Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
"My Comments"
For this Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each of the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America!
A Tribute To Our Fallen Heroes, Veterans And Soldiers !!!
It is the VETERAN , not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN , not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN , not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN , not the politician, Who has given us! the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag.
It is the VETERAN, who serves under the Flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
I don't know if you saw this in the news but it really impressed me. Funny, our US Senate/House took 2 days off as they couldn't work because of the expected storm.
On the ABC evening news, it was reported that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabelle approaching Washington DC, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment.
They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!"
Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment; it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson.
The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
(Unknown Publisher)
We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.
God Bless Them All!!!
"Daily Motivations"
Our task in life is to find our deep soul work and throw ourselves headlong into it. -- Phil Cousineau
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Little Faith Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things (Matt. 6:34). Little faith is a worried faith.
"Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are His child, everything He has belongs to you." (Galatians 4:7)
"The Patriot Post"
"[T]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution." -- Alexander Hamilton
"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world." -- U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
"Now, where do some of these attacks originate? They're coming from the very people whose past policies, all done in the name of compassion, brought us the current recession. Their policies drove up inflation and interest rates, and their policies stifled incentive, creativity and halted the movement of the poor up the economic ladder. Some of their criticism is perfectly sincere. But let's also understand that some of their criticism comes from those who have a vested interest in a permanent welfare constituency and in government programs that reinforce the dependency of our people. Well, I would suggest that no one should have a vested interest in poverty or dependency, that these tragedies must never be looked at as a source of votes for politicians or paychecks for bureaucrats. They are blights on our society that we must work to eliminate, not institutionalize." -- Ronald Reagan
"I want the government to get the hell out of our way and let us act like the free people our founding fathers wanted us to be, and not like subjects of an all-knowing, all-powerful federal government. The listening tour is nothing but Republican gimmickry. The reality is that had they been listening over the past four years of the Bush presidency they would have seen the disaster of 2006 coming and they would have seen the catastrophe of 2008 coming. Instead, they turned a deaf ear to the Republican conservatives not only on Capitol Hill, but to those out across America. They lost in 2006 and 2008 because they stopped listening to the 'nostalgia' for the conservative principles which guided my dad's administrations ...[and] made us the wealthiest and most-powerful nation in world history. The lesson they taught was that you don't win elections by saying 'me too,' and trying to substitute a Republican version of big-government, wild-spending quasi-socialist agenda for a Democrat big-government, wild-spending quasi-socialist agenda. ... If they start listening, what they'll hear is a demand that the Republican Party get back to the principles and beliefs embodied by Ronald Reagan." -- radio talk-show host Michael Reagan
"Barack Obama's vision of America is one in which a President of the United States can fire the head of General Motors, tell banks how to bank, control the medical system and take charge of all sorts of other activities for which neither he nor other politicians have any expertise or experience. The Constitution of the United States gives no president, nor the entire federal government, the authority to do such things. But spending trillions of dollars to bail out all sorts of companies buys the power to tell them how to operate. Appointing judges to the federal courts -- including the Supreme Court -- who believe in expanding the powers of the federal government to make arbitrary decisions, choosing who will be winners and losers in the economy and in the society, is perfectly consistent with a vision of the world where self-confident and self-righteous elites rule according to their own notions, instead of merely governing under the restraints of the Constitution." -- Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell
"The Web"
Born Again American
http://www.bornagainamerican.org/index.php
Cann Memorial Day 2006
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=911vzdjPHkM
Don't Support H.R. 45, the Firearm Licensing bill (2009)
http://mixedink.com/GovTrackUs/111Hr45Against
FINAL VERSION
This Letter to Members of Congress was created by 456 members of Gov Track Us using the democratic, collaborative writing tools at MixedInk.com. For more about how it was created, see here. It can be republished only if accompanied by this note.
http://mixedink.com/GovTrackUs/111Hr45Against
Dear Representatives,
WE THE PEOPLE DO NOT SUPPORT H.R.45, the Firearm Licensing bill (2009).
WE are tired of our rights being denigrated and destroyed.
Our vote for any such bill is NO! Further, any politician who votes for this bill or any bill of this type will be noted, and voted against when they come up for re-election.
There are currently over 20,000 existing gun laws on the books and most of them do nothing to stop or curtail criminals. Reducing restictions to lawful gun ownership, however, have proven to do just that. Statistics are clear. Where ever lawful gun ownership flourishes, crime rates, by whatever measure, are reduced. In states with lawful handgun carry laws, crime rates are lower. The rate of crimes committed by lawful owners of firearms is a very small percentage of the overall rate of crimes committed with firearms and those numbers are undeniable. The federally required NICS is an excellent tool in determining the eligibility of an individual to legally purchase a handgun or rifle. In the city of Kennesaw, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, it is required by law that every home have a gun. After that law was passed in 1982, the crime rate immediately dropped by 89% and has remained among the lowest in the state ever since. Instance after instance shows that high legal gun ownership relates to lower crime, and places that make it hard to own guns or ban them altogether relates to a higher crime rate. Look at many of the larger, supposedly progressive cities and states in the northeastern U.S. Many have some of the highest rates of gun crime there are simply because the criminals know there is little chance of being confronted by a law abiding gun owner.
Stop criminalizing the lawful and law abiding gun owners. The studies by Department of Justice themselves show that these such weapons are used in a statistically insignificant portion of crime. And when they are used, their use would not have been prevented by the legislation.
History and statistics both prove that such bills are destructive to the citizenry. If this bills' purpose is to truly "protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death" then the Congress should realize that the only threats to the public are from a criminal element that this bill (unlike others that already exist and are not enforced) will not address, and from the government itself. We would like to think it would not happen here, but as the government is getting larger, and the people weaker, we should always consider history.
* In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated. This doesn't include the 30 million "Uncle Joe" starved to death in the Ukraine.
* In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
* Germany established gun control in 1928. In 1938, the Nazis extended that control to ban the possession of military style weapons and to outlaw the sale of any weapons without government approval. (This sounds a lot like some of the current gun control efforts being pushed for in our country today.) From 1939 to 1945, the Gestapo & SS killed millions of people unable to defend themselves.
* China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.
* Guatamala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.
* Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated. The total dead are said to be 2-3 million.
* Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, 1-2 million "educated" people unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
* Defenseless people rounded up & exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million at a bare minimum.
* During W.W. II the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED.
Note: Admiral Yamamoto, who crafted the attack on Pearl Harbor, had attended Harvard University from 1919 to 1921 and was a Naval Attache to the U.S. from 1925-28. Most of our Navy was destroyed at Pearl Harbor, and our Army had been deprived of funding and was ill prepared to defend the country. It was reported that when asked why Japan did not follow up the Pearl Harbor attack with an invasion of the U.S. Mainland, his reply was that he had lived in the U.S. and knew that almost all households had guns.
* Gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results: Australia-wide, homicides went up 3.2 percent; Australia-wide, assaults went up 8.6 percent; Australia-wide, armed robberies went up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent). While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady DECREASE in armed robbery with firearms, that changed drastically upward in the first year after gun confiscation... since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed; There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults on the Elderly. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort & expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
With guns.... We are "citizens".
Without Them.... We are "subjects".
WE THE PEOPLE do not give our government the right to track our every movement and location, registration of our personal property, track commerce of our personal propery, keep our personal identification information (or property {whether firearms or ammunition} or possessions) in a federal or state database, the federal government to run laws in our state or local municipalities, or confiscate our firearms for any reason. We are not criminals, and WE THE PEOPLE do not give the government the right to treat us as such.
The undersigned.
A Most Humbling Test - Folks, This is a "Goodun". Pass this year 1895, 8th. grade test and you will qualify today, ready for our finest US universities. They didn't teach me some of this "stuff" when I was in school. How about you? - oyh
Take this test and pass it on to your more literate friends..
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...
Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam:
Salina , KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.
Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
Also shows you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers!
"The e-mail Bag"
Welcome To Wal-Mart
So after landing my new job as a Wal-Mart greeter, a good find for many retirees, I lasted less than a day...
About two hours into my first day on the job a very loud, unattractive, mean-acting woman walked into the store with her two kids, Yelling obscenities at them all the way through the entrance.
As I had been instructed, I said pleasantly, 'Good morning and welcome to Wal-Mart. Nice children you have there. Are they twins?'
The ugly woman stopped yelling long enough to say, 'Hell no, they ain't twins. The oldest one's 9, and the other one's 7. Why the hell would you think they're twins? Are you blind, or just stupid?'
So I replied, "I'm neither blind nor stupid, Ma'am, I just couldn't believe someone slept with you twice. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart."
My supervisor said I probably wasn't cut out for this line of work.
The Collard Greens
An old black man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his yearly collard green garden, but it was always very hard work for him because the ground was hard. His only son, Junebug Jankins III, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.
Dear Junebugg Jankins III:
I am feeling pretty bad because it look like I won't be able to plant my collard green garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad
A few days later he received a letter from his son:
Dear Daddy Jankins,
Whatever you do, don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES.
Love, Junebugg Jankins III
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 Daddy Jankins,
You can go ahead and plant the collard greens now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love, Junebugg III.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Memorial Day Salute
This Memorial Day, Let's not forget.
http://dadyer.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/22/2851994-memorial-day-salute
Our President needs to review his history books. Maybe he thinks we are arrogant because we have taken up too much prime property in Europe to bury our dead!
We have come to Europe's aid twice and turned the outcome of the wars in their favor, only asking for enough ground in their countries to bury our dead. He needs to wake up and understand who we are as a nation and as a people! I think we deserve to have a little "swagger"!
Our President could not find the time to visit our fallen heroes on his last trip, but he found time to make a special trip to California to visit the MTV crowd. Could it be that dead soldiers can't vote??
Kind of puts things in perspective ................So, why do we apologize?
How many European cemeteries are there in this country? Yep, "0"
Lest we ever forget the sacrifices made!!
Fly the Flag!
Apologize to no one.
Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.
As Americans, let's all look forward - like to the next elections.
