost of each vehicle, a bailout of mortgagers that will increase the cost of mortgages down the road, increased unionization (which reduces jobs), a repeal of the successful welfare reform of the 1990s, and a rhetorical assault on Wall Street that leaves investors edgy.
The Democrats scoff when you use the “s” word (socialism). It’s a bogeyman, they argue. Not so. If by socialism, you refer to the sort of government-heavy economies that characterize most of Europe, then we are clearly headed there about as fast as Flight 1549 was headed for the Hudson River.
By the sheer size of the budget they are pushing, Obama/Pelosi/Reid are increasing the share of the American economy that will be controlled by the government. Government spending accounts for more than 50 percent of the economies of France and Sweden and more than 45 percent of the GDPs of Germany and Italy. As recently as 2006, the federal government’s share of America’s GDP was 21 percent (with another 11 percent for state and local governments). Now it is approaching 40 percent and likely to grow significantly beyond that if Obama and Co. have their way on health care reform, universal pre-K to college education, and other programs.
We are rapidly narrowing the gap with Europe. This represents policy nirvana for the Democrats. They adore the sclerotic, slow-growing, cradle-to-grave security of the European Union. But do most Americans really want to go there? We will emerge from this downturn. But if the Democrats succeed in using it as an excuse to impose a huge new welfare state, we will not emerge as the same country.
Per capita economic output has been much higher in the United States than in the European Union. Our growth rates have been consistently higher since the Second World War. Until this recession began, America’s unemployment rate was half of Europe’s, and our unemployed spent less time jobless than did Europe’s. European industry has certainly contributed to world prosperity, but cannot match the United States for innovation, dynamism, freedom, or wealth creation. And the Europeans are failing the most basic test of vitality — they are demographically disappearing. That’s one reason why the term “once-great” applies to places like Great Britain and France.
Yes, there’s a recession on and it’s deep. Capitalism is not perfect (though one harbors the suspicion that if government had not, in effect, subsidized risky mortgage lending we would not be in this position). But with all its defects, capitalism remains the greatest engine of prosperity the world has ever witnessed. Just in the last 25 years, hundreds of millions of people, principally residing in China and India, who had been close to destitution and starvation are driving cars, sipping lattes, and chatting on cell phones thanks to free-market reforms. Countries with few natural resources other than the brains of their people — like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan — have become economic powerhouses by permitting the free market to work its magic.
Here at home, the U.S. has been able to dramatically improve standards of living not just for the wealthy (they do fine in every country) but for ordinary people. Hard work has been rewarded, not punished. And the free market has given us everything from computers and iPods to Prilosec and the Mayo Clinic.
It didn’t seem possible six months ago that capitalism in the United States could be in danger. If Obama/Pelosi/Reid have their way, the U.S. too will bear the prefix “once-great.”
Obama’s Economic Advisory Board Packed with Donors - Can we believe anything Obama espouses on values? - oyh
President Barack Obama’s newly appointed Economic Recovery Advisory Board includes members who could likely have benefited from economic advice themselves.
One is Penny Pritzker, founder of Pritzker Realty Group, whose Chicago-area bank was shut down after it invested heavily in subprime mortgage loans. The Office of Thrift Supervision closed Superior Bank and its 18 branch offices in July 2001 after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said its financial situation had “rapidly deteriorated.”
A sharp rise in defaults by borrowers with subprime mortgages is blamed in large part for the recent economic meltdown.
Another member of Obama’s board is Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of General Electric Co., whose shares recently fell to an 18-year low amid anxiety over a possible downgrade for the firm’s credit worthiness.
But most troubling perhaps is the fact that 11 of the board’s members donated or raised significant amounts of money for Obama and Democrats in the last election, The Washington Times reported exclusively on Thursday.
Obama described members of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board as “distinguished citizens outside the government” who would “bring a diverse set of perspectives and voices from different parts of the country and different sectors of the economy to bear in the formulation and evaluation of economic policy.”
But Craig Holman, legislative director for Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog group, told the Times: “It is distressing to see the president turning to his heavy finance hitters as consultants.”
Board member Mark Gallogly, director of Dana Holding Corp., bundled $200,000 in donations for Obama, and Pritzker — with an estimated worth of $2 billion — raised $200,000.
Member Robert Wolf, president and chief operating officer of the American arm of UBS Investment Bank, raised $500,000 for Obama. The Swiss-based bank is now at the center of a tax evasion investigation by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service.
A Senate committee is seeking to force the bank to release its list of American clients suspected of using offshore accounts to avoid U.S. taxes.
Eleven of the board’s 16 members personally donated a total of $262,698 to Obama and other Democrats during the 2008 election campaign, according to the Times. The AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union,
which are both represented on the board, accounted for $3.6 million in donations.
The AFL-CIO’s representative, the organization’s secretary-treasurer, Richard Trumka, was involved in a Clinton-era federal probe into a money-laundering scheme.
According to court documents, Trumka helped divert $150,000 in union funds to Teamsters President Ron Carey’s 1996 re-election campaign through a liberal consumer-advocacy group.
Trumka invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify before a federal grand jury and a House subcommittee.
Obama’s advisory board is headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, and his staff director is economist Austan Goolsbee — who in March 2007 wrote a New York Times article defending subprime mortgages.
"The e-mail Bag"
Check for Driver's License. Test your own! - You may not know what you can find on the Internet? -oyh
Drivers License Search - National Motor Vehicle License Bureau
Job Searching?
Deer Sir,
I waunt to apply for the secritary job what I saw in the paper. I can Type real quik wit one finggar and do sum a counting.
I think I am good on the phone and no I am a pepole person, Pepole really seam to respond to me well.
Im lookin for a Jobb as a secritary but it musent be to complicaited
I no my spelling is not to good but find that I Offen can get a job thru my persinalety. My salerery is open so we can discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,
I can start imeditely. Thank you in advanse fore yore anser
hopifuly Yor e best aplicant so farr.
Sinseerly,
Peggy May Starlings
PS : Because my resimay is a bit short - below is a pickture of me - See "Attachment" for photo of Peggy May Starlings.
Employer's response:......
Dear Peggy May,
It's OK honey, we've got spell check
"My Comments"
Vote “NO!” on Obama’s Solicitor General Nominee - This is "very important", if you love America, support, and believe in our US Military! - oyh
http://yaf.org/blog/?p=402
FROM THE DESK OF FLAGG YOUNGBLOOD
Director of Military Outreach, Young America’s Foundation
Please call your U.S. Senators TODAY and urge them to vote “NO” on President Obama’s Solicitor General nominee, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan.
Find Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
While Obama believes students should have voluntary military service options on campus, Kagan fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to deny qualified students the opportunity to serve our country. In fact:
• Kagan considers the Solomon amendment, the law Congress passed and Bill Clinton signed to protect ROTC and military recruiters on campus, “a moral injustice of the first order.”
• Kagan characterizes our voluntary military’s recruiting policy as “deeply wrong” and “unwise.”
Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagrees with Kagan’s radical views on students’ military rights!
Call Your Senators: click here
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
Get this—Kagan’s never argued a single case in any courtroom! That’s right—Obama wants someone with zero practical experience to defend all our laws before the Supreme Court!
Would you fly on a plane with an untrained pilot? Or, let an unskilled surgeon operate on you?
And, Kagan’s on Obama’s “short list” to fill the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121 or (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators.
Or, call your Senators’ offices directly by viewing their contact info here.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
"Daily Motivations"
Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people. -- John D. Rockefeller
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Begin a Study of Deuteronomy These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel... in the wilderness (Deut. 1:1). To trust when faced with giants and walls does not come naturally.
"If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (1 John 1:9)
"The Patriot Post"
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." -- The Declaration of Independence
"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." -- Presbyterian minister William J.H. Boetcker (1873-1962)
"Government has only two ways of getting money other than raising taxes. It can go into the money market and borrow, competing with its own citizens and driving up interest rates, which it has done, or it can print money, and it's done that. Both methods are inflationary." -- Ronald Reagan
"[N]ot all jobs are created equal. Valuable jobs provide products and services the free market supports; useless jobs provide products and services the free market would not support. Valuable jobs provide products and services that enrich quality of life, making it cheaper to live better; useless jobs provide products and services that have minor impact on quality of life. Here's the magic of private sector jobs. Imagine Bill owns a fruit stand. He sells his fruit for $2 per pound. Herman sees that Bill is doing well, and decides to open a fruit stand of his own. He figures he can undercut Bill and live on less of a profit margin, so he sells his fruit at $1 per pound. Pretty soon, Herman runs Bill out of business. It's tough for Bill. But meanwhile, customers are spending $1 less for their fruit than they were. They're spending that extra money at Bob's clothing store, keeping Bob employed -- and Bob can now hire Bill. The bottom line is this: The power of free enterprise creates competition that raises production, lowers prices, and makes lives better for consumers and producers. And that's true even if employment declines in the fruit stand business." -- columnist Ben Shapiro
"The Web"
Obama Intel Appointment Angers Israel Supporters
President Barack Obama's administration has sparked controversy with its choice for chairman of the National Intelligence Council — a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia who has staunchly supported anti-Israel views.
In his new post, Charles W. Freeman — who was ambassador from 1989 to 1992 and served during Operation Desert Storm — will be responsible for overseeing the production of National Intelligence Estimates and other intelligence data.
The Power Line blog observed that “Saudi shill” Freeman’s “loyalty to Saudi Arabia and his outside-the-mainstream views on the Middle East make him a strange choice for the post, to say the least.”
For the past 12 years, Freeman has been president of the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC), which has received funding from Saudi Arabia and lobbies on behalf of the Arab world.
Views expressed in the organization’s journal, "Middle East Policy," argue that the invasion of Iraq was launched to aid Israel, saying that “the war was an excuse to enlarge the U.S. strategic ‘footprint’ on top of the lakes of oil in the Gulf region and make life easier for Israel, starting with the easiest problem case, Iraq.”
The MEPC published what it called an “unabridged” version of “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. That controversial 2006 essay asserted that American Jews have a “stranglehold” on the U.S. Congress which they exploit to tilt America toward Israel at the expense of broader national interests.
In a 2007 address, Freeman stated that “Israel no longer even pretends to seek peace with the Palestinians” and decried “the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an Israeli occupation,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The MEPC’s political action group publishes a book that teaches children that Muslims discovered the New World. It cites two sources that claim Muslims reached the Western Hemisphere in pre-Columbian times and spread throughout the Americas.
When explorers reached the New World, according to the sources, they met “Iroquois and Algonquin chiefs with names like Abdul-Rahim and Abdallah Ibn Malik.”
Freeman maintained business ties to the bin Laden family and their Saudi Binladen Group construction conglomerate even after the 9/11 attacks. He said in an interview with The Associated Press less than a month after Sept. 11 that he was still “discussing proposals with the Binladen Group — and that won’t change.”
Regarding the terrorist attacks, Freeman said at a 2002 conference that Osama bin Laden “almost certainly” perpetrated 9/11, the hijackers “probably” were recruited in Saudi Arabia, and Americans should ponder “what might have caused the attack.”
Freeman has also created concern over his views on China, saying in 2006 that the specter of a Chinese threat to the U.S. is nothing more than “a great fundraiser for the hyper-expensive advanced weaponry our military-industrial complex prefers to make.”
Freeman also opined that the Chinese government exercised “overly cautious behavior” regarding the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that led to a massacre of demonstrators.
Freeman was on the international advisory board of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which is owned by the Chinese government, while it was doing business with Iran, according to the Weekly Standard.
In 2006, the Chinese firm reportedly agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal with the state-owned Iranian oil company that may violate U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Members of the pro-Israeli community have privately criticized Freeman’s appointment, according to The Washington Times.
“Freeman is well-known for his hostility toward Israel, but what's more substantively troubling . . .. is the obvious inappropriateness of hiring a well-known advocate for the interests of Middle Eastern autocracies to produce national intelligence estimates for the Obama Administration,” Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantic.
And House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia said: “Freeman’s past associations and positions on foreign policy are deeply alarming. His statements about the U.S.-Israel relationship raise serious questions about his ability to support the administration’s attempts to bring security, stability, and peace to the Middle East.”
