Obama gives Iran a deadline

Earlier today President Obama said that if Iran does not "show good-faith efforts to halt is nuclear weapons program" by September, "we need to take further steps."

In other words, we will not only use stronger adjectives, we may also stamp our little feet and hold our breath.

Forcing "gay values" on every state

According to an e-mail I received yesterday from the Family Research Council,

No longer content to offer same-sex "marriage" to its own residents, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a federal suit yesterday that would force Bay State "values" on every state in America. In a press conference yesterday, General Coakley claimed that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the U.S. Constitution by interfering with states' rights to define marriage.

This is nonsense, of course. Ms. Coakley is not interested in allowed the voters of each state the right to decide--that is what DOMA is designed to do. What Ms. Coakley wants is to force all other states to accept her gay values. This is how radical gay-advocates define tolerance.

"An absolute catastrophe"

According to AFP, French President Nicolas Sarkozy today warned that, "A unilateral attack by Israel against Iran to thwart the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions would be an "absolute catastrophe"

Really? And what would an Iranian nuclear strike against Israel be? More importantly, what is your country, or the U.N. or anyone else doing to prevent it?

Racism and hate crimes in Ohio

According to Ohio.Com:

Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime or a gang initiation.

But to Marty Marshall, his wife and two kids, it seems pretty clear.

It came after a family night of celebrating America and freedom with a fireworks show at Firestone Stadium. Marshall, his family and two friends were gathered outside a friend's home in South Akron.

Out of nowhere, the six were attacked by dozens of teenage boys, who shouted ''This is our world'' and ''This is a black world'' as they confronted Marshall and his family.

The Marshalls, who are white, say the crowd of teens who attacked them and two friends June 27 on Girard Street numbered close to 50. The teens were all black.

If this had been a group of white teens attacking a black family while yelling, "this is a white world," the story would have been front page news of every newspaper in the country and would have been covered for days on the cable news channels--with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson leading the charge.

But in America, the big sticks of "racism" and "hate crimes" are applied very selectively.

Racism is racism no matter what color is involved. And if "hate crimes" laws are are not applied fairly, the result is a terrible miscarriage of justice.

Actual unemployment: 16.5%

Fox News is reporting that last week alone, 565,000 people began drawing unemployment benefits for the first time. 6.88 million people are now drawing unemployment benefits. The official unemployment rate is now nearing 10% but this doesn't count those no longer receiving benefits. According to a July 2, 2009 article in the Washington Post, "the nation's actual unemployment rate in June rose from 16.4 to 16.5 percent..."

As I understand it, this is far more than the Democrats promised with their stimulus package. In fact, it is more than predicted if the stimulus package had not been implemented at all. And now some Democrats want to spend even more of your children's money in yet another stimulus!

We simply must vote these Democratic crooks out of office in 2010! Our future depends on it!

Another stimulus?

The stimulus package is not working. Joe Biden admitted as much, giving the lame excuse that the economy was worse than the Obama administration realized (i.e. they were wrong).

Fox's Major Garrett recently asked President Obama about rumors of a second stimulus package. Obama said that he hasn't taken anything off the table.

As one pundit said this morning, if you give medicine to the patient and the patient doesn't respond or gets worse, you try something else. Not the Democrats. Art they trying to kill the patient?

Actually, I was shocked to learn that only about 10% of the stimulus money has been spent so far. I couldn't believe it! When the Bush administration first proposed this terrible stimulus idea we were told that the matter was so urgent that the entire U.S. economy might collapse without it. In fact, the matter was so urgent that no one in Congress even had time to read the bill!

Then the Democrats came to power and took Bush's stimulus disaster and put it on steroids! And now, over six months later we learn that only 10% has been spent and the government won't rule out another one!

Could they possibly be any more out of touch? We simply must vote Democrats and "moderate" Republicans out of office in 2010. The country depends on it.

Codex Sinaiticus goes online

Yesterday (July 6, 2009) CNN published an online article entitled, “Oldest known Bible goes online.” Since the article begins by saying, “The world's oldest known Christian Bible goes online Monday—but the 1,600-year old text doesn’t match the one you’ll find in churches today,” I thought the article deserved a response.

The idea that this is “The world’s oldest known Christian Bible” is somewhat misleading. True, Sinaiticus, along with another manuscript known as Vaticanus, are the most complete of the very oldest Bibles still existing, but there are numerous other ancient biblical texts even older than Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.

For example, p45, p46 and p47 together contain pretty much the entire New Testament and are about 100 or more years older than either Vaticanus or Sinaiticus (The letter “p” in p45 etc. stands for papyrus, a form of early paper on which the manuscripts were written. The number is just a number assigned by scholars to identify the manuscripts).

Other ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts which are older than Sinaiticus and Vaticanus include, p1, p4/64/67, p5, p9, p12, p13, p15/16, p17, p18, p20, p22, p23, p24, p27, p28, p29, p30, p32, p35, p37, p38, p39, p40, p45, p46, p47, p48, p49/65, p50, p52, p53, p66, p69, p70, p72, p75, p77/103, p78, p80, p86, p87, p90, p91, p92, p95, p98, p100, p101, p102, p104, p106, p107, p108, p109, p110, p111, p113, p114, p115, 0162, 0171, 0189, 0220.

These texts range from short fragments, to several pages, to pretty much complete collections of Gospels or Paul’s letters (See, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts by Philip comfort and David Barnett for the complete Greek text of these manuscripts).

The CNN article continues, “but the 1,600-year-old text doesn't match the one you'll find in churches today.” My guess is that the average person reading this phrase will conclude that Codex Sinaiticus is vastly different than their Bible. This is true if they were talking about the fact that Codex Sinaiticus was written in Greek while their Bible is written in English (or Spanish, German, Russian, etc).

Otherwise, the statement is terribly misleading. If the average person could read ancient Greek, they may be able to read for hours and not notice a single place where Sinaiticus is different than their Bible. In fact, apart from Greek language and the addition of apocryphal books, my guess is that Sinaiticus is probably well over 90% or 95% identical with most modern Bibles.

So what is the difference?

The most significant difference is—as the CNN article indicated—that Sinaticus contains books that many modern Bibles don’t have: 1 & 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 4 Macabees, Wisdom, Sirach (aka Ecclesiasticus). Some of these books are contained in the Catholic apocrypha. Books like Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, Wisdom, and Sirach can all be found in the Catholic “Jerusalem Bible” for example. All of them can be found in the New Oxford Annotated Bible; New Revised Standard Version.

Most of these books date between the time when the Old and New Testaments were written, though 2 Esdras and 4 Maccabees may have been written in the first century AD.

My impression growing up was that many protestant Christians thought of the Catholic apocrypha as something evil. I think this was a Protestant over-reaction against the Catholic Church. Ancient Jews and Christians generally held these books in high regard, though Jews never included them in their Bibles. Ancient Christians disagreed about whether they belong in the Bible or not. Either way, they are books that every Christian should read.

Another difference between Sinaiticus and modern Bibles is that “The New Testament books are in a different order…” The order in Sinaiticus is, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Acts, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, Jude, Revelation, the letter of Barnabas and part of the Shepherd of Hermas (cf. F.F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, 205, 206).

The addition of Barnabas and Hermas is the next big difference. A few ancient churches thought the letter of Barnabas and “Shepherd (or pastor) of Hermas” should be included as Scripture.