IF I ADDED CORRECTLY THE COUNT IS 104,366
http://dadyer.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/22/2851994-memorial-day-salute
Our President needs to review his history books. Maybe he thinks we are arrogant because we have taken up too much prime property in Europe to bury our dead!
We have come to Europe's aid twice and turned the outcome of the wars in their favor, only asking for enough ground in their countries to bury our dead. He needs to wake up and understand who we are as a nation and as a people! I think we deserve to have a little "swagger"!
Our President could not find the time to visit our fallen heroes on his last trip, but he found time to make a special trip to California to visit the MTV crowd. Could it be that dead soldiers can't vote??
Kind of puts things in perspective ................So, why do we apologize?
How many European cemeteries are there in this country? Yep, "0"
Lest we ever forget the sacrifices made!!
Fly the Flag!
Apologize to no one.
Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.
As Americans, let's all look forward - like to the next elections.
IF I ADDED CORRECTLY THE COUNT IS 104,366
Friday, May 22, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090522
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
"My Comments"
For the upcoming Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each of the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America!
Sunlight Forms Cross In American Flag
Posted in God Bless America, Inspirational Photo by Chris
This is a beautiful photo of a giant American flag in Arizona The photo is authentic, UN-Touched and was taken on regular Kodak 35mm film. The person who took the picture couldn’t believe the image created by the suns rays.
That's It ..... The End! WOW!!!!!!
"Daily Motivations"
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Attitude … and “The Power of One"
Getting the best from yourself and others all starts with one: one thought … one word … one action.
“One” is the first note in orchestrating the personal attitude that shapes and directs your life – and impacts the members of your team. Contrary to the lyrics from a classic rock song, one is not the loneliest number. It’s the most important one!
Your thoughts, words, and actions are like individual notes that work in concert to create the power of one person – YOU – to make a difference. You can harness your “power of one” if you simply:
Catch one negative thought and turn it into a positive one;
Think of one thing for which you are grateful at the beginning of each day;
Say one “Fantastic!” when a friend or team member asks how you are doing;
Assume the best in one upcoming situation;
Keep on moving one more time when you experience adversity;
Help one friend or colleague in a time of need – and take pride in it.
Many people used to feel that one vote in an election couldn’t really make a difference. Well, recent political elections that have been decided by razor thin margins have proven them wrong. A single act can make a difference … it can create a ripple effect felt many miles and people away. So, ask yourself: What’s one thing I can do today that will make a positive difference in my attitude? Then DO IT!
Repeat that process every day and your life will improve – and so will the lives of the people you lead. Attitudes are truly powerful … and they’re contagious!
Pass it on (to more than ONE other person)!
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Beyond Normal Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think... (Eph. 3:20). How could anyone read this and then settle for just a normal life?
"I have a plan for the whole earth, for My mighty power reaches throughout the world." (Isaiah 14:26)
"The Patriot Post"
"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The government of the absolute majority is but the government of the strongest interests; and when not effectively checked, is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised... [To read the Constitution is to realize that] no free system was ever farther removed from the principle that the absolute majority, without check or limitation, ought to govern." -- American statesman John C. Calhoun (1782-1850)
"Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it." -- Jewish philosopher Maimonides (1135-1204)
"There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly." -- American author and poet Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
THE DEMO-GOGUES - As seen from the left!
Obama's presidency in a nutshell: "It is past time for rules that are fair and transparent. That is why I have called for a set of new principles to reform our credit card industry. Instead of an 'anything goes' approach, we need strong and reliable protections for consumers. Instead of fine print that hides the truth, we need credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight, and we need to give people the tools they need to find a credit card that meets their needs. And instead of abuse that goes unpunished, we need to strengthen monitoring, enforcement, and penalties for credit card companies that take advantage of ordinary Americans." -- President Barack Obama **What about a fair and transparent (and constitutional) government that doesn't use an "anything goes" approach full of abuse that goes unpunished?
The ceaseless Limbaugh obsession: "The Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset. I'm sorry." -- Barack Obama
On preventing an economic boom: "The president is committed and is working with the leaders of Congress on very comprehensive broad-based financial reform to put in place new rules of the game, more constraints on risk-taking to prevent a crisis like this from happening again. ....[T]hese things are about preventing the next boom." -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Give us a break: "President Obama won the election. He beat me in a primary in which he put forth a different approach. And he is now our president and we all want our president, no matter of which party, to succeed." -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton **"No matter of which party," huh?
From the gun grabbers: "There is no rational reason to oppose closing the [gun show] loophole. The reason it's still not closed is simple: the continuing power of the special interest gun lobby in Washington." -- Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who, along with Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will introduce legislation to eliminate the private transfers of firearms and close the nation's "gun show loophole"
"The Web"
"MEMORIAL DAY ESSAY"
By: Chuck Sproull
Celebrating Two Freedoms In America
In the United States of America there are two departments of defense - a national and a spiritual. Members of our Department of Defense (DOD) spend about 40 hours per week helping to protect our national freedoms by contributing to the readiness of our troops and defense equipment. Also, many Americans who are born again into the Kingdom of God, spend time each day in prayer, helping to protect our spiritual freedoms. "We fight not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places." In America these two freedoms are vitally related - they work together. If we loose our spiritual freedoms, we will be more susceptible to internal and external enemies, and will lose our national freedoms.
The United States of America is the most wonderful nation in the world. Our Republic is unique in it's establishment. Our overall Government is the greatest in the whole world. And our Department of Defense is the most humane and compassionate one in the whole world. What most DOD personnel don't realize is that they are still helping us (the U.S.) maintain our freedom to study the Bible and live by the principles of life contained in God's word. “…For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom 13:1). This is especially true of our United States Government.
While none of the individuals running our Government are perfect, they represent a Government that gives us the freedom to worship a perfect God, and to pray for our leaders to make decisions based on the righteousness of God’s kingdom.
We are all born with certain God-given freedoms in America. Through the unselfishness and great sacrifices of our Founding Fathers, including the supreme sacrifice - the shedding of their blood during and after the Revolutionary War, they gave us "the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The context meanings of the freedom they gave us includes: (1) freedom from tyrannical big- business controlled government and from government controlled religion (especially from the political religion that began in Rome in the 4th century), (2) free trade, (3) freedom to worship God according to the words of Jesus Christ (who shed His precious blood for us), as written by His original followers.
Jesus and our Forefathers did not give us freedom from religion, nor freedom from the morality that fulfills the righteousness of the Ten Commandments (they referred to this as the "Common Law"), nor freedom to believe anything or do anything we feel like doing. But they gave us freedom to worship the true God, the Giver and Maintainer of life. The freedoms they gave us may be characterized by the words disciplined, honest, unselfish and responsible.
According to Peter Marshall's excellent U.S. history book, "The Light and the Glory" (with many direct quotes from their own journals, diaries, bio's, and news paper articles), many groups of people came to America seeking religious freedom to “love God and their neighbors as themselves.” These people were called "Covenanters" because they thought this command was the New Covenant. Jesus taught about this love in Matt 22:38-39, Mark 12:30-33, Luke 10:27. This is a summary of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.
Jesus was the last preacher of the Old Testament. He finished the OT by His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus freely gave us remission of sins by shedding His blood on the cross, and He promised spiritual regeneration through His ascension into heaven. The New Testament began on the Day of Pentecost, when people began receiving all that Jesus had promised. This is when believers received a new Spirit and when God began writing His laws into their hearts. This is when prophesies of the New Covenant began being fulfilled (Joel 2:28, Jer 31:33 and Ezek 36:26), first for both Jews and gentiles. "The love of God shed abroad in their hearts" (Rom 5:5) is what enabled them to actually fulfill the righteousness of the Law more effectively than ever before.
Within God's righteousness we have three directions of love - upwards towards God, outward towards others, and inward to self. Unselfish love is directed more upward and outward, and then inward. This is the kind of love that maintains disciplined, honest, unselfish, responsible freedom; and passes It on to the next generation. Enduring liberty is guaranteed by a Constitutional Republic.
On the other hand, when people selfishly and dishonestly take freedom out of context (freedom from religion, or freedom to practice other religions that deny Jesus Christ as Savior and oppose the principles of life in God's Kingdom), then love becomes (1) selfish (more inward) and irresponsible, un-disciplined (2) which leads to moral decay, (3) more crime, accidents and illnesses related to harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs, (4) overcrowded prisons and hospitals, (5) more Government regulations, (6) increased Government support of (selfish) special interest groups, and (7) more expensive Government (more taxes, welfare), (8) will eventually lead to increased susceptibility to our external enemies and loss of our freedom to worship God; and (9) will return full circle back to the oppressive government-controlled religion our forefathers fought to get away from.
We need to fight against this internal enemy of selfishness with prayer and faith in Jesus Christ. [Continental drift of USA away from Europe is being offset by moral and spiritual drift back to European standards that our Founders, inspired by God, separated themselves from].
The only thing that will reverse these trends is the ultimate freedom we receive when we trust Matt 11:28-30 and Acts 2:38-42 - stick our necks out and accept the yoke of responsibility, and follow the most honest, unselfish person who ever lived - Jesus Christ, beginning where He began - dying to self will, in water baptism, and in the Holy Spirit; with a heart full of God's love and joy, and consecrated to the work of the Lord, always ready to help others receive this spiritual freedom by telling them our testimony and preaching the gospel and new birth.
Returning to the (1) unselfish, honest, disciplined, responsible freedoms that Jesus and our forefathers freely gave us by shedding their blood will enable us to (2) fight against moral decay in our country, (3) reduce the number of people injured in crime, accidents, and sin related illnesses, (4) reduce the numbers of people in jails and hospitals, (5) reduce Government regulations, (6) reduce the number of unnecessary special interest groups and (7) therefore reduce the taxes needed to support extra and unnecessary programs (8) enjoy a more wonderful sense of mature, responsible, unselfish freedom that can be a bright light beaming outward to the rest of the world, (9) maintain victory over all internal and external enemies of our freedoms, so we can continue to live within our God-given rights.
