Actors Taking a Stand

"MEDIA MATTERS
Actors tell Hollywood 'Enough is Enough'
Petition set up to seek respect for Jesus' name

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: September 22, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Actress Kathy Griffin's rant at the Emmy awards in which she told Jesus to "suck it" has triggered a petition campaign intended to tell Hollywood "Enough is Enough!"

Please read the above article from WorldNetDaily.com in its entirety and then sign the petition. A petition that stems, in part, from...

"I guess hell froze over," Griffin announced. "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this. He had nothing to do with this. ... Suck it, Jesus! This award is my god now."

(The above quote is from another WorldNetDaily.com article on the Griffin matter - Sept. 11, 2007. Please read it as well.)

From the signatures on the petition, it looks like actors aren't the only ones saying "Enough is Enough"!!! Will you be signing as well???

Values Voter Debate Video

If you missed the Values Voter presidential debate last Monday, AFA has it on their website here.

It was three hours long, so you may have to watch it in bites.

Bon appetite!

Oregon Schools Teaching Mexican Curriculum

From KGW.com:

Some Oregon high schools are adopting Mexico's public school curriculum to help educate Spanish-speaking students with textbooks, an online Web site, DVDs and CDs provided free by Mexico to teach math, science and even U.S. history.

The Oregon Department of Education and Mexico's Secretariat of Public Education are discussing aligning their curricula so courses will be valid in both countries.

Similar ventures are under way in Yakima, Wash., San Diego, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

Am I the only one who thinks there's something desperately wrong with this picture?

More Deaths Associated with HPV Vaccine

From Lifesite.net:

As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormalities.

Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Indeed, 77% of the adverse reactions reported are typical side effects to vaccinations. But other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures.

Judicial Watch informed LifeSiteNews.com that a subsequent request for information on adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine, covering the period from May 2007 to September 2007, found that an additional 1800 adverse reactions have been reported, including more deaths. Exactly how many more deaths will be released in the coming days, Judicial Watch's Dee Grothe informed LifeSiteNews.com.

I think the risk of the HPV vaccination is too high, especially when the cervical cancer often caused by the Human PapillomaVirus (HPV) can be prevented by pap smears and abstinence.

Where Does the Heart Lead?

From the San Diego Tribune:

Mayor Jerry Sanders reversed his position on gay marriage Wednesday, supporting it in emotional remarks punctuated by pauses, shaking sips of water and his wife's hand resting one time reassuringly on his back.

Sanders' wife, Rana Sampson, stood next to him as he acknowledged publicly for the first time that his daughter, Lisa, is a lesbian.

“I've decided to lead with my heart, which is probably obvious right now, to do what I think is right and to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice,” Sanders said.

A few thoughts:

1) Homosexuals have the same rights as heterosexuals to marry someone of the opposite sex. They don't need special rights and make the claim that they're "married" to someone of the same sex.

2) Right and wrong don't change just because sin has now visited us up close in our own families. We don't have the luxury of deciding that, since we or a member of our family has chosen a habitual sin, that this sin is now not a sin. In other words, right and wrong aren't relative.

3) Mayor Sanders says he now wants to "lead with his heart." But here's what the Bible says about the reliability of our hearts:


Matthew 15:19-20 - For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.


In other words, the heart is not a good barometer of right, and not a good compass for truth. It will deceive you into justifying what you would normally know is wrong.

Would Mayor Sanders "follow his heart" and give approval if his daughter was a heroin addict? Probably not at this point, but if society had undergone a decades-long PR campaign to lead people to believe that heroin use was normal, natural and health, he probably would. But his daughter's homosexual conduct is probably about as unhealthy as drug addiction. Drug use simply lacks the societal approval which homosexuality has recently come to enjoy. But they'll both destroy the body and the soul.

Mayor Sanders should stick with what he knows is right, what is immutably true, and not go with the whims of the heart which yield a brief peace and an eternity of heartache and loss.

