Is Hypocrisy a Possible in the White House Oval Office in Washington DC?

With American military forces poised for action, President Barack Obama said Saturday that the United States and its allies are prepared to act with urgency to end violence against civilians in Libya......"Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to act with urgency," Obama said in Brasilia, Brazil, on the first day of a three-country Latin American tour. --- AP news information on the internet

Barack Obama (D-Ill.) came out in opposition to the Iraq War at least as early as October 2, 2002, when he gave a speech against the war at an anti-war rally in Chicago. --- SourceWatch and Congresspedia

You have to go back a few years when the Iraq issue came to the forefront and President G. W. Bush was attempting to sell the idea that we just had to go in and take out Saddam Hussein. Details were given as to the reasons why this had to be done as soon as possible. I, for one, still wonder to this day whether or not Daddy Bush wasn't also urging his son to take such action in light of the fact that Daddy B. failed to do this when he had the opportunity to do so in an event known as Desert Storm! Maybe a conversation something like this took place -- "Son, I really fumbled the ball in Desert Storm by negotiating with Saddam's people under a tent out in the desert -- why don't you nail his hide to the wall?"

Anyway, we got involved in a conflict that has cost a lot of lives of our young folks and a lot of big bucks, with the end not yet. A runny-nosed, wet-behind-the-ears member of the Illinois legislature by the name of Barack Obama went on a crusade against the war in high profile fashion. In one of his speeches he asked questions of George Bush and his willingness to fight. One question asked was whether G.W. was willing to fight against our dependence upon foreign oil, which was one factor involved in the Iraq circumstance.

Now that he has been president for over two years it seems that President Obama hasn't done anything significant to set us free from our dependence upon foreign oil has he? If anything, we are in worse shape now in regard to the oil issue than ever, though we have access to great amounts of petroleum -- but what some call the "environmental wackos" have blocked that possibility rather effectively!

So now the Libyan crisis has erupted with the attempt by rebels to topple Gadhafi from power. But the man is waging war against the rebel forces. In the eyes of Barack Obama this man is evil and he treats his people badly and so he needs to go. Hmmmm -- wasn't that kind of thing also said about Saddam Hussein and the quality of his leadership in Iraq, but B.O. felt it was none of our business to interfere in the nation of Iraq and its affairs? He also made a big issue about the loss of American lives in the Iraq conflict. Doesn't seem to matter now if it should come to the point of losing any Americans as long as we get that bad man out of office and it doesn't matter about the cost -- what's a few more billions of dollars since we are up over our eyeballs in excess of 14 trillion dollars in debt?

So now, suddenly, we need to get Gadhafi removed from power! Do you sense anything here that is more than a tad hypocritical? But then with U.S. politicians at most any level, is that really anything new? And can this be simply another matter where the REAL reason is that Libya is sitting on a sizable puddle of oil? Just sort of thinking out loud on this!

Little do the leaders of the nations (including the United States) of the world realize they are walking down the very path which the Bible says they would -- wars, rumors of wars, accompanied by chaos of every conceivable kind. When you hear presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, or two-bit dictators speak and act, just remember that they are demonstrating how to fail due to an unwillingness to submit to Almighty God's sovereign authority!

But there is good news for the future so far as the followers of Jesus Christ are concerned -- many statements in the Scriptures make reference to the future, but one which summarizes it so well is found in the book of the Revelation -- "Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'"

Sleep on that one tonight -- a bright future that will provide pleasant dreams!

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion." --- Psalm 2:1-6

Just Discovered – How to Resolve Our Differences Quickly – Have a Beer with Me!

President Obama has invited Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley to the White House Thursday evening for a beer to help bury the hatchet on the arrest incident last week at Gates’ home.....UPDATE: “I think this will be a very casual affair. … I think as the President discussed last Friday, an effort and an opportunity to have greater communication, get to know each other and step back from the circumstances that brought everybody together over the past many days. But there’s no formal agenda, other than cold beer,” said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs.--- News release on July 28, 2009

Unless one is stone deaf and blind as the proverbial bat, the news of the furor over the arrest of a Harvard professor by a police sergeant in Cambridge, Massachusetts most recently was played on a 24/7 schedule and everyone was hearing about it! This was mainly due to the fact that President Obama jumped into issue and made a statement about the police acting “stupidly.”

One could have practically predicted such a response from the president since he and the professor in question are not strangers. The Harvard bond reflects the old saying, “Blood runs thicker than water!”

So, how is this thing going to be resolved? The above tid-bit news item tells it all – the trio will dialog about it over a beer or beers if time drags a bit! Time is set for 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 30th, at a picnic table outside the White House.

This will set a new precedent – a “role model” president is broadcasting to the young – don’t get into conflicts, even race issues – just sit down and have some beer and settle it peaceably! Although more than a tad of tavern owners might tell you that beer consumption has contributed to some pretty ugly stuff in the past – even murder in some cases!

But not only in the establishments that sell beverage alcohol have some violent “differences” taken place, but in homes in which families were torn apart because someone or more than one someone had consumed some beer or another type of alcoholic beverage! The media, of course, are reluctant to give us all the facts when it comes to the death, destruction, shattered lives of all ages, and financial loss that is a direct result of the consumption of beverage alcohol -- beer included!

But since the president seems to have to publicize his “strategy” of bringing opposing parties together over beer, maybe this will be just the beginning of the resolving of conflicts in other areas as well.

How about inviting those members of Congress who are at each others’ throats over health care and other issues to just sit down together with the president and have some beer?

How about getting the opposing parties in Afghanistan and Iraq to come to the White House, have a few beers, talk, laugh and come to a mutually agreed statement that says, “We all acted stupidly – now we are going to work together, and if there is any more disagreement, we will sit down with President Obama and have a beer or more with him, and get our differences resolved!”

And since Iran seems to be a thorn in the flesh of many nations, our own included, how about B. O. inviting the head honcho of that nation over to the White House for some beer – even a keg if necessary!

The list is almost endless as to the possibilities of resolving conflicts on issues – pro-abortion and anti-abortion people, anti-Second Amendment people and pro-Second Amendment people, pro-national health care people and anti-national health care people, those afflicted with a racism spirit – yes, let’s do it – have them come and sit down with the president with a beer in their hand and get their differences resolved in a spirit of civility and good will. Then leave the party saying, “We no longer have our differences, thanks to our president and the beer party he threw for us!”

Perhaps all who benefit from this new approach to conflict resolution will also be able to say, “The best part about it was when those Clydesdales hauled the loaded wagon right up to the front door of the White House, making sure we didn’t run out when we were at the peak of our dialog!”

