Many who watched the recent Super Bowl got to see two and a half million taxpayer dollars transferred into the hands of the formerly main stream media as we were treated to a mini-drama presented by C-list celebrities designed to encourage compliance with our government’s demands to know more and more about our personal lives. Now the time is approaching when we are expected to quietly tell the census takers not only how many toilets we have in our homes, but how often we use them.
It may seem like a small thing, and in broad scheme of things, it may be, but if we are not willing to resist the smaller intrusions into our lives, will be be able to find the courage to push back on bigger issues. If it is too much trouble to say “no” now, will be able to say “no” when they come to confiscate our firearms, or when they come to take our children because we are raising them to be Christians?
The Constitution authorizes the government to count us, but not to probe all areas of our existence. There are at least two reasons for this unwarranted seizure of our personal information. First, is the insatiable desire of some in power to know more and control more. Second is the oft discussed perversion called crony capitalism where the government supports and subsidizes favored marketplace competitors. Imagine the market research savings a corporation can realize if they can get the poor, unsuspecting taxpayers to foot the bill. Read more of this article »
The major news media was replete with reports over the weekend that the coffee company, Starbucks, “has no problem with customers packing heat while placing their orders.”
“The coffee giant says it won’t take issue with gun owners who take advantage of ‘open carry’ laws and bring firearms into their restaurant.” (Source: NBC News)
To tell you the truth, I’m not sure why this is even considered “newsworthy.” Perhaps because Starbucks is a Seattle-based company that caters to the “yuppie” crowd? Maybe because the anti-gun national news media is shocked and chagrined at Starbucks’ statement? Who knows? That Starbucks would not want to alienate millions of gun owners (many of whom lawfully carry concealed weapons for personal protection) makes perfectly good sense to me. I’m sure the statement by Starbucks has little to do with guns and everything to do with business. But the fact is, there are tens of thousands of lawfully armed citizens who carry either concealed or open that have been peacefully doing business with thousands of companies around the country for years.
At last glance, 12 states allow unrestricted open carry. Those states are Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. Plus, at least 13 other states allow restricted open carry (meaning a permit is required). I know it infuriates gun-grabbing liberals to admit this, but the facts are absolutely undeniable that an armed citizenry is far and away a more civilized and peaceful citizenry. Read more of this article »
A few days ago, well known conservatives from around the country gathered to sign a broad agreement on a number of principles that are designed to bring us back to the constitutional republic we once were. As with any group this large, there will be some differences. In our opposition to the dangerous foolishness in the White House we see our numbers sometimes fragmented iby demanding 100% agreement before accepting fellow freedom fighters into the fold.
It would be good to read the statement for yourself. You may even find a point or two that you are unsure of… but if you are generally in agreement, you are a welcome and valuable part of the team. As you read through the list of initial signers at the bottom, you may find one or two or three that you are not a fan of. That’s OK… the job is big enough that we need all the help we can get.
This does not mean that we blindly accept everything thrown at us. For instance many or our number thought Scott Brown was the next coming conservative personality… presidential material even. This week showed them wrong. He was simply the best we could expect from Massachusetts. He, like Lindsey Graham would be totally unacceptable in the Carolinas. Read more of this article »
As many as thirty-six states, in response to the prospects of a federally mandated universal health care system, have begun the process of exercising their constitutional right to nullification.
Unless you are one of those few Americans who have studied the Constitution and its history, nullification is, perhaps, not one of those concepts upon which you would have a firm grasp. However, nullification is, perhaps, the single most important concept in saving our freedoms from a federal government run amok with its own sense of self empowerment.
First, in order to understand state nullification, we need to review the basic elements surrounding the establishment OF the Constitution. This is a simple review, but we all know the original thirteen states came together to draft a new constitution upon which to establish a more coherent and empowered confederation of states and to develop of useful, yet restricted, federal (NOT NATIONAL) government. Read more of this article »
Regular readers of this column will doubtless recall my recent column in which I reported on the new Council of Governors (CG) that President Barack Obama has created. See my column at:
Well, Obama’s CG is quickly beginning to take shape. According to the Associated Press (AP), “President Barack Obama has selected Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to serve on an advisory council for defense and national security issues.
“Nixon was one of 10 governors named Thursday [February 4, 2009] by Obama to the newly created Council of Governors.”
The 10 governors (and one of them is not even a State governor) selected by Obama are: Read more of this article »
On this 99th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth, little can be said that would improve on the words of the man himself. In listening to his First Inaugural Address, one can only marvel at how far we have fallen. We can only be inspired and increase our determination that the damage to our country will not be permitted to stand and that we will, once again, be worthy of what America once was. We have benefited so greatly from living in this wonderful country. We can do no less than to pass the shining city on a hill to our children and grandchildren.