MoveOn.Org Ad Condemned by US Senate

The U.S. Senate voted today on a resolution condemning the "General Betray-Us" MoveOn.org ad; it passed 72-25, with 22 Democrats voting for it, to their credit.

Both of South Dakota's senators, Johnson and Thune, voted for the resolution, condemning the pathetic ad.

Here's the text of the resolution:

To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.

Here are the nays, who apparently think it's cool to show contempt and disrespect for an American general in the middle of a war (not to mention malign his integrity):

Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

HT to Free Republic.

Second Star Wars TV Series in the Works

If you grew up with Star Wars as I did, and if the magic hasn't diminished in the intervening 30 years, then you probably know that creator George Lucas has been working for some time on a TV series which takes place between Episode II and Episode III. Of course, it will be about the Clone Wars which began at the end of Episode II and ended in Episode III with the rise of the Empire.

But now the Sci Fi Channel's Sci Fi Wire brings news that Lucas is also working on another Star Wars TV series:

Lucas is also working on a live-action series for television and said that he expects to be writing it about a month from now. The series will be set in the Star Wars universe between Episode III and Episode IV, and will feature minor characters from the films.

"It's like Episode IV in that the Emperor and Darth Vader are heard about—people talk about them—but you never see them because it doesn't take place where they actually are. There are storm troopers and all that, but there are no Jedis. It's different, but I think it's very exciting because I get to explore a part of that universe that I haven't been able to explore."

I foresee some time in front of the television with the kids, provided they don't mess it up with unnecessary profanity and sexual innuendo (like they do most shows, nowadays).

James Dobson Not Supporting Thompson

It seems Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, won't be supporting Fred Thompson's bid for the presidency.

From OneNewsNow:

In a private e-mail obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, Dobson accuses the former Tennessee senator and actor of being weak on the campaign trail and wrong on issues dear to social conservatives.

"Isn't Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold, won't talk at all about what he believes, and can't speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail?" Dobson wrote.

"He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent 'want to.' And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!"

I haven't written off my support for Thompson yet, but I agree with Dobson this far: Thompson's unwillingness to address the problem of homosexual "marriage" (which is a national issue whether Thompson likes it or not), his support of the uconstitutional assault on the First Amendment known as McCain-Feingold (aka the Incumbent Protection Act), and his reticence to be up front about his faith certainly throw a lot of cold water on the enthusiasm of millions of Christians who do take their faith seriously.

Man Puts Rattlesnake in Mouth, Gets Bitten

From Breitbart.com:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Snake collector Matt Wilkinson of Portland grabbed a 20-inch rattler from the highway near Maupin, and three weeks later, to impress his ex-girlfriend, he stuck the serpent in his mouth.

He was soon near death with a swollen tongue that blocked his throat. Trauma doctors at the Oregon Health and Science University saved his life.

I think this guy's definitely in the running for Idiot of the Year.

Cabela's 'No' Vote Vastly Outspent

According to the Black Hills Pioneer, the "no" vote on the Cabela's land transfer was outspent just a little:

The company made three $30,000 donations to the Vote Yes for Cabela's committee, according to the report. The donations were made on Sept. 9, 10 and 12.

No report was made on how the money was spent, but Cabela's bought newspaper, radio and billboard advertising and also sent mailers out to voters.

The No Free Lunch Committee, which opposed the land donation, collected $2,708, according to its pre-election report.

Two men - Dwayne Coleman and John Barta - made $1,000 donations and Fred Weishaupl, who led the effort to place the issue on the ballot, donated $500. There was $208 in unitemized donations.

The committee listed $1,445.54 in cash on hand in the report, filed Sept. 11.

Apparently there was an interesting disagreement at the Monday night city council meeting between Mayor Hanks and citizen Steve Brendan:

Brendan began speaking about the Cabela's vote and the Sept. 10 forum sponsored by The Rapid City Weekly News and the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce. According to Brendan, Alderman Bill Okrepkie used fear tactics at the forum to try to get people to vote in favor of the land giveaway.

