Burn a Koran Day

In a couple of days the leader of a small "Christian" church in Florida is planning to burn copies of the Koran to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. It seems like every branch of the media is blowing this story up to unimaginable proportions. The American media has made an international story out of it. The whole thing has me fuming!!

Let me say first that I am AGAINST book burning in any forum. I think it is UN-American, it is UN-Christian and it's plain stupid! I also think this moron and his little band of followers has every right to do it.

What has me fuming is that the ACLU and other groups that ordinarily come out en-masse for the right of idiots to be idiots are nowhere to be found. This mans right to freedom of expression was given to him by his Creator. American blood has been spilled in all our wars to ensure that he keeps that right. One used to hear Americans say they would stand up for someones right to do such things even if they completely disagreed with the act. It's even legal to burn an American flag in this country! That irks me terribly too...but I would defend someones right to do it. This is not even mentioning the fact that one can see Muslim Arabs burning American flags in almost any newscast! It's quite obvious that cultural sensitivity and tolerance only work one way with those folks.

I've read what this 'minister' has published and I agree with him on one point. Where will American appeasement to Muslims stop? Americans gave their lives to protect and defend Muslim lives in WWII; in the former Yugoslavia and in Iraq during our first and second wars there. We seemed to have forgotten that they attacked us on 9/11. Since then we have allowed them to encroach on our culture in almost every way. In public places where opponents have vigorously denounced Christian symbols and practices Muslims are now allowed theirs. Muslims are intentionally portrayed in the media now as peaceful, good citizens. All this is done in the name of NOT offending Muslims! Now, we have people that want to allow them to build a 'victory' site next to ground zero where the World Trade Center stood. (Yes, I know, they have that right too... It is also in VERY BAD taste. It demonstrates a complete ignorance of Muslim history and practices on the part of American liberals. And it is completely contrary to what the Imam claims it is supposed to do...build bridges to other faiths and people.) Now, he warns us that if it is not built where he plans it...there will be violence in the Muslim world! Talk about plain extortion!!! (From the members of  "the religion of peace...")

It is the very heart of irony that Americans who are offended by Christian practices...in the culture that Christians built, (Yes, this country was built by Christians on Judeo-Christian principles...) would welcome Islam in getting a foothold here. If those same people were to really realize what Islam teaches...that Muslims treat women like property, they are completely intolerant of any other religious practices in their own lands, and it is their own stated goal of taking over the world for Islam, (because Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the other other completely Islamic countries are such shining examples of paradise on earth no doubt)...those same liberals would be horrified at the prospect of allowing Muslim culture to grow here!

I'm sick of the kind of appeasement that gives our enemies a greater and greater foothold. Islam is NOT a religion of peace. IF it were so...no one would have to 'tread lightly' when criticising it for fear of violence. We might like to convince ourselves that we're just being the bigger souls by allowing Muslims more and more concessions here...but you can be sure that they see it differently. Muslims see us as the 'Great Satan' and they will do anything to ensure our downfall. They see our concessions not as our greatness but as our weakness. What they will do is what Lenin taught his followers to do..."thrust the bayonet in until you strike steel."

There was a time when Americans would Never negotiate with terrorists! Now, it seems, we're just going to hand them the keys to the country by fooling ourselves that they're going to "play nice". You may mark my words...this will evolve into a war of cultures eventually. The West versus Islam is what it will become. Just look at history. Any Serbian can tell you how Muslims 'play nice' once you allow them a foothold on your soil. In every country in the world where Islam has gained a significant foothold there is violence in the Muslim community directed towards non-Muslims.

We are constantly told, mostly by the elite far left pseudo-intellectuals, that we need to be more sensitive and tolerant to Muslims. Well, this is America. Muslims living here have it better than in ANY Muslim country in the world. I think it's time they learn to be sensitive and tolerant of us and our culture! You remember...the one that has saved Muslim lives over and over throughout this century. We should NEVER give in to extortion and allow another country or culture to keep Americans from exercising their own God-given rights for fear of reprisals! Real Americans DO NOT give in to terrorist threats!

These Days 'In Amerika'

This is a strange time in the history of our country. It seems to me to be that way at any rate. We have a president that was elected with NO military experience, NO experience in owing or running a business and that had NO executive experience before he assumed office. Exactly what made him think he was qualified to become the most powerful political leader in the world is beyond me? (I suppose the real question is: What made those who voted for him think he was qualified?) We had an electorate that was tired of George Bush Jr. and tired of the war he seemed to have gotten us involved in without any connection to what happened on 9/11. Additionally, the Clinton name came with too much unsavory baggage. We were tired of "politics as usual". And, to be truthful, white Americans were tired of cries of racism and electing a black man seemed to be a way to signal that most Americans have moved beyond it. We were ready for a change.