The time period when people started sailing across the Atlantic to America, corresponds to the time of the Reformation, when sincere, honest Bible students in Europe and Great Britain began studying the Bible and rediscovered many great truths that were hidden on God's word during the dark ages.
But, according to Peterson's book "The Pentecostals," it was in America, during the first 15 years of the 20th century, that people (who had the unselfish, disciplined, responsible freedom, and the courage, honesty and humility to study God's word in Acts Ch 2 and to trust God), re-discovered vitally important things concerning the new birth of God - like the glorious baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of "speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance," the importance of "believing on the name of Jesus Christ" in water baptism in order to receive remission (forgiveness) of sins, the oneness of the Godhead and the dual nature of Jesus, and the standards of love and holiness that define the boundaries of the “narrow way” to life. It was from America that many wonderful revivals have spread God's blessings all over the world, all because they exercised the unselfish, responsible freedom of religion our founding fathers fought to give us.
My personal Testimony: First, I was conceived around Thanksgiving 1940. Then, on August 30 1941, I was born of water and of breath (ie; came out of the water, passed through a very tight ("strait") birth canal, and began audibly gasping then breathing as an independent living person).
Our U.S. Constitution guaranteed my "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." But during my 20's to early 30's, in my pursuit of happiness,I took freedom out of context, and I became less disciplined, more selfish and irresponsible, and got lost in the world. Because I was a living body with a dead soul, I became bound by alcohol, tobacco, drugs, emotional/physical activities people do at parties for selfish satisfaction, in disobedience to the USA law and to the Ten Commandments. I desperately needed a Savior. I knew historically that Jesus Christ shed His blood for me (on the cross) and gave His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
On July 11, 1975, I "believed on Jesus as my personal Savior" (some people think this is being born again, but in Bible terminology, this is when I was "begotten again of the gospel" (1 Cor 4:15, Philemon 1:10, 1 Peter 1:3). On July 13 and Oct 11 1975 respectively, I was "born again of water and of the Spirit" (Acts 2:38, 19:1-6). This is when I entered through the "strait gate” (of total commitment to Jesus (Matt 19:21,29; Luke 14:26), went through water baptism for remission (forgiveness) of sins, and received His Spirit) and began walking on the “narrow way of life" (Matt 7:13). Thus, God gave me a new birth along with additional spiritual freedoms.
According to Rom ch6, I was planted in water, in the likeness of His death (in His name) and arose to walk in the newness of life. Receiving remission of sins gave me salvation from the guilt of past sins and from the fear of future judgment (1 Peter 3:21). And receiving regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit baptism (Titus 3:5) saved me from my old addictions and gave me freedom from the power of sin. Thus, God enabled me to become a living body with a living soul.
Now, by trusting God's divine influence (“by grace through faith” – Eph 2:8), I can live every day in God's love, holiness, innocence, and an abundance of joy that satisfies my soul more than all the pleasures of this world. Just like Jesus promised in Matt 11:28-30, it is very enjoyable to wear the yoke of totally-committed discipleship, following Jesus, learning of Him, sharing His word and my testimony with friends, neighbors and co-workers, and seeing them receive the same new birth.
These spiritual freedoms are far more wonderful than just the national freedoms we are born with. Now I am a member of both the national and spiritual Departments of Defense. Through God's influence I am the husband of one Christian wife, father of 5 normal children (4 Christian), enjoying this new life on earth, and preparing to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. There are millions of other believers like us here in America. Would you like to follow Jesus to heaven with us?
Chuck Sproull, Springville, IN
Are You an Obama Winner? Or an Obama Loser?
by: Newt Gingrich
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31750
If there was one feeling that inspired almost a million Americans to come out for the Tax Day Tea Parties last month it was this: That our government, supposedly created of the people, by the people and for the people, is busy picking winners and losers.
The feeling that our politics are increasingly rigged against us didn’t begin with President Obama. Deciding to bailout Wall Street rather than let deserving companies go bankrupt began under President Bush.
But the Obama Administration has elevated rewarding some Americans and punishing others to a governing philosophy.
And as he has expanded the size and the scope of government, President Obama has only increased his ability to reach into our businesses, our communities, and even our homes to separate Americans into two groups: Those who will benefit from the new order, and those who will pay the bills.
What follows is just a partial list of the winners and losers of the Obama Administration so far, organized by the government policies that will decide their fate:
The Chrysler Bankruptcy Pt. 1: From the Rule of Law to the Rule of Politics
Winners: The United Auto Workers
Loser: The Rule of Law
Bankruptcy was once a legal process in which an insolvent company, an impartial judge and creditors voting in good faith worked together to make the best of a bad situation.
Under the Obama Administration, the Chrysler bankruptcy has become a political process in which government has bought off some creditors, demonized others, and predetermined a favorable result for an important political constituency.
What happened last week with Chrysler was an unprecedented case of executive branch involvement in a bankruptcy proceeding. The Obama Administration bullied smaller investors to fall in line with TARP-funded creditors in a deal that ultimately benefited the union bosses who bear so much of the responsibility for Chrysler’s downfall to begin with. In the end, the losers weren’t just the secured creditors and the taxpayers who have footed the bill for all these bailouts, but the rule of law itself.
The Chrysler Bankruptcy Pt. 2: America, Get Ready for the “Model O”
Winners: The People Who Are Evading Responsibility for Chrysler’s Bankruptcy
Losers: Consumers Who Want to Buy Good American Cars
The end result of the rigged Chrysler bankruptcy is that two political entities whose priority is winning votes (the Federal Government and the UAW) now have majority ownership of a commercial entity whose priority should be making good cars.
And despite his protestations that he wants to get out of the auto business, President Obama has some definite ideas about what kind of cars Chrysler should make. Announcing the bankruptcy, he blamed Chrysler’s troubles, not on its uncompetitive labor costs, but on its “failure to make the fuel-efficient cars like its foreign competitors.”
Politicians, not businessmen and women, are calling the shots at Chrysler. America, get ready for the Model O.
Cap and Trade: Punishing Americans With High Energy Taxes
Winners: Government Favored “Green Industries”
Losers: Anyone Who Heats a Home, Drives a Car or Has a Job
I’m in favor of doing all we can to protect our environment, but I have a fundamental difference with Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the White House: I believe in incentivizing Americans to produce the innovations that will protect our environment, not punishing Americans with taxes, regulation and litigation.
The Administration’s cap and trade legislation makes losers of the American people by imposing a $1 trillion-$2 trillion energy tax on an already struggling economy. And the winners? They’re the lobbyists for favored special interests and “green” industries who are already lining up in Washington to collect the spoils.
Closing Gitmo: Terrorists from Guantanamo Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You
Winners: Terrorists and Anti-Americanism Worldwide
Losers: The New Neighbors of Terrorists and The American Tax-Payers
You may have missed it in all the news of the week, but the Administration has a truly mind-boggling idea about how to solve the problem of the terrorists left homeless by closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay: Send them to a neighborhood near you.
That’s right. As many as 30 detainees at Guantanamo are slated for release into the United States, including a group of Chinese, al Qaeda-trained jihadists who are reportedly being encouraged to settle in Northern Virginia.
And not only is the Obama Administration releasing these terrorists into the United States, it’s proposing that the U.S. taxpayers foot the bill.
Here’s how Dennis Blair, President Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, rationalizes their plan for welfare for terrorists: "If we are to release them in the United States, we need some sort of assistance for them to start a new life," Blair said last month. "You can't just put them on the street."
Picking a New Supreme Court Justice: Playing Favorites Through the Courts
Winners: Anyone the President Deems Deserving of Judicial “Empathy”
Losers: Everyone Else
President Obama has announced that his criteria for picking a Supreme Court Justice to replace the retiring David Souter are jurists with the proper “empathy” and those who don’t regard justice as “abstract legal theory.”
Empathy for the less fortunate should have a central place in our public policy. But feeling the people’s pain is the job of the people who make the laws. The job of judges is to interpret the laws without regard to the race, color, creed or station of the individuals involved.
When we start picking judges based on their “empathy” for certain groups, the rights of favored groups inevitably collide with the rights of others. That’s why we have – or should have – equal justice before the law.
Demonizing Wall Street: Putting Talent and Resources Where Washington Wants Them
Winners: Professional “Community Organizers” and Other Government Activists
Losers: Young Americans Who Want to Chose Their Own Careers
President Obama frequently urges young Americans to emulate him by making the choice to forgo a lucrative career in finance or law and choose public service instead. But now he’s put the full power of the federal government behind his favored career path for young Americans.
Speaking last week to the New York Times, President Obama said that his anti-business, high-taxing, and high-regulating crusade against Wall Street “means that more talent, more resources will be going to other sectors of the economy. I actually think that’s healthy."
The message will not be lost on young Americans: Do what the President thinks is “healthy.” Be an Obama winner, not a loser.
What is at Stake Isn’t Just Tax Dollars and Jobs But Freedom
The list could go on and on.
What is at stake isn’t just the tax dollars, the jobs and the opportunities of those Americans who come out on the losing side of the Obama Administration’s policies -- as important as these things are.
What is at stake are moral issues of fairness and freedom. As Arthur Brooks, the President of the American Enterprise Institute, wrote last week, it’s immoral for the government to “confiscate more income from the minority simply because the government can. It's also a moral issue to lower the rewards for entrepreneurial success, and to spend what we don't have without regard for our children's future.”
Americans don’t mind working hard and competing to win. We don’t even mind losing sometimes.
What we mind is government making the call. That was the real message of the Tea Party movement, and it’s one President Obama and his aides would do well to hear.
Remembering Jack Kemp
I end today on a note of sorrow and remembrance of a great man.
Callista and I were deeply saddened to learn of Jack Kemp’s passing last Saturday.
America knew Jack Kemp as a public servant of boundless wisdom, energy, optimism and compassion. Callista and I were fortunate to know him as a friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this painful time. You can read our full statement here.
Your friend,
Newt
More on the fake Marine anti-war poster boy
By Michelle Malkin
There’s more on “Rick Duncan/” Rick Strandlof, the fake Marine anti-war activist who managed to dupe Colorado politicians, leftists, and the local media for years.