For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed. --- Isaiah 9:16

If a man should walk in a false spirit and speak a lie, saying, 'I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,' even he would be the prattler of this people. --- Micah 2:11

Moment of Silence for Whom?

At some point, it was inevitable: Some politicians, somewhere, were going to have to talk about Michael Jackson's death. President Obama hasn't done it, so the responsibility fell to the Congressional Black Caucus, which led a moment of silence in Jackson's honor on the House floor on Friday. --- one of a number of news releases in connection with the death of Michael Jackson

It was Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr., a congressman from the state of – wouldn’t you know it – Illinois, who said, "Madam Speaker (Nancy Pelosi), if there is a God, and I believe there is, and that god distributes grace and mercy and talent to all of his children, on Aug. 28, 1958, he visited Gary, Ind., and touched a young man with an abundance of his blessings. With that gift, that young man, Michael Joe Jackson, would touch and change the world. His heart couldn't get any bigger, and yesterday it arrested."

And so there was a moment of silence in the chamber of the U. S. House of Representatives following Congressman Jackson’s less than accurate assessment of Michael Jackson and his ability to “change the world” – at least for the better!

This leads to a most appropriate question on the “moment of silence” practice as recently observed in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress.

Why was there not a moment of silence observed for Private William Long who was gunned down by a black Muslim convert, Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, at a military recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1st? This “dedicated” Muslim said that he would have shot and killed more soldiers if they had been in the parking lot! We heard a lot about the shooting of abortionist, George Tiller, but Private Long’s death apparently is of little consequence so far as elected officials in the U. S. Congress are concerned.

And how about a moment of silence to honor those military people who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan – these who have not accumulated millions and millions of dollars in the entertainment industry and are living under such harsh conditions that we in the United States cannot begin to comprehend a tiny bit of it all! The bunch mentioned in the preceding paragraph does not consider these military persons to be worth even a few seconds of special recognition and that “moment of silence!”

Could we have a moment of silence to honor and remember the approximate 25,000 unborn children who were brutally mutilated and murdered in the womb last week? Would it not be appropriate for the members of the House of Representatives to note their passing – these for whom God’s purpose has been intentionally short-circuited?

Oh, I forgot – within that body of representatives from the 50 states of this republic are quite a number who sanction the destruction of unborn children, including the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi -- House Speaker Pelose is in full agreement with President B. Hussein Obama on that subject. So, to suggest that they observe a special moment of silence for thousands of unborn victims would do nothing but incite vicious and intense debate over whether those unborn are even human -- that they are to be as casually disposed of as when you throw a Kleenex tissue into the garbage can after you have used it in blowing your nose!

If anything, such happenings indicate that our "value system" has clearly found its way into the moral cess pool that the leaders of this nation have been constructing for its citizens over a period of at least five decades or more!

And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." --- Jesus speaking in Luke 16:15

Bush and Chinese Human Rights -- Too Little, Too Late!

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Just hours before flying to Beijing for the Olympics on Thursday, U.S. President George W. Bush used some of his bluntest language yet in publicly pressing China to improve its human rights record.

In a speech in Bangkok on the eve of the Games' opening ceremony, when the eyes of the world will be on Beijing, Bush voiced "firm opposition" to China's detention of dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists.

"The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings," he said in comments likely to anger China's communist leadership.

"We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labour rights not to antagonize China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential," he said...
--- Opening statement of news release by Reuters on August 7, 2008

He’s been president for over 7 ½ years and he’s never confronted the Chinese with one of the greatest violations of human rights committed by a country in recent times

What he said about human rights as the Olympic Games were about to begin in China was in very general terms and the Chinese leadership can weather that very easily knowing all the while the United States is dependent on China for a majority of its imported consumer goods. China also owns more than just a tad of United States’ debt! If the Chinese ever demand that we pay up, we’ll see financial chaos such as never before.

The act of gross injustice and violation of human rights which Mr. Bush has not mentioned in the years of his presidency is the invasion and take over of the sovereign nation of Tibet! That happened some time ago and it is likely a big bunch of U. S. citizens don’t even know it happened, and couldn’t care less anyhow. There are a number of sources on the internet which spell out the grisly details of this event.

How many delegates, including ours, to the United Nations are demanding that China withdraw and completely turn control over to the people of Tibet – that is, simply let them run their own country?

George Bush is the same kind of “human rights” president as he is a “pro-life” president – he can “talk” pro-life talk, but when it comes to aggressively doing anything of substance to protect the unborn, well the massive shedding of innocent blood continues without any real restriction since he became president!

So, human rights in different areas of the world -– rights for the unborn children in the U. S? A fellow by the name of Bush hasn’t much by way of an impressive record on those issues, has he?

See the numbers of unborn victims since George W. Bush became president and number of victims since he said we needed to liberate the people of Iraq from the excessive brutality of Saddam Hussein – just go to A Quick Look at the United States’ Massacre Tally! Do the unborn not have rights also, even in the "land of the free and the home of the brave?"

But there is good news on the horizon in spite of this deplorable thing on the widespread violation of human rights – one of these days such violations of human rights, both of those born and those unborn, will be ended as all government leaders will be relieved of their positions permanently! You think not? Then just what does God mean when He says things such as the following:

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion. "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ' 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'" Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. --- Psalm 2:1-12

You realize, do you not, that the vast majority want nothing to do with Jesus Christ – to bow the knee to Him and acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord is just unthinkable! But the day is coming when there will be no choice.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. --- Philippians 2:9-11

Open Letter to Mel White, His "Significant Other," and Soulforce from a United Methodist!

We call on members of the United Methodist Church to support your local congregation if it is (or is rapidly becoming) a Reconciling Congregation. But we call upon you to leave your church if your pastor continues to enforce the words that "...do not condone." At least refuse to pay your tithes and offerings until your church opens their doors to all people as Christ commands. --- part of text of "open letter" to United Methodists from Mel White & Soulforce, May 1, 2008

Dear Mel, your "significant other" (Gary), and Members of Soulforce:

Due to the General Conference of the UMC of 2008 not moving in the direction as far as you wanted, you have responded by making a broad appeal to the membership of the United Methodist Church. It is your desire that the United Methodist Church come to the place where those who practice sodomy and lesbianism be fully involved in the membership and life of the UMC. Further, that those who practice such lifestyles be ordained into the UMC ministry if they feel so "called."

