I’ve read many articles in the past week regarding the recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruling which stipulated that the right to bear arms was an individual right which existed before the Constitution or the Bill of Rights (link to Foxnews article via title bar )
I read an article by Proligo, “The Joy of…”, where he questioned the sanity of a citizenry determined to arm themselves in such a way as to invite mayhem. One of the comments added to the discussion holds a clue in understanding some of the complex issues, “I have abandoned all debate upon the God-given right of Americans to possess the means of murdering their fellow citizens.” He finished off his thoughts with something that should give us all pause, “I am at a complete loss to understand why God should give the right to carry weapons, but then to put God and I in the same sentence is an oxymoron at best.”
http://probligo.blogspot.com/2007/03/joy-of.html
Ghandi, explained that the Jews should not have resisted being destroyed by the NAZI regime, that Europe should have fallen prostrate to the ground and let Hitler’s troops roll across them rather than lift up arms to defend themselves. While this runs contrary to human nature, there are examples in the scriptures which tend to reinforce the notion.
In the Book of Mormon we read, “Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.” Alma 24:6
“Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.” Alma 24:21
Read the whole chapter to grasp the entire message, that those who would not pick up their swords had, at one time, been guilty of murdering their fellow beings and that they did not want to take a chance on their previous sins being restored unto them. Never the less, their decision to stand firm in their resolve never to take up arms serves as a lesson that covenants made with the Lord should not be taken lightly.
If this were the only example in the scriptures we would be left with little if any room to boast that we have a God given right to bear arms; however, there are lessons which also explain that we are to defend our families, even unto bloodshed, from our enemies.
“And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.” Alma 43:46,47
It would seem a little childish to boast about the right to kill; and that would be so if boasting and killing were the reasons for defending the right to bear arms. The Lord expects each of us to live the highest order possible while at the same time He has not tied our hands behind us leaving us helpless in front of our enemies. We do not boast, we only acknowledge the need for preserving righteousness in the face of evil.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matt 5:9
Peacemakers are not those who apologize to the enemy; but those who have sufficient power to force their enemies to withdraw their threat. I’m sure that those who lie down and die before their enemies enjoy the promises of eternity as found in Alma 24; however, I am just as certain that those who provide a safe environment for the righteous by holding onto their weapons and standing up to those who would do the works of evil are also the children of God.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Immorality Emboldened
If you were wondering what is wrong with our country, looking for symptoms of the disease that has taken over a once healthy body; maybe this AP story out of Washington will shed some light. We’re supposed to be a “progressive society” full of tolerance; that is unless being tolerant means listening to those who disagree with certain aspects of that progressive society, shame on us for calling evil for what it is, evil.
“A gay advocacy group Tuesday demanded an apology from the Pentagon's top general for calling homosexuality immoral.”
{…}
“"General Pace's comments are outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces," the advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said in a statement on its Web site.”
Thank you General Pace for having the backbone to state what needed to be said. The odds are you will be removed from your position of leadership as a warning to other rank and file members of the military. General Pace’s comments, while coming across as outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful, are completely in line with a reasonable expectation that those who serve our country exhibit the highest level of personal integrity and character; to include sexual conduct. ( Story linked via title bar )
Now, for the morally lacking in our society, those who have been emboldened through years of political correctness, those who are living under the delusion that a perverted life style such as homosexuality is acceptable, that it is just and honorable, that there is no reason to be ashamed or to expect others to shun such actions; guess again, you’re wrong.
Our country has been fed a steady diet of permissiveness towards anything which can be imagined under the false premise that freedom of expression has no limits, that the moral code as found in the scriptures has no effect now that our Supreme Court has established a separation of church and state. There are many in our society who would have us believe that the only person who can decide what is right and wrong is the individual, that solipsism has replaced social morality; again, wrong!
We really have sunk to the gutter when we as a society go about parading with banners proclaiming our dissatisfaction when someone with real character and integrity stands up and explains these important facts of life. You and your ilk would have him scourged; maybe even stoned for saying what the Prophets have said for thousands of years. You would be better off following those laws as set down in scripture rather than trying to change them to fit your state of perversion.
“A gay advocacy group Tuesday demanded an apology from the Pentagon's top general for calling homosexuality immoral.”
{…}
“"General Pace's comments are outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces," the advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said in a statement on its Web site.”
Thank you General Pace for having the backbone to state what needed to be said. The odds are you will be removed from your position of leadership as a warning to other rank and file members of the military. General Pace’s comments, while coming across as outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful, are completely in line with a reasonable expectation that those who serve our country exhibit the highest level of personal integrity and character; to include sexual conduct. ( Story linked via title bar )
Now, for the morally lacking in our society, those who have been emboldened through years of political correctness, those who are living under the delusion that a perverted life style such as homosexuality is acceptable, that it is just and honorable, that there is no reason to be ashamed or to expect others to shun such actions; guess again, you’re wrong.
Our country has been fed a steady diet of permissiveness towards anything which can be imagined under the false premise that freedom of expression has no limits, that the moral code as found in the scriptures has no effect now that our Supreme Court has established a separation of church and state. There are many in our society who would have us believe that the only person who can decide what is right and wrong is the individual, that solipsism has replaced social morality; again, wrong!
We really have sunk to the gutter when we as a society go about parading with banners proclaiming our dissatisfaction when someone with real character and integrity stands up and explains these important facts of life. You and your ilk would have him scourged; maybe even stoned for saying what the Prophets have said for thousands of years. You would be better off following those laws as set down in scripture rather than trying to change them to fit your state of perversion.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Recognizing Miracles When They Happen
This afternoon in our Sunday School course of study the topic was Miracles. The discussion started off by asking members of the class which miracles recorded in the scriptures come to mind first; acknowledging that the greatest miracle of all was the resurrection of our Lord. Several hands went up to remind us of the time Lazarus was brought back from the dead, the new wine from canisters of water, the fishes and the loaves and so on.
My own favorite is found in John, chapter 9 (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/john/9 ) where Jesus heals a man, blind from birth. There are many lessons found in this one parable; that miracles are tools for teaching, that faith is required for miracles, that they stand as a witness against those who refuse to acknowledge God’s Hand in all righteousness and to identify Jesus as the Son of God.
We talked about modern day miracles, those occasions when something out of the ordinary could be identified such as the miracle of the sea gulls when the crickets were devouring the crops in the early Salt Lake Valley threatening to leave them without stores for the winter and other fascinating stories. Some of the class members freely shared individual stories in which their faith and prayers were answered to help heal a family member or loved one. The fact is, miracles occur all around us; it’s up to us to recognize the Lord’s Hand in our affairs and to extend our gratitude openly for those blessings.
I held my piece, not wanting to blurt out something which I would not have time to properly explain. I’d written down my thoughts regarding one incident which happened many years ago while acting in the capacity of police officer and posted it to my blog in June of 2005. I wrote it mostly as a “police war story”( link provided in title bar ); however, it clearly indicates my acknowledgement of divine intervention and I believe the word “miracle” applies.
I acknowledge the miracle of the heavens, that the planets have their set times and even my limited knowledge of the mathematics required to explain these celestial events doesn’t preclude the fact that their respective orbits were engineered rather than randomly achieved; to believe in such a ridiculous “coincidence” goes far past the realm of probability. I’m grateful for sunsets and sunrises full of every color imaginable, the wonders of all creation from the smallest microbe and to include each and every living being to be found. All of these testify of a God who loves and cares for each of us and to the miracles which have been provided for those with only the faith of a mustard seed.
My own favorite is found in John, chapter 9 (http://scriptures.lds.org/en/john/9 ) where Jesus heals a man, blind from birth. There are many lessons found in this one parable; that miracles are tools for teaching, that faith is required for miracles, that they stand as a witness against those who refuse to acknowledge God’s Hand in all righteousness and to identify Jesus as the Son of God.
We talked about modern day miracles, those occasions when something out of the ordinary could be identified such as the miracle of the sea gulls when the crickets were devouring the crops in the early Salt Lake Valley threatening to leave them without stores for the winter and other fascinating stories. Some of the class members freely shared individual stories in which their faith and prayers were answered to help heal a family member or loved one. The fact is, miracles occur all around us; it’s up to us to recognize the Lord’s Hand in our affairs and to extend our gratitude openly for those blessings.
I held my piece, not wanting to blurt out something which I would not have time to properly explain. I’d written down my thoughts regarding one incident which happened many years ago while acting in the capacity of police officer and posted it to my blog in June of 2005. I wrote it mostly as a “police war story”( link provided in title bar ); however, it clearly indicates my acknowledgement of divine intervention and I believe the word “miracle” applies.
I acknowledge the miracle of the heavens, that the planets have their set times and even my limited knowledge of the mathematics required to explain these celestial events doesn’t preclude the fact that their respective orbits were engineered rather than randomly achieved; to believe in such a ridiculous “coincidence” goes far past the realm of probability. I’m grateful for sunsets and sunrises full of every color imaginable, the wonders of all creation from the smallest microbe and to include each and every living being to be found. All of these testify of a God who loves and cares for each of us and to the miracles which have been provided for those with only the faith of a mustard seed.
The Last Mimzy
In the past I’ve commented to various blogs written about literature that I enjoy good Sci-fi; that included in my list of favorites was a book of short stories by Lewis Padgett, “A Gnome There Was”. Today I ran across a movie trailer that gave me a glimpse of a movie which was based on one of those stories, “Mimsy Were The Borogoves”, a fantasy in which a toy box from the future makes its way into the hands of some children in present day. The title of this new movie, “The Last Mimzy”, was too close not to be related as I looked it up on Google. ( Spelling changes are not an accident )
I have no idea how close to the original story line the movie will adhere; all the same I’m looking forward with eager anticipation ( link in title bar ) in the hope that modern day special effects might make this wonderfully imaginative story come to life.
I have removed the embeded link which I found to be annoying at the least. Instead I am placing a link that takes you to their website and movie trailer.
http://www.mimzy.com/
I have no idea how close to the original story line the movie will adhere; all the same I’m looking forward with eager anticipation ( link in title bar ) in the hope that modern day special effects might make this wonderfully imaginative story come to life.
I have removed the embeded link which I found to be annoying at the least. Instead I am placing a link that takes you to their website and movie trailer.
http://www.mimzy.com/
Friday, March 09, 2007
You Have No Rights
Did you know that at least one federal judge believes that United States Citizens living in Washington D.C. are NOT protected by the Constitution or the Bill of Rights? That’s about the only conclusion I could come up with after reading a ruling just handed down which over turned a lower court’s finding that had banned ownership of firearms within the city limits of Washington D.C. (linked via title bar)
“In the ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected city officials' arguments that the Second Amendment right to bear arms only applied to state militias.”
“In a 2-1 decision, the judges held that the activities protected by the Second Amendment "are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued intermittent enrollment in the militia."”
{…}
“Judge Laurence Silberman wrote for the majority on Friday. "There are too many instances of 'bear arms' indicating private use to conclude that the drafters intended only a military sense.”