In Patrick Henry’s immortal “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech, he said, “[I]t is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth.” Never have Henry’s words been truer than they are today. For too long, good men have turned a blind eye to the obvious reality that America’s Ship of State has swerved significantly off course. In fact, it is no hyperbole to say that America’s Ship of State is completely rudderless and, absent a speedy course correction, seems destined to crash against the rocks of oppression and economic ruin in the very near future. For anyone willing to open their eyes, the manifestations of America’s almost-certain collision with history are everywhere.
America’s Liberty Ship is dependent upon the twin mainsails of Morality and Constitutional Government to stay on course. It is an irrefutable and irreversible law that these twin sails are indissolubly linked. We cannot have one without the other. America’s founders clearly understood this.
For example, our second President, John Adams, said, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Read more of this article »
I was led to Christ at the tender age of 5 while sitting on my mother’s lap. I was raised in a devout, churchgoing Christian home. I have been in Gospel ministry all of my adult life (I am 57 years old). I have attended or have degrees and/or diplomas from 4 fundamentalist/evangelical colleges or Bible schools. I have been the Senior Pastor of a local Independent Baptist congregation for 34 years and counting. I have spoken in churches and Christian gatherings all over the country. I say all of that simply to provide my Christian credentials (in much the same way that the Apostle Paul provided his Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:5,6). As such, I believe I know something about the attitudes, conduct, philosophy, mindset, etc., of America’s Christians. I am not an outsider; I speak as one within the conservative/fundamentalist Christian camp.
As it relates to the rightful understanding of following Christ’s instruction that we are to be “salt” and “light” (and what that means for us Americans), and properly rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (and knowing the difference), there are basically 2 groups: those who sincerely want to help America maintain its foundational principles and those who, frankly, are too preoccupied (or cowardly) to give much thought to it one way or another. I would say that the first group is slightly larger than the second group. The problem is, among the first group, there is a vast void of understanding regarding exactly how we are to implement and carry forth the principles of Christian liberty–which are the principles upon which America was built, of course.
As I see it, there are two glaring obstacles that keep today’s Christians from being truly effectual and influential in helping to restore America’s freedoms and founding principles. And let’s be honest enough to admit that, for the most part, today’s Christians (including our pastors) are ineffective and irrelevant in providing any meaningful solutions to America’s many problems. Sadly, more often than not, we are little more than gullible pawns, which wily and wicked politicians use to advance their own nefarious agendas. Read more of this article »
A lot has already been written about President Obama’s State of the Union message. With all due respect to pundits like Chris Matthews who “forgot he was black for an hour”, how can so much be written and discussed about so little? To be sure, high sounding words poured forth from the ever present teleprompters. Unfortunately, these words failed to combine themselves into coherent sentences that would work for the benefit and safety of the American people.
People are seeing problems like a crumbling economy and near misses in terrorist attacks. They are looking for answers from their leaders, but as Congressman Randy Forbes (VA-4) noted, “The President had a great opportunity to answer the call. He just missed it.”
Yet even if he said the right words… told us the right things… to many of us it would not have mattered. It would be even harder for him than Arthur Fonzarelli, to say he was wrong. So can we really believe the man? In the past, Joe Wilson was roundly criticized by both parties and the press for stating the obvious. Later is words were vindicated by the President’s own actions. This time around Supreme Court Justice Joseph Alito let the world know, in less audible tones, that the teleprompters words were false. Read more of this article »
The White House Office of the Press Secretary released a report on the White House web site titled “President Obama Signs Executive Order Establishing Council of Governors.” According to the press release, “The President today [January 11, 2009] signed an Executive Order establishing a Council of Governors to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards. When appointed, the Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities.”
According to the report, the Council will be composed of “ten State Governors who will be selected by the President to serve two year terms . . . Once chosen, the Council will have no more than five members from the same party and represent the Nation as a whole.”
The press release also states that “Federal members of the Council include the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs, the U.S. Northern Command Commander, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. The Secretary of Defense will designate an Executive Director for the Council.” Read more of this article »
Editors Note: Those not privileged to live in the Commonwealth of Virginia may not be familiar with Lee-Jackson Day, the holiday that remembers two southern gentlemen in the truest sense of the words.
January is often referred to as “Generals Month” since no less than four famous Confederate Generals claimed January as their birth month: James Longstreet (Jan. 8, 1821), Robert E. Lee (Jan. 19, 1807), Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson (Jan. 21, 1824), and George Pickett (Jan. 28, 1825). Two of these men, Lee and Jackson, are particularly noteworthy.