Okrepkie got upset at Brendan's remarks and Hanks asked Brendan to respect the council members and not make accusations against them.

"If you want to talk about the issues, that is fine," Hanks said. "But picking on specific council people is not allowed."

Brendan asked if he could get back the time it took for Hanks to speak and he was denied that time. An argument then ensued over what was being said and who had the floor. Hanks banged his gavel after Brendan interrupted a number of times. After Hanks finished speaking and Brendan began talking again, Hanks held the gavel in the air as a warning.

LodgeNet 'Truce'?

OneNewsNow covers the ongoing objections to LodgeNet's selling porn to hotels across the country, and Governor Mike Rounds' attendance at a recent press conference announcing an expansion of LodgeNet:

South Dakota Family Policy Council president Chris Hupke, whose group organized the August rally, sent a letter of protest to the governor's office, and others have followed suit with correspondence, prompting what Burress says was a request for "truce" terms from the governor's office as a result. Their response, according to Burress, was that South Dakota needs an obscenity law -- one that would not allow businesses like LodgeNet to freely operate from there.

Yes, people choose to buy the porn movies offered by LodgeNet. But people also choose to buy illicit drugs offered by drug dealers. Restricting the sale of harmful products isn't new.

Congressional Approval Rating: New Low at 11 Percent

Liberals love to crow about Bush's low approval ratings (he should try being more conservative, instead of alienating his base), but I think the Democrat-controlled Congress would love to have his rating.

From Yahoo News:

President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress registered record-low approval ratings in a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday, and a new monthly index measuring the mood of Americans dipped slightly on deepening worries about the economy.

Only 29 percent of Americans gave Bush a positive grade for his job performance, below his worst Zogby poll mark of 30 percent in March. A paltry 11 percent rated Congress positively, beating the previous low of 14 percent in July.

More Plunder

Why is it the more I see and hear, the less I'm liking what's coming out of Rapid City's city hall these days?

Rapid City has been looking at the possible annexation of several parts (or the whole) of Rapid Valley for some time now.

This huge community between Rapid City and the Rapid City airport is home to several thousand people; I recall reading a story a couple of years ago that added up the numbers and found it would be one of South Dakota's top 5 towns if it were incorporated.

There were few businesses in Rapid Valley until about 5 years ago, but now, with new housing simply exploding in the Valley, several more businesses are popping up fast.

And it looks like Rapid City is licking it's chops with renewed interest.

From the Rapid City Journal:

Little progress was made Monday by the Rapid City Council regarding the possible annexation of commercial properties along S.D. Highway 44 in Rapid Valley that are outside the city limits.


Though the council rejected the idea eight months ago, Alderman Tom Johnson urged the council to reconsider its decision because of the sales tax revenue those businesses would generate for the city.

In January, the city council, minus Johnson who was unable to attend, voted against the proposal, which would have required staff to contact property owners to gauge interest in voluntary annexation. No one was proposing forced annexation.

Some are talking (of course) about what Rapid Valley would gain from being part of the city. The answer no one is talking about: nothing.

Rapid Valley already has a volunteer fire department right in the middle of it (the kind of fire dept. that serves almost every other South Dakota town), already has it's own water and sewer system, and has a sheriff's dept. substation located right in Rapid Valley. This in addition to the other services it receives from Pennington County.

So Rapid City can really offer Rapid Valley nothing except higher taxes and additional regulations. Nice deal, huh?

While some try to paint him as a naysayer, it once again seems Alderman Sam Kooiker is the only voice of consideration and reason on the council:

Alderman Sam Kooiker, the only council member to vote against more discussion, questioned how the city can make the case for annexation without the promise of providing direct services.

Kooiker said a community of interest exists between Rapid City and Rapid Valley, as well as small communities such as Black Hawk, but Rapid City should have a more productive and encompassing dialog that shows it is "truly interested in providing services and becoming a community of interest, rather than being a 15th century plunderer, where we just go ahead and take properties so we can have additional revenue for city coffers."