Stand Up for Capitalism!
Don’t let the U.S. bear the prefix “once-great.”
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDIwZDU2NWEzZmE0MjA3ZGJjODVjNjlmNjA2MmE4MzE=
By Mona Charen
I find myself tuning into CNBC these days. This is unusual for me, as business news bores me. I’m one of those whose eyes glaze at the mention of credit/default swaps, futures trading, and derivatives markets. But now, with the Obama/Pelosi/Reid troika attempting to remake our nation, I will submit to chatter about all of those things as long as I am treated to some full-throated defenses of capitalism.
If ever there were a time when our market economy deserves a little coddling and a soft pillow under its head, it is now. Battered by a financial meltdown, a plunging stock market, declining trade, and frightened consumers, now would be the time to cut corporate tax rates (which are among the highest in the world), reverse the “mark to market” rule for valuing assets, temporarily increase unemployment compensation and Medicaid (with sunset provisions), and keep taxes low. When Barack Obama agreed last autumn that it was not a good idea to raise taxes during a recession, it seemed that he was at least enough of a moderate to understand the importance of markets. One can no longer indulge that hope. Like blasts from a machine gun, Obama has announced higher taxes on the owners of small businesses (the most productive individuals), higher taxes on the energy industry (through the cap-and-trade system), green mandates on the auto industry that will increase the cost of each vehicle, a bailout of mortgagers that will increase the cost of mortgages down the road, increased unionization (which reduces jobs), a repeal of the successful welfare reform of the 1990s, and a rhetorical assault on Wall Street that leaves investors edgy.
The Democrats scoff when you use the “s” word (socialism). It’s a bogeyman, they argue. Not so. If by socialism, you refer to the sort of government-heavy economies that characterize most of Europe, then we are clearly headed there about as fast as Flight 1549 was headed for the Hudson River.
By the sheer size of the budget they are pushing, Obama/Pelosi/Reid are increasing the share of the American economy that will be controlled by the government. Government spending accounts for more than 50 percent of the economies of France and Sweden and more than 45 percent of the GDPs of Germany and Italy. As recently as 2006, the federal government’s share of America’s GDP was 21 percent (with another 11 percent for state and local governments). Now it is approaching 40 percent and likely to grow significantly beyond that if Obama and Co. have their way on health care reform, universal pre-K to college education, and other programs.
We are rapidly narrowing the gap with Europe. This represents policy nirvana for the Democrats. They adore the sclerotic, slow-growing, cradle-to-grave security of the European Union. But do most Americans really want to go there? We will emerge from this downturn. But if the Democrats succeed in using it as an excuse to impose a huge new welfare state, we will not emerge as the same country.
Per capita economic output has been much higher in the United States than in the European Union. Our growth rates have been consistently higher since the Second World War. Until this recession began, America’s unemployment rate was half of Europe’s, and our unemployed spent less time jobless than did Europe’s. European industry has certainly contributed to world prosperity, but cannot match the United States for innovation, dynamism, freedom, or wealth creation. And the Europeans are failing the most basic test of vitality — they are demographically disappearing. That’s one reason why the term “once-great” applies to places like Great Britain and France.
Yes, there’s a recession on and it’s deep. Capitalism is not perfect (though one harbors the suspicion that if government had not, in effect, subsidized risky mortgage lending we would not be in this position). But with all its defects, capitalism remains the greatest engine of prosperity the world has ever witnessed. Just in the last 25 years, hundreds of millions of people, principally residing in China and India, who had been close to destitution and starvation are driving cars, sipping lattes, and chatting on cell phones thanks to free-market reforms. Countries with few natural resources other than the brains of their people — like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan — have become economic powerhouses by permitting the free market to work its magic.
Here at home, the U.S. has been able to dramatically improve standards of living not just for the wealthy (they do fine in every country) but for ordinary people. Hard work has been rewarded, not punished. And the free market has given us everything from computers and iPods to Prilosec and the Mayo Clinic.
It didn’t seem possible six months ago that capitalism in the United States could be in danger. If Obama/Pelosi/Reid have their way, the U.S. too will bear the prefix “once-great.”
Obama’s Economic Advisory Board Packed with Donors - Can we believe anything Obama espouses on values? - oyh
President Barack Obama’s newly appointed Economic Recovery Advisory Board includes members who could likely have benefited from economic advice themselves.
One is Penny Pritzker, founder of Pritzker Realty Group, whose Chicago-area bank was shut down after it invested heavily in subprime mortgage loans. The Office of Thrift Supervision closed Superior Bank and its 18 branch offices in July 2001 after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said its financial situation had “rapidly deteriorated.”
A sharp rise in defaults by borrowers with subprime mortgages is blamed in large part for the recent economic meltdown.
Another member of Obama’s board is Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of General Electric Co., whose shares recently fell to an 18-year low amid anxiety over a possible downgrade for the firm’s credit worthiness.
But most troubling perhaps is the fact that 11 of the board’s members donated or raised significant amounts of money for Obama and Democrats in the last election, The Washington Times reported exclusively on Thursday.
Obama described members of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board as “distinguished citizens outside the government” who would “bring a diverse set of perspectives and voices from different parts of the country and different sectors of the economy to bear in the formulation and evaluation of economic policy.”
But Craig Holman, legislative director for Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog group, told the Times: “It is distressing to see the president turning to his heavy finance hitters as consultants.”
Board member Mark Gallogly, director of Dana Holding Corp., bundled $200,000 in donations for Obama, and Pritzker — with an estimated worth of $2 billion — raised $200,000.
Member Robert Wolf, president and chief operating officer of the American arm of UBS Investment Bank, raised $500,000 for Obama. The Swiss-based bank is now at the center of a tax evasion investigation by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service.
A Senate committee is seeking to force the bank to release its list of American clients suspected of using offshore accounts to avoid U.S. taxes.
Eleven of the board’s 16 members personally donated a total of $262,698 to Obama and other Democrats during the 2008 election campaign, according to the Times. The AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union,
which are both represented on the board, accounted for $3.6 million in donations.
The AFL-CIO’s representative, the organization’s secretary-treasurer, Richard Trumka, was involved in a Clinton-era federal probe into a money-laundering scheme.
According to court documents, Trumka helped divert $150,000 in union funds to Teamsters President Ron Carey’s 1996 re-election campaign through a liberal consumer-advocacy group.
Trumka invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify before a federal grand jury and a House subcommittee.
Obama’s advisory board is headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, and his staff director is economist Austan Goolsbee — who in March 2007 wrote a New York Times article defending subprime mortgages.
"The e-mail Bag"
Check for Driver's License. Test your own! - You may not know what you can find on the Internet? -oyh
Drivers License Search - National Motor Vehicle License Bureau
Job Searching?
Deer Sir,
I waunt to apply for the secritary job what I saw in the paper. I can Type real quik wit one finggar and do sum a counting.
I think I am good on the phone and no I am a pepole person, Pepole really seam to respond to me well.
Im lookin for a Jobb as a secritary but it musent be to complicaited
I no my spelling is not to good but find that I Offen can get a job thru my persinalety. My salerery is open so we can discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,
I can start imeditely. Thank you in advanse fore yore anser
hopifuly Yor e best aplicant so farr.
Sinseerly,
Peggy May Starlings
PS : Because my resimay is a bit short - below is a pickture of me - See "Attachment" for photo of Peggy May Starlings.
Employer's response:......
Dear Peggy May,
It's OK honey, we've got spell check
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090309
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course. -- Adrian Cadbury
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
"The LORD is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him sincerely." (Psalm 145:18)
"Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." (Mark 10:27)
"The Patriot Post"
"[W]hereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it." -- Richard Henry Lee, Letters from the Federal Farmer, 1788
"[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, - who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia." -- George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 14 June 1778
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." -- Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 5 June 1778
"ADF" - Alliance Defense Fund
Tenn. school censors ‘God Bless the USA,’ ‘In God We Trust,’ ADF sues
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4847
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 3, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
School orders references to God and prayer covered up on posters
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of parents and students at Lakeview Elementary School in Wilson County after school officials ordered “God Bless the USA,” “In God We Trust,” and other phrases referencing God and prayer to be covered up on posters before they could be displayed in the school’s hallways. The posters were hand-drawn by students and their families to announce “See You at the Pole,” a voluntary, student-led prayer event held outside of class time.
“Christian students shouldn’t be censored for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. “It’s ridiculous as well as unconstitutional to cover up these references to God and prayer–one of which is the National Motto itself–on posters announcing a student-led activity. School officials appear to be having an allergic reaction to the ACLU’s long-term record of fear, intimidation, and disinformation, despite a previous court ruling at this very school that said students can observe these types of events on school property.”
The American Civil Liberties Union previously sued the school to stop it from recognizing such events, including “See You at the Pole” and the National Day of Prayer. In May 2008, a federal judge refused to grant the ACLU’s request.
Each year, students and parents affiliated with Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet have placed posters in the hallways of the school informing students of the “See You at the Pole” event. This year, each poster, made on personal time without the use of any school funds or supplies, included the disclaimer: “See You at the Pole is a student-initiated and student-led event and is not endorsed by Lakeview Elementary or Wilson County schools.” Nevertheless, the students and their parents were ordered to cover up references to God and prayer and any Scripture passages on the posters or else they could not be posted.
After a school employee told the parent of one student, “You can’t hang up those posters. They have the word ‘God’ on them,” the school’s vice principal and director reinforced the policy, explaining that posters containing religious references, like “In God We Trust,” “God Bless America,” and “come and pray,” are precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the hallways as inappropriate.
“The Constitution prohibits government officials from singling out religious speech for censorship, but this is exactly what Lakeview school officials did when they ordered these words to be covered,” Kellum said.
ADF-allied attorney David L. Maddox is serving as local counsel in the case.
• Before and after photos of one “God Bless the USA” poster
• Before and after photos of one “In God We Trust” poster
• Before and after posters of one “Come Pray With Us” poster
• Complaint and motion for preliminary injunction with supporting brief filed in Gold v. Wilson County School Board of Education with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org
"Liberty Counsel"
March 4, 2009
California’s Proposition 8 Marriage Amendment to be Argued at California Supreme Court
www.LC.org
Tomorrow the California Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Shortly after the amendment passed, lawsuits were filed by same-sex marriage advocates, claiming Proposition 8 is itself unconstitutional.
Liberty Counsel has represented the Campaign for California Families defending the state's marriage laws since 2004 and has argued at the trial court, appellate court and state Supreme Court. Liberty Counsel also filed an amicus brief at the California Supreme Court in defense of Proposition 8.
Liberty Counsel's brief argues that invalidating Proposition 8 would have a devastating effect on the constitutional rights of those who exercised their right to vote on the initiative. Our brief also argues that Proposition 8 invalidates all same-sex marriages entered into prior to November 4, 2008, because Prop 8 states that only marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized in California.
Read our News Release for more details.
Read our Amicus Brief.
Pastor Jonathan Falwell on Liberty Live
We are having another action-packed week on our radio/internet program, Liberty Live. Today, our special guest will be Jonathan Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, one of the fastest growing churches in America. We will talk about his transition into leadership of the church founded by his father Dr. Jerry Falwell, and learn about his new book, "One Great Truth: Finding Your Answers to Life."
Watch online from 4 - 5 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. CT) at www.LC.org and add your comments to our live blog during the show. The number to call to talk to Pastor Falwell during the show is (866) 963-2037.
Show archives and postcast are also available online. Yesterday we discussed the Lisa Miller case with Rena Lindevaldsen, Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel and Assistant Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law.
Don't miss a day of Liberty Live, on AFR Talk. Mat Staver hosts Liberty Live and is joined by co-host Matt Barber.
See the show archives and sign up for our podcast.
Please help inform as many people as possible by forwarding this Liberty Alert to your entire e-mail list of family and friends, and encourage them to subscribe.
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 or order resources from the Liberty Counsel online store.
