In a bizarre ruling that lacks honesty, constitutional reason and plain old common sense, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that a Christian organization (or any organization for that matter) on a public college campus cannot determine its own membership and leadership rules.
You may remember that in April, The Family Foundation hosted a luncheon with attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund who were involved in the case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. This case arose when the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco denied recognition to CLS, including equal meeting space and most means of communicating on campus (the first time in the school’s history that they had denied such recognition to any organization). The reason? Although CLS welcomes everyone to all its activities and events, CLS would not agree to eliminate its Statement of Faith requirement for officers and those who select them, the voting members. Hastings deemed CLS’s Statement of Faith and its interpretation that Christians should not engage in extramarital sexual activity to violate the religion and sexual orientation portions of its nondiscrimination policy. Hastings has since interpreted its rule as prohibiting all groups from excluding anyone from voting membership or leadership on the basis of beliefs of any kind. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Hastings’ decision.
The Supreme Court Monday in a decision written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg stated that the “accept-all-comers” policy was constitutional. Essentially, Hastings Law School now requires that any club that receives university approval must allow anyone to join – including leaders – even if those individuals are antagonistic to the mission and purpose of the organization! In other words, the College Republicans would have to allow Democrats in their leadership, and visa versa. Read more of this article »
Barack Hussein Obama has done his best to turn our country into a place only a European socialist or communist could love. Even worse than his intended destruction of the best health care system in the world, or his presiding over the annihilation of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico or his intention to make our energy costs skyrocket – in spite of the other economic pressures caused by his mishandling of the economy, is one crime that exceeds even these debacles of leadership. He has guided this country in a direction that appears to be designed to stick the governmental thumb into the eye of everyday Americans… the kind who have made this country work for more than two centuries.
And how have many reacted to this Chicago thug giving jobs to cheap labor coming into this country illegally or taking their money and giving to all sorts of people and purposes unacceptable to the American value system? He has turned the normally happy and charitable citizens into angry subjects, distrustful of the government that is supposed to be looking after their welfare. The people understand that they are nothing but resources for his grand scheme of social reorganization.
The incensed population no longer has the happiness and optimism that once typified America. Some leaders have the ability to take people in difficult situations and buck them up to restore their confidence and ability to beat their circumstances and lack of confidence. This “leader” has taken another tack. He is telling us that we should not have had our prosperity at the expense of the rest of the world and the under performers in our own society. To the Obamessiah, economic justice is sufficient cause to bring this hardship on the American people… to the point where he is taking no steps to correct the situation. Read more of this article »
As many readers know, my youngest son, Tim Baldwin, is a constitutional attorney, historian, and author who writes his own syndicated column and who also hosts his own web site. Today, Tim is writing a special edition to my column. What follows are his words.
On Sunday, June 27, 2010, I, and the rest of our family, will be helping to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Crossroad Baptist Church (CBC), with my dad, Chuck Baldwin, as the founding pastor–the church having held its first service on June 22, 1975, with only 6 people in attendance. I was born in 1979, so I missed the first several years of Crossroad Church’s existence. I have heard the stories from my parents and grandmother, and I have seen the pictures of that ministry before I arrived. Its beginnings were of the most humble nature, I can assure. Crossroad Church has not been without its problems. No church is perfect, because people are not perfect. Still, God has used and continues to use Crossroad Church to transform my life and my family’s life, and God has used and continues to use Crossroad Church to be a voice of truth, of motivation and of courage for many thousands of people across this country. There is not a church like it in the entire United States of America.
