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The Gods of Liberalism Revisited

 

The lie hasn't changed, and we still fall for it as easily as ever.  But how can we escape the snare?

 

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Keep Christ Out of Christmas, Buddy!

From WorldNetDaily:

A public school teacher in Mississippi marked down an eleven-year-old's Christmas poem assignment and told the boy to rewrite it because he used the word "Jesus," which, the instructor explained, is a name not allowed in school.

Liberty Counsel, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, reports that sixth-grader Andrew White of Hattiesburg, Miss., chose to write the poem on the assignment "What Christmas means to me."

After White turned in his rough draft, however, his teacher circled the word "Jesus" and deducted a point from his grade. The teacher then explained that he needed to rewrite the poem without the offending word.

When White's parents questioned the teacher, Liberty Counsel reports, they received a response email explaining, "[Andrew] and another child did a poem about Christ. I know we can't discuss these type [sic] of things in school so I asked the two of them to do another poem of their choice."

And people like this are "educating" America's children in public schools across the country...


FDR on Showing Regard for the Laws of God

American Minute from William J. Federer

Ronald Reagan stated in his Christmas Address, DECEMBER 20, 1983: "Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations we forget the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ...During this glorious festival let us renew our determination to follow His example."

Franklin Roosevelt said in his Christmas Message, 1942: "I say that loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is not enough- that we as a Nation and as individuals will please God best by showing regard for the laws of God. There is no better way of fostering good will toward man than by first fostering good will toward God. If we love Him we will keep His Commandments."

Franklin Roosevelt continued: "In sending Christmas greetings to the armed forces and merchant sailors...we include our pride in their bravery on the fighting fronts...It is significant that Christmas Day our plants and factories will be stilled. That is not true of the other holidays."

Franklin Roosevelt concluded: "On all other holidays work goes on- gladly- for the winning of the war. So Christmas becomes the only holiday in all the year. I like to think that this is so because Christmas is a holy day. May all it stands for live and grow throughout the years."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.


This Christmas, let's remember who we are

BY STAR PARKER
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
COALITION ON URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION

"Tis the season to be jolly."

But this year it's going to be a challenge for many Americans. A Washington Post survey this week reported two thirds saying they were being impacted by the current recession. In another poll, 57 percent said they'd be cutting back on their Christmas spending.

Nothing unsettles the human heart and mind more than the unknown. I think our general discomfort is compounded by a feeling of not knowing exactly what is causing this economic tsunami and how and when we'll recover.

Maybe as we consider all this, and particularly at a time of the year when we think about the blessings we do have to count, we might ponder what produced all the prosperity we have to begin with. What's behind this great economic miracle -- the greatest of all time -- the United States of America?

If we listen to the news and our politicians, you would conclude it's all kind of a big machine. Like with a stalled car, they're all under the hood trying to figure out what went wrong. A busted hose? Distributor? Spark plugs? What needs to get fixed or installed to get the thing running again?

Or, alternatively, you'd think that we're like a bunch of white laboratory mice running around in a cage. The policy makers stand over us in white coats trying to figure out, "Well, do we need to give them a food pellet or an electric shock to get them to do what we want?"

Are we so lost today that we have forgotten that our great miracle has been produced by free people living in a free country?

Yet, now we hear from politicians that the problem is we're too free. We need more government, more regulations, more bureaucrats planning our lives and telling us what to do. Who is asking, given what made us great to begin with, if the problem is not exactly the opposite?

Consider that on the other side of the world the Chinese are now celebrating the 30th anniversary of the economic reforms that introduced private ownership and free markets into their communist country. Sure, China is still run by their communist party. But 30 years ago one hundred percent of their companies were government run. Today half have been privatized.

China has been growing at double-digit rates since they opened the door to economic freedom. Income per person is ten times higher today than thirty years ago. And 250 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty.

Now I read that another miracle is occurring in China alongside of the new prosperity which freedom has enabled.

The Economist magazine recently reported about what it called "China's fastest growing non-governmental organization." Christianity.

According to the report, there may be now 130 million Chinese Christians - some 10 percent of the population. It's estimated that maybe one percent of the Chinese population was Christian when communist China was founded in 1949.

It's particularly compelling to consider that this explosive growth of Chinese Christianity is occurring in a country that is still officially atheist and where the government remains hostile and opposed to religion. And that, according to this estimate, the number of Chinese Christians is now almost double the number of Chinese members of the Communist Party.

So why, when the Chinese are discovering both freedom and faith, is America abandoning both?

Why do we now think we need to turn to commissars in Washington to plan our economy and our lives to save our country? Is this really where we should be turning to be saved?

Let's remember, particularly now, that freedom is what made America great and that for that freedom, in the words of our first president George Washington, "religion and morality are indispensable."

This Christmas, let's remember who we really are and that the formula for American success is freedom, faith, family, and friends. Merry Christmas to all.

Star Parker is president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.

Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith and market-based alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.


Doing Some Shopping for that Unspeakable Holiday

Do you go Christmas shopping, or do you go shopping for that unspeakable holiday? Or do you just buy gifts for friends and family in December for no good reason at all?

Some people go Christmas shopping, but in his Stoplight® video commentary, Stuart Shepard goes shopping for Christmas — to see which retailers want your shopping dollars, but won't even mention the day those gifts will be unwrapped.



Friday, December 19, 2008

Even CNN Talking About the Joke of Man-Made Global Warming

Wow! The light is starting to come on, even on CNN!

Al Gore has to be on a serious crying-jag at this point, if even the Clinton News Network is talking about what a farce anthropogenic global warming is!


Newsbusted Conservative Comedy 12/19/2008

Topics in today's show:

--Jesse Jackson Jr. accused of bribing to get Senate seat
--Fox News reporter buys John McCain Blackberry
--Fran Drescher says she wants Hillary Clinton's Senate seat
--Rapper Common thinks Barack Obama will help hip-hop music
--Bank of America cuts jobs


New Crisis: Northern Hemisphere in Total Darkness by July

I'm at home today and have been listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio when I heard about a brilliant illustration of the "global warming" lunacy.

Rush says there is a letter to the editor by Richard Strimple at the American Thinker which exposes a new and frightening problem we face here on earth:

I have detected a new crisis that I have named "the daylight change crisis". I first noticed it sometime around the end of June this year. I started paying attention and created computer models and sure enough I was right! We are losing daylight at an astonishing rate. Each day we are losing approximately 2 minutes of day light and my computer models predict total darkness by next July.

Since the best evidence for any warming of the earth points to a natural, cyclic event, you can imagine the parallel here.

Liberals, think real hard and you might figure it out. I know you've been operating almost entirely on emotions and emotionalism for a long, long time, but shake the dust off that gray matter and think about it.

What's the parallel? Can you get beyond your religious predispositions and grasp it? I know you can, if you're brave enough. Go ahead; give it a try!


Rick Warren on Responsibility for Homosexual Behavior

Pastor Rick Warren has sometimes gotten a little cozier with some bad elements (e.g. terrorist sympathizers, abortion and homosexual apologists) than I care for, but he seems to be redeeming himself lately, even though President-elect Barack Obama has invited Warren to say a prayer at his inauguration (that alone would make a person of character wonder).

