Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Ahhhhh…The lazy, hazy days of Summer.  Americans…we surely do love our pastimes.  Summer evokes pleasant memories of vacations, leisure, BBQ’s, reading a book on the beach and long snoozes in a hammock--Or, perhaps watching the All-American game of baseball.  It’s a time when we really relax and let our guard down.   

My spouse likes to tease me that my tombstone will probably read “Do Something!”  I am one of those “Type-A” persons that cannot stand passivity or inactivity.  Both my parents are super energetic so I guess I inherited the hyperactivity gene times two.

While I enjoy a relaxing vacation just like the next person, I am frustrated by the apathy and inactivity pandemic nowadays.  When I look at modern day Americans, it’s difficult to envision how our forefathers conquered the West or successfully prevailed under the severe challenges of previous generations, which included two World Wars.  I’m not sure an American these days can even make it through a week without their Starbucks (me included!).  Sometimes, I feel like yelling WAKE UP with a megaphone to the somnambulistic public shuffling around in a dazed and glazed techno-stupor.    

So, what’s the big deal?  The new American battle cry is “Whatever”--Yet, this is a very careless and dangerous philosophy.  The majority of Americans do not closely follow politics, major global conflicts, or radical social changes with slightly more than a disinterested glance.  However, we definitely will know who won the World Series or American Idol.  We even know what our third cousin Carol is doing, thanks to FaceBook.  I honestly believe our American comforts have actually become somewhat of a curse to us.  We no longer have to worry about food, shelter, water or any or the challenges that plagued previous Americans.  We have so many “safety nets” that we have become flaccid, lazy and lethargic in more ways than just physically.  Perhaps our current American obesity problem is just a physical manifestation of what is already in our national souls—selfish consumption of everything in massive quantities regardless of the personal and cultural damage.

Why is this?  Are we blissfully ignorant? Are we slothful or just complacent?  Or do we just have an unrealistic confidence in our government to somehow muddle through and eventually do the right thing?  Don’t we have the ability to study history and see how badly this type of apathy has turned out before?  I’m not sure I have an answer to these questions—but one thing is for sure:

  This Summer Americans are about to get blindsided by a curveball.

There are several completely disturbing, sovereignty-destroying UN Treaties that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is considering over the summer. The Chairman of this committee is the ultra-liberal John Kerry who has vowed to get them out on the Senate floor for voting very soon. They are:

·                     The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOST Treaty)

·                     The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT Treaty)

·                     The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC Treaty)

·                     The UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Shockingly, the Senate is now possibly on the verge of ratifying the United Nations “LOST” Treaty which stands for “Law of the Sea Treaty”.  This treaty basically hands over 70% of global waterways to UN control. It replaces our current U.S. Philosophy which has historically been a “Freedom of the Seas” concept.  It also brings our national claim of waterways ownership down from 200 nautical miles off our coastline to just 12 nautical miles from our coastline.

 

(Blogger Footnote:  Does ANYONE out there find the acronym L.O.S.T for this treaty the slightest bit disturbing????).

Now, doesn’t that sound INCREDIBLY ALARMING for the U.S. to give up sovereign control over that much of our coastal areas?  Yeah, yeah…wake me up when this boring Political Science lesson is over. 

Let me make this very simple for you.  The way it works in our country—for those of us who are too busy checking FaceBook and watching Snookie—is first the President negotiates the Treaty.  Then it has to be ratified by 2/3^rd’s of the Senate.  The House of Representatives is not involved in the process of ratifying treaties.  Simply the President, then the Senate are involved—both controlled right now by the “oh so awake” Democrats.

Hmmmm….this treaty from the UN has been around since 1982.  Why didn’t Reagan approve this treaty? President Reagan wisely said:  

"no national interest of ours could justify handing sovereign control of two-thirds of the Earth's surface over to the Third World."

However, fast forward to 2010--President Obama has agreed to the Treaty and, by one of his now infamous “Executive Orders”, imposed his own personal will upon our land once again:

Obama Places U.S. Under UN's LOST Treaty with Executive Order for "National Council Of Oceans"
 July 30, 2010 | Cassandra Anderson

Thirty states will be encroached upon by Obama's Executive Order establishing the National Ocean Council for control over America's oceans, coastlines and the Great Lakes. Under this new council, states' coastal jurisdictions will be subject to the United Nations' Law Of Sea Treaty (LOST) in this UN Agenda 21 program. America's oceans and coastlines will be broken into 9 regions that include the North East, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, the Gulf Coast, West Coast, the Great Lakes, Alaska, the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii) and the Caribbean....

This was such a snoozer in the news, I bet you never even heard of it.  You may take notice of it again soon once the Democratic Senate ratifies the treaty (which it is on the verge of possibly doing any day now). 

In Dick Morris’ new bestseller “Screwed!” he states:

LOST requires that the United States pay an international body half of its royalties from offshore drilling. The body would then distribute the funds as it sees fit to whichever nations it chooses. The United States would only have one vote out of 160 regarding where the money goes. LOST will also oblige us to hand over our offshore drilling technology to any nation that wants it … for free.