“Judge Karen Henderson dissented, writing that the Second Amendment does not apply to the district because it is not a state.” (emphasis added)
Judge Henderson must not have read the 10th Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” (emphasis added)
What about that part, “or to the people”? Individual citizens cannot be denied rights which are protected by the Constitution or the Bill of Rights; it doesn’t say that rights can be denied anywhere; even if you live in Washington D.C.
I suppose that Judge Henderson would say those living in Washington D.C. don’t have any of the other rights either; freedom to assemble, right to freedom of speech or even freedom of the press. I’ll bet the folks at the Washington Post would be interested in that.
I can hardly wait to see how the original D.C. gun ownership case winds it way through the Supreme Court, assuming the appeals process takes it there. Maybe we can get another Kelo type ruling from the elitist MIB, something along the lines, “let local governments determine which rights you have; right to life, right to property and to hell with the Constitution!”
“In the ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected city officials' arguments that the Second Amendment right to bear arms only applied to state militias.”
“In a 2-1 decision, the judges held that the activities protected by the Second Amendment "are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued intermittent enrollment in the militia."”
{…}
“Judge Laurence Silberman wrote for the majority on Friday. "There are too many instances of 'bear arms' indicating private use to conclude that the drafters intended only a military sense.”
“Judge Karen Henderson dissented, writing that the Second Amendment does not apply to the district because it is not a state.” (emphasis added)
Judge Henderson must not have read the 10th Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” (emphasis added)
What about that part, “or to the people”? Individual citizens cannot be denied rights which are protected by the Constitution or the Bill of Rights; it doesn’t say that rights can be denied anywhere; even if you live in Washington D.C.
I suppose that Judge Henderson would say those living in Washington D.C. don’t have any of the other rights either; freedom to assemble, right to freedom of speech or even freedom of the press. I’ll bet the folks at the Washington Post would be interested in that.
I can hardly wait to see how the original D.C. gun ownership case winds it way through the Supreme Court, assuming the appeals process takes it there. Maybe we can get another Kelo type ruling from the elitist MIB, something along the lines, “let local governments determine which rights you have; right to life, right to property and to hell with the Constitution!”
Edited March 9, 2007 4:30pm
I was looking over some other recently posted articles, folks who I visit regularly and ran across “DC Circuit Court gets it Absolutely Right” over at Anarchangel on this same topic. I’ll link with that one at this time knowing full well that this topic will bounce all over the blogshere in not time at all.
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2007/03/dc-circuit-court-gets-it-absolutely.html
Thursday, March 08, 2007
What are friends for?
It’s difficult to explain how dumb some folks are; reading an AP story out of Eau Claure, Wisconsin. ( link provided in title bar )
“Attempts to do a movie stunt landed one man in the hospital with burned genitals and another facing criminal charges. The men were trying to do a stunt from one of the "Jackass" movies, in which a character lights his genitals on fire.”
“Attempts to do a movie stunt landed one man in the hospital with burned genitals and another facing criminal charges. The men were trying to do a stunt from one of the "Jackass" movies, in which a character lights his genitals on fire.”
“Jared W. Anderson, 20, suffered serious burns to his hands and genitals, according to the criminal complaint. Randell D. Peterson, 43, who sprayed lighter fluid on Anderson and lit him on fire, was charged with
“Witnesses told police that Anderson, who was drunk, volunteered to do the stunt Sunday after watching the movie, the complaint said."
Where to begin…okay, start with the folks who made a movie that would be popular to the Dumb and Dumber crowd, a movie which has made enough money to “justify” making it. Then the next step would be the general population that would spend any amount of time or money watching that film; are we getting a picture of our voting base?
Jared W. Anderson, I imagine his parents are so pleased that he didn’t mention them by name while being interviewed. Luck is a strange lady, Frank Sinatra made a record and lots of money on that premise; Anderson will survive and go on to produce offspring, damaged genitalia and matching brain cell activity. I wonder what the “W” stands for, knowing that his mother would have used his complete name while pointing out that only an idiot would do something so dumb.
I’ve gotten down to Randell D. Peterson; the “friend” who helped “set this off”. Why was he charged with a criminal act? I mean, once more for effect, I mean, my best Arlo Guthrie I mean… If we put all the stupid folks in jail who’d be on the ballot to send to Washington?
This was bound to remind me of some fool from when I was a police officer; of course, “I only heard about this one”. The statute of limitations has long since passed and since I’ve already retired they can’t fire me for violating one of the standard operating procedures.
Some officer who’d seen far too many of life’s bottom dwellers got a call to a “disturbance in progress”; that’s anything from some guy in a parking lot washing his truck at two in the morning all the way to a full blown riot where the Sharks meet the Jets under a freeway overpass with knives, chains and clubs. He looked over at the empty passenger seat of his patrol vehicle and said to himself, “Hey, I’m a fully trained officer of the law with a really spiffy looking blue uniform; I can handle it.”
“Upon arrival”, he noticed Dumb and Dumber, the names changed to protect the imbeciles, tried to look inconspicuous in the parking lot. Dumb had a very large hunting knife protruding out of his thigh with his blue jeans saturated in blood. Dumber was attempting to console his friend and recover his favorite hunting knife.
“It’s okay, Officer. We was jest foolin’ around with the knife and I accidentally got stuck in the laige (leg)”. For you folks not familiar with the beauty of an East Texas drawl, well, try to imagine being a couple of six packs on top of a Seventh grade education.
His “Lai-ge”, doin’ my best to explain how you make Leg into a two syllable word with a heavy beer odor, “His leg”, sorry, I’ve had to stop while writing this as a stupor or thought came over me. “His leg will be okay, won’t it, Officer? Kin I have my knife back, it was a present from my daddy?”
“We was just funnin’, honest Officer, he never meant no harm.”
That officer, the one I heard about, was stuck between a rock and a hard place. There were a couple of options open to him. He could have Dumber taken to the hospital against his wishes, he could haul Dumb to the slammer and charge him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon even though they “was jest foolin’ around”, “not trying to hurt nobody”. Dumber’s leg wasn’t gushing blood and he didn’t want his best buddy going to jail. They had pretty much sobered up with all the extra excitement; but giving them the knife back was out of the question.
“Ya’all git back in your apartment and I’ll fergit the whole thing”, at least that’s what I’m told that officer said as he tossed the knife into his brief case sitting there in the passenger side of the patrol car where it would have been much better to have had a partner but the City was confident that they could get by on short staff; much as they are today. I heard everything turned out okay, nobody’s leg got infected or had to be amputated, there were no hard feelings between those two good buddies who continued to drink up a storm out there in the parking lot for years, nobody at the police station got into a dither when no arrests were made, no lengthy investigation was made with pages of reports and photographs and no knife ever made it to the evidence room.
Police work used to be left up to police officers, the discretion to let some things fall by the wayside while at other times going the full distance with courts and lawyers. The old rule used to be that if it worked out right it must have been done right; the new rule, you better have an attorney on retainer, either that or an angel on you shoulder.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
I’ll Have the Blue Plate Special
Ethne wrote about her feelings, sometimes a very difficult challenge, as she remembered her grandmother through various items, each with a specific memory full of amplified emotions. (link via title bar)
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... there lived a very young boy unaware of how things worked. He’d never contemplated the thought that grandparents would not always be there for him to visit, the concept of death had never been explained to him. A conversation developed in which the topic of death must have come up; leaving all the trappings of mortality behind since trinkets would be of no use on the other side.
I remember, as if it were a blink, even though it was over fifty years ago, pointing to a decorative plate that was one of the few items prominently displayed in Granny’s apartment. I considered it to be the most beautiful single item that could ever be, my limited exposure to a world full of tangible items, soft blue detail of an old mansion against a pure white background resting on her maple hutch.
“When you die can I have your plate?” I couldn’t have been 5 or 6 years old and yet I knew that I’d spoken out of turn, all the same I wanted to put my bid in before anyone else. Granny looked at me with the most amazing glance, holding back a belly laugh for such a preposterous request as she gave me a hug and promised the plate would always be mine. Granny saw past what some might have considered “seeking after riches” and replaced that improbable thought with my desire to have a piece of her, a memory of her essence to have about me regardless of time.
Granny lived a long life, having had the opportunity to meet all of my children as they came along. I had a special relationship with that lady right up until the end of her life. I would fly out for a weekend, lunch and dinner, then fly back in time to be at work; something which she thought to be an extravagance.
She marveled at the technological advances she’d witnessed; scolding me when I’d call her on my cell phone while driving down the road. I’d always pretend that I was so engrossed with our telephone conversation that I might be on the wrong side of the double yellow stripe; honking at an imaginary oncoming vehicle for effect. Granny had an exclamation mark that was part of her laugh, as if she had been entertained by a con artist at the Midway Carnival and enjoyed every minute, that kind of “Oh, my gaud, please be more careful” while at the same time, enjoying the idea that I’d spent some time with “an old lady like me”. I don’t think Granny ever fully understood how great it was just to be with her, either in person or through the magic of telecommunication.
I picked up Granny’s old blue plate after reading Ethne’s heart warming remembrance, I’ve had it these many years. It’s a piece of Wedgwood with an explanation on the back; something about the DAR and the name of the building from back in 1820. There’s not a word that would indicate how important having a piece of Granny is to me. A pleasant thought went past my mind as I held that piece of china, enough to cause a few tears to form and escape the corners and trickle down my cheeks. I suppose it would have been valuable to me if it had been a plastic soda cup from the Astrodome, had it been a part of Granny’s life and something which we both enjoyed together.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... there lived a very young boy unaware of how things worked. He’d never contemplated the thought that grandparents would not always be there for him to visit, the concept of death had never been explained to him. A conversation developed in which the topic of death must have come up; leaving all the trappings of mortality behind since trinkets would be of no use on the other side.
I remember, as if it were a blink, even though it was over fifty years ago, pointing to a decorative plate that was one of the few items prominently displayed in Granny’s apartment. I considered it to be the most beautiful single item that could ever be, my limited exposure to a world full of tangible items, soft blue detail of an old mansion against a pure white background resting on her maple hutch.
“When you die can I have your plate?” I couldn’t have been 5 or 6 years old and yet I knew that I’d spoken out of turn, all the same I wanted to put my bid in before anyone else. Granny looked at me with the most amazing glance, holding back a belly laugh for such a preposterous request as she gave me a hug and promised the plate would always be mine. Granny saw past what some might have considered “seeking after riches” and replaced that improbable thought with my desire to have a piece of her, a memory of her essence to have about me regardless of time.
Granny lived a long life, having had the opportunity to meet all of my children as they came along. I had a special relationship with that lady right up until the end of her life. I would fly out for a weekend, lunch and dinner, then fly back in time to be at work; something which she thought to be an extravagance.
She marveled at the technological advances she’d witnessed; scolding me when I’d call her on my cell phone while driving down the road. I’d always pretend that I was so engrossed with our telephone conversation that I might be on the wrong side of the double yellow stripe; honking at an imaginary oncoming vehicle for effect. Granny had an exclamation mark that was part of her laugh, as if she had been entertained by a con artist at the Midway Carnival and enjoyed every minute, that kind of “Oh, my gaud, please be more careful” while at the same time, enjoying the idea that I’d spent some time with “an old lady like me”. I don’t think Granny ever fully understood how great it was just to be with her, either in person or through the magic of telecommunication.
