2/12/08 3:17 p.m.
Interesting, Laughable, Disgusting and SadThe candidates for the 2008 presidential race are proving to be interesting, laughable, disgusting and sad. Among the top four candidates we have the angry white male candidate, the gender candidate, the skin color candidate, and the Mayberry guy. Two of the four are very likable, and the other two very unlikable. All four have a lust for power, are tax and spend big government liberals.
Obama is charming, seems to be intelligent, but very windy. Windy, meaning he could likely talk all day without saying anything. No one is talking about the fact that he attends a black supremacy church. We would hear the screams if that were turned around, a white candidate who attends a white supremacy church. For those who will vote based on his dark skin color, his bumper sticker slogans, and 10-second sound bites, he is a choice candidate who fits their depth.
While Obama has charm and skin color as long suits, Hillary is a candidate because she had a charming husband who already served eight years as president. Some women say they will vote for her because she is a woman and that it is time for a woman to be president. She brags about having 35 years of experience. Experience doing what, putting the quietus on all those bimbo eruptions? She has tons of baggage, most filled with dirty laundry.
As soon as John McCain became the obvious front-runner in the Republican race he started repeating himself trying to convince others that he is a conservative. He is conservative like Ted Kennedy. George W. Bush put the Republican Party on life support and McCain is fighting furiously to pull the plug. Frankly I wish both Bush and McCain would just resign their jobs right now and go to Mexico and do some job that the Mexicans won’t do.
Good ole boy Huckabee, like Obama, sounds good. In many ways I would prefer him over the other three although odds makers say he doesn’t have a chance. He is a former pastor, but in my opinion has some twisted theology that prevents me from thinking he would be good for our country. His record as governor in Arkansas shows that he thinks compassion is government taking care of the down trodden. He bent over backwards to encourage illegal aliens to come to Arkansas so he could give them government freebies. Huck even tried to give in-state college tuition rates to children of illegal aliens. The Bible instructs individuals to take care of the poor. Jesus did not say governments have such responsibilities. It is not the government’s responsibility to tax you and give the money to others. Huckabee's advocating that government take the place of individual Christian compassion is wrong. It is what it is, depending of course, upon what the meaning of is is.
There is not much we can do to prevent a liberal from gaining control of the White House this year, but we should do every thing we can to vote for people in other offices who advocate individual responsibility and small government.
2/8/08 7:11 p.m.
Super Tuesday Super SlavesThe Super Tuesday election results revealed that the average person voted to fund his appetite by taking money from his neighbor’s wallet. While most people would not enter his neighbor’s house and remove food from his refrigerator, they will vote to have the government confiscate tax money for the same end result.
Most people are familiar that in biblical times the descendants of Jacob were slaves to the Egyptian Pharaohs. The Bible says the Israelites had to pay 20 percent of what they made to Pharaoh. Americans currently pay about 40 percent of their income in taxes. So who is the slave here? The government takes part of your money, and usually in a wasteful manner gives it to others and then gives your children and grandchildren the responsibility to pick up the tab.
Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Huckabee are more than willing to spend your money should they be elected. Sadly, America has gradually opted for a Marxist/socialist type government in recent years. Our federal government earns no money; they just take from one group and give to another.
When some government official gets on TV telling how they are going to help some victims of a tornado, a flood, or approve a stimulus package or some other government giveaway, just remember it was your money before they confiscated the 40 percent. When will it be 50 or 60 percent?
2/5/08 2:36 p.m.
Blog Pause I haven’t made a blog post since mid-December. There are certainly no shortage of things to write about in our culture, particularly with regard to this presidential election year. Regardless of anyone’s opinion about politics, the root of all opinions comes from one’s religion. Therein lies the problem in American; the abandonment of here Christian roots. …. More later
12/22/07 10:19 a.m.
They Fear His NameEvery year at this time many merchants sell holiday items and celebrate the season and seem to go to extremes to avoid the word “Christmas” and any symbol that represents the birth of Jesus. Some in Satan’s corner don’t even want the colors green and red displayed because it may remind some of that dreadful event called Christmas.
People don’t fear a generic god or even a blatantly evil one like Allah who motivates his disciples to behead those who would disagree with them. Allah’s disciples killed more than 3000 people in America 9/11/91 and yet the major media organizations, the ACLU, and even our lawmakers show more fear of Jesus, but unfortunately not a respectful fear of our Lord.