I remember as a child wishing I could spend more time with my dad, especially on the weekends. When I was young, Crossroad Church was young, and my dad was very busy with tasks that had to be done to ensure that the church functioned “decently and in order” (as scripture tells us). On almost every Saturday morning and afternoon, he was visiting people in the community, sharing the gospel and inviting them to attend our church. I still have vivid memories of crying as my dad got in his car and left our home. On Saturday nights, Dad would go over his sermons for the next Sunday. He worked late many nights and would not come home until it was almost time for bed. Through this, God had a purpose in mind, and my life would not be what it is today were it not for my dad’s sacrifice in those early years. Read more of this article »
Highway 40 runs the width of Tennessee and beyond. This ribbon of asphalt gives truth to the saying that in the volunteer state they have two seasons, winter and highway construction. Anyone who has made the run in or out of Nashville can attest to the fact that the smooth high speed run across the state is invariably broken by periods of restful pause as one sits in line waiting to get through yet another construction zone.
Pennsylvanians living along Route 22 that runs through the Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, especially the last few miles before crossing the Deleware, can tell tales of constant construction repairing this or that section of road. It’s been rumored that some PennDot employees have spent their entire careers on this stretch of road. While we all recognize the need to keep up our infrastructure and hate bouncing our cars over the pot holes that never seem to go away, it is often easy to relate to the frustrations of the Michael Douglas character in the 1993 movie Falling Down.
I just completed a ten day swing up through the northeast for a graduation and wedding along with a little family vacation time. We spent far too much time on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, which surprisingly enough, were about the only roads that had no shovel ready projects ready to absorb the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds congress borrowed from the Chinese in an attempt to undo the damage to our economy done by previous federal interventions. Read more of this article »
There’s not much to say about this video, other than our first amendment rights are being overridden by those who have come to our country, not to assimilate, but to change and control. The use of police to stifle constitutionally guaranteed free speech shows how far we have fallen from government officials… particularly big city officials… who have forgotten our heritage of God given rights and have caved to the expediency of political pressure and fear of those who reject our freedom and values and insist on imposing theirs. If you believe this is wrong, pass it on to everyone you know. We can’t fight this sort of thing by sitting on our couches and bellyaching about it.
If you feel the need to express your opinion of the actions you just witnessed on the video, you can reach the mayor and police chief at the Dearborn city website. You might even want to give them a call.
Now that the media circus surrounding the surprising honesty of General Stanley McCrystal is dying down, we can look at the reactions of both the players and spectators, and possibly learn something from them. Essentially they fall into two categories. There are those who see this as strictly an insubordination and chain of command issue. In the other camp are those who see only the right and wrong of the issue. Like many of life’s questions there is some virtue surrounding both positions, but they do tell us a lot about the person holding them.
As a soldier, Gen. McChrystal was expected to follow orders. As a career soldier, particularly one who achieved his rank, he knew not to publicly question his orders, or the civilian source. This is pretty much cut and dried that his actions warranted his dismissal. Some who publicly criticized him did so primarily on the principle that the man should know his place in the overall scheme of things Others could not accept the fact that this man who was almost universally highly regarded, both at home and abroad would have the temerity to question the alleged manhood of the White House resident. It is unfortunate that those of honor and good will would be lumped together with the blatant partisanship of this administration.
The concept of civilian control of the military is basic to our American system of government. The elected representatives of the people must be able to direct or restrain the vast power to kill and destroy that we have developed. The rub comes when this civilian control is exercised by those who despise the soldiers, sailors and airmen who keep us safe, or if they have no clue as to what will preserve or harm our great nation. Read more of this article »
Rev Patrick Mahoney is a man of principle and courage. On a beautiful spring day in our nations capital he set out to pray for women seeking to end their pregnancies and their soon to die offspring. By simply kneeling on the sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood abortion mill, he found himself arrested, handcuffed and driven off in the back of a District of Columbia police car.
Showing the power of political connections, the organization claimed the outdoors portion of the property to be part of the indoor section… and the city attorney went along with their scheme. Of course Planned Parenthood did not like Rev. Mahoney and his compatriots letting women know what was really going on inside the building and inside their bodies. There were too many dollars at stake. Besides killing babies is a woman’s right.