I picked up Granny’s old blue plate after reading Ethne’s heart warming remembrance, I’ve had it these many years. It’s a piece of Wedgwood with an explanation on the back; something about the DAR and the name of the building from back in 1820. There’s not a word that would indicate how important having a piece of Granny is to me. A pleasant thought went past my mind as I held that piece of china, enough to cause a few tears to form and escape the corners and trickle down my cheeks. I suppose it would have been valuable to me if it had been a plastic soda cup from the Astrodome, had it been a part of Granny’s life and something which we both enjoyed together.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Two and two equals 10 million
Just a quick glance at the Foxnews site this morning showed that police had nabbed a man suspected in the dismemberment of his missing wife. I took a moment to look at the accompanying photograph and had to wonder; just exactly was I looking at? There was some rather unusual anatomy being portrayed. I needed to read on to learn that the picture went along with a discovery of an ancient dinosaur unearthed which may have been related to Triceratops which roamed the earth some 10 million years ago. I was all for taking a whack at the old bat myself had that been the former missing wife. How many beers did it take before he went home with that one?
I took the liberty of cropping the photograph, much as my mind had when I first glanced at the page, intentionally leaving off the small print under the photograph which would have explained which story line it went with.
Friday, March 02, 2007
The Heritage Foundation Poll
I got my questionnaire in the mail this past week and put it to the side until I could give it a good looking over. I noticed, at least according to the top most line on the form, that they acknowledge there’s a difference between Conservatives and Republicans, since the survey form expressly is directed for their use only. It would have been a little more honest if they would exchange the last page with the first, the part where they want a donation.
The Heritage Foundation wanted to know some basic information regarding Immigration, mostly aimed toward illegal immigration coming in from our fence free border with Mexico. Put the fence up from the Pacific Coast all the way to the Gulf of Mexico; build it in such a way as to be visible from the space shuttle, our version of the Great Wall of China. Then, work on downsizing the illegal population, to include all those children born here on US soil in order to “claim” citizenship. After sending off, make that while sending off the illegal immigrants, efforts should also be made to restrict and reduce the number of legal immigrants based on the information supplied by Roy Beck and the pure statistical data showing that we cannot save the whole world even if we wanted to.
They wanted to know how I felt about the War on Terror. This might be read by someone expecting civility and measured speech and so I will only refer to, rather than quote directly from the movie Tin Cup. Towards the end of the show our unlikely hero is within striking distance of the last green and a piece of the overall lead. He must decide whether to play it safe or attempt a difficult shot and go for the win. He rips the “big dog” and drops several shots into the water hazard, against the advice of his knowledgeable caddie and is down to his very last golf ball. If that last ball goes into the water he’s disqualified from the tournament and his caddie hands him the ball, whispers a mild sort of amusement, “Make the shot and quit messing around”; as if he’d plunked all those other balls into the lake just for fun. I took the liberty of altering that mildly amusing admonishment to keep this PG rated.
Our leaders in Washington have been messing around, dropping opportunities by the way side left and right. These blunders should be shared by both sides of the isle along with the administration. We need to be actively seeking out and destroying the enemy, not standing around looking for an exit strategy which wouldn’t look so much like we ran with our tails tucked between our legs. “Make the shot and quit messing around!”, my crude side would have preferred the original dialogue; maybe I should repent of that.
They wanted to know how I felt about Security at Home. They didn’t ask about that nasty old fence thing that would keep folks from entering via Mexico; guess that has nothing to do with security, just a racial prejudice thing. One question had to do with airports and ethnic profiling, should we or shouldn’t we? Should we continue to bend over and let enemies of our country into our country? Should we deport those who are our enemies or would that possible hurt their feelings? Should we be spying on folks in their mosques for terrorist activities. Hey, you left off spying on our colleges and universities for terrorist recruitment and sympathizers. I included a reference to the same quote used on the War on Terror, “Make the shot and quit messing around!” I’m still feeling relatively civilized and have refrained from inserting the exact quote.
How do I feel about Government Spending? Does the phrase, “He spends money like a drunken sailor” mean anything to you? I will remind you that there is a difference between Conservatives and Republicans. The shame of it should be that the Republicans at one time had something in common with Conservatives; huh, maybe that’s what cost the Republicans so many seats in Congress and the Senate, they forgot to act like conservatives.
The list of Other Critical Issues included a choice between being a whacko environmentalist in opposition to energy resource management or growth through capitalism. They still don’t get it; our socialistic minded meddlers would rather have our country be energy dependent to countries that can pull our chain than permit those who wish to invest in our own oil ( alternative energy) the opportunity to bring that oil (alternative energy) to the market place without having to jump rope, balance on fences or submit to body cavity searches created by our own system.
What do I think about the federal government being involved in education; as much as I do about them teaching me about religion, they have no business in either.
So, do I support a constitutional amendment which would ban same sex marriage; a better question would be should a constitutional amendment be written in such a way as to define marriage as between a husband, that being a male human, and a wife, that being a female human? Yes.
What do I think about the legislation that covers finance reform? It’s an abomination, have the folks at the Supreme Court looked that word up; sorry, I forgot, in my dictionary next to the word abomination there is a picture of 9 black robed folks thumbing their noses at the constitution. That reminds me, I saw absolutely nothing in the questionnaire regarding Eminent Domain; I suppose that isn’t important. I looked a little further and under arrogance is a picture of McCain and Feingold; must be one of the newer editions, eh?
What about President Bush’s performance in the past year. I had to rate him as having done a poor job. I recognize the fact that he has most of the Democratic Party doing everything in their power to undermine any good thing he attempts, that he has no friends in the major media and that the support he gets from the Republican base has as much back bone as a jelly fish. That having been said, President Bush has permitted and even encouraged easy access through our borders without considering how much damage has been done and is being done to our country. This, even above the war on terrorism is reason to consider his service as anything other than sadly lacking.
The war on terror has not progressed to include other true “evil empires” in the Middle East which are Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Until we totally bring about the collapse of their terror supporting governments there can never be any real progress in the war on terror. I have left North Korea out of the equation since we are incapable of doing much about them anyway. The President has had his hands tied, but he could have taken the bully pulpit to the people and used it to give a more representative accounting of the dangers involved instead of letting the media slant and portray the United States as the evil one.
What about Congress and their performance. Well, if you were in the Soviet Republic then you’ve been doing a good job. We have been warned that creeping socialism will bring America to its knees; that the West will fall without a shot being fired. You congressmen and senators have done your best to destroy the American Experiment through pork barrel spending and social programs which require redistribution of wealth on a scale so enormous as to be nearly immeasurable.
You say the medical service system isn’t working so well so let’s have a run at socializing it, call it Medicare or whatever; copy the rest of the world’s failures in that department. You say capitalism isn’t working so good, let’s copy the socialist systems even though they have proven to be utter failures all around the world. You permit our monetary system to be diluted at such a rate as to make our money nearly worthless and call it inflation; I call it something else and it won’t please you either. You have created roadblocks for the free market while making sure that the capitalist system grinds slowly to a halt through hoops and other red tape. You take great pride in calling for “equality for all” when what you offer is equal misery for all in a socialist state so far from that imagined by our founding fathers as to be an embarrassment.
Last on you list, Leadership; which of the following people do you think represent your beliefs and principles the best? I checked Rush Limbaugh, Vice President Dick Cheney and had to write in Ron Paul. Rush Limbaugh may be an arrogant egotist but he has more right answers in a three hour talk show than all of congress does after a full session. Vice President Cheney isn’t afraid to speak his mind and tell his enemies where they can go. Ron Paul has shown that he can’t be bought and paid for. He’s one of the few men of integrity who deserve to be elected to office year after year.
No, I’m not sending you authorization to remove money from any of my accounts in order to further the cause. From what I’ve seen in Washington what we need is a can of gasoline and a book of matches. I think we are in serious trouble and you guys are just “messing around”; and you thought I had lost my cool and was going to let go with that all too familiar vulgarity…go watch the movie and have a laugh on me.
The Heritage Foundation wanted to know some basic information regarding Immigration, mostly aimed toward illegal immigration coming in from our fence free border with Mexico. Put the fence up from the Pacific Coast all the way to the Gulf of Mexico; build it in such a way as to be visible from the space shuttle, our version of the Great Wall of China. Then, work on downsizing the illegal population, to include all those children born here on US soil in order to “claim” citizenship. After sending off, make that while sending off the illegal immigrants, efforts should also be made to restrict and reduce the number of legal immigrants based on the information supplied by Roy Beck and the pure statistical data showing that we cannot save the whole world even if we wanted to.
They wanted to know how I felt about the War on Terror. This might be read by someone expecting civility and measured speech and so I will only refer to, rather than quote directly from the movie Tin Cup. Towards the end of the show our unlikely hero is within striking distance of the last green and a piece of the overall lead. He must decide whether to play it safe or attempt a difficult shot and go for the win. He rips the “big dog” and drops several shots into the water hazard, against the advice of his knowledgeable caddie and is down to his very last golf ball. If that last ball goes into the water he’s disqualified from the tournament and his caddie hands him the ball, whispers a mild sort of amusement, “Make the shot and quit messing around”; as if he’d plunked all those other balls into the lake just for fun. I took the liberty of altering that mildly amusing admonishment to keep this PG rated.
Our leaders in Washington have been messing around, dropping opportunities by the way side left and right. These blunders should be shared by both sides of the isle along with the administration. We need to be actively seeking out and destroying the enemy, not standing around looking for an exit strategy which wouldn’t look so much like we ran with our tails tucked between our legs. “Make the shot and quit messing around!”, my crude side would have preferred the original dialogue; maybe I should repent of that.
They wanted to know how I felt about Security at Home. They didn’t ask about that nasty old fence thing that would keep folks from entering via Mexico; guess that has nothing to do with security, just a racial prejudice thing. One question had to do with airports and ethnic profiling, should we or shouldn’t we? Should we continue to bend over and let enemies of our country into our country? Should we deport those who are our enemies or would that possible hurt their feelings? Should we be spying on folks in their mosques for terrorist activities. Hey, you left off spying on our colleges and universities for terrorist recruitment and sympathizers. I included a reference to the same quote used on the War on Terror, “Make the shot and quit messing around!” I’m still feeling relatively civilized and have refrained from inserting the exact quote.
How do I feel about Government Spending? Does the phrase, “He spends money like a drunken sailor” mean anything to you? I will remind you that there is a difference between Conservatives and Republicans. The shame of it should be that the Republicans at one time had something in common with Conservatives; huh, maybe that’s what cost the Republicans so many seats in Congress and the Senate, they forgot to act like conservatives.