The letter of Barnabas is hard to date precisely. Estimates range from AD 70 to 135. No one thinks Barnabas, the companion of Paul, wrote this. I would describe it as a Christian exhortation. The letter of Barnabas contains quotes like,

“For it was for this reason that the Lord endured the deliverance of his flesh
to corruption, that we might be cleansed by the forgiveness of sins, that is, by
his sprinkled blood. For the Scripture concerning him relates partly to Israel
and partly to us, and speaks as follows, ‘He was wounded for our transgressions,
and has been afflicted because of our sins; by his wounds we were healed…”

“If, therefore, the Son of God, who is Lord and is destined to judge the
living and the dead, suffered in order that his wounds might give us life, let
us believe that the Son of God could not suffer except for our sake. But he was
also given vinegar and gall to drink when he was crucified…”

One fascinating thing about the letter of Barnabas is its view on how God made the world in six days:

“And God made the works of his hands in six days, and finished on the seventh
day, and rested on it, and sanctified it. Observe, children, what ‘he finished
in six days’ means. It means this: that in six thousand years the Lord will
bring everything to an end, for with him a day signifies a thousand years [cf. 2
Peter 3:8]. Therefore, children, in six days—that is, in six thousand
years—everything will be brought to an end. ‘And he rested on the seventh day.’
This means: when his Son comes, he will destroy the time of the lawless one and
will judge the ungodly…”

The author of Barnabas would likely have thought the world was four thousand years old in his time. The remaining two thousand years brings us up to our time.

The Shepherd of Hermas is a long allegorical essay containing visions, “mandates” and parables. Some in the early church thought is was Scripture, but according to a list of New Testament books written in about 180 AD (now called the Muratorian Canon), the Shepherd of Hermas was written “quite recently in our time in the city of Rome…” The Shepherd of Hermas is not heretical, but is, to my mind, rather bizarre.

The CNN article continues, “And some familiar -- very important -- passages are missing, including verses dealing with the resurrection of Jesus…”

Most of these "missing passages" are a few words or phrases, but the the most significant of the“missing passages” are about the women taken in adultery in John 7:53-8:11 and the “longer ending” of the Gospel of Mark. This shouldn’t really take anyone by surprise. Anyone who has read a modern New Testament all the way through knows that most Bibles contain some kind of notation informing readers that some ancient manuscripts leave these passages out.

When the CNN article says, “passages are missing, including verses dealing with the resurrection of Jesus…” the passage referred to is the so-called “longer ending” of the Gospel of Mark. In most modern Bibles (and in Sinaiticus) the Gospel of Mark ends like this:

“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him. And
very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. They
had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the
entrance to the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which
was very large, had been rolled back. Then as they went into the tomb, they saw
a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; and they were
alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the
Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is
the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples, even Peter, that he
is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told
you.” Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had
seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”

Sinaticus and Vaticanus end the story with the disciples being afraid. The vast majority of other manuscripts continue the story with:

“Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. She went out and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping. And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were on their way to the country. They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes with their
hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their
hands on the sick and they will be well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to
them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. They
went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and
confirmed the word through the accompanying signs.

I’m not going to take time reviewing the scholarly discussion regarding Mark 16 except to note that the Diatesseron (a harmony of the Gospels) and Irenaeus both quote from this longer ending—indicating that the longer ending was in at least some copies of the Gospel of Mark, and the Diatesseron and Irenaeus both date from over 140 years before Sinaticus or Vaticanus!

The important issue, however, has to do with the resurrection. Some have tried to argue that the writer of Mark knew nothing of the resurrection of Jesus since the longer ending, containing the resurrection, was not—they insist—part of the original version of Mark. But according to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus specifically predicted his resurrection from the dead (Mark 14:28).

Critics can argue about whether Jesus actually made such a prediction, but the idea that Mark did not know of Jesus’ resurrection is factually untrue.

In addition to Mark’s reference to the resurrection, there are also references to Jesus' resurrection in Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, Second Timothy, Hebrews, First Peter, as well as early church writers like Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, etc. The impression that some may have received from the CNN article, i.e. that early attestation to the resurrection is in question, is nonsense.

CNN then quotes “Juan Garces, the British Library project curator” as saying, “it should be no surprise that the ancient text is not quite the same as the modern one, since the Bible has developed and changed over the years.”

First, it is important to remember that the Bible is a collection of books and letters written over a period of more than a thousand years. So of course the Bible has “developed and changed over the years.” This should come as no surprise to anyone.

Second, some people with axes to grind like to make it sound like there really was no New Testament before some powerful Christian bishops got together in the fourth century AD and created one. This is simply not true, and quite frankly, I question the honesty of some scholars who know better but have left this impression.

There was a core of New Testament writings which, as far as anyone knows, was accepted by all catholic (small “c” meaning universal) Christians and was undisputed. These books include, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, First Peter and First John.

This constitutes the vast majority of the New Testament. Some smaller books like James, 2nd Peter, 2nd and 3rd John, etc. were questioned in some (not all) churches. And some (not all) churches thought for a while that a few books like the Didache, Clement, Shepherd, and Barnabas should be included. But as early as the first or early second century the Gospels, Paul’s letters and even Hebrews was quoted as Scripture—nearly 300 years before any church councils met to discuss the issue. In fact, Irenaeus (AD 185) even calls this collection of books “New Testament” nearly 200 years before any councils met to discuss the issue.

The fact that Codex Sinaiticus will soon be online is a good thing, though, contrary to the impression some may get from reading the CNN article, there is really nothing shocking about it and it really doesn’t change anything Christian scholars have known about the Bible for the last 165 years.

Michael Jackson and Peter King

What do you think of Congressman Peter King's comments on Michael Jackson and the media?

None dare call it Treason

Is this the face of "Moderate Islam" in America? I certainly hope the FBI is all over this.

Sarah Palin for President?

I like Sarah Palin. I would have liked for her to be President. But if running for President is what she had in mind, it seems to me that she is like a runner who pulls out a gun and shoots herself in the foot.

I am certainly no political strategist, but can't imagine how her premature resignation as governor could possibly help her. One of her liabilities was that she didn't have a whole lot of executive experience. Resigning as governor does not help this. She also gives her enemies significant ammunition to say she's a quitter, can't handle the heat, or is just plain irrational.

Before I could vote for her now, she will have to prove herself and demonstrate how this apparently irrational move was strategically brilliant and well thought out. I can't imagine how she can do that.

Her resignation saddens me. I would have liked for her to be President.

Israel and Iranian nuclear plants

According to TimesOnline:

The head of Mossad, Israel’s overseas intelligence service, has assured Benjamin Netanyahu, its prime minister, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites.

And according to the Associated Press,

Vice President Joe Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, even as the top U.S. military officer said any attack on Iran would be destabilizing.

Clearly someone has to do it--the future of the world may literally be at stake--so hopefully Israel will step up to the plate, because under Barack Obama, the United States no longer seems to have the guts to remain leader of the free world.

Make your house green....or else!

According to the economists on "Cavuto on Business" this morning, if the Democrats' proposed massive energy bill passes, you will be required to spend thousands of dollars to retrofit your house to make it "green" before you can sell it!

For all those who voted for Obama and the Democrats.....you asked for it! The Democrats want government to tax, control and regulate every area of your life and they are moving ahead like a freight train to do just that.