The thing that makes this event so notable is that he knew this would be the result… and he did it anyway. Many of us will cheer on a courageous patriot who will stand up, not only to the police but the legal system as well. Then, use the legal system to take back the ground we are losing every day. The complete story is covered in Christian News Wire. Read more of this article »
There is a YouTube video making the rounds that inspires tea party patriots and gives ajada to many progressive statists. It is the product of congressional candidate Rick Barber looking for a way into the hearts and minds of Republican voters in Alabama’s 2nd district. The brief video shows him discussing today’s issues with some founding fathers. After enumerating the various assaults on our property and liberty, he is told, “Gather your armies”.
For some reason, those who have imbibed in the Obama kool aid see this as a call for armed rebellion. Considering the abundant and intrusive excesses of the current administration combined with the publicly expressed anger of so many Americans, it is understandable that the perpetrators would be nervous. However, Barber contends that he is really only looking to gather grass roots armies and arouse the sleeping giant that the tea party movement has begun to stir. Read more of this article »
As we approach Father’s Day this Sunday, I think it is necessary to once again draw attention to what has become one of America’s greatest problems: the dearth of masculine leadership in the home.
As everyone universally acknowledges, there are more children being raised by single mothers today than at any time in our nation’s history. Obviously, divorce is far and away the biggest contributor to this unfortunate phenomenon. But another factor is that many women are choosing to have children out of wedlock. And, of course, a small percentage of single mothers became this way due to the premature deaths of their husbands. But it is safe to say that the vast majority of fatherless families are the result of choice, not circumstance.
The ramifications of raising children without a father are taking a toll, not only on children, but also on society itself. According to published reports, 63% of teen suicides come from fatherless homes, 90% of all runaways and homeless children come from fatherless homes, 80% of rapists come from fatherless homes, 85% of children with behavioral problems come from fatherless homes, 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes, 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes, and 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes. See the following sources for these (and related) stats: Read more of this article »
It’s been said that if someone thinks he’s a leader and no one is following, it’s just some guy walking around. Today, we have a whole group of religious “leaders” wandering across the political landscape trying to convince the people under their charge that it is perfectly alright for people with limited skills to illegally sneak into our country and push many Americans out of their jobs by providing lower cost and more compliant labor. They most likely, hopefully at least, would say it was wrong for these same people to break into your home and remove your property or even begin living there… yet they would not object to someone stealing your job and livelihood.
It is not surprising that the usual suspects in the main line denominations that have been loosing members for decades are preaching the gospel of social justice which is no gospel at all… but the rantings godless manipulators seeking to control the masses in the name of redistributionist philosophies. What is surprising is that people in leadership positions of traditionally conservative Bible believing groups like the Assemblies of God and Southern Baptists have fallen for the siren song of being relevant to today’s issues.
They are the denominational elites who have taken the Christian virtue of caring for the poor to the point where concern for one group of people… the ones who have disregarded the laws intended to keep us safe and secure… has caused them to overlook the harm that comes to families where jobs are lost and who fall victim to the violence of the lawless intruders. John 10:10 tells us “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV) Read more of this article »
President Kennedy once said, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” I don’t think he would mind if we add stronger women as well. I believe he had a very good point, one that applies to our current struggle to retain the freedom our forefathers fought and died for. Many pray for a change in the leadership of our country. Others, following the Biblical mandate pray for wisdom for our leaders as they rush headlong into destruction. Still others pray for a new crop of leaders to come along and do battle to set things right. This last one may be closest to what the former President was advising us to do.
Sure the Obama administration appears to be doing everything in its power to bring about the hope and change they ambiguously promised. We can, and must, pray for a change of heart in the White House. However, it is within the realm of possibility the Almighty may tell us “no”. Just as he told the Israelites that they needed to go and clear the promised land themselves… and suffered because they did not complete the job. It is entirely possible, that He will not dramatically clear the snake pit of Washington with a wave of his all powerful hand. He may be looking for us to do the job. He may be looking at us to take advantage of the freedoms we have been given as Americans and put people in office that will stand against the increasingly dictatorial tendencies of Barack Hussein Obama.