First, “Duncan’s” veterans’ group has disbanded.
Next, the Denver Post, which had quoted him extensively, now jumps on public officials who happily pimped “Duncan”/Strandlof:
Dems red-faced over veteran imposter
Democrats are incensed over how a man duped the party and veterans during the ‘08 campaign.
By Michael Riley
Rick Strandlof, executive director of the Colorado Veterans Alliance and the man most colleagues knew as Rick Duncan, was front and center during the 2008 political campaigns in Colorado.
He spoke at a Barack Obama veterans rally in front of the Capitol in July, co-hosted several events with then- congressional candidate Jared Polis and attacked Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer in a TV ad paid for by the national group Votevets.org.
And the mostly Democratic candidates he supported — looking for credibility on veterans issues and the war — lapped it up appreciatively.
Now, politicians are dealing with news that the man they believed to be a former Marine and war veteran wounded in Iraq by a roadside bomb, in fact, never served in the military — but did spend time in a mental hospital.
Many of the candidates he supported won their elections handily and now say they were defrauded as much as anyone else…
…There is little doubt that Strandlof had a remarkable ability to fool people, something aided by the fact that among his fabrications was his claim that he suffered a severe brain injury, which helped cover behavior that associates now concede was often erratic and strange.
But there were also plenty of signs during much of the time Strandlof was working on behalf of candidates for anyone watching carefully.
Not including the Denver Post, apparently.
CVA wasn’t registered as a political organization until well after the campaigns were over, and then only at the state level despite being active in federal campaigns.
And although he claimed to represent 32,000 veterans — the biggest post- 9/11 vets group in Colorado — Strandlof always showed up at events with the same small number of supporters, and there were few concrete signs he represented more than a close circle he had gathered around him.
“Nobody really fully trusted any of those numbers. .. . . He had a few dozen people who were helping him out. He claimed to have a huge mailing list that no one ever saw. The VFW, the American Legion, none of those traditional veterans groups had ever heard of him,” said one prominent veterans activist who worked for Democratic candidates during the campaign and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The veterans community was very protective over him because he had portrayed himself as a wounded veteran. This is someone who claimed spending 18 months undergoing physical rehabilitation after suffering debilitating injuries. . . . You don’t go at somebody like that hard,” the activist said. “Perhaps we learned a good lesson here.”
Reminder: It’s not the first time.
It won’t be the last.
California Rejects Budget Referendums
Will the Liberal Media now believe Americans are tired of increased taxes, or will they promote the Liberal politicos who choose to increase even more taxes? - oyh
by Connie Hair
05/20/2009
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31945
California voters overwhelmingly rejected five of six budget referendums yesterday which would have approved higher taxes as a means to patch budget woes in the Golden State. Had the measures passed, the state would still have faced a $15.4 billion deficit. With the failure of the measures, the state now grapples with $21.3 billion in red ink.
Out of control spending and high taxes driving business out of state are at the core of California’s budget problems. Now voters in a tax revolt have overwhelmingly rejected more of the same from California lawmakers, choosing instead a path that could force budget cuts and spending restraint. Imagine that.
The only measure on the ballot that passed was one that bars state officials from receiving a pay increase during tough economic times.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, has made noises about crafting legislation to offer the State of California a bailout in the form of federal loan guarantees for state municipal bonds. A California bailout would not only set a very dangerous precedent with the majority of states now drowning in red ink, but the size and scope of California’s economy could put America’s AAA credit rating at risk. It is yet to be determined if any sort of state bailout legislation has enough votes for passage.
If California doesn’t get a bailout, the State Controller can sell Registered Anticipation Warrants or RAWs to solve their cash flow crisis. It is likely that investors would buy RAWs because it is a personal felony for the State Controller to fail to pay off these warrants as cash becomes available. Default is not an option. The action would place California on a pay-go system which would compel budget accountability, forcing liberals off of their spending binge cold turkey.
This is one time the adage “as California goes, so goes the nation” may just be a good thing.
"The e-mail Bag"
The post turtle
A doctor struck up a conversation with a hard-working 75 year old rancher while suturing a mean cut on the old man's leathery hand.. Eventually the topic got around to Obama.
The old rancher said, "Well, you know, Obama is a 'post turtle.'"
Unfamiliar with the term, the doctor asked him what he meant.
The old rancher replied, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle.'"
The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued: "You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of complete moron put him up there to begin with."
A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own.
I like this confession of the 52% of American's who voted Democrat. The current state of affairs should take a big weight off of their shoulders.......
I voted Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.
I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.
I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
I voted Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.
I voted Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.
I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.
I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.
I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for distribution as THEY see fit.
I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.
"The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Margaret Thatcher
"My Comments"
For the upcoming Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each of the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America!
Sunlight Forms Cross In American Flag
Posted in God Bless America, Inspirational Photo by Chris
This is a beautiful photo of a giant American flag in Arizona The photo is authentic, UN-Touched and was taken on regular Kodak 35mm film. The person who took the picture couldn’t believe the image created by the suns rays.
That's It ..... The End! WOW!!!!!!
"Daily Motivations"
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Attitude … and “The Power of One"
Getting the best from yourself and others all starts with one: one thought … one word … one action.
“One” is the first note in orchestrating the personal attitude that shapes and directs your life – and impacts the members of your team. Contrary to the lyrics from a classic rock song, one is not the loneliest number. It’s the most important one!
Your thoughts, words, and actions are like individual notes that work in concert to create the power of one person – YOU – to make a difference. You can harness your “power of one” if you simply:
Catch one negative thought and turn it into a positive one;
Think of one thing for which you are grateful at the beginning of each day;
Say one “Fantastic!” when a friend or team member asks how you are doing;
Assume the best in one upcoming situation;
Keep on moving one more time when you experience adversity;
Help one friend or colleague in a time of need – and take pride in it.
Many people used to feel that one vote in an election couldn’t really make a difference. Well, recent political elections that have been decided by razor thin margins have proven them wrong. A single act can make a difference … it can create a ripple effect felt many miles and people away. So, ask yourself: What’s one thing I can do today that will make a positive difference in my attitude? Then DO IT!
Repeat that process every day and your life will improve – and so will the lives of the people you lead. Attitudes are truly powerful … and they’re contagious!
Pass it on (to more than ONE other person)!
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Beyond Normal Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think... (Eph. 3:20). How could anyone read this and then settle for just a normal life?
"I have a plan for the whole earth, for My mighty power reaches throughout the world." (Isaiah 14:26)
"The Patriot Post"
"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The government of the absolute majority is but the government of the strongest interests; and when not effectively checked, is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised... [To read the Constitution is to realize that] no free system was ever farther removed from the principle that the absolute majority, without check or limitation, ought to govern." -- American statesman John C. Calhoun (1782-1850)
"Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it." -- Jewish philosopher Maimonides (1135-1204)
"There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly." -- American author and poet Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
THE DEMO-GOGUES - As seen from the left!
Obama's presidency in a nutshell: "It is past time for rules that are fair and transparent. That is why I have called for a set of new principles to reform our credit card industry. Instead of an 'anything goes' approach, we need strong and reliable protections for consumers. Instead of fine print that hides the truth, we need credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight, and we need to give people the tools they need to find a credit card that meets their needs. And instead of abuse that goes unpunished, we need to strengthen monitoring, enforcement, and penalties for credit card companies that take advantage of ordinary Americans." -- President Barack Obama **What about a fair and transparent (and constitutional) government that doesn't use an "anything goes" approach full of abuse that goes unpunished?
The ceaseless Limbaugh obsession: "The Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset. I'm sorry." -- Barack Obama
On preventing an economic boom: "The president is committed and is working with the leaders of Congress on very comprehensive broad-based financial reform to put in place new rules of the game, more constraints on risk-taking to prevent a crisis like this from happening again. ....[T]hese things are about preventing the next boom." -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Give us a break: "President Obama won the election. He beat me in a primary in which he put forth a different approach. And he is now our president and we all want our president, no matter of which party, to succeed." -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton **"No matter of which party," huh?
From the gun grabbers: "There is no rational reason to oppose closing the [gun show] loophole. The reason it's still not closed is simple: the continuing power of the special interest gun lobby in Washington." -- Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who, along with Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will introduce legislation to eliminate the private transfers of firearms and close the nation's "gun show loophole"
"The Web"
"MEMORIAL DAY ESSAY"
By: Chuck Sproull
Celebrating Two Freedoms In America
In the United States of America there are two departments of defense - a national and a spiritual. Members of our Department of Defense (DOD) spend about 40 hours per week helping to protect our national freedoms by contributing to the readiness of our troops and defense equipment. Also, many Americans who are born again into the Kingdom of God, spend time each day in prayer, helping to protect our spiritual freedoms. "We fight not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places." In America these two freedoms are vitally related - they work together. If we loose our spiritual freedoms, we will be more susceptible to internal and external enemies, and will lose our national freedoms.
The United States of America is the most wonderful nation in the world. Our Republic is unique in it's establishment. Our overall Government is the greatest in the whole world. And our Department of Defense is the most humane and compassionate one in the whole world. What most DOD personnel don't realize is that they are still helping us (the U.S.) maintain our freedom to study the Bible and live by the principles of life contained in God's word. “…For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom 13:1). This is especially true of our United States Government.
While none of the individuals running our Government are perfect, they represent a Government that gives us the freedom to worship a perfect God, and to pray for our leaders to make decisions based on the righteousness of God’s kingdom.
We are all born with certain God-given freedoms in America. Through the unselfishness and great sacrifices of our Founding Fathers, including the supreme sacrifice - the shedding of their blood during and after the Revolutionary War, they gave us "the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The context meanings of the freedom they gave us includes: (1) freedom from tyrannical big- business controlled government and from government controlled religion (especially from the political religion that began in Rome in the 4th century), (2) free trade, (3) freedom to worship God according to the words of Jesus Christ (who shed His precious blood for us), as written by His original followers.