Doesn’t it make you oh-so-comfortable to know our enemies can be just 12 nautical miles off of our coastline and enjoy International UN support?  That they also get to keep the profits from our natural resources?  Do you, like me, live in a coastal State?  Hello...are you still asleep?   

The next up at bat is the The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).  The ATT Treaty restricts small gun sales and is considered by many as a “back door” attempt to decimate our 2^nd Amendment Constitutional right to bear arms.  As for this Treaty, President Obama openly promised his left-wing supporters that he was working on controlling guns “under the radar” in 2011.  This was public information, duly quoted in our American free press, yet no one cared to investigate what he may have meant. One big YAAAWWWNNN….  Too many guns in America anyway…”Whatever”. 

Last, but definitely not least we have: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as CROC) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (abbreviated CRPD).    

Can anyone tell me what’s up with these horrifying acronyms???  Yes…CROC, that’s right as in “What a CROC!”  Let me offer my own acronym definition on the CRPD Treaty—CREEPED—as in we are totally CREEPED out by these treaties!  I don’t know if this is some sort of a private joke between the U.N. and Obama, but we GET THE JOKE.  The joke is on us.  These two treaties elevate governmental rights over your parental rights. If the government feels that you are not doing what is in the best interests of your child, they can step in and do it for you. Spanking is specifically mentioned as prohibited.  Homeschooling is mentioned in the CREEPY treaty as up to the review of the government, depending on the needs of your child.  These treaties are way too lengthy for me to get into every detail, but I urge you to go on the Internet NOW and read them.  I promise you will be upset and disturbed.  You need to contact your Senator NOW, NOW, NOW!  Adolf Hitler said—“He alone who owns the youth, gains the future.” Did someone just say Adolf Hitler?  I must be having a bad nightmare or something.       

STRIKE ONE:  So now this President has successfully attacked our 1^st Amendment rights.  Our Freedom of Religion has literally been assaulted with the ObamaTax HHS mandate enforcing that Americans provide abortifacients to their employees.  Since ObamaTax has been upheld by the highest court of our land, this WILL be fully implemented in January 2014 unless we take a new direction in November or a different lawsuit challenge prevails.  To me, this is the moral equivalent of being required by the Nazi government to place people in the oven.  Obama has given those of us with more “tender consciences” a slight “accommodation”.  It is so nuanced, I still don’t understand it.  I think he means, we won’t actually have to turn on the gas—this will still be the government’s job.  Phew…for a minute there, I thought he was actually forcing us to commit murder!  Glad we got that straightened out.  Going back to sleep now.       

STRIKE TWO:  Now the current administration has moved on to our 2^nd Amendment rights—restricting sales of small guns and bowing down to a global entity that could care less about your American birthright or freedoms.  Our parental rights and our rights to defend ourselves are being stripped out from under us in front of our very eyes.  Are we starting to wake up yet?

OK, OK—so what’s a few Constitutional Rights amongst friends, right?  Hmmmm…Just for fun I wonder what the 3^rd Amendment to the Constitution is?  Brace yourself.  And, here’s the wind-up, here’s the pitch: (from Wikipedia):

At the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention, when debating the ratification of the new United States Constitution, Patrick Henry stated, "One of our first complaints, under the former government, was the quartering of troops among us. This was one of the principal reasons for dissolving the connection with Great Britain. Here we may have troops in time of peace. They may be billeted in any manner — to tyrannize, oppress, and crush us."

The 3^rd Amendment to the Constitution is an integral portion of our “Bill of Rights”—restricting oppressive and tyrannical control of the American people by prohibiting a police arm of the government from setting up quarters on your front lawn.  It is closely aligned with the 4^th Amendment which prohibits illegal searches and seizures.  Both of these Amendments protect Americans IN THE SANCTITY OF THEIR HOMES.   

Now seriously, you might ask…just exactly what am I saying?  Do I think that our 3^rd and 4^th Constitutional rights are next?  At this point you may be thinking I’ve been reading one too many summer-time fiction novels.  Well…Let me enlighten you.  We are only ONE major terrorist attack away from this actuality.  JUST ONE.  That’s all it will take for justification of a police state.  President Obama recently closed four more border stations right on the heels of relaxing our immigration enforcement laws.  Undercover CIA agents state that terrorists “come and go” with frightening regularity in our open American society.  WHEN, not IF, the next major terrorist attack occurs, Americans will give up their God-ordained and Constitutionally enshrined rights for a bowl of martial order porridge. Are you fully awake yet?    

Or will Americans finally WAKE UP when there is a gun pointed at our heads and the militia forcibly removes the Starbucks cup from our cold, dead hands?—right as we snooze on our living room couches.  Unlike the loss of Religious Freedoms, loss of our Constitutional gun rights and stripping of our Parental rights—THIS may actually cause some outrage!  Don’t you DARE touch our American comforts! 

STRIKE THREE…..

The “Supreme Umpire” makes the All-American call:

YOU”RE OUT!

We are rudely jerked awake out of our pleasant summertime revelries. 

YAAAWWNN!  Oh well, there’s always next year, right? 

Unfortunately, by then it will be already be “Winter in America”.    

A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest —
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.