What we got wasn't the change we had hoped for. What we got was a man who thinks he's wiser than the rest of us. We got a man who seems to think he's a king or dictator...instead of what he is...the temporary occupant of the White House...and the employee of the American people. One thing is obvious...the man is as arrogant as he is unqualified. He has set about to 'socially engineer' a new America. The problem is he doesn't know what he's doing. It's not that America is perfect. God knows we could use some changes! The thing is, our country has worked for over two hundred years now on some pretty sound principles. Barak Obama is ignoring those principles in favor of a Socialist agenda. There is no question, given his direction, that he's a Socialist. Socialistic principles have been tried over and over again in Europe and the East and they just don't work! In fact the Europeans have begun to give up their socialistic ways in favor of more capitalistic practices. Obama wants to build a European style socialist country when even Europe is headed away from that!

Obama has it in his head, no doubt from his upbringing with Communist parents; his experience as a community organizer; his 20 year association with the radical-racist Jeremiah Wright and his other 'dealings' with crooked Chicago politicians and socialist radicals, that what this country needs is to become a "nanny state". The federal government, in his naive view, should ensure that everyone has the right to equality of outcome..so the wealth of this country has to be redistributed. In short, the government should do everything for everyone!

The problem, as any student of history can tell you, is that every time the government is given more power...especially the power to redistribute wealth...the governed lose more of their freedoms. The United States government exists to give people the most amount of freedoms without stepping on the rights of other people. It was NEVER the job of the federal government to do everything for everyone! It is the federal governments job to: 1.) Form a more perfect union, 2.) establish justice, 3.) insure domestic tranquility, 4.) provide for the common defense, 5.) promote the general welfare, and 6.) secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. Those directives are stated in the preamble to the constitution of these United States. Every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine...and politician takes an oath to protect and defend the principles in that document against all enemies both foreign and domestic. Now, almost every administration in our history has attempted to expand one or more of those directives to give the federal government more power. For example, "Promoting the general welfare" has been expanded beyond all common sense by this administration. The amendments to the constitution, the Bill of Rights, are clearly stated to LIMIT the powers of the federal government. They exist to protect the citizens of these United States from our own federal government. What many people don't realize is that every time we ask the government to do more for us...we give it more power and we lose more of our freedoms. These are the facts.

The principles in our constitution were written down and made the law of the land by Men who understood history. Our founding fathers were statesmen...unlike the sleazy politicians that have usurp-ted the leadership of this nation.

Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed and their like don't care what the will of the American people, their employer, is. They don't care what the constitution says. All they care about is their own power...and pushing through their own political agenda.

The Republicans who they took power from were just as guilty of that! George Bush started a war his father left unfinished. Saddam Hussein was as evil as any dictator in history and he deserved to be killed. But there is simply no proof that he had anything to do with 9/11. We engaged in a war that costs the United States TRILLIONS of dollars and will leave the volatile Middle East more unstable than ever. What Saddam Hussein did was give the Muslims in the Middle East something to worry about. Now that he's gone we'll face a much bigger problem with an Iran that is going nuclear. All the US did under Bush was remove one evil dictator to make room for another that will be even worse and, in the process, almost financially break this country!

Add to this we have a president that is as naive as Chamberlain was with Hitler...he thinks he can appease the Muslim world by sweet talking them! What he has done / is doing...is making us look weak to the rest of the world and to Muslims in particular. George Bush, for all his faults, had a cowboys sense of justice... I Thank God every day that we had a cowboy in office when 9/11 happened. He kept us safe for the remainder of his term. Let's see if Obama can say that when his four years are up. And, let's hope we can still recognize this country when Obama's time is up...

I Come in Peace...

I received an email recently that spoke to me on a deeper level than I, at first, realized. It was a series of photographs taken in the Hudson Bay area of Canada. The photographer had a team of dogs out in the Arctic that was approached by a polar bear.

Anyone who has lived in the North knows that polar bears can easily kill a team of dogs. There are many stories of those who have done so. Polar bears are powerful creatures that usually only socialize when they mate or raise their young. The rest of the time they live solitary lives in one of the harshest environments on earth.

This photographer just knew his tethered dogs were about to die. As the bear approached it became apparent that he only wanted to play and share some affection. He came in peace. He didn't come to see what he could take. He only wanted some companionship...and a hug.

This story and its photos touched me. I think it's what inspired a dream later. In my dream I was on a battlefield in the middle of another war we, humans, seem so found of. We were all there because our governments had dictated to us whom we should hate and kill. In the middle of the fighting Christ returned. He didn't return as a conquering king like the scriptures say He will. He just walked onto the field and spoke in a quiet voice: "I come in peace...". Somehow every heart heard Him. Most of the men on the field dropped their weapons and rejoiced at the prospect of peace...finally. Only the leaders refused to stop fighting. They called for their men to resume the wholesale murder of their enemies. But the men, hearing a higher calling, walked away and left their leaders with no one to lead. Peace was the deepest yearning in our hearts.