We need to send people to represent us in the nation’s capitol who will agree with Thomas Jefferson when he said, “I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” We don’t need, indeed we cannot afford, to send those to Washington who seek to work “across the aisle” and compromise with the enemies of freedom and make their machinations slightly less onerous. These are dangerous times and we need men and women of courage who will stand for victory rather than compromise which leads to defeat. Read more of this article »
The true essence of the 4th Amendment, that is, probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, found by the Framers, as the best, and only, reason for depriving a citizen of his, or her, fundamental God-given right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, was changed, without constitutional amendment by eight justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in the decision Terry v. Ohio 392 U.S. 1 (1968) to reasonable suspicion. Terry v. Ohio (1968), the will of the Earl Warren Court, essentially threw out “probable cause” from the 4th Amendment and made it much easier for all police officers to deprive a citizen of a basic constitutional right that the writers of the U.S. Constitution saw as sacrosanct.
From what we know about the almost unanimous 1968 decision, Chief Justice Earl Warren carefully courted the vote of each of the justices, just as he had done in Brown v. the Board of Education (1954), in order to produce a, hopefully, unanimous vote. To change the letter of the U.S. Constitution, without amendment, the Court had to show unanimity, because the decision, in and of itself, was basically illegal, if it had been subsequently challenged by the U.S. Congress. The only vote Warren was unable to acquire in 1968 was that of the Justice William O. Douglas, who vehemently wrote in his dissenting opinion, “To give the police greater power than a magistrate is to take a long step down the totalitarian path. Perhaps such a step is desirable to cope with modern forms of lawlessness. But if it is taken, it should be the deliberate choice of the people through a constitutional amendment.” (392 U.S. 1, at 38). A few days after the decision was rended, Justice Douglas supposedly quipped to a reporter off-the-cuff that “if the Court can arbitrarily change the 4th Amendment, to read as it wants it to read, what is next, changing the word “respecting” to “denying” in the 1st Amendment?” What amazes me is the immediate, or latent, lack of opposition to the decision by the American people, when a section of the Bill of Rights was altered by the collective whim of eight of the Brethren, instead of by decree of the American electorate through the amendment process. Read more of this article »
The two thought-provoking words, racial and profiling, may be used together to convey a very sinister tone, especially to someone who has no real idea what racial profiling comprises and how it is used daily in law enforcement as a valid means of apprehending criminal suspects. The old, “let me see your papers, you don’t look Aryan,” anecdotal scenario, as applied to the fascist-Nazi motif, when the trench-coated Gestapo agent grabs the unwitting bearded suspect by the collar and carts him off to a dungeon where the person is tortured for information, is not the correct application of racial profiling in American law enforcement. Instead, imagine an elderly woman mugged on a street corner in downtown San Diego, California during the late afternoon. A police officer arrives on the scene after the mugger flees with the woman’s purse, and asks the bruised and bleeding woman a series of very important questions.
Politicians in Washington, D.C., love to manufacture a crisis. The crisis generates fear within the citizenry, thereby allowing the federal government to centralize more and more power. During a crisis, the citizenry becomes much more forgiving of federal abuses and accommodating of federal encroachments than it otherwise would be without a crisis. Hence, we have a federal “war on drugs,” and a “war on poverty,” and a “war on terror,” and an “oil crisis,” and an “energy crisis,” and a “domestic terrorism crisis,” and an “education crisis,” and a “border crisis,” and an “economic crisis”–Blah! Blah! Blah!