What holiday? What or who are we celebrating in December? It is so sad that the One who is most rejected is the only One who can bring eternal salvation.
“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him
a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” Philippians 2:8-10
Merry Christmas and bless His Holy Name
12/20/07 9:09 p.m.
Ignorance is BlissIgnorance seems to be my theme for the month. It seems everyday there are more reminders.
When I was in high school my English teacher often gave verbal quizzes. (Background: to give you an idea how old this never-been-married woman was, my dad was 32 years older than me and she was also his English teacher in high school.) And, after someone gave her an answer she would proceed to ask others, perhaps the entire class if they agreed with the answer of the first target/victim. It seemed a little safer to agree. In the mean time no one had the foggiest notion. She would then say “Ignorance is bliss.” We still didn’t have the foggiest notion.
Finally one day after such an around-the-room quiz, Phyllis who sat to my right, leaned over to me and asked, “What is bliss?” You guessed it, I didn’t have the foggiest! Finally someone looked it up in the dictionary. I know, I know, you are wondering who in our class was smart enough to use a dictionary. As I remember it, we barely got it after learning the definition of bliss; actually I guess the reality of knowing the teacher had said we were happy being ignorant didn’t really make any of us happy. Neither do I recall being motivated to really dive into English literature and risk being well informed but unhappy. English lit; ignorance is bliss seemed OK with me.
This blog has already about reached its limit as to length and I haven’t gotten passed my own ignorance to my rant about ignorance throughout the rest of America, so I’ll add another important bit of information. The most recent book I read is titled “Legally Stupid, Why Johnny doesn’t have to Read” by R. C. Murray. You can learn more from his web site www.voicefromthepews.com .
I highly recommend Murray’s book for anyone, especially Christians, who have any interest in the education of our children. He provides extensive historical information about public schools, the men who started them, and then clearly illustrates the consequences of failing to train children using biblical principles. Murray, a former high school English teacher, relates to the reader his personal experiences which clearly prove his points about our bankrupt public schools.
When I was in high school ignorance was bliss. Murray says of today’s students,
“Willingly ignorant = dumb on purpose = stupid”
I sure hope you learned something after reading this blog, otherwise .....
12/18/07 8:21 p.m.
Did I Say Something about Pinheads?More on the Coach Rod story. At least two big donors to WVU had a few choice words.
Some football boosters told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that WVU mishandled its dealings with Rodriguez and now stands to lose millions in bowl revenues and donations.
Bob Reynolds, former chief operating officer of Fidelity Investments, told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, “I’ve been in business 36 years, and it’s the worst business decision I’ve ever seen,” Reynolds was supposedly talking about WVU officials refusing to give Coach Rod any additional perks following his talk with Michigan.
Reynolds went on to say, “I’ve been the CEO of a 45,000-person company. When somebody’s producing, you ask, ’What can I do for you to make your life better?’ Not ’What can I do to make your life more miserable?’ They have no idea how big this is.”
Earl G. “Ken” Kendrick Jr., a part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a stakeholder in the Phoenix Suns and a longtime benefactor to the WVU College of Business and Economics, told the Post-Gazette he was disappointed in the lack of judgment and respect for a key employee. Kendrick, in school when I was there, made a bundle of the green in the software industry, and has donated six-figure sums to the business school and the athletic department.
Is this stuff rich or what? The men out there making the wheels turn in business are implying there are pinheads operating the university.
Of course some lawyer for WVU said donors couldn’t run the university. If that is true I would like to know how Jay Rockefeller became governor and then U.S. Senator from WV. What does he have in common with a WV coal miner, logger, chemical plant worker or farmer? Jay Rockie did spread thousands and thousands of dollars to many colleges in the state before he started running for political office.
Donors may not run a university, but they can decide what to do with their own money. I have a recommendation, Patrick Henry College, in Purceville, VA. PHC is operated by Christians and they take NO government funds. They don’t even allow the government Pell grants to be part of students’ funding. No, they don’t have a football program yet. It's a young school; first and ten.
12/18/07 7:25 p.m.
WVU Football Coach FootnoteI have already started at least three blog posts saying I am not a football fan. I do like college basketball, and am certain of one thing concerning college sports; it’s all about the coach. Sure it takes good players, but the coach is always the key. Always!
Having said that, it is obvious to me that the recent WVU football success was because of Coach Rich Rodrigues. In this post I am giving Rod the benefit of the doubt.