Jesus and our Forefathers did not give us freedom from religion, nor freedom from the morality that fulfills the righteousness of the Ten Commandments (they referred to this as the "Common Law"), nor freedom to believe anything or do anything we feel like doing. But they gave us freedom to worship the true God, the Giver and Maintainer of life. The freedoms they gave us may be characterized by the words disciplined, honest, unselfish and responsible.
According to Peter Marshall's excellent U.S. history book, "The Light and the Glory" (with many direct quotes from their own journals, diaries, bio's, and news paper articles), many groups of people came to America seeking religious freedom to “love God and their neighbors as themselves.” These people were called "Covenanters" because they thought this command was the New Covenant. Jesus taught about this love in Matt 22:38-39, Mark 12:30-33, Luke 10:27. This is a summary of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.
Jesus was the last preacher of the Old Testament. He finished the OT by His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus freely gave us remission of sins by shedding His blood on the cross, and He promised spiritual regeneration through His ascension into heaven. The New Testament began on the Day of Pentecost, when people began receiving all that Jesus had promised. This is when believers received a new Spirit and when God began writing His laws into their hearts. This is when prophesies of the New Covenant began being fulfilled (Joel 2:28, Jer 31:33 and Ezek 36:26), first for both Jews and gentiles. "The love of God shed abroad in their hearts" (Rom 5:5) is what enabled them to actually fulfill the righteousness of the Law more effectively than ever before.
Within God's righteousness we have three directions of love - upwards towards God, outward towards others, and inward to self. Unselfish love is directed more upward and outward, and then inward. This is the kind of love that maintains disciplined, honest, unselfish, responsible freedom; and passes It on to the next generation. Enduring liberty is guaranteed by a Constitutional Republic.
On the other hand, when people selfishly and dishonestly take freedom out of context (freedom from religion, or freedom to practice other religions that deny Jesus Christ as Savior and oppose the principles of life in God's Kingdom), then love becomes (1) selfish (more inward) and irresponsible, un-disciplined (2) which leads to moral decay, (3) more crime, accidents and illnesses related to harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs, (4) overcrowded prisons and hospitals, (5) more Government regulations, (6) increased Government support of (selfish) special interest groups, and (7) more expensive Government (more taxes, welfare), (8) will eventually lead to increased susceptibility to our external enemies and loss of our freedom to worship God; and (9) will return full circle back to the oppressive government-controlled religion our forefathers fought to get away from.
We need to fight against this internal enemy of selfishness with prayer and faith in Jesus Christ. [Continental drift of USA away from Europe is being offset by moral and spiritual drift back to European standards that our Founders, inspired by God, separated themselves from].
The only thing that will reverse these trends is the ultimate freedom we receive when we trust Matt 11:28-30 and Acts 2:38-42 - stick our necks out and accept the yoke of responsibility, and follow the most honest, unselfish person who ever lived - Jesus Christ, beginning where He began - dying to self will, in water baptism, and in the Holy Spirit; with a heart full of God's love and joy, and consecrated to the work of the Lord, always ready to help others receive this spiritual freedom by telling them our testimony and preaching the gospel and new birth.
Returning to the (1) unselfish, honest, disciplined, responsible freedoms that Jesus and our forefathers freely gave us by shedding their blood will enable us to (2) fight against moral decay in our country, (3) reduce the number of people injured in crime, accidents, and sin related illnesses, (4) reduce the numbers of people in jails and hospitals, (5) reduce Government regulations, (6) reduce the number of unnecessary special interest groups and (7) therefore reduce the taxes needed to support extra and unnecessary programs (8) enjoy a more wonderful sense of mature, responsible, unselfish freedom that can be a bright light beaming outward to the rest of the world, (9) maintain victory over all internal and external enemies of our freedoms, so we can continue to live within our God-given rights.
The time period when people started sailing across the Atlantic to America, corresponds to the time of the Reformation, when sincere, honest Bible students in Europe and Great Britain began studying the Bible and rediscovered many great truths that were hidden on God's word during the dark ages.
But, according to Peterson's book "The Pentecostals," it was in America, during the first 15 years of the 20th century, that people (who had the unselfish, disciplined, responsible freedom, and the courage, honesty and humility to study God's word in Acts Ch 2 and to trust God), re-discovered vitally important things concerning the new birth of God - like the glorious baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of "speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance," the importance of "believing on the name of Jesus Christ" in water baptism in order to receive remission (forgiveness) of sins, the oneness of the Godhead and the dual nature of Jesus, and the standards of love and holiness that define the boundaries of the “narrow way” to life. It was from America that many wonderful revivals have spread God's blessings all over the world, all because they exercised the unselfish, responsible freedom of religion our founding fathers fought to give us.
My personal Testimony: First, I was conceived around Thanksgiving 1940. Then, on August 30 1941, I was born of water and of breath (ie; came out of the water, passed through a very tight ("strait") birth canal, and began audibly gasping then breathing as an independent living person).
Our U.S. Constitution guaranteed my "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." But during my 20's to early 30's, in my pursuit of happiness,I took freedom out of context, and I became less disciplined, more selfish and irresponsible, and got lost in the world. Because I was a living body with a dead soul, I became bound by alcohol, tobacco, drugs, emotional/physical activities people do at parties for selfish satisfaction, in disobedience to the USA law and to the Ten Commandments. I desperately needed a Savior. I knew historically that Jesus Christ shed His blood for me (on the cross) and gave His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
On July 11, 1975, I "believed on Jesus as my personal Savior" (some people think this is being born again, but in Bible terminology, this is when I was "begotten again of the gospel" (1 Cor 4:15, Philemon 1:10, 1 Peter 1:3). On July 13 and Oct 11 1975 respectively, I was "born again of water and of the Spirit" (Acts 2:38, 19:1-6). This is when I entered through the "strait gate” (of total commitment to Jesus (Matt 19:21,29; Luke 14:26), went through water baptism for remission (forgiveness) of sins, and received His Spirit) and began walking on the “narrow way of life" (Matt 7:13). Thus, God gave me a new birth along with additional spiritual freedoms.
According to Rom ch6, I was planted in water, in the likeness of His death (in His name) and arose to walk in the newness of life. Receiving remission of sins gave me salvation from the guilt of past sins and from the fear of future judgment (1 Peter 3:21). And receiving regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit baptism (Titus 3:5) saved me from my old addictions and gave me freedom from the power of sin. Thus, God enabled me to become a living body with a living soul.
Now, by trusting God's divine influence (“by grace through faith” – Eph 2:8), I can live every day in God's love, holiness, innocence, and an abundance of joy that satisfies my soul more than all the pleasures of this world. Just like Jesus promised in Matt 11:28-30, it is very enjoyable to wear the yoke of totally-committed discipleship, following Jesus, learning of Him, sharing His word and my testimony with friends, neighbors and co-workers, and seeing them receive the same new birth.
These spiritual freedoms are far more wonderful than just the national freedoms we are born with. Now I am a member of both the national and spiritual Departments of Defense. Through God's influence I am the husband of one Christian wife, father of 5 normal children (4 Christian), enjoying this new life on earth, and preparing to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. There are millions of other believers like us here in America. Would you like to follow Jesus to heaven with us?
Chuck Sproull, Springville, IN
Are You an Obama Winner? Or an Obama Loser?
by: Newt Gingrich
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31750
If there was one feeling that inspired almost a million Americans to come out for the Tax Day Tea Parties last month it was this: That our government, supposedly created of the people, by the people and for the people, is busy picking winners and losers.
The feeling that our politics are increasingly rigged against us didn’t begin with President Obama. Deciding to bailout Wall Street rather than let deserving companies go bankrupt began under President Bush.
But the Obama Administration has elevated rewarding some Americans and punishing others to a governing philosophy.
And as he has expanded the size and the scope of government, President Obama has only increased his ability to reach into our businesses, our communities, and even our homes to separate Americans into two groups: Those who will benefit from the new order, and those who will pay the bills.
What follows is just a partial list of the winners and losers of the Obama Administration so far, organized by the government policies that will decide their fate:
The Chrysler Bankruptcy Pt. 1: From the Rule of Law to the Rule of Politics
Winners: The United Auto Workers
Loser: The Rule of Law
Bankruptcy was once a legal process in which an insolvent company, an impartial judge and creditors voting in good faith worked together to make the best of a bad situation.
Under the Obama Administration, the Chrysler bankruptcy has become a political process in which government has bought off some creditors, demonized others, and predetermined a favorable result for an important political constituency.
What happened last week with Chrysler was an unprecedented case of executive branch involvement in a bankruptcy proceeding. The Obama Administration bullied smaller investors to fall in line with TARP-funded creditors in a deal that ultimately benefited the union bosses who bear so much of the responsibility for Chrysler’s downfall to begin with. In the end, the losers weren’t just the secured creditors and the taxpayers who have footed the bill for all these bailouts, but the rule of law itself.
The Chrysler Bankruptcy Pt. 2: America, Get Ready for the “Model O”
Winners: The People Who Are Evading Responsibility for Chrysler’s Bankruptcy
Losers: Consumers Who Want to Buy Good American Cars
The end result of the rigged Chrysler bankruptcy is that two political entities whose priority is winning votes (the Federal Government and the UAW) now have majority ownership of a commercial entity whose priority should be making good cars.
And despite his protestations that he wants to get out of the auto business, President Obama has some definite ideas about what kind of cars Chrysler should make. Announcing the bankruptcy, he blamed Chrysler’s troubles, not on its uncompetitive labor costs, but on its “failure to make the fuel-efficient cars like its foreign competitors.”
Politicians, not businessmen and women, are calling the shots at Chrysler. America, get ready for the Model O.
Cap and Trade: Punishing Americans With High Energy Taxes
Winners: Government Favored “Green Industries”
Losers: Anyone Who Heats a Home, Drives a Car or Has a Job
I’m in favor of doing all we can to protect our environment, but I have a fundamental difference with Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the White House: I believe in incentivizing Americans to produce the innovations that will protect our environment, not punishing Americans with taxes, regulation and litigation.