Mathew D. Staver - Founder and Chairman
Anita L. Staver - President
Liberty Counsel - 1-800-671-1776
PO Box 540774 - Orlando, FL 32854
"The Web"
The Blackbird
In 1968 (1967?) a SR-71 made an emergency landing at Grand Forks AFB and was "parked" between two B-52 hangers close to the N/S road that paralled the base runway. The aircraft was completely visible to anyone using the road. Immediately after landing, GFAFB security established machine gun "nests" close to the plane. The two man crew could not exit the plane until a C-130 arrived from Edwards AFB with the ground support equipment and aircraft technicians to evacuate the crew and "fix" whatever the problem(s) were. Of course, everyone on the base came to see the 71 and security had to control traffic. After the "fixes" were accomplished (two days?), the 71 exited the base heading north. A few minutes later it returned at a very low altitude at tremendous speed in a fly by. It was awesome and was probably witnessed by about everyone on the base.
Eye candy for people who like airplanes. Grab your beverage and relax for a few minutes of awesome beauty. The SR-71 was the creation of Kelly Johnson, Lockheed, Eisenhower and the Air Force. It was envisioned in the '50s, first flew in the early '60s, retired in the '80s, briefly brought back in the '90s. In all, 13 units of the single seat A-12 were built, and 32 of the Pilot + Recon two seat SR-71 units were built. Five A-12 were lost, one is stored. Twelve two seaters were lost. The remaining 27 are on display around the USA . The closest is at Atwater , the old Castle AFB museum at Merced with 50 other classic warplanes. You probably have a better opportunity of viewing the one in San Diego . Ask me and I'll tell you where the others are. NY, OR, OH, DC, etc. I can find most answers to most questions. Just ask. Start with the 2000+ mph, the 80,000 feet + altitude. More if you wish. So enjoy. One more thing. The author of the captions to the pictures in this video made one misstatement, due to youth. The U-2 Recon aircraft was created in 1955, flew operationally in 1956. Kelly thought the USSR would shoot it down in 18 months. Lucky us, it flew until Gary Powers was downed on 1 May 1960. But Kelly Johnson already had the go-ahead from Ike for the A-12. It first flew in 1962, JFK kept the manufacture of it active. No one told LBJ, 'cause everyone knew he would spill the secret. He wasn't told til the week after JFK left us. And sure enough, LBJ gave out the secret in a matter of months. Anyhow, the most interesting, most exciting five years of my life were spent in the program, as a KC-135 refueling pilot. Where the Blackbird went, we went. You will see several refuelings in the following. Enjoy!
Click to view the slideshow:
http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/SR-71/index.htm
GOD'S ACCURACY
How lovely to think about the way our Creator God planned everything so carefully and perfectly, everything with a plan. As His highest creation, 'we are fearfully and wonderfully made.'
God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.
For example,
The eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
Those of the canary in 14 days;
Those of the barnyard hen in 21 days.
The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
Those of the mallard in 35 days.
The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven).
God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other Quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs.
For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.
The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.
How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.
Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
Each orange has an even number of segments.
Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks
The Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linneus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!
Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence. Only the God-planned life is successful. Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is safe.
*Author unknown
Allah or Jesus?
By Rick Mathes
The Muslim religion in the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States, especially in the minority races!!!
Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance.
During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.
I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video. After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: "Please, correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel (which is a command to all Muslims), they are assured of a place in heaven.
If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?"
There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, "Non-believers!"
I responded, "So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your Faith so they can have a place in Heaven. Is that correct?"
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of "a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar."
He sheepishly replied, "Yes."
I then stated, "Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in Heaven. The Imam was speechless.
I continued, "I also have problem with being your 'friend' when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question: would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to Heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to Heaven and He wants you to be there with me?"
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame.
Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the 'diversification' training seminar were not happy with Rick's way of dealing with the Islamic imam and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.
In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President!
I think everyone in the US should be required to read this, but with the liberal justice system, liberal media, and the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized.
Please pass this on to all your e-mail contacts. This is a true story. And the author, Rick Mathes, is a well-known leader in prison ministry.
THE ITALIAN TOMATO GARDEN
An old Italian man lived alone in the country.
He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison.
The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year.
I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son:
Dear Dad, Don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the bodies.
Love, Vinnie
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son:
Dear Dad, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you, Vinnie
What is a 710 knob?
A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage. A blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten knob. We all looked at each other and another customer asked, 'What is a seven-hundred-ten knob?'
She replied, 'You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one.. '
She replied that she did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there.
The mechanic gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like. She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710.
He then took her over to another car which had its hood up and asked 'is there a 710 on this car?'
The pointed and said, 'Of course, its right there.'
If you're not sure what a 710 is Click (OIL) turned upside down.
"The e-mail Bag"
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in D.C.; One from Illinois one from Tennessee and a third from Kentucky . They all go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Tennessee contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.
'Well', he says, 'I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'
The Kentucky contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, 'I can do this job for!! $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'
The Illinois contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, '$2,700.'
The official, incredulous, whispers back, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'
The Illinois contractor whispers back, '$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire that guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.'
'Done!' replies the government official.
Nag Nag Nag
An old hillbilly farmer had a wife who nagged him unmercifully. From morning till night (and sometimes later), she was always complaining about something. The only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He tried to plow a lot.
One day, when he was out plowing, his wife brought him lunch in the field. He drove the old mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and began to eat his lunch. Immediately, his wife began haranguing him again. Complain, nag, nag; it just went on and on.
All of a sudden, the old mule lashed out with both hind feet; caught her smack in the back of the head. Killed her dead on the spot.
At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something rather odd When a woman mourner would approach the old farmer, he would listen for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement. This was so consistent, the minister decided to ask the old farmer about it.
So after the funeral, the minister spoke to the old farmer, and asked him why he nodded his head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with all the men.
The old farmer said: "Well, the women would come up and say something about
how nice my wife looked, or how pretty her dress was, so I'd nod my head in agreement."
"And what about the men?" the minister asked.
"They wanted to know if the mule was for sale.
"Daily Motivations"
Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course. -- Adrian Cadbury
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
"The LORD is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him sincerely." (Psalm 145:18)
"Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." (Mark 10:27)
"The Patriot Post"
"[W]hereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it." -- Richard Henry Lee, Letters from the Federal Farmer, 1788
"[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, - who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia." -- George Mason, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 14 June 1778
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." -- Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 5 June 1778
"ADF" - Alliance Defense Fund
Tenn. school censors ‘God Bless the USA,’ ‘In God We Trust,’ ADF sues
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4847
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
March 3, 2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
School orders references to God and prayer covered up on posters
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of parents and students at Lakeview Elementary School in Wilson County after school officials ordered “God Bless the USA,” “In God We Trust,” and other phrases referencing God and prayer to be covered up on posters before they could be displayed in the school’s hallways. The posters were hand-drawn by students and their families to announce “See You at the Pole,” a voluntary, student-led prayer event held outside of class time.
“Christian students shouldn’t be censored for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. “It’s ridiculous as well as unconstitutional to cover up these references to God and prayer–one of which is the National Motto itself–on posters announcing a student-led activity. School officials appear to be having an allergic reaction to the ACLU’s long-term record of fear, intimidation, and disinformation, despite a previous court ruling at this very school that said students can observe these types of events on school property.”
The American Civil Liberties Union previously sued the school to stop it from recognizing such events, including “See You at the Pole” and the National Day of Prayer. In May 2008, a federal judge refused to grant the ACLU’s request.
Each year, students and parents affiliated with Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet have placed posters in the hallways of the school informing students of the “See You at the Pole” event. This year, each poster, made on personal time without the use of any school funds or supplies, included the disclaimer: “See You at the Pole is a student-initiated and student-led event and is not endorsed by Lakeview Elementary or Wilson County schools.” Nevertheless, the students and their parents were ordered to cover up references to God and prayer and any Scripture passages on the posters or else they could not be posted.
After a school employee told the parent of one student, “You can’t hang up those posters. They have the word ‘God’ on them,” the school’s vice principal and director reinforced the policy, explaining that posters containing religious references, like “In God We Trust,” “God Bless America,” and “come and pray,” are precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the hallways as inappropriate.
“The Constitution prohibits government officials from singling out religious speech for censorship, but this is exactly what Lakeview school officials did when they ordered these words to be covered,” Kellum said.
ADF-allied attorney David L. Maddox is serving as local counsel in the case.
• Before and after photos of one “God Bless the USA” poster
• Before and after photos of one “In God We Trust” poster
• Before and after posters of one “Come Pray With Us” poster
• Complaint and motion for preliminary injunction with supporting brief filed in Gold v. Wilson County School Board of Education with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
www.telladf.org
"Liberty Counsel"
March 4, 2009
California’s Proposition 8 Marriage Amendment to be Argued at California Supreme Court
www.LC.org
Tomorrow the California Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Shortly after the amendment passed, lawsuits were filed by same-sex marriage advocates, claiming Proposition 8 is itself unconstitutional.
Liberty Counsel has represented the Campaign for California Families defending the state's marriage laws since 2004 and has argued at the trial court, appellate court and state Supreme Court. Liberty Counsel also filed an amicus brief at the California Supreme Court in defense of Proposition 8.
Liberty Counsel's brief argues that invalidating Proposition 8 would have a devastating effect on the constitutional rights of those who exercised their right to vote on the initiative. Our brief also argues that Proposition 8 invalidates all same-sex marriages entered into prior to November 4, 2008, because Prop 8 states that only marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized in California.
Read our News Release for more details.
Read our Amicus Brief.
Pastor Jonathan Falwell on Liberty Live
We are having another action-packed week on our radio/internet program, Liberty Live. Today, our special guest will be Jonathan Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, one of the fastest growing churches in America. We will talk about his transition into leadership of the church founded by his father Dr. Jerry Falwell, and learn about his new book, "One Great Truth: Finding Your Answers to Life."
Watch online from 4 - 5 p.m. ET (3-4 p.m. CT) at www.LC.org and add your comments to our live blog during the show. The number to call to talk to Pastor Falwell during the show is (866) 963-2037.
Show archives and postcast are also available online. Yesterday we discussed the Lisa Miller case with Rena Lindevaldsen, Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel and Assistant Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law.
Don't miss a day of Liberty Live, on AFR Talk. Mat Staver hosts Liberty Live and is joined by co-host Matt Barber.
See the show archives and sign up for our podcast.
Please help inform as many people as possible by forwarding this Liberty Alert to your entire e-mail list of family and friends, and encourage them to subscribe.
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 or order resources from the Liberty Counsel online store.
Mathew D. Staver - Founder and Chairman
Anita L. Staver - President
Liberty Counsel - 1-800-671-1776
PO Box 540774 - Orlando, FL 32854
"The Web"
The Blackbird
In 1968 (1967?) a SR-71 made an emergency landing at Grand Forks AFB and was "parked" between two B-52 hangers close to the N/S road that paralled the base runway. The aircraft was completely visible to anyone using the road. Immediately after landing, GFAFB security established machine gun "nests" close to the plane. The two man crew could not exit the plane until a C-130 arrived from Edwards AFB with the ground support equipment and aircraft technicians to evacuate the crew and "fix" whatever the problem(s) were. Of course, everyone on the base came to see the 71 and security had to control traffic. After the "fixes" were accomplished (two days?), the 71 exited the base heading north. A few minutes later it returned at a very low altitude at tremendous speed in a fly by. It was awesome and was probably witnessed by about everyone on the base.
Eye candy for people who like airplanes. Grab your beverage and relax for a few minutes of awesome beauty. The SR-71 was the creation of Kelly Johnson, Lockheed, Eisenhower and the Air Force. It was envisioned in the '50s, first flew in the early '60s, retired in the '80s, briefly brought back in the '90s. In all, 13 units of the single seat A-12 were built, and 32 of the Pilot + Recon two seat SR-71 units were built. Five A-12 were lost, one is stored. Twelve two seaters were lost. The remaining 27 are on display around the USA . The closest is at Atwater , the old Castle AFB museum at Merced with 50 other classic warplanes. You probably have a better opportunity of viewing the one in San Diego . Ask me and I'll tell you where the others are. NY, OR, OH, DC, etc. I can find most answers to most questions. Just ask. Start with the 2000+ mph, the 80,000 feet + altitude. More if you wish. So enjoy. One more thing. The author of the captions to the pictures in this video made one misstatement, due to youth. The U-2 Recon aircraft was created in 1955, flew operationally in 1956. Kelly thought the USSR would shoot it down in 18 months. Lucky us, it flew until Gary Powers was downed on 1 May 1960. But Kelly Johnson already had the go-ahead from Ike for the A-12. It first flew in 1962, JFK kept the manufacture of it active. No one told LBJ, 'cause everyone knew he would spill the secret. He wasn't told til the week after JFK left us. And sure enough, LBJ gave out the secret in a matter of months. Anyhow, the most interesting, most exciting five years of my life were spent in the program, as a KC-135 refueling pilot. Where the Blackbird went, we went. You will see several refuelings in the following. Enjoy!