I spent 20 years on college campuses, was paid less than 1.5 million dollars and had practically no pressure from the sports world. I did have a couple football players in my classes. One was absolutely outstanding (of course I can’t recall his name) and the other was OK, but I didn’t like his attempt to get special favor because he was a punter for the football team. In fact, he came close to punting my course. I don’t remember his name either.
My memory a problem? It doesn’t help any that the school changed its name a few years after I left. I am way off topic here.
There are a lot of pinheads on college campuses (or is it campi?). Since Coach Rod said it wasn’t money and he had just completed an outstanding season, except for the loss to Pitt, I am wondering if Rod might have been a good ole boy treated badly. Maybe it was someone besides the coach who didn’t keep their word. Just wondering.
12/17/07 7:40 p.m.
Money Was Not an Issue Says Football CoachAs I have said before, I am not a football fan, BUT I have a few comments anyway. WVU lost football coach Rich Rodriguez to Michigan today and Rod said money was not an issue. Rodriguez was born and raised in West Virginia, played ball at WVU, and for the past seven years had a lot of success coaching at WVU. The team was on the verge of winning the national championship until they blew, literally blew their game with Pitt.
He made good money, as we say, coaching at WVU; he built a national reputation coaching in his home state at his alma mater, all of which begs the questions from West Virginia natives regardless of whether or not we like football, “What was it coach, that attracted you to Michigan?"
If you are not native to WV you can’t understand how we take this type thing as an insult. The Governor of WV, Joe Manchin, did not use the word insult, but rather succinctly stated it this way,
"I have known Rich for most of his life, from a boy whose only wish was to play football at WVU to a young man whose only wish was to coach at WVU," Manchin said in a statement. "Something is wrong with the profession of college coaching today when a leader's word is no longer his bond."
Coach Rod had broken the contract and the Governor made a good point about a leader’s word no longer being his bond. Thanks Gov for speaking your mind.
12/16/07 9:56 p.m.
Ignorance is StrengthGeorge Orwell’s book 1984 describes “Ignorance is Strength” as one of three Party slogans. I assume the elite become strengthened when the vast majority of people are ignorant.
This whole topic of ignorance has bothered me a lot lately because I know we have two to three generations of people in America who are basically ignorant. I don’t mean that they are ignorant of everything, just everything of importance.
The two areas of most concern to me is that people are ignorant of the Scriptures (even many who are church-goers), and we are VERY ignorant of history. We are ignorant of American history, we are ignorant of world history, and Christians are ignorant of Church history. Public schools cannot be blamed for the lack of knowledge about Christian history. Christians are responsible.
American history might be a responsibility of public schools until you learn about the history of public schools themselves. They were started by some men who hated God and wanted to remove the Christian influence in training children. We have heard a lot in recent years about history revisionists. History is being re-written by people who hate America and people who hate God.
George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949. I first read it in 1960 while a freshmen in college. I am reading it again now and recommend to you to perhaps read it for the first time. The accuracy of these dreaded predictions is almost breath-taking. The controlling government called the Party believed “He who controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future conquers the past.”
Does America have an ignorant population headed in the wrong direction because they don’t know the truth about the past? Do they follow false religions such as earth worship including protecting tiny bugs while killing tiny babies, and join crusades to keep the planet from getting too warm by changing their light bulbs?
Truth may be difficult to find, but it never changes. Sinful people will go to great lengths to hide and/or ignore the truth. Our young people need the truth, and parents and church leaders should be doing all they can to expose the truth. Remember Jesus is the Truth, and He is not allowed in public schools. Hint, hint.
12/13/07 8:03 p.m.
Ready FreddyFred Thompson is the man of the week. In my last post I had noted that Fred was the only one of several candidates to give a correct global warming answer.
The very next day in a debate in Iowa the moderator, a lady reporter, asked the group of candidates to raise their hands if they thought global warming was a critical problem. As some of the candidates began to raise their hand Freddy boy blurted out saying he wasn’t doing any hand-raising. The moderator tried to brow beat Fred into giving a yes or no answer.
He then asks, “Will you give me a minute to answer.”
She said, “No.”
“Well then I’m not going to answer.”
Freddy was ready for an answer to this starchy moderator and he was ready for Katie Couric on the CBS news the day before. He was ready with an answer; he didn’t have to put his PC antennas up and answer accordingly. America will back a candidate that says what he believes without hesitation. I’m not sure many of the front running candidates fit that mold. Fred may be the only one.