Actually what follows was written some time before the death of Jerry Falwell, who is mentioned in the following epistle. But the appeal at the conclusion of the letter is still quite legitimate as some would fully agree. So here we go.......

You have certainly created a lot of waves around the country the last few years in your campaign to force full acceptance of the sodomite and lesbian lifestyles upon all citizens and institutions within the borders of the United States.

It must be admitted by even your most dedicated foes that much progress has been made by you and other like minded groups in your ultimate goal to have civil and church legislation enacted which will grant sodomites and lesbians the right to:

• legally marry in a church or in a civil ceremony.
  
  
• adopt children and be recognized as legitimate families with all the rights and privileges now possessed by families consisting of a father (male) and a mother (female) who are married and their children.
  
  
• be totally received into the life and ministry of any church, including ordination into the ministry of any church.
  
  
• be employed in any work place with full protection so that although a potential employer strongly objects to sodomy and lesbianism on moral grounds, that employer is forced to hire a sodomite or a lesbian anyway because the law says you cannot discriminate, even on moral grounds!
  
  
• be free to rent any property of choice which is available and even though a Christian who is the property owner has strong moral convictions that sodomy and lesbianism are an abomination, that Christian property owner must rent his property to a couple of sodomites or a couple of lesbians because the law says he cannot refuse the "couple" due to the fact that he would be guilty of "discrimination!"
  

Your efforts to put extreme pressure on various church groups have been highly publicized and it is clear that some are beginning to cave in a bit to your demands here and there -- even some church leaders who used to oppose sodomy and lesbianism have "converted" and now speak of it in favorable terms!

The strategy you are following could not be improved upon in any manner -- every facet of our society has been impacted and you now have growing support from political and church leaders. But of even greater significance is the fact that you now have a majority of those in mass media communications behind you along with an increased number of productions coming from the movie and television industries which present sodomy and lesbianism in a very favorable light -- or in the case of depicting stories of sodomites and lesbians who were victims of so-called "hate crimes" you have gained a great amount of sympathy for your cause and this should benefit you in seeking special protection and prvileges that we in the heterosexual community do not have nor ever shall in the future!

Now then -- having said all that and as you review your successes over recent years, may I make a suggestion to you regarding the expansion of your agenda to a much higher level.

Is it not time for you to enlarge your vision to include those countries that are still considered almost universally opposed to sodomy and lesbianism? You and your lover, Gary Nixon, at one point rented a house across the street from Jerry Falwell's church. And as anticipated, you reaped millions of dollars worth of publicity from this venture, and if you weren't very high profile before, you certainly are now!

OK, here it is -- are you ready for the next level of challenge? You can arrange for others to live in your house, attend Falwell's church and keep the heat on him and his congregation.

So how about you, your lover, and others who are committed to Soulforce and its mission moving to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, or Baghdad in Iraq, or Tehran in Iran?

Just do what you've been doing here in the U.S. as you challenge those Islamic cultures to consider the legitimacy of sodomy and lesbianism. Is it not true that the followers of Allah are much more hung up on sodomy and lesbianism than are the citizens of the U.S. and that those who practice sodomy and lesbianism in an Islamic culture must do so in complete secrecy? To be discovered as a practicing sodomite or lesbian can lead to a trial and execution as was the case on January 1, 2002 when three sodomites were publicly beheaded for practicing sodomy in Saudi Arabia! Surely you would agree, would you not, that these attitudes toward sodomy and lesbianism must be changed. And who would be the best person to confront those societies about this issue than you along with your supporters since you have great expertise in this area!

So, while it may be a bit difficult at first, if you pursue this with the same zeal as you have in the U.S., surely the professed followers of Islam will see it your way even as growing numbers of professing Christians and their leaders in this country are seeing things your way and agree with your contention that sodomy and lesbianism are to be considered every bit as normal as heterosexuality.

I anxiously look forward to a news release which tells of you, your lover, and Soulforce supporters taking up residence in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, or Iran and that you are zealously pursuing the same agenda there in public fashion as you have been doing in this country. And after you have "converted" the citizens of those countries you can then move on to the many others which are still dominated by Islam!

And by the way, Mel, try to keep your head as you pursue your crusade in those countries where Allah holds sway over the majority!

Still contending at Circuit Rider's Range, blogging at Musings of a Maverick! and warning at Driving the Final Nails!

Clayton D. Harriger
Elder in Full Connection
W. PA Annual Conference
The United Methodist Church

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. --- Jude 1:3, 4

Another Date for FDR's "Infamy" Slot!

As of March 19, 2008 an anniversary will be noted. The media will give attention to it and likely President George W. Bush will also mention it. The anniversary is year # 5 since we launched a pre-emptive strike and invaded a nation in the Middle East known as Iraq.

It is also likely that some statistics will be mentioned along the way in this observance. Such things as:

• number of U. S. military personnel who have lost their lives.
  
  
• how many have been wounded, and maybe, how many have been maimed for life as a result of the many roadside bombs used by the "enemy."
  
  
• how much this operation has cost us in terms of billions of dollars, or have we reached the trillion mark -- if we haven't, hang on because we are bound to get there -- wars don't come cheap anymore!
  

However, it is highly unlikely that the following will be mentioned to any significant degree:

• how many military families have been dissolved through divorce as a direct result of this Iraq thing.
  
  
• how many suicides among military personnel have taken place since we got involved in this debacle -- the rate has been increasing as compared to conflicts in the past.
  
  
• how much "profit" certain U. S. companies have made under the pretense of "rebuilding" Iraq -- one company with which Vice President Dick Cheney used to be connected is doing especially well, as are others!
  

But there is one statistic the president, vice president, members of Congress and the mass media will not mention at all -- not even a whisper! And you can hunt high and low within the ranks of church groups -- big name denominations and independents -- again, not even a squeek out of the vocal cords!

But you can see it here and this may be about the only place you will see it -- it is a very important number. You will have to travel a bit to see it -- and once you do, will you mention it to a few other people?

Travel on over to A Much Avoided Statistic on the 5th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq! There is a link at the bottom of that area which will bring you back to this place.

This will also help you to remember another reason for placing March 19, 2003 in FDR's slot for dates which will live in infamy!

Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. --- 2 Kings 24:3, 4

Ooops! I Just Couldn't Resist This One!

Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to United States troops in Iraq today... --- news announcement made at noon, March 17, 2008

Quite a bit of hoopla over the fact that Vice President Dick Cheney dropped in on U.S. troops serving in Iraq -- it was a "surprise" thing, but then maybe there was a reason for that.