We only needed someone to lead the way. After that dream, all day, I kept repeating the words, "I come in peace" in my mind. There is something in them that speaks to a heaviness in my heart.

We live in a world that grows darker every day. We're all caught up in the smoke and mirrors, in the illusion, that what happens here really matters...and it doesn't. What matters is how we how we live our lives. What matters is who our hearts choose to listen to. Do we choose to listen to God or to our own desires. Do we come in peace or do we come to see what we can get out of someone else? There are only two ways to live in the final analysis. We can live the way of Get or the way of Give. Just imagine a world where no one ever serves anyone else. A world in which everyone is only out for what they can get. If you'll follow that to it's logical conclusion you'll see that kind of world will eventually self destruct. We have it within each of us to choose what kind of world we want to make. That choice comes from whom our hearts listen to. Our choice may not change the world...but it just might. Either way it will change us. Now imagine a world in which everyone willingly serves their fellow man. It's coming...That's the gospel of Christ.

Term Limits Now!

The founding fathers of our nation had the wisdom to design a system that provides checks and balances to the powers of the federal government. The executive, legislative and judicial branches of government were instituted to keep each other in check. They were intended to be co-equal branches of government. Unfortunately, what the founding fathers never conceived of was the abuse of power the legislative branch was capable of.

The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators that would serve their constituents for a time then go home and back to work. Serving in Congress is an honor, it was never meant to be a career.

Because of the lack of term limits, like the one Congress imposed on the President, many men have turned it into a career. Some have served for decades and, in the process, become politically very powerful. That is exactly what was NOT supposed to happen!

Congress has the power to tax the citizenry, and the power to exempt itself from the laws it passes. With the abuse of those powers the U.S. Congress has become a cesspool of corruption that is destroying the ideological foundation of this nation! Most of its members want only one thing…to stay in power. Because there are no term limits, the majority of the time and effort that most congressmen and senators expend is on being re-elected.

Every one of them is a servant of the American people. Their guiding directive should be to “speak for their constituents and act for their country”. What they do instead is represent whatever special interest donates the most money for their re-election. Lobbyists are the most powerful people in Washington…they are the ones who finance the men and women who have been corrupted by power.

What we need now, what would be Real Change we can believe in, is a reformation of Congress!

One possible solution could be the establishment of a Citizens Oversight Committee. Just ordinary citizens elected only once, for say, one year at a time to oversee the actions of the House and Senate. These could have to power to veto any special favors that congressmen try to give themselves.

The guidelines could be something like these:

1.) A 12 year Term Limit imposed on all elected public servants. That allows a member of the Senate to serve two six-year terms and a member of the House to serve six two-year terms. No public servant may serve more…period! (Let them get real, productive jobs!)

2.) Congress will no longer have the power to vote themselves raises…period! They may receive the same cost of living increases that everyone else does. They may receive NO other financial perks. (My grandmother would call what they do now "Letting the fox guard the hen house"!)

3.) All contracts with past and present congressmen are to be made null and void effective immediately. The American people didn’t make such contracts with these people; congressmen made all these contracts for themselves...without citizens oversight.

4.) No Tenure / No Pension: A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office...period!

5.) Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just like all other Americans.

6.) Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the one they vote on for the American people.

7.) Congress (past, present &; future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund should be moved to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

8.) Congress may NOT touch the money in the Social Security system…period!

9.) Congress must abide by a balanced budget. A constitutional amendment requiring one should be passed now! (Let's make them play by the same rules most families have to!)

10.) If a congressman wants to run for another office, he or she must resign first…period! (Why should they recieve taxpayer saleries/subsidies while they look for another job?!)

11.) If a congressman decides to change parties from the one his/her constituents elected them in…they must resign first…period! (No more scum-bags like Arlen Spector changing horses in mid-stream in a feable bid to stay in office!)

12.) Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people…period!
(This would mean that Congress members do NOT get paid in the event of a government shut-down and there would be NO reimbursement upon it's re-opening!!!)

13.) Congress MAY NOT raise any taxes until they can demonstrate the programs and departments now receiving them are WORKING! There should be a citizens review of laws passed say...one year after being passed. If it is NOT doing what it was designed to do or has unintended consequences it becomes null and void. If it is working it can be reviewed again in five more years.

14.) For every law Congress passes they must eliminate two more laws.

15.) Congress has the authority to declare war. When they exercise that authority and declare war any family members that they have of a suitable age MUST enlist and go to the front lines!