In the interest of open disclosure and honesty, I think the Democrats should change the name of their party to the National Socialist Party.

Sotomayor faces more charges of racism

New documents have come to light showing that Sonia Sotomayor not only supported racist discrimination against white firefighters in Connecticut, but that she also served on the board of a group that "represented Hispanic sanitation workers in New York City who wanted to stop white employees from getting promotions" (OneNewsNow).

Imagine a world in which purple people discriminated for hundreds of years against green people, until a green hero finally convinced the majority of purple people that discrimination on the basis of color was wrong.

The green people (with the help of some purple people) then began discriminating against purple people! The green people think that the years of discrimination against them justifies discrimination against purple people.

What the green people are really demonstrating, however, is that they are not really against discrimination per se. They are just against discrimination against them! The real issue, then, is not about discrimination, but about power (as those like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have illustrated over and over again).

But shouldn't hundreds of years of racial discrimination be redressed? Certainly, if there was an equitable way of doing it. But you cannot justly punish innocent people now, for the sins of their forefathers. This is just evil and to do so only invites future retribution by the innocent ones who are being unjustly punished. It perpetuates nothing but a cycle of hatred and violence. This is undoubtedly why 2 Chronicles 25:4 specifically says that people are not to be punished for the sins of their fathers (or forefathers).

The fact is that racism is racism, and racism is evil. Those who advocate discrimination against white males are every bit as racist as those in the KKK or other white supremacist organizations who advocate discrimination against African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, etc. Racists have no business being on the Supreme Court.

The war in Afghanistan

Recliner Commentaries recently commented on the incresing military offensive in Afghanistan. In the news this morning: One General says we are currently in "one hell of a fight" with Taliban in Afghanistan right now. Earlier today a former CIA analyst said that our presence in Afghanistan will not be a short term engagement. He said we would have to be there for five to ten years!

This raises all kinds of questions. For example:

Where are all the anti-war protesters now and why aren't they hammering Barack Obama for not withdrawing our troops sooner, as they did with President Bush?

Why was it wrong for President Bush to go to war with a nation which everyone thought had WMD, but OK for Barack Obama to continue war with a nation which no one thinks has WMD?

Why was it wrong for a Republican President to wage war but OK for Democratic Presidents to wage war (I don't recall any major anti-war protests when Clinton bombed Iraq, invaded Somolia, or went to war in Bosnia either).

Could it be that the anti-war protests were orchestrated specifically as a political power-play to discredit the Bush administration?

If so--thanks to the gullibility of the American people--it worked and we now have a very naieve and inexperienced President trying to deal with some of the most serious crises in the nation's history.

Obama brain scan

From someone named Burt Prelutsky (via Jihad Watch):

"I sincerely hope that when the president goes in for his annual check-up, the doctors at Bethesda will do a brain scan. Surely something must be terribly wrong with a man who seems to be far more concerned with a Jew building a house in Israel than with Muslims building a nuclear bomb in Iran."

Homosexual sex crimes

This is about as evil and despicable as it gets:

News coverage of a Duke University official accused of raping his adopted 5-year-old son and offering the child to someone else is apparently lacking what some say is a key piece of information: the fact the alleged perpetrator is a homosexual who lives with another "gay" man (WorldNetDaily).

This Duke University pervert apparently adopted the little boy to use him as a homosexual sex slave! Then he rents the little boy out to someone else for sex!

Crimes like this that make me question the wisdom of the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Unemployment still on the rise

According to USA Today breaking news, "Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high 9.5%, according to the Labor Department."

The Obama/Democrat stimulus package was a successful, massive power grab; but as an economic stimulus, it was a failure.

Lesbian sues photographers

It has happened again:

A woman sent an e-mail to Elane Photography in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

She said she wanted the owners, Elaine and Jon Huguenin to photograph her lesbian 'commitment' ceremony....

Elaine and Jon politely said no because they felt their Christian beliefs would conflict with the behavior that would be depicted in the ceremony (ADF letter, Monday June 29, 2009).

There are, of course, dozens, of photography businesses in Albuquerque that would love to have these lesbians' business. But that wasn't good enough. One of the lesbians "filed a complaint with the state human rights commission asking it to punish the Huguenins for allegedly 'discriminating' against people who engage in homosexual behavior."

The very people who pushed gay rights in the name of "tolerance" are now becoming some of the most intolerant people on the planet!

The Huguenins now have to defend themselves in court even though "Neither marriage nor civil unions are legally recognized between members of the same sex in New Mexico." Just imagine what will happen when same sex marriage is legal! The floodgates for lawsuits against Christians will open and many Christians will be forced by the government to either compromise their religious convictions or shut down their businesses!

The same logic that would allow the government to require Christian photographers to photograph gay ceremonies or that would require Christian doctors to perform abortions, could also be used to justify forcing "a Hindu vegetarian film producer to create a commercial for a slaughter house" or a Muslim store owner to sell wine, or a Jewish restaurant owner to serve pork.

Freedom of Religion is not just "freedom of worship." Any "freedom" that requires you to leave your religion in your home or place of worship is not freedom in any meaningful sense of the word.

Make no mistake about it. The battle over same sex marriage is not really about whether two people of the same sex should be able to get married. It is about freedom of religion.

Obama lied, people died

I'm watching a report on TV this morning about 4,000 U.S. marines attacking the Taliban in Helmand province in Afghanistan. As I understand it, this just the latest of recent U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.

I wonder if we will soon be seeing large protests in the streets with people chanting, "Obama lied, people died."

I doubt it. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the anti-war protests were not really anti-war. They were just anti-Bush.

H.J. Res. 5

With an Obama presidency, this is a truly terrifying idea!

Obama, worse than Nixon!

Who recently said that "not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press."

If you answered, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Jason Lewis you would be wrong.

The answer is long-time veteran White House correspondent and uber-liberal, Helen Thomas!

So much for President Obama's promise to have a very "open" administration?

Read the story at CNSNews.

Billions of aid to Muslim nations

President Obama is reportedly giving $150 million to Jordan, $600 million to the Palestinian Authority, and $300 million to Hamas. He is also giving "1.5 billion a year for the next five years" in civilian aid to Pakistan in addition to $2.8 billion in aid for that nation's military."

Not only that, but following in the footsteps of President Clinton who gave nuclear technology to North Korea, "the U.S. is set to help the United Arab Emirates become the first Arab nation with a developed nuclear power infrastructure."

Wow! You'd almost think President Obama was a Muslim! We are in the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression. Isn't it time to cut back on foreign aid and use the money in America?

See Jihad Watch for the full story.

David Cerullo and self-indulgence

According to the Associated Press/OneNewsNow,

A religious broadcaster is building a $4 million home in a gated, lakefront community in western South Carolina at the same time that the ministry has cut jobs and reset thermostats to save money in its new headquarters.

Inspiration Networks' CEO David Cerullo is building the 9,000-square-foot home on a lot that overlooks Lake Keowee, The Charlotte Observer reported Monday.

Inspiration Networks has drawn scrutiny for up to $26 million in incentives it won from South Carolina to move from Charlotte to Indian Land, South Carolina, in Lancaster County. The network's revenues are expected to approach $100 million, largely donations from people who are told God favors those who donate.

According to Matthew 23:25 Jesus once said, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

The book of James (5:5), warning of God's judgment adds, "You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter."