~Proverbs 24:33-34

Please join us in a National Day of Repentance:
www.dayofrepentance.org

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

In the Declaration of Independence, there is the well known phrase “We hold these truths to be self- evident”.  Apparently there are some things in life that are so blatantly obvious to every thinking person, that there should be no necessity in having to explain it.  Unfortunately, in today’s debased culture of “truth relativism”, this no longer holds true.  People are accepting the most extreme, outlandish garbage pushed on them by TV, movies and books as somehow “normal”.  Practices that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago are becoming normalized by a large portion of our population.  Recently, President Obama called the Hollywood Elites “the final arbiter” for the American people.  It’s beginning to take on very creepy undertones.    

Once again, I had a big eye-opener during a church service I attended recently.  Apparently, the Pastor felt it was necessary to get up and admonish the parishioners to NOT, I REPEAT, NOT read the sadomasochistic porn bestseller “50 Shades of Grey”.  This continued to plague my mind for the rest of the evening.  There are some things that should simply be “self-evident”.  If we have one iota of modesty, love for God, respect for women or just plain old common sense (not so common anymore), we would not purchase or read this book.  Remember, this was not said in a secular setting—this was stated to a Southern Baptist congregation of Bible believing Christians.  I don’t need to say to my kids:  “Hey kids---see that cesspool over there?  Please don’t go swimming in it.  And whatever you do, for GOODNESS SAKES don’t drink it.”  My kids would turn around to me and say something profound like:

Well…..DUH!

The frustrated Pastor seemed very aggrieved in his spirit to realize that it was actually necessary to state the obvious.  Apparently, this truth was no longer “self-evident”. (See previous blog: “The Great American Apostasy”).    

In this bestseller series, which amazingly occupies the #1, #2 and #3 spots for Fiction on the New York Times BestSeller list, the overall theme is a perverse story of two main characters who engage in BDSM, a new acronym all of us now need to learn along with LGBT.  For the “uninitiated” (pardon the pun), let me tell you what this stands for:  Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, and Masochism.  The series, which has affectionately been dubbed “mommy porn” by the adoring media, depicts a woman who gets into a dark sado-masochistic relationship with a man who enjoys this shadowy secret life.  Female submission is the overriding theme.  In a not-so-subtle slap in the face to Christ-loving people across the world, the title characters first name is “Christian”.  I guess the author wanted to somehow debase Christians along with all women as a group also.  

In a previous blog (“A New Foundation”: June 30^th ) I wrote:

“Pornography has exploded and we are now told that the womanly ideal is to be immodestly dressed, scandalously naked or a 90 pound skeleton. Let’s face it:  modern day woman is now stripped down, naked and skeletal.  I envision someone in a death camp”.

Apparently, this level of debasement is not quite enough for us.  Now American women wish to openly and literally embrace BONDAGE and CHAINS. I hope the symbolism in this new trend is not lost on you!

I don’t know what it will take for us to get a WAKE UP call, but maybe a few HORRIFIC statistics will enlighten us:

Rape:  Not only is rape on the rise, but it has gotten more sinister and deeply embedded in our culture.  The latest horrific rise of rape has been on infants.  Yes, INFANTS.  This detestable trend has police officers even at a loss for words.  Infants as young as a few months old are being assaulted by this rising perversion.  The second disturbing increase is found in our MILITARY.  Reports have come back that the problem is so prevalent that women soldiers can no longer use the latrines without an escort.  There is now an actual “Rape Task Force” in the military just to address this growing problem.

Domestic Abuse:  You may have heard the recent alarming story of the 9 month pregnant women whose boyfriend kidnapped her, shot her, set her on fire and left her for dead.  Somehow she escaped but the imagery is just too much for some to bear.  By all measurable levels (shelters overflowing, police reports, high-profile Hollywood beatings) Domestic Abuse is skyrocketing in America. 

Sex Trafficking:  The Washington Times and the FBI report that Child Sex Trafficking (the majority of which are young girls aged 12-14 years old) has reached EPIDEMIC proportions.  The most recent estimate is that in the UNITED STATES there are as many as 300,000 children and women being held against their will and pimped out as “sex slaves”.  Can you imagine a more horrible existence?  Now Sex bondage is glamorized in our best-selling literature????? 

Abandonment:  Studies show that in some minority communities the out of wedlock births is now at an eye-popping SEVENTY TWO PERCENT.  Sociologists across all political lines agree that “Fatherless-ness” is the root of most of our cultural problems.  It has been identified as one of the prime reasons for the explosion of incredible violence we see in the Chicago-land area (the highest murder rate in the U.S.)

Gender-Selection Abortion:  This is on the rise WORLD WIDE including the United States.  Ratios of Boy to Girl births is dropping precipitously in most countries that have easy access to abortions.  If abortion is about our “rights” and “freedoms”, why are GIRL babies the ones being aborted?  Why are women marching in the street for the rights to annihilate THEMSELVES?  I simply cannot grasp this type of thinking.  It must be the same type of thinking that goes into WOMEN being the largest purchasers of a book that puts us into BONDAGE.  The correlation is truly frightening.      

Is it no wonder that Volume II of this series is called “Fifty Shades Darker”.  How much darker can this get?—I shudder to think of it. What do we need to get our attention—someone to hit us over the head with a hammer?  Well…maybe that’s what we women REALLY want, right? (wink, wink).