Click to view the slideshow:
http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/SR-71/index.htm
GOD'S ACCURACY
How lovely to think about the way our Creator God planned everything so carefully and perfectly, everything with a plan. As His highest creation, 'we are fearfully and wonderfully made.'
God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.
For example,
The eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
Those of the canary in 14 days;
Those of the barnyard hen in 21 days.
The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
Those of the mallard in 35 days.
The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven).
God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other Quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs.
For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.
The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.
How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.
Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
Each orange has an even number of segments.
Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks
The Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linneus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!
Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence. Only the God-planned life is successful. Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is safe.
*Author unknown
Allah or Jesus?
By Rick Mathes
The Muslim religion in the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States, especially in the minority races!!!
Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance.
During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.
I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video. After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: "Please, correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel (which is a command to all Muslims), they are assured of a place in heaven.
If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?"
There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, "Non-believers!"
I responded, "So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your Faith so they can have a place in Heaven. Is that correct?"
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of "a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar."
He sheepishly replied, "Yes."
I then stated, "Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in Heaven. The Imam was speechless.
I continued, "I also have problem with being your 'friend' when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question: would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to Heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to Heaven and He wants you to be there with me?"
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame.
Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the 'diversification' training seminar were not happy with Rick's way of dealing with the Islamic imam and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.
In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President!
I think everyone in the US should be required to read this, but with the liberal justice system, liberal media, and the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized.
Please pass this on to all your e-mail contacts. This is a true story. And the author, Rick Mathes, is a well-known leader in prison ministry.
THE ITALIAN TOMATO GARDEN
An old Italian man lived alone in the country.
He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison.
The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year.
I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son:
Dear Dad, Don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the bodies.
Love, Vinnie
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son:
Dear Dad, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you, Vinnie
What is a 710 knob?
A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage. A blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten knob. We all looked at each other and another customer asked, 'What is a seven-hundred-ten knob?'
She replied, 'You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one.. '
She replied that she did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there.
The mechanic gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like. She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710.
He then took her over to another car which had its hood up and asked 'is there a 710 on this car?'
The pointed and said, 'Of course, its right there.'
If you're not sure what a 710 is Click (OIL) turned upside down.
"The e-mail Bag"
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House
Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in D.C.; One from Illinois one from Tennessee and a third from Kentucky . They all go with a White House official to examine the fence.
The Tennessee contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.
'Well', he says, 'I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'
The Kentucky contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, 'I can do this job for!! $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'
The Illinois contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, '$2,700.'
The official, incredulous, whispers back, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'
The Illinois contractor whispers back, '$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire that guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.'
'Done!' replies the government official.
Nag Nag Nag
An old hillbilly farmer had a wife who nagged him unmercifully. From morning till night (and sometimes later), she was always complaining about something. The only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He tried to plow a lot.
One day, when he was out plowing, his wife brought him lunch in the field. He drove the old mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and began to eat his lunch. Immediately, his wife began haranguing him again. Complain, nag, nag; it just went on and on.
All of a sudden, the old mule lashed out with both hind feet; caught her smack in the back of the head. Killed her dead on the spot.
At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something rather odd When a woman mourner would approach the old farmer, he would listen for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement. This was so consistent, the minister decided to ask the old farmer about it.
So after the funeral, the minister spoke to the old farmer, and asked him why he nodded his head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with all the men.
The old farmer said: "Well, the women would come up and say something about
how nice my wife looked, or how pretty her dress was, so I'd nod my head in agreement."
"And what about the men?" the minister asked.
"They wanted to know if the mule was for sale.
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090306
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
A leader's job is to look into the future and see the organization, not as it is, but as it should be. -- Jack Welch
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Women Judging Women God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). How different might our lives be if women didn't have to fear the harsh criticism of other women?
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you." (John 14:16)
"The Patriot Post"
"A people ... who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages, may achieve almost anything." -- George Washington
"The fact is, we'll never build a lasting economic recovery by going deeper into debt at a faster rate than we ever have before." -- Ronald Reagan
This week's 'Braying Jackass' award
"No community or constituent should be denied recovery assistance due to their governor's political ideology or political aspirations." --Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
This week's 'Alpha Jackass' award
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards." --Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black, fishing with race bait
"The question is: Is Eric Holder comfortable enough about race relations in America to open a case against [Roland Burris,] the only Black member of the United States Senate?" --political analyst Rich Galen
"Chuck Sproull" - Springville IN
The moral code that God programmed into the hearts of all mankind, written on tables of stone as Ten Commandments (also in Hammurabi's Code and Buddha's 8-Fold path to Perfection), is not a religious or a legal issue, but a life issue. Our America legal system was based on the morality in the Ten Commandments. Thus, in America, all moral practices are legal and honest.
Proof that immoral things like pornography, homosexuality and abortion are wrong:
(1) having to change laws to make them legal;
(2) the dishonest, domineering and abusive "spoiled brat" tactics that homosexual and abortion activists use to demand their additional [un]civil rights.
(3) According to honest psychological studies, the physical diseases and emotional problems most of them experience are a result of these activities.
(4) Many New Testament Scriptures explain that after this life, God will judge people who engage in all forms of sexual immorality and murder. "Lust of the flesh and lust of the eye" are forms of pagan worship). God will punish people who do these things in their hearts and lives in eternal flames of torment; and
(5) Other Scriptures explain that God loves everyone, and He desires to save them and purify their hearts through the complete new birth procedure (John 3:5 and Acts 2:38-42) and new life of love, holiness and praise; so they will be able to live with Him in eternity. This is the New Testament regeneration that was prophesied in the Old Testament (Ezek 36:25-27), that enables God to write His laws in our hearts with His Holy Spirit.
Proof that normal marriage and honest "planned parenthood" (plans to have children) are right:
(1) there are no laws to break and nothing illegal or dishonest about them, and
(2) nothing unhealthy about them. There are no sexually-transmitted diseases or psychological problems when a mature, morally pure man and a woman engage in loving, totally-committed marriage.
"The Web"
America The Beautiful
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1221321706636&source=jl99
Jesus Painting
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=wjVlmB2uPKU
Thinking of You
'Jacquie Lawson'
http://www.jacquielawson.com:80/viewcard.asp?code=ZS43976949
Ex-Countrywide execs forming mortgage firm - Can you believe the arrogance? - oyh
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ex-countrywide-execs-form-firm-invest/story.aspx?guid=%7BE712A645-A840-4B80-98AB-ECF52453BA37%7D
By MarketWatch
Last update: 2:42 a.m. EDT March 24, 2008
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- A number of former Countrywide Financial Corp. executives are forming a firm to take advantage of the massive unwinding of the mortgage-securitization business, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Former CFC President Stanford Kurland and colleagues are forming Private National Mortgage Acceptance Co., or PennyMac, to buy not mortgage securities but rather whole mortgage loans, the Journal reported.
PennyMac plans to buy the mortgages cheaply, work with borrowers to restructure them, and then resell them at a profit as interest-earning mortgages, the paper reported.
You want change? Try these ideas
by Norma White
Each presidential candidate is giving his rendition of the changes he wants for America.
Here are a few that I believe all Americans want.
Limit Congress from serving more than two terms. That is all that presidents are allowed.
Stop Congress from voting for their own raises. How did that ever get started?
Stop paying for lawmakers' high-priced insurance premiums. After all, they are only part-time employees. They might pass some law changes on the insurance companies, if they had to find one.
Stop paying lawmakers their full salary after serving just one term, or at retirement. We need to get rid of that pension plan; they've let other companies get rid of theirs. You were lucky to get 40 to 50 percent of your salary after working somewhere for 35 years, but they get 100 percent.
Make Congress pay into the Social Security system. They make laws for it. If they spent some of their own money, they might be interested in making it solvent.
Stop handing out aid to illegal aliens. If we did, then Medicaid and the food stamp program would have enough money to aid the aged and the poor.
Secure our borders.
Stop allowing babies born to illegal aliens in the United
States automatic U.S. citizenship.
Have a computer program that cross checks Social Security numbers with fingerprints to stop fraud on many fronts. Use it on voter registration, too.
Stop bailing out mortgage companies and banks that give loans to people who cannot afford them.
Stop companies from paying CEOs and other executives outrageous salaries and bonuses while doing away with workers' pensions.
Stop all unnecessary spending so we will have the money for our nation's security, and to help needy and elderly Americans.
Stop permitting anyone to have a photo with their face covered on driver's licenses.
Whoever wins the presidency will not be able to make these changes. Only members of Congress can do this, as they are the lawmakers. I don't believe Congress is interested in changing anything, do you?
Norma White of Amarillo is a retired network engineer for Southwestern Bell.
545 vs. 300,000,000
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices, 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he or she votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall and power. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party currently.. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single, domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ ..
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the public, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
Have you heard about the two duck hunters from Minnesota?
THIS IS A TRUE STORY HEARD ON A Minnesota RADIO STATION REPORTING ON THE INCIDENT.
A guy buys a new Lincoln Navigator for $42,500.00 (with monthly payments of $860.00).
He and a friend go duck hunting in upper Minnesota. It's mid-winter, and of course all of the lakes are frozen. These two guys go out on the ice with their GUNS, a DOG and, of course, the new NAVIGATOR.
They decide they want to make a natural looking open water for the ducks to focus on, something for the decoys to float in. Now making a hole in the ice large enough to invite a passing duck, is going to take a little more power than the average drill auger can produce. So, out of the back of the new Navigator comes a stick of dynamite with a short 40 second-fuse. Now our two Rocket Scientists, afraid they might slip on the ice while trying to run away after lighting the fuse (and becoming toast, along with the Navigator), decide on the following course of action:
They light the 40 second fuse; then, with a mighty thrust, they throw the stick of dynamite as far away as possible. Remember a couple of paragraphs back when I mentioned the NAVIGATOR, the GUNS, and the . . . .. DOG...?
Let's talk about the dog: A 'highly trained' Black Lab used for RETRIEVING; especially things thrown by the owner. You guessed it:
The dog takes off across the ice at a high rate of speed and grabs the stick of dynamite, with the burning 40-second fuse, just as it hits the ice.
The two men swallow, blink, start waving their arms and, with veins in their necks swelling to resemble stalks of rhubarb, scream and holler at the dog to stop. The dog, now apparently cheered on by his Master, keeps coming. One hunter panics, grabs the shotgun and shoots the dog. The shotgun is loaded with #8 bird shot (hardly big enough to stop a large Black Lab).
The dog stops for a moment, slightly confused, then continues on. Another shot, and this time the dog, still standing, becomes really confused and of course terrified, thinks these two geniuses have gone insane. The dog takes off to find cover ... where? .... UNDER the brand new Navigator.
The men continue to scream as they run. The red hot exhaust pipe on the truck touches the dog's rear end, he yelps, drops the dynamite under the truck and takes off after his master.
Then "BOOOOOOOOOOOOM" ! ! !
The truck is blown to bits and sinks to the bottom of the lake, leaving the two idiots standing there with "I can't believe this just happened" looks on their faces.
The insurance company says that sinking a vehicle in a lake by the "Illegal use of explosives" is NOT COVERED by the policy. And he still had yet to make the first of those $860.00 a month payments.
The dog is okay. . ..doing fine.
And you thought Rednecks only live in the South...
Cowboy Ethics and Cowboy Values
By Patrick Dorinson
Political Commentator
When it comes to analyzing America’s current economic woes and how we got here, I have heard just about all the whining, navel-gazing, excuses, television talk show psychobabble, hand wringing and pundit puffery I can stomach. This is not just about lost home value or diminished 401(K)s.