The list of Other Critical Issues included a choice between being a whacko environmentalist in opposition to energy resource management or growth through capitalism. They still don’t get it; our socialistic minded meddlers would rather have our country be energy dependent to countries that can pull our chain than permit those who wish to invest in our own oil ( alternative energy) the opportunity to bring that oil (alternative energy) to the market place without having to jump rope, balance on fences or submit to body cavity searches created by our own system.
What do I think about the federal government being involved in education; as much as I do about them teaching me about religion, they have no business in either.
So, do I support a constitutional amendment which would ban same sex marriage; a better question would be should a constitutional amendment be written in such a way as to define marriage as between a husband, that being a male human, and a wife, that being a female human? Yes.
What do I think about the legislation that covers finance reform? It’s an abomination, have the folks at the Supreme Court looked that word up; sorry, I forgot, in my dictionary next to the word abomination there is a picture of 9 black robed folks thumbing their noses at the constitution. That reminds me, I saw absolutely nothing in the questionnaire regarding Eminent Domain; I suppose that isn’t important. I looked a little further and under arrogance is a picture of McCain and Feingold; must be one of the newer editions, eh?
What about President Bush’s performance in the past year. I had to rate him as having done a poor job. I recognize the fact that he has most of the Democratic Party doing everything in their power to undermine any good thing he attempts, that he has no friends in the major media and that the support he gets from the Republican base has as much back bone as a jelly fish. That having been said, President Bush has permitted and even encouraged easy access through our borders without considering how much damage has been done and is being done to our country. This, even above the war on terrorism is reason to consider his service as anything other than sadly lacking.
The war on terror has not progressed to include other true “evil empires” in the Middle East which are Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Until we totally bring about the collapse of their terror supporting governments there can never be any real progress in the war on terror. I have left North Korea out of the equation since we are incapable of doing much about them anyway. The President has had his hands tied, but he could have taken the bully pulpit to the people and used it to give a more representative accounting of the dangers involved instead of letting the media slant and portray the United States as the evil one.
What about Congress and their performance. Well, if you were in the Soviet Republic then you’ve been doing a good job. We have been warned that creeping socialism will bring America to its knees; that the West will fall without a shot being fired. You congressmen and senators have done your best to destroy the American Experiment through pork barrel spending and social programs which require redistribution of wealth on a scale so enormous as to be nearly immeasurable.
You say the medical service system isn’t working so well so let’s have a run at socializing it, call it Medicare or whatever; copy the rest of the world’s failures in that department. You say capitalism isn’t working so good, let’s copy the socialist systems even though they have proven to be utter failures all around the world. You permit our monetary system to be diluted at such a rate as to make our money nearly worthless and call it inflation; I call it something else and it won’t please you either. You have created roadblocks for the free market while making sure that the capitalist system grinds slowly to a halt through hoops and other red tape. You take great pride in calling for “equality for all” when what you offer is equal misery for all in a socialist state so far from that imagined by our founding fathers as to be an embarrassment.
Last on you list, Leadership; which of the following people do you think represent your beliefs and principles the best? I checked Rush Limbaugh, Vice President Dick Cheney and had to write in Ron Paul. Rush Limbaugh may be an arrogant egotist but he has more right answers in a three hour talk show than all of congress does after a full session. Vice President Cheney isn’t afraid to speak his mind and tell his enemies where they can go. Ron Paul has shown that he can’t be bought and paid for. He’s one of the few men of integrity who deserve to be elected to office year after year.
No, I’m not sending you authorization to remove money from any of my accounts in order to further the cause. From what I’ve seen in Washington what we need is a can of gasoline and a book of matches. I think we are in serious trouble and you guys are just “messing around”; and you thought I had lost my cool and was going to let go with that all too familiar vulgarity…go watch the movie and have a laugh on me.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Flowers are Red and Green Leaves are Green
It seems that a young boy began coloring a picture on his first day of school and found that his teacher had very limited ideas on how he should present his expression of thought. The young man was put in a corner and had to repeat, “Flowers are red, and green leaves are green, there’s no need to see flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen.” Fortunately the boy eventually moved to another town where his new teacher was overflowing with freedom of expression and encouraged the boy, “There are so many colors in the rainbow, so many colors in the morning sun, so many colors in the flowers, so let’s use everyone.”
A Two Chiropractor Day
I’d bet dimes to donuts that you won’t find that title anywhere. I’ve been under the weather, picked up some kind of ugly bug that settled in my chest. My voice was never going to get me booked at the Music Hall; now it’s even better. Here’s an inside joke for members of my Church, I now can do Spencer W. Kimball impersonations quite easily.
Last night I woke up coughing my lungs out and popped something in my rib cage and never could get back to sleep. Wednesday is my regularly scheduled day to visit the chiropractor so I didn’t have to schedule an appointment, just had to show up. It turns out I actually pushed a couple of ribs out of place which explained why my right side didn’t enjoy moving. She inflicted a proportional amount of pain to justify my paying and I left, quite a bit of soreness remained as I went about a few simple but very rewarding locksmith jobs before heading home to ice down as I’d been instructed.
All afternoon the pain grew until I decided to call my chiropractor and beg for some relief. It was almost 4:30 and they opened up a spot for me. The whole left side from my neck to just below the rib cage was so tender as to make the simplest movement a challenge. They led me back to the “therapy room” ( use your imagination; dungeons, torture equipment, sensory depravation ) and put the electrode things on my back, massaged and rubbed and then adjusted my back again.
I can’t remember having been to the chiropractor twice in the same day and I’ve had plenty of times when my back hurt. The best part was when it came time to settle up for the second visit; it was considered “under warranty”, a little like the warranty I put on some of my jobs, “Twenty thousand miles or one day, which ever comes first.”
In case I forgot to say it, “Thank you for being overly generous with your skills and mindful of my budget.” If your in the Houston area, here's a link for when you need a good chiropractor:
http://www.drdurrett.com/
Last night I woke up coughing my lungs out and popped something in my rib cage and never could get back to sleep. Wednesday is my regularly scheduled day to visit the chiropractor so I didn’t have to schedule an appointment, just had to show up. It turns out I actually pushed a couple of ribs out of place which explained why my right side didn’t enjoy moving. She inflicted a proportional amount of pain to justify my paying and I left, quite a bit of soreness remained as I went about a few simple but very rewarding locksmith jobs before heading home to ice down as I’d been instructed.
All afternoon the pain grew until I decided to call my chiropractor and beg for some relief. It was almost 4:30 and they opened up a spot for me. The whole left side from my neck to just below the rib cage was so tender as to make the simplest movement a challenge. They led me back to the “therapy room” ( use your imagination; dungeons, torture equipment, sensory depravation ) and put the electrode things on my back, massaged and rubbed and then adjusted my back again.
I can’t remember having been to the chiropractor twice in the same day and I’ve had plenty of times when my back hurt. The best part was when it came time to settle up for the second visit; it was considered “under warranty”, a little like the warranty I put on some of my jobs, “Twenty thousand miles or one day, which ever comes first.”
In case I forgot to say it, “Thank you for being overly generous with your skills and mindful of my budget.” If your in the Houston area, here's a link for when you need a good chiropractor:
http://www.drdurrett.com/
Monday, February 26, 2007
Individuals Make Us a Great Nation
I read an interesting article by Dana, of Principled Discovery, where she posted, “The coming crisis in citizenship.” Please take the time to read why our public schools are not providing the necessary foundation for good citizenship once provided, not in a school room environment, through that which parents engrained in children at home (link provided in the title bar.)
“We have left behind the roots of our system which were laid deep enough and strong enough to sustain us even through long periods of neglect and decay.”
It was early in the morning as I considered what I’d just read. I left a brief comment:
“The idea occurred to me that the public schools, to include colleges and universities, might be intentionally turning students off to American History by the manner in which it is presented. These classes had no purpose other than to test students on how well they could remember a date, a name or some other important occurrence. At the end of the year nothing had been gained regarding the struggle of individuals to stand for concepts which made America great. My college level course was no different, maybe even worse.
I’m not a big fan of the word “coincidence” believing instead that most everything has a purpose. Looking at the miserable track record regarding the teaching of important American values as pertain to History would be the same as going over the many blunders that Jimmy Carter chalked up while he was president and then crowning it off with his giving away the Panama Canal; you can’t do that many things wrong by accident. There must be an explanation as to why American children are not given a proper lesson in the history of those who have gone before them, the spirit of America has not been promoted, an interesting choice of words when talking about students, which is why they have been failed.”
Go back for that last paragraph, find that word “coincidence” and then finish off with, “American children are not given a proper lesson in the history of those who have gone before them.” I finished my wake up bowl of oatmeal and glanced at the fancy media multimedia center on my computer only to find a wonderful old black and white movie, “The 49th Parallel”, all about the individual actions of freemen in Canada when pitted against an invading force from Nazi Germany.
I looked it up on Google and found a plot summary written by Steve Cook, “A damaged U-boat is stranded in a Canadian bay in the early years of World War II. The Fanatical Nazi captain and his crew must reach the neutral United States or be captured. Along the way they meet a variety of characters each with their own views on the war and nationalism.” I suppose the use of the words, “variety of characters” will have to do for my purposes.
Mind you, this was a movie; however, it was put together in a time when Hollywood stood behind the basic belief that we, that being those in America to include the Canadians, were on the side of goodness and virtue as opposed to the present day when Hollywood is synonymous with sympathizing with our enemies because we are an evil capitalistic society intent on taking advantage of the rest of humanity. In the movie, each individual who came across the small band of Nazis stranded in the back country of Canada rose to the occasion affording us a look, as if in a museum, a brief explanation of what it means to be in a free country while at the same time drawing into focus the terrible hypocrisy of Nazi Germany under the Third Reich. Each individual acted with dignity and stood as shining examples of what humanity is all about.
The movie which followed, Destination Tokyo, about life on a submarine headed to Tokyo bay to obtain needed first hand knowledge in preparation for a future military mission. Each individual was shown, character flaws included, to be worthy of the title, American citizen. You should have noticed by now that the key is in the American individual; the hearty breed which mixes compassions, desires, fears and even being a little cocky or boastful; all those human emotions which elevate us as a race and as a people.
I wrote an article last year, “Who’s Audie Murphy?” after I was faced with the fact that I could find no members of the next generation who knew who Audie Murphy was. I repeated that same question to a few young people this morning; having taken a short break in my writing to make a living in my chosen field of locksmith work. I asked if they knew who Alvin York was as a bonus question. The results were a total zero, just as before.
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2006/10/whos-audie-murphy.html
The public schools in America are partially at fault; however, the responsibility must eventually come to rest within the walls of our individual families and finally upon each individual. I know a few wonderfully self taught individuals who came from homes where the parents might have well been lumps of coal for all the lessons they never taught. In spite of that neglect, it is the responsibility of each of us to find our place in our glorious history, the history of the United States of America. Parents are not doing the job of instilling those values, those peculiar American character traits which set us apart from all other nations of the world. We have a history worth imparting and yet it is being left in the dark closets to grow mold and mildew, to rot as if a thing of naught. When our children are not taught the importance of the past it is lost, and that loss will be a sin before God, the Author of our Liberty.