The Administration’s cap and trade legislation makes losers of the American people by imposing a $1 trillion-$2 trillion energy tax on an already struggling economy. And the winners? They’re the lobbyists for favored special interests and “green” industries who are already lining up in Washington to collect the spoils.
Closing Gitmo: Terrorists from Guantanamo Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You
Winners: Terrorists and Anti-Americanism Worldwide
Losers: The New Neighbors of Terrorists and The American Tax-Payers
You may have missed it in all the news of the week, but the Administration has a truly mind-boggling idea about how to solve the problem of the terrorists left homeless by closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay: Send them to a neighborhood near you.
That’s right. As many as 30 detainees at Guantanamo are slated for release into the United States, including a group of Chinese, al Qaeda-trained jihadists who are reportedly being encouraged to settle in Northern Virginia.
And not only is the Obama Administration releasing these terrorists into the United States, it’s proposing that the U.S. taxpayers foot the bill.
Here’s how Dennis Blair, President Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, rationalizes their plan for welfare for terrorists: "If we are to release them in the United States, we need some sort of assistance for them to start a new life," Blair said last month. "You can't just put them on the street."
Picking a New Supreme Court Justice: Playing Favorites Through the Courts
Winners: Anyone the President Deems Deserving of Judicial “Empathy”
Losers: Everyone Else
President Obama has announced that his criteria for picking a Supreme Court Justice to replace the retiring David Souter are jurists with the proper “empathy” and those who don’t regard justice as “abstract legal theory.”
Empathy for the less fortunate should have a central place in our public policy. But feeling the people’s pain is the job of the people who make the laws. The job of judges is to interpret the laws without regard to the race, color, creed or station of the individuals involved.
When we start picking judges based on their “empathy” for certain groups, the rights of favored groups inevitably collide with the rights of others. That’s why we have – or should have – equal justice before the law.
Demonizing Wall Street: Putting Talent and Resources Where Washington Wants Them
Winners: Professional “Community Organizers” and Other Government Activists
Losers: Young Americans Who Want to Chose Their Own Careers
President Obama frequently urges young Americans to emulate him by making the choice to forgo a lucrative career in finance or law and choose public service instead. But now he’s put the full power of the federal government behind his favored career path for young Americans.
Speaking last week to the New York Times, President Obama said that his anti-business, high-taxing, and high-regulating crusade against Wall Street “means that more talent, more resources will be going to other sectors of the economy. I actually think that’s healthy."
The message will not be lost on young Americans: Do what the President thinks is “healthy.” Be an Obama winner, not a loser.
What is at Stake Isn’t Just Tax Dollars and Jobs But Freedom
The list could go on and on.
What is at stake isn’t just the tax dollars, the jobs and the opportunities of those Americans who come out on the losing side of the Obama Administration’s policies -- as important as these things are.
What is at stake are moral issues of fairness and freedom. As Arthur Brooks, the President of the American Enterprise Institute, wrote last week, it’s immoral for the government to “confiscate more income from the minority simply because the government can. It's also a moral issue to lower the rewards for entrepreneurial success, and to spend what we don't have without regard for our children's future.”
Americans don’t mind working hard and competing to win. We don’t even mind losing sometimes.
What we mind is government making the call. That was the real message of the Tea Party movement, and it’s one President Obama and his aides would do well to hear.
Remembering Jack Kemp
I end today on a note of sorrow and remembrance of a great man.
Callista and I were deeply saddened to learn of Jack Kemp’s passing last Saturday.
America knew Jack Kemp as a public servant of boundless wisdom, energy, optimism and compassion. Callista and I were fortunate to know him as a friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this painful time. You can read our full statement here.
Your friend,
Newt
More on the fake Marine anti-war poster boy
By Michelle Malkin
There’s more on “Rick Duncan/” Rick Strandlof, the fake Marine anti-war activist who managed to dupe Colorado politicians, leftists, and the local media for years.
First, “Duncan’s” veterans’ group has disbanded.
Next, the Denver Post, which had quoted him extensively, now jumps on public officials who happily pimped “Duncan”/Strandlof:
Dems red-faced over veteran imposter
Democrats are incensed over how a man duped the party and veterans during the ‘08 campaign.
By Michael Riley
Rick Strandlof, executive director of the Colorado Veterans Alliance and the man most colleagues knew as Rick Duncan, was front and center during the 2008 political campaigns in Colorado.
He spoke at a Barack Obama veterans rally in front of the Capitol in July, co-hosted several events with then- congressional candidate Jared Polis and attacked Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer in a TV ad paid for by the national group Votevets.org.
And the mostly Democratic candidates he supported — looking for credibility on veterans issues and the war — lapped it up appreciatively.
Now, politicians are dealing with news that the man they believed to be a former Marine and war veteran wounded in Iraq by a roadside bomb, in fact, never served in the military — but did spend time in a mental hospital.
Many of the candidates he supported won their elections handily and now say they were defrauded as much as anyone else…
…There is little doubt that Strandlof had a remarkable ability to fool people, something aided by the fact that among his fabrications was his claim that he suffered a severe brain injury, which helped cover behavior that associates now concede was often erratic and strange.
But there were also plenty of signs during much of the time Strandlof was working on behalf of candidates for anyone watching carefully.
Not including the Denver Post, apparently.
CVA wasn’t registered as a political organization until well after the campaigns were over, and then only at the state level despite being active in federal campaigns.
And although he claimed to represent 32,000 veterans — the biggest post- 9/11 vets group in Colorado — Strandlof always showed up at events with the same small number of supporters, and there were few concrete signs he represented more than a close circle he had gathered around him.
“Nobody really fully trusted any of those numbers. .. . . He had a few dozen people who were helping him out. He claimed to have a huge mailing list that no one ever saw. The VFW, the American Legion, none of those traditional veterans groups had ever heard of him,” said one prominent veterans activist who worked for Democratic candidates during the campaign and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The veterans community was very protective over him because he had portrayed himself as a wounded veteran. This is someone who claimed spending 18 months undergoing physical rehabilitation after suffering debilitating injuries. . . . You don’t go at somebody like that hard,” the activist said. “Perhaps we learned a good lesson here.”
Reminder: It’s not the first time.
It won’t be the last.
California Rejects Budget Referendums
Will the Liberal Media now believe Americans are tired of increased taxes, or will they promote the Liberal politicos who choose to increase even more taxes? - oyh
by Connie Hair
05/20/2009
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31945
California voters overwhelmingly rejected five of six budget referendums yesterday which would have approved higher taxes as a means to patch budget woes in the Golden State. Had the measures passed, the state would still have faced a $15.4 billion deficit. With the failure of the measures, the state now grapples with $21.3 billion in red ink.
Out of control spending and high taxes driving business out of state are at the core of California’s budget problems. Now voters in a tax revolt have overwhelmingly rejected more of the same from California lawmakers, choosing instead a path that could force budget cuts and spending restraint. Imagine that.
The only measure on the ballot that passed was one that bars state officials from receiving a pay increase during tough economic times.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, has made noises about crafting legislation to offer the State of California a bailout in the form of federal loan guarantees for state municipal bonds. A California bailout would not only set a very dangerous precedent with the majority of states now drowning in red ink, but the size and scope of California’s economy could put America’s AAA credit rating at risk. It is yet to be determined if any sort of state bailout legislation has enough votes for passage.
If California doesn’t get a bailout, the State Controller can sell Registered Anticipation Warrants or RAWs to solve their cash flow crisis. It is likely that investors would buy RAWs because it is a personal felony for the State Controller to fail to pay off these warrants as cash becomes available. Default is not an option. The action would place California on a pay-go system which would compel budget accountability, forcing liberals off of their spending binge cold turkey.
This is one time the adage “as California goes, so goes the nation” may just be a good thing.
"The e-mail Bag"
The post turtle
A doctor struck up a conversation with a hard-working 75 year old rancher while suturing a mean cut on the old man's leathery hand.. Eventually the topic got around to Obama.
The old rancher said, "Well, you know, Obama is a 'post turtle.'"
Unfamiliar with the term, the doctor asked him what he meant.
The old rancher replied, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle.'"
The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued: "You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of complete moron put him up there to begin with."
A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own.
I like this confession of the 52% of American's who voted Democrat. The current state of affairs should take a big weight off of their shoulders.......
I voted Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.
I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.
I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
I voted Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.
I voted Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.
I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.
I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.
I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for distribution as THEY see fit.
I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.
"The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Margaret Thatcher
Thursday, May 21, 2009
ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20090521
Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable
"My Comments"
For the upcoming Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each to the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America.
"Daily Motivations"
Only three percent of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them. -- Brian Tracy
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Persecution You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side (Psalm 71:21). If you are being persecuted, ask the Lord to reveal His purpose to you.
"Your choices are never free from this conflict." (Galatians 5:17)
"The Patriot Post"
"Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the spot of every wind. With such persons, gullability, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason and the mind becomes a wreck." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Smith, December 8, 1822
"Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing." --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791
Video: Pirate Busting, Bofors Style
Sure the Bofors 40mm L/70 gun is hand-fed, open-air, and based on a design that is almost 80 years old. It also works, comes in quad mounts, and is absolute hell on pirates and rubber boats....More
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=162188&page=3&ESRC=army.nl
"Find Law"
Grand Jury Indicts Somali Teen on Piracy, Hijacking and Kidnapping Charges
U.S. V. MUSE
(U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D. N.Y., May 19, 2009) - A federal grand jury indicted a teenaged suspect from Somlia on piracy, hijacking and kidnapping charges. The charges relate to the incident involving the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship. The ten-count indictment alleges that Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse conspired with other alleged pirates to carry out his crimes, and that he "threatened to kill the captain [Capt. Richard Phillips] unless his demands were satisfied." Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/piracy/usmuse51909ind.html
Related Resources
• Teen Somali piracy suspect indicted in NYC court (AP) http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap_stories/other/1110/05-19-2009/20090519145006_08.html
"The Web"
Conyers: Judiciary has enough votes to overturn DOMA - Is this the change so many others voted for? The majority Democrats on Capitol Hill may change our Federal laws to allow same-sex homosexuality and lesbian marriages.