In a sound bite the Vice President said that Iraq was now safer than the last time that he visited there. That raises a question in the minds of some of us, or maybe more than one question --

Is Iraq safer because Cheney left his shotgun at home? Is it because everyone refused to do some hunting with him while he was in Iraq? Or is it because military commanders saw his shotgun, confiscated it and then told the VP that it would not be returned until he underwent an intensive combat training course lasting 16 weeks? And at the end of that time he would have his shotgun returned on the condition that he always be the point man on all patrols, with all the troops a few yards directly behind him so long as he remains in Iraq!

Yea, I already know -- as some of my church people have suggested, I've got too much time on my hands! But it's not that the Devil made me do it, but it's the nature of politics and politicians that's brings things such as this about!

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance... --- Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4

Not One Candidate Is Honest Enough to Face Reality!

Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them. --- Isaiah 1:23

For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed. --- Isaiah 9:16

Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. --- Ezekiel 22:27

Today is known as "Super Tuesday" with a number of states holding primary elections and aspiring presidential candidates scurrying about like a bunch of ants when their anthill has been demolished!

In spite of professed differences, there is one thing which lumps all of the 2008 candidates together into the same mold -- not a single one is honest enough to face hard reality in this country which she or he desires to lead as president come January 2009! Not one has seriously addressed the ethical, moral and spiritual corruption that is massively destroying this country just as a raging melonoma destroys and brings about certain death to the human body!

Anyone with even a sprinkling of sensitivity to God's special revelation and His spiritual standards by which humans are expected to live can only conclude that as a nation we are on a path to unprecedented disaster -- one of such magnitude that the human mind cannot possibly begin to comprehend it!

It's pretty well documented that some candidates are on record as favoring the continuation of a gross practice that will invoke the wrath of God more quickly than any other national transgression -- the practice of destroying over 100,000 unborn children each month on average!

The major problems are not:

• foreign policy and spending billions upon billions of dollars fighting conflicts in such places as Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else we believe we need to do some shootouts at the O.K. Corral locations!
  
  
• economic and how to stimulate the economy of a nation that is hopelessly trillions of dollars in debt!
  
  
• health care and how to establish a guarantee that everyone is covered by insurance in a health care industry that is badly infected with a virus called greed!
  
  
• employment and how to create more jobs (a long time favorite song & dance routine of every politician)!
  
  
• education and how to improve it when we have already knocked the foundation out from under our young by telling them their "roots" go back to a pool of slime containing some wriggling organisms millions of years ago!
  
  
• social with millions of illegal aliens who believe the U.S. laws on immigration in no way apply to them whatsover!
  
  
• technological involving the exploration of outer space, inner space, miniature space, urban space, rural space, wilderness space, jungle space, desert space, oceanic space, center of the earth space, or _________ (insert your own choice in the blank) space!
  

No, the major problem is our relationship with Almighty God Who not only holds each of us as individuals accountable to Him, but whole nations as well. The issue is one as to whether we intentionally choose to obey, serve and honor Him as God, Who gives us life and Who has provided redemption from sin and destruction through His Son, Jesus Christ.

But since the republic of the U.S.A. has chosen to hand down such insane decisions as declaring public schools off limits to God and the sanctioned destruction of humans for which He has definite plans, then all we can expect sometime in the future is a response from the Creator of the heavens and the earth. That response will be most unpleasant to experience, to say the least! Our massive idolatry, trashing of the day of worship, pandemic sexual immorality and lukewarm "church-ianity" simply add further to the growing list of charges against us -- and all the while we, politicians included, make the claim of being a "nation under God." This has got to be a qualifier in the Guiness Book of Records as being one the most hypocritical claims ever made in human history!

Now here's a thought to consider -- why don't we elect the little mouse which you saw at the beginning as our next president? He'll do a better job than any of those competing for that office at the present time!

Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words, nor My law, but rejected it." --- Jeremiah 6:16-19

Zealous to Save from Malaria, But....!!!

High level fanfare has been given to the "Nothing But Nets" campaign in the September 28, 2007 issue of the WPAUMC InterLink, biweekly publication of the W. PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. At the recent session of the conference in June the color orange was prominent as youth wore tee shirts of that color with the caption on the back as noted in above photo --
MALARIA KILLS

SEND A NET, SAVE A LIFE
Bishop Thomas Bickerton is to be commended for his zealous leadership in this campaign in which it has been reported that the denomination is more than half way toward its $3 million dollar goal of providing netting for families in parts of Africa where as many as 1 million children die from malaria each year. Bishop Bickerton has heavily stressed these mortality rates.

All well and good -- a worthy project in any man's language which has had an enthusiastic reponse by groups of all ages. High profile press coverage has helped immensely. Many lives will be saved in the times ahead because of this endeavor.

BUT the bishop, along with all his colleagues, is totally silent about the fact that about 1 million unborn children are brutally mutilated and murdered in this country each year. Tally at this point in time is over 48 million victims of the United States' tailor made version of "Holocaust!"

United Methodist bishops are quite notorious regarding their silence on the destruction of thousands of unborn children every week of the year. They will issue joint statements on all kind of social and moral matters ranging from the war in Iraq, gambling, the death penalty, concern for children (the born ones, that is), etc.

The bishops clearly expressed their displeasure that a practicing homosexual was denied church membership by a pastor who was attempting to counsel the man to repent of his sins. The homosexual refused to repent. But the way the bishops put it, if a guy is practicing sodomy regularly with his "lover" and wants to become a member of the United Methodist Church no pastor should stand in the way of granting that desire! Whew! It gets pretty deep sometimes, doesn't it?

One bishop told me in written communication that she agrees with the position of the UMC on abortion which is really one that gives a "green light" to abortion on demand. So for her, whatever shifting the denomination does in taking positions on issues at its General Conference gatherings, she will go along every time. The logic of this says that if the UMC delegates voted that we should all jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, then we should do so and not question the action! This is what you call "marching in lockstep, no questions to be asked!"

Fortunately, there are still a few folks around the denomination (pastors and laity) who refuse to buy in to this philosophy. They usually are not popular people and often are branded as being fanatical, narrow-minded, unloving, and even unChristian!

Alas, I digress a bit again -- if you want to see how many unborn children have been murdered since Bishop Bickerton took over as bishop in the W. PA Conference, go to A Quick Look At the United States' Massacre Tally! Scroll down a ways and you will come to mention of Bishop Bickerton. Go further to see what the number of victims has been since other bishops have been elevated to their present positions in the UMC.

Remember, we will be told that we need to do all we can to prevent malaria deaths in Africa, but not a syllable coming from those fellows and girls that make up a special group known as the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church!