12/12/07 9:24 p.m.
Slobbering, Pandering Politicians.Acting against my better judgment I watched part of CBS Evening News last night and saw a segment where Katie Couric asked each of about eight presidential candidates the same question.
The question was, “Do you think global warming has been over-hyped? Only Fred Thomson gave an accurate and sensible answer. All the other Republican candidates, plus all Democrat candidates gave about the same response you would expect from slobbering, pandering-to-the-Al Gore-Lemmings. Frankly, it is disgusting that grown people would latch on to something as mythical as man-made global warming. And, to think one of them is likely to be our next president. Yikes!
Or perhaps they were anticipating defeat and are simply looking forward to producing a documentary that may help them win a Nobel Peace Price. Perhaps the topic could be Global Cooling, The Sky is Falling, or The Dangers of Breathing Oxygen.
12/11/07 7:26 p.m.
In Tastes a Lot Like Chicken but Fails the Smell Test.In 2005 Tyson Foods (mainly chicken), headquartered in Arkansas employed 40,000 Latinos which represented 36% of all the employees they had. This information was revealed by CEO John Tyson, at a noon luncheon of the League of United Latin American Citizens, during its 76th annual convention in Little Rock. It was part of a love fest that John Tyson and Governor Mike Huckabee had when both spoke at that particular event.
Of course Huck has a record of putting out the red carpet for all things to promote more illegals coming into the U.S. He even gave a sweetheart deal to Mexican officials (one dollar per year for rent) to provide office space in Little Rock to help with the influx of Mexicans moving to Arkansas.
I guess you could say it tastes like Tyson chicken, but it sure doesn’t pass the smell test.
12/10/07 9:06 p.m.
Obama Gives Black PitchThis is the second time in one day that I have had to deal with the stupid racial things in our society. In my last post I was disturbed that I was ask what race I was on a government form, as if it should matter.
Later today I heard an audio sound bite from presidential candidate Barack Obama while he was campaigning in S.C. with the aid of Oprah Winfrey. First of all both of these people seem to have a black chip on their shoulder. That is unfortunate in both cases, because they are very capable people and don’t need to use their black skin color as a crutch. Obama’s remarks were stupid.
What I heard was his remarks about dogs and fire hoses referring to events more than 50 years ago. I despise race baiters who continue to appeal to people’s emotions about how bad things were with slavery of their great grand parents or some racial incidents that occurred five decades ago.
Why doesn’t Obama speak to the current issue of children born out of wedlock among blacks since it is so much greater than that of whites. It is a real problem needing real leadership especially among men of all races.
The truth is that Obama much like most socialists enjoys having people who look to the nanny government to provide for their needs, and the elected politician is the ticket to forced redistribute wealth.
12/10/07 11:10 a.m.
Racial DumbnessThis morning as I was completing a Grand Juror qualification questionnaire for the county of Monroe I came to question #13 that ask me to check a box indicating my race/ethnicity. I had six choices, but I despise such questions and was not going to check any of the boxes. Then I noticed the following in fine print below the question:
“West Virginia law requires you to identify yourself by race to ensure there will be no discrimination in jury selection and that it will be conducted entirely at random. This item is included only to satisfy legal requirements.”
Okay already, I don’t want to break the law so I checked “White.”
Tell me how we are assured that we are not chosen because of our race, if in fact, they demand that we state our race?
I couldn’t resist; I added a note that said, “If I don’t put my race, then there can be no discrimination.”
12/10/07 7:55 a.m.
A Clear Message from the Bird FeederA few days ago I filled the bird feeder next to our house. We saw no birds visit for the first two days; then one by one they came. After another two days there were flocks of birds.
Glenda and I like the birds, but should they begin to make too big a mess, the solution is simple; put no more feed out for them.
Illegal immigrants are beginning to overrun our country with many devastating effects. Remove their incentives and they will quit coming. Politicians at all levels and employers who want the cheaper labor are the primary offenders, and you are paying for the bird seed ...and the mess. Currently, it costs U.S. citizens about $2700 more per illegal than they contribute.
12/09/07 7:07 p.m.
Does All Knowledge Have Equal Weight?One of the lies that has crept into our society is that all opinions are equal. It would be foolish for me to go to my auto mechanic to ask his opinion about whether or not I should have brain surgery because of my headaches, unless he had a medical degree and did brain surgery when he wasn’t fixing autos.