If the verses fit....

Democrats' "amnesty" bill

Absolutely infuriating!!! We must throw these Democratic bums out of office or they will destroy this nation! Please watch the video, but take your blood pressure medication first! (Hat tip: Don B.)

Alan Carlin, the EPA and global warming

On Fox and Friends this morning Steve and Gretchen interviewed Alan Carlin, a scientist and senior operations research analyst with 38 years at the EPA. Dr. Carlin produced a 98 page report challenging Global Warming, saying, among other things, that the EPA needed to start listening to science and stop paying so much attention to the U.N.

Just weeks before the "Cap and Trade" bill was rammed down the throats of the American people, Dr. Carlin's supervisors refused to allow the report to be seen saying that the time for disagreement had passed and that the report would impact negatively on the EPA.

The EPA has responded to Dr. Carlin's allegations with typical bureaucratic "CYA" coverup, but their denial was shown to be a lie when Fox and Friends produced an e-mail from an EPA supervisor pretty much confirming the story.

There really needs to be a Congressional investigation into this.

Right, like that's going to happen! We wouldn't want to confuse our "most ethical Congress in history" with scientific facts.

National Sovereignty Day

The Iraqis just declared "National Sovereignty Day" marked by huge celebrations of their independence and freedom.

This landmark of Iraqi democracy, freedom and independence was due to the leadership of George W. Bush and the valliant efforts of our military men and women.

These efforts were opposed at every turn by the remnants of Saddam's brutal Ba'athists, radical Muslim terrorist insurgents...and the American Left including Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama.

Sotomayor and the firefighters

I'm sure that all virtually all Americans (except a few small nut-job fringe groups) would agree that no one should be discriminated against because of their skin color.

I would hope that the vast majority of Americans would agree that no one should be appointed to the Supreme Court who believes in discrimination due to skin color.

Yesterday the Supreme Court affirmed these principles by ruling that the city of New Haven discriminated against a group of white firefighters by denying them promotion due to their race.

Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, sided with the city of New Haven in favor of racism.

Sonia Sotomayor, therefore, has absolutely no business being on the Supreme Court, and it is appalling that Barack Obama does not remove her from consideration.

Duke director tries to sell 5 year old

Frank Lombard is an associate director at Duke University's Global Health Institute and a homosexual who was charged last week with the molestation of his adopted 5-year-old black son and actively trying to sell him for sex on the internet.

The 40 words above are 40 more than the Main Stream Media has said on this horrible story.

In nearly a week since Lombard was arrested, not one national broadcast or cable television news show has picked up the story. Compare this to the weeks on end of sensational coverage of the white male lacrosse players of the same university charged with rape several years ago.

Read the rest on NewsBusters.

Supreme Court rules on the firefighters

According to CNN:

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with white firefighters in a workplace discrimination lawsuit, a divisive case over the role race should play in job advancement.

In the split 5-4 vote, a majority of the justices ruled that the city of New Haven, Connecticut, improperly threw out the results of promotional exams that officials said left too few minorities qualified.

One Latino and no African-American firefighters qualified for promotion based on the exam; the city subsequently decided not to certify the results and issued no promotions.

A group of 20 mostly white firefighters sued, claiming reverse discrimination.

Good ruling.

Proud homosexual Christians

This is a brief article on proud "born-again" homosexual Christians. Insightful.

Michael Jackson worship

The news media, various TV shows, prominent public personalities like Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton and others are all praising Michael Jackson. In fact, even...

US lawmakers took a brief break Friday from fierce debate on a climate change bill to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, praising the deceased "King of Pop" as a singing and dancing inspiration (AFP).

Michael Jackson is an accused child molester who, by his own admission, used to sleep in the same bed with children who were his "guests." Isn't there something fundamentally sick with a society that makes a national hero out of a (strongly) suspected child molester?

No time to read health care bill

According to CNSNews:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) will not commit to giving senators and the public a full week to read and review the final version of a health-care reform bill before he holds a final vote on it.

Reid confessed at his Thursday news briefing that he did not have “a lot of time” to read the 1,071-page stimulus bill before voting on it in February.

This is the way Democrats govern. It is like a form of soft-totalitarianism in which the despots will not allow their view points to be questioned. The only real question is why the American people keep electing these Czars.

Christian and Muslim fundamentalism

Frankie Schaeffer recently wrote an article in the Huffington Post comparing Iranian Ayatollahs with Christian fundamentalists. Check out Frank Flemming's short but excellent response in Pajamas Media.

Hate crimes legislation

University of San Diego law professor, Gail Heriot has serious reservations about the hate crimes bill now under consideration. She says,

"Why, for example, should Matthew Shepard's killers be treated differently from Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Kaczynski? Hate crimes are surely horrible, but there are other horrible crimes as well," she contends. "What happens if hate crimes statutes aren't enforced even-handedly? Some crime statistics show that an African-American is more likely to commit a racially inspired murder of a white man or white woman than the other way around. Should all be punished as hate crimes -- or just those that fit the skinhead stereotype?"

Excellent questions! Read the entire article at OneNewsNow.

The Democrats' energy tax

The Democrats' new "Cap and Trade" energy tax is coming up for a vote this week. Could they possibly be any more out of touch? Please view this short 30 second clip.

Government run churches

Chuck Colson writes:

In China, Christians have a choice: Join a government-approved church-which
is constantly monitored by the authorities-or join an underground church.

Thank heavens things like that don’t happen in the West, you may be thinking. Think again. In Britain, the government has begun sticking its nose in church business, telling churches what to do.

According to the Daily Telegraph, starting next year, the British government is going to begin forcing churches and other religious institutions to hire open, practicing homosexuals.

It will happen under the provisions of the so-called Equity Bill, which forbids discrimination against homosexuals or transsexuals.

If America doesn't vote the Democrats and Barack Obama out of office, America may not be too far behind. All it will take is an Obama-packed Supreme Court which re-interprets the Constitution in light of modern standards of political correctness rather than original intention.

If you think this is far-fetched just remember, less than a year or two ago the idea that our government would takover and run General Motors would have seemed unbelievable.

Illogical opposition to government health care?

In a press conference yesterday President Obama said,

Why would it drive private insurance out of business? If private insurers say
that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that
they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say
can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not
logical.

Sure it is. The answer answer to your question is very simple, Mr. President. Even though government can't run anything well, they have one thing private insurance companies will never have: the ability to fund their disasterous decisions with nearly unlimited (or so the Democrats seem to think) tax money. No private company can compete with that.

Will they ever learn?

Democrat Barney Frank has asked Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to "relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums."

Excuse me, but isn't that a big part of how we got into this financial mess in the first place?

Could he possibly be any more out of touch?

4,000 year old tomb discovered in Bethlehem

A tomb dating between 1,900 and 2,200 BC has been discovered in Bethlehem. What makes this tomb unique is that unlike most other ancient tombs, this one was apparently intact and has never been looted. See CNSNews.

The nuclear threat

According to Reuters, "If it were in a position to do so, Al Qaeda would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States, a top leader of the group said in remarks aired on Sunday."

And according to the Associated PreSss, North Korea is threatening nuclear retaliation against the U.S. As I understand it, their last nuclear test took America completely by surprise.