How about a tee shirt with this inscription on the back for starters --
ABORTION KILLS UNBORN CHILDREN!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?
Don't look for one in any United Methodist Church annual conference session anytime soon -- just maybe when God makes His response, as He surely will, to this abomination of slaughtering the innocents in their mothers' wombs there might be the formation of special "committees" to study the issue and then report back to the next annual conference session -- if there is one!

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, "Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!'" Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.' For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'?" --- Jeremiah 7:1-10

George W. Bush the "Prophet!"

"And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel to err. Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: 'Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness has gone out into all the land.'" Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD. They continually say to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You shall have peace" '; and to everyone who walks according to the imagination of his own heart, 'No evil shall come upon you.'" --- Jeremiah 23:13-17

President George Bush at times seems to want to wear the mantle of a prophet. Recently he stressed the fact that history will prove that we did the right thing (or rather read, ‘George Bush did the right thing.’) by getting deeply involved in Iraq.

On the President’s part there is clearly an unwillingness to face both the bog of quicksand in which we find ourselves deeply mired in Iraq and the real reason for this deplorable circumstance!

Furthermore, as the nation’s #1 elected leader he has shown no sense of alarm nor even a hint of concern over the ethical, moral, and spiritual corruption that has brought us to the very brink of national collapse!

History is much more likely to record the United States as a nation richly blessed by Almighty God at its beginning and during many decades following that miraculous beginning. But in the latter years of its existence will be the tragic record of increased chastisements and ultimate judgment at the hands of the God it professed to trust as inscribed on coins and currency. This will be solely due to the fact that the majority of its elected officials, religious leaders, and citizens adopted a very deadly mindset which said, “What is purported to be God’s special revelation to us (the holy Scriptures) really is not so and we don’t have to pay any serious attention to it! We alone are the arbiters of what is right and wrong and will personally determine how we live and relate to each other.”

Yes indeed -- something for every spiritually sensitive person to bear in mind -– Bush the “prophet” would have been very much at home among a group of which it was said a long time ago,

“Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come, forever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the LORD; who say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: "Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perversity, and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.” And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter's vessel, which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water from the cistern." --- Isaiah 30:8-14

"I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. --- Jeremiah 23:21,22

The One Withdrawal Nobody Wants to Seriously Consider!

“Withdraw the troops from Iraq soon!” – varied quotes of this kind come from some politicians as well as other persons holding some type of position somewhere within the United States.

Yes, indeed – it is a very hot topic these days throughout the United States with politicians speaking out boldly – persons holding different positions in the mass media – celebrities, ever the self appointed authorities on human behavior, do not hesitate to tell us how it should be – a high pitched chorus that shouts out endlessly that we should withdraw our military people from Iraq!

But there is a far more serious issue on the subject of withdrawal and it doesn’t involve the U. S. military. And that is when God withdraws from a people due to massive rejection of His standards and laws by which a culture must live if it is to remain sane, serene, sensible, stable, and secure for the future.

The deadly assumption by the majority of persons in the United States is that we are under the blessing and special favor of Almighty God. Do you not hear the phrase, "God bless America!", repeated time after time, especially by politicians? Some persons go so far as to say, “We are a Christian nation!”

The Israelites of ancient history demonstrate the fallacy of assuming the nation is in good standing with God when in reality it is far, far from such favor and blessing. The adoption of false idols, child sacrifice, sexual immorality, profaning the day of worship and allowing a spirit of greed and selfishness to dominate their lives paved the way to national suicide!

God stated explicitly that He had withdrawn from them and would not hear their prayers when He brought judgment upon them as a consequence of their determined rebellion against Him in many forms of expression!

We are treading the same path and are guilty of our own brand of idolatry, the destruction of children, a potpourri of sexual immorality, the profaning of the day of worship (less than half our population is in a place of worship each Sunday morning) – and it is plain to see that greed and selfishness often play a major role in the way life is lived on both the personal and corporate levels in the “land of the free and the home of the brave!”

If you haven’t done so, take a look at how we are driving the nails into the coffin of a republic known as the United States of America – go to Driving the Final Nails! -- a link at the bottom of that area will bring you back here.

And if you have seen it before, maybe it would be well to review it again and then go out and sound the warning trumpet! (Isaiah 58:1).

What’s that -- a hammer in your hand?

With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. --- Hosea 5:6

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. they trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. --- Isaiah 59:1-7

"Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them." --- Ezekiel 8:18

Then they will cry to the LORD, but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds. --- Micah 3:4

Wow! The Dow Blasts Through 13,000 -- But That Doesn't Mean a Chicken in Every Pot!

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! --- 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Wall Street ready to throw a party in the streets -- money rolling like a mighty river -- "experts" on investing so excited that they might even dampen their britches and start looking for some Pampers to assist them in their "emergency" circumstances!

Yes, for a time there are some who are making money like crazy -- as one convicted "insider" said years ago, "A little greed is a good thing!" For a time he served in a "country club" prison environment (designed just for "white color" people) and then was released to spend all his millions made with a bit of "manipulating" in the world of finance.

But the masses within our republic will reap no benefits from this supposed "boom" as the DOW ascends to new heights. It can be proven by data available that the gap between the rich and poor is an ever widening chasm.

Greed is the motivating factor more and more with obscene profit figures being released by a growing number of corporations such as those dealing with petroleum, pharmaceuticals, etc. And there is that Haliburton outfit (with which Dick Cheney had direct connections years ago) which is making money by the truck loads under the guise of "reconstructing" Iraq, and which has made a move to shift headquarters into an Arab country! Anyone out there noticed lately about an "accountability" problem with millions and millions of dollars in the so-called "reconstruction" of Iraq?

A number of companies have dismantled operations here in the U. S. and have set up shop somewhere overseas or across the border in Mexico where workers will be paid a piddling amount under unhealthy work conditions to put together a product which will be sent here for sale! Have you made it a practice to look at where your purchased consumer items have been made? Write down the names and see how soon you have a quite a listing of countries which occupy representative seats at a place called the United Nations!

But who cares? So long as the select "few" make tons of money in the process everyone will be happy, right? And every once in a while we hear a word from that dark, dismal and depressing place known as Washington DC about how great the economy is doing!

OK -- enough of the attempt to bring us down to reality! This republic which finds itself in a most tragic state of spiritual, moral and ethical bankruptcy will discover likely too late that what seems to be a financial "boom" really is not, and is to be likened to an overinflated balloon about to pop! And guess who has the pin in His hand ready to prick it?