All opinions are not equal. All knowledgeable people are not equal either.
Look at this verse:
Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version) 18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The Amplified Bible says,18Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.
The NIV,18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.
The brain surgeon’s medical training does not prepare him to give the engine a tune-up in my pickup truck. Man’s vision does not prepare him for success unless the vision is by revelation from God.
Keeping God’s law is paramount. We do not have to have some revelation to read God’s Law even though we do need spiritual discernment. This lack of discernment is what make’s unsaved men look foolish when they try to tell you what Jesus would do, or the old “God-loves-everyone, and-would-not allow….” argument.
One of the primary objectives for starting Harvard University, the Ivy League’s oldest school, was to train men who could go train people how to read the Bible. Most all early colleges were started by Christians. We obviously do not have that kind of environment now … will we perish as a nation?
Do you have a vision to train our young people God’s Law? I’m not talking about a Sunday School class one hour per week. It is past time, but not too late, to take the kids out of public schools and into homes and private Christian schools so these young minds can learn to follow God's Law.
12/08/07 8:27 p.m.
Discipline and Wicked RulersI looked at the three verses in Proverbs shown below and saw something new. Of course God’s Word is eternal and we are likely to see things different as we re-read Scripture. The first of the three verses is quite familiar to a lot of people.
Proverbs 29:15-17 (New International Version) 15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom,
but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
16 When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
but the righteous will see their downfall.
17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace;
he will bring delight to your soul.
Notice that verses 15 and 17 both tell us of the importance of raising children and the consequences. Correction with the rod can impart wisdom and the disciplined son will give you peace and he will bring delight to your soul. Fail to do so and the child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Why does that verse in the middle say that sin prevails when the wicked thrive?
This is what the
Message version says for vs 16;
16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,
but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.
The KJV:16When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
The Amplified Bible:16When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall see the fall of the wicked.
Do all these translate into “When the people who rule (government officials in legislative, judicial, and legislative branches, educrates, etc.) are wicked, then sinfulness increases? Does it mean sinfulness increases if sinful people are in charge?
But how about the last part, the righteous shall see the fall of the wicked? YES!
Is it significant that these three are together with discipline of your children serving as bookends to wickedness in the land caused by wicked rulers.Personally I take it to mean training your children properly in perilous times is more important than ever.
12/08/07 7:50 p.m.
Huckabee Got that One RightThis is a statement written by Mike Huckabee in 1992.
“I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk.”
Huckabee completed an Associated Press survey when he ran for the Senate in 1992. The survey included 229 questions and someone brought to light some of the questions and Hubckabee’s answers with an obvious attempt to make him look bad.
The PC crowd will jump all over such answers but the one response I have shown here is about as true as it gets.
We are living in la la land, and in denial, because we are not truthful about homosexuality. It is as Huckabee said, aberrant, unnatural, sinful, and a dangerous public health risk.
Practicing homosexual men die 30 years earlier than heterosexual men … and we worry about the dangers of second-hand smoke and global warming.
Didn’t I just write something a few days ago about Liars and Dummies?
12/08/07 11:41 a.m.
Faith, an Overused and Misleading Term Faith has too many different applications to have any real meaning. Faith in one’s own self is humanism as opposed to faith in God, and faith in God has a very different meaning for Christians as contrasted with Muslims. While Muslims claim their god Allah is the God of Abraham, Jews and Bible believing Christians would strongly disagree.
For the great unwashed who don’t know the difference between Baptists and Mormons, or the difference between Catholics and Protestants, or even the difference between Presbyterians, USA and Presbyterians, PCA it means little to make generalities about faith.
Mitt Romney, presidential candidate gave a speech this week specifically talking about his political and religious beliefs. It was a nice sounding speech to some who have very little knowledge about the Mormon faith, or the Christian faith for that matter.
It doesn’t matter than Mormonism has Jesus Christ in its name (Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints). What is important, is what they believe. Without going into a lot of detail about the many things wrong with the LDS, they have their on book, the Book of Mormons. That is not the same as the Christian Bible. That is a big, big problem! A second point is that Mormons have a lot of secrets, things they don’t want you to know until you have been brought into the group. Then there is the issue that man can become a god. Lets be direct here; that kind of nonsense has been here since Satan lied to Eve. Mormons have long been considered a cult, but the fact is that most Americans don’t know the difference between one faith and another.