You can mark it down: every major crisis that America has faced over the last several decades has been either manufactured or facilitated by policies and activities originating in Washington, D.C. But at the same time that DC is creating these crises, it categorizes any ideological group it finds distasteful as a convenient scapegoat. These convenient scapegoats can include “angry white guys,” “tea party extremists,” “a vast right-wing conspiracy,” Constitution Party or Libertarian Party “extremists,” “Second Amendment extremists” (gun owners), “pro-life extremists,” ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
Yet, while DC’s elitists are plotting America’s next crisis and figuring out whom to categorize as America’s next “extremist,” some real enemies are waging war against the freedoms and liberties of our once-great republic. And, ladies and gentlemen, these enemies are much more subtle, a lot closer, and much more dangerous than almost anything you are being told about. Read more of this article »
The Stanley Cup Finals are over and World Cup soccer time is upon us. I suppose we need the break from the drama and excitement of men flashing across the ice and bashing each other into dasher boards to get the little puck in the net. The World Cup time is an ideal time to relax, have a cook out with the family, go to the beach, or even read a good book. According to a recent Zogby poll, only 31% of the American men and 17% of the American women are planning to watch any part of the matches. Observing the hype on TV, one would think this is a major event for the people of the United States.
Numbers for the under 30 crowd are somewhat higher than this average, reflecting the globalist thinking foisted up the students in the public schools and academia. Yet even in this group, there is enough realism the prevent them from believing that soccer will become a major sport, ranked with football, baseball, basketball and hockey, in the US. It is notable that auto racing was not included in the question, even though it outdraws the other sports leaders.
The traditional sports tend to be American generations, including hockey where the primary development came from our neighbor in the frozen north. Our sporting preferences show what our “betters” would describe as a negative North American-centric mind set that blinds us to virtue in other parts of the world. It is the ugly face of American exceptionalism that the left and academia (but I repeat myself) have been fighting for decades. Read more of this article »
Theatrical Martyrdom; Depending on where and how you were raised the title of this message will mean different things to you.
Most Jews and Christians alike consider theatrical martyrdom to speak of the days of the coliseums of Roman Emperor Nero Germanicus, or the executions of Greek King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and other historic tyrants. The theatrics in these martyrdoms would be the public nature in which the executions took place.
But, martyrdom takes on a different meaning with militant Islamic terrorist, who play on the sympathy of the Western world as they strategize to project themselves as brutalized victims of heartless oppressors. Read more of this article »
“Woe is me” they cry. Who are “they”? Republican Party leaders and groupies. What is the cause of this despair? Why it’s the sound of jubilation from some of the tea partiers… mostly from Nevada, but all around the country. Many of them supported Sharron Angle to carry the Republican standard against dingy Harry Reid. It should be added that various other tea partiers supported her opponents. There are several lessons we can learn from this little drama, let’s have a look at some of them.
Just like some big-tent Republicans like to tell us about the party they believe they control, the tea partiers are not a monolithic army goose stepping toward conquest. They are people who believe in smaller, less intrusive government that protects rather than restricts freedom. Unlike the other party, pursuing this goal by various approaches, with, sometimes, various candidates, is actually permitted. That’s one of the funny things about freedom – not everyone wants the same thing or goes about it in the same way.
But Republican establishment insiders say they believe in smaller, less intrusive government as well. This may be true, in comparison to the progressive extremes now in power, but the people in Peoria, Paducah and Petersburg often have other ideas. What scares many party leaders is that these “true believers” give the public a point of comparison… and the old timers don’t show up to well. They tend to look like stodgy old men content with their elevated place in the system. Beyond this, these candidates owe their allegiance to the grassroots, not party insiders who paved they way for them… in exchange for loyalty, favors and who knows what else. Read more of this article »
The Roman poet Juvenal (circa 100 A.D.) wrote regarding the way latter-day Roman emperors retained power and control over the masses that were seemingly more than happy to obsess themselves with trivialities and self-indulgences while their once-great-and-powerful empire collapsed before their very eyes. He wrote:
“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions–everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”
I submit that a good many in America are, like Rome of old, carelessly frittering away their God-given liberties, foolishly clamoring for nothing more than government handouts and never-ending entertainment. Millions and millions of Americans (especially males) are literally intoxicated with sports. Sports are no longer a great American pastime; they are now a great American obsession. Read more of this article »
Sometimes I look at the news and wonder if the people writing the stories or those talking to the press even think about what they are passing on the the formerly unsuspecting public. Of course the story may fit the propaganda needs of the issuing government or news organization, but they could at least work a little harder to give us plausible (mis)information that doesn’t strain the credibility of even recent public high school grads.