Meanwhile, President Obama is reducing our missile defense force, would like to eliminate our nuclear weapons entirely, and affirms oil-rich Iran's right to have nuclear energy!

Could the Left possibly be any more out of touch?

No global warming for Arizona

This June Arizona is experiencing its longest stretch of below 100 degree temperatures in almost 100 years (Arizona Republic)!

I'm sure Al Gore would find a way to connect it to global warming somehow.

Distance: North Korea to Hawaii

As North Korea is believed to be planning to fire a missile in the direction of Hawaii (possibly around July 4), the residents of Hawaii are apparently a bit nervous.

North Korea's Taepodong-2 missiles reportedly have a range of about 4,000 miles. I was curious about the distance from North Korea's capital, Pyongyang to some of America's cities. The following comes from MapCrow.com

Pyongyang to:

Honolulu = 4,590 miles
Seattle = 5,135
Portland = 5,434
San Francisco = 5,589
Anchorage = 6,735
Los Angeles = 11,438

Given North Korea's nuclear tests, I understand why the residents of Hawaii might be concerned. An attack by North Korea could make Pearl Harbor look like a high school prank by comparison.

Health care, Michelle Obama style

The University of Chicago Medical Center "receives lucrative tax breaks in exchange for providing charity care."

In 2007, however, the hospital spent only 1.3 percent on the poor, significantly below the amount spent by other hospitals in the area.

But the plot thickens.

Mrs. Obama helped engineer the plan to offload low-income patients with non-urgent health needs. Under the Orwellian banner of an "Urban Health Initiative," Mrs. Obama sold the scheme to outsource low-income care to other facilities as a way to "dramatically improve healthcare for thousands of South Side residents."

In truth, it was old-fashioned cost-cutting and favor-trading repackaged as minority aid. Clearing out the poor freed up room for insured (i.e., more lucrative) patients.

Read the entire story by Michell Malkin at OneNewsNow and ask yourself: Do you really want the Obamas in charge of your health care?

Support for same-sex marriage plumments

According to a CBS/New York Times poll, support for same-sex marriage has dropped significantly.

Protests and TV

I'm watching a TV interview with an expert on Iran. She said that although thousands of people are protesting in the streets of Iran, none of it is being covered by Iranian TV.

It's kind of like when thousands of Americans took part in the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) protests and none of it was covered by American TV (except Fox).

Iran deminstration pictures

Pictures from today's demonstrations in Iran.

U.S. tracking North Korean ship

"The U.S. military is tracking a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned."

Read the entire article on Fox Politics.

Gates orders military defense

The government is expecting North Korea to launch a long range missile toward Hawaii some time in early July.

Analysts don't believe North Korean missiles have the capability of reaching Hawaii yet, but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates "has ordered the U.S. military to take defensive measures" anyway.

Probably a good idea.

Playboy and the ALA

According to the American Library Association, "Christie Hefner will speak at the ALA Annual Conference’s Opening General Session, July 11." Until very recently, Christie Hefner was the chairperson and CEO of Playboy enterprises! Seems a bit of a strange choice for an organization that has so much to do with children's libraries.

The real strange thing, however, is the hundreds of Christian librarians who pay substantial fees to be a member of this organization which has fought so hard for pornography and against Evangelical Christians.

Christians will justify their waste of God's money by saying they can be "salt and light" in the ALA. In light of the ALA's choice for keynote speaker I have just one question: Hows that working out for you?

What's going on in Iran?

If you want to know what is really going on in Iran, this article is a good place to start (Note: "Ahmadi-Nezhad" is an alternate spelling for Ahmadinejad).

PETA on flies and horses

President Obama recently swatted and killed a fly on national TV. PETA has expressed their disapproval (seriously).

This morning, Fox News is reporting on Muslim terrorists who are now strapping bombs on horses. The terrorists hope to explode the bombs--killing the horses--in an attempt to kill innocent Jews.

Will PETA express the same concern for these horses that they do for flies? Do they care at all for the innocent people killed in such attempts?

PETA is a national joke. Does anyone take them seriously anymore?

A sad time for America

I was watching an interview with Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) this morning. Mr. Pence made the point that when President Reagan called the Soviet Union an evil empire it provided great encouragement for those imprisoned in Soviet gulags for their political views. And when President Reagan went to the Berlin Wall, his message was "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" It was NOT, "Mr. Gorbachev, this wall is none of our business."

Our current President, on the other hand, refuses to provide encouragement for those risking their safety and lives in the streets of Iran. Instead, even in the face of what was clearly an election sham, he says it is none of our business. Our President refuses to take a stand for freedom even against a theocracy sworn to destroy us and our allies.

It is truly a sad time for America.

Get a room!

In the San Francisco Chronicle (not Fox News), Phil Bronstein wrote an article entitled, "Love or lust, Obama and the fawning press need to get a room."

It would be funny if it weren't so true. It is dangerous to democracy when a nation's news media falls in love with the government.

State Run Media 2

Yesterday I posted on "State Run Media" about how ABC News is going to broadcast World News Tonight directly from the White House, during which they will push Obama's socialist health care program. Opposing views are not included.

ABC has now refused even to air paid advertising which offers an alternate perspective!

This is the Left's version of "fair and balanced."

Summer Reading List

Someone recently asked me for recommendations for summer reading. I decided to post my response. If I had to select the top favorite books I've read in the last five years, the list would include the following:

1. Dever, Mark. The Message of the New Testament. Wheaton : Crossway, 2005.
This book is the best summary of genuine biblical Christianity that I know of. Whether you agree with the book or not, at least you will understand what true, biblical Christianity is all about.

2. Levin, Mark. Liberty and Tyranny; A conservative manifesto. New York : Threshold, 2009.
I wish it were in my power to make reading this book a mandatory condition for voting. Whether you agree with the book or not, at least you will understand what political conservatism is all about.

3. Evans, Craig. Fabricating Jesus. Wheaton, IL : IVP, 2006.
Outstanding treatment of the controversy surrounding Jesus and the Gospels, including discussion of the so-called "lost gospels" like the Gospels of Judas, The Gospel of Thomas and others.

4. Spencer, Robert. Religion of Peace? Why Christianity is and Islam isn’t. Washington DC : Regnery, 2007.
The title says it all and the argument is convincing to all but those who will not see.

5. Schroeder, Gerald L. The Hidden Face of God; How science reveals the ultimate truth. New York : Free Press, 2001.
The author is the MIT scientist who convinced world-renowned atheist, Anthony Flew to conclude that atheism is not a scientifically viable option.

Honorable mention would include:

Sowell, Thomas. Economic Facts and Fallacies. New York : Basic Books, 2008.

Dembski, William A. The Design Revolution; Answering the toughest questions about intelligent design. Downers Grove, IL : IVP, 2004.

Coulter, Ann. Godless. The Church of Liberalism. New York : Crown Forum, 2006.

Kupelian, David. The Marketing of Evil. Nashville : WND Books, 2005

Other favorites:

BIBLE/THEOLOGY/CHRISTIANITY

Bock, Darrell. Breaking the Da Vinci Code. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 2004.

--. The Missing Gospels. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 2006

Bock, Darrell and Daniel Wallace. Dethroning Jesus; Exposing popular culture’s quest to unseat the biblical Christ. Nashville, TN : Thomas Nelson, 2007.

Dunn, James. Jesus’ Remembered. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2003.