In the 1980’s, Cyndi Lauper came out with a lively “women’s anthem” song
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.  It was supposed to be some sort of “joie de vivre” freedom lyrics for women to just let loose.  Live it up…

So Ladies… with the explosion of violent degradation against American women and our children through rape, domestic abuse, sex trafficking, abandonment and gendercide….I just have one question for us….

Are we having fun yet?

  

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."~Genesis 3:15

"Happy?" Anniversary America

It’s mid-July and you are probably thinking I’m a “day late and a dollar short”.  No…I’m not talking about Independence Day--this is a different kind of American milestone.  The United States has a few upcoming anniversary dates that all Americans should have firmly implanted in their minds.

June 25, 1962:  This was the day that prayer was removed from our public schools in the Supreme Court decision “Engel v. Vitale”.  Does anyone remember what this actual prayer was?  I must confess, as I was only 2 years old at the time, that I did not recall it when I was doing the research for this article.  Here’s the “offending” prayer:

"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country."

Wow!—seems kind of tame in retrospect doesn’t it?  Was this the little prayer that drove progressives insane and caused all the brouhaha?  Seriously?  It all seems so quaint and harmless through the perspective lens of 50 years.  Apparently, this simple and innocent prayer was just too much to tolerate for some people.  No big deal…the court simply tossed out ALL prayer in the name of religious “freedom”. 

Interesting Historical Trivia:  This case was argued before the Supreme Court on 4/3/62. One of the judges, Progressive Justice Felix Frankfurter, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on 4/5/62 just two days later.  Justice Frankfurter was instrumental in founding the American Civil Liberties Union (better known as the ACLU).  He never did get to rule in this case but he would have obviously agreed with banning prayer.  Maybe the dysfuctional reasoning used to disallow prayer was enough to cause one man’s brain to explode…. As my kids state:… “Just sayin’”...  There is some very rich symbolism here—strange, but true.  However, let’s stay on track and just state the facts:    

June 17, 1963:  On this day, The Supreme Court removed Bible reading from public schools in the “Abington School District v. Schempp” decision.  The court deemed that school sponsored Bible reading was now unconstitutional.  The plaintiff in the case (Ellory Schempp later joined by the infamous Madalyn O’Hair) stated that his children were being adversely affected because they had to:

“hear and sometimes read portions of the Bible as part of their public school education.”

Whoa!…that’s completely intolerable, right?  Imagine making our children read an ancient historical text like the Bible in order to receive a full, well-rounded education.  Of course this Book has no significance or place in an American education.  It’s not like it is the foundational belief that our Constitution is based on, right?    

Why would we need to have any familiarity with the Bible for goodness sakes?  

Thankfully NOW our schools are totally free of this seditious indoctrination! 

However, nature abhors a vacuum.  The vacuum created by removing the Bible reading and prayer from our schools has now been filled with a different type of indoctrination instead.  Here are just a few, tiny examples of what is currently being taught by mandate of law in our public schools (starting in ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS) instead of that “scary Bible teaching”:

Laws already signed into effect now require that public schools positively promote LGBT behavior and sexuality to children as young as 6 years old.  These teachings include “cross-dressing”, “sex-change” operations, “same-sex marriages” and bisexuality.

Laws already signed into effect do NOT require that the public schools notify the parents when they will be teaching these classes, NOR will they be able to exempt their children from this core curriculum

 (hmmmm….is this MANDATORY?)—you know how we Americans HATE that word.

Laws already signed into effect allow school staff to remove children, aged 12 and up, off school grounds for the purpose of “counseling sessions” without parental involvement or permission.  This is for the purpose of assisting children who are “sexually confused” and encouraging them to embrace their sexuality, whatever it may be. 

Laws signed into effect prohibit free speech if it is deemed “hate”, “intolerance” or “discrimination” against peacefully speaking or writing against any type of un-Biblical sexual behavior.  This means that students, teachers and parents who speak about their Biblical values could face criminal penalties. 

Laws signed into effect that teach our children that all sexual behavior is “safe” as long as you use a condom.

Laws signed into effect that MANDATE (there’s that nasty word again) that our children learn sex education from the school.  In this MANDATED education, they will learn from the public school system curriculum that includes lessons on how to use a condom and what the appropriate age is for sexual activity. 

Whew!  so glad we got that subversive Bible teaching out of there just in time!

HELLO???….PEOPLE….Have we gone stark raving NUTS in this country?  It is NOT OK to read the Bible but it IS OK for the State to tell your child HOW and WHEN to have sex?????  PS:  What if this violates YOUR beliefs as a parent?  Oh….”too bad, so sad” (as my kids would say).  You no longer have a say—unfortunately, YOU (your parental rights) went out the window with the Bible—too bad, so sad.  

But wait....do I hear the sound of PRAYING again?

 Here’s another ACTUAL HEADLINE from a major newspaper:

Reading of the Koran Islam Studies Required in California District

And the corresponding sub-title:

"Course has 7th-graders memorizing the Koran verses and praying to Allah."

Now how did that nasty “praying” work itself back into our school system again?  Oh yes…this kind of praying to “Allah” is now acceptable in our public school system but not to the God of the Old and New Testament.

Is your brain exploding yet?