Among the many "idols" which have been set up over the years in this nation, the one which occupies the #1 position is most likely money. God has indicated that He will judge a nation and in the process He will bring its gods to nothing! He did it in ancient Egypt and in ancient Babylon as well as in dealing with many other peoples as history has run its course -- here is God's declaration about the matter:

The LORD will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him, each one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations. --- Zephaniah 2:11

In fact it is predicted that the time will come as human history reaches its final stages that fear will drive even prominent, powerful and very wealthy people into the recesses and cavities of the earth's surface! You don't think it will happen, do you? If you disagree, you'll have to have a heart to heart talk with the One Who said this:

The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. --- Isaiah 2:17-21

It's really not a question of whether that Wall Street "balloon" will pop, but rather WHEN it is going to happen!

Stayed tuned for the next edition of further discussion on this interesting subject of money and how to be wise in handling whatever amount God sees fit to entrust to your care -- that way you won't get burned as will happen to the majority in the future!

"After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" --- Matthew 25:19-21

And Here's Nancy P. -- AGAIN!

As each day passes it becomes more obvious that Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts are going to save us from ourselves whether we like it or not, and that we harbor absolutely no desire for such actions on her part!

And she is certainly taking advantage of her new position and power as Speaker of the House of Reps in Washington DC as never before in the few weeks since assuming that office along with making a host of braggadocio statements which have continued unabated to this day!

Off again on a high profile junket [def: to go on a junket or excursion. especially one paid for out of public funds] to the Middle East and "conversations" with Syrian President Bashar. This debacle does not sit well with the Bush Administration. But Nancy P. is on a mission not only to save us, but to save the whole world! And you know who is paying the tab for all these shenanigans, do you not? Why this gal will spend the last copper cent you have in your pocket and never blink an eyeball in the process!

While she, as have others who preceded her on such ventures, will consider herself an expert now on Middle East issues because she has been there and talked to people, she will not face up to at least two main facts:

• First, the reality of what Islam is about -- it is NOT a compromising religion nor is it tolerant of other religions, including Christianity. Because it is not in control and is not dominant here in the United States, a twisted picture has been painted of Islam -- but due to compromising here in the United States and a "tolerance" expressed by those who claim to be Muslim, it has become corrupted as has many segments of Christianity which also has its problems with compromise and toleration of what God has clearly denounced and condemned!
  
  In light of the books which are considered sacred and authoritative to their respective faiths, Islam and Christianity envision a world in which each is the exclusive faith -- they are totally incompatible with each other. Anyone who is not a Muslim is considered an unbeliever or an infidel, and likewise with Christianity -- one who has not received Jesus Christ is regarded as a sinner and under condemnation. The contrast in approaching unbelief is as different as day and night -- the approach of Christianity is a message of love and an appeal to turn from sin and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord -- no gun to the head nor knife to the throat! If the message is rejected, so be it -- no retaliation is carried out if the message is refused. But in Islam deadly force can be used against infidels if they refuse to become Muslims in their faith and renounce all other religious practices, including Christianity! It is well known that in those nations where Islam is in total control such as Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Christianity is not permitted to be practiced openly. U.S. politicians have yet to wake up to this reality!
  
  
• Second, Nancy P. and the rest of the crowd in DC (and politicians in our state capitols as well) fail to realize that the blessing of God has been withdrawn from this nation in terms of the prestige and respect it used to hold throughout the entire world! We literally are on our own now -- no longer can we say that we have the blessing of God upon us in our world involvements, including our military actions! There will be those who will object vehemently to this suggestion, but think for a moment -- when was the last time the United States had a decisive military victory where the terms were unconditional surrender and those who were the enemy signed the documents without one single word of "negotiation?" There is also the evidence that since the politicians have handcuffed military commanders and have tried to dictate how the military is to do its "job" things have unraveled considerably as opposed to how military commanders operated in WW II and started to in Korea until Truman "fired" General MacArthur, and you remember how the Korean "police action" turned out, do you not?
  
  We are witnessing in a number of ways the truth of what happened to another nation at another time long, long ago -- here is how it is stated:
  

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult. Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD. "Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it. I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD."' --- Ezekiel 22:1-16

Be assured that Nancy P. and all the others will keep right on doing what they have been doing -- basically, "...it's my way (for me and my party) and whatever it takes financially (more taxes) and more spending (we will spend our way to prosperity) and more debt (we'll ignore that) and obscene campaigning (millions upon millions of dollars) to be reelected and then hope U. S. citizens believe our propaganda about what great things we have done for the country!"

As noted at my web site previously -- there is good news in this colossal political mess -- a day is coming when ALL politicians will be out of a job -- in a sense, tossed out on their ear! Yes even Nancy P., Hillary C., Barack O., George B., Dick C., John M., Mitt R., -- well, you get the picture, do you not? Read about it at
Good News! A Day Coming in Which All Politicians Will Be Removed from Office! Just think, it'll be a great time -- I can hardly wait -- it's sort of like a 6 year-old waiting for Christmas on December 24th with excitement building like a giant snowball rolling down a slope!

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ' 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'" --- Psalm 2:1-9

An Anniversary NOT to Celebrate!

* 3,196 U.S. military persons killed (does not include military killed in Afghanistan)

* 24,042 U.S. wounded (does not include military wounded in Afghanistan)

* Iraqi civilian deaths - more than 58,000 but could be thousands higher

* before "war" 1/2 million Iraqis living outside Iraq; now 2 million living outside the country

* U.S. money cost = $360 billion; Afghanistan debacle puts total to $500 billion and still climbing!

* projected costs of providing medical and disability benefits to vets of Iraq and Afghanistan "wars" at $350 billion to $750 billion! --- Source: Associated Press combined with government statistics - March 18, 2007

Four years ago today (March 19, 2003), upon the insistence of President George W. Bush, the United States launched a military invasion against Iraq. There were "reasons" given by the president as to why this was absolutely necessary.

As we continue to plod along and as a "surge" of a larger number of troops flow into Iraq, legitimate questions are being raised about this thing. Protests are increasing in number and the U.S. Congress is torn as to what to do next -- the prez wants more money and more manpower -- cries from members of Congress want to set deadlines and get the troops back home -- defenders of the "war" are saying we're getting there but just be patient, because a lot of good is being done, and the country will become stable.

On this last one -- yes, "good things" are being done -- some contractors with good connections are cashing in big on that one -- already scandals have surfaced because millions of dollars to do some "good things" cannot be accounted for! Do those contractors wear those big baggy pants that high school kids wear, since those pants have pockets all over the place and certainly can hold a lot of money??????