May 19, 2009 @ 11:39 am by Michael O'Brien
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/05/19/conyers-judiciary-has-enough-votes-to-overturn-doma/
The votes are there on the House Judiciary Committee to repeal the law allowing states to refuse to recognize other states' same-sex marriages, committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) said.
"Well in my committee, yes, but in the House and Senate, that's a different question," Conyers told the Michigan Messenger in a weekend interview published Tuesday about the prospects for a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
A Judiciary-backed bill to repeal DOMA could mark a first step toward a repeal of the 1996 law enacted by a Republican-led Congress and signed into law by a Democratic president.
The law exempts same-sex marriages from states' usual obligation under federal law to recognize other states' marriage licenses. The law also bars the federal government from treating same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose.
Conyers was one of only 67 members of the House to vote against DOMA in 1996; 342 House lawmakers supported it. Conyers also opposed the legislation in committee, along with eight other Democrats.
Since 1996, three states have established legal same-sex marriage through court or legislative decisions, while others intend to establish those rights later this year. Other states have seen voters overturn court decisions on same-sex marriage, while some state legislatures have elected to recognize other states' gay and lesbian marriages.
Conyers told the Messenger he has "always" supported equal rights for same-sex couples.
The Trap Door Beneath His Throne
The legions of unemployed peasants will someday bring down our imperial president.
By Dan Kennedy
Business & Media Institute
5/20/2009 10:53:59 AM
http://www.businessandmedia.org/commentary/2009/20090520105103.aspx
At this point the title ‘president’ seems so inadequate. Something grander and more glorious and imperial is needed. For want of any better idea, I’ve decided to use “The Great And Wonderful Ozbama.”
After all, just four months into his reign, he has waved his wizard’s wand over just about every aspect of American commerce, law and society. He’s taken over entire corporations, dictating to them everything from the firing and hiring of CEO’s to the make-up of their corporate boards – even to their ad budgets. State’s rights are antiquated, as Governor Schwarzenegger is discovering. The rule of law is now subordinate to His rule, as Chrysler bondholders and bankruptcy court judges are discovering.
And those are just previews of far more pervasive takeovers and acute disregard for individuals’ rights to come. It’s the price to be paid for the “progressive” agenda of the Ozbama.
There is, however, a trap door beneath his throne. The floor on which he poses may seem solid to him now. But …
The unemployment statistics reported daily in mainstream media fail to tell the whole story. In fact, they conceal the most important parts of it. Some states are already in double digits, at 10 percent, 12 percent and climbing. But how does a 31 percent number strike you? According to Harper’s Index in Harper’s Magazine, as of March 2009, the percentage of men over 20 years of age who are unemployed is 31 percent. Chances that an American who has been unemployed since December of 2007 is a man: 4 in 5.
As politically incorrect as it may be to say it, these stats suggest that the unemployment rate among primary breadwinners and family leaders is much higher than the 8 percent or 9 percent general number, and that means that the cancerous, insidious weakness of this economy is already much farther advanced and of more dangerous extreme than understood by most politicians, financial pundits, or media commentators.
We are nearer a breaking point than most might imagine. I do not know what that breaking point number is; a third of men and a fifth of primary breadwinners long unemployed? Half the men and a quarter of primary breadwinners? Even worse? At some point, they – the masses of unemployed – will pull the switch that springs open the hidden trap door beneath the Ozbama’s throne.
Everything the Ozbama is doing to re-craft America in His vision is worsening this unemployment number – not, as He claims, helping it. That’s because everything He is doing is inspiring a flight of investment capital, and destroying small business. The takeover of GM and Chrysler at the expense of well over 1,000 dealerships and of bondholders and lenders who had paid for first position security now stripped from them destroys more jobs than preserving the shrunken manufacturers saves. It also warns investors and lenders to avoid putting a penny of new money into anything He might decide to dictate to or confiscate as His own at any time in the future.
This is the pattern of His every act: save one job by destroying ten; spend a government printed dollar in a way that scares ten private dollars into hiding. For a time, His frenetic pace can conceal the destruction. For a time, He can bully frightened business leaders with his threats, demonizing and disregard for law, for a time He can buffalo the oh-so-compliant media with daily grand pronouncements and legerdemain. But He cannot stop the reality of primary breadwinner unemployment climbing; His own actions and mandates guarantee it.
At that breaking point, He will suddenly find the trap door opened beneath His feet. His poll numbers will plummet, His adoring fans will go silent, His media sycophants morph to critics, even His own party will desert him. His presidency will be impotent, His dictatorial takeover stalled and stymied.
This, ironically and sadly, is the hope we must believe in.
Dan Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur, adviser to business owners, sought-after speaker and author of 13 books. More information about Dan can be found at www.NoBSBooks.com, and a free collection of his business resources including newsletters and webinars at www.DanKennedy.com.
Concentrate on this Sentence
'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.' Something good will happen to you today; something that you have been waiting to hear.
Please Do not break!
JUST 19 WORDS
GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND ILLNESSES;
AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY IN JESUS ' NAME. AMEN
This prayer is so powerful. Pass this prayer to 12 people including me.
What happened to Harry Truman after the presidency--very interesting!
Harry Truman, from Missouri , was a different kind of President. He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.
Historians have written that the only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence , Missouri . On top of that, his wife inherited the house from her Mother.
When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves... There were no Secret Service agents following them. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, 'You don't want me... You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale.'
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, 'I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.'
He never owned his own home and as president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food..
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.
Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale.
Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, 'My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference'
How does your state rate?
ALABAMA ... Was the first place to have 9-1-1, started in 1968.
ALASKA ... One out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.
ARIZONA ... Is the only state in the continental U.S. that doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time.
ARKANSAS ... Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.
CALIFORNIA ... Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.
COLORADO ... In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.
CONNECTICUT ... The Frisbee was invented here at Yale University.
DELAWARE ... Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.
FLORIDA ... At 759 square miles, Jacksonville is the US's largest city.
GEORGIA ... It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola.
HAWAII ... Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents in any other state.
IDAHO ... TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.
ILLINOIS ... The Chicago River is dyed green every St. Patrick's Day.
INDIANA ... Home to Santa Claus, Indiana, which get a half million letter to Santa every year.
IOWA ... Winnebagos get their name from Winnebago County. Also, it is the only state that begins with two vowels.
KANSAS ... Liberal, Kansas, has an exact replica of the house in The Wizard of Oz.
KENTUCKY ... Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox.
LOUISIANA ... Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish
Church units.
MAINE ... It's so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.
MARYLAND ... The Oujia board was created in Baltimore in 1892.
MASSACHUSETTS .... The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts.
MICHIGAN ... Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.
MINNESOTA ... Bloomington's Mall of America is so big, if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.
MISSISSIPPI ... President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here. That's how the teddy bear got its name.
MISSOURI ... Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.
MONTANA .. A sapphire from Montana is the Crown Jewels of England.
NEBRASKA ... More triplets are born here than in any other state.
NEVADA ... Has more hotel rooms than any other place in the world.
NEW HAMPSHIRE .... Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.
NEW JERSEY ... Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.
NEW MEXICO ... Smokey the Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here.
NEW YORK ... Is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk.
NORTH CAROLINA .... Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.
NORTH DAKOTA .... Rigby, North Dakota, is the exact geo- graphic center of North America.
OHIO ... The hot dog was invented here in 1900.
OKLAHOMA ... The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.
OREGON ... Has the most ghost towns in the country.
PENNSYLVANIA .... The smiley, :) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University.
RHODE ISLAND .... The nation's oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673
SOUTH CAROLINA .... Sumter County is home to the world's largest gingko farm.
SOUTH DAKOTA .... Is the only state that's never had an earthquake.
TENNESSEE ... Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.
TEXAS ... Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco back in 1885.
UTAH ... The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.
VERMONT ... Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's.
VIRGINIA ... Home of the world's largest office building... the Pentagon.
WASHINGTON ... Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.
WASHINGTON D.C. .... Was the first planned capital in the world.
WEST VIRGINIA .... Had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in
Charleston in 1870.
WISCONSIN ... The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold on Sundays.
WYOMING ... Was the first state to allow women to vote.
"The e-mail Bag"
The Irish Bagpiper
As a bagpiper, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery in the remote countryside and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost and being a typical man, did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew who were eating lunch but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness and stepped to the side of the open grave where I saw the vault lid already in place.
I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I played out my heart and soul.
As I played the workers began to weep. I played and I played like I'd never played before, from Going Home and The Lord is My Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest. I closed the lengthy session with Amazing Grace and walked to my car..
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "Sweet Jeezuz, Mary'n Joseph, I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
WHY ITALIANS CAN’T BE PARAMEDICS
Vinny and Sal are out in the woods hunting when suddenly Sal grabs his chest and falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing; his eyes are rolled back in his head.
Vinny whips out his cell phone and calls 911.
He gasps to the operator, “I think Sal is dead! What should I do?”
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says, “Just take it easy and follow my instructions. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is a silence…
And then a shot is heard.
Vinny’s voice comes back on the line,
“Okay… Now what?”
"My Comments"
For the upcoming Memorial Day of May 25, 2009, we "Honor" each to the more than 600,000 Americans whom have given their "ultimate sacrifice" in protection of (y)our American Flag, (y)our US Constitution, and (y)our Freedoms from within.
God Bless each of these men and women, and God Bless America.
"Daily Motivations"
Only three percent of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them. -- Brian Tracy
"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)
Persecution You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side (Psalm 71:21). If you are being persecuted, ask the Lord to reveal His purpose to you.