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/05/author-of-liberty.html
“We have left behind the roots of our system which were laid deep enough and strong enough to sustain us even through long periods of neglect and decay.”
It was early in the morning as I considered what I’d just read. I left a brief comment:
“The idea occurred to me that the public schools, to include colleges and universities, might be intentionally turning students off to American History by the manner in which it is presented. These classes had no purpose other than to test students on how well they could remember a date, a name or some other important occurrence. At the end of the year nothing had been gained regarding the struggle of individuals to stand for concepts which made America great. My college level course was no different, maybe even worse.
I’m not a big fan of the word “coincidence” believing instead that most everything has a purpose. Looking at the miserable track record regarding the teaching of important American values as pertain to History would be the same as going over the many blunders that Jimmy Carter chalked up while he was president and then crowning it off with his giving away the Panama Canal; you can’t do that many things wrong by accident. There must be an explanation as to why American children are not given a proper lesson in the history of those who have gone before them, the spirit of America has not been promoted, an interesting choice of words when talking about students, which is why they have been failed.”
Go back for that last paragraph, find that word “coincidence” and then finish off with, “American children are not given a proper lesson in the history of those who have gone before them.” I finished my wake up bowl of oatmeal and glanced at the fancy media multimedia center on my computer only to find a wonderful old black and white movie, “The 49th Parallel”, all about the individual actions of freemen in Canada when pitted against an invading force from Nazi Germany.
I looked it up on Google and found a plot summary written by Steve Cook, “A damaged U-boat is stranded in a Canadian bay in the early years of World War II. The Fanatical Nazi captain and his crew must reach the neutral United States or be captured. Along the way they meet a variety of characters each with their own views on the war and nationalism.” I suppose the use of the words, “variety of characters” will have to do for my purposes.
Mind you, this was a movie; however, it was put together in a time when Hollywood stood behind the basic belief that we, that being those in America to include the Canadians, were on the side of goodness and virtue as opposed to the present day when Hollywood is synonymous with sympathizing with our enemies because we are an evil capitalistic society intent on taking advantage of the rest of humanity. In the movie, each individual who came across the small band of Nazis stranded in the back country of Canada rose to the occasion affording us a look, as if in a museum, a brief explanation of what it means to be in a free country while at the same time drawing into focus the terrible hypocrisy of Nazi Germany under the Third Reich. Each individual acted with dignity and stood as shining examples of what humanity is all about.
The movie which followed, Destination Tokyo, about life on a submarine headed to Tokyo bay to obtain needed first hand knowledge in preparation for a future military mission. Each individual was shown, character flaws included, to be worthy of the title, American citizen. You should have noticed by now that the key is in the American individual; the hearty breed which mixes compassions, desires, fears and even being a little cocky or boastful; all those human emotions which elevate us as a race and as a people.
I wrote an article last year, “Who’s Audie Murphy?” after I was faced with the fact that I could find no members of the next generation who knew who Audie Murphy was. I repeated that same question to a few young people this morning; having taken a short break in my writing to make a living in my chosen field of locksmith work. I asked if they knew who Alvin York was as a bonus question. The results were a total zero, just as before.
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2006/10/whos-audie-murphy.html
The public schools in America are partially at fault; however, the responsibility must eventually come to rest within the walls of our individual families and finally upon each individual. I know a few wonderfully self taught individuals who came from homes where the parents might have well been lumps of coal for all the lessons they never taught. In spite of that neglect, it is the responsibility of each of us to find our place in our glorious history, the history of the United States of America. Parents are not doing the job of instilling those values, those peculiar American character traits which set us apart from all other nations of the world. We have a history worth imparting and yet it is being left in the dark closets to grow mold and mildew, to rot as if a thing of naught. When our children are not taught the importance of the past it is lost, and that loss will be a sin before God, the Author of our Liberty.
http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2005/05/author-of-liberty.html
I have entered this as my second article in the Carnival of Principled Government since principles should be taught at home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Why are these Three stories relevant?
This may not be near as good as DL’s writings from the padded room as found over at TMH Bacon Bits; but I think he’s still off ice fishing or something. My apologies; but somebody’s got to say it. That reminded me, I just started reading Neal Boortz’ new book, Somebody’s gotta say it. WARNING: This article is not Politically Correct!
http://tmhbaconbits.net/
Romney Family Tree Has Polygamy Branch
By JENNIFER DOBNER and GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writers
Saturday, February 24, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/02/24/politics/p101652S30.DTL
“While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his Mormon church, the Republican presidential candidate's great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12.”
{…}
“Romney's father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, where Mormons fled in the 1800s to escape religious persecution and U.S. laws forbidding polygamy. He and his family did not return to the United States until 1912, more than two decades after the church issued "The Manifesto" banning polygamy.”
Slavery Ties Sharpton to Thurmond
Associated Press writer Paige Ivey in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/slavery-ties-sharpton-to-thurmond/20070225140509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
“NEW YORK (Feb. 25) - Genealogists have revealed that the Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendent of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond - a discovery the civil rights activist on Sunday called "shocking."”
Virginia Apologizes for Role in SlaveryBy LARRY O'DELLAssociated Press Writer
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/APA/702250600
“RICHMOND, Va. Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.”
{…}
“The resolution says government-sanctioned slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history, and the abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding."”
To set the record straight, a few facts would be important before continuing:
Mitt Romney is the only front runner male candidate running for the office of President who has only had one wife. Think about that for a moment and it may grow on you as just a little funny.
Al Sharpton was never a slave.
In the Virginia legislation there is not one member who ever owned a slave.
Having established those three important facts; why would Mitt Romney have to condemn the act of polygamy which he had no control over, why would Al Sharpton be upset that a family member long ago passed away was a slave as if it would mandate a change in his present life style and how is it possible for any group of people to apologize with any degree of sincerity for actions which transpired a hundred years before they were born?
I’ll start with Mitt Romney’s individual situation. Historically it can be shown that somewhere in Mitt’s family polygamy was practiced. Anyone who claims to be a Christian would also have to admit the same. What’s that you say?
The Bible recorded that Abraham was instructed to take an additional wife in order to bear children. Abraham followed the Lord’s command; it was not a matter of Abraham lusting after a foxy looking woman while married to Sarah, he was following an approved union which authorized more than one wife. The Book of Abraham, found in the Pearl of Great Price, gives additional insight into the fact that such practices were “ordained before the foundation of the world”. The Doctrine and Covenants, section 132 goes on to explain the ordinance of marriage for time and all eternity as being part of the New and Everlasting Covenant which permits a husband and wife to advance to the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom.
I ask again, why would Mitt Romney condemn something which the Lord has proclaimed as not only acceptable but has placed it among some of the most sacred ordinances available to mortals? I have my own answer, “Politically Correct”. It does not matter that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints no longer condones polygamy, that is also a matter of historical fact.
The 12th Article of Faith of the LDS Church proclaims:
“We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”
Any discussion regarding polygamy in the United States of America in the year 2007 sounds like a moot point if you ask me, unless you just want to talk about it philosophically. Personally, I thank Abraham for having been obedient and for following the Lord’s instructions, that I might become so fortunate as to become one of his seed through my baptism.
Hey Al, why are you so upset about some ancestor who had been a slave, one you never even bothered to look up as part of your responsibility, being a close family member and all? What difference would it make if, for the sake of argument, that long ago slave had been owned my Thomas Jefferson or any other well known slave holder? I find this amazing, or should I have sung, Amazing Grace?
What kind of explaining are you going to have to come up with to justify your helping to enslave thousands; make that millions of folks by yoking them with various social programs rather than letting them rely on their own resources and truly becoming free? Haven’t you ever heard about the lesson provided by a baby chic as it gains it freedom from within its shell? The chick gains that strength necessary to survive in the world by accomplishing the “break out” all on its own. If assistance is given or provided which helps that process, the chick is doomed and will never survive long enough to attain that which it should have.
Socialism is no less a form of slavery than placing chains on someone’s ankles and preventing them from achieving all the rights and freedoms afforded to citizens of the United States of America. By spoon feeding via socialist programs, the redistribution of wealth, giving that which was not earned to those who did not earn it, such actions reduce the chance for true freedom, essentially making them slaves forever because they never develop the necessary character, skills and integrity required to stand on their own.
Unfortunately, media pimps like Al Sharpton have no clue as to how much damage they inflict on their fellow citizens in the name of equality for all. What that boils down to is that all citizens will be equally yoked with socialism while at the same time each citizen will lose a certain portion of their God given rights. Way to go Al!
Last in that group of pure hype, for there really is nothing worthy as news unless you simply wish to divide the citizenry further apart rather than move into the present or even the future, why would the Virginia legislature feel good about apologizing for actions which they had no control over? This isn’t the same as the Japanese government acknowledging the atrocities which were carried out during WWII to some who are still living and might accept such an apology. It might be a little better than those who claim that the Holocaust either never happened or that those who suffered should just get on with life. Haven’t the folks in the Virginia legislature heard about Global Warming; just a lot of hot air, not to mention all the heat generated each time they pat themselves on the back for;. . . just what exactly did they do anyway?
http://tmhbaconbits.net/
Romney Family Tree Has Polygamy Branch
By JENNIFER DOBNER and GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writers
Saturday, February 24, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/02/24/politics/p101652S30.DTL
“While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his Mormon church, the Republican presidential candidate's great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12.”
{…}
“Romney's father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, where Mormons fled in the 1800s to escape religious persecution and U.S. laws forbidding polygamy. He and his family did not return to the United States until 1912, more than two decades after the church issued "The Manifesto" banning polygamy.”
Slavery Ties Sharpton to Thurmond
Associated Press writer Paige Ivey in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/slavery-ties-sharpton-to-thurmond/20070225140509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
“NEW YORK (Feb. 25) - Genealogists have revealed that the Rev. Al Sharpton is a descendent of a slave owned by relatives of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond - a discovery the civil rights activist on Sunday called "shocking."”
Virginia Apologizes for Role in SlaveryBy LARRY O'DELLAssociated Press Writer
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/APA/702250600
“RICHMOND, Va. Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.”
{…}
“The resolution says government-sanctioned slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history, and the abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding."”
To set the record straight, a few facts would be important before continuing:
Mitt Romney is the only front runner male candidate running for the office of President who has only had one wife. Think about that for a moment and it may grow on you as just a little funny.
Al Sharpton was never a slave.
In the Virginia legislation there is not one member who ever owned a slave.
Having established those three important facts; why would Mitt Romney have to condemn the act of polygamy which he had no control over, why would Al Sharpton be upset that a family member long ago passed away was a slave as if it would mandate a change in his present life style and how is it possible for any group of people to apologize with any degree of sincerity for actions which transpired a hundred years before they were born?
I’ll start with Mitt Romney’s individual situation. Historically it can be shown that somewhere in Mitt’s family polygamy was practiced. Anyone who claims to be a Christian would also have to admit the same. What’s that you say?