And, any political candidate who tells you he separates his politics from his faith is lying, or doesn’t have much conviction about either. Either way we loose.
12/06/07. 2:52 p.m.
Nix or Fix Farm SubsidiesJane Chastain had a column in WorldNetDaily today (12/06/07) that was titled “Nix Farm Subsidies – and those who support them”
Much of what she wrote is accurate, but her suggestion that the USDA be eliminated is overkill. Yes, too much of the subsidies are given to large commercial farms; but some restructuring may be more appropriate.
She wrote that farm subsidies cost Americans $25 billion in taxes each year and another $12 billion in higher food prices. The combined $37 billion divided among 300 million people at thee meals per day is 11 cents per meal, which is hardly a huge cost. The fact is Americans have spent less per capita for food than any nation in the world for many decades as a percentage of total income. Another nation is not even close.
I am reminded of a bumper sticker I saw about 30 years ago - "Don't complain about food prices with your mouth full."
The government school lunch program which is a part of the USDA costs more than $8 billion per year. Personally, I don't think taxpayers should pay for anyone's lunch. At any rate the amount spent for school lunches is a large chuck of money from the USDA funds, this implicates the farmer is at falt.
Just because we have cheap food doesn't mean we should be wasteful, but the USDA does have some value because much of America's success has been made possible by programs in this department. I'm sure it is severely bloated like most every government program.
Family farms are very important in this country. Farmers are the ultimate environmentalists. Farmers, regardless of age are always looking to the future particularly with their conservation practices. Part of my farm is timber. I am presently harvesting hardwood trees that are 18 inches in diameter and larger, leaving the smaller for the future. At 66 years of age, that future doesn't include me. Hardwoods can only be harvested once in one's lifetime, or about every 50 - 60 years. My dad owned the land before I did. He harvested only once in his 86 years. I farmed here 25 years before I harvested any timber. My logger told me yesterday that the Red Oak trees on my property would have sold for about 3-4 times the current price had I harvest them five years ago. Too bad, I have to take the price at the going market. (and that's fine with me)
The point is, farming as a business is not like a hardware store, so to equate a farm business to any other small business is not legitimate. For the greater good of the American public, it is advisable to encourage the type of conservation that farm families are already doing voluntary. It may be as simple as a tax break, or it might be some subsidy.
For those of us who have an understanding of conservation on the family farm who have also been to Third World countries like Nicaragua and Honduras, as I have, and observed the results of the wide spread rape of natural resources, especially timber, without proper conservation know why America is so blessed. Our Christian heritage is the main reason and proper management of our agricultural resources is another. The USDA and the Land Grant colleges are largely responsible for much of the teaching and research that has shown the farmer how to properly preserve what God has place in his hands.
12/05/07. 8:00 a.m.
First Snow Our first snow of the season is coming down right now with about a half inch accumulated. That means I need to get out a little earlier to check on the sheep. It’s a pretty snow just so long as it doesn’t get pretty deep.
12/04/07. 7:58 a.m.
Republicans and Democrats, Are They Different?Politics in America is much like the “good cop/bad cop” senerio. The bad cop is bad to the supposed lawbreaker threatening him unmercifully until the good cop comes to the rescue and offers a better deal.
Democrats were the bad for 40 years which gave the Republicans a chance to look good with their talk about the horrors of big government spending of a Democrat controlled congress. Once the “good guy” Republican gained control of Congress and the White House they failed to put their money where there mouth was. It’s a good chance they put more of your money in their own pocket. What we do know is that Republicans spent much more money that Democrats. Good cop gone bad?
Nothing like a little Jesus talk to get George W. Bush elected. Have there been less abortions because Bush took residence in the White House?
Is a wide open border with Mexico in the best interest of America? Do Democrats and Republicans differ on this issue? No. Listen to the presidential candidates talk about the illegal immigration issue. Some people say that the way you know a politician is lying is to watch to see if his lips move, implying that any time he talks he is lying. An equally good way is to watch them when asked a simple yes/no question like, “Do you think illegal aliens should have drivers license?” or “Do you think the children of illegal immigrants should be granted in-state tuition?” I love to watch politicians on these type questions. The second they hesitate, you know a lie will follow.
I plan to vote in the next election, but I have little confidence that it will matter in the long run which political group wins. Remember, to the victor goes the spoils.
12/03/07. 7:57 a.m.
God Not Big Enough?One of my pet peeves is that we Christians often confine God to a small box while we are on the outside of the box with our man induced attempts to problem-solve.