Newsbusters highlights one of those things that's restoring my trust in Warren.

In an interview with uber-liberal and Queen of Political Correctness Ann Curry, Curry pulls the usual "mainstream" media "aren't-you-a-hater" and "aren't-you-mean-for-believing-in-morality" tactic on Warren.

She essentially accuses Warren of being homophobic, to which Warren laughs (I don't know whether he's laughing at the implication that he might be afraid of sameness--which is what "homophobic" means--or whether he's laughing at the implication that he's afraid of homosexuals).

ANN CURRY: Your position [on gay marriage] has raised the spectre that you are homophobic.

Warren responds with a hearty laugh.

CURRY: You laugh, but that is why gay people are angry.

RICK WARREN: Well, I could give you a hundred --

CURRY: Are you homophobic?

WARREN: I don't know any church in America that's done more to help the gay community, particularly with AIDS, than Saddleback. But the hate speech against me is incendiary.

Indeed. Warren and Saddleback have been so "there" on the AIDS issue (as all good liberals are), that I have some mistrust for Warren because of this. I'll admit that I don't know the full details of everything Warren and Saddleback have done with regard to AIDS, but what I have seen appears more than a little short on recognition of the fact that according to the CDC the vast majority of AIDS cases stem from homosexual activity...and homosexual behavior is just that--a behavior, something that can be chosen or not chosen.

Which brings us to the next statement that redeems Warren in my book.
CURRY: If science finds that this is biological, that people are born gay, would you change your position?

WARREN: No, and the reason why is because we all have biological predispositions. I'm naturally inclined to have sex with every beautiful woman I see. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Indeed. The Bible teaches that, as fallen creatures descended from Adam and Eve, we are all predisposed to sin, and some of us have weaknesses for some sins over others.

But the Bible makes it equally clear that we are all culpable for all of our sins. There are no "my pet sins" clauses or exceptions in the Bible.

Newsbusters supplies a link to a video of Curry's textbook display of liberal apologetics and defense of PC dogma.

If Warren's uncomfortable coziness with liberal causes has resulted in this opportunity for him to speak an all-too-rare truth in the national limelight, then (provided he hasn't compromised truth behind the scenes) perhaps it's been a brilliant strategy, after all.

Lies enslave (as does the lie that homosexuals can't change), but the truth sets people free.


The Spirit of Liberty

American Minute from William J. Federer

Driven into Pennsylvania by the British, the Continental Army set up camp at Valley Forge, DECEMBER 19, 1777, just 25 miles from British occupied Philadelphia.

Lacking food and supplies, soldiers died at the rate of twelve per day. Of 11,000 soldiers, 2,500 died of cold, hunger and disease.

A Committee from Congress reported "feet and legs froze till they became black, and it was often necessary to amputate them."

Soldiers were there from every State in the new union, some as young as 12, others as old as 60, and though most were white, some were African American and American Indians.

Quaker farmer Isaac Potts observed General Washington kneeling in prayer in the snow.

Hessian Major Carl Leopold Baurmeister noted the only thing that kept the American army from disintegrating was their "spirit of liberty."

In a letter written to John Banister, Washington recorded: "To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lay on, without shoes, by which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet...and at Christmas taking up their...quarters within a day's march of the enemy...is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralleled."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.


Thursday, December 18, 2008

Homeschool Student Needs Help

Pat Powers at the South Dakota War College contacted me a little while ago, asking for some help for a 5th grade homeschool student in the Brookings, South Dakota area.

From his email:

In the Brookings area there is a family who home schools their 5th grade boy. This student has a hearing disability which he has used hearing aids to compensate for. Unfortunately, his hearing aids are not working anymore.

Insurance doesn't cover payment for replacing the existing devices. The school district will pay for some diagnostic testing - regardless of him being homeschooled or not - but they do not pay for the assistive devices themselves, since they're a 24-hour a day item. And the family needs help covering the cost this Christmas season.

It will cost roughly $4000 for a new set of hearing aids. In the spirit of Christmas giving, I'm looking for people willing to step up to the plate and help - even if it's just a little.

If anyone knows of a group or program that might be able to help this student, please let me know via the Dakota Voice Contact Us link, or contact Pat at the War College directly. My wife Konnie is also putting this out on the WRCH list, so you may also see it there if you're a member.

Or you may give a donation via the War College "Make A Donation." Pat is an honorable guy and will ensure your donation gets to this family.


Al Gore Not Responsible For Winter Blast


The following headlines were found on Drudge this morning and the stories high-light the record winter conditions that have gripped most of the US and Canada. Weather extremes and record conditions are the norm in meteorology. Every day there are new records for hottest, coldest, driest, wettest, windiest, etc. somewhere in the world. Climate truthers rush to report all of these as if they were something new and unexpected, always leaving the impression, explicitly or implicity, that all such occurrences are due to man-made “global warming.”

The cold spell that has swept across most of North America is remarkable for the fact that Al Gore is not here, but in Europe. It is a scientifically provable fact that wherever the Goracle speaks on Global Warming, the local weather fails to cooperate and attendees to these events usually have to brave severe cold or unseasonably cool weather.

Winter Weather Hits Las Vegas

New York May Get 6 Inches of Snow in Storm Tomorrow

Winter Storm Warning Issued For Chicago Area


FRIGID STORM CLOSES CALIFORNIA FREEWAYS, DROPS SNOW IN MALIBU

Spokane Shut Down By Snowstorm
Let's pray the Mr. Gore extends his visit to Europe until at least April; a return before this current spell passes could precipitate a mini-Ice Age.


Orphans of the Corn

Al Gore as you've always seen him before: Earth first (with him and his elitist friends as proxy) and the little people last.


From our friends at Americans for Limited Government.


Bill O'Reilly on the Why Behind the War on Christmas

Every Christmas for the past several years now we see secularists and other God-haters come out of the woodwork and try to erase Christmas from America. Well, at least any connection Christmas has to its Christian meaning.

Secularists are even getting so nutty that they see Jesus in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and any mention of Christmas whatsoever.

So why do the God-haters hate Christmas so much? Bill O'Reilly has some insight:


Song of the Herald Angels Penned

American Minute from William J. Federer

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was a carol written by Charles Wesley, born DECEMBER 18, 1707, at Epworth, England.

The 18th child of Rev. Samuel and Susanna Wesley, he excelled in school and came to the attention of Garret Wesley, or Wellesley, a Member of Parliament with a large fortune in Daugan, Ireland. Having no child, he offering to adopt Charles as his heir, but Charles declined.

After graduating from Oxford, Charles sailed to the colony of Georgia with his brother, John, who was the colony's Anglican minister. Charles was secretary to the colony's founder, General James Oglethorpe.

Their desire to minister to Indians never materialized so they returned to England where their preaching started the Great Awakening Revival.

John founded the Methodist Church and Charles wrote over 6,000 hymns.

In 1753, around the time 21-year-old George Washington was fighting in the French and Indian War, Charles Wesley penned the famous words: "Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the new-born King, Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies; With th' angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.