In all my born days I have never witnessed a spectacle quite as ridiculous as this. America is on the psychiatrist’s couch looking for a cure to a self-inflicted problem.
All the so-called experts who are spouting all this nonsense are looking at Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme or A-rod’s “everybody was doing it” steroid defense, or Senator Chris Dodd’s laughable claim that he had no idea he was getting special treatment on his multiple mortgages and trying to divine what it all means.
Hell I’ll tell you what it all means. It means that all three and many more out there that don’t make headlines have no moral compass and that lying, stealing and cheating are OK as long as, one you don’t get caught and two, you can go on television and sheepishly apologize.
The real societal disease that has crippled us for decades — and will continue to as long as we excuse bad behavior and allow half-hearted apologies to explain it away –0is the utter collapse of values and ethics in America.
And until we address this problem all the bailouts and stimulus packages won’t amount to a hill of beans and in a few years we will be right back in the same spot.
The cure for this disease is not more group therapy. It is as simple and as old as America itself and it still lives in the hearts and minds of the most iconic figure in our history-the American cowboy.
For all you tenderfoots and high buttoned shoe Easterners let me try to explain.
Unlike politicians and our current crop of business “leaders”, a cowboy still makes a deal with a handshake and his word is his bond. A cowboy does not make rash decisions because the wrong decision can be the difference between life and death for him, his horse and those he works with.
And a cowboy lives by a code-a set of unwritten principles that no one has to teach him because it is instilled in him at birth. Cowboys don’t whine and stomp their feet like spoiled children as some people seem to do when the going gets tough.
A few years ago I found a book that changed my life. It reminded me that even if I lost everything I had worked for I would still have my code to lean on and start all over again. I remember learning these principles from my late mother who spent a good portion of her childhood living and working with cowboys on a ranch in Colorado. The words might have been different, but she and my Dad hard wired these life lessons into me and my three brothers and sister.
Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street can Learn from the Code of the West was written by James Owen, an investment consultant who after ENRON and the other Wall Street scandals of a few years ago, decided it was time to take a good look at what we had become. Like myself, he is not a genuine cowboy but we both have a great deal of respect and admiration for the cowboy and the cowboy way of life.
After talking with real cowboys and researching the cowboy way, he came up with his Code of the West which states some simple principles that all of us should try to live by.
Live each day with courage
Take pride in your work
Always finish what you start
Do what has to be done
Be tough, but fair when you make a promise, keep it
Ride for the brand
Talk less and say more
Remember that some things aren’t for sale
Know where to draw the line
Recently he published the second volume called Cowboy Values: Recapturing What America Has Lost which talks about the basic values that used to be second nature to most Americans, but somehow got lost in a celebrity obsessed culture that glorifies materialism and instant gratification and where winning at all costs has replaced the credo of the race well run. Here is Jim’s list of core values.
Courage
Optimism
Self-Reliance
Authenticity
Honor
Duty
Heart
Somewhere along the line we forgot these basic ethics and values and replaced them with a self-centered “grab all you can and forget the consequences” attitude. Many of our political and business leaders need a crash course in the principles and ideals of these two books and none too soon.
We have politicians who cheat on their wives. If a man will break his vows to his wife what do you think he will do to you? We have politicians who walk away from their financial obligations and receive special treatment unavailable to you and me. If they can’t handle their own money what do you think they will do with yours? We have politicians who preach ethics and values only to fall from grace themselves for not practicing them. We have business leaders who have been convicted of using the stockholder’s money as a personal piggy bank then say with a straight face they were business expenses.
And we ourselves are just as guilty when we buy things we can’t afford and then when we can’t pay look for help from those who didn’t.
My whole point is that with all the advances we have made of as a society, we seem to have left behind those things that we should treasure most-the basic truths that right is right and wrong is wrong. That there is no free ride and either we pull together or we will pull ourselves apart. That we all need to face up to our problems because if we face up to them and meet them head-on, they won’t seem half as bad than if we ignore them.
You’ll never see a cowboy on a psychiatrist’s couch.
Foster Kids Overhearing Christian Music Earns Counselor Six-Week Suspension - Folks, let me inform each of you. America's "left-wing idiots" have gone "crazy" as to what we use to know, practice, and love. These leftists now wants to lead, and demand the Judeo-Christain community follow their lead. We must say "NO"! - oyh
City: Orange County, CA
February 18, 2009
A lawsuit has been filed against Orange County by a veteran group home counselor who was suspended six weeks for exposing four teenagers to Christian music. The counselor is represented by affiliate and staff attorneys of Pacific Justice Institute.
The lawsuit states that, in the summer of 2006, the counselor took four teenage girls from the Orangewood Children's Home on an approved field trip to a 5K run and then to the beach. At the beach, the group encountered a "Surf Jam" taking place at the Huntington Beach pier. The group also overheard Christian music for about ten minutes while they were eating.
Following the beach outing, the counselor, an eighteen-year employee, was summoned to a disciplinary meeting focusing on the Christian music. Several months later, the same incident was brought up again and the counselor was slapped with a six-week suspension for "exposing children to unapproved religious activities."
After many months of exhausting state administrative remedies, the counselor filed suit late last week in Orange County Superior Court to recover the financial losses she suffered from the suspension and to vindicate her constitutional rights. The counselor is represented by John and Laurie Messerly Stewart, attorneys in Orange, California, and the Pacific Justice Institute.
Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, "What happened to this counselor was insane and unjust. Allowing teenagers to overhear a few minutes of Christian music while at the beach should not result in a six-week suspension."
The Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties.
P.O. Box 276600 Sacramento, CA 95827-6600
Phone: (916) 857-6900 Fax: (916) 857-6902 Internet: www.pacificjustice.org
"The e-mail Bag"
A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband
For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.
As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring.
Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his study. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box.
Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold. Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, 'With all your money you give me a Bible?' And stormed out of the house, leaving her husband.
Many years passed and the lady was very successful in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family, but realized her ex-husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years. But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately
and take care of things.
When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years before.
With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11, 'And if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, give what is good to those who ask Him?'
As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a diamond ring, with her name engraved on it -- the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words. 'LUV U ALWAYS'.
How many times do we miss God's blessings, because they are not packaged as we expected?
Do not spoil what you have, by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKAGED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKAGED THE WAY IT IS. ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO BIGGER & BETTER THINGS.
'The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even
touched. They must be felt with the heart.'
Only a Politician Could Come up with this Spin (Or is it a joke?)
Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid (a Nevada Senator of some sort) share this common ancestor. The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.
On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'
So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.
Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research: 'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'
"Daily Motivations"
A leader's job is to look into the future and see the organization, not as it is, but as it should be. -- Jack Welch
"Daily Devotions" (NASB and/or NLT)
Women Judging Women God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). How different might our lives be if women didn't have to fear the harsh criticism of other women?
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you." (John 14:16)
"The Patriot Post"
"A people ... who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages, may achieve almost anything." -- George Washington
"The fact is, we'll never build a lasting economic recovery by going deeper into debt at a faster rate than we ever have before." -- Ronald Reagan
This week's 'Braying Jackass' award
"No community or constituent should be denied recovery assistance due to their governor's political ideology or political aspirations." --Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
This week's 'Alpha Jackass' award
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards." --Attorney General Eric Holder, who is black, fishing with race bait
"The question is: Is Eric Holder comfortable enough about race relations in America to open a case against [Roland Burris,] the only Black member of the United States Senate?" --political analyst Rich Galen
"Chuck Sproull" - Springville IN
The moral code that God programmed into the hearts of all mankind, written on tables of stone as Ten Commandments (also in Hammurabi's Code and Buddha's 8-Fold path to Perfection), is not a religious or a legal issue, but a life issue. Our America legal system was based on the morality in the Ten Commandments. Thus, in America, all moral practices are legal and honest.
Proof that immoral things like pornography, homosexuality and abortion are wrong:
(1) having to change laws to make them legal;
(2) the dishonest, domineering and abusive "spoiled brat" tactics that homosexual and abortion activists use to demand their additional [un]civil rights.
(3) According to honest psychological studies, the physical diseases and emotional problems most of them experience are a result of these activities.
(4) Many New Testament Scriptures explain that after this life, God will judge people who engage in all forms of sexual immorality and murder. "Lust of the flesh and lust of the eye" are forms of pagan worship). God will punish people who do these things in their hearts and lives in eternal flames of torment; and
(5) Other Scriptures explain that God loves everyone, and He desires to save them and purify their hearts through the complete new birth procedure (John 3:5 and Acts 2:38-42) and new life of love, holiness and praise; so they will be able to live with Him in eternity. This is the New Testament regeneration that was prophesied in the Old Testament (Ezek 36:25-27), that enables God to write His laws in our hearts with His Holy Spirit.
Proof that normal marriage and honest "planned parenthood" (plans to have children) are right:
(1) there are no laws to break and nothing illegal or dishonest about them, and
(2) nothing unhealthy about them. There are no sexually-transmitted diseases or psychological problems when a mature, morally pure man and a woman engage in loving, totally-committed marriage.
"The Web"
America The Beautiful
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1221321706636&source=jl99
Jesus Painting
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=wjVlmB2uPKU
Thinking of You
'Jacquie Lawson'
http://www.jacquielawson.com:80/viewcard.asp?code=ZS43976949
Ex-Countrywide execs forming mortgage firm - Can you believe the arrogance? - oyh
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ex-countrywide-execs-form-firm-invest/story.aspx?guid=%7BE712A645-A840-4B80-98AB-ECF52453BA37%7D
By MarketWatch
Last update: 2:42 a.m. EDT March 24, 2008
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- A number of former Countrywide Financial Corp. executives are forming a firm to take advantage of the massive unwinding of the mortgage-securitization business, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Former CFC President Stanford Kurland and colleagues are forming Private National Mortgage Acceptance Co., or PennyMac, to buy not mortgage securities but rather whole mortgage loans, the Journal reported.
PennyMac plans to buy the mortgages cheaply, work with borrowers to restructure them, and then resell them at a profit as interest-earning mortgages, the paper reported.
You want change? Try these ideas
by Norma White
Each presidential candidate is giving his rendition of the changes he wants for America.
Here are a few that I believe all Americans want.
Limit Congress from serving more than two terms. That is all that presidents are allowed.
Stop Congress from voting for their own raises. How did that ever get started?
Stop paying for lawmakers' high-priced insurance premiums. After all, they are only part-time employees. They might pass some law changes on the insurance companies, if they had to find one.
Stop paying lawmakers their full salary after serving just one term, or at retirement. We need to get rid of that pension plan; they've let other companies get rid of theirs. You were lucky to get 40 to 50 percent of your salary after working somewhere for 35 years, but they get 100 percent.
Make Congress pay into the Social Security system. They make laws for it. If they spent some of their own money, they might be interested in making it solvent.
Stop handing out aid to illegal aliens. If we did, then Medicaid and the food stamp program would have enough money to aid the aged and the poor.
Secure our borders.
Stop allowing babies born to illegal aliens in the United
States automatic U.S. citizenship.
Have a computer program that cross checks Social Security numbers with fingerprints to stop fraud on many fronts. Use it on voter registration, too.
Stop bailing out mortgage companies and banks that give loans to people who cannot afford them.
Stop companies from paying CEOs and other executives outrageous salaries and bonuses while doing away with workers' pensions.
Stop all unnecessary spending so we will have the money for our nation's security, and to help needy and elderly Americans.
Stop permitting anyone to have a photo with their face covered on driver's licenses.
Whoever wins the presidency will not be able to make these changes. Only members of Congress can do this, as they are the lawmakers. I don't believe Congress is interested in changing anything, do you?
Norma White of Amarillo is a retired network engineer for Southwestern Bell.
545 vs. 300,000,000
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices, 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he or she votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall and power. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party currently.. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single, domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ ..
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the public, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
Have you heard about the two duck hunters from Minnesota?
THIS IS A TRUE STORY HEARD ON A Minnesota RADIO STATION REPORTING ON THE INCIDENT.
A guy buys a new Lincoln Navigator for $42,500.00 (with monthly payments of $860.00).