Without question, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were two of the greatest military leaders of all time. Even more, many military historians regard the Lee and Jackson tandem as perhaps the greatest battlefield duo in the history of warfare. If Jackson had survived the battle of Chancellorsville, it is very possible that the South would have prevailed at Gettysburg and perhaps would even have won the War Between the States. Read more of this article »
The morning after Christmas, I sat watching my four year old grandson play, sometimes with his new toys, sometimes with his “old” ones. His little imagination taking him to who knows where as he was blissfully unaware of the plans afoot to destroy the health care system that brought him through several severe allergy attacks, place his higher education plans at the mercy of government bureaucrats and enslave him for a year or two in compulsory government service. He doesn’t know the value of the money used to buy him food, clothing and, yes, toys, is headed toward the devaluation that comes from ill advised economic policies.
Later in the day, four more grandsons arrived along with their parents. They are older and more aware of dangers – economic and physical that we face as a nation. One is ready to enter the world of higher education and is looking into the few institutions not dedicated to inflicting the leftist agenda on those working hard to meet the financial demands they place on their students. It seems that the struggle is getting more difficult every year.
Some of us may accept the anticipated hard times in our future as the natural result of Christians failing to do their job… hiding behind church doors, with so many shunning involvement in public affairs. Too often, even strong believes, have accepted the lie that religious convictions have no place in the arena of public discourse. Read more of this article »
In the first part of this essay, we defined totalitarianism as the state-orchestrated dissolution of the private sphere, initiated by an ideologically-driven political organization with the goal of exercising total control over the population of a country. In the words of the father of Italian fascism, Giovanni Gentile, the totalitarian state seeks “total representation of the nation and total guidance of national goals.” While this control is most obvious and pronounced under a dictatorship, it is not entirely absent in democratic republics. A legislature may vote in favor of a totalitarian state just as easily as a dictator may impose one.
This is totalitarianism in theory, but in order to fully understand what totalitarianism is, we must recognize it in practice. In practice, totalitarianism is expressed in the mass surveillance of the public, in laws that criminalize a broad range of activities usually reserved for individual discretion, as well as in direct government interference in matters of business and religion. These laws are enacted with the purpose of organizing a country around a particular social, political, and economic ideology—such as Marxist-Leninism, Islamism, State Corporatism, etc.—and to restrict dissent against that ideology. There are several areas that have become fertile ground for the growth of totalitarianism in recent years: the Internet, electronic surveillance, and thought crime.
The Internet, as the most obvious symbol of the free exchange of ideas in the contemporary world, has routinely come under attack by totalitarians of all stripes. The People’s Republic of China , for instance, maintains a force of over 30,000 “Internet police,” who monitor the country’s estimated 338 million Internet users. Among other restrictions, no one in China may use the Internet to “incite to overthrow the government or the socialist system,” “injure the reputation of state organs,” or “promote feudal superstitions.” Most of these regulations can be broadly interpreted to shut down any dissent—or even discussion to that effect—against the state or its official ideology. China’s Internet police monitor discussion groups and chat rooms and erase comments that are deemed unsympathetic to the government. Keywords such as “Falun Gong” and “Red Terror” are blocked on search engines. Read more of this article »
If the United States came under the control of a totalitarian regime, would we recognize it? This question is of utmost importance today, when many of us harbor fears that some time in the near future ideas such as freedom, liberty, and privacy will be alien to our society. But as we witness the regular passage of legislation designed to restrict and regulate, and the tendency of the Federal government to increase rather than decrease its power (with a handful of exceptions), we are struck by the uninterrupted routine of life in the USA . As the central government brings more and more of private society under its control, we continue to watch cable TV, shop at supermarkets overflowing with products, and eat at our favorite restaurants. Could it be that we have already passed that dreaded threshold and missed it?
The trouble with diagnosing our condition is that most people are unaware of what totalitarianism actually is. Among even the most politically astute, there is little mental room for the possibility that a state in the process of becoming totalitarian might lack the most brutal and outward signs of oppressive regimes portrayed in popular culture. Because of our rather simplistic frame of reference—picture black and white images of National Socialist Germany or the Soviet Union —we recognize a country as either being in the advanced stages of totalitarianism or not at all. But just because a state maintains the structures and language of democracy and continues to have elections, for instance, that does not preclude it from being totalitarian.