Iraqi Ambassador: Shoe Thrower Lucky It Wasn't Saddam

As much as the "mainstream" media and other juveniles loved the shoe-throwing incident against President Bush in Iraq, for anyone with a sense of shame, this was more insulting to the show-thrower and unfortunately to the people of Iraq than it was to President Bush.

In the video below, Iraqi Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie explains the sad truth of this incident to those liberals who have thus far lacked the maturity to understand it.

Responding to a group of Code Pink protestors, Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie said: "Had it been Mr. Saddam Hussein he'd be (inaudible). Number 2, in our country, I know that people have told you that showing shoes at someone is an insult. But, it is a bigger insult to the host; in our culture anyone who insults a guest is insulting the host. So in our culture we believe that what Mr al-Zeidi did was reprehensible."


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

States Look to Gambling to Shore Up Budgets

States are looking to meet budget shortfalls by expanding gambling and thereby the tax on the mathematically challenged.

Unfortunately, innocent people (i.e. children) suffer along with the mathematically challenged.

And so does society, who has to clean up after the mess. You know, things like the corruption and organized crime that follows the gambling industry, thefts to pay gambling debts, lost productivity to gambling during work hours, and taxpayer-funded treatment for gambling addiction.

Looks like the lawmakers running many states are also mathematically challenged.


Santa Looking for a Bailout

With so many lined up with their hand out at the federal trough for bailouts, what's next? Will Santa come asking you and me (i.e. the money behind the federal trough) for a bailout?


From our friends at Americans for Limited Government.


Scarborough Upbraids His Panel of Pundits Over President-Select

Lately, Joe Scarborough has shown signs of softening the conservative image that he made while serving in Congress. I suppose that working at MSNBC would have that effect on most anyone, by osmosis alone. The slime oozing from Keith Obermouth is sure to get on everything at MSNBC and innocent people are probably contaminated daily.

But in this piece, Joe has his say and the fellow pundits are practically speechless, except for a lame attempt by Mike Barnicle to defend his once-great profession.

You can see it here:


Forbidding Exposure of Youth to Religious Influences

American Minute from William J. Federer

A peer of Mozart and Haydn, he started becoming deaf at age 28, yet incredibly wrote some of the world's most beautiful symphonies, concertos and sonatas. This was Ludwig van Beethoven, baptized DECEMBER 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany.

President Jimmy Carter noted while visiting Bonn, July 14, 1978: "As the world's people speak and work and live together, we all could well remember the poem of Friedrich Schiller, immortally put to music by the great Beethoven, a son of Bonn, the "Ode to Joy": "Alle Menschen werden Bruder Wo dein sanfter Flitgel weilt." ("All mankind shall be brothers where thy gentle wings abide.")

Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" is also used as the tune of Princeton professor Henry Van Dyke's hymn "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee."

In 1801, Beethoven, being deaf, wrote: "No friend have I. I must live by myself alone; but I know well that God is nearer to me than others in my art, so I will walk fearlessly with Him."

Supreme Court Justice Jackson wrote in McCollum v. Board of Education, 1948: "It would not seem practical to teach...the arts if we are to forbid exposure of youth to any religious influences. Music without sacred music...would be...incomplete, even from a secular point of view."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.


Limbaugh Skewers Turncoat Colin Powell

Rush Limbaugh points out what a joke-of-a-Republican Colin Powell has made himself.

"Let me get this straight. The guy who has supported the Republican candidate for president should be thrown out of the party. That would be me. But the guy who bolted and sabotaged the Republican nominee by endorsing the Democrat candidate should stay in and be part of the team that determines what the Republican Party is going to be. The turncoat, General Powell, is the one who the party is gonna listen to?"

Limbaugh is responding to Powell's praise of liberalism and criticism of Limbaugh during a recent interview with CNN's Fareed Zakharia.

Powell said, in part,
"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?" Powell asked. "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

You mean our conservative instincts? You mean our instincts to stick with the plan of the Founders that made this country great? You mean our instincts to put freedom ahead of dependence? You mean our instincts to champion responsibility over license? You mean our instincts to protect the individual from government, not government from the individual? You mean our instincts to be consistent? You mean our instincts to win?

I thought so. At least Powell is now fully exposed for the RINO he is. A RINO in elephant's clothing that has been skinned can do far less damage than those who are still in costume...and Powell is no longer in costume.

President Bush and other "moderate" Republicans attempted to coddle and placate the only-vaguely conservative Powell...and look what it got them. It got them a rogue element in their own cabinet, and at election time, it got them a high-profile defection to the adversary.

This should be a lesson to conservative and conservative-leaning Republicans out there: do NOT compromise with liberal elements on the Right. You gain nothing and only put off the inevitable attempts to stab you in the back.


Rick Warren: Christian Liberalism is 'Marxism in Christian Clothing'

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 16 2008 03:35 PM EST


Best-selling author, social activist and megachurch pastor Rick Warren described the social gospel supported by many of the mainline churches as “Marxism in Christian clothing.”

“[W]e don’t need to care about redemption, the cross, repentance. All we need to do is redeem the social structures of society and if we make those social structures better the world will become a better place,” explained Warren as he described the beliefs behind those who support the "social gospel," in his interview with Beliefnet.com, which was posted Monday.

“Really in many ways it was just Marxism in Christian clothing,” he criticized. “[I]t was in vogue at that time that if we redeem society then man will automatically get better. It didn’t deal with the heart.”

Warren, recognized as one of the most socially active Christians in the world, did not hold back his criticism of those who call themselves Christians but seek to make the world a better place by focusing on the body – issues of poverty, disease, social justice and racial justice – and not the soul.

But he also disagreed with their counterpart – Christians who disregard the body altogether while caring only for the soul and personal morality.

“Who’s right? Well in my opinion they’re both right,” Warren concluded. “Part of my desire as a leader is to bring these two wings back together. I think we need them both.

“I think it’s very clear that Jesus cared about both the body and the soul. He cared about both personal and social issues and I think they’re both important but there’s been this split.”

Historically, evangelicals were leaders when it came to changing society, Warren pointed out. Evangelicals were at the forefront of the abolition of slavery, with pastors leading that movement. It was also evangelicals who were on the frontlines of calling for the right of women to vote and protesting child labor laws.

“That’s my whole job is I’ve gotta reawaken what I call the 19th Century evangelicalism,” Warren said, noting that Protestantism split in the 20th Century with mainline Protestants on the side of the social gospel and evangelicals and fundamentalists who emphasized morality and salvation.

The evangelical pastor noted that the mainline groups have “died,” pointing out that mainline denominations have been in decline for 40 years while charismatic and evangelicals have continued growing.

“There are more Muslims in America than there are Episcopalians,” Warren highlighted. “There’s less than 2 million of them (Episcopalians).”