He and a friend go duck hunting in upper Minnesota. It's mid-winter, and of course all of the lakes are frozen. These two guys go out on the ice with their GUNS, a DOG and, of course, the new NAVIGATOR.
They decide they want to make a natural looking open water for the ducks to focus on, something for the decoys to float in. Now making a hole in the ice large enough to invite a passing duck, is going to take a little more power than the average drill auger can produce. So, out of the back of the new Navigator comes a stick of dynamite with a short 40 second-fuse. Now our two Rocket Scientists, afraid they might slip on the ice while trying to run away after lighting the fuse (and becoming toast, along with the Navigator), decide on the following course of action:
They light the 40 second fuse; then, with a mighty thrust, they throw the stick of dynamite as far away as possible. Remember a couple of paragraphs back when I mentioned the NAVIGATOR, the GUNS, and the . . . .. DOG...?
Let's talk about the dog: A 'highly trained' Black Lab used for RETRIEVING; especially things thrown by the owner. You guessed it:
The dog takes off across the ice at a high rate of speed and grabs the stick of dynamite, with the burning 40-second fuse, just as it hits the ice.
The two men swallow, blink, start waving their arms and, with veins in their necks swelling to resemble stalks of rhubarb, scream and holler at the dog to stop. The dog, now apparently cheered on by his Master, keeps coming. One hunter panics, grabs the shotgun and shoots the dog. The shotgun is loaded with #8 bird shot (hardly big enough to stop a large Black Lab).
The dog stops for a moment, slightly confused, then continues on. Another shot, and this time the dog, still standing, becomes really confused and of course terrified, thinks these two geniuses have gone insane. The dog takes off to find cover ... where? .... UNDER the brand new Navigator.
The men continue to scream as they run. The red hot exhaust pipe on the truck touches the dog's rear end, he yelps, drops the dynamite under the truck and takes off after his master.
Then "BOOOOOOOOOOOOM" ! ! !
The truck is blown to bits and sinks to the bottom of the lake, leaving the two idiots standing there with "I can't believe this just happened" looks on their faces.
The insurance company says that sinking a vehicle in a lake by the "Illegal use of explosives" is NOT COVERED by the policy. And he still had yet to make the first of those $860.00 a month payments.
The dog is okay. . ..doing fine.
And you thought Rednecks only live in the South...
Cowboy Ethics and Cowboy Values
By Patrick Dorinson
Political Commentator
When it comes to analyzing America’s current economic woes and how we got here, I have heard just about all the whining, navel-gazing, excuses, television talk show psychobabble, hand wringing and pundit puffery I can stomach. This is not just about lost home value or diminished 401(K)s.
In all my born days I have never witnessed a spectacle quite as ridiculous as this. America is on the psychiatrist’s couch looking for a cure to a self-inflicted problem.
All the so-called experts who are spouting all this nonsense are looking at Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme or A-rod’s “everybody was doing it” steroid defense, or Senator Chris Dodd’s laughable claim that he had no idea he was getting special treatment on his multiple mortgages and trying to divine what it all means.
Hell I’ll tell you what it all means. It means that all three and many more out there that don’t make headlines have no moral compass and that lying, stealing and cheating are OK as long as, one you don’t get caught and two, you can go on television and sheepishly apologize.
The real societal disease that has crippled us for decades — and will continue to as long as we excuse bad behavior and allow half-hearted apologies to explain it away –0is the utter collapse of values and ethics in America.
And until we address this problem all the bailouts and stimulus packages won’t amount to a hill of beans and in a few years we will be right back in the same spot.
The cure for this disease is not more group therapy. It is as simple and as old as America itself and it still lives in the hearts and minds of the most iconic figure in our history-the American cowboy.
For all you tenderfoots and high buttoned shoe Easterners let me try to explain.
Unlike politicians and our current crop of business “leaders”, a cowboy still makes a deal with a handshake and his word is his bond. A cowboy does not make rash decisions because the wrong decision can be the difference between life and death for him, his horse and those he works with.
And a cowboy lives by a code-a set of unwritten principles that no one has to teach him because it is instilled in him at birth. Cowboys don’t whine and stomp their feet like spoiled children as some people seem to do when the going gets tough.
A few years ago I found a book that changed my life. It reminded me that even if I lost everything I had worked for I would still have my code to lean on and start all over again. I remember learning these principles from my late mother who spent a good portion of her childhood living and working with cowboys on a ranch in Colorado. The words might have been different, but she and my Dad hard wired these life lessons into me and my three brothers and sister.
Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street can Learn from the Code of the West was written by James Owen, an investment consultant who after ENRON and the other Wall Street scandals of a few years ago, decided it was time to take a good look at what we had become. Like myself, he is not a genuine cowboy but we both have a great deal of respect and admiration for the cowboy and the cowboy way of life.
After talking with real cowboys and researching the cowboy way, he came up with his Code of the West which states some simple principles that all of us should try to live by.
Live each day with courage
Take pride in your work
Always finish what you start
Do what has to be done
Be tough, but fair when you make a promise, keep it
Ride for the brand
Talk less and say more
Remember that some things aren’t for sale
Know where to draw the line
Recently he published the second volume called Cowboy Values: Recapturing What America Has Lost which talks about the basic values that used to be second nature to most Americans, but somehow got lost in a celebrity obsessed culture that glorifies materialism and instant gratification and where winning at all costs has replaced the credo of the race well run. Here is Jim’s list of core values.
Courage
Optimism
Self-Reliance
Authenticity
Honor
Duty
Heart
Somewhere along the line we forgot these basic ethics and values and replaced them with a self-centered “grab all you can and forget the consequences” attitude. Many of our political and business leaders need a crash course in the principles and ideals of these two books and none too soon.
We have politicians who cheat on their wives. If a man will break his vows to his wife what do you think he will do to you? We have politicians who walk away from their financial obligations and receive special treatment unavailable to you and me. If they can’t handle their own money what do you think they will do with yours? We have politicians who preach ethics and values only to fall from grace themselves for not practicing them. We have business leaders who have been convicted of using the stockholder’s money as a personal piggy bank then say with a straight face they were business expenses.
And we ourselves are just as guilty when we buy things we can’t afford and then when we can’t pay look for help from those who didn’t.
My whole point is that with all the advances we have made of as a society, we seem to have left behind those things that we should treasure most-the basic truths that right is right and wrong is wrong. That there is no free ride and either we pull together or we will pull ourselves apart. That we all need to face up to our problems because if we face up to them and meet them head-on, they won’t seem half as bad than if we ignore them.
You’ll never see a cowboy on a psychiatrist’s couch.
Foster Kids Overhearing Christian Music Earns Counselor Six-Week Suspension - Folks, let me inform each of you. America's "left-wing idiots" have gone "crazy" as to what we use to know, practice, and love. These leftists now wants to lead, and demand the Judeo-Christain community follow their lead. We must say "NO"! - oyh
City: Orange County, CA
February 18, 2009
A lawsuit has been filed against Orange County by a veteran group home counselor who was suspended six weeks for exposing four teenagers to Christian music. The counselor is represented by affiliate and staff attorneys of Pacific Justice Institute.
The lawsuit states that, in the summer of 2006, the counselor took four teenage girls from the Orangewood Children's Home on an approved field trip to a 5K run and then to the beach. At the beach, the group encountered a "Surf Jam" taking place at the Huntington Beach pier. The group also overheard Christian music for about ten minutes while they were eating.
Following the beach outing, the counselor, an eighteen-year employee, was summoned to a disciplinary meeting focusing on the Christian music. Several months later, the same incident was brought up again and the counselor was slapped with a six-week suspension for "exposing children to unapproved religious activities."
After many months of exhausting state administrative remedies, the counselor filed suit late last week in Orange County Superior Court to recover the financial losses she suffered from the suspension and to vindicate her constitutional rights. The counselor is represented by John and Laurie Messerly Stewart, attorneys in Orange, California, and the Pacific Justice Institute.
Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, "What happened to this counselor was insane and unjust. Allowing teenagers to overhear a few minutes of Christian music while at the beach should not result in a six-week suspension."
The Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties.
P.O. Box 276600 Sacramento, CA 95827-6600
Phone: (916) 857-6900 Fax: (916) 857-6902 Internet: www.pacificjustice.org
"The e-mail Bag"
A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband
For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.
As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring.
Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his study. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box.
Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold. Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, 'With all your money you give me a Bible?' And stormed out of the house, leaving her husband.
Many years passed and the lady was very successful in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family, but realized her ex-husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years. But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately
and take care of things.
When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years before.
With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11, 'And if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, give what is good to those who ask Him?'
As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a diamond ring, with her name engraved on it -- the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words. 'LUV U ALWAYS'.
How many times do we miss God's blessings, because they are not packaged as we expected?
Do not spoil what you have, by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKAGED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKAGED THE WAY IT IS. ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO BIGGER & BETTER THINGS.
'The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even
touched. They must be felt with the heart.'
Only a Politician Could Come up with this Spin (Or is it a joke?)
Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid (a Nevada Senator of some sort) share this common ancestor. The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.
On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'
So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.
Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research: 'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090305
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Here is a simple but powerful rule: Always give people more than what they expect to get. -- Nelson Boswell
"Daily Devotions" (NASB)
Playing with All Your Heart Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Eccl. 9:10). Whatever position you're playing in life, don't play tentatively.
"The Patriot Post"
"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." --Roman historian Plutarch (c.45-125 A.D.)
"There's nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." --Austrian-American writer Peter Drucker (1909-2005)
"The height of statesmanship is to come home with a dam, even if you have nowhere to put it." --humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
"The idea that even the brightest person or group of bright people, much less the U.S. Congress, can wisely manage an economy has to be the height of arrogance and conceit. Why? It is impossible for anyone to possess the knowledge that would be necessary for such an undertaking." --economist Walter E. Williams
"The big story last week was the incredible Congressional rush to pass a bill that was more than a thousand pages long in just two days -- after which it sat on the President's desk for three days while the Obamas were away on a holiday. There is the same complete inconsistency in the bill itself." --economist Thomas Sowell
Prepare for "Stimulus, the Sequel": "I don't think [$50 billion] will be enough, but in fairness, we won't know that for a while. But we can't kick people out of their houses. If $50 billion's not enough, we're coming back for more." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on bailing out homeowners
"Simple Truths"
Nature's Inspiration
http://www.thenaturesinspirationmovie.com:80/
Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.
Although the world is full of suffering it is also full of the overcoming of it.
When childhood dies its corpse are called adults.
"The Web"
Amazing Grace
Four Tenors singing inside the Coliseum in RomeŠ.Sends chills up your spine.
Click on the link below and enjoy! It is an enjoyable 4 minutes.
The ending is awesome!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785324681?bclid=1338935106&bctid=1913313052
Kansas GOP senator to support Sebelius for HHS - Republicans supporting the likes of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is relevant as to why the GOP leaders have failed the American voters on the social issues. While Gov. Sebelius has been appointed by President Obama as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose job is to prevent and protect human life, Gov. Sebelius may purely more qualify as an executioner. The record may show Gov. Sebelius is the worse of the worst in her support of abortion of any governors' office throughout America. Sen. Brownback (R-KS) and any other US Senator who supports "life" should withdraw any support in voting to confirm Gov. Sebelius. God Bless America! - oyh
http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/03/03/kansas_gop_senator_to_support_sebelius_for_hhs
Kansas' senior senator is bucking anti-abortion opposition to support fellow Kansan Kathleen Sebelius for health and human services secretary.
Republican Sam Brownback issued a statement Tuesday night saying he would support President Barack Obama's nominee despite "profound policy differences."
Brownback, a staunch social conservative who's running to replace Sebelius as Kansas governor in 2010, had been under pressure from anti-abortion groups who oppose Sebelius because of her support for abortion rights. With his support, Sebelius, a Democrat, probably has a clear path to Senate confirmation.
24 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN AMERICA
24 Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodle Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization, as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.
22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs (OH! NO! NO! I love eating them! )
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.
18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a bestseller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.
17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.
16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, N.Y., are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.
9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day, two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?
8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free-range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.
5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honeybee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three-network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.
1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family farms.