The Bible recorded that Abraham was instructed to take an additional wife in order to bear children. Abraham followed the Lord’s command; it was not a matter of Abraham lusting after a foxy looking woman while married to Sarah, he was following an approved union which authorized more than one wife. The Book of Abraham, found in the Pearl of Great Price, gives additional insight into the fact that such practices were “ordained before the foundation of the world”. The Doctrine and Covenants, section 132 goes on to explain the ordinance of marriage for time and all eternity as being part of the New and Everlasting Covenant which permits a husband and wife to advance to the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom.
I ask again, why would Mitt Romney condemn something which the Lord has proclaimed as not only acceptable but has placed it among some of the most sacred ordinances available to mortals? I have my own answer, “Politically Correct”. It does not matter that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints no longer condones polygamy, that is also a matter of historical fact.
The 12th Article of Faith of the LDS Church proclaims:
“We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”
Any discussion regarding polygamy in the United States of America in the year 2007 sounds like a moot point if you ask me, unless you just want to talk about it philosophically. Personally, I thank Abraham for having been obedient and for following the Lord’s instructions, that I might become so fortunate as to become one of his seed through my baptism.
Hey Al, why are you so upset about some ancestor who had been a slave, one you never even bothered to look up as part of your responsibility, being a close family member and all? What difference would it make if, for the sake of argument, that long ago slave had been owned my Thomas Jefferson or any other well known slave holder? I find this amazing, or should I have sung, Amazing Grace?
What kind of explaining are you going to have to come up with to justify your helping to enslave thousands; make that millions of folks by yoking them with various social programs rather than letting them rely on their own resources and truly becoming free? Haven’t you ever heard about the lesson provided by a baby chic as it gains it freedom from within its shell? The chick gains that strength necessary to survive in the world by accomplishing the “break out” all on its own. If assistance is given or provided which helps that process, the chick is doomed and will never survive long enough to attain that which it should have.
Socialism is no less a form of slavery than placing chains on someone’s ankles and preventing them from achieving all the rights and freedoms afforded to citizens of the United States of America. By spoon feeding via socialist programs, the redistribution of wealth, giving that which was not earned to those who did not earn it, such actions reduce the chance for true freedom, essentially making them slaves forever because they never develop the necessary character, skills and integrity required to stand on their own.
Unfortunately, media pimps like Al Sharpton have no clue as to how much damage they inflict on their fellow citizens in the name of equality for all. What that boils down to is that all citizens will be equally yoked with socialism while at the same time each citizen will lose a certain portion of their God given rights. Way to go Al!
Last in that group of pure hype, for there really is nothing worthy as news unless you simply wish to divide the citizenry further apart rather than move into the present or even the future, why would the Virginia legislature feel good about apologizing for actions which they had no control over? This isn’t the same as the Japanese government acknowledging the atrocities which were carried out during WWII to some who are still living and might accept such an apology. It might be a little better than those who claim that the Holocaust either never happened or that those who suffered should just get on with life. Haven’t the folks in the Virginia legislature heard about Global Warming; just a lot of hot air, not to mention all the heat generated each time they pat themselves on the back for;. . . just what exactly did they do anyway?
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Wall Street at Broadway
I got a call from Bonnie, my oldest daughter a while ago. She’s away on business in
“Guess where I am?”
“You’re standing on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, near the railing, and contemplating jumping into the river.”
“No; but you’re on the right track.”
“Dehere, with an "e", at the Walle, also with an “e”?”
“You got it. I’ll take a picture of the sign, Wall Street at Broadway for you.”
Bonnie knows one of my favorite movies is National Treasure, that whenever I’m flipping channels attempting to find something worth watching; that’s one movie I’ll watch over and over. She bought me a book last year, The Portable Benjamin Franklin, containing the Silence Dogood Letters, among many other interesting articles; not for those who are in love with being politically correct, quite outspoken in many areas.
Lucy bought a book for me last week, “The Declaration of
As a side note, our petty cash envelope is getting thinner day by day as we both have been stopping by the book store picking out items of interest. A friend of mine told the lady at the cash register to post a picture, perhaps from each of their driver’s licenses, near the front door. If they are seen entering the store they are to be tossed out in order to save the family budget. I may have to do the same.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Believest thou that there is a God?
I’ve wondered how to exchange ideas with Christians who are not members of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Somewhere there must be a line drawn in the sand that makes it difficult for those of Protestant or Catholic faiths to relate with my beliefs; how unfortunate.
I thought about it quite a bit and decided that perhaps it’s simply a matter of nomenclature, my use of words in a slightly different context or maybe that I have additional text which I consider to be scripture to go along with the Bible. For whatever reason there might be that separates us, I feel certain that we have much more in common and so I will endeavor to establish some mutual ground. In the Book of Mormon, ( or Mom-ron as one fellow recently chided me ), I remember a passage in Alma, chapter 18, where Ammon went about explaining his beliefs to king Lamoni.
To begin with, Ammon was on a full time mission; he was also in the capacity of servant to a unfriendly people and in direct command of their king. After Ammon had single handedly dispatched a large group of folks who were hostile toward the king’s servants, word got back to the king. Ammon had an advantage in that king Lamoni was amazed and astounded by the powers that Ammon had displayed; even to the point of conceding the possibility that Ammon might be the Great Spirit. King Lamoni felt pangs of guilt for having abused and even killed many of his subjects; the idea of having the Great Spirit standing in front of him left him in considerable anxiety.
“And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea.
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.
31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sent from God?
34 Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true…”
I started off as a Presbyterian, following my parents to church and, as much time passed, eventually sought answers to many questions I had regarding faith and religion in general as I approached that time when I would be the patriarch of my own family. Those in the Presbyterian ministry were unable or unwilling to satisfy my desire to know more and I began to look elsewhere; eventually stumbling into the young missionaries who rode up and down the streets on bicycles.
We had interesting discussions at first, leveling the playing field much as Ammon and king Lamoni came to an understanding on the most basic of ideas. I believed that there was a God in Heaven, that His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin named Mary who was married to Joseph of the lineage of the House of David. I further agreed with these young men that the Gospel truths that they wished to share with me would be established, not so much through an intellectual endorsement; rather, the Holy Ghost would testify to my soul of any and all truths which my Father in Heaven desired I should know. This doctrine was the same in the Presbyterian Church and we were able to proceed from that starting point. Yes, I claim to be a Christian (link in title bar)
I still feel like the step child at the family reunion when I visit “Christian” sites in the blogsphere. This troubles me to some degree, not that it shakes my testimony regarding my belief that the Book of Mormon is the word of God acting as another witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I feel that I have so much to offer in the way of pure doctrine that is not taught for one reason or another in Protestant sects or the Catholic Church.
This past week I read an excellent piece about the sacred roll of husbands to their wives and felt limited, possibly by my desire not to “rock the boat” in which those of another faith were comfortable with. I wanted to explain the eternal nature of marriage, that while the secular world might be content with “till death do you part”, that marriage was intended to be so much more, an eternal bond between a husband and a wife; a celestial bond for time and all eternity.
I should stop here, not wishing to stir the pot beyond that which it will bear. I invite those who might be skeptical, those who may have been leery of associating with “those Mormons” to lay aside those minor differences and discover that we, as Christians, hold that God is our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ is His Son and the Holy Ghost completes what is commonly known as the Godhead. We can discuss the rest as it comes around.
“Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.” Moroni 7:25
You might not wish to nod your head in agreement, “That didn’t come out of the Bible!”, all the same it remains a true statement, one which anyone who claims to be a Christian had better comes to grips with. Is it so very different than other scriptures?
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
Lastly, my invitation:
“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” Alma 32:27
I thought about it quite a bit and decided that perhaps it’s simply a matter of nomenclature, my use of words in a slightly different context or maybe that I have additional text which I consider to be scripture to go along with the Bible. For whatever reason there might be that separates us, I feel certain that we have much more in common and so I will endeavor to establish some mutual ground. In the Book of Mormon, ( or Mom-ron as one fellow recently chided me ), I remember a passage in Alma, chapter 18, where Ammon went about explaining his beliefs to king Lamoni.
To begin with, Ammon was on a full time mission; he was also in the capacity of servant to a unfriendly people and in direct command of their king. After Ammon had single handedly dispatched a large group of folks who were hostile toward the king’s servants, word got back to the king. Ammon had an advantage in that king Lamoni was amazed and astounded by the powers that Ammon had displayed; even to the point of conceding the possibility that Ammon might be the Great Spirit. King Lamoni felt pangs of guilt for having abused and even killed many of his subjects; the idea of having the Great Spirit standing in front of him left him in considerable anxiety.
“And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea.
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.
31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sent from God?
34 Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true…”
I started off as a Presbyterian, following my parents to church and, as much time passed, eventually sought answers to many questions I had regarding faith and religion in general as I approached that time when I would be the patriarch of my own family. Those in the Presbyterian ministry were unable or unwilling to satisfy my desire to know more and I began to look elsewhere; eventually stumbling into the young missionaries who rode up and down the streets on bicycles.
We had interesting discussions at first, leveling the playing field much as Ammon and king Lamoni came to an understanding on the most basic of ideas. I believed that there was a God in Heaven, that His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin named Mary who was married to Joseph of the lineage of the House of David. I further agreed with these young men that the Gospel truths that they wished to share with me would be established, not so much through an intellectual endorsement; rather, the Holy Ghost would testify to my soul of any and all truths which my Father in Heaven desired I should know. This doctrine was the same in the Presbyterian Church and we were able to proceed from that starting point. Yes, I claim to be a Christian (link in title bar)
I still feel like the step child at the family reunion when I visit “Christian” sites in the blogsphere. This troubles me to some degree, not that it shakes my testimony regarding my belief that the Book of Mormon is the word of God acting as another witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I feel that I have so much to offer in the way of pure doctrine that is not taught for one reason or another in Protestant sects or the Catholic Church.
This past week I read an excellent piece about the sacred roll of husbands to their wives and felt limited, possibly by my desire not to “rock the boat” in which those of another faith were comfortable with. I wanted to explain the eternal nature of marriage, that while the secular world might be content with “till death do you part”, that marriage was intended to be so much more, an eternal bond between a husband and a wife; a celestial bond for time and all eternity.
I should stop here, not wishing to stir the pot beyond that which it will bear. I invite those who might be skeptical, those who may have been leery of associating with “those Mormons” to lay aside those minor differences and discover that we, as Christians, hold that God is our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ is His Son and the Holy Ghost completes what is commonly known as the Godhead. We can discuss the rest as it comes around.
“Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.” Moroni 7:25
You might not wish to nod your head in agreement, “That didn’t come out of the Bible!”, all the same it remains a true statement, one which anyone who claims to be a Christian had better comes to grips with. Is it so very different than other scriptures?
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
Lastly, my invitation:
“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” Alma 32:27
Obedience and Self Restraint is Liberty
The idea of liberty and freedom are eternal in nature and to discuss them in the limited terms of our mortality does not do them justice. Those who cannot accept that liberty and freedom are part of God’s plan will continue to demand total freedom, the agency of man, and it will do no good to explain such eternal concepts. The purpose of life is to progress daily in such a way as to become nearest to that perfection which is possible, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to use His examples and His teachings as a means of checking that progress.