In addition to the social gospel, Warren's interview with Beliefnet also covered negative views of Christianity, human problems and God’s plan, gay marriage and divorce, and the Bush administration’s policy on torture.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Newsbusted Conservative Comedy 12/16/2008

Topics in today's show:

--Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich gets in trouble
--Barack Obama insists he is not connected to corrupt gov
--Colin Powell vs. Rush Limbaugh
--Talk show host Larry Elder quits his program
--Canada's supreme court says obese passengers have right to two seats for price of one
--LA health worker pleads guilty to leaking Britney Spears's medical records


Presbyterian Church Seeks to Deal With Churches Leaving Denomination

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post


By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 16 2008 02:48 PM EST


The departure of congregations from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) poses major risks, including the threat to both church unity and independence from the state, says one leader in the denomination.

Kears Pollock, moderator of the Pittsburgh Presbytery, has invited fellow Presbyterians to join an "informative" convocation, titled "Our Freedom of Religion at Risk – A Presbyterian Crisis," next year amid an exodus of a growing minority of congregations from the PC(USA).

"The unity of the church is at risk from within and from without," Pollock states in his invitation to the Feb. 19, 2009, event. "The current activities of some congregations and ministers encouraging division within the church can lead to subordination of the church to the state particularly when congregational sessions/trustees file civil suits against Presbyteries."

Pollock was addressing the court battles between congregations that left the denomination and their presbyteries – regional bodies of the PC(USA) – over church property ownership.

According to a June report by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, 40 presbyteries face, or have faced, legal battles or similar challenges.

Pollock believes involving the courts threatens the religious practices of the denomination. "Court orders to prevent presbyteries from dealing with division, disorder, disobedience, dismissal and determination of the true church threaten the beliefs and practices of our denomination," according to a promotional flier for the convocation.

"The evolving civil law in many jurisdictions appears intent on adopting a default condition of requiring all non-hierarchical denominations to be treated as congregational in character ignoring the Biblical and historical nature of Presbyterian ecclesiology," Pollock stated.

"It weakens the constitutional barrier against government interference in religion."

Conservative Presbyterians who have left the PC(USA) have argued that the denomination has abandoned its Reformed roots and biblical foundation. Controversy was stirred in 2001 when the General Assembly – the denomination's highest governing body – did not affirm the "singular" saving Lordship of Jesus Christ. Conservatives became even more discontent when the 2006 General Assembly adopted a resolution that some believe allowed leeway for homosexual ordination.

Furthermore, this past summer the high governing body voted to remove from the denomination's constitution the requirement that clergy live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness." The proposal has been relegated to the presbyteries for approval.

The Pittsburgh moderator suggested that Presbyterians in property disputes are practicing "me centered" religion.

"We have not emphasized fully that Christ’s church is not the building where one worships. Nor is the church the congregation of one’s membership. Rather, we are one church united by the shared covenant through Christ and ultimately, through ecumenism, connected with the whole church, catholic," Pollock stated.

The Feb. 19 convocation will be webcast on the Pittsburgh Presbytery website.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Playboy 'Apologizes' For Nude Virgin Mary on Cover But Dodges Responsibility

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Aaron J. Leichman
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Dec. 15 2008 06:36 PM EST


A model posing as the Virgin Mary on the cover of the Mexican edition of Playboy magazine led the U.S. headquarters to recently issue a formal apology.

The offensive Dec. 1 edition, which was published only days before a major Mexican festival dedicated to the mother of Jesus, shows model Maria Florencia Onori standing in front of a stained glass window with only a white cloth to cover her head and select parts of her body.

The cover line reads: “We Adore You, Maria” or "We Adore You, Mary" in Spanish.

In a statement on Friday, Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc said the Mexican edition of the magazine is published by a licensee, and the company did not approve nor endorse the cover.

"While Playboy Mexico never meant for the cover or images to offend anyone, we recognize that it has created offense, and we as well as Playboy Mexico offer our sincerest apologies," the company stated.

Raul Sayrols, publisher of Playboy Mexico, meanwhile claimed the image “is not and never was intended to portray the Virgin of Guadalupe or any other religious figure.”

“The intent was to reflect a Renaissance-like mood on the cover," he expressed in a statement.

In response, Fr. Jonathan Morris, an American Roman Catholic priest and vice-rector of the Legionaries of Christ seminary in Rome, slammed the Playboy statement as a "non-apology apology."

"[W]hat does it say about a company and its executives when they are willing to communicate a lie so big and bold that even they know it will fool no one?" he posed Monday in his Fox News blog.

But Morris also said there would be little use in loudly crying "sacrilegious," "crude," "demeaning," or "foul" over the controversial cover shot.

"After all, those adjectives are all applicable to the magazine itself," he stated.

According to reports, Playboy Mexico printed 100,000 copies of the issue, which hit the stands seven days before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and eleven days before the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Virgin Mary is venerated by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox as well as some Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist Christians.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Creation Museum Celebrates with Christmas Display

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post


By Aaron J. Leichman
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Dec. 15 2008 08:34 AM EST


The controversial Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., has brought out its special Christmas display, which will run until Jan. 4.

The centerpiece of the museum’s “Bethlehem’s Blessings” presentation is a live outdoor nativity scene featuring human actors in each of the Christmas story roles, as well as sheep, donkeys, and camels, which all come from the museum’s own petting zoo.

Visitors to the museum grounds will also be treated to hayrides, seasonal lights and decorations, holiday food, and special events and activities for children. Special Christmas exhibits inside the museum include the Planetarium presentation, “The Bethlehem Star.”

“We find the two – Creation and Christmas – go very well together, and we invite our guests to experience each in light of the other at our special ‘Bethlehem’s Blessings – A Christmas Celebration’ this December,” expressed Creation Museum co-founder and spokesperson Mark Looy in an announcement.

The $27-million museum itself has been the center of a number of controversies, mostly involving its literal interpretation of the Bible. Packed with high-tech exhibits that include animatronic dinosaurs and a huge wooden ark, the 60,000-square foot museum attempts to align the Bible’s literal account of creation with natural history. The museum’s founder, like many other Young Earth creationists, believes dinosaurs appeared on the same day God created other land animals.

Earlier this month, hundreds of complaints led the Cincinnati Zoo to pull out of a special business partnership with the Creation Museum.

“Some of their comments on blogs reveal great intolerance for anything having to do with Christianity,” reported the Creation Museum’s founder, Ken Ham.

Despite whatever disagreements there may be, the staff at the Creation Museum are hoping to share the story of Christmas during the holiday season.

“Christmas is about hope and faith and love, and the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity,” said Looy. “The created world is God’s backdrop for this amazing story of redemption and relationship.”

Located near the Cincinnati Airport, the Creation Museum is a ministry of Answers in Genesis, a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to confirming the validity of the Bible from the very first verse.

Since its opening in May 2007, the museum has seen over 600,000 visitors.

On the Web:

www.CreationMuseum.org

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Case of Adam Walsh's Murderer Settled

In the video below, John Walsh talks at a press conference about the closure of his murdered son Adam's case.

Six-year-old Adam Walsh was kidnapped in 1981 and his decapitated head was found a couple of weeks later.

No arrests were made immediately, but police eventually found a strong suspect.

From Fox News:

In 1983, serial killer Ottis Elwood Toole confessed to killing Adam with Henry Lee Lucas, another serial killer whom Toole called his "crime partner and homosexual lover."