Lastly, is it no small coincidence that our children are also being taught to hate America?  The prevalent doctrine of “American Imperialism” now teaches our children that America is bad, bad, very bad. 

Yes, yes…I am finally seeing the light.  I can see the “big improvement” that has been made here.  No wonder Atheists are now called “The Brights”. 

Let’s check some objective statistics for those of you who still may be unconvinced.  Let’s see how we have “improved” since 1962 in terms of education:

How do we rank in the world in terms of education?

Headline in USA Today from 12/7/2010:

In ranking, U.S. students trail global leaders

“Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math.

….far behind the highest-scoring countries, including South Korea, Finland and Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai in China and Canada.”

How about our literacy rate?

“In 2011 the United State ranked TWENTY-THREE against the nations of the world in our literacy rate BEHIND such countries as: Cuba, Barbados, Kazakhstan and Tonga”

What the huh?  Just where exactly is Tonga anyway?

How about our U.S. drop-out rate?

Here’s another Headline from CNN:

'High school dropout crisis' continues in U.S., study says

The article went on to state “As many as 50% of students are dropping out in some major cities across the U.S.”

How about the Teachers? How are they doing?

And the Headline states:

Student-Teacher Violence Reaches EPIDEMIC proportions 

So…since we ditched prayer and Bible readings, are U.S. parents, teachers, and country still being “Blessed” like that sweet little prayer from 1962?

Seriously, by all objective measures the answer is a big, fat resounding

EPIC FAIL

Now...shudders…we are approaching the 40 year anniversary of the 1973 legalized abortion decision: Roe v. Wade

The number 40 in the Bible has deep significance.  It signifies “testing” and “wandering in the wilderness”.  Noah was in the ark for 40 days and 40 nights.  The children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years. Jesus was tempted for 40 days.  This is a VERY momentous anniversary.  It literally means we are on the crux of something MAJOR.  Like Jesus, will we pass with flying colors through the temptations?  Or will we be destroyed in the “flood” of human destruction? Will we be banned from entering the Promised Land? 

The United States has now reached the astronomical figure of 56 million abortions and this number is rapidly approaching 60 million.  AMERICA will soon be guilty of 10 TIMES the number of deaths as those attributed to The Holocaust.  Let’s look at history:  Those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.  Germany was judged very harshly after its genocidal sins in World War II.  The German cities were CRUSHED into rubble by bombs, their country was DIVIDED and split up as spoils to other nations and they are STILL to this VERY DAY paying off World War II reparations.  This is all easy info to find on the Internet…very recent history, relatively speaking, yet still Americans proceed along our current path with AMAZINGLY oblivious and dim-witted national confidence.

 I remember a favorite childhood TV show named “Lost in Space”.  The little futuristic robot would say “Warning, Warning Will Robinson” when something bad was about to happen. 

Well, here goes—let’s see if it works:

WARNING, WARNING AMERICA….We are about to face some SERIOUS national judgement.

So what will it be in 2013, the 50 year anniversary of Bible/prayer removal and the 40 year anniversary of sanctioning the murder of our children?

Doomsday or Deliverance?

Since the beginning of time, God has always given us the freedom of “choice”. 

Very simple…Choose ye this day:  Life or Death.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you LIFE and DEATH, BLESSINGS and CURSES. Now choose LIFE, so that you and your children may live.

~Deuteronomy 30:19

Please America.  For the sake of our children, your children…Choose life.    

Blog Footnote: 

Please join me in signing a pledge to fast and pray for our country from sunset on 09/25/2012 to nightfall 9/26/2012 (approximately 25 hours).

For Jewish people this time period is known as Yom Kippur.

For Christians we recognize this time as The Day of Repentance and/or The Day of Reckoning.  Isn’t it interesting that it is known by both names?  Here’s a website where you can pledge to fast and pray for our country:

www.dayofrepentance.org

Lastly, as a true symbolic act of American Repentance—let’s sign the modern day “Declaration of Independence” from the destructive tyranny of Human Secularism.  Go to:

www.ManhattanDeclaration.org

Back By Unpopular Opinion

Today it seems that America is more of an oligarchy than a republic.  We are now ruled by executive fiat or a small group of activist judges rather than by the democratic voice of the people. 

On June 28th, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, made an incredibly inexplicable decision on the ObamaCare court challenge.  Almost every objective court observer bet on an overturn of the mandate due to the generally perceived blatant unconstitutionality of the law. Court insiders, however, claim Roberts changed his original decision after he found out he would be the final deciding vote in an evenly divided Supreme Court.  He eventually ruled to uphold ObamaCare as a tax instead of an unconstitutional mandate.  Many believed he did this so that the courts would not appear to be overly politicized and thereby retain their power.  It was also presumed that he accepted the prevailing White House opinion that the Supreme Court should not overturn a law that was duly passed by Congress.  This muddled reasoning sounds incredibly similar to Obama’s intimidating statement during a press conference a few months earlier:

“Ultimately, I’m confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law (ObamaCare) that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

I guess Roberts was taking notes.