No, this is an anniversary some will not want to celebrate -- 3,200 families continue to grieve the loss of loved ones (the number of fatalities has now passed the 3,200 level since above figures were published) and thousands of other families carry a burden for loved ones who will be maimed and handicapped for the rest of their lives! That's just the beginning. We tend to forget military casualities in that place called Afghanistan -- military people continue to be killed and wounded there also!

One of the greatest tragedies of this quagmire is that the president and his administration do not (or intentionally refuse to) recognize the reality of what Islam really is. A simple proof is this -- if Christians and Muslims worship the same God, as the prez insists, then let him go into Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, or Iran and announce to the leaders that he wants to set up some churches for Christians in which they may worship, and let him insist that the Christians be guaranteed freedom to broadcast their message of salvation through Jesus Christ, and to distribute literature promoting Christianity. Further, that all this will be financed with money coming from the United States.

How far do you think he will get? And yet he talks about spreading "democracy" throughout the middle east -- a very warped view of "democracy" will work, IF all the citizens are Muslim and Islamic "law" is the law of the land -- but then, you really will not have any sense of "democracy" as the average American perceives it!

However, a far greater tragedy is the fact that the president and the members of his administration are blinded to the spiritual, moral and ethical bankrupted condition of this republic and express absolutely no concern about our inevitable rush toward national disaster due to such massive defiance and rebellion against the Creator of this universe. Instead, there are the repeated uses of the phrase, "God bless America!," and the deadly assumption that we still have the blessing of God, when in fact, we do not!

A letter, (Mr. President, We Need to Set Our Own House in Order First!), is sent to the president and/or the vice president about every 10 days or so with copies going to other elected officials, church leaders, etc. It is an effort to remind elected officials of the need to get this republic squared away in relationship with Almighty God. I also realize I am in a position similar to the prophet Ezekiel who was told by God to sound the warning and the call to repent -- at the same time God told this man in so many words, "You tell them -- they won't listen to you, because they won't listen to me. But you tell them anyway!" It's unlikely the letters will ever get to them -- but if they did and were actually read, they probably would be dismissed as the ravings of a lunatic. But at least with clear conscience I can stand before God and say that I tried to do what He put on my heart and fulfill the calling He has given me.

Celebration on today's "anniversary" anyone? Excuse me, but I'm going to pass on this one!

Keystone Kops Resurrected!

We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covers us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. -- Jeremiah 3:25

Today’s local newspaper -- front page center – large bold headlines reading, “Iraq pullout push” – big picture of Rep. John P. Murtha (rep of the district in which I live) and Nancy Pelosi (3rd in line for the presidency of the United States – if that isn’t a nightmare possibility, then tell me what is!)!

All kinds of frantic scampering about on Capitol Hill in D.C. – if they just had on those old fashioned blue uniforms of another era, we’d most definitely have the 21st Century version of the famed Keystone Kops!

Now this thing has more convolutions than a 20 foot anaconda in the Amazon with Nancy P. & Co. initiating a “plan” to have our troops out of Iraq by a deadline of September 1, 2008.

As always, there are those "renegades" who are saying we ought to have the troops home by Christmas of this year, 2007.

And Democrats in the Senate want to set a target date of March 31, 2008 for withdrawal of combat troops but with no deadline attached to that date.

Now here’s the twist – Nancy P. says the war-related provisions would be added to George’s request for nearly $100 billion more in funds (this on top of billions already spent) to pay for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan!

This thing is getting both messy and expensive, is it not? How long do you think it will be before someone says, “Due to ‘cost overruns’ in our war projects we need to raise taxes – but please understand, it’s all for a very worthy cause and to insure the security of our nation!” That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Washington DC-ese that comes spewing forth when tax issues come up!

Observe carefully the Kops running about like chickens with heads just chopped off and jockeying for prominent positions behind cameras and microphones in order to send a message to you and me that says, “Look at me and how important I am – I’m here to save you from yourself!” Is it not right on target to conclude that these people have long ago abandoned the principle of having the best interest and well being of our republic at heart?

As an aside – have you checked lately what the national debt numbers are? Be assured they haven’t been reduced the last few months – or the last number of decades for that matter! Further, what do you observe those elected to office in the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government doing to eliminate that top heavy national debt? And as always, they decisively make sure their wallets and purses are full and over flowing -- check salaries and perks on that as they gorge at the public trough! Ah, I now rest my case!

The greatest tragedy of all, however, in the modern Keystone Kops caper is this – Almighty God has a much higher, nobler, and fulfilling purpose for thousands of our young people than being pawns of political hanky panky that drags out month after month after month…….. (add as many months as you wish!).

"....O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such never has been done as what has been done to Jerusalem...." -- Daniel 9:7-12

NOTE: the above is a portion of a prayer which Daniel the prophet prayed some years after the kingdom in which he had been a citizen was totally destroyed and he ended up a captive in Babylon. Do some of the issues he mentions in that prayer sound at all a bit familiar?

How Long Do You Have to Fight a War, Anyway?

It is with a measure of fear that I venture into this highly controversial arena and with the understanding that more likely than not my purpose will be misunderstood. In spite of that, here we go, taking the plunge into the pool of "politics & war" ------>

The 4th anniversary of our "war" in Iraq will take place on March 19, 2007. We also have a pot still simmering in a place called Afghanistan. Loss of military personnel in the Iraq mess is now approaching 3,200. And in that other place we still lose military people from time to time as well.

Now consider this: we really got involved in WW II with the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. We were involved in wars on two fronts. The Normandy invasion took place in June of 1944, although we were carrying out bombing raids before that, and there had been fighting in Africa, Italy, and Sicily. But it was all wrapped up with defeat of Germany in May of 1945 and Japan in August of 1945. Terms were unconditional surrender -- no sitting at a table and negotiating for weeks! It was the last time the United States had such a decisive military victory in war.

Then came Korea -- the Chinese got involved, so MacArthur as much as said, "If you're getting into this, then we'll go after your hide too!" Truman fired him and we "negotiated" a settlement. And so North Korea is more than a kind of "thorn in the flesh" today.

Then there was something called Viet Nam --- I guess you know we didn't come out too well in that one either, did we?

And then a thing called Desert Storm under the first Bush (no pun intended) and a tent was set up in the desert and we talked and signed papers and that kind of stuff and a guy named Hussein remained in power.