The current journalistic malfeasance is a story I picked up this afternoon about how the Israel’s recent actions were straining the relationship they had with the government of Turkey. A quick review of the facts shows this to be a ridiculous position from the very start. This “offended” Turkish government gave behind the scenes approval to send a ship load of goods, wide eyed ideologues and a few weapons into an area that the Israeli government had publicly stated for years was a source of terrorist activity against their citizens.
The fact that the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) stopped the ship and several of the activists died in the process of beating and stabbing the Jewish defenders is considered by the Turks as an affront to their formerly great nation. Their fussing over IDF action defending their homeland is akin to North Korea telling the world that maybe the South Korean vessel was struck by a torpedo, but but that any retaliation would be an act of war. What do these people think of the initial provocation? Read more of this article »
To hear Barack Hussein Obama tell the story, he was on top of the oil spill from day one. He says that he has made available all the government’s resources in solving this problem. His problem though, is that facts don’t quite align themselves with his story. The inaction of the national government dwarfs anything his predecessor was accused of in relation to Katrina.
He also says that in the beginning, taking BP’s word that the situation as not that serious and that they could handle it, he kept pretty much on the sidelines. This was before he put his well manicured boot on their neck. Again the facts don’t fit the White House narrative. The New York Daily News reports that:
Days after the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up, Carol Browner, head of the White House’s Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, told Obama the explosion would result in a never-before-seen disaster. Read more of this article »
In watching the reaction to the Israeli enforcement of the Gaza blockade, I am amazed at how much support there is for the Palestinian and those trying to slip through to them. I guess it should not be so surprising as the Jewish people have the object of hate and derision through the ages. They have been persecuted almost everywhere they have lived. What is most disturbing is it is not peasants from some third world country who don’t have the education or common sense to know any better… it is our own fellow Americans who like to think of themselves as so open minded and tolerant – that prejudice is the last thing on their minds.
Even if one does not understand the historical and spiritual significance of Jewish people returning to their home land, just observing the parties in the middle east should show the foolishness and short sightedness of that position. Just as the values are inverted by our government in looking at the tea partiers as a threat to domestic tranquility while ignoring a havoc raised by illegals sneaking across the border, cozying up to people who send their own children to kill themselves in the name of hatred as the older folks hurl rockets into schools and hospitals of people trying to mind their own business just doesn’t make sense. Read more of this article »
There has been a malevolent movement that has been creeping across our nation for some time now…it’s insidious in its facade…and diabolical in its goals. And it cloaks itself in purity…
The emergence of the Religious Left appeared during the campaign of the last presidential election. They appeared to be Christian in word, but if one peaked under the sheep’s clothing, one would find a sharp, merciless, bite.
One of the characters of this movement is the infamous (in my book) Tony Campolo. His positions on hot button issues have been dubious for a few decades now, but his recent ‘tour’ and message has riled this observer to go verbally postal…
His recent tour stop was at Bethlehem Bible College in the West Bank for the school’s assembly of “Christ at the Checkpoint: Theology in the Service of Peace and Justice.” This school promotes a form of ‘Palestinian’ liberation that is highly approved of by the Religious Left. A contingent that isn’t exactly opposed to violence toward Israel. Read more of this article »
After viewing and taking part in many debates about national health care, I have been exposed to some interesting arguments both for and against. In the course of the conversations I heard the usual liberal tactic to attack those of a Christian persuasion stating that not supporting national health care is not being Christian as if the two ideas are congruent. After fighting back the urge to throw my laptop in some symbolic gesture of displeasure for the spreading of this falsehood, I decided to consider how Christ, and therefore a Christian, might view nationalized health care. Read more of this article »
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By Victoria Cobb
Barack Hussein Obama has done his best to turn our country into a place only a European socialist or communist could love. Even worse than his intended destruction of the best health care system in the world, or his presiding over the annihilation of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico or his intention to make our energy costs skyrocket – in spite of the other economic pressures caused by his mishandling of the economy, is one crime that exceeds even these debacles of leadership. He has guided this country in a direction that appears to be designed to stick the governmental thumb into the eye of everyday Americans… the kind who have made this country work for more than two centuries.