"The e-mail Bag"
The Wooden Bowl
I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.
But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor."
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl!
When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?"
Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
On a positive note, I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I’ve learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.
I’ve learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."
I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
I’ve learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
People love that human touch—holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn In Life!
I've learned that you should inspire your fellow human being and never look down on any one ........I just did.
"Daily Motivations"
Here is a simple but powerful rule: Always give people more than what they expect to get. -- Nelson Boswell
"Daily Devotions" (NASB)
Playing with All Your Heart Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Eccl. 9:10). Whatever position you're playing in life, don't play tentatively.
"The Patriot Post"
"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." --Roman historian Plutarch (c.45-125 A.D.)
"There's nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." --Austrian-American writer Peter Drucker (1909-2005)
"The height of statesmanship is to come home with a dam, even if you have nowhere to put it." --humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
"The idea that even the brightest person or group of bright people, much less the U.S. Congress, can wisely manage an economy has to be the height of arrogance and conceit. Why? It is impossible for anyone to possess the knowledge that would be necessary for such an undertaking." --economist Walter E. Williams
"The big story last week was the incredible Congressional rush to pass a bill that was more than a thousand pages long in just two days -- after which it sat on the President's desk for three days while the Obamas were away on a holiday. There is the same complete inconsistency in the bill itself." --economist Thomas Sowell
Prepare for "Stimulus, the Sequel": "I don't think [$50 billion] will be enough, but in fairness, we won't know that for a while. But we can't kick people out of their houses. If $50 billion's not enough, we're coming back for more." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on bailing out homeowners
"Simple Truths"
Nature's Inspiration
http://www.thenaturesinspirationmovie.com:80/
Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.
Although the world is full of suffering it is also full of the overcoming of it.
When childhood dies its corpse are called adults.
"The Web"
Amazing Grace
Four Tenors singing inside the Coliseum in RomeŠ.Sends chills up your spine.
Click on the link below and enjoy! It is an enjoyable 4 minutes.
The ending is awesome!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1785324681?bclid=1338935106&bctid=1913313052
Kansas GOP senator to support Sebelius for HHS - Republicans supporting the likes of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is relevant as to why the GOP leaders have failed the American voters on the social issues. While Gov. Sebelius has been appointed by President Obama as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose job is to prevent and protect human life, Gov. Sebelius may purely more qualify as an executioner. The record may show Gov. Sebelius is the worse of the worst in her support of abortion of any governors' office throughout America. Sen. Brownback (R-KS) and any other US Senator who supports "life" should withdraw any support in voting to confirm Gov. Sebelius. God Bless America! - oyh
http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/03/03/kansas_gop_senator_to_support_sebelius_for_hhs
Kansas' senior senator is bucking anti-abortion opposition to support fellow Kansan Kathleen Sebelius for health and human services secretary.
Republican Sam Brownback issued a statement Tuesday night saying he would support President Barack Obama's nominee despite "profound policy differences."
Brownback, a staunch social conservative who's running to replace Sebelius as Kansas governor in 2010, had been under pressure from anti-abortion groups who oppose Sebelius because of her support for abortion rights. With his support, Sebelius, a Democrat, probably has a clear path to Senate confirmation.
24 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN AMERICA
24 Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodle Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization, as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.
22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs (OH! NO! NO! I love eating them! )
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.
18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a bestseller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.
17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.
16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, N.Y., are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.
9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day, two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?
8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free-range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.
5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honeybee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.
3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three-network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.
1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family farms.
"The e-mail Bag"
The Wooden Bowl
I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.
But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor."
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl!
When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?"
Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
On a positive note, I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I’ve learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.
I’ve learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."
I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
I’ve learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
People love that human touch—holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn In Life!
I've learned that you should inspire your fellow human being and never look down on any one ........I just did.
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090304
Motivational-Educational-Historical-Inspirational-Enjoyable
"Daily Motivations"
Managers are people who do things right; leaders are people who do the right thing. -- Warren Bennis
Earning Employee Trust
It’s no secret that being trusted by team members is critical to any leader’s success. And that fact leads to an all important question: How can you earn your people’s trust … what can you do protect and maintain that most important leadership characteristic? The answer: By exhibiting the following four behaviors …
Keep your promises. You don’t have to promise things just to make employees feel good. They’re more interested in being able to depend on what you promise than in feeling good. Just keep the promises you do make and your team will trust what you say.
Speak out for what you think is important. Employees can’t read your mind. They don’t know how you feel. If they have to guess about what’s important to you, they may guess wrong. Save them the trouble. Tell them how you feel and why. They’ll respect you so much more.
Err on the side of fairness. Be fair to everyone. Employees really do know that things are not always clearly right or wrong. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions that affect many people. Sometimes those decisions include having to dismiss team members. All your team can really ask for is that you be fair at all times – regardless of the type of decision you have to make.
Do what you say you are going to do. Just let your “yes” be yes and your “no” mean no. When you tell people you are going to do something, they should be able to “consider it done.”
"Daily Devotions" (NASB)
Let the Lord Decide Moses brought their case before the Lord (Num. 27:5). A banner at a local school proclaims, "We celebrate fairness." My son commented upon it: "But life isn't fair."
"The Patriot Post"
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Spencer Roane, 9 March 1821
"It might be demonstrated that the most productive system of finance will always be the least burdensome." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 35
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." -- Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishment, quoted by Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book, 1774-1776
"Simple Thoughts"
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Kindness is more important than wisdom and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.
I destroy my enemy by making him my friend.
"The Web"
Do You Remember These
http://oldfortyfives.com:80/DYRT.htm
Time Gets Better With Time
http://home.att.net:80/~mcp3_2000/_classics/021/age.htm
Another Day, Another Trillion (from Family Research Council)
In bold white script, the words "A New Era of Responsibility" are splashed across the cover of the President's new budget proposal. Unfortunately, the responsibilities outlined throughout its 142 pages are ours--all $3.6 trillion of them. In five weeks on the job, President Obama is on his way to racking up more national debt than President Bush did in five years (2001-2006). Under this spending plan, America would be saddled with a $1.8 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2009, the highest in U.S. history. This administration seems to operate under the slogan: Why quit while you're behind? Big government is back--along with big taxes, big promises, and what will certainly be big disappointments when generation after generation of taxpayers get the bill.
Among the budget highlights are some broad social policy shifts, including: a "down payment" on government-controlled health care ($634 billion), "greener" government through pricy climate research and buildings ($12.3 billion), another $5 million to Medicaid "family planning" efforts, a second, more costly bank bailout ($750 billion), and projected revenue from a "cap and trade" clamp on carbon emissions.
Today's edition of the D.C. Examiner itemizes the cost to American taxpayers in an invoice from the President, which totals $7,371,000,000,000.00. How does Obama expect to pay for everything? Charles Hurt of the New York Post writes, "Obama's budget schemes to drain staggering amounts of money from people who worked for it and steer it to people who didn't." According to some estimates, Americans can expect $1.5 trillion in tax increases by 2019. Obviously, one of the immediate casualties of the Obama era will be President Bush's tax cuts, which have provided real relief for American families. Although FRC lobbied to make the cuts permanent, they are almost certain to expire next year. The wealthy (those making $250,000 a year or more) are scheduled to take a punishing blow for their success with hikes in capital gains taxes, income taxes, employer taxes, and the resurrection of the estate tax.
But perhaps the most troubling element of the President's proposal is a deliberate--and debilitating--attack on charitable giving. To the dismay of people across the political spectrum, the White House has asked for a 20% reduction in the amount that upper-income people can deduct from their taxes for making charitable donations. For organizations already feeling the crunch of the recession, this could be a killing blow.
Under the current plan, no one would be immune. The new code would affect everything from think tanks to food banks. As the President is well aware, the pain would be particularly acute for the community of religious conservatives, who are more generous than political liberals in every measurable way. The move would hurt traditional-values charities most, since the government is already funding the far Left's agenda on abortion, environmentalism, welfare, the arts, and "family planning" with billions of tax dollars every year.
In effect, Obama would be squeezing out any programs that are not government approved. He claims the move would bring in roughly $32 billion a year--but at a much larger cost to philanthropy as a whole. If the provision passes, the White House would be well on its way to replacing the work of churches, nonprofits, and social service agencies with more government programs, which studies have proven to be a poor and ineffective substitute. Americans should be outraged. If there's one place that doesn't need our charity, it's Washington.
Tiger Woods: Proud American, Son and Father
Tiger Woods spoke Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during the "We Are One," an inauguration celebration for President-elect Barack Obama. Below is the text of his speech, entitled "You'll Never Walk Alone," as posted on his Web site:
"I grew up in a military family - and my role models in life were my Mom and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods. My dad was a Special Forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of the service, and every rank. In my Dad, and in those guests, I saw first hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They come from every walk of life. From every part of our country. Time and again, across generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of night and far from home.
Each day -- and particularly on this historic day -- we honor the men and women in uniform who serve our country and protect our freedom. They travel to the dangerous corners of the world, and we must remember that for every person who is in uniform, there are families who wait for them to come home safely.
I am honored that the military is such an important part, not just of my personal life, but of my professional one as well. The golf tournament we do each year here in Washington is a testament to those unsung heroes. I am the son of a man who
dedicated his life to his country, family and the military, and I am a better person for it.
In the summer of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, the man at whose memorial we stand, spoke to the 164th Ohio Regiment and said: 'I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country.' Just as they have stood tall for our country - we must always stand by and support the men and women in uniform and their families.
Thank you, and it is now my pleasure to introduce the US Naval Glee Club."
Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter
WASHINGTON — President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia’s president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday.
The letter to President Dmitri A. Medvedev was hand-delivered in Moscow by top administration officials three weeks ago. It said the United States would not need to proceed with the interceptor system, which has been vehemently opposed by Russia since it was proposed by the Bush administration, if Iran halted any efforts to build nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.
The officials who described the contents of the message requested anonymity because it has not been made public. While they said it did not offer a direct quid pro quo, the letter was intended to give Moscow an incentive to join the United States in a common front against Iran. Russia’s military, diplomatic and commercial ties to Tehran give it some influence there, but it has often resisted Washington’s hard line against Iran.
“It’s almost saying to them, put up or shut up,” said a senior administration official. “It’s not that the Russians get to say, ‘We’ll try and therefore you have to suspend.’ It says the threat has to go away.”
On Tuesday, a press secretary for Dmitri A. Medvedev told the Interfax news agency that the letter did not contain any “specific proposals or mutually binding initiatives.”
Natalya Timakova said the letter was a reply to one sent by Mr. Medvedev shortly after Mr. Obama was elected.
“Medvedev appreciated the promptness of the reply and the positive spirit of the message,” Ms. Timakova said. “Obama’s letter contains various proposals and assessments of the current situation. But the message did not contain any specific proposals or mutually binding initiatives.”
She said Mr. Medvedev perceives the development of Russian-American relations as “exceptionally positive,” and hopes details can be fleshed out at a meeting on Friday in Geneva between Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Medvedev will meet for the first time on April 2 in London, officials said Monday.
Mr. Obama’s letter, sent in response to one he received from Mr. Medvedev shortly after Mr. Obama’s inauguration, is part of an effort to “press the reset button” on Russian-American relations, as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. put it last month, officials in Washington said. Among other things, the letter discussed talks to extend a strategic arms treaty expiring this year and cooperation in opening supply routes to Afghanistan.
The plan to build a high-tech radar facility in the Czech Republic and deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland — a part of the world that Russia once considered its sphere of influence — was a top priority for President George W. Bush to deter Iran in case it developed a nuclear warhead to fit atop its long-range missiles. Mr. Bush never accepted a Moscow proposal to install part of the missile defense system on its territory and jointly operate it so it could not be used against Russia.
Now the Obama administration appears to be reconsidering that idea, although it is not clear if it would want to put part of the system on Russian soil where it could be flipped on or off by Russians. Mr. Obama has been lukewarm on missile defense, saying he supports it only if it can be proved technically effective and affordable.
Mr. Bush also emphasized the linkage between the Iranian threat and missile defense, but Mr. Obama’s overture reformulates it in a way intended to appeal to the Russians, who long ago soured on the Bush administration. Officials have been hinting at the possibility of an agreement in recent weeks, and Mr. Obama’s proposal was reported on Monday by a Moscow newspaper, Kommersant.