In between all these events were skirmishes of one kind or another with the prevailing idea now that military commanders are mere puppets on strings pulled by politicians and their appointees. Be careful where you aim your weapon and fire in spite of the fact that you are getting shot at from all directions! Now we're supposed to fight "clean" or "sanitized" wars -- is there really such an animal?

George Patton, highly controversial general of WW II era, expressed the desire that he wanted just Field Marshall Rommel (brilliant German armored commander) and he to take a tank and do battle with each other -- whoever won, that would settle it -- no more fighting after that. Forget about getting thousands of troops involved!

Perhaps the war business would slow down considerably if somehow the rule would be that only the leaders of nations who feel they must engage in conflict would be the only ones permitted to do battle and include their families -- just immediate families, not far out relatives -- just dad, mom, and the kids, and let them fight it out instead of sending other dads' and moms' kids into deadly conflicts! Maybe we can petition that one to be on the ballot for the next election, huh????

Back in 2003 we were repeatedly told (like some guy beating on a drum 24 hours a day) that Saddam Hussein and Co. were a massive threat to world peace -- he was a brutal dictator and had ruthlessly killed a lot of people during his vicious reign in Iraq -- he just had to be eliminated. So we got him taken out of power, but we're still bogged down and we are still in what some agree to be "war!" The number of victims as best can be estimated under Hussein's "reign of terror" is somewhere in the range of 1 million.

But brutality and murder weren't limited to Hussein and his sons -- since we invaded Iraq 4 years ago the victims of brutality, mutilation and murder in this country now number well over 5.1 million! They are persons who never had the chance to be born -- they were mutilated and murdered while still in their mothers' wombs in the "land of the free and the home of the brave!"

Is it any wonder that the blessing of God Almighty has been withdrawn from this nation and now we are strictly on our own -- and real victory eludes us as does the proverbial "pot of gold" at the end of a rainbow? And this means that never again will we be in a position to demand "unconditional surrender!"

Furthermore, it is nothing short of hypocrisy of the first magnitude to expect God to bless this nation as we intentionally destroy on average about 100,000 of our own each month of the year!

Just something to think about and then sleep on as you lay your head on the pillow tonight.

BTW, just in case you are trying to figure out my "politics" by what I have just said -- forget it! I'm neither Democrat or Republican -- neither party has anything of significant value to offer the citizens of this republic at this point in time! Elected officials are too occupied with themselves and what grandstanding they can do to always be center-stage, while at the same time devising new ways to fatten the wallets in their pockets or the purses which hang from their shoulders! I am a non-affiliated registered voter in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and yes, I do vote -- frustrating as that experience is each time I enter the ballot booth. :-(

"But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:....... the LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me........ The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth."
--- Deuteronomy 28:15,20,25

When Dick Cheney Speaks, Do the Chinese Shake in Their Boots?

Friday, February 23 - Sydney, Australia "Last month's anti-satellite test, China's continued fast paced military buildup are less constructive and are not consistent with China's stated goal of a peaceful rise." -- VP Dick Cheney

Oooooh! Bet the Chinese really got shook on that statement, didn't they? When Dick Cheney speaks, everyone jumps, or do they? And when he goes hunting, everyone looks for a rock to hide behind, do they not?

But what about this Chinese thing? Here's a country that has over 4 times the population of the United States and who knows how much military hardware, including "weapons of mass destruction!" Remember, that song & dance routine we heard back in 2003 as applied to Saddam Hussein & Company -- and how it was absolutely necessary to launch war against Iraq because that country and its leader was such a great threat to world peace? Correct me if I am wrong -- aren't we still messing around a tad in this country called Iraq -- and then there's that other place called Afghanistan, where we supposedly wiped out the Taliban and established peace there quite some time ago -- seems we still have a few difficulties in that country too!

But other than what Cheney just said, not a whole lot is made of the issue of China sitting on tons of weapons -- and certainly both Bush and Cheney have not raised the issue of China's invasion of and takeover of the sovereign nation of Tibet some years ago -- why is no issue made of this in the United Nations -- the president who talks a lot about spreading democracy all over the world is strangely silent about the need for the citizens of Tibet to experience democracy! Go ahead -- do a search on the country of Tibet and see what interesting things come up about what the Chinese have done -- estimates are that at least a million Tibetans lost their lives when China took over the country. Again, correct me if I am wrong -- but when one nation invades another sovereign nation and controls it, isn't that considered very unjust, illegal, unlawful, and such? But there is no protest from the United States.

Rhetoric will simmer down quickly for a number of reasons:

• First, China owns a lot of U.S. debt -- in other words, if they should say, "Pay all that you owe!" The Chinese would be the ones to whom we would have to hand over a real big bunch of bucks!
  
  
• Second, we have this thing of a "trade deficit" with China -- we owe a big bunch of bucks on that matter alone because we have gotten much more from them, than they have from us on a yearly basis!
  
  
• Third, China is on a construction binge as the nation becomes a growing and powerful economic giant in the world of trade and finance. It is why prices for construction related materials, such as cement have sharply increased in our own nation. A nephew of mine drives a construction truck that hauls 100 tons of material -- tires used to cost $5,000 each and now need to be replaced, but my nephew says the company can't get replacements though they have been ordered for a long time -- why the shortage? China has need for huge numbers of these tires and is getting them!
  
  
• Fourth, in hard reality, China doesn't have to bring us to our knees militarily -- if the Chinese did make an aggressive move militarily, what would the U.S. do? We are stretched so thin now we couldn't do anything effective to repel them -- we can't even do a resounding victory thing now in Iraq or Afghanistan as we did at the conclusion of WW II -- the last war in which we had a decisive military victory and the terms for both Germany and Japan were unconditional surrender -- no negotiating! Really, at some temporary hardship to them, all the Chinese would have to do is shut off ALL exports to the United States! Have you looked at labels of items you buy lately -- where were they made?
  
  
• Fifth, Chinese at the level of high leadership have been traveling throughout the world negotiating trade deals etc. And are you aware of their influence when it comes to the Panama Canal? Just the tip of the iceberg folks!
  

No, it is highly doubtful that the Chinese will lose any sleep over remarks made by Dick Cheney or any other representative of the federal government of the United States. Sadly, what our elected representatives fail to perceive is that our relationship with the God in Whom we claim to believe is far from being a positive and acceptable one in these days! God has been known to withdraw His blessings from a nation with which He is displeased. For more on the details as to conditions for blessing and favor as well as withdrawal of the same, see Deuteronomy 28 in the Old Testament scriptures -- that is, if you dare!

"The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things...." --- Deuteronomy 28:43-47