"Your choices are never free from this conflict." (Galatians 5:17)
"The Patriot Post"
"Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the spot of every wind. With such persons, gullability, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason and the mind becomes a wreck." -- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Smith, December 8, 1822
"Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing." --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791
Video: Pirate Busting, Bofors Style
Sure the Bofors 40mm L/70 gun is hand-fed, open-air, and based on a design that is almost 80 years old. It also works, comes in quad mounts, and is absolute hell on pirates and rubber boats....More
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=162188&page=3&ESRC=army.nl
"Find Law"
Grand Jury Indicts Somali Teen on Piracy, Hijacking and Kidnapping Charges
U.S. V. MUSE
(U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D. N.Y., May 19, 2009) - A federal grand jury indicted a teenaged suspect from Somlia on piracy, hijacking and kidnapping charges. The charges relate to the incident involving the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship. The ten-count indictment alleges that Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse conspired with other alleged pirates to carry out his crimes, and that he "threatened to kill the captain [Capt. Richard Phillips] unless his demands were satisfied." Read more... http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/piracy/usmuse51909ind.html
Related Resources
• Teen Somali piracy suspect indicted in NYC court (AP) http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap_stories/other/1110/05-19-2009/20090519145006_08.html
"The Web"
Conyers: Judiciary has enough votes to overturn DOMA - Is this the change so many others voted for? The majority Democrats on Capitol Hill may change our Federal laws to allow same-sex homosexuality and lesbian marriages.
May 19, 2009 @ 11:39 am by Michael O'Brien
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/05/19/conyers-judiciary-has-enough-votes-to-overturn-doma/
The votes are there on the House Judiciary Committee to repeal the law allowing states to refuse to recognize other states' same-sex marriages, committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) said.
"Well in my committee, yes, but in the House and Senate, that's a different question," Conyers told the Michigan Messenger in a weekend interview published Tuesday about the prospects for a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
A Judiciary-backed bill to repeal DOMA could mark a first step toward a repeal of the 1996 law enacted by a Republican-led Congress and signed into law by a Democratic president.
The law exempts same-sex marriages from states' usual obligation under federal law to recognize other states' marriage licenses. The law also bars the federal government from treating same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose.
Conyers was one of only 67 members of the House to vote against DOMA in 1996; 342 House lawmakers supported it. Conyers also opposed the legislation in committee, along with eight other Democrats.
Since 1996, three states have established legal same-sex marriage through court or legislative decisions, while others intend to establish those rights later this year. Other states have seen voters overturn court decisions on same-sex marriage, while some state legislatures have elected to recognize other states' gay and lesbian marriages.
Conyers told the Messenger he has "always" supported equal rights for same-sex couples.
The Trap Door Beneath His Throne
The legions of unemployed peasants will someday bring down our imperial president.
By Dan Kennedy
Business & Media Institute
5/20/2009 10:53:59 AM
http://www.businessandmedia.org/commentary/2009/20090520105103.aspx
At this point the title ‘president’ seems so inadequate. Something grander and more glorious and imperial is needed. For want of any better idea, I’ve decided to use “The Great And Wonderful Ozbama.”
After all, just four months into his reign, he has waved his wizard’s wand over just about every aspect of American commerce, law and society. He’s taken over entire corporations, dictating to them everything from the firing and hiring of CEO’s to the make-up of their corporate boards – even to their ad budgets. State’s rights are antiquated, as Governor Schwarzenegger is discovering. The rule of law is now subordinate to His rule, as Chrysler bondholders and bankruptcy court judges are discovering.
And those are just previews of far more pervasive takeovers and acute disregard for individuals’ rights to come. It’s the price to be paid for the “progressive” agenda of the Ozbama.
There is, however, a trap door beneath his throne. The floor on which he poses may seem solid to him now. But …
The unemployment statistics reported daily in mainstream media fail to tell the whole story. In fact, they conceal the most important parts of it. Some states are already in double digits, at 10 percent, 12 percent and climbing. But how does a 31 percent number strike you? According to Harper’s Index in Harper’s Magazine, as of March 2009, the percentage of men over 20 years of age who are unemployed is 31 percent. Chances that an American who has been unemployed since December of 2007 is a man: 4 in 5.
As politically incorrect as it may be to say it, these stats suggest that the unemployment rate among primary breadwinners and family leaders is much higher than the 8 percent or 9 percent general number, and that means that the cancerous, insidious weakness of this economy is already much farther advanced and of more dangerous extreme than understood by most politicians, financial pundits, or media commentators.
We are nearer a breaking point than most might imagine. I do not know what that breaking point number is; a third of men and a fifth of primary breadwinners long unemployed? Half the men and a quarter of primary breadwinners? Even worse? At some point, they – the masses of unemployed – will pull the switch that springs open the hidden trap door beneath the Ozbama’s throne.
Everything the Ozbama is doing to re-craft America in His vision is worsening this unemployment number – not, as He claims, helping it. That’s because everything He is doing is inspiring a flight of investment capital, and destroying small business. The takeover of GM and Chrysler at the expense of well over 1,000 dealerships and of bondholders and lenders who had paid for first position security now stripped from them destroys more jobs than preserving the shrunken manufacturers saves. It also warns investors and lenders to avoid putting a penny of new money into anything He might decide to dictate to or confiscate as His own at any time in the future.
This is the pattern of His every act: save one job by destroying ten; spend a government printed dollar in a way that scares ten private dollars into hiding. For a time, His frenetic pace can conceal the destruction. For a time, He can bully frightened business leaders with his threats, demonizing and disregard for law, for a time He can buffalo the oh-so-compliant media with daily grand pronouncements and legerdemain. But He cannot stop the reality of primary breadwinner unemployment climbing; His own actions and mandates guarantee it.
At that breaking point, He will suddenly find the trap door opened beneath His feet. His poll numbers will plummet, His adoring fans will go silent, His media sycophants morph to critics, even His own party will desert him. His presidency will be impotent, His dictatorial takeover stalled and stymied.
This, ironically and sadly, is the hope we must believe in.
Dan Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur, adviser to business owners, sought-after speaker and author of 13 books. More information about Dan can be found at www.NoBSBooks.com, and a free collection of his business resources including newsletters and webinars at www.DanKennedy.com.
Concentrate on this Sentence
'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.' Something good will happen to you today; something that you have been waiting to hear.
Please Do not break!
JUST 19 WORDS
GOD OUR FATHER, WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND ILLNESSES;
AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY IN JESUS ' NAME. AMEN
This prayer is so powerful. Pass this prayer to 12 people including me.
What happened to Harry Truman after the presidency--very interesting!
Harry Truman, from Missouri , was a different kind of President. He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.
Historians have written that the only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence , Missouri . On top of that, his wife inherited the house from her Mother.
When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves... There were no Secret Service agents following them. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, 'You don't want me... You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale.'
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, 'I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.'
He never owned his own home and as president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food..
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.
Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale.
Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, 'My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference'
How does your state rate?
ALABAMA ... Was the first place to have 9-1-1, started in 1968.
ALASKA ... One out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.
ARIZONA ... Is the only state in the continental U.S. that doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time.
ARKANSAS ... Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.
CALIFORNIA ... Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.
COLORADO ... In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.
CONNECTICUT ... The Frisbee was invented here at Yale University.
DELAWARE ... Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.
FLORIDA ... At 759 square miles, Jacksonville is the US's largest city.
GEORGIA ... It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola.
HAWAII ... Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents in any other state.
IDAHO ... TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.
ILLINOIS ... The Chicago River is dyed green every St. Patrick's Day.
INDIANA ... Home to Santa Claus, Indiana, which get a half million letter to Santa every year.
IOWA ... Winnebagos get their name from Winnebago County. Also, it is the only state that begins with two vowels.
KANSAS ... Liberal, Kansas, has an exact replica of the house in The Wizard of Oz.
KENTUCKY ... Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox.
LOUISIANA ... Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish
Church units.
MAINE ... It's so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.
MARYLAND ... The Oujia board was created in Baltimore in 1892.
MASSACHUSETTS .... The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts.
MICHIGAN ... Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.
MINNESOTA ... Bloomington's Mall of America is so big, if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.
MISSISSIPPI ... President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here. That's how the teddy bear got its name.
MISSOURI ... Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.
MONTANA .. A sapphire from Montana is the Crown Jewels of England.
NEBRASKA ... More triplets are born here than in any other state.
NEVADA ... Has more hotel rooms than any other place in the world.
NEW HAMPSHIRE .... Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.
NEW JERSEY ... Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.
NEW MEXICO ... Smokey the Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here.
NEW YORK ... Is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk.
NORTH CAROLINA .... Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.
NORTH DAKOTA .... Rigby, North Dakota, is the exact geo- graphic center of North America.
OHIO ... The hot dog was invented here in 1900.
OKLAHOMA ... The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.
OREGON ... Has the most ghost towns in the country.
PENNSYLVANIA .... The smiley, :) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University.
RHODE ISLAND .... The nation's oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673
SOUTH CAROLINA .... Sumter County is home to the world's largest gingko farm.
SOUTH DAKOTA .... Is the only state that's never had an earthquake.
TENNESSEE ... Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.
TEXAS ... Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco back in 1885.
UTAH ... The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.
VERMONT ... Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's.
VIRGINIA ... Home of the world's largest office building... the Pentagon.
WASHINGTON ... Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.
WASHINGTON D.C. .... Was the first planned capital in the world.
WEST VIRGINIA .... Had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in
Charleston in 1870.
WISCONSIN ... The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold on Sundays.
WYOMING ... Was the first state to allow women to vote.
"The e-mail Bag"
The Irish Bagpiper
As a bagpiper, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery in the remote countryside and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost and being a typical man, did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew who were eating lunch but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness and stepped to the side of the open grave where I saw the vault lid already in place.
I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I played out my heart and soul.
As I played the workers began to weep. I played and I played like I'd never played before, from Going Home and The Lord is My Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest. I closed the lengthy session with Amazing Grace and walked to my car..
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "Sweet Jeezuz, Mary'n Joseph, I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
WHY ITALIANS CAN’T BE PARAMEDICS
Vinny and Sal are out in the woods hunting when suddenly Sal grabs his chest and falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing; his eyes are rolled back in his head.
Vinny whips out his cell phone and calls 911.
He gasps to the operator, “I think Sal is dead! What should I do?”
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says, “Just take it easy and follow my instructions. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is a silence…
And then a shot is heard.
Vinny’s voice comes back on the line,
“Okay… Now what?”
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