56% of the American people polled felt this comment was a “strong arm” attempt to manipulate the system.  Not only is this a questionable and menacing statement to be made by the President of the United States, it also happens to be completely untrue on several points.  Fact twisting, however, is not unusual for this President.  He fallaciously stated incorrect details on both the nature of the law passage (there was no strong majority) and the ability of the Court to decide the issue by using word like “unprecedented” and “extraordinary”. The truth is that the Supreme Court overturns unconstitutional laws all the time.  In fact, is this not the essence of its intended function??  I guess, according to this President, if you say something forcefully enough, the uneducated majority of citizens will simply believe you.  They are too busy watching “The Kardashians” to take notice. 

As for Chief Justice Roberts, when Americans looked to him for independent leadership, he fell into lockstep with the Executive Branch.  Yet, this is the exact opposite of what our Founding Fathers envisioned for our three distinct branches of government.  They are supposed to operate as a system of checks and balances that will rein in abuses of power. Remember the famous quote “Absolute power corrupts absolutely?”  

Contrary to some opinions, I do not believe that Chief Justice Roberts is some Machiavellian genius that has handed the Republicans a “back door” way of overthrowing ObamaCare eventually.  While the backlash from this decision may rebound and cause exactly that event, he’s just another arrogant, proud bureaucrat who has personal aspirations to make his special mark in history.  However, I think future historians will place him squarely in the “Halls of American Infamy” as someone who sold out the citizens of this country to pander to the current popular Washington DC crowd.  One day he will have to face the real “Supreme Judge” and explain in his pompous, bombastic tones how he bowed under pressure and sold our birthright for his own fleeting moment of vainglory.  I believe he will go down in history as a true Benedict Arnold—betraying the American people to gain favor with the “taxing tyrant” of our modern day. 

Roberts reminds me of the quote by Malcolm Muggeridge, the Catholic satirist who was credited with popularizing Mother Teresa:

(Modern man has) "educated himself into imbecility and polluted himself into stupefaction".~Malcom Muggeridge

In plain blunt language:  Chief Justice Roberts has become an “educated imbecile” also known as a “useful idiot” for the Obama administration. 

This whole event brings me to the final point of this article. Ever notice today how “passing judgement” has simply gone out of fashion?  It is just not popular anymore.  I’m not talking about a mean-spirited gossip type of judgement.  Like Chief Justice Roberts, who didn’t have the courage to stand up and simply state that this law is Unconstitutional—we as Americans no longer have the boldness and clarity to step up and say “Hey!—that’s simply wrong!”.  Apparently, as evidenced by this Supreme Court decision, the problem is systemic and goes all the way to the top levels of our government.  In our modern culture of human relativism, there is no longer a clear cut consensus of what is right or wrong.  The U.S. now appears to be in the agonizing cultural death throes of ditching both the Constitution along with the Ten Commandments.  This actually makes some sinister logical sense when you consider the current direction of our country.  Our underlying human secularist philosophy pretty much confirms that everything and every behavior is just hunky-dory and A-OK.  As in the words of President Obama:  “The private sector is doing fine.”  Really? 

Does anyone remember the 1960’s bestseller book entitled “I’m Ok, You’re Ok”?  This title always bothered me.  If God allows me enough time on this planet to write a book someday, I am determined to include an entire chapter labeled “I’m a Mess, You’re a Mess” as this is a much more accurate depiction of the condition of humankind.

Similarly we, as a nation, are NOT OK.  We are very sick morally, financially, politically and culturally. 

Popular opinion may tell you otherwise.  It may also betray you.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 ~ Galatians 1:10

Caution: Road Out Ahead

Years ago I used to live in Connecticut.  For those of you familiar with the highway linking New York to Connecticut, you will surely remember the I-95 Mianus River Bridge tragedy.  In 1983, a 100-foot section of roadway collapsed into the River below due to aging infrastructure and lack of proper oversight.  Early one morning around 1:30 a.m., the neglected and rusted underpinnings simply gave way and the roadway fell leaving a “bridge to nowhere” straight into the River. 

Apparently, some astute drivers were able to recognize the road hazard up ahead while others, completely oblivious to their coming destruction, simply continued to speed along.  Little did they know that their vehicle was about to become a flying projectile careening into the night air and crashing down into the river below.  I think the unique horror of the story gripped the public’s imagination, as this was on the news for quite some time.    

There were several accounts of both heroism and heartbreak the next day in the news after the event.  However, a particular story still remains lodged in my memory forever.  One driver, who was able to safely stop his vehicle before plunging over the edge, got out of his car and started frantically jumping up and down to alert the other motorists of the upcoming danger.  Many, thankfully, slowed down and asked the very agitated man what the problem was. 

“Did he need assistance”? “Was he out of gas”?

Even those who probably just thought he was crazy, still slowed down out of curiosity.  Just this small amount of caution was enough to save their lives. 

According to eyewitnesses, one car with a passenger merely glanced at the man yelling to get their attention and casually flipped him the finger.  A few seconds later they were airborne and on their way to a tragic death. 

I always wonder to this day what went through their minds during those last seconds on earth.  They must have rapidly comprehended that they had made a horrible judgement call.  Their flippant (excuse the pun) attitude had caused them to disregard an urgent message designed to save them from impending doom.  I expect they must have had a 5 or 10 second revelation that went from arrogance and casual disregard, to slight alarm, then abject terror relatively quickly.  At some point, the realization must have dawned on them that it was too late to apply any preventative measures or corrections.  Then nothing but blackness and destruction. 