“If through strong diplomacy with Russia and our other partners we can reduce or eliminate that threat, it obviously shapes the way at which we look at missile defense,” Under Secretary of State William J. Burns said about the Iranian threat in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax while in Moscow last month delivering Mr. Obama’s letter.
Attending a NATO meeting in Krakow, Poland, on Feb. 20, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said, “I told the Russians a year ago that if there were no Iranian missile program, there would be no need for the missile sites.” Mr. Obama’s inauguration, he added, offered the chance for a fresh start. “My hope is that now, with the new administration, the prospects for that kind of cooperation might have improved,” he said.
The idea has distressed Poland and the Czech Republic, where leaders invested political capital in signing missile defense cooperation treaties with the United States despite domestic opposition. If the United States were to slow or halt deployment of the systems, Warsaw and Prague might insist on other incentives.
For example, the deal with Poland included a side agreement that an American Patriot air defense battery would be moved from Germany to Poland, where it would be operated by a crew of about 100 American service members. The administration might have to proceed with that to reassure Warsaw.
Missile defense has flavored Mr. Obama’s relationship with Russia from the day after his election, when Mr. Medvedev threatened to point missiles at Europe if the system proceeded. Mr. Medvedev later backed off that threat and it seems that Moscow is taking seriously the idea floated in Mr. Obama’s letter. Kommersant, the Moscow newspaper, on Monday called it a “sensational proposal.”
Mr. Medvedev said Sunday that he believed the Obama administration would be open to cooperation on missile defense.
“We have already received such signals from our American colleagues,” he said in an interview posted on the Kremlin Web site. “I expect that these signals will turn into concrete proposals. I hope to discuss this issue of great importance for Europe during my first meeting with President Barack Obama.”
"The e-mail Bag"
Three Good Arguments That J
"Daily Motivations"
Managers are people who do things right; leaders are people who do the right thing. -- Warren Bennis
Earning Employee Trust
It’s no secret that being trusted by team members is critical to any leader’s success. And that fact leads to an all important question: How can you earn your people’s trust … what can you do protect and maintain that most important leadership characteristic? The answer: By exhibiting the following four behaviors …
Keep your promises. You don’t have to promise things just to make employees feel good. They’re more interested in being able to depend on what you promise than in feeling good. Just keep the promises you do make and your team will trust what you say.
Speak out for what you think is important. Employees can’t read your mind. They don’t know how you feel. If they have to guess about what’s important to you, they may guess wrong. Save them the trouble. Tell them how you feel and why. They’ll respect you so much more.
Err on the side of fairness. Be fair to everyone. Employees really do know that things are not always clearly right or wrong. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions that affect many people. Sometimes those decisions include having to dismiss team members. All your team can really ask for is that you be fair at all times – regardless of the type of decision you have to make.
Do what you say you are going to do. Just let your “yes” be yes and your “no” mean no. When you tell people you are going to do something, they should be able to “consider it done.”
"Daily Devotions" (NASB)
Let the Lord Decide Moses brought their case before the Lord (Num. 27:5). A banner at a local school proclaims, "We celebrate fairness." My son commented upon it: "But life isn't fair."
"The Patriot Post"
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Spencer Roane, 9 March 1821
"It might be demonstrated that the most productive system of finance will always be the least burdensome." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 35
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." -- Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishment, quoted by Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book, 1774-1776
"Simple Thoughts"
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Kindness is more important than wisdom and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.
I destroy my enemy by making him my friend.
"The Web"
Do You Remember These
http://oldfortyfives.com:80/DYRT.htm
Time Gets Better With Time
http://home.att.net:80/~mcp3_2000/_classics/021/age.htm
Another Day, Another Trillion (from Family Research Council)
In bold white script, the words "A New Era of Responsibility" are splashed across the cover of the President's new budget proposal. Unfortunately, the responsibilities outlined throughout its 142 pages are ours--all $3.6 trillion of them. In five weeks on the job, President Obama is on his way to racking up more national debt than President Bush did in five years (2001-2006). Under this spending plan, America would be saddled with a $1.8 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2009, the highest in U.S. history. This administration seems to operate under the slogan: Why quit while you're behind? Big government is back--along with big taxes, big promises, and what will certainly be big disappointments when generation after generation of taxpayers get the bill.
Among the budget highlights are some broad social policy shifts, including: a "down payment" on government-controlled health care ($634 billion), "greener" government through pricy climate research and buildings ($12.3 billion), another $5 million to Medicaid "family planning" efforts, a second, more costly bank bailout ($750 billion), and projected revenue from a "cap and trade" clamp on carbon emissions.
Today's edition of the D.C. Examiner itemizes the cost to American taxpayers in an invoice from the President, which totals $7,371,000,000,000.00. How does Obama expect to pay for everything? Charles Hurt of the New York Post writes, "Obama's budget schemes to drain staggering amounts of money from people who worked for it and steer it to people who didn't." According to some estimates, Americans can expect $1.5 trillion in tax increases by 2019. Obviously, one of the immediate casualties of the Obama era will be President Bush's tax cuts, which have provided real relief for American families. Although FRC lobbied to make the cuts permanent, they are almost certain to expire next year. The wealthy (those making $250,000 a year or more) are scheduled to take a punishing blow for their success with hikes in capital gains taxes, income taxes, employer taxes, and the resurrection of the estate tax.
But perhaps the most troubling element of the President's proposal is a deliberate--and debilitating--attack on charitable giving. To the dismay of people across the political spectrum, the White House has asked for a 20% reduction in the amount that upper-income people can deduct from their taxes for making charitable donations. For organizations already feeling the crunch of the recession, this could be a killing blow.
Under the current plan, no one would be immune. The new code would affect everything from think tanks to food banks. As the President is well aware, the pain would be particularly acute for the community of religious conservatives, who are more generous than political liberals in every measurable way. The move would hurt traditional-values charities most, since the government is already funding the far Left's agenda on abortion, environmentalism, welfare, the arts, and "family planning" with billions of tax dollars every year.
In effect, Obama would be squeezing out any programs that are not government approved. He claims the move would bring in roughly $32 billion a year--but at a much larger cost to philanthropy as a whole. If the provision passes, the White House would be well on its way to replacing the work of churches, nonprofits, and social service agencies with more government programs, which studies have proven to be a poor and ineffective substitute. Americans should be outraged. If there's one place that doesn't need our charity, it's Washington.
Tiger Woods: Proud American, Son and Father
Tiger Woods spoke Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during the "We Are One," an inauguration celebration for President-elect Barack Obama. Below is the text of his speech, entitled "You'll Never Walk Alone," as posted on his Web site:
"I grew up in a military family - and my role models in life were my Mom and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods. My dad was a Special Forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of the service, and every rank. In my Dad, and in those guests, I saw first hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They come from every walk of life. From every part of our country. Time and again, across generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of night and far from home.
Each day -- and particularly on this historic day -- we honor the men and women in uniform who serve our country and protect our freedom. They travel to the dangerous corners of the world, and we must remember that for every person who is in uniform, there are families who wait for them to come home safely.
I am honored that the military is such an important part, not just of my personal life, but of my professional one as well. The golf tournament we do each year here in Washington is a testament to those unsung heroes. I am the son of a man who
dedicated his life to his country, family and the military, and I am a better person for it.
In the summer of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, the man at whose memorial we stand, spoke to the 164th Ohio Regiment and said: 'I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country.' Just as they have stood tall for our country - we must always stand by and support the men and women in uniform and their families.
Thank you, and it is now my pleasure to introduce the US Naval Glee Club."
Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter
WASHINGTON — President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia’s president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday.
The letter to President Dmitri A. Medvedev was hand-delivered in Moscow by top administration officials three weeks ago. It said the United States would not need to proceed with the interceptor system, which has been vehemently opposed by Russia since it was proposed by the Bush administration, if Iran halted any efforts to build nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.
The officials who described the contents of the message requested anonymity because it has not been made public. While they said it did not offer a direct quid pro quo, the letter was intended to give Moscow an incentive to join the United States in a common front against Iran. Russia’s military, diplomatic and commercial ties to Tehran give it some influence there, but it has often resisted Washington’s hard line against Iran.
“It’s almost saying to them, put up or shut up,” said a senior administration official. “It’s not that the Russians get to say, ‘We’ll try and therefore you have to suspend.’ It says the threat has to go away.”
On Tuesday, a press secretary for Dmitri A. Medvedev told the Interfax news agency that the letter did not contain any “specific proposals or mutually binding initiatives.”
Natalya Timakova said the letter was a reply to one sent by Mr. Medvedev shortly after Mr. Obama was elected.
“Medvedev appreciated the promptness of the reply and the positive spirit of the message,” Ms. Timakova said. “Obama’s letter contains various proposals and assessments of the current situation. But the message did not contain any specific proposals or mutually binding initiatives.”
She said Mr. Medvedev perceives the development of Russian-American relations as “exceptionally positive,” and hopes details can be fleshed out at a meeting on Friday in Geneva between Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Medvedev will meet for the first time on April 2 in London, officials said Monday.
Mr. Obama’s letter, sent in response to one he received from Mr. Medvedev shortly after Mr. Obama’s inauguration, is part of an effort to “press the reset button” on Russian-American relations, as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. put it last month, officials in Washington said. Among other things, the letter discussed talks to extend a strategic arms treaty expiring this year and cooperation in opening supply routes to Afghanistan.
The plan to build a high-tech radar facility in the Czech Republic and deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland — a part of the world that Russia once considered its sphere of influence — was a top priority for President George W. Bush to deter Iran in case it developed a nuclear warhead to fit atop its long-range missiles. Mr. Bush never accepted a Moscow proposal to install part of the missile defense system on its territory and jointly operate it so it could not be used against Russia.
Now the Obama administration appears to be reconsidering that idea, although it is not clear if it would want to put part of the system on Russian soil where it could be flipped on or off by Russians. Mr. Obama has been lukewarm on missile defense, saying he supports it only if it can be proved technically effective and affordable.
Mr. Bush also emphasized the linkage between the Iranian threat and missile defense, but Mr. Obama’s overture reformulates it in a way intended to appeal to the Russians, who long ago soured on the Bush administration. Officials have been hinting at the possibility of an agreement in recent weeks, and Mr. Obama’s proposal was reported on Monday by a Moscow newspaper, Kommersant.
“If through strong diplomacy with Russia and our other partners we can reduce or eliminate that threat, it obviously shapes the way at which we look at missile defense,” Under Secretary of State William J. Burns said about the Iranian threat in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax while in Moscow last month delivering Mr. Obama’s letter.
Attending a NATO meeting in Krakow, Poland, on Feb. 20, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said, “I told the Russians a year ago that if there were no Iranian missile program, there would be no need for the missile sites.” Mr. Obama’s inauguration, he added, offered the chance for a fresh start. “My hope is that now, with the new administration, the prospects for that kind of cooperation might have improved,” he said.
The idea has distressed Poland and the Czech Republic, where leaders invested political capital in signing missile defense cooperation treaties with the United States despite domestic opposition. If the United States were to slow or halt deployment of the systems, Warsaw and Prague might insist on other incentives.
For example, the deal with Poland included a side agreement that an American Patriot air defense battery would be moved from Germany to Poland, where it would be operated by a crew of about 100 American service members. The administration might have to proceed with that to reassure Warsaw.
Missile defense has flavored Mr. Obama’s relationship with Russia from the day after his election, when Mr. Medvedev threatened to point missiles at Europe if the system proceeded. Mr. Medvedev later backed off that threat and it seems that Moscow is taking seriously the idea floated in Mr. Obama’s letter. Kommersant, the Moscow newspaper, on Monday called it a “sensational proposal.”
Mr. Medvedev said Sunday that he believed the Obama administration would be open to cooperation on missile defense.
“We have already received such signals from our American colleagues,” he said in an interview posted on the Kremlin Web site. “I expect that these signals will turn into concrete proposals. I hope to discuss this issue of great importance for Europe during my first meeting with President Barack Obama.”
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