16.) As employees of the American people, Congress may NOT engage in any frivolous pursuits like spending the peoples time apologizing for slavery or declaring a day for some sports figure. We have REAL problems they need to address! 

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When your only tool is a hammer the whole world looks like a nail. Passing a new law is NOT the way to solve all problems. Throwing money at a problem is NOT always an answer. "Calling for" a committee to investigate some problem is NOT DOING ANYTHING.These men and women need to stop acting for their party and act for their country! Instead of paying back some political favor they need to find the best people for the job of fixing problems and not worry about what party they belong to.

The politicians of our time have turned their offices into careers and, in so doing, many have sold their influence to the highest bidders corrupting everything they were meant to stand for. Political office was NEVER meant to be a vehicle for the office holder to line their own pockets!! Congress was NEVER meant to be a ruling class!! They are employees of the American people...just like the president. They were ALL meant to be ordinary citizens who served for a time then went home.

Whatever happened to the statesmen that put their country before their own interests?

Barak Hussein Obama

I don't write much about politics. I don't think the focus of Christians should be in worldly pursuits and, as a political independent, I'm fairly disgusted with both Republicans and Democrats. Both seem intent only on being in power...and in spending other peoples money...namely ours! I've watched Barak Obama for the last year and have realized, like many other people, that the change he promised was just something to say to get elected...another load of crap!

Obama has never started, owned or ran a business. He only spent 143 days in the US Senate and, while taking a 160,000 a year income from taxpayers, he ran for president. There is no question that Americans were ready for a change. George Bush Jr. was an unpopular president who got us involved in an unpopular war. I believe Obama got elected simply because he was Not George Bush.

Obama never really said exactly what he would do as president. He ran making people believe he was a moderate. That turns out to have been all political calculation. He has proven to be a far-left Liberal with a Socialist agenda. That's become plain to the country and most voters have turned against him since. In fact the only thing this president has done in his first year is win the Nobel Peace Prize. (Having only been in office for four days at the time...that has turned the Nobel prize into an inconsequential joke...)

Obama clearly has a huge ego and believes he's smarter than everyone around him. It is obvious now he has no real clue how to run the business that is America. He believes he's the equal to the great statesmen of the past and quotes them often...without actually reading the history of this nation! He even went to Europe, like the commander in chief, before being elected! He began his political career in Chicago, a city renown for it's political corruption, and has proven to be just another corrupt Chicago politician. So much for "change we can believe in"! That 's just another cruel joke on the American people.

He has traveled abroad and apologized for American arrogance. Now, I too think Americans have been arrogant at times but, we have also been the most generous country in the history of the world. We defeated aggressors in two world wars, rebuilt the countries that were destroyed...including those of the aggressors who started the wars...and then forgave the debts! We nave NOTHING to apologize to the world for.

Obama has denied that this country was built on Judeo-Christian principles and that we are primarily a Christian nation. His own 'christian' practices were just another calculated political move for appearance sake. He has made a point of kissing Muslim asses around the world...like that's supposed to appease an enemy hell-bent on our destruction. Such naivete! This country isn't more safe for all Obamas political correctness...it is still a target for Muslim extremists...and now an easier target!

He promised transparency in government...what we got was a series of secret deals in putting together a health care deal that could potentially bankrupt our nation. (Now, I have no problem with the idea of a national health care system. I think America should have something like that. The problem is...we can't pay for the entitlements we have now! We owe the Chinese almost a Trillion dollars in loans! We Americans are going to have to tighten our belts and learn that the government simply can't do everything for us. It wasn't designed for that... Our system was designed to oversee private enterprise to keep it fair. That's why America works! Liberals like Obama want to turn a working system into a "mommy state" that's 'politically correct' and that will destroy what made this country the envy of the world. At the rate we're going we could easily end up like the former Soviet Union and dissolve because we've gone broke. That would leave the world a far more dangerous place! Imagine the world with two super powers...China and a united Europe. Who would have the courage to stop Iran from going nuclear?...Certainly not those two! Far left liberal ideas are not only bankrupting us...they are heading us towards another world war!!)

Obama promised no lobbyists in his administrative posts...he forgot to add...except for the ones He wanted. He promised no taxes on anyone making less than 200,000 a year...he neglected to mention that any taxes he passed on corporations will simply be passed on the folks as higher prices. The result will be the same...less money in our pockets...and an even more powerful federal government that is spending us broke!!

Americans have elected the most naive, incompetent president in this century...and the worst part of all is that the 'perfect storm' ushered in a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress...and all because people were tired of George Bush!

Luckily, like all American political offices, the office of president is a temporary one. We've had incompetents before and gotten rid of them...in three years we'll get rid of this one too... I just hope it won't be too late...