Toole later recanted his lover's participation in the kidnapping and killing, and then recanted completely after that.

When Toole died in prison in 1996, he made a death-bed confession to killing Adam Walsh.

There was some doubt as to whether Toole was really Adam's killer, due to the recanted stories and the fact that Adam's body was never found where Toole said he'd buried it.

But after Police Chief Chad Wagner did a fresh and extensive review of the case, he essentially closed it and announced Toole as Adam's killer.

I remember watching a TV movie about this heinous crime when I was in high school. Daniel J. Travanti of the popular police series Hill Street Blues played John Walsh. All these years later, I still remember being deeply disturbed as Travanti played John Walsh hearing that Adam's head had been found, and the shocking portrayal of Walsh's unimaginable grief. Being a father now, I can't even bring myself to try to fully contemplate what John Walsh went through.

The bit of good that came out of this terrible tragedy was John Walsh's America's Most Wanted TV phenomenon which has helped bring about more than 1,000 arrests.

I hope the Walsh family can now find some measure of peace greater than they have yet been able to reach.

AP: Authorities in South Florida plan to announce that they've finally solved the 1981 killing of a little boy whose father later gained fame as the host of "America's Most Wanted."



Mike Adams on townhall.com: Sea of Faces

Mike Adams writes a regular column on townhall.com and I have been a faithful reader for several years. Attracted to his iconoclastic, sometimes sardonic style, I particularly enjoy it when he takes on the politically correct, intelligently challenged members of the academic elite.

Dr. Adams, like this writer, came to be a believer and a Christian relatively late in life after suffering with the delusions of the material self and arrogant pride much of his adult life. In this, and a subsequent column, The Shadow Proves the Sunshine, Dr. Adams explains a little about his conversion and his understanding of what it means to be a Christian.


Sea of Faces

Late one morning in May of 1996, I stuck my head out of the window of James and Stephanie’s Manhattan apartment to get some not-so-fresh air while I drank my morning coffee. We were just getting up before noon after a long night of talking God and politics at an Irish pub called Peter McManus’ located somewhere around 20th Street. I looked down at the droves of people flooding the streets for the noon lunch break wondering whether it was possible for God to have a plan for each one of their lives as well as a concern for each one’s well-being.

Those questions may seem odd for one to ponder over morning coffee but they aren’t so strange for one who just weeks before had broken the chains of atheism that had bound him for so long. Just because I renounced atheism one day on the way out of a damp prison in Quito, Ecuador, did not mean I instantly became a Christian. That would not happen until years later when I recognized that a personal relationship with God was not only a possibility but an indispensable aspect of Christianity.

Since that time I’ve had the opportunity to share my faith with a lot of people. In fact, many people who read this column tell me to stop doing it. My awareness that it gets under their skin is the principal reason I continue. Christianity is not always comforting and those most annoyed with it are often the closest to conversion.

It should go without saying that I’m always pleased to hear when a reader turns to Christ. There’s no greater joy than hearing the good news that someone has accepted the Good News. By the same token, there is nothing more devastating than hearing of a reader turning away from Christianity. That happened to me recently when a fellow I once witnessed to said, “I still believe in God but I feel like he only intervenes in my life when he wants to (expletive) with me.”

The fellow who told me that also said he was not a “conservative Christian” like me but instead a “more liberal Christian.” He may or may not know that he’s on the verge of no longer being a Christian at all.

Perhaps the most accurate thing my reader has recently said about Christianity is that I am a conservative Christian. That conservatism is reflected in two things I believe to be absolutely certain about the life of a Christian:

1) I believe that - because we live in a world broken by sin and occupied by fundamentally flawed individuals - storms are inevitable. If all hell has not yet broken loose in your life it soon will. Chaos would not be so pervasive if people were as fundamentally good as the so-called liberal Christian deems them to be.

2) When all hell breaks loose in life, each individual is faced with the choice of moving toward the Cross or away from the Cross. Every person in every tumultuous situation chooses one or the other of these two options. A man has no one but himself to blame for the consequences of making the wrong decision – though the so-called liberal Christian probably dislikes my emphasis on free will.

When one responds to tragedy by moving towards the Cross it is impossible to believe that God only intervenes in men’s lives when he wants to (expletive) with them. The closer one moves to the Cross, the more one understands that God really is willing to intervene in the lives of men. One also understands that God does it because he loves all of his children and wants to have a real and permanent relationship with them.

That is why I am so irritated with self-proclaimed liberal Christians like John Shelby Spong. Those like Spong who either deny the importance of the resurrection or deny its occurrence altogether share a transparent political motivation. If you get too close to the Cross, you get too close to the reality of sin and its consequences. And then you alienate valuable political allies.


Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus.


Capitol South: Deflating the Gasbag


From our friends at Americans for Limited Government.


The "Machine" Goes to Washington

Responding to a previous post on Dakota Voice I opined that Americans would soon see the results of sending the “Chicago Machine” to Washington.

A reader subsequently commented, derisively, “You conservatives can be so cute sometimes.”

Having grown up in the Land of Lincoln (Springfield, no less) and having married a young woman who was the executive secretary to a Chicago-area state legislature for many years I have some understanding of Illinois politics.

A quick Google-search of Illinois governors, secretaries of state and attorneys general of the past decade or two will give the uninformed a good idea of who runs the state, and how. Power, graft and nepotism are how it is done.

In just a few weeks the king-makers in the Daley Machine will put one of their own in the White House. Americans will soon see what Chicago Machine politics is all about. The Blagojevich scandal is only the beginning.

Michael Reagan addresses the same issue in his recent column “The Daley Machine Goes National.”

In 2005, he proved his loyalty to the machine when U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was investigating corruption in Illinois. Axelrod attacked him for daring to criminalize the sleazy style of politics in Chicago.

In an op-ed piece Axelrod insisted that trading political favors -- including jobs, known as "pay for play" these days -- is an essential part of the process that makes government work.

Axelrod has been the liaison between the Daley Machine and Barack Obama. Giving him a key White House post cannot cleanse him of his association with the endemic corruption of the Daley Machine, which he has long and faithfully served. Send him back to their welcoming arms.

There is no question of Valerie Jarrett's association with the Daley Machine. She once served as Richard Daley's chief of staff and has been described as a key cog in the Daley Machine. That fact alone disqualifies her from serving in the post of advisor to the president of the United States. Moreover, she has been under a cloud of suspicion for her roles in a couple of sordid scandals involving public housing in Chicago.

Read the entire article on Townhall.com.


Lack of Gratitude for Forced-Charity

There was an interesting letter on the Letters to the Editor page of the Rapid City Journal today.

It regards the proper use of taxpayer-funded charity, and it contains enlightening information about one of the many reasons why government-mandated, taxpayer-funded charity is inadvisable (if you're discerning enough to catch it).

Food stamp usage recipients’ business, not everyone elses

Monday, Dec. 1, in regards to the Two Cents section, somebody wrote in regarding the food stamp program. The last part state “…however we also need to put more control on the food stamp program, I don’t think the program was set up to buy candy, soda and similar products.

I’ve read similar letters and if I can be honest, they make me very angry.