We make decisions to abide by those eternal principles and laws; that is liberty. The rewards or blessings come from obedience to eternal principles and laws which have existed before the world was formed and come in the form of individual progression. Those who act in opposition to the same eternal principles and laws, either through ignorance, omission, neglect or in defiance with full knowledge of their actions impede their progress; hence they are “damned”. In effect we are free to either progress toward the optimal goal of becoming a true child of God, one who follows the admonitions of a loving Father in Heaven, or we are free to be slothful, self serving and, at times, reckless.
The concept of being forced to achieve blessings is foreign to God’s law and was introduced by Satan in his attempt to alter and destroy God’s law. When we are less than obedient to natural laws, laws which are eternal, in effect, we settle for something other than the blessings associated with those same natural laws; call it a curse if you will.
Satan attempted to implement his own plan, one which was contrary to the mind and will of God, one which would have given him power to force total compliance with God’s laws with the exception of the most important law, man’s agency to choose for himself; for this reason Satan was cast out and remains an enemy to God and all who would do their best to follow God’s law. Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind represents the ideal pattern, total obedience to His Father’s laws and we have been instructed to follow His example in order to obtain all that God has. The choice is ours, as individuals, to obtain each blessing that has been provided or to reject them.
Now, apply those same eternal principles and laws in mortality; we are most fortunate to live in the United States of America, a country founded on eternal principles and laws that God inspired the Founders to include in our Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. There has been a steady degeneration from living up to the highest goals, which we as individuals and as a country are capable of, in favor of the path which our elected government has taken, a less than desirable path which enslaves each citizen to servitude through social programs which deny individual choice. Those placed at the head to insure our God given Liberties remain in force are a reflection of our overall society; the degeneration which I mentioned has been brought about by selfishness and greed rather than from a poorly designed framework; the framework remains the most perfect form of government on the earth. It is the responsibility of each individual to properly impose self restraint rather than expect government to override and impose such. Our Founding Fathers recognized the necessity of having an educated citizenry who were capable of self restraint for this “great experiment” in government to remain workable. If we do not acknowledge the need for self restraint in all aspects of our lives and at the same time acknowledge the Author or our Liberties we are doomed to failure both in mortality and in the eternities.
"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Doctrine and Covenants 130:20,21
I’ve supplied a link with Dana’s article, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt”, which she posted on Principled Discovery. Dana is also sponsoring the Carnival of Principled Government and I have entered this article in honor of Liberty Day.
http://gottsegnet.blogspot.com/2007/02/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-debt.html
We make decisions to abide by those eternal principles and laws; that is liberty. The rewards or blessings come from obedience to eternal principles and laws which have existed before the world was formed and come in the form of individual progression. Those who act in opposition to the same eternal principles and laws, either through ignorance, omission, neglect or in defiance with full knowledge of their actions impede their progress; hence they are “damned”. In effect we are free to either progress toward the optimal goal of becoming a true child of God, one who follows the admonitions of a loving Father in Heaven, or we are free to be slothful, self serving and, at times, reckless.
The concept of being forced to achieve blessings is foreign to God’s law and was introduced by Satan in his attempt to alter and destroy God’s law. When we are less than obedient to natural laws, laws which are eternal, in effect, we settle for something other than the blessings associated with those same natural laws; call it a curse if you will.
Satan attempted to implement his own plan, one which was contrary to the mind and will of God, one which would have given him power to force total compliance with God’s laws with the exception of the most important law, man’s agency to choose for himself; for this reason Satan was cast out and remains an enemy to God and all who would do their best to follow God’s law. Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind represents the ideal pattern, total obedience to His Father’s laws and we have been instructed to follow His example in order to obtain all that God has. The choice is ours, as individuals, to obtain each blessing that has been provided or to reject them.
Now, apply those same eternal principles and laws in mortality; we are most fortunate to live in the United States of America, a country founded on eternal principles and laws that God inspired the Founders to include in our Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. There has been a steady degeneration from living up to the highest goals, which we as individuals and as a country are capable of, in favor of the path which our elected government has taken, a less than desirable path which enslaves each citizen to servitude through social programs which deny individual choice. Those placed at the head to insure our God given Liberties remain in force are a reflection of our overall society; the degeneration which I mentioned has been brought about by selfishness and greed rather than from a poorly designed framework; the framework remains the most perfect form of government on the earth. It is the responsibility of each individual to properly impose self restraint rather than expect government to override and impose such. Our Founding Fathers recognized the necessity of having an educated citizenry who were capable of self restraint for this “great experiment” in government to remain workable. If we do not acknowledge the need for self restraint in all aspects of our lives and at the same time acknowledge the Author or our Liberties we are doomed to failure both in mortality and in the eternities.
"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Doctrine and Covenants 130:20,21
I’ve supplied a link with Dana’s article, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt”, which she posted on Principled Discovery. Dana is also sponsoring the Carnival of Principled Government and I have entered this article in honor of Liberty Day.
http://gottsegnet.blogspot.com/2007/02/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-debt.html
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Ya gotta wonder about Hillary
I get a kick out of how pollsters hedge their projections, usually throwing in some cautionary built in degree of miscalculation, somewhere between 3 – 5% either way. I read an article on the AOL website, originally from The New York Times and co-written by Patrick Healy and Jim Rutenberg, “In Both Parties, Politeness Falls to Infighting”. (link provided in title bar )
“The sun was not yet up yesterday, and members of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign team were confronted with the kind of attack that most infuriates them: one questioning the character of Mrs. Clinton and her husband.” Can you believe it, somebody questioning the integrity of Queen to be Hillary Rodham Clinton?
I could care less who donated money to the coronation proceedings or, in this case, not.
The interesting poll taken through on line readers did catch my attention. There was a statement, “Geffen said the Clintons lie “with such ease, it’s troubling.”, Your opinion?” 73% of the respondents agreed that the Clintons, that being Sir Bill and Her Majesty to be Hillary, lie “with such ease, it’s troubling”.
Back to my original idea that most pollsters hedge their projections to some degree, how can anyone consider Hillary as a person with sufficient character to hold office; as a Senator, much less a power hungry egomaniac intent on sitting on the Oval Office Throne? Just for fun, let’s say the poll taken was off by a margin of staggering proportions, maybe 20% error (either way), that would mean that somewhere between 53% believe the Clintons lie with impunity, or going towards a more plausible thought, 93% of those polled believe the Clintons lie with such ease as to make them habitual liars incapable of telling the truth.
In the event of a Hillary coronation and subsequent matriarchal dynasty, this blog opinion will self destruct. I never said a thing that would imply a lack of honesty in Her Majesty’s more than generous platitudes.
“The sun was not yet up yesterday, and members of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign team were confronted with the kind of attack that most infuriates them: one questioning the character of Mrs. Clinton and her husband.” Can you believe it, somebody questioning the integrity of Queen to be Hillary Rodham Clinton?
I could care less who donated money to the coronation proceedings or, in this case, not.
The interesting poll taken through on line readers did catch my attention. There was a statement, “Geffen said the Clintons lie “with such ease, it’s troubling.”, Your opinion?” 73% of the respondents agreed that the Clintons, that being Sir Bill and Her Majesty to be Hillary, lie “with such ease, it’s troubling”.
Back to my original idea that most pollsters hedge their projections to some degree, how can anyone consider Hillary as a person with sufficient character to hold office; as a Senator, much less a power hungry egomaniac intent on sitting on the Oval Office Throne? Just for fun, let’s say the poll taken was off by a margin of staggering proportions, maybe 20% error (either way), that would mean that somewhere between 53% believe the Clintons lie with impunity, or going towards a more plausible thought, 93% of those polled believe the Clintons lie with such ease as to make them habitual liars incapable of telling the truth.
In the event of a Hillary coronation and subsequent matriarchal dynasty, this blog opinion will self destruct. I never said a thing that would imply a lack of honesty in Her Majesty’s more than generous platitudes.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Simply Splendid
I learned a lot from my Granny, long since gone the way of the world. In her later years age reminded her of her frailties, her aches and pains that never seemed to let her alone; she taught me something of real value. Granny would listen as folks around her complained about their lumbago, their teeth hurting and this that and the other. When they’d ask how she was feeling, “I’m simply splendid”, was her favorite reply. It did away with the competitive conversation to see who had a worse case scenario and cleared the air for more upbeat exchanges. Granny could smile and mean it; “Simply splendid” was a mind trick that got her past those aches and pains.
I get to visit Raine, a “little old lady” who goes to church with us. I think I was drawn to her because she reminded me so much of my Granny. I tried getting Raine to use Granny’s “Simply splendid” approach, a way to roll past the never ending supply of folks who’d ask how she was feeling. Somewhere between her knees troubling her all the time and ankles not supporting her with any degree of confidence I was unable to convince Raine that she could, with any believability, say, “I’m simply splendid”. Oh, she tried it a few times and almost fell out of her chair laughing at such a preposterous line; but eventually that line ended up in the scrap heap so I have to listen while she goes on about how rotten she feels; almost wishing I’d never asked.
This morning I was driving down the road toward a job and managed to get her to pick up the phone, a mild miracle since she doesn’t like answering the phone; might be a stranger, a wrong number or somebody trying to pay their water bill since her number is similar. She sounded cheerful, at least until I told her so; a few minutes of going over how it’s flu season and how it’s important to avoid contact with large groups of folks who might have the flu or some other communicable disease brought me up to speed.
I did manage to bring up some calendared items that she might want to attend; this weekend is Stake Conference, an adult session this Saturday at 7:00pm, “No, I won’t be going to that.”, then on Sunday the Stake officers will be addressing everyone at 10:00am, “No, I won’t be going to that.”, oh, and Friday is the Ward Chili Cook off at 6:00pm, “No, at my age I can’t eat all that spicy food.” I waited half a moment, still trying to get something positive to happen.
“I suppose that this last item, the bungee jumping from the top of the church steeple is out of the question?” I finally found something she wanted to do as a burst of laughter rang back through my phone. I had succeeded in my quest to brighten up her day. Sometimes it takes a ridiculous suggestion to make a dent when somebody is intent on being miserable. I still think she’d be better off with, “Simply splendid”; it worked so very well for my Granny.
I get to visit Raine, a “little old lady” who goes to church with us. I think I was drawn to her because she reminded me so much of my Granny. I tried getting Raine to use Granny’s “Simply splendid” approach, a way to roll past the never ending supply of folks who’d ask how she was feeling. Somewhere between her knees troubling her all the time and ankles not supporting her with any degree of confidence I was unable to convince Raine that she could, with any believability, say, “I’m simply splendid”. Oh, she tried it a few times and almost fell out of her chair laughing at such a preposterous line; but eventually that line ended up in the scrap heap so I have to listen while she goes on about how rotten she feels; almost wishing I’d never asked.
This morning I was driving down the road toward a job and managed to get her to pick up the phone, a mild miracle since she doesn’t like answering the phone; might be a stranger, a wrong number or somebody trying to pay their water bill since her number is similar. She sounded cheerful, at least until I told her so; a few minutes of going over how it’s flu season and how it’s important to avoid contact with large groups of folks who might have the flu or some other communicable disease brought me up to speed.