Today in the United States, Americans are those motorists driving along the highway.  Many, many respected economists, authors, clergy, TV hosts, radio personalities, public servants, friends and neighbors are frantically jumping up and down trying to get your attention. 

STOP, STOP, STOP—for God’s sake—turn around!

Please America, don’t just “flip us the bird” and step on the gas. 

The Great American Apostasy

Today I blogged, tweeted, texted and read my Kindle.  It struck me, as I wrote this, that just a short time ago—this sentence would have been completely unintelligible.  My grandmother, who passed away in 1994, would have no conceptual knowledge or understanding of these activities.  My…how quickly the times have changed. 

Recently, I attended a service in a Southern Baptist Church.  Since I have been an attendee of all sorts of Christian churches in my life, I no longer identify with one single denomination.  When asked, I simply say:  “I’m a Christian”.  If I need to go into any further explanation I add “and I believe the Bible, both Old and New Testament, are the living, breathing, absolutely 100% true Word of God”.  Besides, I actually enjoy listening to a variety of different sermons.  I’d like to believe that it has helped me to become a more informed individual as a result.  At least I hope so.

Anyway, for this evening, I melded in with the Southern Baptists.  They are always good for some straight forward Bible preaching and this evening I was in the mood to hear it.  Well, on this occasion, the Pastor didn’t disappoint.  As we would say in a more charismatic church, “Wow, was he on fire!”  He let the congregation have it right between the eyes.  We were in a large auditorium that seats well over a thousand people.  I happened to be sitting almost at the back with a good view of the large number of people in attendance.  Here was the eye-opener:  He didn’t say anything that an outsider or an unbeliever would find unusual to hear in a Southern Baptist Church.  He railed against abortion, marriage redefinition, and other social issues of the day.  The only difference was that I noticed very few people were clapping or enthusiastic.  Most had a glazed, disinterested or annoyed look on their faces.  It I had to put the crowd’s collective attitude into one sentence it would be something like:

 “OK, OK already…we get it, let’s move on”.

In the most recent article in World magazine, (July 2012), there was a disconcerting subtitle:

Southern Baptists see membership decline for 5^th straight year

The last line of the article stated:

“The tide is going a different way, America is increasingly becoming a secular culture, not a Christian culture”. 

The Bible talks a great deal about the signs preceding the “End of the Age”.  One of the signs, mentioned by Paul the Apostle, is the Great Apostasy.

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come (End of the Age) unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction (2 Thess. 2:1-3).

Definition of Apostasy from Webster’s Dictionary:

An abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one's faith or religion

In 2009 at a news press conference in Turkey, President Obama declared that the U.S. was not a Judeo-Christian nation.  His remark set off a firestorm of controversy.  I just have one question:  “When did that happen?”  I must’ve missed the memo. 

Interestingly, the Mormon Church had a mass resignation in “honor” of Independence Day just last week.  Here are some direct quotes from this news article:

A group of about 150 Mormons quit their church in a mass resignation ceremony in Salt Lake City on Saturday in a rare display of defiance ending decades of disagreement for some over issues ranging from polygamy to gay marriage.

Participants from Utah, Arizona, Idaho and elsewhere gathered in a public park to sign a "Declaration of Independence from Mormonism."

 

The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known for its culture of obedience, and the mass ceremony was a seldom-seen act of collective revolt.

Among the reasons cited by those resigning are the church's political activism against gay marriage and doctrinal teachings that conflict with scientific findings or are perceived as racist or sexist.

(Bloggers Footnote:  Please see my blog about the 7 Deadly Sins of Human Secularism found in “A New Foundation?” dated 6/30/2012-- both racism and sexism are noted). 

Robin Hansen, a participant who said she quit over a "culture of abuse" which she believes is cultivated by church teachings promoting obedience.

That last sentence really did me in.  I mean, can you imagine the NERVE of the Mormon Church?  They actually have the audacity to promote OBEDIENCE?  How DARE they! 

Apparently, America is not only rushing headlong into the abyss—but it is in a hurry to do so.  Our citizens demand anarchy and they want it NOW!  I guess patience is no longer a fashionable virtue lately either.   

The Old Testament says that the Lord detests:

“feet that are quick to rush into evil.”~Psalms 6:18

Now, for the record I am not a Mormon.  I also have some serious differences with their theology.  However, I have known many Mormons in my life and they are truly honest, good-hearted, faithful and hard-working individuals.  If the truth were told, they put many “Garden variety” Christians to shame.  So, this story continued to bother me.  Like my previous blog on the 4^th of July—these protesters were openly stating that they want to “Declare Independence” from Godly principles.  They want the Church (which refers collectively to all of God’s people) to embrace polygamy, non-Creationism evolution, abortion and same sex marriage—ergo, become APOSTATE.   

Based on my non-scientific, anecdotal experience in the Baptist church, a full 50% of the audience, or possibly as much as 2/3^rd’s of the attendees, were simply NOT INTERESTED that evening in hearing what the Pastor had to say.  Others were downright offended or annoyed.

Look around.  Take note:

The Great American Apostasy is well underway.