I’m a disabled old lady that is raising my grandchildren. I love them very much and when they cry and beg for a candy bar or a can of pop every now and then I’m going to let them have it. They deserve a treat just like any other child. Most of these mothers you are griping about are treating their children. Of course, we have to sacrifice something, but that’s out business, not yours.

Don’t you have enough to do than to be picking on poor people?

You sound too much like Marie Antoinette who allegedly said, “Let them eat cake.” Well we are trying to do just that. If you’d leave us alone.

Stick your big nose into something that really needs sniffing.

IRENE CLIFFORD
Rapid City

I have just one question for Ms. Clifford with regard to whose business it is if food stamp money is being spent wastefully.

Who's paying the bill: her or the taxpayers?


A Free-Born People Not Required to Submit to Tyranny

American Minute from William J. Federer

The Boston Tea Party took place DECEMBER 16, 1773, just three years after the Boston Massacre, where the British fired into a crowd, killing five.

The British passed unbearable taxes: 1764 Sugar Act -taxing sugar, coffee, wine; 1765 Stamp Act -taxing newspapers, contracts, letters, playing cards and all printed materials; 1767 Townshend Acts -taxing glass, paints, paper; and 1773 Tea Act.

While American merchants paid taxes, British allowed the East India Tea Company to sell a half million pounds of tea in the Colonies with no taxes, giving them a monopoly by underselling American merchants.

Disguised as Mohawk Indians, a band of patriots called Sons of Liberty, led by Sam Adams, left the South Meeting House toward Griffin's Wharf, boarded the ships Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver, and threw 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

The men of Marlborough, Massachusetts, declared: "Death is more eligible than slavery. A free-born people are not required by the religion of Jesus Christ to submit to tyranny, but may make use of such power as God has given them to recover and support their liberties...We implore the Ruler above the skies that He would bare His arm...and let Israel go."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.


Monday, December 15, 2008

Blagojevich and the Shape of Scandals to Come

By Marie Jon'

It's only five weeks before Obama's inauguration, and already we have a big scandal. Are you curious at all to see if the drive-by-media will have the same bloodlust for David Axelrod as they did for poor Scooter Libby?

It won't be surprising if Axelrod is thrown under the bus like the rest of Obama's minions. It's the same-old same-old when Barack is caught in a lie. "I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of what was happening concerning any possible dealing about Blagojevich's appointment of a successor."

It again seems strange how disconnected Obama appears to be. Actually, it's unbelievable. He never remembers or knows a thing about the people he has dealings with, especially when they are found in compromising positions.

David Axelrod was asked if Obama had contact with Governor Blagojevich's office. Did they talk about his replacement in the Senate? Unfortunately, Obama's adviser appeared on Fox News on November 23 and said something very different than he now says. Axelrod's statement puts doubt in the mind of many Americans. What did Obama know and when did he know it?

Ironically, another statement was issued by Axelrod saying, "I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject."

Surely Obama understood what Blagojevich was capable of doing. As it turned out, he had the gall to try to sell Illinois' U.S. senate seat to the highest bidder, while also trying to shake down others for money and political favors. Obama is a Chicago politician with friends that no one I know would associate with.

This week, Rev Jeremiah Wright was back in the news. That piece of information should send up more red flags. Get used to seeing Rev. Bigoted involved once again in Obama's life. It's a sure bet that he really never left. Everything we observed was a sheer facade for the election cycle.

Rahm Emanuel is another questionable character. He sends dead fish to his political enemies. He is well known for his profane, debasing language. He calls himself a practicing Jew. However, he does not seem to be concerned how others might perceive such a religious contradiction. Unfortunately, he is just one more thug known for being a vicious attack dog for the incoming president.

It's almost humorous when Democrats point to others while trying to blacken the eye of the Republican Party. The Speaker of the House continually refers to the GOP as the party of corruption. One might say Pelosi doth protest too much. Nothing can be more obnoxious than the Democrat Party's own corruptive faux pas. They have perfected the art of being bad to the bone.

Jesse Jackson, Jr., has been implicated in the Blagojevich scandal. In spite of his denials, he is probably lying through his teeth, just like his father. You'd have to be totally naive not to understand that Barack Obama, Rohm Emanuel, Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Blagojevich are political cronies. They are part of the notoriously tainted Chicago-Daley political machine.

Excerpts from The Associated Press: Ill. governor arrested in corruption scandal

"CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges he brazenly conspired to sell or trade President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder as part of what federal prosecutors called a 'political corruption crime spree.' A federal judge later ordered Blagojevich released on his own recognizance.

"Prosecutors did not accuse Obama himself of any wrong doing.

"Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in an attempt to strong-arm the newspaper into firing editorial writers who had criticized him.

"The 51-year-old Democrat was also accused of engaging in pay-to-play politics — that is, doling out jobs, contracts and appointments in return for campaign contributions.

"'We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree, and we wanted to stop it,' U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said, calling the charges against Blagojevich 'a truly new low.' He added: 'The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave.

'"Federal investigators bugged the governor's campaign offices and tapped his home phone, capturing conversations laced with profanity and tough-guy talk from the governor. Chicago FBI chief Robert Grant said even seasoned investigators were stunned by what they heard, particularly since the governor had known for three years he was under investigation for alleged hiring fraud." Full Article

For those who voted for the president elect, another scandal will not matter. They are full-blown ideologue Democrats who want big government handouts. Spreading the wealth around suits them just fine. Just as long as the Obamanites are kept happy, nothing will sway them from cheering as our country slumps deeper into a recession.

America will be torn asunder inside out, politically and socially. And to top it all off Pres, Barack Obama will hand us the egregious gift of Marxist-Socialism and a "corrupt regime."

Gov. Blagojevich, Rev. Wright, Father Plager, Tony Rezko, William Ayers, and Bernadine Dorne are just some of the people who are found knee-deep in Obama's cult of deception. Who else will we find there, after he is sworn into office?

It will be a disturbing full four years led by Pres. Obama. However, instead of throwing our hands up in the air, feeling helpless, it's time to pray and become politically pro-active. Please sign the petition on ResistNow.com

God instructs Christians to give intercession prayer for our leaders (2 Chronicles 7:14). In these troubling times, we will be blessed when we turn to The Almighty.

Related Readings:
Blagojevich, Fitzgerald, and real political corruption
Gov.In Land of $Tinkin: Wiretap's catch cussing and plotting
Lawmakers at Odds Over How to Fill Obama's Senate Seat

Marie Jon' is a political/religious-based writer and founder of www.DrawingClose.org and www.PeoplePoliticallyRight.com — sister websites to RenewAmerica. Marie extends her hand of welcome; visit DrawingClose and receive your free gift of salvation by taking an online Bible study.

Marie's writings have appeared on many sites, including The New Media Journal, ChronWatch, and ABCNews, to name a few. Marie brings a refreshing and spirited point of view that is reflected in her writings. Marie is a nurse, a lay student of the Bible, and a patriot. She is an advocate for American troops serving abroad, as well as the Blue and Gold Star Mothers of America and their families. Marie enjoys Townhall.com radio, Rush Limbaugh, Bruce Elliott Saturdays 5AM-9AM EST and her friend Larry Elder.