I did manage to bring up some calendared items that she might want to attend; this weekend is Stake Conference, an adult session this Saturday at 7:00pm, “No, I won’t be going to that.”, then on Sunday the Stake officers will be addressing everyone at 10:00am, “No, I won’t be going to that.”, oh, and Friday is the Ward Chili Cook off at 6:00pm, “No, at my age I can’t eat all that spicy food.” I waited half a moment, still trying to get something positive to happen.
“I suppose that this last item, the bungee jumping from the top of the church steeple is out of the question?” I finally found something she wanted to do as a burst of laughter rang back through my phone. I had succeeded in my quest to brighten up her day. Sometimes it takes a ridiculous suggestion to make a dent when somebody is intent on being miserable. I still think she’d be better off with, “Simply splendid”; it worked so very well for my Granny.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
I like Ron Paul for President
I was walking across the parking lot on my way home from church this past Sunday when a good friend of mine, a dyed in the wool Democrat, asked me if I was on my way to the Obama rally. We chide each other from time to time knowing that there is a fairly deep canyon in our political philosophies. I mentioned that I didn’t have much regard for any of the front runners in either party, that I considered them all to be too shallow and transparent. I told my friend that my personal choice would be Ron Paul; admitting that Ron Paul had about as much chance of winning the presidency as I would winning the lottery.
I read an article by Radley Balko on the Foxnews website this morning, “Ron Paul, the Real Republican?”. It covered my thoughts on the matter better than I could myself so go read it ( linked via title bar ).
“Paul isn't a reflexive contrarian--he doesn't oppose just to oppose. Rather, he has a core set of principles that guide him. They happen to be the same principles envisioned by the framers of the U.S. Constitution: limited government, federalism, free trade and commerce -- with a premium on peace.”
A little further down in the article Balko stated, “I don't agree with Paul on everything. His stance on monetary policy (he wants to return to the gold standard) is a bit out-there for my taste. He favors strict limits on legal immigration, and is far more alarmist about illegal immigration than I think is necessary.” I happen to agree whole heartedly with Ron Paul on both of those issues.
There has got to be an end to the devaluation of our currency through our own government’s policy of printing worthless paper backed by nothing more than a hollow promise. Having seen the lack of principles exhibited by our elected officials, with the exception of a very few, their “promises” are as worthless as the money they print. Look at how they have managed Social Security into bankruptcy because of the way those in charge have looted the system. Holding them to a fixed and structured monetary system such as the Gold Standard might be the only way to salvage the Dollar.
I agree with Ron Paul’s alarmist attitude regarding illegal immigration; however, I would add to that alarm the added burden on our infrastructure created by the increased numbers of legal immigrants as well. I have reviewed Roy Beck's celebrated demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies. This video is packed with the facts and analysis that make moral and practical sense of a complex and highly contentious issue. What’s the line from Star Wars, the one where Yoda cautions young Skywalker about confronting Darth Vader, something about being afraid… “Afraid you are not,. . . you will be.” I should probably ask my daughter and resident expert on Star Wars trivia; but you get the idea. A tip of the hat to my friend James Orr for sending me the link to Roy Beck’s immigration video.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4094926727128068265&q=roy+beck&hl=en
I’ve been disappointed with the crop ( spelling options available ) of candidates showing up on the ballot; so poor are their qualifications as to make voters stay home rather than pick from the “lesser of two evils”. Ron Paul’s character rises above the mire; I would rather “waste” my vote on a good man who hasn’t got a chance of being elected than to endorse any of the so called front runners. The Presidency is all about character, isn’t it about time America returned to the basics?
I read an article by Radley Balko on the Foxnews website this morning, “Ron Paul, the Real Republican?”. It covered my thoughts on the matter better than I could myself so go read it ( linked via title bar ).
“Paul isn't a reflexive contrarian--he doesn't oppose just to oppose. Rather, he has a core set of principles that guide him. They happen to be the same principles envisioned by the framers of the U.S. Constitution: limited government, federalism, free trade and commerce -- with a premium on peace.”
A little further down in the article Balko stated, “I don't agree with Paul on everything. His stance on monetary policy (he wants to return to the gold standard) is a bit out-there for my taste. He favors strict limits on legal immigration, and is far more alarmist about illegal immigration than I think is necessary.” I happen to agree whole heartedly with Ron Paul on both of those issues.
There has got to be an end to the devaluation of our currency through our own government’s policy of printing worthless paper backed by nothing more than a hollow promise. Having seen the lack of principles exhibited by our elected officials, with the exception of a very few, their “promises” are as worthless as the money they print. Look at how they have managed Social Security into bankruptcy because of the way those in charge have looted the system. Holding them to a fixed and structured monetary system such as the Gold Standard might be the only way to salvage the Dollar.
I agree with Ron Paul’s alarmist attitude regarding illegal immigration; however, I would add to that alarm the added burden on our infrastructure created by the increased numbers of legal immigrants as well. I have reviewed Roy Beck's celebrated demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies. This video is packed with the facts and analysis that make moral and practical sense of a complex and highly contentious issue. What’s the line from Star Wars, the one where Yoda cautions young Skywalker about confronting Darth Vader, something about being afraid… “Afraid you are not,. . . you will be.” I should probably ask my daughter and resident expert on Star Wars trivia; but you get the idea. A tip of the hat to my friend James Orr for sending me the link to Roy Beck’s immigration video.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4094926727128068265&q=roy+beck&hl=en
I’ve been disappointed with the crop ( spelling options available ) of candidates showing up on the ballot; so poor are their qualifications as to make voters stay home rather than pick from the “lesser of two evils”. Ron Paul’s character rises above the mire; I would rather “waste” my vote on a good man who hasn’t got a chance of being elected than to endorse any of the so called front runners. The Presidency is all about character, isn’t it about time America returned to the basics?
Saturday, February 17, 2007
A Link by any other name…
A couple of random thoughts; how appropriate, recalling a stand up comedy routine given by Robin Williams some time back. He was explaining how the internet was similar to the human brain and gave the example of “links”. You want to look at one thing and then, Boom, you change directions and go somewhere else instantly. Sorry for the John Madden sound effects; hope your speakers were turned down.
In this mornings Foxnews I was reading an AP story that highlighted the conservative nature of Brigham Young University as they implemented a policy to block YouTube from on campus computer systems. The given reason was two part, to avoid content which did not meet with Church standards and also because of limited "band width" on their computer systems (linked via title bar).
“PROVO, Utah — The popular Internet video-sharing site YouTube has been blocked on campus at Brigham Young University, the Mormon church school where students agree to live a "chaste and virtuous life."
(Wouldn't you know, my embedded links refuse to work which is why I don't use them here in Blogger."
Out of curiosity I clicked the embedded links for Brigham Young University and the Mormon Church to gain insight as to how they would be represented by those links. I'm familiar with the short recruiting films that are inserted during sporting contests, usually during a half time break, a chance to see the very best that each school has to offer, a shining light upon a hill so to speak; that’s not exactly what the links did.
Under the links to Brigham Young University there were all manner of articles which had appeared on Fox; problem was with the way they picked subject matter; the key word they used was “Young”.
“. . .allegedly taking captive two young siblings who had ...” and, “. . . this is another case of young adults "gone wild" simply because they can. . .” were lumped in with other relevant stories about the prestigious university, “. . .Cy Young Award winner with a nasty curveball. . .”, “. . .Vince Young turned in another gritty performance. . .”
I’ve learned so much about BYU from those links, what could I glean from the links for the Mormon church?
“Cannibalism Rife in Mormon Cricket Swarms…”, not making this up folks, that was the first item linked. There were several articles on Mitt Romney, “Will Christians Back a Mormon Candidate?”. I loved the one, “. . . self-described "Mormon fundamentalists" who live in Utah. . .”, a story pointing to a group that isn’t even associated with the same church. I quit looking after that; but there were pages of links that, I’m confident, covered important doctrine taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons.
From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:
“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;...”
According to some literary scholars Shakespeare was also making a joke at the expense of the Rose Theatre. The Rose was a local rival to his Globe Theatre and is reputed to have had less than effective sanitary arrangements. The story goes that this was a coy joke about the smell.
Maybe Fox wanted to make a similar coy joke as they linked with such utterly absurd items of interest; however, it’s my guess they were too lazy to think about what would happen if they left of key words, opting instead to go with Young and Mormon rather than look up the correct links.
It might seem strange, at least it must to Fox; but here are the official links for Brigham Young University and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints:
http://www.byu.edu/webapp/home/index.jsp
http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg
In this mornings Foxnews I was reading an AP story that highlighted the conservative nature of Brigham Young University as they implemented a policy to block YouTube from on campus computer systems. The given reason was two part, to avoid content which did not meet with Church standards and also because of limited "band width" on their computer systems (linked via title bar).
“PROVO, Utah — The popular Internet video-sharing site YouTube has been blocked on campus at Brigham Young University, the Mormon church school where students agree to live a "chaste and virtuous life."
(Wouldn't you know, my embedded links refuse to work which is why I don't use them here in Blogger."
Out of curiosity I clicked the embedded links for Brigham Young University and the Mormon Church to gain insight as to how they would be represented by those links. I'm familiar with the short recruiting films that are inserted during sporting contests, usually during a half time break, a chance to see the very best that each school has to offer, a shining light upon a hill so to speak; that’s not exactly what the links did.
Under the links to Brigham Young University there were all manner of articles which had appeared on Fox; problem was with the way they picked subject matter; the key word they used was “Young”.
“. . .allegedly taking captive two young siblings who had ...” and, “. . . this is another case of young adults "gone wild" simply because they can. . .” were lumped in with other relevant stories about the prestigious university, “. . .Cy Young Award winner with a nasty curveball. . .”, “. . .Vince Young turned in another gritty performance. . .”
I’ve learned so much about BYU from those links, what could I glean from the links for the Mormon church?
“Cannibalism Rife in Mormon Cricket Swarms…”, not making this up folks, that was the first item linked. There were several articles on Mitt Romney, “Will Christians Back a Mormon Candidate?”. I loved the one, “. . . self-described "Mormon fundamentalists" who live in Utah. . .”, a story pointing to a group that isn’t even associated with the same church. I quit looking after that; but there were pages of links that, I’m confident, covered important doctrine taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons.
From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:
“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;...”
According to some literary scholars Shakespeare was also making a joke at the expense of the Rose Theatre. The Rose was a local rival to his Globe Theatre and is reputed to have had less than effective sanitary arrangements. The story goes that this was a coy joke about the smell.
Maybe Fox wanted to make a similar coy joke as they linked with such utterly absurd items of interest; however, it’s my guess they were too lazy to think about what would happen if they left of key words, opting instead to go with Young and Mormon rather than look up the correct links.
It might seem strange, at least it must to Fox; but here are the official links for Brigham Young University and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints:
http://www.byu.edu/webapp/home/index.jsp
http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg
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