Eddy, Paul Rhodes and Gregory Boyd. The Jesus Legend; a Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Grand Rapids : Baker, 2007.

Habermas, Gary R. and Michael R. Licona. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Grand Rapids : Kregel, 2004.

Van Voorst, Robert E. Jesus Outside the New Testament. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2000.

Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis : Fortress Press, 2003.

HISTORY

Woods, Thomas, Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, Washington DC : Regnery, 2004.

ECONOMICS

Sowell, Thomas. Basic Economics. 3rd ed. New York : Basic Books, 2007 (627 p.)

SCIENCE

Dembski, William and Jonathan Wells. The Design of Life. Foundation for Thought and Ethics, 2008.

PHILOSOPHY

Moreland, J.P. and William Lane Craig. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove, IL : Intervarsity Press, 2003.

LAW/POLITICS/SOCIAL ISSUES/CULTURE WARS

Gutzman, Kevin. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution. Washington DC : Regnery, 2007

Levin, Mark, R. Men in Black. Washington, DC : Regnery, 2005.

Sears, Alan and Craig Osten. The ACLU vs. America; Exposing the agenda to redefine moral values. Nashville : Broadman & Holman, 2005.

ISLAM

Gabriel, Mark. Islam and Terrorism; What the Quran really teaches about Christianity, violence and the goals of the Islamic Jihad. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2002.

Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed. My Year Inside Radical Islam. New York : Penguin, 2007.

Ibn Ishaq. The Life of Muhammad. New York : Oxford University Press, 1955, 2006 (The earliest biography of Muhammad, originally written about AD 760).

O’ren, Michael B. Power, Faith, and Fantasy; America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present. New York : Norton, 2007.

Sieff, Martin. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East. Washington DC : Regnery, 2008.

Spencer, Robert. Islam Unvelied; Disturbing questions about the world’s fastest growing faith. New York : Encounter Books, 2002.

--. A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam. Washington DC : Regnery, 2005.

--. The Truth about Muhammad. Washington, DC : Regnery, 2006.

Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower; Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. New York : Vintage Books, 2007.

CAIR sued

Finally! The Council on Arab-American Relations (CAIR) has been sued! See Jihad Watch for the story.

"The evidence has long suggested that CAIR is a criminal organization set up by the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas to further its aims of stealth Jihad in the U.S.,"

President Carter and Hamas

I just saw a video clip of former President Jimmy Carter saying that Hamas should be removed from the U.S. terrorist list.

Apparently firing hundreds of rockets at innocent Jewish civilians doesn't qualify as terrorism.

Has our former president lost his mind?

Coburn's report on pork projects

The stimulus package was supposedly an absolutely urgent measure necessary to save the U.S. economy from collapse.

So what should happen when the Democratic Congress mis-spends this money on pet projects?

My emotional side says they should be tried for treason. My more rational side would settle for voting them out of office in 2010.

Read Senator Tom Coburn's report on the 100 examples of questionable stimulus projects worth $5.5 billion dollars!

Obama and Iran's election

President Obama says it would not be wise for the U.S. to meddle in Iran's elections.

That would probably be true if Iran had conducted an actual election and not just a selection.

North Korean nukes and missiles

According to the guy second-in-command at the Pentagon, if North Korea keeps developing their missiles like they are, they will be able to hit the United States (AP).

And now they have nukes to put on top of them.

I think that proverbial 3:00 AM phone is ringing off the hook at the White House these days but President Obama appears too busy trying to impose socialism on the U.S. to answer.

Letterman apology

David Letterman has apologized for his comments about Sarah Palin's daughter. Sarah Palin has accepted.

Let's move on.

State run media

Rush Limbaugh frequently refers to "the state-run media." I thought this just more of his entertainment rhetoric, but Rush may be closer to the truth than I thought:

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!

Highlights on the agenda:

ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.

The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate. [emphasis mine]

Read the entire story at Drudge.

Transparency, Obama style

From MSNBC:

The Obama administration is fighting to block access to names of visitors to the White House, taking up the Bush administration argument that a president doesn't have to reveal who comes calling to influence policy decisions.

Despite President Barack Obama's pledge to introduce a new era of transparency to Washington, and despite two rulings by a federal judge that the records are public, the Secret Service has denied msnbc.com's request for the names of all White House visitors from Jan. 20 to the present.

When will people finally realize that what Barack Obama says is often not related to reality.

Pictures from Iran

Pictures from Iran (Hat tip: Kevin)

President Obama on Iran

I just finished watching a press conference in which President Obama finally addressed the Iran issue.

He said it would be wrong for him to be silent" but he then gave a political song and dance in which he tried disparately to straddle the fence.

All he said in support of the protesters was that the world is watching and is inspired by their actions and that their voices should be heard and respected.

He did not condemn the Iranian tyrants for rigging the election, rather, he tried to walk the fence by saying only that he was "Deeply troubled by the violence." He qualified his comments saying that "We were not on the ground, we did not have observers there." True, but no serious expert on Iran doubts that this election was a sham.

By refusing to strongly support those who are courageously demanding free and fair elections, Mr. Obama is, by default, siding with the despotic, terrorist tyrants who oppress the people of Iran, seek to develop nuclear weapons, threaten Israel with extinction, and threaten the security of the West.

Obama fires inspector general

Gerald Walpin, an Inspector General for AmeriCorp, investigated Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento. As a result of the investigation, Johnson had to re-pay over $400,000 of grant money.

Johnson is a prominent Obama supporter. Obama has now fired Walpin without giving a reason which is required by law.

This absolutely reeks of illegal strong-arm politics and political corruption. Where are Woodward and Bernstein when you need them?

Read the stories at the Washington Examiner here and here.

The Uighurs and Gitmo

Katherine Herridge of Fox News has been talking to the Uighurs (Chinese Muslims) who were recently released from Gitmo after about seven years of imprisonment there. When asked which was worse, China or Gitmo, they quickly agreed that China was much worse for them than Gitmo.

Iranian election

In Iran the Interior Ministry (which has sole oversight of the election) announced the winner of their Presidential election within an hour after the polls closed. That's a pretty amazing feat, considering the fact that Iran uses paper ballots which must be counted by hand! (Time)

The ayatollahs have announced that they will review the election results but I have little doubt that their review will be just as much a sham as the election itself.

Now, tens of thousands are protesting and even rioting in the streets in Iran. Some pundits wondering if this is the beginning of another Iranian revolution.

Barack Obama needs to be strongly encouraging and supporting this "hope and change" on the part of Iranians. Unfortunately, his silence has been deafening.

$236,000 to fly to Chicago

President Obama will be flying to Chicago today for a speech on health care. The cost for his 2 1/2 hours in Chicago will be about $236,000, not counting "Secret Service protection, motorcades and helicopter transports" (Chicago Tribune).

I know other Presidents have done this kind of thing also, but in a time of amazing communication technology, not to mention trillion dollar deficits and soaring job/home losses, aren't these PR trips just a little bit insensitive to, and out of touch with, the average American's financial struggle?

The triumph of evil

Edmund Burke is often quoted as saying, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

Regardless of whether Edmund Burke ever said this (the statement is disputed), I regard it as axiomatic.

The oppressive and sadistic regime of North Korea is pressing forward with the development of nuclear weapons and with missiles to deliver them. Meanwhile, the United States and the United Nations plead for more negotiations and threaten sanctions which have not worked. And North Korea has mocked both.