Leave the Gun...Take the Cannoli

Fourth of July Message:

In this infamous line from the Godfather, lovable wise-guy Pete Clemenza had just whacked Paulie Gatto, the despicable traitor and wife-beater.  While I am no fan of the Mafia, nor do I condone gangster murders—this classic line deserves its beloved and enshrined place in American film history.  It is rife with symbolism, not just for this movie, but for American attitudes about life.

Today is the 4^th of July.  Is this just another day off for you?  Do you gripe about America and all of her “faults”?  In the United States today, we are born expecting to enjoy all the liberties and freedoms that come along with being a citizen of this great nation.  Whether you are a rabid right-winger or a card carrying member of the “blame America first crowd”, take a moment to read how we regularly take for granted the many liberties we enjoy in the United States.  Let this be a WAKE UP call for all of us today on a day aptly named “Independence Day”.    

Envision this scenario:  You open your eyes in the morning after a good night’s slumber on a soft, dry bed.  As you stumble sleepy-eyed to the coffee machine, your particular, special brand of coffee flavor awaits you.  The vast array of coffee selection in your local grocer is made possible by our competitive, free enterprise society.  I mean, seriously—life is too short to drink lousy coffee, right?

Once happily ensconced in front of your home computer, you begin to peruse the news.  This news is put out by independent news agencies all across our FREE PRESS society.  None of them are functioning as a direct branch or arm of our government (despite what some may hotly claim!).  Yes—there is a plethora of free thought and speech right in front of you as you continue to sip your Starbucks. 

You decide that you will grudgingly go along with the wife and the kids to Church, Mass or Temple today, depending on your persuasion.  The thought of being bombed, arrested or killed while you are there doesn’t even enter into your consciousness.  It’s ludicrous—yet that is the norm in many societies throughout the world.  Nevertheless, you’d really prefer to just stay in your pajamas all day.  God will understand.  For crying out loud—aren’t we supposed to get a day of rest?  Thank goodness there is no forced labor in America.  Hmmm…wondering what millions of people in North Korea are doing today. 

Next, you get up and open your refrigerator.  Let’s see…what shall you have for breakfast?  There is an array of choices.  Pancakes?  Nah.  Cereal, bacon, eggs?  Never mind…let’s go get some breakfast at the local restaurant.  You feel like being waited on today.  It doesn’t cross your mind that 800 million people per day go to bed hungry.  Just a small portion of the global population enjoys the option either financially, geographically or otherwise to simply get up in the morning and get something to eat.  You are one of the lucky ones—but that never crosses your mind.  Run a comb through your hair, throw on some jeans and a T-shirt and hop into your late model car.  The kids are in the back with their IPods, IPads, IPhones and who knows what gadgetry—as long as they are quiet.  You need another cup of coffee before you can stand their incessant quarreling.  Your children are safe, secure…some may even say coddled.  The children in the Sudan are starving, orphaned, enslaved and enlisted against their will to commit bloody war crimes.  U.S. kids have the dilemma in the morning of whether they should check their texts or Facebook first.  The restaurant is crowded and the service was not that great so you leave the waitress a stingy tip.  Besides, she wasn’t very attentive to your needs.  You wanted a third cup of coffee but she seemed too distracted.  Maybe next time she’ll move a little faster if she wants to get a nice gratuity.     

Back at home.  Before you hop in the sanitary, hot shower with unlimited clean water—you stop and blast that idiot on Twitter who wants to wage a “War on Women” by tightening abortion policies.  Then you proceed to write some nasty comments about your Congressman or Senator with impunity and utter assurance that the Secret Police will not be stopping at your door anytime soon with handcuffs.  Nice stuff...this Freedom of Speech concept.  Unfortunately, the majority of the global population does not have this right.  Oh yes, nor does it have indoor plumbing and unlimited flowing clean water.  Well, that’s their problem.  They should just throw the bums out of office on their next election.  Oh…wait.  That’s right.  They don’t have free elections.  Their lives are not run by the concept:  Of the People, By the People, For the People.  They are at the capricious whim and discretion of their corrupt and evil leaders.  Mostly they are living with disastrous violations of the most basic human rights. 

Well…you get the picture…This “make-believe” sample American day could go on and on.

Today, there is a movement to go off of our foundational Judeo-Christian ethic.  We’d also like to keep all the rights, liberties, freedoms and financial blessings.  However, this is the very same ethic that has been the wellspring of all of our rights, liberties, freedoms and blessings.  We are quick to “leave the gun”—God’s enforcement through Biblical boundaries and “take the cannoli”—all the goodies that go with abiding by our Judeo-Christian principles.

Today let’s celebrate what is special and different about America.  No…it’s not perfect.  Yes…we should always strive to correct inequalities and improve upon this great country.  But if we move off of our foundational values—the loss of our much beloved freedoms and blessings will not be far behind. 

So…do we leave the “gun”?  No more God-inspired guidelines.  No more Judeo-Christian foundation.  No more 10 Commandments.
And just take the “cannoli”?  The liberties, freedoms, and blessings?

Today on the 4^th of July, is America poised to “declare independence” from God? 

Unfortunately, if we do that….

We’re going to get whacked. 

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ~Psalm 33:12