Protection of Religious Liberty

American Minute from William J. Federer

Newly independent, the thirteen States were concerned their new government may become too powerful, as King George's was. They insisted handcuffs be place on the power of the Federal Government. We call these the First Ten Amendments or Bill of Rights, ratified DECEMBER 15, 1791.

The First states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Regarding this, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Samuel Miller, January 23, 1808: "I consider the government of the U.S. as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the states the powers not delegated to the U.S."

Jefferson continued: "Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the times for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.


Sunday, December 14, 2008

Dakota Voice Poll Closed

Last week's Dakota Voice poll is now closed. The poll was actually a survey question to measure awareness of a public policy issue.

The question was:

What percentage of abortions in SD in 2007 were because "The mother did not desire to have the child"?

I gave a hint last week when the poll opened, stating the answer could be found at the website for the South Dakota Department of Health.

Some respondents may not have seen this hint, or simply didn't take the time to look up the stats, or (based on the perception fed to them by the "mainstream" media) thought the number was much lower than it actually is.

Still, the majority of respondents answered correctly:

1.7% (11%)

33.5% (6%)

83.2% (75%)

5.2% (6%)


The answer was an astonishing 83.2% of abortions in South Dakota in 2007 were performed because "the mother did not desire to have the child. In other words, essentially retroactive birth control.

Incidentally, I didn't pull those other answer choices out of thin air; I took them from the same DOH report. The percentage of abortions done for rape/incest was 1.7% (even though these children are just as human as the child conceived in love). The percentage of abortions performed because "The mother could not afford the child" was the second largest at 33.5% (even though poor women have been having children for thousands of years, and still do, and many agencies such as crisis pregnancy centers and adoption agencies exist to help women of limited financial means). Finally, 5.2% of the abortions were done because of the stated reason "The mother’s emotional health was at risk" (however, there is no specific requirement for documenting a compelling hazard exists, so we don't know how many of these were even remotely genuine...and what's more, would killing your 2-month old be permissible if "The mother’s emotional health was at risk"?)

Thanks to all who participated in the survey. When someone insists abortions are "necessary," I encourage you to remember these percentages.

Next week's survey question has just been posted:
According to the CDC, what is the largest source of AIDS transmission?

- Homosexual contact & injected drug use
- Injected drug use
- High-risk heterosexual contact
- Homosexual contact
- Other

Hint: you can find this information at the website of the Centers for Disease Control.


Responsible Reaction from the Left

Earlier today I read about the incident where an Iraqi journalist malcontent (much like some of the "mainstream" media types in this country) threw a shoe at the visiting President Bush.

Frankly, I wouldn't have liked to see such a thing happen to the despicable excuse for a president that Bill Clinton was, nor would I like to see it happen to President-elect Barack Obama.

The President of the United States represents this nation, especially when overseas dealing with international relations. So when this Iraqi journalist (who is obviously unappreciative of the freedom President Bush bought for him and the blood of 4,000 U.S. soldiers have paid for on his behalf) threw a show at President Bush, he threw that shoe at you, at me, and at our country.

Sadly and predictably, in reaction I saw the usual back-of-the-classroom, slumped-down-in-the-seat snickering and chuckling from some on the Left...those who don't have the good sense to put their country first...or even second or third.

But a big hat tip to Todd Epp at the liberal SD Watch for being the grownup in the room.

While voicing his discontent with President Bush, Todd nevertheless condemns this incident:

But in no way do I find today’s attack against him by an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at him funny or appropriate. I was shocked when I saw the footage today.

Thanks, Todd. Thanks for standing up for our president, our country, and setting a good example for others to follow.


Ripped Away

By Marie Jon'

Imagine being suddenly ripped away from your home and left standing in an unfamiliar place that completely contradicted your way of life. The extreme pressures are overwhelming. You find yourself in a society that you were never raised to believe in and that no one can sufficiently explain. One could describe the feeling as an unfavorable.

I'm afraid that many people living in our country are feeling just this way. The horrendous, rapid pace of social change is throwing us off balance. It seems that we're living in a different place.

What has happened to America? Our social mores and values are being redefined. What can be done?

Christians have to resist these dramatic changes because they do not conform to the teachings of a loving yet firm God. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” (Luke 11:23)

At a recent Bible study class I was asked if I would be ready to die for my faith. My response was “absolutely not.” The thought of dying doesn’t appeal to me. However, I believe if that moment were to actually come, God would give me the courage to do it rather than denying my Lord.

Have you ever wondered if you had it in you to become a martyr, ready to die for your faith? While going through the prophecies of the Bible, I found an answer that gave me hope. It’s a powerful thought that provides an unmovable confidence. No matter what might come my way, I can face it. Here is that prophecy and true the story that helped me reach my conclusion.

There once lived a young man named Daniel, who was just eighteen years old. This exemplary teenager could inspire many to get up early on the Lord’s Day and attend their churches’ weekly Bible classes.

Total strangers approached Daniel. They meant him no good, to say the least. The city he once lived in was totally wiped out. All the beautiful homes that once stood in his neighborhood were left in smoldering ruins. He and his friends and neighbors were bound in chains and unwillingly taken off to a land where everyone spoke in a strange language and held strange customs.

And oddly enough, this uncanny happening was pre-told in the written Word. The Israelites knew it was coming. The dramatic fulfillment of an old prediction was made clear to them by the prophet Isaiah years before it happened. Look at 2 Kings 17-20; Isaiah predicted:

“‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.”

Everything that took place was exactly as Isaiah had predicted. Sometime between 606 and 605 B.C., the Babylonian armies overtook the royal city of Jerusalem and laid it to destruction.

Daniel was just one member of the royal family who became a victim of another ruler of ancient times. The entire family was carried away in chains, along with Daniel’s neighbors. They were forced to march hundreds of miles across the burning desert to the city of Babylon. They felt humiliated because they were subjected to the shame of slavery.

Daniel was placed into servitude in the home of a pagan king. While most young men would begin living their adult lives, he became nothing more than a slave. Daniel felt helpless. What was there to look forward to?

However, as bad as that was, his personal situation could have been a whole lot worse. At least he was not put to work in the fields or forced to work in a rock quarry.

Daniel was given a job in the palace of the king. One of the first things he was asked to do was graduate from the Royal University of Babylon.

King Nebuchadnezzar had an extraordinary master plan for world domination. The king took the brightest and the best, and put them through his own universities so that they would learn to think like the Babylonians and rule over the conquered Israelites.

Over time, the king knew that the people of Israel would settle in to their new way of life. By using Daniel he felt assured his brilliant strategy would work. He counted on no uprisings against his Babylonian kingdom. Rather than beat, starve or use other cruel measures to isolate and alienate his captives, Nebuchadnezzar’s plan was to simply absorb them into the empire.

It is a plan that is being used today right here in the United States of America. It’s much easier for the ungodly to entice people into open sin by changing the way they think. It’s better than fighting them tooth and nail.