Rick Warren has been in the news a lot lately because of a Global AIDS conference being held in his church. It seems as though a lot of Warren’s activity in recent years involves linking up with sinners to solve the problems of men. We are talking about people such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and usually homosexual activists at these AIDS meetings.
According to Warren the expensive medications to treat AIDS should be paid by taxpayers. Benevolence from the church could not pay for AIDS treatment. His words were, "The church is never going to have that. Churches are poor around the world. But they have the people."
In my blog post a few days ago I criticized presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for his socialist ideas. He, like Warren, is a Baptist preacher and one who thinks government is the entity that should pay for the social needs in society. Warren is not a presidential candidate, but he is one of the most influential pastors in America. It is just sad to see high profile Christians who are such advocates for having government do the jobs for which Christians are responsible.
So what ever happened to caring for widows and orphans? Why do we think “training up a child in the way he should go” is a duty of government? It makes me cringe every time I hear a preacher say it cost too much to have a Christian school. My question is, “Are you saying God is not big enough.”
12/02/07
The Bad and the Good: Don’t Ignore EitherI’m not a football fan, but this is too bad to ignore. Last night I listened on radio to most of a game between WVU and Pittsburg. WVU was a four touchdown favorite and I’ll have to say I have never heard or watched any team play as flat. You know how the medical people hook up the patient to measure heart beat and should the monitor go flat-line you know the patient is dead. That was it. WVU football flat-lined big time, thereby voiding a chance at a championship match up. Read my 11/27/07 entry to get up to speed.
I graduated from WVU, but since I am not a football fan I’ll just say, “Hey, it’s just a game.” I like to be part of a winning situation, everyone is that way, but I am reminded of something my late father-in-law said more than 30 years ago. He was a good Christian man who was very concerned for the lost, and very concerned for the condition of America, as he saw it. He told me that day, “You know, the Communists will take over this country one day and we won’t even realize it happened because so many will be sitting in football stadiums watching a game.
Dwayne Martin’s prophetic statement was truer than we would like to believe. However, if we analyze what has happened in our country with the help of the ACLU (American Communist Lawyers Union), liberal judges, elected lawmakers, the National Education Association it is easy to see that we have been taken over by Communists.
None dare call it that, but that is exactly where we are. Just how much of your life is not controlled by government through taxation, education/propaganda in public schools, the amount of water per flush down the toilet, your right to discriminate against homosexuals when you hire someone to teach your children, and the rights of organizations like the Boy Scouts to honor God as a part of their creed. If it is not communism, what do you call it … freedom?
I’m a Jesus fan, and that is too good to ignore. The Bible says life is like a vapor, gone in a moment soon after it appeared. Football, what is that? It is merely a fraction of the vapor. Games are great, but let’s put things in proper perspective.
12/01/07
Public School Nightmares ContinuePractically every speaker predicted that it is a matter of when, not if, public schools will implode, collapse, become totally irrelevant, and loose public tax support.
Three years ago I attending a conference in Washington, D.C. attended by people who believe we should get our children out of public schools. Most, but not all who attended, were Christians. Few of the speakers would have heard the presentations of all others, so it was obvious to me that each speaker arrived at his conclusion independently.
Getting kids out of school should not be the main objective; following God’s instruction as shown in the Bible is sufficient reason to homeschool or send children to a private Christian school.
However, for those who are not convinced, just stay tuned to the news. One hellish thing after another about public schools seems to hit the news every few days. One of the latest was a report about a school in Iowa (good ole conservative mid-west) that had a gender bender day where students cross-dressed. Is it just me and a few others, or is the silent majority wondering when all this gender identity, homosexual, transgender, you-name-it perversion stuff will stop? Or, at least lighten up so normal people can take a deep breath.
As a percentage of the profession, which group of people sends more of their children to private schools? Public school teachers do, that’s who. Can we get a clue here? If public school teachers see a problem with state run schools, then perhaps we have a problem. In fact among the many tell-all books by former teachers is one recently released called “Legally Stupid: Why Johnny doesn’t have to read” by R.C. Murray.” Check it out.
The decision to homeschool can be a quick one for parents because the transition can be completed quickly. If you wait until someone starts a Christian school nearby, then it might take a while. At any rate, Christians need to be clear about what God says. Hint: he does not say anything about Caesar training our children.
11/30/07. 7:38 a.m.