As many readers know, my youngest son, Tim Baldwin, is a constitutional attorney, historian, and author who writes his own syndicated column and who also hosts his own web site. Today, Tim is writing a special edition to my column. What follows are his words.
Now that the media circus surrounding the surprising honesty of General Stanley McCrystal is dying down, we can look at the reactions of both the players and spectators, and possibly learn something from them. Essentially they fall into two categories. There are those who see this as strictly an insubordination and chain of command issue. In the other camp are those who see only the right and wrong of the issue. Like many of life’s questions there is some virtue surrounding both positions, but they do tell us a lot about the person holding them.
As we approach Father’s Day this Sunday, I think it is necessary to once again draw attention to what has become one of America’s greatest problems: the dearth of masculine leadership in the home.
It’s been said that if someone thinks he’s a leader and no one is following, it’s just some guy walking around. Today, we have a whole group of religious “leaders” wandering across the political landscape trying to convince the people under their charge that it is perfectly alright for people with limited skills to illegally sneak into our country and push many Americans out of their jobs by providing lower cost and more compliant labor. They most likely, hopefully at least, would say it was wrong for these same people to break into your home and remove your property or even begin living there… yet they would not object to someone stealing your job and livelihood.
President Kennedy once said, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” I don’t think he would mind if we add stronger women as well. I believe he had a very good point, one that applies to our current struggle to retain the freedom our forefathers fought and died for. Many pray for a change in the leadership of our country. Others, following the Biblical mandate pray for wisdom for our leaders as they rush headlong into destruction. Still others pray for a new crop of leaders to come along and do battle to set things right. This last one may be closest to what the former President was advising us to do.
By Norton R Nowlin
By Norton R Nowlin
Politicians in Washington, D.C., love to manufacture a crisis. The crisis generates fear within the citizenry, thereby allowing the federal government to centralize more and more power. During a crisis, the citizenry becomes much more forgiving of federal abuses and accommodating of federal encroachments than it otherwise would be without a crisis. Hence, we have a federal “war on drugs,” and a “war on poverty,” and a “war on terror,” and an “oil crisis,” and an “energy crisis,” and a “domestic terrorism crisis,” and an “education crisis,” and a “border crisis,” and an “economic crisis”–Blah! Blah! Blah!
Theatrical Martyrdom; Depending on where and how you were raised the title of this message will mean different things to you.
“Woe is me” they cry. Who are “they”? Republican Party leaders and groupies. What is the cause of this despair? Why it’s the sound of jubilation from some of the tea partiers… mostly from Nevada, but all around the country. Many of them supported Sharron Angle to carry the Republican standard against dingy Harry Reid. It should be added that various other tea partiers supported her opponents. There are several lessons we can learn from this little drama, let’s have a look at some of them.
The Roman poet Juvenal (circa 100 A.D.) wrote regarding the way latter-day Roman emperors retained power and control over the masses that were seemingly more than happy to obsess themselves with trivialities and self-indulgences while their once-great-and-powerful empire collapsed before their very eyes. He wrote:
Sometimes I look at the news and wonder if the people writing the stories or those talking to the press even think about what they are passing on the the formerly unsuspecting public. Of course the story may fit the propaganda needs of the issuing government or news organization, but they could at least work a little harder to give us plausible (mis)information that doesn’t strain the credibility of even recent public high school grads.
To hear Barack Hussein Obama tell the story, he was on top of the oil spill from day one. He says that he has made available all the government’s resources in solving this problem. His problem though, is that facts don’t quite align themselves with his story. The inaction of the national government dwarfs anything his predecessor was accused of in relation to Katrina.
by Audrey Russo