In fact, North Korea has a constitution and holds regular elections with three competing political parties—the Workers’ Party of Korea , the Korean Social Democratic Party, and the Chondoist Chongu Party—all united under an organization called the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland. In April 2009, North Korea revised its constitution to include Article 8, which reads, “The State respects and protects the human rights of the workers, peasants and working intellectuals who have been previously freed from exploitation and oppression and have become masters of the State and society.” Yet North Korea is recognized as being one of the most oppressive totalitarian states in the world. Read more of this article »
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. Read more of this article »
Years ago, a cartoon appeared in a Russian newspaper picturing a fork in the road. One path was labeled freedom; the other path was labeled sausage. As we might guess, the path to freedom had few takers; the path to sausage was crowded with footprints.
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The major news media was replete with reports over the weekend that the coffee company, Starbucks, “has no problem with customers packing heat while placing their orders.”
A few days ago, well known conservatives from around the country gathered to sign a broad agreement on a number of principles that are designed to bring us back to the constitutional republic we once were. As with any group this large, there will be some differences. In our opposition to the dangerous foolishness in the White House we see our numbers sometimes fragmented iby demanding 100% agreement before accepting fellow freedom fighters into the fold.
As many as thirty-six states, in response to the prospects of a federally mandated universal health care system, have begun the process of exercising their constitutional right to nullification.
Regular readers of this column will doubtless recall my recent column in which I reported on the new Council of Governors (CG) that President Barack Obama has created. See my column at:
In Patrick Henry’s immortal “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech, he said, “[I]t is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth.” Never have Henry’s words been truer than they are today. For too long, good men have turned a blind eye to the obvious reality that America’s Ship of State has swerved significantly off course. In fact, it is no hyperbole to say that America’s Ship of State is completely rudderless and, absent a speedy course correction, seems destined to crash against the rocks of oppression and economic ruin in the very near future. For anyone willing to open their eyes, the manifestations of America’s almost-certain collision with history are everywhere.
I was led to Christ at the tender age of 5 while sitting on my mother’s lap. I was raised in a devout, churchgoing Christian home. I have been in Gospel ministry all of my adult life (I am 57 years old). I have attended or have degrees and/or diplomas from 4 fundamentalist/evangelical colleges or Bible schools. I have been the Senior Pastor of a local Independent Baptist congregation for 34 years and counting. I have spoken in churches and Christian gatherings all over the country. I say all of that simply to provide my Christian credentials (in much the same way that the Apostle Paul provided his Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:5,6). As such, I believe I know something about the attitudes, conduct, philosophy, mindset, etc., of America’s Christians. I am not an outsider; I speak as one within the conservative/fundamentalist Christian camp.
The White House Office of the Press Secretary released a report on the White House web site titled “President Obama Signs Executive Order Establishing Council of Governors.” According to the press release, “The President today [January 11, 2009] signed an Executive Order establishing a Council of Governors to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards. When appointed, the Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities.”
Editors Note: Those not privileged to live in the Commonwealth of Virginia may not be familiar with Lee-Jackson Day, the holiday that remembers two southern gentlemen in the truest sense of the words.
The morning after Christmas, I sat watching my four year old grandson play, sometimes with his new toys, sometimes with his “old” ones. His little imagination taking him to who knows where as he was blissfully unaware of the plans afoot to destroy the health care system that brought him through several severe allergy attacks, place his higher education plans at the mercy of government bureaucrats and enslave him for a year or two in compulsory government service. He doesn’t know the value of the money used to buy him food, clothing and, yes, toys, is headed toward the devaluation that comes from ill advised economic policies.
In the first part of this essay, we defined totalitarianism as the state-orchestrated dissolution of the private sphere, initiated by an ideologically-driven political organization with the goal of exercising total control over the population of a country. In the words of the father of Italian fascism, Giovanni Gentile, the totalitarian state seeks “total representation of the nation and total guidance of national goals.” While this control is most obvious and pronounced under a dictatorship, it is not entirely absent in democratic republics. A legislature may vote in favor of a totalitarian state just as easily as a dictator may impose one.
If the United States came under the control of a totalitarian regime, would we recognize it? This question is of utmost importance today, when many of us harbor fears that some time in the near future ideas such as freedom, liberty, and privacy will be alien to our society. But as we witness the regular passage of legislation designed to restrict and regulate, and the tendency of the Federal government to increase rather than decrease its power (with a handful of exceptions), we are struck by the uninterrupted routine of life in the USA . As the central government brings more and more of private society under its control, we continue to watch cable TV, shop at supermarkets overflowing with products, and eat at our favorite restaurants. Could it be that we have already passed that dreaded threshold and missed it?