Big Government Christian – An OxymoronI would like to see a Christian elected to the office of president of the United States, but being Christian is not the sole qualifier. Besides, anytime I hear about a candidate that is Christian I get flash-backs of Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Bible-waving Bill Clinton on the steps of a church building. Enter Mike Huckabee as a candidate for 2008.
First of all, I don’t like to hear what candidates have to say. I would much rather learn what they said and did BEFORE they became a candidate. I’m sorry, but I don’t care for those who become reformed, change their minds, and consider new information AFTER they decide to run. Oh, it’s fine to reform, but do it before becoming a candidate.
A five minute Internet search can give you a lot of red meat about most any candidate. Huckabee doesn’t look so good on the issues of illegal immigration and limited government. In fact, he looks terrible. He seems to be a solid socialist. A preacher that is a socialist is worse. Why? Socialists want to redistribute the wealth by taxation. Christians who wish to see help go to the needy should just dig down in their own pockets and pull out the green to give to the poor.
On one occasion as Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee called a bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Holt that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life. Pretty obvious … Huckabee is the type who likes to redistribute wealth via tax dollars.
If Huckabee is really so full of compassion, then he should go back to the pulpit, use the Bible as his guide and motivate his congregation to give generously to those in need. That’s the Christian way, and it has been the American way since this country was birthed.
11/29/07. 7:55 a.m.
No Child Left Behind: Correction, Most
U.S. Public School Children Left BehindU. S. Public School students do poorly again when compared to other countries according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007.
We have yet another study that has shown how students in America’s state-run schools are falling behind other countries. Among 60 countries we rank poorly in math and science. In general, we loose ranking as students matriculate through their schooling. At fourth grade level we do reasonably well, we begin to lag quite a bit by grade eight, are doing very poorly by the senior year in high school.
More money is needed to catch up, right? Well, that seems to be the song we usually hear from apologist for public schools. Sorry, the data doesn’t show that to be true, but then who is left to analyze data after being dumbed-down in America’s public school classrooms?
11/28/07 7:45 a.m.
Hill and Hillary, the Worst in Religion and PoliticsHill Flyr, a woman who is associate pastor of Grace United Methodist church in Des Moines, IA and Hilliary Clinton showed the worst in religion and politics last Sunday. Hillary, of course, was campaigning in Iowa and chose Grace UMC to attend on Sunday. Isn't Hillary part of the crowd that is always screeming about separation of church and state?
I'll spare you the details of the unison prayer in the church, but in short it spoke to "God of Empowerment" to help us give children faith, hope, health care and education.
Then, Rev. Hill Flyr spoke about poverty (35% of Iowa kids) and lack of health care for 45,000 Iowa children. She said we should be outraged about the situation and said the government should spend more money on health care and education.
Typical liberal-speak. Johnny has no lunch, give him yours, and redistribute wealth every chance you get. The church, among all institutions should be the last to ask the government to help the needy; that is a responsibility of the church, not the government.
Hillary went pandering to church-goes (I didn't say Christians) and the liberal leader in the congregation delivered the political sound bites. Shame on both of them.
11/27/07 7:50 a.m.
Yea, Monroe County and West Virginia University FootballI am not a football fan, but this cannot be ignored. This next Friday James Monroe High School, the only high school in Monroe County, will play Bluefield for the state AA championship. Yes, many here in my home county are preparing to attend the game in Wheeling and many more will cheering from their homes.
BUT, the really big news is that West Virginia University's football team is ranked number one in at least one national (coaches) poll. AND, they will likely play either Missouri(I lived in MO for 11 years) or Ohio State for the national title. Here is our cheer.
Lets goooooo Mountaineers.
There is one little sticky problem, WVU has one more game in the regular season with long time rival Pitt (only 90 miles from Morgantown). We call it the backyard brawl. Here is our cheer.
Under the arm ... PITT!
11/26/07. 4:48 p.m. Change in Posting.
Under the heading "Sheepherder Blog" I will post short entries. While some will be about national and internation events, I will also include tid bits about activities locally, and some information about the farm/Psalm 23 Camp.
11/26/07 A.M. Trent Lott to ResignGood Job Trent.
I mean you did a great job saying you will resign.
While I disagree with the whipping Lott received for his comments at a Strom Thurman birthday party a few years ago, Lott just seemed to be a whimp in the Senate.
We need men of honor in Congress who can fight for the good of America.