One way to achieve silencing any opposition is by telling our school age children that Darwinism is the be all and end all. There is no open debate allowed in the sciences for “Intelligent Design", neither in grade school, high school, nor universities of higher education.

Today, we sadly find ourselves in a rapidly changing world. Values are changing. The world is telling us that nothing is right or wrong, and that everything’s a matter of personal preferences.

Like the Trojan Horse, we allow the entertainment media into our homes. Today’s Pop music is seductive and devoid of morals. The melodies and the lyrics are no longer about boy meets girl and puppy love. It is any wonder why our society is spinning out of control?

Our teenagers are encouraged to become sexually active. Our public schools allow Planned Parenthood to pass out free condoms and birth control pills. However, babies are still being born out of wedlock, and worse, abortion on demand has hardened our society. There is no remorse connected with aborting an unwanted pregnancy.

While evil seems to chase God’s people, some lose their way and peacefully join the ranks of the secular progressive way of life. It's perfectly fine to allow the gay community to dictate to the rest of society regarding their version of marital Nirvana.

The Babylonian education program was much like our own public school system. They were lacking in the moral values of the God of the Bible. Our faith will not grow if we can't call the words of God to mind. America needs to become known as the people of the Bible. It’s our heritage, and we're losing it.

During the time of his captivity, Daniel exhibited special qualities of intelligence. Given the choice between working in the rock quarries all day or attending the best schools the Babylonians had to offer, the choice was a no-brainier. However, the Bible unfolds the rest of the story. In spite of the cushy living conditions, Daniel didn’t have it so easy. He faced much greater difficulties in the opulent palace.

One would believe that Daniel took a big sigh of relief, thankful that his prison sentence wasn’t any worse. But even at his young age, he had common sense and could see past the luxurious perks. Daniel recognized that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to change everything he stood for.

Little by little, Israelites were stripped of everything that made them Hebrews. They were unwillingly given new names. In our day and age, that doesn’t seem like a bad thing. People change their names all the time. Many immigrants took on slight changes to their last names as they entered Ellis Island. Not so in the ancient world. To change your name was to change your character. Your name represented who you were and what you stood for.

Parents chose their children’s names very carefully. They wholeheartedly believed that your name would dictate your course in life. Your name would help shape your character. The right name would give you a better chance at a good life.

The king of Babylon wanted to change the character of every Hebrew. So he simply changed their names and sat back to see the fruits of his labor. (Daniel 1:6, 7 NKJV):

“Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. to them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.”

Originally, Daniel’s name meant, “God is my judge.” Hananiah meant “Jehovah (or Yahweh) is gracious.” Mishael means “the one who belongs to God,” and Azariah means “Jehovah helps.”

The young men were named as a special tribute to The Almighty. Because Nebuchadnezzar didn’t want them to remember their Hebrew religion, he removed their identity and gave them pagan names of Babylonian gods instead.

Belteshazzar became Daniel’s new name. The king brazenly believed he had won the battle over the human mind. His strongest weapon was the ability to make people accept the culture of the general population. The reason we find the city of Babylon all through Bible prophecy is because of its powerful symbol of religious confusion, especially in the last days.

The Book of Revelation describes a people who have become drunk with the wine of Babylon. People who will be alive to see the Second Coming of Christ are found immersed in false teachings and bad philosophy. Liberal doctrines lead them astray, thus their moral judgments will leave them seriously impaired.

Some Christians have taken a lesson from the Babylonians by mixing God’s truth with error. They are no longer able think for themselves. (Thessalonians2:7): “The mystery of iniquity doth already work,” and it’s happening today.

The ancient empire of Babylon was built on the ruins of the tower of Babel. After the flood, the human race became very haughty. They build a monument to their greatness. However, The Almighty put a stop to it by confusing their language. Even today, the word “Babel” or “Babylon” means unintelligible gibberish.

The Bible speaks of a special end time message that goes to the entire world. (Revelation 14:8 NKJV):

“And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen.”

The prophecy can’t possibly be referring to the literal ancient city of Babylon, because the old ancient city has been gone for centuries. God says that Babylon will never be rebuilt: Isaiah 13.

Just before the end time, however, ”spiritual” Babylon will prevail over the citizens of the world. They will find themselves in a state of religious confusion. The scriptures portray a very sad picture of where the human race is heading. Within the opening chapter of the Book of Daniel, one can envision the issues that Daniel was facing and we see a little glimpse of what we are going to face as time goes by.

The secular progressives of today are trying to woo us to their way of thinking, just as the Babylonians tried with an eighteen-year-old. Daniel was continually tempted; his lifestyle and religious beliefs were under fire.

In today’s world, our morals have been thrown to the wayside. We are bombarded on a daily basis with the temptation to conform. Everything changes in direct opposition to the Word of God. The amazing thing is that it was all predicted in the book of Revelation: (Revelation 18:3, 4 NKJV)

“‘For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’”

There is a Holy Spirit clarion call going out to America and to the world. Christian activism calls for a people who will stand tall and true. There is more at stake than ever before. Liberalism undermines America. It compromises our convictions, while many wander away from God. Secularism often equals atheism. They offer every evil under the sun without condemnation or shame.

In your heart, you know that this is true. There is a part of you that remembers what life was like when people still believed in their faith, and you know that you would like to stand up for what’s right. You have a desire to never throw in the towel.

If what you feel is righteous indignation, then hold fast. Cling to Jesus. You can walk away from every temptation that this world has to offer, and live a life with no regrets.

The story of Daniel tells us what we can do. Against all odds, anyone can stand for God. If only more Christians embraced the “Daniel approach” to life, maybe this world wouldn’t be in the compromising moral mess it finds itself in.

Men and women, with a strong determination and the help of the Word of God, must stand against the falsehoods of spiritual Babylon.

Become part of the answer, and not the problem. Begin today. Allow the voice of Jesus to call you to stand firm while ignoring worldliness. Understand that He is leading you to make something better out of your life. Get on your knees and pray that you may feel His gentle touch. Crave the kind inner strength that a young man once had in the palace of a pagan king.

Will you pray and ask God to help you stand firm?



The Ishtar Gate of Babylon was built during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II (604- 562 BC). The foundations of the gate were discovered between 1899 and 1914, including numerous glazed bricks and unglazed figures. The gate resides at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Related Reading:
Babylon: The Jewel of the Semites-Youtube
Exhibition in Berlin- Babylon
Take a tour of Babylon: Flickr Photos

Marie Jon' is a political/religious-based writer and founder of www.DrawingClose.org and www.PeoplePoliticallyRight.com — sister websites to RenewAmerica. Marie extends her hand of welcome; visit DrawingClose and receive your free gift of salvation by taking an online Bible study.

Marie's writings have appeared on many sites, including The New Media Journal, ChronWatch, and ABCNews, to name a few. Marie brings a refreshing and spirited point of view that is reflected in her writings. Marie is a nurse, a lay student of the Bible, and a patriot. She is an advocate for American troops serving abroad, as well as the Blue and Gold Star Mothers of America and their families. Marie enjoys Townhall.com radio, Rush Limbaugh, Bruce Elliott Saturdays 5AM-9AM EST and her friend Larry Elder.


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