Evil in North Korea and in Iran are rapidly triumphing, and "good men" in the United States and elsewhere are basically doing nothing.

North Korea and the goodness of mankind

According to the Associated Press, "North Korea vowed Saturday to step up its atomic bomb-making program and threatened war if its ships are stopped as part of new U.N. sanctions...

In spite of the fact that North Korea has continually insisted that its nuclear program is only for energy purposes, it now acknowledges that its goal is bomb-making!

Of course conservative Republicans knew this all along and tried to keep Democrat Bill Clinton from making our nuclear technology available to North Korea, but the Left seems to have this naive optimistic view of the basic goodness of mankind. It seems as if Democratic thinking was that if we only helped North Korea with their legitimate energy needs they would love us and be our friends! How's that working out for us?

In spite of the lesson North Korea should have taught us, Barack Obama recently said that oil-rich Iran--which also insists its nuclear program is for energy--has a right to nuclear energy.

The Left's naive belief in the goodness of mankind is not only going to get us killed, it is in direct opposition to Judeo-Christian teaching. The apostle Paul, for example, condemns this notion of the basic goodness of mankind by stringing together a series of quotations from his Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) beginning with, "There is none righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10-18). Later in the same letter Paul says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Rom. 3:23).

I don't expect the Left to understand or believe this but I can't understand why so many Jews and professing Christians don't seem to get it.

Defending David Letterman

On Fox and Friends this morning I was watching some comedian and Geraldo Rivera defending David Letterman and his "joke" about a Sarah Palin's daughter being "knocked up" by a professional ball player.

If you're still having trouble deciding whether this "joke" was over the line, ask yourself this: What would happen if Letterman had made a joke about one of the Obama daughters being knocked up by a professional ball player? Do you honestly think Letterman would still be employed today?

A third nuclear test?

An Associated Press article says that North Korea may be preparing for a third nuclear test.

Does an unborn child have any rights?

Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) had a chance to talk to Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor recently. According to DeMint, "When I asked if an unborn child has any rights whatsoever, I was surprised that she said she had never thought about it."

How is it possible that a Supreme Court nominee has never once considered whether an unborn baby has rights?!

Abortion has been one of the biggest battle grounds in America for over 30 years and Judge Sotomayor has never even considered a viewpoint other than the Leftist view she apparently absorbed through osmosis? This boggles my mind!

It makes me wonder: How many other pro-abortionists have refused to even consider arguments on the pro-life side?

Health care reform

I just got done watching a speech by Barack Obama on healthcare. It sounded so good! You almost can't help coming away thinking that he really is going to solve the problem. He's going to make outstanding health care available to everyone and lower the cost in the process. Even though such programs have been dismal failures in Canada and overseas, Mr. Obama is such a good speaker and so likable that you really just want to believe him.

Then my brain overrides my emotions.

From the time my kids were young, my wife and I implemented a system we called "privelege/responsibility." It went like this: As you kids grow older we will give you privileges. To get more privileges you need to show us that you are responsible with the priveleges you already have.

As teenagers, for example, before you get a drivers licence you have to have shown us that we can trust you to be where you said you were going to be and did not get into trouble.

All kids try to push the envelope, of course, but I think our system worked pretty well and I am certainly happy with how my kids turned out.

I think we need to put the government on a similar program. Before we allow the government to further entangle itself in our medical care, we need to insist that the government show us how effectively and effeciently they can run Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and our VA hospitals.

As much as we might want and need a better health care system, it would be just plain stupid to turn our health care over to a govenemnt that has screwed up so much for so many for so long. As Ronald Reagan said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

American wealth down $1.3 trillion

According to the Associated Press, "American households lost $1.33 trillion of their wealth in the first three months of the year as the recession took a bite out of stock portfolios and dragged down home prices."

Hmmm, and all this time I thought the Obama/Democrat stimulus package was supposed to improve the economy!

When the stimulus package was proposed we were told that the economy absolutly had to be stimulated immediately to avoid dire consequences. It was so urgent that no one in Congress even had time to read the bill!

So why has the economy not been stimulated? Why has it not even begun to turn around?

You can argue, of course, that the economy would have been much worse were it not for the stimulus, but that is an empty argument. It would be like saying that if George Bush had not invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein would have had WMD by this time. It is nothing more than a baseless assertion. And if the economy doesn't pick up next quarter, or next year, Obamaniacs could (and will) still argue the same thing--that the economy would have been worse.

If we do not see a significant and sustained upturn in the economy, at what point will you determine that the stimulus did not work? Next quarter? Next year?

Barney Frank interview

If Barney Frank can't spin it his way, he won't play. Why on earth do people keep re-electing this guy?

David Letterman and Sarah Palin

Recently Sarah Palin was in New York with her 14 year old daughter, Willow. David Letterman made a mean-spirited "joke" about how Sarah “Bought makeup from Bloomingdale's to update her 'slutty flight attendant' look."

[Note to Letterman: The campaign is long o-v-e-r!!! If you can't find enough material in current politics to joke about, its time to retire]

It's one thing to attack someone's ideas or conduct--that's practically the American way when it comes to politics--but I think all American's should agree that only bottom-feeders attack someone's personal appearance (and perhaps Letterman needs better glasses)!

But it gets worse. Letterman also said,

“One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”

Now remember--Sarah Palin was in New York with her 14 year old daughter Willow!

The Palin's responded with the following statement:

“Concerning Letterman's comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter): 'Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands - that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.' ”

Letterman responded by saying,

“These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl...."

But it was the visit to New York by Sarah and 14 year-old Willow--not 18 year-old Bristol--that prompted the "jokes." Rather than desperately trying to excuse his disgusting "jokes," Letterman needed to issue a sincere, heartfelt apology.

Some time ago, radio host Don Imus was fired when he made an over-the-top comment on the air. I think Letterman's employers should do the same--And if they don't, I hope America's viewers will show that this kind of mean-spirited hate speech against people's children will not be tolerated (Tolerance is not always a virtue).

And while I'm at it, the Left loves to criticize the Right for its over-the-top hate speech. Perhaps I've missed it, but I've never heard Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter make comments this over-the-top before. Perhaps the log needs to come out of the Left's eye, before they attempt to pull the speck out of the Right's eye.

You have the right to remain silent

The Obama administration wants to give our terrorist enemies--those who want to destroy our country--the rights of U.S. citizens, i.e. Miranda rights!

If the Bush administration had given terrorists the right to remain silent, there would have been hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people in Los Angeles dead now. It was waterboarding that saved their lives.

I hope it doesn't take another 9/11 (or worse), before the American public wakes up and realizes that Barack Obama is putting America in danger.

Could the Left possibly be any more out of touch?

Homeland Security Report and Holocaust Museum shooting

I'm hardly believing my ears. Fox's Shepherd Smith (and now Catherine Herridge) is praising the Homeland security report on right wing extremists arguing, essentially, that in light of the Holocaust Museum shooting, the Homeland Security report was right on the money.

The problem was NOT that the Homeland Security report was completely wrong. The problem was that the Homeland Security report made such broad generalizations that virtually anyone to the right of John McCain was suspect! The Homeland Security report on Left wing extremists did not make such sweeping generalizations.