I like that, "15th Century plunderer." Kind of reminds me of that Capital One commercial with all the barbarians running out to pillage interest dollars, only to find they were thwarted by the low-rate Capital One card. Only in this case, the plunderers find Kooiker speaking of more than just reaping more taxes, and maybe the residents and businesses of Rapid Valley wanting more than just to be able to say, "Oooh, we're part of Rapid City now. How neat!"

I'm also reminded of the fast and seemingly forced-down-the-throat incorporation of the Summerset area west of Rapid City. That seems like a real goat-rope, and has since moments after the incorporation.

Has it ever occurred to those with the bureaucratic mindset that maybe some people would rather simply live quiet lives without the hassles of unnecessary government?

Cabela's Land Transfer Approved

According to the Rapid City Journal, the transfer of 30 acres of city property to Cabela's, which was referred to a vote today, has gone through with a 59.6% yes vote.

The final vote total was 6,957 "yes" votes to 4,716 "no" votes.

I had hoped it would pass, but would be a squeaker so that it might be less likely that the city council would feel emboldened to make similar deals in the future.

Maybe the deal the city struck is what it took to bring Cabela's to Rapid City. But I can't escape the suspicion that the deal was too eager and too generous from the start.

We can hope that the controversy and trouble of a special election will give everyone pause in the future. Government should be business-friendly, but govenment still has a responsiblity to be good stewards of the taxpayer's interest.

I also have a hard time believing that Cabela's "business model" couldn't work without a leg up from Rapid City government. I'm very pro-business, but I have to ask myself, "If Cabela's can't be profitable without the help of several million dollars worth of real estate help from the city, does Cabela's really deserve to be in business?"

Hillary Boils the Frog

Glimpses of truth from Hillary's obfuscation about her socialized health care plans.

From Yahoo News:

"At this point, we don't have anything punitive that we have proposed," the presidential candidate said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We're providing incentives and tax credits which we think will be very attractive to the vast majority of Americans."

Notice the "at this point" caveat. "No, Mr. Frog, at this point we have no plans to boil you alive. Just wait a little while for us to turn up the heat a few degrees and we'll get back to that proposition."

And try this on for size, freedom-lovers:

She said she could envision a day when "you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview — like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination," but said such details would be worked out through negotiations with Congress.

Who cares if you're qualified to do the work and the employer wants to hire you? You must conform to the wisdom of the state first!

No, I wouldn't consider being denied a job because you won't play along with Hillary's socialist games "punitive." Not at all. Why would anyone think that?

When will people wake up and realize liberals couldn't give a rip about your freedom, as they travel along the merry road to their socialist utopia?

The Land of Opportunity

Ever wonder why we get such distorted, inconsistent rulings from the judicial branch these days?

Dennis Prager offers some insight:

I learned a major part of the answer years ago in Idaho where I was the moderator of a panel of judges – including a past California Supreme Court justice – and lawyers connected to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I asked the panel members to give their view of the role of judges. The response of the liberal former California Supreme Court justice opened my eyes to the left's view of virtually everything in society.

He said that the purpose of a California Supreme Court justice, and for that matter, every judge, is to fight economic inequality and racism in society.

Sounds right out of the Marxist textbook; envy is at the heart of pure Marxist philosophy.

But the Bible, the center of the Judeo-Christian worldview that built this nation, sees poverty and justice differently.

Consider Leviticus 19:15 which says

Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly

And Exodus 23:2-3 says

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

The Bible is rich in examples that God is a friend of the poor...but not at the expense of what's fair and true and just.

You don't erase an injustice (or poverty itself) by taking something from one innocent person and giving it to another (innocent or not); you just create or multiply injustice.

We are to seek the truth, aim for what is right, not indulge our own sense of self-guilt or become confused by the politics of greed. God is more concerned with the truth of a matter, than with changing economic "inequalities."

But this example from Prager serves to illustrate what is wrong with so many judges and our judicial system as a whole: it is too concerned with setting rules for society and too unconcerned with adjudicating the laws we do have.