Casting such a broad net actually hurts security. Its like saying, watch out for white people because white supremacists tend to be white. Perhaps if the Homeland Security report had been more specific, someone would have identified this deranged shooter before it was too late.

Holocaust shooter identified

About two hours ago someone walked into the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. with a rifle or shotgun. He shot a guard. Two other guards returned fire and shot the gunman.

The shooter has now been identified as James von Brunn. He is a a racist white supremacist. You can read more about him at a white supremacist website called Stormfront.org which also contains a link to von Brunn's website.

Kudo's to the guards at the National Holocaust Museum. They are heroes.

None dare call it scandal

Newt Gingrich has just written a bombshell of an article in Human Events. I've summarized the big idea below:

In 1921, an oil tycoon “gave several prize head of cattle and around $269,000 to President Harding’s Secretary of the Interior. “In return, Sinclair got the exclusive rights to drill in an oil field in Wyoming.”

This became known as the Teapot Dome scandal, “the most notorious example of political corruption in America prior to Watergate.”

“Between 2000 and 2008, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union” gave 23.7 million dollars to Democrats, including Barack Obama. “In return, the UAW received 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM, plus billions of dollars.”

Mr. Gingrich adds:

In a rigged proceeding in which the federal government disregarded bankruptcy law in favor of the political outcome it desired, the Chrysler bankruptcy laid the predicate for the much larger General Motors bankruptcy to come. Against law and precedent, the unions were moved to the front of the line when it came to who would benefit from the bankruptcy.

Mr. Gingrich says, “But nobody’s calling this a scandal. It’s time we start.”

I agree. I just heard an interview with a Chrysler dealer whose dealership is being forced to close even though he is making a profit. He said he knows of Chrysler dealerships which get to remain open even though they are losing money. There are also rumors that a significant proportion of the dealerships being forced to close were donors to the Republican Party.

This absolutely must be investigated. If the Obama administration can get away with this, they can get away with anything. If feels like are losing America before our very eyes!

Please read Gingrich’s entire article and pass it on to others.

Mr. Obama, you scare me!

Snopes.com (a site which confirms or debunks rumors) has confirmed that Lou Pritchett, a former vice president with Proctor & Gamble, did indeed write an open letter to President Obama saying that the president truly scares him. Mr. Pritchett originally submitted the letter to the New York Times but they declined to print it.

Hmm, I wonder why.

Obama, the fasle prophet

Wow! Here's on Hollywood actor who hasn't lost his mind. Watch the CNN video.

Cap and trade energy tax

Stop the "cap and trade" energy tax. Please sign the petition.

Bipartisanship, Democrat style

According to "The Hill,"

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) says he has requested to meet privately with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) this year, but has been repeatedly rebuffed.

In an interview with The Hill, the minority whip said, “I have been told that Speaker Pelosi doesn’t like to meet with Republicans …

That's apparently the Democrats version of bipartisanship.

North Korea threatens use of nukes

According to the Associated Press, "North Korea today said it would use nuclear weapons in a 'merciless offensive' if provoked."

And while North Korea seems very close to developing the technology to deliver these nuclear weapons to Hawaii, Anchorage or Seattle, the Obama administration responds with more of the same old tired rhetoric which North Korea has already mocked.

This is the same North Korea, by the way, which assured the Clinton administration that they only wanted nuclear power for energy purposes! So President Clinton gave them nuclear technology!

Just like Iran only wants nuclear power for energy purposes! So in his Cairo speech, Barack Obama proclaimed that Iran has a legitimate need for nuclear energy--even though Iran sits on an oil field! (By the way, why does Obama think Iran has a legitimate need for nuclear energy but America doesn't)?

The Democrats are so naive they are more dangerous to our national security than our enemies abroad.

Between North Korea's renunciation of the cease-fire and their threat to use nuclear weapons, this seems to me to be tantamout to a declaration of war.

Do we wait until there is a mushroom cloud over Seattle before we destroy North Korea's nuclear capability?

North Korea has mocked our sanctions and negotiations so do we honestly think that our rhetoric make the problem go away? (Democrat response: yes).

What happens when North Korea/Iran have the technology to deliver their nuclear weapons to the United States/Israel/Europe? What then?

"He's sort of God"

Newsweek editor, Evan Thomas: "I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above--above the world, he's sort of God."

That's apparently the main stream media's version of "fair and balanced." The comment reminded me of what was said about the Titanic: "Not even God could sink this ship."

Let's just hope this time around the "Titanic" is not the United States.

The numbers are fiction

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal,

"Saved or created" has become the signature phrase for Barack Obama as he describes what his stimulus is doing for American jobs. His latest invocation came yesterday, when the president declared that the stimulus had already saved or created at least 150,000 American jobs -- and announced he was ramping up some of the stimulus spending so he could "save or create" an additional 600,000 jobs this summer.

The same article points out that the numbers are pure fiction. There is absolutely no way to measure this. Yet, as the article points out, the media, which was so critical of George Bush, just lets this slide without question.

The main stream media has abandoned their responsibility of investigating and reporting, and has turned to campaigning. Far be it from them to question the Beloved Leader.

Homeland (in)Security

According to an article cited in Jihad Watch, "Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano swore in to her official advisory council the head of an Arab American organization whose officials have labeled deadly anti-U.S. jihadists as "heroes" and opposed referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization."

In the Obama administration, the danger to our country's survival is becoming greater on the inside than it is from the outside.

A "very deep recession"

According to the Associated Press, President Obama said recently that "we're still in the middle of a very deep recession."

When most of us non-economists look around and see so many people losing their jobs and homes, its pretty hard for us to distinguish between a "very deep recession" and a depression.

Mr. Obama continued, "it's going to take a considerable amount of time for us to pull out of."

Isn't that pretty much an admission that the socialist, pork-barrel, Democratic stimulus package is not working, and is not going to work after all? Unfortunately, my grandchildren will still be paying for it anyway.

Freedom of Religion under attack again

According to Fox News:

A Christian evangelical group that works to improve the lives of underprivileged children says it has been prohibited from conducting Bible study classes in public housing projects in Tulsa, Okla., potentially violating a Supreme Court ruling that upheld religious groups' right to the use of public institutions.

For more than 70 years, the Missouri-based Child Evangelism Fellowship has worked with underprivileged kids, not only to convert them to Christianity, but to improve their lives through education and after-school activities. In one program, fellowship missionaries visit prisons and sign up inmates' children for Bible study programs in an effort to keep them from winding up in jail themselves.

Unbelievable! Just 20 years ago no one would have believed such things would take place in America!

Impose a peace solution

According to Reuters, "King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to impose a solution on the festering Arab-Israeli conflict if necessary, a Saudi newspaper said on Sunday."

I agree. Maybe its time for President Obama to "impose" a peace solution on the Middle East.

Perhaps we should make it clear that the next Hamas or Hezbollah missile that falls on Israeli soil will be met with U.S. retaliation similar to the shock and awe we delivered to Baghdad about eight years ago. Perhaps we should make it clear to Iran that if they don't stop fomenting violence against Israel we will do the same to them.

Oh...that's probably not what the king had in mind.

Obama flunks history in Cairo

"In his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, President Barack Obama claimed: “As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam."

President Obama apparently flunked history. See Dr. Frank Tipler's excellent article.

Do they have a "Right of Return"?

Do they have a "Right of Return?" Excellent question!