In an imperfect world, the United States has the most fair system on the planet, and provides more opportunity for the individual to succeed and excel. Our system of government was intended to provide maximum opportunity, not maximum outcome. The best a human government can do is ensure that maximum opportunity exists...and leave the results up to the individual and to God.

Cabela's Ballot Confusion

In the Cabela's land giveaway vote today in Rapid City, looks like there may be genuine fodder for disagreement if the vote doesn't go the way either side wants it to.

From KOTA:

And here is the erroneous language (on the "no" part of the ballot):

A "YES" vote is for the approval of the portion of the Resolution allowing
the land to be transferred for economic development purposes.

A "NO" vote is against the approval of the portion of the Resolution
preventing the land from being transferred for economic development
purposes.

In reality, a "no" vote is against the approval of the portion of the
Resolution ALLOWING the land to be transferred. There is no resolution
PREVENTING the land from being transferred.

I think most voters will be able to figure it out...but I also know there are voters who will be incredibly stymied by the loose language.

This contentious issue may yet continue to hover before the eyes of Rapid Citians.

Fun at the Values Voter Presidential Debate

WorldNetDaily has coverage of the Values Voter presidential debate last night.

I hope Christians will remember who showed up and who didn't when considering who to send money to, who to volunteer for, and ultimately who to vote for. If some of these candidates care so little for the values of the faith that founded this nation, then why should people of that faith support them to run this Christian-founded country?

Sounds like they had some fun with the absences:

In a unique and at times humorous segment of the three-hour debate, live questions were asked of the four candidates who decided against taking part.

The first came from Teresa Ippoliti, a woman who says as an unborn child, her would-be abortionist "failed to kill" her.

"Mayor Giuliani, your position on abortion would have left me dead," Ippoliti said. "Now that you see me, Mayor Giuliani, do you honestly believe the abortionist had a right to kill me?"

"No answer," someone yelled from the audience after a sustained silence, as eyes focused on the empty lectern with Giuliani's name on it.

"Governor Romney, it looks like you lost some weight," clowned Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, as he addressed the empty Romney podium before asking him why people should trust the former Massachusetts chief executive "after you spent so much of your career aggressively promoting anti-life positions."

Again, total silence.

The missing contenders said they could not attend the debate due to scheduling conflicts, but Giuliani was in town only hours before the event, and Thompson was in the Sunshine State over the weekend and is slated to return today.

Apparently Democrats think even less of values voters:

Farah noted a second debate had been planned for next week to query the Democrats, but all of the office-seekers from that party declined to participate.

But Democrats had no problem making it to a homosexual debate, or a Spanish-speaking debate. What does that tell you about their priorities?

100% Pro Homosexual Companies

For supporting an unhealthy and immoral practice, the homosexual group Human Rights Campaign has recognized 195 U.S. companies as having a perfect 100% score.

From WorldNetDaily, here are the top 10:

1. AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah

2. Abercrombie & Fitch

3. Accenture

4. Adobe Systems

5. Aetna

6. Agilent Technologies

7. Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld

8. Alcatel-Lucent

9. Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America

10. Allstate

It's a Constitutional Republic, But Can We Keep It?

By John W. Whitehead

Throughout the month of September, the National Archives will be commemorating the 220th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution with a series of panel discussions, appearances by actors dressed up as the Founders and a birthday cake. Federal law also mandates that on Constitution Day, September 17, all high schools, colleges and universities across the country that receive federal funds host educational events about the Constitution. (Full Article)

There is a hero in every South Dakota community

By Gordon Garnos

EXPLANATION: We recently attended the 30th annual Induction Ceremony for the South Dakota Hall of Fame. This was the first time the annual event was held at Chamberlain, the home of the Hall of Fame and at the Cedar Shore Resort at Oacoma. The big cities where this ceremony has been held in the past could learn something about volunteering if they were at the ceremony. The folks from these two communities as well as the staffs at both the Cedar Shore Resort and the South Dakota Hall of Fame really know how to do such things up right. (Full Article)